House Hunting (Again)

The other day we went to view a house - almost a year to the day since we agreed to buy our current home. But we're not looking to move. For years we have been talking about investing in property (blame Sarah Beeny) so this is nothing new, we tried to buy a place four years ago but missed out by just a few quid (the same house sold recently for over twice the original price, having been renovated and rented out).

The agents details for the latest house said it needed a "full scheme of modernisation". We came out saying it needed pulling down and rebuiling. In one room I felt like I was about to go through the floor and the walls didn't look much healthier. We've seen a few renovation jobs but that was in the worst state I've ever seen. And some poor old person had been living in it until relatively recently by the looks of it. I think for the moment we are going to stick to decorating the guest bedroom here and worry about my retirement fund later!
(Yes it is all about making money. With the wife being so much nearer to retirement than I am, I'm looking for an alternative income so that we can then enjoy retirement together).

Mirror, Signal, Manouver

My drive home from work can take anything from 20 minutes up to an hour, depending on the mood of The Gods. Today as I set off and hit the back of the queues I decided to just go with the flow and relax - there was nothing I could do about it so I just crawled along, singing along to the radio. Once we did get moving I let people out in front of me, ignored people indicating left but turning right or sitting in the wrong lane and enjoyed the drive. I managed to stay calm for the whole 15 miles! When I arrived home there was a van parked in my place in front of the gate so I parked up behind it and got out. I didn't curse once. Just as I reached in to get my bag the van started up and reversed - straight into the front of my car, shoving it and myself backwards. "Sorry, I didn't see you" was the womans reaction. "Do you not look before you move" was mine.

Fortunately no damage was done but bang (literally) went my relaxed state!

Shopping Trips

This evening we had to go shopping. I just wanted to be in and out of the shop whereas the wife likes to browse. So having negotiated isle one, I started heading off down isle three, only to have the wife root herself to the spot and shout after me "where do you think you're going? We've not done this isle yet and you can't be sick already." I never get away with that trick but I just can't help trying, and a big grin in the wife's direction always speeds her up a bit.

Which reminds me of our shopping trip on Saturday when the wife bumped into an old friend. The conversation started off well enough but, within a couple of minutes I was listening to this woman talk about giving birth and the number of stiches she needed and various infections she's had 'down below.' Nice to meet you, but we're in the middle of a supermarket and I was about to choose something for dinner!

Deep Breath In...

... and relax!

I'm banging my head against a brick wall trying to figure out this analysis software. Help manual describes very simply what I should be doing:
"Edit Button: Applying this button opens the List Editor" which is exactly what I want to do but, that it all it is saying. One short line. It's not bloody telling me where to find this edit button or what to do if and when I find it. I can see 8 different edit buttons but none of them take me to where I want to be. A am tempted conclude from this afternoons experiments that I'm trying to do the impossible!

Differences

Today the age difference in our relationship became apparent. The Wife and I were outside planning the garden and measuring up for the vegetables. I worked out the optimal width for each of the raised beds in the veggie plot, allowing for paths and borders, and marked them out with canes. The Wife was pleased with the amount of space available for planting and brandishing the tape-measure, asked how high the raised beds should be. Of course I was working in cm and the Wife was working in feet making for a very confused conversation - 2ft vs 50 cm - or in the end 1ft or 30cm seemed a logical conclusion, I'm sure inches came into it somewhere but I couldn't figure it out. Now we just have to hope that B&Q sell the right sized timber and label it appropriately.

Planting

About a month ago I came home from work to find that the wife had turned the kitchen into a potting shed. She was determined to start the tomatoes off early this year and while she was at it sowed onions, leeks, cabbages, carrots and parsnips. I got home yesterday and the first thing she said to me was "Don't play war with me". This usually means that she's been shopping and filled the freezer (the freezer is always full to bursting but the wife can always seem to find more space to fill). However, I soon discovered that she's been transplanting the original plants into bigger pots and then planting more - this time radish, lettuce (3 varieties), spring onion, cauliflower, sprouts, peas, more leeks and more parsnips. How could I play war about that. It just means I'm going to have to get outside and build the replacement greenhouse. Besides, the plants keep her happy. The other morning she got up to put the kettle on and when she didn't return for 10 minutes I went looking for her. She was bent over the seedlings, talking to them and watering them with a teaspoon. It amuses me everytime but she swears that that is why the stuff tastes so good.

Verdict

The Verdict is probably the best thing I've watched on TV for a long time (so good I even missed ER for it tonight). Briefly, a mixed bag twelve 'famous' people make up the jury for a rape trial. The defendents and the victim are actors but the judge, barristers, court officials and the court itself are real and the trial is unscripted and conducted as though it were real. It makes for fascinating viewing, not only to see how such a trial works, but also to listen to the evidence and form opinions on who is telling the truth or not.

At the moment I'm coming down on the side of Anna, the 'victim', but I think I'm basing that mostly on gut feeling rather than the actual evidence. It will be interesting to see what tomorrows sessions bring!

Observations from the Laboratory

A couple of thoughts from my afternoon at the bench:

1) Every time I wash my hands I get an electric shock due to build up of static electricity, probably a combination of my 65% polyester lab coat and friction! I know I'm going to get this shock every time but it still makes me jump. (Which reminds me of the time I had a conversation with my boss about wearing nylon knickers - again apparently it's a static problem, but not one I have experienced, strictly cotton here).

2) I have a really snotty cold at the moment. What are you supposed to do when you're all gloved up, working in a fume hood and you need to sneeze? Your sleeve really is the only option. Unless anyone can give me a better option?

Possibilities

I've found a job which would be perfect for The Wife. It's a one year contract at the uni where I work, although in a different faculty. It's been a few years since she did any research and I think that what she's doing at the moment isn't enough for her. The job being advertised follows on virtually from the stuff she spent years working on. I'm pushing her to apply because it would mean we could travel to and from work together and meet for lunch/coffee/anything else we feel like (the building she would be in is across the road from my lab). On the down side with working for herself at home she currently does most of the shopping (which I hate to do) and most of the cooking (which she is so good at). In weighing up the pros and cons I think I'm prepared to have to do a few more chores if it means getting to spend more time with my woman.

But We Can Still Rise Now

A follow up to the last post: Okay so Wilkinson was back but he shouldn't have had that try given, he was clearly in touch. And he missed a couple of kicks! All the hype about his return before kick off yet it was only after half an hour of the game that we were told that actually our man Chris Patterson has the best kicking record in the world! Take out the try that wasn't and a couple of dubious penalty decisions and the 42-20 score line would better reflect the game. We still wouldn't have retained the Calcutta cup but it would have been fairer!

Flower of Scotland

The Six Nations has kicked off and just 1 hour and 25 minutes until Scotland defend the Calcutta cup! Yet again everyone is saying it's going to be a walk in the park for England, especially with Jonny Wilkinson returning, but we won last year and finished above them in the table and there's no reason why we can't do it again. Wilkinson hasn't played a full game in months, England have lost eight of their last nine games and it's their first outing with the new coach. Then again the Scots have only won at Twickenham four times in the last 100 years almost and not at all in the last 24 years. Still, today I'm playing the optimist!

Alcoholics

It being Friday night, all three of us are enjoying a beer. Not just myself and the wife but the dog has joined us! It's a while since we've had our favourite bottles of kronenbourg but as soon as the dog saw them he started barking. He has his own little bowl for his beer and after the first one he must have remembered how much he loved the stuff because he kept coming back for more. Five bowls later and he's passed out in the corner. It's only a matter of time before the snoring starts.