Happy St.Andrew's Day

Today here in Scotland it is St. Andrew's Day. St.Andrew being the patron saint of Scotland,the X-shaped cross he is said to have been crucified upon is represented in Scotland's national flag, the Saltire.

St.Andrew's Day hasn't been greatly celebrated en masse in Scotland in the past but it seems that is beginning to change. Since 2006 St.Andrew's Day has been declared a national holiday and with the Scottish National Party presiding over Scotland's devolved parliament it seems 'Scottish pride' is on the increase.

Heritage organisation 'Historic Scotland' allowed free entry to many of their sites over the weekend including tourists favourite Edinburgh Castle and the very scenic Urquhart Castle (on the banks of Loch Ness, which we visited last summer).

There has also been many marches, ceilidhs and concerts taking place all over the country.

However, I'm too tired after our own little shindig last night to don my kilt and do a Highland Fling for you all (we sang and drank til a little after 3am..I just don't have it in me anymore).

Today also sees the last day of NaBloPoMo...I did it!!! Yes, I managed to post every single day throughout November..I'm 'fair chuffed' (very happy). It really has spurred me on to blog more frequently and although there have been times when I've struggled to string a few words together it has been quite an enjoyable task. Now, however I'm taking some time out but vow to make a post at least twice a week from here on in.

Thanks for reading and congrats to my fellow NaBloPoMo bloggers!!!

Food and Drinks

Please forgive this very brief post but needs must. I am just home from an evening out. 15 of us went out to a nearby restaurant to celebrate Gavin's step-dad's birthday. Everyone had a great feed, a few drinks and a lot of laughs and so the party is continuing at our place as I type.

The Playstation 3 has been set up in the livingroom ready for a round of Singstar so a good sing song will be enjoyed by all (hopefully). We were wise enough to warn the neighbours just incase they mistook our dulcet tones for cats being slowly strangled!

I have had a few half pints of Belhaven Best..'half pint for a half pint' such as myself! Having a tipple is a rare occurrence for me these days..my alcohol tolerance is not what it was in my younger days, getting up in the mornings is hard enough with having a hang-over to deal with!

Well I must get back to the 'party'!

Bournemouth & Monkeyworld

I'm looking forward to catching up with my knit pal Barbara at this weeks Loving Hands meet up, the past few meetings have been ever so quiet without her! She has been away visiting her native Bournemouth, a lovely seaside town on the south coast of England.

Gavin and I (and G's sister J) took a trip down to Bournemouth a few years back..2005 if I remember correctly(which of course ,I do).

We took a flight from Edinburgh to Southampton then a rail link to Bournemouth itself before finally reaching our traditional seaside B&B (not quite Fawlty Towers but not far off it!). The B&B saw fit to situate itself at a top of one of the towns steepest hills, okay if you were at the top but a nightmare to scale if you were at the bottom!

We browsed around Bournemouth taking a walk along the beachfront past the brightly coloured beach huts and kids playing in the sand. We strolled through the Lower Gardens where we stopped for an ice cream (it was July..there was sun!!) and a ride on the tethered hot air balloon 'The Bournemouth Eye'.

Now I'm a scared of heights but I didn't want to miss out on this opportunity..and after we were in the air I managed to chill out just long enough to enjoy the view.
(does that look like a happy face to you?)


The main reason for our trip was a visit to Monkeyworld after watching the TV series 'Monkey Business'(which is filmed there) for many years with great interest.

Monkey World is an ape and monkey santuary set up in 1987 by the late Jim Cronin.
It was originally intended to provide a home for abused chimpanzees used by Spanish beach photographers, but is now home to many different species of primates.



Gavin had bought me an adoption pack for my favourite chimp Charlie as I'd followed his particular story closely on the show and it was great to see him at the park. Charlie’s history was traumatic. Formally a photographers prop, when he first arrived he was a drug addict, had a broken jaw, cataracts, and only four teeth. Often described by one of the keepers as 'the mad uncle' of his group, he is clearly at ease in his present setting but obviously at times still emotionally scarred by his past.



While we were at the park I was lucky enough to bump into Jim Cronin himself and he was very chatty and stopped for a photo.
Sadly he died of liver cancer in March 2007 but his wife continues to carry on the work of Monkeyworld.

27 Days Til....

Well people, I'm going to delight some of you but perhaps horrify a few others by telling you this piece of factual news....

...IT'S 27 DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS!!! (gasp!)

I can hardly take it in and I realise this may be a cliche but 'doesn't time fly'?

It doesn't seem so long ago we (here in Scotland) were waiting on summer..we waited and waited but it didn't come. Now its freezing out, winter can be a bitch sometimes.

Today I bought my Christmas cards. For years I have been professing that I will make my own but I never do..then rush out to the shops at the last gasp to pick up whatevers left on the shelves. So this year I got practical, faced facts I wouldn't get the time or inclination to potter about with glue and glitter. I bought some nice charity cards thinking I'd 'do my bit' for good causes. It was only when I opened and read the back of the cards I noticed just 10% of sales go to charity..not much is it?

Anyway after purchasing the festive cards I thought I'd better get them written before I put them 'someplace safe'. Someplace safe..ahh yes that infamous place that becomes so safe you forget where it is and can never find whatever it was you put there..arrghh, haha.

So all are written,stamped and addressed...and its not even December yet!!! (smug satisfaction).

P.S I hope my U.S friends had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Knitty

Non knitters out there may not quite understand, but knitting can be a dangerous hobby. This morning I woke up with a knitting needle in bed beside me..an accident waiting to happen? I wasn't even knitting in bed before I went to sleep, my bits and bobs just get EVERYWHERE!

Added to that my stash seems to be breeding and taking on a life of its own..these photos are to shame me and convince me:

I SHALL NOT BUY ANYMORE WOOL,

I SHALL NOT BUY ANYMORE WOOL,

I SHALL NOT BUY ANYMORE WOOL (..at least until after Christmas?).

This is just the overspill from a jam packed wardrobe..... what a mess huh? I'm hoping the shame will spur me into tidying up (I detect rolling of eyes and raising of eyebrows from the Mister as he reads this).

Knitting projects..I frogged Evangeline in

favour of a less time consuming wristwarmer

pattern Irish Hiking. Its done on 2 needles

so much less fiddley but the compromise

being its a bit less impressive. See for yourself..

I do love the way cables look so I'm going to find

some more patterns with a simple cable design.

After a bit more practise I want to be able to knit myself a 'Central Park Hoodie'.

I've had the yarn bought for ages but never the confidence to start such a big project.

Charity knitting..I knitted up a quickie pair of socks yesterday in a lovely bulky wool, Sidar 'Kool Kidz' chunky. It's a fab yarn to knit with and these kiddies socks will be sent to one of the Bulgarian orphanages supported by the Linda McDonald Foundation.

Meme Alert!!!

Throughout NaBloPoMo I was determined not to take the easy way out by doing memes/quizzes or just post You Tube videos..BUT..I've been tagged by fellow Loving Hands knitter Liz and it would be rude not respond. Well, wouldn't it?

The Rules:

1) Link to your tagger and list all these rules in your blog.

2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by including links to their blogs

4) Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

The Facts:

1)I'm addicted to crisps

2)When I little I though Elvis was a Shakin Stevens tribute act

3)I once touched Peter Andre's six-pack (when he still had one)

4)I weigh 6st 4lbs

5)When I was 18 I shaved my head.

6)My favourite movie star is Doris Day

7) I have 2 tattoos

Oh yeah now I've to tag others:

Liz Andy

Helen Alex

Sara Tangletale Sorry folks!!

Amsterdam

I love Amsterdam! It's been too long since my last visit. The photo above shows Gavin and I on our first ever holiday away together in 2002. It was early days, before we were living together and it was really special. Since then we have visited this city 9 times, our last trip being summer 2005 when the Sail event was taking place. That was one hot summer!

Unfortunately I can't take long haul journeys due to crappy lungs (my oxygen levels plummet!) so the hour flight between Edinburgh and Amsterdam has always been very convenient travel for me. We have stayed in a few great hotels, revisiting one a few times (possibly because of the massive breakfasts). We even took Gavin's mum across once for her first ever trip abroad and she was most enlightened by her walk through the Red Light District!

We did the whole culture vulture thang on our early trips, museums and galleries aplenty but

my favourite day out in A'dam is the zoo. Not only are the animals well cared for and facinating to watch but it is a beautiful place just to sit on a sunny day.

My only solace is that it is as cold in Amsterdam as it is here at the moment!

No Business Like Snow Business

In yesterdays post I happened to mention that my part of Fife had yet to get any snow, then low and behold at 4am I woke up to see this sight out my window-------->

I realise this is not the best photo but it was taken through the window and well at that time of morning I wasn't quite compus mentis.

12 hours later it's almost all away!

It is still very cold however with temperatures at around 0C. If only I had taken the time to knit myself more woolly garments! Ah well, maybe I can get cracking with the Harry Potter socks soon.

For TV addicts like myself there is a really interesting 6 part series on the BBC tonight called 'Survivors'.
'Britain is in the grip of a deadly flu virus, now spreading worldwide. When people die in their millions, a handful of survivors struggle to stay alive.'
Those intrigued but outwith the U.K look at BBC i-player

I am close to running out of steam with my daily blog postings as part of NaBloPoMo. I know many fellow bloggers have already ducked out but a few of us are still hanging in there. I'm a stubborn wee sod so I won't give in. Any words of encouragement will be most appreciated..yes I am whoring for comments!

Milk And Two Sugar Please!!!

I lay in bed til almost noon today..just being a lazy ass. The Mister was up and about but the dog joined me for a wee snuggle.

After finally getting showered and dressed I sat about reading emails, drinking tea and eating biscuits for most of the afternoon.

The mutt and I ventured out for a walk but just a quick dawdle to the end of the street..it was too damn chilly! There is no snow to speak of here yet but I heard there was a little flurry during the night. Other parts of Scotland are a total whiteout.

'I'm Dreaming Of A White Chrrristmas'

On the knitting front I made an attempt at giving Evangeline a go. I think I went wrong somewhere, perhaps missing one of the cable rows? It was probably not the best time to try a new pattern as I had one eye on the knitting and the other on X-Factor..doh!

I'm using an acrylic yarn as I want them to be machine washable and I desperately need to use up some of the stockpile spilling out my wardrobe. It is shades of purple which reminds me of heather or thistles..very patriotic!

Abba-ra Cadabra

I have a very sore throat..the reason for which will become clear as you read on...

I almost forgot todays post..I'm just making it in time. This NaBloPoMo thing is well past the halfway mark so I don't want to fall at the last fence.

I'd better explain. The reason for my late hour blog post and my ailing throat can be given in two words...SINGSTAR ABBA!!

Two words just isn't enough to describe it's wonderfulness however, so I must go on (and on, and on) about it. Its the new disc in the Sony Playstation Singstar series and it rocks! If you're not familiar with this set up (oh my god you are totally missing out!) its a kareoke type situation with lit up onscreen lyrics and microphone in hand.

I warbled my way through Abba classics 'Super Trouper', 'Knowing Me Knowing You' and 'Fernando' giving it, as we say in Scotland..'laldy'

Now it's time for bed...

...'Gimme, gimme, gimme..a man after midnight!!!

The Hills Are Alive....

When you've been away from home whether on holiday or just another day at work, is there a corner that you turn or a landmark that you pass that lets you know "I'm nearly there, I'm nearly home"?

You get that reassuring warmth like a security blanket just from the knowledge that home is near. The place where you can kick off your shoes, relax, do what you want. Or maybe it's back to the people that you love and a place brimming over with memories.

I get that feeling returning to my native homeland, a small village only 25 miles from where I live at present. Though I have outgrown it and its changed a lot since my childhood it's still 'home'. It's where my mum still lives, where I went to school and where all my memories of my late grandparents are situated.

My particular landmark is 'Falkland Hill' (or East Lomond), said to be an extinct volcano it towers 422m above the fields and roads of the area. From my childhood home you look onto it's view and now if I walk along my current street I get a mirror image. When I first moved to this unfamiliar town it comforted me to know my mum was just 'over the hill'.

This picture shows my brother and I around 1984 (he was too much of a little pussy to climb the gate) with Falkland Hill in the distance.

It may surprise you to know I have climbed to the top of the hill only once in 2003.. with the Mister, his sister, our niece and Patch the dog. It was a great personal achievement which I hope someday my little lungs will allow me to repeat.

Another Day Done..

I haven't much to say for myself today..don't worry it doesn't happen very often.

I got that much needed haircut but as per usual I am unconvinced by finished 'do'..hence no photos. I got about 3 and a half inches lopped off so I guess I just need a day or two and I will get used to it. The pros are it should no longer take an hour to wash and dry, and on windy days my hair will no longer stick to my lip gloss!!

This blog needs more photos however so I'm gonna take this opportunity to gratuitously post

some recent snapshots of my two favourite boys!

Cute huh?

My Day At 'Tots'

It's almost 10.30pm and I need my bed! I've had my bath, got my pj's on and have had a lovely supper of caramel shortbread and hot sweet tea. The reason for my fatigue? I took a 20 minute train ride today to visit a friend and her 2 lovely little children. The kids are aged 21 months and 4 months, beautiful little children but I don't know how my pal does it!! After one nappy change the other needs fed, then another nappy change and some formula to make up. Coping with this, two rounds of tears, baths and bedtimes..crikey!

I went along to 'tots' (a parent and toddler group held in their local church hall). It was a mass free for all..kids running riot everywhere but having the time of their lives. I spent a little time myself in the toy kitchen assisting my little pal to make 'cups of tea' and 'toast for daddy'. We all retreated to the cafe with milk and snacks for the kids and an opportunity for mums to share dreams of 'a day off'.

It's nice to get out for the day but ..ahhh it's ever so lovely to be home too.

*****
Today would also have been my Grandad's 81st birthday but he died far too early at the age of 58 in 1986. Love you and miss you still xx

Postcards From The Edge

Hey readers! (If indeed you are still out there). I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself today as I've a bummer of a sore head. It's lifted enough for me to check my emails and pop in here to do my daily post but I'm not quite my sing-song like self. Gavin is no doubt glad of the peace and quiet.

I did receive a postcard in the mail this morning which made me smile. Isn't it a joy to receive mail that isn't bills or junk mail (I get sooo much junk mail). The postcard is from Texas from someone called Andi (thanks Andi!). I get lots of postcards from people I don't know and from places all over the globe since I became a member of Postcrossing.com. So if you like to send postcards and receive them check the site out. It's nice to get a little cheer in postcard form and scenes from parts of the world I have yet to visit.

I'm no philatelist but I can't help being fascinated but the varied stamps from country to country. The most interesting one received recently is the fabulous Bette Davis stamp on a card from the U.S.

I send out some very Scottish stereotypical postcards with pipers, castles and highland cows aplenty. Though this is perhaps not a true representation of my area but they have yet to produce postcards showing bingo halls, streets full of dog crap, teenage mums with cigarettes in hand and the very scenic methadone queue on the local High Street. Bonnie Scotland!

Reality Is Killing Me

Somebody stop me! I am having reality TV overload..it's sinful. As I type I am half watching the first in the new series of 'I'm A Celebrity..Get Me Outta Here'. I think they use the term celebrity very loosely but, as much as I try to hate the desperado has-beens (or in some cases 'never will bes'..I mean you Carly Zucker) I keep watching. Earlier this evening I caught myself singing along to the music of the dance routines in Strictly Come Dancing and last night was my weekly fix of X-Factor.

Im a cynic..I pooh-pooh these shows..yet I continue to tune in..it's an illness, it must be.
Note to self: GET A LIFE!!

On a Sunday I like to write a to-do list for the week ahead. I'm a sucker for lists and I probably spend more time forming them than I do completing my intended tasks!!
This week is an easy week..I have a few letters to write, a friend to visit, Christmas cards to buy and a start to make on Xmas shopping for my Mister.
Then there's the 20 Teddies For Tragedy I said I'd complete! Ho hum.

Saturdays

"It's Saturday no school today so what you gonna do?"

(lyrics to kids TV show Wide Awake Club circa 1984)

Okay so its, what?..almost 15 years since I left school but do you remember the fantastic feeling of waking up on a Saturday morning knowing you didn't have to get ready for school? Saturdays meant my mum didn't roar up the stairs at the top of her voice "Are you up yet?" (on school days I'd either lean out my bed and tap the floor pretending to be up or I'd plead for 'just another five minutes'). Saturdays meant watching breakfast telly in your pyjamas with tea and toast. Saturdays meant playing all day or going to the shops with mum. Saturdays meant watching Gladiators with my little brother Mark then reenacting the show with pillows fights til someone cried (him not me!).

Later on as I reached teenage years Saturdays meant cadging money off your mum. Saturdays meant drinking cider down at the bandstand. Saturdays meant stalking boys far too old for us. Saturdays meant spewing on your Dr.Marten boots and sleeping on a pals floor.

My twenties? Saturdays meant getting up at 1pm, clubbing til 3am and kebabs on the way home.

Now in my mid 30's Saturdays mean a visit from the Mother- in-Law, Gavin cooking a yummy dinner, walking the dog and then later me sitting down to knit whilst watching X-Factor.

How times change?...now can I get back to my knitting please?

Children In Need

Today in the U.K it's Children In Need day. A charity telethon set up by the BBC in 1980 to raise funds for disabled and disadvantaged kids throughout the United Kingdom. Each year television actors, presenters and musicians 'do something different' to encourage the viewing public to part with our cash. Think parodys aplenty, newsreaders painfully trying to sing and joe public grinning as they get on screen with their oversized cheques. It can be cringy viewing but gets the money rolling in which goes to not one, but many good causes. At the end of last years telethon the total raised came to over £19 million.

The mascot for Children In Need is Pudsey the Bear. There is a knitting pattern for this cheery chap...perhaps I'll have a bash at it for next year.

On the knitty news..my Opal Harry Potter wool arrived today (I only ordered it on Wednesday!) so I am hoping to get started on some socks for myself sometime this weekend. I expect I will stick to the basic sock pattern as the self patterning wool speaks for itself.

Hair Today..Gone Tomorrow?

I'm having yet another bad hair day! It's high time I bit the bullet and made a hair appointment..something has to be done about my misbehaving barnet. Initially I thought I'd grow it longer but I think that was just an excuse not to have to get it cut. I have a bit of an aversion to hairdressers after one snipped my ear over 13 years ago..causing somewhat of a minor bloodbath!

Reflecting I realise over the years I've experienced many almost criminal 'hair dont's'..here are just a couple of examples..

Crime 1: circa1987..my mother permitted me to have a perm..yeh, thanks mum!!

Crime 2: 1991 Punk/Indie and Sinead O'Connor influences (look at those ears!)

Crime 3: 1997..grow it back and dye it black (K.D Lang out yer heart out!)

I have thick straight hair that seems to grow out the way as well as down. It's a family trait..we call it 'bouff-head'. My mum and brother have also suffered over the years.. hee hee.

Spellbound By Yarn

Just when I made a pact with myself to buy no more wool I find myself online 'browsing'. Next thing I am submitting my credit card detail and ooops...I've made a purchase!

Maybe I've been hypnotised?, bewitched?..a spell cast upon me? The yarn I bought certainly had some effect. The new Harry Potter colourways by Opal. I'm not a Potter fan as such but I love Opal sock wool and its clever self patterning ways. I just couldn't stand the thought of some other knitters having this wool and not me..HAD TO HAVE!!!

My cupboard is bursting with the contents of my as yet unknitted yarn stash, hence the 'NO WOOL RULE'. Many would agree that rules are meant to be broken.

I ordered from great online store Modern Knitting who I've used a few times and the service is very good with free p&p for all orders over £15.

"Where the Poppies Grow"

Today marks the 90th anniversary of the end of World War One. On the 11th of November 1918 at 11am the Allies and Germany signed the Armistice Treaty and the Great War was over.

I think through history lessons and movies most of us are familiar with the terrible conditions soldiers endured in trench warfare. As a teenager I went on a history trip with my high school and I visited the sites of the battlefields where so many died on Belgian soil.

The town of Ypres held a strategic position during WW1 because it stood in the path of Germany's planned sweep across the rest of Belgium and into France from the North .Moreover, the neutrality of Belgium was guaranteed by Britain and so Germany's invasion of Belgium brought the British Empire into the war.

War graves, both of the Allied side and the Central Powers, cover the landscape around Ypres. The largest are Langemark War Cemetary and Tyne Cot Commonwealth war cemetery.

The countryside around Ypres (Flanders fields) is featured in the famous poem by John McCrae, In Flanders Fields.

It is somewhere here that my Great, great uncle James.D.Robertson lost his life while serving his country. In 1990 I remember scouring the memorials and cemetery books for his name but with no luck. I didn't have enough information at the time but 18 years on perhaps it's time I did some research.

Too Tired To Tidy!!! (What's New?)

Today it is very cold and wind has been howling outside..needless to say I haven't strayed far.
I was woken this morning at 11am by my Mister, with a cup of tea (one of the reasons I love him). He had already been out, taken the bus to the town centre and done some shopping before coming back to rouse me from my slumber. This is where we differ greatly, he gets up and gets on with what needs to be done whilst I'm still wiping the sleep out my eyes.

I just can't seem to get going at all at the moment.

I'm just trying to stay warm and get enthused in knitting but even that's an effort. Maybe I need a break away from knitting the teddies for a bit (although I was hoping to do 20 but have only completed 5..with a good few more needing sewn up).



I am trying to knit socks as an Xmas gift, adapting the 2 needles kids sock pattern on Zibibbo's blog to fit an adult. I didn't have any suitable colours in chunky wool left so I am knitting 2 strands of double knitting (worsted) together to make thicker socks. I will post a pic later on if they come together as intended.



I opened my cupboard today that holds my stash and it all came tumbling out on top of me. Ahh well time for a clear out I think...grrr. I did find this lovely yarn I forgot I had..Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in the shade Redwood Forest. It was sent to me by my lovely swap partner a few months back and I was saving it to knit something for myself. I love the autumnal colours but unsure what to knit...any suggestions knitters out there?

'How Was It For You?'

Today in the U.K it is Remembrance Sunday where we pay tribute to all those who served and died in wars. Wreaths of poppies are laid at war memorials and a two minute silence takes place as a mark of respect. I am going to leave my tribute post until the 11th which marks the anniversary of the end of World War One in 1918.

**************

On a lighter note, the 9th of November marks a momentous day in history for me. 17 years ago in 1991 I attended my first concert. I can't believe it was that long ago.. I remember it so well

I went with around a dozen or so high school mates to see James at Edinburgh Playhouse. They were my favourite band at the time and they remain so today. I recall that we bought our tickets so far in advance that I had notes like '203 days til James gig' scrawled on my wall. The anticipation!

We were in the fifth row of the venue..so near yet so far away from the lead singer Tim Booth who I idolised completely. The concert was amazing everything I'd hoped and more. When they did their hit of the time 'Sit Down' the crowd went wild. I think I cried with sheer joy..I was 16!!

I bought a souvenir t-shirt with 'James:Edinburgh 1991' emblazoned on the back. It was about 4 sizes too big for me so it was never really wearable as such. It hangs in the wardrobe of my old bedroom at my mum's house to this day.

(Photo:Tim Booth circa 1991)

Since then I have been to see James only twice but on both occasions was lucky enough to meet the group and the very lovely Mr.Tim Booth. When they broke up in 2001 I was distraught. They reformed however in 2007 and I hope that I will get the chance to see them perform again in the not too distant future. (Photo: Tim Booth 2008)

Teddies,Teddies.. Everywhere

Time for a knitting update, methinks.

I am back knitting Teddies For Tragedy once again for my knit group Loving Hands. They will then collected up and sent on to a relevant charitable cause. This batch's intended destination is an orphanage in Kenya. It warms me to think each child will have their own personal possession..a teddy for them to love, a teddy that may comfort them and make them smile.

I have teddy carcases awaiting stuffing on almost every available surface of the front bedroom in which I sit. If you check out this photo you will notice a cheeky little dog under there somewhere!
I am aiming to do 20 of these little critters this time round. Fellow blogger Liz said she was going for a target of 30 teddies this time round (how you getting on, Liz?).

As I have mentioned in a previous post these teddies are a simple knit and roll quickly off the needles. So, all you knitters out there? I urge you..get your odd bits of yarn out and .............KNIT SOME BEARS!

Thanks Gavin!

Today marks the seven year anniversary of me and my Mister being a 'proper couple'.

Roll back to 7th November 2001 where a young (okay..younger) Gavin and Louise, having met 21 months previously have yet to define their relationship. After a few 'trysts' and far too many text messages to mention, a girl wants to know where she stands..right? Then it happened..he phoned..we talked..we decided to make a commitment. He was slightly drunk, she went slightly giddy but that was seven years ago and a lots happened since then.

I couldn't feel luckier..my man is one in a million! We just work, it's hard to explain. We are both very similar..strong willed, a bit sarcastic with a super silly,twisted sense of humour. Yes, we often clash but never for long.

He understands my disablity and is patient when I falter.

I put up with his technical obsessions and half hour rants about cables.

He puts up with my ever growing wool stash and my general clutter.

We both put up with the dog!

I love him so very much and thank him for every day of the last seven years.

He bought me the prettiest earrings..I bought him a chippy tea!

X Marks The Spot

My internet connection has been playing up...again! I did so want to write a very lovely, witty post earlier but couldn't get online..now alas, the mood has gone. Grr.

Today I had to go and vote for the first time since living in this area. A By-Election is taking place due to the death of the former MP of this constituency. I strolled down to the local community centre that was serving as the polling station and put my 'X' in the relevant box. The polls are now closed and the counting has no doubt begun.

Whether my chosen candidate wins I shall have to wait and see. There is a lot of pressure on Labour to win as this is Prime Minister Gordon Brown's home county. It has been said that if his 'local people' do not show faith in his party he may be forced to step down from his PM position.

I don't want to talk too much politics..I think we have all been inundated with election news recently. I was however pleased with the news of Barack Obama's Presidential success and hope for good future U.S/U.K relations. Getting rid of Bush can only have a positive affect, not only in The States but world-wide.

Another day almost over..my pjs are calling me and if there's beauty sleep to be had I need loads of it!! ZZzzzz!!

Patch

Sitting beside me is one of my two favourite boys. The human one is on his PS3 in the next room but Patch, my canine companion is snuggling up. Fireworks continue to go off outside but above the sounds of the TV blaring, washing machine gurgling and games console booming only dog ears can hear. He is a bit unsettled but reassurred by a soft soothing clap on his head every five minutes or so and closes his eyes once again.

It's been over 5 and a half years since we homed Patch..how time flies. He adopted him from a local dog home called Second Chance Kennels when he was around 18 months old. This was my first experience of choosing and owning a dog having previously been a cat person. The Mister had lost his gentile old dog a few years back (he'd had her for almost 18 years, it was a great loss), so what I didn't know about dogs I was sure he could teach me.

Then I made my first error of judgement..I thought wee dog meant wee problems! I did not know then what I know now. Jack Russells are big dogs in small bodies..strong and stubborn but thankfully also very loveable! It took a while for Patch to get used to us and a bit longer for us to get used to him but I just couldn't be without him now.

He has his funny little ways as we have ours. He is very affectionate but wary of strangers perhaps due to treatment from a previous owner, it's hard to say. Patch knows he is loved..I'm the soft one but Gavin is 'The Master' for sure. That dog will spurn me at a moments notice if Gavin is around and follows him everywhere, even sitting on the side of the bath while his master takes a dip. A sight to behold.