Water and Electricity Stupidity! (by sarah)

Grrrr!!!!

Well today I opened a letter from our electricity supplier - I wasnt expecting a bill as we have recently payed one. Unfortunatly two weeks ago we'd had our first meter reading since we had moved in - add this to the fact they hadnt changed us off of economy seven and I cant remember if I posted the letter asking them 🙁 We have a bill for £1000!!!!

This is a magnitude different to previous bills - it incorporates all the extra we havent been paying over the last yr that they didnt know about cos they hadnt read our meter 🙁

The economy seven is a right pain! Al works with computers - we prepear most meals at home - during the day! For those that don't know about economy seven it is a tarfir that changes less at night that standard but almost double! during the day.

This bill would have included all the excess from heating over the winter too. This was exceptionly high becuase a) we have no gas or oil heating and the fire only heats a small patch of down stairs. We only managed to put the thermal curtians, mum made, up towards the end of the winter - plus I didnt unpack synthia the carpet snake draft excluder until spring. Ontop of that we have no double glazing and we have found a couple of 1/2 inch gaps in some of the windows!

We are peed off with the gas people as we have been waiting for the quotes and stuff for over six months now - they came and did the free servey! We still want gas for cooking but we now thinking that oil central heating might well be the way to go!

I am slightly worried over the ecological-ness of our house at the moment 🙁

Still we phoned them up and have arranged to pay this nasty bill a bit every month though the household budget is now completely up the creek 🙁

The other stupidity is the water company - I could strangle them!

Now when the first water bill came it was obviously in Babaras name - I phoned them up and advised them of the change and who we were etc...

Bow I got one more bill and that was it - this was becuase for some reason they started sending our Bills to Babara - wrong address, wrong name. She kept phoning saying she had payed her bills - they look it up on the pooters and yes she has etc... but then another letter arrives and nother - she phones up each time - then one threaterning solicitors - then she noticeses that it our account.

I phone them up and they apologise and say they have taken our account off the 'bad' list and a new bill will be sent.

Then over a month later I'm thinking I've still not got a bill and lo! We go to feed the cats and sitting on top of the post at the Mill is a letter from the water company saying - with the wrong name but our adress - this again was threatening balifs and stuff - I have sne t the cheque off along with a peeved letter. But am still expecting the balifs to flipping kinock! Incompetance!!!!

What is wrong with the srtructures of these companies that this can happen?

ok thats all folks!

Jeans Crawling!!! (by sarah)

Last Thursaday thanks to David and Michelle Jean did some small amounts of crawling - add this to the kittens which Jean has been more than entranced by and well....

This morning she was loose on the carpet and not in her play pen - she spied the kittens and to mine and Als happy amazement, she made a bee line for the kittens on the other side of the room. She got a fair speed up too!

She got to the kittens who were stupid and sat there whilst she clumsily stroked them! I was suprised I thought she'd try and grab them but she didnt but she did get a bit heavey with them, resulting in them running away! I really thought I'd be dealing with a scratched baby but no - they appear to have a reached a mutial understanding - ie the kittens stay slightly out of reach. they all sit and watch each other;)

Today (by sarah)

Today I went for a walk, this was fanastic - approximatly a year ago I was in a wheel chair or bed bound, unsure as to weather or not I was ever going to see my child.

Today I remembered looking into the uncertainty of the abyss and how I came back from the brink.

Today I rejoiced in my slow amble.

Today I was the poet, the artist, the photographer

Today I saw buety in everything

Today I was grateful that I have a buetiful duaghter and that having a potentially fatal illness ment that I was in a hospital bed with Al by my side instead of going into London on that fatful day for so many - it could well have saved all three of our lives.

Today I sought out the meaning of me

Today I felt the explorer, the geologist, the scientist reawaken

Today I said hello to lots of random villiagers I met on my sojourn upon the common

Today I hugged my duaghter and read her a story and she was happy

Today I chased kittens to help them with thier house training and they were cute!

Today felt good

Today the sun shone

Today I remembered, and felt and planed for the future

Today I felt hope

Today I was free

Today I was happy

p.s. sorry guys I was just over whealmed by the buety I saw even if I did get bitten by a horse fly thingy - I took a picture of it and of the blood afterwards - I was in that sort of mood! hence you all have to read the gushy, moppy soppy emotions!

The Dead… Shrew? (by sarah)

Ok this probably isnt a good post to read if you are a)squimish b)eating.

We went over to feed the cats in the Mill yesturday when we noticed a silvery slime trail - so whilst Al was feeding the cats I was on my hands and knees searching for the culprit be it snail or slug - I was wearing my lovely LED head torch that Rob got me for my birthday, to help with the investigation. I spied something under the table and chair but it seemed it be a small rodent - a bit larger than the shrew I cuaght before but not mouse sized. So I got one of the cats spooms thinking that as it was probably something Tim had cuaght I'd put it with the rabbit I fell over earlier.

Once on the spoon it appeared to be moving so I brought it up to face level to see if it was injuried - It had not head and there was a gash along its stomache which was full of small white maggots 🙁 Now as some of you know I am petrified of maggots - snalis, spiders, toads, catipillars, snakes, scorpions, sculls - all fine - but maggots - especially meat eating maggots I just freak with 🙁 Al had to recue me but I still cuaght the escapies on the carpet - even if Al desposed of them!

Exorcist The Beginning

Sigh oh well - now we have kittens - I just hope we find any kills before they reach that stage! Oh and I didnt find the silver trial culprit either - sigh!

Intermissions (by sarah)

Now when I was little I'm sure I remember films having intermissions where you would go a loo and buy popcorn like the theatre. Al said he's sure of this too - so why does it nolonger happen?

Surely if a film is over an hr and 1/2 there should be a break some where - preferially the middle. Now I remember being cuaght out with this one when I wnet to see a five hr film at the cinemar - no break large coke etc....

What are they thinking - the last three times at least that me and Al have been to see a film we have both practiclally run out as soon as the credits start due to pressing bladder problems and one of those times we didnt even have drinks on the film with us!! (so bangs goes that solution!). Now surely they would make more money having the breaks? They take your tickets at lots of cinemars before yiou get to the bar and sweets area so no problem there plus people would finnish their food etc.. and want more?

Is it the 21 st century concentration span that is at fualt - would people loose the thread of the film if there was a break? Or is it that they would only be able to show the film say four times a day instead of five, and the extortionate price of the tickets means they would rather do that - fear that is there isnt a film starting every ten minutes they would loose customers? I dont think they would becuase you look up the times before you leave or take pot luck on what you are going to watch and watch what evers stating next. I dont mind wondering about for 1/2 before a film starts - sigh.