John's 2017 thread - A year of Tea & Books Part Seven.

Please feel free to pop along and leave a comment or a picture or whatever you would like to leave.

Hi I am John and this will be my fourth time with the 75ers and I must say I have made some great friends along the way.

I am 54 years old and have been married to Karen for 33 years, I have two children, Robert who is 29 and lives with his partner Louise and has a daughter Hannah who will be six at the end of February and a step-daughter Shannon who is 14, and Amy who is 28 and married Andy in October 2015. We also have a cat called Leo who is 15.

I love books and currently have just under 2,300 books on my shelves and this doesn't include my Cricket collection which stands at about 300 books. While reading I do enjoy the odd pot or two of tea and so thought I would combine these in my thread title for this year. In 2017 I will be mixing my reading up and getting some chunksters read as I have missed them in 2016 but wanted to try and reduce my TBR pile and it hasn't worked, lol.

Feel free to pop along and drop a comment or two and join the fun.

BOOKS READ IN JANUARY

1. Sheer Folly by Carola Dunn, PB - 346 pgs, Daisy Dalrymple series, No18 of 22.
2. Sheer Abandon by Penny Vincenzi, PB - 720 pgs.
3. Shakespeare's Christmas by Charlaine Harris, PB - 216 pgs, Lily Bard series, No 3 of 5.
4. How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry, PB - 367 pgs.
5. The Tangled Thread by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, PB - 474 pgs, Morland Saga series, No 10 of 35.
6. NYPD Red 3 by James Patterson, PB - 418 pgs, NYPD Red series No3 of 5.
7. Anthem for Doomed Youth by Carola Dunn, PB - 327 pgs, Daisy Dalrymple series, No19 of 22.

BOOKS READ IN FEBRUARY

8. The Santa Klaus Mystery by Mavis Doriel Hay, PB - 282 pgs.
9. God is an Englishman by R.F.Delderfield, PB -672 pgs, Swann Saga series, No 1 of 3.
10. Shakespeare's Trollop by Charlaine Harris, PB - 212 pgs, Lily Bard Series No 4 of 5.
11. Gone West by Carola Dunn, PB - 324 pgs, Daisy Dalrymple Series No 20 of 22.
12. Not That Kind of Girl by Catherine Alliott, PB - 565 pgs.
13. Clear and Present Danger by Tom Clancy, PB - 816 pgs, Jack Ryan Series 4 of 16.
14. Theodore Boone - The Fugitive by John Grisham, PB - 250 pgs, Theodore Boone Series No 5 of 6.

BOOKS READ IN MARCH

15. Heirs to the Body by Carola Dunn, PB - 292 pgs, Daisy Dalrymple Series No 21 of 22.
16. Faith by Peter James, PB - 465 pgs.
17. Shakespeare's Counselor by Charlaine Harris, PB - 231 pgs, Lily Bard Series No 5 of 5.
18. Superfluous Women by Carola Dunn, PB - 305 pgs, Daisy Dalrymple Series No 22 of 22.
19. The Ring by Danielle Steel, PB - 344 pgs.
20. Theirs Was the Kingdom by R.F.Delderfield, PB - 896 pgs, Swann saga No 2 of 3.
21. Private Berlin by James Patterson, PB - 466 pgs, Private Series No 5 of 16.

BOOKS READ IN APRIL

22. An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear, PB - 340pgs, Maisie Dobbs Series, No 5 of 13.
23. The Emperor by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, PB - 512 pgs, Morland Series, No 11 of 35.
24. Maximum Ride Forever by James Patterson, PB - 383 pgs, Maximum Ride Series No 9 of 9.
25. Excursion to Tindari by Andrea Camilleri, PB - 305 pgs, Inspector Montalbano Series No 5 of 24.
26. The Warriors by John Jakes, PB - 695 pgs, Kent Family Chronicles Series No 6 of 8.
27. Saturday's Child by Ruth Hamilton, PB - 381 pgs.
28. Trunk Music by Michael Connelly, PB - 437 pgs, Harry Bosch Series No 5 of 26.

BOOKS READ IN MAY

29. Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear, PB - 338 pgs, Maisie Dobbs series No 6 of 13.
30. The Charm School by Nelson De Mille, PB - 671 pgs.
31. A Lesson in Love by Gervase Phinn, HB - 401 pgs, Little Village School Series No 4 of 5.
32. Angels Flight by Michael Connelly, PB - 400 pgs, Harry Bosch series No 6 of 26.
33. Glory Boys by Harry Bingham, PB - 613 pgs.
34. Paradise House by Erica James, PB - 439 pgs.
35. Truth or Die by James Patterson, PB - 491 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN JUNE

36. Get Even by Martina Cole, PB - 541 pgs.
37. The Beachside Guest House by Vanessa Greene, PB - 370 pgs.
38. Lazybones by Mark Billingham, PB - 436 pgs. No 3 of 14 in Tom Thorne series.
39. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, PB - 1,024 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN JULY

40. The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds by Alexander McCall Smith, HB - 246 pgs. No 9 of 14 in Isabel Dalhousie series.
41. Ultimatum by Simon Kernick, PB - 436 pgs. No 6 of 7 in Tina Boyd series.
42. The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan, HB - 294 pgs. No 1 of 3 in Baby Ganesh series.
43. Palomino by Danielle Steel, PB - 323 pgs.
44. The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce, PB - 373 pgs
45. The Lawless by John Jakes, PB - 794 pgs. No7 of 8 in the Kent Family Chronicles.
46. A Pinch of Snuff by Reginald Hill, PB - 287 pgs. Dalziel and Pascoe series No 5 of 19.
47. Flesh House by Stuart Macbride, PB - 595 pgs. Logan McRae series No 3 of 13.

BOOKS READ IN AUGUST

48. Fire in Babylon by Simon Lister, PB - 346 pgs.
49. Cross Justice by James Patterson, PB - 420 pgs. Alex Cross series No 23 of 27.
50. Pushing up Daisies by M.C. Beaton, HB - 232 pgs. Agatha Raisin series No 28 of 30.
51. The Novel Habits of Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith, PB - 247 pgs. Isabel Dalhousie series No 10 of 14.
52. Sister by Rosamund Lupton, PB - 358 pgs.
53. O'Hara's Choice by Leon Uris, PB - 472 pgs.
54. Streets of Laredo by Larry McMurtry, PB - 589 pgs.
55. Alert by James Patterson, PB - 465 pgs. Michael Bennett series No 8 of 11.
56. Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind, PB - 112 pgs, The Sword of Truth series No 1 of 16.

BOOKS READ IN SEPTEMBER

57. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, PB - 306 pgs.
58. Date With Death by Julia Chapman, PB - 371 pgs.
59. The Testament by John Grisham, PB - 472 pgs.
60. Dolly's War by Peter Tinniswood, PB - 347 pgs.
61. Zoo by James Patterson, PB - 475 pgs.

CURRENTLY READING

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
Secrets at the Little Village School by Gervase Phinn

Latest reading stats:

Books on shelves at 1-7-17 - 2322
Books added in July - 14
Books read in July - 8

Revised book total - 2328

Pages to read at 1-7-17 - 994,346
Pages added in July - 5,701
Pages read in July - 3,348

Revised total pages to read - 996,699

JULY'S READING STATS

Books Read...................... 8

No of Authors.................... 8

New Authors...................... 1

Male Authors..................... 6

Female Authors.................. 2

Pages Read....................... 3,348

Daily Avg........................... 108

Book Length avg................. 418.5

Pots of Tea Drunk................ 312

BOOKS PURCHASED IN 2017

JANUARY

1. Crisis by Frank Gardner, PB
2. Woman of God by James Patterson, PB
3. Death on the Cherwell by Mavis Doriel Hay, PB
4. 8 Sandpiper Way by Debbie Macomber, PB
5. The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths, PB
6. Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams by Jenny Colgan, PB
7. The Battle of Evernight by Cecelia Dart-Thornton, PB
8. Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams, PB
9. Hidden by James Patterson, PB
10. Exquisite by Elizabeth Hayley, PB
11. The House Husband by James Patterson, PB

FEBRUARY

12. Malicious by James Patterson, PB
13. Debt of Honour by Tom Clancy, PB
14. Death of an Airman by Christopher St John Sprigg, PB
15. Blood Shot by Sara Paretsky, PB
16. Guardian Angel by Sara Paretsky, PB
17. Bitter Medicine by Sara Paretsky, PB
18. Buried in the Country by Carola Dunn, PB
19. A Very Distant Shore by Jenny Colgan. PB
20. Looking for Captain Poldark by Rowan Coleman, PB
21. A Shed of One's Own, Midlife without the Crisis by Marcus Berkmann, PB
22. French Twist by James Patterson, PB
23. A Wedding in Maine by Jen McLaughlin, PB
24. Mount by Jilly Cooper, PB
25. Nice Work (If You Can Get It) by Celia Imrie, PB
26. Secrets at the Little Village School by Gervase Phinn, PB
27. Drive to the East by Harry Turtledove, PB
28. D-Day The Battle for Normandy by Antony Beevor, PB
29. The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly, PB
30. In The Cold Dark Ground by Stuart Macbride, PB

MARCH

31. A Summer at Sea by Katie Fforde, PB
32. The Summer Seaside Kitchen by Jenny Colgan, PB
33. Never Never by James Patterson, PB
34. If Not For You by Debbie Macomber, PB
35. Rococo by Adriana Trigani, PB
36. Full Speed by Janet Evanovich, PB
37. Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich, PB
38. Death of a Maid by M.C.Beaton, PB
39. Heist by James Patterson, PB
40. The Hostage by James Patterson, PB
41. Hunted by James Patterson, PB
42. Private Royals by James Patterson, PB
43. Learning to Ride by Erin Knightley, PB
44. Dead Heat by James Patterson, PB
45. S.S. General by Sven Hassel, PB
46. Blitzfreeze by Sven Hassel, PB
47. Black and Blue by James Patterson, PB
48. Goodbye Piccadilly by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, PB
49. Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation by James Runcie, PB
50. Date with Death by Julia Chapman, PB
51. Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah, PB
52. The Father by Anton Svensson, PB
53. The Exile by James Patterson, PB
54. The Shut-in by James Patterson, PB

APRIL

55. The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude, PB
56. Lazybones by Mark Billingham, PB
57. A King's Ransom by Sharon Penman, PB
58. Death of a Liar by M.C.Beaton, PB
59. Rules, Things are Changing at the Little School by the Sea by Jenny Colgan, PB
60. Murder at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison, PB
61. Deadly Desires at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison, PB
62. Killer Ball at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison, PB
63. The Novel Habits of Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith, PB
64. Following On by Emma John, PB
65. The Little Shop of Happy Ever After by Jenny Colgan, PB
66. A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler, PB
67. 2017 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack by Lawrence Booth, HB
68. Fragile Lives by Professor Stephen Westaby, HB
69. 2017 Playfair Cricket Annual by Ian Marshall, PB

MAY

70. Romola by George Eliot, HB
71. Dolly's War by Peter Tinniswood, PB
72. The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George, PB
73. Private Delhi by James Patterson, PB
74. Mr Gandy's Grand Tour by Alan Titchmarsh, PB
75. One Day at a Time by Danielle Steel, PB
76. Southern Lights by Danielle Steel, PB
77. This Was a Man by Jeffrey Archer, PB
78. The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly, PB
79. Private Gold by James Patterson, PB
80. The Au Pair by Janey Fraser, PB
81. Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell, PB
82. Tunnel Vision by Sara Paretsky, PB
83. The Methods of Sergeant Cluff by Gil North, PB
84. Oscar Wilde and the Vatican Murders by Gyles Brandreth, PB
85. All Wickets Great and Small by John Fuller, PB

JUNE

JULY

86. Henry Esmond by W.M.Thackeray, HB
87. Sorceress of Darshiva by David Eddings, PB
88. King of the Murgos by David Eddings, PB
89. Sayonara by James A.Michener, PB
90. Game of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri, PB
91. Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, PB
92. All Hell Let Loose by Max Hastings, PB
93. Betrayal by Martina Cole, PB
94. The Women's war by James Patterson, PB
95. Deadly Cargo by James Patterson, PB
96. A Darkness at Sethanon by Raymond E.Feist, PB
97. Bungalow 2 by Danielle Steel, PB
98. The Crossing by Michael Connelly, PB
99. Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell, PB

AUGUST

100. Protect and Defend by Richard North Patterson, PB
101. The Storied Life of A.J.Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, PB
102. Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind, PB
103. Burn Marks by Sara Paretsky, PB
104. Happiest Days by Jack Sheffield, PB
105. Corsa Rosa by Brendan Gallagher, PB
106. The Medical Examiner by James Patterson, PB

SEPTEMBER

107. 16th Seduction by James Patterson, PB
108. The Little Teashop of Lost and Found by Trisha Ashley, PB
109. QB VII By Leon Uris
110. Topaz by Leon Uris
111. W.G. Grace by Simon Rae
112. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
113. A Fortress of Grey Ice by J.V Jones
114. Taboo by Elizabeth Gage
115. Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer, HB
116. The Pathfinder by Fenimore Cooper
117. Murder in Piccadilly by John Bude
118. The Lady of Sorrows by Cecelia Dart-Thornton
119. Hour Game by David Baldacci
120. Wisconsin by Dana Fuller Ross
121. The Sussex Downs Murder by John Bude
122. The Spring Madness of Mr Sermon by R.F. Delderfield
123. Derailed by James Siegel
124. August 1914 by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
125. The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm by Norman Hunter
126. Thirteen Guests by J. Jefferson Farjeon
127. The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
128. In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Winspear
129. Tommo and Hawk by Bryce Courtenay
130. Theodore Boone, The Scandal by John Grisham
131. Antidote to Venom by Freeman Wills Crofts
132. Murder of a Lady by Anthony Wynne
133. Quick Curtain by Alan Melville
134. Guilt in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope
135. Honeycote by Veronica Henry
136. White Night by Jim Butcher
137. Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1950 by Hubert Preston
138. Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1968 by Norman Preston
139. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
140. The Dolls by James Patterson
141. City of Friends by Joanna Trollope
142. The Whistler by John Grisham

Next ones yours.

Today we celebrate Yorkshire Day, so all things Yorkshire are out in force and if we can get hold of one we wear a white rose which is the county's symbol.

There were big celebrations at the newly opened Peace Hall in Halifax, this was closed down three years ago to be re-furbished and one of the shop owners decided to retire, it was a book shop and all his stock went up for auction, at the time I said to Paul (Cranswick) we should but them all though where we would have stored them I do not know. The building is Grade One listed so that is why it has taken three years of hard work to get it back to its former glory with some additions in the quadrant.

As we say in Yorkshire, Ey Up (hello) and Si "Thi" Later (see you later)

It has not been too bad a day here with sunshine and occasional showers, today Leo our cat is 15 so has had a few treats and got a new cat bed. We had a relaxing morning before it was time for me to take Karen to work and once back I got on with the upstairs housework before having some lunch and then doing a bit of reading while listening to the cricket.

I will be picking Karen up from work in about forty minutes time and we are having Hannah tomorrow so Karen will want a good nights rest.

Congrats on your shiny new thread, John. I'm glad to hear that you had good day. Love and hug for both of you xx

>18 Ameise1:, Thanks Barbara, you are the first visitor to this new thread my dear.

>19 johnsimpson: I was quick, wasn't I? :-)

Happy new thread, John, Yorkshire Day sounds fun.

Happy new thread, John

Another new thread!! Keep 'em coming!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, John!

Hi John and happy new thread!

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

Nice to see you mentioning Yorkshire day, John.

Happy new thread, mate.

>21 FAMeulstee:, Thanks Anita.

>22 jessibud2:, Thanks Shelley.

>23 Berly:, Thanks Kim, I will keep them coming as long as people visit and enjoy what I talk about, don't want to be boring.

>24 drneutron:, Thanks Jim.

>25 scaifea:, Thanks Amber.

>26 karenmarie:, Thanks Karen.

>27 PaulCranswick:, Thanks Paul, couldn't let Yorkshire Day pass by without letting folks know about it, we are both proud Yorkshiremen as the county has it all.

We have had a pretty good day although the weather has been mixed. Once we were up we had breakfast and a pot of tea before Rob arrived with Hannah. Once Rob and Hannah were here she got a box of dolls stuff down ready to play with before I took Rob to the station and then dropped Karen and Hannah off in town. Karen had a dress to pick up that has been altered for her and then had a mooch around with Hannah.

I made my way home after dropping everyone off and had a pot of tea and read until it was time to pick the girls up. Whilst I was reading I got a message on Facebook from Karen, it was a nice selfie of them at the coffee shop and looked like they were having a nice time. I picked them up just after midday and we made our way home, Karen had got Hannah a Burger King meal as a treat and she had that in the car. Once home Hannah put the kids channel on and started to play with the dolls while we had a pot of tea.

Hannah played well all afternoon and we had some lunch and Hannah had some of Grandma's cakes. Just after 4pm it was time to take Hannah home and we did this via dropping Karen off at her ex SIL so she could have a chat while I took Hannah home. I dropped Hannah home and she gave me a big hug and said she was looking forward to next week when she is sleeping over. I made my way back to pick Karen up but was slightly delayed due to various roadworks. Once I had picked Karen up we made our way home and then had a pot of tea or two before I had to pick Rob up from the station. Tomorrow we hope to go off for a drive but the weather forecast is not good and I need to get back to Wakefield by 6pm as Karen is running the monthly bariatric meeting at Wakefield.

Following the discussion about stationery on Amber's thread, Rosalita (Julia) has offered me a lovely Conklin Mark Twain fountain pen and we are just sorting the details out now. What a lovely offer from a fellow LT friend and I cannot thank Julia enough.

Hope all is well, John. Love and hugs to you and Karen.

Ohmygosh, I saw that photo on FB, but I thought, "No, that can't be Hannah." She's growing up!! WOW! Such a lovely photo of two beautiful ladies.

>31 DianaNL:, Hi Diana, we are both well but worried about poor Leo, it seems as if he has lost sight in his right eye and it looks different so we are seeing the vet tomorrow.

>32 scaifea:, Hi Amber, Hannah is certainly growing up my dear.

It has not been too bad a day apart from being worried about poor Leo who it would appear has lost sight in his right eye. We have made an appointment for him to see the vet tomorrow to try and find out what the problem is.

After we had breakfast and a pot of tea we headed off to Holmfirth, by the time we got there it was teeming down with rain. We got out of the car and hurriedly put up our brollies and walked along the main street, we popped into a gift shop for a break from the rain and Karen looked for a couple of cards but couldn't find what she wanted. We left the gift shop and mooched along in the rain until we got to another shop with cards and went in there. Karen found what she wanted and then we moved along again. As we neared the famous Sid's Café (From Last of the Summer Wine fame) we noticed a sign for a book sale in the church so went in. Along with book they had an art exhibition going on, we perused the books and then Karen looked at the art. When Karen got back to me she was chatting with one of the volunteers who had some art on the walls. I purchased two books and then the volunteer, Terry, showed us one of his works which was 3D cross stitch. Terry was very informative about the church and his work and he is at the moment doing research and more cross stitching for a book he is writing on the subject. After more chat we left the church and then Karen went one way and I went to Daisy Lane Books.

By the time I met back up with Karen I had purchased two more books and we were ready for a drink so found a nice café and had a latte each and shared some Bakewell tarts and Ginger Brack. Once we had refilled we left and made our way back to the car and headed for home. On the way home we called into the Aldi store near home so that Karen could pick up a few bits, once she had got what she wanted we made our way home. Once home I made us a pot of tea while Karen unpacked the shopping. After we had our drink we had something to eat before having another drink. Before long it was time to take Karen to her bariatric meeting that she was running, I dropped Karen off and then made my way home. I had a pot of tea and read until it was time to pick Karen up from her meeting.

Sorry to hear about poor Leo. Off to check out the FB photos.

Hi John! Oh, poor Leo! Sudden and sad things can start happening to kitties when they're senior citizens of 14 1/2. Our Kitty William is slowly losing his vision according to the vet, and we're convinced that he's going deaf, too, but don't feel the need to spend money getting it confirmed by the vet.

A day mooching through book sales and book stores, with stops for cards and drinks/sweets, sounds like heaven.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

>37 Berly:, Thanks Kim.

>38 karenmarie:, Hi Karen, I saw the vet this afternoon and she thinks it could be that he has had a high blood pressure attack and the blood vessels around his eye has exploded and that has done his vision or that he might have Glaucoma but when she squeezed around the eye he showed no pain. If he had shown pain then he may have to have the eye out and she doesn't seem to think it is a tumour. She gave me some eye drops and I have to take him back on Monday when they may do some blood tests. She also got a cotton bud and moved it towards his good eye and he blinked and twitched well before she got near the eyeball yet she just touched his bad eye before he blinked so he really can't see out of that one. Hopefully he will be able to keep the eye and his left eye will compensate for it.

We had a nice time in lovely Holmfirth and it was heaven apart from the heavy rain.

Poor Leo! My Mom and Dad had a kitty named Hobbes who lost an eye at a very young age but compensated and had a good-quality life. I hope it's not a tumor and that Leo continues to have a good life as a Simpson kitty!

Just watched the best 10,000m race from Mo Farah at the IAAF World Championships in London and the East Africans tried to gang up on him but they couldn't beat him and now he can go off to Marathon running after another Global Gold Medal, 10 in all. Well done Sir Mo Farah.

Earlier saw Usain Bolt get though to the 100m semi-finals, these are going to be special World Championships.

>41 karenmarie:, Thanks Karen my dear, more bothered about the next door's cat that stalks him and with only sight in his left eye he could be caught out.

I'm very sorry to hear about Leo's eye.

I just saw Mo's run. He is amazing.

Sending love and hugs to both of you xx

I have had a pretty good day, once we had breakfast and a pot of tea I took Karen to work and then came back home to wait for Rob to arrive. Once Rob arrived and parked his car on the drive I took him to the railway station and once he was dropped off I went tot he Asda to do the weekly shopping. We didn't require much so I wasn't in the store long. Once home I unpacked and put the shopping away and then made a pot of tea.

With my pot of tea I got settled on the sofa and then switched on the Now TV box and initiated my Sky sports free pass, I picked up the cricket and settled down to watch until the lunch interval. I had another pot of tea and once the cricket reached the lunch interval I did the downstairs housework. I got done just after the afternoon session began and watched the cricket until it was time to take Leo to the vets.

Leo was not happy going to the vets as is normal but for the first time in his fifteen years he pooped in the cat basket, naughty boy. When we went in to see the vet I told her he had had an accident, she checked him over and said it looked like he had had a high pressure build up and that had burst blood vessels at the back of the eye and therefore he has no sight. She also checked to see if it was Glaucoma and squeezed all round his eye socket to check for pain, Leo never flinched so she thinks that is not the case. If he had Glaucoma she said it causes tremendous pain and discomfort and the eye would have to be removed. She has given me some eye drops to put in twice a day and we go back on Monday as she wants to take a blood test to make sure it definitely is not Glaucoma or a tumour.

Once I got Leo back he was glad to get out of his basket but although he seemed as though he wanted to go out he decided to go in his nice cat bed. I put the cricket back on and read for a bit until it was time to pick Karen up from work. once back with Karen I made us a pot of tea and then we had another before it was time for me to pick Rob up from the station. Once Rob went home I had something to eat and then we began watching the Athletics World Championships that are being held in London. We watched Usain Bolt get through to the semi-finals and a short while ago we saw Sir Mo Farah win a tough 10,000m race when the East African nations decide to gang up on Mo, they failed and Mo won through.

>45 johnsimpson: Bravo to Mo Farah! Looked to me like the Kenyan runner was trying to trip him but he just had that little bit too much for everyone else. What a wonderful athlete and unbeaten in five years!

A bit frustrating from England today in the Test match with four of the top order getting in and failing to make really big scores. I am not sure how good this South Africa team is though so I still think that we'll pip them. Jennings and Malan are lucky to be playing IMO.

Have a great weekend mate and love to Karen.

>46 PaulCranswick:, Cheers mate, it did look like the Kenyan was trying to trip him. England were a bit frustrating but the South Africans bowled well although I agree that Jennings and Malan are lucky to be in the test side. What I found hard to believe is that Bayliss has not seen Stoneman play so how many others has he failed to have a look at.

Hope you are having a good weekend mate and that things with you and Hani are going ok, love and hugs from both of us.

>47 johnsimpson: How can someone be a selector and fail to see the candidates play? There are only eighteen counties for heaven's sake.
The organisation of the county game is so frustrating for me. The 20/20 bash should be an end of season slogfest and not interrupt the real cricket. How on earth can we have a great test side when there is no consistency of cricket?

Hani is doing ok mate - better than me, I would say.

I watched a PBS program last night on my local PBS TV station. It was narrated by Dan Cruickshank and the title was The Country House Revealed. The house featured last night was Wentworth Woodhouse. It was a beautiful old pile of stone and I confess I didn't pay much attention until I heard that it was in South Yorkshire and the source of the family wealth was coal. Is this anywhere close to where you live?

Hi, John! You're reading is getting on really well. I saw some titles I read a long time ago--Kent family chronicles and the Delderfield. I find Delderfield to be especially soothing to read. Not sure what it is about his books, but they're true comfort reads.

You may have mentioned this already (if so, forgive me), but do you ever re-read? Or do you feel there are just too many books out there?

I'm very sorry about Leo. I know how upsetting it is when the kitties get ill. I hope he gets through this with as little trouble as possible. Please give him some ear scratches for me.

I hope your weekend shapes well and you get to spend lots of time with your books.

>48 PaulCranswick:, Hi mate, it beggars belief that someone like Stoneman has not been seen by the head coach especially as an opening partner for Cook is causing so much trouble and yet he has been churning runs out year on year. When I was chair of selectors at OSCC I made sure I watched both 1st and 2nd elevens on a regular basis and spoke to captain and vice-captain to get more information. Unfortunately during that period we struggled to put two full teams out so making changes was difficult although I let the captains and vice-captains know my feelings at selection meetings, luckily I never really had any issues during meetings as I made them fully aware at my first meeting how I wanted the meetings to paly out and they were not going to have me just roll over and the 1st eleven get what they wanted.

>49 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita, Wentworth Woodhouse is about 25 miles from us and recently the House was closed to visitors as it was too costly and with new owners of the property doing a lot of work on the main house over quite a number of years.

>50 Matke:, Hi Gail, I have loved the Kent Chronicles with only one to go to finish this great series and I have a few Delderfields to go at yet. Another author that you might like to consider is Elizabeth Elgin, sadly Elizabeth has passed away but she lived near York and her stories are based in the county of Yorkshire with a series called the Suttons. My late mother-in-law had the first in the series and she gave it to me and I was hooked, Elizabeth was in the WAAF during the war and she used that experience for a couple of books.

I don't re-read as such but I have read a few books again as I had read them before I started noting down my reading on 1st July 1995, I still have a few to re-read including Mila 18 by Leon Uris and the first two in the Earth's children series by Jean M Auel. As you say there are too many books out there to read as it is along with all the classics that I have still to get to and as quick as I now read I can purchase far quicker.

Leo seems to be ok at the moment but he is getting even more TLC than ever, it will take him time to adjust to just one eye so we are keeping close tabs on him whilst still trying to let him carry on as usual. Karen gave him a nice treat for tea today with a tin of Tuna as he normally has dried food which he loves. I will give him some ear scratches from you my dear.

It has not been too bad a day although Karen has been at work but tomorrow we will have a good day.

It has been a lovely warm and sunny day for a change but poor Karen has been at work so hopefully tomorrow will be nice for us.

We had a pot of tea in bed before we got up and once we were washed and dressed we came down and had breakfast and a pot of tea while a load of washing was set off. Once I had finished my breakfast the washer had stopped so I put it out on the line. We had another pot of tea before it was time to take Karen to work. After dropping Karen off I nipped into town to do some banking and pay a bill before picking up a couple of rail magazines and then called into Waterstones to pick up a couple of books. After I had bought my books I made my way back to the car and headed for home. Once home I made a pot of tea and Leo wanted to come in so I let him in and he had something to eat before settling in his cat bed. I put the cricket on the TV and in between watching a bit of cricket I read a bit of my Yorkshire Post paper and flicked through one of the rail magazines before reading a chapter or two of my book. A few pots of tea and some lunch later it was time to go and pick Karen up from work.

Once I had got Karen home from work I made us a pot of tea before she put the Lasagne she had prepared this morning into the oven. We had a lovely Lasagne for tea with some leftover for lunch tomorrow and then we watched some athletics from the World Championships in London. After seeing one of our young 100m sprinters get to the final later this evening we saw Usain Bolt cruise through to the final before watching some programmes we have recorded. We will turn the athletics back on in about 20 minutes to see if Bolt can win the 100m final.

Finished book Forty-Eight late last night, Fire in Babylon by Simon Lister. This is a book based on the film of the same name which tells how the West Indies cricket team brought a people to its feet.

The West Indies had always had brilliant cricketers but it hadn't always had a brilliant team. But in 1974, a man called Clive Lloyd began to lead a side which would at last throw off the shackles that had hindered the region for centuries. Nowhere else had a game been so closely connected to a people's past and their future hopes; nowhere else did cricket liberate a people like it did in the Caribbean.

In the winter of 1975-76 the West Indies went to Australia for a six test series and were given a severe beating by five tests to one. In the 2nd test they showed what they could do but were inconsistent showing flashes with the bat and ball occasionally but only once as a team. Clive Lloyd was stung by the criticism and vowed to change the team, they needed four fast bowlers and the batsmen to work for each other. This all came after they won the inaugural Cricket World cup but this was one day cricket not over five days, critics said they could be brilliant on one day but over five, no.

Unfortunately England were the first to suffer at the hands of this new team that Clive built, I remember watching them in awe, they batted brilliantly but together and the four fast bowlers never gave the opposition batsmen any rest. For almost two decades. Clive Lloyd and then Vivian Richards led the batsmen and bowlers who changed the way cricket was played and changed the way a whole nation - which existed only on a cricket pitch - saw itself. This is told by the men who made it happen and the people who watched it unfold.

This is a good read for Cricket followers and non followers alike as it explains a lot about a people and how they were viewed by others.

Happy Sunday, John.

Hi John!

I'm so glad Leo seems to be doing well.

Congratulations on finishing book 48 and sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

>51 johnsimpson: Stoneman has to be next in line, John. Jennings just never looks set or comfortable at the crease and the selection of Malan has predictably not borne fruit.

As well as Stoneman, Chris Dent is one who has looked good this year but nobody from Gloucestershire ever gets picked and Darryl Mitchell at Worcester always makes runs.

I think that Westley has done just about enough to warrant another go but I would like to see either that scrapper Luke Wells (obdurate, patient and difficult to remove) or the more elegant Joe Denly given a chance at some stage against the Windies.

Unfortunately Hameed, Gubbins, Bell-Drummond and Hildreth are not in great touch and it would be sad if they got promoted when they are not in form. I think all of them have potential but need to get some runs.

The bowling looks good to be honest. I wouldn't have picked Roland-Jones but he has seized his chance. There is not a spinner doing remotely well enough this year to justify an inclusion in the squad for the first Windies test.

My XIII for Birmingham

Root, Cook, Stoneman, Wells, Westley, Northeast, Bairstow, Stokes, Ali, Broad, Anderson, Roland-Jones, C. Overton

Possibly Wells and Overton to carry the drinks

I have a Leo update, I took him to the vets this morning and he confirmed that Leo has lost the sight in his right eye and he believes that the sight has gone in his left eye, I have to pick up some strong eye drops tomorrow but it looks like Leo is going to have to be a house cat from now on.

When I brought him home and told Karen the prognosis she was upset bless her and added to this we got a call from a withheld number which she thought might be Louise although I think it was from the tax office and so while I was at the vets she does what she always does when she is a bit stressed, she baked. I came home to a dozen scones that were cooling down on the cooling rack.

We had a pot of tea and then Karen had something to eat before I made her a small tea before it was time to take her to work.

Once I got back from taking Karen to work I made a pot of tea and Leo joined me from the dining room and he settled in his cat bed while I watched the cricket and read my paper. Later I got a call from Rob who asked how Leo was, I told him the news and then he told me he might be back home with us this evening as Louise is struggling to get past what has gone on.

I watched the cricket for most of the afternoon, Leo wanted to go out so I made sure he could not get out of the garden and he went and got laid out in the sun. Amy rang to ask how mum was with the news of Leo and I told her about Rob. After finishing my call with Amy I warmed up the lasagne left for me and not long after Rob rang to ask me to move my car so he could park at the top of the drive. After unpacking his belongings from the car he told me that Louise told him when she asked him to leave that he would be going out and said he would not be going out but she believes in her own mind that he will be going out and she thinks that whenever he left the house he was seeing other women. It seems that she is having some Mental health issues and panic attacks and he is worried for her but she doesn't want him around.

It all seems to be happening here at the moment, let's hope things start turning around for the good, soon.

I'm sorry to hear that things are stressful for you and yours right now, John. I will say that our cat, Susie, was blind for about the last year or so of her life, and she got along just fine and seemed perfectly content. Leo has a loving family and will do just fine, too, I'm certain. Big hugs all round, friend.

I do hope things will turn around for the better soon, John, you have way to much going on now.
Hugs & love to you and Karen.

>60 scaifea:, Thanks Amber.

>61 FAMeulstee:, Thanks Anita.

What a thoroughly horrible day weather wise with continual heavy rain and this is supposed to be summer. Once we were up we had a pot of tea and then I had some breakfast, I made us another drink and then Karen did the little bit of ironing that was in the basket. We had time for another drink and Karen had a bite to eat before it was time for me to take her to work.

Once I got back from dropping Karen off at work I made a pot of tea and finished off a book before doing a bit of shredding and then doing the bank statements that had built up. I did the bank statements and then a bit more shredding until just before 4pm and then I went to the vets to collect the eye drops for Leo. Once back I did the last little bit of shredding and then went to do the upstairs housework. Once the upstairs housework was done I had another pot of tea and then Leo wanted to go out, he had a quick look around but didn't want to get soaked so he came back in. I then decided to put my pie in the oven and after that had been cooking for 10 minutes I put the fries in and then when the timer gave me the 5 minutes to go buzz I heated up a small tin of peas. I enjoyed my evening meal and then had some cake and a scone to follow.

Finished book Forty-nine this afternoon, Cross Justice by James Patterson. This is the 23rd in the Alex Cross series and finds Alex Cross and his family minus son Damon going to North Carolina to see family and support his cousin Stefan Tate who is on trial for murder amongst other things. When he gets there he finds that his niece, Naomi, is defending Stefan but everyone believes him guilty and they are already booking tickets for his execution.

As Alex tries to find evidence to clear his cousin in a town where justice is hard to find, he unearths a family secret that forces him to question everything he has ever known. Chasing a ghost he believed he was long dead, Alex gets pulled into a case involving a string of murders. Alex is now hot on the trail of both a cold-hearted killer and the truth about his own past, and the answers he finds could be fatal.

This is another great Cross novel from a man of great storytelling talent, the Cross series gets better and better.

John--Sorry to hear about Leo. And also about your son. Whew that has been a tough relationship lately. Sending best wishes to both of them. And I hope you and Karen have a great Wednesday! Hugs.

Well, John, it's raining physically and metaphorically for you and yours.

I'm sorry that Leo may be completely blind, but I know you and Karen love him and will take good care of him. Give him a few skritches from me.

I'm sorry to hear about the ongoing struggles of Rob and Louise - I guess I must have missed some from when I was in California and didn't realize Rob had gone back but looks like he's now back with you again. My first thought is Hannah, and I hope that she's doing well in all this mess.

Haven't heard much about Amy - how's her job going?

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

>65 Berly:, Hi Kim, Leo is doing well and we are all learning how to move about him and he is managing to not walk into too many things especially outside. We only let him out when we are about just to keep an eye on him.

We have had a good Wednesday and we have Hannah staying over, I picked her up around 3.30pm and she has had tea with us and played and now she is in bed. Tomorrow we are going to York and will take her to the National Railway Museum and then if the weather stays good we will have lunch in the gardens of the Yorkshire Museum where she can run about. Hope all is well with you and yours my dear.

>66 karenmarie:, Hi Karen, things seem to have gone up and down this year but like everything else we have gone through over the years it will come good again. As the Yorkshire saying goes, it'll all come out in the wash.

Leo has lost the sight in the right eye and most in the left and that will go eventually, he is doing well and we are learning to keep out of his way as he walks around the house and we let him in the garden as long as one of us is around to keep an eye on him. Today he came near me on the sofa and jumped onto my lap for the first time in ten days which was lovely. I'll give him a few skritches from you my dear.

Rob will sort things out eventually as Karen has said to him, he needs to give her a little bit of space, so no texting constantly or going round which is awkward when he wants to see Hannah but he is afraid if he gives her too much space she won't want him and he desperately loves her even though the fault is his and he has caused the problem.

Hannah is fine and she is staying over tonight and we are going to York tomorrow to got to the Railway Museum and then the Yorkshire Museum gardens so she can run about a bit.

Amy is fine and the job is good but she is very busy which she likes although sometimes it gets a bit stressful at month end. Luckily for her she knows some of the work teams and so she can portion jobs out and talk to the lads easily but her line manager is taking advantage a bit passing jobs that she should be doing onto Amy. The overall boss is aware of this and is keeping an eye on things as she is still on probation at the moment. Amy has kept all text conversations in a file on her phone in case she needs it as evidence as her line boss tried to show her up in front of the overall boss but she knew Amy wasn't at fault.

Apart from the recent hiccups everything is ok with us and we have a wedding to got to with Amy and Andy on the 20th of August and then two weeks alter we are away for a few days in Wales and we will be calling into Hay-on-Wye so I am making sure I have some money for books. I will be good or as good as I can be, last time we were there I picked up about 20 books.

Hope all is well with you and your husband dear friend.

Finished Fiftieth book of the year this morning, Pushing up Daisies by M.C. Beaton. This is the 28th in the Agatha Raisin series.

In the Cotswold villagers allotment wars are taking place with Lord Bellington enraging locals by saying he is selling off the allotments to make way for new housing. So when he turns up dead, poisoned by anti-freeze no one mourns his passing.

On another fine summer's day, Agatha visits Carsley's allotments where all seems peaceful, people are digging in the soil and planting and harvesting their fruit and veg. Agatha feels almost tempted to take on a strip herself but common sense prevails as she really doesn't like getting her hands dirty.

While at the allotments she is introduced to three keen gardeners, Harry Perry, Bunty Daventry and Josephine Merriweatherwho are lamenting the neglected condition of a patch that has become available. Harry decides to try and clear some of the weeds and his spade comes across something hard, he bends down to remove whatever it is and then he starts to yell.

The something hard he came across is the body of Peta Currie, a newcomer to the village - but who would want to murder her? Peta is blonde and beautiful, every local male's favourite. Soon after Lord Bellington's son engages Agatha to do some digging of her own and very soon Agatha is thrown into a world of petty feuds, jealousies and disputes over land. It would seem that far from being tiny gardens of Eden, Carsley's allotments are local battlefields where passions run high and so does the body count.

Another amusing case for amateur detective Agatha Raisin and well worth a read.

Well here goes for the update of our trip to York with Hannah, where do I start.

Rob was up and out by 7.15am for work and he left Hannah with the TV on so that she didn't get us up too early. Once we were up I used the bathroom first so that Karen could sort Hannah out, once I was dressed I went downstairs and put the kettle on and got our tablets and vitamins out and then Karen and Hannah joined me. We got Hannah's breakfast done first and then we had our own, once done we all visited the toilet and were just getting things in the rucksack when Rob rang. Rob had received a call from Louise who said she wanted Hannah home, Karen told him we were just on our way out and Hannah would be upset. She told Rob to ring Louise to say we had set off, he rang back to say she was shouting and saying that it would be the last time we would have Hannah, as you can imagine it put a bit of a black mark on the day,

We made our way to York as Rob said he would take Hannah home when he finished work rather than us. We parked up in York and after a quick call to the bank to get some cash out we wandered through the centre of York and popped into Boots the Chemist to see Andy. After a quick chat with Andy we headed to the Railway Museum.

We had a good hour and a half or so in the Museum but Hannah looked a little bored and said she was hungry so we made our way to the Yorkshire Museum and gardens so we could get something to eat and Hannah could have a run around. After we had eaten and Hannah had run around and run me ragged we wandered into the city centre again. We went into a couple of shops but the day had been spoiled somewhat so we went into Fenwicks department store and Hannah picked up some Shopkins and then we made our way back to the car.

The journey home was uneventful until we took the slip road onto the A1 and we got stuck in traffic, it seems that where the A1 splits and become the A1 and the A1/M1, the A1/M1 was blocked off due to a Articulated truck that had crossed the central reservation and was leaking something that was combustible. The truck driver had to be cut out of the cab and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance had been called. Gradually traffic from the other lanes got into our lane and the one next to us to be diverted down the A1 to the M62 so if they needed the M1 they could get to it, we were ok as we wanted to be on the A1 anyway. We arrived home and once Hannah had a drink she watched her TV channel. Amy arrived for her appointment with the hairdresser just before Rob arrived, Rob took Hannah home before the hairdresser arrived so he didn't have to speak to Bridget as he didn't want her to know what had been taking place.

Amy had her hair cut and once Bridget left we brought Amy up to speed on events, she was livid as you can imagine. After we had eaten and had a chat with Amy she left just after 9pm and half an hour or so later Rob came home. Rob was very angry and told us that Louise had just had a moment and lashed out and did not mean what she had said but as I said you cannot take back what has been said. He was also angry that after he told Louise that he was playing cricket on Saturday she had said that she hadn't told him he could to which he replied that as they were not together and with the situation he was playing. After making a drink of tea we went up to bed and then Rob got a call but as the signal here can be unpredictable he ended up going to his car to take it and to get his house keys as he had left them in the car. Louise was having a bit of a temper and she had thumped the laptop screen and had broken it which she was blaming on Rob. He ghas done wrong but the poor lad doesn't know where he is at the moment.

All round it wasn't a good day yesterday.

Thankfully today has been better, once we were up and dressed we had breakfast and then I took Karen to work as she was in for 9am today. Once I had dropped Karen off I parked up near the front of the store and went and did the bit of weekly shopping we needed. I quickly did the shopping and then made my way home where I unpacked and put the shopping away before making a drink of tea and then putting the washing out on the line. Once the washing was out I took my tea into the living room and read my usual Friday edition of the Yorkshire Post newspaper.

Once I had finished my paper I made a fresh pot of tea and picked up my book and read until just after 2pm with occasional breaks for a fresh pot of tea and a mini cigar. After finishing reading I did my book stats and notes for the last three books finished and then I did the downstairs housework before having a late lunch. After my lunch I let Leo out into the garden and then picked up my book before getting a call from Rob. We had a chat about the current situation and then he had to get back to work. I read until 5.15pm and then I brought the washing in off the line as the weather didn't look too good and we were supposed to have had rain this afternoon. As we seemed to have escaped the rain I didn't want to leave it out while picking Karen up from work in case the rain was late.

I picked Karen up and no rain arrived so I could have left it out. Once we were home Karen went and got changed and I made us a pot of tea before I took Karen to Danielle's for a Temple Spa party which is just an excuse to have some wine and for those that couldn't get to the official Hen Party to celebrate her forthcoming wedding which is on the 20th of August and we are really looking forward to it. Amy was going straight to Danielle's from work so I had to take Karen but she might be getting a lift home otherwise I shall have to go out and pick her up later on.

Well, John, this thing with Rob and Louise is absolutely crazy, and I'm sorry you and Karen have been sucked up in to it. I'm also sorry your day out with Hannah was less happy than it could have been.

I'm glad today was better and hope tomorrow is better still.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

Howdy John. Poor Leo! I'm sorry to hear you having difficulties with Hannah's mom. Sending you my best thoughts that things settle down in that department. Have a great weekend. Love and hugs to you and Karen.

HELLO JOHN!

Diane is right! Visiting your thread is a magnificent journey. Your writing is descriptive and soft. It feels as though I stand outside a wooded door, entering slowly to see all the beautiful flowers. I imagine a small table with a glass top and saucers and cups of delightful tea.

Happy Day To You and Karen. How fortunate you are to have found each other.

>74 Whisper1: What a lovely description of John's thread, Linda.

I have certainly always felt at home here, but since I could walk it to John's home from my mother's house I guess that is not entirely unexpected.

Wishing all of you a wonderful weekend, John.

Stoneman got selected I see but Malan is a little bit lucky and I don't see what Crane has done to get himself picked.

Hi John!

My daughter's only 24, but I still worry about her, too, although she seems to be doing well right now. One time when was in my 50s my mom expressed concern over some financial problems we were having, and I said something like "I guess you never stop worrying about your kids, do you?" She said that of course not, you always want the best for them and are unhappy when they're unhappy. I'm glad you and Karen had a good day yesterday, although I'm sad to hear that Leo is unsteady and not quite himself.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

>93 johnsimpson:, Thanks Karen my dear, we are just a bit worried that Leo is getting stressed. We think that he might have had a little bit of vision left in his left eye and that appears to have gone and he has spent quite a bit of time yesterday and today just wandering around aimlessly and bumping into things, he has a check up in a couple of weeks so we will monitor him and may take him earlier or he may just be working out his way around in his head now vision has totally gone.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

I have had a steady day, once we were up and about I made us a pot of tea and Karen put a dark load of washing on. Rob rang to say he was on his way and would I make him a pot of tea and once I had done that I had some cereal.

Rob arrived and had a quick chat and then I took him to the railway station and then headed home. Once home I made us another pot of tea and then had time for another before Karen had something to eat before it was time to take her to work.

I took Karen to work and then had to pop into town to pick up some Chelsea Boots that Amy had ordered for Andy, it was easier for Amy to get them sent to the store in Wakefield than York. After picking up the boots I had a couple of other things to pick up for Karen and then needed to get some Rechargable batteries for our landline phones, I couldn't believe how expensive they were. Once I had picked up everything on my list I headed for home.

After getting home I let Leo out into the garden and put the washing on the line outside, when the washer had finished it was raining so Karen put them on the airer but as we set off to work the sun had come out but we didn't have time to put them out then. Once I had done all this I had a pot of tea and read the Yorkshire Post paper and then picked up my book. I read for a couple of hours interspersed with the odd pot of tea or two and checking on Leo. By 4pm I decided to mow the lawn and to do a bit of weeding before making sure Leo was indoors so I could open the gate to take things to the car to load it up for a trip to the Recycle centre tomorrow.

Once I had loaded the car I cleaned myself up and made a pot of tea and read until just after 6pm when I decided to put a pie in the oven to cook and opened some mixed veg and set about making myself something to eat. I read while it was cooking and then had my food which was lovely. Once I had eaten I made sure Leo was indoors and set off to pick Rob up from the station via the pet store. They didn't have the food I wanted so I will have to call tomorrow, I left and picked Rob up and brought him home and then he picked up a couple of things and headed to see Louise (sigh). Once he had gone I let Leo back out and made a pot of tea, I finished my chapter and then fired up the laptop and here I am.

I have had a good reading day so far and am trying to rack up the pages before we go away in September so that when I have a book splurge in Hay-on-Wye it won't take me over the Million pages to be read. That is one figure I am trying to keep below if I can but I can purchase pages quicker than I can read them, lol.

Just looked up and it is very dark now at 9.15pm, just had to close the blinds before making another pot of tea, I will be making Karen a pot in the travel mug soon as I will be going to pick her up from work shortly. It will soon be time to close the blinds at 4pm as the autumnal nights get upon us, where has the year gone.

Finished book Fifty-One late last night, The Novel Habits of Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith. This is the tenth in the Isabel Dalhousie series.

As the editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, Isabel doesn't allow herself to have enemies until the arrival of two squabbling academics forces her to question her stance. Elsewhere in Edinburgh, a little boy believes he had a previous life. Called upon to help, Isabel finds herself challenging her own views on reincarnation, the nature of grief and the positioning of lighthouses.

The only thing Isabel doesn't question is her personal life, she is blissfully content with her young son and husband. All this apart, she embarks upon the next issue of the magazine - the Happiness Issue - and discovers that it is not always what it seems.

Another interesting and thoughtful novel in this series by a wonderful author.

It has been a glorious day here in Walton with the sun shining all day and lovely and warm. Once we were up and dressed we had a pot of tea and I had some cereal before Rob arrived. I made him a pot of tea and after a quick chat I took him to the station. Once back from taking Rob I made a pot of tea and Karen set a load of washing going.

I made another pot of tea and Karen had a bite to eat before it was time to take her to work, after dropping Karen off I made my way to the recycle centre to drop off some branches that I cut down last year plus a couple of small tree roots as well as some electrical items and a couple of bits of metal. Once I had done this I made my way home and had a pot of tea after putting the washing on the line. After I had finished my tea I made my way into town as I had an appointment with my mobile phone provider guru to sort my phone out as I seem to have a problem with space for apps. It turns out I just need to keep clearing my apps as I do not have a big memory on my phone unlike Karen. I really don't use my phone much apart from the odd call, texting and Facebook although I do Google a bit mainly the Funchal webcam. Once this had been sorted I went to Pets at Home to pick up some food for Leo. Once I had Leo's food I made my way home and once home had a pot of tea.

Whilst having my pot of tea I read through the new edition of the Radio Times listing magazine that had come through the post and then read for a while before having some lunch. After a couple of hours I then got on with the upstairs housework before having a pot of tea and reading. I put a pizza in the oven and while it was cooking I read and then when the pizza was ready I watched the news while eating. Once I had finished my food I went to pick Rob up from the station and brought him home. Rob picked up a couple of bits and went back to see Louise and I finished my chapter or two and then fired up the laptop to come on here and update my thread.

Finished book Fifty-Two a short while ago, Sister by Rosamund Lupton. A fantastic debut novel where crime fiction and literature coincide. This has been on my shelves for a very long time and having read it, why did I wait so long. I was hooked from the first few pages and it did not disappoint, it is an excellent read and I would highly recommend it if you have not yet read it. I am looking forward to reading her second book which is also on the shelves and has been for a while.

>97 johnsimpson: John , please to not remind so early in the year of early ending days to come! Yes , I know it will get dark at 4 pm later in the year, but while we have the sun, let's dance! :-) The Novel Habits of Happiness sounds like a nice book and I think I may have Sister on my shelves, somewhere.

Yes, I would agree that kids just don't understand how much parents still care so much about them, even after they are grown up and moved out. I'm so glad that my one son who has been married for 2 years now is happy. It would be so hard if he was having trouble with that relationship. Parents really pay a price. It is certainly worth it, but it is not easy. My aunt's son is going through a divorce right now, and though she is in another city from me , as is my cousin, I know it causes her a lot of pain to see her son having to go through a divorce after 15 plus years of marriage. I am not privy to what sparked the divorce, other than it was initiated by the wife. Her son and his two kids spend alternate weeks at my aunts home , as the husband and wife must legally be living apart for one year until a no - fault divorce can happen.

Hugs to you, John and Karen.

>101 johnsimpson:, Sorry to have made an awful reminder about short days but it just seemed to have come dark early compared to a few days earlier. It has been lovely and sunny here today and we have made the best of it and will make the best of anymore sunny days as we are having mixed forecasts, sun one day then rain and lower temperatures for the next couple before we may get sun again.

After all the kerfuffle of last Thursday and Friday things are quiet on that front and long may it last, we don't want to be drawn into it as they need to sort things out if they can, we will be here for Rob to try and pick the pieces up if the relationship fails but with Louise's past record would not be sure her parents would. With Louise being 42 her parents are 15 years older than Karen and I and there relationship from what we've seen and heard has been fractious at best. This is what makes things hard as Louise found that Karen was more of a mum to her than her own as she listened and wasn't judgemental yet at times she has thrown it all back at Karen and upset her no end.

It seems that you and Dave and Karen and I have been lucky in the marriage stakes, both if us have long and happy marriages. I said in my Father of the Bride speech that marriage has to be worked at, it is not all hearts and flowers as when you first meet and start to build a relationship. We got married through the year long miners strike and I was only 21 and then I went back to work five weeks before the strike ended so our first year was a bit fraught.

The Novel Habits of Happiness is a lovely book as are all the Isabel Dalhousie books, in fact along with the No1 Ladies' Detective series as well. I haven't read the 44 Scotland Street series yet but have the first few on the shelves in the loft so I need to get to them sometime this year.

Sending love and hugs to you and the family dear friend.

After a night of heavy rain we awoke to a sunny morning. We had to be up earlier than normal for a Thursday as the hairdresser was arriving at 8am. Bridget was on time and started Karen's hair, she coloured it a bit and then while Karen had to wait she did mine which took about five minutes. After a pot of tea and a chat she finished off Karen's hair while I had some cereal. Rob arrived just before she left and he had a pot of tea with us before I took him to the station. I got back from taking Rob to the station and Debbie the nail technician had arrived and had started doing Karen's nails, I made us all a pot of tea and then began a new book, O'Hara's Choice by Leon Uris. I am reading this alongside Streets of Laredo by Larry McMurtry and am enjoying both books which I expected as I love both authors.

When Debbie had gone we had a pot of tea and watched the rolling news programme and then we had another pot of tea before Karen made some sandwiches for lunch. After we had eaten I listened to the start of the first Day/night Test match in England between England and West Indies, after a while Karen decided to do some baking. Karen made some ginger and Cherry muffins, some for now and some to take with us when we go to Wales in a couple of weeks.

When Karen had finished baking and tidied up we had a pot of tea and Karen read while I continued listening to the cricket. After a while we went upstairs to make the spare bed as Karen stripped it this morning, once that was done Karen came down and continued reading and we had a muffin with a pot of tea. A short time later we did the shopping list and Karen made tea for us, homemade fishcakes with mushy peas. After we had eaten we watched the evening news and then our local news programme before the One Show came on. After a short while I went to pick Rob up from the station and after a quick chat with us he picked up a couple of items and then left.

While Karen watched Who Do You Think You Are with Lulu I fired up the laptop and came on here to peruse the threads.

Hi John! I'm glad things are calm at the Simpsons.

It sounds like such a luxury to have someone come in to cut/color/style hair and someone else come in to do nails. I've got to go to their shops. Fortunately, I found a good hair salon and a good nail salon. One's 8 miles away, the other 10. Not bad for living in the middle of nowhere. But still! Someone coming to me rather than me going to them would be so nice.

It's always fun to find a book already on our shelves that, once picked up, becomes a fantastic read.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

>102 johnsimpson: John, perhaps it is best if marriages don't start off perfectly, like mine and yours? Dave was laid off from his job with the airline when I married him, so we had a bit of tense time in the first years too. Not that tense but we both knew not to expect perfection in life. When we got engaged, Dave asked me if I'd prefer to wait until he was back to work. I told him , no, it would be too long of wait for me. So I was happy to work , and Dave took on work as he was able to find it . Then we had the surprise of the birth of our first child 18 months after we married and Dave was still laid off work. But we kept our footing, and amazingly, just a few weeks prior to my planning to go back to work full time after having our first child, Dave was called back to work. So I was able to go back to work part time instead.

I'm glad things are calm right now and long may it reign in your household . Glad you had a lovely day, my friend. Love and hugs to you and Karen.

Looks like things may have settled a bit for you and Karen, at least for now. Once we have children our lives are permanently changed, aren't they? So many things to think about, and of course one would like to stay in front and clear the boulders from their paths, unhealthy as that might be. Learning about Louise's parents goes some way to explaining her behavior, but it must still be difficult to deal with. I hope all goes well between her and Rob.

I have the first two Agatha Raisin books on the kindle; you make them sound very entertaining. And I love McCall Smith!

I hope Sunday is a quiet and peaceful day for you both, and that next week will be an extra good one for you.

Love and hugs (and some soothing pays for Leo) to you, John.

>104 johnsimpson:, Hi Karen, we have had a mobile hairdresser for nearly thirty years. Karen used a hairdresser's in Walton and a young lady called Donna did her hair, sadly Donna was getting fed up of the owner and let Karen know she was going to go mobile and one Saturday morning managed to give Karen her number, shortly after Donna left and she came to do our hair. We got to know Donna really well and she was a part of the family, sadly Donna began to develop Parkinson's disease and had to stop cutting hair, we kept in touch for a while but then she moved away and we have not seen her for a few years now.

We used a local hairdresser's for a short while before Bridget was recommended to us and she has cut our hair for a number of years now and she is part of the family.

Karen had used salon's for her nails but has been disappointed too many times and then Debbie was recommended and she has been coming for a couple of years or so.

It is handy for us and because we have known our hairdresser's so well that we can work around each other with some changes at short notice. Bridget did Amy's hair for her wedding, coming to the hotel in York for 6.30am and then she came back for the evening part of the wedding although she wasn't very well.

>105 scaifea:, Hi Deb, I think we have both been blessed with our partners and we have both had an uneasy start to married life but if you want it badly it will work out and we are proof of this. I see some marriages and they seem to have everything, good jobs, homes and all the gadgets and yet they don't seem happy. We went through with the purchase of our house as both fathers said the strike might not last long and then where would we be. Luckily for us the couple we bought off worked in Harrogate and only lived in the house at weekends and by this time they could afford to move nearer to Harrogate and so we had all the carpets which was good. We had the essentials of a cooker, a fridge, a washer and a bed, in the living room we had a small table with a black and white Television and one chair which was very soft and three cushions on the floor which was hard on the bottom. We used to swap seats every so oft to get comfortable and we had an old dining table which I did up and two chairs and we were as Happy as pigs in muck, how many young couples would start life like that.

Although it would have been nice to have a little more at the time we were very happy and look back fondly about those early days and they made us.

>106 FAMeulstee:, Hi Gail, the Agatha Raisin books are great and a nice easy read, after we had got the first ten we found out that they had done the first four books as a radio series on Radio 4 with Penelope Keith in the title role and they were very good. Recently Sky has done the first two books as a two hour comedy drama with a younger woman in the role and changed Agatha's hair to blond and far slimmer than she is made out to be, we don't have Sky so I haven't seen them but reviews were not good as I expected.

We have loved the McCall Smith books for many years and always look forward to the next one to come out.

We had a really lovely day yesterday at Danni and Jamie's wedding and we are very tired today, I hope to post some photos of us and the wedding tomorrow and hopefully they will come out well as I seem to have had some poor photos on my thread yet using the same thing to post them.

Karen has not been at work since Friday and goes back tomorrow so it has been a nice three days. Once we were up on Saturday we went to the farm shop and treated ourselves to breakfast out before picking up some bread and then Karen called into the supermarket to take some things back. Once we had done this we made our way home and had a pot of tea and I put some washing on the line. A couple of hours after we got home, Amy arrived with Andy, she dropped some things off and then took Andy over to Jamie's to make sure everything was done and sorted in his role as Best man. I went with them and then came back with Amy, we had a lovely afternoon before having a homemade fish curry and a nice relaxing evening.

We had a good nights sleep and when we got up on Sunday morning we all had a shower before having a cooked breakfast. I let the girls go upstairs to get hair and make up done before I had a shave and then got suited and booted. Dave the taxi arrived to take us to the Kings Croft hotel for the wedding, we had drink on arrival and then made our way to the outdoor pavilion for the wedding ceremony. Andy performed well as best man and then we had to wait while all the photo's were taken. We made our way back to the hotel and got a drink and sat outside on the patio area chatting before it was time to go inside for the Afternoon Tea and then the speeches. Danni's dad did well with his speech and Jamie got emotional with his before Andy pulled out a really lovely Best man speech and he also got a little emotional towards the end as Jamie and Him have a "Bromance".

Once the Afternoon Tea was over it was outside again while they took the partition down and then it was the dancing, first off was a Ceilidh then a normal Disco. I was in a little pain so avoided the Ceilidh but I did partake a few Disco dances. The Bride and Groom had their first dance and then Danni had a dance with her dad, we were watching and Amy snuggled into my arms and we swayed together getting a bit emotional. Just as that finished the next song was the one Amy and Andy had for their first dance and that gets me in tears now and so I moved away onto the patio to have a cry, Karen realised what was going on and came out and cuddled me until it had finished. Danni's mum and dad came over to me and gave me a cuddle as they know that since Amy's wedding I have become Mr emotional and at the end of the evening Danni gave me a big hug as she knows what I am like.

We left after the last song at midnight, Dave the taxi was waiting for us and we got home by 12.25am, we sorted Leo out and then we all went up to bed. I made us a pot of tea and Amy sorted drinks out for her and Andy. Lights went put by 1.30am and although we didn't get up until 8.30am when Karen wanted a pot of tea, we had all had a poor nights sleep and were very tired having breakfast. We just sat about feeling jaded until noon when we all popped to Costco for a few bits. Once back from Costco we had a drink and something to eat and then just sat about for a while. Amy and Andy were tired so went to bed for a quick power nap before they set off for home.

Karen is back to work tomorrow so hopefully she will have a good nights sleep tonight.

The wedding sounds lovely, John, and I'm glad you all had such a good time. I think we may have one coming up this fall (or maybe it's next spring?), as one of Tomm's cousins is getting married soon.

I love your description of your early married days - Tomm's and mine were similarly lean but happy.

It does sound lovely, John. Thanks for sharing.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen!

>111 johnsimpson:, Thanks Amber my dear.

>112 Berly:, Thanks Karen my dear.

The alarm went off this morning but Karen was still a bit sleepy and so asked me to go and make a pot of tea to have in bed which I duly did. I let Leo out and the morning looked dull and cold. Karen reset the alarm so that we didn't over sleep and after having our tea we got up and dressed. Once downstairs Leo came in and I made us a pot of tea while Karen set a load of washing going. We had our tea and Karen brought me a bowl of cereal which I had while watching the news magazine programme.

When the washer finished it was still dull and cold so Karen put the washing on the airer, i made us another pot of tea before Karen had a bite to eat before she set off for work. I took Karen to work and had to put a returns parcel in the return box in the foyer of the supermarket. Once this was done i made my way home and had a pot of tea and read the TV listings magazine that came through the post. I watched the lunchtime news before going into the garden to have a potter about.

I did a bit of weeding and then got all my tools together to have a go at the Holly tree stump and roots. I made sure i had my kneeler mats down to make things comfortable for me and started to scrape the soil away to expose roots. I had a tea break and then continued and then had another break for tea. I made sure i was in a nice low position but even so i still ended up acheing but then what did i expect after being at the job for three and a half hours but at least it is out. I put the tools away and clenaed my hands before going up for a nice shower and a change of clothes as i had got sweaty. The shower seemed to have done me good but i am stiffening up now so i have taken a pain killer and my patches are changed tonight.

Once i got back downstairs after my shower i had a pot of tea and put my pie and chips in the oven. I opened a small tin of peas and carrots and put them in a pan ready to warm up when the pie and chips were nearly done. Once everything was ready to put on the plate i made a small amount of gravy and had a lovely tea.

After i had eaten i set the DVD recorder up to record a programme for Karen and then read for a while until Rob rang to ask how we are. I had a nice chat for about fiteen minutes before he had to go, i resumed my reading before firing up the laptop to come on here. I will be going for Karen in about thirty minutes so i will use my time well until it is time to go.

Taken just after the wedding ceremony.

The Happy couple Danni and Jamie with Andy who was Best man and Amy

The four of us

The wedding favours made by Danni.

Another one of me and Karen.

Waiting for the ceremony to start.

A very mixed day, as I had to spend the night in the spare bed as I was in so much pain with my back I awoke to the alarm and went downstairs to make us a pot of tea in bed. We had our tea and I told Karen that it was dull and cool outside when Leo popped out but he quickly came back in.

Once we were up and dressed we came downstairs after stripping the bedding off our bed and I got our medications out and made a pot of tea while Karen did the porridge. While we were eating we heard some thunder and then the heavens opened. We had really heavy rain, thunder and lightening and Leo still wanted to go out. The heavy rain lasted for just over an hour and has caused some localised flooding in parts of Yorkshire.
We waited until it had eased off before we headed out to the supermarket to pick up an iron and then on to Aldi to take an iron back and for Karen to pick up a few bits.

Once we were home from shopping I made us a pot of tea while Karen unpacked the shopping and put the flowers she had bought into a vase. By the time we were having our pot of tea the sun started to come out and by the time we had finished our drinks it was quite warm and sunny and I put the dark washing on the line. We had a steady afternoon having some lunch and watching a programme I had recorded yesterday before we put fresh bedding on our bed.

I have put a few photo's from the wedding of Danni and Jamie up to show us in our finery, hope you all like them.

Wonderful wedding photos, John! And I'm sorry that your back is hurting you again. I hope you get some relief soon.

Lovely photos at the wedding, John, everyone looks happy!

>122 johnsimpson:, Thanks Amber my dear, my back has eased up again so I will have to be more careful when gardening. I thought I was in a nice low position but obviously the time taken to complete the job was too long. The two remaining stumps and roots shouldn't be too bad to get out but I will be careful.

>123 karenmarie:, Hi Anita, thank you my dear it was a really lovely day and the weather was good for the photo's and we were all very happy.

We have had a very nice day today. Once we were up, washed and dressed we came downstairs and I made us a pot of tea and Karen made breakfast before we got Leo back in and then set off to Kirkby Lonsdale. We had a pleasant drive up through Leeds and then skirted Ilkley, Skipton and Settle before continuing on the A65 through Ingleton and then out of North Yorkshire into Lancashire and then a short distance along moved over into Cumbria.

Kirkby Lonsdale is a small market town and was very nice, there was a market being held in the market square which we wandered around after calling into a nice café. The café was very welcoming and in the autumn/winter months with the log burners going I can imagine it being very cosy. Once we had finished our coffee Karen went to pay while I went to spend a penny and when I returned Karen was chatting to the owner. The owner is a lovely man from Belfast and as Karen used to work in catering they were have a good chat.

We left the café and nipped into an old fashioned sweet shop next door before wandering around the market, after picking up a couple of bits we wandered up the main street and popped into a few shops for a look around. Along the way Karen picked up a nice scarf, a couple of birthday cards and a nice handbag from the North West Air Ambulance charity shop. After the last purchase we made our way back to the car and headed back towards Skipton where we parked up briefly and Karen went to Boots the Chemist shop and I went to the Oxfam book shop. Karen got what she wanted but I found nothing I wanted to pick up in the bookshop which surprised me. We made our way back to the car and headed home.

It was lovely weather by the time we got to Kirkby Lonsdale but we did drive through a short rain shower, the weather remained good for the rest of the day.

>108 johnsimpson: What a lovely story of the beginning of your married life, John! It proves again that material possessions aren't quite as important as they sometimes seem to be.

Beautiful photos from the wedding. You all look wonderful and happy.

Very sorry to see that your back has been acting up; I hope you've had some relief by now.

Finished book Fifty-Three this morning, O'Hara's Choice by Leon Uris. I enjoyed this book although it did flick back and forwards between the 1890's and back to the Civil War with various characters, sadly this was his last book and was published shortly after he passed away in 2003.

John--Hope your back starts behaving again soon. Glad that you and Karen enjoy such a wonderful marriage. You are a lucky man!! Enjoy your long weekend. : )

>129 johnsimpson:, Hi Kim, my back is easing but I think I am falling apart as I have a pain in my groin as if I have been riding a horse for days and my ankle is tender. I think it is all related, arthritis and it has been cool and damp since Tuesday until today. All I ask is that we have a good spell of warm weather from mid April through to mid October and then I can cope with the cold spell over the winter months. The morphine patches are doing their stuff and the weather is to be good for the next week and when we have been away for a few days in September before we have been lucky with nice weather so fingers crossed.

I was a lucky man when I met Karen even though I nearly messed up, we aren't perfect and we are lucky with what we have and have two lovely children who still cause us heartache at times but one thing we make sure is that we never go to sleep on an argument (not that they happen often). I mentioned this at the end of my speech at Amy's wedding and I told Danni and Jamie this at theirs last Sunday. My mum and dad had Thirty Four and a Half happy years before Dad passed away and Karen's mum and dad had Sixty Three happy years and she passed away two days later so we are near my parents time and just thirty more to go to match Karen's.

Have a lovely weekend with your family dear friend and many more happy years of marriage my dear, one day we may meet and that would be wonderful, sending love and hugs.

It has been a lovely weekend with the weather and tomorrow will be more of the same. Yesterday Karen was working, after taking her to work I got back and had a pot of tea and read my paper before starting a new book while listening to the cricket on the radio. After an afternoon of reading and cricket listening it was time to go and pick Karen up from work. Once home I made us a pot of tea before Karen made us something to eat, after we had eaten we had a lazy, relaxing evening before going to bed.

Today we had a pot of tea in bed before getting up and having breakfast and a pot of tea. After a short time we went to the supermarket so Karen could take a couple of things back and then we went to Pugneys Country Park to have a walk around. We had a nice steady stroll before making our way back home. Once home we had a pot of tea and I put the radio on to listen to the cricket while Karen pottered about.

Later Karen made us a nice lunch before she decided to make some biscuits, some of the biscuits are for now and some have been put in the freezer so we can take them with us when we go away, always nice to have some homemade biscuits to have in our room with a pot of tea. We have had a relaxing evening and watched a bit of TV before I fired up the laptop to come on here. Presently Karen is in our bedroom watching the second series of Victoria while I watch the opening episode of The Cuckoo Calling on BBC One. I will not be revealing anything so as not to spoil it, I haven't read the book yet or the second and third. They are all being filmed and in an interview for the Radio Times listings magazine, J.K. Rowling a.k.a. Robert Galbraith, she said she liked the actor playing Cormoran Strike and told him she wants to write at least another ten Cormoran Strike books. The only bit I will reveal is that Tom Burke plays Strike, he was in the Musketeers also on the BBC.

First episode of The Cuckoo Calling is very good, well worth watching.

I got back from my Kansas trip. My mother is doing well and in fact is much improved over her condition of a year ago. I spent the whole vacation reading and napping. I took five books home with me and I managed to read four of them. I purchased two ceiling fans for my moms house and now will have to wait a month or two to have them installed as one of the fans was very expensive Casablanca fan with a twenty year guarantee.

The last day I was a home my sister, my mother, and I watched the American eclipse. What an event that was! Munden, my hometown was on the edge of the path of totality, so it did get dark. It was not total darkness - more like deep twilight. As soon as the sun was totally covered up, clouds rolled in, so I did not get to see the sun come back. This happened about 1:00 p.m., so as soon as the clouds came my sister went back to work and Mom and I went back into the house for a nap.

Now it is back to work as the University has started the fall term.

>133 Matke: The eclipse was incredible. A group of university folk met at a specific place on campus. A few astronomy profs set up wonderful equipment and many lined up to get a wonderful view. I found it incredible to see a quarter sun instead of watching a quarter moon.

We didn't have darkness, but it was neat to see.

When I got back to my house in Alabama I had several nests of wasps that had settled in and were building houses. One of them was right in front of my door. I couldn't have that so yesterday I knocked it down and sprayed the area. Then later in the afternoon I got to the other two nests. I guess the wasps were angry at me and so they attacked. I was stung right on the neck. It was painful and itched for several hours but I put ice on it and stayed indoors for the rest of the afternoon. I am OK today and best of all there are no wasps anywhere close to my door.

>133 Matke:, >135 johnsimpson:, Hi Benita glad you had a nice trip to Kansas my dear, sounds like it was very relaxing with reading and napping. The ceiling fans sound really good and it is best to get them fitted properly although a two month wait seems excessive.

We saw the eclipse on the news and it looked impressive and must have been excellent to actually see it. What a thing to come home to, wasp nests and you were brave to knock them down although one managed to get you. Hope the pain wasn't too bad. I had a small nest starting to be built in the garage a couple of years ago and managed to get rid of it and sprayed all around to get rid of the few wasps around. We had to be careful with Rob as he reacts badly to a sting and we make sure he has anti-histamine with him.

>134 johnsimpson:, Hi Linda, glad you were able to see the eclipse my dear even if you didn't get full darkness.

Finished book Fifty-Four a short while ago, Streets of Laredo by Larry McMurtry, this is the second in the Lonesome Dove series and sees Woodrow Call, an ageing bounty hunter hired to track and kill the elusive bandit Joey Garza. Call must match all his skills not only against Garza but also against one of the last untamed regions of the American West.

Call's long trail through the Texas Panhandle, across the Trans-Pecos and into Northern Mexico is with an accountant from Brooklyn who works for the Colonel of the railroad that is suffering at the hands of Garza. Along the way he picks up an incompetent Deputy, Famous Shoes the Kickapoo Indian and his old corporal, Pea Eye arrives. Will the wily Call still have what it takes to track and kill the young gun.

Finally it is two women, Garza's gallant mother Maria and Lorena, Pea Eye's devoted wife who offer a flicker of hope amidst all the terrible conflict that is unfolding.

A magnificent read from a master storyteller, I loved Lonesome Dove and Commanche Run and look forward to the third in the series even though I have read one, four and two in the series in that order as I didn't realise it was a series.

We have had a lovely but busy day in this glorious weather. After a pot of tea in bed we got up, washed and dressed and came downstairs to have breakfast. After breakfast we picked the apples off the two dwarf trees and Karen decided to make some apple crumbles. I peeled the apples and Karen did the rest and then made the crumble mix, I made us a pot of tea and listened to the cricket. After a short while Karen decided to do some dead heading and then some pruning and I was called upon. I sorted some bits out and Karen cleared some of the pots and planters and then Karen decided to prune the Camellia.

After we finished the Camellia Karen sent me to start weeding the front garden as she could finish up in the back garden. After a short while Karen joined me and between us we got the front garden sorted out. I finished the last bits off while Karen went for a shower and then while I was in the shower she made us something to eat. After a nice meal we were bushed and settled down in the living room and watched the news while the crumble cooked. By the time we were watching Wallace and Gromit's A Close Shave the crumble and custard was ready, it was delicious. After clearing up the dishes Karen took a pot of tea upstairs to watch some programmes while I fired up the laptop to come on here and then watch the second episode of A Cuckoo Calling by Robert Galbraith.

Hi John!

Sorry I haven't visited in a while - daughter's been visiting since Thursday evening and just drove off on the 3-hour trip to her apartment so as to be ready for work tomorrow.

The pics are lovely, the fascinator is beautiful.

Sorry about the back pain and now the other pains! I hope you get some relief soon.

Sending love and hugs to you both!

>140 johnsimpson:, Hi Karen, don't be sorry you haven't visited for a while my dear, you have been busy with family. Glad you like the pics and Karen's fascinator was nice after she had eventually decided on one. The back pain has been bad but it was self inflicted as I did too much trying to get the tree stump and root out in one go instead of doing a bit and doing the rest the next day but I was conscious of bad weather coming. Luckily it was patch night and an extra painkiller helped out and I was good for the rest of the week. Unfortunately today we have done a bit too much between us and are a bit achey and poor Karen has a ten hour shift tomorrow whereas I only have to do the upstairs housework. On the plus side, after tomorrow Karen has only two shifts to do on Friday and Saturday and then she is off for two weeks and we will be away for four days in Abergavenny in Wales calling in at Hay-on-Wye on the way down. I have been saving my allowance so I can get a few books, lol.

Hope you had a nice time with your daughter visiting dear friend and she has a safe journey home. I hope you have a good week my dear and I will pop along to your thread. Sending love and hugs from both of us.

>139 johnsimpson: Mmmmm apple crumble!!

How is A Cuckoo Calling? I loved the book but haven't watched any episodes yet

just stopping by to say hi and wish a lovely week ahead, John and love to Karen too.

Just making sure I stay current here. Wonderful advice not to go to bed angry with you significant other. Hubby and I follow that rule. : ) Hugs to you and Karen!!

>142 johnsimpson:, Hi Chelle the apple crumble was delicious and you have just reminded me that I haven't had the bit that Karen left for me in the fridge to have with my tea.

A Cuckoo Calling is really good, the final episode is next Sunday evening with the second book being shown towards the end of September. I read a review by the TV reviewer for the Daily Telegraph newspaper and he was very pleased and thought it had been screen played well with just a few bits left out and a couple of name changes that do not detract from the book. Definitely worth a watch my dear.

>143 Ameise1:, Hi Deb, thanks for stopping by my dear.

>144 Familyhistorian:, Hi Kim, you are always current my dear and we both follow a good rule in marriage. Yesterday we worked well together sorting the garden out and I mentioned what I had posted and what you and a few others have replied and Karen said, there is no I in team and we are a team, she is not wrong. It is not about the individual but the pair that are joined together in holy matrimony.

A steady day after our exertions yesterday. Once we were up and about I made us a pot of tea while Karen got breakfast ready and put the medications out. I went and moved the car off the drive for when Rob arrived and went and had my pot of tea. I made another brew and had my cereal and had just about finished when Rob turned up, Karen made him a pot of tea and then went to wash her hair while I set the washing off then took Rob to the station after he had finished his drink.

When I got back Karen was back downstairs and I made us both a pot of tea before Karen had a bite to eat before it was time to take her to work. I dropped Karen off and made my way back home after picking up a newspaper. Once home I made a pot of tea, put the radio on to listen to the cricket and read my paper. I put the washing on the airer and did my book stats and notes and in between doing book work I rang the tax office as we owe them some money. I finished my book stats and put everything away and then read for half an hour before trying to get hold of the tax office which I eventually did. I had a nice chat with a young lady from Glasgow and got a payment schedule set up which suits them and is suitable to us. After I did this I had a pot of tea and then went to do the upstairs housework.

Once I had finished the housework I made a pot of tea and listened to the exciting end to the cricket while reading, the match hadn't finished when I put my pie and chips in the oven so I wouldn't be eating late. Just before my tea was ready the game finished with a good win for West Indies over England and the series is tied one each with the final Test match at the end of next week at the home of Cricket, Lords in London. I had my food and then had time for a few pages before going to pick Rob up from the station. I brought Rob home and he picked up a couple of bits and then went home. As Rob was leaving my neighbour popped round to say that she would look after Leo when we are away and showed me some photos of their weekend in Lincoln at a Steampunk festival, the outfits were amazing and both Catherine and her husband David looked great in their outfits. The weather in the UK this bank holiday weekend has been wonderful so they had a really good time although in the outfits they got a bit warm. I shall be signing off shortly to go and pick Karen up from work.

Finished book Fifty-Five a short time ago, Alert by James Patterson. This is the eighth in the Michael Bennett series. New York has seen its fair share of horrific attacks but the city is about to be shaken in a way it has never before.

Two devastating catastrophes hit in quick succession and everyone is on edge, Detective Michael Bennett is put in charge of hunting down the perpetrators responsible. No sooner as Bennett takes charge when a shocking assassination makes it clear that these events are the prelude to something bigger. Bennett is now racing against the clock to save his city before the most destructive force he has ever faced tears it apart.

Another fast paced thriller from the prolific Mr Patterson.

Just keeping up, John. I saw some photos from the Steampunk Festival; it looked like it was fun.

Some day I will figure out cricket.

>150 johnsimpson:, Hi Gail, Cricket can be complicated to the uninitiated but it depends on which form of the game you look at. At base level in England is County Cricket which is a four day game, The 50 Over one day game, The T20 short form and the game lasts around 3 to 3.5 hours and then the pinnacle Test Cricket between Countries and is a five day game. Without getting more complicated about the number of Overs in an innings and the rules, that is it.

Cricket is a game that is hard to explain unless on a face to face basis as questions arise which are easier to answer one on one.

Hope this little explanation helps my dear and one day we may meet and I can go into more detail, sending love and hugs.

Finished book Fifty-Six a short time ago, Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind, This is the prequel to the start of the Sword of Truth series and gives the reader an insight into the series. In the days of the war against Panis Rahl, a young woman presents the First Wizard with an intractable choice and forces him into an encounter that could unleash a maelstrom of Magic.

Set in the world of The Sword of Truth, in a time before the boundaries, Debt of Bones is a tale of the power and love and courage in a world desperate for both. Foe Zedd and Abby, it could mean the ultimate sacrifice of that love and for the world, it could mean the end of courage.

This short story of immense scope shows the author's story telling powers and I am looking forward to the first main book, Wizard's First Rule.

Hi John!

I hope you and Karen have a fantastic trip.

Sending love and hugs to you both.

>153 Familyhistorian:, Thanks Karen my dear.

The first day of meteorological Autumn was chilly with dew on the lawn even though the sun was out. We had a pot of tea in bed before we got up, washed and dressed. Once downstairs I made a pot of tea before moving my car off the drive for Rob to park, Rob was held up with roadworks and poor drivers so arrived to just say hello to mum before I took him to the station. Once back home from dropping Rob off I had some cereal and a pot of tea and Karen had a bite to eat. We had time for another pot of tea before I took Karen to work and then I went into store to do the weekly shopping.

I was held up at the checkouts as each till was five deep, I though I had missed something and it was near Christmas. Friday lunchtime is always busy but not like today. Once through the till I made my way to the car and headed home and unpacked and put the shopping away. I had time to have a pot of tea before going to the dentist to see if they could fit me in to secure my crown which had come loose a couple of days ago, I temporarily fixed it with super glue. I got to the dentist as they opened for the afternoon and after checking with my dentist they asked me to come back in an hour. I left the dentist and found the post office and paid a bill and then went into a stationery shop and picked up a nice small 2018 diary and a little notepad. I wandered around Normanton but after a while got bored so went back to sit in the waiting room and read. I was only sat for five minutes when I was called in and he sorted my crown out. In January when I go for my check up he is going to put me a crown on a plate and link it to the tooth next to it as my current crown that I have had for 36 years has come to the end of its life. The little metal tube that the crowns spike slots in to has cracked and is widening each time it is pushed back in.

After leaving the dentist I made my way home and had a pot of tea and read for a while before doing the downstairs housework. After the housework was done I had time for a pot of tea and to read a bit before going to pick Karen up from work. I picked Karen up and we headed home and had a pot of tea before Karen went for a shower. While Karen was in the shower I went to pick Rob up from the station and by the time I got back with him Karen was back downstairs. Rob had a quick chat with mum and then picked up Shannon's birthday cards and money that we have given her and some from Amy, Shannon is fifteen on Sunday.

Once Rob has gone we had something to eat, I had a curry and Karen just had some toast as she wasn't feeling too good.

Time for the August stats.

Latest reading stats:

Books on shelves at 1-8-17 - 2328
Books added in August - 7
Books read in August - 9

Revised book total - 2326

Pages to read at 1-8-17 - 996,699
Pages added in August - 2,212
Pages read in August - 3,241

Revised total pages to read - 995,670

AUGUST'S READING STATS

Books Read...................... 9

No of Authors.................... 8

New Authors...................... 4

Male Authors..................... 6

Female Authors.................. 2

Pages Read....................... 3,241

Daily Avg........................... 104.55

Book Length avg................. 360.11

Pots of Tea Drunk................ 307

Still under the million pages to read mark and will try to keep it this way for as long as I can, think I will need to read quite a few pages in September to cover the pages I expect to add this month with me paying a visit to Hay-on-Wye book town. It could be a tough month.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, John. I love the wedding photos. Love and hugs to both of you xx

>157 johnsimpson: You are doing much better than I wth your book stats, John. I see that you read more than you brought in to the house. I wish I could do the same. I hope you and Karen have a great weekend and a wonderful holiday trip!

Enjoy your weekend, John and best wishes to you and Karen for her upcoming gall bladder surgery. Hugs to both of you! xx

Hi, John! I hope you and Karen have a great holiday!

Hi John!

Nice to see that you read 4 new authors in August! Coincidentally, I also read 4 new authors in August.

307 pots of tea. Even if I counted each mug of coffee as 2 'pot' equivalents, I'm only at about 120 on the high side for any given month. My hat's off to you.

I hope Karen is feeling better than on the first. Sending love and hugs to you both.

>160 ChelleBearss:, Thanks Barbara, hope you have had a good weekend my dear, sending love and hugs to you dear friend.

>161 jessibud2:, Hi Meg, I had a good August reading more than purchased but overall to the end of August I have purchased 53 more than I have read for the year. We have had a good weekend and are looking forward to our trip, I don't think I will read more than I purchase this month with a visit to Hay-on-Wye book town and having a few days to peruse bookshops and charity shops in Wales where I may find books I cannot find in Yorkshire.

Hope you are having a good Labor Day weekend dear friend.

>162 johnsimpson:, Thanks Deb, it has been a good weekend and Karen is looking forward to her op and then that problem will be solved. Hope you are having a good weekend dear friend with Dave at home today.

>163 johnsimpson:, Hi Amber we are looking forward to our few days in Wales and Hay-on-Wye, lots of new Bookshops to peruse and charity shops so the car may be full of books when we come home, ha ha.

Hope you are having a nice weekend dear friend, sending love and hugs.

>164 Familyhistorian:, Hi Karen, I did well in August with new authors, I try to read at least two new ones per month if I can. I enjoy my pots of tea but September's total will be down with our trip away although we are taking a few tea bags with us to have in our room. Although there will be tea/coffee facilities in the room they never leave enough tea bags or coffee sachets and I don't like continually asking for more and I much prefer our brand anyway.

Karen is feeling better and we have had a good weekend and looking forward to our trip, she has occasional niggles but I think that is starting again because she has got her op date so hopefully when she has the op on the 21st that will be a problem resolved.

Hope you are having a good weekend dear friend and send love and hugs.

>167 scaifea: Thanks, John, but we here call it Labour Day and it is going well. Still a sultry 30+ Celsius. I hope you find lots of great books on your trip.

Waving Hi!!

>158 johnsimpson: do you really count pots of tea drunk!!?? Funny :) Or do you have an averaging system....I would hate to count my coffees, mainly as the cost would be horrific (I always buy from a cafe).

>170 johnsimpson:, Glad it was a nice day for you Meg and a sultry 30+ Celcius, I think we have only had two 30+ Celcius days all summer if that's what you could call it here this year. I have no doubts I will find a few great books over the five days we are away.

>171 johnsimpson:, Waving Hi back Kim my dear.

>172 johnsimpson:, Hi Megan, sad as it may seem but yes I do count my pots of tea daily. The coffee table is in front of the Sofa with my ceramic place mat at arms reach, to the right of the place mat there are two or three sheets from a telephone note block with a fountain pen and a Biro. When I am adding a book I am reading to my thread I note down the book number so I can get a picture up and the top sheet is for noting down my tea drinking each day. As I am a house husband it is easy for me to do as when we are out we normally have a coffee, I love a pot of tea and I make the tea in the household as sadly Karen is crap at it (she agrees with this comment). I thought I averaged 10 pots a day and that seems to be bearing out so far. When I worked at the colliery i was mainly a pit top Electrician and like a lot of the lads i had a pint pot for my brew so i am used to copious amounts of tea. When we go to Costco i buy the catering bag of tea bags, Ty-phoo is sold in 1100 tea bags at well under a penny a bag. I love stats of all kinds so this was just something else to monitor but only for a year dear friend.

Finished book Fifty-Seven a couple of hours ago, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. This is a fabulous book and i have devoured it, it tells the tale of A.J. Fikry, the grumpy owner of Island Books on Alice Island. A.J is going through a hard time, the bookshop is failing and he ahs lost his beloved wife and a prized rare first edition has been stolen.

One day A.J arrives back at the bookshop and finds a two-year-old called Maya sitting on the bookshop floor with a note attached to her cuddly Elmo toy. The note asks the owner to look after her as he seems a kind man who owns a bookshop which will make sure Maya has a good life and is educated well. His life - and Maya's - is changed forever.

I didn't pick this up when it came out originally and then spent time looking for it, it was only on the shelves for a couple of weeks before i had to read it and i am so glad i did. Next time i see a new book and like what i read on the back of it i will not hesitate but purchase there and then.

10 POTS of tea or 10 cups?
I'm curious how many 250ml cups that would be for you a day? I usually have a coffee in the morning and a cup of tea in the afternoon or evening and the rest of the day is plain old ice water

>176 Ameise1: - I read this one last year and enjoyed it a lot, too, John.

>177 johnsimpson:, I have just checked the fluid quantity i have in the mugs and it is 275ml, on an average day it is ten mugs and the most I have had in a day is thirteen and that is from 7.30am until we go up to bed between 10 and 11 pm and i take a mug up to bed with me to have while i read for a while.

>178 johnsimpson:, Hi Shelley glad you enjoyed it as well my dear. I was lax in not getting it as soon as it came out in paperback as i was enamoured after reading the blurb at the back of the book. If i see a book that looks interesting i always read the blurb and if grabbed i normally get it but this slipped through my net at the time.

>173 FAMeulstee: We have had many many days of plus 30 degree weather this summer, John. In fact, we have had two sprinkles of rain only (not even enough for windshield wipers) since some time in June. Very unusual weather for the Vancouver area. I hope you have great weather on your trip.

>181 Ameise1:, Apparently it is to be a bit mixed Meg on Thursday and Friday but to be decent over the weekend and Monday wen we make our way home. I am not sure yet where we will go after leaving the Premier Inn on Monday morning but we will wander somewhere and aim to get home by about 8pm or thereabouts. Catherine our next door neighbour is going to look after Leo so he will be ok and Rob will probably call in on a couple of days.

Our weather is so disjointed, on Saturday it was lovely and warm and sunny, we went out with friends for a meal at our village pub and me and Geoff had short sleeve shirts on, we left the pub at around 10.15pm and it was quite warm yet on Sunday it was dull and very breezy and felt quite cold all day. Today has been a mix of sunny spells and then it has become dull and cooled a little then warmed up when the sun came back out. Karen has packed what she thinks we should need and we will put rain coats in the boot and a couple of sweaters just in case. The one thing i have not bothered with is shorts, i can't see them being needed, lol.

We've had sun lovely weather, John, I don't think I worn anything but shorts since late June? We've had a great summer! When is it when Karen goes for her gallbladder surgery ? Not until next week? I'm sure you will pleased to have that behind you.

Hi, John! I LOVE that you could mugs of tea!

Hi John!

I'm so glad to hear that Karen's surgery is finally scheduled! It's good timing to have your holiday just before, eh?

>176 Ameise1: I have The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry on my shelves and was even considering it for book club last year. Based on your liking it so much and my original impression of it, I think I'll recommend it for next year's book club, with our picking books meeting in November and the 12- book-cycle starting in December.

>183 LovingLit:, Hi Deb, if only it was warm enough for shorts, not sure about getting a tan more like it would be rust. We were promised a really good summer but it just hasn't happened, we have had the odd day or a couple since the beginning of June and that's it. The weather was better in May when I was taking the old coal shed down and worked up a sweat most days but needed old jeans on to protect the legs with all the mortar I was chipping off.

The Express newspaper is the worst for its predictions, they said it would be the hottest for 50 years with temperatures above 30c most days, didn't happen. In the past they have predicted the worst snow for donkeys years, the worst rain for donkeys years and none of it has happened, this has been going on for about five years now so sooner or later they will get it right.

Karen has here surgery on the 21st of this month my dear, she knew that as soon as we had booked something an appointment would arrive, luckily she got a letter to tell her to ring up to arrange a date so she could book for as soon as she is back off holiday. Karen has booked time off from yesterday and she is back at work on the 18th and then she will work the 19th and then two days later surgery and she could be off work for up to six weeks as the nature of her job means movement that will hurt that area of the body, she is very crafty the way she has worked things.

>184 scaifea:, I decided to see how much tea I drink over a year my dear and I thought that I drank 10 mugs per day and I have pretty much averaged 10 mugs per day so far this year.

>185 karenmarie:, Hi Karen, we have had the holiday booked for a while now and Karen booked her holidays for the 4th through to the 17th of September so when she got the letter to ring to book her surgery date she decided to get it done as soon as and the first date they had was the 21st of September so she goes back to work on the 18th after her break and then she is in on the 19th and then surgery on the 21st and then she could be off work for up to six weeks, she is very crafty the way she has worked it. So once she is home from surgery I will take up the role of nurse again until she is ok, I have had quite a bit of practice over the last few years so I should slip into the role quite easily, lol.

No pressure on my review of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry then my dear, I hope if it is selected that you all enjoy it as much as I did. It was one of those books that had me in a range of emotions and it flowed lovely, I could picture the scenes in my mind and would love to have a bookshop like the one in the story although I can be grumpy now and again like A.J.

Sending love and hugs.

We have had a good last few days, on Saturday after Karen had got home after her last shift for a couple of weeks we had a pot of tea and then got ready to go out. Our friends Linda and Geoff had booked a table at our Pub's restaurant so we were looking forward to it. We all had lovely food and a great evening.

Sunday was very cool and dull and we just relaxed for most of the day.

Monday saw Karen doing a bit of packing while I took Leo for his annual vaccinations, he wasn't best pleased about this as he hates going to the vets. Once back we gave him some treats and as soon as he had them he wandered out into the garden. We had a pot of tea and then we both realised that we hadn't put the washing machine on. I put the machine on and Karen sorted a few bits and pieces out before it was time to take her into town to meet her best friend Tina. I dropped Karen off and then went to pay a bill before getting home and having a pot of tea and then putting the washing out on the line.

After doing this I put the TV on to watch the cycling, it is the Tour of Britain this week. I did a bit of reading as well and before long it was time to pick the girls up. I arrived a few minutes early and read until they arrived at the car and then I dropped Tina off before we made our way home. We had a relaxing evening watching a bit of television and reading.

Today has been steady, once we were up and about we had a pot of tea and some breakfast before Debbie arrived to do Karen's nails. Shortly after I set off to pick Hannah up for a few hours and our plans to go out for a walk were dashed as it was raining heavily. When I got to the house Louise asked me about a roofer as they had some water damage in the bathroom, I told her it was better to get a quote and I said I would give Rob the number of a chap who sorted something similar for us a few years ago. Louise was quite chatty and she is looking well after losing a bit of weight and has been doing a fitness regime with a personal trainer. Things seemed like they used to be a few years ago and then she dropped a comment that Rob may be back there permanently soon. I smiled and then we set off back home. I told Karen this and we hope that things are looking as though they may be on track as they do love each other but Karen said let's wait as she could have a bad day and things go belly up. The way things looked and sounded seem hopeful and hopefully we will not get a dodgy call or message while we are away.

Debbie was just leaving as I arrived back with Hannah, Hannah took her coat and wellies off and gave Karen a big hug. Hannah had something to eat and a drink and then she played on her Tablet before she got grandma to get the dolls house and dolls box down. I did a bit of pottering about and then while Hannah was playing with Karen I went and did the upstairs housework. Once done Hannah had some tea before Karen took her for a bath and washed her hair. A short time later Rob arrived to pick Hannah up and we gave him the number for the roofer and some sheeting to make a temporary repair.

After they had gone we had a pot of tea before having something to eat and then I did some printing and laminating and Karen went up to have a lie down on the bed and watch some television. Once I had done my printing and laminating a I came on here to check up on threads and then update my own.

Hi John, good to read that finally Karens surgery is planned.
But first enjoy your holiday!

>190 karenmarie:, Thanks Anita my dear.

Finished book Fifty-Eight late last night, Date With Death by Julia Chapman. This is a wonderful debut novel in this series and finds Samson O'Brien moving back to the dales Village of Bruncliffe. Samson hasn't been back since he left 14 years ago under a black cloud and he is sure to cause a stir.

Whilst he surveys the village from the hills above a funeral is taking place of a man Samson knew from school days. Richard Hargreaves had moved with his wife and family back to the village when his wife thought it would be better for them and she would be a big fish in a small pond, sadly she was mistaken. Richard's wife was an offcumden and before long she had had enough and divorced Richard and taken the kids back to Manchester. At first Richard was down but when the Dales Dating Agency arrived, he joined. Richard's life seemed to improve and he got back to his normal self so when he was found dead on the railway tracks, everyone thought he had committed suicide, everyone apart from his mother.

Samson is walking into a village with long memories and he is going to find it hard to settle back into the village after such a long time and they do not know that he has set up a business here even if it is not going to be for a long length of time according to Samson.

This is a great read and introduces the reader to the lovely Yorkshire Dales and If you are a fan of Alexander McCall Smith and Midsomer Murders, then this is for you.

>176 Ameise1: Thanks for the review, John. I have that one as an audio but haven't listen to it yet.

Love and hugs to both of you.

We have been quite busy today getting ready for our trip tomorrow. Once we were up and about we had breakfast and a pot of tea before Karen stripped the bed and put it in the washer. When the washer had finished Karen realised that the dials had been tampered with and so it had to be set off again with the dials in the right positions. By the time all this had been done I needed to take Karen to the farm shop where she was meeting up with a couple of work colleagues for a drink and a chat.

I dropped Karen off at the farm shop and then I called in at the supermarket to pick up some mini cigars to take with me on our trip and then I fueled up so we can just set off in the morning. Once home I had to have a private moment before putting the washing on the line. Once the washing was out I had to clear some dog muck off my front garden and then spread some granules to keep dogs and cats off the garden. Once this was done I vacuumed the car out and when done I put the kettle on and checked my watch. I hadn't realised how the time had passed and so checked my phone and found I had just received a message to pick Karen up. I left the kettle and picked up a book to pass onto Gina when I got to Karen.

Once I had got Karen we called into Aldi so Karen could pick up some flowers for a friends birthday and then we headed home. once home Karen had a drink and a biscuit as she was dithering a bit, once she was settled she wrote Birthday card for Ann and wrapped a small gift and then along with the flowers she went to deliver them. Whilst Karen was out I wiped down the dashboard with a damp cloth and then began to wash the car. Karen got back and Ann was out so she popped next door to see Catherine and drop a set of keys off and leave our phone numbers so that if there is a problem we should know about regarding Leo or the house she can contact us.

While I washed the car, Karen washed her hair and once I had finished the car and Karen had dried her hair we put fresh bedding on our bed. By the time all this was done I was thirsty and hungry so I made us a drink and Karen made me a sandwich. Once I had eaten I had to take a parcel to the post office and once this was done I could relax. Everything has been done and we are ready to set off in the morning for five days away, I will be taking the laptop with me so that I can do some posting but I can't guarantee I will be on everyday, that will depend on how busy we have been and how tired we are.

>193 ChelleBearss:, Thanks Barbara, hope you are ok my dear and resting up.

>195 Berly: Thanks so much, John. I'm back home taking things easy. Wishing you a safe trip and I'm looking forward to the photos on FB.

>196 benitastrnad:, I will try and be good and post on here as well, Karen is the better one on Facebook so you will see what we get up to.

:-)

>176 Ameise1: I really liked The Storied Life of A. J. Fikrey, John.i thought it was charming.

>192 Familyhistorian: That series looks good. I'm going to see if Amazon has it.

Have a wonderful and safe trip.

>175 johnsimpson: ten pots of tea a day!! LOL.
I have a (very) British friend who amused me...... one day we were all going out and someone had not finished their nearly full cup of tea. He saw it *just sitting there*, shook his head in disbelief, and skulled the whole lukewarm cup!!

Safe travels, John!

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

Have a safe and wonderful trip.

I hope Leo finds his way back home. Cats can be so stubborn sometimes.
Enjoy your trip.

I'm glad to hear that Leo found his way back home. Have a wonderful weekend.

Hope you are having a great time away John.

I had a smile when I read your exchange with Chelle about tea quantities. I, like you, grew up on copious amounts of tea and - though I also drink a lot of coffee these days - I will certainly average 6 large mugs of unsweetened, un-milked tea daily.

>179 Ameise1: That is quite a lot of tea in a day! My mother is like that and will drink tea over anything else. I used to drink a lot more tea before meeting Nathen and now his health consciousness has worn off on my a bit and I drink a lot of plain water with ice as well I will have a tea or two a day, and on sleepy days I'll start with a hazelnut coffee for the extra caffeine. I do love taking my book and a cup of tea to bed with me though, when Nate is on nightshift!

Enjoy your trip!!

>205 vancouverdeb: unsweetened and unmilked! I like mine milky and sweet and leave the tea bag in forever :)

>205 vancouverdeb:->206 ChelleBearss: John's Tea Report is wonderful. Impressive, too. I am a coffee drinker (black no sugar) and basically only drink tea when I'm sick (very sweet no milk). Heresy, I know!

I do hope you're having a wonderful time, John and Karen!

Hello everyone, just thought I would check in from Abergavenny. After a very traumatic start to our trip we are having a really good time. For those unaware of our travails here goes.

We got up at 6am on Thursday morning and I donned a dressing gown and popped downstairs to let Leo out to do his ablutions. I went back upstairs and got washed and dressed and we came downstairs to have a pot of tea and I had some cereal. After Karen had got everything together she went outside to get Leo to come in and could not find him, after getting me to come out it would appear that he found a weak spot in security and vanished. Karen went next door to see Catherine and David who were going to look after him. David was ready for work and got Catherine up and we started looking for him. We tried everything and wandered around the estate until eventually Catherine told us to go off as he would probably appear. We set off 75 minutes late but made good time to Hay-on-Wye. All the while wandering around our thoughts and worries were about Leo and he got called a few names. We left Hay and got to our Premier Inn in Abergavenny, after unpacking we went to the restaurant next door but still our thoughts were about Leo.

On Friday we parked just outside the Town centre of Abergavenny and had a good wander around, we visited the old Tithe Barn which dated back to the 12th century and looked at the Abergavenny exhibition and then went into the church next door that has been referred to as "The Westminster Abbey of Wales". Our thoughts were still about the missing Leo and Karen left a message with Catherine. We went to see the ruins of Abergavenny Castle and then moved back to the high street. We visited many independent shops and then decided we needed some lunch. After food and refreshments we continued on our way among the shops and were just looking at things in the Oxfam shop when Karen's phone rang. I continued looking at books with an ear cocked to the conversation When Karen nearly whooped with joy. I realised that Leo had returned, the little devil. Catherine was going to ring the RSPCA again as she had not been able to get through on earlier attempts when she happened to look out of her Kitchen window to see Leo sat on the patio as if nothing had happened. She said he looked a bit unsteady on his legs and was a looking a bit thin, he bounded into the house and had some food and Catherine quickly left him to it and went out and locked up. Catherine told Karen that she would let him out when she could stand and watch him for a while and then get him back in. As you all can imagine it gave us a lift and we felt much better and enjoyed the rest of the day. Last night we drove to a pub a couple of miles outside Abergavenny for a nice meal at a pub restaurant we had passed on the way in.

This morning we got up a bit earlier than we would normally and got washed and dressed and had some breakfast before setting off to the car park near to the railway station. Once parked we had a short walk to the station to catch the 9.15am train into Cardiff. The journey only took 45 minutes and just after 10am we were wandering out of Cardiff Central station into the centre of Cardiff. We caught sight of the Millennium Stadium as we wandered up the street towards Cardiff Castle. We ventured into a number of shops before finding a Portuguese Coffee shop opposite the Castle, I was in heaven as they had Pasteis De Nata. We both had a coffee and a Pasteis De Nata before getting a box of six to take away with us. We continued our wander around and found a lovely Antiquarian/Secondhand book shop in one of the many Arcades that Cardiff has. A short time late we had some lunch before having a last wander around before making our way back to the station to get a train back to Y Fenni (Abergavenny in Welsh).

I should say at this point that after three days I have not been a good boy with the books and I am not able to keep under the Million pages to read. Before we set off I had added 836 pages but read 677 pages and now have purchased 21 books adding a further 9671 pages so far. I have also purchased a nice Monteverde Limonada Fountain pen in Yellow from Bartrums stationers in Hay and Karen has a couple of small things so far as she has not seen anything yet that has said buy me.

I type this from our room after getting back from the Brewer's Fayre pub next door where we had booked as we thought we would be too tired to go anywhere else, sadly the meal was not good and we got a refund. As yet we haven't decided where to go tomorrow and we will consult a map shortly to try and make a decision. Hope all my dear friends are fine and I will get back to all the threads either late Monday or sometime on Tuesday.

Sounds like you are having a great trip now that the wanderer has been found. I am sure that pets know when you are about to go on a trip and their absence will make the most impact! No surprise about the book purchases. *smile*

Glad to hear that you are having a good trip! Yay that Leo made his way home!

Hi John!

I'm glad that Leo returned safely. Your trip sounds wonderful so far except for the refunded meal..... good for you to express your disapproval and get the refund.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen!

Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip even more now that Leo has been found! Hurray for more books and a new pen. Happiness.

I love all of the details from your trip. Keep up the posts.

There was a really nice program on my Public Broadcasting Station about vacationing in Wales and all the very interesting things to see and do. Maybe someday I will make it there. I have a desire to walk the Poets Walk and follow in the footsteps of Coleridge and Wadsworth.

Thanks for all the messages, I will get to them shortly.

Following my update on Saturday evening about our trip here is the finale. We woke up to a bright-ish morning although rain was forecast. Once we had washed and dressed we had some cereal that we had taken with us and then went down to the car.

Once in the car we decided to head for Caerphilly, I put the name into the satnav and off we went. After about 45 minutes or so we arrived in Caerphilly and parked up, all through the journey it was bright and sunny. We got out and wandered down a small shopping area and came to the road and across from it was Caerphilly Castle. We crossed the road and climbed up some steps and the Castle walls and Keep were in front of us, Karen took a few photos and then we continued towards the Castle. We crossed what would have been the old drawbridge and saw that this part was the outer walls of the castle and to gain entry we would have to pay the entrance fee. The day before we saw Cardiff Castle from the roadside and Karen checked to see if we had to pay to get in and we would have pay but Karen didn't think we would have enough time to warrant the fee. Luckily for us it was only £7.95 each to gain entry to Caerphilly Castle, we paid and began our tour of the Castle.

The Castle was amazing, we entered the main Keep and took the left hand-side tower and explored that, climbing up the spiral stone staircase to each level before crossing over the top level to the right hand-side tower and we came down the spiral staircase to each level until we were back at the bottom. I said to Karen that we have crossed into a Castle that is nearly 800 years old and imagine who has crossed the same way, either voluntarily or commanded to come to be punished or killed. The Castle seemed to give off an aura and we could feel the history of it and then found out that it was the largest Castle in Wales. Altogether we spent nearly two hours wandering around, taking photos and just admiring the skill of the builders, it only took three years to construct and to look at it it is astounding it only took that long.

After leaving the main Keep we visited the visitor centre and gift shop, unlike some other heritage sites the gifts were of good quality and reasonably priced with something for all ages. After making a couple of purchases we left the castle and had a quick look around Caerphilly before going back to the car. The rain had started as soon as we had paid to look around the Castle and so on reaching the top our views were compromised due to the rain and low cloud otherwise we would have had astounding views all around.

After a quick coffee in the car we set off to Brecon again using satnav to guide us. The weather was bad with heavy rain interspersed with short breaks of brightness, we eventually found an off road spot to park and it had stopped raining by then so we were able to take some photos of the views. On one side the hills came down to the roadside with streams running down, hopefully I will be able to look at the photos and combine them into one painting. After this we headed into Brecon, by this time it was just gone 3pm and so we didn't have much time to look around before any shops and cafes closed. Brecon looked nice and we could have done with getting here earlier to do it justice. After a quick look around we made our way back to the car and headed for our hotel room. Once back we had a pot of tea and relaxed for a bit before both having a shower and then getting changed to go out to eat. We wandered a couple of miles to a curry house and had a lovely meal.

When we got back we packed everything up that we could before having a pot of tea before sleep.

Yesterday morning we got up, washed and dressed and while Karen sorted cereal out I took some luggage down to the car. Once back in the room we had some breakfast and a pot of tea before getting the last of our bags together and going downstairs to check out and load the car up.

Once in the car we headed back towards Crickhowell, this is a small town but has an independent bookshop called Book-ish. Earlier we had seen posters for author events organised by this bookshop in and around Crickhowell including an evening with Martina Cole. This event cost £20 but you got a drink and nibbles on arrival plus a Hardback copy of her latest book Damaged which she would sign, I am so jealous about this. The book shop was lovely and after a short time spent perusing, Karen selected some lovely cards and paid for them before we headed back East towards Monmouth.

After about an hour's drive we arrived in the market town of Monmouth, this is a really lovely town and we were surprised at the selection of shops, chain and independent. We called into a coffee shop and had a coffee and some Rocky road cake before continuing wandering around. As we wandered we came across two independent bookshops next to each other, of course we had a look around and I came out with one book. After we had finished having a good look around we made our way back to the car park and got into the car. We left the car park and headed back into England and made for Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire.

After about 40 minutes we got parked up in Tewkesbury and made our way into the town centre. We have been to Tewkesbury before so I knew where the bookshops were, we went into one or two charity shops before finding the first bookshop I wanted to peruse. This one is a really large Antiquarian and secondhand bookshop and so we had lots to look at. We had a good look and then looked for the Sci-fi section, I couldn't find it but Karen found three boxes full of Wisden Cricket Almanacks. I had a good look and finally settled on the 1950 edition in softcover at £20, I could have purchased five more in Hardcover but would have needed £110 which I didn't have to spare. As we were leaving we looked into the front window and Karen spotted a selection of British Crime Library books so I went to get some cash from the cash machine while she looked at the display. I got back in to the shop and got my list out and there were three we didn't have so Karen took them to the owner to pay. It turned out that the lovely old gent who owns the shop originated from Huddersfield and when we told him we were from Wakefield we had a quick chat about Rugby League and how Huddersfield Town were doing in the Premier League. From what he told us he must have been at least 78 years old but his enthusiasm was lovely to see both about books but about Yorkshire sport.

We left this lovely shop and the smashing gent and four doors down found a shop that said it was a charity bookshop and was bigger than it looked, they were not wrong. We entered and had a really good look around and then I ventured upstairs. While I was upstairs Karen chatted with the two ladies in the shop, it turned out that one lady was married to a chap from South Yorkshire so the conversation turned towards Yorkshire. When I got back downstairs they were having a good chat and when Karen exclaimed that I didn't have a book in my hand they had a laugh, within minutes I had found a book and they laughed even more. We left the shop with two books and a puzzle for Amy.

By this time we were hungry and some places had closed after the lunch opening, we had forgotten the time but we did find a nice little Italian place and had a nice late lunch. Once we were filled we paid and left and went back to the car and set off for home, a short time after setting off I found a filling station and put a drop more fuel in the car and made for the motorway. We had one or two short delays due to heavy traffic but made good time despite this. We stopped off at the services at Tamworth and had a coffee in the car before re-joining the motorway and eventually arrived home just after 8pm.

As I said before we went away, I thought I would struggle to keep below the million pages to read and that has been the case. I have added 12,035 pages from 29 books and here they are:

QB VII BY Leon Uris
Topaz by Leon Uris
W.G. Grace by Simon Rae
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
A Fortress of Grey Ice by J.V Jones
Taboo by Elizabeth Gage
Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer, HB
The Pathfinder by Fenimore Cooper
Murder in Piccadilly by John Bude
The Lady of Sorrows by Cecelia Dart-Thornton
Hour Game by David Baldacci
Wisconsin by Dana Fuller Ross
The Sussex Downs Murder by John Bude
The Spring Madness of Mr Sermon by R.F. Delderfield
Derailed by James Siegel
August 1914 by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm by Norman Hunter
Thirteen Guests by J. Jefferson Farjeon
The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Winspear
Tommo and Hawk by Bryce Courtenay
Theodore Boone, The Scandal by John Grisham
Antidote to Venom by Freeman Wills Crofts
Murder of a Lady by Anthony Wynne
Quick Curtain by Alan Melville
Guilt in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope
Honeycote by Veronica Henry
White Night by Jim Butcher
Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1950 by Hubert Preston

What a lovely long weekend trip. It sounds wonderful. You will have to post a list of the books you purchased along the way.

Some author events here in the U. S. are beginning to charge to attend. I think it is because the consumer is no longer content to have chips and dip. They want some fancier nibbles and bits. I recently attended one such event where the charge was $35.00 dollars. Along with that price you got food and wine, and a personally signed copy of the book. It was a real evening event. Not just a book signing where you listened to a reading (although that was also in the evening's entertainment) and then stand in line to purchase a copy of the book. It was a very nice bookish evening.

#217
I am also collecting the Mars series books by Kim Stanley Robinson.

>199 johnsimpson:, >200 johnsimpson:, >201 benitastrnad:, >202 benitastrnad:, >203 johnsimpson:, >204 drneutron:, >205 vancouverdeb:, >206 ChelleBearss:, >207 johnsimpson:, >209 karenmarie:, >210 johnsimpson:, >211 Berly:, >212 Familyhistorian:, >213 Ameise1: and >218 karenmarie:, Thank you for all the lovely messages. After the discussion about tea I must say that I have missed my copious pots of tea but now I am back home I can get back to normal tea drinking.

Leo caused us an anxious 30 hours but I think the comment about cats knowing something is happening is true as he was a bit strange the two days before we left. The relief was palpable when Karen took the call from Catherine and we have made sure we got a nice present for her.

The holiday was good for us, we were tired most days from wandering around and making the most of our visit, so much so that I only read 30 pages from Wednesday evening. On saying that I more than made up for it with book purchases and I got a really nice Fountain pen. We explored some nice bookshops both new and old, chain or independent.

>217 ChelleBearss: Wow, some nice books on that list!

Really glad that you had such a lovely weekend away. Yes, I agree that cat's know when something is up. My sister that lives with my mom has a cat. Harriet the cat is very attached to my sister. My sister went on holiday for over a week and left the cat with my mom. After a day or so my mom could not find the cat in the house, so my niece and her husband were dispatched to help search the house. They found the cat, but she had refused to eat, had failed to use her litter box and had vomited. My mom was so concerned they rushed the cat off to the emergency vets. All it was that the cat missed my sister so much.

Glad to see that you had a lovely trip and a little book splurging!

>221 FAMeulstee:, Thanks Jim.

>222 johnsimpson:, Leo seems to be settled again as he was up to the Wednesday before we set off.

>223 Familyhistorian:, It was a lovely trip Chelle and I thought it was a little book splurge although with a bit more spare cash and room in the car and the fact I could only carry so many each it could have been a really big splurge.

We are getting back to normal life after our trip, we did a lot of washing yesterday and Karen did all the ironing this morning. Karen is not back at work until Monday and then she has only two days to work before she has her operation.

On Saturday Karen is meeting up with Amy in York to pass on her birthday presents and she is taking Amy for lunch. I will be dropping them both off before going to York Racecourse to have a look around the PBFA book fair, this is the largest event of the year for the PBFA with over 200 Antiquarian book dealers In attendance. I will be perusing the Cricket book dealers but most of the Wisdens that will be available will be beyond my finances at the moment although I hope to find reasonably priced copies of the nine early Playfair Cricket Annual that I am missing, once I have these I will have a full set until next year's comes out.

The books from our trip have not reached the shelves just yet but will be put on the shelves in the next day or two.

Hi John!

I'm glad you both made it back safe and sound and are into your normal routine, although it will get abnormal in a different way on the 21st!

Have fun shelving and cataloging your books - it was a great haul.

How's Leo doing? My 18-year-old Kitty William is getting blinder and deafer, but still goes outside (we have a kitty door). He's keeping close to home lately, and mostly dozes with occasional bursts of 'crazy kitty' where he runs around the house. It's good for him - keeps him spry. I've also started giving him and Inara Starbuck Metacam twice a week for arthritis pain. I've just dosed them once so far, but can see already how much better it makes them feel.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

>226 vancouverdeb:, Hi Karen, Leo is doing fine and seems settled now that we are back. I let him out into the garden and he hasn't gone wandering although I have blocked the gap at the back of the old coal shed up and made it very secure. He doesn't like being held so Karen can give him his arthritis tablet but apart from that he more or less does exactly what he did before sight loss.

At the moment Karen is fine about her op but come Wednesday she will start nattering and getting worried but she will be ok, she just needs to find out if she will be staying in overnight.

Hi John! Welcome home. Glad you are settling back into your routine. Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Sounds like you had interesting adventures on your trip, John. Bet it feels good to be home again!

Glad to see that you had a wonderful holiday, John. Happy Sunday. xx

>228 johnsimpson:, >229 johnsimpson:, >230 PaulCranswick:, Thank you ladies.

Hello everyone, sadly since Wednesday things have been awful and yesterday was truly maddening which nearly spoilt Karen's trip to York to take Amy out for a birthday lunch (Amy is 28 tomorrow) and once I dropped them off I went to the York National Book Fair.

At the present moment that is the reason I have posted very little as I am finding that reading words is easier than writing them although I haven't read much since we got back. I hope to resume normal service tomorrow or Tuesday, I have perused threads to at least try and keep in the loop and I am behind in replying or commenting which is not like me.

I am sorry that I have been a tad uncommunicative and hopefully I will be able to put everything into words in a concise way, thank you for your forbearance.

>232 PaulCranswick: Sorry to see things are not going too well at the moment mate. Chin up as your pals here are all wishing you and Karen well always.

Sorry to see things are not well for you John! Hope whatever is happening gets resolved for you quickly!

Oh, John, I'm sorry that things have been awful and maddening.

You take care of yourself and Karen, and we'll be here when you're ready to return - with as much or as little as you want to explain.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

>233 johnsimpson:, >234 Berly:, >235 jessibud2:, thank you friends, I will reveal more shortly but I am back fighting fit and will not neglect the threads.

As many of you are aware Rob and Louise have been having issues since March, having picked Hannah up a couple of weeks ago Louise chatted and told me that Rob would be back home soon. I took that as a good sign but waited with bated breath for something to bugger things up. Well it took a short while but it blew up on Wednesday.

I had to pop into town to sort out a banking cock-up of my own making, I usually transfer money from the bills account into the everyday account when Karen gets paid but I took the money out of the bills account and a minute or so later thought I had put it into the everyday account but no I put it back into the bills account, this was on the 19th Aug and only when we got back and a statement came through did I see my error. Once this had been sorted I knew I had three items to pick up but could only remember two so I rang Karen. As soon as she answered she sounded distraught and told me to come straight home and that she thought Rob would be back for good that night.

When I got home Karen showed me her phone, Louise had texted and passed on messages she had received from the "other woman", they did not look good. Louise stated that she couldn't cope anymore with the lies and that could I come a bit earlier to pick up his belongings before getting Hannah. Karen was shocked and said Louise sounded calm but could understand. I picked the belongings up and then got Hannah, I had to take her back before picking Rob up which I did and to make sure that when he picked his car up he would not go in and see her.

I dropped Hannah off and then went and got Rob, I took him to their house to pick his car up and then made sure he went to get fuel and to come home to us.

Once home we had a good chat with him and he admitted he had not told all the truth but was doing so now, we had quite a chat and he knew it was over. Whilst they both love each other, Louise didn't want him near her.

On Thursday morning I took Rob to the station and he went to work and then I picked him up as usual. When we got back Louise had been texting him he said and after a quick bite to eat he went to the cricket meeting. When he got back they were texting and we wondered what the hell was going on. So much for not wanting anything to do with him.

I took Rob to the station on Friday and picked him up as usual, again after a quick bite to eat he went to the cricket club to do a stint on the bar, he said he didn't want to be sat on his own in his room or sit with us which we understood. Later when he came home he said Louise had been texting and saying it was alright for him to go out and he obviously had got over her very quickly. She then messaged to say she was going out on Saturday evening with an old work colleague (male).

We left to go to York on Saturday morning and we had just got to the motorway when Rob rang, he told Karen not to look at her Facebook messages and if she did to ignore it as he had had a right barney with Louise as she had said she was fed up with us all and in choice language told us she had had with us and that he and us would not see Hannah again. At that moment it hadn't come through on Facebook when Karen looked and only appeared when we had got Amy and were on our way into York. The language was from the docks or Pit language as we used to say. When we got home Karen had a message from Rob to say that she had wanted Rob to go over and go through all the rigmarole they have previously gone through and basically for him not to play cricket. As it is he stopped playing and had a shoulder injury and so had missed most of the season and this was the last game of the season. He refused and she hit the roof, this in turn caused more conversation to calm her down and he ended up setting off late and letting people down.

We were watching the recording of the celebrity selection for Strictly Come Dancing we had made while away when the phone rang. I was just in the kitchen going to make a pot of tea and then go out for a cigar when the phone rang and Karen said to get it, I didn't look at who was calling until it was too late. It was Louise who vented from the start only giving me a chance to say I didn't know what to say, she then blamed me for how he had been brought up and that I had lied for him and that I was as bad as my son and then because I was a bit stunned to reply she again used fruity language to say that we would never see our granddaughter again and then hung up on me.

Karen messaged Rob as we knew he would be at the clubhouse after the cricket and then it appears that Louise rang him saying that Hannah wanted to see him. This was a pretext for him to go over. He rang Karen later to say that he would be staying there to try and sort out the mess. Rob rang on Sunday to say that he would be there most of the day as Hannah had a cold and didn't want to bring her over with Karen having her op later this week. Rob rang again last night to say that Louise said she was sorry that she had gone off on one and that was what she was like but that she didn't mean any of it and she would be texting an apology from his phone. It took three hours to come through and was half arsed to say the least with no real apology.

Rob arrived home just after ten pm and within minutes Louise had rung and he was chatting, he had told her more about the lies he had told and that she was more lucid. The conversation carried on and we could hear from his bedroom, they were still talking when I dropped off at 00.35am. I had to go to the toilet at 2.35am and Rob's light was still on and so I told him it was ridiculous that the light was on and he was on his laptop especially as he would be leaving the house at 7am.

Karen has messaged him this morning to say that we are fed up of the abusive texts and calls and that we are fed up of being used as a punchbag. It seems that Rob came home from work to his car at the station and has gone their as I have not heard hide nor hair from him so far today.

Karen said to me this morning that although she loves him she doesn't want him unless it is on her terms and he has to give everything up, he loves her and knows he has made some stupendous mistakes yet really they are toxic to each other and really for the sake of Hannah they should part and remain amicable as we forsee this being an ongoing saga which is not doing then any good and we are suffering at the hands of Louise's mood swings.

This has been the reason I have not been in the mood to be conversational which is not like me and I will not allow Louise to infect me and spoil what I do as well as what Karen does.

So sorry that you and Karen are caught in the middle of the drama between Rob and Louise... My heart goes out to little Hannah.

>238 johnsimpson:, Thanks Anita, I needed to get it off my chest and why I have been absent, as you say it is Hannah that is the main thing and my thoughts are about her and not them as I do not think the relationship is going any where and they should call it quits and be amicable for her sake.

>237 karenmarie: No wonder you have found it hard to be in the mood for LT, John. I can't believe that you and Karen have been dragged into the drama of Rob and Louise's relationship. Poor Hannah. I hope that things will calm down for her and your sakes so that you can get on with taking care of yourselves.

Oh, John! It is too bad that you and Karen have been drug into the middle of their sick relationship and sad for poor Hannah who must love them both yet see them fighting and being so dramatic and emotional. Poor child.

You can't fix their problems, only try to protect yourself, Karen, and, if possible, Hannah. They are not nourishing people to be around at all, are they, but toxic and draining, not just to Rob and each other, but to you and your family.

I hope that Karen can take deep breaths, metaphorically speaking, so that she can be well for her surgery on the 21st.

Sending love and hugs to you both.

Oh, John, I'm so sorry that you and Karen are having to live through this with Rob. So unfair, and I'm sure you're worried about Hannah through all this, too. I hope things get sorted and settled for all of you soon and I'm thinking of you and Karen in the meantime.

I'm so sorry that you are caught in the middle of Rob and Louise's problems. It so not fair to you and Karen. I can totally understand how Karen feels like she wants to set terms for Rob. Adult children, sometimes it is so hard knowing how to be the best parent you can. Sending big hugs and love to both or you and hoping that things calm down. Take care. Yes, protect yourselves, and Hannah if possible. Sending love to you and Karen.

So sorry to see your news. Hopefully things calm down for you and Karen and little Hannah soon

>240 vancouverdeb:, >241 johnsimpson:, >242 johnsimpson:, >243 johnsimpson:, >244 ChelleBearss:, Thank you dear ladies. I don't like to wash my dirty linen on here but knew you would all understand how both Karen and I feel at the present time I why I have been absent from my friends especially after a nice few days away.

It would seem that they are now going to try and start again (sheesh) and date properly, they are going to sell the property and clear their debts and rent for the time being. We are keeping our own counsel as we believe that things will explode again. IF, and that is a big IF, they get through to next March will it all begin again as the Cricket season will begin and she seems to want him to give everything up, his sport and friends.

While we would never kick him out we just want to know what is going on as we have a room with all his gear in and he will spend at least two nights there, for how long we do not know. I know Christmas is some time away but I would like to know where he is going to be as we would like Amy and Andy to come over for a couple of days from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day and we have nowhere else to put them and they have no room for us to go to them. We feel as if we are in limbo as they flit from hating each other to being all lovey dovey and then we get it in the neck.

Anyway enough of them, I am back and fighting fit and will visit more often in between my nursing duties from Either late Thursday or sometime on Friday after Karen has her op.

I love you all for being so understanding and am so glad I found this site and this thread (Cheers Paul Cranswick) to gain so many lovely friends who I hope to see someday.

Book Fifty-Nine finished early this afternoon, The Testament by John Grisham. This is one of Grisham's best novel that I have read beginning with a great first chapter which made you want to carry on reading. I have a few more on the shelves to read and will get to then over the next year or so along with lots of other great books that are awaiting my attention.

>245 johnsimpson: Love to both you and Karen, John. The tempestuous relationship between Rob and Louise will be affecting Hannah far more than you and Karen but I feel for all three of you getting shrapnel from the blitzkreig of their un-togetherness. I predict that those two are probably destined to continue on together and hopefully they will find a way to make accommodation that is less vitriolic to those in their firing line. Rob really needs to take the bull by the horns and decide for the both of them as it appears that Louise cannot decide from one day to the next.

I may have introduced you to the group mate, but you have more than made your own niche here as one of its most valued members.

>247 PaulCranswick:, Thanks mate for your kind words. for whatever reason Rob really does love Louise even with what she ahs done this last week. Some of the stuff she has said about him when they have been here on their own or with the rest of the family for Sunday lunch and Christmas has been derogatory yet he says that it is a bot of fun. I would not have stood for it and have told him and last week when Karen spoke to Amy she said it is a form of bullying whereby she belittles him. The issue on Saturday morning after we had left for York was just aimed at stopping him playing cricket and once it was too late for him to join the team she would have told him to go knowing she had spoiled his day, he either cannot or does not want to see this.

I am so glad you found me on LT mate and introduced yourself and invited me to join the 75ers, the best thing I did and I am proud of our friendship mate and that I have gained so many friends because of your initial lookout in finding me. I am honoured to be a member of this great group.

>248 FAMeulstee: It is I, John, that was lucky in meeting you and Karen.

>249 karenmarie:, So glad we were able to meet up mate and we feel the same about you and Hani and your great kids.

Goodness!! You and Karen have really been put through the wringer!! I hope things mellow out in your son's relationship and that ultimately it doesn't affect your time with Hannah because I know how much you enjoy your time with her. Best of luck figuring out the holiday accommodations. Big breath and put another pot of tea on!! (Maybe with a dash of something in it!)

Best wishes for Karen's op. Big hugs to both of you.

Echoing Kim's thoughts, here, John. You and Karen have been a constant and a stable base for Hannah so for her sake as much as for yours, I hope that is able to remain.

Good luck for Karen, I'm sure she will be happy to see the other side of the op. Quick mending vibes! Hang in there, both of you

Sending more hugs to you and Karen and sweet Hannah. I hope Rob and Louise can figure out what's best for them and for Hannah, and soon! In the meantime, hang in there, friend.

Hi John!

Ditto what @Berly said and Paul's shrapnel from the blitzkreig of their un-togetherness describes it very well.

You'll do what you need to re Christmas, but make sure that the arrangements make you and Karen happy - and if that includes Amy and Andy being in your home regardless of Rob and Louise's craziness, then make it so. Your home after all.

At the moment Karen is fine about her op but come Wednesday she will start nattering and getting worried but she will be ok, she just needs to find out if she will be staying in overnight.

Is she nattering yet? *smile*

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

>251 johnsimpson:, >252 johnsimpson:, >253 johnsimpson:, >254 johnsimpson:, Thank you dear ladies, we just want to make sure we can see Hannah and be somewhere stable for her to be and to be happy when she is with us.

Just waiting for the next act in the saga from what Rob said when he picked Hannah up to take her home.

Karenmarie, Karen has not yet started nattering about tomorrow but there is still time, probably when we get to bed and have a read before sleep comes.

Back to my usual messages.

We awoke with the alarm and Karen asked me to go and make a pot of tea to have in bed, once we had finished our tea we got washed, dressed and back downstairs. I set a load of washing going and put our tablets and vitamins out and then made a pot of tea while Karen sorted my cereal out. After breakfast and the pot of tea we set off to the farm shop to get some bread and a nice pie for tea as Amy and Andy were coming over.

From the farm shop we went to the supermarket to do the weekly shop, earlier than normal but it was the second day of two for staff double discount. Once the shopping was done and in the car we popped next door to the Aldi so Karen could get the few bits we prefer from them, I sat in the car and read. Once Karen had done we made our way home.

Once home we unloaded the car and brought all the shopping into the kitchen, while Karen started unpacking and putting it away I put the washing on the line. After the shopping was put away I made us a pot of tea and we each had a custard tart. Shortly after we had finished our tea Amy and Andy arrived, we had a chat and I made us all a drink and before long it was time for me to go and pick Hannah up from school. I didn't tell Hannah that Amy and Andy were here so it was a surprise for her. As we pulled up the drive she spotted Amy's car and got excited and when she found out Andy was here as well she was so excited

Karen and Amy had already got some toys down for Hannah and after a drink of milk she played and got Amy involved. Karen made Hannah something to eat and then she wanted her programmes on. Rob came straight from the station and Hannah hugged him before resuming playing with her toys. Rob briefly gave us an update and things don't sound good, Louise is wanting an hour by hour, day by day record of what he has done and he found out that when she accused him of taking a days leave without her knowing he has got his HR to print off and sign his holiday record for this year to prove to her he hasn't taken any days off that she doesn't know about, this does not auger well for them and Rob is now having doubts about the relationship. Louise had said to him that a line would be drawn and they would try and start as if they had just met and now she is going back on this and wanting him to vouch for his movements and what he does.

A short while later Rob left with Hannah and told me he might not be back but then again he might be. After Rob had left Karen put the Steak and Ale pie in the oven and then got the chips and mushy peas sorted and forty minutes later we were eating. After our meal we had a drink and continued chatting and then Amy and Andy left just after 8pm. Once they had gone, Karen went for a nice long bath and I fired up the laptop to come on here.

Best wishes to you and Karen for an easy, quick recovery from her surgery. Were it me, poor old Dave would be hearing much anxiety ( or nattering ) from me! :) Again, my heart goes out to you and Karen with regards to Rob and Louise's relationship.

>257 Berly:, Thanks Deb.

Karen had her op this morning, I had to take her to the hospital for 7am and I left shortly after. Karen messaged me around 9.30am to say she had spoken to the surgeon and was all ready for theatre. I received a phone call at 11.18am to say that she had had her op and was in the recovery room and that's where all the fun was later on.

The next message I got was at about 1.45pm to say that she was having some toast and her mouth was very dry and that she was sore and tender and then I was phoned to say that I could pick her up and that was at 2.45pm. When I got Karen and we were making our way to the car she told me that as she was coming around in the recovery room they asked if she was in pain and needed anything, She told them she was very sore and tender and that she can't take morphine, they found something similar and gave her that and a short while later she looked decidedly unwell, when they checked her heart rate was down to 40 so they made her lie down and gave her oxygen until her heart rate got back to 55 and then she was allowed to sit up but take deep breaths.

The daycase ward rang to see where she was and they were told about this and that she would be along shortly.

Once home I made her a nice pot of tea and she checked all her messages and the ones I had got from my posting and she would like to thank all on LT who posted lovely messages for her. After about 45 minutes I took her up to bed as she needed to lie down, I made sure she was comfortable and had all she needed and went and had another pot of tea.

I made myself something to eat and then went and checked on Karen and she asked for some tomato soup which I duly made her. I have had to pop out briefly and then took her a pot of tea. She is tired and a tad uncomfortable but apart from that she is ok and glad the op is over.

Once I was back home I have had numerous pots of tea as we were up at 5.55am, I must have dropped off at one point reading and then woke up and carried on reading and after a while I thought I have missed something. Whilst nodding off I must have loosened my grip on my book and moved on about 35 pages so I had to go back to where I knew I was and read up to where I started after nodding off. I then did all the downstairs housework before resuming reading and drinking tea.

I am now halfway through my 100th James Patterson and within touching distance of finishing the Tinniswood.

Glad to see that Karen's OP went well today. Hope she is resting and feeling well

>261 Ameise1:, She is Chelle, I am back on nursing duties and making sure she rests.

Well, overall that sure was a quick OP. Sorry for the scare with the medication after the op. I'm really glad it's done and overwith and wish Karen and you the very best as she recovers. Hugs and love .

Lack of trust is difficult for Rob and Louise - I know!

Best wishes to dear Karen - sending healing vibes from your friends from tropical climes.

A bit concerned that we are three wickets down overnight chasing about another 120 plus to win against Warwicks. Batting line up is a bit thin so Ballance needs to do it tomorrow.

Sending healing thoughts for Karen. I am glad she is safely back home.

Hi John!

I'm so glad to hear that, with the exception of the medication/low heart rate/oxygen episode that Karen is fine if tender and tired.

Sending love, healing thoughts for Karen, and hugs to you both!

>263 johnsimpson:, Thanks Deb, she is being a good girl and resting and I am making sure she has fluids and food and whatever else she may require.

>264 johnsimpson:, Thanks Paul, that is the biggest issue that is/has been causing problems for Louise. I had to pop out this morning and left Karen resting and when I got back she was on the phone talking to Louise. Apparently Louise called as she wanted to talk to Karen as she could talk freely even though Karen is involved being Robs mum. They were on for over 90 minutes and the bits I heard it seemed as though they were going around in circles. Something positive has turned up in relation to a trust issue since the conversation so we will see how it goes.

The Yorkshire game put fans through the wringer but Patterson got them home, I have seen comments on Facebook wanting Gale to be replaced but as I replied are these people football fans who blame the Coach/Manager and not the players. The top order batting need to come clean and say they have been crap for at least two seasons and they owe the club a lot and need to perform next season or one or two may be leaving the club.

Karen is resting well and I am making sure she behaves.

>265 johnsimpson:, Thanks Anita, Karen is resting well and I am making sure she has everything she needs.

>266 johnsimpson:, Thanks Karen, she is resting well and I am making sure all her needs are met. She is now back resting on the bed after a bit too long downstairs sitting in the armchair.

It has been a steady day, the alarm went off and I went downstairs to make us a pot of tea in bed, I let Leo out but although it was sunny and blue skies it was rather chilly with a heavy dew on the lawn. Leo came back in and I took our tea back to bed. After we had finished our tea we got up, washed and dressed and then came downstairs to have some breakfast.

After breakfast I had to pop out and made sure Karen was ok and told her not to do anything stupid. When I got back she was on the phone and it turned out that Louise had rung her as she needed to talk to someone who would listen and who she could trust. They were on the phone for just over 90 minutes and bits I heard it seemed to be going around in circles. Later it turned out that one thing that was causing Louise a trust issue was resolved in Robs favour so hopefully they can try and sort things out now. Now this issue has been resolved it is up to them if they are to get back on track but it will take some work, they both love each other but they have to be open with each other and resolve some issues that they had with each other otherwise they need to be honest and make sure Hannah is at the forefront of their thoughts if they decide to part.

After the call finished we had a pot of tea and watched the news before having a sandwich for lunch and I finished a book then we caught up with programmes we had recorded. Later in the afternoon Karen went up to bed to lie down as she felt rather uncomfortable, she had been sat in the armchair for about seven hours. I read while Karen rested and I made us a pot of tea and then a short while later Rob called in to see mum. After he left I put some fish in the oven and some chips for our tea and once it had cooked we ate before Karen went back upstairs.

Finished book Sixty early this afternoon, Dolly's War by Peter Tinniswood. I can't say that I enjoyed it nor can I say that I didn't enjoy it, it is as mad as a box of frogs.

In Autumn 1941, Lygon House Private School for Progressive Young People is attacked by a German bomber and the redoubtable headmistress Dolly Bradman decides it is time for evacuation. The entire school finds itself aboard the SS Drayman heading for a new life in the West Indies.

Here follows a tale of shipwreck and survival, of love and lust and education in the darkest jungle climes. The pupils and staff of Lygon House and the characters they meet along the way, constitute a gallery of rogues, grotesques and charmers that will live long in the memory, while the seedy, smoky atmosphere of wartime England and the lush extravagance of the tropics are marvellously evoked.

Not sure whether I can recommend this or not.

I think this months stats are going to show it was a month of new authors.

John--SO glad to hear the op went well for Karen (Despite the minor pain med scare afterwards). Good thing you are making her behave! Best wishes for both of you and I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Hugs.

Maybe time for a new thread...? Hint, hint. : )

Good to see that Karen is resting up mate and I am sure that she has a devoted nursemaid at her beck and call for a goodly while at least!

I responded over at my thread on Yorkshire. It has been a poor season exacerbated by the ECB screwing them up with central contracts and constant call ups. Ballance wasn't ready for a recall and they brought him back for the Windies depriving us of a Captain in fine fettle. He came back broken and we never recovered. Hopefully next year, and with Andrew Gale, we will do much better. Lees and Lyth are much better players than they have shown lately. Adam Lyth in particular has been a little unlucky and has seemed to be the recipient of some corking deliveries recently. I still think he is the most naturally gifted opening batsman in England on his day - I just wish his days would be more frequent!

Have a great weekend.

I'm so glad that Karen has finally had the surgery and is on the mend! She'll feel *so* much better now! And yay for Nurse John - well done, you!

Happy weekend, John. Please give karen a gentle hug from me. Love and hugs xx

>274 benitastrnad:, >275 johnsimpson:, Thanks for the lovely message Kim my dear, I will wait until the end of the month to start a new thread as I will be able to tie it into the month end stats. I think I am having a good posting year so far and the last three months should be good I think.

>276 johnsimpson:, Thanks Paul for the lovely comments and the lovely comment in reply to Marianne on your thread, I have just read it to Karen and she thinks it's wonderful what you said and thinks the same of you and Hani.

With the squad for the ashes to be announced on Wednesday morning I wonder what their thoughts are with Hameed and Roland-Jones being injured and will they look at some of the lads you have mentioned or will they be in the Lions squad and so potentially be on standby just in case.

>277 johnsimpson:, Thanks Amber, nursing duties are going ok. When I posted on Facebook about Karen's progress on Thursday I nearly said that I would be donning the nurses uniform again but thought better of it knowing some of my friends and what their comments might have been.

Really hope you are not having a 99% crap weekend dear friend but just in case send really special anti-crap weekend love and hugs.

>278 johnsimpson:, Thanks Barbara, I will give her a gentle hug my dear and hope that you are doing ok, sending love and hugs.

We have had a steady day, Karen has not felt well all day so has spent most of it in bed bless her. I have tried to make things as good as could be and kept her supplied with food and drinks.

After I had sorted Karen out with a drink and her meds I had breakfast and a pot of tea and then put a dark load of washing on. While the washing was in progress I popped out briefly to pick up my paper and a toastie loaf before getting back and putting the washing on the line. I read my paper and made sure Karen was ok and then put the cycling on to watch the Women's World Championship Road Race from Bergen. In between watching I made a number of pots of tea for both of us and made cheese toasties for our lunch.

Once the cycling had finished I caught up with the football scores before making myself some tea and then a drink for both of us before Strictly Come Dancing started. I joined Karen on the bed to watch this to keep her company. Once Strictly had finished I came downstairs to make us a pot of tea and Karen came down for a change of scenery and she is checking her phone while I fired up the laptop and came on here.

Hi John!

I'm sorry Karen's not feeling well, but it sounds like the right kind of day for both of you. Glad to hear that she came downstairs and is checking her phone.

Sending love and hugs to you both!

>284 johnsimpson:, Hi Karen, she has felt out of sorts all day bless her and as a friend commented earlier it is probably the anaesthetic coming out of her system as it can take a day or two. She has had a lot of messages both on Facebook and messenger as well as text messages from friends and work colleagues and she has replied to them in between naps.

Hope you are having a good weekend dear friend and send love and hugs right back to you.

>283 johnsimpson: Sorry to see that Karen isn't feeling great. Hopefully some more rest will have her up and feeling great soon

PS
What's a toastie loaf?

>286 karenmarie:, Hi Chelle, I think Karen did too much yesterday even though she was only sitting in the armchair but I think it was compressing her stomach. At times she is not a good patient and just felt a bit sorry for herself but she is ok now.

A Toastie loaf is a loaf of bread with thicker slices that are ideal to make toast with, it's really just a selling gimmick but it does make nice toast.

You are such a fine husband to Karen, John! So caring and helpful. That's big op to recover from. I'm glad that the conversations that Louise and Karen have been having have been positive in nature. Best wishes to both of you. Gentle hugs to Karen.

>280 PaulCranswick: More than welcome, John. It is perfectly true.

I hope that the injuries make selection easier. Not sure that Roland Jones is ideal for the hard pitches in Oz and Hameed needs a winter with the Lions.

My XVI Ashes Squad

Joe Root, Alistair Cook, Mark Stoneman, Darryl Mitchell, Sam Northeast, Jonny Bairstow, Moen Ali, Ben Stokes, Ben Foakes, Josh Porter, Craig Overton, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson, Jack Leach, Chris Woakes, Alex Hales

Good to hear that Karen had her op at long last. I hope that she starts to feel better soon. Wishing you both a calm and healing weekend.

I am a bit behind on the threads as this last week at work was very busy. I am glad to hear that things went good for Karen and hope that she will be much better off in the future.

Finished book Sixty-One about an hour ago, Zoo by James Patterson. An intriguing tale of how humanity could be brought to its knees and how animal behaviour could change so quickly and against us.

Jackson Oz has been monitoring strange animal behaviour for a number of years but after dropping out of University and blogging online about this he is not taken seriously by those that should listen. There are a number of people who do believe what he is saying which is a good job. More and more violent deaths are occurring across the world yet it seems things are being hushed up, to add to this it seems that the females are moving away and the Males are joining together which is very strange as males tend to fight to be the Alpha male and not join forces.

Jackson is invited by a friend to go over to Botswana as something is going on, things do not go to plan but he does get filmed evidence and then the mainstream start to doubt the film and he is blocked from meeting prominent figures because of his lack of a PHD. The so called experts have no idea what is going on and don't want to be shown up by Oz.

What is causing this problem? Is it man made? If so what can be done to solve it? Will the solution be taken and for how long before greed takes over?

Read and find out, an interesting take on how the world could end as we know it. It is only fiction, or is it?

>288 johnsimpson:, Hi Deb, thank you for those kind words. I am nothing special but we are a team and my buddy is injured so I have to make sure she is nursed back to full health plus I know she can be a poor patient. Karen has been better today and not as fed up but she is still in quite a bit of pain. Karen has done a few little bits and she has been careful and taken rests and gone for a lie down a couple of times so on that score things are improving.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>289 johnsimpson:, Cheers mate, you're a pal. I fully agree with your Ashes squad and Josh Porter is a good call, the batting looks strong with some well over due a chance and abetter bowling line up with a good spinner. The only problem with it is that it is not the squad that will be selected sadly. Think I am going to put you forward to take over at the ECB mate.

>290 johnsimpson:, Thanks Meg, Karen is doing ok even though she can be an awkward patient. I have resumed nursing duties and am getting lots of exercise going up and down stairs with fresh supplies etc. We may pop out for a drive over to Andy's mum and Dad as that won't be too taxing for her.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>291 Familyhistorian:, Hi Benita, Karen's op went well apart from the heart rate scare and she is doing ok at the moment although she is sore and tender. She is not the best patient at times as she is bored and likes to be up and about. A little drive out later in the week will do her good with a change of scenery and some one else to talk to, lol.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>294 ChelleBearss: Hahaha John. I honestly don't know what Strauss and Whitaker are looking at. Northeast was obviously due a try. I wouldn't be disappointed if Livingstone got a call up or if Plunkett got picked for his extra pace and bounce instead of Woakes. I don't see the point in taking Crane when his figures are so flimsy. It is a slap in the face for Leach who has consistently outbowled the other spinners for two years and could have been a mainstay if we had only got him in instead of trying to pick apart his action. I would be tempted to move Ali up the order and play an extra bowler as it would give us more variety. We bat well to seven with Stokes and Bairstow anyway.

I would go into the first test:

Cook, Stoneman, Ali, Root, Northeast, Stokes, Bairstow, Broad, Overton, Anderson, Leach.

Happy Monday, John! Hoping Karen feels better today and the nurse (you!) has a good day, too.

>297 johnsimpson:, Looks like a good team to put out mate, a good mix of experience and newbies and a nice balance. It has been an up and down day for the relegation candidates, Yorkshire got maximum bowling points as did Middlesex and Somerset got just the one batting point and Hampshire were rained off at Warwickshire which might put them under a bit more jeopardy and after being saved by the ECB last year dubiously, I wouldn't shed a tear if they dropped out.

After all the troubles that Durham suffered at the end of last season and losing Stoneman and Borthwick it is happening again with Coughlin going to Notts and it looks like Jennings is heading there also and now Onions is leaving. Things don't look good for them just when I thought they were turning things around despite the 48 point deduction.

>298 johnsimpson:, Hi Kim, Karen has had a good day. She has spent some time downstairs and then gone for a lie down and then back downstairs and now she has just gone back up to bed. She contacted Bridget the hairdresser to see if she would come over and help her wash her hair and use the hairdryer to give it some umphh and bless her she came over this morning and did it while I took Rob to the station.

I have had a good day, got some reading done and did a bit of clearing out in the loft and filled the boot ready to do a tip run in the morning.

We have had a steady day, I went downstairs when the alarm went off to make us a pot of tea in bed, the weather was awful with heavy rain and Leo didn't really want to go out but he did albeit briefly. Once we were up I made us a pot of tea and got all the meds out and Karen made porridge for me. Rob arrived a short time later and after getting changed I took him to the station. Just before we left Bridget arrived to wash and dry Karens hair.

After dropping Rob off I had to go to the supermarket to take a dress back and then I went further into store to price up all the ingredients for the Christmas cakes so Karen can work a price out for those that want a cake and then it is up to them if they want her to make them one. Once this was done I had two items to get and then pick up a click and collect order for Karen. Once this was done I made my way home and Karen could go back up to bed to rest lying down.

I did some reading and then Karen came down to make some lunch and then she went back up to bed, I read after my lunch and then decided to sort some things out in the loft. I found a few things that have been up there for aeons and so they were brought down and by the time I had finished I had a boot full to take to the tip tomorrow morning.

Once that had been done I made us a drink and continued reading and later Karen came down to make us something to eat, I had Kippers and Karen had fishcakes. After we had eaten I made a pot of tea and read until it was time to pick Rob up from the station. Once home he left and I made us a pot of tea after Karen had finished a call to her friend Tina and she has gone back up to bed to rest and I came on here.

I hope to get up to date on a few series during October and my reading numbers should pick up again especially as I am nearing my 75 for the year.

Hi John!

I'm glad your day went well and especially glad to hear that Karen's up and about and had her hairdresser over.

Sending love and hugs to you both!

>301 ChelleBearss: My goodness John, it seems a short time ago that Karen was organizing to bake Christmas cakes! Time goes so fast to me.

I have to laugh about you clearing out the loft. I have lived in this house 25 years and just last week a workman was here and needed to go up into the attic. When he came down he told me there were a lot of things up in the attic and he had to move some around to work. I had no idea there was anything up there! They were left all those years ago by the former owner! So, I'll get one of the older boys to go up and see if he can hand down things to me. I'm not going up there, it isn't floored and I remember the former owner telling me he fell though to the garage and broke both legs! Not that I want one of the boys to do that, but I think they are less likely to fall though than me (the oldest is 33).

Best wishes to Karen for a quick recovery. I'm sure even with the discomfort she's glad to have the surgery behind her.

>303 Familyhistorian:, Thanks Karen, the last two days have been mixed for Karen but she is not too bad at the moment. Sending love and hugs.

>304 johnsimpson:, Hi Luanne, time certainly does go fast my dear and we are preparing for Christmas cake baking again.

When we first moved here 21 years ago I just put a few things in the loft and then more and more things went up there, part of it had boards laid down but they weren't secured. About 15 years ago I got some loft boards every few weeks and boarded out the main part of the loft just after the loft insulation had been put in. For quite a while everything got put up there and as I purchased more and more books it go to the point I couldn't move. Eventually I built shelving and all the books were on the extremities of the usable area and then other stuff got put up there. Periodically I have had a clear out but things still find there way up into the loft. Now not knowing what is going to happen with Rob and Louise I thought I needed to have another sort out and move things around. As I looked at what was up there I found things that have been there for years and will not be used so they came down, and one or two other things and space was freed up. I put things where they originally came from and created some space and now I just need to do the other side and all will be ok up there.

Karen is doing quite well but the last couple of days have been a bit troublesome but as I type she is not too bad and as I said to her, it has only been a week since surgery. Sending love and hugs my dear.

I didn't manage to get on here yesterday as I was at the school open evening last night and by the time I got back and watched The Great British Bake Off with Karen I wasn't feeling too well. We had a steady day yesterday although we both started to feel unwell mid afternoon as we had a late lunch of a lovely stew that Karen had made a while ago and put the leftovers in the freezer but when we had warmed it up and added mash potato's and peas we both left it.

By the time I got back from school, watched our programme and sorted a few things out I was in a lot of pain with my back. It was the right hand side that was troubling me and with a sharp pain radiating down my right buttock, Karen did rub it but I needed to lie on my back so I went into the spare bed for the night.

When the alarm went off this morning I was still stiff and sore and Karen did not feel well either, I managed to go downstairs to make us a pot of tea before we got up and dressed. Once downstairs we only wanted another drink and I was so out of sorts that I forgot to move the car for when Rob arrived. Rob took one look at us and because we thought we might have a bug he made alternate arrangements for Hannah as we were not up to having her. I felt fit enough to take him to the station and once back went for a lie down and promised him I would be fit to pick him up. Neither of us had much to eat and we both rested until it was time to take Karen to the doctors for her appointments. Karen needed to see the doctor about a sick note for work and another item and then she had a short wait to see the nurse for her B12 injection. On the way home we called at a store to pick up a toastie loaf and Karen also picked up some large crumpets which we had once home.

After we had eaten I made us a drink and Karen took hers up to bed and I sat on the sofa reading, I must have dropped off for a while as I woke up with a start and my tea was cold. We had another drink later and then another before I needed to pick Rob up. Once back with Rob he went up to see his mum and then left shortly after. I made sure Karen was ok and took her drink and then I finished a chapter before coming on here to catch up with threads.

I hope you both get over the bug soon, John. That is the last thing you need right now. Take it easy on yourselves.

Hope you start to feel better soon , John.

Ashes squad gets overall a thumbs down. Vince and Crane especially are strange selections.

I'm sorry to hear that both you and Karen are feeling a bit poorly. I hope you're feeling better today.

Sending love and hugs to you both!

Sorry to see that you and Karen are not feeling well. Hope it's a short lived bug!

>308 johnsimpson:, Hi Meg, it seems we just felt unwell and off our food so we have got off lightly. Apart from both having aches and pains we are fine although Karen has felt tired all day today so has only briefly ventured downstairs.

>309 johnsimpson:, Hi Paul, we are both ok apart from aches and pains, it seems we just felt off our food and haven't had the dreaded full blown bug.

As you rightly say both Vince and Crane have not really done anything all season and Leach is a far better bowler and the stats prove it, he may one day be ready but not yet. If you look at the stats only three first division players reached 1,000 Championship runs and one of them was Sangakkara with seven in Div 2. I agree that we should go back to one division and 17 games which is only three more than now, surely that won't be too much strain on the poor loves and it would help some Counties knowing they have a home game every other year against one of the bigger Counties.

You may have guessed from my sarcastic "Poor Loves" comment that I am now at an age where I am heartily fed up of sports saying they are playing too much yet they seem to over train and are injured within a few weeks of the relevant season starting. It seems to be all sports that I love, Cricket, Football, Rugby League and Union and Cycling although I cannot watch RL on television because all you hear is the bloody referee. I want to watch the game and listen to the commentary not hear the bloke in the middle, do the players not know the rules of how to play. Rant over otherwise I could go on all day.

>310, Hi Karen, we are both fine other than the usual aches and pains. It seems we were just off our food with no other signs of sickness so we have been lucky compared to some we know. Karen has been quite tired today so has only briefly ventured downstairs a couple of times and not for long.

>311, Hi Chelle , it has been a short lived bug thankfully, we were only off our food with no other signs of sickness. Apart from the usual aches and pains we are ok although Karen has been rather tired today and so has spent most of the day on the bed resting.

Once again as soon as the alarm went off I popped downstairs to make us a pot of tea to enjoy in bed, Karen felt very tired with a couple of niggles so I left her there after we had finished our drinks. As soon as I was washed and dressed I came downstairs and moved the car off the drive for when Rob arrived and then made another pot of tea and got all our meds and vitamins sorted out. Once this was done and the tea was ready I took Karens upstairs with a glass of fresh juice and then came down and had some cereal.

Rob arrived and had a quick pot of tea before I took him to the station and then made my way home, I had a pot of tea and then Karen came down and we wrote the shopping list for Asda and Aldi, Karen went back up to bed with a pot of tea. A short while later I helped her into the bath so she could have a shower and then made sure she got out safely. I left Karen to dry and pamper herself and kept abreast of the last days play in the remaining games of the cricket season. Karen shouted me so I went up to see her and she asked if I wanted her to come down to make me some lunch which I declined as I said I could make it myself and she should rest. I made lunch and then made Karen a drink and some toast with marmalade and once I had finished I made sure she was ok before going out to pick up our meds from the pharmacy and then going to Aldi to do that part of the shopping.

Once I had done the shopping I made my way home and unpacked and put it away before making us both a drink. A short time later Karen came down for about 20 minutes before going back upstairs, I then read for about an hour before Karen came back down to see what I was going to have for tea. I told her I fancied a pizza and would sort myself out, I made a drink for us and then put the pizza in the oven. After eating my pizza I checked on Karen and then a few minutes later went to pick Rob up and brought him back here to collect his car. Rob picked up a few bits and then left, I made us both a pot of tea and left Karen watching a cooking programme while I finished off a chapter of my book and then fired the laptop up to come on here.

I think I am going to struggle to reach my target of 40,000 pages read this year but hope to just pass last years total. As I eventually reached 1,000 books read earlier this year my next major goal is to reach one Million pages read and after looking at my recent yearly totals I think it will take me about another 15 years so I should be there by 2032 around my 69th birthday, something to aim for and keep the brain active. And after all that working out I will still have about 500,000 pages on my TBR pile, ha ha. Oh well, onwards and upwards.

>317 Wow, that's quite a goal! Good for you!
I haven't tracked my pages read and honestly don't think I could go back now and figure it out without many, many hours work.

Hi John!

I hope Karen has more energy today and that you're both doing well.

I haven't kept track of pages read until last year, and like Chelle, I think it's too hard to figure out for previous years. Sigh. Good luck to you. You're an optimist, I fear - once you get to 1 million pages read you will probably have more than 500,000 on your tbr pile, unless you don't buy any more books between now and then? *smile*

Sending love and hugs to you both!

It's good to hear you are both doing better, John. Have a great day or night, whatever suits the time over there on the other side of the world.

>318, Hi Chelle, I have always loved stats and being a lover of Cricket and Books these lend themselves to an overload of statistical analysis my dear. Like you, if I had to start now it would take me many hours and I would probably give up.

>319, Hi Karen, Karen is feeling a lot better today and she had her nails done so is feeling quite chipper with herself and I am doing fine.

I think you are right my dear I am an optimist but as I get a bit older I may have even more time to read and so increase my numbers to claw down what I have left to read. Who am I kidding, while ever there are book shops, Antiquarian and Secondhand book shops and Charity shops selling books I will continue to purchase more than I read. Always nice to have something to aim for anyway, it's a bit like asking a mountaineer why do you do it and they reply, because it is there, that is me with books and pages.

>320, Hi Meg, we are both a lot my dear and we have had a pretty decent day. It is currently 8.45pm here and I think I am about five hours ahead of you I think.

>317 I love it how you keep track of everything, John!
At my present rate of reading I should get to 500,000 pages (since 2008) within two years, as it looks like I will read 100,000+ pages this year. 2013 and 2014 were my worst reading years with only 3,320 and 3,700 pages.
I don't know how many pages are on my TBR pile, I just read and add the pages ;-)

I hope Karen is slowly feeling better, love and hugs to you both.

>324, Thanks Anita my dear, I am a bit of a stats geek but I just love working with stats where I have an interest and I love a challenge.

Karen is feeling better by the day all though she has to take things steady, we took Hannah to the country park in Walton which is the redevelopment of the old Colliery site, we just had a gentle walk and took one of the short routes to pick up some acorns and leaves to make an Autumn picture, Hannah loved it.

Sending love and hugs.

Think it is time for a new thread dear friends, come along and join me in about 15 minutes.