03/09/2010 by Aileen.

Several nice things ahead, and we have also been busy the last few days. We have been cycling - longest one for one hour ten minutes. We stained the wooden garden furniture which badly needed doing. The following photos show a red admiral butterfly on the table before it was painted, and then the finished furniture.

Today I’m cutting the grass. we are having such mild and sunny weather it’s a pleasure to be outside.

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01/09/2010 by Aileen.

First of the month. I always think that September is the beginning of the year, too. I suppose it’s  years and years of teaching. A new start and all that.

Well, we cycled for one hour ten minutes this morning, in beautiful sunshine. Sarnie for lunch, and now John is pressure washing the patio, which is covered in duck poo. I can’t help yet - I need a snoozle after my lunch. Snoozle isn’t exactly a snooze, but it means I sit down and read, write or do something similarly effortless. Trying to eat a really hard pear at the moment, so there’s some effort in that.

My niece Charley has been in hospital with bad stomache symptoms. She’s out now, and will get the test results on the 7th, but she mentioned on the phone that she had ulcerative colitis. (I think that’s what she said) She and her brother might be taking my white car off my hands, as someone went in to the back of the one they share. My car is really shabby, but so reliable, and we don’t really need two cars as we are rarely out to different places at the same time.Any time we are I can get a taxi.

Anyway, back later. Bye.

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28/08/2010 by Aileen.

Everything arrived the other day, just as I was hoping. In fact, it wasn’t deep joy, as it was overload. I’ve spent all summer kicking my heels, and suddenly I have too much to take in at once. OU stuff, Dreamweaver, Lightroom CS5, plus all the paraphernalia that’s bundled with the Adobe package. Still, I’m a happy bunny.

We went into Hull on Friday, and that’s another thing I haven’t done all summer - gone anywhere busy. The traffic seemed so loud I thought all the exhaust pipes were broken. I got nostalgic about my childhood. I would go up Oxford Street, Regent Street, and tramp the whole length, going in to all (well not all) the shops. In Hull I was looking for a particular camera shop that had moved, and it was so quick to find. Hull is tiny. However, it is also lovely. I know all the jokes about ‘to Hull and back’ but it is clean, and the people are friendly. The only drawbacks are that the shops are tiny too, and there is no Pret a Manger.

Anyway, it’s Saturday morning and I’m raring to go. Bye bye, computer, I’m popping down to the shops, topping up the housework cutting the grass, cycling, getting ahead with my study, etc. etc. etc.

I said GOODBYE you temptress.

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26/08/2010 by Aileen.

Ooh I’m so excited. I’m expecting two parcels this week. Well one probably won’t come until next week, as it’s not meant to be dispatched til Friday, but I’m ever the optimist. This is the A363 Children’s Literature course from the OU. I managed to get hold of the two workbooks as pdf files, and I’ve ‘done’ Block One. Well, I haven’t done it in depth, but I’ve skimmed through. I can’t do it properly until I know what the TMA (tutor marked assignment) is, when I will read through with more purpose.

The other parcel is an Adobe package. After saying I wouldn’t upgrade from Element 6 as I don’t use many of the features, and wouldn’t want Dreamweaver as I like to do my own coding, I have ordered a bundle with these two in.

As I’m a student it was so much cheaper than it would be otherwise, and I fell! Mea Culpa.

There is a good possibility that the software will arrive this morning, so I daren’t have a shower in case I miss it.

Mind you, our postie is wonderful. So is the woman who delivers parcels. We met the latter three times in a row when we were out cycling last week, and she always has a cheery word. One day, she said she had returned a parcel to the post office as we weren’t in. She said she tried the door, and would have left in inside if it was open! How many places in England would that happen - that the odds are people’s doors are unlocked?

I usually leave ours unlocked if I’m just popping down to the shops,but then sometimes I think it might be just that day that a serial killer goes by and I come home to John’s hacked body, so I lock it.

Mmm. 9am. Where is that postie?

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24/08/2010 by Aileen.

Think Tuesdays might be my favourite day of the week (In August anyway) I do all my housework on a Monday, and if I actually finish it I am free all day Tuesday. I finished yesterday, there’s no OU studying to do at the moment, I have already submitted the two Look sheets that were due in today, so I’m free.

Can’t do nothing all day, so I’ll clean the windows this morning. Can’t really garden as it’s lashing outside, so then I’ll finish Little Women (pre-reading for my Literature course) and then spend the afternoon brushing up on my website making skills.

Oh I could make some plum jam. The plums are just coming into their own. They’re delicious.

Talking about delicious, I’m doing a curry with Sunday’s leftover chicken. It almost seems a waste, as it was a succulent chicken from a nearby farm. I cooked it with lemon on Sunday, and we had it with chips on Monday. The taste was so delicate. A curry will hide all that. Oh well. Curry is good.

And another thing……….

It’s my birthday in a few weeks, and Martin and Fiona (with Alexander of course) said they would come for the weekend. I really didn’t think Ali and co would come, as we have just had a holiday with them, and it;s awkward for them because of their shift work and the boy’s school. However, it’s a back holiday weekend in Scotland, so they can come. Yippee.  It’s so nice to feel loved.

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17/08/2010 by Aileen.

Great evening yesterday. We (Viewfinders) went to Beverley Minster for a guided tour plus photography. The Minster really is a jewel. So many superlatives justly used. There is a (really good) website,

http://www.beverleyminster.org/

but here are some of my photos.

Beverley was a known centre for music centuries ago, and many of the carvings show angels with musical instruments - even bagpipes. There are some really humourous carvings e.g. these people, one with tummy ache, one with toothache.

 The fabric of the building was of the best, and really talented masons etc. were used. The minster nearly fell into decay after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but local rich merchants bought it. It still fell into a state of disrepair when the North lost it’s sheep trade (oversimplifying here) but it was restored later. First public building to use public appeal for funds. Here are some photos of the building.

After the downstairs tour some of us went up the narrow spiral stone staircase (113  steps)We couldn’t go out on to the tower as there are no barriers there at the moment, but could see through the rose windows. People had etched their names into the glass.

 The roof of the oldest part of th Minster was amazing. Someone said it was like an upside down boat. Blow me down if shipwrights (or whatever) hadn’t built it. Other roofs creak in storms, but this roof just goes with flow (pun!). It has never needed repair. Can’t remember how old this bit is, but between 13th and 15th centuries.

The tour ended with our guide getting into the (largest in England) human treadmill, and raising the heavy cupola(???) so we could look down in to the nave. You can see the beautiful tiling on the floor, and part of the Percy family memorial in the photo.

Great time. Thank you, Neil, for your knowledge and enthusiasm (sorry I’m so vague with what you told us) and thank you, Jane, for organsing the tour.

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09/08/2010 by Aileen.

Oh I do love Mondays. It must be the optimist in me. There’s a whole fresh week stretching in front of me, ready to be filled with good things.

I was a bit fed up last week (after the elation of getting my degree). There’s no Birding or Creative Writing group in the summer, and it made me realise how ‘useless’ my life is. It’s great, really enjoyable, but it’s basically very hedonistic.

Well, on Sunday I did Children’s Liturgy at church, and started a volunteers CRB check (I’m Safeguarding Officer) so felt slightly less useless. I also summoned the will to make four pots of rhubarb jam, and did a bit of gardening during the week, so that helped a bit.

Anyway, this week is a bit odd.

Monday. Housework (and the place isn’t bad at all) Then Photography up on the Wolds this evening.

Tuesday. Free I think, so I’m going to start a writing project.

Wednesday. Harewood House with the WI. I have to ‘hare’ back as John and I are going to Stoke Mandeville that evening, ready for his appointment on Thursday morning.

Thursday. Hanging around the hospital, then on to M and F’s (and A’s) as they only live 20 miles away. Will probably stay the night.

Friday. Home again, home again, jiggedy jigg. It’s our 46th wedding anniversary, so a take away might be in order. Plus lashings and lashings of vino.

Not sure if I’ll get much of my writing project done!

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03/08/2010 by Aileen.

Yay. Got the results today. 87% for the ECA, but as my course work was not so good I couldn’t get a distinction. Anyway, a Grade 2 pass is great. On to Honours now.

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02/08/2010 by Aileen.

I really don’t kow why I’m not writing. I’m having such a fab time these days, and I should be recording it. Let’s start at last Saturday. It was the monthly walk I have with OU friends. This time Alex invited us to her house and we had a two hour walk in her neck of the woods. Saw a kingfisher in the first few minutes. There was not much else on the walk, but then we went to Alex’s house, which is something like 17th Century, 18th Century and a 1950s kiitchen! She has a tree house, where we had a fab lunch, and then we played croquet on the lawn. It was another world! Here are a couple of photos.

I didn’t get around to posting photos of our visit to Camp Eden with ‘The Pair.’ They had a great time there, especially in the playground, which was set up as an assault course as far as I could see. John and I sat outside in the sun while they played - well it wasn’t inside, but ‘in’ the playground.

This is not to say they didn’t enjoy the exhibitions. They were fascinated.

Finally, I’ll mention today. I’ve decided (again) that I’m overweight, and must do something about it. I was 11st. 7 this morning. So I did half an hour Wii-fit this morning, and had an hour’s walk this afternoon. I also dieted (ish) I had my usual muesli with apple for breakfast, then had a ham salad for lunch. This evening was Viewfinders, so just had a beef sandwich for tea. John wasn’t hungry today, otherwise we would have had beef and mashed potatoes for lunch. (On Mondays we have to have our main meal at midday because of Viewfinders.) I enjoyed Viewfinders. We strolled along the River Hull, and ended up in a pub. I will upload the photos tomorrow.

The final final - we are expecting our OU results this week, and some people say they will come early, so I’ve been checking a lot. I’m guessing Wednesday, but that doesn’t stop me checking every 15 minutes!

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20/07/2010 by Aileen.

Here at last are some photos from CenterParcs. I might put up some wild life ones tomorrow, but here are the family ones.

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