Remembering

Our house was quiet this morning at 11am. Well, three of us were quiet and Jamie played with his lego. He's not old enough to understand yet, and probably not old enough to recognise that his Mummy, Daddy and big brother were being quiet and thoughtful. Ben's only just getting old enough to really understand who we are remembering and why at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. And I wish that we lived in a world where I didn't have to explain to my boys who we are remembering and giving thanks for and why, and that our armed forces are still fighting for our freedom, but I do. So I was quiet and remembered my Grandad who must have been terrified when he was commanding a tank driving up the beach on D-Day and saw his best friend's tank being blown up beside him, but who continued to do his bit. And I thought of and gave thanks for friends who have served in Afganistan and remembered that no matter what the rights and wrongs are of the war in the Middle East, they have risked their lives to try and make the world a better place.

A perfect way to start the day....

It all started 50 years ago today.....



Who else grew up listening to the Beatles? Or probably a better question to aks is, who didn't grow up listening to the Beatles? I think I must have started learning the lyrics to many of their hits before I was born, and I know I played their albums full volume in the car while I was pregnant with my boys to get them started on the right track!* Yet they had their first hit 10 years before I was born, while my parents were still at school. Happy 50th Anniversary to the greatest band in the world!


*pun intended!

Doing what we can

One of the proverbs Judy kept on her blog

This week a member of our beading community left us far too early. Judy Glende was diagnosed with brain and lung cancer in December, her second battle with cancer, and one that she battled bravely. Whilst it has been wonderful to see how so many beaders, designers, lampworkers, jewellery addicts, whatever you want to call us, have pulled together to offer our support and prayers to Judy's family, we know no words that we can offer can bring them the comfort and peace that they need.

A member of our local community here lost her battle with cancer a month ago too. I haven't mentioned it here before as I was only just getting to know her, and it's not my story to tell. She was diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of January, shortly after stopping breast feeding her youngest son, by which time it had spread all over, including to her spinal cord. Aggressive chemo was started to give her as much time as possible, but an infection on top of that led to kidney failure only a few weeks after her diagnosis. Her friends, church and our school community are giving as much support as they possibly can. Her two eldest boys are either side of Ben in age, and her baby is 5 days younger than Jamie - another reason why I haven't written about it here. It's just too close to home, makes me realise again how close a call I had last year.

Anyway, I've been thinking about the Bead Soup pieces I've made with the wonderful lampwork Michi sent me and of doing some fundraising with them, and Tania of Moobie Grace Designs has organised a design challenge in honour of Judy that will also be a fundraiser for cancer charities. I'll post details of what I'm going to do with my Bead Soup pieces next week, but you can find details of the "Flap Your Wings" challenge (named after Judy's etsy shop) on Tania's blog here.

Our school run

We are lucky to live in such a lovely area of Southampton. I have to admit that before B came along Bitterne Park was just somewhere that we happened to have our house, somewhere that was convienent for work and travelling to parents etc, but having a child really does change how you feel about a place. I'd still ideally like to live somewhere more rural (but somewhere with good public transport for when B and Bump are older - I know what it's like to be a teenager in a tiny village with one bus a week!!) but as Southampton goes, this is definitely one of the nicest places.

We're not far from the River Itchen and Riverside Park runs through most of Bitterne Park - lots of ducks and swans to feed, an outdoor activity centre, three play parks, a minature railway in the summer, a pitch and putt, lots of room to run about in - and at this time of year, absolutely gorgeous colours. I finally remembered to take the camera with me so that I could capture them, as I'm sure they'll only be with us for another few days. B and I currently drive halfway to school, purely because I'm finding it rather painful walking back up the steep hills after dropping him off - the downside of leaving on the side of a river valley! We then walk through the park the rest of the way. Well, I walk, he speeds off on his balance bike, doing about three times the distance I do by the time he's had races with his friends! The park is always busy with dog walkers, football matches in the winter, cricket and picnics in the summer, community events.

P.S. B's very pleased with the new hat and scarf I've knitted him, and I'm pleased with the way the yarn has striped. He had one request - a large fluffy pompom on the top of the hat!

Snow Day!

Well, I couldn't be the only blogger in the UK not to blog about the snow today, could I?! Any of you reading this from the States must think we're absoloutely mad but it only takes a little bit of snow down here on the south coast for us to get excited - and unfortunately for the roads to get clogged. The estate behind us has been unpassable for most of today as a bus jack-knifed on the main road there first thing this morning. Apparently this is the heaviest snowfall for almost 20 years.We usually go to a dance and music group on Monday mornings but B had a friend over to play instead. We had fun in the garden building a snowman (well, a snowchild) and throwing snowballs - at least, the children were trying to throw them at me but their aim isn't quite right yet! Never mind, they'll have another 15 years or so to practise their throwing before the next time we have any decent snow!

I hope that you all had fun in the snow today too!

Sad news today

It was really sad to hear in the news today that Tony Hart has died. I loved watching Take Hart when I was a child. Drawing has never been a strength of mine but he made it look so easy and approachable that he gave me the confidence to have a go. I loved the mischief that Morph got up to too, and without him we wouldn't have had Wallace and Gromit or Chicken Run or anything like that. For those that don't know him, Morph had a pet nailbrush and was often visited by the Very Small Creatures - happy memories!

"Grace under pressure"

I am certain that I am far from the only person who has had tingles running up and down their arms from watching the news reports of yesterday's miracle in New York. I can only imagine the terror that those on board the plane and those on the ground who saw the plane approaching experienced, and the thankfulness that they are experiencing now. Michael Bloomberg, the New York mayor, said that the pilot had shown true heroism, "grace under pressure".

Again like many, many hundreds of people, I can remember exactly where I was, where exactly in the room I was standing, when the BBC showed the breaking news of 9/11. I visited Ground Zero a few years ago, not through choice, I have to say as I knew I probably wouldn't be able to handle the emotion of it well (my Grandma always did say that I cried too easily), but because I was a teacher on a school trip to New York. I will never, no matter how long I live, forget the feeling of that place or the news pictures. Thank God for heroes.

Never talk about politics or religion....

Well, those are the two topics you're not supposed to talk about over dinner, aren't they? I've never really been one to talk about politics, especially those of another country, but I must admit that I did breathe a sigh of relief this morning. Well done America for not just continuing with the same old tired tune. I just hope that Obama keeps his promises, because, whether we like it or not, what he does now will affect us all.