affordable solutions for a better living

That's the slogan of Ikea - I don't really know why I felt I had to include that but there you go! A bit of randomness for an early saturday morning at the beginning of half term!

I drove down to bristol and went to ikea with my friend Caroline on Wednesday - a chance to see what Christmas decorations they had (I know, it's early, but I hate the crowds that gather nearer the time!), and also to chat. It was so nice - it's so huge, so we were wandering around just browsing (which is rare for me - I'm usually bombing round on a mission to find a particular piece of furniture amoungst all the baffling displays!), and we got to chat loads. Then we went to the market area and brought some random things

My mini spending 'spree'

• a set of cutlery
• a cutlery draining thing
• small red and gold baubles
• Christmas lights
• Glogg

Coz it was quite early still, we then sat in the cafe in Ikea and discovered the delights of their 'bottomless hot drink' - so we enjoyed a hot chocolate AND a cup of tea while we talked and talked and talked and talked. How is it that you can see someone once a week, know them for 12 years and STILL have LOADS to talk over?! I love it! And who would have thought that Ikea could be the setting for such a nice social time?

How scary that I've been in England for 12 years now.

I've got to be more original!

I just published that last post and realised that I've actually already used that title!! If my current record is to go by and I keep forgetting to update this, if I'm not careful, I'm going to have all my posts titled 'it's been too long!'

Can I also just take a moment to completely gush about modern technology!!!!! This morning I used my computer to have a chat to Phili in Australia - for free and on a really clear line. It was amazing! Who makes up this stuff? Because they're really clever! My computer was talking to me and sounding like a very dear Australian friend, it was great!

(and the second thing, I think I might take one of the pairs of trousers back, they're actually not that comfortable to wear for any length of time - I should have kept them on a bit longer in the changing room!!)