We are all fed, watered and toiletted. Nearly at the end of our destination.
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Saturday, 14 August 2010
Le France Sud
We are all fed, watered and toiletted. Nearly at the end of our destination.
Another Journey
Amelia and William are with us now, squabbling already. Amelia has hit William around the head because he touched the jar of Nutella, all bribes for good behaviour will be centred around Nutella on this journey. Nat is reading the Frankie Boyle autobiography.
3 hours to Bugarach.
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Friday, 13 August 2010
Bloody Blooders
As always we have passed Lyon and the sun is out, its 6pm and 28 degrees. We've seen the Rhone and it is as beautiful as ever.
Only another hour and we will be at Lapalud.
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Stressy Hotels Online Nonbookings
We are doing really well for time, so we decided to cancel the hotel in Dijon for tonight. It has taken 2 hours nearly to do this, I thought I was going mad.
Accor Hotels have a mobile internet app that you are directly put on from your mobile, this app neither recognized the hotel we were booked in or our booking reference. We telephoned the hotel and were greeted with an automated voice messege saying my mobile service was not accepted on their telephone service. So I tried ringing Accor Hotels Helpdesk, I was asked to call the hotel back but press 00 when the recorded voice was playing which I did, no change. Telephoned Accor again and spoke to Denise who was very sweet but was suggesting everything we had already done and wanted to get rid of us like we were a hot potato. Ashley says their network application was a notwork application. PIGDOG !
Pigdog or Couchonchien is our insult and term of endearment for our holiday.
I have to say a big THANK YOU to my sister Francine / Angie who cancelled the hotel on her computer at home, you are our saviour xxxxxxxxx
We are near Dijon now, we have seen lots of windmills, wind energy, the rotors are slightly curved here, probably to do with the strong winds that blow through the country.
It is a lovely day, le soliel est brille. We have spoken to Penny who owns the house in Bugarach and we can go a day earlier. So off to Lapalud tonight, pick up Mimi and Wills, then off to our holiday yeah!!!
Putting some pics on of lovely countryside.
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Aire de Zutkerque
BFN Internetees
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Thursday, 12 August 2010
Dover
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Queen Elizabeth Bridge
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M1
on another note i am now blogging on blogger-droid for android. i'm trying to find ways that i can post pictures from my phone.
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setting off to france
We are currently on the m6 on our way to Dover, we are going to stop on the M6 toll road services for a brew soon. Now we are in the car. We are having a good laugh now at our learning french cd's; monsier wickham et ton valisse. Ou est la valisse, la valisse est dans la voiture etc...
The sun is shining, yeh right, just when we're setting off to france.
Ashley is driving, Nat is reading his gaming magazines in the back.
It was sad to leave Daisy, I really felt very sad at leaving her. We will be able to take her next year.
I have pain in my gall bladder at the moment, I have not been eating healthily recently. I think healthy mediterrean food will sort me out.
Addison Lee the london taxi firm have their own coach co now, just seen one now, saw a van from Fagan and Whalley with a huge Wham sign on the back, starting to sing wham, bam, you are a van. Ashley said that was almost as good as zats and zogs.
I will blog more of our long journey later
Bye For Now
The sun is shining, yeh right, just when we're setting off to france.
Ashley is driving, Nat is reading his gaming magazines in the back.
It was sad to leave Daisy, I really felt very sad at leaving her. We will be able to take her next year.
I have pain in my gall bladder at the moment, I have not been eating healthily recently. I think healthy mediterrean food will sort me out.
Addison Lee the london taxi firm have their own coach co now, just seen one now, saw a van from Fagan and Whalley with a huge Wham sign on the back, starting to sing wham, bam, you are a van. Ashley said that was almost as good as zats and zogs.
I will blog more of our long journey later
Bye For Now
Monday, 9 August 2010
Start of Holiday Week
Hi Internet,
We go on holiday this week and only 3 days left to work. We have had another busy week, I don't know how we do it sometimes. I managed to get a couple of days resting in the evening last week after work, although I was knitting my landscape art picture which looks really ace.
Anyway we had 2 experiences of people telling us about Auschwitz in one day. I am still a little freaked by this and will have to chant about it.
I received a fantastic pressie on Friday, Arabic nesting dolls, they live in my conservatory now with my other dolls. I love nesting dolls, I dont know why but I love the fact theat they have so many layers and what you see on the outside is only the facade, there are many layers underneath.
Yesterday when I was cutting the grass, I felt a huge appreciation and gratitude for the place where I live and my neighbours. 3 lots of neighbours came over to speak and it felt lovely. Olivia and Saskia took Daisy to play with her new doggie freind Finlay, who is the cutest dog.
Anyway got to go to work now.
We go on holiday this week and only 3 days left to work. We have had another busy week, I don't know how we do it sometimes. I managed to get a couple of days resting in the evening last week after work, although I was knitting my landscape art picture which looks really ace.
Nancy came over on Saturday from London, she too is running around manically trying to work, look after her daughter, keep a home. We picked her up from Preston then went straight to Blackburn (this was the 1st of our wierd connection) we talked about Nancy's mother's holiday in Poland where she visited Auschwitz and had her world turned upside down. In Blackburn we visited Tibor, as usual he was the perfect and generous host. We did Tozo (chanting) and after this he told us his grandfather had been a prisoner in Auschwitz and survived. Tibor has invited us to the Czech Republic next year, I think I will be asking lots of questions. His grandfather sounds like a very interesting character, he walked from Poland to the Czech Republic as he was a Communist Partisan. I find all this time so interesting. I have so many stories about this period in time from my own family and their experiences. My grandfather was a prisoner of war in Italy and was locked up a small wooden box with a tiny hole for day light as punishment for escaping. He lived on a farm for a time in Italy working as a labourer on one of his escapes. There is a story that when the farm owner (who was a soldier at the time) returned to the farm and saw that his mother was hiding an escaped POW he shot her in front of my grandfather and took him back to the camp. My grandfather had what they called Shell Shock which is now called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He never recovered from this.
After chanting we went to Oakhill park to join in with the Mela, we did some drumming, I had wanted to make a little clay model for Caroline and David's film but we didn't have time and they were very busy, which is great to see. After went to see Nancy's mum and have a brew then home to maker a fantastic Lasagne for my mother in law's birthday. We had a great evening eating good food and drinking Gin, but the best thing was talking into Ashley's new dragon speech recognition app on his iphone. I haven't laughed so much, we were talking gobledidook and seeing what it was translated as, I was growling, barking and mieowing into it, we were playing say a word one letter at a time ie. l, li, lio, lion, lionk, lionki, lionkin, lionking. Apparently in the Dragon Speak App this makes perfect sense and a very random but sensible arrangement of sentences will appear on the iphone. I may not have been able to convey the absolute fever of fun we were having, but it was very good.
Sunday, Nancy had to go back to London at luchtime, so we took her back to Preston, then dropped Nat of at his girlfriend's in Read, then went shopping. Tried to cut the grass, then Gareth, Justina and Magnus came round for tea. Maya made really good biscuits with Saskia next door and had a dip in the hottub. Got to know Justina a lot better and she is a really lovely lady. We had a good chinwag and played again with the iphone doing Zombie me, ashley turned me into a zombie, but that happens everyday when I wake up in the morning.
Yesterday when I was cutting the grass, I felt a huge appreciation and gratitude for the place where I live and my neighbours. 3 lots of neighbours came over to speak and it felt lovely. Olivia and Saskia took Daisy to play with her new doggie freind Finlay, who is the cutest dog.
Anyway got to go to work now.
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
Forgetting to blog
I have not been a very good blogger for over a week now, I was reminded last night when my hubby started to write his. So here goes.
I managed to cut Daisy's hair, it took several sessions and lots of wriggling and squirming (Daisy not me); she looks so thin and scrawny. Ashley says she doesn't look cute any more, but I think she does regardless. She's staying with our parents soon while we go away and its not fair for them to have to spend hours going through all her knots.
I managed to finish 1 painting and knitting my cardigan. I shall buy the buttons for the cardigan today then it needs a good wash. I can then start on my new paintings (portraits of Nat and another of Ashley) and finish the large one in the garage. I've put some of my artwork on Etsy, I haven't had any sales yet but who know, maybe I will. http://www.etsy.com/shop/CherieDeakin
Our artcentre/studio idea is taking shape, not the way we had envisioned but we are all committed and hard working. Saying that, I haven't been this past weekend and I need to pull my socks up. I'm waiting for the decision as to whether the One Planet shop is going to be set up on Abbey Street, if not we will have to sell our work on market stalls in the north west, get a business going that way.
I'm on my way to work right now, on the commute between Oswaldtwistle and Darwen. Don't know why I included you all into this information but I did so it must be relevant.
I did lots on chanting over the weekend, tozo on Saturday and kozen rufu on Sunday. I really like Kelli's Gohonzen, I've heard people talk before about having experiences with their own Gohonzen or those belonging to others. While I was chanting on Sunday my vision started to go out of focus like I was looking at one of those 3D images, I then started to see really happy smiles and I got a sense of real happiness. So Kelli if you're reading this that was my experience at your house.
Nat has been silly with his mobile phone recently and built up a huge bill. We told him he would have to repay this money to us and what a powerhouse he has been. I wanted him to know how it would feel to earn that amount of money then he could get an idea of the actual value of it, rather than it being an abstract notion that 'Bank of Mum' provides. He's been doing lots of jobs for us, his Gran, taking dogs for walks, digging and work on his Gran's allottment. He's going to work as an electricians mate for a couple of days this week and next with mu Uncle Len. So far he's made £120 in a week, I am so proud of him for having the strength to stand up to the challenge and succeed. This is a lesson in life for him, and he will remember this and hopefully take away the notion that whatever challenges he has to face there will be solutions that only require his effort and determination to succeed.
I've had to take my bike back to Halfords and get my money back, the pedal fell off again in Rishton on the towpath, I then had to push it all the way home. I was not a happy bunny!!! It had only just had new parts fitted and had been in the shop for 2 weeks. Ashley phoned them yesterday, and arranged for the bike to be returned. When we went to the shop a young lad started trying to diagnose what the problem and solution was, I could feel my blood start to boil as why he couldn't have done this when the bike was in his possession for 2 weeks I don't know. He said he had never seen the problem before, well mate it was in your shop for the last 2 weeks, surely you would have seen it then. He even said that the part that had fallen off was well worn, cheeky thing, that was the new piece that they had fitted. He asked if we minded if he had a look at fixing it again and taking it for a ride, I told him I didn't mind at all as long as we got a full refund immediately. Which we did then got on our way. That kind of service should have been provided 3 weeks ago, not when the problem had occured 3 times.
I played a funny prank on Ashley yesterday, he was upstairs about to start working on the laptop. I telephoned him pretending to be a cold caller from MSU Home Direct, I put on the worst accent ever. He put the phone down on me, so I called him again pretending to be the same person, he thought it was a real call, until I told him that the service I was providing was to inform him that his wife was sat downstairs waiting to watch a film with him. It was very funny, cos my accent was terrible.
Anyways we only have 9 days until our hols, I am looking forward to it, and it can't start soon enough. Adriana, my freinds daughter is in Italy at the moment, I saw some holiday pics on facebook and made me hanker for the sun.
I heard some news about someone I knew on Sunday that made me think that they must have some real saddness deep inside themselves. I wish I could reach out to this person and bring a ray of sunshine to them but I don't think they would appreciate it. So I shall offer this quote instead and hope that it flows through the ether and lands in their heart and in their head and plants a seed.
"Relative happiness is also based on comparison with others. We may feel this kind of happiness at having a newer or bigger home than the neighbors. But that feeling turns to misery the moment they start making new additions to theirs! Absolute happiness, on the other hand, is something we must find within. It means establishing a state of life in which we are never defeated by trials and where just being alive is a source of great joy. This persists no matter what we might be lacking, or what might happen around us. A deep sense of joy is something which can only exist in the innermost reaches of our life, and which cannot be destroyed by any external forces. It is eternal and inexhaustible."
"It is natural for trees to bear fruit in the harvest season, and in the same way, "old age" is a period of ripening. It can be the most valuable time in human life, when we have rich experience, deeply polished character, and a pure and gentle heart. The loss of certain capacities with age is nothing to be ashamed of. Rather, I feel the various infirmities of age should even be seen as badges of honor and worn with pride. There is a saying that goes, "To a fool, old age is a bitter winter; to a wise man it is a golden time." Everything depends on your own attitude, how you approach life. Do you view old age as a period of decline ending in death, or as a time in which one has the opportunity to attain one's goals and bring one's life to a rewarding and satisfying completion? The same period of old age will be dramatically different depending upon your own outlook."
"For me a woman's true beauty lies not in her appearance, but deep within her heart. A woman who makes all-out efforts and who exerts herself wholeheartedly in her field is beautiful; she really shines. She looks sharp and focused and full of confidence. This kind of radiance will always outshine for me any external beauty related to what a woman is wearing. In fact those who are aware of their inner beauty do not need to seek borrowed beauty from outside. And, sadly, those who care only for their physical appearance are often spiritually impoverished and trying to conceal that lack with exterior trappings."
Daisaka Ikeda
Bye bye earthlings, I will blog soon
I managed to cut Daisy's hair, it took several sessions and lots of wriggling and squirming (Daisy not me); she looks so thin and scrawny. Ashley says she doesn't look cute any more, but I think she does regardless. She's staying with our parents soon while we go away and its not fair for them to have to spend hours going through all her knots.
I managed to finish 1 painting and knitting my cardigan. I shall buy the buttons for the cardigan today then it needs a good wash. I can then start on my new paintings (portraits of Nat and another of Ashley) and finish the large one in the garage. I've put some of my artwork on Etsy, I haven't had any sales yet but who know, maybe I will. http://www.etsy.com/shop/CherieDeakin
Our artcentre/studio idea is taking shape, not the way we had envisioned but we are all committed and hard working. Saying that, I haven't been this past weekend and I need to pull my socks up. I'm waiting for the decision as to whether the One Planet shop is going to be set up on Abbey Street, if not we will have to sell our work on market stalls in the north west, get a business going that way.
I'm on my way to work right now, on the commute between Oswaldtwistle and Darwen. Don't know why I included you all into this information but I did so it must be relevant.
I did lots on chanting over the weekend, tozo on Saturday and kozen rufu on Sunday. I really like Kelli's Gohonzen, I've heard people talk before about having experiences with their own Gohonzen or those belonging to others. While I was chanting on Sunday my vision started to go out of focus like I was looking at one of those 3D images, I then started to see really happy smiles and I got a sense of real happiness. So Kelli if you're reading this that was my experience at your house.
Nat has been silly with his mobile phone recently and built up a huge bill. We told him he would have to repay this money to us and what a powerhouse he has been. I wanted him to know how it would feel to earn that amount of money then he could get an idea of the actual value of it, rather than it being an abstract notion that 'Bank of Mum' provides. He's been doing lots of jobs for us, his Gran, taking dogs for walks, digging and work on his Gran's allottment. He's going to work as an electricians mate for a couple of days this week and next with mu Uncle Len. So far he's made £120 in a week, I am so proud of him for having the strength to stand up to the challenge and succeed. This is a lesson in life for him, and he will remember this and hopefully take away the notion that whatever challenges he has to face there will be solutions that only require his effort and determination to succeed.
I've had to take my bike back to Halfords and get my money back, the pedal fell off again in Rishton on the towpath, I then had to push it all the way home. I was not a happy bunny!!! It had only just had new parts fitted and had been in the shop for 2 weeks. Ashley phoned them yesterday, and arranged for the bike to be returned. When we went to the shop a young lad started trying to diagnose what the problem and solution was, I could feel my blood start to boil as why he couldn't have done this when the bike was in his possession for 2 weeks I don't know. He said he had never seen the problem before, well mate it was in your shop for the last 2 weeks, surely you would have seen it then. He even said that the part that had fallen off was well worn, cheeky thing, that was the new piece that they had fitted. He asked if we minded if he had a look at fixing it again and taking it for a ride, I told him I didn't mind at all as long as we got a full refund immediately. Which we did then got on our way. That kind of service should have been provided 3 weeks ago, not when the problem had occured 3 times.
I played a funny prank on Ashley yesterday, he was upstairs about to start working on the laptop. I telephoned him pretending to be a cold caller from MSU Home Direct, I put on the worst accent ever. He put the phone down on me, so I called him again pretending to be the same person, he thought it was a real call, until I told him that the service I was providing was to inform him that his wife was sat downstairs waiting to watch a film with him. It was very funny, cos my accent was terrible.
Anyways we only have 9 days until our hols, I am looking forward to it, and it can't start soon enough. Adriana, my freinds daughter is in Italy at the moment, I saw some holiday pics on facebook and made me hanker for the sun.
I heard some news about someone I knew on Sunday that made me think that they must have some real saddness deep inside themselves. I wish I could reach out to this person and bring a ray of sunshine to them but I don't think they would appreciate it. So I shall offer this quote instead and hope that it flows through the ether and lands in their heart and in their head and plants a seed.
"Relative happiness is also based on comparison with others. We may feel this kind of happiness at having a newer or bigger home than the neighbors. But that feeling turns to misery the moment they start making new additions to theirs! Absolute happiness, on the other hand, is something we must find within. It means establishing a state of life in which we are never defeated by trials and where just being alive is a source of great joy. This persists no matter what we might be lacking, or what might happen around us. A deep sense of joy is something which can only exist in the innermost reaches of our life, and which cannot be destroyed by any external forces. It is eternal and inexhaustible."
"It is natural for trees to bear fruit in the harvest season, and in the same way, "old age" is a period of ripening. It can be the most valuable time in human life, when we have rich experience, deeply polished character, and a pure and gentle heart. The loss of certain capacities with age is nothing to be ashamed of. Rather, I feel the various infirmities of age should even be seen as badges of honor and worn with pride. There is a saying that goes, "To a fool, old age is a bitter winter; to a wise man it is a golden time." Everything depends on your own attitude, how you approach life. Do you view old age as a period of decline ending in death, or as a time in which one has the opportunity to attain one's goals and bring one's life to a rewarding and satisfying completion? The same period of old age will be dramatically different depending upon your own outlook."
"For me a woman's true beauty lies not in her appearance, but deep within her heart. A woman who makes all-out efforts and who exerts herself wholeheartedly in her field is beautiful; she really shines. She looks sharp and focused and full of confidence. This kind of radiance will always outshine for me any external beauty related to what a woman is wearing. In fact those who are aware of their inner beauty do not need to seek borrowed beauty from outside. And, sadly, those who care only for their physical appearance are often spiritually impoverished and trying to conceal that lack with exterior trappings."
Daisaka Ikeda
Bye bye earthlings, I will blog soon
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