Today has been a fabulous day - not the day we expected by any means, but a fab day for many many reasons.
Let's start with last night first.
Nij came home from speedway with a huge - and I mean huge - basket of fruit as a thank you from someone he had helped.
It was packed with oranges, satsumas, apples, (several varieties) pears, bananas, grapes (red and black) kiwi fruit, damsons, passion fruit, figs, strawberries, melon, papaya, mango, kumquats and star fruit. Awesome. I had to pack some up for our ever lovely neighbours as there was no way we could begin to eat it all.
So I am replacing it as the photo of the day.

Anyway, Nij said they were queing for petrol when he came home at 10.30 p.m. so he went back out to fill up my car (the only car we have at the moment) as we were planning to go to London today to the Ideal Home Exhibition. We had planned to go Monday but then the tooth from hell struck so Thursday was the new plan. He came home half an hour later to say the queues were silly and one garage was already out of unleaded. We decided it was irresponsible to go to London as we may not get fuel to get allt he way home or it would leave us low. I was gutted as I had really been looking forward to it for over a month but heck - such is life. (He actually got up at 5.00 a.m. to try and get fuel but they were all closed and out of unleaded)
We decided instead to go to Gunwharf Quays. Well the best news ever was that I took morphine int he night but .... no morphine at all today and the pain is kept down just with ibuprofen so we have turned a corner. It appears the infection is now under control and I may live through it after all!!!! A day for real celebrations.
We celebrated with a bit of a shopping splurge as we both got some new summer goodies and we also had the first frapp in a week (yey!) and even ate out (slowly and very carefully)

We did have a bit of a glitch when the garage phoned and said when they were replacing the small component it sort of sheared off and the end disappeared and they thing it went into the main cylunder in the engine. This is the main Chrysler dealer and so it is all covered and even if it needs a new engine they will replace it but heck - why us eh! So his car is likely to be away for another week but they have now leant him a courtesy car which is a brand new jeep and actually quite cool.
I have new scrapping to share today - a brand new set of templates (actually several new sets of templates) by Dawn Inskip from her Scrapbookgraphics store.
Her templates are awesome - totally awesome - and I have had such fun with them. This page is another for our Paris album and is a picture from Sacre Coeur. It uses Creations Templates Volume 2 and items from the following kits and collections Promise, Hallelujah, Peace, Pony Club, Enchanted Garden, Kaleidoscope, Safari

Today I am thankful for
- pain free days
- summer sunshine
- a courtesy car
- fruit
- realtively normal eating
My one minute devotional calendar today is
It was a beautiful spring morning as I walked out to get the paper from the driveway. Mary, my next-door neighbor, was already working in her garden; flats of bright yellow marigolds lay nearby, ready to be planted.
A twinge of longing ran through me. Oh, how I wish I was planting flowers! I thought. But I had decided against it. My husband and I, newly married, were planning to buy a home. In the meantime, we were renting a small duplex that was landscaped with a few evergreen shrubs.
“Your flowers are beautiful!” I called out as I walked over to get a closer look.
“Thanks,” she said, as she picked up another flat of marigolds. “I bought these over at the high school. The horticulture students are selling them. You might want to pick some up. You can’t beat the price.”
“Thanks,” I said, “but we’ll be moving at some point, so it would really be a waste of time. But I’ve been planning the gardens I’ll have when we buy our own home—camellias, wisteria, lots of zinnias—so I can have fresh-cut flowers inside.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Mary said, as she dug a hole for the next flower. “It’s great to have plans for the future, but don’t forget about today. What a waste it would be to miss it.”
Mary was right. I was so busy planning tomorrow that I wasn’t fully living today. Later, while running errands, I stopped by the high school and bought a flat of marigolds. It was time for me—and a few spring flowers—to bloom where we were planted.
Keep me present, Lord, to appreciate and participate in Your daily gifts.
—MELODY BONNETTE
And this is what Val posted int he comments box yesterday
Last week I was in West London attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen. Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their uniforms, As they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) Was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, It hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red blooded Briton who still loves this country And supports our troops and their families. Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes Who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work, and enjoy our home without fear of reprisal. Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a young girl, Not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He knelt down and said 'hi,' the little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek. The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter’s name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Corporal and had been in Afghanistan for 5 months now. As the mum was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up. When this temporarily single mum was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a Kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying 'Your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.' The mum at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mum. I was standing no more than 6 feet away as this entire event unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of moment turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek. We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an Englishman. RED FRIDAYS Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Englishmen and women who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for Country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions. Many English people, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of Britain supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that every Briton who supports our men and women afar will wear something red. By word of mouth, press, TV, let's make Great Britain on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football team If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, It will not be long before Britain is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on. The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is...'We need your support and your prayers'..
Finally
Don't forget that there will be a blog hop on Saturday and Sunday and I will have a freebie to offer you. So make sure to visit so that you don't miss out.
