9th Feb 2009...11.15pm
Hi there folks out there in cyber space land.
When I first started on the internet (some years ago now),it took me ages to work out what a 'blog' was! Basically it's someone writing about themselves and giving information to you all.
Well, I am giving you some information...I am fed up with this rain! We now have flood warnings here in North Devon.
It doesn't know when to stop. I guess wherever you are, you may get the same problem or a similar one - maybe it's too hot, or too cold, or it snows for 3 months, or your hair grows too quickly because the weather where you live is just too perfect! (I wish!)
I suppose we are never satisfied with what we have are we?
I mean, I live (by default, not design) in one of the most sought after areas of the country and, guess what? We keep thinking we'd like to move away. How sad is that?
Still - get the grotty weather over and things always look rosier. I have to admit that, during the recent heavy snow, everything looked gorgeous. Check out the "SNOW"gallery in a few days time and there should be some photos of the snow we had - and some pics we were sent too. Soooo pretty. Even our ancient cat decided to become a kitten for about 5 minutes and hurtled around the garden in the snow like a maniac, then crashed out in front of the woodburner my clever 'ole hubby fitted just before Christmas. We have now mastered the art of keeping a wonderfully cosy home fire burning and I have to say, it's a cracking addition to our otherwise bland, oblong, (newish house) lounge.The trouble is, all we do now in the evenings is sit in front of it and watch films. We should be out making things!!
Don't worry - we will soon and then hopefully, you guys will have something to look at other than this boring blog!
Enough for now. I don't want to bore you on the first day's posting!
Before I go though -to all of you out there who suffer from S.A.D (Seasonal Affective Disorder) where the lack of natural light plays havoc with your state of mind - take heart that the snowdrops in our neighbours garden are up. That means Spring is on the way. Even the birds were taking an interest in the nest boxes we and our immediate neighbours have up.
It appears not even the cold weather can dampen the ardour of our little feathered friends!
Take care...

5.15pm Thursday 12th Feb 2009
Weather much better today,although have just lit the wood burner as it's starting to get chilly. Have had an interesting few days - ever had a 'friend' do the dirty on you? Well, it's the first time for us but it's happened recently and we were absolutely gutted. Really liked the guys too, but hey, these things happen. You know the term "What goes around, comes around..." well, do I need to say more?

I hope you readers have had a good couple of days. The evenings are starting to draw out now and some of them are even quite conducive to sitting out with a glass in one's hand...providing 3 jumpers, 2 pairs of socks and a quilt are provided for comfort!! Not that I or Geoff shall be doing that just yet. Our decking needs some TLC before it looks inviting enough to use in any case. Anyone know a quick way of painting a load of decking and the balustrades? Oh yes, I do - get someone else to do it!! No, we'll get around to it eventually...it's just not that an exciting prospect. I'd rather be out foraging for wood or enjoying a nice cup of coffee in some remote little cafe looking over the sea, or better still, a marina - more going on.

Our daughter has been to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The film looks good, but it's 3hrs 15mins long!! Almost half a day! Depending on the verdict, Geoff & I may go. The trouble is, as soon as a certain person gets into a nice warm dark cinema, they go to sleep. We kicked him out of the last 2 films we went to see (one of them being Harry Potter)!
Got to go now...more later

5.10pm Friday 13th 2009
Hello again cyber people!
Oh noooooo - Friday 13th! Has anyone seen the film of the same name? The one about the kids on Summer Camp? One for the not-so-squeamish only I fear.
Weather was good today, but once again, getting colder now. Our cat sits on the mat in front of the wood-burner when he's cold and, if it's not lit, he looks at us, then the fire, then at us again, as if to say "Come on guys, get a move on,Let's get this fire lit" And guess what? I DO light it.How sad is that. But he's cute and he's a rescue cat who came from Tesco's! (Seriously) We were shopping about 6 years ago and this little black cat was limping around tha car park having damaged his feet on some chemical(petrol/diesel?) then he's licked his paws and burnt his mouth. A long story cut short meant that when the RSPCA took him in that same day as a stray, we had him when they had mended everything. He's a real beauty now and we will miss him so much when he goes.

Daughter said the Benjamin Button film was great, but only 7 of them in screen 1(which will seat about 200) in the cinema. Worth going to see apparently though.

Our winter job is pretty unusual nowadays. We are CHIMNEY SWEEPS.We sweep chimneys in the NORTH DEVON area, around Barnstaple,South Molton,Chittlehampton (the Taw area of NORTH DEVON),TORRINGTON,Ashford,Bickington,Fremington,Goodleigh,Landkey,Swimbridge and most all other surrounding areas of BARNSTAPLE.

Websites are:-

• www.chimneysweepsbarnstaple.co.uk
• www.chimneysweepnorthdevon.co.uk
• www.chimneysweepbarnstaple.co.uk

Even if you have no connection or are not interested in fires, you may know someone who does, or wants some advice.

Geoff is now HETAS trained and  may be can assist.

BORING INFO I know... but I had not actually explained why we don't have time to make a lot of items in the Winter.
We are kept fairly busy as CHIMNEY SWEEPS and there is a lot of travelling involved,so we tend to always be back in the dark and until Geoff gets his big shed with electric light, we are stuck somewhat with a limited space to work in until the lighter evenings.

VERY SORRY.

Has anyone had a horrible virus over the Christmas and New Year?
We have all had one called the 'boomerang' virus. You think it's gone and then it comes back worse than ever. If you have had it or are in the middle of it, I sympathise - I really do. The only thing for it is to tuck up warm on the sofa and watch all the inane TV programmes you can - honestly, that's all you are capable of.
Squash and hot water make a lovely soothing drink ( I read somewhere that taking that and a pain killer is as good, if not better, than buying these over the counter remedies. You can regulate the tablets yourself then as well).
Peppermint Tea is helpful for those who have sinus problems. And inhaling hot water is really beneficial. ( Good for the face too!)

See what a fount of all knowledge I am?!!

Tea Tree oil dabbed on will clear up any blemishes really quickly and cold water is just about one of the most effective toners there is..... the list goes on!!

Actually, our daughter is on a Beauty Therapy Course at the moment and next year will be taking Holistic Therapy. Also planning to train to be able to practice Reiki (wonderful). She is a healer by nature and can disperse a headache within a few minutes with a head massage.
We all need one of her tucked in our pockets for emergencies....at least I have the luxury of a healing hand when we have had a rough day SWEEPING!!

If anyone wants to e-mail me (please do not abuse this facility or I shall block you) with any other home remedies or information on Reiki or other Holistic/Natural healing, please do so.
Must fly guys...see you another day.

7.13pm Saturday 14th Feb 2009
VALENTINE'S DAY.... Wooohooo!!
Actually, we have been married for too many years - today doesn't have the same 'feel' about it. A cup of coffee and a cake in town was the height of excitement for us!!
Our daughter went off shopping - again - with her friend. I really am not sure what they do all the time. Probably lurk outside the nearest Subway (cafe, not railway!) to see who's about. As long as she behaves herself and does nothing to disgrace us, we shall continue to trust her judgement in where she goes and what she does. (She'll kill me when she reads this!!)

A couple of days ago I mentioned some friends who had done the dirty on us.
Update
Things came to a head and it appears these plus another 2 "friends" had plotted together to teach us a lesson. Apparently we had been doing something for a while which had increasingly annoyed these 4, but, rather than mentioning anything to us (which is what real friends would do isn't it?) they plotted together to make life uncomfortable for us.
Needless to say, those guys will probably no longer be part of our lives..which is a shame, because we had enjoyed some fun times with them over the last few years. I guess once things like this have happened, it's impossible to resurrect the friendship - there will always be mistrust on our part and them? Well, I honestly don't think I  know how they will feel.

Anyone been in a similar situation? Give me a buzz on the 'ole e-mail and we'll have a jolly good moan about things. (Remember - if you do silly things, I shall block you!!)

Oh no, I've just realised, I haven't mentioned the weather yet. How remiss of me!! (strong sense of sarcasm here you may be feeling!). The thing is, isn't that what we Brits do best? Discuss the weather? I've tried to research which nationalities discuss it most (we must be up there near the top) but I'm obviously not putting the right questions in. If anyone out there is more au fait with keywords for this, then let me know the link & I can be a really sad person and put it on here for all and sundry to check out.

Oh, by the way, it hasn't been raining today, but it hasn't been sunny either!!

Nothing much else to tell you about, except Supernatural is on tonight (I think). Don't those lads rock? Daughter likes Demons, but it's finished now.

G2G as I shall check out the online Sky TV Guide just to check.

Farewell mes amis... until the next time, have a great evening whatever you all may be up to. But remember, don't break your heart (or anyone else's) by drinking and driving. What the heck - splash out, get a taxi.

Bye

A long gap here................

9.15pm Tuesday 24 February 2009

Hello again friends.
We have been to France and back since I last wrote. Went to the South West area (Midi Pyrenees) near a small village which is a big tourist attraction - Cordes-sur-ciel - which means Cordes in the clouds. Aaahhh!! No, I think it's really sweet. Apparently some years ago it was decreed that the village should have it's name changed to this. I suppose it's because it's quite high and the very top which is an old Mediaeval fortress is often covered in clouds/mist. Whichever, it's a very pretty place and I shall put another album on in the near future with some piccies. We had great weather (for February) but I gather you all had pretty good weather over here during those 5 days as well.

Anyway, we are now home and, as the sweeping season is easing off now, Geoff is starting to show an interest in getting some driftwood (and other wood) items made - so keep an eye on the site as things for sale may be springing up anytime!!

What have you guys out there been up to recently? Anything interesting?

We have now been blacklisted (presumably, as we have heard nothing from them) from our (ex) friends contact lists. A shame, as I said before, as we had some great times and really enjoyed their company, but there comes a time when friendship can be pushed to the extreme and this is what happened. I would love to share the whole thing with you guys, but it's really not a "British" thing to do. It wouldn't solve anything and it certainly wouldn't make the situation any easier, so I shall keep it all under wraps and as the old saying goes, "it will all come out in the wash" !! Whatever that really means.

So - how about the snow then? All gone where you are? As we came in to Bristol airport the other day, we could see small patches of snow still hanging around in certain places, so I guess it must have been a lot colder up there than here in North Devon, as all our snow went ages ago. Whether the top of Exmoor still has some I'm not sure...maybe we'll have to pay a visit and see. Find a little cream tea place and sip our cups of tea in a very "Miss Marpleish" way in the garden!!

I know, my daughter often thinks I have completely lost the plot, but I do love those old Agatha Christie films - particularly Poirot - all those art deco sets and the fantastic properties they find on location. Mind you, their sense of geography leaves a lot to be desired. They filmed one programme which was supposed to be in Cornwall and I know for a fact ('cos I recognised the place!) that it was a pretty little place called Dunster near Minehead in Somerset!
I guess we are not supposed to be so observant - just sit back and enjoy the plot.

One moan before I go.
Are some of you girls out there bemoaning the fact that the footie season appears to have started? It seems ever so early to me. What annoys me so much, is that the whole programme is some 4 hours long, even though the match is only 90 mins (injuries etc permitting). WHY DO THEY HAVE TO SPEND ALL THAT TIME YACKING ON ABOUT IT ALL? And they say women can yap!!

Well folks, I have put Torchwood on hold whilst I wrote this, so I think I had better go and put John Barrowman out of his misery. He's been frozen in time on Sky Plus for the last 20 minutes or so!!

Take care out there and remember, we are pretty sure we only go this way once, so if you possibly can, follow your dream so you don't regret it later.

See y'all... oh, before I go. You know I mentioned Friday the 13th earlier? Welllll, rather spoooookily, methinks, one of the guys from Supernatural (which I also mentioned) Jared Padalecki, the gorgeous one who plays Sam, is to star in the 2009 remake of the film. (Jensen Ackles who plays Dean is reeeaaalll cool too - anyone who loves his car that much can't be all bad!)

ONE TO WATCH.....

9am Saturday 28th February 2009
Hi again. Just about to have some breakfast ( I know, really riveting information!). We have been busy the last few days. Our garden is an absolute mess at the moment. We had a driveway put down against the hedge so we can keep our vehicles under cover and it doubles as a huge gazebo in the summer. Our garage, which has just been a dumping ground for years (as are most people's I gather) we now have other plans for. The thing is, because this work was done when the ground was wet, the rest of the garden looks like a war zone - spare bricks lying about, grass all torn up and mucky, bits of cut down undergrowth still strewn about... you know the kind of thing. Sooooo... the next few weeks are an intensive time for us putting all to rights. I'll put a couple of 'before and after photos' on over the next few days so you can see what I mean. I'm starting to feel rather like Charlie Dimmock on Ground Force. The thing is, Geoff is absolutely nothing like Alan Titchmarsh!!
G2G for a while - things to do. More later....