Musings of a lone biscuit

A night to remember

2009-12-20T02:32:52Z

15 years old, singing The Messiah in the Royal Albert Hall with 3 professional choirs and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was brilliant !

Snow

2009-12-18T13:19:59Z

minijc3 making a snow angel

We woke up to a very christmas card scene and much to the childrens delight soon we found out through the radio that all their schools are closed . They're somewhere at the farm sledging this very moment while I'm trying to find out what disruption to the trains it has caused.
See, I love snow, I never saw snow until I was 25 and it still holds all the magical feeling to me but it just happens that today minijc2 is singing the Messiah in the Royal Albert Hall in London, an hour train journey from here, so I never thought I'd actually ever say this, but it is a bit inconvenient.
The school had arranged a coach to take them but the company cancelled so really this snow is a bit of a pain. We'll have to leave quite soon just in case trains are delayed or stop on the way and take into account travel through London , now I just have to go and drag them out of the snow, they won't be pleased.

Christmas cards

2009-12-16T22:35:46Z

Better late than never, if anyone wants a christmas card from me let me know, comments will be screened so noone exept me will see your adress, or you can pm me. Big thank you to josephine_64 for her beautiful hand made card.

Karate girl

2009-12-15T01:08:56Z

Minijc3 warming up for her grading look who passed her grading :-)

itchiness

2009-11-17T17:43:22Z

It's driving me craaaaaaaaazy!

Happy Birthday suekay_87

2009-11-13T00:12:41Z

Hope you've had a great day suekay

Questions Meme

2009-11-08T05:12:30Z

Snagged from rowan_dLeave me a comment saying "Resistance is Futile."
I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity.
Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions

These are the questions Rowan asked me

1. What are your three favorite words in Portuguese, the ones that you like to say, like to roll off your tongue? (and meanings please, for those of us who don't know)

I had to think about this because I guess we tend to pay more attention to the meaning than the sound of the words in our native language. After much consideration here they are:
oxala (o like the oo in poor,xa like shu in shunt and la as the la in lack) a non religious god willing or hopefully
carrapito (ca like in cant, rra rant, pi like pit and to like to) hair bunches
rebolando roling down

2. If you could be Sam Carter and live out one canon moment with Jack O'Neill, which one would you choose and why?

Choice, choices, of course the moment I'd kill for to be in Sam Carter's shoes hasn't happened yet and a kiss doesn't quite hit the mark either, so I go for the moment in Divide and Conquer each either side of the force field because that is the moment I think Sam realizes the dept of Jack O'Neill feelings for her and that her own feelings are reciprocated. Plus the angst of eminent death , what more can a girl want than to die knowing she is loved ;-)

3. What quality in yourself, or strength, or learned philosophy do you most hope you are able to pass on to your children?

Oh, this is difficult, only one? hmm, a sense of fairness for everything and everyone around them

4. When you were 12 to 15 years old what did you most want to do with your life, and how far away are you from that vision now?

I'll have to give you two answers because at 12 I still wanted to be an astronaut and explore space. By 15 I'd realized exploration of space would not be that advanced and the likelihood of becoming an astronaut quite limited so archaeology became my target . I started going on digs and reading lots, When time for uni came there wasn't an arqueological course only options that could be taken on the History or Anthropology degrees. After going through the sillabus of both courses I chose Anthropology . I have a degree but sadly since coming to the UK I haven't actively done any digs. On the other hand I must have done something right because my eldest daughter is applying to study Anthropology and archeology at uni next year

5. If you could delete a single scene from Stargate canon, what would you slash and why?

Ach, 100 days, asshole, not even an hello?!

Happy Birthday josephine_64

2009-11-01T19:05:37Z

Hope you had a lovely day

Breathing in and out slowly is not working

2009-10-17T16:32:33Z

I'm beyond upset
My 7 year old put her fist through a glass door window in a tantrum, never mind her hand, just spent the last hour clearing shards of glass from toy boxes, my teaching folders boxes and trying to make safe what remains on the door.
Trying to think what punishment me or my brothers and sister would have had if it were us as children ...
hmm, maybe better not

1066 Battle of Hastings

2009-10-12T14:31:29Z

Ok, this is edited to say that somehow lj ate the original first part of this post, the one where I gave some info on this event, since I can't find it anywhere here's the condensed version:
Minijc3 needs to do a project on "Settlers and Invaders", so this sunday we went to see a reenactement of the Battle of Hastings ( not very far from us, about 30 minutes) where the Normans killled King Harrod ,the Saxon king, and became the rulers.  It was huge, lot's of participants some coming as far as Canada and Poland.
The day was dull, grey, and eventualy rainy and because we got there late we didn't have a very good position, so in spite of the camera best efforts (thanks historianheidi ) the result was loads of very shaky photos.Thinking of gunhilda   The battlefield and encampment , it's actually sobering to know that thousands of men died on these fields

From our position we had a lovely view of the Saxons rears ( but it gives you an idea of the mount of people involved, this is only a fraction of the Saxon side and the Norman had an equal amount of people)



Normans celebrating victory

PS- Minijc3 decided to do her project on the Celts ...

Feeling sorry for myself

2009-10-06T13:49:17Z

I'm sorry I only seem to write here when I'm feeling down, but there's something cathartic about ranting into the ether.
So I've had this flu/bug thing for the last 12 days that has left me on my knees. I've dragged myself out of bed to take children to school and do the minimum necessary so that no one goes hungry or naked but that's about it, most days I go back to bed at some point during the day. Although I think house work is a waste of time (in my household anyway) this is really getting me frustrated. On top of that I've had to cancel all my lessons last week and even yesterday but today I'm determined to teach my college one, except to add insult to injury I have a killer toothache AND my windows is playing up and I can't get some stuff I need printed.
I only need for my car to pack up for this disaster of a day to be complete.

Pictures of my LJ friends

2009-09-05T00:19:21Z

Snagged from mtwendyr .
Though it was quite cool, plus I'm bored :-)

My LiveJournal Friends

Try out this Meme

Brought to you by NardVille

Going ... going ... almost gone

2009-08-08T02:29:09Z

Portugal, 10 days, can't wait.
I'm helplessly behind in preparations, haven't even started on my packing although minijc3's case is done, one small achievement in a very frustrating day.
We had to be at the Portuguese consulate in London at half past eight this morning to get minijc1 and 3 travel documents (long story), this meant geting up at 6, drive 15 minutes to the station and one hour journey on the train and then a 20 minute bus journey. We got there at eight thirty five and caught the end of the que to get numbered tickets. As the numbers were for all the services the consulate offers there was no way of predicting how long we had to wait so we couldn't risk going out. I very much regreted not having my coffee before. Finally we were seen at ten to twelve,3 hours after arriving . The docunents themselves took less than 10 minutes to do and we were told it would take about an hour to have them sign and ready to pick up, We went out and had some food as we were all starving by then minijc 1 and 3 having munched through the few sweets and snacks I had. We got back about an hour later and waited until we realised they close for lunch but don't bother to tell anyone. The place was packed , over 100 people waiting for visas, passports, ID cards and all sorts, loads of children and babies to be registered, everyone just waiting and waiting for hours. Anyway, at quarter past two minijc1's name is called we think we're done but only one travel document appears, no sign of minijc3's one even though they were made at the same time. So we have to wait, we think maybe 10/15 minutes. Well two hours later we finally get them and leave, a whole 7 hours of bureaucracy at it's best...
What is so frustrating is that it could all be avoided if they accepted bookings or did some things by post.

jafacakes @ 2009-07-26T02:41:00

2009-07-26T02:31:17Z

Leave me a comment and I will give you a letter (if you want). Then, write 10 things that you love starting with that letter. Post the list in your journal and expand on them. Give out letters to your commenters in return.

pengyngave me the letter S

Pfew, I found it much more difficult than I thought</div>

1- Stargate SG1

Still probably my favorite sci-fi series. What's not to like? great characters , mythology, adventure ...

2- Ships

I see'em, I ship'em, Mulder/Scully, Buffy/Angel, Sam/Jack, Bones/Booth, Angela/H, Spock/Uhura
I swear I don't go looking for them but they sure make life more interesting.

3- Sam Carter

A character that inspired me with her inteligence, loyalty and courage

4- Scully

Again, another strong woman character that didn't rely on her beauty or charm . I specialy liked it that she was the skeptic of the two as so often it's the women that are portrayed as intuitive , believers, unscientific.

5- Spock

In the original series he was my favorite character, cool ,colected, full of understated irony .
On the reboot film he's all of that plus very HOT

6- Star Wars
Changed my world when it came out, the film that made my geekyness acceptable

7- Scabbard fish

My favorite dish, the one I ask my mum to cook when I go home, grilled scabbard fish is the most delicious, melt in your mouth fish you'll ever taste

8- Space
Always fascinated me, since I was a tiny girl wondering how planes shrunk when flying and the stars didn't fall out of the sky. I still hope to go there one day, heck, you can go now if you have enough money so I hope it becomes more affordable before I die

9- Silence
Can be bliss

10- Sea

Sun, summer holidays and a fierce wilderness that scares and fascinates me

Happy Birthday shippyflo

2009-07-14T00:08:20Z

Happy Birthday shippyflo
Have a great day

Update

2009-07-13T14:25:18Z

It is ages since I've written here, to be honest I'm not even sure anyone reads it anymore, but I guess I hate to let go of things I've got used to and LJ is part of my SG1 fandom which is still very dear to me because in truth was the first one I really got involved with. Now people have scattered and found new interests but I still treasure this little part of my life and the people I got to know through it.

Starting with fandoms then I have been spending more time than it is healthy reading Spock/Uhura fics. I had no idea what to expect of the new ST film so went with no expectations and certainly no spoilers and it was a revelation. Fell in love with the film and the characters, specially those two although Bones is a close second :-) I just love the intensity, the angst, the subtlety of their relationship. It's official, Spock/Uhura are my new Sam/Jack!

At home things are ... interesting. Between a grumpy,overworked mr jafacakes, a hormonal, rude 17year old daughter that thinks the sun revolves around her, a growing 15 year old son with a particular view of the world and a 7 year old that doesn't understand she is not a teenager and certain attitudes will not be tolerated by me not matter how much she "cries" or shouts or pleads unfairness , life goes on throw all the bumps and occasional muddy patches.

Things are good too , after spending a week free of minijc2 , who was at ccf camp (combined cadet force, in other words , playing soldiers through school) I realized life is so quiet and calm without him around it doesn't quite seem real, and while I enjoyed the stress free week I missed him terribly and couldn't wait for him to come back.
Minijc3 achieved a milestone while (because?) he was away, finally she can ride her bike.

Umm, time to start the school run , so the rest will have to come latter. Hope you are all well, flist :-) , I enjoy your virtual company :-)

Dreamwidth

2009-05-17T22:40:55Z

Call me a sheep, I've got an account, not sure if I'll used it for anything different than here but so many started going there I thought at least I want to be able to follow my flist adventures there. I've kept my jafacakes name there so please add me there, I'm very slow and know several of you have a different name there so that would make it easier for me :-)
Have some spare invite codes if anyone wants one just ask.

jafacakes @ 2009-05-16T02:18:00

2009-05-16T01:47:01Z

I have been feeling pretty low recently and as a result my garden is looking a mess, grass uncut, borders full of weeds, vegetable garden a depressing mess ... but my azaleas, bless them, thrive on neglect and this year they have been particularly good.
Not only are they covered in flowers, they smell wonderful too.

The only red one

And now a view of my neglected garden taken from the tree house (yes I climbed up there :-))

And my veg patch, such a jungle, my soil is heavy clay and will need vast amounts of manure so we put up the raised beds so that at least we'll have something this year,

I feel I've achieved something at last, planted all the broad bean plants I raised from seed on the smaller bed.

A first in years

2009-05-09T23:51:06Z

It's been a long time ago, probably since my late teens but tonight I went to the cinema by myself. No husband, children or friends wanted to share with me the pleasure of watching Star Trek, ... losers .
It felt a bit strange buying just one ticket and seating on my own but once there I forgot about it. I'm still a bit peeved that noone could make the effort, god knows I've sat through enough films not my taste just to please someone else but it's done so...

Start Trek, loved it but can I just say time travel gives me an head ache :-)?
I'm left with more questions than what I went in with but I don't want to spoil anyone, so if any of my flist has seen it and like to chat I'd love to be able to talk about it with someone who doesn't make fun of me ... I totally failed on my family's education ...

What you do when you're bored

2009-04-19T19:06:39Z

You are The Star

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised

The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

What Color Is Your Mind?

2009-04-17T02:16:42Z

Your Mind is Blue

Of all the mind types, yours is the most mellow.
You tend to be in a meditative state most of the time. You don't try to think away your troubles.
Your thoughts are realistic, fresh, and honest. You truly see things as how they are.

You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about your friends, your surroundings, and your life.

What Color Is Your Mind?

Pascoa Feliz

2009-04-12T17:52:47Z

Just in case ...

2009-04-07T18:20:24Z

The minijcs 1 and 2 are going to install wireless so, if I'm not around anymore you know why ...

jafacakes @ 2009-03-27T00:55:00

2009-03-27T01:17:10Z

I feel quite sad and irritated after watching Grey's anatomy's 510, "All By Myself" because of how they have portrait a doctor who's supposed to have aspergers syndrome, Dr Dixon. She is hardly functioning as a doctor and excuse me but I know enough people with Aspergers to know one when I see one and she has full blown autism. If you are going to portray someone with a disability then do it well and don't just grab a handful of stereotypes , it does more harm than good.
I could say so much more but I'm just frustrated atm , I'm just glad my son wasn't watching it , he would tell me that is the reason he doesn't want anybody to know he has it, he doesn't want his friends to think he his a "retard" , his words, not mine .

Because I've been without tv for a month I haven't seen the previous episodes and of course I know we are behind the US so I don't know if her condition is addressed before or after this episode, but really people, do your research right.

Frustrations

2009-03-14T18:57:30Z

Sometimes I wonder how anything happens in this country, I mean, there are so many rules and regulations and friking stupid guidelines it's a miracle things move at all. I'm all for safety rules and the like but sometimes...

I'll start my rant with my oven, it stopped working about 5 weeks ago. It was still under guarantee so we call the service people who came about a week later, he came pulled it out of it's casing (it's a built in oven) and the lights came on, duuuuuu I thought, he put it back, it stopped again, turns out it was a loose wire in the junction box behind the oven, the thing was, he wasn't aloud to fix it , he could fix the oven but because the problem was in the wall he couldn't do anything at all, we could do it, as he told us it was the same as wiring a plug, and he used to do it all the time until the health and safety rules changed...

So, about 3 weeks ago our sky box stopped working, not really surprising as it must be 10 years old and never gave us any trouble. Without it we can't really see tv because our reception of terrestrial tv is so grainy and the sound so crappy it just grates the nerves. After a few days of internal debating we opted to change to sky plus as it gives us the option of recording digitally and watch and record different channels at the same time. Finally the day came to have it installed, the engineer came, looked ,shook his head and told us he couldn't do it because the dish is on a wall but he had to go on a flat roof and now health and safety rules don't allow it anymore :-( Apparently this was his third job today that he couldn't do because of this rules. It's crazy, we live in a bungallow, the flat roof if over our entrance hall, it's not a falling down outbuilding. So the solution? well next friday (yes another week without tv) a two man team will come and move the dish to the chimney , it will be higher than it is at the moment, they will have to work balancing on a ladder leaning on the roof , but aparently , it will conform to the new safety rules.
He told me he is fed up with his job now there are so any things he can't do , it's crazy, I'm all for safety in the workplace and in general but surely the people who actually do the job should have the discretion to determine what is and is not dangerous, not someone who sits in a office thinking up this rules .RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Ok now I'm going to the school quiz night to have my general ignorance rubbed on my face ...