We have just had a really awesome time in Scotland with our branch office there - batteries recharged, lungs full of clean mountain air and full to the brim of yummy food! Our visit to Scone palace, was a little damp round the edges, but a fab day out - hairy cows, a maze and much arsing about - as usual! They have the most beautiful ornamental gardens, but sadly this late in the year they isn't much growing, but still well worth ha wander round! And as always, my family - what can I say, setting up … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2014
Empty nest survival guide number 1
Well we survived the first month on our own! We have remembered to eat proper meals at proper times - which is quite a shock to everyone in the family to be honest! We have been out in public - on our own.....to a pub no less! We have stayed up late - even on a school night! And slept in at the weekends! Now to anyone who has spent time with us over the last 20 years you'll know that late nights & mornings and a pub is a huge deal! This whole empty nest stuff isn't bad at all! Don't get me wrong - I still have a knot in my stomach when I think about the fact … [Read more...]
Away With You, Jack Frost!” — Preparing Your Home For the Cold
Winter is coming, and who knows how long it will stay once it grips the imaginations of the local weather stations in its icy fist. Every year, grim prognostications about impending cold snaps, freezing pipes and people being snowed in for weeks are spouted by the media, and it becomes easy to just switch off. But there are a few things you can do this fall to save fuel, pain and expense when hard weather hits, so pay attention, if only for long enough to read these quick-fire precautions. Cozy up indoors It’s all too easy to fire up the central heating when the air gets nippy, but with … [Read more...]
Siblings – October
I haven't joined in this siblings link up for such a long time, but it's tough getting both my babies in the same place at the same time these days! So this month I have snatched an image they took themselves! Bernard is now settled at university, and last weekend we all joined her there for my birthday. Splosh & Irish baby arrived the day before us, so they got have a real sibling catch up before their boring old parents turned up! And this was the instagram caption to the picture - Bad nights sleep on a bus in my work clothes , going to the wrong station and … [Read more...]
Why Invasive Ultrasound is so Important
Having any type of test run can be nerve wracking. Whether it is a painless MRI or something more complicated like a colonoscopy, hearing that you need to undergo such a procedure is often not a pleasant experience. But whether it is for regular screening and prevention or to diagnose a complication, medical testing is necessary for our well-being—invasive ultrasounds included. When you think of ‘invasive’, it is not uncommon to cringe. Just the name ‘invasive ultrasound’ makes a lot of people want to turn on their heels and avoid the troublesome thought all together. But the necessity of … [Read more...]
Satcap – yet another cat!
My turn to #satcap again, so here it is! DIgging through the pictures I found my old chum Bob - not looking terribly elegant! Feel free to linkup and join in! … [Read more...]
That special light from the sky
There's a very special light you get from windows in the ceiling, you can't replicate it any other way, and I wish we had the opportunity to use it in our house. A light that automatically seems to lift you spirits and make you smile! We stayed in a holiday house in Norfolk which had windows in the kitchen ceiling and it felt like you were cooking outside - one of favourite things to do in good weather! Even on grey and overcast days the room seemed cheerful and welcoming. I love the idea of lying in bed in the morning and watching the sun and the clouds pass overhead. Warm and cosy … [Read more...]
Music to run to
This running lark is tough. The weather isn't helping to be honest, there is little incentive to put my running shoes on and slog out in the rain, so for now I am confined to swimming and gym classes, at least until the rain stops (we are currently planning building an ark!) But I have found the thing that really helps is to have the right music to listen to. Something to encourage my pace, to lift my spirits, to keep my poor old knees going! And what is it that puts one foot in front of the other? Wells it's an eclectic mix now I look at all together, I wonder what it says about … [Read more...]
Prepare yourself for a rant!
I was going to apologise at the beginning of this post - but you know I'm not going to! I have nothing to apologise for in my opinion! I had the radio on in the background the other day whilst I was going through the fabric cupboard, such a mistake! I knew I shouldn't have done it - that it was only going to make me cross, but OMG! This programme seriously needs to get it's self out of the 1950's ! Their latest theme is chorewars, this ridiculous and divisive conversation about who does the most housework. And it's just ridiculous, why are people so hung on this crap? "I do so much … [Read more...]
What Are Banks Doing to Fight Fraud?
It’s a beautiful sunny day and you have decided to spend it in the park with your friends. You quickly pop to the ATM machine on your way to take out some money to buy an ice cream but something is not right. Your bank balance is showing up as zero. You should have more than £300 in there. Shouldn’t you? Sure you could have lost track of a few pennies here and there but not that much. What’s going on? You take your card out and try again. You enter your pin and hit balance. The pause between screens is excruciating. You’re holding your breath, as if this small sacrifice will somehow make … [Read more...]