Journal Entries
NaJoPoMo 2014 Day 13 - Stuck
Posted Nov 13, 2014
There once was a lady from Cannock
Who, breakfasting on a bannock,
Wracked her brain for ideas
And was almost in tears
When she had none, that lady from Cannock.
She sat at her desk and she waited
For inspiration, with breath baited
But nothing would come
And she felt really dumb
As she sat there and waited and waited.
The DJ (whose name, folk, is Pete)
Laid no inspiration at her feet
His words set no train
Of thoughts off in her brain
So thank you for nowt, DJ Pete.
Her NaJoPoMo 13th journal
Was causing her stress quite infernal
She started to curse
Then thought "Do it in verse!"
And she finally wrote up her journal.
You've guesssed it, I'm that girl from Cannock
(Though I didn't breakfast on bannock)
My journal is done
And I hope you had fun
Reading it, signed the lady from Cannock.
Deb 
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Latest reply: Nov 13, 2014
NaJoPoMo 2014 Day 12 - About Nothing in Particular
Posted Nov 12, 2014
I was late in to work today as I had a blood test planned*. This was lovely as it meant two things. 1) I got a lie in, so instead of getting up at 5.40 I got up at 7.10, bliss. 2) I got to walk the dog in daylight, so got to take his ball - I always feel better if he's had a proper fun walk in the morning rather than the mooch round the streets he gets on a weekday in winter.
It means the traffic's horrible, of course, but the way the flexi-time system is at work, I clock in at 8.30 and book from then until I actually arrive as "doctor, dentist, etc" so there was absolutely no pressure. That really makes a difference in traffic.
Unfortunately the radio wasn't very interesting this morning so I got no inspiration for today's journal. There was an awful lot of chat about NHS waiting lists. It took about four months for me to be invited to see the podiatrist recently, but I don't really know if that's good or bad. It wasn't a life threatening, or even life impacting, condition so I suppose it didn't need to be any quicker. I do know that while I was there (I'm always early, I can't help it) they came out twice looking for someone who evidently just hadn't turned up. I'm pretty sure this negatively impacts on the whole system, what a waste of everyone's time.
Another subject this morning was songs for washing machines. Pete the DJ had taken delivery of a new washing machine the previous day, so people called in with their song suggestions which were pretty much what you'd expect - Dead or Alive "You Spin Me Round", Kyle "I'm Spinning Around". I have nothing further to add on that one.
So there we have it, my journal about nothing in particular. I hope I'll be more inspired tomorrow.
Deb
* my six-monthly HbA1C which is where they check what my blood sugar levels have been over the last 3 months
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Latest reply: Nov 12, 2014
NaJoPoMo 2014 Day 11 - The Double Donut Burger
Posted Nov 11, 2014
On the radio this morning one of the topics up for discussion was this monster*:
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/anger-over-2000-calorie-double-donut-8085507
Let's get my gut reactions out of the way first.
Closely followed by
But seriously, who dreams this stuff up? Some chef sits down and thinks "Now, how can I produce a menu I'll be proud of? I know, let's bung dinner & pudding together in one big pile."
This burger seems to have sparked outrage in the press. "It's a heart attack on a plate." "They should have to print on the menu just how much exercise someone would have to do to burn that off" (three hours solid running was suggested). What I want to know is this: are there really people out there who *don't* know this isn't good for you? I'm sure a lot of people ignore that knowledge, but they must at least know it. Surely.
My last issue is - Hungry Horse are a British chain. Why is it called a Double Donut Burger? Are the u, g & h really redundant? 
Deb
* for anyone who can't, or doesn't want to, click on the link, it's an article about a pub chain called Hungry Horse offering a double donut burger. I probably don't need to go on to describe it, the name says it all really, but here you go anyway: two beef burgers topped with melted cheese, four smoked streaky bacon rashers & barbecue sauce, served between two grilled glazed doughnuts.
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Latest reply: Nov 11, 2014
NaJoPoMo 2014 Day 10 - Today on the radio
Posted Nov 10, 2014
My journey to work this morning was peppered with examples of new film titles created by dropping a letter (wasn't there a thread here on that at some point?). So here's a couple I think I just made up (but could have heard & forgotten):
Do your neighbours keep holding inconvenient dinner parties? Who you gonna call? Host Busters! A story of love and mayhem which you regret in the morning - Rue Romance.
sorry!
Another topic was obesity. Some people were making the point that if they followed NHS guidelines on their BMI they would appear ill. I'm on a diet at the moment and my target weight, which seemed reasonable to me, is 10 stone. According to the NHS, I should be between 7 and 9½ stone. Seven stone? One good stomach upset would do away with me! Now, I've been overweight all my life practically so I don't know what I'll be like at 10 stone, I'll have to see when I (eventually) get there, but I'm pretty sure 7 stone would be far too skinny.
Deb
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Latest reply: Nov 10, 2014
NaJoPoMo Day 9 - Spiders
Posted Nov 9, 2014
NaJoPoMo 2014 Day 9 - Spiders
My outhouse is full of spiders. I know it is because I put them there.
I remember reading on here years ago a posting where someone had an agreement with the spiders in their house (was it Robyn Hood?). They stayed away from the risky areas and she allowed them house room. I've done that for a while now, no spider gets chucked out unless they're somewhere threatening like over the sofa or near the bed. I prefer them out of sight but if they're on a wall across the room, or on a bit of the ceiling which isn't over a doorway or piece of furniture I need to use, they're fine.
If they're in an area I consider threatening, they're scooped up in the spider catcher (Best. Gadget. Ever.) and moved to the outhouse. I'm not quite sure why I put them there and not just up the garden, some misguided sense of their creature comforts probably 
.
Last summer I went to lock my back door (from the outside) and disturbed a web of hundreds of babies. It was weird, it was like the web just exploded. Anyway, I scooped up as many of them as I could catch in a plant pot and moved them into the outhouse. A day later they were all gone from the pot and I spotted a couple of colonies up in the corners.
My niece & nephews don't like to go in there. It's a great place to hide 
It's easy to be tolerant of spiders in the UK, I think. I'm so glad I don't live somewhere like Australia 
My agreement with the spiders was upset somewhat recently, however, when I heard on the radio that they don't naturally like being in houses and they'll maybe miss the opportunity of finding a mate if they're stuck indoors. So my spider catcher may be put to more use in future and my outhouse will probably end up relatively free of 
Deb
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Latest reply: Nov 9, 2014
Deb
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