Hello friends and family!
Just thought you might like to know a little more about what my man does. Here is the Harper Collins Blog site where he often contributes opinions, summaries of festivals, and commentary on all sorts of things. http://fifthestate.co.uk/author/johnrivers/
Here are also a few projects he has been working on to promote books published by his company.
This is about warfare in Afghanistan:
http://www.3-para.co.uk/
This website/quiz is lots of fun, I actually got a pretty high score, hint, some of the answers are just repeats of the questions.
www.thislittlebritain.co.uk
He also created a Facebook page for William Shakespeare and an upcoming book about him, but I can't find it now, he might have taken it down.
But I was able to find the one he created for Gidget . . .
http://apps.facebook.com/catbook/profile.php?id=765365
Anywho, just to give you an idea what a digital marketing manager does . . .
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
Monday, 22 October 2007
Gidget
Hello all,
Gidget is safe and sound. Sandy, Mom, and Jimmie thank you for taking such excellent care of her. She looks healthy and happy.
On Tuesday I called the Pet Travel Scheme and asked how Gidget would be when we picked her up at Heathrow. I discovered that they would not only clean her up should she make any messes during her journey, but they have private little rooms with cat runs where they would keep her when she arrived. They also said that she would be a little scared, not eat a lot, and take a few days to really settle back down into her routines.
When we arrived at Heathrow on Tuesday evening I was totally expecting a shocked and silent kitty. I was also expecting it to last for a few days. I was worried that she wouldn't remember me, that she would be scarred for life, and that I had done the wrong thing. These feelings did not last long. As soon as I asked one attendant to bring me my kitty, another one came out and told me how lovely and friendly my cat was. She had been playing and petting herself against everyone who came in contact with her. When I heard this, I knew that Gidget was okay. Most of you know how friendly Gidget is, and if she could be that friendly after going through the whole airplane ride ordeal, I knew she would be alright. Finally they brought her out. Her eyes were dilated to the point where you couldn't tell what color her eyes were. She also was as silent as a tomb, which most of you who have met Gidget will know is not normally the case. She is very talkative. I just held her while John called for a cab and kept talking to her. She didn't really acknowledge me and looking back, I still think she was in a daze. By the time we got her into the back seat of the cab she started to meow and recognize me, at least that is what I suspected. My suspicions were confirmed on the train ride home when she continuously moved inside the container to whatever side I was closest to on the outside. If I was near the right front, that was where she would move to.
We got her home and placed her by the litter box. She walked out of her container on her own and I immediately picked her up, showed her the litter box and her food. She wandered around, meowing and sniffing at all the parts of the flat. Finally, within five minutes, she had used her litter box, eaten her food, scratched on her scratching pad, and discovered her bed. They said days . . . it took only minutes and my cat was rolling on her back, loving her new home. The first night she slept right by me, which is unusual, she usually sleeps at my feet. Needless to say, she recovered quickly, is eating like a pig, and is happy to be with her mommy. She follows me around still, loving to be in the room I am in. Even John has noticed and said he understands now why I couldn't part with her. She and I are too attached to each other.
Speaking of John. He referred to her before she arrived as his lodger, with rolling eyes and a bit of sarcasm. Now, Gidget has her own Facebook page, created by John, her own picture folder on John's PC (these are all pictures he has taken of her by the way, not me), and Gidget is starting to sit next to him or go to him almost as much as she goes to me. I don't think she is just a lodger anymore. . . .
Gidget is safe and sound. Sandy, Mom, and Jimmie thank you for taking such excellent care of her. She looks healthy and happy.
On Tuesday I called the Pet Travel Scheme and asked how Gidget would be when we picked her up at Heathrow. I discovered that they would not only clean her up should she make any messes during her journey, but they have private little rooms with cat runs where they would keep her when she arrived. They also said that she would be a little scared, not eat a lot, and take a few days to really settle back down into her routines.
When we arrived at Heathrow on Tuesday evening I was totally expecting a shocked and silent kitty. I was also expecting it to last for a few days. I was worried that she wouldn't remember me, that she would be scarred for life, and that I had done the wrong thing. These feelings did not last long. As soon as I asked one attendant to bring me my kitty, another one came out and told me how lovely and friendly my cat was. She had been playing and petting herself against everyone who came in contact with her. When I heard this, I knew that Gidget was okay. Most of you know how friendly Gidget is, and if she could be that friendly after going through the whole airplane ride ordeal, I knew she would be alright. Finally they brought her out. Her eyes were dilated to the point where you couldn't tell what color her eyes were. She also was as silent as a tomb, which most of you who have met Gidget will know is not normally the case. She is very talkative. I just held her while John called for a cab and kept talking to her. She didn't really acknowledge me and looking back, I still think she was in a daze. By the time we got her into the back seat of the cab she started to meow and recognize me, at least that is what I suspected. My suspicions were confirmed on the train ride home when she continuously moved inside the container to whatever side I was closest to on the outside. If I was near the right front, that was where she would move to.
We got her home and placed her by the litter box. She walked out of her container on her own and I immediately picked her up, showed her the litter box and her food. She wandered around, meowing and sniffing at all the parts of the flat. Finally, within five minutes, she had used her litter box, eaten her food, scratched on her scratching pad, and discovered her bed. They said days . . . it took only minutes and my cat was rolling on her back, loving her new home. The first night she slept right by me, which is unusual, she usually sleeps at my feet. Needless to say, she recovered quickly, is eating like a pig, and is happy to be with her mommy. She follows me around still, loving to be in the room I am in. Even John has noticed and said he understands now why I couldn't part with her. She and I are too attached to each other.
Speaking of John. He referred to her before she arrived as his lodger, with rolling eyes and a bit of sarcasm. Now, Gidget has her own Facebook page, created by John, her own picture folder on John's PC (these are all pictures he has taken of her by the way, not me), and Gidget is starting to sit next to him or go to him almost as much as she goes to me. I don't think she is just a lodger anymore. . . .
Winscombe and John's Family
Hello Readers! I know, I know I have been slacking off on the blogs lately. It isn't that I haven't had things to write about, it is just soooooo busy at work. But here I am, on my first half term holiday, and now the ideas that have been in my head can be freed and written forth!
A few weeks ago John and I went to visit John's parents in Winscombe. It is a beautiful place, a small English countryside village, run mostly by Quakers, therefore there is only one pub in the entire village. The village winds up and down hills, and is surrounded by farms, cows, and other forms of nature. It takes about two hours on a good traffic day to get there by coach, but on our Friday night it took over three. I was in a bad mood because I had to rush from Dagenham, where I work, to Newbury Park, where I have to drop off my timesheets, to Victoria station, where I was to get on the coach with John. Needless to say, I had been running, literally, 2 and 1/2 hours, on all different sorts of trains, by the time I got to Victoria where John was waiting for me. I was not in a good mood, and John, bless him, called, not realizing my situation, and had the nerve to say, "Hurry up please!" Oh, he has learned his lesson ladies and gentlemen, he has learned his lesson. :-) Right John?
So we get there finally, and John's dad is waiting to pick us up. John's dad has a great sense of humour, pretty easy going, and full of facts and knowledge about England, its culture, and its history. I enjoy talking to him and am always learning something new or being corrected gently on something I said. Such as, there are no back yards in England, you do not ever refer to a garden as a yard. I don't mind, it is stuff I need to know in order to correctly converse with people here and he never says it in an overbearing or rude way.
Finally we arrive at the house and John's mom is there, waiting for me. Imagine the sweetest hostess in the world, next to mom, and this is Janet, John's mom. She smiles and takes me in her arms and gives me a secure hug and I know I am safe and warm for the night. The mad dash to the train station, the super long coach ride; they are all forgotten when John's mom hugs me. Then, to top things off, I get to meet Jemma, John's sister, and her husband James. Jemma is expecting her first child in February and was as cute as could be by continuously rubbing her tummy in an absent minded way. We ate Janet's wonderful cooking she had waiting for us and decided to head into the lounge to pay with John senior's new Wii.
The Wii is the game console with a wireless hand held controller that you can use like a bat, a tennis racket, or a bowling ball depending on what game you are playing. We decided to play ten pin bowling and I soon had the hang of the controller. In other words, ladies and gentlemen, I kicked some butt and won with a 185 score. Dad, are you proud?
Next morning I woke up to the sound of mooing cows coming from the farmer's field next door, and the smell of toast coming from downstairs. Breakfast was amazing, as usual when Janet cooks, and off she, Jemma and I went to shop in Bristol. The boys, including John's younger brother Jack, were heading to Jack's football game.
Downtown Bristol is amazing, the shops are similar to those in the States, but there aren't many shopping malls that are indoor. I have learned to love Marks and Spencer and bought practical walking and working winter shoes from them. But this weekend I discovered House of Fraser and other stores that are just as nice. I also was happy to discover that Jemma, Janet, and I have similar tastes in fashion. It was nice to know this and also nice to discover how easy it was to talk to both of them and get along with them during the course of the day.
Finally we all met back at the house and enjoyed an evening of curry cooked by John's mom. In England, Indian food is referred to as curry, or as to having a curry. Janet did an amazing job and the meal was superb. I am learning to enjoy the spiciness of curry more and more and using it as a substitute for my decent Mexican food cravings. I especially like the potato curry and beef curry.
The next morning I got to experience the town of Cheddar. Yes, my faithful readers, this is where the cheese was created. But, there is also an amazing rock gorge called Cheddar Gorge. This natural rock formation goes up hundreds of feet and runs on for several miles. As John's father drove us up through it I got to see tons of people repelling and climbing at different points along the gorge. I also got to see small and large mountain goats. It was crazy to see a long haired, long horned huge mountain goat out in the wild. Oh and the cheese, ahhhhh the cheese . . . . I think that is enough said.
Next ladies and gentlemen . . . . my lovely international kitty Gidget.
A few weeks ago John and I went to visit John's parents in Winscombe. It is a beautiful place, a small English countryside village, run mostly by Quakers, therefore there is only one pub in the entire village. The village winds up and down hills, and is surrounded by farms, cows, and other forms of nature. It takes about two hours on a good traffic day to get there by coach, but on our Friday night it took over three. I was in a bad mood because I had to rush from Dagenham, where I work, to Newbury Park, where I have to drop off my timesheets, to Victoria station, where I was to get on the coach with John. Needless to say, I had been running, literally, 2 and 1/2 hours, on all different sorts of trains, by the time I got to Victoria where John was waiting for me. I was not in a good mood, and John, bless him, called, not realizing my situation, and had the nerve to say, "Hurry up please!" Oh, he has learned his lesson ladies and gentlemen, he has learned his lesson. :-) Right John?
So we get there finally, and John's dad is waiting to pick us up. John's dad has a great sense of humour, pretty easy going, and full of facts and knowledge about England, its culture, and its history. I enjoy talking to him and am always learning something new or being corrected gently on something I said. Such as, there are no back yards in England, you do not ever refer to a garden as a yard. I don't mind, it is stuff I need to know in order to correctly converse with people here and he never says it in an overbearing or rude way.
Finally we arrive at the house and John's mom is there, waiting for me. Imagine the sweetest hostess in the world, next to mom, and this is Janet, John's mom. She smiles and takes me in her arms and gives me a secure hug and I know I am safe and warm for the night. The mad dash to the train station, the super long coach ride; they are all forgotten when John's mom hugs me. Then, to top things off, I get to meet Jemma, John's sister, and her husband James. Jemma is expecting her first child in February and was as cute as could be by continuously rubbing her tummy in an absent minded way. We ate Janet's wonderful cooking she had waiting for us and decided to head into the lounge to pay with John senior's new Wii.
The Wii is the game console with a wireless hand held controller that you can use like a bat, a tennis racket, or a bowling ball depending on what game you are playing. We decided to play ten pin bowling and I soon had the hang of the controller. In other words, ladies and gentlemen, I kicked some butt and won with a 185 score. Dad, are you proud?
Next morning I woke up to the sound of mooing cows coming from the farmer's field next door, and the smell of toast coming from downstairs. Breakfast was amazing, as usual when Janet cooks, and off she, Jemma and I went to shop in Bristol. The boys, including John's younger brother Jack, were heading to Jack's football game.
Downtown Bristol is amazing, the shops are similar to those in the States, but there aren't many shopping malls that are indoor. I have learned to love Marks and Spencer and bought practical walking and working winter shoes from them. But this weekend I discovered House of Fraser and other stores that are just as nice. I also was happy to discover that Jemma, Janet, and I have similar tastes in fashion. It was nice to know this and also nice to discover how easy it was to talk to both of them and get along with them during the course of the day.
Finally we all met back at the house and enjoyed an evening of curry cooked by John's mom. In England, Indian food is referred to as curry, or as to having a curry. Janet did an amazing job and the meal was superb. I am learning to enjoy the spiciness of curry more and more and using it as a substitute for my decent Mexican food cravings. I especially like the potato curry and beef curry.
The next morning I got to experience the town of Cheddar. Yes, my faithful readers, this is where the cheese was created. But, there is also an amazing rock gorge called Cheddar Gorge. This natural rock formation goes up hundreds of feet and runs on for several miles. As John's father drove us up through it I got to see tons of people repelling and climbing at different points along the gorge. I also got to see small and large mountain goats. It was crazy to see a long haired, long horned huge mountain goat out in the wild. Oh and the cheese, ahhhhh the cheese . . . . I think that is enough said.
Next ladies and gentlemen . . . . my lovely international kitty Gidget.
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