Killing fairies and other detritis

I was informed today that if you reply thank you after someone say bless you for sneezing you kill a fairy. While I am not a believer in fairies I think I will err on the side of caution and come across rude as I don’t want to burn in hell for killing fairies.

Listing to the news on the radio Saturday morning I found it quite odd when the announcer said “Medical officials are doing everything they can today to stop the spread of swine flu.” Were they only going at it half heartedly yesterday and are they all on holiday tomorrow?

Watching TV yesterday I was subjected to an add selling beauty cream claiming to be the non surgical option to naturally beautiful skin. If I have to apply anything to my face does it not become unnatural, and if it is an alternative does that not also imply that surgery is a natural way to beautiful skin?

Random Tidying

So I have a new plan for when I can't find stuff I need. I use to hunt an peck for it in a most organized fashion checking first in the most likely place and then trying to figure out the last time I used the item and think back to where I was and then I went into the destroy the house and become obsessed with finding the item. This rarely worked and the missing item would show up a few day, week, months later at a really weird time in a place I swear I had looked for it. So I would be really irritated and I would have destroyed the house looking for it.

Now when I can't find something I engage in what I call random tidying. I admit to myself that I have no idea where the item I want is let it go and start tidying in a completely random fashion. I am in no way looking for the item I want, I put it completely out of my mind. I just start putting away the first item out of place that I find and let my mind lead me where I may. As I see half finished tasks I finish them up. This weekend it lead to me finding my dresser again and saving it from the mountain of clean clothing which had taken up residence. I reorganized three drawers in my bedside table and got rid of all my single socks that did not match up as well as organizing the extra buttons that always come with clothes. I finally unpacked all my craft stuff that I took to a crop a few weeks ago and somewhat tidied up my craft stuff. In the process I found the top coat I was looking for (behind the computer) and my bone folder that had been missing for over a week (under some stuff in a bag I had yet to unpack no sure how it got there as I have used it since the crop). I am thinking random tidying has multiple benefits and I may have to continue this idea.

Moving Day

So the new tenants of Casa de la Yank have been moved into there semi-permanent accommodation. I say semi-permanent because this was not the accommodation I wanted for them but after much looking at several places that sold plant accommodation with no luck finding what I wanted I gave up. I am sure that now I have re potted them I will find exactly what I am looking for.

My MIL and I went to Hyde Hall this afternoon, after a morning of working in her garden. This little fellow decided that he needed to come join me at my house. Looks like I am going to need more accommodations.

My MIL had a bag full of these bottle tops. Seriously how cool are these work just like a watering can. After a dig around in my recycle bin I found a bottle (I rinsed it really well as I am sure Diet Coke is engineered to KILL plants) and I was in business.


Can't really see the shower effect as I am trying to juggle the camera with my free hand. I am loving my new water bottle though.

Reading Lables

I like to read the labels on things, I usually do this when I am waiting for something. The pasta package while I am waiting for it to cook. The shampoo bottle while I am letting the conditioner sit for a minute or two. While I stood waiting for my crumpets to toast the other evening I was reading the label on my jar of Nutella. In big bold letters on the front it reads A full glass of skimmed milk in every jar, followed by an astric. Now having already read the list of ingredient I found this slightly funny. A product whose first ingredient is sugar is touting the fact that a full glass of SKIMMED milk goes into every jar. Following that little astric to the fine print I learn that an actual glass of skimmed milk does not go into every bottle but the equivalent of 220ml glass of skimmed milk in powder form goes into every jar. I seriously feel like my intelligence has been insulted lets call a spade a spade Nutella is just a seriously good excuse to put chocolate on your crumpets. It is not going to make my bones grow strong or sustain me until my next meal, it is kind of like those adds with sports stars saying Snickers were a source of nutrition for them that were so popular in the 90s. Snickers are a candy bar, I guess if you work as hard as a sports star you work off the calories but the average Jo who might go to the gym 2-3 times a week should not be chomping away thinking he/she will be the next all star NFL quarterback.





That said the crumpets with Nutella were excellent.


(Note: While I am not the woman in the picture I sort of wish I was)

Who needs sleep?

Apparently not me. Learned an interesting thing this weekend when Mr Y in E was home on his days off. I sleep like a log when he is around, and don't when he is away. I slept really lightly last week and woke many times each night, Friday and Saturday night while he was home slept like I had not slept in a hundred years. Went to bed early didn't wake once and woke refreshed at unheard of hours in the morning for Yank. Anything before 9am on the weekends and you should consider yourself lucky to see Yank. On Saturday and Sunday I was up at the early hours of 7.15 and 7.36.

Mr Y in E went back to Warwick yesterday evening and I tossed and turned all night, woke numerous times. I was so all over the bed that even kitty would not snuggle with me. He curled up on his fathers pillows and mourned him, until I stole those in an attempt to make a pretend husband in the bed. I don't wake tired or exhausted more just irritated if I take the time to go to bed at a decent hour to get some sleep then sleep I should get. Not this crazy tossing and turning. If this is to be the norm I have a long 4 weeks to get through.

Making it through

The clocks "Sprung" forward this morning. I was happy, giddy with the anticipation of another hour of light. The day has not disappointed the sun has been bright the sky clear dappled with white clouds. There is a new beginning and an ending all at the same time. The joy of knowing you have yet again made it through the darkness and come into the light. Knowing that the worst is over and better lay ahead. There is a sense of accomplishment for bearing the darkness and growing from it, almost like endurance, testing ones self to know how much one can take with the knowledge that the brightness will return. With no darkness and no cold one can not truly enjoy the light and the warmth, and I do enjoy it appreciate each moment that is given knowing the time is short and before too long the darkness will return. I can manage that though, not only manage it but grow stronger from it. There is no need to think of those things at this moment now because we are still counting up, counting to the longest day, mentally remembering all the things we are grateful for so that in a few months when we are counting down we can hold those memories close.

Stuff

The world is full of stuff. Everywhere you go they are trying to sell you more stuff, near holidays the powers that be tries to tell you that all your friends and family really want more stuff. In turn you receive stuff. Then you have so much stuff you have to buy more stuff to store it and stuff to organize it. Then they bring out new and better stuff so you donate your old stuff so that someone with less money can buy your used stuff and they too can have stuff. Then there is the stuff for work, you have to buy a bigger hand bag so you can transport it too and fro.

I use to have very little stuff. I had one room in a house with friends and I was pretty stuff less. The mattress was mine but the rest of the furniture belonged to my friends who were kind enough to lend me their stuff. I had a few pots a few plates and utensils, and of course books but on a whole not much stuff. I was happy. My friends had LOTS of stuff, they owned a HUGE house they were renovating for a B&B and when you are doing that you need stuff. They actually did not have enough stuff yet to fill their B&B. They were more than happy to share their stuff with me and I hope that in some way I gave back something positive in return for the use of their stuff.

Now I am older and I have my own place and I have stuff and Mr. Y in E has stuff and it is too much stuff. I wish I was not so susceptible to the marketing of stuff, I was happier with less stuff, or sharing stuff. We own a Panini maker that sits in the cupboard and only gets used maybe twice a year I know Mr. Y in E enjoys Panini’s but really can’t he just buy a Panini two or three times a year.

Time to De-Stuff.