blue_dormouse

06:56 pm: Hoping to come out of hibernation soon....
...but at the moment all I seems to want to do is read and sleep....I'm just operating on tick-over at the moment.

Tags: s.a.d

05:33 pm: Thought for the day
In memory of family and friends who have lost the battle with cancer; and in support of the ones who continue to conquer it! Post this on your LJ if you know someone who has or had cancer. 93% won't copy and paste this. Will you?

10:17 pm: Twilight and New Moon
I have recently been introduced to the Twilight series by the girls at work who are all obsessed with it. I have read books one and two and just finished the last of 3 evenings with the extended DVDs (Monday watching the movie, Tues on the extras and tonight on the audio commentary). On Friday a group of us are going to see New Moon at the cinema in Worcester (Hereford is a tiny one screen cinema and it isn't even showing New Moon in the foreseeable future. I can hardly wait!

At work we have a couple of shelves where we all put books for everyone else to borrow. Gemma's copies of the Twilight Saga have not made it onto the shelves yet as they have been doing the rounds.

I am hoping that after the weekend the third book in the series will be available for me to read. I am intending to buy them all with Christmas money, and the DVDs, but it is great to be able to borrow them now, rather than having to wait or shell out now:)

Sadly, Gemma is leaving us at the end of the year, and yesterday we found out that Jo is going too:( Although she is just moving to a different part of the Council and a different building, where Gemma is off to London.

I have been to more works outings in the past 3 months than I ever went to anywhere else that I have worked. They are a really friendly bunch and I will miss Gemma and Jo. I hope that we won't loose anyone else too soon.

12:08 pm: Well, I didn't get the job
and neither did Pete:(

We will be having a new girl apparently.

04:23 pm: 7th Sea
Just back from a fab long weekend of 7th Sea with friends Jason, Richard, Jo and god daughter Hermione who I met for the first time on Thursday night. She is about 10 weeks old and very cute!

I caught the train down to Bristol on Thursday after work and Richard picked me up and took me back to there home. Jason was already there and we planned and caught up.

Friday morning we set off for the event site (St Michaels School, Tawstock, Devon) just before 9am and with a stop for elevensies we were there by 1pm, dropped off enough stuff to make some room in the cars (which were packed to the gunnels) and zoomed off again, Jason and I to shop for food and Jo, Richard and Hermone to pick up some extra props.

Back at the school again about 4pm but there were still a lot of children around so we couldn't do much in the way of setting up until they had all gone (about 5.30 pm). The first half of the evening I helped with a bit of set up and then retreated to our crew quarters, which are actually the staffrooms (2 connecting rooms) which now have a private loo in a converted walk in cupboard, and a corner with a kitchen sink, birco, fridge and a dining table and 4 chairs as well as 3 sofa's and 2 arm chairs! I made myself comfy on a sofa and baby sat Hermione and read my book until about midnight when Jo came up and then we chatted for a while before we both turned in about 1.30am.

In the morning I managed to get cooked breakfast for 50 ready on time and then did a little prep before getting a lift off one of the crew members (in his 30 year old brown Triumph Spitfire) to get a few little bits that I had forgotten the day before. Lunch was the usual bread, cold meat, cheese etc affair and then I started on the main work of the weekend, dinner.

Beef stew and dumplings so lots of peeling and chopping of veg and meat, and rhubarb (from Richard and Jo's garden) crumble. I had everything under control and managed to get an hour break and finish my book before the last 2 hours of actual cooking. I had a helper for the last hour as one of the players kindly came to give me a hand. I got him chopping corgettes and then making chocolate sponge for those who didn't like rhubarb crumble. It all went smoothly and tasted great but in hind-sight I should have made a bit more stew and more or bigger dumplings.

I got to bed a bit earlier but my mind was racing so I didn't fall asleep for a little while.

Sunday morning breakfast went more smoothly than the day before and I managed to use less cooking trays which really pleased the two crew who very kindly did a lot of the washing up.

Clearing the site took longer than I expected and it became clear that getting a train home would not really be practical so I sent a text to my boss asking if I could take Monday off. No reply. We stopped for carvery on the way home and finally made it to Colne about 9pm. When we got back to Richard and Jo's I emailed my boss in the admin section, my boss in the Environmental Protection team and my colleague Beverley. We stayed up until midnight discussing the event, what went right, what went wrong and what to do next time.... We also had pink champaigne to celebrate the fact that 2 of Hermione's 3 God parents were present.

Again it took me a while to get to sleep, thinking everything over and hoping that I wouldn't be in trouble at work.

In for morning I woke about 8:30 and at 9 I called my boss's number to check and see if she had got my message. It turns out she is off today and I discovered that I had sent my texts to the land line not my boss's mobile, Doh! I was tired. Still I left a message and then sent a text to Ed asking if he could pick me up on his way home from London. He spent the weekend with SCA friends in London taking part in a demo on Sat and then going to the American Football at Wembley on Sunday.

Back at home we have now seen both cats and I have checked my email. Nothing from either boss but Bev emailed me back:)

Now for a restful evening (we hope).

09:03 pm: Jessica at the vets
( Kitty TMI )

Tags: jessica

12:54 pm: Phew!
The ladies who are buying the sandwich business off Ed's boss have decided to keep him on:)

05:53 pm: Very Quick Catch Up
New Job -
Going ok but I am still learning the ropes and have not made any inroads into the backlog of updating or filing yet.

Raglan Castle 2009 - 21st to 23rd August
A good event that went well and the weather smiled on us (most of the time).
I spent most of my time with the A&S display, watched Ed in a few fights and socializing a lot. We saw 2 Kentwell friends on Saturday which was great. The feast went well and everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves.

Wednesday 26th - Instead of Fighter Practice we had a Shire Meal at Cribbs Causeway as a fare-well to David and Danni

St Davids - The Bishops Palace - Saturday 28th - Mon 30th August
It is a beautiful setting and it should have been a great event but the weather was not kind to us. It was sunny when Ed and I arrived on Saturday afternoon but Sunday and Monday were wet and windy so the dancers had to do most of their performances in one of the undercrofts and Ed and I had to shelter in them from the weather too.

We had a nice meal on the Sunday evening and the visitors that we did see seemed interested but really the weather spoilt the weekend for us all.

Tags: raglan, st davids

09:11 pm: A good day!
Today I got my start date for my new job. Next Monday. I will be admin in the Environmental Protection Team at the county offices in Hereford.

This afternoon I gave blood and didn't go faint:)

This evening I have been baking and making chocolate truffles to take in tomorrow. I had already made some truffles, a fruit cake and a parkin earlier in the week on the theory that they would all keep (and the fruit cake and parkin would be better) the Monday afterwards if it came to it.

Tags: new job

09:59 am: Ready Steady Dig!
Yesterday I helped out at the Museum Services childrens archaeology day. It was tiring but good fun. I was helping Samantha with the "Excavating a Roman Skeleton" They had written a little story for him. He was called Titus Maximus and he had come to England from Belgium to help repel the Druids and had decided to retire to Magnor in Herefordshire after his service was up. He was bueried (in a sand pit for ease) with his strigil, knuckle bones, coins in his eyes to pay the ferryman to take him accross the river Stix, his hobnail sandals, his tweezers and ear scoop, a couple of other coins and a broach. We waited until we had about 6 children then we got them to help us excavate the skeleton (a plastic one from a biology lab) using big paint brushes, getting them to stop when they found anything and asking them questions about what they found, where they were found and their significance. Once everything had been found we got them to help us re-bury him and then we were ready for the next group.

I stayed to help with the clear up too and talked a little to Elizabeth about the Tudor Housewifes event on Castle Green (Sat 15th August). I am going to email with a list of things that I could bring and see what they would like.

Must get on now, Mum and Dad due at 12!

08:06 pm: Stuff
7th Sea Food


Urchins (sausage meat hedgehogs)


White Mice (Boiled eggs with clove eyes, almond ears and chive tails)

Pottery Painting


Knossos Dolphins on soap Dispenser


Cat Water Bowl


Cats

07:16 pm: New Job!
I had an interview on Wednesday morning and found out yesterday afternoon that I have got the job (dependent on references and a health questionnaire). It is an admin post with Environmental Health and Trading Standards based in Hereford.

Happy but cautious until it is all signed and sealed.

09:15 pm: Museum Services
After work I went to meet 2 very nice ladies from the Hereford Museum services and we had a chat and they showed me around for a bit, but as I am working full time and they don't do much at the weekends, I am not sure if anything will come of it. They are going to let me know if they think of anything that I can do to help and gain experience at the same time.

Tags: museum services

09:18 pm: Ceramics Painting Update
( Cut due to lots of pictures )

01:40 pm: Glazy Friday
Yesterday evening Ed and I went to Glazydays once a month, Friday evening session. www.glazydayz.co.uk/

I took the camera hoping to be able to photograph my mug but it was already in the kiln.

Here is my effort. I found the picture on the internet and bought some carbon paper on the way home to trace the image onto the pottery. I am not sure if the lines will burn off or not (pencil will but Lynn is not sure about carbon paper) but I am not really worried either way.



Ed did a mug with his SCA heraldry on





I am pleased with my dormouse, I painted it all myself but it was very helpful to have Ed there to give me advice when I was not sure what to do.

Today has been a lazy day (which was the plan) but I am making some bread rolls. The dough should be ready to come out of the bread maker any minute.

07:59 pm: The tile and the garden
Ed has a cold (which was going around at Rent a Don and neither of us got much sleep last night but things have gone well so far today....

Here is the tile before and after being glazed and fired.





I had fun again yesterday painting a mug this time. We learned how to sponge on a background colour and then add our own motifs. I have not got a pic of it unfired but am hoping that Lynn will photograph them before they go in the kiln, like she did last time.

Next week we are going to be doing crystal glazes and starting on our scraffito piece! See http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&um=1&sa=1&q=crystal+glazes&btnG=Search+Images&aq=f&oq= and http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=scraffito&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=fjIDSovcJ4-OjAf61MTlBA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title for some examples.

The garden is starting to come together, still a way to go but it is growing and getting greener!





Oh and some how I think I totally forgot to mention that my little sister passed her PhD at Imperial!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So proud:)))))))))

And I have baked sponge cake and made trifle (without the custard) which I love as a low fat pudding.

And the nice lady from the Museum services got in touch with me and we have arranged to meet up next Thursday after work to talk about my volunteering with them and getting some work experience!!!!!!!!!!!

08:06 pm: Gardening
Finally I have found time and weather to do a little work in the garden. I used the hoe, to get rid of the weeds then I planted out some cornflowers, marigolds, sweet peas, a wigwam of runner beans, the plants that I bought on Saturday from the plant sale and potted on some of my seedlings.

Now I am going to look for patterns to trace onto pottery tomorrow evening....

04:51 pm: Baby Hedgehog
I just had to share these as they are so sweet!

01:33 pm: Gardening update
Ed has connected up the water butt!

08:18 pm: A little more garden progress
With Ed's help I planted out the raspberry canes this afternoon:)

Tags: gardening