My dad visited this week. It has been an age since we last went out and had a good long chat. A good long chat it was too as we finally stumbled to our respective beds close to 6am. Was good to catch up and really find out how he is, rather than the usual 'fine, yeah' that I get. So thanks Dad for a lovely couple of days.

I managed no sleep at all as the cats were pattting me at 7 to make their breakfast and didn't manage to catch up with much during the day for a variety or reasons, so I should have known better than to head off out for a late drink last night. An odd evening in the pub where I seemed to attract all the odd balls in the Bay, two peculiar men off an older generation seated themselves with me then took in turns to speak to me about nothing. Matt cleverly made an exit to speak to the 'band' and a rescue attempt was staged by our not so long haired poet. They seemed to like him however, just diverted their attention that way and continued talking about nothing. Thanks for trying :)

Then on to somewhere I had never heard of and still do not recall the name of in a part of Herne Bay I didnt know existed. Full of the usual cartwheel earringed girls and men in bad shirts, it was marginally better than the alternative. I should however have just gone home.

The cats are lazing in the sun and there is cricket on. Thankfully I have no reason to face the world today.

No doubt you have all seen it but this amused me the other day . Clever little things.

Posted by kary at 12:31 PM | Permalink

What a busy few days for the little goat!

Thanks to our not so long haired poet for a pleasant evening last night - I hope you are appreciative of my efforts to allow you to thrash me at pool, it was difficult to be convincing when missing all those shots you know ;)

A nice wander out with Anthony today. Talking sport psychology amongst other things. It has been an age since I trained and interesting to look it up again. Not sure I can help all that much as we all know Anthony has a bizarre psychology at the best of times ;)

Then a stroll beachwards - I forgot how busy it gets in the summer. Reminded me of my fury last year when I realised that the flowers are just there for the tourists and when the tourists go, so do the flowers! Us locals (I can say that now I feel) deserve flowers too you know! Fury! :) Then some shopping, managed to buy yet more shoes to earn extra girl points and various other things I can not afford.

Tomorrow brings a visit from my dad. Get to do the tourist bit myself when parents come to stay - will take an extra look at the flowers and make sure dad has a jolly good stare too ;)

Be a Herne Bay tourist yourself :)

Posted by kary at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Continuing on my new found quest for girlyness I invested in a peeling face mask at the weekend. Now I have on many ocassions witnessed the aformentioned 'girl' creatures using these face mask things. In films/tv shows they always seems to be opening the front door to the man of their dreams whilst covered with alien green ectoplasm and being shocked. Well clearly, even had the man of my dreams knocked on the door I would not have opened it as I am wise to that game now ;) So I poured a glass or orange juice, put on my new kitten heels (for authenticity) and plastered the blue goo over my flagging skin. Hrm this is ok I thought and went off to do some girly washing and girly housework. As time went on my face got harder and tighter and the luxury of a face mask seemed to be dwindling somewhat. Time ran out and it came to removing it. What I had failed to notice in the word 'peeling' was that it actually meant 'peeling' not just 'rinse with warm water'. I do not think I have ever experienced anything quite like this, I thought as I removed half of my face. It was not an altogether pleasant experience truth be told. I can not see the luxury, pampering aspect to it. But to reach the heights of girl status I guess I have to grin and bear it, well not grin as the face pack would crack...just bear it I guess! :) I think I am getting good at this girl stuff now...bring back the footie season before I am lost to the other side for good!

Posted by kary at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Good morning, and a further thank you to Anthony for sorting the second lot of problems yesterday.

The other day I decided to head off to a different branch of my usual supermarket as I am bored with driving along the same roads. Well such is the excitement of my life I decided to go the whole hog this time and try a totally different chain!

The weight of disappointment came crushing down on my shoulders almost on arrival. It was a very different breed of shopper in there. Ones that accepted black olives in tins not jars for a start. That is just wrong. In fact, once I had driven my little half trolley around the shop, it quickly became apparent that there was, in fact, nothing I wanted. No feta cheese that was vegetarian, no unpretentious salad leaves. (Now that is not to say I was after iceberg lettuce (yawn) - but there are salad leaves and there are salad leaves), no baby plum tomatoes...I could continue but you would be as clued up on my shopping habits as a loyalty card and I dont get money back from you! The young female cashier for no apparent reason informed me she wanted a 'baybeyyy' as long as she could give it back (There were no babies in sight so I have no idea what inspired that one) and I was almost run down in the car park by the militant sector of the Herne Bay grey army. It was not a happy experience - things about the place were just wrong. But has it dampened by spirit? Am I too traumatised this episode to continue my search for the ultimate supermarket? No! Off to try Asda next ;) I have an entire summer holiday to fill with valuable, life changing experiences after all!

Posted by kary at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Welcome back. Thanks to Anthony for eventually fixing things that had broken. All working now so no worries.

Not much happened in our absence as you can probably imagine. Finished work for the summer and trying to get a grip on how much needs doing over the break now. Out with old friends and new on Friday. Good to catch up with Keith and Jen and good to see our long haired poet again, even if not so long haired these days :)

Went to watch Kent v Hampshire in the floodlit game last week. Managed to find my way by bus! Matt knows how pleased I am about that - sorry :/ Sun, beers and a very sweet cricket virgin sat in front lead to a nasty headache the following morning. Sorry again Matt :/ and in true form this weekend has seen many hours sat watching the test match...well done to Kent boy Rob Key on a 221 first innings knock.

Other than that I have just been getting over this last term and catching up with much needed sleep :) So as I said - you didn't miss much.

This interested me the other day.

Posted by kary at 01:27 PM | Permalink

Today I decided to head off to Tesco in Ramsgate as opposed to my usual Whitstable haunt, for no other reason than I am bored with driving down the same roads day in day out. When I left the house it was raining and there were the passing rumbles of thunder in the distance. The cats seemed pretty ok with it for once, so I thought it safe to leave them a short while. (The first storm Freddie experienced she hid under the bed protecting Mouse for all she was worth) The trip to Ramsgate, as the local readers will know, is pretty much open roads in wide open spaces. The view tends to be flat with the Pfizer mini-conurbation, small airport and power station thingy in the distance. It was as I reached this part of the journey that the storm really set in. The lightning was so spectacular that I pulled the car over to watch at one point. Viscious effulgent blue veins splitting the sky. Thunder that shook the car as it sat stationary at the side of the road. It was the second time this week I have thought it a pity to not be carrying a camera, or even God forbid, a camera phone. A wide open space, rain, lightning, thunder - I might have been nervous if it hadnt been for Richard Hammond.

Oh and Faraday of course.

The storm continued for some time, through my trip to Tesco, all the way home and into the late afternoon. I fell asleep in my usual end of term way and when I awoke the sky was once more cerulean and the clouds had dispersed, like it had never happened. Although x amount of thousands of people saw it, watching alone from my car, I was tinged with a sense of melancholy as it felt like I was the only one to have really seen it.

Posted by kary at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Now throughout history people have been convinced they can see the face of Jesus in a whole range of ordinary items. They always look so real too! How genuine these are have always been in doubt. Yesterday my dog Bonnie visited us from the clouds, I was on the phone to my mother when she appeared all furry and smiley from within a cloud (the dog not my mother) Has she a canine message for us from Lhasa Apso heaven? Will the Littlest Hobo arrive at the door in a few days time beckoning us to follow the white light? You never know. Almost like this - how bad is that?! (looking more closely at the two links, I think it is perhaps a Lhasa Apso and not Jesus in those visions!)

Bonnie was my childhood pet. A little cloud on wheels herself, delivered to me on the day that I was repeatedly thrown from a horse. I remember the day vividly. I was about 9 I should think. My usual session of horse riding (I was a proper girly girl once- grew out of it though) and had been allocated a little horse named Suddenly..so named as he would 'suddenly' run off. There were gasps from onlookers as this skinny little runt of a girl was riding this particularly demonic horse with no lead. Leads were not permitted in my class, we were apparently too good for that. Well as predicted the horse threw me about four times. I got back on each time though - I was not going to allow it to beat me. When I arrived home there was my dad's friend and her dogs. One was a little runty thing. They used to show them and she had the wrong colour nose and the wrong colour pads on her paws and they were going to get rid of her...so as I was beaten and bloody from the psycho horse, I cried and they let me keep her. We bonded from that moment...many years of walking into lamp posts, being scared of the dark and cuddles when teenage angst settled in.

I wonder what she was trying to tell us yesterday? What messages might dogs have from beyond the grave?

Posted by kary at 11:15 AM | Permalink

Dreams seem to be a recurring theme of today. Woke to a mail detailing two interesting dreams. Then found this rather odd article which tied in nicely with one of the dreams mentioned in this morning's mail. Perhaps you should send in your football one Brad!

Dreams are funny things. I know all about the reasoning about it being the subconscious making sense and storing the details of the day and all that.

Those dreams you have though, the ones that seem so real when you wake that it takes a short while to realise they are not true. I hate those. I once had one that ryan was kissing a girl from Emmerdale, I was so cross and upset when I woke up that I was horrible to him and even when I realised it wasn't true, I remained cross with him for the rest of the day! How irrational is that?

It feels like I have not had a dream in ages. Given a choice I would have one where Andrew Flintoff comes along with a white goat and whisks me off into the sunset... making sure that there is room for the cats as well of course ;)

Anyway, I need to sleep now and hope that Freddie appears. So a BIG well done to my kids on their performance this evening - you did us all proud.

Yawn...Andrew...goat...cats...sunset... If I keep saying it then maybe I will dream it after all! :) Andrew...goat...cats...sunset...

Posted by kary at 10:51 PM | Permalink

I had not expected my weekend to include so much goat action, but goat action it did. As I was required to do a risk assessment in preparation for today's adventure, Matt, Mary and Harry accompanied me to Farming World on Saturday. I manged to be an adult for at least some of the time and remained calm and almost adult like throughout. (I am sure both Matt and Mary will correct me on this however). Then this morning, like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, I excitedly skipped my way back to the farm followed by 110 cheery children and 20 willing adults.

Of course I managed to restrain myself a little and allowed the children to see the guniea pigs and rabbits before whisking them off for goat action. I failed to contain my excitement this time however and positively glowed as I fed handfuls of grass to a particularly lovely pygmy goat and pointed out the fantastic ginger nubian standing proudly on the hill. 'I AM GOAT!' it vociferated to the rest of the farm 'hear me bleat!'

It was all to promote the awe and wonder element to the children of course.

At this point one of the aforementioned willing adults asked me what it was. 'What is it about goats exactly?' she asked as she stood head tilted to one side, clearly trying to understand why one fine white specimin was doing the hokey-cokey putting one hoof in and one hoof out of the water trough. As this is a question often asked I think it is worth clearing up.

Have you ever really studied a goat? I bet you have not. Their little beards (my class know what I am doing as I say that), their little fluffy tails (and again) and they are so, SO mischievous! Civilisation as we know it would not exist if it was not for the humble goat. Take Robinson Crusoe for example, how would he have survived on the island for so long? ;) We would not have such great literature as 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff', there would be no cashmere, no goat cheese, no 'goatee beard' (hrm perhaps I should stay quiet on that one) It would be life Jim, but not as we know it :)

Take the time to watch a goat. I know the opportunity rarely comes up unless you move in odd social circles, but next time it does, watch. It is worth drawing the attention of the locals and a possible run in with the area animal welfare group. They are wonderfully entertaining, peculiar, mischievous creatures and the stand up comics of the animal kingdom.

So take the time to celebrate the wonder that is the goat :)

Posted by kary at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Well it happened despite the rain. So another box ticked. It amazes me though, how some people think these things just happen. If anyone had actually watched the staff this afternoon and how hard we worked then I think some things might have been different. None of us had a break from 8.30am onwards for one thing. It does not matter how many years I organise these things, it is exhausting. Well done to the staff for a good effort today!

This week has to have been one of the toughest I can remember. If you consider the fact that I have been working until the small hours every night for the last three weeks and that includes weekends, that in ordinary circumstances would be hard enough. In school too there is three times the normal workload, it is not just in our own time. I really am asleep on my feet as I know are the rest of the staff. In almost eight years of teaching - this has to take the top prize. I have now reached my limit for today and so am off to bed. Before 1am!

Why does that make me feel guilty?

That isnt right.

Would yours be a good reflection on your sanity? Mine would not!

Posted by kary at 11:47 PM | Permalink

Well, having just finished work for the day, I am answering my moaning readership (well that one person) who said 'Where's the blog been?'

Well, Portugal v Greece final then...come on Portugal, anyone who went to University with me will KNOW why we don't cheer on the Greeks. Henman out as usual (no surprises there) 'but the other guy was unseeded' - yes and? It's Tim? In good news, England beat the Windies by 7 wickets in the one day international... with the assistance of the injured Freddie Flintoff batting but not bowling.

So there is the sports news. It is sports day at school tomorrow providing the weather holds of course and as it is a school sports day it will no doubt wait until mid afternoon and everything is in full flow and then rain heavily on us all.

Dan is out of hospital and home. Disappointed as his scar will only be 5 inches, not the 8 inches he was hoping for. Get well soon bro!

Well done to my sister in law on her degree results - a first!! Well done Claire!

...and as I have done nothing but work...that's it for now!

Sony, England and Marmite all things close to my heart.

Posted by kary at 11:20 PM | Permalink