The Chinese Theme

Carrying on from last nights Chinese meal, here is a photo I took in 2004 when we went round Manchester Art Gallery. It was a modern take on traditional Chinese clothing. I liked the colours. Despite the fact I have looked at this photo on countless occaisions, I have only just noticed that there must have been a mirror on the other side of the glass.....

One drink always leads to another

Saturday afternoon. "Lets go into Manchester and mooch round the shops" (that was him indoors). "Ok, but let's get the bus so we can both have a drink" (that was me). That was also mistake number one. Waiting for the bus him indoors casually mentions "Oh, I texted Dee and him and Magda are coming out as well." That was mistake number two. We are now intending to go for one drink with friends who aren't driving either.
We got to town at 2 ish and had a Subway. The foot long chipotle cheese steak thing (which we shared - we didn't have one each). Then we went for a drink. Dee and Magda turn up around 3.30pm.
At 6.30 we decide to go for an all you can eat Chinese buffet. No, this is not "one drink".
I drank Jack Daniels and later on "Old Tom", which I had to have a half of because they refuse to serve it in pints because its so strong. Its like a treacly dark bitter. It was declared "Ok" (Magda), "Not great" (him indoors) and "I am not drinking that" (Dee).
Having popped out for one drink for an hour or so at 1.30pm, its now 9.45pm and I have learnt another Polish swear word (Magda is Polish), and been informed that it is possible to take Viagra and then fall asleep...
We got the bus part of the way home until we realised it was heading off to Oldham and we don't live there. Walked the rest of the way. It was throwing it down and we got soaking. Then we did that thing that you ALWAYS do when you are not 100% clear headed. We turned the telly on and "Trading Places" (the Eddie Murphy film) was on, and we watched it all the way through, even though we knew whole bits of it verbatim. There must be a Karmic law that says if you come in from the pub and there is a film just starting that you have seen billions of times before , you STILL have to watch it, making sure you go "oh that bit where he/she does/says that really funny thing is on in a second" etc etc.
We went BACK to Manchester today, and I cleaned Oxfam out of pulp horror novels and bought a Bill Bailey DVD.
This time we DROVE.

Car Saga

Where I work, the building is being turned into flats. Actually they are called "pods". THey are a little bit smaller than your average caravan. The ground floor is being kept as businesses. If you look here you will see pictures from last year of them knocking things down.
Anyway, we now park in the car park round the back. Everyone, tenants of the flats, owners of the buildings and the businesses. On Monday they were spraying some kind of polymer resin type stuff all over the place. Guess what? It went all over everyone's cars. Now, I have a Citroen Saxo. My boss however has a Jaguar XKR. There are Bentleys and BMWs and Mercs and all sorts in that car park.
The builders admitted liability and I await a paint job because the stuff wont come off. However, as it was all over my windscreen and I couldnt see to drive, they said they would get it off. Which they did. With a RAZOR BLADE. Guess who now needs new windows??
Its the sheer stupidity that gets me. Why on earth did they not say "shift your cars" OR put sheets over the cars?
NOW they are being sued from all sides, forking out for loads of work for everyone's cars and you know what? They are spraying AGAIN on Friday!
Does no one have common sense anymore????
I am SO CROSS.

Tan

As any of those of you who actually KNOW me in real life know, I am as pale as a bottle of milk. I have been using Johnsons Holiday skin lotion for 3 weeks now. And I am paler than when I started. WHY??? I know real sun can't touch me through the spf factor 9999999 for albino babies I use, but you would think a bit of self tan would manage it. Not so. Discuss.

Blogger templates

Please can someone tell me how to get a list of things on the LEFT hand side of the page and not the right? As you can see from the dots, I have been editing this thing, and I can't work out how to put things on the LEFT. I want to keep the stuff on the right AND have stuff on the left as well (because I am greedy :-) ) but it just makes everything go weird when I try.

World Cup distemper

Well we are out.
We had a bbq planned to celebrate after the game but we had it anyway.
Pictorial evidence from the man with the world's biggest glass of beer (and no, I don't know what was going on with his hair here either)
A sad day.

Guess who has discovered how to edit her blog template?

ME. Hello vile pink pink background!

DC79 Thatched House Stockport

Another gig, another drink fest. Took the new camera and took it OFF automatic mode for the first time. It kept asking me questions! How on earth am I supposed to know what to tell it when it asks for cf speed x sm ratio? Back to the manual I think. Brother in law John kindly brought a cd holder in the shape of a guitar for us as well, so thankyou John :-)
Today we went to the pub to watch the match and then had salt and pepper chips from the chinese, which are indeed as lovely as they sound.
Am now a vegetable on the settee and I couldnt move very far if I tried.

Do not click on this

When your cats wake you up and you think "just 2 minutes on the internet".
Speakers required.

Happy Birthday Daddy

He is 32 today. I can't get my head round the idea that he is any older than 32 so he will be 32 forever. At least to me.
Here he is, on his 32nd birthday! Happy birthday xx

Him indoors

I totally and utterly forgot to tell you about his birthday on the 1st. We went to Ulveston to do all things Laurel and Hardy (he has an "obsession" you could say), and we did lovely things like go to the museum and wander round the shops and drink and eat and drink and eat and.....you get the picture.
Here he is.

New camera

And this was the first picture I took..... I had no choice really :-)

I am what I am - sadly :-)

I spend a bit of time reading a lot of "crafting" blogs. Its mostly American ladies with young children who seem to have access to the best charity shops in the world, and who then make gorgeous stuff with the material and things they find there for about 4 cents. They have lovely houses, cook pretty cakes and spend every other day at the beach with a hamper full of home made cheese and wine. They dont get me all annoyed or anything - I just wonder where do they find the time??Ok, some of them don't work, but they do have kids, which surely cancels that out a bit. I realise that if I lived in America, I too would probably be able to afford a big house somewhere nice rather than the elderly, falling apart tatty shoe box I currently live in, but when you see all those bleached wood floors and home made curtains and tended gardens (mine is a jungle of mis-matched plants bought on the spur of the moment and planted wherever there is a bit of room which explains why a rather worrying sycamore tree planted as a seed 6 years ago is now becoming a tree hanging over the rather worried next door neighbours garden), it does make me wonder - HOW do they make it all look so easy and so nice?
I guess my problem is this. I can clean up and paint the kitchen. Or I can go and rehearse with my band/sit in the pub with him indoors/play with the cats in the garden/read a book/write and so on and so on. The "and so on" wins every time. I will be old soon enough, and then I WILL have the time and inclination to live in house beautiful. In the mean time I will drink just enough Aussie red wine to ignore the faded paintwork, listen to enough loud music to ignore the pile of washing that wants putting away and go and play my guitar in a tiny, heat filled room with a load of sweaty blokes just long enough to make the un-made bed not matter.
I am not a sloven - I am a bohemian :-)

This weekend

Went to the pub to watch the England game. Drank way too much in the day and fell asleep on the settee after tea, woke up at 8pm and thought it was 8 AM and got terribly confused for a short while.
This morning did some gardening and discovered that the bit of wormwood cutting that gothboy gave me has turned into a mini bush now! Maybe I will make Absinthe. And maybe not. Harvey likes to nibble the wormwood and then and go and lie under the hedge in a louche way. I wonder if you can get chaise longes for cats? And maybe a cat- sized smoking jacket and a couple of poetry books would suit him...

World Cup fever...

...is upon Faery Towers. Him indoors is in some mad sweepstake at work, is rushing home from work early and trying to arrange everything around the games. He's even got some bunting in his car. I must admit, its quite exciting.
Apparently the Germans cheat :-)

Friday Night, Saturday..erm Night, and Sunday an' all

OOO I HAVE a life!
Friday. Me and him indoors hauled ourselves over to Farnworth to see a mate and we went to see Sinnerboy, a Rory Gallagher tribute band, at the Moses Gate. It was awesome. We got really drunk, had a kebab on the way home (kebab house run by scary bikers and I bet they get NO trouble in there),and I watched 2 16 year olds have the world's stupidist non violent fight ever:
16 year old number one (encased in pastel shirt, chinos and razored hair) - I'm gonna have you!
16 year old number one's girlfriend (encased in white shoes, orange skin and velour pants) - Leave it, He isn't worth it...
16 year old number two (dressed EXACTLY like 16 year old number one) - Yeah, I'm gonna have YOU!
Cue #1 swinging a John Inham style punch at the other, missing, falling over, teenager #2 doing almost EXACTLY the same thing, girlfriend starts crying, and all parties leave in opposite directions. Embarrassed probably.
Saturday. Met two lovely people (hi Crystal and Granville!) for a meal at Nawab near us. For once we walked so we could have a drink. We don't normally have starters but it being a social occaision we joined in and I am glad I did. Paneer tikka. Like chicken tikka but its not chicken its CHEESE. HEAVEN.
Had a few spoons of wine, chatted and off to bed. Not all together obviously :-)
Today - been rehearsing with Born Idle. My proper band. Not that other band. I have also got a new camera courtesy of the boss, so I took a picture of my stuff..... The silver foil is my cheese sandwich wrapper. Not very rock and roll but I like to be prepared.

Another gig and some other things

1. Our new drummer is going well and we should be gigging soon.
2. Last week I went to see DC79 at the Moses Gate in Bolton (I may as well MOVE to Bolton, I spend so much time there) and it was awesome.
4. I watched Day of the Dead last night. It was also awesome.
5. I bought a tshirt saying "I'm with the band" :-)
6. Going to Wales in a minute for another gig. After Watford win the playoffs 2-nil.

Another gig

Last Saturday saw DC79 in Burnley. I was sound engineer and I got so loud that some light fittings vibrated off the celing and broke, so I officially ROCK. Drank real ale, ate chips and burgers, wore the new boots and had a great time.
Having a big clear out of rubbish chez moi, and got a stack of things to sell on Ebay. Makes up for the constant buying of Richard Laymon books.
Our new drummer for MY band is working out well.
Otherwise, all is well in my world.
Except I forgot to say that it took me THREE HOURS to get to work this morning. A diesel spillage on the M62 took 2 lanes out and due to the total ineptitude of the highways agency, I was car-bound for all that time. However, I am a girl that travels well. I had water in a cooled flask, toast with blue cheese dressing (trust me - it WORKS), a book (Fred And Rose - The True Story), 3 Rob Zombie cds and a pen and paper. I may do it AGAIN tomorrow :-)

What keeps you awake at night? Or rather in the early hours of the morning....

My cat does. She has taken to stamping about on me at around 6.30 am on a work day and 7.30am on a non-work day, until I wake up. Then she mews and cries a bit and then goes back to sleep. I, however, am now awake and stay that way. I know she is old, and I know they develop funny habits, but she is warm and healthy and well fed and can come in and out of every room in the house at will (and they have a cat flap) and the other aged pensioner cat conks out at 10pm and thats the last you hear from him before 10am the next day but he is happy to sleep in a big pile of smelly cat fluff with her if she wants. I just dont understand it. I am developing bags under the eyes and crossness. We arent out of the house a great deal, and sometimes she is downright standoffish if you try to get too close to her, so I am not sure that she is lonely.
I wouldnt mind if she wanted to get up FOR something, but I always leave water and/or milk down for them at night, along with some food in case they get hungry in the night so it isnt that either. Maybe she is getting cat alzheimers, if there is such a thing.

Birthday Girl

Its my birthday and I'll (paraphrased to fit actual events) ...open pressies/go to the pub/drink cider/watch Doctor Who/go for a curry if I want to!I am up to the drink cider bit currently. Me and the BOOTS are going for a curry in a bit :-)

Just checking in

Been busy recently. Last Thursday we went to see friends who were over from Ireland. On the Friday we drove to the other end of the country to see ma and pa. We got half way back (Nuneaton to be precise) and stopped overnight in a Butlins style Motel, complete with Corby trouser press. The next day we went to see ma-in-law, and on Sunday evening a mate came round. Today its jut me and the cats and a wind down. I also got a pair of NEW ROCK BOOTS!! Yay! They are FAB - dead comfy and a bit scary and they add about 3 inches to my height. However, they were so expensive that I shall never be buying a pair of boots ever again.... And I found these two links today: 50s style housewifery and addictive gaming cute (in a Happy Kitty Bunny Pony way!)

This week.....

I have mostly been working, but the boss is back (complete with a toy stuffed Camel for me- my choice:he isnt that kind of man) so normal service will be resumed. Had hotdogs last night. Now, I like a proper hot dog,not those out of tins,and I like them with mayo,hot mustard, chilli sauce and cheese slices. All together. The buns take on a very interesting colour with all that lot mixed up. On our regular charity shop trawls in Chorlton (before it got a Subway), we used to go to a place that did proper grilled hotdogs with toasted buns.They were dead long as well. MmmMmmMmm. You can tell I am going out for my tea again can't you :-)
Its Nawab again. Only this time we are getting a taxi so we can have a bottle of wine and both drink and thus avoid the "its your turn to drive" arguments which usually culminate in him indoors bringing up the fact that when I passed my driving test I said I would be happy to drive us everywhere. That was 8 years ago! Why on earth does he think that I still mean what I said???
I have turned the back bedroom into a music room. Every bit of musical gear we own is now up there, apart from my bass rig and his Marshall setup (as these are in regular gig/rehearse mode and therefore would beUNBEARABLE to carry up and down stairs every five minutes), and I didnt realise we had so much! A couple of guitars remain downstairs for convenience (its nice to know one is to hand when you want to churn out a few bars of something or other) and the hall is still crowded with speakers, but the keyboard is plugged in and ready to go should we fancy a quick whirl. I struggle though. My left hand will not obey me when the right hand joins in. On its own its fine. Maybe its like that film "The Beast With Five Fingers" and its not reallyMY hand at all.....

Pub Crawl

My boss is on holiday and work is a terrifying place as I am responsible for everything. Consequently I have been stressed out a bit and so yesterday we decided to get the bus into town so we could both have a drink, and do a bit of mooching about.
Left home at 3pm and went to Waterstones, where I bought a book about Lynyrd Skynyrd and that Excess All Areas book about Status Quo. Then we went to The Sawyers on Deansgate and had a pint. Then we went to a South African place called Barracuda, then to The Salisbury.
Here is a picture of our pints. And another of the alleyway outside.


















Then it was off to the Lass O Gowrie for another. And then we WERE going to go to the Old Monkey, as we used to spend a lot of time there many years ago, when it was new. Except we changed our minds and went into the smallest pub in Manchester, The Circus Tavern. Its REALLY small but very nice and we met some Danish blokes who were going to see Stiff Little Fingers.
Then we were getting hungry so we thought we would head into town. We almost walked past a little Italian resteraunt but then changed our minds and went in and I glad we did because it was lovely! We had a bottle of wine and I had a blue cheese pizza and him indoors had a seafood one. It was proper pizza, nothing like Pizza Hut or any of those places, and soooo garlicky. And I cannot for the life of me think what it was called! Its either Don Antonio or Bella Roma, and I would like to get it right because it was very, very nice. Small and a bit poky, and the waitresses didn't speak much English (in fact they were Chinese!), but the service was good and the food was lovely and it wasn't too dear.

Its on Portland Street if anyone knows it? There are more pictures but they are on my phone and the blue tooth wotsit is at work so I can't get them off until tomorrow.



Then it was last drink in the Bulls Head before getting a taxi home and realising it was nearly 10 o clock.....

Down Mexico way....

We have just been to Chiquitas, a psuedo Mexican place that has as much to do with Mexico as one of my cats, but its a very nice place. Sombreros on the wall, pictures of mustachioed bull fighters all over the show - you get the idea. I had sizzling chicken and steak fajitas and him indoors had chargrilled swordfish. Mmmmm. I also had a Mai Tai. Double mmmmmmm.
What WASN'T mmmm was the tshirt worn by one of the hoards of 17 year olds waitressing : "Famous for Fajita's". Fajita's WHAT? Grrrrrr.
What else have I been up to? Not a lot really. I won the whole Malory Towers series of books off Ebay for £4 and I am up to Third Year at Malory Towers. They even have the same covers as the ones I used to have but which got lost somewhere along the way.
I never, ever liked Daryl Rivers. For someone who went about losing her temper and slapping people/shoving them in swimming pools, hurling them over chairs etc, she seemed to be far to well liked for me. Alicia was much better. And Mary Lou. And Sally. But no, I don't like Daryl.
Ooo I tell a lie - I HAVE done something. The new drummer we auditioned was a) good, b)not an idiot or a serial killer and c) seems to like US, so we are on a roll again. Had a rehearse somewhere in Wigan and it all went very well indeed. Hopefully gigs will be on the horizon soon, unless he turns out to be awaiting sentence for drug dealing/has a psychotic girlfriend that will burn his drum kit/get run over by a bus. Fingers crossed guys.

More snow

And it looked like this....
It also looked a lot like other things but I didn't want to bombard you all with pictures so I stuck them all here
We (Born Idle) went to meet a potential new drummer today. He seems ok and we are off for a rehearse this week. As you may or may not know, we are like Spinal Tap when it comes to drummers, and this one seems far too normal, so he is bound to turn out to be an axe murderer or something.
And I have finally ditched Internet Explorer.Its Firefox on the laptop and Netscape on the pc. I got too fed up of its bad behaviour.

Poorly

Blimey, have I been poorly this week. I have got this stupid cold type thing that has turned into a kind of debilitating fug that has descended on my head. I feel rubbish. My poor mum and dad have got it too, especially my indestructible dad, and he's dreadfully poorly, so nice thoughts in his direction please.
More photos uploaded to Flickr if you want to see the inside of Faery Towers. And some new ones of the pussy cats.
That's about it really. I am listening to Northern Lights (Phillip Pullman) on audiobook and reading Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (Susannah Clarke), and I just won the entire set of Malory Towers (Enid Blyton) books on Ebay for £4!
Off to suffer on the sofa. Bye. Cough. Sneeze.

Let it snow

It took me two hours to get home from work yesterday because of the snow. It started snowing in the afternoon, and by 4pm it was getting quite heavy.It wasn't so bad in central Leeds but coming down the M621 to get on the M62 was a different matter! Although it had been gritted it was coming down so heavily that it was sticking, and there was a good inch or so on my back window. It was freezing cold and just like something off a Christmas card. Although its a motorway, its quite scenic, and what little I could see of the countryside was very, very pretty. And I had ample time to admire the view because going at anything above snail's pace was a risky business. By the time I got off the motorway it had almost stopped, but the snow on the ground stayed where it was. Morrison's car park, where I stopped off for provisions, was like an ice rink, as by the time the snow was beginning to freeze. Everyone was wrapped up like Eskimos (do I have ti say Innuit now?), apart from one mental woman in flip flops and a short skirt. You always get one...
I made lovely chicken casserole and crusty bread for tea, and the evening was spent hibernating...
This morning it was all bright and sunny :in fact THIS is what it looked like.....

When cats go bad

Imagine the scene. Its Sunday night. I am feet up, glass of wine, nice bit of cheese to hand, him indoors is pootling around with a cd he recorded of his band, the laptop is on my knee, I am surfing around Ebay and all is well. Oooooo three minutes from the end of an auction for something Holly Hobbie-esque which I REALLY want and is dirt cheap.. and nature calls.
I place laptop carefully on floor and go to bathroom. I return to find THIS has happened...



I lost the auction. No, this is NOT cute. This is .

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pure cat evil.

Camera Phone

The first mobile phone I got was back in the "brick" days, and was a provided by work one. I was a bit scared of it. How things have changed. I now have a TINY phone and I am not a bit scared of it . It also does nice tunes and takes pictures, although its not too hot at that. I ran out of room on it the other day so I cleaned all the pictures out. So here are some to look at.
We are cats and we love the microwave. More fool you for moving everything off it and trying to clean it. Its ours now. OURS we tell you....










Go AWAY! I am SLEEPING.

Look at me! I smile and I am not photoshopped!

This is the toilet of our latest fave eatery, Nawaab on Oldham Road. Obviously its not the actual toilet itself, just the kind of ante room to the toilet, but its very glam for a loo.











And finally, moi, taking a photo of myself reflected in the wobbly mirror of the above establishment.













And finally AGAIN, my fluffy dice.

The rythym of life...

is relentless. I haven't had two seconds to rub together recently. The bathroom tiles are ALMOST painted. I have ammassed cushion material. I have read a LOT. There was a cancelled gig last night, so some chums came round and we had a merry time. Today I bought lightbulbs. Yesterday we went to Gorton market, and they have a real life car boot sale at the side of it. Not a trader in sight. I got 2 Patches annuals and a Photo Love annual (all early 80s) for a quid each, and him indoors got a Mike Harding album in mint condition for another quid. Result!
We got me a new front door key cut (in a Bionic Woman type episode, I broke mine in the door!), and that's about it really.
Here is my office (or at least a bit of my desk). More like a home from home really.

Flickr

Hard to spell but easy to set up. I run several different machines and photos are spread all over the place. Trying to get them together is a nightmare. So I set up a Flickr account. That way, if I ever go mental and delete them all, they will still live SOMEWHERE.
It starts here....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/faerywings/sets/

A hedge and more photos

I made a list of all the things that need doing to the house, and I have made a start. Its a VERY long list and I can't afford to have some of it done. So I have started with the things that don't cost money, or not much.
Yesterday we bought a new (VERY cheap in a sale) bed, and took the old one to the tip.
Yesterday I made a tablecloth out of an old curtain and covered the three kitchen chairs with the left over material. Its a bit 1970s Bistro chic (red and white checks) but its ok.
Today I started work on the hedge from hell. Its a privet hedge, about 30 feet long, and on next door's side its about 6 feet high. On OUR side its about 20 feet high. Next door kindly lent me some kind of medieval torture implement to saw down some of the three inch thick branches. We knew there was an elderberry tree in there somewhere, and that has now got room to breath. There is also another tree we didn't even know we had! I THINK its a rowan, but we will have to see what it turns into now it has been revealed.
I weeded and chopped and him indoors put the back gate on properly (it fell down in a storm and was hanging on by, well, by nothing really).
And I am now shattered. But I can cross a few things off the list at least.
And now for the photos. This is a resteraunt called "Winkles" in Rhos on Sea, North Wales, as of June 2005.
It USED to be a cafe called "The Point Cafe" circa 1974 - 1984, when me, Mum and Dad, Nana, Grandad and Uncle Simon used to go on our communal, anunal jollies each summer. When it was The Point, we used to have sausage, egg and chips, and the salt and pepper shakers were in the shape of an orange and black stripey rectangular tiger. Its hard to describe. You could buy them from the cafe, but no one ever bought me one, or there would be photographic evidence. Oh, the cruelty of parents....




The B and B we stayed in to take the above photo was out of the ark, and very nice it was too. Over on the left is the sink in the bathroom. Just smashing. Look at those taps!

Favourite Photos from the archive...

Going through some old photos, sorting them out and things.I have SO many random folders and pictures in weird places that I thought enough is enough and I will SORT THEM OUT.
Here are some of my favourites...

This is Felix, age 15, on the somewhat raggedy lawn in the back gardenin October 2004. She is a very cuddly cat most of the time. The rest of the time she is evil and violent and will NOT take any notice of anyone.

This is a house in Whitby, that I would be very happy to live in. We have spent many a long weekend in Whitby, me and him indoors, and I would VERY much like to live there. The last time I went was at a DC79 gig in December 2004, and I arrived in the dark and went home in the dark, had no time for sightseeing, and no time to get down to the sea. I did manage to get to eat some lovely fish though :-)

Speaking of fish....here are some that live in the Blue Planet Aquarium in Ellesmere Port. August 2004.

Photo Shop Brushes

As my social life (aka DC79's gigs) has been in limbo, I have reverted to type and am crocheting a blanket, reading His Darkest Materials and discovering Adobe PhotoShop Brushes! Awesome. There was an artist in me and its come OUT. Take a look at the rest of me link over on the right - the pictures and images on my website were made by ME from scratch and I am so proud of my new talent!
On another note, I am annoyed with Amazon. I bought a diary and 2 calenders (1 for home and 1 for work) all claiming they were available for despatch in 24 hours. Only 1 calendar has arrived so far (I ordered on 31st Decemeber) so I reckon they owe me money for loss of dates....

Good evening little school girl :-)

Taken on someone's camera phone. Thats my mate Mand behind me. This was at that Snowball thing. I had horns on my head.

The Snowball

Mid day saw us on route to Wrexham for DC79's headlining thingy at the Snowball, a one day ACDC convention, hosted by that Krusher bloke.
We were staying overnight in a hotel, so it was a no holds barred drink fest (well it was for me...)
I went mad and wore a pair of fluffy red horns and dressed up like a schoolgirl but what the hell, you only live once.
They were excellent as ever, and did about 8 million encores, and we rolled into the hotel at 3am, up at 9am for a full breakfast and then the awful "drop people/gear/vans" off bit, which takes FOREVER. Consequently I am now VERY tired.
Sadly the photographic evidence is a little shaky, as my camera is rubbish at taking pictures in the dark, but here is one of the posters....

Christmas

Christmas day dinner theme was Argentinian, so it was a marinaded beef affair (something like chimichurri - I think that's how you spell it), with home made chips and carrots and Argentinian wine. Very nice indeed.
I got loads of stuff with faeries on, an ACE book about Free (signed by the author dontcha know), a biography of Kate Bush and some other good stuff.
Went to the Ma in laws on Boxing day and had a meal out, then got drunk on bizarre cocktails made by junior sister in law (provisions by senior sister in law, who was driving so couldn't actually HAVE any so it was very kind of her).
A lot was eaten and drunk, but not overly so, and I didn't have turkey once.

Tree Time!

Christmas begins

Today we went to the Christmas markets in Manchester. We had a german steak burger, a cup of something-wein (can't pronounce it but it was hot mulled wine with blueberries), then a cup of somethingelse-wein (as before but with cherries) and THEN a cup of cider punch which sounds vile but was so lovely we bought two bottles of the stuff. Also got some posh fudge, some dutch cheese ("for those about to rock - cheese!" as the dutch bloke selling it said when he saw my ACDC tshirt) and we kept the cups the something-weins came in as well.
The markets looked like the above (I don't know who the people are!)
Oh yes, and I also got The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on dvd, and Lionheart by Kate Bush. And a fantastic book of 60s adverts, more of which later.

Here is him indoors agog with desire at the huge pile of olives and garlic....

And the world's OLDEST baby Jesus....

A MASSIVE Father Christmas (sorry - can never get the hang of all this "Santa" business)

Some time has passed

I didnt say about the Barnsley Gig did I....It was very good. Rockaholics was the venue (staged at G and Ts club) and the journey there was very lovely. It was dark and the moon was out and there were no lights as we drove across the Woodhead pass. We didn't hit any sheep either. I don't recall the journey home, as I had been drinking Jack Daniels till 2.30am and I was "tired". So I wrapped myself in a blanket or two and went to sleep in the back of the van.
Chez office, the ceiling fell in the other day and I spent the morning in my new role as office cleaner. The builders from hell, it has transpired, have stolen the Christmas decorations out of the basement where we USED to keep our stuff, which has dually upset AND annoyed me. I have been shouting a lot at anyone in a hard hat as a consequence.
The band have finally got a new singer, and rehearsals for this little event .....http://www.acdcconvention.co.uk are in order. I can't wait!
It snowed a bit the other day, I broke the bonnet catch AND the window winder for the driver's side in my car (don't know my own strength!), and a Marshall stack has taken up residence in my front room.
So nothing to report really :-)

Some Sims....

Here's one I electrocuted earlier.....

My Life as a Sim

It all began so innocently. A few years back, I bought a pc game called The Sims. I was already a fan of point and clicky things like Myst (although Doom will always be my favourite pc game ever). It seemed simple enough. You make a family, build them a house, decorate it, furnish it, get your Sims a job, get the kids off to school each day, that kind of thing. May pass the odd hour or so once every so often. Except it turned out to be the most compelling game I have every played.... Add on games appeared - The Sims Makin' Magic was especially good, allowing you to get your Sims to cast spells, practice magic and so on. I also discovered countless sites out there where you can download objects and clothes and hair styles and so on, to make your Sims more interesting.
I spent HOURS and HOURS playing it. The original Sims was a 2d affair. And then EA Games went barmy and made The Sims 2 - in 3d. And my free time disappeared in a whiff of pc gaming....
Oh dear me but this game is obsessive. I have cheats and add ons and downloaded objects, and an Amish family that keep asking for a telly (they were pleased with the bookcase I got them though), and I have one family that make Charles Manson's look like the Osmonds. I kill the ones I don't like in inventive ways (get them in the swimming pool and then take the ladders away/I get them to set fire to things and then take the doors away so they burn to death/I starve them to death...says a lot about me I think)
I have even built a faithful model of myself and my own house.
When I can get some screenshots together, I will post them so you can all marvel at my sad life :-)

Day Out

We went to Barnsley today. Well, Hoyland actually. The band are doing a gig there next Friday so we went on a recce mission because they alledged they have an in-house PA and him indoors wanted to make sure it was up to the job. Its a funny place - one side is all PA and lights and stuff and the other side is like a little tiny snug, all dominoes and swearing. It should be good though.
On the way back we came via Marsden and stopped at a cafe up in the hills for lunch. I say lunch - it was geting on for three o clock and I hadn't eaten all day. I had a bacon and mushroom toastie which was lovley. Its great up there - sheep wander about all over the road and the scenery is gorgeous. Yes, I forgot to take the camera.
Called in at Oldham and I finally bought The Sims2 University. The Sims what I hear you cry? Well.....over to post number 2 tonight....

Engerrland

Well we beat Argentina. It was quite LOUD chez Faery, what with him indoors shouting and waving lager cans about, but we had a more civilised bottle of Pinot Grigio to really celebrate. With hotdogs. The tea of Kings.
The new office continues to be great. I have so much ROOM. Goth boy seems to like it too, probably because we got new tea/coffee/sugar cannisters and they are BLACK. What he doesn't know yet is we are getting desk lamps - BLACK ones. He is away this weekend playing D and D. What a trooper of the Goth community :-)
I am nearly at the end of reading THUD by Terry Pratchett. What to read next is up for debate. Its either "John" by Cynthia Lennon or a Phillip Pullman. The Cynthia Lennon thing is smaller and therefore readable in the bath, but i fancy the Pullman more. Except its massive and liable to water logging....

News from the frontline

Blimey, have I been busy. A coupla DC79 gigs , and on Friday it was a late one. I got home at 6.40am. The NEXT DAY. To say I was a bit shattered is an understatement. I was very good though - I kept being offered Absinthe and I kept saying no.
I have been playing the Sims2 to obsessive levels, selling things on Ebay, reading Terry Pratchett and losing weight. Not neccessarily in that order.
We are finally in the new office at last. Its smashing - very large, very high ceilings, digital radio reception is ok again, and there is NO DUST and NO BUILDERS. An END to builders!!!!
Goth Boy is turning out to be a smashing staff member, which makes things easier on me, so all in all things are going well at the moment.
Well, all apart from junior senior cat. Felix is going a bit funny in the head. Or more than usual. I think senility is creeping up on her. She is getting a little confused and forgets where she is. I think a trip to the vets is in order. But can anything be done for a mentally confused cat? She isnt physically ill - she is stuffing her face and fighting with the other cat, and she is washing herself and things. She just isnt RIGHT somehow.
The perils of old animal owning.

Jet

Very sadly, my mother in law's elderly dog, Jet, passed away on Friday. She was 16 and things were just a little too much for her. She will be sadly missed.

Just relaxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Have i ever relaxed this weekend or what?
Friday night, home from work early, peppery chicken burgers for tea, lots of cider, bit of telly, bath, reading, crocheting, bed.....
Saturday I didn't get up till 12pm. Quick shop then lazy afternoon playing computer games, then England beat Antartica or someone, then garlic and mustard turkey for tea, then lots of cider and plum wine and the film "A Shark's Tale".....
Sunday? Up at 10am and off to a greasy spoon for coffee and toast, then a quick jaunt to the ma in laws to visit her aged dog and drop a birthday pressie off for the niece, then a pint in a couple of pubs on the way home ( I wasn't driving!), then after a quick mooch about at home, a walk down the big hill to the pub at the bottom for tea. Smothered chicken filled with cheese, salad and new potatoes, and a couple more pints, and here I am, after a nice cinnamon flavoured bath, watching Heartbeat and becoming a vegetable.
AND I am about to buy a satin pencil skirt on ebay. Oh the decadence.....

Sexism is alive and well and ...funny :-)

If you didn't all know, I work in I.T. On the frontline as it were. We support numerous small to medium sized businesses and business centres, we are an ISP, we do telecomms systems, we do the lot in fact. My email address is sam@. Colleagues refer to me as "Sam". Soooo most people who haven't dealt with me think I am a man. They really do. I don't mind this at all. Because 99% of people, when they find out I am NOT, just think ok, not a man, and carry on. However, 1% (and sorry guys, but its always GUYS that do this) think "oh , not a man" and then SAY "I thought you were a man!" About 99% of THIS lot then just get on with it. But not some. Some (and again, its usually guys, and usually youngish guys who are ALSO in I.T) get on their high horse and try and out-technical me in sometimes quite unpleasant ways. They never WIN but they try. It's sooo amusing. I have a smashing boss who gives me leeway to be as rude or sarcastic as I like to those that try to demean me. The other day, I got a classic.
Technical man - "I want to speak to someone about pointing our website to a different place".
Me - " I can do that for you. Which domain is it and can you email the details please, plus authority from the domain registrant?"
Technical man - "It's ok, I will call back when someone in authority is in."
ME - "As its me who will be doing this for you, I therefore HAVE the authority. "
Technical man - "No its ok, I will call back when someone important is in".
Click....brrr....
That really happened.
10 minutes later, the owners of the domain call, full of apologies and its all resolved.
The click...brrrr hangup was ME, not him, if you were wondering.

A catalogue of happy times #4. Whitby April 03.

I can't lay claim to this one. Him indoors took it. Usually his photos come out blurry, black or disturbing. Sometimes he has flashes of brilliance.

Random Evening Image

Not a photo. Just a verbal snapshot. Mr me is playing a snooker game on the pc. I am half watching. I am on the laptop. On the settee. Cider by my side, cat #1 poking its feet in my back to make me move. Everyone is a bit sleepy and full of the tuna we had for tea. I just finished talking to my mum on messenger. As far as I know everyone I know is ok for now. Sleep well people. Simple things. Isnt that what life is?

A catalogue of happy times #2. Chester Dec03.

Its ivy, its stuck on a church wall, and later on there was a squirrel that posed for photos as if its middle name was Kate Moss. Without the drugs.
It was a cold day, we were shopping and eating and having fun.

A catalogue of happy times #1. Llandudno pier June 05.

Its a pier. Its art. I took it. We went for a weekend away to visit my old holiday haunts of my youth.

Monty

Sadly, mum and dad's dog Monty (who has graced these pages before) passed away last night.
He was 17 and a half and a feisty little thing with a smiley face.
He will be missed.

Happy Madron!

Maybe I should remember this is the time to forgive and let go, to release old arguments and prepare for the new season. Does this apply to the BLOODY BUILDERS AT WORK? I suspect, sadly, it DOES. So, final rant. They lie, steal, laugh and don't CARE about anything. I hate(d) them. I will have to STOP hating them now. It didn't stop me pulling the power on their little hut thing as I went home tonight. Karma owes me big time for their behaviour, and I had a little of the devil in me this evening. And THEY didnt have any lights, radio or working kettle after I had finished. :-)I managed to stop myself poking holes in the water pipe for their toilet block, but that's only because Goth Boy also uses it, and its where we get OUR water from.
I drove home with the setting sun. I have had pizza. The cats are asleep. I am going in the bath. I have cider. Time to relax. Its all uphill now - darker nights, colder weather, boots and cardi weather - hooray for me!
Peace, y'all. )O(

When Blogging Goes Bad

I knew it would trip me up sometime. I was looking through old posts today and I noticed that over 6 months ago, I mentioned beginning to paint the bathroom tiles. And i still havent finished!I did a few more this afternoon and now I have stopped again. Maybe the rest will be done in another 6 months.
Anyway, I am off now. Hex is back on at 9pm and I need to ensure I am lying down on settee, cider in hand, cheese and crisps near enough that I don't have to stretch too far to reach them, cats are at a safe distance (when I lie down they tend to consider me open season for jumping on from a great height), and I hope its as good as the last series (although as far as I am aware, there is only me that watches it in the ENTIRE WORLD).
Be careful out there!

When quizzes go wrong

You're like me! The intelligent loner. You're shy
at times but friendly, and you are never weak
and always independent. You are incredibly
intelligent (wise beyond your years) and have a
talent for many things (sports, music, art).
You have a kind and warm personality and enjoy
the simple things. Like hanging out with
friends and watching movies at home. But you're
sometimes quiet nature makes you a bit of an
outcast and a mystery to people. No matter how
pretty you are or smart or athletic, you just
can't seem to break into the crowd and be
noticed. Don't worry, try to be more outgoing
and speak out when you have more to say. Don't
hide behind your books and sports and computer,
get out there and get noticed. You also have
deep desires in life and feel vunerable and
alone at times. Don't feel sad either, What
helps me to express feelings and dreams that I
can't say to people, is through my writting.
Maybe you should try.

What kind of girl are you? (with pix!)
brought to you by

no, thats NOT me. Quiet nature? I think NOT..... Try to be more outgoing? What do they want? Bette Midler??

DUST

Ok, so those of you who follow this will know that I am currently working in a portacabin from hell in the back of where my office USED to be, while they build a new office for us to move back into. And the date of the move keeps getting put back. And I am getting VERY cross now. Its dusty, and when I say dusty, I mean I put my sandwich down on the top of my lunchbox the other day, went out for 3 minutes, and when I came back, it was covered in DUST. Its AWFUL. The dust swirls about outside, torando like, so we have to keep the windows closed, but it gets IN somehow, and covers everything. Our new person at work (from now on known as Goth Boy - hope he doesnt read this!), can do an enviable Nephilim impression without getting the flour out, due to portacabin dust from hell. And it makes me behave cross as well. I am sure I am acting like I am having nine menopauses all at once ; I must be colleague from planet Banshee at the moment. I can't wear anything decent as it gets covered in dust and concrete and mud, and my desk is a mess of grit and I HATE THE BUILDERS. Get this : I am up a ladder in what we affectionately know as "the void" ( a hole in the ceiling where some patch panels live) , with Goth Boy clutching the ladder in the vain hope I don't fall off and blame him, and I am trying to patch electrical bits and bobs in. In combats and a hard hat and a hazard jacket. Nice look. Eventually - mission accomplished, without me breaking anything/killing myself. And later I pass one of the more moronic builders. "You were up a ladder." he says. "Mmmm." I say. " Someone move your make up mirror up the wall a bit?" says builder. ARRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH. DEATH to them.
I want a nice new office. I want there to be no dust. I want my stuff back - my fairy lights, my fluffy animals, my crystals, my TACKY JUNK, and I DO NOT WANT DUST. And I don't want builders. Anywhere near me. Ever again.

Oh the early 90s - me and him indoors

Oh well

Your Inner Child Is Angry

You're not an angry person. But when you don't get your way, watch out. Like a very manipulative kid, you will get what you want. Even if it takes a little kicking and screaming.

How Is Your Inner Child?

Muddled in Macclesfield

Last night saw DC79 (and therefore ME) in Macc. As its an in house PA which mortals are not allowed near, I was on photography detail. It was a good night, and I seem to have ermm imbibed quite a lot because I feel a bit "tired" today. I don't have photographic evidence yet, as it wasn't my camera, and I am not trusted to take it home with me, but I finally got the ones from the Big Ball bash back in August, which will be on their website soon enough.
Amongst other things last night, I danced with a woman, NEARLY fell down some stairs, had an argument with someone who insisted that to leer at a pretty girl was to "OOgle her" (OGLE - its OGLE for deity's sake), laddered my new stripey tights, carried 4 pints of beer up two flights of stairs without dropping or spilling ANYTHING, got accidentally kicked on the thigh (MASSIVE bruisery) and fell asleep wedged between three speakers in the back of the van on the way back. And all hail to Barry M Glitter Dust eyeshadow - I put it on at 5pm yesterday and it was STILL on at 11am this morning!
Must go - Heartbeat has returned to ITV!!!!

Evil Spammers/Crewe Gig

I have had to enable "word verification" for comments now. If you look at the ridiculous comment on the wedding post (a robot spammer) you will see why.When you want to post, it will ask you to type in a word to make sure you are really YOU and not some idiot spam person.
Sorry guys.
Gig for DC79 in Crewe last night. Great gig. For some reason I appear to have totally mastered the feedback issue with the monitors so I was Queen of sound. Drank G and Ts, had a great time, ate ham and mayonaise sandwich in garage at 4am, nearly died of tiredness when I got in. Its all go on the gig front from now until December. I am soooooo rock and roll :-)
Oh yeah, and if you are reading this tonight ,the 3rd, and you have Sky telly with the sports package, put your TV onto Sky Sports News tomorrow from 11am. They will be ON it (due to ex Premiership footballing legend being their rhythm guitarist). Sky Sports reporters turned up and videoed them!

The Wedding

The wedding was good. We got there to find out we were in a different hotel to the actual wedding, due to some kind of mix up, and there was another wedding going on at our hotel. People kept asking us to pose for pictures , and we kept having to point out it was another wedding we were going to. I wore a pale grey skirt suit and a black velvet lace up top and faux snakeskin round toed stilletoes and black tights. Tacky! Him indoors wore the black suit, a blue shirt, a bootlace tie (redneck chic) and his brothel creepers. (Shoes, mother!)
It was a nice wedding and they did a Native American Indian blessing at the end which was a lovely touch. The sit down meal thing was nice, and then we cleared off back to our hotel for a change of clothing (yay - back in jeans again!) and then returned for buffet/bad disco/chat with drunken friends.
Had every intention of packing in at 10.30pm but 1.30am saw us sitting in our hotel bar drinking brandy with a gay millionaire, whilst admiring the lovely old windows and fireplaces and talking to a Pomeranian dog called Mrs Barbara.
Then I had to drive home the next day...
It was a posh hotel. And the breakfast was not a patch on any of the millions of B and Bs we have stayed in. The whole thing was "sir" and "madam" this, and very impersonal. Not to mention bloody expensive! Still it was worth it.
Lovely time.

Pre Wedding Jitters

...and its not even MY wedding. Next Saturday our friends' son is getting married (that makes me feel ancient. I remember one time they came round to party the night away and had to bring him with them - he was 12 - because he had done some evil child thing and couldnt be left alone, and he sulked all night and here he is, a post grad, 22 and getting married..)
ANYWAY, it's a posh do and I have no posh clothes. I don't have to wear a suit or formal gear for work so I don't have posh people clothes. And neither does him indoors, unless you count his 1980s Ben Elton suit. And even Ben Elton wouldn't wear it anymore. So off we go to Asda and this is how it goes....
Him (within 5 seconds of entering the shop) - there's a black suit, in my size. I'll get that.
Me - (after 3 years of solid browsing) - everything's horrible or old-lady, the wrong size, no shoes will go with that, why dont they have that in a NICE colour, go and read the magazines while I kill myself....
I didn't get anything.
Tomorrow is round two in the clothing war. Normally, clothes shopping for me involves "does it have a picture of a band I like on it/is it denim/will that go with my suede high heeled boots/that looks sturdy and unfazed by beer spillage". NOW I have to buy real grown up people's clothing for once and I can't cope.

I'm Miss World. Somebody kill me.

Post number two of the evening. And this one is about Courtney Love.I like her. A lot. I like the way she looks, I like her music, I like her attitude (although her voice grates a bit) . And I am a bit fed up of everyone slagging her off for being a bit chunky at present. So WHAT? So she has put on a bit of weight. Its all part of the build em up knock em down look at the freak culture that seems to exist in our media. Ok, so you could argue that she courts the publicity, that she sets out to be notorious, that she actively seeks the negative attention, but attacking her for looking a bit iffy (which incidentally I don't think she does - the woman is 41 for insert your deity here's sake) is not particularly constructive or helpful, and is just a bit sad really. Ok, we are all guilty of going "oh look at the state of so and so" expecially if its someone we dont like, but in Courtney's case I think people do it because they WANT to see her fail, see her down, watch the descent into hell of this month's favourite freak.What I most like about her is the fact that she doesnt seem to care what anyone thinks. Neither do I. My own is the only approval I need.Courtney for Queen i say. (oh, no I dont, I dont believe in a monarchical system. Damn.)

Updates

Hi guys. Last Sunday saw DC79, and by default ME, at the ACDC Convention in Wrexham, Wales. It was a last minute thing (another band dropped out and they were asked to play) - it was three days of ACDC tribute bands, workshops, stalls and things, and they were on at 3.30pm on Sunday afternoon. No rehearsal with the new singer at all. No soundcheck, just 1234 and into Riff Raff. It was brilliant! I (well its MY website, not theirs, so I am going to talk about ME) met loads of nice people, had loads of free beer and food, danced about a bit, took some photos and generally had a whale of a time.
Its http://www.acdcconvention.co.uk if you want to go and have a look at what happened.

I always knew.....

Which Rock Chick Are You?