I've dropped the iron a total of four times, I've had an epic fail trying to work out what is happening with uncle (according to a member of staff he is heading to a care home local to him) and nearly forgot father's lunch. He is still fretting a bit about the hospital appointment and op, but hopefully it will be dealt with soon.
I've displaced. Write on Edge did a prompt where you had to write a piece that started with a phrase and had only 100 extra words. It was easier than worrying about everything else. If you are interested in it, the link is here.
I got soaked picking up bear as well. I'll find the bright side soon.
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
High Gravity Day
I've just dropped my new iron. Twice. That is a record, even for me. Mind you, I have been using language that would have made evil cat blush as I couldn't stop the cord wrinkling the bit of the shirt I had already ironed, which is a problem I don't usually have. I ended up threading the plug through the steam iron rest to fix that. Of course, then I had to rearrange the bits so that the ironing board lined up close enough to the plug. The room is still a work in progress so I had to fiddle things around and shift heaps of ironing. That is when I broke two hangers as well as dropping the dratted iron which, apart from those issues is ironing beautifully.
Then I made some toast for father and when the toaster popped I got some fresh bread out of the loaf bag and started buttering that.
I think today is a day for sitting quietly and carefully and staying away from fragile things.
Bear won a Best Actor nomination this morning for his portrayal of having a bad leg (when he remembered). It may actually be a bit sore as he put quite a bit of effort into yesterday's martial arts. I am sure it will come up in conversation tonight in the context of homework. Bear would convince any jury in the land that a bad leg excuses him homework.
Yesterday when I spoke to uncle he was determined to go back to his bungalow. If he decides to go there, we can't stop him. There isn't even a bed there - he has slept in a chair for years and the rest of the house is far too cluttered still to fit in a bed and he certainly wouldn't countenance losing any of the 'stuff'. I am a little worried, but all I can do now is wait and see.
Then I made some toast for father and when the toaster popped I got some fresh bread out of the loaf bag and started buttering that.
I think today is a day for sitting quietly and carefully and staying away from fragile things.
Bear won a Best Actor nomination this morning for his portrayal of having a bad leg (when he remembered). It may actually be a bit sore as he put quite a bit of effort into yesterday's martial arts. I am sure it will come up in conversation tonight in the context of homework. Bear would convince any jury in the land that a bad leg excuses him homework.
Yesterday when I spoke to uncle he was determined to go back to his bungalow. If he decides to go there, we can't stop him. There isn't even a bed there - he has slept in a chair for years and the rest of the house is far too cluttered still to fit in a bed and he certainly wouldn't countenance losing any of the 'stuff'. I am a little worried, but all I can do now is wait and see.
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
Sunny!
It is sunny and we have a rose blooming in the garden!
It is looking a bit battered but it is opening up which I consider utterly amazing. There has been some real bite to the wind recently, though it isn't really as cold as it could be. Also it looks like bear is going to get his first Valentine. He has only just turned seven. I'm just going with the flow on that one but it makes me chuckle and also wince. One day I will be a mother in law. I am putting off thinking about that for as long as possible!
Father has a hospital appointment today. It is to talk about the results and book him in for an operation. It is only minor op but of course I am worried. I am also still exhausted after a day of telephoning about uncle. It is not just the exhausting process of trying to get a healthcare professional to understand that things are awkward, but the tension waiting for the calls, then missing them on a quick comfort stop, then not being able to get them when you ring back so you leave a message and wait. Fortunately it seems that we are just going to be waiting for the social worker as everything else seems to be falling in to place. We need to see if there will be funding. Poor uncle is crossing not only the borders between local authorities but also countries.
I know it is going to be incredibly tough when he gets here, as the demands on my time and mental energy are going to be heavy. I am really worried. However I can still enjoy a sunny day and an unexpected rose and I am sure bear will keep me smiling. Also if uncle gets into this house I will probably be able to take a shortcut through the park and I love seeing green and growing things, so that will be good.
It is looking a bit battered but it is opening up which I consider utterly amazing. There has been some real bite to the wind recently, though it isn't really as cold as it could be. Also it looks like bear is going to get his first Valentine. He has only just turned seven. I'm just going with the flow on that one but it makes me chuckle and also wince. One day I will be a mother in law. I am putting off thinking about that for as long as possible!
Father has a hospital appointment today. It is to talk about the results and book him in for an operation. It is only minor op but of course I am worried. I am also still exhausted after a day of telephoning about uncle. It is not just the exhausting process of trying to get a healthcare professional to understand that things are awkward, but the tension waiting for the calls, then missing them on a quick comfort stop, then not being able to get them when you ring back so you leave a message and wait. Fortunately it seems that we are just going to be waiting for the social worker as everything else seems to be falling in to place. We need to see if there will be funding. Poor uncle is crossing not only the borders between local authorities but also countries.
I know it is going to be incredibly tough when he gets here, as the demands on my time and mental energy are going to be heavy. I am really worried. However I can still enjoy a sunny day and an unexpected rose and I am sure bear will keep me smiling. Also if uncle gets into this house I will probably be able to take a shortcut through the park and I love seeing green and growing things, so that will be good.
Monday, 3 February 2014
In the Gym
Another spell in the writing gym. If you are interested the link is here.
Still trying to work out what is best for uncle, I seem to have gone twelve rounds with the telephone and this has been the only faint, bright spot. The story is okay, but the chance to write was a lifebelt in choppy waters.
Still trying to work out what is best for uncle, I seem to have gone twelve rounds with the telephone and this has been the only faint, bright spot. The story is okay, but the chance to write was a lifebelt in choppy waters.
Night Shift
When bear was tiny we used to split the weekend night feeds. DH would do Friday night and I would have a night of uninterrupted sleep and a lie in.
When he was a little older one the split continued, so on Saturday mornings DH would have the first change of nappy and make the baby porridge.
As bear got older the split was on Friday night I slept in a bed while DH had the couch and would field bear at 6am Saturday morning.
When I moved up into my own bed the split was who would get up when bear coughed politely outside the bedroom door at 7am to get someone to make his breakfast.
We are moving on to a new phase. Bear is making noises about making his own breakfast. To be honest, there is no reason why a sensible, intelligent child could not pour milk on cereal if I left a bowl out (bear would have to climb on a chair to get the bowl from the cupboard and that makes me nervous). Bear is also making noises about making his own toast. Leaving bear to make his own cereal makes me feel like a bad and neglectful mother, but bear making his own toast makes me extremely nervous. I can't put my finger on it. A toaster is a relatively safe piece of kitchen equipment, and bear is very sensible, but I just don't feel comfortable with it.
I don't suppose I'll get let off much morning duty though. Last Saturday morning bear wandered quietly downstairs and played minecraft until DH got up at around 9am, then they went off to have breakfast in town. On Sunday bear woke me up at 7.45am as he couldn't find his pen top. It's nice that I'm still needed.
When he was a little older one the split continued, so on Saturday mornings DH would have the first change of nappy and make the baby porridge.
As bear got older the split was on Friday night I slept in a bed while DH had the couch and would field bear at 6am Saturday morning.
When I moved up into my own bed the split was who would get up when bear coughed politely outside the bedroom door at 7am to get someone to make his breakfast.
We are moving on to a new phase. Bear is making noises about making his own breakfast. To be honest, there is no reason why a sensible, intelligent child could not pour milk on cereal if I left a bowl out (bear would have to climb on a chair to get the bowl from the cupboard and that makes me nervous). Bear is also making noises about making his own toast. Leaving bear to make his own cereal makes me feel like a bad and neglectful mother, but bear making his own toast makes me extremely nervous. I can't put my finger on it. A toaster is a relatively safe piece of kitchen equipment, and bear is very sensible, but I just don't feel comfortable with it.
I don't suppose I'll get let off much morning duty though. Last Saturday morning bear wandered quietly downstairs and played minecraft until DH got up at around 9am, then they went off to have breakfast in town. On Sunday bear woke me up at 7.45am as he couldn't find his pen top. It's nice that I'm still needed.
Sunday, 2 February 2014
Elves Delay Highway Construction
The link is here.
A very kind friend sent me the link. A construction project in Iceland is being delayed because the local population fear that the road would cut through the local elf population. People are standing in front of the machinery and it's gone to Iceland's Supreme Court.
I am comforted that the elves go to church, as apparently there is a concern that an elf church will be affected by the development. The link is here.
I feel like my fiction is being left behind by the real world.
A very kind friend sent me the link. A construction project in Iceland is being delayed because the local population fear that the road would cut through the local elf population. People are standing in front of the machinery and it's gone to Iceland's Supreme Court.
I am comforted that the elves go to church, as apparently there is a concern that an elf church will be affected by the development. The link is here.
I feel like my fiction is being left behind by the real world.
Cooking
I've been trying a few different recipes. I tried cauliflower rice, inspired by Angela on Tracing Rainbows, and that was quite successful. You process the cauliflower in a food processor until it is the size of grains of rice then microwave it with 10ml of water (two teaspoons) for two minutes. The menfolk quite liked it as a change, and bear seemed to put plenty away. I was very grateful for the inspiration.
I got a bit carried away. I shredded some cabbage and stirred it around in a tablespoon or so of oil and tried cooking it in the halogen oven. It wasn't tasty. It was more or less cooked, charred in places and I probably won't try that again, at least with a savoy cabbage. Cooking cabbage in water with a good wallop of butter added probably is the least healthy way of cooking cabbage, apart from wrapping it round a Mars bar and deep frying, but that went down well with the menfolk.
I'm going to have a wander around the internet to see if there is anything interesting I can do to red cabbage. That is the joy of a veg box - it sends you in strange directions and as I am getting seasonal veggies and it is the middle of winter I am getting a lot of cabbage. Cabbage is good, and bear will usually eat it, but I'd like to ring the changes.
It does make me feel very lucky that I have a choice. In Roman times May was an unlucky month to marry and it was the month of the dead. It seems strange to have such a bright month as a time of the dead, but in the ancient world it was the time when the grain from the last harvest was running out. If the last harvest had been bad, people would be suffering. The Romans placated their ghosts with beans, and dried beans would probably be all that was left.
Wondering what else to cook with cabbage isn't that big a deal, compared to that.
I got a bit carried away. I shredded some cabbage and stirred it around in a tablespoon or so of oil and tried cooking it in the halogen oven. It wasn't tasty. It was more or less cooked, charred in places and I probably won't try that again, at least with a savoy cabbage. Cooking cabbage in water with a good wallop of butter added probably is the least healthy way of cooking cabbage, apart from wrapping it round a Mars bar and deep frying, but that went down well with the menfolk.
I'm going to have a wander around the internet to see if there is anything interesting I can do to red cabbage. That is the joy of a veg box - it sends you in strange directions and as I am getting seasonal veggies and it is the middle of winter I am getting a lot of cabbage. Cabbage is good, and bear will usually eat it, but I'd like to ring the changes.
It does make me feel very lucky that I have a choice. In Roman times May was an unlucky month to marry and it was the month of the dead. It seems strange to have such a bright month as a time of the dead, but in the ancient world it was the time when the grain from the last harvest was running out. If the last harvest had been bad, people would be suffering. The Romans placated their ghosts with beans, and dried beans would probably be all that was left.
Wondering what else to cook with cabbage isn't that big a deal, compared to that.
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