All in the best possible taste

The picture below is a little montage of a funny moment I had yesterday

It’s been very, very cold here in the UK lately, and it dawned on me the other day that I hadn’t turned my outside tap off from the inside.

So, that evening when I got home from work, I popped into the back garden, carefully turned it on outside and went inside and turned the inside tap to make it go off. This was to make sure the pipe wouldn’t crack if the residue water inside it froze. I checked briefly to make sure the water had stopped running and thought no more of it until this morning when I spotted a rather amusing ice formation under the tap spout.

I know it’s a little naughty, but I’m sure you’ll agree it’s just a tad dildo-esque! The water from the tap must have frozen kind of instantaneously I think. I also think there had been one or two slow drips adding to it very gradually over the next couple of days.

Impressive no?!

Sadly, today the temperature has risen a bit and my ice dildo is no more.

Slippy slidey

I tried to go up the Wrekin today. So did an awful lot of other people. I’ve never seen so many cars at the bottom – I was almost parked in Little Wenlock.

As soon as I started my ascent, I realised it was really rather slippery. Lots of people were sliding all over the place – including one poor lady who ended up sitting down with the sort of bump that brings tears to your eyes. I think it was the sheer number of people going up and the fact that it’s been so cold. It was ice and compacted snow really.

I got to just before the ‘cafe’ (and this makes more sense if you know quite how steep it is at that particular bit) but it was so slippery I could hardly stand upright. The higher I slithered, the less enjoyable it got as the thought “don’t forget you’ve got to come back down again” got louder and louder inside my head.  Not particularly appealing when you’ve got over £1,000 of camera gear attached to your back. I’ve never been that good on the slidey stuff. (I was always the sort of person who would fall over on the way to school in the winter and inadvertently flash her nether regions to all and sundry.) If I had walking sticks (or a sledge) I’d have risked it, but I haven’t, so I didn’t.

I decided to go right around the Wrekin instead – which, as it turned out, was just as slippery in places, but nowhere near as much up and downing, so not as lethal! There was still enough undulations to make my right knee painful though – despite wearing supports on both knees. This was rather annoying and something that hasn’t happened since April last year. (It’s something that I used to get a lot, so I hope it hasn’t flared up again – hopefully it was just my extra-braced ‘carefully-carefully’ gait on the down bits that caused it.)

I took quite a few rubbish pictures of the more snowy places which I have been unable to do anything with due to my PC being on it’s last legs and the mouse being totally unresponsive (and my lack of capability to take a good photo into the sun in the first place). So, today I present you with a find I stumbled on when I was about 90% of my journey round. One of those lovely, utterly useless and completely pointless stiles!  (Presumably it did have a use once upon a time.)

They always tickle me when I see them.

I got back home safely and had a nice cuppa and sat with a hot water bottle on my knee while finishing off a book, and fortunately it seems to have settled back down again now.

*crosses fingers and toes*

I know…

…I take a lot of very similar photos, but togging isn’t nearly as much fun if you don’t do things you enjoy.

My weakness for waterdrops continues.

This year I am going to….

Things to achieve in 2010.

1. Wear my contact lenses more so they are not so much of a waste of money!
2. Get my landing light fixed – it hasn’t worked for about 18 months at least.
3. Get the rendering on the outside of my house repaired.
4. De-clutter in general a bit – loads of stuff I never use.
5. Make more cakes – and not just cherry loafs (or is that loaves).
6. Do more work in the back and front gardens.
7. Learn more about photographic techniques and take less boring photos!
8. Get the kitchen ceiling replastered perhaps?
9. Grow tomatoes in the greenhouse
10. Actually eat some of them for a change.
11. Try and do a picture a day and upload to flickr.
12. Get out and about more and climb some more Shropshire hills.
13. Get rid of my mum’s stamp collection which I have absolutely no interest in and never will.

I like having a list that I can try and cross things off.

Letter to Santa

Dear Santa

I’ve been a good girl this last year. In fact, I think I’ve been a good girl for the last umpteen years. I haven’t asked you for anything since I was about 8 (the last year before certain pennies dropped), but this year I think I will.

I would really like a positive life event please. I’m always happy for other people when they have these events, but now I really think it’s my turn. After a while, being happy for other people can start making you a bit sad for yourself.

There are two options. I don’t really mind which.

1. A BIG win on the lottery. You know – like a 7 figure one. That way I can stop going to work, and just spend my time doing the things I enjoy and maybe meet a someone special as a result.
2. This is actually the same as number 1, but without the money or stopping work. Basically, the present I’d really like is to stop being lonely and to have someone to mutually matter to and care about.

In return I will leave some sherry and a mince-pie for you, and some milk and carrots (strange mix if you don’t mind me saying so) for Rudolph and co, in the kitchen. Fair exchange?

Please send my best wishes to Mrs Claus and the elves, and thank them for their hard work this year.

Thank you.

N

oops

When your jars of coffee start doing this….

…you know it’s probably time to chuck them out and start again!