November the 5th

Yesterday was my birthday and this morning the world is dusted in white. I'm reasonably sure these two things are not related.

As a special treat for my birthday we had lunch in the Malvina. The food there really is quite something and the presentation is out of this world. Hard to believe we are in a town of only 2500 people (or so). The squid is divine, seriously.

For an encore we did a dump run, which in this town involves fire. You drag your trailer to the dump area, tip the stuff out then pour on petrol and WUMPH. Very satisfying.

Today is also polling day in the Falklands, where the Islanders elect there local council representives. The run up as been the topic of non stop (and rather heated) discussion since we arrived.

Ouch

Last night I stabbed myself with a sheet of lasagne. There was blood everywhere (but not, thankfully, not in the lasagne (but in retrospect ok there were no vegetarians coming for dinner anyway, so it would not have been THAT much of a tragedy)).

The reason the lasagne was apparently razor sharp was nothing to do with Waitrose finest but actually because I'd managed to singe my fingertips on the mower at the weekend, and the ensuing disappearance of the blisters left my digits just a tad on the vulnerable side (one good episode of Lassie and they would have been blubbing).

Curiously, my burned fingers were not the only casualties of that day, our new car window also had its window bashed in.

It went something like this:

It's true what they say, no good deed goes unpunished.

This is our shiny new trailer – 8 x 5 with 4 ft cage with ramps at the back for access...


We were clearing up the garden for the dogs (in a snow squall - obviously)

A cyclist decided to hack along the road without looking where he was going (cos it was snowing).
I was in the trailer with a rusted oil drum ‘bit’.
Brian was dragging trees to the trailer.
I saw the cyclist.
I screamed at the cyclist.
The cyclist was listening to his iPod.
I screamed at the cyclist EVEN LOUDER.
The cyclist looked up.
No-one heard what the cyclist said.
The cyclist had a multi choice quiz:
a)swerve right and miss the trailer
b)go straight on and hit the trailer
c)swerve left and go up the ramp into the trailer
The cyclist chose ‘C’.
This was the wrong choice.
The cyclist went up the ramp into the trailer.
The cyclist missed me.
The cyclist missed the rusty oil drum with the jaggedy edges.
The cyclist hit the tree branches.
The bicycle stopped.
The cyclist did not have an air-bag.
The cyclist did not have a seatbelt.
The cyclist did not stop.
The cyclist did a backflip over the handlebars.
The cyclist did a backflip over the 4ft cage.
The cyclist hit the backdoor of the Land Cruiser.
The cyclist’s foot smashed the rear window.
The cyclist stopped.
The cyclist dribbled to the ground.

The car will take a month to repair.



Curiously, after we picked the cyclist up and assessed that there was, astonishingly, no real damage (apart from ripped trews), all he said was "Hello, you must be Kerri".


Only in the Falklands.

Farewell Tigh Gadhar

After seven fabulous years, we are off to pastures new. We have had many laughs and tears here, and there are so many memories we will treasure.

The morning of the move, we really felt it was over when the dogs went off to spend the day with friends. It's true, a house without dogs is not a home.

Farewell Tigh Gadhar, a very special place.

Eventful friday 26th June

We exchanged on the house.
We resigned.
We like it!

Now we are fully committed. Oops!

Well it was bound to happen wasn't it?

Since Brian's company moved to new premises they have little white swipe cards.
 

I have one too.

So neither of us could get into our offices this morning.

'nuff said.

(made us laugh though...)

Somewhere this makes sense

1) Set the alarm for 2:30 AM Sunday 21st June.
2) Get up
3) Drive to airfield:


4) Get in plane:


5) Take off at 4:15 to fly to stonehenge:


6) Wait for dawn (ok - no real sun show - it was a bit cloudy):


7) Then fly back to the airfield for a huge brekky


daft, but fun.

PS.
8) go home and cook second brekky for houseguests......

PPS.
9) remember to reset alarm for normal waking time.

Impulse

will be the death of me.

But on a lighter note, spring has most definitely sprung, despite the arctic blasts we are promised for the easter weekend.


This poor magnolia ALWAYS flowers before the last frosts and get's clobbered, so lets enjoy it now while we can :-)



And Nazila sent me ducks (and chocolates.) But the dressed up ducks are quite something...

So what did you get up to this weekend Kerrio?

That there hubby type is away again, in florida, WORKING:


So taking advantage of the not-underfoot-ness of the hubby type, I decided to get some house chores done.

Starting early, I started to dissassemble the cupboard my Dad so kindly built...


Then, just before wielding the hammer on the broken tile, I climbed up to the loft to check for spare tiles and fetch one down. Phew, we have some,


so on with the hammer:



Having removed "tile A" I found that "tile B" next to it was loose and needed replacing too. Bugger... back to the loft.


Zip down to the tile center for some rapid set cement, then quickly slot in place the new tiles.


OK - three hour drying time.

Time to regrout some dodgy bits of kitchen and bathroom floor,
then sort out:
a) the leaky filter under the sink
b) the flickering light in the hall landing
and
c) the leak in the downstairs loo:


Walk 5 dogs then regrout the two new tiles and quickly bolt the cupboard back together before anyone notices and replace the contents of the cupboard scattered around the kitchen in the cupboard:



TADA!! No-one even needs to know I was there.


Time to feed & pill dogs, pour a glass of wine and put my feet up.

Don't tell Brian ok?

Revenge is a dish best served

Anyway you can.

There I was, lying in bed in that holiday twixt xmas & new year limbo, neither asleep nor awake when I dreamed I heard thunder.

Only semi concious I thought the weather was not THAT bad..

And then the wolfhound landed on me.

There is nothing more gratifying

Than the sound of Wolfhound paws galloping upstairs....

Followed by a squeal and an "OOF" as the Wolfhound leaps onto the the still slumbering husband in bed.

Some might call me vindictive.

Absentee blogger

oops, not been doing too well of late eh?

Summary:
1) hubby went away to Florida for two weeks leaving me alone with 5 sulky dogs

2) hubby came back with NEW TOYS:


4) Christmas season approached, youngest brother & girlfriend (Sam & Vicky) turned up. Decorations erected:

Including the new outside lights (thanks Sam!)


The indoor lights....


new macro shot ( I LOVE this lens!):


5) Ensuing silliness with fisheye was participated in by all:


6) Bread and butter pudding was demolished:


7) caught a cold. Tonight I will be dropping youngest brother off at the airport to fly home to summer. I am not jealous. I am not jealous. I am not jealous. I am not jealous. I am not jealous. I am not jealous. I am not jealous. I am not jealous. I am not jealous.

I believe me now.

The Problem with Brian being away

Is that I run out of dog food forks long before I fill the dishwasher.

Bummer.

Oh well, home alone for the weekend with 5 snoring dogs, nothing for it but to light the fire, and put my feet up, it's Fiday night after all.

Car crisis

We had a minor car crisis last night. Went to open the car to take the dogs down to the river and the alarm went off, and we could not switch it off.

After pulling fuses and mucking about with keys in the ever increasing rain, with tempers fraying (it's hard to remain cool when there is a siren going off in your ear), I eventually opted to call the AA and retreated into the house to hunt for my membership card and the phone.)

While I was dialling Brian rushed in and said "Don't call the AA!"

Oh good, I thought, he's fixed it.

No.

"We're with the RAC".

DOH!

The Morning Routine

The alarm goes off. I get up.

Feed the cat,
Go downstairs, let the dogs out, clean up any surprises,
Make coffee,
Empty the dishwasher (or fill it),
Unload the washing machine and reload,
Fold up washing,
Feed the dogs,
Pill the dogs,
Put any recyling in the bins,
Check email, bloglines & Flickr,
Refill the dog water bowls,
Shower & dress,
Poop scoop.


Brian gets up and gets dressed.

He says his is the greater accomplishment.

I think he has a point.

I have new kitchen thing

It' a self basting roasting dish, the old fashioned enamelled variety, the kind that is perfect for roasting a leg of mutton in a peat fired aga.



Now the only problem with this is I don't have an aga, and mutton legs are hard to find round here. Apart from that it's a great plan.

The interesting thing about this particular gizmo is that, according to my dad, the self basting dimples were actually invented by my great-grandfather. Or was it great great grandfather?

Cool huh?

Brian thinks he's been transported back 50 years, he's got no soul.

I've been robbed!

ok. that may be a slight exaggeration. Actually I seem to have left my mobile phone somewhere. But that's ok, I had a lovely chat with the lady who now has it and "bought it off the market".

Anyway..... I phoned O2 to say I had lost it, not really expecting anything to be done and you could have knocked me down with a feather duster.

they are going to:
a) block the card
b) block the phone
c) transfer the phone number to a new sim and send it to me FREE
d) send me a money off token for a new phone.

How cool is that! Well done O2, seriously good service.


Now the only problem with that is I need to shop for a new phone, so it ought to be on my shopping list, only I can't actually READ my shopping list, mainly cos its in my handwriting.


Hand me back the rose tinted glasses please :-)

Marrows, Compost & Wee.

Last weekend I took my first look round the garden to check what had happened while I was away. Despite a couple of frosts and some missing leaves, everything looks ok, though the autumn "weed&feed" on the grass has REALLY done its job and I needed to mow (it's the one garden chore I hate, mowing).

Anyway, while sorting out the recycle bins I noticed that Brian had chucked a pefectly good marrow on there so retrieved it, rinsed it and left it on the side in the kitchen (Brian is clueless about gardening & veg).

I mentioned to himself that marrows can keep for quite a while and a look of horror came over his face.

"Put... it... back.... on the compost. NOW."

I puzzled over this for a second.. "Why?".

It turns out that he had been listening when we were discussing the merits of wee on helping compost break down.

ah.

Unsure of the imperviousness of marrow skin, I put the marrow back on the compost heap.

Back in Blighty

Well, I've been back for a week now and still feel a bit of a space cadet. It's taken me ages to catch up on the blogs cos there are just too many to read.

Who was the MOST prolific?

Well...

Dog's Eye View came in WAY over everyone else... something like 33 posts, and in joint second were Wally the Corgador and Flowerpot Days

Jees you guys HAVE been busy... you need to stop and smell the flowers:


Or the pengies...


Ok - maye NOT the pengies.. they do NOT smell of chocolate.

I've uploaded more Falklands pics to my flickr account if anyone wants to see some wildlife and scenery.

I'm home

and knackered.

Last day down south

Yesterday was my last full day in the Falklands (oh waily waily). As usual first thing it was bright and sunny so we took Jackson for his morning constitutional to Surf Bay.

A morning walk needs a Basset, a ball, and a lot of kicking and chasing:


Refusal to kick the ball results in Basset protest:


After or walk we had a leisurely breakfast then went out to do some shopping, including a visit to the museum:

Curiously, the Darwin was the very first boat I ever travelled on, back in .... oh a very long time ago when we first went to England. It's not around any more.

Later I finally managed to get a picture of the elusive night heron. (well they are not actuall ELUSIVE, they practically live on my dad's doorstep, but I've just been lazy).


Then we took Jackson and Luca for another romp through the sand dunes, where Luca insisted on digging lots of holes while Jackson supervised:


They day was rounded off by a delicious (and fun) meal at the Malvina with Adam, Jenny, Dad, Jenny' brother Paicey and his wife Corrine. The upland goose pate was yummy... and the sea bass is to die for...

Finally - one magic moment. Instead of going straight home, we drove round the back of Sapper's hill. The sky was clear, there is NO light pollution, and there was no moon.

Oh the stars (sorry no camera!)

WOW.