h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If you haven't already, it's time to get those decorations down. Maybe the high winds in parts of the UK have already given you a helping hand. I took mine down on the third. New Year, new employment, new outlook. I couldn't wait to get started on 2012. The last few weeks have been so busy and so crowded. I'm really happy to be getting back to 'normal' now (or a revised version of it) and back to h2g2.

For some people, 2012 is the year that the olympics comes to the UK. For others, it's the year the world ends. For me, it's the year I become self-employed and also get to see TWOTW Live! Those other two events probably won't take up much of my time. It's also the year our founder would have celebrated his 60th birthday. So...


HAPPY NEW YEAR!


May you have a truly great one.

In the middle of taking them now, just having a cuppa and praying our dishwasher isn't bust. I'm trying to fix it between taking down sets of fairy lights

hope you had a lovely christmas and the new year is treating you well so far Oh and you asked to see the pendant when I was done, so http://snowinateapot.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-1st-day-of-christmas.html

But I don't wanna take my decorations down! They're pretty!

You don't have to take them down really. I was seriously tempted to leave the lights up as they gave the living room a lovely feel. Will definitely have to investigate installing some mood lighting this year. How's 2012 treating you so far?

Wow, that is gorgeous Emily. I don't think I've really looked at peridot before but I really like it. I had a lovely Christmas, thank you. Santa was very good to me. Although I always find myself getting impatient during the 'dead days' between christmas and the new year. The presents are all unwrapped, but there's still piles of food to be eaten and people to entertain, so household and other jobs can't be got on with. How was your Christmas and New Year? Made any resolutions?

I keep the fairy lights up in my bedroom all year round, my mum doesn't get too superstitions about it because I don't put any other decorations up and bar change the lights this year, they've been up three or four. I love nice gold fairy lights, I can't stand those horrid cold blue ones!

Get rid of fashionable blue and bring back old fashioned twinkly lights!

Thank you dear, peridots are beautiful, and I have to say the one I was sent was a particularly nice one. Others have been very kermit the frog green Which can look a little fake even though they're naturally occurring.

My Christmas and New Year were very nice, I got some lovely presents, ate too much and had a few more drinkies than normal. And it's the one time of year when my parents will get longer than a couple of days away from work and actually get time to relax. So the house (oddly) becomes a much more relaxing place to be. And I have one resolution, with seven sub-resolutions so the 8th day of my themed blog post worked. Anyway, the main resolution is to try and be happier.

http://snowinateapot.blogspot.com/2012/01/on-8th-day-of-christmas.html

How about you? Any resolutions to try and keep too?

We got multicoloured lights after our blue ones died and they are definitely more Christmassy

2012 is okay so far. I start my OU course in Feb and EV is still ploughing his way through his fourth year at uni so business as usual really!

I'll never forget when a friend strung some plain white fairy lights underneath her kitchen shelves and then turned them on for the first time. It transformed the room.

Ever since then then I've had fairy lights of one kind or another somewhere in the apartment, usually strung around the main living area, where the top of the wall meets the ceiling. Got some nice ones out on the balcony too.

And you don't have to hang them horizontally. I've got two strings of these http://img2.targetimg2.com/wcsstore/TargetSAS//img/p/10/74/10740844.jpg hanging off a hook like a big cascading waterfall of iridescence

I'd have fairy lights everywhere if I could...even instead of normal lights!

I often do They're not bright enough to read by though, leastways not with my eyes, but if I'm watching a film I'll turn off all the lamps and switch on all the string lights

me too, and I shall do so more often now I can actually get at the plug without it dragging across the whole room.

I wonder which uses less power, energy saver bulbs or LEDs? Could be a good excuse for even more fairy lights!

Probably LEDs, but the first (and last) set of LED fairy lights I bought were just awful. A horrible bright, cold light with none of the warmth you associate with those tiny incandescent bulbs.

True, I feel that way about the blue ones which have been fashionable, but the latest ones I bought - icicles to replace the ones I took to work - are actually really nice. They've got the nice warm golden tone and aren't quite as scary bright as the old ones. They're certainly more like the incandescent ones I remember as a kid. Just smaller and less likely to smash.

LEDs are meant to be the most efficient Emily. Well, I know LED tellies are more energy efficient than LCD and plasmas so I'm basing my opinion on that

good good, bring on more fairy lights then! Yay!

...and a fortnight later she crawled out of the woodwork again. Didn't realise it had been so long until I read this, oops.

Gosho: "I'll never forget when a friend strung some plain white fairy lights underneath her kitchen shelves and then turned them on for the first time. It transformed the room." I'll never forget when I did that last month either. It was the clincher for wanting to make them (and other 'mood' lighting) more permanent. Pity the duct tape wasn't able to keep them up there under the cupboards, so I'll have to work on something better.

Emily: I only got around to making one resolution and broke it within the very first week. I haven't given up on it entirely though.

Fords: what OU course are you doing and what's EV doing at uni?

EV is now a qualified web developer and is in his forth/honours year. He's already got some clients too I'm doing Computing and IT, focusing more on the hardware and networking side of things.

Ooh, what courses? I really enjoyed the computing courses I did with the OU. Wouldn't mind doing more, if I could afford to. Are you aiming for a degree or certification of some kind?

Yes, aiming for a degree this time, eep! I'm starting off with My Digital Life so I have the Senseboard ready to go

I don't know that one, must be new. I'll have to check it out. Can't afford to do any more OU courses though, although they keep bringing out new ones I want to do. Actually, there was a game design one that looked really interesting...

Oh dear. I had to go and look, didn't I?! Now I've 'registered my interest' for TU100 in October, and am thinking about starting the more mundane but very useful B190 in February. I'm sure the latter should be tax deductable or something.