Chinese, Kero, Beds & Busses

Do you know what it's like when you really, REALLY fancy something and can't have it? Well, I had that happen last night. I had been looking forward to having Chinese again with Mam all day, but, guess what? One of the places was closed because it was Monday and they close EVERY single Monday, the other place was closed because they are away and the other place was too far for us to get to because she can't drive yet!

I walked up to the store (a 20 minute walk each way) to fetch something, then back again. A few hours later Mam, Kero and I made the 30 minute walk to the Chinese place that should have been open. It wasn't open! So, we walked back a bit to the place that does Indian food with the intension of having that. But, of course, because we never got the thing we wanted we didn't fancy anything. So, we walked all the way back home empty handed. Mam and I ended up just eating porridge/oatmeal because, basically, it was the only thing that sounded even slightly appealing and we knew we had to eat something since it was something like 7:00 pm by this time, we'd been walking for a good hour and had eaten nothing since a little after noon.

Poor Kero got really scared last night and we honestly don't know why. All we know is that every time either Mam or I went anywhere near the back door he would either run into the bedroom with his tail between his legs and sit on the bed trembling so much that even 'I' could see him trembling from the bedroom doorway (opposite side of the bedroom to the bed). Or, he'd put himself right up against the TV unit (opposite side of the front room to where the door is) and tremble. I actually allowed my Mam to smoke in the house because I was so worried. And it took me an hour to get him outside this morning. Normally I barely get the gate open in the mornings and it takes ages to get him in, but I just couldn't get him to go out. I had to put his harness and lead on him and physically put him outside the door and restrain him so he couldn't get back in. Then I took him for a nice long walk and he calmed down. Until I tried to take him back in through the door. Then he got all scared again. Finally got him back in but every time I so much as went near the door he would run for the bedroom with his tail between his legs. By this afternoon though, he'd calmed down and is now back to wanting out every five minutes. Or, he was until it started pouring with rain. LOL! We still don't know what the problem was though!

I ran faster today than I have in my life! Or, for many years anyway! I WAS going to catch the bus or die trying! What happened was, as I came out of the housing estate where I live, the bus was going along the road so I'd 'just' missed it. Damn! But, no big deal, it has to go into a couple of side roads so if I go along the road a little way I can catch it as it comes back out. BUT as I was waiting to get across the road to the side I needed to be on to catch it came out of the side road again. Damn again! Now, I had two more chances to catch that bus. One of them I had about 60 seconds to achieve, the other would involve me walking up a steep hill. The bus went down another side road, but, it was a very short one and there was only one spot where I could meet it and the bit of road I had to use was longer than the bit the bus was using. So I RAN! I caught the bus! I couldn't breathe and my legs hurt so much I could barely stand up by the time I caught the bus but I caught it! At the last point I took a big risk that I really shouldn't have done and as the bus was coming along I raced across the road barely a few feet in front of it. Stupid, I know. But I REALLY needed to catch that bus. If I didn't I'd have had to walk up that hill then wait for about 40 minutes for another and I really wasn't too eager to do that.

The person who lives above me was on the bus and quite concerned when she saw how out of breath I was and how I was limping by the time I got on the bus. Had a nice chat with her actually.

We tried on Saturday to order some new beds for the dogs. I wanted one that was brought just for Bella and Mam wanted to get one for Willow because Willow's is... well... basically destroyed. LOL! Anyway, I reserved them for store pick-up...... or thought I did. When I was on the site they said that they would be at the store for me on Thursday 1st of March and would be held until Monday 5th of March and asked if I would like to confirm this was fine or cancel. So, I confirm it and the site says they can't confirm that it's reserved but to check my e-mail. So, I check my e-mail and the e-mail from them says that, yes, they are reserved and I have to go between those dates and get them and quote my reservation number. However, there was no reservation number! So, we thought, OK, give a couple of days and then if there's still nothing more sent then we'll go to the store when we're in town and ask about it. Went there today and sure enough they hadn't been reserved. So, we reserved them at the store and this time they are definitely done and we have a code and have to pick them up on Monday 5th of March (they'll be held until Thursday 8th of March). I'd hoped to get them before Saturday because the bed has a bowl set with it and I wanted to use the bowls for Bella. For now I'll have to use another bowl I guess. For anyone wondering, the stuff has to come from a warehouse (they only store some stuff in the store itself) and that's why we have to order them and can't just go in and pick them up the same day.

So, there you have it, that's you all caught up with what's going in my part of the world. LOL!

Tori

Good morning everyone!!!

I was looking through some of my old photos this morning and thought that - even though I've put it in my photo albums ages ago - I would post this one. This was when I was 15. Actually, I was almost 16. The photo was taken the October before my 16th birthday. Not long after I had my left eye out infact (I had it out about a month before). I only weighed about 12 & 1/2 stone there. Wish I still only weighed that. LOL!

Anyway, enough about the photo...

I'm feeling a heck of a lot better this morning. I slept for a good 11 hours solid last night and boy did I need that! I've managed to get everything all caught up since I've been up, which is an added bonus. I got up about 6:50 am and since then I've managed to; put away all the dishes Kelly had washed last night, was the ones he hadn't gotten to, finish seeing to the laundry that Kelly started seeing to last night, clean the litterbox (even washed the outside of it), empty the bins AND - and this will shock you - I washed the bins too! I've also had breakfast, fed the cats and Kero and even had time to sit down at the PC and check blogs for posts and then watch some TV with a nice cuppa. Like I said, that sleep did me good! LOL! The only thing I didn't do was vaccume (because Kelly's sleeping still) and wash the floor (because nobody likes me to do that as I make too much mess when left alone with a bucket of water. LOL!)

Now I'm going to go and get Kelly up then see about taking Kero out for a walk before it starts raining, because - though it was nice and sunny about an hour ago - it's getting quite cloudy and grey out there! And we wouldn't want Kero to miss out on his walk, would we?

Tori

Stopping by on Sunday afternoon

OK, now that Dad knows and the date is set I can post on here and tell you that on Saturday we have a new family member coming to live with us. Her name is Bella Shadow-Thorn and she's a Yorkshire Terrier. I'm afraid the most recent photo I have of her is one I took back in July last year and it's not all that good, but this is her anyway. I'll get some better photos of her and tell you more about her when we get her home.

Anyway...

I fixed the TV. It seems the only thing wrong was that the wire connecting the box to the dish had come loose for some reason and we weren't getting signal. I put the wire back in and unplugged the box for a while and when I plugged it back in the TV worked. So, now I guess I'll be checking what channel idol is on and what time it's showing over here, eh? LOL!

I had a phone call from Talk Talk the other day. It went something like this:

Me - "Hello"
Caller - "I'm calling from Talk Talk"
Me - "Oh, yeah?"
Caller - "I wanted to talk to you about updating your service... do you make any international calls at all?"
Me - "Well, for one thing I do... not that it's got anything to do with you... for another... if you checked your records you would see that I cancelled my service with you. And, no, I don't want to sign up again!"
Caller - "May I ask why you cancelled your service?"
Me - "Because I've had nothing but hastle from you lot since I signed up."
Caller - "What kind of hastle Madam?"
Me - "Well, let's see... first I owe money, then I don't... then I have my phone blocked for outgoing calls. Oh, and if that wasn't enough, while I'm trying to sort this out YOU are taking me to a debt collection agency who has planned to take me to court!!!"
Caller (after a few moments hesitation) - "Erm... Enjoy the rest of your day. Bye!"

And be puts the phone down. In other words he had no idea how to answer that one. LOL! I had to laugh though. Especially since about five mintues later the mail came and among it was a letter from Talk Talk confirming that the contract with them would be cancelled from March 1st. And the letter from BT confirming that a new contract with them would begin on the same date. LOL!

OK, moving on...

Mam and I took Kero to town yesterday. For some reason he absolutely REFUSED to go anywhere near this one shop. I had to pick him up to take him near enough to it so that Mam could show me what she wanted to show me. He just panicked for some reason! Then I took him to sit down and got him calmed down and he was watching everyone passing and was fine. Then someone touched the top of his head as they went past and he practically threw himself into my arms. Poor little guy! Mam got him a sausage roll to make him feel better, but he wouldn't eat it. He ate it when we got back home though. Mam and I both had egg & mayo baguettes (not from the usual place though). And let me tell you, we wont be having them from where we did again. I was physically sick after I ate mine and I don't usually have a problem with stuff making me sick (appart from if I have too much dairy stuff). And they weren't even nice tasting to start with. We both agreed that in future, if the usual baguette place isn't open, we don't have a baguette!

OK, well, I'm listening to Kerry's stream and everyone in the chat room is probably wondering where I got to, so, I'm going to end this here.

Oh, one more thing though... today is my nephew Devin's 8th birthday. I doubt that he reads my blog but I will say HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEVIN anyway!

Tori

Where is everyone???

Is everyone but me watching Idol? LOL! Seriously, almost every blog seems to have a list of who's best and who the people don't like. LOL! Even if I wanted to watch it I couldn't though, because I'm still waiting to be able to use my phone to call and get the Sky digital fixed. Grrrrr! But I wouldn't be watching it even if the Sky worked because the only time I ever watched anything like that was when I was in hospital and it was watch that or sit there twiddling my thumbs like a prat.

Finally got Zararose - my main character on World Of Warcraft - up to level 30. Might not seem like a big deal to most. Especially since most of the family have characters who are like level 40 + (Kelly and Dad even have some around level 60) but it's a big deal for me. After all, the furthest I ever got a character before - meaning my first one who got deleted because we weren't playing on that realm any more - was to level 23 and now Zararose is level 30. Actually, she's about 3/4 of the way through level 30, so, it wont be long before she's 31!!!

As I said the other day, I went on a dungeon run with Dad, Kelly and Mam on Tuesday evening and got some quests done. I was meant to be doing The Stockades with Dad and Kelly (and I think Mam too) Wednesday night but I wasn't feeling 100% and since I'd forgotten we were doing it I made myself a herbal tea so I'd sleep. Just after I'd drank it, Dad calls and asks how long I'll be before I'm ready to do The Stockades. Poor Dad had portalled Sue (his main character on the realm I have Zararose on) to The Stockades to help me and what do I do? I go to bed. Oops! If I hadn't drank the tea I would have stayed up, despite how crappy I felt, but I was getting sleepy when he called so it was too late. And, besides, I must have needed the sleep because I slept for something like 10 & 1/2 hours straight! Still haven't gotten my quests at The Stockades done though. LOL! Although, Kelly helped me do some elsewhere yesterday.

Tori

Morning!

I've so far been up 2 hours and in that whole time all my nose has done is drip. I feel like I've got a leaky tap attatched to my face. LOL! I knew it was coming though, because, first my temperature was all over the place yesterday - first I was hot, then so cold I was shivering even with two coats on, then I was so hot I could bearly breath... and so on - and then, I was in bed and asleep by 8:30 pm last night and never got up until about 7:00 am. Woke up alternating between coughing and sneezing... not nice!

Anyway, Kero doesn't seem to be bothered about what happened any more. He was quite happy to run around and play in the park yesterday and even went up and said "hi" to some people and other dogs - which is his usual behaviour - so that's good.

Hey, did you have your pancakes on Tuesday??? I did. Nice pancakes with maple syrrup. And, yes, it was the "proper" stuff. The proper Canadian stuff. Costs a fair bit to get it over here (unless you know where to look) but man is that stuff worth its money if you can't find it in the cheaper places!!!

Have you ever tried to type with a cat on your shoulder? I don't advise it. I just tried as Sakura decided my shoulder was a perfect place to sit. It doesn't work! I had to get her off so I could use that arm. LOL!

I can't wait until Thursday when my phone should be working again. I need to call about my TV and about the fact that although we have hot water in the sinks now, we don't have much of it (the tank doesn't seem to be storing it) and we don't have any coming to the shower. I even had to have my Mam call in for a repeat prescription for me for my pills on Tuesday morning so I could pick them up yesterday (Wednesday) on my way home from my parents' place, because where I've not been able to use the phone, my pills were almost out! Grrrrrr!!!

Well, anyway, I'm going to go see about finding me some food since I'm hungry.

Tori

Weekly Weigh-In - Feb 21st 2007

As I already mentioned in my blog post earlier, we are using new scales which last week said I was 16 stone & 1/4 of a lb (16 stone 0.25 lbs or 224.25 lbs).

And, guess what?

Weight today: 16 stone 0.25 lbs (224.25 lbs)

So, going by the weight the new scales say...

Weight lost so far: 1 stone 9.75 lbs (23.75 lbs)

I thought since we were using the new scales I would play fair and go by what they say. Either way though, I weigh the same as I did last week, so, guess I still haven't lost anything. I'm quite surprised about something though... I thought I would have put some weight on. I mean, with the fried breakfast, chinese take away and other junk food I had in the past week I thought I should have put on at least 1 lb! But, nope, I weigh exactly the same as I did last week.

Harry Potter and other stuff

OK, firstly - some Harry Potter info for any and all of you who are awaiting the release of movie 5 and book 7 - Harry Potter And The Order Of The Pheonix (movie 5) is due to be in cinemas around the world on Friday July 13th 2007! I've seen the trailor (on the official site) and it looks like it's going to be totally awesome!!! And the 7th and final book - to be called "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows" - is due for release on July 21st 2007. Of course, if you get updates from the Harry Potter site as Kelly and I both do, then you'll already known this information!

The next thing I want to make sure you know is that my weigh-in day has had to be changed to a Wednesday. Also, I will be weighing on different scales to what I have been weighing on because we are fed up of the scales in town not working, so, we decided to invest in some that we keep at my parents' house (since a: both Mam and Nan weigh too, and b: I can't see what they say when I'm stood on them because the screen is too far away, lol!) So, I will be posting my weekly weigh-in thing on a Wednesday from now on. Also, I weighed on those just after I weighed on the ones in town (which worked last week but were out of order again this week) and they made me about 3 lb heavier than the ones in town (the new ones said I was 16 stone & 1/4 of a lb).

Anyway... moving on!

I think my Grandma is enjoying playing World Of Warcraft and now sees why it is that I kept getting engrossed in the game. And what makes me think that? Well, basically because since she started playing on the game she has bearly been on the blogs. And, I had to text her to get her off the game and into the chat room for Kerry's country stream on Sunday. LOL! But it's ok Grandma, I COMPLETELY understand!

I'm completely disgusted with Talk Talk. Why? Because among my mail on Monday was a letter. And not just any letter. It was a letter from a debt collection agency saying that Talk Talk had been in touch with them and if I didn't pay them by the end of February then I was being taken to court. The amount... £46! I have two reasons for being disgusted at this. 1: I only recieved the bill for this amount about a week ago for fuck sake! 2: We have just spent the past couple of weeks on the phone to them and had told them to send us a bill and we will pay it. I mean, how the hell am I meant to pay a bloody bill if I don't know how much I'm meant to fucking pay??? So, I was planning on calling them when I went up to my parents' place to do a dungeon run with Dad, Kelly and Mam yesterday (Tuesday) to give them a mouthful. But, they got lucky. Why? Because someone from the debt collection agency called me on Tuesday morning (before I'd left for town) and asked why I hadn't paid. So, I told them about all the shit I'd had from Talk Talk and told them that I don't have the money for the bill until the 6th of March because I get my main money the start of each month and work out what I can and can't spend when that comes in (which is true, I really do that). So, the guy I spoke to agreed to put a hold on "any legal action" until after that date. I have to call them - them being the debt collection agency - on the number on the letter on the 6th of March and pay with my card. BUT, if I haven't paid by midnight on that date, I'm being taken to court. How fucking stupid is this world becoming??? Don't people care about anything but their damn money??? What ever happened to the whole "love thy neighbour" stuff? Which - regardless of it's phrasing - is 'menat to be' the foundation and basis for not only every religion in existance, but also survival in this and any country. Some people need to be reminded of this big time! In the words of Sandi Thom "I was born too late, in a world that doesn't care!"

And speaking of people not caring... I haven't told you what happened to my poor little man the other day! I'm talking about Kero, of course. What happened was, Mam and I decided to take a walk to the store because she needed some smokes. It was getting dark and we don't normally go out after dark - at least, Kero and I don't - unless it's just into the yard. Anyway, we were walking along by the river and had just crossed the bridge to go up to the road (the bridge where you and I turned around when we took Kero and Jayde along the river, Grandma) and I clipped Kero back on his lead because I wont let him off the lead anywhere near a road. Anyway, next thing we know this guy comes RUNNING along the path... KICKED Kero across the path (he landed the opposite side of the path in the mud) and just keeps right on running. Not even a "sorry" or anything!!! He never even slowed his pace slightly!!! Mam had to carry Kero for a while to calm him down because it scared the poor thing. When I took him out yesterday - to the park, which is the opposite direction - he wouldn't go any further than a foot from me. Even when he saw some doggy friends he was NOT leaving his Mami's side! Poor little guy! Of course, we checked him out as soon as it happened and he was fine. The guy was lucky he'd gone before I had a chance to finish checking Kero though or he'd have had my fist in his face!!! Now, I can understand the initial accident happening. I mean, as I already mentioned, it WAS getting dark... it's the fact that he never even slowed his pace slightly or said "sorry" or anything that made me so angry. Besides, "I" - with my poor eyesight - had been able to easily see Kero to clip his lead on him (literally a few seconds before) so surely someone who can see well enough to feel it is wise to run down a path in the dark should have seen him? And had I been a few seconds slower clipping his lead on then "I" might have been kicked to because I was bend down clipping him onto his lead in the exact spot where he was stood when he was kicked! Appart from his clingyness Monday night after it happened and Tuesday morning though he seems fine. Wayne had him while Kelly and I were at my parents' place last night and had no trouble getting him to go out. In fact, at this very minute, Kero is on the floor beside me happily playing with a new toy (a soft dumbell with a squeaker in it) that I got him from ebay. And he just got as excited as he always does when I said I was going to take him "walkies" in a minute!

So, anyway. I've got to go get dressed, walk Kero and then see about going for the bus to go up to get weighed and have lunch up at my parents' place.

Tori

Valentine's Photos

OK, I did have these ready yesterday morning but I never got around to posting them yesterday... Oops!

Anyway, here's the promised photo of Kero with his Valentine's Day teddy that we got him. Willow had one like it too but hers is now just a rag since she decided it didn't need to be in one piece. LOL! Kero's teddy, however, even still has its eyes... which is unusual for him since he usually pulls the eyes out within a few minutes of getting a teddy. So, he either really likes it or hates it. And since he's been playing with it - chucking it around the room and then chasing it - I'm opting for the first option... LOL!

And, of course, here is the photo I promised to post of the teddy that Kelly got me for Valentine's Day. Nice, big teddy!!! I LOVE my teddies!!! Especially ones in animal shapes - yeah, I know that's most of them... LOL!

Tori

A post for mid February

I don't know about you, but I had a great day yesterday!

I never got to bed until about 4:30 am because, quite simply, I wasn't sleepy (probably due to the nap I had earlier in the evening) and at about 10:30 am I was woken up with breakfast in bed! And bless him, Kelly had made me a cooked breakfast while still sticking to some of the rules that I put in place for my mealtimes. The last time he made me a cooked breakfast in bed - and I have to emphasize the word "cooked" because he brings me a bowl of cereal in bed quite often - I had about 3 or 4 thick sausages, about 6 or so pieces of bacon, 2 eggs, 2 pieces of toast and a huge stack of pancakes. BUT, yesterday's cooked breakfast consisted of just 1 egg, 2 pieces of toast and 2 pieces of bacon. AND he even remembered to put it on one of my little plates. I was so proud of him!!!

About 11:00 am (ish) I was thinking about getting dressed to take Kero out for a walk when the phone rang. It was one of those beautiful Spring days that remind you that Summer is around the bend - I'm sure you know the kind I mean - and I thought Kero and I would make the most of it and go for a nice, long walk. But the phone call was my Mam telling me that the phone company had decided she was no longer allowed to deal with the calls so I had to go up to my parents' place so I could sort it. So, I get dressed and go up there. Knowing I'd be spending most of the day up there dealing with it. And, I was right! We FINALLY got it all sorted with the one phone company - Talk Talk - about an hour before Mam and Dad were due to come down ours for dinner anyway, so, we figured that since I would be only just getting home about then if I went by bus I might as well stay and ride down with them. We did call BT but they had changed the account number when Talk Talk attached themselves to my phone and they kept insisting that it wasn't the case. It took Mam an hour this morning to figure it out with them. Poor Mam! Anyway, we finally got it sorted this morning and as of 1st March 2007 I am back on BT. I don't know if I'll be able to make calls before then though. I hope so 'cause I like talking to people. LOL! Besides, our hot water STILL wont work right so I need to call the maintenence department about that. And the handle to the back door came off in Dad's hand last night so I need to talk to them about that too. Both Dad and I had to open the door at the same time (one from outside, one from in) so we could open it. We managed to get the handle back on again and can use the door ok, but I'm thinking it's not a good thing when a door handle comes off like that. Also, my Sky TV isn't working... I think maybe all this wind has changed the direction the dish is pointing... I dunno! I just know that I need to call the Sky TV people so they can fix it.

So, back to yesterday...

Kelly got me an adorable teddy. I took a photo but it's still on my camera. He'd already given me £50 so I could put it with my birthday and Christmas money that I had so I could have my phone and mp3 player. I'll post the pic of the teddy when I get a chance.

Of course, Kero got a teddy too! And for any of you who are surprised.... where the hell have you been??? He gets presents at Yule, he gets a stocking and presents at Christmas, he gets a card and presents on his birthday... basically, it it's a gift giving holiday, he gets a gift! So, why wouldn't he get a present on Valentine's Day??? It's a dog that's holding a heart in its mouth. And, of course, I took photos of him with it. They'll be coming with my teddy photo in the next few days. LOL!

We had a lovely meal - Mam, Dad, Kelly and I - we stopped off to get the meal on our way down to mine (Chinese... mmm) and Kelly had the table set up nice for us for when we got back. Then we all sat and watched Garfield 2. OMG! It was HILARIOUS!!! I enjoyed the first Garfield movie - I've seen it like 5 times, lol - but this one was even better!!! Then Mam and Dad went home and hubby and I spent the rest of the evening together.

OK, I bet you want to know what I ate last night? I mean, I said Chinese but there's a lot of Chinese food, right? Well, I had barbequed spare ribs for starters then I had special fried rice with roast duck curry and sweet and sour chicken for dinner. Man was it good!!! I was SO full after eating it that it was like 2:00 pm today before I ate anything. And even then it was just a bit of toast with Marmalade on it. And, no, I didn't have desert. We had ice-cream we could have had but none of us had room for it... although, ice-cream sounds good right about now! LOL!

Kero decided at about 9:00 am that we had to get up and let him out for a pee. He doesn't do that often, he usually sleeps late. So, I let him out for a pee then fed him and the cats. Took Kero out for a nice walk and then had to go up to my parents' place to get something that I needed that they had up there. They dropped me off on their way to the hospital (since they were going my way for Wayne's appointment). I was meant to have been having Willow today, but it turned out that since it's half-term Nan doesn't have her class after all, so, she had Willow and I didn't need to.

It was one of those beautiful Spring days again today. It's a bit drizzly right now, but that's only started in the last half hour or so. Kero and I got our nice walk today. I'd have taken him for another but where I had a late night but early (ish) morning I was tired and went for a nap and by the time I got up it was almost dark and Kelly said there was no way he was letting me take Kero out when it was "damn near dark". So, we didn't go. I'm not supposed to be going anywhere tomorrow though, so, hopefully we'll have another day of nice Spring weather and Kero and I can have a nice, long walk. Keep your fingers crossed for me, ok?

Tori

Valentine's Day 2007

Just wanted to drop in and wish you all a happy, love-filled Valentine's Day.

I hope that you enjoy whatever it is you are planning on doing.

And, even more so, the things you do that you didn't plan *wink*

Love from Tori x

Weekly Weigh-In - Feb 13th 2007 (and other stuff)

Weight today: 15 stone 11 lbs (221 lbs)
Weight lost this week: 0 lbs
Weight before Christmas: 15 stone 8 lbs (218 lbs)
Total weight lost so far: 1 stone 13 lbs (27 lbs)
Weight to end goal of 12 stone: 3 stone 11 lbs (53 lbs)

Yep, you guessed it, I still haven't lost anything *sigh*

I'm not all that surprised I didn't loose weight this week though. I mean, between the fact that it go so slippery and cold and wet out that both Kelly and my Mam banned me from walking Kero for half of last week (Kelly took him for walks if he insisted he needed them, otherwise he just went in the yard) and the fact that it poured so hard all weekend that even Kero - who LOVES to be outside - wasn't in the least bit interested in going out. Not to mention the fact I spend most of the weekend sat on my butt at the PC playing World Of Warcraft. LOL!

I doubt that I will loose anything next week, because tomorrow I'm having a meal with hubby, Mam and Dad for Valentine's Day and Thursday I wont be doing much walking with Kero because I'm at my parents' place watching Willow because they rearranged the hospital appointments for this week because the weather was so bad last week they couldn't make it to the hospital. Hopefully the rain that's on it's way (and I honestly don't doubt for one second that there is rain on it's way) wont be too heavy and I can persuade Kero to come out for a few walks with me. The thing is, I feel stupid out walking by myself just for the sake of it. Where as, if I take Kero I actually look like I'm doing something rather than looking like I'm wondering aimlessly around the park. LOL!

I'm feeling a bit better today. Not feeling so low. I think between loosing both Hamlet and Butters so close together and then finding out I gave up Jayde and Lucy for nothing (long story, don't ask) and the hastle my damn phone company is giving me... oh, I haven't told you about that, have I? Well... It all started a few months back when I was told that "Talk Talk" was a good phone company who would be better for me since I make regular long distance calls. So, I signed up and so on. OK, fine, no problems. I had a problem at one point where we had no phone line but it turned out to be something the whole area had a problem with and most of them are on BT (what I was on until a few months back). So... I carry on being on Talk Talk. Then, about a week and a half ago I went to call my Grandma and it said something about making a payment to call. I thought that was odd so tried calling my Mam... no problem doing that. So, of course, I assumed it was a problem with Grandma's line and asked Mam to tell her when she speaks to her that I couldn't call her (since this was a couple of days after I broke my mobile phone). So, Mam finds she has no trouble calling Grandma and that's when we thought maybe it was a problem with my line. So, we try calling the phone company... need money paid to do that too. OK, so now I'm getting annoyed, but at least that showed us it was an issue with my phone. So, I get my Mam to call them for me and she gets them to call me. They call when I'm out (of course) and they tell hubby that I owe them £46... wtf??? So, I get home and hubby tells me this and I get my Mam to call them again and ask how they work out I owe that much, because a few days before my phone got cut off I had paid them all of what they said that I owed them. I had done it with my card over the phone and I actually got a phone call the day after I paid them where the guy said "Hello. I'm calling from Talk Talk and we need you to pay... er... no, never mind you paid us yesterday. Good bye" then hung up. LOL! So, I went online and got my bank info up on the PC to proove it had gone through. So then they tell my Mam it's actually £32 I owe them not the £46 they had told hubby I owe them. We had a go at them telling them they should have sent a bill not stopped the outgoing calls. They claimed they had but I keep all my paperwork and there was not one mention of me owing them a single penny on any of the pieces of paper I'd gotten from them. Anyway, they said they'd put the phone back on and send us a bill. Well, they sent us a bill..... a final demand bill saying I owe £32. And I STILL don't have my phone back on. I can recieve calls, I can call my Mam, but that's it. And I only have access to her number because under my contract she is my emergency number so they would breach the contract by stopping me calling her. Anyway, then today I get another bill saying I owe them £46. So, Mam is going to call them again for me (I'd do it myself but I can't on my phone and it's a lot of hastle for me to get up there to sort it, so, I have decided to let her sort it out). And we're going to see about me getting out of the contract I'm on with them. They say I have to be on it for 3 months and it's been that long (ok, we're short a few days but by the time we get any written requests for it sorted the 3 months will be up). I want to go back to BT! It may cost more to call family and friends overseas, but at least they aren't constantly claiming you owe money you've already paid!

OK, that'll do for now.

Tori

Snow's gone, but I'm still here

Well, it's offical... my snow is all gone. Actually, it started to melt Friday night and was almost gone by Saturday morning. By Sunday morning it was completely gone and had been replaced by, yep, you guessed it... RAIN! And, guess what? The forecast is for rain all week. Big shock! NOT!!!

I've spent most of the weekend playing on World Of Warcraft. It's been too wet to go out - though Kelly, Kero and I did take a nice walk yesterday when it was dry for a short while - so I couldn't really go anywhere, and I didn't really feel like doing much anyway.

I was up when Name That Tune was on Satrday Night (Sunday morning to me) but I didn't go play because I didn't feel like socialising at the time. I went to Kerry's country stream Sunday but didn't do much talking because I still didn't feel like talking much.

Anyway, I've not really got much else to say today, so, I'm going to end this now and see about getting sorted for bed.

Tori

R.I.P. Butterscotch Pudding

Butterscotch Pudding

October 18th 2004 - February 10th 2007

Short snowy summary

First we had snow, then we didn't, then we did again... now it's melting again!!! I don't want my snow to go!!!

It started to snow before I went to bed in the early hours of yesterday (Thursday) morning and was still snowing when I got up - as I've already said - but by the afternoon it was almost all gone. Then, I got up this morning (Friday) to find it was back again! And now, most of it's melting and the bit that isn't is turning into ice... *sigh*

This is what I got up to today. Pretty nice pic if I do say so myself. Especially since it was done on my mobile phone (yes, my new one).

Tori

WE HAVE SNOW!!!

YES! YES! YES!

I Finally have my snow!!!

It started to snow about midnight (I think) and it hasn't stopped yet!!!

The photo in this blog is what it looked like outside at 7:30 am when Kero and I got up and went outside to play in the snow. I took a few other pics too... some are of Kero playing in the snow... but I wont post them all. They're in my photo albums if you want to see them. I tried to get a video of Kero rolling in the snow, but the kids were already out playing in the snow and when they saw us they started up a snowball fight, which I honestly didn't mind, but it made getting a video of Kero impossible since I haven't quite perfected the art of dodging snowballs and using a camera at the same time. LOL!

I was meant to be going to my parents' place to watch Willow because Mam and Wayne have hospital appointments, Dad has to take them to the appointments and Nan has a class on a Thursday. But, because of the snow Nan isn't going to her class so even if Mam and Wayne can make it to their hospital appointments Willow will have Nan to look after her and wont need me. That means I get to stay home. Not sure I'll be inside all day though. LOL!

This is, to my knowledge, Chance's first ever time of seeing snow. He's not sure what to make of it. He's been alternating between watching it and crying. Bless him! He's not been out in it yet. I know for a fact that even if it snowed where he was last year he didn't go out in it since he'd never been outside before he came to me, so this is definately going to be his first time out in snow. I would have liked to keep the cats in so we don't freeze, but it's not even 9:30 am yet and Sakura's already meowing for out, so, I don't know how much longer I can keep her in. I'm going to feed them in a sec and then hopefully she'll settle for a bit. I doubt it though since Sakura isn't big on being forced to stay in. Will have the camera ready for when Chance goes out so I can capture Chance's first ever investigation of snow. Then either later or tomorrow I can post the pics and tell you what he thought of it.

Megan and Sakura aren't all that bothered about the snow. Megan plays with it a bit though after a while I guess she decides it's too cold and will shake her paws off and hide under the bush or come inside. Sakura is only bothered because the cold I think hurts her leg. She's quite happy to go out in it though.

Anyway, I'm going to go feed these cats (and Kero, of course). Then I'm going to make a nice, warm cup of tea and have some breakfast myself.

Tori

Note added 11:04 am: Chance has met the snow and doesn't appear to like it (as predicted). I took some pics and videos and even got the videos I wanted to get of Kero. The pics are already in the albums and I'm working on getting the videos uploaded as I write this.

Note added 11:59 am: Well, it has already stopped snowing. We only ended up with about an inch or two of snow. Some places got six inches or more though. But most of those places are either higher up or in the north, and we are in a valley to the south.

Note added 12:31 pm: OK, all videos and photos are in my video section and in the photo albums.

Phones, mp3 players and broken scales

OK, first things first, there is no weekly weigh-in post this week because the scales wouldn't work. So, we don't know what I lost this week - if anything - *shrugs helplessly*

On a brighter note, I was FINALLY able to get the stuff that I wanted with the money that I got for my brithday and for Christmas. When I got the money it ended up going on other stuff, but I was finally able to get caught up from Christmas and I now have the brand new mp3 player and mobile phone that I wanted. The mp3 player is a 1 GB Itronics and it's awesome. If you stop it before you've listened to all the tunes and turn it off, it saves your spot so you can just carry on from where you left off. Even if you were in the middle of the song. And the phone (a Nokia 5300) can do bluetooth and has a removable memory card for transfering mp3s, photos or video clips to and from the PC. I've never had a phone with bluetooth on it before, but Mam, Dad and Wayne all have phones with bluetooth and I thought maybe it was time I did too. Besides, I needed a new phone for two reasons; 1. the last time I had a new phone was about 2 years ago and it wasn't new, it was Mam's old one that she didn't want any more because she had a new one (she's had about two new phones since she gave me that one). 2. I dropped my phone the other day - well, actually, it was on a cord around my neck and the cord broke - and phones don't do so well when they hit concrete floors... oops! And I figured if I'm getting a new phone I might as well just use up all my birthday and Christmas money and get one worth having. LOL!

Couldn't get my mp3 player working at first. I was getting so angry with it. I was doing what the booklet thing said and it wasn't working. Turned out that when I put the tunes on it I put them in the system folder and not the folder they should have gone in. Well, if they'd lavel the folders better instead of using the dumb jumbled letters that might make sense to them but certainly don't to the rest of us, I wouldn't have had the problem, would I? Stupid fucking people!

It didn't take me long to get my new phone figured out though because most of my phones have been Nokia. The phone I just broke was a Nokia 6610i and the layout of a Nokia is basically the same it's just with the newer models there are added features in some of the sections.

We came SO close to having snow today! There was a light dusting when I woke up, but by the time I was leaving for town a little after 8:00 am this morning it was just a few patches of ice and the sun was coming out. It's been bitterly cold all day though and the forecast is for snow the rest of the week. Here's hoping, eh? Yeah, I know, I'm the only one who wants it, but if nobody else wants their snow they're welcome to send it to me. And, yes, I'll even take the cold and the winds and all that with it. I just want some snow!!!

OK, well, I'm going to end this here for today because I want to go check other blogs, get the dishes washed, get some laundry done and still get to bed before midnight... LOL!

Tori

Ace and Streams

I'm meant to be asleep, but I can't sleep so I thought I'd pop in and do a blog. Especially since I never got a chance to post a message earlier to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Ace (Kerry's cat). Who turned 11 yesterday (February 4th 2007). I hope Kerry got him something nice for his birthday.

I resigned from the stream team at The Wolven yesterday. I have really enjoyed streaming but I just don't seem to have enough hours in my day to do everything and I decided it would be best to quit while I'm ahead. I know, I know, just a few months ago I was moaning I had nothing to do, wasn't I? But everyone seems to have stepped up and given me things to do and it's gotten to the stage where I just can't handle it all. I mean, through last month the only difference in my playlists was that I shuffled the songs so they were in a different order because I quite simply didn't have the time to make playlists. I will still be listening to other streamers - I'm listening to Cry4Freedom right now in fact - I just wont be streaming myself any more.

Anyway, I'm going to let this do for now.

Tori

Imbolc 2007

I didn't get on here to post these yesterday as I'd hoped, so, I'll post them today. Here are some photos and video clips that I took when Kero and I went for our "Imbolc 'Search For Spring' Walk" yesterday.


There are more photos in my photo albums, these are just a couple that I thought I would post on here.


Kero had a great time. We had a beautiful day with a nice, blue sky (as you can see from the first pic) and though we had our coats on it wasn't all that cold. We basically had the coats on in case the weather changed while we were out.


Since yesterday was Groundhog day too, I wondered about the Groundhog and if he was able see his shadow. Well, I can honestly tell you that if he was here he would have seen his shadow, because I certainly saw mine... see... LOL!


And now, the video clips...



Tori

Recipes

I've added new recipes - mostly for the various Pagan holidays - to my onine recipe book if you want to take a look.

Tori

Imbolc Songs & A Story Too

Candlemas Song
(to the tune of "Have you ever seen a Lassie,")

Red Candles, Pink Candles, brown candles too.
Will you light the candles? Please, please do.
Red candles, Pink Candles, Brown candles too.
All shine at Candlemas for me and for you.

________________

Little Lamb Song
(sung to the tune of "London Bridges")

Little lambs go
baa, baa, baa
baa, baa, baa.
Little lambs go
baa, baa, baa,
In the Springtime.

___________

Brigit And The Goddess
by Paula Willowmoon

Once upon a time there was a girl named Brigit who lived with her family on a small farm. They kept chickens who laid eggs for them, grew crispy vegetables in their garden, and had a sweet old cow who gave them warm fresh milk each day. Brigit loved to play on her farm. She loved playing with all the cats and kittens, climbing up into the loft of the barn to hide from everyone in the hay, and swinging in the large swing on her great front porch while she sipped fresh lemonade that her Mama made for her.
But what she loved to do most of all was go into the forest and visit her friend, Nana. Nana was a very old woman who lived in a beautiful, ivy covered cottage deep in the cool woods. In Nana's cottage, there were so many wonderful things to see, taste, and smell. There were candles in all the colors of the rainbow, jars full of musty smelling spices, herbs drying in the rafters, and delicious honey-sweetened teas at Nana's house. There was even an old drum that Brigit was allowed to play. When she played the drum, Nana would smile and nod her head to the beat. Nana was very old and wrinkled and gray, with gnarled fingers and a hunched back. Nana looked a bit scary to Brigit, but she knew that Nana loved her as if she were her own grandaughter and would never hurt her.
Today was a special day. It was Nana's birthday. Brigit wanted to bring something to give to Nana, for she loved her so. But Brigit had no money to buy a fancy present. They just didn't have any extra money, having only such a small farm. Brigit decided to go find something special to bring to Nana.
She set out walking along the old dry gray gravel and dust road that led to Nana's house in the forest. She had walked down the road to Nana's house so many times that she knew the bumps and puddles and even the spot where the baby bunnies scampered back into the brush. She loved it when she reached the forest. It was so cool and moist. The forest smelled fresh and earthy and the forest birds whistled beautiful songs.
Brigit came to the fork in the road. She knew to take the right turn to Nana's house. The left turn would lead back out of the forest and into town. But today, there was something very strange. An old stone well was in in the woods between the fork in the road, and Brigit had never seen it there before! Brigit walked slowly and cautiously up to the well. It was made of large grey stones and had an old bucket hanging from the middle. Brigit felt the hard, cold, rough stone side of the well.
As she placed her hand on the stone well, there was a flash of lightning and a loud crack. There, before her, made all of flames, was the most beautiful woman Brigit had ever seen. Brigit thought she should be scared, but strangely, she was completely unafraid.
"I am the Goddess for whom you are named!" said the woman. "I shall grant you a wish, my child. What is it that you truly desire?"
Immediately, Brigit said, "I want to be rich!"
The beautiful woman of flames raised her arms and chanted. There before them appeared a cauldron full of gold coins. Brigit ran over to the cauldron, thanking the Goddess over and over again. She ran her fingers through the coins. They were indeed real. But then Brigit realized there was no way for her to carry the iron cauldron full of the heavy gold. So she put several of the coins in her pocket. They jingled back down onto the ground, for Brigit was wearing her play clothes, and the pockets had holes from many hours of play.
Then Brigit remembered that she was supposed to be looking for a gift for Nana. Brigit looked down at her feet, for she knew that she really didn't want to be rich. What could she do with all this gold? The Goddess looked at her and said, "Ahhh...that was not your true desire, was it, Little One."
Just then, a beautiful hawk flew just above them. Brigit thought of how the bird could fly. She cried out to the Goddess, "I wish I could fly."
The Goddess again raised her arms and said a chant. And there on the ground before them was a broom. The Goddess said to Brigit, "Pick it up, and ride it, my dear."
Brigit did as she was told. She climbed onto the broom. The broom took Brigit up into the air, between the branches of the trees and out into the bright sunshine high above the forest. Up, up Brigit went. She felt the wind blowing her, so she held on tight to the broom. Brigit flew so high into the sky that she could see her own farm house, and it looked quite small from way up there. Brigit began to get cold, and a bit dizzy from being up so high. She wasn't sure how long she was going to be able to hold onto the flying broom. She called out, "I don't want to fly anymore, Beautiful Goddess!"
Slowly, slowly, the broom carried Brigit towards a large field below. Just as Brigit was flying low over the field, the broom disappeared from under her. Brigit tumbled from the sky and landed softly in a field of shamrocks. When she sat up, the beautiful Goddess was looking down at her. The Goddess asked again, "What is it that you truly desire?"
Brigit now knew what she wanted most of all. She told the Goddess, "I wish I had a beautiful pink ribbon so I could bring a bouquet of these shamrocks to Nana for her birthday."
The Goddess leaned down to the girl, kissed her forehead, and pulled from the air a long pink ribbon. The Goddess then disappeared as quickly as she had appeared. Brigit picked the prettiest shamrocks she could find, tied them with a bow, and headed back down the road to Nana's house.
The End

Imbolc Lore (February 2nd)

Imbolc, (pronounced "IM-bulk" or "EM-bowlk"), also called Oimealg, ("IM-mol'g), by the Druids, is the festival of the lactating sheep. It is derived from the Gaelic word "oimelc" which means "ewes milk". Herd animals have either given birth to the first offspring of the year or their wombs are swollen and the milk of life is flowing into their teats and udders. It is the time of Blessing of the seeds and consecration of agricultural tools. It marks the center point of the dark half of the year. It is the festival of the Maiden, for from this day to March 21st, it is her season to prepare for growth and renewal. Brighid's snake emerges from the womb of the Earth Mother to test the weather, (the origin of Ground Hog Day), and in many places the first Crocus flowers began to spring forth from the frozen earth.

The Maiden is honored, as the Bride, on this Sabbat. Straw Brideo'gas (corn dollies) are created from oat or wheat straw and placed in baskets with white flower bedding. Young girls then carry the Brideo'gas door to door, and gifts are bestowed upon the image from each household. Afterwards at the traditional feast, the older women make special acorn wands for the dollies to hold, and in the morning the ashes in the hearth are examined to see if the magic wands left marks as a good omen. Brighid's Crosses are fashioned from wheat stalks and exchanged as symbols of protection and prosperity in the coming year. Home hearth fires are put out and re-lit, and a besom is place by the front door to symbolize sweeping out the old and welcoming the new. Candles are lit and placed in each room of the house to honor the re-birth of the Sun.

Another traditional symbol of Imbolc is the plough. In some areas, this is the first day of ploughing in preparation of the first planting of crops. A decorated plough is dragged from door to door, with costumed children following asking for food, drinks, or money. Should they be refused, the household is paid back by having its front garden ploughed up. In other areas, the plough is decorated and then Whiskey, the "water of life" is poured over it. Pieces of cheese and bread are left by the plough and in the newly turned furrows as offerings to the nature spirits. It is considered taboo to cut or pick plants during this time.

Various other names for this Greater Sabbat are Imbolgc Brigantia (Caledonni), Imbolic (Celtic), Disting (Teutonic, Feb 14th), Lupercus (Strega), St. Bridget's Day (Christian), Candlemas, Candlelaria (Mexican), the Snowdrop Festival. The Festival of Lights, or the Feast of the Virgin. All Virgin and Maiden Goddesses are honored at this time.

Deities of Imbolc:

All Virgin/Maiden Goddesses, Brighid, Aradia, Athena, Inanna, Gaia, and Februa, and Gods of Love and Fertility, Aengus Og, Eros, and Februus.

Symbolism of Imbolc:

Purity, Growth and Re-Newal, The Re-Union of the Goddess and the God, Fertility, and dispensing of the old and making way for the new.

Symbols of Imbolc:

Brideo'gas, Besoms, White Flowers, Candle Wheels, Brighid's Crosses, Priapic Wands (acorn-tipped), and Ploughs.

Herbs of Imbolc:

Angelica, Basil, Bay Laurel, Blackberry, Celandine, Coltsfoot, Heather, Iris, Myrrh, Tansy, Violets, and all white or yellow flowers.

Foods of Imbolc:

Pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds, Poppyseed Cakes, muffins, scones, and breads, all dairy products, Peppers, Onions, Garlic, Raisins, Spiced Wines and Herbal Teas.

Incense of Imbolc:

Basil, Bay, Wisteria, Cinnamon, Violet, Vanilla, Myrrh.

Colors of Imbolc:

White, Pink, Red, Yellow, light Green, Brown.

Stones of Imbolc:

Amethyst, Bloodstone, Garnet, Ruby, Onyx, Turquoise.

Activities of Imbolc:

Candle Lighting, Stone Gatherings, Snow Hiking and Searching for Signs of Spring, Making of Brideo'gas and Bride's Beds, Making Priapic Wands, Decorating Ploughs, Feasting, and Bon Fires maybe lit.