Raining

When we chose our holidays dates we didn't realize it was right during the Olympics and in fact it couldn't have been better. The weather wasn't too nice yesterday so we have been " eating " Archery, Table tennis and diving all day and we loved it.

Borqna, we saw one of your fellowmen playing Table Tennis against China and it was breathtaking !

Today it is raining again and we started with Archery for breakfast !



Project 365+1 - Day 213 : Stronger

As of today's word, I think there is no doubt whatsoever but I still will ask the question: Who do you think is stronger, Hubby or me ?

Take care everybody, xxx
  

Relax relax . . .

Project 365+1 - Day 212 : Dive

We certainly are doing a lot of relaxing today, yes. We went to the park and I knew what to take a picture of, as there is a place in the river where all doggies dive in to have a good swim, but of course there wasn't any doggy today and as ours aren't allowed in as it isn't very clean, we came back home empty handed.

Then I realized that it's not because we are on holidays that there isn't any washing up to do, so here you are: My sponge in all its splendor taking a glorious dive into the washing liquid,

It might be less gorgeous than Tom Daley's and not deserve Gold, but it surely does a good job.

Take care everybody, xxx
  

Day -1 to Holidays !

Yesterday morning, Rhea had a good walk and although she didn't want to go again in the afternoon, it lifted my spirit as always.

We watched the Archery final Italy/USA and it was brilliant. It's nice to be able to chose what we would like to see on BBC, it allows to get into almost unknown sports to us like water-polo and fencing.

This morning the weather wasn't exactly sure what to do. It started not too bad when we went to the park.

By the way I found another piece of the puzzle for the life cycle of that pink flower.

The skies looked great



then the weather got much worse

and by the time we were back home

It is now pouring down with thunders and lightnings. Rhea is under my desk and not happy-chappy !

As soon as we bring the kids back home tonight, hubby and I will officially start our 2 weeks holidays. We don't go anywhere, but it will be nice to relax.

Oh and one highlight will be the very much anticipated arrival of Jen and Ali for a short visit. Even the girls know they come and when I say Jen and Ali, they now move their tail. Aren't they sweet ?




Project 365+1 - Day 211 : Heavy

I have 3 photos for this word today.

The 1st one I took in the park, it's a very big tree that fell during a tempest many years ago. There is only a very small path to go close to it and the tree is so incredibly heavy that they decided to leave him there.

The 2nd one I took home short after we came back : Heavy rain

The 3rd one, I also took in the park. It is a naughty photo but " heavy " is what came to my mind when I saw the scene so I took the photo.

Take care everybody, xxx

A quick one

Last night ceremony for opening the Olympic Games was brilliant, wasn't it? I loved Daniel Craig's James Bond small movie and Mr. Bean was just like Mr. Bean ! The flame lightening was breathtaking. I thought everything was perfect (didn't enjoy Paul McCartney so much though . . . ).
I wasn't too excited about London holding the Olympic Games but this ceremony certainly managed to bring me into the spirit.

We went to bed so late that we got up up at 9:30. Hopefully the girls had slept longer too but now it's a bit of a rush as the kids are coming this week-end so late and now I am kind of behind, so just a quick one before I go to the park.



Project 365+1 - Day 210 : Rings

I immediately knew what I wanted to do as I am a specialist at that, just today it was done on purpose : Coffee rings with an Olympic taste !



Take care everybody, xxx
 

Back to Britain's weather

This morning we were back to normal: Rain, lol !

It was still a bit warm but not too much so I must say it was pleasant 

Although Rhea was on a double of doses of meds starting this morning, she didn't do well. She walked only a couple of hundred meters and had to lay down for 5 minutes. We had a cuddle and stayed there for a while as she still enjoys sniffing the air, then I brought her back home.

Yesterday the Vet said something that broke my heart.  He said that our goal now is to keep her comfortable. That's what doctors say for a terminally ill patient. That's true, there is nothing much we can do, so at least make sure that she isn't hurting and can enjoy some little walks here and there. I know that but it still hurts.

I went out again with Bubbles to have a look around. What I especially enjoy this year is that by taking so many pictures in the park I get to see the life cycle of plants.  You know this one below :

When it gets older it turns to that pastel color and it kind of loses all the spikes.

After that, I don't know yet, let's see in the coming days or weeks.





Project 365+1 - Day 209 : Fire

This is the screensaver I have on my computer: Planet on fire.

I am not completely mad about the Olympics but I tried to take a quick photo on TV this morning during the news, so I can remember later. It was during a recap so I am not sure it happened today but what better picture of fire to get than with David Beckham in it . . .

Take care everybody, xxx
  

Why do most people hate Windows ?

Yes, why do most people hate Windows? I think Microsoft just have themselves to blame.

Yesterday I said I installed an emulated Windows in my Mac, not by choice, for sure, but
I wanted to keep some programs that don't run yet under Mac. Everything ran fine, true, until I was asked to update Windows. So I clicked on update and I got this message :

So in order to update, you first have to download a program in order to update the update program. OK, let's click on Install now !

Then I got that :

Did you ever have fun and count the " unknown errors " existing in Windows? Is there anything they DO know?

Anyway, my conclusion was : If you don't want to update, then don't. I don't care.  I hate these guys . . .

The weather was great today and hot again.

We had a short walk as Rhea didn't really feel like it. We had an appointment at the Vet this morning and he also saw that she was struggling a bit so we went up a small amount on the pain killers and we see for a week how she goes.

I think I can deal with anything as my dogs get older, like caring for them every hour but I can't stand the idea of them being in pain.




Project 365+1 - Day 208 : Infinity

I don't know if it was done on purpose that we get infinity on the day 208, but I found it funny as the infinity symbol is a laying down 8.

I took this photo in the park. It's a bunker, reminder that the park was previously a golf course and there is obviously an infinity of grains of sand in there.

Take care everybody, xxx
  

Shorter and shorter

This morning I called one of my French Aunties ( the one living in Toulon ) to have some news. She was fine and she told she could see I was fine too as my blog posts were getting shorter and shorter. She is absolutley right as this weather makes me want to do things outside and not waste time on the computer !

I managed to finish this book I was talking about a couple of days ago: Sleepy head by Mark Billingham. If you like Thrillers, it is definitely a good read.

I also managed ( with Nicky's help ) to install an emulated Windows on my Mac so I still can use some progs that don't exist on Mac. It took a while but it runs fine now.

This morning we went to the park early but not early enough. The sky was cloudless 

and we had to hide below the trees as it was very already really hot. Rhea had a good walk and I was pleased with that.

I only took a couple of pictures as all the interesting things were in the sun :

Project 365+1 - Day 207 : Multiples

I didn't have a clue what to do for that one. A trip to the bank saved me as I noticed that a part of the sidewalk is made " dominos of 6 " multiples.

As of the status of them I agree, they are in need of a good wash !

Take care everybody and enjoy the sun, I heard it's not going to last ! xxx
    

Weird English rules

This morning it was swimming day for the girls. We set off early, the weather was beautiful and driving on the motorway with open windows was a delight.

Close to the pool there is a road, called . . .  don't remember what, but below the street's name it is written: " unadopted private road ". One day I asked Dennis what that meant and he said it means this road doesn't belong to anybody as it wasn't claimed by anybody so for example nobody is responsible for repairing it.

We drove by this street this morning so it reminded me of the story and honestly since that day Dennis explained, I am still laughing because I still can't understand why on earth you need to adopt roads in this country , lol.

I used the pool for today's word so let's go there directly.



Project 365+1 - Day 206 : 1,2,3

As Jen said in her text this morning, it looks like since a couple of days, there is a kind of a pattern in the word of the day, lol.

So this is my 1,2,3, starring: The girls.

It is impossible to take a picture from outside when the door gets open as they rush in like nuts, so I waited inside but it wasn't fantastic either and by the time I pressed the camera button, Bubbles looked like this kind of whitish ghost you see entering the pool. Rhea is a bit clearer. Anyway, they had the time of their life, as always.

Take care everybody, xxx
 

Summer is surely here

Yesterday every family member had a relaxing lazy afternoon.

Some in the sun

Some in the shade

and some half half

I also stayed half in the sun and half in the shade, as well as half reading and half sleeping. These were definitlely great battery recharging hours.

Today we have the same weather. I went to the park with the girls and wherever I looked it was only blue sky, not a single cloud to be seen.

Rhea didn't want to walk much and I didn't push her as we go to the pool tomorrow so I dropped her home and went out again with Bubbles. We went along the river and I could take a couple of interesting pictures

and this little guy who has such a great color.



It's going to be hard to stay inside and study on the computer today !!!




Project 365+1 - Day 205: Nine

When I told the word to Dennis he immediately said what he would photograph. I followed his advice so the credit of the idea goes to him today.

This is obviously a Sudoku game with its 9 squares each of them also made of 9 squares. OK, it's a French one but it's all I had at hand. Nobody's perfect, lol

Take care everybody, xxx
  

Doing nothing . . .

For Hazel and Lynne, this is the sign I was talking about on our bedroom's door

although I must confess that at our age we gave up on jumping on the bed and pillow fighting, lol.

My Dad is doing great. So far he didn't have any of the beta-blockers side effects and he started going out with Mum for short walks. Enjoying life again !

It is a beautiful day here. We all went to the park. There were plenty of doggies everywhere

and it seems it was International Sniffing day.

You will have noticed it's almost impossible to take a picture in which they are not all sniffing each others bum. These guys can be so enbarassing, lol.

Back home we just went to the garden with a coffee and a good book. I started reading the book Kim offered me for the world Books Night. It's called Sleepy Head. I love thrillers and this one seems pretty promising.




Project 365+1 - Day 204 : One

Of course I had to think about " The One " in the Matrix, but Keanu Reeves not being part of our close friends circle ( yet ), I had to go for something else.

From top left to right :

Only One black dog in the lot; One bird; One bunch of flowers; One cloud in the sky

Take care everybody, xxx
  

Shhhh ! Looks like it's summer

Beautiful hot day today and the 4 of us went to the park under a gorgeous sunshine.

The girls love when Dennis comes with us and Rhea felt really good so she walked a long round without even noticing and she didn't seem tired. Of course it doesn't avoid that she rolls over and gets wet.

Most of the photos I took in the park were dedicated to the word of the day so see below.




Project 365+1 - Day 203 : Three's a crowd

Sometimes you understand something, you do it but you still don't feel it, that's mainly true with sport and as long as you don't feel it, you won't do it correctly.

I think this was the toughest word for me since the beginning of it. I knew what it meant when I saw it, but I needed to develop a feeling for it and that was really difficult so Dennis was coaching me half of our walk.

I think I got it now, so this is my interpretation of three's a crowd : Rhea playing with a friend ( look at her position, *sigh* . . .  ) whilst Bubbles was left on her own.

It's the week-end and it's sunny so I will go and play lizzard in the garden for a while.
Yeah !!! I hope it's also sunny where you are. Have a great week-end !

Take care everybody, xxx
  

Busy bee

Before I forget. Hazel, I didn't find a photo of Bubbles in a similar angle as your Oscar. The closest was this one. But still your boy looks like a boy and my girl like a girl !

Fridays are always busy as I do my data computer back -up and I go to Asda on the top of what I normally do. To add to that the weather was so nice that I decided to put a load of wash and independently of the weather, I needed to go and have some x-rays of my knees at the hospital as they seem to be on strike and don't allow me to play squash anymore.

It all started by a walk in the park. By the time I had done the back-ups and the wash, clouds had packed up but it stayed dry and we had a small round.

Back home Rhea was in a thinking mood on the top of the stairs and I played Red Whale to picture her.

I love when she has this look on her face, relaxed but miles away and I always wonder what on earth she could be thinking about.

I then hung up the wash and drove to Winchester Hospital. They are currently building a lot of new building and therefore restricting parking areas so it's kind of very difficult to park now. I had to go to the main parking, at the opposite of where I needed to go. This is a view from the top of the parking

I had to walk through plenty of corridors, I passed by the department where my dad was last year for a week. Many people are long term patients and there is "painting club ". The art pieces are then hung in the corridors and are available to buy. Some are very beautiful.

I got my X-rays done and went back home.

Dennis was still having one of his Chinese lessons so I decided to surprise him and prepare some quick lunch : a salad with tomatoes, spring onions, boiled eggs and small fried bacon pieces. We were even able to eat in the garden !

And now, it's back to work !!!



Project 365+1 - Day 202 : Matched pair

I double checked the definition on Google and I wish I hadn't, lol, so I thought I go with my guts.

When we decided to get Bubbles, we hoped she and Rhea would like each other and eventually would become best friends but it was impossible to be sure. When Bubbles was brought to our home, Rhea behaved as a capricious kid, didn't want to have anything to do with her and didn't want to share her toys.

Bubbles worked her way to her Rhea's heart and within 3 days, she was sleeping on Rhea's tummy and in Rhea's basket although she had her own. It never changed. They still sleep in the same basket what's good because having an empty basket I can threaten Dennis to be sent to the dog's house for good, lol..

This is my key ring that a friend offered me last year. On it is a photo of the girls and they are now the best matched pair we could have wished for.

 Take care everybody, xxx
  

What an evening !

Last night we went to see " the Dark Night rises " as planned and it was absolutely fabulous to be out and not to have to worry about anything. It was the European premiere in London at the same time but for whatever reason, it made them crazy in Southampton too. We were asked to be there an hour in advance, there were lots of identity checks, threatenings if somebody tried to record during the movie and waiting in line with all the organization people in black suits, running around. We were even wondering if somebody wasn't going to show up, but we heard afterwards that Prince Harry had chosen London instead !

The movie is really good, the THX effects a bit too powerful though as we came out of there half deaf and still body shaking from the vibrations in the seats but if it's your kind of movie, go for it, it's a great experience and you will love it !

This morning was a very nice start of the day and although it starts getting covered again, it looks like we might have seen the worse of bad weather. At least let's hope so.

Rhea is on decreased dosis of meds and I start noticing it as we walk less far but this morning she wasn't too bad. I need another week to make sure if she needs an increase or if she can cope the way it is. The meds not being good for her kidneys, we need to find the right balance and that isn't easy.

I took a lot of pictures of this plant but I do love it and here are some other views before the flowers blossom.

Project 365+1 - Day 201 : Cheese

I do love cheese, but the kind of cheese I love like running camembert or overdone mountain cheese doesn't photograph well. So I went for another kind of cheese.

In this house, when I want to take a picture of somebody and I say " Cheese ", they all take their teeth out in the most unnatural way and I constantly complain about it because we get weird photos. The kids being here today, I decided we do on purpose an unnatural session of photos saying cheese.

I don't know how to do that but believe it or not, when I asked them to do it on purpose, they all had the audacity to say they didn't know how to do it  . . .

So that's still my photo for today

but they forced me looking into my photo archives so I can show you what they do. You won't be disappointed :

First Dennis

Then the kids

Know what I mean and what I have to deal with !!! At least it's worth a good laugh each time I look at them again.

Take care everybody, xxx