I'm so sorry to have worried people with my cryptic message -- things are bad, sure, but I'm coping really well. "Despite the stress I feel calm and cheerful" I said, and I meant it. I do feel cheerful. I'm also angry, slightly apprehensive, distracted and sometimes impatient. It's complicated. But I'm ok, really -- you don't need to worry.
One thing that's cheering me is my computer -- absurd that it should please me so much but it does. It works! It works every single time I turn it on. The software has many useful and interesting new settings for me to play with. And there's still more new software to install and play with. The only thing is finding time to play with it. Bertie finds my interest in it troubling: Why are you sitting with your face to the wall? Is something wrong? He puts his head on my lap and nudges my elbow, then finally flings himself down on the floor.
If the weather's at all decent this weekend I'm getting out and about. Did I mention our Pentlands expedition last Saturday? I really enjoyed that. More, please! Not in sheep country though -- Bertie hates being on the lead all the time.
25 October 2002
:: stuff
There's a lot going on at the moment that I can't talk about here -- let's just say it's become an extremely stressful week. I'll email people privately or phone (some of you already know what's happening). It's nothing life-threatening but it's keeping me frazzled.
Otherwise, weirdly enough, I'm hunky-dory. Despite the stress I feel calm and cheerful. Bertie has mysteriously become obedient -- yesterday he even stopped hassling some elderly dogs on command, and later on declined to bark at some boys. Next thing he'll be letting kids pat him ...
Time to go home now.
Otherwise, weirdly enough, I'm hunky-dory. Despite the stress I feel calm and cheerful. Bertie has mysteriously become obedient -- yesterday he even stopped hassling some elderly dogs on command, and later on declined to bark at some boys. Next thing he'll be letting kids pat him ...
Time to go home now.
23 October 2002
:: wee bugger
I got the bugbear virus today! Didn't get infected though, my antivirus software caught it. I installed the program yesterday and did a scan -- all clear. Then today when I downloaded my email, BING! It roared into action and deleted the nasty. Ha ha, my computer's smarter than the Aussie parliament's entire system.
So yes, the computer overhaul goes forward, slowly but surely. The best part is that I've got the printer, scanner and camera all working smoothly, all on USB. The printer goes faster! It's fab.
So yes, the computer overhaul goes forward, slowly but surely. The best part is that I've got the printer, scanner and camera all working smoothly, all on USB. The printer goes faster! It's fab.
22 October 2002
:: sofa so good
I finally ordered my new sofa yesterday, hurrah. In the end I got a three-seater rather than a sofa-bed (which was bigger than the two-seater but smaller than the three-seater), because I don't really need an extra bed and the three-seater is £200 cheaper. I got bright red slip covers, and an extra set of covers in natural, for summer -- the red ones would fade in the sun.
It arrives sometime after November 7, so I still have a couple of weeks left of discomfort. Oh, and to arrange disposal of the old sofa. I don't know if I mentioned but none of the charity shops would take it because it's not fire-proof.
So that's my big spending spree finished -- it was great fun while it lasted! Installation of the new software is going pretty smoothly. I installed new modem yesterday, so I'm back on line again. All the other hardware seems to be behaving better under Windows XP. I still have to reinstall all my programs, plus then partition the hard drive and install Linux. What fun! It's a pleasure to turn on my computer again -- previously it would stutter and stumble and give error messages and generally be annoying. Now it whizzes along in an orderly fashion. Yippee!
Today was busy -- I had to take the car in to the garage for a new tyre, so I flung Bertie in and took him for a walk afterwards. The weather is foul, it rained all night, so the paths are all muddy and/or flooded. But we met a gang of friendly labs & mixed breeds, so Bertie had a fine old time rushing around with them.
Back home I worked on the computer for a few hours, then showered & took Bertie back out into the rain. Met Pat with Amber and Kita, and she told me how they'd stumbled on an eagle the other day. She heard rustling in the undergrowth, thought it might be a badger -- but then out came this huge bird! It flew off into a tree -- Pat reckons it had some prey in the undergrowth.
After that I went back to the garage, collected the car and drove to work. It's still raining.
It arrives sometime after November 7, so I still have a couple of weeks left of discomfort. Oh, and to arrange disposal of the old sofa. I don't know if I mentioned but none of the charity shops would take it because it's not fire-proof.
So that's my big spending spree finished -- it was great fun while it lasted! Installation of the new software is going pretty smoothly. I installed new modem yesterday, so I'm back on line again. All the other hardware seems to be behaving better under Windows XP. I still have to reinstall all my programs, plus then partition the hard drive and install Linux. What fun! It's a pleasure to turn on my computer again -- previously it would stutter and stumble and give error messages and generally be annoying. Now it whizzes along in an orderly fashion. Yippee!
Today was busy -- I had to take the car in to the garage for a new tyre, so I flung Bertie in and took him for a walk afterwards. The weather is foul, it rained all night, so the paths are all muddy and/or flooded. But we met a gang of friendly labs & mixed breeds, so Bertie had a fine old time rushing around with them.
Back home I worked on the computer for a few hours, then showered & took Bertie back out into the rain. Met Pat with Amber and Kita, and she told me how they'd stumbled on an eagle the other day. She heard rustling in the undergrowth, thought it might be a badger -- but then out came this huge bird! It flew off into a tree -- Pat reckons it had some prey in the undergrowth.
After that I went back to the garage, collected the car and drove to work. It's still raining.
20 October 2002
:: that's odd...
I published a draft entry yesterday but it didn't show up on the web page today. Hmm.
Anyway -- soldiering on -- my computer isn't quite a broken mess, but I might need to get a new modem. I had suspected I might, because on reading various internet forums, it seems to be a common problem with Windows XP. Because it's very different from Win98, it needs new drivers for most hardware, and sometimes the manufacturer hasn't come up with a new driver. It's very annoying, but there you go.
I have a deadline to get it sorted out too, because Microsoft, in its desperate desire to counter software piracy, insists you must register WinXP within 30 days to validate it; if you don't, it stops working. You can apparently register by phone, but the line is permanently busy -- with people whose modems don't work, presumably.
Grumbles aside it's looking ok so far, though I don't like XP's "new look" -- it's very cartoony and bright. I'm sure I'll get used to it. There are some features that I really like -- thumbnail views of any photos in a folder, for example, that's brilliant.
I've got to do some work right now, chat later.
Anyway -- soldiering on -- my computer isn't quite a broken mess, but I might need to get a new modem. I had suspected I might, because on reading various internet forums, it seems to be a common problem with Windows XP. Because it's very different from Win98, it needs new drivers for most hardware, and sometimes the manufacturer hasn't come up with a new driver. It's very annoying, but there you go.
I have a deadline to get it sorted out too, because Microsoft, in its desperate desire to counter software piracy, insists you must register WinXP within 30 days to validate it; if you don't, it stops working. You can apparently register by phone, but the line is permanently busy -- with people whose modems don't work, presumably.
Grumbles aside it's looking ok so far, though I don't like XP's "new look" -- it's very cartoony and bright. I'm sure I'll get used to it. There are some features that I really like -- thumbnail views of any photos in a folder, for example, that's brilliant.
I've got to do some work right now, chat later.
19 October 2002
:: farewell!
That's my computer speaking. I'm about to reformat the hard drive, ha ha!! Either it will go swimmingly and I'll have a lovely new (software) upgraded machine with no annoying problems, or I'll have a broken mess. Tee hee.
My other bit of upgrading now in progress is my new phone. It all arrived in the post yesterday and I collected it from the post office today -- phone and software. The software was all as ordered, but the phone was a different model. I went into outraged consumer mode -- this is the second time this firm has mucked up an order, grumble grumble. I logged on, ready to send an outraged consumer email, but first I checked the specs of the phone I'd been sent. Oh .... it's worth almost twice as much as the one I ordered and actually has some rather good features .... hmmm.
I decided that if they want me to have this phone, instead of this one, who am I to argue? (And no, I didn't buy it through telephones-online.co.uk or rocom.co.uk.)
The handset has to charge for 24 hours before use, so I'm having to wait before playing with it. I'm using the answering machine that came with it though, but I haven't changed the pre-recorded message yet. At the moment a very posh woman says, "This is an answering machine. Leave your message after the tone." I'll be very surprised if I get any messages.
So, anyway, goodbye from clunky old Windows 98 -- this computer will be reborn as a dual-booting doozie, Linux and Windows XP! (I'll still be reachable by email -- just not on my days off.)
My other bit of upgrading now in progress is my new phone. It all arrived in the post yesterday and I collected it from the post office today -- phone and software. The software was all as ordered, but the phone was a different model. I went into outraged consumer mode -- this is the second time this firm has mucked up an order, grumble grumble. I logged on, ready to send an outraged consumer email, but first I checked the specs of the phone I'd been sent. Oh .... it's worth almost twice as much as the one I ordered and actually has some rather good features .... hmmm.
I decided that if they want me to have this phone, instead of this one, who am I to argue? (And no, I didn't buy it through telephones-online.co.uk or rocom.co.uk.)
The handset has to charge for 24 hours before use, so I'm having to wait before playing with it. I'm using the answering machine that came with it though, but I haven't changed the pre-recorded message yet. At the moment a very posh woman says, "This is an answering machine. Leave your message after the tone." I'll be very surprised if I get any messages.
So, anyway, goodbye from clunky old Windows 98 -- this computer will be reborn as a dual-booting doozie, Linux and Windows XP! (I'll still be reachable by email -- just not on my days off.)
17 October 2002
:: sdrawkcab
Just in case you were wondering, it's actually "Dogma I name Cilopraed." Which could be a clue!! If only I had Florian's phone number....
:: florian makes my day
I'm having a reasonably stressful day today filling in for my boss, but then a cheery young German who subscribes to the paper phoned up with a gem. He gets the paper by snail mail, so he'd only just caught up with our report on the "calling card" left by the Washington sniper: "Dear policeman, I am god".
"I don't know if you realise it, but you can read it backwards!" he gushed.
"Really."
"Yes, it says, 'dogma I man police read'. It's very interesting, isn't it?"
I laughed and laughed and laughed, then thanked him for brightening my day with his insight.
He wasn't bothered: "I know you probably get all kinds of crank calls!" he said, still cheerful.
His call really was a tonic, because the news all seems grim -- bombings, arrests, wider threats, the sniper still on the loose; even the director of the CIA is rattled.
I haven't killed my computer yet, but the new software is arriving tomorrow so I'll install it at the weekend and see if I can destroy it then. Ha ha. I had to get a new phone too, the old one has been playing up. It was extremely cheap and is very nasty and crackly to use. The new one is digital so should make for clearer conversations. Still haven't ordered a new sofa. I think about it every time I sit on the old one -- its bones are sticking out like an old horse.
Speaking of bony animals, Bertie has been acting up lately. He's started being aggressive to strange dogs. When I first got him he was timid and submissive, but as he's grown in confidence so he's become more bolshie. Yesterday we encountered a stray dog -- well, he's not stray exactly, he has a home, but he's let out to wander the streets on his own all day. So we met this dog and Bertie decided to challenge him. Nothing too physical, just lots of growling and shoving and posturing. And Bertie won! I was yelling at him to come, and once he'd driven off the other dog he came flying down the path, terrifically excited. He overshot me into the car park, and with me still yelling at him, went shooting past me back up the path. But now a jogger was coming along, and he understandably thought Bertie was running at him, so he stopped. Bad move! Bertie had lost his mind with all the yelling and running and beating the other dog, and started barking at the jogger. I told the guy to just keep running and he did, but he kept looking at Bertie, who took that as a challenge and followed him. "Keep your dog under control!" the guy snapped. I yelled at Bertie some more but didn't try and grab him -- he would have thought I was joining in the chase. Finally got him back and leashed.
Today we met a nice bouncy lab. His owner let him off the leash so he and Bertie could have a run around, and it degenerated into another growling, shoving match (also with lots of peeing). The other guy finally called it off after it looked like they weren't going to calm down. Bertie allowed himself to be removed from the scene -- he was about to lose the battle.
So -- I think I'm going to have to crack down harder on these challenges, otherwise he'll turn into a horrible bully. Oddly enough, his relationship with the dogs he met while he was a wimp hasn't changed at all.
And he's still scared of children, and sacks of onions, and street signs.
"I don't know if you realise it, but you can read it backwards!" he gushed.
"Really."
"Yes, it says, 'dogma I man police read'. It's very interesting, isn't it?"
I laughed and laughed and laughed, then thanked him for brightening my day with his insight.
He wasn't bothered: "I know you probably get all kinds of crank calls!" he said, still cheerful.
His call really was a tonic, because the news all seems grim -- bombings, arrests, wider threats, the sniper still on the loose; even the director of the CIA is rattled.
I haven't killed my computer yet, but the new software is arriving tomorrow so I'll install it at the weekend and see if I can destroy it then. Ha ha. I had to get a new phone too, the old one has been playing up. It was extremely cheap and is very nasty and crackly to use. The new one is digital so should make for clearer conversations. Still haven't ordered a new sofa. I think about it every time I sit on the old one -- its bones are sticking out like an old horse.
Speaking of bony animals, Bertie has been acting up lately. He's started being aggressive to strange dogs. When I first got him he was timid and submissive, but as he's grown in confidence so he's become more bolshie. Yesterday we encountered a stray dog -- well, he's not stray exactly, he has a home, but he's let out to wander the streets on his own all day. So we met this dog and Bertie decided to challenge him. Nothing too physical, just lots of growling and shoving and posturing. And Bertie won! I was yelling at him to come, and once he'd driven off the other dog he came flying down the path, terrifically excited. He overshot me into the car park, and with me still yelling at him, went shooting past me back up the path. But now a jogger was coming along, and he understandably thought Bertie was running at him, so he stopped. Bad move! Bertie had lost his mind with all the yelling and running and beating the other dog, and started barking at the jogger. I told the guy to just keep running and he did, but he kept looking at Bertie, who took that as a challenge and followed him. "Keep your dog under control!" the guy snapped. I yelled at Bertie some more but didn't try and grab him -- he would have thought I was joining in the chase. Finally got him back and leashed.
Today we met a nice bouncy lab. His owner let him off the leash so he and Bertie could have a run around, and it degenerated into another growling, shoving match (also with lots of peeing). The other guy finally called it off after it looked like they weren't going to calm down. Bertie allowed himself to be removed from the scene -- he was about to lose the battle.
So -- I think I'm going to have to crack down harder on these challenges, otherwise he'll turn into a horrible bully. Oddly enough, his relationship with the dogs he met while he was a wimp hasn't changed at all.
And he's still scared of children, and sacks of onions, and street signs.
13 October 2002
:: what I did today
Last night the sky was clear, after a few days of steady rain. Hurrah! But this morning a thick, chilly fog blanketed everything.
Scottish sunshine...
The bridge vanishes.
Sailors don't mind the weather -- the regatta went ahead regardless.
One nice thing about the fog was its effect on spiderwebs:
Bagpipers weren't bothered by the weather either ... the contest also went ahead regardless:
Scottish sunshine...
The bridge vanishes.
Sailors don't mind the weather -- the regatta went ahead regardless.
One nice thing about the fog was its effect on spiderwebs:
Bagpipers weren't bothered by the weather either ... the contest also went ahead regardless:
11 October 2002
:: too busy to shop
I've been doing housework, in honour of Jenny and her friend Bunty, who are coming for lunch tomorrow. It was meant to be today, but they decided it would make more sense to spend today sight-seeing around Edinburgh and come and visit me on their way home. Poor things, it rained steadily all day.
So anyway my house is spic and span, apart from the study which is always a mess. Creative clutter, you know. And I'm slowly grinding through my list of things to do. I took the old TV, stereo and chest of drawers to the charity shop for starters. This weekend's project is the computer and general dejunking.
Plus at least one long walk -- I thought I might try the Pentland Hills. I used to walk there a lot, but haven't since I've had Bertie. The hills are mainly farmland and sheep are roaming free, so he'd have to be on the lead the whole time. One time when a friend, Lucy, and I were walking in the Pentlands, her dog Jess shot off after a sheep -- it was right near the farmhouse too. Jess came back after a lot of shrieked commands, but Bertie wouldn't I'm sure. He's dying to make friends with a sheep! I'll take him on the flexible lead and see how he gets on. It really is lovely there and it's easy to get to. I miss it!
I've got a hard week next week -- three days standing in for my boss. It's one of the things I enjoy about the job, but it's also something I dread, because it can be stressful. The hours are long too -- 11am to about 9.30pm or 10pm. The following week I have a treat planned though -- a 90-minute massage from someone called Bavara. She sounds wonderful and comes highly recommended. I haven't had a massage for a few years, so I'm looking forward to this one.
So anyway my house is spic and span, apart from the study which is always a mess. Creative clutter, you know. And I'm slowly grinding through my list of things to do. I took the old TV, stereo and chest of drawers to the charity shop for starters. This weekend's project is the computer and general dejunking.
Plus at least one long walk -- I thought I might try the Pentland Hills. I used to walk there a lot, but haven't since I've had Bertie. The hills are mainly farmland and sheep are roaming free, so he'd have to be on the lead the whole time. One time when a friend, Lucy, and I were walking in the Pentlands, her dog Jess shot off after a sheep -- it was right near the farmhouse too. Jess came back after a lot of shrieked commands, but Bertie wouldn't I'm sure. He's dying to make friends with a sheep! I'll take him on the flexible lead and see how he gets on. It really is lovely there and it's easy to get to. I miss it!
I've got a hard week next week -- three days standing in for my boss. It's one of the things I enjoy about the job, but it's also something I dread, because it can be stressful. The hours are long too -- 11am to about 9.30pm or 10pm. The following week I have a treat planned though -- a 90-minute massage from someone called Bavara. She sounds wonderful and comes highly recommended. I haven't had a massage for a few years, so I'm looking forward to this one.
8 October 2002
:: upgrade
I've decided to go for a total upgrade: computer operating system, stereo, bed, sofa. I've already got the stereo, a JVC compact hi-fi:
My previous one was cheap, very cheap, and not terribly cheerful. The JVC wasn't expensive, but sound quality is streets ahead. Even Bertie has noticed: I put on some flute music and he woke up and stared nervously at the strange new howling boxes.
I've been meaning to get a new sofa and a new bed for ages. When I bought my flat, I paid the owner an extra few hundred pounds for some of the furniture, because I was poor and it was a bargain. So I have this worn-out stuff that was probably ten years old when I got it; I made a new loose-cover for the sofa and a new bed-frame, but now those are worn out too. Finally though, I'm replacing them.
The sofa is this one from Ikea:
But I have to wait two weeks for delivery ... and I haven't ordered it yet.
I haven't found a bed I like yet. I prefer slatted bedframes like the one I have (which is actually broken -- I fixed it myself but it's on its last legs, heh) but may go for a clunky divan base for reasons of comfort. What I'd really like is a wire-wove base, but they don't seem to have those here.
The other aspect to this furniture upgrade is getting shot of the old stuff. I phoned around charity shops today and found one that's happy to take the old stereo and TV as well as an old chest of drawers I have stowed away in a corner. But no-one will take the sofa, because it's not labelled as non-inflammable. I had suspected that would be the case.
This means I'll have to get the council's rubbish dept to cart it off. Happily I've been forewarned about their nutty bureaucracy: you can't just phone them up and set a date that suits you, oh no. They tell you when they will come. If that happens to be the day of your best friend's wedding, well tough -- call again in six weeks' time. That's right! You can only apply once every six weeks. So what people do is agree to the uplift date, then dump the piece of furniture on the footpath the day before. The other catch is that you have to say exactly what you want collected: you can't add something else later on.
It will be good to have a clear-out, I'll have a trawl through the house and see if there's anything else I can pass on to the charity shop. They don't collect from as far afield as my place but I don't mind dropping the stuff off to them -- I might even do it tomorrow.
My previous one was cheap, very cheap, and not terribly cheerful. The JVC wasn't expensive, but sound quality is streets ahead. Even Bertie has noticed: I put on some flute music and he woke up and stared nervously at the strange new howling boxes.
I've been meaning to get a new sofa and a new bed for ages. When I bought my flat, I paid the owner an extra few hundred pounds for some of the furniture, because I was poor and it was a bargain. So I have this worn-out stuff that was probably ten years old when I got it; I made a new loose-cover for the sofa and a new bed-frame, but now those are worn out too. Finally though, I'm replacing them.
The sofa is this one from Ikea:
But I have to wait two weeks for delivery ... and I haven't ordered it yet.
I haven't found a bed I like yet. I prefer slatted bedframes like the one I have (which is actually broken -- I fixed it myself but it's on its last legs, heh) but may go for a clunky divan base for reasons of comfort. What I'd really like is a wire-wove base, but they don't seem to have those here.
The other aspect to this furniture upgrade is getting shot of the old stuff. I phoned around charity shops today and found one that's happy to take the old stereo and TV as well as an old chest of drawers I have stowed away in a corner. But no-one will take the sofa, because it's not labelled as non-inflammable. I had suspected that would be the case.
This means I'll have to get the council's rubbish dept to cart it off. Happily I've been forewarned about their nutty bureaucracy: you can't just phone them up and set a date that suits you, oh no. They tell you when they will come. If that happens to be the day of your best friend's wedding, well tough -- call again in six weeks' time. That's right! You can only apply once every six weeks. So what people do is agree to the uplift date, then dump the piece of furniture on the footpath the day before. The other catch is that you have to say exactly what you want collected: you can't add something else later on.
It will be good to have a clear-out, I'll have a trawl through the house and see if there's anything else I can pass on to the charity shop. They don't collect from as far afield as my place but I don't mind dropping the stuff off to them -- I might even do it tomorrow.
3 October 2002
:: blue
This has to be the strangest story of the week: Senate candidate turns himself blue. I thought it was a leg-pull but it's true. This lady has the problem too, but she's blaming her doctor.
Maybe they should get together with the Sunny Delight kids and Peter Stringfellow ...
Maybe they should get together with the Sunny Delight kids and Peter Stringfellow ...
2 October 2002
:: books
There was a sale of review books at work this week and I scored some great bargains. The best book was The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker. It came out only recently and I'd been waiting for the paperback to be published -- so imagine how thrilled I was to get the £25 hardback edition for 50p.
It's a controversial book -- Pinker quotes rave reviews on his website but not everyone thinks it's a good book. Mary Midgley, a philosopher whose writing I enjoy, gave it a right good thrashing.
Another great book (and only 20p!) was the Rough Guide to Weather. I always wondered how hail stayed up in the sky long enough to get big, and now I know.
An even better bargain than the books was a French film, Betty Fisher and Other Stories: I asked how much the videos were and the woman said, "Oh just take it, I don't even know what's on them all." I wanted to see this film when it came out, but it was only on at the art-house cinema and I missed it. A friend told me the entire plot over lunch, and it sounded interesting if confusing. I haven't watched the video yet.
I've been doing some very concentrated computer work -- since fixing my irksome usb problem (I think), I've decided it's time I upgraded to Windows XP. My friend Kevin assures me it's much more stable than Windows 98, which would be nice. Because XP is very different from 98, I'm having to track down new drivers for my hardware and download them, time-consuming business. I should be ok with most of my kit, but some of my older software might not work.
The plan is to back up all my files, reformat the hard drive, divide it into two partitions and install XP on one and Linux on the other. (If any boffins are reading, I'll be sticking to the Fat32 file system.) The Linux version I'm looking at comes with office and graphics software included.
I'm quite excited about doing this, it's a major move. I've been wanting to try Linux for years, even did a Unix course to prepare myself.
It's a controversial book -- Pinker quotes rave reviews on his website but not everyone thinks it's a good book. Mary Midgley, a philosopher whose writing I enjoy, gave it a right good thrashing.
Another great book (and only 20p!) was the Rough Guide to Weather. I always wondered how hail stayed up in the sky long enough to get big, and now I know.
An even better bargain than the books was a French film, Betty Fisher and Other Stories: I asked how much the videos were and the woman said, "Oh just take it, I don't even know what's on them all." I wanted to see this film when it came out, but it was only on at the art-house cinema and I missed it. A friend told me the entire plot over lunch, and it sounded interesting if confusing. I haven't watched the video yet.
I've been doing some very concentrated computer work -- since fixing my irksome usb problem (I think), I've decided it's time I upgraded to Windows XP. My friend Kevin assures me it's much more stable than Windows 98, which would be nice. Because XP is very different from 98, I'm having to track down new drivers for my hardware and download them, time-consuming business. I should be ok with most of my kit, but some of my older software might not work.
The plan is to back up all my files, reformat the hard drive, divide it into two partitions and install XP on one and Linux on the other. (If any boffins are reading, I'll be sticking to the Fat32 file system.) The Linux version I'm looking at comes with office and graphics software included.
I'm quite excited about doing this, it's a major move. I've been wanting to try Linux for years, even did a Unix course to prepare myself.
:: weekend stuff
Another lovely weekend flies by, but at least this time I accomplished a few things.
1. Weeded the front garden. It was a mess. Now it's at least tidy.
2. Did some fruitful fiddling on the computer -- I'm still having problems with the USB connection (for the camera and scanner), but I may have sorted it out, with the help of the wonderful forums on the PC Advisor website. It's quite a good magazine too. I'm considering subscribing, but suspect the mag wouldn't fit through the letter slot and I hate being woken up by the postie dring-dringing on the door.
3. Posted Pinky's shopping to her. Lovely shoes, she has such good taste!
4. Got my hair done -- badly-needed trim and colour job. It's lovely to sit there sipping coffee and flipping through the latest Marie Claire. It would be a lot cheaper to buy the mag and sit in a cafe I guess, but then I wouldn't get Sandy's wonderful scalp massage.
Not a very long list, is it? Very enjoyable though. And I got some cheap videos at HMV's sale -- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Magnolia and The Man Who Wasn't There -- so that took up some time. The last one was the only one I hadn't seen before, so I watched that, and I've also watched half of Crouching Tiger, one of my all-time favourite movies. It's the sort of film you have to see on the big screen though -- the fight scenes are stunning.
I bought the videos during an abortive expedition to John Lewis to look at beds. I was mildly interested in this bed, which I'd seen in a brochure. But the Edinburgh branch is in the throes of a huge redesign and the furniture dept has been shunted off to a dim corner where they seemed to have mainly damaged stock and £700 mattresses. It was also horribly busy & I couldn't find anyone to serve me.
In the kitchenware department I looked at coffee makers. I want a filter coffee machine, but one that takes a paper filter. None of the coffee makers they had use paper filters, they have permanent nylon filters. I prefer paper-filtered coffee partly for the taste, but mainly because I've noticed that if I drink other kinds -- instant, percolated, plunger -- I get arthritic pains in my hips. With filtered coffee I don't have a problem. Some studies have noted a link between coffee, even decaffeinated coffee, and arthritis, so it's not just my imagination. I'll have to stick to my little plastic filter cup though, it seems.
So then I went back to the handbag department, where I had earlier found The Perfect Handbag. Perfect apart from the price tag -- £140. I almost put down my credit card, it was a close thing. Soft, buttery leather, mmmmm, stylish plain exterior with only one square buckle for decoration, comfortable strap. Sturdy zip, no horrid magnetised clip to wipe your cards. Lovely. Sigh. By my third visit (well, it was on the way!) the staff were started to ostentatiously tidy the bags next to me.
So I went and got cheap videos instead. And went home and had a filter coffee. And slept in my ricketty old bed. Harrumph.
1. Weeded the front garden. It was a mess. Now it's at least tidy.
2. Did some fruitful fiddling on the computer -- I'm still having problems with the USB connection (for the camera and scanner), but I may have sorted it out, with the help of the wonderful forums on the PC Advisor website. It's quite a good magazine too. I'm considering subscribing, but suspect the mag wouldn't fit through the letter slot and I hate being woken up by the postie dring-dringing on the door.
3. Posted Pinky's shopping to her. Lovely shoes, she has such good taste!
4. Got my hair done -- badly-needed trim and colour job. It's lovely to sit there sipping coffee and flipping through the latest Marie Claire. It would be a lot cheaper to buy the mag and sit in a cafe I guess, but then I wouldn't get Sandy's wonderful scalp massage.
Not a very long list, is it? Very enjoyable though. And I got some cheap videos at HMV's sale -- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Magnolia and The Man Who Wasn't There -- so that took up some time. The last one was the only one I hadn't seen before, so I watched that, and I've also watched half of Crouching Tiger, one of my all-time favourite movies. It's the sort of film you have to see on the big screen though -- the fight scenes are stunning.
I bought the videos during an abortive expedition to John Lewis to look at beds. I was mildly interested in this bed, which I'd seen in a brochure. But the Edinburgh branch is in the throes of a huge redesign and the furniture dept has been shunted off to a dim corner where they seemed to have mainly damaged stock and £700 mattresses. It was also horribly busy & I couldn't find anyone to serve me.
In the kitchenware department I looked at coffee makers. I want a filter coffee machine, but one that takes a paper filter. None of the coffee makers they had use paper filters, they have permanent nylon filters. I prefer paper-filtered coffee partly for the taste, but mainly because I've noticed that if I drink other kinds -- instant, percolated, plunger -- I get arthritic pains in my hips. With filtered coffee I don't have a problem. Some studies have noted a link between coffee, even decaffeinated coffee, and arthritis, so it's not just my imagination. I'll have to stick to my little plastic filter cup though, it seems.
So then I went back to the handbag department, where I had earlier found The Perfect Handbag. Perfect apart from the price tag -- £140. I almost put down my credit card, it was a close thing. Soft, buttery leather, mmmmm, stylish plain exterior with only one square buckle for decoration, comfortable strap. Sturdy zip, no horrid magnetised clip to wipe your cards. Lovely. Sigh. By my third visit (well, it was on the way!) the staff were started to ostentatiously tidy the bags next to me.
So I went and got cheap videos instead. And went home and had a filter coffee. And slept in my ricketty old bed. Harrumph.
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