My hands are actually freezing as I am sitting at my desk - not good! It looks like we might get some snow tonight, or tomorrow... very very cold! Am gonna go home shortly and light a fire (well, try to!).
Have decided to give netball a miss tonight. My finger is still really sore from last week (looks crooked still), and don't want to risk further damage to it. Apart from anything else, it is also freezing! Not sure I can face turning out in this weather! I am intending to go home and do one of my exercise DVDs, which always makes me feel better...
Poor old Mark has to come home and fix part of his car tonight (well get it into a drivable state, so that I can take it to the garage for him). That's the trouble with being so darn handy! I would be able to just throw my hands in the air and call the AA - he doesn't have such advantages... ;-)
Met Mark's sister-in-law, Alison, for lunch today in the village pub, to give her a card for Sam's birthday (her son, Mark's nephew). He will be ten this year... oh to be ten again! What a lovely age - although I guess all those SATS and stuff they have to do these days would take the edge off it a bit!
Am trying to decide what to make for dinner tonight... Quorn meatballs and pasta, or some sort of fish... hmmm....... I have added a new aspect to my dieting this week, and it seems to be working already! Not only counting points etc... but also trying to cut down my portion size! An entire saucepan full of vegetable curry may not contain many points/calories, but it does nothing for weight loss! Am considering buying one of these to help the process, although I can see that some may say I have more money than sense... I have to undo 30-odd years of eating "Brown Family" sized portions - no mean feat!!! ;-)
Keep warm (those in warmer climes should keep how hot it is to themselves... you know who you are).
Hayls
xxx
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
A Weekend in the Shire of Cam
We had a nice weekend at home this time... Friday night, Mark went to bed very early and I had the misfortune of staying up to watch Big Brother... if left unattended, how quickly I return to my devilish ways! ;-)
Saturday I helped Mark put the huge sheets of glass into the new garage, and then I took a trip up to Jamie and Adele's new place just along the road... it is going to be very weird not having them next door, but am glad they are only 2 minutes away (on my bike). Their new place is amazing - lots of potential, but alot of work required... the previous owners smoke cigars and owned dogs, so there is deffo a whiff of them about the place. It won't take much though to have it feeling like home, and the space in the back of the bungalow and the garden is just amazing - definately more than enough room to swing a baby elephant!
Saturday afternoon, Mark, John and I went along to the local football match, which was quite good (mainly because we won!). Was jolly cold though...
Saturday night we had a lovely dinner at Doug and Angie's place... Doug cooked a lovely spread; Fish bake thingys with an amazing humous and beetroot concoction piped onto the plate - very artistic! Then we had a lovely pasta and seafood dish with salad and a yummy bread... fruit crumble and custard, and cheese and biscuits... (as you can see my diet went out of the window for the night!).
Sunday we took a trip to Mark's parents for a yummy lunch, and sat around at their place for the afternoon doing crosswords and reading the papers (very relaxing). Last night we just stayed in and I read magazines while Mark played on the computer... was nice.
Not much else to report I am afraid!
Much love
Hayls
xxx
Saturday I helped Mark put the huge sheets of glass into the new garage, and then I took a trip up to Jamie and Adele's new place just along the road... it is going to be very weird not having them next door, but am glad they are only 2 minutes away (on my bike). Their new place is amazing - lots of potential, but alot of work required... the previous owners smoke cigars and owned dogs, so there is deffo a whiff of them about the place. It won't take much though to have it feeling like home, and the space in the back of the bungalow and the garden is just amazing - definately more than enough room to swing a baby elephant!
Saturday afternoon, Mark, John and I went along to the local football match, which was quite good (mainly because we won!). Was jolly cold though...
Saturday night we had a lovely dinner at Doug and Angie's place... Doug cooked a lovely spread; Fish bake thingys with an amazing humous and beetroot concoction piped onto the plate - very artistic! Then we had a lovely pasta and seafood dish with salad and a yummy bread... fruit crumble and custard, and cheese and biscuits... (as you can see my diet went out of the window for the night!).
Sunday we took a trip to Mark's parents for a yummy lunch, and sat around at their place for the afternoon doing crosswords and reading the papers (very relaxing). Last night we just stayed in and I read magazines while Mark played on the computer... was nice.
Not much else to report I am afraid!
Much love
Hayls
xxx
Friday, January 19, 2007
Kisimul in Moonlight
I have been reading up a little for our holiday in The Hebrides (mainly looking for camp sites, which seem to be non-existent!), and came across this gorgeous photograph of Barra island on Flickr... has trebled my excitment!
Our trip will entail a bit of island hopping - from Barra, to Uist, Harris and Lewis, and then Skye. My dearest wish would be to visit the Shiant Islands (as described beautifully by Adam Nicholson, in his marvellous book The Sea Room), but I think this might be a bit of a pipe dream...
An Ill Wind
Well... yesterday did not pan out as expected! Having made an effort to get into work super-early, I was thwarted on arrival at King's Cross (there was a power failure) which meant a brisk walk to Euston. En route, I saw what appeared to be a person being treated by a vast number of medics, having fallen victim to a huge wooden hoarding that had been blown over by the terrible winds yesterday...
I knew that things did not bode well for the journey home, when early afternoon there was an announcement in the swaying tower that is my new workplace, stating that we were not permitted to go outside the building because of the high winds... at around 4pm, having heard that there *may* be some train cancellations, I decided to try and make it home... dear me. Basically, Cambridge was about THE most difficult place in the country to get to, it seemed! No trains from Liverpool Street or Kings Cross (power lines were blown down, and there was mucho debris on the lines), and no National Express coaches (as the M11 was closed, and the other motorways were gridlocked...). Thankfully, rescue came in the form of Ricki and Bill, who took me home to Hither Green and fed me red wine and curry (the whole reason I was in London on a Thursday was to avoid the HUGE calorific buffet they have in the Cambridge office on a weekly basis - how ironic!). If I had not had Ricki, I quite frankly don't know what I would have done! I would have been looking at a hotel for the night - which makes me wonder how all the other people trying to get home coped!! There were people in tears at Liverpool Street when faced with a myriad of red cancellation announcements!
My perturbation however was (as usual) put into perspective by Mark... there are ten poor people who didn't make it home at all last night... will never be going home. A sobering thought! Although, I can still pout inwardly about having to get up at 6:30 this morning to get home, and at missing a visit to the cinema last night with Mark and his family...
I knew that things did not bode well for the journey home, when early afternoon there was an announcement in the swaying tower that is my new workplace, stating that we were not permitted to go outside the building because of the high winds... at around 4pm, having heard that there *may* be some train cancellations, I decided to try and make it home... dear me. Basically, Cambridge was about THE most difficult place in the country to get to, it seemed! No trains from Liverpool Street or Kings Cross (power lines were blown down, and there was mucho debris on the lines), and no National Express coaches (as the M11 was closed, and the other motorways were gridlocked...). Thankfully, rescue came in the form of Ricki and Bill, who took me home to Hither Green and fed me red wine and curry (the whole reason I was in London on a Thursday was to avoid the HUGE calorific buffet they have in the Cambridge office on a weekly basis - how ironic!). If I had not had Ricki, I quite frankly don't know what I would have done! I would have been looking at a hotel for the night - which makes me wonder how all the other people trying to get home coped!! There were people in tears at Liverpool Street when faced with a myriad of red cancellation announcements!
My perturbation however was (as usual) put into perspective by Mark... there are ten poor people who didn't make it home at all last night... will never be going home. A sobering thought! Although, I can still pout inwardly about having to get up at 6:30 this morning to get home, and at missing a visit to the cinema last night with Mark and his family...
Thursday, January 18, 2007
El-oh-el-aye Lola
Little Lola is one years old today, believe it or not! Happy Birthday to you Lola... hope you enjoy the fairy cakes Mummy is making today!
Lots of love
Aunty Poo Poo
xxx
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Finger on the Ball
Last night was a little bit of a mini-disaster (cue tense music and gasps of horreur). I seem to have injured my finger at netball, quite badly! Caught the ball "wrong", which is supposedly quite a common injury for netballers! Not sure if I have broken it, but it is double its normal size (no laughing - I know I have fingers like stubby sausages at the best of times), and a rather fetching shade of green/black/blue/yellow... I will have to wait and see whether it is worth the trip to an A&E department to get it x-rayed, but at the moment am having to make-do with soliciting sympathy around the office by shoving it under the nose of anyone silly enough to make eye contact with me... sob!
Not an awful lot else to report. The weather has been foul, so called off today's lunch time run, and have promised to go Friday instead. At lunch around fifteen of us went to the curry house in the village... I of course went for social reasons (not to eat!), and had to make do with a 1/4 of tandori chicken and salad whilst the rest of them stuffed their faces with full-on proper curry and all the trimmings... sigh!
Tonight, we r just staying in I reckon... tomorrow I have to go to London, and in the evening we are going to see Miss Potter at the cinema with Caroline and Mark's Mum... am looking forward to it!
Lots of love
Hayls
xxx
Not an awful lot else to report. The weather has been foul, so called off today's lunch time run, and have promised to go Friday instead. At lunch around fifteen of us went to the curry house in the village... I of course went for social reasons (not to eat!), and had to make do with a 1/4 of tandori chicken and salad whilst the rest of them stuffed their faces with full-on proper curry and all the trimmings... sigh!
Tonight, we r just staying in I reckon... tomorrow I have to go to London, and in the evening we are going to see Miss Potter at the cinema with Caroline and Mark's Mum... am looking forward to it!
Lots of love
Hayls
xxx
Monday, January 15, 2007
Pottering
Not alot to report over the weekend... I did get this gorgeous picture of little Helena off her blog, which I couldn't resist adding here...
Friday night, went out with Mark to eat, but it was kind of low-key as Mark was feeling pretty ropey (sore throat), so we packed in early and didn't make a big night of it.
Saturday we drove over to Caroline's and saw the kids, walked into the city (a 6 mile round trip!), and did a spot of shopping. I was chuffed as got a dress in Gap that I had *almost* bought for £48 earlier in the year, and managed to get for £11 in their sale! Mark bought himself some much-needed new shoes, and we did a spot of food shopping - including yummy chestnuts from the market to roast on the fire... (a certain song comes to mind! ;-)
Saturday night, we just watched a Harry Potter film and then the rather excellent K-Pax film with Kevin Spacey in it... brilliant film.
Sunday, Mark was still poorly, so he stayed off work. I headed over to the house in Norwich - gave it a little bit of a clean and picked up post. Had lunch with Annie and Jack, which was gorgeous - and very good to see them! We exchanged mucho holiday stories, and caught up on each other's news...
In the afternoon, I went over to see Nikki and Carlos's new house in Sprowston, Norwich. Lots of potential there and a MASSIVE garden - Carlos certainly has his work cut out! They seemed happier and more relaxed than I have seen them in a very long time (something to do with reaching your final destination I guess!).
In the evening, I had a bit of a nightmare journey home (Mark's car has far too many diagnostics on it - and kept telling me I had all manner of punctures and under-inflated tyres, when they looked fine to me!). I got home and cooked a yummy roast dinner for us - chicken for me and nut roast for Marky. Not alot else to report!
Struggled to go running at lunch today (I *did* manage it) as I think I strained one of my calf muscles on Friday night whilst bopping around to a Nell McAndrew DVD. Not sure whether I should now be resting it, or trying to keep up the exercise routine! I guess I am not an experienced enough fitness fanatic! Am also scared that if I stop, I will never start again! I want to keep it going while I have the motivation there... managed to lose another two pound last week, so that is 7 since New Year. Will be keeping at it!
Hope you all had a good weekend...
Much love
Hayls
xxxx
Friday night, went out with Mark to eat, but it was kind of low-key as Mark was feeling pretty ropey (sore throat), so we packed in early and didn't make a big night of it.
Saturday we drove over to Caroline's and saw the kids, walked into the city (a 6 mile round trip!), and did a spot of shopping. I was chuffed as got a dress in Gap that I had *almost* bought for £48 earlier in the year, and managed to get for £11 in their sale! Mark bought himself some much-needed new shoes, and we did a spot of food shopping - including yummy chestnuts from the market to roast on the fire... (a certain song comes to mind! ;-)
Saturday night, we just watched a Harry Potter film and then the rather excellent K-Pax film with Kevin Spacey in it... brilliant film.
Sunday, Mark was still poorly, so he stayed off work. I headed over to the house in Norwich - gave it a little bit of a clean and picked up post. Had lunch with Annie and Jack, which was gorgeous - and very good to see them! We exchanged mucho holiday stories, and caught up on each other's news...
In the afternoon, I went over to see Nikki and Carlos's new house in Sprowston, Norwich. Lots of potential there and a MASSIVE garden - Carlos certainly has his work cut out! They seemed happier and more relaxed than I have seen them in a very long time (something to do with reaching your final destination I guess!).
In the evening, I had a bit of a nightmare journey home (Mark's car has far too many diagnostics on it - and kept telling me I had all manner of punctures and under-inflated tyres, when they looked fine to me!). I got home and cooked a yummy roast dinner for us - chicken for me and nut roast for Marky. Not alot else to report!
Struggled to go running at lunch today (I *did* manage it) as I think I strained one of my calf muscles on Friday night whilst bopping around to a Nell McAndrew DVD. Not sure whether I should now be resting it, or trying to keep up the exercise routine! I guess I am not an experienced enough fitness fanatic! Am also scared that if I stop, I will never start again! I want to keep it going while I have the motivation there... managed to lose another two pound last week, so that is 7 since New Year. Will be keeping at it!
Hope you all had a good weekend...
Much love
Hayls
xxxx
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