Random Witterings!

….. None for a year then 2 come along at once!

I’d like to talk about gardening. I have a love/hate relationship with gardening, I love it when it’s nice and tidy and hate it when it needs attention. I’m not a very energetic person at the best of times, in fact some days I have very little energy courtesy of Dysthymia, but I have lots of enthusiasm, good intentions and of course, no skill

When my back was at its worst, we paid someone to come in and mow the lawn. He did an OK job but then… he sacked us *sob*. Well not really, he had too many work requests and I guess since we were infrequent clients, it made sense to go for a regular contract.

SO… the lawn threatened to turn into a jungle and the nice borders that were there when we moved in had turned into a wildlife sanctuary. We actually liked that but it was getting so the cat could hide in it and we wouldn’t see her. Fun for her I guess, not so much for us trying to get her in at night (I’m a soppy cat mum).

Since I lost 5 stone (so far), my back had been SO much better, I was able to walk without my stick and while it still got grumpy at me, I could do so much more than I could before. Sooo I decided to test it one day and used the lawnmower we’d bought when we first moved in. Yes, we had very good intentions

It went fine, I was stiff and sore the next day but I could manage it (I also lived in fear of mowing over one of the numerous frogs that seem to be attracted to our garden, even tho we don’t have a pond).

The lawn was pretty much under control now, although we seem to have about 8 ant nests dotted around the place. Tony was very happy when he managed to drown one of them out. He should blog about that tho

Then came….. THE BORDER WAR!

I wish I’d taken a picture before I strimmed it all, but this one is after they were strimmed but before we launched our offensive.

We decided that us, being the non-outdoor people that we are, minimal maintenance was the way to go and save us having to do all this again in a year. We bought some lawn edging and Tony use a lawn edging tool to create a trench and bury half the edging to create a nice barrier betwixt lawn and border. In the photo you can see our trusty gardening tool that has been superb for the clearing task. I can’t remember the proper name for it but I call it THE CLAW!

Then came the clearing of all the grass/weeds/ex-plants/small trees that had taken up residence. THE CLAW made it really easy for me to dig everything up without putting too much strain on my back, using my shoulders and legs instead to supply force. The small cache of bird feathers I came across was a bit disturbing mind you, but I’m sure little miss Bubbles could answer a question about that! Here it is at the halfway stage!

And finally, we put down a layer of mulch into the border to help control weeds etc. We plan to put large pots with plants on the mulch rather than plant anything directly in the ground in the hope it will be easier to maintain. That will have to wait a little while tho – in the meantime I am enjoying it looking neat! Bubbles helps us show it off here.

To finish is a pic of Queen Bubbles enjoying the bed/litter tray her minions have created JUST for her

It’s certainly been hard work but I do like seeing it tidy. Now for the OTHER side *groan*

Well! It seems after a good couple of years I finally had enough of my hair being out of control. I loved it long but it was starting to get ridiculous. It was posterior length and getting caught in places where it had no business going. Plus I was getting fed up of the time it took to wash, the amount of breakage or shedding and also having to dismantle the front of the hoover every time to unwind my cast off hair from the roller. I hadn’t actually had it cut for a long time and the last time I did, I only had it trimmed of a couple of inches.

So this morning I decided enough was enough. I booked into my favourite hair salon (Altered Images, here in Long Eaton) and trotted down at the appointed time.

I did keep wondering if I was doing the right thing, maybe I should just have a trim again etc etc. But I remained firm. Once I’d told the stylist that I *really* was sure (I put on a good ‘I know what I’m doing’ front), he suggested dry cutting the bulk of it first as it would just go down the sink during washing. A few snips later and on the floor was a LOT of strawberry blonde hair. Oddly it was a lot longer than I’d thought it was since I only see it from the front in a mirror We had spectators at this point and comments ranging from ‘wow that is brave’ to ‘too late to change your mind now’. My head felt like it was floating and I could run fingers through my hair and reach the ends!

All through the washing and rest of the cut people stopped by the stylist’s station to comment, even the guy who swept up the mound had to come and see who had left it all!

I’ve never felt like an attraction before and it was odd

I can’t stop bouncing it now and it’s still long enough to tie into a cute ponytail which I am really happy with. I should have gotten it done long ago (Yes, you were right mum

So without further ado, I reveal the new ‘Do’. Oh yeh and forgive the cheesy grin please, my usual instinct is to run away screaming when a camera is pointed at me

Well after umming and ahhing for years whether I should try dying my hair black, I have taken the plunge and done it!

My natural colour is red/gold (Strawberry blonde) and while I loved it, it made me feel very insipid and washed out in any photo (ok I hate my picture being taken at the best of times) but even more so cos I just lacked much colour.

SO… here it is

It is with absolute sorrow I write here about the passing of David Gemmell at his home on 28th July 2006. He had come through the trauma of a quadruple bypass and seemed to be recovering well, was at home and up and about. He got up that night and went down to his study to write and was found the next morning at his computer by his wife, Stella.

I had the privilege to become friends with David and his wife through my husband Tony becoming one of his Test readers. They were a remarkable couple, totally devoted to each other and true soulmates. My thoughts and heart are with Stella now and remain so through this difficult time.

David Gemmell was described by many as a living flawed hero, who knew how to write flawed heroes and he did it with passion, empathy and a storytelling ability surpassing that which has been seen so far and in my mind will never be seen again.

What do you do when heroes die? You remember him for the incredible man that he was, mourn at his passing yet celebrate that he lived at all. He left an incredible legacy which will live for decades to come and still teach us and our children about the type of people we want to be, and the choices we can make.

Rest well David, You will be sorely missed and we will never forget you.

Well, I finally got around to doing a blog… what on earth have I got to say? Hmmmmmm.

Am at a bit of a turning point in my life having let too many years go by and nothing to show for them. Not all laziness or being boring but I have long term depression and Anxiety issues. Social phobia/Agoraphobia thrown in and it makes me a very dull person Ok not that dull but I don’t go out much!

Soooo this year I decided to take myself in hand and DO something.

My aims for this year were :

1. To lose weight (Start of the year I was 23 stone *ouch*)
2. To learn to play the guitar (I played violin for several years as a young’un and didn’t want to go back to that)
3. To take up singing again (always enjoyed it but lack of any confidence put a stop to it).

I started weightwatchers Diet in January and to date have lost 3 and a half stone (48 pounds). Having a little break at the moment but maintaining my current weight of 19 and a half stone. Felt SO good for the first time in years being under 20 stone and that I have some control back over my weight. My mum took me clothes shopping as a treat and I ended up sobbing in the changing rooms when I tried something on and it was too big for me. I had outgrown the largest sizes of this particular shop so it was quite momentous for me.

This tuesday I started Guitar class at a local college and had SO much fun. I have a good friend called Jaye and she is very shy like me so we decided to do it and singing class together. Singing class started the following night on the wednesday and that was really good too. I love singing but for years have been too nervous or shy to sing with any volume in front of other people, even people I know. So that too was a very liberating experience. My finger tips of my left hand are raw from playing and practicing so I HOPE the callouses form quickly

That’s about it for now – more soon