Thank goodness this one is over

and YES I do mean the year.

2007 has been spectacularly bad for us so I'll be heartily pleased when Big Ben rings in the new one.

In January I lost my Mother after a short illness. I too was very ill and at the end of that month I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. WH gave evidence in a murder trial the same week.

In February we started to try and buy another house, we finally got the key in late June. I started the Lyme treatment and was ill for weeks.

In March we were entirely taken up with estate agents, solictors and sorting out my Mother's estate.

In April we were still having hassle from estate agents and solicitors.

In May we met the customer from hell.

In June we went to Greece and landed in forest fires and temperatures of 47 degrees C. We spent most of our time there on the phone to structural engineers due to problems with an ongoing project here. The police also rang whilst we were half way up a mountain asking about yet another murder.

In July I lost my second 'mother' after a sudden illness.

In August all the shows I usually attend in the summer were cancelled because of bad weather. I developed a hernia.

In September I had even more problems with my foot which had started in July, by now I could barely walk. The customer from hell continued to give us grief.

In October my foot burst open and 3 large pieces of wood were extracted. I had a hernia operation and was grounded for 2 weeks.

In November our labourer disappeared and left us stranded the busiest week of the new build.

In December the weather was so bad we are are 4 weeks behind with the build and then WH developed the flu and has been ill ever since. WH seems to have a stalker too.

Amongst this there have been a few bright moments, we have a new Grandson born in June, we saw Hayseed Dixie several times and met several other Outhousers and above all I have been continuously sustained by a few close friends and family members who are always there for me no matter what.

As we go forward to 2008 these are the things I want to take with me, the hopes, the plans and the realisation that nothing should be quite so bad again. As for 2007, you can forget it.

Interlude

Christmas was, well, like Christmas always is, too much of everything. Now we both have bugs, a heavy cold in my case, the flu in his and of course man-flu is always so much worse.

So excuse me a short while as I rush back to the bedside and play nurse.

I may be some time.

Tis the season to be jolly

Wow, what a week!

Now all I have to do is recover in time for the big day. We had 2 nights running socialising, a couple of BIG shopping trips, a recycle bin full of cardboard from all the deliveries of stuff I bought on the net and I now have 2 rooms half full of wrapped prezzies after a marathon wrap fest which had the upper floor looking like a training ground for Santa's elves. Half my kitchen has decamped into the garden in large sealed plastic boxes and all because we have 9 people for Christmas day. In this shoe box. I hesitate to say of course that we should have been round the corner in the new house and with a LOT MORE SPACE.

Today, I have mince pies to make and a cake to ice. Easy peasy, I thought until I realised that I have to retrieve the mixer from under a ton of 'decluttered' junk in the understairs cupboard. I'm trying frantically to do all the prep today so I can spend tomorrow in a social whirl of present delivering (and hopefully receiving) and celebrating the 'Depressed Painter's' birthday with a long boozy lunch a trois.

Once the main event is over, we await the New Year and dare not make a mess before January 1st when we will have to spend the day removing all the signs of festivities and declutter yet again for lo and behold, on the Second of Jan, we have a house viewing.

Fingers crossed it will herald the start of a much better year then this, which I for one will not be sorry to see the back of.

I've heard it all now.

Just read this.

I know that was in the US but the same sort of thing is happening here too.

God help them when they become parents, What they already are? you say.

Quite possibly. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Christmas is a-coming

And thoughts turn to getting all those difficult presents sorted out. Actually as my family are abroad we use the Amazon wish lists so at least we can send something wanted. That's for the people who do their wish list in time. The Muso of course has his mind on other things so hasn't bothered yet. It's a brilliant system and I like it much better than just sending a cheque or money order or even boring clothing in the mail, plus you get to see what people want.

My own wishlist is a mix of must read books, odd ball music and the purely mundane but a pain to find (a mixer cover for goodness sake?) with a sprinkling of the purely frivolous, jewellery, ice cream maker (for the twice a year I might fancy actually making some) etc etc. It will be nice if some of the frivolous stuff gets given to me, after all the point of a present, I always think, is that it must be something the recipient would not HAVE to buy for themselves.

So far I have done all my wishlist purchasing and am on taget for an early finish. As for Muso, if he doesn't get his list in quick it will be back to socks or even worse, underwear. You have been warned.

EDIT

Wow, within an hour of posting this I received the list. Someone's ears must have been burning!

It's official, No covers

Cooking Vinyl have announced the release date for Hayseed Dixie's next album, No Covers for 18th Feb 2008. Guess what WH is getting for his birthday? Sounds a blast, I can't wait.

Meanwhile to set the scene for this feast of totally original material, have a listen to this. If this doesn't get you jumping then duh....nothing will.

Bird Fest

I don't usually see a Siskin in my garden until January, this year there are already several competing with the Blue Tits for the best bits of my feeders.

The mornings now are a regular squawking session. Today I counted Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Great Tits, Siskins, a Chaffinch, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, a Robin, Starlings, a Wren, a Blackbird and House Sparrows all jockeying for position. Only the Golfinches like the Niger seed however and then only one of the two feeders seeing as these are indentical I'm baffled as to what the difference is.

A big hit has been the string of feedstuffs I bought in the local dicsount supermarket consisting of alternate fat balls and peanut feeders along an 800mm length of plastic netting. I hung this from my red maple and it's cute to see a chain of diminutive Blue Tits all busily pecking away.

I'm hoping this mildish weather continues as I'ts a great sight to watch so many little visitors.

PS. For some spectacular photos of owls go and look at Graham Catley's site. As always superb pictures of some rare and some not so rare birds.