Rude Scrabble

We visit my parents and my sister is there with one of her sons so the teens insist we play Scrabble . We agree as this is a tradition we have instilled , however we try to suggest that this time there will be no rude words after things got out of hand at the post Christmas game when some of the words on the board were too new even for me . The teens although cringing when anything remotely risque comes up in a film are quite happy to place slang words suggestive of all manner of sexual practice on the scrabble board regardless that Grandma is looking over her glasses at the words and may require further details at any moment . I myself have fallen into that trap , to much hilarity , the Christmas before last , when I looked quizzical over a word beginning with J . And ending in Z . I shall say no more . But it was not a word I had used .

We thought we had agreeent on this , and split ourselves into teams , Laura and me , Harvey Jess and Nat , and Grandma working on her own . I am not a natural Scrabble player , I have to admit . I love words . I love the letters , and the board and the promise of the dictionary and the hilarity that always comes with a family board game ( in this family anyway ) , and the memories of games played at the farmhouse when my grandmother started us all off when we were younger than our kids are now, the competetive spirit that has been handed down from her to my sister and has been taken up by my daughter probably who competes now to win and no mistake . As I said I am not a natural . I am so accustomed to my sister racing streets ahead within minutes ( twenty years ago it would have been my grandmother , in ten years it will be Nathalia , possibly Harvey ) that I don't really give it my all shall we say . In fact I stare at the board , the letters , words , enjoying the moment but making little effort to fit words to the high scoring areas on the boards , happy just to come up with a word now and then , thrilled with myself if its amusing and delighted if its even slightly rude .

Nat and Laura on the other hand are quipping for England , sparring and alert , their beady eyes ever watchful . They know each other scores and likely next scores even before the tiles are on the board , before their hands are in the suede bag to select the next letters . And for Nat , when its looking dubious whether she will beat Auntie Laura this time , it's simply not any good and the rules have to go . Its Rude Scrabble no matter what she said , as she has a T*** , a c***, and a c*********** which would all score very highly indeed on all fronts and we are all agreed aren't we that we can change the rules .....

I have to admire her spirit .

A rabbit away somewhere .....

I collect a few little things amounting to about four quid in Ikea food section to save me baking a cake to take visiting this afternoon . D is in the queue for the larger items .... we were looking for something to store the cookery books in in the kitchen , preferably under the bench and between the cat litter box and next to the raised greyhound feeding platform ( deep chested dogs have special feeding needs ) . Instead , we found a soft wool throw , to save us fighting with the dog for the blanket on cold winter nights in front of the tv , some vanilla scented candles Ive been sniffing around for for ever having noted a divine smell in one of my CatCalls houses ( lots of perfumed smells give me migraine ) , some dog poo bags ( very cheap , you really can't fault Ikea on these things ), a picture frame for a print of Lindisfarne castle I bought D for his birthday way back in Sept .
I digress . I usually do . There I am , collecting my stuff in the food section , arriving at the chcekout , no queue , handing over my card for my cakes , my bag of fruit gums for my sister , and I hear the boy say " You can take your card now " . I take the card from the machine . As Im taking it , I notice the message on the machine saying Please Wait , and at the same time he says No ! Sorry I say , I thought you said Take it Out . I did , he says . I did say that , I thought it was finished but its not . Its been ages . Maybe its ok . Lets hang on and see. I finish sliding the card out and wait , card in hand , feeling silly for some reason , like I've grabbed the sweets before I was allowed to .
Oops sorry he says . It says Card declined .
Oh its always doing that , I say . It will have to go through again I suppose .
He looks at me doubtfully and starts again . With hindsight I guess he would rather I had juts gone away or given him some cash . Never occurred to me .
The process restarts .
Pin number entered.
Pin correct .
Ive got the Pin right I say , a little triumphantly , and he nods , noncommital . He knows what he knows .
Card Declined .
Its declined again he says .
Does it again .
A queue is building up .
D has arrived and is standing to the side , watching .
I examine the card , starting to look for another in case this one refuses completely to honour me . I realise though its the right card , the expiry date is 07 10 . Oh look . I say to the boy . This card ran out last October , or so it says . But I used it yesterday . And the day before .
He looks very fed up by now . I cant see them , in fact I have no awareness of them but D tells me later that the queue is unsettled and beginning to wriggle . There are tuts and turnings of the head .
He takes the alternative card I offer . I am loath now to give him the cash , as I fear he thinks my cards are frauds . This I wont tolerate . he puts through my next card and it works like a dream . But I confess I am rattled . How come the Visa card sitting in my wallet expired in October and I have been using it several times a week since then ( more times than I care to count ) , and yes it rejects perhaps twice or thrice in that time ? And no one notices it has expired . There is a rabbit away somewhere , I think to myself , and return to the car , and there is the answer staring me in the face . Rabbits ! The Vets ! I took the card in my fleece pocket to pay for some coat conditioner we ordered at the vets whilst out on a walk with the dog , not wishing to carry a handbag . And never replaced the card in my wallet . Why do I carry an old card in my wallet ? Good question !

Arrive home dying to check fleece pockets . Neighbour asks who N's new friends are as one of them has shouted out of our sitting room window at her . It was not something polite which was shouted . I apologise and enter the sitting room to a teenage fug, where a film is being watched on dvd , and ask for an explanation . The finger is immediately pointed at one of the boys , who I say must immediately apologise . To his credit , off he goes . On his return I ask what he says and he states that he said sorry for using profanities and causing offence , which apology was duly accepted . The other teens ask what profanities are and I think of the three years I spent studying Durkheim and the Sacred and the Profane twenty odd years ago . Happy days .

A new comment and a new reader

Two new commenters today and One of them a proper reader I think ! Always so exciting for a blogger like me with a small but loyal ( I think , judging by my figures ) readership , or should it be visitorship , maybe people come to look at the pictures ....
Im always intrigued as to how people find me in the first place . Many arriving by accident having Googled something odd by chance and landing on the site and moving swiftly on . And most people don't comment , either because they dont care to , they dont know how , or they're lurkers by preference .
I read a number of blogs myself , most of them American and find that most of them have many many regular commenters , and many of them have vast numbers of visitors too especially the famous ones which have been featured in the press which is how most of us knew about them in the first place .
I've concluded that we Brits are very reticent about leaving comments so I am just so happy when someone passing through and hopefully coming back ( like Joan from the Midlands ) leaves a comment and introduces herself . I love the feeling of knowing that someone is reading and something about her life , and next time I'm in Berwick I will know to post a picture .
And of course I stay ever grateful to the continuous support of regular commenters like the wonderful Bette Jo who is always here ....

The perfect pet ....

Don't know why they bother with all those cats CatCalls: Just keep doing what youre doing Dog , and that dog really . CatCalls: Feeling much better ... More trouble than they're worth ....

Stick with Pigs .....

Just keep doing what youre doing Dog

..And youre finally going to get your Come Uppance ...CatCalls: Feeling much better ...

( I dont think anyone has noticed I myself have my bottom in the olive tray ...... a much prized Christmas present from Jennie )

Feeling much better ...

... Thank you for asking ...
and now here I am lying here like butter wouldn't melt thinking how much pleasanter its been this last day or so rather than braving the elements just to hop off the sofa at five am and do my wee on the carpet near the door then trot happily to the top of the stairs to let people know Im up and about and need to go out , and poke my nose through the stair gate that stops me breaking through and nicking the cats food and " taking away their privacy " ( yes I hear the talk ) . Kitty the scary tortoiseshell fatgirl cat is always there waiting for me , she pokes her nose through and sniffs at me and I whine to let them know I'm here and I hear Her scramble out of bed as fast as She can in case she misses the boat . Little does She know Ive already been .....
She calls me nice things and we run downstairs and she lets me out in the yard and I run about and I come back in and Shes puzzled until She steps in the puddle in Her bare feet . Silence . She looks at me with that face on and I climb back on the sofa and I pull a face as well and She goes back to bed . She knows Ive been unwell so She doesnt say anything .....
All I can tell you is its also easier for me to do my pile in here as well . That yard is cold out there at six am ....and what the hell . ....
So as soon as Ive been I think Id better let someone know . So up to the top of the stairs again . Its Him this time . Down He comes . He looks straight in the room( He always seems to know, She s a bit more gullible and trusting , ) and heads straight for the cleaning stuff . He doesn't say a word either .

Then I'm sitting here and dozing happily and I can hear them talking whilst theyre having breakfast , and I'm fine . Im feeling much better thanks . But fancy talking about Poop whilst you're eating croissants and enjoying your fresh coffee . Not my cup of tea , Move on I say .... That's so last week .

But whats this ? Sleep in the hall ? Ruining the carpets ? Wood out there .... make her a bed out there ?

Get me the Fostering agency number someone ......I didn't sign up to that .

Celebrating ....

My first whole day since New Year's day without a single tiny semblance of even an ordinary common or garden headache much less a nasty old migraine .
Spent at the Day Job , working with a group , 9 till 5 30 , snow and rain falling .
Pedometer count ( my latest obsession the abysmal count of 1913 , instead of 10 000 ) .

But Alice is well enough to be Very Silly again and I have No headache . If I keep saying it it must be True .
Off to celebrate by reading the paper . Too snowy to do anything else . Have a good night !