Exciting!

I received an offer on my house yesterday. It was too low to accept but I am still very encouraged that the offer was made as it shows people are interested in my house. I am very excited as I feel so close to achieving my dream of moving into a caravan for a simpler life.
The things that make me happy don't cost much and what money I do earn I would like to use travelling to visit loved ones rather than buying material goods, paying for a mortgage etc.
Ollie is lying beside me as I write this. I am determined to spend less time out working and more time with him walking in the countryside or working from home so I can be with him more.
I have found a life coaching course that I would like to take once my house has sold and am in the process of writing books that I hope will be ready to publish in 2015.
I am well over half way through my 90 day challenge. The challenge is to do 3 things a day that move me closer to achieving my dreams. Some days are much easier to complete than others but as a whole I feel that I am making progress and am procrastinating less and acting more which is a good thing.
2014 has been an exciting year so far and I am looking forward to seeing what  else can be achieved in the remaining months!

Ollie is off to the vets!

Ollie has his annual vaccinations today. We will walk to the vets. He loves all the sniffing about and scrounging for scraps that he does when entering the town.
His favourite aspect of the trip will be trying to wee up the wall at the vets which enrages the receptionist every time. I am always apologetic and always offer to clean up but Ollie and I get a glare every time. I have never successfully prevented Ollie from doing this try as I might!
I feel sorry for Ollie when he actually has the vaccination as he gets really shaky and scared. The good thing is that as soon as it is over he forgives the vet and walks out of the surgery proudly wagging his tail!

Scott Mills and The Dartford bridge!

I was crawling through traffic on the way home today. I was listening to Scott Mills on Radio 1. He had the genius idea of sending his poor mate into the toilets to 're-score' the experience of people visiting the loo!
The first victim coped quite well with a cheery hello and enjoyed listening to some music as he 'spent a penny' it was the second victim that proved hilarious. He undid his belt and it was clear that his visit was going to be longer and more involved....
He was asked how he was before being treated to Disney's 'Let it go!' a totally appropriate ditty for the occasion I feel.
Put simply the whole experience was bonkers and I was laughing like a drain as I drove very very slowly towards the toll  booths.
If I had crashed the car I would have held Scott Mills responsible as it was hard to maintain control of my own faculties throughout this radio 'experiment'. Fortunately for me, Scott Mills and the driver in front of me I was able to (just about) hold it together. I don't suppose this is making a lot of sense as it is losing something in translation but take it from me it was very very funny indeed!

Some totally unrelated birds for your enjoyment!

alarm clocks!

The wonderful thing about alarm clocks is those days when you get to turn them off the the night before so they don't go off the next morning.
You can't beat the feeling when you wake up naturally, open your eyes and grin smugly at the alarm clock sitting silently nearby!
Mind you, the alarm clock gets its noisy revenge the next time you need it and seems to beep extra loudly on those days.
Enjoy your Saturday. It is quiet and peaceful here this morning. the neighbours kids must be having a lie-in too!

This photo was taken a while back. I include it here as it is a peaceful scene...

Strange days!

It has been an odd day but everything turned out well. It is the last day of term. I drove into work and got started. Luckily one of my work colleagues noticed that I had a flat tyre. the recovery man was very helpful and now my tyre is fixed.
I got home and my rascal of an Ollie-dog legged it out the door  and off down the road into the darkness as I brought in my shopping but luckily another work colleague had given me a chicken sandwich to give him a treat so I was able to lure the little beast back in with that and then I discovered my gas boiler has packed up but thankfully I have a service contract so someone is coming over to look at it.
All these little challenges were dealt with and I realised the 'What If?' game I mentioned yesterday has a simple variation, 'So what if?'
Very few challenges have no solution. It is up to us to find a way!
Happy holidays to everyone on holiday this week.
 I am enjoying a flavoured  cider and have made sure the alarm clock is switched off. It will be a bit of a lie in tomorrow for me but not for too long as I have another house viewing tomorrow!

Play 'What if?'

Ok Ok I know, I am bonkers. So what? Humour me for a minute please.
Do you ever get those circular 'what if' thoughts?
(What if my car breaks down, what if I can't afford to replace it, what if?what if?what if?)
I get them now and again and they drag me down.
At the weekend I made a conscious decision to play a new game: 'What if my dreams come true?'
Playing this form of ' What if? is a lot more fun.
What if I get a quick sale on my house, What if soon I am able to  move into my caravan etc etc?
I wrote it all down and today things took a positive turn.
I had two viewings on my house this evening and the agent says a woman who viewed at the weekend is considering making an offer....
Get the picture?
I realise that things are at least as likely to work out as not and so this is the way I am going to play this particular game from now on.
I will let you know how it goes but early signs indicate this is going to be fun!

blogging

I enjoy blogging. It's fun. It's the exact opposite of a diary really as with diaries they are generally secret but the aim of a blog is to post your thoughts for anyone to read. I don't know who reads my blogs but I like the idea that my crazy musings are enjoyed by people! I like reading blogs too. One of my favourite is written as if by a pigeon called Brian. He is a real character!

I like this photo. the clouds look like mice scurrying across the sky...

Unique people.

Today I am thinking about unique people and the gifts they bring to the world. There is a hoax going round on the Internet claiming that artist Banksey has been arrested and his true identity revealed.
I feel that this would be a real shame as he offers us mystery, art and challenge. He makes us think and keeps people guessing.
There are many artists, musicians and writers who are able to share their talents with the world.
Paul Weller wrote 'That's Entertainment' in a few minutes after coming home from a night out,  apparently.
Without that song there would be something missing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-H0uIH5HHQ
There are other artists who create images that are striking too.
I love Marc Chagall's work, for example.
Reading a book can literally change your life.
So many authors have taught me things and I am so grateful for the people who summon the confidence and determination to spread their message so we can benefit!

October !

In a few days time it will be the mid term break and I hope we have some sun to go with the beautiful falling leaves that I am seeing around here. Ollie is looking forward to seeing Burt and Rufus and going on all manner of exciting walkies.
It turns out Graham and I have been seeing each other for over 4 years. We are pretty useless at keeping track of time. I thought it was 4 years ago today but we Googled when the Hastings pier burnt down and apparently it was on 5th October. That is the day we met!
Wow 4 years goes fast. Poor Graham must have be wondering what has happened to his life since knowing me as he is now surrounded by dogs! I bet life was so simple before. Now it is an endless round of chewed cushions and muddy paw prints!
Happy days!

sometimes only swear words will do!

Something weird happened yesterday.
There was a viewing at my house and the potential buyer asked if I had a step ladder. I indicated where it was and the estate agent took it upstairs so that the loft could be accessed.
What I didn't notice until both people had gone was that the ladder left a paint mark on the carpet in my bedroom ( which is where the loft is accessed)
I was a bit annoyed about this but it wasn't the end of the world and I managed to get most of the paint off before taking Ollie to the caravan.
We had a lovely time including listening to a storm, stayed overnight then came back to the house.
When I got home the penny dropped.
If there was wet paint on the bottom of my step ladder the paint had to come from somewhere.
I looked in the area where the ladder had been stored and discovered half a tin of magnolia masonry   paint had up-ended itself and the contents had seeped onto the lino around it and covered everything in that vicinity.
When I discovered this the only two words that came close to expressing my feelings sound a lot like 'Duck it!'
I had a good swear, found two spoons, got onto my hands and knees and used the spoons to literally spoon up the enormous amounts of solidifying paint.
I can't get it all off the lino so when I do sell the house I will take that lino off the list of things I have agreed to leave behind when the house is sold!
Now I am going to forget about the whole sorry business!

p.s I bet rhinos don't concern themselves with such trivialities.

weekend!

I love the weekends that don't have much structure. I wake up knowing I have one or two things I need to achieve and take the rest as it comes.
This is one such weekend.
I have a viewing at my house this morning and I have all the ingredients for a vegetable stew and dumplings plus a fruit crumble and as for the rest of the time~ I am going to see how it pans out.
Whatever you are up to this weekend I hope you have fun x

5 years of smiling!

Ollie may be a wally but he has taught me a thing or two so that must make me 'wallier ' than him?! At the end of this month I will have had Ollie in my life for 5 years and he has taught me not to take life so seriously, to enjoy walking out in the rain, to walk every single day and to appreciate the small things.

He has a collection of battered old tennis balls and ancient bones and anyone would think he owned the crown jewels. He is just so completely, ridiculously happy 99% of the time. The only time he is not happy is when there is a storm and then he sakes in terror and cuddles up close.

Since Ollie bounced into my life I have laughed many times every single day. His joy is infectious.
I find life fun  now and even on challenging days Ollie manages to make it all OK.
I think I have been taught a life skill from a dog. he doesn't sweat the small stuff and does wild crazy things every day just for the hell of it and his care-free attitude is rubbing off on me!

He is a lovable rogue and I wouldn't have him any other way!

baked potatoes

I am a big fan of baked potatoes. I just had one for my dinner this evening. They remind me of Autumn and camp fires and being cosy.
I also love dumplings. They are delicious in a vegetable stew. I think I will be making some this weekend. On Sunday I had a delicious Apple Charlotte and I am thinking I might make some this weekend and I am starting to think about chestnuts.
In short I fully feel Autumnal. I like Autumn with the falling leaves and the beautiful colours.
Pumpkins are also associated with this time of year. I think I will make my own lantern for Halloween!

Old photo's

Old photo's make me smile.
I guess we rip up or delete the ones we don't like so are left with a large number of photo's that give us happy memories. I am enjoying the #100happydays campaign where you are challenged to post a happy photo every day for 100 days. I enjoyed doing this so much with the first 100 that I am currently on day 230!
Doing this helps me to appreciate the every day- the so called ordinary because if you think about it there are many beautiful moments in every single day it is just that in today's frantic paced world it is easy to forget this when in fact we walk past beauty every day.
I am making a real effort not to do this. I am making an effort to focus on what I see/hear around me and sometimes I cannot believe how pretty things are. There are some stunning pink flowers not far from my house at the moment. I wonder if the people who grew the flowers appreciate them, I hope so as they really brighten up the area!


these are lovely too.

Thinking about Estate Agents and The Emergency Services.

I received a call after work this afternoon. My Estate Agent had a potential viewer who wanted to view my house this evening. I was very happy about this and arranged a time. I got into my car and allowed plenty of time for my journey home. As I got within a ten minute drive of home I had to slow down. One of the lanes was closed because of a car accident. It looked pretty serious with people being cut out of the car and being put on a stretcher and being lifted into the waiting ambulance.
Seeing this brought me back a few months to my car accident. I felt overwhelmingly grateful to The Emergency Services who came to my aid that day.
I really appreciate people who are enthusiastic about their work whether it be that they work as a nurse, an estate agent  or whatever.
The World needs dedicated, enthusiastic people to carry out the important roles in life.
I also believe that people who devote their time and energy to a worthwhile profession should be well rewarded for their work and this includes financially. I am very disappointed to hear that our government has rejected a 1% pay rise for hospital workers. I really hope they reconsider as hospital workers perform such a vital role.
I managed to get home on time for the viewing and it went pretty well with Ollie on his best behaviour!

Fred is...

I have come to the conclusion that Fred is a good sort!
A little rusty maybe but he is a good old boy. We were stuck in crawling traffic and it took 90 minutes to get to work this morning but this didn't seem to bother him at all.
No weird noises, no wobbly steering....and best of all....no oil light!
yes I am glad that Fred is in my life!

there's something about trees

Admit it, there's something special about trees. never mind that without them we wouldn't have enough oxygen to breathe. Even without that trees are special. Graham, Burt, Ollie, Rufus and I spend quite a lot of time surrounded by trees and I have worked out that when I am near them I am happy!
We had a lovely walkies at Brockhill Country Park yesterday and today and both times had some delicious food at the outdoor cafe there.
Today we had Nut-roast with all the trimmings followed by Apple Charlotte and vegan ice-cream.
It was so good that now I am obsessing about roast potatoes and in fact I have decided to have a big pile of them along with some watercress for dinner!

so weird...

It feels very odd sitting here typing away while people look round my house! I hope they like what they see. The estate agent is definitely doing a good job! Wow there was quite a storm last night. Ollie is not a huge fan of storms. I think he prefers it like it is now, nice and calm and sunny.
( a few minutes later...)

The agent has just popped back in to give me feedback and says both sets of viewers liked the house. I will have to wait and see if this turns into any offers. I am very happy.
Wheeeeee!

It's the weekend!

It is the weekend and I am very happy about that. Whatever you are doing this weekend I hope you have fun. I have lots planned, despite the storms and whatever happens I am happy that tomorrow morning I am pleased that I will be waking up without the alarm clock!

blowing a gale!

I am tucked up in bed with my laptop listening to the wild weather. I love doing this. I particularly love being in my caravan listening to rain pelting down onto the roof.
Ollie isn't too fond of thunder storms, however.
It is almost the weekend. I drove home from work and to my delight the roads were clear and I got back in record time. I took Ollie for a walk then the agent came round to take house measurements for the brochure.
I didn't go into my bedroom as I had made the bed and checked everything looked Ok this morning before leaving for work.
What I didn't know was that Ollie worked his magic while I was out and managed to bounce up into the air and drag a carrier bag onto the floor shredding its contents onto the floor which included an old toothbrush.
When the agent entered the room he made no comment but must have privately thought 'blimey, I hope she tidies up when we arrange the viewings!'
It wasn't until after the agent had gone that I discovered Ollie's crime! What a rascal he is. (Lucky I love him eh?)

My house is now on the market!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48578915.html
If you click on the link you will see my house. It is on the market so if you know anyone who would like to live in Canterbury please encourage them to have a  look at the details.
I have been very happy here but it is time for me to move on.
Happy days!

Me in  my caravan!

So far so good...

Fred is living up to his name. he appears solid and reliable. So far I have driven 100 miles in him and he has not made any weird squeaks, no lights have come on and he is comfortable to drive. I have a radio that I can turn on and off but cannot get off radio 2 at the moment!
I listened to the radio for a bit and this song came on. I do love it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1ydKJ5v88I

I haven't heard it in a while and it was great to sing along to.
I hope you are having a good week.
Mine is exciting, my house goes on the market today!!!

Woo Hoo!!!

Yes I am happy!
I had an adventure getting him but I am proud to present Fred my new (old) car!
My friend dropped me close to where I had to pick him up and I just had to catch the train for one stop. I phoned the seller who I thought was a woman called Kim who turned out to be a bloke called Barry!
He picked me up in a white Transit and drove me into the countryside to the farm where Fred was located....There was just enough petrol in the car to get me to the garage to refuel providing I followed Barry's directions but being me I got lost!
Driving aimlessly about I fortunately found a garage and was able to refuel.
Fred appears to be a lovely old boy and actually Barry was a kind bloke too so everything ended well.

all being well...

If everything works out the way it looks like working out I will be collecting my new car tomorrow after work. I am excited. I just hope he drives OK. Poor old Hettie is on her way to the scrap yard now and that is a shame. I never set out to replace Hettie with another old KA but the insurance is relatively low and I am used to driving them now. Mind you I find no two cars are the same. The biting point is set differently on each of them and even the way you change gear feels different.
I hope when I look at the engine it is obvious where to put the oil because with Hettie when I had to put oil in her it was totally unclear where it should go and I had to call over another customer from the garage I was parked in in order to locate where it went and even he found it hard to find!

failing that maybe I should buy a 'dodgem?'

Exciting times!

Well it has been something of a roller-coaster ride these past few hours.
My mechanic told me poor old Hettie has died. I am sorry to see her go as she was quirky but fun to drive!
I then frantically cleared the house in readiness for the Estate agent to call accompanied by a professional photographer to take shots of the house.
The Estate Agent was lovely ~ Ollie kept trying to lick her and she took it all in good part. The photographer was also rather taken with Ollie and forgave his antics!
One hilarious moment was when the photographer was in the back garden and trying to get a rear shot of the house. He signalled through the window to me that he wanted me to pull back the curtain, which I did. The Estate agent asked me if I thought the photographer would end up catching us in the photo. ( Not if I can help it I thought so we both ducked down and stood as close to the wall as we could so we were out of shot, accompanied by the dog.
We waited, crouched for some time and then realised the photographer had quickly got the shot he needed and was coming back into the house. Ollie, the Estate Agent and I were still huddled close together against the wall when he re-entered the house and I guess to the uninitiated this may have looked rather odd!
Anyway, It won't be long before the house is officially on the Market and I cannot wait!
As soon as the estate Agent had left I turned my attention to finding a new (cheap) car and fingers crossed I have found another inexpensive Ford KA ( blue this time)
I will let you know once this is confirmed and if all goes well he could be mine by Monday!
I have a potential name for him but will reveal that once the sale is confirmed....To be continued

RIP Hettie

Let's wait and see!

I got up early and walked to the train station and caught the train to work. Afterwards I caught the train back and bought some Supermarket shopping and carried it home. Ollie and I then got into the car and to my delight Hettie started and so I was able to drive to the mechanics.
Tomorrow I find out if she is fixable...I hope so!

Poor Old Hettie

Poor Old Hettie is poorly. I am unsure yet if the problem is fixable but at times I was lucky to reach 30MPH going up not particularly steep hills.
My long suffering mechanic will get to work tomorrow morning and check his answerphone where he will find a distress call from me.
I am so glad I was able to get Hettie home rather than have to pull over onto the hard shoulder. I am hopeful that when my mechanic is free to look at her I will be able to get her started and drive her 2 miles to his garage.
Until this takes place I am not in a position to decide whether to repair or replace her.
Fingers crossed for the best possible outcome!