Rubbish drawings!

So I've got into doing rubbish drawings recently. I was Skyping Kate and Owly a week or so ago, and we decided that he needed a new Facebook profile picture. He didn't have a good one, so I drew one for him. we found it so  entertaining that I did one of Kate as well, while she drew me and William.

I downloaded the fox song a couple of days ago, to a serious lack of enthusiasm by others. I drew a rubbish picture of a fox to help the fox song cause. I love the fox song. It's awesome. 59p well spent.

Today's rubbish picture was the result of a tweet I saw during a lecture. A postman had put a "sorry we couldn't deliver" nor through someone's door, explaining that a chicken had escaped!! I foolishly showed it to the people either side of me. We laughed. The lecturer asked what was going on. Oops. Of course, I couldn't NOT do a rubbish picture of a  chicken.

I wonder what the foxes would say about my drawing???

In the park with the dogs, and why I love autumn.

I took Tally and Horatio out today, having forgotten that my camera was in my pocket. Since I had it I started taking photos. Poor Tally has to stay on the lead at the moment (vet's orders). She has been limping for months now, and we don't know why. She had an x-ray on Wednesday, which hasn't shed any light. I have been spoiling her a bit since, though. I spent Wednesday evening sat on the floor with her, and I did coursework on another dog bed for the whole of Thursday. I think we've bonded a bit as a result.

 

 We ended up getting caught in some seriously heavy rain! It was strangely nice, the park emptied, and I just love the smell of rain! Actually, I really love autumn, I think it's my favourite season. Granted it isn't quite the same in London as it is in Cheshire, but having the park over the road helps. I love autumn because I like wrapping up in autumn-y clothes and I love autumn colours. Getting out scarves, hats and gloves is fab! I love the it's-just-rained feeling, and I think frost is really pretty! Plus, I think frost brings a bit of excitement with it. I have dyed my hair for autumn, and bought autumn nail varnish (not that I needed more nail varnish, I own way too much of the stuff).

Another thing I love is coming inside out of the cold or rain, getting into cuddly, comfy clothes and sitting with a cup of sugary tea (even better if there's a fire)! It's just not the same if you haven't braved the weather first! We had the first fire of the year last week (on the 31st October), which is something you really can't match imo. 

One of the things I miss the most about the countryside is seeing the seasons. I have a really clear memory of being in year 13, and looking out of the window with Kerry just before a History lesson. It was very frosty, and lovely to see. I realised and pointed out that it could very well have been the last time we ever saw Cheshire looking like that. And now, before lectures I can gaze at... East London (can I get a "woop woop"?). I love London, but I am SO a countryside girl at heart.

I haven't blogged in ages.

It says it all in the title! I've been thinking about doing another month of photos, and then I decided that it would be really cool to take a photo of Gunnersbury Park from the same place and at the same time every day for the whole of October. That wouldn't work, because I hate being in the same place for a long time so I'm constantly away! I am going to try and do as many as I can though.

Al and I walked the dogs at lunchtime and I did a bit of scouting to decide where I wanted to take the photos from. Unsurprisingly, I chose somewhere on the other side of the park, which makes the whole thing a lot more effort! However, there are a couple of other places that I saw, so I'll try all of them until I decide which one is best. I'm going to suggest to Kerry that she takes a photo of some spot in Lancaster every day. It's a pretty place, I think she could get some really nice pictures.

I'm not with Harriet and Maia any more. I've moved back down to London. Funnily enough, without Maia around I seem to be taking far, far fewer photographs! However, I'm heading into central tomorrow, so I'm guessing I'll take a few pictures then. I might just go into central on Saturday as well; I am dryin dying to do some touristy things!

I got stuck in the shower room for an hour and forty minutes on Friday! The twisty thing on the lock fell off and I couldn't reach the mechanism. Everyone thought it was hilarious, which in hindsight it was. Sigh. However, every cloud has a silver lining. As Harriet pointed out to me, at least I wouldn't've been in any trouble if I needed the loo; it was definitely better than being locked out!

I think there's something wrong, there!

I spent Sunday with my father.... Need I say more?

We set off to drop my grandfather off at the bus station so he could get on the coach home at half nine. Daddy decided on the way that we needed to get  Grandpa a mobile... So we dropped him off the hit Tesco's, before rushing back to give it to him. We then went back to Tesco's, and bought a radio and headphones for a customer of Club Class who is in the hospital. Woody is a disabled guy a few years older than my father. Daddy does accounting for him, as well as most of his shopping and other bits and pieces like that.

While we were at Leighton, we got a phone call saying that Bob (a driver) had broken down in the wheelchair bus, with a wheelchair passenger on board! We got Sue (another driver) to go with the Renault (another wheelchair vehicle) to rescue the customers, while we dropped off the VW Jetta we were in at home (it is automatic, and therefore not great for towing), got in the LDV, got some tools from the yard and drove from Wincham to the other side of Tarporley (a thirty minute drive on a good day).

When we got there we discovered that Sue and Bob were struggling for several reasons: without power, the hydraulics in the bus would allow them to get the passenger out, and they didn't know how to get it into the Renault anyway. Daddy managed in five minutes to get the passenger transferred and took them up the road, to the restaurant they were heading to (they got the trip free of charge by way of apology).

Meanwhile, Sue, Bob and I stayed with the other two vehicles. While we were waiting, I discovered that the problem was less mechanical and more to do with it having run out of fuel. Hahahahahahahahahaha. Of course, it is a diesel engine, which is a little trickier than if it had been petrol. Sue took the Renault home, and Daddy and I towed Bob to a petrol station. Having got some diesel into it, 'we' (by 'we,' I mean them. I was cold so I stayed inside the van) tried and failed to get it going again. We did have a phone call saying that another driver had broken down though.... The fun never stops!

So, we towed Bob halfway back, to another petrol station. A police car nearly crashed into us on the way there, leaving us with a snapped tow rope and, for some reason, snapped front number plate!

After an hour of waiting around, during which time Daddy had collected the Renault from Sue, collected the passengers, taken them home, given Sue back the Renault and come back in the LDV, we got going again.

It later turned out that Bob's bus is barely with repairing. There was more wrong with it than a lack of fuel after all.

The moral of this story is never to pay for an £800 respray of your vehicle, because it might break down!

And I thought Sunday was hectic!

I was rudely awakened at seven thirty on Monday morning by Maia. We came downstaallirs and had a leisurely breakfast while planning our day. We decided to play with her dolls for a bit, do some painting, have lunch and then head off to the swimming pool in the afternoon. HA. I ended up considerably damper than I generally like, and a lot more stressed!

Harriet had phoned as Maia had started her painting to say that the cavity wall insulation and loft insulation people had just let her know that they would be coming in a couple of hours to do the installation. We have been waiting for this, and mucked around with for months now! It did mean that we couldn't go swimming, but there is always Wednesday.

It all started to kick off when I went with Maia to wash all of the paint off her arms. I noticed a suspicious puddle of water on the floor of the hall. On further investigation, I discovered that water was dripping through from upstairs. The majority of it was hidden by a cupboard, the contents of which was soaking. This cupboard is underneath the boiler (which is in the airing cupboard). I went to have a poke about and see what was going on, and discovered that the contents of the airing cupboard was completely soaking.

I phoned H, who came home from work to see what was going on!! While she investigated, I hung up the wet stuff from the airing cupboard, meaning that we couldn't move for bed linen! Harriet tried (and failed) to get in touch with her plumber, just as the cavity wall insulation people arrived. While sorting them out and letting them get started, we discovered another leak. The kitchen ceiling was soaking. The house was packed, it was complete chaos... And then another couple of guys turned up, here to do the loft insulation. They looked a little bemused.

H got in touch with the plumber, who said he'd be straight here after finishing the job he was on so she went back to work. At this point, the loft insulation guys came to me and said that there is broken asbestos in the attic and so they couldn't do the work. They left. Meanwhile, the circuit breakers had tripped. I battled my way to the switches to get the power back on so that I could put on a film to keep Maia happy and out of the way, then made lunch in the square metre of the kitchen not occupied by ladders, tools and men.

The cavity wall insulation guys then decided that the air vents in the walls might not be big enough, so they had to call their boss and get him to come in. I was going to tell H this, but she had texted me saying that she was having to get an ambulance for her boss, so I left out that little gem until he came and said it was fine.

The cavity wall insulation guys finished up, and were just leaving as the plumber arrived. On having a look around, he said that it looked as if it were coming from the attic. Sigh. Texting H about it, we came to the conclusion that it was a good thing that the loft insulation hadn't been done after all. Never thought I'd be saying "Thank goodness for asbestos!"

The plumber found that not only was there a leaky pipe in the attic, which he has fixed, but there is a leak in the roof as well!! The plumber fixed what he could and told us to get a roofer!

H had cancelled the solar panel people who were supposed to be coming (the only people we were actually expecting to have around), but the message hadn't got through from head office so as the plumber left, the solar panels guy turned up and I had to tell him to go away, in between reassuring a concerned neighbour that all was well (even though it actually wasn't).

Harriet got home soon after this, and I made my escape up to Cheshire. That was all a bit hectic!

Also, it had been raining cats and dogs all day. Humph.

Shaun

Today was both sad and happy. It was Shaun's funeral. A sad occasion for the obvious reasons, but happy because it was amazing to see how many people came, and because he would have LOVED the send off we gave him.

My parents, brothers sister and I moved to Lostock Green in 2001. Shaun lived around the corner with his wife, and (later) two children. My mother walked the dogs with Shaun every night for years, before he started his taxi company - Club Class. Meanwhile my father had gone off to Iraq (he was the Public Affairs Officer to the Deputy Commanding General, Multi-National Force Iraq and Senior British Military Representative, Iraq... A fab job title if you ask me, totally worth having memorised). When he came back, he joined in with Club Class, becoming a director along with Shaun.

In 2010, Shaun was diagnosed with cancer of the tonsil. He was given 3 three months to live! He managed three years, a pretty impressive feat in and of itself. However, he managed to achieve a lot! As well as doing as much work with Club Class when he could, Shaun organised the CCT Charity Rally. 

In September 2012,  seven teams (including myself and my sister) set off for Gibraltar. Driving there and back helped us to raise over £10000 for The Christie and SAMM. He also organised a charity ball and "Witton Fest" to help add to the total. Pretty impressive, really.

This morning, all Club Class drivers, along with other taxi drivers from Northwich and the surrounding areas followed the yellow cab (an NYC cab Shaun for hold of) in a convoy around Northwich. We then headed up the bypass to Lostock Green and followed the Hearse up to the church in Knutsford where the funeral service was held. It was a very fitting send off, and was amazing to be part of.

The church was packed. In fact, not everyone could get in! There were so many people it was a fire hazard. It really does say it all about how loved Shaun was.

Farewell, Alpha 1.

EDIT: Here is a link to the Northwich Guardian article about Shaun. We only made the front page!!! http://www.northwichguardian.co.uk/news/10597234.Northwich_says_farewell_to_Shaun/?ref=ec

Rose Gardens!

Kate, M and I have had a lovely day today! After a lie in (and a trip to the dentist), we had lunch at a farm shop café, then a couple of hours in the playbarn there. We then went off to choose a rose for H (who was at work), as she wanted one as a gift for someone.

We spent about forty minutes in the rose gardens! They were lovely, and Maia had a lovely time leading the way. It was the perfect place for such a sunny day.

I am trialling contact lenses at the moment. They are actually pretty useful, as I can wear non prescription sunglasses and don't have to keep switching glasses when the sun goes in. I think I'm going to stick with them!

Days

When I was writing my final 30 Day Snap post just now, I mentioned the fact that I looked like a pirate. I proceeded to Google "me hearties," just because. I discovered that the 19th of September is Talk Like a Pirate Day. I think I was already vaguely aware that this was a thing, but I was excited about in nonetheless.

I decided to go and find some more good 'days.' I found that yesterday (30th of June) was Log Cabin Day, while tomorrow (2nd of July) will be I Forgot Day. Let's hope that people remember what day it is! Today is Canada Day, but that didn't seem particularly entertaining. July is Ice Cream Month, a pretty decent piece of information if you ask me.

I actually once created an official day myself. Bully Anna Day was on the 8th of every month. There was an alarm on my phone and everything! I even made a Facebook page for it. Facebook says that if I create any more offensive/threatening content then my account will be suspended and I will be permanently banned (this wasn't my first offense, I admit. However, I would point out that I have never done anything malicious. Anna was and is one of my best friends... I would rip out my own teeth and use them as suppositories before I did anything that would cause her any upset/harm).

A few of my favourite 'Days' are:

1. 08/01 - Earth's Rotation Day. Umm, I'm pretty sure that this is EVERY day.
2. 11/01 - Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day. Will be celebrating this with enthusiasm next January!
3. 22/01 - Answer Your Cat's Questions Day. One of my cats only has three legs. I'm pretty sure if he could ask me a question it would be to do with that. My other cat would ask for her tummy to be rubbed. Kerry's cat would undoubtedly ask me if I would go away. Zippy isn't my biggest fan.
4. 17/02 - My Way Day. This could never work, but if it could... This would be my favourite by far!
5. 10/07 - Don't Step on a Bee Day. But go ahead with that the rest of the time!
6. 28/08 - Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day.
7. 19/11 - Have a Bad Day Day. I won't be celebrating this one. I just liked the sound of "Day Day."

30 Day Snap - Photos that didn't make it!

Well, as I've finished the 30 Day Snap. I thought I'd post some of the pictures that very nearly made it in, but didn't quite!

This was from the one time I let someone else chose which photo to use. Maia picked one which is very, very similar but I must admit that I actually far prefer this!

Maia's core strength surprised me here! I'll be honest, this didn't make it for two reasons. One was that it is a portrait orientated photo which wouldn't have matched the others. The second is that I really wanted to use a photo of Maia 'doing jobs' in the pub so that I could use The Bitter End as a post title. I didn't even manage that in the end as I shoved the photo of Maia on the bar into a post with a couple of others.

This is a lovely photo, but it was beaten out by the one of Maia in a window of the Disney castle! I had a very hard time choosing!

The Disney photos were definitely the hardest to chose from. I went for one where I hadn't been making her pose in the end. I really wanted to get one like that on the merry-go-round, but she was insisting on posing for me so I went along with it as she had frequently refused to smile nicely for photos that day.

If only we hadn't taken the Poohsticks photos, this would have been a dead cert! However, the charm of Winnie the Pooh always wins as far as I'm concerned.

Kerry and Anna looking lovely. I should have used this one... But I didn't. Never mind. This photo was what made me do this whole post, because I love it and wanted to post it.

30 Day Snap #29 #30 - Challenge completed!

I have had fun doing this! I think I am going to get a photo book printed.

#29 - Arrrrrrr, Harry Potter, me hearties.

I look like a pirate in photos (yes, Kerry, I do), because when I smile one eye goes smaller than the other. This is definitely true of this one.

#30 - Happy Birthday Anna!

Anna is one of my school friends, and certainly one of my very best friends. To celebrate her having left her teenage years behind and become an old woman of twenty (while I am still a youthful nineteen), her parents had a BBQ. The cocktails were easier to come by than the meat most of the time! It was a good afternoon/evening.

30 Day Snap #20 #21 #22 #23 #24 #25 #26 #27 #28 - Massive catch up!

Well I'm an idiot! I left my laptop in Winchester last Saturday, so I haven't been able to upload any photos. I have been here there and everywhere, so I'm not actually sure that I would have had to chance to upload these even if I'd had my laptop!

#20 - Off on a boat!

#21 - Back to Blighty

Granted this isn't the best photo of Harriet that the world has ever seen, but it does do the job of summing up our journey back!

#22 - Helen's 21st

#23 - Granny and Grampa's golden wedding anniversary!

Not the best photo in the world! My camera was misbehaving for some reason, and everything came out blurry. I think this might have been the only time that Kate, Will, Owly, Mummy, Daddy and I have all been in a photo together!

#24 - Kerry! (Again).

#25 - Poohsticks

#26 - Near photo emergency!

Having spent the day celebrating the birthday of a school friend, I was kicking myself when I got back to Harriet's and realised I hadn't taken a photo! However, I reverted to type and got a picture of Maia. Phew.

#27 - Rain, rain, go away!

Okay... I had another photo emergency. I didn't think I could get away with two photos of Maia sleeping (especially in a row), so I went outside with her umbrella.

#28 - AARGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!

Today, Kate and William got the train to Wolves and we all drove down to Winchester for lunch so that I could get my laptop. The two and a half hour drive took three hours. We were there for about an hour before leaving again. I drove Kate and Will home to Cheshire, it took five hours. FIVE. I then drive over to Kerry's parent's house so I could lend her my sat nav before coming back down to Harriet's house. That was about 10 hours of driving in total! Argh.

30 Day Snap #17 #18 #19 - DISNEY!

I'll be honest, I had a moment today when I thought I'd let myself down by forgetting to take photos for three days. I then remembered that I've barely put the camera down and that the only problem is how to choose which photos to use from Disneyland! They are all pretty lovely. The second one was the hardest to pick, but I decided to go for one that wasn't posed, just to ring the changes! The last one finally has my face in it! It's about time I made an appearance.

#17 - Exploring Disneyland

#18 - Hardcore day at Disney!

I really struggled choosing this photo! There were a lot of them, and it was a bit of a toss up between this and a merry-go-round photo. In the end I decided that this was better as it is more natural!

#19 - It's A Small World!

Finally my face has made an appearance! It is about time really. This was taken on our second go on It's A Small World, which was one of Maia's favourite things.

30 Day Snap #14 #15 #16

I'm very behind with these posts, but I have been taking the photos... So here's a catching up post!

#14 Colouring with Auntie Gina!

#15 The Bitter End

Maia spent the morning "doing jobs" in our uncle's pub! To be honest, I was a little disappointed not to have ended up there on the last day of June as The Bitter End would have made a great post title for the last of these photos!

#16 Frozen frubes!

30 Day Snap #13 - Off to Paris!

Harriet, Maia and I are in Paris! H was going anyway for work, and M and I have tagged along with her. We got chauffeured to St Pancreas this morning and from Gare du Nord this afternoon, as well as being lucky enough to be staffing in a pretty fab hotel - I'm enjoying this corporate malarkey!

I entertained M and myself during the wait for the train with the first chapter of Alice in Wonderland, which we are both enjoying. She is very pleased with her passport - hence the photo - especially since she actually got a stamp in it today. It wasn't strictly necessary, but it was sweet of the border control guy to make it a little more interesting for her!

Queuing

I HATE queuing. I really can't stand it. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer queues to a random free-for-all and I despise queue jumpers. It's just that I really really dislike standing in a queue.

In communist Moscow (exactly when escapes me... At some point after 1917 (obviously) but before 1935 I THINK), upon seeing a queue people would blindly join them and wait with everyone else as the common assumption was that there would be something good at the end of the queue. I think I would hate that even more.

I'm very impatient, and hate waiting for things. I hate the anticipation that builds up, and as a result of these things I also don't really like surprises! It's pretty clear why I dislike queueing so much - I certainly couldn't cope with queueing for some unknown reward.

I also have a deep dislike for waiting rooms. The instant I am told told to wait for something, I become incredibly bored. Time drags on indefinitely. This is especially annoying, I find, when in an airport or train station. Not only is there waiting involved, but after the wait you have to get into a queue. Arrrggghhhhhh!

I am currently sat on the Eurostar, on the way to Paris. I'm not happy. I DEFINITELY need to work on the ol' patience! I also need to remember, when in a situation involving queueing that I am jolly lucky that I have a standard of living that doesn't necessitate standing in random queues just in case there is some something good at the end of it.

30 Day Snap #12 - Rain.

I'm rocking the boat a little here, and using a photo of something other than Maia! We have been looking after Poppy for the last few days, but she has gone now. M and I were stood in the doorway avoiding the rain while playing with her this afternoon.

It'll be an early start tomorrow - we're off to Paris! Woop woop!

30 Day Snap #11 - Bike ride (or not!).

Maia and I set off with the dog again after school to go and post another letter (to my brothers. She had done a drawing for them at school). She thought at first that she wanted to go on her bike, so we set off and all was good. She changed her mind all of three minutes after leaving, so I was glad I got this photo quickly!

She ended up riding on my shoulders all the way while I was also holding the dog. This was okay until we got to the post box and I discovered that my hair had become impossibly tangled up in her coat buttons. It took a lot of faffing about to get it all out. To make matters worse, we discovered that Maia had forgotten to put the letter into her bag along with the ridiculous (and unnecessary) number of stickers she had taken along "just in case." I persuaded her that it was okay, and we are planning on venturing out to the post box again tomorrow.

30 Day Snap #10 - Letter posting!

Woop! I'm finally back on track with my daily photo posts! I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up with it while I'm in Paris but I'll do my best.

Maia came out of school today with a picture she'd done for my sister and asked if she could post it to her with a note. When we got home, we got out all necessary letter-writing equipment including lots of stickers! While Maia wrote to Kate, I decided to do a quick letter for Kerry as well. Lucky Kerry ended up with a "Hello!" from Maia as well. M has never actually met Kerry, but seems to hold her in extremely high regard.

We are dog sitting at the moment so after we'd finished writing, we took Poppy the dog off on a walk over to the post box. Maia actually chose which photo I should use today, as I couldn't!

30 Day Snap #9 - Busy Sunday!

Today was considerably less relaxing than yesterday! Harriet had a voucher which meant that were we to spend £50 at Sainsbury's today we would get 12p/l off petrol, which is too good to miss really. Because of two events in the local area we got stuck in the most ridiculous traffic. Resulting escapades included reversing down roads to get out of queues. Once we actually got to Sainsbury's, spending the £50 was tricky as we are going to Paris next week and so we don't want to leave the house full of food! We ended up with a LOT of Diet Coke, drain cleaner and loo roll, and got quite a few odd looks.

We then had to peg it over to get Maia in order to take her to a birthday party, at which point we realised we had forgotten to eat or drink. After a sandwich and a game of "Chase Lucy" for the children we headed BACK to Sainsbury's and ended up getting fuel in both of our cars (this is a good point to note actually - up to 100 litres, Sainsbury's will allow you to use money off vouchers on a number of cars' worth of fuel! Tesco's, however, do not) for £1.19p/l, which we we pretty pleased with really.

We headed back to the party for another 40 minutes of "Chase Lucy," which in my opinion is one of the worst games ever. The children seem to enjoy it though. There's something dangerous about being between the ages of 16 to 23 when around small children, they stick to you like magnets and think you are wonderful. It's good for the ego boost but very tiring! I remember being a massive pest myself at times, so I suppose I should do my bit for them.

We ended the day with sausages in the garden. Another friend of Harriet's had come over with her children to drop off her dog who we are taking care of for a few days so we had the paddling pool out again!

It was all very hectic but a lot of fun!

30 Day Snap #8 - SingStar and champagne.

I was going to post this yesterday, but by the time we actually got home it was 2am and therefore already today. Maia was at her father's house this weekend, so Harriet and I got to relax a bit. After a hard day of going to the cinema and watching US crime drama, we headed over to her friend Jo's for champagne and SingStar! All in all, in was a pretty damn good Saturday!

30 Day Snap #7 - Paddling pool!

Yesterday's photo - I didn't have a spare moment to upload it, irritatingly! Since the new kitchen was put in, Harriet's outside tap doesn't work, which meant that I had to fill Maia's paddling pool by lugging endless buckets of water outside from the kitchen! It actually took fewer trips than I had anticipated and fortunately Maia decided that she was happy with it at only a third full. 

A continuation of "Kerry!".

I often pick up little phrases and overuse them massively. Anyone will attest to this! One of my current things is "I do not recommend," followed by whatever daft thing I've just done. Things that I have not recommended recently include driving on the M27, pruning roses with a short sleeved top, sticking your hand in boiling water and trying to do a hill start in fifth gear.

Yesterday,  I had to drive an hour north of Harriet's house near Wolves to where my parents live in Cheshire. My dad owns a taxi company, and there is a car-fixing-type-place at the bottom of the yard which Club Class uses. I also use it as they will look after my car for free, and charge parts to Club Class. Because my car is leaking at the moment, I wanted to get the guys to look at it - hence the trip (as a quick side note, after we'd poured a lot of water over it for the sake of diagnostics we came to the conclusion that I should just avoid the rain). Because I was already halfway there, in the afternoon I drove up to see Kerry in Lancaster.

To deviate from the norm... I totally DO recommend driving a long way just to see your best friend for a few hours! I had the best time with her; it had been an insanely long time since we'd seen one another. I had been out for lunch with my mum at a local ice cream farm while my car was in the workshop, so I came armed with Malteaser flavoured ice cream to treat her along with a few other bits and bobs.

After a bit of shopping/browsing, we hopped, skipped and jumped (actually, I drove) over to Morecambe to hit the beach! The weather was amazing, the surroundings were beautiful and the company was the best I could ask for. We had a cup of tea and then headed off back to Lancaster to get food from my favourite place and then ate in her flat before I headed off. I was only with her for about four and a half hours, but I had a pretty fabulous time!

It was so worth the petrol and the extra driving to see my best friend. I drove back down to Harriet's with a big smile on my face. I'm very lucky to have Kerry, and I'm glad I made the effort to go and see her when I really needn't have. Driving a long way for a short time seems daft really, but I had a very happy and carefree few hours, spent in beautiful surroundings! I repeat - I really, really DO recommend going to visit people, even if you have to drive a long way and only get a short time with them!!

It's also nice that - finally - one of the stupid things I've done turned our not to be so daft after all.

30 Day Snap #6 - Farmers' Market!

I've always thought it a little odd, given it's London location, that my university has a farmers' market every Thursday during the academic year. However, they sell yummy food so I'm not about to complain! I was in London today as I had a meeting with my tutor about my dissertation, and it happened to coincide with the last market of the year which suited me nicely! I arrived a bit early so I got some food and wandered down the canal for a bit (like the farmers' market, the canal also seems a little out of place in East London. It's a very nice random green space though!).

I was rather disappointed that the range of stalls was somewhat diminished in comparison to usual. My favourite sausage people weren't there! My last exam also fell on a Thursday, which meant I could treat myself after the horror that THAT had been. They usually sell really nice spicy sausages but had on this occasion run out! I had to go for bog standard instead and relayed my disappointment to the guy selling them! He also sells the sausages raw, for the insane price of £6 for 4 of them... He gave me a pack for free! I was very pleased with this, it made my day. The sausages came in handy in the end - I ate them with my friend Jess a couple of days later, the morning after we'd been out in Manchester celebrating.

30 Day Snap #5 - Kerry!

I went up to Lancaster today, to see Kerry; I was halfway up anyway and I've missed her like CRAZY so I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to go! We went shopping and then to the beach to spend some well-earned time in the sun, and decided that friendship bracelets would be a totally appropriate thing to buy each other. We had to totally rearrange our jewellery for this photo as I have all sorts of junk on my wrists, and she has a bracelet that hasn't come off in three years on one wrist! My hand is the one on the right, and Kerry's (shockingly) is the one on the left!

30 Day Snap #4 - Flowers!

We've been spending a lot of time in the garden since the sun has come out. Maia is absolutely LOVING all of the flowers! She (with permission) picked these after we had done her homework this evening and Harriet popped them into a vase for her.

30 Day Snap #3 - Homework!

Maia and I were running rather late with her reading this afternoon. This was almost entirely my fault. I had been caught up at the bank and post office and so was later than usual in picking her up from school. In the end, it was lovely when I arrived; the after school club were playing outside and she ran towards me with a massive smile looking delighted to see me, shouting "Lucy, Lucy, Lucy!" It was a really nice greeting.

On our way home, we somehow got onto the subject of intelligent trees. I pointed out that the trees in Narnia are clever trees, and she told me that she'd never heard about Narnia. I ended up telling her an abridged version of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. This took a lot longer than I had anticipated and is the main reason that we were so very late in doing her homework.

I love The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. I suggested to Maia that I read her the book, as she had enjoyed my short version so much. When Harriet got home, I asked her to get it on her Kindle. I have just finished reading the first few chapters to Maia as her bedtime story and she is completely enthralled with it. I love sharing my favourite things (books, songs and films, mainly) with her, and I'm so glad that she's getting the same enjoyment out of this as I am.

30 Day Snap #2 - Sunday in the garden.

This photo is of my wonderful granny with her mother - my 107-year-old great granny! I have been helping in the garden this morning, climbing ladders, tying up and pruning roses and generally tidying up under careful supervision from Granny. Paw (which is the name we use to refer to my great grandmother) came to sit outside in the sun with us, and decided that the garden looked so pretty we had to have a picture! I must say, I totally agree and jumped on the suggestion as I thought it'd be a great chance to get today's photo. I'm very pleased with this one!

Letter writing!

I enjoy writing letters. I think there is something really very nice about putting pen to paper. It seems a lot more personal than electronic communication. I sent Kerry a letter yesterday using my last London 2012 stamp. I said to her later on the phone that I thought I maybe should have kept it, but never mind! Along with her parents, Kerry is definitely the main victim of my love for letter-writing!

I think that the bit of effort involved in writing and posting a letter contributes to it being a 'nicer' way to talk to people. Granted I rarely put any of information of substance in letters that will not be repeated on the phone, but I think that it's a good way to let people that you appreciate them! Let's face it, everybody likes to get something in the post! It has to be better to get a letter than the latest Dominoes leaflet.

There is also the fact that in comparison to when I was in school, I don't write very much at all any more. University work has to be typed up, which I'm not a fan of as I can 'think' better when hand writing something! However, as time has gone by I've got used to using my laptop a lot more, and getting my pen out can sometimes feel a little novel if truth be told - and boy do I like novelties!

I meant to buy a postcard today. I did find some, but none of them really jumped out at me. Additionally, I decided that I'm not so sure about postcards any more; there isn't any space to ramble! Of course, the people who receive all of this rubbish from me could potentially be pretty grateful for that! I have, however, promised to send a postcard, and send a postcard I will. I'll get hold of one tomorrow somehow.

The 2012 stamp also happened to be my last first class stamp. I do have a book of second class stamps in my purse, but regardless I bought some more first class while I was in Southampton today. Clearly my love of writing is in conflict with how used I am to the instantaneous nature of more modern forms of communication! I am too impatient to use a second class stamp. Maybe that needs fixing...

Anyway, given that there is a lot more cost, effort and time involved in sending letters, it seems that the information conveyed should be more interesting and relevant in them. I'm not sure that actually works though. I once posted Beth a drawing I had done of a meerkat.

This isn't really going anywhere, it's just thoughts. Oh well.

30 Day Snap #1 - The sun is back!

I am absolutely delighted that the sun has made a reappearance! Harriet, Maia and I are staying in Winchester this weekend, with my grandparents. I ventured out today to go and see my friend Helen, who lives near Southampton and had a fabulous time with her! We had a pretty successful shopping trip and a it was lovely to catch up with my oldest friend.

This photo was taken this morning, just before I left. Maia and I had just been for a walk in the sun with ice creams, and were playing in the garden with her new windmill. I think it is lovely that such a simple thing can be such fun. The sun really does have a funny way of making everything seem better!

House Rules by Lucy and Anu (and Tom).

We never actually got a house together. These were written a long time ago. I found them when I was sorting out the bit pile of rubbish from my first year at uni.

1. Must have a permanent stock of junk food and tea bags.
2. Getting drunk at least once per fortnight is mandatory.
3. If you don't knock first, you can't make fun of what you see in other people's rooms.
4. NO SMELLY FARTS!
5. Guests must be awesome.
6. Textbooks must be shared.
7. Washing up must be done before new species evolve in the dishes!
8. A good level of personal hygiene must be maintained.
9. Tom must have lots of practical jokes played on him.
10. Must always have emergency chocolate (for coursework deadlines).
11. Everyone must watch Dr Who.
12. No intra-house bitching. Lots of bitching about outsiders.
13. Lucy isn't allowed to go to Cheshire more than once every two months.
14. (by Tom) Anu must sleep outside.