extract from an email

I had a blind man here yesterday - he was late but I think that's cos he couldnt see where the house was ... oh dear, that's frightfully bad taste - it was a man about blinds for my bedroom .... oh ho ho ... anyway, the upshot was they weren't what I wanted - he said we all have to compromise (bollox to that about blinds ..) and was thinking of charging £225 for one blind. So I said no thanks, and we talked about chickens instead. I have another far far cheaper, slightly fiddly, but much better option now - I shall have to find some material now. Anyway, the thought of NOT spending that sort of money makes me very happy.

I'm on an economy drive this year - only buying reduced stuff in the supermarkets - well, HAVING to buy the reduced stuff, whether I want it or not :-) - and then freezing stuff, making things out of weird ingredients, you know the sort of thing.

I've also saved another heap of dosh by NOT buying a new bath - mainly because I couldnt find a bath with central taps to fit in my teeny bathroom. So - I shall get some bath enamel paint for the ding and get a shower put in (thermostatic) above it, and have the walls and floor tiled - oh and new taps for the bath and basin - all MUCH cheaper.

Anyway, on the financial downside but with no future regrets, the chap who did my conservatory is going to replace the front door and the window next to it, and the cloakroom window and the sittingroom window, and do out the end of the garage to make a proper utility room. And finish the odds and ends with the kitchen, and I've got a bit of electrical work. So that's an expense which will be well worth while. And he can start in a week or so - and it will make the place warmer and more useful. It looks as if the final structural stuff might be nearly over - so only maintenance and decorating as ongoing things. It's never ending really. I feel very spoilt in some ways - the staff have been clearing the garden for me - makes me very lazy...

Oh, and I might have found a dance partner! Now you're not to laugh, groan, or throw your hands in the air! I was approached a couple of days ago via a forum website (I can feel you cringing - grin) by a jolly sounding chap in Sweden - English, and soon to be returning here, end of Jan. Anyway, we were on msn so I asked if he'd like to go to dance classes and he said he would - well, what can I say? Finding someone to go dancing with, as a woman, is VERY difficult - hens have more chances of getting dentures - so I'm desperate here or else I shall have to a) dance with a woman, b) hope a spare bloke turns up at the class - fat chance, or c) wait like susy nomates for the teacher to have a space between other women. I was going to advertise in the post office - hahahaha - MAN WANTED! Maybe a card in a shop window is better? I dunno, but it's all rather amusing ....!

On the tooth front (thinking of hens) I've still got the bottom brace, and a gum shield on the top ones - buggers keep wanting to escape and go on voyages of their own round my mouth .... one of the women I met in China said why did no-one tell her teeth move all your life? Little beasts. Still, they're not too bad - I hope I'll be having the top two crowned/veneered soon, and frighten people with the glare every time I grin! I might have diamonds embedded just for fun.

Bella's slippers - I think lots of children want to wear their shoes/slippers/wellies in bed and everywhere else! I'd love to hear her speaking bellsperanto!