Thursday, April 09, 2009

Busy

Work is busting my buttocks this week...hence, short on words. So I'm going to leave you with something splendid that was sent to me in email (thank you Beth).

Turn up your speakers and enjoy. vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741

May Peace find us all soon! Enjoy the update.

Elisa

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

I am a grown-up. Honest.

Not much for you to read tonight. So I'll witter a bit. Weather today hot. As my Da used to say it was dead hot, hot enough that you could already be dead. But I had a really nice surprise waiting for me at work. My scaffolding safety certificate had arrived. I did a short course on it about 6 months ago and never checked my results. Apparently the training provider finally got round to sending out the certificates rang the agency to find out where everybody was working and sent the certificates there. This means I'm now qualified to erect and dismantle scaffolding as well as work from it. Yet another marketable skill. It also means I get paid another 20p an hour. I promptly climbed to the top of the scaffolding we have there and did a Snoopy dance along it in celebration. While I was doing this I happened to look down at the road below. There was a lorry (truck) going past. The sign said Devon Swedes. You may remember them if you've followed my working adventures. With my usual levels of decorum, maturity and careful thoughtfulness I stopped dancing, pointed at the lorry and yelled out "Nerner ner nerner. I don't have to work for you any more."

At which point I noticed one of the brickies was recording all this on his mobile (cell phone). I tried persuasion. I tried bribery. I tried to appeal to his loyalty to a colleague. Nothing worked. I was forced to stoop to blackmail. I threatened him with the wrath of his wife. He and his missus have been attending Slimming World together in an attempt to lose weight. She is sticking to her plan religiously. He is sneaking packets of crisps (chips) and chocolate bars for lunch. I threatened to dob him in unless he deleted the video of me while I watched to confirm he had. He did. She scares him a lot more than I do.

See you next week. Have a good one. Goodnight and may your God/s go with you.

Ze

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Blather

Where did spring go?? It was freezing today. Lovely sunshine but a bitter wind. For some reason that set my mind of on a poetic trail (St Agnes Eve, ah bitter chill it was) not that we're even remotely close to St Agnes Eve of course but for some reason I always think of that when I use the word bitter in relation to the weather. Which nicely segues into National Poetry Month. Which it is. At least it is in the USA - we don't mark it. But we should. Poetry is important.

Lent is over. I can eat biscuits (cookies) again. I gave them up for Lent. I've really missed them. Especially ginger snaps. (Great dunked in coffee). We don't do the milk-and-cookies thing over here. (Except in adverts for US products which are so very obviously US adverts dubbed with British voices). In fact if you gave a British kid milk-and-cookies you'd probably get it chucked back at you. We start drinking tea or coffee at a very young age. Though most kids prefer to rot their teeth (and stomach lining) with fizzy (soda/pop/coke whatever your area calls it).

I'm gonna shut up now as it's a pretty big update for you. I'll blather more tomorrow.

Ze

Monday, April 06, 2009

Playing Hooky

My weekend chock full of the Emerald City ComiCon was quite enjoyable. There's now a big pile of comics next to the bed that I must enter into ComicBase. Hopefully E will bear with me until I get them tagged, bagged and stored away.

I took today off work to spend it with mom. Seemed sad to have her hang around the house by herself while all of us were gone for the day. We spent most of the day shopping. I didn't tell Cal we stopped into Toys R Us. It's so much easier visiting that particular store without him.

Back to work tomorrow. E will take mom to the airport where she'll spend a lovely day traveling. She's going to be wiped when she gets home around midnight.

Tamara

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Ramble from phair

Help her out folks!
I feel like crap. Truthfully, I feel much worse than that but I want to be polite. A few weeks ago I had surgery; abdominal surgery to be exact. My doctor likes to remind me it was less than six weeks ago and the healing process will take a full four months if not more and 'the surgery' was 'three surgeries' performed by two surgeons and I went back to work too soon but all that is the stuff of a completely different ramble.

I'm miserable today because I have the flu or a virus or whatever we call the spring plague people pass around this time of year. Just about everybody I work with has fallen victim to this monster bug. It hits your head, your belly, and rattles your bones. The thing to do should be sleep and give your body a chance to fight back. But, you can't really get any solid sleep. All slumber time is interrupted by the throbbing in your head, a fully stuffed unventilated nose, with sore throat coughing, turning to gagging, resulting in running for a respectable receptacle, if you know what I mean, and culminating, of course, in the bottom line of all GI viruses which will not be detailed here other than to say…I'm going to buy a new toilet seat as soon as I feel better.

But no, I'm not writing this for sympathy. Or empathy. Just need a little hand from objective observers. You see, Monday is opening day at Fenway! Our boys of summer are returning. It is a joyous occasion for the faithful. All of Red Sox Nation will be celebrating. My work place will be observing the day with a party. Because we are a hospital, we keep the festivities to food and clothes. There will be no beer, booze, or bongs. So, we must make the most of what we got to work with.

The food is no problem. I dibs potato salad which will be delivered ready made tomorrow - I just had surgery(ies), you can't expect me to cook! My problem is..., what to wear? Jeans and baseball cap are a done deal. It is the top which is hanging me up. I've got four good styles to pick from. And, that is where I'm stuck. My pounding head and achy belly continue to distract me from this one important decision of the coming week.

So, I'm tossing it to you folks. Lend me your thoughts on which of these should go to work with me Monday.

1. A green t-shirt with Red Sox written on the front and Lowell 25 written on the back in red letters. This shirt was already worn to work on Celtic (the basketball team) Pride Day.
2. A red t-shirt with the AL championship logo from 2004 or 2007 (yes, I have both but the 2004 has never been worn)
3. A gray t-shirt with the World Series championship logo from 2004 or 2007 (again yes, I have both but the 2007 has never been worn)
4. A white with blue 3/4 sleeves t-shirt with Fenway 1901 and a pair of red sox on it.

Let me know what you think,
phair
p.phair@comcast.net


Let phair know what you think. Now back to the update, enjoy!

Elisa

Saturday, April 04, 2009

Beautiful Sunshine!

What a great day to get down and geek out with thousands of others. Tamara has waited years to be here during the yearly fun at Emerald City ComiCon. We all spent the morning and afternoon there. In fact I left Tamara, Mike and Duncan while the rest of us headed home for a break. I can say it is rare for me to put myself in a place with that many folks, but it was fun and worth my time.

Tamara will indulge for the entire weekend, hence she will return tomorrow for even more fun. I on the other hand will gather everyone else and head off to Gasworks park, hopefully to enjoy more sun. Then perhaps home to engage in some badly needed yard maintenance.

Enough on our weekend fun. Back to your update. Please note these updates are heavily tilted towards Buffy while the Willow/Tara Fanfiction Archive continues to rescue stores from the old Extra Flamey site. So on that note enjoy 'em!

Elisa

Friday, April 03, 2009

Sun

Sun today. Yay!

Another big update thanks to the Willow/Tara Fiction Archive rescuing stories from Extra Flamey. Enjoy 'em!

Tamara

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Already Thursday?

Wow, that means tomorrow is Friday...yippee! The week did not go as I had hoped, so I will look forward to the weekend. I know that Tamara is looking forward to it as well.

Today was the first day I actually saw my desk. Been kind of working from home this week and overwhelmed at that. But today was make up time and it felt like it as well.

Tomorrow more make up time is in order. So one more tough day with the following two off, hence no problem.

Now back to your updates, enjoy!

Elisa

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Beer glasses can jump

A good day. Work went well. The sun shone. England won their World Cup qualifier. And I've just been watching a programme on the Queens of British Pop which had clips of Dusty Springfield and Suzi Quatro. (Damn!! that woman is sexy!!) Can't get much better than that for a Wednesday evening.

Last Friday I met up with my friends as I said I would (although the kid chickened out). And - just as I predicted - it rained. A lot. We spent a fair bit of time in Costa drinking coffee and keeping dry. I did manage to show them some of the tourist-type things to do here though, in between the rain showers. We did not go into the cathedral (12th century) though, since they've started charging for the privilege. (Haven't they read Mark 11:15-17!!) Then we went to the 16th century Ship Inn about which Sir Francis Drake is supposed to have said in 1588 "Next to mine own shippe I do most love that old Shippe in Exon, a tavern in Fyssh Street, as the people do call it, or as the Clergy will have it, St Martin's Lane. There yester'en I had some speech with a mariner fresh come hither from Plymouth. The power of Spain is already afloat, so in the morning please God, I am for Plymouth and for another shippe than this." The outside is impressive (Tudor) the inside is second rate. But the beer is good. And wet. I only had a half. Honest. I was as sober as a judge. (Though given the port-drinking habits of some members of the judiciary that's probably an oxymoron!!) I was just sitting there, cradling my glass when all of a sudden it leapt out of my hands and up-ended itself in my lap. Much to the amusement of my companions. I reckon it's their fault anyway. The English half of the partnership always makes it rain when she visits and since I managed to keep fairly dry and rain-free this was her revenge!! Thank God for dark-coloured jeans. You couldn't really tell I'd soaked myself.

Ze

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Birthdays

First - a big thank you to everybody who sent me birthday greetings. I will try & reply to you all as soon as I can. Hopefully before my next birthday. I am so gonna get those two for telling everyone though!!

I thought I'd try and tell you that by the time you reach my age you stop celebrating birthdays. That's what people always say isn't it?? Well trust me, that's total bollocks. You're never too old to celebrate. Ok. I'm not such a big kid about birthdays as I am about Christmas and I did refuse to celebrate a few years ago (but then I'd buried my brother on my birthday the year before so I didn't really want to remember much that year). Now though I make sure I have a great time - celebrate your birthdays folks. Getting older might suck but it's as sure as dammit better than the alternative. Having another birthday doesn't make me depressed that I'm getting older - it makes me happy and grateful that I'm alive to celebrate. This year I even went out for a posh meal. I figured it was safe since I'd burnt the boxers-of-doom. I was right it was safe. I didn't even wear my drink (unlike Friday). But I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

Ze

Monday, March 30, 2009

Slacker

E has been doing double duty these past few days checking my links and hers. Today I returned from the Woodland Park Zoo just in time to check the last site and write the words. Now that's my kind of update.

Tamara

p.s. Don't forget to wish Ze a happy birthday!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Sunshine

Our spring season continues with sunshine following up on yesterdays rain. As the family went off to see Monsters vs. Aliens leaving me to complete my cookie a month duties. Upon their return some fresh coconut macaroons will be waiting. I will also have dinner well on its way.

Tomorrow does bring us one thing beyond Monday, Ze will have completed another year on this planet with us. Giving us the opportunity to have more stories to look forward. If you get the time throw her a birthday wish!

Have a great evening and enjoy your updates.

Elisa

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Quiet Saturday

The rain fell all day long. Spring is here, yipee! I spent the day near the fireplace with a sick and quiet 8 year old. She has a bad cold and a horrible sore throat, at least the doctor said it was not strep. Hence time and rest heals all.

Tamara, her mom and the rest of the boys headed downtown to the Whirligig at Seattle Center. Other than my daughter feeling like crap, I think I had the better day.

On a different note for all you folks looking for something fun which you can be a part of it, join Phair at her web site and check out Shipwrecked.

Now back to your updates, enjoy them!

Elisa

Friday, March 27, 2009

Finally

The day is done. Enjoy 'em.

Tamara