wagwaan?

Lovin' the weekend

Boy, was I glad when Friday night came!  It's been a long, hot week here in the Capital. Well, I don't exactly LIVE in the Capital, but I commute there every day and this little heatwave we've been having hasn't been the kind of weather you want when you are stuck underground with your nose in someone's armpit. You're welcome.
But come it did (Friday night - keep up people!), and the cherry on this particular cake was dinner with my brother N and his wife the delightful J. Oh, and the boyf managed to join us in time for dessert too. We had a lovely dinner sitting outside one of the restaurants at the top of the High Street, and my brother's eyes were on stalks at all the outfits those crazy English girls were wearing. Not much left to the imagination, if you get my drift. It's a particularly English (British?) thing to do: get your gladrags on, get made up to the nines and hit the streets and the local hotspots. I don't really go out much in our town in the evenings because alcohol can do funny things to people...
Anyway, so Saturday we got up relatively early, and I made my way to the gym at the girls' Grammar School to finally sign up. It's great - it's open 6 to 10pm in the evenings, and some of the weekend too. The rest of the time it's for the pupils and then for after school activities.  I did a bit of Powerplate, some cyclingon a kind of sit-down cycle, good for my back, and some elliptical trainer. I literally only did 15 mins as I haven't had my induction yet. I felt great while I was doing it, and then managed to get away with no leg ache today!  (I would have gone swimming today, too, but I didn't get back in time to go as the pool closes at 2pm.)  In the evening I had a lovely long gmail chat with Claire, who has every Saturday off. It was great. She's enjoying things and is having her eyes opened by the amount of STUFF the girls in her bunk have brought to camp (e.g. "I don't even OWN that many clothes!"). Oh the life of a privileged American teen....
So, yes, this morning I went to Mass with N and J at our childhood church where I haven't been for YEARS, and after lunch I spent some time getting stuff on ebay (painfully slow with this computer) whilst half watching the Wimbledon Men's final. Yay Federer and his new record of 15 Grand Slam wins!   
Tonight they came over for dinner and we had a rather hot Indian take-away followed by strawberries, ice cream, meringue nests and creme fraiche. Half fat of course LOL! 
All in all a very pleasant weekend. I do miss my family and it's great when they come to visit as I get over to France only once or twice a year at most. I'm just glad the weather forecast was wrong and they had brilliant weather, not 3 days of rain.
Which brings us to bedtime.... Back tothe grindstone tomorrow. Good night all!

Wimbledon update: Murray-mania

It's all going crazy here...
Quote (from the Times Online)

Andy Murray marched through to his first Wimbledon semi-final yesterday and turned the championships into the hottest ticket in world sport.

Internet sites were awash with offers to buy Centre Court tickets for the men’s final on Sunday, with one seller putting four tickets online last night at an astonishing £20,000 each.

Demand has soared with each Murray victory, driving up prices as tennis fans realised there was a chance that the world No 3 could win his first grand-slam title, underlined by his convincing 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 quarter-final victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Could we (she whispers) by any chance get to see an Englishman in the Final??

Er, Wednesday already?!

I'm sorry I didn't come back immediately and post this picture on Monday. Things obviously got a little busy. And hot. Are you having hot weather where you are? Phew, boy, it's hot here!
Anyway, here is the little present the Other Half came back with at the weekend. It's pretty out of character for him; I mean he's a darling and all, but he doesn't often come home with un-solicited gifts (if you're reading darling, it's ok, I'm not having a go!). It makes it all the more special when he does :D
 

Not too shabby, eh?  (pls excuse the crumpled white background - it's my ironing pile lol).  I love it. I can just see it with a crisp white top and turquoise bottom or something. So last night I decided I had to go shopping for some summer clothes. In the end I didn't find anything to go with this, but there is a sale on at another fave haunt of mine, which I'll try out at the weekend.  I did, however, find a sweet white cardigan/shrug (£8). I got it in white, but I see they have other colours. I also got a summery dress, but I feel it's too flimsy and er revealing for the office. OH says not - but "what do I know?" was next comment. We'll see how I feel when I wear it around town...

 

Oh, and I also got this - it's linen, and more gorgeous in real life than in the photo!

  

I then got sidetracked by the housewares, and decided I had to get a few things (cheap, cheap, cheap!), so by the end of it, I had several bags and had to get a taxi home, where I arrived at the same time as the boyf. I could not wait to get under a cold shower before making some dinner.

Claire is getting on fine and dandy at camp. She sent me a couple of sample pictures today, which I LOVED, so I'm sure the parents will be thrilled. She's still loving the 1.8 lens that uncles/aunts paid for with last year's birthday money - she gets a nice crisp picture of the child with blurry background; with trees in the background you get a lovely dappled effect. Nice.  I've told her she needs to update her blog so that her virtual aunties can read all about it!

Well, I must rush. Hope to fill you in a bit more later...

This'll have to be a short one...

Phew! Sunday evening and I haven't seen the time go by! Yesterday I spent the day doing chores, and sweating in a very un-ladylike fashion. Today, we were talking about the bedroom and the mess, and all of a sudden there we were, moving furniture, taking stuff down to be dumped, and sweating (again) in a very un-lady- and gentlemanlike fashion!
It would take too long at this late hour to recount exactly what went on, but my bed is on the opposite wall to before, the yukky brown carpet with lino underlay has been taken up, the Mac has come up from the basement to be installed in its own home-office cubby on our landing... and the ironing has all been done. Yes, that WAS my weekend "off"!
When I was downstairs getting the grocery delivery sorted, the boyf had ripped up all the carpet and this is what I found when I went back upstairs: he'd decided to get out half the candles I have in the bedroom and light them. You must picture the scene as it was prior to the clearout - this chest of drawers (which I got at Oxfam last year) was piled high with my junk, as it had become a bit of a dumping ground. So this was a much prettier vision, I can tell you!

 

See the floorboards? I'm going to paint them white (at last... some day). And I love the way the chest of drawers is all battered. It's lived a bit, you can tell. The little shelf thingy that's standing on top of it needs to be hung on the wall, so I'm fluttering the eyelashes a bit, to see if he'll take the bait. He's handy with a drill...

Anyway, tomorrow remind me to post a pic of the beautiful necklace he bought me yesterday. Aww, he's such a sweetheart...

Hope you all had a good weekend. Nite nite!

Safe and sound, and other fun things

I finally got an email yesterday!  Until I got that, I was wondering if everything was going well, but of course she's fine. She said the flight was long and uncomfortable -must be those long legs of hers- but she was able to watch two films. On arrival they were taken to the hotel and she shared a room with 3 girls. They all went out to Taco Bell at 9.30pm because they were hungry... WHAT? Are they NOT FEEDING my BABY??! (picture me clutching my heart in a dramatic manner).  That's already two things she's experienced that I haven't: a transatlantic flight and a Taco Bell.  Anyway, you can read all about it on her new blog if you feel like so inclined.
This week is particularly tough because it's the week of all the monthly Executive meetings, and it's glorious sunshine outside so I keep looking out longingly and dreaming of the evening when I'll be able to go and sit in the garden with an ice cold Diet Coke. So far, that's not happened because I got home late both nights. Damn shame!
To keep our spirits up, the girls in the office have decreed that we are going to learn to jive or lindy hop next Tuesday after work, which will be interesting.  I'm glad the joints are behaving at the moment but it could be a totally different story next Wednesday morning! I might also have to invest in a heavy-duty sports bra. Sorry for the overshare; I'm just saying.... 
So - I hope this post finds you in good spirits and full of the joys of summer. Back soon!

And she's off!

This morning, after a night spent tossing and turning (Claire) and getting up to pee (me - sorry for the overshare!), the day dawned nice and bright and warm.  Claire was up and in the shower by 7 am I think. She was too wound up to eat breakfast, but once I'd had my original Ready Brek we checked all her luggage, passport, ticket etc, and got a cab to the airport. Yes, we decided the treck to the bus stop with heavy bags was just a tad too far for comfort.  We went via the countryside to avoid any traffic on the M25 and ended up only taking 30 minutes, which was great.  Of course, I whipped out my phone to take  pictures, to Claire's disgust.  Here's Terminal 3

And Claire trying to avoid the camera as she walked in

She has a flat ticket/money pouch on her belt, her camera bag and messenger bag as hand luggage, and a huuuuge red rolling holdall, as well as a spotty holdall with her sleeping bag in it. I managed to get a bungee cord thingy to attach the smaller bag to the rolling one - it is very light but this avoids her having to carry too many bags. We checked them in separately and I was relieved to see that the bigger bag was well under the regulation 23kgs allowance!  Of course, she hates this picture (sorry Claire!), but I had to post it anyway ;)
We went inside the terminal and there were loads of red t-shirted CampAmerica counsellors checking in. Most of them seemed to be with other counsellors, but we saw one or two singletons with their "mummy and daddy", so I'm sure Claire didn't feel out of place.   There were plenty of staff on hand to point you in the right direction for the automatic check-in machines, complete with scales. You have to insert your passport, photo side first, and the machine scans it and comes up with your boarding pass and airline ticket. Very nifty.  I usually check my boss in online every time he flies, but we didn't have the option as she's on a group booking. The online drop-off desks had much shorter queues, it has to be said, so next time you travel I strongly advise you to check in online, ok?

After all the paperwork was done, we had aaaaages of time, so we went upstairs to get a bit to eat. Well, I did - Claire still couldn't eat a thing. I know what that's like as it happens to me all the time when I'm travelling. Anyway, she used the time to fill out her landing cards, and when we were ready we went along to passport control. We had a big hug before Claire went off with nary a backward glance, through passport control on her way to her big adventure.
I must admit, as I turned to go I felt a bit of a lump in my throat, and a very strange feeling came over me. I couldn't be happier for her, or more proud, but it's still strange to see your "baby" (she'll shoot me!) go off on her first big grown-up adventure.
Claire has started a blog that she hopes to update from Camp. She has to put the pictures of the kids online for the parents to see, so hopefully she will get computer access from time to time! If you are interested, subscribe to Claire at Camp and read all about it.
It's been an absolute scorcher today, and I'm looking out of the window at the beautiful sunshine and blue sky. I really don't want to go to work tomorrow. Gah, just thinking about the commute is depressing me. That's a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea!

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend. Toodle pip!

New banner...

...in honour of Wimbledon fortnight which starts on Monday.  It really IS summer then!!

Last minute prep

Claire's out at work with the little French kiddies, the boyf has gone up to London and I'm sitting here after a treck to the doctor's with a nice home-made latte in my John Lewis spotty thermos mug - a steal at £1.50 in the clearance bin...

The trip to the doctors was to get a repeat prescription for my meds and to show him the strange rash I have. Turns out it's vascular and it may mean I have to stop the treatment for arthritis; he has to run it by the Professor at Guy's Hospital first. I feel fine and my (very regular) blood tests are fine too, so it's probably nothing but a side-effect.
Anyway, I'm waiting for Claire to get home so I can see what she's packing and make sure she doesn't forget anything. She hasn't even started yet. Oh wait, she's STARTED but in her teenage way that means she's put a pile of clothes on top of the bag she's taking and reckons that's ok.  I have just done a wash and found several cardigans and tops in there that I think she might want to have with her for cooler evenings, so we'll see!  We also have to book her Hostel in NY for when she's finished camp, and we have to work out where the bus stop is for tomorrow morning because last time we went to Heathrow they had GONE AND MOVED IT and we had to order a last minute taxi or we'd have missed our flight. A bit of a heart-stopper that was, I can tell you.  Not having a car can sometimes be a right pain, but luckily there is a direct bus to Heathrow from where we live. It's a nice comfy bus too, more like a coach actually. Now if we could only work out where the nearest stop is, we'd be fine!
Claire's check-in time is 12:45 but I discovered yesterday that her flight doesn't actually leave until 3 hours later. What fun!  Hopefully, there will be plenty of other people in Camp America t-shirts at check-in so she has people to hang out with.
After that, I can come home and collapse on the sofa and look forward to a quiet 3 weeks before our Russian language student comes to stay. Didn't I tell you I rented out Claire's room as soon as she was out the door? Hey, I've got to make a living!
Oh, and here's a random catch-up picture that I forgot to post. When the Tube strike was on, I had to walk from Euston to King's Cross to catch a bus, and I passed the British Library which I didn't even know was there... I really should go up to London more often at weekends. Anyway, I liked the entrance and the statue just inside so I stood there among the throng of pedestrians rushing by and took this picture on my phone.

Garden visitors, and other pictures

I've got the day off today, because it's Claire's last full day before she goes to the States. I had errands to run, but when I looked out of the window I saw the visitors my neighbours told me had taken up residence at the bottom of our garden. You can only really see the garden from the window by the computer downstairs, and from Claire's bedroom upstairs, and when you are downstairs you can't see what's lurking in the (rather long) grass. But today I saw them. Foxes!  I went out in the garden and saw two foxes sunning themselves in the grass. One of them just looked at me, but the smaller, more timid one, took one look and ran to the safety of the brambles. I think maybe it's a mother and baby? Anyway, this is what I saw... First of all, yes, the garden is a mess. No pretty flowers left but lots of greenery. The ginger ball of fur in the foreground, looking up at me, is Lyle. The ginger ball of fur at the other end of the garden? A fox.  I'd been outside at this point and scared one of them away.

 

 

Then the other one came back, and as the sun was out, they were rolling around seeming very relaxed. It was like watching a couple of pets, it was so sweet (although I know they are wild, so not THAT sweet in reality). They're still out there now... and from what I can see it definitely looks like a mum and its cub.

See? They're totally rolling around, basking in the sun. 

Then, I think they heard a noise...

I've had great fun all day, looking out of the window periodically to see what they are up to.  I checked out the RSPCA website and they say there is no evidence that foxes and cats don't get on. Night vision film has shown foxes and cats ignoring each other. If anything, cats will scare away foxes...  They say if you want to discourage foxes, don't leave food out (we don't anyway), clear back overgrown bits of the garden (um, okay) and plant prickly plants (the place is overrun with blackberries anyway!).  So I think we'll leave them for a bit. Until they become a nuisance, anyway. Apparently, the neighbour's nice flat well-mown lawn makes for a very attractive toilet!  He told me they live in my garden and use his as a loo, so I'm not sure how happy he is to have them there! 

So, on to my next little project. I have been practicing with Claire's 1.8 lens, because she'll be taking it with her (sob) so I'll have to either get my own or wait until she returns...  I want to make some more cards, and here are a couple of outtakes. They feature French Fancies which were my darling grandpa's favourite. Towards the end of his life, he used to say he had nothing to live for, and when he refused even a French Fancy I started to worry :(  

 

Hungry yet?! 

That's all for today. I've got a couple of 18 yr olds due home soon, and I haven't done half what I set out to do...

Not a lazy Sunday

Up bright and early, but the two girls were already in front of the TV, watching the extras on the Band of Brothers DVDs. After Roisin left, Claire and I went into town to finish the shopping. I think we've got everything done now; there's all the little stuff you don't think of, such as an insulated drinking bottle; a hat for the girl who won't wear one; a travel organiser that slips on your belt and keeps your travel docs/passport/money safe; a padlock for her bag (not so much for when it's checked in but rather to keep things safe when at camp); a UK/USA adapter plug; a camera bag (glad she has a staff discount for that one LOL); travel sickness pills; etc etc.  Phew!  I asked Claire if it was exciting to be buying lots of stuff, but she just had a nervous tummy at the thought of next week...
We also went back to Millets and bought the (in)famous 3 season sleeping bag, deftly avoiding the guy with the ponytail who turned out to be the manager. They didn't have any ladies' ones, and they only had the green display sleeping bag, but it'll do. Claire doesn't seem to feel the cold anyway.
We traipsed home, tired and hot, but glad to have done a good job. I sat in the garden with a cuppa and a book, and later I had a lovely bath.
This evening I've done some very important work: I have scanned all Claire's documents (passport, visa, medical report etc) and sent them to her email inbox as well as printing out spare copies. I hope to have covered all our bases that way. I often scan stuff and send it to my inbox because if the computer ever dies at least I'll be able to access important stuff via my email server. 
I was led to reflect on this when my colleague's fiancee was here last week: she hadn't kept all the emails her fiance had sent her, because you don't do you? Well, she had his Blackberry and although she could access his Gmail on that without a password, the company are going to have to cancel the account because it links directly into the office servers. They are happy for her to keep the actual device as a sentimental memento of her fiance, but when that account ceases, she won't able able to access his emails via another PC - the family have been unable to crack his password. It's not something you think about, but seeing her despair got me thinking about how to prevent such a thing.  It turns out that you can write to Google with various pieces of documentation to access the account of a deceased person, but it's a faff. I tried looking online to see what's out there, and the most interesting thing seems to be a service called Deathswitch (I know, not very user-friendly!). You can see what it's about here, and an article about it here.  I'm seriously thinking about signing up. I don't see it as morbid, I see it as practical, and I'm nothing if not practical!!  
Anyway, it's really late and we still have to email CampAmerica with some stuff, so I'm off :)