Memories

I have been busy creating the memory book of my parent's lives and although it has been slow going I have really enjoyed the challenge. This week I have reorganised the pages and tried to do more journaling so that people's comments, recollections and the details are not lost. I took these photographs of one of my mother's treasured possessions which I have been looking after for her.




This Easter egg was bought for my mother by my father in 1945, a few months before they were married. It is a hollow egg made of sugar paste with small sugar paste flowers and what appear to be card figures and animals inside. It was bought using ration coupons at a sweet shop called Horwitz, in Dalston, East London. The original cellophane has now crumbled away so I have had to wrap it in cling film and there is some discouloration of the icing but it is remarkable for a 62 year old Easter egg.

All the time I am working on this project I am wondering what memories people will have of us and what possessions they will considered worth keeping. I have also started planning future scrapbooks, organising photos and looking out for suitable papers and embellishments. I have decided to start on at least one of these now instead of waiting until I have finished my parent's book. The small bedroom is beginning to take on the look of a craft room and I spend a lot of time trawling the online craft stores for bargains.

Fun activities

When Lily was last visiting we discovered a good place to take children to use up their energy. Gambado in Milton Keynes is a fantastic safe play venue for under 8s and certainly on our list of places to take the grandchildren when they are visiting. Its a good venue for adults to relax and chat whilst the children play and of course a good place for people watching.

Today we took Thierry and although it was busy being half term nearly two hours of activity now has him sitting quietly and ready for a nap.

There is a big soft climbing area with slides, tunnels and ball ponds, a dodgem car track and a carousel. Thierry's favourite thing was the trampolines.

I can't wait for our next visit there, although just watching

tires us out these days.

Cousins

We have just had a great two weeks with Belinda and Lily staying with us. One of our favourite things is seeing our grandchildren playing together. Lily enjoyed meeting Chisato and together they romped in the garden with Grandad, helping him clear the leaves, chasing each other and playing on the slide. Then we spent a few days staying in Stoke on Trent so that Lily and Thierry could renew their friendship. They are so close they are like twins, we hope they will remain so as they grow up. It was a shame they couldn't all be together during this visit ... we are looking forward to being able to arrange that one day...

Elizabeth

Belinda's grandparents gave her a doll for her 2nd birthday in 1977 and as this coincided with the queen's Silver Jubilee the doll was duly named Elizabeth. She became a much loved doll although in later years suffered the idignities of make up and hair cuts. When Belinda left home Elizabeth remained sitting on the side in the spare room.

Over the last 3 years our grandchildren have all been offered the opportunity to play with Elizabeth .... Thierry calling her Belindabeth as he muddled the fact that she was Belinda's with her name.

On this visit Lily has really enjoyed playing with the doll, dressing and undressing her and sharing bath-time. She is fascinated by the pictures of her mum with the doll but was most upset that we no longer have the various pushchairs and prams that she was photographed in.

Cakes I have made

Birthday cakes

When our children were young I always made their birthday cakes and tried to be creative... then as they got older and we were busier I gave into the age of convenience .. why would you make a cake when shop bought ones are light and fluffy, ready to eat without the dramas and are just so convenient.

Well a couple of weeks ago I asked Thierry what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, without hesitation he said he wanted "James" this year as he had "Thomas" last year (he is a big Thomas the Tank Engine fan). I casually agreed that that was a good idea and that Nanny would find him one. The only problem was none of the stores make James cakes only Thomas.

Not to be beaten I decided I would make him a cake ... after lots of checking out the Internet I came up with a design. Of course I cheated and bought a slab of Madeira cake ... Arthur enjoying all the pieces I discarded as I cut out the shape I wanted. The finished cake looked quite presentable but as we then had a two hour car journey I took lots of pictures in case the actual cake didn't make it to the party.

The cake arrived safely with us and as you can see Thierry enjoyed blowing out the candles. His face when he saw the cake made it all worth while, the only problem is he then asked what kind of cake I was making him next year!

It's a dog's life.

Whilst I spent the last week in Stoke-On-Trent dog sitting Arthur spent the week at home looking after our dogs. Buster, our 9 year old Lhasa Apso had to be taken for his regular haircut and has to have his eyes bathed every day as he no longer makes natural tears. 6 year old Lady, who is a staffy cross, had surgery on her knee 3 months ago but after the initial recovery period she was still limping and so the vet prescribed swimming once a week and at least two long walks a day to help build up the muscle strength. After 8 weeks of hydrotherapy she is looking very fit and well, although she is still limping when she first gets up. Not sure what the 8 weeks of long walks has done for Arthur though. Here is Lady "enjoying" her swim ... she splashes a lot but is happier to get out of the water.

I enjoyed my week looking after Ella, Sugz and Missie but I also took the opportunity to visit one of my favourite places Trentham Gardens, http://www.trenthamleisure.co.uk/ not on this occassion to stroll through the gardens, enjoy the lake or visit the monkeys but to browse through the shopping units. There were lots of new units open since my last visit and being alone meant that I could take my time and browse around the various gift and craft stores and the garden centre.

Ella kept me company whilst I used the time alone to read my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was as good as all the others and the only thing that made me put it down for a while was the two very heavy front paws landing on my shoulders and a wet nose nudging at my neck. I know I am not good company once I am lost in a book. I have enjoyed all of the Harry Potter books although they are very different from anything else that I read.

Where did grandad go?

I found Buster and Lady on the couch alone ... where is Grandad?

Scrapbooking

I have been trying my hand at scrapbooking and have started a memory book celebrating the lives of my parents, Iris and Jim Pickard.

It takes me a long time but I am sure I will get quicker at it. Of course I do need to get more organised as at the moment I have taken over the little bedroom (a problem when Thierry came to stay the other night and insisted on sleeping in his room!)

I have been using my parents old photos, my father's diaries and talking to my mother to help me create a book that celebrates their lives and will be there for our grandchildren to know what their great grandparents were like. The diaries are amazing as they were started when my sister was born and were kept until we had all left home.

My mother who is 87 now has enjoyed watching this book grow and as I tackle each new page I am able to get her to try to recall information and to talk about the past. I wish I had embarked on this when my father was still alive as he would have enjoyed telling his tales, he was a great story teller.

When this book is finished I will start on one about ourselves and our children so that our memories are not lost. So any family information or old photos about the Fo family will be gratefully received as otherwise our book will be a bit one sided.

It's a great new hobby and despite Arthur's occasional appearance in the doorway saying "Have you finished it yet?" he has enjoyed hearing about my parents past and especially the snippets I read to him from the diaries.

Precious times

I spent my entire life (well until 2004) saying "I want my feet firmly on the ground" so those who knew me then will be surprised to learn that I actually enjoy flying and can now manoeuvre my way around the airport, through customs etc with the best of them. Even my experiences on the return journey this last trip when I spent 3 hours at Fort Lauderdale airport sat on a small plane (well smaller than the cross atlantic plane) on the edge of the runway in a violent storm and then missed my connecting flight at Orlando have not put me off... although I have to admit to a few minutes of panic.

So why do I do it now ..... for those precious times with our grand-daughter Lily Kai and of course her mum, to enjoy feeling part of their lives and feeling needed by them. Then of course there is the great weather, the pool and being pampered ....... It isn't just Lily who gets her nails painted! Of course the reality is that on the two occasions that I have travelled on my own to Florida it has been to help Belinda move house. I think twice is enough but I hope that doesn't mean my trips will end.

My other big adventure whilst in the sunshine is learning to swim. I could swim a bit as a child but was never a strong swimmer and then years of not getting in the water meant that I lost all confidence .. and of course there are not many successful swimmers who manage to keep their face dry! As soon as I am splashed or my face gets wet I give up. Well not any more. When its hot the pool is very inviting and when left to play with Lily round the pool there is no saying you are not getting in. Lily was intent on teaching me how to swim and was very reassuring, swimming off to fetch me a noodle float. She couldn't understand my reluctance to put my face in the water and said with exasperation " .. but you JUST do this nanny!" So by the end of my 3 week stay this time I was more confident in the pool and could swim the length (as long as I had the pool to myself). One small step for mankind but a giant step for me. So I need to go back soon, the pool at the new house is fantastic and I need to carry on practicing.

In the past we have missed out on special events because I wouldn't travel and was always too busy at school .. the time was never right. Now we appreciate that we have to make the time right and get on with enjoying every precious moment and each new experience.

The first year

Well we have just come to the end of our first year of retired togetherness (Arthur having had 2 years at home before me).

So what have we been doing ....

The garden is looking good, we are experts on CSI, addicted to House MD and have a new King sized bed! And of course as Lily knows only too well Arthur and the dogs are very partial to the couch.

Our Grandchildren are all growing fast. We love spending time with them and watching them develop into the thinkers and doers of the future.

In the last year there has been the patter of many tiny feet at Lawrence's, fortunately all furry. Very cute but responsible for a couple of weeks of disturbed nights.

We have also been travelling and I have been to Florida 3 times. In May we went together, taking TJ (Thierry John) with us so he could chill out with his cousin Lily Kai.

My favourite thing about retirement is being able to do

whatever we want to whenever we want to.

If you can do it so can we

Welcome to our first blog entry.

When I have read others I thought just how hard can it be. Well the hardest part was getting started .... coming up with a title, choosing a template and selecting the photo (especially as we don't have many taken together!).

Now I have made a start I'm hoping it will get easier and that someone will enjoy reading it. This seems to be a great way to keep friends and family in touch with what we are doing with our retirement.