so that was January?

My pay is in the bank, so the month must be at an end, but where did it go?!  Between the horror of Gaza, the joy of the Obama Inauguration, two weeks off sick, the sad deaths of Tony Hart and Bill Frindall, the demise of Woolies, the worsening credit crunchy and subsequent difficulties for many, the announcement of the new runway at Heathrow,Chelsea imploding, teaching Pumpkin to sit up, exams for students,  Burns Night and getting the tax returns in on time at work, the month has flown by.

As for all the things I was going to achieve this month...bleh. I managed to get four pictures up on the walls, which is a start, but hardly dynamic.

So, can we start the year again? Please?!

250th Anniversary of Rabbie Burns' birth- start of The Homecoming

Shouldn't really let today go by without recording something. I'm not a huge fan of Burns the man- his morals left a lot to be desired, imho-but the 250th anniversary of his birth is the best marketing ploy the Scottish Government is likely to have for -well, presumably, another 250 years!

I do, however, enjoy his songs, especially the versions by Eddi Reader. Her voice is hauntingly beautiful. My current favourite is a song of unrequited love- written to one of the few women who refused to allow her relationship with Burns to go past the platonic stage, as she was married (but separated from her husband). After four years, she decided to attempt a reconciliation, and Burns wrote this.

Eddie Reader- Ae Fond Kiss.

Granny power...

I'm a Granny (actually, I prefer the English version, Nanny) although I do have a hard time comprehending this some days. My Nannies were old and wrinkled and opinionated and talked incessantly about how much better life was when they were children...oh, never mind....

ANYHOW, this Granny wins Granny of the month. Easily! 

just because....

I came across this quote today, and it made me think, and I wanted to share:

I didn't marry you because you were perfect. I didn't even marry you because I loved you. I married you because you gave me a promise. That promise made up for your faults. And the promise I gave you made up for mine. Two imperfect people got married and it was the promise that made the marriage. And when our children were growing up, it wasn't a house that protected them; and it wasn't our love that protected them—it was that promise.

- Thornton Wilder, from The Skin of Our Teeth