I got the blues..... 10Feb2007

Well, its definately that time of year.... I think I could do with some sunshine and more blue skies!!!! We have had a few busy weeks at Chez Gumbrell, as previously mentioned, Jay was not happy in his job move, and has now secured a new position in a lovely independant garage in the beautiful village of Mayfield, East Sussex. It is quite a new concern - and deals alot with general servicing - the thing that has excited him most is the links with a certain luxury motor car, which he will get the chance to do performance engineering....... those who know him - will probably be grinning now......... bless him - he starts on Monday. and is really looking forward to it. Danielle has been busy - she did her Pass Plus driving course and thoroughly enjoyed it - she must have - cos she is planning to drive up north next week-end (!) And also she has got a part time job at a local Pub Restaurant - this was just to get her out and about and to try and get some sort of a social life. And as for me , I am still waiting to start my Underwriting training, I fell like March will never come!!!!
We are off to see my girlies and Mum and Maddie next week-end, so will bring back some photos, if you are reading this Amy - get Babe brushed and polished as I don't seem to have any piccy's of her on the pooter at the moment.

Loads of love

Caro xxx

Maddies first visit 26Jan2007

Well - she came, she stayed, and she made me fall in love all over again - - and I broke my heart crying when they left ---- just take a look at my angel................. or should I say fairy?

She is such a cutie pie, and a very good little girl as well - can you believe she is only 8 weeks old? This outfit is sooo cute - its got fairy wings on the back and little sewn on ballet type shoes on each foot. Maddie did the grand tour round my office, and was such a hit with everyone - I was so proud.....

This is Flissy - getting in on the act - she rather took a shine to the car seat!! Zoe and Andy came down on the train, and Zoe really enjoyed the trip - said it was a super way to travel - they avoided London, coming via Watford Gap and East Croyden, she had arranged for assistance at each station to help with all the luggage!!! Andy ended up coming as well in the end, so it was lovely having all of them together.

Amy is moving stable yards next week, which is always stressful - she has a few days off to cope with it all - Babe is not the easiest horse to deal with when travelling- so fingers crossed fora a safe move.

Will catch you soon....

Caro xx

look what I got!!!!! ~ 24Jan2007

When I woke up this morning -look what happened overnight.......

This is one way up the garden.....

And this is the other way towards my car.......

I love it when it snows - however it appears the local authorities do not seem to listen to the weather reports, some of the main roads are treacherous, Jay is still trying to get to work and he left at 7.15 and it is now 8.01 and he is only about an normal 5 minutes away from home.

Hope you are all ok

will try and get more photos later

Caro xxxxx

So - I have swept the path and go t a few more shots for you.....

Here is Roxy - she was having a great time til she posed for the camera - you have no idea what a good game you can have when you pat the snow thru the slats of chairs!!!!

These are a couple of views from the garden, top left - from the river to the house, on the right is the view upstream and bottom left is across the river to the pub. In the summer you can see kingfishers on the river and also we have a family of swans that paddle up and down this stretch. Still I think it looks lovely with the snow!!

Take care xxxx

A visitor......... 18Jan2007

Well how exiting.... I dont normally have exiting things happen on a Thursday ... or many days to be honest - and on the day you least expect it - you have a visitor in your garden - that even your big sister hasn't had....................................

I know you will never guess so I have photographic evidence.......

Ok so I didn't take the photo - but I nearly crashed the car when I saw it - I got my camera phone to take a shot - but it got shy and flew away, so I borrowed an image from google. But how lovely is that bird? A Greater Spotted Woodpecker....... We can hear it in the Summer, but this is the first time I have actually seen it.

The wind is ferocious today - I hope you all keep safe and dont have any major damage.

I love my birdy............

Caro

xx

An apology...........14Jan2007

Well - here goes ..... I had a bit of a telling off last week - and rightly so I think!! Amy - my middle daughter, peeped at the Blog via her mobile phone (isn't technology wonderful - I can only use my phone to call and text and take photo's - I haven't got a clue how the rest of it works!!) and gave me a telling off as she hasn't been mentioned much. So brace yoursef luvvey - here we go........
Amy Elizabeth - named after Libby of course will turn 21 in August this year. She is a total horsey person thru and thru - and as I have mentioned previously - owns a 16hh dark bay mare called Babe - who takes up most of Amys hard earned salary and time!!

Here she is with Maddie - sorry Amy - I haven't found a photo of you and Babe - I can't access the shared photos for some reason (so much for shared huh?)

Any hoo.... Amy has a boyfriend called Mark - which can get very confusing during conversations with Libby - but that is another story. They have been together ..actually its well over two years I think, I am sure she will let me know!!!!! They tear round the Wirral together as Amy moved back up North just over a year ago now - and yes I still miss her like mad - we used to do lots of horsey stuff together, and she never minds if I dance and sing in a shop if a good track comes on - Danielle wont let me!!!!!!!!

Amy now works at MBNA taking calls from customers who have received letters of arrears - so you can imagine how her day goes, bless her - we chat most days, but it never makes up for not being with her. I miss both my girls so much, I wish someone would invent an affordable time machine so we could catch up face to face instead of snatched weekends every couple of months.

Will have to stop that line I'm afraid - I get to upset....

Some nice news - I have been offered the job to train as a medical underwriter, which I start in March - have I already told you that? Lots of time to panic...............

Anyway, will catch up soon.....

Caro

xx

Wonder if it will work? 3rd January 2007

Well... It actually loaded the picture first time today!!!!!!!

Look at my lovely granddaughter, this was just before Christmas, and I don't care if people thought it was wind - I think she is definitely having a go at smiling!!!!!!

Zoe is off to have her weighed today - so I will let you know how she is doing when I find out. Zoe said she thinks Maddie is going to have a wicked sense of humour as she is full of smiles and likes to chat already.... just like her mum!!!!

Zoe is looking into a baby massage course which sounds like a lovely thing, don't times change though? My girls had only three years between them - and in those three years some bright spark invented the steam sterilizer amongst other things, which are fabulous, but all the other things you do now differ so much from 21 years ago. OK - I know I sound like an old fart - but its a Nannys privilege!!!!!

~I still havent had a date to start my new Underwriting job, the general opinion is that I won't be released until the beginning of February - which is pretty much what I expected, but gives me more time to panic about it!!!! I can't help being one of lifes natural worriers, but I am sure it will be a good move in the long run. I heard yesterday that one of my old managers fiancee applied as an external applicant, and was also offered a position - this is good news, as I get on with her really well - and at least it will be a friendly face.

Anyway - will get off now - I just wanted to post another Maddie piccy for you ~ I will find some others to post eventually - but for the moment I just can't help myself!!

Take care

Caro xxx

~Happy New Year~ Jan 1st 2007

Happy New Year to you all..........
We have had a very quiet New Year - we dont tend to go out to celebrate it anyway, but poor Jay had "man flu" - and to be honest he is very rarely ill and the poor bunny was really suffering - we were all in bed before midnight and being in a very quiet spot in East Sussex the silence was shattered at midnight by some neighbours setting off some fireworks - when I say neighbours they were from across the railway and over a field - but it may as well have been outside the window as it is normally so quiet!! could i get back to sleep? - no... so I ended up coming back downstairs and watching an Arnold Swarz -im ijig film until about 2AM!!
Sadly when I got up in the morning I found our beautiful red Oranda fish - Miranda had turned up her fins overnight - I was very sad as she was the first pet Jay and I bought together - and yes, all our fish do have names..........
Danielle stayed in with us last night - I think she was quite relieved to have decided to stay in - the weather was absolutely foul - high winds and rain - it was so bad at one point we had more smoke coming down the chimney into the lounge than was going up it!! Needless to say we let the fire die down.
I had some nice news last week - I applied for two things in work before Christmas - a position on the management training programme, and also to train as a Medical Underwriter - I wasnt succesful with the management programme but have been offered the underwriters position - so I am just waiting for a release date from my current team - I am really scared!!!!!! I love my team to bits and we have such good fun - but the actual work side of the job was really getting me down, so I think it will be a positive move.
Zoe and Madison are doing well - Madison spent her first new year with Zoe and some of Andy's family - Andy went to the pub - understandably Zoe didnt want to leave her gorgeous girlie. Amy and Mark went to there local, poor Amy has one of her sore throats, so she didnt feel like celebrating much.

This is Danielle and Maddie just before Christmas - both flat out - seem to enjoy sleeping!!! I am sure in future they will shop and drop together!!!!

Christmas - been and gone!!!! 27Dec2006

Well, I can't believe how quick that came and went.... I think my Christmas started with a lovely visit from Libby, Mark and Tori on the 16th December- with a surprise appearance from Kathryn - I had no idea she was joining us, but it was so lovely to see them all. I think we ate half of Iceland (the store, not the country!!) I was out on the town that night with my team from work - so Libby went on to visit some more peeps they know in the area.
I had a great night out, however I would have to say that I am glad the company had paid for it as it was an awful lot of money for a meal that was not really what it had promised to be. The soup was amazing - mushroom and parsnip , strange combination, but scrummy - and the rest was really not worth mentioning. (Actually - Libby, the chutney they served with my cheese and biccys was ok - not as good as your autumn chutney though)
So, Jay and I finished work on Thursday afternoon, flew round the shops to make sure we had food to come back to and then went to the library to rent some "books on CD" for our journey up north. You may remember the fog was atrocious and we find this a good way to travel, if you have any hold-ups you are generally well entertained if you have chosen well!!
Having been prepared, the journey was fairly uneventful - the fog round the Heathrow area was dense - but it was actually worse in the midlands - we managed it in approx. 5 1/2 hours with a stop.
Well - news of the lovely Madison - she is still beautiful and although she was only 3 weeks old she is trying desparately to smile believe it or not will make noises when you talk to her!!
Zoe seems to be coping well - poor Andy being in retail has been working all hours on the lead up to Christmas - up to 14 hour days, I dont know how these companies get away with it. I asked him if he had to do the long hours - and cutting a long story short, he would not be included in the store bonus scheme if he didnt do what they asked. Sounds like the arm is firmly up the back there!!
Amy is also working extra hours, for those who dont know her she is qualified in all things horsey (BHS exams) but has recently moved to an office job with MBNA, and is trying to be able to afford life in general - horses are an expensive hobby, and stabling costs along with everything else does not come cheap. She has a lovely 16hh dark bay mare called Babe, who she has promised to love and care for for ever - hence her show name Promise Kept.
Danielle, Jay and I spent a very quiet Christmas Day - we have a lovely cooked brekky, and dinner at 4.15 (on the button - as planned - no delays - amazing!!!!!) and then spent Boxing day with his Mum and Dad and Emily (Jays daughter), that was really lovely, we all ate far to much, but it was a lovely day - we played Upwords - like a sort of Scrabble - I won!!!!! (there you go Mum the grammar school education paid off at long last!!!!!)
Well - enough of my rambling - I wish you all a very Happy New Year - keep safe.

Caro xx

A hectic week..........14Dec2006

Well - its been one of those weeks - we were so busy over the weekend, both Jay and I worked on Saturday - I finished at 1pm, and Danielle and I went Christmas tree shopping!!! I am a die hard fan of real Christmas trees and can be very fussy regarding shape height and the like. I choose the 2nd one I picked up!!!! Its a Christmas miracle............ Usually I wouldn't bring it into the house so early - but Libby, Mark and Tori are visiting this weekend and I would like some air of festivity about the house!!

This is a good 2ft shorter than the size I would normally squeeze in, but I loved the shape so much I went for it!

At this point I would like to say it was all going swimmingly - there are 3 feline prowlers however that are interfering with decorations and water levels - namely........

Garfield - Mr "butter wouldn't melt in my mouth" - caught red pawed with a soft teddy angel bear in his mouth, surrounded by gold tinsel.............
Roxie - Miss " honest mum the bauble I was chasing had mysteriously fallen from the branch on its own"

and Fliss - who couldnt possibly drink water from any other source than the Christmas tree base - how does she cope the rest of the year?

Charlie - the elder statesman - can't really be bothered - he is a wise 7 years old and has been there, done it, and cannot remember what the fuss is all about.

Well just a short entry for today - I am on 1-8's this week - so being in the centre of Tunbridge Wells I have to leave about 2 hours before my shift as the christmas shoppers invade every car park around .

See you all soon....Caro xx

One proud mum............... 05Dec2006

Hi All - I know my big blister (libby) will have passed on the good news - but I have the photos.........
After a four hour dash up the motorway thru winds and rain - ~I arrived at the hospital with a few hours to spare - at 5.34 Friday 1st December 2006 Madison Louise came into the world - after a very short labour and on only gas and air - a very shell shocked partner Andrew, a proud Mum and a fantastic midwife with armour plated skin to defend her from the expletives (where do they learn those words.........) baby came kicking and bawling into the world - and very quickly started rooting and found a thumb!!! - just like her mum!!!!

This is Madison - minutes old having been disentangled from her umbilical cord - wrapped neatly once around her neck - giving me enough time to sprint down the corridor to get the camera from a very patient Danielle who was in the waiting room.Meet Zoe and Andy - I must say both Andy and Madison have got a bit more colour...........Madison and Pooh Bear - how plumptious and gorgeous is she?This is quite a line up.... from the back - Me!! Zoe, Nana (mine and Libbys mum) and Madison, quite something to have a photo with four generations!

Who's a proud Nanny then?

We will be visiting all up north just before Christmas so will have more photos then, I am going back to work for a rest now!!!!!!!!!!

Catch up soon - Caro xxxxx

A waiting game...........28 November 2006

Well I don't know if my nerves will hold up much longer - this impending Nanny-hood is not good for your health!!1 I jump every time the phone rings in work (can you imagine - I am in a very large contact centre with over a 100 staff!!!) I cant sleep in case I miss the phone - the fact it is about 4 inches from my head doesn't seen to enter the logic zone. Half of my clothes are in a bag to travel with and so I am now searching for stuff to wear so I dont touch the stuff that is packed. As well as that the washing machine is dying - and the new one doen't get delivered til next week - so as the spin cycle is only just about turning it takes about 2 days to dry any other clothes.
Anyhoo - Zoe saw the midwife today - she had a thorough examination - those mums amongst you will remember that :-0, things seem to be moving in the right direction and if nothing happens in between now and the 5th December - then that is when they will induce her - she is a bit disgruntled - well alot disgruntled - but hopefully things will move on their own.
I am just so worried I wont get there on time - having to negotiate the M25 at anytime is no fun let alone when you are in a hurry!!
Well will leave if there for now - hopefully we will have some news soon
Take care

Caro xxx

Some quiet time 18 november 2006

Well this is highly unusual!! All alone on a Saturday morning..... We have Amy and Mark down this weekend - she drove all the way down so Jay could help her with her broken exhaust - we could hear her car from about a mile away!!!! It is so lovely to have them here - we had one of Jay's home made curries last night which is always yummy, and always a request from Mark as he adores them. Right in the middle of cooking the poppadums we had a power cut - which is no fun being in pitch black with a frying pan full of hot oil!! fortunately it came back on after about 5 minutes - I really must make sure the torches and candles are out and handy now. We do have these black outs every now and then - generally when the weather is a bit iffy, we had torrential rain yesterday evening - so I think everything must have got a bit damp!!!!
Danielle is now the proud owner of a little Ford KA - it is an "R" reg and is a little cracker for what she paid for it. Jason is rolling up his sleeves to do the essentials - its wonderful having a mechanic in the house. I asked him if he ever got fed up with it - he never seems to escape the engines and muck - he just grinned and said - its what I do - and what I love. Bless him!!
We had a busy day in work yesterday - lots of fund raising for Children in Need - we did cake sales and all sorts of games and quizzes. The best had to be one of our managers who let us shave his head into a monk style haircut - he donned a monks outfit and then went to the pub for lunch - a good sport!!! He raised over 600.00 for that - not bad huh?
Well I think I will stop now - did I mention I am knitting a scarf for myself?
Not sure how it will turn out though - I am not a spractical as my big sister - what started as a 40 stich cast on now only seems to be 38 on the needles - not sure where I lost the other two..................

Catch you all soon - does anyone else read this do you think Libby?

a bit a of a performance 12 November 2006

Well if mid-week was dodgy, the end of the week got worse. I had what only can be described as a near fainting attack in work - not the sort of thing I am known for. Was looked after beautifully by my colleagues, and escorted home by the duty manager. This meant that my hubby and daughter had to go back into town later in the evening and bring my car back. Seemed like a good plan, until I got a phone call after they had left. Danielle had been driving her little fiat Punto - Fiona, which is her first car - she has only been driving a few months, and a big stag deer leapt out of the hedgerow giving her absolutely no chance of stopping and the front end of Fiona is totally wrecked. She was so upset - to make matters worse it wasnt killed and was dragging its back legs down the road. Jay called the police straight away - as they were on a very busy but unlit road - the A26 between Crowborough and Tunbridge Wells in case you know it. Soon a guy turned up who the police had contacted - he deals with the deer side of things and poor Jay was still trying to manage the traffic. The deer man couldn't deal with the deer as he needed a shotgun, so he called his colleague out. I didnt know this - but although these deer guys are licensed, they have to have the police present before they can discharge a firearm on a public highway. Still no sign of the police and they made the decision to carry on to stop the poor animals distress. So the deed was done - and they offered Danielle the antlers - bit callous I thought. Anyway Jays dad Dave came out with his van and towed them back home, and still the police never came.
So now we are on the hunt for another little car for Danielle, she didnt think it was worth claiming on her insurance, because she is under 21 she would have had to pay a 300.00 xs, and the car was worth only about 500.00. (well it was priceless to her)
So all that drama over with - we are now on Sunday and things have settled a bit. We have Emily this week-end and that is always fun. We are having sunday dinner with Jays mum and dad today - and Jay cooked a big curry last night which was lovely - so spot the one who hasn't cooked so far - I like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Will stop now - catch you in the week folks - keep safe!!!

Caro xxx

Ps - Libby - get a move on with that shopping - it will soon be Christmas!!!!!!!

Ever had that midweek feeling?

Helloo - I have that middle of the week feeling at the moment, I had to sit through 2 1/2 hours of corporate nonsense this afternoon, I know I should be pleased our ompany is doing really well (bigger bonus after all!!) - but it was way above my head!!!! Even our q&a session at the end - I couldnt understand the questions never mind the answers................is it me????
Any hoo - the cold frosty mornings seem to have abated somewhat, I am a bit odd in that I love that sort of weather - we have been left with a sort of damp nothingness, which is a bit of a shame.
I have actually started Chrismas shopping - well impressed with myself - I was thinking I might start making some mince pies - problem is as quick as I make them, Jay likes to eat them - all for quality purposes I am assured, but it gets a bit tiresome after the 4th dozen!!!! and still none left for the big day!! I do make good mincey pies though - with a soft rich viennese topping rather than a pastry lid, makes a nice change.
I will be really strange in our house this year, it will only be three of us - instead of anything from 8 to 14 bodies!! I miss our big family Christmasses - but time moves on and I should be grateful for the many we shared together. Harvey Wallbangers wont taste the same without Libby cheering me on!!!! Think I may be able to manage a few sherries though............
Jay, Danielle and I will go to visit Mum, Amy, Zoe and baby and partners shortly before Christmas - and be back home on Christmas Eve. Then I think we will see Jay's Mum and Dad on Boxing Day with Emily, which will be fun.
Any way will leave you with those thoughts - happy shopping!!!!!! oh - and finding spaces in the car parks!!!!

Hello all....Nice to meet you - 3rd November 2006

Hello....
From the Gumbrells
Thats me... Caro, darling and much adored hubby, Jay, Danielle -youngest daughter still crazy enough to be at home, Emily - Jay's cutie pie daughter, who visits every other week.
I have two other daughters - Zoe and Amy - who live hundreds of miles from me with their respective partners Andy and Mark. Don't tell anyone, but at the tender age of 45 - Zoe is about to make me a Granny!!!!! How exciting... due anytime from the 20th November.
Also at our little house in East Sussex are our much pampered pets....
Charlie - very large black and white cat who yowls alot - especially at mealtimes, otherwise known as "hose"
Fliss - a delinquent cat from Manchester - is a stunning tri-colour, whose main aim in life is to trick you into fussing her and then she attacks with a fully loaded armoury of claws when you least expect it - aka "stumpy"
Marie - a powder puff cat of pure white fluff - far to posh for her own good (considering she was born is a stable - I don't think she remembers her humble begining) refuses to eat in the kitchen and will only take her meals in the dining room, now only answers to "princess tippy toes"
Garfield - what can I say - large ginger and white aptly named cat, eats anything he can (is partial to mouldy pies left by commuters at the station behaind our house) has a marvelous habit of "collapsing" right where you need to put your feet. earning him the title of "spanner"
Roxie - stunning sister of Garfield - a beautifully marked ginger and white who loves to chat with you has a very vocal range - nicknamed "Brrr" as that is generally her best chat starter!!
We also have a lovely Lionhead bunny called Leo - the cats love him, a fast growing Carolina Corn snake called Jake, and 6 fancy goldfish which I love to watch for hours.

Some of you may know my lovely big sister Libby - Woodlands World, she is the best sister in the world - admittedly she is my only sister - but I love her to bits and wouldn't want to change her for the world.

Well I think that will do for starters, I won't be able to update everyday like Libby does - basically cos I don't like computers much as I have to work with them all day!! With a bit of coaching I will try and get some piccy's and pop them on - 'specially the cats!!!!!

Catch you all soon...........