Minkyweasel World

One Girl's Outlook On Life

Archive for the ‘Activity’ Category

Dummy run

Posted by Shirley Anne on December 29, 2011

Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts, Liverpool, England.

Image via Wikipedia

I decided to go for a dummy run into Liverpool earlier in order to discover how long I would need to get to the Crown Court on Tuesday. It has been quite some time since I was in Liverpool so as I had nothing else to do it seemed a good idea to go today. It cost me nothing in fares because I have a travel pass which is free to use after 9.30 in the morning, When I go on Tuesday I will be obliged to pay for the journey there but it will be free on my return. I have had this pass for three years now, although I could have obtained one six years ago but didn’t see the need. In fact I hardly ever use it anyway but it is handy to know I have one should I need it. When I boarded the train at my local station it was fairly empty of passengers but two stations later it became full. Not everyone was going to Liverpool and by the time I arrived there were few people left.  I left the station and walked the quarter-mile or so to the Crown Court building, or rather the square in which it stands but didn’t go inside, instead I decided to walk down the main shopping streets before returning home via the next railway station to see how long it would take from there. The weather was awful, occasional blustery showers and high winds didn’t keep people at home and the streets were packed with shoppers. I could have spent the afternoon there but somehow it’s not the same shopping by myself, I like some company when out shopping for clothes but I did visit one of the main stores for a few minutes. I really wanted to get back home. Three hours and fifteen minutes after I’d left home found me back safely there, so by that reckoning I will need an hour and a half to get to court next week. On the return journey, about half-way home, I and a few other passengers noticed two small dogs running along the other track at the station where we had stopped. I hope they didn’t get electrocuted as they were running quite close to the live rail. How they got on the tracks in the first place is a wonder.

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity, Travel | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Quiet week

Posted by Shirley Anne on December 23, 2011

All Is Quiet Now

Image via Wikipedia

It is now Friday and the past week has been a very quiet one for me in my work having had only the two jobs on Monday. Usually at this time of year I am swamped with work but I suppose the credit squeeze and financial downturn in general has put paid to people spending their money on having electrical work done this year. As it happens I had removed my advertisement from the newspaper for the next three weeks anyhow so I wasn’t expecting any work unless it was from established clients and there are plenty of those. As it is Christmas week I wouldn’t have received work requests anyhow and the first two weeks in the new year will see me on jury service so there is no reason to keep the advertisement running for those weeks either. That will save me £93 but of course I shan’t be earning any either! I have to confess that although I am enjoying the break from working I am also experiencing difficulty sometimes in how to fill my time. That wasn’t a problem on Thursday as I didn’t get downstairs until 1 o’clock! On Tuesday I had not been feeling tired in the least and so it happened that I never got round to going to bed at all that night. Throughout the next day, Wednesday, I felt great but as evening wore on I began to feel tired. I went to bed at 10.30 and watched one program on television called ‘The guide to a grumpy Christmas’ or something like that. It was a sarcastic look at the Christmas festivities by a few television celebrities and how much they hated the various aspects of the season that people force themselves or who are obliged to partake in. Quite a funny program. I actually turned the television off before I went to sleep just before midnight, that’s got to be a first for me who usually wakes up three hours later with the set still on. Three hours later, the first toilet visit for the night followed by another five hours later and a third four hours after that! Each time I returned for more sleep and each time I got it! I really must have been tired to have needed all that sleep. I don’t usually get more than five hours a night, more often four and a half so it was something of a novelty to be able to get more sleep even though each time was for no longer than five hours.

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity, Rest and sleep | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

I’m not that brave at all

Posted by Shirley Anne on December 13, 2011

Climbing Gear

Image by stilldavid via Flickr

People do some funny things. Whilst watching the evening news, well it was more to do with the weather, I saw a young man holding his jacket over his head to catch the wind. We have been experiencing some very high winds these last few days and on Thursday in particular it was blowing 60 to 90 mph depending on where you were. The young man could have been lifted off his feet and thrown backwards a few yards (metres) perhaps injuring him but he was going for the moment. In a later program we were shown a huge open-structured tower similar to electricity pylons but much taller. It was, or is, the only one of four that stood in the area and was used as an early warning radar aerial during the war. We were told that it was built in 1939 but it looked perfectly safe standing there in a remote part of Lincolnshire. Today it is being used by the Royal Airforce as a training utility testing cadets capability working at height. The camera showed the view from the top of the tower and I felt insecure just looking at the television screen! I’m afraid I couldn’t attempt climbing that height even with the safety gear the presenter and RAF members were using. I get nervous at height but strangely enough in certain circumstances I lose all fear, for example when in an aeroplane or building (as long as look down out of the windows in the case of a building), ridiculous as it may seem I was never frightened when climbing scaffolding but I get nervous if climbing too far up a ladder, say more than fifteen feet. I was amazed to find that parascending was thrilling and I wasn’t in the least scared of climbing so high even though the parachute might have developed a fault. A few months ago I went up in a basket suspended from a hot-air balloon and felt quite safe. Strange isn’t it? Some of those fears are irrational I know but there is always an element of danger in any of them. It just seems peculiar that some things I am not happy doing yet others, equally as potentially dangerous I don’t mind. When I transitioned I was told that I was brave doing what I did but I find some of the things mentioned here require much more a certain amount of bravery. Me? I am not really brave at all, when something needs doing I do it if I am able or if it is necessary but I refuse to do things I am not that happy doing. No I’m not brave at all.

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity, Behaviour | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

I can only do so much

Posted by Shirley Anne on December 3, 2011

Exercising with Good Housekeeping

Image by kevin dooley via Flickr

I am quite an active person, when there are things to do I get on with them. These days my electrical work comes and goes and I find myself either with nothing to do on some days and at other times I am fully occupied. Now I am not getting any younger, like everyone else, so I cannot do as much now as I was once able to do but even so I do far more than most people I know of the same age. I get tired of course I do but strangely enough I don’t seem to be able to sleep for longer periods than 4 or 5 hours at a time. On Wednesday morning I planned to get up early and have a stint on my treadmill as I had no scheduled work. I went to bed at 11.30 the night before but watched television until around 1 am. I woke up around 6 but that is an estimate, I don’t have a clock in the room and I couldn’t be bothered to check the time on my mobile phone. I could tell approximately that is was 6 o’clock by the amount of light coming through the chink in the curtains. I closed my eyes again and went back to sleep. I didn’t wake up until 10.30. I really must have been tired. That happens sometimes when I need that extra sleep. It can be a bit awkward as we get older, not needing much sleep and therefore having more time awake but less to do in it! Physically I can only do so much but whilst I am still able I do what I can. The important thing is to find something to keep me interested. I spent almost half an hour on the treadmill before returning upstairs to bathe and dress and had the rest of the day to myself. Most of it was spent doing household chores and pursuing my hobbies. The exercising does help by the way!

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity, Hobbies, House and Home, Lifestyle, Rest and sleep | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Time flies by, sometimes people do too.

Posted by Shirley Anne on December 2, 2011

Electric Shower

Image via Wikipedia

On Monday I went to look at a job some eleven or twelve miles away. A nice drive partly through countryside so I wasn’t in much of a hurry to get there. Those around me on the road had other ideas and many were quick to overtake when the opportunity arose. I do not know why many drivers drive as though they only had a minute left to live and especially as fuel costs these days are horrendous. No, with some drivers it’s foot to the metal all the way. They must have money to burn. I had set out early because I didn’t wish to drive at speed and I arrived at the job on time. The job itself was simple to assess, each time the electric shower was switched on it caused the RCD unit to trip and put the whole house in darkness. A quick check with a megger proved that the elements inside were faulty. I advised a completely new shower unit as the one fitted was now around 20 years old and parts would be impossible to obtain, besides which modern showers are much more efficient. The guy agreed and I bought a replacement that afternoon but returned to fit it the next day. The other job I had on Monday was to sort out some electrical work that the occupier had installed himself but had made a botched job of it leaving all the lights unusable. That took a little time to undo but I got there in the end. I was so engrossed in the work I hadn’t noticed the passage of time and it was now almost 1 o’clock. After a trip to the supplier to buy the shower I returned home for the day, via the pub! I didn’t feel like cooking lunch and ordered something there. Only soft drinks to go with it though because I was driving but when I got home later I opened a bottle of red wine and drank that whilst I recorded a new song and put it on YouTube. On Tuesday I returned to fit the new shower unit and was back home within two hours! The job wasn’t easy due to the fact that the old unit had been set into the tiles instead of sitting on them which made it difficult to remove. Added to that the plumbing was difficult to access but I managed and found to my surprise that when I had finished the job it hadn’t taken much time at all. Sometimes time seems to pass so quickly but sometimes it’s the people who are speeding along instead.

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity, Time | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Business

Posted by Shirley Anne on November 23, 2011

Cartoon showing baby representing New Year 190...

Image via Wikipedia

Well it looks like I am in business again. After a brief spell of ease I am beginning to rake in lots more work. Most of what I am doing will be to do with changing light fittings, you might say I will be on ‘light duties’ (an in joke) but I am also replacing switches and power points. This is a seasonal thing with people wanting  a make-over as far as electrical lighting is concerned on the run up to Christmas. I don’t mind, it gives me something to do that pays well! Occasionally I am asked to install extra power points at this time of year too, to accommodate fairy-lights and other things. Did you ever see advertisements urging the purchase of furniture before a certain date in order that it will be delivered before Christmas Day?  Is it any wonder folk get themselves in debt because they think the world will end on Boxing Day or that the furniture won’t be available thereafter? Of course that is why the advertisers lower their prices in the first place! The prices rise again once the holiday is over.  People do strange things around Christmas. A few years ago now, I expected very little work at the beginning of the new year because of the amount I had in the preceding month but this particular year I was inundated with it and in fact, as it turned out, that January  was the best month for the year as far as income was concerned. Not so these days though with the way the economy is just now but no doubt it will be business as usual, albeit only a little (?). Actually it looks as though I will be unavailable for a short time at the beginning of 2012 anyway as I am scheduled for jury service. We’ll see what happens. In the meantime I have plenty to do.

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity, Business, Occupation, Work | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Last week

Posted by Shirley Anne on September 26, 2011

Model of Influenza Virus from NIH

Image via Wikipedia

I had very little or nothing to do last week except keeping medical appointments and visiting the pub once. A very mundane week indeed. Today I have a dental appointment in the morning and an appointment with the nurse in the evening. I am having a tooth capped and later having a ‘flu jab. Last Monday I had almost the same treatment, dental work and pneumonia jab. I wonder what is in store for next Monday? I found that I have been a lot more active on the treadmill though, a promise I made to myself after neglecting the machine and getting little exercise over the last couple of weeks. No work meant no pay of course but I am not worried about that, it’s more the boredom. I found I was playing my guitar more often too even though I usually tinker about on it for an hour or so every day anyway and I managed to pen two more songs. Not that I try to write songs, they just come into my head, a talent, no a gift that I didn’t imagine I would ever get. So last week wasn’t all a waste of time. It was last week that I sadly learned about someones death, a fellow (wrong word) blogger and Tgirl. Although I didn’t know her on a personal level it is still a bit upsetting to her of her demise. In some respects I welcome death especially if someone is suffering with an incurable illness as she was but as a Christian I think she is in a better place now anyway. Nevertheless, life is a precious gift from God and must be respected by living it in the right way. So I am kind of hoping that this week will be filled with good things, less boring things and more productive things too. I will only get to know at the end of it though won’t I?

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity, Leisure, Life, Occupation | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Nothing to do

Posted by Shirley Anne on September 21, 2011

A woman on a treadmill (Original caption: &quo...

Image via Wikipedia

Over the last few days I have not had much to do, my work isn’t coming in and although I could find things to do at home I don’t wish to do so at this time. After my visit to see the nurse on Monday I decided to restart my exercise regime yesterday after neglecting it over the last couple of weeks. That being the case I got up early and went downstairs into the cellar where I have the treadmill. It is in the same room as the boiler so the room is quite warm and that is a blessing in the Winter months. It isn’t so comfortable in the warmer months though so I leave the doors open if I am exercising on the treadmill. After my thirty minutes of mostly running I went back upstairs to my room. I spent the next half-hour colouring my hair then off to the bathroom to rinse it out and have a bath. Whilst I was dressing and applying my make-up my eldest son and my daughter-in-law came to pay us a flying visit. When they left I had lunch and then took out the washing I’d put in the washing machine earlier. The rest of the day was spent doing practically nothing! I am going to find retirement so boring unless I get my act together!

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity, Exercise, Health | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

My weekend

Posted by Shirley Anne on September 19, 2011

Wembley Stadium, London England

Image via Wikipedia

Well Saturday morning I had a good lie in bed for a change but somebody telephoned asking if I could do a job for them. It was an urgent job but as I was still in bed and didn’t feel like doing any work I declined. I had it in mind to go to the pub in the afternoon but later, when I was up and about I decided against going there too soon. Here in the UK it is the football (soccer) season and many pubs play live games on their television, my local being no exception. This means a pub packed with football fanatics all getting drunk. O-oh no way Hosea! I have been to these events before but not often and they are not the sort of events to go and see when you want a quiet drink with friends. I decided to go a little later but even when I went at eight in the evening there were still many guys milling about, most of them drunk. I sat with three friends for ten minutes but they left and I was alone for a half hour. Two more friends came in and we sat together in a quieter spot. Soon we had the pub to ourselves with only a few regular customers to keep us company. We had a great time laughing and drinking and late in the evening my two friends left but asked me to join them again on Sunday afternoon for an hour or so. I told them that it was unlikely that I would be there but they continued to ask. Well Sunday afternoons at the pub are similar affairs to Saturdays because they have the football on-screen again until early evening. When the weather is fine, as it was on both days, many more local people are often seen in the seating area outside, so much so that one can hardly find anywhere to sit. I didn’t go to the pub at all on Sunday as I thought I wouldn’t, well I just couldn’t be bothered! In fact I did almost nothing at all on Sunday but when I was sitting quietly watching some television in the evening I decided to pick up my guitar for the third time that day because a song suddenly popped into my thoughts and I wanted to play it a few times and get it down on paper. It took me ten minutes to produce. This is the way all my songs and poems come to me, on the spur of the moment and usually almost in one go. I have no idea why that is. It is another Christian song which I will add to my collection. So that about sums up my weekend, restful, boring at times, fun at times and productive at times.

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity, Friendship, Fun, Leisure, Lifestyle, Music | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Busy again

Posted by Shirley Anne on August 19, 2011

Water dropping from a tap.

Image via Wikipedia

Just as I was thinking that my workload had dropped off I got several calls for work! That’s the way it is in my line of work. I must admit to have been feeling a little lazy lately, taking time from the workload at home and not having electrical work to do didn’t help. I keep resisting the urge to go down to the pub even though I feel an evening there would do me some good but there are other things on my mind just now and I don’t wish to drown my sorrows in a bottle of whisky! I feel that progress at home is slow, aside from my short break, things don’t seem to be going as fast as I’d like. My main concern is trying to get the roller-shutter door up to ceiling height and organising it around the availability of my helpers, my sons. Until I can get a definite date and time my hands are tied. I won’t be happy until I know the door is up and working. At least I am being kept busy with my electrical work for the time being.  I sat playing my guitar in the garden again on Wednesday afternoon. I had been to work in the morning so the afternoon was free and the weather wasn’t too bad either. That’s the other thing, our weather can’t make up its mind whether to rain or shine lately so I grab the opportunity to sit out in the garden, well the patio, as often as I can. One job I had to do in the morning before I could do anything else was to fix the hot waters tap on the bath in the family bathroom. My youngest son kept complaining that it wasn’t working properly. I didn’t find it a problem but I checked it out anyhow. It turned out to be the washer, it had broken in half and was partially blocking the outlet causing a poor flow of water.  So I am busy but not busy enough for me. Thursday morning was a bit hectic too, three jobs, three different townships, all done by 12.15! LOL

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

It’s getting harder but I manage

Posted by Shirley Anne on August 17, 2011

I’ve not had much professional work of late but on Monday I had one small job to do. Whilst waiting to go there after breakfast I received another call for more work. The first job didn’t take too long and then I was off to the second job which I knew would take longer as it entailed installing new circuits. Whilst there I received yet another call to do a small job which I managed to get to around one o’clock and finished that in only a few minutes. The second job was a little taxing and I felt my energy draining whilst doing it.  I think I do pretty well for a 65 year-old going on 66! I don’t look my age and don’t really feel it either, under normal circumstances that is! I know a few women of my age that are no way as fit as I am but I suppose the nature of my work keeps me exercised which must help. These days of course I do limit what I do in my work as an electrician and it is nice to be able to pick and choose what work I take on board. I have been doing far more work at home over the last year or so although over the last two weeks I haven’t done anything at home. Previous posts will reveal the reasons for that but I hope to resume further work that needs to be done in and around the garages over the next couple of months. I am quite an active person most of the time but I do like to relax as well. The weather at home hasn’t been that good lately and it has been raining quite a lot. This meant that I couldn’t get out into the garden but on Monday afternoon it was fine and sunny with hardly a whisper of wind so I took the opportunity to sit outside playing my guitar for an hour or so and then did some reading. With a drink or two of course! It’s getting harder but I manage…LOL

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity, Enjoyment, Exercise, Garden, Lifestyle, Music, Rest and relaxation, Work | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Crazy girl

Posted by Shirley Anne on August 8, 2011

Awake is the New Sleep (2005)

Image via Wikipedia

Must be getting old. Saturday night turned into Sunday morning and I was still pottering about downstairs. It got so late, or I should say early I didn’t bother going to bed. I don’t sleep too long in any case so if I go to sleep at midnight I can be almost certain I will be awake before five o’clock. Lately I have been getting to bed very late, sometimes watching television in bed before nodding off and still I wake up early. I cannot see the point in trying to get eight hours sleep when I know it isn’t possible. However, I do sometimes just lie in bed for a short while after waking up but no more than an hour if that. I like sleeping though and I especially like dreaming. I find that I dream when my sleep is deep, that is when I’ve been so tired due to working I get the four or five hours uninterrupted. I hate it when I go to bed, even tired, and find that my mind is racing away with thoughts that keep me from the Land of Nod. I usually get some sleep in those instances but never enough. They say that lost sleep cannot be recovered later. Once lost always lost. So Sunday started well enough and although I was feeling a little heavy around the eyes in the afternoon I managed to stay awake all day. I didn’t even manage a cat-nap in the afternoon after my lunch. I’ve stayed indoors over the weekend and basically did nothing in the way of work since Thursday afternoon. The weather hasn’t been that good with plenty of showers about. It was much better on Sunday afternoon but quite windy and there were still plenty of clouds to block out the sunshine every few minutes. Not a day to be outside if you are simply sitting down. I sat and watched some football (soccer) in the afternoon after learning to play a couple more songs on my guitar earlier. Highlights of the day? Someone phoned for me to do a job for them this morning and someone asked if I could take a parcel on behalf of my neighbour who was out for the afternoon. Exciting isn’t it? LOL Still haven’t organised the staging for the garage yet. I have to wait for the availability of others to help me fit the garage door anyway. Will I ever get it done? Well yes is the answer to that one, when is another matter. I might be too tired!

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity, Dreams, Rest and sleep | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

A bit taxing!

Posted by Shirley Anne on August 3, 2011

Tax return done!

Image by jovike via Flickr

I finally decided to complete my tax return yesterday after much procrastination. Although I do not have to fill in a full version of the tax return, I fill in the short form, it is still a bind having to collate all the information. Maybe I should be exempt from paying tax now as I am 65. Well I can wish can’t I? As I am thinking of retiring I shan’t have to fill in another tax return after next year. Anyway I filled in the form and was going to post it but found I hadn’t a stamp so I went for a walk to the village to buy one. I had been out earlier in the morning to do a small job and it had been raining but now it was bright sunshine all the way. Instead of returning directly home I thought I might extend my walk by going a different route. I ended up at the beach! By the time I got back home I was feeling a little tired. It was lunchtime but I didn’t need to cook anything, just warm it up. I had some chilli-con-carne left over from the previous night which always seems to taste that much better when eaten the following day. It’s all about the spices permeating through the food I think. As I write this it is one o’clock in the afternoon and I am thinking what to do with the rest of the day and the sun continues to shine.

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Another glorious day

Posted by Shirley Anne on July 28, 2011

Yesterday was another glorious day here on the north-west coast at Southport.
Weather for sitting around in and relaxing but I had to do the work I promised I would do the day before. The garage electrical circuits are now all fully functioning. E took me to a local store to purchase a light fitting for the roof above the rear steps as we had forgotten to buy it the day before. I also diverted the supply to the floodlight on the garage front so that it, along with everything else in and around the garage would be supplied by the garage distribution board. After I had completed that work I set about fixing some wooden battens over the rear access to the storage area which is inside the garage but above the rear steps to the garage. I need to make this opening secure by fitting some heavy-duty plywood over the hole. I have a small job to do for someone this morning so I will have to continue with the garage later. I also have to fit the woodwork for the roller door’s metal guides on each side of the garage opening and the newly cleaned and painted brackets need to be replaced on the wall. I didn’t finish working until 6.30 last night after starting at 9.30 in the morning so I was glad for the rest but I’m ready to start again today! It looks like we are in for some more fine weather this weekend so maybe a barbie is on the cards? Must remember to get some charcoal though!

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity, House and Home | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

In the name of progress

Posted by Shirley Anne on July 20, 2011

Garage construction

Image by Salim Virji via Flickr

I didn’t want to get out of bed yesterday but obviously I did. It was around ten though before I came downstairs. After a quick breakfast I had it in mind to continue with building the partition wall inside the garage and started taking tools and materials there. I noticed that part of the floor was wet and looked up to the roof to see if it was also wet. Sure enough I could see that it was. The garage roof is sealed to the gable end of the house with bitumen and felt but it appeared to be a weak seal in a corner where the chimney breast is. Fortunately I have ‘flash-band’ at home to repair such leaks and a special paste which is applied first to enable a better contact. So out came the ladder and up I went onto the roof armed with the necessary materials to effect a repair. Within a half-hour of my completing that job it began to rain! Timing is everything! It seems to have done the job but time will tell when we get more persistent rain showers. Now I could get on with building that wall! E joined me and between us we finished the wall, hung the door and fitted the handles, latch and a lock. It was six-thirty in the evening before we finished for the day. All that remains to be done now is fitting the architraves and skirting boards and perhaps some wood trims. I will also fit the power outlets and lighting switches to the boxes and wiring we have installed in the wall. The next major task for this garage is the installation of the roller-shutter door but I will need much assistance to do that and preferably some scaffolding/staging, something I will organise in the weeks ahead. In the meantime there is the job of applying the wood preserver to the roofing timbers and clearing out the garage of debris and all the other things stored in there. The floor needs sealing and then painting before it can be used to garage a car though. Later I plan to build an inner brick wall and do other various work on the internal brick walls. There’s plenty to do yet before we can say that it is truly completed but progress has certainly been made now that all other major outside jobs have been finished. Work has yet to begin on our proposed wet room too!

Shirley Anne

Posted in Activity, House and Home, Occupation, Work | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »