Lord of the Russian Dolls!

My name is Alex and I am a Lord of the Rings geek.  There, I said it.  It's out there.  I just can't get enough of all things Ring.  I am already  heart-thumpingly excited about The Hobbit coming out at the end of the year.  I have many odd Lord of the Rings 'things' mainly thanks to my net-surfing husband.

In my post about my owl garland, eagle-eyed Gillian spotted my Lord of the Rings russian dolls so I thought I'd give her a special treat and  show you them in glorious close up1

Aggie is getting a closer look!

Odd, yes.  Tacky, probably. But I love them in all their Ringy gloriousness!

Till next time...

A tentative re-start?

Hello!
It has been a long time...over two years in fact.  Emigrating is a major, major head and heart messer.  I am finally feeling that I am coming out of a big fog and actually living a life again.  So off I go with the blog again.
Same rules as before - it's primarily for me to organise my thoughts and feelings and to make me a bit more accountable.  No-one wants to read about how I watched telly, surfed the net and ate chocolate day after day, not even me, so it  should motivate me to notice how I use my time.  It's also a way for family to read about incidental events that happen and to see lots of photos.
I'll aim for at least one a week but I refuse to feel guilty if I fail.

So...to start here are a few photos from the summer:

Summer breakfast

fun in the hot-tub

Mum has fun with a kangaroo

Charlie makes a friend

All dressed up for a wedding

My gorgeous daughter and gorgeous mum

Bill the Alpaca smiles for the camera

 Until next time....

Things I love about Britain No. 5

Red Nose Day

Today is Red Nose Day which is the big fund raising day for Comic Relief, a charity I support whole-heartedly. I know other countries have Comic Relief but it seems so British to me to do silly things to raise money for disadvantaged people.

At school we wore something 'funny for money'. It's very hard trying to teach children who are wearing red afro wigs, pyjamas, red noses, out-size sun glasses, deely boppers and clown outfits! Even harder when you yourself are sporting fetching red hair extensions and a nose with glasses on. I wish we did this more often!

Looking forward to a great night's TV - funny and moving in equal measure.

25 random things

A friend on Facebook recently asked me (and a bunch of other people) to write 25 random things about myself. For your entertainment and information, I recreate it here:


1. My middle name is Jayne
2. I have 6 O levels, no A levels and a BEd (Hons)
3. I hate Jaffa Cakes
4. My children are the things I'm most proud of
5. My favourite dinner is Roast
6. I once danced with Anton Du Beke
7. I hate being this fat
8. I have a tattoo
9. My favourite (almost an obsession) film is Lord of the Rings
10. I am good at archery on the Wii
11. I have very high arches on my feet
12. Tadpoles make me squeamish
13. I suffer from claustrophobia
14. I am frightened about moving to Australia
15. I performed 'It's Oh So Quiet" at a local Stars in their Eyes, and won!
16. I can make chocolate profiteroles from scratch (see No. 7)
17. I have been married for nearly 12 years and am still in love with the man
18. I dream about my books and wake up in tears when I think they've been stolen
19. My favourite chocolate is Cadbury's Fruit 'n' Nut (again, see No. 7)
20. I still can't update my iPod without help
21. I'd really like a dog but the poo puts me off
22. I keep a visual journal
23. I am crocheting a blanket
24. I worry too much, about everything
25. When everyone is out I turn the music up and sing and dance round the kitchen


Please don't hold any of these things against me!