Sore Ear ...

Bought some body jewellery in Claires today that I thought might fit my ear rim piercing, it's the right gauge and all but a tad on the small side and so have managed to completely p*ss it off by trying various pieces in it. Then the little "beach ball" plastic ball I had on my black ring broke so have opted for the black spikes instead. Its the first time I have worn them and they look rather funky but maybe not so suitable for everyday, time will tell... Might have to change into something more subtle for this wedding at the end of the week, we'll see.

The nose piercing seems to be OK now though, the trauma of changing the screw for a stud seems to have worn off and it's healing nicely. Have left off the almond oil today to see how it goes without it, I try to make sure I don't put too much salt in the water and rinse off properly as well. Later on it will need a shorter bar but these threadless pieces are amazing, very comfortable and hopefully it will be easy enough to change the ends, haven't tackled that one yet, got to wait until it's really healed up before I poke it about any more. Still it's been 9 weeks already, hopefully by Xmas I'll be able to get the shorter bar and maybe a gem end to wear in it over the Xmas Festivities :-)

Torquay

Hi, just back from our week away in Torquay. Here's a quick snap of the two of us, taken by my daughter Julia as she's the expert in taking self portraits ;-) The backdrop is a public garden in Dartmouth, just one of the places we visited whilst we were there and for once its sunny. They call it the English Riviera but I think this summer meant it was as wet as everywhere else has been this year. The hotel we stayed in was like something out of Fawlty Towers, in fact I'm sure Basil was based on the owner of this place. He was so miserable and didn't make us feel at all welcome, more like an inconvenience! I would definitely go back to Torquay but not if it meant staying in the same place. We visited the Bygones Museum, Torquay Museum (on the rainy days), went ten pin bowling and popped into Paignton Zoo as our optional tour got cancelled at the last minute :-( The coach took us to Plymouth (good for retail therapy), Brixham, Dartmouth and Slapton. The driver was a right scream and made up for the miserable hotel bloke and our waitress Karley was really nice along with the cleaning staff. Still as usual we are glad to be back home, nothing beats your own bed and loo seat! Still got a second week off so will dodge the rain and find something to do. Lets hope it brightens up for the wedding on Friday. While we were in Torquay we also went to the theatre to see That'll Be The Day, an excellent rock 'n' roll show that we can thoroughly recommend. You can visit their website at (http://www.thatllbetheday.co.uk/) Its well worth a visit if its at a theatre near you.

Thursday's Thoughts

Piercings are funny things, one minute they are all calm and serene and ticking along nicely, the next they are tetchy and crying out for extra TLC! I guess its all too easy to bump them or catch them accidentally and that usually sets them off again, unless they’ve been done for years that is. Its funny that the studio’s give you a sheet which mentions a relatively short time span for the healing process and yet in fact this time is more like the INITIAL healing period not the whole thing. I’ve read that it takes about three times the length of time they quote as the healing process is in three stages. There are times with mine when I wonder why I did it, and then I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and fall in love with them again ;-) I read on someone’s post that they didn’t really know why they got their nose pierced but that once done it felt like they were complete and I knew exactly what they meant. Perhaps it stems from our desire to make ourselves seem unique, as children we find security in being the same as everyone else, we don’t want to appear different, and yet as adults we strive to put our mark on things around us and “be different”. Perhaps its also a touch of the shock factor, at least for some piercings and their placements it must be, but each to their own is my motto.

I’ve had some marginal success with trialling my tattoo design too although the adhesive on the tattoo paper is a tad irritating given my sensitive skin. I really like the design so think that’s what I’ll go for, size wise it’s more or less a square image so I think I printed it at about 2.5 inches square which is quite a good size. It could maybe be a tad bigger but then my arms aren’t that big so don’t want it to dominate that area and I need to be able to at least hide it under a T-shirt sleeve if necessary.

Teenage Mums?

Sat and watched part of a TV programme last night about teenage mums. Was shocked that several of them have more than one child under the age of five and yet they are still children themselves. Surely in this day and age of openness about contraception and the morning after pill it is unforgivable for these girls to have one child they don’t want, to have more than one is just plain stupid. I wonder if they harbour some sort of romanticised view of what it is like to have a baby, assuming it will be like their role plays with baby dolls, dressing them up, walking them round in a pram. The reality couldn’t be farther from that if you tried, they are demanding your attention and energies on a 24/7 basis and these girls have no concept of what it is to be a mother. The sense of responsibility I felt for my daughter when she was born was overwhelming and I was 26 years old and she was a planned and much longed for child. I cannot imagine what these girls are subjecting themselves to at such a tender age. Since the birth of my daughter I have found myself divorced from her Dad and being a single parent is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I relied heavily on family support to allow me to continue working and so support us both financially but to find yourself completely and utterly responsible for their upbringing is a serious challenge for most grown-ups let along a young girl. It saddens me also to think that they have thrown away any chance of a good life for themselves and the children they have brought into the world, they seem content to look forward to a life struggling on benefits and relying on the state to keep a roof over their heads. Surely by now the young women out there have more aspirations for their futures than this?

Pashley Manor

We finally made it to Pashley Manor yesterday for the "Lily Time" event. Never visited there before but can thoroughly recommend the place. It was just beautiful, lots of different garden areas and wonderful statues and wood carvings, although some of them were too "modern" for me!

We were blessed with good sunny weather which, for our summer so far, was nothing short of miraculous. There was a gentle breeze to stop us from completely flaking out and we headed for the shade of the car park for our refreshments, choosing to take a picnic rather than eat there. The terrace however was a very pleasant place to grab a welcome cup of tea late afternoon before heading home.

Have posted the remainder of my shots on my Picasa Web Album, have a look if you get a chance.

Tattoo Design...

Played around with the tattoo designs last night, printed out a sheet of temporary ones to try out using the tribal wolf design. Decided on a size of about 2.5 inches square which is not a bad size to start with. Trouble is the temporary tattoo paper ends up like a plaster stuck on your arm which makes it feel a little uncomfortable and I managed to make it wrinkle up which made things worse. Gave me an idea though as to what it might look like and that’s the idea, to try it out before getting it permanently done. The other design is a minimum of 5 inches long which I think will be too big but will try it on another sheet and possibly make the tribal one a bit bigger. It’s hard to judge the size on your arm against that on paper hence the temporary tattoo paper. Did have an idea of trying to make a stencil using the line art version and let my daughter paint it on with body paint, as she’s the arty one!

Have attached a pic of the tattoo anyway – any thoughts?