Nearly the end of summer....

The summer hols are drawing to a close, but boy has it been busy for us!!! For we are now in the throws of buying our new house! So Guiding meetings have been replaced by meetings to sort out all manner of paperwork needed for house buying and making sure we’re OK should anything happen on the way to paying the mortgage off! Now we just cross the fingers that all goes well to exchange and then completion. If we get in by October Half Term I’ll be thrilled … but we shall see (but so far so fast!!!!).

It’s a new beginning, a big step … buying a house with Dr T … but in a strange way its brought us back closer together after way too long with my work & guiding getting in the way. Maybe its because we both see it as a long term plan together … and well we’ve always been more practical than lovey dovey …

So to the house … no doubt once we’re in the much of the readership will be dropping by and those not so close be watching our Flicker & Facebook accounts over ‘Move’ time. Its still in the same ‘hood, just a bit further south, with local shops at the end of the road (but not too close to our house to make parking an issue) and one of the larger parks just around the corner (inc. playground for those with kids) for ball kicking whilst our courtyard sized garden is good for the odd BBQ or 3.

So the decluttering has commenced, much paper recycling and shredding on the way and a list of bits to pass on to others… but at least now there is a purpose so its actually getting done after too long!!!

… and its going to seem strange having more than 4 rooms after all this time!!!

All Change!!!

A few months since the last post, there is one on my recent trip to Berlin that was written in notepad and then not posted up ... it may come up shortly...

So since the last post ... work hasn't really let up so still as busy and Guiding has been manic with meetings either due to Centenary stuff or extra meetings as we have to fill in as DC for having no Division Commissioner. So weekends have often been spent catching up on bits with either sleep or sorting stuff that hasn't got done in the week. Not great but hopefully come the summer hols the Guiding side should ease.

On happier news ... I'm now an Auntie!!! It took a while as Baby I turned up 17days after her due date. But this weekend I got a good cuddle... as she wouldn't settle after a feed while my sister had a nap as she's still getting over Baby I being born by Caesarian. So she spent a while being held by Auntie C on her chest until she settled down a bit. She a really good baby so far, few hassles and very easily contented. I'm looking forward to a few more cuddles over the next few months... So the dynamic of the relationship of our family has changed. It was really nice to all be together on Thursday at my sisters with now 3 generations as we ate lunch of seafood pasta (as cooked by me and requested by my sister! She'd missed prawns a lot over pregnancy!) sat out in the garden under the big tree with Baby I in her moses basket... a moment when life is good.

..no news down here ....

I feel my blog has been a little lonely for a while, but its not been forgotten. More I've been busy with work and guiding so nothing much exciting has been happening to blog about.

... maybe come the new financial year when things maybe free up a bit workwise, and I find a gap in the mundane side of being a DC (paperwork et al) I might have the energy to go out and explore a bit more...

... but this weekend we'll be seeing castles, maybe partake of some local produce and celebrating the marriage of James & Ruth. I think this long weekend will be a good escape from tensions & workloads (which doesn't help the former) which have been building to near breaking point... as well a great chance to catch up and celebrate with some good friends!

... and maybe soon I'll get Dr T on a bike on Milton Common and I can tell you of the tales we encounter as he rides a bike for the first time it seems since he rode one that used to have stabilisers on & tries out cycling on roads for the first time! ... hence the practice runs on the tracks of the common which are a short residential road ride away (and he can walk that it he's scared of the cars!).

New Year ....

2009 has arrived and 2008 seemed to zip by so quick, one moment it was March then it was September and before you knew it the year had ended...

Hopefully 2009 is somewhat slower paced ... and I feel like I get more done...

Of late it seems weekends have been spent either being ill (its seems I've had various bits of the lurge but in separate bits over a about 3 weeks now... but nothing so bad to really knock me out fully (well other than the day/ night when I was having the shivering bit ...). At least this weekend it seems progress has been made in sorting out the Bedroom, so a little progress! The other thing weekends have been spent on is catching up on sleep and relaxing after the working week, which seems to have been knocking me out more (a new manager has a lot to do with that alas).

So hence there hasn't been an awful lot to update my blog with ... other than come June I get to become a real proper Auntie, so something bright on the horizon.

Hmmm

November is closing and I've neglected my Blog a bit this month ... partly due to being on Facebook too much ... and partly due to a busy month with lots of evenings busy with sorting stuff out and meetings, but calm is back, if briefly!

I'm off passport waving on Friday for Girlie Weekend (TM) nach Köln, which will signal the start of the run into Christmas. Much Gluwein, Kolsch and Christmas shopping is planned. Accompanied by catching up with Sarah .... so I'm really looking forward to that after a rough patch at work.

I've just got off the phone from some good news, well I think its good news ... it is overall but the thing we jokingly worried about is now true!!! I'm not sure if I should make it more public on the blog rather than facebook, as the persons concerned aren't readers of the blog and the facebookers connected to them I'm not sure if they know yet.... oh the dilemmas of the modern world!

So bring on December and the festive season!!! Break open the Advent Calendars on Monday :)

Hmm can I be pink & fluffy?

Last weekend I headed to the West Country to be pink and fluffy with, well Fluffy! (aka Ruth). It was good fun, and rather relaxing as well ... and the farmhouse was huge! It was so nice to have loads of room to move around in after living in a pokey little flat for too long!!! We did hovercrafting which was fab, Fluff really enjoyed that from her huge grin!!! We also did blindfold driving, which wasn't too bad in the end as it was sort of string trail for grown ups!!!

This weekend has a sort of darker tone with bright sparks, we're off to London and plan to hit the Imperial War Museum on Friday; given that's it Remembrance Sunday weekend that should make it more interesting (and I'm doing about Remembrance Day at Brownies on the Tues as its the 11th, using the Anzac Heritage badge from GG NZ as a base idea). The bright sparks come in the form of the Lord Mayor's Show which we plan to see as we're staying in the City of London. Then fireworks in the evening as part of that event. We even manage to catch up with friends over dinner on Fri & my parents on the Sat ... looks like a good & busy weekend!

Life's a Beach ... and there's a lot of shingle on it!

I've been keeping fit this week ... as for the last 3 afternoons & 2 evenings (for I escaped early today!) I've been walking the eastern beaches in about 10-15m spacings (as we have 2 or 3 of us and the spacings need to be less than 5m) ... which means you walk quite a few kilometres/ miles (the base station set ups are about 1km apart) on shingle ... not the best substance to walk on, it just zaps the energy out of you. So probably around 25-30km later the weekend has arrived!!

But it should inform us of how much beach we've lost over the last year .. and it will get re-surveyed again next year and no doubt I'll be trundging up and down the beach in the name of beach surveying ... mind you I might get to do some hydrographic surveying from my previous experience from ports days (the main surveyor had a raise of voice as if to say 'hmm that's useful to know' when I said I used to do hydro survey checks and monitoring on the pre & post dredge surveys ... so know how they work ...)

Mind you I have some choice blisters on the inside of my feet and some achey knees (as you don't get to walk level for chunks of it); so the weekend and a day off are appreciated!