a birdsnest of cozy proportions and chaotic dimensions

Today is kind of ragey and tedious and I keep on getting in trouble on the internets by being controversial (in my view read: sensible), it's been pissing down since early morning, I've done some really boring editing & proof-reading and am now watching PoA with a cranky cat curled up next to me. To cheer myself up I'd just LOVE to buy the Believable Bronzer at mallybeauty.com but they don't ship to the UK and it's wayyy more expensive over here (if you can even find it, which is an issue in the first place).

I bought Grapefruit juice so I can feel virtuous about my diet at breakfast time and I still hate it. Bitter, brrrr. The end.

ETA: Just joined Shades of Summer to cheer myself up.

Whew, let's hope those dodgy roof tiles stay on, shall we? It's stormy and cold and I am under the weather so I've popped LotR into the dvd player and shall be watching it on our new fantastic 42" telly. It looks so good I really don't see why I ought to be getting the Blu-Ray version that comes out soon.

I'll spend the day writing things, like the 'about me' section for my homepage - can you say oh horror? We spent Saturday in Belfast, first shopping (a good bargain haul of pretty bowl scrapers 75% off, a Soho Spice rack for a tenner instead of 40£ and an apple & berry pie half price - all Avoca) and then seeing Spamalot. Phil Jupitus is adorable and he had his usual specs on and he was good but it was still a bit like watching your dad in the community play. Jodie Prenger is gorgeous and has a great voice but she just comes on wayyyyy too strong. Not a subtle singer, and Sarah Ramirez clearly remains queen.

Yesterday MiL came over - cue frantic cleaning & tidying, but I think the visit was a success and the pie came in handy. I have to say, for being from the famed Avoca cafe it was nothing special and the pastry was cardboardy.

Oooh, my Steenbergs haul came down with her (had accidentally gone to my old address) and I have a wealth of new spice mixes now that I cannot wait to cook with. They smell fabulous, they are freshly imported and freshly mixed to order so you know you are getting good quality. The Madras Curry powder smells divine.

And I think I'm allergic to Fenugreek as I bought some and it makes me sneeze. Right, I shall put up my achey knee, relax my achey back and make my sore throat another cup of tea. Bah.

How are you today? I am just foine, thank you - it is freezing cold (9 C this morning!) and the next week will all be rain and highs of 11/12 degrees. I should be about to make our Friday night curry (sssh, it's totally a sauce out of a jar tonight. not usual for me but my cooking mojo is gone AND the Bangor ASDA didn't have ANY coconut milk. no wonder I usually never go there.) but sudden sleepiness has set in and just thinking about getting up is taxing. What am I like?

Though this post is really just an excuse to use this icon - I might've re-watched the entire run of DW 5 until 1am last night. I was punished for it with a monster headache all day but totally worth it as it's the first time I've felt fannish enough about something to make an icon in YEARS.

Is there any good fic out there? What communities should I join? Please keep in mind that I've been fandom abstinent for the last 3 years or so.

A sunny, pleasant weekend is coming to an end and OH and I have achieved many things. We hired a van and loaded furniture and unloaded furniture (unloaded a full-to-bursting Ford Transit within 20 minutes cause it needed to go back to Enterprise pronto!), emptied crates, vanquished spiders (there are spider nests everywhere and every now and then a window is suddenly covered in at least 30 of the tiny buggers that we then need to get rid off - the nests are on the outside of the upstairs sash windows and there is no real way to get at them) and overall had a good Easter.

I also bought a goodly number of pots and about 30 strawberry plants - window boxes, hanging baskets, everywhere you can put a strawberry plant there now lives a strawberry plant. We hired neighbour Jim to mow & strim the very overgrown and stubborn lawn and hopefully at some point I will have money to buy some garden furniture.

Money is tight after my recent car troubles - I still need to replace that tyre and car tax is up, too. Add to that the fact that the company from my recent translation job keeps on sending me apologetic emails about their new bank and dodgy payment system but I still haven't seen any money (three frigging weeks behind payment!!!) and things are a bit tight.

Hon only has to go back to work for two days and then is off again on Friday, so that's a very god thing.

Starbucks internet, I love you.

Still no bed, had to cancel order, but at least fireplace has been plastered into the wall, wall has been painted bright coral, we have a plush red sofa (Ikea Kivik with chaise), Benefits office is being a pain in my arse (I had to put in a complete new claim, including ending my 'training' and will have to set up a new Steps agreement).

Oh, and my car started making strange noises and when the tyre place couldn't find anything wrong and told me it probably was the driveshaft I just wanted to strangle the thing. Just came back from the lovely mechanic they recommended who is wonderful and had one of his strappy boys take the tyre off and clean everything and fix it back on. Nothing actually wrong with the car and it only cost me 20£ instead of the anticipated couple of hundred. Though of course I had money in my account for a digital DSLR that was planning on buying before our trip to Edinburgh on the weekend that I now kept in there as a car repair fund. Now it's to late to buy the camera. Oh well.

Overall it has been very stressful BUT I am not nearly as stressed out as I might be - I feel actually quite relaxed. So that's something, I guess. Love our wee house. Pictures to follow.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Arrived in Holywood, signed contract, went to Estate to get keys (landlord big lovely National Trust-type estate), went to house..... filth everywhere, floor not replaced yet, two big dirty concrete RAILWAY SLEEPERS in the middle of the living room holding the laminate down.

Not good at all. Went back to estate office and said house isn't really inhabitable, phoned guy in charge, very very apologetic, house will be prepped for us and we can (hopefully, finger crossed) move in next Thursday. Wasted chaotic kinda surreal day.

I'm watching the live stream of Hugh Laurie's blues concert and wondering where best to get a copy of the leaked unreleased Bowie album from 2002 that has apparently shown up on torrents. I love the internet.

It's spriiiiiiiintime - and I haven't had it this bad for a while. Not too bad on the allergy front, thanks to seaside-living, but oh man, my hormones. Oily forehead, dandruffy hair, chin full of spots, a rash in the weirdest places.... seriously, kill me now. I'm off to battle my face with a LUSH facemask and try to get my hair to cooperate.

Seriously, how *do* teenagers survive? It's been so long for me I can barely remember!

Saw the cutest bunny at Pets at Home today, caramel coloured with a ginormous beard, it was so adorable and funny. They have a lovely bunny coop for cheap, as well.

Have I mentioned that to my surprise there's a big allotment behind the house that actually belongs to us? Hmmm....

Mom was in the MRI tube as our GP has suspected for weeks that she has slipped discs - she poo-pooed it but it turns out that she has two slipped discs and several bent ones. The therapy consists off" stop lifting anything heavy.

Considering she always takes the oldies shopping and has to carry all their bottle crates and 10kg stockpile bags of flour she is not amused.

Poor mom, I so wish there was a way for me to be closer and help out.