Yet more block paving…
29 May 2007
Now that work has begun on the garden it seems that it’s really all change. Jim has decided that the small garden shed needed moving due to constant hits by the football. It does occasionally get knocked so that something needs reattaching. He has had the shed turned 45 degrees so that the windows no longer in the line of fire from the football. This meant that the patio needed extending too, so he got the guys back who did the original work, who not only did the block paving, but also helped to move the shed. It’s given us a walk way to the shed and to the rear of our garage where our bins live out of sight. For added protection Jim got a piece of trellis to fix over the windows ‘just in case’. Not to be left out the security light on the side of the garage has been fitted with a safety cage.
I have to admit it has taken very little from the lawn, but seems to have given us much more space to sit and relax or eat at the table or laze about on the sunloungers.
We’re all going on a summer holiday
24 May 2007
We went to a beautiful cottage at Easter in North Wales and were blessed with some sunshine too. The cottage was set in it’s own valley, but 4 or 5 miles away was Porthmadog with plenty of shops as well as the fantastic Black Rock Sands. We booked this holiday with Hoseasons and for a week it cost just under £300, which I thought was excellent value for money. All of the family thoroughly enjoyed it. We were thankfully also blessed with some glorious weather.
Now it’s time to make plans for another trip. This time we’re heading further afield to Fuerteventura, which is one of the Canary Islands. As we did last year we have booked a villa with James Villas.
We haven’t been to Fuerteventura before, but have holidayed in Lanzarote. The boys are looking forward to having their own swimming pool again even if it is only for one week!
Packing has to be the worst bit as well as the unpacking (and washing) when you return, so this time I’m getting everyone to do their bit. Hopefully the boys will remember more than their inflatable toys for the pool and remember to take a at least one change of clothing! To date ( and we leave next week) they have requested a very large boat, a very large inflatable tyre, one of two lilos and a smaller boat to take! I somehow think we’ll be needing a larger case if they plan to take that lot! Hopefully we’ll return refreshed and tanned…
Big Mac
23 May 2007
I don’t like McDon@lds’ food! Not strictly true. I do like the food but it just seems such a waste of money. No sooner than you have finished a Big M@c you find that you are hungry again. So this blog post has absolutely nothing to do with food, fast or otherwise, instead its about an Apple Mac computer- a Mac Mini to be precise.
What is a Mac Mini? I hear you ask. Well it is not a Big Mac, its a Little Mac, and is an extremely well packaged computer featuring the latest Intel processor but instead of running Windows XP, Vista or similar runs the Mac OS X operating system (10.4).
Why do we need one? Work requires it.
In the world of the web Internet Explorer remains the dominant force but Mozilla Firefox is becoming an ever more serious player. There are version of Firefox for Windows, Linux and the Mac and while they are very very similar things do appear slightly differently across the various browsers and indeed across various operating systems. Before anyone points it out I know that you can get Internet Explorer for Mac’s but you most definitely can’t get a version of Internet Explorer for Linux.
Anyway, work dictates that when developing something for the web that it has to work in all of what they call “A-grade” browsers.
| Win 98 | Win 2000 | Win XP | Win Vista | Mac 10.3.x | Mac 10.4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IE 7.0 | A-grade | A-grade | ||||
| IE 6.0 | A-grade | A-grade | A-grade | |||
| Firefox 2.† | A-grade | A-grade | A-grade | A-grade | A-grade | A-grade |
| Firefox 1.5.† | A-grade | A-grade | A-grade | A-grade | A-grade | |
| Opera 9.† | A-grade | A-grade | A-grade | A-grade | A-grade | |
| Safari 2.0† | A-grade |
As you can see from the table Safari 2.0 is an A-grade browser but is Mac only. Hence the need for at least one Mac in the business.
I bought direct from Apple but it seems the price is the same wherever you purchase, hence the £399 price tag at Curry’s is as good as you will get anywhere else.
The PSP needs memory?
22 May 2007
Friday was my youngest’s birthday (yes, I survived the sleepover!) and the PSP was a success, but then I knew it would be; it was what he had to have! He’s one very lucky boy. Not only did he have the PSP he had several games from other family members and more cash than I’d know what to do with at his age. Suffice to say it is safely banked in his account!
As I’ve said before I know nothing of these consoles, but it appeared that a memory card was required. A trip to the shops soon followed, but thankfully even the new 11 year old recognised that the £40 they wanted was a tad expensive. As ever I was back to the computer searching. Jim advised Sandisk 1.0GB Memory Stick and I was in no position to argue and about 10 minutes later one like this was ordered and delivered this morning for a fraction of the cost.
I believe he can now save the games he plays, but I’m only repeating the words of an 11 year old and a 13 year old! As a mad footballer one of the favourites so far appears to be the Fifa 07 game like this one, but other than that I know my son has barely spoken or asked for anything since Friday. Result!!!
Why is it…
21 May 2007
…that your children decide to tell you on a Sunday evening that their school shoes have fallen apart or indeed any other such thing that required your attention some time before 9pm the evening before? I know for a fact that I’m not alone here. I’m only too glad to hear other parents tell me the exact same thing. It’s good to know you’re not alone!
Anyway, my eldest announced that his shoes were indeed almost in bits with the sole hanging off. He didn’t tell me on Friday when he came home, nor on Saturday or Sunday when a shop may have been open. No, he told me when any hope of buying a pair before Monday morning was long gone.
It could be, however, that the poor boy is only too aware of my immense dislike of shopping. He knows that after 5 minutes in the first shop I am snarling and saying far from under my breath that there is never any choice for boys, why is there so much for girls blah, blah. I’m sure people who have daughters may argue here and say the choice is equally limited for them, but as a mother of two boys I know it appears that for every ailse of boys’ clothing there’s at least 3 for girls!
If given a choice I’ll shop online every day. I can sit in the luxury of my own home, coffee in hand and make my purchases in what I consider to be a far more civilised manner. In this instance there was no choice. It was going to be far quicker to find his shoes and have them delivered. Son Number Two had a rugby tournament after school today, Son Number One has an after school activity on Tuesday, Son Number Two has football on Wednesday and my Superwoman skills seem to have left me this week! There’s no way I could get to the shops before the end of the week with the Son required to accompany me: I’d no doubt choose the wrong shoe. Luckily, Son Number One knew what he wanted and even where to find said item, so the old shoes were Superglued to last the next day and this is what we ordered: Camden Dots trainers by Lacoste from JD sports. I realise that they are not shoes, but trainers, as long as they are black and not obviously trainers (if that makes any sense?) the school don’t seem to mind. More importantly, time will tell how long before the next school shoe shop…
