Forgive me blogger for I have sinned, it is 1 month since my last post.
Bookclub is off to a good start, we had our second meeting last week and 10 people turned up! The discussion was much more highbrow than my last bookgroup, but that's mainly because we just drank wine and gossiped. I love the way other people make me see a book in more depth than I can imagine, comments provoke thoughts and I end up liking the book even more. Maybe I'm not intelligent enough to think up these things on my own so need other people to inspire me! I've started the next book which is going slightly slower than I would have hoped. It's a true life story but is quite interesting.
I went home to Leeds over Easter to see the family. I haven't been back since Christmas so it was nice to have a face-to-face catch up. Went out for the obligatory Indian which was yummy and also had a pleasant evening at the pub with Karen and Magnus - we even did quite well in the pub quiz 24/36. Did some gardening with Mum, bought some sunflower seeds for Pete's garden and some cat grass for Lily. Did some car washing with Dad, now my car is sparkly red but will soon be covered in Welsh mud.
The Wales holiday is next week! My that's come up fast. I'm already compiling lists of everything I want to take, not sure if it will all fit in my car though as I'm taking all Pete's stuff, his bike and a few boxes of games too. I'm really looking forwards to the break and plan on reading lots, relaxing lots and laughing lots. I'm making Nigella's chilli as my meal contribution which is always yummy and will also be baking brownies, flapjack and muffins on random days.
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Monday, 16 March 2009
Busy, busy, busy
March is flying by and I've been busy. I've joined Weightwatchers again in a renewed effort to lose some weight and get fitter, the 'going-it-alone' thing didn't work. I've also started doing Pilates every week which is quite hard (remembering everything) but I can feel it working the next day.
I've started babysitting for Mary which is a new experience for me, babies are a lot of work even if you only have to take care of them for a few hours. I don't know how Mary does it every day, I wouldn't like having my spare time being dictated by a small person. I'm just about getting used to looking after my cat! So babysitting every week or so is just about the right level of baby exposure for me.
My first book group was last week, it went really well. I was a bit nervous about meeting so many new people at once and wanted everyone to get along - and they did! I'm just about to start reading the first book and can't wait for the next meeting and hear everyone's thoughts.
It's been gorgeous weather over the weekend, so Pete and I took the opportunity to tidy up his garden a little bit. He has quite a lot of decking which needed cleaning (scrubbing on hands and knees), grass which needed cutting, scarifying (sp?) and re-seeding, weeding to be done and general pottering. Pete did most of the hard work and humoured me when I moaned about aching. Although the tea making wasn't as frequent as I would have liked!
This week I'm busy every night which has a satisfying ring to it! Tonight is pilates, tomorrow I'm babysitting, Wednesday is Pete-night, Thursday is Ladies Circle AGM and Friday is a meal out with the girls. Fingers crossed that it's nice weather next weekend too so I can sort out my garden!
I've started babysitting for Mary which is a new experience for me, babies are a lot of work even if you only have to take care of them for a few hours. I don't know how Mary does it every day, I wouldn't like having my spare time being dictated by a small person. I'm just about getting used to looking after my cat! So babysitting every week or so is just about the right level of baby exposure for me.
My first book group was last week, it went really well. I was a bit nervous about meeting so many new people at once and wanted everyone to get along - and they did! I'm just about to start reading the first book and can't wait for the next meeting and hear everyone's thoughts.
It's been gorgeous weather over the weekend, so Pete and I took the opportunity to tidy up his garden a little bit. He has quite a lot of decking which needed cleaning (scrubbing on hands and knees), grass which needed cutting, scarifying (sp?) and re-seeding, weeding to be done and general pottering. Pete did most of the hard work and humoured me when I moaned about aching. Although the tea making wasn't as frequent as I would have liked!
This week I'm busy every night which has a satisfying ring to it! Tonight is pilates, tomorrow I'm babysitting, Wednesday is Pete-night, Thursday is Ladies Circle AGM and Friday is a meal out with the girls. Fingers crossed that it's nice weather next weekend too so I can sort out my garden!
Monday, 2 March 2009
Monthly CDs Update
What is it about music and it's ability to transport you to another time?
One of my new years resolutions was to buy a new CD each month and listen to it. I've found myself falling into the rut of listening to the radio all the time instead of choosing music depending on my mood.
So far my choices have been:
January - Vampire Weekend
February - MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
March - The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
I'm listening to 'The Ting Tings' at the moment and the first 2 songs on the album are the ones they've released 'Great DJ' and 'That's Not My Name'. When I put them on I was suddenly gripped with the urge to get up and dance about in a mad 4-year-old type manner, it was so freeing, not caring what you looked like and totally losing yourself in the music. I was instantly transported to all the live gigs/clubs/concerts I've ever been to and the tingly feeling you get when your favourite song comes on and you feel so happy you could burst. My dull morning has become one of reminiscing and even though I'm not dancing now I still feel lighter and brighter.
Who thought this could be one of the side effects of a resolution?
One of my new years resolutions was to buy a new CD each month and listen to it. I've found myself falling into the rut of listening to the radio all the time instead of choosing music depending on my mood.
So far my choices have been:
January - Vampire Weekend
February - MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
March - The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
I'm listening to 'The Ting Tings' at the moment and the first 2 songs on the album are the ones they've released 'Great DJ' and 'That's Not My Name'. When I put them on I was suddenly gripped with the urge to get up and dance about in a mad 4-year-old type manner, it was so freeing, not caring what you looked like and totally losing yourself in the music. I was instantly transported to all the live gigs/clubs/concerts I've ever been to and the tingly feeling you get when your favourite song comes on and you feel so happy you could burst. My dull morning has become one of reminiscing and even though I'm not dancing now I still feel lighter and brighter.
Who thought this could be one of the side effects of a resolution?
Monday, 16 February 2009
Cat Tree
The second of my DIY projects is now complete. Surprisingly it didn't take very long.
I bought 3 large SNACK boxes from Ikea and 2 small ones, then I marked out what bits I wanted cut out of them. The thinking was that the 3 large boxes could be stacked on top of one another with cat-sized holes cut out the bottoms allowing a cat to go in the bottom box, then climb up to the top. I also wanted some peep holes facing the window so Lily could spy. I got 2 small boxes so I could turn one into a bed at the very top and .... I'm not sure why I got 2, maybe a spare?
After I'd marked out the cuts I wanted, a quick trip to B&Q to get a hole saw drill bit and we were ready to start cutting. I say 'we', I mean Pete. He spent a joyous couple of hours cutting wood with power tools (he loved it), then I sanded all the peices before putting it all together. Then I added 2 coats of clear varnish to the outside and it was all done, total time 1 day.
Lily is not so impressed, last night when I errected it she sniffed it then went back to bed. This morning I plonked her in the bed at the top and she stared at me before leaping out. Granted she did leap back onto the bed from the sofa, completely ignoring the complex box-hole structure.
I've screwed on two scratching panels so she can scratch away and they also lend more support to the boxes. The boxes themselves have little feet which fit inside the box below it so they are quite sturdy.
I'm also going to add either cardboard or carpet tiles on the top and bottom box. At the moment she has a cardboard box which she loves scratching in, I'm hoping that the cat tree will replace the box so I need to give her an alternative.
I bought 3 large SNACK boxes from Ikea and 2 small ones, then I marked out what bits I wanted cut out of them. The thinking was that the 3 large boxes could be stacked on top of one another with cat-sized holes cut out the bottoms allowing a cat to go in the bottom box, then climb up to the top. I also wanted some peep holes facing the window so Lily could spy. I got 2 small boxes so I could turn one into a bed at the very top and .... I'm not sure why I got 2, maybe a spare?
After I'd marked out the cuts I wanted, a quick trip to B&Q to get a hole saw drill bit and we were ready to start cutting. I say 'we', I mean Pete. He spent a joyous couple of hours cutting wood with power tools (he loved it), then I sanded all the peices before putting it all together. Then I added 2 coats of clear varnish to the outside and it was all done, total time 1 day.
Lily is not so impressed, last night when I errected it she sniffed it then went back to bed. This morning I plonked her in the bed at the top and she stared at me before leaping out. Granted she did leap back onto the bed from the sofa, completely ignoring the complex box-hole structure.
I've screwed on two scratching panels so she can scratch away and they also lend more support to the boxes. The boxes themselves have little feet which fit inside the box below it so they are quite sturdy.
I'm also going to add either cardboard or carpet tiles on the top and bottom box. At the moment she has a cardboard box which she loves scratching in, I'm hoping that the cat tree will replace the box so I need to give her an alternative.
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