A smiley long weekend

Posted on May 3, 2016 by thepogblog

Lots of things made me smile and in some cases laugh like a loon this weekend.  I can only assume it was hysteria brought on by having three days out of the office (I do love a Bank holiday) and two of the three days being the sort where the sun actually came out and I  took off my thermal vest (I know.  How daring can a girl get?!)

The highlights were:

Finding this, along with a rather understated note from Sister 1:

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It’s not quite as bad as it looks – I have a habit of liberally spreading my kitchen surfaces with chia seeds when I make breakfast and if there is any moisture, they sprout in a matter of hours.  For some reason though, I found it utterly hilarious… (obviously the brillo pad is now in the bin).

The gorgeous blue sky as the back drop to the tree we run (jog.  ok, sometimes I just shuffle) past on my running class which I have named the deer tree:

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It does look a bit like the neck and head of one, don’t you think?  If you imagine the branches as antlers.  I’d love to understand what happened to make that tree forget how to tree.

I finished another ten dragons:

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Hopefully they will be making some little people needing dragons smile very soon.

And I had a sleep over with some friends I went to school with over 20 years ago.  Two of them I’ve only seen once in that time:

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We laughed so much at the pub someone actually commented that he’d never heard such a happy bunch of people before.  The point at which we actually ended up crying with laughter was when we were discussing why one of the group actually understood cricket, while another (who will remain nameless….for now) piped up that she had a fantasy that revolved around the game.  We listened:

‘So, I’m wearing a flowery, floaty dress and I carry out a plate of cucumber sandwiches…’

‘And then?’

‘No, that’s it.’

‘The cucumber?’

‘Oh, all sliced and in the sandwiches’

‘Um, you do know most people’s fantasies involve more sex than sandwiches, don’t you…?’

There is no excuse really.

And the final big smile of my long weekend was discovering these in the supermarket:

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If you didn’t grow up in the 80’s (and, I assume you would have needed to be in the UK too), you probably wont appreciate these – essentially, they are a delicious bit of 80s childhood.  I’ve only just realised looking at the picture that they are ‘Limited Edition’.  As I had conversations with two strangers over the excitement of finding them in the supermarket and all of us bought a couple of packets, I think I might have to stock up before they are all gone :o)

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How did you get here?

Posted on April 29, 2016 by thepogblog

I don’t mean the big scary question ‘where are you in life?  I don’t even mean ‘how did you get to be sitting where you are right now?’.  I mean ‘how did you get to be reading this post on this blog?’  (Not that you’re not welcome.  I love you being here, obviously.)

Some people get here through searching the interweb, you see, and through the magic of my blog I can see some of the search terms they use.  And it confuses the hell out of me.  Some people are obviously looking for these sort of Pogs:

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And I realised recently I didn’t really know much about them so I did a bit of searching on Pogs myself.  And I found something far better: another Pog, and his friend Pib.  I have no idea how I’ve not known about this Aardman Animation until now, but if you have six minutes to spare and want a giggle, take a look.  It’s not quite what you think it is, and you need  to watch to the end for the full effect.

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I’d like to point out that Pog and this Pog don’t share any traits…

It still doesn’t clear up why some searchers have ended up here though.  I mean ‘perking exercise’?  Why did that bring anyone here?  ‘Sensible knickers’ Nine, NINE people have landed on this blog because they were looking for sensible knickers.  And three have looked up ‘Naked Pog’ only to be disappointed (or possibly relieved) to have found themselves here.  There are loads more – ‘biscuitmen’, ‘flump fairy’, ‘tubby toes’, ‘noseclip girl’…

One search term really made me smile:  ‘Recipe for cheerfulness’.  That’s what landed that person here. And I hope they were suitably cheered :o)

If you ever struggle to find the Pog Blog and are a Facebook person, I pogblogdo have a Pog Blog page where I post the links to my posts (and occasionally other bits and bobs that don’t make it to here).  I’d love you to like it if you haven’t.  It might help more people end up here because they want to, rather than because some search engine has had some sort of brain fart :o)

 

 

 

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An open letter to thermostat person

Posted on April 26, 2016 by thepogblog

Dear person in charge of the UK thermostat,

Are you having a laugh?  It is the end of April and it might as well be February.  Us British already talk too much about the weather – I’m crocheting a temperature blanket, for goodness sake, how much more obsessed can you get? – so why encourage us?  Today I could track the snow….yes SNOW….around the southeast, thanks to the Facebook statuses written in surprise as snow hit.

This morning showed so much promise.  It was cold, but there was blue sky:

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We can cope with that.   Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to finally get out of this thermal vest, and maybe even let part of my body below my chin see daylight, but knowing it’s on the way would be enough for the while.  But snow, sleet, hail, thunder and lightning?

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Did the thermostat malfunction, or have you had a really bad day just decided to take it out on us?  Please sort it out, either way.  Get a fixer man round to fix it (I’d really not try it yourself, even with the help of Google.  I speak with the voice of experience there), or get a big bar of chocolate.  Nothing is so bad after a large Milkybar dunked in a cup of tea.  (Just don’t stand on the bathroom scales for…oooh as week or so afterwards.  Trust me.)

See that bit of green on my blanket?

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That was when it was warm, when people smiled.  You have the power: please let me do a bit more green crochet – I’m running out of blue. (And you don’t need to stop there – I’m sure most of us are happy to move straight through green to yellow and orange.  Perhaps before December we could even get some red in too!)

Thank you very much,

A thermal vested Pog :o)

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A little imagination

Posted on April 24, 2016 by thepogblog

‘Imagine you have dyed your pubic hair pink and you’re really proud of it and want to show it off.’

After wrenching myself out of bed, dislocating my shoulders to get into my sports bra and dragging myself to the the meeting place for my beginners running course yesterday morning, that was one of the first instructions we were given (it was to engage our glutes.  The coach hadn’t completely lost it.) I laughed lots and I am pretty sure I will now always remember the angle my pelvis should be in that part of the warm up….

In yoga earlier in the week we were told to imagine we were stags with antlers and tails that we wanted to show off.  Somehow my body stretched in a way it doesn’t when the right muscle names are used. I’m not sure if it’s just because it is a different way of looking at things or if both cases just show that I am a big kid.

Last Sunday we went on a family bluebell (or Tinkerbells, as Little Pea calls them) walk. Right at the end I sat with Little Pea on a bench and we discussed the fact that dinosaurs (his very favourite things) lived in the valley I front of us. These dinosaurs came up the hill sometimes, right where we were sitting, to lay eggs.  And sometimes these eggs needed Little Peas to help them hatch.  Would you believe it? We looked under the bench, and there was a dinosaur egg, just waiting to have some help being hatched! (It is possible that the egg was bought at the zoo a couple of weeks ago, but it did promise to hatch a dinosaur).

I think whatever our age, having a bit of imagination sometimes can make things far more fun….and more likely to stick in our minds.  And now, should you see a very beginner runner warming up and looking a little odd in the pelvic area, you’ll know why :o)

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Scary technology, fatness and a busy three year old

Posted on April 22, 2016 by thepogblog

This week I read up a little bit on smart tvs.  Not being even a little bit technical I might be one of the last people in the uk without the ability to record anything on tv, but switched off the idea entirely when (assuming I understood correctly), I read that smart tvs ‘listen’ to you.  (I admit, I did initially think ‘well they wouldn’t hear much hear, the vast majority of conversations in my lounge consist of me asking Norman what he’s done while I was at work, requesting that he removes himself and the dead mouse / bird / sausage from the house right now or pleading with the smoke alarm to stop going off just because I looked at the oven’. )  I think the TVs take note of what you watch, and as all the devices in your house use the same ip address they will target adverts at you based on your watching.  I know my ipad already does that, but the idea of devices talking about me behind my back made me feel a bit peculiar.

But I think they’ve already been doing it – just not very accurately.  I occasionally get spam that isn’t removed by our filters on my work email address and yesterday I got not one, but two on dealing with the menopause and one titled ‘over 50 and undervalued?’  I started to take offence as although I had my big birthday last month, it wasn’t that big birthday.  But then I got one about obesity and started wonder if these were right for me – just the me a few years down the line.  Because I have put on weight since giving up smoking (it has been 72 days, 17 hours and 29 minutes though – hooray me!) and maybe the future older, menopausal me would have just continued expanding too.  So it’s time to cut down on the biscuits.  I might be running, fitballing and yoga-ing, but not at the rate that I am devouring chocolate hobnobs.  I got to the stage of ‘able to get into my work trousers, but any rapid movements could prove disastrous’ a few weeks back.  Today I put on my skinny jeans and…well I kind of got stuck.  So I am hereby declaring that I plan on losing the weight I have acquired on the last two and a bit months as blog announcements usually helps me achieve my goals…the unfatness plan is back on with enthusiasm.  Well, maybe not enthusiasm.  More a desire not to get harpooned when mistaken for a whale on holiday :o)

And in other news, in the skinny jeans that miraculously didn’t split at the seams, I picked up Little Pea from nursery today and was met with a hug and an ‘Auntie Pog!’ which was absolutely the best thing to have happened this week.   Little Pea had been busy – he had made a crown, a lantern (we thought) and a jam tart.  He dropped the jam from the tart on the car park ground and I pretended I didn’t see him pick it up and eat it…  I am a bad Auntie Pog.  Maybe if I dropped more of my food on the ground I would be a slightly less round Auntie Pog though.  That could be worth a try… :0)

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A discombobulating start to the week

Posted on April 19, 2016 by thepogblog

Monday mornings are never terribly fun times, but when you have a power cut at 5.15am on a Monday morning it tends to completely discombobulate you.  It’s still dark when your bedroom is in the middle of a terraced house at that time and it results in having to hold a torch in your mouth to put your earrings in, because, even though you  put them in every day without looking, as soon as you can’t use the mirror to find your ear lopes, you absolutely have to.

That made me start worrying about other things:  Was I risking my commute with just one mascared eye?  Had I put everything in my bag that I needed?  Had packed my herbal tea bags?  Had I finished getting dressed?  Had I turned off everything that had to be turned off, or was there a chance that everything would come back on with a bang and I’d come home to a small pile of burned Pog Towers?  I stopped panicking for a minute and considered giving up and just working from home.  But I had no power so that wasn’t going to get me very far.  Back to the panicking it was…

Thankfully the power came back on just as I was about to launch myself out the front door and I had time to check everything.  Then check it again, because I am good at checking and you should do things that you are good at a lot. And just one more time, because these things need to be done in threes.

Of course, I then discovered that the car needed de-icing, and frankly it is a miracle I actually made my train at all.

Happily, today was a different sort of day.  It’s been sunny and I worked from home.  I even set myself up right by the conservatory doors with a spot of crochet while I listened to an hour of online training (crochet helps me focus rather than ‘multi tasking’ with email and missing everything, honest).  I think I can consider myself recombobulated :o)

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In which karma visits and Norman gets high

Posted on April 17, 2016 by thepogblog

Last Sunday Norman brought a live magpie into the conservatory and set it free… That caused a few fun and games, but I think it may also have resulted in a bit of karma for Norman.

On Friday evening, not long after publishing the last post about his painting masterpieces, I noticed he was licking his side and pulling out great lumps of fur.  I had a look and he had some sort of injury. It wasn’t hot or swollen and vet was shut, so I went into standby panic mode and made him some cookies to help him feel better (1 tin of tuna, 1 egg, some oats a bit of catnip, mix it all together, make it drier if you need to with some flour, split into teeny spoonfuls and bake for 10 mins or so). Norman loved the cookies, so I figured he was ok and his licking was cleaning the wound* and all would be good in the world.

Yesterday morning Norman was still asleep when I went on my running course. (Yes, that is the second week. Yes, I am still able to walk. Just.) It wasn’t unusual but when I came home I offered him a cookie and he walked away, so I knew something wasn’t right. I called the vet, got an appointment and we had a traumatic journey in the car.

It turns out that Norman has been bitten, either by another cat of something he was attempting to catch. He had to have the patch shaved, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and pain killers. If he keeps on attacking it he either needs a buster collar (cone of shame) or an inflatable collar. (I completely discounted the option of a baby grow that was suggested.  Can you imagine?!)

When we got home, Noram hid. Then, I can only assume, the drugs kicked in and he got high.  I offered him a cookie and his tail went all quivery. Then he climbed up his scratching post and took it in turns to stare at the ceiling and stare at me in a slightly unnerving way…

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A short while later I think he must have got the munchies as he polished off all of his biscuits (they can’t be very  good, as he never, ever does that), then promptly fell asleep…

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This morning he seems a lot better and has gone out to explore. Please keep your paws crossed that he keeps on getting better (and I can get the rest of the drugs  as if he has to wear a cone of shame as he wont be allowed outside, and neither of us will cope with that! :o)

* it turns out (assuming I understood the vet correctly) that it is ok for a cat to clean a wound, but if they keep on licking it, they can infect it with the bacteria on their tongue. If they bite it / rip out their fur, it suggests they are in pain and should go to the vet.

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Painting and Pog Plates

Posted on April 15, 2016 by thepogblog

Today Norman got a card in the post which included a clipping of some things he could chose for his birthday present.  This was from an actual person, not a company doing promotions or anything.    That happens to all cats, right?  Anyway, included in the clipping was details of an app called ‘Paint For Cats’.

I had visions of being able to proudly display pictures my Norman had created, sticking them on the fridge, maybe framing the best ones to give as family Christmas presents.  I downloaded it straight away.  I am deluded.

The idea is that your furball chases a mouse around the screen like this:

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Norman played enthusiastically for two burst of 30 seconds, flipped the ipad, realised there was no actual mouse involved and sat by the conservatory door, observing me with his ‘seriously?’ look.

All I have to show for my £1.49 are these:

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I think he has a talent, I really do.  He’s just not interested though.  He was more enthusiastic about the foil from an Easter egg:

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Typical.

But there was a more successful moment today.  One of my birthday presents from my family was personalised number plates.  The documentation came through from the DVLA yesterday and so today I nipped up to the local garage to get the plates fitted. And I now officially have a Pogmobile!  :o)

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Weirdness and a compliment

Posted on April 12, 2016 by thepogblog

How on earth is it only Tuesday?  It’s being a weird week on all sorts of levels, the weirdest (and potentially entertaining….in a decade or so) being the fact that someone has decided to move into the recently vacated desk next to me.  Personally, I think there should be a law against having to sit next to the wife of your ex boyfriend (however ex they may be), but what would I know?  It is weird though.

On the upside, at fitball last night I bravely wore lycra running trouser things rather than tracksuit bottoms.  I was told at running that they are better for exercise as they hold things in – I had been opting for tracksuit bottoms on the grounds that they hid the bits that need holding in, but apparently it doesn’t make a lot of sense.  When I got to the class one of the girls complemented me on my top.  I pointed out the bottom half as I knew she had a hatred of tracksuit bottoms.  ‘Ah, it’s not the top that’s making the difference’ she said.  ‘It’s the bottoms.  You look much more aesthetically pleasing!’

And as compliments go, I was happy with that :o)

So after a day of video editing hell – which is ongoing as I write this – , I’m going to go to another class tonight to de-stress as yoga is still on Easter holidays.  This is ‘hi-met’.  Even the name is terrifying.  As I already hurt from yesterdays fitball there is a chance it will kill me.  But at least I will look aesthetically pleasing as I keel over….and I wont have to go back to office weirdness tomorrow :o)

Happy front garden (because my lycra clad legs would only put you off your food)

Happy front garden (because my lycra clad legs would only put you off your food)

 

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To run or not to run…

Posted on April 10, 2016 by thepogblog

My sisters are very good at telling things exactly how they are. One thing they have very strong views on is my running. A few years back they informed me that I should never, ever run in public as I look like a cross between Pheobe from Friends and a three legged donkey. Combine that with the fact that on more than one occasion I’ve been laughed at by complete strangers when I’ve run for a train, I haven’t run for a long, long time. (And missed a few trains as a result).

So it was slightly odd to find myself leaving the house in the pouring rain at 8.30 yesterday morning to do a running taster session. I felt sick from nerves and really just wanted to go back to bed…

Nervous feet

Nervous (really old) trainers that had never actually been run in

I signed up because the lovely people I do fitball with ALL assured me that even I could run, and frankly, having exchanged cigarettes for an additional days worth of calories, everyday, I need to do something about the saddlebags which are currently making themselves at home on my hips, and Saturday is the only day I can really fit another thing into my week. All I could think of at 8.30am though was ‘why didn’t you just stop with the biscuits?!’ I started looking at the next few hours of torture as a one off that would just be turned into a blog post and that would be that.

But weirdness happened. The other people were lovely, the coach was brilliant, the rain didn’t seem so bad, I stopped feeling sick and….I really enjoyed it!  We only jogged for 30 seconds at a time with a minute of walking in between (we all have to start somewhere, ok?), but as we were all chatting and getting to know each other, I didn’t really notice the running.  We were in a gorgeous Bumpkinstown park and the only eyes passing judgement on my Pheobe / donkey running style were the local deer, and they were far enough away that I couldn’t hear their laughing.

So that was the taster. I honestly thought that would be it for my running experience, but I found myself signing up to the full six week course when I got home.  Lovely coach assured us that by the end of it we will be able to run 4 miles.  I laughed. I would say ‘stranger things have happened’, but they haven’t. If I can get get through the next six weeks without breaking and maybe losing some of the contents of my saddle bags though, I’ll consider that a massive success :o)

Used, muddy and happy trainers

Used, muddy and happy trainers

 

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