Wednesday, my day began as does every other day, managed to leave the house on time & luckily I'd covered the windscreen in preparation for a frost,so just the side windows to defrost.
I'd cooked some extra bacon and mushrooms last night & made a sandwich for work which I warmed up & had with a brew as soon as I got in. Soon it was time for the managers meeting, that went quite well, at least no one got a bollocking today, so that's positive.
Had to deal with a team issue following that which left me a team member down for the rest of the day, but at least the workload is currently up to date.
Lunchtime consisted of me sitting in the car knitting (socks this time) & freezing my ass of, then a quick walk to the post office to post the dog coats to USA and our houndie santa parcel. Back to the car for a bit more knitting before the afternoon shift. The afternoon consisted of the Board meeting, not a bad meeting, but it over ran by half an hour, so another night finishing late, at least it wasn't frosty tonight.
Home for hound time & more knitting, hopefully it will help with the RSI.
And so to bed!! Hopefully the mouse will keep quiet.
Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Day 68 & 69
Monday I was up and ready early, a quick stop off at Morrisons on my way, then ready for the day to begin. Seemed to get quite a few interruptions during the morning which prevented me doing as much as I'd planned. An early lunch today as we had been directed to attend a briefing session. Took my first Greyhound jumper order to the post office for it's relatively short journey to Kidderminster. The briefing was extremely boring & I spent most of it yawning my head off, fortunately I wasn't one of the ones who fell asleep during it, lol. Time to head home straight afterwards, great we all thought, til we discovered the traffic lights were out on the ring road & it took me 50 minutes to travel about 4 miles!! FFS!!
Still annoyed from the waste of time sorted out dinner for me & the hounds before some relaxation as this bloody mouse keeps waking me up during the night skulking around the bedroom.
Tuesday, a full day in the office which is a bit rare at the moment, did all my prep work for my Board meeting followed by some finance work which had built up over the last couple of days. Did some knitting in the car in my lunch break, bloody freezing it was too. Spent the rest of the day working on the desktop. Got a late phone call from the MASH Business Manager who wanted to pick my brains regarding how the adults world works, had a good chat which ended with her telling me how much she wants me in her team. Well, if all had gone well a few weeks ago I'd have already been part of the team.
Another late finish, then I leave the office to find my car windscreen frozen on the inside and outside, I knew it was cold at lunchtime. Grrr!!!
Still annoyed from the waste of time sorted out dinner for me & the hounds before some relaxation as this bloody mouse keeps waking me up during the night skulking around the bedroom.
Tuesday, a full day in the office which is a bit rare at the moment, did all my prep work for my Board meeting followed by some finance work which had built up over the last couple of days. Did some knitting in the car in my lunch break, bloody freezing it was too. Spent the rest of the day working on the desktop. Got a late phone call from the MASH Business Manager who wanted to pick my brains regarding how the adults world works, had a good chat which ended with her telling me how much she wants me in her team. Well, if all had gone well a few weeks ago I'd have already been part of the team.
Another late finish, then I leave the office to find my car windscreen frozen on the inside and outside, I knew it was cold at lunchtime. Grrr!!!
Day 66 & 67
Saturday began with a bit of a lie in, followed by a quick shopping trip to Bentley Bridge & Poundland at Willenhall. Discovered I had a mouse in my bedroom which had been feeding on Christmas chocolates, cheeky sod. Then dropped off my sisters birthday card/present. Back home to the hounds for a walk, although bright it was quite chilly. A bit of time next to relax with some knitting as I'm working on an order for a Greyhound jumper & snood, the jumper is a bespoke striped pattern, something I've not attempted before, so a bit of a challenge. Got a text from my mate to ask if I fancied heading out with them to her gig that evening, pick up time arranged, so time to eat & get ready as well as feeding & watering the hounds too.
My mate and her hubby arrived later than planned as their journey coincided with the football traffic & we headed off to Doncaster for a double header tribute show. The venue was pretty nice, an old night club, the crowd were good & very receptive for both the Cher show and Pink show. Had a great evening & we even got fed too with an amazing chicken curry & the promise of another two or three bookings for next year, fabulous. Their dog was amazing too, a Dogue de Bordeux called Hunter, 8 months old & weighing about 8 stone.
Sunday saw a nice lie in as I didn't get home til 3 am, lol & a visit to the kennels to get Badger's nails trimmed & collect a couple of Greyhound coats to send to America. A chat with the Sunday volunteers and a dash of mulled wine to celebrate volunteer Julie's birthday.
Straight on to Bescot market for a mooch with my boy before heading home. We bumped into a couple of volunteers for another charity and their two Greyhounds, we had quite a long chat while the hounds did much bum sniffing. Picked up a few bits & bobs before a stall holder stopped me for a chat about Greyhounds, at the end of our conversation he told me to go and see the guy with the meat stall who promptly offer me a bag of bones for the hounds, they loved them!!
The rest of the day was to relax and do some more knitting before an early night.
My mate and her hubby arrived later than planned as their journey coincided with the football traffic & we headed off to Doncaster for a double header tribute show. The venue was pretty nice, an old night club, the crowd were good & very receptive for both the Cher show and Pink show. Had a great evening & we even got fed too with an amazing chicken curry & the promise of another two or three bookings for next year, fabulous. Their dog was amazing too, a Dogue de Bordeux called Hunter, 8 months old & weighing about 8 stone.
Sunday saw a nice lie in as I didn't get home til 3 am, lol & a visit to the kennels to get Badger's nails trimmed & collect a couple of Greyhound coats to send to America. A chat with the Sunday volunteers and a dash of mulled wine to celebrate volunteer Julie's birthday.
Straight on to Bescot market for a mooch with my boy before heading home. We bumped into a couple of volunteers for another charity and their two Greyhounds, we had quite a long chat while the hounds did much bum sniffing. Picked up a few bits & bobs before a stall holder stopped me for a chat about Greyhounds, at the end of our conversation he told me to go and see the guy with the meat stall who promptly offer me a bag of bones for the hounds, they loved them!!
The rest of the day was to relax and do some more knitting before an early night.
Tuesday, 29 November 2016
Day 65
Ahh, Friday, final day of the week. I'm sure even the hounds know when it's Friday (not that I remind them or anything)! An early finish as it's POETS day (Piss Off Early Tomorrows Saturday). Think I'd confused the hounds this week somewhat not being in the office yesterday though, they seemed like they didn't want me to leave.
Loads of things to catch up with from yesterday, it still beats me why people save things till you get back in the office rather than send an email. Ended up doing some work for another manager as their admin would 'fuck it up' apparently as she doesn't know what she's doing!! Why the hell do we employ these people, and why are they still in a job?? Beggars belief. This meant I now had to work at break neck speed to get my reports etc done before finishing. Today also signified the start of the orange wolves campaign where we are backing a UN campaign to support an end to violence against women & girls, so lots to do regarding our social media pages as photos of partner agencies supporting us came flooding in. Posts prepped to publish over the weekend too as it is a 16 day campaign.
Home for hound snuggles & a shower before going out to the RGT Wolverhampton Annual Awards Evening, this years' venue the Cleveland Arms. About 65 people turned up, a good turn out. The awards took place at the start of the evening with several fellow volunteers receiving awards for various things. The final award was Volunteer of the year, a fairly long speech regarding the recipient from Terry, couldn't hear much of what was being said as there was a rather loud disco going on in the other half of the pub. I heard mention of the dog show (which I had organised this year), at this point virtually all eyes were looking at me. OMG, no, it can't be me!!! Yep, indeed it was me, what a shock, I can't explain how shocked I was to hear my name, lost for words as the mic was handed to me on the evening, I was even shaking. I sat down & immediately thought I could have said this or said that, too late though, so had to settle for a Facebook post to do all my thank yous. So now I have a large trophy to keep for a year and a small trophy to keep forever. The final presentation was a bouquet of flowers presented to the manager, Alison as she is now retiring from the kennels & becoming a volunteer, so we will all still be able to work with her. An amazing buffet followed & lots of chatter amongst all the volunteers as well as our now famous bottle raffle with over 50 prizes.
Loads of things to catch up with from yesterday, it still beats me why people save things till you get back in the office rather than send an email. Ended up doing some work for another manager as their admin would 'fuck it up' apparently as she doesn't know what she's doing!! Why the hell do we employ these people, and why are they still in a job?? Beggars belief. This meant I now had to work at break neck speed to get my reports etc done before finishing. Today also signified the start of the orange wolves campaign where we are backing a UN campaign to support an end to violence against women & girls, so lots to do regarding our social media pages as photos of partner agencies supporting us came flooding in. Posts prepped to publish over the weekend too as it is a 16 day campaign.
Home for hound snuggles & a shower before going out to the RGT Wolverhampton Annual Awards Evening, this years' venue the Cleveland Arms. About 65 people turned up, a good turn out. The awards took place at the start of the evening with several fellow volunteers receiving awards for various things. The final award was Volunteer of the year, a fairly long speech regarding the recipient from Terry, couldn't hear much of what was being said as there was a rather loud disco going on in the other half of the pub. I heard mention of the dog show (which I had organised this year), at this point virtually all eyes were looking at me. OMG, no, it can't be me!!! Yep, indeed it was me, what a shock, I can't explain how shocked I was to hear my name, lost for words as the mic was handed to me on the evening, I was even shaking. I sat down & immediately thought I could have said this or said that, too late though, so had to settle for a Facebook post to do all my thank yous. So now I have a large trophy to keep for a year and a small trophy to keep forever. The final presentation was a bouquet of flowers presented to the manager, Alison as she is now retiring from the kennels & becoming a volunteer, so we will all still be able to work with her. An amazing buffet followed & lots of chatter amongst all the volunteers as well as our now famous bottle raffle with over 50 prizes.
Day 63 & 64
Wednesday, hump day, halfway through the week. No manager meeting this week, so a whole day to do proper work. Even managed to get up on time, so the hounds didn't think I was crazy racing around the house, lol. A boring day at the ranch, discovered I have to do four training courses relating to the finance system before Christmas, great!! As well as a course on dealing with aggression, plus another which is already in my calendar, December looks like a month of training!! Planned in my head that I was going to make Willow's gotcha cake, but found out my mate had a double header tribute show in Walsall at Yates's. Only down the road, so rude not to support her. Sorted out the hounds & fed myself before trotting off to Walsall. What a hell hole Walsall is, all bloody one way roads & nowhere to park, ended up parking where the Co-op used to be & looking over my shoulder as I made my way to the venue. A few strange people in the venue (well it is Walsall), but ended up that there was a fairly large crowd for a Wednesday night who really enjoyed both the Cher & Pink shows, home at a reasonable hour for a school night too.
Managed to wake on time again on Thursday, becoming a habit now, lol. Good job though as I am working from home as the central heating engineer will be visiting to fit a new radiator. An early start at 9.30 am & two hours later I had heat coming from the new radiator. Yippee!! Got tons of work done too whilst the hounds spent the day snoozing.
Tonight my mate was performing at the Swan at Tettenhall as herself (very rare these days), so again I popped along to support. This pub always seems to have a birthday party going on & tonight was no exception. Never seen the place so busy, some kind of pool tournament seemed to be going on too.
Managed to wake on time again on Thursday, becoming a habit now, lol. Good job though as I am working from home as the central heating engineer will be visiting to fit a new radiator. An early start at 9.30 am & two hours later I had heat coming from the new radiator. Yippee!! Got tons of work done too whilst the hounds spent the day snoozing.
Tonight my mate was performing at the Swan at Tettenhall as herself (very rare these days), so again I popped along to support. This pub always seems to have a birthday party going on & tonight was no exception. Never seen the place so busy, some kind of pool tournament seemed to be going on too.
Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Day 61 & 62
Monday morning (already) & I'd forgotten to set my alarm, so woke up at 7.25 am, an hour & 5 minutes late, holy crap! Rushed my ass off to get the dogs toileted & their snacks, dinners prepared for the evening, showered, hair washed & at work with five minutes to spare. I don't know how the hell I did it, but I was proud of myself. Not much happening today for a Monday, normally all hell breaks loose, got wind of some training sessions for the updated finance system we're getting in the new year, so that's five training sessions to attend in the run up to Christmas, OMG!!
So, after a pretty uneventful day I couldn't wait for the hound snuggles waiting at home for me, their little faces always cheer me up, so we all had dinner etc, then I had a quick drive to Cannock to Poundland to get some santa sacks for the secret santa at work, they ended up costing £17 as I ended up buying loads of other stuff. Popped into Dunelm too to get some knitting needles & bought some candles too, I couldn't resist. Back home the long way round as the A460 was completely flooded at Shareshill & the traffic was chaos. A bit of knitting before bed.
Tuesday, got up at my regular time fortunately, so not so much of a rush, another pretty uneventful day, but one where I didn't seem to get much done, I hate those kind of days. Bloody chilly outside, but I sat in the car at lunch time & did a spot of knitting. Got home to some very sad news that our last remaining sponsor hound had been PTS because of an inoperable liver tumour, to say I was devastated was an understatement, the second hound in a few days we have lost. So glad I lay on his bed on Sunday for cuddles, really gonna miss these boys, we love them as much as our own hounds. Did the hoovering after dinner, so that warmed me up, much needed hound hugs too. More knitting through the tears & then I'm off to bed shortly.
So, after a pretty uneventful day I couldn't wait for the hound snuggles waiting at home for me, their little faces always cheer me up, so we all had dinner etc, then I had a quick drive to Cannock to Poundland to get some santa sacks for the secret santa at work, they ended up costing £17 as I ended up buying loads of other stuff. Popped into Dunelm too to get some knitting needles & bought some candles too, I couldn't resist. Back home the long way round as the A460 was completely flooded at Shareshill & the traffic was chaos. A bit of knitting before bed.
Tuesday, got up at my regular time fortunately, so not so much of a rush, another pretty uneventful day, but one where I didn't seem to get much done, I hate those kind of days. Bloody chilly outside, but I sat in the car at lunch time & did a spot of knitting. Got home to some very sad news that our last remaining sponsor hound had been PTS because of an inoperable liver tumour, to say I was devastated was an understatement, the second hound in a few days we have lost. So glad I lay on his bed on Sunday for cuddles, really gonna miss these boys, we love them as much as our own hounds. Did the hoovering after dinner, so that warmed me up, much needed hound hugs too. More knitting through the tears & then I'm off to bed shortly.
Sunday, 20 November 2016
Day 59 & 60
The weekend is here!! An early start on Saturday as I took Badger to do an awareness event for RGT Wolverhampton at Waitrose. It wasn't exactly busy, but we did have some lovely people stop for a chat with us. The weather was bloody freezing, but it was cold in Coventry last night. Good job me & my boy layered up,he had his hand knitted jumper under his coat whilst I had four layers & a pair of leggings under my jeans, my feet were freezing though. Our shift passed quickly with a good bit of banter amongst the volunteers, we all get on really well.
Back home for a bit of hound time before jumping in the shower & heading off to Stockton on Tees with my mate & her hubby for her gig at the Grosvenor Casino as Cher & Annie Lennox. What a great venue, definately the best casino I have visited, an amazing show & a fabulous crowd who joined in, not normally the case at the casinos. She impressed one visitor so much he bought her a £50 bottle of champers!! Back home at 4.20 am, tired but happy, woke the hounds up when I got in, they were fast asleep.
Sunday saw another early alarm, this time for an early shift at the RGT kennels, so after only 1 1/2 hours sleep I was surprisingly awake & arrived at the kennels early. Got to work straight away, all duties complete in just over an hour as the kennels isn't currently at capacity due to the move. Had cuddles with sponsor hound Simba whilst trying to coax him to eat his breakfast, poor lad only managed a bit of it, tucked him up warm in a fleecy coat & blanket. We all love our Simba.
Straight to Bentley Bridge after the kennels to get some wool for a Greyhound jumper that has been ordered & a few bits & bobs from Home Bargains, then on to Poundland at Willenhall & a stop at Burger King for a burger for breakfast (11.45 am) as I was starving. Home to walk the hounds & a bit of sleep, managed another 1 1/2 hours before Lady woke me barking for her dinner. Made a start on knitting a pink snood, another order. An early night tonight methinks!
Happy, but exhausted after a very busy weekend.
Back home for a bit of hound time before jumping in the shower & heading off to Stockton on Tees with my mate & her hubby for her gig at the Grosvenor Casino as Cher & Annie Lennox. What a great venue, definately the best casino I have visited, an amazing show & a fabulous crowd who joined in, not normally the case at the casinos. She impressed one visitor so much he bought her a £50 bottle of champers!! Back home at 4.20 am, tired but happy, woke the hounds up when I got in, they were fast asleep.
Sunday saw another early alarm, this time for an early shift at the RGT kennels, so after only 1 1/2 hours sleep I was surprisingly awake & arrived at the kennels early. Got to work straight away, all duties complete in just over an hour as the kennels isn't currently at capacity due to the move. Had cuddles with sponsor hound Simba whilst trying to coax him to eat his breakfast, poor lad only managed a bit of it, tucked him up warm in a fleecy coat & blanket. We all love our Simba.
Straight to Bentley Bridge after the kennels to get some wool for a Greyhound jumper that has been ordered & a few bits & bobs from Home Bargains, then on to Poundland at Willenhall & a stop at Burger King for a burger for breakfast (11.45 am) as I was starving. Home to walk the hounds & a bit of sleep, managed another 1 1/2 hours before Lady woke me barking for her dinner. Made a start on knitting a pink snood, another order. An early night tonight methinks!
Happy, but exhausted after a very busy weekend.
Friday, 18 November 2016
Day 57 & 58
At last a day when I can get back to doing proper work instead of being in meetings all day! The weather has started dropping cold again, guess who forgot to cover the windscreen. No time to pick up the shopping on the way to work due to having to scrape the windscreen. So, a trip to Aldi at lunchtime it is, better than freezing in the car I suppose. Even the hounds aren't spending much time outside at the moment, lol.
The afternoon dragged, I'm sure there are a lot more hours in an afternoon!! Either that or it was something to do with the finance I was working on. Finally 5 pm arrived, an evening of nothing planned except schmoozing with the hounds for a few hours. Surprised also to receive a couple of orders for Greyhound jumpers after commenting on a post in a forum. Guess I'm gonna be busy knitting for the next couple of weeks or so.
Thank crunchy it's Friday!! The end of a long week, not sure if it's this lurgy that I can shake of that's making me so tired or I'm getting lazy in my old age. Quite a lot to deal with on the desktop today before generating the end of week reports & yet more finance to tackle. The hounds were reluctant to have their bed coats removed this morning, don't blame them, yep, more frost. Rather than sit freezing in the car at lunchtime decided to collect a birthday card for a colleague who's 30 soon, another visit to Aldi too to collect Lady's food that I forgot to get yesterday. The afternoon passed fairly quickly fortunately, then finally home time. The hounds seemed to be starving tonight, so didn't stay outside for long, a quick dinner for me as I'm off to Coventry as my mate has a gig at the Black Bank tonight, no doubt we'll be asked if we're a couple, AGAIN!! Think we're both getting a bit bored with it now.
The afternoon dragged, I'm sure there are a lot more hours in an afternoon!! Either that or it was something to do with the finance I was working on. Finally 5 pm arrived, an evening of nothing planned except schmoozing with the hounds for a few hours. Surprised also to receive a couple of orders for Greyhound jumpers after commenting on a post in a forum. Guess I'm gonna be busy knitting for the next couple of weeks or so.
Thank crunchy it's Friday!! The end of a long week, not sure if it's this lurgy that I can shake of that's making me so tired or I'm getting lazy in my old age. Quite a lot to deal with on the desktop today before generating the end of week reports & yet more finance to tackle. The hounds were reluctant to have their bed coats removed this morning, don't blame them, yep, more frost. Rather than sit freezing in the car at lunchtime decided to collect a birthday card for a colleague who's 30 soon, another visit to Aldi too to collect Lady's food that I forgot to get yesterday. The afternoon passed fairly quickly fortunately, then finally home time. The hounds seemed to be starving tonight, so didn't stay outside for long, a quick dinner for me as I'm off to Coventry as my mate has a gig at the Black Bank tonight, no doubt we'll be asked if we're a couple, AGAIN!! Think we're both getting a bit bored with it now.
Wednesday, 16 November 2016
Day 56
Found it more difficult than ever getting up for work this morning I don't know why. However, I did manage to get there on time (just). Barely had time to shovel my breakfast biscuits down my neck before the first meeting of the day, the managers meeting, hoped it would be a short one as only half of us present, but no such luck. A quick toilet break & brew up before my second meeting, an appraisal & 1 to 1 with one of my staff. A light hearted meeting which was a pleasant change, nice to have one person who's easy to manage. At the end of this we were interrupted by our old manager bringing the interim new manager round for a visit.
Lunch time, food & then a trip to the health centre opposite to see the phlebotamist for a blood test to check if my statins are damaging my muscles (hopefully not). We'll see when I get the results in a weeks' time.
The afternoon shift was a bit messy, literally as I started by chucking a load of boxes that had been left in the stationary cupboard by lazy sods who can't be arsed to walk to the recycling bin. Been one of those days where I've not stopped but got naff all done, hate those days.
Lunch time, food & then a trip to the health centre opposite to see the phlebotamist for a blood test to check if my statins are damaging my muscles (hopefully not). We'll see when I get the results in a weeks' time.
The afternoon shift was a bit messy, literally as I started by chucking a load of boxes that had been left in the stationary cupboard by lazy sods who can't be arsed to walk to the recycling bin. Been one of those days where I've not stopped but got naff all done, hate those days.
Tuesday, 15 November 2016
Day 55
Woke up with a bruised big toe after dropping a chest of drawers on it yesterday morning when I was half asleep. I actually woke up before the hounds today, so crept down stairs to surprise them, lol. Obviously a sign they're warm in their sleep coats, bless.
Ready for work early (for a change) so I actually left the house on time & walked in the office at 8.20 am, shock, horror!! A pretty uneventful morning which lead up to lunch break, today I was starving, think I was making up for not eating much for the last few days, dunno why, but I frequently lose my appetite & haven't even much in the way of sweets & chocolate. A short visit to Morrison's during my break then spent the last 20 minutes or so sitting in my car which when I returned had a very strong smell of coffee inside it, bizarre, I hardly ever drink coffee, so I reckon my spirits are around me, kinda need them right now.
An uneventful afternoon followed, then an early finish for yet another appointment with the GP for my BP. So, I've been recording my BP twice a day for the last 10 days or so as she was convinced it hadn't reduced enough with the meds. She was pleased with the readings, pretty much all of them were within the normal range, she checked it twice, the first one was slightly raised, the second well within the limits, maybe a bit of white coat syndrome going on. Mentioned again about the muscle cramps from the statins, now I have to have a blood test as I may be experiencing muscle breakdown, so no statins until the results are back. Whatever next? Feeling fed up, but I'm not going to resort to alcohol (well that's the plan at the moment).
Ready for work early (for a change) so I actually left the house on time & walked in the office at 8.20 am, shock, horror!! A pretty uneventful morning which lead up to lunch break, today I was starving, think I was making up for not eating much for the last few days, dunno why, but I frequently lose my appetite & haven't even much in the way of sweets & chocolate. A short visit to Morrison's during my break then spent the last 20 minutes or so sitting in my car which when I returned had a very strong smell of coffee inside it, bizarre, I hardly ever drink coffee, so I reckon my spirits are around me, kinda need them right now.
An uneventful afternoon followed, then an early finish for yet another appointment with the GP for my BP. So, I've been recording my BP twice a day for the last 10 days or so as she was convinced it hadn't reduced enough with the meds. She was pleased with the readings, pretty much all of them were within the normal range, she checked it twice, the first one was slightly raised, the second well within the limits, maybe a bit of white coat syndrome going on. Mentioned again about the muscle cramps from the statins, now I have to have a blood test as I may be experiencing muscle breakdown, so no statins until the results are back. Whatever next? Feeling fed up, but I'm not going to resort to alcohol (well that's the plan at the moment).
Monday, 14 November 2016
Day 54
So, today's the day the heating engineer is due. Got up at my normal time, got the hounds ready & showered waiting for the call to give me at ETA. The phone call finally arrived at 9.30 am!!! The ETA 2 pm - 4 pm this afternoon. Rather than waste a day of annual leave I decided to pop into the office to pick up my laptop so I could work from home. Back home to deal with emails & clear the desktop before a break as I'd got an appointment with a solicitor to discuss Mum & Dad's will, luckily only a short appointment so soon back home to carry on where I left off workwise.
The engineer finally turned up at 4,30 pm to tell me I need a new radiator & valves, yes I bloody knew that on Thursday night!! So now I have to wait for N Power to ring me back and make another appointment to fit them. What a pain in the arse!! At least I got to spend the day with the hounds, I think they were pleased about that. I did get a compliment from the engineer, he said I didn't look my age, lol.
Tonight there's a super moon, so I nipped in the garden to take a couple of shots with my compact camera & posted them on the ITV Facebook page, a couple of likes so far.
The engineer finally turned up at 4,30 pm to tell me I need a new radiator & valves, yes I bloody knew that on Thursday night!! So now I have to wait for N Power to ring me back and make another appointment to fit them. What a pain in the arse!! At least I got to spend the day with the hounds, I think they were pleased about that. I did get a compliment from the engineer, he said I didn't look my age, lol.
Tonight there's a super moon, so I nipped in the garden to take a couple of shots with my compact camera & posted them on the ITV Facebook page, a couple of likes so far.
Sunday, 13 November 2016
Day 53
Sunday morning lie in til 9.15 am, not a bad sleep either, only woke twice. I was exhausted though as I didn't get in til 1.30 am!! The Cher show was totally amazing & the crowd were loving it. The hounds had their morning wee followed by breakfast & a quick cuppa for me. Needed to pop into town for some new boxers from Primark, don't know why but this week I've had holes in the front of three pairs, not sure if it's my jeans rubbing against them or what, bizarre!!
Back home to give Lady a quick wipe over with doggy wipes & a squirt of cologne before we set of for the monthly tweet up at Cannock Chase. Today's walk was an hour later than normal due to the remembrance service (some of the Greys don't like gun shots). We had a lovely catch up with some lovely friends &sausages handed out for the hounds & fantastic cakes for the humans made by the very lovely Jayne.
Home again to do a bit of sorting out before the heating engineer comes out, a dash off to Lidl to get some boxes to put things in temporarily. Managed to get the floors mopped too & walked Badger & Willow, quite a productive day, still the bins to sort out as it's the recycling collection too.
Photos from the walk uploaded to Facebook whilst sipping a bottle of Queen lager (it has to be done), a quick chill out for a bit before getting myself to bed.
Surely it can't be nearly Monday :-(
Back home to give Lady a quick wipe over with doggy wipes & a squirt of cologne before we set of for the monthly tweet up at Cannock Chase. Today's walk was an hour later than normal due to the remembrance service (some of the Greys don't like gun shots). We had a lovely catch up with some lovely friends &sausages handed out for the hounds & fantastic cakes for the humans made by the very lovely Jayne.
Home again to do a bit of sorting out before the heating engineer comes out, a dash off to Lidl to get some boxes to put things in temporarily. Managed to get the floors mopped too & walked Badger & Willow, quite a productive day, still the bins to sort out as it's the recycling collection too.
Photos from the walk uploaded to Facebook whilst sipping a bottle of Queen lager (it has to be done), a quick chill out for a bit before getting myself to bed.
Surely it can't be nearly Monday :-(
Saturday, 12 November 2016
Day 51 & 52
Armistice day, why is it when you take part in the two minutes silence some bugger always phone the office? Are people really so inconsiderate? Do they not have any respect any more? It's also Friday, so the weekend is upon us, so also are all the reports I have to do on a Friday. Really short staffed too do to some training taking place, it seems half of our staff were on the training today. A pretty uneventful day in all, but bloody freezing cold, had to cut my lunch break short due to it being freezing cold sitting in the car.
Home for a bit of hound time before heading off out, dinner's eaten and a quick run around the garden before I headed to the dog track for the RGT Committee Meeting. Most of the usual volunteers turned up for the meeting, a good meeting in all with some long discussions, quite productive too. Back home for snuggles with the hounds, the house is really cold at the moment thanks to the broken radiator I'm waiting to have fixed on Monday. A very early bedtime to get warmed up.
Saturday, time to start moving some stuff out of cupboards etc to prepare for having the heating fixed on Monday, you just don't realise how much junk you keep. A dash out to hobbycraft to pick up some bits & bobs for a cake I'm making today. Home to bake the cake & some housework while it cools down. A little walk round the block & we will remember Walnut the Whippet, then back home for dinner & a shower before a night out at the Hilly House where my mate is performing as Cher tonight.
Home for a bit of hound time before heading off out, dinner's eaten and a quick run around the garden before I headed to the dog track for the RGT Committee Meeting. Most of the usual volunteers turned up for the meeting, a good meeting in all with some long discussions, quite productive too. Back home for snuggles with the hounds, the house is really cold at the moment thanks to the broken radiator I'm waiting to have fixed on Monday. A very early bedtime to get warmed up.
Saturday, time to start moving some stuff out of cupboards etc to prepare for having the heating fixed on Monday, you just don't realise how much junk you keep. A dash out to hobbycraft to pick up some bits & bobs for a cake I'm making today. Home to bake the cake & some housework while it cools down. A little walk round the block & we will remember Walnut the Whippet, then back home for dinner & a shower before a night out at the Hilly House where my mate is performing as Cher tonight.
Thursday, 10 November 2016
Day 48, 49 & 50
So, Tuesday, another cold start to the day, glad I covered the windscreen over, especially as I overslept. My alarm went off at 6.20 am & I pressed snooze (or so I thought), dozed back off & when I woke it was unusually light, because it was 7.25 am. Now I have to go into crazy mode to get ready for work, sort the hounds out and prepare their dinners, I made it for 8.35 am, not bad, eh? It was never gonna be a great day after the start I'd had & I wasn't wrong, computer issues all day, everything being a nightmare, couldn't wait for the day to finish. A quick bite to eat for me & the hounds then off to Dudley to see Kota, my mate's Akita as they were out for the day, dinner & a quick walk in the pouring rain before heading back home to my three.
Wednesday, ugh, rain, what a miserable day, even the hounds didn't want to go outside for long, even in their bed jackets, it's obviously getting cold. Pretty much caught up work wise following my time off, that's a blessing, again issues with technology, but we're sort of getting used to it now. At least the hounds are happy to see me when I get home. Off out tonight, yes, a school night, down to the River Rooms to see the Graham Bonnet Band. A good evening of entertainment, for an aged alcoholic, he's got more stamina than I thought he'd have, couldn't hold the higher notes, but not bad. Although I was on my own it was nice to reminisce the sounds of my youth from Rainbow & the Michael Schenker Group as well as some of the songs from their new album, The Book. Treated myself to a signed copy of the album on my way out. Home at 11.45 pm & I'm knackered as I didn't sleep well.
Thursday, didn't sleep great, but got up at 6.40 am (eventually), finding it such a struggle to get myself out of bed these days. I don't think the hounds wanted me to go to work today either, lol, they kept wanting fusses!! Caught up with everything, so now I can start to tackle the things I have been having to put off. Went home at lunchtime as we were due to go out after work for a goodbye meal with one of our managers, the hounds were surprised to see me & grateful to empty their bladders. The hardest part about going home for lunch is having to go back to work afterwards. The afternoon wasn't great as I started to feel increasingly light headed so ended up crying off from the meal to get an early night. Bloody good job I did go home as I walked in the kitchen to find it full of steam & under an inch of water as the radiator was pissing water everywhere, tried turning the radiator off with no effect (my grip is hopeless since breaking several fingers), tried mopping for an hour & a half which made no impact on the water levels. Rang N Power as I'm covered under a service plan who tell me after holding on for 15 minutes that they can't come out til Monday. Now what??? They advise me to call out an emergency plumber & they will 'make a contribution' to the cost. Rang someone from Yell.com who turned out to be an agent who was asking for £150 call out plus £150 per hour on top, what?? Tried another local plumber who didn't really want to come out, but eventually agreed, £50 later the water had stopped, he turned the valves off completely, discovered a hole in the radiator & covered it with some putty. Glad the water has more or less stopped, what a bloody mess. My life is a nightmare, everything goes wrong. Now I'm off to bed knackered, £50 lighter , pissed off & I'm sure my BP will be high when I check it. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
Wednesday, ugh, rain, what a miserable day, even the hounds didn't want to go outside for long, even in their bed jackets, it's obviously getting cold. Pretty much caught up work wise following my time off, that's a blessing, again issues with technology, but we're sort of getting used to it now. At least the hounds are happy to see me when I get home. Off out tonight, yes, a school night, down to the River Rooms to see the Graham Bonnet Band. A good evening of entertainment, for an aged alcoholic, he's got more stamina than I thought he'd have, couldn't hold the higher notes, but not bad. Although I was on my own it was nice to reminisce the sounds of my youth from Rainbow & the Michael Schenker Group as well as some of the songs from their new album, The Book. Treated myself to a signed copy of the album on my way out. Home at 11.45 pm & I'm knackered as I didn't sleep well.
Thursday, didn't sleep great, but got up at 6.40 am (eventually), finding it such a struggle to get myself out of bed these days. I don't think the hounds wanted me to go to work today either, lol, they kept wanting fusses!! Caught up with everything, so now I can start to tackle the things I have been having to put off. Went home at lunchtime as we were due to go out after work for a goodbye meal with one of our managers, the hounds were surprised to see me & grateful to empty their bladders. The hardest part about going home for lunch is having to go back to work afterwards. The afternoon wasn't great as I started to feel increasingly light headed so ended up crying off from the meal to get an early night. Bloody good job I did go home as I walked in the kitchen to find it full of steam & under an inch of water as the radiator was pissing water everywhere, tried turning the radiator off with no effect (my grip is hopeless since breaking several fingers), tried mopping for an hour & a half which made no impact on the water levels. Rang N Power as I'm covered under a service plan who tell me after holding on for 15 minutes that they can't come out til Monday. Now what??? They advise me to call out an emergency plumber & they will 'make a contribution' to the cost. Rang someone from Yell.com who turned out to be an agent who was asking for £150 call out plus £150 per hour on top, what?? Tried another local plumber who didn't really want to come out, but eventually agreed, £50 later the water had stopped, he turned the valves off completely, discovered a hole in the radiator & covered it with some putty. Glad the water has more or less stopped, what a bloody mess. My life is a nightmare, everything goes wrong. Now I'm off to bed knackered, £50 lighter , pissed off & I'm sure my BP will be high when I check it. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
Monday, 7 November 2016
Day 47
Ugh, Monday already, what a ballache, yep, I know I've just had a four day weekend, but it still doesn't make me wanna go back to work. It seems my subconscious knew I was back at work as I had a terrible night's sleep, woke at 4 am & couldn't go back to sleep so spent two & a half hours tossing & turning til I managed to lift my back off the mattress. It was bloody cold too, so cold I decided I had to put my dressing gown on, I probably only wear it half a dozen times in a year!!
Didn't want to leave the hounds behind, especially as I looked out of the door to see a thick coating of frost on the car for me to scrape off. Got to work early, but couldn't bring myself to go inside too soon so sat in the car listening to my FM CD til 8.25.
My throat felt like I'd swallowed a house brick sideways all morning, speaking was very painful, so guess what? Ended up answering the bloody phone most of the morning, great. A visit to the pharmacy at lunchtime for a pack of Tyrozets to help soothe it. It started to feel a little bit better during the afternoon. Pretty much caught up with the days I'd missed so that meant the day went by fairly quickly, always a blessing. Not much traffic about, so got home in 10 minutes, wow!! The hounds as usual were pleased to see me and also pleased to see their dinner (more so than me, I think). By the time we had all eaten the bloody fireworks were going off again so unfortunately no evening walk as Lady won't go outside after last year's incident.
Spent my evening ploughing through the rest of my photo's from Thursday wearing my fingerless gloves as my hands are freezing, the windscreen is covered so hopefully not much defrosting to do in the morning. Off to bed as soon as Dark Angel has finished, can't beat a good serial killer.
Didn't want to leave the hounds behind, especially as I looked out of the door to see a thick coating of frost on the car for me to scrape off. Got to work early, but couldn't bring myself to go inside too soon so sat in the car listening to my FM CD til 8.25.
My throat felt like I'd swallowed a house brick sideways all morning, speaking was very painful, so guess what? Ended up answering the bloody phone most of the morning, great. A visit to the pharmacy at lunchtime for a pack of Tyrozets to help soothe it. It started to feel a little bit better during the afternoon. Pretty much caught up with the days I'd missed so that meant the day went by fairly quickly, always a blessing. Not much traffic about, so got home in 10 minutes, wow!! The hounds as usual were pleased to see me and also pleased to see their dinner (more so than me, I think). By the time we had all eaten the bloody fireworks were going off again so unfortunately no evening walk as Lady won't go outside after last year's incident.
Spent my evening ploughing through the rest of my photo's from Thursday wearing my fingerless gloves as my hands are freezing, the windscreen is covered so hopefully not much defrosting to do in the morning. Off to bed as soon as Dark Angel has finished, can't beat a good serial killer.
Sunday, 6 November 2016
Day 45 & 46
Saturday started quite early thanks to Lady barking at 8 am, so the hounds had breakfast & a run around the garden whilst I sat down to a cuppa, can't function til I've had a brew. Decided to have a trot around Penkridge market as there was a couple of things I needed. Surprisingly the market car park was fairly quiet for a Saturday, a fair section of it was coned off for the boy sprouts annual bonfire on the evening. Badger had decided he wanted to come along as he often does, he loves it when people stop for a chat & give him a fuss, today was no exception. I also got congratulated by an elderly man for making sure my boy was coated up & cosy as the weather was bitterly cold. Neither of the stalls I wanted were on the market, so a bit of a wasted journey, although I did managed to pick up a couple of things. Back home to walk the hounds before getting showered & ready to go out. Today I was off to Gloucestershire with my mates for a gig at the RBL with a soul & motown group & a comedian, a sell out show which went down really well, they seemed to love it. The comedian was pretty good tbf & a little bit naughty which is always good, my mate was awesome as always, she's such a talented lady. Back home at 3 am & pretty much straight to bed.
The muppet next door woke me at 7.30 am on Sunday morning shouting at the top of her voice, selfish tart. A visit to the RGT kennels today to collect food for Badger & Willow then a run round the garden for the hounds while I did a poop scoop. Back inside for a shower & to get ready for the local 'shop window' show at Cradley Liberal club with my mates, these shows showcase local singers for clubs & pubs etc, I think most of the bookers only turn up for the free buffet, lol, The show finished after about 3 hours & a few alcoholic beverages it was back home to complete my Sunday chores which includes sorting the rubbish for bin day tomorrow. Can't believe how cold it has suddenly dropped over the weekend, it was frosty in Gloucester last night. I'm bloody freezing, so I'm off to bed shortly to try to warm up.
The muppet next door woke me at 7.30 am on Sunday morning shouting at the top of her voice, selfish tart. A visit to the RGT kennels today to collect food for Badger & Willow then a run round the garden for the hounds while I did a poop scoop. Back inside for a shower & to get ready for the local 'shop window' show at Cradley Liberal club with my mates, these shows showcase local singers for clubs & pubs etc, I think most of the bookers only turn up for the free buffet, lol, The show finished after about 3 hours & a few alcoholic beverages it was back home to complete my Sunday chores which includes sorting the rubbish for bin day tomorrow. Can't believe how cold it has suddenly dropped over the weekend, it was frosty in Gloucester last night. I'm bloody freezing, so I'm off to bed shortly to try to warm up.
Friday, 4 November 2016
Day 43 & 44
Thursday began with an early wake up, not a problem as it wasn't for work, lol. Up at 6 am for a road trip to Blackpool with my mates. Saw to the hounds, showered, dressed & on the road for 9 am with a bag of butties & other stuff to munch on the journey. So, two hours later we arrived in Blackpool, parked up & headed to the Viva Cabaret bar for a showcase. Opening the show was my mates band, Cherished, she is amazing as Cher & the new line up for the band were cracking, shame they only get 10 minutes to showcase their talents. A trail of other tribute artists adorned the stage for the next three hours, we had fun with Faye Horne (X Factor) on our table too. Before the evening session a quick sound check for my mate who was performing as Annie Lennox. Off out to a local all you can eat buffet restaurant, the food was amazing. Back to the cabaret bar for the evening session to see the like of Gary Barlow, Luther Vandross, Diana Ross and many more, my mates Annie Lennox went down a storm & she go amazing feedback from some of the punters. I got recognised by Taylor Swift, lol.
Friday started with a bit of a lie in which was most needed. Received a text from HMV to say my order had arrived, so headed into town to collect it, back to walk the hounds and bake a tuna cake for Willow's eighth birthday. Done myself a dinner which was scrummy and then delivered a birthday gift to a friend. Home again to take a look at the photos I took yesterday. And now I'm ready for bed!!
Friday started with a bit of a lie in which was most needed. Received a text from HMV to say my order had arrived, so headed into town to collect it, back to walk the hounds and bake a tuna cake for Willow's eighth birthday. Done myself a dinner which was scrummy and then delivered a birthday gift to a friend. Home again to take a look at the photos I took yesterday. And now I'm ready for bed!!
Wednesday, 2 November 2016
Day 41 & 42
So, I didn't want to get up on Tuesday morning, hate feeling like this about work. However, when someone has dropped a big steaming turd on you & rubbed it in it's quite hard to try to remain positive. Managed to drag myself through the day, found it harder than normal following my four day weekend. Spent most of the day thinking about my evening out with my mate.
Finally the day ended, so off to the doctors for a catch up regarding my BP meds, not good news, after a week of being on the new meds they have had absolutely no effect. Now I have to buy a BP monitor & check it twice a day for a week and have another follow up visit to the docs. Got back home to feed the hounds before heading out to collect my mate & then on to a local Psychic Evening with Robin Clayton. Well, it was a good night with lots of spirits coming forward for nearly everyone in the room, including me & my mate. She had messages from her Grandad and a mate who passed away last year. Mine was a little confusing & at first I thought it was my Grandad, but as it went on it felt more like Ray & included mention of a pocket watch (he wore one on our wedding day). We both wanna go again!!
Wednesday morning, again I didn't want to get out of bed!! Our usually management meeting took place today, these are always full of doom & gloom. Finally managed to get my finance stuff sorted out, it's only taken a week for the payments team to sort this out for me, what a ballache. Gotmost of what I needed to do done before I finished as I'm off for the rest of the week!! Yippee!! Lunchtime saw me taking a drive to find a BP monitor, visited 4 chemists & eventually picked one up at Asda (they'd sold out yesterday), a bargain at £7.50. Off to Wickes to collect blackboard paint for the office. During my lunch break I managed to get stopped by two people begging for cash, there's so much of it around.
Home again & no plans for the evening except maybe to crack open a bottle of beer & have an early night. Feeling so tired & I have no idea why.
Finally the day ended, so off to the doctors for a catch up regarding my BP meds, not good news, after a week of being on the new meds they have had absolutely no effect. Now I have to buy a BP monitor & check it twice a day for a week and have another follow up visit to the docs. Got back home to feed the hounds before heading out to collect my mate & then on to a local Psychic Evening with Robin Clayton. Well, it was a good night with lots of spirits coming forward for nearly everyone in the room, including me & my mate. She had messages from her Grandad and a mate who passed away last year. Mine was a little confusing & at first I thought it was my Grandad, but as it went on it felt more like Ray & included mention of a pocket watch (he wore one on our wedding day). We both wanna go again!!
Wednesday morning, again I didn't want to get out of bed!! Our usually management meeting took place today, these are always full of doom & gloom. Finally managed to get my finance stuff sorted out, it's only taken a week for the payments team to sort this out for me, what a ballache. Gotmost of what I needed to do done before I finished as I'm off for the rest of the week!! Yippee!! Lunchtime saw me taking a drive to find a BP monitor, visited 4 chemists & eventually picked one up at Asda (they'd sold out yesterday), a bargain at £7.50. Off to Wickes to collect blackboard paint for the office. During my lunch break I managed to get stopped by two people begging for cash, there's so much of it around.
Home again & no plans for the evening except maybe to crack open a bottle of beer & have an early night. Feeling so tired & I have no idea why.
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