" Look At The State Of You!"

It's started to snow here.
It's only dusting at the moment but as we walked through the village this morning a scattering of houses have already lit their fires and wood stoves and the air is heavy with woodsmoke.
I've kept our stove running all night. The cottage is warm and toasty.

Irene eating her breakfast as the snow started to settle

Yesterday I bought a set of knee pads.
They were cheap and when on, very comfortable.
I wore them all afternoon.
Now the story of these knee pads is somewhat meandering.
I've been thinking of buying some for a while, but a pair of 70 quid jeans sealed the deal.

A few weeks ago The Prof bought me the pair of jeans.
" please look after them" he pleaded " They are the only good pair you have" 
I marked them with coal dust within ten minutes.
"Look at the state of you!" The Prof sighed
This statement is a common one in the cottage.
Now in my defence, I am the one that usually does the dirty work around the place. Log burners are sooty little devils to clean, dogs jump with mucky paws and the new kitchen floor doesn't mop itself , but it's true..if there is dirt around , invariably it ends up on me......usually on my knees!
And so yesterday I bought some cheap knee pads.
I stacked the wood delivery on my knees without getting one mark on my jeans!
I cleaned and lit the fire.....spotless afterwards!
They are comfy and warm too so I ended up wearing them for most of the afternoon, including on a trip to the shops, a dog walk and a brief pop in to the vets.
Everyone should buy a pair!

Best Buy Of The Year

They cost me 4.99£

More about them tomorrow

Alone Not Lonely

My knee is never empty 

The Prof is away until Friday evening
He left with bags packed early this morning.
This happens fairly regularly....
I have been the partner at home for two decades
I have drawn the long straw here.
The initial draw of conferences in sleek hotels and dog empty beds have paled over the years .

This week, on paper I shall be alone.
Of course I won't be lonely.
I never feel lonely.
One reason for that is where ever I do a small furry body is by my side .
Occasionally it's a large furry body ( Winnie insisted that she watched me have a poo this morning) sometimes it's a limping feline body demanding food
You are never alone with an animal in the house.

I'm presently planning my week with a small Welsh terrier on my knee
I am waiting for load of logs to be delivered shortly and they will need sorting stacking and then the plumber is due to arrive to " ohhhh " and " arrhhh"  at the leaking u bend.
I've booked lunch with a friend,have earmarked two sneaky trips to the cinema and have training  to do with two new Samaritan volunteers....
The charity's mentorship is detailed and comprehensive and takes time to carry out.
Thank goodness I can make the time in this climate of volunteer fatigue.
I'm going to a local history talk on Wednesday  !
The garden needs clearing. " Bosoms" is in need of digging over and I still need to find a joiner to complete the kitchen shelving

Snippet

Normal life
I am listening to the comedian Sindhu Vee on the radio in the kitchen while waiting for the oven to heat up.
She's very funny
The Prof is in church
Before he went....it went something like this
Me: " Have you made the bed?" 
He: " no there's a small skid mark on your side"
Me : " oh"

It's Almost Back Geek Alert !!!

Melissa McBride and Norman Reedus as Carol and Daryl in The Walking Dead

Well Cameron did a grand job. All animals happy. Only Pizza, Crisps and one beer taken
And everything intact at Bwthyn y Llan!
Thank you Cameron ...we want to book you again if you are interested?

Anyhow, just about to retire to bed but just found the new promo of The Walking Dead  on YouTube I can only post this screen shot of the video  but it sure looks like everyone from Alexandria and Kindom finally reach Hilltop!
It looks awesome ! Happy days

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

The ballet Giselle, was mighty fine as we no doubt expected and as always the WILLIES provided terrific value for money. 

Now for those that perhaps don't know, the Wilis are ghosts of the dead. Spurned women from doomed love affairs who inhabit the forests of Bavaria looking for men to exact their revenge on. 

The Corps de ballet at the Royal Opera House give the Wilis a precision and the visual delight of one of the ever changing clouds of Starlings once so common in the British countryside. They literally move as one, and their veiled entrance at the beginning of act two is a theatrical delight second to non.

Anyhow enough about willies !

We stayed the night in a very comfortable hotel in Bloomsbury, where I slept all night uninterrupted by bulldog feet, terrier scratching and the Prof's early morning iPad glare. There is noting quite like a long sleep in a comfy bed. 

I dreamt I was buying hats with Sandra Bullock 

Freud sort that one out, if you please.

Anyhow , as usual I am digressing.

I share with you now the fact that my hair is thinning. 

I only noticed it the other day when I took off my beanie after 24 hours solid wear. 

I've always had thick brown hair now although still here and others may have noticed anything drastic, I have noticed it has changed perceptively 

Now it's flecked with grey and feels like the mane hair of a pony

I look like my dad.

He didn't go bald, just a bit thin and it came as a bit of a shock to realise that my usually unruly mop is turning Gently South like the rest of me.

The Prof is practically bald and wears a jaunty hat to complete is usually natty ensemble. 

I may have to stick to my beanie to keep the wolf from the door.

I'm typing this on the train home. The Prof is on the next table across, his work spread out , his laptop busy. Opposite is an Asian couple. She has just caught me looking at her husband and has given me a hard stare.

I wasn't ogling him.

I was looking at his thick black hair........

......with envy.

Lovely Wilis

I didn't sleep that well last night.
With the Prof away Winnie decided that she would leave her normal sleeping position ( poured into an Edwardian arm chair in the living room) to join me in bed.
Now, I should have known better, but once you've given a row of implausibly floppy teats a cursory and rather sleepy rub, a bulldog like Winnie will tap you constantly with a paw the size of a dinner plate until you continue.
Perhaps she knew the Prof was away. Perhaps she was just in a needy mood,, all I know is that the paw tapping only stopped after I had covered her with the bedspread and slipped a hand under her head.

I'll leave you with the arrival of the Willis from Giselle 
We shall be watching this very scene later on at Covent Garden.
I'd better scrub up well

Go On ....Hit me!

Meeting The Prof tomorrow in London
So tonight I went over the cottage sitting care plans with Cameron the teenage boffin.
I told him to help himself to anything he wanted
Gave him instructions for the wireless, tv remotes and satellite tv
And have left him some cash, beer, a massive pizza and Crisps
Now you are all going to post horror stories about leaving a teen in charge at home
Aren't you?