There it was, gone!

Christmas came, and then went again as quickly as it arrived.

On Christmas Eve I worked all day, then went to Mum and Dad's to prepare vegetables. Then I went home to prepare the bits I was taking the next day - bread, chocolate cheescake and a strudel type thing. I also still had to wrap my presents!!

I spent Christmas day with my parents, grandmother, sister, brother-in law and two nephews. Oh and the dog - Tarka came too! She was so well behaved and didn't get over excited by the children at all like I suspected she might. I thought I'd have to put her upstairs at times but I didn't. She really was so good and I was very proud of her. She opened her presents along with the rest of us too! She really is very good at tearing off the wrapping paper but she tends to tear it into very small pieces and makes a dreadful mess. I should have videoed her but I didn't. Sorry.

Anyway we had some lovely presents, a fabulous meal, far too much of all the wrong kinds of food, and because I was able to take the dog I stayed over instead of driving home so was able to have a couple of drinks too! In the evening we played games and generally just enjoyed the day.

Boxing day we also ate far too much - it's been the theme for the last few days. We all went for a walk although 2 yr old nephew found the going a bit tough so was carried for a lot of it. In the evening we visited cousins for a few hours then went back to Mum's and played games again.

Again we all stayed over, so today we all went home and left Mum and Dad to have a bit of peace and quiet.... until tomorrow when we all descend again, but this time including my brother and his family, and my step-grandmother! We'll be 13 in all.

I am so lucky to have a big, close family!

Tarka, Christmas morning.

Traditional turkey dinner. I don't like sprouts!

My sister's homemade Christmas pudding! Delicious!

My festive yuletide mincemeat and apple log.

My famous chocolate orange cheesecake.

The roaring fire on boxing day.

Christmas Eve

Twas the Night before Christmas Poem

Clement Clarke Moore (1779 - 1863)

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.

A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

Nearly there!

I'm almost ready for Christmas! Shopping is almost done, just waiting for 3 things through the post. Most of my cards are done, but I didn't get around to posting the ones I should have posted - ooops sorry!

I have a list of things to do before Saturday. Not sure how I'm going to fit it all in since I'm working both Thursday and Friday, and am out both evenings! However, it will all get done I'm sure, one way or another.

My visitors for Sunday and Monday were here and we had a nice time, but my visitors for Tuesday and Wednesday didn't make it which was a real shame since they had originally planned this trip for last year and had to cancel due to the weather then too. We're going to do it earlier next year. It won't have quite the same atmosphere as being right before Christmas, but we should be safer with the weather.

Christmas preparations

So, I thought I was being organised and did all my shopping online.

Then it snowed.

So, now I have no idea if my shopping will arrive before Christmas or not, if not I'll be out there on Christmas eve with everybody else buying whatever I can find. I have got some presents, but a fair few are still outstanding. Ah well, there's still a week to go...

I am supposed to be having visitors this week. My friends from Guernsey should be arriving tomorrow but they don't think they'll make it, they're currently snowed in with another of their friends in Stroud. On Tuesday my friend and her children from Plymouth should be coming, we're taking her children to London on Wednesday to see the lights. Don't know if that will happen, depends on the weather over the next few days.

I walked up to Sainsbury's for some food in case anyone does make it. While I was there I got myself a small turkey joint. At least if I end up stuck home alone on Christmas day I can cook a proper dinner!

Yay!!

Dad fixed the heating!!

Actually, it wasn't really broken. It has a filter - who knew? I certainly didn't so it had at least 7 years of gunk clogging it up and preventing the air from flowing through, hence no warm air in my house! Filter is now cleaned, air is flowing once again! It took all of about ten minutes!!

X Factor final today, Matt won! He's been my favourite every week and I actually voted today, I don't normally do that!

Feeling better

Sometimes, you need to stop looking at all your problems as one huge lump, and break them down a bit.

1) Tarka is home from the vets. She's brighter today and is obviously feeling better. I just have to wait and see what happens next, she may never get pancreatitis again if we're lucky so I'm just going to cross my fingers and stop worrying. The insurance claim form went in today.

2) My friends 15 year old dog is doing better, she's hoping he will make it through Christmas.

3) My work friends dog was very ill and nothing could be done for him. His illness was short and he is out of pain. I hope for the same when my time comes.

4) The dental work is necessary and I will feel a lot better when it's done.

5) Dad's coming at the weekend to look at the heating and see if he can fix it. I think it's the fan that's not working (it's a warm air system) so fingers crossed it is both fixable and cheap!

6) The washing machine is 13 years old so to be fair I've had my money's worth. And it's not dead yet, and Dad might be able to fix it! If not, I'll try and get one off freecycle, they come up from time to time.

Oh and one more point, I have the very best friends and family in the whole wide world and I love all of you.

Everything happens at once.

Sometimes everything all goes wrong at the same time.

1. Tarka is sick, she's got pancreatitis and is at the vets on a drip. I don't know how serious this is yet.

2. My friends 15 yr old dog is ill, and may not pull through.

3. Another friend at work had to have her dog put to sleep unexpectedly today.

4. I am having to have nearly £500 worth of dental treatment.

5. The heating isn't working properly and needs looking at.

6. The washing machine is making a funny noise and needs looking at.

It never rains, but it pours!

N.B. Edited post 08/12/10 - I'm not quite as down in the dumps today as I was yesterday!

I was right...

...I went to agility, I froze, and hardly anyone turned up.

I'm not doing that next week if the weather is bad again, they'll have to make do without me. I wasn't even needed after all that effort as there were so few people to teach that we amalgamated the classes!

What a difference a day makes...

Twenty four little hours....

Here's the same scene as yesterday but 24 hours later.

The snow got us!!

I've spent all day waiting for a call, text or email to say agility was cancelled tonight but finally I got a call... to say it was NOT cancelled!! So I have to go out again tonight and freeze while I teach a class that hardly anyone will turn up to!

Hmmmph.

No snow.... yet!!

The whole country is covered in a deep layer of snow... except for one tiny little pocket called the Thames Valley, which happens to be where I live. The news is full of reports of jack-knifed lorries, cars stuck on motorways, schools closed, people advised to only go out in an emergency, and look what faced me at work this morning...

Practically no snow at all!!

I'm happy about that though, I love snow and it's very pretty, but it's so disruptive I think we're better off without it.

Little Bird giveaway

Angela on 'Little Bird' blog is having a giveaway of a $40 (approx £25) gift certificate to

Mama Mia custom hand stamped jewellery.

Have a look, it's gorgeous!

To be in with a chance of winning hop along to Angela's blog, become a follower and leave her a message. While you're there, have a read of her's, her husband's and Charlotte's difficult journey through the murkey world of baby loss.

So sad.

I saw a cat get hit by a car today, he died instantly.

It wasn't the drivers fault and there was nothing they could have done to avoid the cat, so why did they not stop? How can anybody be so cruel as to run over an animal and not stop to see if it's dead or alive?

I stopped and could see straight away that he was dead, killed instantly by a massive blow to the head. I wrapped him in a towel and carried him back to my car. As I did this another car pulled up having seen him in the road before I moved him. When I explained that I wasn't local and asked for directions to a vet she offered to take him for me, so that's what happened. Another lady had also passed him and turned round to come back too. The cat wasn't wearing a collar so I wanted to get the vets to scan him for a microchip, so that the owners could be informed. It must be nicer that way than going out to look for your missing cat and finding him dead and mangled at the side of the road.

I was fine at the time, in fact was OK all day, but was feeling a bit odd when I got home from work. Anyway I managed to find out which vets had taken him in and that yes, they had found a microchip and had been able to contact the owners. The cat's name was Jack. I feel better knowing that he's been identified and the owners have been contacted.

Co-incidentally, both of my cats had refused to go outside this morning, opting to stay indoors in the warm. I was so glad as I would have found it very hard not to rush home and bring them indoors if they'd been out, and I still had another client to visit.

And just one more little rant.... why do people get cats and let them out to roam when they live on a very busy, very fast A road? I know that we all take a risk when we let our cats out and nowhere is competely safe, but I would never let my cats out if I lived by that road. I probably wouldn't have got cats in the first place. Rant over.

Children in Need

Today is Pudsey day!!

TV's annual charity fundraising event which raises millions each year for... children in need!!

Follow the bear...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/

And the answers are....

Yes!!

I finished the lilac set, and I had enough wire!! Actually, I even had 2 inches of wire left over! (it takes a minimum of 3 inches per bead depending on the type of wrap.... it was cutting it fine!!)

So, I'll drop that one over to Pauline tomorrow and she'll have 3 sets for the stall on Saturday. I did manage to get over to hers today in the end so I did have another roll of wire just in case.

Next question: Shall I go bead shopping on Saturday and get more beads in case I need more sets next week? If I don't go on Saturday then I won't be able to go any other time next week, but equally I don't want to have spent money on beads I don't need.

Hmmmm, the things I have to worry about!

I'm working on it...

Grey set done.

Lilac set is on the bead board, about 1/4 done.

Can I finish it tomorrow night?

Will I have enough wire?

2 more sold!

Pauline sold my green jewellery set today, and the one I made as an order was sold too as the lady who requested it liked it. The green one sold for £28! Not sure how much the other one sold for. So I've bought yet more beads today and hopefully will have 2 more sets for the stall next Saturday. Best get working.....

Lucas is dead.

That's Lucas North, a character in Spooks!!

Saw it coming really, I even figured out how and when, before it happened (which is unusual for me, normally I can't spot the most obvious plots!!). I will miss the character of Lucas though, I liked him. Mind you I've liked all of them so far and being Spooks you get used to characters that come and go.

So, even without Lucas I shall still love Spooks, and am very happy to see that the next series has been confirmed!!

SOLD!!

The silver set sold, and a second is requested!! I dashed over to the bead shop late this afternoon and bought more beads, and have started making another set ready for next Saturday's stall.

Last night's fireworks weren't good for Tarka and I came downstairs this morning to find stressy mucussy poo everywhere.... they're all just starting to kick off now so we'll see what tonight brings.

Jewellery update.

I got all my jewellery sets finished and delivered on time, they go on the stall tomorrow. They are all earmarked if they don't sell! The silver one is mine and the others will find good homes....

Tarka and I have survived the fireworks so far, with the help of a drive in the car, parking up in a quiet spot to eat chips (well I had chips, Tarka had a tripe stick!!) and then a very loud dose of Rob Thomas/Matchbox Twenty when we got home!!

Just got to do it all again tomorrow night now!

Second hand city

That's what I should call my house, and I'm very proud of it!

Almost everything in my house is second hand. The only things I bought new are my washing machine (bought with money earned by looking after a friends horse while she was away) my fridge/freezer (a gift from Mum and Dad) my cooker, and my vacuum cleaner. OK so there are a few other smaller bits too, but you get the picture. Looking round the living room I have the computer desk and computer which are both from my brother in law, my sewing desk which was being thrown out from work, my 3 piece suite which came from a colleague, the TV cabinet which was from a charity shop and my TV which came from another colleague. I also have 2 coffee tables from family members. It's the ultimate in recycling, and I am more than happy to make use of stuff which has got plenty of life left in it, yet is unwanted. And, it's often free! All my bedroom furniture was from family, and so it goes on.

I've also bought lots of clothes from charity shops this year. I can get good quality clothes in brands I can't afford to buy new, very cheaply. Today I'm wearing M&S jeans (£4.50), an M&S tee shirt (£2.50), a 'No Fear' hoodie (£4.50) and a body warmer (£6.00). I especially like finding 'Fat Face' clothes at these prices. And to really seal the deal, it all benefits charities too! Everybody wins!

finally.

I have finished putting the wardrobe together and am in the process of sorting out my clothes. I'm not very good at throwing stuff away (it might be useful one day!!!) so I'm sorting it into piles at the moment, and taking out anything that obviously needs to go, then I'll go through again when I put stuff into drawers and get rid of things that I've got too many the same of.... hoodies, for example!! I have got too many of those!!

The big news though, is that I'm finally able to sleep in my room again! I had a lot of trouble with my neck and suspected my mattress, so I moved into the spare room until it got better which took a few weeks. Then I moved back into my room and within days my neck was so painful I could hardly move it. So I've been in the spare room for a few months now. My neck has taken ages to get completely better (and I can still feel the stiffness occasionally) but I couldn't afford a new mattress for my room and as mine is a double and the spare is a single, I couldn't switch the mattresses either. Last week a friend had a good quality mattress going spare so my old one went to the tip and I've got the second hand one, and finally slept on it last night and feel fine! (so far...) I know some people say you shouldn't get a second hand mattress, but I suspect those people have always had enough money to buy a new one whenever they needed one. Some of us aren't that lucky.

Here's the wardrobe. I love it, it's a double and has so much space inside!!! I got it second hand from my brother.

Nearly there...

The green necklace is finished, and the pink one is started. And I actually have longer than I thought as the shopping centre stall is next weekend not this one, so there's no rush to finish...

... which is just as well since I've had a bit of a disaster with my bedroom. I've been having a massive 'spring' clean in there (yes, I know it's autumn, but it just doesn't sound right to say 'autumn clean') and it's gone horribly wrong.

Basically, I've got some 'new' 2nd hand furniture for the room, so I've emptied everything out of the room and thought I'd shampoo the carpet while the room was empty. Trouble was, the carpet then took 4 days to dry, and began to smell very bad very quickly. It's dry now, so I've been trying to sort the smell out and bought some stuff today to try and treat it. So now the room stinks of 'summer flowers' (yuk - so artificial!) and I will have to wait and see if that's done the trick or not.

In the mean time, I can hardly walk around upstairs as there's furniture everywhere and all my clothes are dumped in the spare room waiting to be sorted and hung up again. Both spare rooms are full of 'stuff' and I'm sleeping on the sofa!! I don't really mind though, it is a very comfortable sofa!! Hopefully I can get everything sorted over the weekend. It's going to be nice to get my bedroom back and I can't wait to get its 'new look' finished!!

One done...

...two more to do!

It took hours though, actually it took an episode of Spooks, 2 episodes of Single Father, the X Factor results show, Piers Morgans life stories and Michael McIntyre Roadshow. Plus a bit longer when I'd run out of things to watch!!!  I'm not sure that selling jewellery will be anything more than an experiment unless I can speed up by about 500%!!!

Mind you I do love it, I have to say I won't be upset if this one doesn't sell because I wanted to make myself one in this colour scheme anyway!

I have got beads for a green set and a pink set, to do by Friday.

E-books

I've downloaded Kindle to my phone, there are loads of free books on Amazon! I haven't been reading much lately but it's always nice to have a book on the go, especially an ebook since I generally have my phone with me. So next time I'm out with the dog on a sunny day and decide to sit for a while, I can read my book!

New phone

I finally got a new phone, the HTC desire. It's a nice phone and I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Here's a picture I took on it at the Winter League on Saturday. We didn't compete of course, but spent the morning 'scriming' which I haven't done for ages. It was fine, except I got very very cold as usual!!

EEEeek!! Scary times!

My friend who makes and sells jewellery has also started selling supplies, and I bought some stuff from her recently. When I went to collect it, we had a chat and she has offered to have some of my jewellery on her stall in the shopping centre in November! I'm going to start with 3 sets of necklace, bracelet and earrings and see how it goes. She seems confident it will sell, I'm not so sure, but I can always give it away as presents throughout the year so it won't be wasted.

All I've got to do now is make three sets by the end of the month! Luckily I've got 2 weeks off work now...

Cake!

I made cake!

Actually I made two cakes, a carrot cake and a chocolate cake. The occasion was an agility instructors meeting and it was my turn to have it at my house. I've never had more than 2 people visit at a time before in my little house so today was a bit of a tight squeeze, I had seven visitors plus me. I did manage to find enough chairs though. The cake turned out OK. I wasn't sure since I'm not normally very good at chocolate cake (hence making a carrot cake too 'just in case') but I got a recommended recipe and followed it properly instead of making it up like I normally do, and it was really nice!

All the cake went, except for one slice of chocolate which I will save for when I get home from work tomorrow.

Found it!!

...my lost earring that is!!

Bizarrely, it was outside on the patio when I let the dog out for the second time this morning. I'm quite sure it wasn't there the first time I let her out, nor was it there yesterday, the day before, or the day before that!!

So where was it, and how did it get to be on the patio between 8am and 9am this morning?

Finished!

My pink necklace is finished along with a matching bracelet and earrings, but not yet photographed. I finished it Saturday morning, wore it Saturday to go shopping with my sister, and when I got home I realised I'd lost an earring already!! Luckily I have a few beads left so can make another one to replace it.

I think I will make one more in black/gray/silver colours which will be quite versatile to go with different outfits, and then that will be it since the beads cost about £7 for each set! Plus I also need wire and findings! I might have a go at selling them on etsy or folksy, but need to check the quality and durability of them first. I'm not using expensive wire so need to make sure it won't tarnish or deteriorate. It's OK for myself if that happens since I can replace damaged bits, but that's not OK for selling. Selling is a big step forward!

Another one...

I'm making another necklace. It's similar in style to the blue one but it's pink. I'll post pictures when it's finished and when the weather is good enough to take some pictures. I'm not good at indoor photography so have to wait for a nice day to take pictures outside!

It's back!!!!!!

SPOOKS!!!

Monday nights are written off for the next 8 weeks because Spooks is back! Don't ring me, pop round, or expect any other form of social interaction from me between 9pm - 10pm. It just ain't gonna happen while Spooks is on!!

Concert For Heroes;Robbie Williams&Gary Barlow Perform Shame Live

I love this song!

More jewellery

This time, freshwater pearls.

I did a course a few weeks ago to learn some wire wrapping techniques and some of the beads I used there were freshwater pearls, and I fell in love with them! This week was my cousins wedding and I decided that I absolutely HAD to have jewellery made from these gorgeous pearls. So, here it is! I made a necklace, bracelet and a pair of earrings, and true to form I finished making them in my hotel room on the morning of the wedding!!

By the way...

See the poster below? See the picture at the top of it? I took that!!!!

I am stupidly proud of myself!!

Go Walkies fun day @ Wokingham

Today!

Companion dog show

Arena displays

Food and drink

Music

Stalls and Games

Something for everyone!

Jewellery

I've been dabbling with making jewellery for a while now, I may have blogged about this before - I can't remember and am too lazy to go check!!

Anyway, my latest piece is inspired by a necklace I saw a friend wearing and I love it! It's my favourite piece that I've made myself so far! What do you think?

I started off with a bunch of beads and some wire, I've done all the wire wrapping myself too and made all the spiral end caps that are on some of the beads.

My next project is also now under way, it's going to be a necklace to wear to my cousins wedding next week!

(I'm actually rather proud of the photography too!)

Another catch up post.

I was feeling a bit sad last week so I haven't blogged much at all, so here's a little catch up of recent events.

Last Saturday was the wedding of two friends, Loz and Tony. It was a fab wedding, Loz looked stunning and the day was really lovely. Loz is a friend from sixth form college so we've been friends for over 20 years now, along with Ceri, Sam and Susan. Sue emigrated 3 years ago so wasn't at the wedding, but here's a group shot of the four others of us.

L to R, Ceri, Lorraine, Sam, me.

Before that I was camping. It was a family camp, me, Mum, sister and two nephews, sis-in-law and two nieces. You notice the distinct lack of grown up men....? They're wimps. We went to the New Forrest and had a lovely time. The weather was mostly fab and I even swam in the sea with Tarka!

Whilst there I found some fab sloes and might go back to pick some in a few weeks when they're ready to pick. I'll take Tarka and we'll make a day of it, with a nice walk and maybe get fish and chips to eat on the beach. I doubt it'll be warm enough to swim again though.

Talking of sloes, I posted last year about making sloe gin.... well it's turned out to be good stuff hence wanting to pick more sloes!! I'm planning to make a few bottles this year because apparantly it improves with age. I'm not a big drinker, a bottle will last me a while so if I make a few bottles it should have time to mature nicely.

I finished my last assignment at work and passed with 72% which I was pleased with. I get annoyed though with comments like "I would have liked to see you discuss XY&Z" and "you could have explored AB&C further"...... yeah well I would have done if I'd had more than a 200 word limit for each section!!!!! Anyway, I just have to submit my completed paperwork now and that's my qualification sorted.

I now have a house rabbit. Teddy has been with me for 4-ish years now and is about 8 or 9 years old. He's lived outside 'till now, but lost his friend in Feb (2 weeks after Pippa died) and since then has gone down hill. I don't want to get him another companion, I'm not having any more rabbits for a while. Anyway, as an old boy he doesn't clean himself very well which makes him susceptible to fly strike, which is a nasty way for a rabbit to die. So, I moved him indoors to protect him from the flies and he's gone from strength to strength! His legs are much stronger and his coat is better. His poo's are normal (sorry, too much info?) and he's a lot cleaner although I do bath him from time to time. He's in an indoor cage during the day as he's not house trained and would probably be quite destructive, but in the evenings I let him have free run of the house when I'm here to keep an eye on him. Teddy is blind with only light and dark perception, so I don't like to use flash photography hence this pic is a bit dark.

Six months on.

Yesterday was the six month anniversary of when Pippa died.

I miss her more than ever.

Badminton

I started playing badminton a little over three years ago. I'm not a natural at the sport but I do enjoy it. I really enjoy it. A lot. I currently play 2 hours twice a week.

While I was in Guernsey I had a lesson with my friends husband, who plays for Guernsey in various competitions at quite a high level. He spent an hour and a half teaching me stuff, giving tips and advice, and I really really enjoyed that! I haven't moved quite so much in a very long time though, my legs did ache for a few days!!

So anyway, I've been trying to put into practice the things we covered but it's not as easy as I had hoped. I mean, it's one thing to practice net shots when you are expecting a series of net shots, but it's quite another thing to move to the back of the court for a long shot, only to have it followed up with a net shot and I'm still half a mile away!!

This week however I've felt a few things coming together a bit, and today I even had a compliment on my recent improved standard of play!

How chuffed was I?

Just realised...

I forgot to update on my water leak problem...

IT'S FIXED!!!

Dad came round and did it for me.... Thanks Dad!!!

Today's run

I had a really nasty cold a few weeks ago, I was completely blocked up and breathing was difficult even whilst walking, so running was out of the question! Since then I've struggled to get back to where I was with the running. Today I was still below my previous standard but it felt much better. I was able to get my breathing in synch with my steps which makes so much difference. It's the first time I've managed to do this on the treadmill. I can do it easily when running outside but I seem to run differently on the treadmill and have struggled to find a breathing pattern.

At the moment I am aiming to get back to 2 miles at 6mph. I didn't quite make it today but was pleased as I started slower and went up, and even though I couldn't maintain the speed I did the distance.

Laps are a quarter of a mile. 1+2 and 11+12 are warm up/cool down laps.

Laps = mph
1 = 3.5
2 = 3.5
3 = 5.5
4 = 5.5
5 = 6
6 = 5.5
7 = 6
8 = 6
9 = 5.5
10 = 6
11 = 3.5
12 = 3+2.5

Total time - 39.05 mins
Total calories - 301

....not forgetting the pets!

My friend in Guernsey has plenty of animals.


4 dogs
3 cats
2 rabbits
3 guinnea pigs
lots of chickens
lots of ducks.

Here are the dogs:

Wellington, 15 years old

Charm, 10 yrs old

Luke, around 5 years old

Eden, somewhere between 1-3 yrs old

It's tiring being photographed.....

Guernsey pictures

As promised....

I didn't go sightseeing as such, I went really to visit my friends and see the canine hydrotherapy pool that they have built since I last visited. http://www.guernseycaninehydrotherapy.co.uk/.

I did take some pictures though, Guernsey is a beautiful place!

The hydro pool

The beach which is 2 mins walk from their house

Guernsey

I spent last weekend visiting friends in Guernsey. It's such a beautiful place, I love to visit but don't get there as often as I would like. My friends are wonderful hosts and took good care of me while I stayed. It was lovely to have some time together catching up, gossiping, and we played badminton on Sunday night. I learnt a lot, but it wasn't as easy to put into practice this week as I'd hoped! Photos to follow when I download them, but here are a few from my 'phone. I travelled on the smallest commercial plane I've ever been on! It was a bit bumpy and I could see right into the cockpit!

London!!

London was FAB!!

My friend and her son arrived as planned on Friday, I almost had the house tidy!! We spend Saturday in London and the weather was great, warm and sunny all day! We went to see the changing of the guard but it was very busy and we couldn't see much, then we got an open-top bus ticket and spent the rest of the day hopping on and off that, along with a river boat cruise and lunch, then finished off with a quick visit to the Natural History Museum. It may not sound like much but it was a very full day.

We had a quiet evening in and then they went home on Sunday morning.

After they had gone, I went to the Prestwood Steam Rally with my sister and two nephews. It was another lovely day and we had a great time.

Oh, and the water/sink problem is definitely NOT solved, as now the sink is completely blocked and no water is draining at all!! I have at least figured out where the water was previously leaking from so that is something else I need to fix....I'm gonna have to rip that boxing out after all....