Hocus Pocus!

Life has been pretty hectic one way or another the past few days so I've not had chance to get anywhere near the computer until now.  The deadline for my Witchy ATC swap has now passed and I must say thank you to all of you who joined in and sent cards - a few people had to drop out along the way due to other commitments, but I hope they might get the chance to join in some of my future swaps.

I've swapped all the cards out now and had intended getting them into the post on Monday, but unfortunately I've just not been able to get anywhere near the post office (see the rest of this blog and beyond to find out why) ..... so the plan is to get everything posted out in the morning (and keep my fingers crossed that the impending postal strikes here in the UK don't cause too many delays)!

The other night I was whizzing up some black peppercorns in my blender, ready to rub over some meat, when poof ! - hocus pocus! - like some magic spell, I was surrounded by a cloud of white smoke - it took me a few seconds to realise that my blender's motor had finally given up the ghost (well, I can't blame it really - I've had it for 33 years so it doesn't owe me anything does it)?  *LOL*

Monday morning I had to go pick up our long-awaited new car (you may recall our old car got smashed up by joyriders in a black jag) - as it turned out, we were still able to use the wrecked Mondeo in the Government's scrappage scheme which meant, for the first time ever, we could afford to buy a new car - something much smaller this time, more economical and eco-friendly, ideal for the sort of local journeys I tend to make - so we chose a Fiat Panda Active Eco in Samba Orange (it's actually a kind of metallic burnt orange, quite coppery) - orange is one of my favourite colours right now - we didn't want a dark colour this time, wanted something a little bit different and more visible (well, here's a picture of it and as you can see, it definitely IS visible!).  I was quite nervous about driving a new car again after a couple of months off the roads, but I'm gradually getting used to it and it's actually got a very easy user-friendly feel to it.  And with car tax at only a quarter of what we paid for the Mondeo and an economical petrol consumption, it can't be bad!

A few days before I'd filled out an online survey from the Grand Theatre here in Blackpool and as a thank you for doing so, received two free theatre tickets to a show of my choice - well, come Monday night my friend and I went into town and enjoyed a lively show "Dreamboats and Petticoats" at the Grand (a beautiful old music-hall theatre, marvellously decorated, one of very few listed theatres in the UK, built in 1894 by the architect Frank Matcham) - it's always a pleasure to go there, we're very lucky to have this theatre, and I really should go more regularly than I do - productions range from opera to ballet, comedy to mystery, musicals, one-man shows, pantomimes and concerts, something for everyone!  Anyway, Dreamboats and Petticoats was a rock 'n roll musical, lots of songs from wayback in the late 50s/early 60s, a real chance to wallow in nostalgia, and by the end of the evening most people were clapping and singing along, whilst a few more extrovert souls re-lived their youth by dancing in the aisles!  A great night out!

Then I came home to discover .......... but ah, I'll leave it there for now - it's been a very long day one way or another and I'm really tired ..... I need my bed.  I'll post tomorrow about the rest of my night, so come back then .........