The Joy of ...

... radio.

You know me by now, I can't resist a catchy title.

Radio.  LOVE it!!  We have, 4 radios downstairs, 1 in the study, 1 in the living room, 1 in the dining room and 1 in the kitchen.  We have, 5 radios upstairs, 1 in the bathroom, 2 (!) in our room, 1 in Phoebe's room and now, 1 in Tom's room.  We don't have a radio in the spare/guest (currently lodger's room), nor the garage, nor downstairs toilet.  OMG.  We have 9 radios in this house.

I only just realised we have 2 radios in our room.  The digital radio has clock/radio feature and wakes us up.  Great so long as we remember to turn volume to acceptable level before going to bed...  otherwise argh!  I'm now listening to the 2nd radio which is incorporated into a rather funky light/iPod dock/clock, but doesn't feature alarm.

I don't do iPod/MP3 as have never been of that persuasion... Back in the 1980s I had a walkman (or cheap equivalent) and didn't use it.  Or rather when I did the battery had drained away so was consequently of no use.  Even then I found the headphone thing a nuisance, and didn't like not having the sounds of life going on around me when I was out and about.  It's like taking a sense away and exposing yourself to danger.  I'm constantly surprised that so many people wander around with things stuck in their ears today, or worse, cycle/skateboard/inline or roller-skate with them on/in as well.  It's like they've no sense of self-preservation and are wilfully putting themselves in harms way.

I feel the same about mobile phones - they seem to be used in a very selfish/isolating way and people seem incapable of ignoring them when they ring and have to answer them at inappropriate moments (life used to be much quieter before them, and much simpler as well).  More of the 'me me me', 'now now now' generation.  I find this especially irritating when seen in the hands of a car driver, whilst driving the car.  And how ever are you going to get a chance to report it?

Here's what happened last spring, (for those who've heard the story before, please scroll down to the picture at the bottom!) when I was taking the children on the school run one morning....  The bridge over the railway was being repaired and had had 1-way traffic control for about 3 of a 6 week repair period.  Tedious.  Anyhoo, we approached the temporary traffic light and were 3rd in the queue, immediately behind a 'learner' scooter driver.  The lights had just turned to red as we approached, so I put on my handbrake to wait, and observed the scooter.  Nice.  New.  Lady/girl driver.  Why girl? - her helmet graphics were white and pink squiggles, and her long blond hair trailed out of the back of it.  She had a large leather jacket (good), jeans, and the ubiquetous (how do you spell that??) 'Ugg' boots. (impractical for bike riding to my mind...bad).  And then I noticed that she'd something in her left hand, and appeared to be wiggling her thumb over it repeatedly, and nodding her head up and down.  She was t-e-x-t-i-n-g!

OK.  Not ideal.  The traffic light went green.  The traffic pulled off.  She pulled out and rode one-handedly for a good 350-400m negotiating the traffic cones, the bends in the road, and the up and down of the bridge, all the whilst nodding her head up and down and continuing to send the bleeping text message!!!!  I was livid!  I instructed my daughter to get pen and paper and we got her licence plate number.  When we got to school I wrote down everything I had observed, the time of the incident, the place and direction of travel, the description of the driver - who was driving on 'L' plates - and then on my return home I popped into the police station and reported it.  They were happy with my report as I'd furnished them with a lot of detail (I'd had time to observe whilst sitting at the lights...).

Interestingly, they take reports of incidents like this and use them to build up a profile of the vehicle/driver.  If they spot a pattern of behaviour, and then have more independent witnesses report it, or if a police officer observes it, then they can take action.  They said they would send a report that morning to local officers in patrol cars, and if they spotted her they would give her a 'severe talking to'.  Job done.

A little later that week I observed the same scooter/driver sending a text.  This time however, she'd pulled over to the side of the road, in a safe place, and had her indicator flashing.  Methinks a 'severe talking to' had been administered....

Hard frost at Lockinge fishing lakes (Private Members Only!) Jan 2012.

Oops!  After all that ranting, I didn't even tell you why I love radio so much...  More on that next time then.

Have a good week!  Keep it sweet.  Kat  :)

Lack of sleep makes me

t..i..r..e..d.....

I can't really remember when the insomnia started, I'm too tired!!!

Seriously.. The downside of being an older mum (ie, having first baby at 35, and second baby at 40) is that you're always tired.  Somewhere in all the madness I got lost in the mayhem, and my sleeping pattern, I now realise, hasn't really returned since then.  Or it's early menopause.

Essentially, no matter what time I go to bed, and I usually go early (between 9.30-10pm, before my 11yr old sometimes!), I wake up at 2am, or 3am or 4am or 5am and mostly with a dry mouth.  (I stopped drinking alcohol for last 6 weeks and still dry mouth, so it's not that!).  Sometimes I get up and go for a pee.  Sometimes I don't.  Most times I can't get back to sleep for a couple of hours, and that's really annoying, especially with  my darling husband lying next to me, breathing....  If darling daughter's bottom bunk bed is tidy I sometimes go there, to see if a different sleep environment helps, and sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

I find that I must drop off at some point, because the alarm catches me out at 6.45am, but then I feel robbed, which is a rotten way to start the day.  No wonder women turn to HRT.

What I want to know about HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) is this:  is alleviating the symptoms just putting them off until later?  I'll do some more research and get back to you on this one.  Perhaps it would help for the time-being whilst the children are this age - will it get easier/less tiring as they get older?  Who knows..

Anyhoo.  Day off today.  Actually most days are 'days off'.  My part-time contract at the library is Tuesdays, Friday pm, and alternate Saturday am.  However,  from March-Sept I'm getting more hours, so that's to look forward to.

So what to do on day off?  Well, after walking the dog, putting the washing on, and finishing my Women's Institute Record of the January meeting, I made a victoria sponge, made a chickpea casserole, and also made a huge pan of leek and potato soup.  I also had a nap!! whilst listening to BBC Radio 4's afternoon play - the latest instalment of 'Pilgrim' which is extremely good dark drama, and a welcome return for next 4 Thursdays.  I recommend it to you - check it out on the iPlayer...

Flagging now, so off to bed, and next chapter of 'The Eye in the Door' the second book in Pat Barker's 'Regeneration' trilogy.  Gripping WW1 psychological stuff - really makes you think and be thankful.  I recommend it also.

Sweet dreams y'all.  Thanks for reading.  Kat

Missing, presumed Mum...

Sorry for the absence of blogs recently.

Simon took my netbook to the good old US of A for his visitation to Vegas for CES and Charlotte (place, not person!) for final interview.  It's good to have both (hubbie, netbook in that order) back safely, and I can upload my photos (to netbook, not hubbie!) easily again.

I've been busy, ya know?  Started my job at the small library in Grove.  Part-time, 1 year contract, and they've already offered me more hours, which is a good sign.  Also a good sign is the last time they recruited was 10 years ago - which means that people stay in the job, because, well, working in a library, you would, wouldn't you  :)

However, somewhere along the way I seem to have mis-placed my opinions.   What??  I know, "how can that be?" I hear you ask....!  Well, in the twilight time of my redundancy I (unwisely?) signed up to a few online survey sites - fill in this survey for 50p, or 100 points towards... whatever.  You get points for signing up, but not enough to turn into prizes - 1000 or more needed for that.  Well, so I had time on my hands, and I thought, well, give it a go....  Complete the survey to get the points or pence.

Or, as in my case, not.  It seems that they sieve out the opinions they don't want in the first few questions.  If you pass the first few screening questions you get to complete, but to date, I've been screened about 40 times, but not completed anything.  It seems that once they know that I'm 46, unemployed (I've not done one since starting my new job), no TV, likes reading (but not magazines from the list they provide), doesn't drink, listens to Radio 4, only shops at Lidl and Sainsburys, hasn't bought any white goods in the last 2 years, hasn't got a smart-phone, tablet or other 'modern' mobile device, doesn't wear make-up, drives a 10yr old Honda, has a child aged 10-15 (but I'm not letting them mess up her head!), hasn't been abroad on holiday for last 2 yrs, doesn't smoke, doesn't have any long-term ailment, and they've worked out how anti-consumerism my views are, then, guess what?  They don't want to know!

No wonder I feel invisible.  Not just the menopausal madness of a middle-aged woman then.

Mossy fence-post on the Letcombe footpath - reminds me of the 'holy grail' for some reason...

Anyhoo, hope you have a good day, keep it sweet!  Kat  :)