Weekend waffling

look at the pretty stripe frothy coffee :)

Yesterday I was "civilised", which, despite protestations from my friend, with whom I was out playing at "ladies who lunch", is something I am most of the time.... she disputes this, she says I am way to eccentric to be civilised unless I've been told I have to.

We went out to a craft barn for a wander round and for lunch.  The picture was my dessert.... well, there was cheesecake... it would have been wrong not to.... and yes, that is a coffee.... but a decaffeinated one alas.... the other people in the restaurant gave me some strange looks for photographing my food!

Anyway, we had a lovely time out catching up on what's been going on each other's lives..... and she is now on board as nagger/cheerleader/beta reader for my story.... which is evolving, slowly...

I am meant to be writing today.... but I am 94% through my current book and I'd like to finish that first.

I might also have had to go laundry, shopping and a touch of housework............ but that had to happen anyway.  I've got a veg & rice casserole in the slow cooker and a rice pudding in the oven, so the kitchen is starting to smell very homely..... Particularly combined that for the first day in what feels like forever we have warmth and sunlight so the windows in the kitchen are open to let in some fresh air.  The cats don't believe that it's warm enough and are under the duvet moaning about the fact that I've opened the vents on the upstairs windows to

I think I may be trying avoidance tactics and busy work..... must stop it.....

So, it's currently 1.45 pm and my total writing word count today is zero...... still more than a month to the deadline....... erm... well month plus 2 days.... that's not long is it?

My title creating abilities have failed... insert your own here...

My brain appears to have gone off line for the weekend.... probably in shock at having the day off work tomorrow after what has been an incredibly intense few weeks job wise.

Year end is now only just over two weeks away and I am averaging 15 e-mails a day with desperate pleas for me to work miracles.... or at least that is how I am interpreting them.... the other option is to interpret them as impolite demands for me to dig them out of the hole they are in whilst they blame me for the predicament..... I think every single reply I've sent today has been written, left for at least 10 minutes, re-written and then sent......because there are somethings it's quite impolite to say to your colleagues!

After having one big case settle on Monday, just a day before a 4 day hearing, I've had another settle today- which should have gone to a 2 day hearing the first week of May......... *huge sigh of relief*  ......My boss has at least finally twigged that I hate running files to full hearings and that as calm and organised as I appear on the outside I actually mange to wind myself up to the edge of meltdown every single flipping time..... Oh and I booked off two more days, 2nd & 3rd May, to celebrate.

This evening as a result of the day off/case settling combo I have perhaps been a little giddy..... I decided to celebrate with a nice tea and really wanted pizza - which is not a good thing to want if you are yeast free.... I ended up using puff pastry to make a base and then putting on a load of veggies and goats cheese before baking it... not quite pizza but nice none the less........... and then I might possibly have had a couple of wee drinks.... I'm trying to discover what goes best with the rhubarb vodka.... American cream soda works, and it's quite nice on vanilla ice cream.......

So my plan for the weekend primarily involves writing........... lots and lots of writing.... the aim is to double the current word count this weekend, which will take me to about 10,000 words.......and I am not sure that will be even half way through.......*nervously looks at the horizon to see the grey swirling clouds of doom that surround the approaching deadline*

I do intend to have some time relaxing and tomorrow I am off to see a friend and take her out for the afternoon......... but we are going to be civilised.... honest.... 

Write, dammit, write!!

Ah look, deadlines............ how fast they do approach.......

And I am flailing about like a headless chicken spending all my time either arguing with my characters or using good old fashioned avoidance tactics which generally results on me not managing to put words onto paper (well, onto the screen anyway).

I know damn well I can write this story.... but I am having my usual paranoid moment where I tell myself I can't do it, my writing is a load of rubbish and I am going to disappoint my prompter.........(I can see my beta reader and a couple of my friends rolling their eyes and wishing to slap me upside the head right now)

However, in the post today I had another birthday present which included a very special Amazonian Warrior, specially sent to keep me and my character's in line........... she answers to the name "Ma'am" apparently.............. oh and the spear is very sharp and will be apparently used to prod me into action

Ma'am... patrolling in front of the laptop

The day after.....

It's hardly surprising really that after the wonderful day I had yesterday today would come crashing down on me.

Okay, so it didn't help that I was woken up by the dogs barking at some ejits in the road making loads of noise at 2 am..... they then refused to settle back down, which meant me spending the rest of the night on the sofa.... which isn't that bad except when Hope landed on my poorly leg and then twisted her nails into it when she jumped off again.......... I don't shout at the dogs, but I did growl.... they scattered off the sofa and were very very quiet till 5.30 am when I woke up again.

I got myself organised and headed off to buy a router.... okay, yes, me, techno-numpty extraordinaire was going to set up my own wi-fi system.............. The geek in the shop wasn't particularly helpful as he launched into this hugely technical description of exactly what I wanted, why I wanted it and why the most expensive router in the entire known universe was really what I needed rather than the one that I was clutching in my hands..... I may possibly have growled at him.....

After a short break at my mothers (where I didn't growl, because growling at my mother results in her threatening not to let me use the washing machine)

Then we came to the setting up of the router............ I followed the directions.... did it work.... of course it bloody didn't.... I swore a bit at the computer (I was kind of beyond growling at that point) .... tried again... swore some more.... then phoned my internet provider's helpline number........... to be talked to like I was a complete imbecile (rather than just someone frustrated and technologically challenged).... eventually though we got it working and I am now wi-fi'd all over the place!

This evening I have read, stared mournfully at my LHNB story and wished it would get on and write itself.......though I do have characters and a title..... my sister was most unhelpful in her version of trying to assist with the creative process as when I described what I was intending to write she told me that she couldn't admit to anyone that her sister was writing a gay Mills & Boon story..... I might have been a little, erm, stroppy, with her in response....

And now it is nearly time to get stuff ready for work tomorrow.......... but most of me just really doesn't want to go to work tomorrow........ I feel fidgety, fed up and totally unsettled... probably the result of yesterday's high and today's rather growly day...... it's one of those nights where I would like to rant and stomp and get it out my system, but alas, the dogs make a poor audience for this and the cats just ignore me!

Some slight silliness......

Today has been a good day :)

It started early with texts from some friends and family - who get up far too early.... and there was also singing to my answer machine by my father... which is an interesting sound given he's on oxygen.... he decreed that I wasn't answering because I was trying to avoid the annual singing badly moment, but actually I was upstairs trying cat pacification whilst trying to get into my poshest of frocks.

Said frock is, of course, black...... but has sequins..... and today was sunny.... which meant that we had dancing fireflies on the roof and dashboard of my car..... which caused much amusement to all of us as we drove over some very bumpy roads and made them boogie quite spectacularly as we went out to where we were having lunch

Then we had to be all serious.... it was a very, very posh lunch.... that took 3 hours.... that said it was a special taste of Britain menu with 7 courses (thank goodness for very little portions!)....there was some snickering over the fact that unlike the rest of my family I had the vegetarian menu, no alcohol and decaffeinated coffee...... They keep trying to tell me this means I am adopted :)

Frank, the frolicking lamb...,,

On the way there we saw Highland cows... on the way back there were lambs..... I tried to stop the car to steal one ... but my explanation that I was going to cuddle it, let it cut my grass and call it Frank didn't assist and it was decreed that I was being rather silly...

We went back to mum's house and I had to do official present unwrapping..... I have a very generous family, this is all I can say really...... then there was more cake...just a small bit... my sister, who doesn't do baking, made a four tier creation with chocolate, coffee, walnut and vanilla sponge layers coated in chocolate ganache..... I have frozen what is left in slices or I won't get through it before it goes stale.....

This evening I have spent curled up on the sofa in a food coma with the Kindle....... and, erm, sampled the rhubarb vodka that my sister's partner bought me......... it's an acquired taste...... I think it would be better with Cream Soda rather than neat, but I shall try that tomorrow..... well I've a whole bottle to get through....

So that's it, my birthday is over for another year...... I am now officially "horribly old"...... mind you..... that doesn't mean I have to be a grown up does it?

What do you reckon.....

The lasting effects of the mug of very hot ginger tea Hugo has just landed in and spilt all over my keyboard and mouse are going to have..... not for the cat... I've checked him out, he's fine.... though he has a warm paw that smells of ginger... no I for my keyboard and mouse..... so far nothing's smoking, fizzing or sounding like it's going to explode....

Bloody cats....... this is all I have to say right now....

And Hugo's response.....
"Well you shouldn't have left the tea on the
computer desk in the first place you stupid human"

The dreaded day approaches......

Okay, so yes, it's only a few more days until I am officially incredibly old....... and really, I am not so much into the whole making a big fuss thing.

My mum and sister are taking me out for an extremely posh meal on Saturday..... there will be posh frocks involved this is a seriously nice restaurant.... but that is all the celebrating I had planned.  I plan to spend the rest of the day setting up my new lap top and wireless router and then reading Touch & Geaux (from which I have remained remarkably spoiler free so I can enjoy it!)

Well that was the plan until this morning..... when after overhearing some plotting (I had my earphones in but they didn't realise that I hadn't actually switched on my MP3 player so I could hear them).....  I was forced to make threats to my team leader........ who has been known to go overboard on the glitter and tinsel for "special" birthdays and decorate some poor bugger's entire workspace...... the threats went along the lines of .... I get into work an hour before anyone else in the team, if when I come in my desk is covered in glitter and stuff I will either take it all down before anyone can see it or I will turn round and walk out again....... we compromised..... I am allowing her to attach one single balloon to my chair......... I fear there will be cake though, I don't think that can be avoided!

Okay, so yes, it's nice that people want to celebrate with me......... but....I am too old for this malarky in real terms...... and quite frankly I am already a grumpy old woman and don't need to be reminded of this......