On holiday

WH is skiing this week. Rather him than me, I don't do cold. Lyme and Raynauds put paid to that. In an ideal world and if it were warm I would go, I'd love to see all that snow. I love snow but these days only on TV or through the window.

So while I have this brief respite I'm taking a week off too. No phone calls, no irate contractors/customers/suppliers moaning at me. The peace is palpable, you can almost eat it. It's lovely. The house looks sparkling thanks to my wonderful cleaner and what's more there is no red sand and concrete tramped in 10 minutes after she finished. I eat when I like, I watch what I like, (what is it with men and the remote? I guess that's one of those meaning of life questions)I even sit where I like, the cats having cleared off outside as pester power gets short shrift from me and they know it. All in all I'm having a lovely break. I've read 3 books, eaten cloves and cloves of garlic and found TV programmes I didn't know existed.

The peace will be shattered on Saturday when the wanderer returns, bringing with him a week's laundry and all the detritus of living out of a rucksack for a week.

You know what? I can't wait. Silence is golden but I do miss that all that noise.

Up to the roof

We have finally reached roof height on our extension. The bricklayer had 4 days left to do at the beginning of December and the weather has been so awful ever since it has taken until this week to get those 4 days of work done. Now the timbers are on and we are just waiting for the roofer to add the final layers. Then we can start on the inside, only 11 months since I first set foot in the house. WH is off for a much needed break this weekend, his annual skiing trip. I'm staying in the relative warm here.

Meanwhile this house is for sale and has been advertised once, with 2 viewings. It's being advertised again shortly but it looks like the weather is set to stay wet and floods surround our village. Sadly, not the sort of weather I would go house-hunting in.

Back on the case

Some extremely good news for the new year, Dr Crippen is alive and well and posting again. After rumours of his demise and a spoof obituary, John Crippen has surfaced again after his unscheduled autumn break and I for one am extremely pleased about it. His diagnosis of the NHS is spot on and the points he raises are the concerns of all of us, not just the chronically sick like me. As I have said countless times before, the NHS has done very little to help me over the last 16 years and my recovery and treatment are entirely due to the private sector.

I look forward to new ideas and ever more anger from the good doctor, it really is great to see him back.

The cat with his own overnight bag

Nelson is in love. He purrs, he is happy, he sleeps peacefully and he is calmer than he has ever been. His neurosis on the back burner for once. He spends a lot more time in the house now, to the annoyance of Misty who thinks that he rules the roost. Nelson has found a new permanant place to sit and cuddles up with the object of his affections, totally ignorning the ploys of his mad brother.

It all started about 6 weeks ago. I had ordered some Christmas stuff from a catalogue here on the internet. When the goods arrived they were accompanied by a 'wonderful free gift'. I examined the package. It was a small very tacky-looking, supposed 'overnight bag in faux suede'. Well overnight bag for a dwarf or a Barbie doll perhaps, it would just about contain a toothbrush and flannel. I tossed it on the floor with disdain until I could decide what to do with it. The bin seemed too good, maybe it could go into the next charity shop bag. I promptly forgot about it for 24 hours, being hidden from sight as it was under the dining table.

The next thing that happened was Nelson disappeared. One minute he was there, the next he wasn't. Then he seemed to keep appearing from nowhere. Finally my brain did a bit of joined up thinking: Nelson was under the table. Strange. On closer examination there he was having dragged the bag into the corner of the room underneath the floor lamp, and was happily seated on it purring loudly. Not something he does very often. When he finally moved the next morning I moved the bag en-route to the garage and the charity bag. Nelson shrieked and walked round in circles. He cried, he jumped up onto the arm of the sofa and looked into my eyes. He kept crying, real tears. I put the bag back again and on he leapt and rolled on it waving his legs into the air. He settled down again and, after breakfast, fell into a deep sleep.

So now I have a tatty, tacky hold-all under my dining table and one very happy, chilled-out cat. I presume the fabric is warm as it has a plastic lining and that the 'faux-suede' is soft to his paws. It can't be very comfortable, having two thick straps, a buckle and zip on it's top surface but Nelson loves it. After 5 years he has finally found a bed he loves and a peace which which has calmed us down too, life wasn't easy with a neurotic cat.

4 days later

and it's already 2008.

I am starting this year as I mean to go on. So far we have had a house viewing, a decluttering session with a vengeance, some early nights and the best news of all, the floor is down in my new kitchen! Yay!

I've also found time to read 2 books and my Christmas presents from my sis FINALLY arrived. Ordered on 11th December they got here yesterday. Wow, Amazon really excelled themselves! So now I have a new task ahead, Teach Yourself Greek. Seeing as I have been trying to get a local course for the last 5 years and no-one does anything like that out in the sticks here and when they tried it was canclled due to lack of interest this is the next best thing. Like all good resolutions I will begin in earnest. Actually I think I just found out the reason for the Amazon delay, I have been sent the Canadian/US version. Strange.

So things to look forward to in the next few weeks are:

Planning the new kitchen
Getting the roof on
Starting the new garden
Selling this house
Going to dinner with some very old friends
A whole week of me time whilst WH goes skiing
Another appointment with my lovely Lyme doc
Planning/ research for this year's Greece trips
Learning a little bit of Greek

It's a tough life isn't it?

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.

One week later

Whew, can't believe a whole week has gone by so fast.

A momentous day today as I have put my little box-type house on the market after 22 and a half years here. I said I would stay a couple of years and then find something bigger. Events always conspired to thwart it. Now however, the time has come and the deed is done. The first ad is due next week. Seems strange so close to Christmas but the HIPS fiasco has made it timely now and I get to save about £700 in the process.

Round the corner and the scaffolders have finally come so we can press on upwards again. A quick site meeting with WH confirms that we *should* have a roof on the extension by Christmas and on the kitchen by New Year. The weather continues to wage war on the brickies so the build is much slower than it would have been had we started on schedule in June. As it is we're not doing badly coming to the end of the seventh week, particularly as the building inspector doubled the size of the foundations at a stroke and delayed us a full week.

I wanted to be in for Christmas, Easter looks much more likely now!

Meatloaf and Barbecued cabbage

In recognition of yesterday's Thanksgiving celebrations I made an American style dinner last night, Meatloaf. A recipe given to me about 30 years ago which I adored but have not made in the last 20 for some reason. It seemed as good a time as any to resurrect it.

It was every bit as yummy as I remembered. WH loved it too although for the stated reason that it tasted like faggots! I served it with barbecued cabbage and mashed potatoes and the whole combo was divine although WH wasn't so keen on the cabbage which comes in a tomato laden sauce that is just perfect over the meatloaf.

They're both a cinch to make.

Meatloaf

500g minced beef
1 small onion very finely chopped
1 packet stuffing mix made up with water and allowed to cool
1 tablespoon brown sauce
1 large or 2 small eggs

Mix all ingredients together and push into a 2lb loaf tin well greased and lined with paper.

Barbecued Cabbage

Slice white cabbage into 30 cm wedges.

Place in a baking dish
Pour over a 400ml tin of chopped tomatoes mixed with 1 teaspoon made mustard, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon tomato puree and 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup.

Cover the dish with foil.

Place both dishes in the centre of a preheated oven and cook at 180 degrees C for 90 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes; comfort food at it's best.

Oh and the meatloaf is good cold too, just how WH likes faggots.

Happy Thanksgiving

Seeing as my real family lives across the pond, I wish all readers a Happy Thanksgiving and the realisation that it is only a few weeks now to our own bunfight on Christmas Day.

Help, it's about time I got myself organised.

The Wilder Network

A big hug and thanks to Terri for sending me the link for this brilliant Lyme Disease site, The Wilder Network. I can see already that it's going to take me ages to read all the info on there but it looks most comprehensive. My lovely doctor trained with one of the main names on there so I'm in good company I guess.

It's essential reading for anyone who lives in an area where deer ticks are prevalent. As you can see from the image they're not that big but boy do they cause some trouble if undetected. Get reading folks.

A forgotten way of life

© James Ravilious; Beaford Archive/CORBIS

Last night we watched the BBC4 programme on the life of James Ravilious, a little known Devon based photographer who spent 17 years of his life photographing rural Devon for the Beaford Archive. I first saw some of his work several years ago at an exhibition and have loved it ever since. The picture above I have as a print in my offfice.

James Ravilious trained in fine arts and it shows in his photos, they are superb as well as being a record of a farming way of life that has all but disappeared.

Have a look at these and enjoy them too.

Excitement, Excitement

In the cold of November I am already thinking about the spring and the news that Hayseed Dixie will be back touring in the UK in March is just what I wanted to hear. C'mon guys, update your website!

Oh, a little bird told me that the new album will be out just prior to that.

I'm warming up already.

My Virtual Family

Funny in this cyber world we live in we seem to get all sorts of friends and families around us. Yesterday I spent some time on my family tree, something I have not been able to do for months. I really enjoy genealogy and even 7 years down the line find new things to dig about in. Anyway I digress. I had been contacted by a chap who proves to be a very distant relative, we share the same Great Great Great Grandparents. We had an email conversation and he shared some information with me and I returned the favour. I get the feeling we will be in touch again. This has happened before and I have a small catalogue of distantly related people that I share stuff with occasionally.

I have also built a small but close group of people with whom I share symptoms and ailments. Originally I met these on a message board which supported people with similar diagnoses. The group evolved and moved elsewhere and then eventually split up. Some people I am still in contact with 6 years later, some I have met in real life, have spoken to on the phone and some remain a daily support and network, there in an instant when you need them and happy to be in the background when you don't. Notably when I had surgery recently these were the friends who sent cards, flowers and general cheer up messages unlike my local friends who stayed away.

My real family is spread thinly and wide. My closest relatives live in the USA and I see them rarely, a source of great disappointment to me as I have missed the best part of my nephew's and niece's formative years. I say the best part, because 2 weeks a year is nothing. The main reason for this is my inability to travel long distances. We go to Greece, sure, but a less than 4 hour flight is no comparison with an 8 hour, then change to another for an hour. I did this once 11 years ago and it almost killed me. When I arrived home it took me 6 weeks to recover. I was in bed solidly for 2 of those. Hence my reluctance to go again. The whole experience was made worse by my catching Parvo Virus whilst there and this affected my heart and then I got arthritis as well so the effects were devastating to say the least. Understandably I am loath to repeat that experience. My other close relative lives abroad too for most of the year and I see her almost as infrequently.

My lack of actual blood relatives was brought home to me recently when I underwent a General Anaesthetic and had to give the name of my next of kin. In the UK. I don't have one! WH may be my nearest and dearest be he's no next of kin. So I put him anyway. It did make me think maybe we ought to make this a more permanant arrangement after over 16 years together, somehow I don't think he's too keen.

Work in Progress

After weeks and weeks of destruction, things are starting to take shape. We are actually building, hence my being away from the internet and having to get out and do stuff. OK, OK, it's only delivering breakfasts, keeping the tea stocked up and fetching sundry parts and supplies but it's all in a good cause.

The top pic is of the rear extension and the other one is the living room, now without the kitchen sticking out and with the fab new glass doors which will eventually open onto the dining area and to another set of glass doors leading to the wonderful south facing rear garden. Already I just LOVE it. Not least for the sun which streams on the back of the house even on a cold November morning.

The best news of all? My fig tree is surviving and has loads of figs developing for next year. Roll on Summer.