2015-03-08T19:35:38+00:00

Episode 206: Sing-A-Long Sunday

March 8, 2015/Judy E Martin/12 Comments

I do love those off-the-cuff days, where you have nothing planned as such, and things take an unexpected but really pleasant turn…..

My younger sister (Mrs Masterchef) phoned and asked Mr Grump if he had some tools, as she had a new water-butt that needed installing, and as the weather was glorious again today, it was ideal to do the job. Her husband (Mr Musician) is not renown for his DIY skills and we were invited to their house so that Mr Grump (who is very handy) could help if necessary.

Miss Hap was visiting nanny and playing with friends there so didn’t come with us, I had decided that i would wear my lovely high heels to match my outfit that wasn’t black (for once). Anyway once we got there and saw them in their wellies and working clothes I felt a bit over-dressed teetering about in my clod-hoppers!

I made myself comfortable out in the sun and left Mrs Masterchef and Mr Grump grappling with a standpipe and a hacksaw, and Mr Musician at the very top of the garden digging it over, and pulling out huge roots that had more meat on them than he did!

I did occasionally wander over to see how they were getting on fitting the water butt and cringed when i saw a hairline crack had appeared in one of the fittings, after a bit of manhandling by Mr Grump. Time for a cup of tea I think! All of them were on the booze so I put the kettle on for myself, but spilt water all over the worktop as the lid came off the water jug.

Once the work was done and they had tidied up, Mr Musician went to get his guitar for a bit of a sing-along. I love these occasions, as both he and my sister have fantastic voices, and they sing so well together too. Myself and Mr Grump decided to lower the tone a bit and we crooned along. I thought we all did a brilliant version of ‘Dreadlock Holiday’ that 10cc would have enjoyed.

By this time the high heels that were killing my feet had been kicked off, and Mrs Masterchef’s fluffy bootie type slippers put on. One of the advantages of being in the company of family (especially when they are the same shoe size)!

Time went all too quickly before we needed to go home to have dinner and prepare for work and school tomorrow, I just love those kind of chilled days, enjoying the company of family. Oh and as an added bonus; since I have given up smoking my voice is not as croaky as before, and I occasionally even hit the right note!

Episode 205: The Daydreamer Award.

March 8, 2015/Judy E Martin/31 Comments

I am thrilled and delighted to have been nominated for the Daydreamer award by the lovely Caitlin over at The Teen Daydreamer. This is an award for blogs that are inspiring, creative or funny. I feel privileged to have been considered for this award, and pleased to be able to accept as I have not been nominated before,

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.

2. Complete the challenge they set you.

3. Select a blog or blogs that you want to give the award to. (The amount of blogs you select is unlimited!)

4. Tell them about it and set them a challenge.

(Please include the rules in your post).

[You can use the image I have used for the award!]

Here are the people I am nominating: Most of these blogs I have only just started following, but they have all really made a huge impact on me already! All of the blogs I follow are brilliant actually and well worth checking out.

My Friday Blog

But I Smile Anyway

Creatopath

My Grandfather Was an Undertaker

Fear Of The Reaper

Your challenge is to describe your dream destination.

The challenge I was given was to describe my dream job. That was trickier than I thought actually, Over the years I have had many jobs, I have been in the Army, worked as a waitress (the worst one in the world I would imagine), been a civil servant, helped to run my husband’s kebab shop (yes really), worked at a secondary school for a little while, various office jobs, and now I work in nursing.

None of these jobs are what I actually wanted to do which was to be a nanny! I have always loved children and thought it would be wonderful to help out a busy family by looking after their little ones. Sadly, it never came off, but now I have my daughter and loads of nieces and nephews of different ages, so I am truly blessed!

I would say out of all the jobs I have had, the one I most enjoy is the one I am doing now. In some ways I regret not going the whole hog and becoming a Registered Nurse, but in other ways I am pleased I get the best of both worlds being an Associate Nurse (or Practitioner). I can still give meds, IVs and do many of the procedures like cannulating,(I studied for two years not the three to become registered) but also get to do a lot more of the ‘hands on’ care that we all signed up for!

However, my dream job would probably involve working from home, I know my daughter hates me going out to work and there are times, when I get a really bad anxiety attack, that I can’t even get myself out of the house. If I could write articles for a living, that would suit me perfectly!

Blog Pitch Party 2: Pitch Your Blog And Attract New Followers

March 8, 2015/Judy E Martin

I have just come across this wonderful opportunity from ‘The Return of The Modern Philosopher’ . Please leave your comments on the original.

The Return of the Modern Philosopher

Since Spring Training has started, I’ve certainly got pitching on my mind, Modern Philosophers.

However, not all pitching is limited to the type that takes place on a baseball field.

I’ve been thinking about the wildly successful Blog Pitch Party I threw back in July, and I thought it was time to host another.

As you know, I’m also a screenwriter. When I was lived in California, I’d get invited by producers to a pitch meeting. Basically, they’d ask about my scripts, and then based on a few sentences from me, they’d decide if they were interested in reading any of them.

I thought that same progress would work perfectly with blogs. Why not bring a little Hollywood to the blogging world, Modern Philosophers?

In the comment section, pitch your blog. Give us the name, a link, and up to three sentences describing your blog.

If you choose to participate…

View original post 225 more words

Episode 204: Patience With Patients!

March 7, 2015/Judy E Martin/20 Comments

One of the things us nursing staff get told a lot by some of the relatives is that,

‘you have the patience of a Saint, I could never do your job’. It is strange how much our patience varies depending on who we are dealing with and what the situation is…..

On Thursday and Friday I was working in my normal Bay, and one lady in particular was pretty ‘vocal’ . Now she is 97 years old and extremely deaf (the hearing aid she wears has a flat battery I think) so she talks at FULL BLAST. Now she had been a moved to my bay from a side room as she did not like to be on her own.

I was checking that each patient was eating their breakfast when I noticed she hadn’t even got any. So I asked her why not. After repeating the question several times increasing the volume until she could hear me she replied

” I DON’T LIKE ANY OF THAT MUCK YOU SERVE HERE, IT’S ALL A LOAD OF RUBBISH!”

Fair enough , but she had to eat something so I asked if she liked bacon which she did, Great, good start. “Sausage?”

“NO I DON’T BLOODY LIKE SAUSAGES!” Fine. “Eggs?”

“I ONLY LIKE FRIED EGGS, NOT ANY OTHER KIND”. I assured her that I would get her some bacon and fried eggs and trotted off to phone the kitchen.

Now there were two of us in the Bay and only five patients at this point as one of the beds was closed and we were not able to take any new ones in. Luckily most of the other ladies were either feeding themselves or being helped by the other nurse.

I placed my order with the kitchen and in due course one of the staff appeared carrying a tray. I was disappointed to see that there was scrambled egg with the bacon that I had ordered even though I had specifically asked for a fried egg. I tried my luck with my patient anyway!

“WHAT DO YOU CALL THAT? I TOLD YOU I DON’T LIKE THAT SORT OF EGG. WHY DON’T YOU LISTEN?”

I tried to explain about the kitchen sending up the wrong egg and I would change it but no, she was not having it. I tried offering a bacon sandwich, Nope. She was not having it and I was severely berated for my incompetence for good measure as well.

Annoyed with the kitchen I phoned the help desk again (yes we can’t phone direct, everything is through the helpdesk). I explained what had happened and they told me that as the meals were pre-prepared it may not have been possible to have a fried egg due to their not being enough staff to make one.

Fuming, I was muttering to myself about how I could go down there myself and cook the bloody egg. How hard is it to cook a fried egg for Christ’s sake?! It’s not as if it takes long.

Anyway, my patient was mad now, and refused to eat anything. I knew this was not going to bode well at wash time – and it didn’t! She had come in with no toiletries so I had put some of our soap in her washbowl and brought some disposable wipes over to wash her with.

“YOU ARE NOT COMING NEAR ME WITH THOSE! WHERE IS MY SOAP AND FLANNEL?”

I explained that they were at home and that I would have to use our stuff for now. She was not happy but did finally agree to let me help her, and also get her dressed in her own clothes that someone had just brought in for her.

“WHERE IS MY VEST”?

“It is just here”

“GET OUT OF MY BLOODY WAY , I WILL DO IT”

“Ok. here it is”

“TIGHTEN MY SHOE”. NO NOT LIKE THAT, WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?. THAT STRAP IS NOT LEVEL.”

“Sorry, let me try again”

“NOOOOOO, I SAID TIGHTER!”

This went on for a bit until I got it right. She did have a sandwich an hour after the failed breakfast attempt, but when a visitor came, she told them she had ‘nothing to eat, and her hair wasn’t brushed’ (actually it was because I did that wrong and suffered her wrath for it). She also told the visitor how much worse she felt since coming into hospital because of the appalling way we looked after her!

Now I know that by the end of a very long two days (I have amalgamated them into one so you get the gist) my patience was wearing a bit thin, but it is my job to look after my patients, and actually as gruff and crabby as she was, we did actually get her to laugh, and I got a lovely hug from her!

Now if Miss Hap had tried any of that kind of talk with me, things would have been very different!

Episode 203: Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon…..

March 7, 2015/Judy E Martin/10 Comments

What a glorious day today was! It was so sunny, and reasonably warm as well. I had already decided that I wanted to change my logo picture on my blog, so me, Mr Grump and Miss Hap set off to a lovely little village nearby to get some photos.

The pictures we took were of a traditional phone box (I like the one I had in the pic before but it was a stock photo and I wanted my own) which is situated right next to an old well. To me the phone box is quintessentially British, plus it is all about communication, both of which depicts me!

Anyway, we got a lovely load of photos and only a few strange looks (it was obvious we were not tourists, plus we were taking pictures of a phone box with mobile phones, which probably struck people as odd!

Next stop boring shopping which actually killed some of my good mood, I hate grocery shopping on Saturdays at the best of times. What makes me really cross is when I am looking for something on the shelves and someone plonks a great big foot right into my personal space, then follows it up with the rest of their body so we are almost nose to nose! Bugger off out of it, why don’t you!

On the way home I spoke to Mr Grump about maybe calling in on a nice pub to sit outside and enjoy the weather perhaps with a spot of lunch to go with it. we decided to drop the shopping in first, and as we turned into our road, we saw some odd woman waving madly at us to go first even though it was her right of way. Once we got home we realised this car was right behind us, and the mad woman was in fact my sister-in-law in her lovely new car!

It was so nice to see her and have a gossip and a catch up. She decided not to come with us as she had errands to do, We finished our cuppa then headed off to the pub in a little village a couple of miles away where my niece and her fiance were .

It was glorious there, we sat in the garden right next to the river which was populated with trout and other assorted fish.The sun was warm and bright, and there were quite a few families also enjoying the unexpected sunshine. It was by now quite a bit past lunchtime and myself and Miss Hap were starving so Mr Grump ordered some food for us.

After a while, I was greeted by the most enormous ham sandwich I had ever seen! Each slab of bread much have been an inch thick, containing a good quarter of a pound of hand-carved ham! A generous portion of dressed salad and (what seemed like) a whole packet of crisps completed the meal! Wow! Finally a place that does my kind of portions!

A couple of very pleasant hours ensued until my poor frozen body could take it no longer and it was time to go, (After all, it is still only March)! Yes spring is just around the corner!

Episode 202: Spring into Action!

March 7, 2015/Judy E Martin/17 Comments

Ahhh, spring is in the air. I do so love the fleeting, tantalising glimpses of sunshine that have been coming out to play, off and on. I love the daffodils that are just starting to bud, breaking the monotony of the brown landscape that is all around (that reminds me to chuck out the daffodils in the vase on the kitchen window sill as they have gone a bit brown and crispy now)!

I love the fact that I might be able to hang my washing outside on the line, and see it waving gently in the breeze (I do hope the weather doesn’t change before the washing cycle ends) as opposed to hanging limply in the shade all day only to be wetter when I take it in than when I hung it out!

I can’t wait to be able to wear less clothes, and not have to bother taking a coat. (Well, that is always a risk in England, even during the height of summer). Mind you, summer clothes means more skin exposed, which also means, I hope this bloody diet kicks in soon, and the weight drops off (I wish), so that I am all slim and lovely in my pretty summer dresses.(I can’t expect miracles, I know)!

I am looking forward to Mr Grump planting all sorts of things for us enjoy over the summer. (Well the rhubarb takes care of itself, the herbs have all gone a bit wild and woody over the winter, and pumpkins aren’t ready until the autumn!

He does so love to be pottering about in the garden; cursing and swearing as he tries to repair the fence (again) that has been swaying perilously during the winter, held up by popping heavy plant pots against it, and attaching one end to the shed with a carabiner. He loves the fact that the garden is slopey and therefore quite squidgy in places where it is waterlogged!

And for the big finale! The good old ‘Spring Clean’! Oh yes, this is the time of year that we all love. The poor house is quaking in its foundations at the thought of being strip-washed and exposed, whilst being scrubbed, polished and buffed into submission!

Ahh yes, I love the spring!

Episode 201: Boasting of Posting!

March 6, 2015/Judy E Martin/27 Comments

There’s something that I am quite proud of
Although it is not pleasant to boast
Even though it’s been only six months now
I have written my 200th post!
Some of them have been rather silly
Others have turned out quite sad
One of two have ended up funny
But most are stark raving mad!
At times I like to throw in a poem
Oh how I love a good rhyme
The problem is now I’m addicted
Blogging takes up all my time!
I blog when I get chance to
After finishing work for the day
I read other blogs in the meantime
To see what they have to say
I can’t stop this mad blogging habit
I’m finding it is rather fun
Oh hang on, I think I have new post now
Yep, that’s made it 201!

Episode 200: World Book Grey!

March 6, 2015/Judy E Martin/8 Comments

World Book Day.. Oh how I remember when my daughter was in primary school and we had to try to think up a costume which depicted a character from a famous book (as the name implies). We did manage to participate every year (thanks mainly to good old eBay for the costumes), but it is not easy when you have very little time to prepare or no clue who to dress your child up as.

Not a problem for the mother of one 11-year-old boy. Well it’s pretty obvious isn’t it? I mean what child hasn’t read good old ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’! Yes that’s right, she sent her son to school dressed as Christian Grey! Oh, and just to complement the natty suit, he took along a couple of cable ties as well! Nice! All of his friends instantly knew who he was as well.

Understandably, the school were not enamoured with his choice, and pointed out to his mother (who amazingly is a primary school teacher)in a rather terse phone call. Explaining that the school had certain standards of behaviour that students were expected to conform to, and that dressing as someone who enjoys indulging in a bit of BDSM now and again is not the calibre of person one of their students should aspire to emulating!

Not only that, but they were not intending to introduce this kind of literature (I use the term very loosely here), into the school curriculum just yet! Their aim to ‘encourage children to read more’ might have to be a little better defined, as this young lad had done just that!

Episode 199: My Dream Theme!

March 6, 2015/Judy E Martin/20 Comments

Today’s Blogging 101 task is to try out a couple of new themes, even one that you have no intention of keeping. I am not actually going to participate in this one because I played around with my theme recently and I kind of like how it looks at the moment!

I like things that are either really simple, or extremely loud and snazzy! Two completely opposite extremes. I am not a very arty or creative person (except maybe with words), so have to make do with the bog standard version of the theme,

My blog is pretty uncomplicated anyway, It usually follows the same kind of format, of writing an essay style piece about something, and posting a (hopefully) relevant picture to illustrate my point.

I tend to stick to what I know how to do, which isn’t a lot! I have worked out how to add videos which is great as I wanted to read some of my poems out and I have found this easier than I expected once I got the hang of it.

I love widgets, and have found the theme I use (Sela) is pretty generous with them so that enables me to put in my favourite blogs and blogging community. I can also put badges on there such as the one for Blogging 101!

I am on the lookout still for a lovely, loud and colourful theme, that is good for mostly text and the odd picture or video. If anyone knows of one that I have missed then I would love to hear about it!

Episode 198: You Know You Are Past It When……

March 5, 2015/Judy E Martin/18 Comments

You forgot what you did yesterday and it wasn’t due to an over-indulgence of alcohol! I like to keep a diary which I have done for years. The problem is when I go to write it up, sometimes I forget what I have done and have to try to work my way backwards to jog my memory!
Instead of having a bit of ‘afternoon delight’ you end up nodding off! You know the scene, you have got the house to yourselves, a good couple of hours of undisturbed time alone to do whatever you want…..so you fall asleep on the settee!
The only time you wear something ‘trendy’ it is accidental. You are at that stage now where comfort is a must; forget fashion, you want practical! So when you do put on something that is trendy, it is more likely that after 20 years it is finally back in fashion!
You still talk about ‘records’,’discos’ and ‘going to the pictures’. Most of the youth of today do not know what a record is, and have never had the pleasure of listening to their favourite song jumping about all over the place where the record had become scratched or warped! Kids don’t go to discos (unless it is the school disco for some reason), they go to clubs (well at least I think so as I am way old to frequent such places)! I still talk about ‘going to the pictures to see a film.’ No, that is old hat. It is called a MOVIE. Pah!
You type out a text message in full. Now I am pretty ‘with it’ I know an emoticon when I see one, and I can even do a smiley face. However, I do not understand all this shorthand typing the young favour when sending a text. Even worse is the lack of punctuation! Really!
You are getting ready to go to bed when the young are just getting ready to go out for the night! You know what it’s like….you got up early….work was busy…you are shattered, and end up in bed no later than 10pm! Now for young people the night is just getting started at 10pm. They have had a few drinks,and in ready to have a good time. When you are getting up early the next morning (another sign of being past-it), they are just falling into their beds!
You are always reminiscing about the ‘old days’! Yes things were so much better back then of course. Life was rosy and we never got bored! However, when you constantly harp on about the glory days to your kids, their glazed eyes soon tell you that they are bored, and you are past it!

Rhyme and No Reason!

Blogger, author and rhymester who likes to find the humour in life.

Category: humour

Episode 206: Sing-A-Long Sunday

Episode 205: The Daydreamer Award.

Blog Pitch Party 2: Pitch Your Blog And Attract New Followers

Episode 204: Patience With Patients!

Episode 203: Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon…..

Episode 202: Spring into Action!

Episode 201: Boasting of Posting!

Episode 200: World Book Grey!

Episode 199: My Dream Theme!

Episode 198: You Know You Are Past It When……

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Blogger, author and rhymester who likes to find the humour in life.

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