fancy pants brownies

hello splodgies!

Here's a picture of a fancy pants brownie that rachel and I shared in the pub. Cake was required.

Today, this is me and my birdies:

see you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Trains and Travel Troubles.

Hello Splodgies! 

Today, I made the mistake of putting my packed lunch in the fridge at the office with the apple still in the lunchbox. This meant that I had to perform ye-olde-fruit-on-radiator-trick to make sure that I didn't get brain freeze or tooth freeze from biting into an extremely cold apple when it came to lunch time. Sadly there was nobody else in the office today to witness this, so I took a picture:

I came back to Lancaster after work and had a most irksome time on the trains trying to get home. Firstly, the train was more expensive than I had anticipated because I was going via Carlisle instead of Barrow-in-Furness. Then literally 17 seconds before I got on the train, I realised I could've saved most of the difference if I split the ticket. Then when I got to Carlisle an hour later, I found that my train was delayed by over an hour. With my phone and my Nintendo DS both out of battery and not having a book with me because I had expected this to be a swift journey, I decided the best thing to do would be to go in search of a plug socket that I could charge my phone at. I went to the pumpkin cafe on platform 3. To all my foreign friends, this isn't nearly as charming as it sounds; pumpkin cafe is a chain of railway station cafes that sell over-priced, substandard sandwiches and baked goods and mediocre coffee. It was very busy in there, probably because of all the cancelled trains. I spotted a plug right at the bottom of the skirting board. There was a table nearby, but a man was already sat at it. I asked if I could join him and he said that I could- so I sat there and after realising that my phone charger was too big to fit in the socket (it was literally ON the floor, only a perfectly square plug would've fit in it) I explained my predicament to him. He told me that he was also supposed to be going on the London Euston train, but wasn't too worried as his train wasn't due for ages anyway. 

So I went off in search of a post box instead, having a letter I needed to send. This mission was extremely short lived, because there was one just around the corner from the cafe along the platform form the cafe that I had neglected to notice earlier. Probably because my eyes were looking at their usual level, but rather up in shock at the departure board that was telling me that I would have to wait longer than the duration of my journey before I was able to get on a train to my destination. I sat outside on their faux-grass with the little white fence and played ukulele for a little while because it was so noisy in the station that hardly anyone would be able to hear it- I couldn't even hear it myself unless I played a little louder than usual. But in the end it got cold so I decided to retreat to the warmth of the waiting room. It was full of about 60 people, all in silence, nobody talking to each other. I had to climb over a table to get to a socket to plug in my phone, but still nobody was saying anything. It had to be one of the most determined-to-be-British circumstances I've ever been in; everyone was feeling grumbly because of all the cancelled trains, but at the same time nobody wanted to talk to strangers in the waiting room AND everyone wanted to maintain a stiff upper lip and get through the worst of this train cancellation without displaying any emotion and thus risking any potential embarrassment. 

When I eventually managed to get on a train, things were much nicer. I met Brett The Friendly Cockney, who I had a chat with most of the way back to Lancaster, apart from when his boss mysteriously turned up and started telling him how to fill in some forms. as he was using the plug socket on my side of the table because his was broken, he let me charge my phone from his laptop, and pulled out an ENORMOUS (and I mean literally 2m long) USB cable for an iPhone 4. Turns out he's just the sort of person who carries that sort of thing with him. Good for you, Brett The Friendly Cockney. Good for you. 

The reason I was coming back to Lancaster in the first place was so that I would be able to go to Ollie's birthday lunch tomorrow and when I got home I found 

Ruthie had made this delish delight for me: 

.....mmmm.... pizza! And my new t-shirt was waiting for me when I arrived. So that was pretty great too! 

And when I finally came upstairs to the room I sit in writing now, I saw my lovely birds again. Ah! I forget them when I'm gone, but I love seeing them when I come back :) 

Today, this is my face upon hearing how delayed my train was going to be:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Sleep Confusion

Hi Splodgies

I have had a strange evening- I think my brain is confused. I accidentally fell asleep at about 6.30 and woke up again sometime around 9. But then when I woke up my brain was all fuzzy for an extended period of time. When I woke up I decided it was a good idea to watch Comic Relief Bake Off in an attempt to watch something gentle and not too taxing.

However in the final bake of this episode they were making pavlova. In my semi-conscious and confused state, I decided that pavlovas were not only fascinating but terrifying also. Having never made a pavlova myself before I thought it might be a bad time to attempt to do it. At this hour. With not the right kind of sugar. And not the right kind of fruit. 

I think the correct word is hysterical. I am feeling hysterical. And not in the funny way, in the confused and cross/ranty way. I think I need more sleep to get over this. 

Apparently at least three of my friends on facebook agree with my thoughts on pavlovas.

Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

p.s. Remind me to buy a new backpack on Saturday.

Charity Collectors

Hello Splodgies! 

Apologies for the lack of a post yesterday- I'm working on my Feminism pt 2 post that I'll hopefully have up at the weekend.

Today I was stopped in the street by some people who were collecting signatures and donations for a charity- normally I'm really irritated by this sort of thing because I feel like they're trying to guilt trip me into donating to whatever cause they are there for. 

But these people were super nice for a change! And I know what you're thinking "they were only nice to try and get you to donate" but strait off the bat they asked me how old I was and apparently you have to be 26 to donate to their particular cause (they were looking for volunteers/donators to go around communities helping elderly people maintain their independence by bringing their shopping, helping explain and fill in forms from the government etc) but they still stopped and chatted to me for a decent length of time considering it was windy and had started to rain. 

It turned out that the girl there had gone to uni in Lancaster, and we had a chat about Lancaster related things, and the guy there was from London- and we had a chat about not sounding like the place you are from. 

Far too often I feel bad for ignoring these people who are out looking for people to make donations to charities, and I either ignore them (I usually have my headphones on if I'm out by myself, or if I'm with someone I can quickly, if briefly, make it look as though we are involved in some deep discussion rather than talking about what is the best shape of pasta. It's not farfalle.) or I lie about my age so I don't have to talk to them- this happens particularly with charities for war veterans. I have a number of moral quandaries with regards to charities for veterans- as I feel like it should be the government who finance the rehabilitation and aftercare of soldiers, it being them that made them require rehab or aftercare in the first place. But enough of that. 

Either way I often feel like the tactics of street charity people are... unfair. Particularly to people who genuinely cannot afford to donate- I'm working at minimum wage right now and can just about look after myself ok, but would love to be regularly donating to charity if I could afford it. It seems to me that some of the ways that charity collectors are instructed to gain people's attention can be tantamount to street harassment. Which is sad really. Nobody likes to be harassed! Though on the flip side, I'm pretty sure that many of the people who's job it is to be a street collector are tired of being ignored completely or having people say rude things to them. Often, I have overheard members of the public swearing at charity collectors- and it's only their job! Give them a break! 

These folk were super nice though. If anyone is interested in looking at the work the charity do, you can look at their website here www.independantage.org.

Today, this is me: 

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Humming, Plumbing, and Rack-Related Resourcefulness

Hello there Splodgies! 

I've had a bit of a pavlova of a day. I know that's not the right word, but I like pavlova and everybody knows what I mean anyway. 

So after having worked a lot on Friday and all weekend I was hoping to have a nice long lie in today. So I was surprised to be woken by a knock on my door a few minutes before 8am. It was Mr. Downstairs- He was in a panic because somewhere between him doing his washing up and going to get his stuff before he went to work, a valve under the sink had burst and there was water going all over the kitchen and spilling out into the utility room. After about 15 minutes of us both going "Oh shit, this is very wet" We were able to turn the water off and he had to go to work shortly after, so I set about trying to work out what to do. 

Obviously the first thing I did was call the landlord. Luckily for us, he happens to also be a plumber. It took me ten attempts on various phone numbers to get through to him, but eventually when I did get through half an hour later he said "No problem, I'll be there in about 20 minutes" and he was! He fixed the problem under the sink, and told me what to do if it happened again. Then he brought out this device:

THE AQUA-VAC. It's literally a hoover for water. A HOOVER FOR WATER! I got a close up shot of it because I was so impressed. 

Once he'd fixed the problem, he vacuumed up all the water and mopped away the strange sediment left behind. He was super cheery whilst he was going about it, and was even humming and chatting to me whilst he did it. When he left, I thought "Well you can't ask for more than that in a landlord! Good for you, Mr. landlord!" 

So I went back to bed for a few hours, as I felt like I'd definitely earned it and I had plenty of time before my online grocery shopping order was due to arrive and I'd even be able to have a shower and everything on top of my nap. Super duper. So I went ahead and had my nap and my shower and by this time it was 1.45- so I had 15 minutes before the delivery slot began. Plenty of time!

....OR SO I THOUGHT. As I sauntered into my room I happened to glance out of the window. There was a missed call on my phone and a voice mail. The delivery man had arrived early...! Dammit. So I had to go downstairs in my pyjamas with wet hair and no glasses on to open the door. This added to my pavlova of a day. But nothing was too drastic, I'd sorted out the flood problem, I'd put away all my shopping, and I'd made a cup of coffee so I could finally watch Call The Midwife in peace. 

It suddenly occurred to me that it would be a great idea for me to put my laundry in whilst I was watching Call The Midwife because when the programme finished it would be nearly ready to hang up. So I went downstairs and threw my clothes in the machine. Moments later, this happened: 

The rope (which had been frayed and damaged since I'd moved in, but hadn't been problematic until now) had snapped. The whole drying rack fell on me and I felt very very silly. Not to mention hysterical (the angry/crazy version of hysterical, not the funny version) at how many seemingly massive things had gone wrong on my first day off after three flat out days of work. For dramatic licence I also took this picture:

Because that's not exactly how it fell, but it is exactly how it made me feel. Though it was quite fun hacking through the super tight knots with my favourite knife (Nej, if you're reading this, it's the one I called the jungle knife whilst we were living together). It felt very much like it looks like cutting through rope feels like when you see it done in films or on the TV. Initially seems hopeless, but quickly fruitful and successful. 

I called the landlord again- and he told me to put it in a corner and he could come and replace the rope next week as it wasn't an emergency. But having already put my clothes in the machine, and not having a tumble drier, I had to do something so that I'd have somewhere to put my damp clothes when the cycle was finished. So I constructed this makeshift clothes drier: 

It may seem like the obvious thing to do, but required more thinking about where to put it rather than what to do. I had to find a place in the kitchen where it wasn't blocking anything. I couldn't think of anywhere more appropriate to put the drier than this (other than on the ceiling, where it belonged of course) but managed to find a spot where you could just about get through to the downstairs bathroom, but could still open the big cupboard under the stairs where we keep lots of food (I dunno if the correct term is "pantry" or "larder", both seem too posh for what it actually is, but whatever). So I felt quite accomplished. And when the cycle was over, I hung up my washing like a pro. 

Maybe tomorrow will be more restful? I do have to buy a light bulb, and all manner of things can happen when you step outside your door...

Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Fest-End!

Hi Dudes! 

I'm totally wiped out. But I had a really really great day. So proud of everyone :) 

Today this is me:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

I'm totally shattered!

Good Evening my fine splodgaroos! 

I am EXTREMELY tired having just worked for 13 hours, almost solidly. And tomorrow I'll be doing  almost the same! I'm worn out, but I'm really enjoying what I'm doing. That's all I ahve to say for now! 

Today, this is me: 

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Pulling it outta the bag

Hello Splodgies!

...apparently for some reason my blog didn't publish yesterday... and the post I wrote has also disappeared. So ...sorry. It wasn't anything hugely important though, so don't worry. I've not lost a ton of writing. 

Today started off very stressfully, as I was supposed to be getting on a bus at 8.10, but I woke up not at 7.15, but at 7.49. I had to do one of my "can I get up and dressed and gather everything together and get to the bus stop in time to catch the bus" style rushes. Turns out that today, I could! I'm so glad I sorted most of the stuff last night... 

Anyway, today at work we were doing the February Festival and rehearsing in the afternoon. I was really worried that the companies wouldn't be ready judging by the tech and dress rehearsals- but in the end, they pulled it outta the bag! Like a cat! Or a rabbit! or... I dunno what else people usually pull out of bags, but Mary Poppins managed to pull out a whole bunch of stuff from her bag so... I can't really compete with that.

Over the next few days I'm going to be super busy with other Feb Fest stuff, so I'm unlikely to have a hugely detailed or interesting blog for the next few days. 

Hope you are all well

x

Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

A Breif Time In Lancaster (And Book Success)

Hello Splodgies! 

Today was my only full day back in Lancaster. But rather than use it to try and cram lots of things in, I decided to have a really relaxed day. Me and Anna went to get some fancy pants coffee: 

And we had a good catch up as we were drinking our beverages. Then low and behold who should come in but Louie and Lee and so we had a catch up with them- even though they were supposed to be working! 

Then we went to Waterstones and I FINALLY managed to purchase Adventure Time vol. 5 and I also treated myself to a copy of Tina Fey's autobiography. I've been meaning to read both of these for quite some time. Much joy! Also I found out the name of the cheery American woman who works in Waterstones who I always have a chat with- which was nice :) 

Then I came home, taught a ukulele lesson, made a saag paneer and watched Eastenders with my family. All in all, a pretty chilled out day, if you ask me! 

Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Return of the Pubquiz

Good Evening Splodgies! 

This evening I have been at the pub quiz at the White Cross! It's been such a long time but it was nice to catch up with some of my buddies :) Some of my favourite contributions to tonight's proceedings:

• Andy Pandy began in 1950
• Knowing who played Rickaaaay on Eastenders
• a 10 sided 2D shape is a decagon
• Knowing some English cities that had 10 letters in their name.

....We came 2nd in the end and won a fiver each! 

Earlier today I had been painting boxes and stage stuff for the Feb Fest this weekend- and sadly the paint I was using went through the overalls I was wearing. Never mind! It came off in the wash :)

Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

microwave mug cake (again?)

Hello Splodgies! 

This evening I had decided that I wanted something sweet after dinner, and I could decide if I wanted to make a microwave mug cake or to have some ice cream. And in the end I let my friends decide- and they decided I should have both- so this is what happened: 

Today, this is me:

And y'know what? As someone who doesn't usually consider themselves vain, I am looking mighty fine today! Hoorah for liking yourself!

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

A Day of Contemplation - America Trip Edition.

Hello Splodgies! 

Today I've had a day off- which has been nice :)

I've not been especially active today, but I have been doing lots of thinking and some planning in a round about sort of a way. 

To those of you who don't know, I studied for a year in America. Over that time I met lots and lots of very excellent people, and it's high time I see them again. I feel like I don't just owe my friends a visit, but I owe myself too, so I've been thinking about my next trip to America. Which hopefully, will be very soon. There are lots of places I want to go- 

• New York City (again) - to do lots of fun stuff and see some people!
• Washington DC - to see my old roomie Ashley, who is quite possibly the best human you could ever meet
• Columbus OH and Cleveland OH to do some friend visiting
• Bowling Green OH, to see how much the university has changed
• Chicago- because it seems so cool and I've never been there except for the airport! 

Going back is something I've wanted to do for a really long time, but it's only now that the possibility of going back has become a reality. I've been saving a lot and I think I can do it if I do it all on a budget that I will strictly stick to. 

Whilst I'm there, I'm still going to be blogging (hopefully!) but I'm also wanting to make some sort of documentary while I'm out there, even if it's only for myself. 

If you're one of my American chums reading this, I'm planning on being in the USA for about a month, let me know your location (so many of you have left BG by now!) and I'll see if I can come and visit you :) 

Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Public Transport Grumbles

Hello Splodgies!

Today, I was on the bus, and it was the most crowded my commute has ever been! And it didn't help like it was one of the small buses. And it was late, meaning that even more people than usual got on it. 

So lots of us were standing, which was fine, but the bloke in front of me had a big rucksack on his back. This wouldn't have been such a problem if he wasn't being so inconsiderate about the space he was taking up and kept spinning around to talk to these two women who had managed to get seats- but in the process was repeatedly beating another woman in the face, not just with his backpack but also with his walking poles. 

And I'm just standing there, holding onto the pole and having my hand headbutted by the same man, and I'm thinking "I should probably say something, now that my fingers are bruised and that woman has almost had her eyes scratched out by the walking poles" But in a bout of painfully British Britishness... I said nothing, and instead frowned in disapproval whilst watching what happened in a kind of passive-aggressive stand off between myself and the side of his head. 

Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

8000+ Views?!

Hello Splodgies!

Today my reader counter surpassed 8000 views! Ker-azy! 

So thanks for your continued readership, I guess! 

Anyway, I have to be up in a few hours to get on a bus, so I'd better go to sleep now! 

Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Wonder Balsam is WONDERFUL!

Hello  Splodgies! 

...so remember those shoes that I posted about on this blog maybe 7 or 8 times? Well recently some cracks were beginning to form in them where the shoes would flex. This wasn't unexpected, but it was disappointing. I found that Dr Martens did some shoe care stuff and I thought I might as well give it a go if there was a chance of preventing the slow demise of my beautiful, beautiful shoes.

For two days I wore my slippers to work. Nobody noticed. 

During these two days, I removed the laces from my shoes and carefully applied the stuff to my shoes, two coats, over two days. Apparently it's supposed to condition the leather and keep them flexible and so on and so forth.

And I was not expecting what came when I put the shoes on again two days later- they felt like a completely different pair of shoes! Much more flexible and definitely the cracks had not gotten worse, and I've not seen any worsening since.

I think I might make shoe care a fortnightly thing! And the best thing is that the tins says as long as I don't use it on suede, I can use it on almost any leather things, so I shall give it a go on my leather bag and see how that works out... I'll keep you posted ;) 

Today, this is me enjoying an appley snack on the bus: 

See you tomorrow! 

-Rosa

x

Google + is a confusing place on the internet.

Good evening splodgies!

I did have another post planned for today, but I suppose that will have to wait. I was trying to do something on youtube earlier and accidentally clicked onto my Google+ account. For those who don't know, you have to have a google account to have a youtube account. Which is pretty stinky.

Anyway, there I was on google+ wondering how on earth I got there, and I realised that it still said I was living in Aberystwyth. I am not. But it took me FOREVER to find how to change it. And then for shitz n gigs, I changed my cover photo.

I can't really see much point in google+ if I'm honest. I know that having a google account has lots of benefits, such as being able to have a gmail account, and a youtube account, and an account on which to make this blog. But as a social networking site, it doesn't do anything that Facebook doesn't do already and doesn't do anything that Facebook couldn't adapt to catch up in. And nearly everyone is already on facebook.

The only thing I prefer about Google+ is that it doesn't insist on everything being that boring shade of blue. Google+ is pretty much devoid of my friends, there's only one photo of me on there- and that's my user picture! 

I don't know... I remember a time when we all thought Myspace would last. And Bebo. Perhaps Google+ will catch up? But it's been around that long that I think if it was going to overtake Facebook it probably would've done it by now. 

Here's a song about how annoying Google+ was in the very beginning. 

Tell me your thoughts about this in the comment section! The song, and the concept of Google+! 

Today, this is me: 

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Are super fruits made of LIES!?

Hello Splogies!! 

Guess what I ate today:

.....that's right. Blueberries.

...They are, supposedly, a super fruit. According to some magazine I read somewhere, anyway. But being the kind of person who never purchases magazines and only ever reads them in waiting rooms to avoid conversation and/or eye contact with fellow patients/customers/clients, I find it hard to believe that any magazine I have ever read is up to date. 

But this doesn't mean I am behind on the super fruits thing. I have long since been suspicious that the super fruits are rather a super-ridiculous-ploy-to-get-the-gullible-to-buy-more-expensive-fruit ploy. 

Here are a list of things that I have seen categorised as super fruits (or super veg):

• blueberries
• curly kale
• purple sprouting broccoli
• pomegranates
• coconuts
• goji berries
• lychees
• flax seeds
• spinach

....Most of these lay claim to being a super food by having a particularly high content of one nutrient or another. One of my favourite facts to tell people is that gram for gram, blackcurrants have a much higher density of vitamin C than lemons do. 

I think the whole system of classifying super foods should be put through the shredder. It makes them more expensive to buy!! But although I don't like pomegranates (too fiddly to eat, also one of the hardest stains to get out of upholstery- thanks for that insider info, Amber. Also, I just don't like the taste) and I'm not even sure I can eat flax seeds (I might be allergic. It's not that unlikely as I'm allergic to many many things).

There are some of these so called "super foods" that I do like; I eat spinach almost every day. But I'd be doing that even if it wasn't a super food. I bought the blueberries because they were on offer. When I got them out of the packet though, they were disappointingly squidgy and sad. Some were nice. Then I looked at the packet again and saw how far they had come across the world, and I felt ashamed. 

But I'll leave the decision to you: are super fruits a stupid idea? or are they a harmless fad? Perhaps they are a con? Are they genuine?? Let me know in the comments.

Today, this is me: 

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

p.s. I got an email from my grandma today, telling me that she had read my blog! So if you're reading this, Grandma...Hi there!

Midnight Snack

Hello Splodgies!

I'm debating on what to have as a snack this late at night. It is to be a slightly larger snack than usual as I've not had any dinner. Here are the options:

1) Marmite on toast.

2) Avocado on toast

3) a small amount of pasta and pesto

...I don't have much else in, but I suppose I could have some porridge...?

What do you think??

Cast your votes in the comments!!

Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Emerging from the Fog

Hello Splodgies!

Today has been a dramatically foggy day in Workington- or at least the morning was. I was inside most of the day at work. I had a super great time and we made lots of progress! But for the same reasons as yesterday, there shall be no details further than I am very very proud of the group :) 

By the time I got home, most of the fog had cleared. 

Walking to work in the morning though felt super dramatic- a little like this:

....Obviously I am not the moon. Nor am I as shiny as the moon. Nor am I full of craters. But I did walk out of the fog! Obviously the humidity made my hair a bit funny, but considering that I don't have curly hair, I was quite lucky. Anyway, you couldn't see very far infront at all. Normally when I turn a corner on my walk to work, I can see the traffic lights and beyond very clearly up the road. Today, I could hardly see the traffic lights at all- the only thing I could see was a small patch of the fog glowing in traffic light colours. It was very strange indeed. I can't remember having been in fog this thick for a very very long time. I was glad that I didn't have to drive...

Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Super Day

Hello Splodgies! 

Remember a little while ago when I wrote a blog post titled "golden finger" ? Well this is the follow up! 

Today, my good friend Sarah got married! I sent her and Alex (her now husband!) a box of paper cranes I'd made specially, as I wasn't able to go down to their wedding. Kudos to Nej for all the pictures she sent me:

Nej tells me there was a great big waft of washi papery air that came out of the box.  I'm told the words "COME AND SMELL THE BOX!" were... well, not uttered, more chanted? 

Here are some birds in full wedding action swing ^^ 

And ^here^ are some birds in post wedding wind down. 

I'm not sure at what point Sarah and Alex will realise that they say "Sarah & Alex, 7th February 2015" inside all the birds, but I hope it's not never. Congratulations! Much love to you :) 

I also had a really great day at work, but for various child protection reasons, I'm not going to name names or anything, so I can't really tell you anything about it. Just that I'm really proud of the group :) 

Today, this is me feeling utterly chuffed on my way home: 

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Strange day

Hello splodgies

Its late and I'm tired, but as I have stated previously, that's how things are for me on a Friday. Sorry I don't have much more to say. If you're really disappointed you can look at yesterday's blog :P There's lots of cool pictures on there! 

Today, this is me: 

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Technically Cheating

Hello Splodgies! 

Most of you who read my blog are my friends and get it via the facebook news feed. But if (for some bizarre reason) you're a stranger reading this, or perhaps you are a friend who doesn't have facebook (I'm looking at YOU, Ruthie-pie) Here are some really nice shots I took of Derwent Water this evening after work: 

I took a similar one to this exactly two weeks ago! ...well a little more than two weeks exactly, if you want to be counting the hours! 

Full disclosure, although none of these pictures have digitally added filters on them, I have altered the light exposure on one or two of them whilst taking the photos:

....this one is alright. I much prefer the next one though. If you're reading the blog on a mobile, now would be the time to switch from holding your phone up, to holding your phone sideways! 

In ^this^ one, I had walked to the end of the track to try and get a good picture up the lake but it was slightly later than I had anticipated, because I had stopped to chat to a couple of other people who were doing the same thing as me- trying to get a picture of the sunset on the dramatic scenery- and stopped to take some pictures for a couple who wanted the scenery in the background. I didn't know how to work their tablet as well as I can work my phone, and because there was an object in the foreground blah blah blah, basically the pictures weren't as good because I wasn't so familiar with the device. 

I do like this next one where I managed to get a partial view up the lake, but I also managed to get some of that awesome sky in. And the reflection makes it all the better! 

The reason this post is called "technically cheating" is because these pictures are already on facebook. But I thought, as I hadn't really provided much commentary beyond "right place, right time" I thought this could be a legit blogpost :)


Today, this is me, just before I stopped to take a picture for the aforementioned couple:

Sadly, I missed my bus. I thought I was going to be late to teach a ukulele lesson, but in the end it was all fine, thanks to me being able to catch the lesser-spotted X9 bus. Which apparently does not have a time table on any of the places that you would expect to find them. Not on the bus stop where I got on, nor at the bus stop where I got off. But everything was fine in the end :)

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x