anna_lise_a

The alarm goes off at 5.30 and the shipping news comes on. I find listening to cryptic numbers related to obscure places soothing. Lie in bed and snuggle up with Bobby, listening to the news on radio 4 till 6 (falling asleep every now and then, which makes for a surreal feeling when I'm not sure if I've heard something on the news or if I've dreamt it) when the bread machine beeps. Run downstairs, take the dough out of the machine, punch it down, shape it into rolls and leave it for its second rising. (We are trying to bake all our own bread products. This is the third week now; am hoping it'll soon feel totally routine. At the moment it still feels like a bit of nuisance.) Run back upstairs, (two flights of stairs these days, since we did the loft conversion) shower, get dressed into work clothes. 6.30, give Ems a lift to the start of her paper round. 6.40, get back home and put the rolls into the oven. (Sometimes Bobs does the lift for Ems. Now that it's getting lighter in the mornings, she will soon be able to walk the mile to the start of her round again... ) Unload the dishwasher. Set breakfast table. Go back upstairs, climb into bed with Sophie, cuddle her for a while. Then force her to get up, because now it's 7am. Back downstairs, take rolls out of the oven, put the kettle on, make tea for the girls and coffee for us. Stephen hates all hot beverages, so nothing for him ... 7.15, Ems gets home, we eat breakfast. Pack lunches if we didn't get round to it the night before. Table cleared by 7.50 or so, leave for work at 8.

1.What is your favourite fruit?
Raspberries

2.What is the last book you read?
"Making History" by Stephen Fry. Quite amusing. Will be starting "Half of a Yellow Sun" later tonight.

3.Do you like any of your school photos?
I think I looked sweet when I was little though at the time I didn't really like the way I looked...

4.Do you ever blowdry your armpits to get the deodorant to dry quicker?
That is a very weird question. No I don't.

5.What was the last film you watched?
Enchanted. I practically threw up when watching it, the sexism was so nauseating. Before that, we saw the Golden Compass, which I liked very much. (Though obviously not as much as the book).

From Wendykh, because outside it's raining and inside everyone else is still sleeping ...

1. What does your LiveJournal name mean?
Some other person had already taken Annalise, and I wasn't feeling inspired to come up with anything unrelated to my actual name.

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And where is question 24, I wonder?

Here's what's arriving between 6 and 7 tonight. And what I'm going to cook with it. :-)

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Mammogram angst at my blog (nothing scary, just a check-up) and, for your reading pleasure, this week's grocery list is behind the cut. Very easy for me to do, because I order online so I just cut and pasted it in. :-)

The meals that we will be having will be

Chicken soup (bought, but it's all fresh ingredients and v.yummy, she said guiltily)
Home made pizza
Quorn lasagne
Slow-cooked beef stew with beer
Lentils and quorn sausages
Chicken stirfry and rice
Something with leeks and butternut and chicken. Not sure what yet. :-)

There is more quorn that usual on the menu, but that's because it was on special. And darn, just realised I forgot to get mushrooms.

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1) If you had to move 100 miles or more to the north, east, west, or south, which would you choose, where would you end up, and what's so great about there?

100 miles south - I'd be in the English channel.
100 miles east - Likewise. This is quite a small island. I would have just overshot Canterbury, though, which is rather a nice place.
100 miles north - closest place seems to be Cambridge. Not bad, but too flat for me.
So I think I would opt for 100 miles west, which would put me near Bath.

2) Do you have a favorite stretch of highway or byway for driving, touring, or wandering?

Hmmm. Not all that keen on driving or touring, though I did love driving through the SW US last year. I grew up walking on the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, and that is probably still one of my favourite places.

3) Are you happier to start a trip or return home?

Oh, always to start. I love all the excitement. Getting home always feels like work, and then there's all the post-trip laundry and that flat what-now feeling ...

4) Plane, train, automobile, bicycle, or foot?

Car is my least favourite method of travel. In day-to-day life I try to walk as much as possible - we have got our car usage down to almost nil at the moment! Of the others, I like train travel the best.

5) Do you overplan or under plan your travels? (Assume that "no" is not a valid answer.)

I think we generally manage quite a good balance of spontaneity and planning. Some of the best times we've had have been completely fortuitous and unplanned.

I had to click a few times to get an Ikea image that didn't involve some kind of bondage.

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Some pictures of our camping trip in beautiful North Devon up at my blog.

http://here-today.blogspot.com

Still sickish, but feeling better than I did last week ...

1. Tell me something in my house that you want me to take a picture of , be it a location, an item or a piece of furniture.
2. Anything that would be found within my house is fair game. Go nuts.
3. If you have a digital camera, repost this in your LJ so that i can ask for pictures from your house.

are up at my blog.

http://here-today.blogspot.com

It was a wonderful two days; exactly what I needed to get rid of that tired bored hamster-on-a-treadmill feeling I'd been suffering from.

English Genius You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 80% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go! Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it! For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: <a