Purple Dragon

That is the end of my tether that you can see.

Sister Mum got fed up waiting for her letter and phoned to see what the story was. She phoned the woman who does the assessment and the recommendations to the panel. The woman was really cross about the phone call Mum received the other day - apparently nothing is finalised yet and the woman had no right to call Mum ... I think the words 'well out of order' and 'disciplinary' were mentioned.

Anyway, apparently Suze isn't getting chucked out of her home. The difficulty is in-fighting between the NHS Trust and the social services (which I thought was the same thing but apparently they are different departments with different budgets) about who is paying what for her. She has just hit bottom on personal funds - she is allowed a certain amount before she stops paying part of her own bill and that moment is now. Mum is hoping they are going to move her back to the place she was in before they decided she needed all these extras (that cost hundreds more and aren't doing her any good anyway).

MIL is still battling on. She had another 2 units the day before yesterday. Apparently the 6 units she had before lasted 16 days. We went to see her yesterday. She is half the size she was the last time I saw her, I am sure. The priest came in to give her the last rites (although they call it something else - anointing? - something anyway). It was hard. I'm not going into detail, obviously, because it is too personal, but - oh, man - it was so hard.

Lala The senior consultant phoned me from the hospital this afternoon with the results from Lala's blood test. Apparently the antibodies are there, so she has to go in for a biopsy. I know it is a big decision to make - she is only 4 years old, and I hate to think of her going thru all this, getting a general anaesthetic. They don't do a general for adults, but kids won't sit still for a colonic biopsy. Mind you - neither would I!

I have a sort of pain in my chest. A kind of breathlessness. I keep shaking, I'm not sleeping, and have no appetite (although I'm comfort eating - go figure).

I got Lala's pinafore dress thru the post this morning. I couldn't find anywhere that sold pinafore dresses so I had to send away for it. I have another 2 on order but they aren't here yet.

It is so cute. Navy blue with six buttons (in two rows) down the front, a slightly dropped waist, and then a box pleat skirt. She is going to look totally adorable in it, and I got all emotional when she was trying it on. My little girl - starting P1.

The only fly inthe ointment? MIL may not be here to see it.

Here are some photos I took of some photos I have of Kentra when she was being raced last year. It will be a while until we can take our own photos, so I thought I would post these in the meantime.

That is the sailor standing to the left of the big sail on the pic above.

Mum just phoned. She received a call from the woman at Social Services who deals with Suze's case to tell her that her annual review had gone to the panel and that they would no longer be funding her!

W T F ????

These are the same people who have told us that there was no way she could stay in her own home (and that it had to be sold to help finance her care) because she was too ill to be looked after even by round the clock care workers.

These are the same people who have told us they can no longer take her out of the complex, shopping, because she is a danger to the public.

These are the people who are supposed to have a member of staff with her 24/7 because she is a dnager to herself.

So. If they aren't going to pay for her care anymore, and she used all the funds from her house so pay for the care she has had in the last 4 years, and Mum is on a pension, where do they think the money is going to come from to care for her?

Mum is going into hospital for an operation herself tomorrow. This is the last thing she needs, on top of everything else.

Bloody people.

What with one thing and another, I am RIPE for strangling some fucker, I tell you!

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear Subz!
Happy birthday to you!

I hope you have a fab day - you and BirthdayBear and that you eat so much cake you can't get off the chair

I have a feeling that this might be 'your year'. Enjoy it

I haven't bored you all with my chickens lately, so I thought I would remedy this omission

I have put the cockerel into the old goosehouse. He is in there with two wives and four chicks. The chicks are the first one that was born (the mother abandoned all her other eggs and the only other one she hatched herself, died); and Apple, Bumble and Coco. Remember them? They are half grown now, plenty big enough to be free range and not get kidnapped and cannibalised by the crows.

The rest of the chicks that were hatched together are all still in the henhouse. I need to go in there one night and see whose Mum is whose so I can start kicking out. There are about half of them that are old enough to come out of prison. There are 3 hens and 15 chicks in there, and it is getting way over crowded with the chick growth. However, I don't want to put chicks out into the goosehouse without their Mums and I'm not sure whose Mum is who, so that Mum can go out with them.

The last Mum is in the blue coop with her babies. She currently has 5 live babies. I found another dead one in there this afternoon. The only yellow one - the rest are all black. She had 10 eggs, but there are only two unhatched. So that is -
10 eggs
-5 alive = 5
-2 dead = 3
so where did those other three eggs go?

I think it was the flippin crows. I don't know how they got in, but I can't see her doing anything to them. She buried today's dead one under some bedding and moved the other two to the other side of the coop.

I want to get someone to take the cockerel so I can get a new one. He can't do his thang with the hens I am keeping coz they are all his and the genetic abnormalities don't bear thinking about. I can't keep any of the cockerels that are new either. I hope they start showing their sex fairly soon coz I don't know how to sex a chicken! None of them seem particularly aggressive or dominant ... wouldn't it be great if they were all hens! Not very likely.

I would love to replace him with a purebreed so that I can start breeding my own poultry for sale. I can't decide what to get though. I need to research it more.

On another note - I am moving Silver (the remaining rabbit) into the gooserun tomorrow. I feel so sorry for him - all by himself round the back of the poultry sheds. It was fine when there were the others there with him and it was their own little bunny corner, but now he is himself, it seems cruel. At least if he is in the gooserun he will have the birds to keep him company, and - an added benefit - the mutt can't get into the gooserun

Twenty years ago, I used to think it was okay to have a daily dose of laxatives, have warm water as my daily drink, and also as two meals of the day, to stick my fingers down my throat if I thought I had scoffed to much.

I am 5'4" and I thought having a loose size 10 skirt was fine.

I know I was too thin. I wasn't anorexic. Just a bit too thin.

Today, three kids later (and 20 years, and a sterilisation, both of which add the odd pound ot two) I find myself scanning the laxative shelf and wondering ...

However, those twenty years, and the all consuming love I have for my kids, makes me well aware of the dangers of purging and the futility and stupidity of it. What happens when the purging ends?

I do have to lose weight. This time, though, I shall exercise. I shall cut out the biccies and the sweeties. I shall do it the hard way.

Tips, anyone?

The first-ever landing on the moon took place 38 years ago today, when Eagle, the lunar module of Apollo 11, landed on the Sea of Tranquillity.

How cool is that?

Doorbell goes ... it's a gypsy wife selling crocheted stuff.

Yes, it was gorgeous stuff, but - bloody HELL - it was DEAR!

So, I bought a couple of cushion covers and got the kids blessed into the bargain. She wanted to read my palm, but I couldn't face that as well.

Anyway, told Himself I had forked out £30 for the cushion covers and he wasn't chuffed.

I'm not normally superstitious but I have a terror of pissing of gypsys and never turn one away from the door. Maybe I'm a fool, but at least I'm not a cursed fool!

I've got my comments on 'moderated' because of the spammer. It amused me before, but ... things change ... and it ain't funny now

Today's good news is : the wee man is feeling better - no headache. What a relief! i think the decongestant I gave him last night helped. I am sure it was sinuses.

Today's bad news is : just got a call from Himself and the exhaust just fell off his car.

And the ugly ?

I just got about 20 comments posted on my blog trying to sell mobiles phones. I went thru and deleted them, but I'm not miffed at all because they commented in my early posts and it gave me the opportunity to re-read some stuff I had forgotten I had even written!

... are you all so QUIET??

I am trawling blogland trying to find something to read, something to kick my arse out of these doldrums, and everyone is SO QUIET

STOP IT!

You know, I don't really tend to get annoyed about things, but today I have decided to just let it all hang out.

I got an email from VisitScotland just now and they have adverts for different stuff going on this summer.

One of their adverts says

An eclectic line-up of artistes feature at this Gaelic and traditional music festival with events throughout the Highlands

Artistes? Per-leaze! If there is one thing that is guaranteed to put me off attending something, it is 'artistes'. Artists, yes. Performers, no problem. Artistes? I immediately start thinking about "darlinks" and air-kissing. A bunch of pretentious non-talents who think they have got what it takes to be successful ARTISTS.

Unfortunately I probably would have enjoyed attending something like this, but no way am I going along now. I'd end up slapping someone.

Having a bad day today.

Got up late - 8.30 - which isn't conducive to a well organised day.

Last night, the wee man went to bed with a headache. He owke up with one, that got dosed with Calpol, and then when it started wearing off - back came the headache. He's had some more Calpol and is feeling a bit better, but he went to bed for an hour, which is sacrilidge for a 7 year old. He looks a bit flused, but says he feels fine just now and has gone next door to see if they want to come play. Against my better judgement, but perhaps it will take his mind off feeling poorly.

The plumber came round today with the chippy, and they measured up and told me what I could have and not have in the en suite. I wouldn't have minded but they came when I was still in my jammies, running a bath.

While I was in the bath (after they left, I hasten to add!) the postman came and because I had forgotten to change batteries in the doorbell, I didn't hear him at the door and a parcel that Himself has been waiting on has gone back to the sorting office. I phoned them, and they will bring it again tomorrow. Our normal postman hammers on the door like he is trying to batter it down because he knows I often don't hear him and he doesn't trust the bell. This bloke doesn't.

And finally, blog is playing up something terrible - not letting me log in, not loading when I *do* log in, not leaving comments. I have tried to leave a handful of comments this morning, and reply to comments made here, to no avail. So I gave up.

I am reading Ten Thousand Sorrows just now, by Elizabeth Kim. It is about her life - watching her mum murdered as a 'shame killing' in Korea; being carted off to an orphanage; adopted to America and her fundamentalist Xian upbringing.

I'm not quite sure why folk write books like this. I'm not quite sure why I am reading it. I enjoy biographies but tend to read the ones of folk who I find inspirational, or potentially so.

Anyone else read this one?

You know, you write these blogs, and read other peoples blogs, and you start to feel like you are getting to know folk fairly well, and then one of them goes and writes something completely against what you thought they believe and you realise you don't actually know anyone here at all.

So, on Friday, I went to feed the rabbits, and one of them was dead. Waffle, the other dutch we had. The original dutch died a few months ago.

I knew it was getting a bit under the weather, because it was losing weight hand over ... well ... paw, I guess.

I quite liked Waffle. He was a nice friendly rabbit, only three years old or so, and he liked nothing better than a cuddle and a carrot. He would jump up on his hind legs with his front paws on the cage wire when you went past, to greet you.

I reckon the dog scared him to death. In the nice weather, I would put them out on the grass in an enclosure for a good run about, and the mutt had taken to running round and round the enclosure and occasionally barking at them. At first, they would run about a bit scared, and after a few minutes they just started ignoring him, so I figured they were coping, but now I wonder.

The kids were fine. Not bothered at all. Mind you, they were more my rabbits than theirs.

I had a big shrub to plant in the garden, so I dug a hole, put the rabbit in the bottom and then put the shrub on top of him. It is quite nice because I know where he is buried and, for his part, he can feed the shrub

So, I am left with one last rabbit - Silver - a grey netherland dwarf, who I am not particularly fond of because, no matter how much I pet him, the bugger still bites.

I'm not getting any more rabbits.

Just talking to sminchin about village grapevines.

This morning, I went to the blacksmith to collect something we had ordered, and he said "Oh, I see your boat arrrived yesterday"

Me : "Oh, did you see it go past?" (the smithy is at the bottom of the lane)

Blacksmith : "No, I wasn't here - I was told all about it"

Sometimes you don't need to tell anyone anything in a village

We recently answered an ad in the local paper for a static caravan, went to see it, liked it and we got it here last weekend. It is 32' long and 10' wide and is a horrible colour. However, it is sound, and apart from internal cosmetic changes, will be fine to put on a hardstanding in the garden for visitors. I am going to completely do out the inside so that it looks nice, because the interior is rather dated. Here is a picture of it, just coming off the lowloader.

We also bought a boat. She is a 30' sailing boat, but she has an engine as well. Her name is Kentra. She is quite seaworthy, but needs some cosmetic enhancement (don't we all?) and also needs doing up inside as well. Apparently she is a 5-berth, but I don't fancy sleeping in any but the biggest two! The others are diddy! I don't expect that she will be on the water this year, and Himself doesn't think that she will get there next summer either, but I think he is being rather pessimistic. When the weather is nicer I shall take the tarps off her and get a better pic. I shall have to exercise and diet so that I can sit at the front of the boat in a white bikini like on the telly

Took the train from Aberdeen to Stirling yesterday, to go visit with my old friends from where I used to live. When I met them, (one just after I'd had No1Child and the other when I was pregnant with No2Child), we formed a bond that distance isn't wearing thin. Not for me, anyway. It isn't easy to make good friends like them, and they are precious to me.

The train journey down was brilliant. It was a two hour trip and it was everything I had hoped for. Peaceful, interesting, relaxing. I got to see all those views I had caught glimpses of when I was driving but wasn't able to see properly. The scenery down the east coast is breathtaking in places, stark in others, depressing when you are going thru the housing estates ... and the Montrose Basin is as abyssmal when you go over it on the train as it is when you drive past it!

I saw so many people whose lives touched mine - they never even knew I was there, but we took the same journey, albeit everyboy's journey different from another. I saw a man laying behind some buildings, and a woman offering her hand, pulling him up from the floor, and I saw beneath him the dry patch where he had been laying in the rain. There was a drunken man on the train, loudly talking to his pals on the mobile. I saw the woman next to me with her two daughters, cringing with his loud swearing.

Looking out the window, I saw the treetops swaying beneath me when the tracks went over the valleys, the rivers sparkling and rushing over the rocks deep below. There were boats and ships sailing along the ocean at Stonehaven, and I amused myself thinking about what the view will be like when we are sailing our boat along those same waters.

My friend collected me from the train station and we went to my other friends house. Two of their friends were already there and another turned up later, and we sat in the dining room telling silly stories, speculating on sons and daughters, righting the world and drinking Smirnoff Ice. It was such a relaxing night, fun and without any stress at all.

I spent the night at T's house and she ran me thru to the train this morning. Another excellent train journey, I got a better seat this time (facing fowards instead of the sick-making rear-facing), and I sat and read my book and watched the world go by the window.

Himself was at the station waiting for me, with the kids. He took the next train back down again to see his brother who is 50 this week. No1 and No2 child went down with him, to stay with their auntie. There is a BBQ tomorrow to celebrate his and their Dad's birthday, which was today. If the weather is chilly then I shall be able to drive down, but if it is hot, then I shan't because the birds will go thru too much water to leave them that long. I had another 4 chicks hatch yesterday, and she has another 6 eggs under her, so I want to keep my eyes open there as well, but I also don't want to miss the party. It would be nice for them to see No3Child as well.

So I am sitting here watching old episodes of Lost, typing this, with a silent and peaceful house (No3Child is sleeping peacefully) and taking things easy. What a slacker, eh?

Inspired by Subz, I went back to see when I started this blog.

14th June 2005

So I have passed my 2nd blogiversary with nary a mention. Shall have to try to remember nexy year!

We have our static caravan arriving tomorrow afternoon.

It is a do-er-upper. It is in sound condition, but needs a bloody good clean, a new coat of paint, and we are going to re-do the interior because I think it was last decorated by someone from pre-wall Berlin.

It also doesn't have a toilet.

I am really looking forward to doing it.

We are putting it on a hard-standing at the top of the garden, with a wee chuckie garden and some plants in pots. We have to put it up there because of the drainage - it will be at the top of the hill with the septic tank lower down, so we don't need to mess with pumps and stuff.

320 feet of redecorating. Fun

Earlier today, Laura was really rude and naughty so I sent her to her room to consider her behaviour and attitude

Just now, she came and sat next to me and I discovered she had busied herself in her room by cutting her own hair.

AARRRGGGHHHH! It hasn't been *that* long since he hair recovered from Anthony cutting her hair last year and has finally grown back into some semblance of prettyness.

Now ,we are back at square one - short fringe; short bob. Very very short.

Hmm, not much happening today.

I bought some Anti Stress pills - just herbal thingies - and I'm all mellow. It's cool. It is also quite interested bbecause the things that the kids usually do to wind me up and just not getting to me at all. I'm being all reasonable with them. I think they are worried

Went to a friends house for a cuppa this afternoon. It was nice and relaxing. She makes nice tea. She is off to Korea for a couple of weeks tomorrow. I shall miss her

The static caravan arrives tomorrow. I am looking forward to getting stuck into renovating it.

My MIL is still in hospital. She got 4 units of blood yesterday, and they are going to give her some more tonight. I'm worried

I went to the optician today to get my eyes tested.

He said that there is nothing wrong with them, and that my scrip is fine, apart from a slight alteration. I have new spex coming. The ones I have were dead cheapies because that was all we could afford at the time. The new ones coming are 1) normal spex with anti scratch and 2) sunglasses. Yep - two pairs for the price of one. The total cost was £87

Anyway, he reckons that my blood pressure might be up the creek - hence the continual headaches and the blood vessel keep bursting in my eye. I will make an appointment tomorrow to get it seen to.

From today's The Scotsman

Roswell marks 60th anniversary of 'UFO crash'
MARK EVANS
IN NEW MEXICO

AT LEAST 35,000 skygazers descended on the town of Roswell at the weekend to mark the 60th anniversay of the purported flying saucer crash on a ranch.

Participants filled hotel rooms and nearly doubled the south-eastern New Mexico town's population for the Amazing Roswell festival.

The event programme included live concerts (one headlined by a band with a computer-generated "alien" drummer), costume contests, a Main Street parade and lectures pondering everything from body snatchers to "What Does NASA Really Know?"

full story at http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=609&id=1067552007

We bought a boat today

It is a 28', 5-berth sailing boat. It has an engine as well, though.

We will need to arrange for it to be transported from where it is (Forres) to here, because it needs some work done to it. It was on the water last year, so it isn't non-seaworthy or anything.

I shall post some pix when it arrives, and as we do it up, I shall update them.

This is really good - I reckon that once it hits the telly, it will be quite effective - right up until T*sco slams the lawyers on them for nicking their catchphrase!

Dear Campaigner,
Today we are delighted to be launching a brand-new on-line advert featuring a voice over by Alexi Sayle, urging shoppers to spend a few more pounds in local stores to stop them from disappearing completely. The ad, ‘Every Little Helps’ shows the destructive effect that Tesco has on local shops.

The ad was donated to Friends of the Earth for free by a concerned advertising company, and it is now up to us to make sure that as many people see it as possible. Please watch the clip, post a comment, then pass it on to all your friends and family, urging them to do the same. The further we can spread the clip, the further our Shop Local First message will reach.

You and your friends can view the ad at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGoWKVA87ro

And remember that more information about our Shop Local First campaign can be found at:
http://community.foe.co.uk/campaigns/real_food/supermarkets/index.html

Best wishes
Richard

http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/food_and_biotechnology
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Hum tum tiddly um, hum, te-dum te-dum dum.

What to post?

I can't think of anything

Did I tell you I had bats?

Small child and dog just ran past window, better go fetch them back I guess.

As some of you know, my son has mild dyslexia.

What you don't know is that I used to work for Dr David Horrobin, who was the boss of the company that invented Efamol.

Now, apparently EFAs are very good as supplements in combating learning disorders (along with many psychiatric disorders - schizophrenia is one, for example), including dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD and autistic spectrum disorders.

I have been reading some of Dr Horrobin's papers again this morning, along with some other learned Drs and professors, and decided that I had nothing to lose in giving Son omega-3 and omega-6 supplements.

When I was discussing this with the phamacist, she was commenting on first hand experience of 3&6 supplementation with a dyslexic child, and noted tremendous improvement.

Anyway - I shall keep you all posted. It is a 12 week heavy dosage, followed by standard dosages, so don't expect immediate updates.

You probably have heard about yesterdays PrIvate Friends Only Blog Drama.

If you haven't - basically blog freaked and allowed people who aren't listed as friends to read friends-only entries. There was an 'out' for those in the know, butt unfortunately a lot of people (apparently) read things that weren't destined for their eyes and ended up getting their feelings hurt.

I made this comment on the blog of a blog-friend and decided to put it here as well. Not that it is particularly profound or anything, but just cause I can. So there.

Good grief. My pageviews went from their usual 100+ to over 600. Per-lease! Who wants to know something about me that bad? I reckon there were a whole bunch of sadsacks desperately trawling thru blogs looking for something to pin on someone. Pathetic.

You know, my Mum always said "eavesdroppers never hear good about themselves" and I think that is something worth thinking about when things like that happen.

And I am now going to copy and paste this whole comment into my blog.

I don't know who wrote this, but it is going round the internet via email, so I figured it was fine to send you everyone here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘Twas doon by the inch o’ Abbots
Oor Johnny walked one day
When he saw a sicht that troubled him
Far more that he could say

A fanatic muslim b*st*rd
Wiz doin what he’d planned
And intae Glesca’s departure hall
A Cherokee he’d rammed.

A big Glaswegian polis
Came forward tae assist
He thocht “a wumman driver”
Or at least someone half-pissed

But to his shock nae drunken Jock
Emerged to grasp his hand
But a flamin Arab loony
Fae Al Qaeda’s band

The mad Islamist nut-case
Had set hissel’ on fire
And swung oot at the polis
GBH his clear desire

Now that’s no richt wur Johnny cried
And sallied tae the fray
A left hook and a heid butt
Required tae save the day.

Now listen up Bin Laden
Yir sort’s nae wanted here
For imported English radicals
Us Scoatsman huv nae fear

Oor hame grown Glesca Asians
Will have nae bluidy truck
So tak yer worldwide jihad
An get yersel tae F***

I was gonna name this post Bloody Big Brother, but then wondered if folk would think I was talking about the stupid telly show, so I changed it.

I just got a new SIM card from Orange. The card doesn't work unless you register it, which is annoying in itself. It is a pay-as-you-go card, so why should I have to register it?

So, anyway, I phoned to register it and they wanted to know:

the sim card number (fair enough - they can't activate it without knowing which card it is);

the number of the phone (why? why do they need to know what flippin phone I'm putting their sim into? I might want to switch it back and forth between different phones!);

my full name (including my middle name, which I didn't give them);

my full postal address (why? It's PAY-AS-YOU-GO - they will never need to write to me about it);

my date of birth!! WHAT!?! WHY?!? I refused initially to give it to her, but she said that if I didn't then the SIM wouldn't be activated.

Talk about invation of privacy, big brother watching you, etc etc.

She also wanted my switch card number, but I point blank refused that. I told her I would top up by voucher. She reckons I can't top up using the voucher the first time because they will need to link the voucher with the phone/SIM card. Are they gonna be listening to my phone calls as well?

Bastards.

I hate this ... you can't even fart without higher authority knowing about it. They have to know every damn thing! That is why they give you 'loyalty cards' - so the buggers know even what groceries you buy. It is also why I prefer to shop using cash instead of a switch card. They can't trace cash. Everything has to be registered, listed, double checked.

Bastards.

Twas the kids sports day at school today. My two got lots of 2nd's and 3rd's in their races this morning, but I don't know whether the bboys team got any placement at potted sports this afternoon.

And the thunder has just started so I'm offski. I will finish this post when the liklihood of my laptop getting zapped are lower .

Tutts!

Well, I could cope when Coca-Cola was excluded from my diet. I wasn't that much of a fan - awfully sticky drink - and I prefer water anyway.

Next on the hitlist was Thorntons chocolate. Oh, the agony of crossing that off my dietary requirements. One, sometimes at a pinch - two of them, before the dreaded migraine kicked in. Gone were the heady days of big bags of Mis-shapes scarfed when the kids had gone to bed.

Then, slowly, I noticed that the migraines were kicking in with normal, everyday chocolate. A Snickers bar? I wish! Not only did I get the migraine, but I also got this massive sugar rush that left me shaking like I had flippin Parkinsons, my heart pounding, short of breath - the whole shebang.

But now? I have just identified the latest trigger. And I am gutted. Why can't I have CARROTS as a bloody trigger, eh? Eh?

Oh, no. It has to be one of my absolute, favorite anticipated treats, doesn't it?

Nescafe Lattes.

Oh, God, I think I'm just away to slit my wrists and be done with it.

I was just sitting here reading the report in The Scotsman about yesterdays attack on Glasgow airport by suicide bombers.

I really don't understand. How can these folk sit about, perhaps over a cup of tea or a coffee, and plan doing something like that?

It boggles my mind that, while I am sitting planning dinner, someone else, in this country, is sitting planning to kill folk. I just can't get my head round it. Surely they realise that bombing people isn't going to convert us to whatever their point of view is? Frankly, it makes me less likely to do so.

I'm trying to write more about this, but I just don't appear to have the vocabulary to fully express myself here.