One Fine Weasel

Some Things I Love

2012-02-14T23:14:00.003Z

1. Guerrilla crochetThis stuff melts me, it totally melts me. Click here for more on this particular instance of genius. Then do a Google Image search for 'guerrilla crochet', then 'yarnbombing'. Go on, it'll cheer you up.2. Yoghurt coated gingerSome people (*waves at LC*) do not understand why, or even how, things are coated in yoghurt but me, I do not question these things, I just eat 'em.3.

Keiran Breaks

2012-02-05T22:00:00.022Z

He weaved, staggered, and fell.Lay face down in the mud, silent and still.It was 8.35pm, dark, very cold. I was close to completing a lap of Roath Park (up round the lake and back, 50 minutes, my post-work stroll); less than a minute away from my front door.On the other side of the road, a man smoking a cigarette outside his house watched impassively.A flicker of anguish, a moment's hesitation:

Wet T-Shirt

2011-12-21T19:15:00.028Z

Saturday 17thTesco's Guy phones."Happy birthday, you cow. Meet you at the funfair at 3.30?" he says."Ok," I squeak. "Are you SURE you want to go on the perilously high swing seat ride thing?""For sure. I'll be shitting myself, mind. But I'm not doing the ice skating unless you go on that - that was the deal, remember?""Bastard."We meet by the perilously high swing seat ride thing. He hands me a

Situation Untenable

2011-12-16T23:27:00.003Z

Thirty three minutes to go until my birthday and I haven't even had a drink yet.

Dogma

2011-12-14T17:28:00.006Z

From an old diary:Sunday, March 27 2005Talked to Dad about 'God' today.Even though I am agnostic with athiest leanings, I was appalled by his declaration "God is a bastard".My view is that this thing people call 'God' represents some part of themselves, so if you're calling God a bastard then you really don't like yourself much.I told him I didn't agree with his statement. I said I didn't

My Life In Small Ads

2011-12-02T17:14:00.016Z

Hi JamieRe: 'please help all household items needed'I just saw your ad on gumtree about wanting free stuff because you were coming out of sheltered accommodation and wondered if you were still needing anything. I have a houseful of stuff here that I need to shift so give us a shout as I might be able to help. Don't be shy just send a list and I'll see what I can do.CheersWeasel* * * * * * * * * *

It's Only Stuff - Part Two

2011-11-14T23:38:00.024Z

So.I began writing this post two weeks ago and it started out as a bile-filled rant about various family members who shall remain nameless (my brother, his missus, their two kids) coming down for the funeral then going through the house like a plague of locusts - coked up locusts - participating in a particularly enthusiastic episode of Supermarket Sweep.They asked if it was ok to take most of

It's Only Stuff - Part One

2011-11-03T23:56:00.017Z

It's rare to find a blog that captures my inner experience.I include my own blog in that category. Yet Hyperbole and a Half has done it again!Read all about my weekend in the rage-perfect Sneaky Hate Spiral.(Yes, I even had an unsolicited anus.)Before I let rip with the finer points of my trauma, though, I first need to introduce you to Ted.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Ted is Dad's oldest

Get Me Out Of Here

2011-10-30T10:59:00.005Z

Last few days? This just about covers it.Housefuls of people ain't my thing.(On a plus note, I have now discovered the majorly awesome Hyperbole and a Half.)

Nuggets Of Joy

2011-10-26T01:19:00.005+01:00

To be honest, I won't miss this sort of shit:* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Dad and I are watching the news. We learn that some scientists have decided using mobile phones might increase the risk of getting a brain tumour."The use of mobile phones may be carcinogenic, with the same risk as lead or coffee," intones the newsreader."They banned cigarettes for much less than that," scoffs Dad.* * * * *

One Year On

2011-10-20T20:24:00.011+01:00

A year ago today, Niecey texted me this:I'm sad there's nowhere to go today to see nan! We should really let her ashes go somewhere else! Happy birthday to a super nan!XI wrote about it here.When I started looking after Dad, I found the letter mentioned in that post tucked away among his paperwork....Have you thought about getting a bench somewhere or tree planted in her name? It would be

14-01-32 - 15-10-11

2011-10-15T19:25:00.003+01:00

My dad, the man who got everything wrong.

Perhaps I Have Been On Holiday

2011-10-12T21:18:00.013+01:00

Weekend one:I say goodbye to dad at the hospital, and drive to Bristol.I stay at my brother's. He has moved to a new house: I approve, it is splendid. Me and Bethan are sent to B&Q to buy some paint. We appropriate a new catchphrase and use it with relish all weekend, to the annoyance of the grown ups: "Where's the paint? Therrrhhh." I help empty and redecorate the flat they've just vacated. I

Lapcam

2011-09-23T23:49:00.001+01:00

Life is good.

Do Not Disturb

2011-09-21T21:39:00.007+01:00

My dad is in his own little room on a ward full of shouty, wandering old men.This 'do not disturb' sign hangs on his door.I flipped it over, thinking it might be like one of those 'open/closed' signs, with the opposite message on the reverse:but the back was blank, I was sadly disappointed.

Oxygen

2011-09-20T12:37:00.008+01:00

Although my push to become Britain's top shed blogger is going surprisingly well, I'd like to depart from the shed theme briefly to say Dad went into hospital yesterday and is likely to remain there for about two weeks while they try and work out why he can barely breathe anymore.That leaves me and Downstairs Monkey free to run riot at Mission Control.Chances are we will do very little, because

Shed Wars III - Revenge of the Hedge

2011-09-18T11:50:00.006+01:00

Ta-daaa! The even uglier shed at the bottom of the garden.I don't go in there anymore.

Shed II - The Sequel

2011-09-16T12:01:00.011+01:00

By popular demand, here is a photo of my dad's newly-trimmed shed:It contains, as it always did, an assortment of rusting tools, antiquated lawnmowers, cobwebs and rotting cardboard boxes.I agree, ladies - it is not without character. It holds happy memories for me (although the best shed-related memories I have are of the other, even uglier shed at the bottom of the garden. That shed was my den.

Home

2011-09-15T13:54:00.003+01:00

When I woke, I didn't know where I was.Then I saw the sky glowing in the east through church-arched windows, and remembered I was home.My little bedsit, at the top of an elegant three-storey Victorian house overlooking a Cardiff park. I've hardly seen it since I moved here in April.No matter; it's been a good year.When I woke again properly, at 9.53am, I dropped out of bed and did a forward roll

Black And White

2011-09-12T13:31:00.026+01:00

[click me, i'm interesting]To avoid this blog turning into an extended rant about someone with Aspergers Syndrome, I'm going to post, one day late and proud of it, the obligatory 'what I was doing on 9/11' yawnfest.(That bit comes right at the end - please feel free to skip straight to it if you can't be arsed to plough through the preamble. Spoiler: it involves sadness and disbelief.)* * * * *

Greater Than Or Equal To

2011-09-07T21:28:00.006+01:00

What I wanted to post about today, before I was rudely interrupted by the nostalgically old-school Dad/anger incident mentioned below, was this.Yesterday, I finally plucked up the courage to check the internet for information on adult children of Aspergers parents.While I've been researching what might be wrong with Dad for ages, it took me a long time to get round to looking into that particular

List

2011-09-07T15:08:00.010+01:00

"Social Services are coming to see us at 2pm," I say. "Have you done that list yet?""What list?" he says."The list of things you think you'll need help with, in the event of me getting a job and not being able to come down to Kent anymore," I say. "I've asked you to do it a couple of times now.""Oh, well, I've thought about that, and I can't think of anything.""So, if I suddenly stopped coming -

Diary, Saturday 12 November 2005

2011-09-05T11:54:00.009+01:00