Banana Milk ... yum!

The saying goes, "you wait ages for a bus and then three come along all at once." This is true of my week. I waited for days for a sunrise and now for the past three days, we have had one every morning! These are pictures of mine and Monty's walk yesterday.

I was amazed whilst walking through the South fields, to hear a skylark singing in the sky! We almost never hear skylarks anymore since fields began to be more agressively farmed. There are less places for these birds to have their nests (since they nest on the ground usually in amongst long grass/crops) so for a while, the sky has been very quiet.

Good News!

I have given Rouiry the news that I cant carry on with the guitar lessons! now I wont feel grumpy whenever I pick up my guiter! :D I shall now celebrate with a drink of Banana Milk! (this is the nicest drink ever! I found it last week at the co-op and I absolutely adore it. you can also get chocolate and strawberry but banana is definately the best. it tastes like foamy bananas! yum!)

Batteries not included

These Pictures, are the result of waiting for days for a forecast suited for a sunrise! After watching weather reports for ags, we finally got a fine morning and I was up at 06:45 so that I could be out of the door at 06:50 which was scheduled sun-up. When my alarm woke me, I pulled on an old beaten up hoodie, and jammed a hat down over my unruly hair (It wasn't even 7 yet. who was going to see me!) and stomped off downstairs to obtain a Monty who was waiting patiently in the Kitchen for people to wake up. He couldn't believe his luck when I offered him a walk instead of my usual greeting! He was soon harnessed up and ready for action.

I planned things quite well this morning I think apart from one tiny little oversight. As soon as I turned on my camera, I realised that it was completely out of batteries!!! After 'wishing myself further' for a few seconds, I realised that I still had my mobile phone camera so all was not lost (though I still keep thinking how much better my photographs would have been with 12 million pixels instead of 3.)

So there! Sunrise fix for the week achieved! good times :D

What is the word for that "Bluey-Greeney" colour?

Voila. My first Photoshop Picture that I am relatively pleased with. I spent a few hours being tutored by Reesa the other night in how to use this program (which I am fast getting used to I think!) I didnt do too much today, (apart from Ash Wednesday Mass, picking up a parcel box and posting a package at the post office, Walking to my grandparents house for lunch, ironing, watching DC, failing miserably to take ANY photographs, and now watching Storm Chasers!!!) Hopefully, I might get a chance to take some Sunrise pictures tomorrow morning! I miss taking sunrise pictures as it is my favourite time of the day. By my calculations, it has been three weeks since our last good sunrise and I am fed up with grey mornnings. Sunrise is at 06:50 am so I shall have to be up at 06:45 so I can be in the south fields in time. The forecast says there is a good chance of relatively clear skies so I hope for sanity's sake they are right. For days, I have been checking the forcast for clear skies so if I get up early and it's drizzling again, I shall not be the happiest Fizzy in the Universe. wish me luck!!!

what do you mean its pancake day!???

Before I begin, Check out the super cool Hansenette taggie that Reesa did me! I love it!!! Now. today is Tuesday! I started out my day today at war with Baby Sis and have so ended it like that (only petty things you understand, currently it is over the computer but it is one thing I could do without.) Whilst still in a half asleep state this morning (before coffee) I was told by a very exciteable 5 year old that it was pancake day! "What do you mean it's pancake day!??" I cried, realising that after pancake day comes Lent and Easter. (I really do wish they would decide on a date for Easter and keep it like that. I have had enough of never knowing when it shall be). I have decided not to give up anything for Lent this year. Before people hold up their hands in horror however, I am trying to do more nice things. Easter should be about including things and not EXcluding them. (in my mind at least.) Today was fun. I went to meet a friend that I bumped into at a concert in November. We went to Girl Guides together for a few years and havent heard from one another since then. After bumping into her late last year, we have been talking via Facebook and decided to meet for lunch. we went to the "cock and pye" pub in Ipswich, had some food and played pool!!! I lost miserably at pool but towards the end of the game I was getting better. I even managed to get a ball in one of the pockets! there is hope for me yet :D After the all that excitement, I came home and was reminded that we were going to see a play at the theate tonight! Typically, I cannot remember who the play was by, or what it was called but I shall endeavour to find that out at some point when im not dying from lack of Coffee. It was very good however and I was greatly amused at someone infront of us who did a funny snot whenever she laughed! In other news, I have decided to tell Rauiry that I shall not be continuing to play the guitar for the prayer group. I have now gotten so annoyed at it and stressed that I now feel like hating my guitar. I actually love my guitar and love to pick it up to mindlessly strum away. Having got into the whole "i must practise or Rauiry will kill me" thing, I feel very angry at it. So now I have to pluck up the courage to tell Rauiry that I cannot do it. Anything that makes me hate my guitar is very bad... (even if it IS a prayer group!!!) So that was my Tuesday. I send you all happy Tuesday greetings!!! I do love Tuesdays :D

Matchstick eyes? Not for me!

It would appear that after last night's Oscars watching attempt, I am still alive! Unfortunately, I didn't get to watch all of the Oscars. I really wish I could have but by the time 02:30 a.m. arrived, The awards were only just starting and since I only had 4 and a half hours until I needed to get up, I thought it was time I grabbed some sleep. I didn't really need bed though! I woke up after my 4 and a half hours, looking like a Zombie, but hardly tired at all! Now I'm kicking myself because I should have pulled an "all nighter" . Thats what I wanted to in the first place and I totally caved!

Putting negative thoughts aside however, Monty and I went for our walk and discovered we had quite a sense of adventure! We tramped over lots of fields and probably walked in lots of places that we shouldn't have (what nobody sees cant hurt!). I wouldn't have found these white bushes however if not for my adventurous mindset. Together, the Mutt and I pushed through brambles, fell over barbed wire and had great fun! We got home and after I had studied for a while on my Norwegian, I decided to make another 5 minute Mug cake (which has improved greatly from the first time I made the recipie). This time I added whole glacé cherries to the mix and I created "chocolate cherry cake"!!! (If any of you guys from the States ever make it to England, pop on over and You shall be given "deadliest chocolate cherry cake" for tea!

~~~ Hilarious Dad moment of he week, Dad: "Any minute now there's gonna be a lonely whale turn up in our front garden!" (Dad is conviced that all Sigur Rós tracks sound like very bad whale song recordings.) (I wonder what you think. Whale music? or not whale music?)

Duck, Duck, GOOSE!

What is this unseasonable weather!! It is February! There was a curious bright orb in the sky yesterday and NONE of those fluffy things that always seem to drip water on us from up on high! We therefore decided to take advantage of the weather and make a trip to Christchurch Park in the centre of Ipswich.

I love this park for the ancient Oak trees that are dotted everywhere. They have been there for centuries and seem more solid somehow than most of the new buildings that have been built in Ipswich recently.

The newest inhabitant of Christchurch Park is an owl which has become somewhat of a celebrity around here. He/She just sits in this particular tree every day and just watches the word pass. No one has given it a name yet, but I am sure that before long there will be name to put to the face.

I also saw a Duck! ~Edgar Hansen fans will know the significance of that sentence. I now cannot pass a Canada Goose without saying "ooo, I wanna feed the duck!"~ I then went to see Christchurch Mansion and saw some fantastic wall paintings that I had forgotten were there. I havent properly explored the mansion since I was about seven years old. each time I go, I do a little bit and save the rest for next time. This way I can go as many times as I like and still discover something new each time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And so, In true Deadliest Catch fan style, I leave you with a picture of the boat I Commandeered from the childrens play area. I christened her the 'F/V Obsession' and Then told some kids about Crab Fishing. It was a good day.

(oh, and for anyone who is still wondering, It takes 1,332 Licks to get to the centre of a tootsie pop! )

Day of the shadow tree

The temperatures in Ipswich are positively tropical today! 9'C / 47'F. This means that after going out with a hat and gloves along with my sweater, I ended up very warm. Monty and I stomped up the hill and stomped across muddy tracks to our hearts content, and I think I might have tired him out as he walked perfectly to heel all the way home and I havent seen him since we got back. I fear the poor boy may have taken to his bed.

Today is a very un-photogenic day though, despite the temperatures. There is mist and drizzle and as I walked out with my camera, I was feeling very un-inspired. I soon realised that I would be unable to take any good pictures with the light levels as they were. I did have a bright idea however, and decided to take some pictures that could then be modified when I got home. The picture at the top of the page is the result!

There are times in life when one really wishes one had an Edit/Undo button. I made a typical Fizz mistake today and was not concentrating hard enough as I was deleting my unwanted pictures (I usually take about 25 and end up keeping approximately 5). Just as I pressed the Delete button on one of my Pictures, I realised that I was deleting my favourite picture for the day! The very one that would have made an excellent image! With no Image retrieval system on my camera, the thought struck me that I couldn't even go back and take another picture. The weather had changed and It would not be the same.

Life is like that though I guess.

361 and counting...

BIG NEWS!!!

I got my copy of Luckiest Catch!!!!!

and right now... I cant watch it. My computer keeps holding up its hands in horror and doing the "blue screen of death" thing. It works too hard and worries itself into a coma the poor little computer! (here I go again, personifying electrical goods. I am surprised I havent named it spud or something yet! .... Or did I just in fact name it Spud...)

My day in London/Kent was great. I do love day trips as I get to sleep in my own bed at the end of the day. (not that I am doing much sleeping in it in recent days, To bed at 01:30, up at 07:15, what a life.

The sad news of the day is, The swing tree has toppled over. The swing tree had an amazing rope swing in it that swung you off a hill about 15 foot in the air and then back again. (you could only do 1 swing at a time though because if you got stuck, you would get stuck 15' in the air. Today on our walk over Mill Hill, I discovered the sad truth that swings are not immortal. They do eventually shuffle off their mortal coil and go the way of the Dodo and so now we need a new swing!!!

I wonder, does anyone know the exquisite experience of attics belonging to grandparents? My Granny has an awesome attic. Stuffed with amazing items, like scale model sailing ships, a table tennis table, board games from the 70s, a bed, hidey holes and cupboards that extend into the roof space, aaaand a conveniently placed drum kit.

whilst playing table tennis with Baby Sis today, I happened to spectacularly fall over this drum kit! Baby Sis and I are NOT very good at table tennis (which is hilarious when two complete idiots like ourselves are given bats) and so consequently, I was diving for a ball which was about to fly over my right hand shoulder. I took one step too many however and I flew over the drumkit and onto the floor wth a resounding crash!!! cymbals and drums went flying and I was almost poked in the eye by a very sharp drumstick. It was one of those falls that you know is going to be a really slow fall. I could feel myself going, but was unable to slow my momentum and so ended up looking quite embarassed amidst an untidy drumkit and almost a whole bookcase (which fortunately decided not to fall on me). After this display of gymnastic prowess and Sis's very tasteful display of playing table tennis with an air rifle, we both collapsed in giggles and had to cart ourselves off downstairs. Table tennis over with there shall now be approximately 3 balls stuck under the bed, and quite a few that we havent a clue where they went!

all in all, it was a good day!

I am now re-taking the tootsie pop test due to demands of a recount! So-far, I am up to 361 licks. something must have gone horribly wrong yesterday for me to miss out 259!

have a happy thursday everyone! Its now 00:45 and this Is Fizz signing out! Bruises and all.

Running on Felixtowe Beach

I really did run! for some reason today, I had extra energy to burn. The beach was beautiful today, with calm seas, relatively clear sky and the promise of a good sunset. The gulls were hovering near the burger van that was opening up for business when the workers came out of the docks at the end of their shifts. These gulls will always learn very quickly where to go for the "best" food.

Baby sis has been a darling today, running up and hugging me whenever she got the chance, which I love. If ever I try to hug her, she flinches! (I spent too much time maliciously tickling her when she was little I think. now she has a coplex.)

In life, one must always know when to quit whilst the going is good. Therefore, I sign off now, before my computer crashes (It is making very odd whirring noises) and save myself the horror of sorting it out when it seems beyond repair.

We are... Like a crab.

Yet again, I had a very enjoyable weekend at a retreat. I always seem to forget what a rewarding experience a retreat is and how muh I really like them. I never want to go and be taught/talked to/discussed with on matters of my faith as I really struggle for answers and always make a fool of myself. Fortunately I am always proved wrong and I enjoy it. (even though I didnt enjoy the fact that I was unable to get on the internet for much Forum and Blogging use.) I only have one picture that I can put up from the weekend because I have to be very careful not to upset the Child Protection factor that Mom works so hard to enforce during these things. I dont think that Brother Merchon (I think that is how you spell his name) will mind as it is a very good picture and I doubt any of his order shall be paying my blog a visit any time soon.

The funniest part of the weekend was when a habit of scuttling sideways for biscuits appeared, whilst talking in the kitchen. Not wanting the others to think we were being greedy and eating all of the custard creams, we would sneak over nonchalantly (and sideways) and quietly half-inch a bikki. When someone did spot this, I said the one line that stuck with us for the rest of the weekend. "We are... Like a Crab" *presses tips of fingers together and glares evily over them* A very odd moment occured when we were playing on the swings at the park (like ya do) and two little girls who were near us, pointed at either Brother Mershon or Father Elias and said "who is he supposed to be then? Jesus?" They weren't asking us. I kinda wish they had been as we would have been kind enough to explain and educate them if they had. As they were being quite... unimaginative -shall we say- however, we let them think what they wanted and just creased into giggles! It was nice to see people from all over the country (some of whom I hadn't seen for about 3 or 4 years and have now for some unknown reason grown Taller than me!!! (this is not allowed. they should stay 9 forever) and it was so nice to be introduced to new people and be friendly to them Lastly:

Here Today, Goo Tomo.. Watch the ad...

I thought I would show you one of the "here today, goo tomorrow" adverts as I love them! these are the Best cream egg adverts in YEARS! I hope you enjoy it.

Mystical Box of Delights

Today, after three days of (very patient) waiting for the postman to bring my package from Angela in America, I was rewarded by a ring on the doorbell and a very nice postman standing there saying "you must be Fizz!" (I think he must have thought my name was quite amusing.) I think that after talking to me, the poor guy got the wrong end of the stick and arrived at the fact that I was American. After watching too much DC, talking to one of my sisters American friends for a week and studying Norsk, I have developed a habit of saying funny 'r's. having let one of these 'r's slip out, and the postman seeing the package was from the USA, he piped up with "you know there is a website that you can order American food off. so if you get a little homesick in the future you dont have to get your family to send you stuff. you can just order it on the net!" Being quite taken aback by this random comment, I just pretended I knew what he was on about and we parted ways. after I had shut the door I suddenly twigged. By that time however, it was too late to correct his mistake so I guess to him: I am American now! this is me breaking into the parcel A very fun job! scissors wouldn't cut the tape so I took the sharpest knife in the world to it and it was open before you could say Jack Robinson!

Jif! -not on the recall list fortunately LOL!- (very funny, we have a product called Jif here, but it is bathroom cleaner!)

Ever the professional photographer, Mom managed to get a pic of me looking demented. but its a happy demented I think. it is a "look at my sack of candy" sort of demented.

soon the candy box began to draw quite a crowd! Baby Sis and the boyfriend came to have a peek

.. and we definately like the look of the multicolored fish crackers! (on the side of the packet is a yellow fish called Brooke! made me think of my YouTube buddy)

this was the moment I saw the Candy covered peanuts! Peanuts = YUM!

Thank you so much Angela for the FANTASTIC box of candy! I think it is enough to last a whole year!!! (ha! like I believe that!)

My favourites so far are the 'Bit-O'-Honey' sweets (I think I have the name right) and the sweets will definately come in useful for this weekend! A retreat has been organised which I shall attend so therefore there may be no sign of me for a couple of days! Hopefully I shall get a couple of minutes to check the forums but I think the blog shall be quiet untill monday.

have great weekends all of you!!!!!

Thanks Angela!

Ice, Snow and sore fingers

The winter it seems, is having a last final fling before the days get warmer again. Yesterdays Ice was not the coldest, iciest or harshest of the winter, but it was without a doubt the prettiest. I walked down to the Fynn valley and the little stream that runs down the hill had frozen overnight. The ice had clung onto rocks, pebbles, leaves (or anything it could find) and had grown outwards from them. Little stars of ice were clinging to pebbles and twigs and it was enough to make me almost 'Google' how ice would form like that. Almost. The clouds decided to give us snow aswell! Julie 'Raingear' on last nights weather forcast was showing us snow on the map of East Anglia and so, I was about to call to the parents in order to tell them this little snippet of information, when Mum yelled from the front garden "SNOW! haha!!!". "Well that was prompt!" was the thought that ran through my head. We got about an inch of snow I think, and it was still snowing when I went to sleep. I had a guitar lesson last night! Ruairi came over with songs and his fearsome electric guitar and taught me lots of complicated chords (which I managed to pull off -just-) and then he tried to teach me the dreaded 'Music Theory'. I dont think that this particular part of music tuition should be called 'Theory'. It should be called 'Music Insanity' as it almost drove me to tears! I do not cry over little things like this but I could feel myself get more and more stressed as Ruairi was telling me why chords can be diminished, minored, and majored (I dont have a clue about if I'm gettting all this right) and as more and more information just whent right over my head. I have taught myself to play the guitar over the years and have NEVER been able to read music so I think Ruairi must be imagining me as something of a musical dimwitt (there's an image?) I shall try however to learn the chords he gave me and try to not notice the fingers that are in too much pain from steel guitar strings.

~artsy shot for the day~

~I had a fan moment on the beach...~

~so did Mum, and added F/V~

~needless to say: I ignored the DANGER signs~

Since it was Mums birthday today, we decided to meet Dad in Felixtowe for a spot of lunch and a walk on the beach. The weather was cold and grey but I had a fantastic time avoiding puddles and salty mud. We found springs (of the watery sort) on the beach and watched a very fast tide almost rip buoys away from their anchors!

We did get a teeny bit of snow last night. just a dusting, but enough to bring a smile and a happy feeling as one stands net to a radiator looking out at icy conditions. All the lakes that had apeared from all of the rain yesterday had frozen overnight and were very picturesque on the drive out from Ipswich.

I still havent made mums birthday cake.I have bought Smarties Mini eggs to put on top of it but I shall have to see how they go with the cake that I think mum has made for herself. *feels very guilty*

So that is my flying visit to Blog land for today, Sis is hanging over my shoulder so I should let her work I think.

~~~~~~~

quote of the week!

"... back on the Cornelia Marie, Captain Phil Harris has started using Morse Code!"

-Dad making a joke about all the beeps over Phils bad language in series three when the crab processor 'Stellar Sea' had a fire and had to be repaired.-