Good Bye Piles....
The whole day has been devoted to zapping my piles - those in the spare bedroom have gone, I can almost see the desk top in my little study, the small shelves have decorative things on them - instead of piles of cds etc etc. Do you think after all this I shall be able to find things far more quickly? I sincerely doubt it, but I look forward to the days when my home is not filled with the detritus of my job; role on the day when I can cheerfully chuck all the files I now have to keep with info on this and that for my professional development.
I have taken to buying premium bonds instead of lottery tickets - perhaps they will win me some free years? Someone out there must know the odds of winning, one premuim bond has not won me anything and I have owned it since I was 6! I hope that is not an indication of my luck on this front! Wish me luck folks...

When..
did you last do something for the first time? A question asked by my very good firend in The Kingdom.
Today! I went shopping (- no don't be silly!!!), with a friend in Birmingham and we passed an Ann Summers shop. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, so in we went. And I think I have to say that nothing was gained - it was dull and what's more, there was a couple in there with their child of about 8 years... am I being prudish when I say that I think this is not a suitable place for them? Tough, I stick to my guns and we walked out. Even the underwear was not really 'interesting'. Perhaps I need to start growing old gracefully....



no - that's boring!
I did find some jazzy cd wallets in Paperchase together with a little black book and a large colourful book, both of which are going to have pride of place on my tidy desk... when .... I have a dreadful cough all of a sudden!

Busy Bee
You know you have your priorities all wrong when you realise that you've not wound the clocks for 6 weeks! I am not going to go down that road any longer, my clocks will be wound, my home kept sorted. The job will have 10 hours a day and that is all, no more!
I have booked acommodation in Cornwall for mum and myself - so we can go to the Eden Project and the Tate. I am looking forward to getting away from work and to seeing something very new and exciting. I will try to take some photos and download them, although my little camera is sick.
Today is sunny and cold, so the bulbs are being planted and it is the first day of zero tolerance towards piles of junk. I will bin at least two each day from now on.
The wonderful news is that I can now get into my target trousers..... I need to lose a little more weight to make wearing them comfortable. However, the zip does up!

Living Dangerously
I have written about the lovely little field mouse who lives just outside my conservatory, well there is another small rodent in the vicinty who must be grateful for my being late home last night.
It was just getting dark, I was driving down the lanes and as I had the headlights on, I chose the twisty turny ones, as opposed to the straighter safer ones. (I can see car's headlights coming and feel safer in the dark!) Anyway, I turned a corner and saw what looked like a log in the middle of the lane, I stopped the car and realised it was an barn owl, sitting there watching a small meal. Now there's hunting and silly hunting! Why didn't it sit on the side of the road in safety? He sat there on the road and I sat there in my car watching him, then he did that amazing head turning act that owls can do and we both watched a shrew scuttle across the road to safety.
Have you ever seen an owl shrug its shoulders and look balefully at you? I did last night, just before he gave up and flew off to look for supper elsewhere!

The New Me!
Have I told you that I have a new personna? There is already a Liz at the school that I am now working in, so I am now Lizzie P. This is quite a new sensation, changing your name so that confusion does not reign. Consequently, I am not always quite as quick off the mark as I should be. I have been Liz and Mrs P (in the cricketing circles) for so many years, that Lizzie os a refreshing change. Today however, the other Liz was described as Little Liz by our Head Teacher. Well of course, your mind starts to tick over, if she's little, what am I? The poor lady who came in to advise us on behaviour didn't stand a chance!! Hysterical? Mmmmm, more than slightly.

Did you ever....
walk through the woods when the ground was covered in leaves? It has just been raining leaves here ao I am looking forward to the week-end when I can have fun collecting leaves and walking through the piles. Simple things are the best in life!
The spring bulbs have arrived too so I shall have an orgy of planting in tubs, spring is on the way folks.

What was going on in Worcester yesterday?
The traffic was awful, it took us 30 mins to do a journey of 5 minutes - and that was on a Sunday!!
However, jams apart, mum and I got to the gallery and spent a long time sorting out a rug for the conservatory. It was down to a choice of three at the end - one with dragons on it, another based on the pattern of a Tibetan woman's apron, the last one was a design that monks have used for centuries whilst meditating. This was the one I chose, its pile is so deep that I shall end up sleeping on it at Christmas, pure wool dyed with rhubarb and cochineal nests. They are even getting squeamish about using the beetle to dye with - didn't dare admit my dyeing past and use of the real beetles to the man.
Now where did I put my camera? I am sure it has got to go back to Nikon - the lens is still moaning. Ah mee...

Bliss...
Its the week-end, we have no unwanted visitors from her majesty so I can relax, even to the extent of going out to buy such things as face cream, and dawdling in the shops. Oh wonderful. The face cream extended to a pair of shoes, several cds and other such normal things which take that element of dawdling to make a good selection. Its no good rushing these things, wandering around, window shopping and seeing what's there is so important. Oh, and the new cafetiere, a few stocking fillers - (christmas that is!!) so I have started the organisation for the festive season. (The christmas cakes are so full of brandy they positively reek of alcohol when I open them to geive them their monthly soak. Christmas tea should be interesting!)
Home to sort out my little house which has been sadly neglected over the last six weeks. Spiders rule around here and they had the timerity to try it inside the house as well as on the windows outside, hah! No matter how long your legs are, even if you have more than two of them, the hoover will eventually suck you up its pipe, no amount of curling the toe tips around the edge will prevent it... Tonight I am treating myself to some red wine, the first programme of two in the Prof Sam Ryan series - Prime Suspect, and with any luck I won't notice if I do some ironing as well.
Tomorrow I am on a rug hunt with my mother. I will forgo the lovely tiger one that I know they sell at the gallery we will visit, I think I need something slightly more muted. We shall see! I will keep you posted about it.
(At this point I am asking myself if anybody actually wants to know about my need to shop - probably not, but tough luck! I am feeling selfish.)
I think my camera has gone on the blink which is all very sad, I shall have to send it back to Nikon and see what they say about it. I will try to take some pickies tomorrow as the countryside is looking very lovely at the moment, it still works if I remember not to zoom the lens.

Help!
Has anyone found a good way of storing data cds? I have loads of them for work and cannot make my mind up whether plastic boxes, material pouches or whatever are the best. Which ever I decide upon I always seem to messup very quickly! Meanwhile, back at the ranch, where did I put that Starspell cd??

Harvest for all
Livvy and I harvested the apples, green tomatoes and marrows yesterday. A small amount of the apples and marrows, but no less precious. There is nothing like growing veg for developing either feelings of extreme frustration or smug satisfaction! The slugs eat all the spinach now, but the beans have been wonderful, very pretty too - red, pink and white flowered varieties. Next year I must not plant them so close together though. The sweet peas did nothing, their root structure was not good enough I gather. I need to plant those now for next year. (!!!?) The tomatoes have lurved every little minute of our global warming here in Shropshire, so I am extremely pleased about those, but strangely the squashes have not squashed, - well only three tiddlers. I shall pack up the summer veg part next week and hoe the ground to disturb the smails and their eggs. In fact that might become my vindictive behaviour pattern throughout the wimter, when upset by anything, go and reveal some more snails' eggs for the robins! Perhaps even a sign saying "Get your eggs here - free!"
Meanwhile, back on the steps there are another 8 bags of donkey dung.......

Colours, lovely colours
Autumn is here and so are the wonderful colours. Just outside my study, there is a Russian vine climbing up the garage, it is now turning that wonderful autumnal orangey red, blazing against the trees behind. The oaks were turning last week-end, splodges of orange seemed to have sprouted on otherwise green trees! There seems to be a fashion each year for the way of changing, this year is not gradual it is just blocks of colour suddenly appearing in the trees. I hope it isn't the hot summer's effect as it is rather lovely.
The canal is misty too in the mornngs - almost a cloud highway hanging over it. I didn't manage to get that walk along it, the HMI has taken over completely, nest week-end however, there will be no school work in my life - canal here I come!

WoW!!
I actually left school before darkness fell today! That's a first for several weeks, however, things are beginning to fall into place now. Planning sorted, children starting to behave etc. so - soon, my life should approach normality again.
The pile of ironing however, will not. I shall soon need some climbing boots to get to the top so that I can pick the clothes off to iron. If I pull something out from the bottom, there will be a landslide and an earthquake I am sure of it!! Do crampons leave marks in material? What about those axe things that you use to make holes in the rock face to attach those screw things? I don't really need to do that, but the north face of the pile is looking distinctly Eigerish!

Ahh Bliss...
My first salary cheque arrived last week. Yes!!! Now I can start to spend some money again on lovely things as well as things that are needed.
So the first thing must be some new underwear. I think the madonna style bra for the two days that Her Maj sends her Inspector in to the school - definitely a 'Don't mess with me' message is needed there! Then some lacy white, and now that I am not cavorting across cricket fields in whites that can be seen through, they can be lacy.
This season seems to be one for other colours too, so what shall it be? Puce? Nooooo. Blue? Not sure - I'll let you know the answer when I've been and done the deed - probably next week-end.
Meanwhile I'm off to Worcester again to see my mum, we were going to see the new house that my daughter has moved into, but their car is rather mangled so I'm not sure what is happening on that front. She and Tim are fine, the car is not though.

Have a listen to this...
Thought for the day

I still listen to Radio 4 in the morning, even though it can be slightly depressing, difficult to understand when the woman gabbles on, and extremely annoying at times, but this lady always has a lot of sense in her thoughts.

Honour
The so-called honour killing of a daughter has brought the issue of revenge to the fore again. How can people continue to live together and to hold such widely different views about life? I wrote men and women first (instead of people), but I don't think it is that simple; however, I do think that fear of the unknown is a great part of this and until we can talk to each other about fairly basic beliefs then we will continue to batter wives, daughters, husbands etc.
I wonder if the father will be haunted by his daughter's words in her letter, or will he continue to asssert that he did the 'right' thing by abusing and killing her?
We have children to grow away from us, after a certain age, they must be allowed to make their own decisions - whether we like them or not. They grow up just as we did.