2015: In Pictures

Index

31 July 2015: Gym Outfit
I thought I'd walked into a bar instead of the gym when I saw this man wearing jeans and a shirt. He also managed a 10 minute conversation on his phone in between sets.

30 July 2015: Pavlova
My attempts to eat well and do more exercise were briefly placed on hold as we went to Jamie's Italian to celebrate Olwyn and Lorraine's birthdays. The raspberry and honeycomb pavlova was too tempting to turn down!

29 July 2015: Bike
I've started enjoying the bikes at the gym a bit more recently after never really bothering with them over the last few years.

28 July 2015: Toffee Crisps
Today was a quiet day which revolved mainly around unhealthy food, including a toffee crisp.

27 July 2015: Gran's Funeral
It was never going to be a pleasant experience, but we gave her a lovely send-off.

26 July 2015: Sleepy Remote
The back of this TV remote control looked like a sleepy face to me.

25 July 2015: Astray
Alison, Tracee and Ian - 3 of the main candidates for leading me astray. Our sensible and civilised trip to the theatre to see Sister Act naturally started in the pub.

24 July 2015: New/Old Coaster
Lorraine saw this and thought of me. I'm not too offended, since it was a nice thought.

23 July 2015: Mouse
I thought this mouse on the sign for a cheese shop was quite cute.

22 July 2015: Jonagold
My choice of apple when shopping for this week was the humble Jonagold.

21 July 2015: Fixed Hole
This area of wall in the gym has been fixed up. I hope the hole was due to a gym-related incident and not just somebody punching through the wall with rage!

20 July 2015: Subway Salad
I've had many Subway sandwiches over the years but this was my first experience of their salad of the day (Monday: chicken tikka). I thought it was pretty nice and certainly good value for £2.29.

19 July 2015: Heil Stannah
There has been outrage recently after some old footage surfaced which featured the queen as a child doing a Nazi salute. I was disgusted to see that even this Stannah stairlift is at it!

18 July 2015: Thumbs Up
We passed this sign while out for a walk.

17 July 2015: Planet B
I started the day reading this short message from the Green Party over breakfast.

16 July 2015: Koozie
I like to drink the occasional can of pop at work but our fridge chills them so much it's almost painful to hold the can! This koozie should solve the problem.

15 July 2015: Barcelona Shirt
Michael brought me this football shirt back from Benidorm. It's definitely a "bobby dazzler"!

14 July 2015: Gran
Our beloved Gran passed away this morning aged 92. It was a horrible shock and we're all devastated but we were able to take some comfort in the fact that it was quick and peaceful. She'll be terribly missed by us all, but thankfully we have some lovely photos of her at her glamorous best such as this one of us girls at Ali's wedding. Shall we also have a look at some of her dorkatorium highlights from years gone by?
17-Jan-10 15-Jan-11 27-Jan-13 11-Jan-14 30-Mar-14

13 July 2015: Juggling Balls
I thought these had been chewed to pieces by mice years ago in my mam's shed, but they're still usable! It may take a while to get back to my best but it can't hurt to have another hobby.

12 July 2015: Karaoke Book
For the second time in two days I found myself in a pub where Fred was running the karaoke. I still didn't take part.

11 July 2015: Newton Catch-up
I spent some time at the Newton with Dad, Stu and Ali having a bit of a catch-up.

10 July 2015: Beach Towel
Michael is off to Benidorm with the lads today and it'll be the first time this beach towel has left the country in years.

9 July 2015: Tea
I have no use for a teapot and I'm not fond of fancy plates, so I was only having a look in this shop window without actually considering buying anything.

8 July 2015: $1 Coin
Before going on holiday recently I always kept a fresh $1 bill in my purse which I'd had for over 10 years. We were $1 short for a train fare so it was put to good use getting from New York to New Jersey to watch the New York Red Bulls play. I've replaced it with this less common $1 coin. Maybe in another 10 years I'll have a use for this one too.

7 July 2015: Men's Health
Not my usual choice of literature but it came free with last month's Runner's World so I thought I'd see if I can pick up any tips. I found the feature on pizza very disappointing, but maybe I'll end up with abs like a UFC champion.

6 July 2015: Love Is The Answer
This is one of our only souvenirs from New York - a free print from an art gallery.

5 July 2015: Great North 10k
I turned up, but didn't have much success other than that. For various reasons I pulled out after only 4km and went to the gym to finish my workout. It was a reminder that I need to get some better training under my belt.

4 July 2015: Frozen Grapes
I'm not a fan of ice cubes in drinks because when they melt the drink ends up watered down, so frozen grapes are a great alternative. I must admit I just love snacking on them as well though!

3 July 2015: Sun Trap
At lunchtime I found a bench in the sun to sit and read my book for a while.

2 July 2015: Surrogate Mother
Linda has been my surrogate mother at work for around 11 years. We posed for the photo at the bottom when I turned 21 and a couple of weeks ago we recreated it for my 30th birthday. I was happy to get the new photo up on display today as it was Linda's last day at work. She will be a huge miss, especially for her amazing homemade pizza! I don't think we've changed much.

1 July 2015: Demolishing
I noticed a building near the gym is being demolished.