Christmas has been survivied! In fact it all went quite pleasantly! Got the turkey in by 9.00am suitably basted and adorned with spices and peppers... haven't done this turkey cooking thing too often and do remember one year actually cooking the giblets, in their plastic bag, so had a good look in the vast cavity to ensure that there was no sign of plastic. All that was in there was what was possibly the neck??? So removed that, washed the beast poured a suitable mix of salt pepper garlic and lemon over the skin and carefully placed it in the hot oven... every half an hour or so I removed it to baste further and on one of those times noticed something in the neck area...yes I'm afraid to say it was the bag of giblets!!!!!!!!!! Hastily removed them and just hoped the flavour of plastic had not had long enough to infuse the whole bird! Bad enough doing this once but ............ a second time! At least I discovered my mistake before my family arrived and sat around the beast waiting for their slices....
won a minor battle with my father over smoking and he joined the others on the balcony for his cigarettes, whilst muttering under his breath how I should be more adaptable and how it would be the death of him... hmmmm haven't heard from them since.... hope he is ok... don't want to live with anymore guilt than I already have
So we ate, my father fell asleep, we drank, we talked, they left, we heaved a massive sigh of relief..... all done for another year
and now it's my birthday!! and I'm heading into London to meet TT! Think he's cooking me dinner?? but this is early early days, though we have spoken everyday since we met and it all seems rather lovely so far.............
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
just came across the most wonderfully titled 'Society to Assist Ladies in Reduced Circumstances' Wow isn't it amazing that such a society could exist in this day and age... how wonderful! What a lovely little safety net! must remember it when times get tough! Though I do wonder what defines a 'lady' is it how you make the tea, or whether you can sit cross-legged for hours without your foot falling off.... maybe I'll have to start practising!!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Money is always an issue, particularly at this time of year. I always have this idea that I'm going to concentrate on non-material stuff but you just cant get away from buying presents for people you care about, and how lovely it is to do just that. It is nice to have a tree-full of decorations with packages wrapped in gorgeous paper, ribbons and bows, nestling in sparkly glory underneath. And the food.... nibbly stuff, big filling meals, on tables adorned with christmassy candles and holly sprigs.. oh yes underneath the atheist vegetarian exterior there lurks in me a yuletide monster... just waiting ....
but not this year... I am penniless ... my penury goes beyond pennilessness this year... and then I received an email this morning about bank charges. It has given me a little ray of hope on this vast gloom that is the December fug....I will write a letter to my bank forthwith stating how much they have illegally removed from my bank account over the last six years.... will let you know what happens....
but not this year... I am penniless ... my penury goes beyond pennilessness this year... and then I received an email this morning about bank charges. It has given me a little ray of hope on this vast gloom that is the December fug....I will write a letter to my bank forthwith stating how much they have illegally removed from my bank account over the last six years.... will let you know what happens....
Thursday, December 07, 2006
sometimes I wonder about certain events... did they really happen???
yesterday was the work Christmas lunch/away day event.... a simple idea.. take the team off get someone in, have lunch, do more stuff together as a team in the afternoon and then head home...Christmas parties often turn in to rowdy drunken affairs ... that would have been so vastly preferable.... it was a spectacle tho'
I nearly didn't go, as I didn't get the job here I am leaving in a couple of weeks and I wasn't sure I could face it... read the agenda and all it had was a name of the trainer, so I googled her.... the day was to be an exploration of one's inner clown!!! Thought it might be too difficult as I am still upset and I didn't really want to put myself in a position where I would feel vulnerable. But woke up Wednesday morning with a changed heart, did up my Secret Santa pressie and headed off. The bus ride was uneventful and we arrived at a little hotel in woodland.
It started off with a very small woman with a very big laugh talking about sacred clowning. This was not to be a day of learning juggling and uni-cycling but it started off fairly innocuously with standing in a circle and each in turn walking to the centre of the circle and saying their name with an appropriate action. Even at this point some people were having problems. Some just really don't like being the centre of attention in such a focused way... anyway the morning progressed with some trust games, Grandmother's footsteps, a bit of skipping around expressing emotions sort of stuff, then we had lunch, then we did a bit more group stuff but it got very intimate... we had to 'connect' with each other by lying on the ground with your head on someone's stomach and someone else's head on yours! We all got a bit giggly at this stage.... but the strangeness really started happening with the introduction of the red noses... we were told these were a mask to our inner selves, nothing remotely to do with comic relief but an ancient form of healing, we had to 'explore' our noses, come to know them before we put them on, to feel the nose and become one with the nose... it was difficult to suppress the inner giggles when you looked around the room and saw your boss, a highly regarded colleague, wearing his nose with pride, but then he started exploring his nose further than I felt comfortable with, he placed one inside his mouth and dribbled rather a lot, looked more gormless than I would have guessed possible and listed, with glazed eyes. Others at this time were starting to explore the treasure chest of a fancy dress box! Further colleagues donned blond wigs, glitter bra's and pink hats, and this was just the blokes... It was all very free form by now there was no structure, no agenda... and it was here that some reverted to the kindergarten.... the Office manager had a wrestling match with the editor of the newsletter and they were both seriously in earnest! Deadly earnest! The boss took his exploration further and dressed in loo paper, an uninflated toy duck on his head, and a posy of silk flowers, he was now partnered by the deputy head and they became a team of performance actors in some strange frozen pastiche of a couple...... there was a further group who sat at the back of the hall and became quite aggressive about the day... I was mixed... but I have never experienced anything quite so surreal as the afternoon progressed. It grew dark, people were tired, and it was very very weird....
yesterday was the work Christmas lunch/away day event.... a simple idea.. take the team off get someone in, have lunch, do more stuff together as a team in the afternoon and then head home...Christmas parties often turn in to rowdy drunken affairs ... that would have been so vastly preferable.... it was a spectacle tho'
I nearly didn't go, as I didn't get the job here I am leaving in a couple of weeks and I wasn't sure I could face it... read the agenda and all it had was a name of the trainer, so I googled her.... the day was to be an exploration of one's inner clown!!! Thought it might be too difficult as I am still upset and I didn't really want to put myself in a position where I would feel vulnerable. But woke up Wednesday morning with a changed heart, did up my Secret Santa pressie and headed off. The bus ride was uneventful and we arrived at a little hotel in woodland.
It started off with a very small woman with a very big laugh talking about sacred clowning. This was not to be a day of learning juggling and uni-cycling but it started off fairly innocuously with standing in a circle and each in turn walking to the centre of the circle and saying their name with an appropriate action. Even at this point some people were having problems. Some just really don't like being the centre of attention in such a focused way... anyway the morning progressed with some trust games, Grandmother's footsteps, a bit of skipping around expressing emotions sort of stuff, then we had lunch, then we did a bit more group stuff but it got very intimate... we had to 'connect' with each other by lying on the ground with your head on someone's stomach and someone else's head on yours! We all got a bit giggly at this stage.... but the strangeness really started happening with the introduction of the red noses... we were told these were a mask to our inner selves, nothing remotely to do with comic relief but an ancient form of healing, we had to 'explore' our noses, come to know them before we put them on, to feel the nose and become one with the nose... it was difficult to suppress the inner giggles when you looked around the room and saw your boss, a highly regarded colleague, wearing his nose with pride, but then he started exploring his nose further than I felt comfortable with, he placed one inside his mouth and dribbled rather a lot, looked more gormless than I would have guessed possible and listed, with glazed eyes. Others at this time were starting to explore the treasure chest of a fancy dress box! Further colleagues donned blond wigs, glitter bra's and pink hats, and this was just the blokes... It was all very free form by now there was no structure, no agenda... and it was here that some reverted to the kindergarten.... the Office manager had a wrestling match with the editor of the newsletter and they were both seriously in earnest! Deadly earnest! The boss took his exploration further and dressed in loo paper, an uninflated toy duck on his head, and a posy of silk flowers, he was now partnered by the deputy head and they became a team of performance actors in some strange frozen pastiche of a couple...... there was a further group who sat at the back of the hall and became quite aggressive about the day... I was mixed... but I have never experienced anything quite so surreal as the afternoon progressed. It grew dark, people were tired, and it was very very weird....
What Is Your Daemon?
CAT - your daemon may be a cat if you are independent and comfort loving. You follow your heart and do what you want to do - no matter what others think. You have a strong sense of your own worth, and an inner dignity. You may be loving and generous in one moment, and then lash out at someone in the next. You have as many moods as there are colours in a rainbow, and you wear them all brilliantly. You always know what you want right now - although in five minutes you may change your mind and set your sights elsewhere. You like to do things with style and flair. When someone else orders you to do something, do you feel an unholy urge to do exactly the opposite? That just might be your inner daemon talking.
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Monday, December 04, 2006
It isn't really getting any better... so I have started looking at useless stuff whilst at work... here's one purloined from Rose
and all so scarily true!... fear of failure has been at the forefront this week as I didn't get the job I'm working in, which is really really crap and now have a leaving date of the 22nd so wont get paid for Xmas or my birthday as I cant work that week!! Crap Crap Crap indeed..... struggling a bit with is all!!!! What is the point?
| Your Birthdate: December 29 |
 You have the mind of an artist, even if you haven't developed the talent yet. Expressive and aware, you enjoy finding new ways to share your feelings. You often feel like you don't fit in - especially in traditional environments. You have big dreams. The problem is putting those dreams into action. Your strength: Your vivid imagination Your weakness: Fear of failure Your power color: Coral Your power symbol: Oval Your power month: November |
and all so scarily true!... fear of failure has been at the forefront this week as I didn't get the job I'm working in, which is really really crap and now have a leaving date of the 22nd so wont get paid for Xmas or my birthday as I cant work that week!! Crap Crap Crap indeed..... struggling a bit with is all!!!! What is the point?
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