Friday Five!

FRIDAY!  FRIDAY!  FRIDAY!

I got interrupted and accidentally hit post.  Ooops.

1.  Back to work yesterday.  Glad it's just two days.  Good to ease back into it.

2.  Had a lovely time in Barcelona.  So nice to see the sun.  Fun was had by all!  Two things we wanted to do but hadn't booked in advance - go up the towers at the Sagrada Familia and the Picasso Museum.  Conveniently we are back in August, so will pre-book the tower 2 months in advance (when tickets open) and will book for sunset, when the church is at "it's best".  Did plenty of other things though.  Just nice to be away.  We still can't get over how cheap food is there.  We were asked a LOT about why the UK wants to leave Europe.  Got very old.

3.  I have a sore throat and an ear infection.  My mucous sample was lost so having to repeat that.  Having a repeat x-ray at the end of the month (as my lungs were full of infection).  Hoping to be healthy again at some point.  I'd like that point to be soon. 

4.  Monday the architect comes to do the full survey on the house.  Eeeks! 

5.  6 weeks and 1 day until Florida!

And then, everybody forgot it was Friday.  The end!

Oh, wait.  I remembered!

1.  I had a vision test on Tuesday (after putting it off for a couple of years, but I was able to read a number plate from 20 meters for my driving test, so I figured it was good enough for DVLA, so it's good enough for me).  The verdict is my eye health is good, and my vision is slightly "improved" over my old prescription.  Basically, I'm near-sighted in my bad eye, but I'm getting older, so it's a self-correcting problem...?

2.  I usually wear a contact in my left eye and leave my right eye uncorrected.  My husband convinced me to switch to glasses, because he thinks it might actually be more convenient for me.  After giving it a lot of thought, I have agreed with him.  With contacts, I can't see my phone when my contact is in (my arms are too short!), and I can't see, well, anything else, when my contact is out.  So glasses of the right prescription should be the answer.  And if I still can't see my phone with my glasses on, it'll be a lot easier to push them out of the way briefly than to take my contact out.  Plus, if I change my mind and want contacts, I can always order a box.  I have an updated prescription now.  Yay!

3.  After my eye exam, we stopped at a local butchers on the way out of the shopping centre and picked up a shin of beef and a pork fillet.  I made a pork and mushroom dish using the fillet on Wednesday night, and it was the best we've ever had, so now I'm really looking forward to the shin of beef, which we'll be braising in ale on Sunday.

4.  After no checkups at all of any sort for about seven years, I have now done the rounds with all the specialists and vision, and I am happy to report that I did not "let myself go" too badly.  I've gained 4 or 5 kilos, but otherwise, I seem to be maintaining, the same as I ever was.  And I survived my first terrible, horrible, no good, very bad chest cold in the UK!  (But I will be talking to my respiratory consultant about OTC meds to replace what I spent a lifetime figuring out what works for me... I was at a huge disadvantage not having my regular arsenal at the ready when I got sick in November, and that was rather scary.)

5.  It's been feeling less like dreary winter the last week or so, and I'm loving it!  About time to get some projects done.  Yay!

Hopefully the glasses work out for you! Also pork & mushroom sounds yummy 

Lots of changes in my life lately so I’ve been MIA from here!

1) Currently on a train down to Glasgow with my husband and most of my belongings - I’m moving out of Elgin today because...
2) Today was my last day at Waterstones and I start my new job Monday morning!! I got a very sweet goodbye from one of my regular customers and from all of my colleagues. It was lovely.
3) Had a great time in the US over Christmas and New Year. Got lots of family time and got to spend time with my grandma, which was great.
4) I’m so excited to be back in the city!! I already have lots of concerts/talks/events lined up for the next few weeks. So many opportunities!
5) Made a big batch of my fav veggie curry yesterday for dinner & so we could freeze it and my husband could have it all next week. It was my best one yet and I’m annoyed I won’t get to enjoy the leftovers!

Friyay!

1.  So much going on in life.  Still not fully recovered from my illnesses.  Work insane, life insane,  something is going to have to give at some point soon.  Just hope I come out the other side unscathed!

2.  Family wedding next weekend.  Some of you may remember my posts last year about our English cousin,  who lives in Australia, who is marrying an American.  Next week is the big day (though they wisely followed my advise and did the paper bit outside the UK).  I have my hat and shoes.  Hopefully I’ll be wearing more than that.  I expect I’ll be wearing a work dress. 

3.  5 weeks and 1 day until Florida!

4.  No one has mentioned Megxit!  I have ZERO issues with them leaving and wish them well.  I do think they should give back Frogmore Cottage though and not keep it.  I’m sure they will become the richest couple in the world.  Pretty sure financially independence will be easy to achieve. 

5.  I want enchiladas to go with my dinner of tequila (it’s been one of those weeks). 

Hopefully the glasses work out for you! Also pork & mushroom sounds yummy 

Lots of changes in my life lately so I’ve been MIA from here!

1) Currently on a train down to Glasgow with my husband and most of my belongings - I’m moving out of Elgin today because...
2) Today was my last day at Waterstones and I start my new job Monday morning!! I got a very sweet goodbye from one of my regular customers and from all of my colleagues. It was lovely.
3) Had a great time in the US over Christmas and New Year. Got lots of family time and got to spend time with my grandma, which was great.
4) I’m so excited to be back in the city!! I already have lots of concerts/talks/events lined up for the next few weeks. So many opportunities!
5) Made a big batch of my fav veggie curry yesterday for dinner & so we could freeze it and my husband could have it all next week. It was my best one yet and I’m annoyed I won’t get to enjoy the leftovers!

Good luck with your new job and new life in Glasgow!!

Good luck with your new job and new life in Glasgow!!

Thank you!! I lived here while I was doing my Masters at Glasgow Uni and have been desperate to get back ever since I left - honestly I'm so excited to get to be in the city every day! Very much looking forward to my first day tomorrow

Thank you!! I lived here while I was doing my Masters at Glasgow Uni and have been desperate to get back ever since I left - honestly I'm so excited to get to be in the city every day! Very much looking forward to my first day tomorrow

Aww, I love seeing people who are so excited to be going to work!  Have a fantastic first day!  I hope you love it!

Friday Friday Friday!

(You guys all seem to have a case of the Januaries... *poke poke*  Wake up!)

1.  On Sunday morning, my husband said, "I dreamt Domo's eye fell off."  We inspected them and they're not going anywhere, but I've been paranoid about Domo's eyes ever since.

2.  I think that dream was related to my eye exam last week.  My husband must have internalized it.  But my eyeballs didn't fall out!  Brains are funny.

3.  A close family friend (my SIL's grandfather, who practically raised her) passed away this week.  The viewing is this evening and the funeral is tomorrow.  Even if I'd wanted to go, there is no way I could have made that trip in such short notice (O2 issues)... I wasn't as close to "Gpa" (that's what everybody called him) as everybody else in my family was, so I'm not sad for my own sake.  But seeing so many of my people hurting and being so far away is kinda hard.  I've been ostriching over it... if I don't look at social media, I don't see their pain.  (When did I become so selfish?!)

4.  I pick up my new glasses next week, and I'm actually stupidly excited about it. I've been going without my contact, except when I need to drive, ever since my eye exam last week.  I think I'm mostly done with contacts.  We'll see.  (first:  hah!  I didn't mean to be funny, but that "we'll see" made me laugh.  Second: I have a contact lens checkup when I go back to collect my glasses, and I will probably buy a box of daily disposable contacts to have on hand, in case I want to go that route occasionally.)

5.  There's a pork shoulder bathing in Coke and seasoning in Slow Cooker right now.  In another 7 hours, it's going to be served with cheesy scallop potatoes and steamed broccoli.  And tomorrow, the leftover pork is going to be chopped/shredded into chunks, drizzled with BBQ sauce and zapped 'til the sauce caramelizes, then served with homemade coleslaw, mashed potatoes, and buttered sweetcorn.  I love it when food gets to be two meals in one.

It's Friday...

1) I've lost about 3 pounds since starting the modified Newcastle diet again. 7 more to go. For now. Then maybe another 10. No more than that. Assuming I stay healthy - it's a very harsh diet, but it does work. It's been just under two weeks, so that's a decent loss.

2) Our first batch of book packing boxes arrived from Amazon. Happy with the quality. It's hard to find good, sturdy boxes. Of course, the guy showed up to deliver them at 8:00am this morning. I bet I looked like the Bride of Frankenstein when I opened the door....

3) It's been a very dark winter. I don't remember winter being this dark, every day, the last few years. It's making me want to hibernate all day. And certainly not go out. But then again, the last time I went out this week it was chilly, but sunny. We went in to our favorite shop to have a sandwich and some tea, and when we came out it was sleeting sideways. So we popped into Iceland to get some groceries and then took a cab home. I'm a cheapskate, but sometimes I'm not that cheap. That wind was cutting right through my several-layers-plus-scarf.

4) I still have no clue where we're going. The Daughter is waiting to hear from the Universities. Should be in the next two months. She's also applying for government jobs. And one with a nonprofit in San Fran that has onsite housing. (I'd really love that one!) But that's pretty much an unlikely one for her to get. It's hard to start a career from 6,000 miles away. She's still plugging away at applications, though, so that's good.

5) We haven't even been here three years. How the hell have I managed to accumulate so much "stuff" in three years? Oh, well. I can donate it to charity and take the tax write-off, I guess. It seems easier to do that here than with IRS taxes when we were leaving the USA. Don't have to worry about the standard deduction, I think, here interfering with getting credit for the donations?

I'd really like a plate of dim sum right now. (sigh)
Or a pepperoni pizza with a side of hot chicken tenders.
And what I'm gonna have is a cup of chicken bouillon.  [whoopie.    ]

(You guys all seem to have a case of the Januaries... *poke poke*  Wake up!)

Not Januaries, but was in the US (holiday), then China (work).  First day in the office in a month . Friday Five not on my mind in China. LOL.  Usually my favourite thread!!   

Not Januaries, but was in the US (holiday), then China (work).  First day in the office in a month . Friday Five not on my mind in China. LOL.  Usually my favourite thread!!   

Welcome home!  I hope you had fabulous trips!  Well, I mean... China was work, but hopefully you had some down time while you were there, too...

Friday!

1. My new microwave/convection oven is arriving sometime today!  Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!

2. My new dishwasher that I won't get to use arrives next Saturday!

3.  My new glasses were picked up yesterday, and I am so happy with that decision!  In the shop, the assistant fitted my regular glasses first, and put them away in the case.  Then she did my sunglasses, and started to put them away, and I reached my hand out and was all, "Oh, I'm wearing those out."  She looked surprised and said, "Don't you want to take them home first and work up to getting comfortable with the new prescription?"  I was all, "No, I'm good."  I might as well have said, "Gimme!"  (I didn't, but that's about how eagerly I was reaching for them.)   Both pairs are great, and I will eventually get used to looking all nerdy in the regular glasses.

4.  The 2019 Backgammon Tournament went very very poorly for me.  My husband won 67% of the matches,  57% of the games, and 56% of the points.  So, basically, he won.  Buuuuuut on New Year's Eve, we started a final match, that wasn't part of the annual tournament. We called it The Coffee Cup, and now I am the first annual Coffee Cup champion!  (We finally finished the match yesterday when we got home from picking up my glasses and going to the butchers.)  Domo presented me with my trophy, which oddly turned out to be a potato.

5.  Very early days (we're still dusting off his CV!), but my husband found a job that he's interested in enough to go to the bother to apply.  It would be a higher grade (and, thus, salary), and it would get him out of his current misery.  He's been in this role for just under two years, and while he appreciates not having to commute to Salisbury to be at Royal Mail anymore, he doesn't actually enjoy his work.  But he's actively interested in this other role.  So, finger's crossed.  Deadline to apply is the first week of February, sift will be by the end of that week, and then we'll find out if there's any hope of an interview on or after the 17th.

Ooh good luck MrJFKimberly on the job front!

Friday!!

1.) I survived my first week of work after coming back from China 

2.) Haggis, Neeps and Tatties tomorrow night.  Burns Night! 

3.) Need to practise a lot of trombone 

4.) Planning out the garden for 2020 

5.) Need to get pick up some bicycle parts tomorrow so we can do some bike repair and get out there on our bikes

Thanks for the luck, PB!  Congrats on surviving the week... now it's the weekend, so you can relax once today is over.  Or you can plan your 2020 garden, repair your bicycles, practice trombone, and have a funtastic Burns Night!

MY OVEN JUST ARRIVED!  I can't put it in its place, so I don't get to bake until tonight.  But I'm thinking of preparing a bread dough so it's ready to go in when my husband gets home.  Eeeeee!

I'm back to Friday five. Needed a break cuz things were a bit rough for a few months so it's hard to find 5 good things at times!

Good luck Mr JFKimberly, and enjoy all the baking. I hope it lives up to your expectations! And I hope burns night is fun PB, and welcome back.

1. Kitty is at the vet today. Hopefully nothing too bad, but she needs her shots and hasn't quite been herself. When they weighed her she lost 700g in 6 months, which is more than the 10% of weight that sets off alarm bells. So to get enough blood they're sedating her and sending off a full panel. She's so terrified of the vet so I feel awful leaving her there, but glad they are ticking all the boxes to check her out. They weren't concerned until they weighed her.

2. In my last few weeks at my current job. Moving on up and finally into a role that's back in database technology. I am scared and excited, new jobs always set off the chronic pain for a bit and there's always an adjustment with the breathing issues and people learning new habits with not using scented products. But it should be OK, they're aware of everything and what I need to be able to manage.

3. Haircut today too. Short hair requires a bit more maintenance!

4. I've tried some online clothes shopping. Hopefully the clothes fit when they arrive!

5. Need to put the parcel in the mail this weekend. Sorry I've had it so long!

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