expressions

i am endlessly fascinated by words . . . and accents . . . and expressions.
and i am constantly intrigued by the way people in different walks of life use them - in ways i would never think of myself.
for example, my lovely niece, whilst on her media journalism course once memorably said 'i'll have to take a different camera angle on this one'
but yesterday, when talking about a rather dim figure currently in the media spotlight, alex said, 'well, he's not the sharpest tool in the box'.

any other expressions, anyone? tell me more!

what i have done . . . and what i can't do

DONE:
i have adjusted to my life as the 'one armed bandit' - though this is very frustrating! - and am just about coping with taking life at a slower, more sedate and, hopefully, more dignified pace.
the plan for last saturday was for me to drive to cambridge with frankie and lpip where i was to do my end of course assessment (ou - but only level 1 so far!) and then drive to ely for the cathedral - which both f and i love - and then onwards to south lincs for nostalgia trip and lunch. since i was still in a state of very mild shock i felt it better to postpone the eca so frankie came over with lpip and did some useful household chores for me.
(i phoned the ou and did the eca on wednesday by phone - i think it went ok - phew!)
sunday, monday and tuesday were mostly spent reading - yay!! - making the most of it while i can!!
wednesday: couldn't have lpip as i realised i wouldn't be able to change her nappy one-handed so had another free-ish day until evening when i did the eca and then cat and david picked me up for book club. what excitement!! (details to follow another bloggings). we have been reading afterwards by rachel seiffert. it was an orange nominee apparently - why??????? - i haven't finished it yet - it's a real struggle to get involved with either the characters or the plot and the writing is not the good - scoring ranged from 3 (mair) to a 6 (anne)
thursday: jackie took me to fracture clinic (fracture club we call it) where they took off the old plaster and 'installed' a most marvellous (and much lighter) emerald green one - wow do i look the bee's knees!! in the evening liz collected me for a women's group dvd night at her house. we watched sex and the city. i have never seen any of the series but have heard enough about it in the media to have some idea what it was about (well the title gives it away a bit - hahaha). it was a bit rude but very funny. we all laughed a lot - a good evening.
yesterday: boogy's anniversary. i had to miss mass as the buses just don't run early enough to get there and i wasn't sure i would make the walk so went in later, did a bit of shopping, had a coffee and caught the bus back home. i had forgotten how much i like public transport! watched a dvd of diane keaton and jack nicholson's 'something's gotta give' in the evening.
today: it's a beautiful day such as we often get here in october - blue sky, fairly warm with just a slight nip in the air. alex is here putting up a fence for me (more details later possibly!) and frankie and lpip are coming to lunch. hoorah!!

CAN'T DO:
(what a darned nuisance this all is! however . . . it is being an interesting experience!!)
i) the ironing ~ i do actually like ironing! doing simple things is ok - only i can't put the board up but frankie does it for me - thanks franks
ii) driving ~ like driving too. solution: kind friends,dd and public transport
iii) shopping ~ ugh i hate shopping but it's a necessary evil. on tuesday, stella asked me if i would be in between 3 and 5 because she had arranged a delivery from tescos. how kind! i have done this myself but hadn't had enough wit to think about it at this time

iv) changing nappies ~ real nuisance this one as i can't now look after lpip on wednesdays

v) hanging out the washing and changing the sheets ~ really can't manage this one handed
but frankie kindly did them both
vi) knitting ~ i get very bored and fidgetty watching tv with nothing to do with my hands
vii) straightening my hair - oh dear! that's vanity for you lol!! - and washing it is a bit of a problem too what with kneeling in the bath with one arm hanging over the edge so as not to wet it - lol!
viii) feeding tully was a problem since i didn't have strength or mobility in my fingers to hold the can - ricky and lara helped out there but thankfully i can do it now this lighter plaster is on
ix) emptying the kitchen bin - i did manage this but it was a real struggle - amazing what one takes for granted
x) stitching - i really miss this! ~ i did manage a birthday card but got awful cramp
but all-in-all i think i am managing well enough, finding humour in the situation and being grateful that it wasn't my right arm!!

i have broken my left wrist . . .

. . . and i am typing this one-handed!
i was so-o-o happy it was friday and the end of the week that i was doing a little ballet in the kitchen, my foot slipped from under me (no shoes/slippers etc - only my socks!) and as i fell i put out my hand, fell backwards onto it - and that was that!
fran and alex came and took me to a & e where they plastered me up. fortunately the hospital staff thought it was as funny as i did - at least i think they did! they were certainly laughing along with me - probably thought i was just a mad old lady!!
hahahaha
this may be my last post in a while as this one-handed lark is almost more trouble than it's worth!!! maybe this will give me the chance to catch up on some reading - i won't be driving for a while - that's for sure!!!

driving miss stella

I used to do a lot more driving than I do now. Stella was at University in Scotland for four years and I drove her up and back at the beginning and end of almost every term and a few random other times in between. St Andrews is over 450 miles from our home - and about 500 with Stella in the car since we always had to do a detour to visit Rich at Sheffield!
So it's just as well that I love driving!! The prospect of the open road stretching before me, listening to the radio or cd and stopping as and when I want is a joy that never palls. I love travelling alone but having Stella's company was fun too. We would always stop at Tebay Services at Appleby in Westmoreland - our favourite services! - and somewhere else as well. We managed to visit Durham one freezing January day and struggled up the hill through the snow to see the cathedral - would have been worth it if it had been twice as far, twice as steep and twice as much snow!. One April we turned off the motorway to drive over the winding hills and through the sleepy little towns of Northumberland to see Hadrian's Wall and another time we went right off the beaten track to see a deer farm in the Border country. Trips back down south were always quicker and more direct as we were both keen to get home but they had a different type of charm. Stella would spend almost the whole journey telling her news - which was always hilarious - the time went very quickly!
It was great while it lasted but, of course, not so easy to organise these days. But last evening Stella nipped round and it was just like old times. Stella has a fabulous dry sense of humour which I really enjoy. I put the coffee machine on and we drank coffee and talked until almost mid-night. It was a lovely evening and it has set me up for the Autumn!
Hoorah for daughters!