Blue Coppice Blatherings

Blather and balderdash about stitching, design and domestic life.

Friday, November 19, 2004

Friday again...

I do apologise for being pretty lax with this blog over the last couple of weeks - just been too busy &/or too tired!

Hi to my Dutch reader!! *waves madly* It's nice to know there's someone out there & I'm not totally talking to myself! In response to your question, I'm afraid I don't have any pictures of my stitching corner, but I'm expecting a visit from my parents in a couple of weeks so I'll see if I can borrow my mother's camera & take a couple of pics. If Daisy sits still for long enough, I might even post one of her as well!

So how's everyone been? As usual, things have been very hectic here. I've been fighting off all the germs that my colleagues keep bringing into the office - how kind of them to want to share - so I've not been at my perkiest recently.

I went to visit an old friend of mine in London last weekend, and despite the pair of us being more tired & wiped out than a very tired & wiped out thing that's been up all night & run 2 marathons, we managed to stay up far too late drinking some particularly nice wine & talking about life, the universe and relationships. He's my closest male friend (apart from OH!) so it's always good to get the male perspective on things - and as we've known each other for about 20 years (yes, it's official, I'm old) we tend to converse in a series of insults and abuse. I say he's a geek, according to him I'm a short weirdo with a string obsession, and it amazes both of us when other people manage to put up with our strangeness long enough for either of us to have a relationship with the opposite sex!

Oh, and let's not forget the fact that by virtue of me being a year older, I can always look forward to ageist comments when he runs out of short, weird jokes. But then he's an IT geek. Okay, okay, "Management Consultant". But once a computer geek, always a computer geek. He can cook a mean tuna steak though...

And I do like his car. Heated leather seats - what more can a girl ask for?

While I was there, we went for a walk round the grounds of Hampton Court Palace - in my opinion, one of the most beautiful of the royal palaces. The weather was gorgeous - a perfect crisp, clear autumn day - and the light filtering through the trees and hitting the walls in the setting sun, bringing out the warmth of the old bricks, may well be something that pops up in a future design...

Sunday was another clear, sunny day so we went to Richmond Park to walk off the previous night's fantastic meal. I've always loved autumn and after the unrelenting greyness that Manchester had been experiencing, it was a reminder of how beautiful this season can be. It was also a reminder of how many people there are living in south-east England and why I decided to leave! It was lovely to visit but I was glad to get home to the relative sanity of Manchester...

So not much stitching got done at the weekend. I took some with me with intention of doing some on the train but I fell asleep virtually as soon as I sat down on the Friday night, and as I missed my train back on Sunday (which had my seat reservation) I had to get the next one. Being more crowded than an overpacked tin of sardines, I had sit on the floor in the corridor for 4½hours - not exactly conducive to relaxed stitching!

One evening a week, I work behind the bar at a local golf club and as the manager was on holiday, I had to cover for a colleague and work an extra night. I've always enjoyed bar work, and this time of year the club is virtually deserted except for a few dedicated bridge players which makes for a very quiet night! This gives me virtually uninterrupted time to catch up on reading and sketching out design ideas, without the interruptions and distractions of home. Obviously I can't stitch at the club (far too smoky & grimy!) so it forces me to spend time finalising tricky problems and making construction decisions and I really like the fact I'm getting paid to do it!

Still, after the late nights at the weekend, a full week of the day job (8.30am-6pm) followed by two nights of working 6.30pm-11pm can make one rather tired! Not to mention the "drinks & nibbles" organised by my boss of my day job last night. Luckily I was sensible & left at 9pm (unlike a considerable group who rolled in late this morning looking very pale and swearing never to drink again), but I have got the distinct impression that my OH and Daisy the cat are forgetting what I look like...

Tonight, I have no plans other than to make blueberry muffins for a Sampler Guild get-together in Lancashire on Saturday and I can't wait! A couple of hours stitching....cuddling up with OH & Daisy on the sofa....an early night....salmon fillets for dinner....oven-warm muffins for supper....utter bliss......


Much as I enjoy visiting & going out with friends, I do love quiet nights at home - it's just that sometimes, getting the balance right can be tricky! Age also has something to do with it. Gone are the days when I could go out clubbing till 4am twice a week & still have the energy to go away at the weekend, and work a full week complete with 20 hours overtime... I feel exhausted just thinking about what I used to do...

I hope everyone has a good weekend! Let me know what you've been up to - all comments are welcome!! :)

3 Comments:

Blogger Glenda said...

Just a lame comment to say "Hi".

12:06 am  
Blogger Bethany said...

Hi to you too! Any comments are welcome - it's nice to know someone else is out there....

3:59 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I also wanted to say "Hi". It was nice to read about your weekend visit, I bet your friend must be someone special.

2:17 pm  

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