Molly, Rory and Agnes

We went back to the farm on Friday for Pete's birthday, and we got to see the new sheepdog puppy. Originally christened Spot, we have all decided that's waaay to boring, so currently she's called Molly.

Molly and Sam the kitten have a love/hate relationship.

I failed to get a shot of the well-aimed paw swipe from Sam.

Cute one of Sam hiding in the roses.

Molly terrorising the inmates. Poor doggies.

And little sleeping Rory! He was a little angel (misleading), he was passed around about nine people and apart from a little grizzle about being moved he slept and looked angelic for everyone. I expect that meant he was up half the night for his poor parents. It's now the official time he was supposed to be born, but he's actually just over a month old.

Clare cuddling Rory:

And, on Sunday night, Clare went off to her adventures looking like Agnes from Labyrinth:

Can you spot the difference? Only by lack of broadswords I think.

Pride 07

I know, this was two weeks ago, but you just have to see this new police car:






Yes, that is indeed a Lotus. Anyone want to sign up for The Force suddenly?

I followed these dudes into the park, and was v impressed by the chap's a) height, b) corset and c) inch long purple feather false eyelashes. They most kindly let me take their pic:


Paul V and pal:



Me with my face painted! Finally! No one ever lets me get my face painted. Paul didn't care. Also note the hippy balloons the police were giving out. They were also giving out pink whistles with Kent-Gay-Police.co.uk logos on them.

I did like Paul's T shirt with Maggie Thatcher in stockings and suspenders.

Anyway, it was v hot, and as predicted there were lots of burnt gay bottoms by the end of the day. (Flashing flesh is not an issue at these events.) But a gay old time was had by all and it was extremely entertaining, good fun, and very friendly. Recommended for anyone if you're down in Brighton at the right time of year. Just be careful which shops you stray into... We were just window shopping and ended up in the burley man's BDSM rubber implement shop. Mon dieu. I don't even want to know what they do with some of that stuff. It looks distinctly painful.

Garden delights

Look how well our tubs are doing! Two tubs, two bean plants, two tomato plants, one squash plant, and a satellite dish.

These are runner beans Red Rum:


This is a butternut squash in embryonic stages (it's only just over an inch long):




This is cherry tomato Sungold which only goes orange, not red, and is sweet and tasty (and more beans and the satellite dish):

I think we're helped because the plants are on a balcony so we don't get the slugs, and we get more sun. And of course the tubs are full of well rotted farmyard manure. Arhhhhh.

Lists and legumes

Just a question before we start - does anyone else get that thing when you're dozing and having this very very long and involved Think, and thinking some really good thoughts, and then you are roused from the doze and cannot remember a single thing you have thunk? Although it's all just a gnat's whisker away from your memory? What's with that?

Anyway, our bean vines and our tomato plant are looking amazing. We've had seven beans off the bean vine (one seven different days), and it's draping very prettily over the satelite dish at the moment. However there are suddenly lots of baby beans on it so perhaps after the weekend we might actually get a full serving from it! How exciting! There are also loads of clusters of tomatoes. They are the little cherry tomatoes Sungold. We will have to make chutney or something at this rate.

It all goes to prove the wonders of a lot of good sheepshit. *:)

So the bloke's best buddy got me pissed the other weekend and we had a long and involved conversation about what we look for in a partner. (The bloke was driving and therefore sober, and I expect was getting rather concerned about what I might say, at drunken volume, in a pub full of his mates.) Best Buddy got me to confess that not so long ago I wrote a list of all the things that I wanted from a man, and worse, got me to promise to send it to him. I think it was more an effort on my part to make him think more about what he wanted from a girl, other than she's breathing and not swearing every other word. Such high standards. Whereas I had a list of 30 criteria. He was intrigued.

So, the next day, with a hangover, the list was duly sent. Best Buddy sent back an email starting OH MY GOD!! I hope all girls don't think like that or I'm ****ed! Hee hee. Bloke, at this point, was also dying of curiosity, wanting to know how he measured up. But also perhaps a little cross about it. He's right though, it can be viewed a bit nastily to have a tick-list for a future potential partner.

Best Buddy (with permission - well done) sent the list on. Bloke read it. Bloke's mum read it, and raised an eyebrow. (Yikes!!) Bloke, thank Christ, was not cross. Bloke gets loads of extra points.

He already scored 28/30 anyway. *:)

Rockin'!

Clare at 3BT has tagged me with this:

Thank you Clare! I'd tag her back but I can't. So I'm going to nominate my mum at Pauline's Garden, and hope she has time to post the button before the end of the summer.

Babies

I am an auntie!

Rory Peter Skinner was born a month early by emergency caesarian section yesterday morning, 8 July. All doing well now. Peter and Claire have had so many problems with the pregnancy, it's lovely to see them now with their little boy, shattered but extremely happy.

It's also very strange seeing my little brother being a daddy!

I went to visit last night and Pete grabbed my hand and pulled me over to see Rory, turned to me and said, 'Look! Isn't he so cool?!' Aw!

It was a pretty frenetic weekend all round. Elliot and Jo came down from Nottingham with their new little long-haired Jack Russell puppy Archie (who is super cute), we went to visit another uni friend Titch and his 8m old baby Alex, then all was prep work for the Tour de France which came through the village on Sunday. Sissinghurst put on a big fete and we were selling cherries, strawberries and cream, and had a wool stand. The sun shone and there were thousands of people there. The baby news was announced over the tannoy to the village. The cyclists and convoy of beeping floats and gendarmarie whizzed through at top speed. People queued for ages for burgers. Small children got their faces painted. Large adults threatened to abduct Archie. Finally the roads were reopened and we managed to escape: home for tea, and then to the hospital to see the new arrival.

Guess what? I'm knitting baby clothes already. *:)

Nerd, Geek or Dork

Found this test through someone else's knitting site!

My Score: Pure Nerd

52 % Nerd, 8% Geek, 8% Dork

For The Record:
A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.

The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.


Yay, I am a nerd! I wonder how I would have scored if I could speak Klingon or went to sci fi conventions or owned comics or had the whole set of Buffy DVDs?

How did you score?

Mon dieu - Garden Delights

I just went to visit our Postie Barry, and on the inside front cover of his Amateur Gardener is the following ad:

'Create an interesting talking point'? You bet they will! What's with the crazy starey eyes? And the bandana? And the concept as a whole? Wobbly merecats??

Barry has ordered some to go with his Bill and Ben pot people and solar powered glowing ladybird and frog. I am hoping that he is being postmodern and ironic, but fear it is not the case...

Mystique and glamour

I'm really getting into Glamourpuss' no holds barred blog, but she's really hit a chord with her latest entry. Here is a little extract:



The truth is, there is nothing mundane about being a woman. And that’s all that men need to know about us. Glamour is everything, and everything should be glamour. Men aren’t all that good at the details, they prefer the overall impression; when they get on the carousel, they want the ride of their life, and in truth, I think most women want that, too. So, shut yourself in the bathroom and lock the door when you pull out the stray hair on your chin. Never pee in front of him unless urolagnia is your bag. And apart from touch-ups, keep the maquillage application to yourself. Never let a man think he possesses you, for while we love the things that have been ours for years, they rarely excite us, and most of the time, we barely see them, taking them for granted instead. These things, these everyday things are mundane, but the rare jewel that may slip from one’s grasp at any moment is a treasure to be jealously, zealously guarded. Such diamonds can be a man’s best friend, as well as his lover, and they are always, always valued.



This is exactly, precisely, why I became single the last time around. I'd become totally taken for granted. So now I'm asking myself, was it, to any extent, my own fault? Apart from letting him pee with the door open, and getting him to pull out my granny whiskers (so charming, non, to be so easy with each other?), I know that I almost totally gave up doing all the things that make me Me, make me happy, to be there for him. Instead, because I loved him, I made a big effort and sacrifices to take an interest in his world, which ended up with me being always available. And like Glamourpuss says, things that are always there become mundane. No wonder in the end I felt totally unappreciated.

I love the way you learn from each relationship and develop yourself as a person, honing your relationship skills, and finding out who the real you is - what makes you happy, and what you are not willing to put up with. But you need the time out in between to reflect and understand. It must be a very difficult process to do when you're in a relationship. It's taken me a year to get back to being the person I enjoy being. I've learnt to guard my individuality and independence. I'm more confident, happier, I've lost weight without thinking about it, and I'm rediscovering my inner minx. In being true to myself, I'm discovering that there is nothing mundane about being me.

Test drive!

This was us today! Sands drove too but the pics are sun bleached.

Nice motor, non?

Raks posing

Me posing. On my drive the heavens opened. Joys.

Raks again.


That's all I have to say for now, I'm too tired.

Grumpy Old Woman

I love Clare's 3BT very much, but sometimes you just have to grump, so here goes. This will be an anti-3BT, if you like.

1. Bad grammar. Your and you're are not interchangeable, neither are there, their and they're.

2. Commuting is dull. I'd been pepping it up for the past few months by travelling illegally - my season ticket was London to Staplehurst, when it should have been London to T Wells. (This is only a different route for the last 10mins of the journey, and I really couldn'd be bothered to change it. The price was the same for both.) But it expired and my new ticket is for the right route. My flicker of excitement as I approach the station is rapidly dulled these days by the realisation that I don't have to be scared of the conductor any more. Rats.

3. Bloody numpties. Why am I surrounded by them??

Special bonus addition:

4. Cover versions of pop songs. About half of the music they play in the gym is a cover of stuff I remember from when I was at school. Write something new, you bubblegum pop mannequins!!

Long weekend in Scotland

Ivan and Helen organised an amazing weekend in Gargunnock in Scotland. It's near Stirling, and the house belongs to the Landmark Trust. I recommend it for large houseparties, possibly with an Agatha Christie theme. BYOButler!

On Saturday we walked up nearby Ben Ledi (at 800m or so). A good way to work up an appetite! This is us having lunch and contemplating the climb.

Well, some of us contemplating the climb, others just discovering the Best Skimming Stones In The World Ever.

Nearly at the top...

There were sixteen of us and we had a great black tie dinner on the Saturday night. Check out those oryx heads on the walls- there were four of them, and in a normal house you'd have to negotiate them through the door and then share the room with this massive stuffed head with scary beady eyes. In that dining room you hardly noticed them!


Other great things about the weekend:

The weather was amazing

The drawing room with a grand piano which Chopin may have played (along with all the other grand pianos in that part of Scotland, in the space of two week's holiday or something.)

The smoking room and the library

Having an open fire and an old boy in the gatehouse who just waved us at the log pile and told us to help ourselves

The row of bells in the servants quarters, and the bell pulls in all the big rooms

Ria and Jake cooked up this amazing array of curries on Sunday afternoon for an inpromtu feast in the evening

Visiting Doune Castle which is just down the road, which is where they filmed most of the castle scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Chatting to lots of new people about what they do. Mainly they have PhDs in molecular biology, and play a mean Dirty Word Scrabble

Elliot let me drive his Lotus Elise. *:)

Thanks Ivan and Helen for a great weekend!

Birthday

Sorry these are a bit late, but better than never.

Pics from birthday, excuse the long shots from the evening - across the club in the dark, I thought the camera didn't do too badly!

Champagne tea at the Savoy.

Madame JoJo's...

Trannies singing Abba, Miss Terry doing an excellent Kylie, lots of backchat - all hilarious!

Hilarious and worrying

My flatmate has a large collection is fascinating, brilliant, hilarious and intriguing books, pamphlets, instructions on life and other paper-based products. She's just dug one out called Moonflower - A Manual of Menstrual Mysteries. This is a fantastic home-produced manual which has had us in tears of mirth for about an hour. Here is a small extract:

Circle Dance
Red flood
Tidal blood
Heartbeat of fertility!
Circle dance
Lunar trance
Invoke the new reality!
Drumming sound
Underground
Awake the inner power!
Re-birth
Lady Earth
The lotus is in flower!
Vein throb
Breath sob
Vesuvius outpouring!
Don't fail
Sunder veil!
The ocean ever roaring!


How many exclamation marks does one need?? And Vesuvius outpouring???? What is this, the Exorcist?

Another rather disturbing rhyme:

The Wine of Life
Monthly brewed
Claret wine, securely lapped
Unique vintage of a single earth.
Drink deep of scarlet
From the sacred chalice.


Good grief. Is it me or is this rather sexually dubious?

Samwise Kitten

We got a new kitten on Easter Sunday. Following the farm theme where all the pets are named after characters from LOTR, he is called Sam, or Samwise when he is naughty (which looks like being quite often). He is from a family of hunting cats so watch out rats and rabbits!




He likes to ride on your shoulders like a parrot. He sits there and purrs.

In the space of three hours, and despite being only six inches high, he has also stared down the Cat and two of the dogs. God help us all.

Les Francaises

I had a business trip to Paris.
Pros:
1. Paris is lovely
2. I got to travel business class
Cons:
1. I had a meeting
2. I had to stay in a 'business' hotel - faceless and dull
3. I had no time for sightseeing and shopping
4. I had to have dinner with the managers, rather than my friend in Paris who I'd not seen for ages.

Cons win. Although travelling business class was great.

Also, I have a date. *:) Via tinternet. In fact, tonight will be date five and I am very much looking forward to it.

And thirdly, next week will be my last week of being twenty-something. I am terrified.

Baby knitting 2 - The Bear

In between redecorating the sitting room (tedium...), I've done the bear from the Erika Knight book. Can't decide on an outfit for him yet though, what do you think?

Outfit 1:

Outfit 2:

Aaaawwwww!!

Aaaawww aaawwwdadadaaaawwww!

Sorry. First baby item (for friends, I hasten to add) that I have made, and they are super cute!

Pattern adapted from Erika Knight's book Simple Knits for Cherished Babies. I added some eyelets (first time yo) and then had a go at knitting an i-cord for the laces (another first effort).

Not bad, non?

Also, welcome to anyone browsing in from the article about Tunbridge Wells bloggers in the Courier.

Cocktail demons

Lou and her mother have cracked the recipe for some hot cocktail that they have when they're skiing, made with advocat, rum and whipped cream. Clare and Lou were making a batch at the weekend. I think they were enjoying it - Lou was telling me the story and that they 'put too much rum in so we had to dilute it with advocat'.

Dilute it? With Advocat???

Machines are evil

This is the message that our boiler gives us if we expect it to heat the house for more than three hours at a time:

That is seriously taking the piss.