21/03/2009 by Aileen.

We’ve been cycling since Sunday (No, not non-stop silly) and I’m really pleased. The most we’ve done is 3 miles, so it’s not exactly triathlon status, but it’s been good. Yesterday we only did 2 miles, but it was up on bridge over M62 and WAS IT STEEP! Yes it was! John said it’s the most out of breath he’s been since last being able to walk in 1961.

It’s a lovely spring day, but I was annoyed as I left my two fuschia pots outside last night and there was a frost. Hope they’re okay. So far I’ve sown sweet peas, runner beans, mange tout, courgettes and peppers. Hope they take. (Obviously)

Yesterday  I cut Front Lawn and Top Lawn as I like to call them. Today I might cut the Wild Flower Meadow and the Cherry Orchard. (The two bits of grass down the bottom of the garden. It’s actually one plum tree on the left bit, but cherry sounds more romantic to me.

Titiana has been writing in my SL blog, so she’s becoming quite an upstart. You might want to read it here -

http://titihaystack.wordpress.com/

Anyway, I mustn’t waste this beautiful day. Nearly 9.30 am. Been up since before 6am and done a lot, but so many lovely options ahead of me.Bye.

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08/03/2009 by Aileen.

Not me personally you understand! It’s been blowing a gale all night. Been to church and told John I’d be late home as I wanted to revisit this large mansion near us that used to have snowdrops all over front grounds. The snowdops weren’t as I remembered from a few years ago, and were past their best anyway, so even if I wanted blurry waving flower heads it wouldn’t have worked. Must post some photos soon. Don’t seem to have done much lately. Too busy teaching myself Javascript. Or it might be Java - can’t remember the difference. Only that there is a difference.

I don’t ‘work’ on Sundays, and all OU is up to date, so will have a leisurely day. Probably read library books, and may log on to Second Life to experiment with making lamps. That’s the easy bit, but I want to make some classy shades. And the really hard bit - find a script for turning the light on and off. The one I have doesn’t work. Or more likely, I haven’t been able to make it work as I’m doing something wrong.

It’s Fiona’s birthday today. She didn’t think they’d enjoy it too much for various reasons (look back to 3/3/09 if you’re interested - Martin’s suing another business) but knowing them they’ll have a good time. I always say they work hard and play hard.

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02/03/2009 by Aileen.

Yes, March is so mild at the moment. I have the french windows open. 9.45 and housework done. (Up at 5.45)  John has a checkup at Stoke Mandeville today. We’re slightly nervous as one of the drainage wounds is still open and draining. No way does he want another hospital stay! Anyway, he seems fine in himself.

We had a good Second Life party on Saturday, to celebrate our new island. I didn’t stay that long, as just like in Real Life I get tired with lots of noise and people around.

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23/02/2009 by Aileen.

John had a really bad might last night - lots of ‘root’ pain. So I cancelled this morning’s opticians appointment. One good thing, it kept me awake so I made a cup of tea at 4am and wrote up the last poem for my TMA. I had been lying awake thinking round it, and getting it into OneNote helped me nod off eventually. I’ll probably revise it several times before sending it off but here it is. (I only had 14 lines left to do, so the structure is given. Ideally I’d like to put in a bit about MPs and PMs, and maybe Wordsworth’s Westminster Bridge, but there you go.)

Big Ben

I gaze north, south, up and down the river

With my four faces.

Grace that great wheel with a cursory glance.

But she’s an upstart. She won’t last.

I’m the icon.

And the London bus of course,

Though it used to be horses.

There was a girl once.

For seven years she traipsed beneath me

Rust uniform and hat, teeth in braces, head full of poems.

She’d be in her sixties now.

She’ll go when her time’s up.

I won’t.  Me and my chime we’ll go on for ever.

Barring bombs of course.

Plans for today. You’ve guessed it. More gardening!

As Titiana has her own Blog now I haven’t written much about Second Life in here. However, I just ought to post a recent picture of me. I haven’t put up a picture for a few days. Tonight at Viewfinders we’re going ‘on location’ to a garage (new cars) so hopefully I’ll have some gleaming snaps to post soon.

Anyway, here’s Titiana.

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20/02/2009 by Aileen.

I haven’t posted since Monday. What have I been thinking of! One thing, I started another blog. Well, not me exactly, Titiana, my Second Life avatar. All you avid followers who want to read it will find it at

http://titihaystack.wordpress.com/

On Wednesday I went to Normanby Hall with my fellow birders. Saw my first nuthatch for more than five years. We also saw the G.S. Woodpecker and the Green Woodpecker. Snowdrops everywhere.

 There were also red deer and fallow deer at the Hall. We only saw the fallow deer in the distance, so no photos. I took several photos of the red deer when they were being fed (sugar beet) but it was such a dark day I had to use something like 1200 iso and the photos are very grainy. Here’s the only one I have changed from raw to jpeg.

I spent yesterday working on a sonnet for my TMA which is due in next week, and today I am going to spend the afternoon gardening. I bought a new bird table this morning as the one on the top lawn was knackered. Its been up an hou, and the birds aren’t biting yet!

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08/02/2009 by Aileen.

Life goes on. Same ol’ same ol’. Not complaining mind you. I don’t want anything to rock the boat. I’ve been doing tutorials for Second Life and made myself some hair! I’m really pleased with it. I know it’s not wonderful, but I can only get better. Here it is.

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21/01/2009 by Aileen.

… and a lot has happened. Yes, Obama is in! Hope it means a bright new future for the world. Some talk today about sorting out Guantanamo quickly. Great stuff.

On the home front.

Monday.

Really good talk at Viewfinders from a member who climbed a previously unclimbed mountain in Nepal. The photos were brilliant and his talk was so polished. A  pleasure to look at and listen to.

Tuesday.

Finished yesterday’s housework, made stuff on SL and attended an Obama party in the clothes I made.

Wednesday.
Best weather of the year so far at Sewerby Hall and the beach where we saw many different species including purple sanpipers. We kept hearing the g.s. woodpecker drumming, but no sighting.

Then this evening I found I had lost 2 and a half pounds at Slimming World. Last year I lost one and a half stone, but put back half a stone over the winter, so overall I lost a stone last year. I was 10.5 this evening, so need to lose 12lbs to reach my target weight.

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15/01/2009 by Aileen.

Today’s new digital photography class was deferred until next week, so there I was, up and dressed, with nowhere to go. So I spent the whole day learning how to make clothes in Second Life. And I still can’t. Will take another photo tomorrow to show you what I mean.

I feel guilty for wasting my time in this way, but also, I don’t want to change. I love being creative. Lovely day birding yesterday. Beautiful light with sun breaking through the clouds. But not for long - just misty at the end. We were hoping to see hawfinches, but instead so TWO water rails. They were in the distance of this picture.

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13/01/2009 by Aileen.

Well, I was so industrious yesterday. It couldn’t really last. Although I have been industrious in a sense. I decided that I really must learn to build things in Second Life, and where best to start but with clothing. So I made a skirt with prims, and I made a t-shirt by uploading a template/texture. Here is the skirt. It’s really rubbish, but I’m pleased as it was my first attempt. I’ll have to upload the t-shirt tomorrow, as I forgot to take a photo.

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19/12/2008 by Aileen.

It was the panto tonight. Really enjoyable. However, it took up a lot of evenings for rehearsals, and I gave up several photography sessions including a party. Just unfortunate that they were on Mondays. And I was grateful for the panto when John was in hospital and I couldn’t go to Camera Club anyway as I was staying ‘darn sarth’ with M and F.

Had a really good day today anyway. Back to normal healthwise, and went to Potteric Carr on one of Michael’s One-off Specials. Took lots of photos, including close-ups of great spotted woodpecker, but they were all blurred. Some fungi photos looked okay until I blew them up on screen. I think I need to put my camera in for a service. I can’t be that bad!

Anyway, tomorrow I turn my thoughts to Christmas. Most cards are posted, but nothing else. We thought no one was coming until a few days after. This is true of Ali and family, as Eric is working over Christmas, but M and F rang to say they would be up on Boxing Day. We were going to have a pre-cooked casserole on Christmas Day so I didn’t have to do anything - still might - but I had to rush out to the butcher’s and order a turkey. Luckily they had one left. Tomorrow - crib and decorations down, and maybe do some shopping for pressies. I was going to do everything online this year, but have prolly left it too late. HATE shopping. I was in my element at Potteric Carr today, especially when I stayed on for the afternoon and wandered around the wild bit over the railway track. Saw no one over there, but several sightings of a jay.

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