R's rue

 Christmas stories are always worth repeating  Enjoy this one  Christmas 1985 Christmas week 1985 I was  shadowing a community psychiatric nursing sister with her caseload in the deprived and depressing northern town of Runcorn. Through a succession of faceless maisonettes, we sat on grubby sofas and listened to  sad stories of loneliness, mental illness and substance abuse and I watched as my mentor tried her best to keep heads above water and bums out of the local psychiatric unit. The last visit of the day was to a woman called Jean. Jean lived alone in the top flat of a ten story complex. She had suffered from severe mental health problems for forty years and had recently been placed in her flat from long term psychiatric care only a few months before. I remember her flat very well. There was no carpet in the hall and the living room but there was a tiny tinsel Christmas tree standing on top of a large black and white tv.  A homemade fabric s...

Phoebe Harriet is eleven months old today. I know that some of you out there in Blogland have been keen to see new pictures of our little princess and here she is. All photographs are taken from my daughter's Instagram site and all were first posted there just an hour ago. from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/3oWnGYH

 With each day May I replace Worry With Praise from R's rue https://ift.tt/3s5o1KM

  For such a gentle dog Mary has inherited a complete and utter hatred for everyone delivering post and parcels to Bwthyn Y Llan. This is a legacy handed down over generations of Welsh Terriers.  From Finlay to Meg, from Meg to William and from William to Mary, they all delighted in racing down the stairs barking loudly as soon as there was a click of the letter box. It’s bright and sunny today, so I knew there would be a few hand deliveries of Christmas cards coming. Subsequently, Mary has been up and down the stairs like a fiddler’s elbow. Eventually I gave sleep up as a bad job which was fortunate as I found a Christmas Bara Brith on the garden wall which was   wrapped carefully by Animal Helper Pat. I sliced the bara brith thinly as it should be , and spread them liberally with salted butter. There is nothing better with a strong cup of tea. I watched tv until the postman arrived to Welsh Terrier hysteria.  I am the second to last in the vill...