Happy New Year! :o)
Thursday, 31 December 2009
all back door photos of 2009
Here are all the back door photos I took this year. I've put them together as a gif so we can watch the changing seasons. They are not in the least bit perfectly aligned but, considering the photos were all taken with a point and shoot camera hand held by me, I don't think it's too shabby. How fascinating to watch the changing seasons! :o)
Happy New Year! :o)
Happy New Year! :o)
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
post for the old year
I found a list of questions for the new/old year earlier this year. I have no idea where I found it but I had saved it with a view to posting at the end of the year - nearly there.
I dug it out this morning with a view to posting it and answering all the questions. But I've decided not to.
Why? Well a lot of the questions were kind of depressing/sad. Or at least the answers would be. "What was your biggest failure?" "Did anyone close to you die?" "Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?"
So, I thought I'd go through the 38 questions picking out the ones that had happy answers or okay answers - ie not depressing or sad answers.
I didn't get far with that idea either. I mean, how on earth could I choose which was my favourite book of the year? (Nora Roberts new bride series - why does she not release them all at once? Why make us wait months for the next book??)
Or my favourite movie? I think I only went to the cinema once - to see The Proposal which was a great film but can I call it a favourite? I'm not sure.
"What kept you sane?". Who says I'm sane? :oP
"My biggest achievement of the year?" Crumbs, I don't know! Losing 2 dress sizes would be right up there - but that was kind of a fluke. I started swimming which made the sizes drop off - not the weight, just the sizes!
"What was my greatest musical discovery?" Did I discover anyone musically this year?
"What dates of 2009 will remain etched upon your memory and why?" Where do people get these questions from?
"What did you want and not get?" World peace? (We watched "Miss Congeniality" the other day! :oD)
My answer to "Where did most of your money go?" would be either Tesco's (supermarket) or Amazon.
"What did you get really, really, really excited about?" I have to watch my blood pressure so no getting really, really excited for me! :oD
I'm stopping now before I inadvertently answer all 38 questions! Let's just say that 2009 had some sad times and some happy times. Just like always! :o)
I dug it out this morning with a view to posting it and answering all the questions. But I've decided not to.
Why? Well a lot of the questions were kind of depressing/sad. Or at least the answers would be. "What was your biggest failure?" "Did anyone close to you die?" "Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?"
So, I thought I'd go through the 38 questions picking out the ones that had happy answers or okay answers - ie not depressing or sad answers.
I didn't get far with that idea either. I mean, how on earth could I choose which was my favourite book of the year? (Nora Roberts new bride series - why does she not release them all at once? Why make us wait months for the next book??)
Or my favourite movie? I think I only went to the cinema once - to see The Proposal which was a great film but can I call it a favourite? I'm not sure.
"What kept you sane?". Who says I'm sane? :oP
"My biggest achievement of the year?" Crumbs, I don't know! Losing 2 dress sizes would be right up there - but that was kind of a fluke. I started swimming which made the sizes drop off - not the weight, just the sizes!
"What was my greatest musical discovery?" Did I discover anyone musically this year?
"What dates of 2009 will remain etched upon your memory and why?" Where do people get these questions from?
"What did you want and not get?" World peace? (We watched "Miss Congeniality" the other day! :oD)
My answer to "Where did most of your money go?" would be either Tesco's (supermarket) or Amazon.
"What did you get really, really, really excited about?" I have to watch my blood pressure so no getting really, really excited for me! :oD
I'm stopping now before I inadvertently answer all 38 questions! Let's just say that 2009 had some sad times and some happy times. Just like always! :o)
Sunday, 27 December 2009
old dogs
This is another snippet taken from the pccrafter newsletter. This one made me giggle. :oD
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
One day the old German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.
The old German Shepherd thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the old German Shepherd exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder, if there are any more around here?"
Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!" says the leopard, "That was close! That old German Shepherd nearly had me!"
Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So, off he goes, but the old German Shepherd sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up.
The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.
The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!"
Now, the old German Shepherd sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?" But instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old German Shepherd says, "Where's that stupid monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!"
Moral of this story...
Don't mess with the old dogs...age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery! Brilliance only comes with age and experience.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
One day the old German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.
The old German Shepherd thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the old German Shepherd exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder, if there are any more around here?"
Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!" says the leopard, "That was close! That old German Shepherd nearly had me!"
Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So, off he goes, but the old German Shepherd sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up.
The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.
The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!"
Now, the old German Shepherd sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?" But instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old German Shepherd says, "Where's that stupid monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!"
Moral of this story...
Don't mess with the old dogs...age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery! Brilliance only comes with age and experience.
Saturday, 26 December 2009
is it okay??
Is it okay to be kind of relieved that Christmas is over for another year? Don't get me wrong - I LOVE Christmas and all it stands for but, after it's done, I'm quite happy to let it go until the next time.
I'm going to write a few things here so that, if I check next year, I won't forget.
DO NOT BUY TURKEY!!!! EVER AGAIN!!!!
I am a good cook but the Christmas Day turkey always gets the better of me. Yes, a lot of the stress is self-imposed but that doesn't make it any easier to handle.
Yesterday's turkey dilemmas started with ice. According to the radio, the turkey should have been defrosted in 5 hours. 15 hours after taking it out of the freezer there was still ice on and in it. I left it for another hour when we decided that it looked fine.
After giving it the package-advised 2 hours cooking, the meat thermometer was still 10º below where it should have been. After another half hour, the temperature was 5º lower than it had been half an hour earlier. What???? (BTW - I know the thermometer works so it wasn't that.)
I could feel my blood pressure rising by the minute. Stupid turkey. Why did we have it? Why didn't we just have chicken? Or mince and tatties??? Grumble, grumble, grumble.
After a lot of tears on my part - how ridiculous to allow a turkey to reduce me to a blubbering idiot!! - we decide to have just the trimmings and the chipolata sausages.
And we had plenty to eat. More than plenty as we had to leave pudding until about 8pm when we had room for it!
So, Anne, if you're reading this in 2010 - DO NOT BUY TURKEY!!!!!
I'm going to write a few things here so that, if I check next year, I won't forget.
DO NOT BUY TURKEY!!!! EVER AGAIN!!!!
I am a good cook but the Christmas Day turkey always gets the better of me. Yes, a lot of the stress is self-imposed but that doesn't make it any easier to handle.
Yesterday's turkey dilemmas started with ice. According to the radio, the turkey should have been defrosted in 5 hours. 15 hours after taking it out of the freezer there was still ice on and in it. I left it for another hour when we decided that it looked fine.
After giving it the package-advised 2 hours cooking, the meat thermometer was still 10º below where it should have been. After another half hour, the temperature was 5º lower than it had been half an hour earlier. What???? (BTW - I know the thermometer works so it wasn't that.)
I could feel my blood pressure rising by the minute. Stupid turkey. Why did we have it? Why didn't we just have chicken? Or mince and tatties??? Grumble, grumble, grumble.
After a lot of tears on my part - how ridiculous to allow a turkey to reduce me to a blubbering idiot!! - we decide to have just the trimmings and the chipolata sausages.
And we had plenty to eat. More than plenty as we had to leave pudding until about 8pm when we had room for it!
So, Anne, if you're reading this in 2010 - DO NOT BUY TURKEY!!!!!
Thursday, 24 December 2009
Christmas Eve - photos
Christmas Eve is here - and nearly gone. Only a few more hours until Santa comes!! Yay!! :oD
As my final post before Christmas, I thought I'd show a few photos we took of the snow we had this week. Rosie takes a starring role - doesn't she always?
The back garden from the upstairs window.
Our street looking west.
And looking east.
And now just a few of Rosie in the snow! The last four were taken by Jo. (Is that enough credit for you? :oP)
Merry Christmas!! I hope Santa is good to you all.
As my final post before Christmas, I thought I'd show a few photos we took of the snow we had this week. Rosie takes a starring role - doesn't she always?
The back garden from the upstairs window.
Our street looking west.
And looking east.
And now just a few of Rosie in the snow! The last four were taken by Jo. (Is that enough credit for you? :oP)
Merry Christmas!! I hope Santa is good to you all.
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
it hurts! :o(
Yesterday I got my second swine flu jag. Apparently, if you're on immuno-suppressant drugs, you need a second jag. See, that makes no sense to me. If my immune system is being suppressed, does that not mean I should need less of the drug?
Anyway, yesterday I got my part 2. I wasn't worried about it in the slightest because the first one went very well. In fact, I hardly felt it going into my arm. Oh, my arm was a bit tender for a couple of days but nothing worth writing home - or blogging - about!
The nurse who called me yesterday wasn't the same one I had last time. She got the needle ready and I swear when she approached me, I kept thinking of Psycho. She was holding that needle just like Norman held that knife. Talk about a "whoa!" moment.
I just stood there and tried not to flinch when the needle went in - I don't think I succeeded! I felt a bit weird all afternoon yesterday but I just put it down to having had the jag and then getting bloods taken to make sure everything is as it should be because of the aforementioned immuno-suppressants.
Well, today my arm is really aching. It feels like someone hit me with a club - or some psycho stabbed me!
I'll be okay soon. It's certainly not going to stop me enjoying my Christmas celebrations! :oP
Anyway, yesterday I got my part 2. I wasn't worried about it in the slightest because the first one went very well. In fact, I hardly felt it going into my arm. Oh, my arm was a bit tender for a couple of days but nothing worth writing home - or blogging - about!
The nurse who called me yesterday wasn't the same one I had last time. She got the needle ready and I swear when she approached me, I kept thinking of Psycho. She was holding that needle just like Norman held that knife. Talk about a "whoa!" moment.
I just stood there and tried not to flinch when the needle went in - I don't think I succeeded! I felt a bit weird all afternoon yesterday but I just put it down to having had the jag and then getting bloods taken to make sure everything is as it should be because of the aforementioned immuno-suppressants.
Well, today my arm is really aching. It feels like someone hit me with a club - or some psycho stabbed me!
I'll be okay soon. It's certainly not going to stop me enjoying my Christmas celebrations! :oP
Monday, 21 December 2009
they were wrong!!
We did get snow but not at the times the weather forecasters said we would. We woke up to no new snow - thankfully!
It did snow later in the morning and it did look heavy now and again but it only lasted minutes and didn't lie too much. Again - thankfully!!
Tomorrow I intend going to the supermarket for the last shop before Christmas. I really need it not to snow so I can get there and back without worrying that we might run out of milk!
Funny how tomorrow's shop will be only for "sensible" food like milk, butter, eggs and bread and maybe some fruit. All the "fancy" stuff is in the fridge or freezers already. Hopefully that will make the trip short and sweet!
Oh and just one more thing - Santa's almost on his way. You can check out his progress on the Norad site. Fun!! :o)
It did snow later in the morning and it did look heavy now and again but it only lasted minutes and didn't lie too much. Again - thankfully!!
Tomorrow I intend going to the supermarket for the last shop before Christmas. I really need it not to snow so I can get there and back without worrying that we might run out of milk!
Funny how tomorrow's shop will be only for "sensible" food like milk, butter, eggs and bread and maybe some fruit. All the "fancy" stuff is in the fridge or freezers already. Hopefully that will make the trip short and sweet!
Oh and just one more thing - Santa's almost on his way. You can check out his progress on the Norad site. Fun!! :o)
Sunday, 20 December 2009
I hope they're wrong!!
I'm talking about the weather forecasters! According to them, we are in for snow this evening for about 3 hours and then it will stop until about 3am tomorrow when we'll get really heavy snow dumped on us until about 9am.
Don't get me wrong, I love snow - if I'm looking at it through the windows - the house windows! Not the car windows.
I also love it when nobody has anywhere to go. I don't love it when Douglas and Jo have to drive in it to get to work!
Oh, we can have as much snow as anyone wants to dump on us after Douglas gets home from work on Thursday afternoon but I'd really prefer not to have it until then. That way everybody will be home with no car journeys necessary until after Christmas.
I've just had a terrible thought! Does the fact that I don't want to drive or worry about others driving in the snow mean that I'm an adult now???? :oO
Don't get me wrong, I love snow - if I'm looking at it through the windows - the house windows! Not the car windows.
I also love it when nobody has anywhere to go. I don't love it when Douglas and Jo have to drive in it to get to work!
Oh, we can have as much snow as anyone wants to dump on us after Douglas gets home from work on Thursday afternoon but I'd really prefer not to have it until then. That way everybody will be home with no car journeys necessary until after Christmas.
I've just had a terrible thought! Does the fact that I don't want to drive or worry about others driving in the snow mean that I'm an adult now???? :oO
Thursday, 17 December 2009
back door video!
I don't know how many times I've gone to use my camera and found that the dial on the top has turned itself around to video. It's usually annoying but today it actually turned out well. Here's 10 seconds worth of the snow that fell here today!
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