wagwaan?

Last day of 2006 in the office

How quickly this year seems to have come and gone, and yet how much has changed!  This time last year I had just gone back to work after 6 weeks off with stress; my sister had had a seizure and got a nasty brain injury in the process; things seemed to be going very wrong, even though we had a lovely Christmas with the family. In the meantime, my mum has had a stroke and has been in hospital since the end of May; I have changed jobs and Claire got her GCSEs and has moved on to College. 2007 is definitely going to be a lot, lot better than 2006 and, thank heavens, 2005! 

I am sitting here in a very quiet office, wondering if I could sneak off home - considering the London Stock Exchange has closed down for the end of year break. Maybe I will. I just want to get home and start putting my house in order. In both senses of the word!  I think Wayne is still at my place, and Claire was going to pick up her Christmas photos from the developers (they only develop B&W at College) so that will be something to look forward to when I get in. I think we should sit by the fire and watch "Christmas with the Kranks", a DVD I got Claire for Christmas.

I won't be back online until "next year", as the PC is still dead, so have a great New Year's party (if that's what you are doing) and see you next year :)   I'll leave you with a pic of me and the family, taken at Christmas (that's me in the middle at the back,.behind my mum). And one of us girls all wearing the scarves my sister knitted us...

Had a great time!

What a fantastic time we all had.  This was just the best Christmas ever!  We got to (a very sunny) Paris mid afternoon on Friday 22nd and went to settle in at our hotel. We were due at my friends' place at 6.30 for drinks, and after that we went to Hippopotamus for dinner - DD's choice.  We had a great time, and on the way home Hassan drove us round Paris for a bit of "Paris by night". 

After a good night's sleep, we did a bit of shopping and then picked up the car (and met up with one of my nephews) and drove to Normandy. In the event, we were the first to arrive at the gîte, followed by mummy, who is doing exceptionally well. We were all so excited, and there was much kissing and hugging for the next few hours as everyone turned up!  On Christmas Eve we did some last minute shopping in the next town, and spent the evening by the fireside.

On Christmas Day we were up early, seeing what the kids had got in their stockings and then it was time to open the presents. This year we had all made stuff for each other, and it was much more meaningful.

Back in Paris on Wednesday, DD and I wandered about doing some sightseeing and taking pictures before dropping in to see my sis and her little apartment and then rushing back to the Eurostar for the trip home.

The only thing that ruined the whole trip was my silly fault: I don't know how many times I checked my ticket, but in the end it transpired I misread it and we missed our train home! I had to buy two more return tickets (which I shall try and get back on the insurance) so we may very well go back to Paris in February!   Doh!

Now I'm at the office, catching up. But I'm on my own, so I'm also catching up on some blog reading.... My colleagues left me some chocolates, but the funny thing about stuffing your face over Christmas is how little you fancy anything rich for a few days afterwards!  Wonder how long that will last?   

Pictures are over at flickr (click on picture in next post to get there....)

Litchi shop nativity

Litchi shop nativity
Originally uploaded by jen_rigg.

One of the wonderful things about wandering around Paris is finding little shops tucked away in side streets. This one in the Marais is called "Litchi". It had the most weird and lurid things on display. Look at this very kitsch and over-the-top Nativity scene....   Their website is www.litchi.com.

Woohoo!

Last day at work before Christmas!  I haven't even begun packing and we are off at the (butt)crack of dawn tomorrow, but it's nice to know I have some time off. I have been letting myself get more and more stressed about money (or the lack of it) and call centres, and I know it's silly, but it has been getting to me.  The straw that broke the camel's back was DD's computer dying on us Tuesday. Tuesday was the day I had off and had planned to use, among other things, printing up the t-shirts I designed for the nephews and nieces. Oh well :(

Otherwise, Tuesday was fab. First, my bank paid me an indemnity for the Visa payment that I was disputing, so I was able to go and pick up the shirt DD was going to wear for her award ceremony. Then, OH, DD and I got the bus down to her old school, meeting an old friend on the way, which was nice. We sat in the hall and more friends came by. All mothers I had either met through Church, Guides or my old job.  A colleague from the hospital came and sat next to me with her 4-year old, Christopher, who is an absolute sweetheart. I suspect he is very spoilt as he has a sister of 16 and a brother of 18 and many cousins who dote on him. 

The teens all filed in in alphabetical order and took their place on the other side of the hall. After the local MP and headmaster turned up, there was a brief musical interlude. A girl with a very sweet voice sang what we think was a KT Tunstall song, with a whole band playing with her too. They are very musical in that school!  Then the kids were presented with their certificates - one by one they were called and had to go up on stage, walk across, shake hands with the MP and say thank you, and cross over to the other side. My friend was giving a loud "whoop!" for her daughter and every other kid she knew, including DD, just to embarrass them. Even her 4-year old said "I don't want to" when she tried to get him to join in.   After that there was a speech by the MP, actually quite a good one, but near the end Christopher said quite loudly "when is that man going to stop speaking?" . Out of the mouths of babes LOL   

All in all, it was a very nice ceremony and we came out at about the same time as school finished, so we got the bus back home with all the kids from school. DD banned us from going upstairs (it was a double decker) because that's where all the "cool" kids hang out (i.e. smoking and getting up to no good) - we sat downstairs with the geeks and nerds instead!

When we got home, we put a really nice chicken with pork and parsnip stuffing in the oven; I prepared new potatoes and broccoli and we got the champagne (courtesy of my work) and nibbles out. We made Bucks Fizz for DD and I felt nicely warm and fuzzy after a couple of glasses.  Dinner was delicious and we had mince pies and cream (or rum sauce in OH's case) for dessert.  DD and I tried to get some decent pics of OH but he hates having his picture taken. In fact, I don't think I know a person who hates it more!  We managed a couple though, using underhand tactics.  It was a great evening, because OH isn't coming with us to France, so it was a little celebration for us.   

And now, I just have to pack and we're off tomorrow, so no more posting till I get back :)

Have a lovely Christmas everyone!!!

3rd Sunday of Advent

Christmas creeps ever closer. Friday night DD and I had "movie night", just the two of us cuddled up on the sofa watching our new "Santa Clause 2" DVD. I know it's old - but I'd never seen it. Then, Saturday we went into town to try and find her a top for her GCSE award day. We found the perfect shirt, but I'll have to wait until the bank pays me, and I hope it's before Tuesday....  We enjoyed going round the shops, though, and doing some window shopping. I'm glad she enjoys shopping with me still. She doesn't mind being seen out with her mum LOL. When we got home we tried making marshmallows dipped in chocolate and coated with sprinkles, because that's what she wants to give to her cousins for Christmas. I'm not sure it worked very well!! And they were extrEMEly sweet. Not quite sure how Starbucks make them....    

Here's this year's tree - it's up high with hardly any baubles on the bottom, so as not to attract the cats. My wise men are beginning their journey way up there because the creche is on the bottom shelf of the table (baby Jesus remains hidden until 6th Jan!),  and Clairebear's little figurines, bought at the Church bazaar years ago, are on display too. She was only about 8 when she bought them with her pocket money, and they come out every year.... The candy canes are from OH

I can't believe how late we slept in this morning. I must really need my sleep.  Today has been really quiet. OH went out to town while I continued designing t-shirts for the nephews and nieces and listened to Christmas music, and generally chilled.  This afternoon he came back with some Bucks Fizz from M&S and we toasted "to us"!  2006 has been better than 2005, but 2007 will be even better :)  (note the fantastic champagne flutes - not! - that DD bought at the pound shop...). Note to self: must buy flutes and wineglasses in the January sales.

Can't believe it's nearly Christmas!

Wow time flies when you're having fun.  The bank and NTL still continue to dither about paying me back, despite my daily phone calls. Although, having said that, tonight I noticed they'd put £35 back on my account for some reason. I won't ask why!   I can't wait to get DD's Christmas presents. I have a whole list. Not big things, but lots of small things she would like. We also have to buy her an outfit for her GCSE diploma award ceremony next Tuesday.  I can feel a shopping spree coming on - it's a good job payday is only a week away, although that means January will be very very long :( 

I am really enjoying the Advent swap I signed up for on the Pad. I get to open a little package each day, and so far I have lots of scrumptious scrapping goodies to whet my appetite for some creativity. I really wish I had some good light in my bedroom so I could scrap up there, but I do get in after 7pm every night, and then I have to cook dinner, and also I like to catch up on my dose of thirtysomething that I have to record as it's on during the day... Doesn't leave much time for scrapping, unfortunately, but I have lots of layouts in my head LOL.

As for Christmas, work have been wonderful and are booking and paying for a rental car upfront so that I can get to the gite in Normandy. I can't book it myself as I don't have a credit card - I only have a debit card. But I'll have to pay them back in January, so I still can't go mad at Christmas. Shame, as we are going to be staying in Paris and will obviously be tempted in the shops.

Talking of work, my boss has finally left for the holidays. Today I spent practically the whole day going through his emails as he wants ME to delete and file them. Quite a difficult task when you've only been in the job 4 months and don't yet know all the ins and outs. I think I'm doing ok though.  I have to stretch out the work I do have to do, which is filing essentially, over the Christmas period. I have next Tuesday off for DD's award ceremony and then on 22nd I'm off myself, but I'll be back in the office between Christmas and New Year. All by myself. If anyone has any interesting websites to tell me about, I'll have plenty of time to surf then!

Well, as I keep saying to OH, in the grand scheme of things, a bit of a cash flow situation is nothing to worry about. I still say prayers for my friends who lost their son, and I know other people are a lot worse off than me, so slap me if I get all moany and whiney again!

A bit of seasonal cheer!

Your Elf Name Is...

Candy Sticky Fingers

What's Your Elf Name?

My thanks to Jakey for the link - unfortunately I can't comment on her blog (grrrr Blogger!).  Don't you think I look rather, er, demented?

Banks. Again.

The mind boggles. After all that fuss last week, I was feeling I was on the home stretch.   So today, I called my bank to see if we were still progressing and they said there was a letter in the post offering as a goodwill gesture to waive 155 quid in charges.  I thought "result!" as I'm also pursuing NTL for my money.....

HELL, NO!!!  When I got home I found FIVE letters saying Visa payments had been paid although I'd been over my overdraft limit.  At no time was I actually over, so that "goodwill gesture" is absolute rubbish, because I shouldn't have been charged in the first place!!!!!   So tomorrow, the fight continues. And then I have to write to complain to NTL because they have been ridiculously slow in sorting out the problem of the duplicate debit on my card. The money was taken on 30th November. It is now 11th December. AND I really should write to complain to British Airways because last week (although I couldn't be bothered to blog about it) the Executive Card people were extremely rude to me on the phone when I phoned to enquire just why they had cancelled my boss's seat reservation on the plane.  I don't think I can quite muster up the energy to bother about that one though.  I'm so tired of it all. I just want to be able to get DD's Christmas presents, thank you very much!

On a happier note, my mum is doing really really well, and I spoke to her on Saturday while she was at her house with my sister. I cannot WAIT for 22nd December. It's less than 2 weeks away now!

On a happier note...

With the sadness of yesterday I didn't feel like posting about the work Christmas do we had on Thursday night. Actually, I very nearly didn't go. I had spent several days on the phone to call centres, culminating in ONE AND A HALF HOURS on the phone to NTL to try and get my services reinstated. It turns out they still hadn't received my money because I paid it to an outsourced third party. Anyway, to cut a long story short, by the time I got off the phone (all this happened at work, by the way), I was completely drained and I burst into tears.  My colleague came back from getting into her fancy outfit, and was really worried about me!  Anyway, she encouraged me to come, and I'm glad I did go, in the end.  The do was held at a place called Delfina, which was kitted out like a winter wonderland.  We started off with champagne and then moved into the main room to have dinner. It was beautifully decorated, as you can see from the picture.   The food was delicious (the main course was roast guinea fowl, which I don't think I've ever tasted before), especially the petits fours!   During dinner, the entertainment was by "the 3 waiters", who seemed to be real waiters at first, but when they started a bit of a fake argument and burst into bits of Opera, you realised it was all for fun.  They were very good indeed and got a standing ovation.  After dinner the disco got underway, the bit I always dread actually... I ended up getting dragged on to the dance floor, and I did enjoy myself. But I had booked a car for 10.30 to go home (courtesy of work, of course) so off I went, leaving them all to it.   

Sad day

Today was a sad but beautiful day.  The funeral was at 12, so we left home at about 25 to, and were overtaken by the funeral procession.  When we got to church it was absolutely packed, with one of the areas given over to lots of children in red uniforms - his schoolmates.   I started crying before I even sat down, but quickly recovered. I could see lots of colleagues in pews in front and behind me, and after a while the priests and altar boys started coming in. We all stood, and they brought the coffin in. The sides were one big picture of a bench on a football pitch, with boots and jersey on it. The ends had his name and a figure playing footie, and the top bore the WFC logo.  It was beautiful.  When everyone was in place they started playing "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton. I thought I'd lose it then - the words are so poignant. The school choir sang lots of hymns during Communion, and his teacher read out a lovely poem, which I'll have to try and find. His schoolfriends read out the bidding prayers, but also excerpts of the tribute book that they wrote about him. The whole service was absolutely lovely, everything was just right, and Fr Philip's homily was wonderful, so full of hope.  Oh and at the end, we all completely lost it because they played..... the theme tune to Match of the Day!   

I truly am glad to be a Christian, because it does give me that feeling of peace, something to believe in, to give me hope, like I know he (and my father and other loved ones) are in a better place and we'll meet again. It's not something I ram down people's throats. In fact, at the reception afterwards, where I went with my old colleagues, one of the girls said "I didn't know you were a Catholic, Jen", and we realised that 3 out of the 4 of us were!    My friend and her husband arrived later, after the actual burial which only close family attended, and she is keeping it together so well. She seems so strong. In fact, I know she IS a strong woman, but she is being tested to the limit right now. She wants us to come round and share a bottle of wine and look at the picture board of her son that was made for the service, because we didn't manage to see it today. She wants to talk about it, but also to talk about everything BUT. And we have all promised to do that very soon. 

So, rest in peace little one.

Picture courtesy of the Hertfordshire Constabulary who helped the family do a tribute.

This is the poem:

To All Parents

I'll lend you for a little time a child of mine, He said,
for you to love the while she lives and mourn for when she's dead.
It may be six or seven years, or twenty two or three,
but will you, till I call her back, take care of her for me?
She'll bring her charms to gladden you, and shall her stay be brief,
you'll have her lovely memories as solace for your grief.

I cannot promise she will stay, since all from earth return,
but there are lessons taught down there I want this child to learn.
I've looked the wide world over in my search for teachers true
and from the throngs that crowd life's lanes I have selected you.
Now will you give her all your love, nor think the labour vain,
nor hate me when I come to call to take her back again?

I fancied that I heard them say: Dear Lord, thy will be done!
For all the joy thy child shall bring, the risk of grief we'll run.
We'll shelter her with tenderness, we'll love her while we may,
and for the happiness we've known, forever grateful stay;
but shall the angels call for her much sooner than we've planned,
we'll brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand.

- Edgar A. Guest