I had such plans and the days have zoomed by!

Being out on site visits and whizzing around the A3 and soutg circular really leaves little time for much else.

Evenings have been taken up with trying to keep apace of work admin that doesn't get done during the day when out on site visits (failing), personal admin (failing), decluttering (failing) contract work (failing - though I did accompish something last Friday) and a couple of pretty intensive market research projects (succeeded)!

I'm praying that once the site visits are over on Thursday that I get some time to catch up on work admin and contract work, personal life admin I wanted to get organised this month as well as spending some time on my allotment and finishing off the back garden. *G*

I really have no idea where January went - it feels like it was the 5th last Wednesday and suddenly we're into the last week - how the heck did that happen?

Also so far hebind on the Snowflake Challenge... This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/805137.html.

Work is still super busy and I've been out on sites much of this week which means a backlog of admin. I'm hoping to catch up today and this weekend, as well as get on those backdated entries and #SFC posts. Next week is another with 3 days of sites visits so lots still to do.

It seems Meat Loaf has shuffled off this mortal coil - I feel a need to go and play Bat Out of Hell and Paradise By the Dashboard Light loudly.

Meanwhile our idiot government has decided to scrap most restrictions including mandatory masking in shops and working from home from next Thursday. It seems we're just supposed to pretend COVID has gone away.

Luckily my role with a local authority means that there's no pressure to go back to full time office working. In fact the most recent guidance is more "we're ready to welcome you back but understand people don't want to be in a crowded office". They've got a lot of guidance on agile (how I hate that word) working. Much seems to be left up to individuals and teams to decide what they're happy with.

I'm aiming for 1 day a week in the office in February and in March I'll be back to doing site inspections so I'll like be out two days a week on sites, 2 days at home and 1 day in the office.

One of my colleagues - who I saw briefly outside on Wednesday for a 30 second hand over has tested positive for COVID. So I'm doing lateral flow tests for the next few days (I still have a few left in a pack) and I've ordered a new pack which hopefully will arrive next week so I can test before site visits.

I've also got a snazzy Cambridge Mask which I will be trying to fit to my face.

I've got the afternoon booked as annual leave as I need to do some allotment soc work and clear up my flat (more trips to the tip today, this weekend and next week) before the car goes back to the hire place on 1 February. Also have to ring the vets to get the cats in for their annual injections. This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/804874.html.

I've not yet achieved my cunning plan of backdating entries because I have been doing ALL the work...lots of site visits which by the time I've driven round the south circular, found a location, done the people thing, driven back around the south circular and made an attempt to write up notes leaves me wrecked. I did three site visits today and was so peopled out by the time I got in I stared into space for a good hour unable to process anything. *G*

Tomorrow - thank goodness - I've got a day working from home and so plan a visit to the tip, some voluntary work for the allotment soc, on top of catching up on the work inbox which now has around 80 unread emails plus another 60 or so requiring action. It will be a LONG day but at least I can break up work with trips out to get fresh air.

What I Just Finished Reading: Dresden Files #5 - Death Masks.

What I am Currently Reading: Nothing as I literally five seconds ago shut down Audible for Death Masks.

What I Plan to Read Next: Audible will be Dresden Files #6 - Blood Rites or maybe going back to The Witcher books if I want to read a paper book.

But for now - bed for I am tired and my knees hurt. :o( This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/804827.html.

Things went boom on the work front last week hence my absence and I'm going to shamelessly use this as an excuse to backdate my entries.

In terms of bigger more planet wide booms - if there's anyone who hasn't seen it yet (and some of the equally awe inspiring and terrifying footage) the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano went Boom big time. The satellite footage is breathtaking, the Tongan broadcasting person who filmed some of the footage on the ground deserves all the plaudits and the odd bits footage I've seen on Twitter from individuals is terrifying. There's one shot with a guy practising martial art against a palm tree and in the background you can see a couple of people legging it up the beach to slightly higher ground in advance of the tsunami. The wave is probably around 6-8 feet and the sheer power when it hits them is terrifying. They all made to their feet afterwards thank goodness!

I'm thankful my life has been mundane this last week.

Dejunking/organising: nope nothing happening - been working flat out!

Life admin: I've kept up with my habit tracking and meal planing and have started sorting out paperwork - so a modicum of progress.

Gardening/allotmenting: nothing this week/weekend - I hope carve out some time for next weekend.

Cooking & eating: delicious homemade soup for lunches this week, tried some Lidl veggie burgers which were quite nice, two days worth of veggie Thai green curry, an evening of snacking on humus and chorizo, and 1/3 of a salmon and green bean omlette as neighbour L made too much for himself!

Volunteering: we had our first committee meeting and there are a few minor things I need to do this coming week including publicising a pruning weekend for 29 Jan.

Socialising: no - I've been a home body all this week.

Working - job: went back into work on 5 Jan to find Capita had sent threatening letters to all plotholders who'd not paid their bills on 23 Dec. Consequently I spent most of last week dealing with the fallout and there were several days where I started at 7am and finished a midnight. Since I was on a roll I also used it to catch up with some outstanding items and by Friday I was on top of everything - which is good as next week and the week after I'm out of the office a lot on site visits. So little time for admin.

Working - contract: got the details for the LinkedIN and website of the org. Will be working up some new announcements next week - so hoping to get back to a day a week on this.

Reading/listening: not really had time this week but will be continuing with James Marster's narration of The Dresden Files #5 Death Masks.

Watching: weekly shows are back. I mainlined the final season of A Discovery of Witches, half way through the first season of the Australian vamp show Firebite, and may be watching Naomi and Peacemaker. The opening credits for the latter are hilarious. Started watching Good Sam (mainly because Jason Issacs) but so far I'm finding all the characters inherently unlikable and annoying so that one might not stick. Superman and Lois is back for S2 with the addition of Ian Bohen so that looks interesting. *G* But the biggie of the week was the finale of The Expanse - six (well 5.5 really) magnificent seasons of some of the best sci-fi out there and I can't believe it's over - especially when there are still 3 books in the series. I'm going to miss that show and cast of characters A LOT and may just have to start watching from the beginning again.

Creating: have started making stuff for St Nicks and should be able to continue in the evenings.

Good moment(s) of the week: I've been involved in some research for possible communication with a Mars mission this week which has involved doing certain tasks 3 x daily and just been notified that I've been selected to take part in the two last workshops on 17th and 24th so that will be fun. And I did a focus group on Thursday which will pay £80 which is a nice boost to this month's salary. This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/804393.html.

My sleep patterns have been all over the place and I'd been feeling a little under the weather (annoying minor phsyical issue is back - gah!).

So when I woke Thursday morning and felt like pants I called in sick and afer 20 mins browsing social media crawled back into bed.

I intented to nap for an hour or so and then get up and try and do some work - I woke up around 7pm! Hauled myself out of bed, fed the cats and went straight back to bed.

Yep - Thursday was a write off. This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/803848.html.

In your own space, put some favorite characters into an AU, fuse some favorite canons together, talk about your favorite AU/fusion tropes, or tell us why AU/fusions aren’t your cup of tea. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

My feelings on AUs, fusions and cross-overs have changed so much in the 30 odd years I've been in and on the periphery of fandom.

When I first got into fandom (back in the mid 90s) in the days of Hercules and Xena and then Angel I was all about the actual universe of the fandom - I had zero interest in AUs or any kind of crossover. I branched out and started looking for fic for Xfiles, Highlander and SG1 but I was still all about stories within universe, missing scenes, expanding on a plot line - those were my jam and I read voraciously. The minute I hit AU/fusion or cross-over I backpedalled fast - possibly because quite a few of the ones I ever tried to look at back then seemed to take the characters so out-of-character that I just didn't get in.

I was a late comer to getting to see The Sentinel (which I picked up towards the end of the 90s early noughties) by which time I was also reading much more widely in Highlander, Sentinel, SG1 and SGA (as it began airing) as well as having a lingering affection for the Xfiles even though the show had stopped. And I'd really enjoyed Mag 7 fandom, which as anyone who has read there knows, spawned a modern day M7 ATF AU.

So by the noughties I'd really started to appreciate a well written crossover (and was starting to dip my toes into AUs) which kept characters in character. I'd also read a couple of really good Highlander AUs and also found a bunch of writers from various fandoms (first on mailing lists and then on LJ) who I've since more or less followed from fandom to fandom. *G*

But I do think there was something about the SG/HL/Sentinel universes that led to crossovers and some of the characters in those shows were very definitely "little black dress" types - you could yank them out of their universe drop them into another and presto - interesting things would happen.

But I still wasn't wholly convinced about AUs - though I did read a couple of crackingly good coffesshop ones.

I think what probably catapaulted me into a fully fledged appreciation of a good AU was the combination of Star Trek (2009) airing (hello canon AU!) and then the following year I fell down the rabbit hole of Inception. I'd more or less been drifting away from reading and writing from the early to mid noughties and then Star Trek aired and sucked me back into reading and writing and just as I was finding my footing again Inception hit me like a veritable freight train.

Inception aired mid-2010 and I...uh I'm not sure I remember much of 2010 or 2011 possible hazy about the early part of 2012 as I voraciously read whatever (and I mean WHATEVER) I could get my hands on.

Anything and everything that showed up on LJ comms or on A03 during that period? I read it.

And Inception fandom was...well put it this way it was the first fandom I knew of that had a dedicated anonymous kink prompt comm - there may have been prior ones - but Inception was really one of a kind.

I read AUs, I read fusions, I read crossovers, I had days where all I did was read for 24 or 48 hours. Inception swallowed me whole - it was the first and only big bang story I've written and I lived and breathed that universe for nearly two years. And if I ever needed a break from Inception - well there was Trek ready to take up the slack *G*

And then Teen Wolf started airing in 2011 by which time I was fully converted to a healthy appreciation for AUs/fusions and crossovers and the rest is history.

I've not written a huge amount of crossovers and to be honest the majority that appeal to me tend to be about shoving little black dress characters together and seeing what happens.

So for example - anything that crosses Leverage/SGA and puts Ronon and Eliot Spencer in the same story I am there for, similarly crossing or adding Superantural into that and throwing Dean and Sam into the mix will work for me.

Stargate Atlantis crossed over with Numb3rs? Lorne and Colby fic? I am so down for that.

As far as I'm concerned you could drop Alex Krycek and Methos into any other story and come up with something interesting.

A personal favourite of mine (for which I have huge numbers of stories in my head but only a few drabbles committed to paper) was either pulling Tyr from Andromeda and dropping him into the SGA universe or getting Ronon into the Andromeda universs. I'm sad that very few others seem to see the endless possibilities with Nietzscheans and Ronon coming face to face because that would be epic.

So now 30 years on - I'll pretty much read anything and everything - but I still do like my characters in character.

This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/803729.html.

What I Just Finished Reading: Summer Knight - Dresden Files #4.

What I am Currently Reading: Surprise surprise - Death Masks - Dresden Files #5

What I Plan to Read Next: Probably Dresden Files #6 audio book or maybe going back to The Witcher books if I want to read a paper book. This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/803399.html.

My profile is a bit out of date so the basics are in this sticky.

Who am I?
I'm Ruric, and yes, my user name is unashamedly stolen from Mary Gentle's Golden Witchbreed character of the same name, for she was awesome. I'll be 60 in 2023 - no idea how that happened - and I live in South London with 4 cats and an allotment. I've also got a cottage on Anglesey in North Wales (I did my undergrad at Bangor). I trained as a forester, spent most of my life working in corporate communications, and after being made redundant in Dec 2020 took a year off before pivoting to become an allotment officer for a London local authority.

My Journal
Is a stream of consciousness - DW is how I keep track of what's happening in my life. There's fannish adjacent stuff here, chat about books, TV shows and movies and when I actually find my writing mojo - fanfic. There's also talk about my work and the allotment society I chair (until September 22), chat about gardening and cats and whatever other topic wanders through my head. Be warned I'm aiming to do a post a day this year just to see if I can. My tags are a mess and I was going to sort them out at Christmas. Luckily I didn't specify which Christmas.

My Hobbies
I've watched an astonishing amount of TV and films the last couple of years. I seem to have hit a point where processing the written word is tiring - the testament to which is my 100+ To Be Read pile of books which glares at me balefully every time I go into my bedroom plus a giant list of bookmarked fics. When I'm reading it will mostly be sci-fi, fantasy or I'll be on a fanfic binge.

Other hobbies: gardening, growing my own food on my allotment (I'm very interested in no dig cultivation, permaculture and forest gardening). This last year I've just picked up knitting after decades and am teaching myself to crochet. Up until the pandemic hit I was pretty active training 4 times a week with a PT. I've been a couch potato for the last two years and am determined to start back on a journey to physical fitness this year.

My Fandoms
At this point too numerous to mention! I would say I'm a fannish butterfly but I never quite leave old fandoms behind. I started in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and was around for the high of the mid 90s H:TLJ, Xena, Stargate(s), Xfiles, Highlander, Buffy, Angel etc explosion of fandom as it started coming out of the shadows and being more mainstream. Fandom's I've also been into include Teen Wolf, Inception and reading epic amounts of MCU, The Musketeers, Star Trek - esp Disco and Picard - and The Old Guard. Also The Witcher - how could I forget - especially as I'm now on a rewatch from the beginning (again).

Where you can find me
Here - journals are my spiritual home though I did start out on mailing lists and cne remember being very put out at the shift from lists to LJ *G* (I'm not the most ancient of fans - those hallowed people remember pre-internet fandom) but I do think I now qualify as a fannish old.

I've got an intermittenly active tumblr ruric - I'll ignore it for months and then go on a spree of reblogging pics from my latest fandom obsession.

I do have a twitter and insta account but they are under my real name - and mostly reservied for ranting, politics and gardening (Twitter) and posting pics of my cats and allotment (Insta).

My fanfic is on my AO3 account under Ruric.

Subscription policy
I don't have one! If it looks like we have an overlap of interests I'll add you to my circle/subscribe - though I am trying to remember to announce when I've done it as it only seems polite. There's very little I post under lock mostly specific posts about work.

I've never really been in a fandom closest - in most of my previous roles I hung out with a like minded set of colleagues who were into genre TV/films and books and I've never been exactly reticent about mentioning that I wrote/write fanfic.

I'm planning to get my profile page updated this weekend!

This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/803081.html.

I was dithering about whether to try and do some entries for the SFC this year and then decided I may as well give it a shot so of course am now behind! Oh well - still time to catch up.

Today's snowflake_challenge is all about goals setting. In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

To be honest I dithered this year about setting any form of goal or aspiration because after the last two years? *hands* But I buckled down and set some over in another community. My fannish goals are pretty simple and my non-fannish goals can be summarised under three headings - health, wealth and happiness.

Fannish goals - simple ones really! Making sure to leave kudos/comments when I read something I like on A03/in journals, maybe trying to be a bit more actively engaged, possibly even carving some time out for writing again. Might be time to head back to the prompt comms to see what's out there and what prompts might speak to me. Oddly enough I'm finding most recent TV shows I've been enjoying give me what I need - I don't feel the urge to go away and write all those missing scenes and alternative views that were ever present in my 90s and noughties fandoms. Though The Old Guard may be the exception to that - I've been spinning loads of stories in my head since I saw it but not committed them to screen yet!

As for the non-fannish goals?

Wealth - most of these are about keeping an eye on my budget, savings and investments and sorting out my pensions. I don't fancy working until I'm 68 (just over 10 years away) so I really need to figure out what my financial position is. The ex's health issues over summer was a nudge to get this sorted too. A major goal for Q1 is find all my pension paperwork and set up a meeting with an IFA to review. Everything else mentioned above should more or less take care of itself because it's all automated. I just need not to go on any wild spending sprees - no more books or toiletries or yarn for me until I've read, used and created things. *G*

Health - I've been a couch potato for 2 years. I'm not ready to go back to the gym and the lovely PT has moved so I'm unlikely to be able to pick up PT sessions in the short term. I've dusted off a lot of the basics that I was doing when I first started working with my lovely PT - back to proper meal planning and cooking balanced meals, kicking my take away habit to the kerb, making sure I'm hydrated and not hungry, moving more (both walking and starting a 21 day beginners yoga course) and planning easing back into some simple free weights sessions at home. Still need to find my Fitbit and charge it up though! I'm also adding in some basic physio for my knees and left shoulder. Age sadly brings added creakiness and less flexiblity though I aspire to be like the 70 year old ladies who used the council gym - flexible, fit and healthy. Not gonna get there sitting on my couch for another year!

Happiness - learning, reactional and creative stuff - catching up on films to watch and books to read. I plan to start/complete 1 crafty project a month (I've picked up knitting again, I have a yarn stash and am teaching myself to crochet - blaming gingerpig for the last one). Later in the year I want to dig out my jewellery making supplies from the attic. I'm also making an effort to schedule time on the allomtent and in the garden because they are my happy places. All of this means I need to limit screen time - Twitter and Insta can be massive time sucks and I've spend too much time doom scrolling over the last two years. I've signed up for Charles Dowding's No Dig course which is offered online and will help with the allotmenting.

So there you go - mostly personal and non-fannish goals but I do miss fandom - but outside this platform I'm not sure where to find what I used to enjoy about it any more.

This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/802897.html.

I missed the final weekly roundup for 2021 - whoops!

Technically I know we're only two days into this year but I'm trying to establish some good habits here and become a bit more of a completer/finisher to use Belbin jargon.

Meanwhile here I sit sipping a rather large glass of Merlot (one thing less of the leftovers) typing up this entry while waiting for a dish to cool down enough to go in the fridge.

Dejunking/organising: ha! Ha ha ha ha ha. Great plans often fail to come to fruition. The kitchen, hallway and bathroom remain decent. The bedroom should be finished by close of play tomorrow. The living room? Not so much...

Life admin: I've been prioritising a few things for later this month. Getting back to daily journalling either here on on paper; same for habit tracking and meal planning/tracking. When I last tracked my meals consistenly it was so much easier to see that when my macros when out of whack there was a physical knock on effect. So back to being a bit more disciplined about doing those things and it's less than half an hour a day to keep them all on track. The BIGGIE however is find all my damn pension paperwork and get it into one file so I can find IFA and see what what my pension situation really is. I've got at least 3 pensions from previous orgs, plus I'm two years off qualifying for a full state pension (in terms of NI contributions, not age - sadly) and I need to see whether buying AVCs for my current pension might be a good thing.

Gardening/allotmenting: absolutely nothing done - fingers crossed for some gardening at home tomorrow if the weather holds.

Cooking & eating: I ate extremely well over Xmas and have enough leftovers to see me eat well into January. This evening I've been efficient and meal prepped Jamie Oliver's Celeriac and Apple soup (thanks to a celeriac fetching up in Friday's Oddbox and the need to use up some wrinkled apples!) and there's a Simply Cook Iranian Vegetable Stew currently cooling on the stove (using up one of the 3 butternut squashes I've had lurking for ages plus some of my excess potatoes and the greens that arrived in the Oddbox). The soup should cover most lunches this week, the stew will do 2-3 meals. Plans for later in the week include Abel and Cole's Meatballs in Cranberry Sauce (using up meatballs from the freezer and the cranberries which came in the pre-Xmas Oddbox) and then either for the weekend of next week Simply Cook's Thai Green Curry (vegetable) - though I may add some squash to that as I still have 2 butternut and one round one to use up. I think I've got everything I need for making all of these plus loads of yoghurt and fruit and eggs and crumpets for breakfast. I'll be hitting those #pantrychallenge and #veganuary targets (my plan was for 2-3 meals a day to be vegan).

Volunteering: I took time out from allotment society business from 23 Dec and have no regrets. I did make one short phonecall to get some info so we can decide on insurance for the site. I've got some cheques to bank and my expenses to sort out next week.

Socialising: the closest I've got to socialising was palming off half the contents of my most recent Oddbox on L, and listening to his NYE party!

Working - job: I'm off until Wednesday 5 January - and we're working from home - so probably not going into the office for a couple of weeks. I may put in for a day off on 14 and 21 January just to get the flat sorted properly.

Working - contract: nope. I need to answer an email from M and send over my hours for December and then chase up K for some details so I can manage the linkedin account for while.

Reading/listening: Continuing with James Marster's narration of The Dresden Files finished #4 Summer Night and now onto #5 Death Masks. Only 12 more to go *G*

Watching: weekly shows paused over Xmas - I did watch two mini series - A Very British Scandal and The Girl Before and I inhaled The Witcher in 2 days (and may have started a slower rewatch from the beginning of S1). I also saw the first three episodes of 1883 (the prequel to Yellowstone) and in one night ripped through a Korean sci fi - The Silent Sea.

Creating: no progress but lots of plans - creating won't happen til flat is tidy! But I've seen that in response to JayHumePoet's callout for blankets for St Nicholas in Leicester there's a StNicksChaosBlanket hashtag and several people are knitting/crocheting 20x20cm double knit yarn squares which need to be sent to the organiser by 22 January. Squares seem doable and would give me an excuse to pick up some really bright yarn from Hobbycraft!

Good moment(s) of the week: no word of a lie - chilling out and being super slothful for a few days!

What next? Finish blitz cleaning the flat for Xmas ASAP!

And on that note I will finish my Merlot, decant food from pan to tuppaware to fridge, do the washing up and head to bed. *G* This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/802613.html.

Happy new year everyone I hope you all had a delightful one whether that was socialising or staying at home for some peace and quiet.

I seriously hope we have a new show runner and different writers for 2022 because the plot lines from 2020 and 2021 do not need to be repeated.

Yesterday evening was spent, as most recent NY Eve's have been, at home quietly with cats - though we all dined like kings. Chopped chicken and ham for the cats, venison steak and new potatoes for me - with the inevitable tiny xmas pud after (for me not the cats - they had Dreamies). *G*

Quiet that is until the fireworks started up - there was a flurry from 4-6pm, then a short break and another round from 8-10pm, then it quietened down until midnight when all hell broke loose! I was in bed by that time but all I had to do was roll over and I could see enough out of my window to make it worth while. Fortunately the cats are not frightened of loud noises.

I was just being lulled back to sleep around 12:30am when all those people who'd missed the actual time/date rollover decided to chime in (12:45am) and then downstairs neighbour L arrived back with some friends and on went the loud music - sounded like a good (small) party! *G*

I drifted off eventually and slept through all my alarms (or at lest turned them off without waking up) and have had a quiet day puttering around the flat catching up on a bit of TV and doing some rather laid back tidying up and organising.

Dinner was aromatic beef pilaff leftovers (from 30 Dec) and the individual Xmas pud from the hamper (I've finally eaten all of the mini Xmas puddings I had stashed away!) with lashings of brandy butter.

Xmas left overs still to eat: 4 mince pies, a small Christmas cake, half a tub of brandy butter and half a tub of double cream, ginger thins, a box of chocolates and a dinky sampler of clotted cream fudge, a small wheel of Red Storm vintage Snowdonia red leicester, some blue stilton, a jar of sticky fig relish, two jars of cranberry sauce (smooth and not), one small jar of cranberry and port sauce, a jar of spiced apple and pear chutney, a bottle of champers, two bags of clementines, a bag of chestnuts, a box of dates and a fridge full of vegetables. Not to menion the three packs of different kinds of sliced chorizo and a full chorizo that L brought back as a reward for looking after his cats. I should point out at least three of those jars of sauces were bought last year but are still unopened and will be good to eat. Oh and there's half a bottle of rather nice Merlot and a teensy bottle of port (which came from a sample of 3 - the other two went in the spicy red cabbage). Suffice to say eating of leftovers will continue through January.

Certain communities on instagram run a #PantryChallenge the aim being to eat down your stores in January (and February if you're the homesteading type) to both save money after Christmas and prepare for the new growing season. The places I have in my tiny flat to store food means I have a quite modest food store (compared to when I lived in the cottage with a large kitchen and an area which served as a proper pantry) - nevertheless it won't hurt to eat from what I have for the best art of a month and just buy in any fresh fruit/veg when needed. I've got Oddboxes (fruit and veg boes) scheduled to come in on 14 and 28 January but I've put a reminder in my diary to check on Sunday 9 and see whether I've eaten enough of my current veg stash to justify getting a box on the Friday 14!

It will be good to keep an eye on the budget too as Jan 14 will reveal what my actual monthly salary will be (December's was for closer to 5 weeks). Will be good to see how my eatimate of what I have coming in matches up to reality.

I'm also edging into doing a bit of a half way committment to #Veganuary - my fridge and freezer are not prepared for me to go fully vegan this month but I'm going to cook more vegan meals than usual because I have ALL the veg that need eating and there are plenty of tins of pulses and cartons of passata and black beans in my stores too. New recipes incoming!

Tonight I plan to re-organise my fridge and assess precisely how much veg and fruit I have left and then come up with a meal plan for the next week or so. I forsee a big batch of soup being made on Monday to cover lunches for a week and I've got some good Indian, Thai and Iranian veggie/vegan recipes which I'm pretty sure I can cook up from what I have.

Tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday will see more inevtiable tridying up, life admin, gardening (weatehr permitting) and trips to the tip before work resumes on Wednesday. We're all stil working from home so at least that will permit a little more organising and possibly gardening at lunchtimes.

I'm rather tempted to have a go at an entry a year this year - just so much of it does not disappear into the oblivion of 2020 and 2021. We'll see how that goes. This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/802481.html.

I started this year optimistically thinking there'd be more here for things like gigs and cinema visits - then as it turned out not so much!

A summary of entertainment, learning and holidays and a few recipes in 2021...

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( RecipesCollapse ) This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/751735.html.

...and my home is not quite a clean and tidy as I had aimed for. Still - there are two days left!

I've had a couple of very quiet days sleeping a lot and watching some films and TV and being a bit of sloth - some of it was recovering from Boxing Day evening - not quite sure what happened but I was spectacularly unwell around 11pm and felt very sorry for myself for a few hours. All of that seems to have thrown off my body clock and I've been sleeping late and feeling lethargic.

But obviously a tad brighter today and I've made a point of cooking healthy meals the last couple of days as well as having a small individual Xmas pud after!

The folks I've been working for on the freelance contract sent me a rather smashing gift hamper - which included a bottle of champers, a christmas cake, a box of mince pies, box of chocs, a brandy Xmas pud, fudge, figgy relish, tea and coffee, ginger thin biscuits, sourdough biscuits and a wheel of cheese. Suffice to say I will be eating Xmas goodies well into January. I still have a box of mince pies I bought plus two mini and one larger Xmas pudding. And neighbour L from downstairs has brought me spanish cured meats in return for cat sitting his lovely chaps.

My aim for January was to eat down the contents of the freezer (I keep saying I will do this and then failing to plan appropriately) and use up some of my "pantry" stores. Mind you the extra's might come in handy - full Brexit regs roll into place next week and there are mutterings that it's going to cause chaos for the supply chain including fresh food.

I inherited my mum's tendency to have well stocked food cupboards - even though my kitchen is too small to have enough room for that so my stores are in three large plastic boxes under the bed! If the worst comes to worst I could probably ride out January without having to shop!

Ah well - time to head for bed as I need to be up with the lark tomorrow to get all the things done before New Year.

Hope everyone had the Christmas they wanted - whether that was social with friends and family or solo with peace and quiet! This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/801910.html.

What I Just Finished Reading: nothing finished this week.

What I am Currently Reading: I'm about half-way through Summer Knight - Dresden Files #4.

What I Plan to Read Next: Probably carrying on with the Dresden Files audio books for a while but I do have Rosamund Pike's narration of The Eye of the World - Wheel of Time #1 and Neil Gaiman's multicast narration of Sandman in the audiobook queue.

I've also now watched S2 of The Witcher (binged on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) so it's probably time to slide the novels back into the rotation. I've read The Last Wish so Sword of Destiny would be up next.

At some point tomorrow or Friday I'll review the giant stash of books in the bedroom and come up with a Reading List for 2022! This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/801564.html.

Christma Eve wasn't quite as productive as planned - though I did get the spiced red cabbage cooked and all the veg packed for Christmas morning. I rounded out the evening watching the first 4 episodes of The Witcher S2 - so a very pleasant day.

Christmas Day saw a lazy morning and then a drive over to ravurian's - by the time I arrived the turkey was almost cooked and the poatoes were in so it was just a case of popping on the rest of the veg and lunch was ready.

We - as usual - ate like Kings and may have imbided a gladd or two. *G* Then there was lots of chat before a seasonal viewing of Strictly (as Doctor Who is not on until New Year). Then strawberries and cream and eventually it was time ot hit the road home. Fortunately it was quiet and I was home by just after 8:30pm - so I fed my cats fed L's cats and went to bed with mince pies to watch the last 4 episodes of The Witcher S2. Which, needless to say, I found very enjoyable - with the caveat that I was slightly surprised how fast one character departed bearing in mind all I know of The Witcher is fanfic in which he has a much larger part. *G*

A most excellent Christmas.

Today I slept late and have pottered around eating leftovers and generally tidying a few things without overdoing it. I may even have watched A Castle For Christmas tonight because is it really even Christmas if you don't watch a trashy Christmas film?

Tomorrow I'm back to substantial cleaning and prep for New Year. But tonight I may just watch some episodes of a Korean sci-fi which showed up on Netflix and looks quite interesting - The Silent Sea. But first a glass of wine and some Christmas pudding! This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/801496.html.

Time to break out the seasonal icon since it's almost Christmas.

I've been futzing around all day and not achieved much but am about to cook the red cabbage and make sure other things are ready to go for tomorrow.

In the spirit of sharing these are my go to side dishes for a traditional Christmas turkey lunch/dinner and I've been cooking them for the best part of 15 years or so now. They're relatively simple don't require a lot of futzing around (critical for me when trying to juggle half a dozen dishes onto a table) and can be served up as kick ass leftovers. The spiced red cabbage is best cooked the night before and if you want to save time the parsnip mash and minted peas lend themselves to being prepped the night before and reheated on the day.

( Spiced red cabbage (prep time 10 mins, cooking time 3 hours)Collapse )

( Minted peas and pancetta (prep time 5 mins, cooking time max 10 mins)Collapse )

( Honey and mustard roast carrots (prep time 10 mins, cooking time 40-50 mins)Collapse )

( Balsamic glazed parsnips (prep 15 mins, roast 50 mins) or spicy parsnip mashCollapse )

( Brussel sprouts with bacon or pancetta and chestnuts (10 mins prep, 20 mins cooking)Collapse )

Pretty much everything here can be ping heated in a microwave the next day or two as leftovers or gently rewarmed in the oven. The red cabbage is fantastic both cold and hot. This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/801206.html.

...and I've returned from the last of my shopping. There was a tip run this morning at 9am (roads were suspiciously quiet) which meant I hit the massive Sainsbury's on my way back abotu 9:30am (still quiet thank goodness). I had a few last things to pick up for Christmas meal prep tomorrow (red wine and port for the spiced cabbage, red cabbage and bramley apples, some ham and chicken for the cats tomorrow and venison steaks for New Year) and of couse a couple of other treats fell into my basket - 2 tins of cod roe for breakfast, a nice bottle of pinot grigio blush, apple juice, orange juice and a few other items).

By the time I'd finished my bill came to £93.38 - even if you take off the booze and the venison it was still £68.88. I think I've been ruined forever by Lidl prices. *G* On the plus side my Nectar points covered it (and left me £9 in hand) so it was almost like getting a basket of free food and treats! Which is a good way to start Christmas.

I'm home now and do not plan to leave until getting in the car to head to ravurian's tomorrow.

My plans for today are:

(a) watch the last episode of The Wheel of Time

(b) continue cleaning and organising my bedroom

(c) pop another load of washing on (done two already) I remembered with cat sitting/feeding L's cats comes the invitation to use his washing machine \o/

(d) put away clean laundry and watch The Expanse

(e) repot some houseplants

(f) cook spaiced red cabbage for tomorrow (it takes a couple of hours)

(g) if not exhausted start continue clearing living room This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/800968.html.

Quick brain dump of stuff to do:

Blitz clean
* bathroom
* bedroom
* living room
* launderette run
* pot up houseplants

Allotment soc stuff
* email council re-rubbish
* all site email - manure in Jan
* email Mr T / Mr J
* bank cheque from Mr N / updated printout
* insurance query
* file paperwork

Life admin
* purchase premium bonds
* ring EDF
* order little vent for bathroom window
* buy new bamboo draining rack for kitchen
* book cats in for vaccinations
* renew all singing insurance policy for flat / bike etc
* pay annual Prime and Audible subscriptions and check Dropbox renewal date

Xmas food shop
* the list is on your phone and is short

Tip runs:
* Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday and friday - get stuff out of the flat!

Fingers crossed - 4 days and counting because I would like to chill out on Christmas Eve. This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/800086.html.

...progresses. My flat is looking more like a home and less like a squat.

The kitchen and hallway remain clean and tidy, the bathroom has been deep cleaned and I have unearthed once again an embarrassing supply of skincare and toiletries - so much so that it's likely I need not purchase anything for a large part of 2022. I shall be the pamperedest princess that was ever pampered.

The next job is a quick tidy of the bedroom and packing laundry up to drop off at the launderette for a service wash at 1pm and then a tip run at 2:30pm.

After that it's just the living room and potting up houseplants to do. I may not finish the living room by Christmas Day - I will finish it by New Year's Eve *G*

Tomorrow morning I plan to be out early to do my last pre-Christmas tip run and pick up the last of the Xmas food (small list)! Then it's another day of bringing order from chaos which should be thoroughly contained in the living room.

At some point between Christmas and New Year I plan to buy a new mattress (whoo hoo) and dump the old one. My large present to myself. *G*

I did buy a few smaller ones - my SAD Lumie Vitamin L light has arrived and I've also ordered a few more Williamson's elephant tea caddies as I've got quite a collection going. I just need to put up the shevles which will store my tea and coffee and herb and spice collection - which will free up some much needed cupboard space.

While cleaning I seem to have steamrollered my way through the final season of Lost in Space wwhich was another series who found out about cancellation in time enough to bring the final season to a satisfctory conclusion. I've also almost finished the second season of Another Life.

I'm still saving The Witcher until I can pay attention to it - though I do plan to start on that tomorrow - or maybe this evening! This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/800669.html.

What I Just Finished Reading: As I mentioned I got back into audio books big time over the last week or so, specifically James Marster's narration of Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files books. I started listening to these last year and then just got out of the habit. But I rediscovered that I quite enjoy listening to Marster's and his narrative style suits the subject matter. In the last few days I've finished Fool Moon - Dresden Files #2 which I stalled out of earlier in the year. Then stormed through Grave Peril - Dresden Files #3 in a little under 2 days.

What I am Currently Reading: I'm about half-way through Summer Knight - Dresden Files #4.

What I Plan to Read Next: Probably carrying on with the Dresden Files audio books for a while but I do have Rosamund Pike's narration of The Eye of the World - Wheel of Time #1 and Neil Gaiman's multicast narration of Sandman in the audiobook queue.

Depending on when I watch S2 of The Witcher it's possible I may get back to the physical paperback books. I bought the whole series in Dec 2020 after S1 - read the first book and then decided I didn't want to be spoiled - so read epic amounts of Witcher fic instead. *G* This entry was originally posted at https://ruric.dreamwidth.org/800487.html.