myrtlebaggins

Kowalski has been experimenting with make-up. He hasn't quite got the hang of blusher.*



*not really, he's just been a bit too enthusiastic with his mineral block thing.

No updates for ages, and I have been meaning to, I HAVE.  I've got photos and everything but work has been all *busy* and so when I haven't needed to be on the PC for work I've been all *staying away from it*  I will probably do them at some point and backdate them so they are in the right place.  For now though:



So because of that and other stuff I've spent the last few days being all *sad* and not really wanting to move much.  Today I sat and watched telly IN THE DAYTIME.  I did feel guilty about it mindyer.  I watched the figure skating thingy on BBCi.   It struck me that the costumes haven't changed much since 1984.  If I was the drinking sort, I could invent a marvellous drinking game based upon the amount of times Robin Cousins said the word 'twizzle' during the commentary.

I had so much I wanted to do this holiday and I haven't done any of it for being all *meh*  I might go out and look for skirt material tomorrow.  Then again I might just stay in and read my book about World War I.  (which I am enjoying.  If enjoying is the correct word.) 

I have also just started Pride and Prejudice for the first time evah, and then checking the telly guide last night I saw that the latest movie version was on BBC1, which was handy.  I  missed the first 15 mins but saw the rest.  I did like  Mr Darcy, but on the whole I preferred the BBC version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Thing (Ehle?).  Kiera Knightly was praps a bit too hollywood beautiful for Lizzie Bennet or something,  Judi Dench is  fabulous in everything,  Donald Sutherland was an odd choice for Mr. Bennett.

Children's books - should I be embarrassed about reading them?  In amongst grown up books I'm re-reading some books I remember from my childhood, plus some Terry Pratchett children's/young adult titles that I've never read before and then last week I drifted into the children's section and came out with the aforementioned 'Usborne's Introduction to the First World War' and 'Archie's War', which is supposed to be like the scrapbook of a little boy during WWI.  It's one of those with letters in envelopes you can take out and read, and postcards and things, like 'Ripley's Search for the Shrunken Heads' or the 'Griffin and Sabine' series of grown up books.  I don't really know all that much about either war and after reading that Impartial History of Great Britain book I wanted to know more.  What I didn't want is a hefty tome discussing the in depth political implications of this and that - I just wanted to know what happened and this usborne one is perfect for that.  AND it has pictures (lol?).  When I mentioned to sis last night that I'd got them from the kids section she did a lol and seemed concerned about the low-ness of my brow I think.  Surely reading anything is better than reading nothing?  And surely reading stuff you enjoy is better than trying to force your way through something that is a chore?

By the way, there is a book I read when I was a child and I'm trying to remember what it was so I can read it again.  All I can remember is that there was a family in it and near the start I think, the Dad was entering competitions on labels from tin cans in the larder so that no-one knew what anything was.  At meal times they would take it in turns to choose a tin for the meal and a tin for dessert with the result that they would sometimes have tinned peaches for lunch a baked beans for dessert.  I think there was a dog.  The dog may have been important later on - maybe they entered competitions with the dog?  Not sure on that part though.  If anyone knows what that was - please tell me!

There is another children's book I can't remember the name of - I think it had 'witch' in the title,  I recently bought The Worst Witch Collection thinking that was it, but now I've read the first one (which bears a striking resemblance to the basic set up of Harry Potter) I know I've never read these before.  The one I was looking for, it was a young witch and she went to live with possibly two other witches in a cottage somewhere.  It might have been the youngest witch or the naughtiest witch or something like that.  Or I could be getting mixed up with 'The Naughtiest Girl In School Is a Monitor'.

HEY, I wonder if I still have that one somewhere....

*edit* HOLD THE PHONE!  I have found the witch one.  It was The Littlest Witch.

• I had the weirdest dream last night. It sounds very silly now but it was terrifying at the time.
  ( Dull Other-Peoples-Dreams stuff )

• Yesterday much fun was had putting together Great Aunt Fred's new TV and stand and taking her through the basics of how to use it. It's right snazzy and does all sorts. I love a flatpack. Great Aunt Fred is the coolest. I'm off to install and teach her how to use her new dvd/hdd/recorder later on in the week.

• I went searching in the loft for my knitting stuff earlier in the week so that I could try and knit some of these. I thought I'd have to ask someone how to knit again but I seemed to manage ok. I did these two: and another one last night which is flat on the top and has a little red flower and leaf on it and I think I shall have to stop there because my thumb has gone numb. I'm not one of nature's knitters stroo.

• I've had my budgie Kowlaski for 6 years and while he was friendly for a few weeks when he was a baby, since then he has earned the nickname 'The Assassin' from my uncle who he stays with when I'm away. He rarely flies and is content to sit on his open door most days playing with his toys (the budgie, not my uncle). He will try to bite if he sees fingers anywhere near him. (although he does like his head tickled as long as you use a toy to do it with). Yesterday he suddenly decided to become friendly and hopped on to the arm I offered him as I was passing the door of his cage. This has never happened before so as a reward I took him to the treat box to get some millet. Now, he's had millet before lots of times. If you are holding a little bit of it for him to eat it is the only time he won't attempt to remove your fingers. After his millet I took him back to his cage door and he jumped down. He spent the rest of the evening hopping about and at one point flew onto my mother's head. (She wasn't best pleased)
  Today he has been very active and eyeballing the treat box. For 6 years the treat box has been in the same place but he seems to have only made the connection now. He kept taking off and flying over to it then coming back, then jumping onto me. So we went and got him some more millet and he was all *YEY!*. I wonder if they laced this particular batch with acid or something. He seems to have gone back to his chickhood. :s
  
  ( *budgie video* )
  
  
  

• It's tomorrow now. Why does it take me so long to write these nowadays? Last nights dream featured me working in a restaurant with Gordon Ramsey. Ew, tbh.
  


• After being on an economy drive for several months I decided to cheer myself up with a treat and went shopping yesterday. Sadly I came home with pants (not even interesting ones), socks and a concealer stick. I don't feel treated and now I have no money left with which to get anything else. Le boo.


• For future reference: I am now 7st 3.5 underthings-weight, which has never been seen since early September last year. It's taken a hell of a lot of effort, and a bit of luck and some happy timing. I'd like to reach 7st 8 or 12, just to see what it's like, but I seem to have stuck fast at this weight as it hasn't changed for a week and a half now. But I'll stick with it and see what happens. At least I have a little bit of a buffer zone again.


• Last weekend I went to a craft fair at Newby Hall in North Yorkshire. OH how I wish I had a garden like Newby Hall. Without the tourists traipsing around it, obv.
  
  ( *photos* )
  

• It is now day three since I started writing this entry. Good grief. Maybe I'll never actually press 'submit'...

• I wish it would stop smelling of cows outside. I think the farmers must be putting something on the fields in the area. The whole area absolutely reeks something chronic. I hope it stops reeking before gingerelanor visits. Or at least I hope she realises it isn't me.

• Yesterday I had a Catch Up On Some Jobs day and managed to cross a few more things off my list. Although I did find myself adding new stuff to the list just so I could cross it off. 13 things left on the list now.

• One of the things on yesterday's list was changing the bedding in the Eglu. Elsie makes me larf muchly. She ALWAYS has to inspect at the point the new bedding goes in.
  

( *chicken video* )

Hannah Tortoise with her newly-invented mobile backpack:



Why it's needed:



It works brilliantly and it means she can go outside to play when it's sunny in the Autumn now because we can still find her to bring her in for the colder nights.  Hearing the Indiana Jones theme tune ringing out from the undergrowth cracks. me. up. 

If you've every wondered what a chicken watching a plane go past looks like, it looks a lot like this:



And another one of the girls, just cos:



I must take some recent pictures of the Kowalski Budgie, he'll be getting all jealous.