well well well

So here we are at Monday again. I am really very tired. Too much fun. I went to a party Friday night, Nathan was here over the weekend, church carol service was last night.

I'd happily curl up and go to sleep, but I'm hoping the anti-squirrel man might turn up soon.

I had my hair cut. Maybe I'll show you.

I've been watching repeats of the last series of Doctor Who. Christmas special soon, yay!

the stuffness of stuff

In just over a month, I'm going to be moving house again. (Not very far). I'm looking around my room and wondering about all the accumulated stuff around me. How much of this stuff do I actually need? How much is just sitting there? How much is still in boxes from the last time I moved? (Quite a bit, I've realised). Part of me would love to travel light. Part of me can't bear to get rid of anything, especially books.

As I pack, I'm going to try to think critically about my stuff and get rid of some of it. Some to the bin, some to other people, some to charity shops. I don't think I need all this stuff.

soft things

I've never really thought of myself as a soft toy person. Well, not since I was very little. Apparently my cot was so full of toys there was hardly space for me. But when I moved from a cot to a bed, the toys stayed behind. (Instead, there were books under the pillow, but that's another story). Some toys got adopted by my sisters (notably Baby Teddy who was re-christened Teddy David by Debs) and others drifted into boxes or disappeared. Some still survive. Today in my room live:

Piglet, who for a long time wore a knitted dress belonging to a doll (I don't know why) but now wears a natty jumper I knitted from sock wool a couple of years ago.

Alexander, a small jointed teddy bear (3.5 inches high) who occasionally gets worn as a brooch, who is wearing a yellow ribbon and a miniature cashmere scarf.

Growlie, a very ancient growling teddy with a slightly intermittent growling action. He's a very old friend. The growling mechanism stopped once when he fell (or was pushed) downstairs. A repeat fall brought it back again, but he sounds more like a cow than a bear.

Donkey, a very recent addition. I think he's supposed to be the donkey from Shrek. I keep meaning to mend the seam in his back which is splitting.

Also around at the moment are a camel and a small knitted boy who are just passing through en route to a story sack at church.

Perhaps I'm more of a soft toy person than I thought. I don't want any more though.

things fall apart

Not me, I'm fine. Got a bit of a cold, but otherwise I'm enjoying the novelty of having the same job before and after Christmas. It hasn't happened for a while. No, it's my stuff that's falling apart. This weekend saw the demise of my front bike light (age estimated at 15-20 years, so it's not suprising, although they were only in active use for about 5 of those years), my CD player (age 10-12 years? Fortunately it's only the CD bit that's died, the radio still works) and a sewing machine needle (age unknown).

The bike lights and the needle have been replaced. I'm working on the CD player. Stops me buying any more CDs (maybe it objected to my most recent purchase - Alice by Tom Waits, although it was playing Jamie Cullum that killed it.) but it's silly to have CDs and nothing to play them on. Any recommendations? I like my current player because it has a radio, CD player and tape player, and because it has a remote control so I can turn it on and off without getting out of bed. Or does everyone have iPods and all their music on their laptop these days? Anyone?