Assorted Ramblings...

I think this is the first time for about the last six years, that I feel as though Christmas isn't creeping up on me. Usually, there's so much to do at school, that I seem to live from week to week by numbers, rather than actually realising the date so that it's suddenly the end of term and Christmas is just a few days away.

But not being at work right now means I've had time to do stuff at a more leisurely pace, like making the cake, puddings, mincemeat and various pickles. I've actually enjoyed doing it all rather than seen it as something I need to get done NOW or I won't have the time to do it at all.

There is, however, one thing I still have to do and I want to pick the brains of my super-intelligent f-list. Christmas cards. I said last year that I really would rather stop sending cards to people just for the sake of it - and come on, we all do it, send cards to people we don't otherwise think about all year! - and give the money I'd have spent on the cards and postage (plus a bit) to charity.

I'd still send a card to close family and friends, but I really want to cut down on the rest. For one thing, writing makes my RSI flare up, and for another, it's so bloody time-consuming.

But how do I go about this? I know that some of the people on my list have an email address, so I could send an ecard and then explain that I'm donating money instead, but what about those that don't, or whose addys I don't know? Or am I just being an enormous Humbug! and should just shut up and get on with it?

Any ideas?

A week or so ago, topaz_eyes posted something about her cross-stitching projects and I said that I'd post pictures of some of the stuff I've made over the years. I haven't done very much at all in the last ten years - a combination of kids and work and discrtaction by interwebz being the main causes of that, I suppose, but the house is full of cushions and pictures. Even Mr Caz has been known to take up a needle now and again!

( pics behind the cut )

Another day at home for me - but this time school was actually closed so I don't feel so bad. Mind you, given that we had another fairly heavy snowfall late last night, I don't think I'd have been able to get in anyway. I've done bugger all workwise - just made a couple of powerpoints; I've spent the rest of the time trying to tidy up some of the files on my laptop and PC. I'm fairly organised, but I always find that there's either a)stuff that you put somewhere just so you can... er... put it somewhere and b) stuff you save that you keep adding to and which ends up needing it's own folder or something.

I usually find that's more of a problem with pictures and icons than anything else - I save them so I don't forget about them, and then end up spending ages organising them all at a later date. I'm nice and tidy now though - and I can't complain; I've spent the day drooling over staring at sorting out pictures of David Tennant :-)!
Which reminds me, it's time for an icon clear out as well.

Oh, and by the way - does anyone out there have the Last-FM playlist widget on their profile page? I reorganised my page the other day and in doing so, took out the coding for the widget - and now I can't find it again on their website. Help, anyone?

So this week has been kind of a false start. That crappy course on Monday, a day in school on Tuesday and I've not been in the rest of the week! I've got a couple of things to do over the weekend, but most of my stuff is at school, so I'm not going to bust a gut for once.

And now Thunderbirds is on the telly. ;-)

I saw this over at christinekh's LJ and then at cantbesilent's and I couldn't resist it...

( click if you really wanna know... )

For my fellow Brits - and anyone else who's been following the current "will he, won't he, when will he" surrounding Tony Blair's announcement that he'll be stepping down as PM some time in the next year - this is inspired. A snippet:

In a joint statement today, the Emperor has promised a 'stable and orderly transition of power' to Imperial Chancellor Darth Vader within the next twelve months. Ending months of speculation as to when Lord Vader would betray Emperor Palpatine and hurl him from a rickety gantry, a spokesman confirmed that the handover was planned to take place at next year's Imperial convention at the forest moon of Endor.

Have fun - go read the rest!