A Year of Change…?
Well, here it is…my first blog of 2010! I thought it was about time I actually sat down and wrote something, instead of just commenting on your blogs, and …The Darkside…!!
First, I must mention my favourite 2009 moments…
In February, Robert and I went down to Maidstone for the weekend,
to stop with Anne, and attend Barbara’s fiftieth birthday party. It’s been over thirty years since I have seen my old school chums, and it was lovely catching up and chatting over old times. Unfortunately, I was so excited about seeing Anne and Barbara again, that I totally forgot about taking any photos…but Robert did remember to take one or two at the party.
Next, my whole attention was taken up by the need to make a costume for September’s Jane Austen Festival Grand Regency Promenade…which I was still working on right up to the last minute!
Promenade day arrived, and I was ready, in costume, and walking down Frome Road, Trowbridge, getting funny looks from passing motorists and pedestrians. Robert, his mum, and I were going to go to Bath on the train, but his sister wanted to come, too, so she took us in the car. (Even in the car park in Bath, I was getting quizzical looks from passers-by!)
What a brilliant day it was…first I met Eileen, who was sitting on a bench near the Abbey, staring straight at me. Recognition…hugs…all excited. Turning round to see a mischievous little lady, big grin, bearing down on us…Natalia! More hugging. And Rachel, also in costume…even more hugging…!! It is a day that will stay with me for a long, long time…it was so special! And so much fun…it felt as though we had known each other for years.
2009 was also the year that new online friendships blossomed, and one day it would be lovely to get to meet those special friends, too.
Christmas was memorable, as we went to the restaurant where Robert works, for the staff Christmas party…and real Indian food…including goat. Delicious!! We had a brilliant evening.
This winter has seen some proper snow…the first time for many years…
Well, here we are in the middle of January 2010…I wonder what this year will have in store for us all? I, for one, hope that things will be better than they have been these last few years or so, as we have struggled with financial challenges (debt, mortgage, etc.), that seemed to come one after another, just as we thought things were settling down. Then there has been my thyroid problem, plus the two stone of extra weight that went on due to the medications I was on…which I am now trying to get rid of again!
Robert is working hard towards becoming a qualified driving instructor, which he will do this year…I have a lot of faith in his abilities.
So…what of myself…? What will I be doing? For one thing, the job that depresses me so much must be kicked into touch! I need more money. And, I need to finally defeat this crap monster once and for all!!! This year has got to see some POSITIVE changes…now, where do I start…?
Diary of a Madwoman! 
I need some motivation…I need to do something this year…about my weight, and about the work situation…and about getting this flat cleared of unwanted junk then decorated…!! This year is for ACTION!! Let\’s GO…!!!!
Hiya Sandi,I have a very naughty grin on my face as I type. Why? It\’s that comment about working up to the last minute……. Hrmmmmmmmmmm?? ;o) As for clearing the crap. You know what I am going to say next don\’t you? :op :oD :oDMuch Love Sandi. xx
I don\’t believe it, I\’m typing and then end up sitting on your head. That\’s it Woman!! Go do some work and leave the likes of us half naked decent people with the task of attiring oneself. ;o)
LOL! I am also half-naked…having just come from the bathroom, dripping all over the place as I go…! It\’s too bloomin\’ cold to be sitting around half-naked and wet…brrr…! And what do you mean by sitting on my head, woman…I can\’t breathe…gerrroft…!!I was still sewing when I should have been getting ready…Robert was bullying me into getting into my costume as it was time to go…! He got cross with me, he did…!
🙂
I am wondering what you are grinning at, young man…?!! Haven\’t you seen half-dressed women before…eh…?!
Seems you had a good thing for each bad thing in 2009. Hope the odds increase to at least two good for each bad this year!
Ha! Loved this Blog! Aaaaw we all watched in eager anticipation as the costume was drawn up, tacked & finally made! Then the blog in which we saw u wearing it & heard about meeting up with all ur online buds…I woz soooo jealous, I wanted 2 be there! Thank u 4 all the laughs we have shared in 2009 & here\’s 2 many more in 2010! Just remb that we\’re not ALL on pooey facebook & 2 keep regularly blogging in here, Big Hugs, Luv PF XXX
Yep! The old coot was definately smilling. Watch out for his teeth though, Just because old doesn\’t mean they are blunt. :o)))
Anne, methinks you are right about that one…we did have one or two nasty moments when old debts, that we thought had be dealt with, resurfaced with added interest…I had paid off Viva La Diva and heard no more from them until, several months later they claimed that they had tried to contact me, but I had ignored them, and that I owed quite a bit of money. Er, hello! I paid it off and heard no more from them…it turned out that they had whacked on charges and interest and let it accumulate before I heard from them again!! We got rid of them!Now a credit card company, that was paid off a few years ago, seems to be playing the same trick…!!PF…Bath…September…I will be blogging about it all over again this year…and boring the pants off of everyone in the process…hehehe!!! I still have my Christmas Goodie Box Part 2 to blog about, too, but I am still making that and taking photos as I do it…I\’m afraid I\’m doing a bit here and there, so I guess I should just get on with it…!Natalia, I\’m seeing that tiger on the toothpaste ad on TV now…! (Or was it a denture product…?!)
Oh I\’d love to be half naked due to just having a lovely bath, but no chance as my bathroom still isn\’t able to be used! I think that\’s gonna be No1 on the things to do this year (if only the council agreed eh?) Anyway, 2009 sounds like it was a great year for you, I\’m sure this one will be so much better..more costumes, more friendly encounters, more blogs and laughs via us crazy lot..and hopefully that thyroid of yours will settle down once and for all…As for the money…job situation and crap clearing..I think we\’re all with you on those things ;o)
Maria, we have an added incentive now…we\’ve been offered a huge red carpet that sounds as though it will do most of the flat. It\’s coming from a huge house, and we\’ve been told it\’s \’mint\’…so it\’s definitely out with the old…crap, junk and rubbish…!!
Tee, Hee……….. Denture Product!! ;o)
Red carpet! ooh I say. It\’ll be Corgi\’s next (stuffed toy ones knowing you) and the porceline in the \’throne room\’ gilded with gold leaf.Joking aside…. the carpet sounds ok and just the reason for a boost in the crap clearing caper.
No corgies, Anne, will a Yorkie do (by the name of Ratty)…? The throne room…hmmm…dunno \’bout throne room…I bought a door sign home (when I worked at the school) and put that on the bathroom door…MUSIC ROOM…LOL!!But, yes…definitely added incentive…this is the year I become…a Domestic Goddess…!!!
Did you hear that fanfare as the words \’Domestic Goddess\’ rolled into view!
LOL! I did actually…I was going to put \’Cue dramatic music\’ or something like…! Hey, that couple of years of feeling like crap made me get real lazy, as well as breathless, on the domestic front…not to mention trying to stay quiet while Robert tries to sleep during the day…!! Yep…definitely got to make the effort and get back into clearing and cleaning again! I used to hate mess, then I moved in with Pat…! Then we split up and I regained clear tidy space…then along came Robert and…well…we did clear out the Trebus Room…!
I thought that at my age there was not much left that I do not know about or experienced but lo and behold……….hot cocoa steams up your specs when you read a comment that makes you laugh just as you lift the mug to your lips!
I hope you have got the hang of taking a sip and swallowing BEFORE reading things on here or FB…otherwise anything in front of you is in danger of getting the hot tea/coffee/cocoa wash…!! 😉
I sure hope I don\’t turn into a domestic goddess but these dishpan hands do have me concerned.
Just make sure than when you finally defeat the crap monster you don\’t send him down here ;o)I for one think 2010 is going to be a fantastic year ( must have a pma after the beginning being all deaths and funerals so far.. am thinking they\’re getting them all over and done with in one go so let the good times commence! ( please! ) ).
I am stuck indoors today waiting for the blokes to turn up and do the annual gas boiler check. Anytime between 8am and 1 pm. I have no milk for a cuppa and it is sods law that if I pop out to get some they will turn up in that 5 minutes.My internet connection keeps \’not responding\’ and I do not have a clue where to start about finding out why that happens. It gives an option for a windows check but comes up with the result that nothing is wrong!I have to do two more route plans on google and after yesterdays fiasco of losing my input over and over I am dreading and putting off doing more today, but I suppose ought to attempt it. If you do not hear from me for a while it is because I may have flung the pc out the window!
I malways feel like that, Anne…and mine is just old and decrepit…as for the gas guys, I can see Jasper Carrott and Robert Powell in that sketch they did. The guys are sitting in their car, seemingly on surveillance…suddenly the front door opens and the man leaves home, walking off down the street. C and P dive out of the car, run up to the front door and post something through the letterbox. Next shot of the card on the doormat…\’we called today at (such-and-such time) but you were out…\’!!Eileen…where do you suggest I send the Crap Monster when I finally evict him from here…? Any ideas…?!Don\’t think I\’m being disrespectful, (this is just a general observation), but I often say about getting the crap out of the way early, so the rest of the day/week/month/year can commence smoothly. I think this year will be better than the last few, too.RM, glad you are feeling better. I thought you was the ORIGINAL domestic goddess…! (What on earth is the pink tutu for, then…?!!!)
< splutters her sandwich over her keyboard at the thought of RM in a pink tutu >But if RM is the original domestic goddess maybe you should send the CM over to him ;o)Anne I hope the gas men turned up early and that your internet connection is ok…
Eileen may I refer you to RMs blog of…(goes off to check…)
But does he have big boots on with the tutu?
Gas man came, daughter and Evie came, pc froze up instead of connection loss so lost it all anyway! Got to do it all again and here is me wanting an early night cos I am up at 4.30am to go to work in Surrey tomorrow.Bought Kath 32" tv yesterday when we went out for lunch. She has no clue how to cope with the 98 stations it clearly picks up and as yet I have not been able to edit the list for her to simplify it. She cannot see or operate the tiny buttons on the remote and has already been on the phone cos she beggered it up already! ho hum it\’ll all be fun………not!
…(comes back after being easily distracted by missed blogs…!) Er…yes…can I refer you to RMs blog of 4 January An Idle Mind Is A Dangerous Thing. Um…boots…? Yes, I do believe so…why…?!
Er…why did you get her the new TV if you knew she would have problemsOr did Kath want the new TV anyway? A bigger screen is brilliant for those whose eyesight isn\’t so good, but why do they make the remotes so confusing?! They are a menace, all covered in lots of different coloured buttons!!
LMAO!!! Um I know I\’m half blind but Brian bought a 32" tv so he didn\’t have to keep reading the subtitles out to me all the time……..
hehehe just saw the blog… um Sandi… are you not supposed to be hard at work beating the CM into submission? And what\’s this about the \’red\’ carpet being pink?
Oh, some people obviously don\’t know their colours!! We got a phonecall from our ex-boss asking us if we wanted a deep red carpet…a vary large carpet. It\’s been delivered today…and it\’s not red at all, it\’s pink! And very similar to the one we had in the hallway anyway.As for being hard at work…don\’t know where my motivation has gone to…must be the weather…dull and grey and depressing…(big sigh…!)
Hope you\’ve not got the snow we\’ve been having yet a-bloody-gain.. it was like a blizzard this morning!
If the weather is as depressing and dark as it is here then pink should certaily brighten it up a bit. Don\’t get me started on colours though Paddy seems to have his own veiw of what colour\’s what…and it never matches mine!
I\’m not a domestic goddess; I\’m a domestic slave and boy toy and of course I\’m wearing boots with that tutu…..camo huntin\’ boots! Sandi, don\’t you be sending that CM over here. I\’ve been battling Frankie\’s pet CM for damn near a quarter of a century and the last thing I need is two of them! Can I interest anyone in any Christmas decorations? Frankie has enough to decorate at least 40 houses. She used to operate her own house cleaning service and all of her customers had the same idea; "Give Frankie all your excess crap!" The worst part was that she would happily take it, bring it home and pack it away. We have crates of stuff she hasn\’t even looked at in 10 or 15 years and I doubt she even remembers she has it!
Keep your snow Eileen thankyou very much!So it is a pink carpet, that is ok, hopefully the condition was as they said and good.Kath would rather have had one of the old heavy tv\’s but they are not so available nowadays. I do manage to find remotes that only have channel up/down and volume up/down and standby but they wont do for this digital one. I did put it onto the analogue option but the pic was awful, she would be quite happy with the usual four channels. If she does not get on with it I shall let her have my one from the parlour and swap it. I\’ll say that although her telly is at mine it will still be hers to have back if mine old one fails.\’Boy toy\’?? you sure you mean that RM? They are not pink camo hunting boots are they!
Eileen…not more snow…?! We don\’t want it here, either…hmmm, I wonder if Becca at the Jane Austen Centre has been out taking more photos…?Maria, we really want carpet for the living room, but the main colour scheme is grey walls, black coving, sofas and leather armchair, and the pictures on the walls are mainly blues, one of them had a black gloss frame, and the curtains are blue…basically it\’s a naval theme. I\’m not sure pink carpet is going to look right…!RM, I didn\’t say I was going to send the CM to you…I was asking for any ideas on where to send it…maybe Simon could do something with it…? As for other people\’s discarded stuff, I used to be like that…hence the loft problem…but that was when I was with the drama group, as I always had something available for costumes or props…!!Anne, the carpet is in very good condition and one roll is as long as our hallway…well, almost! Bloomin\’ remotes are a pain…I get to know what all the different buttons do one at a time…and by the time I know how to use the blasted thing…we get a new TV, or whatever, with a new remote, where everything is all different!!! I\’m not a technophobe, even though I sometimes live in the past, I\’m just a bit slow to adapt to new stuff…!
@ Annie – I see boy toy has a different conotation over there. How about "kept man"? I might wear a pink tutu from time to time……and I once wore a blonde wig for a few minutes……. but that\’s as far as I\’m going towards what I call the Dark Side.@ Sandi – Frankie was always the go to girl back home when one of the neighborhood kids needed something for a school play or project. The only problem was she collected so much "good stuff" she couldn\’t keep track of what she had or which pile of boxes it was in. Good idea on sending CM to Simon; it\’ll keep him busy and out of trouble. I wonder if there\’ll be room in his new digs for 2 of them.
I dunno about \’boy toy\’, but over here we say \’toy boy\’ which means an older woman has herself a young stud…yee haw!!
What do we call a \’kept man\’…? No…I have no idea…!
Well, \’kept\’ out of trouble would hardly apply would it?! \’kept\’ in the dark, \’kept\’ up with the times, ….oh drat….have said and thought \’kept\’ so many times that now it does not seem like a real word… don\’t ya just get muddled when that happens! Lost my drift now, deffo going to bed, g\’night.
I often find that…and sometimes a simple word can begin to look hilariously funny…if you say it enough times…!! (Wool is my particular favourite…!!)Yep…got to agree…time for bed…(yawn)…nighty night…!
I guess that makes me a toy boy because SHE WHO SHALL BE OBEYED is older than me. Just how much older I can\’t say out of fear of retribution if she found out. However, I have it on good authority that she served with K Company, 2nd Maine Infantry during our War of Northern Agression.
Oh you\’re a wicked man RM! I hope she didn\’t see that comment or I fear the skillet will be coming out ;o)… hmm a boy toy…. isn\’t that like something electrical or a power toy or the such.. you know \’boys toys\’
Ah…boys and their toys…!!!
How\’s the carpet going?
How\’s the carpet going? Or where\’s the carpet going? At the moment it has taken over the hallway, while two rolls of underlay are in the kitchen! Rooms will have to be emptied before we can start to lay carpet, and that will have to wait until Robert has a couple of days off…oh, joy!! So, the thing at the moment is…evict the Crap Monster!!!
Have made a start (the story of my life…!!) on cleaning the bedroom…been vacuuming and shifting stuff around…now to get ready for work and clean up other people\’s crap!! Oh, bloody joy!!!
Wonder what the Trolls downstairs make of the rolls of carpet going to your place, maybe there is a solution to the problem of them there….rolled up neat carpet in…….rolled up bumpy carpet out!
If RM is a boy toy, I think his batteries need to be either recharged or replaced….Does that make his wife a cougar??? Save me some of those rolls of carpeting going out…I have a few bumps I need to get rid of…..
Nope, she ain\’t no cougar; she\’s a fidget (Female mIDGET). Roll them trolls in carpet and call the GBD. He has a small white van and will do anything for money!
Ah…the \’M\’ word…I sure could do with some of that, too…!!
Talking of work..it was non-stop today…my boss obviously forgot that two of the crew were off, and told \’the client\’ that all the emergency stairs would be done today! i got in to find that both the conference room and syndicate room had been used and were left in a mess…so guess who was tearing around like a blue-arsed fly trying to get done…!! I\’m pooped!!!
Talking of work, I had a day of it today too. Was up at 4.30am, had to go to my workmates and then we had to go to Esher, Surrey. Spent the day sitting in the car in the carpark of Sandown Race Course, shame there was no racing on. We had to face the road traffic and do our stuff then traipse all the way home again, got in at 4.30pm. It can be such a tough job having to sit in a warm car with flasks of hot drinks, sandwiches, cake and chocolate for 11 hours!
Ye gods!! My knees and hips, not to mention my back, are starting to ache just at the thought!! Stir crazy ain\’t in it!!! I\’m glad I don\’t do what you do!!!
Sandi, I wish you wouldn\’t work so hard. You\’re making ME tired! As for the inconsiderate boss, here in the South we have an expression that is rumored to actually be a legal defense: "He needed killin\’, your honor!"Annie, you\’re making me hungry and we just ate!
That \’legal defence\’ would be reserved for \’the client\’ and the trolls…! (And in all cases it\’s \’she\’…!)
She\’s making me feel tired too!Anne do you not get cramp sitting in a car all day long? Never mind the need for a restroom after all those cups of tea!
Cramp…and a numb bum…!!
I do get out and have a wander in the break and only drink copius amounts if there is a loo nearby or a discreet place. Sometimes I sit -always have fold up chair- or stand out by the car. Not working again until tuesday, work is always a bit thin on the ground this time of year.
And sciatica!Oh my pc is coming so close to be thrown out of the window…
Mind it does not collide mid air with mine then, am having problems gettin FB page up as it says cannot connect or unavailable if I go via my desktop shortcut, so I enter a search and 2 out of 3 times that may work.
I\’ll be careful…
Bloomin\’ computers…! Gat when they work, but when you constantly have problems with them (I keep getting Microsoft error reprts!!) then who doesn\’t want to throw the buggers out of the window…?! I certainly feel like that often!!!
Looks like it\’s going to be another shitty one at work today…I forgot to make sure a door was shut! I\’ve never worked anywhere like this place before…other good workers have left because of the atmosphere, and the patronising manner used by a certain miserable \’witch\’…I\’ve definitely had enough!!!
Good luck Sandi, I for one am really looking forward to walking out the office door tonight!I am really starting to hate my Sage program.. you know it has taken me close to 2 days to install a new version so 2 people can work on it, and get it running via the new version instead of the old version… had to re-write the registry in the end…
Sounds like a lot of bother for…a couple of people? Why couldn\’t they do it? TGIF! I\’m just sick to death of all the hassle over bugger-all at this place!! I guess having a go at me or the team makes that bitch feel big…I\’ve had good workers leave because of her…and I\’m about to do the same! Do you know what stops me every time? The fact that that is what she wants!!!
I wish our cleaners were half as good as you! I\’m having to count the petty cash every week now as I\’ve had £200 go missing…
Eileen, I had that problem at my shop when I had it. I reported it to the police and they said they could put up tiny cameras to catch them out. My problem turned out to be a lad who helped out now and again and who was helping himself now and again too!
Now that is something that Superbitch does not seem to consider while she is \’only doing her job\’…! She patronises us and is always bitching about something…the good workers leave because they don\’t like her attitude. My boss then has to advertise again…interviews arranged…lots of Jobcentre time-wasters who don\’t turn up…foreigners who don\’t speak English do…! One person who does speak English actually turns up…my boss takes that person on. I don\’t trust that person…turns out they keep helping themselves to stock and lord-knows what else…I have to get rid of \’em!! I can\’t stand tea leafs!! Or liars!!
morning Sandi, ((hugs))maybe a change of career is beckoning you too? something that would make you happy, I still see you running your own business and making dresses … you could run a business just making costumes for faery fest and such like…. but then that\’s just my imagination running riot. just hope the problems at work settle down and you find something you enjoy that pays the money you want… more money less hours and working with nice people.have a great day love n hugsdebsxXx