Musings ........ (I hope I can think of a more interesting title - something more interesting to grab readers interests going forward....)

Preface

Life is good.  I mean, life is really good, really really good.  Who’d have thunk it, 15 years ago when I think I was at my lowest point that I would be where I am today.  My brain is buzzing and I don’t know where to start.  I’ve been sat in the bath, turning into a prune, face pack on (trying to turn back the years) and thinking all these fabulous thoughts about where I’ll begin and how I’ll start.  In the end, it boils down to this…..  A couple of vodka and tonics and two large glasses of wine and now my brain refuses to switch off.  Hence my ramblings now and what I intend to do and how I am going to go forward.

It all started with the QM2.  I had promised on a cruise web site that once we set sail on our holiday of a lifetime on the QM2 I would write about my daily travellings, my thoughts and what I was doing.  To me, it was a great way of remembering, so I could look back one day and rather than the general amnesia that I suffer from now, I could read and clearly remember what was so special about that holiday and why every moment should be savoured.

While on our cruise, every day I religiously sat on the bed, lap top on my lap (where else?) and wrote. I wrote about everything that occurred, both that which occurred in my head and that which was factual, and the funny thing is I enjoyed sitting down each night and writing it down.  Each night I would religiously download my “blog” onto the blog website telling all who cared to read, all about my day and just how wonderful life was on the QM2. 

The response was fantastic, never in a million years did I imagine that people would read and enjoy and post some lovely comments on the board and send lovely emails to my personal email address which were so encouraging.  When I read the posts the next day I was inspired to continue writing and actually found that I was enjoying it.  The posts were a great motivation to me to carry on writing. 

Surprisingly, my biggest motivation to carry on writing came from my father in law.  Despite our ups and downs we do get on famously [ now ].  At first a guarded relationship, then a tempestuous relationship (we are both very like minded and like our own way and we love to be right) but ultimately our relationship now boils down to a mutual respect tempered by a kinship brought about by life’s ups and downs and the realisation that we are both good people.  It kills me to say it, but I admire his intellect, I quite like his argumentative nature, and often we spar (usually over something as simple as a game of cards) but then it comes back to the good natured banter that makes life so interesting.

I have to say also that without my mother in law I’m pretty sure that my relationship with my father in law would have flown the nest long ago.  I’m sure some would argue the toss with me here, but I have to say without a doubt, I think I have one of the best mother-in-laws that god created.   Stoic, funny, thoughtful and caring.  She brings the family together.  When everyone else around her is failing to see the good in anything, she is the one that brings everyone together with her good (and sometimes really silly) sense of humour – no-one can fail to bring a wry grin to their face when my mother in law cracks one of her jokes.  My mother in law is the rock on which the family is based.

Right, in order to be really silly and protect everyone’s personal lives I’m going to call my father in law Fred and my mother in law, Wilma.  From here on in, it will be Fred and Wilma to which I refer to my out-laws.

Anyway.  Phone conversation tonight (Friday 24 September 2010) with Fred. 

Fred:     So Penny, when are you going to download some more on your blog, I miss not having something to read.

Penny:  Ha, right, whatever………………. Get a life Fred.

Fred:     No seriously, [ said without any exaggeration ] I think you write well and you should carry on.

Penny:  Ha, right, whatever……………..

Fred:     Penny, you should carry on writing you do write well………….

(OK, memory may be a bit fizzy here as I’ve had the benefit of a few vodkas and a couple of red wines and I do like to think the best of people so I’m giving Fred the benefit of the doubt here)

Penny:  Yup OK, I did actually enjoy writing the blog each night, and I enjoyed posting about Hurricane Igor, but now there’s nothing else to write about, I mean, life is so boring at the moment……….. work, bed, work, bed, clean, iron… work, bed……

Fred:     Well,  how about a travel blog…?

Penny:  Funds won’t run to a life of permanent holidaying, alas if only………

Fred:     Well, what about just writing a story of your life?

Penny:  Boring *yawn*…..

Fred:     No seriously, you’ve travelled a lot, Hong Kong, Cayman, Bermuda, America, your honeymoon where you invited us along (that’s another story………….  remind me to relate this to you and how the out-laws came to be on our honeymoon)

Penny:  hmmmmm, Fred, you might have a point.  I do enjoy sitting down each night and typing up my memoires, although it will involve a lot of alcohol as I find my best musings come about through an alcohol induced daze – it invokes a witty repartee that doesn’t come naturally when sober.

Fred:     What have you got to lose, you should do it, and you’ll enjoy it. [cheering in the background from Wilma!]

Penny:  OK I’ll think about it, although I think you’re right I would enjoy it, I love to waffle, to put it in print to look back on later when I’m old and senile would be great, and just think, the grand kids would love to know that they come from a complete line of nutters………………….. (would be good to blame it on their blood line rather than just their mother)

Fred:     OK, go away and write a plan, start from the beginning and make bullet points of each point of your life and you’ll be surprised at how the memories come flooding back to you.

Penny:  OK, yup, sounds good……………………..

After much chit chat on the phone we hung up and I went for a soak in the bath.  

Bloody Hell!! Since that call, my mind hasn’t stopped buzzing.

I’m like......., so enthused, Yes, I can do this, I’m good, It won’t suit everyone’s tastes but if our grandchildren can look back, read this and realize that their nana wasn’t a senile old bat sitting in her rocking chair but actually had a life, how cool would that be? 

How cool would it be if I could read about my nana’s life and her thoughts and deeds, I would realize that she wasn’t just an old woman who I loved but someone with an adventurous life, going from World War I, World War II and thereafter, including the 50’s, 60’s 70’s and onwards till her death five years ago.  My Nan had a fab saying “You younguns, you think you invented sex!”  She’s so right.  Life didn’t begin when I hit 17, nor did it start when our daughters hit 17, none of us invented youth, it’s been there since life began.  Yes, even the 80 and 90 year old people you see on the street, they were once professionals who fell in love for the first time, had their ups and downs, argued with their parents, saw friends come and go, relationships start and finish and their parents and friends/acquaintances pass on.  The realisation is this.  None of us lives forever.  It is up to us to pass on our knowledge and history.  Who knows, perhaps in 1000 years time, I could be as famous as Tutankhamen (except he had to rely on others [ slaves of which I have none ] to write his history).

I have to conclude, I could go one but I fear that none of us would have the will to live if this goes on much longer.

Conclusion

Life is good.  I mean, life is really good, really really good. 

I have vowed now to write a chapter as and when the mood takes.  I can’t promise to write every night, but I am inspired (thanks Fred and Wilma).  In concluding I must also thank the person that makes me most happiest in life and without whom I wouldn’t be where I am today, nor would I be in the frame of mind that I am tonight to write this……….

I dedicate this blog going forward to my stalwart.  Thank god he inherited Wilmas beautiful personality and Fred’s ability to do business.  Without Fred and Wilma he wouldn’t be here today.  He is of course their son – Bam Bam.

Bam Bam is my rock.  I have been married to him for 10 years and they have been, so far, the best 10 years of my life with any one man.

On that note and after having introduced you to some of the players in my life, I will conclude by saying that, whether or not you enjoy my musings, it has been cathartic to start writing.  (rather continue writing).

I’ll be back………………..

Hurricane Igor - Finally moved on

Well I'm back............ further to my last post before we lost power...

We finally lost power at 11.30 p.m. on Sunday evening - we were so lucky as a lot of people lost power a lot earlier.  Fortunately I was in bed and "sound O" by the time it went off and woke about 2 a.m. feeling very very hot and realised as I couldn't see my hand in front of me that we had lost power.  Fortunately I had a torch beside my bed and was able to negotiate a path out of the bedroom downstairs to get some water.  The wind was howling outside and was pretty scary and when I went out to take a look (from my sheltered viewpoint) we had two fences down around our property - one which i predicted would go and another which was pretty sheltered but obviously not as strong as it looks and which overlooks an 8 - 10 foot drop - remind me never to lean on that one again!

In order to aid sleep so that I could be fit enough to face the next day I popped one of my "emergency only" sleeping pills - I could never have fallen asleep without it as it was so hot and sticky.

The next day was calm, although still very gusty and we took our refugee home to the other side of the island.  Thankfully from what we saw there was no/to minimal structural damage.  The worst of the damage was caused by trees down, a lot of debris laying around making a drive along South Shore very slow indeed.  We were unable to take Hilary directly to her home as her road was totally blocked off by fallen trees but were able to take her along another road which had a hedge (now miserably thin) that she was able to crawl through to get to her house.

Driving back we detoured into Hamilton town centre.  There again a lot of debris lying around but already clean up was happening.  The ferry terminal took a bit of a battering and the tarpauline to protect passengers from rain has been shredded.  I did take photos but as I am now at work I don't have time to do this but will download tonight - although I'm pretty sure that most of you that have been kind enough to follow my blog will have seen photos on other web sites and news groups.

Hubby went into work around 11'ish to get the IT systems back up and running and I stayed at home, cleared the garden of all the debris - pruned my sad looking trees right back as they had been wind lashed and looked very sorry for themselves.  Without electricity and with very little to keep me occupied I went up and joined the neighbours in clearing a path through our road.  Amazing when everyone comes together how quickly things can return to normal.  I then passed the day by dunking myself in a very cold bath to cool off and took a book and fell asleep reading it!  I also polished off the remaining ice-cream in the fridge and have survived on a diet of weetabix (to use up the milk) and hummus and chips! not very healthy and I now have to get my backside into gear and work some of it off now I have no excuses.

Justin and I took a drive later that day after he returned home to get some dinner as one of the local grill restuarants was open - needless to say it was very busy!  When we walked back into our house we were greeted to the gentle hum of the ceiling fans, fridge freezer and air con and a lot of flashing lights off of the microwave, oven and digital clocks! hurrah, we were one of the lucky ones and had only lost power for approx 18 hours.

We received another call from our resident refugee to say that she still had now power at her home so of course, she joined us for another night at Chez Cornelli with full aircon and hot water facilities.  If this continues we will of course have to start charging a nightly fee :O) 

We all had an early night again last night (Monday) and now Tuesday, we are nearly back to normal.  The latest estimate puts people without power at 4'400 which is nothing short of a miracle - BELCO have been absolutely brilliant in getting power back on so quickly.

Anyway, must crack on with work but will update with more of what's been happening in Bermuda post storm when I get home tonight when I can also download some more photos.

Cheers

Penny

Rescue mission (of sorts)..........

Our friend Hilary who lives on her own and is living in Warwick finally admitted she would rather be here with friends than on her own in her little house (the one with the flooded kitchen)  so Justin and I decided we would take the car and go pick her up - we have a convertible, so you can imagine I was a wee bit nervous about going as the winds are quite strong out there.  When we went up to pick up Hilary we had to walk part of the way as her road is totally blocked off with a tree so it was a hike up a steep hill too pick her up and take her back to the car.

The damage along the roads isn't too bad but it's still quite heavily littered with leaves, trees but so far, touch wood, no structural damage (that we can see).  There are a lot of electricity wires whipping around in the wind that we have been careful to avoid - not sure whether they're live or not but not prepared to take any chances.

We are so lucky to still have electricity - latest estimates are 60% of the island without power now.  Hilary and I have both just had a shower (got to make the most of it before the power goes) so feel cool, fresh and raring to go with wine in hand - actually, I feel a bit guilty about saying this as so many will now be miserable, hot and fed up and with hours to go before BELCO comes along to repair their connection.  To the powers that be out there - I am truly grateful to be living in this lovely house, with a lovely landlord and a great electricity supply (touch wood so far)!

I have attached here some photographs of a place called Boaz Island which is near dockyard, they've been hit pretty hard with the rain and have a bit of flooding!

Phew..........

For one brief moment there we lost power, just as I was publishing the last post.  Fortunately we are back on again, it was just a brief blip and we are lucky to still have power.  The PC didn't like it though and we came up with a few error messages and thankfully, being married to an IT man, he was able to restore the PC to normal service.

We have just set the aircons to super cool mode in the event that our power does go down, we want our rooms and more importantly the bedrooms to be as cool as possible before we lose power.  It is so sticky and humid here at the moment

Whilst he was doing that I thought I would take a photo of our hurricane preparedness supplies:

In order of importance, wine, vodka, candles, leg of lamb (friends), corona for the landlord (his favourite drink) should he be up to connect us to the generator, chips and hummus and of course more ice-cream :O)

Justin has just advised that half the island is now without power - we really are the lucky ones.

a bit later on:

I have a craving for a McVities Chocolate Biscuit - despite all my pleadings and rants Justin refuses, I mean, refuses to go out and get me some................. :o(

Hurricane Igor - Sunday 19 September - snippets Part II

Hi guys, greetings from the Cornell household in windy Smiths parish.  I took the opportunity of a bit of down time to take a kip/40 winks/nap/siesta as I've a feeling tonight will be a long night..........

It is now officially "Wine O'Clock" and I've just poured myself a nice glass of red wine and am eating a twix - chocolate and wine......... hmmmmm my favourite combination.

The wind is really something out there at the moment, I realised as I woke up that it wasn't as noisy as when I went to bed and when I came downstairs - realised that this was due to the fact that the strong winds are now constant rather than intermittent.  It really is crazy out there and we are going nowhere, we are staying put so no more photographs until perhaps the eye of the storm, but that is due to hit late tonight but we'll do what we can.

It seems that of all of our group of friends we are now the only ones with power.  The news has reported that BELCO (our electricity providers) have now all been stood down and no more repair work will take place until it is safe to do so - which I can totally understand.  It is treacherous enough just stepping outside my front door, but I couldn't imagine anyone having to work out there just to get someones' electricity up and working.  A big shout out to the BELCO guys who thus far have done a fab job and will no doubt be taking a lot of flack over the next few days as people are without power.

My friend Hilary has reported she is without power and that her kitchen flooded, I bet this is from rain water through the door - but she too has a good landlord who has boarded it up - let's hope it's not a permanent fixed board in the event she needs to get out in an emergency as it's the only way in/out for her!

The power keeps flickering and I've a feeling in my bones that it won't be long before we lose power, I'm typing away as fast as I can here to get written down everything that I can before it goes.

Hurricane Igor - Sunday 19 September - snippets as I make it through the day

11.00 a.m. - happy to report that I didn't miss a single episode of Coronation Street (2 and a half hours of it) this morning as cable and electricity still working fine.  Not so happy to report that I had no excuse not to hit that big pile of ironing that has been sitting there post cruise waiting for me to tackle it.

11.45 a.m. - Have been given a lot of packaged meat by friends who don't have the benefit of a wonderful landlord who has passed as an extra long extension lead in the event the power goes out. He has a generator and has promised to hook us up if the power goes so that we can keep the fridge/freezer going.

Was thinking of telling Trish and Neil that our power went and unfortunately the landlords generator didn't work and that we had to cook all the meat on the bar-b-q in order not to waste it - do you think our [ good ] friends will fall for it or will I get caught out with lamb and mint sauce spilled down the front of my shirt!

12.00 - Have decided not to risk relying on the landlords generator so have polished off tub of Haagen Daaz ice-cream sat in the freezer with my name on it - now feel quite ill.  Not exactly healthy eating - but this is of course an emergency and in this day and age one cannot afford to waste one single penny on spoilt food!

12.30 - Hubby in a decidedly good mood.  Unlike a lot of others on the island we still have both electricity and cable on the TV so he is happy to mong (Brit word for doing nothing and lazing around) out on the couch and watch that while I try furiously to think of ways to skip outside and take more photos without messing my hair.

Facebook has been brilliant - it's a great way of keeping in touch with our friends.  I think that half of Bermuda are holding hurricane parties to help while away the hours and to numb the effects of no TV and no air con should the power go out.  We are very lucky in Bermuda that we have such well built houses that can withstand pretty much anything - the worst of the damage will be to trees and greenery.

Storm is really building up now, we have a fence at the top of the wall and I'm wondering if it's going to go as it's wobbling big time at the moment and that's before the hurricane has hit.......

Hurricane Igor - Sunday 19 September - Follow up

We had a very brief break in the rain just now, so I used the opportunity to pop outside to get some photos.  As noted, the full force has not hit yet - tropical storm winds at the moment, but wanted to record as much as possible.

This is our house all boarded up to protect us from flying trees, objects and strong winds!

Our next door neighbour has quite a few mature trees - I hope they're all still standing post hurricane.

We have a lot of green space around our house - fingers crossed that there is not too much tree damage once it's over.  All the neightbours have been out these past few days trimming back trees to try and save as much as they can before this storm takes it's toll.  Let's hope the effort was worth it.  It's what makes our housing estate so nice, all the wide open spaces and greenery.