So many books, so little time

Registered for kittens

pennski — Sat, 18 Feb 2017 17:26:03 GMT

We have now registered our interest in adopting kittens with our local cat charity (tvaw). Apparently early summer is the normal time for them to be available.

Achievement unlocked!

pennski — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 20:52:51 GMT

My Abbey Girls collection is one delivery away from complete!
After buying a first edition of "Rosamund's Castle" last weekend for an eye-watering sum, I was inspired to check online for "A Fiddler for the Abbey" the only title I am missing from the main series.

Those lovely people at GGB have reprinted it, and a shiny new copy is on its way to me for a mere £15.

I have just re-read "Maidlin bears the torch" so I could get back up to speed with where "Rosamund's Castle" fits in.

Why has nobody noticed that Joy is a monster?

500 words again

pennski — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 17:57:19 GMT

A small piece of good news - I have put myself forward as a judge for the 500 words competition again.

What glimmer of cheer can you offer in these dark days?

Training through the medium of interpretative dance

pennski — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 19:02:53 GMT

I have been delivering a very heavy training schedule over the last 2 weeks and my last sessions are Tuesday.
It's over webex and has been up to four hours per day (I made sure no one day had any more than that). On Wednesday I started coming down with a cold, so on Thursday I worked from home and tried not to speak more than necessary. On Friday, I was able to have a 3 hour lie-in because I would be training into the evening. This helped, but my voice wore away to a thread by the end of the last session.

So now I'm rationing myself to 3 sentences a day apart from the training sessions.
I am hoping that way that I won't have to act out the above.

Thank goodness bookzombie knows me well enough to interpret most of my miming.

Oh plus I am resting as much as possible to get rid of the cold.

Hive mind request

pennski — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 19:24:45 GMT

Where is the sensible secure place I put my security pass before working from home for a week?
I moved it out of the holder in my car so it wouldn't be visible.

It's not in the glove box, or anywhere else in my car.
It's not in the kitchen dresser.
It's not in the tallboy.
It's not by my bed.
It's not on the shelf by my side of the sofa.

Go on, which one of you sneaked into the house and moved it somewhere even more secure?

D&D Podcasting!

pennski — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 15:55:17 GMT

I have accidentally followed bookzombie into podcasting.
The first episode is now available here https://itun.es/gb/1-Gshb.c
He is in the first adventure (probably first three episodes) and we are both in the next adventure.

Go have a listen and let us know what you think.

Happy New Year!

pennski — Sun, 01 Jan 2017 22:26:59 GMT

I have 2 resolutions
1) To read the whole of "War and Peace" by reading a chapter every time I do some reading - and reading whatever else I like at the same time.
2) To become more active by
a) checking my fitbit shortly before bed and doing 100 extra steps on those days when I am under 10,000 steps (likely to be most of them)
b) start running again 1st March or earlier if it is consistently not damp.

Other than that, just general good intentions.

Everything Blackpool

pennski — Sun, 16 Oct 2016 16:41:54 GMT

Here is a little list of what we have done this weekend in Blackpool with my friend Karen

Walked along the prom
Cuddled a donkey on the beach - and been leaned on in return
Danced a rhumba on the floor of the Tower Ballroom - by copying the couple next to us
Laughed and groaned at the jokes on the comedy pavement
Had fish'n'chips at Harry Ramsden's
Gambled away our tuppences in Coral Island - and donated our winning tickets to people who were collecting them
Bought rock and candy floss
Watched Strictly with a take-away and some Cava
Drunk innumerable cups of tea and talked for hours.
Looked at all the tableaux illuminations with a very excited six-year old.

Oh and in case you are wondering, that tower in France that looks like the Blackpool tower?
It is the Trifle Tower.

The quilt

pennski — Sat, 08 Oct 2016 15:25:46 GMT

Quilting triumph!

pennski — Sun, 02 Oct 2016 20:04:46 GMT

Today I finished my hand-made quilt.
It has taken me at least 5 years and every stitch was hand-sown.
Now it has pride of place, covering the double bed in the spare room.

Of course, it may be a little too fragile to let anyone actually sit on it or sleep under it, but it looks fantastic.

What achievement are you proud of this weekend?

A busy weekend

pennski — Sun, 21 Aug 2016 16:59:42 GMT

Thursday was our wedding anniversary so we took the afternoon off and headed off to Chepstow to stay at a swanky hotel for a couple of days.
I had a swim/ steam room/ jacuzzi session while Chris did some serious reading/ napping.
We had a v posh meal (although I was middle-class enough to ask for flutes to drink our Prosecco out of).
Friday it rained a lot but we walked all over Chepstow castle anyway. Had lunch in a nice pub overlooking the river and then wandered round the museum before hitting the charity shops and indulging in a hot chocolate.
I then had another swim etc to work up an appetite for another lovely meal.
Saturday we drove to Baglan and experienced the wetness of Baglan Bay before Chris dropped me off at St Katherine's church for the 50th anniversary of Great-Grandad Pitman's funeral.
He now has his own wikipedia page here.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_J_Pitman

There were about 20 bell-ringers there to commemorate him, six of whom rang one of his peals.

I met most of my Mum's cousins (Josie, Mike, Geoff) most of whom I hadn't seen since I was a child and had a good chat with my second cousins Russell and Anthea. There is definitely a family resemblance amongst us all - I kept looking across the hall for Mum and seeing someone with her hair or her eyes, but it was someone else.

Chris re-joined me for tea and cake in the church hall at 3 before we headed home.

I think the peal was successful - it was still going when we left.

And then we got home and had a lovely Saturday evening at home.

More on FODMAPs

pennski — Sat, 30 Jul 2016 16:10:25 GMT

I am still working my way through the list of high FODMAP foods to see which set off my digestive troubles and which don't.

Apples, onions, apricots, pears and houmus all cause problems.
Garlic, peas, broad beans and nectarines are all fine.

On Friday morning when I was safely working from home, I tried some lactose-free milk to see if it is the lactose or the caseins as well that are the issue. It was a very strange experience. I had a little in a cup of tea and then later in the morning I had some in a cup of coffee. My brain was sending out danger signals saying "This is not food. This will upset your stomach" and it was right. I even felt slightly nauseous while drinking the coffee.

So that's a no then.

I have tried a small amount of roquefort again and that was ok.

Very behind on reading

pennski — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 18:16:21 GMT

For the last 2 weeks I have hardly read lj. I did a "catch-up" last weekend which took me from -160 to -100 posts and I've just done from current to -60.
What really cool post should I have read?

Since going to Bletchley Park with Emma a couple of weeks ago, I have been immersing myself in WW2 via Black Out and now All Clear. I still find the screwball rushing around rather irritating - even more so now I understand central London geography a little better (just get out and WALK!). I have more sympathy with the historians trying to protect each other especially Eileen who is constantly roped in to help out other people.

We watched the first 3 episodes of The Bletchley Circle and found it very enjoyable. My granny, who loved mathematical puzzles (such as number theory) would have loved it.

Yesterday we went to Farnborough Air Show, courtesy of free tickets from work, which included lunch and viewing of the air displays from the comfort of the company chalet. I took a couple of adequate videos on my phone of various fly-bys and stunts from some ancient planes.

The F35 hovering in mid-air and then flying sideways before rotating on the spot was incredibly impressive. It did look impossible.

I have been watching the political changes with a mixture of bafflement and incredulity. I never thought the conservatives would have a second female Prime Minister before either of the other parties had one. And who knows what the Labour party is going to do to itself next.

Chocolate + strawberries = ?

pennski — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 20:18:34 GMT

For the past few days, Chris and I have had a small bowl of strawberries after tea, using up those that are soon going to go off. There is a full basin in the fridge of perfect ripe strawberries and a carton on the windowsill of those that need to finish ripening.
At the weekend, I asked Chris to pick up some dark cooking chocolate and yesterday I had great fun with a bain marie. The result was chocolate coated fresh strawberries, which were absolutely delicious.
I took a few to work today and everyone who wanted one said they were delicious.
So this evening I created a few more and also some chocolate coated crystalised ginger on the side.

Happy sigh!

Exciting things!

pennski — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 20:11:59 GMT

Chris is enjoying his new job so far.
I have won us 2 tickets to the Farnborough Air Show in July and I have just been rummaging through the website. It looks like we will have a wonderful day. And it is just possible that those tickets may include some corporate hospitality - Leigh in HR said details are to follow.
My Mum has emailed me to say that 20th August is the 50th anniversary of my Great-Grandad's funeral and his local tower (at Baglan, near Port Talbot) are planning to ring one of his major works. It will take about 3 hours.
We are invited, however we are hoping to be away on holiday - more details once we work out what is feasible.

And in gardening news, the strawberries are ripening daily - I have picked 3 bowlfuls in the last week - and they are delicious.
The courgette seeds that germinated at the weekend now have primary leaves about 3 inches round and are working on their next leaves.

Fruit cage is finished!

pennski — Sun, 29 May 2016 16:59:36 GMT

I feel so smug. Even 5 years ago, I would not have considered trying to do this.
And I have picked 4 full-size strawberries, which means we are already equal to last year's harvest.

There has been more gardening today. Chris has finished mowing the lawn and I have planted out the rest of the sweetcorn and the 3 campanula plants I bought yesterday.

I have also finished sewing the seam for the underneath layer of my quilt. My next move is some very gentle pressing and then I'm ready to tack the 3 layers together.

Now to rule the world before tea...

Strawberry news

pennski — Sat, 28 May 2016 17:42:04 GMT

Our first two strawberries have started turning pink. Given that, like the rest of the UK, it looks like we are going to have a bumper crop this year, I have put hay around the base (I couldn't find straw). I have now half-constructed a low level fruit cage as well. I bought 10M * 0.5 M of plastic-coated chicken wire and this is enough to wrap around the sides. I used the old rusty 2M plumbing pipe that we were going to take the the dump as the basis of one side and various bamboo canes for the other. For now I have put translucent plastic sheeting over the top but tomorrow I'm going to buy some plastic mesh as Chris has pointed out that it will probably be too hot and dry under there for them.

In other gardening news, I have bought 2 grow bags and planted out 5 tomato plants.

There is plenty more gardening I would like to do, but that is enough for today with my recovering knee and ankle.

Missing everyone who is at Wiscon at the moment.

Working around my knee and ankle

pennski — Sun, 22 May 2016 16:33:25 GMT

Thanks to the flexibility of my workplace, I was able to work from home Monday & Tuesday. On Weds my boss gave me a lift in and Chris gave me a lift back and on Thursday my boss gave me a lift both ways and Friday was normal work from home day.

My ankle is still slightly swollen and the bruising is coming through. I do have a full range of movement and can walk around fine indoors. Outside, I feel the strain on uneven ground, so I am going to play it safe and ask for a lift tomorrow too.

My cut knee took a couple of days before I could bear to put any clothing on it. It is now ok for anything except thin tights (which I suspect would snag on the scab). I still can't kneel on that knee and I have discovered just how much I use that as a stage in standing up or kneeling down to do anything.
I can however do all but one of my physio exercises.

I stopped taking painkillers a couple of days ago and tonight I will not elevate my feet when I sleep.

Chris had a good interview on Weds and was able to rest decently on Thursday and Friday.
We had a pleasant time with my brother and his wife yesterday - we showed them "My Neighbour Totoro" and had a take-away rather than going to a restaurant.

As a reward, Chris' voice started to come back this morning, so he now has slightly more than a whisper.

Gardening news: I bought some hay to put around the strawberry plants to keep the berries out of the mud.

Ups and downs

pennski — Mon, 16 May 2016 20:13:47 GMT

Ups
We had a fantastic show. It was sold out every night after the first night. This practically never happens to us.
I got my voice back just in time and was able to do all the singing and talking I needed to.

Downs
Chris' got my cold and it turned to a cough and he lost progressively more voice as the week went on. He was unable to sing the falsetto he had practised so carefully and had to sing down the octave.
The dark hair dye did not wash out properly and each day left progressively more red behind until on Sunday he looked like he'd had a very ill-advised hair job.

Ups
He has a face-to-face interview on Weds at Oxfam at 9am. We are hopeful and excited.

Downs
He is still quite ill and now can only speak in a whisper. We are hoping he will be well enough for the interview.
I fell over just outside the after-show party and have mildly sprained my right ankle, pulled various muscles and given myself a massive cut on my left knee which is rather warm and throbbing slightly. If it has not gone down tomorrow, I will call the doctor.

Ups
We had given a qualified first aider a lift to the party and her prompt and calm action was instrumental to the fact that I am recovering so well.
As I could not move around the party, the party came to me while I recovered enough to go home.
My parents came and were genuinely impressed by the show (instead of the polite response they sometimes show).
Our friend Ailie flew down from Edinburgh to see the show and spend the weekend and we had a wonderful time.
My boss is happy for me to work from home until my ankle is strong enough for me to use it enough to get in to work.

Show bizzie

pennski — Wed, 11 May 2016 14:37:25 GMT

First night was last night and it went very well.
My friends from work loved it.
I recovered enough of my voice to sing all my harmonies.
Chris has sadly temporarily lost his falsetto and is still struggling to sleep due to coughing.
We have sold out for the rest of the week - this is wonderful!
I am making cards for the cast using black card and lots of glitter. My inner 4 - 12 year-olds are very happy.

Full of cold

pennski — Tue, 03 May 2016 19:41:43 GMT

...and I wanted to do so much this week.

We had a lovely Bank holiday weekend which included a 2-year-old's birthday party - I got to go on the bouncy castle - a trip to Hurstbourne Priors village fair where I got to hold a 2-day old lamb and a game of Pandemic with Chris with a mug of thick hot chocolate on the side.
But my throat was getting scratchy and my voice raspy and I woke up today with a definite cold.

I really wanted to make it into the office because there were a couple of organisational things I wanted to sort out face-to-face. So I went in and did that and by 10.30 I was flagging so much that I spoke to my boss and we agreed I should go home (he'd already suggested it a couple of times by then). So I came home and went to bed and slept through the afternoon.

Soon I will be going back to bed with my book and a hot toddy.

This means at best, I will be working from home tomorrow. I have a conf call 5 - 6pm which I really need to attend.
I missed rehearsal tonight.
I will miss Craig H's leaving do tomorrow night.
I will aim to be a silent attendee at rehearsal on Thursday.

The show is next week!! And so many people are coming - I must be better in time for opening night!

So much stuff

pennski — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 20:12:23 GMT

I have been quiet on lj recently.
Partly because I got sucked into a hidden objects game. I've finally realised I don't have to use up my daily allowance of in-game energy if I don't want to!
Partly because rehearsals have ramped up for "Sister Act" - it's going to be fabulous baby!
Partly because I have reached an interesting stage with my quilt - I have sewn all the top pieces together and removed the paper. I've edged it with ribbon and I'm now working on adding the side pieces before I add the wadding.

Work is still lovely! The people are still great - we went out for a meal last Wednesday and I spent most of the time laughing (and drinking)...

I haven't been reading anything like as much so far this year, mainly because I have the energy to do more. So, given that I am missing it a little, I will focus on some reading too.

What is going well for you? What unhelpful thing are you walking away from?

Happy things

pennski — Sat, 05 Mar 2016 18:31:38 GMT

My shingles are getting much better. I can now bear for my arm to be touched and I didn't need a nap today.
My boss's boss sent me some lovely feedback on my functional spec - he said it was excellent work and the highest quality 1st issue functional spec he has seen on this project. Given that he is a very understated individual, this is high praise indeed!
My boss continues to be very supportive of me and told me to finish work on Friday at the normal time, despite me taking a 2 hour lunch break to include a nap.

Is there something that is making you happy?

Why I love the NHS

pennski — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 12:06:29 GMT

In a social education class in the 6th form, we were asked what made a society truly civilised. One of the things we all agreed on was free healthcare. That is, apart from an American girl who was highly offended that we were essentially saying her society was not civilised. Of course most of us didn't even realise that the States didn't have free healthcare.

In roughly the past fortnight, the NHS has performed an appendicitis operation on my Mum and also removed a section of bowel that turned out to be cancerous. It has provided medical advice and an ambulance at 3am when she developed complications. It re-admitted her, re-scanned her, inserted a stomach drain and waited to see if she needed a further operation. It only discharged her when it was clear that the stomach drain had allowed the blockage to clear itself and start to heal.

She has had a daily call from the colon nurse to check about her condition and talk her through how much and how little to do and to eat to aid her recovery.

When I came home on Friday morning and rang my GP surgery to see if I could get an appointment that day, I was able to get an end of day appointment to see the nurse practictioner. She diagnosed shingles and was able to prescribe an anti-viral. I was able to pick it up from the chemist the following morning ("free" because I have a pre-payment certificate). When I read the instructions and realised I'd probably been given the wrong dose (treatment for chicken pox for a child rather than shingles for an adult) I was able to contact 111 and get a call back from a doctor in just over an hour. She was able to confirm my suspicions and issue a top-up prescription to my chemist within 15 minutes so that I could pick it up before 1pm on Saturday when they close.

I know many people have had problems with the 111 service, so I was not expecting great things from them. I have to say, I was really pleased and they exceeded my expectations.

Now all I need to do is heal enough to go and help Mum some more at the back end of next week...

Mum mending nicely

pennski — Sat, 27 Feb 2016 15:20:05 GMT

So I had 3 days of running around. I didn't have to do any personal care for Mum - she and Dad managed that between them - but I made pretty much every cup of tea/ did the washing up/ did the fetching and carrying. This meant Dad could go out for the daily paper in the morning, go to orchestra in the evening and even have a little lie down one afternoon.

When I arrived, Mum was dressed and sitting in a chair but not able to do much more than read the paper and talk about her condition & what/ whether she wanted to eat and drink. Every so often she would get up and go for a little walk around the living room. By the time my sister arrived to take over on Thursday afternoon, Mum was a lot brighter. She'd done several jigsaw puzzles on my ipad and was able to play "Oh Hell!" with us that evening.

As we were playing I discovered a funny rash on my arm. It got worse and spread and turns out to be shingles. Bother! I now have the right medication and it should improve by the end of the weekend.

When I called Mum last night to see how she was and to check if everyone has had chicken pox (they have) she was sounding much more like herself and able to give me good advice about how to look after it.

Dad looked a lot less tired by the time I left, and says he is now comfortable to leave Mum by herself for half/ three quarters of an hour while he fetches the paper. My sister will stay until Sunday afternoon and her husband can do Monday and Tuesday.

Dad would like to get to the point where he can leave Mum for 2 hours or so (e.g. to do the shopping or go to a rehearsal) and would quite like a trial go at that before being left to cope alone, so we'll see how the next few days go and work out from that when I next need to go down.

Thank-you all for your kind thoughts and wishes, it has really helped me stay positive.