Here we are in the middle of September 2011; I hadn't realised that I hadn't put anything on my blog for over a year, not that there's been anything particularly interesting happening to me.

Apart from illness and hospital stays, the main highlight of the year was spending two weeks with our daughter and family when they came over from CA for two weeks vacation.

They hired a couple of very nice houses, one for a week in the Cotswolds, a lovely part of the country and the second one near Oxford, a house we stayed at last year as well. Both had very large gardens and lots of land around them too. Tennis court, pool, bikes and 6 acres of land at the first one and the second one had a tree house, trampoline, quad bike and indoors a piano. The kids loved it.

The weather was mostly fine and warm and the kids were able to to run around and use up some of their boundless energy.

The first house had a heated swimming pool where everyone (except me!) spent an hour or more each day, following that with half an hour in the hot tub before returning to the house.

Our son-in-law likes to cook, so apart from making myself a drink now and again, I had no responsibilities in that department. Then each evening about 6 pm, daughter and I were served a glass of champagne ..... about the only tiime in the year that I drink alcohol.  I could get used to that you know.

We had two trips to CA in 2009, one in March when I was able to go to the Las Vegas QMB reunion, something I enjoyed so much; and the second time was to spend Christmas with our grandkids ..... oh boy was that noisy! I couldn't believe it when I saw that our daughter had bought the kids a set of drums!! My poor ears!

Unfortunately trips to CA will be on hold for a couple of years, because I can't get travel insurance since my health problems earlier this year. I'm hoping that if I don't have any more hospital stays in the  next 2 years, that I will be accepted by an insurance company for another trip before we get too old. DH is a real grouch when it comes to airports, he'll only get worse the older he gets LOL..... he'll be 80 next year, but he runs round like a young lad, I think he still thinks he's 21!!!

I told you there was nothing interesting going on in my life, so I'll take myself off to bed and leave everyone in peace.

It's been a very long time since I've been in here, I'm too busy going elsewhere on the computer.

I haven't had much personal contact with red hatters for a while, apart from the QMB reunion in Las Vegas, which I enjoyed immensely. DH's illness and convalescense  in 2008/2009 and the subsequent effect on me, meant that I missed several UK events, which makes me feel that I have "lost my way" so to speak.

Happily, I get much pleasure in the contacts I have made via the computer.

What an amazing tool the internet can be in helping people keep in touch, no matter where in the world we may be. Apart from the idiots who like to create problems for us!

There has been such a massive change in the world in the last 100 years. Anyone wanting to cross the Atlantic at the beginning of the 20th century, was in for a 5 or 6 day journey by sea, now we zoom across the miles in the same number of hours.

People leaving home to seek their fortune in foreign lands, would sometimes not be heard of again for many months or even years. Any letters they wrote could take weeks or even months to be delivered to those left behind, now, letters are now referred to as snail mail because it can take a few days to get here, but in this electronic age, contact  can be made via the ether in a few seconds or minutes. Amazing.

Imagine what our ancestors would have made of this "science fiction"

Go back a few more hundred years and the inventors would have probably been burnt at the stake as witches or warlocks. LOL. There's a thought, send all the virus inventors back there!! 

The sad part of all the progress in the last 100 years or more, is that human beings have cause a great deal of harm to this planet that we live on and now, we have Stephen Hawkins pointing out that if the human race isn't to become extinct, it will have to master the difficulties of space travel, so that they can find another world to inhabit ....... and ruin??

Of course I won't be here to see if this comes about, but as I am interested in my family tree, I can't help wondering what the future will hold for my descendants.