I received a letter today from Spain and it reminded me of the reason why I initially registered for this blog.

My eldest daughter had started one as she was going to Sri lanka for a month and wanted to write a blog to keep us informed of what she was getting up to. It was June, and blog.co.uk were wanting founder members so I thought I would register just in case I may want to do the same thing one day.
I didn't really start this blog with the intention of rambling on about 'Greeting,' it just evolved that way!

No, I was going on a 'mini' adventure of my own.

As you will see in my list of interests I attend a Spanish language class once a week which is run by the U3A (The university of the third age) a voluntary organisation run by and for retired (or Over 50s in part-time work) people. There are about ten of us in the group and academic excellence is not a priority (fortunately!) , nevertheless we are a mixed bunch and nod along together nicely.
Would you believe I am the baby of the group at a mere 57 years old and the oldest is nearly eighty!
Anyway another group member,Marj,a lady aged about 73 has a long standing friendship with a spanish lady who lives in the city of Valladolid who in turn knows a family who live in the countryside in a Finca between two villages about 40 kilometres outside the city. Marj's spanish friend had wrote to her mentioning that this family would like an English person to go stay with them purely so that they can speak and practice their English. Marj didn't want to go as the family comprised of parents, grandparents and children and she didn't think that she could be at ease around children so she asked the rest of the class if anyone wanted to go.
" Me, me, me "I heard myself say with my hand in the air, forgetting that I was already going to Granada for a holiday with T'old man in a couple of weeks time. "Oh yes" said Marj "you would do splendidly as you are quite chatty" (You would be chatty too if you were a bloody store greeter ) and that is what the family want. They had a student to stay last year but it didn't work out.
To cut a long story short, communications were established (I sent them a passport photo and a brief biog) and I was invited to stay for a month! I could only go for two weeks as it happens 'cos of the job and having a husband at home who incidently had no objections.

So I had a blog, I wrote my first entry on the 27th June and I've reprinted it below.

2005-06-27 @ 20:01:09 by isadora101

Valladolid Here I Come!

Well, only three days to go now before I board the 11.55 train to Kings Cross. I'm half packed so if I don't pack any more I'll get by. First stop St Albans to see one of my oldest friends. T'old man thinks I use her as an excuse to go tripping off but I know different. True I am visiting her more often lately but there won't be that many more times,for sure.
Friday i'll be on the train again to Stanstead airport to revel in 4 star hotel luxury before heading off to Valladolid on saturday.
I am excited and just a little bit apprehensive as I have never stayed with a spanish family before although I am sure they will be very nice as most spaniards that I have met are very friendly. I think they are taking a bigger risk than me as they are taking me into their home and I could be a right wally!!

In my next post I will dig out some photos of my time there and write an overview of how it was.

It's funny how things can easily be misinterpretated.
e.g.
The other day whilst at work I noticed four boys aged about 10 or 11, they were inside the store near the toilets next to the clothing department. I recognised them from other visits they had made and knew them not as particularly bad boys just a little mischievous. They enjoy 'winding up' the Greeter so they hid behind a Pillar and kept popping their head backwards and forwards giving the illusion that they were up to no good.

Now one of the roles of a Greeter is to interact with customers, to help those who need it and to Jolly everyone along, each customer responds in their own individual way, so, as it wasn't very busy and I was a little bored I decided to stroll over to them and have a little banter.

I said...."Now then Lads are you shopping today?"
Boy said.."Yes, we're gonna buy some sweets"
I said"..."Right, the sweets are over there in the other direction"
Boy said.." We'll be off in a minute we are just waiting for our mate coming back from the toilet"
I said...."Oh well, while you're waiting for him, wave to that camera (pointing to ceiling) so we know you're here.lol.
The lads appeared to think that this was a fun thing
and enthusiastically waved to the light fitting, we all laughed and I returned to the foyer.

Approximately one hour later a manageress approached me to say that there had been an irate mother on the phone complaining about the fact that I had suspected the boys of stealing, made them wave at the cameras and that our Security staff had monitered them as they went around the store.
I explained to the manageress that the security cameras were not even positioned where the boys had stood and that if I thought they were going to steal I would certainly not have asked them to wave but would have discreetly notified Security to monitor them! It was only a bit of fun , I always have a bit of fun with the Kids.
Nevertheless I was reprimanded and told that I must NEVER but NEVER ask any one to wave at the cameras (ceiling as it happens).
I suppose it's not a big deal really but if my natural northern wit is to be stifled to such a degree that I daren't have a bit of fun with 10 year old lads then I wonder just how much longer I can deal with "The public at large".

Did the boy tell his mother the tale the same as she had interpreted it? Did he tell it how it actually was and she had misinterpreted it or had the manageress misinterpretated it and blown it out of proportion.
Or, have I blown it all out of proportion!

It made me wonder just how easy it could be be to misinterpret comments made and received on blogs due to different senses of humour or if a point is not made clear due to it being short and sharp, I'll have to be careful, (or am I just paranoid now).

Anyway moving on,

I redeemed myself during my shift yesterday as I successfully notified Security about an impending 'Push-Out' (An East European woman tried to walk out the door with a fully loaded trolley full of groceries without paying.) She was apprehended but played dumb, she couldn't understand English! a bit like my manageress

Last week whilst I was at work in ye old supermarket a little frail old lady walked through the doors looking somewhat upset and confused. We quite often get little old ladies popping in alone in search of a friendly chat so I was not too concerned. She sat down at a table in the customer restaurant not far from where I was stood so I politely asked her if she was alright.
She became a little agitated and said that she had been sat outside in the cold for half an hour waiting for a youth to return to her with a £1 coin which she said he had borrowed and promised to return to her pronto.
I got her a cup of tea and tried to explain to the old dear that, sad though it is, we do have an element of unscrupulous youths who hang around the car park looking for mischeif(yes, we do move them on if spotted) and that it was very unlikely that she would see her £1 coin again. She didn't seem to quite grasp what I was saying and got even more upset which I put down to the realisation of being duped (albeit only £1).
At this point as the store was quite busy I decided to call for one of our female security staff who also happened to be a first aider.
After further discussion between the Old lady and security staff it was decided that the store would reimburse her with The £1 and after further deliberation it was decided that a Porter would make sure she got on the correct bus home. Job done, nothing to worry about then.

About an hour later a respectable middle-class couple went to the customer service desk looking decidedly worried...had any one seen their mother, a frail looking woman, they had lost her, they had left her in their car whilst they did their big shop,the car door wasn't locked so she couldn't have gone very far as she didn't have any money... only.. she suffers from Alzheimer's disease and they really ought to find her.
Embarrassment prevailed as it was explained to them that she had been given a pound coin and had caught the bus into town. Did they want us to call the police and ask them to look for her? "No" they said "we will go to the bus station ourselves" and they dashed off.
Apparently they found her safe and well sat on a seat in the bus station, probably just about to relate another tale to an unsuspecting passerby!

I have tried to work out who was to blame for the mishap (fortunately no real harm done).
Was it our Staff who sent her on her way (no malice intended) or was it the middle aged couple, for leaving her in their unlocked car in a busy supermarket car park, they obviously didn't think it was safe to leave her at home so surely if they had taken the effort to bring her out with them the most sensible thing to do would be to borrow a store wheelchair and take her around the store.

Customers are forever complaining about the haste that hot cross buns appear on sale straight after xmas. Why?
I'd have thought that after all the seasonal rich food that has been consumed most folk would be glad for something quite basic. They are only a fruit breadbun with a couple of lines of batter piped on top after all, why get so stressed out over saving them for Easter.
There's no such thing as sacred food in supermarkets nowadays!

Hot Cross buns have taken pride of place at the front of the store for the last three weeks but have now been banished back to the bakery aisle after their initial post Xmas sales boost has gone into decline.
Taking their place at the coveted spot in the foyer we now have suitcases.
Luggage is a seasonal line and used to appear around April/May time, so does this mean that the Great British Public are taking more winter holidays than they used to, it surely does as the supermarket would certainly not waste their best 'selling space' for a product nobody wants.
Judging from the upsurge in activity at the 'Instore Travel Agent' lately then the answer is a resounding YES.

With the climate in this country who can blame them!
Assuming they are all going to warmer climes of course.

Wheee....The Bob the Builder ride has been replaced by a new sit and ride toy, a brand new Fire Engine.
The kids like it a lot and the parents prefer it as the Fire Engine can carry two 'brats' oops...I mean little treasures for the same price, a bargain 'two for the price of one'.
I like it 'cos it doesn't make a lot of noise (just a faint siren in the background) and I don't have to listen to that blooming Bob the Builder song any more!

Scoop, Muck and Dizzy
and Rolly too
Lofty and Wendy
join the crew
Bob and the gang have so much fun
Working together
they get the job done!

(chorus)
Bob the Builder
Can we fix it?
Bob the Builder
Ye..........
NO WE BLOODY WELL CAN'T!!!!!

Grasp those opportunities while you can you never know what's around the corner.

This month was going to be the turning point for me and T'old man, this was going to be the time when we packed our bags and toured around South America for three months. the kids are off our hands, we're debt free and the company I work for allows it's employees who are over 50 to take up to 12 weeks unpaid leave between the months of January and March.
We had a practise run last year when I took 5 weeks off in jan/feb and we headed off down to Southern Spain but this year we were going to go to South America; ever since T'old man worked in Venezuela in the late 1970's he has promised himself that he would go back and explore other parts of South America one day.
So this was it, this was when we would do it....
WRONG!
Illness struck and hubby's not fit for travel or anything else for that matter and probably won't be for another 6 or 7 weeks; i've still requested 5 weeks leave from work though, from the end of feb 'til the end of March so perhaps we will still manage to get away even if it is Spain again (don't fancy venturing outside the E.U. just now in case of unforseen medical problems).

I'll bet you know someone,as I do,who literally dropped dead within a short time of retiring, having spent their whole working life,saving and looking forward to their 'Golden Years' to no avail; or others who suffer from debilitating illnesses and bide their time in front of a crossword puzzle rather than being off enjoying the rewards of their labour now they have got the time.
WELL ITS NOT GONNA HAPPEN TO US.
I must find the courage to carry out my convictions, I just hope we haven't left it too late.

In the meantime I'll carry on dreaming and reading some of my favourite blogs (travelogues)
Two I enjoy are :-

Chris Hurling in South America
www.chrishurling.blog.co.uk

South America on a Shoestring
www.belandkeithabroad.blog.co.uk

Nice young people who are following their dreams whilst they are still young.

I am an avid non-smoker who is very pleased smoking is banned in my supermarket restaurant (as I have to stand at the edge of the open plan restaurant for hours at a time), I hurridly shoo away anyone who attempts to light up in the foyer area, sometimes receiving nasty comments in response.
In the corner of the staff canteen there is a seated,sealed box-like unit where fellow colleagues can indulge in their addiction and slowly kill themselves if they so desire.

so that's my position in the work place.

I hasten to add that I do think that it is "hard cheese" that a smoker may soon not be able to enjoy a cigarette in the pub along with their pint; where there's food, yes, a ban, but otherwise ?.

There was a quote in todays New York Times which made me wonder if this is the way to go!

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"It's the only place around that I can drink coffee and read the papers and smoke my cigarettes anymore"
BOB KITTRELL, a customer at a NEW tobacco lounge in Chicago.

"Priorities must prevail" as T'old man would say and seeing as he has just been discharged from hospital after suffering a rough ten days he is now convalescing at home with yours truly playing nursemaid. What with other commitments, work etc., hiding away in my little box room with the computer has had to go on the back burner.
Now I've managed to sneak up here, what to write?

I know I'll tell you about my vegetable soup.
Every week I make homemade soup; there's no telling what type or flavour it will be as it all depends on the glut of veg left over in the produce department at the supermercado where I work. I take full advantage of the whoopsies (mark downs) which are usually being done around the time I finish my shift, I'm very selective and only purchase those which are still in a good state.(having a friend in the produce dept usually helps with the quality control). Some times there is an abundance of root vegetables e.g carrots and parsnips or maybe there are leeks or celery and quite often I manage to get red or green peppers at a knock down price.
I always make sure that in my larder I have garlic, lemon juice, stock cubes (various), worcester sauce, onions and always a tin or two of chopped tomatoes; this ensures that whatever veg I bring home I can knock up a soup of some description!

As I said at the beginning of my post my husband is convalescing after an operation so the night before he came home I set about making a soup for him, I had onions,carrots and peppers so with tinned tomatoes I made a sort of mediterranean style soup. My hubby likes his soup chunky but I decided to make it smooth to aid his digestion!
Here are the before and after pics.

BEFORE AND AFTER

---

Whilst surfing the net I came across these photos of Albino Peacocks, one of which is now my profile pic, I thought it was really beautiful (I didn't realise there were albino peacocks) so I thought the purity of white would make a change.

My youngest daughter did something yesterday that she rarely ever does; she bought me a lovely bunch of tulips, presented them to me and said "these are for you mum you look like you needed cheering up". Bless.

So it wasn't all for nothing then, the last 22 years of pampering,cosseting and nurturing.

P.S.
As both of my daughters read this blog occasionally, from the point of view of fairness I would like to add that my eldest daughter (age 35) has frequently bought me flowers and has been great this week acting as a taxi service to take me to the hospital to visit T'old man.

Dictionary definitions of adversity

1..A state of hardship or affliction.
2..Trouble, misery, misfortune.
3..A calamitous event

As, (unlike in other parts of the world) I am lucky enough to have enough money to live comfortably with no chance of me ever going hungry or without a warm bed to sleep in, the most severe forms of adversity are unlikely to affect me so the only times I will have to work hard on one of my new year's resolutions will be in the event of any unforseen calamitous events and the milder forms of adversity e.g dealing with ignorance/rudeness or when illness strikes.

Therefore while I can take comfort in the fact that Adversity will (hopefully) not come knocking too often this year I would just like to share a few quotations from well known people about ADVERSITY.

If you're going through hell, keep going - WINSTON CHURCHILL

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that he didn't trust me so much - MOTHER TERESA

You can't run away from trouble. There aint no place that far - UNCLE REMUS

Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers - GARTH BROOK

You may not realise it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you - WALT DISNEY

Turn your wounds into wisdom - OPRAH WINFREY

There's a bit of magic in everything, and some loss to even things out - LOU REED "magic and loss"

Things are never so bad they can't be made worse - from the movie AFRICAN QUEEN

To have become a deeper man is the privilege of those who have suffered - OSCAR WILDE

Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes, and adversity is not without comfort and hopes - FRANCIS BACON

There is no education like adversity - DISRAELI

Here's another two quotes that are maybe not completely relevant.

It's going like the clappers down below - T'OLD MAN (four days after an illeostomy reversal op)

It's plain sailing from now on then - DAUGHTER NO.1 (in reply)

c.u soon Isadora X

My husband had a quite serious bowel operation 17 months ago, things went OK but we have had a very long and frustrating wait for the closure on this episode of our life as he needs a follow up operation before we can get completely back to normal.
Things bode well for 2006 because he's hopefully having this operation done next week.
So my resolutions for 2006 are :-

To always smile in the face of adversity

To develop my ability to believe and to dream.

I don't know if I'll be able to sustain them though but I'll do my best.