The iPod Saga Continues

My iPod

Now just look at it sitting there. Pretty little thing isn’t it? Sounds great too for such a small piece of equipment. It's really small, my car key is longer!

However that's where my admiration ends. It’s amazing how it can be such a real pain to get the music onto it, thanks to iTunes.

Now I’m no quitter, I’m determined I’m not going to let iTunes beat me. I’ve been trying for almost a whole week to put some more CDs onto the computer but it’s such tortuous process. A real pain in the bum!

It's still putting some songs into different folders. Michael Jackson’s Number Ones went into 18 separate folders. So I decided I can live without that on the iPod and took it off.

Still not finding the art work either and it’s so slow. It often freezes totally and I daren’t use any other programs with it. So much for the multi-tasking concept, iTunes puts the mockers on that!

Decided to check out whether other people are having problems. First my son-in-law who has all his music on his iPod. He says he has the same problem with the art work but it doesn’t bother him. Well I can't ignore it, looks horrible. I know I'm a bit of a perfectionist but I hate those blanks. So I’ll have to keep going onto the Internet to find it and manually add it. How come if iTunes is the major online music store they can’t find half my records when they’re all still available to buy?

He has had a different problem with iTunes though, has lost half his music from the laptop! Hasn’t a clue how it happened. Now he has to figure out whether he can get it back from the iPod onto his computer. Hopefully I won't have that problem, but if I do, my backup drive should put them back.

Tried my son next. His comment about iTunes was, “It’s total pants!” He’s about to buy a new MP3 player, one that he can use his Windows Media Player with. Looks like I'm not the only one who has problems.

So Apple, (the company that is world renowned for its design of computers), if you can design such nice looking music hardware, why the heck can’t you go the whole hog and get the software to work properly?

Amigurumi

Amigurumi is the Japanes art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and other things. Apparently!

Had to say I'd never heard of it until last week.

Not sure what exactly this is, but it looks quite cute.The pattern is on Wikihow here http://www.wikihow.com/Crochet-an-Amigurumi-Toy

If you want to find more animals check out this website. There's lots of other stuff too here, snowman, frog, fish, jack -o- lantern or a skull bag for Halloween, even food like candy corn? There's also lots more crochet and knitting patterns on the site and lots of them are FREE!
http://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/patternList.fcgi?tXX=1&d=Children&s=Crochet

This Blog has some unusual ones, jammy dodgers, strawberries, mushrooms and a bear dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood. Not all the patterns are given but it gives you some ideas. http://imaginarywardrobe.blogspot.com/search/label/amigurumi

Just in case you don't crochet but fancy giving it a try here's some instructions.
http://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/faq-search.cgi?store=/stores/eyarn&learnToCrochet=1

Dither of the Day - 7 October 2008

A View from the Bridge (Fatfield Bridge)

Well, it’s the first day I've got out of bed before lunchtime since Saturday! Been in bed for most of the past 3 days due to some kind of bug. Thought it was just a cold that was getting better but it turned into something else plus a severe face-ache, headache and feeling sick.

I'm feeling lots better so I ponder to myself, once I've dropped the kiddiwinks off at school and nursery, whether to:

1. Go straight back home to immerse myself in clearing up the devastation of the past 3 days in bed (husband has just ignored it).
or
2. Enjoy the fact it’s a glorious day, have a bit of a wander and take some nice photos in my 2 hours of freedom before I pick up my granddaughter from nursery.

Dither, dither, dither. On the one hand the house would be there when I wasn’t as my Mam used to say. So why not go and enjoy what might be the last brill’ day before winter really sets in. On the other hand, the house was a real tip, or to quote my Mam again “like Stageybank Fair”, (not that I ever knew where that was but I gather it must have been a real hole).

Well after a traumatic hour breakfasting and getting 2 grandchildren ready, by the time I dropped them off at school and nursery, the choice wasn’t a hard one to make. The fresh air won out.

In theory I should have left the car at home, but it’s quite a bank to walk up on the way back and not feeling particularly perky, I gave in and took the car.

I often think the place we live in isn’t particularly pretty. The town centre is an awful ‘sixties concrete design typical of UK New Towns. Like most towns we complain that the council doesn’t do enough to improve the environment and some of the residents don’t help. We get our fair share of idiots dumping supermarket trolleys, despite all the schemes they put in place to stop it.

However one of the places I really like to walk down to is the Riverside. It’s changed a lot over the years but it’s a fairly pretty place now with some nice views and although there’s not a lot there, it’s quite a nice place for a walk or to go to eat. So once I dropped the little ones off, I went.down to the Riverside.

I start from Fatfield Bridge looking towards Penshaw Monument. That's the view in the first picture at the top, You can just see the Monument, way off in the distance. My husband says when he's travelling and sees the Monument he knows he's home. Funny that because he was born in Northumberland, but he thinks Washington is home now we've lived here so long.

There's a street running along the north side of the river I have always liked. Wouldn't mind living there apart from the worry of flooding. My worry really, I don't think there have been any floods since we've lived in Washington, that's 38 years now.

I was just thinking about that when I noticed this Environmental Agency River Recorder box. Now I've walked down that street a few times but I've never noticed it before. Nice to know they're keeping an eye on things. Wonder if it's automatic or whether someone has to come out to measure it on the board. Maybe one of the residents does it.

Along the street outside one house, there's a nice little touch even though it's not real. It's an imitation George V1 postbox. Shame it's a modern house though.

Turning back and looking up the river the view is just as pretty, such a clear sunny day. To be honest it's much better than most of the summer days we had. Wonder how many of these we'll have left.

As you walk along the bank you pass the first pub, the Biddick. Not as nice as in spring when the place is full of cherry blossom, but still a pretty picture.

The last roses of summer are showing their faces too on the riverbank.

Next there's the little war memorial. One of the smallest but nicest I've seen. Soon be covered in poppy wreaths.Just next to it is a lovely little sunny seat, but it's empty today.

Next is the Italian restaurant and bar. Had a few nice meals in the restaurant as it's very child friendly and reasonably priced. Note the parasols and patio heaters, rain and cold doesn't stop the party! Also needed by the smokers now in the smoke free pubs and restaurants.

I hadn't noticed before but there's a plaque on the wall above the fascia which you can hardly read as they painted over it. Apparently this building was the Fatfield Branch of the Chester- le-street Co-operative/Industrial Society in 1909. Glad they left a few of the old buildings. Amazing what you see when you stand and stare instead of just walking by as I usually do. Felt like a tourist!

Just opposite on the south side is another street overlooking the river. Hard to believe that this whole area was a thriving village. Now it's just a couple of streets and a few pubs. All to make way for the Sir James Steele Park when the New Town was developed.

Next is the Havelock, another watering hole on sunny days. Mmm it's certainly a pink pub. It gets quite lively here at night and on fine sunny summer days. About as rare as a £5 note in a bank!

Well, I've enjoyed the walk, now it's time to go home and face the midden that's posing as my home!

Am I the Only One Who Can’t Take House Seriously?

Come on now, please tell me. There must be somebody else out there who looks at Hugh Laurie as he's barracking his medical colleagues and says the immortal words of John McEnroe:

“You can’t be serious man!”

How on earth did they think we could take him seriously? Well maybe they thought because it was set in America and he had a different accent we wouldn’t recognise him. Not a chance!

Could you ever forget seeing him prancing about as mad King George in Blackadder the Third? Not a cat in hell’s chance! King George .

Or what about the simpleton Lieutenant George’s drag act in Blackadder Goes Forth? Lieutenant George Well, maybe they thought we had short memories. Think again.

Then there was the slapstick and musical parodies in A Bit of Fry and Laurie They were just brilliant.

My favourite was Jeeves and Wooster where he played Bertie Wooster “the witless socialite”. Sheer bliss. Jeeves and Wooster

Now Stephen Fry's another story. Whilst his characters have been just as hilarious and anarchic somehow the character choices he’s made since then have been more believable. Take Kingdom for example. He’s absolutely believable as the lawyer whose good nature is sorely tried by his siblings and work colleagues. No problem. Kingdom

So what’s the problem with House then? Well I don’t think it’s Hugh Laurie to blame, well not really. Maybe I just can’t believe in the character. Yes, that’s the problem! House just isn't real. Never mind he got a £2 million Los Angeles mansion out of it so no problems there.

I haven't used any of the photos from the BBC or ITV's websites. I wouldn't dare, they're hot on copyright!so if you want to see for yourself I've put in the links BBC Comedy ITV Comedy Classics

To end with, if anyone remembers the Blackadder TV series each episode ended with a song, every episode had different lyrics. The words to one episode in series 2 seem very apt at the moment with the financial crisis some banks have led us into. They’re a little bit naughty but…..


“Take heed the moral of this tale,
Be not a borrower or lender,
And if your finances do fail,
Make sure your banker's not a bender.

Blackadder, Blackadder,
He trusted in the Church,
Blackadder, Blackadder,
It left him in the lurch.

Blackadder, Blackadder,
His life was almost done.
Blackadder, Blackadder,
Who gives a toss? No-one!”