P stands for Paella

O is for Out and about

I live in a leafy suburb of Liverpool England  UK.
We are lucky to live in such an  outstanding  area of learning excellence.
 There are several faith schools which always achieve good results  through the national curriculum and also some private schools which are now grant maintained.
 Thanks to Government funding, this gives all children an equal chance to go to a school that will suit their needs.
We also have the Hope University Campus,( part of Liverpool University). just around the corner from our home.
This a lovely place to just to walk through with our grandchildren on the way to school.
One of our favourite places to go is Calderstones Park , it is in open parkland with a beautiful  secret walled garden.
 There is a large lake with swans and ducks paddling around, eagerly awaiting  little chubby 'kiddy hands.' proffering chunks of bread and cake.
 Also there is a café, serving delicious home made cakes, hot and cold drinks and an assortment of ice creams and ice lollies.
Across the road from our home is Childwall Woods, also a lovely place to walk after a hearty Sunday lunch.
 We can walk across the woods to our local church, Childwall Priory Parish Church, it is dated back to the fourteenth century when it was a Priory for an order of monks.
 Eventually it was extended and remains as the wonderful building it is now.
Just across the road is the  Old World Pub  called The Abbey, good place to meet the Parish priest for a pre dinner pint!

The local school two of our grandchildren attend is called Bishop Eton and is affiliated to the the Bishop Eton Monastery next door. This is a Roman Catholic faith School and the children have a fine education, as I can see, when I do homework and reading  with Olivia aged 8 and Christian age 5, Grandpa takes them to school 4 days out of the week and they  sometimes come home here for tea, which is always a riotous occasion as they let off steam after all the lessons and oral exercises in which they participate.
We have lived here for 27 years and although we really should downsize it would be such an awesome operation,  I don't think we could orchestrate it without heartache........
So, Perhaps we are destined stay here ! 

My thanks to the outstandingly   clever Denise Nesbitt for devising ABC Wednesday and the observant Roger  for his objective administration.        

N is for Neighbours

Neighbours

 Everybody needs good neighbours

 with a little understanding

 you can find the perfect blend

 Neighbours should be there for one and other

 That's when good neighbours become good friends.

These are the lyrics to the world renown soap opera
  'Neighbours' 
  It is based in Ramsey Street Australia,
The tales evolve round the comings and goings of the
neighbours, all very interesting and heart warming too!
Several of the character sprang to fame in the music industry
 including Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan.

We have wonderful neighbours and have shared many joyous occasions
 including special birthdays, Christmas and New Year parties and so on,

The most special neighbours are the family who live next door,

 'The Nygaards'
There are the two boys aged 22 and 17,
 then Mum and Dad Karl and Anna.

We've been friends for 21 years from the day they moved in when the elder son was just
 eighteen months old. Within a short space of time we would be invited around for meals,
 Anna is a lovely cook, she is half Italian and creates some stunning Mediterranean dishes.
When they visit us I often make one of my special Lamb Curries which they love,
 or even a good old British roast.

The Nicest time is the Summertime, then all kinds of Nocturnal events occur,  ladies rustling up delicious salads, bowls of steaming hot buttered New Potatoes with perhaps some marinated chicken or beef and king prawns.
 The menfolk stand around the Barbie having a beer and a good Natter and offering tips to the Notable  Chef de Barbie of that Night.
Naturally  the ladies will enjoy a few glasses of a Naughty little Napa Valley Rose.` 
    
We have a great little café called The Neighbourhood which serves all  sorts of delicious meals and snacks, people often meet there to discuss local issues too, which is important too my thriving Neighbourhood.........I really can't think  of a  Nicer place to live .  

.
My thanks to the Nurturing Mrs Nesbitt for making ABC Wednesday happen and the Noble Roger for Negotiating his way around and keeping us all Neat and tidy in our literary endeavours.
   












                              

M is for Mother love,

I cannot describe the joy I felt when my first daughter Kirsten was born, there was this tiny little being humming quietly, taking in her first breaths of humanity.

How did her daddy and I manage to create  such a model of perfection,  she had an auburn cast to her curly hair and the brightest blue eyes I ever did see.

My GP, (Doctor) was a Scotsman called  Murdoch McLeod,  he looked after me all through the pregnancy, His appearance was a bit scary, he  had a shock of red hair and huge bushy eye brows. 
Despite his scary appearance he was a marvellous Medical Practitioner.
For the first two weeks of Kirsten's life he would call round to make sure Mother  and Baby were making  good progress, I also had a Midwife looking after me,
 this was  during  the  70's  when there was such excellent  Care  in the Community,
 How things have changed ! 

My dear mother Margaret came to stay with us and she cooked marvellous meals,  to sustain the new Mum and Dad, whilst getting to know this tiny little miracle of birth.

There was a lovely song around then by Elton John and the first line was
  
'Blue eyes, baby's got blue eyes, like a deep blue sea watching over me'

I used to nurse my little miracle and sing this song  whilst feeding her, and she stared at me intently, with her beautiful blue eyes.

Moving Moments and Marvellous Memories

In the following years I gave birth to two  more little miracles, Ingrid and Astrid, thus making the family complete . 

Now we have our three Marvellous Daughters, who have produced four Mischievous grandchildren, two Pugs and five cats...thus, the........

. Making of our Marvellous Family.

My  thanks  to the  marvellous Mrs Nesbitt for creating  ABC Wednesday and the  merited  Roger for his administrative skills.

Love

I dedicate the lyrics of this lovely song to Leslie and Lorne   to celebrate their forthcoming marriage.

Love is lovelier the second time around 
Just as wonderful with both feet on the ground
It's that second time you hear your love song sung
Makes you think perhaps love,  like youth is wasted on the young

Love's more  comfortable the second time you fall 
Like a friendly home the second time you call
Who can say what brought us to this miracle we've found?
There are those who'll bet love  comes but once, and yet
I'm so glad we met the second time around.

Leslie and Lorne's  forthcoming marriage  brings to mind when my first marriage collapsed,

 
I found myself  alone with three adorable little girls  to raise, I didn't think I would fall in love again, yet I did,  just a year later....
We didn't marry for a few years as we wanted to go slowly so that the 'girls' would get used to Ian and him to them, We both maintained our own homes but spent weekends together until, one daughter asked Ian when he was going to marry 'our Mum' ? 
Whoosh ! It all happened then, engagement ring on finger and 10 months later we were married....27 years  on and still happy,

So, all best wishes dear  Leslie and Lorne for a long and loving marriage.


  My thanks to the Lovely Mrs Nesbitt for compiling  ABCWednesday and the lexical  Roger for being such a long suffering administrator