Take a look around

I think most of us are guilty of walking around in something of a dream, I certainly am. But daydreaming our way around the world means we can miss out on some amazing sights.

While I live on the edge of the Brecon Beacons, I find it impossible to capture photos of nature that match what I can actually see.  I think it's something to do with scale, and I'm endlessly admiring of those who can capture nature in its glory. Fortunately for me, the same doesn't apply to urban scenes, where I tend to see things in a tighter focus.

This is the top floor of a Euro-supermarket that's recently opened in town, full of Polish & Turkish products & some lovely cakes & fruit juice.  I have no idea why the upstairs has mock-Tudor beams, because the building is far from that old, but it makes me smile.  I can't even blame it on the previous occupants, because that was a cheap furniture shop with broken windows.

Outside one of the churches in the town centre is this beautiful drinking fountain, commemorating a previous Royal Wedding. What a strange way to mark a wedding.  I can't find anything commemorating more recent Royal Weddings, or even the jubilee, but this fountain remains a happy reminder of days gone by.

What hidden gems are there in your town?

Belonging

I've lived in Merthyr for coming up on 13 years now. Ten in a village on the outskirts, and the last three within spitting distance of the town centre. But it's only been in the last year or so that I've started to feel like I belong here, to feel at home.

It's a weird thing, belonging.  And I don't mean it in the sense people use in this town, to say being related to someone.  It's something that comes from deep inside.  I felt I belonged almost straight away when I lived in Yorkshire, but it's taken me much longer here.  I'm quite a private person, and that goes against the Valleys (especially the villages) ethos of everybody knowing everybody's business.  I guess maybe if I wasn't shy, I'd've fitted in much faster, because people actually are really welcoming, and knowing every last detail about you is their way of accepting you. But I don't work like that.

That said, Squeaky has helped me. Initially to get out and meet anyone - through ante-natal classes, breastfeeding groups, baby massage, mum & baby groups - PirateGirl's mummy is one of the best friends I could ever ask for, and that's exactly how we met.  Then, as Squeaky got older and went to nursery & I went to work, I got to know more people, in work, through work, and through the nursery (in fact, there's a former Welsh rugby international with a child at Squeaky's former nursery, that was quite a surprise!), both parents, carers and colleagues.  Bizarrely, when I first started in my job, I knew 4 people in the office, directly through taking the young Squeaky to baby groups. My icebreaking introduction was that half the office had seen my boobs and I wasn't even drunk.  But enough said about that.

Fast forward to today.  After 13 years, I've started to discover that I know people.  I go to Zumba twice a week (let's not mention those days when I don't, childcare can be a pain sometimes), and I've recently joined a line dancing class.  Squeaky goes to swimming, gymnastics and dancing lessons.  And of course, there's school and work.

I discovered a little while ago that the receptionist at my dentist goes to my Zumba class.  Then I learned she was the sister of someone I work with. One of the swimming mums (and a former mums & babies mum) goes to line dancing.  My next door neighbour's son works with a former colleague in her new job.  My other neighbour's son is in Squeaky's year at school.  My boss's son was in Squeaky's swimming class last term.  And the list goes on.

It seems that wherever I choose to go, someone knows me, or knows someone who knows me.  In the village, I would have found this suffocating.  But having been here longer now, and living in the kind of street where people keep themselves pretty much to themselves (curtain twitching aside!), it's almost comforting.  I'm beginning to feel that I should know people, that actually, yeah, I do belong here.

I might not speak a word of Welsh aside from cwtch, but I've as much right to be here as the next person. It's not about how long you've been here, but what you've made of your home.  And this IS my home, it's Squeaky's home, and I'm only now starting to realise it and recognise it for what it is.

Winter morning playtime

They, being the Met Office and the TV weather forecasters, keep promising us snow. The snow seems to have other ideas, and instead we've had plenty of hailstorms, cold, wind and sleet, but nothing you could really, honestly call actual snow. Much to Squeaky's disgust, and my general relief. Her school is on the side of a pretty steep hill, with narrow streets all around, filled with badly parked cars. It's often the first to close if there is snow around, and childcare is an expensive hobby.

All the cold does have its up side.  We can wrap up nice and warm and head to the park. This time of year there's no staff around to try to enforce the petty "No Photography" rules, and hardly any other kids to get in the way either, so Squeaky gets free rein of the whole playground, though it means I have to put in double duty on swing pushing, roundabout spinning, hand holding, and trying to make the giant hamster wheel thing turn.

The park is almost always quiet before ten on a Sunday, most people are sensible enough to still be tucking into their cornflakes, and watching Andrew Marr (or Doc McStuffins, depending who has the TV remote). But it was pushing twelve when we arrived, after a quick shopping trip, and the place was still deserted.  Bliss.  Squeaky is getting more adventurous as she gets older, bigger and stronger, but she is still quite reluctant to have a go if there are much bigger kids around, she does best on her own or with one or two buddies to encourage her.  So a playground to herself gave her plenty of scope to stretch her confidence as well as her arms & legs.

I've never been a big fan of the spiderweb climbing frame. Maybe because we didn't have them in my 1970's West Midlands childhood, I dunno.  But I have to admit, it makes for some good exercise.  But please, indulge my memory and bring back the huge metal slide that burned the back of your legs in the summer, that's what I say.

We weren't completely alone though, an inquisitive little robin came over to see what we were up to, I think he was hoping we had sandwiches.  Sorry mate.

Oh, and then we popped into the castle for a quick visit to the ladies.  Any chance for an impromptu history lesson, and a quick explanation of colloquial English phrases. Pulling the chain makes so much more sense when you've actually seen an old fashioned loo, doesn't it?

Yes, I actually did take a photo of the loo. And you've looked at it.  That says something about us both, really, doesn't it?

We're joining in with Coombe Mill's Country Kids linky. Pop on over.   

The view from my bed (warning, contains feet)

When we moved in to our house, it was a shrine to 1991. The house had been a showhouse for the estate, and hadn't been changed since. I guess the floral blahs suited the elderly couple who were here before us, but to say it was dated is like saying the new Stars In Their Eyes is slightly rubbish.  However, with both of us working, and a Squeaky to look after, it's taken time for us to put our stamp on the place.

We are slowly getting there now. Baby steps and all.  I decorated Squeaky's room about 2 years ago now, as you know. Then we had a decorator friend help us with the lounge/dining room, and the hall, stairs & landing, because I know my limits.  Late last year we decided that our next challenge would be our bedroom.

All went fairly well, except for a minor tragedy when *someone* stood the ladder on my dalek picture that lived on the wall opposite the bed.  It wasn't expensive, but I think finding the right size frame as a replacement may well be.  It's a big wall opposite the bed, and since we finished painting, it has been staring blankly at me like a big blank thing.  Broken up by nothing more than a couple of tiny nail holes that I kind of didn't fill before I painted.

I had a late evening chat with Daddy one night about what we should do with the wall, and we (ok I) said that some wall art would look good. And nothing happened, for a while.  Until one of those quiet days between Christmas and the schools going back where I had just had enough of looking at a boring wall and had a nose on Premier Vinyls' website.  Simply because they were the only company I could name, and I knew they did lots of giveaways on Facebook.  Put all the boring stuff in to the order form, used Daddy's money as he broke the daleks, and lo & behold, less than a week later, I'm the proud owner of a lovely piece of wall art.

I even have co-ordinating bedlinen and toenails. Kind of.  Paint is B&Q Colours in Oxygen, wall art from Premier Vinyls, bedlinen from The Home Store about 15 years ago, nail polish OPI Can't Find My Czech Book.

I'm not sure if the view from my bed is more or less interesting than a random hotel window view, but it's an insight into the life of an irregular blogger and hardcore procrastinator.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post, or a review post. I bought the wall art shown above with my own money (or rather, Daddy's money), and I have a receipt to prove it if you like that sort of thing. I have not been asked to post this, not offered any incentive to do so.  I am not a member of any affiliate scheme, links are provided for convenience, I will not receive any payment for their use.

Edited to fix auto correct.

Are You Covered?

First off, this isn't one of those sponsored posts telling you to get your insurance increased for the festive season, or anything like that. It's not a sponsored post at all, which is rather a shame, because the money would come in kind of handy right now, as you'll see.

Despite being something of a klutz, I've always managed to look after my phones pretty well.  I've never left one on the roof of my car, never dropped it in a pint, and always have a case to protect it as best I can.  Aside from one incident when a very young Squeaky decided to flush my phone down a hotel toilet, the only problems I've ever had with phones have been because the phones themselves have been rubbish (Orange SPV, I still haven't forgiven you).  So I've become quite complacent, and as a result I've not bothered to insure my phone.  I look after it, see.

Or so I thought.  My phone fits fairly well into the pocket of most of my jeans, but there's one pair that you really can't persuade anything bigger than a 2p piece to fit into.  I forgot that, and put my phone there, sort of.  And then there was a split-second where my phone decided to test the forces of gravity in my work's car park.  I know.  Oh dear would be the polite way of saying it.  My beloved phone, home to all my photo editing apps, every phone number I've ever had, zillions of photos of my lunch, and most importantly, Frozen Freefall now had a whole lot of crushed glass in the top corner, some lovely great cracks across the screen, and was kind of misbehaving when I tried to do anything.

Obviously, this is the kind of catastrophe that demands I turn around and leave the office for the relative safety of the local phone shop.  And whimper pathetically at the very understanding staff member, while she tried not to laugh at my total lack of priorities (I was on level 172!).  No insurance, and not close enough to an upgrade means I've got to pay for the phone to be fixed.  Sent away, snatched from my trembling fingers, and sent to someone who knows about these things.  ARGH!!!!  And they won't give it me back until I give them crazy sums of money.  (I am crying here)

Then came the moment where I had to admit to Daddy that I shouldn't be trusted with expensive electronic gadgetry, and had in fact mangled my phone.  His reply?  Have you phoned the insurance?  Errrr, I don't have phone insurance.  No, the household insurance.

I checked the policy, and discovered that yes, my phone is actually covered on my household insurance.  Less an excess, of course, but covered all the same.  Apparently I can take things out of the house, break them, and still have them covered.  Which is not encouragement for me to do so, but a rather pleasant surprise and a bit of a relief.  I wonder how many people are already covered for things like their mobile phones breaking & don't realise it?  Check your policy, it might be a pleasant surprise.

(And if anyone wants to give me a new phone, I'd really appreciate it!)

The end of an era

It's a sad day. A very sad day. The end of an era, the passing of time comes to us all. For today I have had to bid farewell to an old friend. One who has been with me through good times and bad. Seen me laugh, seen me cry, seen me curl up & moan with a hangover.

For yes, today officially marks the day I have accepted the fact that my once favourite, much used, much loved, well worn out duvet set has not so much seen better days, but seen better decades.

Fare thee well in the next life, old red bedding set.

I'll be honest, I'm the kind of girl who doesn't like to spend too much money on bed linen, after all I'm asleep when I'm in it, so I can't see it.  I can't even remember where I bought this set from, but it was almost certainly in the sale.  I do love the feel of new linen though, and newly washed linen, so now I've got a good excuse to go out & buy something now, don't you think?

To be fair to the old red set, it doesn't really go with my current bedroom, which is all blues & greys, whereas it went perfectly in our old house with its red & cream bedroom.  So maybe it was time.  I'd love something like the set below, that would be perfect. Sadly they're in the US, and I'm not good at international bedding sizes.  Boo hoo.  Wonder what I can find bargain hunting instead?

Contemporary Bedding by Omaha Furniture & Accessories Hayneedle

Splish Splash

I started writing this post a few days ago, you know.  And it was so bad that I tried to scrunch up the monitor & throw it in the bin.  Really, it was awful.  So I gave up, but I didn't stop thinking.

This is my bathroom... Inoffensive, bland, with horrible swaggy blinds that weren't fashionable even when the house was being a showhouse in 1991.  (Please ignore the large number of toys at the end of the bath, and assorted cosmetics on the windowsill).  It's a massive improvement on the bathroom in my old house, which I don't even have photos of.  It was chocolate brown.  Need I say more?  This one, at least, is white.

Tots100 and Bathshop321 have joined up to ask about our dream bathrooms.  This was the point where I got a bit carried away the other day, and went off into a crazy fantasy world of built in tellies, self-filling wine fridges, and a view of the ocean.  I even drew a picture.  No-one needed to see it, it was terrible.  I can't draw for toffee.  And it wasn't true.  OK, there was a heated towel rail included too, and that is my One True Ambition in life.  I SO want a heated towel rail.  I get all excited when I stay in a hotel and there's a heated towel rail there, I'm like a kid at Christmas.  I know radiators warm towels up just as well, but they're not the same, or not in my head anyway.

The truth of my ideal bathroom is much simpler.  I want to get rid of the horrible blinds, the beige carpet (and the green mats), the wood, and the beigey wallpaper.  In its place, I want clean lines, simple blue & white, with a Greek Key design.  Something that reminds me of holidays, lazing by the pool. Somewhere I can relax & let the stress float away.

I didn't draw you a picture of this.  Instead, I took a stroll through my photos, through my memories, and found the picture that serves as my inspiration.  So this, then, is what inspires my dream bathroom.  I took this photo a good few years ago now, in Neos Marmaras in Greece.  That shade of blue is so evocative of Greece, and makes me feel so at peace, I'd love to have that in my bathroom.  In fact, I'd probably get this picture blown up to put on the wall above the bath.

So there you have it, my simple vision for my dream bathroom.  Greek blue & white, with a heated towel rail.  A girl's got to have a dream, right?

As well as asking about our dream bathrooms, Tots100 and Bathshop321 are giving one lucky blogger the chance to win a new bathroom suite.  If I was that person, I think I'd choose the Galaxia showerbath suite, and be able to bathe or shower in style.  The lines fit well with my blue dream, and it's modern but comfortable, everything I need.

Packmate Storage Solutions Review

My airing cupboard, before

I had something of an epiphany recently.  One of those moments where you realise where you've been going wrong all along.  While our new house is so much better than our old one, in many many ways, I'm still adjusting to the changes in storage space.  I've got less wardrobe space, but I've now got an airing cupboard that I didn't have in the old house (and discovered more towels & bedlinen than one person could reasonably use in a lifetime).  I had to work out a better way to organise them.  So when Packmate offered me the chance to try out some of their storage solutions, I had to give it a go.  (Secretly, I think Squeaky Daddy had been in touch with them first, as he despairs of my inability to keep things tidy.)

I am slightly, just slightly, ashamed to show you these photos.  This is what Packmate had to do battle with.  The organised chaos of my airing cupboard, organised in as much as I knew what shelf things were on, but nothing more than that.  And the complete disaster area of my wardrobe.  This is AFTER I had a massive clear out of clothes that I don't wear any more & took them to the charity shop.  I'm not going to say what you can learn about me from these photos.

Packmate sent me a selection of their products.  I received a set of  vacuum storage bags, a set of travel storage bags, a hanging storage bag for suits, a blanket storage box & underbed storage bags from their Storeasy range.

My wardrobe, before

I have to admit I was sceptical about the vacuum bags.  I've bought vacuum bags before from various places, and then found that because I've got a Dyson, and it has a non-standard nozzle, I couldn't connect it up to the bag to suck the air out, meaning I couldn't get the full shrinking effect.  I'm pleased to say that wasn't the case with Packmate, as the vacuum outlet was small enough for my Dyson's nozzle to fit, so I finally found out what vacuum bags are meant to do!

What I really liked was that thought had gone into the design of the bags.  Rather than just clear, or plain bags, they've got a really attractive leaf design.  I haven't got the patience to get things up into the attic twice a year, so my vacuum bags will be living on the top shelf of my wardrobe, and I'm glad to have something that I don't mind looking at! The travel storage bags had a different, striped design, equally attractive.

The vacuum bag's groovy leaves

Airing Cupboard, after

How did I get on?  That's what you really want to know, right?  Well, see that airing cupboard up there?  I took out the towels & bedding that weren't in current rotation (use, wash, spare, guests) and put them into the blanket box, and look at it now!  You can actually see that it's an airing cupboard, with a hot water tank in it!  The blanket box fits in at the back on the top shelf, you can just about see it in the top left of this shot.  Now I can not only tell which shelf something is on, but I can actually find it without running the risk of falling victim to an avalanche of bathtowels.  Seriously, I think there were more in there than in my local Matalan!

What of the wardrobe?  Well, I originally thought I'd chosen the wrong time of year to do this, moving into springtime, and I decided to vacuum pack away all my summer clothes.  This time last year we had a mini-heatwave.  However, I'm very glad right now that I didn't pack my jumpers away instead.  In tidying my wardrobe I found jumpers, shirts and trousers that I'd completely forgotten, because they'd been pushed to the back never to see the light of day again.  Now the summer clothes are bagged up, as you can see at the top, the winter clothes are hanging up, I can get at my shoes in the box at the bottom, and I've even got space to put my perfumes.  (Keep them in the boxes, in the dark, they retain their scent longer that way).

Wardrobe, after

The vacuum bags were very easy to use, and had space for a massive amount of clothes in them.  There's actually more in those bags than was in the wardrobe, as I also emptied a couple of drawers into the bags at the same time.  The travel bags (the green striped ones on top) were even easier.  These don't need the vacuum hose, you just place items in, zip it up, and roll the air out at the bottom, so they're ideal for travelling, as you can squeeze so much more into your hand luggage, and avoid the excess charges for checking your bags in at the airport.  I wish I'd been thinking a bit more, I could have used these last week to pack our clothes in for the trip to the caravan, I would have saved so much space in the car!

Packmate are available from Lakeland, TK Maxx, Homesense, and various online retailers, with prices from £9.99.

Disclosure: I was provided with a range of Packmate storage bags free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

Nature Paint review

Before. A nightmare to remove!

When I started thinking about this post (yes, believe it or not, I do actually think before I write this blog), I came up with the perfect opening line.  And was immediately struck down with one of the most horrific earworms known to humanity.  Of course, because of that I absolutely had to use that line, and share the joy with you all.  You can thank me later.

♫It's that time of year, now that spring is in the air♫...  when people's thoughts turn to DIY.  We moved in to our house the middle of last year.  It used to be a show house, and so the decoration is all very nice, but a bit 1991, and not entirely to my taste.  So when Nature Paint said they were looking for bloggers to review their paint range, I knew this was one for me.  Squeaky's room was decorated as a nursery, but a 3 going-on 13 year old wants something more girly than teddy bears, so hers was the room we chose to make-over.

Here's the info on Nature Paint, before I go any further.

• Nature Paint is fully biodegradable so any waste can be composted safely.

• All packaging is 100% recyclable for minimal impact on the planet.

• Nature Paint is 100% VOC free - so none of the chemicals that contribute to climate change or affect our health. They are the only paint manufacturers to have achieved this, and a new ZERO VOC badge had to be designed for their packaging.

• Nature Paint is made in Cornwall from natural & local materials including Cornish clay, French ochre and Italian sienna. The pigments are natural, lightproof, & artist-grade, meaning they are probably the most fade-proof colours available.

• As there are no nasty chemicals, Nature Paint doesn't have the kind of painty fumes that give you a headache.  Instead, it has a faint clay smell which disappears as it dries, meaning it is perfectly safe, and even pleasant, to sleep in a room that has been painted that day.

• As there are no synthetic materials, Nature Paint does not create static, and actually repels dust, so walls stay cleaner for longer.

• Nature Paint has excellent breathability, due to its natural characteristics, which means it can deal with even the levels of humidity in a domestic kitchen or bathroom, with far less chance of mould growth than standard paints.

Helping, apparently.

Whereas most paints come ready mixed, and can't be sent through standard mail, Nature Paint is delivered in a powdered form, which you then mix up with water when you are ready to use it.  That means it can be sent through the post.  And when it arrives, it takes up much less space than a normal can of paint, the 1kg tins I received were roughly the size of a normal 1 litre paint can, though when made up they contain 2.5 litres of paint.

At this time in the blogging process, I feel the need to point out that in order to provide you lovely readers with a proper review, I had to spend THREE WHOLE DAYS working to decorate Miss Squeaky's bedroom.  One to strip the old and uncooperative wallpaper.  One to put down sufficient base coats of white paint onto a wall that had never been painted before & so acted like a particularly thirsty sponge as soon as it met white emulsion.  And a third day to actually do the Nature Paint thing.  I had an enthusiastic, though not particularly talented assistant, in the shape of Squeaky, who quite enjoyed picking the wallpaper off the walls, but was not impressed that I wasn't prepared to let her loose with a paintbrush.  (She was also my room-mate for 3 nights, not due to fumes, just having to take everything out of a fairly small bedroom to have the space to work)

Angel Delight? Or paint?

The colour I chose was Campion.  When I looked through the range, I half expected a whole host of muted beiges, the sort of colours normally seen on bobbly arran jumpers and old lady's cups of tea.  I was very pleasantly surprised to find a range of 63 colours, ranging from whites & creams through pinks & reds, blues & greens even into very deep greys.  The hardest part was choosing which one to go for.

The paint came in two tins, each about the size of a 1 litre paint tin, so they take up very little space, even though each tin is 2 1/2 litres once made up.  That's the fun part, making the paint.  If you've got a drill with a mixing attachment, or are prepared to sacrifice your hand blender to the paint gods, it'd be pretty quick.  I, on the other hand, only sacrificed an elderly wooden spoon, so the mixing process took a little while, and built up my arm muscles.  It's not difficult, just takes a while.  Squeaky Daddy took a look into the bucket I was mixing the paint in, and said it looked like Angel Delight, which probably says something about my cooking!

After painting.

After the paint was mixed, and had twenty minutes to thicken, off we went to the walls.  Application is a little bit different to "traditional" emulsion.  Rather than being kind of goopy, I found that Nature Paint was a bit thinner, and I would have struggled to apply it with a roller - I am not the most confident of decorators.  After one coat it looked a little patchy, but the instructions did say that it would need two coats, so I was expecting that.

I was pleased to find that the claims about the lack of painty smells were very accurate, it was a really pleasant environment to work in, with only a faint clay smell, none of the usual chemicals.  After 4 hours or so, maybe a bit longer, I went back and applied the second coat of paint, which evened up the colour on the walls.  I was a little bit apprehensive before I started that the colour might have been a touch too dark, but as you can see it's a subtle pink, with a slight purple tone to it.  It's a really grown up colour, and one that I hope Squeaky will love for a long time to come, she's certainly taken with it at the moment.

Bunting from the amazing Mummy Mandy

At £19.99 for a 1kg tin (makes 2.5 litres) Nature Paint is pretty comparable with big name branded paints.  It did take all of the first tin, and about half of the second to cover the walls in Squeaky's room, but that would have been the case with any paint, as the walls were quite thirsty to start with.

One thing I would like to have seen, either in each tin, or just available from Nature Paint, is a measure.  Some kind of scoop where 1 level scoop is the right amount of paint to mix with e.g. 100ml of water.  As I said, I used all the first tin, and some of the second. I had to get my scales out to weigh the paint powder to mix with the amount of water I calculated (100g paint / 150ml water)  A scoop would make this process a lot easier.  I didn't want to mix up all the second can of paint, because the paint only keeps for about 3 days once made up, and I like to have some leftover paint for emergency touch-ups in the future.

Would I buy Nature Paint again in the future?  I don't see why not.  I'm already thinking about what colours to paint our bedroom next.

Nature Paint is available to order online, or from B&Q and John Lewis.

Disclosure: I was provided with paint to decorate one room free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive payment for their use. 

Slatterny, or why I'm not allowed nice things

I was tagged by the lovely Wendy at Inside The Wendy House to answer the immortal question, "Where do I blog?"  And then I kept her waiting all weekend while I drank cider, watched The Wurzels and played on the beach, before coming home to answer the question.

We all wonder, I know, what the people behind the blogs we read REALLY get up to.  Are they the saintly neat & tidy people with everything in its place that my husband assumes is how the rest of the world lives, or are they the slatternly folk for whom everything has a place, and that place is wherever it lands?

From that picture, you might be able to guess which side of the line my blogplatz falls on. Highlights of this picture include: a can of Coke Zero, some hair wax, Squeaky's change bag (the black messenger bag on top of the drawers), and almost out of shot, the baby monitor.  You can tell it's real, the screen is showing my last post, mid-way through the creative process.  It's actually not as bad as it could be, there's often a discarded coffee cup or two, and maybe a plate of toast hanging around there somewhere, but as we've been away, I haven't had chance to make too much mess, there's only the static junk there today.

Honestly, though, I can see the tv, Squeaky's usually around my feet (the uncomfortable old wooden chair is because she worked out how to climb onto the computer chair, so I took it away. She can climb on this one now too, though.), or if she's not, she's watching CBeebies just a few feet away.  The desk is getting pretty rickety now, I had it when I went to university, and it kind of leans to the left in a slightly worrisome manner.  I keep thinking about replacing it, but while it's still standing, what's the point?  I'm the last of the Old Skool, in that I'm using a desktop pc (a very new one at that, I only bought it last month when the old one died a death), mostly because my lappy is a temperamental beast, and if I'm writing, I want to know it'll get to where I wanted to post it. Otherwise I'd blog in bed, it's warmer there.

I'm going to tag the following lovelies.  Are you saints, or slatterns like me?
Abigail of Abigail and the Future
Gingembre of Momma Wears Combat Boots

See Bibsey's original post, where it all began.