@£@%^$^$$%£$@*&*(**!@$!!!!

So..

Outside it is doing its darndest to snow and inside I am hiding away from the world – for its own sake I might add.

I awoke this morning psychopathically  hormonial (my word).  I discovered the psychopathic part when I attempted to cash a NZ fifty dollar note firstly at the post office and then at the bank.  Mr T had unthinkingly buggered off to work with all the finances and as it is market day I thought to exchange my Christmas money for real money and buy some necessaries and maybe the odd unnecessary. It had taken quite a lot of effort to get myself out the door and I had promised myself an almond croissant from the french bakers stall for being a good girl.

Blood arose in front of my eyes as the pleasant lady behind the counter told me that there is nowhere in Hay that will cash the note and that I would need to go to Hereford – an hours bus trip away……….  FOR FUCKS SAKE!!!  FUCKETY, FUCKETY FUCK!!

So I went home

For tea and cake and crochet

And not to deal with this, which is difficult in a room this small..

And then a very kind person sent me this

and this

Until next time – aint life grand?

SEWING MACHINES?  DON’T TALK TO ME ABOUT SEWING MACHINES…

A Little Rain Must Fall…

**Warning – do not read on if you cannot be bothered with the grumpy bits of others lives.  On the other hand – It could just make you feel a lot better**

So all my optimisim regarding phone line and internet connection was misplaced.. Having rung Sky yesterday to check what time the installer was coming today I was informed that until I had sent in a direct debit form there would be no connection!   Hells Blood!!!

I was annoyed to say the least and may have sounded a tad stern to the poor person on the phone – but really!!!!!  We had organized the connection the week before last and no one mentioned said direct debit form at the time, let alone contacted me re mobile or email to let me know that there would be no service until said form was forthcoming.

So if you were hoping for a phone call from me anytime soon, don’t hold your breath.

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Tude’s job which was to have started yesterday has been put on hold.  He rang the company last week to check on a detail and was told by the senior manager that the junior manager who had hired Tude had made a error and there would be no start date for a month to six weeks.  So – lucky Tude didn’t drive in to start work yesterday morning then…

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The car that we bought last week has developed a strange noise when you turn right to go around a tight corner – car was very cheap but we had thought we might just get away with a month or two before it started to crap out!  It is booked in to see the car doctor tomorrow morning.

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Although I have the worlds most scrummy dentist and he is a NHS dentist, which means he should be somewhat cheaper that private – the work that needs doing (namely a new, false front tooth) cannot be done on the NHS so is going to cost three hundred and something pounds.   Luckily I am allowed to pay it off otherwise I would be gappy for a hellover lot longer!

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Now – that was a good moan.  This blog post will be one of the very few that will be posted under the category – Things That Piss Me Off.  And it will have it’s own post so as not to contaminate the other less annoying subjects

In My Room – I Can Watch The Wind..

I finished Unseen Academicals a couple of weeks and give it top marks.  It even made me slightly more interested in soccer, which is saying something believe me.  I have since started and finished another Terry Pratchett tome The Bromeliad trilogy which includes the three books about nomes, Truckers, Diggers and Wings.  I have had this book for several years now but never read it, so I had a real holiday treat.  It is supposed have been written for young readers in mind but don’t let that put you off, you would never notice.

My latest read is Tigana by Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay. I first came across his writing in the mid eighties when the three wonderful books of The Fionavar Tapestry –  The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road were published.  Prior to writing the trilogy Kay had assisted Christopher Tolkien with the editorial construction of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Silmarillion.  He is a master fantasy/fiction writer and I still have another couple of his books to catch up on – with another coming out this year;  that will be on my Amazon wish list for sure!

Weather update

While it continues to snow like a bastard in the UK and Europe, here it continues to blow.  Hot air.  And I am just a tad pissed off about it.  Honestly, it seems like it’s been going on for months, and it’s not just gentle breezes.  Two days ago we had a minor panic because one of the larger branches on our gum tree snapped off and just missed the neighbours shed, which it would have definitely squashed.  The neighbour, being a good kiwi bloke, whipped out his chain saw and made short work of it, just a bit more wood for the fire.  Fortunately, from the look of the forecast there might just be a short break in the windiness tomorrow in time for our b.b.q., before the north west gales and rain sweep in for Sunday.

The room it all happens in

Thought you might like a look at my craft/blog writing room.   As you can see it is a hell of a mess but I like it.  The observant may also spot me taking the picture in the mirror.

Fat is Not a Moral Issue

I’ m fat, have been pretty much all of my life, with brief interludes of slimness. The interesting thing in this for me is that apart from one instance when I got so skinny my bones stuck into anything I sat on, I always thought I was fat. And I know now that I wasn’t, certainly not all those years, but I was miserable about it.

Nowadays I feel that I have pretty much got past it.  I feel like I am an expert on diets and nutrition, body size and self esteem – and peoples prejudice about fat. The knowledge of prejudice began at a fairly early age – school kids can be pretty shitty. So really I shouldn’t be surprised by anything fat/hate related.

And then I read an account of a person who attended a community ritual celebrating Mabon – one of those beautiful evenings, fire blazing, chanting, decorated altar. This woman is standing in the circle, marvelling at the beauty of it all. Then as the Priestess enters the circle she hears the woman next to her say “Oh my God! She’s fat! Oh My God!

I just don’t know where to go with that.

Anyway, found this little video on the subject from youtube and I liked it – for everyone out there with fat issues – Hurrah For Us!!

Nil carborundum illegitamae

No Means No – which part of that don’t you understand?

I have mentioned previously that I had enjoyed Sarah Vine and Tania Kindersley’s book Backwards in High Heels, well this is a link to their blog with a post that I read last night and appreciated, even though the subject is pretty horrific.  Have a read if you are at all interested in the Roman Polanski debacle. http://taniakindersley.blogspot.com/

On the same subject New Zealand’s appalling record in dealing with rape cases is discussed in Catriona McClennan’s post Changing the Law on Rape on the Werewolf website. Werewolf is a new pleasure for me (thanks Sue) and well worth the time spent. I particularly liked the article on travelling on foot in New York – what an adventure!

http://werewolf.co.nz/2009/09/changing-the-law-on-rape/

Pretty Pictures

I have a couple of photos that I meant to post some time ago and didn’t get around to it. They are from my Uncle Mike’s tramping trip down the West Coast of the South Island. Just shows how beautiful this country is..

46 MILLION

It’s funny what reading does to you. For most of my life I thought of the southern United States as a place full of red necks and racists, the last part of that country I would want to visit. Bollocks of course – product of an imagination fed by Hollywood and sheer mental laziness.  And then I read the complete works of Fanny Flagg, author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.  Now Missouri would probably be the first stop on my itinerary. In fact, one of the reasons that I wanted to live in this house is because it reminded me of Neighbor Dorothy’s house in Welcome to the World, Baby Girl.

Flagg’s books do not shrink from the darker side of life however, they would be way to sweet for me otherwise.  And that brings me to the main subject of my post today. America is the richest country in the world – you would think that it would be able to look after its own people wouldn’t you?  Well I guess they could – if they wanted to.   Obama and Co are facing an up hill battle in their attempt to bring in universal health care so that the 46 MILLION UNINSURED PEOPLE can get their health needs met. Sorry about the capitals but..46 MILLION!! Bloody Hell!!

My favourite American blogger – Heather B Armstrong  (Dooce) has strong feelings on this subject as her family has had health insurance problems. And I’m with her husband Jon who commented on his blog –

Here’s the freedom and peace of mind I think every person deserves: if one is sick or has a health-related problem, one finds the nearest or most favorite physician and makes an appointment or walks in and gets help. Every person alive deserves this. That we don’t live this way is hypocritical and inexcusable. We have the technology.

The Guardian has an article by Ed Pilkington titled ‘Dying for affordable health care – the uninsured speak’ , it’s an interesting read if you’ve got a moment.  I’m just going to sit back and be thankful that I live here. 😉

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/aug/21/healthcare-provision-us-uk