Broken Lego Bench Monday

What with all this bad weather we've been having, this Lego bench looks like it's taken a beating from the strong winds. Luckily we have a handyman onto it already. It should be fixed in no time.

Z is for...Zooey Deschanel

My utter girl crush of this year so far is Zooey Deschanel. She's gorgeous, cute, funky, stylish, funny, and talented - sigh. From acting in the hilarious Christmas film, Elf, to the quirky New Girl; and even some singing too. She just seems like someone who'd be fun to hang out with. You can follow Zooey on Twitter here. And here is the New Girl theme tune for you to enjoy:

Well that is the end of the A-Z blog challenge! It has been challenging at times, especially thinking of something for these last few letters, but I hope I've managed to entertain a few new readers who will hopefully stick around. I know I've found some new blogs to read.............

Y is for...Yellow

I am really loving anything yellow at the moment. Maybe that's because it reminds me of that hot ball in the sky that used to come out in the summertime, or maybe it's just because it is such a happy, warm colour to look at! Either way, I've scoured the net and made a Pinterest board entirely dedicated to happy, sunny yellow. I hope it makes you smile too! 

X is for....well, X

That's how imaginative I'm feeling today. I was searching for something that begins with X to write about, when I found a few interesting facts about the letter itself that I thought were worth sharing.

• X-rays were given that name because their discoverer, Wilheim Conrad Rontgen, didn't known what they were.

• Xs are drawn instead of eyes in cartoons, to indicate the death of a character.

• The letter X is the most known symbol of the 'straight edge' lifestyle, a subculture of hardcore punk whose followers refrain from using alcohol, tobacco and other recreational drugs

W is for...Weird News

I get really wound up watching the news on TV, as it always feels like they are either catastrophising issues or trying to sway us to one opinion or another by a biased use of the facts. I prefer to read the news on the internet (usually the BBC or Telegraph websites), although I do watch local news which tends to be less irritating. And I have to just mention a particular pet hate of mine, which is the outside broadcast - frequently this will be from outside a victim or suspect's house, a court after hours or somewhere equally unnecessary. Do we really need to hear the news being read from the spot that it happened or from outside a house? No. Does it add anything to the broadcast? No. 

So I read the news online mostly, so I can choose which stories interest me, look up other opinions and compare what different reporters have to say. After skimming through the main headlines and reading any interesting stories, I'll usually have a quick look at the 'weird news' section. If you just need something lighthearted after reading about all the death and despair in the world, then this is the place to head to! For instance, today I read about the Brazilian girl selling most of her 1.6m long hair to get herself out of poverty, about the woman who saved her dog from the claws of an eagle that swooped down to grab it, and that tourism in Kazakhstan has increased tenfold all thanks to Borat! You don't generally get that information on News at 10!

V is for...Vampire Films

I admit I love a good vampire film or TV show. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my favourite show of all time, closely followed by Angel. I don't watch all vampire related shows, and have yet to see The Vampire Diaries, or get into True Blood. When it comes to vampire films, here are some of my favourites:

• Blade (1998) - very cool vampire superhero action film

• Let the Right One In (2008) - moving Swedish child vampire story 

• Daybreakers (2009) - surviving the vampire plague

 

• Dracula (1992) - no explanation required here!

• And......I am Legend (2007) which isn't strictly a vampire film, but as Wikipedia says, the virus sweeping the world creates vampiristic beings.

U is for...Unicorns

Enjoy a fab collection of unicorn-based craft from Etsy here as a treasury! Finally worked out how to get an image on here!!!

T is for...Turin Brakes

It's rare to find an artist whose music you are always in the mood to listen to. I have music for all of my different moods, but there is one band who just seems to tick every box for me, and that is Turin Brakes. I first heard them back in 2001 with the song 'The Door':

I then bought their first album 'The Optimist LP' and there began my love affair. Described on Wikipedia as a modern folk duo, I've never really been sure what musical category they belong to. 'Folk' always conjures up very different images, but I guess it is indie acoustic modern folk (!). Their songs are beautifully written and the lead singer has an amazing quality to his voice that I could literally listen to forever. I've had the privilege to see them live quite a few times now and every time they were just brilliant; with little gem covers like these thrown in:

I've laughed, cried, read, relaxed, danced and fallen asleep/woken up to their music for the last 11 years, and I hope they continue to make such amazing, beautiful and sincere music for the next 11 and beyond.  Thank you Turin Brakes.

Hungry Lego Bench Monday!

A typical spring afternoon in the park - a mother watches over her son as he feeds the ducks on the pond - ahh.

S is for ...Supernatural

When my TV decided to give up on life last month I was thrown into the rather confusing world of the electrical retail store. Faced with an abundance of shiny sexy gadgets, I eventually emerged with a Smart TV. That's right, even the TVs are getting education these days. For those of you who are obviously still living in last week, a Smart TV is one that can connect to the internet. It sounds like a useless gimmick, until you realise it means you can watch YouTube, BBC iplayer and other internet-based film/music channels through your TV - yay.

Netflix had not long launched in the UK, but after buying said Smart TV, I discovered that it isn't actually that smart after all. Sony TVs don't support Netflix! You what?! Yes, that was my reaction, but after some digging and poking on the net, I found that there is a way to watch the US version of Netflix here in the UK. You have to tiptoe quietly in the backdoor of US Netflix, via a site called Unblock Us, which sets you up as if you were located in the US. Then after entering some funny numbers in your TV and some unknown jiggery pokery.....dah dah....you have access to a veritable smorgasboard of entertainment! 

Onto the supposed subject of my post - I finally plucked up the courage to watch Supernatural (I scare super easily!), and I am officially addicted. I have a rule though - I don't watch it on my own if it is dark; just in case. It isn't actually scary at the time, but alone late at night, my mind has a tendency to replay and imagine stuff I'd rather not see. The best bit of the show isn't the rather attractive young men who play Sam and Dean (although older brother Dean especially is very, very easy on the eye), and it's not the similarity to my favourite show of all time (Buffy), it's the fact that I have a whole SEVEN seasons to catch up on, and they are still making more. Happy days.