I can show you now

You remember I mentioned here that I had done something I was incredibly proud of? Well, I can tell you what it is now. Or rather, I can show you. It was taking this photograph:





















OK, I realise that in the grand scheme of things it doesn't measure up to achieving world peace or finding a cure for cancer but, in my little world, this was a major achievement. I take a lot of photographs and 80% are crap, 15% are mediocre and the rest are OK. Sometimes I set out to take a particular photograph but the reality of what I shoot never matches up to what I am picturing in my mind's eye. But for once, I achieved what I set out to achieve. And I'm very proud of that!

It was taken for a photo competition at Pixalo and the theme was "Silhouette"..which I think I managed to achieve!

Edited to add.....the other members voted me into first place!! I am so excited!!

She's home!

OH popped back to the flat last night for some bits and pieces reported Lola's return to her nest! Huzzah!

I've been working this weekend which meant I WAS IN CHARGE! The days were fairly quiet but it was once home and ensconced in the cottage that the weight of responsibility started to, well, weigh heavy. I have no idea why but suddenly realising that you are responsible for the whole of the Common and for dealing with anything that may happen was quite daunting. Fortunately there were no incidents apart from a wrong number at midnight. I suspect the summer months will prove to be busier but at least I will have got the hang of it by then.

OH took himself off to a 50th birthday gathering on Saturday night and got very, very drunk. As I discovered at 2.30am when he decided to ring me to tell me there was a "drunk incoming". Because the cottage is so remote, getting taxis to go there is nigh on impossible so he had the taxi drop him at the nearest road and walked through the Common to get home. Judging by the state of his DJ the next morning, he crawled most of the way rather than walked.

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid

That pretty much sums up how I feel at the moment.

Last night I accidentally left the door open on Lola the Hamster's cage. Not unexpectedly, she's made a bid for freedom and there's no sign of her. She could be absolutely anywhere as there are so many hidey-holes in the flat. I've left her cage on the floor with some smelly treats inside to try and tempt her in but she's probably holed up sleeping now. What worries me is that I am working this weekend so I will be staying at the cottage for the next three days. Hopefully OH will be able to pop back and check on her for me.

Lots of "come on home Lola" thoughts would be appreciated.

And there it was gone

Like most people, I woke up to a winter wonderland and here we are, a few hours later, no more snow. Oh well, it was fun whilst it lasted.

There goes another one....

..so that's the birthday all over for another year. I've always let Christmas come and go without too much fuss but I always think birthdays should be special so it was quite sad that this year, for the first time, it didn't feel such a special day. Don't get me wrong, I had some super presents and the friends we were staying with made it a really lovely day for me and I had a really good time but perhaps as you get older the whole birthday thing just isn't quite so important.

I do hope not and maybe it was just down to the fact that I'm still not feeling too well. The room spinning has stopped but I feel like I have constant sea-sickness. So you'll be pleased to hear that I have an appointment with the doctor this morning. I shall report back later*.

*Later* I apparently have Viral Labyrinthitis. Doc has sent me away telling me to take Sudafed to clear the congestion in my head that is part of the problem and given me a prescription for tablets to take should the sickness/dizziness get too bad. I hasten to add that she has given me the type that dissolve in the mouth!

Thank you

Thank you for your get well wishes. I'm feeling much better today so hopefully whatever was causing the vertigo, probably a middle/inner ear infection, is losing it's grip abnd I can go and enjoy my birthday weekend with friends to the full! Yes, that was a blatant plug! *snigger*

Anyway, two days out of the office is a dangerous thing. I have come back to find my pathologically tidy boss has had a clear out in the office, including clearing my desk. OK, it was a tip but I knew where everything was and why it was in the particular pile it was in. Now I can't find anything. I dread to think what's been thrown away.....I know some packaging went and I had to go rooting through the rubbish sacks to find it because it was packaging for something that doesn't work and I have to return it. I'm going to put a big "Keep your hands off my stuff" sign up on my desk methinks.

A little under the weather

I have been a poorly bunny for the last few days. Poorly with room-spinning, loss of blance and nausea. It's not been fun as any abrupt movement brings on another attack and I'm reduced to a quivering wreck in the floor or, as I found myself yesterday morning, hanging for dear life onto the shower door to stop myself falling over. Some Googling this evening has led me to believe it's Vertigo.

I suppose I should go and see my GP but I'll see how it is in the morning. Isn't that just so British?

Smiling Smugly

I have done something that I am incredibly proud of.

Unfortunately I can't tell you what it is until the 1st of February.

Sorry about that but I am so pleased with myself I had to tell someone!

Isn't it just good manners?

I've been doing quite a lot with Freecycle just recently and am amazed at the number of people that just don't bother to reply to your e-mail enquring about whatever it is they're offering. Even a quick "sorry it's gone" would be fine but not to acknowledge your inquiry in any way is just bad manners to my mind.

Rant over.

We spent the weekend at the Cottage and it really does feel like home now. It was quite strange going back to the flat last night. Things are moving on - the fridge freezer arrived on Saturday so that room is nearly complete - just need the cupboard doors put on, a coat of paint and some blinds for the window. The bathroom just needs a coat of paint although OH has been tearing his hair out because the shower door kept leaking. Turns out it's a manky tube of silicon so he's had to strip it all out and start again. He's also been stripping the ceilings. We have two wooden ceilings, both of which need quite a bit of work to bring them to somewhere near decent. Once they're done, the wooden floors have to be stripped and sealed and then everything gets a coat of paint and we're done!

A wordy question. If you can be "inept", why can't you be "ept"? not quite sure why my mind thought of that as I was dropping off last night.

How exciting!

We spent our first night at the cottage last night. Everyone kept asking me if I was excited. Well, no, actually. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to moving in, despite the headaches about where we're going to put everything, but a few people are just being so bloody down about the whole issue of me having the cottage and what's going on there that they've really taken the edge of the whole thing.

For example, there was a kerfuffle about where we put the oil tank. It had to go outside the boundary of the cottage, practicalities dictated that. Someone complained and made things very difficult for a few weeks. Then someone else said they'd heard rumours about the amount of work going on at the cottage had exceeded what had been estimated. Yes it had. Often the way with renovations but we couldn't stop to ask the Directors for permission to carry on with basic work that had to be done, and to which they would have agreed anyway. Then one of them queried whether there actually was any dry rot. OH has only been doing property maintenance work for the last 30 years so he couldn't possibly know dry rot when he sees it could he? Then there are my colleagues who are trying to cause the boss hassle and using my move into the cottage to do it. "Oh", they say to me "you do realise it's not personal don't you?" No I bloody don't and it certainly feels like it's personal.

I'll be so glad when it's someone elses turn.

Ugly Betty

I watched the pilot episode of Ugly Betty this evening. It has the makings of being something to veg out in front of on a Sunday afternoon (when they show the repeat).

If you haven't heard about it, or seen it, its basic premise is that the young girl (Ugly Betty), who isn't the prettiest thing on the block, gets her first job as Assistant to the Editorial Director of a high-ranking fashion magazine. She's hired by the ED's boss, who is also his father, in an attempt to stop him sleeping with any of the pretty young things that want the job. In a world where how you look is all, you can see the irony of the story line and it's a bit of a swipe at the vainess of the fashion industry by the programme makers when ugly girl prevails over the fashionistas.

But even more ironic to me is that it's blindingly obvious that the actress playing the part of Ugly Betty, isn't ugly at all. She's just made to look that way. Because in television, where how you look is also all, a less than pretty actress is never going to make it as an actress in the first place.

The old adage "people in glasshouses" springs to mind. But hey, we all like a good "underdog makes good" story don't we!?

Last minute panic and other things

New Year's Eve went well, although it didn't get off to a flying start.

We were due to leave the house at about 7.30pm to get over to friends for the dinner at about 8-ish. I got out of the shower at about 6.45pm and, for once, had decided what I was going to wear in advance - wool skirt, black top and boots - dressier than usual but not over-dressed. So I got the iron out and ironed what I needed, looked up and noticed what OH was wearing. His DJ.

"Errr....is there something you've forgotten to tell me?"

"No, it's come-as-you-are but I thought it would be fun to wear my DJ as I haven't worn it for so long"

Immediate panic over, I think "that's a cool idea" and then think it would be fun for me to dress up in evening wear to! I have two evening wear outfits. One, I discover, is two sizes too big and the other, which only just fitted last time I wore it, was still a bit on the small side and I would have been in danger of losing my dignity all over my dinner plate if not careful. That prompted a minor strop and the "taking-clothes-out-of-the-wardrobe-and-discarding-them-in-a-pile-on -the-floor" scenario whilst I tried to find something else suitably eveningy to wear.

Half an hour later I admitted defeat and went back to wearing what I had originally decided to wear. Which was just as well as the other men were all in jeans and the women wearing the same as me - skirts and boots.

OH had the decency to apologise and, you have to admit, he does look rather fetching doesn't he?

















I have also decided to get rid of everything that I don't wear, or am never likely to wear, and start again. It means going shopping, which I find hugely depressing, but I will take a friend with me who will be brutally honest about what does and doesn't suit me. My aim is to make sure I have at least one something to wear for any given occasion. At the moment, as long as I can wear jeans and a t-shirt I'm covered but if it's anything else, I have nothing to wear!

And that leads me on to something I keep meaning to tell you about......I have discovered the joys of freecycling. It's absolutely brilliant! So far I have found a home for my exercise bike, some books and a bag of clothes I no longer needed (see above). I have also given a home to some cushions and a brand new pair of Ikea curtains. If you haven't tried it, go check it out. it will provide hours of endless, and mindless, entertainment!