Murderers!!!

OMG!!! one of my cats murdered Stuart Little!!

On a less grisly note this was Nugget watching Erin eat her breakfast this morning, "go on, give us some, go on pleeeessseee!!"

I am still feeling pretty crap this morning, don't know what's wrong with me but I just don't feel right, personally I suspect it might be an overdose of housework seeing as I spent most of Tuesday cleaning and polishing. I feel a bit sick and quite achey (no Swine Flu jokes please).

I did managed to go out to real life pub quiz last night and we did rather well against the mighty Whetham. We only lost by 7 points and at one stage were only trailing by 3 points. In two weeks time we are the question masters again which should be fun.

The Great Dress Hunt

Erin and I embarked on the great dress hunt this morning. They are not really having a "Prom" as such but rather a presentation evening with a meal, presentation then a disco and the dress code is "Smart Casual" so no ball gowns for dinner suits.

We headed for Carmarthen, that being the closest place where a decent selection of shops can be found. We had a moszey around M & S but nothing lit her candle although she did take the opportunity to get meaured properly for a bra. 30DD.. for a little thing she is quite well endowed.

Next stop was Monsoon... always a good place to find a fancy frock and she selected a few dresses to try and was gutted when the size 6 wouldn't quite fit (bitch!!). In the end we narrowed it down to two. This beautiful silk number which has the most stunning combination of colours and really looked lovely on her.


And this one which really suited her and is a much younger style.


We had a walk round a few other shops and tried to make up our minds then finally headed back to Monsoon and tried them both on again. Previously we had decided that the first one was better, but on the second try on it was definately the halter necked one, it just looked stunning on her so we got it. This is the picture of it from the website, I think it looks better on her.


So we headed home, me discernably poorer and Erin very happy. Now t behe search begins for shoes... god help!!

I am off to real life pub quiz now against the ace team the Whetham... sure we will lose, but we have been doing really well lately.... wish me luck!!

Grrrrrr... Thieving Gits!!

You may remember me mentioning that as well as the posh coffee machine I bought Noel for his birthday we were also buying a Tassimo machine. Well I ordered one, through Amazon but not directly from them and a good deal I had as well, it was over £20 cheaper than they were in the shops. However there is no point in getting a bargin if the bloody thing dosn't turn up!!


I ordered it last Sunday and as of last night it still hadn't turned up so I emailed the company I ordered it from. I had an email back this morning informing that it has been delivered and signed for at 10.49am on 21st March.... that in itself would have been impossible as Noel, Ffion and I were all in work and Erin was in school at that time.

So yet again it would appear that it has been delivered to the wrong address and some thieving git has signed for it instead of admitting that they had not ordered any such thing.


As you might guess this is not the first time this has happened. Some of the confusion arises from the fact that we are 3 Castle Hall Drive which is just off Castle Hall Road which also happens to have a number 3 (as you would expect)... to make matters worse a few years ago someone called Karen Smith lived at 3 Castle Hall Road, you can imagine the confusion that caused. When things have gone astray in the past I have called at the other number 3 (which is only one house up from me) and enquired after my things, always to be told that they have not seen hide nor hair of them (a likely story!!!) But what can you do if someone denies all knowledge, I can hardly barge my way in and search the house, much though I would love to.


So yet again I have had to telephone a company and explain that I have not received an item, despite the fact that they have written proof that it has been signed for. At the moment they are investigating it with the couriers and hopefully will be getting back to me in the near future. In the past most companies have always sent a replacement item but that isn't really the point, why should some thieving git get a brand new coffee machine, mobile phone, books etc etc for free while I have to do all the running around and put up with all the hassle of chasing things up and having to wait for goods which I have paid my hard earned cash for!!

Property Magnates

About three years ago we invested in another property to rent out and bought a two bedroom flat on a local estate. Then in February another flat in the same block came up for sale so we decided that our money would be better spent in property again, rather than sitting in the bank earning bugger all interest, so we bought it. It is the bottom one in this picture.. the other one we own is on the left and upstairs, out of shot.

Noel has been working flat out since we bought it, getting it tidied up and ready to rent out. These are some before and after shots.

The kitchen before

And after .... and the bathroom before

And the bathroom after.

Lounge before (I was very tempted to keep the carpet.....NOT!)

And finally the lounge after.

I won't bore you with pics of the bedrooms because they have basically just had new flooring and fresh paint on the walls, a bit like the lounge. The other flat we rented furnished as it was rented to a contractor working down here. We are not sure with this one yet, we are waiting to hear from the Estate Agent as to what would be best, so hopefully in the next week or so we will get it rented out and phase 2 of Noel's pension plan will spring into operation.

Tweet Tweet

I've been "tweeting" with "Twitter".

For the uninitiated (that would be you Jane!), Twitter is a free micro blog site where people post short updates of their activities called "Tweets", a bit like Facebook status updates. Only with Twitter there are lots of celebrities you can "follow" and interact with. The most follwed of all is Stephen Fry who as of this evening had 444,014 followers. Jonathan Ross and Philip Schofield are also prolific "tweeters".

This evening I received my first tweet reply from a celebrity... and just my luck it had to be an english rugby player!!! I decided to follow Will Carling as I though he might have some interesting insight into international rugby, albeit from a Saes point of view but it was worth a go. However the good Mr. Carling appears to be obsessed with Hell's Kitchen (something I don't actually watch). And we earlier this evening he made the following tweet.

willcarlingI think Danielle or Miss Dynamite get the chop.But how come Danielle hasn't had to cook really? She just stands near the pass?Hell's Kitchenabout 2 hours ago from TwitterBerry

To which I jokingly replied

KazCymru@willcarling for a big macho rugby player you seem very obsessed with cooking!about 2 hours ago from web in reply to willcarling

And lo and behold I got a reply \0/

willcarling@KazCymru obsessed yes! But not big or macho to be honest!!about 2 hours ago from TwitterBerry

My first celebrity Tweet.... I wonder who I can get to reply next!!!

Bored Blog

I am so bored I am resorting to blogging about the coffee machine I bought Noel for his birthday.. desperate or what??

As usual when it comes to buying presents for my beloved I was stumped. He is impossible to buy for. He dosn't read books, he has no particular interest in music and his only hobby would appear to be hanging around with Meurig, so as usual I was struggling.

When we were in Bath a few weeks ago, we were in the Kitchen shop, which is one of our favourite haunts ... sad or what! And they were demonstrating coffee machines which use the Nespresso capsule system

We tried a sample and were very impressed, it was lovely "real" coffee and very simple to make. We have a coffee machine but rarely use it as it tends to make too much and is a pain to clean afterwards. This system however, just makes one cup at a time and involves no cleaning up at all, you simply pop a capsule into the machine and press either the Espresso or the Lungo button and you get a perfect cup of coffee. It is also very compact and stylish.

He was really pleased with it \0/. We have used all the capsules that came with it so I must now order more. They are only available from the Nespresso Club and can be ordered by phone or via tinternet. The simplicity of the system is great, the only downside being it only makes either an espresso size cup or a very small coffee cup which is nice for a treat but not when you really fancy a nice big mug of coffee, so we have also invested in a Tassimo machine for "everyday" use.. plus the kids can make hot chocolate with it... I know... more money than sense.. but what the hell!

Swans and Giant Rhubarb

The swans in the pill are nesting again. They have moved a bit further towards the bridge this year and hopefully they are a bit higher up the waterline. I hope they have more success this year. Despite successfully hatching two cygnets last year both disappeared after only 2 days, I don't know what happened to them but I presume a fox or something had them. So far they have 2 eggs and I shall keep you posted on developments.


Mrs Swan sitting on her nest

Keeping a wary eye on the intruders.

As it was such a lovely day today we decided to do a bit in the garden. My day gave me a cutting from his Gunnera the other day so we planted that in a suitable spot. I really hope it takes as I have always wanted a Gunnera plant. It is the stuff that is like giant rhubarb and if it grows well gets so big you can stand under it.

At the moment it is only little though as you can see from the pics, but if it does grow well I shall take some more pics later.

Noel also mowed the lawn and I had a fight with my weeping willow while I tried to get rid of some of the dead wood from the centre. This has resulted in my arms getting all scratched to bits but it does look a lot better now.

Hillsborough

I'm not a football fan, never have been, never will be, its egg chasing for me every time. But the Hillsborough disaster, like Aberfan is one of those moments in time when you know where you were and what you were doing when it happend.

20 years ago yesterday, I know where I was, I was in London with Noel, celebrating his 30th Birthday with a weekend away, a rare treat for us in those pre-children, still skint days. It was a big adventure for us country folk to venture to the big city and we were having a wonderful time, until we came back to the hotel on the Saturday evening and watched the dreadful events that had unfolded on that afternoon in Sheffield. Noel was worried because his cousins were avid Nottingham Forest fans and were at the match, we know now that no Forest fans were affected but at the time it was awful not knowing. But they were affected because they were there and they still don't like to talk about it now 20 years later.

I have watched the news coverage of yesterday's memorial with a lump in my throat and a tear very close to my eye (its my age and I get like that over stuff these days), and still can't understand how something like that could have been allowed to happen in a "civilised" country. I confess I didn't realise the controversey which still surrounds that day and I was shocked when I followed a link to a memorial site, at how young many of the victims were, the youngest only 10 years old. I was even more surprised when watching the news that Erin had no idea of what had happened, you forget that the youngsters don't seem to have the social history that you acquire with age.

RIP the 96.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone, hope you haven't eaten too much chocolate (especially you Julie... I saw the size of that egg!!!).

My Easter has been pretty quiet really. I have been working Easter Sunday and today (Easter Monday), so no long weekend for me unfortunately.. but hey I get a long weekend every week so it dosn't really matter!!

Good Friday was a lovely day so after Noel had finished off some jobs he needed to do, we got out the little green machine and headed off into the country. We decided to stop at Hayscastle Cross for a pub lunch which was very nice, despite us being the only ones in pub apart from a couple of locals. We then went cross country to Solva where we had a drink outside the Harbour House and and watched the chaos that is Solva car park on a Bank Holiday. Despite the sun shining there was still a very cold wind and we were glad of our jackets I can tell you.

We then strolled down to the quay where we met the Harbourmaster (Noel's cousin Anthony) and had a chat with him before bumping into his Uncle Selwyn and Aunti Vi who were out for a walk with his cousin's wife and baby (Sarah and Thomas Llewellyn). We all decided to have a cup of coffee in the cafe on the quay (see pic) and spend a very pleasant hour catching up on all the family news and gossip.

As we were in the area we then decided to call on Chris and Julie in St. Davids. Chris was just heading off to their house which is being built, so we went with them and had a good nosey around. I've not been there since it was just the slab so I saw big changes, it is very nice and hopefully they will be in soon. We then went back for a coffee, which turned into a drink, which turned into a invitation to stay for dinner, which turned into a few more drinks, which ended up with us staying the night!!

Next day we left about 9am and headed home. Noel had some more jobs to do then we took a spin to Pembroke Dock and a quick look around Do It All.... exciting Bank Holiday stuff eh! The rest of Saturday was spent very lazily doing not much at all except watching tv and drinking wine.

Yesterday as I said was back to work, as is today. Although you couldn't get two such different days. Yesterday was glorious sunshine with lots of small boats out enjoying themselves. Today is wind and rain (typical Bank Holiday really!!)

Tomorrow is Noel's 50th Birthday, but we have nothing planned as I am working tomorrow night and I think he is trying to forget the fact he is half a century old!!

Wild and Windy

When I first started this job I didn't mind the night watches too much, but as the time goes on they are getting harder and harder. Last night was pretty busy, sort of steady all the way through with a mixture of pilot jobs and other things to keep us occupied, such as making sure fishing vessel's didn't get in the way of tankers etc.

Tonight it is wild, wet and windy.... and because of that QUIET!.. in lots of respects. Currently I am more bored, that a bored thing being bored to death by a boring person from boring city..... and its only quarter past nine, only nine and half hours to go...yippeee!!

Today was my Dad's birthday. 67 I think, but I'm not sure. When I finally emerged from bed at about 2pm I popped over to see him and give him a present (bottle of Pernod) and a card. We had a cup of coffee and a chat and caught up on all the family gossip. My first counsin Dyfed (yes that really is his name... and yes its the same as the County), has been suffering from skin cancer and has been undergoing treatment, but is on the mend now (thank god). His father died from cancer and both his mother and sister have had breast cancer... not the luckiest branch of the family I'm afraid. Anyway he seems to be ok and he and his wife Sarah are expecting their second baby anytime.

By the time I got back from Dad's there was little time to do anything except clear up the mess in the kitchen, something I was really mad at having to do because it is Easter Holidays and Erin and Martin had been lazing around watching TV all day and could have done it, before I had to get ready for work.

So here I am, sitting in the semi dark, starring at an empty radar screen, listening the the howling wind and lashing rain and counting down the hours till I can be all tucked up snuggly in bed... hope you are all thinking of me!!

A Nice Surprise

My four days off go far too quickly for my liking. No sooner am I getting used to being in relax mode when there goes my alarm again at the ungodly hour of 5.45am and when that is a Saturday or a Sunday it just seems to add insult to injury.

Friday was basically a "potter about" day. The plumber came to fit the new shower door in the main bathroom only to discover that when it broke on its hinges it cracked the shower tray. This means that we will have to get yet another new shower tray, the second in 6 months... this is getting expensive!! I just hope that Noel manages to take this one out without damaging any of the tiles which is what happened last time and meant we had to re-tile the whole shower area!

The new cleaners also turned up on Friday and seem to be doing an excellent job (and for less money than the old cleaner). Friday evening I made a fish pie for supper which was very yummy, then Meurig came over for a few glasses of wine. The boys retired to the hot tub about 11pm which was far too late for me as I had work in the morning so I went to bed about 11.45pm.

Yesterday was a very very quiet day at work which in itself is a good thing, but when the sun is shining outside and you are stuck in the Ivory Tower it can be very frustrating. When I got home Noel suggested that we go to Druidston for a meal so I wouldn't have to cook. As it was a beautiful evening this seemed like a really good idea, so we headed off cross country in the little green machine (one of it's first outings this year).


We had a lovely bar meal at Druidston, mediterranean stuffed aubergines and salad for me and tandoori chicken and rice for him, followed by sticky toffee pudding and fresh cream for both of us. Unfortunately it was too chilly to sit outside but we did catch glimpses of the stunning sunset through the patio doors.

Today I am in work again, and it is relatively quiet. The TEMBEK will be leaving this afternoon, with much less fuss and nonsense than when she arrived. I have no plans for this evening apart from a nice rib-eye steak for tea and a catch up with all my Facebook thingies.

Mmmmm Cream Tea

I have been a good and dutiful daughter today and taken my invalid mother out for the afternoon. She is apparently going stir crazy being stuck in the house and not able to drive, so I picked her up at 1.30pm and headed for the coast. It was a beautiful afternoon so I thought that a nice cream tea in the garden at Druidston would be just what the doctor ordered.

As you can see it was lovely, fresh scones warm from the oven, topped with strawberry jam and lashings of fresh cream, eaten sat outside in the walled garden away from the cold wind but still with the sound of the sea just over the cliff.

As you can tell, Mother enjoyed hers!! You can see how bruised her hand is after the operation to remove her ganglion, her foot is equally as bruised.

After tea we drove back along the coast road via Newgale and Simpson Cross getting home about 3.15pm. I have promised to take her out again next week when I am off.

Oh and by the way well done Ellie and Julie for spotting my April Fools. Poor Jess had to ask if it was true so failed miserably. Sorry Jess but there will be no Blowynetta in the near future.

An Artist in the Family

Erin and her art group have been involved in a community programme this week to paint a mural on a bit of wall on the Mount Estate. They were at it Monday and Tuesday and she came home covered in paint on Tuesday. The result is this

I think its great, Erin did the group of figures holding hands in the bottom right and this bit of an oil refinery in the top left corner.
I just hope that it dosn't get vandalised as they put an awful lot of time and effort into it.

Today there has been great excitement next door and I missed it all when I was shopping at Tescos. The house across the road from us was raided by Police. They were all dressed up in vests and had dogs with them and everything. Not sure what they were looking for but my guess is drugs. Noel and the girls watched it all from the bedroom window and must have been spotted because the police waved to them!!

Ffion and I went to the Ferry for lunch today and had a very nice steak and onion baguette with chips. I shall be back down there again tonight for real life Pub Quiz.. that's three weeks in a row, I just hope we can make it three wins in a row.

Oh yes nearly forgot..... I'm pregnant!