Haggis

I know i know i haven't posted for ages and ages...I've not had much to say as such and well i keep feeling sick and getting bad headaches...But hey ho i thought i would write about a school burns supper that took place when i was in 6th year.

Am sure i wrote this in my old AOL journal but there are people reading this one now who didn't read the old one so no harm in a repeat...Besides it is funny IMO...When i was in 6th year which hear in scotland is as far as you can go at school one of the teachers decided to organise a Burns supper...A few of us pupils from 6th year who were doing art were all supposed to be helping with creating scenery for the annual school panto...Within a week of starting it ended up mainly with me and one of the lads doing it all...For the actual performances he was doing the lighting and i was helping change the scenery over between scenes...Well one of the teachers who was playing the pantomime dame (he was incredibly funny) took quite an interest in our efforts...He's the one who decided to organise a Burns supper...So i was sat in the 6th year art room one day happily messing about and having a laugh when in he walks and asks if i will carry in a haggis for a Burns night...I still can't remember how he persuaded me as i really can't stand haggis and didn't like being centre of attention at all...I borrowed a tartan skirt from a neighbour and got all tarted up and ready for the big event...I had to weave my way between all these tables following said teacher who was playing the bagpipes praying i wouldn't let the thing drop...I held it up as high as possible without looking too stupid so the smell didn't waft down too close to my nose lol...All during this i had to stiffle giggles...When i placed it in front of the head boy who was going to address it he looked at me and just about burst out laughing...He couldn't stand the stuff either so i don't think i have heard an address done as quickly as his...He did have problems trying to cut it open though...Now the reason behind that is why him and me were trying not to break out in fits of laughter...You see they had drafted in some of the school cooks to cook haggis for the night...Well they had cooked en masse in the large catering trays...No-one had though to buy a proper wee haggis in it's skin for the ceremony...So one of the cooks got a plastic sandwich bag and filled it up with haggis tucking the ends in so it looked vaguely like the real deal...A great big seam running down the centre of it just added to the hilarity of it all...I don't think i will ever forget the look on the head boys face when i plonked that haggis in front of him for as long as i live...For any of you who may be attending a burns supper then enjoy it and i wish that it is a proper haggis on the plate.

I love you dad

In 4 hours time it will be 22 years exactly since my dad passed away...This year is the first one i can recall where the anniversary of his passing has been fallen on the same day of the week as the one he passed away on...Sunday Jan 4th 1987 at 5am in the morning and i still remember it vividly...I still miss my dad very much and i so wish he was still here...Dad had some very rare disease that i can't remember the name of now...He'd had it for the last 2 years of his life and it affected all his major organs :o( In fact it came to light via both his kidneys failing one weekend...He was on dialysis for the last 2 years of his life...He was on a type called CAPD (i think) that meant he got it at home and administered it himself...But if it wasn't working properly or he got an infection he had to go in hospital to be put on the machines...The last year of his life he spent more time in hospital through here in the city than he did at home :o( That meant i got to see more of him though and we became even closer...He would tell me off for going up to visit him every night and said i didn't need to...Well he was right i didn't NEED to i WANTED to...I did relent and didn't always go up but that was rare...The last time he was rushed into hospital i was home for the weekend...One of my cousins was getting married and i got a bus from work to the village where he was getting married to go to the dance at night...I found out there that my mum and my brother and my older sis and her hubby had been trying to get dad to go to hospital but he wouldn't...He wasn't at the wedding as he was too poorly to go...The next day was a sunday and when i got up i went through to say hi to dad...We spent a short time chatting and then he asked me to get them to phone for the doctor...To this day i am totally convinced that dad knew he wouldn't come out of hospital alive that time...Also that because i was going to be at home for the first time in ages he was waiting to see me at home before he would go to hospital...That was at the end of nov and by christmas time it was obvious he wouldn't be home for a while...I went home for new year that year and mum gave me a lift back in for my work on the sat...She went to visit dad and spent all morning and most of the afternoon with him...I didn't know that whilst mum was in he was put on the machine for dialysis...My best friend from school was staying with me that saturday night...Her mum had been in major bad car crash just before the christmas and she was going to visit her mum...The next day she was getting a flight back to london (where she lives) at 7.30am...We both went up to the hospital but i didn't spend much time with dad that evening :o( He was hooked up to the machine on dialysis and for all the world looked sound asleep...I got no response out of him and couldn't find a doctor or nurse...Not that it was unusual so i just went downstairs to the lobby to wait for my friend...Thing is i was upset and i felt weird and couldn't explain why...I briefly wondered about phoning my mum and family to say i didn't think dad was right but i decided not to worry them at night...Besides mum had been in during the day and well she'd have said if anything was up i thought...So me and my friend go back to my flat at the time and have a few drinks and a natter and watch some telly and go to bed reasonably early for getting up on the sunday morning...I had my alarm set for 6.30am but i woke up at 4.55am...I looked at the clock and remember that time vividly but shrugged it off as waking up early for the alarm...Then i felt someone in my room with me and it was a strange feeling but a peaceful sensation...I looked at the clock and it said 5am...I knew that my dad was in the room with me and he was saying goodbye...I'd had a fitful sleep up until that point and i fell asleep deeply and my alarm awoke me with a jolt at the time it was meant to...My friend got on her taxi for the airport but i was wide awake...The phone went at 8am and i knew before i answered it that it was mum and i knew what she was going to tell me so i sat in the floor...I picked up the phone and startled her by saying hi mum, she told me to sit down and asked if my uncle (the one who lives in same city as me) had been round...I told her no but i knew what she was about to tell me and when she asked what i said dad has died...She told me the time that the hospital had told her it had happened at and it was 5am...The time i felt him with me in my room saying goodbye.

It took me weeks to get used to not going up to visit him in hospital...I would find myself stood at the bus stop waiting for the bus that goes that way...When all the family went up to the dialysis unit to hand over a cheque my little sis couldn't face going in...She stayed outside the doors with a nurse...When the sister asked how we were all coping my big sis said she didn't think it had hit them yet as he had spent so little time at home that last year...At which point i blurted out it had hit me as i was always up there and ran out in tears...I gave birth to kerry the oct following dads passing away...I have said plenty times on my journal that i didn't know i was pregnant what i haven't said is am utterly convinced my dad sent her to me...I was on the pill when i fell pregnant with her and the gynecologist and midwife blamed the pill failing on me being in an emotional upheaval cos of dad...Doesn't matter because i still reckon he sent her to help me to heal.

I miss my dad big time...I was always more of a daddys girl...I wanted to be just like my dad and become a fisherman working on a seine net trawler just like him...If you are watching form above i LOVE you dad and always will and that love will never diminish.

Boxing Day

After an eventful christmas eve for more reasons than i wrote in here christmas day has been and gone...I refused to let what upset me big time on christmas eve ruin christmas totally for me...Even Mikey calling me ridiculous on christmas eve late in the evening i refused to let upset me anymore...Ridiculous because daftie here decided to put a set of white battery lights on one of the mini trees i bought for the christmas fayre Hey i like being a bit daft especially with christmas lights...I bought myself a light up snowman that plugs into the computer and kerry nicked it so i had to buy another for me.

Anyways my lot didn't waken up until quite late and mostly got money...Mikey has been out and spent all his this afternoon and no not in the sales I got bubbles & truffles from santa, a large choccy shell with ickle choccy shells inside from santa, some belgian choccys from santa and a tigger calendar from santa...I got perfume from all 3 of them...I got a cuddly polar bear that you heat up in microwave from kerry...I got the new killers CD from mikey and he had bought a beautiful christmas bouquet of fake christmas flowers from the college charity shop...I got a ticket to go and see the Kaiser Chiefs in feb from garath...My older sis gave me some money and my younger sis got me some candles...My mum we banned from giving us anything and she did as she was told...I also got a dragon from one of my bestest friends for being a good friend and listener this year...Silly woman that she is

We set up a table in the living room as mikey wanted...He set it with the cover and mats and the posh cutlery and glasses...We even had crackers this year :o) Neither of the boys used to like crackers as the noise was too much for them...Our dinner may not have been traditional but we enjoyed it...As i can't have chicken anymore i did buy a steak for myself but didn't bother...I just had sausage meat stuffing (yum) with plenty chipolatas and rolls of bacon...Kerry and Garath had chicken breast stuffed with mozarella wrapped in bacon...Mikey had just plain chicken...Kerrys friend had vegetarian spring rolls...She's a nightmare as she is a severly lactose intolerant vegetarian...For pudding she had fruit salad and meringue...We had meringues, fruit salad, scooshy cream, pouring cream, mini eclairs and profiteroles...No leftovers except for leftover sweets...Today we're going to be completely non traditional and have some corned beef hash lol...I just watched Madagascar as i'd never seen it before...It's hilarious even if it is a kids feature length cartoon...Below are some pics of the tree and decorations...All of them were bought in sales or cheaply...I love the glass spiral baubles because they are so different...Hope you all had a fabby day yesterday

Toodle pip for now tc xx




Glass snowflakes glass drops

chandelier lights our new tree 6 feet high and black

My glass spiral baubles glass star bauble with snowman inside

teensy white and silver fairy white, glittery snowflake

colour changing snowman light...He turns yellow and green and white as well all randomly

See i put fake snow down amongst my dragons and in front of the telly lol

Christmas Eve

Well 'tis Christmas eve and i am rather tired...We went and visited mum and my sisters yesterday...In the middle of the night i went shopping to 24 hour asda and tesco to get the frozen things i was after...So i slept in this morning...I feel stiff from the driving so maybe my sis was right lol...Remember last year i ended up in A&E on christmas eve morning/afternoon...Well this year it was the turn of the friend who took me to A&E last year lol...I shouldn't laugh as she was rushed there in an ambulance as it looked like she might have been having a heart attack :o( fortunately she wasn't having one but it is related to an ongoing problem she has...And this could happen again :o( She's back home though and off out to her sons christmas eve celebration thing at his school...He attends one of the rudolph steiner schools...As most of the workers at these schools are from europe they do celebrations for all kinds of festivals...They do a lot of different celebrations in the lead up to Christmas Day...She found out today that our GP has mysteriously left...She is with the same practice as me and holds the same GP in as high a regard as i do...He was there on monday and spoke to her daughter and said he'd see her soon...Yesterday a letter had been typed up at the practice and sent out to patients with upcoming appointments with him...Saying due to unforeseen circumstances the appointment was cancelled and to phone to book another one...So my friend did that as she got the letter like that this morning, only to be told he was no longer there and they couldn't tell her why...Very strange and a right puzzle...Just hope that he and his family are alright...He's been there too long and is too caring for us to believe he had done anything untoward.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone...Hope santa is good to you all as you've all been good girls and boys this year

Stressed

Second last entry was entitled ARRGGHHHHHH...Think this one should be too lol...Am so stressed just now and usually am not leading up to christmas...Last year i did get stressed on christmas day but that was because of not being able cos of my shoulder and i had wanted everything to be just right for K's friend...So why am i so stressed just now you may well ask...Well yesterday was pure and utter hell to be honest...Firstly my hoover had broken and i only bought it last month but i couldn;t find the receipt...No problem usually as it was from asda, is asda own make and looks barely used...Oh no it was a right old pilaver and i almost shouted and cried at the manager of the asda i took it back to...See as they had none on the shelves they needed a barcode to refund me...No problem phone another store i said and they thought that as well...HAHAHAHA!!!! the MANAGER was the one doing the looking online and phoning the other stores...After much waiting and much wrangling and me getting very angry but keeping my voice down and not shouting (well impressed with meself at that) i demanded contact for the manufacturers...See the manager had been asking the other stores and searching online for an ONN (however tis spelt) hoover...Thing is the hoover says ASDA and not ONN...Because i had been stood in that store at customer services for nearly an hour i flounced out to go to one of the other asda's...And just as well i did as they had about 20 of my faulty hoovers on their shelves...And it was them that said the manager had asked for the wrong flipping hoover...Needless to say i got it exchanged there and then i did my shopping...I did try to see if that manager was on duty in his store today but i couldn't find him...I was going to be polite but let him know in no uncertain terms that HE was the one at fault and not me as he was trying to imply...As i was leaving that asda i had Kerry phone me upset and in a panic...She was getting the last bus home to here last night...One bus from livingston had gone flying past her without stopping...The next one she went out early to get and it went flying past her whilst she was on way to bus stop 10 mins early...It didn't stop at the bus stop...So she tried a different bus to get into edinburgh but it was too late for her to get the megabus to here...She tried to get it at another stop she knew it usually stopped at...But it didn't turn up so she either missed it or it had been diverted...I decided stuff it and said ok am coming down to get you...A friend came with me for company...She had found a pub that was open late and sat in it waiting for us...3am before we got back here Today am shattered and tomorrow am driving north to deliver pressies there...My big sis has just told me off for even driving as she was barred from driving for 6 weeks when she cracked her ribs...She was also told it would be 6 weeks minimum before they healed...Erm my gp never said that or barred me...I didn't tell her i got an infection cos of the cracked ribs that could have turned to pnumonia LOL...I will tell her that tomorrow :o) Right i have a joint of beef in roasting cos it was reduced in asda yesterday...Must go put in the frozen roast potatoes :o)

ttfn xx

More pics of jewellery to bore you all :o)

Below are pics of 3 necklaces i made today for christmas presents...The top one i have made 2 of hence 2 deisgn pics but 3 i have made...Depending on how the light is shining the AB (aurora borealis) coating can look more blue, more green, more pink or more yellow or golden or some colour or other in pics...It's the same in reality with them and i have been caught out with pendants being slightly different AB coating to others...That is a pain when trying to do matching earrings and necklaces...The bottom necklace is the black diamond colour...It's actually paler and more grey looking than this pic suggests...It is one of my favourite colours that swarovski do...I just think it looks elegant and also it goes very well with silver...The pendant in that bottom pic is a sort of squished cube shape...I'll try take some pics from other angles in the morning and post them

ARRGGHHHHHHHHHHH's galore

ARRGGHHHHHHHHHHH no1!!!!!!! It's only a week really until christmas as such...Ok a week tomorrow 'till christmas eve...And am nowhere near ready :o( Ok the throat thing and the rib thing did set me back...Am afraid that this year i think i will just post cards that are bought from the shop to peoples instead of sending them beautiful handmade by me ones...I don't have the time and it is really beginning to stress and annoy me that i haven't made them yet...That's what the throat thingy and rib thingy really set back.

ARRGGHHHHHHHHHHH no2!!!!!!! I just realised the other day that what i had for my mum for her christmas pressie is no use to give to mum...Mum absolutely hates the colour blue so much so i remember her refusing to sit on a sofa she liked in a shop because it was blue...We did get that suite just in a different colour lol...Well the glass pieces i bought from the international market back in sept to give to her are all half blue...EEEKKKKS defo can't give that to mum...So what do i get a 77 year old that doesn't need anything...I've bought some slippers but i need to get her something else...she doesn't need perfume as she has enough still from when i last got her lol

ARRGGHHHHHHHHHHH no3!!!!!!! me and Garath have spent the better part of today trying to clear out, clean up and gut Mikeys room...His new double bed arrives on thurs and there is just no-way am going to have his room arranged how i want before then...Plus moving so much stuff, washing down stuff and the like has made my ribs decided they hate me again :o( Mikey did help when he got home from college...Tomorrow i need to finish that a bit and do a temporary arrangement of furniture until my ribs can cope with moving stuff proper like...Plus tomorrow i need to make space for the bed to get into his room in first place lol...Did you know that argos do some of their patterned duvet covers in double duvet size...Patterened as in like high school musical kind??? Well if you didn't before now you do as i learnt on sunday and am not amused...I wanted a king size duvet for Mikey but no i had to get the HSM duvet set grrrrrr so double duvet it is...Least i got it in a special pack along with 2 pillows from asda tonight for £8

ARRGGHHHHHHHHHHH no4!!!!!!! My decorations still aren't up...Even my tree isn't up...See i always start with the stuff i put up on my part of the stairwell and then a few days or a week later the stuff for inside the flat goes up...But not really any decorations up in the stairwell because of the water thing...Some battery operated lights and that's it :o( After Mikeys bed gets here and set up then am going to do the decorations in the living room...The delay in them is also the rib thing and i know the boys could help BUT am afraid i like my decorations done in a set way and specific ones in specific place...Very autistic of me

Think i will go play with my fairy in my fairy garden on Facebook and maybe some Word Twist

Toodle pip tc xx

PS: I dunno what to get Kerry really but i can't ask on here because she READS this journal