Got Internet back on Saturday (Yipiee!) turns out we had the wrong power cable plugged into the modem (deep shame) so once engineer had fixed that, we had connection again.
On Thursday evening I started to get some pain "int gob" so spent Friday calling the dentist to try and get booked in. I tried all day, and just got an ansaphone service saying "sorry we cant take your call, leave a message" so I did. Finally, I looked at the opening hours on the net, and found out the flipping dentist was closed all day (Howl).
I had a bad night Saturday, due to the pain, so called the NHS out of hours service, and got an appointment fairly close by at midday (well.. turn up and wait, anyway). When I eventually saw the Dentist, he said I had an abcess under where the tooth I had taken out in January was, and that it was affecting the tooth next door :-( Gave me antibiotics.
Meanwhile.. on Saturday.. Douglas bent his big toe back when he tripped on something, so he was in pain too. His pain increased over Saturday night, and at 3am he woke me up, fearing that he had actually broken his foot somehow, as the pain was so bad.
We went to A&E and after only about 3 hours and an xray, Douglas was told he had not broken anything, it was just a sprain. Poor lamb.. we went home, both feeling totally rotten, and spent Sunday eating pain killers and trying to catch up on sleep, since Douglas had had none, and I had about 3 hours worth.
Monday.
Still both in pain.. no work for either of us today. Went to my dentist who gave me two options for tooth.. either root canal, which might not work, or say bye bye to the tooth, which would work. Im sorry to say Ive decided to go down the "bye bye tooth" option. Ouch. Booked in for 12th may.
Douglas can just about hobble round the house, but is still in a lot of pain, partly due to sprain, but more so to do with a flare up of gout in the toe he bent.
Poor us... sympathy, flowers, crutches, pain killers and soft food all accepted gratefully ;-)
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Progress
I thought I would update my blog on the progress our our loving, greedy, and slightly dim cat Billy, and our beautiful little scaredy cat, Lilly.
Those of you who have been following my blog will know that our moggies came from a rescue centre in December, so its been nearly 6 months since we became "parents".
Those of you who have been following my blog will know that our moggies came from a rescue centre in December, so its been nearly 6 months since we became "parents".
Billy is doing fine.. is spending at least an hour out every day, even if its raining (got very grubby last time) loves being stroked, and is at his happiest curled up on our bed, or on his cushion cover by the computer.
Lilly has always been much more shy, and until recently wouldn't come anywhere near us, but
about a month ago Lilly decided she was brave enough to sniff our hands, and will now rub her face along our fingers if we stay very still! We are delighted at this progress.
Over the last few weeks, Douglas and I have been trying to get her used to being touched (we would so love to stroke her, as she looks sooo cute!) Douglas has managed to stroke her tail a few times, which is great.
Yesterday I put Billys food down, then just before putting Lillys down, I reached out and managed to stroke her about 4 times along her back. She was still very jumpy, particularly when she saw that this contact was coming from a moving hand (YIKES! thinks Lilly).
We will continue with "training" Lilly not to be scared when we touch her, and hopefully in 6 months time or so, we can put a collar on her, and let her go walkies with Billy!
Watch this space for progress reports :-)
Monday, 21 April 2008
A weekend with a difference - Sunday
I woke at about 8 on Sunday morning. Heather and I got dressed leisurley, and then managed to get Peter to wake in time for breakfast.
Heather got a paper, and I had two books - one called The Boyln Inheritance, and one about Queen Victorias youngest daughter, so we read until about 12, and headed back up to Ellies pub (having packed the car)
Ellie treated us to traditional Sunday lunch.. the same for all of us but no meat for me, of course! It consisted of Roast Lamb (didnt look very nice, served on a rather unweildy bone) Commercially prepared roasts pots and new pots, yorkshire and carrots, horrible grey looking peas, and home cooked cabbage. The cabbage was the tastiest bit! Ellie had kindly made me veggie gravy, so with salt and brown sauce I ate a fair bit of what I was given.
After lunch, we propped up the bar for a bit longer, and headed home. Peter drives very fast. I
sat in the back of his small "fiesta like" 3 doored car, trying not to let the steatbelt cut me into two bits. I dozed off for some of the journey.. partly due to being tired, and partly due to self defence!! ;-)
I was glad to be home (got home about 3pm) and after a short break, Peter continued his journey, and took Heather back to Leicester.
I do hope all of us can meet up again soon, I plan to go down to Leicester at some point during the summer and have a day out with Heather, as we would both enjoy that.
After snuggling up on the sofa with Douglas, I crept into bed at about 9pm, and, unusually for me, did not wake once in the night, didnt even notice D coming to bed at whatever time he did. I was out for the count.
Heather got a paper, and I had two books - one called The Boyln Inheritance, and one about Queen Victorias youngest daughter, so we read until about 12, and headed back up to Ellies pub (having packed the car)
Ellie treated us to traditional Sunday lunch.. the same for all of us but no meat for me, of course! It consisted of Roast Lamb (didnt look very nice, served on a rather unweildy bone) Commercially prepared roasts pots and new pots, yorkshire and carrots, horrible grey looking peas, and home cooked cabbage. The cabbage was the tastiest bit! Ellie had kindly made me veggie gravy, so with salt and brown sauce I ate a fair bit of what I was given.
After lunch, we propped up the bar for a bit longer, and headed home. Peter drives very fast. I
sat in the back of his small "fiesta like" 3 doored car, trying not to let the steatbelt cut me into two bits. I dozed off for some of the journey.. partly due to being tired, and partly due to self defence!! ;-)
I was glad to be home (got home about 3pm) and after a short break, Peter continued his journey, and took Heather back to Leicester.
I do hope all of us can meet up again soon, I plan to go down to Leicester at some point during the summer and have a day out with Heather, as we would both enjoy that.
After snuggling up on the sofa with Douglas, I crept into bed at about 9pm, and, unusually for me, did not wake once in the night, didnt even notice D coming to bed at whatever time he did. I was out for the count.
A weekend with a difference! Friday & Saturday
On Friday evening two of my friends I met on Runescape came up and stayed over, prior to going over to a village near Macclesfield on Saturday.
I have met Heather before (aka Mummybear) and shes lovely.. but I had not met Peter (aka Scorpioqaz) before! Im glad to say he was just as he seems when we are on line.. a good sense of humour mixed in with some naughtness, which often sees him getting sent to stand (well his character) in the corner as a punishment ;-)
We chatted late into the night, and after a leisurely start, headed off over the hills to see Ellie, another Runescape friend who runs a pub in a little village in Cheshire (near Mac)
Lunch at the pub was quite nice.. Ellie made me an omlette since she dosnt have an extensive menu, and nothing especially for veggies!!
I had an afternoon nap of about 2 hours in our hotel, which was very close to the pub (crawling distance lol) Ellie worked, Peter and Heather chatted in his room.
At about 6pm, we walked up to the Pub, and propped the bar up for about an hour before Ellie could hand over to someone else.
We went on a mini pub crawl round her village, and ended up (at 11pm) at the local curry establishment. They were heaving, so we had to get a take away and eat in in the pub!
1am saw us heading off back to our hotel, after a very pleasant evening chatting about this n that and lots of stuff about Runescape. After a fair bit of booze, and a very late night for me, I was glad to hit the hay.
I have met Heather before (aka Mummybear) and shes lovely.. but I had not met Peter (aka Scorpioqaz) before! Im glad to say he was just as he seems when we are on line.. a good sense of humour mixed in with some naughtness, which often sees him getting sent to stand (well his character) in the corner as a punishment ;-)
We chatted late into the night, and after a leisurely start, headed off over the hills to see Ellie, another Runescape friend who runs a pub in a little village in Cheshire (near Mac)
Lunch at the pub was quite nice.. Ellie made me an omlette since she dosnt have an extensive menu, and nothing especially for veggies!!
I had an afternoon nap of about 2 hours in our hotel, which was very close to the pub (crawling distance lol) Ellie worked, Peter and Heather chatted in his room.
At about 6pm, we walked up to the Pub, and propped the bar up for about an hour before Ellie could hand over to someone else.
We went on a mini pub crawl round her village, and ended up (at 11pm) at the local curry establishment. They were heaving, so we had to get a take away and eat in in the pub!
1am saw us heading off back to our hotel, after a very pleasant evening chatting about this n that and lots of stuff about Runescape. After a fair bit of booze, and a very late night for me, I was glad to hit the hay.
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Blowing my own trumpet by posting this..
Well you know I work in a contact centre.. this lady from the police called wanting a contact in her local area. I was my normal cheerful helpful self.. and she was dead impressed and wanted my team leaders email address so she could write a thank you.. this is it..
****
Karren
I would like to bring to your attention the excellent customer service that I received from Anna G. this morning.
I rang seeking the details of the Chief Executive for your agency relevant to Nottinghamshire. Anna was most helpful and promptly put me through to a regional representative from whom I was able to get the details.
I was particularly impressed with Anna's communication style. Upon answering the call she stated who she was, who she worked for and asked if she could help. She found regional contact details from your database and talked me through the process she was undertaking to obtain those details. She then spoke to a regional representative and then put me through to that named contact.
She was polite, courteous and kept me updated throughout.
The transaction took no more than 4 or 5 minutes, but at the end of it I felt valued. It has made my morning to speak to such a helpful and professional individual.
Thank you.
Jenny
***
Well isnt that just lovely!? You can understand if I said I smiled for the rest of the day.
I emailed this to my mum, who said if you are that good they should double your pay!! My team leader - Karren said if she could, she would :-)
****
Karren
I would like to bring to your attention the excellent customer service that I received from Anna G. this morning.
I rang seeking the details of the Chief Executive for your agency relevant to Nottinghamshire. Anna was most helpful and promptly put me through to a regional representative from whom I was able to get the details.
I was particularly impressed with Anna's communication style. Upon answering the call she stated who she was, who she worked for and asked if she could help. She found regional contact details from your database and talked me through the process she was undertaking to obtain those details. She then spoke to a regional representative and then put me through to that named contact.
She was polite, courteous and kept me updated throughout.
The transaction took no more than 4 or 5 minutes, but at the end of it I felt valued. It has made my morning to speak to such a helpful and professional individual.
Thank you.
Jenny
***
Well isnt that just lovely!? You can understand if I said I smiled for the rest of the day.
I emailed this to my mum, who said if you are that good they should double your pay!! My team leader - Karren said if she could, she would :-)
Sunday
The kids acutally slept till about 7, which was good - it constitutes a lie-in for them I suspect!
I started the morning by teaching the twins how to make eggy bread (aka French Toast) as they adore it. Both kids are quite good at breaking eggs, but don't quite have the "whisking" technique right yet.
I got the kids, one at a time, to put a knob of marge into the frying pan, turn on the gas and wait for the sizzle. I got them to practice the frying pan shuffle to make their eggy bread move, and then with the fish slice, they turned it over. Martha has a bit more skill than Leo in this, whose slice of eggy bread refused to flip :-)
I grilled some bacon, and the end result was two full happy kids, having almost cooked all of their own breakfasts!
Yesterday I purchased 2 large bags of carrots.. gave one to Thomas, and decided to turn some of my bag full into carrot cake.
Imagine the scene.. 3 smallish kids. one grater on a plate and a carrot each!
The end result was a lovely cake!
gotta dash.. lunch break over..
I started the morning by teaching the twins how to make eggy bread (aka French Toast) as they adore it. Both kids are quite good at breaking eggs, but don't quite have the "whisking" technique right yet.
I got the kids, one at a time, to put a knob of marge into the frying pan, turn on the gas and wait for the sizzle. I got them to practice the frying pan shuffle to make their eggy bread move, and then with the fish slice, they turned it over. Martha has a bit more skill than Leo in this, whose slice of eggy bread refused to flip :-)
I grilled some bacon, and the end result was two full happy kids, having almost cooked all of their own breakfasts!
Yesterday I purchased 2 large bags of carrots.. gave one to Thomas, and decided to turn some of my bag full into carrot cake.
Imagine the scene.. 3 smallish kids. one grater on a plate and a carrot each!
The end result was a lovely cake!
gotta dash.. lunch break over..
Monday, 14 April 2008
Busy Saturday
My little brother persuaded me to attend a singing day run by a choir called Purple Cats I persuaded my mum to come with me!
We had a really interesting day.. learning words, then the tune, putting them together, then learning harmonies, and eventually singing the whole song!
We learnt two songs.. a Gospel song, that made me want to hear real Gospel singers doing their thing, and a South African protest song, also very good.
The day was good, but hard work, and at afternoon break my mum was exhausted and her voice was going - I was tired too after a bad nights sleep, so we made our apologies and crept out.
I got back to find Douglas fast asleep in bed.. he too had a busy day, doing some overtime at work, ensuring that their new phone system worked.
Billy was pacing, so I let him out for a walk, thinking he wouldnt go too far, and that he would be back before Martha, Leo and Carlo arrived for the evening to stay over.
1 hour after exit.. no Billy.. he will be back soon.. we were sure...
2 hours after exit.. no Billy. Its getting cold outside, we dont have a cat flap. Back door still open :-( Its raining and the house is cold.
3 long stressful hours, after calling the damn cat, shaking his food and searching for him with no joy.. He (the Damn cat) walks in, cool as you please, sopping wet and happy to be home.
3 hours and a few mins later.. Anna and Douglas collapse into each others arms, so happy that the errant Damn cat decided to come home :-)
3.5 hours later.. Cat drying off, A&Ds blood pressure back to normal. Phew.
We had a really interesting day.. learning words, then the tune, putting them together, then learning harmonies, and eventually singing the whole song!
We learnt two songs.. a Gospel song, that made me want to hear real Gospel singers doing their thing, and a South African protest song, also very good.
The day was good, but hard work, and at afternoon break my mum was exhausted and her voice was going - I was tired too after a bad nights sleep, so we made our apologies and crept out.
I got back to find Douglas fast asleep in bed.. he too had a busy day, doing some overtime at work, ensuring that their new phone system worked.
Billy was pacing, so I let him out for a walk, thinking he wouldnt go too far, and that he would be back before Martha, Leo and Carlo arrived for the evening to stay over.
1 hour after exit.. no Billy.. he will be back soon.. we were sure...
2 hours after exit.. no Billy. Its getting cold outside, we dont have a cat flap. Back door still open :-( Its raining and the house is cold.
3 long stressful hours, after calling the damn cat, shaking his food and searching for him with no joy.. He (the Damn cat) walks in, cool as you please, sopping wet and happy to be home.
3 hours and a few mins later.. Anna and Douglas collapse into each others arms, so happy that the errant Damn cat decided to come home :-)
3.5 hours later.. Cat drying off, A&Ds blood pressure back to normal. Phew.
Sunday, 6 April 2008
Computers.. love em and hate em..
At the beginning of this week, I got my computer home from the menders once more. When I play Runescape the computer image freezes at random intervals and sometimes the picture on the screen vanishes, and its as though the PC has turned itself off.
The computer has been in to this particular repairers twice now due to this, and having tested it during the week is still not fixed. Its better, but not totally :-( Will have to take it back again. Humph.
Later on in the week, my mum called for some computer help, so on Thursday I went round and tried to sort the problem out, but on Friday evening had a panicked call from her saying i had deleted all her contacts in her hotmail account!! I accessed her account from here, found them all to be in place which was odd. She booked me in for a visit after overtime at work on Saturday.
Saturday pm.
Overtime went well, got lots done.. then went over to my 2nd job, as tech support ;-)
It looks like hotmail has got problems so I found my mum a way around the difficulty she had encountered. I also..
Registered my parents for Telephone and Mailing Preference services (to reduce junk mail and calls)
Put various photos from her camera onto her computer so she can email them to people
Put photos of their old bathroom suite on Photobucket
Put old bathroom suite up for grabs on Freecycle
Installed her new printer/scanner correctly
Scanned some old family photos, then printed them out (Mum watched this happen, and judging by her reaction, it was better than a magic show to her)
After all that, I came home to find Douglas has made quite a nice job of planting our new apple tree. He also let Billy out for some exercise, but the dear cat only stayed out 5 mins, presumably he did not appreciate the rain and hail, and decided indoors was nicer. This does, of course, not prevent him from standing by the back door after he has had his evening meal, and yowling at us.
We will get my dad to install a cat flap soonish, and when Billy has learnt to use it, he can please himself.
Lilly is getting more confident with us.. she still flinches and runs if we try to stroke her, but she only runs a very short distance before returning. Compared to how she was in December, she has improved by leaps and bounds, but there is still a long way to go before we can get anywhere near her to put her collar and name disc on.
The computer has been in to this particular repairers twice now due to this, and having tested it during the week is still not fixed. Its better, but not totally :-( Will have to take it back again. Humph.
Later on in the week, my mum called for some computer help, so on Thursday I went round and tried to sort the problem out, but on Friday evening had a panicked call from her saying i had deleted all her contacts in her hotmail account!! I accessed her account from here, found them all to be in place which was odd. She booked me in for a visit after overtime at work on Saturday.
Saturday pm.
Overtime went well, got lots done.. then went over to my 2nd job, as tech support ;-)
It looks like hotmail has got problems so I found my mum a way around the difficulty she had encountered. I also..
Registered my parents for Telephone and Mailing Preference services (to reduce junk mail and calls)
Put various photos from her camera onto her computer so she can email them to people
Put photos of their old bathroom suite on Photobucket
Put old bathroom suite up for grabs on Freecycle
Installed her new printer/scanner correctly
Scanned some old family photos, then printed them out (Mum watched this happen, and judging by her reaction, it was better than a magic show to her)
After all that, I came home to find Douglas has made quite a nice job of planting our new apple tree. He also let Billy out for some exercise, but the dear cat only stayed out 5 mins, presumably he did not appreciate the rain and hail, and decided indoors was nicer. This does, of course, not prevent him from standing by the back door after he has had his evening meal, and yowling at us.
We will get my dad to install a cat flap soonish, and when Billy has learnt to use it, he can please himself.
Lilly is getting more confident with us.. she still flinches and runs if we try to stroke her, but she only runs a very short distance before returning. Compared to how she was in December, she has improved by leaps and bounds, but there is still a long way to go before we can get anywhere near her to put her collar and name disc on.
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