New Year's Eve

Steve is doing his last ever disco tonight. Finally the poor bloke just has his day job. it will be so nice spending New Year's Eve together again. Not that I'll imagine that we'll do much- the dogs are scared of fireworks so we would stay in anyway.

My le Creseut pot was delivered on Friday. It is small but perfectly formed. Actually I've had a rotten cold since Thursday and feel pretty ropey. I've been mainly drinking lemons and honey mixed in with lemsip.
So what will your new year resolutions be? I aim to carry on writing - and having fun with it. It would also be nice if I don't need any therapy this year. This time last year I was about to start a new job and a writing course, I was nervous. Now those things are under my belt. I'm going to try to be more open to change in 2007.

Ghost story

Here is the story I entered for the competition. I've gone on so much about it, I thought you might like to read it.

Sisters

‘So Mum, let me get this straight. You’ve being seeing Aunt Till.’

‘Yes Ted.’ Sarah pointed to the Formica table in the corner of the kitchen. ‘She sits there.’

At eighty six Sarah’s eyes weren’t as good as they could be, even when she wore her glasses (which she hardly ever did) so she didn’t catch Ted’s grimace. It upset him to hear his Mum talk like this.

‘Does Aunt Till ever say anything?’

‘No she just sits there.’

‘Next time you see her why don’t you try talking to her? Ask her what she wants.’

Ted left soon after. He offered to stay until his aunt appeared, but Sarah said no. He had his own family to get home to. This time of year Sarah virtually lived in her kitchen, it was easier to keep warm. The kitchen was big enough for a small table and 2 armchairs, one each side of the electric fire. She had her radio, perched on the fridge, for company. Sarah sat thinking about Till. Sarah had been one of nine, but she had always been especially close to Till. She never thought the day would come where the thought of seeing Tilly frightened her. She decided if she saw Till again, she would talk to her. She was still her sister. Death doesn’t change that does it?

One of the nuisances of old age was that you woke up so early. It was only four, but she knew she wouldn’t drop off again. Stuffing her feet into her Dalmatian slippers (a present from one of her twenty seven grandchildren) she went to the kitchen to make some tea. Sitting in the corner was her unwelcome visitor. Motionless, her brown eyes fixed on Sarah. Sarah was frightened. She didn’t know if she was frightened of seeing a ghost, or seeing things that weren’t there. Averting her gaze Sarah put the kettle on. Then taking a deep breath, (she had lived through the Blitz, she had given birth to nine children and buried two, she could do this) she looked at the apparition.

‘What do you want Tilly?’

‘Just a chat Sarah. Reckon it gets lonely being on your own.’ Till smiled.

‘How come you’ve never said anything before. Just sitting there all quiet, staring.’

Till stood up and walked over to her sister, ‘I didn’t want to scare you, I wasn’t sure if you could see me.’

Sarah started to cry. ‘Of course you scared me! Sitting there all quiet. I thought I was seeing things. I thought I was going mad’

‘You seeing things. That’s a laugh, you’re too vain to wear your glasses.’

Sarah looked up at her sister, and they both started to laugh.

‘I only didn’t wear them in case I saw your ugly mug!’

Ted is pleased to see his Mum is wearing her glasses more often now. She told him that she doesn’t see Aunt Till anymore and he believes her.

Fantasy Shopping part 2

Was in Tk Maxx today and they had a le Creuset oven dish for £8. Stared at the dish for a very long time. Didn't buy it in the end because: a. I didn't like the colour and b. I don't need an ceramic oval oven dish. it was a close run thing though.

Watched la Reine Margot tonight - nearly 3 hours long and not one laugh in it.

Fantasy Shopping.

I am brand neutral. I've never wanted a designer handbag. I buy generic clothes. If anything I am an inverted snob. I think some wide screen tellies are just too wide. I'd rather die than stick a plasma over my (fake) fire place. I've got a MP3 player rather than an I Pod. So why am I such a sucker for le Creuset cookware? If I could afford it I'd have all my cookware le Creuset. As it is I just have one volcanic orange cocotte casserole dish. And I love it. if the house was on fire I would save it. When I'm cooking with that , in my head I am in my Seventeenth century country cottage cooking on my Aga. And Agas was the deal with them? - we stayed in a cottage a few years ago and that had an Aga. In fact that was one of the reasons I wanted to stay there. it was a nightmare to cook with -I may as well microwaved the jacket potatoes -but I would still like one. Anyway with my Christmas money i have just bought another cocotte- it is blue and reduced to £35 - which is CHEAP- you normally don't get those babies for anything less than £60. I've bought it off Amazon in case you want to buy one as well. I don't why I love them so but I do. When I marry George Clooney I 'm going to have a Le Creuset wedding list. You see George will comfort me when Steve runs off with Fi Glover/Carol McGiffen.

Happy Christmas

Took the dogs for a walk this morning and was amazed to see that people are still shopping. if Christmas didn't exist the shops would have to invent it. Will this shopping never stop?

Finally emailed my story for Aaron . I had left it for a few days - and when I came back I had lost it. the computer had eaten it. taking it as a sign the story was rubbish(I never lose anything on the computer) I started again. I like it , I just hope he does. I am going to write something for myself next. I've always wanted to write a cozy crime story so I'm going to give that a go.

We're going to Church this evening for the carol service. We went last year and the church is freezing so we'll wrap up warm. I do like belting a few carols.

BTW a tip for dog owners. I was watching the Dog Whisperer and Cesar calmed an over excited dog by standing still, staring and pointing at the dog. When I was getting the leads out Tommy was barking and prancing so I tried the 'Cesar stance' and it worked!!!Tommy shut up and waited quite meekly. I'm going to try it out on Steve next.

Shop

My mammoth Tesco home delivery has arrived. Each kitchen cupboard is stuffed with goodies, the fridge and freezer are full and I'm still worrying that I may not have enough in for Christmas....Sometimes my default mood is "worry".

Steve is a lot better - but I can still smell the TCP.

Southend v Tottenham

AAArggghhh!!! Stupid football.

TCP

Have you seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding where the Dad cures everything with Windowlene? Well Steve is exactly like that but with TCP. he had got a cold at the moment and he keeps gargling with TCP. The smell is everywhere. I even thought I could smell it at work. When we first started going out together I cut myself and he suggested I douse it with TCP. NEVER AGAIN. The pain was unbelievable and I speak as someone who has had her tubes blown.

Tooth ache

Many years ago when I was 21, in Paris, eating a baguette I broke my tooth. When i got home the dentist did his best to fix it...and i have had trouble with it ever since. i have spent hundreds of pounds on that tooth and like a ungrateful child , it has given me grief over the years. i have had the filling refilled FOUR times. At one pint I even had a gold filling - but that didn't last long. I went to the dentist the other week and mentioned it was giving me a gyp again. he said it was now sensitive ( i don't know why - that tooth has had my attention much more than all the teeth) and give me a filling thing between my gum and the tooth. It has twinged on and off ever since but I have ignored it ( I could go on with the child metaphor..but I'm sure you get the drift.) Tonight is has been twinging a lot. I always ask the dentist if he'll take it out but he acts like I'm joking. I think I'll have to book another trip to the dentist. its such a hassle as I'll have to make the time up at work.

Just read Rosemary's baby - what a good writer Ira Levin is. He uses language in a sparse, powerful way. i bet he would have won the Yellow Advertiser Ghost story competition.

Course

I got my final result for my Creative Writing Course. - and i got a B. (well they call it a grade 2 pass but I know a B when I see it.) I'm very pleased. I remember when I got the course time table at the beginning of the year and saw all the assignments I had to and thought : Oh Gina what have you done...But I finished the course and I did well. I 'm giving myself a pat on the back.
Half way through re - reading IT by Stephen King. Scarier than I remembered it being.

Letter

Received our first letter today from maria, a child that Steve and I are sponsoring. maria lives with her family in Latin America ( a country beginning with N that I can't spell). It was a very charming letter, where she talked about playing with her chickens and her Mum and Dad. In fact it bought a tear to my eye. Although as I get older I find anything sets me off. i do urge you, unseen reader to sponsor a child, it is very worthwhile.

As I'm typing this I can hear Steve laughing at the TV, I'm going to go and investigate. Steve's laughter is one of my favourite sounds.

ghost story

I entered the Yellow Advertiser's Ghost Story competition. I had fully expected to win. I was amazed when I didn't win the Good Housekeeping story competition. I've gone off that magazine now. i don't think I've won the competition now, I think I would have heard by now if I had. Oh well Dad liked it. Dad thinks I'm brilliant. He thinks I'm nearly as good as Ruth Rendell. Stupid story competition.
Went to the pub last night, we had a really good time, but came out stinking of smoke. I can't wait for that smoking ban. I still don't understand why England has had to wait such a long time for it to be implemented. The ban won't be enforced untill the summer.

Coat

Met Mum for lunch today and she very sweetly offered to treat me to a new coat. I think I last bought a winter coat about three years ago. And that wasn't really a coat is it a fleecy jacket thing. it is very generous of Mum, but I secretly thought just give me the cash and I'll spend it on something exciting. You see I have terrible taste when it comes to coats. i like it in the shop and I'll like it when I get home but give me a month and I hate it. I'm brilliant at buying handbags and shoes but I've got no taste when it comes to coats. I don't even like wearing them that much. I think in a coat (I know I'm being very repetitive with the word 'coat', I'm getting fed up of typing 'coat') I look like a walking wardrobe. The only outdoor garment I like is my denim jacket. My Mum has got a good taste in coats, she has a coat, jacket and hat for every occassion and season.

Over garlic'd

Steve is coming home late tonight so I cooked myself some spaghetti , mushrooms and tomatoes and I threw in some garlic. Too much garlic as it turns out. I stink and i can't get rid of the taste. Yuk.

Changing the subject there was a tornado in Kensal Green today. It was a proper tornado - it tore up some houses. All these weather reports and they never warned us of that did they? How could the Weather Centre miss something as big as that? It just confirms my belief that the weather reports are a waste of time /stating the obvious. If you want to know what the weather is like - look out of the window.

Reiki Magic

Just had a very intense reiki session with Claire. Put simply reiki is the love of the universe focusing on you. I normally find sessions very relaxing and all my aches and pains drift away. I have said before it seems mad, it seems like it shouldn't work but it does. Any how today Claire said that she would try a crystal grind- which is basically putting stones around the outline of your head and she placed a stone on my forehead. At first it felt so lovely, images of green and purple clouds came to mind. Then gradually I began to feel uncomfortable, my throat and arms especially. I felt like something was pressing lightly on my neck (and I hate having my neck touched - but that's another story) and my arms felt painful, like someone was squeezing them. the pain got worse and worse and in the end I had to tell Claire to stop. Claire removed the stones, except the one on my forehead. She said that it could be the force of the positive vibes (i suddenly can hear snorting of disbelief from the other side of the Atlantic- but you can't knock it till you give it a go..) Anyhow she removed the stones and I can't tell you difference it made. I gradually began to feel more relaxed and open. For the first time I had the distinct impression some one else was in the room. As i write this i do feel foolish and try to find a rational explanation - but the experience felt intensely spiritual. And no I don't take drugs, I don't smoke (anything) and I hadn't had anything alcoholic to drink. And how do I feel now - I feel relaxed and regenerated. I suppose I feel more at peace with myself. That can't be a bad thing can it?

Template Change

I've finally got round to updating my Blogger, it has made it easier to muck around with and add new features. As you can see I've added and changed my template. Decided to finish the story I'm writing for Aaron. I feel quite strongly about finishing stories off, I think it is a bad habit(bad karma even) to leave them unfinished. Well the story has disappeared into the ether. When I opened up the word document there were a load of little squares instead of words. Perhaps the monster has eaten my story? Oh well back to the drawing board.

Bad Housewife

Steve cleared out the freezer today. he found a bag of spinach, oven chips, bag of frozen peppers and yorkshire puds that had an expiry date of January 06. I was in the living room and he came in specially to show me the offending items. I think he blames me. I must learn to rotate the items and not just to take things from the top. he can't bear to think of all that wasted food. we have 56 frozen yorkshire puds (still within date) and he expects to seeing them on his plate over the next few weeks. he still thinks I'll be cooking for him....