Remote control missing

My children keep hiding the remote control from each other.  They take it to the loo with them.  If it ends up in the loo I will not be happy.

My husband is off flying around The Falklands today.  I would have been flying around also if I had got up in time.  I had a vivid dream about being drawn into the afterlife by a ghost.  It must have been the wine I drank at last night's fun drinks party.

Not long until we move back to UK - well 4 months. Sunny Blackpool here I come.

Christmas in the sunshine

We had a lovely day on Christmas day.  It did not get dark until about 10pm and the sun shone all day.  We had to open all the windows in the house.  My Falklands roast lamb and courgettes from the polytunnel were delicious.  I had three glasses of sherry and had a rosy glow all day. I then went on to have cava, red wine - far too much of it.

Yesterday my husband was another year older and my daughter was sick.  We watched Indiana Jones and I made a felted robin.

Volunteer Point

Today I went to Volunteer Point via Stanley by helicopter which took about 40 minutes.  I was nearly sick.  The wind was making the helicopter sway and bump and I nearly had to reach for the sick bag.  It was quite unpleasant. I had a hot flush and everything. I nearly had a panic attack flying over the sea. The waves were massive. There was a cruise ship in Stanley and my son was fascinated to see that it had a swimming pool.

When we got to Volunteer Point it was very windy and I managed to lose my hat in the middle of a King Penguin colony.  Luckily it blew over to the other side and I was able to rescue it.  My ears hurt in the wind here if I do not have a hat on and tonight as I write this I have the usual red face caused by wind burn. I look ridiculous. I also have some grey hair which is a new development.

I have had my first sherry of the festive season and it went down so very well.  I have forgotten how good sherry is, it is not easy to get hold of here but I am hoping I will have some in my stocking tomorrow. I can drink a whole bottle quite easily. It is the best way to get through Christmas day.

The children have written their Christmas letters and my husband set them alight outside.  Unfortunately he had had one too many sherrys and nearly set the house alight.  Half of our presents have not arrived due to a mixture of UK snow and RAF planes only flying here once a week. All I care about is sherry.

We are having lamb tomorrow for Christmas lunch.  I have no idea how to cook it, in fact I have no idea what cut of lamb we have.  I think I can see a kidney on top of what looks like a leg. I have garlic and rosemary and the cooker works so I am hoping things will turn out well.

I heard a bird singing this morning at about 5am.  It was very unnatural.  I am hoping my children can stay asleep until at least 7am but it is light from 5am onwards.  The sun will just not stop shining.

December in The Falklands is very surreal.  I will be able to look back and say that on Christmas Eve 2010 I saw hundreds of King penguins and walked along a white sandy beach watching a Seal trying to eat Magellanic penguins in the sea.  Life here at times is so good you can hardly believe it is true. 

A day away from MPA

I have been to a different land today.  An hour's ride in a helicopter and we landed in New Island.  It was an early start, all 4 of us out of the house by 8am.  That was a miracle in itself, only one strop and the worry about the dog being left all day in the house.  Had I shut the conservatory door?  I am sure the dog would die in there because it gets so unbearably hot.  The dog you will be glad to know is alive and well.
We planted some blue grass on New Island today and then went to see some Penguins and Albatross.  I could honestly not believe my eyes.  I was so close to the birds I could have touched them. The Rockhopper Penguins were inquisitive and funnily enough hopped around quite a bit. The Albatross sat on their nests.  You could see the babies underneath.  I watched one yawn.  It had a massive mouth.

The birds were so noisy and shrieked every time a Turkey Vulture or Skua tried to get their eggs.  I think there must have been about 1000 birds at least. They flew right over my head above 3 feet above me. The king Cormorants looked like flying Penguins from a distance. Their big feet dangling in mid air.

The sun shone all day and as I write this my faces hurts, my skin is tight, although I put sun-cream on I am burnt.

The children made friends with the only two children that live on the island.  My son says he would like to live there.  They played on a white sandy beach making sandcastles. I met a felting lady who gave me some red felting wool.  It was as if she had given me diamonds. Such contentment.

To put the icing on the cake my friend is back from Chile and I have just had a nice glass of red wine with her.  My face is very rosy.   I think I am back in love with the Falklands again.   The West is very Scottish.                                                                                                                     

Pepper and advent calendars

Well it is now Friday and it has been a mixed week.  In Stanley today my son decided to find out what reaction he would get if he put pepper in his sister's Dr Pepper drink in the middle of a busy cafe at lunchtime. It was not the most postive of actions that followed.

Earlier in the week my son and his partner in crime decided to open their little's friends advent calendar on his behalf while he is on holiday in Chile. What ever happened to the old fashioned mantra of - children should be seen and not heard.

I am off to New Island tomorrow, my husband has packed my rucksack and all I have to do is get up tomorrow morning and be ready to go at 8.15am.  I am looking forward to seeing some Albatross.

In the supermarket in Stanley today I bought fresh marscapone and ricotta cheese, I even saw fresh cream.  There is apparently an extra flight coming over every week related to oil drilling.  I hope there is oil here, I may be able to buy bananas and pineapples soon.

At the end of the day all is well, both of my children now have their own advent calendars even though it is over half way through December and my son realises that pepper in fizzy drinks is not going to put Mummy in a good mood.

Windy woes

Well I managed to get one hour's sleep last night.  The other 7 hours were spent listening to the 70mph winds outside.  Our fence has blown down but I am happy to say that the friend's chickens that I am looking after are still alive and well. They must have had a cosy night couped up in their henhouse.

I do not know if I will make it outside today.  The sun is shining but I can hear the wind roaring. 

Day 3 of the school holidays.  I can hear my son throwing his train set around in a temper.  I will be climbing the walls by lunchtime.

I have started felting pictures.  I taught my daughter how to knit yesterday.  I am suffering from lack of shops.  I cannot wait to get back to the UK in the Spring. Food shopping, clothes shopping, any type of shopping.

Christmas stress already

My husband and I have managed to have an argument about internet shopping.  How is this possible?  We are nowhere near real shops, a shopping centre is somewhere we never go together. The queues, the heat, the lights, the bags.  I am breathing heavily just thinking about it.  Ikea is the worst location on earth as far as my husband is concerned.  He flinches when he sees the sign.

The huffing and puffing this afternoon about children's wellies sizes and why wouldn't the website accept BFPO addresses.  The laptop nearly went out the window.  Of course it was too windy today to open the windows.

I am in charge of looking after my friend's chickens.  They have laid two eggs so far and are quite friendly when I throw chicken feed at them.  They peck a bit at my legs which unsettles me.  I have just been to check on them and they are huddled in the henhouse expecting another night of lashing rain and howling wind.

I have remembered how much I hate Christmas.  It is all nonsense and stresses me out.  Roll on 26th December when it is all over. The only good thing is the mulled wine and bread sauce and at least it is not cold and snowing. That would just finish me off.

I am having a "I am sick of the Falklands" weekend.  I cannot get the food I want and there are no shops and the wind is relentless.

Rebecca should have won the X factor tonight, she is very elegant and does not realise it.

Restricted road

All dressed up with nowhere to go.  Was really looking forward to going out to dinner in Stanley tonight but road is restricted because of the high winds.  There is also a gale warning to look forward to.  In the Summer in The Falklands the wind is worse than in the Winter. My hair keeps sticking to my lip gloss.

I was watching the UK news earlier, central Scotland has really bad weather for the second week.  I am quite glad I am here.

I have been deep in thought today - why is it that

I dream every night about what I going to felt next and last night I ran out of needles
Why do all houses not have double sinks
Why does flour always spill out of bags
Why can children not get ready for school in the morning without being nagged

Smirking in Style

This weekend has been fun.  What lovely friends I have here in The Falklands.  We had a lovely ladies lunch on Friday afternoon which started off in the mess in a very demure fashion but then the champagne corks started popping during the first course and everything began to get into a bit of a blur. I was the only one out of 27 women who did not get a rather naughty joke and spent the rest of the lunch trying to work it out with a glazed look on my face. My husband thankfully was able to fill in the blanks.

I discovered jam donut cocktails - very nice.  Also heard a lovely romantic story that put a smile on my face. In fact I just cannot stop smirking for a variety of reasons this weekend.


Today I went to church (I thought it may stop me smirking) dressed entirely in a friend's clothes I have bought from the thrift shop.  I tried to totter along in a pair of my high heels but had to return home to change into my familiar Falklands boots.  I am sick of dressing in fleeces, boots and dodgy old coat.  When I return to the UK, I am going to have style.  I am going to have handbags, high heels and accessories that match.

I asked my husband if he liked my top this morning.  He said it was "too trendy".  My daughter said it was awesome.  My husband would like me to go out wearing tweed or maybe a nice fitted shirt.  I am not even 40 yet.  He also likes me going out with no make up and thinks I should stop dyeing my hair..

Everyone except me has gone to Bertha's beach to do a beach clean up.  The last clean up consisted of walking around the beach for two hours and collecting 14 bin bags worth of rubbish - mainly plastic bags. They are very bad for Penguins. Unfortunately the wind is giving me wrinkles so I am going to have to stop going on on nature trails and stay indoors concentrating on my felting and surfing on fashionable websites to plan my future outfits.

I am off to the gym to get rid of my stomach so that I can wear my new line of trendy fitted tops.  I am going to look really stupid on the treadmill with this smirk on my face. 

Bodie Creek suspension bridge

On Sunday we went to Bodie Creek suspension Bridge.  It has not been in use for about 20 years and is looking a bit on the rusty and shaky side.  It was used to transport sheep across the water.  It was very windy when we were there.  I was convinced the car was going to blow over the edge into the water. 

The gorse is out in full bloom and is a lovely bright yellow colour. It smells of coconut.

Plants no more thanks to my precious pet

I knew something was up the minute I walked into my house this afternoon.  It smelt of herbs. It usually smells of the previous day's evening meal!

My son looked in the conservatory and we found that my two large tomato plants had been snapped in two.  My courgette plant was buried under all the soil that had been tipped out of the plant pots and my large flowering plant was snapped in two.

Initially I thought I had been broken into.  That would be quite easy here because I never lock my door but then who would want to steal plants? Then I saw paw marks all over the windows and mud on the door.  My 8 year old collie has never done anything like this.  She must have seen a cat or hare or turkey vulture. She actually managed to tip the soil completely out of the pots.  Collies are very clever.

I am going to have some wine now.  Most people would get upset over furniture or possessions being ruined but my most precious things were my tomato plants.

No snow in The Falklands

Woken up today to watch Sky news and the snow and traffic reports.  It looks freezing and I am smugly sitting here in a summer ish top and no coat.  Heating is not even on.   I remember the snow in Scotland last Winter and it was hideous.  I do not miss getting up on the dark mornings in a house with single glazing defrosting the car and scrapping off the snow.  I am very glad to be in The Falklands this morning.

My husband and brother in law are off to Bleaker Island today.  Penguins galore.  I am off to work.

Spent a lovely evening last week drinking wine and felting cupcakes.  I am waiting for the dried lavender to arrive and then I will be making Christmas puddings.

The polytunnel yesterday had two cats in it and a new born kitten.  Rocket plants have been sold and we are making a profit on seed costs. 

Limited broadband access is driving me crazy.