all five horizons

I told my mum I would whip up a batch of cookies for the Christmas fair in her village on Saturday but I wasn’t really feeling like starting from scratch so I made these for the first time:

I made the ‘Chocolate Chip’ ones and the ‘Chocolate Bean’ (ie Smarties) ones - I am not sure if they are really good enough to justify the washing up involved (the packs are about as expensive as buying them fresh made from the supermarket) but it was quite fun to make them, even if it was super easy.

I also got together some stuff for the stalls - games, books, ornaments - it feels good to have a clear out of things that are perfectly good but not wanted.  I am quite looking forward to all the Christmas build up.

Rich and I are going to Mildenhall for the weekend so that we can visit the Bury St. Edmunds Christmas Fayre which will get me in the Chrimbo mood.  Rich proposed to me in front of the Abbey Gate there at Christmas time so it will be nice to go back at this time of year.   We are even staying in the same hotel in Mildenhall although we couldn’t get the same suite (the Mallard Suite!) which is a pity since all those years ago, we had our own full size Christmas tree in our room.  I am sure the room we have instead will be equally lovely, though.  The hotel is not ultra-fancy but is has the nicest staff and beautiful surroundings.

Also, Mum and I have booked a day at Blenhiem Palace - we are missing the Living Crafts show but it will still be very festive.  I haven’t been to Blenheim since I was a child, even though I lived about 15 miles from it for 2 years and now work quite closely to it.  Well, I did go and see James Blunt there but that was in the gardens and I didn’t get to see anything of the house.  The home of Winston Churchill, it is beyond handsome.  It is a real English jewel.

I got my new company car. So ok, I don’t OWN it but I chose it which counts, right? I am in love.

It’s a Suzuki Swift DDiS (which means it’s a diesel) and it’s a nippy little thing.

I am sorry for my rather sporadic posting of late. Life has gone and decided to get all REAL and it has knocked the stuffing out of me somewhat. The good news is that the metaphorical clouds seem to be clearing and a spot of sunshine is creeping through. Of course, the literal clouds are still very much in abundance - the weather is pretty miserable. I will not let that dampen my rather good mood, though. So just to catch you up, this is what I have been up to:

Reading:

Atonement by Ian McEwan.  I will tell you all about it when the deed is done.

Watching:

Fringe. JJ Abrams (the genius behind Alias and Lost) + Joshua Jackson (the cuteypatootie who played Pacey in Dawson’s Creek) = more TV heaven.  Look out for a new Square Eyes post about this fantastic show soon!

Waiting:

For my Open University Creative Writing assignment to be marked. Just one of the things that has distracted me of late, I had to write a short story (or piece of life writing) and having decided that I much prefer the Life Writing thang, I marched on writing about somethign so personal and scary that it rather shook me up - I ended up scrapping it all and on the advice of ricardo, wrote a real life true story about a girl being abducted from the caravan park where I was staying with a friend and her parent in 1990.

Buying:

A new purse! I love Cath Kidson and when we wandered through Selfridges the other day, I could not resist. I have been wanting a new purse for ages but had not found the right one. This one sang out to be as I walked past.

Choosing:

A new company car. I am such a lucky girl - I was allowed to pick out what car I wanted.   I have gone for a white Suzuki Swift and it arrives on Friday so I will be sure to take some piccies.

Listening:

To Stephen Fry’s Podgrams.  I love Stephen Fry. He is even on Twitter now and he is following me too! I am also enjoying his series on America.

Crafting:

Some lovely Christmas decorations, the kits for which I bought from Posie Gets Cozy.  Well, I haven’t started them yet but I will do, I promise.  As Bart Simpson says: ‘I’ll do it this afternooooon.’  Or maybe this weekend. Hopefully before Christmas, in any case.  I will let you know how I get on.

I woke this morning to the sound of the news announcing Obama is the Preseident-Elect of the United States of America. It was not our election and we had no voice but the decision made by Amercia affects the whole world. I am so happy - as far as I can see, the right choice was made. I am just about to sit down to enjoy last night’s Daily Show: Colbert + Stewart = heaven.

Whilst I am well aware that others have a lot more work to do on their houses than we do, I am starting to feel that the decorating is never ending. We now have all our new carpet (looks FAB!) and the hob/sink are finally fitted in the kitchen (we bought the sink in March!). We have painted the landing, our bedroom and the spare bedroom. We now have the stufy left to do (need to finish stripping all the paper and then paint), the hallway (paint the walls and gloss all the wood/metal-work) and the snagging.

I spent all day yesterday stripping wallpaper and now my fingernails hurt! The stuff they had on teh wall will only come off by picking it off.  Water doesn’t help get rid of the border (it actually hinders progress). Not a pleasant job but at least I set up our spare TV and DVD player so I could watch all The Office season 4 extras (so many deleted scenes!) and some of the first season of One Tree Hill (aw, they look so young. I want to go back to WIlmington).

I really have to crack on with my OU course now. I am getting further and further behind but it is so hard to write with a house in chaos. I know this is an excuse but it’s a pretty plausible one, I think. I am not over-flowing with ideas at the moment anyway, so I really need some regular peaceful moments in an environment that is tidy and quiet.  am I the only one who cannot work in clutter? Does anyone have any suggestions for finding sancutary? We do have a shed but a) it’s getting a bit chilly and b) it is full of garden stuff.

Anyway, once the house is all finished and things are looking spick and span, I will take some pictures so you can admire our work </sarcasm>.

I just wanted to report back as I have had a busy day! Firstly I donated an amount to Oxfam. I also lent money to two different groups via Kiva.org. I wrote to my MP, asking him to promote and comment on the End Child Poverty campaign. I joined Nabuur which is a volunteer network. And I learned a hell of a lot. So I am pretty pleased with my progress. Five actions done - ongoing effort is needed.

The onus this year on blog action seems to be very much on the ACTION and less on the BLOG. Getting a message out just isn’t enough. It is not enough to write a blog post and think that I have satisfied my daily altruistic quotient. Instead, I plan on doing five things today to do my part:

• Donate - whilst giving money is not the only (or even the best) course of action, it is one I can do without too much difficulty. I can forgo that DVD boxset or take-out pizza or a ton of other things I buy. There are so many worthy charities that I will spend some time researching the options.
• Lend -as well as giving a donation, I will join a group on kiva.org. This site itself says: ‘Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.’
• Learn - there is still so much I don’t know about poverty - particularly in my own country. Living in the first world does not automatically preclude people from poverty. I want to find out what I can do locally/nationally to help.
• Volunteer - I am going to commit at least some of my time to a volunteer role although I will have to do some investigation to find the right one that I can fit in with work.
• Blog - by blogging about this today, it has made me focus on what i can do (not just think) about poverty. Ongoing, I would like to share what I have learned.

I will report back with my progress over the coming weeks. I would love to hear what you will be doing on Blog Action Day….

I have been searcing for a leather jacket for a couple of years. I have struggled to find one that is the right cut with the right look. I went shopping again on Saturday to try again. My only requirement was that it had to be rock n roll. I kept finding ones that were very ‘woman of a certain age’. Leather jackets seem to be everywhere this season so I was definitely in a better position than in previous years when I had been looking. However, the style are the bomber jackets which look great on skinny minnies but not so good on the..er … fuller figure, shall we say? Also? I have long legs and a stupidly short body - I do not need to accentuate this fact by buying ANYTHING that is cropped. I had seen some lovely jackets in Superdry but their Large does not cover my boobs so I discounted them. That was until I had been through every shop in town. Then I tried Superdry again and fell in love. It is an irrational, rash love. A teenage crush. But I had to have it. Why buy a jacket that does up anyway? They look so much cooler open. Which is why I have this on my coat-rack now:

Did I also show you my new(ish) shoes that I bought when we were in London last? They are Doc Martens but dainty!!

If you could have told 10-year-old Me that I would willingly buy t-bar shoes I would have laughed in your face. But these were just another crush that I had to act on. I love them so much.

Now I have shared my shameless consumerism, I can start looking forward to Blog Action Day tomorrow which concentrates on poverty. I am well aware of the disparity of posting about nice shoes when there are millions who struggle (in the proper use of the word unlike my earlier use of it) to obtain water and food or to meet other basic needs. And I really did consider not posting at all.  But then this is the reality of my world. And another reality is that there is plenty that I can do - and you too- to help those in the world who are not so lucky.  So I will concentrate on what I (and others) can do to help. Tomorrow I will be posting about it. If you have a blog, may you could too.

Am back from Italy and we had a blast. Many photos were taken and I am sure I will be sharing them with you just as soon as I have organised them! Now I am back, I have to get back to work, start seriously getting stuck onto my new course and of course, catch up on all my stories. We are finally getting our carpets fitted on Tuesday so today and tomorrow we have to clear the whole upstairs of all furniture and carpet. Plus Rich is painting the ceilings before the new carpet goes in (we were intending to have all the walls painted too but that was not to be!).

Anyway, busy busy lots to do as always. I shall leave you with this picture which made me laugh so hard. I actually scrolled down only part way when I saw it for the first time and I exclaimed “that is the best cat I have ever seen!” before fully appreciating the hilarity of the sign. Enjoy!

We are off to Italy in the morning for a short holiday. I expect a lot of reading, relaxing, drinking of wine and grappa and eating of lovely grub. Maybe also a walk in the Alps. This is the view we will have from the window of our house:

Will be back in a week!