boblog

pies

It's the Annual Mince Pie Announcement!

2004: September 9th
2006: September 21st
2007: September 10th
2008: September 25th
2009: September 22nd (£1.65)
2010: September 25th (£2.00)
2011: September 19th (£2.50)
2012: September 25th (£2.75)
2013: September 7th (£2.50)
2014: New snowflake design on the pastry. Husband said they were tastier than he remembered last year's being.

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Current earworm:

This one has burrowed itself in deeply.
Can't. Stop. Listening.

January:
Spent most all of it ill.

Discovered a replacement for the Spanish Chicken thing Tesco stopped making last year. Have made it six times in the past seven days, plus leftovers for lunch. Add some home-made spicy potato wedges, delicious. I don't even pick the peppers out, how's that for progress?

Computer died, shorting the whole house in the process. The plus side: shiny new computer.

Fence blew down in freakish 10 minute mini-storm. Weirdly, it landed upside-down resting against next door's fence, under their pergola.

2013

The Traditional End-of-Year Meme

1. What did you do in 2013 that you'd never done before?
Ate pomelo.
Enjoyed eating sushi rice (well, deep fried sushi rice).

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions?
2 out of 4.

Didn't manage monthly blog updates and the back garden didn't get the Olympic seed mix as planned. It self-seeded and looked good for about a month. Have already sown a perennial mix - fed up of looking at bare soil 10 months of the year.

Did the front garden. Ripped out the shrubs and put some more bark chippings down until I can decide what else to do with it. Put some stuff in pots out there, some of which promptly died.

Got some new glasses out of sheer desperation. Didn't get the hideously expensive ones I loved. Have had these cheap-o ones for almost a year now and still don't think they're quite right.

3. Any births, deaths, illness or injuries?
No.

4. What countries did you visit?
None. Stayed in the UK all year. The furthest I travelled was to my cousin's wedding in Manchester.

5. What events from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory?
The pomelo fad.

The weather. After the seemingly never ending wintry spring (we so rarely saw the sun that I began to have dreams about being bathed in golden sunlight) our summer was so warm, sunny and generally amazing that rain became a remarkable event.

The opening of a sushi restaurant in town - and the accompanying free wine.

6. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Pomelos. Really.

Finally finding a 'normal' hairdresser. After yet another unsatisfactory cut and colour in June at the new salon from girl-who-doesn't-listen, I was lured back yet again in October by a special offer.
Accidentally leaving it too late to get both the colour and cut done by girl-who-doesn't-listen, she only did the colour and I ended up getting an amazing hair cut from someone who isn't intolerant, insincere, shallow or obnoxious.

7. What was the best thing you bought?
Pomelos. Have you spotted the theme yet?

8. What song will always remind you of 2013?
Pretty much listened non-stop to Tame Impala all summer, my favourite track being the Erol Alkan Rework of Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind which I listened to non-stop while laying out in the garden watching the Perseid meteor shower into the early hours.

9. What was your favourite TV programme?
Game of Thrones. Watched 'em all.
Also ran: Justified, Parks & Rec, Mr Selfridge, Sherlock, Almost Human, Suits.
Lots of American shows there. What does that say about British TV?

10. What was the best book you read?
The only book I bought and read was Jane Austen fan fiction, therefore making it the best book I read all year.

11. What was your favourite film of this year?
Star Trek, of course. We even went to see it more than once at the cinema! However, it's not as good as the last Star Trek film and the extras on the Blu-Ray are PITIFUL.

It seems to have been the year of the sequel, as we also saw:
Iron Man 3 - too long. Fight sequence near the end dragged on.
Kick Ass 2 - OK, not as good as Kick Ass (JJ Abrams take note - this is how DVD extras should be done).
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 - entertaining but not a patch on the original.
Thor 2 - Don't remember much of it apart from some good visual effects and the packet of digestives on the breakfast table during the end scene.
Despicable Me 2 - We saw this on DVD. Good, but the minions are irritating. More Gru please.

12. How will you be spending New Year's Eve?
Am in the middle of cooking our version of Heston's chicken tikka masala. It's a three day job which has turned into four due to 'the wrong kind of chicken'.
After last year's steak restaurant fail (the music was so loud it drove us out before midnight), this evening's plans involve a quiet night of pizza, films and being anxious about feeling anxious.

Happy New Year!

merry christmas

Probably earlier than you've been expecting, it's the Annual Mince Pie Announcement.

2004: September 9th
2006: September 21st
2007: September 10th
2008: September 25th
2009: September 22nd (£1.65)
2010: September 25th (£2.00)
2011: September 19th (£2.50)
2012: September 25th (£2.75)
2013: This photo was taken yesterday, but a colleague told me she'd seen them being put onto the shelves instore on Wednesday 4th. Earliest yet! Also, new packaging! And at £2.50, cheaper than last year.

Yeah, I know I said I'd update monthly and you haven't heard a peep on here since April. I have absolutely no excuse. An update is in the works.

retrograde

Don't understand why I like this:

In other news, it continues to be freezing here.
At least it's stopped snowing.

earworm

This latest earworm came out of nowhere. It leapt into my head one day after work last week and drove me crazy trying to identify it:

Soundhound wasn't any use.

Something bleak... a war film maybe...?
12 hours later... BAM!

Pärt

The autoplay on the embedded video was driving me nuts, so here's a link to it instead.
Spiegel im Spiegel - Arvo Pärt (1978)

Compare and contrast with this from the BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South (2004)

Earworm!

earworm

Fun Ethereal - Tall Trees

As usual, I have no idea what is being sung. Let's hope it's nothing too objectionable.

murmuration

via BoingBoing

into darkness

200

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the bicentenary of Pride and Prejudice will be accompanied by a surge of Jane Austen-related events and merchandise - and articles that shamelessly hijack the novel's first sentence.

BBC News

Having originally expected P&P to be everywhere today, then disappointed to discover not a single adaptation on ANY channel, BBC News has gone slightly overboard:

Janeites: The curious American cult of Jane Austen Um... yeah... those weird Americans...?

The enduring appeal of Pride and Prejudice Fanfic!

PD James: 'Price [sic] and Prejudice is perfect in every way' Typo!

Joanna Trollope on Austen "The untouchables of English literature"

Bridget Jones vs Pride and Prejudice

The most serious article of the lot is a piece about Jane's "my own darling child" letter now on display at the Jane Austen Museum.

If you can watch the iPlayer in your location, there's also a bit on The Culture Show about P&P adaptations.

Tearing myself away from the BBC website, there's this (rather dreary) set of Jane Austen stamps due out next month.

And, while we're on the subject, as much as I love the idea of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, it hasn't enthralled me so far.

Happy birthday, P&P!

deo

So, I've been making my own deodorant for almost a year now and love it.

Amazing. Works better than the stuff I'd been buying, easy to make, leaves no marks on clothing, lasts ages (made my third batch last month) and contains no nasty chemicals. Won't go back to commercially produced deodorant.

Got the recipe online somewhere - can't find the original site but here are some others with similar recipes.

Melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a dish, mix in 2 tablespoons of arrowroot powder, 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda and a few drops of tea tree oil. Pour into a jar. Done.

There are a few minor downsides:
Do give it some time to start working - the site I got my recipe from warned of an acclimatisation period of up to two weeks.
It can sting a bit if applied right after shaving.
Scooping it out of the jar with a finger and applying it by hand takes some getting used to.
In warmer weather it reverts back to its melted form - batch #2 went into an old deo stick container and spent the summer in the fridge.

Other than that, bloody brilliant stuff.

earworm

The first earworm of the year - a Tinie Tempah mashup; Earthquake vs Pass Out (my favourite line of which is 'I got so many clothes I keep some in my aunt's house'). Rhymes to make Des'ree weep.

I've been listening to it for the past 45 minutes non-stop on the Infinite Jukebox.

2013

Traditionally, the first post of the year sets out my resolutions and plans for the next twelve months.

Well, as proved by last year's spectacular failure (0/3 achieved) I wonder whether there's much point in making any resolutions.

My plans for the year so far:

Redo the meadow. Using 2011's seeds was a spectacular failure so I'm going to try the Olympic park seed mix this time.

Do something with the front garden. Still have no idea of what to do with it though.

Get some new glasses. The day before yesterday I walked into the living room door and my already-on-their-last-legs frames got bent (I'd had rather a large gin). Can't quite see properly and it's really annoying.
I've been looking for new frames for YEARS without success and now I NEED new ones I had, until yesterday, been highly sceptical I'd be able to find anything I truly liked. However, after a search of all the (open on NYE) opticians in Boblogville I stumbled upon a (hideously expensive) pair I love. So, an eye test (also hideously expensive) and some online specs shopping is on the cards.

Will probably end up blogging less. Am losing the will to blog, but will try for monthly updates at least.

2012

The Traditional End-of-Year Meme

1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?
Met Teresa and went on a mini Jane Austen Pilgrimage.
Had a filling without anaesthetic.
Went to the Olympics.
Went to Cadbury World.
Went on the Harry Potter Studio tour (haven't blogged about that - yet).

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions?
No. None of them.

3. Any births, deaths, illness or injuries?
The usual lurgy (the one I'm just recovering from has lasted two months), ear infections (what?), lost voice (a couple of those this year), Boxing Day tummy bug, the leg pain and, as ever, the ongoing and still lessening anxiety attacks.
Deaths: Sadly, my lovely father-in-law. And Teh Kitteh.

4. What countries did you visit?
None! Stayed in the UK the entire year.

5. What events from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory?
"WE WON THE OLYMPICS! WE'RE GONNA BE ON A STAMP!"
The Draw Something fad.
Work (first half of the year: the disruption of the children. Second half of the year: the disruption of everything else).
The departure of my lovely GP.

6. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to the Olympics. Literally over-excited.

7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Continuing to walk to work?
Pff. I put that every year. I don't honestly know what else to put.

8. What was your biggest failure?
Keeping my resolutions.

9. What was the best thing you bought?
A new passport. Every page in it is different and there are WEATHER SYMBOLS. *swoon*
Some scarves (I have become a Scarf Person).
A box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. The earwax ones are vile.
An amazing jacket from Forever 21.
However, haircuts were not among the best thing I bought. Have had two duff ones this year. Gah.
And stopped buying deodorant in favour of making my own. Sounds weirder than it is.

10. What song will always remind you of 2012?
I'm not saying it's my favourite song of the year (going by iTunes play count that's Genesis by Grimes), but Gangnam Style has certainly wormed its way into the nation's consciousness like no other song (or dance) in years.

11. What was your favourite TV programme?
Telly's been a bit crap this year. Yet again I've watched Downton avidly but they're killing too many people off and it's still a bit slow. Doctor Who improved when Amy was killed off. Watched a brilliant programme about rubbish on BBC4 recently and the Masterchef Fat Duck episode was interesting. Sherlock was good again but there weren't enough episodes. Quality over quantity there.
Still love Justified - and I've recently discovered Parks and Recreation.

12. What was the best book you read?
Definitely the re-reading of Gaskell classics Wives and Daughters and North and South.

13. What was your favourite film of this year?
Er... um... Skyfall I suppose. I think it was the only film I saw at the cinema.

14. How will you be spending New Year's Eve?
NYE, the perpetual anxiety attack trigger. We're supposed to be going out to the lovely steak restaurant in Boblogville (although I hate set menus).

Happy New Year!

Teh Kitteh

It is with much sadness that I must tell you that Teh Kitteh was knocked down by a car and killed yesterday morning.

One of our lovely neighbours, who was extremely fond of him, saw him on the roadside as she drove to work, stopped, picked him up and brought him back to our house.

He was a cat with a large personality, and I'm already feeling the gaping hole he's left in our lives.

I'll miss the muddy footprints around the bathroom sink, where he'd miaow for a drink from the taps.
I'll miss his fondness for coming in from the rain completely drenched, enjoying being rubbed dry with a towel.
I'll miss seeing him sleeping in his favourite spots; the bathroom sink, the bath, the back bedroom windowsill, the conservatory, on top of the computer tower.
I'll miss his appalling climbing and balancing skills.
I'll miss the beautiful softness of his silvery fur.
I'll even miss the mauled wildlife presents.

As our neighbour said, we were lucky to have had him in our lives for his four short years. I hope he's sleeping peacefully.

Chopin

For once, not a new earworm - just thought this was clever. She's done a Call Me Maybe one too.

jeans

Sweet Tooth Bird - Beth Jeans Houghton and the Hooves of Destiny

goods

Goods by iamamiwhoami

default

New earworm.

Voice sound familiar? It's Thom Yorke (Radiohead).

earworms

Earworms seem to be coming at a daily rate at the moment. In age order... (and excuse the shocking number of YouTube links)

Heard on the radio:
White Lines - Grandmaster Flash
Shocking rip-off of Liquid Liquid's Cavern, apparently.

Divine Hammer - The Breeders
Which reminded me what a brilliant album Last Splash was:

No Aloha
Do You Love Me Now
Hag

Not quite sure what caused me to look up ambient/electronica favourites Bent, but found a track I'd lost due to file format compatibility and hadn't heard in years: (I Hate) People

K-Pop invasion! 2NE1 - I am the Best
Just look at the production standards on that video.

Modern stuff heard on the radio:
Your Drums, Your Love - Aluna George
Elephant - Tame Impala
Absolutely love this one. Sod it, here's the embed:

Emma

This was going to be a back-dated post, but you can have it now instead.

A month or so ago I went to Squerreys. It's where the Beeb filmed their most recent version of Emma (yes, the one I slagged off so dreadfully).

The house won't be open to visitors for much longer (the family are moving in! What a house!) so I went while I had the chance.

Parking on the front lawn:

The lake:

Dovecote:

Estate buildings:

The house from the rear:

About three rooms were open to viewing downstairs and the same number upstairs. Intensely annoying for a nosey parker like me.

Still, always interesting to go to a place you've seen on TV.

green

Hello there. Yes, it's been a while.
Here's some stuff that's been happening:

Leg
It took TWO WEEKS to get the x-ray results (Teresa: that's the price of a 'free' x-ray I suppose). The doctor's verdict? 'O.K.'

Leg was still hurting, so back to the doctor's I went.
Saw a different doctor this time, who basically told me that since I wasn't in agonising, excruciating, debilitating pain and the x-ray shows no abnormalities, there wasn't much she could do. We get these aches and pains as we get older, apparently. Goodbye.

Oh.
So, I'd just have to live with it.

A week or so later, a brown envelope landed on my doormat. An invitation to make an appointment at Boblogville hospital to see a physiotherapist about my leg. Perhaps the doctor who dealt with my x-ray instigated it.

Appointment made, I was seen within a week.
I had half an hour with the lovely physio, who prodded and poked, twisted and turned me, then decided the leg pain was possibly linked to the ongoing problem with my arches, strapped up my foot and gave me some exercises to do.

Result: I'm almost fixed! Hooray! Follow-up appointment is in a week or so.

Gangnam Style
With 326 million views, I suspect you would have to be living under a rock not to have seen this:

It's now at number 1 in the UK charts.

Toothpaste
Crest stopped making my usual toothpaste. You know me, I hate change.
Saw this in the £1 shop in Boblogville:

I love green apple.
But not in a toothpaste. It's vile. And makes me look rabid it froths so much.

To follow: a couple of backdated posts about lost cats, a day out and mince pies.

merry christmas

At last, the moment you've all been waiting for; it's the Annual Mince Pie Announcement.

I've started noting the price per pack.

2004: September 9th
2006: September 21st
2007: September 10th
2008: September 25th
2009: September 22nd (£1.65)
2010: September 25th (£2.00)
2011: September 19th (£2.50)
2012: September 25th (£2.75) Bought and scoffed. Yum.

closing

Sorry 'bout that closing ceremony, world.
The other two weeks were pretty impressive, right?
Was thinking of you, Teresa, during the morris dancing.

Sainsbury's

Tesco

Jubilee store entrance:

Olympics store entrance:

M&S

IKEA

hardware

From Robert Dyas (hardware store), British stuff!

Bus, check.
Cab, check.
Postbox, check.
Union flag, check.
Telephone box, check.

VW campervan? Erm... German?

leg

Since April I've had an intermittent pain in my right lower leg.
Sometimes it hurts when I bend down, sometimes it doesn't.
Sometimes it hurts when I'm sitting still. Sometimes it doesn't.
If it hurt when I bent down, when bending again to see if it still hurts, it never does. Exercise doesn't make it worse, rest doesn't make it better. No pain when applying pressure to the area that hurts. No injury I can recall would have caused pain there in the first place.
I'm not in agony, it's just an irritation. So off to the doctors I went.

Shock number one:
On arriving at the surgery, a notice in the receptionist's window - SUPER-AMAZING LOVELY DOCTOR IS EMIGRATING TO NEW ZEALAND THIS MONTH! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Gutted. Absolutely gutted. Tried not to gush too much in the message I wrote in his leaving book.

Shock number two:
Doctor decided I need an x-ray "just to rule out the really rare things that it probably isn't. Nothing to lose sleep over, because it probably isn't any of those things." What things? WHAT?? *mind immediately jumps from one thing to another until leg has been amputated*

Probably psychosomatic, but the leg pain has been much worse since.
X-ray is next week.