Dancing At Lunacy

Photohunt Fluffy

lindaharley — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 07:56:35 +0000

Here’s baby dog, Minerva.

Compared to her big brother Max,, she’s decidedly fluffy! Weimaraners don’t take a lot of grooming, with their ultra short coats, but Mini’s had to have several baths, and be blow-dried with a hair dryer afterwards. My friend Marleen was enjoying making her hair stand up in a Mohawk

She’s starting puppy training class, and is a very good sitter. Now we’re working on recall, and walking nicely on a lead.

Photohunt Bliss

lindaharley — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:21:05 +0000

It was tricky to capture what bliss means to me
A large cup of tea? A walk by the sea?
I don’t like to lie in the bathtub for hours
I’d rather have showers, but not scented with flowers
But I came home one day, and what do you think -
I found this in the sink! How it made me blink!

My husband’s been trying to give up the smoke
Like plenty of folk, so the ashtray must soak
It’s easy to start, not so easy to stop
But his heart needs an op, so they’ve now got the chop

And so now all that smell will be gone from the air

For our health we will care, and our future we’ll share

With more money and energy, full of good cheer

Hoping dreams will appear, year after year

Photohunt circular

lindaharley — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:26:38 +0000

I often walk Max in Hillsborough forest on a Saturday morning. I gain a real sense of calm by being amongst those magnificent tall trees which have stood there for hundreds of years. There’s always something to marvel at in nature. This pattern of moss on the side of a tree caught my eye.

There were quite a few dogs around this morning, although the mood was a little sombre: earlier this week 2 huskies had escaped and were worrying some sheep, and unfortunately had to be shot. So while I let Max have a bit of off-leash time, I was very alert for any weak points in the perimeter fence.

Chorizo bean stew

lindaharley — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:27:17 +0000

I might blog a few recipes this year! This one is based on a Nigel Slater recipe. I do love Nigel – he has a relaxed approach and an obvious passion for food which is infectious. This is a wonderful hearty soup/ stew, using mostly store cupboard ingredients.

Cut a chorizo sausage into chunks,and brown in a saucepan with an onion and some garlic.

Peel some carrot and parsnip, and cut into chunks. Add these to the pan.

Add a tin of tomatoes, and a tin of beans. I used borlotti beans tonight, but cannelini, butter, or chickpeas would be just as good. Add one canful of water. Stir it all together and season – pepper, salt, some basil or oregano, and a few dried chili flakes. And the zest of an orange.

Simmer with the lid half on for at least 45 minutes. Serve in a bowl garnished with parsley, accompanied by a hunk of crusty bread to mop up all the paprika-y goodness.

Enjoy!

Photohunt Bling

lindaharley — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:16:40 +0000

This one’s for sale!
Sputnik light fitting – I had this in my front room in Holywood (wow, 5 years ago). The room itself used to contain my interesting bits and bobs, and we christened it the “design shrine”. This light, with it’s twinkly bulbs and crystal dangly bits hung in there.

But all those tiny bulbs lead to lots of shadows, so it’s not a great light for reading by. And there isn’t a suitable room for it in EITHER of my houses! So I’m about to list it for sale on a local “buy and sell” page on Facebook. What do you reckon – £20?

2012, the year of Photohunting!

lindaharley — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:27:17 +0000

I feel a bit guilty that I’ve been such an intermittent blogger, so I’ve decided in 2012 to do thon photohunt thingy – each week there’s a theme, and I have to find or take a photograph which represents it.

This week’s theme is “gather”, whuch gives me the opportunity to share one of the photos my son took of me having my feet nibbled in a foot spas this week. My daughter had given me a voucher for Christmas, as I’d expressed an interest in trying one out. But oh my! Never again! I found the whole experience agonisingly ticklish, I was counting down the seconds until my 10 minutes was up.

The little ankle biters gather around

I’m turning the experience into a Guide Entry for the new improved h2g2, but I won’t be hurrying back. Some people claim they gain smooth feet and a feeling of calm relaxation afterwards – I experienced neither.

Hey ho, Happy New Year!

Welcome Minerva

lindaharley — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:15:53 +0000

Well, on Saturday we collected our new addition – Minerva von Thunder (or Minnnie for short), a cute little cocker spaniel puppy. Her mum is black and white, and dad golden – she is mostly black with tan paws, chest and eyebrows. So far I find her really intelligent – I swear she has different noises for “I’m hungry”, “I need out”, “I’m sleepy”, and “I want to play”. And her latest game “Help! I’ve climbed all the way upstairs and now I can’t get down!”

Now, sleeping through the night is always difficult for a young pup – getting used to being away from the litter for starters, and then going for hours without feeding or peeing. She’s in Max’s old crate (which is a bit big for her) in the utility room, and we’ve taken to leaving the door open so that she can get out of the crate of she needs to pee or poo (newspapers on the floor). I can put in earplugs to ignore the noise until a semi-respectable 5.30 at least, but I think Max would like some doggie ear-plugs too!

Where did the year go?

lindaharley — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:57:35 +0000

Oh dear I have been very remiss in not keeping this blog up to date. I promise I’ll try harder.
We’re starting the serious countdown to the wedding now – the date and time at Gretna Green is booked, plus our accommodation (4 poster bed honeymoon suite in a country manor), and transport.
I have my dress (bargain on eBay) and my bouquet (bespoke piece crafted by a local jeweller from old brooches, earrings etc.) Still need shoes and jacket. I keep joking that November in Scotland dictates that I need a macintosh and wellies.

The evening do is booked venue wise and bar facility wise (that’s the most important bits!) Still have to finalise food and entertainment.

So I’ll do a bit of a Bridezilla blog thing for the next few weeks, and allow myself to get a bit stressed (I believe it’s customary).

Hmmm, old new borrowed and blue – I should have a think about that, I guess.

Indefinable, that’s what hootoo are

lindaharley — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 11:37:47 +0000

Some disturbing news this week: as part of the BBC’s rationalisation (i.e. money-saving) of its online services, it is “disposing” of h2g2. It could have been worse – some sites were closed immediately, whereas this approach seems more akin to putting us in the animal rescue centre and hoping a new owner will fall in love with all our waggly quirks and big melting brown guide entries.
I’m finding it hard to be my usual positive self about this move. And who would want us? Part of hootoo’s problem has always been that it’s impossible to define. It’s not a social network, although the community aspect of it is very important, and indeed the “nicest bunch of wierdos on teh internet” has already set up its own community consortium (please follow h2g2c2 on Twitter, or search #saveh2g2) with the aim of taking over ourselves if a new home/ owner can’t be found.
It’s not a comprehensive encyclopaedia, though its been dubbed “the bastard uncle of Wikipedia”, as it predates that site but takes a different approach to recording and sharing information. The Edited Guide Entries, aiming to provide a unique guide to life, the universe, and everything, contain some gems, as does the Underguide, a repository for fiction.

Never too far

Why has the site been so important to me? Well, it’s where I met my fiance. (And my previous serious bf, come to think of it). But it’s not a dating site.
It’s where I learned to improve my writing, particularly fiction. And Vogon poetry.
It’s where I learned how to use a mark-up language.
I’ve been archiving all the stuff I’ve written over the years, a task I can only manage in small bursts as it makes me cry. All my various columns in The Post, hootoo’s weekly newspaper where I am proud to be assistant editor. My first set was Murder on the Dancefloor, tracing my dancing exploits from tap-dancing in Luxembourg, to taking up Scottish dancing, and watching my daughter follow in my pointe-shoe footsteps and transform from cute Irish dancer to leading lady.
My Rear View set took me from being a pillion passenger to learning how to ride a motorbike myself, to following Roger and the Calums heros to The Gambia to build a road.
Take it to the Max followed the exploits of training a very boisterous puppy.
Eclipse hunting took me to China, from whence came a series of Little Bea in Big China.
I’ve met friends from all over the world, from Seville to Stockholm, Reykjavik to Alphen an der Rhein, Frankfurt to Torquay…and thankfully I’m in contact with all my good friends outside hootoo.
Its hard to know what the future will bring, or how hootoo will change. But change is inevitable. It’s highly likely I wont be able to access the site from work once it loses its BBC host – and that’s OK, I don’t feel I should be jumping up and down demanding access as a right from my employer’s equipment. If we have to have ads or some sort of subscriptions, well, you don’t get much for free these days.
As Chinese New Year approaches, I am reminded of the curse “May you live in interesting times.”

So, that year in summary…

lindaharley — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:18:09 +0000

Welll… I’d said it was probably the toughest year of my life. And possibly also the best. Here’s a photo montage of some of the highlights.

Including:

The Gambia, Calum’s Road, leaving in January in heavy snow, heavy laden bike, The Butcher’s Shop restaurant (where we got food poisoning), and a return to the original road on Raasay.

Severe weather conditions, but spring arriving!

Volcanic ash disruption, and alternative ways home. Prince Charles waving to me, and Meet the Meat.
New iPhone!

New abode – planes trains and automobiles.

Bad bananas and mad dogs.

Talented daughter and bf.

Pangalactic gargleblasters on 101010.

Parking fine and flat tyre.

Major work to the Beahive – shed, bathroom, boiler, furniture from IKEA, where I’m now on first name terms with the staff.

The many aspects of me – new hair, new bag, my Trilogettes, dressing up as Doc for a Back-to-the-future-a-thon, Beatrix, working out measurements in the Numbers room, balloons, bingo by the pool, dancing with Chris Hollins….and getting engaged!

I’ve ended the year 1/2 a stone lighter than I began, and I hope 2011 will be as full of adventure and fun !