Weeble World, here I come!

Posted on December 5, 2012 by thepogblog

Tomorrow night it is my work Christmas party.  I have a couple of things in the next few months that I can’t get away with wearing jeans and desert boots to, so I bought an outfit.  I did this forgetting that I have not been spare tyre free around my middle for a while now and when I tried the outfit on (bought over the internet due to complete lack of time to shop) I looked a bit…well….lumpy.

I have to admit, as a result, I have now succumbed to a body shaping ‘thing’ (to the uninitiated, ladies can buy various bits of lycra that masquerade as underwear to hold lumpy bits in at all the right places).  Mine is a small black tube that stretches from the bottom of my bra to the bottom of my knickers.  In the shop I’d tried it on, stood and wondered just where the lumps and been transferred to, wondered if breathing was really that vital, decided not, taken it straight off and parted with my money.

When I got home I tried it on with my outfit and attempted to move around. I now know how Weebles (one of my childhood toys) felt.  In my thingy, I can make no movement in the waist area.  At all.  Still, tomorrow night, my friends won’t have trouble spotting me.  I’ll be the one standing bolt upright moving only arms and feet.  That is, unless I have a few to drink.  In which case I’ll be the one with a shoe in each hand and a suspiciously oversized black Lyrca headband…

I’ll let you know which way it goes… :o)

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This is almost EXACTLY what I will look like tomorrow night…

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cold + tired = daft

Posted on November 29, 2012 by thepogblog

I’m cold and tired.

The coldness has been overcome with a duvet, two blankets a quilted patchwork at night and a thermal vest, long sleeved top, two jumpers and a hoody in the day time (God help me when the temperatures drop below freezing!).

Tiredness though is a little more complicated and it’s not just me.  I’m not sure if it’s the time of year, the busy-ness of work , permanently fighting off winter germs or the thought of having some time off over Christmas (HOORAY!) but we all seem to be a bit sleepy at the moment.

I confirmed my tiredness while getting ready for work the other morning.  I looked pretty pale.  Transparent almost.  So I was rather happy to discover a small tube of tint for cheeks lurking in my make up bag.  I painted a stripe on each cheek and wandered off to do something else, forgetting to rub it in.  A few minutes later…too late.  I had some sort of colour blind camouflage look going on.  Two red stripes that no matter what, refused to blend.  I gave up, popped a bit more powder on and left for work (of course, by the time I got to the office the red strips were out again, but hey ho.)

Tiredness usually affects e-mails first though.  I’ve managed a few interesting ones in my time.  Sending a slightly haughty ‘will you please learn to follow instructions’ mail to a group of managers only two levels below the CEO taught me to find the recall button very, very fast. 

Unfortunately I didn’t know that button existed years back when I sent a mail that started ‘Hi hun,  I hope you had a great weekend…’ and sent it to 3000 technologists across the company.  (Happily, the next line was going to be ‘I hope your ar*e isn’t too sore’ in reference to a long bike ride I knew she’d done but I decided against it for some reason.  Phew.)  As it was I went into work the next day to a chorus of ‘Hi Hun’…

My colleague friend did the best one last week though.  She sent a mail to her most senior client – a well known individual in the company.  A few hours later she reread the mail to discover she’d managed to sign off ‘Love you….’

That has made me giggle A LOT :o)

 

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London prettiness

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A quick home made Christmas present idea

Posted on November 27, 2012 by thepogblog

I don’t take any credit for this as I’ve snaffled a couple of ideas from books and put them together, but if you want to make an inexpensive gift for someone (particularly an older person who is impossible to buy for) here’s an idea.  It’s also a great thing for little people to make as it involves minimum mess and almost no skill!

Lavender Bath Salts:

You need:

  • Plain bath salts (a 1 kg box is about £3 from a health food shop)
  • A handful of dried lavender (you can get this at a crafty type shop or, if you are lucky and like me live near a lavender farm they obviously sell it by the bucket load)
  • A storage container (I got mine from a hardware shop but any pretty see through container you have will do.  A kilo of bath salts will fill about 4 jam jars I think)
  • Some string / wire / fine ribbon
  • Beads / buttons / bells / prettiness with a hole in.

All you do is:

  • Pour the bath salts into a big bowl and stir in the lavender.Image
  • Spoon into your jar.
  • Secure the lid.
  • If you used a jam jar, find a scrap of material, cut a circle a few centimetres wider than the lid and pop that over the top.
  • Thread the beads / buttons / bells / prettiness onto the string / wire / ribbon and tie it around the lid.

Top tips:

  • Don’t go over the top and buy 2kg of bath salts and three storage jars just as you start your shopping.  An hour later they will feel very, very heavy and a Sister 2 may need to help with the carrying (thank you Sister 2)
  • Don’t wrap the bits of pretty-ness around the lid of the container in such a way that wire cutters will be needed to access the bath salts…(particularly if it’s going to a more elderly or easily frustrated friend).  Make sure you can still open it easily yourself to be sure.

 That’s my ex boyfriends mum sorted for Christmas (well what would you get her?!) :o) 

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The Old Cat Lady (and the multi talented Norman)

Posted on November 26, 2012 by thepogblog

I think it’s probably time to admit it.  I am fast turning into an Old Cat Lady.  (I would have missed out the ‘old’ but the two boys I sit with at work caught me on a button website recently and rightly pointed out that I was doing myself no favours.  They were so preeety though – the buttons, not the boys).

So the reason I think this?  Since Charlie Cat disappeared, Norman has changed personality…although I’m not sure what or whose personality he’s taken on.  I just know that he’s more entertaining than most people…and that is probably a sign that I am a little obsessed.

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playing hide-and-seek

He’s now almost perfected his forward roll.  This is not a joke.  He rushes around like a mad thing, jumps on the back of the sofa and rolls off onto the seat.  One day I will catch this on camera so people don’t think I am hallucinating.

If I go over the road to talk to Sister 1 as she hangs out her bedroom window he comes too, sits and waits for us to chat, then wanders home with me.

He has now learned the word ‘ham’ and rushes to the fridge to await a treat if I utter the word. (Only small pieces and not that often – I thought it might stop him bringing home the neighbours dinner).  He also begs like a dog as soon as the ham is in my hand.

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cuddles with two arms!

As I think most cats do, if I’m working from home and he requires attention he stands across the laptop.  The postman has frequently caught me with my chin on Normans back so I can see the screen and my arms around his legs so I can keep typing. (this is usually unsuccessful as I can’t touch type and need to see the keys at all times).

And he is clever.  A few nights back there was a commotion under my bed, which I decided to ignore (very little is important enough to interrupt my sleep).  In the morning I followed a trail of chaos in the kitchen.  It turned out that Norman had got through the barricade I’d built around his cat treats, picked a full tub, removed the lid and the foil cover, dragged the lot under my bed and had a midnight feast…

Then there is just weird stuff.  A couple of times in the last week I woke myself up having full on panic attacks (this is not something I advise – it’s really scary!) I couldn’t get air into my lungs however hard I tried.  Both times, Norman had been sitting on my chest.  I can’t work out if that is what has caused the panic attacks or if he had realised something was wrong and was poised, ready to start CPR if required…  Well, I wouldn’t put either past him :o)

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The lovely Norman cat :o)

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People things

Posted on November 20, 2012 by thepogblog

People are entertaining creatures aren’t they?

I’ve met some lovely ones in random ways.  There are at least two poggyW customers who started out as complete strangers and who I would now count as friends – even if I’ve never met one and the other only twice – e-mail is great sometimes.

Then there are people that are more fleeting.  My best giggle of the weekend was at a fair when a little boy bought a toy for £4 and paid with a £5 note.  I gave him the change and he waved I away saying rather grandly ‘please, keep the change!’  Yes, I was tipped by an eight year old…

There are people that appear from nowhere….quite literally.  On a rare night out on Saturday in the kebab shop on the way home (I didn’t partake, merely inhaled…evil things they are), the girl in front of us in the queue turned around and told me my name and where I went to school.  The school I left almost 20 years ago.  It turned out that she was three years below me and I was slightly terrified that she’d remembered that much detail from that long ago – we weren’t friends then after all.  AS someone pointed out to me though, I found her in a random place rather than in my back garden so nothing to really worry about…

Then there are the times when I am the odd one.  Like in a local shop the other day when I noticed the man who often serves me had a band round his wrist.  I wondered if it was a panic button or if he was tagged.  Happily I got as far as ‘Is that a panic button or…’ before my brain kicked in and I managed to recover the situation before insulting the poor bloke.  One day I’ll learn to engage my brain before I open my mouth.  One day.  Until then, past present or future people in my life, I do apologise :o)

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Sewing and Sillies

Posted on November 12, 2012 by thepogblog

I love sewing – you might have noticed if you’ve taken a look at poggyW anytime.  This weekend though, was a sewing extravaganza that ended up involving most of the family at some point.

From Friday night (when I took sewing with me to my lovely friends’ house to do while they cooked me a rather delicious dinner) to last night I made:

  • 2 personalised stockings
  • 2 pairs of embroidered pants
  • 3 hoodies
  • 72 small stockings for advent calendars (cut out for me by my little elves), 24 of which are now a complete advent calendar

A finished advent calendar – it takes around 6 hours to make!

  • 16 embroidered cards
  • 7 Pogimals
  • 1 personalised chick set (romper, vest, bib and muslin)

To do this I sewed every hour I was awake and quite a few that I should have been asleep.  However, it became clear that this was not clever because (and it could just be a coincidence) this all happened:

  • I rushed the Pogimals – my innocent little sock animals – and on one I managed to sew the tail to the front of him.  While this made him anatomically correct, I’m not sure it would have endeared me to the mummy who had ordered it for her little person.  I’m afraid I had to do a Bobbitt.

A few of the more child friendly Pogimals

  • As I drove to the workshop at my parents and marveled that someone had managed to crash on a road with great visibility etc etc I ended up doing an emergency stop with sufficient force (or bad driving) that made the car skid and make squeaky noises to avoid the 4×4 in front of me.
  • I accidently opened up part of my finger with a needle.  Not an unusual occurrence, but far more painful than usual when a few hours later you decide it’s the perfect time to clean the shower with industrial strength lime scale remover, without the benefit of rubber gloves.
  • I spent a good 15 minutes trying to fix my Blackberry because the screen had frozen.  It took me that long to remember that Blackberry’s are not touch screen.
  • And to finish off the weekend, as I was about to go to bed I noticed that Sister 2 was hanging out of her bedroom window.  I thought it would be nice to wave goodnight so I flashed my porch light like I was recreating a strobe light effect and danced around like a loon to attract her attention.  She didn’t notice.  One of the neighbours walking to his house did though and thought it was all for his benefit.  That was a slightly awkward conversation.

Oops.

Now I’d better get sewing – those superhero capes wont sew themselves you know (and Norman cat is rubbish on the sewing machine).

:o)

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Cooking with the Super Heroes

Posted on November 6, 2012 by thepogblog

I had a day off yesterday to spend with little people, specifically, Gorgeous Godson and his Big Brother.  They moved house a few weeks ago from the depths of darkest Essex (which if you are a regular reader you will know is way out of my driving comfort zone) to about 15 minutes from Pog Towers.  I am more than a little excited about this :o)

Yesterday, Big Brother went to his new preschool with Mummy while Gorgeous Godson and I worked our way through the small library they possess.  I had a making project for us both though (of course I did) and we soon moved on to that.

The last thing Mummy had said to me was ‘he can have anything he asks for, but not S-W-E-E-T-S’.  So half an hour later I informed Gorgeous Godson that we had cake mix, icing mix and sweets for the top of the cakes….Gorgeous Godson was unimpressed that he could not bypass sponge and icing and move directly to them.  We refocused our efforts though and well, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:

we mixed

we baked

we quality checked (it’s the most important part, of course)

And we managed to get (most of) the sweets on the cakes

Part way through the baking I was thinking that it was all going swimmingly well.  Then I realised I’d only actually been there for an hour.  Where do mummies get their energy from?! 

It was GREAT day – I just wish I could do it more often.  The thing I was most impressed by though (other than the range of animal noises that Gorgeous Godson has mastered….do you know how to do a giraffe noise?!) was the speed that Mummy whipped up a nutritious dinner.  I figured if she could do it with two little people hurtling around I could manage with Norman looking on.  So when I got home I decided to try.  I used two rings of the hob and the oven (I’m not sure I’ve ever done that before).  And I set the smoke alarm off.  Twice.  It’s just as well it’s just me and Norman.

I’m SO happy that my good friends and their children are around the corner.  In a few weeks I should have the energy for another visit.  And maybe a cooking lesson. :o)

the gorgeous little super hero!

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Potential Pogwash

Posted on November 2, 2012 by thepogblog

You know when you have a hole in your tooth and it hurts a little all the time but especially when use it? Well I have that at the moment; only it’s my right eye. Obviously I don’t have a hole in my eye but for the last few days I’ve been winking indiscriminately at people, especially in bright lights. As a result I think a number of people in the office may now consider me an outrageous flirt and possibly that was the reason a shopper in Tesco last night chatted away to me as we started in united disgust at these crisps:

Yes, that’s Christmas pudding and brandy butter CRISPS!

He even helped me pose the packet properly so I could get the photo.

Last night it hurt too much to sew. I know…unheard of! I can’t remember the last evening I didn’t sew. It had clearly got serious…. So today I went to the optician to find out what the problem is. I discovered that I have rapidly deteriorating eyes and need new glasses again but also that I have a cyst in the upper lid of my right eye. I had some years ago and I wont go into details but the procedure they do to remove them actually caused me to pass out. The only alternative is if I can encourage the cyst to burst on its own. And how do you do this? Well, it seems that you place a teaspoon that you have heated in boiling water on your eyelid for as long as you can a few times a day for as long as it takes (or until the eye just gets too painful to bear). Which will be fun. Hopefully it will mean I don’t have to do a trip to the hospital resulting in an eye patch as an accessory though. If I do, I will become Captain Pogwash I’ve decided….(Captain Pugwash was my one of my favourite children’s books).

So there you go. If you see me over the next few weeks and I happen to have a teaspoon held against my eyelid I’ve not lost it.  And any winking is not an attempt at flirting….well maybe not. It’s a good excuse though ;o)

…Maybe I should take a few more trips to Tesco and see what happens :o)

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Two new angels

Posted on October 31, 2012 by thepogblog

This won’t be my usual sort of blog post – apologies in advance for that. 

A few weeks ago a friend of my sisters gave birth to a little boy.  There were complications and a few hours later she died, leaving a new born, a three year old and a husband, not to mention extended family and a heap of friends.

Last night a good friend of Sister 2’s partner hung himself.

I didn’t know either well but both have touched the edges of my life and both deaths have made me feel equally sad. 

But that’s not why I am writing this.  It’s got me thinking that even people right on the peripherals of your life can make an impact.  That means each of us has an impact on others – people we might not expect to.  And wouldn’t it be nice if that impact was always good?  Some people don’t leave us out of choice – others, it seems to us, decide to leave, but  it may be at that moment they don’t feel they have a choice.  Either way, you rarely see it coming.  So sorry if I sound all preachy and Pog-on-a-soap- box, but play nice – you don’t know what’s around the corner for anyone – or yourself. 

I have lovely friends who read this blog, but I can also see there are complete strangers who land here and take the time to read my ramblings.  Because of that young man who left us last night, I want to say to anyone who ever feels as sad and isolated as he must have done, that you do make an impact to someone, somewhere.  You’ve made me smile by landing here for a start.  And if you’re feeling desperate, take a look here.  It’s helped someone I know well get through many dark times.

Big hugs to all of you, and to those two new angels.

:o)

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A Pruning Passion

Posted on October 30, 2012 by thepogblog

I’m really lucky in that I get to work from home a few days a week. I love these days as I don’t have to get up at silly o’clock and with no distractions I seem to plough through work 10 times faster than when I am in the office. I also get to see Bumpkinsville in the daylight and sometimes there are weird things to see.

Last week I was on a conference call and wandering around as I talked. I stood looking out the back door at my overgrown postage stamp of a garden. I’m a terrible gardener and only tend to do things out there if the weather is warm and sunny and something really, really needs to be done. I still noticed though, that the bushes and rose tree on one side had all….shrunk. When the call finished I went outside to investigate. All the bushes had been pruned and the trimmings were scattered around the garden. Now I knew I’d not done it and Norman is missing the opposable thumbs required to operate pruning shears. My neighbour is an enthusiastic gardener and I could see his footprints in the earth right at the edge of the fence between our gardeners. It would seem that he’d managed some sort of contortion manoeuvres and pruned everything he could reach. Not just the bits that might over hang his garden. Now, I assume that this was meant in a helpful sort of way but I was trying to grow them all and actually, it made me feel rather grumpy.

I’m not keen on confrontation (or even a ‘thank you very much, but…’) so I’m quite happy I’ve not seen my neighbour since, but today I was working on my laptop at my table by the window and saw him leave his house. With his garden shears. He charged over to a hedge in a shared area (which is maintained centrally) and started snipping.

I can’t work it out. Does he have an obsession with pruning? Has he been watching Edward Scissorhands? Should I make him some sort of cape so that he can carry out his trimming in disguise?

possibly? Or maybe not…

Oooh, now there’s a thought. Something good might have come out of this. I’ll have to let you know if it works :o)

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