Saturdayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Feeling a bit blurgh this morning but at least its Saturday. Spent several productive hours in the shed last night - hurrah - until the creaking and strange noises wound their way into my consciousness and spooked me (there you see, Spooks again) and Grumpy and I returned to the solid walls of the house and settled down for The Tudors - great stuff. All that testosterone flying about - arm wrestling between Jonathan Rhys Meyers and the divine Henry Cavill (who comes from dear old Jersey), feminine wiles and thundering around on magnificent horses. Marvellous.

Today, I'm about to take a large mug of Earl Grey tea and meander (even though it's a straight path but feeling slightly dizzy - yes more so than normal) to the Shed and get on with the latest WIP. One of these days I shall write something that someone else wants to read but until that time I shall keep plodding away and at least I enjoy writing it.

Where's that tea?

Grumpy & The Tudors

Here's Grumpy sitting on his chair in the shed. This is where he dozes as I'm plodding away on my laptop for hours at an end. Occasionally he'll bark - just the once - to let me know that he needs to visit a tree or whatever but generally he snoozes away blissfully, only too thrilled that the children aren't in the shed trying to cuddle him or play with him. He's so anti-social...probably why we get along so well!

The photo directory at work has now gone live and although you can tell that something is amiss, by my confused expression (all Bob's fault) I don't look as ghastly as I thought I would. Needless to say some of us had a good giggle at the pics before remembering where we were and then settling down once more to get on with our work!

Right, I have to produce 1,000+ words before 9pm and sitting here blogging isn't the way to go about it. SO, the shed beckons once more... Have a great Friday night. Have to press on other wise I'm going to miss The Tudors and I can't possibly do that.

Sir Guy of Gisbourne & The Hard Drive

Drama of dramas!!! I'm out on Saturday night and have to meet the girls at 7.30. Quelle horreur! Not another Saturday when I shall miss my dearly beloved in his full black leather finery sorting out the peasants! Record it, I hear you say. Well obviously, I reply in haste...if I could. In our house I'm the one to do the recording of programmes - usually because I'm the sad fool who can't bear to miss certain programmes. The rest of the family have no idea how to even switch on the hard drive and couldn't care less about the video recorder. So I shall be left with no alternative but to start the recording and bribe dh to remember to turn it off at the end (otherwise the hard drive will be too full to record next weeks episode).

By the way, I loved A Room With a View but found the ending rather sad nevertheless.

Have become completely addicted to blogging and love reading them, but there are so many out there, you could lose hours and I certainly have. Unfortunately, I've been so busy being nosy that my word count this week has fallen dramatically so I shall have to give myself a talking to and try and catch up.

Apart from my writing lapse, novel No 4 is coming along rather well and I'm certainly enjoying writing it. So I shall now sign off and get on with it.

Persuasion & Pulling Faces

Sorry, I know that I've only posted a pic of the lovely Rupert very recently but needs must, as they say (this one is for Andrea!) How magnificent he looks striding along in his breeches!

Today I had the distressing trauma of having my photo taken at work for the database - they need to know who we are or something... I am usually the one behind the camera shouting "Cheese" or "Leeks" or other variations to get the poor soul that I have focused my lens on to smile appropriately. However, today was my turn and was it a good day? Was it hell! You know how it is, some days you feel remotely acceptable to be seen without a paper bag over the head, this naturally was not one of those days! The operation was hindered by my colleague Bob who insisted on pulling faces at me as I did my best to hide my worst features (difficult when one is having one's face and shoulders photographed). I ended up having to have several pics taken and although I could have had a look at the end result, I decided against it. Too depressing. I just know that I shall end up looking as if I have some infliction to my mouth'

So I shall have to just wait and see when we "go live" how ghastly I look on my photo. EUGH!

Why can't we simply wear name tags/badges? Why a photo on the company site where nearly two hundred people can laugh at it? Why? Why? and yet another Why?????

Room With A View/Lindt Bunnies

As I have already seen tonight's episode of Spooks and because I couldn't bear not to see the gorgeous Rupert Penry-Jones in Joe's Palace on Sunday - still dreaming about him - I shall sit in front of the fire tonight and watch the Andrew Davies adaptation of A Room With A View.

I can't see how the 1985 version with the divine Julian Sands (see pic borrowed courtesy of IMDB.com) as George Emerson can possibly be improved or indeed equalled although I shall give it a fair viewing. Was I the only one last night who felt let down by the ending in Doc Martin?

My daughter has just arrived home and announced that she is going to work really hard at school to gain as many credits as possible and hopefully be awarded a Lindt chocolate bunny! My son found this amusing and said, "Only you could be encouraged to work harder with the thought of chocolate". Now here I have to disagree. How clever her teacher is. This is surely why I was so lacking in drive whilst at school - no one thought to entice me with chocolate!

Bonfires & Fireworks

Tonight of course is Bonfire Night and I have to admit I do enjoy a good firework display. Last night I watched fantastic bursts of colour from one of our upstairs windows and tonight there is a huge bonfire and display arranged just down the road from us.

A fabulous read involving fireworks is Christina Jones' Heaven Sent. I've sadly just finished the book and wholly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a thoroughly entertaining story with vibrant characters that will make you completely forget any problems you may have.

Of course, the only member of the family who simply hates this time of the year is poor Grumpy who barks incessantly and stresses dreadfully over all the loud bangs. So I shall be staying at home with him and making the most of the final episode of the brilliant Doc Martin and keep the volume turned up to cover most of the noise outside. Scarily I found a rocket just near the shed on Sunday morning...wood & fireworks simply don't mix so I shall have to keep an eye on my 'writing place'.

Happy Bonfire Night.

Phew, What A Week That Was!

Well, I'm so glad that last week is over! I received so much depressing news that I wished I could lock myself in the shed and not come out until it was all well and truly over. The trouble is that with all that has been going on I have not been in the best mood to write, though thankfully have pulled myself together and am back on track once more with the greatest of vim and vigor.

Poor Grumpy is exhausted by all the comings and goings of this past week and has taken to his bed more than usual - the one in the picture is not in fact his - and for a dog that seems to spend so much of his time in a relaxed state, this was extreme even for him.

So with thoughts and mindset positive I shall take myself off once more to the shed and plough on with my new wip. I shall keep you posted as to progress but so far so good. Here's to a great week ahead.