Eynsham my Elysium

I took this yesterday - you can't beat this kind of light.

When it's not annoying you, the Toll Bridge is rather fine.

Out and About

This raises so many questions...is there an intolerant footpath elsewhere? Does this refer to one's behaviour on said footpath? Answers on a postcard please.

Jingle Bells - A Tutorial

A little helping hand for Holly, from Lin.

Introducing Tinkerbell

Like many divas, Tinkerbell (previously known as Snowdrop, Odette, Amanda and Sarah), did not appreciate the attentions of the press.

However, she agreed to pose for a few photos...

...agreed to be interviewed...

...and even became quite playful!

Global Warming?!?

Spotted this in Hoults' window (if you're ever in Huddersfield, a great independent wine merchant) - it must be hotting up if you can make red wine in Wakefield! :-)

Oxford Sunset

Caught this on my 'phone just before Christmas.

That was the year that was...

...OK, it's not over yet, but I was having a review in my mind last night:

Adam aka The Boy
2008 marked 19 years since we met, I've now known him for longer than I didn't know him.
It's 10 years since we were married.
It's 9 years lsince we moved into no29 (it'll be 10 in May) .

Family
Gertie, my grandmother celebrated her 100 birthday (sadly dying less than 3 weeks later).
My niece Zoe was born.
I caught up with a ploethra of Danish relatives.

Work
In October I left RM, after just over 7 years.

Travel
I went on trips to: Madeira, Burgundy, Denmark, Turkey (inc. a fabulous few days in Istanbul) and Berlin.

However, when I think about this year, I think about my FRIENDS (including Adam, my best friend) - both near and far, old and new - who have sustained, supported, renewed, delighted, suprised (and best of all), amused me throughout this year.

I hope you all have a Happy Christmas (or religious/non-religious celebration of your choice :-)) - and that 2009 will be full of joy and laughter. I send you all my love.

Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another, 'What you too? I though I was the only one'.

C.S.Lewis

Almost Monochrome

What a green eyed monster!

Eynsham Charleston

Well, what else do you think he's dancing with that knee action?

My Spiritual Boat...

...well, the right name for a boat belonging to me!

Back Story

Some things will always remain a mystery!

[Spotted in Saint-Malo in 2005]

View from the Heights

I often look at postcards, and wonder where they've been taken from. This 'classic' view is from Hinksey Heights golf club. I had to crop it to get rid of the power lines!

Crimes Against Canines

In the summer of 2005, I was queuing for ferry to an island just off the coast. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this poor beast ahead...

...yes, it's REALLY wearing a neckerchief and a sunshade!

La Luna continued...

One of the nice things about having a new laptop, is the opportunity to review and play with some old pictures. Now I've cleaned this up, I really like the hint of the full body of the moon, and the subtle effect of the branches.

Time Machine....

...I wish it was Spring...and I was here...

yes, here.

Hair Scare...

In May 2006 my hair was this colour...I've promised a couple of peeps that I won't dye it that colour again, but I rather enjoyed it.

St Lucy's Day

Today is my name day - under the Julian calendar it was the shortest day, December 23rd, which inspired John Donne's beautiful poem.

In Scandinavia and Italy there are lots of traditions associated with the day - many, like the St Lucy's Day fires, are obvious adaptions of earlier solstice celebrations.

Images of St Lucy tend to include her holding a pair of eyes on a plate, other images show her holding a lantern. I really like this more modern take.

Corgi Power

This picture has nothing to do with my post...but I think endless posts without pictures can get a bit dull :-).

The boiler whisperer came round this morning. I missed him, but The Boy tells me that he put his hand on the boiler while diagnosing it, sort of boiler faith healing! A part is on order, and with luck we'll have heat and hot water tomorrow.

UPDATE

The gas man cometh - bless him, he came back this evening, and we now have heating and hot water! Hurrah!

MissT is stinky!

Brrrrr...it's cold! The combi boiler isn't igniting, so no heating and no hot water! MissT hasn't been this cold since she left her childhood abode to go to college, as her cruel APs didn't get central heating until the kids left home (or telly for that matter).

At The Boy's suggestion I brought the fan heater down from the attic, and stupidly plugged it into the extension socket (which you shouldn't do anyway - and I'd forgotten that the fuse in it is only working cos it was mended with some silver paper). The extension socket then became v. hot, scorched the rug and fused the sockets.

I minced off to the pub in disgust - anyone would think I lived on a boat!

(A nice boiler engineer who Marmaladekiss swears by is coming tomorrow - hurrah!)

Religious Scene

This little boxed scene was brought back from Spain by the morganatic wife of Christian VII of Denmark. It puts the tat I bring back for The Weeping Cross to shame!

Things that make MissT CROSS...

I should be very happy ce moment, as I have a lovely new laptop (well, it's a refurb. but it's as new)...but...

./rant

I am annoyed about (in no particular order):

• my cough which won't go away
• friends who make the most incredibly tactless remarks, then have incredibly thin skins about anything I might say
• women who dump their female friends when male company appears
• my camera which has a dust particle I just can't get out
• people who don't even acknowledge job applications, let alone tell you if you're not successful
• Robert Mugabe
• that someone I love lives too far away for me to support her properly
• pissed up teenagers who keep me awake then throw cans of 'wife beater' into our front garden
• me

./rant off

UPDATE

That said, a grumpy guts like me is lucky to have any friends at all....

Looking Up...

I minced into town (despite the evil cold) to visit the Farmers' Market and have lunch with Lovely Lindsay. 

There was a clear, blue sky, so I looked up to enjoy it. I'd never noticed the bull on top of the Town Hall...

...nor the ship on the Lloyds building.

[Please forgive the image quality - I had to take quick snaps with my phone will being jostled by stressed shoppers :-)]

Dashed Cat....!

Now and again I want to write a letter...but Maisie doesn't like it...

Note to self...

...boiling the kettle with out any water in it is foolish, on many levels.

Still, my many years in IT support meant that I did a 'hard reboot' on everything, and soon sorted out why all our sockets had tripped.

Although, had I followed up why 'the kettle was making a funny noise' earlier, The Boy wouldn't have had to dash out of the technogarret like a scalded cat.

Historia est vitae magistra...and all that jazz...

Technogarret Sunset

One of the nice things about having a camera on my mobile (that's 'cell' to you colonials), is that I can snap a quick pic.

This was the view from the technogarret the other evening.

Overachiever....

Playing a word game with a journalist...we should have known better...(although if you look carefully my sis has doctored it :-)).

Sinister Billy

The Boy took this snap of a rather evil looking Billy!