Holidays

Well, it's about time I told you all about our narrowboat holiday! Our boat was called Georgina...

and she was as skinny as the rest of her friends, but was surprisingly comfortable too. The only room that was truly a room in it's own right was the bathroom (and that was a good thing too!), everything else was very open plan - the singles bedroom was at the back near the tiller, followed by a little corridor taking us pass the bathroom and opening into the double bedroom, and then after this was the teeny tiny kitchen which looked into the dining area and lounge area right at the front of the boat.

Naturally there were times when it felt a bit cramped, particularly when we needed to rush from one end of the boat to the other and the dog insisted on getting in the way - I think that she had her paws trodden on a couple of times! Fortunately no one fell in the water, although Poppy (the dog) got left behind at one point.... (Poppy is right in the centre of the photo looking bit small!!)

What happened was that after a few days of being very nervous of getting on and off the boat she suddenly developed boundless confidence and when the end of the boat got a bit close to the bank she jumped off and no-one realised!! We had to back track just a little to get her back on board, especially as she was on the wrong side of the canal - i.e. the one without a towpath. In the photograph above, you can see how rather concerned she is at being left behind - especially with all those scary cows in the field!!

Despite moments of frantic activity and close shaves with other boats or hitting bridges, it was actually quite a serene holiday just puttering down the canal with the sunshine on our faces and the wind in our hair - there was simply no rush to be anywhere and we could only travel at about three miles an hour, so it was an exercise in relaxation! And, yes, that's me with my feet up!

Keyboard ingenuity!

If there is one key on your keyboard that you can just about get away with not using, it's C.

Mum's laptop is gradually breaking down as it succumbs to old age and the latest fatality is C. I had an email from Mum today with words in it like sekond, kool, resieved, exsept and whitsh - all of which made perfect sense! I don't think that there are many letters in the alphabet that can be exchanged for another and still make sense.

However, if any of your passwords contain that very C then you are in trouble!!

Updated to add that baby brother has a very very good point - nearly every website ends with .Com - which makes losing the C key a pain in the bum!!

For want of an S

It's probably just me, but I have great difficulty in distinguishing between desert and dessert.

Now, I am clearly far less likely mention the desert as I am to ask for dessert, but that doesn't mean that I say the right word, which means that I am more likely to say pudding or sweet or "yummy things" ok, so I don't say the last one, but you see what I am getting at here.

So, I want to know...how do you pronounce dessert or even desert and how do you remind yourself of how to pronounce either, do you even bother to use words as fancy as dessert or do you, like me, stick to the plainer versions of pudding/sweet?

Most words I can eventually work out how to say correctly, once I knew that fascinating had four syllables not five, I stopped saying "fanasticating", and I will always have trouble with words like ships/chips as I find it hard to distinguish between sh and ch, but it's only my extremely annoying family that notices (and points out!) this, most people don't even notice. But dessert? This one constantly eludes me!

I shall stop there as even the spelling of des(s)ert is beginning to look wrong as I've typed it out enough times!!

TwentyFive!?

For some reason I decided to check my feedburner statistics and I discovered that I actually have 25, yes twentyfive, subscribers to my blog!

Now, of course, that means absolutely nothing to Dooce or Blogography or my personal favourite, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, or, in fact, anyone else out there!! Having said that, I am quietly chuffed that I even have one subscriber let alone 25!!

At the same time, however, it's ever so slightly scary - who are you people? Do you actually enjoy reading my blog? Now I actually have to think of interesting things to say in order to keep my ever so tiny, but vitally important, readership happy! But then there starts the slippery slope of blogging in order to retain readers rather than blogging because it is what I want to do.

I think that you can all rest assured that I am not about to start glorifying this insignificant little blog - somedays I'll be interesting, somedays I'll be boring, funny, grumpy - you name it, at some point I will probably be it, but right now....I am on holiday, which is why you are getting prescheduled posts all week that manage to tell you absolutely nothing of interest!

By the way - any burglars about - the cat is one fierce moggy and I wouldn't even try!!

Mesmerising!

People do the strangest things!! This one came by way of Shiny Happy Deafie, an old school friend of mine, whose blog I have recently discovered! (Her blog is funny - do go and read!)

Satisfying!

Well.

Yesterday's tidyup of the study was supremely satisfying, I even went through several old folders and threw away (or shredded like a sensible girl!) lots of old paperwork. I found some interesting things too, like old newspaper clippings or poems written by old school friends!!

When the room was clear, I gave it an overdue hoovering and then tried to rearrange the room slightly in order to accommodate the foldout bed that was in the guest bedroom as I want to get a wardrobe and chest of drawers for that room. After much shoving and pulling I got the desk underneath the window, but once I got the bed in the room it was just too cramped, so I put the desk back to where it came from and put the bed next to the window instead and that seems to work ok.

It's not brilliant, but if I wanted to get more furniture for the guest bedroom (not for the guests you understand, but my ever increasing need for more clothes space!! ha ha!!) then I needed to get the foldout bed out of that room. I am sure that you are all quite eager to see what the room looks like now.....




Plus a photograph of what my room looks like from underneath the desk!! All those books stretch waaaaay up to the ceiling!! (Thanks to Dad for building me such a fab bookcase!)

Woohoo!

I am at home this week enjoying a week of holiday before I go away on holiday, so I was at home when the post arrived this morning (in fact, I was wide awake at 7am and actually got up!!) and got to experience the joy of opening an acceptance letter from the local University!!



Eeek, it is slightly scary actually to think that I will be embarking on a Masters course, I know that I can do this, but I most definitely need to clear out and tidy up my study. In fact, to prove to you just how messy it is, here are a couple of photos!!




Horrible isn't it! As soon as it is tidy, which I am hoping will be before I go to bed tonight, I will take some more photos and post them for you all to gasp in amazement at!!

By the way, I should also add that I had a great evening out last night, a couple of friends and I went to a local brasserie called The Old Bank. The white wine was lovely, if bloomin' expensive, I would have had more than one glass but I was driving. I had Chicken Supreme with lardons of bacon, wrapped in puff pastry, with a cheese and potato stack, and finely shredded carrot, all with a champagne and lemon thyme sauce - it was very nice (don't sound tooo shocked Mum and Dad!!!) and for pudding I had the most gorgeous honeycomb vanilla cheesecake - I will be going back there at some point, hopefully for Christmas anyway as we may have our staff do there - all six of us!

First Time Traveller

These last few months have been rather fun for me as I watch my youngest brother make his plans for travelling abroad.

It's not for the first time as he has been abroad for holidays to France and Italy, but this time he will be going to India for three months to volunteer at an orphanage called The Love Care Centre.

Matt leaves on September 5th and comes home in late November I think and these last few weeks he's been getting all his shots and making sure that he has the right bits of kit and all that sort of thing.

It's been fun to watch because of the all the hope and promise that is bound up in a young adult life that could go anywhere. Matt has decided that he is a traveller and wants to do more travelling eventually and so who knows where he might go next.

He is worried about his future of course and whether travelling will mean that he wont be as settled later in life, but instead of being rich in the monetary things, Matt will end up being rich in the things that matter; character, experience, knowledge of other cultures, not to mention the sheer terror and fun of doing something that takes you out of your comfort zone!

Although I have travelled myself, albeit not in the sense that I mean here as I have never gone out of my comfort zone (not truly, despite being terrified to go to Copenhagen and be away from my family for the longest time ever!) as I have only gone to places where I know that I can get by. Going to India is very definitely outside my comfort zone and I very much doubt that I would ever do that, but that's ok because there are plenty of other places that I can explore!

So, all I can say to Matt is....have a great time, write it all down, and tell me all about it when you get home!

Television

Guess what's on the television at this very minute?



Yes, it's one of the family's favourite films, The Princess Bride, I even have the book, but in this particular instance I think that the film is actually better than the book.

What I like about this film most is that it is one that the whole family likes, which is fairly unusual as there were six of us back when we were all living at home and I should think that we all had fairly different tastes when it came to all things dramatic.

The Princess Bride also reminds me of a particular family memory...we were all sat there watching the film (not for the first time I might add) drinking tea and eating too many biscuits when it came to the bit where Fezzik the giant throws a rock at Westley, only to explode against a boulder behind Westley. It made me jump so much that I threw tea all over myself!!!

Even as I watch the film now, I know all the ins and outs of the story and yet I still get pleasure from it, fortunately I am past the time where the above scene still makes me jump! This is quite definitely a classic film that will never grow old I am sure.

Transatlantic chocolate!!

I had a giveaway back in July - remember?

Well, the chocolate made it's way across the pond, as we call it, and it now being enjoyed by Mrs Spit and hubby!!

If you don't believe me and think that I only pretended to have a giveaway so that I could buy myself some chocolate - go see!!

Leaving comments all over the interwebs

Do you remember when I attempted to leave at least six comments daily on blogs during the month of June for NaComLeavMo?

Well, it's back - not in the full blown glory that was NaComLeavMo but a more sedate version that only lasts a week and doesn't wear fingers to nubs! If you go and read Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters you can find out all about IComLeavWe which stands for International Comment Leaving Week and it is far more gentle on the fingers as we only have seven days instead of 30 in which to leave various comments dotted about the place.

I missed the July comment party but have signed up for this one even though I have just realised that I may be a little late to the party seeing as I am away on a canal boat holiday for the start of it, but hey ho, I can always catch up!

Bloggy-woggy-doodah

How is that some weeks I manage to find inspiration to blog something everyday (whether it's interesting or not is another matter) and some weeks I barely find the will to read other people's blogs let along write my own?

Which then makes me wonder, just where do I get my inspiration from? Do I find blogging inspiration in the things that I do, the things that I see or the things that I read and hear about? I am not (yet?) one of those people who automatically think "ooh, I must remember to blog that" when something interesting, funny, inane, or exciting happens.

Naturally that leaves me short of things to chat about when I sit down at my laptop and begin to write and leaves me feeling a bit befuzzled as to what to write or whether I even have something that is worth blogging about! And so I usually end up not writing anything at all and then feel guilty that I haven't blogged since last whatever-day-it-was!

hmmmmmm - here's hoping for some inspiration!

Lazy Bloggers Post!!

I have simply got to say a huge thank you to Dirt and Rocks for the laugh that I had this evening when I got directed to The Lazy Bloggers Post, see resulting paragraph below!!

Darling I just had a cup of tea and realised I have not updated this since you last visited... You would not believe the fairy dust I have to clean up. I prostrate myself in sorrow and beg thy forgiveness..I am distracted with discovering time doesn't stand still, watching the grass grow, just generally being a nuisance to anyone unfortunate to cross my path, my day drifts aimlessly from dawn to way past dusk. I am not being a whinging Pom or anything. life happens.I absolutely, positively promise I will try to remember my blog password more often in future. You have my word! Don't hold your breath though, you're likely to turn blue..

Leaving presents

My show and tell this week is all about leaving presents!! As you may know, I left my evening job for the last time on Thursday evening. I'd been working there for nearly two years and was getting rather fed up of not spending time at home in the evenings, so I handed in my notice.

The last day at work is always a bit odd, people start gathering and standing around in purposeful groups, still chatting away whilst trying to remain nonchalant. It never works! We all know why we are there and what's about to happen, but no-one ever openly says so - it's rather amusing!! It's even more amusing when you realise that I work from 5:30pm to 10pm and that most people have gone home by the time I am ready to start work.

Anyway, I was "surprised" with the most lovingly wrapped present, a lovely blue paper with elephants printed on it and green tissue stuffed in the ends, all tied with gold string. I opened it to find a handbag! One that is big enough for all my needs plus the novel that I usually carry around with me!!

The card that came with it was full of really nice comments such as "who is going to shut off the upstairs lights on students now?" - hardy har har very funny, and "how are you going to fill those cold winter evenings now" - don't worry, I'll find something! And, "I will miss your cheerful smile" - people are so nice, in fact two people made similar comments, which makes me think that I should smile far more often!

But that wasn't even the end of it! I was expecting to simply leave at 10pm having closed up the library for the last time. However, about five or six of my colleagues who live nearby all came back at about ten to ten with a bottle of non-alcoholic bucks fizz (I had to drive home after all!) and proceeded to toast me and my last day at work. Now wasn't that sweet of them?

Random thoughts

Oops - it's been a while since I last posted!! All I can say is that I have been extra busy during my evening job trying to get as much done before I left for the last time on Thursday. But that is all over now and I have my week day evenings back now, but don't think that I am going to spending all my time blogging!! ;-)

Anyway, here's a few random thoughts....

• I had a good last night at work on Thursday, but more about that tomorrow on Show and Tell!
  


• I have some new glasses! I had my eyes checked last weekend and was hoping not to need some new glasses as the ones bought two years ago were rather expensive! However, I had a bit of a shock when the optician covered up my left eye and asked me to read the letters on the wall with my right.....er....too blurry! So, I needed new glasses! I tried not to break the bank this time and managed to get a new pair of glasses plus a pair of sunglasses for less than my last pair of specs cost me!!

• Finally got the guttering fixed!! It was driving me crazy, you see I live in a new house (well, relatively new, it is now about three years old) and it is still settling which means that the guttering keeps sprouting gaps!! The first gap appeared last year and I was able to fix that by moving the guttering back a bit, but it reappeared earlier this year and was really annoying me because every time it rained, the water just spilled through the gap and bounced of the front door overhang - the walls of the house was just soaking up this water - NOT good! I contacted a local chappie but he never quoted me for any work and when I reminded him about a week later he said that he'd forgotten.....two weeks later, still no quote!
  
  So...contacted another local firm on Thursday morning, he looked at the guttering Thursday afternoon, got a quote to me that evening, did the work Friday morning, sent me the bill Friday afternoon, I checked the work last night (and it was raining!) and paid this bill this morning! THAT, my friends, is how to do business! I will be using that company again and will be recommending local friends and colleagues to them.
  
  
• Did something sort of spontaneous this morning, I'd been thinking about it for a while and when I went into the salon this morning to make an appointment I thought that I might have to wait a few hours or a few days, but no, I got it done pretty much there and then, which is why I call it sort of spontaneous. And what was it?? Another ear piercing! So now I have two pairs of earrings in my ears! I have to say that I am not entirely certain what Mum and Dad will think, although I know what Dad will say!! He's going to say something like "and would you like a bone through the nose too?!" I was actually going to wait and see if they noticed, but I am rather glad I did it, so I am telling all and sundry now!