Barking at the Moon

2003-08-23T09:40:00.000Z

I have moved, crossed over to the other side, defected. I feel a bit guilty because Blogger has been good to me, but I'm having loads of fun here.

2003-08-12T21:19:00.000Z

Just had a really nice barbeque with the in-laws. They're so nice, yes I may be a little drunk but generally we get on really well which is helpful as they live right next door. James' Dad and I are great naturists. Is that the right word! I mean that we're both into nature not nudity!! Anyway, after dinner we usually go on a bit of a safari to look for stuff. Tonight we caught some crayfish in the lake, vicious little buggers, and examined the new pond which had some very cute toads in it. I haven't quite mastered photographing the toads yet as it involves using flash and I haven't got the hang of that yet. I did catch some earlier in the year though when they were mating.

Ahh, toady love!

I'm totally into Harry Potter now. I know I'm a bit behind. Usually I like to watch the movie first otherwise I'm disappointed with the movie as it's never as good as I imagined in my head. But I can't wait any longer so I'm trying it the other way around. I don't think it's too different anyway. In this case the movie and the books are very close and I've already got the characters and voices in my head from the first 2 films. (That sounds like I take it way too seriously, OK maybe I do.) That reminds me I must get a copy of the 2 Towers and read that now. I know I should have read that years ago as well. It's funny because I read quite a lot and yet I haven't read much that's good. I guess I just read trash mostly. Must make an effort to choose my reading material more carefully.

2003-08-11T21:03:00.000Z

Well I've been busy as usual. There's been a lot going on in my little brain some of which I can tell you about!

We had a good barbeque at the weekend with my Welsh relations which was a bit like hard work in that heat but fun nonetheless.

Animal wise things have been quiet. The dog keeps getting sunburnt mainly because she is too stupid to lie in the shade and also because apparently sun screen tastes quite nice and she keeps licking it all off. The horse is also suffering in the heat especially with all the flies so he comes in during the day and goes out at night when it's cooler. We haven't done much jumping as it just seems like really hard work in this weather.

Myself, I love it as long as I can lounge about. I've been topping up my tan and acclimatising myself for our trip to Africa next month. I'm getting really excited about that now, only 3 more weeks of work to go! I'll fill you in on more details of that soon. I finally got around to finding my passport today as well which was a bit of a relief. Now I just need to get all my camera gear sorted and I'm ready to go. We've got some great hols lined up for the next year so hopefully there'll be some great photo opportunities too. We're planning to visit Spain, Cuba and the Bahamas although Africa is still the really big one.

Here at home I've been warming up the camera shooting butterflies. This Brimstone was one of my favourite subjects.

I think they're really pretty little critters!

2003-07-29T13:13:00.000Z

Yay, BlogOut is back!

Well, it's been a crappy weekend. My back has been hurting the whole time and because of it (well that's what I'm blaming anyway) I didn't ride very well. I had 8 faults in the Discovery on Saturday, in the pouring rain which was lovely and then in the regional final on Sunday I fell off. I'd already had 2 down anyway but I just couldn't stay with him and everything just felt all wrong. The actual fall was just stupid and pretty embarassing really! Anyway, that's my last chance to qualify for the nationals gone. I was really disappointed at first but then when I look back we've done quite well this year and I was really pretty excited to qualify for the regionals let alone the nationals. Time now to rest and regroup and then start trying to qualify for next year.

Earlier in the year at a show where things went better.

2003-07-25T14:32:00.000Z

Well so much for sodding gardening! Bloody Alan Titchmarsh has got a lot to answer for. I've hurt my back and it's killing. It started this morning when I bent down to feed the dog but I'm pretty sure it was all the gardening I did yesterday. It's a nightmare, I've got a really busy weekend ahead with a really important show and I've got loads of cleaning up to do after we've had our utility room refitted. Ow, ow, ow and bugger, bugger, bugger!

2003-07-24T19:39:00.000Z

This is my new garden pond.

What do you think? I know it looks a bit bare but it's only 2 days old.
Today I went to the garden centre and spent a long time choosing pond plants and planters and stuff. It was fun. I could actually really get into gardening. I can see myself spending many a happy hour strolling around garden centres in the not too distant future. It also gives me something to talk to all my elderly patients about. I then planted all the stuff in the rain which was still quite nice, it was very quiet, except that the dog kept going mad and digging holes all over the newly seeded lawn.

My dog is actually a bit of a pain in the arse but she does make me laugh. Here, maybe she can make you laugh too.

2003-07-24T07:40:00.000Z

BlogOut seems to have gone completely awol. I will therefore presume that you would all like to leave loads of comments but are unable.
I probably shouldn't say this when I'm still using Blogger, it feels very unappreciative but Typepad sounds really cool! Looking forward to having a play with that.

2003-07-22T21:50:00.000Z

I borrowed a scanner the other day and had a great time scanning lots of old photos that I took before I got my new digital SLR. I've actually got some quite good pictures floating about. This one is of Alex the Golden Eagle taken on an Andy Rouse course last year. Andy is a really good laugh and definately my favourite wildlife photograqpher. I'd recommend his courses to anyone interested in wildlife or photography. He has a pretty amazing life travelling all over the world to shoot all kinds animals, mainly large dangerous ones. I'm not saying I have even half his talent but that would be a great job.

I'm going to enrol on a photography A level course in the autumn. I can do this at evening class at the local college. If I enjoy that I may even go on to do the photography HND course which is full time. I'm not really enjoying my job that much at the moment anyway and a career break/change might be just what I need. I'm actually really excited about it. I envy those people who are passionate about their work. I always feel as though I fell into physiotherapy because of a lack of options and the need for a stable career that was going to earn me a steady income. I think so many people end up like me when they have to decide on their career path in their teens. Anyway maybe I have the chance now to do something different and so I'm gonna go for it!

2003-07-21T14:59:00.000Z

Hey I'm back. I don't really know why it's been so long. Funny thing about blogging though, once you stop it's difficult to start again and once you start it's difficult to stop.
So mainly this is what I've been doing.

This is Balu and me jumping our first Newcomers class at Newbury show on 28th June.
We've been having a really good season.
28th and 29th June at Newbury show we jumped our first Newcomers for 8 faults, that's bigger than the usual Discovery classes we jump. He also had just 4 faults in the jump off of a 1m class.
12th July we went down to Pontispool in Taunton were we had just 4 faults in our second Newcomers. It's still quite big for us really but we're getting there.
This weekend we have our last regional final, last chance to qualify for the nationals so I'll be seeing if I can better my 8th place. I'll let you know how it goes.

2003-06-22T20:56:00.000Z

OK, this whole blogger LoFi thing is weirding me out. Explanations anyone?
Recently I have abandoned the blogosphere for my four legged friend but my work has paid off. I've had a fantastic weekend of showjumping and I'm now feeling very smug and clever (and knackered). On Friday I was 3rd in the Discovery class which will get me a small mention in the Horse and Hound and today I was 8th in a regional final (that's a pretty big deal in showjumping). My horse is going fantastic and today was the biggest round he's ever jumped so he was really brave (I had my eyes shut you understand). Anyway I've now had quite a bit of champagne and I really need some food so further updates to follow.

2003-06-14T15:33:00.000Z

Wow, it's a hot day for showjumping. I've just got back from North Dorset and Blackmore Vale show. Balu was really good despite the roasting weather. We were 4th in the Discovery and 4th in the 1m novice qualifier. This qualified us for the Scope festival in September which is really good because 2 other people at the yard are also qualified so we can all go together and stay away. It should be a great show. We're on a bit of a role at the moment which makes a change. It's always nice when you start to go well because that makes you more confident so then you do even better. I think that's the same for any sport. I can only hope this particular high lasts for a bit. I didn't have any photo's taken today but you can check out some pictures of Balu here.

2003-06-13T16:41:00.000Z

For some reason I'm stuck in Blogger LoFi so I can't set up a permanent link at the moment but I've started a photoblog here

2003-06-13T15:11:00.000Z

OK, so there are a few drawbacks to being in the garden. Firstly, nextdoors gardener has decided to start strimming which will shortly aggravate my hayfever, secondly the dog is getting sunburnt and is too stupid to notice, thirdly the garden is a mess and sitting out here makes me realise how much work I have to do to sort it out which in turn reminds me that there is still loads to do in the house and I probably need to sort that out first. On a brighter note, the gardeners strimmer just seems to have broken. I always knew I was a witch.

I've got a bit of an idea about my photo gallery so I'm off to try that now.

2003-06-13T14:13:00.000Z

I've just made an amazing discovery. My airport connection does in fact work in the garden. I can now blog and get a tan at the same time. How cool is that! I'm just going to reorganise the patio to get optimum positioning for a) sun on legs and b) shade for sexy laptop. Unfortunately no matter how tanned they are legs will never be as sexy a laptop.

2003-06-12T18:01:00.000Z

I'm really not happy with my blog at the moment. I want a proper photo gallery and a whole new look so excuse me while I go off to investigate this. Sorry about the poor display of the Scotland photos. I'll try to sort it out.

2003-06-09T14:58:00.000Z

Finally I've sorted out my holiday photo's.These are my favourites from a wonderful long weekend.

Loch view
The living room
Pebbles
Beach view
Shady stream
Woodland
The house
Stream on beach
Sunset beach
Sea gull

I am appalled to find that a very large snail has just crawled up the side of our dishwasher and is now just sat there, no doubt contemplating how to get over the edge of the worktop. How in the hell did it get into the kitchen in the first place?

2003-05-30T15:36:00.000Z

Nightmare afternoon. I've been trying to get time to post about my wonderful Scotland trip but I've almost forgotten all about it now. All was well until I thought I'd take the dog for a quick walk around the lake after lunch. We got down to the lake and the dog ran off. I saw some deer heading into the woods ahead of her. I wasn't worried, this is not unusual, they just jump the sheep fence into the next field and the dog can't follow, end of story. What I didn't realise is that this deer had a small fawn with her. The fawn got stuck in the fence and then collapsed in the ditch at which point my bloody dog left it alone thank God and went chasing after the mother. The deer wasn't about to leave her fawn so her and the dog are running about the woods with me not being able to get near either of them. I'm exhausted! I ended up picking up the fawn and putting it in the long grass on the other side of the fence. By the time I caught the dog the mother had disappeared but I hope she will come back for it later. It seemed OK just a bit shocked. The dog is now in a huge sulk because she's been told off and sent to her bed. I'll go back and check that the fawn is OK later on. I hope the mother comes back before it gets dark otherwise the foxes will get it. Poor little thing, I feel terrible. The dog won't be walking round the lake again in the near future, at least not off her lead.

2003-05-20T14:59:00.000Z

So I've been catching up on my blogrollers. I have a small but select blog roll that I keep meaning to expand but by the time I've read those on it and posted myself and got side tracked a million times I never get round to it. It's not intentional anyway. I guess I'm still quite a new blogger and haven't built up a big blogging family yet. I'm sure it will grow with time.

Having read said blogs I am now feeling completely illiterate and uncultured. cath has just finished reading War and Peace and karen is making a book list consisting mainly of books I've never heard of let alone read. I read trash and I like it but don't think I should add trash to a list of the Top 100 books. (Pete has but he can get away with it.) At the moment I'm reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, because I like to see the movie before I read the book, and Life in the Wild - a Photographer's Year by Andy Rouse. Before that I read Temple by Matthew Reilly which is actually quite good but certainly no Pulitzer prize winner. I should probably make an effort to read something better but I don't think I'm brave enough to tackle War and Peace just yet. Any suggestions?

Jabs and I have been busy planning our weekend away in Scotland. We've been loaned a friends house near Fort William from Friday to Tuesday and I'm really looking forward to it. We've got other friends coming from London and Southampton, including some fellow bloggers, so it should be a party. I'm looking forward to good food and wine, lots of walking and hopefully some good photographic opportunities. We're hoping to take in a whale and dolphin watching trip weather permitting. I just can't wait to get away now!

2003-05-14T22:09:00.000Z

Having a cleaner isn't really working out for me. The trouble is I like things either hopelessly messy, when I'm in that can't be bothered mood, or really spotlessly clean where I pull everything out and really C L E A N it. So what's happening at the moment is I spend the day before the cleaner comes tidying everything up and putting things away so she can clean then the day after cleaning again because things aren't how I like them. It's madness, I really need to get a life.

2003-05-13T21:18:00.000Z

What is it with everyone today? Did I miss a national disaster or something? Everyone is so miserable. Everyone at work was really moody and kept snapping my head off, most of my patients were miserable (but then that's not unusual), everyone at the stables was really quiet and subdued, the dog is whining and I haven't had any comments for ages. So what is it? What did I miss? Is it me?

Anyway here is a picture to cheer everybody up. It's spring after all, there's baby animals about, flowers are blooming, the days are getting longer and we've had quite a bit of sunshine really! Smile everyone!

2003-05-12T14:05:00.000Z

I did it!! This weekend was great. On Saturday Balu was sixth in the British Novice and jumped his 4th double clear and so qualified for the regional finals. Yesterday he jumped a really nice round in the Discovery despite being quite tired. He had a really unlucky pole down at the last fence but I was really pleased with him. You can see some pictures, not very good ones though, here. Balu's the only chestnut on the page. He's a bit naughty to jump with his front feet stuck out like that. It's not very good technique but Milton (probably the best showjumper ever) used to do it so I'll let him off.
I'm obviously a winner which is why I have been sorted into Gryffindor house. What house are you?

be sorted @ nimbo.net
Link via fembat.

2003-05-07T18:32:00.000Z

Well I'm knackered. I'm back in the saddle and my muscles are not liking it. But good news, I went to evening showjumping at West Wilts last night and jumped a double clear. Yay for me! That's 3 now, 1 more to go and we'll qualify for the regionals so fingers crossed for this weekend. I was very pleased with Balu as I didn't feel I rode very well, he did all the work. I went slow in the jump off on purpose so we didn't get placed. He's won about £70 now and if he wins over £100 he won't be able to jump the British Novice anymore, so I need my double clears first.

This weekend should be good , it's a local show but a really good 3 day one with lots of big classes that I can watch when I'm finished in the smaller ring. The best horse in our yard belongs to my friend and trainer Di Jay. She's called Animation II (Anni-mule to her friends) and she's got the biggest jump I've ever seen. She's about £200 off a grade A and should make that up this weekend which will allow her to jump the Area International Trials. She's only 9 years old! James Rosewell will be riding her so look out for her in the Horse and Hound!

Anyway, as you can see I've gone back to talking about horses. I know far more about them than I do about relationships. I did think this article on adultery was quite good though.

2003-05-02T13:37:00.000Z

What's up with blogger? It says I 'm under construction and I'm not.

2003-05-02T13:03:00.000Z

So I was in a very nasty judgemental mood yesterday wasn't I? I don't really know what's gone wrong with my friends marriage and lets face it it's none of my business. I think she could have made some better decisions but it's her life and I'm sure she's doing her best. I think we all have different views and reactions to adultery depending on our experiences. I was thinking about it and I guess the reason I'm angry with her is that I'm still angry with my father for having several affairs and eventually leaving my mother. It even gets to the point when I'm scared that I might be like him and make the same mistakes. I think for that reason I go the other way and condemn all acts adultery as failures on the part of the adulterer. I thought I had totally forgiven my Dad but maybe I need to work on it some more. Anyway, that's my psycho analysis done for today. Who needs an expensive shrink when writing a blog will do?

2003-05-01T13:32:00.000Z

A friend of mine has just left her husband. She's in a bit of a mess but I'm finding it very difficult to be sympathetic. You see she's been having an affair with some other bloke and I think it's still going on. Admittedly her husband is a bit of a selfish git but that's his only crime and since he found out about the affair he has been really trying to patch things up. But it's not working so now she's gone.

My view of marriage is simple. You make some promises that you do your utmost to keep. This doesn't always work out, I know, but I do think that having an affair is the absolute pits. I mean it's not an accident is it. You can't kid me that some peoples sex drives are so high they just can't help it, it's just a total lack of self control. The stupid thing is that the person who does the cheating is usually the one who ends up hurt in the end. They have all that guilt. So maybe I should feel sorry for her, but I don't, so there. I hope she has some better friends.

2003-04-29T17:54:00.000Z

Yay! My wonderful husband (well today he is anyway) has got my laptop and airport connection working. I'm wireless and can connect from anywhere in the house. I haven't tried the garden yet coz it's raining but it should work there too. Very exciting! It occurs to me that I can now blog from anywhere I like. I could be sitting on the loo! I'm not and promise you that I will never post from there but I could be, cool huh? Now I'm worried that other bloggers maybe in some strange places while writing their posts. Maybe we should have a competition. Where's the weirdest or most exotic place you've ever done it? Blogged that is, keep it clean people.

2003-04-27T22:04:00.000Z

So the show went quite well. I don't enjoy just being an owner though, I was bored. James rode Balu very nicely. I think he was a bit more together than when I ride him but he still had 1 fence down in each class. The first one was Balu just being a bit clumsy and the second was James, he lost him a bit on one corner and then missed to a double. On one hand I feel quite good about this as I would have expected the same result with me riding, so I can't be too bad right? On the other hand if a professional rider still gets 4 faults on my horse maybe thats all he's capable of. If that's true I guess I don't mind, I mean, I have fun with him and he's got all the scope I'll ever need but secretly I think we all hope our horses have untapped Olympic potential!

Anyway here's a picture of Balu jumping today:

Not my most brilliant photographic work but it's quite difficult to really watch and take pictures as well!

James did really well on his other horses. He won the 1.05m Scope qualifier and the Newcomers. Sickening really. So here he is winning the qualifier.

You can check out the results the Kingston Maurward website.

Anyway enough about horses, you all must be bored to death.

2003-04-26T19:47:00.000Z

Thank you all for your sympathy. My hip still hurts when I walk too much but it's getting better. I tried riding again yesterday which was OK for a bit but I don't think I'm fit enough for the show tomorrow so I've asked James (semi-professional showjumper based at our yard) to ride him instead. He had a sit on him this afternoon just to get a feel. He went really well despite being a bit fresh. It's weird seeing someone else jump my horse though. I've seen other people have a sit on him but no one else has jumped him for 5 years. Anyway James is very good and a very kind rider so I'm sure all will go well tomorrow. It is a bit sickening seeing your horse go better for someone else but with any luck it will also make him easier to ride when I get back on! I'm not that proud of my equestrian skills that won't admit the fact that I still need all the help I can get.

Angel (my shiny silver laptop) and I are still getting to know one another. We had a bit of a misunderstanding about downloading photos from my digital camera. Apparently the version of OSX on this machine didn't support the new Canon 10D. Not funny! It turned out that there was an OSX upgrade which Jabs found and downloaded for me so now it all works. Lots of pictures to follow shortly. I also seem to have lost weblinks. I'm going to investigate that now.

2003-04-24T21:43:00.000Z

I've been neglecting my poor little blog. Very naughty when it's still in it's infancy. But I have knew toys!! I've got a Powerbook G4, ha ha, hey hey, (victory dance)! It is so cool!! I am now blogging while in front of the TV and eating ice cream, can life get any better? I definately like the Mac better than the old PC, it's so pretty, the keyboard lights up and the icons are all cute. OK so it's also seriously powerful and can do loads more than my PC but still I like the little apple that lights up. It's strong but pretty, like Angel (I've just been watching that on TV and I have a bit of a David Boreanaz fetish). Maybe that's what I'll call it, Angel. Is it too sad to name your laptop?

2003-04-14T15:09:00.000Z

I was right, it's my sacroiliac joint. I've pulled all the ligaments that hold it together so now it's moving about too much when I walk. There isn't even really any exercises I can do, I've just got to take anti-inflammatories and try to keep my weight off it. Isn't it amazing how when someone tells you that you have to sit still all you want to do is get up and do things. Sigh!!

I've finally surrendered and got a cleaner. She started today and seems very nice. I feel a bit as though I've given in though and that I should be able to manage the house myself. I'm also not really comfortable telling someone else what to do in my own house. It's weird. The house is now very tidy though and it means I will get more done, when I can move about that is. I think I'd still rather do it myself but I don't really have time and the house is quite big now we've had all this work done. Anyway, it's a temporary arrangement at the moment so maybe when I've got everything sorted out I won't need any help. I think I may get too used to it though!!

2003-04-14T10:46:00.000Z

I've hurt myself!! This always happens when I have time booked off work. I finished work on Wednesday, then on Friday decided to jump my horse in preparation for a show on Sunday. I managed to fall off twice! The actual jumps were fine, no problem but twice we managed to have a misunderstanding about which direction around the other fences we were going. The first time I wasn't paying much attention and didn't give very clear directions so we just sort of ran into the wing! He shot off and deposited me on my now very sore bottom. The second time was much the same only by now he was quite upset, so I didn't have much steering anyway and it all happened much quicker. Now I'm in agony. I have a constant pain in my right backside and I can't take much weight on my right leg. Getting on and off the sofa is very painful and getting in and out of the car is just stupid. I missed the show yesterday as I can't really ride. I tried on Saturday, walking and cantering were manageable but trotting was murder and the transitions were even worse. Getting on in the first place wasn't easy either. I haven't ridden since as I thought a few days off might ease it but it hasn't. Basically I'm really miserable! I think I've pulled my sacroiliac joint but I'm going to get one of the other physios to have a look at me this afternoon. Until then I'm going to stay sitting down!

2003-04-09T23:10:00.000Z

Our new kitchen worktop was finally fitted today. Hally-lu-yay! It's been about 5 weeks without our worktops and so now it feels like a real luxury. They are very smart. Just the tiling and painting to do now and finally it will be finished.

In honour of our new worktops Jabs and I cooked pasta together (OK, he cooked and I helped). It was fun, we haven't done that in so long. We turn the music up real loud then sing and dance while we cook. It's a good job no one can see us! Anyway, then we watched a movie while we ate.

We watched the Ring. Do not watch this movie if you are alone in the house, unless you like being scared to death. It's a kind of cross between Feardotcom and What Lies Beneath. I'm not that easily spooked but still I was glad the dog and Jabs were there.

The dog is so cute. She snuggles up to me and rests her head in my lap and looks up at me with those big brown eyes, then tries to steal the leftovers of my supper. It's impossible to be scared with her around. However, if I go to feed the horse tomorrow and he's scared of me, I'll worry (you'll understand if you've seen the film).

2003-04-08T23:26:00.000Z

Well I'm still not quite sure what my point is but I do know I am being boring. Henceforth, I intend to be fantastically upbeat and witty. I know I have it in me!
Shit, now the pressures on I can't think of anything to write. Thank God I don't write for a living. I could possibly end up earning even less than I do now.
I'm thinking about getting a tortoise. I don't know why but I really want one. There was some advertised in the local paper the other day but they were about £170! Maybe I should get 2 so one wouldn't be lonely. We have a really big garden where they could play and the dog couldn't eat them like she could a guinea pig or a rabbit. Wow, I've just been reading all about looking after them here I didn't realise it was that complicated. I obviously need to think carefully about this! The dog and the horse cause me quite a few problems especially when it comes to going on holiday, etc. Maybe it's not such a good idea. I hope the ones in the local paper go to good homes though. I hope everyone knows that they need to be kept warm and dry. Now I'm worried about those poor tortoises, or is it tortoi or just tortoise (plural)??

2003-04-08T15:15:00.000Z

I did write a post whinging about my mother-in-law here but Jabs saw it and got really mad. He said it wasn't very nice and that I shouldn't post personal stuff on the internet. Maybe he's right, I was being a bitch but then if I can't vent my frustrations on the Blogosphere who can I vent them on. So now I'm in a quandry. How personal should posts get? Where do you draw the line? I'm not sure. I like reading other peoples posts about how they're feeling and what they're families are up to but maybe this is a bit tasteless. So I guess it depends on who I want to read this and what for. Again I'm stumped. What was the point of this blog again?

2003-04-07T14:35:00.000Z

Well that was even more of a failure than I was expecting! Hang on I'm working on it.

2003-04-07T14:30:00.000Z

I'm just having a play with this gallery thing so excuse me for a moment. I'm trying out extensis portfolio. So far not impressed!
Mini gallery.htm

2003-04-06T19:40:00.000Z

The Title Goes Here
Everybody else's posts have titles. Do I need them? Should I be linking back to previous posts using these titles? Will this give my meaningless rambling some direction? Or will a title limit my rambling? Would this be good or bad? Am I just feeling left out because everyone else has them? What sort of titles would I use? Do I ask too many questions????

2003-04-06T15:51:00.000Z

I haven't posted for nearly a week. Don't worry I'm not depressed I've just had a new toy to play with. Yes, my new camera arrived! So far I'm very impressed. It works much the same as my film SLR, only with a few more buttons and a manual like a telephone directory. It will take me a while to really get to grips with it but I can't believe how much fun it is seeing you're shots straight away. One of the best things is that it records all the picture taking information so you can easily see what went wrong and correct it.This should really help my photography.
So, drum roll please, this is the one of the first shots taken with my new camera...

Aaaah! An ickle wickle spring lamb for you.
Now I must get to work sorting out this gallery. Could I do this by setting up another blogspot? Hmmm?

2003-03-31T21:20:00.000Z

'bel's comments system hasn't been showing numbers today. Mine on the other hand could well be working but I haven't had any comments to check it out. Is it just too sad if I leave myself a comment? Should I be writing something more interesting so that someone would want to comment? Hmmm.

2003-03-31T16:19:00.000Z

I have had such a good day.
First, it turns out that I won the Red nose day sweepstake thing at work. It was only £20 but I never win anything so I thought very exciting.
Then, after lunch I walked the dog around the lake and spotted some toads. So, I have spent all afternoon out in the sunshine photographing mating toads. This may not sound very exciting to you but from a photography point of view it was pretty cool. I can't show you the pictures yet coz I took them on slide film so they'll have to be processed.
At the moment I have a compact digital camera which is fine for snaps but useless for anything else. Then, for the more serious stuff I'm using a Canon EOS 30E. However, it's my birthday soon and my very lovely husband has ordered me a Canon EOS 10D which is their brand new digital SLR. This is very exciting!!! Soon I will be able to take really good pics and show you straight away. I'd also like to get a scanner at some point so I can use my film SLR as well and get some digital images from the films I've already taken. I don't know what to go for though. The film scanners look really good but are very expensive. They make flatbed scanners that will also take film, they are a lot cheaper it seems and obviously a bit more versatile but is the quality as good? I doubt it. Anyone know anything about this?

2003-03-29T00:25:00.000Z

Here's this week's Friday five. So OK but I'm late but I like doing them and it gives me something to say. I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon.

1. What was your most memorable moment from the last week?

Probably the showjumping lesson I had on Wednesday afternoon. It was hot and sunny and Balu went quite nicely.

2. What one person touched your life this week?

A friend whose husband is in Iraq and my Dad whose at work coordinating casualty reports from the war. Ok that's 2 but it was upsetting talking to both of them.

3. How have you helped someone this week?

I've helped lots of patients at work I hope but also one of my work colleagues who was really bogged down and worried she wasn't doing a good job. I hope I was helpful.

4. What one thing do you need to get done by this time next week?

Our new kitchen is being finished this week so once that is done I have to move all our stuff back in there from the dining room ready for Jabs' poker night next Friday. Oh, the joys of married life. I think maybe I'll have to join in this time.

5. What one thing will you do over the next seven days to make your world a better place?

If I get this house cleared up my world will be pure luxury!!

2003-03-28T23:46:00.000Z

Why do we feel compelled to diet? Is it just this big media thing, all those skinny models making us feel fat? Or is it that we're told fat is unhealthy and we all have this desire to live forever? Whatever it is I am one of the worst. I've tried every diet going from the Atkins thing that gave me terrible migraines to the British Heart Foundation diet that just plain starved me. None of them work which leads me to the conclusion that dieting doesn't work.
I did lose a stone and a half before I got married on the Slimming World diet but I think that had much more to do with the wedding than the diet. The trouble is they all make you obsessed with food. If you're worrying that much about what to or what not to eat then it's all you can think about. That leads to food cravings, food phobias and ultimately eating disorders. The stupid thing is we all know what is good for us and what is not especially a seasoned dieter like myself. There's no way round it. Fruit and vegetables are good, chocolate and beer are bad. Simple as that.
The point is that I am giving up dieting. Don't get me wrong, I still want to lose weight, get fit and be able to wear a bikini this summer but from now on I refuse to obsess about food and will concentrate on living life. This has to be healthier. I'll let you know how I go.

2003-03-25T15:17:00.000Z

I've discovered that I can't blog when I'm depressed. I've been really fed up and pissy all weekend and just haven't felt like doing anything. That's just sad really coz what the hell have I got to be depressed about. Not a lot I can tell you. I actually have a really easy life and things are pretty good at the moment but that doesn't stop you getting down over the stupid things, does it? Then I get cross with myself coz I'm being a spoilt bitch, then more sulking and so on...I guess I was a bit fed up that I didn't get that job that I didn't really want anyway, but no one likes rejection. Our house is really getting on my nerves now too. We've had lots of building work done and a new kitchen but nothing is quite finished and there is still so much mess. I seem to clean up constantly but it never looks any different. Then on Sunday I went showjumping which didn't go very well either. We went to Kingston Maurward which is a lovely show and it was a really sunny day. It should have been great fun but I didn't ride very well and despite Balu jumping reasonably nicely we had a run out in the British Novice and 2 down in the Discovery which is crap because I can do much better than that. Poor old Balu could probably tell that I wasn't in a great mood to start with. He's always quite spooky at that particular show as well so I expect he felt a bit insecure. He probably did really well considering.
Anyway, today I have managed to snap out of it and will endeavor to be depressed no more. My life needs some serious reorganisation I've decided. First I need to get this house finished, then I feel it's time for a career change. I've never really loved my job and I'd really like to do something that really inspires me. I've been doing more and more wildlife photography lately so maybe this is the direction in which I'm heading. I'll be setting up a gallery soon so you can see if you think I'm any good. I just have to find a way of setting it up that doesn't involve me looking at any code!!

2003-03-21T16:01:00.000Z

This week's Friday Five needed some thinking about.

1. If you had the chance to meet someone you've never met, from the past or present, who would it be?

Queen Nefertari of ancient Egypt. I've visited her tomb and it seemed a really serene, peaceful and almost happy place. I'd like to know if she was like that. She had a fascinating life too, I'd like to find out more about it.

2. If you had to live in a different century, past or future, which would it be?

If I can't stay in this century I'd go back to the last one. Things weren't to bad there and better the devil you know. I'd like to visit medieval England or ancient Egypt or somewhere but I wouldn't want to stay there. I'd end up a poor peasant and die of some horrible disease or something!

3. If you had to move anywhere else on Earth, where would it be?

I'd like to live somewhere really remote and unspoilt like North Scotland. It's beautiful up there but only a short flight back to reality!

4. If you had to be a fictional character, who would it be?

Buffy, but back in the old days when she was still at school and dating Angel, not now when she keeps dying all the time.

5. If you had to live with having someone else's face as your own for the rest of your life, whose would it be?

Liv Tyler's because she's just beautiful and I think I could handle that!

2003-03-21T15:57:00.000Z

I've been trying to just get on with life and not get too caught up in this war thing. Now it's started I don't expect them to just pull out or anything so I hope they just get it over and done with asap. However this morning I heard about the 8 marines that were killed in the helicopter crash. A friends husband is out there with the marines at the moment and I suddenly felt really worried for them. I saw her this afternoon and she hasn't heard from him since the fighting started. She seemed OK, putting on a brave face, but you could tell she was sort of on the edge of panic. It suddenly makes it all so real and so sad.
My Dad's a Royal Marine, he hasn't gone to war, he's too old (thankfully) but I think I'll give him a call all the same. Suddenly I miss him.

2003-03-18T21:04:00.000Z

So I didn't get the job. I cocked up the interview just like I knew I would. Re reading yesterdays post probably didn't set out with the right attitude! I really don't care that much, I don't like my job and I thought this promotion might give me a bit more incentive to go to work but as I didn't get it I'll just stick to treating the patients and not worry about any of the other crap. The sad part is that they've offered the post to one of my colleagues who never does any work and is permanently off sick, pregnant or looking after snotty kids. I'll probably end up doing all the work anyway and just not getting paid. It may be time to hand in my notice. I fancy a career change anyway. Any ideas??
Jabs got back from Amsterdam today. A good time was had by all it seems. I got lots of nice presents too!! I actually missed him which is weird because when he's here he drives me crazy. I think it's all this war business, it makes you want people close.
Mike is looking for some guest bloggers which is cool. I will certainly NOT be applying. I'm already feeling wounded after my one rejection today.

2003-03-18T00:11:00.000Z

I've had to no time to blog today .I've been preparing for a job interview that I've got tomorrow. I'm really nervous. It's my first interview in 5 years. It's ridiculous as well. I've worked in the same dept. for all that time and and it's just a tiny step up within that dept. and they've still got to interview me. I'm total crap at interview too. I get really nervous and say all the wrong things. I'm a physiotherapist in the NHS and I've got to try and remember the names of all these stupid policies that higher management keep introducing just to justify their own existences. Not that any of it makes a whole lot of difference to how the patients get treated they just care about what gets written down. I spend more and more time doing pointless paperwork it seems. Do I sound disillusioned? I am! I don't really know why I'm bothering to go for the promotion, I'll only get like an extra £5 a week or something.
On a "brighter" note at least it's taking my mind off this ridiculous (that seems to be the word of the day) war. All I can say about that is 'Oh Shit!' If you want to read something written by someone who has some more intelligent comments and knows exactly what's going on try Kevinsites or where is raed?.

2003-03-16T21:15:00.000Z

I don't believe it. I just wrote down some very serious thoughts which was very difficult for an airhead like me and blogger cut me off before I could post. How annoying is that! I don't think I can come up with them again as I'm even more drunk now but they were good I promise.
Anyway, my comments are back, woohoo!

2003-03-16T13:08:00.000Z

Well somethings afoot! 'bel over at Rise is missing her comments system too. We both use blogspot, yes ok I copied hers, but weird huh? Is this going to happen alot I wonder. I definately need to get Jabs to look at my template code but I'm not sure that will reappear the comments. Perhaps it's Blogger maybe I shouldn't have upgraded to BlogSpot Plus.

2003-03-16T12:24:00.000Z

Good afternoon! It really is a gorgeous day. I've been out riding in the spring sunshine and feel ridiculously happy. I think I've OD'd on vitamin D. Apparently my blog is not so happy. I seem to have errors this morning and my comments system has disappeared. I will try to sort this out.

2003-03-15T17:13:00.000Z

Ok so I found a picture of my horse, it's not brilliant but will do for now. He can actually jump better than this and he looks much prettier with his ears forward. This is Balu.

So, Balu's top five are:
1. He's Irish (Irish horses are suprisingly sensible!)
2. He's 15.3 and threequarters hands high.
3. He's 10 and has lived with aj and nala for 5 years.
4. His favourite food is carrots.
5. He has to jump 2 more double clears before May 31st to qualify for the Britsh Novice regional final.

2003-03-15T12:35:00.000Z

I've just realised that I don't have any good pictures of my horse on digital so that will have to wait. For now you can see my dog ( if I can figure out how this works.....)

Ahhhh..isn't she cute. This is Nala.
Nala's top five facts:
1. She is a pedigree staffordshire bull terrier.
2. She is 5 years old.
3. Her favourite food is chocolate.
4. She would like to savage the postman, he is evil.
5. She hates guns and other loud noises.

2003-03-15T08:54:00.000Z

Fembat's horse is poorly so here are some carrots for him. Hope he feels better soon. When I've figured out this pictures thing I'll tell you all about my horse and show you some pictures. He's very pretty, I know you can't wait! I'd better go muck out now. There's nothing like shovelling poo to wake you up in the morning!

2003-03-14T23:08:00.000Z

OK very worried now. I've been looking around and cannot find any blogs even nearly as bad as mine. This needs some serious work. But I'm all full up with pidgeon stew and rioja and can't think straight! Tomorrow is Saturday and I can sort it out then. I did find some really good blogs though snargle , srah and moreawayoflife are pretty nice.

2003-03-14T18:52:00.000Z

OK, well that seems fairly good for now. In my defence my dog is quite bright, she can figure out most problems if it involves acquiring food, attention, a comfy place to lie down, etc. I'd show you a picture of her but to get pictures on my blog might involve looking at more HTML and my brain is now fried. I'll get Jabs to help with that but at the moment he's in Amsterdam with Mike, Bloing and Squodge. They're probably in a bar right now or maybe they've gone to that lovely floating chinese restaurant on the river or the Holland casino or............ I definately should have gone along!

2003-03-14T18:30:00.000Z

Is it working yet?

2003-03-14T18:25:00.000Z

Hmmm, really don't know what I'm doing here. Husband, thats Jabs to some of you, reckons he could teach our dog HTML in 2 days. Apparently I'm not that bright.

2003-03-14T18:11:00.000Z

Trying to get my Blogroll working when I should be getting ready to go to dinner next door at the in-laws. I think it's going to be a disaster.

2003-03-14T17:00:00.000Z

Here goes my first friday five!

1. Do you like talking on the phone? Why or why not?

No, hate it unless it's someone I know really well. I tend to panic and say stupid things because I can't work out what the other person is thinking without seeing their face.

2. Who is the last person you talked to on the phone?

One of my patients at work about her arm pain and whether she needed another appointment.

3. About how many telephones do you have at home?

Four, my husband is too lazy to walk more than one room away if the phone rings!

4. Have you encountered anyone who has really bad phone manners? What happened?

My Mum watches TV while she's on the phone and will suddenly burst out laughing and say "oh sorry what was that dear I wasn't listening?"

5. Would you rather pick up the phone and call someone or write them an e-mail or a letter? Why or why not?

Definately an Email so I can think about what I am sayng and take my time. Then I don't say umm and urh all the time.

2003-03-13T19:32:00.000Z

Thanks to BlogOut for the comments system. OK, now I guess I need a Blogroll.

2003-03-13T16:52:00.000Z

Today I'm barking about seahorses. All animals are special, particularly horses, but seahorses have always seemed magical to me somehow. Perhaps that's just because the males give birth to the babies, how cool is that!! Not for much longer however. Seahorses are under threat from, yes you've guessed it, us. Not only do we fish for them, try to keep them as pets and destroy their environment but apparently, prawn trawlers are slowly killing them off along with thousands of sea turtles. So that's it no more prawns for me. Join me in this boycott.

2003-03-13T16:24:00.000Z

If anyone should happen this way please leave a comment in this box to help donate Mike's money to red nose day.

Now to try and sort out my own comments box!

2003-03-12T20:19:00.000Z

I made a new friend this weekend (yes, that is still possible) who told me that she blogged (abraxas). So I checked out these blogs and found you lot highly entertaining. Particularly Rise ,Fembat and Lillywonka, very chuckly. So here it is, my very own blog, my link with those outside my own tiny little place. A place my husband affectionately and pretty condescendingly refers to as Mandyworld. You'll have to excuse it for a while, you see I don't really know what I'm doing but I'm hoping it will evolve into the best blog to ever come out of Dorset!! (we 'ave those compuder thingummys down 'ere as well y'know)