Colours of Friendship Award

"Elissa" from "Managing Autism"


has kindly passed on this token of friendship. I refuse to write all that mushy stuff about relationships as I might split my stiff upper lip. Whilst I am tempted to quote 'Bah Humbug,' at this time of year I should probably slough off such Grinch like associations.




Firstly I should like to pass this on to "slouching mom" over at "slouching towards 40." This is only fair because the first time I acknowledged this little gemlet I had the outrageous nerve to call her 'sloughing' instead of 'slouching.' Did she harbour evil thoughts towards me following this transgression? No, not a bit of it. In true magnanimous American style she just shrugged it off as of no consequence.

I often toddle over to another little spot where the "Queen" hangs out at the "Queen of Dysfunction." She's an annoying little devil without a blogging schedule. This of course is deliberate on her part just to ensure that she causes as much irritation as possible. Fortunately for me, now that I have her on my google feed reader she's unable to escape quite so easily.

"Linda" of course is never irritating or irritated over at "Are we there Yet." I have no choice but to pass this over to her as she has helped drag me kicking and screaming up the feed reader curve and is always a little oasis of harmony. [unless the kids are playing up]

Another fun place to nip along to is "Adventures of an Aussie Mum." This is the joy of international connections. I am up late and night just in time to read her post as she starts her day.


"Never Judge a book" has to have one too, devious little lurker that she is, especially now that she has a spanking new template to please the eye.

Good old "Sam" is far too cerebral to partake in this kind of malarky but I am happy to send this to him. If ever you feel that life has given you a bad break, then this is the place for you. His stella work stops me in my tracks. The families and patients that he helps, in both his "work" and "play" takes my breath away.

One that I have finally managed to load onto my google reader is "Beck" at "Frog and Toad are still friends." They are by far my favourite American book series although I do have a little bias on that front. It was that clue that first led me to her site, and now she just can't get rid of me.

"Kristina" over at "Autism Vox" was probably my first on line pal. I lurked on her site more many a long evening back in the days where the word 'blog' was not in my lexicon. Indirectly she taught me all about it until I was brave enough to de-lurk and write a no doubt ludicrous comment. I felt as if I was writing on the wall of a toilet stall, but that's probably because of the association of graffiti and bogs.

This is a bog.





















As is this!

Christmas Meme 22nd

"Ashley" over at "Hidden Recovery" has tagged me with a Christmas meme, which is a trifle tragic since this is the 22nd today and I'm almost out of time - eek!

I shall endeavour to do my best as Ashley and I share a common phenomenon, a Leo, both lovely ones, although she is far more biased than I am of course. is one of the first few blogs that I was brave enough to comment upon and we have corresponded off and on ever since.

Best Childhood Gift


The same things that my mother carefully ensured were in each of our stockings each year:- four little squares of chocolate wrapped in shiny paper and tied together like a package, a shiny foiled, tightly furled umbrella of chocolate, a little yellow netting cache of chocolate pennies and a tangerine in the toe.






Best Adult Gift

Yes, it's a thrupenny piece. This used to be my pocket money when I was a small person. My older sister had a silver sixpence, twice the value, much more shiny but not anything like as delightful as the solid thrupenny piece. The Port Cullis emblazoned upon the front and the funny smell that it left on my grubby, sweaty little palms was a real treasure. What was particularly treasured by this gift, was that my eldest daughter managed to find one for me, long after they had been withdrawn from circulation circa 1971 and gave it to me with a twinkle in her eye. 30 years after the event, I found that not only had she remembers this little tale of childhood innocent but also her the wherewithall and stamina to seek one out, just to warm the cockles of my ancient, crusty heart.

Divorced single mother's often enjoy a close relationship with the children. In that respect I was exceptionally lucky, as illustrated by my second most popular gift that I received whilst I was an adult, also from my daughter but at a slightly earlier age.

Tucked away in the ruins of my tatty old jewelry box is another little treasure. During my youthful and rebellious period I wore copious lurid earrings. This fine pair of hand crafted Fimo ear-rings were give to me by my creative daughter. The watch allows you to admire their extreme length with I wore with pride as I stabbed my shoulders with every shrug of admiration.






What You Hope For In The Future

More of the same, the little things, that mean the most.

So I now tag

"Cal Slayton"
over at "Calslayton" as his talent just shines through but he's not very forthcoming on the personal front. We all need a little encouragement in the sharing department sometimes.

Then there are the delightful "Brewers" over at "And Miles to Go" - they really are going for the record as they track up the miles on their way 'home' for the holidays. A real family of marathon runners if ever, I'll be bound. I know they have a tonne of stuff to do but this is such a little memme that I don't feel too guilty passing it on.

Next up is "One March Day" although she has a tendency to be cryptic the variety or her posts always keep me guessing.

A great little spot for when you're feeling homesick for England is to visit "Dulwichmum," it's guaranteed to make me both regret that I'm in the States and rejoice that I'm in the States at the same time, but maybe that's just because we share a similarly warped sense of humour.

A new pal for me is "Mrs. G" over at "Derfwadmanor." If I didn't know better I would swear this woman is a Brit with her dry teasing humour. As often as not the giggles are for free.

If you're in need of a little eye candy [ not the rude kind] then I would recommend a visit to "David Mcmahon" over at "author Blog" where his fabulous photographs inspire me to remove the batteries from my digital camera and chuck it in the bin in defeat.

Another place to visit daily is "Crystal Jigsaw" but that is because I am biased towards bloggers who post daily, as I'm a stickler for routine and there's nothing more annoying than arriving at a blog that still has the old posting that you read several weeks ago - the nerve of some people!

You could do a lot worse than nip over to "Terri" and "Her4kids" to admire her expanding family with the cutest puppies in the world ever, and no, even if you ask her very nicely she won't mail one to you - are you trying to get her reported to the Humane Society or something?

"Melinda" over "Dear Noah" who write the most heartfelt letters to her son, take a peek and bask in all that love.

I expect you are all wondering who is the most prolific blogger on the blogosphere? A question that haunts me daily too! I am here to assure you that despite my best psychological endeavours, devious and cunning questions, I have been unable to unearth the troop of elves that help "Secret Agent Mama" with her prodigious output.

I can also highly recommend "Why Would I Sleep" which I'm sure will hit just the right note with far too many of us.

I am guilt free as I tag these people because it can either be as short and sweet or as lengthy as time allows.

When I have caught up with the other 27 outstanding memes, I plan to make one of my own. This will consist of a lengthy list of blogs that I visit who I will henceforward be boycotting because of their teeny tiny font size, or at least I would boycott them if it weren't for the seductive content.

Cheers dearies.