A quick update on the Nanna front for everyone who has been kind enough to continue to ask.

She is now sitting up, looking a lot less swollen, although still mighty bruised with new bruises appearing! She is fully aware of where she is and knows everyone paraded in front of her. She remembers dates and names and places. We have been every day, I was there with Jessica yesterday afternoon and Iain went last night with David and we all managed to go together this evening.

There is still a little bit of grogginess / slight confusion there though. Yesterday she kept telling me with total indignation that no one had offered her any food all day. Not one person had even so much as offered her a cup of tea. I sympathised with her a couple of times and on the fourth time of telling happened to glance above her bed at the NIL ORALLY sign. I told her they were under instruction NOT to feed her, pointed at the sign and then described it to her as she couldn’t turn round to see it. She huffed a little at this and then scolded again that THAT was no reason why they couldn’t have offered her SOMETHING!

About 5 minutes later the complaining started again as if she had never said it before and I tried a different tack with her. Was she actually HUNGRY? “No,” she said “But they could have offered me something to eat all the same.”

This evening I was in at the same time as Lesley and listened while they discussed Lesley’s children’s visit this afternoon. Then Nanna argued with us that the kids had been in last night and today is Monday rather then Wednesday. . . We gently reassured her that it was Wednesday then she announced it is Louise’s birthday on Friday. Lesley and I shook our heads in dismay - Louise’s birthday is in October. maybe she wasn’t as well as we thought. A couple of minutes later Lesley realised that Nanna had been talking about another Louise and her birthday IS on Friday! She’s not as green as she is cabbage looking!


Finally I am finishing the multi-part Reader Interactive Task set last week, this is the hardest part to sit down to. If this had been the first on the list I may never have progressed past GO! Something that someone else likes about me. . . . It is almost unfair to ask a person to define this. In our culture it isn’t often that you tell people what you like about them, it is more likely you will nit-pick about what you don’t like. So this isn’t something that is always obvious or expressed unless you are in some kind of personal developement training *flashes back to David Brent type seminars I used to have to attend*.

I did a wee bit of a survey and out of the limited response I received it would seem that my writing / presence on the internet is what other people like about me. David said that WHEN I am in a good mood I have a good sense of humour although I wonder when was the last time he saw it shining through. Jessica finally came up with “cuddles” after 20 minutes of thinking time. Apparently I give much better cuddles than Daddy - he just puts his arm around her but I give her proper cuddles. You could be remembered for worse things I suppose

Jacqui came up with the most personal thing - that I can soothe ruffled feathers when I put my mind to it - but I kinda think that there is a great likelihood that I ruffled them in the first place

So we are left with my blog and what I choose for you to read about me and my family and my life. I don’t know if this is a good thing for people to like as it isn’t really real but perhaps it is getting too late in the night for me to analyse any further!

Please forgive the screen grab rather than a photo of this one - I was stumped!

So there you are, that is my Reader Interactive Task complete and despite moans about the level of difficulty to this one I have throughly enjoyed this jump-start back to the blogging world. I would very much welcome more Tasks if anyone should like to send any my way.

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

Tags: Memes, General

Iain has returned from visiting the hospital with good news. Nanna is now sitting up and although appearing a little confused earlier in the day she is now able to hold conversations, opening her eyes a little at a time, fully aware of what is going on and thankfully totally forgetful of all the horribleness of the past couple of days. She has no recollection of the fall either which is probably for the best. It is unlikely she will rib Papa about leaving her lying in the hall all night now!

Big sigh of relief and girding of the loins now for the return home and us doing a care-tag-team over the next few weeks.

Thank you to everyone who has offered support and sent their best wishes - all gratefully received I can assure you.

The Thing I Would Like

This is the one thing I have been excited about for the past while and which I have been dying to tell you.

The idea kinda all kicked off when we started to get the garden under control again and we dedicated one part of the garden to, what we laughingly refer to as The Allotment. You now know that I have brocolli, carrots, pumpkins and strawberries in that part with more carrots and brussel sprouts in seed there now too but there was still one small area of garden which was not going to be actively used and that bothered me.

A couple of Saturdays ago I delivered Jessica out to a friend’s house for a play date, literally in the back of beyond and in the 3 minutes I was there realised that I would love to have a less “building site” or developement” type garden. You know the type: a cul-de-sac of houses, backing on to another cul-de-sac of houses with a rectangular garden, times two, between neighbours. Jessica’s friend has low level walls built of stones and a lawn here and a smaller lawn over there and all very natural looking and some kind of peace about the landscaping. Yea, I know, I wouldn’t have the energy for theupkeep of such a place but dude - it would be fun trying huh?

I came back from that visit a little unsettled but still not knowing what I could put in the empty space. Then I received an excited phone call from my Uncle David - aren’t all phone calls from Uncle David excited? He had just ordered a weird thing called an Eglu and urged me to look up the web site that sells them and to look at the wonderfulness of the whole thing . .. This is a chicken run with attitude and he planned on getting 4 chickens to go in it too.

I caught his bug and started to think along the lines of *anything is possible* for a while, planning the garden around MY Eglu until reality took hold and I realised that there was no way I was going to be able to afford a new one and second hand Eglus are umm like umm hen’s teeth in this part of the world and although there are plenty in England through eBay they are all listed as Pick Up Only due to the sheer weight and size of them. Then I had a shift in thinking about a run and we headed off to B&Q to buy a shed which we will kit out as a coop and then build a run round that too.

So far we have the base in. We were supposed to have the whole shed built and in place last Sunday but the rain started and forgot to stop. At one point Iain insisted in continuing on with the laying of the blocks and I was determined not to leave him to it so Bailey and I sat under a large golf umbrella on a patio chair and encouraged him on to lay the blocks faster. When the rain got too heavy he joined us under the umbrella much to Bailey’s delight and got his face licked dry for his efforts. Iain - not Bailey.

We stood in the rain trying to work out the shed plans but as the paper got wetter our determination got damper and we gave up. We will finish it another day.

Since deciding to get chickens in the garden I have learned loads and done much research and know new technical words. I have been thinking ahead and am so obsessed with the idea have actually gone to the window at night to make sure *the girls* have been put to bed for the night and have on more than one occasion asked the kids if anyone has let the chickens out yet in the morning. I hate buying eggs now - preferring to wait for the FREE ones when they start arriving and am getting such a kick out of the whole *eating free food from my own garden* malarkey.

I even went to the fishing tackle shop last week and bought a pint of maggots for them, got home and THEN realised WE. DON’T. HAVE. CHICKENS.YET!

Today we ordered the wire for the run and I even ordered some special food which will create less-stinky poo which is better for the garden. I have even ordered 2 new compost bins from the council! And yes, I have names shortlisted. This may surprise you when you remember that neither of my children were named for three weeks after they were born!

It has been fun! I joined the Omlet forum and have found the people there to be really nice and full of advice. I have no doubt that they will keep me right when the chickens finally arrive. That may not be for a while though - can’t have them arriving before the run is ready - can’t have the foxes having Chicken Tonight!

I am thinking that the final part of my Reader Interactive Task will be tomorrow now - am too tired to add much more this evening. I have had a couple of sweet replies to my plea for things that you like about me so thanks for those

You like my Thing I Would Like? Would you like regular updates? You want photos? This is a good thing to want - yes? You are jealous - yes?

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

Tags: Chickens, Memes, General

It seems strange to be blogging about trivial things while we are waiting for news from the hospital - but I may as well keep my mind active. Have been sitting here all day staring at one screen or another and need to do something!

Iain was at the hospital this afternoon - Nanna was moved to the Belfast one last night - and Aunty Lesley, Papa and Iain all went down this afternoon to visit and talk to doctors. There is nothing good to report. She is no better and if anything, slightly worse, or so Iain reckons anyway.

UPDATE: We all went down to the hospital this evening to support Papa. Things aren’t any better and at one point looked very dismal indeed. I don’t really want to go in to all the details just now. At the end of the visit the doctor came and reassured us that they aren’t too worried about her and are happy that she is stable - so we have to go with that in the meantime. I’ll keep you posted.

Anyway. The Thing I Dislike. It has been hard to narrow it down to one thing as you can probably imagine. I have been known to rant a tad in the past. The other evening as we were driving through the village on the way home I spotted something that made me cross and decided that was the one thing that has annoyed me enough to speak up about it.

The Eleventh Night Bonfire.

*begins rant*

Many of my readers will not be familiar with the phenonemon that is The Eleventh Night or even The Twelfth which takes place here every year. This is not me being either political OR religious - this is me giving off about the absolute waste of wood and tyres and the environmental cost to the the world through wanton destruction usually at the hands of youngsters.

It used to be that wee lads would knock on the doors asking for any old wood that you no longer needed - now a days it looks like a haulage yard at these sites with literally thousands of reusable pallets being stacked layer upon layer in the name of a good bonfire.

Being a good Freecycle user I ITCHED to approach the village site to rummage through the wood there to see if there was anything I could use in the garden but there are usually 2 or 3 wee lads hanging about the place making sure that no one lights the fire early. (This first photo is the local bonfire. No people at it when we passed it but they left their armchair behind!)

There are loads of fence panels, scaffold planks and just general usable and shouldn’t-be-burned-in-a-bonfire items there. Thankfully our site doesn’t seem to have any tyres on display but I know for a fact that the youngsters have relieved local builders and haulage firms of their pallets in the past.

I hate to see the waste. I dislike the waste. I dislike the mess before and after. The same people who build the bonfire don’t seem to be on hand to tidy up afterwards.

This second photo is of ONE of the TWO sites in ONE estate in Lisburn. I can’t even begin to count the pallets there - the bonfire is circular and has many layers of pallets - and this is just one fire - the other is sever hundred yards away! WT?

I really do believe there ought to be a size restriction to these things and for there to be a proper licence to have one with named volunteers to help tidy up. Wikipedia correctly says that:

Eleventh night

The night before the Twelfth sees enormous bonfires lit in working class Protestant districts. These are alternately seen as friendly community get-togethers or occasions for drunkenness and violence, depending on time, place and personal viewpoint. A recent criticism of the bonfires is that much of what is burnt (especially tires) causes serious environmental pollution. In the past the fires were lit on intersections but damage to nearby houses and to the street itself meant that most areas now have an area of waste ground set aside for the purpose.

That’s it. Was that good enough as The Dislike item? I know what I am going to tell you for the next one but am still drawing a blank on the Something Someone Likes About Me one - so far it has come down to “A couple of people like that I am blogging again” - that hardly seems to sum ME up - can no one do any better than that?

Please?

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

Tags: Family, Memes, General, Nanna, Hospital

A meme for you - cos like - I don't have anything to do obviously other than add multiple blogs to my site today.

Type a letter of the alphabet into your web browser address bar, and see what comes up on the ol’ autocomplete. Should be fun . . . you think I can do this 100% honestly or would there be a few in there I would rather you didn't know about?

A - http://anydanger.net/ kinda could have guessed that one.
B - http://bestmacsoftware.org/ yay for mac stuff!
C - Tamron Zoom Lens hmm - strange - I have one of these already - why would I have been looking at it again - ahhh - Nik!
D - http://www.dopiaza.org/flickr/setmgr/ yay for Flickr. I loves my Flickr I do.
E - http://www.ebay.com/ boring
F - http://flickr.com/ predictable but may as well check out recent comments while I am there!
G - http://gmail.com
H - http://www.handycandy.co.uk/fantastic-fizzy-sweet-hamper-p-218.html recent link from Jac
I - http://i0005.photobucket.com/albums/0005/icanhascheezburger/2007/8/22/2/128322474305768750TwitterkittehI.jpg recent link from Nik
J - http://www.jpgmag.com/
K - http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/smarties-desktop-calendar-by-teresa-ferguson umm - not too sure about this one!
L - http://www.livejournal.com/
M - http://www.moo.com/ YAYAYAYAY for Moooo!
N - http://www.nikfletcher.com/ Yay for Nik
O - https://onlinebanking.firsttrustbank.co.uk/hb1/ft/signon Checking my bank account every few hours for the chance there may be some money in it . . .
P - http://www.pcworld.co.uk/ tut
Q - Nowt
R - http://rocketgallery.com/ex_khp_122.html# Oh wow - love this guy's photos!
S - http://www.sitemeter.com/ check this every few hours to see if you have read my last one or not
T - http://www.sitemeter.com/ another tut - this is a whole blog in itself!
U - http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2007/08/11860/ I know this has been around for a long time but I only saw it recently - another recent link from Nik
V - Nowt
W - Warehouse Express the new camera bag I NEED
X - Nowt
Y - http://www.ysp.co.uk/view.aspx?id=457 Grin grin grin grin grin grin
Z - final Nowt here.
Boring stuff throughout! Sorry.

Tags: Memes

I did this test a while back and the results have been sitting on my desktop waiting for me to do something with them.

Some of the things are spot on and some aren't. I put that down to the fact that the test was longer than my concentration span and also there seemed to be a fault which didn't allow all of the graphics to be seen, making it harder to complete it.

You are an Analyst

Your attention to detail, confidence, sense of order, and focus on functionality combine to make you an ANALYST.

You are very curious about how things work, delving into the mechanics behind things.

Along those lines, how well something works is usually more important to you than what it looks like.

You find beauty and wonder mainly in concrete, functional, earthly things. (Cha! Look at my photos!)

You are very aware of your own abilities, and you believe that you will find the best way of doing things.

Accordingly, problems do not intimidate you, as you believe in yourself.

You trust yourself to find solutions within the boundaries of your knowledge.

You don't spend a lot of time imagining how things could be different—you're well-grounded in the here-and-now.

It is important for you to follow a routine, and you prefer the familiar to the unknown.

You're not one to force your positions on a group, and you tend to be fair in evaluating different options. (UM! Don't know about this one!)

Never one to be found in chic boutiques or trendy clothing stores, you take an extremely practical approach to getting dressed.


If you want to be different:

Try to embrace the imaginative, creative part of your personality more often. (Oh, all right then. . .)

Try moving beyond the things that you find comfortable—open yourself up to a broader range of experiences. (Nonononononononono!)


You are Free-Wheeling

Your charismatic nature, liveliness, and independence make you FREE-WHEELING.

You don't mind being in the spotlight, preferring social gatherings to quiet nights at home.

You take a practical approach to people, not getting too involved in their feelings—or their business. (Ooops - definitely not true!)

At the same time, your acceptance of others leads you to be understanding of their life circumstances, even if you don't quite understand their emotional reactions to some things.

Although you have a wide circle of friends, you're very discerning as to whom you can trust. (Not true - I tend to trust too quickly and easily.)

You're not rigid in your beliefs about the world, and you don't want to impose your perspective on others, but at the same time, you know that plenty of people don't always act responsibly. (There are certain times this one would be true and certain times it is most definitely NOT true.)

Engaging with others is a large part of how you live in the world, and most importantly, it plays a role in how you see yourself—you tend to learn a lot about yourself in situations where you are with other people. (For sure.)

You have an understanding of the complexities of situations, and you don't judge others too hastily. (Not anymore.)

If you want to be different:

Your open-mindedness about the world gives you a great perspective on things, but your lack of trust in others limits how close you can get with them. Try opening up to people a bit more without losing your healthy skepticism. (I AM sceptical with some people but think they have it wrong about the lack of trust thing. I have no problem getting close to people - the problem is that I tend to get too close!)

While being the life of the party will occasionally come naturally to you, be sure to reserve time for yourself—see what you can learn by spending some time observing the world rather than just by diving in.


Let me know if you take the test and if it is accurate for you. Let me know, if you know me, if you think this one was accurate for me.

Tags: Memes

I've been tagged by The Bog Standard Blog.

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.

2. Each participant posts eight random facts about themselves.

3. Tagees should write a blogpost of eight random ficts/facts about themselves.

4. At the end of the post, eight more bloggers are tagged (named and shamed).

5. Go to their blog, leave a comment telling them they're tagged (cut and run).

So here are my EIGHT things:

1. I saw this tag last night and went to sleep knowing I had to post this today. I dreamed of eight very interesting things I could tell you all about but knew that I was having my eight hours of sleep and that I would forget them when I woke up at 8am so I came up with an interesting way of remembering the list. I numbered the list ALL beginning with the number 8. That'll do the job every time.

2. Quite often I doodle the number 8 over and over when thinking, bored or staring in to space.

3. Eight years ago I was pregnant. Not everyone can claim that one.

4. I have just realised that I probably don't have eight friends to tag.

5. I currently have eight pairs of shoes in my wardrobe that have only ever been worn once.

6. There are eight different sections to my back garden.

7. I used eight pritt sticks during my last college project.

8. I have eight programs open on my Powerbook right now.

Going on the theory discovered in Number 4 above I am going to break the cycle and tag this lot:

1. You.

2. You.

3. You.

4. You.

5. You.

6. You.

7. You. And yup, you've guessed it

8. You.

If you see yourself there, consider yourself tagged. If you do a post send me a link to it so I know you read here! It's getting kinda lonely over here.

Tags: Memes, Eight