Thursday 7th January 2010

It snowed again over night so I thought it would be as easy as it was yesterday to clear the car windows. Unfortunately not.... there was a thick layer of ice under the inch of snow. It took 20 minutes to clear the windows to a state where I could see. I can't see why people rave over the de-icer sprays. The car was parked further down the road so I thought I would give it a go. It was hard work and slow to melt it. It would have been quicker for me to walk back home and get a bottle of warm water. I will only use it again if I have no option.

I got to work safely, only slipping once while driving. During the morning, I spotted two foxes over the fields that looked like they were playing in the snow. They were probably trying to find food. It might be their daily route but usually we don't notice them. Snow is no camouflage when you are a brown beast. More suited to polar bears. There was more snow mid morning. It was that bad that we lost sight of the trees and fields across the road for a while. I took a few photos as I had my proper camera with me. Good thing I didn't need to try to get to Watford. One of our friends took 4 hours to get to Maidstone as the motorway was closed due to an accident. Once he finally got there, he was told that he could go home again as they were closing the office.

I cooked chilli con carne tonight, without the kidney beans, and poured it over toasted sliced french bread. It made a change from the usual rice or jacket potato. I managed to make a mess whilst eating and spill it down my sleeve of my favourite white jumper. Hopefully it will wash out.

I tried a new cocktail tonight. Tea Toddy. Kat wasn't impressed. 1 measure of Cointreau and 4 measures of black tea, topped with a slice of orange. I would have it again but it wouldn't be my first choice. I fancied a hot alcoholic drink and Cointreau seemed to be about all we had other than red wine!

Wednesday 6th January 2010

Apparently the heating was left on overnight at work last night and it certainly made a difference. I didn't need to wear my blanket today and we didn't have the extra heater on.

Tomorrow's PartyLite meeting in Watford has been postponed now until Friday 15th due to the weather conditions. I'm pleased that I haven't got to make that decision myself in the morning.

I collected the bowling scores from the bowling alley tonight. We won... we won... we won..... :) Not that we did very well but the couple we were playing against didn't do well. Jose and Sara also won all of their games too.

Tonight, I went to Asda after work. I bought some Salmon steaks that were reduced as they need to be eaten today. I cooked them up with some herbs, a tin of ratatouille and a tin of tomatoes. Asda also had some adult cycle helmets for £3!! So I bought one as it will be a good present for our additional cycling partner for this year. When I got to the check outs, there were only two staffed ones open and I had a trolley full of shopping. I braved the self service. Somehow I managed to put the whole lot through without needing assistance. A tip when using the self service tills is to spread your bags across the "bagging area" so that you can pack the shopping without lifting up the bags. Then I think you have to leave it all on the "bagging area" until you've finished or it has a hissy fit at you!! It seems clever enough to know the weights of stuff too. Although I do use the self service, I feel that this does take a job away from someone though and they seem to be more popular since last year.

Tuesday 5th January 2010

The training meeting last night was fun as always. Laura and Jackie were the stars of the night having done well in December. Laura got several awards for her hard work. I had a quiet December, only submitting one show order. The recession doesn't seem to be affecting the Partylite business.

Tonight we went to Andy and Heather's where we helped them eat some chocolate. Apparently it's impossible to just take one After Eight mint. We watched 2 episodes of the Family Guy and a Father Ted episode. It was snowing when we left. The weather forecast is not looking promising for me to get to the Partylite training day in Watford on Thursday. It will be a shame if we can't get there, apart from the fact that we've paid £5 to book our place.

My car went for it's MOT today. It passed but with several advisory points. Some I knew about already. Also I'm going to need a new tyre in the next month or so, and the brakes are at 50% wear. I can't remember when they were done last. It also had a service which was long over due.

I took down the Christmas lights and trees at home today. I've always left them until 6th January, that's how it always has been in our family. We had a discussion at work about 5th January being the twelfth night. If you count Christmas Day as the first then it is but I've always counted 26th as the first day. Apparently 5th January is the "twelfth night" and 6th January is the "twelfth day", so maybe we have been right all these years. Strange how we let superstitions and all that rule our lives.

Monday 4th January 2010.. Hey ho, back to work

Back to work today after the Christmas break. The office was, of course, colder than it had been at the end of last year, and apparently it had warmed up a lot by the time I got there at 9. We had to run the extra heater until the middle of the afternoon today. Usually we can turn it off when the sun helps warm the room up. Bang goes any economies that we might be making by turning off our monitors at night.

At lunch time, I went to a Pet Food shop that I hadn't been to for a while. Not sure if it was any cheaper than Pets At Home where we have been going recently but we should look after the smaller companies.

I got an email this evening with reference to "A Year In The Life of Faversham" that I submitted photographs for in 2008. They are doing the same for 2009. I won't be taking part again in a hurry. Anyway I'm still sulking and we haven't been back to Faversham since the exhibition. I was very disappointed that they didn't use any of my pictures. The ones that had been used on the dates that I'd submitted photos for, did not portray "Faversham" to me at all. Also, my apologies again to Dave, Chippy and Brian for dragging them all the way over there only to find that my photos did not feature.

I'm off to the monthly Partylite training meeting tonight. Glad it's not snowing.... yet.

Sunday 3rd December

Last night, we went to Chris's for film night. We watched G-Force, Bolt and then the short Merry Madagascar Christmas special. During G-Force, everyone had to put up with me going "awh, cute" all the way through. It's about secret agent guinea pigs and it’s brilliant. We all enjoyed it. Bolt is also another favourite animation film. I thought it had a guinea pig in that too, but it is a hamster that joins up with Bolt and Mittens (the cat).

Today we went round the garden centres, a couple of PC shops and Perry Court Farm, as all I needed was vegetables for dinner. I will definitely go back there again. I think I could even get there in my lunch break. The geese were cute at the farm shop, even if some of them were in the way of the car. Two of them were bathing in the puddles and one of them was really rinsing himself properly right over his head. The cauliflower that we got is massive so I've had to halve it. Kat's guinea pigs love the cauliflower leaves.

It's snowing again today but hopefully it won't settle as it is quite light and the ground is quite wet. One of the garden centres has a large pond and the ducks were sitting on top of the ice in parts (as in today’s picture).

Happy New Year

My plan for 2010, as it is every year, is to try to write more blogs. As usual, I’ve not started very well. It might help if the “play” buttons on Facebook on the games didn’t have magnets on them for my mouse!! Three Towers Solitaire is the favourite at the moment. Then I need to check out the status updates and photos to see what everyone has been up to. It’s a mega distraction.

I had to go out in the garden to go some milk from the outside fridge earlier. The garden looked really pretty again covered in the remains of yesterday’s snow. (As in today’s picture). We couldn’t believe it when we woke up yesterday and it was snowing. Only about an inch of it but it’s not usual. That’s one week before Christmas and one week after. I made a snowball later in the day from the snow on the car, just so that I could say that I had. The snow on the roads had all gone and mostly from the paths. Just the cars covered and the grass.

The last couple of days, while I’ve been at home, I’ve been tackling the washing mountain, watching a set of my 40 hours+ DVDs that I got from Santa and getting together a complete list of all the Partylite stuff that I have. It’s scary when it’s put together in a list. Even more scary when catalogue prices are put next to it. I need to have a sale.

I just saved this document as I had a scary moment when my PC just froze up. It seems really weird typing the date in. The first time that I’ve had to save a file in date format this year. We’ve been through 70s, 80s, 90s and noughties... what are we into now? We had this conversation with Mum and Dad yesterday. Tens doesn’t sound right. Also do we say “two thousand and ten” or “twenty ten”? I’ve posted the question on Facebook. Let’s see what everyone thinks.

I’ve just been having a long promised sort out of stuff. An old CRT monitor is going today to Mike and Julie’s. I’ve had my new monitor now for over 18 months and the plan was to have another PC set up downstairs but there’s no room for such a big monitor and I’ve been using my laptop more. Also going today will be some kid’s duvet covers and some clothes. Then I must get on to my Ebay “project” more. Again, leaving Facebook until last would be useful!!!

Right, on with the work.... blog 2 in planning, so that’s a good start.

8th November 2009

I’ve not long been back from collecting Kat from our friend’s house. It seems so far away but as about 90% of it is on the motorway, as long as it all keeps moving, it’s not too bad. I had a good run yesterday morning and this evening. Even the M25 was OK. Don’t let on to Kat though that it was OK or I guess I’ll be asked more often.

I had a lovely surprise today. I got up at about 9.30 expecting to have a day of housework and garden centres, only to find that I’d been invited to my niece’s roller party. I’m glad I wasn’t phoned at 7 am though when Aimee wanted to call me. It was a bit of a rush getting ready and I nearly decided that I wouldn’t be able to make it. Leaving it to the last minute as usual, dragging out my new roller blades that I hadn’t been out on yet, I dropped Dave off at the hospital to collect his car and made my way down to Hastings. I decided to use the sat nav as I wasn’t sure of exactly where this place was, except that it was off Bohemia Road somewhere. I followed the sat nav’s instructions and was surprised that it considered the A259 down to the old town and along the sea front to the White Rock Theatre as the fastest route but it would seem it was right. I was there in not time at all. As I arrived my Dad had only just parked up too. Once booted up, I joined the rest of the skaters on the floor only to witness my Dad falling straight over backwards and banging his head on the floor. There was blood too, Dave, so it must have hurt!! That put pay to his roller skating for the afternoon. Not too much damage done, not a deep cut but it’s going to go some lovely colours during the week and have a headache for a few days too. He had to sit with holding an ice pack on his head for ages.

After the party, I stopped off for a cuppa at Dad’s house and ended up staying longer than intended, as usual! I’d like to get to see the family more. The other distraction there now is their new kitten. He is gorgeous. He looks like a Manx cat without a tail. It is thought that he lost it after he was born. He has a really pretty face and is very cuddly. He was purring for ages, very contended. In answer to a question discussed today, how do cats purr, I’ve done a bit of research and this is the best info that I’ve found:

The purrsuit of happiness. Why (and how) cats purr.
Basically, an emotionally-charged cat gets a reflex from its central nervous system that signals the muscles in its voice box, (the laryngeal muscles) to tighten to the point that they vibrate with air coming in and out of the lungs. Which is why a cat purrs continuously, whether breathing in or out. No-one seems certain whether purring is a voluntary or involuntary sound.

More here - http://www.knowyourcat.info/info/purr.htm