Just a little Japanese duty free

I love Japanese food so on my way home I did just a teeny bit of shopping...

Giant Pocky - in various flavours

Tokyo Banana - squishy deliciousness

Mochi Balls...

of many varieties!

Sakura Jelly

Yuki rice cakes - sweet and savoury heaven! 

Calpis candy

More hard candy - chocolate and caramel flavour I think!

Needless to say none of this lasted long after I got home...and now I want to find a place to get some closer to home!

Sandman Returns

When I was aged about 15, I got into comic books.  This, according to Mr. B makes me not just a geek, but an uber-geek.  Between then and about aged 25, I amassed quite a collection.  I was always loyal to the same shop - Abstract Sprocket - they were friendly and didn't treat me like an alien (as many comic book shops seemed to do back then when a g.i.r.l. walked in). 

Most of the comics I collected were slightly off the wall, independent publishing house type stuff.  I never really went for the standard super hero type of thing.

One of my biggest loves at the time was Sandman - I have the all of the comics from the time of their release (although admittedly, some of the earlier ones in graphic novels rather than in single format, although I do have single copies of No.1 and a No. 7 (the first introduction of Death) regardless).  They all live in designated comic boxes in my study, only opened with permission, and books handled with care - especially as being aged 15 was quite some time ago now!

I was delighted a year or so back, when Neil Gaiman announced the release of The Sandman Overture, a short miniseries following on from the end of the series.  It was great to be able to step back into the stories I once loved so much again.  This month was also pretty exciting, as a new series was released - The Sandman Universe.

Obviously, I no longer live in the same place as I did when I was 15 - the comic book shops locally didn't seem overly appealing (I did try one - I swear!)  Thankfully, whilst my old childhood comic shop doesn't have a website, they do kindly transact orders via email, so a brief exchange later with the wonderful Mr Dean and No.1 of the new series landed on my doormat, securely packaged like the prized possession that it should be!

I'm now looking forward to the rest of them...

Attack of the boxes...

I've just moved house.  I don't really like the experience..Don't get me wrong, the first bit - looking at places on-line and going on viewings - is fun, but the actual moving bit is a total pain. 

It's been a fairly big move, into a different city that I have only known for 6 months.  (My main excuse for no posts of late has been an eternal commute across the country everyday for work which took me out of the house for at least 12 hours a day) I'm still learning my way around and getting used to the different rules that come with a new city.  For one, people here don't queue.  I'm so used to the (generally) ultra polite ways of both Norwich and Edinburgh that this fact has been a little hard to get used to.  On the positive side however, the majority of people here are very friendly, and the standard of customer service in general is far higher...it's nice not to just receive a grunt from checkout operators in supermarkets! I'm certainly enjoying living in Glasgow so far, the reputation that puts people off visiting doesn't appear to be well earned...I've yet to witness anything that I wouldn't have seen on the streets of every other city in the UK.

We have been lucky enough to land ourselves a much larger flat than before, the same number of rooms, but better proportions and less wasted space than our last place.  The only downside to that is that all of our furniture (or what we have at the moment) now looks very small and doesn't really fill many of the rooms...I'm a fan of minimalist living but this is a little extreme!  The boxes were making up for it but as we empty them the place is...emptying.  I can see some shopping in our future in the months ahead.  (The cats on the other hand are loving their new spacious playground and have been in box overload...whenever you open a box...there's a cat.)

You never seen to realise quite how much junk you accumulate until you have to pack it all up and then unpack it again into a different place, the books that came off a bookshelf should all fit back on right?  Not according to the laws of physics on my bookshelf! I've even removed several large books and there still doesn't seem to be enough room...


I've unpacked a vast amount of boxes and have now officially entered "home making mode"....my desire to hang pictures and place furniture is overwhelming but making my new place feel like my home is an important stage of the whole moving process for me...I can be very territorial and get rather antsy if I don't have recognisable objects around.   I have spent hours today wandering around the house armed with various pictures and other objects trying to figure out where I want them...B Man gracefully lets me have free reign of this part of the decoration, provided that I leave control of his man cave to him.  I can handle that.   I still have many hours of wandering ahead before I get all the pictures I have up (never mind the ones that I'm sure to find on my travels and add to the collection!)

Once I've finished with the boxes, and I stop getting lost on my way to work, I'm looking forward to life settling back into a nice easy routine...one with evenings and weekends when I actually have some spare time!   I'll let you know how that goes....

Arrrrgh!

Matey! I know its a little early, because talk like a pirate day isn't until September, but a with a little planning (and cash) you can go the whole hog thanks to Dress Like A Pirate.com Their range even include rum barrels of varying shapes and sizes and other piratey accessories like dubloons and feathers.

All kidding aside, they have some lovely stuff for the alternative dresser too!

There's always a drawback..

I've not been well this year...since my trip to India in January where I caught a nasty bout of india-belly I've struggled to regain any appetite or eat more than a small child in any one sitting.  Those of you who understand my love of food will know just how terrible this has been for me!  Many people have commented on the plus side of it however...that I have dropped about 4 stone (and still counting at present) without even thinking about it. I've even taking to eating higher calorie foods in order to take in a decent amount!  It's not been a  fun and healthy way to lose weight but it has had that outcome. 

So, I'd be happy about that right?...Surely thats every womans dream, to be able to eat chocolate and still lose weight..

Kinda.

Theres always some huge downsides to losing weight like this...

1. I've had to buy new clothes...OK so to most women this isnt a chore, but I'm terribly picky and have a very specific style, so clothes I like aren't always that available (or cheap!)...and I'm still shrinking so the ones I bought six months ago are already a size too big.  That sucks when you do get something you really like!

2.  It's baltic all the time! I just can't get warm and stay that way, I've been wrapped up like a yeti since the weather turned and everyone around me thinks I'm crazy...I also haven't gotten around to buying many winter clothes that fit me yet either so more shopping required! (boo hiss!)

3. I have bones...they stick out and hurt when I bump into things.  I'm pretty sure they were there before but with a helpful squishy covering to soften the bumps!

Don't get me too wrong, I'm not completely hating the weight loss, I do have a nice figure thats emerged from beneath my old insulation...I'm just writing this post as a warning to all those people out there desperate to lose weight thinking that it will be the answer to all their problems...just remember, once the weight has gone you have more fun to look forward to!

Olympic confusion?

 Don't panic, I'm not going to drone on about the olympics, but they do seem to have caused quite a lot of geographical confusion.  The olympics are being held in London..right?  I don't live in London.  I don't even live in England.  Yet so many local shops in the centre of town seem to be trying to convince everyone that we do! These photos were taken in the centre of Edinburgh...

London buses, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace...not a usual Edinburgh sight

At least they're not charging too much for them...

Signpost to Nowhere

I was away at the end of last year in Sheffield when I spotted this signpost. I would guess that all of the places listed are a little obscure as the one pointed to in Scotland is Balerno (for those who don't know its a small village that has become a suburb of Edinburgh)

SPOTTED: Edinburgh Yeti...

If the coat wasn't bad enough on it's own.....the matching hat seals the deal!

I Want A Go!!

I saw an article about this in a paper today... 2.8 Hours Later OH MY GOODNESS I want a go!!!

At last a test of how you might fair in a zombie apocalypse!!

Technology marches on

The speed at which new technology is developed often astounds me. Without wishing to sound like some living dinosaur from a backwater town, I am still able to claim that much of my youth was spent without use or access to even basic computers, never mind games consoles and smartphones! This isn't a nostalgic post about my pre-technology years however.... It is a post about the latest development, the flexible "paper-phone"

Some big brained guys at Queens University in Canada have invented a prototype of a smartphone just millimetres thick which can be manipulated like a piece of paper. The even cooler thing is that to use some of the phones functions you bend it!

These particular boffins believe that many more technologies will be similar to this within 5 years...(maybe so, but probably not affordably so!!)

I like the idea of this technology, but I must admit I'd be a little concerned about my phone being blown away in the wind!

Who says food shopping has to be boring...

I dragged BMan to our local shopping centre for some food today. It was nice out so we decided to have a little wander round at the same time...

Part of the centre is a small indoor market with random stalls in, one of these is a lovely smelling herb and spice stall bearing this fab sign...





On unpacking the shopping I read the label on the garlic mayo I'd bought...




They're obviously very "proud of their squirt"!

Advert? Apparently.

I saw this advert for Advanced Hair Studio on TV a few nights ago. I actually thought that it was a joke! Have a watch and see for yourself, my new nomination for Worst Ever Advert....

With the winter comes the snow...

..and the awful wellies!

This years snow has brought us the rare chance to see ordinary folks in wellies, and my do they have bad taste! Heres my top (or bottom!) Ten - OK well, Eight, whats a number between friends...

Patriotic Wellies
There really is no need, your feet are not flagpoles!
Checked or Tartan Wellies
You're not rupert the bear



Food related Wellies
Chocolates and licorice allsorts are for eating, not wearing



Football Fan Wellies
Ok, show support, but not this way surely?


Curtain Wellies
They remind me of curtains my Gran had when I was a child


Burberry Wellies
To match the burberry cap, gloves and scarf I suspect...



Impractical Wellies
Heeled Wellies. Whoever came up with this idea certainly needs shot.

What goes around comes around

I know, its a cliché, but today a 'good deed' from last Friday paid off.

On Friday, I was helping run an exam at work where some local paramedics were helping out. Whilst they were waiting they asked if they could look around in the museum they were to be working in so I got the keys (and permission of course!) from the staff and let them through.

Today I had a day off and decided to pop across to the local shopping centre - mainly so there was something in the house to eat other than cat food! - It didn't dawn on me until after I'd finished shopping that I had maybe overestimated how much I could carry....However, with B-Man being at work I had little choice, so started my struggle across the car park. I got less than halfway before having to stop and re-adjust the bags (twice!) when a car pulled up and one of the paramedics from Fridays visit popped her head out of the window and asked if I wanted a hand. She recognised me because of the red flash in my hair! (I knew it would be a useful look!) The lovely lady popped all my shopping in the boot and gave me a lift home. I think I may have still been walking across the road now if it weren't for her!

There you have it, further evidence that being nice to others pays off :)

Recycling message...FAIL

I like things that are free, I also like things that are recycled, so when I found an offer on supersavvyme for a free recycled bag I jumped at the chance. It arrived yesterday and I was pleased. The colour was not usually what I would have chosen (dark green) but they didn't have any of the good colours left (Can you believe I missed out on the purple ones??!!)

Its a nifty bag that wields logos and slogans in support of recycling...


Cool.

It folds down into itself for ease of transport.... (queue more logos)


Super cool.

It even came in a padded envelope with a peel off label for ease of reuse/recycling...


Well thought out. (useful for eBayers!)

but then came the fall....

The little bag was inside the envelope...inside a plastic bag...


Recycling & packaging waste message FAIL.

Barbie gets the chop

I know that I need a haircut every so often (and usually far more often that I actually get one) so this weekend I finally managed to get myself an appointment at my local hairdressers.. It's a great deal shorter than I'm used to and the poor hairdresser nearly fell over when I showed her what I wanted as she had to cut about 7 inches off!

Poisoned? call us...

No Its not a possibly life saving advert... I read an article in a magazine about a lady who had an allergic reaction to her new boots (I feel her pain! new boots!) and at the end they ran this ad...


Poisoned by an everyday item...like rat poison? or maybe arsenic?

This is pizza

I had run out of things to take to work for lunch last week, so in a quandary I grabbed an individual pizza from the freezer once I remembered that you could pop them in the microwave from frozen. A good plan, I thought... until I saw the end product. The cheese had tried desperately to escape from the top of the pizza, but only got as far as the plate...

Invisiboots?

Whilst browsing though some of my favourite websites at some shiny new boots, I spotted this...apparently they also now sell invisible boots...


Not sure they'd be worth the money!

Tasteful.

I spotted these "lovely" sun hats and flipflops in a local pound shop...I very nearly bought the hat for B-Man but the thought that he might wear it in a public place mortified me!


In the next shop I spotted a new drink on the market...I'm not sure about the name of this brand though...