Posted in Uncategorized on January 30, 2021 by hrhdaf
It would appear as usual I’ve been neglecting the ole’ blog. In my defence I’ve been very busy procrastinating. Plus all these lock downs mean I’m on the computer less because I have more company than usual with hubby not being allowed to work.
So we had Christmas. That was a thing that happened vaguely. Actually it was pretty nice because we were bubbling with GirlChild, so it was really good to spend time with her. I think it was all the stuff surrounding Christmas that was missing, cos there’s usually nights out in the run up to it, plus it’s my birthday just before Christmas so there’ll be celebrations for that, and then New Years was just an utter damp squib this year too.
On the bright side my folks have had their vaccine and that’s slowly rolling out to the masses, so there is an end in sight to this ‘unprecedented time’. Phrase of the decade that is. I just can’t wait for things to be back to normal now.
I’ve started the year doing a 30 days yoga challenge. It finishes on the 31st Jan (cos day one was just a wee introductory video) which is tomorrow. It’s been a really nice way to start the year, but I have missed my Sunday lie in, so I think I’ll be dropping back to 6 days a week after I’m done, but who knows?
Anyway it only remains for me to say Happy New Year and hope everyone’s had fun staring into the void that was January!
Posted in Uncategorized on November 16, 2020 by hrhdaf
Soooo we’re back in lockdown again ain’t we? Feeling very Groundhog Day, although weirdly the year seems to be flying over.
Halloween was a quiet but very pleasant affair that consisted of pumpkin carving, horror films and eating too many sweets. Girl child and I did have a discussion about how shit pumpkins were this year. They seemed to just rot the moment you got ’em. One of mine ended up totally backless cos it was so mushy I had to cut a huge hole in it, and it smelled horrible so it ended up on the back step. Too minging to keep in the house.
Thoughts are starting to turn towards Christmas and I have got quite a few bits and bobs in already, although we still don’t know what’s gonna be happening. I’m hoping Girlchild will be able to join us on Christmas day. and yeah I know its only mid November and I’ll shurrup about it.
Last week I read a really crap feminist book. I’m all for girl power n that but I just felt it was written by a teenager with daddy issues. Won’t be revisiting that one any time soon.
Got tickets to see BMTH next year. Crossing fingers and toes it’ll go ahead because it is quite late in 2021. I keep buying tickets for things cos it’s nice to have some plans having done pretty much naff all this year.
Posted in Uncategorized on October 8, 2020 by hrhdaf
Can’t believe we’re into October already. There’s a nip in the air and my garden is looking half dead so I guess I really need to get out there and do some tidying up.
I do love Halloween though so it’ll be pumpkin carving time before I know it. We never really get any trick or treaters anyway so won’t be a huge difference this year to any other. I’m already starting my October horror film marathon (although it’s my fave genre so it’s not hugely different to normal).
The North East is still in a weird half lockdown and the word on the street (or the news if I’m being completely accurate) is that it’s gonna get even tighter over the next couple of weeks. In anticipation of this I went out for breakfast which was very yum.
It would seem my prediction about my sister living at my folks wasn’t far off the mark. They managed a fortnight before having a huge row which ended with my sister moving out and back to her boyfriend’s. To be honest I’m quite surprised they made it to a fortnight! She’d only been back about a week and a half when they both tested positive for Covid. They’re both quite poorly at the moment but could be a lot worse, so I’m just checking in with em regularly like the pest I am. My sister is mid 50s but she’s fit as a lop, goes running and all that so I’m hoping they make a speedy recovery.
2020 is such a weird year!
Anyway I shall leave with my current jam and hopefully something at least slightly interesting will happen during this month.
Posted in Uncategorized on September 9, 2020 by hrhdaf
So it would appear wordpress has changed since the last time I was here. Really can’t see the point of hiding stuff from you when you’re typing. It feels like some kind of test and I’m really not in the mood to take one today. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it and all that. The only thing it’s really lacking is a media player. Still miss the good old MSN blogs where I could make people listen to music whether they liked it or not!
Anyway so end of August my baby brother turned 50. Can barely believe it. There was a tiny socially distanced get together, but he couldn’t really do anything major. So many reasons to have catch up celebrations once we’re allowed to. I was given cake but it was a newcastle united one so there was a lot of black icing and by the time my mam gave it to me it was utterly squashed so it was just a black lump. Didn’t bother eating that one.
Also my sister and her partner have split up, or maybe split up. It’s all a bit confusing, but she’s currently moved back in with my folks. I think there’s something in the air at the moment. I guess all this covid business is showing the cracks in relationships, or maybe people are just getting on each other’s nerves more. Who knows? So far they’ve managed to cohabit somewhat peacefully but I’m not holding my breath for that to continue.
I had several catch ups with my friends before the schools went back. My thinking was if cases go up again once the kids are all intermingling at least I’ve been out a few times before it happens. Had a couple of very nice meals and a lovely sit about in my mates new house. She has a massive kitchen so we could sit either end with the patio doors open looking over her fab garden. Really nice night and catch up and vodka. But then vodka is always nice.
So not much to report from the Daf household this month, so I guess I’ll just leave you with this that made me snigger.
Posted in Uncategorized on August 13, 2020 by hrhdaf
So August has rolled around and like everywhere else in the UK it’s flippin scorchio here. Since hubby’s been back at work he’s had to dress like this.
I really don’t envy him. While boy child was off we watched the old Charmed series from beginning to end. Hubby walked in the other day and I mentioned it was the very last episode (there were something like 150) and he said ‘So what happened?’ Boy child and I proper sniggered and refused to give him a synopsis on 150 episodes.
Sadly girl child and her fiancé have split up too. Didn’t see that one coming at all but it obviously means their wedding is off. Very sad but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Boy child is also back at work but there are rumblings about redundancies so we’re currently just crossing our fingers and toes it doesn’t come to that.
In other news I’ve been taking advantage of the governments half price incentive to eat out. It’s great, you can stuff your face and the bill comes and it’s less than a groat. My little blonde mate is currently off cos of the school hols so we’re taking advantage.
Also the other day I had my first take away coffee in five months. It was a wonderful moment. Unlike the coffee my mam tried to make the other day for her and my dad, which consisted of hot water, chocolate sprinkles, milk and no coffee. Bless her the box of cappuccino had confused her.
Yesterday was girlchild’s 30th birthday. She’s currently isolating cos she’s just got back from Spain so I made loads of cup cakes so everyone could have birthday cake where ever they were.
I just about killed myself cos the kitchen was about a million degrees and had to have a bit of a lie down after, but I was pleased with the results. I also took her round some balloons.
I am really starting to miss my gigs and festivals and general running around doing silly things, but I think Harv is very happy to still have so much company.
So anyway I think I’ll leave with a song as usual cos I cant get enough of this band.
So we’re into July already (clearly) and it seems to be a year of treading water. I have started to plan a few things for next year because I feel this year it would be just way too optimistic. I now have a couple of festivals and an open air gig on the calendar and it’s nice to have a couple of things to look forward to doing, however far on the horizon they are.
Today has been a bit of a shocker. First I had a load of stuff in bags ready for one of the charity collectors to grab and even though they say don’t leave it out over night they turned up at half six so I missed ’em. Flipping half six??? Just who is that organised?
Then I found out one of my bank cards has been compromised and someone was using it to buy stuff on Amazon. Marvelous. Amazon were not at all helpful but the bank was spot on and sorted it out. The only problem is until my new bank card arrives I can’t buy anything which is a bit annoying.
Hot on the heels of that I managed to chuck a plate on the floor and smash it to bits, and having nothing on my feet at the time I promptly cut my foot.
Like I say, not the best of mornings but hopefully the rest of the day will be chill and make up for it.
This was my morning mood.
Tomorrow I’m going round to my lil blonde mates to have beers in the garden. I’m really rather excited cos I’ve only seen her once and very briefly in months so it’s gonna be fab to have a proper catch up and a natter and booze.
In other news hubby has finally returned to work. Because hes in such close proximity to his pupils (being a driving instructor) he is PPE’d up to his ears. It’s been a bit of a worrying few months as we had literally no income at all, so it’s good he’s back at work. However there is the underlying worry that cos he can’t social distance he might catch something. The phrase ‘rock and a hard place’ springs to mind.
Gonna finish with this, cos I watched the film yesterday and it made me snigger.
I can’t believe we’re half way through the year already. How time flies when you’re locked in!
Something I have discovered about myself during lockdown is that I’m utterly crap at doing my food shopping on line. We are currently shielding still cos of my father in law. Every time the shopping comes it always turns out I’ve ordered way too much to actually fit in my fridge and freezer which leads to much stress, eating things we’d not planned on for tea and the sad throwing out of things that are the least important or expensive. I’ll probably get the hang of it just in time to be allowed back out shopping.
Harv finally got a fur cut as his groomers reopened. He went from this
to this
The garden is looking very tidy and things are beginning to flower.
And every week I have an on line cooking competition with my good buddy Phil. It’s not exactly easy to judge because we can’t try each others food, but it’s good fun and an excuse to cook something fancy.
Just a few of my recent offerings. I also think I may have watched too many things with a twist in the tale. We’ve watched Tales of the Unexpected, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller and Fear itself. At the moment I trust no one and expect to be murdered at any moment.
Anyway I think I’ll leave it there for June. There’s weeding to be done and sunshine to be sat in.
So currently on day two thousand and seventy twelve of lockdown, and have spent most of this month binging telly and winding up the fam trapped here with me. Fortunately the three of us spend a great deal of time ignoring each other so we don’t get on each others nerves and all is still calm in the Daf household.
The only family member causing any bother is the small furry one who managed to break his lead yesterday so he could go and bark wildly at another dog who had the temerity to be having a walk at the same time. Obviously he can’t go to the groomers at the moment so he’s currently turning into a yeti. I had to give him a bath the other day and whilst he was very good while he was in there, half way through he jumped out and refused to get back in until bribed with a doggy sausage.
It was my little blonde mates birthday the other day, so now I’m four birthday nights out behind. Once we’re allowed out there’s gonna be so many celebrations to squish in! Somehow I’ll soldier on and cope though.
In other news I’m still loving the yoga and feel like I’m starting to see results (in other words I can move without creaking/popping/cracking and I’m starting to get weight lifters arms 😉
It’s looking like all my festivals and gigs are gonna be cancelled for the year. I’m just going to have to have my own festival in the garden.
Saw this set in Hull a few years ago and it’s still one of my fave ever. I think I’ll just put my nose on the screen and pretend I’m back there!
So it’s the beginning of April(ish) and what an end to March we’ve had. Obviously the country is in lockdown as much as it can be. Hubby and BoyChild are home with me now (which I’m pleased about) and GirlChild is also at home at the moment, although her other half is still working which I wish he wasn’t but the factory is refusing to close.
So obviously no nights out or gigs for me. So what’s a Daf to do with time on her hands? I’ve binge read Agatha Christies, watched more TV than is good for a person and also done some gardening.
Facetime is a wonderful thing at the moment, and just before I wasn’t allowed to go see them anymore I gave my folks an old iphone and showed them how to video call. To begin with I got a lot of shots of just eyes or just ears, but they seem to have come to grips with it now very well. Clear view of both of them and my dad has even learned how to flip it round to show me things. Go octogenarians!!
I also borrowed a jigsaw from them, thinking it would be a good lockdown activity. I have never done more than help one of my kids with a 12 piece jigsaw before in my life, and apparently chose a real bastard of a one to start off with. I had only been doing it for about half an hour when I realised it was super difficult. There was instant regret but my stubborn streak kicked in and I had to finish it. It was complete aversion therapy and I will never ever do another one.
Just way too much black and white going on here.
I’ve also been doing a lot of baking. It was GirlChilds other half’s birthday a couple of weeks back so I made two cakes and they picked one up. We keep doing dodgy swaps of things from metres apart. We facetimed in the evening and sang happy birthday and saw him blow out his candles. Was actually a nice way to do something together.
Baking seems to be a bit of a theme for me. Other offerings this last couple of weeks have been millionaire shortbread, which was delish and
I also made biscuits. They were really easy and yummy so definitely one I’ll make again.
We are all gonna end up the size of houses.
Sadly GirlChild’s soon to be mother-in-law passed away just over a week ago. The funeral was very strange because only ten of us were allowed to go, and we all had to stay well away from each other so it was very difficult to talk or be comforting.
We followed the coffin in to this song, which came as something of a surprise to me, but I found out later that she had thought because of the video it would be a funny one to have played at her funeral. I think she was right.
Anyway that’s it from me today. Hope everyone is keeping safe and keep washing those hands!
So March is upon us and I’m just starting to feel the urge to get into the garden and do some tidying and planting. In my wisdom I’ve bought a blueberry bush to plant. So I’m hoping in the next couple of years I’ll grow a lovely dodgy crop that I ignore and still buy them from the shop. That’s how my forays into growing anything edible usually go.
So anyway the other week I went to see Madame Butterfly which was interesting. I went with a fairly open mind, but part of me thought I was gonna get bored because it was so long and I wouldn’t really know what they were singing about.
The evening began with dinner and wine. I was all dressed for the theatre in a posh frock and high heels, and then once Id had a second glass of wine decided shoes weren’t for me that evening so ended up in a posh frock and trainers. I’m a classy bird.
Then there were pre-show glasses of wine.
I’ve always thought opera was perhaps a little high brow for me. Imagine my delight when thanks to the marvels of modern technology it had subtitles. It turns out what they’re singing about is incredibly normal stuff. In the first scene, the main guy was singing about how much he liked the house he’d rented.
The intermission came and there was more wine, which we didn’t have time to finish so we took our glasses in with us for the second half.
I ended up having a whale of a time and finding it probably funnier than it was meant to be. Plus considering it was so long it just flew. Also, it turns out that opera audiences are a bit agro. A couple behind me had a bit of a tiff because her phone kept beeping with notifications and her other half was getting quite annoyed about it. Further along, behind my friend, another gentleman had a small argument because the people around him were being too noisy apparently. I, however, was in a wine happy haze and had a great time.
10/10 would definitely do it again.
So on Saturday, I went for lunch with the girls. I was humming and hawing about driving, and at the last minute booked a taxi. I text my friend that I was picking up and said ‘Booked a taxi because wine’. She text back ‘Ok. Because wine’ and a smiley face. This is why I love my friends. They just get me.
We ended up at a place called Fabios which had a cheap as chips lunchtime menu. I was actually very impressed though cos they didn’t cut any corners and it was all lovely. My little blonde mate turned up a wee bit late because she’d forgotten which restaurant we were going to and got there in plenty of time to wait at the wrong restaurant.
Finally, in other news, I’ve taken up yoga. I’ve been doing it since January and have decided I love it a lot. I’m not particularly bendy yet, but I have decided it’s making me feel very zen. Who knew? I keep telling people I’m an ocean of calm because I like how much it annoys them.
Right, I think that’s it for me for today. I shall leave you with this 80s classic which is why I decided to go see the opera in the first place.
Just Stuff 