Tuesday 31 May 2011

"A Tale of Coincidence" - Joe Locke, 2001

One of the new members of our sales team at work asked me last week if I could talk to him about options some time, as he wanted to understand better how our energy industry clients might use them. So he came into my office this morning for his lesson. We discussed options for about 45 minutes.

As I'm now in an office on my own, I listen to my DAB radio all day (either BBC Radio 2 or BBC 6 Music). Of course, I turned the radio off while my colleague was with me.

When he left, (hopefully) feeling much more confident that he understands how options work, I turned the radio back on. Lauren Laverne's show was on 6 Music -- I was tuned into 6 Music since Ken Bruce is on vacation all this week.

The song playing was the band Gomez's new single.

Its title?

"Options"

Life can be so amusing sometimes!

Janet

Friday 27 May 2011

"Bus Ride" - Marco Benevento, 2008

This morning, I had to take my beloved Audi S3 into the dealer for her annual MOT and whatever service she needs (she only has 23,600 miles on the "clock", despite being almost 8 years old now). As I really don't need a car today, I took the Stagecoach 59 bus back home from Oxford Audi rather than accepting a courtesy car for the day.

I have a great fondness for the 59 bus. When I first moved into the village in 2003, it was my method of getting to/from work in Oxford; I didn't have a full UK driving licence until mid-2004. It's not a quick way to get back and forth, but it's an interesting route. I learned a lot about the countryside and area villages through all those 59 rides.

So my ride this morning brought back a lot of memories. It's quite a feeling to be propelled through the narrow country roads in a bumpy metal tube on wheels! This morning's ride was especially exhilarating, as the driver was running late. As a result, the countryside just flew by the bus windows...




I was also reminded why England is referred to as the "green and pleasant land"...




But most of all, I enjoy weaving through the area's beautiful villages...




Janet

Saturday 21 May 2011

"Happy Birthday" - Stevie Wonder, 1980

It's John's birthday today. I am so glad you were born, my love!!!



I love you,

Janet

Friday 13 May 2011

"Our House" - Madness, 1982

To make the song that's the title to this blog really perfect, we'd have to change the lyric to "Our house, in the middle of the fence..."

For John's birthday in May 2009, I bought him a birdhouse. Not just any old birdhouse, either, but a sleek almost Scandinavian-type house.

We hung it on the fence at the side of our house, where it's safe from predators...and where it can be seen from several rooms in our house.

We waited, but no birds took residence. Nothing happened during the balance of 2009. And nothing happened during 2010.

But a few weeks ago, I thought I saw some activity around the house. A few days ago, we got our confirmation. A blue tit "couple" have taken residence in the house! We suspect they are either building their nest or perhaps taking care of their eggs. We haven't seen or heard any evidence that there are actually any baby tits yet. But it's been terrific to watch the little bird-parents dart in and out of the little hole in the front of the stylish house!

This morning, I brought my camera into the study and decided to see if I could get some photos. I got very lucky. Take a look at the following sequence of three shots. You'll see that I didn't raise the mini-blinds (you'll see their shadows), as I didn't want to be seen through the window.

You can click on each image to see it in a larger size.









Janet

Tuesday 3 May 2011

"All Hail the Prince" - Winthrop Douglas, 2011

Last Friday was the "Royal Wedding" here in England. The bride and groom had beautiful, dry weather all day. That was good.

In our neighborhood in North Oxfordshire, the residents of our two cul-de-sacs had a street party after the wedding, to celebrate the day off work we were given because of the big day.

While the weather was apparently fine in and around London, we had a thunderstorm during the middle of the afternoon...complete with crashing thunder...and hail!

Take a look at my photo below (which you can click on to make full-sized):



Apparently, only some of us in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire had the severe weather. Oh well.

You know what? It reminded me of Texas weather!

Janet