• Dad wanted some food after his operation.  He didn't even tell Mum when it was, or how long it would be, but the hospital has some sense, and phoned once he was awake again.  Bye Bye Prostate and take the nasty cancer with you.
• If ILM 2007's eDirectory MA suddenly stops synchronising with error 0x51 'Server down', and the server blatently is not, check the SSL certificates on the server.  Update them as necessary, then restart LDAP if you can't face restarting the server.  This will solve the problem.  I write this, as the information was nowhere on the internet when I wanted it.
• Brownies was appalling and brilliant (I think an arm may have been broken, but I am not sure.  I hope not.   Forms, you know - although the parent did not seem too phased and the child has broken her leg at least 8 times, or in 8 places, already).  I need to buy insta-ice packs.  A Sixer may get demoted, she has One Last Chance.  Brownie didn't break anything, hurrah!
• Guides was 100% made of win.  We had a Japanese night, with sushi, origami and dressing up.  It was lovely, and we overran, but it didn't matter.
• Rugby tomorrow.  Against the Alumni.  Could be a lot of sprains.
• I have not eaten properly, but I have had homemade banana muffin, random bits of sushi, and crisps.  This is balanced with half a shot of cointreau
• My arm has an exactly rectangular rash on it.  My left ring finger is covered in red food dye.  I look like an axe murderer.
• I am seriously considering black nail varnish for tomorrow's black tie event.
• I have mended the lavatory seat, which involved rescuing a screw from the bottom of the pan.  It no longer wobbles, and everything is held together again.

And then, the list

• Sort out Brownies' Bank Account
• Brownies Accounts
• Phone Division OAA about Division Holiday, as she has not responded to email sent, and she needs to get her finger out and find someone else.  She will probably hate me.  She will get over it.
• Tidy sitting room  n progress
• Buy more daffodils  Couldn't find any, or, rather, not of the held-together-by-an-elastic-band type.
• Buy confetti and large sheet of paper.
• Print photos  Have got them onto CD, now need trip to Boots
• Create collage of what the Brownies have done in the last year (this is Brown Owl's perk, OK?!)
• Rugby & Black Tie partay (part of reason for New Hair is presence of Mr Still Attached plus partner who is so skinny and blonde, she makes me look fat). After all that, she was at the rugby match (again) but not the party.  The Welshman and I had a lovely time, and we danced.  I also got terribly tipsy and slept in quite late this morning.  I have washed my feet twice, and they are still grimy - bare foot dancing on a beery floor does that, but I felt I was way less likely to slip over.
• Market shop
• Supermarket shop
• Laundry Begun  And then I managed to dye the whites a bit green, so they're soaking in colour run remover.
• Buy insta-ice packs

I'm sure there's more, but I rather want to go to bed.

xxx

Daddy phoned!  He's in room 42 (he insisted they move him), and is mostly tube-free now - just an epidural, which is making him itchy (they think he might be allergic to morphine - You can imagine the joy with which his allergenic daughter greated that piece of information), and the catheter.  He says he is gaining weight.  This is hardly surprising, the food sounds wonderful and he had two puddings at lunchtime - apple crumble & custard, and fruit salad.  He gave my his opininon on the Ireland-England game (England were lucky), and Scotland-Italy (boring, they just kicked the ball up and down the pitch).  He also told me about the time he was having a nosebleed in the scrum, I think I've heard this story about 10 times now, but it comes out every time one of the rugby team starts bleeding...

I have just about sorted out the new Brownies Bank Account - I'll take the forms into the bank early next week to double check the details, then photocopy the lot and send it all off.

I am now going to have Sunday night's supper, and then get whizzy with glitter on the sitting room floor (look, what is the point of confiscating the glitter from the Brownies if you don't use it yourself?  Before anyone thinks that I'm depriving the Brownies, they get glitter glue - it's much easier to clear up).  I have warned my flatmate, he seems to be pretty enthusiastic about it at the moment....

xxx

• Buy map of Japan
• Sort out plan for Japan evening at Guides.  Email to participants
• Write up two tiddly pieces of stuff that need to be written up for my Guide sleepover qualification.  Have discovered that there is something on this machine called 'Microsoft Infopath'.  Wonder what that does...
• Knitting party
• Supermarket (including dry cleaning and trip to recycle cartons)
• Market
• Laundry (the Great Dane Puppy filled the machine last night, and then realised he had no idea how it worked, so we're a bit behind here)  On last load at 4.30pm Sunday!
• Launder sheets
• Hopefully finish basketweave portion of Eff's wedding stole.
• Brownies Accounts   Have decided it is more important to knit for half an hour than it is to wrestle the accounts, kicking and screaming, to the ground.  Also decided I dislike the baby hat I'm knitting.  What to do?
• Birthday Invitations (the combination of only wanting a small celebration, plus only having a table for 10, which is too small by about 6 people, and having lots of friends, is complicating this - I may pull names out of a hat).
• Email Mum Nigella recipe for Banananananana Bread
• Buy Mum copy of 'How to be a Domestic Goddess' ready for Mother's day.
• Tidy sitting room
• Urgently wrap Dom's birthday present and mail it since his birthday is Monday...
• Attempt to get hair done (getting stuck here because it is so much more expensive than in Norwich, but I don't have time to get it done in Norwich before the Black Tie rugby dinner next weekend).  I am, frankly, too scared to visit any hairdresser other than the one I've used for the past 7 years or so.
• Book flights  London to Las Vegas (baby) via Detroit, then home via Minneapolis to see Sara!
• Try to figure out mailing list have asked for more help....  Good Uncle Steve produced it, and all makes more sense now.
• Website Updates
• Update mailing list

I'm sitting here in a state of inertia.  It has been that sort of week, complete with grand debates with my micromanager, who just would not listen and would insist on leaping to conclusions.  Nearly bursting into tears of frustration ultimately helped, as he sat down in the small office with me for an hour, but I hate that feeling: where you are not quite in charge of your emotions.  I felt like I was being manpulative just to get him to listen, and this is also wrong.  Have explained what's going on with Dad, and thus that I am more prone to tears than normal.  I don't like doing that either, but sometimes it makes people shut up.  And then they come all over sympathetic, and I just feel like I'm being wet and justified in feeling sorry for myself, which isn't that healthy either.  Ended up phoning the Welshman on the way home from work last night, as I was working myself up (Dad is having the nasty cancer whipped out on Friday, please pray to deity of choice but No Howling and remember that we're lucky in that this can be done).  He was between squash and gig, and babbled on about nothing in particular, which was terribly effective and broke the chain of the wibble.  I really miss him when he's not in London.

xxx

We'd had that sort of day, between us (and I had another today, and semi-seriously considered resigning at one point), so we watched Enchanted.

Meanwhile, reason #492 to love the Welshman: he understands that when I'm having a wibbly wobbly wibble, it's not the end of the world, and wishes that he were awake (if required) to prevent it getting too wibbly.

Frankly, the man is worth his weight in gold.  Even if he is terribly rude about Enchanted....

And he's wicked cool.  See:

xxx

It's now just sort of precipitating gently.  I don't really want to spend the morning on helpdesk...  Although it might just beat deleting 4000-odd unused accounts (I so know that this is going to get me in trouble in about two months time, but, really, it's a doddle to recreate them.  We have MIIS).

Dad had his scans yesterday.  The Eminent Urologist suggested that 4 pints of beer between injection and scan was a bad idea, so Dad consulted with the people giving the injection and they said, provided he didn't come back rolling around with three pints of beer sloshing, a beer was OK.  Wetherspoon's had IPA at 99p a pint, so he had two pints and had to be shipped off to the loo part-way through one of the scans because his bladder was too full (anyone remember my pelvic ultrasound and the Very Full Bladder?  Must run in the family).  No idea when the results are, but he is under instructions to take Mum with him (another suggestion from the EU) and to make sure he gets copies of the consultation documents next time.  So we should all be a bit better informed and a bit less scared.  Oh yes, and if you meet him, don't say anything about it.  He is less than impressed that Mum's told all her friends (he does not understand female coping mechanisms). 

I, meanwhile, met friends and found it incredibly hard to buy thick tights in Marks & Spencer.  Could only find 2 pairs in extra large containing merino in ladies', went downstairs to kids (the largest size is for 27" waists and up to 162 cm height. I am about this sort of size), and there was a distinct lack of black thermal tights in that size, but they did at least have some of the thick cotton type.  I am wearing them now, and they are rather good, and vastly cheaper than the ladies' tights (which is why there were none available in the thermal version in my size & colour).  I also got knee socks with pink sparkly polka dots.  Hit Agent Provocateur after coffee, and found the stockings I wanted (black micromesh), and got distracted by a nice black bra reduced from £48 to £15.  It would have been rude not to, frankly.  It's a 32B and it fits perfectly.  The boost to confidence provided by a 'B' cup is grand....and 32B is more available in M&S than an A cup.  Will investigate further.  I keep changing size anyhow, which is most annoying, so it pays to have a selection each morning (note to self. 34 inch bras are too big round the chest this week).

I ought to leave to go to work, instead of stressing at non-specifics.  Oh yes.  JAPAN PHOTOS (in case you missed them)

xxx

The Welshman did stay over, and we watched Withnail & I, and have been quoting to each other in the office today.  Now I am watching Bright Young Things, wishing for a martini with 'at least a spot' of Absinthe, and deciding not to be a Bad Brown Owl, but to do the accounts.  I'm also going to shift a troublesome Sixer into a different Six, and hopefully life will be Much Better for the rest of the Six.  Sigh.

Really.  The Guides told me "It's not bullying if it's just picking on someone," and doubtless the Brownies will tell me something similar.  I do wish they didn't use their fists to settle their disputes.  Or kick like donkeys.  Sigh.  Yet more activities on 'How to be a Brownie', because, frankly, they just don't know, and I don't push the Handbooks enough, and, although they tell us what they've done to keep their Promises this week, frankly, i have my doubts.  I also have no idea what to say as mine for this week either.

I don't think having the Welshman to stay counts.  We enjoyed ourselves too much.

Perhaps answering the telephones on Monday without whinging too much is OK?  Hmmm.

I am trying to decide if I'm going to go out dancing or not.  A Bright Young Thing would, but, then again, a Bright Young Thing wouldn't have such a perfectly bogus phlegm producing cough.

More Snow Photos (added to the ones taken in 2007)

xxx

Except, instead of snow, I have ice to contend with.  Still trying to decide whether to walk (virtuous, would work off the jaffa-cake porridge) or bus it (who can say what state the bus will be in?).

The Welshman phoned last night.  Could he stay over if he manages to make it in from Bath, because he doesn't think he'll be able to make it out to UB6 this evening if he manages to make it in from Bath this morning (he's only staying in London on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and works from home in Bath Monday and Friday).  Although am thrilled he's phoned, am unreasonably annoyed as he a. ignores all concerns sent via text message over the weekend (as he ignored the texts) and b. seems to take it for granted that I want to put him up.  Hurrah!  Yes!  Let us just get in touch when we want something.  Isn't that always the way?  Mind you, I've just done exactly the same with the Old Etonian, whose Father is an Eminent Urologist....

I have had ladyache for days.  This is Not On: although probably a natural result of having failed to take vitamin B6 this month.

And yes, I know.  Snowy photos will not be up now until it's no longer news.  Sigh.

xxx

 Apparently, it hasn't even started yet....

The TFL website informs me that pretty much every single tube line is part suspended (this is a real time map - the more colourful it is, the worse it is.  On 7/7, it was all coloured, which was perturbing), there are  NO BUSES AT ALL, and the Trains are completely and utterly b*******.  Half the airports in the London area are shut, the rest are dysfunctional.  We have our heaviest snow, according to Auntie BBC, for 18 years.  For live photos http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravelnews/realtime/road/default.asp
 and tick the box marked 'live traffic cameras'.  There was a gritter on Camden High Street Pavement last night (on a quad bike), and apparently that's the only one that's been seen in the past 24 hours.

Quite pretty to look at, though, as the view from my windows at 7am attests.  There'll be some more photos as I cross the park to work (I am Not Sure how I view my ability to walk to work in this particular context).

Like I said.  Anyone would think we were in LA when it rains.  Or 1979 (strikes, 3 day weeks, recession, being told to buy British, and SNOW - it was a very cold winter before I arrived).

I suppose I *ought* to get dressed and get some porridge inside me.  Jamie Oliver recommends putting marmelade and chocolate in it, and I think I may repeat that since it worked so well yesterday.

xxx