Hello dear friends {Smile}

Just a quick ~splash through~ to start the string for May posts {smile}

Paul arrived safely home yesterday a very happy chappy as he had won the competition between the four of them for the first time ever! {smile}

It is a long weekend here in the United Kingdom and the weather forecast is good as well so methinks barbeques will probably be the order of the day/evening. {smile}

Will be back later with a longer post... til then leaving a {{{warm group hug}}}}} to {{all}} who may enter {Smile}

with love always

mermaid...xxx

Hello again dear friends {smile}

Popping back to respond to the outstanding posts fromthis week. {smile} It is another glorious morning here and the lilac is out in full bloom now together with all the apple blossom so the scent in the air is wonderful {Smile}

I am going to do some more power washing over the weekend methinks so can carry on around the back of the house where we sit outside. All the vegetables are coming along quite nicely both in the potting shed and in the veggie garden. Michael put the last of the main crop potatoes in the ground and got the hoe through as well for weeding yesteryday and Paul was very pleased to see how everything is growing on his return. He likes to take his glass of wine around the garden in the evening to see how things are doing {smile}

Listening to the weather this morning they are saying we could be having a long hot summer this year so I guess that means we will be doing a lot more watering. I guess a job for Paul over the weekend is to check the watering system then (as the pups had a good go at removing some of it) and then I guess we will be getting the plants organised for the hanging baskets as well. He is not going into the office today so that will make a nice long weekend for him also {smile}

{{{diana}} the way the weather is turning here I should think we might be thinking of cactus gardens! {smile} Mind you the I have a Mediterranean bed outside the study so there are drought resistant plants and those that like full sun like the dwarf lavender hedge around it and the sages and thyme plants. I could do with some of Ed’s skills here methinks as there are a few jobs that need a good carpenter – how about popping over for a working holiday? He wouldn’t have to work all the time! {grin}

I had a lovely time on my own here though I did a lot of work I managed to take some time out to refresh myself on some more astrology things. Finally took a look at my own progressed chart and realised that my progressed Sun moved into Taurus four years ago! Better late than never eh? {laughing} I was reading through Alan Oken’s book and he mentioned perhaps using progressions re changing on the wheel and then took a look at my own chart! Makes a lot of sense now I must admit in how I have been in recent years. Always seemed that something major has seemed tohappen in May in recent years (after the Sun moved into Taurus) doesn’t it .. eg the Fire here, Dan’s and Dee’s deaths and my cancer last year. Let’s hope that this May will be less eventful in challenging circumstances… (sending out a quick prayer to the Universe here as I write)… yet what will be will be that is for sure and we will just meet things as they come. {smile} On a nicer thought it will be Noosa and Chakhotay’s birthdays this month so we have two Taurus and two Pisces in the wolfpack. {smile} Shula managed to roll in something fairly disgusting yesterday (think it was fox poo from the smell) and couldn’t understand why I didn’t actually feel like cuddling her til she was cleaned up! {laughing}

I would love to have humming birds in the garden here as I found them absolutely wonderful when I was in the US you and Elfina are so fortunate to have them. Mind you I guess we have enough here to be going on with so shouldn’t be greedy. {grin}

Whilst I think of it can you email me your new address please so that I can update my address book. I don’t know if you have a long weekend over your side of the Pond so hope that it is a good one for you whether two or three days {smile} Sending you a {{big warm hug}} sweetie and we really must have a little catch up soon. {smile}

{{{elfina}} I hope that you had a lovely evening with Pat’s friend’s birthday celebration and that you are now getting organised back in your beautiful northern home. You will be so pleased to see your family again I am sure and especially the grandchildren so busy busy times ahead for you methinks! {chuckle}

Paul had a great time in France and it ended up with the weather being kind after the first day getting soaked with rain all day. He was very mellow when he got home yesterday and even more so when he got his trophy out of the luggage! {grin} We will be on holiday later this month and he realised that he had stuffed up somewhat as he is now going to miss three golf competitions! He decided that we will be going on the boat on the 19th May as he thought it would work in with the veggie garden and not having to worry about the produce. He didn’t think about the golf or indeed that we are going to miss out on the Suffolk Show by two days! I wasn’t very happy when I realised that last week as I missed it last year due to my surgery.. never mind we will ensure that we will go next year all being well. I do like the County show as there is so much going on and it is a really good day out and think it is a bit like your own County Fair. Will look forward to reading a post from you when you have the computer all set up and running and sending a {{{warm hug}} across the Pond til you return. {smile}

Well l guess I had better pop this post in now and go and get breakfast sorted out for the dogs and then make a start on my day on this lovely May morning {smile} will look in later… til then…

Love always

Mermaid…xxx

Here I am back home in NY. I found the house in perfect order with a refrigerator stocked with breakfast items and fresh milk and eggs and coffee. It was nice to wake up to the sound of geese overhead.

I have spent part of the day unpacking and getting the cars re registered and food shopping. Pat has been doing yard work and it looks so pretty already.

I am bone tired and we have to leave in a few minutes for Denise's as the girls want to see Grandma real bad. I baby sit them for the rest of the weekend tomorrow so it should be a busy weekend for me.

I'll be back tomorrow with some pictures of the girls to show you how they have grown over the winter.

((group hug)) just have driven 4 hours to Albany today, figured I may as well do that otherwise would just sit in Bunbury doing nothing so now catching up with a fellow travelling trainer going through stuff (smile)

All is well in sunny western australia. My house is on the market as is Geoffs so Liz, next time we see you we should hopefully be in our new house on the beach somewhere (crossing fingers)

Beaut drive through the jarrah forrests of w.a so, that was nice - hoping to get some pics on the way back

Hello dear friends

Just splashing through briefly as it has been a shattering day today and am now just about totally exhausted. My mother has died and have been fending phone calls all evening with having to inform family members etc and speak with Police etc after trying unsuccessfully to contact Mother by phone all of today as I had the sense that something was not right. Nothing can be done now until next Tuesday as it is a public holiday on Monday and so I will have to speak with the Coroner's Office on Tuesday morning to find out when we can think of funeral etc. Sheesh what did I say in my other post about challenging things happening in May!??!

I will be back tomorrow with a longer post.. til then

much love always

mermaid...xxx

Oh Liz, bless your heart {{{big hugs}}} Had the ~prompt~ something was up, yet I see that you would've retired to bed by now.

I'm so sorry, sweetie, to hear of your loss.

There are no words sufficient enough in a time like this. Sending out waves of loving energies across the pond to you.

As you know, the spirit goes on, yet there is still the very real and human aspect of grieving as there can be no preparation for such a thing.

Asking your Angels to surround you in loving comfort along with the prayer that your Mother will be guided across the Rainbow Bridge.

Love you dearest soul sister {{more hugs}}
Diana

My dearest Liz,

My heart goes out to you.

My tears are your tears.

Your pain is my pain.

Liz,
Oh Liz, how deeply I am sorry for your loss. Your Mother's passing like my fathers was unexpected even when we knew the day would come eventually. How shocked you must have been. I hope funeral plans will run more smoothly for you now. My condolences to Babs too. I will hold you in my prayers. Were you aware that Linda(Lew's) mother passed away this week too. Sending you my love during this sad time.****

Dear Liz

So sorry to hear of your Mums passing, sending love and best wishes to both You and Babs.

Know you will be really busy with all the organisation involved in the funeral etc, so wishing you the energy and strength to get through this time.

(((((Hugs))))

Hello again dear friends {Smile}

It has been fairly frenetic here with lots of phone calls and last night I was so tired that I was actually in bed by 9pm and slept right through until 7am this morning. I was going to write up a message then had to respond to emails so now am sitting down to write a proper post for here and will hopefully get it completed before Neptune time.

Thank you all so much for your kind messages – they are all much appreciated. The Universe works in wondrous ways as we all know and it has certainly provided with regard to Mother’s passing. I had spoken with her on Thursday and she was fine and in usual form. Paul returned from France that evening and didn’t go to the office so we went shopping and then to the local Nursery to buy the plants for the hanging baskets and planters so we could do them over this weekend. On Saturday morning I had the thought to call her at 11am and didn’t get a response only her voicemail. I didn’t think too much of that as she sometimes went into town on a Saturday. I tried again at lunchtime and still no response then continued with the gardening stuff. When it got to 4.30 I was getting concerned yet thought that if she was on the Readybus (which takes people to town and then brings them home again) then it might have been delayed in her arriving home as the driver gets each person safely to their front door and helps them in with shopping. I had to run an errand and then tried again an hour later. Still no response so I was then really worried.

With Mother choosing to live in Reading she had no-one to look out for her and I knew her neighbour across the way from her was away for the long weekend. I had called the hospital to see if she had been taken in there perhaps whilst she had been out shopping and she wasn;t there so I called the police. They were very good and once I had got logged onto their system then they said they would send someone round to her apartment. By then I was prepared for them to have to break down the door if necessary. Within an hour I got a phone call from the police and knew by the tone of his voice before he even said anything that Mother had died.

They didn’t have to break down the door – it turned out that the couple who lived below her (whom mother wouldn’t speak to as they had had a disagreement a few years back) had the key to the apartment across the way from mother and so they let themselves in there as Liz and Peter (who lived there) had a key to mother’s apartment! So the police were able to let themselves in and then they found mother looking asleep sitting on the sofa. They said all was peaceful and it looked as though she had sat down and then just gone. For her it was a lovely way to go as I know she was terrified of ending up in a hospital or home as she wanted to keep her independence even though she was getting more physically challenged especially with her breathing. Her fear of hospitals was so great that she cancelled a routine surgical procedure there a couple of months ago in case she died there and even on Thursday she was talking about cancelling the re-scheduled date for it in June bless her! {Smile}

Anyways to cut a long story short, with it being a long weekend the Coroner’s office will not be open until tomorrow and I will speak with them then to find out what is happening and whether they will require a post mortem or if they can release her for burial sooner.

She wanted to be buried in the church at Ellingham in the New Forest which is Bab’s local church and the Universe provided again as the vicar there has agreed that it will be possible even though she was not a parishioner. That is almost unheard of as I know our vicar wouldn’t agree to that with our church so it goes to show that there are some Christian vicars who do indeed ~walk the talk~ and so God bless him for that. {smile} It takes the worry out of what would have happened if he had refused (ie a Plan B) so that when I know more then Babs can instruct the Funeral Directors who can then get the funeral organised.

I will go down to Reading on Wednesday and meet up with Babs there so we can get some of the necessary things seen to and then will be home again either Thursday afternoon or more likely it will be Friday morning before I l return.

It is now getting rather late so I will pop this post in for now and then be back in the morning to respond to the posts. So til then thank you again for your kind thoughts and energies both here and by email they are all much appreciated….

With love always

Mermaid…xxx

(((((LIZ)))))I am glad you were able to stop back here before you retired for the evening. I have had you on my mind since I read of your Mothers passing. I am glad that she didn't suffer and just passed away quietly while resting in her chair. She is truly at rest now free of all worries and cares.

I had my grandchildren all weekend which was nice but very tireing. I was in bed at 5:30 last night as I couldn't keep my eyes open a moment longer. The girls just took all my energy to keep up. Make sure you take care of yourself and get lots of rest as you will need it in a few days as emotional tireness can be very draining. *******