I need to start packing for the holidays. We are leaving on Monday for two weeks in France. It is about four or five years since we had a holiday other than The Folk's Caravan so a break will be nice.

We have a front room full of clothes ready to pack and other than what is still to be washed the only one not packed is me.

I am trying to decide which of my Threadless t shirts to take with me. . . anyone want to help me out here?

The weirdest thing happened today in work. (Apart from the fact I was there by 10am which is practically unheard of!)

I went out for 30 minutes to do a bank lodgment and a trip to the post office and when I came back there was a pile of debris on the ground outside our front door.


I stood and looked at it for a moment and saw a pile of burned matchsticks. It was as if someone had just emptied an ashtray out in one go. It was just to the left of the door.

I spoke to Iain about it and he went out to look at it and saw much more!

Someone had sat and burned matches, left the matches and box, left the packaging from superglue and the packaging from a pack of razors.

They had then used the glue to glue the razors to the flag stones. Why did they? Why did they? Why did they? I just can't get over it.
We have no idea when they did it all - presumably in the 30 minutes I was out but it was in plain view of where Iain was standing. Before we left for the day Iain picked it all up. There is a guy who comes and keeps the general area of the shops tidy and brushed up but Iain was afraid that a child would come and get cut.

I think it was the mint sweet that did it for me! A couple of weeks ago, when I did that talk to the school kids, one boy asked me what was the weirdest photo I had ever taken. I should have answered him "I will be taking it quite soon, when someone glues razors to the paving outside our shop for no reason!

How bizarre and how random huh?

It is over and I am home. That has got to be one of the most horrible days I have ever lived through but also one of the fullest of love too.

My mother and I travelled to London and managed to get to the train station where David was picking us up without too much bloodshed. The only mishap was when we went to buy the train tickets and she realised that she had left her credit card in the ATM the last time she was at the bank. Two days ago! Goodness knows who has it now!

David, Anne, Mum and I all went for a pub lunch and it was fine. We couldn't get away from the fact that we were soon going to be going to the service to say goodbye to their babies, but the form was ok. We went and picked up the platters of food for "after" and then headed back to the house where Anne's family had started to gather.

After saying hello to the people we had first met only six months ago at their wedding, the group split between different cars and made the five minute journey to the crematorium. The place looked lovely, set in lovely grounds and the Vicar (I shall call her a Vicar as no one called her anything different!) came out to us and invited us all in. I watched her talk to David and Anne and felt she was very calming and reassuring to them.

We had a most lovely service. There were a couple of songs, of course no one was able to sing but the Vicar was just so lovely and said loads of lovely words about both the babies and David and Anne. She had looked after them in hospital and had been there for them at the time. She wasn't just someone drafted in for the job.

The casket was just so small. So small.

Anne's sister, Jane, spoke about her nieces and read two poems which were so lovely and just right for the moment.

There were lots of flowers and the two main bouquets were made up of white daisies and white lilies as the babies were named Daisy and Lily. Anne was juggling the flowers and the candles the Vicar had lit and given to David and Anne so I offered to take the flowers off her and take them back to the house when it was all finished.

There was a card on the flowers - obviously from David and Anne, signed "From Mummy and Daddy." I don't think I had thought of them as Mummy and Daddy up to that point. It was heartbreaking.

We went back to the house, scoffed the food, got changed, talked with the extended family and then David left us back to the train station with a few more tears and we made the journey home. The flight was delayed for about 35 minutes so we were very tired by the time we got back home.

I am glad I went. I would not have wished any of this experience on my brother and his wife, but as the Vicar said, the babies have touched them forever, they will never forget them but also the babies have touched the whole family's lives too. I think I understand better what they have been going through for having been there. Somehow it would have been wrong not to have been there today.

Today I parked on the street in the nearest village and nipped into the fancy hairdressers just to see if they could fit me in today. It is handier than going all the way into the town and I am fed up with my £12 haircuts where they are in a rush and just do what I tell them to do - I wanted someone to do what they thought I would suit for a change. I hate hairdressers, have no interest in my hair whatsoever but sometimes I wish it was *nice* and *easy* and *suiting me* as well as *cheap* . . .

The girl said no outright, then said 2.30pm and then when I obviously wasn't moving from the spot, miraculously found that Leanne could fit me in right there and then! Happy days.

I have never spent so long getting my hair cut in my life! Even the time it was all the way down my back and I told the hairdresser to cut it all off - it took a fraction of the time this one took. It was washed and coffee was delivered with a small chocolate on the saucer, a couple of magazines were put on my lap and after a few minutes Leanne arrived, asked me my name and introduced herself! Bloody hell! I have NEVER had my hairdresser tell me her name. This is one of the reasons I seldom go back to the same person more than once - because I don't know who to ask for!

She did the usual "What are you having today?" and I did my usual "I don't know" because technical terms like "layers" and "cut" and "short" are beyond me obviously. In the end I was so stumped by her telling me her name I blurted out that I was fed up with it the way it was and it always sits like this anyway and it didn't matter cos it would go back to this anyway. . . she took this as a challenge and set to cutting.

She cut, shaped, cut some more, totally restyled and after an absolute age she started to cut some more. By the time the hairdryer was turned on I had been there for an hour! She then tonged, cut some more and then spent about 15 minutes just cutting my fringe again. There was so much on the floor by the end I was concerned there was actually anything left in the areas I couldn't see!

Look, don't make me belabour the point ok? She took fecking ages cutting my hair! There were about six different stages to the cutting.

By the time she held the mirror behind me I was well chuffed with it all - I think I like it - for the 5 hours it is going to sit like this - it is going to be washed in the morning and will never look like this again ever!

The haircut was £26. I knew it would be dearer than £12 and less than £50 - but between that, I had no real concept of how much it would be. I handed her £30 and told her to keep the change. I don't normally give tips but this wasn't just a cut - this was a whole new lifestyle!

I went out to the car, got in and sat for a moment trying to gather my thoughts as to what time it was - I had been in there for over an hour and a half. What with the bit of shopping I had done before hand I had been parked there over two hours. I was lucky I hadn't been given a ticket. . . I looked up to confirm I HADN'T been given a ticket. . . .

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it to hell. I am soooo careful. The only other ticket I have every had was in 1989 when I parked on double yellow lines down a little street thinking it was ok because countless others had parked in the same place. I think the fine was £16. These feckers must be £20 by now.

THIRTY POUNDS! THIRTY POUNDS! WTF? THIRTY POUNDS?

I sat for a moment collecting my thoughts. The last thing I wanted to do was to pull into oncoming traffic because I wasn't thinking straight. And anyway - it didn't matter how long I sat there now - I had a ticket already.

I drove down the street, Got to the outskirts of the town and lifted the mobile to phone Jacqui in work. Now . . . I have two mobiles. One with lots of minutes and one with lots of texts. The one with lots of minutes I NEVER use without a handsfree. NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER. I mean NEVER. The other one I never phone out on because there aren't enough minutes on it to justify it. This was the texting phone though wasn't it - the other one was in the house. Aw well. . .

I drove round the big roundabout, chatting away, telling Jacqui I wasn't sure how on earth I was a. going to pay the £30 and b. going to pay it without Iain finding out. I had a plan to use an account he has no access to. . .

It is amazing how many times I pull over for ambulances and the fire brigade. . . and police cars with flashing lights and sirens and ummm. . . this one might technically be for me this time. . .

I was pulled over and given a fixed penalty of THIRTY POUNDS for using the mobile while driving the car. I got into my car at 12.11 and saw my first one and by 12.15 I was handed my second one. Surely that is some sort of record?! SIXTY POUNDS?! How the feck am I going to hide THAT from Iain less than a week before we go on holiday.

I did a little more shopping and didn't make it into work until late afternoon.

Iain LOVED my hair. Kept looking at it and commenting on it. Eventually I asked him if he thought it was £90 worth. I have never seen his face fall so much. "NINETY POUNDS? NINETY POUNDS?"

He couldn't quite believe it. I could tell from his reaction he didn't really think it was ninety pounds worth!

"Well, the hair was £30, the parking fine for sitting in the hairdressers so long was £30 and the fine for telling someone about the first £30 fine was another £30 so the whole haircut cost me £90."

All in all he took it really well. I had to tell him. I was at the point of tears by the time I got into work!

To round off the wonderful day my mother rang me looking for directions to my house. We have been here six years and she needs directions to it. My previous ploy to have her drive round the village 72 times , then give up in disgust wasn't going to work this time as I was going to have to be on that plane with her by 8.50 wasn't I? So I had to give her the real directions this time.

She finished the conversation with "Ok, I know you don't understand but I am going to be there by half past thirty because I just need to know I am on time. Half past thirty will give me plenty of time and it is better to be early than late."

Half past THIRTY? Was she taking the piss?

You just *know* she will aim for 7.15 now to make sure she gets there for 7.30 and then the roads will be so quiet at that ungodly hour of the day that she will be early for THAT and will end up arriving at 7.00am a whole 45 minutes before I told her she has to be here at. . . .

Watch this space. . .

Jacqui blogged this evening about her new MacBook. In theory I am jealous. I love getting new gadgets and there is nothing better than being there when a new Apple product is being unwrapped, unless, of course, if that Apple product is actually for MEEEE.

I say "in theory" because I actually have no hankering after upgrading the Powerbook. I love it. I love it. I love it. Have I told you lately how much I do? I am quite content with it and with the MacBook Pro 17 inch (which I would NEEEEED to go up to) weighing in at £1900 I am more than happy to wait for it. I wish I was making enough money to just order one for the business but I am not - so it will wait. . . .

Jac very kindly mentioned that I have been helping her set up the new machine. It isn't as easy as it sounds when you aren't actually there with it. Especially as there are things outside of my experience going on there - like Dude - the things she needs to be downloading ought to be Universal - tut - as if I knew that!

It is nice to be more knowledgeable than her for a wee while. It wont be long before she is as Mac addicted as I am though. Will she still need me then d'ya think?

Last week my friend Becky visited me at the studio, looked at the Powerbook which has a Geek Girl sticker on it (I succumbed eventually) and asked me "What's with all this Geek Girl stuff?" It almost felt dirty! Imagine coming out of the closet as a Geek! Well, I am. And I am fairly comfortable with it all now. It's time everyone knew about it and it was in the open.

I'm so geeky that . . .
In the run up to the holiday, Iain has installed a few Non Genuine Renault parts to the car. One of them is the lead which allows the iPod to be connected direct to the radio and therefore the speakers. It is a magnificent piece of kit and has meant I have been able to start using the iPod in the car properly.

It isn't unknown for me to be driving along now, realise I don't know that particular song and quickly move my left hand across the steering wheel towards the top left corner of the Dashboard to see the lyrics of the song. . . Has happened more than once!

Mind you - when I am in the other car and can't play the iPod, it is also common for me to look at the radio for the name of the song playing on the radio. . . it isn't that clever. I think we should be issued with Apple iScreens for every car so we can do these things wirelessly . . . One for Jobs huh?

Also . . .
Have you any idea how little I write these days? I mean, proper writing. With that pen and paper malarky. I seriously find it difficult to sign my own name now because I do it so seldom. You don't even need to sign your credit and debit cards anymore. I had to sign my driving licence application a couple of weeks ago and I swear if they check it with the last application I made they will reject it because it looks nothing like this one.

Last week I was writing something out. Proper paper. Proper pen. A full page of writing. My wrist was getting sore. Three quarters of the way through it I realised I didn't know the date so I made a mark on the page, bottom right to top left to check it out.

I had to help Iain with his PC the other day. It exasperated me so much. It is surprising how quickly you forget all the Windows stuff. START button? I need to get him that Mac Windows theme - that will start him off gently so when the big switch comes for him it isn't as hard. Like, seriously, how difficult would it be for Windows to put the buttons on the correct side of the the browser window? What's that all about?

So I admit it. I AM ADDICTED. I'll never go back to a PC now. I even got 9/10 in the Apple test (am NOT telling which one I got wrong!) - I am an Apple Geek Girl . . . I will continue to quietly persuade others to see the light . . .

Those of you who are privy to my LiveJournal blog will be aware that the good news given here back in April about my brother David and his wife expecting twins has sadly not turned out well. Neither of the babies survived after 22 weeks and David and Anne have made the difficult decision within only six months of being married to hold a funeral for their babies in London this Wednesday.

Being part of a local hospital maternity group, I was aware that when there are losses like this the midwives and consultants will usually encourage holding of babies and photographs to be taken. David sent these to me. I have to say they were very emotional. I think I could have coped ok with the one of the babies, but seeing the one of my wee brother looking at his girls with tears in his eyes was, and has been, too much for me.

I think parents say the words "We have been so lucky" but until you go through something like this you just don't know how lucky you are.

We have been so lucky.

Here are a couple of photos of my babies at their best - fast asleep. Just to remind myself how lucky I have been.

I am going to go to London on Wednesday to the funeral. My mother and I are travelling together. This is an instant recipe for disaster. The background is:

When we knew the date my mother asked me to take her credit card details and book the flight for her at the same time as doing mine. David had advised of the three airports we could have flown into - NOT to fly to Heathrow as it was by far the dearest place to fly into even thought it was close to him and he could pick us up. When she told me she preferred Heathrow because she had a friend there who could (drop everything in the middle of his work day) to ferry us about London. I patiently explained that David had indicated it would be dear and looked up the prices as I spoke to her to confirm £250 versus £96. She pushed the point with the theory it would be cheaper for us as "Phil" would cut down on our train fares. . . I eventually won that one, booked the flights to Gatwick and with a little help worked out train timetables etc.

The next day I bravely phoned her and told her the times of the flights inviting her to come to my house first so we could travel to our airport together. I told her we were flying to Gatwick, told her the train times on the others side, discussed how David wouldn't be available to pick us up from Gatwick but that he had come up with the fact that we didn't have to go through London as previously thought on the Underground. Me, I love the Underground. Could sit in it all day long - can work out how it works and have never had a problem on it. She hates the Underground and went into a panic at the thought of having to go on it.

You can smell my patience wearing thin already huh?

We don't have to go on the Underground. I told her that.

I arrived into work today to find a message to Ring Your Mother. At the very last conceivable moment, after printing off the boarding passes and the train timetable etc I picked up the phone.

"I can't remember. Is David picking us up from Heathrow or not?"

"Umm. . . . Not."

"Oh. Ok. That is fine - I have been checking it up and there is a bus you can get from Heathrow to London. . . That way I don't have to go on the Underground."

"We are flying into Gatwick though."

"Gatwick? Gatwick? You didn't tell me that. Why are we flying into Gatwick?"

"Because that was the cheaper option."

"Oh. Gatwick. Oh. Fancy that. Well I never."

"I told you we were going into Gatwick and that there was a train we can take that takes us away from the Underground."

"I have been in a cold sweat thinking about having to go on the Underground."

"But I told you ages ago we didn't have to go on the Underground!"

"Oh. Ok then."

We then talked about the flight times. We are flying at 8.50, meaning she needs to be at my house at 7.45.

"I'll be there ate 7.30 then."

"No, you only need to be there at 7.45."

"No, I'll be there at 7.30."

I am not sure how many times I have said "Whatever" in the last while.

"Just so long as you do not ring the door bell at 7.30 because I wont be out of the shower yet."

Sigh. It is going to be a very long day.

You have NO idea how tempting it was to accidentally book her to fecking Heathrow after I successfully booked my flight to Gatwick. I sat with my finger hovering over the BOOK NOW button just a little too long. . .

How sad would that have been?

Well I never, fancy that.

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Dawn and I went to see The Lake House tonight. I wanted to see it last week but it wasn't playing yet.

Last week we saw An Unfinished Life instead. It had Josh Lucas, Jennifer Lopez, Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman in it. Josh was a bit of an extra in it, Jennifer was ok, Morgan didn't get about much and for most of the film (having not seen any trailers or literature on it previously) I sat thinking how silly Dawn was for thinking that the older guy was Robert Redford - there was no way that was him - but it WAS awful like him - they must have picked that actor cos he looked like Robert Redford. . . I went on like this until the end credits when I said "It WAS Robert Redford!" and Dawn looked at me as if to say "That is what *I* said an hour and a half ago!"

I can't say the film was any great shakes really, which is why I am only talking about it now! Definitely do not need to see it again. Wouldn't rush out to buy it. Unlike tonight's offering which has already made it on to my list of Favourite Films.

It is basically about two people who make a connection for having lived in the same house, start to correspond via letters put into the mail box but somehow are living two years apart. I have seen this time difference thing done before, of course, but this film really worked for me. Having Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in it was enough for me in itself! I love both these actors and can't believe it has been so long since I saw a decent Keanu film. I have missed him.

He has changed a little in that time. Obviously older looking. I think he has lost some of the boyish cuteness he had but the maturity he has now makes up for it!

I knew what to expect in this film, knew there was a time difference and I suppose there were plenty of expected turns in it. I DID see a lot of things coming, anticipated a couple of other things and didn't have any problem keeping up with the time difference thing. There was just one point that Dawn and I couldn't figure out. We aren't too sure how the book gets there - it isn't explained anywhere - but I am happy to assume that it was put there on purpose.

I had totally forgotten that these two had worked together before, until one scene had a bus screeching down a street and I thought "OooOOooo - SPEED!" and then thought "AaAAaa SPEED!!" Takes me a minute or two at times.

I'm afraid I am am sticking to my genre - it was a nice gentle romance and I did root for the happy ending and I did cry in at least two places, I would see it again and I will probably buy it on DVD.

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The kids had their Sports Day today. It started off pretty dismal and quickly went downhill from there.

The funny thing is, year after year the same mummies and daddies are there supporting the children. I suppose there are those who can take time off work easier than others. I realised that now I am not at the school gate the way I was two years ago that I only get to see some of these people at get-togethers like this. We then tend to stand talking furiously with quick jumps over to the finish line to take photos / videos of our respective children as they fly past, or in my case, dont!

This year I didn't get the chance to take any photos as the rain stopped play very quickly. I did take a couple of videos though and have spiced them together for your pleasure.

I have just spent all night doing a little housework. Not the normal kind - the computer kind.

We are heading off on holiday to France in a couple of weeks and I am taking not only the digital camera; two lenses; 6 gbs of memory cards; the film camera; slide film; black and white film; the compact camera (for the kids and Iain); two different mobile phones but also the laptop. Oh, and some clothes!

You think that is overkill?

I aim to take loads of photos of French architecture for next year's coursework. Am really hoping to get some gorgeous castles and churches and farmhouses as well as the fields of sunflowers I have seen in previous years but not had the camera to do them justice. I am really hoping that my health will be top notch so I can take thousands of photos!

Obviously, loads of these photos will be digital and although there are the 6 gb of cards available I am taking the laptop along to download all the photos to and also to blog from should the occasion arise.

There is another reason for the laptop to go. Jacqui is coming with us and bringing her brand new (not yet delivered) MacBook with her too. I intend to share all my favourite tips and application pointers and perhaps show a few Apple secrets. I can't wait and have to say am rather excited about getting my hands on her new machine!

So, with the Powerbook sitting at 95% full once more, despite my clearing it the other week, I decided it was time to clear all the old stuff off it that I haven't looked at for 6 months and no longer need. It took me all night to go through it all - you know how you see things you haven't seen for a while and suddenly they become all-important again to you?

It took ALL night. I have just finished it. After clearing it I had to run a Disc Utility and a restart. It IS faster again but I suppose I wont see how much faster until I get to work and do some Photoshopping again. Things like opening Safari are still very slow. I don't understand that - surely after clearing all that crap off it should be a flying machine again?

I managed to clear a massive 30gb off the machine. That gives me 38gb still to play with. . . . you think that will be enough for the photos?

Perhaps I ought to take a couple of blank dvds too just in case. . .

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I have just finished a shoot in the studio of a man and wife, who have been married 25 years, and their daughter. It was a hard shoot as I like my clients to sit on the floor and wear jeans and bare feet and such like but this was a formal set up with high heels (oh my poor background paper!) and the lady wife was not comfortable at all.

It is always the way that I can not bear to look at the photos after a shoot - imagining they are bad - I always have to wait for a while, anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks depending on how severe the belief is that I have messed up. This time I have to put pressure on myself as they need the proofs pretty damn fast so they can have the final print in time for their party. . . .

So, I am taking a few minutes "off" to read my RSS feed and catch up with other people's blogs while having a coffee. I have quite a few available to me now and some I really look forward to, some I read simply because I have never managed to take them off my list. There are a few writers who open up their world to me, as if switching on a tv screen to their life and I stare at it enviously thinking they have a wonderful life, live in a wonderful place, how they have different beliefs or standards to me, wonderful families; wives; husbands; children or pets. Every week I learn a little more about them.

There is one guy I read who comes across as a very gentle person. He is very interesting and writes about things I have never come across before, explaining in detail so I feel I know the subject well enough to think about it when I am away from the computer. His last blog made me want to go and learn more about the subject - it is almost like he has dangled enough of a carrot in front of me to make me want more.

Isn't the blogging world a weird place? I sit and read about people in different countries simply because I have stumbled across them by accident not because we have any real connection.

The vast majority of the people I read, I don't know and they don't know I read their words.

Yesterday, I gave a talk in a local high school to 13 year olds and spoke briefly of my Grandfather and his time in the Police as a photographer. I think of him often, how we are connected and alike in some ways - I believe he was a bit of a geek with his love of cameras. I think he would have liked the way the world has become - I could see him buying a digital camera and a computer and moving with the times. . . I think his stamp collection (which I inherited) was a way of reaching out to unknown people and places he would never go to the same way my RSS feed is to me.

I really ought to buckle down and write that book about him that I have been threatening for so long. Next year is the hundredth anniversary of his birth. It is still on my To Do list. . .

Cos Dude - you wouldn't want to drink the stuff!

Then - when you have watched that little lot - have a looksee here at what happens if you don't burp regularly - this would NEVER happen to me - for two reasons!

This comes courtesy of my cousin Iain!

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Last night I arrived home first and went to pick up the kids from the childminder's (next door). I arrived on time but all five of them (my two and Gill's three) were all just sitting down to their tea. I stood and waited for quite a while for them to finish and gossiped to Gill and said hello to Grandma. . .

One by one they all finished, put their plates at the sink and left the table. Jessica was still getting through her chips. Slowly. She eventually asked if she could leave three or four but I think it was because she was feeling left behind - not because she didn't want them.

She managed to finish them all except one final chip. She asked if she could leave it. . . I said "Aw, you don't want to leave just one chip on it's own do you? It is going to be lonely all on it's own. . . "

She picked the chip up. broke it in two, threw the pieces back down and declared "It isn't going to be lonely now IS IT?" and jumped off her chair.

Hmmmm . . . . she might have me there . . . .

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Why is it that when you drive INTO the driveway, the tyres don't pick up the stones on the road and deposit them back the same way the tyres put them on the road in the first place?

Today was the last day of our second year of a three year course. This year has flown in so quickly I am sitting here in a little bit of shock really. All of a sudden I have no projects to be thinking about, no work I have hanging over me . . . it is weird.

We had very little to do today - just a couple of loose ends to tie up and then we were out of there. We don't go back again until September. Next year is going to be a little different in that we will be concentrating on one big project for the majority of the time - no doubt it will fly in too. Can we not just fast forward to the end of next year - and then another two years after that when I hope to have just finished a degree. . . would that work for you?

This time last year we produced a slide show of all the (good) photos we had taken so far - I kind of like that idea and might do something similar myself to just document Second Year.

After college I went into work, made a list of things I Must Do In Order To Get Ahead And Get Rid Of The Sense Of Dread I Have Over Me Every Time I Think Of Work.

I made a list of about 12 things and made it my mission to do as many of them as quickly as possible this afternoon. Funnily, three of them were simple phone calls I needed to make and had been putting off. Am happy to say that I got a few things done and feel a little more in control of my business and therefore my life.

Here are a couple of the things we got up to in college today. I love You Tube now - if you have an account, link to me and let me see your videos. You can see we were very busy by this stage. . . .

To piss off the Renault driver. . . . ?

I haven't had a rant for a while. Not a real rant. Not on here anyway.

The weirdest thing EVA happened to me on the way to work this morning.

Down the road from where I live they have started to lay pipelines. It says something like "North to South Pipeline" (or similar - I didn't take notes) and the funny thing is - the pipeline travels the same direction as I do on the way to work. I keep glimpsing it as I drive along. It is a massive engineering job because at every point I see it there are hundreds of JCBs and Tractors and well, heavy plant machinery. At one time I was convinced it was a new road just for me, from my house to my work but just as I tried to convince Iain of this, the next day the sign went up saying Pipeline, once more proving him to be the better judge of heavy machinery than I.

So, dotted along my journey are little side roads with signs pointing down them to show delivery driver where the field is that they are working in. I have become accustomed to seeing massive trucks coming in and out of those small country roads and know where to watch out for them now.

This morning, as I was driving down a really straight piece of road at 60mph (m'lud) I saw a guy wearing a florescent jacket walk from from one if these off-roads on my right hand side of the road into the middle of the on-coming lane. There was no other traffic on the road. He then looked up at me, saw me, and started walking into my lane. As I was hurtling towards him. He kept watching me as I approached - I thought he was going to do one of those little runs that people do when they realise - oops I misjudged that a tad - but ooooh no - he stops in the middle of my lane and stands looking at me. He raised a hand to me in a "slow down" sort of way. I had a look up the off road and could see no massive lorry that needed me, the only car on the road, to do an emergency stop so I moved into the on-coming lane in order not to knock the fecking fecker down and kept driving.

As I went past him he shouted at me and raised fists at me in a "You were going too fast" or "You nearly knocked me down" sort of manner. DUDE YOU WALKED OUT IN FRONT OF ON-COMING TRAFFIC AND WATCHED ME COMING AT YOU! MOVE YOURSELF!

Why did he want me to stop? Did he think that just because he was wearing a florescent jacket that he was invincible - or . . . . what? I can't get a handle on him. He walked out in the middle of the road and then acted like it was MY fault that I had to change lanes to avoid killing him.

Now - had he been wearing a different kind of hat and been pointing a speed gun at me instead of shaking a fist I may have stopped. . . but as it was - I just went on my way thinking it had been the weirdest, weirdest road thing I have seen for a while.

(I have to point out that I WASN'T speeding at the time and the road was long and straight - HE SAW ME COMING - HONEST!)

Touched By An Angel is evil.

There ought to be a law against crying into your corn flakes at 9.30am. . .

What a day! I had two things to do today. . . and have just finished one of them. I don't understand how my day gets eaten up like that.

Between making breakfasts, making lunches, putting on washes, tidying up, umm - now I come to list it - what all did I do today?

I was struck at one point how everything in a house is connected to another thing. I went to put something in the bin but it was overflowing so I went to empty it but I had no shoes on so has to wait for Iain to stop trimming the hedge so he could hear me asking him to take the black bin bag that was threatening to rip . . . when that was gone I had to wash the bin and the swing lid, but there were dishes in the sink to be washed but the dish washer was full of clean dishes so I had to empty the dishwasher before I could put the - oh - stop - I had to get Jessica a drink of milk - dirty dishes in the machine, before I could make lunch - wash the bin out, put the lunch dishes in the machine too, put the new bin bag in, put the lid on. . . . Putting one thing in the bin took me 45 minutes today - is there any wonder things never get done around here?

All morning I heard cries of frustration coming from David - from whichever room he happened to be in. It turned out he had finally decided to put together a Meccano kit that he had received as a Christmas present. It was annoying him. Eventually I said I would help him but it seemed easier to me to take what he had done apart, then start again. We did that and he showed me the steps he had already done and laid out all the pieces I would need, then he disappeared off not to be seen again until I had the thing finished! Am not sure if I got conned there or not - but it is done now and a mighty fine piece of engineering it is too. I am just a little concerned with the three screws that are left over . . . best not get me to do the gear box rebuild next time huh?

Actually, David had more or less mastered the thing - he was just stuck at one point that required the manual dexterity of a grown up with four hands so I am not surprised he was having trouble at that point.

Part of his problem was, in a word, Jessica. She is so annoying at the moment - will do just about anything to annoy you - she will lift things and move them - her favourite game at the moment is "Hide the remote controls." It is not uncommon for us to find several in a drawer a week after we stop looking for them. We once found a customer's mobile phone in a holiday wash bag two months after we had compensated the customer for the loss of it.

She will move money and phones and well, just about anything she can find. Jessica's main aim today was to wind David up so that he would react. And David is well known for reacting. Jessica lifted parts of his kit and just moved them to other places. . . there is no logic involved - she just likes to be as random as possible.

In the end I was begging Iain to take them out just so I wouldn't have to listen to them any more. I have said it before and no doubt I will say it again, but I remember when Aunty Lesley told me that her two children were always fighting and bickering that I rolled my eyes and thought "So What?" Little did I know. Little did I think then, when I was newly married and yet to think about having children that I would have two children who delighted in winding each other up as much as these two do.

It never occurred to me that it would take so much out of the parents.

During these times it is very hard to think about them in a positive light. The fact that Jessica lay with me for an hour just to be near me and to have cuddles and tickles (she has discovered far quicker than some that I have tickles!) is quickly forgotten when she sits and refuses to do what you ask her to do. . . .

And it is hard to remember that just yesterday David showed he loves Jessica by spending all that money on that silver chain for her when he walks into the room and smacks her on the back of the head before he realises I am standing watching him and he says "Wasnae me - I didn't do it. . . "

Huh uh?

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I went into the shop next door earlier to get a sandwich and a snack. I had a few loose coins in my pocket and a £10 note. The bill came to £3.56 so I looked in my hand to see how close I was with the coins and found I had three pound coins, a fifty pence, a five pence and a one pence.

How spooky is that? This sort of thing happens to me all the time!

After a lot of anxious waiting, loads of comments and one very long lunch, RapidWeaver 3.5 is finally here! YAY!

I have backed up 3.2, downloaded the new U versions of plugins from YourHead including paying for Accordion with the 35% discount you get from them today in celebration of the 3.5 release, downloaded 3.5, played with it, looked at some of the new themes - decided to stick with the one I have, pressed some buttons, looked at some code, wondered what some other buttons do and am now finally ready to go back to work!

I DO love my RapidWeaver you know. . . .

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But this one made me smile AND nod my head at the same time.

I like this guy's attitude at times. He combines common sense with humour. He hasn't a cat's chance in hell, of course, but wouldn't it be nice?

THIS year? Just once?