Made it!
Damn......down ain't so easy!
Sunday, 8 January 2006
Saturday, 7 January 2006
STOP! ....I wanna get off.
That is today I am talking of, today I would like to stop and get off.
If I were asked to compile a list of the top twenty crap days in my life, today would surely be in there somewhere.
It began yesterday afternoon in fact and just carried on into today, progressing steadily downhill. Yesterday I managed, despite getting toward two years in the blogosphere thus far 'incident free' to have two fellow bloggers call me a 'moron'. Both in comments, both completely unconnected. The first because I made a mistake with something and despite my attempting to rectify that mistake and apologise, and the second, purely because the individual concerned didn't like my only mildly expressed opinion. It begs the question quite how insulting he/she might have been had I said it how I really saw it!
So I was somewhat narked, the first incident quite upset me but I let off steam to a friend and that was that.
This morning I woke having only had three hours sleep. I never sleep well on a Friday night, it's the knowing I have to be up at 5am that does it.....or rather the fear that I won't be to be more specific. It was one of those mornings where the well oiled routine somehow didn't work quite as it should. The milk in my coffee was sour, the cats got under my feet and my car breaks seized again, though this is only the first time this winter, so perhaps I should count myself lucky in comparison to last year.
And so I stumbled into work at the very last moment (I hate doing that), hot and bothered and tired....to be met with some sad news about someone whom I care, and which others of our number seem to consider only good fodder for malicious gossip. What is it about other people's misfortune and sadness that some find so amusing? My hackles rose still further.
The day continued, it was a maniacally busy one, my hip was giving me serious gip (yes, I am old enough to have an arthritic hip thankyouverymuch) my head hurt and all I wanted to do was slope off into a corner somewhere..... but no chance. It took four, not the usual two of us, to fend off the customers on our little customer service 'box'....four people barely fit, we were tripping over each other, we were each trying to deal with a multitude of problems at any one time, there were queues of moaning, irritated people constantly, the EPOS software played up, the whole computer system attempted to crash completely, threatening to disable everything in in it's wake if it succeeded and gradually I had that horrible, sinking feeling that what usually runs like clockwork, well mostly at least, was spiraling rapidly out of control before my very eyes.
On and on it went, no let up. What it was specifically about today that made it fall so badly apart I don't know, a mad day at work is usually more entertaining than the slow ones but today I just lost the plot somewhere amid the madness, today I just wanted to slope off and snivel for a while, but of course I didn't......well, it just wouldn't be seemly would it!
Much chocolate is now in order I think.......
If I were asked to compile a list of the top twenty crap days in my life, today would surely be in there somewhere.
It began yesterday afternoon in fact and just carried on into today, progressing steadily downhill. Yesterday I managed, despite getting toward two years in the blogosphere thus far 'incident free' to have two fellow bloggers call me a 'moron'. Both in comments, both completely unconnected. The first because I made a mistake with something and despite my attempting to rectify that mistake and apologise, and the second, purely because the individual concerned didn't like my only mildly expressed opinion. It begs the question quite how insulting he/she might have been had I said it how I really saw it!
So I was somewhat narked, the first incident quite upset me but I let off steam to a friend and that was that.
This morning I woke having only had three hours sleep. I never sleep well on a Friday night, it's the knowing I have to be up at 5am that does it.....or rather the fear that I won't be to be more specific. It was one of those mornings where the well oiled routine somehow didn't work quite as it should. The milk in my coffee was sour, the cats got under my feet and my car breaks seized again, though this is only the first time this winter, so perhaps I should count myself lucky in comparison to last year.
And so I stumbled into work at the very last moment (I hate doing that), hot and bothered and tired....to be met with some sad news about someone whom I care, and which others of our number seem to consider only good fodder for malicious gossip. What is it about other people's misfortune and sadness that some find so amusing? My hackles rose still further.
The day continued, it was a maniacally busy one, my hip was giving me serious gip (yes, I am old enough to have an arthritic hip thankyouverymuch) my head hurt and all I wanted to do was slope off into a corner somewhere..... but no chance. It took four, not the usual two of us, to fend off the customers on our little customer service 'box'....four people barely fit, we were tripping over each other, we were each trying to deal with a multitude of problems at any one time, there were queues of moaning, irritated people constantly, the EPOS software played up, the whole computer system attempted to crash completely, threatening to disable everything in in it's wake if it succeeded and gradually I had that horrible, sinking feeling that what usually runs like clockwork, well mostly at least, was spiraling rapidly out of control before my very eyes.
On and on it went, no let up. What it was specifically about today that made it fall so badly apart I don't know, a mad day at work is usually more entertaining than the slow ones but today I just lost the plot somewhere amid the madness, today I just wanted to slope off and snivel for a while, but of course I didn't......well, it just wouldn't be seemly would it!
Much chocolate is now in order I think.......
Friday, 6 January 2006
I hang my head in shame
I have a confession to offer up this morning, my head is hung in abject shame, I should perhaps be manacled in stocks and pelted with rotten tomatoes, ridiculed by all!
What is my sin, this despicable, heinous crime of mine? I sat and watched, purposely I might add, this was no accident, the first episode of Celebrity Big Brother , the whole issue, one and a half hours, I can't even prove repentance by having switched off within the first half hour....
I watched it all, start to finish, every last moment, I have no excuses!
What makes it worse is that it was appalling, the word 'celebrity' where applied to this particular bunch of contestants is somewhat inappropriate, they are a bunch of 'has beens' and Z listers. Save for perhaps what might be considered by some the voyeuristic ratings pull of persuading Michael Barrymore to take part, the others are not anything remotely approaching names of high celebrity calibre, very much the reverse......Rula Lenska, Pete Burns, Traci Bingham and Jodie Marsh to name but a few.
But there was worse to come, the final death knell sounded loud and clear for me with the entry of the final 'celebrity', George Galloway. Need I say more, my punishment was complete, to give that man any kind of access to air time or exposure is bordering on the obscene!
What is my sin, this despicable, heinous crime of mine? I sat and watched, purposely I might add, this was no accident, the first episode of Celebrity Big Brother , the whole issue, one and a half hours, I can't even prove repentance by having switched off within the first half hour....
I watched it all, start to finish, every last moment, I have no excuses!What makes it worse is that it was appalling, the word 'celebrity' where applied to this particular bunch of contestants is somewhat inappropriate, they are a bunch of 'has beens' and Z listers. Save for perhaps what might be considered by some the voyeuristic ratings pull of persuading Michael Barrymore to take part, the others are not anything remotely approaching names of high celebrity calibre, very much the reverse......Rula Lenska, Pete Burns, Traci Bingham and Jodie Marsh to name but a few.
But there was worse to come, the final death knell sounded loud and clear for me with the entry of the final 'celebrity', George Galloway. Need I say more, my punishment was complete, to give that man any kind of access to air time or exposure is bordering on the obscene!
Thursday, 5 January 2006
Bloggers are nice!
Yes, I'm going to blow our own trumpet.
We bloggers, I consider, can be a nice bunch, we may be a little odd, a little obsessive from time to time but nice seems to also be a trait of many in the blogosphere. Not for the first time, someone out of the blue and who I don't know very well, thought of me, or more specifically Tilly yesterday and made the effort to brighten our day. It was a small thing but it's the little surprises that count.
Janine of Reflective Musings was out and about in her native Saskatoon, Canada when she noticed a road sign, took the time to take a photograph and mailed it to me. Thanks Janine, I'm still amazed when people so far away take the trouble to do little things like this.
Yes, we bloggers are a nice bunch. :o)
Tilly thinks we should move!
We bloggers, I consider, can be a nice bunch, we may be a little odd, a little obsessive from time to time but nice seems to also be a trait of many in the blogosphere. Not for the first time, someone out of the blue and who I don't know very well, thought of me, or more specifically Tilly yesterday and made the effort to brighten our day. It was a small thing but it's the little surprises that count.
Janine of Reflective Musings was out and about in her native Saskatoon, Canada when she noticed a road sign, took the time to take a photograph and mailed it to me. Thanks Janine, I'm still amazed when people so far away take the trouble to do little things like this.
Yes, we bloggers are a nice bunch. :o)
Tilly thinks we should move!
Wednesday, 4 January 2006
A small trail of destruction
She may look all innocence and peace but believe you me Tilly has far from grown out of her predilection for living life like a manic bag of frogs!
In just the week since we returned from our Christmas trip away her catalogue of destruction has increased dramatically to include yet more casualties. There are more curtains with 'track marks' and pulls, a torn bed sheet, the result of trying to apply her brakes way too fast, a broken vase, a bonsai tree looking somewhat 'ragged' through her constant passion for it as a dietary supplement, more scratches on my now almost beyond redemption leather computer chair, a storage basket minus a handle, apparently seagrass is a tasty tidbit for teething kittens, a constantly soaked corner of the kitchen carpet from her incessant attempts at high diving off the counter tops into her water bowl and a very old and precious teddy bear with more tufts of fur removed than over forty years of ownership had managed!
Her claw ends have been clipped, much to her annoyance, she currently 'enjoys' quite regular spells of 'time out' in the hallway and she has been subjected to the odd stern talking too here and there.....but does she care?....does she hell, she puts her head on one side, looks the disciplinarian hard in the eye and begins to purr at a decibel level of a large tractor!
Oh, and I still get woken at an unearthly hour each day having my chin or hair chewed! God love her!
In just the week since we returned from our Christmas trip away her catalogue of destruction has increased dramatically to include yet more casualties. There are more curtains with 'track marks' and pulls, a torn bed sheet, the result of trying to apply her brakes way too fast, a broken vase, a bonsai tree looking somewhat 'ragged' through her constant passion for it as a dietary supplement, more scratches on my now almost beyond redemption leather computer chair, a storage basket minus a handle, apparently seagrass is a tasty tidbit for teething kittens, a constantly soaked corner of the kitchen carpet from her incessant attempts at high diving off the counter tops into her water bowl and a very old and precious teddy bear with more tufts of fur removed than over forty years of ownership had managed!
Her claw ends have been clipped, much to her annoyance, she currently 'enjoys' quite regular spells of 'time out' in the hallway and she has been subjected to the odd stern talking too here and there.....but does she care?....does she hell, she puts her head on one side, looks the disciplinarian hard in the eye and begins to purr at a decibel level of a large tractor!
Oh, and I still get woken at an unearthly hour each day having my chin or hair chewed! God love her!
Tuesday, 3 January 2006
Dear customer......
......I feel it only right and proper that with the increasing evidence that despite showing no physical signs of having suffered a heinous blow to the head or other physical injury you are presenting with an apparently retail specific form of amnesia I remind you kindly of a few points.
Christmas: Christmas is a time of good will to all men, I believe that this term is a generic one and was intended to refer to all of mankind, the consequence of this is that it includes womankind. Because I am smaller and less of a physical threat to you it does not automatically invite you to choose me to take your life's frustrations out on. I assure you, it is not my fault your offspring stayed out too late last night against your wishes and inhibiting your sleep and then came home drunk at age fifteen, that your dog was sick on your newly laid carpet or that your wife suddenly suffered a 'headache' when you least wished her too. It does not mean you may use me as a verbal punch bag, poke me, prod me, throw things at me or spit in my face in your anger that your chosen item for purchase it out of stock or has in some other way displeased you!
Opening times: Please note, our changes to opening times are clearly displayed on the doors and counters over the festive period. We are not feeling blessed at working throughout this time so please don't moan so incessently that our hours are shorter than the norm and I might at this point make a polite request that you cease to call us before we have opened, or after we have closed, only to be told such and persist in expecting us to carry on serving you regardless. We too have homes to go to.
N.B. Please resist the temptation to use the general enquiry line as your own personal shopper, how about considering the possibility that if you got off your fat rump and came to select your own goods it may help in the post Christmas pud excess weight issue!
Refunds: Yes, our refund policy is clearly stated in bright colurs on the reverse of your receipt...which incidentally we did give you, you subsequently lost it, that is not our responsibility. It states that you may have a no quibble refund or exchange (your choice) within 28 days of purchase, if the goods are returned to us in resaleable condition and with your receipt....that applies to you too. There is not a special dispensation clause for you because the dog ate it, it's 'somehwere' but you can't find it, your husband/mother/auntie/son has it, you have been away on darkest Africa for six months or you 'forgot' to return the item for two years. No we can't re-sell it in that annhilated condition and no the next customer doesn't want it second hand!
Don't give me the old hogwash about 'I must refund you because it is an own brand product therefore you must have purchased it with us'....live in the real world please, do you have any idea how many people pick something off the shelf and then walk directly to customer sevices for a refund? It's the oldest form of retail theft in the book and whilst I am sure you would never do that sir and I would never suggest such a thing, thives don't these days wear a stripey jumper and carry a bag on their shoulder marked 'swag'.
N.B. The law does not entitle you to a refund in any other instance than that of faulty goods or those not fit for the purpose. We will however offer you a no questions, full refund if you adhere to the above conditions, this is however a goodwill gesture, not a legal obligation.... don't try to fight me on this one, I know the law on the subject I promise you. Threats carry no weight, trading standards don't scare me and I will happily get the manager to speak to you sir/madam, he is more than welcome to deal with your nastiness and he knows retail law just as I do.....oh and he's bigger than me so your intimidation tactics won't wash there either.
Abuse: Abuse in any form won't win you your battle, I have learnt over many years to tolerate being shouted at, insulted, threatened and physically man handled, I will not shout back, I will not insult you back, I will still smile at you..... I have had the psychology lessons. I can make you feel much smaller than even me and remain the epitome of manners. If you are polite to me I will help all I can, if you are rude I have already closed my mind to you and you can go to hell, no deal. My job description requires that I tolerate your ill mannered behaviour but at the point you resort to oscene language or physically threaten or touch me I can ask you to leave, if you don't I can have you removed forcibly.
Tills: If you find yourself in a queue I will do all that I can to alleviate the problem quickly but I only have nine till lanes...... once they are all mannned I cannot invent more, much as I may like to.
EPOS: EPOS system breakdowns are not my fault, I don't rig my tills in the morning to break down purely to annoy you and if your bank declines your card payment I cannot access your bank account and fix it for you. You might like to consider that you are over your overdraft limit rather than blame me.
Closing time: When I make an announcement over the tannoy that we are closed it means just that....we are closed! I have already given you warning of this for the last half an hour at five minute increments and at high volume, don't tell me you didn't hear it, I am infamous for my loud voice even without the electronic enhancement. Closing time is not the moment at which to choose to place a complicated order and on a Sunday it is a legal requirement that we close on time, we are not trying our best to ruin your day intentionally.
And finally a question that has long confounded all of us in retail: What in God's name posesses or motivates you to be queuing at the door at 8am in the snow on a bank holiday? Do you really have nothing better to do?
*This post is also reproduced here.
Christmas: Christmas is a time of good will to all men, I believe that this term is a generic one and was intended to refer to all of mankind, the consequence of this is that it includes womankind. Because I am smaller and less of a physical threat to you it does not automatically invite you to choose me to take your life's frustrations out on. I assure you, it is not my fault your offspring stayed out too late last night against your wishes and inhibiting your sleep and then came home drunk at age fifteen, that your dog was sick on your newly laid carpet or that your wife suddenly suffered a 'headache' when you least wished her too. It does not mean you may use me as a verbal punch bag, poke me, prod me, throw things at me or spit in my face in your anger that your chosen item for purchase it out of stock or has in some other way displeased you!
Opening times: Please note, our changes to opening times are clearly displayed on the doors and counters over the festive period. We are not feeling blessed at working throughout this time so please don't moan so incessently that our hours are shorter than the norm and I might at this point make a polite request that you cease to call us before we have opened, or after we have closed, only to be told such and persist in expecting us to carry on serving you regardless. We too have homes to go to.
N.B. Please resist the temptation to use the general enquiry line as your own personal shopper, how about considering the possibility that if you got off your fat rump and came to select your own goods it may help in the post Christmas pud excess weight issue!
Refunds: Yes, our refund policy is clearly stated in bright colurs on the reverse of your receipt...which incidentally we did give you, you subsequently lost it, that is not our responsibility. It states that you may have a no quibble refund or exchange (your choice) within 28 days of purchase, if the goods are returned to us in resaleable condition and with your receipt....that applies to you too. There is not a special dispensation clause for you because the dog ate it, it's 'somehwere' but you can't find it, your husband/mother/auntie/son has it, you have been away on darkest Africa for six months or you 'forgot' to return the item for two years. No we can't re-sell it in that annhilated condition and no the next customer doesn't want it second hand!
Don't give me the old hogwash about 'I must refund you because it is an own brand product therefore you must have purchased it with us'....live in the real world please, do you have any idea how many people pick something off the shelf and then walk directly to customer sevices for a refund? It's the oldest form of retail theft in the book and whilst I am sure you would never do that sir and I would never suggest such a thing, thives don't these days wear a stripey jumper and carry a bag on their shoulder marked 'swag'.
N.B. The law does not entitle you to a refund in any other instance than that of faulty goods or those not fit for the purpose. We will however offer you a no questions, full refund if you adhere to the above conditions, this is however a goodwill gesture, not a legal obligation.... don't try to fight me on this one, I know the law on the subject I promise you. Threats carry no weight, trading standards don't scare me and I will happily get the manager to speak to you sir/madam, he is more than welcome to deal with your nastiness and he knows retail law just as I do.....oh and he's bigger than me so your intimidation tactics won't wash there either.
Abuse: Abuse in any form won't win you your battle, I have learnt over many years to tolerate being shouted at, insulted, threatened and physically man handled, I will not shout back, I will not insult you back, I will still smile at you..... I have had the psychology lessons. I can make you feel much smaller than even me and remain the epitome of manners. If you are polite to me I will help all I can, if you are rude I have already closed my mind to you and you can go to hell, no deal. My job description requires that I tolerate your ill mannered behaviour but at the point you resort to oscene language or physically threaten or touch me I can ask you to leave, if you don't I can have you removed forcibly.
Tills: If you find yourself in a queue I will do all that I can to alleviate the problem quickly but I only have nine till lanes...... once they are all mannned I cannot invent more, much as I may like to.
EPOS: EPOS system breakdowns are not my fault, I don't rig my tills in the morning to break down purely to annoy you and if your bank declines your card payment I cannot access your bank account and fix it for you. You might like to consider that you are over your overdraft limit rather than blame me.
Closing time: When I make an announcement over the tannoy that we are closed it means just that....we are closed! I have already given you warning of this for the last half an hour at five minute increments and at high volume, don't tell me you didn't hear it, I am infamous for my loud voice even without the electronic enhancement. Closing time is not the moment at which to choose to place a complicated order and on a Sunday it is a legal requirement that we close on time, we are not trying our best to ruin your day intentionally.
And finally a question that has long confounded all of us in retail: What in God's name posesses or motivates you to be queuing at the door at 8am in the snow on a bank holiday? Do you really have nothing better to do?
*This post is also reproduced here.
Monday, 2 January 2006
Back to normality.....
....whatever that is!
As a child I adored Christmas and new year, though quite why New Year was of any interest to me I don't really recall but as the years fly by I find myself somewhat less enamored of the whole performance.
That said I enjoyed Christmas immensely this year, three whole days with my family and to share a Christmas with my nieces was a treat indeed but as for new year, that always just strikes me as a 'non event', nothing really happens and mostly we all have the usual up's and down's in any given year, nothing great to celebrate and hopefully nothing too dreadful to mourn.
As a rule I show willing and at least stay up to see the new year in but this year, a few heavy days at work and PG working all evening meant I stumbled into bed before the allotted hour. PG arrived home some tiny time before Big Ben did his thing (is Big Ben a him I wonder?) and woke me up to say 'Happy New Year'..... and that was it. Some party animal me eh?
Can we all get back to some semblance of normality now please?
As a child I adored Christmas and new year, though quite why New Year was of any interest to me I don't really recall but as the years fly by I find myself somewhat less enamored of the whole performance.
That said I enjoyed Christmas immensely this year, three whole days with my family and to share a Christmas with my nieces was a treat indeed but as for new year, that always just strikes me as a 'non event', nothing really happens and mostly we all have the usual up's and down's in any given year, nothing great to celebrate and hopefully nothing too dreadful to mourn.
As a rule I show willing and at least stay up to see the new year in but this year, a few heavy days at work and PG working all evening meant I stumbled into bed before the allotted hour. PG arrived home some tiny time before Big Ben did his thing (is Big Ben a him I wonder?) and woke me up to say 'Happy New Year'..... and that was it. Some party animal me eh?
Can we all get back to some semblance of normality now please?
Sunday, 1 January 2006
Saturday, 31 December 2005
Last post!
Ok, ok, you can stop all the cheering and clapping, this post title doesn't signify that gemmak's-ville is closing down, you don't escape as easily as all that, it is merely a reference to this being the very last post in my 'post every day for a year' challenge!
I can no longer remember who it was who set the challenge or if it was just me that challenged me but however or whoever, I did it, this post is the final one in a year of getting a post published, by hook or by crook, every day since the 1st January 2005....I did it! Yayyy.
Perhaps only a small discipline I know but there have been times I promise you when it felt like a small mill stone around my neck, when I could think of absolutely nothing worth typing, yes I know that has been apparent from my content on many occasions, or was for one reason or another unable to access the internet.... but with a little help from my friends ....thank you Lisa, I managed it one way or another.
This morning at 5 am I thought I was going to be thwarted at the final moment. I got up for work and to post 'Saturday silliness' only to find that the ever efficient Wanadoo had killed off my connection yet again. Panic set in, given that last time it took them almost three weeks to rectify (something for which we are still enjoying months of free service), I left PG with instructions to get me a connection, any connection, up and running by this evening! He did not receive his instructions well at that time in the morning but none the less he got it fixed and here I am.
So that's it, my year is over, all that remains is to thank my tirelessly loyal readers for tolerating a year of such drivel and to wish you all a happy 2006.
I can no longer remember who it was who set the challenge or if it was just me that challenged me but however or whoever, I did it, this post is the final one in a year of getting a post published, by hook or by crook, every day since the 1st January 2005....I did it! Yayyy.
Perhaps only a small discipline I know but there have been times I promise you when it felt like a small mill stone around my neck, when I could think of absolutely nothing worth typing, yes I know that has been apparent from my content on many occasions, or was for one reason or another unable to access the internet.... but with a little help from my friends ....thank you Lisa, I managed it one way or another.
This morning at 5 am I thought I was going to be thwarted at the final moment. I got up for work and to post 'Saturday silliness' only to find that the ever efficient Wanadoo had killed off my connection yet again. Panic set in, given that last time it took them almost three weeks to rectify (something for which we are still enjoying months of free service), I left PG with instructions to get me a connection, any connection, up and running by this evening! He did not receive his instructions well at that time in the morning but none the less he got it fixed and here I am.
So that's it, my year is over, all that remains is to thank my tirelessly loyal readers for tolerating a year of such drivel and to wish you all a happy 2006.
Friday, 30 December 2005
Tilly toes
A Tilly first....... I might add though that she didn't get much further, she's still testing her 'snow paws'!
Thursday, 29 December 2005
Playing catch-up
Is it only me that can go away for just three days and then find that it takes forever to catch up? Surely such a short period away from home shouldn't cause such disruption? Who knows, but for me twas ever thus and this 'post festive' spell is no different.
I feel as though all I have done since we arrived home is one load of laundry after another, followed by copious amounts of ironing, cleaning and sorting out of one thing or another.
I have blogs waiting to be designed, emails protruding from my ears, as yet unanswered, comments barely read and on and on the list seems to go! Tomorrow I get the payback for Christmas off work, the first of four full days back in retail hell, I hate it, the boredom and frustration that goes hand in hand with it is enough to drive me demented, all the more so when I have so much here I need to get done.
Ahhh, but then there is the snow, the beautiful, beautiful snow that is still very much in evidence in gemmak's-ville. Maybe I am so behind because I have spent way too much long gazing out of the window the last two days watching the flakes fall silently, creating a pristine white carpet as they gather on the floor. It is truly beautiful, every tree and branch is laden, my whole panoramic view is white from top to bottom, the stuff of my dreams........ though when I attempt to get into work tomorrow I may feel a little differently!
So far we have only perhaps 2.5 inches but we have more forecast for tonight and tomorrow. The roads in the sub zero temperatures are already like a slick of ice out here in the middle of nowhere and despite the forecast suggesting we should be at minus 2 degrees, at my back door the mercury is showing minus 7 already. PG had some difficulty getting his car out of here earlier this afternoon, courtesy of a hill between us and the main roads and I spent over an hour just trying to get into my little car to defrost it and clear the snow from it a little in readiness for my 7 am start tomorrow.
Hey ho, it's all worth it just to see the pure white fields glistening in the sunlight and hear the crisp sound as it squishes underfoot.
I feel as though all I have done since we arrived home is one load of laundry after another, followed by copious amounts of ironing, cleaning and sorting out of one thing or another.
I have blogs waiting to be designed, emails protruding from my ears, as yet unanswered, comments barely read and on and on the list seems to go! Tomorrow I get the payback for Christmas off work, the first of four full days back in retail hell, I hate it, the boredom and frustration that goes hand in hand with it is enough to drive me demented, all the more so when I have so much here I need to get done.
Ahhh, but then there is the snow, the beautiful, beautiful snow that is still very much in evidence in gemmak's-ville. Maybe I am so behind because I have spent way too much long gazing out of the window the last two days watching the flakes fall silently, creating a pristine white carpet as they gather on the floor. It is truly beautiful, every tree and branch is laden, my whole panoramic view is white from top to bottom, the stuff of my dreams........ though when I attempt to get into work tomorrow I may feel a little differently!
So far we have only perhaps 2.5 inches but we have more forecast for tonight and tomorrow. The roads in the sub zero temperatures are already like a slick of ice out here in the middle of nowhere and despite the forecast suggesting we should be at minus 2 degrees, at my back door the mercury is showing minus 7 already. PG had some difficulty getting his car out of here earlier this afternoon, courtesy of a hill between us and the main roads and I spent over an hour just trying to get into my little car to defrost it and clear the snow from it a little in readiness for my 7 am start tomorrow.
Hey ho, it's all worth it just to see the pure white fields glistening in the sunlight and hear the crisp sound as it squishes underfoot.
So what of Christmas
Our Christmas was fab, a far cry from that of last year when PG was working and I was sat here on my own for most of the day with a Marks & Spencer 'Christmas dinner for one'. Oh that every year we could escape the perils of our employers just for a day or two!
The journey South on Christmas eve was a breeze, the roads were clear, there were no hold-ups, no accidents and we had it cracked in a little over four hours. We took PG's new car and what a difference. I have never had a big car with all the bells and whistles and associated comforts and boy, do they make a difference. I didn't arrive feeling like a wrung out dishcloth for once.
Our arrival was met with much excitement from my nieces, who we haven't seen since the summer and then only very briefly and immediately any feeling that 'it didn't feel like Christmas' that I had harboured before evaporated. Games were played, dens were built, and the usual rules such as 'no chocolate before dinner' were utterly broken.....well, that's what auntie's are for isn't it?
Christmas day began as is the way of small children very early. Whilst the rest of the party slumbered on E & E my nieces crept into our bedroom at the crack of dawn full of high excitement and clutching their stockings to eject me from my bed to join in the manic opening process. This was kind of agreed the night before with one proviso, that once up they had to allow me two minutes to make a coffee and smoke a cigarette before we got underway! Hell, even on Christmas day some things are sacrosanct!
Much excitement later we deemed it a civilised hour (ok, it was only 7.30 but these are children and it's Christmas) to wake the rest of the household, trying to contain the enthusiasm of a 9 and 11 year old any longer was proving impossible when they were aware that behind the living room door 'Santa' had left the most enormous pile of parcels.
And the rest of the day passed in a blur of screeching, laughing, tearing of wrapping paper and wild exclamation at the contents of each parcel as it was revealed and then 'tested'.....just about every gift had to be wrenched unceremoniously from it's packaging for a little 'investigate' before rapidly being abandoned for the next unopened package. By lunch time the place was it's usual Christmas day midden of wrappings, half opened toys and various chocolate bits and pieces left half eaten....... just as Christmas day should be!
Copious amounts of festive fare were consumed, my sister is a qualified chef and her husband and my parents good amateurs, my family (aside from me who hates to cook but loves good food) 'do' serious, yummy, to die for food and this occasion was no different, the non stop round of culinary delights and treats on offer was as ever amazing, every tiny spare space in my little body I think was stuffed full.....and some!
Boxing day was another day of juvenile madness and fun, punctuated by the obligatory walk in the afternoon to walk off the previous days gluttony, no one really wanted to go as ever but the elders insisted as they do and we duly complied though who they are kidding that an hours potter might in some way make up for such gormandising I don't know! heh.
Tuesday arrived way too soon but that fact that it arrived covered in my much wished for snow made up in some small part for the fact that the long awaited time with my family was almost over and way too quickly. There was much joking that of all the day, after all my wishing that it would snow it chose to on the day we had to drive 300 miles home. We bid our sad farewells and off we set on what turned out to be a long and arduous, snow filled drive punctuated only by the pleasure of visiting Kitty en-route as blogged yesterday.
The up side of arriving home of course was to be reunited with Ditto and Tilly who we had so missed. Ditto was duly collected from the cattery and immediately registered her annoyance by peeing in the car, gah! Tilly on the other hand, who had seemingly had a marvelous Christmas with our friends, couldn't have cared less whether we collected her or not and was returned home with something approaching twenty new toys and a multitude of cat treats in her little travel bag!
And so that is about it, gemmak's Christmas 2005, it's back to work for me tomorrow, assuming I can get there of course, right now my wished for 'white stuff' is causing somewhat of a problem but more on that later.
The journey South on Christmas eve was a breeze, the roads were clear, there were no hold-ups, no accidents and we had it cracked in a little over four hours. We took PG's new car and what a difference. I have never had a big car with all the bells and whistles and associated comforts and boy, do they make a difference. I didn't arrive feeling like a wrung out dishcloth for once.
Our arrival was met with much excitement from my nieces, who we haven't seen since the summer and then only very briefly and immediately any feeling that 'it didn't feel like Christmas' that I had harboured before evaporated. Games were played, dens were built, and the usual rules such as 'no chocolate before dinner' were utterly broken.....well, that's what auntie's are for isn't it?
Christmas day began as is the way of small children very early. Whilst the rest of the party slumbered on E & E my nieces crept into our bedroom at the crack of dawn full of high excitement and clutching their stockings to eject me from my bed to join in the manic opening process. This was kind of agreed the night before with one proviso, that once up they had to allow me two minutes to make a coffee and smoke a cigarette before we got underway! Hell, even on Christmas day some things are sacrosanct!
Much excitement later we deemed it a civilised hour (ok, it was only 7.30 but these are children and it's Christmas) to wake the rest of the household, trying to contain the enthusiasm of a 9 and 11 year old any longer was proving impossible when they were aware that behind the living room door 'Santa' had left the most enormous pile of parcels.
And the rest of the day passed in a blur of screeching, laughing, tearing of wrapping paper and wild exclamation at the contents of each parcel as it was revealed and then 'tested'.....just about every gift had to be wrenched unceremoniously from it's packaging for a little 'investigate' before rapidly being abandoned for the next unopened package. By lunch time the place was it's usual Christmas day midden of wrappings, half opened toys and various chocolate bits and pieces left half eaten....... just as Christmas day should be!
Copious amounts of festive fare were consumed, my sister is a qualified chef and her husband and my parents good amateurs, my family (aside from me who hates to cook but loves good food) 'do' serious, yummy, to die for food and this occasion was no different, the non stop round of culinary delights and treats on offer was as ever amazing, every tiny spare space in my little body I think was stuffed full.....and some!
Boxing day was another day of juvenile madness and fun, punctuated by the obligatory walk in the afternoon to walk off the previous days gluttony, no one really wanted to go as ever but the elders insisted as they do and we duly complied though who they are kidding that an hours potter might in some way make up for such gormandising I don't know! heh.
Tuesday arrived way too soon but that fact that it arrived covered in my much wished for snow made up in some small part for the fact that the long awaited time with my family was almost over and way too quickly. There was much joking that of all the day, after all my wishing that it would snow it chose to on the day we had to drive 300 miles home. We bid our sad farewells and off we set on what turned out to be a long and arduous, snow filled drive punctuated only by the pleasure of visiting Kitty en-route as blogged yesterday.
The up side of arriving home of course was to be reunited with Ditto and Tilly who we had so missed. Ditto was duly collected from the cattery and immediately registered her annoyance by peeing in the car, gah! Tilly on the other hand, who had seemingly had a marvelous Christmas with our friends, couldn't have cared less whether we collected her or not and was returned home with something approaching twenty new toys and a multitude of cat treats in her little travel bag!
And so that is about it, gemmak's Christmas 2005, it's back to work for me tomorrow, assuming I can get there of course, right now my wished for 'white stuff' is causing somewhat of a problem but more on that later.
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