Cats Christmas!

Family Christmases are so lovely!

We treated the cats to a new play tunnel thing which I couldn't resist giving them early - Pern has been more into this than Eric! Very 'in' to it!


Of course, on the big day, they were keen to assist us in the unwrapping process - more for the paper than the present contents of course! Pern will sit on anything that she thinks we might want to use / move!


On the day, the cats were overwhelmed by a cat-nip toy from Cilla (my American Online-Auntie!) so their ham was wrapped up on boxing day as a further treat for the dearlings!


Eric was never really sure about all the decorations!


And it often all got too much for Pern who reverted to her natural state!


Jxx

Adipose!

My delightful TorchwoodForum Secret Santa got me one! Yay! Should hopefully spur me on to loosing some more weight this year...?

Come on Secret Santa - Reveal yourself...!

Double fail!

OK, so I've been quiet again for a few weeks... Life got ahead of me and I just couldn't seem to catch up! Once I'd got five or six blogs behind on the challenge, it just seemed an ominous task to try and double or treble post and so the event stalled... I also failed to complete the required 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo... I scored a respectable 35,000 in the end but again, life took over and there were so many other things to fit in...

So, what other things?

Well, I popped to Liverpool to see friends (images on Facebook as always) and had a great time visiting the newly re-vamped city centre and took a trip to Chester, which is rather beautiful still!

My friend Pat will of course love this photo in particular:



I hit Birmingham NEC for the Memorabillia event (again, more pictures on Facebook) and met my hero - Gareth David-Lloyd! OMG OMG *squee* and all that! I'm still not quite over it!





And my mother joined me for Memorabillia (managing to speak to Gareth enough to embarass me wholly - "You're the reason my son's here today!" she cheerily chirped, whilst I gibbered!

Mother & I also hit Leicester's new centre and I had my first Yo Sushi experience - how cool is that place? Food is lovely and it's really groovy inside:




I've also been preparing for Christmas a little, with some shopping expeditions and the creation of the Celebrity Male Advent Calendar I make for D each year:



The lights are the special addition to this years model - the problem is, I try and better the previous years version each time and it's getting more and more difficult to do!

And we bought a gift for the cats that I decided couldn't wait:



Pern is into it (must be the catnip) but Eric is being wary... We'll see how it goes! I'm all for getting a kitten (or chickens) in the New Year too, depending on sweet talking D and discussion with the vet so we could have another fluffyness to play with it too soon?!

So, I hope that little round up explains some of my absence and makes up for the lack of recent posts? OK, it probably doesn't entirely but it's a start! I'll try again to keep you up to date in December... Jxx

Day Eight - Halloween Pictures.

A few of my favourite pictures from the Halloween party at my mothers!

I was playing a little before the party really got going...







...and mother was playing with the Dalek!




'D' managed once again to produce a great pumpkin - just a shame he wasn't there (he was being amazing at a conference in Telford!)



And I played with my ghost!



PoMo = 8/9
WriMo = 15266

Jxx

Cardiff - The best shots!

Time to add some shots from Cardiff, for all those who haven't yet joined me on Facebook! I'd still recommend signing up for FB to see the rest of the photo's (There're loads of 'em) but here are the ones that I like best...

I've tried emailing these to some of you but the files're too big to send! I hope you can enjoy them here anyway! Jxx

The Plas at night - A great time to get shots of the Millenium Centre!

Reflection of the Millenium Centre in the tower!

Ianto's entrance of course!

The tower in daylight!

A dalek in the Who exhibition - I was shaking so much the camera couldn't quite compensate!

Statue from 'Blink' - very scary!

A view across Cardiff Bay! Such a great place!

Little ol' me in the Beret! I was sooooo cool! Hmmm!

If you enjoyed these, pleas do join Facebook to get access to my other shots... It's the only way you'll get to see all the other fun folk who were in Cardiff over the weekend - bunch of freaks the lot of us! Jxx

Bose Boy!

OK, so having listened to my dad's Bose stereo, I have to admit I've been hankering for some Bose stuff of my own to get that superior sound quality in our own home... And finally, having spotted an ipod dock, at a reduced price, I succumbed!

The dock is purely that - somewhere to dock, charge and play your ipod but with a hefty price tag - however the musical quality is superb, even if it is just MP3's that're being played! It's amazing that you can get such good quality from a small device (in comparison to the large stereo systems that some folk buy to get the best audio quality) and it looks pretty sleek too!



In addition, I stumbled upon the Bose in-ear headphones reduced by about £50 (a ridiculously large reduction) and having been so impressed with the ipod dock, I couldn't resist - they only took 24hrs to arrive too!



Soooo - All my music will sound even better than ever before - even if my musical tastes haven't improved! Hehe!

Next we'll have to invest in the Bose DAB, the Bose CD player, the Bose big headphones... Jxx

Where's Wooley 3 - The Motor!

OK, so not quite totally planned but thought about for a fair while beforehand, along comes Eddie - my new car!

I'd been driving the same car since I passed my test, about six years ago - a VW Polo that was twelve years or more old... Time for an upgrade at last, especially with the steady income afforded me by the new permanent Sisters position, so here he is!

Mini One 1.6. Black with racing stripes / check roof. Air Conditioning, Radio / CD, Onboard computer thingy that tells me how many miles I'm doing to the gallon, average speed, how many miles I can do with the petrol I've got, etc...

It's a fab little mover, easy to drive and makes me feel dead cool compared with my old motor (who has gone to a good home!) I did some research and opted for the Mini One rather than the Cooper as the running costs (Tax / Insurance, etc...) are far cheaper and you can get a higher spec One for the same money as a low spec Cooper... I'm more than happy with my choice!

Is this what happens when you've got too much time off work? Well, as I say, I had been thinking about a new car for some time and had drawn up a shortlist of possible motors - The Mini was always top of the list but costly, so I'd also considered Peugeot 206 / 207, Corsa (new design) Seat Ibiza, Beetle and a whole load of others but it always came back to the same longing... And so, Mini it is!

He's so lovley! Jxx

11.08

Happy Anniversary!

Love you!

Jxx

Outside!

A few more shots of our outside world, which we're really taking to more and more... Even stopped watching Big Brother for the most part! It's just sooo good to sit outside, with a little nature (got three frogs at least now!) and perhaps a Gin & Tonic...

Anyway, this first one is one of our sources of light!


I was trying to be arty again next, though it doesn't work quite so well when you're tipsy!



And today, I noticed a spider had set it's trap right where all the other bugs'd be heading for the polen of a new flower... Clever! Any idea what this plant is? It kinda grows each year but we never knew what it was! Looks nice on the patio table...!


Looking forward to a warm outdoor evening again maybe tonight... Preparing us for those nights under canvas that are rapidly approaching perhaps?

In other news, did I tell ya that I'd lost more weight? I was just 2lb short of 2 stone loss when I last hit the WW scales! I'm taking a few weeks off being everso good though now... I'll jump back on the wagon soon, just to get those last few pounds of course... But I just feel like a few weeks of treating myself whilst I'm off work, celebrating the new job and relaxing in the summer sun...! Jxx

My lovely guy!

Not only did I get a bottle of bubbly, a sweet card and showered in confetti on returning home after getting the permanent sisters position, but flowers too!

I have the bestest husband! Jxx

So-Fa so good!

So, not content with our little seating arrangement on the patio, we've gone and got ourselves a fab new outdoor sofa! Far more comfortable when kicking back with a few G&T's! Also, it matches the table and chairs totally and we've included a number of new plants making the whole area a pleasure to be in!



If it weren't for Big Brother, we might be spending all our evenings outside! Jxx

Good Samaritan?

I was walking home from Weight Watchers this morning (I'd attended the Tuesday morning rather than Wednesday evening meeting this week, which involves a 30 minute walk there and back, no bad thing for the ol' weight loss!) when I came across an old(ish - maybe 55-60-65?) lady and a member of the public. Nothing unusual in that except that the member of the public was on her phone, talking to the emergency services and the older lady was lying on the ground, legs partially entwined in her tipped over mobility scooter!

Leaping into nurse mode, I immediately looked around for the emergency call button or another member of staff... Damnit!

Our code of conduct as nurses suggests that we should attend any accident we spot when out and about in general. We are expected to provide instant support and 'first aid' as appropriate. This is all well and good but as nurses, we are often used to working in environments with other colleagues and equipment we may need to hand! I don't carry a first aid kit in my bag and we are not trained first aiders!

However, the basics did come flooding back to me... I immediately ensured someone was calling for support (which she already was) and half listened in on her giving details whilst I checked the safety of the environment and proceeded to assess the 'patient'.

She was moaning and groaning, showing that she was still breathing and she had a pulse that felt reasonable (I didn't time it but just checked it was there and stable!) I engaged her in conversation as much as possible to find out how responsive she was. (Her speech was notably slurred and her mouth looked like it had a slight droop on the right hand side, indicating that there may be a weakness generally - this tallied with her ability to squeeze with her left hand but not her right.)

I checked her head for signs of trauma, finding a bump but no obvious wounds and checked the rest of her as well as possible for obvious injury, despite the awkward but stable position she was in (avoid moving the casualty unless it is unsafe to leave them where they are!). She was in pain but not obviously cut or bleeding.

Her colour was pale but not cyanosed (and I later ascertained there was no inhaler in her bag to indicate asthma / COPD!). She was incoherent to start, unable to answers questions in recognisable words but gradually began giving slightly more appropriate responses.

We checked her bag for indications of identity, finding a card with her surname on which she confirmed as correct and I took my place, securing her head, talking to her and comforting until the ambulance arrived.

The ambulance crew were of course marvellous, taking control of the situation though they still asked for my help with a few things (holding the oxygen & moving the casualty - I was a member of the public to them of course!) and as she began to come round a little more, they found her phone, contacted her daughter (I noted that they wrote down that she had a brain tumor, causing a generalised right sided weakness - didn't I say so!) and ascertained her medication. As they were, of course, well in control I offered to return the woman's mobility scooter to her home as we had by then got her address and the local postman, having stopped to help also, was able to give me directions! Off they headed in the direction of the hospital as I worked my way back over the ground the woman had travelled that morning (I gave up trying to walk next to teh scooter, which is supprisingly difficult to control like that and rode it most of the way - accompanied by odd looks from local folk!)

Thank fully her neighbours and granddaughter were on hand for me to hand over the scooter and keys when I got there and let them know the scant details I had, reassuring them she was concious!

This may not be a breakthrough in medicine or even a heroic step forward by day to day standards but as this is the first accident I've come across, I'm pleased that I did everything I could appropriately. I have always felt uncomfortable with the rule that means we have to provide support (a bloody good reason not to travel to and from work in uniform, as if you're spotted not helping you can get in trouble!) but was pleased that my training and knowledge didn't abandon me totally. This was a simple accident but still enough to task my memory.

Oh, and I'd lost 1.5lb at Weight Watchers, hitting my 10% weight loss goal! What a good day (for me, not for her obviously!) Jxx

Buzzin'

Our garden this year is turning out to be a haven for wildlife it would seem! Not just the usual suspects, slugs, snails and birds (though the latter of these obviously are somewhat deterred by the Pussycats!) but no, we've also had squirrel sightings (we wondered how the birds were eating the nuts so fast!) in the early mornings and we also have a resident frog (who we've named Philleus!)

We didn't get much gardening done last year due to the awful British summer so I imagine much of the natural interest lies in the slightly unkempt aspect of our wilderness but we are making some inroads into cleaning the place up this year... We've started with the greenhouse which is filled with Chillies, Peppers, Aubergine and Pumpkin plants! (D is determined to carve his own, home grown pumpkin for Halloween this year and I'll use the pulp for soups!!) and of course, the grape vine which is now established enough for us to allow it to bear fruit! Summer wine perhaps?

Anyhoo... During the recent flurry of activity, we decided to add a little more substance to the old compost bin (we have two - the new one which is current and the old one from a year or so back that was full and nicely mulching away!) but as I lifted the lid, I noted a faint humming / buzzing sound. Looking inside, I spotted a bee - presumably flown in looking for food and in thinking nothing of it, proceeded to tip the contents of last years grow bag onto the top of the old waste matter...

It was like something from a Horror Movie!!

suddenly, a whole swarm of bees started climbing out through the soil...! Emerging as if enraged and certainly in a way scary enough for me to slam the lid closed and run!

Oh yes, we've got a bees nest (hive?) in our compost bin!

Braving the risk of multiple stings a while later, we looked again and saw a large, presumably queen bee and a host of others swarming over the larvae inside... It's kinda nice to think we've got such marvels of nature lurking in our garden but also a bit perturbing noting that we've got potentially painful residents just yards from where we sit on an evening!

We'll have to see how the summer pans out...? Jxx

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock...

Not that we have any kind of unhealthy obsession but we're now the proud owners of not one, not two but three Mantle clocks! Yeah - Three! Every house should have three Mantle clocks surely... Ticking and chiming away in unsynchronised harmony!?

Well, a few years back, I'd really wanted a clock with Westminster chimes and whilst on a few days holiday in Holt (Near Cromer - Norfolk way!) we were perusing the antique shops and found our first beauty...



This art-deco style clock had a touch of something about it that I really liked and D agreed with the choice... Voila! It's only taken D about a year and a half to get it running to time and hey, so what if it only strikes eleven at twelve? It's still cool! Full Westminster chimes, it now takes pride of place in the dinning room...

But what about the living room and our fabulous mantlepiece - looking all lonesome with no clock to fit? Well, we recently decided to go on the hunt and both of us bought a clock... (ebay special editions!!) Firstly, I found this most unusual design:



An absolute bargain at £40 (inc postage!) and a very unusual design... I'm loving the octagonal approach! This clocks bongs on the half hour and hour only... Kinda lucky as it's got a very loud, macho bong! Alas, whilst hte clock is amazing, it's too light a wood to fit on the mantle... So how's about D's choice?:



What a find - another £50 shelled out but this is also a damn fine ol' clock! Full Westminster chiming with a dainty ring to it... Certainly not obtrusive enough for the living room? Well, it's got a few little eccentricities... Firstly you need to put two CD cases under one leg to keep it running... Yeah, it likes being on a weird angle! Also, the depth is far greater than we thought (you'd think we'd check these things out!) and it's too deep to fit above the fireplace!

So, here we are, three clocks down the line and still looking - but hey, what's a household without timepieces... The Octagonal beauty is now taking pride of place at teh bottom of the stairs on the windowsill and the fuller figured lop-sided affair - Well, I'm sure we'll think of somewhere!

The hunt goes on... Jxx

More pain!

Hot on the heels of the toe incident (which flaired up again last Thursday, making me miss a days work due to walking difficulties) I've managed to trip over today and bash my knee, causing a nice red swelling bruise! (Hopefully nothing worse!) I just don't seem to bounce quite as much as I used to! Surely I'm not getting old...?

Toe wise, I had blood taken last week and now need to wait for the results... The GP appeared uninspired by my complaint and suggested that they wouldn't treat gout (if that is what it is) long term but simply manage the flair ups with anti-inflammatories - all well and good but it takes a week to get an appointment with teh GP and the flair ups only last 12-24 hours. I'm also not happy at the thought of having to take time off work on a semi-regular basis - I've got too much to do! I may be inclined to switch GP practices if I don't feel happier after my next contact...!

In other news, We're on an antique spending spree of sorts at the moment... Bakerlite Telephone, Two Mantle clocks, a barometer and another barometer-thingy all in our possesion or on the way... Pictures to follow!

Eurovision in less than a week - our dismal entry I can't imagine making a dent on the competition but our annual Eurovision-party, tihs year in Coventry is well into the planning... I'm presuming there'll be a knockout stage again during the week so Scoresheets won't be produced till last minute as I'm working Thursday / Friday! Still, it's a big night to look forward to, in the good company of friends and Sir Terry! Jxx

A week...

Sorry, it's been nearly a week since my last post (well, five days - that's 5/7 of a week!) but not a real lot has happened in that time - we cancelled a weekend away because of my toe, which has improved thankfully but I'm keeping my GP appointment next Monday to discuss long term treatment 'cos this ain't he first time it's been bad.

The toe improvement means I've been able to properly Wii Fit and it's great! The balance board is very clever and whilst my Wii Fit age may be nine years greater than my actual age, I should have some fun improving it! Hula, skiing, Step classes, Press Ups - I'm knackered at the thought of it again but determined to keep up the momentum! besides, Weight Watchers tonight is likely to be a disaster - I'll need the Wii Fit to get me back on track for next week!

I'm now officially a moderator on the Torchwood Forum... Well, on probation for six weeks - gotta make sure I check in regularly and keep track of the shenanigans of the members... AS well as balancing a work / social life mix... I'm sure I've got enough time for everything - what with D's birthday next week - which I've got pretty much all wrapped up - Hehe!

Got a new digital camera (yeah, another gadget) but the old one had such a teeny tiny screen that you couldn't show people the photo's proper on nights out and that's what everyone expects nowadays...? So, going against the Digital SLR grain, we've got another Nikon compact (Our Dig SLR's are Canons!) Coolpix s210 - basically a thinner, prettier version of the old Coolpix we had before (that still works but is battered and old looking and not beautiful enough to be seen in public with!)

Will be testing it's functions in a few weeks when we go on a Chinese buffet meal with work... Keep an eye on my Facebook pages for shots from that! It's also got video so, in response to D capturing my Wii Hula efforts last night, I'll be watching for the right moment to shoot embarrassing Wii footage of him also! I've already got some shots of the In-Laws bowling that're fun! Hehe!

Take care for now - I'll try and check back soon! Jxx

Down we go!

This week's weight loss news is in... And it's another good week!

2.5lb loss this week takes the total in three weeks to 11lb! Pretty impressive even if I do say so myself! I really need to work hard this week to maintain the loss and if I'm extra good, who knows, I could even break the first stone in just a month!

Am turning into some kind of size 0 supermodel obviously!

In other news, our first new seedlings of the year are poking their heads up - chillies and peppers were planted a week or so ago and we're getting signs of life from them thankfully. We should also be growing cucumbers and goodness knows what else but we need to hope for a slightly less dreary summer, one that encourages us out into the garden to actually cultivate!

Ebay sales continue to go reasonably well... Books, DVD's, photo frames, hand held massager and various other trinkets have all sold well - I'm now onto the big guns! A promotional display for Jacques Villeneuve, a Camera Bag and a glass chess set... Do tell your friends!

Out for a meal on Saturday night to celebrate a number of folk leaving their jobs, me included - this stems back several months to me moving jobs but now includes the pharmacist from my old ward who's also going going gone! We're having Thai food - need to check my weight watchers eating out guide and see what's on the allowed list! It's a shame that so many folk have left the ward. Neurology was a great place to work before it moved hospitals but the transition saw so many good, experienced staff leave that it's been hard to maintain the Charter Mark standards that once were... That and bed pressures of course meaning it's a tough environment to work in. Many staff just don't want to deal with the stress! Kudos to those who stay on and ride the storm... besides, I may yet end up back there so I have to hope that not too many people go...!

Just waiting for this month's Tesco delivery... I'm sure we drive them mad by ordering a months worth of shopping then asking for it to be delivered without carrier bags! It takes longer to unpack this end of course and I'll end up putting everything away but I kinda like stacking the shelves and seeing our diminished supplies re-grow... Besides, there're a lot of low fat treats hopefully on their way by now...! And it sure beats traipsing around the store! Jxx

3 Books a Week!

I'd not been reading quite as much as usual for a while (mainly due to a glut of CSI New York watching after we bought the series DVD's!) but over the past week I've absorbed three books... So I thought I'd tell you a bit about them!

Firstly, the latest Timothy James Beck *cheer* When you Don't See Me! I've loved all the previous products of these authors (three or four of them write under the one name!) and this latest instalment, based around the same neck of the woods and focussing on a previous distant character, was no let down! I couldn't wait to turn each page and take in each new turn in the storyline! Ok, so they're no literary masterpieces. They won't be wining the Booker prize any time soon either but for me, they give me a real buzz! So much so that I have a strange, unusual sense of loss after finishing the book! It's like I become a little depressed... Not long lasting but long enough to feel uncomfortable having been riding on a happy vibe!



I'm not sure that this is a great recommendation the way I'm describing it but I really would advocate reading all of the T-J-B books! Not just fluff but something that you can fall into and perhaps forget the real world for long enough to imagine that everything is really all right!

After this, I decided to keep things light and read one of the latest offerings of Alex Sanchez - Getting It! Another simple - High School teen drama played out in a blatant-advert-for-Gay-Straight-Alliances kind of way but fun all the same. Sanchez obviously tries to be in the mind of teen angst when he writes but doesn't really quite hit this spot but this doesn't remove the enjoyment I get from these simple escapades. You know what's going to happen in the end but it's not a bore getting there. I've still got God Box to read by Alex!



Finally, and just finished this morning, is Pebble in a Pool by William Taylor - again aimed at teens and young adults it's a dainty little read of just 124 pages (hence the read-speed with this one!) but nonetheless quite a comfy exploration of small-town attitudes in a brief way. It does rather savagely attack religious belief, scorning the bible and scandalising cult religions but there's a message buried in here that the author is obviously trying to push out there and it ain't a negative one really!



So, three books in a week... Yeah, I know some folk do three in a day but I've been slacking off so I feel a bit better about my brain-power again now! (I'll tackle something more heavy-duty next!) for now... Did I see a copy of CSI-NY Series 2 on ebay...? Jxx

Here we go again... DIET 4.0?

This time there's a real effort going to take place - I may have said it before but I'll have the might of Weight Watchers to back me up from Wednesday! Weekly meetings with the need to justify oneself on the scales every time! I really will have to stop the binging and whinging and start monitoring the calorific intake again!

Have I got a cat in hells chance? Better bloody hope so - I've gained a little more than I'd like to admit over the past few months!

Of course, until Wednesday, it's a free reign - chocolate and crisps, pop and pizza galore? Except I keep eating so much junk I feel sick! And I think I'm lactose intolerant... Got really bad cramps after drinking a pint of milk! Hmmm...

In other news, work is still great though I was there six days last week, hence the quiet-ness of WI. Also ebay'ing with some success! Sold about 18 items so far but had to re-list a few! Just hoping that those items that were gifts aren't spotted by the sender! Well, you can't keep everything can you! Jxx

Selling myself?

Been on leave this week and whilst we've been spending a lot of time on the computers, I've been focussed more on ebay (I'm now a seller - or will be if anything sells!) 'Bout time we got round to auctioning off some of our junk... Erm, some of our prized possessions that we no longer have space for and therefore are reluctantly selling!

Books, DVD's, A Graphics Card, Reflexology Kit and Travel Iron / Kettle / Hairdryer are all up for grabs - here's to hoping we get to keep the post office busy (and therefore open?)

OK, so I've also spent far too much time on torchwoodforum.co.uk too and we're now watching a week ahead of ourselves on BBC Three after already deciding pre-series that I wouldn't do this! It means we have to stay up later on a Wednesday, or more often, tape it to watch on Friday night! It's still bloody good!

Finally for now, I did promise a few folks some more of my fine art photographs and so, in order to stick to my word - here're a few from a recent family visit... The first two are of my Auntie, the others, just some random shots! All are due for some further light-room tweaking!

I've also recently been to Chester with my beloved and I'll add some shots from there once they're sorted...! Jxx