Aunty B

Writing Exercise from 52 Weeks of Wordage.

2011-11-09T18:17:00.000Z

Exercise # 189 - Up & Down

Describe the ceiling and describe the floor in:
- the room where you are right now
- the last library you were in
- your childhood bedroom
- your last elementary school classroom
- a magnificent palace
- a wigwam
- a very peculiar wigwam constructed by a New York City-based artist

Oh, gosh, folks... A couple of these require me to rely on my memory. This is not a good thing.

BUT!

The great thing about writing is that, if you can't remember, you can just make crap up. Success!!

Yes, I'm procrastinating.

I should be writing the first 100 words of my CiM assignment for Professional and Organisational Development.

However, twiddling my pen or staring at my keyboard doesn't seem to be letting it happen, so, applying the old adage ' a change is as good as a rest' I'm going to crank up my brain with an attempt at this exercise.

Off we go.

- the room where you are right now

I hardly want to look up or down in this room.

Both have been on my list of 'things to be sorted out in 2011'

Have they been?

Of course not.

I'm finding myself sighing silently at this point.

Writing about a task undone as I procrastinate about another task is rather apt, but not at all comfortable.

So...the ceiling.

I've never been a massive fan of artex, or the amount of effort that people have put into making artsy patterns in it, and thats what I see when I briefly glance up above me.

An off white expanse of swirling, not quite symmetrical whorls, stippled in the centre like strange sunflowers.

Its edged with coving, only part painted from when it was damaged when we re plastered the longest wall.

[I really need to get that sorted by the end of the month!]

There are small dots of black in odd places up there too.

I always mistake them for flies or mosquito's.

What they actually are, are the tiny fragments of a giant paper spiders legs, stapled to the ceiling one halloween, and fixed so securely that I would have to dig them out to remove them.

When I paint the ceiling and coving...

[ I stop for a second to make a note in my diary re actually doing that, in the hope that it will get done before Christmas ]

...then I hope they wont show.

In the not quite centre is the ceiling light.

A tri-armed, matt black metal and frosted white glass, shallow design.

Rather shallow in depth - my ceilings are not very high - it casts a clear,bright light from its low energy triple tubed light-bulb emerging stamen like from each cup of frosted glass, rather like white buttercups hanging from black stems.

I need to dust up there more I see.

They are rather grey buttercups in places.

[Now I'm thinking of procrastinating with regard to this project and whipping my long turquoise non-feather duster around the light fitting.

But I don't.

One type of procrastination at a time I think. ]

On to the floor, since I cant bear to think about the ceiling any more.

Not that the floor is any more satisfying.

Why i thought that a deep burnt orange would be a good colour for a basement floor I have no idea.

Well, I do...

I thought that it would warm up a cold and dull room.

But all it did was to overpower everything else in it.

It's so hard to co-ordinate with too!

At least I had the sense to keep it to a plain, short pile, otherwise nondescript carpet.

It's lived, has my carpet.

If you know where to look you can see the birthday parties, the change from study to dining room, the art projects and atmospheric candle lit evenings etched on its face.

Yes, ok,it needs replacing.

Maybe next year.

- the last library you were in

I dont have to think too hard for this one.

That would be the library on the Chelmsford campus of the Anglia Ruskin University.

Actually though.....

When I think of 'up', I can only bring to mind floor above floor of books.

There were at least 4 floors above the one that I was on.

Each one with books shelved 6 high, blocking my view of the walls as I glanced up.

I'm sure there was a ceiling, but I have no idea what it was like.

Something wooden to match the tables?

Or glass to match the strange double layered shelf like protuberances that guard the upper sections of the windows?

For all I can remember it could have been filled with dancing letters and numerical signs, formed by the explosion of overloaded student brains as they grapple with new concepts and ideas.

As for the floor.

Grey.

I think it was grey.

Grey and boring.

Designed that was to stop students from looking down, so that they can aspire to whatever heights they so wish.

Now I have to stop and make tea, or my daughter will starve.

She assures me that this is the case, and it is my place as a mother to believe everything she says.

More procrastination later then!

yfrog Photo : http://yfrog.com/khophhj Shared by PennyRed

2011-06-11T14:20:00.001+01:00

This says it all.

yfrog Photo : http://yfrog.com/khophhj Shared by PennyRed

Slutwalk London June 11 2011

2011-06-10T21:48:00.000+01:00

slutmeansspeakup.org.uk
I had planned to attend this, but as is so often the case, my body has played up and I've come down with some random noxious lurgie that will keep me at home.

While I was looking through some of the comments on facebook and other linked sites, I came across this :
theowlofderision open letter.

It touched so many memories.

Of walking home from my first job aged 18 and being groped by a middle aged man walking in the opposite direction, who just grabbed my boob, squeezed, and walked on, leaving me stunned and horrified.
Of being told from the age of 11 onwards that 'you don't get many of those to the pound' as I bought ice-creams/sweets/chips/add any random interaction between me and a salesman.
Of men brushing their hands over my jumper because ' I think there was a pice of lint'

But most of all, it was her comment about being told to smile.

I didn't smile at strangers from about the age of 12.
Even today I have a tendency to keep my mouth straight and my face expressionless.

Why?

Because when i was 12 I went to a funfair.
On my own, because none of my friends wanted to go and I loved them, and my mum said it was silly not to do something that I loved just because I would have to do it on my own.
And when I was there I smiled lots, because I was having fun and enjoying myself.
OMG!, I can hear you think.... what happened?

Not much.
But one of the fairground hands decided that he would give me a pice of advice.
And when I was on the waltzers [ my favourite ride ] and he was about to spin me around faster, he told me i shouldn't smile so much.
Because it would 'lead people on'

So I stopped.
Right then.
I wasn't stupid.
I knew what happened to girls who 'lead men on'

I just hadn't realised that smiling could do that.

Its a sad world sometimes.
:(

SWARM 2010

2010-11-10T10:32:00.000Z

Swarm Light from rAndom International on Vimeo.

Carpenters Workshop Gallery / rAndom International / The Behaviour of Objects

Doesn't that look wonderful?

I havent laughed so much since...

2010-11-07T20:24:00.001Z

Occasionally I hear about something and, although I fully intend to go and look as soon as I have access to my laptop, I dont actually get around to looking at it.
Well today I actually followed up one of those random thoughts and logged on to the BBC pages to look at the Sporting Challenges that have been going on between Chris Evans and Johnny...erm...I cant remember his surname.
Oh yes I can - it's Saunders.
[ having a senior moment there]

I'd heard the follow up days after the skateboarding challenge and thought that surely it couldnt be THAT bad?
Well, yes it could!

After I wiped away the tears [ of laughter mixed with a load of empathic ouches ] I went looking through the other footage.

Now I really like figure skating, as I've said in the past, so when I saw this video I had to watch it.

And if i thought the skateboarding was funny.............

Ah, dear, its taken me 5 minutes just to stop giggling :D

As a last thought though, well done to both of them for tackling all those sports.
I couldn't have done half as well as they have.

And if you want to see the rest [ i can recommend the gymnastics video if you're in need of cheering up ] then go to the radio 2 sporting challenge page and have a look.
It'll be time well spent.

Better Living Through Design

2010-09-18T19:33:00.000+01:00

I can't believe that I haven't come across this website before!

Better Living Through Design is a place I stumbled upon when I clicked on a link showing a picture of a wall mounted plug socket with an associated USB port.

Admittedly part of the appeal is the 'Oh!' face made by the normal plug openings [ yes, I'm a sucker for a bit of anthropomorphism ][ and yes , I looked it up too ], but how handy is that?!

And then of course I had a poke about on the rest of the site.....
And there was this and this and this .....
And each of those lead to another wonderfully engrossing and oooh generating load of goodies to mentally fondle and stroke.

So now I'm off to go and follow up some of the links that I added to my mental 'go-and-check-it-out-later' list.

See you there.
:D

Not quite a secret garden

2010-09-09T21:50:00.000+01:00

A little while ago one of my friends mentioned a small community garden that nestles in a well trod part of Soho.
I was bemused....
I wander round those streets pretty regularly and often use the alley she was describing as running along side it.
I knew the church that borders the other.
But the garden.......?

So a few days ago I went and looked.
Properly.
Not just that brain in neutral wandering along with my eyes open but not really seeing that is often my style of meandering from one place to another.

And there was this wonderful garden!

Peaceful, beautiful, full of people sitting, studying, hugging and just enjoying.

I mentioned it to my workmates today and one of them commented that she had seen it on her travels around london too, but had thought it was a private garden and had not looked for the entrance.

It has its own blog too, now added to those that I'll come back to regularly.

I would have liked to see the agricultural show and church fayre, but theres always next year :D

For now though, I'm just glad to find a place where I can sit and be on my way from here to there.

Just a few reasons why I love the Design Museum

2010-09-03T22:17:00.000+01:00

The Idea of a Tree,
Designed by mischer'traxler

Extrusions, designed by Thomas Heatherwick Studio

Soma, by Ayama Serfati

I went around the Design Museum on Wednesday, my first visit in quite a few months, and, as always, i was left awed and inspired by the exhibits.
I went because I realised that it was the last week for the Urban Africa exhibition by David Adjaye

It consists of a series of photographs plus graphical information about african countries and was thought provoking.

But as always, it was the pieces on show in the annual Brit Insurance Designs of the Year that had me wowed.
From the amazing folding plug and sugru moulding putty to the astounding BMW concept car.
Go and see this while its there.
You wont be disappointed.

British Music Experience

2010-08-30T18:31:00.000+01:00

In the Great British Tradition of ' its a bank holiday, what shall we do? ' my family and I [ well most of us - my eldest daughter declined the dubious delights of a family outing in favour of ..... well I'm not exactly sure what, but in her mind something with way more appeal ] went to the Great British Music Experience at the O2 bubble.

Actually, for once, this was a pre planned outing rather than a total spur of the moment one.
My youngest daughter had been mosying around the internet and had come across the face the music game and being a bit of a music nut [ not surprising given the pretty encyclopaedic knowledge of her dad and my own eclectic tastes in music ] had easily walked away with a free ticket as her prize.
Cue lots of prompting from her for said parents to get their finger out and win more tickety goodies so that we could go and see what was going on.

We were pleasantly surprised overall.
Although our initial experience was that this was a really small exhibition [ its set out around a central hub with rooms leading off representing the various decades, plus other interactive displays in that central area, so you can see most of everything as you walk in ] we were there for 3 hours just listening to and playing with the exhibits.
Some of the pieces I saved on my smart ticket to look at when i got home - a blinding idea BTW - and some I listened to all the way through.
It wasn't incredibly busy, so we didn't have to wait more than a couple of minutes for any one display item to come vacant, and most could be shared by up to 4 people.

The 2 most hands on areas did have queues.
One was a video dance booth, with a short lesson section then a video of you doing the dance that you got to keep via your smart ticket.
My family went for the ' I'll hold your bag while you make a fool of yourself '
and the ' I'm not with you ...walk off rapidly as far away as possible ' approaches, leaving me to try it out solo.

Lets just say it was not a success.
:D

The other was the Gibson Interactive Studio
Although we got there just half an hour after the experience opened this area was already full.
I'd wondered why the family in front of us were rushing through.
As we walked in to find them already seated at guitar, bass , keyboard and drums it all became clear.
Since it was bass that my daughter wanted to try, and since they were both in use, we wandered off to look at the other exhibits, erroneously thinking they wouldn't take long.
By the time we had looked round, i had given up any hopes of being the next discovery in the dance world, and we had wandered back, it was even more full than before, so, weighing up growl belly against gibson bass, said daughter opted for food over guitar lesson and we strolled through the gift shop, picking up the 2nd part of our prizes on the way - BME white canvas messenger style goodie bags with hat, pen and travel card holder.

Blinding value for a few minutes time having fun doing a music quiz on the internet!

The growly tummy syndrome was cured by a visit to the S&M cafe [ thats Sausage and Mash ] also at the O2.
Lashings of gravy drenched sausage and mash for me, Oodles of all day breakfast for him and Yummy baked potato for her followed by gloriously gloopy puds for afters.
Yum!

Altogether a great day out was had by all.

FYI
I decided to drive to the O2 rather than go by train since it would have meant going in to london then out again, and so had to use the O2 car park.
Parking cost £7 for the 4 hours approx that we were there, but it was easy to get to, clearly marked on the A2 and only a few minutes walk from the car park its self [ we were in car park No2 ]
The only downside was the getting out of the car park.
The angle that you have to approach the exit meant that my arms werent long enough to insert my ticket into the slot.
I had to reverse and straighten 3times before I could reach it!!!!!!!!!
Now I may only be 5'2"and have arms in proportion , but I am NOT a rubbish driver.
My car has a good steering circle, it doesnt have a long bonnet or anything else to make it hard to get it into a small gap, and I have had tons of practice at taking the right line to get me clear of a ticket machine while still ending up close enough to insert said ticket.
So having to reverse 3 times is an unheard of occurrence.
Whats going on O2?
I am just totally grateful that I didnt have anyone behind me while I was shimmying into position.

Oh, and while I'm having a moan.....
GET SOME BIGGER CLEARER DIRECTION SIGNS PLEASE.
The only indication of where to go at the entrance of the O2 are some album sized markers on the floor, which peter out at one point, and a couple of large general banners above your head.
For people with normal vision its not too bad - though we did come to a confused halt on the way in when the floor markers stopped - but it would be impossible for anyone with reduced vision.
Guys .... when you design these things, forget that you know where you're going and pretend that everyone's partially sighted and confused and IMPROVE YOR SIGNAGE.
Thank you.

1:1 - Architects Build Small Spaces

2010-08-28T12:16:00.001+01:00

While i was in London on my weekly jaunt to my favourite city I wandered in to the V&A
I recently added membership of this august and inspiring museum to the ever increasing stack of cards that fills my purse because i realised that it was fast overtaking the Design Museum as the most likely place to find me, and the membership has paid for its-self already due to its magic free entry properties at the exhibitions they host.
In particular the Grace Kelly exhibition [ still on as we speak and well worth a visit ] had me feeling like a mini celeb as people in front of me were turned away because they hadn't pre booked [ it was -really- busy ] and i was waved through at a flash of my shiny new membership card.

I didn't need the card yesterday however, because i was looking at the 1:1 - Architects Build Small Spaces exhibition, which is free!
There were some amazing concepts, and i loved the information given on the shortlisted projects that didn't get to be built as well as those that did.

My personal favourite has to be this.

Its inscribed inside with words from an old Norse poem, it sits on a base of wood chippings encased in mesh that look like cooled lava flows until you look closer.
Its by Helen And Hard Architects and there's a video here which explains the concept.

There were lots of other amazing builds too, including a spiral staircase with performance booths of red velvet that could be opened or shut for different uses which I'm sad to have missed in action, but this installation touched me on a deeper, less conscious level than the others.

Its the kind of space i would love to have in my garden, for sitting inside and thinking, or just to enjoy the sense of peace it gave me.

Knit a Squid

2010-08-26T18:54:00.002+01:00

I was looking around for things to do on my day off next week and came across stitch a squid at the Natural History Museum
Not that its any use for next week, because its tomorrow, but I think I'll grab the chance to go along while I'm on holiday and can actually get there early enough to get to.

Its part of the Relax, Unwind and Enjoy after hours programme at the Museum.
Sadly the last of the year I think.

I signed up for the Stitch London while I was at it.
I normally have some knitting stashed away in my bag, and have often wondered about joining a stitch and bitch group, but most meet on the same evening every week and start way too early for me to get to under normal circumstances.
This one changes its venue and day each time though, so hopefully I can get to go on the random evenings when I'm wandering around London.

Edited Friday 27th august

Knit a Squid was fun!
There were loads of people there.
Possibly because of its being advertised on the museum website as well as being a normal Stitch London meet.
It was really friendly though :D
I didnt knit a squid myself, although lessons and patterns were available.
I carried on making the scarf that has been my project since February when my aunt sent me part of her stash.
She had found some beautiful silk wool in a shop, but there was only about 100grammes of it, and she couldn't decide what to make, so when she saw the hat I'd knitted for my daughter she thought it would be perfect.
When i got it, I decided it was far too gorgeous a yarn to use for a hat, so i found a suitable lace pattern and started the scarf.
Being a somewhat intermittent knitter, its still not finished, though I'm hoping that by Xmas it will be winging its way back as a thank you.
Pictures of finished item will no doubt surface in a later blog, so give a cheer if you see them and know i will have sighed with relief and satisfaction as i cast off the last stitch.

shoes

2010-08-26T18:17:00.003+01:00

Sadly It doesnt look like I'll get to see this.
I hadn't realised it was so soon, and I cant see me getting the time to go.
Ah well.... maybe another time.

A Perfect Line

2010-08-25T15:01:00.004+01:00

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but for me there is a perfect line between the sole and heel of a shoe.
I've never measured it, but I can see at a glance if a shoe has it, and it makes the difference between something that you wear on your feet to keep them dry and safe and something that makes you feel sexy, thinner and drop dead gorgeous.

Many designers produce the odd one or two that fit my criteria, but Terry De Havilland is king of the perfect line in my eyes.

If you want to know what I'm talking about, go and look here
or try and drag your eyes away from the model and get a load of whats on her feet in this you tube offering.

If i won a couple of grand on the lottery, i wouldn't be getting a face lift, or employing a personal trainer to get me in shape, I'd be buying a couple of pairs of custom made Margeaux.
Makes me sigh just thinking about it.

Update 26th August.
I hope I'll get a chance to go and see Shoes on stage at Sadlers Wells later this year.
Not only is it about shoes, but it features thigh boots by Terry De Havilland.
*swoon*

Photography

2010-08-25T10:57:00.000+01:00

I dont know about you, but I love looking at photographs.
I can spend hours browsing random selections on Flickr , so iI guess its no big shock to know that I regularly get sucked in to the photos in jpg magazine
I've shied away from a real subscription, given that i am such a hoarder [ both online and off ] but i feel bad about not supporting excellent publications like this with some of my hard earned cash.
So I'm doing the next best thing.
I'm telling you about it so you can go spend some of yours.
:D

Are You F*cking Kidding Me? (Facebook Song) LIVE

2010-08-24T11:13:00.003+01:00

Ok, So i didnt find this myself - it was posted by Ben Folds on Facebook - but It made me grin, so I'm reposting it here.

Wallpaper

2010-08-23T23:49:00.003+01:00

Well, here we are again, 18+months on and very little has changed.
I'm skipping over the fact that during this time I hit 50.
Hit it, crashed through it with my fingers in my ears and my eyes shut tight , ignoring all cards and well wishers, and trying hard to forget this [hopefully] insignificant fact.
At some later date , when I have taken the concept to my bosom, and forced it into the shape that I want it to be, i may expound on this event, but for now thats as many lines as i'm going to give it.

So to push on.....
Wallpaper.com
I love this magazine.

One day I'll even buy the paper version so i can thumb its pages till they are dog eared and soft.
*thinks*
I assume it DOES have a paper version?
*goes and looks*
Yes, it says it has a print version.
I dont look at is as often as I should, but whenever i do , I find at least 2 or 3 amazing pieces that send me off in directions new , or images that have me shaking my head in wonder at the range of talent that there is in the world.

Todays random flick through its pages have not left me wanting.
Or rather they have....

Wanting to open one of these....
Designer Ice Lolly Shop

Wanting to own some of these....
Swing Sunglasses

And wanting to go to this....
Enchanted Palace
Now I'm off to see what other joys are lurking in its pages.
Hopefully i wont be away so long this time.
G'Night.
:D

please turn off your mobile?

2008-12-21T11:33:00.006Z

from
itsnicethat.com

Holidays are for relaxing aren't they?

2008-08-25T18:22:00.006+01:00

Holidays are a strange animal aren't they?
You look forwards to them in the belief that you will be able to laze around doing exactly as you wish, becoming relaxed, refreshed and generally rejuvinated.

So often the reality is rather different.

Not this time, however.

Mostly.

:D

I have had a blinding time and it's not finished yet.

I've been to see
Which had me crying with laughter throughout, although perhaps not for the reasons that the makers intended.

The Dr Who Exhibition at Earls Court.

Which was fun, as much to see the props up close and personal as the background to some of the shows.

The Viktor and Rolf exhibition at the Barbican.

Where I could have spent the whole day.
Really, if you're interested in design, go and see this exhibition.
The concepts behind each of the collections is well explained and the sheer visual energy is glorious.

I've discovered a brilliant pub.
The Angelic in Islington.
It has the BEST ladies, which was piping Eddie Izzard over the sound system when I was there, meaning I spent far longer in the loo than is normal for me.
The only reason I'm posting it is the solid knowledge that very few people will be directed there from here and so it will stay MY secret !

It been my littlest girlie's birthday too, so much fun was had by her and her friends during their sleepover [ much of which was caught on film by one or other of them, but which has been deemed FAR too embarrassing to be shown -though I suspect it'll do the rounds of her own friends- due to certain 'smellyvision' events! ]
It was followed up by a visit to London for a riverboat trip, a flight on the London Eye and then food at the Rainforest Cafe.

Of course, today has been spent mainly in my PJ's, but even so I've managed to do some supervisory painting [ ie I've stood by, given instructions and generally irritated my littlest girlie who was the one doing the actual painting ] of a fuchsia and purple chalk board/magnetic board on her bedroom wall, and a trawl through some of last weeks newspapers.

As for the rest of the week, well I'm aiming to see the Dali and Cy Twombly exhibitions, look for some new work-wear, and maybe pootle around some of the galleries.
What ever I end up doing I'm sure it'll be fun.
:D

jobs, how not to get 'em Part 1

2008-07-08T19:56:00.005+01:00

You forget, as you get older, just how strange it is when you go for your first interviews.
You've done the hard bit:
Poured over the paper/websites/shop windows looking for the perfect job.
You've sent off your application.
You've waited patiently by the phone/letterbox/inbox.
And eventually, yes you've done it...

You've got an interview!

So you get ready, get there and get ready for them to be wowed by your obvious talent .

Riiiiiiiiiiight.

I really wish that was the case.

These last few weeks my mind has been trundling around the sticky subject of what's important when it comes to applying for and getting an interview.

It all started when i asked my daughter what email addy she was putting on her CV's?
What do you mean, 'which', was her response.

Now that gave me pause.

I dont know about you, but I have a couple of email accounts.
One, sensibly titled is for work related things.
One , rather less sensibly titled, is for friend related stuff.
And one is for the things that I just KNOW are going to generate spam by the bucket load like competition entering etc.

The first 2 are often linked, but i prefer to have the option to keep them separate.

Now in my daughters case, her only email is a very girly titled one that she's used since she was about 13 and which i would raise my eyebrows at if I was presented with it as my contact for an applicant for any type of even slightly serious job.

Can she see this?
No.

In her view NOBODY takes any notice of things like that!
[Oh, I wish it was true]
She cannot see the point in setting up another more boringly titled email account just so that she won't come over like a ditzy girly girl.

The thing is, thats EXACTLY the kind of thing that I look at when I'm trying to thin down a post-bag full of eager applicants to an interviewable handful.

I look at the envelope and covering letter:
Extra points for a clearly HANDWRITTEN covering letter.
Have they spelled my name correctly?
[you'd be saddened by how often they don't]
Have they just parroted what I've said I'm looking for in the advert, or have they taken that information and shown interests/traits of theirs that would complement/exceed my requirements?
Have they used decent quality paper?
[yes, it really does make a difference]

When I'm going through a CV I REALLY want to see that they have looked at my advert.
If I say I need certain grades then don't list lower ones without showing that you understand that you may have to do some studying to get your grades up.
[This is especially important for training positions...you may not be eligible for entry onto the necessary course if you haven't got the correct grades, so don't assume that they are only there to see how bright you are. If I've paid more to put them in the ad then they are IMPORTANT]
Have they written it themselves?
[and yes, I have discarded those that have been obviously written by someone else. If they aren't bright enough to alter 'he is' to I am' then they aren't the person for the job]
Do they have any interests?
I know, i know.
I hate writing things like that too, but it's something I always look at.
I'm interested in your interests :D

And PLEASE....
If you only put down a mobile as your contact number...
MAKE SURE THE DAMN THING IS SWITCHED ON!!!!!!!

And in the news today...

2008-04-27T18:59:00.005+01:00

multi tasking breasts

So on one hand we're trying to promote breastfeeding.
Brilliant.
Anything that makes it more comfortable for a woman to breastfeed her child without feeling as if people think she's flashing is fine by me.

But sadly in the same week :

Mother thrown out of Costa Coffee for breastfeeding

Rainy Days

2008-04-12T16:12:00.009+01:00

Somehow i managed NOT to get wet over the last couple of days.
Hardly earth shattering news i hear you say, but actually it is.
:D
It has been typically april .
Beautiful sunny skies one minute then pouring rain the next [ repeat at intermittent intervals ]

And what has this to do with anything?

Well, not content with scooting round the country last week [ a funeral in Yorkshire on Monday then a work related event in Leicestershire on Thursday and Friday ] I dragged D off to see Jose Gonzalez at the Shepherds Bush Empire last night.

Which meant staying over at the
Hilton Kensington.

OK, it didn't ABSOLUTELY need that to happen.
We could have got the train home.
But that always means rushing because the last train from Victoria is before midnight.
So staying over seemed like a far better idea :D

As indeed it turned out to be.

By the way, if you have to stay there I can certainly give it a thumbs up on most things.
The bed was massive and comfortable, and the air -con worked [ not always as much as a given as you'd think ].
There was loads of room to hang your stuff, should you have taken any [ unlike me ].
A decent iron [ see point above ]
And they have Douwe Egberts as their instant coffee.
Oh, and very pleasant reception and door staff, plus the offer of 2 free glasses of wine to trial when we stopped off back at about 6pm.

The only 2 small points against were the Stella Artois at £4.30 a pint in the bar [ i think ... it wasn't my round ] and housekeeping checking if the room was free at 8.30 in the morning!!!!
I mean, high beer prices I can accept, but being woken at 8.30 on a saturday morning when check out is at 12.00!?!?!

However, I'd certainly go back there again.

Jose Gonzalez was ok too, though lacking in something that i can't put my finger on.
Technically and musically it was excellent.
But.....
But what?
The nearest I can get is to say it lacked, well ... atmosphere or soul?
Something like that.
Hell, I'm no critic and his music is hardly upbeat, and i think that the fact that I enjoyed the performance should be enough, so i'm going to leave it there.

Nothing at all was lacking from my long delayed re-visitation of Bodeans.
Every sticky fingered mouthful was totally delicious, and left me all round bellied and replete.

The same can be said for breakfast at the S & M cafe too.
Wonderfully soft poached eggs, fat buttered toast and crispy bacon, plus lovely, lovely PG tips.
Plus one of those ' He looks familiar but I can't quite put a name to him' moments about a rather attractive english actor [ i think ] who was also breakfasting there.
What more can a girl want for breakfast?
*answers on a postcard please*
:D

Seriously though, it's been far too long since I got to do that kind of stuff , and i need to do it far more often.

memories

2008-03-29T21:02:00.005Z

It's 9.00pm on a saturday night and I'm slowly fading.
Dave and jo are working out what they'd like to order from the Tottenham catalogue, play-fighting and generally messing around.
I on the other hand , am sitting peacefully listening to my favourite tracks , headphones on to block out the family guy episodes that Jo has on the TV, and thinking about the next few days.
I'm travelling up the country on Monday morning in order to be at my great aunts funeral, and it'll be another long day there and back.
But I know I'd regret it if i didn't go.

Damn, I've just realised that I forgot to get a card too.
:(
It's always far harder to write an 'in sympathy' card than any other kind.
I need time to get the words right.
And now I've forgotten to pick one up.
I had to stay on at work after we closed at 2.00pm so that I could get at least part of the stocktake done that ought to be done on monday [ when I'll be half way up the country instead ].
I gave up at 7.30pm and came home, totally forgetting the card, but there's only so much you can do in one hit, and I'd reached my limit.

However, I digress.

It's strange how we remember people.
I get snapshots of snatches of time, filled with texture and sounds, with the occasional scent adding depth.
Most of my memories of my Great Aunt are of her laughing.
It's the picture that springs to mind when i think of her.
A tall slender woman, angular and always busy, brown hair rollered into a fifties style shoulder length 'do', harassed by children [ of which i was one ] and generally happy to see you.
I didn't get to see her as she got older, but when my mum talked of her, it was of a woman gradually ailing but of someone who was positive and happy, and who never lost her sense of humour.
She died peacefully.
I guess its the most any of us can hope for.

this is my only photo of her.

Taken c1967 in Cayton Bay in Scarborough, with 3 of her children, her niece and me.

So many memories.

Eggs, Underwear and Ukelele's.

2008-03-24T17:02:00.008Z

Easter is one of my favourite holidays and this one was particularly fun.
My Mum came to visit for a couple of days.
She was picking up her car from my brother's [ he has replaced the totalled berlingo with a fiat multi something or other [sounds like a cinema complex but I know that isn't correct ] and so he doesn't need hers any longer ] and stayed over with me for a couple of days.
Being Easter I'd already had fun buying Easter things for the girls and Dave plus various other family children, but it meant for the first time in ages i got one for her too.
Sort of gave me a happy feeling doing that.

And we went shopping.
It was one of those events that you had to be involved in to see the funnies for, but lets just say that we spent most of the time giggling.
We did come out with some new underwear for her after I got totally gobsmacked realising that she was wearing bra's that were COMPLETELY the wrong size and dragged her into M&S to try on some bigger cupped ones.
Result = 2 uplifted boobs instead of 4 [ well thats what it looked like ] squashed down to her belly.
Ok, so thats an exaggeration, but only a small one!

She drove home through the snow yesterday and left me with lovely memories.

Which got me remembering other times.

So when i came across this

it brought back so many more.
Of watching the film with my Dad.
George Formby.
And for those of you too young to remember...

And home.

shoe dilemma... look it's important to ME ok!

2008-03-11T17:32:00.009Z

I have a dilemma.
No, nothing life threatening or world shaking, but its important.
It's about SHOES.

Now along with a significant number of other people i love shoes, nothing new in that.
But one of the things with me is that they have to be the RIGHT shoes.

i can't wear brown boots with jeans and a black jumper , even if they are the most gorgeous boots you've ever snuggled your cute little tootsies into.
I cant wear satin courts with a cotton sundress.
I can't wear thong sandals with a formal skirt.

If I try it gives me the shudders and makes me feel totally creeped out.

What is the point to this slightly rambly blog then?

Well, I'm going to a formal black tie work related thing with 3 other female collegues and for one reason or another we're doing cocktail rather than full on floor length.
Although actually I've fallen in love with the dress I've bought , so I'm not all that fussed.
But now we get to the shoe issue.

this is the dress in question.

and i could just wear some plan black courts with it.

but I've seen these.....

And now I'm not sure.

So,
anyone out there have an opinion?

Are they too over the top ?
Should they only be worn with something plain to show them off to their full glory?
Am I a total idiot for wanting to wear a pair of shoes embellished with tape measures to a formal balck tie?
Or are they just totally scrumptious?

:D

Update: they are too high!!!!!!! *sob*
I have piddly size 4 feet and the heels had me walking almost en point.
Back to the drawing board then.

busy busy...

2008-02-09T21:44:00.001Z

i didn't used to beleive my grandparents when they said that life speeds up as you get older until after I had children of my own.
Then time began to change.
Life began to kick in to overdrive.
Or perhaps it's just my perception of time thats clicked over a notch or two.
Either way I blink and a week or a month has gone, whoosh, leaving me with a blurred mushed together series of after images.

Lately I've been trying to change things down a gear, with mixed success.
My meds [ for my lovely lovely thyroid problem ] weren't working properly, leaving me with numerous symptoms that were all pretty innocuous individually, but when added together left me like some aching, lethargic blob.
Luckily my blood test confirmed that it was my thyroxine level that needed boosting, so I'm now popping an extra tab and beginning to feel more normal.
Well, if normal can be used to describe me :D

So....what have I got up to now the aches are a fading memory?
Well, I managed to fit in going to see the Out of the Ordinary exhibition at the V&A.

There were some amazing exhibits , but I think my favourite was the lung made from blown glass, and lit so that it almost fluouresced.
Gorgeous.

We had our works Christmas Do in feb too, and got taken to see the Cirque du Soleil at the Albert Hall.

I wasn't sure what to expect , but it was an amazing spectacle and I had a great evening.

Then came the downside.
I had a couple of nights of uncomfortable wear in my lenses, and like a twit, didn't get anyone to check that everything was ok until it got REALLY uncomfortable.
By which time i had got a corneal ulcer.

If you look carefully you can see a tiny white spot at about 10'o'clock on my cornea....actually, given how the photo has loaded its about at 7 o clock in this blog....hard to see given the blood-shot runny nature of my eye, but it's there.
Believe me, the little bugger is making its presence felt in a major way.
Painful doesn't even half go there.
Arrrggghhhhhhhhhhh, more like.

So to cheer myself up I've just booked to go and see Jose Gonzalez in April.
*bounces a bit*

Oh, and now it's time for my hourly dose of chloramphenicol.
And something that makes it taste better.
Not that i drink the stuff you understand....its just that it runs down the back of my throat when i put it in my eyes and then i can taste it for ages.
yuk.

I hope it heals soon.
x

Pass me a tissue

2008-01-20T19:24:00.000Z

My favourite films are those that make me cry uncontrolably.
No matter how often I see them.
And no matter how well i know the lines and what's coming.
My throat closes.
My nose tingles.
And then the tears start running down my face.

*sniff*

2008

2008-01-01T19:01:00.003Z

And another year has rolled over and put it's self to sleep without too much in the way of stress and turmoil.
Or at least, when I try and bring specifics to mind to write something like this , thats always how it feels.
A large space full of errrrrrring and ummmmmming rather than lots of how-on-earth-did-i-fit-it-all-in-ing.

Actually thats what happens when someone asks me any kind of question.
It's as if the act of trying to recall anything presses the empty button and dumps all my memories down an inaccessible well.

A couple of things stand out though.
Like ....
Spending an evening dancing around a trophy and trying to lose my last chips at the charity roulette wheel [ isn't it odd that you invariably win when there's nothing to lose ] at the Awards .
Getting the start of new work on my arm by Bugs, forgetting to take water with me and feeling totally shaky after the 3 hours on putting the monochrome base in.
Finding storage space in my house for a load of stuff that an idiot friend [ you know who you are ;D ] was going to dump as a new and happy time was started in the US.
Visiting my Mum and realising how much i miss her now she's 4+ hours away and not 40 mins away.
Getting totally choked just saying goodbye when what's left of my family got together to scatter my Dad's ashes in a freezing sea.
Nearly messing up my relationship with my oldest daughter.
Getting stuck in the Victoria and Albert when they locked everyone in for a reason that they kept to themselves.
Drooling over the Vogue exhibition at said V&A.
Finally finding a pair of shoes that are more comfortable than my MBT's for work so i can look like i have normal sized [ and rather cute looking ] feet.

The whole year had a feeling of bringing things to completion.
My partner is now settled in a job he loves.
My own working life has become more manageable with the addition of a trainee and a new part time staff member letting me get to grips with things I've been putting off for over a year.
I've re-aquainted myself with some of the things that I love doing and which I haven't had [ or made the ] time for since my girls came on the scene.

And now I'm putting my mind to what I want to do with this coming year.
For I do want to actively DO something with it.
To take it by the pants and modify it until it fits ME perfectly.

*Raises my glass to a Glorious New Year*

Help restored

2007-11-25T10:51:00.000Z

I am SO looking forwards to seeing this tonight

Thank you BBC4

I still cant love a pug

2007-11-11T12:07:00.000Z

Yesterday was the first day of my week off and I'd planned to go to this and drool over yarn and things.

But as is normal in my life thats not what happened.

On my way home from work on Friday i heard an advert for an event being held at Earls Court that I knew my littlest daughter would kill to go to.
[ Actually I ought to stop calling her that. Its technically true, but since she's nearly as tall as me and her feet are already 2 sizes bigger than mine, it gives totally the wrong impression ]

So, since I hadn't actaully bought my ticket for the Stitch'n'Bitch, and since i don't get to do all that much mum and daughter stuff with that particular daughter, I hoiked out my trusty card and booked us a couple of tickets for Discover Dogs

Now I do quite like dogs, and my family have almost always had one so i grew up with them, but its never been my passion to own one myself.
Jo however is completely the opposite.
And yesterday she was in completel doggy heaven.
Holding, stroking, photographing,stroking, talking about, drooling over and more stroking every different breed there.
And there were a LOT of different breeds.

They gave some good advice during some of the demonstrations that they had going on too, about handling and especially about safety issues, and she's going to tell all her friends at school about the ' tree and stone ' positions for dealing with unknown and aggressive dogs.

She's also joined Junior Cruffts which will give her free entry into next years discover dogs show as well as for Cruffts itself.

And I can see that we've got one step closer to owning a dog ourselves.

On one final point , i was saddened to see notices about rehoming rescued pure breed dogs on almost every stand.
I knew there were a lot of dogs being abandonned, but somehow it suprized me to see notices on stands like the Shar Pei.

And yeah...I did fall in love with one particular breed.
Segugio Italiano a Pelo Raso.

But even though the ones at the show were lovely in temperament, I just couldn't love a Pug.

choices

2007-10-10T09:16:00.000+01:00

You know, as each year passes and each new problem occurs, I look back at the past ones and think 'If only I knew what was coming'.
Right now I'm trying to find a way to advise my daughters so that they make the right choices for them and accept that those choices may not be the right choice for me.
A way to balance their view of the world with mine.
A way to explain why I see things differently without making them feel guilty for not seeing it the same way.

And a way not to worry that I'm making it too easy to opt out just because I don't want them to just do what _I_ want.

Pieke Bergman

2007-09-14T21:28:00.000+01:00

I fell in love with these vases when i was flicking from site to site a couple of days ago, then went back today to look more closely at her site http://www.piekebergmans.com/ and found so much more lovely stuff.
Each section I looked at had me more excited.
I love ALL of her designs.
So take this as a poke with a sharp stick to make you go and look too.
And if by any chance you can afford to buy any of the lovely lovely things...*flutters eyelashes*...
;D

Rainy day headaches

2007-05-27T12:07:00.001+01:00

It doesn't matter how great a nights sleep I've had, if its raining when I wake up I feel tired, listless and thick-headed.
It doesn't happen if at starts raining AFTER I wake up, but surfacing to that tick tick tick of drops splating onto my neighbours flat roof is guaranteed to make me want to dive back under the covers and cocoon myself in the middle of my bed.

What it DOESN'T make me want to do is jump out of bed, throw my clothes on , drive Em to work, plug the BIG lantern in to charge and get up in the loft to investigate the rather noiser TAP, TAP , TAP that can be heard against the ceiling in Ems room.

So I'm procrastinating.
Well, not really.
I AM waiting for the lantern to charge up, because no matter how often i say we need to make sure its charged regularly it doesn't get done.

I'm also wondering if the thought of leaving it till Dave gets home so he can get up there is totally wimping out.
No...I KNOW its wimping out.
I just hate that bloody ladder in to the loft.
I really need to get a proper loft ladder installed, but its pretty low on my list of 'things that need doing to the house so it won't fall down'
And if there is a leak then it will have just slid down the scale of udgent jobs even further.

*girds loins*
*picks up crampons*
*wonders how big the spiders are up there*
*adds a BIG hammer*

Erm....if i don't check in for a while ..........

Go Apple

2007-05-24T20:01:00.000+01:00

Well I'm a happy bunny, and quite unexpectedly so.
I've been having problems with my macbookpro's power cord.
It's been gradually seperating at the joint where the magnetic connection meets the cord.
There is a little collar that covers the area, but it didn't seem long enough to hold it securely, and when I looked on the Apple website sure enough there were a fair number of complaints about it, along with the info that it wasn't covered under warranty.

So when i walked into the Apple store in Bluewater , brandishing my burnt out cord [ yes it got that bad ] ...
See :(

... I didn't expect to get away without a dent of £59 in my bank balance.

But joy !
They've re-designed it

If you look carefully you can see that the collar is longer on the new one.

So they changed it under warranty.

*does a happy dance*

more on the quilting front

2007-05-06T16:40:00.000+01:00

The quilting is progressing slowly and um, slowly.
Nothing sure about this baby.
I suppose that its only to be expected that I'll make mistakes, but as I'm the kind of person who really doesn't believe that, I get frustrated when I do.

So, here is a pictorial diary of my efforts.

The cutting out of these lining squares of flannel took me about 2 hours.

This is one of the layouts I considered using with a simple chequerboard pattern set in diagonals.

And a similar one but in lines.

Pinned ready for stitching

Change of mind re the pattern, and again pinned before stitching.

First strip completed.

First panel completed.

Not much to look at really, but this has so far taken me more hours than I can remember.
It should have taken far less, but I've ripped it back 3 times.
Once a whole panel had to go [ uneven stitching and the wrong direction for the pattern ]
I could have worked around it, but the more i looked at the mis-match on the seams, the more irritated i got, so it had to get taken apart.
Then I stitched a smaller panel with the stripes reversed.
It didn't show if you didn't know i had planned a patern to the stripes, but I DO know, so again, it had to go.
And finally i stitched the last 4 square to the wrong strip.
At that point i gave up, grabbed some coffee and did some housework.
[ and anyone who knows me realises reading that that I must have been REALLY in need of a break...housework+me=only when I have to ]

Hmmm, that makes me sound like a slob, but I really cant find it in myself to enjoy doing it.
Housework i mean.
Its a chore.
One to me made a simple and short as possible.
Its why I end up getting so annoyed at my family who seem incapable of taking stuff off and putting it in the right place.
Hell, i don't care if the place is messy, but it means that someone has to move whatever it is to the right place.
See...it has to be dealt with TWICE.
Not good.
Put it in the right place first time and it only has to be dealt with ONCE.
Ipso facto, less work, more time to have fun, less stress for me.

Anyway, i'm getting off the track.

So I had the coffee, sorted the laundry etc etc, and returned to the quilting.

And it went right.

Yay, go me!

4/15ths down, 11/15ths to go.
Unless i decide to give it a single colour edging ......

Quilting

2007-05-01T23:11:00.000+01:00

I've been thinking about making a quilt for a while now.
Mainly as a way to use up some of the fabric that I've accumulated over the years admittedly, but I really like snuggling up under something soft and warm late at night, or having something a little more substantial than a blanket to sit /lie on in the garden or when I picnic.
So I thought that making a quilt would probably be the best way.
Especially since, while i still like many of the colours and patterns of my fabrics, they are not really what I'd use in my house anymore in their unadulterated form.

The thing that has put me off in the past has been the exact nature of the stitching...making sure that the seam allowance is spot on so that everything lines up.
I CAN sew like that, but I admit to finding it tedious, and the likely hood of me getting fed up with it and giving up with a partially made quilt seemed pretty high to me.

So when I found the rag quilt pattern a few weeks ago it seemed like the perfect solution.

i think i mentioned it in a past blog, but i lose track, so here is the example that got me thinking.

Pretty isn't it?

You can get the full details here:- http://quilting.about.com/od/quiltpatternsprojects/ss/rag_quilt.htm

I don't think mine is going to have the large squares in, as i couldn't find a co-ordinating fabric that i liked , so its going to be a straightforwards checkerboard effect.

These are the fabrics I'm going to use.

One is buttermilk cream plain cotton, one is a striped blue/green/lilac and the third is a random leaf/floral motif in green and light blue.
Its not exactly what I would have chosen if i was shopping for fabric, but I think its not bad, and since this is really a trial quilt I didn't want to go spending extra cash if i didn't have to.

I still have to cut the flannel fabric that goes in between the other layers, but since i'm covered in fluff already, and I really need to iron the flannel before i cut it , I'm going to do that tomorrow.

If it works ok I'm going to get some of my other fabrics and sort them into colours and weights so i can make some more.

Of course, that may just be wishful thinking, but I'm feeling positive.
:D

Random stuff

2007-04-27T21:43:00.001+01:00

Oh life is good!
The sun is warm,
The cherry blossom is painting the grass,
The bluebells are awash under the woods,
I have new specs,
Yay...did you hear that...NEW SPECS!!!! :D
[ I luuuuurve them glasses ]
[ I'll take some photos when I get them, but they are Lulu Guiness, black cats eyes with little white scrolls on the temporal edge and 'be a glamour girl' in twirly white script down the side, and I'm excited about them, ok ]
:D
Ahem, back to happy, happy things....
I had SUCH a great time last night, and I'm still awestruck by just how great Ocean sounded live.
[ I went to see the John Butler Trio at the Roundhouse ]
I think Matt may be back in Sevenoaks, so i may be able to get the Lilies on my back slightly more defined,
I tried the new Mars Planets, and they are totally scrummy *drools*
And I'm giggling over the poodle sheep scam.
:D :D
But I want to see the photos!
I mean....exactly how CLOSE did they look once they were clipped?

Tempus Fugit far too quickly

2007-04-09T14:50:00.002+01:00

I've been a bit remiss in my blogging on here .
I have phases when I use one of my blogs over the others [ yeah, its sad , I have more than one ]
I'm trying to thin it down.
The trouble is I'm not sure if i use them to offload on or if they are for keeping in touch withpeople or letting them know wht I've been doing.
Maybe once I've decided that I'll be able to come up with some rationalisation.

However...

I'm going to play catch up a bit here.
Now as this involves digging deep into the aging memory banks and giving them the obligatory thump to get them moving I can't guarentee that the order will have any relation to the actual timespan.

So, what have I been up to?

Oh, as its still relatively fresh in my head, i took Emma to the Sit-Up tv studios yesterday to see what goes on.

This is the kind of stuff they film there.

One of our friends is a camera operator on the channel, and as she knows that its what Emma wants to do she asked if we wanted to go see.

It WAS interesting :D

What else?

Erm, I leaned to be a spy with Jo at the Science of spying exhibition at the science museum.

They had loads of fun stuff there.

This is getting too long to be manageable now, so I'll leave the work/awards/patchworking and anything else for next time.

NOT a date

2007-03-15T20:20:00.001Z

So when is a date not a date?
According to my daughter [ who is out as we speak on her very own 'not' a date ] its when it happens in daylight.

This seems to be important. ok, and No, i don't get it either.

I don't ask you to understand where she's coming from, but the whole daytime thing seems absolutely pivotal.

Of course right now its pitch black outside aand she's still out with her 'not' date :D

She rang me...well, alright, I rang her [ but only because this not-date was only supposed to be for a coffee after school and it was already 7pm and i didn't know if i could go out with Dave to watch one of our friends play her singles match in a pool tournament]
I was NOT checking up on her.

*cough*mainly*cough*

And said phone call left me as confused as ever.

She was still out with him, but they were both on their way up to see one of Em's best friends [ who happens to know the not-date ]
Not the best friend who thinks it kind of stalkerish for him to have remembered her [ that is my daughters ] name after, let me think....7-9 years, but the one who thinks he's ok.
Lucky that.

:D

Sooooo.....
Either she's had fun, likes him, and he's dropping her off at Kezia's so that she can go over in great detail everything that has taken place on this not-date...
or...
oh heck.
There are far too many possibilities.

I just hope she's had fun.
And gets home before I fall asleep so she can tell me how it went!

Nosy!
Me!!
Nah!!!
:D

Showgirls

2007-03-14T23:27:00.000Z

I guess it's not completely unexpected to see a programme celebrating Kylie's return to the stage with her showgirld tour, but it's appropriate for me to find it while I'm flicking through the TV channels on the evening after I've taken emma up to the V&A to see it.

Normally i would have passed on by , but it's interesting to see the costumes as they were intended, with the right lighting etc.

We had a good day out.
Sushi, Kylie and Harrods.
Although it was slightly marred by being locked in to the V&A durign a security alert.
We guessed that something had been taken , as it included bag searches before anyone was allowed to leave and a complete shut down of all exits.

I didn't get over to Fopps to see the John Butler Trio who were doing a preview gig , but i was just too tired.

It seems like recently I'm having more and more trouble trying not to fall asleep at some incredibly early hour.

And now I'm waiting for Dave to get home from football and trying hard to stay awake.
I don't think I'm winning :D

V&A

2007-03-09T14:18:00.001Z

I went to see the Kylie exhibition yesterday at the V&A.
The showgirls section is amazing, and I would have loved to take some photos, but unfortunately it was NOT allowed.
So all I have is my memory of the most elaborate confections full of glitz and sparkle , and a photo of the wall outside the exhibition where visitors posted messages for her.
I guess they ran out of hearts at some point, but the plain old yellow post-its somehow make the whole thing.

NIN

2007-03-09T14:05:00.000Z

The gig was fun.
I : Had to pick the tickets up from the box office at 5pm and was amazed to see queues already when i went to get them.
: Got mixed up in the PSV Eindhoven???? [ is that how you spell it? ] crowd on their way to Arsenal, but on the whole they were happy, if a bit earshatteringly loud.
: Was gobsmacked by the sight of a girl in 4 inch heels and on crutches at the gig.
: Bought a tshirt *heart*
: Nearly lost my phone as I was taking the 2nd pic up there ^^^^ because someone bashed me and it did a very neat swan dive over 3 rows of people.
Only the fact that it was set to camera and the screen was still alive let me find it.

introspection

2007-03-08T13:00:00.002Z

In a strange way yesterday felt like the beginning of something.
A sense of freedom perhaps ?
Or maybe just the feeling of coming home to normality that pervaded the day.

Normal for me at least.

I can't remember the first time that I went off and did something on my own, but i know its something that my Mum would have pushed me into.
I wasn't a child who was all that happy being alone at that time.
Perhaps its not until you don't get too much of your own space that you come to value it.

I think it was the cinema.
Up until that point it had always been a thing done in the company of friends.
And perhaps the bias was towards friends rather than cinema.
Whatever the reason, I DO remember there being a time when I wanted to see something particular [ Black Christmas rings the right bells ] and all my friends dropped out at the last minute, so I wasn't going to go.
And she shoved me out the door.

And yeah, she was right.

Why miss something just because no-one else wants to do it?
Isn't the fact that you want to do it enough?

That thought got reinforced for me on Tuesday.

I was talking to a friend about the Surrealism exhibition that i want to see at the V&A and she said that she would love to go but that ther husband wouldn't go with her.
Which turned into ' why not go on you own then?'
And her answer was that she didn't feel comfortable doing so.
Going on her own that is.
And eventually she said that she didn't want to go ENOUGH to go on her own.

It made me think.

As it is I miss quite enough things in my life because other peoples lives take precedence, so to miss even more just because I would have to go on my own seems senseless.

So why. given the fact that I regularly do things on my own did yesterday feel different?

I think because it was a relatively spur of the moment thing to stay over, combined with the fact that although I was meeting up with a couple of people for the gig, they were not people that I really knew.
It was enough to feel different.
And this morning i woke and realised that I'd been letting my life get tied up again.
Not because anyone else WANTED me to add them into the equasion, just because it had become normal to add extra people into the eqasion that is my time/work/fun/life balance.

Time to alter the balance.

And yet more Woooooooo :D

2007-03-06T13:52:00.000Z

Partly because the NIN gig is going ahead on Wednesday.
But mainly because I've just got tickets tor the John Butler Trio at the Roundhouse in April.
*bounces madly*
:D :D :D

Its NEARLY enough to make up for the fact that Ben Gibbard solo tour is in the US only.
Nearly.

Oh Wow.

2007-03-05T21:06:00.000Z

I've always loved Schiaparelli , ever since my dad bought me my first vial of proper perfume and it was Shocking.
Gorgeous.
So I'm totally going to go and see the Surreal Things: Surrealism and design exhibition at the Victoria and Albert.

I wanted to go and see the Kylie stage costume one too, and thankfully their timeframes overlap, but its the Surrealism exhibition that will take precedence.

And there has been a major rehanging at the Tate Britain so i want to trot along there too.
Especially as they have given Richard Dadd a room of his own.
:D

It looks like I'm going to be a busy person this spring.

Feel Good Films

2007-02-27T23:33:00.000Z

Its peaceful tonight.
There's hardly any traffic passing by my window.
All the rest of my family are either asleep or in their rooms.
Its nearly midnight, and I've just finished watching one of my favourite feel good films.

It pokes all the right places in my psyche.
Prods me into looking at whats important in my life and how I might be able to achieve it.

And makes me laugh while I'm crying.
Yes....of course I cry.
Possibly not at the places that you would , but who cares.
I get choked when it touches on the parts that are important to me.

Like these.

Its got me grinning just posting them again.
:D

I miss my particular parner in crime for much of that kind of silliness.

I wonder what she's up to right now?

this is so beautiful

2007-02-21T17:46:00.000Z

Valentines Day

2007-02-14T22:50:00.001Z

I got woken this morning at some ungodly hour....
Ok, it was only about 8am, but it was my day off , and the girls weren't at school, so 8am IS ungodly so far as I'm concerned.
....by my phone going off in its text mode.

Now the only reason i get texts is if plans suddenly get changed, or if its work.
So i dragged myself out of bed and looked at it.
Nothing.
Sweet Fanny Adams.

I'm not sure what the hell was going on with it.

However, back to Valentines Day.

Dave is a sweet traditionalist and always gets me a dozen Red roses.
And this year they were added to with chocs, champagne and a sweet little teddy.
:D

I know its daft, but it means a lot to me that he does this.

I was reading one of my online friends blogs and she was writing about how it makes her feel on edge when she sees people walking near her house with flowers because each year she hopes that her husband will get her just a single rose, and each year she knows that he won't but she still hopes.

So this year I made sure that he knows how much I appreciate that he does this.

And we've just got back from seeing this.

And it was absolutely AWESOME.

Go and see it NOW.
:D :D :D

Time.

2007-02-12T23:31:00.001Z

Isn't it strange the way that time moves?
Some days it passes with a steady, even beat.
Others its erratic, jumping from quick to static and back again.
It depends how aware of its passage we are I think.

Right now I'm trying to make sure that I spend my time doing the correct things.

Not as easy as you'd think.

I have so many good intentions.

Plans to DO things.
To draw, knit, sew, design, write....

But what do I do?

I spend the evening playing spider and trawling round myspace.
Brain disengaged from anything but the most basic of function.

Ok, so i've also been checking out some new [ to me] bands, but thats hardly 'doing' is it?

I feel like I'm treading water right now, unable to move forwards and yet having to work so hard to stay where I am.

Note
i don't normally edit my blogs, but I have to admit to tweaking this one a day later.
It just goes to show that you should never post when you're feeling particularly down.

Found

2007-01-28T11:51:00.000Z

The first made me feel sad.
The second had me grinning .
And hitting the bookmark.
:D

Bleeding as an art form

2007-01-26T21:10:00.000Z

This guy came to my attention today.
His name is Franco B...there's a link in my stuff bit...and he's a friend of a Rep I met today.
She's an amazing girl in her own right, but we got to talking about non work related stuff and she mentioned him.
From what it says on his site he's stopped performing in the same way for the time being but i found myself fascinated by my reactions to what she was saying about his performance art.

I was equally horrified, astounded and intrigued at what he did.
Simply, he would be naked, covered in white body paint, with catheters insered into his body so that as he walked up and down a catwalk covered with white fabric his blood would drip/run/spray? onto the whiteness and form patterns.

I felt as if I ought to be shocked and appalled and yet i wasn't really.
He is not being coerced.
He is not mentally incapacitated [ or at least, so far as I know he's not ]
So surely its up to him what he does with his own body?

And yet.....
I'm not sure if I could have gone and watched him perform.

Do they breed or what??????

2007-01-21T13:51:00.000Z

I'm clearing out my bedroom so that i can see what I actually have, and so that i can finally get it decorated.
Only 7 years after we moved in.....
But hey, thats not bad going for me ;)

And all i keep finding are coathangers.
Lots and lots of them.
Tucked into places that a coathanger shouldn't be.

The ones on that rail aren't even half of them!!!!

Ah well, I'll bag 'em up and put them out and hope someone takes them.
If not our binnies are nice and they wont leave them behind when they take the rest of our rubbish on wednesday.

I've been cutting stuff up too.
Cards and fabric mainly.
Cards, so that i can recycle them into my own.
Fabric because I intend to start patchworking this year.
I'm a terrible hoarder of fabric you see.
I get all ooohey and aaaaahey over fabric that feels or looks good, and i can't bear to throw it out.
And since the recycling banks will just mash it all up, I though that it was time for me to use it up.
Especially since over Xmas i saw some throws and bedspreads in patchworked simple designs that were retailing at nearly £200!!!!!!!!
And hell, i had nicer fabrics than that in my box at home, so 2007 is going to be a crafty year for me I think.

And it'll give me something else to do on my day off if I don't want to trek up to London.

Yeah yeah...I know the good weather is coming and that I love wandering around Soho and the Galleries in the sun.
Well, not that the galleries are in the open, but stop nit picking..you know what i mean.

But its about time i actually DID the stuff that i enjoy as much as that.

Wish me luck.

Casino Royale

2007-01-16T23:49:00.000Z

I just got back from watching this guy.
Awesome.

Birthdays

2007-01-14T19:26:00.001Z

Are they a good thing
Or a bad thing?

On one hand you get to do some awesome stuff in the name of the god of birthdays and Celebration.
On the other you're OLDER.

I haven't decided if the one is worth the other yet.
Today i'd say YES
Absolutely.
No question.

But tomorrow..........
Tomorrow I'm going to be a whole year older.

Ah bugger it.
In my head I'm still running between 16 and 30 so should i really give a toss about how many birthdays I've had.
Does it make me a different person?
Does it make me look different overnight?
Does it make me dress/think/act differently?
No.! No it doesn't.

I've been worried about a number for heavens sake.
How dumb is that.

Sheesh.

Its January already!!!!!

2007-01-08T20:36:00.001Z

When did that happen?

OK.
So I remember New Years Eve happening, but now its nearly 2 WEEKS IN.
EEEK!!!!!

This year is already running away from me.
I need to get it under control, slow it down and stop running to stand still.

Fat Chance.
Bah.

It only seems like yesterday that this lady was having her 21st birthday!

And NO!!!
I'm NOT that old!!!!
I was a tiny baby when it happened, just very advanced for my age ;)

Actually I think I was about 9.
I can remember her coming home with my Dad in this mad afghan coat , smoking roll-ups, drinking whisky and talking about all the bands that she'd been hanging out with.
She seemed so completely cool.
:D
I guess she hasn't changed much inside, she's still nutty, you just wouldn't know it to look at her.

I haven't been able to get to another Ceroc class yet.
Things keep coming up.

Last week I was at work till nearly 11pm [ well, if you include the time from 8.30 at Pizza Express with my workmates I was ]
And this week is going to be the same.
Its deadline time for the website and we're proof reading like idiots, deleting waffle like mad and trying to sound like we actually know what we're talking about while not boring anyone who might read it with too much complex stuff.
We found an excellent photo for it though.
Its my fave.

Hmmmmmm
I just thought.....
Did I mention the Ceroc on this blog before?

I can't remember.
And I can't be bothered to go look.
If I did just ignore this bit.

If i didn't, Ceroc is a kind of cross between Salsa and Rock'n'roll and i decided to start going to classes just before Christmas.
Its fun.
So I'm sort of peeved that I'm having to do other stuff when i should be learning new steps and getting sweaty on the dancefloor.
:D

But to get back to the run-away 2007.
Its only been in existance for a couple of weeks and yet it seems that its going to be a year of change.
Capital C, Capital H, Capital A....
Oh, you get the picture.

One of my best friends is moving away to frolic with Basset hounds and mad [but in a good way] people.
When I heard about it I was sad ish , but you can't be sad around someone who's suddenly the happiest I have ever known them to be.
And I'm looking around me , and my world is suddenly different.
Sure, lots of the things actually happened late last year, but they've taken a while to settle in, and its as if they have only really happened now,

So I'm going to make this year a positive one.
Capital P...ah , hell :D

Wish me luck
x

PMS or just edgy?

2006-12-11T21:29:00.000Z

There are days when I feel wrong.
I wake up with an empty feeling in my... stomach? head? heart? all of the previous actually.
I do the things that I should be doing and yet feel as if I'm getting no where.
I look around me and seem unable to interact properly with anything or anybody.
I go online and see my friends there on MSN or AIM and log on , search my suddenly empty brain for something/anything to talk to them about, and log off again as I can't find a single thing to say.
Even to the people that I wanted to talk to so urgently a second earlier.

So what do i do?

I escape into a book.

I escape into other peoples lives.

So that i can ignore my own.

Maybe one day soon I'll be able to deal with my own life enough so that I dont have to escape anymore.

A week off work.

2006-12-11T14:24:00.001Z

I actually got around to taking some time off.

About time too.

Not that I've been dossing about doing nothing.

I went to the design museum to see the Vision Aid Overseas chandeliers

and the Alan Fletcher work, and fell in love with this little sweetie

evening haiku

2006-12-04T22:18:00.000Z

Night; and once again,
the while I wait for you, cold wind
turns into rain.

Shiki, Masaoka. (1867-1902).

A dead chrysanthemum
and yet - isn't there still something
remaining in it?

Takahama, Kyoshi

Christmas

2006-12-03T16:41:00.002Z

I had to do the christmas window for work because the person who normally does it is off.
Its not bad, but I've done beter.
Still its about 6 or more years since i've had to so i'm not going to beat myself up about it too much.

In other news, I'm off to see my mum on wednesday so expect more Photos.

Postsecret

2006-11-19T18:09:00.000Z

Every Sunday there are some things that I ALWAYS do.
One of them is check out the new post on the Postsecret site.

And every week i wish I could go and see one of the exhibitons that they have been touring the US with.

So today I'm bouncing at the fact that as of Monday it will be hosted at Foyles in Charing Cross Road.

Guess where I'll be going on Wednesday.
:D

Sunday mornings are the best.v2.

2006-11-12T13:18:00.000Z

I was going to make roast lamb for lunch today, but somehow the lamb turned out to be pork.
Yeah...it sort of freaked me too.
All I can put it down to is the fact that it was one of the 'emergency' joints that I have in the freezer and when its wrapped and then frozen its hard to tell.
I mean..it was the right shape for lamb....

So I'm just waiting for it to finish cooking before I stick the potato's on and do the rest of the veggie bits.
It smells gorgeous though.
*drool*

Anyway, here I am in the living room, watching some weird Disney cinderella themed movie with Jo, catching up on postsecret and stuff.

And thinking.

OH NO!!! She's not thinking again*eek*

Yes.
Yes I am.

I'm thinking about relationships mainly.
And pubs.

Weird combination?

Well, actually , no.

I think its because Pubs played such a big part in my bringing up, and so many of my memories [ good and bad ] are tied up with them.
And because after 10 years of being with Dave I've actually found a pub that I enjoy being in with him.
One that I'm perfectly comfortable spending time in on my own.
And one thats letting us spend time together in, doing all the things that we really ought to have done when we first met.

That's been one of the big problems in our relationship.
The fact that we met , I got pregnant, and we moved from not knowing much about each other to being in a heavy relationship almost immediately.
Ok, he didn't move in for a couple of years, but we both acted as if it was a pretty final relationship almost as soon as I told him that he was going to be a father.
At the time we were trying to keep things as light as we could but looking back i don't think we manged that very well.
i suppose when both of you are committed to bringing up a child together its hard to maintain that light touch.

However, here we are 10 years on, having dealt with a load of rubbish and I'm sure having still some more to deal with, but at a reasonably positive place in our lives.

And lo and behold, the local dive has been closed and down re-opened under new management and completely turned round in the space of 6 months.
And i really like the landlord and landlady.
And I'm getting better at pool because I'm actually playing.
Duh..yes I know ok...
But more to the point Dave and I have been out together just to have fun and hang out more than we have since we first met.
And its like we're dating .
I'd say dating again, but as I said before, we really didn't date at all when we met, so I guess plain old 'dating' covers it.
And I'm pretty happy about it.

In other news:-
I got to see one of my fave guys on wednesday and catch up with stuff .
Its been over a year since I last saw him and I'd forgotten just how easy to be with and daft he is.
Plus I got a mini tutorial on photoshopping and discovered that the reason i was having so much of a problem was because i was doing one tiny thing wrong.
So now I can go and sort out all the little things that need tweaking, and hopefully get to be more confident with all of that stuff too.

Christ, i have so much more stuff that i wanted to put in here, but i have to go and do some 'real' work so it'll just have to wait.

Moved and stuff

2006-10-23T20:09:00.003+01:00

Well, as far as I can tell this is the new house.

I say that because I forgot to keep the agents photos and had to find these on the trusty internet from another agent, but all the details match , so although its showing the place from another angle, I'm 99% sure that this is where my Mum has moved to.

She rang me yesterdday, and sounded excited and happy, even though they'd spent their first night on the floor after a journey that got them in at past one AM.

They Did leave the ancient and dreadful bedroom furniture behind in the end, after a mishap resulting in the smashing of the door mirror, but the new people are going to stick it on the park bonfire so that was all cool.

I'm going to miss that.
The whole bonfire/soup/hotdogs/guy competition thing, surrounded by all the other people who's houses back on to the park, but i can imagine how excited the new family will be to do all of that for the first time, and i can let it go .

I need to sort out when I can go over and see them, but the 4 hour drive means it will probably have to be an overnighter.

*************************************************************

In other news, its Diwali time again, and my friend has come through once again with some gorgeous Diwali food at work.
OK, it her mum who does the honours, and we are very grateful that she does, but its her that brings it all in for us, so smooches go in her direction for all the goodies too.

Want to have a look at what she brought us?

Here......

Looks gorgeous doesn't it?
And it tastes even better than it looks.
;)

new beginings

2006-10-20T20:37:00.000+01:00

I'm sort of suprised by how attatched i feel to this house.
I mean its not the only house I'd lived in with my parents, and I've not lived there for ages, but now that its not going to be my Mum's home anymore I find myself missing it.

The fact that I won't be able to see this view again for instance.
Totally stupid.

And the fact that I need to delete the phone number from my phone.
And learn a new one.

Change.
Who'd have guessed that it would make me feel so unsettled.

busy busy busy

2006-10-08T13:58:00.000+01:00

I'm switching between thumpety-thumpety-headachy and bouncy-bouncy-excited this morning.
The TTH is due to drinking too much of this

The fact that Dave is hoovering upstairs and my next door neighbours arguing over who exactly spoilt his birthday party /left first/got more drunk/said what to whom isn't making it better.

Thr BBE is because i went to this

And because ive booked to get some more work done by this guy.

His work is to quote himself..."a mix of cubism, art deco and classical art"

So I'll have to wait a year before i can have it done, but it'll be completely worth the wait.

* bounces *

and another sunday rolls around...

2006-09-24T13:10:00.002+01:00

....seemingly without a gap from the last one.
Well, i guess that I may have been in a bit of a time warp given that shortly after I wrote the last entry Dave came home looking a bit strange and proceeded to throw up violently till about 2 in the morning, followed by me and Jo [ thankfully not with the same violence ] and meaning that I was off work for a day , he was off work for a week, and Jo kept him company because she came down with a horrible cold and cough.
Altogether I've slept far more than normal and its crapped out my body clock.
It wasn't helped by the fact that having gone back to work i was then off for a day, in for one and then off for 2.
The 2 off had been planned for a while because I wanted to go and see Mogwai , although given my luck with gigs lately I was worried that yet again something wold come up to stop it happening.

For once though everything went smoothly and i had the most fantastic time.
Awesome doesn't come near.
:D

Then I took advantage of the fact that Dave was still off and stayed out longer than i intended to.
But It did involve having a good lunch and hitting Montezuma's for the most wonderful chocolate.

Sometimes i regret not staying in london so much.
I know thats a purely selfish thing for me to feel.
The girls have a much better childhood by living in Kent.
But i miss so many things.
I miss the markets and the range of shops, i miss the 'feel' of central london, the galleries and the cafe's and the general eclectic mix of the place.
I miss the people.
Even the irritating ones.

And most of all I miss the freedom.

Sunday mornings are the best.

2006-09-17T12:45:00.000+01:00

Ah, don't you just love lazy sunday mornings?

When you're left alone to pootle around doing nothing particular except listen to your itunes and surf.
Obviously here I'm talking about the net when I say surf,

since I'm very much of the 'sit on the beach and admire the mad guys/girls who get out there and do it while briefly toying with the idea of having a go before rapidly discarding the idiotic notion ' persuasion.

I regularly wish that wasn't the case, but since i absolutely LOVE lying on a beach , feeling the heat spread across my skin as
its washed with a salted breeze.

Sigh.

Its one of the things that I miss since i had children.
Not the beach..we go when we have time.
No, i miss the being able to shut out the world as I lay there.
Thats something that you just don't get to do when you have children.
You always need to know where they are, without being too obvious .
so I've missed the whole lay there and read, or snooze, or stick the headphones in and veg.

In fact sunday mornings have taken their place a little.
They are that little bit of ME space that I can rely on.

:D

A somewhat belated update

2006-09-05T13:54:00.000+01:00

I think I'm a sure case for senile dementia when I get older.
Yesterday I got in to work and realised as i looked at all the cars packed into our tiny car park that i may have made a mistake somewhere, a thought which was confirmed when I strolled in to see my cover walk past.
Yup, I had gone into work on my day off.
And its not the first time either.

I'm putting it down to the fact that I was still tired from the weekend.

I went up to Harrogate for Emily's wedding.
It was glorious, She was glorious, the Venue was glorious.
The drive there and back was less glorious.
And i will draw a veil over my inability to follow directions when dropping friends off in London.

I also went to my God daughters 21'st birthday party.
No...not on the same weekend...I would have totally flaked if I'd had to do them both on the same weekend.
:D
It was a fancy dress party, and I had fun making the costumes, and less fun wearing mine, but millions of laughs seeing everyone in theirs.

The guy in the middle was such a cute tease, and a complete sweetie.
How come I never met guys like him when i was single and young enough to enjoy them ;D

What else ?....
Oh, I got to play with fire extinguishers today, and pulled the most disgusting masss of hair from my showers plughole.
The first was fun.
The second was gross, and has resulted in a stern talking to for both of my girlies about not letting masses of hair get in there when they shower.
I mean, Dave is very nearly bald, my hair is short , but jo has shoulder length hair while emma's is down to the middle of her back, so the chances are its them shedding madly that caused the blockage.
So now they have to brush before they get in and clear the plug when they get out and I hope it wont get like that again.

and the results are in!

2006-08-24T22:39:00.000+01:00

2 A's, 2 B's, 6 C's and a D [ in PE ] [ so we don't care ]
:D

I am the proud parent of a happy girl.
OK, so she was hoping for a bit better result in a couple of her subjects, but I think its no bad thing to be a little dissappointed in your GCSE's if you're going to go on to do A levels....it just helps you to knuckle down and study.

its nailbiting....

2006-08-24T11:14:00.000+01:00

Waiting for the phone call to tell me how Emma has done on her GCSE's.

I'm an aunty again

2006-08-02T17:11:00.000+01:00

*love*

Hot .

2006-07-23T22:10:00.000+01:00

Yup, it is.

I've been sitting in the park watching my littlest girlie learn to ride her bike.
She's just gone up to a bigger size and seh was a bit wobbly to begin with, but she's doing fine, so once she's got over her crashing stage we'll get her a new one, but for now she's happily on her big sisters old one.

It was fun just sitting on a blanket watching families walk/ride/skate past for once smiling and passing pleasant comments on what's going on around them.

We ought to do it more often.

It didn't do much for my peace of mind to read this article though....http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article1191932.ece

Blair and Bush. When will they learn to check that the microphone is off BEFORE they talk.

2006-07-18T13:55:00.000+01:00

This would be funny if it wasn't so serious

sigh.

And where the hell did Tony Blair get such a long tie from?

Hen Nights.

2006-07-12T20:24:00.000+01:00

What the hell has happened to Hen nights since I got married?????

Ok, so its a while ago.
1981 to be exact.
But i DID have one.
And it DID involve clubbing and having fun.

But when did all this

and this

happen?

I'm going to one on saturday and have been given instructions from the brides sister to ' bring something small stupid and embarrassing' to pin to the bride to be so that she'll feel, well, small, stupid and embarrassed aparently.
:S

I get the dressing up thing.
But making her feel stupid and embarrased?
What are they?
Friends or enemies?

Maybe its a generation thing.
I was also going to go on later with the rest of the [younger]girls to a club which according to the same sister was a 70's themed one where in order to get in you had to go in costume.
I thought ..fine..i can do that, i mean the 70's covers everything from mini /midi/maxi skirts to punk.
And then i thought about it somemore, did a little investigating and discovered that the place they were talking about was here http://www.carwash.co.uk/
And the dress code is this

Not exactly what I was expecting.
:D

Now i can do fetish ok..i mean give me a corset and some big heels and you're nearly there, but I'm not stupid, and thats exactly how I'd look if i tried to match those ensembles.

So i'm begging off after the meal and trotting off to do things that atually make me feel good and not stupid.

Thinking while watching CSI

2006-07-05T22:54:00.000+01:00

It's amazing what goes through your mind while you watch TV.
Human nature is a strange and sad thing.

I often have difficulty telling people things that I think or know that they won't like, and i feel that I'm less of a person for not biting the bullet and actually speaking out.

A couple of things have happened recently that have made me think more about this.
Some have affected friends of mine, some family, and some people that i know but who I'm not close to.
And the thing that has connected all of them is the fact that in each case a person has acted in such a way as to try and make other people put pressure on someone else in order to make their lives easier or to make themselves feel less culpable for whatever has happened.

And its something that I don't understand.

I don't understand when people use their children as pawns to get back at their ex spouse/partner.
Even when things were at their worst with my ex husband i would never have dreamed of slagging him off to my daughter or stopping him seeing her.
Whatever had happened between us didn't change the fact that she was his daughter and that they love each other.
As she's got older i have explained more about why we didn't stay married, but I've always tried to be fair and balanced.
And as she's grown up its helped her to accept her father for a whole person, and to understand some things that happened around her when she was with her father and his family .

I don't understand it when someone thinks that their ex partner owes them anything when a relationship breaks up.
No matter how horrible a break up is, there must have been something that held them together, and hopefully that includes a sense of respect for each other, so if something ends it ends.
There's nothing that can change that.

I don't understand it when someone uses their standing within a group to try and exclude a newer member of that group for personal reasons.
It leaves a nasty taste in my mouth .
If a group is public then its public, and it means that there may be members who don't get on in it.
Hopefully if they are adults they can agree to dissagree.
So i don't understand why someone would actively ask other members of that group to get them banned.

And mostly i don't understand why i didn't say anything.

weekend stuff

2006-07-02T23:17:00.000+01:00

Its been hot and sweaty today.
All weekend actually.
And a weekend of really looking at what goes on around me.

SATURDAY
I went up to town on saturday after work, stopping off at my mums on the way for a change, and getting there just as Marek and her were discussing the survey results of the new palce that they were buying.
i stopped for a cup of tea and a quick chat but i don't feel as comfortable there as i used to.
Its not that I'm not made to feel welcome, but I sometimes feel like i'm intruding a little.
Then off to London for a non-specific mind emptying trip.

I like going up and doing more or less nothing as much as I enjoy going and visiting the galleries etc.
I find it calming to sit with a cup of tea and watch what's going on around me.

On saturday what was going on around me was the England game and Gay Pride.
A volatile mix :D

I've rarely seen so many fit muscular guys in one place.

Apart from some pissed fans i had no hassle but the sound of the police sirens in the rather too near distance made it clear that it wasn't like that everywhere.

On the way home I got to talk to mum about the serious money implications of the sale and now feel much happier that she won't be left in the lurch should something go wrong between the 2 of them.
Of course ,as per usual it meant that i didn't leave her place till past 10.30 so by the time i got home it was nearly midnight, and jo was again asleep.

I feel bad that when i take space for myself she misses out on time with me.
At least this time her dad was able to take her out to her school fete rather than her having to stay longer round her nans, so she had fun, but still.....

SUNDAY

Sticky sticky sticky.
Its days like this that I wish we were closer to the coast.
Most of the day was spent sitting in the garden.
Jo [ having got told off for squirting everybody with her waterpistol and soaked my newspaper ] sat with her feet in her wastepaper bin which she'd filled with water and handwash liquid.
Dave sat with his foot up and managed to get through about 6 botles of kronenbourg while he read his newspaper.
Emma regaled us with the run down on how her great grandma had coped with the birthday lunch at a chinese restaurant that her dad had organised.
And me....
Well i read my paper [and was suprised to find a piece in there about postsecret ]and sat and thought.

Oh and i weighed myself again.
And I've lost 6lbs.

Now i don't know whether to leave that little bit of information in this blog.....
.....but you know, if I don't acnowledge that i NEED to lose it and that I am CONSCIOUSLY doing something about it then i allow myself to drift back into the same old habits that got me in this situation in the first place.

16th Birthday :D

2006-06-27T19:18:00.000+01:00

I'm sitting here with the BIGGEST grin after Em's 16th birthday party.
I'm also exhausted and surrounded by debris, but I guess thats the sign of a good party.
:D
Its brought back some old memories for me too, especially the "oh my god, Dom HUGGED me" comments, the mass exodus to the toilets/bar/food , the hanging over the fence to try and retrieve some lost sunnies, the multiple bodies strewn around the living room the next morning....
Ok, so i also have enough food to feed the whole street, and enough booze for at least a couple more parties, but hey, that goes without saying doesnt it.

In other news, Dave's still not back on his feet, so Death Cab For Cutie at Brixton tomorrow is out of the question.
I don't think I'll do the clubbing bit of the hen night in july , but i might go to the 21st that needs fancydress.
Thats not till august, so I'll have enough time to find something suitable to wear.
*goes off to research some suitably silly and yet not completely twattish costume*

Christ, is that the time?

2006-06-20T18:34:00.001+01:00

As was pointed out to me recently its been ages since I've updated, and since the main reason has been lack of time I've probably forgotten most of what I've been doing to make me have no spare time in the first place, but since I hate those 'will update soon' kind of updates I'll do my best to run it down in brief.

Most recently I had a not quite suprise chat with my mum regarding her selling up and moving to the west country, followed by a weekend trip by her and Marek to look around , followed immediately by them putting in an offer on a property , putting hers on sale, getting an immediate ofer and planning to move to Exmoor in the next 10 weeks.
I'm equally glad for her/them and sad that I've only had her around and able to do mum/daugher stuff for a few years.

Em has sat her GCSE's with all the attendant stress and strain.

I seem to be working late on a regular basis just to keep things under control.

Dave has a new job that means he's up at 3.30 which has taken some adjusting to as he used to do an afternnon to early morning shift.

One of my friends mum's died suddenly with no reason, and has brought it to the fore that my mums side of the family doesn't seem to be that long lived.

The garden is nearly finished, though it has recently involved me being outside painting one of the plastered walls at 11.00pm twice.

I got bitten my some unknown bug and my leg came up with a big hard area the size of my outstretched hand and a red itchy patch that ran from my groin to my knee, but its now down to a hard area about an inch round thank god.

I bought some new glass plugs for my ears and discovered that they are easilly 6mm now, so i'm working on getting them up to 8 and then I'll decide how much bigger I want them to go.

I have the bug for more ink, but I need to decide where and what.
Especially after some twat of a meter reader came up from our cellar at work, saw me with my back to him as I was working said 'nice tattoo''how far down does it go' and yanked my jumper out so he could see.
Its the first time anyone has done that to me.
It felt pretty bad.
I'm just glad the door was open and when I pulled forwards and the other staff looked over he had the grace to look embarrassed.
What makes people think they have the right to move your clothes to see something just because its a tattoo?

And now I'm off to watch the football with dave.
Unless I fall asleep ;D

garden update

2006-05-17T11:49:00.000+01:00

As those of you who know me already know, my garden has been in a state of dissaray for a while now, but its finally starting to get there.

OK, so it has been rather forced since emma wants her party in the garden, and the thought of a load of 16 year olds doing battle with the triffid, bramble, trip hazard and general jungle flora that erupts at regular intervals out there was giving me the willies, but nevertheless, at last, ITS GETTING THERE.

Its my day off today, and its dry, warm and good gardening weather, so I've been out there for the last couple of hours clearing, burning and digging.

I've already broken the fork....testimony I'm sure you'll agree to the sheer superhuman effort that I was putting into it [ and nothing at all to the fact that one of the tines was bent and might have been a bit on the dicky side ]
But I've dug over about 3m[sq] down the bit thats going to be planted with some big architectural tropical type triffids of my own, [ having decided that since I can't do anything about next doors giant I might as well use it to set off some things that I actually like ]

so i'm putting these in.

And some more stuff that will make a screen to seperate the 2 halves of the garden.

Change

2006-05-14T22:06:00.000+01:00

I'm frankly a little nervous of posting this, if only because as soon as i tell someone that I'm going to do something I generally then promptly do an about face and do the exact opposite, but there is no avoiding it.
If i am to feel happy in myself then I have to change.
Slowly and steadily the person that is inside my head has become rather different from the flesh surrounding it.
I feel like the old man who told his son that he is still the 12 year old with a pet skunk [in his head] not the 65 year old with arthritis that his body told him he was.

The camera never lies.

and I'm seriously not happy with some photos of me that got taken last night.

I know that I haven't got the spare time that i used to have to change loads of things in my life, but I can and will change some.

Thats as much as I'm going to say incase i jinx myself, but I feel like I have made a mental switch today and i hope that tomorrow I will feel the same way.

Hang on....

2006-05-05T12:57:00.002+01:00

This week has been amazing so far .
The sun is out.
Dave has a new job [ and more to the point its the one he wanted ]
I had the most excellent day off in Soho which included sitting in the sun drinking wine and talking to people and having a generally wonderful day.
I've got a bonus at work!
My mum is coming over to take me to lunch as a surprise.
And a friend sent me this which had me grinning.

Oh, and if you have any idea for how to make the filling for a pimped chocolate bourbon then please feel free to leave suggestions.
Personally I think they should go for the pimped jafa cake, but its already been done, and her daughter wants a selection of pimped biscuits for her 21st.

Oh Oh Oh..and how should I decorate the garden for Emma's 16th?
I'm going brain dead and she keeps going off on complete flights of fancy when i ask her .... by which i mean it would cost thousands to do what she wants.
So any ideas for fun 16th birthday styleee will also be greatly appreciated.
:D

:D

Olive has new shoes

2006-04-26T16:14:00.000+01:00

And has had her tracking sorted too, so now i can zoom about without feeling like I'm gripping a pneumatic drill.
Plus i bought her an itrip so that i can listen to something other than crapy radio stations while doing said zooming without having to carry loads od cd's.
I only keep copies in the car anyway so that if someone horrible ran away with them I'd still have m y originals, but even so its a pain.

I also bought 'switching to the mac' so i can stop bothering my friends with silly questions ..... or as it was put ' so that i don't have to tell you one day, and then tell you again the next, and the next......' :D

and i saw A season for the dead by David Hewson in waterstones, which is the first in the series that a sacred cut is part of, so i got that too.

I didn't have any luck finding the jacket that i wanted though...they had it, but only in sizes that would fit a baby :( so I guess I'll just have to lug my coat around till its warm enough to be sure that i won't freeze on the station on the way home.

And now, I'm going to finish my tea and tootle off to cyber candy for goodies for the girls, and make my way home

Tickets! and bouncing:D

2006-04-23T10:02:00.001+01:00

Much bouncing around the room happened yesterday for some very good reasons.
Dr Who , thanks to jo who reminded that me it was on and set the sky thing to reming us. :D
Green Wing , which i missed on friday and had to spend the day at work walking away to avoid listening to everybody going over all the funny bits...which basically means ALL of it :D
Richard Ashcroft, well, ok not in the flesh, but the tickets got dropped off :D

Of course this then prompted the question this morning of who was going to look after Jo when we go....
and of course I'd totally forgotten to add this into the equation.
So now I'd better ask my mum nicely if she'll have her for the evening.

Todays bouncing has already started due to Dave getting up earlyish with an upset tum and hence me also being up earlyish, checking out the gig listings at brixton academy while i was looking for directions of how to get there and ending up booking tickets for Death Cab For cutie too.
Bounce Bounce Bounce
:D :D :D

Oh, and if you watched it, did anyone else find it sightly surreal that they cast Pauline collins as Queen Victoria?

elderberry and damson

2006-04-19T20:13:00.000+01:00

Damn, damn and double bugger.
I've just taken a walk down to the very end of the garden to get a closer look at what has actually been done to my trees.
they were supposed to be tidied up and an overgrown elderberry cut down .

*Note to self*
Never, Ever leave workmen to work unsupervised.
Ever.
At All.
Not even for a second.

And what do you think i found?

A missing Damson, which they were supposed to prune gently so that it would start to bear fruit more prolifically.
and a flowering [ if rather hacked about ] elderberry.

I could have cried.

So i think they are all going to have to come out, and I'll start again.

Hmmmmmmmm.......
I was going to draw a little plan of how it will look in the end, but I can't find the equivalent of 'paint' on my mac.
Now it's quite possible that its me.
Especially since I got moaned at recently for asking the same question about how i did things on here too many times.
*hangs head in shame*
But I really HAVE looked this time, and i can't find it.

So.....lets see if i can paint a mental picture.

Behind the new patio, running to the very end of the garden, is a space that was full of brambles and big river stones [all buried and we have no idea why they were there] and a mish mash of overgrown shrubs and leggy trees.
its about 15' by 20' and at the moment had earth piled up in a hump down the middle so it arches upalong the longest length of it.

What we want to do is level the earth, cover it with a thick layer of gravel, put some stepping stone type slabs in the central section, running from the steps that come from the new patio to about 3' from the back [ really just so i have somewhere stable to stand while i prune the stuff that's going in.
In the rectangular area surrounding the centre I want to plant some medium sized shrubs, probably with a holly and something else suitably spiky at the back where the fence opens out onto the garages behind, and a flowering cherry or a magnolia and an apple tree.
If I chose them properly even when they are fully grown there will be enough space for both of them.
Then I'll put some low lighting down there, and a semi hidden bench,and just keep it as a quiet secluded part of the garden for me to sit and read in.

That will leave the new patio for sunbathing / playing netball on.
The bit up from that with the big pampas grasses/a dwarf willow /a mock orange [philadelphus] /some honeysuckle /a couple of cordyline/a potentilla/ and some incidental bits and pieces.
All of which should be big enough to screen the view of the house from the lower patio and vice versa.

Then finally the lawn and the small patio up by the house.

Its a long thin garden.

But it's MY long thin garden, and i can see how i want it to be in my head.

fur coats , stiletto's, orange people and queues

2006-04-17T23:06:00.000+01:00

Yup, all of the above were things that we saw on our weekend away at Alton Towers.
I don't have the energy right now to go into why people were wearing full length fur coats and stilettos to a theme park, and it would all be speculation anyway, but the orange people were scary.
I sort of hope it was fake tan, but somehow i doubt it.
Lets just say that on a chilly drizzly english easter sunday I didn't expect to be confronted with bare middles, low tops, corsets, 5 inch heels and spray painted faces .

Do you know what?

2006-04-10T21:14:00.000+01:00

today i am mainly feeling lethargic.

well it makes me feel better

2006-04-09T23:12:00.001+01:00

This article has just confirmed something that has been bothering me for the last couple of years.

It's something that has happened on a regular basis ever since I breast fed, and has ranged from a clear straw coloured fluid to dark green at times, and i admit, the dark green has worried me somewhat.
Especially since, having got up the courage to get it checked, I came up against an overworked cow of a doctor who barked that 'green means its old blood' after ultrasounding my boobs, as if this explains it and makes it all ok.
And I admit, the words didn't sink in till I was out of the hospital, I just heard the inference that it was all ok from her exasperated tone of voice.

But it has worried me.

And I have thought about getting checked again.

At least now i know WHY she seemed to think that it was all normal.
Underactive thyroid added to the whole post breastfeeding thing add up to a high likelyhood of a discharge, and at the same time the reassurance that the ultrasound would have picked up any of the nasties the article talks about.

and I feel a whole lot happier.

drooling

2006-04-06T23:17:00.000+01:00

I bought the biba book on my last shopping trip to waterstones.
*heart*

Pixar and stuff

2006-04-06T14:20:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I got to do loads of stuff that I like doing.
I got to see the Pixar exhibition at the Science Museum.

I got to drink tea and talk to one of my fave people.
In one of my fave places.

I bought lots of sweetie type goodies for my girlies [ and for me ].

I stuffed my face with loads of meaty goodness at one of my fave restaurants.

I bought a shirt from M+S.

I saw a woman on an old pushbike cycling through Soho singing an aria at the top of her voice.

And perched in an apparently random fashion on the edge of a blockbrick warehouse, a beautiful piece of old church architecture with a large stained glass window.

I really must take time to take the photos that I've logged in my head sometimes as I travel .
There's a view from waterloo east station across the roofs and chimneypots that sit level with the platform, a twisted silhouette, black and ivory of 2 trees that is just glorious in a field on my way to work, at least 2 hidden gates going no-where, just relics of old walkways long disused and so much more.
Things that I pass by and see, unable to stop as I drive or rattle inside a railway cariage.
I wonder if that lone foxglove will show again this year?
And I wonder if THIS time I'll get to capture it.

busy day off

2006-03-29T22:28:00.002+01:00

I spent today trotting around from one place to another.

The guy who was supposed to be turning up to do the last bit of plastering didn't.

I went over to see one of my old friends.
I met her over 24 years ago when i first started in my job, and we've fallen out of friendship a couple of times over the years, got back together, supported each other through bad times, got pissed together, had good times, lost touch and got back.
But every time I go and see her its as if there has been no time between visits.

She has another dog since I last saw her, a big black rottie, as daft as a brush and very placid, with only one eye .
He's a rescue dog, having lost the eye when he was used for dogfighting.
you wouldn't know from his nature, but her husband said although he's be fine with most of the people he's been introduced to he had a problem with an electrician who came in to do some work wearing a three-quarter length leather jacket.
I assume it was a look that he associated with his past life.
It's so sad.

Then i shot over to my mum's.
It was supposed to be a quick visit.
They always are.
:D
And they never seem to be that way.
This time we got sidetracked by what she'd been doing with the house,what she was going to do to the house.
She'd found some of my old LP's too, and amongst them was a copy of through the past darkly in its original octagonal cover, but in SUCH a bad state.
I suppose nothing else could be expected given how much play it got and how many parties it got taken to.

Happy times after that when i had tea and silliness in the coffee shop, though i was pissed that i hadn't got there earlier so i could have spent more time with everybody, but i treated myself to pocky and reeses pieces at cybercandy and soon felt happier.

Then back to mums to collect said album and supposedly to leave straight away.
So an hour later i'm still there.
:D

see what sugar highs do to you...

2006-03-27T23:19:00.001+01:00

I got so bored I rejoined an old site.
Well, i had the gift membership, so it had 3 months to prove itsself different, not that i hold out much hope, but i'm going to stay clear of the worst bits and see if the stuff that used to interest me is still there.
if not i will wash my hands happilly, this time making it clear that i'm doing it because i want to, so no-one will buy me another membership.

Audible

2006-03-27T22:46:00.001+01:00

Recently I've taken to listening to books on my way to work, and today i've started the Jane Austen Book Club by Karen joy Fowler.
Its strange, i really don't find it all that interesting, but I can't stop listening.
I'm playing spider solitaire while i listen, getting less and less interested with each moment, but unable to turn it off.

I feel jumpy too, but i think thats something to do with the fact that i've just eaten a bag of Marks and Spencers speckled eggs for tea and nothing else.

I think i'll go and take my laptop to bed and do some writing....or maybe not.
I dont know.

actually, this bloodybook is now beginning to really irritate me. so i'm switching it off and i'll leave it for a while.
Maybe I'll listen to The Sacred Cut by David Hewson to change the mood.
Or maybe I'll just veg out.

I meant to do this days ago....

2006-03-26T21:40:00.002+01:00

But as per usual i got sidetracked.

However, since emma is now warbling away in her room, and i seem to be being left to my own devices for a while......

I read Alex' version of this and thought I'd drive you to the brink of boredom with my own.

1. whats the one character in a book movie or television who reminds you of yourself and why?
I guess the one that always springs to mind is Rizzo in Grease, mainly because i always associate my teenage self with the character singing THAT song.
:D

2. If you could have any superpower what would it be?
It would have to be the ability to shapechange.

3.What kind of person do you find yourself romantically attracted to ?
Its almost always those goodlooking guys who know that they are gorgeous, but who have enough of a sense of humour to be able to take the piss out of themselves.
Physically, there are 2 types, the tall blonde blue eyed norse god type, all muscles and pouty lips and flippy hair, and the small, slim, dark haired manicured types who look great in suits.
but they all have to have good mouths....non of these thin lipped guys , good full lipped smooching heaven types thank you very much.

4.how do you think you've matured over the years?
Crikey, where to start?
I know that what you have is often worth millions of times what might have been.
that you have to accept a persons bad personality traits as well as their good.
that its no good fretting over what you've done. its done.it can't be changed, so get on with living with the consequences.
I don't know that that's maturity, its just experience.
Oh, and i also know that you have to live for now, because it might be over any time.

5.whats the freakiest experience you or a friend have hadinvolving ghosts, ufo's of the paranormal.
Erm....my childminder once made a coffee for an old man she chatted to on the stairs of our house [we often had odd people staying] only to find out that there was no one but her and me and my brothers in the house. and that his description matched the previous owner according to our neighbours.
and a friends house was haunted with a ghost that regularly folded back the covers very neatly on all the beds when the occupants were asleep.

6.whats the one opinion that someone can express that makes you want to bitch slap them.
I don't know..there's not much riles me enough for that.
General predjudice on any level mixed with stupidity?
Though if you want to get me going, tell me I'm lying ....does it every time.

7. which family member do you get along with the least and why?
The eldest of my 2 younger brothers.
He has many good point though, but when he gets off on one, i could slap him easilly.
I have to add that he probably thinks the same about me though :D

8.whats the one guilty pleasure that you indulge in?
Hell, i have loads of pleasures that I indulge in, but none of them make me feel guilty.

9. what ethnicities other than your own have you dated?
God, I had to think about this one, mainly because I don't catagorise people by their etnicity :D
I've been out with a turkish guy, and snogged people of more or less all races, but actually I've 'dated' very few people. its what happens when you're married for 13 years and then get into another serious relationship after only a couple of years of being single and wanting to date.

10. what is one political/social issue you might contribute time/money towards?
political?...nothing springs to mind.
social?...ditto
Iam a bad person i think :(

11. whats one of the most superficial things about you?
I have a deep need to be average.
to fit in.
so i keep quiet if i dont agree with things untill i know people well enough to feel comfortable arguing.
and i like firm arses and muscles.
:D

12. what is one of your best qualities?
Erm....i don't judge.

13. when was the last time you yelled at someone?
let me think..have i shouted at the girls today?
yes, when jo was whinging about gettign dressed.

14. whats the crappiest gift you've ever received/given.
I don't know.
I usually love the stuff i'm given, if only for the sentiment, and i only choose things i like or know that the recipient will love to give as presents.

15. what was the crappiest job you've ever had?
working in a newsagents with a lech of a boss who always groped you when you had to climb up the racking to get the fags stored high up.

16. have you ever stolen anything and if so what?
when i was about 8 my cousins [who were 13] used to nick stuff from the shops in scarborough when we wre on holiday, and i pinched a pair of sunnies, then got scared and put them back.

17. whats your favourite pick up line?
I don't have one, but generally i find if you catch a guys eye, smile and look away, then look back and catch his eye again and smile longer, then they come over and give you THEIR best chat up line :D

18. what should a guy/girl do to pick you up in a bar?
Smile, be nice and talk.

19. what are your opinions about the french?
That they're the same as anybody else.

20. do you think crash should have gotten the best picture?
Ask someone who might have an opinion.

21. why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near?
Do they? i hadn't noticed, but then i normally walk around with blinkers on.

22. whats something that you wish people would automatically know about you?
that i've heard all the jokes about the size of my gazongas so many times its sad.

23. what's one misimpression that you think that people who don't know you have about you?
That i'm sensible.

24.whats your best physical feature [and don't say eyes].
Erm.....the above mentioned gazongas.

25. whats one quality you dislike in other people.
i hate bullies.

26. what are you doing today?
getting neck ache doing this.

27. .....can you tell i'm gettting fed up now?
......... what do you hope to do this weekend.
Gett eh garden dug.
such an exciting life i lead.:D

28. whats one of your fave movie quotes.
oh, hell, its a test now?
my minds gone blank:(
the only think that springs to mind is 'how did you know who i was?'
'from the letters he wrote you'
'I never got any letters'
'he gave them to me to post'
'oh'
from saving grace, when brenda blethyn meets her dead husbands mistress .
oh, and 'you were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off'
but that can hardly count .

christ.
If i'd realised how long that would take i would never have started.

sunday, mothering sunday

2006-03-26T21:06:00.000+01:00

Well right on time Mothers day has arrived all over the UK.
And this glorious morning I was greeted by, well, snoring mainly.

Yesterday the girls had there annual Girls Brigade display, which meant that they spent all day at a local church rehearsing and then putting on a selection of funny/silly/excruciatingly awful bits of display for the edification of the local officers/ministers/parents and grandparents.
It always seems to go on for ages, and always includes a selection of hymns that sre far too high for anyone to sing, and some pep talks from the local vicar.

this time they excelled themselves with not one but TWO vicars.
the current rather strange one who always seems to glare at me while pretending to smile if ever i catch his eye [and who my almost mother in law says smells], and the previous one who was all joviality and bluff cheeriness.

Luckilly both of the things that my girls were in were both short and funny [ a sketch based on cant cook wont cook which involved throwing stuff at the audience, a piece very loosly based on singing in the rain complete with brollys but thankfully no water, and a silly thing about what they would do if they weren't in girls brigade which involved some carefully timed squatting and bending to stop a couple of them being sloshed with paintbrushes or slapped.

So basically we were all completely knackered this morning.

Or at least, THEY were.

I was wide awake and twiddling my thumbs waiting for them to get up, since i'm not allowed to get out of bed before they've given me my pressies and coffee and toast.

so i did a couple of sudoku, and then poked Dave to make him get up and wake the girls.

Em bought me a pretty glass bracelet to match the green amber necklace i wear loads, and jo got me the tarantino episode of CSI and the starsky and hutch dvd, so i am feeling pampered and all that stuff.

:D

then of course I had to hit the shops .

And get hold of my mum to say happy mothers day too.

And get hold of Daves mum to do the same.

And cook.

And stuff.

and now I'm being hassled by Emma who has sorted out a load of her clothes that she doesn't want and seems determined that I go through them all with her, even though she can see that I'm busy!!!!!!!!

Heh :D

2006-03-24T14:21:00.000Z

I've just choked on my tictac
And the reason?

A poster

Advertising books

titled 'swallowing grandma'

:D :D :D

*shakes head*
*shakes with laughter*

In other news

2006-03-23T16:19:00.000Z

Ive been off today with my littlest girlie, who came home from school early yeasterday with a high temperature and generally feeling low.

The big one has a temp too, and a cough, but she also had 3 mocks today, so she struggled in to school without even a complaint.
Its amazing how much she's grown up in the last few months.

So i have been busy.

I've learnt a load of stuff about the mac [see last post] and i'm gettign more familiar with the lightness of the keys on the keyboard.
Its very touchy feely, and feels positively sexy to type on, but that hasn't improved my typing skills any.
:D

I've gone on an unsuccessful spider hunt for the littlest girlie.

I've wallpapered the newly plastered wall in the dining room.

And re-organised my bedroom.
This is mainly so i can work up here in peace if i want to now that i have the MacBook.
I got my mum to give me the desk/table that my dad used to work on rather than throw it out, and I've moved it so that its in front of the window overlooking the garden, and put the big linen chest against the opposite wall with all the cushions on it so that it can be sat on for the time being, though i need to buy some free standing shelves to go there to put my small stereo and a tv on, but it means that I've decluttered a bit and it looks much better for it.

Oh, before you drop dead with astonishment [ or at least, those of you that know just how much of a hoarder i am ] my idea of decluttering at the moment is moving the stuff onto the top floor landing till i can sort it out.
Now this isn't as bad as it sounds, as most of the stuff is toys/books of jo and em's and it had already been bagged up, but it needs seperating into charity shop/keep/throw.

i also found the bottle of Norman Hartnell 'in love' perfume that my brother found for my birthday which i was worried had been lost during the plastering.
[long story short....my first grown up bottle of perfume emptied by said brother all over bed/very smelly/very expensive/very upset/ talked about everytime our childhood escapades are discussed/ replaced at great expense by said brother 30 years later...awwwwwwwww].

Dave is off in france today getting stuff for emmas party/big household stuff/other stuff thats loads cheaper over there.

And I've just realised I havent made my mums mothers day card yet and i really ought to post it tomorrow if she's going to get it so i'm off to sort out the stuff and make it.

more from the mac

2006-03-23T16:04:00.000Z

Well, as promised [ by those who know rather more about these things than me ] I am finding my way slowly but surely around my mac.

OK, so maybe not exactly surely.
More like the first time i put on a pair of heels that were really too high, wobbly and with frequent falling off's, but its looking good.

Ish.

The main problem is that I think I know what I'm doing and then i comeup against something and realise i have no idea, not only about how to do it, but how i find out how to do it either.

And when I eventually do, its so bloody obvious that its laughable.

So far i have managed to keep stuff stickied in the dock, and I've downloaded some stuff that i use all the time on my pc , but i keep forgetting how to do the equivalent of right clicking and silly stuff like that.

I have linked up with my phone via bluetooth and loaded up all my phone pics, but now they are sitting in my documents and i cant seem to get them to go to my pictures folder, or the videos to my vid folder or my contacts to.....well, you see how it is.

And I can't seem to get the audioscrobbler to work with my Itunes.

Ah well.....

The Belfry

2006-03-20T22:24:00.001Z

Well, i suppose I ought to give you a brief[ish] rundown of my gala dinner and going to the races a la 'my fair lady'

We got there eventually, no thanks to my miss reading of the directions and taking a detour both ways up the M6 toll road [very scenic and free of traffic due to the £3.50 each way cost stopping most of the cars actually going on it]and adding about an hour and nearly 100 miles to our journey, before we drove up the rather rambling complex which is The Belfry.

Its a gorgeous place.
Beautifully kept greens, ducks, lakes, bars, nightclubs, and leisure club.

I sat through a rather interesting couple of promo/lecture things.

I'd sent Dave off to check in while i did the lecture thing, so all our stuff was in the room when I got back, though typically not unpacked.
So after hanging and folding etc and a snooze it was off to the gala dinner.

As expected my back caused some comment, mostly good, and i felt great in the dress, so although one of the guys on our table was a complete knob, we had a great time with good food [smoked salmon , lamb,nougat glace,good cheese] copious good wine, and fun entertainment from a young guy called erm....dominic?
Hell, i ought to know his name, he's been on the comedy club and stuff.
I'll look it up later.
And 5 gay guys singing babershop.
most of the dinner was taken up by a double act of 2 of the guests on our table who were fun, and who ended up having a couple of girlies draped round them when we left them at about 2am.
I also have vague memories of some welsh guy attempting to snog me before asking if i had a boyfriend and looking rather peaky when i pointed out a grinning Dave behind him.

A rather shaky morning breakfast followed by a hot long coach trip to Cheltenham didn't bode well, but after a couple of cups of tea, some biscuits and a brisk walk out to the track side in the freezing slightly sleety air I got more into the spirit of it all.
And yes. i drank rather more than i should have.
Rather a lot more.
:D
I got very good at betting on the horse that was going to come in 3rd, and dave got a few winners, but I'm really not into betting.
The day was enjoyable though.

to be continued.

first MAC post

2006-03-20T22:10:00.000Z

Right.
So I've got it switched on.
I've downloaded stuff.
It doesn't appear to have stayed downloaded.
But i now know how to cut and paste.
sort of.
a bit.

God, i am such a wuss.
:D

Its getting there

2006-03-19T14:48:00.000Z

But oh. so slowly.

I'm beginning to get my head round how the mac works, and yes, once I discover how it does it IS easier.
Its just so bloody hard not knowing WHY things don't work the first time.

It took me 3/4 hour just to register the bloody thing, because it asked me for other info and then wouldn't accept it when i entered it, and wouldn't go back and let me start again either.

Extreeeeeeeeemly irritating.

However....

Eventually I did get it to the stage when I could actually start to use it.

It says something though that I am at present typing this on my normal pc downstairs.

Oh, and The Belfry was wonderful.
I will fill you in with more on that later.
hopefully on my mac.

Grrrrr

2006-03-18T18:05:00.003Z

So.....
I have the mac....
But can I use it?
Can i heck.

And you SHALL go to the ball....

2006-03-14T17:59:00.000Z

Except that I'm sure that cinderella didn't have to rush round in her lunch hour trying to pick up all the little essentials that she suddenly realised she needed.

Its a good job that I really don't care what people think about me [ ignores the fact that there will be a fair amount of networking going on, and you never know when you might need to pick up a contact], and that I'd rather be warm than dressed 'correctly'.

I don't mean about the gala dinner black tie thing.
I'll be fine there.
Its the races.
I've never been , not even to the litle ones at Lingfield , and this is Cheltenham.
But I'm guessing/hoping that if it was anything special they would have told us, so if the Queen can toddle around in an old raincoat and warm boots and headscarf then I guess so can I.

:D

Ok, NOT in a raincoat and headscarf, but in jeans and boots and a warm coat and jumper.
A nice jumper and coat of course.
I'm not stupid.
And something that I won't feel too out of place with during the light luncheon and afternoon tea that will go with it [ pinkys up ]
Ah, hell.
I mean, by that time they will have seen the glory that is my back [ and I mean that only slightly tongue in cheek ] and probably seen me rather tipsy too [ and I hope not completely falling down drunk ], so if they are all barbour and hermes then it really wont matter by then.

Hmmmmmmm.....

I'm now starting to tripple think myself.

Especially since this was suposed to be my bosses jolly.
So I figure that the other attendees will also be owners/partners.

Ah, bugger it.
I'll smile and listen, and ask the right questions, and do a Beau Brummel.
[ie assume if anyone stares its because they are stunned by the sheer glory of my style]

Still.

Wish me luck.
*walks off with head held high and spare knickers in dress purse*