Three Things

Hello.

Changes are afoot, and you will find out more later.

For now:

1) I had a lovely time in Cardiff watching my sister graduate.
2) Some silly bint did a Hamilton on us yesterday (ran into the back of us at a red light) and now my neck feels funny.
3) We have won £10 in each of the last three lottery draws - all with my line of numbers.

Distracted again

I'm a bit discombobulated at the moment (oooh, I love that word).

I keep wanting to do things and then either talking myself out of them or just getting distracted. They're not big things, just little bits of stuff usually, but I don't seem to be able to get anywhere doing them.

(Even this blog post, it was all making sense in my head til I started typing...)

This is why I have been flaking I guess. Saturday was a very relaxed day - 7 episodes of E.R. and lots and lots of stitching. Sunday was shopping and WoW. I guess it just feels like I'm doing nothing with my time and that I should be doing more, but when I do I get stressed and snappy and generally am not fit to be out in public.

I've been vaguely thinking (again) about doing an OU course, but agin I don't know which course, I don't want to pick one and then hate it and feel like it was a waste of money, I don't want to sign up and then not do it "because I've got no time" even though I so have.

It's all just a bit meh.

On the bright side:

1) Mum's stitching is really coming along.
2) I've got Anthony hooked on Charmed.
3) I'd forgotten just how much I loved George Clooney as Doug Ross.
4) We're going shopping for a BIG shiny tv in a minute.
5) My 42 games game just arrived so I have something other than Sudoku to do on the DS.
6) I got the new Sarah Dessen proof today.
7) After spending three whole days doing "related product" (cards/notebooks/giftwrap) last week it's all done and I can get back to doing book stuff.
8) I got Tanara up to level 60 and Crimsone up to 40 on WoW. (and bought Crimsone a big red emu bird as a mount)
9) I've discovered a Mornington Crescent game on Facebook!

Advent Calendar

Last year I didn't have a chocolate advent calendar, this year I have two!

Anthony bought me one last week (Dairy Milk) and today we both managed to tread on the one that mum sent as the postman and put it safely under the doormat...

It's the BEST advent calendar in the world! A picture of it is here at SheepWorld. (If you zoom you get a nice big picture).

Ohne Dich ist Weihnachten doof = Without you Christmas is stupid.

I need to buy lots and lots of SheepWorld things...

(work today was just as full of stupid, rude people so I am just as grumpy)

Homeness.

Home is strange. It's mainly strange cos dad isn't here, although it still only feels like he's just in the garden or in another room. He's just popped out for a second, not died and gone forever. The other reason it's strange here is that this is the longest time I've spent in this house in five years, which means it's the longest time in five years that I've spent with my mother.

I love my mother, in a way I'm glad it was dad and not her (partly cos if it had been her I'd be working out a way to move back here for good to keep an eye on dad) but it doesn't change the fact that we get on better 150 miles apart. So far I think she's made me cry at least twice each day - and that's not cry about dad (although I'm closer to crying because of it) but cry cos she's said or done something. At the moment I am either perfect, or doing everything wrong - usually both at the same time.

The thing that is stupidly hard, is trying to get computer access. Now I knew I wasn't going to get hours of it, but getting five minutes is a fight. I'm also not allowed to blog or go on Facebook - and the blogging thing also includes reading my blog to look for comments, not just the actual blogging thing! Tonight she made me promise not to even look at my blog but she said I could look at my Facebook page (I think she hasn't realised you have to log on for that). So this blog is coming to you via Anthony, I've emailed this to him and he will cut 'n' paste it for me. Being unable to blog is a lot more restrictive than I thought. I can never handwrite fast enough to get my thoughts down while I can type fast enough. So all sorts of "deep and meaningfuls" have been lost to the ether and my poor silly brain.

We are busy doing things to get everything ready for Thursday but I still have lots of downtime when mum has to go make phonecalls or write emails. Thiis is currently mostly filled by sitting on the sofa working on her birthday cross-stitch (which is coming along wonderfully and she loves the fact that dad knew about it and kinda helped pick it) and watching the first season of Scrubs. I haven't seen much of it before. Partly cos it was always Emily's thing, but also cos it was something I wanted to see from the beginning and in order (like CSI). Darling Emily started educating me on Saturday by putting on her Season One DVDs and today I watched 11 episodes. Not all in one go, but three or four at a time. It's weird watching something that's only 30 mins an episode, can't get used to it. But I am enjoying it very much and hope that Season Two is round here somewhere so that I can carry straight on with it. I am enjoying finding out where some of her jokes come from, I watched the "Banana Hammock" episode earlier and burst out laughing.

Yeah, so apart from the lack of bloggage (and being able to read other peopels), life here is actually good. Yes I still have bad moments where I cry about dad, but the shock hasn't worn off yet so I still get to float around in a peaceful cloud. (Just give it a few more weeks...) Talking of peaceful clouds, I'm going to go have a hot chocolate with marshmallows on top and explain to mum that I haven't been blogging but emailing, and leave Internet Explorer open so she can check up on me...

Grumpy Cats

Esme and Foley are not very happy with us at the moment.

This is because we took them to get spayed yesterday... Foley was unimpressed with car riding and yodelled all the way there, then went very very quiet.

Everything went ok at the vets, then yesterday afternoon it was a question of keeping an eye on them while the drugs wore off.

Foley made a break for freedom as soon as the carrycase was opened when we got back. She made it a whole three steps before realising that her back legs were still numb and falling over. That was how the afternoon was spent, watching them stagger from one sleeping spot to the next and then conking out.

Today they are better, Esme is almost back to normal, but Foley squeaks if you touch her back anywhere. They're curled up on the spare bed in the sunshine and look very cute apart from the bald bits.

Poor pussy cats, they'll appreciate it when they realise that this means I can let them outside a lot more.

Still cold pt 3

Well the gasman originally came on New Years Day afternoon, muttered over the boiler for a couple of hours and then had to order a microswitch for today.

Today he came back, with his manager too no less, and fitted the new microswitch.

This then caused something else to overheat.

He's had to order some more parts (at £150 and £180 each) and will be back tomorrow morning.

Now I just have to see if Bod will let me swap my Friday off for a Thursday off and if not I shall have to get Anthony to come here after his nightshift.

Time to start boiling the kettle for the washing up.

(Oh, I'm feeling slightly more human than the other day as when he couldn't fix it on Mon I went and had a long hot bath at Anthony's folks house instead.)

Edit: I don't have to pay for the parts btw. He was saying that the parts bascially equal the cost of the next two years worth of British Gas Homecare that the landlady has. So that's a good thing.

Still cold

No one phoned or came round last night so in the end I slept on the sofa having made the living room as warm as I could.

I was actually too hot in the very middle of the night so I was daring and took one of my three pairs of socks off!

Esme and Foley enjoyed me sleeping on the sofa. Esme shared the duvet with me and kept my knees warm, while Foley either slept on my pillow or entertained himself by fishing for my feet.

Now it's time for work...at least it's warm there!

Is it Thursday?

I always have bad Thursdays...

...yesterday was quite a good one though. Should have known it couldn't last.

I went up to bed last night all snuggly and warm having had a nice long hot Lush-filled bath...

...and then woke up this morning feeling rather chilly.

My heating is not.

My hot water is also not.

My letting agents finally turned their answer phone off at 11am and told me that someone would be round this evening, after 6 when I get home from work.

As you can see, it's now nearly 7 and I haven't seen anyone or had the phone ring. I am wearing several layers of clothes and have lit numerous candles in order to try and keep the living room at a manageable temperature. I don't have any other method of heating except putting the oven on, and it's a bit far from the computer. I may resort to that later. I'm dreading going up to bed and the cats are huddled round my feet under the blankets.

Brrrr...