My relaxed Christmas Eve following a night shift didn't happen as I has to take delivery of my new sofa - It was quite exciting, but not exactly relaxing! I got the phonecall at nine, so didn't have chance for sleep. Did a mini-shop for bread and had phonecall from my lover early afternoon. I went to bed this afternoon, so of course now wide awake at one a.m. this Christmas morn!

I'm roasting my turkey overnight and smell is wafting nicely. I've not done all my house sorting, but did get around to the washing up so I won't awake to a pigsty! I've been listening to radio and doing puzzles this evening, while admiring my Christmas lights. I've just been playing Christmas carols and songs and enjoying my own company. Would be lovely to have my lover with me, but I do enjoy my own company.

my family will be around for Christmas dinner and tea (spot the working class roots!)and same again on Boxing Day. I'll enjoy having them here and looking after them and entertaining, but there is something rather lovely about them going away in the evening and having the quiet enjoyment of my home again.

Merry Christmas!

Polly
xxxx

I'd planned a very lovely early Christmas day to spend with my lover - lunch, presents and bed. And then I found out that the sofa I was expecting in the New year could be delivered Christmas Eve! And so part of our lovely alternative Christmas was spent manoeuvring one of my tatty sofas into the back garden, to make room for new one being delivered tomorrow - very 'Onslow' - just need a couple of scrap cars for the full effect...Shame I'd decorated my tree and put in front of patio doors before I remembered about sofa! Still - all went well and hopefully my new sofa will arrive tomorrow with minimum of fuss in time for Christmas and my visiting family.

I only put up my decorations this week, so still enjoying novelty and not bored of them. I enjoy twinkliness of it all. It was lovely celebrating Christmas with my lover and we both seem to have done well with choosing presents, which is always a bonus. had lovely day together and enjoyed my Christmassy house. He fed the birds while I was doing lunch so feasts all around. Despite the amount of magpies, gulls and grey squirrels that seem to be everywhere, I have regular visits from sparrows, tits, robin and pair of blackbirds as well as odd starling (I think that's what they are)

Collected my turkey and veg today. I'm doing night shift tonight, so won't be totally with it tomorrow/Christmas Eve, but (famous last words!) I think everything is now in hand for the actual day.

p.s. Damp and misty and miserable in Cardiff today, but I still have three cyclamen blooming in front garden and unripe strawberries were still surviving yesterday...

Can others see this ad for a silly bint adjusting her clothing in front of her computer, trying to look sexy and (I think) inviting people to find 'adult friends' in Cardiff in German!?
WTF?!

I'm allowed to be obsessed with the weather!
Tuesday morning I had to de-ice the car - made difficult because the boot lock where I keep de-icing stuff was frozen! Luckily I keep spare can of de-icer in house. Usually I have ice-scraper loose in car, but in a fit of tidiness I'd put in boot!
Anyway - Tues afternoon my lover and I were in my sunny back garden and I found another ripe strawberry, which he duly ate.
This is not a metaphor - just mad British weather!
I wonder if it counts as pathetic fallacy?

...but found another edible fig on tree on Friday! There were some strawberries that had been eaten, a few unripe and a strawberry flower.
Today is very damp and mild in Cardiff.

On Tuesday I was in garden and noticed one of figs had a sheen to it and I wondered if it was ripe and edible. My lover tried it and reckoned it was perfect. I also noticed a flash of red and discovered a few wild strawberries in the herb patch which were also eaten with relish.

We've had a couple of frosty nights since, so I've stepped up bird feeding. I have my usual crop of sparrers, pigeons, opportunistic magpies a robin and some blue tits. I definitely have a pair(make your own jokes!) but can't decide whether there are actually four of them as they move so quickly! I've been having to break the ice for then to drink and bathe as it's got quite cold suddenly.

Garden still doing well and my cyclamen are still going strong despite two frosty nights.

Just realised Usksider hasn't blogged about Felindre. He posted pic of tree and I mentioned Felindre, so it was him responding to me and there are no fab pics of Felindre from him. Oh, well...

...juicy rather than electronic!

My lover has been a bit poorly so was unable to travel down to see me, so I went West and took him out for a few hours to Felindre reservoir* and we spotted some blackberries! I was quite perplexed as I could see how shrivelled most blackberries were - So Devil had obviously been on his grounds. My lover then noticed some bramble in flower and we realised we were looking art a second or subsequent crop. There were very few, but he tried one and it was very sweet despite being very small.

*Usky,
Just googled Felindre reservoir and found your blog entry! I've hardly posted nor read up on friends for a while.

Well, I forgot to make blackberry crumble the day after we picked them and didn't see my lover and have cooking opportunity for a few days. Meanwhile they got all furry, so the Devil is welcome to them! my lover settled for an apple crumble instead - first one I've made - he reckons it was very good. He also had spare one to take home!

I've finished the one part-time job and officially started a new one. New one has less fixed commitments, so a lot more flexible. I am hoping to build up consultancy stuff as it would be nice to eat as well as pay my bills! I'm helping friend with dissertation and completing handover on completed job, so still not quite there.

Have managed to find time with my lover and recently celebrated his birthday together. Also took him to see the joys of Roath Park and all the wild and tame fowl on the lake. Trees are fabulous this autumn, aren't they? Apparently combination of wet summer and dry autumn - That said - it's been pretty wet today!

Saw some late and large and juicy blackberries in pub carpark and picked them for mini crumble. They must be last decent ones in area as they all disappeared elsewhere a few weeks ago. I decided that despite the superstuition, these were ones that the Devil missed and forgot to spit on!

..just very, very busy.
Getting to see my lover reasonably frequently and had nice times together. I've just had several work projects and training opportunities come together, so busy times.
I have a new part-time job about to start and am finishing off another one, while trying to promote consultancy stuff - Phew!
I'm off delivering training with my Lover tomorrow which will be nice, but preparation has taken ages. Will be lovely to have it complete, especially as we have repeat date in few months.

Such a shame that only the Welsh get to see 'High Hopes'
I think Boyd Clack is a god among men!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/highhopes/concept.shtml

I had reason to go to Caldicot today (Didn't get chance to see castle though ) and got quite excited as I realised I'd be driving through Undy. Was disappointed not to see blue plaque dedicated to BlogUK's noted photographer, though...

I have a friend of a friend who lives in Undy and looked absolutely terrified when I pounced on him and said 'Tell me all about Undy'. He said it was very nice and it sort of carries on from Magor... And today I drove through and it seemed...very nice and it sort of carries on from Magor...

Not sure if Vinegar Hill is in Magor or Undy, but intriguing name.

So both women wanted the man. One was prepared to share. The other wasn't. Solomon said the one who chose not to share would only get half a man as his spirit would be broken. She was happy with that. A broken man was less trouble.
The other woman could not bear to look upon a broken man and walked away.

[only a story! ]

Still unable to get any decent time with my lover, but managed a few hours this week. The issues that arise out of his unavailability are still there and frustrate us both, but somehow we renewed connection. We pottered in the garden, went out for lunch and talked. It helped. We both want more, but need to take things as they come for a while.

...car trouble, health problems, more family stuff...
I'm seeing him tomorrow (if nothing else goes wrong) after practically no meetings in ages, and then I'm going to be busy with work...

...my lover has cancelled our date tomorrow. M-in-L coming out of hospital and his Dad also needs support. I understand, but still need a metaphorical cat to kick...

...but very aware of issues around not being a 'proper' couple brought home by separation, communication let-downs and His M-in-L's health scare.
We need to talk at some point, but just need to get used to having time together again.

I've now had an email. He's back home and M-in-L will be out in couple of days, so less scary than it could have been. Delighted to be seeing him, but all this sealing oneself against disappointment, then opening up again is a bit exhausting...

...He's on his way to Wales PDQ as his Mother-in-law's just had a heart attack...

Got a text from my lover indicating he's received at least some of mine
But said that he's not travelling to London until late Monday (today/yesterday)
And I'd been so hoping for response to some of my emails over the past few weeks....
He's travelling back to Wales today/tomorrow (Tuesday) so I'm likely to get any messages before Tuesday night. I'll be seeing him Wednesday, but today's (Monday's)lack of responsive communication has been an awful disappointment

I thought it strange I wasn't getting texts from him - Just had a couple of wistful ones hoping I'm OK - He's obviously not received any of the ones I sent in response to earlier ones, and he's been poorly.
I'll be seeing him Wednesday afternoon, so the countdown begins I couldn't start it any sooner, because it all seemed too long...
I've been writing him daily emails to regular and hotmail account. Hopefully he'll access the hotmail one's from daughter's on Sunday. Will be nice to have some two-way communication.

I'm sending daily emails, just to have some sense of contact. Weirdly it's harder to write into a vacuum to him than it is to do so here. I will get responses from him, but not for a while. At least I get read more often here.

Been quite busy while he is away, but still miss him. Spent lovely time in West Wales with friends and their family last weekend and as said, have been busy since. Currently have a temporary contract and have been working on stuff that may lead to future work.
I miss my flurry of daily emails from him, but strangely did not check my mobile phone for texts until yesterday, although he said he'd text. One doesn't have to be a master (mistress?!)psychiatrist to raise an eyebrow at my not checking for texts despite excuses of crap reception in my house and my rare usage of the mobile... I think my subconscious is taking the p**s. Hard not to be angry at separation, no matter how understanding and empathic I can be about his situation.

I did it! I've gone topless!!!
OK - Only talking about my feet, but my topless sandals amuse me -
http://pollygarter.blog.co.uk/?tag=topless+sandals
Having stumbled on info about these last year, I've been intrigued ever since and actually got around to getting some.
Very amusing.
So if you're in Cardiff (although I am let out of the city and even the country occasionally) and see a topless woman remember: "You are Polly Garter, here's my Daily Mirror and I claim my fiver!" Inflation? What's that?

My lover is away for over two weeks with wife, daughter and son-in-law. It goes with the territory, but is hard.

We had a lovely day before he went, if somewhat prosaic. He arrived earlier than expected (1 o'clock) so I had to finish some bits of work. He dutifully admired my latest publicity stuff and we went for quite leisurely lunch.

We then went to Tesco's for money as my car was in garage and was turning out expensive. While we there, we went shopping for birthday present for my friends' son and something for their daughter. Was good to have second opinion on stuff - I didn't want daughter left out, but wanted birthday boy's present to be more special.

We got back to house sat in garden and had tea and cream cake and he had ciggie and it was suddenly five o'clock!

Went to bed and soon it was seven and hometime...

Agreed it was lovely day despite cloud of departure.