Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Me


Sorry, I can't but help fall into the Presidents Of The USA song whenever I think of peaches. The unknown fruit/nut tree that has been sat in my garden has in fact turned out to be a peach. I never thought that peach trees would bear fruit in this country but I was wrong. Maybe I should have been listening to James and the Giant Peach a bit harder. Never mind, I now have at least 10 peaches to eat before the slugs and other bugs get them.
mmmmm... millions of peaches, peaches for me, millions of peaches, peaches for free.....

Monday, September 25, 2006

The Willow Tree


This is my parent's willow tree. It broke, so they had to hack away at it until it stood almost naked. It's exposed now, bare until it can grow some new branches.
How the mighty can crumble... but it's all ready growing.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Observations of A Wednesday Morning

I hate spiders. I particularly hate it when I happily wander into a room and it's just there, on the floor. This makes me go highly girly and scream lots. Then I squash it, and then have to leave the hoover over it for at least five minutes to make sure it's been sucked up.

Why is it that even this picture gives me the willies?













I also wonder why I just spent £5 for the priviledge of being shown how to use 3 pieces of equipment that I probably could have figured out in five seconds. Be aware of a slightly uncoordinated (or should that be VERY uncoordinated) tall woman attempting to use the running machines. I tried it for a few moments today and it was allready comedy. On a related note I recently saw the bizarrest video involving a band doing a syncronised dance on treadmills.

This is OK Go. They are probably quite strange.

Monday, September 18, 2006

The Curious Incidents Of Hilary In The Daytime

First of all, here is my sunflower

Isn't it amazing that one small seed can produce something so heauge? It's pretty. And the only one on the street, ha ha.
















Note to self - don't go online when drunk!
Because this is what will happen... my obsession with hoyas reached a climax last week when I came home and decided to buy 6 hoyas after a few bevvies. I recieved the plants four days later and then was slightly concerned about how I was going to make them all grow. I decided, as it's a bit cold now, to get them a little propagator in the hope that will make them happy and root quickly.

On my way back from the nursery with the propagator somehow stuffed into my pannier, the most bizarre thing happened. I was cycling along relatively happily (I was tired and I wanted to get home) when suddenly a car goes past me, I hear a loud clap and my top leg is instantly in agony. Someone shot me with a paintball-style gun. Luckily it didn't break the skin (much) but it gave me quite a shock. The Munchkin told me today that this is something UWE students do to people, just shoot paintballs at them. Is this their idea of fun?

Although, this has to be the first bruise I didn't inflict upon myself...

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Onion and Mushroom Gravy

Tasty, tasty, very very tasty

Serves 3 hungry people

A knob butter
Two Onions, sliced
A box mushrooms, sliced
Good splash red wine
Teaspoon cornflour
Gravy browning
Vegetable stock cube
Hot water/water you've just boiled the potatoes/veg in

Melt butter in a pan or saucepan.
Add onions and fry on a medium heat until translucent, try not to burn
Add mushrooms and stir for a couple of minutes.
Add the wine and cook for a further five minutes.
Meanwhile, place the cornflour onto a saucer and mix into a splash of wine. Add a few drops (NO MORE!!!) of gravy browning until it goes brown.
Break stock cube over mushroom mixture and stir in. Mix in the cornflour mixture. Add a good splash of hot water and mix. Heat until the liquid thickens. Enjoy. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Good with bangers and mash.

Monday, September 11, 2006

9/11: I Was There

Ok folks, this is a personal entry about a distressing event. Please don't get upset with me when it gets distressing. I am only recounting the truth as I remember it.

September 9th, 2001. I was staying at my sister's husband's apartment in New York, in Greenwich Village, sleeping on the futon in the main room. I was at the end of my two month trip around the world and was just "passing through" on my way home. I was due to leave on the 10th and that day was going to go to the Stock Exchange.
Just after 9 we get a phone call. It's Richard, my sister's husband, telling us someone's just flown into the World Trade Centre. Immediately we put the news on, and the first reports were coming in. Someone filmed the second one coming in, and they put that on the news. As soon as I saw it I knew it was no accident.

The rest of the day and the next few days are a bit of a blur. I remember us all sat around the room in shock watching the news for hours on end. One of the guys who came to sit with us, a friend of Theresa or Richards, I can't remember, had seen people jumping out of the windows to save themselves. The towers came down in fairly quick succession to each other and I remember thinking that when the second one came down, it was a replay of the first one until I looked out the toilet window and saw it go down. I went out later in the day to see people sat in parks watching the smoke and listening to their radios. None of the phones were working but for some reason the internet was so we managed to get emails out to our family that we were OK. I remember sending one to Tony, who then kindly sent it on to all the people I'd been emailing about my trip round the world, who then sent me emails back saying they were glad I was OK.

We'd spent lunch not two days before in the World Trade Centre cafe, I remember lifts that made your stomach jump, and afterwards we wondered what had happened to those people there. My flight, of course, did not leave the next day, so I had a couple of extra days in New York. I couldn't go visit the Empire State Building and taxis could only take you so far downtown. I particularly remember going to an Indian a couple of days later downtown and making some crass remark about the mango ice cream being an insult against humanity.

The real thing I remember about my trip is the flight home. I'd spent days trying to find out from BA when I could get a flight. In the end they started flying back on the Friday. So, on Friday, I made my way to JFK International airport. My sister had told me to come back if they weren't flying out but I knew I probably wouldn't be coming back. JFK was complete chaos, nobody knew what flight they were going to take if any, and you just checked your baggage in and hoped. I had a moment trying to explain what a digeridoo was (I had just been to Australia) and had to put it in the hold as it was a dangerous instrument... I then just sat for what was probably hours waiting to see if I'd get a flight out. In the departure lounge, if you could call it that, there were no shops, nothing. I was starving and hoping that I would get through and get something to eat. I'd promised myself cesar salad if I did. Sometime a bit later the lady who had served me at checkouts came round saying "Are you Roberts?" I answered yes, that I was. She'd got me a ticket to London, and somehow remembered me, it was the most bizarre thing ever. so I finally got through the passport control and to a restaurant, where, believe it or not, they were serving cesar salad. I was squashed in economy and on a night flight, but I didn't give a shit, I was going home. None of the payphones were working but I managed to get to the information desk and ask one of the ladies there if I could borrow her mobile to call my sister. I was lucky once more as there was such a queue for the phone that soon after I got through the lady wasn't letting anyone call on her phone any more.
One thing I remember about the flight home is that I was really scared to change my watch back to English time until I knew I was back in London. You have no idea how overjoyed I was when we flew over London and I saw the Millenium Wheel. Then I knew I was home.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Gone In 60 Seconds

If I could steal cars, these would be the ones I'd try and get away with:

Kit
Well, if you're going to steal a car, why not a fictional one?

A Delorean
As above. Preferably one that could fly. That would be cool. Not so bothered about the time travel bit...

Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am 1979
Well, if you were going on a stealing spree, you might just pick one up for the boyfriend. Cos you love him.

Ferrari Enzo
Well, you'd have to steal a Ferrari. And this is the one everyone talks about.

An Old MG
My car knowledge doesn't go very far but I'd like one of those cute MGs I see sometimes rusting in corners.

Austin DB9
So I could pretend to be Bond, although knowing me I'd be a complete pansy in it. If only you could get one with rocket launchers so you can remove the traffic in front of you. Oooh, and a passenger ejector seat in case you don't like the person sat next to you.... he he

And, of course, the Batmobile.

Saionara.

Monday, September 04, 2006

This Week, I Shall Be Mostly Dancing...

The "I get free plants" dance

Yay! As most of you know, I'm completely obsessed with plants, especially Hoyas. I recently bought a hoya off a Swedish trade site (try doing this and not knowing any Swedish...) and then realised that in order to send the seller money, I would have to pay £20 for the privilege (meep) of transferring £10 to a Swedish bank account. But, instead, if I have plants she doesn't have, all I have to do is pay for the postage of sending her plants in return for new plants coming through the post to me...

*dancing*