No, Bertie's coat is not still green. He scrubbed himself up and down the hedge while it was wet and then dried off on the carpet. Oh the joys of pet ownership.
In other news ... well, nothing. I've got a couple of good books on the go (All Families are Psychotic by Douglas Coupland and Ilium by Dan Simmons) and sped-read another, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. Oh, and I've also started Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. I recommend them all, though Ilium is only for hard-core sci-fi fans. Having said that, it has inspired me to download Homer's Iliad from the net and store it on my Palm. How sci-fi is that? I've got four other books on there, plus all my addresses etc, several photos, calculator and what-have-you, and plenty of room left. Twenty years ago I was all excited to have a computer with two floppy disc drives (and they really were floppy); now I've got a library in my handbag. I love technology.
I had a lovely letter from Uncle Jock, who sounds in good spirits despite having 10% kidney function and a crook ticker. Dog tucker, he reckons, but he's not letting it get him down. I've resolved never again to whine about my arthritis.
29 April 2004
24 April 2004
:: green dog
Why aren't dogs ever green? It would be better camouflage than white, surely, especially for a dog that can't take the cold. Bertie is trying out a new coat colour at the moment, thanks to a freshly-cut lawn. Mmm, very fetching.
After mowing the lawn and strimming the edges I ran out of steam and spent the rest of the afternoon sitting outside reading the paper. I know this is technically a "waste" of my time off, but my feeling it was to do just this that I bought this house in the first place.
I have a cold. I've had a vaguely sore throat all week, but the actual cold only developed in the last couple of hours at work last night. How irritating! It's nothing serious though, just a dribbly nose & slight fever.
Neighbours with dogs:
Neighbour A, who has been Holding Forth on the topic of Orkney for a good ten minutes, spies Neighbour B coming along with her dogs. "I hope you don't mind if I avoid her ... she does go on a bit. I think she's rather lonely; she buttonholes me and goes on and on with all the latest gossip." I have a brisk chat with Neighbour B about the GPS course she's doing, then rejoin Neighbour A, who proceeds to Hold Forth on the subject of narrow boats for another ten minutes.
I really like them both, by the way.
After mowing the lawn and strimming the edges I ran out of steam and spent the rest of the afternoon sitting outside reading the paper. I know this is technically a "waste" of my time off, but my feeling it was to do just this that I bought this house in the first place.
I have a cold. I've had a vaguely sore throat all week, but the actual cold only developed in the last couple of hours at work last night. How irritating! It's nothing serious though, just a dribbly nose & slight fever.
Neighbours with dogs:
Neighbour A, who has been Holding Forth on the topic of Orkney for a good ten minutes, spies Neighbour B coming along with her dogs. "I hope you don't mind if I avoid her ... she does go on a bit. I think she's rather lonely; she buttonholes me and goes on and on with all the latest gossip." I have a brisk chat with Neighbour B about the GPS course she's doing, then rejoin Neighbour A, who proceeds to Hold Forth on the subject of narrow boats for another ten minutes.
I really like them both, by the way.
21 April 2004
:: creepy clones
My website used to be www.hockadilly.co.uk, but then I got cheesed off with my ISP and shifted away. I didn't take hockadilly.co.uk with me because it would have cost ?75. Instead I got the dot-com version and moved on. The old url was registered to me until November last year, and this month, someone reregistered it. No biggie. (Though the word "why?" did cross my mind.)
Then tonight I googled the word hockadilly, just out of curiosity, and was amazed to see 1,360 hits. Even more amazing, the first two were for hockadilly.co.uk - not my own work, but something called "Be Equipped: Deuteronomy: Aquiring the Tools for Spiritual Success". A work by Warren W Wiersbe. It wasn't cached, and the link just leads to a message saying the site is "offline due to server maintenance operations". Weird.
A lot of the hits were for sites that trawl the web looking for search terms and listing the results; so I'm down for things like "fairy necklaces" and "dog coat knitting". Just stuff I write about normally.
Didn't do much today -- went to the pet supermarket, where Bertie met a truly terrifying little boy. His mother told him sternly not to try and pat the poor scared doggie -- so he went and got a great big ball off the shelf and threw it at him!
They've moved the live rabbits and guinea pigs from the dogfood section to over by the cat toys, but apparently you can still smell them.
Then tonight I googled the word hockadilly, just out of curiosity, and was amazed to see 1,360 hits. Even more amazing, the first two were for hockadilly.co.uk - not my own work, but something called "Be Equipped: Deuteronomy: Aquiring the Tools for Spiritual Success". A work by Warren W Wiersbe. It wasn't cached, and the link just leads to a message saying the site is "offline due to server maintenance operations". Weird.
A lot of the hits were for sites that trawl the web looking for search terms and listing the results; so I'm down for things like "fairy necklaces" and "dog coat knitting". Just stuff I write about normally.
Didn't do much today -- went to the pet supermarket, where Bertie met a truly terrifying little boy. His mother told him sternly not to try and pat the poor scared doggie -- so he went and got a great big ball off the shelf and threw it at him!
They've moved the live rabbits and guinea pigs from the dogfood section to over by the cat toys, but apparently you can still smell them.
19 April 2004
:: days of whine and roses
Kate and Robbie's wedding ceilidh was wonderful: Kate looked radiant and elegant, and Robbie was magnificent in full fig Highland dress. Andrew was also in a kilt and formal jacket & bow tie. I know kilts are a Victorian invention -- originally it was just a long bit of fabric bundled up round the waist with a belt, with the excess tossed over the shoulder -- but I do think it's gorgeous. Blokes like it because it comes with a non-embarrassing handbag, the sporran. This year, they're putting their digital cameras in there! Slightly nerdy digression, since we're talking tartan: I now know how to tell a military kilt from a civilian one. At the back, the pleats of the civilian kilt make checks when they hang flat. On a military kilt, they make stripes. You probably already knew that, but I didn't.
So yes, lots of wild dancing, including the tango -- Robbie is from Argentina. My camera is rubbish at taking flash pictures in large spaces so I didn't take a lot. This one, of Andrew doing the tango with the best man's wife, required a lot of technical fiddling around with to show up at all. He's got a rose between his teeth, put there by Paul. And yes, that's the best man in the background. He was a very nice person!
The age range went from tiny babies (the youngest was six weeks old) to ancient folk, and everyone had a ball. Here's another picture of Andrew:
Afterwards we piled into a minibus and had a brief drink in a manically noisy bar/club before repairing to the hotel where Andrew, Paul and several other wedding guests were staying.
So that's the roses part. The whine part was the hotel where I stayed. Whiiiiiiiine! My room was unbelievably tiny -- no room for Bertie to turn round without backing into the bathroom -- and jammed full of ornate furniture and hectic florals. Bertie hated it. I think he's always slightly worried in case this is our new home.
The bed was excruciatingly uncomfortable, so what with Bertie moaning and grizzling and everyone else in the hotel getting up at 7:30am, I got hardly any sleep. Then at breakfast came the final insult: I was seated at a table right at the back of the dining room, next to the kitchen. I had to scramble under a palm tree and shove aside wine-bucket stands to sit down. Grrr.
What cheeses me off most, though, is that I didn't complain. I should be more assertive, I should have refused to sit at the damned table. But I was tired and hungover, so I just paid up and slunk out.
Yesterday it rained and rained, but I went to the Hermitage for a walk anyway -- it's lovely there whatever. Meeting up with Andrew and Paul lightened my bad mood, but then I fell over!! Argh. I gave up and went home, where I had a nice hot bath and a nap. In my wonderful comfy bed, in my spacious bedroom. Bliss.
So yes, lots of wild dancing, including the tango -- Robbie is from Argentina. My camera is rubbish at taking flash pictures in large spaces so I didn't take a lot. This one, of Andrew doing the tango with the best man's wife, required a lot of technical fiddling around with to show up at all. He's got a rose between his teeth, put there by Paul. And yes, that's the best man in the background. He was a very nice person!
The age range went from tiny babies (the youngest was six weeks old) to ancient folk, and everyone had a ball. Here's another picture of Andrew:
Afterwards we piled into a minibus and had a brief drink in a manically noisy bar/club before repairing to the hotel where Andrew, Paul and several other wedding guests were staying.
So that's the roses part. The whine part was the hotel where I stayed. Whiiiiiiiine! My room was unbelievably tiny -- no room for Bertie to turn round without backing into the bathroom -- and jammed full of ornate furniture and hectic florals. Bertie hated it. I think he's always slightly worried in case this is our new home.
The bed was excruciatingly uncomfortable, so what with Bertie moaning and grizzling and everyone else in the hotel getting up at 7:30am, I got hardly any sleep. Then at breakfast came the final insult: I was seated at a table right at the back of the dining room, next to the kitchen. I had to scramble under a palm tree and shove aside wine-bucket stands to sit down. Grrr.
What cheeses me off most, though, is that I didn't complain. I should be more assertive, I should have refused to sit at the damned table. But I was tired and hungover, so I just paid up and slunk out.
Yesterday it rained and rained, but I went to the Hermitage for a walk anyway -- it's lovely there whatever. Meeting up with Andrew and Paul lightened my bad mood, but then I fell over!! Argh. I gave up and went home, where I had a nice hot bath and a nap. In my wonderful comfy bed, in my spacious bedroom. Bliss.
16 April 2004
:: too busy to blog
Have a look at this instead: kevan.org. There are a lot of amusing things to do on Kevan's site, like making up slang. He's also doing The Diary of a Nobody as a blog, which is a grand idea. Someone else is doing Pepys's blog.
Oh, I talked to Faye today. I called her on her mobile after first phoning her landline and getting her employer, the 90-something former Oxford philosophy don. He's deaf and won't use a hearing aid, and got quite tetchy with me for not speaking clearly.
"When I answer the telephone I expect to get a name. Now, who is it you wish to speak to?"
"Faye. F, A, Y, E..."
"Wye Ee? There's no-one here by that name!"
Oh, I talked to Faye today. I called her on her mobile after first phoning her landline and getting her employer, the 90-something former Oxford philosophy don. He's deaf and won't use a hearing aid, and got quite tetchy with me for not speaking clearly.
"When I answer the telephone I expect to get a name. Now, who is it you wish to speak to?"
"Faye. F, A, Y, E..."
"Wye Ee? There's no-one here by that name!"
9 April 2004
:: It's still me
I just changed the name ... no good reason, I just felt like a change.
Maybe it's because spring is here. I do feel energised generally -- I cleaned the house twice in the space of a month, and didn't even have guests! The garden's erupting quite nicely. The rose hedge out the front that I hacked down is sprouting, and the giant honeysuckle that wove in amongst the roses -- now reduced to a twisted stump -- is also sprouting, so that's good. I'm hoping to keep it all down to about waist height. It was 6ft high or more.
This is an early photo -- the hedge is the second wodge of greenery.
Without the hedge though, the front looks kind of bare. There's a honeysuckle next to the front door and a nice dark red rose under the kitchen window, but nothing under the dining room at all. I would love to put a tree there, but I can't because all the drain manholes are there -- I don't know why my place got lumbered with them but it did. There's one huge one and two smaller ones. Now and then an official water authority van drives up and men in clumpy boots stamp all over my lawn and garden. Shrub-in-a-tub's an option, but knowing my expertise in causing early plant death that may be over-optimistic. I could always just stop strimming the edge and cultivate a tiny "meadow" strip.
I love spring, it's my favourite season. Especially here -- it's so dramatic after the winter, and so welcome.
Maybe it's because spring is here. I do feel energised generally -- I cleaned the house twice in the space of a month, and didn't even have guests! The garden's erupting quite nicely. The rose hedge out the front that I hacked down is sprouting, and the giant honeysuckle that wove in amongst the roses -- now reduced to a twisted stump -- is also sprouting, so that's good. I'm hoping to keep it all down to about waist height. It was 6ft high or more.
This is an early photo -- the hedge is the second wodge of greenery.
Without the hedge though, the front looks kind of bare. There's a honeysuckle next to the front door and a nice dark red rose under the kitchen window, but nothing under the dining room at all. I would love to put a tree there, but I can't because all the drain manholes are there -- I don't know why my place got lumbered with them but it did. There's one huge one and two smaller ones. Now and then an official water authority van drives up and men in clumpy boots stamp all over my lawn and garden. Shrub-in-a-tub's an option, but knowing my expertise in causing early plant death that may be over-optimistic. I could always just stop strimming the edge and cultivate a tiny "meadow" strip.
I love spring, it's my favourite season. Especially here -- it's so dramatic after the winter, and so welcome.
8 April 2004
:: oops!
My hush.com email account was deleted for lack of activity -- ie I hadn't checked my mail for a while. So, sorry if you wrote to me there and I never wrote back. I'm too slack for my own good.
Lately I've been busy mainly with work and dog-walking. On Monday I went to Tentsmuir, had a fantastic walk there. First off I went to the West Beach at St Andrews, but it was too crowded -- Bertie is too neurotic to do well on crowded beaches. He wasn't too bad; he was nice and friendly to a woman and her son. But then she sat down and he rushed over and barked in her face, and then danced around and wouldn't let me catch him. So we went to Tentsmuir, where there are miles and miles of empty sand and forest and it's like dog heaven. He met a very interesting lurcher and they played chase. Bertie lost: the lurcher dashed through water up to its chest without giving it a second thought, and Bertie had to detour round because he's such a wimp.
It was a changeable day, with bursts of bright blue sky and acres of dark, heavy rainclouds piling up along the horizon. There were seals off the beach, poking their heads up to stare, and flocks of darting black birds. It was just wonderful.
I'm on a healthy eating stint. I don't know how long it will last, but I'm enjoying it. I make delicious salads to take in to work, and on my days off I have steak and salad, things like that. Today I baked a piece of salmon for tomorrow's salad. Yum. And lots of fruit.
I haven't been out to check if the grass seed has sprouted.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I bought an outfit for weddings! Well, a top. But I also bought a pair of high heeled shoes! Anyone who knows me would be amazed. Next thing I'll be buying a frock. The top is nice, a dark purple with flowers embroidered on it, and most importantly, it's comfortable. In the same shopping session I also got a wedding present for Kate and Robbie and a christening present for Calum, plus all the paper, cards etc.
Lately I've been busy mainly with work and dog-walking. On Monday I went to Tentsmuir, had a fantastic walk there. First off I went to the West Beach at St Andrews, but it was too crowded -- Bertie is too neurotic to do well on crowded beaches. He wasn't too bad; he was nice and friendly to a woman and her son. But then she sat down and he rushed over and barked in her face, and then danced around and wouldn't let me catch him. So we went to Tentsmuir, where there are miles and miles of empty sand and forest and it's like dog heaven. He met a very interesting lurcher and they played chase. Bertie lost: the lurcher dashed through water up to its chest without giving it a second thought, and Bertie had to detour round because he's such a wimp.
It was a changeable day, with bursts of bright blue sky and acres of dark, heavy rainclouds piling up along the horizon. There were seals off the beach, poking their heads up to stare, and flocks of darting black birds. It was just wonderful.
I'm on a healthy eating stint. I don't know how long it will last, but I'm enjoying it. I make delicious salads to take in to work, and on my days off I have steak and salad, things like that. Today I baked a piece of salmon for tomorrow's salad. Yum. And lots of fruit.
I haven't been out to check if the grass seed has sprouted.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I bought an outfit for weddings! Well, a top. But I also bought a pair of high heeled shoes! Anyone who knows me would be amazed. Next thing I'll be buying a frock. The top is nice, a dark purple with flowers embroidered on it, and most importantly, it's comfortable. In the same shopping session I also got a wedding present for Kate and Robbie and a christening present for Calum, plus all the paper, cards etc.
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