Hello world.
As promised here is a special 2 for the price of 1 blog. You buy one , you get one free, I say you buy one, you get one free. Sorry, couldn't resist it :-).
Well I will start with yesterday. Another very quiet day at work, probably the quietest Saturday ever since I have been there, which is almost 10 years now. Took an appallingly low total for the day. Was rainy and cold for the most part too, so all in all a low sort of a day. Thank goodness for books, as I get the very minimal of conversation (and believe me ANY conversation is better than none sometimes) I would go mad if I had nothing to read all that time. I do get to have some glorious wonderful silence too, just not always when I wish I could.
That's the big problem for me I think. When It has been quiet , and devoid of customers for any length of time (say half an hour or more), I am usually really getting to enjoy the quiet, or become engrossed in a book. If someone then comes in, I can end up feeling annoyed by the interruption. Which I really shouldn't. But don't worry, I am usually glad to see them (really I am).
There is an old man who comes in in his little car, whose car we fill up for him. I was doing just that and chatting away, but failed to notice that the pump hadn't cut out properly, and ended up with diesel all down my leg and over my one shoe. Ooh that stuff stinks.
Watched the Eurovision last night, and for the first time in years it felt like a proper contest, with much less backslapping going on between countries with their voting. All of the various countries acts seemed of a much higher standard, I really enjoyed watching it for once. Usually I end up cringing behind the sofa at the awfulness of it. But this year was spot on. Have to agree that Norway were pretty cool, and I loved Iceland's effort too. Oh yea mustn't forget our entry, Jade, must I. Fifth, I think we deserved a better placing than Turkey, but it was a fairly close run thing, so no real complaints.
Eurovision was partly to blame for me not blogging last night you see.
On to today now. Got to work this morning to a rather ominous variety of beepings. Not great. On closer inspection the machinery that controls all the fuel pump electronics and felling had gone and tripped, and tried to reset but failed. A few button presses later and a restart and all was OK on that front, but, the credit card terminal was literally terminal. Kaput. Rang up the help desk to try to rectify with a software reset over the the phone line. We are sorry, but our operating hours are from 10am till 5pm on Sundays. What use is that. I need help now, at 9am. Only had to turn one customer away who didn't have cash on him though, for which I was thankful.
10am I rang again, and got through to a wonderful call center in India (sarcastic hat on). Whenever we have to call them, they seem eternally confused with our English and pronunciations, and likewise us with theirs. So things tend to be a bit drawn out and take longer to explain than they should.
The first thing they suggested I should do was to turn it off and on again (I thought that was the IT departments little thing). That was the first thing I had tried when I got there. Much messing around later, and he comes to the conclusion that the machine doesn't work, which was funny, because that's what I told him to begin with, the very reason I rang up n the first place. "We will send a new one out to you. It should arrive Tuesday". Lovely. A whole day of not being able to accept cards, and having to turn lovely customers away. Most demoralizing it is. The other girl is on tomorrow, so she will have some fun there.
As was hardly surprising, we didn't take an awful lot.
Got home just after quarter past 1.
Last night I made a lovely beef and carrot stew, and left it overnight to improve. I put that on and we were eating just over half an hour later. Convenience food at its best.
Went and had a shower ready for church than and got myself ready. Got there just after 10 to 6, so had a bit of time to get comfy. We had forgotten, it was the evening prayer service rather than Communion service. So all packed like sardines into the Lady chapel. I really love these services, everyone in together instead of being spread all over the church. Much more fun altogether.
The sermon was very good, and extremely enjoyable, even entertaining today. The vicar started off talking about his masters degree, then consumerism, he then came out with a few fascinating facts on the shopping habits and behaviour of the average person, selling tactics of supermarkets, and how we always speed up when we walk past banks. Then a complete change of direction he began to talk about the reading we had had. I think the point he was trying to make was that we are very subtly manipulated by the supermarkets etc into buying things, that we may not have originally set out to buy, even though we assume we have a free will in what we buy, we are not as free to chose as we maybe would imagine.
But when it come to Gods love for us, we do not chose to receive it, but it is freely given to us, He chooses us. Where have the choice though, is whether to chose to love Him, and to chose to live as Jesus did. To love one another, to live peaceful, joyful helpful lives. Jesus said we are his friends, he wanted us to be his friend, as He is our friend. A friendship that is open to everyone and anyone who chooses it. Plus that we should be Christians 7 days a week, not just we sing His praises each Sunday in church. He calls us to be disciples to continue what was started 200 years ago. St least that how I understand it, I may be totally wrong.

Today is Tuesday the 12th of May. And I have been at work for a large proportion of the day. Not my idea of a perfect day, but hey, it pays the bills doesn't it.
Nothing exciting happened at work today, unless you consider a very large delivery from Bookers Wholesale exciting that is. Wasn't overly quiet which made a nice change, Made almost double the total of some days, plus we had 25 of our account customers come in and spend their hard earned cash with us.
The weather yet again was utterly lovely, if a little windy again. We really are being spoiled with all the blue skies and sunshine, and will probably have to pay for it at some point.
I couldn't finish praying this morning without several annoying interruptions, which led to me having a rather un-Christian strop with myself. Felt like throwing my toys out of the pram I did. Didn't get me very far though as no-one was listening to me stropping. So gave up as it seemed a futile and pointless endeavour.
I am listening to Finzi on Spotify as I type this. Lovely relaxing music to wind down to at the end of the day.
Not a lot to tell about today really. Except that more and more, I am getting to midweek and seriously needing to go to Church again, as Sunday seems too far away for me to manage. Even though I pray every day, morning and evening, plus occasionally noon and night too, there is something about going to and being in Church that calms my soul, and tops me up for a couple of days. But I seem to run out. Will have to make another attempt at the Wednesday service I think.
Off to bed now though, as it is a little late again so night night one and all.

I unlike a lot of people usually have the good fortune of not having to work on a Monday. (Aren't I the lucky one). So today, as usually happens on a Monday, I have spent the day at home. The weather was utterly beautiful again today, maybe a little windy, but that dried my washing double quick this morning, so really not complaining there. It was the sort of day when you wish you were by the sea.
Has been a pretty unspectacular day on the "doing things" front. Did a bit of washing, dried it outside, pottered in the garden for a while, then I dismantled a chicken that I had roasted last night, and had a lovely chicken salad for lurch, I had decided among other things that it was also a chicken salad sort of a day.
I watched a little bit of television today, something for which I am not usually known, but there was a program on about the South Pacific, which was thoroughly interesting and very enjoyable indeed.
Especially the part with the islanders of Pentecost Island, who, once having tied vines around their ankles proceeded to leap off wooden scaffolds a couple of hundred feet high, with the intention of touching the ground with their head if possible. Madness, but for them ,the closer they got to the ground, the higher they believed their crops would grow after the next sowing. One mad soul literally planted himself head first into the soft earth, so I guess his will be the healthiest and biggest crops next harvest.Funny how the vine seems to be a recurring theme lately.
I am currently sat in the study, typing this blog , and thinking about work tomorrow. I need to get an early night for once, I think. So night night one and all. Sorry I haven't written much , but I really haven't done much, so there you are.
Off to say my prayers, then bed. Au revoir.

Well as he promised MLO and I had almost an entire day to ourselves today. A bit of a rare event these days. We started off going into town for a bit of a mooch around. Popped into TKMaxx, nothing much in there. Then we went to Costa coffee for a cuppa (I had tea as usual, and surprisingly for a coffee palce they do lovely tea, Twinings I think). After that we went to look in the Works bookshop (loosely speaking it is), and yet again I managed to find quite a few good books nice and cheap. Bought a lovely book of prayers, the Watkins Dictionary Of Saints, a wonderful book on the life and times of Jesus full of illustrations, photos and maps etc, and finally a lovely big book all about the vatious sacred places around the world in hardback, and the total for all this booklike goodness, fourteen of your English pounds please. Bargain. We then went on to Waterstones for a quick look, but nothing much in there. They did have the SonyReader on display , and would relly rather love one, except for the cost, and having to buy all my books over again in electronic format, which seems a bit of a con if you ask me.

Next we drove up to Dinedor Camp, an Iron Age hill fort just outside of Hereford City . Neither of us had been there before, so were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was up there. The views in all directions are glorious too, right over into Wales and the Brecon Beacons, up to Shropshire and all across beautiful Herefordshire.
Spring had definitely arrived up there too, there were wild violets in flower across the ground like a sweetly scented purple carpet, ladies smock was in flower, there were bluebells in flower too. Lovely woodland. Said to MLO, we will have to come back in the summer and have a picnic up there.
We had a nice leisurely drive back through Dinedor village and Holme Lacy.
After that we both had steak for dinner, I had mine with salad, and he had wis with veggies.
Work again tomorrow, after my long weekend off, but never mind eh. Have said my prayers for this evening, now off to bed to say my night prayers, so night night all.

In prayer last night, I had one of those moments when you know God is there, right by you. It is a wonderful experience, and something that increases my trust and faith in Him. To feel God so close, to know He is there by your side, that He cares about you so much, to be there whenever you may need him to be, is so intensely comforting and wonderful. If ever anything gets into my mind that may make me lose some of the faith I have in Him, it is moments like this that put my heart and mind at rest, and allow me to trust in Him fully again.
Back to this morning now, and it is a glorious day so far. The sun is out, the birds are singing and everyone seems happy. One of those days when you feel anything is possible.
It is lunchtime now, will have a chicken sandwich I think. Am busy waiting for the other girl who works here on my days off, to come back from shopping, so I can sort all that stuff out. You can guarantee that if I get stuck into lunch now she will return while I am in the middle of it.
I think I will attempt to convince the other half to come along with me to church in the morning. Realised with him being away this weekend, as I cant drive, I have no way to get to church on Sunday. I cant really walk either as it is about 5 miles along busy country roads each way. So not practical. My bicycle is beyond repair, so that is out of the question. Oh what is a girl to do. I havnt been going long enough to know anyone well enough to ask for a lift either. There is no public transport, and a local taxi will cost at least £20 each way. Really they do. A taxi good from work the last time I needed one, for a seven minute journey cost me £15 for the one way midweek.
I think I had better get back to work for a bit now. I spend far too long on the net when I should be working. Ttfn.

Really, nothing much at all happened, so I dont know what to tell you. The weather wasn't anything to write home about for most of the day, a little bit wet this morning, and cloudy for the rest of the day. Then at about 7:00pm we had the most tremendous thunderstorm, the sky was black, lightning flying across the sky, and lterally nonstop thunder, each rumble running into the next so a wall of sound for at least a quarter of an hour. Then came the rain; stairrods would be a good description, closely followed by some pretty crazy hail, the lawn was white for a time afterwards. All our gutters were overflowing, but that my well have had more to do with the fact that the gutters could need cleaning. 

Did I say nothing much happened today, I forgot about the storm.

My lovely other half came home from work today with a brand new pressure washer in tow, so we had fun putting all the bits together on it, next thing will be the fight over who gets to use it first. The patios and drives all need doing, they havn't been done since last summer, and are starting to look a little green around the edges. I know what will happen though, he will get first bragging rights on it, do about two stones on the patio, then get fed up and hand it to me. Dont you just love him..... I dont really mind though, as using a pressure washer is immensly satifying, you can  immediately see where you have been. Beats getting down on my hands and knees and scrubbing too.

Wanted to get back into the garden today and finish off what I did on Monday, but due to the wetness out there that was a no-no, slightly annoyed at the weather really as I cant get out there to do anything now until Sunday afternoon at the earliest. The birds have been having a wonderful time grubbing around all the bare earth which has been great fun to watch. In the one part we have a lovely water garden cum rockery, and I had dug a trench all round it intending to fill with gravel, and give it a bit more definition,  I didn't get the gravel in it though, and left the trench empty, and for some reason a couple of blackbirds that live in the garden love to run along it and round the rockery, very funny, a bit like a blackbird grand prix.

Had a bit of an off time earlier, was worried silly what on earth the vicar will think, when I tell him about everything. I then remembered that whatever happens, it is what God wants, and to get over myself,   that helped. It's odd though, sometimes its almost like I dont know myself, a peculiar feeling I can't properly describe. Almost like I am looking at myself from a different perspective, like from outside of myself? Oh that sounds bonkers. I can assure you I am totally not bonkers though... Really...Though I can't make head nor tail of myself at the moment.

I am really loving my prayer time too, never having been comfortable with too much of it, or silence before. Now I almost crave it, and need the time during the day to sort things out, I have to have my little conversations with God, and can't start the day off without it. Something that has helped me greatly with this is the "Book of Common Worship, Daily Prayer" and also the Daily Prayer section on the Church of England website for when I am away from home. Both have been a great help to me, giving some kind of continuity to my prayer, and giving me inspiration for al those other little prayers throughout the day. Another book worth reading is "How to Pray" by John Pritchard, gives lots of examples about how to pray (obviously) and the various methods you can use. It is quite a bit more in depth than I have managed to describe, but there are plenty of reviews on the net for it.

I havn't told my mum yet about everything, well not in so many words anyway. I got her to sign up for Twitter, where I had published my intentions and feelings. She obviously read them, as she commented on one of my posts (not about how I felt). Strange thing is next time we met up, she didn't mention it to me. Perhaps she is still trying to get her head round it. It's not as if I didn't give her any hints though. When I was a child I constantly used to tell her I was going to be a vicar, when she told me that girls couldn't be vicars, I used to say well I'll be a missionary then, like David Livingstone. She would then inform me that girls couldn't do that either. So I told her I would be a nun then. The conversation usually ended there. I dont think she ever really took me seriously

Anyway that's enough for today I think, so night night.