Writer's Block: Parental Involvement

[Error: unknown template qotd]Absolutely.  I'm closer to my mum than my dad but I'm definitely friends with them both.  I live 15 minutes walk away from them and see them at least once a week.  I couldn't wish for better parents and dread the fact that they might move away when they retire in a couple of years.  I'll miss them heaps.

Productive weekend...

My sister was meant to be visiting my parents this weekend to show us the photos from her honeymoon in Morocco.  However, she arrived back at work last Monday to find that many of the staff and children at her nursery were off with suspected swine flu and decided it wouldn't be a good idea to visit in case she spread it to our parents who are due to go on holiday next weekend.  As a result I was left at a bit of a loose end this weekend.  With that in mind I've suprised myself by how productive I've been.

I went to Kingston yesterday and got a birthday gift for the friend whose birthday party I'm attending next weekend.  I didn't manage to find a suitable doorstop for my other friend but at least I now know that I'm not going to be able to find it in a RL shop.  I will have to order it online.  Unfortunately, that means I won't have it to give to her next weekend (she'll be at the party too) but on the plus side at least I won't have to carry it down to Hampshire to give to someone who lives in South London.

It was also revealed to me in the course of my trip to Kingston that the massive empty fountain has been removed from the ground floor of the Bentalls Centre.  The fountain was originally a kind of wishing well which collected money for Kingston Rotary Club.  Several years ago they stopped filling it with water and filled it with fake potted plants instead.  Now it's gone completely.  I reckon they'll probably put some kind of stall or food outlet in it's place.  The fountain was always a good place to sit and eat a cheap lunch purchased in Boots or M&S.  I bet they'll make it so you have to buy something to be allowed to sit in the area.  That seems to be the way of the world with shopping centres these days.  I feel really sorry for the elderly and people who have trouble walking a long way.

Yesterday evening there was nothing on TV so I messed around on the old Dancemat for an hour or so.  It's suprisingly hard on the calves you know!  I certainly felt like I'd done some excercise afterwards.  I even managed not to fall over my own feet this around!

I then watched Cruel Intentions on DVD.  I'd forgotten how much I love that film.  It's a serious 90s nostalgia fest.  Sarah Michelle Geller clearly loving playing a total bitch, Ryan Phillipe & Reese Witherspoon (I still can't believe they broke up in RL), Selma Blair, serial teen movie cameo accepter Joshua Jackson and, as an added bonus, a very young looking Daniel Mead from Ugly Betty.  Brilliant stuff.  Gossip Girl owes a huge debt to Cruel Intentions.  Blair Whardorf could almost be Kathryn Merteuil.

Today I went for run.  I ran about two miles which is pretty good for me.  Conditions were pretty good for running as there was a cool breeze which reduced the heat a bit.  It started raining just as I arrive home so at least I didn't get soaked like I did a couple of weeks ago.  Next time I'm going to try a whole lap of the block (2.5 miles) without stopping to walk.  It should be fine as long as I don't get stuck behind any slow moving pedestrians on the narrow pathways.

I also managed to clean most of the bathroom and quite a bit of the kitchen.  I've invited a friend round for dinner the week after next and I'm trying to get a head start on the cleaning as I'm away next weekend.

This evening I went to my parents' house and finally collected my Nanna's old embroidery frame so I can finish off the piece I've been working on for ages.  It's been sitting in their spare room for ages as dad decided he was going to do a mega complicated embroidery of a steam train.  He got as far as stitching it to the frame and then didn't make a single stitch.  I'm pretty sure he's bitten off a bit more than he can chew as it looks horribly complicated and I don't think he's sewn anything since he was cub!  Anyway, it's here now so I can finish off my piece at last.

Unfortunately, my evening has now been marred by the fact I didn't realise I only had one slice of bread left.  I'm now going to have to waste much needed pennies buying lunch at work tomorrow.  Bother.