Beat me about the head......

....with a wet fish if you must, punish me severely for my lack of loyalty but regardless of what dire consequences may befall me, I just cannot watch Big Brother this time around any longer!

I had the courage of my convictions, I admitted on the w.w.w. long ago that I had been a BB fan since Edemol first concocted the idea, I even admitted to becoming a, er...little enthralled in Celebrity love Island but enough is enough.

From the very first day of BB1 things have gradually gone down hill, not an easy feat considering the point at which it started. As each summer is upon us Channel Four have presented for our viewing 'pleasure', a more and more motley bunch of ingrates. Last year it seemed it couldn't get worse but this year they have surpassed themselves.

I tried, I really did try to tolerate the current 'contestants' but I'm afraid I just cannot do it. Never before have I seen such a sad bunch of wannabees, who's sole motivation for living seems to be to utter more profanities per second than any that went before them, to behave aggressively or to 'get their tits out for the boys'...... always assuming of course the 'boys' have a camera pointing in their direction.

Half an hour of the current claptrap is bordering on the stressful, the entire show is continual arguments and posturing and God preserve us from ever having to tolerate another Science at any place in life. That guy has some serious issues!

I may be getting a little long in the tooth but please Channel four, don't try and kid us that this batch of housemates are a cross section of 2005's UK population. The whole thing is blatantly geared further and further toward confrontation and televised sex and the days of it being remotely entertaining are long gone.

I never thought I would see a time that a 'die hard' BB addict such as myself would turn off!

What a small, small world

It always amazes me how small this world of ours truly is and how often strange coincidences occur.

Just a few months back I ran into, in a virtual sense of course, not literally, the author of 'Welcome to my world', who it transpired lives only a very few miles from me, used to work within 5 miles of me when I lived 'darn sarf' and shares a very similar name.

Again, just a few days ago Lisa and I were contacted by a lady wanting her blog redesigned. I was assigned to the task and on mailing her for details discovered she lives in Cheshire. My ears pricked up a little having lived there myself for almost 15 years and we began an exchange of mails that weren't altogether about blog redesign! This coincidence is even greater than the first.

The lady in question lives just 4 miles from my old abode, we know all the same places, went to the same pubs etc, her brother worked for the same company as I did, in the same store, she and I worked literally within feet of one another for some time, we must have walked pat each other almost daily for a while, we possibly know some of the same people via a different job, we both smoke, we both are cat obsessives and we are both terrified of spiders!

What a truly virtual 'global village' this is, that of the millions of people out there on the web, two people from such a small area should run into one another! Amazing.

On a completely different subject now, isn't it fab to have Blogroll 'playing the game' again, suddenly the blogosphere has come alive with people updating :o)

A blatant plug!

Forgive me the occasional one!

This morning I completed my most recent re-design for 'Design-a-blog', the more commercially aware would probably not advertise the fact that I have now completed my list and am free, in other words I have no work.

This is therefore a prime opportunity for those of you tempted to brave a makeover to 'take the bull by the horns' so to speak, and mail us with your requests!

I have the next three days free of the dreaded day job and so can offer a fast turnaround to the first two to hit the mailbox!

Plug over! :o)

What your mother never told you

Mothers, as a rule, are stable, sensible, all knowing beings, who, if we are lucky, guide us through our formative years with pearls of wisdom, who care for our every need, give us a gentle (or not so, as the case may be) nudge in the right direction when we show signs of going astray and who teach us the things we must know when we step into the big bad world alone.

We girls learn that in fact the nursery rhyme got it right and that boys are indeed made of slugs and snails and puppy dogs tails, there will likely be no knight in shining armour riding a white charger with our name emblazoned on his heart and we learn that fashion will dictate that we stupidly try to force our bodies into ridiculously tight and uncomfortable clothing to attract our mate......and that he will probably not even notice, save for an inebriated grope once in a while!

Our mother also imparts information of an even less savory nature. We will grow 'bits and pieces' at a most inopportune time in our life when we are just fine and happy playing in a sandpit, we will become controlled by something strange called hormones, our behaviour will become that of a small devil, we will suffer periods, cramps, backache a strange change in mood that of course won't be our fault......... and we will get spots!

And hell....do we?! Our mothers sympathize, reassure us that the 'outbreak' is barely noticeable, provide us with various remedies for this invasion of our once beautiful and peach like skin and tell us repeatedly that 'it's just a teenage thing', and it will soon pass. We are relieved, she is our mother, we believe her words of wisdom and look forward.

What she doesn't tell us is that month after month, year after year, decade after decade, once a month this unpleasant experience will haunt us. Sure, we may appear reasonably normal for a proportion of the time but once a month the cramps and pain we endure will be very publicly heralded by the sudden appearance of one big, fat, red, angry looking 'zit' that will without doubt place itself in one of three areas. One's normally pert nose end, the very tip of the chin or smack bang in the middle of our forehead, where no amount of hair rearrangement will hide it!

These obnoxious things have a perfect grid reference of our face, they know their advantage points, they go for maximum exposure, they sit for three weeks at a time planning their attack strategy and they hit the target perfectly every time. A big glowing personal Mount Vesuvius all of our very own. Goddam, they don't even have the decency to be the version of our teen years that we had the pleasure of annihilating each day in the bathroom mirror!

These 'interlopers' serve as an early warning signal to the males around us of impending doom, so that they might run for cover and they would somewhat be less conspicuous if the arrived accompanied by a military marching band....and yet, our mothers never told us! They plied us with promises instead that spots were a 'teenage thing', that we shouldn't worry unduly.......... for they would be gone forever very soon!!!

Into the cloud

Yesterday's beautiful sky!....and yayyyy, I got the new photo upload thingy to work! :o)

A walk down memory lane

Idgie tagged me with this one (hold on while I rush across the Atlantic and poke her in the eye) and I have to actually think about the answers here.....10 years ago? hell that's long time ago for a girl who puts cat food in the washing machine, to recall!

10 years ago .....

I was being 'kicked out' by my first husband, recovering from a long bout of illness having to move 200 miles and starting a new job. But hey it wasn't all bad....three months on I was behaving badly and having the time of my life between the difficult bits :o)

5 years ago....

I was stressed, bored, living my life (and seemingly in danger of finishing it) in leathers on an oversized bike, that part wasn't the boring bit, Living in London, about to lose the real 'gemmak' and had just discovered there was more to a pc than paying one's bills online!

1 year ago...

I was sat in this same spot, probably with the same cup filled with coffee and a cigarette in my hand, posting THIS, well ok, I'm a day out, did I actually used to miss a day here and there? Ah yes, that was before I made this daft new years resolution to post every day for a year, which incidentally I have stuck to....so far.

Yesterday...

I was at work :o(


Today...

I am having a 'slob' day, being the great 'unwashed' so far, designing a template and hopefully not having to move from this machine again until bed time! Joy, uninterrupted fiddling!

Tomorrow...

The day job again, ugh.


5 snacks I enjoy...
Chocolate.
Crisps.
Olives.
Cottage cheese.
Chocolate!

5 songs I know all the words to...

None, I only ever know a few lines and I manage to muddle those usually!

5 things I would do with $100,000,000...

Buy an new car each for PG and me, visit the US, buy a 1 carat diamond, treat my family to something nice buy this flat.

5 locations I would love to run away to...

I don't want to run away, I did it once already!

5 things I like doing...

Er....blogging, html fiddling, no surprises there. Laughing, seeing my family ( which I can't do often enough), the fifth one..... I can't mention in this 'family environment'.

5 things I would never wear...

I'm with Idgie on the thong thing here, strappy sandals, a dress, real fur, heels higher than 3 inches, I have size two feet and from a higher heel my toes barely hit the ground without training to 'points' as a ballerina!

5 recently seen movies I like...

I haven't even watched one let alone 5!

5 famous people I'd like to meet...

Bob Geldof....well I have met him twice but I would like to meet him for longer.
Richard Gere.....you just gotta.
Ellen Macarthur
Sigmund Freud....again too late!
John Nichol. I work with his older brother and I've met him once, though not through his brother, years before, but again like Geldof, I would like the opportunity to meet him for longer.

5 biggest joys of the moment...

Being off work today, my parents coming back from holiday, Living where I do, that Poppy is still 'doing well' for her age and that the lambs are still in my field.

5 favorite toys...

My pc, my cell phone, my camera, 'animation shop' once I can discover what is conflicting with it on here and preventing it from working properly and my laptop, though I hardly ever use it, it's nice to have just incase I should need it....though last time this crashed so did that! Life's a bitch.

Ha! ....and now the fun bit, landing five other unsuspecting souls with this :o)

Go for it guys, you have been tagged:

DKG.....lol, so hate me now.
Quick Quack
Lisa of course because she never escapes :o)
Demob happy teacher.
Fembat.

Do I looked shocked?

I doubt it!

Having tried with anticipation to upload this image via the new Blogger system, it was indeed no great shock to discover that once the page informed me the job was done......there was nothing! Not a sign of it anywhere. I tried refreshing, hard reload, etc. etc. but nope......nowhere to be found. No great surprise there then!

Back to 'Hello' for the time being at least but you will understand why if this picture suddenly appears twice.....I have a nasty feeling it will be loitering on a Blogger server somewhere ready to pop up at a most inopportune moment!

Ah, well, it is only day two for this new toy, hopefully things will improve and a little latitude should be afforded Blogger right now. You have to giggle though :o)

(Clickable)

Line of fire.

Shoot that crazy frog!

THIS is the best solution for that damned 'crazy frog!'

Too funny.

Who's bed?

I can't believe that Ditto was really comfortable in the position I discovered her late last night, though she did retain it for quite some time before adopting the latter more chilled pose. That one she retained for better part of the night, on my side of the bed, staunchly refusing to be moved and requiring me to sleep 'sideways', Goddman, this cat has her own bed, not that she would dream of utilising it.


Is this really comfortable?


Comfy cat

Ok, that's it...........

........I have officially lost the plot, my ability with mental gymnastics is sadly lacking, my brain is turning to mush....age is getting the better of me!

All of us on the wrong side of 30 40 are familiar with the usual absent-minded carryings on that accompany that gradual decline into the slightly 'over the hill stage of life'. We all ( please tell me it is 'us all') are used to forgetting a birthday, used to that horrible feeling when the mind, in who's ability of recall we were once so proud, deserts us just as we are about to address someone by name and leaves us with our gob hanging open and no name emitting from it. We throw cutlery in the bin and put empty packaging in the washing up, we somehow lose track of quite where we last saw our keys, or worse still where precisely in the multi story car park our car actually is, we call friends by the wrong name, or lovers by an old flames name and incidents of importance in our history are no longer so crystal clear in our minds.

These things we grow accustomed too, even laugh about in an aggravated kind of way but some things are just not acceptable....... and one of them is that this morning I put cat food in the washing machine's soap dispenser, yes really, you heard me correctly the first time but just to clarify, yes, I said cat food!!!! Thankfully I realised my 'little faux pas' just before I turned the machine on, the ensuing mess, had I not, doesn't bear thinking about.

Needless to say PG has got his money's worth out of this incident and I think it unlikely I will be allowed to forget it anytime soon!

Quiet sniggers only please!

Friday's feast (53)

Appetizer
What time do you usually wake up each day? If you could choose your wake-up time, when would it be?

06.30 hrs and I choose it mostly.

Soup
When was the last time you bought groceries? What store did you go to? Name 3 things you purchased.

Yesterday, Kwik Save (ugh). Mushrooms, cat food, salad.

Salad
How many books have you read so far this year? Which was your favorite and why?

Er...none to the end! Hell, you mean I should have removed myself from here for a time?

Main Course
What is something you consider to be very elegant? In particular, what about that item/place/person conjures up the feeling of elegance?

The Ritz Hotel, London, what makes it elegant? it just is elegance. Not my preference of decor but elegance none the less.

Dessert
Who taught you how to drive?

Well kinda no one. My father took me out a couple of times but I already rode a motorbike so my 'road craft' skills were intact. I practiced a little with my ex beside me, 'banger raced' for a while, had one official lesson with an instructor and hour before my test and that was it.

Firefox incompatibility

I am amused and relieved to read this report in the news this morning!

A recent study has found that it is not only the likes of me, the humble and self taught coder that has difficulties with the current 'bugbear' in my life....the illustrious 'Firefox'.

It seems that one in ten UK websites either not not appear correctly or just fail to work at all when viewed in Mozillas offering. These are some of the 'big boys', large companies including Odeon.co.uk, Jobcentreplus.gov.uk, Insurance.co.uk and British American Tobacco, all of whom presumably have access to well trained and qualified individuals to employ and run their websites....... yet they suffer some of the same problem as lil old me!

Apparently professional coders have a tendency to only check their work in I.E as opposed to using industry standard browsers. I assume that once they are aware of a problem they are better able, than the likes of me, to fix difficulties that present themselves, but it's kinda pleasing to know that at least I check those I do in Firefox and attempt to iron out problems and it's rather comforting to know that the professionals struggle with the same aggravations as yours truly!

Ha.......I don't feel quite so dense now! :o)

I won't bang on about this ....

......too often *cough* but today is likely to be a significant day in gemmaks-ville in a kinda insignificant way, for with a little luck and a prevailing wind I will pass the 30,000 hit mark!!! OMG!!!

About a year ago I found a blog we all now know and love, that blog was 'beFrank'. beFrank has just been honoured by taking his well deserved place on Bloggers homepage in the 'blogs of note' section. At the time he had a little over 30,000 hits on his counter and I remember well thinking that only the likes of Bryan could ever achieve that, an impossible figure for the likes of me.....and from that point on the 30,000 became kind if like a landmark figure to me. 10,000 and I was pleased, 20,000 was incredible to me but 30,000 is just amazing. Bryan himself gave me a good kick start, he linked to me in a post in those early days and within hours my counter was looking better than it ever had.

I have been as honest as I can with my figures, I exclude my own hits and have even been known to subtract them when the cookie that 'does the business' disappears from time to time.

I am completely amazed that in a year I have made what to me, was Bryan's almost iconic number and so thank you BeFrank for that link and thank you all for your unending loyalty in pottering over here as often as you do.

Yayyyyy....30,000, I don't believe it! Oh, and incidentally, if you pop over to his blog right now you will notice his hit counter is at a place I don't ever imagine I'll be! :o)

Awwww shucks.....

....it's back to work for me tomorrow after four days off. Well kind of 'off' for most of that time has been spent here designing templates for those brave souls that put their head in the lions mouth, so to speak.

The 'day job' somehow isn't seeming very appealing right now, HTML may have it's frustrations but at least one can suffer the frustration with coffee and cigarette in hand and 'cat conversation' in the really trying moments.

One thing is for sure, it beats 'Joe Public' and his wingeing, sales figures and budgets hands down!

And so.....until tomorrow I will leave you with yet another sunset.....this evenings, yeah I know, these wonderful skies are getting almost mundane now aren't they!


Another sunset ~ 22.05.06

Waiting in the wings......

.....or to be more precise, on a wall!

(Images clickable)

In situ

This is 'Ditto's wall' it is where , when the weather is not inclement, she prefers to spend a large proportion of her time, it affords her a cat's eye view of her territory, allows her to detect the arrival or departure of W&A our neighbours and her beloved second set of 'parents' and more importantly it provides excellent hunting opportunities!

As a rule she is to be seen here at almost any time of day or night on sentry duty, for on the other side the land is untended, it is her domain and her little jungle, rife with small wildlife just ripe for the stalking of, 'small cat' heaven. Without exaggeration she can happily monitor in this spot for upwards of five or six hours in the 'head down rear up' stance!

She has recently mastered a new hunting 'skill'. Having completed all the obligatory rear end wriggling and low level skulking in preparation for her attack, she then employs the vectored thrust technique of the somewhat more powerful Harrier and propels herself directly upward full of excitement and anticipation, to an impressive height.......allowing her prey a vital second or two to make it's escape!!

Thankfully only occasionally does she manage to capture her quarry of late and present us with a squeaking, wriggling, terrified gift for which, as a rule, we can usually secure a rescue and release despite her protestations and glum looks.


Keeping watch

Today her wall will provide an extra treat, though as yet she isn't aware of the forthcoming joy that is her destiny, for this evening 'W&A' return from their recent nuptials in Lindos and all will be well again in Ditto's world. She has missed them greatly, she has cried at their door, parked herself on their path for hours at a time and on a number of occasions when she has 'gone missing' late at night, she has been found asleep on their doorstep!

Goddamn....when we go away she barely notices and there is certainly none of this plunging herself into a state of loss and grief!

Oooooo, the frustration!

So, having spent the last three days solid designing with Lisa templates for those brave souls who offered themselves up to Design-A-Blog for a re-vamp, I decided that today I would tackle my own at long last. Well, let's face it, this current set up has been languishing here for far longer than is good for it!

It was thus that this morning, deathly bright and early, I set about a whole new layout, header, odds and sods, the whole shooting match..........and eight hours later what happens? I'll tell you what happens.....the damn thing has a little bug somewhere and I'll be buggered if I can track it down. Good God, there are times when I hate HTML and this is one of them!

I would therefore like to extend apologies for what is now becoming very boring, the same damnable template for over two weeks! Unheard of I know, but hey, even the promise of pushing the vacuum cleaner around is beginning to seem attractive and after that I may even get to catch up on all the blog reading I have missed recently. Really, I have been here, just time was at a premium and my day sadly only constitutes 24 hours. :o)

That's it then, no new clothes here for the time being.......well ok, maybe I'll give it another shot in an hour or two!

Obsessive? Who? Me?

Hot, hot, hot

Summer, it would seem is here, at least in the short term. 27 degrees Celsius may not seem an extreme temperature in many parts of the world but here in the UK and particularly in Scotland it's damn hot! I am in a state of meltdown, our poor bodies here are not in the habit of coping with such heat and for me it is most certainly no treat........remember, I am the snow obsessive, with snow comes cold, I can 'do' cold, in the cold one can get warm by other means, in this damnable hot stickiness one cannot do cool! Ugh.

Don't get me wrong, it is nice to look at, the sunshine is cheerful, lifts the spirits and sheds a more positive light on the world, but hey, sunshine in the winter, the sort that can be viewed from inside is the best sort!

We Brits are never happy with our meteorological environment, we moan most of the year that is is damp and dismal, that rainfalls almost constantly and then, as the sun shines and temperatures rise, what do we do? ....we moan about the heat! It is a British obsession, we can't help it, it is inbred, part of our psyche!

Yesterday in these soaring temperatures we attended a Christening. Jaydon, new son of our friends D&W was to be baptised in the local church and by some very large miracle, (no religious pun intended) I had managed to secure the day off from work, yes, I who works every Sunday, enjoyed a rare treat, a Sunday off!

I am not comfortable in a church, as an agnostic I feel kind of hypocritical, like I am trespassing in forbidden territory and I feel awkward as those who believe bow their heads in prayer. What should I do, bow my head in respect of their belief and compound my hypocrisy or keep my head raised and risk offence? I never know and so I dither somewhere between the two hoping that no one notices me.

My discomfort aside the day was a lovely one. The minister was young and reasonably forward thinking, the service was informal (though he did bang on a little) and small child who was to be baptised, was a model of good behaviour. Not a sound did he utter, though he did look slightly confused at the head dunking part. His sister, aged four was a star, a whole hour she sat as good as gold save for one very amusing moment when she was quietly given a sweet by a kindly member of the congregation, that she proceeded to 'crunch' with noisy gusto at a particularly quiet moment in the proceedings. You gotta love the complete lack of self consciousness in children.

This Christening was quite special for me, not for the usual reasons but because PG and I were the only non family members invited, that in itself, for an incomer such as myself was quite an honour and I felt very privileged but also, whilst I am well used to living 400 miles from my family it does make me feel isolated sometimes from the day to day family gatherings and interactions and to be allowed to be involved in someone else's family is a treat.

Scottish hospitality is amazing. From the moment I moved here D&W's families have included myself and PG in just about every family function and gathering they have had and have never failed to make me feel welcome and one of them. We might go for months with barely seeing them but when we do it is always as though I have known them for years.

Moving so far from all my family and friends has not always been easy but to have a kind of 'surrogate family' who are so welcoming and who make me feel included is something I have been very lucky to have found.....and hell, they always throw a good party!

Moonrise

Moon up.


Moonrise ~ 18.06.05 22.00hrs.
(Images clickable)

Ever been 'bluejacked'

No? ....well you are not alone, neither have I but then as I own no bluetooth device yet it is hardly surprising, in fact, until perhaps a year ago I wasn't even aware of what the phrase 'bluejacking' meant.

Bluejacking for those of you unaware, as I was, of what it entails, is the practice of sending, via a bluetooth cell phone, anonymous messages to unknown recipients. It's not rocket science, a message is created along with a phone book entry and when send is pressed the device 'hunts' for a bluetooth device to receive the message. As blue tooth technology has a range of approximately 10 meters the recipient will usually be within sight.

The purpose, if you can call it a purpose, of this activity is purely the mirth and amusement those participating derive from watching an unknown person's reaction to receiving a message, the origins of which they don't know.

This relatively inane malarky is apparently the new fad, craze, call it what you will but until today I had never seen it done, doubtless, I thought, I am not of the age group that participates in these kind of activities and anyways with no bluetooth enabled device in my possession I was never going to be the subject of someone else's prank.

Well today for the first time I was witness to this carry on. A friend came into work fiddling with his phone and when I asked him what on earth he was doing it transpired he was bluejacking. Hello?..... this guy is a similar age to myself!!

We chatted for a short time and I merrily made fun of him for engaging in such a juvenile pass-time, he continued intermittently to attempt to bluejack someone in the vicinity, all the time I ignored his fiddlings, aside from the odd small chastisement that a man of his age was doing this at all! Minutes passed and eventually there was someone in range, it would seem that bluetooth is not all the rage in this backwater, given the time it took to get a 'hit'!

I am ashamed to say that despite my misgivings, watching the stranger who had received the message looking slightly bemused and befuddled was mildly amusing!

That said I don't imagine participating myself and nor do I imagine the amusement being very long lived! It would seem that 'craze' or not in the rest of the world it has not caught on here in any big way and even assuming that does, in a very short time, I can only imagine it becoming at best somewhat irritating and at worst something more sinister.

There is, in theory at least, a code of ethics designed to ensure that bluejacking is is not abused, though some may argue that it is an abuse of the technology in the first place but what concerns me is the anonymity.

Anonimity has always enabled those cowards, social misfits and worse, that wish to harass others in some form the feeling of 'safety', of not being able to be caught or to take responsibility for their actions and I see no reason why this will be any different. All too easily, despite any half baked codes of ethics, that rely soley on the individual to abide by them, I can imagine bluejacking becoming a tool of bullies both adolescent and otherwise....... and just consider for a moment how you would feel, as for instance, a lone woman sat on the tube travelling home after work, if you where to receive an anonymous message saying maybe, "hey you, lady in the pink skirt, I'm watching you".

Unnerving at best and whilst it may be someone's idea of a practical joke I'm damn sure it wouldn't be mine.

So finally.....

...the sun showed itself yesterday, a little late, just in time to fall behind the horizon for the night!


Late sun

Friday's feast (52)

Appetizer
What's one word or phrase that you use a lot?

"Bugger"

Soup
Name something you always seem to put off until the last minute.

Cleaning the cat's litter box, yuk!

Salad
What was the last great bumper sticker you saw?

I don't recall seeing one, they seem to be a rare creature here.

Main Course
If you could be invisible for one day, how would you spend your time?

'Shadowing' Tony Blair and other members of the cabinet to see what they actually do

Dessert
Describe your hair.

Short bob, blondish, too thick.

Summer in Scotland!

(Click to enlarge images)

Leading edge.

Having crawled into bed on Wednesday night to the happy sound of the television weather forecaster making wild claims of temperatures nearing 30 degrees and unbroken clear skies and sunshine for yesterday, you can imagine my slight skepticism given that we had endured two days previously of rain like stair rods falling constantly and the associated dismal views and flooding.

It was therefore no real surprise to wake yesterday morning too, you guessed it, rain, more of the stuff, incessant dingy and grey rain!

Maybe, I thought, just maybe, those oh so cheerful sounding forecasters meant the promised upturn in meteorological fortune would materialise later on in the day, but by 3pm when PG finished work and we set off for our necessary shopping trip to ,very little had changed. The stair rods had turned to a soaking heavy drizzle but the temperature was barely struggling to the 13 degree mark, let alone the promised 30 degrees and things were not looking good on the summer weather front.


Above the cloud.

Travelling back late in the evening things were only getting worse, by now the rain had all but stopped but a mist had descended even to low levels and our speed was considerably hampered....and then a sight I had never witnessed before.

As we drove higher in places we seemed to pop over the top of the cloud and although this is not the Highlands and our altitude was not considerable, at some points the cloud was below us, we were in clear, pure visibility but all around and below us the cloud clung to the land, making its way in a gentle rolling motion, little wisps at it's leading edge floating against the green of the hills, a pure white ethereal 'wall' all around us. We stopped the car and got out, it was completely silent save for the call of the occasional bird, and whilst we were stood in absolutely clear visibility, fifty or so yards from us on three sides, the cloud obscured our view at ground level completely! Amazing.


Wall of white

Unfortunately these images don't do the sight justice, a much wider angle lens was needed..... compact digital has it's limitations but I was just glad I had a camera in the car at all, the day had not held promise of photographic opportunity and I had almost left it at home.

One down....next please

Well Lisa and my little foray into the world of 'design-a-blog' has kicked off with a good start, our first day saw four brave guinea pigs offer their blogs up for the make-over treatment and we have been hard at work ever since, hence the rather 'quiet spell' here over the last eighteen hours or so! Oh, and PG and I never made it to Edinburgh, unfortunately we have that little task to complete today now. Gah!

Leesa at 'A piece of my mind' came in at number one and is now all done and dusted. Her new look is up and running and we hope Leesa, that you enjoy your new surroundings.

Thank you from both of us for being our 'Number 1'.

$10 to the first five guinea pigs

Lisa and I have taken on a new project... together.. after she twisted my arm and everything. :) We are doing some design work. We are not Van Gogh or Picasso, but we know a little something about making art projects, coding and colour coordinating (or color coordinating, as the case may be) $10 for the first five Guinea Pigs

If you'd like to play along and be a guinea pig, we would LOVE to redo your website. Just hit the painter icon to the right and take a look at what's included.

Yeah, you do have to give us 10 bucks (or roughly 4.83 pounds British Sterling) because it takes us time, and although it's NEARLY free, taking your money and putting it to an artsy use would just make us SO happy.

Come on.. you KNOW you want to....

Truly and utterly amazing

Yes, I am truly amazed by an incident just yesterday. A happening of extremely rare occurrence, of great magnitude of such inexplicable wonder. I was rendered utterly speechless, confounded and confused for occurrences of this incredible nature are as rare as hens teeth!

This was not a lottery win, it was not an announcement of world peace, it was not the discovery that Michael Jackson's recent verdict had suddenly been overturned in favour of the more suitable guilty return, it was not even an incident of such gravity as Paul Danan having been crowned king of Celebrity Love Island, nay, it was far greater than any of these possibilities!

Prepare to be amazed ladies, take a seat, breath slowly and deeply, think calming thoughts as I tell you that.......(insert virtual drum roll here please if you would) PG, entirely alone and without any assistance not only bought me a gift, he also found a bargain and, now steady, this is the real shocker, it was an item of clothing!!!

Yes, a guy, purchased for a woman clothing that is

a. beautiful

b. tasteful

c. could have been made to measure,

d. suits me

AND.....

e. was in a closing sale, reduced to less than a quarter of it's original price.

Never again will I decry the efforts of himself to think in a 'straight line' or to imagine that appropriate tasteful couture involves a hemline the width of a belt or a neckline verging on the indecent!

We have a 'function' to attend this weekend, I had bemoaned my lack of suitable garb (as you do) and out he went and solved at least the top half of the problem, alone, unaided and with much thought it would appear. Ok, so in an absolutely perfect word I would maybe have chosen something only very slightly more demure for this particular function but hey, you gotta be impressed, he even considered suitable 'underpinning'!

To that end we are off, in theory at least, headed to Edinburgh this afternoon in an effort to complete this outfit. Gah, I detest the purchase of clothing, as a rule I need to be in the children's department for anything to fit but at least, courtesy of my sometimes amazing man, I only have one body half to deal with and to wriggle in and out of the myriad non fitting items that no doubt I will pick off the racks in hope.

Alternatively I might just make do with something I already have and stay home or meander instead around PC world! Somehow selecting a new gadget seems more enticing than trailing in and out of hot, sweaty and ill lit dressing rooms, clutching a mass of garments that I know before I so much as take them off the hanger and stand stupidly naked, with my feet showing under the cubicle door for all to see, are destined never to fit me!

I couldn't resist this one......

....because whilst the text might be questionable, to be an F15 is more than acceptable! Heh. Ok, so maybe I would, in a perfect world, prefer to be a Harrier or a Tornado but an F16 is just fine and funky with me!

Shhhhh!!... did I hear someone utter the word 'anorak'?

What military aircraft are you? F-15 Eagle You are an F-15. Your record in combat is spotless; you've never been defeated. You possess good looks, but are not flashy about it. You prefer to let your reputation do the talking. You are fast, agile, and loud, but reaching the end of your stardom.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

I wish!

Found at 'Fried Green Tomatoes'.... and thieved!

I wish to take issue with the 'mathematical' result in particular.... and so does my Maths teacher!

Your IQ Is 110

Your Logical Intelligence is Above Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Exceptional Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional Your General Knowledge is Above Average

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Breast cancer ~ some choice!

A report published yesterday states that of the women in the UK at high risk of breast cancer, a third would opt for a double mastectomy rather than run the risk of contracting the disease at a later stage.

These are women who carry the hereditary gene for a particular type of breast cancer, their risk of developing symptoms are 80% against the normal risk rate of 12%.

How on earth does one make a decision like that?

As someone who is at higher than the normal risk I wouldn't know how to begin weighing up the pro's and con's. Thankfully, if you can call it that, I am not, as far as I am aware, in the very high risk category and I don't have figures I can put on my personal risk level, it is just 'higher' than the norm according to the medical profession. I have never been offered the gene test and I assume that is because it is not appropriate in my case, though it may be lack of funding or other reasons, but I'm not sure, even given the opportunity, I would want to take it.

Maybe I am a coward, maybe I am just a fatalist but thus far I choose just to take my chance. Again I am lucky, though many may disagree, I am small chested (well you didn't expect a Pamela Anderson physique from someone of my general minute stature did you?) and consequently the much advertised 'changes' are hopefully easier to detect in me.... though on the amusing side, yes their is one, I assure you that mammography is not a very straightforward procedure for us diminutive types! Maybe I will regale you with that tale another time.

Breast cancer has touched my families life in a big way and thank God those affected survived, a testament to self examination, early detection, and the medical profession. As a result of this I am far from ignorant of the facts nor of the disease itself but still I don't think I could submit myself to such radical surgery whilst well, could you? Perhaps for those that know beyond doubt that their risk is in the very upper levels the feelings surrounding the issue are different. Hence my reticence, even if it were appropriate or available, to have a gene test, perhaps I just don't want to know but it does seem an extreme solution to me even if I did.

With regular checks and medical attention is it not less traumatic to 'wait and see'? Most breast cancers are curable given early enough detection and these women have all medical eyes on them over their lifetime, so early discovery is the norm. There is also by virtue of an 80% risk to the negative a 20% chance of not being affected later in life, albeit I accept that 20% must not be a very comforting figure for those in this position.

Maybe for some the feeling of living with a 'time bomb' is the deciding factor, perhaps that is just too unnerving a thought to live with day in and day out, but the choice must be terribly difficult and I am only glad, that for now at least, my risk level doesn't appear to warrant such a decision having to be made!

Oh....and if you are a woman reading this and you haven't recently....go give yourself the appropriate 'prod' now please, you know it makes sense and whilst finding a lump is scary as hell it isn't as scary as dead, believe me!

Michael Jackson not guilty....

....on all ten counts.

No comment!!

Michael Jackson verdict due

The jury are ready to deliver their verdict at last in the Michael Jackson trial, this should be interesting, anyone want odds that the verdict they return is 'not guilty'?

Self confidence!

This made me howl with laughter in a very un-ladylike manner


Shadow of death.

Apologies for the quality, that's how it arrived, I can't fix it.

Bl*$%y BT

You may have noticed in my sidebar the last month or two a countdown, this countdown relates to the number of days left until we are finally released from the dirge that is dialup. Only it doesn't!

Having waited, for over three years now, mostly patiently, for the powers that be in BT to decide that we in the middle of nowhere are worthy of a broadband connection, and having almost got their, yup, we had just nine days to go, they have yet again changed the date! This is not a new phenomenon, it has been moved so many times we have lost count but this time at last, it seemed we were on track and that the magical broadband was actually going to materialise. Fat chance!

The date on this occasion has only been put back by five weeks, we should I suppose be thankful for small mercies, previously it has been years or months but I am beginning to feel that dialup is my destination and the God that is broadband will never be a luxury afforded to us in the 'sticks'!

Five miles around us, in every direction, it has been available for months if not longer but not here, nope, this last little bastion of dialup seems as though it is set never to make it into the 21st century! Gah!

My heart bleeds

Well not really mine! :o)

(Clickable)

Bleeding heart

Life seems......

....a little hectic of late, though I'm not sure why and I feel as though I have been chasing my own tail the last few days.

I tell you this by way of an excuse as I discover I have a great heap of flaggged emails loitering in my inbox, as yet un-answered!

So....if you mailed me and I appear to have ignored your missive, please accept my apology for such lax and impolite behaviour on my part...... I promise I will get to them soon!

Did you ever?

I saw this on 'Toasted Crumpet', liked it, stole it and did it myself. Feel free to thieve it yourself, I even remembered to remove the damnable 'right click disable' at last!

As a child.... did you ever...?

(x) sneak out of the house
( ) get lost in your own neighbourhood
( ) see a shooting star
(x) get into a fist fight
(x) laugh so hard you had milk/coke come down your nose
( ) have an imaginary friend or pet
(x) push all the buttons on an elevator
(x) skip school
(x) gotten stitches
(x) gotten the chicken pox
(x) done the splits
( ) played spin the bottle
( ) cheat on a test or exam
(x) deliberately ignore your curfew
(x) go out in public in your pajamas
(x) shoplift
(x) have a crush on a teacher

As an adult ....have you ever...?

( ) been to any other countries.
( ) had a serious surgery
(x) kissed a stranger
(x) hugged a stranger
( ) been arrested
( ) skipped work
(x) been in love
(x) been to a casino
( ) been skydiving
( ) skinny dipped
( ) scuba dived
(x) been fired
( ) had a crush on someone of the same sex
(x) had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back
( ) gone on a blind date
( ) lied to a friend
(x) lied to a significant other/spouse
( ) celebrated Mardi-Gras in New Orleans
(x) been married
(x) gotten divorced
( ) had children
( ) seen someone die
(x) had a close friend die
(x) driven over 400 miles in one day
(x) been on a plane
( ) seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) met someone in person from the internet
( ) lost a child
( ) gone to college/university
( ) graduated college/university
( ) fired a gun

It must be summer

How do I know? I know because we have now had two or three unbroken days of sunshine, the heating is finally off and I am not wearing a fleece! That alone is a very rare occurrence in gemmaks-ville. Hell, I have arms!

It has been another beautiful day, almost cloudless skies and those clouds that there are just little white puffy things loitering high up in the sky and in no danger of blocking the sun. The birds are singing, there is the occasional buzz of a lawnmower as a few locals make the most of the opportunity and small cat and old puss are sunning themselves on the balcony. Doubtless summer will be over by tomorrow, there is rain showing on my forecast machine.

The day has only been marred by the quarterly, almost forced trip to the hairdressers, how I hate it. This time I had a plan, I washed my hair just before I left for my appointment and I didn't dry it, the theory being that it would still be wet when I arrived and I wouldn't have to suffer the purgatory that is the back wash. I hadn't of course taken into consideration that the temperature in my car for the half hour drive would be so high and that my hair would be a bone dry frizz atop my head' by the time I arrived! Damn, my cunning plan was foiled and I was immediately ushered, protesting a little and trapped in a gown, to the dreaded, torturous hair washing 'machine'. Gah. I gritted my teeth, begged for only one shampoo and lived through it. I'm sure those gowns are designed with no arms to prevent escape, have you ever noticed the similarly to a straight jacket?

The good news is that the 'hair growing' plan is finally coming to fruition, I was informed by the stylist, who looked rather pleased with herself like she had actually made my hair grow all by herself, that my layers are now almost history and all I have to do now is let this confounded mop grow.....ha, even less visits to the hair salon for me from this point on!

I had another plan, a lazy plan to ditch my car in the car wash while I was in town, that too was thwarted when like a useless, weak woman I couldn't detach the ariel from the roof. I normally manage it without problem but on this occasion it was stuck fast, no doubt corroded or tightened by PG. After a few attempts I decided it better to beat a hasty retreat and pretend like I didn't want to unscrew the damn thing anyways....well, I wasn't gonna ask a man was I and as none offered assistance I left still clutching my unused wash token!

The evening holds promise. Dinner should arrive home with PG, no prizes for guessing where he has spent the afternoon. The lady who caters for the golf club (who's cat incidentally is Ditto's mother) frequently makes us a real dinner, packs it up and sends it home with him. I don't think this is a usual service but as she likely sees more of PG than I do they are good friends and he gets slightly special treatment. (No jokes please!). The no-cooking meal will be followed by a stroll up the road for a one to one with the local lambs, cows and rabbits and then it's home in time of course to see who is evicted from celebrity love island.

I'm easy pleased!

Raindrops

The aforementioned Lupin.

(Clickable)

Raindrops

Friday's feast (51)

Appetizer
Name one thing that made you sad this week.

Abigail Witchalls failing to pick out Richard Cazaly as her attacker, in the first instance because I like everyone else want to see this case solved but also because if Cazaly wasn't the perpetrator and he committed suicide out of fear then two tragedies have taken place.

Soup
What was the last object (not person) you took a picture of?

A 'lupin' leaf.

Salad

Who do you talk to when you need help in making a decision?
PG or my parents.

Main Course

If you were a weather event, what would you be, and why?
A tornado....because I am rarely calm!

Dessert
Suggest a website that you think your readers would enjoy visiting.

This one.

Myfanwy fights back

It is a rare thing to find a happy, heartwarming story in the headline news but this morning one such report caught my immediate attention, that of Myfanwy, an eight year old sheep in Wales.

Myfanwy, having outlived her commercial use was being rounded up to be taken to market and then onto the local abattoir where her life was to be ended.

This wise old ewe was having none of it and having broken from the flock she made her bid for freedom. She raced to the bank of a lake, hurled herself in and swam the thirty or so meters to an island in the middle....where she remained for six weeks, apparently happy and living on reeds and vegetation until the farmer could 'rescue' her!

Her fortitude has been rewarded by a reprieve, her future looks set a family pet, unless a park farm makes her owner a suitable offer.

Yayyyy for Myfanwy!

Through the cloud

(Clickable)

19.20 hrs ~ 08.06.2005

Free sex with girls!

The above title was also the title of an email I received this morning from someone named 'Jenny'. It was the name of the sender that tempted me to think it may be a joke, I have a 'Jenny' mail me now and then and so in slight trepidation I opened it.....well I did update Nortons twice already today!

The text I found is below. I don't know why but it made me laugh out loud.

There is this free date site filled with a bunch of nymphos.

No flowers, no walk on the beach, just meet up for sex :)

There are also some people who want serious relationships though
So if you want a long-termer, or a one-nighter, you got it ;)

Whatever floats your boat pretty much!

I think it was the 'no walk on the beach' line. That'll be just fine then, that will make all the difference won't it! Do I have a warped sense of humour that I find even spam funny very occasionally! :o/

....and sorry guys, I took the link out. Heh.

Lord knows who will land here from nefarious search topics now.....if it's you, sorry to disappoint but there are only cats here....I will resist the obvious poor taste joke!

Incidentally, I notice spellcheck doesn't include 'nymphos'. Sorry, I must be warped, I just find this too funny.

Early evening display

It seems lately that almost every day in this little patch of Scotland, as the sun sets it does so with a vivid display. Last nights offering was no different.

(Clickable)

Burning bright


Fallen from the sky


Shimmer


Surreal sky

Something to make you smile

Meet 'Bozo Botard.'




I just love this picture of Bozo, a beautiful ginger cat with a penchant for posing, a big smile and a 'mum' who is very dear to me.

To read more about Bozo go here, you may find you know his human too.

The wedding dress is packed

(Clickable)

Lindos

Don't panic...not mine! Well.....can you really see me in a wedding dress?! Twice I have walked that route and on neither occasion did I wear a dress, I'm not about to start that dress wearing malarky now, in fact, I don't recall even owning a dress since I was about ten years old!

So who's wedding dress is it?

I mentioned a day or two ago, in my post about Ditto's second home, that A&W, her second set of 'parents', where about to go off on holiday, though not just any old holiday, this one is special.

This afternoon, full of excitement, we waved them off on the first leg of their journey, a road trip to Newcastle, for a one night stay before they board a flight early tomorrow morning to Lindos.... where next Friday they are to be married in a little chapel high on the hill.

This wedding has been a fair time in the planning stages, I didn't ever realise just how complicated it is to tie the knot overseas despite the travel operators apparently 'running the show' there seemed to remain a great deal of red tape to be fought through.

But the hard work is now done on the organisation front and all that remains is a week lying in the sun before they take their vows infront of a few friends and family. We will not be there of course but I am excited for them just the same, I may have a checkered history myself in the marital department but that doesn't prevent me from believing in the ethos or from getting that kind of warm glowing feeling that one gets with happy endings and weddings.

There is only one aspect I don't envy .......... 'A' will be wearing a kilt for the day, in thirty or so degrees of heat! For those who have never been in close proximity to said item of clothing, let me tell you, they are about twenty pounds of very hot and heavy wool fabric!

No way, I would be getting married in shorts!

The official interview game

Usually it seems we are 'landed' with these meme things but on this occasion I offered myself up and Lisa duly issued me with five questions, so here goes:

1. I know that you have an interest in visiting the US. What in particular would you be interested in seeing?

How long have you got?

The landscape, terrain and countryside to begin with. I would like to travel the length and breadth if I had the time and bank balance. There are too many specific things I would like to see to recall right now but among them would be New York, in the snow if possible, Times Square, Macy's, The Bronx, San Francisco....I have to see that hill, ground zero, the Oklahoma City bombing memorial, Hollywood, I don't have a particular interest in the movie industry but I would like to see if it's all it professes to be ,the Grand Canyon and of course I would want to see my Stateside blog friends.

2. When you lived in London, what kind of work did you do? What did you like about it?

When I first left school I worked in a department store (Bourne and Hollingsworth) on Oxford street W1. as a sales advisor, selling fine jewellery and diamonds. What did I like about it? Not much, it was very hard work, a very long day and the company policies were extremely strict but I did like working in the centre of London and I think at that age I felt kinda 'grown up' travelling the tube each day to work! In retrospect I like the fact that it gave me such a good grounding in retail but at 16 years old I didn't appreciate that!

I left there and went to work as a civil servant for the Inland Revenue (yes, I was a tax ma, ok, so hate me) where I stayed for 12 years. I enjoyed the occasional investigation work I was involved in and I liked the family atmosphere that existed at the time but the job was as boring as hell for the most part and I wasn't sorry to leave.

3. Do you see yourself ever moving back to the big city, or have you fallen in love with the countryside? Why?

That's very hard to answer because nothing has everything. I love the countryside for it's beauty and wildlife, and for the slower pace of life but I also love the buzz of a city and the amenities it affords. I think necessity will probably keep me here at least for the foreseeable future and probably beyond but I wouldn't rule out a move to a city if the opportunity arose.

4. What's your most recent technical gadget and how are you getting along with it?

I've been quite well behaved of late and haven't really bought anything significant. I got a new cell phone last week, so I suppose that's the latest, but I didn't like it so (poor screen resolution) so PG has it now.

5. If you could pick up a new hobby tomorrow, what would it be and why?

I would like to get back into serious photography again because the limitations of digital compacts frustrate me at times and restrict the images I can take but as that's not entirely new perhaps I would choose to learn to horse ride or coach gymnastics. Learning to ride is something I have always wanted to do and never did properly and the idea of scrambling around the countryside on horseback appeals to me. The gymnastics coaching is something I always intended to do once I stopped training myself but somehow never got around too.


The Official Interview Game Rules

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying “interview me.”
2. I will respond by asking you five questions — each person’s will be different.
3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

A slow day and a slow mind

My normally deserted view.

It's one of those days today, you know the ones, those where despite every effort that squidgy thing inside of our skull just doesn't want to operate at anything like normal speed where blogging is concerned. All day long nothing came to mind, nothing happened and nothing moved me to put my finger tips to keyboard.

This evening things have improved a little, the stable out back has some sort of small event going on and my normally deserted view has turned into a hive of activity. I have been treated to a show of smallish children proudly 'doing their stuff' over low fences (do they call them fences?), on a variety of horses that arrived in varying size of very expensive looking horse boxes.... dragged by even more expensive looking four wheel drive vehicles.

In the process of watching these goings on I finally got to meet my nextdoor neighbours new lady. She has lived here since winter but somehow we never really had a chance to say more than 'hi' until now. Annoyingly she is very nice, sat on the balcony in the sun we chatted away like old friends and discovered we have quite a lot in common. I say she is 'annoyingly' very nice because along the way I learnt that they are moving any day now and quite a distance so sunny afternoon chats will be a very short lived thing!

Whilst this conversation was in progress and with reference to yesterdays post regarding cats misbehaving, Poppy, yes Poppy, decided to take a little exercise, out of the front door she wandered, sniffed the air, turned on her heel and marched straight across nextdoors threshold and in....not a by your leave, no hesitation just in. She took her time having a good look around, checked out every room and then helped herself to a leaf off a house plant!....oh the embarrassment.

Thankfully aforementioned very nice neighbour saw the funny side.

There are only three certainties in life

.......... the first is that we will die, the second is that we will pay tax on everything forever and the third is that children and animals will always let us down!

It is of course the latter that has this afternoon caused me embarrassment and amusement in equal measure.

About eighteen months ago we acquired new neighbours in a flat on the ground floor. PG already knew this couple, they had been friends of him and his ex wife years ago, they moved in, we became re-acquainted and myself and 'W' became best of friends. Ditto soon realized that this friendship could also benefit her and within weeks had invited herself into the neighbouring flat, thoroughly investigated her new surroundings and decided this was an opportunity not to be missed!

She rapidly became a part time member of this 'second family', endearing herself in particular to 'A', who plays with her unendingly whilst he is supposed to be gardening etc. Indeed, Ditto is so enamoured of 'A' that she will race straight past PG and I, tail held aloft, to greet him if he is anywhere within sight and asks to be allowed in at all hours of the day to snuggle up for a snooze on their bed!

(Clickable)

At 'home'!

We always know that if Ditto goes AWOL the first place to look is at A & W's place and invariably she will be there, curled up on the sofa, the bed or a windowsill, making herself quite at home.

To begin with I was concerned that they were only 'entertaining' her out of politeness but it soon became apparent that was not the case and that having a part time cat suited them just perfectly and so I no longer attempted to curtail the visits.

And so, how has Ditto disgraced herself specifically?

This evening 'W' arrived on our doorstep clutching a compact flash card in her hand. They are off on a very special holiday in a day or two ( that is another post) and wondered if I would like to take copies of some 'Ditto photographs' they had taken before they deleted them.

Merrily I downloaded them to find this:

(Clickable)

Give me that!

Madam apparently has made very plain her fondness for 'treats', particularly 'ham treats' and she left no doubt in the minds of her hosts a few weeks ago......when she landed herself on the kitchen counter top and proceeded to help herself! Needless to say, they missed the shot of the original thievery but didn't miss the one showing, claws and all, that she will have ham if she wants it!!

Argghhhh. Did I teach that cat no manners? Heh.

Friday's feast (50)...... late again!

Appetizer
What comes to mind when you hear the word bizarre?
The lead singer of 'Kiss'

Soup
Using just a few words, describe your childhood.
Happy, safe, family orientated.

Salad
Name one thing you do each day that you feel improves your appearance.
Paint my nails......almost every day anyways!

Main Course
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how would you rate your self-confidence?
6-ish, depends on the circumstances a little.

Dessert
Where did you last find a bargain?
Ebay...is there anywhere else?

Welcome to the hermitage

The last few days have been unusually quiet in gemmaks-ville and it's been a little odd, though not unpleasant.

There are some who would tell me I should 'get out more' and perhaps they are right, though to be honest I see no real reason to take their advice. Years ago I hated my own company but for reasons I won't bore you with I had to learn to like it and these days I can spend unending time alone if need be, quite happily.

It is thus that after my bad week at work and having had my head mangled, and by virtue of PG currently working night shifts, I have spent better part of the last 80 hours completely alone, save of course for feline company and one foray out to get the brakes on my car fixed yet again. Please don't ask if this fix has been successful....I don't yet know, only time and a 6am trip into work tomorrow will tell!

I haven't of course been completely alone, PG has been here in body though not in mind during the day while he sleeps, myself and the cats have been under strict orders to be quiet....easier said than done in a one bedroom flat! I think though we only managed to wake him once so we didn't do badly.

And so how did I spend this time....no prizes for guessing that probably 15 hours a day I had my rear end parked right where it is now! What is it about computers that make a whole day just disappear in a virtual flash? I did read a little, I watched a small amount of tv and of course did the 'woman's work' but aside from that nothing.....I think I could quite happily be a hermit!

All is reasonably well with the world today. (save for the one cloud on the horizon, work tomorrow) The sun is shining, the birds and lambs are chattering happily, 'old puss' and 'small cat' are sunbathing, old puss as ever on the shingle, PG is on the golf course, yes he can go 24 hours without sleep though Lord knows how, and is soon to arrive home bringing with him another new cell phone for yours truly that he has 'acquired'. No I promise, nothing nefarious, the tale of acquisition is just too long winded and boring to impart! Yayyyyy, another new gadget to investigate!

So until later, when maybe I will have actually done something to report I will leave you with last nights dusk.


Cloud on the horizon. (Click to enlarge)

Ring any bells?

Stolen from a blog that will remain nameless, this is too true funny to miss!

It may or may not ring bells, it most certainly does here. Eekkkk.




Click the cartoon to enlarge......no, I couldn't read it either!

Lamb lament

Living in the countryside has most certainly got it's benefits, the peace and quiet, a crime level that to a city girl like me seems almost non existent, less pressure to conform or to 'keep up with the Jones's', in every direction there are breathtaking views and for me a very special aspect is the array of sounds that form the backdrop to my everyday life.

Early morning and late evening provide the most spectacular symphony nature has to offer, birds singing a myriad of songs as they go about their daily routine, horses chattering to one another, insects buzzing, cows in deep discussion, a rather loud donkey at very close proximity and best of all at this time of year, lambs in a nearby field creating a constant merry cacophony of first baby and then adolescent lamb language.

Lambs have always been a favourite of mine and to have so many right on my doorstep is wonderful, to watch them grow and play over the months, frolicking and bounding and making mischief in a very lamb like manner is something I sit and watch from our balcony day in and day out, with a happy heart and a smile on my face.

(Clickable)

My lambs

But nothing is perfect, my morning and evening symphony will soon become less deafening as the inevitable happens, any day now my lambs will disappear, they and their sounds will no longer exist in my little word, instead their destiny will be to become a Saturday night kebab or someone's Sunday lunch!

I know, I know, that's life and if I choose to live in the countryside I must learn to live with it and mostly I do, it is the reality but sometimes I'm just not keen on reality and for a week or two at this time of year, as they get fatter and fatter and and closer and closer to their destiny I can't help but feel sad and I can't help but wake up every morning and immediately listen to check if the 'lamb sounds' are still there.

I can't in all honesty hold my hands up and claim any longer to be a true, card carrying vegetarian, though for thirty years I was. I still don't eat meat and I have never tasted lamb but I do, if pushed, eat fish and I have lately tried bacon, so this cannot be a vegetarians rant. I have never and will never presume to try and persuade others how to live their culinary life and I know that if the majority did not eat meat my lambs would never be there in the first place....... but it still makes me sad and as long as I live, whatever else I devour, I won't ever eat a lamb!

The international sign for marriage!

Heh :o)

Poppy power

Well, the old girl has rallied again, in fact she has been a joy to watch over the last few days, she still worries me, I am not kidding myself that she will last forever but her behaviour has changed quite significantly over the last week and it seems I should be attributing this to one thing....Whiskas cat milk!

(Images are clickable)

With purpose!

Poppy has always had a passion for milk, unfortunately it hasn't had a passion for her, as is the case in many cats she has a lactose intolerance and even a little watered down milk causes her to have a rather 'unfortunate' rear end problem. Hence it is a once in a blue moon treat.

However, a week or two back I noticed in the supermarket something called 'cat milk', little tiny bottles, massively overpriced but I can live with that, of something that looks to me like old fashioned condensed milk. it is apparently whole milk with the lactose removed and other nutrients added. Hmmmm, I thought, I'll just get one of those cute little bottles and see if she likes it for a treat.


Keeping an eye.

Likes it??? ....she would kill for it! From the first moment the lid came off the very first bottle she has been obsessed with the stuff. She does of course eat her regular food but she 'requests' very noisily, this stuff all day long, nothing else will do. I can offer her any number of treats but she staunchly carries on wailing until she has her milk. She will drink any amount of it, we are currently going through two bottles a day and seemingly it has no ill effects, quite the reverse.

Since her rapid consumption of this new addition to her diet she has begun actually asking to go out and pottering around with Ditto for a fair time. This of course requires me to go out with her to 'supervise' in case she should become embroiled in any conflict with strange cats, she is most definitely still up for battles of a territorial nature but her little old bod is not! I have noticed quite surprisingly that if she is out, small cat always remains with her, apparently keeping an eye on her, though I suspect she also views it as another opportunity for torment given that Poppy has her tail regularly stalked on these excursions!


Tail torment

It has been heartwarming to see her enjoying herself so much, she has pottered around the perimeters of the field, sunbathed, played 'chase me' with little flies and even made one attempt at stalking a bird! She has displayed again a lifelong preference for choosing the most uncomfortable spots in which to park herself, here she is, the Scottish countryside in all it's glory at her feet, soft, lush grass to lie in but no, she chooses shingle...it was ever thus!


A comfortable spot?

Added to her new lease of outdoor meanderings she has also re-acquired her ability to jump, if very carefully onto the bed, she can hoist herself onto the windowsill and has been witnessed running, yes I said running, though rather inelegantly, around the flat.

Happy days, long may it continue but if it doesn't, right now she is having a ball and that's good enough for me under the circumstances.