Thief!

This naughty squirrel was caught red-pawed stealing the birds' nuts!

I'm getting old

I ought to feel bad that I am having a week of relaxation whilst most of you have your nose to the grindstone, but I don't. Sorry. It was my birthday at the weekend afterall, so I think I deserve some time off. It's not easy turning 35...I am now closer to 40 than I am 30 which is all a little scary, though fortunately I still feel 21 (most of the time!) so can't grumble. Must find myself a husband at some point I guess, time is ticking on.

So what have I been doing with my time off work? Not too much which is good, sometimes it is nice to be able to mooch around and allow the batteries to recharge. Had my friends over to celebrate my birthday at the weekend- food, alcohol and sophisticated (?) company...what more could one ask for? Today has been retail therapy in Manchester with my mum, always a priority when I am on annual leave. Disappointingly I failed to come home with much but a pleasant day all the same. Yesterday I met up with Voley for an evening in Birmingham which was excellent- we went to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner which was delicious though I made that age old mistake of having a starter (they are just so tempting) and then ended up not managing to finish my main course...diet starts tomorrow (especially after the huge chocolate tiffin biscuit I had today!).

The rest of the week I think will be devoted to a little decorating. I have been procrastinating over it for ages and now I have run out of excuses. The bathroom and a couple of windows need painting and then I need to put up some new curtain poles. Not my favourite pastime but I am looking forward to putting up my new curtains and having my new downstairs lights fitted. Other than that I have very little planned. Hopefully weekend will bring some entertainment.

Spring is sprung

It's been a beautiful weekend. Here are a couple of visitors I met whilst out in the garden this afternoon.



There are also loads of tadpoles in the pond but they are a little camera shy.

Doctor Who is back

I've been looking forward to the new series of Doctor Who all year, so it was with bated breath that I sat down last night to tune in for Matt Smith's first outing as the eleventh Doctor. I have been in a period of mourning since David Tennant regenerated at the end of the Christmas special and, though not wanting to make any assumptions about the new Doctor, have been unsure whether the casting has been right. Having watched last night's 'The Eleventh Hour', I am still holding judgement. I didn't dislike Matt Smith's portrayal, but I didn't find it wholly believable- I felt that he isn't sure himself yet of his character, but I feel that he may have the potential to grow into the role. Maybe this is intentional- as he says himself, "I'm still cooking".

On the whole I enjoyed the episode. Stephen Moffat, who has taken over as main script writer, has written some of my favourite episodes- 'Blink' and 'Girl In the Fireplace' were excellent. Like 'Blink', 'The Eleventh Hour' plays on our everyday fears, this time the things we occasionally see out of the corner of our eye, but never pay proper attention to. The episode was clearly setting the scene for what is to come, and importantly, introduced us to Amy Pond, the Doctor's latest companion.

I am looking forward to the rest of the series- we already have hints to the future ("Silence will fall", the Doctor is ominously told) and I am curious to see how the character of the new Doctor will evolve.

Mmm, chocolate

Happy Easter. Hope you are all enjoying the weekend and today's beautiful sunshine. Has the Easter bunny been? It's certainly been to my house- amongst other goodies, I have received the largest bag of Cadbury's Mini Eggs that I have ever seen! I feel that by the end of the day I shall be feeling very sick, very fat and possibly rather hyperactive, having not eaten any chocolate, cakes or biscuits for the entirity of Lent. Why I deprive myself for six weeks I have no idea, but I can say that it is worth it because chocolate on Easter Sunday tastes so much nicer!

The birds in my garden seem to have entered into the Easter spirit too and have created their own egg hunt...I found this one a short while ago.


...I think it may have been a little confused as to exactly what constitutes a nest.