Lookee at the Counter!!

Zero! Nada! Nil!! It is holiday time!! Just an hour until Bionicdwarf collects me and my bags - and we're away!!



As we will be away over Hallowe'en, here's a wonderful scary treat for you - enjoy!!

And me, cyberkitten, Aginoth, Mrs A, sleepypete, rca and bionicdwarf will all be home next weekend.....

cq

I have a dress!!

I have a dress!!!

Thanks to Aginoth and Mrs A.

It's a rich red colour (allowed because it was a colour made with berry dye) and has a laced bodice. And I also have a shift (necessary as I am very allergic to wool) and I invested in a spoon (vital for meals!)

I need to take the shift in a touch - it's long enough but there's about a mile too much material in the body and arms - that'll be a job for Cornwall.

Now I have a proper fitting dress I need Aginoth to punch some new holes in my belt......

.....and I am too tall for stock medieval dresses, so I may need to tack on an extra couple of inches onto my dress as I become more affluent (stay in the Company longer), but for a dirty peasant (first season), it doesn't matter too much.....

and I desperately need to lose some weight........ :-((

Holidays tomorrow!!!!

cq

Thinking Thursday

Ditched my housewifely duties today and went shopping with bobkat - once I'd put in a 9hr day at work!!

We had pizza, served by my super duper waitress who greeted me by saying 'You look different! What have you done!' I mentioned I had had my hair cut.......:-)

Bought nothing - not a thing....probably good as I have no money! Played with lots of kitsch though...
Shiny things, purple things, scary things, singing things..........got some ideas for Christmas pressies [evil grin]

Been checking Aginoth and Mrs A's blogs......I think they're looking forward to our holiday... :-)

Off to the re-enactment markets tomorrow - I really need dresses!!

cq

Wednesday

[glares at abstinence counter]

I feel like CRAP!!

Update:

Me bad, me bailed on work and came home. Me felt terrible. Me couldn't stop thinking about 'you-know-what'. So me did me work and me came home.

I have now shopped, cooked three meal bases ready for Cornwall (pasta, casserole and shepherd's pie) for me and cyberkitten, wrapped gifts and done a load of laundry. Sitting down for the first time in nearly two hours......

Just spoke to the owner of the Cornish farmhouse and got the security code for the keys. She's really nice :-)

ps - do you like the dragon? I have that one - she's called 'But dragons don't do dishes!'......and cyberkitten bought her for me last time we were at Merbein.

cq

Wind Down..

It's Tuesday, my counter says there is only four days to Cornwall - so it must be time to chill.....woo hoo!!

hmm......

Wednesday - cook six meals for two, freeze them.

Thursday - go out with bobkat, pizza and girly stuff.

Friday - all day at Warwick mediaeval markets (ooh, time to buy my dresses!)

Saturday Morning - first thing; big shop, then drive to Cornwall.

Saturday Afternoon - die on the sofa in our wonderful house [sigh]

Keeps my mind off fags, I suppose.....
I've been asked about substitution and I haven't substituted anything for nicotene. No patches, no nicotene gum, no chewing gum, no fake cigarettes.........I'm not even sucking my pencil!

cq

Secret's Out!

So, it is exactly 7 days since I started the clock ticking for my secret.

7 days of bad tempers, bouts of weeping, snapping and insomnia.

These are depression symptoms, but what I did exacerbated them all to the max....!

At 10pm last Sunday, I stubbed out (hopefully) my last cigarette.

I didn't want anyone to know for the first week, because I knew I would probably fall off the wagon. The only people who knew were work (well, they had to because of the mood swings - and they would've noticed anyway!) and one blogger friend.

The clock will remain as a measure of my abstinence......

cq

Sunday Yawning

It's 4.30am and I have been more awake than asleep since 12.30am. As I've been staring at the dark listening to MB snore for the last hour, I have given up and come downstairs.

I know why this is called 'the dead hour'.......

Update: 11am. No sleep since above, but lots of ironing done! Giving up now, getting dressed and going to the Mall. Life, unfortunately, doesn't wait for insomniacs.....

Update 2: 6.30pm and no sleep today other the occasional drift off into day dreams....I am so tired now....
And only 3 1/2 hours until my secret is revealed.......

cq

More yawning

Yet another sleepless night. It's only 5.50am and I've been up for over two hours already. I feel like crap, so I am sending you, sweet readers, to see Keda, my cool mamahog over in Istanbul.

If I were in the 'perfect post' thing, this would be a contender.

cq

Friday Ten

This is the new meme doing the rounds, created by my very own FizzyDuck!

Tell me 1 piece of information about yourself that I really should never know
The only bones I have broken are my toes, and I have two permanently crooked toes to prove it.

Tell me 2 colours that you would never ever ever wear
I loathe beige......and yellow makes me look ill.

Tell me 3 things that you love to eat
Only Three?? Pizza (Vegetarian, of course), licorice, mashed potato (not all together, of course!)

Tell me 4 things that you would never ever serve to a guest at your dinner table
Shellfish, whole animals (poultry, pig etc), veal, anything I know they don't like....

Tell me 5 things that keep forgetting to buy from the supermarket
Since my memory is so bad, I have to make a list now, so I remember everything.....

Tell me 6 things about the Autumn that you love
It's cooler,
some nice rain,
beautiful colours,
it's pay raise time (usually!),
it's time to start preparing for the Crazie Holiday,
Charlie (MB says he's Autumnal!)

Tell me 7 things that you value about your family
Not my family, but the people in my life on a daily basis (my Crazies);
love,
generosity of spirit,
hugs,
kisses,
loyalty,
respect,
laughter.

Tell me 8 things that you like to watch on TV
NCIS,
JAG,
7th Heaven
Eastenders (more habitual than actual desire!)
Discovery Atlas
Huff
House
Lost

Tell me 9 things that you loved about school
There wasn't anything I liked, let alone loved, about school.

Tell me 10 of the little things that you love about life
The smell of new-mown grass,
the sun dappling through trees,
my cats stretching and yawning,
watching charlie playing with his many toys,
spending time with my Crazies,
my blog,
all my blog friends,
an unexpected hug or kiss from MB,
being thanked,
fresh fruit (yum!)

hmm - that was difficult.......

cq

Sleepless In England

It's 6.15am, I have been up since 1.30am - and now it's time to get ready for work.....

Insomnia......something......something..........

[shuffles off to bathroom]

ugh - it's 6.30pm. I managed a whole day at work. I don't want to go to bed yet - 'cos I don't want to wake up at silly o'clock again.....

cq

CAN - a tale of two men

Read:

[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]
I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.

But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an Institution.''
But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way,'' Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain.''
"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that.''

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker'' who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. "Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks.''
That day changed Rick's life. "Dad,'' he typed, "when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''
And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
"No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''
How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? `"No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

"No question about it,'' Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century.''
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago.''
So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.
That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

"The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''

Now watch....

Shh......

I have a secret..........

Update - all will be revealed Sunday night at 10pm. See countup counter in my sidebar. You'all just hafta be patient...

cq

Shortest Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, a girl asked a guy "Will you marry me?"

The guy said, "NO!"

And the girl lived happily ever after and went shopping, dancing, camping, drank martinis, always had a clean house, never had to cook, had sex with whomever she pleased and farted whenever she wanted.

THE END

Money and Health

Money - hmm, sore subject with civil servants at the moment, especially in the MOD, as we haven't had a pay rise this year. It is still 'in negotiation' - which means the powers that be are arguing over how little they can spare to pay us.

And they have cut our bonuses - this year I got £500 (US$927) for exceeding my objectives and taking on extra work. Last year it was £800 which was a suitable appreciation for someone of my grade. But for 12 months of working myself silly and weekly commuting between offices - I got £350 in my pocket (£29 (US$53) a month). Was it worth it?

I'm not one to complain, but sometimes you have to blow off steam. I have no quarrel with reimbursing our troops for being on the 'frontline', but please - we don't ask for much, can we have our annual pay rise? Please? Although I am worried that the tabled 2% (pitiful isn't it?) will not match inflation even.

OK, enough about money. Next on the agenda; Health.

Just been to the doctor. The stomach trouble I had at, and have had since, Caldicot was gastro-enteritis (gastric flu) and the high dose of Prozac I am on causes the symptoms to hang around for ages ( a month, so far!). One option is to reduce my dose of Prozac, but as I, and several others, are worried about my mood swings at the moment I can't afford to reduce my dose. I need to be stable to work.
So, dose stays the same and I just try and ignore the constant stomach pain.

On the plus side; two weeks today the Crazies and I are heading off to deepest darkest Cornwall for a week away. To spend some time with those close to us, to help celebrate four(!) birthdays and to just, well, 'get away'.

cq

Thursday Thoughts - Tagging

More than 1,000 violent crimes, including five killings, have been committed by prisoners released early with electronic tags, it has emerged.
Home Office figures show tagged offenders have committed one murder and four manslaughters, among other crimes, since the scheme began in 1999.
Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said a balance had to be struck between rehabilitating prisoners, and public safety.
But the Conservatives said it showed a "shocking disregard for public safety".
Under the Home Detention Curfew, prisoners can be released up to four and a half months early, as long as they wear an electronic tag.

MPs on the Commons Public Accounts Commitee said it cost £70 a day less to enforce a curfew, than keep people in jail.
But chairman Edward Leigh said too many crimes were being committed by people released early with tags, and not enough information was getting back to the prison governors who made the decision to release them.
In one case, Danny Cann from south London battered a man to death with a baseball bat, after being freed early from a jail term for robbery. He was later convicted of murder.
Mr Sutcliffe, a Home Office minister, said less than 4% of people offended while wearing tags.

"Most people see it as a good scheme to help them back into society," he told the BBC.
"There has to be a punishment, as far as the sentence is concerned, but there has to be rehabilitation as well."
The prison population reached a record 79,843 at the weekend with, in theory, just 125 more spaces left.
In response, on Monday, Home Secretary John Reid outlined a series of measures to relieve pressure on prisons - including freeing up 500 spaces in police cells from Thursday.

It is not clear whether they will be needed yet, as Mr Sutcliffe said the number of prisoners had been "reduced" this week.
Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "Compared with the soaring reconviction rates for all those leaving our overcrowded jails and the cost to the public purse of more than £11bn a year from reoffending, the Home Detention Curfew makes sound economic sense."
For the Conservatives, shadow home secretary David Davis said the report raised serious questions about the way tagging was being used.
"With so many serious offences being committed it is clear the government is showing a shocking disregard for public safety."
While ministers said a reoffending rate while tagged of below 4% was good - his view was that those offences would not have happened had the prisoners not been freed early under the tagging scheme.

He said he was in favour of tagging - but only for offenders to wear for a period once they have completed their sentence.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said flaws in the tagging system could be "laid squarely at the government's feet for failing to implement the system competently in practice".
Former senior probation officer David Fraser said the government should abandon tagging altogether.
"Supervising persistent offenders in the community, with or without a tag, is disastrous for the public," he said.
"The public need to be protected from crime. It is absolutely amazing that [the government] are able, somehow, to ignore this. What must happen? They are sleepwalking into civil unrest, in my view."
Comment from Forum: Wearing a tag doesn't prevent further crimes, it means you can do your crime but must be home by 7o'clock. Geff Grate, UK
Story from BBC NEWS

4%?
Sounds pretty good, unless you're the officer who has to visit the families of the murder victims.

We now seem to have a society that is at loggerheads over our penal system, which is full to capacity. Rehabilitation is working in some cases, but a lot of released prisoners re-offend, most moving up the felony ladder.
What can be done?

cq

Do Spiders Get Car Sick?

I have a pet spider. He lives behind the wing mirror on the driver's side of my car.

Every night he spins a fine web across my wing mirror and to the window and windscreen and every morning I break it. I drive to and from work and then, when the car is quiet, he industriously spins a new one.

I see him now and then, but today I realised he was hanging onto his silk for dear life banging around in the turbulence. I couldn't stop quickly because I was in traffic 'well, officer, I had to stop 'cos my spider was dangling dangerously from my wing mirror' - yep, I can see that going down well. So I kept a constant speed and watched my spider out of the corner of my eye.
Finally, he reached a sturdy silk thread and scooted up and into his safe haven behind the mirror.

I like my pet spider..... I'm glad he got home safe.....

cq

Blatant Thievery

Seen it, liked it, stole it - from Laquet who stole it from the lovely AEWIAML, who in turn chose to steal it from the Peanut Queen.

1. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up? Could I willingly blow up someone? Could I end a life, and therein reduce an entire family to misery?

2. You can flip a switch that will wipe any band or musical artist out of existence. Which one will it be? I had a question like this in my last Q&A meme, 'what book should never have been written?' - much as I dislike some music, I know that those bands/singers are incredibly popular and I wouldn't deprive anyone of their favourite music.

3. Who would you really like to just punch in the face? No question - Tony Blair.

4. What is your favorite cheese? I'm really boring with cheese! I will always choose a British hard cheese - I adore Red Leicester and Cheddar, and am not a fan of soft cheese.

5. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your immediate disposal. Thick sliced white farmhouse bread, some Heller Red Leicester cheese, some sliced beetroot and that wonderful British curiosity Salad Cream

6. You have the opportunity to sleep with the movie celebrity of your choice. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking......

7. You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who do you pick? Still exhausted after number 6 - I think I'll give it a miss......

8. Now that you've slept with two different people in a row, you seem to be having an excellent day because you just came across a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk. Holy crap, a hundred bucks! How are you gonna spend it? If it's £100, I'll use it to buy a new dress and underdress from the mediaeval markets in a couple of weeks.

9. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go? Vancouver, via Los Angeles and Calgary - an opportunity to see Naomi, silentmum and Boo and my Dawnie.

10. Upon arrival at the aforementioned location, you get off the plane and discover another hundred-dollar bill. Now that you are in the new location, what are you gonna do? Put it towards a plane ticket home - I'm a bit concerned that nothing in number 9 says that it's a return ticket!

cq

I Love TV

What am I watching and loving at the moment?

Huff - I am mourning this show already, as I have been informed it has been cancelled.

Hank Azaria - absolutely brilliant as the confused mid-life crisis beset psychiatrist, Huff.
Andy Comeau - inspired as his tortured schitzophrenic brother, Teddy.
Oliver Platt - yet another brilliant performance as the over-indulging lawyer, Russell.
Blythe Danner - the most incredibly beautiful woman playing an 'old-money' woman coping in modern times.
And surprisingly....
Anton Yelchin - stunning teen actor holding his own as Byrd, the confused son of Huff struggling to maintain his own identity.

NCIS - we discovered this recently on FX (our new regular satellite channel) - so it'll probably be cancelled, if it hasn't already.......

Mark Harmon - a comfortable actor, familiar (if you check you'll remember Chicago Hope, if you don't it'll drive you potty!), playing tough Special Agent Leroy Gibbs.
Michael Wetherly - remember Dark Angel? He probably does, being as he was Logan in another life.
Pauley Perrette - I can't help feeling this is the new face of TV, a wonderful intelligent beautiful woman with a sparky sense of humour, who, in reality, has a degree in criminology.
Cote de Pablo - exotic name for an exotic beauty who plays magically off Wetherly.
Sean Murry - just a nice looking young man you want to take home to mom.
David McCallum - something England does well...he was Illya Kuryakin in Man From UNCLE a million years ago - but still looking pretty good!

And another one to watch - Discovery Atlas.
Just seen the first of this series on China - very, very good. Not denying their history but using it to illustrate modern Chinese society. Next week, Italy!

cq

Absent Friends

Like most people, I was horrified at the recent slaughter of young girls in an Amish school; following, as it did, a week of violence in schools in America. In Britain, we are still reeling from recent news of military deaths in Afghanistan. And then I was saddened to see on Naomi's blog that her old friend and co-conspirator on Spoon River Anthology, Hal Lynch, has passed on.

I am often contacted by bereaved friends with a need for comfort. The secret is to separate the actual grief and the selfish feeling of bereavement, which is completely natural. To be honest, a lot of bereavement is selfish; 'I'm never going to see them', 'I never said such and such', 'how will I cope?'. I know, I have said these things myself, this is the definition of bereavement - loss.
Dealing with loss of loved ones is not religious or secular. Bereavement transcends belief and how we deal with it rarely differs.

When people come to me, I usually give the following advice; go to the funeral, celebrate their life, commune with other people involved in the life of the person you loved, grieve, and then leave. But always keep a small part of the deceased in your heart. A memory, a glance, an image. Carry this little piece of them with you through your life and they will not have ceased to exist, merely moved their spirit into someone worthy to continue. And if you need them they are always nearby, in your heart. The essence of Spirit.

This is an excerpt from Quaker Faith and Practice which I think is very comforting.

Death is not an end, but a beginning. It is but an incident in the 'life of the ages', which is God's gift to us now. It is the escape of the spirit from its old limitations and its freeing for a larger and more glorious career. We stand around the grave, and as we take our last, lingering look, too often our thoughts are there; and we return to the desolate home feeling that all that made life lovely has been left behind on the bleak hillside...
Yet the spirit now is free, and the unseen angel at our side points upwards from the grave and whispers, 'He is not here, but is risen'. The dear one returns with us to our home, ready and able, as never before, to comfort, encourage, and beckon us onward.
William Littleboy, 1917

cq

Friday Challenge

Tonight I am doing something new and scary on Pandora and Charlie's blog.

We offered to throw a welcome home party for their little Spanish feline pal, Luna, who went missing outside for weeks and has been home for about a week now.

And so, of course, the party is bi-lingual!

Our very own Sweet Mar is also there, to help break the ice between the Spanish-speaking cats and the English-speaking cats!

Speaking of Mar, it's her birthday - so go on over and see her :-)

Happy Birthday, Mar!

cq

Thursday Thoughts

My Thursday Thought this week is -

do you ever read/hear a news article that makes you go - well, D'UH!

Below is just such an article, which made its way to the national news.

Children who grow up with alcoholic parents bear emotional, behavioural and mental scars, experts say. [cq: that's a no-brainer!]

The Priory study said children of alcoholics were four times more likely to be addicted to drink and there was a risk of drug and gambling problems.
The private health provider said a child's early life was characterised by chaos, trauma, confusion and shame and, quite often, sexual and physical abuse.
The report found 55% of domestic violence occurs in alcoholic homes.
The Priory reviewed existing data on crime, abuse and alcoholism as well as consulting its own doctors and therapists to compile the report.
It said the problems children of alcoholics experience in early life had a profound impact later in life.
The report said growing up in an alcoholic household was inextricably linked to abuse.
Some 55% of family violence occurs in alcoholic homes with alcohol a factor in 90% of child abuse cases.
Studies have also showed a third of daughters of alcoholics experienced physical abuse and a fifth sexual abuse - up to four times higher than in non-alcoholic homes, the Priory said.
The report said children reacted in one of three ways - either they became withdrawn, went into denial or used the experience to benefit themselves by becoming stronger.
Many of the children of alcoholics, even those who would perhaps have been withdrawn, could grow up to be likeable, kind and intuitive.
But the problems surfaced when they had to confront difficulties.
The report said: "Their feelings about themselves are the opposite of the serene image they present - they generally feel insecure, inadequate, dull, unsuccessful, vulnerable and anxious".
They also struggled to develop strong personal relationships.
Researchers said previous studies had revealed that 70% of children of alcoholics develop compulsive behaviour around either alcohol, drugs, food, sex, work or gambling, while a half ended up marrying alcoholics.
And they said children of alcoholics were four times more likely to become alcoholics - partly because of genetics - than the one in 20 of the general population that have the condition currently.
Priory addictions expert Dr Michael Bristow said: "There is a widespread misconception that addiction is all about the addict, that it is solely the addict who suffer from his illness.
"The reality? Alcoholism affects the adult alcoholic's entire family, particularly the children."
Professor Martin Plant, an addiction expert at the University of the West of England, said: "These findings are not altogether surprising. But what I would like to stress, is that it is not inevitable.
"The children of alcoholics can break the cycle, many end up loathing alcohol and refusing to let it destroy their lives like it may have done to their parents."
Story from BBC

Well - D'UH!! [looks in mirror]

cq

Wordless Wednesday - Where I wanna be.....

His Lady?

I met cyberkitten at work today 'cos we were going out to the cinema with a yummy pizza dinner.

When I arrived, ck was chatting to a work mate. As I arrived the colleague made his excuses and began to leave, pausing to ask:

'Is this your lady?'

Er HELLO???

Firstly, I'm not ANYONE'S lady.......

And secondly - this isn't the first time we have been asked if we were a couple. I am learning to be more restrained in my responses now though.....

Last time I yelled 'Good God no!!!' in horror which ck has never let me forget...

Today I sufficed with a snort and a giggle.......

and in compensation, a song I have been raving about......dedicated to ck :-)



cq

What to Write About

Words, words everywhere.......and nothing worth talking about.......

When life is as empty as mine, sometimes there really is nothing to blog about......

Ironing?? [yawn]

Shopping?? [yawn - but done it anyway!]

Cats?? [oh puhlease]

Work?? - I am a little restricted there, but nothing new to report.

Mother??

hmm - I have just been shopping for my sainted Mother. My mother is about Naomi's age (give or take a couple of years) and lives in the middle of nowhere in Scotland. Also being reasonably housebound and disabled she doesn't get out much. So once in a while, not having the internet, she asks me to buy her some necessary [cough] undergarments. I couldn't find the garments she wanted in the shops, so I hunted them down online. Only thing is - now I am registered on FiftyPlus (the age, not the size, I hasten to add!) - and there is a few years to go before I actually qualify! The things I do for my mum!
[whisper] I have also ordered her a catalogue, so from now on she can buy her own stuff!
I did get a 10% discount being a first time shopper, so I got £3 off my basket.

Did I mention how boring my life is?? [screams silently]

I need cheering up........

yup, that'll do it :-)

cq

Quicky Sticky

Just a Quicky Sticky to remind everyone that Wendy's Monthly Casting Call in going on as we speak. See below for usual drivel, please comment on those :-)

Wendy's Whimsies needs you ! For the next 48 hours she is going to be holding a comment casting call ( ok there really is no role for you but you will be rewarded by visits to your blog and comments about your wonderful posts, you might meet some talented, witty, creative new friends while you are at it.) At the end of the 48 hours ONE lucky person will be added to her cast and crew aka blogroll. OHHH AHHHHH and the crowd goes wild!

So, get your act together and go visit! :-)

cq

Old Girls' Lament!

This hunk of 70s burning love is Alvin_Stardust, pin-up of thousands of teenage girls in the UK through the 70s. He was on my bedroom wall in glorious technicolour. I wilted when he came on TV and dreamed I was his Coo Ca Choo (read the link]. He was always played at the school disco, and us girls bopped the night away to his music.



Wasn't he lush? Still not so bad at 64!! He has children Shaun, Adam, Tom, Sophie and Millie.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this news story.

My old heart throb, the man who made me breathless - is the father of the new headmaster at my old school.......

I'm sooo old...........

cq

Shopping in Tesco

Our local supermarket is Tesco. I don't like Walmart (Asda) or Somerfield or Co-op. I am a Tesco or Sainsbury kinda housewife. But Sainsbury is about 11 miles away and the frozen food thaws, so Tesco is my weekly shop.

But I am rethinking this policy.

I am a good customer. I am considerate and thoughtful to other customers and staff. I use the correct parking slots (I am not allowed to use disabled or 'Mother and Baby' spaces - mind you, that doesn't usually stop able-bodied childless people!), I park straight within the lines (don't they teach parking these days??), I never dump my trolley in an empty parking slot (there's enough to look out for in carparks without having to consider abandoned trolleys).

I don't stop my car right outside the door, blocking everyone's way and I don't park in the 'Pick Up Bay' and disappear for an hour.

Once in the store, I don't leave my trolley in the middle of an aisle, I don't stand for hours with my trolley blocking several shelves of food, I don't have children that run wild, I don't curse people who clunk me with their trolley, I don't wander around with my phone clamped to my ear, or texting furiously, I help little old ladies reach food off the top shelves, I don't get impatient with the till staff who can't perform the simplest functions, I don't yell at the people who can't sensibly load the conveyor or, at the other end, pack their bags, pay and get their s*** together in less than half an hour, I don't need help packing and use minimum bags, I even take my shopping list home and don't sling it on the floor.

I am a *good* customer!

For this sterling behaviour, this is what I get:

Is it me? I'm pretty sure there should be food in there.....

cq