Friday Five!

Those photos are great!  The photographer earns their keep.  The colour is so rich for such a snowy scene.  I dig.

Will you be at least a little bit sad when your tour is over and you come back to the UK?  I feel like it would be mixed emotions.

Cool photos ksand24!

JFKimberly, at least hubby isn't away for work anymore?

x0Kiss0fDeath, good luck for your test!!

Enjoy your other half's company tonight Albatross!

Nan, rock-wool hydroponic cubes sound really interesting. I'm intrigued? 

KFDancer, I can't believe your daughter is starting school next week either!!

Happy Friday.

1.) Well, this rock star managed to come home from boozing last weekend at 5 am.... 
 Who knew I had it in me?  And not long after I went to bed, my in-laws came over , so I had to pretend not to be 'tired'  .   I'm afraid tonight's plans aren't so rock 'n' roll as I'm going to the gym!

2.) Weather looking decent so hoping to go for a bicycle ride tomorrow.   

3.) Work  .  I'm taking charge of this shite now. I've had enough of this. (Need the poop emoji for this)

4.) Lots and lots of extra brass band rehearsals at the moment as we prepare for the National Brass Band Championships in a few weeks.

5.) We still haven't managed to clean the garage, but it's becoming dire. So, we. will. clean. the. garage. we. will. clean. the. garage. we. will. clean. the. garage. 

JFKimberly, at least hubby isn't away for work anymore?

Yes, exactly!  This is such a minor complaint compared to the year and a half of bad BAD times!

1.) Well, this rock star managed to come home from boozing last weekend at 5 am.... 
 Who knew I had it in me?  And not long after I went to bed, my in-laws came over , so I had to pretend not to be 'tired'  .   I'm afraid tonight's plans aren't so rock 'n' roll as I'm going to the gym!

Well, I mean, depending on how much you've sobered up by the time you get to the gym, you could be rocking and rolling still... just not in the fun way. 

Those photos are great!  The photographer earns their keep.  The colour is so rich for such a snowy scene.  I dig.

Yeah, they're really good. He had various lights placed around the desk for the photo of me (including getting the boss to hold one) and he took several before he was happy. He even lay down in the snow when he was taking the photos of my colleague outside (that one didn't get posted though).

Will you be at least a little bit sad when your tour is over and you come back to the UK?  I feel like it would be mixed emotions.

Honestly, not really. I've spent a total of 10 months here now over the last 5 years, and I'm coming back for 3 more months in February... so the novelty has worn off now . Plus, because I'm here in the winter, there's not much to do. In the summer months, they have helicopter trips to the various islands so you can get out and about, and see all the wildlife, but they don't run in the winter. Not to mention, they close the main road if the wind is too strong (or of course if there's snow and ice), so even on your day off, you might not actually be able to go anywhere.

The weather can be a bit crazy here too - last week we had record high temperatures for August (15.3 degrees... it was warmer here than parts of Scotland) and this week we have gales and snow... and it's tricky to forecast because we don't have many ground observations, plus there isn't much data to work with, and there's no rainfall radar either, so we can't tell whether the showers will pass over us or miss us!

ksand24 - Wow! Those photos are stunning!!

KOD - You are gonna rock your test!  Don't sweat it!

My "Holiday Edition" Five:

1.  Mexico has been an absolute dream.  This is the best "do-nothing" holiday I could have hoped for.  Next time, we must come for two weeks.

2.  DN (Dear Numpty) managed to get us locked out on the balcony of our 6th floor hotel room on day two of the trip.  After much swearing, a bit of panicking, an hour, and two international phone calls to the hotel reception, a couple of security guards managed to break themselves into our hotel room and set us free.  We were probably on the verge of building a signal fire on the balcony and drinking our own wee to survive.  (I kid. )

3.  Have been eating like a queen this week.  The food here is so. good. and so much of it tastes like home. *wistful sigh*  Back on the diet when we return to the UK.

4.  Last night, after dinner, we came back to our hotel room to the biggest "wtf is that?!" bug on the wall above the bed.  It was terrifying!  And I'm generally alright with creepy crawlies as long as they have six legs or fewer.  DN and I organized a tactical liberation plan by trapping it under a glass, sliding a bit of card underneath it, and leaving the glass out on the balcony until the winged harbinger of doom took off.  After a bit of googling, we learned that the bug was a "wasp moth" and completely harmless.  But, damn, do they look like they could do some damage to ya!

5.  Another lazy day on the books for today, I reckon.  Breakfast in a few minutes, then off to find a Bali bed on the beach.  Was originally planning on going to a mezcal tasting this afternoon but I tried a shot of it yesterday to see what it was like and have decided I really do not need to taste any more.  🤢  Tequila tasting tomorrow to make up for it, though!

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5.) We still haven't managed to clean the garage, but it's becoming dire. So, we. will. clean. the. garage. we. will. clean. the. garage. we. will. clean. the. garage. 

Oh, I so need to do that too. I really would like to be able to put the car away this winter! Shall we do it together this weekend? 

Oh, I so need to do that too. I really would like to be able to put the car away this winter! Shall we do it together this weekend? 

It’s the job that never ends (cleaning out the garage).

We plan to make ours functioning this winter.  It’s currently “walled in” so the up and over door doesn’t work.  My husband is going to need to be a LOT less sentimental to have any hope of getting his car in.  The struggle will be real.  He adores his car.  But he also adores his massive CD collection (that has been collecting dust for years).

It’s the job that never ends (cleaning out the garage).

We plan to make ours functioning this winter.  It’s currently “walled in” so the up and over door doesn’t work.  My husband is going to need to be a LOT less sentimental to have any hope of getting his car in.  The struggle will be real.  He adores his car.  But he also adores his massive CD collection (that has been collecting dust for years).

Oh dear, CD collections can be hard to part with. Has he digitized any of it?


My five:

1. Last weekend was fun. I finally left the house again for a boardgame meetup and it was fun as always. I may not get out often but it's a really kind group of people so I'm glad they are welcoming. Next time just need to bring fragrance free soap for the loo while I'm there, it's crazy how strong soap can be! But the ill effects were worth it because I felt a lot more human.

2. I'm glad I signed up for the coursera certification. Keeping busy also helps with the feeling human bit.

3. I really hope the allergy consultant I see in December is good. My friend today watched as a reaction started and noticed it before I did. Nothing like skin turning blotchy followed by tingling and swelling. And this is why I never leave the house without benadryl. She sent me home with sunflower seeds to try at a later date to see if that was the culprit. I have a feeling it will be something in the natural flavoring that isn't listed individually.

4. I got my shipment from the wholesaler and I am so happy about it. I found a source for my favorite cupcake cups as well (parchment ones,food doesn't stick!). Really looking forward to the next order in 2 months where I'll have more than an hour to pick my order.

5. It's our anniversary Tuesday. I have a really stressful day Monday so hopefully Tuesday will make up for it!

1   Had a rather busy day at work yesterday… we had heavy snow showers and gale force winds through the day, so I was dealing with various questions and phone calls from the customers, plus we had unexpected visitors in the office, and I had requests to give extra briefs… which meant that it took twice as long to get my normal workload done (and I have deadlines for that work right through the day).

2   One of the unexpected visitors was the base photographer who wanted to take some pictures of us at work for the base Facebook page. They were online within a few hours of him leaving our office:

3   I normally try to swim as many miles as I can while I’m down here, though the long tiring hours doesn’t make it easy… I was doing pretty well by last weekend (9 miles) but then I caught a mild cold on Monday, which put the swimming plans on hold… feeling better now though, so hoping to go today

4   Earlier in the week, I was looking forward to watching the new season of Bake Off… only to remember it’s not on BBC anymore (we have BBC1, BBC2 and ITV here, but no Channel 4)… then I discovered that the British Forces TV channel (which airs a combination of shows from different channels) was showing it at 7:15pm last night… so I ate an early dinner and had a night in to watch it .

5   I am exactly halfway through my overseas tour today – 32 days down, 32 days to go ... oh, and it's payday!

Those photos are amazing! and..SPRING? Didn't realise it they were on a different season to us though - now that I think about it - it makes sense!

1.) Well, this rock star managed to come home from boozing last weekend at 5 am.... 
 Who knew I had it in me?  And not long after I went to bed, my in-laws came over , so I had to pretend not to be 'tired'  .   I'm afraid tonight's plans aren't so rock 'n' roll as I'm going to the gym!

You're a total legend! I dread being awake at 5am let alone being out until then! haha

4.  Last night, after dinner, we came back to our hotel room to the biggest "wtf is that?!" bug on the wall above the bed.  It was terrifying!  And I'm generally alright with creepy crawlies as long as they have six legs or fewer.  DN and I organized a tactical liberation plan by trapping it under a glass, sliding a bit of card underneath it, and leaving the glass out on the balcony until the winged harbinger of doom took off.  After a bit of googling, we learned that the bug was a "wasp moth" and completely harmless.  But, damn, do they look like they could do some damage to ya!

Yeaaaaaaah f*ck that...wouldn't want that in my room while I slept either!

It’s the job that never ends (cleaning out the garage).

We plan to make ours functioning this winter.  It’s currently “walled in” so the up and over door doesn’t work.  My husband is going to need to be a LOT less sentimental to have any hope of getting his car in.  The struggle will be real.  He adores his car.  But he also adores his massive CD collection (that has been collecting dust for years).

I can't open my mouth, I have at LEAST 2 and a half BIG leather cases of CDs I brought over from the US with me that I refuse to get rid of even though I don;t even really have a CD player...

5. It's our anniversary Tuesday. I have a really stressful day Monday so hopefully Tuesday will make up for it!

Any big plans?!

Any big plans?!

I wish. I asked on WGG for restaurants and have a couple of choices but planning things is not something my husband does, and I haven't felt up to the task. I don't even know if he's book off work. Suppose I should ask!

5.  Tomorrow marks the start of Birthday Month!  Yay for September!

My birthday is on Monday 3rd (hence going to Costco... for a cake! ) 

My birthday is on Monday 3rd (hence going to Costco... for a cake! ) 

Happy Birthday!   

Happy Birthday!   

Thanks 
The cake is really my only concession to celebrating, as I am a greedy barsteward.  It's not a 'big' birthday (I'll be 55), and in general I would rather die than have a fuss made about the anniversary of my birth.  But I do love cake, so using this as an excuse to gorge myself on it!

Those photos are amazing! and..SPRING? Didn't realise it they were on a different season to us though - now that I think about it - it makes sense!

Yep, we're in the southern hemisphere down here (same latitude south as London is north), so the seasons are opposite (though we can get snow at any time of the year).

Which means we're coming to the end of winter here, with the first day of the meteorological Spring tomorrow, whereas it's the first day of the meteorological Autumn in the UK tomorrow .

My birthday is on Monday 3rd (hence going to Costco... for a cake! ) 

Happy almost birthday!