The Doors

Photos are copyright of Maggie May

I was inspired to take these photos after seeing David Mcmahon's regular posts called The Doors on Authorblog (usually published on a Thursday). As far as I can tell, this is not linked to any meme or to anybody else.

I have found myself looking at unusual doors myself, now that my interest has been aroused and could not resist publishing these photos of the doors to the local Bristol indoor market.

However, I have been thinking lately of the symbolic opening and closing of doors in a person's life.

It seems that when one door closes another opens in life, so we are told. However, I have had lots of problems lately and it has not been a good year for our family concerning our house.

I think our Queen Elizabeth 2nd, announced in her Christmas speech once, that one of her years had been an Annus Horribilis when everything seemed to go wrong with her families' relationships and I can say that this year has been much the same for us. Our annus horribilis has been this year.

It started with the rats chewing through wiring that resulted in having to have so much work done and the kitchen still hasn't been finished to this day.

The wiring had to be renewed by an electrician and was working fine for a few weeks.

Then I have had problems with being blocked from my own blog on a couple of occasions and have no idea why. Maybe someone can come up with an idea or explanation of what might have happened. The problem seemed to right itself after a while, I am still having difficulties visiting some blogs and the system will crash at the drop of a hat because Broadband seems to be very slow. Several days after the blogging problems, all the electrics in the house started playing up and causing chaos.

The Electricity Company were called out urgently because of a terrible noise coming from behind sockets and meter and a new meter was fitted. Apparently, the new wiring in the kitchen caused the rest of the older system to play up and kept blowing fuses on appliances. My Broadband didn't take kindly to any of this upheaval and went on strike, leaving me to be without my precious hobby....... blogging.

We were due to go to our daughter's for a short break as we hadn't had any holiday this year, because of all the repairs to the kitchen, when the electrics started to go wrong. After the emergency electricity board told us we could go away, we left the house under the supervision of a neighbour who popped in here a few times and reported that all the lights had blown.

My daughter encouraged me to ring an electrician from her home, as she could see that I was upset. It was arranged for them to come out to our house the day after I was due back to return from holiday.

So the day after coming home, after much work and several things that were not quite right being rectified, we have paid a tidy sum and been told that we might have further problems. On the other hand we might not.

I am not very good at coping with this *alright one minute but not the next.* Broadband on today but not tomorrow, lights working one day but not the next. I need security and peace of mind and my peace of mind is lacking right now.

I have taken a knock and am reaching the end of my tether and feel on edge. I am still experiencing a very slow Broadband compared to how it was before and I still cannot access some blogs because of the slowness.

So I am waiting for my door to close on this episode and for a new one to open. It better be a good one though, else I don't want to go through it.

My Hundredth Post!

This is my hundredth post so I am awarding myself some flowers!

When my son persuaded me to start a blog in the new year, I was not at all enthusiastic and didn't even know what a blog was. I soon enjoyed reading other people's posts and left comments on their work. I was amazed when I received my first comment and was so excited.

I quickly got into the habit of writing posts. I wrote about real things close to my heart, family, friends, experiences, feelings, illness, pets, upsets as well as funny things and ordinary things.

When my new found friends started giving me awards, I thought I had it made!!!!!!

Of course my son had to set it all up because I am useless at technical stuff. Now that he has moved to his own home, I think he is really fed up with me for asking him to fix things that I can't do, when he drops the children off fleetingly, for me to take to school in the mornings, as he has to work full time. It was easy when he was a stay at home dad and living here, as I could ask him without causing a nuisance. 

I wish that I could do all the technical stuff myself and live in fear of the computer or router going wrong. I like to think that he is proud of the way I have reached this 100th post, but have a sneaky feeling that he wishes that he'd never started it!

I have really enjoyed the blogging and also taking photos to put on my posts. Adding photos was a major step forward and I have decided that I will not be using anything that I cannot photograph for my posts! I also never put pictures of  any of us on the blog. Not of our faces anyway. There's nothing wrong with any of our faces, its just a choice I have made!

Anyway, I have arrived at my hundredth post, and even if I never manage any more, it is an achievement! Thank you all for making it so!

Harry & I are going back to my daughters for 5 days. She is going through a tough time and wants us to return. As I have another week till I go back to school it is an opportunity for us to do that.

The hospice are keeping son in law in till next weekend and have suggested that they don't see each other or contact each other, so that Deb might have a bit of respite from him. It has all got a bit complicated and will not go into details about it. However, people can only take so much......

Back soon.

Its All Sam's Fault.......

I used to be a moderately competent housewife with two part time jobs. My house looked reasonably presentable, if not gleaming. I used to read lots of books & follow the soaps on TV. I used to do gardening & enjoy watching the birds & be at everyone's beck & call. I used to do a lot of things. Until recently, that is..........

My son, Sam put paid to all that when he asked me if I'd like him to set up a blog for me. A what?

He had to explain first of all what a blog was as I'd never heard of one & was wondering what I'd let myself in for.

I couldn't imagine anyone would be interested in my writings & thought it would be even more unlikely that I would want to read other peoples'. How wrong I was!

After Sam found me a few suitable sites, I found I was completely hooked!

Other people's blogs seem more interesting, well written & witty, but very inspiring. You bloggers are an interesting lot! I find an entirely new aspect of life has opened up. There's the thrill of receiving first comments & wondering what other people will write about next and the frustration of making a draft only to discover that someone else has written about that very thing & pipped me to the post!

In the meantime, I have an untidy, filthy house & a garden that needs attention & even the birds seem to have given up on me, in disgust!

How do other bloggers manage? Are you all super efficient types who get up at dawn to tidy the house before settling down to a few hours blogging? Do you all have to employ cleaners so that you can blog? What is your secret?

Apart from Sam, no one knows of my secret blogging. Everyone must be wondering why things are in such a mess.

Harry asks me, "What ever are you doing? What is the matter with you? Where is my dinner?"
Well something's got to give, but it ain't going to be my blogging!