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But don't you get bored?

♥Mar. 8th, 2015 // 07:00 pm
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[xpost |http://flickgc.livejournal.com/1075739.html]

I occasionally get asked what I do all day, and why I don't get a job. So: today.

7:30: get up while Mike feeds the boys, have half an hour online, get dressed, play silly iPhone games for twenty minutes.

8:30: let the ducks out (and feed them, and check for eggs: one today, they are doing well!), get the boys out, wash feed buckets and change duck pond water, groom GB and half of Bugs (while Mike grooms the other half of Bugs and the Baby). Ride GB for about twenty minutes, with occasional pauses to watch / shout advice at Mike as he rides Bugs; Bugs looks a bit stiff after doing up and down hills on yesterday's hack. Put GB in the field, get on Bugs. Bugs is distinctly lame: canter him a bit to see if it frees up, then put him in the field with a mental note to trot him up when he comes in (which I completely forget about, sigh). Give Jo her breakfast. Watch Mike ride the Baby for a bit: experimental trip down the road to see if GB is less stressed by the prospect of him Going Away when Bugs is there; he isn't. Jump on Baby for five minutes of canter work (horrible: I need to ride him more).

10:30-ish: make haynets and feeds while Mike mucks out Bugs. Muck out GB while Mike mucks out Baby (we take turns on the haynets/Bugs). Muck out ducks. Poo pick the field (every other day). Wash up pans from dinner last night (I'd patched a chipped nail, so didn't want to wash up at the time).

Noon-ish: shower, fifteen minutes online, lunch (on the patio! First time this year!), ordered wrist braces from Amazon, walked Jo for an hour or so. Fed ducks. Fifteen minutes of silly iPhone games, then out into the garden. Filled bird feeders and moved the garden furniture from the conservatory to the patio for the summer, then we started taking up the turf for a new bed, and put the removed turf into the bottom of the big planters, two of which we've now filled with compost ready for planting out when the seedlings are a bit bigger. Updated garden diary with the week's jobs. Updated line-a-day five year diary with what had been happening. Cleaned tack; a bit unimpressed with Bugs' new bridle, which is the same brand as GB and Baby's: it's admittedly a cheapo brand, but the leather seems much worse quality than it used to be; will see how it is after it's been used a bit. Brief visit from Mrs Next Door, who wanted to know what the temperature was going to be like tonight.

5pm-ish: Brought boys in, did their feet and rugs for the night, put them to bed with their dinner. Took Jo for a run in the field. Washed up from the bread making Mike did during tack cleaning, and tidied the dining room table as it had acquired piles of cruft. Emptied the recycling bins.

6pm: Wrote this post.

Still to do: hopefully finish off Baby Next Door's birthday present, being grateful that Mike likes to cook, dinner, washing up, Regular Weekly Phone Call With Patents, bedtime hay for the boys and a run in the field with Jo, possibly get to read a bit of my book.

And you know what? I totally see what those people mean! There's, like, half an hour of iPhone games in there, and I spend all day noodling on the internet....
Link1 kiss // Who loves you?

Hot!

♥Jul. 24th, 2013 // 07:47 pm
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[xpost |http://flickgc.livejournal.com/903939.html]

Weather: do not like. Had enough now. Actually had enough about a week ago. Really hope it stops soon, as we're, y'know, moving house next week. Eep.


I have been terribly slack about posting. The previously mentioned has something to do with that, but other factors include:
- having a slacker husband who's now only working a couple of days a week and so is Underfoot (it's fortunate that we're about to move into a new house with more rooms, really)
- going up to Ripon and York for a few days, for a family thing and a break (nice, but how come York has no restaurants? It has masses of pubs-that-do-food, but even seemed under-supplied with chain Italian places. Lovely hotel, though, with a nice restaurant)
- going to the Kent Country Show, where it was hot. We didn't actually buy anything, although we did collect several leaflets from sellers of potential house things
- making pizza, with the gels from work, on a day out / social type thing. I keep trying to quit, on the perfectly reasonably grounds that tomorrow is the last day I can possibly go into the office, but I don't seem to have managed it yet. Must make more of en effort, tomorrow
- going to two events that could reasonably well be called garden parties: one fannish, involving the talking of toot and the discussing of gossip, the other with the future near-ish-neighbours, involving lots of people asking 'and do you hunt?' (more, we suspect, as a way of making conversation with the random strangers, and a general test of views, than as an actual request that you go along)

GB continues in his usual way, added to by the fact that he doesn't much like the heat. The Baby is being a bit of a naughty bugger lately, added to by the fact that I don't like the heat either and so haven't been riding him and making him behave. He had the farrier on Monday; we weren't there, but he was apparently a little shite and broke two tie-up strings. There may be walloping in his future.

The house move is going reasonably well, we think. I've made contact with the horsey neighbour, which has in turn lead to arranging farrier, muck removal and hay; the delightfully named Igor The Builder is digging things up and laying concrete in the stableyard this week; I've spent an absolutely fortune on my credit card over the last few weeks (to the extent that I had to do a transfer mid-month to clear the balance for more spending), but bewilderingly (and pleasingly) haven't had any Security Phone Calls; and I do in fact have the spreadsheet of doom: you can't actually be surprised by this, though. It has been Entertaining arranging everything so that it gets delivered on Day Zero (which I will spend doing the last of the packing wile Mike sits in does various odd jobs around the new house).

Last week, we did actually get a delivery here: 224 boxes.

photo 1-1

As of today, the pile has gone down rather, and the bathroom (not the one we actually use much) and spare room are looking like this:

photo 2-1
photo 3

Did I mention that it's too bloody hot...?
Link6 kisses // Who loves you?

The Letter Of Last Resort

♥Jun. 5th, 2013 // 05:09 pm
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[xpost |http://flickgc.livejournal.com/901795.html]

This is rather good (available for anther three days):

The Letter of Last Resort is a hand-written letter from the Prime Minister to the commanding officer of each of Trident's submarines. It contains instruction on what action the commanding officer of the submarine should take in the event that Britain is obliterated by nuclear attack and all those in authority deceased. The letter can only say one of two things: retaliate, or, don't retaliate. Each new British prime minister must write the letter upon taking office.

Set in the near future, David Greig's brilliant play is a conversation between the new prime minister (in this case a woman) and the Head of Arrangements, John, at the end of her first day. It unpacks the arguments around nuclear deterrents - and the surreal position a new prime minster must find themself in.


Yesterday, I took GB out to the water meadows near the stable: I'd never been before, mostly because I didn't want to just go on my own but had never managed to get the timing right to go with someone else. The bad part was that I let myself get talked into trotting down the narrow road through the village: I try to avoid too much trot on the roads, because I don't want GB's legs to have trouble, and they were indeed swollen when we got back. Fortunately, they don't seem to be bothering him today, so Ill just keep an eye on it.

The good part was that he had a lovely time charging around on the grass, and splashing in the river. He was very dubious about going in it, but I convinced him to try and, once he'd looked confused and had a big drink, he wandered around quite happily. I swear he was deliberately making as much of a splash as he could! I'll have to take him back, without the trotting down the road part. Maybe we'll take the baby as well.

Life seems to be terribly hectic right now, which is at least partly because Mike was around during the day last week: we were down in the new house twice, for a start, and the horses had massages. Plus I had to go to work. That's just rude. Also, Mike broke the car, which not only meant that I had to go to a breakers yard and hang out with the strange men there on Monday but (as that hasn't fixed it) also means that I have to faff about pumping one of the tires up every time I go anywhere. Bah. Yesterday, I was being primped, and today I had two riding lessons (dashing back to the stables in between to swap both horses and saddles: this may have been foolish) and am out for dinner.... And then I have to go to work, *again*.

(I'm bored with work, now. I've fixed it all, so it's just day-to-day stuff, and that's getting dull. Well, fixed it all other than my usual problem with companies I work for: this one is, ahem, showing all the signs.)
Link6 kisses // Who loves you?

How does that work?

♥May. 19th, 2013 // 06:43 pm
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[xpost |http://flickgc.livejournal.com/901146.html]

Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri has freckles and a ginger 'tash. Is that common in Iraq...?

This morning, Mike and I did a dressage competition. GB was utterly terrified of the judges, which was somewhat irritating. Jonny did very well, and wasn't phased by it all, which was very good. (Jonny has also progressed to the stage where Mike can rest a set of running clippers on his neck without him freaking out, although we've not yet managed to tidy up is mane and get it out of the way of his saddle. On the minus side, it took Mike five minutes to get on him the other day, and that would have been longer if I'd not gone over and glared at him....) As it happens, there's another dressage comp, doing the same tests, at the other end of the lane next Sunday: I'm considering doing it in the regular saddle to see how much of a difference it makes.

That top I was muttering about sizing on arrived: I bought a size 10 in the end and it's not a bad fit. It's certainly not inches too small. I might even get something else from the same designer.

Does anyone have any experience of M&S furniture? Specifically, are the drawers nice and smooth or do they stick in an annoying way? There appears to be something of a gap in the market: lots of places do cheap fake wood stuff with drawers on tracks (eg, Ikea) and lots of places do cheap-ish actual wood stuff with drawers not on tracks, but actual wood and drawers on tracks suddenly becomes fiendishly expensive.

We went to see Travels With My Aunt at the Mernier, earlier in the week. It's really quite good, I do recommend it. Very silly, but rather fun.

We're now even more likely to having the new house from 31 July: the Scottish paperwork the next step up the chain has been signed with that date, so all we have to do now is get a structural engineer in to say "Nah, your surveyor was just worrying about nothing" and we're sorted.

I'm looking forward to that: at the moment, I'm not allowed to buy anything bigger than a duck*, but Mike says that once we've got that bit out of the way then I can start buying things as big as a greyhound**, which is very exciting. The bit where I get to start working out the optimal dates to order furniture so that the delivery times mean it arrives when we're moving in is even more exciting, but that's a little way off yet.

Next Friday is my work summer fun day. I can hardly contain my excitement. I'm not sure how they will top the fun-packed wonder that was the Christmas outing, but I'm sure that they'll manage. (It's all a big secret, I think: the gels keep asking me if I've paid any invoices that might give them clues. I haven't. Well, not unless we're going to a printing factory, or doing a bit of redecorating.)

* But not an actual duck. I have a mean husband.
** Ditto. I have pointed out that *he* bought something that was in fact as big as a horse, but he says that it doesn't count because it doesn't have to be stored in the flat. Hmph.
Link10 kisses // Who loves you?

Bits and bobs

♥Apr. 9th, 2013 // 03:58 pm
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The thought occurred that a) my sewing machine's not been serviced in at least a decade and b) I will shortly not live a short drive from a sewing machine repair shop. So I thought I'd get it de-fluffed and oiled before we move. Just called the shop, mostly to check that I could park, and he said that it would be from £50 for one of that age (I don't know exactly how old it is, having stolen it from my mother, but it's a New Home, and New Home rebranded at Janome a decade ago). I foolishly then thought "I wonder if it's worth spending the money?" and have now been drooling over the features of modern sewing machines. There's one that's got a built-in mini-overlocker, and it's only £200!!! I always wanted an overlocker, they're fabulous...

At least, I hope to only live a short drive from said shop for a little longer. The people we want to buy from did have a second viewing at the weekend, so fingers are firmly crossed. Today was frantic tidying for a viewing of our own, after I got back from the yard. The people we've had seem to be fairly equally split between those who do and do not want to knock down the wall between the kitchen and the living room; I can see both sides, but I do like being able to shut the door.

While I was at the yard, I took GB out for a plod in the woods. As I left, the girl who runs the yard was just finishing up a lesson in the school. Only slightly more than half way around the woods, she overtook me, which was a touch embarrassing. On the other hand, after she walked alongside me down the hill she said "Is it ok if I go off?" and headed on at full-tilt. For about twenty yards, at which point her horse saw an unfamiliar log and went nuts: GB gave her horse a slightly bemused look and then kept plodding, at which point it realised it wasn't actually a tiger and followed him.

We remain, however, a one-horse household. We thought we'd found a good one last week, but the vet comprehensively failed him yesterday ("There's no point charging you for a five-stage vetting.... It's £150 for a two-stage, but I barely got to stage two so call it £100"). Have now started phoning people like GB's chiropractor, and stopping to chat with people I know to say hello to on the lane, to see if they know of anything.

(There's a slight deadline on this, as a) I don't want GB to be on his own at the new house and b) I want Mike to have lots of lessons with our current instructor as he's getting used to the new horse.)

Next weekend, we're going to have a few days away from home, and maybe we'll try and find some horses to look at as well.

Last weekend, we went to see This House, where we sat in the Opposition and got swooshed around the stage a lot. It was very good, although I fear I may have missed some of the references. I did, however, know who Finchley was when she got mentioned, so she'd already been on my mind.

Eastercon seemed to go well, and we seem to have escaped the various con cruds, which was a relief. We were probably protected by the power of Mike's dongle. The auction went suspiciously well: would anyone like to own up to stuffing the Smash Tin with £20s, or will I have to live with having more money than my records suggest I should?

I'm off to the GP tomorrow, to follow up on my blood pressure. I've bought a little machine since then, and have been taking it every week or so, so I have a nice little graph showing that it's consistently on the boundary between "normal" and "go to the doctor if you feel faint", so hopefully that will put this silliness to bed. Of course, then there's the other row to have, but one thing at a time. And at least I don't have to carefully not get annoyed now. Am torn between demanding a cholesterol test to prove my point and not wanting to risk it in case it's fractionally high and they spend the rest of my life trying to put me on bloody statins.

Work continues, much to the surprise of Some People. Boss needs to make up her mind what she wants to do when I move, though, and continues to put it off as she is Too Busy And Doesn't Want To Think About It. I keep meaning to nag her, but she's frightfully stressed.

Boris!
Link8 kisses // Who loves you?

Good / bad / maybe

♥Dec. 21st, 2012 // 02:30 pm
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GB seems to be a bit perkier than he was, which is nice. On Wednesday, I took GB to my lesson and he was pretty much his normal self. Today, I rode him in the school and he wasn't quite so up for it, but then he spent yesterday standing in his stable because of the rain, so he might just have been stiff.

I finally got hold of the vet to discuss GB's worm test results: he prescribed a five-day worming programme, and then a third type of wormer in a fortnight. Poor GB's going to be thoroughly sick of the stuff, but hopefully it'll sort him out and get him back to normal. The down side is no going in the field when he's being wormed, so he's got a few days of staying in the stable to put up with. On the other hand, I bought him an enormous bale of haylage, so he can have a lump of that every day, which should help him put some weight back on as well. If he keeps perking up, I'll be able to get back on the side saddle, which will be nice.

On Monday, I had a second lesson on a horse I rode the week before. He's called Andrew, and he's only a baby (five or six), but he seems generally very nice and (mostly) sensible. (Mostly: the lesson this week involved a lot of slow work, and so had the one he'd been on immediately before. He wanted a run. He really wanted a run. He asked nicely a few times, then a bit less nicely, and then decided that he was going to have a run whatever I thought, complete with throwing bucks in. Mike was behind us, and said it looked quite impressive....) Watch this space, but we shall see, we shall see....

We had a big Ocado order due in on Wednesday evening. The chap looked very apologetic as he came up the stairs, and explained that a bottle of wine had broken in one of our crates, and The Rules said that he couldn't let us have anything out of it. Fortunately, it was mostly either non-urgent stuff or things I could get from Lidl on the way home from the yard, but Mike will have to brave a shop to get the wine.

I'm Working From Home over the next few weeks, owing to office move chaos. It's been quite pleasant this week, particularly as I've ditched Sage (huzzah!), although there is an enormous stack of files behind the sofa....

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LinkWho loves you?

Good / bad / maybe

♥Dec. 21st, 2012 // 02:30 pm
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GB seems to be a bit perkier than he was, which is nice. On Wednesday, I took GB to my lesson and he was pretty much his normal self. Today, I rode him in the school and he wasn't quite so up for it, but then he spent yesterday standing in his stable because of the rain, so he might just have been stiff.

I finally got hold of the vet to discuss GB's worm test results: he prescribed a five-day worming programme, and then a third type of wormer in a fortnight. Poor GB's going to be thoroughly sick of the stuff, but hopefully it'll sort him out and get him back to normal. The down side is no going in the field when he's being wormed, so he's got a few days of staying in the stable to put up with. On the other hand, I bought him an enormous bale of haylage, so he can have a lump of that every day, which should help him put some weight back on as well. If he keeps perking up, I'll be able to get back on the side saddle, which will be nice.

On Monday, I had a second lesson on a horse I rode the week before. He's called Andrew, and he's only a baby (five or six), but he seems generally very nice and (mostly) sensible. (Mostly: the lesson this week involved a lot of slow work, and so had the one he'd been on immediately before. He wanted a run. He really wanted a run. He asked nicely a few times, then a bit less nicely, and then decided that he was going to have a run whatever I thought, complete with throwing bucks in. Mike was behind us, and said it looked quite impressive....) Watch this space, but we shall see, we shall see....

We had a big Ocado order due in on Wednesday evening. The chap looked very apologetic as he came up the stairs, and explained that a bottle of wine had broken in one of our crates, and The Rules said that he couldn't let us have anything out of it. Fortunately, it was mostly either non-urgent stuff or things I could get from Lidl on the way home from the yard, but Mike will have to brave a shop to get the wine.

I'm Working From Home over the next few weeks, owing to office move chaos. It's been quite pleasant this week, particularly as I've ditched Sage (huzzah!), although there is an enormous stack of files behind the sofa....
LinkWho loves you?

I seem to be busy lately....

♥Nov. 18th, 2012 // 04:11 pm
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[xpost |http://flickgc.livejournal.com/885997.html]

Last Thursday - Country Life Christmas Show: overdose on orange and cinnamon scent, bought a few bits, thought "I could do that" about many bits, thought "I would do that" about slightly fewer.

Last weekend - Novacon, lovely. I really enjoy Novacon, these days. Lost of nice chats. Contrary to popular opinion, I did not spend the entire weekend sitting in the same chair, and most certainly had not in fact been there since last year.

Monday - new job, first day, sort of. Seems to be doable. Proper start this week.

(An observation: About six months ago, one of my big toes started hurting (ultimately, I think, due to a single side saddle lesson in which I Did Something Wrong and kept scrunching my foot up). It got randomly better and worse, until Mike made me go to the GP who gave me a leaflet for a foot clinic, which I never got around to going to. Then I was jumping up in the air trying to read a price tag in Costco when I landed, hard, on the ball of that toe, which was excruciating. Ever since, it's been pretty much fine: I remember thinking, as I walked down the road on the Thursday, that it seemed to be better. I wore Proper Shoes on Thursday, Saturday and Monday, as opposed to the usual yard and riding boots. My toe hurts, now.)

Tuesday - went riding in the woods, in the sun. It was lovely. We have very pretty colours this year. At one point, a small tree has fallen annoyingly and (bottom of a hill, just after a corner) dangerously across the path. As I was later planning on coming around that corner and up the hill at speed, I jumped off and moved it. GB happily stood and ate the bits of leaf growing out of the tree stump I'd thrown his reins over. The horse I was with was utterly terrified by the crashing noises. C'est la vie. GB, incidentally, has been a little out of sorts this week: grumpier than usual, although I accept that most people can't tell. Not sure what's up, hopefully it's just the change in the weather, or something.

Wednesday - side saddle: getting better at making him listen to the cane, but the grumpiness didn't help.

Thursday - stayed at home. Was Domesticated: I'd decided to make bath balls and bath fizzers for people I want to give small presents to (eg, woman who cleans up my horse's shit). Made them all, much to my pleasure, and put them in the spare room to dry out without stinking the flat up. Went to check on them a few hours later and decided that it was probaly worth, for the sake of avoiding the risk of damp in the books, putting the heating on in there a little: the bath bombs were fine, but the ones that were supposed to fizz up as soon as they went into the water had, um, fizzed up. I should have taken a photo, it was quite impressive....

(Relatedly, I've had terrible trouble buying peppermint essence. I tried in Tesco last week, and found the empty place on the shelf where it should have been. Tried again a day or two later, hoping they'd have re-stocked, and found that they'd rearranged the shelf and got rid of the label. No job in Lidl, or Holland & Barrett, either. Gave up and bought it from Amazon, which feels somehow wrong, but there we go.)

Friday - felt distinctly crappy (someone at Novacon is to blame, I suspect: coff, choo, sniff), so went to see GB but didn't ride him. Came home and lurked on the sofa.

Saturday - went to France and Belgium. Failed to get preferred brand of dishwasher tablets. Refuse to go to Germany just for dishwasher tablets, have set Mike back on the web searching. On the way home, sms from Teenage Girl's mother saying there was a problem, could I call. Later, found out that Teenage Girl has been having "trouble" with other Teenage Girls at the yard, and is too upset / scared to go, hence a morning of sobbing and she didn't go to see GB today. I shall start making enquiries at the yard but I think it's too late; wish Girl had said something to either me or her mother sooner. On the one hand, I could find something else but, on the other, I think I'll just let GB have two days off a week, instead of one, and this means Mike and I can have more flexibility about which weekend day we ride.

Sunday - went to the new Horse World Live show, at ExCeL. Crap. I can't imagine there'll be another next year. Dealers were all going mad with boredom, there was pretty much no one there. Stayed about an hour. Came home. Lurked on sofa.

On Friday, one of our fish died. Given that it was one of the five still-live members of the batch of ten glowlight tetras that were the first fish we put in the tank (after we gave up on the manufacturer's instructions and just set it up properly) three years ago, this is pretty impressive. Looking at the others, I note that one of them is rather lying on his side and another looks worryingly skinny, but the rest of the fish seem to be doing ok so it's probably age, not a water problem. They've had a pretty good run.
Link8 kisses // Who loves you?

Yuck

♥Mar. 12th, 2012 // 06:55 pm
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Bloody hell, Sage is a pile of shite, isn't it? It's horribly put together. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
Link11 kisses // Who loves you?

I think I'll be stiff tomorrow....

♥Feb. 21st, 2012 // 03:35 pm
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[xpost |http://flickgc.livejournal.com/864437.html]

I went riding this morning, but only for half an hour or so: GB was, whilst willing, not seeing terribly able. No energy and he was rather stiff at first. I suspect that this may have had something to do with his 'flu jab yesterday! So, it was probably a good thing that my riding instructor was on holiday this week!

It was probably also a good thing that I didn't ride for too long given that I had an assessment session at a proper pilates place at lunch time. My rib is making itself known, now, and, yes, I suspect I'll be stiff tomorrow. Still, it seemed to go ok: it probably helps that I'm generally pretty fit at the moment. It's the same place as my riding instructor goes, and I had to smile a few times as I thought "I've heard that description before...". So, signed up for regular classes there, see how it goes!

(Work yesterday went better than I'd feared. I will be getting my own way about fixing things, or at least that's what I've been told. Of course, this would be easier if I had a computer, so that I could install the accounts software, so that I could take over from the bookkeeper and start fixing things....)

I need a Healthy Exercise icon. Hmm.
Link1 kiss // Who loves you?

Ponder, ponder.

♥Jan. 23rd, 2012 // 04:37 pm
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[xpost |http://flickgc.livejournal.com/860968.html]

Thinking aloud )

Conclusion is probably that I don't mind if it's Tuesday or Wednesday (except possibly in the whole not having to go two days in a row sense), that Girl will have to change her day, and that I will have to ditch Yogilates in favour of something I can get to after riding with less of a variable travel time. Hmm.

Oh, in other news, I finished Tiny Tower. Those of you who've been playing may wish to know that there are currently 19 of each business type, meaning you can do it in 153 floors. Now I need a new casual game on my iPhone: any suggestions? Good things include quick loading, not requiring a data connection all the time, not being too money grabbing and not being too obsession-making. We Rule bad, Tiny Tower good. Pocket Frogs was good, too, and I'm almost considering wiping the file and reinstalling it to start it from scratch, unless anyone has a good suggestion?
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