It's in the mail... maybe.

On trying to pick up five packages that had arrived during my holiday, the local Royal Mail Delivery Office fessed up to having lost them - or at least having 'misplaced them temporarily'.

Is that anything like being 'slightly pregnant'?

They said they'd arrange to have them redelivered to my work when they turn up.

If they turn up, is my thought.

Most of it is just minor knicknacks bought on eBay which I'm not terribly worried about losing. The £100 worth of Yale Security Alarm is something I'm prepared to get stroppy about however. I wanted to have it installed by the time The Parental Unit got back from Spain, as she worries about my home security (which, to be honest it pretty abysmal - I have an easily forced back door and poor quality windows on the kitchen and bedroom, facing into a garden surrounded by a high fence).

So either stand and deliver, Royal Mail, or prepare to head for the bunker... :-P

Blipverts: anime clothing and charity shops

Having no money, and therefore feeling the need to Go Shopping, T. and I did the "£20-Budget Charity Shop Contest". Instituted by The Younger Sibling and I during our penniless student days, the rules are this: take a set amount of money, go charity shopping and see who gets 1. the coolest item and 2. the most amount of goods. Any way you look at it, you win.

Admittedly, I went a little over budget but only by about £4. But I think I won both categories anyhow.

My prize buy was a long shocking purple evening coat in satin, which appears to have been worn only a couple of times. With my usual disregard for fashion niceties, I shall probably wear it during the day however. It makes me look like a character from a Japanese anime, but as you can imagine, I don't consider that a bad thing [grin]. It makes a good summer counterpoint to the cherry red PVC raincoat. And has matching trousers too.

I also bought a cute little black and grey top for work, a dark purple sleeveless scoopneck dress (very fitting, but quite flattering), a black and white cotton dress for around the house, a rather nice dark grey skirt & jacket suit, also for work, and a length of silver mesh material for which I have no immediate use but which I couldn't pass by because it was so shiny, prompting T. to call me 'Magpie'. A name, oddly enough, my parents used to call me when I was younger. I guess some things you never grow out of.

On the kitchenalia side, I acquired 3 glass corncob dishes with the cob forks. I've been looking for some for ages, and now is definitely the season. Also 6 oldfashioned small Sodastream bottles with rubber seal lids. The latter to be used when making plum sauce later in summer, and at £2 for the lot, a great bargain. I shall require them back from whomever I give sauce to however - though my friends usually have no problems giving me sauce back ;-) Also bought 4 books (very restrained of me!) and several VHS tapes, of which I've only watched the Billy Idol Vital Idol 2 music video. Very '80s, but Billy Idol - woof! The original sneering bleach blonde (take a back seat, Spike).

That night T&M and I had a BBQ of spicy ribs and Chinese chicken drumsticks accompanied by salad and beetroot in the back yard, which was very pleasant. Sunday I slept in, then briefly and somewhat lethargically attempted to tidy before going back to reading and sleeping. So disregarding Royal Mail's screwup, quite a pleasant and relaxing weekend.

HP: His only virtue [Alternate Sorting drabble]

Drabble written for the hp100 "Write an alternate Sorting" challenge.

Title: His only virtue
Characters: Sorting Hat
Author's Note: Feeling evil… ;-D


*Hmmm, not particularly brave, except where it comes to your own self-interest, are you? Definitely not Gryffindor.

Too impulsive and temperamental to be subtle. And a surprising – some might say disappointing - lack of ambition towards anything, young man. So not Slytherin.

You are quite clever, but you aren’t particularly interested in learning for the joy of it. An unacceptable attitude for Ravenclaw, I’m afraid.

Ahhh, but you are intensely – even, one could say, blindly – loyal. And you so desperately want to please your family.*

“Hufflepuff!”

The Sorting Hat’s judgement was merely confirmed in everyone’s minds when little Draco Malfoy fainted.