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.