Ups and downs

Not felt quite right today I don't know what it is, I think I am coming down with post match blues after last nights debacle of a match on the once mighty reds part. First ten minutes everything going to plan, lots of attacking flowing football and then Barcelona get one break and we were done for, the plan had gone wrong, their goal was not supposed to happen it wasn't in the script and then in the second half they go and do it again by the smallest man on the pitch at 2 feet tall rises above everybody else to score a superb header. The Catalans deserved the win and all the glory and my lot, well lets start all over again!

Next week are off for a few days away camping here. Not been camping since before The Terror was born, but the kids wanted to go so we have decided finances just about allow us to go this year, with the Australian trip coming up as well. The forecast for the first few days is looking good with the temperatures expected to hit a mighty mark of 24C on Monday. I have a nice bottle of malt set aside for enjoying in the evenings when the kids have gone to bed or i can just sneak off and enjoy it anyway. Just got to pick up a few items before going, like more tent pegs to keep us down as I don't want to be flying over the Peak District, if the wind picks up.

G'day Possums

At last back again not had time to say "BOO" to a ghost this week with so much going on and all other things happening, so what has been happening that has kept me away, well nothing to be honest besides work and the home life.

The Terror has been ill this past weekend so we have stayed in the house all weekend only really venturing into the garden and as it has been a mighty 24C it has been nice to do nothing and save a few pound notes. I took The Terror to see the doctor today to see what he had and as soon as we walked in the door the doctor, said it was a case of slapped cheek and that although he has been infectious he should be cleared up by the weekend. He has just not been his usual causing chaos self so hopefully a few days rest and we will be back to destroying things once again.

It's been great with the weather picking up as there is more chance to enjoy beer in the garden rather than beer in the house and obviously enjoying beer in the garden usually resorts in a BBQ to enjoy which always goes down in my book, although apparently due to Australian law only Aussies can cook behind a BBQ and all others have to get everything else ready, some how I don't think this one is true!

Give me your blood.....hahahaha

Today was the day I had been expecting it for a month and it slowly came around, it was something I had not done in 16 years due to mixed up genetic parents passing down their tainted genes to me, it was time to donate blood again!

The reason I have not been is because I have high blood pressure that involves taking tablets everyday for the rest of my life, it's not to bad two a day in the long run if it gives me a good innings at the end of the day. I called the donor blood sucking vampire people up on the off chance that I could start donating again and it seems that they have just recently relaxed the rules and I would be able to donate again with the medication that I am on, or in other words they are desperate for donors as they are so short of blood in their stock levels. I don't have a problem going as needles or the sight of blood never bother me.

The amount of questions and forms I had to fill in before hand to check everything was alright to give, and then the various checks and then the nurse had to get the sister to check everything out because of the tablets I take and then I had to drink a pint of water before hand as well and after all that they stabbed me with a giant needle and took some of the good stuff to go and make other people as grumpy as I am, my mission and good deed is complete.

A walk on the heath

As is usual in England, at this time of year it was another rainy day today so there was not much to do outside and we had to venture out in between rain showers for a walk and to blow the cob webs away at a place called Lindow Common, which is only a 15 minute drive away and I have never been there in all my 39 years so it was somewhere new for me as well.

We had three options really because of the weather we could of stayed indoors, gone shopping or explored the outdoors and we decided to venture out as we only had a hour anyway as Mrs Stu had to finish school work because for some obscure reason she wanted to go and see Girls Aloud, pretty to look at but not really my kind of scene.

This is where we ended up, land mostly not yet destroyed by human hand.

Little G and The Terror enjoyed a good walk around and an explore of the surrounding woods and every possible puddle was splashed in to find treasure, as that is where the pirates buried it according to The Terror!

At the centre of the heath land is a lake or to must a big pond called Black Lake. It was good for a little walk and an explore anyway.

Hope you all had a fun weekend.

More mutterings

The trip to Oz is fast approaching and it's time once want again to hunt through the net for the prices on car hire. Mrs Stu goes first and we are guessing the total stay will be around 45 days for her this time which is a long time, although I am only there for four weeks. Maybe I can make her take pubic transport until I get over there! Somehow i don't think that will go down well. She will get the car on the first day and Mrs Stu's brother in law is going to the airport to drive them home after such a long flight as it gets in at stupid o'clock in the morning & then it's a two hour drive out to there place in Hoddles Creek, so knowing how tired they will be after the flight it is for the best. Anyway the prices are working out on the extreme side for even a smallish car at the moment around £900, although I think we can get this a little lower with some surfing around for deals.

I have got into a bad habit recently of starting to watch films late in the evenings these days and most of the times I can watch them right until the end but there is the odd time like last night for instance when I am in the film and the adverts come on towards the end and next minute the films over and there is some tele shopping on instead and I've missed the ending and it's so annoying not knowing what happened to who or how the thing finished. May have to start recording everything before I sit down to watch it now.

Just hoping that there is some more cricket today, yesterday it was a complete washout with no play at all, I just hoping there are better things to come today, it is starting of cloudy where I am with a few showers today. The batsmen need to some big hits to get their confidence together before the ashes starts soon. I am liking Bopara, at the moment he seems to like a good knock and I hope his form continues. need to see how the bowlers cope again so I will reserve judgement for now. So today all I want is a bit of cricket and some peace.

The best news today would be if Manchester United can wrap up the Premiership and get an 18th equalling title to match Liverpools achievements. We have two games to go and only need a point, I have confidence, as to win it at home would be special as it's against Arsenal, who just a few seasons ago clinched the title on our ground so a bit of pay back is in order I think today.

Arrgggh metal box of rubbish!

Now I know they are great for doing many things and you can add all sorts of wires and devices to them but when you have to find just one connection is when you eventually hit trouble...COMPUTERS!

Now our desktop sits in the corner of the room with everything possible plugged in somewhere and all the cables from all the devices leading into the back of it from all the various USB devices, printers and camera leads. Now there is no problem in all of these wires until you have to change over something for some reason or other. All I had to do was to re-connect a microphone into the back that had become unplugged the last time I did something in there.

First of all there was the problem of tracing the wire from the microphone to the end of it and then plugging it in and why no matter how careful when you first install your computer you put all the wires in neatly when you go back to it somebody has been there and tied them in the biggest know imaginable anyway eventually I got the microphone plugged in and doing all the tests to find that somehow i had pulled out my speaker connection so then it was back under the desk to reconnect and then out again to find I had knocked the monitor lead so I only had a blank screen to stare at....arrrgggghhhh. Anyway job done in the end after much effing and blinding along the way, just hope The Terror never picked up any new words!

Now if only life can be like this without a care in the world.

Footie woes

I think he's cracked it and he is finally there if the last two days are anything to go by, The Terror, is finally toilet trained. He has just not wanted to do it at all, being a boy, like all men I suppose he wanted somebody else to do it for him but now he goes when ever he feels the need to. So much more harder than his sister she was dong it so much easy but as I said boys are lazy!

The big game today Manchester United vs Manchester City,  the local derby and fierce rivalries. I had it all lined up going around to a mates house drinking lots of beer and enjoying the game, but since what I want to do goes to the bottom of the pecking order in my house I have lost out again. Little G, I found out after everybody else is putting on a show with her gymnastics club and the rehearsals are this afternoon at kick off for the show tonight and I am now left with The Terror, to entertain and as I have no sports at home as it is on pay to view! Will have to surf the net and see if there is a link out there somewhere I can watch, it usually ends up being broadcast with Spanish or Brazilian commentary though. The commentators are great in their goal celebrations though they make the goals all the more special when they shout 'GGGGGOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL'. see what I mean! 

Weather and rip off prices

It's been one of those drab days today, stuck indoors while what little sunshine we have here shines outdoors and then this weekend they forecast rain, life is not fair at times to the workers. Beautiful blue skies with the sun to match and when I come out the clouds start to move over and the sun goes in and now the winds picking up....I hate our weather at times.

All clear from the doctors for another six months had my three monthly check yesterday and my blood pressure is fine so he doesn't want to see me now until then, just need to get my bloods taken and tested and then I am home free, apart from the two tablets I have to take each day, which is not many when you consider the amount some people have to take in a day.

Has the price of food where you are still as high as when it was in that period when the petrol went sky high and they used the cost of that to put up the cost of everything using that as an excuse? 

I did the weekly shop last night and i was studying the prices are lot more this week than I usually do and everything seems to of jumped again a few pence and lots of things. The companies soon put the prices up last year when the petrol went up in price and now they are getting their produce cheaper they are being very slow to pass the prices back on to us the shopper, it is so annoying at times.

Anyway I need a countdown clock for my blog page now for when I go to freezing Melbourne in August, any suggestions?

Little G's birthday

Been a very rushed few days lately hence not a lot of time to come on here. Ut has been Little G's birthday weekend this weekend and we have been having fun with her. We never had a party this year as they were working out a bit on the expensive side so we decided to have a BBQ at home and invite Little G's friends and friends of our own and it proved to be just as expensive!

The last few days were spent giving a good cleaning of the house more that what is usually done in a week so everything was spic and span. Friday, night I called the bouncy castle poeple at short notice to see if they had a covered castle for the Sunday for an 8 year old girl, "Yes" came the reply "no problem". So on Sunday the castle arrived and both kids were excited as we had not told them what was coming and they stood in awe as it inflated Little G was not amused and The Terror went "WOW, Pirates". At least they both bounced on it enough to get enough fun out of it.

Not had so much booze in a long time but the best thing was even though I drank all day I never had a hangover to suffer with the following day, now that was a first, as I am usually the one singing into the toilet the next morning, maybe it's because I'm getting older or the amount of food i consume to soak up the booze. I am now banned from taking any food until everybody else has had at least one thing to eat before I start, I seem to have a bottomless pit of a stomach at times.

Then today it rained and it has rained all day for twelve hours which means the garden is to wet to do anything on it which is just a shame, oh well lots of beer over and the footie is on tonight so the kids have to be in bed early..yippee!