Some weekends you get abslutely nothing done and then go to work on Monday feeling like it was a waste...but not this weekend!
Up early on Saturday and the house was cleaned and a lot of tidying up was done. Then managed to do the shopping, bought some fruit at the pick your own, bought various anniversary cards in town and then made some lemon curd (hint: never freeze then defrost lemons to use as normal, they were strangely rubbery). I also made a Raspberry Ripple Terrine and some marinated chops for the BBQ. The weather looked vaguely threatening so we had them on the grill instead!
Today we sorted and boxed some books, bought the lino for the bathroom and I made some jam from yesterday's pickings.
I've also managed to squeeze in a fair amount of video game playing and most of Season 2 of Scrubs, which is now finished! Also watched Howl's Moving Castle which was great.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Hot!
I've really been trying not to complain about the hot weather, we moan when its cold and wet so we should be glad that its warm.
But I just can't help myself. It's 10.30pm and the temperature in my study (and the rest of the house) is 32 friggin' degrees!
But I just can't help myself. It's 10.30pm and the temperature in my study (and the rest of the house) is 32 friggin' degrees!
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Top Marks!
To all those who got me fantastic presents I got for my birthday!
Special mention should go to K who, in addition to getting me some great gifts, organised the Belgium trip.
I also especially liked my 2 game related presents, Chronology and Bohnanza! Thank you guys, you know who you are!
Special mention should go to K who, in addition to getting me some great gifts, organised the Belgium trip.
I also especially liked my 2 game related presents, Chronology and Bohnanza! Thank you guys, you know who you are!
Monday, July 24, 2006
Happy Belgium Day!
We had the great fortune (entirely by chance) to arrive at Belgium on Belgium Day, one of belgium's national holidays.
What this meant for us was that as we arrived at the train station and went in the wrong direction we ended up seeing part of a parade and our eventual trip to the hotel was punctuated with numerous fly bys of the Belgian air force, great stuff!
Also it meant that we were able to see what was quite possibly the best fireworks display I have ever seen! Constant barrage of spectacular fireworks for the full 20 minutes of Bolero (god that piece of music gets old very quick!). This was after we'd had a traditional Belgian meal of Mussel casserole for me and Flemish stew for Kath (both served with French Fries of course!)
What was slightly strange however was that there were trucks giving away plastic bags of water. Clearly Belgium takes its public health very seriously but you can't fault em for it...I didn't see anyone passed out because of the heat!
What this meant for us was that as we arrived at the train station and went in the wrong direction we ended up seeing part of a parade and our eventual trip to the hotel was punctuated with numerous fly bys of the Belgian air force, great stuff!
Also it meant that we were able to see what was quite possibly the best fireworks display I have ever seen! Constant barrage of spectacular fireworks for the full 20 minutes of Bolero (god that piece of music gets old very quick!). This was after we'd had a traditional Belgian meal of Mussel casserole for me and Flemish stew for Kath (both served with French Fries of course!)
What was slightly strange however was that there were trucks giving away plastic bags of water. Clearly Belgium takes its public health very seriously but you can't fault em for it...I didn't see anyone passed out because of the heat!
Stormy Weather
A picture of the Hotel de Ville in the Grande Place in Brussels. I was trying to be arty and use the B&W setting on the camera. This was actually taken at about 8.30pm I think. The sky suddenly went dark and wind started howling through the square.
We went around the corner for waffles and by the time we'd finished the streets were deserted and there was a torrential dowpour! It was strange as it seemed very apocolyptic. One minute we were eating waffles and the next people were running through the streets screaming. We dashed back to the hotel and got thoroughly drenched in the process (although several kind shop keepers offered us their doorways).
This storm (with full thunder and ligntning effects) carried on for about 2 hours.
We went around the corner for waffles and by the time we'd finished the streets were deserted and there was a torrential dowpour! It was strange as it seemed very apocolyptic. One minute we were eating waffles and the next people were running through the streets screaming. We dashed back to the hotel and got thoroughly drenched in the process (although several kind shop keepers offered us their doorways).
This storm (with full thunder and ligntning effects) carried on for about 2 hours.
Back from Brussels
And it was fantastic!
This is just a quick post to say that my new camera i ace and the battery lasts a very long time, very pleased. The only downside is my 1 gig SD card is rather full...I may have been over zealous with my picture taking. Will post again later, need to unpack and put my feet up for a bit.
This is just a quick post to say that my new camera i ace and the battery lasts a very long time, very pleased. The only downside is my 1 gig SD card is rather full...I may have been over zealous with my picture taking. Will post again later, need to unpack and put my feet up for a bit.
Monday, July 17, 2006
My evil plans....
....for domination can begin now that K has left me alone in the house! Mwa ha ha ha!
Ermmm...not really. A lovely big headache has prevented me from venturing out this evening and K has gone to rehearsal on her own. Not sure what brought it on to be honest. Had quite a stress free day actually. Went to aerobics for the first time in months (good but sweaty!) and had to dash to the doctor's for an appointment I'd forgottten about. Went to the shops and did the shopping then, wham, headache central after I'd put everything away.
Sat with a ridiculous cool mask thing on my forehead and when K arrived home she said I looked awful! Oh well. I'll perhaps do a bit of reading and try to remember to record Part 2 of Silent Witness for K. Fingers crossed!
Ermmm...not really. A lovely big headache has prevented me from venturing out this evening and K has gone to rehearsal on her own. Not sure what brought it on to be honest. Had quite a stress free day actually. Went to aerobics for the first time in months (good but sweaty!) and had to dash to the doctor's for an appointment I'd forgottten about. Went to the shops and did the shopping then, wham, headache central after I'd put everything away.
Sat with a ridiculous cool mask thing on my forehead and when K arrived home she said I looked awful! Oh well. I'll perhaps do a bit of reading and try to remember to record Part 2 of Silent Witness for K. Fingers crossed!
Sunday, July 16, 2006
BBQ
Had a great time at Emma & Paul's birthday bbq in Derby this weekend, 2 whole lambs roasting on a spit, cous-cous, ice cream, fizzy wine, a WWII parachute being used as a gazebo and a collection of interesting music (we were all asked to rpovide some MP3s, mine seemed to have got lost in the mail!).
I also managed to pick up some of my birthday presents and get lost in mum & dad's huge new sofa. The only downside really is that we had to travel 3 hours each way to get there. My thoughts, of late, have been increasingly turning to when and if we need to move house and I can't help but think however nice Suffolk is our friends just aren't here.
The new camera is great as well...managed to get a good video of Kath, Emma, Alex & Paul dancing when they thought I was just messing about with settings...I'll try and find a way to post it soon!
I also managed to pick up some of my birthday presents and get lost in mum & dad's huge new sofa. The only downside really is that we had to travel 3 hours each way to get there. My thoughts, of late, have been increasingly turning to when and if we need to move house and I can't help but think however nice Suffolk is our friends just aren't here.
The new camera is great as well...managed to get a good video of Kath, Emma, Alex & Paul dancing when they thought I was just messing about with settings...I'll try and find a way to post it soon!
Friday, July 14, 2006
Bleh!
Had a terrible day at work today....the week started with so much possibility. No deadlines to meet and plenty of time to focus on the good stuff and the improvment actions to make my job easier.
It descended into pointless last minute requests and doing work that should be done by someone else but they're too stupid or lazy to do it. Shouted at my boss a couple of times and had to leave the office to go for a walk around site to calm down!
At least its the weekend now though....going to a BBQ to Derby tomorrow and doing some more birthday shopping in the morning.
It descended into pointless last minute requests and doing work that should be done by someone else but they're too stupid or lazy to do it. Shouted at my boss a couple of times and had to leave the office to go for a walk around site to calm down!
At least its the weekend now though....going to a BBQ to Derby tomorrow and doing some more birthday shopping in the morning.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Monday, July 10, 2006
Revelations
It’s been a weekend of revelations in one form or another so I thought I’d share some of them. They range from the mundane to even more mundane but it’s a chance to glance inside my head!
1. Colleen’s Loft – After a stressful beginning we managed to clear it out. Very dusty but we did find award winning poetry by K (she was such a school girl swot) and minutes of NUT district meetings running back as far as 1920.
2. The Carphone Warehouse’s Broadband Package isn’t as easy to install as it seems. Ambushed into installing it for K’s dad…it didn’t work but I’m not sure if the problem was the package or the frankly bizarre amount of phone lines and sockets in his house.
3. K’s taking me to Brussels, I’m taking her to Paris. Hooray! And the luggage we’ve bought is great!
4. I really like Six Feet Under. Started to watch Series 3 that K bought me for Christmas (there was literally nothing on and we’d exhausted our July supply of DVDs, except for Ripley’s Game which we started to watch and couldn’t get into) and managed to find Series 4 for £25 in Virgin so bought that too. Must remember to remove it from my Amazon wishlist, so close to my birthday!
5. There’s an online ‘Theme Park’ for Origami. Lots of exciting looking models with a fairy tale appearance.
6. What happens to Rose Tyler. I was convinced the Daleks needed her DNA to make a Queen Dalek and she willingly trapped herself in the void ship for eternity to stop the Daleks ruling the universe. That didn’t happen in the end but it was a bloody good (and emotional episode). Thank goodness for the levity at the end. Can’t wait for the Christmas episode now.
7. My new digital camera is super. A significant upgrade on the old model (Nikon Coolpix 2100) and super slim ready for our hols. Just need to buy a bigger SD card and a spare battery.
8. We’ve run out of Leigh’s Super Lemon Curd (well its not mine but from a great book about preserving). I must remember to buy some lemons.
9. The world is full of freaks.
1. Colleen’s Loft – After a stressful beginning we managed to clear it out. Very dusty but we did find award winning poetry by K (she was such a school girl swot) and minutes of NUT district meetings running back as far as 1920.
2. The Carphone Warehouse’s Broadband Package isn’t as easy to install as it seems. Ambushed into installing it for K’s dad…it didn’t work but I’m not sure if the problem was the package or the frankly bizarre amount of phone lines and sockets in his house.
3. K’s taking me to Brussels, I’m taking her to Paris. Hooray! And the luggage we’ve bought is great!
4. I really like Six Feet Under. Started to watch Series 3 that K bought me for Christmas (there was literally nothing on and we’d exhausted our July supply of DVDs, except for Ripley’s Game which we started to watch and couldn’t get into) and managed to find Series 4 for £25 in Virgin so bought that too. Must remember to remove it from my Amazon wishlist, so close to my birthday!
5. There’s an online ‘Theme Park’ for Origami. Lots of exciting looking models with a fairy tale appearance.
6. What happens to Rose Tyler. I was convinced the Daleks needed her DNA to make a Queen Dalek and she willingly trapped herself in the void ship for eternity to stop the Daleks ruling the universe. That didn’t happen in the end but it was a bloody good (and emotional episode). Thank goodness for the levity at the end. Can’t wait for the Christmas episode now.
7. My new digital camera is super. A significant upgrade on the old model (Nikon Coolpix 2100) and super slim ready for our hols. Just need to buy a bigger SD card and a spare battery.
8. We’ve run out of Leigh’s Super Lemon Curd (well its not mine but from a great book about preserving). I must remember to buy some lemons.
9. The world is full of freaks.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Dusty
We're off to Colleen's today to clear out the loft...which should be fun...and dusty. By all accounts the loft has not been entered for 16 years (I think it was something K's dad did but didn't teach K before he left, unlike the central heating timer switch).
It should be quite interesting but probably more so for K & B as each long forgotten toy gets squeals of delight (Playskool Pick-a-pair) and a lot of junk emerges....I might take a book.
Did very well on the Stalk market this week and have managed to pay off another mortgage! Hooray!
It should be quite interesting but probably more so for K & B as each long forgotten toy gets squeals of delight (Playskool Pick-a-pair) and a lot of junk emerges....I might take a book.
Did very well on the Stalk market this week and have managed to pay off another mortgage! Hooray!
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
It's been a while...
...so this post might be quite long as I desparately try to cram everything in before having to go and make dinner for K.
Been a bit down to be honest and don't really know what's causing it. Work is OK, money is fine and K is great as usual but I just feel a bit limbo-ish. Hopefully I'll snap out of this fugg and be back to my tip top self soon enough, anyway onto an update!
Decided against buying a wormery and an iPod in the end but did manage to completely sort out the garden and buy the bathroom ready for the man coming soon. Although that was a bit of a nightmare as one B&Q didn't have all of the suite and the other had just the missing bit. Fortunately we got it all for much cheaper than we thought which is just as well as the shower broke last week and we need to get that fixed at the same time.
My birthday is in a few weeks and so the presents have been rolling in already. Mum has been and bought me some shoes (I bought a pair as well) and my stash is slightly embarrasing. Imelda Marcos eat your heart out! I did give 3 pairs away to charity though so hopefully it evens out a bit. Got my presents from Gerry & Becks but won't open them until the day. Well the evening of the day as we'll be away in some exotic foreign location (K's present to me). I don't know where we're going but I'm sure she'll tell me in plenty of time!
I also spent a few days trying to decide whether to book a long weekend for us August bank holiday. This time a surprise for K, can't wait! However this did cause some problems as on Sunday I discovered my passport had expired. 2 years ago!!! OH. MY. GOD. I always thought peopel who didn't keep on top of things like this are complete thickos and now its happened to me!
Anyway, had this afternoon off and pootled down to Peterborough to get it sorted. The RAC lied and it took me 1 and a half hours insteadof 2 and a half so I sat in my car in the multi-storey car park playing Animal Crossing for 45 minutes. The office is very strict about arriving too early and won't let you in until 10 minutes before your appointment. As far as I can tell there are 2 sorts of people in there...the genuine ones who discover that they need a passpot at short notice and are prepared to pay a premium and the losers who can't read fucking forms! Queued for an extra 10 minutes at reception as someone thought they could get a new passport without new pictures and someone else thought they'd be able to take their new passport away that day despite the MASSIVE signs saying that this is only possible if you have your appointment before 12 (this was at 2pm). Went through without a hitch and my new passport is guaranteed to arrive by next thursday which leave another clear week until we go away. Phew!
Been a bit down to be honest and don't really know what's causing it. Work is OK, money is fine and K is great as usual but I just feel a bit limbo-ish. Hopefully I'll snap out of this fugg and be back to my tip top self soon enough, anyway onto an update!
Decided against buying a wormery and an iPod in the end but did manage to completely sort out the garden and buy the bathroom ready for the man coming soon. Although that was a bit of a nightmare as one B&Q didn't have all of the suite and the other had just the missing bit. Fortunately we got it all for much cheaper than we thought which is just as well as the shower broke last week and we need to get that fixed at the same time.
My birthday is in a few weeks and so the presents have been rolling in already. Mum has been and bought me some shoes (I bought a pair as well) and my stash is slightly embarrasing. Imelda Marcos eat your heart out! I did give 3 pairs away to charity though so hopefully it evens out a bit. Got my presents from Gerry & Becks but won't open them until the day. Well the evening of the day as we'll be away in some exotic foreign location (K's present to me). I don't know where we're going but I'm sure she'll tell me in plenty of time!
I also spent a few days trying to decide whether to book a long weekend for us August bank holiday. This time a surprise for K, can't wait! However this did cause some problems as on Sunday I discovered my passport had expired. 2 years ago!!! OH. MY. GOD. I always thought peopel who didn't keep on top of things like this are complete thickos and now its happened to me!
Anyway, had this afternoon off and pootled down to Peterborough to get it sorted. The RAC lied and it took me 1 and a half hours insteadof 2 and a half so I sat in my car in the multi-storey car park playing Animal Crossing for 45 minutes. The office is very strict about arriving too early and won't let you in until 10 minutes before your appointment. As far as I can tell there are 2 sorts of people in there...the genuine ones who discover that they need a passpot at short notice and are prepared to pay a premium and the losers who can't read fucking forms! Queued for an extra 10 minutes at reception as someone thought they could get a new passport without new pictures and someone else thought they'd be able to take their new passport away that day despite the MASSIVE signs saying that this is only possible if you have your appointment before 12 (this was at 2pm). Went through without a hitch and my new passport is guaranteed to arrive by next thursday which leave another clear week until we go away. Phew!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)