Day 96 - I have been a naughty girl, I have been grounded!

Oh, I was such a naughty girl last night....

Finally feeling better and managed to get into work this afternoon, normal shift from 5 - 11pm, started off with headache but after popping a few pills felt much better and as the evening went on, I felt the old Beth returning....

Yesterday I heard from my dear friend Nigel who lives on a Narrow boat in Flappit Springs, Yorkshire... He had made it down 700 locks to visit me and was now nesting on the Grand Union Canal just five minutes from the office.  Nigel I have known for many years, since I was 18.  He came to my office at Millipore UK to work on some electrics that just happened to be above my desk.... my first recollection of him was his hairy ankles as his trousers lifted as he reached up to inspect the air conditioning.  From then on, we became friends, he seems to make me laugh just by opening his mouth and speaking, our whole friendship has since been that of laughter and last night was no exception!

After work, as I left the building, the cool air hit me  and I had a sudden urge to take a right at the roundabout on my way home instead of a left..... I pulled up at Tesco's car park in Rickmansworth and on the other side of the Canal sat Sloe Mo Shun.  Nigel built this boat single handed and has been living on it for years taking a few Winter months to work and travelling the rest.

I called the kids (Savannah and Craig) and neither of them picked up the phone, so I figured they had gone to bed!  Well, I thought to myself, quick cuppa and then I will head on home.

So, Nigel crossed the river and came to meet me (it was all rather romantic really).... he had had a busy day at the launderette and was a little concerned about his experience.

"Well" he said in his broad Yorkshire accent "the woman who was looking after the launderette was really friendly only she was wearing this really really short skirt and a top that looked like it was made out of the same stuff as my mosquito net, you could see her black bra right through it and I just didn't know which way to look!" Hmmm, I said teasing "are you sure you were in a launderette?" he eyes seemed to glaze over a little as realization took hold of him, he lost a little colour in his cheeks...."what was the place called?" I asked him with half a smile. Slowly and methodically he said "Rub.. a... Dub..... Dub" .... I have a feeling he won't be going there again to wash his smalls!!!! He will probably take his duvet tomorrow!


He showed me Google Moon on the computer, it was just amazing... did you know that if you go closer and closer to the Moon's surface the picture changes to cheese?  He had a great idea for me, he said that he would be able to pin point So Very Crafty on Google Earth for me so that people would be able to find me and I could attach it to my website.... great idea, why not.... he said that he could programme it so that as you get closer and closer to my front door, the picture will change into a hairbrush!!!! lol......  crazy and random.... and he makes me laugh so much, note to self: next time I visit I must remember the Tenna Ladies....


Time with Nigel does just seem to disappear and before I knew it it was midnight, he walked me back to my car and my mobile phone started to bleep and bleep incessantly!  Then Craig rang, he was not very happy!

I arrived home a little past 12.30 to Craig and the kids all standing waiting for me...... they thought I had gone missing and had called everyone they could think of to see where I was!  I sat at the wheel like a naughty teenager as Craig, with his hands on his hips said "I don't think it is a laughing matter!", I've been driving back and forth to Watford to your offices trying to find you... we have been worried SICK!" my phone had 50 plus missed called from just about everyone I knew, Luke shouted at me and Savannah was crying, Hannah was there and I had no escape.... I swallowed hard as I was torn off a strip - Savannah had called the Police... they asked her for a description of me and as she started to explain that I had red hair, they asked her if she wanted to report me as a missing person (I was gone for an hour and a half!!!).  She said to the Police Officer "Well, I will leave it a little longer because she is 46".

It reminded me of when I was 12 and I had lost my rabbit.  I called the police and they asked for a description...... "fluffy tail, two pointy ears and a twitchy nose... you know" (They had found him though... honest.... I couldn't believe it!) Was obviously due to my accurate description.

So, the kids sent me to bed without any supper and grounded me until further notice.  I spent the morning making sure everyone knew that I was OK under the instruction of "The Kids".....