Svelte Chicken Lives.... for the memories

22/6/2013

I enjoy hearing/reading a recount of Grandma and Granddad’s experiences. From time to time I get snippets from my Uncle John too.

I am constantly amazed at how much they seem to be able to recall, and if it is a funny story laugh as if it happened only yesterday. This wee fact is an inspiration for recording my random thoughts in this blog. To help me remember, because if I’m honest I can remember naff all of what happened a week ago, let alone when I was 5!

I think a lot of my early memories are focused around photos. By that I mean I remember the photo, not what was happening at the time, or how I felt.

Case in point:

Ok so perhaps that’s a bit far back…. I don’t recall being abused by my parents, in fact I have an over all feeling of being loved. I can’t say as I can remember specific events though. Perhaps you do as you get older? Crikey I can wait for that to happen, for now I will stick with my photos…..

Anyway, I want to do a bit of a family tree, which I know for my my side of the family has been done. Come to think of it, Paula’s side looks pretty impressive as well. I added my part to a website called geni (which is where Paula’s side is) and before I knew what was happening her side of the family was there, it invaded my tree. It seems that my typing has created a few duplications that need to be resolved (oops). Not a big deal. Anyway, my side of the family has been well and truly covered off by my Uncle. The trees are in a couple of places. I am going to add some of the tree to the geni site so that we are not overrun by Boivin’s (so to speak!) Although, I must say I am rather fond of my Boivin….

What I would like to achieve (and I know that in most cases this is not going to be possible) is to have memories attached to the people. People’s lives are more than a picture (if you have one) and a birth and death date. I was going to add pictures and a few comments to this blog (I don’t think its going to work in this format though). I might instead add a few comments in the geni version.
For the geni site, the first critical choice was my profile picture, I nearly used the picture above…. Then I thought the next picture, however possibly a bit cheeky…

and finally settled on the following…..

I certainly look prepared for a fight, bad weather and excellent camouflage. Again, I don’t remember doing this per se, but do remember and can see the picture in my mind quite clearly.
Anyway, I will probably play around with the geni site until I get bored and continue with this blog, recording my own memories….

Svelte Chicken Lives for, what was it again, I should have written it down!

Svelte Chciken Lives.... for a birthday surprise

19/6/2013

We are nearly 45!

I can’t remember if I have told you this yet, forgive me if I have, after all I am getting on a bit, even the grey strip of hair on my wrist, where in the past I have focused all of my aging and grey hair (like Dumbemdore’s cursed hand) is beginning to leak, I am now getting grey hairs on my head, much to my Darling’s delight.  Anyway, what I was saying is that my Sweetheart and I were both born 28/6/1968. I was about 4.30pm in England, and she was about 4.00pm in Canada.  Ahh magical you may think, well yes we do think it is,  and we continue to make it that way.

We are nearly 45! I can’t believe it. It is just not possible, when did this happen? how did it sneak up on me?

The light of my life looks wonderful. Today she dressed up in her where’s wally costume for a book party at her work (at least that’s what she told me, whatever she was up to, she certainly looks cute in her red and white striped skivvy and pony tails.) My darling is a teacher for 2 – 5 year olds. She is such a wonderful affectionate mum, I think she’s a bit hooked on the littilies and now that ours are grown up gets her fix at work….

Me, I went to work in my normal winter pretty fish (See Work Page) costume, thermal skivvy, polo shirt, jersey, smalls, dress pants, warm socks (equipped with orange toes) safety shoes sporting bright orange laces (I have a thing for orange) and a can do attitude shooting for success…. I needed to get to work a bit earlier this morning  for a meeting so unfortunately I only had a moment to give wally a brief hug (I don’t know what the fuss is or what’s so hard,  I found wally quite easily). We love hugs, especially skivvy hugs, I would have liked a few more minutes….

The light of my life and I are going to take our birthday day off and have a fun day. My Darling didn’t find it too funny when I asked her what she thought she would do, me I’m going to play xbox and eat chippies (YES IT’S TIME AGAIN!!!! NO GUILT, BIRTHDAY BURGER RINGS). Just joking, (not about the chippies though) we are going to have a special day together.

We are going to be going to see the phantom of the opera in Wellington as a birthday treat. We both saw this musical in Australia a long time ago and enjoyed it so we are looking forward to seeing it again.

We are also going to see the movie man of steel, I still love superman films (how can that be, I’m 45?, I use to think I was batman (“I’m batman”) now that I have seen man of steel advertised I am not so sure….  If we go on Friday, everyone else will be at work/school which will be even better.

We are not going to buy each other a present this year because we have just repaired our spa pool and bought a new washing machine, and of course we don’t really want for anything. We are after all grown ups and grown ups are practical, budget and careful with their money. I’ve told my Darling, and she agrees, that our present is the washing machine, yahoo, just what I always wanted, half a washing machine. I hope I never have to use it………… I have to stay away from it, just in case its modern user friendly ways teach me somehow while I’m not paying attention to be able to operate it.

The new washing machine is huge (10kg of washing compared to 6kg for the old one), I’ve seen garden sheds smaller than this thing (TARDIS anyone?) This thing is going to hold a lot of smalls…..  Hopefully it should make washing less of a chore (for those that use it), thinking about it, I agree with what you are thinking, it should be more of my Darling’s present, I think I should get something else.

Svelte Chicken Lives…. for a birthday surprise (hint, hint…..)

Svelte Chicken Lives.... for a special pizza

17/6/2013

It’s the 17th of June today and time for a couple of family traditions…
The first is a white chrysanthemum delivered from Grandma and Granddad.
The second is a special pizza for dinner.

Happy birthday David

Svelte Chicken Lives.... for consolidated debt....

27/3/2013

I imagine that it’s every girls dream to be swept off their feet when they receive that special proposal.

There are a number of differences between girls and boys, apart from the obvious of course. I mentioned in my first post that my sweetheart remembers a lot of detail. Me not so much. Before we became engaged we were going out for 8 years or so (my Darling can correct this later if she wishes).

My Darling was happy, but was also secretly patiently looking for a commitment. I was happy, and thought I had made a commitment….. Anyway, there we were, both happy but my Darling wanting more. Me I suppose I was conveniently lazy, why get married, what would that prove?
Paula was more independent, she went flatting at a reasonably early age, me not so much in a rush, my Mum makes a lovely bacon and eggs breakfast…..

So there I was, lovely family home (board a bit steep though Grandma (not..)), lovely family, beautiful girlfriend, serious relationship, a flat with a comfortable couch (Grandma’s benefit), what a wonderful life. Is that the best of both worlds? Could be a boy perspective? Girls perspective perhaps grow up and move out?

Anyway, eventually (about a year before we were married? ) we bought a house together and moved the comfortable couch to that (Grandma’s benefit).Fabulous.

If only I had thought about taking notes earlier in life, all of the details would be more accurate (albeit still not as accurate as my Darling) and the sequence of events would be more precise. Think of my ramblings of more of a big picture concept, rather than a precise detailed recount that would stand up in a court of law…

I could see it in the light of my life’s eyes that I was beginning to push my luck a bit far. Could it be if we didn’t move to the next level she would trade me in on someone that would? I then began to look at things through her eyes and began to realise that perhaps I am a bit of an idiot, marriage and one day children is actually what I would like as well. I can’t be beginning to grow up can I?, I still want bacon and eggs, throwing stars and a ninja costume, or do I? (actually, a ninja costume would be pretty cool…)

Now another difference, I would be happy if we received a certificate in the mail, without any ceremony or fuss and then we were married. To prove my point, when I received my degree (correspondence) I had the option of getting dressed up in a silly cloak and cap and sitting through a ceremony, or to my pleasure I saw a tick box that meant it would be posted to me, I did that….. (I later did enjoy the wedding day, so I was wrong again). There of course had to be a ceremony etc. The love of my life would want it, our families would want it, I know I would enjoy it when I got there (as my Darling is always reminding me).

Next I discovered to my initial horror I had to go to “how to be married classes” (groan) before we could be married. (Now that really isn’t me). As far as marriage goes, I didn’t think I needed classes (in my opinion I was correct by the way) or to act any differently really, and, Grandma told me at the appropriate age about the birds and the bees, I screwed my face up and said “well I won’t be doing that then”…. How do I know this? Grandma is a girl and she can remember the detail and she told me, me, I remember the bacon and eggs…

I had the same sort of feeling when Paula was pregnant with David (Ok, so perhaps I shouldn’t have screwed my face up…), we have to go to antenatal classes, I am a bloke, I don’t read instructions…..
Also, re the antenatal thing when our second child Samantha came along, I was so relieved to hear that we didn’t need to go back to the classes again…

So there we were, one evening on the back door step at Grandma’s the perfect proposal. Looking up into the love of my lifes eyes, on one knee (let’s face it, she was on the top step and I was on the bottom one, she looked quite tall, there was no way I could sweep her off her feet from this position) I could see her face, she knew the time she had waited (say we were going out for 8 years exactly) 7 years 11 months, 30 days, 4 hours and 53 seconds to hear…..

“My love, you mean the world to me, I have loved you since the moment we first met. I am unable to fathom a life going forward without you and wish with all my heart that you will marry me and share that life with me. Will you marry me?” Ok that’s the girl version I said something along the lines of “Paula, would you like to officially combine our finances and get married?”Ahh, consolidated debt, how romantic. Paula may have heard something similar to the first statement, said “yes” and the rest is history. By the way, when we first met we did not like each other, but that’s another story….

I’m married, and I have since discovered that the bed is a lot more comfortable than the couch (Grandma’s benefit) and it still continues to be a wonderful life. I think my Darling was right after all, it did take me quite a while to get there, however, I do believe I was worth the wait….

Svelte Chicken Lives.... for ning a ning

19/3/2013

For years now when we say goodbye to Grandma or Granddad we will say “ning a ning” as we “wave” goodbye.

Normally we are in the car so it is unlikely that Grandma or Grandad can hear us say “ning a ning”. The actions that go with the ning a ning however are quite distinct, so if they are like me (and I am pretty sure they are…) the will be thinking ning a ning as they do the actions back to us. Grandma is quite often at the gate, Granddad has been known to be halfway down the drive, ning a nings all the way round.

Ning a ning is more than just a goodbye, it’s a “love you, and see you later”.

Ning a ning started with Grandma and her Mum and Sisters, I have a picture of them somewhere (which I will try to find) with a ning a ning pose.

When we get home we normally say home again home again jiggedy jig. (Not sure where this came from, possibly from my Darling). The best home again home again jiggedy jig is when you get home from holiday and pull up the drive…… It’s always good to come home.

There are three parts to a ning a ning
ning

a

ning

“ning a ning”  Grandma and Grandad.

Svelte Chicken Lives.... for running with the pack

8/3/2013

Time for walkies….

The light of my life and I accompanied with our two dogs went for another walk last night.
The dogs now have a couple of fancy new slip leads, Isis’ is blue and Loki’s is red. Very nice, if not a bit stretchy. Apparently these are the type of leads that the dog whisperer uses, it is amazing what he can do/ get a dog to do so secretly I am hoping for great things, Isis still tends to pull a bit too much/often for my liking…

Normally they have a metal link common variety choke chain connected to a lead. These new leads seem quite light in comparison and must be more comfy to wear. They certainly look stylish.
So there we are walking along a different route to give variety (probably for us more than the dogs, they just love being out). When we go for a walk my darling normally walks Loki, and I walk Isis. We walked to a large open field that, although not suitable to let the dogs off the lead, would be fine for a bit of a brisk pace.

Fancying myself a finely tuned athlete and armed with the knowledge handed down to me from dog whisperers of old (through the power of the leads) I said to the light of my life to give me Loki’s lead, I am going to run with them both (I successfully did this when they were a lot smaller).

Isis in the left, Loki on the right, “Run” I took off with the dogs after about 5 metres Isis went left and Loki went right. From the back I would look like I was playing airplanes, or trying to be the perfect flying T. I corrected  both dogs, bringing them to the centre. This is pretty hard to explain, Loki went behind me and to the left, if he kept going and then went right he would tie me up and I would be flat on my face. I put my right arm behind me, slipped the lead off my right hand and moved it to my left, all the while running at top speed, which I must say not really being a finely tuned athlete is not that fast really. (It was fast for me though..).

Both dogs were now in my left hand and running nicely together. This was working rather well. My left arm, unfortunately was not strong enough to continue, so I swapped both leads to my right hand. Yes this was better, they are running nicely together, I don’t think I will get tied up, and although the lead is a bit stretchy, I have some control. Now I am thinking I am starting to get tired, so I had better run back to the light of my life.

“Where’s Mum”? I said to the dogs and steered them into a big loop so that we could race back to my Darling. Now I am beginning to think the dogs are getting even stronger, I have about 2% more speed left before I fall flat on my face (without being tied up around the ankles). My Darling is now getting bigger as we get closer, we get very close and now I am thinking I don’t think I am going to be able to stop…. My sweetheart is looking at me with a “why on earth are you running straight towards me you nut” look in her eyes. I am going to do a wonderfully close flyby, it’s going to be fantastic, the dogs want to run directly to Mum.

We get closer and both dogs stop gracefully at her feet and lie down, a split second later I kneel before my darling and say calmly, “my darling, We love you, the dogs seemed to enjoy that, we might go again”

Ok, so what happened was we got so close to Paula that I wasn’t able to do anything with grace. The dogs managed to side step Mum at the last minute, I swerved however, being more just keeping up with the dogs and being more pulled along, rather than a dog whispering athlete, I realised that my side was going to hit my darling. So I raised my right arm as high as I could (Short lead + dogs still running in line with Paula pulling my arm down…) I couldn’t lift my arm high enough to clear her.

My love, with the finely tuned reflexes of a possum or rabbit with its eyes caught in a bright light, motionless, what’s he up to?, the realisation of he is going to hit me…… too late, the moment to duck passed, and, with my arm outstretched I didn’t quite clear her and hit her on the top of the head and knocked her glasses off, they fell to the ground behind her….

It took me probably another 10 paces to completely stop. “Why didn’t you duck?” was the first thing I said, followed quickly by are you OK? (So I am not the smartest chicken on the block, perhaps I had the questions the wrong way around?) Thank goodness the light of my life wasn’t hurt.

Paula said the whole thing was very funny to watch and it looked like the dogs were having a fantastic time (you can almost swear they are smiling)

I certainly hope nobody got that on camera……

I love running wild and free….

PS Athlete, my A%$e, I was knackered…

Svelte Chicken Lives.... "not for puncture wounds"

20/2/2013

“Not for puncture wounds” it states it quite clearly on the can of solarcain first aid foam.

A very good friend of mine showed up last weekend. We went to college together and became good friends. Chris unfortunately lives in Wales (the country, not the mammal) where he has been for a number of years now, in fact he has been overseas for more years than years we have actually spent time together. Any way, it all sounds a bit girlie but he is a real friend (if you know what I mean).
We have had a lot of fun over the years, and done a few stupid things (as you tend to when you are younger). When he does show up we just pick up from where we left off, although I must say we are both looking a bit older and it’s probably a good idea that my motorbike hasn’t run for the last five years… (In saying that though I must get it going someday, perhaps by the next time he comes back?)

Dart catching anyone?
Equipment:
Darts/ Wood/ Strapping/ Two idiots who fancy themselves as ninja and able to catch a dart in the block of wood….

Basic Technique:
Strap block of wood to hand, throw dart to ninja at the end of the garden, catch dart in block of wood,   remove dart, throw dart back to the better looking ninja (me), catch in block of wood
Suggestion, make sure block of wood is big enough to cover your whole hand.
Advanced technique:
(We never tried this, we came to our senses after our injuries)

Both ninja throw a dart at the same time and watch in awe as the darts cross somewhere in the middle of the garden….

Anyway with manly giggles and ooohhhing and aahhhing (as ninja do..) we were successfully catching darts thrown to each other. We should have realised things were going wrong when a dart came towards me, I stretched to it, the block of wood wasn’t quite big enough to cover my finger poking out past the end of the wood and the dart nicked me under the nail, not much blood so my turn…..

A different technique, a high arching lob…. The ninja at the end of the garden was almost magnificent, manoeuvring his block of wood towards the ark of the dart, nope he missed (of course he insists it was the darts fault), the dart was stuck in his calf muscle, right up to the hilt.

Once I had finished laughing, we realised that perhaps we should do something about cleaning the wound, real ninja probably aren’t susceptible to tetanus,  Chris can’t catch a dart, so he’s not a real ninja, where’s the detol….

I know, “we have this first aid foam that is good, it’s also good for sunburn”. Chris took the can and squirted the foam at/into the wound….

Then he read the can
“Not for puncture wounds…..”

It still makes me laugh, I can see it as if it was yesterday.