Sally's Monsterisms

A Twitcher's Dream.

2010-10-12T15:04:00.002+01:00

I am in heaven right now. It's my very favourite time of year, the leaves are full of all my favourite colours, reds, yellows, oranges, browns and golds and the trees and hedgerows are fulls of nuts, seeds and berries. For me, this is when Nature is at its most beautiful. Our garden has been something of a wildlife haven recently, with frogs, toads, voles, squirrels and grass snakes all making their appearances and putting a huge smile on my face.

Today has been a little bit extra special. It's dismal and gloomy with grey clouds and the temperature is only just hovering above 10 degrees (C) but to make up for the weather, nature put on a bit of a show for me. Our garden has been almost swarming with hundreds of garden birds, some that I see every day and love with all my heart and others that I very rarely catch a glimpse of and I get butterflies in my tummy when they do make an appearance.

I want to make a list here of the birds that have made an appearance in my own back garden today, just to show how amazing Britain's birds really are, because they make me giddy and I'm a total dork about these things. This is what makes me happy!

The bird that started this entire post, the Redwing. I've only ever seen one or two of these in the past. When I looked out of the kitchen window today there must have been 20 or 30 of them on the lawn. At first I had no idea what they were but when I looked at them through the binoculars they were quite unmistakable.

The rest of the swarm was made up of the birds that follow.

Tree Sparrows.

House Sparrows.

Blue Tits.

Coal Tits.

Great Tits. (Next time I search for that on Flickr, remind me to put safe search on.)

Robins. My very favourite little birds in the entire world.

Goldfinches.

Goldcrests.

A Green Woodpecker.

And then the Buzzard flew over and everything else vanished in a split second.

This motley crew absolutely made my day. I just wish I had a zoom lens for my camera so I could have captured some of the birds as they were going about their business. Maybe next time. :)

ETA: There is now a Pheasant just hanging out with my chickens. Today rocks!

Sitting by the pond...

2010-07-28T15:20:00.000+01:00

Well, I was a few minutes ago. Not now. Now I'm sitting in the kitchen watching the rain splash on the window and contemplating lunch. Late lunch, it's gone 14.30 and I haven't eaten yet. But anyways, I was sitting down by the pond just a few minutes ago. Warm under the gorgeous summer sun and enjoying the gentle breeze. I was waiting for the bonfire I'd lit to finish burning (I smell of woodsmoke; Dan would love it) so I could come inside and have something to eat.

I absolutely love sitting by the pond, it's one of my very favourite places in the world. It's where I go when I'm feeling a bit sad or lonely, and it's also where I like to go to sit and relax when I'm happy and the weather is good. I've even been known to sit down there through the odd thunderstorm. Today I just went to sit and relax.

The thing I love the most about our pond is that you're always surrounded by nature down there. Since we've had the pond re-built and gotten rid of all the fish, the water is teeming with life; mainly insect life for now but the amphibians are starting to come back. Today I was especially lucky, there were two beautiful big dragonflies flitting and darting around the edge of the water. One, a big blue and green dragon, not unlike the photo above (which was taken down by the pond a year or two ago,) kept landing and laying eggs, the other, a much more active red/brown dragon, wouldn't land or stay still long enough for me to get a good look at it.

The sweetest thing happened next; a pair of mating damselflies came and landed on my arm, just above my <3 tattoo. I wished desperately that I had had my camera with me. It would have made the most beautiful picture. They stayed there for about a minute as I watched them, totally unphased by the fact that they'd landed on a large moving object that smelled like fire. I don't know why they landed on my arm, I've never had a damselfly let me get that close before, but I wonder if it has anything to do with my nails being painted electric/sea blue/turquoise right now. No matter really, it made my day.

After that the sun went in behind some very dark, thundery looking clouds so I made my way back towards the house. I stopped off on my way to lift up the sheet of corrugated steel in the corner to see if anything interesting had moved in underneath. There was a small shrew that squeaked at me rather harshly for uncovering it and a tiny, very dark coloured toad that just hunched down and hoped that I hadn't seen it. One day, the idea is that we'll find a grass snake underneath one of the corrugated sheets. That would be a dream come true.

And now it's lunchtime. I'm so hungry! Hehe. I just wanted to write about the fantastic little creatures that I'd encountered, down by the pond. One of my favourite places in the world. One of my happy places. :)

Twas the Night Before...

2010-02-07T21:53:00.000Z

Sitting here at home, watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and waiting for bedtime to roll around. This time tomorrow I'll be sitting on an airplane, just a few hours away from my destination, my bum aching and my mouth dry from all the hours of recycled air. It's not a feeling I generally look forward to but right now I can't sit still, my poor tummy is filled with crazy butterflies and time seems to be ticking by more slowly than ever. It's a feeling I remember well from my childhood. The night before Christmas or sometimes before my birthday, that feeling that tomorrow can't come soon enough, that something extra special is waiting just around the corner.

Well that's how I've been feeling all day. Knowing that tomorrow I'll be back in the arms of the man I love. It's a strange feeling but it's a wonderful one. Roll on tomorrow! <3

Happy as a pig in muck.

2009-10-30T06:52:00.000Z

;P Yep, that's me right now. Got here on Monday, now it's Thursday, I have no idea where the last two days have gone but to be honest, I'm not really that worried. You see ever since I got here i have been in the most disgustingly good mood.

Dan's currently playing on TF2, amusing himself with his fake Irish accent (I do worry about him sometimes). It's almost bedtime. I'm exhausted but in a happy contented kind of way. And that's all I have to say right now. Just wanted to let you know that all the worrying the other day was entirely worth it ;p

Gonna watch Dan make an arse of himself a little while longer, then off to the land of nod.

Nighty night, dreamers.xxx

Sally is a stress head.

2009-10-25T14:39:00.003Z

1. 树叶与树仔, 2. Chameleon, 3. impressionist cake, 4. Drossel found my Companion Cube, 5. return of the prodigal sunflower, 6. Chipmunk Punk!, 7. sexy pose..., 8. colorful, 9. Anemonefish's eggs, 10. fuzzy baby, 11. Have a great Sunday!, 12. phidget on wood..., 13. Hey baby, wanna kill all humans?, 14. Lemon Meringue Pie, 15. Gojira!, 16. Man on Stilts, 17. Motorcycle Ride, 18. Blurry but Beautiful, 19. Carnival at Dusk, 20. A day of noms., 21. We're Engaged! #1, 22. the chipmunk whisperer, 23. lecker...Radler, 24. Untitled, 25. been such a hot first week of autumn, even panda is sweating... :p, 26. Robin in Snow, 27. Pumpkin and Apple Soup with Toasted Seeds, 28. Kitten #2, 29. {309/365} oh, boy, 30. September 20th 2009, 31. 001, 32. Karma Cameleon, 33. Untitled, 34. Chivil is coming, 35. Post Hackers Drinkup, 36. Need a cheap photographer? This one works for peanuts

I'm sitting at home waiting for this Liverpool vs Manchester United footy match to finish so Mum, Dad and I can travel down to the other house. The other house is very close to Heathrow airport which is very handy for tomorrow morning. It means I don't have to wake up at a stupid hour of the morning and as a result, not get any sleep because I'm worrying all night about missing my alarm. Yay for small mercies.
I should probably mention, at this point, that tomorrow I'm flying out to San Diego again for another couple of months with Dan. But then, if you know me, you probably already gathered that much.

I'm in that state of nervous tension right now that always comes before I travel to see Dan... part excited about being with my (insert embarrassing boyfriend nickname here) again, part impatient to get there, part nervous about the flight and the airport logistics and negotiations. I'm just a bundle of nerves and I haven't yet worked out a way to bypass the stressing that I do every single time I fly.

I'm a nervy creature by nature. I know that. I've come to accept it. I just wish, every now and again, that I could turn it off or at least turn it down a level or two. I would really like to be able to concentrate on the good excitement instead of being filled, mainly with the annoying, unpleasant stress that causes me to vibrate and lose my appetite and just want to sleep all the time.

What I should be thinking about right now is the fact that the next couple of months are going to be amazing, once again, and that at the end of my stay in San Diego I get to bring Dan back to England with me for Christmas which makes me beyond giddy with excitement.

The end of this year is certainly going to be one to remember and I just wish I could get it started with already and get over these bloody nerves!

Maybe i'm crazy =P

2009-04-19T19:35:00.005+01:00

You know, sometimes I worry that I might be very mildly bi-polar. 2 days ago I was so down in the dumps, I didn't have the energy to smile, yet today I'm so content and happy I feel like i'm floating.
I think it's all connected to the weather. I hate being trapped inside by the cold and wet, it just drains all my zest and zing, but when the sun comes out and the birds are singing and the flowers blooming, I just want to dance around the garden and hug every damn thing within my reach.
Perhaps i'm addicted to light and colour. =D
Two days ago it was grey and drizzly and cold and windy, it was just sad and it made me sad.
Today there is so much colour and light and life and music and it kind of makes me want to cry, it's so beautiful.
I think the beer has gone to my head. Hehehe.

Anyways, I guess the point of this is to tell you that I love you and I love life and I wish I could share today with everyone I love, because there's too much beauty for my crazy little heart to hold all on its own. <3

So not in the mood...

2009-04-17T12:51:00.002+01:00

Sitting waiting for my cup of miso soup to cool down enough so that I can drink it without scalding myself. I knew as soon as I woke up that today would be a meh day. I've been feeling it coming on for a few days and it'll probably last a few days longer. It's one of those "feeling fat and ugly" and not having the energy to do anything positive kind of days. Woohoo!

I shouldn't be in this kind of mood though and that's what's annoying me most. I should be giddy and exciteable and giggly about my trip to San Diego in 12 days. I know it's 80% hormonal, 10% seasonal/weather related and 10% just general me feeling fat and ugly and not in any way gorgeous and lush.

I know it's all gonna be uphill from here on in though... I'm gonna not eat like a pig for the next week and a bit, gonna go get my hair did sometime next week to help with the lushness/gorgeousness issue, the sun's gonna come out and make me smile, i'm gonna write a list of stuff I need to NOT forget for my trip and start packing, and by the middle of next week the hormones will have changed direction and I'll be all giddy and excited about going to San Diego again. At least I hope that's all gonna happen.

Miso soup is cool enough to drink now. Yay!

*drinks soup*

...Miso soup was lovely thankyou.

Blogging fail.

2009-02-18T15:18:00.003Z

I'm a little bit excited today, for reasons that I'm sure nobody that reads this will even begin to understand... The trees, in my little village on Animal Crossing, have changed colour today. This surely means that the snow will very soon disappear and Spring will start! This makes me very happy. Happier than it probably should, but hey, you take what you can get, right?

In other news I turned 26 earlier this week. I don't feel any older, in fact i'm pretty sure I've been telling people I'm 26 for at least the past 6 months. It has made me realise that I REALLY need to start getting my act together and start working out what i'm actually gonna do with my life. I really can't put it off much longer. Anyone have any genius suggestions? I'm open to offers and ideas at this point.

Still cooking and collecting those beers, well I say collecting... they don't tend to stay collected for very long, hehe. I'll attempt to update my beer list later and then post it here.
Tried making a Thai Green chicken curry for dinner on my birthday, didn't quite work out as I had hoped. I put too much curry paste in and therefore it was far too spicey for me. My Dad loved it and my brother didn't think it was overly hot, but I just couldn't finish eating it. I guess I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to chilli. The Marks and Spencers Cappuccino cheesecake for dessert more than made up for it though.

Finally I should mention the acquisition of my gorgeous new camera. A much appreciated birthday present from my parents and my brother who all rock very hard indeed. It's a Panasonic Lumix G1. It's basically a miniature DSLR and it's absolutely awesome. I love it to pieces. No doubt you'll be seeing a lot more pictars from me once I get the bugger all figured out ;P

That's all for now, I'm hungry again. Lets see how long I can leave it til my next post. ;P
Love Sally.xxx

Thinking with mah belleh!

2009-01-23T12:49:00.006Z

I'm drinking Green tea with cranberry. It kind of reminds me of Bakewell tart, which is odd, because Bakewell tart contains neither tea (green or otherwise) nor cranberries. Mmmmm, Bakewell tart... I should put that on my list of foods to make. Then eat. Then eat more.

I've been doing a LOT of cooking lately which is part of the reason I'm updating this thing. I keep forgetting to write down my recipes which annoys me, so perhaps this would be a good place to store them. I've also started making a list of all the beers I drink in 2009. Perhaps I'll start recording my beery thoughts to here as well, hehehe.

Food I've made and been really happy with lately include Thai red chicken curry, BBQ rabbit pizza (see above photo), chinese beef and noodle stir fry, cherry and apple crumb pie and a special Bailey's tiramisu. Tonight's endeavour will be Nigella Lawson's dreamy looking Macaroni Cheese. I'm excited about that, hehe. Macaroni cheese is one of my many weaknesses.

Anyways, in non food news, life is going on as normal, cept we just had SkyHD installed this morning and it's buggered up all the other TV signals in the house, which is a little bit sucky. Dad's trying to fix it now. I'd better go see if I can help.

I'll let you know how the Mac 'n' Cheese turns out, tonight.
Much love.xxx

Dan's first visit to the UK :)

2008-10-19T02:39:00.005+01:00

And I completely fail at updating this thing. Well Dan's in LA today so I'm taking the opportunity to catch up with things. I should start where I left off with my last post and tell you guys how Dan's trip to the UK went.

As far as I was concerned it was great, i'm pretty sure Dan had a good time, too, hehe. I took him to Market Bosworth, Leicester, London, Warwick Castle and we had plenty of photo playtime around the garden and stuff. Introduced him to Jayde and Mike, Tom and Lauren and anyone else who decided to drop by.

London was an experience... Dan has vowed never to return to London ever again methinks, hehe. Partly because of the lack of acceptably non-pink/lilac/powder blue shirts (he wanted a red one) and partly because of the insane price of sushi. These are the two stories I have heard the most since we arrived back in the States, hehe ;P
The unexpected random highlight of our last day in London was an impromptu visit to the Moo.com offices. The most random stuff happens when Dan's around it seems ;P

The more memorable moments during Dan's stay included:
*Monsieur frog.
*The angry spider.
*Dan introducing my family to carne asada and breakfast burritos (note to self, mum wants the recipe for those).
*Our flight on the London Eye.
*Having aching feet almost the whole week from walking everywhere.
*Dan completing Crackdown on Matte's XBox360.
*Everyone's reaction to Dan's awesomesauce and sweet potato fries.
*The shoe polish that has the ability to save Dan's marriage ;P

And I shall leave it there for now. I think i'll start a new post to tell you guys about my stay in San Diego thus far.
I hope you're all well and happy.
Love you all.xxx