Still here and happier than ever in 2015!

Well here we are nearly half the way through 2015 and not a single blog post to be seen from me.
 Well really - what a very poor show!!!  ;-D
Back at the start of this year I made one single resolution (that's one more than normal) and it was to be more selfish.  More selfish with my time where it concerned people who sapped the life from you, more selfish with myself round people whose endless negativity drags you down, and more selfish in pursuit of a lasting happiness for me.
That is not to say I immediately set off on some sort of hedonistic crusade and forsook all my friends.  In reality only a few things changed, but key was deciding I deserved more of my time.  So to that end; and this is all a bit of a roundabout way of saying it, blogging has taken a backseat along with a few other things.
So what have I been doing?  Applying for work, a little bit of temping, some sorting out of the house, and (this is the biggy) telling the man I fell in love with 22 years ago how I feel!!!  Now that was somewhat scary, but it was a gamble that paid off.  Turns out he feels the same, right down to liking me back 22 years ago.  Who knew??!  (We were both far too shy to do anything about it then.)

The Scotsman on the ancient
clapper style bridge at
Postbridge on Dartmoor.

Now the practicalities of this are not exactly straight forward, which is why I've never admitted it to myself before, let alone him.  He's in Aberdeen.  I'm in Exeter.  These are more than the Proclaimers famed 500 miles of walking apart.  Doh!
He came to visit for a week and with that time together we both realised we were more sure of this than anything before, so we will make it work.
We had a fab week, even though the weather wasn't all it could be, and his friends have already been asking when he's transferring down here!  That's all for the future though.  In the meantime I'm just as happy as I could possibly be, and it's truly wonderful.

So in other news; I have been doing some more temping and am currently on a 2 week assignment as a telephone receptionist.  In between calls though they are happy for me to potter around on the t'internet hence me taking the time to write this post.  Pretty decent of them I'd say.  :-)
On Friday I attended 2 interviews through a different temping agency and, (wait for it) have definitely secured at least one of the positions!  The lady from the agency is calling me back with full details later but apparently they came back with a big 'yes' to me after my interview.  Which is nice considering I'm very out of practice and was physically shaking going into it!  Perhaps a little more faith in myself wouldn't go amiss!  This may mean that I can't get up to Aberdeen as soon as I might have wished to but I will have to wait and find out as the company in question was advertising both 6 month fixed term contracts and permanent positions.  Exciting stuff though, none the less!
One of the other major decisions I have taken is to give up the allotment.  The friend I was helping bowed out at the start of the year and I have come to realise that a full plot on my own is just too much.  Instead I want to concentrate on the much neglected back garden at home.  Although small it's plenty of space just for me and has the advantage of not requiring me to tramp along the road with tools or a wheelbarrow en route to do a bit of digging.

Unsliced bamboo shoots

Otherwise I've been busy in the kitchen - a lot of noodles have been consumed recently as I've been getting right into the Cheung Fun (flat rice noodles in rolls) they sell fresh in my favourite Chinese
supermarket.  I also discovered recently what bamboo shoots look like before they're sliced - crazy huh!
My family came to visit for the annual Exeter Festival of South West Food and Drink.  Saw many lovely things, sampled some of them and bought some cheese.  A lovely time had by all.

A summer off

Greetings and salutations!  I must admit that it has been rather a long time since my last post despite my best intentions.  So; what have we all been up to this summer?

I have been enjoying the fact that we’re actually having a summer this year.  I.E. – sunshine.  I've taken the opportunity of not working to busy myself hacking back the garden.  I knew there was a shed in there somewhere but since it seems that this year is the year that finally the bramble and the honeysuckle have declared all out war on each other, and are both intent on full domination of the garden, said shed took some unearthing!

I have been navigating the perils of ‘signing on’ for the first time.  That’s fun!  There is a distinct paucity of information readily available about what you can get, how you’re eligible for what and how long anything takes.  The entire system seems a bit of a mare but better minds than I have waxed lyrical on this subject many times so I won’t bang on about it.  It has meant I've had to go up into the city centre rather more often than I usually do with the side effect that I happened to go through the Exeter farmer’s market on a Thursday and take a look at what I spied:

 Razor clams! I have wanted to try these for a very long time.  Ever since I saw HFW extolling their virtues several years ago.  After that I came to realise they were one of things that people used to forage for and eat rather a lot more in decades past than currently.  That seems to be changing now though with the rise in popularity of foraging, and awareness of what local delicacies we have available without having to ship our food for miles.  I didn't purchase any yet; being out of employment they seemed a little unnecessary, but I spoke with the stall holder (from local fishmongers Gibson's Plaice) and he told me they have them most weeks bar the winter.  I shall save them for a treat.  J  In fact all of their produce looked very tempting, and beautifully fresh.

I have been making some crafty things.  Remember my purse I made that gets re-invented every time the cover is falling apart too much?  A friend had mentioned that she cannot find a card sized purse anywhere and as it was her birthday coming up I decided to make her one. 

I used some scraps in her favourite colours and stitched it up on a visit home to Ma (and her sewing machine) and she loved it.

I've also been doing waaay more baking than I ever normally have the time for - tried cheese and courgette scones - thoroughly lovely.  Useful to use up any excess courgettes from the garden or allotment.  Which brings me to the news that I am helping a friend with her allotment as she has virtually no experience at growing things.  In return I get to adopt the shed on the right  and get part of the plot to myself and we share the rest.  I've been loving getting back into the digging - it made me realise how much I missed the old plot.  Lots of plans going round my head for next season.

All of these things have made me rather wish I could make a living crafting things, and doing gardens, and baking, with perhaps some social media marketing and invoicing / IT thrown in for good measure.  I wonder if that’s possible...  Sadly something tells me I'm going to have to get a ‘real’ job.  It has been lovely having a several weeks to myself though, for which I am grateful, and it has given me time to re-evaluate quite drastically what I want from a job.  I have come to the conclusion that as long as I can pay the rent and bills and have enough for Zeke and I to live on then it is far more important to me now, to find something I am happy doing / can believe in.  It may take me some time to find this so in the time being I have been applying for casual type stuff/temping whilst I search.  Wish me luck in my quest!

This throw-away life

It never fails to astound me how wasteful people are, whilst seemingly remaining completely oblivious of this fact.  

No more are the majority of the public prepared to ‘make do and mend’, or even it seems, bother cleaning items when you can just buy new! 

These 3 deep glass (soufflé?) dishes were spied abandoned by the side of a glass bottle bank one night when I was out with the Doctor and some friends.  After discussion in the pub we all agreed it was worth a closer look- were they actually cracked, broken and knackered or just in need of a damn good clean?  Well as you can see – there’s nothing wrong with them!  They were caked in baked on oil, as you get when using glass or ceramic for roasting, but all they needed was a good going at with the scouring pad and hey presto – approx £25-30 worth of glassware for nuppence bar some elbow grease.  What is wrong with these people??!

Just yesterday I spied this big ‘bag for life’ dumped half way round the local Aldi.  'Oh no (heavy sarcasm)

the handle’s coming off!'  So I picked it up and will put a bunch of strong stitching through and bag (ha ha) myself a good as new, strong, big shopping bag.  These must cost at least a couple of pounds, doesn't that make them worth the handful of minutes it would take to put some stitches in?  Or do people have money to burn (I wouldn't have thought so in the current economic climate) and I'm just more sensitive to it now I am sans job?

On another note can we afford to be so cavalier with our resources that it’s ok to throw such items away?  And can we assume that there’s an infinite amount of space in landfill for them all?  Worth a thought, surely?

Ezekiel was just as non-plussed as me - at me using 'his' garden for taking photographs in!

"What's this??"

Life changes and moving on

Another quick post today - I really really will get a proper one up soon, I promise!  I felt I ought to give a little update about some fairly hefty changes in my life over this first half of the year.
I mentioned earlier in the year that the Chap and I had split, which happened back at the start of February.  Well since then I've met a lovely man who has done wonders in boosting my ego and making me feel good about myself again.  He's ever so complimentary, I'm really not used to it!  He's also a bit of a sci-fi geek like me; Doctor Who is his particular favourite.  So he shall be known as the Doctor on here.  J
The other major change in my life is that after years of being unhappy at work, I finally took the plunge and handed my notice in.  Things had got to the stage where the place was actually making me ill so I decided it was time to remove myself from that environment.  Today is my last day and although I don't yet have another permanent role to go to I am still convinced that I have done the right thing.  I have been so much happier having made this decision, it's definitely a good thing for me.
Which brings me neatly to the #100happydays challenge I started back on the 20th March.  Completely coincidentally and totally unplanned it so happens that today is Day 100!  So as I move on from my ex-work I complete the challenge of finding something to be happy about for 100 days.  And yes, I would agree with the founder of it that it has had a positive, and hopefully lasting, affect on my outlook and life.  If you want to take up the challenge yourself - and I heartily encourage you to do so - you can find the details here.
I have many of my happy photos to post still, I've only got as far as 45 on here!  I've managed to get them all onto facebook though.  For now however I'll 'treat' you to a tongue in cheek image I posted in my count down to leaving work this week.  Enjoy!  J

Handy kitchen image

I'm slightly horrified to realise it's nigh on a month since my last post - oops!  A longer post soon but for now - I came across this super useful image on line that I thought I'd share with you.

I'm adding the link to the sidebar 'Handy Links' as I think this is one worth remembering.  This and the Oven Temperature Conversion Chart must be 2 of the best I have come across for cooking.  :-)

#100HAPPYDAYS Set 3: 32 - 45

Time for the next installment of my #100HAPPYDAYS photos.  If anyone missed it first time round or wants a refresher the premise is summed up on their website.

"We live in times when super-busy schedules have become something to boast about. While the speed of life increases, there is less and less time to enjoy the moment that you are in. The ability to appreciate the moment, the environment and yourself in it, is the base for the bridge towards long term happiness of any human being."

You take the time to notice something that makes you happy each day; no matter how big or small.  This in turn should start help to train your brain to notice the things each day which make you happy.  So helping us to stop focusing on the negatives so much. Huff Post have a good explanatory article here.

Day 32: The Dr has brought me free range eggs. Good eh? 

Day 33: I finally got round to acquiring (ahem), a cutting of the most gorgeous and fragrant rambling rose that I've been walking past on my way to and from work for the last 7 years. Yay! 

Day 34: After a friend alerted me by text (thank you!) I managed to snag these couple of bargains at the local Co-op. Smoked salmon is my favourite!!!  

Day 35: Running around with my favourite small person and her pink bunny. (Confusingly called Little Kitty.) She is an absolute joy. 

Day 36: Unexpected catch up with good friends whilst trying out a different pub. 

Day 37: Day 1 of Exeter Festival of South West Food & Drink; with my ma. A favourite cheese of mine but I did make the comment (based on it's looks) 'That's a cheese you wouldn't want to meet down a dark alley' - luckily the owner chap found it pretty funny. 

Any TP fans will know what I mean when I say I think it looks like Horace might. Awesome tasting ewe's milk cheese though - get some from the good folks at Wootton Dairy. 

Day 38: The most gorgeous cider ever tasted by mere mortals. The limited edition Maverick from The Orchard Pig at the food festy. Cider with ginger and a subtle hint of chilli. HOW frigging good is it? And I have 4 pints all my own stashed at home. 

Day 39 (Sunday): Food fest haul. 6 lovely cheeses, mushroom and stilton pie, yummy olives, brilliant The Potted Fish Company bits. (YUM!!) Best cider, Elderflower cordial (try it in your G&T) and my yearly stock up on Cornish Sea Salt. More potted fish loveliness - all those on the top left were free at the end of the fest. Result! 

Day 40: My lovely friend donated me this for my spatzle frolics. Diolch yn fawr iawn i chi cariad. 

Day 41: Getting home from a trying day at work to find food delivery accompanied by this note. 

Day 42: The smell of spring, and hope, and new beginnings.  

Day 43: The beauty of the sky never fails to inspire and awe me. Truly I live in a wonderful place. 

Day 44: Making new friends. Bigger jug than me!!  

Day 45: Sleepy kitty. Being very caring and loving... and hardly biting my hand much at all...

I have a full post about the food festy to get up sometime soon.  If you're ever in the area at this time of year it's well worth a visit.
I'm hoping for another happy picture later today - Chiefs have their last home game of the season today vs Harlequins.  Could be a hard game...

#100HAPPYDAYS Set 2: 18-31

Time for the next batch of images I've taken for my 100 Happy Days challenge.  Starting with a rare appearance of myself - not something I make a habit of on here that's for sure!

Day 18: Loving the amazing voice of Angelina on a drizzly Sunday afternoon. Being captured looking like a muppet enjoying it.

Day 19: Yorkshire pudding w' wild garlic experiment WIN!!  [As seen here.]

Day 20: Walking home in the sun and realising - IT'S SPRING!!! Finally.

Day 21: Catching up with a good friend I haven't seen since January, sat by the river looking at the beautiful evening sky.

Day 22: Spring flowers of Blue (my fave) from the garden. Gorgeous smell from the bluebells. 

Day 23: Nearly got mown down on the bridge on my way home from work, by 7 or 8 little girls, all on matching purple go-karts. Pretty random. Bringing up the rear was one small boy on a big yellow tonka truck style thing, with his dad. Their pure delight made me laugh in the sun.

Day 24: (Before scalding myself with boiling water!) The kids on Easter hols round here have discovered a love for pavement art. These dinosaurs (?!) are a fave on the way back from the shops. 

Day 25: A cider in the sun from my good friend and her somewhat over exuberant pup.

Day 26: Getting home rather later than anticipated to the cat, sofa, warming soup and my current guilty viewing pleasure. Mmm; cosy.

Day 27: It's getting nice enough to sit out on my lunch with a good book and soak up the vitamin D. Aaaahhhh.  

Day 28: Discovering a secret pond on campus on my way home that instantaneously brought back happy memories of a childhood holiday and my dad rowing us across a similarly weed choked lake. I know this pondweed is an invasive git but it's such a GREEN colour in spring!  

Day 29 - Beautiful sunny morning on the way to work today. Blue sky, cherry blossoms bobbing in the breeze, lush fresh spring green grass and burbling river. Last day in work for 11 days. Nice.

Day 30. A man in a bow tie made me smile. Sadly I don't have an actual photo so this will have to do.*

Day 31: Having a cheeky bubble bath in the middle of the day just because you want to, and you have 10 days off so can sacrifice one to the Radox gods.

Now the more observant of you may have noted that I mentioned scalding myself with boiling water in amongst that lot.  Yes - I did.  And it bloody hurt.  All I can say is stick your hand in a pot of cold water for several hours and be glad to have an aloe vera plant at home.  Eeek!

Day 2 after doing it

Today, mostly peeled!

Happy Easter everyone!

*If anyone is a Dr Who fan you can find that T-shirt here.

#100HAPPYDAYS - the first 2 weeks.

Well I did only say I'd post the pics on here weekly-ish, right?  I'm keeping up with the challenge of finding a happy moment to post each day so far.  Mostly these are small things but I think that's part of the ethos behind the challenge; recognising the happiness to be found in everyday moments as well a 'big' events.  More info on the 100 happy days site.
So without further ado, here're my moments so far...

Day 1: Can’t remember the last time I used this when it wasn't absolutely necessary.  My trousers are falling off me. 

Day 2 - Happy Friday! Good night with good friends and fine ales.  

Day 3: I fit back in my fave jeans - whoop!!!! This has made me a happy bunny indeed. 

Day 4: Very early! Bar dancing with my new bar 'family'.

Day 5: This beautiful magnolia stellata is on my route to and from work. I love seeing it each spring. Cheered up my walk home in the cold and rain tonight.

Day 6: Lovely bag full of Ramsons for wild garlic pesto later. Nomalicious!!!

Day 7: Happy guinness at a friend's birthday.

Day 8, which also happens to be my lucky number. Getting home to my furry faced love after what feels like a veeerrrrryyyy loooooonnnnggg couple of days. (PS - like most cats he takes a shit pic though.  )

Day 9: That patch of blue which prisoners call the sky... The sun coming out on a Friday afternoon at work when it seems like the rest of the week it's rained every afternoon / evening.

Day 10: Spending all day in bed because you can and not feeling even a tiny bit guilty about it.

Day 11 - Watching the rather spiffing Aunt Fanny's Handbag laying down some chillaxed Sunday arvo vibes. Oh, and the greatest old couple ever, dancing their hearts out to it - she was being chucked up in the air and everything! 

Day 12 - Playing all the top old tunes you'd forgotten about on an unplanned jukebox marathon. They even had a couple of Ned's tracks!!!! Then I had to educate as to who Ned's were of course...

Day 13: I won free chocolate! Nuff said, right?  Small pleasures.

Day 14

Day 15 - Finding I can fit back in some trousers I haven't worn for 2 years, that are a size smaller than all my current clothes, and evidently I can fit into them without bothering to undo the zip. I believe 'Woot' is the appropriate word at this juncture. 

Day 16 - Leaving the office on a Friday in the SUN to be greeted by this display of beauty by nature. *breathe*

Day 17: You lot. Yes YOU. Realising I have some truly wonderful friends both new and old who care and seem to know just the right things to say when I need it. I thank you, you wonderful people you.

So that's as far as I am, tune in next week(ish) for the next thrilling installment...