Showing posts with label made me giggle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label made me giggle. Show all posts
Wednesday, 2 January 2013
Thursday, 25 October 2012
Photo-free Thursday
...because I can't be bothered to climb the stairs to download any!
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Miss U-t-B arrived home from school today to announce that MI5 are coming into school tomorrow (well, one of them!) to give a presentation to the Year 11s, and that she is one of ten hand-picked to then attend either a Russian or decoding lesson.
Should we be looking out for a change in behaviour from now on? Do they recruit fifteen year olds nowadays?
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I've just come back from the school Hallowe'en Fancy Dress Disco. I was on 'loo patrol' with a colleague ie stationed on the corridor near the loos, to bark at the ones who run along the corridor, and keep an ear open for noise and shenanigans in the loos. (We had volunteered for this role as it means a) we could get on with putting the Christmas shoeboxes together and b) we weren't expected to do the Macarena or listen to Agadoo!
Most amusing snippet of conversation from the evening came from a tiny Year 5 boy, dressed in black and with more than the necessary face-paint.
'Don't you know that I am technically the Grim Reaper?"
Thursday, 18 October 2012
Odds and ends
Thank you for all the lovely comments on the fairy houses - good to know I am not alone in my liking for such fripperies! Just in case you are thinking of making one yourself, I will just share a tip or two.
In fact, before I made the fairy houses, I had made a couple of elf houses, using the pattern that I printed off from Lauren Brandy's tutorial. Here they are...
Elves (as I'm sure you know) like greens and reds (perfect for 'the forthcoming season').
Like their fairy friends, they like wonkiness and flowers. (There's actually a lot of wonk in the walls but you can't see it here - elves clearly like sloping ceilings and floors.)
As they cannot fly, they do not require a calling bell atop their roof, opting for a simple knocker on the door.
Anyway, the very observant amongst you will realise that elf cottages are short and squat compared to their fairy equivalents.
I don't know if it is my printer, but the pattern I printed out didn't actually give me the tall, skinny cottage I had originally seen...
To make the fairy cottages I made a new pattern, deciding on a height, drawing a circle with a radius of that height and then using quarter of the circle as the main pattern to which I added a small seam allowance. I then had to estimate the size for the base - as fairies like 'wonk' it didn't matter too much if it was a wee bit wrong.
I then cut a matching quarter circle and lopped the bottom half off for the roof pattern. Hope this helps!
Aside from such stitching nonsense, we had the delight of little Sophia yesterday (she spends the day with us
each Wednesday - neither Mr U-t-B nor I work that day so we spend the morning going for a walk and playing, then when I go to do my charity shop sorting, Mr U-t-B has the pleasure of his grand-daughter's company all to himself).
At sixteen months she is into everything!
Computers...
(just like her Daddy!)
...handbags...
(just like her Mummy?)
...and my glasses!
She's a wise one who has a grasp on the important things in life beyond her years. Taking her back home at the end of the day, her Dad arrived outside the house just after us, clutching a paperback in his hands.
'Ooh - what's that you're reading?' asks Mr U-t-B of his son.
'The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment,' replies son.
Sophia beams and says, 'Cheeeese!'
If only!
My hearing is not what it used to be. Sometimes this is just a bit of a nuisance (mostly to others) whilst at other times it can result in giggles.
(See this post for example.)
Did you hear about this?
Coming to the day before yesterday, I awoke to either John Humphrys or James Naughtie talking about the genetically modified mice who are being trained to sniff out TNT.
Only I didn't quite hear it right.
I heard that mice were being trained to sniff out PMT.
It didn't even seem like a strange idea.
I think there are those who'd be keen to have one of these mice themselves...
Lastly, if you were following the Primark Shrunken Jumper Challenge, you may be interested to know I managed to squeeze two more things out of it.
One more elf boot...
And another (smaller) owl...
Daddy and daughter...
Right, better get organised for work now!
I'm down to just afternoons for the next two weeks and two days (with half-term in the middle) which is great, except when I get carried away sewing, blogging or doing the chores, and have to rush off without having eaten a proper lunch!
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
An Englishman's home is his castle (or his priory...)
Just recently, we have been getting into the habit of trying to go for a decent walk most days. It is good exercise for
Mr U-t-B's healing back, and for me, too.
Mr U-t-B's healing back, and for me, too.
Tempting though it would be to jump in the car and seek out some local beauty spot for a walk, we have decided to shun that option and walk from our front door. This has led to discoveries in our own neighbourhood that might easily have slipped our notice.
Sunday's walk turned up this quirky residence. I imagine it used to be a church.
What first caught our attention was the magnificent gate...
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| And what a lovely courtyard beyond! |
But then we spotted the gargoyle-topped wall to the right...
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| A study in boredom... |
And another to the left...
Not the prettiest of faces, I'm sure you'll agree, and those nails are enough to give you the heeby-geebies!
I'm sure the 'House Doctor' would have a fit at the over-personal choices here, but I can't help but admire the individuality.
Later on we came to a more familiar sight - that of Aldershot Castle.
I bet you didn't know there was a castle in Aldershot, did you?
It is so often missed off the tourist trail, but here it is, in all its splendour.
The approach...
And the view into the castle courtyard...
Magnificent!
They even have telly in modern castles!
Meanwhile, on the same walk, I spotted two more traditional homes.
This one for if I'm ever re-incarnated as a bird...
Loving its colour and its shabby roof!
And this one, which I'm rather in love with...
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| Late C18. 2 storeys, 3 windows to North and South fronts; small wing to west. Small bell turret surmounts a red-tiled roof, which has hipped ends and a brick dentil eaves. Red brick walling in Flemish bond, with flat rubbed arches to openings, stone cills. Sash windows in reveals. South front has an open Tuscan porch; on the north is a rusticated brick porch of later date. Old boundary wall in Flemish garden wall bond, red stretches and blue headers. (Rushmoor Borough Council's listing details) |
Built in the late eighteenth century, it is (thank heavens) listed, so will hopefully escape the terrible stripping of features that some properties suffer. I'm looking forward to attending to the shutters when I move in...
Friday, 10 September 2010
Reasons to be Cheerful
With thanks to the late, great Ian Dury! Some things just make me smile. Here are a few of them.
We No Speak Americano
Though I am sure many find it intensely irritating, this song
is one of those things at the moment. Maybe its the fact that it based on this from the 1950s...
And when I read what all that Italian means, it did make me chuckle!
Art Deco
From a lovely Bridge scoring booklet I managed to buy a few weeks ago.
Let Your Love Flow - The Bellamy Brothers
Even before it was associated with the great waterslide ad for a certain credit card and the bespectacled guy dealing with a swimsuit malfunction, this song always made me smile. Shame the group then ruined their reputation, IMHO, with the cringe-making 'If I said you had a beautiful body...'
Cake
Need I say more?
Teenage Kicks - The Undertones
I'm pretty much with John Peel on this one. 28 stars out of 5. Takes me back to 'O' levels, sweaty discos at the local football club and, of course, teenage dreams. Most of which, fortunately, did not come true!
Susan Boyle Moments
I'm almost ashamed to admit to being a sucker for talent shows such as the X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. I love those moments when someone triumphs over the prejudices of everyone watching them and I find it quite touching to watch Simon Cowell unable to hide his emotions. I do believe he's turned into a big softie.
Dolphins telling Knock Knock jokes
Wonder whether all those links will work?
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