i have a friend coming for dinner tonight with her two girls, she's very houseproud so I've been tidying and cleaning like a mad woman, even the dog has been banished to the garden so he cant undo my handy-work with his dirty paws and he is banned forever from going in the lounge as I've just had the carpets shampoo-ed!

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Rang one of my catalogues to enguire my I didnt get my free gift with my last order, (I only order when they send me an incentive!) Snotty woman on the phone said they didnt give free gifts when you order from the sale, that she would send the gift anyway but that I would know better in future! What a cheek!

On a similar theme, I bought Lolly a new phone for Christmas and they reduced it by £40 the following week, when I mentioned it to the shop staff they said not to worry, as I was a contract customer with them too I would receive the difference in the post as part of their price promise, many weeks went past, I asked in the shop again and they said hold tight, it will come, rang customer services who ummed and ahhed and said go back to the shop, eventually I was given a new number to ring who told me that the price promise does not apply at christmas. Why? Just so they can catch out everyone who buys a phone as a present? Anyway I kicked up a little and they offered to apply £20 credit to my contract account as a gesture of goodwill, not exactly what I was looking for but better than nothing.

Anyone know why I keep signing into blogger but not staying signed in?

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I'm sat here blogging just for a few minutes as I'm travelling by bus to the next town this morning and have just seen my elderly neighbour go past on her way to the same place. I can not spend a 30 minute bus ride with this woman, she is partially deaf and so shouts and will ask me personal questions the whole way and then possibly try and come shopping with me! As sweet and harmless as she is I can wait a few minutes and catch the next bus!

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Lolly handed me a letter from school this morning about a visiting theatre group coming to the school to perform 'much ado about nothing'. The permission slip and money were supposed to be handed in by 9th Febuary and the play is tomorrow! Nothing like leaving it till the last minute Lolly!

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Put my neck and shoulder out over the weekend, no fun, lots of painkillers and iritibility, nothing new there, bit better now but still throwing my typing off, correcting it every three of four words.

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Chickens are well, must take and post photos, I let them all free range together for the first time, (4 exbatts who live together, 2 8 week old pullets and one new to us pekin bantam) after a few minutes of squabbling, they all got along pretty well, wouldnt put them all in a run together yet, each one isnt big enough anyway but nice to see them getting along, the pekin bantam still hangs about on the fringes and picks a fight some times, I think thats why she was given to us, not as social as they said she was!

Right, neighbour should have gone by now, I'm of to do the weekly shop! x

Mmmm, mood is mainly content with flares of irritability. Its half term and I have very little money, kids are eating me out of house and home and bickering a lot, that is if they can find the energy to raise their heads from watching dvds. I keep draggin them out into the garden to help with the chickens and rabbits but they soon get cold or injure themselves doing things I said not to and retreat back under the duvet on the sofa. We've taken the dog out a few times, this morning we went to meet my friend and her twin two year old boys at the beach for a walk and trip to the park but a freezing fog surrounded the beach, her boys were cold and miserable, my feet started to go numb and Lolly really wasnt enjoying it so we lasted an hour and then scurried off home to get warm. Its been sunny but cold here, I know in places like Canada and Northern America its snowing and staying frozen but we are softies here and not used to cold weather, I dont think we even own clothes that would be suitable where Maria or Mary P live, Hello! Hope your toes are feeling better!

We now have seven chickens, four retired battery hens, 2 chicks that were not sure what they are and one darling pekin bantam, given to us yesterday. Imagine an old fashioned drawing of a little hen and thats what she looks like! Very twee, will post pics soon. The ex batts have grown many feathers back now, they looked awful before but are filling out nicely now, not many eggs but thats only an added bonus for me.

If I was a good blogger and a good writer I could tell you about my day in a witty fashion and it would making an amusing anecdote, I think like Bill Bryson but write as well my dog! Lets just say my broadband, nor anyone elses in the street would work, the ready light was flashing which means theres a problem but I got through to the indian call centre to be told thats it was my computers fault and I needed to go my my nearest pc vendor and get a new pc!!! I was actually in frustrated tears by the time I came off the phone with him, the problem has happened before and he just wouldnt listen to the basic diagnostics I was trying to give him. I rang the customer service line and told them that if they didnt do something I was cancelling my entire package, phone, tv and broadband, she was very sweet, refunded me all the expensive call charges and explained that if all the local techs are busy that the calls get diverted to India and to keep calling back till I was lucky enough to reach a british based tech, I did this, he said he could see from his end that I had no service and would send an engineer the next morning. Oddly enough after most of the street called with the same problem, a van was seen driving up the road and everyones came back on at the same time...

Had the mother of all migraines yesterday, wasnt going to let it spoil my day out planned at a local country park especially as weather is balmy and spring like here! But I suffered on will power and codiene tablets, my mum said my pupils were like pinpricks and as a former migraine sufferer herself, she knew what the low winter sun in my eyes was doing to me! But Dumpling was enjoying himself so much and when I secretly bought tickets to the small train track they have there he nearly burst with excitement and happiness, I barely remember the train ride but I do remember his utter joy at riding a tiny steam train and going under tunnels! We went home late in the afternoon, I chatted most of the way home because I thought if I kept my mouth busy I might not throw up in my mums car, in fact I dry heaved over the toilet for 10 minutes when I got home, then laid in a dark room for two hours, unable to sleep. Lolly got take away from the shop round the corner at which point I realised that I had something wrong with my arms and hands, numbness and tingling and some lack of co-ordination, still a bit wrong this morning and i can smell the strangess smell, I dont think its real, I think its something to do with the migraine. I 'm aware the spelling is bad in this post, my brain has quite returned to normal yet and the blogger spellchecker wont work, will try again later!

This made me cry with laughter, I want one!

Dumpling has developed a passion for treasure maps after a friend brought one to school, so I thought I would make him some, I've had a great day of fun and learnt a lot from the net...
First print off either a proper map or a kiddy map or draw your own onto normal printer paper, tear the edges and soak in tea or coffee, blot on teatowels or kitchen paper, if in a hurry dry on a low oven setting but dont leave or you will forget and it will burst into flames! When dry burn along the edges with a candle/matches/gas hob and/or get some ink on a thin paintbrush and run along the edges with the paper horizontal and the brush vertical, it will seep into the torn edges very well, lastly brush the paper will cooking oil and blot well with kitchen paper, I promise it looks great and very real!

Will post a photo when batteries are charged!

Meme time

Meme from terroni


Where is your cell phone? Probably in my coat pocket, I keep leaving it there and missing calls and texts.

Vehicle? Dont have one, do my feet count?

Hair? Blowed dried so well this morning then realised we are having gale force winds today!


Your favorite thing? Just one thing? Have loads, chocolate, long walks with the dog, my kids being nice to each other

Dream last night? was riding around town on a moterised bicycle with no brakes

Favorite drink? pineapple juice, cranberry juice and ginger beer all in together, try it its delicious

Room you are in? My dining room has a little nook that is my 'office', spend way to much time here on the pc

Your ex? It been years, have 3 ex's, one I hate, one I still love but am happy for his new life (and mine) and one that I have no idea what happened to him after we split?

You are? Tired in a good way, had a long walk with family and the dogs and a nice evening cooking and chatting with kids

What do you want to be in ten years? Umm, I dont know, pretty much same as now, with less back ache and less stress

Who did you hang out with today? My kids, my mum and sister

What you're not? Tidy

Muffins? i like making them but not eating them, Lolly doesn though

One of your wish list items? oooh just one, ok an AV sender so I could watch cable tv in bed

Where is the ____? Remote control, kids keep hiding it from each other so the other cant change the channel

The last thing you did? stole a spoonful of unset trifle from the fridge

What are you wearing? layers. its cold here

Your pet(s)? umm...four ex battery hens, two chicks, one lhasa puppy, 2 goldfish, one chinchilla, four rabbits and we are budgie sitting!

Your computer? slow

Your life? Good. needs more cash

Your mood? tired and content

Missing? summer evenings

What are you thinking about right now? my back hurts despite the painkillers

Your shoes? none, pink socks but i was wearing my wellies as usual

Your work? Three evening babysitting jobs booked this week, good money but boring being at someone elses house while their kids sleep, all you can do is watch tv

Your summer? planned and longed for

Your favorite color? the bluey green I'm going to paint my carport doors this week

I have to actually post to be a blogger? Oh, ok right then...

My mobile phone has developed a fault, the screen goes so dark you can just make out the screen and the only way to fix it is to take the whole thing apart, take out the battery and then put it back to together again, not something I want to do every time I want to make a call or read a text!

The wireless internet router has packed up, and the engineer told me I had my whole system set up wrong, I should have the router linked to the modem and then both pc's, mine and Lollys laptop running wirelessly, instead and my pc linked to the modem too and just Lollys wirelessly, this means I have to go and buy another adaptor, why cant things just work, bearing in mind the system ran perfectly well for almost a year and now decides it cant work that way anymore!

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The roof started to leak in another place this week after we had the other bits fixed! Great, running water inside! Didnt help that we had a freak hail and thunderstorm, it terrified Dumpling, we dont often get thunder here and if we do its at night and he sleeps through it but this time it rumbled LOUD right over our heads and he panicked, took a lot of cuddles and soothing to explain its just electricity jumping from cloud to cloud, it is, right? Any way the landlord is coming over this morning to have a look, I've been tidying like crazy, he's a great bloke and doesnt mind how I keep the place but I have tenants guilt and feel like the house should look like a showhome even though we both now its a little rundown and has a scruffy farmhouse feel to it. Thats why I love living here, lots of reclaimed wood and odd nooks and crannys but it doesnt give itself to looking well kept!