Ups and Downs

Today has been another roller coaster with my blood pressure, and I am thankful that it finally seems to have settled to an even keel, albeit just before bed time. It has been a hectic day, and trying not to worry about it makes for thinking and worrying about it! Kind of a vicious circle.

On a good note, I had a lovely chat with my AVON coach lane. My team had made excellent growth over the past year, and we discussed my goals for the upcoming 12 months, and the issues that I had to deal with that had prevented me from some personal achievements.

The bad weather has made hubby's, and my, old bones ache, and also our poor older dogs'. Max, especially, has been very whimpery today, despite the glucosamine treats they have, so I opened a regular glucosamine capsule and sprinkled in a creamy cheese triangle for him. Poor baby.

We are a household of crotchetty geriatrics, both human, canine and feline.

Dame Shirley Bassey - The Girl From Tiger Bay

I grew up on Shirley Bassey. My parents played her 45s on our radiogram in the living room at 58 Queen's Rd in Leytonstone. To me, this song epitomizes her as no other song can, it is her story.

Together we are beautiful- Fern Kinney

I was doing nothing really and this song just popped into my head, and so many memories with it.



Waiting at the bus stop in Kings Lynn, at the end of Marsh Lane, for a bus to Snettisham for the discos (which I think were held on a Thursday night). A young skinhead lad, Kevin Ely, used to be there as well, catching the bus to go somewhere else, but we'd chat. It didn't matter that we were "greabos" in our jeans and black leather jackets. We were just friends waiting for the bus.


Later, sadly, he was killed in a car wreck at Heacham. Gosh that's 40 years ago now, how time flies.



This was a staple song at the disco, and is still as beautiful today as it was then.

Winter Weather go away!

I love seeing Winter scenes on Christmas cards and in photos, but - despite having loved snow when I was younger - now, I really don't like the real thing.

My yard, at the moment, is a messy, muddy blob of melting snow and sleet, and the icy rain falling isn't helping it at all. The roads are slick, trees and power lines down, people without power, it's total chaos.

I wish I still had that childhood innocence, that ability to wrap up warm in layers of jumpers and coats, gloves or mittens, and hats pulled down over ears, with a scarf looped around my head to cover my nose and mouth, when going out in the freezing temps was FUN to do, and building a snowman or having a snowball fight were the highlight of a fresh snow day!

I remember my mum always icing our Christmas cake with a snow scene, and had chalk decorations of little kids playing with snowballs that went on it every year, and a bright red ribbon around the outside. Sometimes plastic holly leaves and berries.

How one's interpretations change as one ages and becomes more infirm. The cold reaches into bones and joints and makes them throb, painfully - better indications of rain and bad weather than any tv meteorologist. Mobility issues make the slickness that was so much fun as a a child, even if we fell on our bums, into a danger possibility, and as bones become more brittle, possible breaks become a serious worry. And for those of us with heart issues such as A-Fib or bradycardia by itself, the cold can create a serious slowing down of the heart, that can cause us unwanted stress.

My heating bill goes up in Winter (whose doesn't?) so I am much happier with Spring and Fall, with milder temps, and being able to enjoy them.

Have a wonderful day.

Hubby attacking the "honey do" list

Well, hubby's Thanksgiving "holiday" has been anything but, LOL, as he has been getting on with various projects around the house.

The roof is beginning to take shape, he got the first red metal panel affixed and - despite me bugging for a pic - he forgot to take the phone up with him, to snap one.

Today, the roof being wet and slippery from overnight rain and some daytime drizzle, going up there was not going to be a safe thing to do, so he replaced the tap fitting on the kitchen sink, that has been leaking for a while and getting worse.

Waiting for his magic touch, is  a new toilet for the hallway bathroom. It's higher than a regular loo, they call it a "comfort level" as it's the same height as a chair seat ... thus not beyond my knees and back like the one currently in there is.  He'd replaced the one in our bedroom bathroom a couple of years ago ... just took us awhile to be able to attack the hallway one.

Slowly, he is getting things done around the house. Hard when he works full-time and everything falls on him.

He took some time out earlier to watch "The Greatest Showman" with me. It was a smashing movie. I loved it! Now we're watching season 4 of "Peaky Blinders" on the telly.

It's been a good day!

Grandparent's Breakfast with my great grandson Daniel

Had to be up and ready early, this morning. My granddaughter picked me up at 6.30am so that I could go to my great grandson's Grandparent's Breakfast at his school.

I love this little lad!

All it took was a nap!

I know some people roll their eyes when they see me post "I'm going to take a nap", and I can imagine them thinking what a lazy baggage I am, but I've learned that when my body says "nap time" then I'd better listen!

I never used to be this way, although a hot Summer could see me flake out quite easily. The past couple of years though have been a real humdinger, and my body started really acting up. I thought it, and I, had a pretty good relationship. 2 years ago, it decided that wasn't the case. 

After juggling the issues, and confounding some doctors along the way, we all seem to have come to a somewhat stable medium, but my body is definitely the one who makes the rules.

So, I was up this morning at 5.30am, doing my usual, letting the dogs out, packing hubby's lunchbox for work, and grabbing him something to eat for breakfast, and then, after he left for work, I checked emails, and went on Facebook to answer any messages, look at posts etc.

I started getting a little headache, and decided "ok, time for a nap".

A little headache may seem like a cop out to some, but my little headaches become big ones, which in turn causes me stress from the pain, which pushes my blood pressure up, gets the old ticker agitated, and then can actually make me have a pretty rough day.

So, nap time.

I dozed for maybe 30 minutes, time enough for the headache to go on its merry way and leave me to get on with my day.

I swept and mopped my bedroom and hallway floors, popped one load of laundry in the dryer and another load in to wash, and prepped dinner in the slow cooker.

Methinks that nap was very productive!

I still have a list of things I want to accomplish today and I feel pretty confident that I'll manage to get them all done.

Have a great day everyone!

A pretty good day!

Today has been a pretty good day, although it started a bit iffy. My computer has been acting up, making it difficult for me to do many things in a  timely manner - when a 10 minute procedure takes almost an hour because your computer decided to close your screen, magnify it to 300%, scroll by itself or not scroll when you need it to, it is very frustrating. added to which, I did a video the other day, then went to do a 2nd right after ... only to be told the camera doesn't work.  

So, I wasted an hour this morning doing something that should have taken 5 minutes, and hubby got fed up listening to me complaining, and said "let's go get you another computer". I hate wasting money, but I need one I can rely on, for all my business stuff.

Thus the decision was made, and Best Buy was added to our itinerary for today.

First we took our trash and recycles to the dump, and then headed to Best Buy at The Shops at Greenridge ... but got waylaid by the World Market for some goodies. 

Hubby got me a neat little HP with a keyboard laid out like my other one (it's about the same size too).

Our next destination was Best Buy Metals down on Poinsett Highway where we intended looking at, and pricing, materials to redo the roof but they were closed so we checked out their outdoor display but will need another trip to actually talk to them and look over what they have inside.

The one thing we have decided is that we want a metal roof, and we want a red one!

The second thing is that he needs to work more overtime, and I need to sell more AVON, LOL.

When we got home, hubby checked the mail, and my new AVON tee shirt was in the mailbox. It looks good, but I think I'm going to keep it new for the 2 events I have coming up in November and December.

Hoping for a restful evening, and hope yours is too.

Happy birthday to my dad!

Today, my dad is 86 years old. He's in England, and most years my sis, Traze, and her girls go to see him on his birthday. It's been 18 years since I last saw him, before I came back back to the US after my hubby did his last stint in Saudi Arabia.

My dad is a special person, not just because he became my dad when I was 2, but because he is CRAZY in the funniest, nicest way that made childhood, and growing up, pretty decent.

He taught us to jive to Peggy Sue, by Buddy Holly, and when we were about to wear him out, he'd say "oh, I've go to sit down, I've got a bone in my leg". I was probably 8 or 9 before it actually dawned on me that EVERYONE has a bone in their leg!

He also loved Shirley Bassey, and one song in particular epitomizes how I feel about my dad now. Hands Across The Sea.

We'd laugh at how wobbly has knees were when he jived. years later, Traze and I went to a rockabilly do ... and realised that ALL the guys legs did that jiggly knee thing. LOL.

Back in those days, when you "went up" from the Infants school to the Juniors, George Tomlinson School took you out to London Zoo for the day. I had to miss that school trip, I had a bigger event to go to. It was the day my dad formally adopted me.

That weekend he took me to the zoo by myself. I remember ice cream and seeing Guy the Gorilla, a sight that I've never forgotten and still saddens me. That huge gorilla in that tiny cage.

I have lots more memories of my dad. He worked at the Bank of England Printing Works in Debden, and sometimes we'd go by tube from Leytonstone to wait on the platform for him to come down the footpath that ran from the bank to the station, and then catch the tube home or sometimes go from there to visit his mum, nanny Bland, and sister, aunt Marie.

We used to laugh at him riding a bicycle, and I remember him having a Lambretta and some kid of motorbike, and then a maroon and grey Bedford van that he learned to drive in. He and my uncle David were working on that when my sister, Veronica, was born in the upstairs bedroom. Fathers were def not i attendance at births in those days.

I miss seeing my dad, he still has his sense of humour, and I wish I was there to celebrate his birthday with him.

Happy Labor Day!

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. I'm enjoying mine with hubby, he took Friday off so ended up with a 4 day Holiday, and we've been having lie-ins and then just taking our time throughout the day doing whatever we've needed to.

Yesterday, we indulged ourselves with massages at Studio Rejuvenate in Greer. Tom took care of Mark, and my darling Roger worked on my back and did reflexology on my feet and hands. It's been part of the alternate therapies that we've both been using for a few years now, for our many ailments.

Today we took a drive down to Pelzer, to see my granddaughter, at work. We took her the State Fair tickets, that I had won on Monday, so that she and her fella could take my great grands, Daniel and Sami, and have a fun family day.

It was also a pet "catch up" day for us - Miss Princess (our Boo and Boo Bear) had a shower with mama (and daddy preventing any escape) and then Mr Max lay on the bed while mama dremelled his claws down. 

Have a wonderful day tomorrow :)

Lots of goodies arriving!

This has been an excellent week for me, in my mailbox. All sorts of things, that I'd ordered, started coming in. Some, quite unexpectedly quicker than they were supposed to!

Kudos to KMart - my wire shelf unit for the kitchen arrived in only 2 days! I was amazed, I thought it would be at least a week or so (their site said up to 15 days). Nope, it arrived Thursday, and hubby basically erected it that evening, and then it was in use!

From Francis Frith, my book "Taste of London" arrived, with old recipes and photos, and my personalized calendar for 2019. I'd chosen pics of places that meant a lot to me over my lifetime, some from childhood memories, others places I'd lived or visited. I'm thrilled with it and already have it up on my living room wall.

As part of trying to get organized, in my business as well as my life. I invested in a planner from the folks at Multibrain, who are overseeing the social media aspect, and training, for AVON. I am a very erratic person, I am also very forgetful. I am productive but not really in any organized way. It's something I'm trying to work on, so I'm hoping this will help. Just scanning through it, it looks really awesome.

Then, there are my AVON tee shirts. Oh I love them! And I love they are 2-3 sizes smaller than I used to wear! That feels so good.

I'm now 81 lbs down from when I started this journey, that's about the size of a 10 year old child! It's terrible that my weight had ballooned that high, but getting my walker has definitely helped as I am able to get out and about more now. That, and my seated elliptical, are the mainstays of my exercise right now. Trips to my favourite supermarket, Lidl, are an exercise session, as I walk around the store, and sit when I need to.

I'd love to have spent more time down at Cedar Falls and done more walking there, but it's been too hot and muggy for me most days. Shall have to wait for the cooler Fall weather.

Hubby's also been getting mailbox goodies, I'd ordered him some aircraft mechanic tee shirts, and a veteran one, and he likes them. He has another gift coming but I can't say what it is as it's a surprise. It'll be kind of bittersweet.

So that's what's been going on Chez Dempsey this past week.

Learning the new website and other ramblings

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, and that bears true with me in today's techy age. I know how to do what I know how to do, and may even look like quite a pro doing it, but change something, and I'm lost!

So it has been with my new AVON website, LOL. It IS lovely and everything is at your fingertips ... but I struggled all day, yesterday, to figure out where to find things that weren't where I expected them to be. And they WERE in plain sight ... just my brain was accustomed to a certain way of doing things and seeing things, and totally missed what was actually right in front of me.

I'm just plodding along. It's taking me a bit longer to get my head around it that the younger, more tech savvy ones, but that's ok. I'll make it in the end, even if I'm last over the finish line!

Today is hubby's off Friday, so we got a lie-in ... not as late as we'd liked as a certain four-legged fiend was meowing for her food at 5.30am when we are normally getting up, but we did snooze again a little, afterwards.

We made a delivery to one of my ladies, took back a library book that I'd finished reading, dropped off recycleables at the Conestee Park collection bins, and then headed to see my lovely crew at Hu Hot, for lunch. It's like family when we go there, they are smashing!

After lunch, we went grocery shopping at Lidl ... I love that place too. I get my exercise in there pushing my walker all over the place, up one aisle and down the next.

I'm so thankful for my walker, it's definitely helped me regain some of my mobility AND my weight loss journey. 81lbs gone now. WOW. That's a whole maybe 8 or 9 year old's weight! I still have a long way to go but I'm just a tortoise plodding along, day by day, and as long as I'm going in the right direction, it's all good!

Enjoy your weekend!

Another anniversary today

It's August 7th, and I woke up this morning remembering that 33 years ago today my hubby left me, on the 4th day after our marriage. It wasn't a choice. He was in the Air Force and had to fly back to Little Rock AFB with the rest of the crews who had been over in England for TDY for around 65 days.

That spawned other thoughts, and remembering that in the first 15 years of our marriage, we spent about as much time apart as we did together.

It's almost odd to think that the last 18 we've spent mainly together.

I've sent him on overnight jaunts to air shows and he's worked away a couple of times for a few weeks, but nothing like the forced separations of those early years.

He works hard. Still loves his C-130s after working on them all these years. His Herky Birds.

It's quite a day in history as well.

In 1573, Sir Francis Drake arrived back in Plymouth after a year spent raiding for Spanish treasure.

In 1606, Shakespeare's Macbeth was performed at Hampton Court for King James 1 (which may have been the very first performance of the play).

In 1782, George Washington, as Commander of the Continental Army, created the Purple Heart. Its original name being the Badge of Military Merit.

In 1820, the first potatoes were planted on Hawaii.

In 1882, the Hatfields of West Virginia, and the McCoys of Eastern Kentucky, feuded and 100 were killed or injured.

In 1888, a man named Theophilus Van Kannel, of Philadelphia, patented the revolving door.

In 1909, the first Lincoln Penny is issued.

In 1914, the famous poster "Your Country Needs You" spread all over the UK after Lord Kitchener uttered the words.

In 1914, Russia invaded Prussia.

In 1919, Babe Ruth tied the MLB record by hitting grand slams in consecutive games for the 2nd time, in a 13-1 win against the Philadelphia As.

In 1939, millionaire Howard Hughes was presented with a Congressional Gold Medal.

In 1940, Alsace-Lorraine was annexed by the Third Reich (Germany) in WW11.

In 1942, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, was the first American offensive in the Pacific in WW11.

In 1944, IBM dedicated the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, better known as the Harvard Mark 1.

In 1946, the Booker T. Washington half-dollar was issued, making it the first commemorative coin featuring an African American.

In 1947, Thor Heyerdahl and the crew of the Kon-Tiki crashed into a reef in the Tuomotu Islands of French Polynesia after crossing the Pacific in 101 days.

In 1954, Roger Bannister ran the "4 minute mile".

In 1957, The U.S.Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

In 1959, Explorer 6 transmits the first TV photo of Earth from Outer Space.

In 1971 Apollo 15 returned to Earth.

In 1990 Operation Desert Shield began and the U.S deployed troops to Saudi Arabia.

In 1992, The Orlando Magic signed NBA #1 draft pick Shaquille O'Neal.

All in all, quite an eventful day in history.

I love my wildlife

My life is definitely the sadder for the loss of my livestock, over the years, 

Looking out of the bathroom window, over "my domain"  of one acre, and watching Rammy, Cleo, Red and Sadie down in the field, and in Spring ,their babies, are just memories, as the babies were found homes for at a  few months old, and my four went over the Rainbow Bridge years ago now. Sadie was the last, just before Christmas.

Of the 30 odd chickens, we now have only one survivor and she hangs out with the dogs when they go outside.

Of all the cats we fostered that didn't find homes, we now only have 4 moggies, and 3 of those are 14 years old.

And having just lost our beloved Angel July 5th, our doggie family now numbers only 3, Boo being almost 15, and Max and Mystery both 12.

The emptiness of that single acre field though, is beginning to ease. 

We have 2 bunnies who regularly come out to munch on grass and weeds under the bathroom window, and now about half a dozen deer who wander in to eat. One mama with twin fawns, that are a delight to watch. One stays close to mama. She will come up from the field and stay over by the butterfly tree. Her other baby has no fear. He comes over under the window and munches, all by himself. Probably 30 feet from his mama and twin.

The other evening, there were 5 fawns running around the field, and not a mama in sight as thy gambolled about.

I  just watch from the window, enjoying their peaceful grazing, it's as if they know they are safe on my little bit of land. They are a joy.

I watch the hawks as well, gliding and swooping. Over the years they have not been friends with my chickens, and one time I came out the front and one was on the ground trying to grab a hen from under a bush. When I came out, it flew off. Its wingspan was easily 4 to 5 feet! It was huge!

The crows love to roost on the persimmon tree and chatter away. When the hawks went after the jay's babies, in their nest in the butterfly tree, the crows joined forces and helped drive them off. 

This year, the sparrow who nested on my front porch last year, did not come back. I have missed her, but am also thankful, as trying to keep the cats from getting on the front porch, had been a constant source of stress , last year.

I do love my animals though, both the tame and the free wild ones. They give me pleasure and light up my day. It's a blessing that I am always thankful for!

Saturday Morning Thoughts

I love to read. Always have. At 6 and 7 I'd have a Ladybird book in my hand most of the time, and loved my Bunty and Judy comics. My favourite book back then was Brighty of the Grand Canyon, by Marguerite Henry. My nan had bought me a copy and I read it over and over.

I'm surprised to see that it is now recommended for grades 3-5, so ages 9 to 11 ... by that age we were reading the classics like Dickens, the Bronte sisters and Captain Maryatt, in original versions, not paraphrased. It's only when I think back, like this, that I realise how much "less" is expected of children in primary education these days.

Just as I have always said, that a good teacher can make the worst of subjects palatable, and a bad teacher can make the best dull and boring, so can an author make a book, a journey of pleasure or a struggle to enjoy. Such it is with the book Empire of the Summer Moon, by S C Gwynne.

I had been so looking forward to reading this book about Quanah Parker, who has gone down in history books as the greatest Comanche chief of them all, but was disappointed that I found it very heavy going, fact after fact about Comanche history (albeit well researched) but with no "personality" in how the knowledge was imparted. I would read a page or two and be tired, the dull presentation forcing me to put the book down and driving away my interest, instead of making me crave more.

Finally, I gave up and dipped a few times into later segments, but am left with a sadness that a book I'd looked forward to reading turned out to be so dull and uninteresting. It's also odd as apparently all who reviewed it found it a wonderful book, so they obviously found more to it than I did.

***

It's raining outside, and with the ac on, I missed hearing it. It was only a particularly loud roll of thunder, that made me aware, and Mystery's plaintive whining. We have a deluge though, for now, but it hasn't really brought the temperature down, just made it even muggier, I think.

***

I've had another AVON customer ask why we no longer have our fragranced talcs, and had to explain that the company stopped making them over the controversy of talc supposedly causing cervical cancer, and my thoughts that they were trying to avoid getting caught up in a spurious lawsuit like Johnson & Johnson.

Every time I see the lawyers on tv begging for clients to claim against them, it irks me so much. I realise that juries can be swayed by tearful victims and smarmy "experts" but I also fault J & J for not having someone give a basic biology lesson that the jurists could understand. Then they might have been able to disprove the allegations that it was their talc that caused cervical cancer.

I'm 63 years old and have used talc for most of those years. Now, the fragrance I like is in a cornstarch "talc" which is actually not a "real" talcum powder.

I remember being taught "Health" in school, at age 11, and learning about the cervix, learning about sex, learning about drugs (and the chemical make up of them!), toxic shock, menstruation, and a whole lot of other info.

Although not being unheard of, cervical cancer has a very low incidence among nuns and, this ties in with what we were taught years ago, that it is "activity" on and around the cervix that aggravates the cells to become cancerous. Things that may "bruise" the neck of the womb. The fact that married women, and those having (or who may previously have had) regular sex, are more than twice as likely to get it than those who are single, has been found in various studies. We had been told that there was something in a man's semen that aggravated the cervix. However, human papilloma virus can also do the same, as can bacteria, or "mechanical" actions such as the insertion of a tampon, use of a douche or of a vibrator.

The idea of talc being inserted into the vaginal tract is rather odd to me, I do not understand why somebody would do that. Somebody tried to school me that, no, it wasn't inserted, it was used in the genital area ... to which I ask, then how did it reach the cervix? Bacteria, viruses and sperm are all live and can move in the natural lubrication of the vagina, so yes, I understand how they can reach there but talc is inanimate, a powder. So it cannot "swim" upwards, rather natural gravity would wash it away from the vagina in natural secretions. And whilst acknowledging that some talc does contain some cancer-causing agents, the American Cancer Society states that it sees only a very small chance of talc being a factor in cervical cancer.

My take is that it's yet another lawyer contrived scam, as I cannot believe that, in this lawsuit, in this day and age, every claimant had never had sex, used a tampon, douche or vibrator, and I bet J & J never asked each of those claimants whether they had or not.

***

I am thankful that last night I had a good night's sleep. figuring the connotation between my BP meds, body temp, heart rate, blood pressure and everything, I tried something last night which I'll repeat tonight and tomorrow, and if all remains well, will let my doctor know of, on Monday. 

***

I'm actually looking forward to my cardiologist appointment in 10 days, as I only weigh myself at doctor visits, so have been without a weight loss update for quite a few weeks now, but my tape measure was very friendly and showed me 4" and 5" losses on thighs, under bust and bust, so I'm hoping the scales will tell a similar tale.

***

So those are my morning musings on this wet, grey Saturday. nonetheless, have a great day and don't let it rain on your parade!

Life Goes On

Summer has begun, and already the temps are up high. I am seriously hoping we do not have a humdinger of a Summer like we did the other year, with a month of 100+ degree days. I hated that my hubby was outside working n it. Every time I opened the door to let my dogs out, it was like walking into an oven! I am praying that it does NOT get that bad this year.

We collected Angel's ashes from the vet's office last Friday, they came in a beautiful little cedar chest and with a ceramic print of her paw. Doesn't seem like 2 weeks have passed since we lost her. We have so many memories of our "Brat", she definitely left her mark on our lives, that's for sure.

This has been an odd week. I've had 2 nights where bradycardia has reared its head and caused issues, and where I've headed into the living room to doss on the couch so as to not disturb hubby. Trying to keep it above 50bpm was an issue, and in the 40s it is such a horrible feeling. During the day I pedal on my elliptical bike when it drops, but that's not always feasible throughout the night.

I have noticed a correlation between my body temperature and the slowing, but also, that sometimes - even when I feel warm in myself - my skin can get cold to the touch and that also brings it on. I have a cardiologist appointment at the end of the month and will be discussing it with him.

Well, I have AVON to sort, bag and invoice my customers, and then to arrange deliveries from Friday on.

One of my team members has hooked us up with an event to do in November, so I am busily planning parts of that. I'm looking forward to it, it's been so long since I've done one because of my health.  I do hope it's successful for us.

That's how my life is plodding along right now, just one foot in front of the other, lots of prayers and I somehow keep on keeping on.

Have a great day, my friends!

Making it through

The house is quieter, and I've been dealing with doggie depression and grief over losing their matriarch.

I realised yesterday, that when each of the others had moved into our family, Angel was already here. They had never lived in this house without her presence. She had always been our "accepter". She had taken in all the waifs and strays we had brought, puppies and kittens. She'd helped clean foster kittens when we'd been the "go-to" home for the ones needing 2 hour feedings, her tongue big enough to swallow them whole, and yet she, so gentle with them.

Max just seemed confused. He had tussled with Angel to be "top dog" in the house, when he was a teen, and had been forced to yield the challenge. She was not giving up her alpha spot, ad he was more of a lover than a fighter. Now that she's gone, he's just "not sure" what comes next.

Princess, our Miss Boo and Boofalicious, had such a sad, pinched look on her face when we came home. She had lain close to Angel earlier that day, and I guess knew more than we did about what was really going on, as when Dr Keller examined her, she couldn't hear Angel's heartbeat due to her loud breathing, and said she thought there was a mass growing in her stomach too.

My real worry had been Mystery, our little wild one, who (for many years) seemed autistic. Angel had been the one she had cleaved to, in her fear, when she first came to us. The one who, if Angel had already been outside (and refused to come back in), would immediately look for her when she ran out the next time, and would bark and give her a stiff talking to, when she found her in her favourite spot.

She was very morose that first day. She ran out and looked, sniffed where Angel usually lay, and lay with such a pained pose, not relaxed at all, very dejected.

I wanted to mop floors, but didn't. That way, she, and the others, could still smell Angel where she had lain. I didn't want to just wash her scent away, I thought it might help them come to terms with her no longer being here.

Yesterday, I did mop the kitchen floor. Later today, I will do the hallways. They are coming to terms with her being gone.

This morning Mystery told me to hurry up, as I was letting them out at 5.30am, with an insistent barking as I tottered down the hallway. She had been silent much of Thursday and yesterday.

Boo's face is not as pinched, although her eyes are still sad. I think she feels that she will be next (she and Angel were the same age, 14 and a half, so over 100 in doggie years).

And Max, he has the sad eyes too. And still the confused look some of the time, he isn't bothered in being the alpha dog now, he's 12 and just wants a peaceful life.

They are making it through.

Last night, as I sat in the living room, I sensed Angel standing in the doorway peering in, how she used to (it's our only human-only space).

Life goes on. We are all the better for having had her in our lives, but we miss her. And that's ok. We're getting through it. She was our "old lady" and we loved her.

This morning we said goodbye to Angel

Dogs are our 4 legged children, Angel was a brat among brats, and was much loved and will be so missed.

She was only 6 weeks old, and had been spayed the day before, when we adopted her from Greenville Humane all those years ago. A ball of fur with such sad eyes. The note on the cage said "couldn't handle her any more". I guess she was the last of the litter, and having puppies had been a  tiring experience.

She was so small she couldn't get up and down the front step, at first. She slept between us on the bed, and thought we were her personal chew toy. We crated her during the day while we were at work and she delighted in greeting us at the door, crate either intact or collapsed flat, with a grin that was like "ok, next trick?"

We thought maybe she needed a "sissy", so we went back to Greenville Humane and adopted Princess, also known as Boo, and they became partners in crime.

Boo hated travelling, it stressed her and made her sick, whereas Angel loved it, so Angel became her daddy's partner in crime. When the truck was laden with trash in the back, Angel rode in the passenger seat. After "helping daddy" they would stop by McDonald's or Burger King and grab burgers, always bringing one home for her sissy.

When we got the Jeep, she and her daddy went to Lowe's and TSC together and she rode in the front. If we went out places, she rode in the back. One day, she was already in the front seat when I came out of the front door. It was like watching a disappointed child, her eager bounce deflated as she dropped her shoulders and sighed, it was like "oh no, she's coming".

She loved being the center of attention. She had her fan club wherever she went. The fast food drive thrus, many of the cashiers knew her by name.

She did the Paws for the Cause walks in Greenville for 4 or 5 years with her daddy, proudly strutting the route and lapping up all the praise and comments of "oh, what a beautiful dog".

She was obstinate.

She drove me crazy when my mobility got poor. She wouldn't come to me when I called, if she was out in the yard and wanted to stay out. If I tottered towards her, she'd let me get maybe one step away, then would walk 3 or 4 away from me and look at me as if to say "ok, I like this game".

The UPS man had no worries coming by her when he delivered my AVON packages, and when my friend Dimple and her family would come to clean for me, she'd lap up all the attention and grin at the camera.

She was a definite character.

Considering she was 14 and a half, she had lived a long and good life. Recently she had started having issues with one back leg, and becoming very picky about eating, then this past week she had gotten listless and her breathing had become laboured. Yesterday she wouldn't eat or drink.

This morning, we took her to Simpsonville Animal Hospital, and Dr Keller and her team helped her cross the rainbow bridge.

As we came out, in tears, it was pelting down. Even the Heavens were crying, it seemed.

She will be missed by us all, her doggie and feline family, and her mummy and daddy. Our beautiful girl.

Yesterday we said "hello" to July

The first 6 months of this year whizzed by and now the final 6 have begun. This month will see "Christmas in July" posts all across social media, from those in business, as we race to make goals in 2018.

I look on each new month as a new beginning, a chance to challenge myself to step on farther down the road ... to better health and mobility, greater success in my business, becoming  a better Christian, and achieving those small goals that say "success" to me - being able to sweep and mop my floors with less breaks and in a shorter time than before, or being able to make it all the way down to the other end of the house and do a load of laundry. Each month is a new chance for me to "become" more than I am, and to "regain" some of the things I once took for granted. Nobody likes housework, but it only becomes of value, when the power to do it is lost. As I take steps to regain that "power" I realise how much it means to me, to be able to do so.

June was a hot month for SC, and I had to run my air conditioner constantly. The "cool mornings" I so love, edged into the 60s and by the afternoon 90s were the order of the day and on a couple, we hit the 100s. This morning we awoke at 73, and today will be 90, but somehow, I think it will be a hotter month and I dread those high temps, I do not do well in the heat and hate paying huge bills to Duke Power.

Last month hubby worked away for 3 weeks. I didn't tell many people, as I didn't want to make myself ,or my home, a target for  those who prefer to steal rather than work. I'm too old for nonsense any more, and despite my dogs and hubby's guns, it was easier just not to advertise his absence. I know, if I ever shot someone, I would have severe emotional issues dealing with it, let alone that someone might lose their life, rather not to invite the chance of that becoming a reality. Protecting myself would be tantamount, but at what cost?

So, he was gone for 3 weeks, and in that time, I struggled.  Boy, did I struggle! I made it through though and was well pleased with myself. I did a lot of praying to the Almighty, and He was definitely with me. I did pretty well, at keeping up with things, and had my little helper (my girlfriend's daughter) come over and help me one day, and we did my living room shelves and ornaments, she did my bathroom, and then we distributed AVON brochures in a local subdivision.

AVON is a lifesaver for me, and since I don't get disability, provides my share of income towards our household's finances. It has paid for a lot of things over the years, it helped pay off my Land Rover that we gave away last year to help someone else have a vehicle, it bought a cabin-type shed, it has bought tickets for local shows and concerts at our local theater The Peace Center, helped pay bills, paid off lots of medical bills, LOL, bought gas and groceries, and yes, we are stocked with AVON ... shampoos and conditioners, shower gels, bath oil, Bug Guard, his after shave, my fragrance sprays, and body lotions, and every year, many of my Christmas and birthday gifts for others, are AVON. I use my commission to pay for them, so essentially, they are free.

One of my best investments out of my AVON money was my rollator, and it has made so much of a difference in my life, helping me regain some of my mobility and being able to get out and about more again. Until walking and standing becomes difficult, we do no realise how much we took it for granted for so many years, and that's the truth. I used to love to dance, and lost that ability as my standing and walking basically came to a standstill, and I ended up basically bedridden for a few years. If I went out anywhere, I had to use a wheelchair. My rollator helped me reverse that, and I now walk, with its help, although in some stores (particularly when grocery shopping) I do use a ridearound.

I wish you all a wonderful July ... there are 30 days left to use as you will. Use them wisely. Take steps to achieve the things you wish to change, to improve on talents you may have, to get healthier, to try something new. God bless and keep you safe.

Fired Up

Wow, another week has whizzed on by and it's almost Friday again.

I am all fired up for a productive weekend, so many things I want us to accomplish around the house this Saturday and Sunday. My plans are for a de-cluttering extravaganza, LOL, and reclaiming back another room that - over the years - has become a dumping ground for stuff I'm trying to move from somewhere else. Added to which there are things, no longer in use, and in too poor condition to be recycled, that need to be dumped. One of which is the doggie love seat, well and truly the worse for wear, but now they are all old and unable to get up on it (except Mystery, but she no longer does as she wants to be near the others who are plonked all over the hallway and bedroom). To the dump! To the dump! Out! Out, I say!

We are also planning on changing our window air conditioners around. We will be getting a new one for the bedroom, putting the bedroom one into the kitchen, and the kitchen one into the laundry room.

Hubby is going to mow the front yard if the weather is good enough, and we will be taking down Sadie's  pen, now that she is no longer with us. I have to cut all the zip ties to the blankets we secured around the outside, to shelter her from the elements. Then we can reclaim the back porch another weekend.

This afternoon when he gets in from work, we will be heading out to make an AVON delivery to a very sweet customer of mine. She is such a treasure despite dealing with near--blindness and being hard of hearing. Then we'll be grabbing Culver's for dinner, yeah I fancy my fish and chips, ha ha.

We have an awesome Thursday! Make it so!!

It feels good to have my hubby home!

Such a beautiful morning to wake up to, and hubby snoozing next to me on his first day off after working 21 days straight!

I didn't say anything on social media about him being gone, as being disabled and alone might have made me a target for an opportunist who might have thought we might have something worth stealing.

He had called me from work one day and asked me if I thought I could manage without him for a week. Having my granddaughters reasonably close by, and knowing I could call them if I needed to, plus 3 or 4 friends who are nurses (so that if I had a medical issue, I could call them and ask for advice ) I told him yes.

By the time he got home, that afternoon, it was 3 weeks.

As he was due to leave on the Monday (the 4th), we tried to do as much as possible the weekend before he left. Delivering AVON to a customer who has moved to Anderson, on the Saturday, we met at the gas station on Highway 8, where my graddaughter Jel works. There, in conversation, she asked him how long e'd be gone, and he said 3-5 weeks, and I was like  "what????"  LOL. One week, then 3, now possibly 5? I did doubt my ability to cope, if it came to 5 weeks.

It has been a struggle BUT I managed and, in many ways, accomplished with aplomb. Much to my own surprise. Things may have been difficult, and taken me longer to do than they would a normal person, but I managed to get them done. Well, most of them.

The trash mounted up, and recycleables, and we will be taking those this morning, and I had my little helper, Sarah, come to help me do my living room as I cannot do the standng up to dust the shelves and my Mrs Albees.

It's good to have my hubby back. He knows he was missed. Angel greeted him with big wags of her tail and puppy-like excitement, and Snuggles had her night pillow to snuggle on again.

Who'd a thunk it?

Happy Saturday everyone, hope it's a calm and peaceful one

When I look back on my life, some parts definitely seem like I'm watching a movie about someone else, and that it wasn't me at all. Some parts, I wish had never happened, but then I'd have lost the good things that came out from the bad things, and that would be too high a price to pay for eradicating the pain.

That I was an odd child is something that I'm ok with now, and most of the time, was ok with in my youth. I was quite happy to curl up with a good book and just block the rest of the world out, and escape.

Back in the early 60s, one of the things that set me apart was having 2 fathers. My dad married my mum when I was 2, and adopted me when I was 7. The adoption day coincided with the zoo trip that the top 2 classes in the Infants went to, before going "up" to the Juniors. In the case of George Tomlinson, it really was "up" as the Infants was on the ground floor and the Juniors, upstairs, although having different entrances. Thus, my original illegitimacy became a matter of knowledge after that. The only other oddity in my class was a lass named Linda Bray, whose mother was single, and I can't remember whether it was by choice or divorce, but back in 1962/63 it was def not the done thing.

In the Juniors, my first teacher, for 2 years, was Mrs Stark. She was strict and I don't think she liked me very much. I wrote stories in my "journals" and she told me once I must have been reincarnated and lived during Victorian times as my stories were so detailed. I was 7 and 8 during her classes, but read mostly Dickens, and the Brontes (Charlotte's Jane Eyre was my favourite, read and reread over and over) as well as horsey stories like Sewell's Black Beauty and the then-contemporary My Friend Flicka books.

The second 2 years, I had Miss Lynes as the teacher, and despite having a reputation as a "stickler", she was actually really nice. I had a seat near the window, in her class, but since I loved school, my daydreaming happened on my own time, not in class.

I loved George Tomlinson though, and flourished there. My best friend was Stephanie Baum, and our mums went shopping together on a Friday evening at Fine Fare down Leytonstone High Street. Us kids (she had 2 sisters, Judith and Elaine) and I had 2 at that time, Stephanie and Theresa, would play on the sides of the stairs leading up to the cafeteria. They were polished wood, about 9" wide, the perfect size for our little bottoms to use as a slide.

Some weekends, and during school holidays, I spent with my nan and granpop, who I'd lived with when I was little, and when my mum had first got married. I went to live with my mum when my parents bought 47 Southern Drive, Loughton. I was about 4 and my sister was born shortly afterward.

My nan and granpop spoiled me, but I was a good kid. I had to be quiet as they lived in an upstairs flat above an old lady who'd bash on the ceiling with a broom when my nan used the roller sweeper on the rugs. It wasn't a big deal for me, I had dress up dolls, colouring books, Ladybird and I-Spy Books on no end of subjects, I knitted and sewed doll's clothes for my 3 teenage dolls there, Candy, Sandy and Mandy.

Some days we'd walk to Riddley Road Market, some days to my granpop's work at King and Scarborough, on Kingland Rd alongside the canal. My nan took me to museums and art galleries, or we went to Clissold Park where there was a talking Mynah bird in one of the big cages there, his name was Charlie.

I had a pretty good childhood but then my late teens and early 20s kind of went awry. The bad stuff, well it was really bad, but with God's grace, I made it through and now that I'm older, I can look back and see that, although it was terrible at the time, as a part of my life, it's actually quite a small fragment of the years that I've lived.

I look back and see how far I've come, and it's a definite "who'd a thunk it?"

Aah my body ... tricks that work for me

To say the past 18 months have been an eye opener for me has proven to be an understatement. Don't get me wrong, I've always thought how amazing our bodes are, with all that they do. I just didn't realise how finicky they could be about some things and, believe me when I say, that THAT was an education in itself.

So, the one drug I take for my blood pressure slows the heart rate. When mine was getting to 48, 46 or thereabouts bpm, it would start the weird sickly feelings and go into A-Fib, missing beats as it felt like it, making me get those dream like "falling off a cliff" gasping moments. 

However, the rest of my body didn't like that, and the feelings that I had when it happened, my blood pressure would go sky high. I'd end up going and pedalling on my elliptical bike for 10 minutes or so to raise my heart rate slightly, out of that "danger zone" for me. But I had to be careful, as - if my heart rate went too high - the racing side of the A-fib would start, which was just as scary and resulted in panic attack type feelings and was rather scary. So, I learned to pedal carefully, so as to just raise my heart rate by about 10 bpm, to take it out of one danger zone and keep it away from the other.

A visit to the ER (lovely way to blow almost $1700 on a co-pay, if ever there was one ... and I'm STILL making payments on) resulted in them halving the dose of the pill that lowered my heart rate, and making one of my "emergency" meds into a regular once daily one.

That has helped. However, then - without warning - I would still have my heart rate drop real low. I finally realised it happened when my body felt cold to the touch. It didn't even have to really be cold, nor (funnily enough) did I have to "feel cold" in myself. I'd start getting the A-Fib feelings, rub my arm or my leg and sure enough, they were icy.  I'd end up in bed, clothed, under the covers, with just my head sticking out, "walking" my legs sideways to start raising my heartrate whilst waiting for my body to warm up and my heart rate to regulate itself back to a better number.

Odd how that coldness just happens out of the blue even in hot weather, and also, even when I'm feeling hot in myself, and sweating, as I'm trying to get my skin to warm up.

I've always believed one should know one's own body, and to a point, I'd work with mine pretty well over the years, always preferring natural ways where possible, but also recognizing that - sometimes - drugs are a necessity. 

I'm thankful that I'm beginning to get back onto a somewhat even keel again, albeit that thhere are still episodes but that they do seem to be lessening, and physically, I seem to be improving.

Continuing the Breast Cancer Crusade

Breast cancer affects so any families, my own husband lost his mother to this awful disease in 1976, when he was only 12. That's one of the reasons I feel so passionately about this.
 Regular checks are a must, as the sooner anything untoward is discovered, the greater the chance of survival.

Cute video from AVON, sung by Paula Abdul

Another new month is upon us! 

Am I the only one who sees it as a fresh chance to improve myself, whether by building on my exercise regime, growing and revitalizing my business or learning new things? 

I make goals for each week, and actually love my Mondays because they, too, are a new beginning, a fresh start to work on things I may have felt disappointed about the week before.

So, in June, I have 30 new days to use any way that I will. I'm excited at the prospect!

Today has started well, although I would have preferred to sleep in as hubby has alternate Fridays "off" and today is his "off day". It didn't happen. Despite the alarm being switched off, my body is used to waking just before 5am, and this morning was no exception. They say "no rest for the wicked" so I guess I must have been really bad about something.

However, I have worked well so far. My day is off to an awesome start. I did some recognition to AVON team members in my facebook team group, made some advertising posts, posted on my AVON business page and group, posted on my WATKINS business page, sent an email to a new AVON business enquirer, and did some seated exercises (I don't stand or walk very well, so have had to find other ways to work on my body). All in around 3 hours.

Methinks I can call that productive!

In about an hour, I'll be in the shower and then heading out, as I have a load of errands to run, with hubby. It's a long list, so we'll do one lot, come home and unload the groceries, take a break, and then head out again, to do the rest!

Enjoy your day!

#June  #productivity  #goals  #freshstart  #team

It's a gorgeous day out there today, and it's been a wonderful day for my birthday too.

21 again? LOL, yep, that's right. 3 times over. 63! It's such a WOW for me. Mentally, I feel the same as I did when I was younger, just a bit more worldly and wiser ... physically, well, I guess most days I feel A HUNDRED nad sixty three!

Hubby and I had lunch at Hu Hot Mongolian Restaurant in Greenville, It's my favourite place to go and the folks that work there treat us like family. We then stopped by to visit my granddaughter before she had to go to work.

We dropped off (and picked up) library books, and then drove through to Simpsonville and stopped by Southern Eyecare to pick up my new glasses.

Now just lazing around, trying to catch up on all my birthday "thank yous" and other things.

Have  agreat evening!

A Productive Weekend

When you're disabled, you learn to appreciate the small things ... particularly when it comes to accomplishments. Those small things, to normal people, may be quite like reaching the mountaintop, for those of us with challenges.

This weekend has been a busy one for me. Saturday, running errands, I did a lot of walking with my rollator, and then hubby and I defrosted and cleaned one of the fridges. We stripped the bed and he did laundry so we had lovely fresh scented linens on the bed. That's def one of life's pleasures!  Then, today, we have done the other fridge.

I have to sit, as I cannot stand up straight, but he took the shelves out, and I washed and dried them. Team effort. We've always worked pretty well together. Now, we just have to delegate me to the tasks that I can do sitting down, and he does the rest.

Def been a good weekend though!

Morning Musings

Hello, Mr Rogers, why is your "it's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood" playing in my mind this morning? Although it most definitely is. The sun is out but the day is still cool and comfortable (despite that it may reach the high 80s later), the birds are twittering happily outside and all my 4 legged fiends are snoozing.

I love my quiet mornings. I get on and do a lot of my online "stuff", my Facebook birthdays (it's the only platform that reminds me), catching up on emails and messages, blogging (seems my thoughts are more ordered when there's no background distractions), place advertising posts, connect with my team members and such.

Then, once my doggies re-awaken, my doggie doh-si-doh begins. They are all let out at 5.3am and brought back in just as hubby leaves for work a short while later, and then they just collapse into heaps on the floor and head into dreamland, sometimes mumbling in their dreams or legs walking them someplace nice.

One will awaken. If it's my boy, Max, he will whimper to let me know he wants to go out again. If it's Boo, she shakes her head as she wakes, so I hear her ears flapping. Angel pants. Mystery will yap. I then trek down to the front door and let them out. Boo was the ringleader this morning, and the others followed sit, so theyre now all enjoying the sunshine, and I'm enjoying the fresh air from the front door being open.

Plus, when I head that way, I go into the living room and pedal for a bit on my elliptical bike (usually 10 minutes) and read some of the latest book that I've got my head in.

I've loved reading since I was about 5 or 6, my nan used to buy me all the "Ladybird" books

and I later bought Ladybird Books for my kids when I taught them to read as toddlers. I love that they were memorialized on stamps a couple of years ago (and I just ordered me this presentation pack!).

Now, my tastes vary from medical and legal thrillers, to Native American based stories, to Victorian England and onwards stories, so I'm pretty much easy-to-please. If I discover a book by an author that I've not read before, and enjoy it, then I seek out other titles they have written. I recently finished Margaret Coel and am now enjoyinng Edward Marston, but hubby is picking up a James Patterson for me, that I have on reserve at the local library.

I also love English history, particularly reminiscences about growing up in the areas of London that I knew, so I also love factual and photgraphic books on those, and old newspapers.

Well, my day is getting busier, ye phone is ringing, and I must away !  Enjoy your day

Such a beautiful day today

Today has been beautiful weather-wise, bright and sunny.  I was blessed to spend a couple of hours with my granddaughter and 2 of my great-grands, Daniel and Sami. We had fun. Me and the kids waited in the car while mummy went into the places, and we played being silly while she was gone. 4 year old Daniel is already a character, and 2 year old Sami is destined to follow in his footsteps. Their silliness is genetically passed down from their greatgrandmother - ME!

My weight-loss took a day off, courtesy of my granddaughter buying 10 packs of minis from Chick-Fil-A ... I didn't realise I'd munched over 1000 calories ...ooops ... not good.  I've been pedalling on the elliptical bike, but unless I pedal a few hours, today is a bust. It's ok, tomorrow is another day!

Enjoy your evening, my friends .

I LOVE Ancestry!

I was without my Ancestry subscription for 3 weeks, and boy! Did I suffer withdrawals! I am so addicted to my family history research. I've always loved history, and the more I find out about my family members, the more inquisitive I become.

Yesterday, I was able to use my AVON money to order hubby's DNA kit, and then they offered me a 6 month worldwide subscription for $79 ... how could I refuse, LOL. 

So, today I was back doing research, and lo! I hit paydirt.

I started working on my hubby's family, and in searching info about his mum, I found her High school yearbook from 1947!

She is 4th from the left on the top row. I was struck by how much Mark's sister, Pam, looks like her mum.

I also found one of my hubby's cousins, and we started messaging back and forth. They haven't seen each other since they were kids over 40 years ago.

I also found a descendant of my great-grandmother's brother and am awaiting a response, as I am very interested in our shared great-great-grandfather who had a bird shop at 1 Rathbone Street in Canning Town. I am wondering what info they might have to share that I may not already be aware of.

I'm so happy to be able to continue my explorations for at least the next 6 months and expound on all that I already know. I find this journey fascinating!

Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman - Canto Della Terra (HD)

Enjoying some Brightman and Bocelli. I love their duets. Their voices complement each oother perfectly

Plaistow and Canning Town, mid 19th-mid 20th century home of my maternal forebears

My nan was born in Plaistow and grew up in Canning Town, so when I started on my family history journey, that was where I began. Growing up, she had told me stories of her childhood, so I felt like I knew some of the places she spoke of. I also remember her taking me to her parents grave in the East London Cemetery, the bus ride and ensuing walk to get there, and - stuck in my mind - a narrow cobble stoned street with a cobbler shop on the corner, that we'd pass as we walked.

She had worked at Achille Serre's dry cleaning company, and is shown 2nd from the left, in this picture.

It's where she met my granpop, who (obviously) she later married.

My nan was born Rose Poyser on 9th January 1908, and was the eldest of 5 children, her siblings being sisters Ivy, Lily and Alice, and brother Harry. 

Her parents were Samuel Poyser, known as Sam, and his wife Mary Ann (nee Hunt) who was known as Polly. In those days apparently, many girls named Mary Ann were known as Polly. My nan was christened February 7th in St Luke's church, Canning Town, which was known locally as "the Cathedral of Canning Town". Later she went to Sunday School there, and to school.

My great grandmother died suddenly in 1936, of  a stroke. She was only 50. Sam never remarried and died 17th October 1955, when I was just a few months old. They were buried together.

Sam had worked hard all his life. He was one of 8 siblings and began his working life at the Thames Ironworks, the 1901 census showing him aged 15 as a "carrier for a rivettor" there. He worked there until the shipyard closed, and in later years was known as a carpenter and a wheelwright. Apparently, he had a little yard off Fox Street (behind Rathbone Street) where he made the wheels for the costermonger's barrows, and also for the Romany vardoes (there being quite a large gypsy population in Canning Town down at Cherry Island).

My nan spoke of us being related to the famous Queen of the Gypsies, Rose Lee, and so I had always thought we were descended from her and had Romany blood, particularly as Sam making the wheels for the vardoes was often mentioned as "retaining his connection to" them. Further investigation though provided that Polly's younger brother, Danny, married Urania Lee's (Gypsy Rose Lee) granddaughter, Louisa. I know my nan spoke highly of Urania, so it seems that much of the non-gypsy family members were accepted into Louisa's family.

I am certain that Danny is among the mourners here and, because of the respect held for her, I have wondered whether my nan, Sam and Polly are here, too.

I had struggled to figure out how Danny and Louisa had met. Danny's father, at that time, having a shop at #1 Rathbone Street in Canning Town, and previously had conducted business out of a smaller location off Hallsville Rd on Satterton Street, my original thoughts had been that they must have met there. However, later research of my family's addresses showed Forty Acre Lane, which led down to Cherry Island, so I began to surmise that maybe the lads from Forty Acre Lane and Cherry Island may have hung out together, and thus Danny met Louisa through Sam (after Polly had married him). Sadly, the truth will never be known as all who would have known are now long gone.

Danny and Polly's father was Charles Hunt, whose business was listed in the 1912 Kelly's Directory as a "bird shop". Although we have no definite information, there was a huge preoccupation with imported songbirds in the Edwardian era, so my assumption is that it was that, somewhat of the beginnings of a pet shop as we now know them.