From the over enthusiastic loud honk by the bus driver on a Durham roundabout this evening I can only conclude I had a near death experience. His subsequent over enthusiasm in hitting the breaks in non-life-threatening situations can only suggest I was lucky to survive.Yet I am grateful at this time of year for any bus turning up within a 30 minute window. Once the ice is gone and the evenings get lighter I can walk to and from Durham (aside from the event of the odd torrential downpour). But …

Hello to you all on another snow covered day in Durham. However the great thaw has started. Today it’s a balmy 4 oC, rooftops and cars are starting to emerge. But before I bore you to death with another blog on snow I realise I haven’t yet written my blog post on the Kreativ Blogger Award which Katie McCullough nominated me for just before Christmas:

“I nominate Helen because I’ve never seen such an eclectic bunch of posts on one blog. You name it she’s got it; politics, writing, photography, lifestyle, …

I have to admit that I am quite disappointed with my attitude these past few days. I’ve been all doom and gloom about the snow and missed out on really appreciating it for the relatively short time it is here. I can pinpoint the time I got fed up to when I waited almost an hour and a half for a bus that never came. This was last Thursday, the coldest day of the year. It wasn’t even the fault of the snow. It was the temperature. But that was …

Unless the predictions are wildly off, this Thursday will see three weeks of snow in Durham. Although I’ve been away for half that time I have been assured (moaned at) by plenty of people that the snow hasn’t disappeared from the ground throughout this time. When I returned on New Years Eve it did look like it might be making an attempt to thaw, but I woke on Sunday morning to a new thick blanket of soft snow. And it is proper powdery snow. The small amounts of snow I’ve …

The decimal system has a lot to answer for. If we were based on a Octal system then I’m sure I wouldn’t have spent the past two days being quite as fed up. The first eight years of this decade were pretty great. There were lots of ups and downs, but the main thing was that I moved forward. Most significantly in terms of my mental health. Also with education and career. But the last two years of the decade haven’t been quite so fantastic thanks to one big bully. …

So Christmas has been the season of merriment and I’ve been well enough to succeed in doing all the things that happen at this time of year! I’m looking forward to chilling out the next few days and recharging the batteries as I am very tired as a result… even writing is a bit of a struggle and that’s never a good sign (hence the demise of blogging since Boxing Day). There’s also been a bit of coughing and sneezing so I’m just praying I don’t get a full blown …

Your ‘Five…‘ a day continues with some of the things I have considered to be ‘cool’ in 2009. Feel free to comment and add links to things that you think are cooler!
1. Lee Crutchly

2. I can read

3. Awful Library Books (Also take a look at Holly & Mary on Jimmy Kimmel Live)

4. MyLifeIsAverage

5. 40 inspirational speeches in 2 minutes (Thanks to @onmejack)