Snoring....

Yes, snoring.

A touchy subject you would think. Yes indeed - no-one likes to admit to snoring, do they?
It's the butt of some seriously bad jokes, used to add comic effect to many a sitcom, but really it's just not that funny!
Not when you are the snorer...

Now I have recently discovered that I snore really badly. Recently? Yes.
As I have spent most of my life sleeping alone, how would I know that I snore?
Until I started travelling again and found myself sharing many rooms with complete strangers (female strangers, I have to add!), along with some friends.

Now I know how bloody badly I snore.
For example, in Sydney, I was woken in the middle of the night by a girl I'd never seen before shaking me and jabbering something incomprehensible into my face. Nearly scared me to death, until I realised that she was insisting that I stop snoring and let her get some sleep,

And then in New Zealand, in a room of four, a very grumpy German girl spent half the night stamping about as I was keeping her awake. In the end, one of my friends gave her some ear plugs and she fell asleep, while I spent the rest of the night trying to stay awake so as not to disturb anyone - listening to the rest of them snoring!
But not as loudly as I do :(

At a Buddhist retreat, I was in a dormitory, where all the women were too kind to say anything. However, they nearly all changed rooms in the course of my stay...

I have been told that it's not like a normal snore, but it sounds like I stop breathing, then snort myself back to life again. Reading up on this, it sounds a bit like a condition known as sleep apnoea.

So I thought I'd go and see if my doctor could help do anything about it.
You know what she said?

She didn't see it as a problem, as I sleep on my own & don't have a partner. She reckoned that the people I share a room with on the odd occasion could put up with it.

OK - so she's now condemned to sleeping alone for ever more, hasn't she? I may not have a partner now, but maybe I'd like to have one before I die :)

Who's going to want to sleep beside a person who makes a sound like a lear jet every night?

My current solution nowadays is to carry a packet of earplugs whenever I'm travelling. I hand them out to any room-mates - it's less embarrassing to admit in advance that I am going to sound like the monster of the deep, than to be woken by a grumpy tourist a 3am.

But it doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the dating stakes. How sexy must I be, snoring like a train all night?

Ah well, Archie doesn't seem to mind....
(Archie is my little dog)  cheers Archie xxx

Spring?

Oh dear! I just re-read Friday's post - what happened to the spacing? Now you may be thinking t hat the couple of glasses of wine had something to do with that. But I am claiming that's it's more to do with the new device I used to type the blog! that's my story and I'm sticking to it. My proof is that I was up and about at 7.30 on Saturday and did a 17 mile walk - not a trace of a headache :)

I went around the lake via Catbells, so it wasn't an easy walk - OK though, and the scenery was fab, if a little misty. Stopped in Grange cafe for a cuppa , then spotted a swan in the water that should have been the footpath over the duckboards. I thought his fishing antics were amusing!

I felt pretty fit after 17 miles, except for the toes on my right foot. Ever since I fell off a cobble in Copenhagen, they've been hurting. Not too much over the last couple of days, but boy they gave me gyp on the walk!

So the beauty of this weekend is that there are so many signs of spring coming. today I walked up over Walla crag and while it was wet and windy it was also quite warm. The birds were singing loudly - nesting calls. then I spotted some gorge and heather starting to bloom..

and to top it all off - frogs!  the most fabulous sight in Dirty Wood (Ings wood to give it it's proper title)
A bit earlier than usual, but they were mating and spawning like mad. In fact, I have never seen so many in this area before at one time. Their croaking sounded like distant motor bikes. I posted a video on Facebook, but the croaking is a bit quiet. The video is a bit large for here though - pity.

anyway, here is a photo.

Amazing!! And the thought that spring is on the way is a delightful one.

Rain

I find it very odd that there is a drought in the south of England. Because here in Cumbria it has rained endlessly for weeks! I know we live in a wet area of the uk, hence the lakes that we have, but it's hard to believe that there has been so little rain I the south that they have declared a drought. Today when I went for a walk I had to jump over deep puddles, squelch y way through soggy fields and avoid sliding down wet, muddy slopes. In the 21st century you,d think therewouldbeaway tosh are the water throughout the uk,wouldn't you? I am rather sad today as I have just learned that a colleague and friend died this afternoon. And shocked as it is only a few weeks since she was looking really healthy at work. Just confirms that we should all live life to the full and not wast a minute. Cos you just don't know what's round the corner. I have a quiet weekend ahead for a change. The last few have been really hectic. But I feel like I should be doing something so I reckon tomorrow I may go up cat bells, maiden moor and high spy. that's if I don't have a hangover as I've had a few glasses of wine this evening! Which is unusual, as I am trying to train for a 100km cycle ride around London in June. Scary!

Wonderful Kobenhavn

Last week I had a grand week in the City of Copenhagen. And what a lovely city it is.
On the first day there, it snowed, which was fabulous. All the rivers, canals and even the sea were frozen over and the little boats were stranded (or looked like they were).

The next day was sunny, but very cold. We took a free walking tour around the city and our guide, Gareth was very knowledgeable about the history of the place. I hadn't realised that the'd had quite so many fires in the past - seems everything has been burned down at some time...

A walking tour is a great way to see a place and also learn something about its history. we learned about Hygge (pronounced hooga I think!) Here is a link to a description of that fine tradition.  http://www.visitdenmark.com/usa/en-us/menu/turist/nyheder/nyheder/kunstenathyggesig.htm

I spent my birthday over there and although I don't celebrate birthdays as such, we did go for a drink in the Ice Bar. An experience! Everything of course is made of ice, even the glasses, although the alcohol does stop your lips from freezing to the ice when you take a sip!!
Here I am in the ice bar....

The architecture in Copenhagen is beautiful - I love the colourful buildings, especially in the Nyhavn area, where there some lovely sailing boats - must be grand in summer when the water ain't frozen! But I kind of like it in winter...

A day trip to Malmo in Sweden was a must do. How could we resist a two-nation trip, when Sweden was only a 30 minute train ride away? Malmo was a much nicer town than we were led to believe and the walk around the coastline was spectacular - my photos don't do it justice, but here is one of the bridge over from Denmark, with the frozen sea...

All in all, I would recommend a trip to Copenhagen. A final note, though! We went over to Christiania - a hippy 'village' where apparently they don't pay any taxes. All the homes look self-constructed and there a 'grfiit type murals everywhere. Quaint - but right in the middle, in a park, were loads of 'market' stalls. As we entered, there were signs saying NO PHOTOGRAPHS! Big dogs were parading the perimeter - lo and behold, the stalls were selling dope! Packets of Marijuana, along with HUGE blocks of Cannibis resin of all colours, which they chopped up and weighed as as required!
Although this is illegal in Denmark, it seems that no-one stops them selling dope in Christiania.

Sitting at my piano....

When I was a kid I used to play the piano. Quite successfully, I suppose. I had proper lessons and all that, took exams, learned to read music, do theory tests, the whole thing! Got to grade 7 in the end.
then for some reason that I can't remember, the piano had to go. And that was it, I never played again for donkeys years.
A few years ago, a neighbour was wanting to get rid of her piano, so I offered to give it a home. After much effort, I enlisted a team of lads from work to bring it round, got it settled in and sat down to play. Sadly, I'd forgotten how to do it well. OK, I can still read music, and knew where all the notes were, but was so rusty and out of practise it sounded bloody awful. Add to that the fact that the piano was so badly out of tune, that even if my playing had been good, it would have still sounded like Les Dawson on a bad day....
So my enthusiasm waned and the piano sat there for a few months gathering dust until I decided to throw it out.


But I always thought back to playing as it used to be and how much I enjoyed it.
So this year I have just treated myself to a keyboard - an electronic, digital piano. Now that is completely new to me. I learned on an old upright piano, with hammers and strings!

This time I have been practising and my fingers are finally getting supple enough to fly up and down the scales like they used to. I dragged a few music books from the attic - mostly classical, some Scott Joplin, and am getting quite good again at the old sight reading and playing.

But I don't want to do that. Learning in such a regimented way makes it almost impossible to improvise and that's what I want to do. Not sit there and play the notes exactly as they appear on the page, but play freely and without the constraint of music. But I can't do it!!
I sometimes think it's easier for people who don't read music and learn to play by ear - I need the flaming music in front of me.

Anyway, I've just bought a book on how to play improvised blues and jazz, so we'll see how that works out. Going slowly at present though. I reckon it's going to be a long haul...

If anybody has any tips on improvisation, please pass them on!

Tinkering

I've had a really good week at work this week.
What should by all accounts have been stressful (and indeed was for one of my colleagues) has reminded me why I like my job so much.

We bought a labelling machine recently and it arrived this week. Now machine commissioning is an art all of its own. They NEVER work right first time. Only this week the pressure was on to get it going as quickly as possible as it was really needed.
So I've spent the last couple of days tinkering. Setting, resetting, adjusting, modifying until finally today the machine was running like a dream! Play with the allen keys, learn how the thing really works, tinker it into submission! It's just a machine - it won't beat me...
The sense of complete satisfaction I get when seeing it running beautifully is amazing. (and seeing the relief on everyone else's faces!)

Now I am going to tinker in the lab with pigments and other materials - get my hands dirty and enjoy what it is about my job that is so fabulous. Forget the paperwork and the endless emails!

Tinkering is what it's all about.

Let it snow....

Funny thing the weather.
In this country we seem to have endless conversations about it - its' too cold, then it's too hot or too wet.
You'd think we would all know by now that the seasons are wildly different and the weather is never the same two days running!

On my trip to London this weekend (more about that another time :), I kept getting warnings about the snow that was on its way and I might have travel trouble, etc, etc.

Well I did have travel delays, but nothing to do with the weather. There had been a derailment on Thursday night at Milton Keynes, so all the Friday trains were either cancelled or late on the West Coast line. Instead of taking me the normal 3.5 hours to get to the city, my journey lasted SEVEN hours!
But at least I got there.

While in London I didn't see a single snow flake, even though the forecasters were getting quite agitated about the impending blizzards. Having said that, it was bitterly cold - I think the first time I have been cold in London and I've been in that city hundreds of times in my life. It was a lot colder than home and I've never, ever known that before :)

So, weekend visit over I went to Euston for the homeward bound train, only to discover that the trains were still delayed. But this time I'd purchased a cheap upgrade to first class, so at least I had a long journey in relative comfort. We passed through some bits of the UK that were slightly white and I was beginning to suspect that the drive home from Penrith station would be a bit hazardous.
Eventually pulling into Penrith (3 hours late) sure enough there was a thin cover of the white stuff and a bit of fog.
The drive home was OK though - the gritters had been out and the road was fine - a nice covering on the hills - it's quite eerie at night as you can see their huge white bulk against the dark sky.

the Tv news was showing all kinds of dramatic footage of the country that was shortly to grind to a halt, so I retired to bed.
Getting up earlier this morning for work, I expected the worst, so when I opened the door to let Archie out, what a surprise. A warmish, damp morning - not a smidgeon of snow anywhere.
Even better, after driving through a light fog to work, everything cleared beautifully at Cockermouth and the day became sunny, mild and beautiful!
Stayed that was all day too - superb day. The only snow was a very thin layer right at the top of the hills.

Apparently, there's been quite a heavy snowfall in London....

Oh dear.

Housework

Is it just me, or does anyone else find cleaning and housework just a tad tedious?
It dawned on me this evening as I was sweeping and washing the kitchen floor that I really don't like doing that.
Or more to the point, I kept thinking about other things I could be doing that made much more sensible use of my time, like learning to play blues on my new keyboard, or finishing the painting I started last week, reading that book I'm enjoying, going out on my bike, taking Archie for a walk, listening to Spotify, watching paint dry.....
In fact, even watching Coronation street would be better than ironing. Although, hang on a minute, maybe not. that's taking it a bit far.

But I reckon I'm just not 'housewife' material. Well, I've always known that, but some days I just get the confirmation in my head. Not that I have anything against housewives, of course. I have a couple of friends who are perfectly suited to doing just that. when I call round, there is never a thing out of place; their houses are immaculate, dusted, hoovered, washed to within an inch of their lives. If I accept a cuppa, I'm always scared to put my cup down on any surfaces and when I sit down I'm painfully aware of the creases I am making in the cushions on the sofa...  My cup is always snatched up and washed as soon as I've drained the final drop of tea from it and I can sense the cushions being plumped as I close the front door behind me!

On the other hand, when they visit me, it's always when the house is at its worst. Just as I'm about to start cleaning - never after I've done it. they come in and pretend not to notice the dust bunnies hopping along the hall floor, or Archie's hairs which have mysteriously appeared on the carpet in front of the fire. I catch them looking ceiling-wards and discover to my horror that there's a massive cobweb in the corner of the living room - how on earth did a spider manage to make that in the last 10 minutes?  so I take them through to the kitchen to make tea and they glance sideways at the pile of unwashed dishes beside the sink. Oh, they try very hard not to look disgusted, but they just can't help themselves. I can hear their thought - what sled-respecting woman could leave DISHES without washing them immediately after dinner?

I'm drained when they leave, so drained that I can't be bothered to climb up to get the cobweb. I lamely sweep up the dust bunnies, bung the dishes in the dishwasher and retire to my piano to do something more interesting instead.

I sometimes wish I had a spotless house, but then again, I live in it, so what does it matter if there's a pile of books on the table, or some un-ironed clothes on the stairs waiting to be carried up? I'm comfortable with my clutter and life's just too short to spend it on housework!

ten things....

I was going to write a blog post about ten things that annoy me, but I found I could only think of three! And then I figured if there only three things in the world that REALLY annoy me, then life must be pretty good :)

So I started thinking about the things that don't annoy me and there are hundreds....

To narrow that down, what about things that make me joyful? I wonder if the same things make other people joyful too...

So here goes:

• My little dog Archie's happy little face greeting me when I get home from work, his tail wagging frantically as he rushes to greet me  

• Snow covered peaks on the fells, especially now I can see them on the drive home from work! Tonight it was almost daylight and they looked glorious.
• snowdrops trying to emerge into what they think is spring. I only hope they don't get too confused when the weather turns colder..
• Sunsets. Tonight the sun was just a huge ball of red hovering above the Irish sea. Wonderful
• Oranges. Don't they just taste superb at this time of year?
• My comfy bed, although once in there I get so cosy I don't want to venture out into the cold mornings
• Jake Thackaray. Just been listening to his music and he is so underrated. a talent that should be given more air time
• Meditation. Nuff said :)
• colours. And how to make and mix them. Such satisfaction when I match a colour first time!
• My new piano and the fact that I'm so out of practice. what a great challenge to learn all over again. Bought a book about blues piano and am so excited about learning blues.
• Daylight. I'm going for a walk every lunchtime and this week it's been so fab in the sunshine...
• Australia. I can't stop remembering what a brilliant holiday I had last year.
• the countryside - I couldn't live in a city, although I do love visiting them. But I'm always happy to come home to the countryside.

I could go on and on, but ain't it great that there are so many good things in the world?

By the way, the things that annoyed me were people using mobile phones in supermarkets or on trains; aggresive or impatient drivers; celery.....