Subville

Every Sunday here

I have a walnut tree in my garden. My ex planted it years ago, from a walnut seed. I've tasted the nuts fruits and they're really good. Our local grey squirrel thinks so too.

Ex came round the other evening with a trap ... a long thin cage, in which he plonked about 8 fallen walnuts.

The squirrel is far too intelligent (or there are far too many nuts still on the tree) to be enticed into this cage. I watched him this morning from the window in my PC room, upstairs. He's a funny, cheeky wee bugger. He started on the huge Berry Tree (official Latin name) Then arrived for his walnuts.

Get a nut. Take nut to hiding place. Come back. Get a nut. Etc.

I watched him for ages. The first place was along the fence, hop onto another fence, plank the nut somewhere inside a hedge (not just for hogs )... but he didn't return there! I kept watching, saw a robin nearby, no returning squirrel.

Eventually I spotted him in Audrey's garden (next door) burying it in the soil He did the same with loads more, in different places round her garden. He has no idea that she's out there pottering day and night, the poor wee soul will get a surprise when he goes back looking for them later

I didn't want to move from my spot to carry on with my day. So glad I have this room now. It's become 'home'.

My old flat in Paisley was on the fourth floor of a tenement. I used to sit on the kitchen cupboard in the mornings, having brekkie and watching the cats social dynamics in all the adjoined gardens, and the birds having a shower in the overflow pipes. I've missed this, living here it's hard to find a spot that's your own ... my own. I think I've found it.

---

So off I toddled for my bus to Pilates. Tesco finally opened on the main road near me. There's been such a kick-off with the hippies and 'activists' round here about Tesco. You wouldn't believe the BS they come out with. The papers are full of it. Even this morning there were protesters across the road from it with a huge banner.

Apparently, while the workmen have been there, and a large fence round the front of the shop ... there's been graffiti (albeit some of it quite attractive) ... they've ripped out air vents from the back of the shop, glued locks shut AND (funniest of all) ...

knitted the word 'ARROGANT' into the fencing

That made me BOL big time. Some group called 'Get Knitted' did it. Gawd. I'd love to have seen them do that. Numpties

Anyway ... I did Pilates ... absolutely exhausted. I've been having difficulty getting to sleep recently, can't get back into a normal routine. It's partly because it's the school holiday's (still) and the boy's up late. He had a friend staying over (again) and I could hear them rapping etc. I foresaw this happening so at 11ish I took a valium. Still didn't bluddy get to sleep till after 1am. Woke up feeling like shit, not enough sleep AND valium hangover

Forced myself to get up, cos this has happened for the last two weeks as it is and I really need to be there.

After, I came back, did Tesco, did Mafia Wars ... what? then went back out to get to the physio drop-in centre. An hour and a half later ... 2 buses and a ten minute walk ... I arrive. Flustered. Pissed off.

The woman at the desk looked at me as says brightly "I don't think you'll be able to be seen today"

Me - "Maybe you should print a local map on the flyer? It's taken me ages to get here"

Her - "Maybe the doctor's surgery have maps?"

It started at 4pm, it was 4.15 and the waiting room was CHOCKA.

I actually wept, sitting at the bus stop (when I eventually found it). I'd just seen a bus leave, I'd wasted God knows how long of my afternoon and my hips were feckin killing me.

No wonder the GP said - try this and see how it goes.

I don't care how long the physio list is, I'll wait. There's no way I'm doing that pointless journey again.

Anyway, back now and feeling a little better. Food, tea, hot water bottle and Andy on Skype

Did I tell you he's booked his ticket back up here again? End of next month.

Hurry, hurry, hurry ...

... from Edinburgh Fringe, apparently.

"Hedgehogs. Why can't they just share the hedge?"

Titter.

Went to the docs today, to renew my prescription as I'm crud at being organised. While chatting about the pain relief etc I mentioned that my hip sockets are still inflamed and hurty.

After a lot of puzzling over the cause of this, including me explaining that it feels like I should have a belt strapped round my hips to hold them in as they feel too loose in the sockets ... I told him about my pilates trainer noticing that my legs are a bit wonky and need work on the outer thighs.

Eureka moment ... he says this is the cause of my hip pain! It's called a Valgus deformity, where the top of your legs are closer together than below the knees ... it forces the top of the thigh bones to the outside of the hip sockets.

You've no idea how much this has helped. I now know what is causing the problem! It's not bursitis, or arthritis or weight etc etc.

I knew this was causing hassle with my back, but also knowing the mechanics of it and that it's a known 'thing', well that helps a whole lot. I know what it is and now the doctors at my surgery do too. Phew!

Someone knocks the door.

"Sign for a parcel"

"Eh? Wonder what this is, I'm not expecting anything!"

*guy looks at the label*

"Amazon"

"Oh I musta bought something and I've forgotten! My memory's terrible!"

*looks at shape*

"Oh it's a keyboard!"

Thank you so much, sweetheart ♥

I nearly got one yesterday too, was waiting till today for my dosh to arrive.

It's so nice to be able to type without having to check what's missing (but thank God for Firefox red wiggly lines). Having to open Notepad to write passwords in, so I know which letters haven't 'done'. And having to look at every keystroke on the screen as I try to type the password in to log into my Windows account

My desk has a pull-out shelf for the keyboard, you see. I have long(ish) legs and keep bumping it ... it falls off ... the metal runners get bent, screws are jiggered ... and my keyboard has taken a severe booting! To the point where my pointy fingers are bruised and sore from getting angry with it and hammering the keys

I loved that keyboard too. It was the first time I had summat that was actually up-to-date for the times I bought the whole set-up when I had some money ... brand new PC with all mod-cons, wireless keyboard and wireless optical mouse. Of course I soon discovered that wireless is a pain in the arse. If anything goes wrong is it the batteries?

*buys new batteries*

Nope. PC is having a fit, as they do.

So this one is wired.

And so am I.

Thanks, babe.

problem with some blogs today

Landers and the blog news blog are 'cannot find server'

Oddness

... to post just one that I relate to

clicky

From here

clicky

Stop the government from axing disability benefits, they need thousands of signatures to show opposition ...

http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/disability-living-allowance-(dla)/dla-aa-cuts

(Via an email I received this morning)

Every now & then it decides to have a nervous breakdown and switch hard drives.

I never know which one will appear when I flick the switch till the wee icon shows up next to my name. A hand print that (possibly) Flicky, Charlie or Fatey posted once and I snaffled, or a personalised South Park character I made years ago.

It's a real pain in the butt if I've been working on anything so I've learnt to save bookmarks as an HTML file and email it to myself ... and the same for any files I'm working on.

The BIOS has been told which hard drive to boot from but it obviously has a split-personality.

The Windows updates and AVG panicky messages of ... your-security-is-out-of-date ... are tiresome.

It's amusing at times though, when I'm not fretting over how it's never been the same since Cantab fixed it.

It may have been wiser to send it to Evesham to fix. Oh well, you live and learn.

I really should name the PC, it certainly seems to have plenty character.

*ponders*

.......

Man, I'm such a grumpy cow.

We were in Starbux today, P was getting them in and I was table hogging. A teeter-tottering baby walked past, it's proud mum smiling at me hoping for a friendly reaction ...

*in my head* ...

"Oh very good you can walk, now get outta my space! Don't touch me or look at me, for gawd's sake woman are you that thick-skinned? Take it away!"

There were other such internal grumpinesses, not worth mentioning, but I noticed them and felt a slight twinge of guilt. How can I be so damn anti-social towards a tiny quiet toddler? It wasn't even screaming and wailing like half the grubby-faced monsters being dragged through the town by their desperate, trying-to-eat-time mums.

And ... tell me why my quite old neighbour is in her garden all day, every day poking at things and digging? It's that retirement thing, isn't it?

Ok, her garden looks nice from my PC chair and is preferable to looking at my own garden (shuttit Andy) ... when she's not there picking and poking. If she doesn't move soon I won't be able to pester the cat that 'sunbathes' on the empty concrete squares.

*I don't always hate small children, sometimes I ooh and aah and totally sicken myself and everyone else. Sometimes I like old people too

Meh

I went on the discussion boards for the game I'm addicted to. Jeez, they really don't acknowledge newbies I feel corrected.

I shall make more effort with new bloggies in future.

*feeling rejected*

Sat there watching them chat for a while. Now & then making a comment. Andy's the only one who talks to me. some send a friend invite but it's only to boost their team. Humph. It's like reading the comments in Juzzzy's posts

Think I'll avoid for a while till I feel a bit less like a plague.

Summer in blog drives ye to extremes ... looking for interaction off blog

The job-searching thing is stressing me out. I didn't realise how much till I woke from odd dreams (looking after a small child and it being run down, in a house with an old woman and fretting over my care of her)

I tend to push the worries down, the ones I can't change ... and they pop up again somehow, somewhere.

Stuff with my boy is going fine though. Yeah it's the school holidays but apart from adapting to the 'I'm-14-now-fuck-off', we're getting on ok. He's discovered the local centre of excellence (a place that runs a variety of youth workshops, toddler groups and teenage mum projects) are doing a week of MCing ... and it's FREE! They even provide lunch for the kids. He's loving it "spitting wiff his bluds" (rapping a wee bit)

I've had to banish a hubbly bubbly from the house It's his mate's, they were chuffing on some shisha and he's trying to tell me it isn't a bong Aye right, sure I'm buttoned up the back! D'you think I was born yesterday etc. etc.

Anyway, they aren't using it for hash, but for this flavoured shisha stuff (you can buy it from the local kitsch shop). I explained that because it can be used as a bong (with a wee bit of minor tweaking) they can get rid.

Bunch of chancers

Still battling away on Mafia Wars (on Faceskelp) Am now level 72! But nowhere near Andy!

Gawd, the lappie's really over-heating! I'd go upstairs to the PC but I'm watching a numerically titled film with ma boy and it's the only time we sit down together.

Pirates Pilates tomorrow, first time in three weeks *eep*