Trees

And again, it's been an age since I last blogged.  Just as I was getting into the swing of it again, stuff happened.  Unfortunately my niece is in hospital, originally Margate now one of the London hospitals, and is likely to be there for a while.

The reason I mention this is that this weekend was the one planned for the tree removal.  The men were due at 10:30am but I was supposed to be catching a train for London at 10:47am - a bit of a clash.  However, my dad agreed to come round and supervise the workmen (and pay them - but with my money, in case you're wondering).  Then at 8am the front door rang.  I shot out of bed, convinced I'd overslept and it was my brother who was taking me to the station.  Instead, in the pouring rain, there were two men in high-visibility suits - they'd come two and a half hours early as their boss hadn't told them the agreed start time!  Still that did mean that by 9am, the tree was down, the rubbish cleared away and the men gone.

When my brother did turn up (at 10am as agreed) I'd showered, washed up, eaten breakfast, packed my bag and done a load of washing - I really must try this getting up early at the weekend malarky more often.  I spent the day in London, at the hospital trying to cheer my niece up, then travelled home with my brother's wife.  Even though I hadn't done much during the day, I was exhausted.  I'm not a fan of hospitals although this one smelt good (usually they smell of disinfectant and watery mashed potatoes but not this one).

In other news this week, at work I've been cataloging cassettes and books and disposing of those that don't match in preparation for the great staff room move.  Tensions have been running a little high but that is to be expected.  In general people don't like change and this is going to be quite a big upheaval.  Next week I'll be teaching in the morning and continuing with the admin work in the afternoon which is actually quite a nice mixture.

Monday night is judgment night in the Digital Assignment competition of the photog soc and I've got six images entered so keep your fingers crossed for me.  Apart from that my lovelies I have nothing else to report.

Labouring

So, what have I been up to this week?  Well it's been pretty full on.  Photog soc on Monday - hand in for the next competition, to be judged this coming Monday.  Then on Wednesday I was back at Tai Chi and, despite practicing and watching the DVD, I couldn't remember the moves.  Still I'll keep practicing and, who knows, maybe one day I'll get it right.  Not only are we walking backwards now, we're also balancing on one leg - this from the woman who finds it difficult to balance on two legs!

On Thursday we had the inaugural meeting of a new reading group (or book club, call it what you will).  We decided to call it Go With The Flow to show just how relaxed we're going to be about what we'll read.  We drew up a shortlist of books and, on Friday, I went to the library and made the whole thing official.

I am now the membership card holder and contact with the library.  There was a very friendly and helpful woman there who has sorted us out and reserved the necessary books for us (we're starting with The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith).  We'll have six weeks to read the books then tea and biscuits while we discuss them.  It will be a nice change to have adult conversation (in my family, conversation usually revolves around babies and children, how they are and what they are doing).

I spent the rest of  Friday afternoon window shopping and managed to prevent myself from spending £60 on a handbag (but it was beautiful) and instead spent £5 on a reed diffuser for my living room.  I had planned to spend the weekend in the garden, tidying up and disposing of the rubbish, cutting back shrubs and 'pruning' trees but it has rained all day.  Despite this, I did spent a couple of hours labouring, sorting out the mess left by various 'helpers' and clearing the side entrance.  I had to do this as the tree men are coming next Saturday.

If you look at this photo of my back garden...

...taken at the end of June last year, you can see that the tree is falling open.  I had three options

1. do nothing and hope it didn't cause any damage when it finally fell apart
2. rope the individual stems together to try and make it look neat and then cover with a net to retain the shape
3. chop it down

Originally I intended to keep the tree as it partially hid the house at the back but that house cuts out a lot of sunlight in the summer and I didn't need to lose more because of the tree.  In addition, the tree isn't native to this country so it doesn't really support much wildlife whereas the shrubs behind do.  The deciding factor was when I found a paved area around the base of the tree.  So the new plan is to chop the tree down leaving the trunks at about hip height and then to put a table top on those trunks for a permanent outside table.  I think it'll open out the garden and reveal several lovely shrubs that are currently hidden.

Anyway, this coming Saturday is when it happens so I had to clear a passage for the workmen.  Two hours in the pouring rain, three pairs of garden gloves soaked through and one very miserable Shiralee later and it was all done.  The rubbish is neatly stacked according to type, the potted plants have been moved and the various bits of brick, broken brick and broken paving slab have been moved to a more useful location.  Now I just need a new back to replace the aching one I have.

Remote Controlled

I cannot believe it's Sunday evening already.  Where has the weekend gone?  It's not as if I spent the morning(s) in bed, no siree, I was up and about bright and early on both of these weekend days... and yet the time, it has flown!

I went out yesterday to try and get some photos of trains from the bridge but, quel surprise! no trains.  They were doing some work on the lines so this is what I photographed instead

and this was fascinating.  Do you remember the big steam roller from A Fish Called Wanda?  Well here are it's baby brothers being remote controlled by the man in orange - fantastic!

Today, on the other hand, has been a pyjama day - which is to say I haven't changed out of my pjs.  That doesn't mean I've spent the day watching DVDs and eating chocolate.  No, I've spent the day trying to put together my entries for the next competition of the photog soc.  It has taken me the best part of a day and it's been a steep learning curve - I even had to RTFM!

Still it's done now and I can relax (not that I'm relaxed about these competitions) and catch up on some tv via the internet.  Ah the loving warm embrace of rubbish tv, you can't beat it.

Friday Tea

Ah Friday.  What a lovely day is Friday.  End of the week.  End of work. Got to love it.

Well yes, but...

You see, normally I don't work on Friday afternoons but this week I was doing a make-up class for a colleague so that meant a two and a half hour 1-1 lesson.  I have to admit the time flew past but I was stuck inside while the sun was (occasionally) shining outside.  When we finished, I grabbed my camera and raced up to the East Cliff to try for some 'moving object' photos and/or some sunset photos.  Not successful.  Still I did come to a better understanding of my tripod and some of the functions on the camera itself.

Then to home and a nice, hot cup of tea.  You cannot beat tea.  I say Boh! to your coffee, give me tea every time.

But wait, I haven't finished yet.

Last week was, you may remember, Chinese New Year and as I'm doing a Tai Chi course (it seems I'm now at intermediate level - that's what walking backwards does for you) we decided to go out for a Chinese meal to celebrate.  We went to an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant called Cosmo in Margate .  The food is very good and the atmosphere pleasant.  We didn't celebrate as such - we were too busy eating - but I had a good time.  Of course, I ate way too much and now I'm suffering.  I have a headache which is probably a combination of tiredness, too much salt and not enough liquid but I'm hoping it'll be cured but the judicious application of a nice cup of tea.

Now where is that kettle?

Fresh Air

Continuing on the photography theme, next week is hand-in for the Assignment Digital competition.  For this you have to submit six images each on a given topic.  I have images for all bar one of the topics and that is 'moving object'.  I've had great difficulty with this partly, I think, because the trick is to get a blur to indicate movement where you want it but sharp focus everywhere else.  I've tried photographing dogs and seagulls, neither of which worked well so now I'm trying to find something else.

The process isn't helped by the fact that it has been grey and overcast all week (except Tuesday which was the one day I couldn't go out in the early evening).  Grey and overcast means flat light which isn't good for the type of photo I'm trying to take.  However I still went out at lunchtime today to see if I'd get lucky (no) and, I tell you, within five minutes of taking the camera out my hands were so cold I couldn't hold it steady.

Despite this I'm going to try again tomorrow - if nothing else it's a good reason to get out at lunchtime and breath in some fresh air.

Result

So, do you remember here when I told you about the photos I entered for a competition?  Well, judging was tonight and guess what?  No, I didn't win (I didn't even come close) but  I scored sixteen, eighteen and sixteen (each out of twenty) which gives me three points towards my bronze award.  I found the feedback a little confusing - the set subject was texture but the judge kept talking about whether the photos were pictorial.  Some he marked down for being so, others he marked down for not be so.  He was also a little brutal in his assessments at times - he even called one of my photos a "so what" photo!  Still the feedback was useful in places.  I'm not sure I agree with the final top three - all were excellent photos but texture? hmmmm.

Anyway for your information and amusement, here are my photos

Evening Sunlight (16/20)

Red (18/20)

Stone (16/20)

Sunset

As part of my on-going plan to get to know my camera better, I went out this afternoon to take some pictures of the sunset.  It had, after all, been a beautifully sunny day so my hopes were high.  I went to the top of the West Cliff in Ramsgate where I could look out over Pegwell Bay to the Richborough Power Station Chimneys.  The wind was blowing quite hard and freezing cold but the sky was beautiful.. Here is one the photos I took (remember, it's straight out of the camera).

I've only got one question.  Is it still a sunset shot when you can't see the sun?

Still Life

So, inspired by last night's session, I downloaded both the basic AND the advanced manual for my camera (totalling 300 pages) - now all I have to do is print them off and read them!

I said I might post some of the still life photos I took last night so here we go.  Now remember these photos are as they came out of the camera, I have to do some work in photoshop, cropping and adjusting the colour balance but I haven't had time for that yet.

Any how, here you are:


a skull - don't know what animal, any suggestions?

ripples

a field mushroom

















As I said, all need some work but maybe I'll post pictures of the same set-up but with different camera settings and you'll see the difference the white balance setting makes.

Until then, enjoy.

White Balance

Tonight was my photog soc night.  Tonight was a 'studio' night.  Tonight I learned heaps of new things about my camera.

There wasn't any formal instruction as such but the more experienced photographers were there to advise and help us amateurs and help they did.  I learned about White Balance - did you know different types of lighting have different temperatures? I didn't.  And that those temperature alter the colour spectrum seen by the camera? and therefore the overall colour scheme of the photo?  I didn't.

I didn't know my camera has automatic exposure lock or automatic focus lock (or both) - I'd seen the letters printed on the camera shell but they didn't mean anything.  I'm still not sure exactly how they work or what they do but now I'm more motivated to RTFM - something I've tended to avoid as it's all written in techie speak and didn't seem at all relevant to me.  I might post a couple of the photos to try to explain White Balance - once I've got them off my camera.

All in all a bloody good evening - and one of the main reasons I joined the club.

Breathing

Well, I thought I was being indulgent yesterday but today....

Apart from a visit from my mum and a five-minute look at the material I'm supposed to be teaching tomorrow, all I've done today is watch tv on my laptop- and eat frozen grapes.


I was supposed to be going geocaching with V but as my nose is completely blocked and I'm not feeling that great, the thought of going out for the afternoon in the freezing wind to look for something which someone else had hidden wasn't that appealing.  We've rescheduled it for next Sunday (cross your fingers for warm weather).

Another effect of this cold is that it's made me realise that I'm a nose breather.  I always assumed I was a mouth breather but since this cold has come back I haven't been able to inhale through my nose without considerable pain and, therefore, I've been breathing through my mouth - and feeling breathless a lot of the time.  Even just sitting still, and god help me when I lay down.  That is purgatory.  And I can't seem to get warm (yes, I know I'm eating frozen grapes but doesn't explain why my feet and hands - both of them- are cold).

Just in case I haven't made it clear, I feel awful (very awful) and gifts of ice-cream, chocolate and cuddles would be very welcome.  You know where I live, don't you?

Bad

Is it really bad that I've spent the evening eating my favourite foods (ice-cream - chocolate, which is unusual for me but I had a craving, steak sandwiches - got to love that combination of meat and bread, and frozen grapes - the only way to eat grapes) and watching series one of Black Books on 4oD (I had forgotten just how surreal and yet wonderful that series is).

Is it really bad? really?

Auction

I woke up this morning feeling as if an elephant had spent the night jumping on my back and my left nostril encrusted with... (use your imagination).  Sorry as I felt for myself, I had promised my dad we'd go auction viewing so after a filling breakfast of cheese omelet sandwich, off we popped.  Now I quite like auctions but my dad is a big fan.  I don't think he's ever bought anything at one but he loves the viewing and the atmosphere in the room during the auction.

We toddled across this morning, my dad to have a general nose, me looking for a display unit for my teasmade.  I was a little disappointed, there were a couple of interesting pieces but nothing to make either of us willing to give up our Sunday to sit in a cold auction room waiting for our lots to come up.  There was a collection of signed sports memorabilia but not a lot else.  I think it was probably quite empty because it's so early in the year.  The only people who've got any money are the dealers and nobody is really selling right now.

There is another one in a couple of weeks time so we may well make it over then, who knows I may back another bargain to match my £15 rocking chair with matching stool.

Back

It's back.  After one day of respite, it's back and I don't know who to blame.

It started with a tickling sensation, then the explosions started and finally the concrete was poured.

Oh yes, my cold is back, large as life and twice as nasty.

Aching

Help!  I am aching.  Aching in all sorts of places.  And it's all my own fault.

Wednesday night is, I'm sure you've worked out, Tai Chi night.  Now the truth is I didn't really want to go this evening.  It was raining, it was cold and I was tired.  However, this was what lead to me missing several weeks before Christmas and I didn't want to start down that road again.

Of course, the weather had to make it worse.  After a constant light rain during my journey to the class, it waits until I'm just about to get out of the car to hail.  I kid you not,  end of January and it decides to hail.

Reminds me of an awful but good old joke "What's worse than raining cats and dogs?" "Hailing taxis!"

Still I made it there.  I wasn't feeling on top of the world, tired and a bit narky but I was there.  We did all we were supposed to do including more monkey steps practice - I even managed to start co-ordinating my arms and legs - and I think I can almost remember it all now although I still get a little unsure at times.  Then we did some meditation exercises.  In case you're wondering, this doesn't mean sitting in a circle thinking, it means breathing and stretching while maintaining what I call a soft concentration.

Anyhow, the upshot of all this is that my shoulders ache, my left elbow aches (but I've been having trouble with it for a while), my neck is sore and my knees are protesting.  I tell you, anyone who says Tai Chi is the soft option obviously isn't doing it properly!

Photographs

I think I've told you I belong to a Photography Society.  I like taking photographs, sometimes I'm even good at it (but not often) however, as I'm sure I've said before, I have no discrimination.  I don't know a good photograph from a hole in the road - although that might make a good photograph.

The photog soc has a lot of competitions, generally two a month.  This is probably because most of the members are a) men and b) long-standing.  Sidebar here, if you think joining a a photog soc is a good way of meeting men you will be sorely disappointed.  If you think joining a photog soc is a good way of meeting obsessives... For a mere hobbyist like me, the photog soc seemed like an opportunity to learn how to take better photos, what makes a good photo and how to make a good photo brilliant.  Unfortunately, this hasn't happened.  As I said most of the attendees are long-standing members and when you've been doing this for umpteen years, do you really want a studio night in using aperture priority to shorten depth of field etc.?

No what you want are competitions, especially if you are a man!  Men need to rate themselves against other men and be given pieces of paper (certificates) showing where they come in the pecking order.  Men need to be able to constructively criticise (rip apart) each other's work.  I am MAN, hear me WIN!  Now don't get me wrong, I've got nothing again healthy competition and the members are, by-and-large, good humoured, helpful and positive.  However, I have been put off entering the competitions by the sheer importance that is given them.  (Also by a lack of self-confidence and a dislike of making a fool of myself - the judging is public although individual photographers aren't identified).

However, the next competition has the theme 'texture' which, if you've looked at my flickr photostream is one of my ongoing projects.  So I  chose four images and tried to put them in the correct format.  For some reason (I think my brain was switched off) I managed to muck it up completely.  Luckily one of my mates from the photog soc (see, I said they were good people) offered to format them correctly for me - he has better photography software than I do - and has also suggested some tweaks which might improve the final images.  We're meeting tomorrow and he's going to show me. I've spoken to the photog soc secretary and he's agreed to accept my entry via email - I think he's being nice to me because he knows I haven't entered anything before so I'll be sending them to him tomorrow evening.

I'll let you know how I get on and maybe publish the finished images.

Housework

Do you like housework?  I don't.  In fact I dislike it so much that I have to force myself to do it.  The main way I force myself into doing housework is to invite somebody to visit.  It doesn't matter who, I'll do the housework just as much for my mum as a friend.  I think it's because I can't see any intrinsic value in housework.  You hoover - the floor gets dirty again, you wash-up - the dishes get dirty again, you dust - the surfaces get dirty again.  Can you see a pattern.  One of the ways in which I deal with my lack of interest in housework is to keep the place tidy.  I believe you can get away with grubby as long as it's tidy and I don't have a problem keeping things tidy.  I find I can take that extra minute to put something away properly, to fold the tea-towel and straighten the cushions.  What I can't find is the ten minutes it takes to wash-up, the twenty minutes it takes to clean the kitchen floor or the thirty minutes it takes to vacuum the carpets.

And don't get me started on the bathroom.  Even I'm disgusted by my bathroom.  How is it that a room that is used solely for cleaning my body, gets so dirty so quickly?  I'm thinking of giving up showering just so that I don't have to clean it AGAIN.

On a different but related note, I have spent the day housekeeping.  This I enjoy as I get to sit down and occasionally press a button or click on a mouse.  Yes I'm talking about my laptop.  Today I have updated all the programmes, deleted loads of unnecessary and/or unwanted files, downloaded some new software (just to try it out) and generally given it all a good once over.  It has been time-consuming and, at times, boring (why does iTunes take so long to update?) but it has allowed me to finish reading a magazine, do half my cryptic crossword and check out some ideas on the internet.

The bathroom's still filthy (I kid you not) but my 'puter is shining.

Crosswords

Ah Friday, the end of the working week and, more importantly, a new cryptic crossword.

I've started reading the new newspaper the i. As well as being a good read with just enough news to keep me informed without being too much to digest, it also has a daily concise crossword - not so easy - and a weekly cryptic crossword - not easy at all (for me).

I first started doing cryptic crosswords back in the last century.  I was working for a charity and one of my friends was an avid Daily Express reader - back when the Express was a well balanced paper.  She did the cryptic crossword and taught me the tricks and techniques.

Of course, every compiler has their own special way of putting the clues together and these last few weeks have been about getting inside the mind of the compiler.  To do this I attempt to complete the crossword then look at the answers the following week and see where I went wrong.  Sometimes I still can't see where the answer came from but I'm getting better.

Having said that I do prefer doing a crossword with someone else.  When I was in Argentina I used to do crosswords from the Daily Express Crossword Books with my dad via yahoo messenger - there I am stuck in an internet cafe talking what must have seemed like gibberish (It's English Paolo, but not as we know it) to someone on the other side of the world then exclaiming in glee when we get an answer.

At the moment I don't have a regular crossword partner but if anyone's interested....

Nothing

I've been sitting here for about half an hour searching for inspiration.  I have absolutely nothing to write about.  Nothing different or exceptional has happened today (I've finally got around to doing the washing up - thrilling), I haven't had any annoying phone calls or letters, no remarks unkind or otherwise have come my way and I haven't done anything worth writing about.

When this happens I try to remember a 'funny' story or happening and relay that but... nothing.  The other option is to write about my plans but I don't have any of those either.

It does seem odd that I can't find anything to write about and I've managed to write over a hundred words about it!

Monkey steps

Oh do I ache, boy do I ache.  For some reason the Tai Chi workout (can you really call it a workout?) has left me aching in places where I didn't know I had muscles.  As I don't feel I know the routine (or form) properly, I spent this afternoon watching it on a dvd and trying to emulate (whilst being confined to a two square metre area in my study).  If anyone saw me at the window they probably thought I was mad - "Look mum, a weird woman waving her arms around and moving slowly in a small space - is she mad?"  "No dear, she's a teacher"

Anyway, to the class.  We do a 10 - 15 minute warm-up at the beginning of the class, loosening all the major joints and warming the muscles, then we work through the form a few times concentrating on a different aspect each time (or in my case, just trying to remember what to do)  At some point we add a new element and practice that a few times before we try to put it all together.  Finally we finish with some sort of cool-down/meditation exercise.  It takes one and a quarter hours all together and there's no sitting down and relaxing.  Believe it or not, I'm not the most unco-ordinated person in the class but it is a close thing and being taller than most of the others, I tend to take longer steps which could result in collisions if I'm not careful.  Short steps, better placed would be preferable but I'm just glad to get through the whole thing without falling over.  One of my goals was to improve my balance and, touch wood, I haven't made contact with anyone yet although just about everyone knows not to stand in front of me if we're going forward.

I'm not sure what caused the achy-ness today but could it have been the walking backwards while pushing forwards with our arms?  Didn't I mention we are walking backwards now - monkey steps, it's called, bloody difficult is what I call it.  Still, onward and upwards or in my case backwards and outwards.

Breathe

I'm really beginning to get into the walking lark.  I remember now how important it is for me to have a reason for walking.  I don't really do exercise for the sake of doing exercise but walking to work and back, that makes sense.  I also remember the thinking time it gives me.  Not that I have anything major to think about, I am (fingers crossed) problem-free at the moment.  That doesn't mean my life is perfect just that it seems to be under control.

With this in mind, I spend a lot of my walk looking at the houses I'm passing and wondering what the people inside are doing.  And it struck me again today just how little separates the inside from the outside, in some cases a single pane of glass.  We humans are very good at convincing ourselves that we are safe and private.  Have you ever considered just how flimsy the partitions are in communal toilets?  Yet the thought of truly communal toilets a la The Romans would have most of us nauseous with disgust.  And having sex in the same room as your children?  Never (but check with your (great) grandparents and you'll get a different picture).  We are so spoilt.

The other thing I do while walking is compose long rants about the injustices in society and, being extremely selfish, specifically how this society is unjust for me.  As a single working woman I seem to pay all of the costs and receive none of the benefits - this is enough to get a good long diatribe going in my head.  And the great thing about doing it while walking is that I never feel the need to say it but I'm well prepared if someone should piss me off (especially moaning minnie parents - no-one forced you to procreate).

Apart from the health-giving properties and the thinking time, the other advantage I've found from walking is that I'm breathing better.  I can feel my ribcage expanding and contracting - breathing more deeply - and that has to be good for all sorts of reasons.  When I do Tai Chi we try to concentrate on the belly when breathing.  Now I have a big belly and trying to control it in any way is not something I'm used to... contract when breathing out?  eh? what? relax when breathing in?  try to keep the breath smooth?  what's he going on about?  So when the chest breathing of walking mixes with the belly breathing of Tai Chi life is going to get interesting (or not - we'll have to wait and see).

Note

Note to self:  when walking to work don't forget to take your waterproof coat in case it's raining on the way home.

Baileys

Today was another first in this new year.  Today was the first time this year that I hung my washed clothes outside to dry.  I don't think I've been able to do that for a couple of months - and it does make a difference.  I've mentioned before that I have a fairly good sense of smell and the difference between line dried clothes and clothes dried on an airer inside is quite remarkable.  So remarkable, in fact, that fabric softener companies have tried to reproduce the smell  in their products (I make no comment as to their success).

Another first was my first Sunday dinner of the year with my parents.  Roast pork with all the acroutements (is that the right word?).  This was preceded by a glass of Bailey's liquor and this started me on a dark and dangerous path.  On returning home I had to transfer one of my mum's tapes to CD (a convoluted process at the best of times), sort out a progress test for my students to take tomorrow, plan my lessons for the week and catch up on the various games I play on facebook (I know, they aren't a priority which is why they are listed last but they cannot be neglected - I haven't broken that addiction yet).  To help me get on with these tasks I decided to open my bottle of Bailey's and have a couple of glassfuls.

Which is why this short post has taken me about 30 minutes to type (thank god for spellcheck)

Singing and soup

A quiet day today and a blessed relief for my neighbours.  How can this be? you ask.  Well, here is another of my dirty little secrets (I do like to accumulate them), when I'm working in the kitchen I like to have music radio on (Heart FM to be precise) and when a song comes on that I like (and I like most of them) I sing along.

Why is this so bad? you ask.  Well you obviously haven't heard me sing.  Cats run away in pain, birds are silenced and dogs start howling when they hear my dulcet tones.  BUT I have lost my voice, so no singing today.  I am upset but the neighbours' windows are safe.  Why was I in the kitchen? because today was soup day.  I love making soup - almost as much as I love eating soup.  And home-made soup is the best. 

However this wasn't always the case.  When I was in senior school I had to do Home Economics (and dressmaking while the boys did woodwork, metalwork and technical drawing - outrageous I know but that was back in the days before computers and when equality was still more of a phrase than a reality).  Anyway, as part of the HE course we had to make potato soup.  Yes I will repeat that, potato soup.  Not leek and potato, not bacon and potato, not even potato and onion, just plain potato soup.  And it was made by boiling potatoes to a mush in too much water, then adding flour to thicken it.  You could, if you wanted, add salt and pepper to season.  AND THAT WAS IT!  When I made it in the school kitchen it tasted awful, when I tried again at home it tasted awful.  So awful, in fact, that it put me off soup for a long time.

My re-entry into soup making happened in Argentina (I've just spent a good few minutes trying to find a blog post that's relevant but couldn't).  The secret soup was pumpkin and tomato soup.    I'd never cooked pumpkin before - it wasn't a common vegetable in this country when I was a child but in Argentina it was everywhere and it was cheap.  It even came peeled and chopped up into chunk, saving soooo much time (well you know how lazy I am).   I don't know where I got the recipe from but it's the same one I use whatever the vegetables..  Basically I roast the veggies in the oven (in olive oil and with herbs), then I liquidise the whole lot (chunkiness varies according to mood).  If I've roasted tomatoes then I just add a little puree and stock to loosen, If I haven't roasted tomatoes then I add liquidised tinned tomatoes and stock to loosen.  Pepper to season and freeze.  The flavours are different every time depending on what herbs I use, whether I have any garlic and, of course, the veggies used.

Now I have a freezer with lovely nutritious home-made soup in it, so that's lunch sorted out for a while.

Silence

This is it!  I have lost my voice.  You thought the day would never come but I am silenced.

Truth is I do still have some voice but, like a dying battery, only enough for half a sentence at a time.  This did put great pressure on my students and they responded magnificently, I have never been so proud as I was today when they interpreted my squeaks and gestures and communicated with me, in English, and without losing their composure.  We even did some pronunciation work (thank god for interactive whiteboards).

I somehow doubt I'll be doing anything exciting this weekend but my study does need a damn good sorting out so all I've got to do is resist the lure of the internet - I am doomed!

Squeakiness

So, my plan to blog every day has fallen at the first hurdle - didn't even make it to the middle of January.  I do have a good reason though.  As I said in my last post, I have been ill.

On Monday night my sinuses decided to become completely blocked which meant little sleep and much pain, so little sleep and so much pain, in fact, that I took Tuesday off sick.  I did manage to sleep most of Tuesday during the day - isn't that weird, I couldn't get any sleep during the night but during the day?  like a baby!

By Tuesday evening I thought I'd kicked its butt so back to work on Wednesday only to become more and more blocked as the day went on.  This didn't stop me from going to my Tai Chi class - we're starting to move backwards now - and I did find it wonderfully relaxing.  The need to concentrate on what my feet and arms were doing took the focus totally off my vaious sicky bits.  However, by the end of the day I was sneezing again and bringing up nasty green mucus decorated with lovely bright red blood (thought you'd want that detail).  That night I artfully arranged the tiger balm on the cotton wool pads either side of my bed and managed at least four hours sleep.

So, into work today.  Wasn't till I got there that I discovered the slightly sore throat I had was a cover for the disappearance of my voice (living on my own means I often don't say anything until I arrive at work).  It hasn't gone totally but it has become quite squeaky and I have no control over the volume (it suddenly cuts out like a radio with bad reception - obviously pre-digital).  I managed to get through both classes today - good listening practise for my students!

A long-standing friend and her husband came over to visit this evening.  Ninety minutes of lively chat (and just the one cup of tea) has left me even more sore-throated and squeakily voiced but it was worth it..

Who knows what tomorrow will bring but I am so grateful that it's Friday

Would you believe it!

Oh woe is me, woe is me.  Would you believe I'm ill! I'm bloody well ill!

Sore throat, blocked nose, headache and stiff neck.  When I got home at lunchtime I made myself a cup of tea, cut a slice of Christmas cake (it must be eaten) and fixed a hot water bottle.  Then I went to bed.  I didn't drink the tea.  I didn't eat the cake, I did sleep for an hour.

I felt so much better after, in fact I felt so much better that I walked back into work this afternoon (and home again).  It's just taken me three quarters of an hour to eat a bowl of pasta (due to the sore throat) and I'm almost ready for bed again.

See you on the other side!

Freedom

Ah the weekend, those two days of freedom from the routine of work, the routine which dictates the time you get up, what you wear, when and what you eat and the time you go to bed.

So why is it that my weekend doesn't feel like freedom?  Why do I have so much washing to do?  Why do carpets need vacuuming?  Why does food need cooking?  and, most importantly, Why did I volunteer to be a delegate for the photog society?  It's only one or two meetings a year (they said), it won't take up much of your time (they said) and it would be soo good for us all (they said).  What they didn't mention was a round trip of 90 miles - not a lot to many people but I rarely drive more than five miles now-a-days - and a room full of people who love the sound of their own voice.

I have extensive experience of committee meetings both as a member and the chair and it was obvious to me that this was one committee who didn't really like each other (thank god it was the AGM and they were all standing down) so much so that their control of the meeting was tenuous at best.  At one stage another delegate stood up and asked if we could move onto the next item on the agenda as we had clearly resolved the item under discussion and were going round again - I could have applauded.

My hackles were raised when I saw the list of officers 'President', 'Senior Vice-President', 'Honorary Treasurer' 'Honorary Secretary' etc.  High faluting titles - mmmm.  Why?

Anyhow, that's my duty done until June (the next AGM - don't ask) and tomorrow will be a busy morning sorting stuff out for next week followed by a lazy afternoon at V's watching DVDs, eating nibbles and getting oh-so-slightly drunk.  Such fun!

Routine

It's Friday night (in case you didn't know) and the first week back at work is over.  I am tired but hey, who isn't?

I'm starting to get back into a routine which will, in future, include walking to and from work for my afternoon lesson.  I can't be doing with walking in the morning, I find it hard enough to get up when it's dark as it is (I generally get up between 6:45 and 7:15) and to have to get up an extra half hour early just to accommodate a walk to work - quel horreur!  But the afternoon I can manage.  I wanted to start this week but it has been so wet and so cold that I chickened out, so it'll be Monday.

On a brighter note I finally paid off my income tax debt today, so that's a weight off my shoulders and I can now start saving for the things I want/need.  It has been instructive though, as I now have a better understanding of just how little I can live on comfortably (not the caveat).  No excuses for not saving - I haven't missed it these last umpteen months so I won't miss it if it goes straight into a savings account.  I feel so grown up!

In other news I had some goods delivered today and when I say delivered I mean thrown over the back gate to sit in a puddle of water and get rained on.  Good news is that only the outer box got totally soggy, bad news is one of the things I order got damaged.  I'll leave the supplier and courier to sort out responsibility.

Of course, being Friday night I should be putting my party frock on and getting ready to paint the town red.  However as a mature woman (ha!) of nearly fifty years old, I choose to put my comfy jogging pants on and paint my nails red.

Have a good weekend!

Twelfth Night

Tonight is Twelfth Night which traditionally signals the end of the Christmas celebration.  Here in the UK we don't do anything to mark this apart from making sure our Christmas decorations are taken down.  Leaving them up after tonight is supposed to cause bad luck (although I don't know why) so you can guess what I spent this evening doing.  And you know what?  It takes longer to take the damn things down than it did to put them up.

Still, my living room is back to normal and now all I have to worry about is where to store the decs until next year.  Up to now they've been in my parents' attic but now I have my own house, I suppose they'll have to go up in mine.  I know there's nothing in the attic because the builders cleared it out when they were doing work on the house (and there were enough old newspapers, magazines and books up there to burn for a week).

So I guess I'll be getting the ladder out of the shed this weekend, climbing up into the attic (hoping there aren't any birds up there - nothing is more annoying than being pooped on by a panicking bird) and seeing what can be stored where.

Meanwhile in Italy Befana is flying on her broomstick tonight, delivering sweets to all the children - now, remind me, why did I leave Italy?

Reality

Ok, reality is kicking in again after the holiday hiatus.  Tonight was the first night back at Tai Chi and, boy, am I aching.  I wanted to practice over the holiday but I had a fundamental problem.  I couldn't remember what to do (aka the 'form').  I had been given a crib sheet and a dvd but could I find either of them?  Could I heck as like!

On top of that I have another issue and, to be honest, I don't know why.  Before going to the class I'm all mopey and trying to convince myself that it's not worth going/it's too much like hard work/I'm too tired/hungry etc.  During the class I concentrate and relax (but still feel a bit of a berk for not being able to remember the form).  After the class I ache but feel good.  So why can't I remember the 'feeling good' before the class and cut out all the feeling sorry for myself because I've got to go out in the dark, wet and cold night? Anyone would think I'm a teenager!

Boh, reality bites (and sucks!)

Weird

So, I was back to work today for the first time in about four weeks and it was weird.

I didn't have a problem in getting up early (I didn't want to get up early but I didn't have a problem). I didn't have a problem driving to work in the dark or parking in an extremely tight space. I didn't have a problem with a class that started with two students, steadily rose to eight students and settled at seven.

What was weird was the number of teachers in the teachers' room. It was a complete madhouse when I got there! And my favourite spot had been usurped! No-one has their own desk but there are certain places within the staff room that are understood to belong to certain teachers, those teachers being the ones who teach there year-round. I am one of those teachers but another (semi-regular) teacher, who has been teaching on-and-off at the school for many years, decided to sit in my place. I didn't (and wouldn't) make a fuss about it but several eyebrows were raised. It is well known that this other teacher has little or no respect for me although I find it hard to believe she would deliberately sit in my place just to annoy me. Her action had a domino effect with me moving to someone else's accustomed spot etc. etc. We shall see what happens tomorrow (probably depends on who gets in first).

Another weird thing is that I'm teaching a split shift. Mornings till 12:20 then late afternoon 16:30 to 18:00. Good thing about this is that I get to come home in the afternoon, eat a leisurely lunch and do some odd jobs (today's was sorting out some paperwork). I haven't taught a split shift since leaving Argentina but I can see the advantages - at least I'll make use of my afternoons knowing I have to go back to work.

So, weird, yes I think that just about sums up my first day back at work.

The Final Countdown

Oh woe is me, today is the last day of my holiday and tomorrow (obviously) I'm back to work.

I know I'll enjoy being back at work as I love my job, but I've sooo enjoyed having such a lot of time off (about four weeks altogether) and I've quite got used to it.

As today was my last day of holiday I spent it doing holiday type things: pruning rose bushes with my mum, reading the newspaper, eating ice-cream and watching very old tv series on 4oD (Drop the Dead Donkey, since you ask).

What I haven't been doing is preparing for my first class tomorrow, sorting out my clothes, packing my bag or anything even remotely work-related. I am very naughty but I don't care, I'm on holiday (for another few hours!)

Flying Angels

So, day two of the new year and another busy day.

Last night R and I went down town again (thanks dad, for the lift) and rocked into The Red Lion around 8pm. The place wasn't empty and the band The Slug Pixies were setting up so the signs were good. Now, as live music newbies, we didn't know what time the band started but at about 8:30 they took their stations and the music started...

...and half a song later it stopped! Turns out that was the sound check! (but it sounded good). While we were waiting R re-read the poster and noticed the tag line "Rock for the hard of hearing" OH NO, does that mean music for very old people or very loud music. Turns out it was loud, very loud, very, very loud. Cover versions of Led Zepplin, Talking Heads and similar such bands were the order of the day and we were bogeying along (but not actually dancing because that's not what people do in The Red Lion). We stayed through the first set (one hour) and then nipped along to the chippy again but this time for a lamb kebab (heaven!).

As we were walking along, my ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton wool but I couldn't help noticing the contrast with the previous evening. There were hardly any people about and the weather was wet and cold. Still the kebab was delicious - such a change from the rich Christmas fare of the past few days and we decided to mosey on home. So for the second night running I walked home - and despite what R says, I did NOT complain every step of the way, I'm sure there was a stretch at the top of the High Street where I was too out of breath to say any thing at all.

When we got home, we finished the evening with an episode of "An Idiot Abroad" (not that impressed) that R had received for Christmas and a couple of Brandy and Babysham cocktails. These are known as Flying Angels and rounded off the evening nicely.

So New Year's Eve/Day I went to bed at 3:30ish and last night I went to bed at about 1am-ish. And still getting up before 10:30am each day WITHOUT a hangover.

I have now called a halt to the alcohol as I think I've drank all my units for the year already.

Happy New Year

Hello my lovelies and a happy new year. It's been so long since I last posted, very sorry.

So here we are at the beginning of another year (and some would say another decade). Just to bring you up to date, the Christmas dinner went very well even though the turkey crown turned out to be a chicken breast and my roasties didn't go as brown as they were supposed to. However, my parents were very appreciative and fought to finish the food provided (thus proving to my mum that her eyes can be bigger than her belly). In addition, yesterday I hosted a pot-luck new year's eve lunch for various family members - one way of getting rid of excess food!

On top of all that, my friend R has been staying and we planned a New Year's Eve celebration and, boy, did we celebrate.

It started with a couple of beers (left overs from my barbecue back on the August bank holiday (I don't really drink when I'm on my own), then a brisk walk into town (takes about 25 - 30 minutes). We were most of the way there when R announced she needed another drink. Co-incidentally we were just walking past a new, Russian restaurant which was advertising a special offer of a double brandy for £2.00, so always game for something new, in we popped. The brandy was strong - east European - and the measure somewhat slightly more than a double but it warmed the cockles wonderfully. While we were sitting at the bar, I was watching Russian MTV and let me tell you, those eastern European girl groups leave nothing to the imagination. You may have thought The Cheeky Girls were skimpily dressed but they were positively Victoria in comparison to what was being shown - so lads, if you like a lot on display, Russian MTV the place to go.

From there we wandered into the centre of town where we were greeted with such a choice (there are a lot of pubs in Ramsgate). In the end we went to a pub that I used to frequent in my youth, The Red Lion. As we walked in a band (Purist) was playing and although young, they were loud and enthusiastic which is all that's needed on NYE. My glasses fogged up immediately but still up to the bar and more alcohol. R has a preference for beer whereas I'm more a spirits person - and here's the daft thing, my double G&T cost about the same as her pint of lager! Go figure. I managed to get a stool and we settled in for some music listening and people watching (talking was out of the question). We stayed there until 11:50pm and then we walked down the road to the harbour.

We only saw one person vomiting in public (it was still before midnight) and there was an atmosphere of goodwill to all. We made a quick side trip to the chippy (where I had my most naughty food ever - a saveloy [pigs cheeks, ears and tail in artificial pig gut], mmmm so moist).

At midnight, there were fireworks and some people sent up Chinese lanterns - these have become very popular over the last couple of years. It was good and we saw in the New Year watching the fireworks over the water. In order to bring the warmth back, we went to another pub for another drink but we didn't stay there as they were shutting at 1am. So back to The Red Lion for a final drink (or two) where the band were finishing their second set. While we were sitting there (yes, we got seats again - lucky, lucky, lucky) R noticed a poster which said The Slug Pixies were playing on New Year's Day and guess where we're going tonight?

Did not have a hangover this morning, so that's a result.