Journal Entries
GRANNYHOOD
Posted Dec 31, 2004
I would like to start this journal entry wishing you all a very Happy and Peaceful New Year.....but I am not going to.... well not until I have got my news out of the way first!
I am a Granny again!!!Youngest daughter has spent most of the last day of 2004 producing a lovely little granddaughter for me. She is a week early, but none the worse for that, and did not quite make it into 2005 as a New Years baby, but she is healthy and all in one bit and that is all that matters. Mother doing well too.
I am so exhausted from looking after three year old grandson while Mum and Dad were away, I am not sure I am going to make it into 2005 awake. So I will now wish you all a Happy and Peaceful New Year and look forward to keeping up with all my lovely friends in 2005.
Take care 
UG
Discuss this Journal entry [13]
Latest reply: Dec 31, 2004
Only two weeks to go!
Posted Dec 20, 2004
And yes, I am thinking beyond Christmas, to the birth of my fourth grandchild. What will this world hold for him/her, and indeed for my other three little imps.
Two or three of the children who grew up with my children, and, therefore, I have known since their birth, have begun to make names for themselves: one is rising in the operatic world, and I feel confident will eventually make it to the big time; another has trained in librarianship, but is about to go abroad to translate the bible into a hitherto unwritten language, so she is not only going to have to learn the language, but then learn to write it down - the tribe she is translating for certainly haven't written it down! And yet another has already had bit parts in television drama, and one day may become a household name, and another is serving time at Her Majesty's pleasure for murder.
I have held each of these in my arms when they were babies, fed them, changed their nappies, played with them, chastised them, fetched them from school and offered support to their mothers when they were going through teenage tantrums. All part of the normal activities when bringing up children.
And I look at my three and wonder if I am holding the future Miss World, Prime Minister, tennis champion, or local thug (I think that's already been taken by Bam-Bam!).
They have all three recently been in their various nativity plays. Bam-Bam was the innkeeper in his, and was entrusted with a broom to sweep outside the inn, whilst waiting to deliver his one line to Joseph and Mary. His part over, he was ushered to the side of the stage to begin to form part of the tableau whilst the rest of the Nativity unfolded. After a while he got bored, and then remembered the broom! The Angel Gabriel was in grave danger of doing a nosedive into the parents below as he vigorously "swept" the back of her knees several times. After a severe look from a playschool lady, he turned his attention to quietly trying to poke the bristles up the smallest shepherd's nose. Finally the Baby Jesus suddenly rose two foot above his crib and remained suspended by his swaddling clothes, until a playschool lady quietly, but firmly, disarmed Bam-Bam of the broom!.
Dino was a King in his Nativity and solemnly mounted the stage in robe and cardboard hat, to take his place just behind Mary. He looked very serious, fidgeted a bit, and sang most of the songs, then stood quietly whilst parents were invited to come up and take photos at the end. Then, without warning, he burst into loud wailing and was swiftly rescued by a playschool lady who disrobed him and took his hat off, and handed him to Daddy who had been taking photos. When asked why he had burst into tears he said that the staple inside the King's hat had been hurting him all the time, but he didn't think Kings cried, so had to wait until he was a little boy again.
And Pebbles, who is at school, was a "star" with the rest of her class, and they paraded in front of the parents singing (surprise! surprise!) "Twinkle, twinkle little star". Although she did not have anything to say, there was plenty of singing, and I was taken back some 28 years as I listened. Pebbles voice rose above the rest, confident, strong, in tune, and full of the joy of singing - just like her mother all those years ago. I don't know where Wilma got her voice from, it certainly wasn't me or her Dad, but she regularly sings solo at her Church, or duets with her sister-in-law, and her voice is lovely, and it would appear that Pebbles is going the same way. I know Wilma is looking forward to the day she and Pebbles can sing together in Church, but at the moment Pebbles is too young.
And the "bump"? By general concensus this pregnancy has been the quietest and most enjoyed of all four. I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for a safe delivery on or around the 4th January 2005, after which there will be no keeping Granny down!!
Now, this journal is very long, but I make no apologies - it is nearly six months since I wrote the last one - but if you have had the stamina to get this far, then let me wish you and your families a very Happy Christmas, and a very peaceful New Year.
Take care, all of you, and thank you for being my friendsUG
Discuss this Journal entry [7]
Latest reply: Dec 20, 2004
Yippeeee!!!
Posted Jun 29, 2004
Granny's dancing a little jig here! Not too big a jig, mind you, else I get two black eyes 
, but a jig nonetheless.
June 24th I had news that I had become a Great Auntie to a massive 10lb baby boy, born to my second eldest neice, who lives in Ireland. I have already had photos of him via the e-mail, and I so want to cuddle him, but it will be a while before I can see him.
But wait for it..... the real cause of the jig is that I am to become a Granny again in January 
!!!!!!!!!! ouch!! I have spent this afternoon at the hospital with Betty whilst she had a second scan (yesterday's did not go very well for various reasons)and at one point the baby got up and waved to us - well, I like to think it did, anyway. In amongst all that grey heaving mass, that's what it looked like.
So, Granny, Great Auntie, what other titles can I gather in my senior years? Any suggestions?
Take care UG
Discuss this Journal entry [13]
Latest reply: Jun 29, 2004
Water, water, everywhere......
Posted May 28, 2004
I am not sure how to describe the last 48 hours, but it has been one of those periods where it is better to laugh than cry, although you're not sure what you're laughing at. i.e. hysteria sets in.
I got home on Wednesday afternoon, was greeted enthusiastically by two dogs and the invalid cat, with much mewing and barking, but in the background there was that little niggle of a noise that was not familiar. Not part of the usual song the house sings. I fussed and tickled and quieted and listened again. It was coming from upstairs so the investigation squad set forth..... me, two dogs and a cat climbing the stairs in varying states of arthritic disorder.
Soon traced the noise - the loft hatch was dripping water on to a carrier bag on the landing floor. Water! 
. Well, I thought, no use paying out on an insurance with the water board to cover emergency water disasters and not using it, so I found the number, dialled it up and was treated to 5 minutes of "For this disaster press 1, for colour of grandmother's socks press 2, for horoscope reading press 3..." etc. etc. This water company put me through 4 layers of press this and that and in the end, when I did get to speak to someone "real" I asked her to confirm she was not a machine before I began my diatribe.
"Oh, yes, madam, we will get an engineer to you as soon as possible. We will ring him now, and he will ring you back and confirm his time of arrival." Sounded promising - drip! drip! Sure enough, ten minutes later he did ring me, and then things began to take a rapid downward spiral. I told him the problem: "Mmmm won't be for another 4 or 5 hours..." drip! drip! I explained I was a night shift worker and he needed to be here before 10 o'clock. "Noooo, can't do, but don't worry these things don't USUALLY blow! I'll see you in the morning." click! drip! drip!
I checked the bucket under the drip and brooded on what exactly I was spending my insurance money on. drip! drip! Issued all the animals with aqualungs and flippers, and gave the eldest dog a quick lesson in rescue techniques and went to work. Returned home in my break to check things over. All OK except drip! drip!
Home by 0630 the next morning and awaited engineer. Well, I can be naive at times! Finally rang the insurance company at 0800. Went through usual layers of mechanical voice and explained my problem. "Well, you should have rung again yesterday if the wait was too long, we'll see what we can do for you madam... yes, an engineer will ring you shortly and arrange... etc. etc. Ten minutes later an engineer rang... "Won't be for another 4 or 5 hours...." So I rang the insurance company again. 4 layers, "Yes, madam... engineer..." "Won't be for...." etc. etc. drip! drip!
FIVE times I rang and got the same responses, and, of course, by this time the water had started to collect under the ceiling paper and was hanging in threatening water bombs all over the ceiling just outside the loo. On the sixth attempt I blew my top good and proper and eventually an engineer turned up an hour later to have a look. Credit where credit is due, he was good, and thorough and he soon found the cause of the leak.
"It's that joint on the tank that you put mastic round recently," he called smugly, (in parenthesis) "Stupid woman, doesn't she know you can't stop a leak with mastic, did she think I wouldn't notice, she's just trying to con the insurance...." I looked him squarely in the face and said: "I haven't repaired any leak on my tank for years - in fact, I have never repaired a leak on that tank."
He looked taken aback. "Well, this mastic is brilliant white and new...."
Now, dear hootooers, can I take you back to last August when I had the small problem of a re-wire..... Is anyone catching on to where this is leading....? The electrician was the last one in the loft who would be likely to have mastic about him, and just below the joint, between the joists, is a spaghetti junction of wires where the bathroom wiring meets with the landing wiring. And he did have big feet. Need I go on? But need I also say, that I can't prove it.
The upshot? He has drained the tank and the leak has stopped, but I have no water in the house except the mains in the kitchen, so - no loo, no shower, no bath, no washing facilities (except cold water in the kitchen, and a boiled kettle). The bath is full of water which I can use to flush the loo, but it won't last for ever, and I can't carry any more water up the stairs. Laugh? Cry?
I have had two estimates in for replacing the tank and I can nowhere near afford either of them. Laugh? Cry? And just when I thought I had got the house together.
I like to end my journals on an up-note, but today I can't think of one. Laugh? 
I need a hug
UG
Discuss this Journal entry [19]
Latest reply: May 28, 2004
UG's Away!!!!!!!
Posted Apr 21, 2004
O.K. so wish me luck. Eldest daughter and husband are off for a romantic four days in Paris - aaaaahh!
Granny, however, is looking after 5 year old Pebbles and 3 year old Bam-Bam for them! Need I say more?
Pebbles has already drawn up her (extensive) itinerary of "things to do with Granny", whilst Bam-Bam is only interested in what, and when, he will eat, and whether Granny is going to be able to read the signs of him wanting the loo, because he keeps forgetting!!!!!!!(sigh)
I pick him up from playschool at noon on Friday and her up from school 3 hours later and Mum and Dad do not get home until 1800 Monday evening. I think MacDonalds may figure in Friday nights events, that should up my popularity rating - after that I shall be playing it by ear, although Pebbles has announced that she would like a roast lamb dinner on Sunday! (Bam-Bam doesn't like lamb)
If you have a deity that you think answers your prayers, could you have a word for me over the weekend. I'm going to need all the help I can get.
I am going now.... and I may be some time..........
Take care, all of you, UG
Discuss this Journal entry [12]
Latest reply: Apr 21, 2004
Universal Granny
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