Where has Spring got to?

Ok, today is March 25th 2013, and the weather, even for the UK is atrocious!
This time last year it was lovely and warm, people were out on the beach, or in their gardens, all enjoying the sunshine.

Not this year.
This year is just one never-ending winter.

I shouldn't complain, after all, I live in the south-east, where we supposedly get better weather than the rest of the country. And compared to a lot of places, we have had it easy; a smattering of the white stuff on the grass and pavements, but the roads are clear, and we are not butied up to our necks in it. We also have been spared the floods that other parts have had.
This Friday is Good Friday, and the schools break up for the 2 week Easter hols. Evidently this crap weather is going to last into the holidays, so I'm not happy. Not that I'm going anywhere - chance would be a fine thing! - but it would be nice to anticipate sitting in the garden, basking in warm sunshine whilst listening to the sound of water pumping around the small fish pond. Instead I'll probably be stuck indoors, apart from venturing out for food supplies.

I haven't blogged for a while, so have taken the opportunity, whilst in the library at one of their computers, to write a few lines (my laptop is dead and I can't really do any writing on my Blackberry! My other half, Dave, is currently trying to revive one of our old, and I mean old, desk-top computers. If he can get it working it has internet and Word on it, so I will have no excuse not to blog, or to actually get on with my writing. Yes, I could write my stories long-hand, but it's easier to type. Truth be told, I'm probably too lazy to consider writing by hand and then bringing my stuff to the library to get typed up! 

And the thing with blogging is that I can just ramble about anything, and it means I'm actually writing something. Yay!

Anyway I only have about 20 minutes left on here - you only get an hour - so I'm going to surf the web! At 2.30 it's the Ingatestone Coffee and Crime Reading Group. I love being part of it, we have such a good laugh and the conversation usually turns smutty pretty fast. You wouldn't believe that most of the members are in their 60's and over! (I'm actually a youngster in this group, at 49!).

Am signing off now from Stuff N' Nonsense -

Till next time,

Ro.

Hello to Halloween!

Today my daughter and myself bought some Halloween decorations - window stickers, and 3 ceramic pumpkin candle holders.

We came home and immediately Cara put up the window stickers - bats, ghosts, flying witches, tombstones, haunted houses,etc.

When later on, my mum phoned and I told her, she thought we were mad! "It's not Halloween yet!"

So what? We don't wait until December 25th to put up our Christmas decorations, so why should Halloween be any different?

The outdoors will be decorated on October 31st, but until then, more will appear inside our magickal, witchy home!

Blessings, Ro.

What's Going On?

Testing testing ...

My blog page appeared on Twitter - think it happened when tried to post the link to my twitter profile, but not sure! Now I get a weird whitish page (admittedly with Ro Jordan on it) coming up when I want to look at my blog, but can't get to my proper page unless through  wwwblog-beast.blogspot.com.


Will see what happens now ...


Think I screwed up when trying to change look of background, and don't know how to get back to normal. If anyone sees this and has any idea what I've done, please tell me, and tell me how to put it right - I'm so confused!!!!!!!!1 

Hello out there!

Just a quick blog to report that I finally moved out of Navestock Side aka 'the middle of nowhere', and am now living in the lovely village of Ingatestone. We are still getting the house straight, and awaiting he arrival of our new sofa's early December.

The weather has been incredibly mild for the time of year, which suits me fine, as I'm averse to cold conditions! Not too happy to hear a severe winter is on the way though ...

We decorated the front of the house for Halloween, and only got 2 trick or treaters! Will have to advertise next year! We're tucked away, in a little alcove off the high street, so don't think anyone realised!

Anyway, that's all for now - need to go and replenish the kitchen cupboards!

Ro. xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In memory of Michael

Following on from my last post, I think another reason I felt compelled to write what I did, was because unknowingly at that time, a dear friend of ours took his own life. He had been the victim of antisocial behaviour from his neighbours, and obviously couldn't take any more. He had complained repeatedly to the council, who took the word of the rest of them against him. He was afraid to go home - there had been no physical violence - just the threat of it - and it all combined to unhinge his mind to the point where he was convinced he had been fitted with  a tracking device so they could watch his every move and 'get him' as he put it. The last time we saw him was just prior to Christmas - and then he disappeared. It was assumed he was sleeping rough, as despite frequent checks at his flat, there was no answer and never any lights on. When we asked the police and missing persons helpline for assistance we were told they could do nothing because we weren't relatives. Ironically it was the nasty neighbours themselves who alerted the police when they said there was a bad smell coming from his flat - that would have been about 5 weeks after Mick finally decided to end it all, and nobody knew because they wouldn't take notice of his friends who weren't family. Yet when Mick approached his BROTHER for help he was told to 'fuck off'.

Never mind, Mick, you're at peace now. No-one can hurt you.
God bless.
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A New Year

Hi folks, and wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy New Year! It's sad but true that it won't be either for some people - and unfortunately that's what you get for living on the physical plane. I try to view life as a learning process where sometimes the lessons are great fun and at others, they're just bloody awful and you can't wait for the bell to ring so you can go home! Now there's an analogy that makes me think of the poor souls who are so distraught that they take their own life. Whilst in my head I don't agree with this drastic way of ending a troubled life, it makes my heart ache for those who feel there is no other recourse. And who knows what any of us would do if we were to find ourselves in such a precarious position? A position of fear of not being able to cope with whatever we feel life is going to throw at us next. And that fear can show itself in many forms - financial, physical, romantic, social, spiritual, and many others. In all these areas I think we each need to feel that we are in 'a good place', and if there is a serious defecit in one it upsets the whole balance. It can be hard to see things from someone elses point of view if that particular area of your own life has never been affected in a negative way. Sympathy could be found for those who take such drastic action if we apply our own thoughts and actions of part of our own life's journey where we have felt at the end of our tether, and then apply that feeling to others. In my drama/theatre studies I learnt that what triggers a particular emotion for one person will have the opposite or no effect on another - to get the same 'feeling' you have to push a different button, so to speak. What I'm trying to say, if rather long-winded, is that at the end of the day, the emotions that are felt in desperate times are the same for everyone regardless of the event/events that caused it. Thank you if you've read this far; I didn't intend it to go this way, and have even left a couple of weeks after beginning this line of thinking to see if it would go - but it won't. For some reason I've felt compelled to write about this. I believe we are all connected on an invisible web, and that maybe one of you will read this and pass the thoughts to someone who has lost a loved one and is unable to understand why.

Blessings to all.

Now! Ironically, I was tagged by a couple of friends, to name ten things that don't cost money, that I'm grateful for - I think that was the gist of it - it's taken me so long to get on with this that can't remember the exact wording! Anyway, here goes:

1. My family. It hasn't always been an easy relationship, particularly with my Mum, but ever since someone suggested that there was no point dissing her for not being the maternal mom I thought she should be, to accept that maybe it was a simple fact that she couldn't be - for whatever reason. The moment I thought about it my heart instantly unlocked, and now we have such a good relationship. I can honestly say that I really and truly love my Mum, and I know that she loves me too! The one who gave me this gift did not know at the time how priceless it was. I told him later, and he knows he has my eternal gratitude!

2. Planet Earth for providing me with a home in the material world.

3. Inventors, past and present. They all take the building blocks of creation and mould it them into different things that make our lives easier.

4. Authors for writing their novels which give me hours of pleasure, and no, I'm not talking about erotic fiction!

5. All those involved in film and theatre.

6. The animal and plant kingdoms - esp. small furry things!

7. Hot English summers. Not something we get very often over here!

8. The sound of music - not the film of the same name, though!

9. My personal spiritual experiences. They serve to remind me that we are indeed eternal beings with a past and a future!

10. The gift of humour - nuff said!

No pics this time - just the message.

Blessings everyone, till next time!
Ro.

New Blog Name

Have decided to change blog name from Gramarye to Bitchin' Witch! The reason for this is that I don't always feel all goody two shoes, airy fairy and mystical! I would love to be one of those wonderful, otherworldy, interesting looking people who sail calmly through life with a beautific smile on my face parting words of spiritual wisdom. My reality however, is quite a different matter! I have a volcanic temper, and am not adverse to using extremely bad language when someone pisses me off - usually so that anyone with me is covering their mouth to stop themselves from laughing, and thinking I can't believe she said that!

I'm so into the look of the thing - a cross between gothic witch Nancy, from the movie The Craft


and the more traditional hedgewitch, brewing her potions in a cauldron on her kitchen stove!

                                                                                  

When we moved in to our house in rural Essex (obviously I named her - Gramarye - meaning 'magic and enchantment') I hoped to transform into the latter. Unfortunately for me, like the late, great John Lennon said, life is what happens when you're busy making other plans! Hence my reversion to the 'me' I can't seem to erase! What that is exactly, I can't quite put into words. Although, a  few years ago, I got sent one of these text things on my phone, and you had to forward it to your friends, asking them to describe you in one word. A friend I made at university texted back wild, while another wrote fey. They seem rather contradictory- just like me - obviously the Libran thing going on here! Anyway, John Lennon was a Libran (9 Oct) and he was into mystical stuff as well as being a bit of a rebel; leading peace rallies and so forth - even that in itself is a contradiction - so I feel I'm in good company!

                                                                         
Anyway, so that's where I'm at with my blog. I want it to be a forum for anyone who reads it to pop in and say what's going on in their own life - the good, the bad, and the downright ugly - don't hold back - let it all out!

With that,
Welcome to the Bitchin' Witch!    
       

Well, there's no time like the present, and it's now less than a week to Christmas Day. Are you ready? Have you bought all your prezzies and wrapped them up? Well if you have - good on you. Have I? Have I f***!
After finally wrapping the last of the presents on Christmas Eve every year, I promise myself to start shopping early for next time. And do I? What do you think? I mean, my promise is made with the best of intentions, but then all the bloody bills get in the way, don't they? And just when you  think  you're going to go and pick up some nice things for Christmas, what do you think happens? The poxy tumble dryer packs up, that's what happens. In this house anyway. And, then,  oh, yes, it gets better - you phone up the number on your insurance policy, only to find that because the bastards' forgot to remind you it was up for renewal only the month before, you're no longer insured,
                                                                                                                                             

but you can call someone out for £100 - and that's just to take a look at the thing and tell you what's wrong with it! So, clutching my bit of extra money close to my heart, we kindly refuted the offer, and called out a lovely bloke from the local repair shop for £35. Luckily it turned out all that had happened was that water had got onto the element and caused a short (that had been enough to wack out all our electric every time we tried to start up the dryer). It was easily rectified with  a blast of hot air from my hairdryer, and voila! we were up and running again! The total cost was £43 - the call-out plus vat. So it's 'up yours' to Domestic and General!

Back to the prezzie question - luckily we managed to get about half of them for our two bambini - I say luckily, because my mom (who lives in the West Midlands)  posted a cheque which took a week to arrive! Anyone would think it was posted from the other side of the world! Mind you, the British postal service - or should that be none-service? - leaves a lot (of mislaid post) to be desired. To add insult to injury, when the cheque was banked, we were told it may not clear until Christmas Eve. What bloody good is that to me???? I'll be running around like a headless f****** chicken and still not get it done, because all the bloody shops'll close early! The best I can offer the bambini is a possible two grand openings of prezzies, but they're not looking very impressed, so fingers crossed that the cheque clears in time for me to hit the shops!
Well, I think that's enough ranting for now,

A happy and stress-free Christmas to you all,
            

lotsa luv,

Ro.
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