Just over 9 hours till I fly out and I'm finally all packed and ready to go. I had to use the large suitcase in the end. I would have been able to fit everything in the smaller case, but as I wanted to take my pink fluffy stetson it would have got too squashed in the small case. At least it feels quite light (hope so anyway).
So I guess this is me signing out. Hopefully I'll get some sleep as I'm being picked up at 5.30am, but of course I'm not feeling tired - still panicking that I've forgotten something important. Now I've got my passport, ticket, hotel reservation, voodoofest ticket, restaurant reservations ...
See you all when I get back ...
Friday, October 27, 2006
I just have to say ...
... that My Chemical Romance's new album The Black Parade is FANTASTIC!
Emo it may be (but what is emo?) but it has touches of Coldplay, Suede and Green Day all mixed in there and the songs themselves are beautiful. Very touching, and very emotional. Hard listening for some I would guess, but I just can't stop listening to it. Overall the album is better than the single and we all know how much I love that. I can't wait to see them on Sunday - and Gerard looking so hot with his lovely new blonde hair is a bonus too!
Emo it may be (but what is emo?) but it has touches of Coldplay, Suede and Green Day all mixed in there and the songs themselves are beautiful. Very touching, and very emotional. Hard listening for some I would guess, but I just can't stop listening to it. Overall the album is better than the single and we all know how much I love that. I can't wait to see them on Sunday - and Gerard looking so hot with his lovely new blonde hair is a bonus too!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Ok, I Admit It …
I’ve booked another restaurant. I realised that I didn’t have anywhere to eat on Friday evening (I get to NO at about 4pm). I won't want to do much the first night probably, but I’m sure I will want to eat, so out of interest did a search using OpenTable and amazingly Herbsaint has a free table for 9pm, so I couldn’t resist. I am convinced that eating at these nice restaurants is a good thing, as otherwise I’d be stuffing myself with all the fried food and hugely carlorie intensive creole and cajun food available elsewhere (poboys and the like) – they do like their fried food in New Orleans. The main problem now is the amount of clothes I am going to have to take – no longer travelling light as I have to dress up for all these restaurants and I can’t possibly keep wearing the same outfit, and of course different outfits mean different shoes and handbags. Time to rethink the size of the suitcase methinks! *LOL*
With only 3 1/2 days left till I go, I am desperately trying to get everything done that needs to be sorted before I go. I need to make cards for Jo and Jane's birthday, and I have an entry to do in a Discworld CJ. And of course I still need to actually pack, although of course that will probably end up being done on Thursday night just before i go to bed *LOL*
Saturday, October 21, 2006
More Food!
OK I've really got to stop reading restaurant reviews and the NO foodie forum. This evening I have discovered that I had been missing a seriously good restaurant from my deliberations - Restuarant August, which it turned out several people had mentioned to me, and in a recent review had scored 11 out of 10. Of course I couldn't miss this opportunity either, so I booked a table. At least I won't have to worry about eating while I'm in the Big Easy. Better start making my plans for a diet when I get back too *LOL*
Think I'd better get looking at walking tours ... need to do something to walk off all that fab food. I suppose the good thing is that at least it isn't all the deep fried food that appears in most of the restaurants in the city!
Epilators
Now everyone knows that I am the biggest wuss in the world and where pain is concerned, I just don’t do it. A broken nail can leave me in agony and the first (and only) time I had my eyebrows plucked (and it was by a professional) I cried. In fact hair removal in general has always been a trial to me. Bearing this in mind, what on earth possessed me to buy an epilator? To those who don’t know it’s like a razor except it rips your hair out from the roots, leaving nice smooth skin, and apparently lasts much longer than shaving etc. The other bonus is it can be used anywhere on the body (yeah I don’t think so!) Of course the answer is that it was on QVC, the presenters and models all showed how easy and painfree it was to use, it was pink and to cap it all I can buy it, try it, and when it hurts too much – send it back and get my money back.
So the thing arrived and I immediately tried it out. First I did what the booklet and QVC had recommended – I ran it across my hands … amazing, no pain (mind you not much in the way of hair either). So I take the bull by the horns – I start on my lower left leg. It takes a bit of playing around to actually get it taking the hairs, but yet again apart from the odd pinch there is no pain. Soon I am fuzz free (and I was looking like a hobbit). So pleased am I that I gamely attack the right leg. AAAAAAArrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!! OMG! It is so painful. I do eventually manage to defuzz that leg too, but I am completely stumped as to why 1 leg hurt and the other didn’t. Finally, I attack the chin hairs, which is also painful (but only for about 2 seconds). I now have a lovely soft face for the first time in my life. Anyway I have decided to keep it. Personally I think it is worth it just for the face hair, but hoping that over time the right leg will get used to it and not be so painful. However, under NO circumstances will I be doing my armpits or any more ‘sensitive’ areas with it!
So the thing arrived and I immediately tried it out. First I did what the booklet and QVC had recommended – I ran it across my hands … amazing, no pain (mind you not much in the way of hair either). So I take the bull by the horns – I start on my lower left leg. It takes a bit of playing around to actually get it taking the hairs, but yet again apart from the odd pinch there is no pain. Soon I am fuzz free (and I was looking like a hobbit). So pleased am I that I gamely attack the right leg. AAAAAAArrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!! OMG! It is so painful. I do eventually manage to defuzz that leg too, but I am completely stumped as to why 1 leg hurt and the other didn’t. Finally, I attack the chin hairs, which is also painful (but only for about 2 seconds). I now have a lovely soft face for the first time in my life. Anyway I have decided to keep it. Personally I think it is worth it just for the face hair, but hoping that over time the right leg will get used to it and not be so painful. However, under NO circumstances will I be doing my armpits or any more ‘sensitive’ areas with it!
Friday, October 20, 2006
Quick Message for Mrs H3
That Noel Edmonds CD is very disappointing! I thought it was actually going to be him doing something cheesy, but instead it’s some boring new age instrumental rubbish (actually this is a bit unfair as I already own a couple of these types of album, although mine are by Terry Oldfield (Mike’s brother)). Have to admit to only getting to track 7 before turning it off. I will listen to the rest some other time, but can’t sit through the whole thing in one go. I do agree the Birds of Prey is the best track so far though. If anyone else wants to hear it, let me know and I’ll give you a copy.
Hurrah for Skype!
Well my reservations at all 4 restaurants have been confirmed and all thanks to skype. I figured it was probably going to be the cheapest way to call the US, so I quickly signed up for €10 (the least I could sign up for) – this also apparently entitles me to free landline calls anywhere in the UK for the next 6 months! So 2 minutes later and I was ready to call. I had no problems getting through to any of the restaurants (although there was a few minute wait for Commander’s Palace), the sound quality was excellent and all were able to give me the reservations I wanted. Upperline especially, seemed very pleased to be receiving a visitor from the UK and asked me loads of questions about where I was from etc. All the reservationists (their term so I found out hanging onto the phone for Commanders) were incredibly helpful and friendly and really made the booking process a pleasure. Hopefully that’s an indication of the service yet to come. What I forgot to say was that the 3 calls which totalled about 15 minutes in length cost me €0.16. I am impressed!
So I now need to find a dual phone (one that can be used for landline & skype). I desperately need a new phone anyway as mine has been working intermittently for years, and as I have 6 months of free calls to make I may as well make the best use of it and use a proper phone. Never could get used to talking into the microphone thingy and I always manage to lose it when a call is incoming *LOL*.
So I now need to find a dual phone (one that can be used for landline & skype). I desperately need a new phone anyway as mine has been working intermittently for years, and as I have 6 months of free calls to make I may as well make the best use of it and use a proper phone. Never could get used to talking into the microphone thingy and I always manage to lose it when a call is incoming *LOL*.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Food, Food and even more Food!
So now I’m beginning to get really excited about my holiday. I have been researching places to eat as I am determined to get some fine dining in while I’m there. I obviously already knew of a number of places – Commander’s Palace, Galatoire, Arnaud’s, K-Paul’s, Emeril’s to name but a few – but which ones to choose? Which ones are the BEST? I started by leaving a message on a NO foodie forum asking for recommendations, and generally got a pretty good response and some interesting opinions. I also found a rather good online guide and compared their gradings to the recommendations. From there I looked at the websites (where available) of the restaurants and have finally made my choices. Now I just have to try and make reservations. Unfortunately only one of the places is taking online reservations at this time and because of it being Halloween I am expecting trouble getting into some of the restaurants as they really are some of the best in the world. So my next task is to work out time zones and find a time that I can call them to reserve a place. Hopefully they might all be able to squeeze me in as I’m dining alone.
Anyway I’m sure you’re all dying to know which restaurants I’ve chosen so here goes:
Monday Brunch – Brennan’s
Tuesday Evening – Bayona
Wednesday Lunch – Commander’s Palace
Thursday Evening – Upperline
I’ve checked out their menus and I’ve already provisionally chosen the food that I want, assuming it’s on the menu and nothing on the specials board grabs me more *LOL*. Better still the change I have been saving in my bottle this year will cover the cost of at least 3 of the meals. Breakfast at Brennan’s is a real must do when visiting New Orleans, although I don’t think I could face their food at breakfast time which is why I’m going for an 11am reservation. It will be nice to have a nice relaxing day after the rush of the festival weekend. Bayona and Upperline just look like wonderful restaurants, highly recommended by everyone and the menu’s were great, and I just HAD to go to the Commander’s Palace after going past it last time, and because it has just re-opened, obviously specially for my visit *LOL*. I promise the 25 cent cocktails had nothing to do with my decision (no really they didn’t … well not much anyway). Now I just have to find something to wear!
Once my reservations are made I can plan the other things I want to do for the rest of the week. I am definitely intending to visit the Zoo and was hoping to go to the Aquarium, although I am unable to confirm that it is open at the moment. I found out last night that whilst they managed to get through the hurricane with no problems – they had excellent emergency plans, the extended period without electricity meant that their generators ended up failing and they lost almost all their 10,000 fish, which was obviously a hugely devastating blow to all the people who had worked so hard to keep them alive during the hurricane. At the current time the website is unavailable so I shall be waiting till I get there before I find out whether it’s open. As it’s only a couple of minutes walk away from my hotel it won’t be a hardship to check out. I am also considering going on the Hurricane Katrina tour. I had originally thought this was a bit ghoulish, but talking to locals, many of them seem to think the tour is a good idea as it shows just how bad things really were (and how much still needs to be done to get NO back on her feet). Also a portion of the tour money goes to one of the Katrina disaster charities, so it helps with the rebuilding. I also need to schedule in some shopping time - there are a lot of shopping places in NO and I intend to visit them all!
Of course I have already found the location of the nearest internet café and that’s only a few minutes from my hotel as well – in the Riverwalk Mall (ooh shopping and surfing). *LOL*
Lynne and I went for a lovely meal to The Ship at Upnor on Tuesday night. I had never been to that area before and although I could only see it in the darkness it seemed like a really nice place. I shall definitely have to visit again in the daytime as it would be nice to go to the castle. I would also definitely recommend the pub as the food was delightful. The two of us had a lovely 3 course meal and a bottle of wine for £60, an excellent price as the meal was well cooked, well presented and wasn’t ‘nouvelle cuisine’- you got a decent size portion of everything.
As if that wasn’t enough food, tonight I’m off to meet Mrs H3 for a little something over at Bluewater. I’m also going to get my holiday money and a last few little bits and bobs. I am still trying to find a replacement pair of jeans for the ones that have a now HUGE hole in. Damn Evans for stopping selling the one pair of jeans that actually fitted me!
I am still stumped on the packing though, not aided by the fact that the 10 day weather forecast site I’ve found is showing that temperatures in NO are currently about 15 degrees higher than the usual temperature for the time of year. Also instead of the dry spell (usually less than 1” of rain in Oct/Nov) there are heavy thunderstorms almost every day. So apart from my umbrella and the pink stetson I shall be waiting till the last minute to pack. Still no sign of the magic suitcase either …
Anyway I’m sure you’re all dying to know which restaurants I’ve chosen so here goes:
Monday Brunch – Brennan’s
Tuesday Evening – Bayona
Wednesday Lunch – Commander’s Palace
Thursday Evening – Upperline
I’ve checked out their menus and I’ve already provisionally chosen the food that I want, assuming it’s on the menu and nothing on the specials board grabs me more *LOL*. Better still the change I have been saving in my bottle this year will cover the cost of at least 3 of the meals. Breakfast at Brennan’s is a real must do when visiting New Orleans, although I don’t think I could face their food at breakfast time which is why I’m going for an 11am reservation. It will be nice to have a nice relaxing day after the rush of the festival weekend. Bayona and Upperline just look like wonderful restaurants, highly recommended by everyone and the menu’s were great, and I just HAD to go to the Commander’s Palace after going past it last time, and because it has just re-opened, obviously specially for my visit *LOL*. I promise the 25 cent cocktails had nothing to do with my decision (no really they didn’t … well not much anyway). Now I just have to find something to wear!
Once my reservations are made I can plan the other things I want to do for the rest of the week. I am definitely intending to visit the Zoo and was hoping to go to the Aquarium, although I am unable to confirm that it is open at the moment. I found out last night that whilst they managed to get through the hurricane with no problems – they had excellent emergency plans, the extended period without electricity meant that their generators ended up failing and they lost almost all their 10,000 fish, which was obviously a hugely devastating blow to all the people who had worked so hard to keep them alive during the hurricane. At the current time the website is unavailable so I shall be waiting till I get there before I find out whether it’s open. As it’s only a couple of minutes walk away from my hotel it won’t be a hardship to check out. I am also considering going on the Hurricane Katrina tour. I had originally thought this was a bit ghoulish, but talking to locals, many of them seem to think the tour is a good idea as it shows just how bad things really were (and how much still needs to be done to get NO back on her feet). Also a portion of the tour money goes to one of the Katrina disaster charities, so it helps with the rebuilding. I also need to schedule in some shopping time - there are a lot of shopping places in NO and I intend to visit them all!
Of course I have already found the location of the nearest internet café and that’s only a few minutes from my hotel as well – in the Riverwalk Mall (ooh shopping and surfing). *LOL*
Lynne and I went for a lovely meal to The Ship at Upnor on Tuesday night. I had never been to that area before and although I could only see it in the darkness it seemed like a really nice place. I shall definitely have to visit again in the daytime as it would be nice to go to the castle. I would also definitely recommend the pub as the food was delightful. The two of us had a lovely 3 course meal and a bottle of wine for £60, an excellent price as the meal was well cooked, well presented and wasn’t ‘nouvelle cuisine’- you got a decent size portion of everything.
As if that wasn’t enough food, tonight I’m off to meet Mrs H3 for a little something over at Bluewater. I’m also going to get my holiday money and a last few little bits and bobs. I am still trying to find a replacement pair of jeans for the ones that have a now HUGE hole in. Damn Evans for stopping selling the one pair of jeans that actually fitted me!
I am still stumped on the packing though, not aided by the fact that the 10 day weather forecast site I’ve found is showing that temperatures in NO are currently about 15 degrees higher than the usual temperature for the time of year. Also instead of the dry spell (usually less than 1” of rain in Oct/Nov) there are heavy thunderstorms almost every day. So apart from my umbrella and the pink stetson I shall be waiting till the last minute to pack. Still no sign of the magic suitcase either …
Monday, October 16, 2006
Life is a Funny Old Thing
Yesterday I completed two layouts and I am very pleased with both of them. In fact, at least one is probably the best layout I’ve ever done and is certainly the best photo I’ve ever taken (yep it’s the one I was talking about the other day when I said I just needed to find the perfect kit). Strange then, that these 2 layouts have received less views on UKS than just about any of my others. Now, I never expect to get a great number of views as I am not one of the ‘in’ people and I certainly don’t expect to get many comments, (although I do sometimes wonder whether if I put out a plea like Anso did whether that would make a difference) but I do find it disappointing that people can’t even be bothered to check out new work that doesn’t involve pictures of children. So here they are, for everyone in the world to see.
Uses Dana Frantz's Raspberry Cafe, fonts are AdineKirnberg Script and Chatterbox Courtney
Uses Victoria Feemster's Purple Rain kit and Chatterbox fonts Kreider and Courtney
Finally I have some good news from the pub! Iain is away for 3 weeks doing a relief in a pub in Bedford (poor them) which means I don’t have to see him before I go on holiday. Hopefully I should be a bit happier working there as I get on very well with the assistant manager Steve who will be running things. It also means that things should run a bit better. Yesterday I had a huge argument with one of our regular customers. The guy is a pain in the arse at the best of times, but for the last few weeks he has been accusing me of short changing him at least once a weekend (it is not just me he does this to, but I’ve had enough of it). When it has turned out that he is wrong, he refuses to apologise, you are supposed to just put up with it. If it turns out he is correct you are supposed to apologise to him and put up with a boring lecture. Yesterday I had had enough and told him exactly what I (and many of the other customers) thought of him. I then told him I wouldn’t serve him any more so there wouldn’t be a problem with me short changing him. Problem is he annoyed me so much that it really ruined the rest of my afternoon, although I did manage to calm down a little bit by the time I had finished my shift and a nice relaxing evening helped even more!
Its now only 11 days till my holiday and I have started drawing up a packing list … I am so determined to travel light, but it just really isn’t me. For starters I’m torn between cases. I want to take something small and easily portable as I don’t want to be lugging a huge suitcase round New Orleans - not a sensible move methinks, but at the same time I am obviously intending to do a bit (lot) of retail therapy whilst there and will need enough space in my case for my new purchases. Suggestions would be gratefully received on where I can get Mary Poppins’ handbag *LOL*.
Oh and finally … My Chemical Romance is Number One! Good job boys. Looking forward to the new album in 7 days.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Music, music and more music
This morning I saw the video of 'Welcome to the Black Parade' by My Chemical Romance and fell in love with it instantly. So I've changed my blog video to that - now you can click on it and see why it's so fab for yourself. Fortunately for me, MCR are one of the bands playing at Voodoofest ... this time in 2 weeks I'll be on my way!
There is so much great and varied music around at the moment - I'm loving the new Killers album and the current single is such a beautiful song. The same goes for Razorlight's single - nice to see it at No.1 rather than some dodgy dance cover version ... although it's kept the Hoff from the top spot (sorry Mrs H!). I'm also listening to anything by The Dirty Pretty Things (love, love, love) and the new Kasabian album. Today I have downloaded the new Sting album 'Songs from the Labyrinth' containing his lute music and Gothic Archies 'Tragic Treasury', the companion music to Lemony Snicket's ASOUE books, the last of which is released today and I need urgently. Also a bit more unknown stuff (to me at least) such as Peter, Bjorn and John, the Guillemots and Vashti Banyan. I'm sure there will be more to come including the Beck album.
There is so much great and varied music around at the moment - I'm loving the new Killers album and the current single is such a beautiful song. The same goes for Razorlight's single - nice to see it at No.1 rather than some dodgy dance cover version ... although it's kept the Hoff from the top spot (sorry Mrs H!). I'm also listening to anything by The Dirty Pretty Things (love, love, love) and the new Kasabian album. Today I have downloaded the new Sting album 'Songs from the Labyrinth' containing his lute music and Gothic Archies 'Tragic Treasury', the companion music to Lemony Snicket's ASOUE books, the last of which is released today and I need urgently. Also a bit more unknown stuff (to me at least) such as Peter, Bjorn and John, the Guillemots and Vashti Banyan. I'm sure there will be more to come including the Beck album.
I have been trying to track down some of the lesser known artists on the Voodofest bill. I have been pretty successful, so have quite a big 'festival' folder.
I definitely need that new I-Pod!
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Good Game ... Not!
Well I missed the football match last night as it was on early. I didn’t get home from work until after it started (hurrah for the coaches!) and I really couldn’t be bothered to go back out, opting instead for doing a bit of catching up with all the episodes of Lost that I’d recorded but hadn’t yet had the opportunity to watch and of course, the wonderful American Gothic (it was fab!). From what I hear I really didn’t miss anything by not watching it – we played like crap again, I could tell this by the scoreline without even being told about how dreadful we were. I did apparently miss a good punch up in the pub though – thanks for letting me know about that Andrew.
Feeling a bit aggrieved today about the lack of decent cafe’s in the part of central London that I work in. And I don't mean those over-priced coffee houses like Starbucks of which there are a million within walking distance of my office, I mean the good old fashioned greasy spoon – the ‘cup of tea and a bacon sarnie’ type of place. When I first started working up here there were several of these establishments – a great cheap place to have breakfast with friends, containing a variety of colourful characters, both eating and working there, but over the years each has closed and re-opened as a new coffee house or mobile phone shop. The last of these great places was the marvellous ‘Fast and Tasty Cafe’ under the arches, which Annette and I visited regularly. I had been there with work colleagues having an occasional informal breakfast meeting. It was here that Lynne and I would have our breakfast before heading off to the Chelsea Flower Show. Sad to say this too has now closed. At some point in the 5 weeks that Annette and I were away from work on our holidays they closed, and there is nothing to show that they are likely to re-open, and no-one seems to know why they went, as they were always busy. We have tried the nearest sandwich bar, but the service was slow, the tea was foul, the bacon sandwich was badly cooked and to cap it all it was expensive. This leaves us with only a trip to MacDonald’s if we wish to continue having breakfast together – not, I am sure anyone would agree, ideal by any stretch of the imagination. Sometimes progress really isn’t progress at all!
Feeling a bit aggrieved today about the lack of decent cafe’s in the part of central London that I work in. And I don't mean those over-priced coffee houses like Starbucks of which there are a million within walking distance of my office, I mean the good old fashioned greasy spoon – the ‘cup of tea and a bacon sarnie’ type of place. When I first started working up here there were several of these establishments – a great cheap place to have breakfast with friends, containing a variety of colourful characters, both eating and working there, but over the years each has closed and re-opened as a new coffee house or mobile phone shop. The last of these great places was the marvellous ‘Fast and Tasty Cafe’ under the arches, which Annette and I visited regularly. I had been there with work colleagues having an occasional informal breakfast meeting. It was here that Lynne and I would have our breakfast before heading off to the Chelsea Flower Show. Sad to say this too has now closed. At some point in the 5 weeks that Annette and I were away from work on our holidays they closed, and there is nothing to show that they are likely to re-open, and no-one seems to know why they went, as they were always busy. We have tried the nearest sandwich bar, but the service was slow, the tea was foul, the bacon sandwich was badly cooked and to cap it all it was expensive. This leaves us with only a trip to MacDonald’s if we wish to continue having breakfast together – not, I am sure anyone would agree, ideal by any stretch of the imagination. Sometimes progress really isn’t progress at all!
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
A bit of a catch up
I haven’t blogged for a few days because of being busy and generally not having much to say. I was going to rant about Iain’s latest idiocy at the pub, but it won’t do anything other than wind me up again so I shall refrain, although he annoyed me more this weekend than he has done for a while.
Saturday was very quiet at the pub – so quiet that I had time to get a whole bar cleaned from top to bottom, definitely not expected on football days. I really did mean to watch the England game, but I got into an interesting conversation about knitting (no honestly it was interesting) so I missed it. I did have people appearing on a regular basis to inform me that the game was crap though, so I don’t think I missed out on anything. I then spent a quiet evening indoors and ended up watching a couple of episodes of Hex before having an early night as I was completely shattered. I just don’t seem to be able to shake off the cold I got when I got back from Spain (or I’ve been unlucky and caught one after another after another). So England are playing again on Wednesday evening. Not sure what I’ll be doing yet but it’s looking like being in the Sherwood I guess. Just hope they have a better game than the last one!
Sunday was, if anything, quieter than Saturday – I managed to get the other bar cleaned, although that left me nothing to do on Monday night. But at least I had visits from friends which livened things up a bit. Andrea loved the t shirt that I got for Aiden on Friday. Stayed for only a short while after work (unlike the last 2 weeks where I was there till closing time) and then went home to spend a quiet evening vegging in front of the TV with yet another early night.
Not sure the early nights are good for me though as I felt even worse on Monday morning (maybe too much sleep?). So I wasn’t really with it which is why I didn’t realise my jeans had a huge hole in an almost embarrassing place until I was already at work. Cue me spending the day trying desperately not to walk around too much in case anything was visible. Just hope I can get another pair in time for my holiday – can’t possibly go to a festival without jeans. It took me so many months to find a pair of jeans that fitted so well and they never had another pair in my size or I would have bought 2 pairs at the time (still remembering the burnt jeans episode so like to have a back up pair). As predicted the pub was dead and without any cleaning to do I resorted to cutting Christmas decoupage (yep I really was that bored). The only problem with quiet nights is that they go so slowly – but at least I’ll get my Christmas cards made *LOL*
I’m really excited as American Gothic is finally being reshown on ITV4. Of course it is on Wednesday night and I’m expecting to be out watching the footie, but I shall definitely be videoing it. I have been trying to get a cheap(ish) copy of this on DVD ever since it was released last year, but with no success yet. Gary Cole is just the fabbest actor in this (even gives Kiefer a run for his money in the sexy stakes) - you just gotta love Sheriff Lucas Buck ‘cos he’s soooo evil. All I need is for them to rescreen ‘Space Above and Beyond’ and I’d be incredibly happy.
With only 16 days left till my holiday I am beginning to get excited, so I’ve added a video clip of Duran Duran doing one of my favourite tracks. Enjoy!
Saturday was very quiet at the pub – so quiet that I had time to get a whole bar cleaned from top to bottom, definitely not expected on football days. I really did mean to watch the England game, but I got into an interesting conversation about knitting (no honestly it was interesting) so I missed it. I did have people appearing on a regular basis to inform me that the game was crap though, so I don’t think I missed out on anything. I then spent a quiet evening indoors and ended up watching a couple of episodes of Hex before having an early night as I was completely shattered. I just don’t seem to be able to shake off the cold I got when I got back from Spain (or I’ve been unlucky and caught one after another after another). So England are playing again on Wednesday evening. Not sure what I’ll be doing yet but it’s looking like being in the Sherwood I guess. Just hope they have a better game than the last one!
Sunday was, if anything, quieter than Saturday – I managed to get the other bar cleaned, although that left me nothing to do on Monday night. But at least I had visits from friends which livened things up a bit. Andrea loved the t shirt that I got for Aiden on Friday. Stayed for only a short while after work (unlike the last 2 weeks where I was there till closing time) and then went home to spend a quiet evening vegging in front of the TV with yet another early night.
Not sure the early nights are good for me though as I felt even worse on Monday morning (maybe too much sleep?). So I wasn’t really with it which is why I didn’t realise my jeans had a huge hole in an almost embarrassing place until I was already at work. Cue me spending the day trying desperately not to walk around too much in case anything was visible. Just hope I can get another pair in time for my holiday – can’t possibly go to a festival without jeans. It took me so many months to find a pair of jeans that fitted so well and they never had another pair in my size or I would have bought 2 pairs at the time (still remembering the burnt jeans episode so like to have a back up pair). As predicted the pub was dead and without any cleaning to do I resorted to cutting Christmas decoupage (yep I really was that bored). The only problem with quiet nights is that they go so slowly – but at least I’ll get my Christmas cards made *LOL*
I’m really excited as American Gothic is finally being reshown on ITV4. Of course it is on Wednesday night and I’m expecting to be out watching the footie, but I shall definitely be videoing it. I have been trying to get a cheap(ish) copy of this on DVD ever since it was released last year, but with no success yet. Gary Cole is just the fabbest actor in this (even gives Kiefer a run for his money in the sexy stakes) - you just gotta love Sheriff Lucas Buck ‘cos he’s soooo evil. All I need is for them to rescreen ‘Space Above and Beyond’ and I’d be incredibly happy.
With only 16 days left till my holiday I am beginning to get excited, so I’ve added a video clip of Duran Duran doing one of my favourite tracks. Enjoy!
Friday, October 06, 2006
A Good Day
I've had a good day today so far. Met up with Shazzer at the Ashford Designer Outlet this morning and we shopped till we dropped (almost literally). It was great to see her as we haven't got together for ages. Bought a few bits for my holiday - some halloweeny jewellry etc. from Claire's, some books and some make up bits from the Revlon shop. I also bought a sweet little pumpkin candle holder and a lovely halloween t shirt for Aiden. The weather was awful, with some amazing torrential downpours, but we managed to stay generally dry, although my jeans were soaked walking from the car park.
Getting home I finally managed to get my Digidreamer layout done. The papers were all baby themed and although gorgeous, didn't fit with any of my usual subjects for scrapping, so I had to dig out a picture of me and Dad at London Zoo taken sometime in the late 60s. For once I didn't use a sketch - all my own imagination and I'm quite pleased with the result.
During the search for a picture I have found one that I really do have to scrap as it's so great. I just need to find the right kit to go with it, and the right layout!
Getting home I finally managed to get my Digidreamer layout done. The papers were all baby themed and although gorgeous, didn't fit with any of my usual subjects for scrapping, so I had to dig out a picture of me and Dad at London Zoo taken sometime in the late 60s. For once I didn't use a sketch - all my own imagination and I'm quite pleased with the result.
During the search for a picture I have found one that I really do have to scrap as it's so great. I just need to find the right kit to go with it, and the right layout!
Hard Going ...
Well I've finally managed to complete the Discworld CJ. Dunno why but I've had real trouble with this one. I had a few ideas, but none of them panned out - eventually I ended up with poor old Errol, although I think it turned out OK in the end. I just hope my idea for the next CJ hasn't already been used otherwise I'm going to be in trouble!
Bit late to start on the digidreamer challenge tonight and I have no idea what I'm going to do with that one anyway. Perhaps a day of shopping with Shazzer tomorrow will give me the inspiration I'm currently lacking.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Brrrrr!
Autumn (or is it Winter already?) is here with a vengeance. Today, the weather is freezing cold and horridly rainy. I am even considering putting on my heating tonight and I have already put on my thick thermal socks and a jumper.
Last night I went to a football match. It was only the 2nd one I’ve ever been to, and I enjoyed it immensely, even though the team we were there to support ended up losing 6-0 – a pretty dreadful score by any standards, but especially considering it was the cup final. Of course not being used to Autumn matches, I was a bit underdressed for the occasion – Andrew was in a t shirt, shirt and 2 fleeces, whilst I was wearing a long sleeved top and nice looking, but fairly ineffective fleecy jacket. Needless to say by the end of the first half I was freezing. I was definitely wishing I had remembered my gloves at the very least. However, I wasn't the only one. Oz was there wearing only a t shirt and thin jacket and several other people hadn't realised that it was going to be quite so cold either. Luckily the bar was warm, and the pub even warmer after the match had finished. I was impressed at the amount of support the team received from the Sherwood Oak patrons. It was like a home from home down there, and the pub must have been completely empty for the early part of the evening.
Tonight I really need to get on with doing my Discworld CJ which needs to be posted tomorrow and I also need to get a LO done for the Digidreamer monthly kit challenge. Hopefully I’ll be able to post the results of both later.
Last night I went to a football match. It was only the 2nd one I’ve ever been to, and I enjoyed it immensely, even though the team we were there to support ended up losing 6-0 – a pretty dreadful score by any standards, but especially considering it was the cup final. Of course not being used to Autumn matches, I was a bit underdressed for the occasion – Andrew was in a t shirt, shirt and 2 fleeces, whilst I was wearing a long sleeved top and nice looking, but fairly ineffective fleecy jacket. Needless to say by the end of the first half I was freezing. I was definitely wishing I had remembered my gloves at the very least. However, I wasn't the only one. Oz was there wearing only a t shirt and thin jacket and several other people hadn't realised that it was going to be quite so cold either. Luckily the bar was warm, and the pub even warmer after the match had finished. I was impressed at the amount of support the team received from the Sherwood Oak patrons. It was like a home from home down there, and the pub must have been completely empty for the early part of the evening.
Tonight I really need to get on with doing my Discworld CJ which needs to be posted tomorrow and I also need to get a LO done for the Digidreamer monthly kit challenge. Hopefully I’ll be able to post the results of both later.
Autumn
Running a bit late with this - due to being rather busy. This is the UKS blog prompt for yesterday ...
List your 5 favourite things about this colourful season and I also want to know, now that you're a scrapbooker do you see Autumn with different eyes?
1. Most of all I love the smell of Autumn. There is something about the air quality and that smoky spicy bonfirey smell that just isn’t the same any other time of year. I can’t explain it very well but you know the smell - one day you step outside and the world smells different –richer but somehow colder and crisper and you know Summer has gone and Autumn is here for a brief visit.
2. I love the colours of Autumn. The rich golds, oranges and reds, of the leaves on the trees, of the flowers and berries that are around at this time of the year. And of course the fabulous huge orange pumpkins all ripe and ready and waiting …
3. Halloween is my favourite festival of the year, even beating Christmas (just) and is the pinnacle of Autumn. The dressing up, the trick or treating, parties, carved pumpkins, bats, witches and just plain scaring the heck out of people. I am really thrilled to be in New Orleans for Halloween this year so I can see how it’s really done!
4. Collecting conkers and kicking up the beautifully coloured fallen leaves and hearing them crunch under your feet, especially with the sun shining a fantastic way to spend an hour!
5. Warm socks and hot chocolate (with a nice slug of brandy) are a must at this time of the year. There is nothing like toasty warm feet and toasty warm hands with a steaming mug of hot chocolate to cheer you up and get you through those colder nights. Add to that the scent of a pumpkin spiced candle and I’m in heaven.
Although I am a winter baby I have never been a fan of cold weather, I love it hot hot hot! But I think that Autumn is my favourite season. I used to find it a little depressing, the end of all that lovely warm weather, earlier nights and everything dying. But as I’ve got older I’ve come to appreciate how beautiful and important this season is. Of course Halloween helps, and as a scrapbooker this season offers a million opportunities to use the vibrant orange themed papers that abound, and of course makes you look at everything as a possible photo opportunity!
List your 5 favourite things about this colourful season and I also want to know, now that you're a scrapbooker do you see Autumn with different eyes?
1. Most of all I love the smell of Autumn. There is something about the air quality and that smoky spicy bonfirey smell that just isn’t the same any other time of year. I can’t explain it very well but you know the smell - one day you step outside and the world smells different –richer but somehow colder and crisper and you know Summer has gone and Autumn is here for a brief visit.
2. I love the colours of Autumn. The rich golds, oranges and reds, of the leaves on the trees, of the flowers and berries that are around at this time of the year. And of course the fabulous huge orange pumpkins all ripe and ready and waiting …
3. Halloween is my favourite festival of the year, even beating Christmas (just) and is the pinnacle of Autumn. The dressing up, the trick or treating, parties, carved pumpkins, bats, witches and just plain scaring the heck out of people. I am really thrilled to be in New Orleans for Halloween this year so I can see how it’s really done!
4. Collecting conkers and kicking up the beautifully coloured fallen leaves and hearing them crunch under your feet, especially with the sun shining a fantastic way to spend an hour!
5. Warm socks and hot chocolate (with a nice slug of brandy) are a must at this time of the year. There is nothing like toasty warm feet and toasty warm hands with a steaming mug of hot chocolate to cheer you up and get you through those colder nights. Add to that the scent of a pumpkin spiced candle and I’m in heaven.
Although I am a winter baby I have never been a fan of cold weather, I love it hot hot hot! But I think that Autumn is my favourite season. I used to find it a little depressing, the end of all that lovely warm weather, earlier nights and everything dying. But as I’ve got older I’ve come to appreciate how beautiful and important this season is. Of course Halloween helps, and as a scrapbooker this season offers a million opportunities to use the vibrant orange themed papers that abound, and of course makes you look at everything as a possible photo opportunity!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
5 Things ...
Blimey, it’s been ages since I last blogged. Mind you haven’t done much to blog about – it’s been all work, work, work and that makes Tracy a very dull girl!
So the first post of October is based once again on today’s blog prompt on UKS.
Talk about 5 things which are making you happy right now.
This was a toughie, especially for an early morning (well it was early morning when I started thinking about it). My first thought was that I had nothing that I was happy about (yep still got the blues) but then I thought about it a bit more deeply and came up with the following.
1. Friends
Apart from the obvious, that I am happy to have friends and am incredibly fortunate to have some fabulous friends, I actually have 2 specific things I am happy about at the moment. I am happy that a friend I had been worrying was ignoring me wasn’t and we’re going to a football match on Wednesday evening. I am also happy because I am going for a spot of retail therapy with another friend on Friday (also means I get the day off work which is always good!)
2. Family
I am lucky to have a family, but also blessed with the fact that I get on with them well. We may not talk all the time, or get together often, but it’s always a pleasure when we do (well most of the time, anyway). I really do need to make more time to get together with my sister as she doesn’t live all that far away.
3. Health
I am extremely fortunate to have my health. OK so I’ve got the aches and pains everyone starts to get as they get older, and my arthritis can be a nightmare sometimes, but at least I am in one piece and I don’t have anything seriously wrong with me. Having seen my friend Jamie with weekend who unfortunately was not looking at all well, and of course poor Nicky’s continuing problems make me happy that apart from my current cold that doesn’t seem to want to shift I am just fine.
4. Holiday
I am excited and happy to be going on holiday, but if the truth be told, also a little bit scared. Strangely, I’m not worried about travelling alone (done that before), nor the fact I’ll be alone in N’Awlins (murder capital of the USA) as I have found loads of things to do while I’m there and because it’s my spiritual home of course it feels like going home. What I am a bit wary of is the amount of people that will be at the Voodoo Music Experience. I am really looking forward to it, and can’t wait to see Duran Duran again and the Red Hot Chili Peppers for the first time, but there will be so many people there I am worried that I’ll feel lonely and overwhelmed in the large crowd – even with my VIP ticket. I think this started when I went to the Robbie concert and saw how many people were there and it began to sink in just how many people would be in N’Awlins. I’m sure once I’m there I’ll be fine, but it would be good to have some company. Unfortunately that isn’t likely so I guess it’ll just be me chillin’ with a good book.
5. Crafting
I am happy that I have the opportunity to do loads of great crafting things. I just wish I could get my mojo back and actually do some. I’ve only made about 3 cards all year, my jewellery making has been about the same and I have CJs that need to be done and I just can’t find the oomph needed to do them. In fact all I‘ve done for ages now is cut out Christmas decoupage … at least I’m well on the way to making my Christmas cards, if I could actually stop cutting and get on with some other part of the process! *LOL*
So the first post of October is based once again on today’s blog prompt on UKS.
Talk about 5 things which are making you happy right now.
This was a toughie, especially for an early morning (well it was early morning when I started thinking about it). My first thought was that I had nothing that I was happy about (yep still got the blues) but then I thought about it a bit more deeply and came up with the following.
1. Friends
Apart from the obvious, that I am happy to have friends and am incredibly fortunate to have some fabulous friends, I actually have 2 specific things I am happy about at the moment. I am happy that a friend I had been worrying was ignoring me wasn’t and we’re going to a football match on Wednesday evening. I am also happy because I am going for a spot of retail therapy with another friend on Friday (also means I get the day off work which is always good!)
2. Family
I am lucky to have a family, but also blessed with the fact that I get on with them well. We may not talk all the time, or get together often, but it’s always a pleasure when we do (well most of the time, anyway). I really do need to make more time to get together with my sister as she doesn’t live all that far away.
3. Health
I am extremely fortunate to have my health. OK so I’ve got the aches and pains everyone starts to get as they get older, and my arthritis can be a nightmare sometimes, but at least I am in one piece and I don’t have anything seriously wrong with me. Having seen my friend Jamie with weekend who unfortunately was not looking at all well, and of course poor Nicky’s continuing problems make me happy that apart from my current cold that doesn’t seem to want to shift I am just fine.
4. Holiday
I am excited and happy to be going on holiday, but if the truth be told, also a little bit scared. Strangely, I’m not worried about travelling alone (done that before), nor the fact I’ll be alone in N’Awlins (murder capital of the USA) as I have found loads of things to do while I’m there and because it’s my spiritual home of course it feels like going home. What I am a bit wary of is the amount of people that will be at the Voodoo Music Experience. I am really looking forward to it, and can’t wait to see Duran Duran again and the Red Hot Chili Peppers for the first time, but there will be so many people there I am worried that I’ll feel lonely and overwhelmed in the large crowd – even with my VIP ticket. I think this started when I went to the Robbie concert and saw how many people were there and it began to sink in just how many people would be in N’Awlins. I’m sure once I’m there I’ll be fine, but it would be good to have some company. Unfortunately that isn’t likely so I guess it’ll just be me chillin’ with a good book.
5. Crafting
I am happy that I have the opportunity to do loads of great crafting things. I just wish I could get my mojo back and actually do some. I’ve only made about 3 cards all year, my jewellery making has been about the same and I have CJs that need to be done and I just can’t find the oomph needed to do them. In fact all I‘ve done for ages now is cut out Christmas decoupage … at least I’m well on the way to making my Christmas cards, if I could actually stop cutting and get on with some other part of the process! *LOL*
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