Twisted Stitches

New Start

2010-01-02T20:15:00.002Z

It's five whole years since I started this blog, and it's time for something new. Please click below to go to the new and improved version of my corner of the interweb.

2009-12-30T18:21:00.004Z

Is it really almost six months since I last update this? Here, have some photos that should (sort of) fill in the gaps...

Yup. That'll do.

2009-07-16T18:02:00.002+01:00

I am still alive, honestly! Life has been so amazingly hectic lately, I feel like I've barely had a chance to sit down in the past two or three months!

My Nanny died at the end of May. Although she had suffered from dementia for the past 7 years and had been in a care home for the past 5 years it was still a huge shock, and took a while for things to return to normality.

At the beginning of June Mum, Dad and I spent a few days in Prague. It's an amazing city and we really didn't have enough time to explore all of it. I'm thinking of going back near Christmas.

The end of June was the end of my time at the DVLA. I had a brilliant last day at work and leaving do and I miss all (ok, some of) my old colleagues a lot. I started my new job at the very end of June and have been completely over whelmed and baffled with the amount of information I've had to take in over the last three weeks! It's a brilliant job though, and I know it's a step in the right direction and will give me so much more satisfaction than my last job!

On July 3rd I went down to London with my Dad, Nicky and Vick and went to see the ever amazing Cat Empire. Absolutely outstanding gig, and as has been the case every single time I've seen them live, I just wished I had tickets to the gig the following night as well!

And up now up to yesterday - my car decided to break quite seriously on my way in to work yesterday morning. I managed to just about get there and rang the AA, definitely got my money's worth from my very cheap membership with a drive to a garage to get a new part, and then being towed all the 18.5 miles home by a very friendly chap called Chris. Unfortunately the car still isn't fixed, and is likely to be quite expensive, but I'm being driven to work and back every day so it's nice and relaxing for me!

As always, the best way to keep up with the daily goings on in my life is through Flickr, where I'm still managing to keep up with Project365 apart from a slight lapse a couple of months ago!

Now, I have some very exciting things to be getting on with like washing up and making dinner. Thrilling!

2009-03-15T17:31:00.003Z

Toast has gone to visit his brother in Ratfink Heaven.

2009-02-23T17:09:00.002Z

I'm still alive, honestly! I've also managed to keep up with Project365 for a whole 54 days so far!

Not much else to report on the life front at the moment. I'm planning a trip to Manchester soon to see Big Brother (I should probably tell him about this at some point!) for food and laughter and probably gin and tonic.

Now I'm wondering if pancakes for dinner would be wrong?

2009-01-09T19:55:00.002Z

I am updating this from my brand spanking new Sony Vaio. I'm in love! It's only taken me a few days to finally get it to connect to the internet, and I'm making loads of typing errors because of the slightly smaller keyboard, but oh my god I'm in love! I'm still transferring over all my files (almost there, only about 10gb of photos left now!) and learning how to use Vista, and generally finding out what it's capable of.

Project 365 continues, and despite the fact I've been back at work a whole week and have actually left the house, I've managed to keep up with it for 9 whole days (about to upload photo number 9). I need to start finding more interesting things to photograph if I'm going to go this for a whole year though!

Right, time to carry on moving the files over.

2009-01-01T16:06:00.002Z

A belated Happy Christmas and Happy New Year from me. Christmas was wonderful, I spent a few days at Mum and Dad's and spent time with my wonderful (and slightly odd) friends and family.

Last night was new years eve and I spent my evening with mussels and home made chips, chilli chocolate and season six of 24 on DVD. Pretty much the perfect night. So far 2009 has involved waking up late, turning 24 back on, and taking down my Christmas decorations.

Tomorrow I'm off to Londinium to see Vickybox for Christmas presents and Dim Sum! Can't wait :)

This year I intend to take more photos (why could I possibly need to take more photos?). I have decided to give Project365 a go, and will aim to update my Flickr account every day.

2008-12-12T17:51:00.002Z

Because my life is still so uneventful I have nothing of interest to write...

You have to look at the list and put in bold the books you have read. Then underline those that you intend to read. Finally italicise the books you LOVE.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I have a job interview next Thursday! Erp!

2008-11-25T17:38:00.001Z

Pinched from the ever wonderful Knitted Terrorists. Those in bold are the ones I've done...

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors (Dad is researching our family tree at the moment, it seems at least 5 generations of my family are from Northamptonshire!)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person (from the car window trying to find Pisa airport on the way back from Tuscany!)
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

2008-11-08T09:29:00.002Z

I am still alive, honestly. I think I've just about accepted the fact I am back in the country until I can scrape together the money to escape again, but I'm still not entirely happy about it. Spain was fantastic, as always. I got to drive a bus all week, which at times felt like the Old Folks Home day out, but at other times (when Dad, Col and I went exploring) was a lot more fun.

Since I've been back home things go on as usual. Work is ridiculously boring. Nothing overly exciting has happened, really. My 18 month long saga with npower continues after they sent me a £505 gas bill (they don't, and never have, supplied my gas) so I've written another stroppy letter. I still hate how annoying loud my neighbours are. The Secret Christmas Knitting continues...

...and needs to continue a bit more, so that's what I'm off to do now. Along with Time Team on the TV and a cup of tea.

I have stripey feet!

2008-10-19T09:51:00.001+01:00

I have stripey feet!, originally uploaded by shes0nfire.

I'm driving a merc this week!

2008-10-18T14:36:00.001+01:00

I'm driving a merc this week!, originally uploaded by shes0nfire.

El Calon amazing as ever.

2008-10-17T20:26:00.001+01:00

El Calon amazing as ever., originally uploaded by shes0nfire.

2008-10-12T14:00:00.003+01:00

I have had the most enjoyable weekend with Vickybox! On Friday morning I headed down to Londinium. We met up in St Pancras for crepes for breakfast, and excitement at the half price sale in Fat Face! I purchased a rather delicious top for the bargain price of £16, and two pairs of knee high socks, because knee high socks are the best in winter.

We then headed off to Ally Pally for the Knitting and Stitching Show. Vicky is now officially a knitter, having purchased her first yarn and needles! We wondered around stroking things and trying to decide what to buy. I came away with some rather wonderful Fyberspates "scrumptious chunky" in red, some 6mm lantern moon straight needles, and some 2.5mm lantern moon DPNs. Chocolate and sweeties were also purchased and scoffed quite quickly!

On the way back in to town we went through Wood Green station, and Vicky was the lucky "one in ten" to get stopped and searched by the police there that day. The poor lad who stopped us looked about 18 and terrified. He was very apologetic though, and made us laugh!

After a stop the Tim Hortons shop (not an actual Tim Hortons shop, a shop that sells Canadian goodies though) for coffee for various people, we went to our current favourite restaurant, Wahaca for Nopalitos, pork pibil, agua fresca and pork scratchings.

This was followed by more wondering around, and me not being able to walk very far because of the ridiculous amount of stuff I'd bought! We headed back to Vicky's for playing on the Wii (we love lego Indiana Jones!), poking the cats, and Vicky's first knitting lesson (she's a natural!).

The next morning, after more Wii-ing, we went to The Toad's Mouth Too for a Full Toad and a huuuuge hot chocolate. We also took lots of very silly photos.

This was followed by wondering around Borough Market and drooling over all the delicious looking foodstuffs on sale. I think if I didn't have such a large amount of stuff to carry around already from the previous day's purchases I would've spent a lot of money! (And stank out the whole train home with cheese!)

I entertained myself on the way home by working on Secret Christmas Knitting Project 1 and getting strange looks from the other train passengers. You'd think they'd never seen knitting before! I also got odd looks when I started taking photos of myself, which made me laugh.

So, my haul from the weekend:

Now I'm doing more Christmas Knitting, eating chilli fudge from Burnt Sugar (purchased at the market) and watching the X-Factor.

2008-09-27T18:01:00.003+01:00

I have overcome Second Sock Syndrome once again! These are quite possibly the most comfortable socks ever.

Pattern: A slightly modified Widdershins.
Yarn: Posh Yarn Lei (65% supermerino, 20% bamboo, 15% silk, 100% amazing and gorgeous).

Now on to some Christmas knitting!

Also, only two weeks until I fly off to sunny sunny Spain!

2008-09-13T18:11:00.002+01:00

RIP Dangerous Beans. June 2006 - September 2008.

2008-09-06T14:40:00.003+01:00

I have returned to what ever passes for normality after my holiday in wonderful Tuscany. I want to go back!

The view from our balcony.

The view from Cortona, an amazing hill town full of gorgeous shops, galleries and ice cream!

Sunflowers near Cortona.

Fosso Bianco, a natural thermal spring in Bagni San Filippo.

Flags in Montepulciano.

Candles in Tempio di San Biagio, Montepulciano.

Tuscany really is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to.
Bigger versions of these photos can be seen on Flickr, the link is to the right.

Today I am doing some Pampered Chef preparations (did my best show yet on Wednesday - over £500 in sales!) for the two parties I have next week. I need more catalogues!

View from out apartment.

2008-08-28T14:26:00.001+01:00

View from out apartment., originally uploaded by shes0nfire.

2008-08-23T15:21:00.002+01:00

I have a long list of stuff to do before Tuesday, but I can't be bothered to do any of it. So instead I'm sitting here watching Amazing Grace on DVD and drinking tea. I really should start packing in some way though!

My chilli plants are growing growing growing. I love watching plants grow!

Hopefully they'll be well looked after by Debbie while I'm away and will still be alive when I get home!

I suppose I should make a start on that long list...

2008-08-20T17:18:00.002+01:00

Today is good for several reasons. Here are the top three...

1. I went to Next on the way home to buy someone a present and saw (and instantly purchased) this t-shirt. I've been waiting for this retro band t-shirt fashion to finally come up with a Pink Floyd one!

2. I got home and found my chilli seeds from Wahaca (new favourite restaurant) have sprouted!

3. I'm getting my new DVD player! (No photo of that one)

2008-08-19T19:38:00.003+01:00

Tonight I reached the 50lb mark on Weight Watchers (well, 50.5lbs to be precise)! So chuffed!

(this photo is actually from a few weeks ago when I was at 49lbs - but it's a fairly good indication of what a 50lb weight loss looks like!)

Now I'm going to eat cake to celebrate!

2008-08-17T18:41:00.002+01:00

Knitting! OMG Knitting!

My DVD player is broken. I have ordered another from the ever wonderful eBuyer.com, but alas it will not arrive until the end of the week. As my DVD player is my main source of entertainment on a lazy Sunday, which today was, I was at a bit of a lose end. So I thought "I know! I'll finish that putting together that humbug cushion that has now been sitting in my knitting basket for a whole year."

So I went and got the sewing machine from Ma and Pa's house. I dug it out. I sewed up the lining, managed to get tiny polystyrene balls aaall over the kitchen whilst stuffing it, then sewed up the knitting. And it's wonderful! I love it. It's a lot bigger than I expected, too! It now has pride of place on my futon.

2008-08-15T18:22:00.003+01:00

3 months no update? I know I say this a lot, but I am a bad blogger. What's new then?

I went to Italy at the end of June with my friend Leanne. We went to Pompeii, climbed Vesuvius, went to Capri, visited Herculaneum and spent many hours wandering around Sorrento, where we stayed.

I have a second job (yes, you read that right). I am now a Pampered Chef consultant. I have done six shows, and it's lots of fun, apart from the washing up!

I went to Manchester to help Oli and Caz move in to their new flat. It's pretty amazing, and I want to live there.

I'm pretty sure I've been doing lots more than just all of that, but I have neither the energy nor the inclination to write it all out!

Upcoming excitement? A week in Tuscany with Ma and Pa in just one weeks time! More Pampered Chef parties, Vickybox coming to visit and seeing Not The Beatles, and quite possibly going back to that education malarkey to either do an A level in Human Biology, or an Access to Health Professions course because I have now decided I want to go to university to do Radiography. Yes, Holly has finally decided she wants to do something more with her life than be a civil servant!

I'll try to make it a bit less than three months before I update again this time!

2008-05-25T16:45:00.003+01:00

I made some teeny tiny baby booties for Trudie, she's going on maternity leave on Friday but I'm convince she'll be exploding before then.

Oh how I love things I can start, finish and photograph in the space of one film!

I have discovered a new website: Book Rabbit. For documenting book collections, getting book reviews, recommendations etc. I am a complete g33k and it totally appeals to my organising/documenting/cataloguing OCD nature. I highly recommend it, and join dammit so I can get some friends!

2008-04-18T18:59:00.002+01:00

Time for the annual knitting content. I am finally using the two cones of the gorgeous Habu silk I've had in my stash for years now. As I've never found a pattern that I think would suit this yarn for the amount I have, I've settled on a relatively dull randomly striped stockinette stitch verybigscarf.

Whilst the knitting continues, I have a large hole in my bathroom wall. A couple of months ago I discovered a very large leak coming through the ceiling in the garage, the ceiling had come down and everything was soaked. Yesterday Dad knocked a hole in the wall to try and discover the source of the leak, and found it when Mum emptied the sink in the kitchen. It's been leaking for 2 years now, ever since the flat was built. One of the pipes hadn't been connected properly, clever people.

Hey, at least this is a good excuse for a bit of redecoration!

2008-03-30T17:23:00.002+01:00

I never thought I'd actually enjoy a night out on the Welly road, but I did!

2008-03-18T16:03:00.002Z

Because my life is unbelievably boring at the moment and writing a normal blog entry would bore you to tears, have a slightly less boring quiz thing instead. Stolen from Dee.

Three Things That Scare Me

* Moths
* Chavs
* Large crowds

Three People Who Make Me Laugh

* Vicky
* Patrice
* Leanne

Three Things I Love

* My family
* Chocolate
* Jack Bauer

Three Things I Hate

* Washing up
* Cleaning the bathroom
* General domestic chores

Three Things I Don’t Understand

* Trigonometry
* People with absolutely no common sense when it comes to money
* Kids who walk around playing music from their mobile phones

Three Things On My Desk (I don’t have a desk, so I’ll sub my nightstand)

* Dead Fred pen holder
* My mug
* A blob of thinking putty

Three Things I’m Doing Right Now

* Watching X-Files
* Typing
* Wondering how many episodes of 24 I can watch tonight

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die

* See the northern lights
* Go to Australia
* Find my dream job

Three Things I Can Do

* Stick pens through my earlobes
* Cook a damn good chilli
* Take pretty good photos

Three Things I Can’t Do

* Resist tasty food if it's put in front of me
* Put my legs behind my head
* Wake up on Monday mornings

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To

* The Cat Empire
* Common sense
* Your parents

Three Things You Should Never Listen To

* Idiots
* Abba
* The voices in your head that tell you to burn things

Three Things I’d Like To Learn

* Scuba diving
* How to ride a motorbike
* To speak a foreign language fluently

Three Favorite Foods

* Steak
* Pizza
* Crisps

Three Shows I Watched As A Kid

* Greenclaws
* Grange Hill
* Rainbow

Three Things I Regret

* That short haircut when I was a kid
* Buying my rubbish car instead of a decent one
* Not getting that cottage

2008-02-16T18:19:00.002Z

Rather shockingly, I didn't do overtime this weekend. I have spent all day today on the couch in my PJs watching TV and DVDs. Bliss!

Even more shockingly, my battle with npower may be coming to and end! I almost had a heart attack when I had two cheques through the door from them yesterday. One for £86 as a refund for the money they took for the gas they've never supplied, and another for £50 as compensation!

Now I'm just waiting for a seven month electricity bill. I think if I apply to switch my electricity to British Gas now that should prompt a bill from them!

I'm having a nice long weekend this weekend. James came up on Thursday night. We had thai prawn curry, watched Shaun of the Dead, ate ice cream, and stayed up until 2am catching up on the last two years. We went for lunch at the cafe on the square on Friday, wondered back here across the Rec and spent the rest of the day watching Bill Hicks until he had to head off to Nottingham. Nothing better than spending time with old friends. It won't be another two years until I see him again this time hopefully!

Tomorrow doesn't look any more eventful than today has been. Have some last minute photo editing that Alex needs doing, but other than that I will be doing very little. I suppose putting the futon away in the spare room and doing the washing up should be on the list somewhere!

2008-02-09T19:22:00.000Z

Life still revolves around work at the moment. Lots of overtime, lots of flexi time. All for a good cause though! Our holiday is booked and Leanne and I are off to Italy in June. Currently saving up for spending money and hopefully a new camera before I go as well!

Since joining Weight Watchers in September last year I have now lost 2 stone. Which is pretty crazy! Two stone equates to almost three clothes sizes, and today I spent the day going through all my wardrobes and disposing of things that are now too big for me. I have a pile of things I'm going to try and sell, three carrier bags of clothes went in the bin, Debbie came round and took two bags full home, and I have stuff that will go to the clothes bank at Sainsburys. It's amazingly satisfying!

I'm on a soup kick at the moment. The other day I made broccoli soup, which doesn't sound that appetizing but was delicious, with two portions still in the freezer. Today I made tomato and red pepper soup, which was equally as delicious. That made six portions, so I have a freezer full of soup at the moment!

The next week or so is looking rather entertaining. Tomorrow I have a family reunion type thing to go to for Mum's side of the family. A cousin I have met once in my life (an occasion I don't remember, apparently I was about 6 at the time) has come over from South Africa for a few weeks and everyone is meeting up tomorrow. It should be interesting.

James is coming up on Thursday evening and staying over on his way up to Nottingham. Neither of us had realised Thursday was V-day so we're having an anti-valentine's evening of ice cream and DVDs. It'll be good to see him again, considering the last time we met up was at Oliver's graduation ceremony almost 2 years ago!

Now I'm going to eat jelly and watch Grand Designs and ER.

2008-01-26T19:36:00.000Z

Leanne is booking our flights tonight/tomorrow to Italy. Stanstead to Naples 17/6/08 to 24/6/08. So far the Hotel Villa Fiorita is top on the list of hotels. Room with a balcony with a view of the Bay of Naples and Vesuvius. What could be better?

Next week I'm paying Jude for her hen night. We're going to London on May 31st for cocktails on the London Eye (in a private capsule), followed by a four course dinner cruise down the Thames. We're classy!

And today I got a text message from the Brother saying he just saw a Bugatti Veyron get a parking ticket in Manchester. Apparently it belongs to Rio Ferdinand. Gutted! Haha.

Also, Mum and Dad are going to New York in March and are going to pick me up a 400D while they're there. Less than £300! For a 400D! If I manage to do enough overtime between now and then I might be able to afford wide angle lens to go with it too!

2008-01-19T19:42:00.000Z

Not much is going on here. 2008 has so far mainly been about working far too much (overtime three weekends running and too many late shifts for my liking) and getting annoyed with gas companies. I have this Monday off work simply because I want a lie in.

That's about it really.

2007-12-31T19:47:00.000Z

So, Christmas has been and gone, and now it seems to be new years eve. Christmas was, as it always is with my family, full of fun and laughter and many many children and Nuts.

There were two broken fingers, both on different people, during one game of Nuts. James was the champion for the second year running! We also held the first ever Junior Nuts, won by Yasmin. Chloe came second, and screamed for at least 15 minutes so we all knew how devastated she was!

Not as many photos as last year because my camera battery died, but I assure you it was lots of fun. There will be a separate blog entry soon (as requested) all about the most wonderful coffee ever.

So, now it's new years eve. I've never been a great fan of new years eve, to me it's always been parties full of people I don't know that well and don't particularly like that always come and hug me just because it's midnight. Last year was spent with Jonathan, watching chavs have a fight in the alley way. This year will be spent watching TV and eating popcorn. I was going to have an evening with Jack Bauer, but Mum and Dad had the same idea and I need to steal their DVD.
Also, I just ordered a 32" Sony Bravia, so it's not a completely wasted evening. I also get tomorrow off work. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to look up how cheap I can get a PS3 to go with my new TV!

Todays entry was brought to you thanks to a whole day watching Grand Designs on TV...

2007-12-22T21:05:00.000Z

Today I printed some photos to go in the IKEA frames I got a couple of weeks ago. I now have three framed photos on the walls in my study, at last. There are few things more bland and uninspiring as bare walls, in my opinion. The fact the majority of my flat is beige is bad enough, but until I find the time and money to paint it all, covering the walls in nice things to look at will do.

I was on a bit of a roll really. The printer was behaving, all the colours and sizes were dead on. That almost never happens. That should've made me suspicious really. I should've known to quit while I was ahead. I'd printed three sheets of photos to go in a panoramic frame with a mount with 5 windows. The idea was to use one panoramic photos across the five windows. All was going well, the photos printed fine, I got the wire across the back to hang it on all sorted. Slotting it in to place...crack! The glass breaks. Fuck shit bollocks cock. I now have a pretty much useless £15 frame. Oh joy.

So, I did what any normal person would do. I got in a huff and spent the rest of the day watching back to back episodes of Grand Designs on TV and painted my toe nails.

I was looking through my photo folder entitled "flat" after I'd taken those photos, and it's amazing how much this place has changed over the last year. I still have photos of it completely empty. I have photos of the first cup of tea I made here. Photos of Dad putting up the blinds in the living room. Photos of piles of boxes. Photos of empty bookcases and a half built bed. Photos of that tiny horrible green sofa I endured for about 3 months. Photos of all the different places the Rats have been since I moved in. I'm glad it's finally all coming together now, everything is pretty much exactly how I want. And not one single bit of it is at all how I imagined it would be when I came to look round the place in June 2006.

Now I just need to get some money so I can re-do the bathroom. It's the one room I really don't like. Especially the horrible horrible floor. I dream of under floor heating!

2007-12-21T16:02:00.000Z

My lack of blogging lately seems to have given at least one person the impression I've developed a social life. I can assure you all this isn't true. In fact it's the opposite, my life has been if anything more boring than usual of late!
Ok, that's not entirely true. I have been doing things, just not very exciting things. Going out for lunch with the work lot mostly.
One exciting thing (for me, anyway) is the fact I am the proud owner of a table and chairs! This makes me a proper grown up apparently, but it doesn't seem to be working!

I made an attempt and Christmas-ifying my flat. I was going to buy a tree. I even got decorations from IKEA. But all the trees were rubbish/too tall/too real/too expensive for my liking, so I've stuck to fairy lights and a bit pile of presents on the floor.

I have also - shock horror - been knitting! The bright pink socks got finished, and I started on a new pair in some Posh Yarn. I'm rather pleased with them so far, considering I've just been kind've making it up as I go along, or taking certain bits from certain patterns.

They're going to end up being quite tall socks I think. I need some longer socks to keep my legs warm!

I have a very lazy weekend this weekend. Tomorrow I might actually be tempted to sleep the day away. Sunday is more sleeping and the excitement of the Harrison/Hawker Christmas! I have half a day of work on Monday morning, then the rest of the week off. It'll be great!

2007-12-02T11:44:00.000Z

Another fabulous day out in Londinium with Vicky yesterday. Being the first Saturday of December it was, of course, ridiculously over crowded with Christmas shoppers. We coped though. We wondered around the new St Pancras International station. It sounded very swish when they said that on the train.

We then headed off for one of our favourite places in the world - Belgo Centraal - for mussels, chips and coconut beer (if anyone feels the need to buy me a Christmas present, Mongozo Coconut Beer would be the best present in the world).

The rest of the day was spent wondering around, spending money, laughing, and generally having a fantastic time.

Today I have put away the Sainsburys delivery, finished wrapping Christmas presents, and am currently printing out a photo to go in my new frame to add to the collection on the wall in the living room.

I have also done something I didn't think I'd do again - I plugged in the NTL box (I'm sorry, but saying Virgin box still is and always will be wrong) and turned on the TV. I don't know what I was expecting, but it's still as shit as it was over 6 months ago when I stopped watching it. Top Gear and Long Way Down are on tonight though! Woo!

2007-11-23T16:47:00.000Z

Things that are good:

+ Posh Yarn. Amazing, fantastic, wonderful yarn.
+ The fact it is now the weekend.
+ The mushroom and potato gratin I made for dinner last night.
+ Listening to old CDs and the memories that came flooding back.
+ Buying a top two sizes smaller than the ones I was buying two months ago!
+ It's the weekend.
+ Only having three Christmas presents left to buy.
+ Pay day next Friday, including bonus!

2007-11-19T20:09:00.000Z

At 5:55pm last night I was sitting in front of my computer (as I am a lot of the time) clicking refresh waiting to spend all my money on Posh Yarn. My obsessive-ness paid off and I have two skeins of the most amazing looking yarn ever coming to me soon.

65% supermerino, 20% bamboo, 15% silk in a colourway that I've been dreaming of for ages. I may keep it as a pet. It won't make a nest behind my DVD player like Beans did!

Shortly after my mini spending spree, and just after I'd eaten the wonderful parsnip and cashew nut roast I'd made for dinner, I went over to Mum and Dad's for my weekly Top Gear and Long Way Down fix. I had to do a double take as I opened the front door, because it was snowing. Yes, snowing, in Northampton, in November. It was snowing quite a lot as well. About 1cm had settled on my car. It was still snowing when I came home 3 hours later. It was all gone when I woke up this morning though, which I was quite thankful about because I hate driving to work in the snow ever since last year when my car wouldn't stop and if I hadn't steered into the curb I would've hit the parked car. And then 200m further down the road it wouldn't stop again and I went skidding across the crossroads. And then when I decided to go to Mum and Dad's instead of attempting to get to work my car got stuck on the driveway. Yeah, that was a fun day.

Anyway. Not much else to report. Fat club tomorrow night, and hopefully my next Amazon DVD (Long Way Round disc two) will have arrived so I can sit and watch Ewan McGregor all evening. I really do have a slight obsession with that man at the moment. In fact, I think it may be Scottish men in general. Quite worrying really.

2007-11-18T14:42:00.000Z

I went to Sainsburys this morning to buy ingredients for dinner (parsnip and cashew nut roast, which I am very much looking forward to making because it sounds so yummy and wintery). They were giving away free "bags for life". It's amazing how easy it is to carry my shopping upstairs when I only have two bags instead of 5. Well done Sainsburys. However, it's not quite as good as the co-op, who gave me a free bar of (fair trade) chocolate and a free magnetic shopping list note pad thing. I like free stuff!

Nothing much has been happening today apart from the trip to Sainsburys. I've officially started sock number two, which I am immensely happy about. Hurrah for overcoming SSS!

Even more of a hurrah for the fact I must've started these socks about two years ago! You just wait, after this I'll frog the blue cashmere one and make that into a pair!

I have my alarm set for today's Posh Yarn sale. I always mean to go there and buy stuff, but am either out or forget. I will not forget! There is the most delicious of colours there today which I intend to nab a couple of skeins of.

Now, I'm going to turn the heating on and make a cup of tea.

2007-11-17T16:29:00.000Z

I am posting this in the hope my mother doesn't read this blog. I don't think she does, so it should be ok! Mum asked for a pair of socks for Christmas (of the hand knit variety). I had two options; knit a pair of socks in time for Christmas without succumbing to Second Sock Syndrome, or wait until after Christmas so she could chose the colour and pattern, and I could make them exactly the right size. I've gone for the second option, and have knitted a teeny tiny pair of socks to actually give to her on Christmas day.

I am most amused by them, and they only took me about half an hour to knit. I'm all for instant gratification when it comes to knitting!

I have overcome SSS with the full sized pair of socks in the same colour. It took me three attempts to find a stretchy enough bind off, but I'm very happy now I've discovered EZ's sewn bind off!

The entrelac scarf is progressing very very slowly. It was an amusing idea at first, now It's just a bit boring to be honest. I'll get there eventually (I hope).

This weekend is fairly uneventful. I went to have my eyes tested today and still don't need glasses (my bank account is relieved at this news!). A trip to Sainsburys is planned for tomorrow to stock up the fridge again, and I intend to make a parsnip and cashew nut roast that I found in Mum's weight watchers recipe book that I've borrowed. I really should clean the bathroom at some point as well, but we all know how much I hate cleaning the bathroom.

I signed up for Amazon DVD rental last weekend, so could do with a few suggestions of things to rent. Tell me what your favourite film is, or something that you think I should watch!

2007-11-11T09:57:00.000Z

Remember not so long ago I mentioned I had finally finished the Big Bad Baby Blanket of Doom? Well, yesterday it finally went to its intended recipient. It seems to have been a hit, and it's great for playing peek-a-boo with!

Yesterday was a day of scanning in photos. I had to scan in baby photos of my work colleagues for a Guess The Baby Photo competition we're doing for Children In Need. So, while I had the scanner out, I scanned in all the fisheye and supersampler photos I took whilst in Spain. I love these cameras!

Yesterday Josh decided my name is Leaves. Actually, it's more like "'Eeeaves!". It seems Holly sounds too much Like Hello (which is one of his favourite words, I think!). He definitely associates me with leaves, in one of his book there's a picture of five leaves that look similar to my tattoos, and when we were in Spain if you said to him "wheres Holly's leaves?" he'd come up to me and point at them.
Ah well, if my cousin survived all those years of me and Oli calling her LaLoo (which my Dad still does occasionally!) I'm sure I can cope with Leaves. At least leaves makes sense!

2007-11-10T15:02:00.000Z

My computer mouse broke while I was in Spain. I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner, it got pulled about quite a lot, and the wire finally snapped away from the USB connector. So, I ordered myself a new on from eBuyer, a nice shiny red one. Wireless, too! It arrive earlier this week, with possibly the most excessive packaging I have ever seen...

To give some context, those are AAA batteries, and it's a mini mouse - half the size of a normal computer mouse. A massive box, just for that.
Ah well, the cardboard box fits perfectly in my cupboard so is now my recycling stuff box.

I've spent all morning scanning in baby photos of people I work with. We're having a guess the baby photo competition at work. It's quite amusing. I'll be surprised if anyone guesses them all!

The rest of today will be spent scanning in fisheye photos from when I was in Spain. There's some very funny ones!

2007-11-09T09:57:00.000Z

Work is quiet. Very quiet. I am sitting and knitting socks. This is a sock I had finished about a month ago, but the bind off was too tight and I had a fair amount of yarn left over, so I've ripped back the ribbing and am making it longer, and will experiment with stretchy bind off.

Thank god it's friday. I can spend my weekend DVD watching and knitting and the like. And maybe going to Mum and Dad's to play with Dad's new PS3 :-)

2007-11-04T13:23:00.000Z

Have I gushed about how great Ravelry is yet? Well, it is. It's fantastic and wonderful, too. I've found patterns for yarn I've had sitting around for god knows how long. I've found patterns I don't have yarn for but am definitely going to knit. I took photos of all my yarn and found stuff I'd completely forgotten about. It's just brilliant! And so, my latest project is yet another scarf.

The pattern is from Freckles and Purls and is so far amazingly easy. I've gone three tiers and it looks great.

Yesterday, whilst shopping in Milton Keynes, I saw a scarf I liked in Accessorize. So I took a photo of it on my phone so I can work it out and knit it myself. Muhaha.

2007-11-01T18:25:00.000Z

I'm home. Reluctantly. The fridge is restocked, the suitcase is unpacked, the washing is done. I keep wishing I could open my bedroom window and see waves crashing over rocks, and am horribly disappointed when all I ever see out of all my seventeen windows is other peoples houses, far too close for comfort.
If I had my way I'd live in a small house at least 5 miles from anything. But we all know I'm antisocial.

Thankfully I don't have to go back to work until Monday, so I can spend a lot of time sleeping and watching DVDs - recovering from 3+ hours on a plane with Chloe and Josh. I think I may need to seek therapy after that!

By the way - that's me snorkeling in the second photo down. There were lots of fish, and quite a few plastic bags - which was a bit depressing. Thankfully the jellyfish weren't about on that day.

2007-10-24T10:57:00.000+01:00

I am currently sitting in Karen´s Cafe in Villaricos. Having a fantastic time, never want to come home. Thankfully I still have a week here!
If you keep checking up on my Flickr account, you might see some photos throughout the week.
Not a long entry - this is the worlds stickiest keyboard and its very hard to type!

So long, farewell..

2007-10-16T09:25:00.001+01:00

It's time for me to turn off the laptop and pack it away now, and hope to god my suitcase doesn't weigh more than 15kg!
Last minute flat check, make sure all the lights are off and the windows closed. Bins are empty, Rats are fed and watered. Hopefully, I've not forgotten anything. I don't remember the last time my flat was this clean and tidy - and I'm not even going to be here to enjoy it! Haha.
I shall be back on October 31st with huge amounts of photos and tales of The Chicken Shack. Don't miss me too much!

2007-10-15T13:32:00.001+01:00

I went to the dentist today, for the first time in about 3 years. When the dentist in the village went private I was highly unemployed, like fuck was I going to pay that much after free dental care my whole life! Buuut, last weekend I got tooth ache. So I thought I better go and get it looked at. I went to Floss in Northampton, where Mum and Dad go.

I need five fillings.

I signed up to Denplan so I didn't have to pay the £90ish consulatation fee, and the cost of the Xrays, but the fillings will cost me £212.50 in total. Thank god I'm getting my annual bonus soon, otherwise I'd be pretty much fucked on that one. It does mean that my hopes of buying a 400D before Christmas have probably gone out the window though. Sigh.

So I've just eaten my lunch, and everything tasted slightly of fake bananas from the desensitizing paste she put on my teeth. Lovely. Now I have a list of things as long as my arm to do in preparation for going to Spain tomorrow!

- Wash up.
- Clean bathroom.
- Wash towels.
- Finsih packing.
- Charge camera batteries.
- Clean out Rats.
- Sort out fridge.
- Empty bins.
- Give keys and garage remote to Fiona.
- Shower.
- Back up photos onto external hard drive in case of laptop failure whilst in Spain.

I think that's it. Pretty much. Suppose I should get on with it really!

2007-10-14T13:39:00.000+01:00

I can't remember a single thing I was supposed to be doing today. I got distracted by putting my books in colour order. It's a rainbow!

And have a photo of Beans and Toast, just because it's been a while since they were featured on here.

2007-10-13T18:10:00.000+01:00

Just in time for my holiday to Spain, where is about 27C at the moment, I've finished Dashing. At least I'll have nice warm hands when I come back!

Knit in Rowan Summer Tweed, about a ball and a half I think. So I have yet another small amount of yarn to add to the pile. God knows what I'm going to do with it all! I was originally going to knit it using some hand dyed Peruvian wool that I bought at the Knitting and Stitching show, probably three years ago now. But the moths have got at it. Just as I was about to start winding it in to a ball, I realise half of it has been eaten right through, so that's gone in the bin. Mum is bringing home some ceader rings for me to put in the knitting basket, and tomorrow i'll be going through it all and hoovering it out.

I am preparing myself for my holiday at the moment. I've started getting summer clothes out the wardrobes, I've found my passport and EHIC card, and printed off my flight confirmation. I've got a pile of cameras at the ready, and I'm still contemplating whether or not to take my tripod. I just need a suitcase now! Haha. I've also been preparing the flat, because Ellie is coming to stay for the two weeks I'm away. I can't remember the last time it was this clean and tidy!
I've also put the first two series of Black Books, and Dogma onto my iPod. Tomorrow the third series of Black Books and a couple more DVDs will be going on there I think.

So excited!

All play and no work...

2007-10-09T14:06:00.000+01:00

...makes Holly very bored. Postal strikes mean no work. There is literally nothing to do. I've answered four phone calls today, that's it.
I might go and jump off the roof, just for something to do.

In much more uplifting news, this time next week I will be at Luton airport on my way to Spain! Hurrah!

Sitting here doing nothing is frustrating. We can't be seen to be doing nothing, or we get told to do the most mundane and completely pointless tasks that aren't part of our job and wouldn't even mentally challenge a 2 year old. Read a book? No, not allowed. Browse the internet? Only for work purposes. Saying that, I don't think I've ever read the BBC website in as much detail as I have done today. There was a rahter interesting article on how it's now "the norm" to see women with tattoos, and questioning why peoples perceptions of tattooed people has changed. But then I read the readers comments and end up wanting to punch 90% of them in the face for being such idiots. I really do hate the general public. I'd be quite happy living in the middle of nowhere without any contact from strangers. People I know and like can visit whenever they like, but the general public can all go step in front of a bus.

Well, isn't this cheerful?

I have to go to the dentist on Monday next week. I had toothache at the weekend and ended up driving over to steal ibuprofen from Mum at midnight because I didn't have any in the flat. So I thought getting it checked out before I head to Spain for two weeks would be a good idea. I've not been to the dentist since the one in the village went private about 3 years ago. I resented paying about £30 to go there every six months (because I had to go every 6 months instead of every 12 months once I no longer qualified for free dental care. Funny that...) just to be told my teeth are perfect and nothing needs doing, which is basically what happened at every single dentist appointment I've ever had. So yes, new dentist, scary etc.

Gah. I feel useless sitting here twiddling my thumbs when there's 101 (well, about 5) things I could be doing at home. I need to put clothes away, I need to put away the washing up, I need to hoover, I need to clean the bathroom (as always), and I need to sort out a big pile of paperwork. Oh, and I need to phone the bank as well, but we can't phone 0870 numbers from work - despite the fact we are an 0870 number.

I'll stop ranting now. If you read this far you deserve a virtual cookie. A post without photos must be very dull.

2007-10-07T16:19:00.000+01:00

Single figures people! Single figures!

Today I went to Olney Farmers Market. I purchased some Wobbly Bottom Farm cheese, giant mushrooms, and smoked salmon. I say "I purchased", I mean my Mum purchased, because I'm a cheap skate and my Mum is wonderful.

I then came home, ate said smoked salmon (hmm, I could eat smoked salmon forever), watched Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and learnt how to make teeny tiny paper cranes.

I also made a teeny tiny box, and a teeny tiny lily. The cranes are my favourite though.

Tonight I'm going to eat home made thai curry and watch Top Gear with Mum, because Dad and Oli have just gone off for a weeks sailing around Greece.

2007-10-06T12:51:00.000+01:00

On Wednesday last week I went for my annual haircut. I strongly dislike having my haircut, but I've been getting better at having it done. I once went for 6 years without having it cut. Then it was two years, and for the last couple of times it's been a year between each one.
Normally I just have all the dead ends chopped off and leave it as my usual "style". If washing it every other day and not even brushing it in between can be considered a style. This time I went short though. Not too short, shoulder length. And layered, so I've got some crazy curls going on at the moment. I love it. I dyed it on Thursday night so no more roots as well. Shorter hair is definitely the way forward!

In other news, whilst I was in London with Vicky (she finally has a public blog! Go read!) last Sunday, we decided (over the most amazing ice cream in the world) to start a food blog. Generally our get togethers mainly revolve around food in some way. Going out for lunch, trying out new restaurants, amusing food gadgety things, making a mess whilst trying out bizarre recipes. So, the blog FoodEat was born! Add it to your favourites people.

Now, I am going to sit here and twiddle my thumbs whilst waiting for my freshly mopped floor to dry.

2007-09-29T12:08:00.001+01:00

It's the weekend. Hurrah! And look what I got in the post this week...

Yes, I won myself a Wootie and £200 iwantoneofthose.com vouchers for my photo of Beans and the Eggling. Thank you to whoever voted for me!

I went shopping on Thursday with Mother. My seven year old pair of Vans have now been offically replaced. I've tried to replace them many times, with converse and a different style of Vans, but they just weren't the same. Nothing was quite as comfortable. But on Thursday I found The Ones. They amuse me.

My first sock is almost completed. I just need to do a bit more ribbing and then bind off. Then I have to resist the Second Sock Syndrome and get on with the next one!

2007-09-26T17:53:00.001+01:00

It's that time of year again. My coat hooks have scarves and hoodies hanging on them, and my thick duvet is on my bed. I love autumn.

Tomorrow I'm going to buy a new pair of Vans. My 7 year old pair have a whole in the bottom that I can now poke my finger through. Not good for cold weather! I'm also going to buy a new coat.

Eggs.

2007-09-22T18:20:00.001+01:00

I decided to have boiled eggs for breakfast this morning. It was only after I'd cooked them I realised I don't own any egg cups, so I improvised and made origami egg cups out of kitchen roll. I'm such a fckin genius sometimes.

Spent this afternoon in the cafe on the square with Leanne drinking strawberry and mango smoothies and lattes, and eating flapjacks. Possibly the nicest flapjack I've ever eaten!

I am amazed at how clean and tidy my flat is today.

2007-09-21T17:32:00.000+01:00

I would like to say on record how much I love the farm shop in my village. I stopped there on the way home and came back with all this for £9. Bargain!

I think this weekend I'll be making more soup, and other tasty autumny food stuffs.

I frogged the sock pictured in the previous entry and redid it because the increases were too loose. This one turned out much better. I had a slight disaster the first timeI tried to turn the heel which involved me getting in a huff and pulling all the needles out, but I frogged back and managed to pick up all my stitches again, and have just successfully completed the heel. Hurrah! Lots of mindless boring knitting for the leg now. Hopefully I won't get Second Sock Syndrome yet again.

Tonight I'm going to Ma and Pa's to cook dinner. Less washing up for me that way! haha.

Things that amuse Holly.

2007-09-16T12:27:00.000+01:00

Firstly, I feel I should mention that in exactly one months time I will be here, and this makes me happier than you can possibly imagine...

Secondly, this morning I spent a good twenty minutes amusing myself by skidding around on my kitchen floor in my pyjamas. I discovered my alpaca socks are perfect for this.

Thirdly, I frogged and restarted one of the three pairs of unfinished socks in the knitting basket last night. Toe up, because I never know how yarn I'll need to do the next bit along when I go cuff down. I either end up with a big pile of yarn left over and socks that could've been longer in the leg, or not enough yarn and socks that are too short in the foot. I used the Magic Cast On for the first time ever last night. It's very clever! I think my increases are a bit loose though, I might re-do it.

And finally, I'm having home made Garden Vegetable Soup for lunch!

2007-09-15T14:04:00.001+01:00

Wow, I just reached the 10,000 hit mark. And only about two of you ever comment. How rude!

I have started knitting a mini-clapotis out of sari silk yarn. I am yet to decide whether the yarn works well with the pattern or not. I need to get a few more dropped rows before I can tell I think.

Last night I went to the Not The Beatles gig at the cricket club, and had a bloody good time. I was at the front wearing my "Staff" pass taking photos with Al's 400D. I will never again be able to use my S9500 without feeling immensely disappointed. I want to marry this camera, it is utter perfection. Everything is so smooth and fast, all the buttons are in the right place, it's just beautiful. I ~~want~~ need one. Do you think Al will notice if I just...forget to give it back to him?

Today I am eating fish fingers and watching DVDs. I watch a lot of DVDs. You should buy me some. Or better yet, buy me this! And this to go with it!

No harm in trying, right?

2007-09-09T09:37:00.000+01:00

I am one ball from completing the knitting part of the Humbug Cushion. One ball! I'm getting a little bit bored of it now. It's just K5P2 all the time, so not exactly stimulating. I have, however, watched a lot of DVDs whilst knitting it. I need a trip to Dunelm Mill soon to buy lining fabric and polystyrene balls to fill it with.

My eggling is still growing. In fact it's a bit of a beast now, and the egg is starting to crack a bit. It's still flowering though! I have a Petunia Eggling growing at work, I need to take photos of that one too.

Today is another DVD day I think. I also need to tackle the giant pile of washing up, and hoover. Bah, being domestic is rubbish. Someone needs to invent a self cleaning house.

2007-09-05T19:20:00.000+01:00

Humbug cushion about half way through.

Watching Black Books on DVD. I love roast parsnips.

2007-09-02T17:03:00.001+01:00

Almost two years after I cast it on, today I finished the Big Bad Baby Blanket. It's entireyly down to Josh that I finished it. He had a rummage through my knitting basket and pulled 5 stitches off the end, so I had to get them back on. And then I just carried on knitting. I am never ever knitting anything like that again! Haha.

Now, back to the humbug cushion...

2007-09-02T10:24:00.000+01:00

Exhausted. I honestly don't know how Ruth and John cope with Chloe and Josh all the time, it was exhausting enough just looking after Josh for a day! Both Josh and I survived though, with minimal tears and a lot of bubbles. I even managed to get a fair amount of sleep! Almost disappointed Josh didn't cry all night - it would've been fairly good payback for the neighbours. However, I do value my sleep so I'm not too disappointed.

Now I'm going to find some food, make a cup of tea, stick on a DVD and do some knitting I think.

Oh, and I have a new blog layout. The voodoo doll pin cushion is called Jose.

2007-08-28T20:07:00.000+01:00

Next in the world of Holly's rediscovered knitting obsession: The Humbug Cushion from Debbie Bliss Home. I love this book, it has so many fun patterns. I have about 8 little post it notes sticking out of it marking things I want to make.

I dug out all my pattern books and a mahoosive stash of yarn at Mum and Dad's the other day and brought it all home. In the mahoosive stash was quite possible the softest Sari Silk yarn I've ever felt. I think I got it at the Knitting and Stitching show a couple of years ago, and I need to find something special to make with it. Possibly a clapotis, though it wouldn't make a very big one. Suggestions welcome!

2007-08-28T19:48:00.000+01:00

2007-08-26T11:40:00.000+01:00

Holy crap. It can't be true, can it? Has Holly really finished a knitting project? And a pair of socks at that?! Why yes it is!

I brought home all my yarn and knitting books from Mum and Dads last night, so now I'm going to rummage through them all to decide what to knit next!

OMG! Knitting!

2007-08-19T17:36:00.000+01:00

Knitting? What is this strange compulsion you speak of? Sticks? String? Making things? How peculiar!

In a moment of madness, I decided to clear out my knitting basket. Not all of my yarn and needles and the like made it when I moved, I do believe a large portion of my stash is hidden away in Mum and Dad's living room - some in the stool, some in the cupboard with the world's smallest door. Whilst clearing out my rather small knitting basket I discovered the following works-in-perpetual-progress (WIPPs): Three unfinished pairs of socks (two suffering from "second sock syndrome", one didn't even get that far), one 1/3 finished jumper - pattern whereabouts unknown, and one baby blanket - current age approximately two years. I started it when I found out my cousin was pregnant with Josh (who was 1 in April) and am still about 4cm from finishing it.

So, I decided I want to knit something again, but I wasn't sure what. Something small and simple to get me back in the swing of things. So, what do I choose? I choose a fourth pair of socks. Cabled socks to be precise, from the Debbit Bill Home book. They shall be knit in a wonderfully soft green alpaca yarn. Blue Sky Alpaca to be precise. I believe it was purchaed at the UKnitty meet up in London, when we went to Loop. That would be about two years ago then.

If I ever finish them I may throw a party to celebrate.

In other news, I am cooking roast chicken and my flat smells yummy. It's pissing it down with rain, and I don't want to go back to work tomorrow.

2007-08-18T15:21:00.000+01:00

This morning I cut off my first peppers from my plants. The big one is a Navaho, about 5cm long. The small red ones are Jalapeno's and the orange one is a Habanero. I have a feeling the Habanero and Jalapeno's are going to be slightly lethal!

It feels like autumn. I'm wearing slippers and long sleeves. I think summer may have officially finished, and it only lasted about a week.

This morning I made coffee muffins. They taste ok, but unfortunately they stuck to the cake cases. The blueberry muffins I made the other day did the same thing, and I've no idea why. It's incredibly annoying. Maybe the mixture needs to be less runny. I did make up the recipe for the coffee muffins, so I'm not entirely surprised they weren't perfect. I need to find instructions for making the perfect muffins.

2007-08-12T17:28:00.000+01:00

I am wiiiiireless. Hurrah. I set it up all on my own - I have a Big Brain. So now I can sit on the toilet with my laptop and still be online. Just what any girl wants!

After I used my Big Brain to successfully set that up, I went to Sainsburys. That was exciting. I got Fab ice creams. I didn't look at the packaging very closely (Normally trips to Sainsburys are very much a get in, grab stuff, get out as fast as you can affair. I strongly dislike being around so many people.) and was expecting normal, good old fashioned Fab lollys. But no, they're Fab ice creams. Innacone kinda thing. Amusing, but no where near as satisfying as the real thing. So I was slightly disappointed. But really, how disappointed can one person be when they have ice cream? That's right, not very!

After that I decided to make cupcakes, because cupcakes make the world go round. That's right, all this time you thought it was love or something crappy like that. Well, you were wrong. It's cupcakes! Cupcakes with hundreds and thousands and chocolate chips. Any kind of cupcake. Hmmm cupcakes.

Just one problem. I ate too much cake mix while I was making them, now I feel too sick to eat them. Clever Holly! Maybe I'll leave a couple in the hallway for the neighbours.

Tonight I am going meteor hunting. The Perseids meteor shower is visible this weekend and I intend to drive somewhere veryverydark and try to take photos of it.

2007-08-05T11:51:00.000+01:00

It's official, I'ved turned into a Harry Potter loser. In the last two weeks I've read 4 and a half of the books.

Not much to report other than that. By the way, if you haven't already done it - vote for my photos! (See entry above this one). Only a couple of weeks until voting ends, so get going!

2007-07-27T09:35:00.000+01:00

Mum and I did some rearranging yesterday. My second bedroom is now my study, and one of the windows in my bedroom is no longer blocked off.

Before:

After:

I am stupidly happy at the fact I now have a desk. Today I'll be spending the day moving my printer, scanner and drawers full of crap in their. Hurrah for organisation!

Four day weekends are very enjoyable.

2007-07-21T13:53:00.000+01:00

Not much to report. I'm too poor to have a social life at the moment so nothing of any interest is happening. Hell, I'm too poor to even put credit on my mobile phone. It sucks.

My eggling has a lot of flowers now...

If you've not already done it, click the links up above and vote for my photos!

2007-07-15T16:21:00.000+01:00

I have had a very nice weekend of doing as little as possible. It has been most enjoyable. Yesterday consisted of getting up, watching Hot Fuzz, going back to bed and finishing reading You Don't Have To Be Evil To Work Here But It Helps by Tom Holt, and started reading This Book Will Save Your Life by A. M. Holmes.
I submitted lots and lots of photos to firebox in the hopes that one day I might win photo of the week.
The evening was spent eating a very tasty dinner of pancetta and parmesan sausages, grilled red peppers, new potatoes and baby sweetcorn, watching Bill Bailey DVDs, and updating my photo albums. I also managed to get my third set of 20 free prints from Jessops.

Today I did more photo-organising, watched Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, did some domestic stuff, and now I'm watching Dogma.

So yes, all in all a very uneventful but relaxing weekend.

2007-07-14T10:12:00.000+01:00

My eggling has a flower!

I had pancakes for breakfast, now I feel sick.

2007-07-01T19:28:00.000+01:00

I went to London yesterday. I got rather damp. Met up with Vicky at Leicester Square and we wondered over to Pierre Victoire - quite possibly one of the nicest restaurants I've been to in London. It's just off Oxford Street and cost us a grand total of £41 for two three course meals and several drinks. Fantastic. We ended up spending quite a long time there and were quite shocked when we realised it was 4:30pm and we were still sitting nattering.

The whole point of my heading down to London was so we could go to the Antony Gormley exhibition on the Southbank. However, when we realised the time, and the fact it was pissing it down with rain outside, we decided to leave that for another day. Instead we wondered about window shopping, and occasionally stopping for cups of coffee. I bought books, one of which is The Xenophobe's Guide To The Spanish, which amused me greatly on the train on the way home! We headed over to Hamleys to play with all the toys, and as it was Pride in London yesterday, try on some verygayhats.

I ended up buying some Sea Monkeys. I was going to take them into work, but I was too impatient and have already filled up the tank with water. I have to leave it for 24 hours, but will post photos once they hatch! I also got a teeny tiny plastic ratty to take silly photos of.

When they announced the fact it was 7:50pm and the store was closing we wondered what the hell we'd been doing all day. We stepped outside and immediately got soaking wet. Eventually got to Piccadilly Circus tube station and I finally got my passport photos taken. All the photobooths in Northampton seem to have disappeared. Anyway, I shall be hot, sweaty and very wet in my passport photo for the next 10 years. Sexy.

Eventually got home at about 10pm with very wet feet (need some new trainers) and amazingly didn't forget the tripod that I'd been carrying around all day that I'd bought from Vicky's brother! A very enjoyable - and much needed - day out.

Today I have done fuck all. Tomorrow I shall go to work - I get my new person tomorrow! That'll be entertaining.

106 days til Spain!

2007-06-23T15:31:00.000+01:00

I had a phase a while back of having people visiting my blog through the most random google searches. There were lots of ferrets and weasles. I think one of them was "twisted mind sex boxes" or something like that. I just had a look through my stats page and found the following things people have searched for on Google that have ended up here...

"I found pigeons to infuriate me"
"twisted liquid"
"ballotine de daim"
"tattoos that look like stitches"
"nitro scramble eggs"

The unfuriating pigeons is the most amusing I think.

114 days until I go to Spain!

2007-06-21T20:11:00.000+01:00

Finally, it's booked! From October 16th to the 31st I will be back in my favourite place in the world. I can not wait. Please fast forward the next three months so I can be there even sooner!

I had to take Beans to the vet today. He's been sneezing and sniffing and wheezing a bit lately. He has a respiratory infection, Mr Vet gave him a jab in the neck (poor ratface! He squeaked so loudly!) and I have antibiotics to put in their water. I shall be taking him back next week to see how he is. I've been giving him lots of ratcuddles and chocolate drops to make up for the fact a strange man stuck a needle the size of his head in the back of his neck.

Now...who wants to come over and do my washing up?

2007-06-19T19:05:00.000+01:00

I had a McStacey come to stay for a few days. We had lots and lots of fun! Dave came up on Friday and I took both of their Wagamama-Virginities, I am proud!
Saturday I made Stacey and Gimp endure Earls Barton Carnival, after 20 minutes we realised how shit it was and came back here and watched Hot Fuzz instead.
Sunday we went to the Buddhist Tea Room. Considering it was the only day it didn't rain, it was quite good! I'll be going back there I think - even if it's just for an excuse to drive along some nice country lanes.

Sunday night we played with sparklers and bubbles - which was probably more amusing than it should've been for anyone over the age of 10!

Monday she went home, and I realised how pink my bathroom was from her hair!

I also got a couple of films developed the other day with some rather entertaining results!

I need to book some more time off work now - nothing at all booked off to look forward to at the moment!

2007-06-10T10:58:00.000+01:00

Not much happening around here lately. I'm being very poor. Did 8 hours overtime yesterday, then came home and played with the rats. Toast is a porker. Beans has got the rat equivalent of ADHD and a foot fetish, I'm sure.

My plants are growing. I think the peppers are going to start flowering soon, and it's making me very impatient. I want my peppers, dammit! The Eggling has roots growing out the bottom of it!

Today is another day of watching DVDs. Might go to Sainsburys and try to spend as little as possible.

2007-06-04T14:04:00.000+01:00

So, a write up of The Fat Duck. I warn you, this will be LONG. Table was booked for 1:30pm, and it took us an hour and a half to drive there. Walking down the street in Bray, the restaurant looks almost like a house. If it weren't for a discreetly displayed menu on the wall, and a hanging sign with their logo on it, you could easily miss it. Inside it's very small, only about 12 tables. It's like a traditional village pub that's recently been redecorated to be more modern. One of the first things that I noticed was the amount of staff. They had a bloke for the wine, a bloke for the champagne, a bloke for tidying up your napkin when you got up to go to the loo...there must've been at least two people per table. But less of that...on with the food! Unfortunately for the first two courses I was far too excited and forgot to take photos, but I'll do my best to describe them.

First of all we were given a palate cleanser, Nitro-green tea and lime mousse. This was prepared in front of us by one of our waitresses. She squirted a small dome of mousse on to a spoon, which was then dropped into a bowl of liquid nitrogen. The steam was spilling out over the top of the bowl and it looked spectacular. We were told we had to eat it straight away and all in one go. As soon as your put it in your mouth you could feel the cold from the liquid nitrogen, but almost straight away the outer layer cracked and it was almost liquid inside. It was a very refreshing taste - the lime was the first thing I noticed, and the green tea was more of an after taste. Proper food theater!

The first of our starters was oyster, passion fruit jelly and lavender. Served in an oyster shell, it looked slightly like someone had dumped a bright yellow bogey on top of it. None of us were entirely sure how to go about eating it - was it an all in one jobby, or were we actually supposed to eat it properly? We opted for a bit of both. I must say this was probably my least favourite course out of everything, but it was still very nice, and completely not what you'd expect! Now, pictures with words..!

This is Pommery grain mustard ice cream with red cabbage gazpacho. It's the tiniest dish in the world. The middle of the dish it was served in couldn't have been more than 5cm across. Normally I don't like mustard, but when it's in ice cream it's actually quite nice! I'm not sure how to go about describing it, as will probably be the case with most things here. It really does have to be experienced to be believed and I don't think I could even come close to explaining what it's like!

To prepare us for our next course we were given what looked like those very thin, filmy mints that melt on your tongue. Except they taste of forests. From what I remember the waiter telling us, it was to prepare us for the taste of the truffle and the oak moss. I was far too distracted by the box full of moss, complete with steam from even more liquid nitrogen pouring out all over the table to listen to what he was saying! It really did taste like a forest though. Or a fragrant log burning fire. Or the bottom of a barbecue, perhaps. It was a very strong, woody taste.

We were then served Jelly of quail, langoustine cream, parfait of foie gras and oak moss and truffle toast. I might just let the photos do the talking in this one, or this is going to be so wordy no one is going to read it!

We then went on to the main courses, the first of which was my favourite. It was also the one I got funny looks for when I told them the kind of thing we'd be having. Snail Porridge. I seem to remember having snails before at some point, but I can't have been very old. I don't really remember it much more than "this is a snail, eat it". Snails have a very meaty taste, with a texture similar to mussels (except bigger). It was served with joselito ham and shaved fennel. Before I went I'd seen a photo of it, and was expecting it to be snails smooshed up in to a porridge, but it was actually whole snails (well, minus shells), on top of the porridge. It was absolutely delicious, and I'm tempted to go out and find a load of snails in Mum and Dad's garden! Don't think it would be quite the same though.

Next up was Roast Foie Gras with almond fluid gel, cherry and chamomile. All I can say is...holy fuck. I think the absolutely amazing flavour of foie gras totally justifies any cruelty that may be involved. And this review hasn't got anything to do with animal rights or anything like that so kindly shutthefuckup if you're tempted to say anything :). The almond and the cherries go together superbly. An absolutely fantastic dish.

The only information in the next course was the name of the dish, which gave no clues as to what it may be. "Sound Of The Sea". We were given a big conch shell each, and each one had an ipod shuffle inside which was playing sounds you'd hear at the beach, like seagulls, waves crashing and the like. Then came the food, which really did look like a beach. I've no idea what the sand was, but it tasted great. Underneath the waves were seaweed and what I think was squid. It really did taste like the sea!

Next up was Salmon poached with liquorice with asparagus, vanilla mayonnaise and "Manni" olive oil. This one I wasn't too sure about. The salmon had a quite thick, jelly like coating, which wasn't a very nice texture at all. Everyone else seemed to agree with me on this point. The asparagus was gorgeous though, and the vanilla mayonnaise was wonderful!

Next up is something else that I never thought I'd get to eat, Ballotine of Anjou Pigeon, with black pudding, chinese pigeon cracker, pickling brine and spiced juices. The pigeon was wonderful, very gamey and full of flavour. It was topped with what looked like (and tasted like as well, actually) a giant quaver, much to my amusement!

Next we went on to the sweet stuff, starting with Hot and Iced Tea. Depending on which side of the glass you drank from, it was either hot, or very cold. We were told to drink it exactly how it was placed in front of us, which meant we got to taste the hot and the cold at the same time. A very surreal experience!

We were then given a leaflet on Mrs Marshall's ice cream, which explained she was possibly the first person to come up with the idea of the ice cream cone. We were then handed the smallest ice cream cone in existence, Mrs Marshall's Margaret Cornet. It's tiny ice cream, what more can I say?!

We were then given another palate cleanser - Pine Sherbert Fountain. Something else that tasted faintly of forests, but much more enjoyable. Eaten like a sherbert dip, except with a vanilla pod instead of a liquorice stick!

This one was Mango and Douglas Fir Puree, with bavarois of lychee and mango and blackcurrant sorbet. What can I say? Puddings are my favourite!

Next, we were given breakfast. This started with parsnip cereal with parsnip milk. Tasiter than you might think - I could actually eat that for breakfast every day!

The cereal was just a preparation for the final course, which was what we'd all been facinated with. Nitro-scrambled Egg and Bacon Ice Cream, with pain perdu and tea jelly. This was another course prepared in front of us with liquid nitrogen. She explained they were "special eggs" in that they already had the bacon in them. She cracked two in to the pan, and then added the liquid nitrogen. And 20 second later, we had our egg and bacon ice cream! It was served on top of a kind of french toast, and hold crap, it really did taste like egg and bacon! It was very very strange, and very very tasty!

After that we were given whiskey wine gums and violet tartlets, with some mint chocolates. As Caz is jewish, she had a slight variation to what we had. Instead of the egg and bacon ice cream she was given a very yummy chocolatey looking thing, which she said had something like popping candy in the bottom of it! She was given something instead of the oyster at the beginning as well but none of us could remember what it was. I don't know what more I can say really. It really does need to be experienced to be believed. I'm sure everything I've written and all the photos don't do it justice at all, but there we go!

2007-06-01T17:33:00.000+01:00

It's FRIDAY. And I'm working tomorrow, but still, it's FRIDAY. This makes me happy. I am amused by the fact my cousins mini fits in my garage...sideways.

We had a storm last night. The thunder was so loud my building shook at one point. I <3 storms :)

I'm going to The Fat Duck on Sunday!

2007-05-27T21:24:00.000+01:00

Today Mr Jones and I took a trip to IKEA. We got lost, as one does when one goes to Milton Keynes, but after out 5,638th roundabout saw the blue and yellow of Swedish furniture heaven.

I spent too much money on things that were essential to my continued existence (isn't everything in IKEA like that? You wonder how you ever coped before you had that floor lamp/plant pot/ice cube tray that makes long thin ice cubes etc.) and I am now very very poor. Oh, and daim bars. Crunchy on the outside smooth on the inside, ARMADILLOS!

We then ate meatballs and chips and ventured back to Earls Barton.

Nicky was butch and assembled my new lamp for me. I hung my new magnetic chalk board on the wall, and we sat and drank tea and ate daim bars.

So, that was my day. I am now incredibly bored, wondering when it's going to stop raining, and being amused by my new lamp. Oh, and I took videos of us driving along trying to find IQUEEA. The first one's too big to upload to youtube, but this is us being excited at finding the place...

2007-05-26T17:43:00.000+01:00

I managed to a whole day of work without dying on Friday, but I said no to overtime. Instead of working I have spent my day pottering about. This morning I made a half arsed attempt at tidying the spare bedroom. I reorganised some wardrobe space and sorted the big pile of clothes on the bed in to three smaller piles. I finally did something with the very last box of stuff left over from when I moved in 6 months ago - I shoved it under the bed in the spare room to be forgotten about. What I really need is a rail for the tall wardrobe so I can make more space in the wardrobe in my bedroom. I also need to get rid of the old TV unit thats in pieces in there, and try and convince someone to buy my 15" LCD TV from me. After that all that I'll need to do it find a place for the box full of crap (my old stereo, a broken DVD player, my NTL box, an old VCR and various wires and remotes), and find something pretty to hang on the walls so it doesn't look so bare.

After that mini tidying spree I decided to go to sainsburys. This was a bad idea for two reasons. One, it's a bank holiday weekend, therefore it was absolutely packed and I had an urge to kill everyone there. Two, I'd said to myself I wasn't going to spend any more money this month and I ended up spending £74. Oops. Oh well, pay day this week. At last.

After that I made a start on the ever present Giant Pile Of Washing Up (GPOWU) and ate some strawberries. Not at the same time, mind you. Lunch consisted of left over pasta+whateversinthefridge from last night, plus basil. Oops, Holly bought a basil plant. I'm going to need more windowsils at this rate! Then I got bored and took photos of flowers.

Now I'm sitting on the couch thinking it's going to start raining any second now, and looking at the IKEA catalogue thinking I'm going to be so poor when I go there...

2007-05-24T18:22:00.000+01:00

Today I called in sick. I almost went hom sick yesterday afternoon but I feel guilty leaving half way through the day. Could hardly move when my alarm went off at 6:15 this morning so I gave in and went back to sleep. Woke up at 8, phoned work, ate marmite on toast and went back to bed. I'd already been asleep since 5pm the night before. I have spent the rest of today eating nurofen and strepsils, drinking tea and orange juice and reading my books. I finished reading Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, and I highly recommend it. I admite I don't often find books I can't put down, but this was one of them. I finished it in under 5 days. I'm now half way through Flying Dutch by Tom Holt, who is very very funny.

I have been rescued by Mum and Dad, who came over with flowers (gerberas, my favourite!), chocolate, jelly tot fairy cakes, a big bag of cherries, apples, nectarines and bananas, strepsils, nurofen and beechams. I have the best Mum and Dad in the world. Ever.

My Eggling has grown even more. I want more plants. A basil plant. And other herby type things.

Now I'm going to read a bit more...

2007-05-19T17:48:00.000+01:00

Playing: Clutch - Blast Tyrant

It seems going without IAM is pretty easy. My account is activated again this Monday and I almost wish it weren't. I think the best option will just be to forget certain people on there exist.

Life goes on. Last weekend I was in London with Vicky. It rained. We ate pasta, bought sweets from Cybercandy, went to Paperchase (and of course spent LOTS of money), played Air Hockey and drank hot chocolate. A very enjoyable day! Vicky also sniffed crayons.

I have started talking to plants. On my windowsill I currently have six pepper plants (three sweet pepper and three chilli pepper), and an Eggling. I've had them about a week now and they're actually growing! I thought they'd just shrivel up and die, I'm not very green fingered.

Chilli Peppers

Sweet Peppers

Eggling

Today I went to work for four hours overtime. There should be three overtime's on this months payslip so I'm muchly looking forward to the end of the month. Thanks to the new fangled (rubbish) shared services system they have at work we got paid before the end of the month. This means it's five weekends between pay days this month. Not fun at all. I'm attempting to do as much overtime as I can at the moment. My car has its (admittedly slightly overdue) MOT on Monday and if by some miracle it passes I intend to sell it and buy a new car. I'd quite like a Toyota Yaris. Actually, I'd quite like a Bugatti Veyron but lets be realistic shall we? I've been looking at Hyundai coupe's too so I'll have to pick the cousins brains about that!

I got bored at work today and wondered what my tattoos would look like filled in. If I do fill them in it won't be for a few months (that whole saving money thing...) and it certainly won't be in pink!

Now I'm going to check on my chicken (hmmmmroastchicken).

2007-05-11T16:27:00.000+01:00

When it comes to leaving notes on cars, I'm not the most imaginative of people. I tend to go for polite and to the point, because I'm scared the person who's car I'm leaving a note on will walk out while I'm going it. So, ideas for amusing things to write on notes would be appreciated! For now, this is the best I come up with...

He moved 5 minutes later, so I drove my car back from round the corner. As I was parking I looked in my wing mirror and saw a bloke walking up the street, stop when he noticed my car, walk backwards and hide round the corner, then when I was inside he came passed. Made me laugh so much! Fucking BMW drivers. He couldn't park for shit either, and was about a mile away from the curb. You're only allowed to block my garage if you drive a Bugatti Veyron, in which case I will forgive you if you let me drive it!

2007-05-09T19:16:00.000+01:00

Tired. Sooo tired. Last night I went to Occo (Moroccan restaurant) for Mum's birthday. It was a most enjoyable evening, however I didn't fall in to bed until 12:30, fell asleep about 1, and was up 5 hours and 15 minutes later to go to work. I have been sat at my desk all day listening to The Cat Empire on my ipod and trying not to fall asleep.

Life has been good lately. Mum's party was good fun, and she was very pleased with the present Oli and I got her. We're taking her to The Fat Duck for lunch on June 3rd. Took me forever to get a table!
The rest of the three day weekend was quiet and uneventful. Scanned in the old photos, watched a fair few DVDs and made banana muffins with Hannah.

I also caved in and bought camera number eight. Yes, eight. No, eight cameras is not excessive. It's prefectly reasonable. Especially as this is a medium format camera. That excites me more than it probably should.

A Holga. Japanese. Plastic. Prone to light leaks. Cheap as chips. Colour splash flash. What more could one want in a camera?!

This friday I shall be venturing down to London to spend the night at Vicky's. The plan is to wonder around London Town in the middle of the night playing with long exposures and tripods and the like, go back to hers, sleep, then go to The Toads Mouth Too for breakfast/lunch (depending on when we wake up). It should be a very enjoyable weekend all round. Getting away from Northampton will be good!

My IAM account was reactivated on Saturday. I was on for 3 days before blocking myself again, this time for two weeks. I kept looking at stuff I didn't want to, finding out things I didn't want to know, making myself annoyed and generally wanting to punch certain people in the face. It frustrates me that this bothers me so much still. I dislike anyone who can infuriate me so much without even realising they're doing it - without even saying a word.

I'm going for a shower now, then am going to have an early night so I manage to drag myself out of bed in time for work tomorrow. I took a fisheye film in for processing today, so expect some fun photos! I can't even remember what's on the film...

2007-05-07T13:15:00.000+01:00

I've not changed much in the last 20 years really have I? Well...apart from the hair colour and the fact I now have seven cameras rather than one.

2007-05-03T21:10:00.000+01:00

My new scanner arrived successfully, and is pretty damn cool. 100 times better than the old one! I have started the epic task I've set myself of scanning in all the photos from our numerous photo albums. I started with one of Mum's old ones. On the front there's a sticker that says "July 1970 to July 1974". There's some real gems in there!

People sometimes question why/how I take so many photos. The main reason is I never want to forget the things I do. I look back through photos from years and years ago and they bring memories flooding back. It facinates me how looking at a single photo can trigger something like that.

I got to the last page of that album. 1974. July 14th 1974. There were two photos on that last page. One made me laugh, mainly at how big my Dad's hair used to be. The other photo made me cry. It wasn't even in focus. A blurred picture from 33 years ago - 11 years before I was even born - can evoke such strong emotions. That's why I take so many photos.

2007-05-02T20:40:00.000+01:00

The scanner was sent back to e-buyer and today, whilst wondering why the hell I'd only taken one phone call in an hour and a half on the first phone shift, I ordered it again, but paid an extra £4 for next day delivery and am having it sent to the shop. It's looking more promising...

"Hello Miss,

Great news! Your order has shipped and should arrive soon. Your credit card has successfully been charged for this order.

Order Details - 2 May 2007 12:30 GMT+01:00

Canon CanoScan LiDE 25 Flatbed Scanner USB 1200 dpi x2400 dpi £33.00
Shipping & Handling (Thu 3rd May 2007 (Next Working Day)) : £11.27"

I got the £10 discount for using Google Checkout again so technically it was only £1.27 for the delivery, so I can't really complain about forking out extra.

Today when I mentioned I'd cancelled my TV licence Terri called me a freak. Eh? Why does not watching TV make me a freak? Is it really that bizarre?

Now I think I'm going to download Ubuntu, because it looks geeky and fun and quite good. I like being a geek. Like you didn't already know that...

2007-05-01T20:23:00.000+01:00

Fairly good day today. We had lunch at pizza hut for Nikki's leaving do which was most yummy. Work was absolutely dead because half the office were on strike, and it went fairly quickly.

Got home and found my jessops photos in a cardboard envelope with "PHOTOS - DO NOT BEND" written on it had been bent in half to fit through the letter box. Not impressed. Thankfully the photos were ok. Then got to my door and found a mars bar wrapper on the floor. This isn't normal littering on the street, this is in the hallway of a building with three flats in. Even less impressed now. Some gratitude would be nice, if it wasn't for me the other people living here would be swimming in mail delivered to the wrong address and junk mail to get to the stairs by now. The stairs would probably also be black with dirt. Ungreatful fucks.
I was even more unimpressed by the fact Ma and Pa were out when my new scanner was delivered, so I don't have my new toy to play with today. I refuse to go all the way to kettering to pick it up when I've paid about £6 for it to be delivered, and they won't deliver to a different address, so I've had it sent back. I'll probably reorder it and fork out for next day delivery so I know where to get it sent to.

I think that's it with the unimpressedness - apart from the fact it took me about an hour and a half to finally get something printed out right. Most of that was due to the fact I can't spell, haha.

I got to play with Nikki's new laptop as well. I ordered it for her, she got it Friday and was too scared to turn it on because she knows nothing about computers, so I bought it home today and have set it all up for her. Easy as piss considering it's a dell and everything is already loaded, and the fact it's just a smaller version of my laptop. Windows Vista sucks big hair balls though. I'm sticking with good old reliable XP.

Now I'm going to have a bacon sandwich and watch Good Will Hunting.

2007-04-30T18:04:00.000+01:00

I'm sitting on the couch in my PJs splattered with hair dye. I'm sure I get more on the bathroom than I do on my hair. The smell of peroxide is hurting my eyes and the wet hair is making me cold, but I've still half an hour left (I always leave it on for twice as long as it says). Ah well, no more roots will be worth it!

I went down to the sandwich man at work today to buy lunch (didn't have any bread so didn't make any myself) and the guy in front of me turned to me as he was walking away and said "Didn't you used to work at kodak?", I told him yes, I did, and asked if he did too (he seemed familiar, but I thought that was just because I'd seen him around the building before) and he said he did. I didn't remember him really, so I told him two years ago is a long time and I didn't really remember him! I'm pretty sure I didn't talk to him that much. I didn't talk to anyone at Kodak that much. I just sat in the lab on my own looking at other peoples holiday photos, and trained the two girls who didn't speak much english. That was fun. Anyway, it was nice to know I'm remembered, even if they never spoke to me.

Came home from work and phoned the TV licence people. My TV licence is now cancelled, I am getting a refund form to claim back the extra I've paid (paid up until November currently), apparently someone will be coming to my house to check I don't have it plugged in, and I've cancelled my direct debit. Saving myself a wonderful £25 a month. Fantastic! The NTL box is unplugged and will go in the garage until I decide what to do with it. It's made a fair bit more room for DVDs!

I should get my new scanner tomorrow, then I shall start my project of scanning in all the old photos in the albums at Mum and Dad's house. All the photos of Ma and Pa before Oli and I were born, all the photos of Oli and I as kids, all the holidays from years ago. They're all going to go on my computer. Expect some amusing pictures soon!

2007-04-29T15:28:00.000+01:00

This weekend I have watched the complete collection of Black Books in DVD. It's official, I have no life. I am currently making my way through the Indiana Jones trilogy. Feel free to feed my DVD addiction. I've not watched TV for over a month now. This week I shall be getting rid of the NTL box and cancelling my TV licence.

Without IAM I have to find other sources of amusement on teh internets, and today I stumbled across the website of my old music teacher, Mr Ashworth, and the website of my old school, Sir Christopher Hatton. The school website is quite possibly the crappiest website in the history of teh internets, but the fact the IT teacher when I was there didn't know what HTTP stood for probably explains that.

This week is my sixth full week of work this year. It includes two lates in a row. I may die. Ah well, I need the flexi. I'm not taking any more days off until June. I have one day booked off to recover from a day out at the beginning of the month (but that shall be explained at a later date. I am plotting!), and three days off for when McStacey comes down from scottishland to see me, and all but one of them are being taken as flexi days. I've got about 6 weeks to build up 15 hours of flexi. I don't think I've ever had 15 hours of flexi before!

Now I'm going to harass the rats for a bit.

2007-04-28T17:32:00.000+01:00

Today I went in for overtime. There was only four of us in my wing so it was very quiet, therefore I found amusement in the little things. Such as the dentists compliments slip with the picture of the dental assistant wearing fishnets and holding a glass of wine. And the bloke who lives in Dick Gardens (in Whitburn, where McStacey lives!). And the fact I wrote a letter and saved it as "not a cod". And the fact next week will only be my 6th full week of work this year.

I came home and have so far watched the entire first series of Black Books, and the first two episodes of the second series. I have eaten a giant jaffa cake. And I have put my new duvet cover on my bed.

That is all.

2007-04-26T17:30:00.000+01:00

Half a day off work. Sainsburys shopping delivered just before four and I've been muching on polish kabanos sausages. Yum! I also have new tops. I might even get lucky and find out I have some post at Mum and Dad's later.

At the moment I'm watching Little Miss Sunshine on DVD, which is pretty damn good. I might have to get my own copy after I give it back to Liz.

I heard my neighbour having sex again last night. His girlfriend is far too over enthusiastic. She sounds more like she's being murdered.

2007-04-25T17:06:00.001+01:00

In an attempt that will probably be unsuccessful to clear out my brain I have banned myself from IAM for ten days. I've been a member for about 5 years now and I think it's the longest I've voluntarily gone without. But I keep tormenting myself when I'm on there so hopefully this will help somewhat in overcoming my serious case of the blah's.

You never know, I might actually start knitting again.

2007-04-21T18:20:00.000+01:00

Last night I went to see The Illusionist with Ma. Pretty damn good film. I have a thing for Edward Norton, I must admit, but that was just the icing on the cake really. I always say the sign of a good film is if you walk out the cinema and want to go and do what you've just been watching (And no, I'm not talking about doing Edward Norton...though I wouldn't say no...), like when I went to see Memoirs of a Geisha I wanted to go to Japan. When I saw Pulp Fiction and Human Traffic I wanted to take lots of drugs. When I first saw Dogma I wanted to read the bible (but never did), when I saw Pirates of the Carribbean I wished I didn't get so horribly sea sick so I could go and be a pirate.
Last night I walked out the cinema and wanted to learn some magic tricks. And do Edward Norton...

Today has been fairly uneventful. I went in for overtime from 8 til 12, came home and had a shower, sat and watched Shaun of the Dead (makes me want to fight zombies, fling records like frisbees and eat a cornetto), realised I'd been sitting around for about 4 hours in a towel, got dressed, drank a cup of tea, and have just told my brother how to make moussaka. How exciting! I'm sure tomorrow will be just as thrilling.

Now the parents have been introduced to the new tattoos (no eye rolling or tutting - always a good sign!) I can post photos here.

Freshly done and covered in cling film.

A couple of days old, looking quite dark. Realising it's hard to take an in focus photo of both your wrists at the same time.

Taken today. Quite a bit lighter (and will go lighter still) and nice and scabby.

Now I'm going to find something to eat. I forgot to get chicken out the freezer for the 100th time today so I've no idea what I'm going to have. It's times like this I miss having a microwave. Or wish I could find the instructions for my cooker because I'm pretty sure one of the little pictures means "defrost", but I've no idea how it works. Dinner will probably involve mushrooms, I bought quite a lot of them at the co-op earlier.

2007-04-18T21:12:00.000+01:00

A lot of stuff has been happening recently. A lot of it probably won't get written about here, because this isn't the place for it, but the past couple of weeks have been...interesting. I shall focus on the good stuffs though.

Last weekend I was in London again. Vicky came up here on Friday night, Nicky joined us, and we sat and ate far too much chinese food and laughed and danced and sang and made sex noises to annoy the upstairs neighbour (revenge!). I laughed so much I couldn't even stay upright (not helped by Vicky trying to kneel on my shoulders whilst I was sitting on the kitchen floor) and it was just what I needed. On Saturday Vicky and I wondered around Summer Leys, talking to sheep, climbing on trees and generally enjoying the fact it was sunny and warm. We then got the train down to London. Ice cream was consumed. Tattoos were acquired, but photos shall wait until family have been introduced to them and they've healed.

Monday night I was in London again. Nicky and I had managed to get tickets to see Darren Hayes (formerly of Savage Garden) at a very small venue in Soho - The Soho Revue Bar. We weren't impressed. We sat through the incredibly bizzare support act and laughed at the fact Nicky was possibly the straightest person in the room. Nicky also informed me people were staring at me a lot. I seem to have become oblivious to that kind of thing now, and it wasn't until he pointed it out to me that I noticed I was possibly the only pierced and tattooed person there.
Anyway, Darren Hayes was terrible. The sound was appauling, the crowd were all from MySpace (I shall say no more...) and I'm pretty sure he was miming. We walked out after three songs and instead went out for dinner to Bella Italia on Leicester Square. Far more entertaining and far more pleasant. Not an entirely wasted trip to London after all, we still had a good time.

Tuesday I had the day off work, so I didn't have to survive a day on about 4 hours sleep. I went out for lunch with Dad and heard all about his trip to Pakistan. A very enjoyable day, nice and relaxing.

I'm sure more has been happening recently. Well, I know more has been happening but that's the stuff that's not going to be written about here, because I don't want to go over it for the 100th time and still finish with the sentence "I still don't know what's happening, really." because it frustrates me beyond belief.

I have come to the conclusion, as I do most days, that I need to get out of this country ASAP. September is too damn far away. I might start working 7:30am to 5pm every single day so I can have a whole week off and run away. But we all know that's not going to happen. I find it hard enough to find the motivation to do my contracted 7 hours 24 mintes a day at the moment, let alone anything over that.

This weekend will be decidedly boring compared to recent weekends. Overtime on Saturday, followed by a weekend of DVDs and domesticity. How thrilling. I might go and get new passport photos, too. I need to renew mine.

2007-04-06T13:53:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was my birthday. Had a fantastic day and am spending today recovering. Achey legs from walking around London all day!

Mum came to see me before she went to work in the morning and gave me yummy presents. A new camera (a Supersampler!), paul frank flip flops, a toy rat that looks just like Beans, some gorgeous red roses and a stripey pot to go with my stripey mugs.

I headed down to Londinium and met Vicky in Covent Garden. We went to Belgo for mussels and chips. We also had wild boar salami, which was delicious! But not as delicious as the mussels and chips. I also had coconut beer, and have fallen in love. I shall be searching for that stuff now and won't be happy until I've found it!
We searched for Cybercandy. We'd actually walked right past it already on the way to Belgo, but we're stupid and didn't realise, so instead we wondered around for half an hour going "where is it?!" until we stumbled upon it. Then of course we spent lots of money on sugar filled goodness. Oreo cookies, jolly ranchers, peanut butter M&M's and mountain dew. Hmmm.
Then, after a bit more wondering around, we made our way across town to Notting Hill to The Hummingbird Bakery in search of the cupcakey goodness. And goodness it was! The best damn cupcakes I've ever had. The journey there took a lot longer than it should have due to the fact Vicky got me a Quik Pod for my birthday. Far too much amusement from myspace angle shots, shots from the floor, taking photos over walls/on top of bus shelters, videoing ourselves walking along. So much fun!
After the cupcake goodness we wondered along Portobello Road, got distracted by shiney things a few times, and generally messed about.

A very very fun day. Unfortunately my small digital camera is currently MIA, so I only have this to show you right now, until Vicky gets her photos online...

More photos will come when I get the ones from my fisheye and supersampler developed.

Now I'm going to enjoy the fact I don't have to go back to work until Tuesday next week!

2007-04-03T20:09:00.000+01:00

I just wrote a big long entry...then somehow managed to accidentally hold down shift and up at the same time and then managed to delete the whole thing. Go me!

So I shall sum it up in bullet points...

+ Three day week!
+ Birthday Thursday, getting old.
+ 1 year ago today was in Spain. Gutted am not there now.
+ A lot happens in a year.
+ A year goes quickly.
+ Last day at work with Carol tomorrow. Boohoo.
+ Going to carry on watching Bill Bailey now.

~~Have a photo...~~ Don't have a photo, photobucket isn't working.

2007-03-31T10:26:00.000+01:00

I like weekends. At the beginning of the week I foolishly volunteered to do eight hours overtime. By Wednesday I'd cut that down to four. By yesterday afternoon I'd decided not to do any, and spend my Saturday sleeping/mooching about instead. I might have actually gone in if it weren't for the horrible phone call I had in the morning. I've come very close to losing it with a customer on several occasions, but yesterday I resorted to sarcasm to stop myself swearing at the guy on the other end of the phone. After 30 minutes of repeating the same things to him over and over again and him just saying "What if I don't?", me asking not to be interrupted several times and threatening to terminate the call twice, the phone call ended like this...

Him: Give me their fucking number then! I'll phone them about this letter, I don't want to talk to you again you've been no help!
Me: (Speaking overly enthusiastically and cheefully) I don't particularly want to talk to you again either Mr *****, I'm sure I would have been able to offer much more advice if you had let me speak without interrupting me constantly. Their number is blahblahblah. Thanks for your call!"

Next time I might just call them a cunt and hang up. I don't get paid enough to talk to idiots like that.

Anyway, what has been happening in the life of me? Not much, probably. Vicky came up to see me last weekend. Nicky came over on the friday and we had takeaway pizza and watched Bill Bailey on DVD. Saturday Vicky and I went to Milton Keynes and spent far too much money.

I think that's the only interesting thing I've done lately. I have absolutely nothing planned for this weekend apart from cleaning/tidying/taking apart furniture. Oh, and trying to find my small camera, I've no idea where I've put it and it's bugging me! I know it's in the flat somewhere because I've not taken it anywhere recently!

I was looking on Google Earth yesterday, and zoomed in on Earls Barton. Last time I looked Earls Barton was just a green blur with no detail at all. It seems they've taken some new photos though and it's pretty freaky! I zoomed in on Mum and Dad's house and saw the beetle on the driveway. I looked in the Gourlay's back garden and noticed there was someone on the trampoline! I zoomed in on work and realised it caught the day someone had stolen Satbant's parking space, so he blocked them in with his motorbike. I zoomed in on my flat and I'm guessing it was taken summer 2005 or early summer 2006 because the roof of the building hadn't been finished. But then again, the new doctors surgery on the edge of the village was built so it must have been 2006. Am I rambling? I think I am. Anyway, my point is, it's cool! Hours of amusement. I also discovered there's some pretty clear photos of El Calon, which made me miss it even more.

I am currently 1 week in to a month without TV. I decided I hate TV and I want to get rid of it, but I am weak. I hate the fact whenever I'm at home I automatically turn the TV for background noise. Hell, not even that sometimes because I have it on mute quite a lot. But I automatically just turn it on and never ever pay attention to what's on. The only things I would actually pay attention to are Top Gear and Mythbusters.
The last time I watched TV was Friday the 23rd of March. I gave Mum the card to my NTL box on Tuesday so I can't even watch it if I wanted to at the moment, not even terrestrial channels because there's no signal here. I've not missed it one single bit. If I wasn't making a conscious effort not to watch TV I wouldn't have realised it had been a week already.
The plan is if I don't miss it for a month I'll cancel it from my NTL package and cancel my TV licence. That'll save me £35 a month. That can go towards DVDs/Books/music as alternative entertainment. Or tattoo funds!