A Nothing Day

Been feeling rather irritable and bored all day and I know why, it's lack of sleep. As I've had the last week off work I've been staying up later than normal and I just don't do well with messed up sleep patterns.

When my kids were young it was different, I just sort of got on with it but these days it makes me feel bitchy. I wanted to go out but didn't have the energy or motivation. I wanted to do something good indoors but didn't for just about the same reason. I've got lots of house stuff to do and my little patio garden has weeds which are threatening to swallow me up if I don't tackle them soon, but nothing got done apart from me fiddling around online, mostly with my blog.

My partner has been occupied nicely all day with his new toy, a Playstation 3... so it would have been an ideal day to buzz off and do something worthwhile.

I just tried to watch something on BBC iPlayer (an online catch-up of BBC TV programmes) but it didn't seem to be working for me, typical!

Never mind I guess we all have these kind of nothing days sometimes..

Just Playing With Utterz

Mobile post sent by LadyBanana using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

Re-added the Utterz widget in the left hand sidebar - not sure how long it will stay there though, it's one of those things I like there sometimes depending on my mood..

Seems I'm An Introverted Neurotic..

I came across this at Clay Lowe's blog. I must admit I am/was rather undecided as to whether to post or not as I don't really like the outcome. But here goes, it's me, I answered the questions as honestly as I could...

Eysenck's Test Results

Extraversion (23%) low which suggests you are very reclusive, quiet, unassertive, and private. Neuroticism (83%) high which suggests you are very worrying, insecure, emotional, and anxious. Psychoticism (25%) low which suggests you are overly kind natured, trusting, and helpful at the expense too often of your own individual development (martyr complex).

Take Eysenck Personality Test (similar to EPQ-R)
personality tests by similarminds.com

7 Songs Meme

Posh Totty has tagged me for the 7 songs meme:

The rules:-
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to.


As Posh Totty say's, it's very difficult to pick just 7, now if it were 70 songs!!!

So here goes:

A Better Future by David Bowie

Love Is A Losing Game by Amy Winehouse

One by Alanis Morissette

Space Oddity by David Bowie

Waiting In vain by Bob Marley

It Was A good Day by Ice Cube

At Your Best (You Are Love)by Aaliyah


Now for 7 tagees:

Claire
Bill
Anna
Tina
Anita
Awake
Iriegal

Iron Man Matinee

The weather let us down today. After several beautifully warm sunny days today was dull wet and rather cool. So the perfect day for the cinema!

Went to see Iron Man and I must say I was rather reluctant to go as I didn't think it would be something I would enjoy. However I was surprised, it was actually quite a good film with a lot of humour.

I won't spoil it for those who may be yet to see it!

After the film we went to curry night in Wetherspoons. Not done that for probably over a year, was lovely!

I Am Unique

I used my real name (no, Lady Banana is not my real name..lol)

So this proves I am unique at least as far as US... I wonder about here in UK.. still they don't have one of these for UK..

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Update On Woopra!

A few days ago I posted about Woopra

Since that time I have been playing around with it and keep finding new stuff that I think is quite brilliant...

Today I noticed you can chat to your visitors - now that is very clever!

I'm sure there are lots of other little things I'm yet to discover, if you are a user and have found anything I may not have, drop me a comment!

If you are not a user maybe you should try it!

(Anyone would think I'm getting paid or credit for this - I'm not - I'm just a fan)

Highgate Cemetery Walk

I'm really enjoying this week of no work, I don't miss it one bit! LOL

Today we went to visit Highgate Cemetery. It's just a short bus ride and walk away but I had never been there before even though I had been interested in visiting for years.

As we approached the cemetery, walking up Swains Lane we saw many old long forgotten graves through the fence, almost lost in the long grass and ivy.

We were only able to visit the East Cemetery as the West side is only open at certain times and for guided tours only.

A lot of the cemetery is very overgrown, you might think unkempt but in fact it's beautiful, natural and perfectly peaceful.

Some of the graves are very old, just about ruins, and yes a lot of them have obviously not been at all cared for, maybe there is no one left to care in their family.

I found the place fascinating and very thought provoking.

We saw a couple of famous graves, that of Karl Marx and the writer Douglas Adams. I'm sure there are more well known people there, I just don't know of them myself!

After we left the cemetery we bought some sandwiches and snacks and sat in Parliament Hill Fields, which is part of Hampstead Heath. It's so green and lush and being a weekday there weren't too many people around so it was wonderfully peaceful. The view of London from the top of the hill is stunning, it's amazing! You can see as far away as Canary Wharf, The Gherkin, St Paul's Cathedral etc..

From Hampstead Heath we walked all the way home, it's not far on the bus but on foot it was rather a long way. My feet need a rest tomorrow, rain is forecast so maybe it will be a good day for a rest!

Of course I took loads of photo's and if you are interested I think they are well worth a look through!

Cemetery Photos

Parliament Hill

Time For A Spicy Chocolatey Lolly!

With the weather being so beautifully warm it's been lovely to have an ice lolly now and then.

I'd seen adverts for the new Magnum Mayan Mystica on the bus stops so thought it would be worth a try - and it was!

It has an unusual spicy flavour to it which at first I wasn't sure about but as I munched into all that chocolatey goodness I decided I really loved it!

I'd not seen the advert below before, but I bet she hasn't had too many lollies the way she looks!

Now, off to the freezer!

Favourite Things Tag

I've been tagged by Liza over at A Simple Life

1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
The Golden Compass

2. What book are you reading?
None, but I have so many waiting.

3. Favorite board game?
Scrabble.

4. Favorite magazine?
Since being on the internet so much I don't buy magazines

5. Favorite smells?
Fresh washing, wood, leather, new books,

6. Favorite sounds?
Birdsong in the early morning

7. Worst feeling in the world?
Pre-menstrual syndrome

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
Do I have to go to work today?

9. Favorite fast food place?
I rarely eat fast food, I guess Nando's is fairly fast..

10. Future child’s name?
I have 3 grown up kids, so no more for me!

11. Finish this statement. “If I had lot of money I’d….?

See more of the world, buy a nice home and give up work

12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Nope.

13. Storms - cool or scary?
Depends if I'm indoors or out at the time!

14. Favorite drink?
Ice cold water, and Early Grey tea.

15. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would….”?
Hmmm, need some time to think this one through!

16. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
Yep, always!

17. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
The colour I already dye it, a rich deep brown

18. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in?
Oxford and London

19. Favorite sports to watch?
I don't like sports

20. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
She's a very friendly person and I think she would be a good friend in "real life"

21. What’s under your bed?
Boxes of clothes

22. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
Yes, but I think I'd do a lot of things differently

23. Morning person, or night owl?

Mostly morning person although not too early

24. Over easy, or sunny side up?
I must admit I don't know what over easy is! So I guess sunny side up

25. Favorite place to relax?
On the sofa with laptop or in bed.

26. Favorite pie?
Pork pies

27. Favorite ice cream flavor?
Vanilla

28. Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?
I'm not going to tag anyone this time - so if you would like to do this one just let me know and I will visit you!

Southend And An Owl

Had a lovely day out today. Well lovely-ish...

My partner and I went to Southend On Sea, which I had not been to for so many years I couldn't remember, so we thought as it's so close to London it was worth a trip.

It is, to say the least, NOT the nicest or prettiest of seasides... The tide was out further than the eye could see and that just added to the overall yuck appearance of the place. There are great big ugly trashy looking amusement arcades along the front and I really do not like these.

We walked along though enjoying the weather, stopping for a while to sit and relax and take a few photos.

We had lunch at a seafront chippy and then walked back the other way, which I have to admit once we had passed the funfair (which I also disliked) it improved just a little. Especially on the side away from the sea where there are cliff side gardens which we decided to take another rest in.

We then walked (struggled) to the top of these gardens where there is a much nicer road and houses and then looking back out to the sea, there was a rather beautiful view. By now the tide had come in and made it much nicer to look at then just the dullness of the mudflats.

As we returned back to the train station there was a man with a couple of owls, a bit odd really, I don't quite know why he was there but it was a fantastic opportunity for some photos...

I have been trying to get the photo's uploaded to Flickr but it seems to be having hiccups this evening and taking forever! But here is one of the owls that I think came out rather well!

I Am A Woman NOT A Virus

Having a lot of trouble getting onto my favourite blogs this evening.

I'm reading posts in Google Reader then wanting to go leave a comment, try to go to the blog and get this:

We're sorry...

... but your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application. To protect our users, we can't process your request right now.

We'll restore your access as quickly as possible, so try again soon. In the meantime, if you suspect that your computer or network has been infected, you might want to run a virus checker or spyware remover to make sure that your systems are free of viruses and other spurious software.

If you're continually receiving this error, you may be able to resolve the problem by deleting your Google cookie and revisiting Google. For browser-specific instructions, please consult your browser's online support center.

If your entire network is affected, more information is available in the Google Web Search Help Center.

We apologize for the inconvenience, and hope we'll see you again on Google.



It's getting really annoying!!

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Track :: Train
2. Snake :: Bite
3. Assignment :: Work
4. Blockbuster :: Video
5. Bombastic :: Fantastic
6. Adventure :: Time
7. First time :: Lover
8. Aged :: Person
9. Grip :: Tight
10. Shortcut:: Key


Play along HERE

Abbey Road London NW8 Webcam - Take 2

I first posted this way back in 2006 and thought it would be nice to do so again now I have a lot more visitors :)

This is the area where I live:

Refresh page for webcam update...

And yes, it is the Abbey Road made famous by the Beatles!

Doodle Flowers

A different technique this time, hand drawn with crayons. No better though..

Take part in Doodle Week

Doodle Animal

Getting good aren't I... NOT!

Take part in Doodle Week

Doodle Monster

I must be the worlds worse draw-er!

Take part in Doodle Week

Doodle You

As intended, rather late, here is my first doodle for Doodle Week. It's as awful as I expected and you are welcome to laugh as loudly as you wish - I won't hear you anyway!

My partner bought home from work his Wacom Graphics Tablet so I drew it with this and Photoshop:

(The real reason you can't see my hands is because I can't draw hands - but don't tell anyone!)


Take part in Doodle Week

What Makes These Photos Un-Interesting?

As many will know I love taking photo's.. I don't think I'll ever be a "good" photographer, but that doesn't matter to me.

I have uploaded a lot of them to Flickr and for fun, some time ago I started using the Dopiaza Set Manager.

This gives you options of automatically creating sets based on various criteria such as interestingness, date posted and tags, or even from a random set of photographs.

You can have up to 500 photo's in each set, which is perhaps a little too much, at the moment I have 250 in each, apart from the random set which is limited to 20.

Now I don't really know exactly how this works apart from, I guess, if a photo gets a lot of comments and views then it must be interesting and I presume vice versa.

Personally I think several of the photo's in my least interesting set are in fact rather interesting, but maybe I am biased, and I guess with a set of 250 it has to be filled with something!

This Is Woopra

If you are like me and are fascinated my your blog stats (OK, I know some will say sad cow!) then you might like using Woopra.




What is Woopra?

Woopra is the world's most comprehensive, information rich, easy to use, real-time Web tracking and analysis application.

I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and it is very good. You can view the stats online in the web browser or better still download the desktop client which can then just sit there showing what's happening in real-time.

It shows referrers, the searches people used to find your blog (some are so funny), all kinds of stuff.

I know there are other places that do this such as Google Analytics, but this is so nice I thought I'd share it.

Man Kills "Bullying" Cat!

Do you think it's possible to be bullied by a cat?

Well one man believed he was being menaced so much that he killed the cat - crazy I'd say!

"He admitted he had killed two-year-old Chopper because the cat had smirked after it crept into his living room and knocked over a vase, had menaced him in his own home and had bullied his landlady's cat Barney."

"He said: "The cat became a menace. He looked pleased when he knocked over a vase.

"Things were getting broken and the vase was knocked over with water and flowers everywhere.

"I knocked him unconscious with my hand and then threw it in the river.

He also pointed out that he regretted his actions, saying, "I have never done anything like that before, I absolutely regret doing it."

A tragic over reaction...

Read the rest of this story HERE

Yes! That's It For A Week!

Wow! At last the end of a very busy week, busy at work and home.

My son arrived Thursday afternoon and left for Brazil at 2:30 am Friday so we had less than 12 hours but that's OK as he will be here for a whole week of catching up when he gets back.

I feel I need to catch up a bit now with the blogs and something I fully intended to take part in but just haven't had the time, Doodle Week! Yep I was going to make a total fool of myself!

I still don't have time to get out and set up the scanner but maybe I'll give it a go by just photographing my meagre efforts! Better late then never I hope!

I am now off work for the entire next week and the weather forecast is wonderful.

Tomorrow is expected to be 28c (82f) here in London so I intend to get out as much as possible, it's been a long time coming, both the weather and some time off!

I'm not going away anywhere during the week but hope to have some good days out!

Wordless Wednesday (almost)

My son missed his flight from Dubai this morning, so all his plans are now delayed by 24 hours - he should arrive tomorrow afternoon some time.

I thought I'd post this photo I took when I was in Dubai in January!

Something To Look Forward To..

I'm quite excited this evening as tomorrow my son comes home from Dubai. He will be in UK for only just over 12 hours before flying off to Brazil for a week or so. When he returns from there he will spend a week with us before returning back to Dubai again!

He's become quite a jetsetter in recent years and I'm so pleased for him having the opportunity before he gets tied down maybe with wife and kids. He really does work and play hard!

It will be lovely to see him again and I'm hoping my girls can find some time to be here for that week, it's been well over a year since the three of them have been together at the same time.

The only annoying bit is that I have holiday from work next week, that's the week of his Brazil trip, and not the week he will be here, but if he's the same as he was then he will be in bed till at least noon everyday!

Make Your Photo's Appear Very Old, Very Easily!

I love playing around with photo's, adding effects and just generally fiddling around to make them look a bit, maybe, unusual. I use many different applications for this depending on what I fancy trying at the time.

Today I came across a website where you just upload a photo and it very quickly converts it, making it look very old, so of course I had a go and I think it's rather clever!

Before:


After:


Before:


After:


Before:


After:




If you'd like to have a go - click here

At The British Museum

Went to the British Museum today as it's a Bank Holiday, it was really interesting.

I was last there many years ago when the kids were very young and we went as part of a school trip. It's not far from where I live, a 30 minute bus ride and it's free entry, so I don't know why I hadn't been for so long, I guess it's lack of time.

The majority of people there did seem to be tourists, funny how when you live somewhere you don't visit too much.

I took lots of photos, some are not that brilliant as it's a bit dark in some of the rooms and of course a lot of the objects are behind glass, so reflections become quite a problem.

I was going to post a few but I couldn't make up my mind, so I posted them all in this slideshow made from the photos posted on Flickr..

Unconscious Mutterings

1. State :: Pension
   
2. Lively :: Active
   
3. Valet :: Service
   
4. Traction :: Engine
   
5. Official :: Rules
   
6. Red hot :: Coal
   
7. Powder :: Coating
   
8. Replies :: Letters
   
9. Flagrant :: Disregard
   
10. Tweet:: Twitter

To play along click HERE!

Loving The Long Weekend

I love these Bank Holiday weekends, get to Sunday and have another day off to look forward to!

Today was spent doing lots of cleaning, there often just isn't the time or energy in the week so it tends to get very messy.

I then spent some time dropping Entrecards, I know, what a waste of time but there is something pleasantly addictive about it.

I went out on my bicycle, only for about 10 minutes, around the block. Just to prove to myself I can still ride it, it's been a long time since I got on it. Even that short ride made my thighs start to feel tired so I know I have a lot of work to do to get back up to speed and to face the dreadful London roads!

I then planted some herb seeds.. I have no idea if they will grow well at all but I like the idea of being able to pop out to my balcony and pick some fresh herbs. I'm particularly fond of coriander in just about anything, not just curries.

Then, later of course I was back online - doing what I enjoy, reading the blogs..

Don't Mess With My Stuff Boy!

Went to visit some of Robs family today. Was a lovely sunny day for a change so we were able to sit out in the garden.

The little ones (Robs niece and nephew) played nicely, most of the time. Apart from when the boy had what the girl wanted - we got this shot and I think her expression says it all - Don't mess with my stuff boy!

I say Go Girl - start as you mean to go on!!! LOL

Click the pic to view large!

Twist, Lick and Dunk!

I've noticed Oreos on the shelves at my local supermarket for a long time now, and have occasionally eaten them as well.

Recently they are everywhere, even being advertised on the sides of the the good old red London buses. Not really thought much of it till I came across this news article on the BBC saying that they are an American favourite and are attempting to now become a British fave as well..

So I was wondering, my American friends, are you Oreo lovers? are they the best thing ever to you and your families? Do you really twist, lick and dunk?

My 6 Word Memoir

I was tagged by Tina over at Mummy Diaries to do the 6 word memoir... Now she said it would be easy but me, I can't make up my mind on 6 words to sum myself up, so I asked my partner Rob and he immediately came up with the answer! LOL

First, here are the Rules:

1.)Write your own six word memoir.
2.)Post it on your blog; include a visual illustration if you'd like.
3.)Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible.
4.)Tag at least five more blogs with links.
5.)Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

So here, courtesy of Rob is my memoir!

grumpy, sneezy, dopey, happy, bashful, sleepy..

Not a bad description of me - maybe..lol

Anyway I must tag some of you now:

Gina

Colin

PawHealer

Charlotte

Awake in Rochester

I've Cast My Vote!

I been very good as I have just been to vote, even though I had a very busy long day at work and had to walk an extra half mile to the polling station!

For those not in London, today is the day we vote for the next Mayor of London.

It's not been an easy decision as all of them have some good and some not so good ideas on how to run this city..

Well, at least I know I've done my bit. I'm not going to reveal who I voted for though, some people may get annyoyed..lol