It's my Blogoversary on January 1 - one whole year of blogging which has been more successful than I could have dreamed of.
I have made new friends, declared myself officially self-employed, attended some amazing events and found that at least a few people apparently find my writing mildly entertaining. Including quite a few pervy Eastern Europeans who keep checking out my Naked Spa post hoping for something more than what it is I suspect. Shame on you!
Anyway, in celebration of my blogging anniversary from now until then I thought I'd dish up some of my early posts, revisited and tarted up with a squirt of polish and bit of a dust-off (I've learned a lot about layout etc since the early days!) and re-present them to you with a big shiny Christmas bow on.
There will be some new posts too so in between turkey and hangovers I'd love you to pop over and take a look.
Here's a post I wrote first way back in January 2013…...
I am thoroughly ashamed to say that I went to the supermarket this morning. And contributed to that great pastime of weather-related panic buying.
Snow was forecast- a whole 2-10 cms. Ok so my Scottish, American and European readers who call that a dusting of snow can pick themselves off the floor where they fell over laughing now. And for my Australian, New Zealand and Cypriot readers- snow is cold white stuff, frozen water, which falls from the sky rendering all English people unable to work or walk it seems.
Anyway, I digress. Looking at the forecast then at my kitchen cupboards I realised I had no basics. I planned a quick pop into the supermarket before adjourning back to my log fire, more hot cross buns and maybe another go at knitting.
The car park was bedlam. I should have turned back then. But it didn't seem too busy inside so I proceeded to start to do a bit of shopping, picking up packed lunch provisions for next week too so I didn't have to go back.
Then I realised as time passed that it was getting difficult to get up and down the aisles. There seemed to be a lot of people hanging around with trolleys not moving much. Then I realised they were queuing for the checkouts!
It was as bad as Christmas Eve used to be before we discovered home deliveries and, in my case, the joy of ordering all your fresh veg and salad from the village shop.
I hurriedly consulted with my shopping companion and we decided to park the trolley in a queue and take it in turns to grab provisions.
Bread. Milk. Potatoes. Ok. Definite must haves. Not really panic buying. Only the amount I would normally take. Then, glancing out of the windows at the ever increasing intensity of swirling snow I added sausages, bacon, a joint of meat, extra hot cross buns. And Doritos. Of course, for post sledging snacks by the fire. The list went on.
Finally settled in my queue I tuned into the older lady in front moaning to her husband that there were still 3 checkouts unmanned. She griped that the store should have called in all members of staff from their day off. My son is one of these members of staff. He works very hard, long hours. I know for a fact he would have been fast asleep and not terribly receptive to the idea of giving up his lie in to scan through my emergency Doritos.
This view was compounded when the same lady laid out her vital purchases on the conveyer belt. A tub of Ice cream.Two packets of frozen Yorkshire puddings. One small tin of soup. And a copy of "People's Friend" magazine. Hmm. It maybe inconsiderate and mean spirited of me but I suggest her purchases were no more vital than mine.
Meanwhile all around us people hustled by with trolleys piled high with milk, bread and toilet rolls.
Well we finally paid and got out and driving carefully home through whole centimetres of snow we made it home in one piece.
I settled down just now with my hot cross bun and a cup of tea in front of my log fire and my husband popped his head round the door. " We are running low on toilet rolls-there's only one left." he said.
Typical!
Madmumof7 hard at work! |
Anyway, in celebration of my blogging anniversary from now until then I thought I'd dish up some of my early posts, revisited and tarted up with a squirt of polish and bit of a dust-off (I've learned a lot about layout etc since the early days!) and re-present them to you with a big shiny Christmas bow on.
There will be some new posts too so in between turkey and hangovers I'd love you to pop over and take a look.
Here's a post I wrote first way back in January 2013…...
I am thoroughly ashamed to say that I went to the supermarket this morning. And contributed to that great pastime of weather-related panic buying.
Snow was forecast- a whole 2-10 cms. Ok so my Scottish, American and European readers who call that a dusting of snow can pick themselves off the floor where they fell over laughing now. And for my Australian, New Zealand and Cypriot readers- snow is cold white stuff, frozen water, which falls from the sky rendering all English people unable to work or walk it seems.
Anyway, I digress. Looking at the forecast then at my kitchen cupboards I realised I had no basics. I planned a quick pop into the supermarket before adjourning back to my log fire, more hot cross buns and maybe another go at knitting.
The car park was bedlam. I should have turned back then. But it didn't seem too busy inside so I proceeded to start to do a bit of shopping, picking up packed lunch provisions for next week too so I didn't have to go back.
Then I realised as time passed that it was getting difficult to get up and down the aisles. There seemed to be a lot of people hanging around with trolleys not moving much. Then I realised they were queuing for the checkouts!
It was as bad as Christmas Eve used to be before we discovered home deliveries and, in my case, the joy of ordering all your fresh veg and salad from the village shop.
I hurriedly consulted with my shopping companion and we decided to park the trolley in a queue and take it in turns to grab provisions.
Bread. Milk. Potatoes. Ok. Definite must haves. Not really panic buying. Only the amount I would normally take. Then, glancing out of the windows at the ever increasing intensity of swirling snow I added sausages, bacon, a joint of meat, extra hot cross buns. And Doritos. Of course, for post sledging snacks by the fire. The list went on.
Finally settled in my queue I tuned into the older lady in front moaning to her husband that there were still 3 checkouts unmanned. She griped that the store should have called in all members of staff from their day off. My son is one of these members of staff. He works very hard, long hours. I know for a fact he would have been fast asleep and not terribly receptive to the idea of giving up his lie in to scan through my emergency Doritos.
Hot Cross Buns (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Meanwhile all around us people hustled by with trolleys piled high with milk, bread and toilet rolls.
Well we finally paid and got out and driving carefully home through whole centimetres of snow we made it home in one piece.
I settled down just now with my hot cross bun and a cup of tea in front of my log fire and my husband popped his head round the door. " We are running low on toilet rolls-there's only one left." he said.
Typical!