Days like This

There are days , not many of them admittedly , but there are days when its wonderful to wake at four forty am . I lie there trying to to guess the time . Its still dark and very very quiet . No heating revving up so its pre that time when its not worth going back to sleep . And as I lie there , the rain starts . A gentle , insistent rain which reminds me of primroses in the woods , snowdrops in clumps around and about on the farm where my grandparents lived . It sounds loud , outside and the bed is warm and soft . The door is closed so no cats nipping the toes or squeaking their greetings as they sense movement . I have to know the time ....
And then my mind fills up , and the rain , still there , can't compete with the noise in my head , and though I try for minutes on end , there is no escape and finally I pick up my book , The Memory Keeper's Daughter . And before I know it half an hour has passed and I am drifting away again .

they trowel on the make up

saturday afternoon , as I sat propped up in bed with hot water bottle , trying to avert tummy disasters , a phone call from somewhere unknown , to tell me that a few weeks ago N had entered me for something . Sounded like she was saying a Mother Appreciation Event . What ? Wasnt I aware that my daughter had done this , she asked . No . Well she did and I had come out of the draw , and as a result if I could book now , myself and N had won a make over and hairstyle in a beauty salon in Newcastle and we would be there three hours and they would dress us in glamorous attire and take our photos and give us one free one and there would be absolutely no pressure on us to buy any of them and we could have that last fact in writing ( alarm bells start to ring ) , and we could bring a glamorous top if we liked but if not they would have silk sheets they could wrap us in and feather boas etc . Well ! It all sounded very exciting . I booked a date and then rang N , whop was in town with her friends . her screams I am sure were audible as far as the beauty salon , wherever it turns out to be .

then I texted my sister and she told me oh yes she had won one once and they give you a great time , trowelling on the make up in order to make you look presentable , then use a lot of clever lights and soft focus things to make upi look glamrous , but in her case they did get very shirty when she professed herself unable or unwilling to shell out the hundreds of pounds they were asking for the photos , whioch having seen projected onto the wall , she was longing to take home . But no , it was not to be and the woman even asked why she had come if she didnt intend to buy . Oh , she said , I thought I had won a make over .

I reserve judgement . For my part , however wonderful the pictures I remain sure I would be able to resist , though less sure perhaps that N s pleas will be so easy to say no to .
We shall see .
I will keep you posted .
Anyone else had this experience ? All advice gratefully received .

tummy bug

I seem to have some horrid tummy bug with attendant temperature and bad dreams , including one of being charged by a large black cow with little meanacing ( throught straight ) horns . I ran away and over a fence and survived .
This didnt stop me making a trip to a suitcase emporium where I acquired an apple green holdall on wheels , and with a handle . I plan to open it up later and start my packing early . Im usually a last minute packer but I have a feeling it may be nice to look forward to the holiday to the sun even more bu being constantly aware of it. Every time I trip over the bag .
Off to the theatre now to see Alan Bennet play .
cats to feed on the way .

Pearlie on the pop

Click to enlarge , its worth it to see the look on her face ....


D sent this to me when I was away , Pearl ( missing me possibly ? I like to think ....) situated on top of the wine rack , right next to the guinea pigs where she can keep an eye on things .

Herriot Watt uni .... staying in halls made me think about what it would be like to be a first time away from home student . My room was fine but one of my colleagues was "down the grim end " of the block where some wit had been making large with a sharp instrument . The walls were graffiti d and when she looked closer at the etchings in the varnish on her room door , she was less than amused to read " Knock Here for Sex " . Later when recounting the story she saw the funny side . Just as well as I was near hysterical by that point ....

The conference was as conferences are . My presentation was scheduled for the Thursday afternoon which meant I had all week , potentially to fret about it . I managed to push it from my mind and enjoyed the first two days , though for someone who prefers a more solitary existence its hard work being surrounded by people all day every day . Some people thrive on that and I enjoy it up to a point , then ... suddenly the thought of home and my own space becomes very tempting .
I escaped after my thing yesterday and drove home in stunning sunshine , some rain showers and a brilliant double rainbow , and was home by seven . To walk back into the house and snuggle under a duvet on the sofa with N , who was feeling under the weather , was sheer bliss .
The cats swarmed round me , the pigs squealed even as I opened the front door . What a welcome .

Still no laptop . Im not really back in my stride blog wise and fear I won't be until I get that phone call from John Lewis. Dont give up on me ?

Without my laptop...

So hard saying goodbye to my laptop yesterday . Has been my constant companion for well over a year , but yesterday it all got too much . the lid hinge was getting looser and looser and almost impossible to get the screen to focus . Typing was a one finger only business , with the left hand used to hold the lid tightly on , pressing at an angle to get a connection . Using the mouse whilst doing this was nigh on impossible . I never knew I knew so many swear words , juts as you were about to perform some delicate operation the image on the screen would start vagueing out and then woosh , disappear in a puff of smoke .

So back to the " service desk " at John Lewis , as instructed by Judith , on the phone on Saturday afternoon , in one of those its now or never moments . What Judith didnt tell me was that no one on ground floor would have heard of the "service desk " nor indeed that they would snigger somewhat nastily when I asked where it was , then set off to find another employee who would flounce back doing the " which lady wants the "service desk" " whilst loooking me up and down like some kind of idiot .
However Judith was right and there was indeed a service desk , lurking in the corner of audio whatsits , ( maybe everyone has to bring their laptop back ??? ) and , oh , the heart sinks , there is a whole queue of people waiting there with their broken thingies . Its not as if I can just throw my beloved laptop at her and run . No , I have to wait whilst a family divest themselves of their little ipod , all the while feeling more and more panicked at the thought of no laptop , no blogging .

I cant write about the deed , but afterwards I said to Nat " I felt like giving my laptop a goodbye kiss " and she just looked at me . Though to her credit she didnt ring the store psychiatric facility .

We had lunch in pret a manger to ease the day onwards then took off to Laura s ( see the house above ) , where we overate dangerously and played Scrabble . Some tense moments indeed when the Supreme Champion ( on the throne since the demise of Grandma Batey) looked like and then , horrors , was beaten by her thirteen year old neice ( my daughter ). Go for it Nat, not a battle I would have dared to win . Nor had the skills I hasten to add . I always come last .
To be fair Laura coped magnanimously , and after a few moments alone in the bathroom all was well .

And now Ive discovered that D is quite happy to let me Blog from his pc .
I'm off to Edinburgh tomorrow to a conference . Wish me luck for my presentation on Thursday afternoon , and I will be back on Friday . And who knows maybe the laptop will not be much longer away .

Bracelets from New Mexico

The new bracelets are the two at the top and the older one which Jo brought back from a previous trip is at the left . I couldnt resist photographing them .

Toby , our big seal point Birman boy , has appointed himself Guardian of the Newspapers . Settled between us on the bed this morning as we have breakfast in bed , he hears the arrival of the papers ( a loud bang , followed by a squeak then a shuffle as they all push through onto the floor. Toby starts awake and then dives out of the door and downstairs . When I go down to collect them about ten minutes later , he sits beside them , bolt upright , self important . We have noticed him doing this most mornings this week . When we come down and get on with things , the papers arrive and he flies out to sit and watch them .

THis my last blog before the laptop goes off to be fixed . the lid is hanging off, there is nothing visible on the screen , so touch typing it is . Hopefully I can use D's pc to keep myself going , though it wont be the same .

I feel bereft . but have the walk to the waterfall and a picnic to urge me on . I can live without my laptop . I know I can .

Albequerque

Three years ago this Sept I went to a conference in New Mexico , thanks to the Day Job , which does have many positive spin offs though few of them would be apparent to a reader of this blog . At the time Jo ( my colleague ) and I worked out that being at the bottom of the pecking order , the real reason we were offered the trip was that no one else really fancied Albequerque . Little did they know . We had a great conference , but we had an ever better holiday before and after hours , enjoying the October sunshine , swimming on the hotel roof ( the pool was up there ) , and breathing in the wonderful mountain air . Our final day enabled a coach trip to Sante Fe and we sampled downtown clubbing and a plethora of amazing restaurants all week. Everywhere we went people spoke to us and asked us about our business , many of them assuming we were there for the soap powder conference which was in fact in a neighbouring hotel . I had hardly known Jo before but we got on like a house on fire on the trip , sharing a love of shopping , swimming , food . And was there shoppping ?? Jo adores jewellry and we explored all the jewellry outlets there , or at least it felt like it , and I even I came back laden with native american stuff . During our stay we both fell in love with the place and it was no surprise to me when Jo gave up her job here and took off back to the States , initially for a job in Texas but finally being offered a job not far from Sante Fe .

She returned to Uk this week to sort out her visa and I met her this morning for coffee , catch up , and for her to bring me a bracelet she had chosen for me . She has done this twice before for me . I describe roughly what Im looking for , colours , style etc and each time she has chosen me a fabulous piece .

Today as we sat down with tea and breakfast in Cafe Royal , she brought out two bracelets , very different , both beautiful , and after trying them both several times and looking at the prices ( wow , what a bargain , they were each half price , blah blah ) , she finally asked if I wanted them both . Of course I did and realised I just about had enough cash ..... so , that was a wonderful way to spend the morning . I sit and drink tea and the jewellery stores come to me . I then drove her up the coast to her house there which is now up for sale , as shes planning to re locate completely to New Mexico . And the even better news , flights there are cheaper than they used to be so it may be possible for us to plan a visit at some point in the next couple of years .

And now I'm planning for the picnic at my sister's tomorrow .I'm baking a poppy seed cake , and a cheesecake is formulating in my head , and all the while Im thinking of New Mexico . The heat, the desert , the food , the atmosphere ... I can't wait ! But just thinking about it will keep me going for a long time .