Hello to All,

Elfina, I'm so glad to hear that you made it safe and sound back North. The blooming flowers sound lovely, and what a truly wonderful time of year to arrive back home so you can enjoy the late spring show.

Liz, I hope your knee continues to heal sweetie, and that you don't have to put it to too much task too soon. Also hoping that things will be good for Paul, and sending a {{{hug}}} across the Pond to you dear friend.

Kermit, waving hello to you buddy.

We are officially in summer here in AZ even though the calender tells us otherwise. Temperatures are already in the 90s, though our morning are still relatively "cool" at around 70+. Once June hits though, there will be little difference between day and night as its pretty common to see night time/early morning temps at the 100 degree mark and 110+ during the day.

Ed has been having some good days recently (thank heavens) and it has been really wonderful to see the spark back in his eyes and a lighter step to his walk {smiling}.

My shoulder has been gradually improving as well, and wanted to thank all who've sent energies. Goodness, the pleasures of getting older, eh? {chuckle}

Okies, off to start dinner, but wanted to pop in and say hello and wish all a wonderful weekend.

Love,
Diana

well Elfina you are not the only one to live lost a posting. Just got a love it.

Hi guys, I'll try again.

Elfina,as I said earlier computers are great to have but a bane to the human psyche at times. Latest her home safely and that Scooter was a good guy on the way home. Our four-legged buddies really know what's happening.it's just a shame they can't communicate with us as well as we would like. enjoy New York as spring is popping all around. New life all about as we feel the beauty that is given us at this time each year. TAKE CARE GOD BLESS{{{HUGS}}}

Diana, sure isn't good news for Ed. As long as there is life there is love and healing coming. GOD BLESS You GUYS. Yeah, Arizona is warmer than what we are that's for sure. For myself I'm not able to handle the heavy heat in my cooler keeps me happy. I am hoping you're living quarters have mellowed some. Being the recluse that I am I surely couldn't handle that. For Ed's health, and yours, a peaceful place to live with the very healing. You guys have my LOVING HEALING PRAYERS and THOUGHTS. Love you guys, take care and enjoy.{{{HUGS}}}

Mermaid, it's good to hear your knee is feeling much better. The love that feeling throughout the universe from your dear friends ensure a help.

I am sorry to hear about Dave, Tuar?. Our prayers and our love surely goes out to them to help in whatever way universe wishes to use them.. I hope you get a chance take a ride in your boat this weekend. After all the hard work of cleaning it and getting it ready you deserve a little relaxation on the river,ENJOY.

My friend, as we know all Pisces are sensitive to what is about them; those that have planets in Pisces are sensitive also as we know Diana is. My problem manifests from the fact that I know something is wrong but a bit late bringing it to my conscious mind. I think that comes from my Sun in the sixth house opposing Neptune and Mars in the 12th house and both retrograde; then there is the trine of Neptune to my Moon. So I figure this stuff happens, it gets into my subconscious mind and takes me a little bit before I can bring it to my consciousness. Yep, I chose this birth time, hmmm, now why did I do that? OH, OH OH, I KNOW to learn . Sometimes I do get a bit tired of learning, NO.

TO ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL FRIENDS; GOD BLESS US ALL. We (I) know there is always a learning experience in the next day, the next hour, the next minute. TEARING HAIR OUT, WHY? WHY? WHY? hehehehehe

LIGHT, LOVE and PEACE; Kermit and B2 and friends. B2 here. My buddy at times gets a little bonkers and I have to soothe the soul. I pet him and whisper in his ears to make them feel good. A just little old baby and needs to be handled with baby kid gloves. WHEW, it gets hard at times but I don't mind it. He's a good guy. With all my love I send loads of {{{HEALING THOUGHTS and my we PRAYERS; with loads of PAwSEY HUGS and LICKY LiCKES}}} to our dear friends there ill at the moment. As we all know we will all heal in time. GOD BLESS ALL!

Good morning dear friends {smile}

Just splashing through briefly to say that I have read the posts and will write up more over the weekend. It has been really busy here and I haven't had much time to be able to do my own personal writing at all.

We are at home for this weekend as the shearers are due to come tomorrow to shear some of the Soays that have not cast their coats the past couple of years and I have also had workmen here replacing part of the hard landscaping in the garden where the wooden poles had got rotten. The tops of the ponds have yet to be done although they should be completed within the next couple of weeks.

It will actually be nice to be here for the weekend as we have been on the boat for the last couple of weekends getting up to date with outstanding jobs that still needed to be done after the long winter. We are nearly there on that and are going out on her next Wednesday to have the hand over re the new radio and gps navigation instruments that have been installed on her. Never a dull moment right now I must admit though sometimes it would be nice to be able to slow up a bit for sure {smile} I have also been cracking on with my RYA revision on electronic navigation as I have a simulator program on this computer so nearly there with that in readiness to be tested on that module.

Today is dear {{chakhotay's}} birthday and he is 11 years old bless him. It only seems like yesterday since he arrived as a little black bear cub and is now like a big black bear...{smiling}

I hope that everyone is well in their own ~nows~ and will write more of an update over the weekend together with a response to posts. In the meantime am leaving a {{{warm group hug}} to {{all}} who may enter and wish everyone a lovely weekend and a Happy Mothers Day to all our dear friends across the Pond. {Smile}

with love always

mermaid...xxx

Just a word catchup here.. Thanks everyone for being there for me, you know I'm not one to splash my private feelings around too much, but I know you've all been with me in spirit. So much has happened in the last 6 months that I don't know where to begin, but Greg and I have seperated, and its something that I know has to be done despite what anyone thinks, it has been difficult unravelling everything,but I am close to being much clearer now. Am going to live with Mum for now, will go there when he comes back into the house.

What I do know is that I love you all dearly, and am so glad that you always provided a place where that could be understood without misinterpretation.

I have been very very lucky in my life to have that, and when push comes to shove, that is what keeps me going.

Love Always

p.s A 6 month grounding might seem a bit over the top to some, but I realise now that that is what it has taken to make sure that I head into my new future clear..whew!

Oh Christ, whoever put the 6 million dollar Bionic woman image in my head, we will rebuild her better faster, just made me crack up, my name is not Jamie.. but good try.
Mum's no 1 commandment is still: Though shalt not have an ego, but just a little bit eh?

Roflmbo!!!!!!!!!

Hello dear friends

Am feeling a bit tired as we finally got the sheep all shorn (those that needed it), wormed and vetrazyined (anti fly/maggot spray) so thank heavens for that as I have been a bit of a nervous wreck hoping that we wouldn't get let down once I had got the sheep in this morning and shut them in.

We have been gardening and Paul is exhausted - the joys of getting old(er) I believe his consultant comes back of holiday this week and so perhaps they can now get things moving for him to have the injections done for the nerve in his neck as he is losing movement/feeling etc in his right arm.

I will write up more tomorrow but wanted to leave a {{{big warm hug}}}} for you dear {{{Robynne}}}} - I knew something was up. Whilst I am very sorry to learn that this has happened I do also understand that sometimes it is a necessary thing and hope that you and Greg will be able to work this through so that you are both there for the children when they need you even though it will be as separate individuals and not a couple. Leaving {{{more hugs}}}} to you sweetie and sending some extra {{{healing energies}}} Down Under to the pair of you.

Will be back in the morning... til then

love always

mermaid...xxx

Hello again dear friends {Smile}

Sheesh what a few days it has been (or weeks even!) and today has been no exception. I have had to update the ORC web site as Paul has been worried about the new trips laid on and have also had a few charter enquiries and got on with the sheep with Michael also being here as well. At least I am driving now which is good although the knee is taking longer than expected to heal up.

We will be at Thora's funeral tomorrow so I should be able to sit and write something tomorrow afternoon or evening as am just tired out again tonight.

In the meantime, I hope that everyone is well and am leaving a {{{warm group hug}} to {{all}} until I return.

love always

mermaid...xxx

I wrote the post below off line and then came in here and read Robynne's news and was so sorry for her. Mermaid please dont over do it by working to hard and hurting your knee again. I am going to post this now and will be back tomorrow when I have time to read over everything again.
________________________________________________________________________________
So happy I finally have my router connected properly and I can relax while on the computer. It's been busy since returning from Florida. Pat has a million and one projects working and I have to help him in some way with each one. So with my keeping the house in order and helping him there just haven't been enough hours in the day. The weather had been beautiful until this week when it turned cold and rainy and today we had a little bit of Snow. We will probably have a little frost tonight too. The flowering fruit trees have been so pretty I hate to see them ruined with the frost.

Mermaid I hope your knee is really on the mend. Pat is having terriable trouble with his. He can barely walk but he keeps going like the energizer bunny. I was greatful for Mothers Day yesterday as he didn't have to do any work and was able to rest up a little. I had a lovely Mother's Day, a visit with my son, talked to my Mom on the phone and she knew it was me, talked to my daughter for a while and received some great gifts. I have been blessed with a great family.

Kermit, I hope you are doing all right. B2 is a pretty smart doggie, I love the messages she leaves in here.
I gave Scooter a nice bath today and a little hair cut. He is loving being able to run and play outside off leash. I watched him from the window this morning and was surprised to see him actally run from tree to tree. He loves his freedom and is doing so much better here then in Florida.

Diana, you and Ed have been on my mind a lot lately. I pray that your life gets easier soon with better housing and better medical care. Hopeing Ed gets his treatments quickly and that they work well.

It's 6 o'clock and Pat is still outside working. At least he hired help this afternoon and they just finished planting 4 trees and are now working on the sprinkler system for the lawns. I have dinner warm in the oven for him when he comes in which hopefully will be soon.

I am going to pop this into the message board without doing a re read...so till next time...****some friendly fairy dust****to make you smile.

Stopping by to say hello to all,

Robynne, first off, adding a {{big hug}} to the ones left here for you. While I'm very saddened to hear the news purely because I know it must have been a painful decision for you to reach, at the same instance I'm filled with the hope that this new cycle of your life will bring a fresh, healing wind your way. This seems to have been a couple of years of the Phoenix principle at work for many of us, as we have eliminated from our lives those things which are needing to be released with love, we are being reborn int something ~greater~ than before. I certainly don't say this as a means of diminishing in any way the emotional pain that's been involved in this process for you, merely as an affirmation that there is hope reborn even as we are barely just emerging from the ashes of the past {{more hugs}}. Sending loving energies to you dear friend.

Liz, wow, sounds like work is taking off at knots for you, and sending a big bubble of energy to you so that you can do all that needs doing over the days and weeks to come.

Elfina, I'm hoping your fruit trees survive the frost in tact, and requesting that it be so. Ah, sounds like Scooter is a young pup again, running about from tree to tree as he enjoys the freedom of your Northern home {grin}. Thank you for your thoughts and well wishes dear, they are so very appreciated!

Ed completed some blood work, so we can now get a CT scan of his liver scheduled to make sure that things haven't progressed any further {keeping fingers crossed}. He has good days and bad days, the last week having been especially hard for him as he is retaining water quite badly in his lower legs and feet, but he's going into the Dr tomorrow so hopefully he'll have some more answers to that then.

Lakota is now the grand old fellow with his muzzle of gray, though he surely does think he's still a pup, bless him. I must say, we've been quite blessed in that he has such excellent health (knock on wood), so hoping we'll be able to enjoy his company for years to come yet.

Guess I'd best head off for now and continue the house cleaning. I still have a bathroom to mop, then I'm done for the day and can rest and read some of the third book in the "Game of Thrones" series, "A Storm of Swords." If you all enjoy fantasy novels, I would most definitely recommend the novels, which they've converted to an HBO series. It's quite a complex series, with alot of intrigue and some highly memorable characters.

Love to All,
Diana

Good morning dear friends {smile}

It is a beautiful morning outside with blue skies and sunshine but I know the weather is going to change by lunchtime as heavy rain is forecast which is going to be awful for the funeral later today. I know that funerals are not exactly nice event to attend but when the weather is bad it makes it seem much worse.

Anyway I thought I would pop a line in here to say how lovely it was this morning to read the posts and feeling the loving energies that abound here. So many years have gone by since we all started writing in ~the Retreat~ that it is lovely that we all continue to visit as and when our own ~nows~ permit. It seems like time has speeded up somewhat doesn’t it with not having enough hours in the day to do what we want and yet as I look out of the window this morning to see the leaves now all out on the trees at long last and flowers out in the garden, it just reaffirms the passing of the seasons and how time never stands still.

Mind you it would be nice if it slowed down just a tad that’s for sure. {smile} The lilac is now out as well as the wisteria although the plum and pear blossom took a real hammering with the high winds the last few days and the weather is now forecast to deteriorate again for a few more days so one step forward and a couple of steps back again. {Smile}

I am waking earlier and earlier these days which is probably another reason for my getting so tired by early evening (apart from the advancing years! {grin}). It does give a little extra time though to get on with revising for the RYA course as I can do that with peace and quiet. There are only another three modules to go now with the theory and then another four days of the practical and then hopefully I will have my ICC (International Certificate of Competence) wich will then allow us to sail over to mainland Europe. Without us having this certificate then the European marine powers that be would simply impound the boat. I can understand the reasoning behind it (ie to stop idiots putting to sea without the knowledge needed and then getting into difficulties and having to be rescued etc) but it is challenging at times to revise all of this and get up to speed with the new modern aids to navigation etc.

I know that the driving test here in the UK is far more difficult than when I first took it as you have a written exam as well as the practical driving with an examiner so I guess this is the same principle. It is just getting the brain cells into gear and back into study mode after years of not having to do it! {chuckle} Mind you we can sail all around the UK without having to have this ICC piece of paper it is another thing that the EU (European Union) have imposed on us. I suppose they have to make more rules and regulations to justify the high salaries they get to oversee and enforce it all etc.

Sheesh I have rambled on here and now looking at the time I have to go and make a start on my morning! {chuckle} I will respond to the lovely posts later on today and til then am sending out {{healing energies}} to all those who need them and leaving a {{{warm group hug}} to {{all}} who may enter together with a little ~something~ to start the day {Smile}

~This is my wish for you:
Comfort on difficult days,
smiles when sadness intrudes,
rainbows to follow the clouds,
laughter to kiss your lips,
sunsets to warm your heart,
hugs when spirits sag,
beauty for your eyes to see,
friendships to brighten your being,
faith so that you can believe,
confidence for when you doubt,
courage to know yourself,
patience to accept the truth,
Love to complete your life. …Ralph Waldo Emerson~

with love always

mermaid…xxx