One step at a time

Hoovering

2009-11-14T18:06:00.006Z

I don't really like like hoovering, but I have come to regard it as something of a spiritual experience. Particularly the stairs. I have convinced myself that in a feng-shui kind of way, hoovering the stairs represents cleaning the path between the downstairs (the everyday kind of stuff) and the upstairs (the spiritual, where am I going kind of stuff). Now I don't know whether this is true, but it works for me and makes doing the hoovering seem a more valuable activity.

Today I was feeling ratty all day. I wasn't sure why, I was just irritated. I wanted to be left alone. I put this down to coming to the end of a week's annual leave, but somehow that didn't seem quite right. I've had a good week, I've relaxed, spent time with Steve, had more time for James and Matthew, had time for me. I should be feeling better not worse.

Things came to a head when James sat down to do his homework. Homework is often a battle. I seem to be able to go from a pleasant, rational person to a screaming maniac within a few minutes. There's something about James and his homework that really pushes my buttons. The ironic thing is that most of the time, when I'm not hovering critically over his shoulder, he produces very good homework, but as soon as I'm there, guiding and supporting him, he becomes increasingly recalcitrant, and I become infuriated, but also confused. Why does it always seem to end up like this?

So after today's screaming match (well it's not really a screaming match, I scream, James just lolls) I decided to do the hoovering. I was so angry I couldn't trust myself to go near him without saying or doing something damaging. And it was whilst I was hoovering the stairs I had this thought:

I look at James' homework and it fills me with ideas of how it could be done. The history of Newent school. What a challenge. I could write about the building, or the uniform, the people. How long has it been there? What was it like? How has it changed?

I want to write that assignment. I want to create a brilliant piece of writing. I want to research and investigate and write.

That is what is at the root of my anger. I want to write.

The words that I am screaming at him, I am actually screaming at me.

"Just do it!"
"It's not difficult"
"If you just got on with it"
"JUST WRITE SOMETHING!"

Ever since I was about James' age, I suppose. I wanted to be a writer. When I was 9 I loved projects that I had to research and write. When I was 11 I used to try and copy my favourite books out by hand. When I was 12 I remember delighting in a piece of work where I had to precis a piece of writing and put it into my own words. When I was 14 we had to write about which jobs we would love and which we would hate. I said I wanted to be a journalist. I said I would never want to work in a bank, be a secretary or a nurse.

I left school at 16 to work for Lloyds Bank.

After 9 months I left and worked as a secretary.

When I was 19, I trained as a nurse.

I think there's a reason I get so angry when James doesn't want to do his homework and I don't think it's anything to do with him.

It's been a while.............

2009-11-12T14:54:00.002Z

I must confess, I haven't been a reliable blogger of late. Months have passed without a single original thought being committed to screen. Blogger's block, I guess.

I could sit here and think about the reasons for this, but actually I think it's just one of those things. Blogging, like a lot of other things is a discipline and you've just got to do it. Regularly.

If you don't, you run out of ideas.

I am going to make a commitment.

I am going to blog. Regularly.

How regularly, I hear you ask?

Well let's think........

Mmmm, daily may be unrealistic.

I do have a life you know.

And children. I've got to spend time with my children.

And a husband. He needs a bit of attention.

And a mother.

And friends.

And a cat. Well she's not much trouble, can't use her as an excuse.

And a job. Oh my God. The job. I'd forgotten about the job. Now that takes up lots of time. I remember now. 4 days annual leave and I was beginning to remember what it's like to have free time again. OK the job could be a slight problem.

I could give up the job and become a professional blogger. Nah! I quite like my job.

OK taking into consideration the children, my husband, my mum, my friends, the cat (who's not much trouble) and the job I think I could realistically commit to.............

Oh hang on a minute I've forgotten my gran. She's got alzheimer's. How could I have forgotten her? Maybe it's catching. Yes she sometimes takes up a bit of time. Maybe I could just send a digital recording round to her "you're 86" "it's Tuesday" "you're 86" "November" "you're 87 next birthday" (just for a bit of variety!).

OK after I've spent quality time with the children, my husband, my mum, my friends, the cat, my gran and been to work that would leave time for about 1 quality blog about every 6 months.

Yep that's it, regular blogging starting from now. Check back in May 2010, to see what literary masterpiece I've managed to produce.

Don't believe everything you read in the papers!

2009-06-20T11:42:00.002Z

I'm not often one to be outspoken on political matters but I'm afraid I can't contain myself any more on this. If you are reading this in the UK, you will be very aware of the 'expenses scandal' that is hitting the headlines on a daily basis. If you know me you will also know that my uncle is an MP. Having conversations with Adrian about this has given me a different perspective than the one I might of had if I had been relying solely on what I am told by the media.

For example, this was reported in the Guardian Online:

"Here's a wonderful spot by Pigsaw — the Adrian Bailey, the MP for West Bromwich West, claimed for £160 paid to Solihull Tanning Centre.

Don't worry, readers, it offers "unrivalled quality and performance with the most revolutionaly, high quality equipment the industry has to offer" and was clearly essential to Bailey's work with his constituents".

This came as somewhat of a surprise to me, as Adrian is undoubtedly the fairest skinned member of our family, and when I last saw him a few weeks ago, he was still that way. It turns out that the person who read this and reported it to the Guardian, should probably look a little closer, the expense claimed was perfectly legitimate and actually paid to 'Solihull Training Centre'!

We've all had a good laugh at the prospect of Adrian spending hours on a sunbed, when he is in fact someone who is constantly on the go, and the person least likely to be found sunbathing. However, there is a serious side to this. Rumours, unlike suntans, don't always fade very fast.In the media frenzy that is surrounding this issue, it is likely that people will read this, and believe it, and tell other people, who will also believe it because it's what they want to believe, that politicians are all corrupt and on the take.

I think we all need to ask ourselves, if we were in a job which required us to spend half of our week away from our home and families, in which our employer told us that it was our right to claim for the expenses of running a second home, could we in all honesty say that we wouldn't do it? I think that most of us would.

The differences in what each politician claims are probably more to do with where they sit on the social ladder than anything else. Just like in everyday life there are some people who think they can't live without a flat screen TV and others who would regard that as the height of luxury.

The thing that needs fixing in this whole mess, is that MP's need clear guidelines, that the public find acceptable, on what can and cannot be claimed on their expenses.

I have known Adrian Bailey for 37 years and this I do know, he is a politician because he believes in making a difference and not because he's in it for the money or the perks.

100 lifetime goals

2009-06-17T11:22:00.003Z

I can't remember if I've posted my lifetime goals on this blog before, I think I may have done and then taken them off again. Anyway, here they are. The more observant among you may notice that there are only 32. That's because I'm still thinking............! They are colour coded in a way that makes sense to me and would probably be quite boring to anyone else, but I will just say that those in green are the ones that I have achieved.

Climb a mountain
Walk the Severn Way with James
Travel by road from Peru to Canada
Go scuba diving with Matthew
Do a rock climbing course
Own a Mackenzie Thorpe limited edition print (or original!)
Grow my own vegetables
Own some dancing shoes
Join or start a book group
Renew my wedding vows
Keep a diary/scrapbook for James and Matthew
Bury a treasure chest
Do one thing just for me every week
Create a peaceful home
Run a marathon
Go to the Glastonbury Festival
Do a sky dive
See the Northern Lights
Walk the Cotswold Way
Travel through the Norwegian Fjords
Climb Honeymoon Rock in Namibia
Walk the Gloucestershire Way
Go on a canal boat holiday
Swim a mile
Hold a games night
Knit a scarf
Take a pottery class
Write a book and get it published
Own a piano and learn to play it
Volunteer to work with the homeless on Christmas day
Plant a tree
Achieve 21 days without complaining or gossiping

The One-Minute Writer: Today's Writing Prompt: Joy

2009-05-09T21:48:00.002Z

The One-Minute Writer: Today's Writing Prompt: Joy

Joy is getting into bed with my husband each night, and waking up with him each morning, after 15 years of marriage. Joy is Matthew who comes into our bedroom in the morning and climbs on to the foot of our bed and curls up there while he is waking up. Joy is James who leans against the radiator and tells us of his night-time adventures. Joy is my mum who always seems pleased to see me. Joy is my friends who enrich my life.

Random thoughts about health and illness

2009-03-24T22:07:00.004Z

Recently I have been thinking about Resilience. I have been under the weather with a cold and various associated problems and this has really held up my marathon training.

I have started thinking about why it is that some people get ill, and how quick we are to take medicines and suchlike and get back to normal as soon as possible, rather than to consider that maybe illness is our body's way of telling us that we are overdoing it a bit.

Maybe our approach to illness is all back to front. Rather than concentrating our energy on 'destroying the enemy' or 'fighting the disease', we should be focusing on strengthening ourselves. On building resilience.

Finding what we want................

2009-03-06T15:20:00.000Z

A new beginning

2009-03-03T22:14:00.001Z

I've had a very long break from blogging, but now have returned with renewed enthusiasm. A new chapter........................

E-learning

2008-04-10T15:51:00.005Z

There is a constant debate in our house about the amount of housework the boys are required to help with. They maintain that they are the only children in the world who are expected to do chores and we suggest that they aren't.

James' job is to hang out laundry on the airer and then take it off again and put it away.

Matthew's job is to dry up the dishes.

10 minute jobs that can take up to an hour to complete due to the discussions that take place.

Here is today's:

Matthew: "I think that children should do children's things and adults should do adult things"

Me: "Such as"

Matthew: "Well children shouldn't have to do housework and chores and stuff"

Me: "So what age should children start doing those things"

James: "18"

Matthew: "No, 21. No, actually when we get married and have kids"

James: "When we leave home and get our own house"

Me: "But if you leave it until then, how would you know how to do it? Who would teach you?"

James: (after some thought) "The internet"

Love is a choice

2007-04-12T19:38:00.000Z

OK take this scenario:

Stress levels in the Force household have been rising lately. I'm not sure about the exact reasons for this apart from a lot of work and not enough play. When one person is stressed it affects everybody and then we tend to feed off each other. We've been here before and I'm trying hard not to get dragged into a spiral of negativity. This was last night's scenario:

Steve is on a late shift finishing at 9pm, usually he gets home by about 9.15pm.

It is really important that he is home on time because James is on a trip to the theatre, in Cheltenham which is about 1o miles away. We have to pick him up at 9.30pm.

At 8.30pm I read Matthew a story and put him to bed. He is very tired as he has had a cold and been waking up in the night coughing (1 reason stress levels are on the up!)

At 8.45pm the shopping is delivered by 'Sainsbury's to You' I put the shopping away. I am feeling tired and grumpy by this point. I have worked from 8am until 5pm, driven over to Cheltenham once to pick the boys up from my mum's and haven't yet sat down.

At 9pm I phone Steve and remind him that we need to pick James up. No reply on his mobile.

9.05pm, no reply.

9.10pm, no reply.

He must be on his way home, I think.

9.15pm, no reply.

9.20pm I phone the hospital (where he works) it's really difficult to get through to his department as they have an automated switchboard instead of a REAL HUMAN BEING!

Eventually I get through and speak to someone in theatre (Operating Room). "Yes I've just seen him, I think he's still here".

"WHAAAAT he's still there!!!". Mentally I'm trying to work out what to do. It will take him at least 15 minutes to get home from work. I can't leave 'til he gets here. It will take me 15 minutes to get to Cheltenham. I go up and see Matthew he is just dropping off to sleep.

"I think you're going to have to come with me to pick James up" I say.

"Noooo" he wails "I'm tired" and he turns over and goes back to sleep.

"How could he be so inconsiderate!" Angry thoughts are rushing around my mind. "Of all the days to be late" "What can be so important" "Doesn't he care at all about me, or James" "how selfish" and on and on. I can feel my blood pressure rising. As if I haven't got enough to do.

I phone my mum who lives in Cheltenham. She says she will go and meet James. I feel guilty, she's had the boys all day while we were at work. As always she cheerfully agrees. "No probem" she says. I am so grateful.

Steve texts me. 'On my way, love s'.

I phone him straight back. It's 9.35pm. "I was supposed to pick James up 5 minutes ago" I say frostily.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot about that" he says mildly

He forgot! He forgot! I don't tell him that my mum is picking James up. I am still hoping that I will be able to meet her at the theatre, to save her driving over to our house. I sit out in the car waiting for him to get home. I am fuming.

Part of me is aware that I am getting completely caught up in the situation. Breaking it down, it isn't really a big deal. We're both tired and stressed at the moment. We have demanding jobs. We have two children. Sometimes it's easy to forget things. But there's another part of me that doesn't want to let this go. These two sides of me are battling.

I go in the house and read. I choose something uplifting. I feed myself positive thoughts. I start to feel slightly less hostile. Mum arrives with James a couple of minutes after Steve. Steve puts James to bed, while I have a cup of tea with mum. I know he will be feeling defensive. Part of me wants to be cruel. To criticise. To judge him. But another, wiser side of me knows that this is pointless and damaging.

Mum goes home. Steve pours a glass of wine. Just one for him. Not for me. I feel the indignation rise in me once again. "It's all that's left in the bottle" he explains. I know him. I know he will share it with me. But it's also a statement. A throwing down of the gauntlet. He's inviting a confrontation. We are both faced with choices. We're both angry. Tired. We each want the other to understand what is happening for us.

Luckily, the shopping has arrived and we do have another bottle of wine. He pours me a glass. I take a deep breath and a large sip.

"Have you had a busy day?" I ask

He tells me about his day. He tells me about the teenager who has just undergone 4 hours of surgery after an accident. He tells me about how he has had to hold his airway open. He tells me about the boy's anxious parents. About how he has had to patiently answer their questions for the past 3 hours. He tells me about how he has had to balance controlling the boy's pain and not giving him so much pain relief that he wouldn't wake up properly. It's been a busy day.

I reach into my memories and try to think about what it was like to do that kind of nursing. I can just remember, but only just. Slowly though, as he tells me about his shift, I feel my anger melt away. It's not a big deal. Everything is fine.

Oh Canada!

2007-04-02T19:18:00.000Z

I've been tagged by Mo to write about Canada. First I'll give you a bit of background. I met my husband Steve when he was a staff nurse and I was a student nurse working in Accident and Emergency. Steve was Canadian but had been living here for 6 years. His mum had just died and he was planning to move back to Vancouver. We started going out together and he made it quite clear that if we were going to have any kind of relationship I had to be prepared to move to Canada with him. I had no complaints about that idea. After just 8 months we took a holiday back to Canada for me to meet his family and to see if I would like it there (to be honest I would have followed him anywhere, I was so in love with him). He proposed to me whilst we were ski-ing on Mount Seymour. It was all very exciting and romantic. We lived in BC for 2 years, but never really settled and so returned to the UK. Since we returned here in 1996, we have never been back, although I have a constant hankering to. Anyway, now onto the tag:

5 things I loved about Canada

The weather, it was always so much more stable than in the UK. Generally speaking you could tell what kind of day you were going to have. It made getting dressed in the morning easier. Also it was more dramatic weather. Real snow. Ice storms. Very exciting.
The mountains. The scenery in BC is gorgeous. I was constantly enthralled by it.
The feeling of space. The first time I came back to the UK after living in Canada for 18 months, I couldn't believe how many people there were here.
The accent of Canadian people. There was something about hearing everyone around you speaking in an accent different to your own, it makes things seem more interesting.
Being able to go ski-ing. This one is a bit silly really as I only ever went twice, but now I'm back in the UK and there isn't anywhere to go ski-ing near where I live, I realise how lucky I was and wish I had taken advantage of it.

4 things I missed about Britain

Walkers crisps
Cadbury's chocolate
My mum
My friends

3 things that annoyed me about Canada

Ooh this is difficult..............

I didn't really like the way that nursing was structured in Canada. It was very different to the way we were used to working in Britain.
Driving on the other side of the road! I failed my driving test the first time I took it in Canada, even though I had been driving in Britain for 6 years. How embarrassing.
I never liked the chocolate as much as British chocolate. But on the plus side I was much slimmer!

2 things that surprised me about Canada

That sheets were called flannels
And flannels were called face-cloths. Very confusing when you're working in a hospital.

1 thing that I really miss since I left

That would have to be those beautiful mountains again. Luckily I get my BC fixes on Beth's and Ocean's blogs.

Thanks for the tag Mo, that brought back some memories!

Mother's day limerick

2007-03-18T20:14:00.000Z

In the UK it is Mother's day...........................

There once was a weary old mother
Whose boys used to fight with each other
On mother's day
She said you must play
nicely, OR THERE WILL BE BOTHER!

I have recently found the Limerick Lounge which has been inspiring me to write a few little ditties!

Synaesthesia

2007-03-07T13:37:00.000Z

As I have mentioned previously, I have a book out from the library at the moment called "The five minute writer". The challenge is to spend 5 minutes a day writing, to get you into the writing habit. You can pick random exercises from the book. Yesterday, the exercise I chose was about synaesthesia, which is when a stimulus to one sense produces sensations in another. For example a sound may be interpreted as a colour, or a smell may be interpreted as touch. I thought this was quite interesting and started thinking about James and Matthew. I wondered, if Matthew were a sound, what would it be like? How about if he were a colour? I played around with these ideas for a while and ended up writing a short poem about each of them. I don't think I stayed completely true to the exercise in the end, but I enjoyed doing it.

Matthew

Drums and cymbals, bang and crash,
Orange and yellow, a colourful splash.

A creative giant, an imaginative mind,
Soft as fur, gentle and kind.

Bendy, bouncy, full and bold,
Lovely and lively, a joy to behold.

James

Deep as space, bright white ice,
Glacial coolness, hot red spice.

Complex contours, a well defined line,
A mysterious, meandering, wondrous mind.

Climbing steadily, an explorer who
studies the earth and depths of blue.

Steve's reads..............

2007-03-02T21:51:00.000Z

Thank you, Mo, for this tag. It made me realise how many books there are still to read ;-). Even Steve couldn't resist joining in. Here is his list, mine is on the previous post. If anyone would like to do this tag, please do, I'd love to know what my fellow bloggers have read, here's what you do:

*Look at the list of books below.
*Bold the ones you’ve read.
*Italicise the ones you want to read.
*leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.
*If you are reading this, tag it if you like.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) - an exciting read, no matter what your views on it.
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) - high school book
4. Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien) - despite everyone on the planet reading these in the 70's, I tried 3 times to complete the series, but just couldn't do it. Fantasy is just not my thing.
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown) - another exciting read.
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving) - good contemporary fiction
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien) - my favourite of the series, a lovely book.
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger) - pretty exciting when I read it in high school, pretty tame nowadays.
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) - the most fun and readable book that Adams wrote.
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) - an enduring classic, I'd love to read it to my kids.
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert) - (affectionate sigh) I've read it before, I'm reading it now, as we speak. I'll read it again. The best science fiction ever written.
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell) - Classic science fiction.
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel) - My favourite of the series.
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible (not the whole thing)
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt) - Awesomely depressing. Un-put-downable.
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling) - a fun read.
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell) - Gripping, involving, totally absorbing. One on my 'to read again' list.
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving) - His writings have a depressing realism, but he is eloquent and readable.
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams) - I enjoyed it first time round, not sure I could read it again.
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield) - An exciting addition to the current crop of New Age reading
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Books

2007-03-02T21:02:00.000Z

Thank you, Mo, for this tag. It made me realise how many books there are still to read ;-). Even Steve couldn't resist joining in..................

*Look at the list of books below.
*Bold the ones you’ve read.
*Italicise the ones you want to read.
*leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.
*If you are reading this, tag it if you like.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling) - was this the first one? I read the first couple but abandoned them after that. I'd like to read them with my children though.
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger) - I read this as a teenager, it was one of the first 'grown up' books I read, I remember enjoying it.
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold) - I found this a very unsettling book, uncomfortable, but I did finish it. Someone at work saw me reading it and leant me another of her books, but I couldn't face reading it so I gave it back.
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel) - Probably one of my all time favourites, it was one of those books that I couldn't stop thinking about when I wasn't reading it, you know when you're out and you think "I can't wait to get home and read a bit more of that book". It was so original.
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) - my first boyfriend raved about this book so I started it, but never finished it.
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) - A childhood favourite. I really loved it.
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell) - I started reading this recently, just because I thought it was a book I really should read. But I didn't get very far with it, I found it too depressing.
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) - Enjoyable.
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) - I bought it for my mum for Christmas and she has just passed it on to me.
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible (not the whole thing)
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood) - Very unsettling, but I loved it.
60. The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding) - Well what can I say? It was mildly diverting.
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White) - I read it as a child. I seem to remember enjoying it.
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield) - A brilliant book, it really captured my imagination. In fact I'd quite like to read it again.
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Well I've only read 12 of these books, and there's lots I haven't even heard of. I'll definitely be looking into a few of them.

Have you got time....................?

2007-01-27T21:25:00.000Z

I went to the library today.

Here are the books I came home with:

The Essential Swimmer.
Essential poems for children - first aid for frantic parents.
No time to garden - the half-hour gardener.
The five-minute writer.

It wasn't until I got them out of my rucksack this evening and showed them to Steve and he laughed, that I realised how much they reflect my hurried approach to life. I want to experience so much, but there never seems to be enough time. One of the antidotes to this state of mind has been reading the blog Now's the time. I really love the way Joe manages to capture the essence of the moment. The essence of Now.

I also got another book from the library:

The Nation's Favourite Poems.

and in it I found this poem:

WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES 1871 - 1940

LEISURE

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

I've got style......................

2007-01-17T11:13:00.000Z

Thanks to passerby55 for this tag. I really enjoyed doing it!

I'm walking this world

One step at a time

Dealing with the ordinary

Seeking the divine

I'm glam and I'm glitzy

I'm wobbly when tipsy

Responsible, respectable. A mother. A wife.

Slip on
Slip off
I
like
an
easy
life

A victim of fashion

Insecure.

What on earth

did I buy these for?

Should really buy some dancing shoes

but these are comfy and protect my toes!

A running girl
"A 10 minute miler"

A summer girl, they used to call smiler.

Happiest at home with my family around....................

but most of all, feet

planted firmly on the ground

I tag melanie, shari and beth with this one. Hope you enjoy doing it as much as I did!

100 things about me

2007-01-11T21:57:00.000Z

I like myself
I like my own space
I believe in Love
I think that there is a lot more to this life than meets the eye
I don't often watch the news, it's too depressing
I don't read newspapers unless there's nothing else to read, same reason as above
My uncle is an MP, I'm half proud and half embarrassed about this
My mum plays the cello
I think celebrities are over-rated
I love writing and have always wanted to be a writer
I've had two articles published
When I was a child I used to copy books out, just to make me feel I had written one
I love my husband with a passion, I feel we're destined to be together
I'm scared of being disillusioned
I value family very highly
I love my children so much that it makes me want to cry
My job is interesting and frustrating at different times
I want people to like me
I don't like it when people are angry with me
I don't like to be with lots of people
I am usually quite friendly
I don't believe that wars are justified, I'm sure there's a better way
I am wary of people who get too friendly too quickly
I like food
I would like to be rich, but I'm not sure whether I trust myself enough
I think that it is wrong that some people are starving and others have so much
I often feel guilty about what I do have
I would like to do a skydive but I'm too scared at the moment
I would like to climb a mountain but I'm not sure where to start
I would like to run a marathon, but it takes a lot of training
I wish I didn't make so many excuses
I believe in the slogan "Just Do It" but I don't always live by it
I try to treat others as I would like to be treated
I don't hold grudges, life is too short
I believe that people are intrinsically good
I have a lovely house
Cars are just things that get me from A to B
I don't think that having more things necessarily makes you happy
I would like someone to do my cooking and cleaning
When I do cross stitch the back always looks a mess
I have very messy handwriting that is difficult to read
I once did some calligraphy because I like writing nicely
I have written a diary since I was 14 years old
My first diary always began 'Dear Milo'
When I was 16 my step-brother committed suicide
I believe that we can heal ourselves without drugs, but we haven't yet learnt how
I believe that pharmaceutical companies do more harm than good
I like drinking wine
I am at the moment having a teetotal month
I like it when I don't drink alcohol I feel virtuous and healthier
I like most vegetables, my least favourite is celery
My favourite vegetables are carrots and peas
I also love mushrooms and aubergines but not too often
I haven't had a day off sick for over a year, this makes me happy
I always read before I go to bed
I love walking in the countryside
I like ballroom dancing with Steve
My favourite dance is the quickstep
I am trying hard to accept my body as it is
I think that diets don't work
I think I am addicted to blogging
I wear contact lenses
I very rarely wear high heels
When I do wear high heels I feel uncomfortable in them, unbalanced
I sometimes forget to brush my hair in the morning, luckily it doesn't look much different
I rarely wear make up, because it's too much hassle
I could happily live in a world without mirrors
I care more about what is going on inside of me than how I look
I take responsibility for my actions
I try not to blame others but sometimes I do
We didn't have a television for 7 years from 1996 to 2003
Now I can't imagine not having a TV
I try to eat organic food whenever possible
I don't particularly like decorating but I like the end result
I like colouring things in with coloured pencils
I prefer to write with a pencil than a pen
When I was a child my mum used to take me to lots of rehearsals and concerts
I used to have to sit quietly and keep myself entertained
I used to play 'two ballsy' with two tennis balls up against the wall
I love reading
I read fast and sometimes wish I could absorb a whole book in an instant
I believe we are all interconnected
I believe that what we do to one person, ultimately we are doing to ourselves
I try not to exclude people
I am not as good a parent as I thought I'd be
I learnt to play the cello, but never really enjoyed it
My first job was in a bank, I'm glad I don't do that any more
I breast fed both my children for about 4 months
I believe that breast feeding should be easy but often ends up being hard
I believe that formula milk companies do more harm than good
I am quite introspective
I am an only child
I am an only grandchild
I still often think I am the centre of the universe!
I always get lots of Christmas presents
I am scared of the people I love becoming ill or dying
But I know I would handle it
I think that life is all about growth and learning
I believe in life after death, but probably not as we know it
I like Star Trek!