Weekend

We saw REM at Twickenham last night and it was BRILLIANT. I'd go as far as to say that it was the best gig I've ever been to. There was a good mixture of well known ones, new ones and really early ones. the place had a great vibe and Michael Stipe even went in with the audience and the place just went WILD.
The only odd thing was that the Robbos went hungry as there wasn't any veggie food there. All the veggie stuff was sold out. Luckily I had made a pack lunch for the coach (when the things you do automatically once you're middle aged) so we weren't starving.
Talking of veggie stuff, AOJ suggested I might be lacking something as I'd started to crave meat. The other day Steve bought loads of FRESH veg (as opposed to the frozen stuff that I tend to use during the week) I cooked it all up and - hey presto!-not craving the meat. So I think you had something there AOJ! Which just goes to show that there is a difference in frozen and fresh nutrients (and "they" tell us there isn't).

A Lazy blog

How many people live in your house?
Two people, one dog, about 10 fish (they wouldn't keep still).
Do you like your siblings?
For the first 18 years- not at all- since then love her to pieces.
What color are your nails?
Unadorned finger nails, ruby black toe nails.
What’s your favorite place on earth?
My bed, lying next to Mr Robbo is the honest answer. however a Thai beach comes a close second.
Ever punch someone in the face?
My Dad. me and Angela were playing in our bedroom (this was years ago, this was in the 70s) and Dad made us jump and I punched him in the smacker. he was quite proud really.
Did you have a dream last night?
I've been reading Kim harrison's All hallows series, and the dream was about demons.
Where is your top from?
George at Asda
Are you mad at someone?
No, for a change..
Where’s your best friend?
In Essex
Last place you bought something from?
A chinese takeaway this evening.
Last person you were in a car with?
Mr Robbo.
What bank do you use?
Nosey!
Do you like being in photos?
Accepting rather than like.
Who’s your last missed call from?
3 Customer Services.
Ever broken something at someone else’s house?
I must have done, but it must have been years ago as I can't remember.
Are you a good driver?
NO!
What's on your mind right now?
Doing this
When is your birthday?
march
What kind of mobile phone do you have?
A Silver one.
How old will you be in 5 years?
45. hang on 45!
Are you a movie buff?
I like to think so.
If you could move tomorrow, would you?
it would have to be somewhere fantastic as I really like where I live now.
Do you like the weather today?
Not overly much. overcast and muggy.
Do you like the outdoors or indoors better?
Indoors
How tall are you?
5 foot 7 1/2
If you had to choose an age to remain for the rest of your life what would it be?
What like if I got bitten by a vampire? I like the age I'm at now.
What’s something in your past you wish you could relive?
Saying my wedding vows as i can't remember what the heck I said.
What is your favorite thing to do on the weekends?
Having lots of cups of tea and reading the papers. taking Tom on a walk.
Favorite nearby vacation destination?
Center Parcs!
How’s the weather?
English.
Does anything on your body hurt?
No
What was the last television show you watched?
Sex and the City
Do you prefer orange or cherry ice-pops?
Neither
Do you like pickles?
Pickled Onions, Branston.
Does your hair still smell like shampoo?
yes
What’s plugged in in the nearest socket?
PC and telly.
What was the last thing you wrote by hand?
A cheque
What’s your favorite tv advert?
haven't got one.
Do you pay attention to celebrity gossip?
Yes.
Have you sung out loud today?
At work, under my breath.

Oh Lordy, if you read Dan's blog this meme goes on a lot longer. Igive up!

Fish and Meat

I believe that animals have souls and feel emotions. They might not feel these emotions the way we do, just as all animals breathe but have different ways of going about it. (I'm thinking lungs and gills here).
Six years ago we bought an aquarium, some tetras and 2 cat fish. Those original tetras have long since died and been replaced by platys but the cat fish are still going strong. Well one of them is still going strong, the other one is dying. The other cat fish is lying near it. This has been going on all afternoon. I think the fit cat fish cares.

Talking about animals, I don't eat meat on ethical grounds, not because I don't like the taste. Saying that I haven't missed meat much (unlike fish - that is a real struggle and I have fallen off the wagon LOADS of times) but the past couple of weeks I have craved meat. In particular I nice crispy chicken leg. Oh yes. then that got me thinking to a nice rare steak and onion rings. I'm not going to eat meat though as I know I'd feel terrible. Perhaps it is the meat free equivalent of a 7 year itch?

Feng what?

Your Feng Shui is Decent

Your home is a comfortable enough place. After all, it is your home. Truthfully, though, it may be a bit too cluttered and stale. Try rearranging your furniture, donating unwanted items, and bringing in some natural elements. You may be surprised how much more relaxed you end up feeling.

How's" Your Feng Shui?

I would LOVE to rearrange the furniture, but Mr Robbo won't let me. He reckons we have got the perfect lay out. And after some secret rearranging I have to say he is right. So now I want to buy NEW furniture...

Things we say

I just read "No I don't want to join a book club" by Virginia Ironside . I really enjoyed it and it made me laugh. The heroine is a middle class lady who refers to cakes as being "scrummy", Isn't scrummy a nice word? I wish I used the word scrummy to describe delicious things. Sadly when I've eaten something gorgeous I refer to it as "well horny". As in:"That cake was well horny". Hasn't quite got the same ring.
However one expression I shall be using from the book is a CRAFT moment instead of a senior moment. Craft as in: can't remember a fecking thing.

Friends

I'm reading this book "Still thinking about you" by Adele parks. At least I think it is called that as I seem to give books titles (eg American Gods/Gods of America) It is about a group of close knit friends attending a friends wedding. it is refreshing because it seems to be saying close knit friends are necessarily a good thing. Something I whole heartedly agree with. Before I met the gorgeous Mr Robbo I was engaged to Another Steve. Steve had kept in touch with a lot of hos school friends (something I hadn't managed to do) and at first I thought it was really nice. We'd all meet up, go to concerts, weekends away, we had our local.......and everyone knew everyone's business and had an opinion on it. Another Steve's bestest friend never said 2 words to me(but it took me a little while to realise that he wasn't shy but just deemed me unworthy of speaking to), his brother would say make Another Steve promise not to tell me stuff he told him (which he wouldn't have done anyway..but it all seemed so dramatic). I found it quite claustrophobic.

Now a days Steve and I have friends and it is nice, but we all don't live in each other's pockets, which is even nicer.

Stuff I have and haven't done

I pinched this from The Lurchers:

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink - well we put money behind the bar at our wedding reception.
02. Swam with wild dolphins Well not swam exactly, more like paddled.
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea1
3. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa (now closed to the public)
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip on a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Got drunk on champagne Yes, I thought my head was going to explode the next day.
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse Red Rum at the grand national.
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking - that's how I dance.
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken for longer than when you were in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight -what is D & D?
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking -
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived.
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school - well did a few Open University courses.
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you.
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone’s life

Saturday

There was an article in The Telegraph today about child free couples. That is people who chose not to have have children. It was a weird article. These couples were saying that they were happy with the choice they made. They certainly weren't anti children or anti family. Apparently there has been a recent study that couples with out children are "happier" (But how do you quantify happy?) The article finished with the writer stating that breast feeding protects women from certain cancers. So what ? What has that got to do with anything? It felt like the journalist had to put in a disclaimer. There are quite a lot of family life columns in the weekend section, they don't end with the disclaimer "however people that chose not to have children are happier, according to recent study."

Yuk

Last night I dreamt that all my teeth were falling out. First of all it was one by one and then they were coming out in clumps. When I woke up the first thing I did was run my tongue around my mouth to make sure that they were all still there. I think flossing my teeth is really freaking me out...

Bits and Pieces

Finished American Gods. Enjoyed it, but got side tracked by wikipedia-ing (is that a word?) all the gods' names to find out who they were.
Did some gardening this morning -with all the sun and rain we've had lately the passion flower and the flower that I don't know the name of , were making a bid to take over the garden. Gardening for me these days is mainly cutting stuff back. Before we got the dogs I used to plant a lot of bedding plants, but with old wee wee boy (that's Tom not Steve)they don't last that long.
Bought some dental floss yesterday. I've never really got on with flossing before(it feels weird and I'm scared my teeth will fall out) but am determined to get in the habit. It still makes my toes curl though.

Dad's London

My Dad was born in East London during the war. In the early sixties he joined the merchant navy and travelled to South America. He has done may different things, but he has some very funny ideas.
Even though he has travelled to the other side of the world the fact that I work in South London freaks him out. He doesn't like crossing the river. I've always known that about him. What did surprise me today was when he announced that people from East London are taller than people from North London. He reckons it is because there is more of a cultural mix in East London than North London (is that even true?). I must ask him about his thoughts on West London....

BTW

Erm, just realised Gods of America is actually called American Gods. Still it is nice to make up your own titles, liking making up your own lyrics to songs.

Books

Still reading Gods of America, and -I was right, it is similar to The Stand. G of A deals with the old faiths/gods being forgotten and dying in the face of the new gods -technology. The Stand is about old fashioned values (family, making do, faith) versus technology (nuclear weapons, consumerism.)
Am liking G of A, but not gripped by a need to know what happens. I'm quite happy to read it at lunchtimes. Whereas if I loved it I would have read it by now. I guess I'm not that bothered about what happens to Shadow.

Monday Scribble

Started reading Gods of America, the feel of it reminds me of The Stand by Stephen King. Also Neil Gaiman wrote in his preface that I'm reading a 12000 word longer book than the original edition. Not sure if that is a good thing or not..
Thought I saw Frank Lampard in a blue Porsche driving along Lower Thames Street this evening.

Sunday

I bought a book today, it is "Gods of America" by Neil Gaiman. It was in the fantasy/sci fi section, not a section I wander over to. This is based of an out dated notion I've got that fantasy/sci fi is aimed at smelly hippies and I'm not a hippy. Although I do have startlingly hippyish tendencies - not eating meat, been recycling for years,shopping in Oxfam....Anyway I'll let you know what I think of the book.
I bumped into my Dad down the high street. I shouted "Hello Good looking!" and when he turned round (he did look a bit surprised)said "Know your name then!" He was having a wander whilst Mum was playing her bowls match.