Going, going.....

I have become something of an e-bay addict. There. I've said it.

It all started when I wanted to buy a USB Memory Stick and e-bay seemed a good place to get one at a reasonable price. Then a friend called up and asked for my opinion on something she was bidding on. We spent the next hour on the phone each surfing through the items for sale and imploring each other to go look at this bargain and that bargain. That was 2 weeks ago. Since then I have purchased not only the USB Memory Stick but:

a dog bed
a suit for me
a tennis ball chucker
a fleece
a pair of trousers
a couple of jumpers
another fleece
a travel water bowl
an in-car charger for my mobile
a talking pedometer
Terry Brooks' "Tanequil"
a sack of 50 pigs ears (for the Lurchers I hasten to add)
and a 5litre water carrier for camping.

Gosh, that all looks quite impressive written down! Especially when I tell you that that little lot came to under £70 squids! My only bad one was buying Going Postal. I've paid and the seller seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth and isn't responding to my e-mails. I feel a massive stamping of feet coming on tomorrow.

Some of the items were easily won, others involved a down to the last second, nail biting fight to the death. The adrenalin rush is quite something!

All of which leads me to conclude that I really do need to get out more.

Ponders the missing marbles

I've been pondering what to blog about. I have an unfinished lazyblog.org assignment to complete but, quite frankly, I think this cold weather has atrophied my brain and it's having problems operating.

Take this morning for example. I get up to take The Lurchers out for a walk before work. Something not quite snow and not quite rain was falling out of the sky but, regardless, it was wet so much dressing up in outer gear was required. Put on my walking boots and my coat. Could I find my hat and gloves? No I couldn't. Emptied out my bag that I'd just packed up with all the daily necessities thinking they might be in the bottom of that - given that just about everything else is - not there. Looked where they ought to be - in the dresser drawer - no, not there either. Not in the bedroom, bathroom or chucked on my desk. With much exasperereration I asked OH if he'd seen them. "What? Those ones there?" he said pointing at the gloves and hat I'd put on the radiator in the hall last night, right by the front door in plain view, so they'd be nice and warm in the morning.

Waterproof leggings are in the car though - that much I do know. I saw them there yesterday. Drive to where I'm going and look around car for waterproof leggings. They're not in the car at all. They're at home. So not quite sure what I thought I saw in the car yesterday. Fortunately I find some gaiters lurking under the passenger seat so at least the bottom of my legs will be dry. Then I look for the gloves that I'd had such trouble finding about 10 minutes earlier. No sign of them. Bugger, after all that I must have left them at home, so scrabble about for the spare pair that I know are also lurking under the passenger seat. Find those and put them on...cold and damp but hey ho, they'll soon warm up. Put hands in pocket to get keys...oh, there are my nice warm gloves! Hiding all the time!

At that point I gave up on the day.

Smarties

Last week Milk Monster's Mum blogged about the changes Nestle are making to Smarties packaging. I sent off a suitable "disgusted of Wimbledon" e-mail and I've had the following response:


Dear Angela

Thank you for your email regarding the new hexatube packaging for Smarties. As with any change to a long established and much loved product there are bound to be loyal users who feel upset.

Smarties have been available in markets throughout Europe for many years now, starting in the UK 67 years ago. We are, however, always looking at ways to improve our products to give more to the consumer in terms of both taste and value for money and we are obviously concerned to maintain the highest possible standards for our products. This is the first ever change to the traditional Smartie tube.

We are aware that people had a lot of fun with the tube and the plastic lids however, the new hexatube is a great development for Smarties, the flip-top lid is resealable and we will be placing quirky messages, stickers or images on the flip-top lid.

With regard to using the tubes for fundraising, we are aware of a great number of fund-raising schemes involving Smarties tubes as 'collection' boxes. Because of the need to ensure that tubes which have been partially filled are not mistaken as containing sweets, resulting in a coin being swallowed, we have always declined to offer support to such schemes.

I hope this explains some of the reasons for the change.

Kind regards

Karen Short

Consumer Services
www.nestle.co.uk
International Freephone 00800 63785385

Test your reflexes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep/

Best I can manage is "Bouncing Bobcat"!

Thwarted

I am being thwarted at every turn. I'm probably not but it damn well feels like it at the moment.

Sometime ago I blogged that I'd bought a new peecee and bemoaned that I now had to work out how to transfer the data from my old one onto my new one. A dear friend was coming down to help me celebrate my birthday and was going to bring with him a USB memory stick. As the celebrations were cancelled, said transfer of data never happened. So this week I took a very daring plunge into the technermalogical world and purchased my own USB memory stick (£8 from e-bay :))

It duly arrived and I booted up the old peecee, inserted the stick and all seemed hunky dory....until I tried to install the driver. My cd-rom didn't want to work. So I took the base apart to try and find out why. No apparent reason and then I discovered that if I right-clicked on something or another I got an "eject" option. Hurrah! It ejected!

So CD duly inserted and lots of clicking and whirring ensued. However, it seems that the driver is not on the CD-rom that comes with it - you have to connect to the intermaweb to do that. Except I now have broadband and old peecee isn't set up for broadband. So, I thought I could connect it to the normal phone line and access it on a pay as you go basis. Nope. Old peecee only wants to connect via my old BTAnytime account which, of course, I don't have anymore.

So far and so bloody thwarted. Boo hiss.

And now I can't get the base unit back together. Boo bloody hiss again.

Stupid Guilt

One day a month I work at home so that I can have peace and quiet to write the Board minutes. Yesterday was that day.

I started about 7.45am, broke off to walk the Lurchers at 8.45am. Got back to it at 9.30am and then worked my butt off without a break (apart from making the odd cup of tea and grabbing some lunch to eat at my desk and well, OK..the odd quick flick around the intermaweb when I lacked inspiration) until 4.15pm when I finished. I delivered the draft to the Chairman (who also happens to be my next door neighbour and landlord) and then at 4.30pm departed in what was left of the wintry sunshine to walk the Lurchers again.

Now, I don't tell you this for plaudits. I tell you because of what happened next. 5 minutes out on the walk I met a member of the Commons' staff (that's the trouble with walking the Lurchers where you work) who looked at me, looked at his watch, looked at me again and said something along the lines of "I thought you were working at home....this looks more like walking your dogs". Now, it doesn't matter how much you protest that you've already worked more hours than you do in a normal day in the office, no-one believes you and they automatically think you're skiving off.

I spent the rest of the walk keeping to the trees and I actually hid behind my car as one member of staff went past so he wouldn't see me. It's pathetic isn't it!? Why do we feel such guilt when we know we've done a good days' work?

Ohhh my daaarling

Lurcher No. 1 received a Valentine's card. I didn't.

Not that I expected one, mind you, as we don't "do" Valentine's in this house, what with it's true meaning being lost in the depths of time and the profits of greeting card companies. And the fact that OH is possibly the least romantic person I know. Although he did excel himself the first Valentine's Day of our then budding relationship. I worked in town in those days and parked my car at the station, whence I caught a train. On my return that evening I found a single daffodil, my favourite flower, under my windscreen wiper. Awww....

The fact that it had been nicked from someone's garden somehow seemed to make it even more romantic!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dressing up

We went to a fundraising dinner dance last night - our local rugby club are raising funds to send their under 16s team on a tour to the southern hemisphere. We rarely go to any of these dressing up type of events and, as is ever the way, I had nothing suitable in my wardrobe to wear. So last Saturday morning I went and bought myself a little black number. I have to say it was quite a racy little black number and very daring compared to my normal attire. Well, let's face it, anything is a little more racy than jeans and a jumper. It was a very close-fitting, halter-neck all-in-one trouser affair with no back (yes I know halter necks don't have a back, that's the whole point of them, but this really had no back as what there was at the back was cut very low), plunged at the front and barely covered my modesty. The question of what supportive under-garment I was going to wear under it didn't arise, there was no way said garment could be worn under it. No bopping around the dance floor for me then! But it was one of those outfits that made me feel good as soon as I put it on and it had to be had.

There were, however, two things I forgot to bear in mind.

Firstly, trying something on in the morning, before you have eaten, is very different to trying something on at the end of a day when breakfast and lunch have been consumed. Especially when it's a very snug fit. OH managed to zip me into it but any breathing out on my part was possibly going to result in disaster. I spent a very uncomfortable evening sitting bolt upright and moving as little as possible.

Secondly, I hadn't given a thought to what going to the loo might entail. I discovered that what it does entail is the total removal of said outfit. In a drafty rugby club loo, this was not fun. Neither was trying to zip myself back into it. My arms simply do not bend in that direction.

Talking of dressing-up, when we got home, OH turned the TV on and the Rocky Horror Picture Show was on. That has to be my all time favourite romp of a film although it does always leave me wondering how Tim Curry manages to look sexier in a basque than I ever could.

Ding dong..

So Charles and Camilla are getting married. Now is that ever creating heating debate! Personally I think good for them, they should have got married 30 years ago and a lot of unhappiness could have been avoided.



But people are getting so worked up about it....he had an unhappy marriage and did the dirty on his missus. So missus did the dirty back. Gosh, that puts them in a minority of one then doesn't it? How many other couples have been through exactly the same scenario then moved on and made a happier life for themselves? Lots I should think, including several of my own family. So why do people make such a fuss? Let them get on with their lives and be happy.

Karma

I never cease to be amazed about how the karma of the universe works.



The rescue I volunteer with has just taken on a lurcher bitch whom we suspect may have Laryngeal Paralysis. Treatment is a fairly straightforward operation but it doesn't come cheap...we're probably looking at close to £1,000 all in. We have the funds to pay for it although it will leave a rather large dent in our bank account. But we feel it's worth it because she is only 3 years old and will live a perfectly normal life afterwards....even if one well-known veterinary establishment, that shall remain nameless, feels that financially it isn't viable and we should just cut our losses and put her to sleep.



Then yesterday, we heard that a theatre group are closing down and want to donate the funds they have left to a deserving cause. And they chose us. £950 is what they are giving us. I can't thank these people enough for their generosity - how brilliant are they!?



It's a bit spooky though!

oooh!!

11-9!



Gavin Henson...we salute you!

Ups and downs

Down because we had to bury Chaz the Hamster today after she departed for hamster heaven last night. Little creatures that steal a big bit of your heart.



Up and down because I had to pull a greyhound from out of a home where he was not really wanted anylonger. His owner had to leave him on his own all day so thought it best to find a home where he would have company. Such a shame as he had been there for 4 years. He came away with nothing but his lead and didn't even glance backwards once. Loved but not really "loved". He's staying with me tonight and will be on towards his new home tomorrow.



And tomorrow the 6 Nations starts. England v Wales. I think this year that maybe Wales might have the edge and I shall be celebrating tomorrow night. Then again, I could be eating my words!

Some days are not so good

On Saturday afternoon, the police informed us of a missing person that they believed was last seen heading for the Common. We searched Saturday, Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday, we found his body. Some bits of my job are not so nice.

Food glorious food

My life seems to revolve around food.



A quick trip to Waitrose to buy a couple of things resulted in an embarrassing moment involving blueberries and me crawling around on my hands and knees. It also resulted in me managing to spend sixty squids. Quite how that happened I don't know but there is something about Waitrose that seems to make me spend a lot more squids than if I'd just popped into Tesco. That's why I only go to Waitrose when I've just been paid.



I made dinner (bolognaise) and some parsnip soup for lunch, whipped up from some home-made chicken stock I just happened to have to hand, of course. Then I made OH's trough box (that's a lunch box to the uninitiated). As we're both on a bit of a "watch what we eat" thing at the moment (Gillian McKeith has a lot to answer for), making his trough box isn't as simple as chucking a few bits of processed ham between to pasty looking bits of bread. Nope, it involves avacado salad (peel avocado and toss in lemon juice, chop lettuce, tomato and spring onion), fruit salad (peal and chop mango, peel and chop Kiwi, wash blueberries (dratted things) and raspberries) and freshly baked, home-made bread. Then once that's done I have to put The Lurcher's breakfast together. One box for me to take for Lurcher No.2 and one for OH to take for Lurcher No.1. That's before I even start to think about getting my food together.



Now, before you start to think I'm Martha Stewart out on bail, OH will be the first to tell you, and I will be the first to admit, that whilst I can cook a mean supper and provide a trough box extraordinaire, I have great difficulty in tidying up after myself. Consequently this feast-making few hours has resulted in my kitchen looking like a force 10 gale has blown through it, leaving a trail of debris in it's wake. Ho hum. Just as well I have OH to clean up after me. Worst of all, the whole process will have to be repeated tomorrow and every night this week. By Wednesday night I often find myself resorting to processed ham and pasty looking bits of bread.



Oh, and there is a new item at the top of the Devil's Food list. Avocado. The texture is awful, the taste is awful and it's...well, just awful.

Bang bang

Having seemingly been successful in accustomising Lurcher No.2 to fireworks - there was a very loud fireworks party next door last night and he didn't bat an eyelid - we thought we might try introducing him to the gun this morning.



OH goes clay-pigeon shooting several times a month and I like to go along from time to time, however, as dogs shouldn't be introduced to the gun until they are at least a year old, I haven't been for some time. It wasn't hugely successful as Lurcher No.2 stood there shaking like a leaf as soon as the guns started. So I took him off for a walk somewhere much quieter. But slowly slowly catchee monkey and we have made a start. We'll keep trying for five minutes at a time, every few weeks and see how we go. If he never becomes accustomed to them, then so be it and I shall enjoy having Sunday mornings lazing at home instead. Oh dear! ;o)

Nuggets of information

I was trawling the intermaweb the other day and came across these gems:





According to U.S. FDA standards, 1 cup of orange juice is allowed to contain 10 fruit fly eggs, but only 2 maggots. Thirsty!?



In Michigan, a woman isn't allowed to cut her own hair without her husband's permission.



On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament Building is an American flag.



Cat's urine glows under a blacklight.



American's are responsible for eating 75% of the world's daily chocolate intake.



The dot over the letter 'i' is called a tittle.



Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously



Ingrown toenails are hereditary.



Only humans and horses have hymens.



A full seven percent of the entire Irish barley crop goes to the production of Guinness beer. (As it should!)



The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. The only other word with the same amount of letters is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses, it's plural.



The longest place-name still in use is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikim tungahoronukupokaiwhenuakita natahu, a New Zealand hill.



Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size, "L.A."



Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave. No! Get away!



A pig's orgasm lasts for 30 minutes. A pig's penis is shaped like a corkscrew.



It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. There's a very good reason for that so please don't try - your eyes would pop out of your head!



Charles de Gaulle's final words were, "It hurts"



The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.



The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.



Certain frogs can be frozen solid then thawed, and continue living.



When a giraffe's baby is born it falls from a height of six feet, normally without being hurt.



Reindeer milk has more fat than cow milk.



It was discovered on a space mission that a frog can throw up. The frog throws up it's stomach first, so the stomach is dangling out of it's mouth. Then the frog uses it's forearms to dig out all of the stomach's contents and then swallows the stomach back down again. (oooh,nice!)



Ten percent of the Russian government's income comes from the sale of vodka.



During menstruation, the sensitivity of a woman's middle finger is reduced. (It is also the most over used finger) Ummmmm......



The average chocolate bar has 8 insects' legs in it.



In the next seven days, 800 Americans will be injured by their jewelry.



In 2003, the U.S. Government spent about $2,000,000.00 on potato research. (40% of Americans eat french fries as their daily vegetable intake)



In Oblong, Illinois, it's punishable by law to make love while hunting or fishing on your wedding day.



The average American eats at McDonalds 1,811 times in their life.



Q-Tip Cotton Swabs were originally called Baby Gays.



In America in 1977, the punishment for smuggling marijiuana was 15 years less than the punishment for smuggling coffee!



To burn off one plain M&M candy, you need to walk the full length of a football field.



Queen Elizabeth II has a rubber duck in her private bath with an inflatable crown.



'Formicophilia' is the fetish for having small insects crawl on your genitals. Eeewwww

Because

I should have been writing this blog with a hangover. Although that would not have been indicative of me having a complete skinful last night because it only takes one drink to give me a hangover. But that's by the by because I don't have a hangover. And that's because I didn't have a drink. And that's because we didn't have a dinner party after all. And that's because all the people who were supposed to come to dinner, didn't. And that's because on Friday I took the decision to postpone all celebrations of the "oh no four oh". I had the lurgy and half the people that should have been coming had the lurgy and so wouldn't be coming after all. Not wanting to celebrate with only half my friends, I cancelled and we shall re-group in early March. Because.



This has left me and OH with a bit of a hole where the weekend should have been so we've been at a bit of a loss as to what to do with ourselves. The lurgy fizzled away without taking hold (hurrah!) so we've been twiddling thumbs a bit. Taking The Lurchers for nice long walks in the glorious winter sunshine - and not in the snow as the weatherman promised us. A trip to PetsAtHome resulted in a nice new cage for Chaz The Hamster and new feeders for the wild birds in the garden. Other than that, a quiet time has been had.



And I cried watching Stargate.

Uh-oh four oh

I've spent the years since my 30th birthday wondering what it woul feel like to wake up and be 40. I don't feel very different at all. Well, that's not strictly true, I do feel different. I've woken up with the lurgy. :0(

I don't want to be morbid but...

....OH and I had to go to a funeral this morning and it got us thinking about what we'd want to happen to us when we finally depart this earth. Neither of us are at all religious so don't think that the "usual" funeral would be appropriate for us. Many years ago I decided I really couldn't be doing with a funeral at all, mainly because I thought no-one would bother to turn up and how sad would that be? So I decided I wouldn't take the risk of being a billy no-mates and would leave my body to science. It won't be much use to me so someone might as well get some use out of it rather than just feeding the worms. I know worms have to eat as well but, well, there's plenty of other things they can find to munch on I'm sure.



I did a little research on the intermaweb (what did we ever do before the intermaweb I wonder?) and did you know that strictly speaking, one cannot legally own one's own dead body and, therefore, cannot legally bequeath or donate it? So who does own it then? It's up to those who survive you to carry out your wishes, or not, should they decide to be awkward.



It also leaves me with something of a dilemma. I have registered as a donor so that any bit of me that's needed can be used by someone more needy than I obviously will be at that particualr juncture. But, if you donate anything other than your eyes, you can't leave your body for research. There also seems to be a few other caveats about leaving your body for research; it can't be done if an inquest has been carried out and a coroner has got his hands on you, or if the particular establishment you want to leave your body to is short of storage space....or staff.



So regardless of what I might wish to happen to me, it seems I might have to make a back-up plan for a funeral after all.

ouch!

How could he not notice!!??



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4179877.stm





Breaking news: Hamster much improved this morning. Course of antibiotics from vet should hold a lung infection at bay. Yay!