Of Doing Christmas Online

As an experiment I thought I'd try to do Christmas online this year to reduce stress levels and save time. So far it has proved to be an unqualified success.
Last week I ordered enough food at Asda's website for two people to survive from this coming Wednesday right through to the New Year. I also ordered enough groceries to cover four dinner parties three of which take place this week. This last bit was actually very easy. You get the four recipes, your order the ingredients and tick them off as they disappear into your online shopping basket. Since placing the order last week for delivery tomorrow I've added chutney, cheese biscuits, Christmas crackers and a freezer box to freeze the left overs.
Granted, Saturday I did have to pop on a train to St George's market for a few vegetables Asda or Tesco just don't do or if they do, then nothing like as well as a fresh market. Into the former category is red chicory, rosemary garlic and Stinking Bishop cheese. Into the latter category goes organic asparagus and celeriac.
Finally, the presents have all come courtesy of Ebay and Amazon.They arrived on time, usually the day after I ordered them and in perfect condition. The great thing about buying presents online is that you can shop around for ideas in the comfort of your chair, compare prices and know whether what you are about to buy is rated or slated by previous customers.
Altogether I reckon I've saved about 12 hours shopping time. I've got better quality presents and I'm actually looking forward to Christmas with a good deal of energy keft for it. So why don't more people do Christmas online I wonder? Perhaps it's something to do with inherited thinking. Why change what you've done for so many years when it works to a point, even when there's clearly a better way of doing it.Christmas is all about tradition afterall.

Of Wedding Bells

Ha! Finally we have a wedding date! 26th January 2013! We've had an amazing team working on the paperwork and they've done a first class job because we did this in a "Oner" first time round. A big thanks to all!
Now all I have to do is find a matching suit for her ladyship's dress. That, I fear, may be a little more difficult...!

Of Lights, Camera, Action!

We were shooting a video today with two highly professional crew who knew exactly what they were doing and what they wanted.
It took us about 2 hours to shoot what will probably turn out to be a 2 minute video clip. It's hard work getting the light right, the sound and the setting. The acting is almost the easy bit - although maybe it was the actors who made it look easy. It must be difficult having to repeat lines constantly, unusual faces, and eye movements  with lots of people looking on.
We got to 4p.m and in true movie style it was declared "A wrap". I'm looking forward to seeing the final product but I don't think I'll be putting in for any jobs as a film director...

Of A Great Two Days

I've just had a friend over from England to stay for the weekend. The forecast was for rain both days but we were treated to great spells of glorious sunshine.
People ask me if I get bored going to the Giant's Causeway all the time. Sunday was probably my 15th visit. But I just can't see how you can get bored going there. It's different every time depending on the season, the weather and the state of the sea.Yesterday there were some tremendous waves crashing over the Causeway rocks creating a beautiful white on black contrast.
On Saturday we walked some of Slieve Binion and finished up having a seaweed bath in Newcastle. Magic.