The end of an era

Today is officially my last day of employment with the University at the back of beyond; one of the advantages of a job in HE is the hols and I gave enjoyed having a long holiday to recuperate after getting a sinus infection. Still it was nice to sit on the seafront at Portrearh yesterday, hot chocolate in hand, watching the surfers in the sea and I am looking forward to having a go later next year.

This is also the end of the first decade of this century, if you take 2000 as year 1, and it is a good time for a fresh start leaving all the problems behind where they belong. No bad thing, remember the good things that have happened and leave the bad things behind and use the new year as a new beginnning.

I have some work lined up, and am looking forward to neing the new girl on the block. I brought a large diary to use for work details and feel as excited as I remember I was when starting a new year at school, just thankfully no homework.

I dont make many new year resolutions, but this year I am making an exception. Mine is Carpe Diem or sieze the day and moment.

Hpw about you?

Time to remember the past

My granddad, who was ex-army (Royal Engineer) passed away on the 28th December 1989. He hadn't been very well with diabetes related illnesses causing him to first of all have one leg amputated and when he had to have the second one amputated he simply gave up the will to live. Though he did live life to the full and one memorable moment was him telling the dietician that he had to die of something, and that he would eat what he liked as she was trying to stop him eating so many bananas.

Being a diabetic, he had to watch his sugar intake and he wasn't a huge chocolate or sweet eater, but he did like his fruit and I can remember buying a large bunch of bananas, a couple of pounds of pears and various other fruits every week.

He was very victorian in his way, though he was born in 1903. I am in contact with my Uncle who now lives in Australia and he remembers his Dad as being somewhat strict, my Mum on the other hand used to tell me that her relationship with her Dad was quite different, and it was her Mum (my grandmother) who was very strict with her. Uncle P and his wife hope to make a visit over here to catch up on some family history in 2011 if finances permit; it would be good to meet them, I haven't seen him since I was a little girl and it is fascinating to hear the other side of the story of my maternal grandparents.

The Hunt

I saw the Hunt yesterday, not up Carn Brae, but riding up Seleggan Smelting works which I can see from a nearby hill. While I may not always agree with the old style hunt, I do believe it is an old English tradition (and by that mean British rather than strictly English) and love to see the horses and dogs out. Back up country in the Back of Beyond I hadn't seen the hunt since the ban was introduced and it used to be a monthly event, the hounds being large in variety and nearly up to the window of the car. It was such a shame that it and they very rarely venture out any more.

Boxing day was also another event, watching Camborne RFC play a local derby match against Redruth at the Camborne ground. It was fun if not rather wet and cold, though that only happened late in the match and by then Redruth had beaten their old rivals.

We had dinner in a pub, sitting near to a coal fire so I could dry off my jacket I was wearing, drinking a pint of St Austell Tribute.. there is a lot of very positive things about living in Cornwall :-)

Saturday Satire - Migraine Treatment

A man with a history of migraine headaches goes to see the new doctor .

When the doctor looks at his medical notes, he discovers that his poor patient has had practically every therapy known to man for his migraines but has had no improvement.

"Listen," says the doctor,"I have migraines too and the advice I'm going to give you isn't anything I learnt in medical school, but it's advice that I found out from my own experience. When I have a migraine, I go home, get in a nice hot bath and soak for a while. Then I have my wife sponge me off with the hottest water I can stand, especially around my forehead.This helps a little. Then I take her into the bedroom, and even if my head is killing me, I have sex with her. Almost always the headache immediately goes. Give it a try."

Six weeks later, the patient returns with a big grin.

"Doc! I took your advice and it works! I've had migraines for 17 years and this is the first time anyone has really helped me get over these migraines."

"Well," said the physician,"I'm glad I could help."

"Thanks again Doc,"the patient adds,"by the way, you have a really nice house."

Nadelik lowen ha blydhen nowydh da

Just as it says

Happy Christmas and a Good New Year to you all

Lots of peace, fun and happiness xx

Christmas Greetings

I want to send a greeting but it is so difficult in today's world to know exactly what to say without causing offence.

Please therefore accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, nonaddictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practised with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious / secular persuasions and / or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a financially successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great, not to imply that the United Kingdom (apologies to those of a republican persuasion) is necessarily greater than any other country, and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

By reading this greeting, you are accepting these terms :-

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her / himself or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Disclaimer: No trees were harmed in the sending of this message; however, a significant number of electrons were slightly inconvenienced.

Four Seasons

Today has proverbially been the four seasons, everything from wind, rain, snow, hail, sleet, ice and frost has passed by my doors.

A quick trip into Redruth saw me tucking into a turkey and cranberry pasty from Rowes, and it was as good as it sounded. I had been sent on an errand to get some stripey tights but to no avail, still I did manage to come away with a fetching pair of stripey leg warmers; all that needs to come back now is the 80's power pads in the shoulders for a real retro feel.

I had a quick look out for a memento to remind me of my times at the University of the Back of Beyond as they had taken a collection out on my departure and I am torn between a piece of cornish tin or a painting/photograph. I have a couple of pictures from back up country, one of the village church and the school which I brought for my dad one Christmas and Birthday but I am sure I will come up with the right goods eventually.

Back in my nice, almost warm caravan, looking out at the rain, I remembered last night hearing the helicopters flying overhead; sadly it was to the coach accident near Hayle due to the dangerous conditions on the roads last night when two women were killed and many will carry injuries to remind them. Still compared to the rest of Britain, Cornwall has had it relatively quieter and the weather forecast for the next few days is for milder weather.

Christmas is a coming

All is ready, well ok not the large christmas tree with lights, but you can still get a christmas tree up in a caravan and while not large it will still be christmassy.

While the snow showers are aggravating the rest of the country, here all is not completely free of snow and ice, but it is limited to hail storms and rain rather than the higher levels up country.

I hope people manage to get where they want to go for Christmas, to be with the people they love and to have the friendships. I know I am where I want to be and am looking forward to the new job in the new year which is in a new location.

Seasons Greetings to you all, Happy and Peaceful Christmas

Some good news

I have got some work to go to on 4th Jan, only a temporary contract for a few months but better than nothing and will continue to pay the bills until the house is sold. I am looking forward to being the new girl on the block, just wished 'i had remembered to bring my lunchbox with me. Still I did remember to bring the plastic containers.

Gus and Barnie have settled in to their new home with Raz, Gus was happy to be held and has quickly settled down, Barnie is more nervous but I think will love it and I feel confident at leaving them with Raz who has another 20+ rats and is wonderful at handling them. I haave to think of their welfare not mine and the are only 30 odd miles away so I can visit them and have some rat time.

Still sorting things out, need some plastic containers for storage, no matter how many you think you need, you will always need more. I'm sure there is a scientific name for this but for the moment I am calling it Sage's rule lol

Home

is where you put it, and in my case now a caravan is my temporary home, but it is a start lol.

Arrived yesterday at 5pm after leaving the Back of Beyond at 11am. It was -3 at BoB and the snow and ice were hazardous until I reached the outskirts of the wondrous Milton Keynes then as I drove South and West watching the temperature rise up to 6 before drooping to 1 just outside Launceston where there was a fair amount of snow on the A30. By the time I reached my final destination it was back to a balmy 3 and this morning we are blessed with blue skies and sunshine at the Edge of the World.

The ratz seemed to enjoy the experience, they sat in their cage on the passenger seat and popped their heads out to see what was happening throughout the journey and today they are going on a further trip back up to Bodmin where they are going to stay with a friend until I can accommodate them. They dont know how much they are going to be missed.

Saturday Satire - Party Time

A couple were invited to a swanky costume party. The Mrs got a terrible headache and told her husband to go to the party alone. He being a devoted husband protested, but she argued and said she was going to take some painkillers and go to bed, and there was no need for his good time being spoilt by not going.

So he took his costume and away he went. The wife, after sleeping soundly for an hour, awakened without a headache and, as it was still early decided to go to the party.

Since her husband did not know what her costume was, she thought she would have some fun by watching her husband to see how he acted when she was not with him.

She joined the party and soon spotted her husband cavorting around on the dance floor, dancing with all the women, and copping a feel here and a kiss there. His wife sidled up to him and being a rather seductive babe herself, he left his dance partner high and dry and devoted his time to the new babe that had just arrived. She let him go as far as he wished, naturally, since he was her husband.

Finally, he whispered a little proposition in her ear and she agreed. So off they went to her car for a quickie.

Just before unmasking at midnight, she slipped away, went home, put the costume away and got into bed, wondering what kind of explanation he would make for his behaviour. She was sitting up reading when he came in, and she asked what kind of a time he had.

He said,"Oh the same old thing. You know I never have a good time when you're not there."

"Did you dance much?"

"I'll tell you, I never even danced one dance. When I got there, I met Pete, Bill Brown, Dave and some other guys, we went into the den and played poker all night. But you're not going to believe what happened to the guy I loaned my costume to....."

Hmmm Bah Humbug

I have a long journey in front of me tomorrow, and have snow and ice today and overnight... it couldn't have held off until Sunday and given me a break lol still never mind, I have now written out my christmas cards, baked two desserts to take with me and dismantled the ratz cage having transferred them into temporary accommodation for the trip.

Just need to finish packing, tidying up and hoovering then a clean up before I am ready to leave. Still can't quite believe it, and today is technically my last day at work as I am on holiday next week. After nearly 30 years, I still remember my first days and have many highlights of my time at the University of the Back of Beyond, though there have also been many downs; one recent one was hearing of the recent death of a friend and colleague, tragically he was diagnosed with an agressive form of cancer and I only heard yesterday that he had passed away on Sunday. Charlie was one of the drivers in the MT section, and could always be guaranteed a smile and a joke when you met him, I think he would like to be remembered that way by all that knew him.

I will miss some of the people, but not the new regime that is in place. Where once the University was education with a sideline of business, now it seems to be a place where business rules with education on the sideline and in the long term this will do them no favours as staff are leaving with experience and skills much needed. Still not my problem any more, and I am looking forward to a fresh start.

I have my P45 and am ready to hit the work market at the Edge of the World, so anyone out there want a hard working, multi skilled person able to put their hands to most things IT (would have said most things but hopeless at DIY) please get in contact.

Snowing

I look outside and see light snow gently drifting down, hmmm I have a lot to do today and don't fancy being surrounded by a lot of snow. Fortunately I believe that the bulk of the snow is going to be East of here, but as nice as it is I cannot stand and admire the prettiness only to get on with what needs to be done.

I am making two puddings to take with me, a peach sponge and an apple version. These are simiple win win recipes and are quite light (until you serve them with clotted cream, cream, ice-cream or my favourite custard).

I use a tray bake tin, which will serve 8-10 people each, for the peach verion simply take 2 tins of peaches in juice (you can use them in syrup but I don't like the extra sweetness), drain them and pour them into the tray. Make up a sponge mixture, you can cheat and use a packet mix, or I use a recipe for victoria sponge recipe courtesy of be-ro.

100 g (4 oz) margarine
100 g (4 oz) caster sugar
2 medium eggs
100 g (4 oz) Be-Ro Self Raising Flour

Mix up the sponge mix, and pour over the fruit, cook for 45 mins and the top should be nice and crispy almost biscuit like.

You can ring the changes with the fruit being used and to make it more christmassy, use mince meat and apples for a lighter version of a christmas type pudding.

Time to say my goodbyes

I have but a few days left here, and today is the start of the long farewell. I might not see some of these poeple again as visits will be intermittent in the future. Some will be harder than others, but there are many methods of communication, and I am certain to keep in contact via facebook with some, with phone calls and emails for others and some by letter.

I am savouring the memories, and at the same time I am looking forward to the new start. Leaving the problems I have encountered over the past 6 months here though not forgotten nor fully dealt with and I will be talking over these with people to see whether it is worth pursuing further action.

On a happier note, Kalem Murphy entered the world yesterday weighing in at over 9lbs (ouch) congratulations to Kathryn; hope you recover quickly and enjoy your new son.

S'no fun

Having seen the weather forecast for tonight into tomorrow, and having just got in from outside in the bitterly cold weather I foretell a dusting of the fairy dust that is the winter fairytale of a white christmas.

I hope so as it is so fun for kids to see snow on christmas day and it doesn't happen very often in this country or even in the back of beyondshire. Even at the Edge of the World it doesn't happen very often, the winds blowing off the atlantic are wamer so it can be wet but very rarely cold. This year is different the winds are blowing in off the Scandinavian Eastlands and bringing bitterly cold winds which mixed with the moist air will lead to snow showers, how much remains to be seen but it is certainly a christmas wish for me.

A Christmas Meme

I got this from Kathy over at The Second Half of my Life - thanks hon xx

Since there are now only 10 days until Christmas is here, I have answered 25 questions to let you know more than you could possibly want to know about me. If you're reading this post, then you can either :

(a) leave a comment and answer the 25 questions below,
or
(b) write the answers to the questions below in your own blog post (if you have a blog, that is) or
or
(c) call yourself a scrooge in the comments below and refuse to answer them.

I hope you choose (a) or (b) but if you choose (c) then I'll just let the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future deal with you. If you do decide to write your own blog post about it, please mention Mandy since she is the author of these important questions. (Writers credit and all that jazz - thanks!)

1) What is your favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart as Scrooge. That man is gorgeous lol

(2) What is your LEAST favorite Christmas movie? anything cartoony, except disney cartoons

(3) What is your favorite Christmas song? White Christmas by Bing Crosby et al

(4) What Christmas song(s) drives you crazy? I wish it could be Christmas every day

(5) What is your favorite Christmas drink? (i.e. egg nog, hot chocolate) Strong coffee with a slug of Jameson's in it.. lovely on a cold winters morning or after midnight carol service

(6) What is your favorite Christmas memory? Watching my Mum and Dad open their presents and just being with them, just wished I had known how much I would miss that.

(7) What is the best toy/gift you've received on Christmas? All of them, all given with love

(8) What is the worst toy/gift you've received on Christmas? None of them, they were all give with love and affection and have come in useful, though I will admit to a preference to being given things which are more personal that just functional/

(9) What do you LOVE about the holidays? The time to recharge the batteries and being able to go out for long walks without having to watch the time.

(10) What annoys you about the holidays? The greediness of the shops, starting way too early and TV adverts pushing the holiday too much too soon.

(11) Do you prefer star or angel on top of a Christmas tree? Or something else? Star

(12) What is your family favorite recipe at Christmas? Home made mince-pies with home-made mincemeat.. and I am not a huge fan but I love these

(13) Are you a Grinch or a Who at Christmastime? Bit of both

(14) Christmas light displays? Love them, but hate them... prefer less ostentacious displays and not very carbon friendly

(15) Santas at the mall? No, dont like them

(16) Christmas cards? Yes I send them, but no longer handmade ones as I am not very artistic

(17) What is the best thing about Christmas, in your opinion? Time with friends and family

(18) What is the worst thing about Christmas? The pressures and stresses

(19) When do you put the tree up and take it down? Up on Christmas Eve and down on 12th night

(20) Out of the 12 days of Christmas, which day and item would you want your true love to give to you? Two Colly Birds, only because I have no idea of what they are

(21) Why do you think that Grandma got run over by a reindeer? No carrots to give to Rudolf and the gang

(22) Who is your favorite reindeer? Donner and Blitzen, who could separate them

(23) Do you believe in Santa Claus? No

(24) What is your favorite smell at Christmastime? Mince Pies baking

(25) What would make you happy at Christmas this year? Good food, good company and a toast to happier times

Visiting Sunday

I visited friends in Derby yesterday, to take up christmas presents, and to say farewell to them. Not goodbye as we will be meeting up in the future when the house is settled and I am finally down in Cornwall. It was fun to meet up with them and catch up with the news.

Even better was being able to go out in her car, she is competent enough to drive with L-Plates on and other than a few nervous moments she did extremely well and I don't think it will be too long before she will need to tear up those L-Plates for good.

The drive back was full of muppets on the motorway, why is it that everyone (well mostly everyone) drives in the overtaking lanes, leaving the normal driving lane practically empty in places other than the occasional lorry. When I needed to venture out into the overtaking lanes, to overtake a slower moving lorry, I was then promptly flashed by a car speeding up behind me, wanting me out of her way. My answer, was to move out again into the outside lane and put a bit of distance between us; it was a needless, agressive move on her part and I don't do it to others as it is a form of bullying. Suggest to the lady in the Ford Ka if you ever read this, please read your highway code!!

Tonight I defrosted the chest freezer in the shed, it will then be left empty and save on electricity as well which is a bonus.

A Victorian Christmas

The Victorian Farm made a re-appearance on the television screen in the UK last night with a special three part christmas edition and this time they have a number of additional activities on the associated website including making a victorian style christmas card, a paper mache box and the old mince pies.

So much better to be able to make presents rather than by them if you have the time. This will be the first year that I haven't managed to make mince pies, as I kept thinking I would make them in Cornwall when I had moved, thinking I would be there by October and now it is less than two weeks away it will be a bit late to make them now. But some of the other ideas I might look at including decorations.

I have already listened to a Christmas Carol, one of my favourite books at this time of year, I have it on CD and love the transition of Scrooge from grumpy old character to loving employer, friend and Uncle. I read it first when I was about 13 and usually have listened, or read it before christmas to enjoy the story and to make the season.

What do you do to make Christmas real to you?

Saturday Satire - At the Barbers

A guy stuck his head into a barbershop and asked, 'How long before I can get a haircut?'

The barber looked around the shop full of customers and said, 'About 2 hours.'

The guy left.

A few days later, the same guy stuck his head in the door and asked,

'How long before I can get a haircut?'

The barber looked around at the shop and said, 'About 3 hours.'

The guy left.

A week later, the same guy stuck his head in the shop and asked, 'How long before I can get a haircut?

The barber looked around the shop and said, 'About an hour and a half .'

The guy left.

The barber turned to his friend and said,

'Hey, Bob, do me a favour. Follow that guy and see where he goes.

He keeps asking how long he has to wait for a haircut,

but then he doesn't ever come back.'

A little while later, Bob returned to the shop, laughing hysterically.

The barber asked, 'So, where does that guy go when he leaves?'

Bob looked up, wiped the tears from his eyes and said,........




'Your house!

New Shoes

I decided that a new pair of shoes for my venture into the job market was in order, normally I shop at M&S who produce Footglove shoes which are amazingly comfortable but the cost of a pair was nearly £40.00, and while they fitted I didn't think they looked particularly nice. Instead I walked along a little way to the Clarks outlet, and lo and behold they had a sale on, I am now the proud posessor of two pairs of shoes for the price of one at M&S and they will be more comfortable than the pair I use for interviews.

Just need to sort out the rest of the packing and get the rats accustomed to their temporary home while they go into foster care, they are going to be missed but Bodmin isn't too far away and I will be able to visit them.

I am hoping to spend a lot of next year by the coast as I will be living in a caravan only 6 miles from Portreath and it is going to be a splendidly hot bbq summer next year according to the met men so I will be investing in a souwester lol

The raggle taggle gypsy oh

I am about to up sticks and remove myself to Cornwall, and therefore have now handed in my notice to the University at the back of beyond and will be in Cornwall from 2010. A brand new year and a brand new start.

Thanks to all of you who offered words of encouragement and support, it hasn't been an easy decision and not everything is yet in place but it is where I want to be and even though it is going to be tough financially it will be beneficial in the longer term.

Somehow today seems a little lighter, I feel less weighed down by the situation and even have a big smile on my face.. what could be more beneficial.

Busy having some down time

Sorry to be absent without leave, having a few days downtime to consider my options will update the blog when I have made a decision (or two)

Hmmm

Never mind about global warming, I think carpentry skills to build an ark might come in useful any day now. I can only commiserate with those people affected by flooding as the rain is practically non-stop for the past few days and shows no signs of letting up.

Christmas shopping is a wet bedraggled experience, and shows none of the joys of the season and my bah humbug persona is taking over. With less than 19 days to go, no wonder more people than ever are shopping on-line this year.

Saturday Satire - Retraining

A Gynaecologist had become fed up with malpractice insurance and Medicare paperwork, and as burned out. Hoping to try another career where skilful hands would be beneficial, he decided to become a mechanic. He went to the local technical college, signed up for evening classes, attended diligently, and learned all he could.

When the time of the practical exam approached, the Gynaecologist prepared carefully for weeks, and completed the exam with tremendous skill. When the results came back, he was surprised to find that he had obtained a score of 150%.

Fearing an error, he called the Instructor, saying, '' I don''t want to appear ungrateful for such an outstanding result, but I wonder if there is an error in my grade. ''

The instructor said, '' During the exam, you took the engine apart perfectly, which was worth 50% of the total mark. You put the engine back together again perfectly, which is also worth 50% of the mark. '' After a pause, the instructor added, ''I gave you an extra 50% because you did it all through the muffler ''

There is no hope :-)

I was listening to the radio this morning and found myself in agreement with John Prescott over the RBS issue of the directors wanting to pay bonuses. He says that if they can't accept that they shouldn't give out bonuses given that 75% of the company is now owned by us the taxpayer, they should all resign to a man.

Never thought I would say this, but well said John..

What is NaNoWriMo and what happens next

NaNoWriMo was something that I hadn't heard of until Tom Reynolds mentioned it on his blog, I needed a distraction from real life and thought yes have a go.

The idea is to write a minimum of 50,000 words from 1st - 30th November 2009 and that means 1,666 words per day... easy peasy I thought. They aren't expecting to be edited so even if you change your mind, or see a problem you just carry on regardless.

You write with a region, and though I am not yet in Cornwall I decided to join their region and had an absolute blast and will stay in contact with fellow writers in Truro and surrounding areas.

I used to write with a group of friends, and posts between us could be easily 3-5,000 words knocked out in 2-3 days; but that was then and this was now.

I took an idea that had been knocking around in the empty creative spaces of my mind and decided to see what happens, not having set ideas helps because the character starts working with you on the creative process [for all those think voices, speaking to me - honest it is fine I'm used to it :) ] I very often start typing only to find that the persona who finishes the storyline is part me part character and it can be very enlightening and funny on occasion.

I did put a blog together for the posts and then thought if I ever wanted to publish it, it perhaps wasn't the best idea and the thought of other people reading it and making caustic comments wasn't something I felt comfortable with. Having said that I have put half of it up, and will put the rest of it up and if anyone feels a burning desire to read it I can add them to the readership.

Swine Flu

I get my injection for swine flu today, hopefully this will stop me picking up this awful bug but you never really know. Friends in Cornwall have one son ill with it, and potentially their second son has it but we are keeping our fingers crossed that they recover soon.

Since my return from Cornwall at the beginning of October with a heavy cold, I have had no end of sinus problems and finally the docs have decided that perhaps a course of amoxycillin is in order to try and clear it up.

I had tried :

Steam baths
Steroid nasal spray
Reducing milk intake

Was there something else I could have done?

ps - grateful thanks for the grand annual christmas tea held in Aspen, I had a lovely time and arrived back in time thanks to my Fairy Godmother for her help and assistance.

ATC?

If you didn't know what the title of this post meant, you weren't the only one. Kath from Railway Cottage Blog had a post on recycling and offered an ATC (Artists Trading Card) as a prize for the best comment with an interesting recyling story.

I proposed the story of the fish in the fish pond made of a fibre-glass planter that was being thrown away and how I had ended up with fishlets after borrowing some pond week from a neighbours Koi carp pond..

Kath liked the story so much she awarded a prize of one of her ATC's and this morning it arrived safely, so for your viewing here it is.

It is truly beautiful and Kath wrote some lovely words on the back before putting it in a small cellophane bag to ensure it doesn't get damaged. Now all I have to do is find a small photoframe to suit the item and I will have my own piece of art.

Thanks Kath, I will treasure this and you never know you might get another person to tutor xx

An Event and an Achievement

Kathy pointed me in the right direction to Mr Toast's Blog and the 1st Annual Christmas Tea in Aspen Colorado.

I need to be there by 3pm local time, and it wraps up at 10pm so I figured that my fairy godmother would ensure that unlike Cinderalla that I would be back in time for work tomorrow and kit me out with something absolutely magical to wear and arrange the transportation too.

She came up trumps, the fairy godmother (FG), I have a black velvet gown and warm red velvet wrap which matches the shoes. Apparently I can get concorde direct to Aspen and arrive in time even leaving after work. FG has also arranged for hair and make-up to be done on the flight so I am going to look stunningly gorgeous. I love having a FG, and am looking forward to meeting up with some blogging friends.

I have always wanted to visit Colorado, it is just a shame that I won't have any time spare to look around and see the beauty. At least I will have a fun time meeting all the blogging faces I see are attending.

Yesterday saw the end of NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month (all you had to do was write 50,000 words - simples), I had fun with this but it was incredibly hard work and not helped by me having a crisis of confidence a week in resulting in me starting again from the beginning (though I have kept my original 20,000+ words in case I want to revisit it. I tried to do as much as I could daily but even though the daily target was 1666 when it was hard to even think of 50 words to add to a story it was difficult enough. I took a week offline (except for blogging) to concentrate on what I had and my final tally stood at 56,211. I could have had more but I edited a lot of rubbish out in the end and felt it didn't matter as long as it was over the 50,000.

Time to put the writing tools away for a short while, think about other more pressing things..