Warmest January since records began

Wow, this morning I heard on the news that the average weather in January should be between 5 and 9 degrees. However, this month we have been experiencing temperatures up to 14 degrees and apparently, overall that is the warmest January since records began (whenever that was?).

It appears that last year's freak weather conditions are continuing. The daffodils are coming up in the garden and the grass and weeds have continued to grow all winter. We had a few frosty nights just before Christmas but nothing since.

I suppose we should be saddened by all this as it just proves that the Global Warming scares are very real. There are an awful lot of people in Britain that have already felt the bad effects of the warming of the ice caps. Large parts of the Midlands has just had their houses flooded for the third time in 8 months.

Much as I do love the winter conditions around Christmas time, I am secretly pleased that we haven't had any snow and all the obligatory chaos it brings. It isn't really worth the hassle on the roads for just a couple of inches which melt away after a few hours anyway. There are some advantages to the British weather after all.

Rumpleteazer's trip

This weekend we were cat sitting again. We are soon doing it for a whole fourtnight so Stan and Anna have said that I can bring my cat Rumpleteazer with me. I decided to bring her this weekend, just for the one night, so that she can meet the cats and get the feel of the place. Teazer is a seasoned traveller as she always used to come camping with me.


I think she could smell the dog because at first she spent several hours skulking behind the TV but eventually she ventured out to inspect the place. Stan's cats were not very friendly towards her but that was only to be expected. She was intruding on their space. Jake did a lot of growling and Dizzy just hissed at her but at least there was no dog.


By tea time they sorted out in which order they were eating and surprise, surprise it was Jake first, then Dizzy and Teazer got what was left over. Dizzy went to sleep in the kitchen whilst Jake and Teazer curled up on the sofas (one each, not together).


When I came down in the morning, I discovered that Teazer had been desperate for the toilet in the night but unable to recognise where it was despite of me showing her. She may have just forgotten or got disorientated, but yes there was a massive puddle on the floor, poor thing.


The rest of the day went well. I shoved her into the catlitter a couple of times and there were no more accidents. The cats seemed to tolerate each other even though they weren't exactly friends. We'll just have to see what happens when she stays for a fourtnight.

Sun Holidays

Last week the Sun news paper ran tokens for the £9.50 pp holidays every day. We had to collect 7 different tokens and then pick five different resorts and five different dates for a Monday to Friday break. Even though it's £9.50 per person, the minimum payment is for groups of four.

Helen has never been to the Lakes so we thought that would be our obvious choice to go. There were no resorts exactly in the Lake District but we found three that were quite near and then picked two others in North Wales.

We decided to choose two dates in April, one in May and two in September. We are hoping that because these dates are in relatively low season, we would have better chance in getting something. Apparently most people choose May and June (I wonder why?????!)

It has been a while since I've been on one of these holidays, as they are always demanding payment with a cheque. I don't deal with cheques and I don't believe it is safe to send any kind of payment via Royal Mail these days. In fact I would rather avoid sending anything with them. On this occaison I was talked into giving them the benefit of doubt.

However, It would be really nice to go away for nearly a week for just £38. Lets face it, it would be nice to just go away, full stop. Fingers crossed now that we manage to get something. I'll keep you posted.

Swimming

Last night Helen and I decided to go swimming. It sounded like a great idea even though neither of us have been swimming for years. It shocked me how expensive it was; £6.40 between us. We thought it was around £2 each. Maybe it shows how long it has been since we last went :-)

It didn't look very reassuring to arrive at the pool, only to find the car park almost full. We eventually found a space and trotted in. Changing didn't take long as we both had already got our cozies on. Helen used the freezing cold showers by the entrance to the pool but I had to que up for the only two proper showers which were both occupied by three kids, who were in no hurry whatsoever, before I could get in the pool.

The pool water seemed relatively pleasant after standing around waiting for the showers. It was just the right temperature for swimming in but perhaps a little cool for standing about in. I did a few brisk lengths and realised that I was not as fit as I would have liked to be as I was not able to swim the way I used to do.

We spent an hour partly swimming and partly floating about and talking. Eventually I had done more swimming than I could take so I was absolutely knackered. Then we were all asked to come out for a little while because they were doing a "change over" whatever that meant.

We didn't stop around to see what was going on as we were frozen so the warm showers were far more appealling especially as they were vacant. We grabbed them whilst we could and decided to leave. A cup of hot chocolate at McDonalds seemed very inviting especially as it was only around the corner from the baths.

To our disappointment the chocolate machine was broken so we had to make do with a cup of coffee and tea. It amused me that we had been in the pool and used up X amount of calories but as soon as we got out we were eating a large box of fries. Still, it could have been worse. We could have just eaten the fries and not bothered with the swimming.

All in all, it still turned out to be a very pleasant evening.

What a funny week

Yes, I went back to work on Wednesday, which ofcourse felt like a Monday. It's now Friday but to me it feels like a Wednedsay. Does anyone actually follow this?

Anyway, The last few days I had to try to cram in over a week's worth of tasks in order to catch up from the holidays. If I had even a half decent pc at work it would have probably been possible.

However, according to the IT company, my PC belongs in a museum and it is toatally inadequate to be used on the network. As I am spending majority time just waiting for the pc to stop doing whatever it's doing, I have not been able to complete those.

Yesterday we were promised a small amount of snow which would have been our first for the season. There were very mixed feelings about it but as it was it never actually happened. It went down to minus 1 degree but then it warmed up again without any snow showing.

This weekend it's time to take down the decorations for another year and in my case; I'm hoping it's the last time that I see them in this house. Hopefully I will be in my new house before too long. Keep you posted!

Happy New Year!

I spent a quiet New Year's Eve, in Longton (of all places), with Helen and we had a wonderful time. We watched an absolutely brilliant Take That concert live and had a nice Chinese meal and a couple of bottles of wine to go with it.

New Years Day was a relaxing day as I spent most of the day working on the laptop. I had a webcam for Christmas so I tried to set it up but I couldn't get it to work, so in the end I uninstalled it and re-installed. So far I did get the impression that it is working but I'm not hundred percent sure until I try it.

First day back at work was dreadful. I had developed a bad sleeping routine whilst I was off so I didn't sleep much and was not at all ready for the clock to go off this morning. Luckily the traffic was kind for a change, but when I got to work there was an enormous pile of invoices and gas safety certificates waiting for me. Nice? -NOT!

Christmas in the Peak District

On the Saturday, after the party, we drove to Derby and did some shopping before continuing to the cottage where we were spending Christmas.

Because we had to leave the hotel at 11 but we couldn't book in to the cottage until 3, we assumed there was plenty of time to spare. However, it surprised us how much time it took to do the shopping. It wasn't even as manic in the supermarket as it could have been the last Saturday before Christmas. I think we can thank 24hour shopping for that.

We arrived at just after 3 and found the cottage to be small but very pleasant. It was fantastically well kitted out and we even managed to find space for the 7ft Christmas tree that I had insisted on taking with me.

The whole week was like being in heaven. We did absolutely nothing, just spent a lot of time in bed, eating some wonderful food and watching TV. Just the sort of holiday that I dream about.

I had waited so long for a rest and it was so gratefully received. I really, really didn't want to come home.

Christmas Do - 3 of 3

Well, the highly awaited day for our evening do at the Grand, finally came. As I had booked a room, I went straight from work to the hotel and had a little sleep, before getting ready for the party.

I thought the meal was very nice but I admit that it was not worth £35 each but then again, what is? I had a melon for starter and ham carvery for main meal with cheese cake for pudding.

Everyone had plenty to drink and so did I, but I can still remember that it was a very good evening. There was a disco and I did a little dancing but also spent some time in the bar, chatting to others.

A succesful evening, all in all and a great start for the Christmas holidays.

Christmas Do - 2 of 3

Well, the much awaited company party finally came about yesterday afternoon. What a flop that turned out to be. I don't know if it was our high expectations or what it was.

The free drink that we all had looked forward to turned out to be a rumour. With other words there wasn't one. We had to pay full price for all the drinks. I only had one pint of Shandy since I was driving anyway.

The karaoke that we had been threatened with was also a viscious rumour and the disco turned out to be somebody's ghetto blaster, which half-deaf people like me couldn't hear at all.

The buffet had very little salad stuff and, if there were any vegetarian stuff, they were not labelled. Majority of the food was clumpy sandwiches, which I didn't touch at all. I had a little bit of salad and a few cheese sticks. I heard later that an awful lot of food went to the hostel, because the staff didn't want it.

The tables were arranged into little groups so needless to say, all the staff sat in their own deapartments and there was very little mingling. After an hour and half we had a little speech by the Chief Executive, thanking us for all the hard work and for working over Christmas (for those that do).

Then we had a little presentation for a staff member who was leaving and for another whose 50th birthday it was. We took a few photos and chatted for a bit but by 3 majority of us were going home, including me.

In the words of Shanaya: That didn't impress me much!.

Christmas Do - 1 of 3

Yesterday was the time for our department's christmas meal. We booked initially in August but have already changed the date twice, but finally it came around.

Linda sadly couldn't make it but everyone else made it so there was 16 of us seated at two tables. The meals were all pre-booked so we all had different things. As usual, I opted for the vegetarian which was phenominally cheesy (in a nice way).

For starters I had Goats cheese with a salad, walnuts and oranges. For main course I had a huge 3-cheese pie with roast potatoes, swede pure, cauliflower, carrrots, peas and gravy. For pudding majority of us had cheesecake so you can see why I said my meal was cheesy.

We also did the secret santa. I was very lucky because I had three presents. I got some note paper with a pen, a card organiser with 24 greeting cards and a bottle of sherry of Carol. I bought Michelle various smelly things for the house from the Indian shop. She has a dog so I thought she might like those.

We all collected money for a fantasticly luxurious fluffy dressinggown for our manager. All in all, we had a fabulous time and the White Lion did well to accommodate us all and clean up after us. Thanks!

Looking forward to Do number two on Thursday.!

Change of plan - Maybe?

There has been a few disappointed faces in our office this morning. We were all looking forward to moving office after the new year. However, on Friday we were told that the move may not go ahead at all. The reason for this is, alledgedly, that the company is now looking for premises that are big enough for the whole of the organisation to move to. Your guess is as good as mine to as when this is going to happen or whether it is indeed at all. Apparently, the new premises are costing £300,000 over budget at £1.3 million, so it is a case to see where the funding can be found from. I will keep you posted.

Moving office again

After New Year we will be moving office again. This time we will move a little further away from the head office, which will be a nuicance if we want to check the post or get petty cash but well outweighed by the fact that the offices are more roomy and incorporate the stores on the same premises.

There are three seperate smaller offices which means I will be getting my own office and not having to share the noise and hustle and bustle that goes on in the main office. I will also be getting my own phone whearas at the moment I'm having to share with three other people. It has been virtually an impossibility.

Apparently car parking will be sparse but we can block each other in as we will all be in the same place so it shouldn't be that much of a problem. Personally, I can't wait.

Poor Jake!

Cat sitting went ok in a way that I did not feed the wrong cats this time but yesterday morning when I got downstairs, I found to my horror that there was blood all over the window sill, the post, the dining chair and everywhere around the floors.

I quickly checked Dizzy and found nothing wrong with her, spent a little time trying to catch Jake and eventually discovered that he had a (now dried up) little cut on the big pad of his right hind paw.

We have absolutely no idea how he got that as he was fine when we went to bed, but mummy thinks he might have trod on some tools that was left on the didning table. That could also explain why the blood was on the chair. He wasn't limping when he walked and it was amazing to me how much blood had come out of such a tiny cut.

I still felt terribly guilty as I was responsible for his well fare and really didn't want something like that to happen when I was looking after them.

Cat sitting again

Sioned and Anna have gone to Blackpool for a couple of nights so we have the great honour of looking after the house and cats again. So far so good, the cats were in when I got there last night so I had no problem identifying them this time.

We had a little fun and games when a meter reading lady knocked on the door asking if she could read the electric and gas meters to which I had to reply "sure, if you know where they are as I don't live here".

She claimed that she did know and showed me that the electric was over the back door which was simple enough. However, the gas meter not only turned out to be in a cupboard with various heavy items in front of it; but also sideways on so that even if you can reach it form over the tumble dryer, you could not actually read it.

To save me pulling everything out of the cupboard, the lady climbed over the tumble dryer and almmost dived head-first into the back of it. She eventually got her reading and left happy.

We had a wonderful evening just relaxing and watching TV whilst the cats slept on the sofa, every now and then peering at us in turn to see what we were up to.

Wonder if there might be a profession for this. . . . . .?

Time

Isn't it funny, when you look around at other people's websites? You find that the closer to Christmas you get, the less time spend on writing. I'm pleased that I'm not the only one constantly juggling with time.

I have just got back from spending the week-end away. It was a fantastic, relaxing time but now I'm having to catch up with all that didn't get done during that time.

Luckily I haven't got an awful lot to get ready for Christmas since I'm going away again. Still need to plan our meals and do the shopping for that but otherwise I think I'm sorted.

Still wouldn't it be nice to have some spare time (whatever that is)?

Weather

Has anyone had a look at the local 7-day weather forecast; there is a link to it from my blog? It looks absolutely charming - NOT!

Rain every single day for the next 7 days and only God knows how many thereafter. The only consolation is that it will remain fairly mild. No frosted up windscreens in the morning.

The funny thing is; I would rather have the frost and the snow than this miserable drizzle we constantly have here.

Twenty-nine days to Christmas

Can anybody believe it? I really haven't got in the right mood to think about Christmas yet. This year has flown by so quick that I can't keep up with it.

Since I'm currently having problems at home, as yet I haven't bought a single present or wrote any cards yet. I suppose I should find the time and motivation to get cracking with that.

I do feel ready for the Christmas break itself. Just to have a week or so off without a clock going off sounds quite blissful. No doubt that will fly by too and then i have no more holidays left until April.

EURO 2008

Well, it has taken me this time to recover from Wednesday's disaster. The Euro qualifying match between England and Croatia which ended up 2-3 and means that we did not qualify for the Euro next year.

Having eventually got over the disappointment, I have been thinking about all the spare time that millions of Britons will now have not having to spend weeks glued to the box. I have decided that I'm going to use that time being outside as much as the weather permits. In the long run, it will probably be better for me.

It still sad though :-(

Refurbishment

Thought it was time to refurbish my blog space, hope you like it

Wish I could do the same at home but everything is so upside down so I don't know where to start. At the moment both the winter clothes and the summer clothes are needed so neither of them can go up the loft and of course there is no room for them to be be put away anywhere else either.

It doesn't help that due to the mild weather, the grass is still growing; making the garden look untidy. Not to mention all the leaves lying around and the dirty, murky water in the pond. At the moment nothing can be done about the garden as the weather fluctuates between awful and just bad. The only thing we have to look forward to in that department is that it can only get worse. Great! No wonder I feel like I might be suffering from the winter blues. :-(

THAT time of the year again

Yes, Christmas is only fifty days away and judging by the rate that this year has sped past so far; those fifty days will go quicker than ever this year.

The horrible thought is that there are only two Pay days left before Christmas, so it is time to think about what to do about presents, etc

For the first time for a long time, I am going away for Christmas. I shall be staying in a cottage in the Peak District for a whole week and still be back for New Year.

It would be nice to hear what your plans are and if you have a wish list for presents. Let me know, thanks