The Games are now open......

What a wonderful opening ceremony, so well choreographed and so many looking as if they're having a wonderful time. Still waiting for the flame to arrive after the 240 teams that are taking part have all paraded into the stadium.


The lighting effects in the stadium have been stunning and once we turned on the surround sound, the music boomed through the house as it must have around the stadium.


I do feel a little sorry for the drummers that are lining the route while all the athletes walk by, there arms must be ready to fall off.

We're on the eve .......

The opening ceremony is tomorrow night yet events have started taking place already - isn't that the wrong way round?


Yes, finally we are on the eve of the Olympic opening ceremony. The Olympic torch has toured the country and seems to have been very well supported, drawing huge crowds to see it's progress.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18996243

And so, the next few weeks will be morning to night sport, right through until the closing ceremony on August 12th. At the moment we can all have high hopes for our athletes, high expectations of medals and the knowledge that anyone that doesn't not enjoy sport will find it difficult to avoid.


Good Luck Team GB, do us proud!

Is this summer or just a taster.

We are now on day 3 of dry, warm, sunny weather - known to most as summer.


It has been a long time in starting this year with each passing month breaking rainfall records, the usual comment about the rain being 'good for the gardens' has long since stopped being heard as gardens can't absorb anymore rain. 


This weekend saw a shift in the weather system overhead and suddenly our grey stormy skies were replaced with this.

How long this will last is uncertain, we don't know yet whether summer has finally arrived or if this is just the climate giving us a little sample, soon to be taken away.


So for now, the evenings are filled with the sound of lawns being cut and children out playing and the smell of BBQ's being lit.


Enjoy! 

Lazy Sunday Morning......cut short!

If I have a lie-in, it has to be on a Sunday. Quite often I'll be up early with the dogs and then go back to bed and watch a film. This morning was no exception, except halfway through the film the doorbell rang.


After a mad panic to make myself decent and find door keys, I opened the door to find the 'Orange' man on my doorstep. I had deliberately requested a delivery between 1 & 5 pm so as not to disturb any potential lazy Sunday morning. 


Bless! He was using his initiative as he was passing our house on his way from one delivery to his next. It would save him doubling back later.


And so, as he was there I went and got my phone, dismantled it to give him the bit back he was exchanging, and waited for my replacement. He scanned mine, then scanned the one he was going to be leaving and said 'oh dear!'.


'Is your phone a Galaxy Ace?', he said.
'No,' I replied, that's my husband's phone. Mine's a Galaxy S'.
'Ah', says he, 'they've sent the Ace'.


And so I closed the door, rebuilt my phone and went back to bed to finish my film.


Another call needed to Orange, try again. 

Kernel Panic Upload Mode

Until a few weeks ago if anyone had asked me what a kernel was I would have said it's the name for the pieces of corn on a piece of corn on the cob, or the bits of sweetcorn, so imagine my surprise when I started getting a strange message on my mobile phone saying 'kernel panic upload mode'.


Once this message appeared the phone froze and the only way to clear it was to take the battery out and then rebuild the phone. 


I did what I always do and 'Googled' it. Did I find the answer. In a word 'No'.


I now know that a kernel is a computing term. A kernel connects the application software to the hardware of a computer, explanation courtesy of Wikipedia. 


It seems a lot of people are having these kernel panic modes but the suggested solution may as well be written in Chinese. I had no idea what I had done to to get it and no idea what to do to clear it. All I knew was my phone would randomly go into panic mode, which in turn put me in panic mode.


I connected it to my computer to make sure I had the most recent software uploaded. It said I did. I reset everything to factory settings to see if that got rid of it. It didn't.


I called in to my local Orange shop to see if they could help. They couldn't. Not only couldn't they help, they hadn't got a clue what I was talking about, Mr-I've-worked-here-for-four-years-and-never-heard-of-this-problem. He didn't seem too happy when I asked if he would find me someone who had worked there for 5 years to see if they knew what I was talking about. If I wasn't wanting to buy anything and therefore add to his commission for the day, he really didn't want to talk to me.


Once home I rang Orange. I explained my problem and without any hesitation the helpful chap on the other end of the phone said, 'not a problem madam, we'll send you out a new phone, you will have it tomorrow'. 


'Tomorrow is Sunday', I replied. 'Yes, I know. Would you like it delivering between 9-1, 1-6 or 6-10?'


And so, having selected my delivery slot I await a replacement phone tomorrow afternoon which hopefully will be Kernel Panic Mode Upload free.

Wet Hair + Broken Hairdryer = Panic!

I have friends who seem to have a tendency to go though irons at an alarming rate. They seem to have a new one every year and so can get the latest 'features'. I waited years for mine to stop working so I could get a new one.


My problem item is the hairdryer. I have the type of hair that HAS to washed every morning, it does not fair well over night. I'm not one of those lucky ladies that wakes after several hours sleep, shakes their hair and it all falls back into place. I awake after several hours sleep and have hair that looks more like it's been near a hedge backwards than resting peacefully on pillows.


And so, the usual routine this morning of shower, dry hair, put rollers in, have breakfast, take rollers out, leave for work was brought to an abrupt halt when I got as far as shower,........ sweetheart, my hairdryer won't work!


After digging through various cupboards I found my old hairdryer stored in the box of my new hairdryer. I couldn't remember what was wrong with it that had resulted in buying a new one, but it obviously still worked or I would have thrown it away. 


It still had a Spanish plug on it. Fortunately, I knew where the adaptor plugs were and so, panic over, I switched it on.


Then I remembered why I'd bought a new one.


It sounded as if it was going to explode. A noise similar to when you put the stick from an ice-lolly into the spokes of your bicycle wheel. AND, as if that wasn't enough, the heating elements inside glowed redhot - they're not supposed to, are they? This worried me as, many years ago as a child of 7, I was subjected to the bake-a-lite Pifco, popular at the time, turning itself into a flame thrower and while Mum was drying my hair, flames were coming out of the end and narrowly missed setting my hair on fire.

And so, as a stand by incase of emergency, it got me over a serious panic, it's not really for repeated use.


So, time to Google hairdryer reviews and find a new one very, very quick.

Me, A Wii and a fat free diet!

Since I was told my cholesterol was too high I have been dedicated to reducing it so they don't have to prescribe statins for me. My daily regime involves reading nutrition labels closely and putting back anything that contains too much saturated fat. I've swapped all white bread, pasta & rice for wholemeal. I eat fruit like it's going out of fashion. Red meat is off the menu (and oh, how I yearn for a nice, rare, juicy steak). I eat oily fish and vegetables stir fried in sunflower oil. 


Every morning the Wii-fit board comes out from under the sideboard and I burn a few calories cycling, running or any other Wii fit game that passes for a work out.

Eating out has become a nightmare. Last week I met a friend for a catch up and a bite to eat. The only thing I could find on the menu (other than salad, which I really do not do as a main meal - lettuce is SUCH a waste of time!) was roast chicken & chips. That's OK, I'll swap the chips for a jacket spud. Sorry, was the reply, we've none left. OK, says I, I'll have a small side salad (tolerable as a side dish). Said meal with side salad arrived, complete with salad dressing already applied that had not been requested.


So, we've been eating in more. Being more inventive with cooking. Bolognese is now made with Quorn and is quite acceptable, served, of course, with wholemeal spaghetti and a sprinkling of grated Edam, which I am allowed in moderation!


I was still buying stuff for hubby to enjoy, chocolate bars, biscuits, crisps etc. and I was even ok with him eating such treats while sitting in the same room as me, although I did think he was pushing my will-power when he actually passed me a chocolate bar to hold while he sorted one of the dogs out. 


I didn't give it so much as a lick!


In an effort to  give me something to have as a treat we searched the internet for fat-free recipes and I now have home made low fat banana cake and low fat chocolate brownies that really fit the bill when the craving occasionally hits - recipe below


Ingredients


Low fat cooking spray
75g (2 3/4oz) self raising flour
50g (1 3/4oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2 egg whites
175g (6oz) caster sugar
6 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
2 tbsp sunflour oil
2 tsp vanilla essence
15g (1/2oz) chopped walnuts




Method
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180oc/fan oven 160oc. Spray a 20cm (8 inch) square non stick baking pan with the low fat cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt, stirring together to mix.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, egg whites, sugar, apple sauce, oil and vanilla essence.
Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, stirring until just blended. Take care not to over mix, or the brownies will not rise.
Transfer the cake mixture to the baking pan and sprinkle with the walnuts.
Bake in the centre of the oven until just set- about 25 mins. A toothpick or skewer inserted in the centre of the cake should come out clean.
Cool in the tin for 15 mins, then cut into 12 rectangles.


Ok, there's an egg in there - but I have it as one of my 3 permitted egg yolks per week. I cut it into 16 instead of 12 and even my non-dieting friends enjoy a piece with a cuppa.


And this morning my Wii gave me flowers and fireworks, I have reached my 4 week goal a week early.


So far, so good!

Where Rainbows End

I was always a big book reader. I loved a variety of genres and would jump from one to another. I then seem to lose interest for several years but continued to buy books and have them on my bookcase knowing my love of books would return.

Last year I had a Kindle as a present and it has re'kindled' my love of books. I had discovered Cecelia Aherne when she wrote her first book P.S.I Love You and so I decided I would read a another of her books and see if I I enjoyed it as much. I chose 'If You Could See Me Now'  and thoroughly enjoyed it (I'm not going to include a synopsis of each book as they are readily available here:

 http://uk.cecelia-ahern.com/books/

So, over the last couple of years I have read her further books, enjoying each one. But there was one book, her 2nd,  that I couldn't get into. This week I decided to give it another go.

It's written as a series of notes, messages, letters and texts from varies characters as the years pass and I think this was taking a little getting used to.

I downloaded the sample to my kindle and, for some reason, this time i latched into the format from the first page and within a couple of days I was downloading the full version.

A week later, I have just read the last page and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Well worth a read. 

Scan Time

After my recent accident the doctor decided it was prudent for me to have several tests, one of which  was a CT scan to check I have a brain. I suppose that's understandable in view of what happened. After all, it's not normal to drive into a brick wall.

Many years ago I had an MRI scan on my neck and had a serious attack of claustrophobia, panic set in and I was firmly of the view that I would not be able to go near the machine again without enough sedatives to knock out an elephant.


So, the thought of a CT scan had me seriously worried, not so much from the results as much as the actual process.


And so the day arrived and I had Neil drive me to the hospital as I wasn't sure I would be calm enough to drive home after the scan.


The MRI scan had lasted 20 minutes, I had to have a heavy plate on my chest and my arms fastened to my body to stop me moving, it was torture.


I had been told the CT scan would no take as long, would be over in about 10 mins and would not be as bad. I wasn't convinced.


On arrival there were 2 elderly patients with carers waiting ahead of me. The elderly gentleman was in a wheelchair. He had a habit of shouting out every couple of minutes which made me jump and he didn't seem to understand why he was there. They called him in and told me it would be my turn soon.


The other patient was an elderly lady, who sat with her carer looking through magazines. After only a couple of minutes the elderly gentleman came out and she was called in. It was all happening very quickly. 


2 minutes more and I was called through and the mystery as to the speed was solved when the nurse asked me if I too was going to be a difficult patient, as the elderly gentleman had refused to lay down still and they had been unable to catch the elderly lady as she ran around the room.


Infront of me was the machine and as I looked at it the nurse asked me if I'd seen one before. I answered no, but that I was familiar with an MRI scanner and had not had a positive experience. She told me it was a lot quicker, a lot quieter and was a donut not a tunnel and that they referred people for a CT scan that weren't able to tolerate the MRI scanner. I filed that bit of information away for future use, I can tell you.


And so, I lay down on the bed and awaited the 10 minutes of scanning. 2 minutes later it was all over. What a doddle. No stress at all.


And so, I am now waiting for a non-phone call. My consultant said if they find something, anything, they'll ring me. So no phone call is a good thing. I'm just not sure how long I have to wait not to get a phone call before I can be sure they haven't found anything rather than they are still looking.

Nail Art

I'm not a girlie girl. I don't do fancy nails, but I do appreciate the vast range of designs and colours that I see on people. This week I was introduced to 3-D nails by my colleague. I hadn't seen anything similar before and was quite amazed how they were done but they look beautiful. See for yourself.

So, as usual, I Googled it to what else was available and found this blog.


http://3dnailart.blogspot.co.uk/p/3dlicious-shop.html

Wow, it's amazing. There's even videos of how they do each design.


I'm not a girlie girl, but this is definitely a fascinating type of art.

Life in Moderation

The last few weeks have been a lesson in ageing that I could have done without. 


I had a birthday. It was not a special birthday but it did signal a change from being in my early 50's to reaching my mid-50's. I had a good few days, the Queen had given the whole country a day off to celebrate my birthday (although I understand she had a bit of celebrating to do herself too!)


I took an extra day off so I only had 2 days to work before the weekend, but it seems even that was more than I wanted to do. In the end my working week ended after a day and a half when I left the premises in the back of an ambulance. 


Now, there is no need for concern. I am perfectly ok, fortunately. The same cannot be said of my car and a section of the office block where I work. On returning to work I somehow failed to stop in my selected car parking place and continued to drive across the pathway and into the wall of my place of work. I have no recollection of anything after turning my wheels to park and being aware that I was embedded in the wall with a plate glass window now in shatters, some of which was artistically arranged on my bonnet.


3 weeks on I still have no memory of those lost few seconds, but I do still have a job. My work colleagues were understandably concerned enough to call an ambulance and since then I have been having a series of test to see if anything may have caused me to be unaware of driving into a wall. As yet, every test has come back clear. I am very happy that is the case but it does nothing to answer the ever present question - how could it happen.


It had been raining heavy, my other half thinks wet brakes may be to blame. I don't know, I can't remember. My car is being repaired and will be back this week. It now has a name - Christine, it feels as if it has a malevolent streak.




One issue that has been identified from this is that my cholesterol is higher than it should be. So, I am now beginning to become an expert on saturated fat content of a variety of foods - and some of what I have been eating is unbelievably high in these bad fats.


My daily intake should not exceed 20gms. I love cheese, I love red meat and I love white bread. My daily intake was probably multiples of 20gms. So now, I have a whole list of food can't haves and, if I'm honest, most of my daily diet fell on that list. The items that don't, fall in the 'moderation'  column.


After 10 days of eating a low fat diet I am craving those items I can't have - I miss cheese. I could happily cut a chunk off a block and eat. I've watched a film this afternoon of Treasure island, where someone who had been living in a desert island for 3 years craved a bit of heaven - he wanted cheese. I know how he feels.


And so I have finally reached a stage in my life where it has to be lived in moderation. The old joke of 'it won't make me live any longer, it'll just feel like it' applies. My hubby is learning a whole new set of cooking skills and mealtimes are much more inventive than before. My refrigerator is full of strange foods never seen in there before and snacking consists purely of satsumas or sultanas. 


3 months. By then I should have my triglycerides back to normal levels and my eating habits retrained to believe this is normal.


And hopefully, in 3 months the wall will be rebuilt too, then I can put it all behind me and just accept it was 'one of those things'.


I will probably never know what happened on that Friday afternoon, and will always blame 'Christine'. All I can hope is it doesn't happen again.