My 'Race For Life' pack arrived today...hot pink t-shirt, blue cap and my number...
Now I need to start getting sponsorship and work on my fitness!
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
What Tomorrow Brings...
Tomorrow could be a bit of a tough day...my dad has a hospital appointment with the Oncology Consultant, to discuss the extent of the cancer and treatment options. I'm going with him, as I have a lot of questions...and hope to get some straight answers.
My 'Race For Life' pack arrived today...hot pink t-shirt, blue cap and my number...
Now I need to start getting sponsorship and work on my fitness!
My 'Race For Life' pack arrived today...hot pink t-shirt, blue cap and my number...
Now I need to start getting sponsorship and work on my fitness!
Monday, 4 May 2009
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head...
Anyone see the weather report for the south of England last night? Did you note the band of clouds congregating over the west of London...in the vicinity of Heathrow...moving slowly northwards into Bedfordshire? Yip...The Outlaws have arrived, and brought their ever faithful rain clouds with them. Today, we spent a lovely - if a tad damp - day walking in Wrest Park, followed by a pub lunch...
Croquet, anyone? Note the sun was actually shining for about 5 minutes
Storm clouds gather over the house
The Pavilion
Irony quite intended...it's a sundial!
Bridge
Cherry blossoms
Saturday, 2 May 2009
D-Day Minus One
The Outlaws (B's parents) arrive tomorrow....they'll be with us 'till Friday, head onto Europe for a fortnight and then come back to us for a couple of weeks, one of which I'll be spending at a conference in Slovenia, leaving B to spend some quality time on his own with his "parentals"...
The house has been cleaned from top to bottom, the fridge groans from the stockpile of food, meals are planned...now all we can hope for is that the sunshine continues and we can take them to the places we've lined up for the next couple of days. It's the first time they're visiting us in spring - their past two trips have been in the late summer and we've suffered abysmal weather. I swear they pack rainmaking equipment in their luggage, as without fail, the clouds congregate over Heathrow and follow them from there on their travels. August 2007 was the wettest on record...we spent a soggy week traipsing around Norfolk, wishing we had an amphibious vehicle, or even webbed feet. September 2004 was also particularly bleak - sheeting rain is not what you need when you're stuck on a narrow boat with both sets of parents.
On the topic of watery matters, the "Fish Hotel" has been installed...B spent a good part of last weekend and every evening this last week assembling the cabinet, fixing the 3-D "rock-look-alike" backdrop into place and washing gravel. The tank now holds almost 300 litres of water and a very large piece of wood... plants will follow soon and fish in about a month. Follow the progress on http://www.fishhotel.blogspot.com/
The house has been cleaned from top to bottom, the fridge groans from the stockpile of food, meals are planned...now all we can hope for is that the sunshine continues and we can take them to the places we've lined up for the next couple of days. It's the first time they're visiting us in spring - their past two trips have been in the late summer and we've suffered abysmal weather. I swear they pack rainmaking equipment in their luggage, as without fail, the clouds congregate over Heathrow and follow them from there on their travels. August 2007 was the wettest on record...we spent a soggy week traipsing around Norfolk, wishing we had an amphibious vehicle, or even webbed feet. September 2004 was also particularly bleak - sheeting rain is not what you need when you're stuck on a narrow boat with both sets of parents.
On the topic of watery matters, the "Fish Hotel" has been installed...B spent a good part of last weekend and every evening this last week assembling the cabinet, fixing the 3-D "rock-look-alike" backdrop into place and washing gravel. The tank now holds almost 300 litres of water and a very large piece of wood... plants will follow soon and fish in about a month. Follow the progress on http://www.fishhotel.blogspot.com/
Friday, 1 May 2009
No Need To Panic!
B says I’m the world’s biggest worrier. I prefer to consider myself a good planner...I prepare for the ‘worst case scenario’ and then when things invariably don’t go as badly as I’d expected, I can relax a little. Take Monday, for example - I had to travel up to Edinburgh for a meeting with a client, which entailed a 7 am flight from Luton, returning 8 pm... a long day and one fraught with potential... er...inconveniences....
Here's how my mind typically runs...
Possible Scenario: Given that Scotland is typically a good 5°C cooler than the south of England and experiences significantly higher rainfall, I could be too cold and get very wet... but I need to be dressed appropriately for meeting with client and don’t want to lug huge winter coat around Luton airport....after all it is nearly May, for pity’s sake!
Nat’s Action Plan: Wear a smart suit and crisp white shirt, but sneak a camisole underneath for that extra bit of warmth, squeeze a pashmina into the laptop bag for a compact, emergency source of heat, and take an umbrella.
What Actually Happened: It was chilly, but as I was hopping from heated plane to terminal building to car to office, I didn’t actually get frostbite and surprisingly didn’t even need to use the umbrella, which subsequently got confiscated by Edinburgh airport security as a “lethal weapon”...hmmmm!
Given my disposition, is it any wonder then that I'm a tad more worried than the average person about the so-called "Swine Flu" outbreak...I agree we should get things into perspective: about 15,000 people die every year in the UK due to seasonal flu, and from what we know this is a mild flu, that currently succumbs to the antivirals we have stockpiled. GB says "we are more prepared for this than any other country"... hmmmm, didn't he also say that we were the best-placed in Europe to ride out the economic downturn? True, we are luckier than the developing world who have NO antivirals in stock and will be relying on the WHO to dish out their paltry 3 million courses. I'm nervous, mainly as I fear the resulting chaos that would ensue should a pandemic actually hit us, and I think that it is highly possibly that will happen, not in this initial phase, but later,in the autumn, by which time the virus may have mutated into something far more resilient, that cannot be controlled by the current drugs and that will require large numbers of hospitalisations. I don't honestly think our NHS will cope with that... or that our economy will recover from the inevitable "business down-time" of a sick population. But, we shall have to wait and see...
Hey ho! It's Friday and the start of a long weekend.
Here's how my mind typically runs...
Possible Scenario: Given that Scotland is typically a good 5°C cooler than the south of England and experiences significantly higher rainfall, I could be too cold and get very wet... but I need to be dressed appropriately for meeting with client and don’t want to lug huge winter coat around Luton airport....after all it is nearly May, for pity’s sake!
Nat’s Action Plan: Wear a smart suit and crisp white shirt, but sneak a camisole underneath for that extra bit of warmth, squeeze a pashmina into the laptop bag for a compact, emergency source of heat, and take an umbrella.
What Actually Happened: It was chilly, but as I was hopping from heated plane to terminal building to car to office, I didn’t actually get frostbite and surprisingly didn’t even need to use the umbrella, which subsequently got confiscated by Edinburgh airport security as a “lethal weapon”...hmmmm!
Given my disposition, is it any wonder then that I'm a tad more worried than the average person about the so-called "Swine Flu" outbreak...I agree we should get things into perspective: about 15,000 people die every year in the UK due to seasonal flu, and from what we know this is a mild flu, that currently succumbs to the antivirals we have stockpiled. GB says "we are more prepared for this than any other country"... hmmmm, didn't he also say that we were the best-placed in Europe to ride out the economic downturn? True, we are luckier than the developing world who have NO antivirals in stock and will be relying on the WHO to dish out their paltry 3 million courses. I'm nervous, mainly as I fear the resulting chaos that would ensue should a pandemic actually hit us, and I think that it is highly possibly that will happen, not in this initial phase, but later,in the autumn, by which time the virus may have mutated into something far more resilient, that cannot be controlled by the current drugs and that will require large numbers of hospitalisations. I don't honestly think our NHS will cope with that... or that our economy will recover from the inevitable "business down-time" of a sick population. But, we shall have to wait and see...
Hey ho! It's Friday and the start of a long weekend.
Sunday, 26 April 2009
These Boots Were Made For Walkin'
It's official: I'm an Old Fart.... I've just acquired a brand new pair of wellies, not for something cool like hanging 'round the muddy fields of the Glastonbury music festival or anything hip like that...but rather for trunching through muddy fields on my daily walks when the currently gorgeous sunny weather turns murky and wet again.
Brings to mind a list of reasons "You know You're Over 30 When..." that I remember reading shortly after reaching that milestone birthday. Here are the ones most relevant to me:
1. You own a lawnmower
Yip – hadn’t actually used one (that’s B’s domain) up until yesterday when we helped give my parents’ lawn a much needed trim.
2. Before going out anywhere, you ask what the parking is like
Parking? What about traffic getting there and toilet facilities once we're there?
3. Rather than throw a knackered pair of trainers out, you keep them because they'll be all right for the garden
Guilty... in fact, I have more “gardening shoes” than “going out shoes” these days....sensible walking shoes or slippers are more commonly seen on my feet, and of course now I have the wellies that could be just the thing for serious gardening jobs.
4. Instead of laughing at the innovations catalogue that falls out of the newspaper, you suddenly see both the benefit and money saving properties of a plastic winter cover for your garden bench and anelectronic mole repellent for the lawn. Not to mention the plastic man for the car to deter would be thieves.
I’m seriously considering getting a “cat silhouette” to deter the neighbourhood cats who use my garden as a public convenience....chemical deterrents, supposed cat-repellent plants, motion-sensing-low-frequency-noise-emitting devices...I’ve tried them all, to no avail.
5. You start to worry about your parents’ health.
Particularly of late.
6. Pop music all starts to sound a bit crap
Not all, but I’m increasingly dipping back into my “old stuff”.
7. You become powerless to resist the lure of self-assembly furniture
Not so much my thing, but B has become the pro at flat-pack assembly... just as well as almost EVERYTHING we own required some form of home assembly.
8. You always have enough milk in
Milk...and tomatoes...I am not capable of going within 1 mile of a supermarket without buying both.
9. The benefits of a pension scheme become clear
Although maybe not so in these days of credit crunch, collapsing banks, deflation, recession and derailed stock markets.
10. You have a shed
Yes, but not one that houses a wheelbarrow...bit of a sore point between B and me as he insisted we didn’t need one, stubbornly lugging bags of stone and rock by hand, and even resorted to using our wheelie bin to shift slate when we were doing some “hard landscaping” rather than fork out the £12.99 a barrow would’ve cost.
11. You actually find yourself saying "They don't make 'em like that anymore" and "I remember when there were only 3 TV channels" and "Of course, in my day".
Actually, in my day, we only had ONE TV channel, and that only came on at 5 pm...and we had a black and white set till I was about 12 years old.
And I have a new one of my own to add to the list:
"You take an avid interest in household tips"....like using newspaper and vinegar to wash windows, lemon juice to descale the kettle..... and ice cubes to get deeply compressed carpets to spring back into form. Seriously, it works! We’d rearranged the lounge to accommodate the fishy fellas’ home...only snag, where the furniture once stood we had a series of “compression spots”. Leave an ice cube to melt on top of it...et Voilà!...your carpet will slowly soak up the moisture and plump back up to life...though your home may temporarily resemble a new age hippie pad, with strategically placed energy-conferring “crystals”...
Brings to mind a list of reasons "You know You're Over 30 When..." that I remember reading shortly after reaching that milestone birthday. Here are the ones most relevant to me:
1. You own a lawnmower
Yip – hadn’t actually used one (that’s B’s domain) up until yesterday when we helped give my parents’ lawn a much needed trim.
2. Before going out anywhere, you ask what the parking is like
Parking? What about traffic getting there and toilet facilities once we're there?
3. Rather than throw a knackered pair of trainers out, you keep them because they'll be all right for the garden
Guilty... in fact, I have more “gardening shoes” than “going out shoes” these days....sensible walking shoes or slippers are more commonly seen on my feet, and of course now I have the wellies that could be just the thing for serious gardening jobs.
4. Instead of laughing at the innovations catalogue that falls out of the newspaper, you suddenly see both the benefit and money saving properties of a plastic winter cover for your garden bench and anelectronic mole repellent for the lawn. Not to mention the plastic man for the car to deter would be thieves.
I’m seriously considering getting a “cat silhouette” to deter the neighbourhood cats who use my garden as a public convenience....chemical deterrents, supposed cat-repellent plants, motion-sensing-low-frequency-noise-emitting devices...I’ve tried them all, to no avail.
5. You start to worry about your parents’ health.
Particularly of late.
6. Pop music all starts to sound a bit crap
Not all, but I’m increasingly dipping back into my “old stuff”.
7. You become powerless to resist the lure of self-assembly furniture
Not so much my thing, but B has become the pro at flat-pack assembly... just as well as almost EVERYTHING we own required some form of home assembly.
8. You always have enough milk in
Milk...and tomatoes...I am not capable of going within 1 mile of a supermarket without buying both.
9. The benefits of a pension scheme become clear
Although maybe not so in these days of credit crunch, collapsing banks, deflation, recession and derailed stock markets.
10. You have a shed
Yes, but not one that houses a wheelbarrow...bit of a sore point between B and me as he insisted we didn’t need one, stubbornly lugging bags of stone and rock by hand, and even resorted to using our wheelie bin to shift slate when we were doing some “hard landscaping” rather than fork out the £12.99 a barrow would’ve cost.
11. You actually find yourself saying "They don't make 'em like that anymore" and "I remember when there were only 3 TV channels" and "Of course, in my day".
Actually, in my day, we only had ONE TV channel, and that only came on at 5 pm...and we had a black and white set till I was about 12 years old.
And I have a new one of my own to add to the list:
"You take an avid interest in household tips"....like using newspaper and vinegar to wash windows, lemon juice to descale the kettle..... and ice cubes to get deeply compressed carpets to spring back into form. Seriously, it works! We’d rearranged the lounge to accommodate the fishy fellas’ home...only snag, where the furniture once stood we had a series of “compression spots”. Leave an ice cube to melt on top of it...et Voilà!...your carpet will slowly soak up the moisture and plump back up to life...though your home may temporarily resemble a new age hippie pad, with strategically placed energy-conferring “crystals”...
Friday, 24 April 2009
Something Fishy
We will shortly be sharing our lounge with some fishy fellas....B has invested in a rather LARGE aquarium and plans to start keeping tropical fish. The tank was delivered this morning and it took a combined effort from the two of us, HandyMan (who happened to be here at the time "making good" the fireplace) plus RandomMan (a dude who was fixing some doors for our neighbour and volunteered to help/welcomed the chance to have a snoop) to carry the darn thing into the house.
No doubt there will be much activity this weekend, assembling the cabinet and positioning the tank... I'll be trying to maintain a supervisory role.
No doubt there will be much activity this weekend, assembling the cabinet and positioning the tank... I'll be trying to maintain a supervisory role.
Thursday, 23 April 2009
Light My Fire
I've always hated our 1970s gas-radiator-in-a-wooden-box fireplace but didn't think we would ever get round to getting it replaced. However, spurred on by the recent radical transformation of our hallway and stairs, I decided earlier this year that the time had come to give the awful contraption the hoof. First step was finding a reliable gas fireplace fitter...this being the UK, this means you have to have a Gas-Safe (previously Corgi) registered dude... here's where HandyMan stepped in to recommend a friend, which took half the stress out of the process. GasMan promptly came round, inspected the offending article and immediately disconnected it as it was ever-so-slowly leaking gas into our lounge....not a comforting thought! Armed with the knowledge imparted by our trusty GasMan, I then spent many hours on the internet researching our options and getting to grips with the techno speak. We'd decided early on that we'd prefer a gas stove, and had priced several attractive cast iron models... but did you know that this would also entail investing in a rear closure plate and spigot extension? Ha...
Before - note the "lovely" wall paint details
After - steel closure plate to be painted black
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