Will She Come? A poem by me.

I have never written a poem before and hated doing this type of thing in school but the other day I felt inspired to write one for some reason. 

I just started typing and let it flow - I had no idea where it was going when I started but just ran with it as it went along.  It is not about my personal experience or anyone I know.

I know it is very basic but it is a start and who knows I may well be inspired to write some more, which can only get better.

Will She Come?

I was waiting there for ever

Just hoping she would show

I guess I had my answer

But I really needed to know

She seemed a tad dubious

When we spoke on the phone

But I was hoping I had it wrong

As I didn’t want to be alone

It seemed we had the right connections

Both liking the same things

Now it seems I would never know

Just what our togetherness brings

I looked at my watch

Just one last time

If I could turn it back

Then it could be fine

No it’s way too late now

Time to give up and go

There’s no way now

That she’s going to show

I turn away to go home

My head bent in sorrow

Perhaps I’ll go to the pub

And save the tears for tomorrow

I hear my name called

Think - I’m hearing things now

I turn just to see

And there she is – wow!

She runs through the crowd

Said she’s so sorry she was late

She thought I’d be gone

Couldn’t believe I would wait

She told me she’d left early

In plenty of time for our date

But there was a hold up on the tube

Which had made her so late

To cut a long story short

And we laugh about it still

How our first real date

Nearly went down the hill

We have been together now

For thirty four happy years

At first I was so nervous

But she quelled all those fears

We fit like a glove

Our feelings were right

We are perfect together

Ever since that first night

©Suzy Jenkins June 2012

What happened to the handy local shops?

I know all the reasons why they don’t exist in small towns any more – but it is just not on when I want something and would have to travel a long way to buy it!  J

Someone had a photo of their tarot reading set-up and had a really lovely soft velvet blue cloth on a small square table and I thought it would be excellent to get one.  

I want a really sumptuously soft royal blue or purple fringed one and have been searching online for hours checking out scarves, square shawls, tablecloths etc. trying to find one, or even the material so that I can possibly make one - although that would mean having to dig the dreaded sewing machine out of hibernation in the loft to add the fringing.

But I have had no joy whatsoever - I think I really need to check out car boot sales etc. although I would never be up in time to go to one.  We used to have haberdashery type shops or stores around to buy material but they all seem to be long gone.  

I suppose I could check out local markets or go to a big town and try a department store.  But do I want one that much???!!!  Especially as they may not even have what I want when I get there.

I have found some heavy velvet/velour material on eBay for curtains or dressmaking but I am not sure that will actually be the thick soft plush velvet I am thinking of, although they probably don’t even make that type of fabric any more as it is too expensive and everyone wants the thinner stretchy velour type material now.

I just hate sewing at the best of times so would much prefer to buy it already made especially as my sewing machine has this nasty habit of chugging nicely along, teasing me into thinking all is well, and then it suddenly jams and totally annialates the fabric by bunching it all up and getting the cotton all knotted up in a huge bundle.  

This then takes me an hour to unpick, then check the machine that always seems to look all innocent with nothing wrong, and then having to try it again with fingers and toes crossed just hoping it will get to the end without ruining it any more.

I don’t even know why I am that bothered about getting some velvet material as I already have some perfectly good black velour material that has silvery white specks on it that I use (no fringing though) that looks really good with the tarot cards.  

I originally bought this from my belly dancing teacher with the idea of making a hip scarf with it for doing my belly dancing, but it just sat in the drawer for ages as I bought a couple of ready-made satin ones with coins on to jiggle and shimmer nicely instead.  I do love the material and it is perfect, but it would be lovely to have the sumptuous velvet fringed one as an alternative.

I do wonder though if they even still make what I have in mind without it costing an arm and a leg plus only being available in very elite stores.

Importing CD’s to the Computer (Update)

I thought I would give you an update on my putting music on the computer saga! 

Well the CD importing came to an abrupt stop for quite a while as I ran out of space to put them on the 2 laptops and the main PC!  Not something I had expected at all. 

I had obviously realised early on that I couldn’t put much on the 144GB main computer but as the laptops didn’t really have anything stored on them I thought they would be OK.  No such luck.

Oh what a state I got myself into – I was having to juggle it all around to get the ones I wanted most on the iPod, some of which I haven’t even managed to import yet.  So I was having to transfer imported music from one laptop to the other, a few at a time back and forth, to get what I wanted on just one laptop to copy to be able to sync the iPod.

I had presumed I could just add the music from EACH of the laptops and the PC but realised belatedly that you can only “sync” it from one device.  If you plug it into any of the others it syncs everything from that one and overwrites what I have already put in from the first one. 

You would think there would be a way of adding rather than overwriting but hey isn’t that just too obvious a requirement for the designers.  There could be an overwrite choice or an add choice.  Surely that wouldn’t be too hard, after all iTunes let’s you add up to 5 computers to the network so why can’t you add music from each of those?  Makes sense to me. 

So anyway you can only sync from one computer, although you can add things manually from that computer so you don’t have to add everything.  It is frightening though as I had to sync them all again once and then when you go to add some more songs manually it comes up with the little warning box that it will overwrite them which you have to click to confirm.  But then you can add them manually.  So why have the warning box come up at all when the manual box is ticked???!!!  Who designs these things!

Sooo – it was either buy an external hard drive to add all the music to or buy a new computer that we had been putting off for so long. 

After many, many hours of talking about it and checking prices online we finally decided we may as well put the money towards a better computer so we wouldn’t need an external hard drive.  Or not yet anyway, as we would feel safe in that everything is stored on Carbonite.  I will just try to convince myself of how much I have saved rather than how much I have spent.

As soon as my new computer arrived I have spent the requisite number of hours pulling my hair out trying to get it running and all the data transferred before I could get the final third of my CD’s imported and transfer all the others from the laptops so they have memory space to do things again.  Of course this will mean syncing the iPod yet again, with the new computer this time.

I should think in about 3 months time I will finally emerge from IT computer world, Carbonite will have finally backed it all up, and I can get back to doing normal things! J

My Recent Experiences with Private Health Care Appointments

Well how is this for private health care (in England)!  I am seriously wondering if it is worth trying to keep up my private healthcare payment now I am not working full time.


Problem 1

I had an appointment a few weeks ago for an eye problem - I drove half an hour to get there and when I got in to see him he said he doesn't do those procedures now and said he would refer me to someone who does.  

Seeing as the letter from my optician and doctor must have clearly stated the problem then he or his secretary should have informed me of this instead of making the appointment.



Problem 2

I drove half an hour to the same private hospital for an appointment about my back.  On arrival the receptionist looked baffled and then said she would get someone to come and see me as the consultant had no clinic there that morning.  

A lady came out and said that although my letter clearly stated the time and hospital, they had booked me in at a hospital miles away at that time instead.  However he did have a clinic at this hospital that evening and they could book me into that if I would like to come back.

I did go back later and all the consultant said was "did you not fancy a trip over to the other hospital" - I refrained from saying that unless I could be teleported it would have taken me a further hour to get there so would obviously not be in time for the appointment, as I was at the correct place on the letter at the correct time.  

He then just casually mentioned that this happens all the time.  WHAT - this is private and even the NHS doesn't get it that wrong!!!  

Not one word of apology!!!

If I had taken time off work I would have been even more infuriated as it would have cost me wages as well as fuel.

Plus he asked me if I had the doctor’s referral letter as he hadn't - I replied that I hadn't but he should have, otherwise how would I have received an appointment in the post without ever having contacted him.  

He also said he couldn't find my MRI scan and would have to try and track it down.  To that I said, “I have a copy of the disc in my handbag if you would like to borrow it”.  That was £10 well spent in getting my own copy!

I am even wondering who I could possibly complain to about any of this as he obviously wasn't bothered - the hospital? (they only book the rooms not the clients I presume), the secretaries? (like they are likely to bother any more than him), the insurance provider? (it didn't cost them any more and it wasn't their fault).  

I can only see that he is to blame because he is expected to take responsibility for his secretaries but he didn't seem to think it a problem at all - why one earth not as it must waste his time as well as his clients time.
I does make you wonder, doesn't it..........

Money Saving Tips for Beauty Products

I have recently started getting a lot more use out of some of my beauty products and it works on many other things too.

You know how so many things now come in those plastic tubes that stand up on their lids?  It gives the impression that when you get to the end and have squeezed the last bit out that you have used all the product.  After all, it is standing up so everything will have drained down, right?  Wrong!  As the product is usually quite thick it just clings to the sides of the container.

 I have found you can get an awful lot more out after that.  Just cut the tube right across from side to side about half way down so you have 2 halves of the tube and you will find there is loads of product still left inside. 

The top half will fit nicely as a lid over the bottom part to keep the product in good condition and it wont dry up.

I have done this with my shower gel, face wash and my moisturiser.  You can afford to pay for the expensive products when you realise how long they can last.  I have still not finished the face wash and I have been using it daily since I cut it in half for over 3 weeks now so I think I will get another months use out of it from what I would have originally thought.

It is quite annoying to think of all those tubes I have thrown away thinking they are empty when really there is still lots of product just stuck to the sides.  They may say 250ml or something on the outside because that is the amount that went into the tube but probably 30-50ml just sticks to the inside of the tube.

It will work with toothpaste as well if your toothpaste comes in those types of tube.  Mine comes in a metal tube that you can keep folding up to make sure you get the most of the product (the same as tomato puree tubes).

So think twice before you throw away a tube that you presume is empty and check how much is still inside just clinging to the sides of the tube - you can possible get a whole months more use out of it which will save your pennies, or pounds / dollars in the case of the expensive beauty products.

For anyone who is worried about having an MRI Scan – my experiences

I had my first MRI scan on my lower back 8 years ago and I hated it, so I was really frightened of having another one when my GP suggested it.

I think one of the main problems I found the first time is that it was not at all as I expected. 

You see people going in them on TV so you know roughly what to expect, BUT what you don’t expect or realise until you are actually in there, is just how close and small the tunnel is once a human being is in that hole.

I can distinctly remember seeing the tunnel and thinking how big it was and not being at all concerned when I lay down on that bed.  I was in for a total shock!

OK if I was a petite 5’2” slim woman it might not have been so bad but I am a “well rounded” 5’8” woman and those walls were close!

They gave me the choice of an eye mask if I wanted or some glasses with tilted lenses so you can look down past your feet to the open.  I chose these thinking that they would be better because I could “see out”.  Wrong – they were the worst things I could have chosen!

Once again, if you are petite they may have been OK but when you are my size it was a huge shock to see how small that tunnel was and I wish I hadn’t seen how little space there was above my body.  What the eyes don’t see…….etc. is a very appropriate saying in this case. 

I am a “pear shape” so I would think it would be even worse for an “apple shaped” person with a big tummy as they would seem like they filled the tunnel even more than me when they looked down with those glasses. 

I am not claustrophobic unless things are VERY close to me – I am fine in lifts but get a bit concerned in close crowds and don’t like narrow passageways or crawling through tunnels etc. 

If I had opted for the eye mask I would not have realised how close it was in there apart from realising my arms were touching the sides of course.  I am positive that my brain would not have realised how close the top was if it only had the closeness of the sides touching my arms to consider.  The eyes give a lot more away than the feel of the arms, I am sure.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Anyway, this time I did a bit of investigation and found that there are Open MRI scanners but there are only about 5 in the country I think and they were only used for very unusual patients as they were so expensive and took a lot longer.

But what I did find is that there are some Feet First MRI Scanners and not only that but my local hospital had 2 MRI Scanners and one of them was a Feet First.  I was, I think, overjoyed.  If I can call it that!

I was still dreading the scan but to go in feet first so that my head would be nearer the open air sounded soooo much better!  If I had to have one, I wanted that one.  Luckily my doctor agreed to send me for that one although the normal procedure was for doctors to send patients to the normal scanner.

I can now meditate so could “switch off” and I knew what to expect this time as well, so I can honestly say that this MRI Scan was a breeze.  I would have no worries or hesitation about having another one now.

Once I had sorted the Feet First scan out I just put it out of my mind right until I lay down on the MRI bed.  There was no point in thinking about it and getting myself in a state so I just put if out of my mind.

I took a CD along with me for them to play into the headphones and of course, just my luck, but the CD player had broken so they could only play the radio!

I obviously opted for the plain eye mask this time and just kept my eyes closed throughout.  She put me in very slowly and it just got very slightly darker as my head went in but I could almost feel (real or imagined) that the end of the tunnel was only just behind my head, which felt so totally different than when your head is in the dark end of the tunnel.

I felt so relaxed it was unbelievable and I could almost have fallen asleep, despite the fact that it is noisy in there.  The 3^rd time the noise went on (which I presume was the 2^nd scan, as the first one is only 20 seconds) it was like a gentle back massage as the bed vibrated a bit.  When I finally got up I felt a bit whoozy as I was so relaxed I think.

A totally and completely different experience to my first MRI – partly due to knowing what to expect, partly because I was so calm and mainly because I didn’t feel anywhere near so hemmed in when my head was so near the outside instead of being nearly 6’ in the tunnel.

So I certainly recommend that if you need an MRI scan and are at all claustrophobic then check with the hospitals around your area to find out if there is a Feet First MRI Scanner.  Don’t rely on your doctor to know because mine didn’t but of course he would now know for anyone in the future.

Importing CD’s to the Computer – How I am getting on!

Well I did say I would be kept busy uploading songs from my CD’s to the computer – but I hadn’t really realised quite how busy!

At first I was going to just upload them while I was on the computer but it was taking so long that we decided to put more of an effort into it and so we are now using 2 laptops and the main PC to get the CD’s on faster. 

It has now turned into a major project.  Even if we are not on the computers we are going back and forth to them to put another CD in as soon as we hear the “ping” to say it has finished.  LOL – our life is revolving around the “ping” now J

 We even take one of the laptops in the lounge uploading them for the short time we watch TV in the evenings.  We would have both of them in there but one isn’t on the wifi  (don’t ask – oh go one then - hubby forgot the password he set up for the wifi and doesn’t remember if he wrote it down anywhere!).

The old laptop freezes regularly which is a real pain but the other laptop is ok.  The PC (which is the computer I use) works fine as long as I have very little open on the interne!  As soon as I open Google+ it is OK for a few CD’s and then it crashes the whole thing and I have to restart the computer.  This happens even if I leave Google+ on an “empty” page so it is not loading anything!  Too little memory left!  Help – I need a new computer, not an iPod – but there is a bit of a price difference!

So I spent the whole weekend loading CD’s and didn’t go on Google+ at all.  I was so very tempted but knew that if I went on there I would be on too long and get involved so thought it best to just get on with the CD’s as it is usually quieter on G+ at the weekends anyway – or that is what I kept telling myselfJ  So I also didn’t list any jewellery items on anywhere either.  Never mind.

Well we were both busy importing them for a while but then household things decided to step in like the downstairs toilet started leaking which turned into an all day task for hubby.  What timing!

Then one of the dining chair seats decided to crack (and yes, it was me sitting on it at the time – well just getting off actually).  We had already had another seat crack as well when I rested a knee on it while standing talking on the phone. 

So yes I have broken 2 chairs now – but as they are only chipboard seats (I think he said chipboard – he said they are not very strong anyway) and they have lasted about 30 years, so I guess they are now getting brittle.  I know that as he tried to flatten it by pushing the other way, it just snapped in half.  They were not fitting properly anyway as they had been re-covered without taking the original covers off so were pushing the frames out.

So now we have major chair renovations going on to mend those 2 chairs properly and strengthen the others as well, because apparently there is nothing supporting the seats apart from 4 small corner pieces of wood that they sit in.  LOL – we need them for Saturday too as we have friends coming round for dinner so no pressure!

The uploading has slowed down a bit over the last few days as I have had to be online so I have been using just the laptop when I have been online on the PC but I am getting there and have loaded over half of them now.

Wow, what is so great is that I have come across so many favourite old CD’s I had forgotten about.  So it’s been quite a treat from that point of view.

Deleting duplicate tracks has caused a bit of problem as to deciding which ones to take off, as they may then not be on an album you were expecting them to be on.  Should I take it off the main album, the “best of” album, the longest length track etc. - various artist albums are the easiest and safest to delete the duplicates from.  Oh well, I suppose I can always change a track over at a later date if I need to J

But the BIGGEST problem I had was just before I was going to bed one night, when I had imported the songs from one of the laptops and was just starting to import the songs from the 2^nd laptop when a warning notice came up to say I was dangerously close to running out of hard drive space!!! 

It was a good job I had just checked the PC before heading off to bed as I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t been there to stop the import.

So I had to import everything back to the newest laptop instead, which hadn’t really got anything on it except programmes.  I had to do that just so that I would be able to use the PC the next day.  So much for the idea of having a full copy of all our CD’s on each computer!

Neither of us had even thought how much space we had left on the hard drive for all the new music!  Is that our age or the fact that the PC is 6 years old?!!  When I checked, the PC only had 144GB altogether which is nothing these days.

Anyway I have now loaded 14,558 songs so far (not including the duplicates that I have deleted) and if I started playing them now I could listen to new songs for the next 40.7 days it says!  I definitely have to keep going until I have finished importing them all, otherwise I will never know how far I got and would probably never finish them.