Happy things!

If you read here regularly you might recall all the excitement when my best friend Lisa came to visit here last year from Nebraska on two occasions..... and the subsequent news of her engagement to Ian and then their prolonged dealings with U.S immigration. Finally he managed to emigrate and they got married last November.

Well yesterday I received an email from them titled 'Happy things' which included the photo below and news of the fact that yesterday they had delivered into their hands...... the long awaited green card!!

How cool and completely excellent is that? Ian is an American now!!

Congratulations guys, a very happy thing indeed.


Proof that there can be happy endings! :)

So long 2009....

....I will not be sorry to see you go!

2009, probably, no certainly, the very worst year of my life to date, unsurpassed in obnoxious horrible-ness and that despite one or two in my past not having been particularly good to say the least.

I find it pretty hard to imagine now, when I think back to this time last year, quite how much has changed and none of it in a positive manner. I began the year relatively happy and feeling I had achieved much of what I aimed for in life. Yes, I was unemployed but that was the biggest problem I had, oh happy days! Such a simple existence now seems something I can only dream of, something that happens to other people, like winning the lottery or finding a priceless work of art in the loft.

Those of you who read here regularly (for which I thank you) know what happened next, for those that don't, briefly I lost the man I loved when he ditched me unceremoniously in the space of a few hours, as a consequence I lost my home, along with my sanity it seemed at times..... and having just begun to recover from that my father, who we thought had beaten cancer, was given a terminal diagnosis and required nursing to his recent death, which was preceded by a good friend also being claimed by cancer, just a week earlier.

It's been a logistical and emotional roller coaster filled with heartache, hospitals, chemotherapy and hopes dashed time and time again and it's a ride I never want wish to experience again! So like I said at the start of this post, I won't be sorry to see the back of 2009 and whilst I have no wish to tempt fate I can't imagine how 2010 can be anything but an improvement! Here's hoping!

There were along the way one or two positives, we had a few laughs, I learned that I'm stronger than I thought and that we cope with what is thrown at us somehow, I made some very good friendships that I hope will endure a lifetime, my best friend got married and I discovered that despite everything, I wouldn't now have back he who ditched me so unkindly if he was offered gift wrapped and with a bright shiny ribbon wrapped around his 'interesting bits'. I just don't need that crap.

So then, happy new year guys, lets hope it is a better one......and thank you to those, who along the way, kept me from capsizing spectacularly and were there 24/7 and way beyond the call of duty when I needed them, you know who you are.

Who says dreams don't come true!

On a much happier note, after over a year of the trials and tribulations of a transatlantic love affair and the red tape of U.S. immigration (story here and here) and Lisa and Ian finally got married on Sunday in Nebraska!!!

♥ Congratulations you two ♥

You deserve every moment of the future happiness I know you will have and you give me faith that dreams really can come true.

I only wish I could have been there with them but circumstances were against me.

Leaving on a jet plane!

So, today, after over seven months of red tape and the trials and tribulations of the immigration services, and having finally got his visa to move to the U.S delivered into his hand last week, Ian took off on a flight from Heathrow at 15.00hrs today bound for Omaha Nebraska and a whole new life with Lisa, one of my very best friends!!!

I can't believe it has finally happened for them, at 04.00GMT they will be reunited after a very long time apart and they will be married sometime soon.

If ever there was a fairy story come true it's theirs and having been kind of involved from the outset I have to say that even for me as a third party, today feels a pretty special day. I might even admit to shedding the odd happy tear on their behalf and to being somewhat overly excited when Ian called me this morning en-route, to get me to check some flight details at the last minute.

Congratulations on getting to now you two, you both deserve a lot of happiness and the most amazing future together. You earned it one way and another!

I love you guys! Be very, very happy :o)

Frustration and happiness

I am frustrated, (no guys not that kind of frustrated). I am frustrated by my recent inability to blog, not because I can't think any longer of things to blog about, rather the reverse, I can, I have so much I would like to be able to 'get out there' but for innumerable reasons I just can't.

Other people's privacy, the feelings of others, the nature of some of what has been happening, you name it, it seems that most of my current life, is for blogging purposes at least, off limits for the time being. It's driving me quietly insane what I am already? but there is nothing I can do to circumnavigate the situation right now....why oh why does Blogger not offer the protected posts facility that Wordpress does?

I could of course migrate to Wordpress but I don't in all honesty want to lose what's here and I suspect the transfer, despite promises on the Wordpress blurb that it will all be easily moved is a little on the optimistic side!

I will think of some way around it before long but until then suffice to say, things with TP are as to be expected, we are still battling on but it's a rough ride. My life is still in a kind of limbo and it's all pretty surreal. There are one or two bright spots and we make the most of the situation we find ourselves in but mostly we live day to day and deal with stuff as it hits us, which it does, with regular monotony.

There is one particular happiness to report though, an update on my post a few days back "America says I can get married". For those of you who haven't already heard, Ian got his visa today, he gets on a one way flight to the U.S. on Sunday and Lisa and he can at last be together and be married!!!

How cool and romantic and lovely is that!? :o)

"America says I can get married"

Those are the words of a text I just received from Ian, words both he and Lisa, one of my very best friends, have been waiting to to say for over a year now!

What does it mean exactly? Well Lisa and Ian have been going through the long and often times difficult and frustrating process of trying to be together when living on separate continents. The upside for me of course was that I got to meet Lisa twice last year after five years of online friendship but there has been some pretty 'un-up' aspects for them trying to navigate the immigration rules and regs.

Much air travel, paperwork and hassle later, this morning Ian, having gone for the final interview stage in the process this morning, has finally been granted permission by the United States embassy to move to America and marry Lisa!!!

Yayyyyyyy!

It's been a long road as they say but at last the very best news!

Congratulations to you both!

Lisa and Ian!!

If there was ever a perfect birthday present it has to be THIS!!!

Yayyyyyyyy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Lisa and happy 'visa' day to both of you! :o)

And if you're new here and don't know who Lisa and Ian are look here and here or follow the links to their blogs!

'The Little Girl' - a guest post

Today, a very special guest post for a very special person in my life, Lisa, by her father 'Bulldog'. It needs no further introduction.


The Little Girl . . .
. . . the first years and selected vignettes.

The Little Girl was a surprise. Not unwelcome, mind you. Never a fleeting thought of that.

Not that there wasn’t some concern. Daddy had finished his third year at university, and Mommy was working. With scholarships, Daddy’s summer job, Mommy’s work, and some student loans, they were getting by – but just barely.

The concern ended at the first heartbeat. But . . . PARENTS! How does one become a parent? Where’s the book? Where can one take a course? Is panic appropriate? We’re only kids ourselves.

Mommy and Daddy lived in a second-floor walk-up flat with hand-me-down furniture, no air-conditioning, and a bunch of critters that ran for cover in the kitchen when the lights were switched on.

This would not do. Not for The Little Girl. Daddy and Mommy cornered the landlady. Either evict the critters, or find new tenants. The critters were gone within a week. The Little Girl was not to learn “Bug on ME!” for a while. Then, Daddy made his first-ever credit purchase – a Sears window air conditioner, back when it was still Sears, Roebuck & Co.

The Little Girl made her appearance in mid-summer. Good timing that, because university was not in session and Daddy was able to continue summer work to save up for the fall semester. The Little Girl was born at 7:11 a.m. She was destined either to be very lucky – or to manage a convenience store. Daddy hoped for the former.

Vignette: In those days, fathers were not allowed in the delivery room, so Daddy waited. When the nurse told him it was a little girl, he rushed to the nursery. With his hands and nose pressed against the glass, he saw Her. Daddy cried. Of happiness, of course. First born. A Little Girl. THE Little Girl.

The Little Girl was a happy baby. Tow-headed, giggly, and with a smile that would melt a heart at forty paces. That fall, Daddy switched to mostly night classes so he could be with The Little Girl during the day, and Mommy could bring home something of a paycheck. Balancing the checkbook. Loans. Struggles. More than a few worries. But, with one wrinkly-nosed grin from The Little Girl . . . the worries didn’t matter. And, by the next summer, The Little Girl was zooming around like she owned the place. In fact, she did.

Vignette: Mommy and Daddy took The Little Girl outside and set her in the middle of a blanket. To the little hand touching the grass it was barbed wire, and her world was an eight-foot square. She didn’t seem to mind. Neither did her blue bunny.

The Little Girl didn’t notice, but Mommy had a little surprise planned. In the fall, something called “A Little Brother” showed up. The Little Girl didn’t know what to think of A Little Brother, but within a year, she was The Big Sister, and proud of it. She still is.

Vignette: See Mommy carrying A Little Brother into the house, See Daddy carrying The Little Girl. See Daddy slip and fall in the mud in the front yard. See The Little Girl covered in mud with a puzzled look. See Daddy laugh. See The Little Girl laugh.

Two years later, Daddy graduated. He had a real job. Mommy and Daddy threw all their broken-down furniture over the balcony to be hauled off, packed up a couple of beds, a crib, a TV, The Little Girl and A Little Brother and moved. Omaha . Gateway to the west. Where The Little Girl still lives. With a Little Girl of her own.

Later, Mommy and Daddy moved. The Little Girl was older, and on her own. Then came summer and The Little Girl's birthday. It was a Wednesday. Walking through the garage at work, it was the first time they were separated on her birthday. Daddy cried . . .

Little Girls make you do that, but you wouldn't trade them for the world.

By Bulldog.

Lisa is in London!

Yayyyyyy....as I type, bleary eyed and with my first hefty caffeine shot of the day firmly by my side, Lisa's flight is stacking over Heathrow waiting to land, Punctuation is winding his way through the melee which is arrivals to the gate to meet her, and from here on in this next week is gonna be a good one!

It's six months since her last visit to the UK, and since the first time, after years of countless daily emails, that we finally met for real. I kind of got used to having my best friend, she with whom I share everything, 4000 miles away but it's way better to have her here for real and I really didn't think we would get the chance again quite so soon...but we have and I can't wait! Excited? Who me?

Today is jet lag recovery day and then tomorrow both she and Punctuation come here for what will doubtless turn into a manic weekend of catching up, eating, drinking and making of much merry.....

Leave the Leffe alone Lisa! ;o)

Did I mention I can't wait?

Updates here and probably almost obsessively on Twitter, throughout! ;o)

Fletch is back!...and other stuff

First up, if you get a moment pop over HERE and you will witness a small miracle, Fletch is back! He has finally posted on his blog after a ten month lazy period. Wonders will never cease! Having been absent for so long though he could use a helping hand where readers are concerned! ...oh, and if you leave a comment on his blog I get a reward so please, if you have time? ;o)

Second up, it's now only five 'Jane days' now until Lisa arrives here!! Hurrah!

And finally we are away at my parents this weekend for the first time in way too long so activity around these parts until Monday is likely to be low to nil..... I will of course have my phone glued to me Twittering, hooked? who me? but that's about all I'm likely to manage.

Have a good one guys and I'll catch you on the other side.

Eleven days and counting!

It's less than two weeks now until Lisa arrives in the UK from Nebraska again, it's close enough now that we can begin the countdown in days rather than weeks or months and it can't come quick enough, I can't wait!! Yayyyyyy!!

Thursday the 19th she will touch down at LHR in the wee small hours, I will of course be tracking the flight almost mile by mile overnight and waiting for a text from Punctuation to say that she has been met safely at the arrivals gate!

It seems a long time ago now since the last time she was here and we met for real for the very first time, though in actual fact it was only last October and one would have thought that having been best friends for years online and never having met until that point, six months would seem very little, but it doesn't! Somehow the having met makes it all the more frustrating that we are 4000 miles apart on a day to day basis.

That said, I feel lucky, many 'virtual'friendships of such a distance remain only online for much longer, if not permanently and to get to hang out together twice in six months is more than I think either of us ever envisaged would be a possibility until relatively recently!

Did I mention I am excited?

11 days to go and counting......

Bring on March!

I know, I know, I'm not supposed to be wishing my life away but March this year brings with it a pretty exciting event, one of the best in fact!

When the same thing happened last October I thought it likely would be a 'one off' or at the very least a rare occurrence, time, money and logistics considered but I was wrong....on March the 19th Lisa will arrive from the U.S at Heathrow again in the wee small hours, for another weeks visit!

Last time we had an absolute ball, it was just so fab to be able to actually spend time with she who has been my closest friend for over five years, the person who has been there through all the up's and down's of those years and who probably knows me better than almost anyone else. We have had a constant, many times daily email conversation going on for all that time and to actually be able to talk face to face was just amazing!

So, in March, more of the same, Leffe, pancakes for breakfast, hilarity, chatter and the pleasure of being able to hang out for 'real'!

I can't wait! Yayyyyyyy! :o)

I got an award!

I have very kindly been given a 'sisterhood' award by Wise Herb, I might could question her choice in me but just the same I feel kind of flattered so thankyou Mrs Herb :o)

It goes like this, I now have to choose eight lady bloggers, sorry guys, I didn't make the rules, who's blogs show great Attitude and/or Gratitude to pass this award on to so here goes, the following are hereby duly awarded:

Lisa - because she's my best friend and her attitude to life has got the pair of us through many a 'scrape'....and likely, given how we seem to live our lives, will go on doing so for a long time yet!

Fabulous - for making me think, for her insightfulness, her honesty....and her cakes!

H.L.- for great tenacity and attitude in the face of tough times.

Daffy - for having the right attitude to life and despite our friendship being in relative infancy, being one of those 'sisters' who already makes a difference to my life.

Alright tit - a relatively new blog to me but one who's author has the most astounding approach/attitude to life and what it throws at her, refreshingly 'pulls no punches' and retains a fab sense of humour despite her trials.

That's the way life is - because Joanna is one of life's truly special people.

Daisy the curly cat - because she has great cattitude and brightens my every day!

....and finally, I'm going to break the rules here because it's my blog and because the recipient of my final award goes to a man who is without doubt secure enough in himself to be called a 'sister' and not be phased by it! I just can't hand out awards for attitude/gratitude without including him!

JW of Welcome to my world, long time friend, supporter of me in my good and bad times, a very clever guy with a knack for kicking my arse when I need it and for knowing 'where I'm at'. An intellectual who confounds and confuses me at times but who makes me think, never deserts me and can always be relied upon whatever is going on in his own life. This guy is family to me and I can't exclude him purely for his gender, so shoot me! ;o)

*Incidentally, I won't beat any of you over the head if you prefer not to pass it on!

Can we get back to normal now ?

That's it then, all the festive malarkey is over, the New Year shenanigans are done and dusted and we stumble forward into 2009 full of hope, happiness and hangovers!

It's an odd thing New Year, I've always found it a bit of a 'non-event', something we anticipate somehow as offering a chance to celebrate, the magical midnight hour that will herald something special but of course doesn't.... and as it chimes and we kiss complete strangers while we are jostled shoulder to shoulder at one event or another, nothing actually changes except the date on the calendar!

I don't view this as a 'bah humbug' attitude, it's just how I see it, the changing of the year changes nothing, one is much the same as another, some good, some bad, some trials and tribulations and some smiles and happiness, though hopefully a larger percentage of the latter rather than the former and with a little luck one or two special highlights.

So what of my 2008? Some good some bad. My highlights? The top spots....I got to move in with the love of my life, TP survived massive surgery for usually inoperable cancer spectacularly, and continues to deal with the ongoing treatment equally spectacularly, I got to meet my best friend Lisa for real at last, I left the white van from hell firmly residing in my past, I got to see a bit more of the world and drive Stelvio Pass and I began what will hopefully be my next little menagerie with the acquisition of Hammy.

The lowlights....probably best forgotten but including of course TP's original diagnosis and the fact that rendering oneself unemployed at the front end of a recession is not professionally wise perhaps!

Regrets.....none, I don't do regrets, I live by my heart and I live for the small pleasures, I do what my heart says is important and it's only in not doing things that we have regrets.

And what of 2009? I don't have aspirations as such, I have one or two private hopes and dreams but I can fail quite well enough thankyouverymuch without setting myself up, so I potter into 2009 enjoying the small things, braced for the bad bits should any occur, hoping for maybe one or two highlights and thankful for what I have, which is where the title of this post comes in....if you enjoy 'normal' it has to be a good thing!

Let the fun begin!

At last the madness and mayhem of the pre-Christmas panic is almost over and the fun can begin! The parcels are wrapped, the comestibles are purchased, Fletch's car is back from it's repairs, the horrible hire car is history and Punctuation is at Heathrow as I type, waiting to board his flight to the U.S. and Lisa anytime now, it's all coming together!

I have a few bits to finish up and then we hit the road for Christmas with my parents and the rest of my immediate family, it will be the first time in years we have all managed to get together in one place and it should be pretty cool.

We then have to race back home on Boxing day to check Hammy is ok. I don't like leaving her alone for more than a day or two but I have no Hammy sitter so the extra 200 miles is a necessary evil....though I doubt she will even wake up long enough to notice we are there!

Then having re-stocked the Hammy food bowl etc. it's a quick turnaround and back on the road for the south coast and a couple of days of festive fun with Fletch's family and friends.

So that's it, we got there in the end, the madness is over, now let the fun begin......

I'll be back soon, or via my phone if I have the time or inclination, but until then....

Happy Christmas, have yourselves a fab one guys!

Jealousy and 'Jane days'

'Jane Days'....what on earth am I talking about you may well ask....well let me explain, though I warn you, you may need a certain degree of similar insanity as I to get where I am coming from here!

The question, 'what are Jane Days'? arose yesterday when I made reference to them in all innocence on Twitter and suddenly found myself having to explain to various people who, er, strangely had no idea what I was talking about! Ok, maybe not so strange. I never claimed to be entirely sane though did I?

So....this is how it works, first, those of you who don't know already, need to know that my real name is Jane. I never mentioned it here before, it was an internet security 'ism' I harboured for years but it's been mentioned so often in my comments etc. now that it's become academic.

Jane days are a coping mechanism, designed in my odd little mind years ago to get through periods in my life when I desperately wanted to get to a particular day and the days just weren't going fast enough to that date. I have always been a 'counter', counting down the weeks, days, hours etc. to an important event and 'Jane Days' made the period between the present and the event seem shorter and hence less depressing. It's simple really and it works like this;
Lets say you are desperate to get to Friday and it's only Monday, it's misery making to realise that's five whole days, but it's not, it's really only three, well three 'Jane Days', because if you are already at Monday there is no need to count it, it's already as good as done (see, one less day already) and if the event you are waiting for is on the Friday, you don't count that day either, there is no need because the nice thing you have been waiting for and counting down too, will be happening on that day!

See, instantly your nasty five day wait is transformed into just a mere three day wait and it sounds way less depressing as you await your longed for event!! It works with whole weeks too! It's something I have always done, a little psychological trickery that in my little mind actually helps.... and Fletch, who know me only too well, began years ago referring to them as 'Jane Days' when utilising the system for my benefit!

Hey.....I did warn you I am not entirely sane!

But, why was I mentioning Jane Days yesterday and why the reference to 'jealousy' in the title of this post? Well tomorrow morning Punctuation will fly from Heathrow to to the U.S. to spend Christmas with Lisa and when he began counting down the last few days until his flight I offered up the 'Jane Days theory' to shorten his wait! ( he now doubts my sanity too I suspect)...as I mentioned earlier thought, I happened to do it on Twitter, which resulted in a number of confused queries and hence my explanation now!

And the jealousy? Well whilst I am looking forward to my own Christmas, I soooo wish I was flying out there too tomorrow to see Lisa again, her summer visit here seems a long time ago now....unfortunately I'm just not quite small enough to squash into Punctuations case un-noticed! ;o)

A hamster in the hand ....

...is worth two in the cage!

Yesterday, after all these months, I finally got to hold Hammy without suffering a mortal wound and believe me, she is more than capable of delivering a rapid response, disabling offensive that the SAS would be proud of when it suits her...just ask Lisa!

By chance yesterday I was chatting to someone (Thank you LD) much experience in all things hamster, who promised me if I followed her rules I would get this stubborn little creature 'eating out of my hand'.

Before I began I had to furnish myself, as a very necessary precaution, with 'hamster gloves'. These are not purpose designed of course, just nice soft fleecy gloves which I had sourced earlier in the day at Tesco for the princely sum of a pound. It was thus that in the early evening me and Hammy set about coming to some mutual 'understanding' where this biting malarkey is concerned!

And it worked, I did exactly as I had been instructed and within a half hour madam was sitting on my hand, yayyyyy...not for very long I grant you but we managed two repeat performances and I was even able to cup her in both hands and stroke her at one (short) point!

There is of course no pictorial evidence of this momentous moment... Hey, I had my hands full, but it is progress indeed and as a reward she was allowed free rein in her favourite game..... breaking into the treats bag, a game which I might add she completed in record time, pegs? pah...no problem!

Round two tonight. Me and this hamster are going to do this thing!

I've been tagged...

...by The Pink Jellybaby

Here are the Rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up

Ok...here we go, my six bits of info you just can't live without knowing! ;o)

1. I am obsessed with handbags.

2. I don't much like wearing clothes.....if God (ok, so I'm atheist but you know where I'm coming from on this) had intended us to wear clothes he would have made them fit!

3. I love any medical TV programme, the more detailed the better, strange considering I hate the sight of blood in real life.

4. I have to use a 10x magnification mirror to pluck my eyebrows these days! :o/

5. I have one big secret! Nope, I'm not gonna tell you.

6. I'm short enough that I can lay completely flat in the bath....and float!

And the six um, lucky people I am going to tag are:

Lisa
Daffy
Trac
Mr Nighttime
Daisy the curly cat
Tash

The view....

...from the other side of the pond and just down the road!

Here and here and here.....and more to come :o)

"Don't mention the 'F' Word"

Lisa, Ian and I managed to meet up again yesterday for an afternoon of chattering, laughter and a quick trip to the local Costa to indulge in various delights. Unfortunately Fletch had to be at work, though he did manage to escape the clutches of the office a little earlier than usual and make it home for a short while before they had to leave.

"Don't mention the 'F' word" became the phrase of the day among the hilarity and gossiping, not for any sudden (and ok, unlikely) wish to adhere to the obscenity laws but because the day was tinged with a sadness we were trying to ignore, that it was Lisa's last in the UK and we were doing our very best to make the most of it and not mention her fl***t home today....see, not the 'F' word you were expecting was it, you have such a low opinion of me! ;o)

We had a lovely afternoon together but the time just whizzed by and all too soon it was time for them to leave..... and I will admit, that among all the hugs and promises of finding a way to get together again as soon as possible, my previously strong resolve not to shed a tear, deserted me completely. Ack!

So, the week we had all looked forward to so much and for so long is over and it passed by in an absolute flash, I can hardly believe that this time last week I was sitting tracking her inbound fl***t, it seems like only hours ago but it was one of the very best and special times and full of very special memories....those are the things we are going to try to concentrate on today (aren't we Lisa?!) instead of feeling sad..... and the plotting and planning to get her back again soon has already begun!

Don't anyone mention the 'F' word!

*Sniffle*