We finished work on Thursday in jubilant mood - it was the beginning of our 4 day weekend! After a nice lie in this morning we had a productive day. We did two trips to the tip and got rid of the bricks, paving slab and old work tops that had been cluttering up the garden since ripping out the old kitchen in November! Then we visited Sainsbury's, swept the garden, cleaned the windows, hoovered, cleaned and dusted and Alex also did a few hours on the hall floor - it's nearly finished!
Since then we had my uncle David and his fiancee Angela over for dinner. It was a very pleasant evening and I loved catching up. They've asked me to be their bridesmaid next June! Very excited! They live in Plymouth so it'll be a lovely chance for a long weekend getaway as well as a chance to get all dressed up!
I'm off to have a look at cake recipes for Sunday; we're having the 2 sets of parents and Als gran Dos over for Easter lunch.
By the way, if you're wondering whether anything is happening on the wedding front, my job situation needs to be sorted before we make any concrete plans... I'll let you know.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Monday, April 10, 2006
More Gardening News
Well this weekend as part of my 'spruce up the garden' activity I put together this nice little bit of garden furniture and as you can see Pads made the most of a comfy growbag and patch of sunlight!
bless...
Unfortunately for her this has now been planted up with oregano, garlic, bell peppers, courgettes, sage, thyme, mint, tomatoes...
Como parte de mi actividad este fin de semana construi esto para crecer vegetales y hierbas. Pero Pads lo vi como oportunidad para un descanso oportuno!
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Spring has sprung
When we bought this house Alex, in his ignorance bless him, wanted to pave over the garden. But I kicked up a fuss and I'm glad that I did!
I was really looking forward to having my own garden and he has warmed to it and helps by mowing the lawn. He also started to get enthusiastic about the idea of growing veg and that's what we're starting to do now. It's lovely, now that the weather is definately more spring-like. Last week I kicked it all off by weeding. I do like a good old weed, muddy hands and the satisfaction of seeing a nice clear patch of earth is my favourite part, followed closely by the smell of it all. mmmmm.
Yesterday we ended up in Homebase. We'd had a few months off the place, but after we moved in it felt like we were there every week for months! Our house is a bit like a Homebase advert, actually, they could pay us to host an ad I'm sure. We'd have to omit the coffee table and wardrobes because they're from MFI, and there's a couple of things from Ikea. But the rest is all Homebase! We went in there for a few plants and ended up with three trolleys full yesterday! I've got a soil testing kit, and I felt rather like I was in the series CSI; I had a pipette and mixed the sample with a solution and then I had to read off the results! Our soil is PH neutral so in theory anything should grow... we'll see.
We were both really pleased to see daffodils springing up at the far end. When we moved in to this house the area around the trees was starved of all goodness and the topsoil was almost gone. So when we dug up the lawn at the front we dumped the turf on this patch around the trees and forked it in as best we could. I dropped some bulbs in and, hey presto, a row of beautiful daffs appeared. Alex's mum and nan gave us some snowdrop bulbs and I've stuck them there too - we'll see what happens!
Back in October when we started the kitchen we had planned to do the floor in the hallway as well. The old lino was torn and worn out and kept tripping me up as it wasn't fitted properly! But flooring can be expensive so we concentrated on the kitchen. Then Homebase cam to the rescue! There's this stuff we used for the kitchen that has worked a treat, and basically it's the same stuff we're using in the hall. Instead of tiles these are shapen like wooden strips and they seem really easy to apply, you just peel off the backs and stick them down! So at 2.30pm Alex decided he was going to get the floor done, and he very nearly finished it, ther's just a bit of edging left to do. Doesn't it look lovely? It really makes the hall feel brighter too. We've painted the walls a light shade of lilac; the paint has a satin sheen to it so that it reflects the light as well.
It's funny how much stuff you accumulate. I din't think we had that much in the hall until we had to move it all into the living room, Here's what the living room looks like now:
!!!
So after our mega-motivated saturday we went to my church with our mate Leon to listen to a concert. The quartet played a piece by Mozart and then some Dvorak, then Anna joined to make it a quintet and they played some Schubert. I have to say Schubert went on a bit! But the one by Dvorak was great, really moody, and layered, and Russian. And we raised £600 for St Basil's, a charity which re-homes the homeless. Our friend Kate works for them and they do great work, so while we were shifting about in the uncomfortable pews for 2 and a half hours we could take some comfort in knowing it was all for a good cause!
I was really looking forward to having my own garden and he has warmed to it and helps by mowing the lawn. He also started to get enthusiastic about the idea of growing veg and that's what we're starting to do now. It's lovely, now that the weather is definately more spring-like. Last week I kicked it all off by weeding. I do like a good old weed, muddy hands and the satisfaction of seeing a nice clear patch of earth is my favourite part, followed closely by the smell of it all. mmmmm.
Yesterday we ended up in Homebase. We'd had a few months off the place, but after we moved in it felt like we were there every week for months! Our house is a bit like a Homebase advert, actually, they could pay us to host an ad I'm sure. We'd have to omit the coffee table and wardrobes because they're from MFI, and there's a couple of things from Ikea. But the rest is all Homebase! We went in there for a few plants and ended up with three trolleys full yesterday! I've got a soil testing kit, and I felt rather like I was in the series CSI; I had a pipette and mixed the sample with a solution and then I had to read off the results! Our soil is PH neutral so in theory anything should grow... we'll see.
We were both really pleased to see daffodils springing up at the far end. When we moved in to this house the area around the trees was starved of all goodness and the topsoil was almost gone. So when we dug up the lawn at the front we dumped the turf on this patch around the trees and forked it in as best we could. I dropped some bulbs in and, hey presto, a row of beautiful daffs appeared. Alex's mum and nan gave us some snowdrop bulbs and I've stuck them there too - we'll see what happens!
Back in October when we started the kitchen we had planned to do the floor in the hallway as well. The old lino was torn and worn out and kept tripping me up as it wasn't fitted properly! But flooring can be expensive so we concentrated on the kitchen. Then Homebase cam to the rescue! There's this stuff we used for the kitchen that has worked a treat, and basically it's the same stuff we're using in the hall. Instead of tiles these are shapen like wooden strips and they seem really easy to apply, you just peel off the backs and stick them down! So at 2.30pm Alex decided he was going to get the floor done, and he very nearly finished it, ther's just a bit of edging left to do. Doesn't it look lovely? It really makes the hall feel brighter too. We've painted the walls a light shade of lilac; the paint has a satin sheen to it so that it reflects the light as well.
It's funny how much stuff you accumulate. I din't think we had that much in the hall until we had to move it all into the living room, Here's what the living room looks like now:
!!!So after our mega-motivated saturday we went to my church with our mate Leon to listen to a concert. The quartet played a piece by Mozart and then some Dvorak, then Anna joined to make it a quintet and they played some Schubert. I have to say Schubert went on a bit! But the one by Dvorak was great, really moody, and layered, and Russian. And we raised £600 for St Basil's, a charity which re-homes the homeless. Our friend Kate works for them and they do great work, so while we were shifting about in the uncomfortable pews for 2 and a half hours we could take some comfort in knowing it was all for a good cause!
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Funny old month
It's been a bit of a funny old month. I admit I have neglected the blog somewhat, my apologies. Things have happened that have left my world slightly altered since the last entry, and I've taken a few weeks to mull things over.
So here goes...
Working in a PR agency is exciting, challenging, frustrating, varied, and I have loved it. The long hours were a pain though but there was the hope of progression and the opportunity for creativity, so I just gritted my teeth and got on with it. What few people think about it that PR professionals are linked to journalists. Very often they are ex-journalists, who have sharpened their skills in the cut and thrust of a newspaper publishing house. I had hoped that immersion in an agency would help me catch up on my writing skills, I had banked on this being the case in fact, and I hadn't allowed any room in my head for failure. Mind you that's consciously; subconsciously I'd been fretting for a few months, since Christmas really. Fully aware that if I couldn't write press releases to a better standard quickly then my days were numbered. I had a frank discussion with my managers and about a month ago I handed in my notice.
You only live once don't you?
You don't get given the years to waste them away on sadness, regret, frustration, guilt and self loathing.
My favourite poem:
Rudyard Kipling - If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;
If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And — which is more — you'll be a Man, my son!
Mi poema favorito:
Rudyard Kipling - Si
Si logras conservar intacta tu firmeza cuando todos vacilan y tachan tu entereza.
Si a pesar de esas dudas, mantienes tus creencias sin que te debiliten extrañas sugerencias.
Si puedes resistir inmune a la fatiga y fiel a la verdad, reacio a la mentira, si el odio de los otros te deja indiferente sin creerte por ello muy sabio o muy valiente.
Si sueñas, sin por ello rendirte ante el ensueño.
Si piensas, mas de tu pensamiento sigues dueño.
Si triunfos ó desastres no menguan tus ardores y por igual los tratas como a dos impostores. Si soportas oír tu verdad deformada para trampa de necios por malvados usada ó mirar hecho trizas de tu vida el ideal y con gastados útiles recomienzas igual.
Si toda la victoria conquistada, te atreves a arriesgar en una audaz jugada, y aun perdiendo, sin quejas ni tristezas, con nuevos bríos reiniciar puedes tu empresa.
Si hasta el pueblo te acercas sin perder tu virtud y con reyes alternas sin cambiar de actitud. Si no logran turbarte amigo ni enemigo, pero en justa medida pueden contar contigo.
Si entregado a la lucha con nervio y corazón, aun desfallecido persistes en la acción y extraes energías, cansado y vacilante, de heroica voluntad que te ordena: ¡Adelante!
Si alcanzas a llenar el minuto sereno con sesenta segundos de un esfuerzo supremo... Lo que existe en el mundo en tus manos tendrás, Y además, hijo mío, ¡un hombre serás!
Despues de unos meses de vacilar y pensar, he decidido buscar otro empleo. Ha sido dificil porque de veras me gusto mucho mi trabajo pero mi estilo de escribir no es lo suficiente desarrollado para este nivel. Estoy pensando como solucionar las cosas, adquirir un empleo que me deja ser creativa pero sin dejarme sintiendo tan estresada - la vida es demasiada corta para esas tonterias.
So here goes...
Working in a PR agency is exciting, challenging, frustrating, varied, and I have loved it. The long hours were a pain though but there was the hope of progression and the opportunity for creativity, so I just gritted my teeth and got on with it. What few people think about it that PR professionals are linked to journalists. Very often they are ex-journalists, who have sharpened their skills in the cut and thrust of a newspaper publishing house. I had hoped that immersion in an agency would help me catch up on my writing skills, I had banked on this being the case in fact, and I hadn't allowed any room in my head for failure. Mind you that's consciously; subconsciously I'd been fretting for a few months, since Christmas really. Fully aware that if I couldn't write press releases to a better standard quickly then my days were numbered. I had a frank discussion with my managers and about a month ago I handed in my notice.
You only live once don't you?
You don't get given the years to waste them away on sadness, regret, frustration, guilt and self loathing.
My favourite poem:
Rudyard Kipling - If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;
If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And — which is more — you'll be a Man, my son!
Mi poema favorito:
Rudyard Kipling - Si
Si logras conservar intacta tu firmeza cuando todos vacilan y tachan tu entereza.
Si a pesar de esas dudas, mantienes tus creencias sin que te debiliten extrañas sugerencias.
Si puedes resistir inmune a la fatiga y fiel a la verdad, reacio a la mentira, si el odio de los otros te deja indiferente sin creerte por ello muy sabio o muy valiente.
Si sueñas, sin por ello rendirte ante el ensueño.
Si piensas, mas de tu pensamiento sigues dueño.
Si triunfos ó desastres no menguan tus ardores y por igual los tratas como a dos impostores. Si soportas oír tu verdad deformada para trampa de necios por malvados usada ó mirar hecho trizas de tu vida el ideal y con gastados útiles recomienzas igual.
Si toda la victoria conquistada, te atreves a arriesgar en una audaz jugada, y aun perdiendo, sin quejas ni tristezas, con nuevos bríos reiniciar puedes tu empresa.
Si hasta el pueblo te acercas sin perder tu virtud y con reyes alternas sin cambiar de actitud. Si no logran turbarte amigo ni enemigo, pero en justa medida pueden contar contigo.
Si entregado a la lucha con nervio y corazón, aun desfallecido persistes en la acción y extraes energías, cansado y vacilante, de heroica voluntad que te ordena: ¡Adelante!
Si alcanzas a llenar el minuto sereno con sesenta segundos de un esfuerzo supremo... Lo que existe en el mundo en tus manos tendrás, Y además, hijo mío, ¡un hombre serás!
Despues de unos meses de vacilar y pensar, he decidido buscar otro empleo. Ha sido dificil porque de veras me gusto mucho mi trabajo pero mi estilo de escribir no es lo suficiente desarrollado para este nivel. Estoy pensando como solucionar las cosas, adquirir un empleo que me deja ser creativa pero sin dejarme sintiendo tan estresada - la vida es demasiada corta para esas tonterias.
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