An Age of Magic

Did you join the apple cart…?

wendy — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:55:17 +0000

I would like to know how much Apple made over the recent Xmas holidays – it seemed as though everyone was buying an Apple product of some kind for Xmas…not in our house though, we tend to go the different route from everyone else. Our kids wanted a tablet each and we looked around and found the ETouch which we picked up for £99 – so we bought three.

They are brilliant! now they are not apple ipods but they are ‘as good’ and you can download loads of free games onto them for the kids, which is what we did. We had decided against the nintendo 3DS as our son has a problem with his sight and we had heard the 3D effect was not good for him. But everyone’s happy all the same. Maybe some day I will join the apple cart and buy myself an ipod too:)

Oh for some nice new warm clothes…

wendy — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:36:24 +0000

Despite my hopes and prayers to the contrary it looks as though we are gearing up for yet another freezing cold winter – last winter was the coldest I have ever experienced and I hoped it would be the last where I would have to wear a coat indoors…I doubt it!

Stocking up on warm stuff is what I’m about now, looking at websites such as carhartt pants at dungarees.net and other sites that stock good stuff for the cold weather.I have always preferred leggings but if we are in for minus temps again the leggings wont do the job!

Back to footy time for the boys.

wendy — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:32:00 +0000

Our boys have been taking a break from their usual football sessions on the weekends, our eldest has been suffering with the asthma for a while and so has not felt like running around a cold field as a result. All’s well again so they are raring to go – they have been missing the presentation days where they get awarded their trophies and awards, always their favourite part of the programme.

So when the new year begins we will be back watching them kick the ball around every Saturday once more – and cheering them on when they win. All kids should play a sport of some kind.

Get into the act with the right costume!

wendy — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:27:14 +0000

The problem with Halloween is that most people wear the same type of costume – with a bit of variation here and there of course – but it is better to choose something different from the rest and be a stand out. I bet you have always wanted to ‘be’ a certain character and then could not quite achieve the right look, and all because you simply did not know where to get the outfit.

You can with costume express coupons because they have any costume for any occasion. Next Halloween, don’t settle for being one of a hundred Frankensteins getting around the city, be something different and make it a great Halloween!

Come on winter – I’m ready for you!

wendy — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:42:05 +0000

Last winter was simply abominable – no other way to describe it. I have never before experience temperatures of minus fifteen and I never want to ever again. The front door froze shut – I had to use a knife to prise it open and then I was scared to shut it again in case we were stuck inside…the house would have been like a fortress. The ice outside made it really difficult to step outside and I am not used to ice and snow as it is.

I even kept the kids home from school for two days because I felt it was too cold to send them off! we are getting some snow tire chains that we made use of in France – only once though – because I am scared to drive the car in those conditions. Fingers crossed it wont be that cold this time round!

The way the office works these days…

wendy — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:36:46 +0000

The office setting of 2011 is a lot different to the office setting I walked into as a new graduated secretary back in 1979. Back then there were no computors – not like today’s anyway – and word processors were huge awkward things that were ssslllooowww to say the least. There were no mobile phones, nothing interactive at all and conferences were held face to face in rooms.

Nowadays conferences are held miles apart via the internet and this is where a conference call price comparison can come in handy to your office business. They do cost and need to be budgeted for – especially as many businesses need to use this technology and keep an eye of economy at the same time.

Buying him a printer this Xmas…?

wendy — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:32:07 +0000

Wow, then all I can advise is make sure he actually wants one! I bought my other half one of those new photo printers for a xmas present TWO YEARS AGO and guess what…? he has only just opened it and started using it!!!

I looked all over for the right thing to buy, shopped online and had it delivered in secret so he wouldn’t find out – and then he placed it to one side on Xmas day and it sat behind the sofa since them. His old printer died last week and so he was forced to open his present and actually do something about it…

Allergies need addressing.

wendy — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:28:24 +0000

My son has always suffered from the misery of sinus problems and allergies when it came to certain times of the year, all his childhood was spent sneezing and looking for something that would help him clear it up. Since he has been living in Germany he has been seeing an allergist who has really done wonders for him by treating his allergies with a series of injections each month and so this year he has been allergy free when the spring and summer came round.

Other place offer the same service and I urge anyone who suffers from pollen allergies, etc, to see a professional who can help them – an example is an austin allergist in the USA who can help you get over the misery of watery eyes, sneezing and catarrh.

Astronomy – you don’t always need a telescope!

wendy — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 08:00:41 +0000

We are avid amateur astronomers in our family and often travel to viewings held by the association we belong to around the countryside. The rural skies are best because you don’t get the light interference from traffic lights, buildings etc. We have a couple of serious telescopes for viewing the planets but last Xmas we decided to invest in a pair of really good astronomical binoculars for occasions when the moon is doing something interesting. Lugging the telescopes around in the car can be a bit of a pain at times so we were looking for something more portable.

We got a pair of binoculars and can highly recommend them although they most certainly are NOT for solar viewings – you must bear that in mind. There are many brands available for astronomy usage – among them nikon monarch binoculars and the more serious type for real enthusiasts but we found they did the job brilliantly when we attended the recent lunar eclipse. Don’t assume you wont look the real deal without a telescope, of course you need one for anything beyond the moon, but the binoculars did the trick for us perfectly.

Cinematic set design has come a long way since Scarlett kissed Rhett

wendy — Sun, 22 May 2011 10:51:47 +0000

If you have seen Gone with the Wind you will have marvelled at the beautiful house, Tara, and the wonderful set designs of the day. There was quite a lot of trickery involved however and what you saw on screen was not what you actually got. The front of Tara, for example, was a layer of shots of different things. The front porch with it’s interior plantation shutters was actually the front of David Selznick’s office building superimposed with other images added to create the splendor that was Tara.

The scene where Scarlett walks through the masses of injured soldiers was ahead of it’s time in that shots of the ‘injured’ extras were recreated and superimposed to create the image of teeming thousands of men. Something done today as it would cost a fortune to film such scenes with real people. The colour process used to film was also a new innovation – GWTW might have been a story of times past, but in many ways it was ahead of it’s own time.