January 16, 2010

Not a lot...

... of anything going on today, in fact both Phil and I have been positively vegetative for the best part of several hours.

The only flurry of activity was this morning when we caught up on lots of paper work, namely our personal tax returns, and we also go around to booking our short break away to Prague which is shaping up to be quite a nice little break away.

We have booked into one of the SLH accredited hotels, part of the same group that the Lindos Blu is a member of that we stayed in when we went to Rhodes for Phil's sister's wedding back last year. Were so impressed by the standard needed to be SLH accredited we thought we'd treat ourselves to another stay in one of their recommendations and so have booked the Pachtuv Palace for our accommodation. Fingers crossed it will be lovely!

As for the rest of the day? We it was eaten up with more Fable 2 and finishing watching Watchmen which left me a bit "meh" - glad I didn't go to the cinema to see it. Not to say it was bad, just could have been better...

Tea tonight is a Linda McCartney lasagne for me (as I continue to eat my way through the stock of vegetarian food that I'd got for Phil's mum when they visited at christmas) which was actually quite nice in fairness. Phil had Mac Cheese, his favourite.

Posted by Abi at 9:13 PM | Comments (0)

November 2, 2009

Ringing in my ears...

I've devoted most of today to web related stuff, with the first of the tasks being to build a prototype booking system for a company I'm doing some work for. Instead of building it from scratch I have been using a programe called Axure - which once I got my head around is actually very good indeed and ideal for creating work quickly with a modecum of interactivity that is sufficent to get the idea across to those lacking even the tiniest bit of a clue.

Once I'd built the mock up I then get on with doing a job I'd been putting off for a while. My company website is in the process of being built and it has a nice flash navigation element to it but the rollovers need to have an associated sound, and so far I've failed to find anything suitable. So I spend another hour or so browsing through the istock audio files and not surprisingly I choose one of the very first ones I'd pick out about 3 weeks ago. At the end of it I felt like I had tinitus since I'd listened to so many bleep and blops and swishes and swooshes. I do hate having too much choice because it takes me longer to make a decision and inevitably I go back to one of the first choices I made - but maybe I'm also broken.

This evening we also get around to watching on of the blu-rays that we'd bought at the weekend, so Drag Me To Hell got whizzed around the disc tray for our enjoyment. I have to say it is very rare that I have openly laughed out loud in the middle of what was suppose to be a horror movie, but the scene with the possessed goat did it for me. Seriously, what where they thinking?!

I've also probably seen more that my fair share of people vomiting into other people's mouths, c'mon it's just not original after the 10th time you subject your audience to it. Meh. Maybe I'm just unscarable.

Posted by Abi at 11:08 PM | Comments (0)

September 27, 2009

Crafty Stoner

A much quieter day for me today, and certainly so for Phil. But there are several things I'd like to do which I think will amply fill the time Phil gawping at the Grand Prix so when that starts I head on out to do what I want to do. First job before that however is to unpot our Yucca and plant it in the ground.

What I learnt from that particular exercise is that the Yucca was very pot bound. Also, the hole we had to dig was very big and we have approximately 2 feet of top soil in our garden before we hit solid clay. Each and every one of these points made the job very difficult and both Phil and I were sweating by the time we'd finished. None the less, we got the job done.

Afterwards I get changed and set about the other things I want to do. The first stop is the dump. Yet again our garage was verging perilously close to getting too full of crap to be able to get rid of the junk by car alone, so I thought I'd take action and load up the car and dispose of the rubbish. It's quite busy down at the tip but I do manage to sort most of the rubbish out to recyclable stuff and landfill stuff but there were a few bits that I wasn't sure where to put so randomly distributed where I thought best.

With that done I then head over to Millets Farm as they have a craft fair on and I thought it might be nice to have a look and see what was on offer (secretly hoping I'd find some jewellery for my wedding outfit...). But, in actual fact there wasn't that much there and nothing really that I wanted to buy with the exception of a rather funny sign which I thought would be most suitable for our kitchen, so I bought it.

I also spotted a pair of earrings that gave me a good idea of how to make the ones I want for my wedding outfit, so I safely stored what they looked like in my head for future use.

On the way out I also had a chat to a bloke that was doing some traditional wood turning and we discussed the merits of traditional working methods as oppose to modern ones, notably about how little waste you get with traditional means compared to mass production. He was a nice enough man with obvious passion for what he does which is a rare quality these days.

I then pop into the onsite garden centre to see if they have anything suitable to form a ring around the Yucca so we can put some gravel around it which is contained and then lay the rest of the bark around that. They have a few things such as some nice big stones but nothing that jumps out at me or that I'd be capable of lifting on my own so I decide to abandon hope and move on to the garden centre in our town instead.

Not much luck their either, but a few possibilities which I'll mull over till next weekend and then make a decision about.

It's at this point I get a phone call from a close friend who imparts so rather sad news to me, there is nothing I can do to change what is going to happen but what I can do is be supportive as possible whilst the situation is ongoing and just be there, so that is what I will do.

I then go to the supermarket to pick up some essentials, namely dinner and pop for Phil and head home and make a quick lunch. Whilst we eat we watch City of Ember which I very much enjoyed (it's of a similar ilk to fallout 3 in it's story), though I'm pretty sure it wasn't really Phil's cup of tea!

Move forward a few hours and I'm busy cooking dinner and when it's ready we sit down and eat and eventually it's time for bed which can't come too soon, it's been a busy old weekend.

Posted by Abi at 9:28 PM | Comments (0)

September 13, 2009

Rekindling the past

I'm not sure what really to make of today, it seems to have been a day of lots of small nothings really in terms of watching the hours tick by.

In the morning I have a bit of a tidy up downstairs since it's messy to the point of irritating and then get on with the pile of laundry that has been building up for the past fortnight or so.

With the washing machine and dryer spinning away it's not long before it's lunch time and I rediscover my like of tomato soup and when the Grand Prix has finished Phil decides to have a go at building one of this new kits that he got from Maplin.

After lots of cussing, a few mistakes and erosion of the circuit track he finally gets the kit working, sort of. A few of the LED's don't work meaning a connection isn't quite right which in turn means that programming it to display a personal message is a tad difficult. None the less, a good way to waste and hour or two, especially since he had me as his gopher fetching this that and the other from the workshop. At this point I will add that this wasn't as easy as it may seem for my part since the path to the workshop was adorned with a million spiders who had expertly cast their webs in a pattern so regular even the most agile of people wouldn't have been able to avoid them, and if there is one species of insect I hate, it's spiders. So I had to battle my way through them a bit like Indiana Jones, which reminds me, I must sharpen my machete for the next round of cobweb cutting!

I nip to the supermarket just before it closes to pick up a few things, and I mean a few since there was nothing on the shelves, and when I get back set about making tea.

Whilst we are eating we watch One Missed Call, which I found quite enjoyable but I am also pretty sure that the original Japanese version was much better than the dummed down Hollywood remake.

Then, just before bed Phil shows me what he always lusted for as a kid, which was an Atari Falcon. He also showed me the graphics package he used to use on there too, something called Degas Elite written by a bloke called Tom Hudson. I have to say, I thought it was pretty neat! Especially if you wanted to create genuine retro graphics on it! So with electronic kits and Atari's, Phil really has immersed himself in the past today, which is cool if it makes him happy!

Posted by Abi at 9:47 PM | Comments (0)

August 31, 2009

Scare fest

Not much going on today, except for the fact that we decide to go out and see "The Final Destination" in 3D since we both quite like the franchise.

So after a morning of pottering we head on out to the cinema, load up on pick and mix sweets and hotdogs, sit back and relax to enjoy the movie.

It's been quite a while since I've not been able to watch a film because you know something cringeworthy is about to happen, but fair dues, this film did it, especially the bit with the toenails. If you've seen it, you'll know what I mean!

A good watch and very enjoyable if you like repeat prescriptions of a tried and tested fright night.

Posted by Abi at 8:00 PM | Comments (0)

August 13, 2006

Miserable

Urghhh the weather has taken a turn for the worse today. Its raining, it's cold and it's windy - that's 2 of my hated weather phenomena all rolled up into one day so that's a bit of a shitter!

Anyway despite the weather we've had a semi productive / relaxed day. We pop out in the morning to get a few things. We need a storage box to put all the scalectrix bits into and also I need some bits for rupert, like poop scoop bags, some more puppy treats and of course those impulse buys like another toy and a flashy light thing to put on his harness to make him more visible in the night :) We also nip to the supermarket to get some stuff for tea and the vitals to make up Phil's lunches for next week and after all of that we head home.

We watch Hostel today, and despite the hype of it being the "sickest film" ever I have to say I was unperturbed by it, which probably means I'm a natural born sicko or something :) But seriously I've seen worse horror films than that, I think the general public are just all wooses or something! Sign of the times I'm afraid :) Later on, after we've had tea we have a race or 2 on the scalectrix but unfortunately we had a bit of an RTA involving a Renault formula 1 car and a pekingese who inadvertently stepped onto the track as Phil was zooming around a corner. No harm done, but Rupert decided the sofa was the best place to sit after that.

Posted by Abi at 9:22 PM | Comments (1)

May 28, 2006

Holey Smoke!

What a day for DIY, hmmm, it's even more difficult when the stuff you need doesn't come with any instructions!

With my monster clear out I'd unearthed some shelves that we bought back 2 years ago on a trip to Ikea. They've been in the shed since we got them, and with good reason, they are a real PITA to put up - they are the shelves that fit flush with the wall with no visible fixings, and after Phil put up one set in our bedroom he swore he'd not put up anymore, and so as a consequence they remaining shelves we had have been sat in the shed doing little more than taking up room.

Bless him though he overcame his avid hatred for them today and put up another set in the study. Well that was the idea, but after re-drilling the same holes 3 times to try and get the hole the right size he's thrown his toys out of the pram and given up. I don't blame him, it's soul destroying when you can't get something right. THe only problem now is that we've got a wall with 6 very large holes in it and no shelf to cover them up. So we nip to homebase to get some polyfilla or some larger plugs to accommodate the holes, either will do really! As it happens they have these special plugs called Twist N Fix which apparently help to fix mis-drilled holes if they are out of line, and whilst they are not exactly for the problem we have they might well do the trick so we head home to give them a go.

And, hurrah! They work a treat so we've got one set of shelves up but have decided that perhaps the best place for the last remaining set would be the dump.

Of course I don't think we were aided that much by the fact that one of our neighbours was taking more than the occasional toke on some Margie Wana, and the passive smoke was rolling out of their window into our study - it stunk!

Oh we went to see The Da Vinci Code today as well - it was crap, not a patch on the book and Tom Hanks looks rank with that mullet thing he had going on.

Posted by Abi at 9:57 PM | Comments (0)

April 23, 2006

Vegetation

And I'm not just referring to Phil and my serious lack of activity today :) It seems my greenhouse has come along leaps and bounds with lots of things sprouting up thanks to Phil's care and attention whilst I've been away. He's also been busy weeding the garden as well to try and keep on top of things in that department, and something I'm very appreciative of since I hate weeding!

We don't get up to very much at all really today, however we do pop to town so I can pick up a suitcase (it appears my presence is required in Greece for some legal and financial business, and so I've had to book a last minute flight out there for Tuesday evening) and then head to the garden center. We were going to pick up some plants but Phil decided it might be better if we actually bought them when I get back from Greece, so for today we just had a look around and see what the possibilities were, and there seems to be plenty for what we need, which is primarily lots of creepers for the front (to limit the amount of weeding that needs to be done).

And since were there already we walk over to the fish and aquatic center to see what they have on offer as well - pretty much the usual stuff but they did have some terrapins which were well cute! I think we'd have almost gotten one if it had not been for the fact we'd need a 200 litre tank to house 1 adult - so we decided that maybe a tortoise would be a better option at some point in the distant future :)

Not much happens after that really other than nipping to the supermarket to get some supplies for tea - and the rest of the day is completely and utterly wasted by watching oodles of TV and some films, namely Valiant and Bad Santa - both of which were suitably entertaining for Sunday viewing :)

Posted by Abi at 9:19 PM | Comments (0)

April 17, 2006

Aborted

Well, the plan for today was that I'd be taking my friend over to Great Yarmouth so he could surprise his folks with a visit, since he's not told them he's in the country.

However, after yet another English Breakfast he's insisting on catching the train over there rather than allow us to drive him (about 7 hours in total). I put up as much of a fight as I can muster but to little avail, so at around noon we drop him off at the station and he heads off eastwards and towards the coast (via London).

It's been lovely to see him again (shame the rest of his family couldn't make it over) but hopefully it will only be several months before we meet up again if Phil and I decide to go over for our summer vacation.

So after suddenly regaining the majority of the day we suitably waste most of it by sleeping, or watching TV. We do however go out twice, once for fish and chips and the second time to go to the cinema to watch Ice Age 2, which while amusing in places wasn't a patch on the first one.

Posted by Abi at 9:47 PM | Comments (0)

March 26, 2006

And rained...

Despite being Mothers Day, it's still raining in Wales. And I ain't talking splishes and splashes here and there, I'm talking onslaught of equatorial monster water bombs lashing down in sheets of tsunami proportions!

Honest, there is all this talk of drought here in the UK (and in fact we're gonna have a hosepipe ban from 1st April) but if they just piped all excess water from Wales, they'd have enough water to keep the South East going and then some... I know I miss Wales, but I certainly don't miss the weather!

Anyway, since it's Mothers Day we let Mum decide what she'd like to do - and inevitably that usually involves a bit of shopping. However, since we're in the middle of nowhere that involves taking a 30 mile hike to Carmarthen, a town which actually has shops open on a Sunday. First stop is Curry's where Dad eyes up a very nice 60" HD ready plasma TV, but at £6,999 decides it's a bit pricey! We then go to Focus where my sister and future brother in law pick up some screws that they need, and then go to the Fabric Warehouse where my sister spends what feels like an eternity deciding on curtain material for her new house. I do however manage to pick up some nice cushions for the sofa's at home, pay for them and make it out of the shop in under 10 minutes leaving the others to suffer my sisters pinickity curtain sense.

After that we then go to Allied Carpets where my parents get some prices for wooden flooring (they are buying a new house, but as ever they can't possibly leave it as it is even though they'll only be living in it for a year) and I demonstrate some strange behaviour by going around stroking the various carpet samples they have on display. Typically the one I like the feel of the most was 35 pound a square metre and that was with 50% knocked off the price :)

Our last port of call was B&Q where we looked at bathroom suites and the like. This was vaguely interesting to me because after we've done the double glazing back home the next thing on the list is the bathroom. And, judging from the amount of time it takes Phil and I to decide to do something and actually implement it (roughly 11 months) I figure it wouldn't hurt to get ahead of the game! We get a nice greasy burger too whilst were there and then head back to my parents house.

Again, the afternoon is spend doing very little of anything, though I do watch Keeping Mum which was quite amusing for Sunday viewing, and help my sister prepare dinner which we are cooking for all the family. By the time we've eaten it's pretty late so I finish the evening off having a good old chat with my parents about all sorts of stuff, like remodelling houses, business ideas, retirement and emigration.

A good day then, even if it is still raining.

Posted by Abi at 10:58 PM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2006

Busted

Busy old morning really, I start off by finishing of my job application I mentioned yesterday and then head to town to post it. Whilst I'm there I also note down a number of contact details for the 3 new stores that are opening and are looking of employees - Marks & Spencer, Jessops and Costa Coffee. I'm not sure if I'll apply to these places yet, but its good to have the details to hand. I guess applying in volume is better than picking and choosing and ending up with nothing.

After I've done that the rest of the day is pretty much my own, but I do make it down the gym and have a good hour blasting along the treadmill, circulating on the elliptical trainer and pushing some weights. I do have a bit of an embarrassing moment on the seated leg press however. If you've ever used one you'll know that you have to sit on a seat, and put your legs up on a panel in front of you. The idea then is that you push on the panel and the chair moves backwards as you move the weights. You'll also know that in order to get enough leg extension on the push you have to adjust the chair so the starting position is as pretty close to the panel in front of you. Well to achieve this you have to imagine yourself in a flower press, because that's really what it's like! Anyway I was busy squishing myself into the machine and all of a sudden I hear a crack. Umm... that could either be a rib or something else I'm thinking but the absence of any pain I realise that in fact I've managed to bust my wired bra - the wire has snapped good an proper on one of the cups.

So that left me slightly lop-sided for the rest of the session :)

We watch Barry Trotter and the Tankard of Beer tonight, which I thought was ok, but Phil went to bed half way through, I guess mermaids, dragons and mazes aint his thing then :)

Posted by Abi at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)

March 18, 2006

V for Vendetta

Yet another old busy weekend today and we start off by running a number of errands around town.

First up we need to go to the post office so I can send various get well cards and happy birthdays cards across the globe, and also pick up some small tupperware pots to put the ever growning selection of nuts and dried fruits I have into to save them going stale. We also pick up our lunch (hot dogs again! hehe) and then head back home.

I decide to go to the gym for an hour and leave Phil to watching ER - an episode that I'd already seen earlier in the week whilst he'd retired to bed. When I get back there seems there is little else to do today apart from head off to the cinema and catch a film. The decision as to what to watch is left to me, and I settle on "V is for Vendetta" - I'd seen a trailer for it a couple of day's ago and it tickled my fancy.

We head of the the cinema at around 5, get parked, popcorned and then told to go to screen 6 where our film was apparently showing. Well thats fine, and we're just about to go in to said screen when I see a 3 year old being carted in there as well. Thinking to myself, WTF would a 3 year old be let in to see a 15 rated film, it suddenly clicks that the everso not very helpful ticket checker had told us the wrong screen number and we were in fact somewhere else entirely. Good job we spotted the problem or we'd have ended up watching Chicken Little or something!

Anyway, confusion over and we find some seats and watch the film. It's not bad, but a little drawn out in places. Mind you, any film that insights revolution against an opressive government is good in my book, I found it particularly tantilising that in this movie it was the british government being attacked, with a grand finale of the houses of parliment being blown up. That'll teach um then...

Posted by Abi at 9:57 PM | Comments (0)

February 28, 2006

Phils Pancake Birthday

Well whaddya know, the old boy is now the same age as me for a couple of months, so I'm temporarily suspending him as my toy boy until May ;) Happy Birthday Phil :)

I've had a pretty busy day really, all things considered. I'm baking Phil a birthday brownie cake first thing in the morning, and after that I have to go to town to post a food parcel over to the states, as well as some knickers to a buddy in london (clean and new, naturally!). I also have to pick up some cups (as in american measurements) because I've brought back some american pancake mix from the States for tonight since its Shrove Tuesday, but alas have no idea what a "cup" is unless it relates to boobs and such like, so I needed some guidance.

With all of that done, it leaves me just enough time to chill out for a while and catch up on some TV that Phil had recorded for me whilst I was away, and then head off to the Gym for my first personal training session since I've been away. The dude is gonna shit a brick when I tell him that a)I've not stuck to my diet and b)I've done no exercise in 3 weeks. And sure enough he did when I fessed up, and boy did I know about it, I felt like I was starting back at square one again, I'm sure I'll pay for it tomorrow.

On the plus side though I've signed up to the Gym properly now so I'll no excuse not to exercise, so got to get myself into the regular routine of going, getting it done, and feeling pleased with myself for self inflicted torture.

At home and Phil is back before me, so we have a light tea, and then gorge out on pancakes... all very nice too, british and american style!

Posted by Abi at 10:00 PM | Comments (1)

January 8, 2006

Oh So Lazy

Urm, yeah, so I know I did some stuff today, just not very much of it at all :)

I had a very long lay in bed this morning, not getting up till about 11am, and after having a shower and washing my hair (which can I add at this point is about twice as thick as it was a week ago, something I can only attribute to drinking more water) which took an eternity, I have some breakers and then wonder what I'll do for the rest of the day.

Phil sets himself the task of washing his car, so whilst he's doing that I nip to the supermarket to get some ingredients I need for tea tonight. By the time I get back he's still at it, and so to keep myself occupied I set about making some parsnip soup to munch throughout the week.

And still, even by the time the soup is almost done, Phil is just finishing his car - it was incredibly dirty to say the least, but now it's all sparkly and new again. He comes in rather wet and rather exhausted and so we have some lunch and watch The Amityville Horror which is plenty scary enough even for watching it in the daylight - tell you something there is no way I'd buy a house which I knew had a bad history of murder and the like, no matter how attractive the price tag.

After that I faff around for a while watching some tv and the like then get on with tea, which tonight is spaghetti meatballs with tomato sauce and pasta (all homemade too I'll have you know) which while a bit tedious to prepare and make turn out to be well worth the effort as they are rather delicious :)

Posted by Abi at 9:48 PM | Comments (0)

January 7, 2006

Housewifery

I have a bit of a lay in bed this morning, but by about 20 past nine hunger gets the better of me and I get up and have some breakfast.

After I've eaten I then get on with my main task of the day and that is to clean the house from top to bottom, which takes me the best part of 4 hours. I then get some lunch since yet again, I'm starving, having not had a break between the vacuum and the duster.

We then pop into town and do a bit of shopping - we've some left over vouchers from Christmas that could do with being spent and get a couple more DVDs as well as a CD designed for working out to which I got since most of my exercise videos have the most diabolical sound tracks imaginable. We also get a couple of new soup bowls since I managed to break the only one we had that could accommodate a whole tin of soup in one go.

Back home once again and I'm pooped from all the activity of earlier in the day so we sit down to watch Herbie Fully Loaded, which is good enough to waste an hour or 2. I then get dinner on the go which is breaded chicken fillets with mash - not as extravagant as the tuna, but certainly fills the ever needy hole in my stomach.

Posted by Abi at 10:07 PM | Comments (0)

January 2, 2006

Preparation

We're not up to much today and there are perhaps only 3 things I can recall that are of any importance and worthy enough to report:-

First off, I've been peeing like a horse because I've started drinking 2 litres of water every day. As a consequence of this my body is now getting rid of all the skanky fluids it's been holding onto tighter than a yorkshireman and a pound coin as it's realised that fluid isn't in such short demand. It's not a terrible inconvenience though since I get more exercise running up and down the stairs to the bog, and my face no longer represents that of a snake shedding its skin (dry and a bit shrivelled). Good to say then that I won't be scaring the neighbourhood brats any time soon.

Secondly Phil has written me a database so that I can input the hundreds of healthy recipes that I have spread amongst 3 books and search through them easily based on main food ingredient, or category of food, such as a snack or light lunch or main meal. We spend a good part of the day doing that with me playing the typical client role (ie, has a vague idea but no real comprehension as to what is needed) and Phil doing his technical bit. He does a fine job too considering PHP and MySQL are not his daily programming languages.

Finally we nip off to the cinema to watch Just Like Heaven which despite being 100% a chick flick is actually quite good fun, and even raises a few smiles from Phil.

Posted by Abi at 9:38 PM | Comments (0)

December 24, 2005

Christmas Kong

We have a well deserved rest this morning, and I have to say I sleep wonderfully well even though I have a bit of a duvet scrap with Phil in the night. I'm pretty sure that Phil is just dishing up a smidgen of revenge since I apparently elbowed him in the face the other night! Ooops! Anyway I think my good night's kip is partly attributed to the fact that I was knackered when I went to bed, and also due to the fact that yesterday I turned the mattress over yesterday meaning I wasn't sleeping on such a broken bit :)

After breakfast (scrambled eggs, yum!) it's close to lunch time already and we wonder what we can do to fill the time between now and present opening tomorrow, and so we decide to go see King Kong - after all it's Christmas eve, how may other people could possibly spend Christmas eve at the cinema?

When we arrive at the cinema, despite the car park being full the cinema itself is very quite indeed, hardly anyone around, and so we don't have to queue for popcorn and get some cushy seats too. It was just a shame that 10 mins into the film a whole gaggle of kids and adults arrive, one of which decides to sit next to me and then continue to talk to his brother for another 5 mins before he shuts up and watches the film that his parents had paid for him to come and see. Very annoying, only outdone by his smaller brother who was sat in front of me and for his own muddle reasoned had decided that standing throughout most of the film would be a fantastic idea! It's a good job he was relatively short or he would have been made several inches shorter by my fist hitting his head repeatedly until he was of a suitable height not to interfere with my vista.

The film was ok, but as with most Peter Jackson's epics just too long, they could have cut plenty out of the film and got much less of a bum acher and more of an action packed thrill seeker. I of course cried my eyes out at the sad bits whilst Phil fidgeted as he got bored. But, credit where credit is due, they did a fantastic job of Kong himself- I especially liked his crooked sticky out tooth :)

Posted by Abi at 10:28 PM | Comments (0)

December 23, 2005

What To Do First?

I've got a number of things to do today, all of which I had planned quite nicely until the events of yesterday.

You see my Dad has decided to go and see his Aunt after all, and with it being such a long drive I'd offered to help out if I could in anyway, either that be by offering my Dad a place to stay here overnight or by helping with the driving if I could. But it's not until 1pm that I know if he needed my help or not and so up until that point I didn't know if I'd be driving to Boston or not or even for that matter staying away tonight in Skegness.

As it happens he decided to make the trip on his own, which meant that I could get into doing all the jobs I need to do today, including giving the house a bloody good clean so that it's all nice for the holidays. The cleaning really does take most of the day (with the occasional break to watch some trip or the other on TV, after all tis the season of good old fashioned Christmas films) and afterwards I have very little time to do much else as Phil gets home almost on time (which is a first for a good couple of months now). I also keep in touch with my Dad on a regular basis via mobile to make sure he's doing ok on his long trip - and it seems he makes good progress throughout the 6 hours of driving, and makes it to his final destination at around 9.30pm.

The rest of the evening is spent eating pizza (take out as a treat) and watching Mr and Mrs Smith - which wasn't quite what I was expecting, but non the less a pretty good film. You can definitely tell that Ms. Jolie and Mr. Pitt had a thing going on whilst they were filming it, you couldn't get some of those knowing looks even with the best acting skills.

Posted by Abi at 9:22 PM | Comments (0)

December 11, 2005

It only takes one match...

It's been a bit strange today to say the least, so let me start at the beginning.

When I finally get up this morning, as with every weekend morning, I disturb Phil from his slumber with my faffing around. So, when I've woken him up today, he tells me that he had the strangest dream. In this dream he thought that the boiler had blown up, and quite dramatically so. In fact it went up with such a bang the whole house shook and it felt as if the side of the house had fallen down. So realistic was this dream he even woke up and checked to see if the boiler was working ok by feeling the radiators and making sure they were still working. Assured that they were piping hot, he went back to sleep and casually noticed that the time was about 6.03 am.

Now step ahead a few hours. After I've gotten up and Phil decides he's had enough sleep, he checks out the BBC news website to see what's going on in the world, and low and behold what should he read? A petrol storage facility went BOOM this morning, at exactly 6.03 am, and this explosion happened at Hemel Hampstead, 34 miles away from our house.

So the dream was no longer a dream, the explosion had woken Phil up as the shock waves and sound emanating from the bang ripped through our place, some 34 miles away. Of course I slept through the whole thing (I sleep like the next dead person most nights), but I find it amazing that we felt the blast, but you can put it all into perspective when you find out that the explosion has been the biggest in 60 years in Europe (that's like since the last war), and it was heard as far away as the Netherlands and France - pretty darn big then.

That was the exciting part of the day, the rest was relatively humdrum. We watched Ray, which was way to long and very slow (despite being mildly interesting) and then in the latter part of the afternoon we went to the cinema to watch The Chronicles of Narnia. Well that was the plan, but on arriving we discover the showing we wanted to watch was sold out and we'd have to wait over an hour for the next one. Not a problem, we just get some food and wait around. I almost wish we hadn't. The film wasn't nearly as good as I expected it to be, and was very drawn out and somewhat empty in parts (which amazes me because from what I remember of the book there could have been plenty more interesting bits of the tale to tell, which would have cemented the whole thing together a little better and made it a pleasure to watch, rather than ending up with the audience thinking "so when will something happen".

In light of that, I think I've come to the conclusion that there are some books which just don't translate that well to film. What makes books like Narnia special, is that the imagination you need to fully appreciate what it is that the author is trying to describe, or lead you to believe. When you impose a directors view of that world on to a wider audience it just doesn't work because everyone imagines and translates text from a book differently. Consequently if you make a film you're guaranteed not to meet everyones expectations if they have imagined something better.

Posted by Abi at 9:48 PM | Comments (1)

December 4, 2005

Dispelling Ones Demons

We get off to a late start this morning what with the early rise of yesterday and the late arrival of bedtime last night, and its a pretty good job too because no sooner have we been awake for an hour or so we begin to wonder what we'll do today.

It doesn't take long to decide upon going to the cinema to watch The Exorcism Of Emily Rose. So off we trot, get tickets, popcorn, drink and sweets and settle ourselves down in the virtually empty cinema.

The film itself is quite good and plenty scary enough especially considering its "based on a true story" (or so the foot high lettering stated at the beginning of the film). So with that in mind, when we get back we do a bit of googling to see if we can find out any more info.

Isn't it amazing how Hollywood can magically transform the phrase "based on..." to something more akin to "Not remotely related to...". After a bit of digging around we discover that in fact Emily Rose is a moniker for Anneliese Michel, who was not from America, but Germany. She had a history of Grand Mal epilepsy since 1968 which remained with her until 1976 when she finally died of Pneumonia and emaciation - a period during which the attacks came and went, and when she was lucid she was quite able to do ordinary things. A slightly different tale from Emily Rose who was stricken with possession and shortly thereafter died after exorcism failed to remove her demons. Anyway, there is a pretty good article about "the real Emily Rose" should you care to read it and are interested, and you can even watch some videos and recordings of alleged exorcisms in Russia if your daring enough.

I tell you, maybe I should get someone from Hollywood to write a screenplay of my life story, it would be a darn site better reading than this blog! ;)

Posted by Abi at 9:09 PM | Comments (0)

November 16, 2005

A Long Day

So, to work I go today and I'm flat out for the entirety of the time that I'm there, so much so that I don't finish work until gone 6, over an hour later than my usual home time.

I do have a chat with the boss about my suggestions for me working extra hours, something along the lines of "well whilst I'm happy to help out, I can not guarantee that I will be able to offer an extra day a week every week due to other commitments". So on that note we're gonna discuss it with the IT director on Friday to see if we can move forward somewhat with it. And I'm not pulling a fast one about the other stuff I have to do during the week when I'm not in work, I really do have plenty of other stuff that I need to do, whether it be paid or unpaid.

Back home and it's not long before Phil follows me through the door so whilst we wait for our Online Shopping Order to appear (after it failing to turn up yesterday since the delivery van broke down (my god, don't they have contingency plans for that sort of thing!)) we order takeaway and start to watch Hitch, which is almost palatable but a little slow in places.

Eventually the groceries arrive and after we've unpacked them all its time for a new series on Sky which we've wanted to watch, Threshold.

From the looks of it, it's got the makings of a good series, certainly interesting enough and with it being shown on a Wednesday means that finally there is something half decent to watch in the evening rather than the usual showings of dross and rubbish that haunts the midweek viewing.

Posted by Abi at 9:37 PM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2005

In Good Company

Ahhh... another restful morning for both Phil and I, and after the day that we both had yesterday it is well deserved.

So whilst lolling around in bed for a good part of the morning was nice, getting out of bed was a bit of a trauma. My muscles have completely seized up, I feel like someone has stuffed a metal rod up my backside because I can't bend or do nothing, everything aches and it's like I've aged 90 years overnight. Phil isn't in a much better state either after all the removals he's been doing for the past couple of days, so between us it's like watching two OAPS struggling without their Zimmer frames.

Consequently then it takes us a little longer to get motoring than usual, but after some scrambled eggs for breakfast we then head off to get some screen wash concentrate since we'd run out an my car uses screen wash like it's going out of fashion. We then go to tesco, but we don't do our usual huge weekly shop of everything we'll need. This time we literally get fresh stuff such as fruit and veg and a few things for today.

Then, when we are back home we give online grocery shopping a go. First impressions, not bad, by why oh why don't they display pictures straight away rather than having to open a pop up window to see the product? It's well annoying... I mean think about it logically, most of us shop by sight, ie looking for something that's a familiar colour or shape, basically by the branding... so why take out the most identifying feature when shopping online? Bizarre. The other thing I found annoying was looking for products, I mean yes this gets easier when you've got a list of all your favourite things already stored, but the initial shopping experience is time consuming. I think they should liken it more to a conventional shop, after all they all have the same layout, I'm sure it couldn't be too difficult to overlay that experience into an online shopping one. The final thing I didn't like was the "variable" final figure you get for the cost of the shopping. Again, I can understand this if you've got a lot of weighed goods in your basket, because weight can't be exact for most products in a practical sense. But online discounts? They should be applied as soon as you hit the checkout, not when your order is delivered. After all, you are buying the goods because they are on offer when you are "shopping", you shouldn't have the discrepancy of them being removed because an offer may have finished by the time your goods are delivered.

Anyway, despite the above we are still trying it out and the stuff is being delivered on Tuesday. I don't know if I'm convinced about the whole scenario, but if it means more time for Phil to do as he pleases then that's all well and good - I just think the supermarkets need to do some serious usability testing on the way in which their online shops works, they could be so much better were it for a little more forethought and consideration for the shoppers.

This afternoon we watch In Good Company, rather apt considering Phil has been effectively away from home for a couple of days, so it's nice to have him home and have someone to annoy and chat too. We also have an early tea and are in bed by 9 to try and catch up with some shut eye and muscle repair.

Posted by Abi at 9:05 PM | Comments (0)

November 9, 2005

Paper Murder

I'm in work today again (getting a bit regular this eh?) and the morning goes very well, what with lots of bits and pieces coming my way to implement and certainly enough to see that 1pm arrives quickly enough so that I don't end up twiddling my thumbs.

At lunch time I have an errand to run, and that is to go into town and pick up the paper shredder that we'd reserved from Argos last night. It's a strange thing, but a couple of days ago both Phil and I almost simultaneously came up with the idea of getting a shredder for mutilating paper work that would best be recycled as tiny bits rather than as a whole - and besides, with identity theft becoming a regular problem these day's it's probably better to be safe than sorry.

Whilst I'm in town I also raid a couple of the charity shops and manage to get some more glass beads, which I think will be dandy once they have had a bit of a clean and such like, and met a very sociable lady with whom I had an extended conversation about the virtues of having a bath rather than a barth, mowing the grass and not tending the grrahasss, glugging out of a glass rather than sipping from a glaahrse and trapsing up the path rather than walking up the parth... as they say you can take the girl out of lincolnshire..... :)

The afternoon then goes quick enough, with the quick dismissal of one project that's been sitting in my inbox for weeks waiting for some clarification from the Boss. It seems he didn't understand it either so we've sidelined it again until he gets time to figure it out - they also ask me if I'd like to work another day a week, which I told them I'd think about. If I do, it means I'd have to work saturdays to compensate for other work I do at home, but it's something to ponder.

Since there is nothing on the box of interest tonight we watch Meet the Fockers, and uncannily it struck a chord with me, I can only hope that if and when my parents meet Phils' it is slightly removed from the filmscript of the Fockers...

... though I doubt it :)

Posted by Abi at 9:30 PM | Comments (1)

November 6, 2005

Toads And Such Like...

Well, I did have all intentions of continuing my mammoth trek through the mountains of Workaholia today, but Phil serupticiously manages to keep me away from the computer for most of the morning by filling the time with a trip to the super market and such like, and we also go to the cinema to watch The Brothers Grimm.

I'm pretty sure most of you are familiar with the Grimm tales, and the film nicely wraps them all up in celluloid, but I can't help wondering if the individual tales would be just as good at creating a similarly feature film as The Brothers Grimm in their own right (and not necessarily under the guise of cartoons and the happy endings that most of us are familiar with). The film includes aspects from Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and the Princess and the Pea to name just a few, and although a little long, I enjoyed it.

Back home and we watch another film, this time Kingdom of Heaven, which is very Ridley-Scott-esque as expected. I dunno, I just get the feeling that all his films are following a far to familiar path - you know. Bloke scorned and sworn to a vendetta, throw in a love interest and some big CGI horse battles etc... you get the picture.

This evening we do very little apart from having club sandwiches for tea, and I also spot a toad on the patio so we get some pictures of it.

Posted by Abi at 9:49 PM | Comments (0)

October 30, 2005

Till Death Do Us Part....

So much for the extra hour in bed, I'm up at 6.30 am thrashing around in bed because my back is killing me, so I decide to get up rather than suffer being a complete cripple that laying in bed for any longer would undoubtedly give me the misfortune of becoming.

I go down stairs to see how the triops are, and as suspected Brutus' brother has snuffed it. Brutus it appears is having a bit of trouble too. I noticed last night that he was going through another shedding phase (he gets kinda twitchy and quiet) and by this morning it seems the poor blighter has only managed to get half of the skin off and is not managing to get the rest of it removed from himself, and he's looking exhausted (slow gill movement etc). I decide to see how he's doing by this afternoon before I interfere, but I have to say my uncanny knack to sense near death in pets is kicking in (I had it with most of our pet dogs, horses, guinea pigs, rabbits, goats and cats...).

When Phil gets up we go do our weekly shop, and we also decide that it might be nice to have lunch out and combine that with a film that I want to see, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. I quite like Tim Burton films, and really enjoyed The Nightmare Before Christmas, so working on the basis that his new release is very similar to that I thought it would be worth going to see.

We get some good grub at Frankie and Bennies (I have steak for the first time in I don't know how long) and then go get our tickets and popcorn and watch the film. I enjoyed it lots, though I'm pretty sure it wasn't Phil's cup of tea (but bless his cottons for putting up with it just because I wanted to watch it). To give you a brief run down: Poor living girl betrove to rich Boy, rich boy has second thoughts, rich boy accidentally marries dead girl, living girl is tricked into marrying a con man, meanwhile rich boy finds out living girl is married and decides dead girl isn't so bad but he has to die to be properly wed to dead girl. Rich boy decides to snuff it but just in the nick of time everyone figures it all out and they live happily ever after and dead girl gets to go to heaven.

We then head home, and poor Brutus is just about dead. At a last ditch attempt to help he we try and remove some of the excess shed to make it a bit easier for him, but by the time we are heading to bed it's pretty obvious that he's given up the fight.

RIP Brutus 20/09/05 - 30/10/05.

Posted by Abi at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2005

Missed it...

What a delightful day, it's pouring with rain and the wind is nasty and it's dark when I wake up... and on top of all that I have to go to work.

And a busy day it is, considering I had very little to do from scratch, there was plenty to do in terms of finishing incomplete projects and tarting up the odd things here and there. I also get a mammoth load of financial charts to do, all of which needed to be converted into HTML... I tell you, its been a long time since I've had to build such complicated tables and it took a while.

I also get asked to go into work on Monday to cover for 2 people are that away, and of course timings being as they are their absence coincides with the need to launch another website for a client so my services are required to help with that. It's just a shame it's the Monday since Phil is off work then and I won't get to be home when he is, I guess I'll just have to make sure I go back home for lunch to at least get an extra hour with him.

So what with being busy all morning I quickly forget to check out an item on ebay that I wanted who's auction ended at 2pm, despite making a mental note of the fact this morning and putting a yellow sticky on my monitor saying "EBAY 2PM!!!"... oh well, guess I couldn't have really wanted it if I didn't remember it.

We have curry for tea tonight (once I go to the shop and buy it) and watch The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse... which I'm sure is good if you're familiar with the characters already, but for me it was just an easy way to while away the hours before bed time.

Posted by Abi at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)

October 12, 2005

Sin-full

I'm in work again today, joy of joyness, but the time rapidly flies by with plenty of work to be doing, including making lots of screen grabs of a product we've built that needs a user manual to be created for it. That was fun, as was creating the skeleton structure for the manual itself by someone who didn't have the faintest idea what the software was suppose to be doing (ie. me).

I take a break at lunch time however and nip to the garden centre who have finally taken stock of the lamp we ordered for the triops fish tank almost 2 weeks ago, so it was nice to get out of the office which currently is the temperature of a sauna and most uncomfortable to work in.

The afternoon tootles along quite nicely as well but I'm ready to come home by 5.

This evening we watch Sin City - thats this Sin City and not this one which I stumbled across whilst trying to find a website for the film.

I dare say the film is fantastic, the cinematography certainly was, so much so in fact I've done some screenshots so you'll see what I mean. However to fully appreciate the film I think you need to be mentally alert and perky since there are so many underlying themes that can easily be missed if you just plonk the film in after a day at work, and if you miss um, the whole plot of the film will be wasted.

So I say, go rent Sin City if you aint seen it already, but be prepared for a long haul mental workout - it's most likely one of those films you need to watch twice to pick up all the intricacies.

Posted by Abi at 9:32 PM | Comments (1)

August 7, 2005

Film Fest

It's amazing what boredom can cause an ordinarily sane human being to do. For example, today I'm so bored it's horrible. What makes it worse is that even though I'm bored (and you'd think therefore eager to do something) everything I can think of to do I just can't be bothered to do it. Absolutely nothing seems appealing and I don't feel I can summon the effort even if it was remotely interesting. It's just one of those sorts of days.

So after poor old Phil has tried numerous suggestions of what we could do (including visiting some nearby caves, a railway museum, a castle and even a safari park!) I decide that it might just be easier to go to the cinema and watch a film, play some bowls and maybe we could get some lunch out (ok, the lunch bit was Phils idea).

The first problem we encounter is whilst we are going down the duel carriageway towards the cinema. I look down at my feet and realise that I've got no socks on (they don't really go well with sandal type shoes). So thats the bowling out. There is no way I'm putting my bare feet into shoes that have probably seem more verrucas, athletes foot and general skankyness than I've had hot diners. So our afternoon is now narrowed down to a film and some food.

We go and watch "Fantastic Four" which, IMHO wasn't so fantastic, but maybe more akin to "Mediocre Quartet". But it's probably not fair me even commenting on what quality of film was like since I'm in such a "everything is crap" sort of mood. We then go get some lunch at Frankie and Bennys which was nice and then drive home.

I spend the remainder of the afternoon on the sofa eating chocolate and generally feeling sorry for myself (ladies, you'll probably understand why) and end up sticking a DVD in to overcome the serious amount of bollocks which constitutes Sunday viewing on TV. So I then scare myself shitless with Event Horizon (good film!) and then add even more "WTF?" confusion to my day by taking a gander at Somersault - which is a load of arty farty filming nonsense.

Thank goodness Top Gear was on at 8, at least that drew me back to sanity for an hour... until they announced it was the last episode in the current series... Lord only knows what I'll do next Sunday.

Posted by Abi at 10:39 PM | Comments (0)

August 4, 2005

Dynamite?

So, I spend most of today doing paper work... and I hate paper work. Not only because I'm crap at it, but it just seems to take so long to do, and that it usually involves paying out money, money and more money. It's a good job that I only do it once a month otherwise I think I might go insane.

I do finally get through most of it... so it's all clear for another 30 odd days which is most gratifying.

With the boring stuff done, I do some baking... brownies today, one of Phil's favourites, and since I think he probably deserves a treat I make them as a surprise for him. Though it has to be said I'm not that nice really because I did make him hunt for them when he got home :) hehehe

Tonight we watch Napoleon Dynamite which I can quite categorically say is perhaps the most bizarre film I've watched since Donnie Darko. Whilst the story line is pretty kitsch it's pleasant enough (the tales of geeks do good so to speak) and it can't have been that bad since it passed Phil's 10 minute boredom test. I think my favourite part of the entire film would have been the dance scene (and if you've watched the movie you'll know what I'm on about) - I've not seen a bloke dance like that for a long time... let me think, oh yes, that would be it... the last time I saw someone dance like that was my gay buddy at his sisters wedding.

Very impressive!

Posted by Abi at 9:47 PM | Comments (2)

August 3, 2005

Mad Busy

No sooner do I sit down at my desk today in work I've got incoming from every angle. Work, left right and center with very little respite in between.

Both the boss type people are in today so thats a major contributing factor, along with the fact that AWOL bloke is still AWOL, in fact I think I'd go so far to say he is no longer AWOL but GFG (gone for good).

I do manage to get my lunch break in during which I start to read Charlie and the Chocolate factory, and so far from what I can see (I've got up to the bit where they have just gone into the factory), the 2005 version is much more faithful to the book than the 1971 version. I have to wonder if that will be the case for the entire book, will be interesting to find out.

The afternoon is just as busy for me, and by 5pm I still haven't finished everything in my inbox, but I'm knackered, so unusually for me I head off home with stuff remaining to do at work, it will just have to wait until Friday.

Lemon chicken for tea, and whilst were eating that we watch Hotel Rwanda, a film about the genocide atrocities and rebel war which occurred there between the Hutus and the Tutsi's in 1994, and how an ordinary Hotel Manager struggles to save over 1000 refugees within the confines of a hotel. The film is excellent, though difficult viewing and for someone who was ill informed of Rwanda's past, very enlightening.

Posted by Abi at 10:02 PM | Comments (4)

July 31, 2005

Wonkers!

I'm so pleased that today I managed to actually have a lay in bed until 9 am, thats a new trick for me as usually I'm up early even at the weekends... so to stay in bed a little longer was quite a novel treat.

Apart from a quick trip to the super market to pick up the "essentials" for the week the only other stuff we do is start to re-skin Phils blog, and watch the Grand Prix, which was only exciting for the first 10 minutes when someone crashed!

We then head off to the cinema yet again as Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is on and I really want to see it, I guess that is the big kid in me :) As expected when we arrive the cinema is chockablock, but since we'd reserved our seats it wasn't really a problem. So loaded up with yet more popcorn and pop we trundle off and get comfy in our places amid a sea of mainly adults.

The film it's self was certainly no disappointment, and I have to say Johnny Depp does a great job at playing the slightly deranged Willy Wonka. In parts the film was just well, weird! But it was nice that it stuck to the story well and the kid actors did good jobs too at being annoying brats (though I expect it wasn't too much of a far cry from normality for the little darlings!). What was also good about it was the fact that the story writers had obviously had a good think about who their target audience was to be, and had mixed in a good dose of off the cuff comments that would probably only be appreciated by those of slightly less tender years and previous Gene Wilder Wonka fans. I gotta say though that the Oompa Loompa's weren't quite up to par with the 1971 orange munchkins, but still not bad for CGI generated ones.

It's all good stuff and if you're in the mood to rekindle some childhood memories I'd suggest you go see the film, even if its just for curiosity's sake!

Posted by Abi at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)

July 30, 2005

Ear Piercing

First things first this morning, and we get on and do some bits and pieces that need some attention around the house.

I had bought a mirror and a picture a couple of weeks back, and they need hanging. Both are done quite easily, though I have to say the optical illusions of cronky walls in our house really are amazing :) So even though the spirit level is telling us the picture is straight, for some reason to the eye it looks as bent as the back end of a donkey. So we settle on having the picture not instrumentally level resulting in something which doesn't make you look twice at it every time you pass it by.

Next on the hit list is a couple of DVD towers that we'd got from my friends who have emigrated. We knew already that there would be a bit of a problem with these because our skirting boards are quite high, and the nook that the towers already have taken out of them to accommodate skirting boards isn't quite high enough. So with a bit of impromptu carpentry and a few close shaves (or in fact amputations) we finally managed to get the towers to fit almost flush to the wall.

With that done we then have a quick bit to eat and then head off out to the Cinema to watch War of The Worlds. Not my cup of tea really, it seemed boring and the ending was naff... almost as if the crew had just decided to elope on holiday without giving it much thought or care. But I've not read the book, so maybe it was suppose to be like that. I have to say the film probably doesn't score high on my "greatest films of all time scoreboard" for the sheer fact that Dakota Fanning has the most god awful high pitched scream I've ever heard.

I'd go so far as to say she's put me off kids for life... at least kids who are a) annoying b) incredibly stupid c) have limited vocal capacity of a soprano on helium who has learn't no words other than ARGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Posted by Abi at 10:15 PM | Comments (1)

June 7, 2005

The Usual

Having had a good old rant yesterday, and quite frankly ending up seething for the best part of the day, its a relief that this morning arrives - and the weather is glorious. It's most definitely a day that needs to be spent in the garden and catching up on the odds and sods that have to be attended to.

I start out by mowing the front and back lawn, which despite almost being ready for hay was manageable enough to get a tidy end result, though it's a bit brown in places. I think we may well have to invest in a lawn sprinkler of something - but with the threats of a water shortage looming that might not be such a good idea.

I then set about with some more weeding - I did the left hand side flower bed the other day, so this time I attack the right hand side one. I culled a few plants that we inherited from the previous owners, because in all honesty they were awful and I don't think placed in the correct position to actually grow. I also give the soil a good turning over, which was considerably difficult since it was like digging into concrete. But after a bit of blaspheming and sweat the end result was well worth it.

My sister gave me some nice lights for my birthday, which up until today have been sitting in a box whilst I wondered what to do with them. They are for inside and outside use, and are little silver dragonflies with blue LED's inside. So since I'm pottering in the garden I decide that they might be nice if I pin them up around the shed (easy enough since we have power in there) - so I do exactly that and I have to say they look fantastic, I just need to line them up a bit better.

This evening is spent quietly in front of the TV whilst we eat Hot dogs. I want to mention what we had for tea yesterday though, Lemon Chicken Kebabs. The recipe for that requires bay leaves, oregano and parsley, all of which I have grown in the garden. The plants are big enough now (with the exception of the oregano) that I can start to use them in cooking, so thats what I did. I have to say the fresh herbs made the world of difference to the food, and it was most satisfying eating something I'd grown! :)

We watch Layer Cake, a film about well, drugs basically and how, should you desire, you would best get ahead in the wheelin', dealin', murderin' and untrustworthy game. A good film only bettered by the not so happy ending.

By the time we've done all of that its sleepy time, and I'm ready for it.

Posted by Abi at 9:43 PM | Comments (0)

May 29, 2005

Burnt Bananas

Up early again today (well for me anyway!) as I've a few things to tidy up before the photographer comes over to take Phil and my mug shots for the local paper. It doesn't take long to pilfer things away and have a quick bit of breakfast, and finally get myself tidied up a bit too - all in enough time to sit down and watch a bit of the goggle box whilst waiting for snap happy man to arrive.

We've been watching the american equivalent of DIY SOS, a program called Extreme Makeover : Home edition. And well it just goes to show that if you're in America, bigger really is better. With the UK program well they limit themselves to one or 2 rooms in an already existing house and give them some new decor and the like and on occasion may rip out a wall or two - but the american version is a whole lot more interesting. From the episodes I've seen so far, they usually demolish the house completely and then rebuild it in 7 days, pretty incredible really when you consider that in the UK the average laying of bricks per day is about 10, and thats if you can find a builder that isn't a cowboy. All in all pretty entertaining stuff :)

The photographer arrives and so after lots of "look at the camera", "try not to blink", "stare into each others eyes" (Yep, I nearly went bozzeyed with that one) he reckons he's got enough shots to satisfy the paper, and winds his merry way homeward bound.

So without any interruptions to the day it means we can now get about doing stuff which needs to be done. For me that involves getting tea at tesco and weeding the garden once again (I'm seriously considering graveling the whole lot!) whilst Phil watches the Grand Prix (apparently the crash on the last lap made the other 58 laps worth watching).

We have a BBQ despite the weather becoming a little overcast, and for dessert I stick bananas on the coals until they are nicely black on the outside and squidgy in the middle - one of my favourites, but not so popular with Mr. Phil. And whilst were eating we watch Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events - which is quite good and includes an typical over the top, face contorting performance from Jim Carrey.

Posted by Abi at 9:36 PM | Comments (0)

May 28, 2005

Go To See Film, We Shall

Quite an early start for the weekend today as we're off to Heathrow to meet my parents before they fly off for 3 weeks of fun in the sun - lucky buggers.

After a quick trip down the motorway we arrive unscathed and not long after a little bit of hanging around my parents finally make it through check in and we go and have brunch before they enter the point of no return, i.e. the departure lounge.

By 11.30 ish we're heading back to the short stay car park with I have to say a little bit of intrepid fear knowing that the hour and a bit that we've been inside the terminal somehow cumulates into an extortionate money laundering exercise on behalf of the NCP car park - yes, one and a bit hour's worth of parking somehow equates to £7.30 in exuberant spending - money which IMHO could have been better spent elsewhere. Nevermind though, it was worth it to see my parents - it's always nice to see them when I get a chance.

Heading home we decide that since we're going past the UCI cinema we might as well pop in a catch a movie whilst were in this neck of the woods, and Star Wars Episode 3 : Revenge of the Sith gets the thumbs up this time around.

Tickets, pop, sweets and popcorn in hand we head of to screen one thousand and twenty seven (seriously, they are going to have to start handing out maps if these multiplex monsters get any bigger!). Its only 12.30 in the afternoon so the cinema is relatively quiet, but I was most miffed when it seems I get some bloke sitting next to me, quite uninvited (nope, I ain't talking about Phil ;)).

It's insane... the cinema is only about 1/4 full, there are tonnes of free seats. Phil and I are quite happily sitting in the middle of one of the rows, of which there are at least 15 other rows unoccupied. Anyway this bloke not only makes us stand up so he can get to the seat next to me, he then tries to ratify his disturbance by saying "Star wars?" - no bloody Einstein, its not, it's Spongebob Squarepants - what do you think? Sheeshh.....

The film eventually starts, and about 30 mins into it (oh I think thats sort of after the first battle scene - how long winded and drawn out could they have possibly made it, perhaps they ran out of dialogue?) I start to notice wafts of smelliness hitting my nostrils - and we ain't talking odors of the Calvin Klein / Chanel denomination, oh no. Seems intrusive boy has now morphed into stinky pillock - he is farting continuously and it stinks. In fact after 20 mins of covert annihilation of every single clean air molecule in my immediate vicinity I'm about ready to get up, pretend to go to the loo, come back and sit the other side of Phil. But no, I can't do that because if I do any other film buff sat near us will automatically assume its me gassing everyone to death. So I sit and suffer instead.

So I'm sat in a cinema, with a malodorous freak to my left, watching a film which is so drawn out its painful, and my arse has given up the ghost completely - I feel like I've been sitting on a bed of nails for the past hour. It's not surprising then what a relief it was to finally see Darth Vader get his makeover and Yoda go into exile.

Thankfully the evening is much more interesting, considerably comfortable and a lot less smelly :)

Posted by Abi at 9:51 PM | Comments (1)

May 22, 2005

Not Much Of Nothing

After a late night last night, we have a rather rewarded lay in bed this morning - I mean we ain't talking the sort which easily waves good bye to the entire morning, but enough to recharge the old batteries which were somewhat dilapidated from yesterdays trekking around.

We see Phil's sister off, complete with TV, TV Stand, blow up mattress, blow up mattress foot pump, kettle and free view box (satellite TV, but not quite) and once Phil has gotten her on the right road to her destination we set about getting a trip to homebase in before the Grand-Prix starts.

Every time that we've visited homebase in the past couple of months I've been eyeing up these blue LED lights, kinda shaped a bit like bullets, which can be used outside or inside, with grand ideas of setting them up around the patio (which is a circle). So far though we haven't got any for 2 reasons, they are quite expensive and we ain't quite sure how to go about wiring them up. But today the temptation of £10 being knocked off the price for a set of 4, we stick 8 of the gizmo's in the basket, along with a couple of stakes to prop up a rather lop sided cactus, and to give my black bamboo a bit of a back bone really, it's looking a little bent atm.

Back home, and whilst Phil is watching the Grand Prix, I set about sorting out the guest bedroom. Now that the huge TV isn't in there anymore our box room has been turned into somewhat of a tardis - so with a little more re-organisation and rather intricate packing skills we've now got a room that you can easily move around in, and is looking rather spacious to say the least.

Eventually we head off to tesco to get some groceries including something quick and easy for tea, and when its all transported from shelves to trolley, trolley to conveyor belt, conveyor belt to trolley, trolley to car, car to kitchen and finally back to our shelves (man what a pain in the arse that is) I stick Garfield in the DVD player and we have a gander at that whilst having tea.

I don't think its a bad film, it made me laugh in a few places, but it definitely lacks the satire of the cartoon strip most of us have at some point read.

Posted by Abi at 8:32 PM | Comments (1)

May 19, 2005

Leg Work

Another day, another sales man - this one is here for even less time than the last one, but leaves without a quote so I've no idea if the first bod was trying his luck or not. Apparently though he's going to post the stuff out for Monday so that should give a better indication.

But with only 2 of the 4 people who I rang about double glazing actually returning my phone call, I decide to see who else is around. When I was in tesco last I managed to pick up a business card for some local double glazing people, so I decide to give them a ring. Very polite, very pleasant, the only problem being is that they don't come out to measure windows?!

So trusty tape measure in hand (and after some advice from the bloke as to the best way to measure windows) I go around the house getting all the measurements and drawing pictures of each of the windows. I then head off to their showroom and give them the details and have a look at some of their stuff. An hour later they ring me back and well, despite the fact they look considerably like they supply direct to builders / double glazing installers their quote still only comes in £100 less than the previous one. So despite me running around with a metal retractable tape measure (and can I add here I have an avid phobia of them - long story, but they do kind of act like a cheese wire when you get one that recoils through your closed hand) it seems that leg work doesn't always pay off.

I guess that means then that so far, they are all on an even keel with each other, which therefore will probably result in the arduous game of playing them off one another to see who will discount the most. I can't wait for that one :) Though I have to say with the prices looking like they do at the moment, it may be a while before we actually order the windows... it's not exactly pocket change to say the least!

The weather today is drab to say the least, with plenty of rain which rather limits my options of what to get up to. Eventually I decide to watch Vera Drake - a film about a lady who "Helped Girls Out" back in the 50's, not to put too finer point on it she was in fact what we'd probably call a back street abortionist. It was an interesting film, with lots of different perspectives intermingled in the story line (such as the poor girl who has an abortion illegally, the rich girl who goes through more respected channels, the extortionist who makes profit from arranging the appointments, the medical point of view, the criminal aspect, and ultimately Vera's ideology that she was simply helping people who needed her help.

It's quite a long film but the makers did a very good job of approaching what is, even in the 21st Century, a taboo subject.

Posted by Abi at 10:59 PM | Comments (1)

May 17, 2005

Peddling

A nice day again weather wise, so it's time for me to get out the bike, dust it off and take it for a spin into town. It's been a while since I last went on it (shame on me!) but I have to say I noticed a considerable difference in the arse department, ie. more of my arse was on the seat rather than loping over the sides of it. So that made the ride all the more comfy!

I get a CD called "The Weekend" which I'd seen advertised on TV, and after listening to it I'd say it was pretty good, if that sort of music is your thing! I also pick up a DVD, Spaceballs to be precise. If you've never heard of it, it's basically a spoof of Star Wars, and quite a funny one at that :) So instead of Yoda, you have Yogurt. Darth Vader becomes Dark Helmet, Jabba The Hut is now Pizza The Hut and Chewbacca becomes Barf (a MOWG, half human half dog). It's quite good fun, and particularly scathing of all the marketing that perhaps could be related to the current Star Wars after sales empire :)

I also pick up some new cutlery, since all of our stuff is either rusting or falling apart (thus proving my theory that Ikea stuff really does only have a life span of about 3 years) :) The new tools are quite cool too, having a brushed steel effect as well as polished steel.

The afternoon is mostly used to spruce up my CV, which it appears I last updated when I was 25! Hehehe, so yes it did need quite a few amendments, but it's just about there now should I feel the desire to push it out to some agencies... And I get about to ringing some double glazing firms to get some quotes to do the house (well it seems like an ideal opportunity since some little hooligan catapulted a stone through the bathroom window at the weekend) and so after several calls I manage to set up a few appointments to get an array of quotes.

I also watch Spaceballs (well I had bought it for that reason) so that kept me entertained up until Phil came home. After tea we then set about sticking some stuff up on E-Bay. Namely a TV, Scanner and an ADSL modem. It's just a few things, but we thought we'd test the waters first, and if they sell, well then we'll hit the attic and see what else we can dispose of :)

Posted by Abi at 9:51 PM | Comments (1)

May 10, 2005

A.W.O.L

The prospect of today isn't a pleasant one really. Seems British Gas want to replace our old gas meter with a new one and so sent us a letter saying that an engineer would be at our house today, sometime between 8 am and 8 pm - thats a whole 12 hours of possibility in my book, and also 12 hours of which I can not leave the house.

Not that I'd probably leave the house in any case, but the fact that I can't leave the house just in case someone might turn up in the 12 hour time frame is somewhat annoying. It would be even more annoying had I have taken the day off work.

So the thought of be incarcerated in the house for 12 hours was only made worse by the fact that the boiler packed up. So not hot water either. Oh... it never rains but it pours!

By 3pm I'm about ready to explode with frustration. I can't go anywhere, I'm having to boil the kettle to do the washing up and to top it off I've lost the motivation to live (well OK, its not that bad but still none of the entertainment here at home looks appealing enough to be arsed to do it).

What to do then... is there anything on TV? Is there bugger, full of chat shows with people who seriously need a reality check or a lobotomy (or as so often the case now, a lesson or 2 in contraception). The hosts don't seem that clever either, dishing out helpless advice when in fact what most of the *contestants* (and yes, I call them contestants because really all it is, is a slanging match and points scored for the biggest faux par revealed depending on the boos and hisses coming from the audience) need is a right good kick in the pants and a slap.

Unimpressed then with the seemingly endless line of stupid folk who think a free paternity test and 5 minutes of fame will solve all their woes, I put on a film and today's matinee is Die Hard. Which, is an oscar winning performance compared to the complete tosh which is labeled as "day time television", and considering I fell asleep half way through it for 20 minutes it probably gives you an indication of just how bad UK television is.

So, its now 5.30pm. Still no gas man and I'm left in a quandary. Do I start dinner? If I start dinner the likely hood is that the gas man will turn up half way through and turn off the gas so he can change the meter... humm... thats a little optimistic on my part, so pessimistic switch is flicked on and I do start dinner - and get it cooked with no problems. Phil arrives home and we eat, it's now 7.45 and the elusive gas man still hasn't rat-a-tat-tated on the door. A phone call to British Gas reveals that he's "running a little late", but by 9pm its highly unlikely that he's gonna show.

12 hours then of waiting for someone who didn't show. 12 hours of self inflicted house arrest for nothing. 12 hours of my life wasted on the false hope that a letter though the post promised. 12 hours in fact I shall be reclaiming from British Gas by making a bogus call to their help line and forgetting to hang up, no wait, even better than that... 12 hours I'll waste of British Gas time by locking the meter man under the stairs when he does finally show.

Muppets.

Posted by Abi at 10:11 PM | Comments (1)

April 28, 2005

Sandblasted

Mother Nature, from all accounts, can be a real bitch at times. Whilst browsing around and having a look at the news today, I stumble across pictures of a Sand Storm that had formed and hit an old air base (now used by the US marine corps) at al-Asad, Iraq, about 110 miles west of Baghdad.

Now, I'm not ashamed to admit that I've seen The Mummy and the quite cool CGI sand storm it has in it - but as with all films you think to yourself "Wow, thats incredible, it's huge and deadly, thank God it's just out of the mind of the Director and not real". But I've had to rethink my somewhat naive ideas about just how astounding Mother Nature can be. The photos (some of which I've included in today's blog) were just, well... I'm quite speechless actually... mind blowing I guess would come close to describing it.

After pondering over all things disastrous and natural, I then head out to get some more weights for my training. The ones I currently have are only aerobic weights (so quite light - about 1kg each) and whilst are great to add a bit more intensity to an aerobic routine aren't that much cop at helping to really build muscle. Mind you, I have to drive 30 odd miles to get the ones I want, which considering my current work load isn't too much of a chore.

When I get home (after struggling quite considerably with said newly purchased weights) I then try to have another crack at trying to find something for this wedding to wear on the web. And bingo! After some considerable searching I find exactly what I want, there are only 2 problems though. A) You can't buy off their website. B)There are quite a few stockists which may or may not have the top I want.

So trusty phone in hand I set about trying to locate the right top in the right size at a stockist somewhere vaguely near to here. About 20 phone calls later and I'm speaking to a very helpful lady in Cardiff, who tells me that although they don't have the top, she's managed to track one down in *GLASGOW*, as in *SCOTLAND*. Now, whilst I'm pretty eager to get this top, Glasgow is... lets say.... *REALLY* far away from here (exactly 353.3 miles). So that's a no go despite the fact the offer to send it to me if I pay for it over the phone (great! except I don't know if it will fit, and if it does, if I actually like it in the flesh, and its a considerable amount of money to fork out for nothing).

I'm now just about at the end of my tether, and I'm thinking about giving up on the whole thing (it's been 2 hours already since I starting ringing around) and I think, "Why go to the monkey when you can go to the organ grinder" and I ring up the designer's office directly and see if they can track a top down for me. And hey presto! They do! So tomorrow I've got to get my arse into London and to the shop where they are currently reserving the right top, in the right size for me. Lets hope the bloody thing looks nice or I'll be well miffed!

After all the caffufle of the day, the evening is very quiet indeed, with us watching The Manchurian Candidate which was yet another fine film, and very interesting if you're into brain washing, conspiracy, politics and human experimentation. :) It was also quite an apt film to watch considering the election is in 6 days time... IMHO I think all our political leaders have been chipped and reprogrammed ;)

Posted by Abi at 8:23 PM | Comments (0)

April 27, 2005

Snipper-de-snip

A bit of a contrast from yesterday with not much to do - today I've got enough to keep me occupied for most of the daylight hours.

I start off by heading into town to get my hair cut - I can't even remember the last time I had it trimmed, probably before Christmas. But, with a wedding in Wales looming next weekend I need to get it thinned out and tidied up. I've booked to have my hair done the morning before the wedding to have an "up-do", but as it currently stands they'd have one helluva job doing anything with it whatsoever (my hair has always been super thick and unmanageable). Hopefully by having a bit of a hedge trimming before the wedding it will lessen the time and effort the hairdresser will have to put in on the big day (which means I don't have to spend any longer than necessary having pins stuck in my head!).

So after a very amusing haircut (no, not the actual hair cut, but the lady who does my hair is a complete riot!) I then have a wander around town to see if I can find the holy grail of wedding outfits. Despite seeing a few things, and trying on a top that is a distinct possibility, nothing really said "buy me!", so I settle on purchasing just a few more bath balls from Lush. I'm going to head off into London next week in a final ditch attempt to find something to wear, failing that, I guess I'll have to rely on the last wedding outfit I wore (which won't be a problem because no one at the wedding next weekend was at the last on I attended!).

I then spend most of the afternoon concentrating on some more exercise and muscle toning, I have to say having been doing the combined exercises for just under a week I'm already starting to notice a difference. The jeans that I'd be practically living in for the past 6 months are now unwearable (too big even with a belt) and the jeans that had been resigned to the back of the cupboard have been recommissioned into full time use - not bad when you consider they are a whole 4 dress sizes smaller!

It's curry for tea tonight, and by 6.30 I'm ready for it - that's another thing I've noticed too with all this exercise, I'm hungry! So I must remember to eat a little more than I have been previously, so thats a trip to the fruit and veg section for me :).

This evenings viewing is I Heart Huckabees, and whilst it doesn't pass Phil's "10 minute test of boredom" I stick with it to the end. It's a strange film to say the least, though quite easy to watch. Basic plot line is centered around Coincidences and Existential Philosophy - which until watching the film I had no idea about what so ever. I am a believer in Fate however so this film was very interesting for me to watch.

Apparently the question we should all be asking is "How am I not myself" - I'm not sure if anyone can find an answer to that!

Posted by Abi at 9:10 PM | Comments (1)

April 24, 2005

Telly Addict

Still in recovery I'm afraid, and rightly so in my opinion, I had a big night out! Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

So in light of that, a very quiet day for me. We manage to get out to do the weekly shop, but as my brain isn't quite working yet, so the idea of figuring out a week in advance an inspiring and healthy menu, well didn't quite cut the mustard with me. I think we probably set a new record in how little time and how few pennies we spent today on food... maybe I should get hangovers more often!

With the shopping done, the rest of the day really is assigned to further recovery for me (oh, I'm such a wuss!). So no Sunday dinner, but we do have a rather nice mish mash for tea of various salads, quiche and jacket potatoes.

I also manage to watch a staggering amount of television too. Lets see, to start off with we watched Birth which was staggeringly slow, way to arsty fartsy and confirmed my fears of Nicole Kidman just being a pretty face. After that we watched Highwaymen which in summary is about a lunatic paraplegic psychopath who likes to use people as road kill in his pimped up Cadillac Eldorado, and is being chased by some dude (quite good looking) whose wife he killed in cold blood. I didn't think this was a bad film IMHO, with plenty of blood and guts.

Phil then flicks through the channels and settles on a program which is basically all about the British attempt to produce the biggest H-Bomb and how we failed miserably in the ballistic missile program with Blue Streak, which was eventually disregarded as a weapon and converted for use on the European Space Program - History lessons on a Sunday, you just can't beat 'um!

Finally, and after the Antiques Road Show, I then watch Indian Jones : Raiders Of The Lost Ark - which is still a favourite of mine, and it brings back lots of memories of eating crisp sandwiches whilst having chicken pox... happy childhood days!

So now my eyes are square, I've learnt a load of stuff I never knew, and watched a load of crap I'll never watch again. Not bad for a Sunday!

Posted by Abi at 8:56 PM | Comments (0)

April 20, 2005

Scary Poo

A little less of the fire and brimstone today in terms of the weather, its just very "UK" like - dull, damp and grey, but apparently tomorrow yields lots of sunshine, so that will be a welcome break - I swear my eyes might as well work in monotone because at the moment everything looks drab and uninspiring.

The usual morning for me then and in the afternoon I set about doing a little bit of work and preparing tea, which is home made curry so needs quite a bit of time for marinating and the like. So with that done, I then go about doing some more exercise.

I don't seem to be losing as much as I did last week with eating the same and exercising the same, so I can only attribute that to the fact that maybe I'm replacing fat with muscle - which is no bad thing considering the same amount of fat takes up 5 times the space as an equivalent weight in muscle. Even so it's a little disheartening not to see the scales shift so much - I guess the real test will be clothes, you can tell a lot from clothes sizes, including how your body shape is changing. I've already noticed a big difference and can fit myself into plenty of old stuff that was previously off limits. I'm not going to give in though, just keep plodding away and see what time has to offer.

This evening we watch Exorcist : The Beginning which isn't as scary as I thought it would be, but on the same note did have one moment which had both Phil and I jump. Special affects.... urm so so, some of the scenes were obviously CGI rendered to the point where you could have been in a computer game, but they were ok. Story line... mediocre, I didn't know who had been possessed right until the end, but then again I'm appallingly bad at spotting that sort of thing :)

I don't know if I expected to be that scary either having seen the other exorcist movies, they were almost laughable now when you look back at them. I think the only film I can categorically say I will never ever watch again due to it's content is Poltergeist - which for some reason hit a chord with me and scared me half to death... even thinking about it gives me the creeps!

After the film Phil and I have an interesting pillow talk session - about Paula Radcliffe (no, no lovely dovey sweet talkin' in this house! ;) ). She's a professional runner and was Britain’s best hope in the last Olympics to win a medal, but she failed to complete the race to an aghast population watching here in the UK.

Anyway, after that fall from fame, she entered the London Marathon to try and restart a comeback. And boy, she certainly did get plenty of media attention. You see, according to Phil she was also caught taking a poo 17 miles into the race on the side of the road! I can't believe this, who would be so desperate to win a race, that they'd poo on the curb instead of stop at a toilet... so I bet him 10p that he's lying.

Stupid me... :) After some investigation I find she did in fact take a dump mid race...

Man, what some people do to prove a point. I however, will remain devoted to the porcelain bowl and all its uses :)

Posted by Abi at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)

April 16, 2005

I, Robot, Not

At last, a day of rest from the exercise regime, and it's most welcome. Despite my need to get to a certain weight by the time my friends wedding comes around, sometimes you just have to take a break from the slog of trying to be fit and healthy, so today seemed like an ideal opportunity.

I've been itching to see Robots since it was released in the cinema, so with not much to be doing this morning we head off into Oxford just in time to catch a matinee performance of Robots (of course not before the statutory popcorn and pop were purchased).

The animation used in Robots is with out a doubt spectacular, only slightly ruined by the quality of the film the cinema were using. I suspect the reel has been on continuous loop for some time now because the scratches on it were noticable to say the least. But nevermind, it didn't detract too much from the film once you learned to ignore the problem.

As for humour and storyline... well the humour wasn't a patch on what you'd get if you were to watch Shrek or Ice Age (btw, did you know they are bringing out Ice Age 2 - exxxcelllent!) though there were a few chuckle to yourself moments to be had. The story line had a good moral to it - "You can shine no matter what you are made of", particularly pertinant in our world where looks seem to justify how successful you'll be, and on that note, I give credit to the film makers for trying to portray a more healthy outlook to the kids who will undoubtably be watching the film.

For me though, as often is the way, the "sidekick" got my vote of best character in the film, in Robots case this was Wonder-bot who is an invention of the main character Rodney Copperbottom. Wonder-bot, though small, is very funny and its a shame the makers didn't put as much effort into the other characters emotions and personalites. (I guess Wonderbot would be the equivalent of Scrat out of Ice Age).

After the film has finished, we then head off home where we have to ride the bikes into town to get their free maintenence check done... so while the bike bods are tinkering we just meander around town for an hour and Phil gets hoodwinked by the local baker into buying lots of cakes at discount prices. Eventually when the bikes are ready we go home, and then do not a lot of anything to fill in the evening :)

Posted by Abi at 7:22 PM | Comments (0)

April 2, 2005

Death

A busy day really - we start with a trip to the supermarket to pick up some food for a BBQ as the weather is glorious (18.5 degrees outside) and then head off to pick up some garden furniture.

The set we want however... well they don't have any left at the local place, so we head off some 20 miles north to pick a set up where they do have some in stock. Not that we mind much, because its a drive out and the weather is good :)

Eventually we get to the shop but then discover that the packaging said furniture comes in is way to big for the beemer, so we set about unpacking the whole lot, discarding the huge box it comes in and just putting it all loose in the back of the car, which works a treat!

Back home again and we put together all the furniture and it looks great, we also then set about giving the wooden fence a coating of cuprinol (a wood treatment) and boy does it need it, the treatment was soaking in no sooner than we were putting it on, so obviously in desperate need of a little TLC.

With the rushing around and hard work out of the way, we then watch a couple of movies, the first being Code 46 - which is OK, but not to my taste much, a bit too artsy and not enough action. We have a psuedo BBQ as its turned a bit nippy outside and I then watch Ice Age whilst Phil has an early night (he has a cold coming and feels zonked).

Just before I head to bed I watch the news to discover that The Pope has died, I personally think the Vatican did a good job of preparing Catholics for the news, they didnt beat around the bush and were quite honest from the start. Which in a situation that affects so many, was probably the best course of action they could have assumed.

Posted by Abi at 10:02 PM | Comments (1)

March 27, 2005

Happy Easter Satan!

Well it must be spring now, because Easter has arrived! Not that it should yeild much joy to a continual dieter like myself, but Phil has treated me to a scrummy Lindt chocolate easter egg and some rather gorgeous truffles to go with it :) Which is fantastic from my point of view, not only is Lindt *the* best chocolate you can buy, but because I'm suppose to be on a diet, it lasts even longer (I treat myself to a bit each day, unlike Phil who scoffed his egg in lightening speed (darn it I wish I had his metabolism!)).

So with breakfast done and dusted (yep, that included chocolate as well) we go out for a bike ride and once home we settle down to watch Resident Evil : Apocalypse - a spin off from a computer game I believe and the sequal to the first film. It's not too bad a film, with plenty of action and zombies, and it's nice to see a couple of women as the heroines (nah I ain't a raving feminist, honest!).

With it being Easter Sunday, there really isn't much for us to do, or nothing much we can think of. So after dinner it's just a quiet evening of TV and a bit more Gran Turismo. I also decide to take an online quiz to see what religion I'd be best suited to for curiosity sake (I'm pretty scientifically minded and not really spiritual). But boy was I surprised by my results:-

And the quiz masters "make you feel better about your Satanism speech was:-

Oh yes, that worked, now I feel wonderful - I'm a novice Satanist who could also be a Witch. ;)

For those of you who also feel religiously misguided, you can find out what religion might suit you at http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=10907

Posted by Abi at 9:39 PM | Comments (1)

March 25, 2005

OCD

Yes, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - I think I have it. Not only do I often take trips to the car in the middle of the night to check it's locked, I do the same to make sure I've switched the cooker off. I'll even lock the back door, and 5 seconds later check to see if I locked and repeat that processes several times. It’s mad! The only way I can reassure myself that I've done something like lock a door is to talk to myself as I'm doing it out loud. For example, if I'm locking the door for the 10th time in a 30 second cycle all I need to do is say to myself "Yes you stupid moo, you've just locked the door". I think I'm probably broken.

Anyway the reason I mention this is that I completed my new jigsaw in record time (I'd say about 4 hours in total) simply because I couldn't stop doing it. Nope. Piece after piece I had to keep putting them in until it was finished. Admittedly it was very satisfying to finish it, but why on earth couldn’t I just leave it be for a couple of hours? Who knows. Yes, I'm definitely broken.

So after my slight mental tic of having to do the jigsaw we then go out to get some gardening supplies - primarily some garden pots, hanging baskets (boy they rip you off for those over here) and I also pick up a bay tree (adding to the herb collection). We also pick up another frame for the freshly completed jigsaw.

With such a busy morning and afternoon (ok ok I know, self inflicted due to inability to stop doing something) I'd neglected to get any food out for tea - so off the diet wagon I tumble and succumb to a Domino's Pizza whilst watching the beginning of Cidade de Deus (AKA City Of God).

Didn’t get too far with the film, it was not really my cup of tea (I mean it was ok, and did a grand job of portraying life not as we know it over here and has a very potent message) but, with a full belly of carbohydrates I'm afraid a hot bath and an early night won the contest of will power.

Posted by Abi at 10:41 PM | Comments (2)

March 24, 2005

Ache

Boy, have I learnt the benefits of gardening today - and not the good sort either! I can hardly move because all the bending, kneeling and groping (?!) has left me stiff as a brush. I mean literally, I feel like the backs of my thighs and have been replaced by some 2 by 4 planks of wood! So needless to say, I've not really been able to do my daily bike ride or keep fit video, because if I did I think I'd inflict more damage than good.

Not that its too much of a problem really, I have to spend most of the day in the house as it is, so settle into doing my new jigsaw, and also watching Monsters Inc.

I seem to be on a vendetta to collect all the films that have been animated in a way similar to A Bugs Life etc, I think they are really good, and the humour directed at adults really makes me smile :) There are plently more for me to collect, but on that note makes easy present picking for family :)

So after some more puzzling, and film watching I then head out to the garden center so that I can pick up a grow rack (kind of a mini green house but with plastic rather than glass), some compost, an admoral variety of herb seeds to grow and some weird plant seeds too - one of which is called "Scabious Paper Moon" - nice eh? Looks pretty though!

Posted by Abi at 5:40 PM | Comments (0)

March 17, 2005

Green With Envy

A peaceful afternoon really and since the weather is brightening up somewhat I take another stroll into town where I pick up an O.S. Map of our local area so that I can plan out some cycle routes to do.

Back home, I do another exercise DVD (yup really taking the fitness thing seriously now - but I'll be darned if I'm gonna go to a gym) and prepare tea, which is nice a nice and easy pasta bake with some garlic bread.

We watch Envy this evening, which I think would classify itself as a comedy, but with 3 subtle lessons in it that we could all learn from:-

1. Be happy with what you have
2. True friends forgive and share
3. You never really get rid of the shit in your life, you either hide it or pass it on to someone else

I quite liked the film and IMHO it just goes to show you can sell any old crap provided its got a catchy name :)

Posted by Abi at 7:39 PM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2005

The Day After The Shag Before

After the excitement of bike buying, and the onset of some rather unsavoury weather (most definatly not suitable for bike riding as I discovered on the way home from town), I settle down to an afternoon of jigsaws and films - and eventually preparing dinner.

Todays matinee consisted of The Day After Tomorrow which is a great film provided you've the surround sound to get the full effect (yup dont think the neighbours like me much after that).

I then get down to the serious business of an exercise DVD and after that start dinner (which tonight is Grilled Lemon Chicken Kebabs) - thank you Delia Smith once again.

With dinner all ready to be eaten Phil gets ready for an evening of chick flick mania (hehehe lucky him!) and we watch Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason whilst munching.

Not a bad film (for some reason I found the scene involving magic mushrooms particularly amusing - and no not a case of been there done that... honest!) :) so a relativly easy way to pass the evening by.

Posted by Abi at 10:21 PM | Comments (1)

March 15, 2005

Are you a Goonie?

Not such a quiet day today, as I head off into town on foot to do some shopping for various bits and pieces I needed / didn't need.

Managed to pick up another Jigsaw puzzle to do, not a round one this time but a chocolate one instead (so to speak!) and also a handy storage thingy for incomplete jigsaws so that you can move them around when you want to without messing up the pieces you have already put in place.

I choose this one because I like vintage signs so I reckon when I've completed it I will get it framed (I'm probably a third of the way through already) :)

So whilst I am doing that I pop a DVD into the player, today's treat is The Goonies which is another all time favourite film of mine. Apparently they are bringing out "Goonies 2" at some point which will have the original cast, so that should be interesting, but no doubt a let down after the first one (as most sequels are).

Though my childhood gang never quite got up to the wild adventures of the Goonies, we had a pretty good time fishing tadpoles, throwing horse manure and generally causing chaos. :)

Posted by Abi at 8:10 PM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2005

Alright Me Ol' Garden Gate?!

Another day yeilding not much except a visit to homebase to get some Danish Oil to treat the wooden work tops in the kitchen as they were looking decididly haggared. After some accidental inhalation of fumes we settle down to watch Alfie, a remake of the original Alfie.

Having not seen the original starring Michael Caine I cant comment on whether the new version with Jude Law was good by comparison - but all in all it was quite enjoyable (aided by the fact that Jude Law really is quite handsome).

Posted by Abi at 5:00 PM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2005

Winding Down

Not a lot of anything happening today really - I'm on the equivalent of Gardening leave from work so despite being readily available to do work all is quiet on the Western Front.

I did manage to watch another of my favourite childhood movies however, that being Innerspace. And it's still a cool film! There is probably no better way to learn anatomy than this :)

I also managed to order a USB memory stick that will be suitable for the PS2, so that I can take full advantage of the rather good "photo drive" mode that it has - plenty of ingame shots to come, urm once I actually get enough money to buy a decent car that is photogenic!

Posted by Abi at 10:05 PM | Comments (0)

March 2, 2005

Toons

Another filmed watched this evening, quite good too if you like cartoons, and can suffer all the Disney Propaganda which presents itself before you get to the main feature.

Seriously I'd just about finished my dinner by the time Home On The Range finally started.

Posted by Abi at 9:13 PM | Comments (0)