wagwaan?

Feedjit

Ya know something? That new gadget in the side bar is so cool - I can see that I get random visitors from all over the world. So if you are just passing through or if you are a regular - leave me a comment! I love hearing from you.
Otherwise, I'm just happy that it's a short week on the office; tomorrow I help out with the exams at the hospital again so I've taken the day off from the day job... Then it's the WEEK END!! I think we'll go see a chick flick - any suggestions?

iPhone !!!

Yay! I'm writing this on my new phone, on the train. I'll get the hang of it shortly ha ha but in the meantime this is as much As I can handle.

Picture post - Eurostar and Paris hotel

Well, now I've managed to locate DD's old camera cable, I've been able to upload the pictures from Paris.  First off, I'll put the pictures from the Eurostar and hotel here, so beware - it's going to be a looooong post!

First, the business lounge at St Pancras where we had breakfast and read the papers. I love the mirrored doors behind DD.

Here's another view. The lounge is long and narrow, down one side of the station. St Pancras is very old and they have kept the original walls and arches, so it's very interesting.

Next, the hotel - the pictures are pretty self-explanatory...

When we got there, it was bright and sunny, even though it was grey and wintery in London. What a view! And the little details were delightful - there was complimentary water (Jean-Paul Gaultier edition Evian bottle) yummy biscuits from Poilâne and fresh fruit. 

More next time.....

For Chrissie!

This one's for you - took it in Paris because it made me think of you :) 

Sore head...

I have a teeny bit of a headache this morning, probably more due to lack of sleep than because I went out last night - thank goodness I don't drink; I think there are two very sore heads in South London this morning, ha ha!  I was invited out for "a quick drink" two nights running by a couple of colleagues. Thursday because everyone was having a bad day. The girls shared a bottle of wine and I had cranberry juice and soda. Last night, one of the girls, Yvonne, wanted to go out again, and Ann and I thought why not. After years of rushing straight home to cook dinner for my daughter, it's nice not to have that worry. So we went to Auberge, the pub/restaurant downstairs in our building,  and they shared wine, again, and I had the cranberry-juice-and-soda-and-ice-cubes, again. Then they decided they wanted food, so I got a lovely ciabatta sandwich while they had steak-frites. Then, one bottle turned to two, and I think Yvonne would have kept going if Ann had been up to it!  We had a great laugh, talking about mediums and spirits and singing and travel. It was great. When we left, I started walking towards the station with Ann, and she was SO giggly that when DD phoned to say "I was waiting for you to come home so we could cook dinner together", I could hardly keep a straight face. Ann laughing so hard because she thought only sons did that, as hers used to phone her and whine "where ARE you? I'm HUNGRY! FEED me!".  
Also, I got to bring the flowers home from the office. Every week there is a different arrangement on the reception desk, and on a Friday if you leave at 6pm the flowers are up for the asking. This week it's beautiful yellow flowers, which I think are orchids (doh me!) and they don't smell too strong so I brought them home. I can never bring them because usually it's lilies and they make me nauseous. Plus they remind me of funerals. Edited to add photo (DD's old point-and-shoot cable is compatible with my camera, thank goodness!)

Oh well, off now to pick up a rental car for the OH as the place where he stays in Oxfordshire has no room at the inn for the moment, and now he's decided it's cheaper to hire a car and go there daily rather than stay away all week.

Life is taking an interesting turn

I can't say much right now, but oh my goodness I need all your positive vibes and prayers that a particular career move comes off.  I can't wait to tell you more, but you'll have to be a tiny bit patient. All I'll say is, it would involve moving to another country!  I know!!! Exciting or what?  It's just too perfect, I don't want to jinx it, and I don't want to get carried away until I know more. If it doesn't come off, then I can tell you about it later and we can all have a good laugh about how Jen another one of her grand ideas, but it's looking very positive right now, so fingers (and everything else) crossed. I haven't even told  my family apart from the Other Half and Delightful Darling Daughter, who are, um, well, slightly affected by such a move, he he!  Luckily, they support me all the way.

I'm just so glad the timing is right because, believe me, at work there are SOME PEOPLE who do things that just aren't necessary, if you ask me. Talking down to people or looking at them like they've grown a second head are not things you need to do just because you are having a bad day. I'm just saying...

Feeling happy

Believe me, the title has nothing to do with the day-job - "happy" is not the word I'd use for today!  Anyway, moving on....  no, it has to do with my coaching session this evening. My favourite coachee (I don't really have favourites, but she IS my first coachee so holds a special place in my heart) told me tonight how happy she is with the results of her sessions and the way she feels able to move onwards and upwards thanks to our little chats. This makes my heart sing!  This is the whole reason I decided to become a coach, and it just makes me so happy that I've been able to do something worthwhile for someone. She was very complimentary and thanks must go to my own coach, Nick, for passing on his knowledge to me.  Ahh I certainly feel happier tonight than I did this morning when delays caused my commute to stretch to two hours just for the inward journey.

I'm sure I had a lot of other stuff I wanted to say, but it's getting late and I have been trying to get to bed earlier these days. I must also call my mum and see if she has found my camera cable so I can show you the pictures of our trip.  So, nite nite all. 

Sunday

Well, nearly the end of the holiday. I have had a lovely time, and I'm desperately working out how I can improve the work-life balance in 2009 - the three hour daily commute has got to be the first to go! I'm working on it....
Anyway, yesterday was lovely. After the obligatory laundry/tidy up etc, I enjoyed a leisurely evening with the Other Half, a candlelit table for 2 and a meal not cooked by me, for once.  It was divine.  We started with charcuterie and French bread, then had steak and roasted vegetables, finishing with individual fresh fruit tarts, all washed down with a New Zealand sparkling wine that was rather yummy. It was especially lovely because the OH doesn't have a romantic bone in his body, I swear, so the meal and pretty white rose were all the more special to me.
DD did go up to her room, although OH did say she could join us - bless him. She knows better than that, though!
Today it's been pretty relaxed, too. I had a long, leisurely bath and read my Janet Street-Porter book "Life's too f***ing short" which is brilliant. Oh my goodness, how could I forget?!  The book was part of a surprise parcel I received on Friday just as I was leaving to go to the dentist's. It contained that book as well as "Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer" by Jane Brocket, and two films, The Preacher's Wife and the film it was based on, The Bishop's Wife. I was so taken aback!  The gift was a surprise from Jo, who is my first coachee, and she cleverly went on my Wishpot list, which I originally set up for me, to keep track of things I fancy and for family to get ideas from!   She is a very naughty girl, but I love her dearly :)
So, for me it'll be a light supper then an early night, ready for tomorrow. Nite nite all xx

Back home

We had the most wonderful time in Paris, and managed not to get too upset by Dionne's passing. I feel ineffably sad (I love that word, not often I get to use it though!) but can't cry. It's a strange feeling. She had a good life, though, and I know I did the right thing. Her brother is very clingy and cries rather a lot. He is spending all the time we are around on our laps, and cries to get to the bedroom to be with me when I go to bed.  I'm sure this will pass eventually.
Anyway, so Paris!!  Yes, we had a brilliant time. The hotel was, as I'm sure you've guessed, out of this world. We were given the suite on the 5th floor, the one with the terrace. It was fantastic and so unexpected. The staff were all without exception wonderful - always a smile, so helpful with any request, but never obsequious.  I will upload pictures eventually... um, when I've tracked down the camera cable - oops!  I think I may have left it at my mum's. Oh, and of course, we went Business class on the Eurostar, thanks to my very very darling colleague who gave me the tickets, so we enjoyed the use of the Business lounge on the outwards leg - very nice indeed.
The day we arrived, after settling in DD and I went for a walk around the quartier and did a spot of shopping in the sale at Muji. Yes, we went all the way to Paris to buy stuff from Muji which we have right here in London! We got back just in time because some of my siblings came to meet us for drinks at the hotel. We were offered what we wanted from the free bar in one of the downstairs salons, and sat enjoying the service and talking.  A bit later we went up to see the suite. We took our drinks with us and there was room for all of us to sit around the living room area. It was so lovely to see everyone.  I had a dinner planned with an old friend, so DD went off with her cousin Amy to have dinner with my brother and his wife, and I got ready to go to Bastille where Anne Marie was waiting for me.  We went to the Petit Bofinger, which is opposite the larger, more expensive, Bofinger. Luckily, Anne had booked a table because it was really packed!  Dinner was lovely, and it was great to catch up. When I got back, DD was already in bed, half asleep.
Next day we did some more wandering round Paris. DD wanted her traditional lunch at Hippopotamus, and I knew there was one near Opéra so we started there. After lunch (nems and steack-frites, both DD's faves in one place - result!) we wandered along to the Grands Magasins, then we made our way down to Chatelet and walked around the Forum des Halles. We didn't go in because I wanted to show DD the old architecture and street life. We walked past Beaubourg, where she bought an "I heart Paris" t-shirt, which only she could carry off, and then it started to kind of snow and we were so cold we decided to get the Métro back to the hotel. Once there we asked them to prepare the sauna for us, and when it was ready we went up to the little private "spa" on the 6th floor. We tried out the eliptical trainer and the steam room but I preferred the nice warm sauna. I couldn't breathe with all that steam, but the dry warmth and the heat of the wooden ledge were a balm for my "arthriticky" joints.  We got back to our room and  had a little snooze and then all of a sudden my youngest sister and her hubby were on the phone saying they had already arrived in Paris and were looking for somewhere to park. We quickly got ourselves sorted and met them in the 10th arrondissement, where Mel had wanted to take us to a little restaurant she knew that played live music on a Friday. Unfortunately, it had closed, but we went next door to a Madagascan restaurant and we had the most delicious meal, even though it wasn't as hot as it could have been by the time it got to our table.  Again, it was great to catch up, and a great time was had by all.
The next day we went to Steph's to pick up the car, and drove out to my mum's. Unfortunately, half of Paris had decided to drive out on the same motorway and that, combined with the SNOW that started to fall heavily, meant that it took us about 2 1/2 hours to reach the turn off for Versailles whic is all of 10 miles from Paris!!! Lots of traffic got off there, but by then the snow was quite thick and the motorway was rather slushy and we were driving at 20 kms/hr, especially as there were roadworks.  I was so relieved when the weather got better and we could get off at the first service station for a desperately-needed toilet break.  I did have visions of having to abandon the car on the motorway, but thankfully it didn't come to that.  We got to my mum's by about 5pm and she was the most welcome sight in the world!
The rest of the week we just hung out with Mummy, did a spot of shopping, ONE walk along the beach (freeeeeeeezing) and... ate.  I'm afraid our Slimming World regime went out of the window in the face of all those baguettes, cheese, pate/rillettes etc. And some French biscuits.  Oh well, you only live once.
The trip back was a bit eventful, what with the train not passing some safety check it should have, so we had to change trains at Lille - a train from London emptied its passengers on to one platform, we emptied out on to the adjoining one, and we had to all swap over. It was quite funny really, and I'd much rather that than risk a problem in the tunnel, wouldn't you? Anyway, we finally got home to the poor bewildered Lyle, and fell into bed. 
Yesterday was my birthday, and the darling OH took us (me and DD) to La Tasca, the tapas restaurant we went to recently. We had a lovely meal and today I had a bit of a lie-in before the usual round of back-from-holiday laundry. It was nice while it lasted!

Bittersweet

Well we're having a wonderful time here in Paris, but before I tell you about it, we had to deal with something tragic the night before we left.  Our girl cat, Dionne, had been really lethargic for a couple of days and I knew we couldn't leave her like that, so I took her to the vet. To cut a long story short, she was so poorly I had to have her put down that same night. It was awful. She could possibly have had lots of treatment, operation, you name it, but apart from the fact that I couldn't afford the thousands of pounds, it didn't seem fair to put her through all that.  The vet was darling, and left me alone to say my goodbyes, then he took her away to deal with it.  The whole thing was traumatic and a sad start to our holiday.
Otherwise, though, we are having the most amazing time. I haven't got time to blog right now, but we are staying at the Hotel Esprit St Germain, and it is a D.R.E.A.M.!!
Check back for updates soon!!