Oh, the new PC kicks SO MUCH arse!

The Sims 2 just loads like - Wham! Pow! Sims! - and you're in the neighbourhood! I mean, on the old one it took a good 15 minutes to start up or quit, but now it's STRAIGHT THERE! It's amazing. I also finally have enough room for Nightlife, so I'm revelling in the novelty of cars, dating and flashy disco lights.

Spore is also very good. Still getting to grips with it, but it's so full of whimsy and wibbly little creatures it should keep me amused for ages.

I should really be working on my current sewing project (Xmas pressie for mum) but I've lost the packet of fabric dye, so that's my excuse. I'm not seeing her again until the second week of January, so it's a fairly relaxed deadline.

All I've eaten today are mini-Toblerones, jelly beans and a donner kebab. I think I've gained the festive-5-pounds already, and we haven't even started on the cake yet.

Also, my hours have been slashed in half at work, so it's time to get the CV re-worked and start whoring myself again. Now is not the time to be in retail, I need to find a new direction. Tough times ahead.

Waaaaah Yaaaaay!!!

We just bought a new computer!

Holy impulse-purchase batman, that cost nearly an entire month's wages for me :s It's me and my BF's epic Xmas pressie to ourselves, but I think it might have to be our Easter, Anniversary and Birthday presents as well!

But ... but... EIGHT TIMES the RAM of the old one, and an actual, functioning dedicated graphics card! Makes you realise the shit we've been working with for so long - hell, just a machine that boots more than 1 time out of 10 will be a joyous delight.

Wow, I'm bored.

5 days now, just sitting at home. 5 days with no heating or hot water. 5 days with a chest infection, bringing up luminous green snot.

This week SUCKS.

I'm so sick of the house, I actually WANT to go to work. I WANT to leave the house and see other humans. But I feel like hell-on-a-stick. Then on Tuesday, I get to take a 4 hour train journey to the dentist to have a lovely, lovely filling.

Oh, and the main PC has died *again*, so I can't even drown my sorrows in The Sims. I've literally been on the sofa, with a duvet for 5 days. Doing crosswords and re-reading the same 3 TNG novels over, and over again. Where it's got to the point that I can visualise the pages, and I've spotted all the proof reading errors. Like that one page where it says "a Romulans" and it drives me mad every time I see it.

I'm going to eat some soup and wake The Boything up so he can amuse me.

Blue Rat died.

That was unexpected. His brother Hot Bob died a few weeks ago, they had always been inseparable, so I commented flippantly at the time "I give Blue a month now!". But he perked up, he was lively and friendly, much brighter and more relaxed than he ever was when Bob was alive. It was as if Bob had actually been holding him back.

But then this morning he was curled up and cold in the little house on the bottom of the cage. :'( I really wasn't expecting that. He'd been so chirpy last night. Oh well, best way to go I suppose - being happy and lively and then just not waking up one morning.

So long Bluey. You never really came out of your shell, so we didn't know you very well, but the last few weeks have been great. We'll miss you, lil' ginger.

Ugh, whenever I haven't posted for weeks, I always feel under pressure to post something epic and exciting.

But that takes energy, so here's a photo of some groovy clouds, and Socrates being camera-shy:





"Awwww no Mum, no photos! My hair's all straggley!"

He's all grown up into a big squishy these days!

First Customer of the day: Hi...do you have any carbohydrate-free flaxseed?
Me: Errr, no. No we don't. Flaxseed naturally contains carbs, sorry.
First Customer of the day: Don't you have any made without it?
Me: No, I'm afraid that's how it comes off the flax plant. *good natured chuckle, thinking she'll realise what a moron she's being and laugh along*
First Customer of the day: So you don't do any kinds where they don't put carbs in?
Me: O_o
First Customer of the day: .....?
Me: *gives up* We don't stock any, sorry - but you could try *rival health food chain*
First Customer of the day: Thanks, I'll ask them!

With apologies to the nice guys at the aforementioned rival shop, for sending you that at 09.02am

Livejournal informs me I have not posted in 4 weeks. Whoops. What's new?

Camera is still buggered, but I got a new phone for my birthday with a good camera on it, so I at least have photo capability. See?



I like my eyebrows at the moment.

And this is precisely the sort of thing I wanted it for - snapping funny/interesting set ups of everyday objects, such as this:



So I'm back, had a good birthday, sewed many, many things, got my first pair of real fully-fashioned stockings from my Mister, quit smoking for a couple of months then started again :(

Not much to tell. I'm making a hotpot for dinner, or rather the slow-cooker is. Gawd bless that little slow-cooker, chugging away while I'm out at work :D Love it! Righ, have to leave for work in about 10 minutes so I'll bid you adieu, and promise it won't be as long before the next post of trivial rambling.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHH!!!

I finally got the fit perfect on my mock up, started cutting the lovely cotton I've spent the last two days washing, shrinking and ironing and I'm a metre short. A whole metre! How the hell?!?

So there goes my lunchtime tomorrow, sprinting across town for a metre of the wretched stuff so I can begin the pre-washing process anew in time to properly get started on Friday. Nice.

Goddammit! Everyone on my F-list seems to be getting kittens! Why aren't I getting a kitten? OK, fair enough, our landlord only just lets the huge aviary of rats slide under the radar, plus kittens and rats wouldn't really be the best of friends. Introduce a kitty to Hot Bob and we'd never get the little thing down off the curtains. He may be old, wobbly and crotchety but I bet Hot Bob could still maul a cat.

I want a stupid little dog. There, I said it. I've always tried to pretend that I'm a sensible "proper dog" kind of person but in all honesty, they scare me. I would love to have a Pomeranian, or a Yorkiepoo (although whoever named the breed that needs to be shot), or a Cairn Terrier that I could put diamante collars on and carry in a handbag.

The V&A dress is up the 4th mock-up (thank fudge I have a ridiculous stash of scrap fabric!) today, I've got the bodice fit perfect and now I just need to make sure the skirt fits onto it then it's on to the real thing! Woo! I badly need a petticoat to go under it, it's just not going to look right without one. If I hadn't spent so freaking much on fabrics, I'd be able to justify one. And that new ironing board I'm lusting after, doesn't look like I can have that one until next month either. Oh, and a new freaking camera!

Still no further clues on the The Mystery Box - my two main suspects have been eliminated, leaving me almost certain that it's someone I don't know :S

I'm starting work on the V&A free download pattern, (Linkity Link!) which I intend to make in navy blue cotton, with white trim for a semi-nautical sort of look. I blew an appalling amount of money at the drapers today, but the feeling of hugging a huge brown paper bag filled with enough fabric to keep me sewing until next payday is worth the guilt!

I also picked up some navy blue stretch cotton to make the Vogue Galaxy dress I mentioned a few posts back - I made a sort-of-wearable mock up in blue polka dot, which I would love to share pictures of, but my camera is broken!! *sob* I've got so many finished projects that I want to show off, and the stupid battery door won't stay closed. Blame my Mister, he dropped it. Booo.

Right, my V&A Horrockses pattern had finished printing, so for the next 3 hours I'll be bent over the coffee table covered in sticky-tape trying to assemble it, then scale it to my measurements. HURRAH!