Zone Doubt, a.k.a. 'Surreal Я Us'...

Joules, trusted by... dozens... to make a drama out of your crisis...

Other sites:

:: JAT :: WaveWrights :: Publications ::

I live to write. It's not wise to get in my way.

... I'd write my autobiography, but no-one would believe it....


If you come across any words you don't recognise in this blog, take a look at the Taylorspeke Glossary in the left-hand infopane, you'll usually find a definition there.


The Poppy Tales

(Transformers fanfiction!)

Transformers mini-comics here.




Adventures in Orchids

Apparently I am now collecting them...

There's room for one - or maybe two, at a pinch - more on that bedroom windowsill (the only one in the house that's ideal for them). Let's see what I find. Well, that didn't last long...


EO - Everlasting orchid. Phalaenopsis. I've had this orchid since 2007 and it just keeps flowering...







AO - Alien face orchid. Phalaenopsis . Bought 2018 - lovely little flowers, all different patterns!





RO - Rescued orchid photo to come when it flowers. Phalaenopsis. Rescued from a bin up the road in 2019. Classic!






TO - Tiny orchid. Phalaenopsis. Bought at Tesco 21.8.20. It just begged to come home with me. How could I say no?





CO - Crimson orchid. Cambria. Another Tesco find. This one may be going to live in Ken's room once we've redecorated and put up the new shelving; it prefers a cooler, less sunny windowsill. If so, I'll need to find another cambrian to keep it company.






GO - Golden orchid. Phalaenopsis. Saw this one when I bought CO and left it behind - then immediately regretted it as soon as I got home. Never seen one like it before. Ken, bless him, went back over to Tesco in the rain and bought it for me...





DO - Dendrobium Orchid. Smells of wisteria, so beautiful...











RO2 - Rescued orchid no 2. Phalaenopsis. This is the one I rescued from the wall along the road middle of 2021.








PO. Pink orchid. Phalaenopsis. This is the one I bought at Cabury Garden Centre on special, late 2021. It's much happier here!










TWO. Teeny weeny orchid, Phalaenopsis. Rescued from Tesco end 2021 (I think).




















My IMDb ep summaries

(completed)
Arthur of the Britons
Sky
Star Maidens
The Starlost
Space Rangers
The Sentinel (part: seasons 2 and 3)
Swamp Thing (part: season 3)
Gravedale High
Transformers: Armada
Transformers: Energon
Transformers: Cybertron (part)
Misfits of Science (four eps)
Zoo Gang
Zodiac
Jupiter Moon
Transformers: Beast Wars (part: seasons 2 and 3)
Transformers: Beast Machines (part)
Vampire Princess Miyu
Starhyke
Nathan Barley
No Heroics
Undermind (3 eps)
Will Shakespeare (Tim Curry version)
Nightwalker
12 Kingdoms
Trigun (ep 8)
Rayearth
Hyperdrive (season 2 ep 3)
The Café

For later:

Missing Earthian ep
Missing Haibane Renme eps


Silver birch at Eastwood 

Farm

"Autumnal - nothing to do with leaves. It is to do with a certain brownness at the edges of the day... Brown is creeping up on us, take my word for it... Russets and tangerine shades of old gold flushing the very outside edge of the senses... deep shining ochres, burnt umber and parchments of baked earth - reflecting on itself and through itself, filtering the light. At such times, perhaps, coincidentally, the leaves might fall, somewhere..."

(Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Act 2: Tom Stoppard)

Autumn...

I love this time of year. I love the colours, the sharp slant of sunlight on the trees, mosaics of acid-yellow and harts- blood, velvet and darkness and a haze of mist-grey over the hills. I love its immanence, its mellowness, the tang of frost just around the corner of the year...

Watching the little birds in the goat-willow in my garden, I realised something more.

I love this land with a fierce, possessive love, deep-rooted in two thousand years of history. From the frosted beaches and cloud-brushing peaks of the north to the wind-haunted meanderings of the rivers of the east, from the sensuous rolling patchworked hills of the south to the demanding dark moors of the west, this land seeps into bone and blood and synapse, mother of motley nobility, culture, individual freedoms. It can be known. It can be understood. It can be felt deep inside.

I love its effortless eccentricities, its vigour and vibrancy, its flawed perfections, its silent strength and tenacious resilience, its hard-won tolerances and intense and variable beauty, the profound energy in its sacred mythical landscape.

Home and more-than-home, the forces that shape and protect and bind, in me, as I am in the land. Love returning love in the stillness for those who'll only take the time to listen...

(Joules, Autumn 2004)


All photographs taken by Joules unless otherwise specified. All photographs © Joules A Taylor or other specified individual.


In Memoriam

17.03.09 - Argent

25.07.08 - Raptor

18.12.07 - Quyn

02.12.06 - Ryme


Currently enjoying:
Muse
Transformers - IDW, Prime, Animated, Rescue Bots.

Currently reading:
Various Transformers books and graphic novels.



Currently working on:
Haadri

Currently chuffed with:
My garden

Currently miffed at:
Nestlé, Nonpres Tinyhands Fart, Toadface Farage

Currently maintaining:
BCHS
BCW


Blog Pics
I've gathered some of my pages of photos together: the page of links is here. I'll be adding more as time goes by!




Evil Squid
A Little Glossary of Taylorspeke
(in no particular order)

plit popints - n. Typo for 'plot points' typed on a keyboard with more than half the characters worn off...

[PING] (alt [ping]) - n. A brainwave. The text equivalent of a lightbulb going on blindingly over someone's head. Usually mine. And usually at the most inconvenient of times. [sigh]

TPTB - The Powers That Be.

wulmet - n. A person of little or no talent who somehow inveigles himself into a position where he is in power over other, far more talented people and uses his position to downplay them in order to try to make himself feel superior.

biteable - referring to an anatomical part vb, tasty.

Flatterfed - vb. 27.02.08: my typo for flattered, but since it's so cutely apt I thought it would fit nicely here. Lutra defined it as "the lovely warm feeling of satisfaction resulting from enthusiastic reviews..." (which I've been getting for my MB fics).

Composted - vb, 'compos mentis', mentally capable of working. Contrast with uncomposted or non- composted, not 'compos mentis', not capable of working, hungover...

Cumbles - n, cucumbers.

Kewp - how Ken says 'thank you'. We rather like Lutra's 'nanx', too...

Musekick - noun, music, without which I cannot work.

'feinne - noun, caffeine, essential for correct mental functioning, especially first thing in the morning. I prefer mine in the form of SodaStream Diet Coke. And on that subject...

Skoosh - verb, noun. To skoosh - to add CO2 to a sodastream bottle filled with water to make it fizzy, prior to adding Diet Coke syrup (or just drinking as sparkling water). A skoosh - a bottle of water that has been skooshed. Skooshy - something that has been skooshed, water, or that whipped cream that comes in tins you have to shake then upend and press the nozzle...

Shoogle - verb. To shake gently, for example, of roast potatoes in a roasting tin to ensure they're covered with oil. I have vague memories of this being a real Scottish colloquialism...

Stegasaurus - n, spider of the genus tegenaria. Why? No idea. I just find it easier, that's all...
Edit 08.09.07: Lutra thinks that Brian is a good name for a mini-stegasaurus. From now on, any 'Brian's in the posts may be assumed to be a tegenaria. Except where otherwise specified.

Viterals - noun, vitamins + minerals. Also a pun on victuals.

Splish - verb. A combination of slosh and splash.

Parrots - noun, paracetemol (from the old joke "Why are there no aspirin tablets in the jungle? Because the parrots eat 'em all...")

Maggles - noun, magpies. As opposed to non-magical people.

Flamewings - noun. Swifts. So called because the first time we became aware of them was an early summer evening when they were flying high, the light from the setting sun seemingly turning their wings to flames. Lovely little birds. We always know summer's arrived when we hear their high-pitched squeeing.

Murfs - noun, moths.

Peasant cut - noun, roughly cut up into big chunks, e.g. vegetables chopped in a hurry for a hearty stew or soup. By extension, anything prepared in a hurry - haircut, material, even a first draft of a story...

Giraffe - noun, a carafe (of wine, coffee or water, for example).

Shrumps - noun, mushrooms.

Splings - noun, Kai's spelling homework: by extension, any spelling.

Tyops - noun, typos. var toyps, typso, psyto, psoyt, etc. Usual result of a dose of the fingerials (see next entry).

Fingerials - (pr. fin GEEE ree yalls) noun, fingers that will not type what you want them to.

Haddock - noun, time, of which I never have enough. (Origin of this term here.)

Sleep - noun? vb? a.k.a. sheeeeeeeeep.... I used to know what this word meant...


The Updates Blog

The place to stay notified of WaveWrights' Fiction updates: Zone, Darkside, DarkRealm, Matrix, Vault, Safehouse 13...




my computer gremlin Butch. click the pic to see the larger image

Butch, my computer gremlin. Click the pic for larger version, and read his adventures here...

Butch by the talented 

Sylverthorne

A gift for me! Butch by the very talented Sylverthorne. Click pic for larger image.

Joules' 

Haddock

This is MY haddock. It was caught exclusively for me by Talon. No, you can't have any. I need all the haddock I can get!!



A'lestrel by Valkyrie.

A'lestrel - a gift for me from Valkyrie...



Albino Alsatian Benten (c) MEBird 

2004

Another gorgeous Valkyrie gift for me - Benten the Albino Alsatian! Click thumbnail for larger image.

Radittsu, an oekaki for my birthday 04 

by 

Onna

Oekai by Bakayaro Onna - Radittsu at his sexiest...



The Zone Plant from
The Zone 

blog 

plant

OrganicHTML (which alas no longer seems to exist...)
[::..My Regular Reads..::]
:: Astronomical Pic of the Day [>]
:: What is Space... [>]
:: Dark Roasted Blend [>]
:: BLDG [>]
:: Watchismo Times [>]
[::..Fun Places..::]
::HubbleSite
Stunning...
::PALEOMAP Project
Absolutely fascinating.
:: Skymap
Check out the night sky where you are!
[::..Useful Sites..::]
:: GreenNet
First stop for environmental matters
:: The Forest of Avon
Our local community forest and places to visit
:: The Guardian
Online Guardian Newspaper.
:: Symbols
Exactly what it says
:: World Timeserver
For checking the current time around this world
:: Universal Currency Converter
Actually it's just a terran-global currency converter, not universal, but it's still useful...

So what is it with the haddock? Am I some kind of fish freak?

I'll leave that to others to decide.

The tale (or tail if you prefer) harks back to October 2000, when my GoodTwin and I, ably assisted by Sue, ran the first UK Professionals convention...
It's common knowledge that I never have enough time, and I was determined not to bewail the fact that weekend: hence I promised not to use the 'T' word...
Of course, that didn't really work (if nothing else I had to let the trainees know what times things were supposed to be happening!) so we decided a substitute word would be employed instead. There were several suggestions. Banana came very close to being chosen. However, I eventually decided that 'haddock' fitted the bill nicely. Ever since, haddock=time. Hence the title of my forthcoming autobiography,
My Half-Life in the Haddock Space Continuum....


Normally I wouldn't, but these were just irresistible...

How could I resist?

Just too adorable...

and to complete the rainbow...

These Too-Kawaii Kitties
were adopted from
Ghost's Anime Page (which appears to have disappeared, alas...)

[::..Anime/Manga..::]
Useful sites:

BBTS -
Fabulous anime figures

Anime Lyrics
A huge selection... evil popups

Anime still needed to complete series' I'm collecting... Many thanks to everyone who has helped me acquire the collection!
Ai no Kusabi

Owned:
   DVD
   Dj: June Special
   CD: Ambivalence

Cyber City Oedo 808

Owned:
   DVD
   All 3 eps on Video, dubbed
   Dj: Cyberage 1-3
   Illustrated Book 2 (Benten's) in Japanese

From Eroica with Love

Owned:
   Manga Vols 1, 9, 11

Mirage of Blaze

Owned:
   DVD Vol 1 (eps 1-4)

R.G. Veda

Owned:
   English Manga: Vol 1
   Japanese Manga: Vol 1-7 complete
   Tarot Pack
   R.G.Veda video

Twelve Kingdoms

Owned:
   Anime Vol 1-12: complete

Under the Glass Moon

Owned:
   Manga Vol 1, 2
Vol 3 needed

Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust

Owned:
   DVD

   Vampire Hunter D Book 1



New Vampire Miyu

Owned:
   (Studio Ironcat) Manga Vols 1 -5 (complete)


Yami no Matsuei

Owned:
   Viz Manga: English translation, Vols 1 - 11 (complete: I believe vol 12 is only available online)
   Japanese 3-DVD set
   Central Park Media: Descendants of Darkness Vol. 1, English/Japanese subbed.
   Sketchbook


[::..Joules SP fied..::]


... this is Terra? How the hell'd I end up here...?

(Thanks, Lutra, for the quote!)

[::..archive..::]
07/01/2002 - 07/31/2002
08/01/2002 - 08/31/2002
09/01/2002 - 09/30/2002
10/01/2002 - 10/31/2002
11/01/2002 - 11/30/2002
12/01/2002 - 12/31/2002
01/01/2003 - 01/31/2003
02/01/2003 - 02/28/2003
03/01/2003 - 03/31/2003
04/01/2003 - 04/30/2003
05/01/2003 - 05/31/2003
06/01/2003 - 06/30/2003
07/01/2003 - 07/31/2003
08/01/2003 - 08/31/2003
09/01/2003 - 09/30/2003
10/01/2003 - 10/31/2003
11/01/2003 - 11/30/2003
12/01/2003 - 12/31/2003
01/01/2004 - 01/31/2004
02/01/2004 - 02/29/2004
03/01/2004 - 03/31/2004
04/01/2004 - 04/30/2004
05/01/2004 - 05/31/2004
06/01/2004 - 06/30/2004
07/01/2004 - 07/31/2004
08/01/2004 - 08/31/2004
09/01/2004 - 09/30/2004
10/01/2004 - 10/31/2004
11/01/2004 - 11/30/2004
12/01/2004 - 12/31/2004
01/01/2005 - 01/31/2005
02/01/2005 - 02/28/2005
03/01/2005 - 03/31/2005
04/01/2005 - 04/30/2005
05/01/2005 - 05/31/2005
06/01/2005 - 06/30/2005
07/01/2005 - 07/31/2005
08/01/2005 - 08/31/2005
09/01/2005 - 09/30/2005
10/01/2005 - 10/31/2005
11/01/2005 - 11/30/2005
12/01/2005 - 12/31/2005
01/01/2006 - 01/31/2006
02/01/2006 - 02/28/2006
03/01/2006 - 03/31/2006
04/01/2006 - 04/30/2006
05/01/2006 - 05/31/2006
06/01/2006 - 06/30/2006
07/01/2006 - 07/31/2006
08/01/2006 - 08/31/2006
09/01/2006 - 09/30/2006
10/01/2006 - 10/31/2006
11/01/2006 - 11/30/2006
12/01/2006 - 12/31/2006
01/01/2007 - 01/31/2007
02/01/2007 - 02/28/2007
03/01/2007 - 03/31/2007
04/01/2007 - 04/30/2007
05/01/2007 - 05/31/2007
06/01/2007 - 06/30/2007
07/01/2007 - 07/31/2007
08/01/2007 - 08/31/2007
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10/01/2007 - 10/31/2007
11/01/2007 - 11/30/2007
12/01/2007 - 12/31/2007
01/01/2008 - 31/01/2008
01/02/2008 - 29/02/2008
03/01/2008 - 31/03/2008
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01/12/2014 - 31/12/2014
01/01/2015 - 31/01/2015
01/02/2015 - 28/02/2015
01/03/2015 - 31/03/2015
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01/05/2015 - 31/05/2015
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01/11/2015 - 31/11/2015
01/12/2015 - 31/12/2015
01/01/2016 - 31/01/2016
01/022016 - 28/02/2016
01/03/2016 - 31/03/2016
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01/06/2016 - 30/06/2016
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01/11/2016 - 31/11/2016
01/12/2016 - 31/12/2016
01/01/2017 - 31/01/2017
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01/07/2017 - 31/07/2017
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01/11/2017 - 30/11/2017
01/12/2017 - 31/12/2017
01/01/2018 - 31/01/2018
01/02/2018 - 28/02/2018
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01/08/2018 - 31/08/2018
01/09/2018 - 30/09/2018
01/10/2018 - 31/10/2018
01/11/2018 - 30/11/2018
01/12/2018 - 31/12/2018
01/01/2019 - 31/01/2019
01/02/2019 - 28/02/2019
01/03/2019 - 31/03/2019
01/04/2019 - 30/04/2019
01/05/2019 - 31/05/2019
01/06/2019 - 30/06/2019
01/07/2019 - 31/07/2019
01/08/2019 - 31/08/2019
01/09/2019 - 30/09/2019
01/10/2019 - 31/10/2019
01/11/2019 - 30/11/2019
01/12/2019 - 31/12/2019
01/01/2020 - 31/01/2020
01/02/2020 - 29/02/2020
01/03/2020 - 31/03/2020
01/04/2020 - 31/04/2020
01/05/2020 - 31/05/2020
01/06/2020 - 31/06/2020
01/07/2020 - 31/07/2020
01/08/2020 - 31/08/2020
01/09/2020 - 30/09/2020
01/10/2020 - 31/10/2020
01/11/2020 - 30/11/2020
01/12/2020 - 31/12/2020
01/01/2021 - 31/01/2021
01/02/2021 - 28/02/2021
01/03/2021 - 31/03/2021
01/04/2021 - 30/04/2021
01/05/2021 - 31/05/2021
01/06/2021 - 30/06/2021
01/07/2021 - 31/07/2021
01/08/2021 - 31/08/2021
01/09/2021 - 30/09/2021
01/10/2021 - 31/10/2021
01/11/2021 - 30/11/2021
01/12/2021 - 31/12/2021
01/01/2022 - 31/01/2022
01/02/2022 - 28/02/2022
01/03/2022 - 31/03/2022
01/04/2022 - 30/04/2022
01/05/2022 - 30/05/2022
01/06/2022 - 31/06/2022
01/07/2022 - 31/07/2022
01/08/2022 - 31/08/2022
01/09/2022 - 30/09/2022
01/10/2022 - 31/10/2022
01/11/2021 - 31/11/2021
01/12/2022 - 31/12/2022
01/01/2023 - 31/01/2023
01/02/2023 - 28/02/2023
01/03/2023 - 31/03/2023
01/04/2023 - 30/04/2023
01/08/2023 - 31/08/2023
01/11/2023 - 31/11/2023

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Kai's blood review was surprising this morning, platelets at 10 and RBC at 92 - surprising but good. Dr decided he didn't need anything (which was just as well as yet again the platelets weren't ready, lab said they didn't get the order which made the dr very angry as he'd ordered them Tuesday and then rang yesterday to check they'd be ready...) so we went home early.

Mid afternoon Kai says he was freezing and felt like he had a cold. His temp was 38, so we waited half an hour, by which time it was 38.4, and I rang for a taxi to rush him in. Got there about 4.30, they decided to keep him in. They got him a bed down on Area 61 (the Young Person's oncology ward) and started him on intravenous antibiotics. I came home, grabbed his bag, clothes, wash stuff and meds and went back: arrived 8.30, by which time he was in his room (very nice too, desk with wifi of course, a chaise longue style window-seat that can double as a bed for a family member to stay overnight, TV with dvd player, room itself cool, calm and quiet with a spacious en suite) and still feeling rough after the first anti-bios dose. I left at 9.15 to get the 9.30 bus, got in at 9.56, booted up to check in with him on skype, only to find he was offline. Thought he may have closed down for the second round of anti-bios, so went for a shower. He was still offline when I got back, so I tried ringing his mobile. It was off. So I rang the number for Ward 61, only to be told (after ten minutes of confab I could just about hear in the background) that he was over on the young person side and I had to ring a different number.

Rang the number, apologised for bothering them, and explained I couldn't get hold of Kai and was he OK?

He's in bed with a raging temperature being drip fed paracetamol, replied the young nurse brightly.

Jesus fucking Christ!! What sort of nurse says that to a worried mother??

I can't go back in, I'm exhausted. I'm averaging four hours sleep a night at the moment, and I have an appointment with the nurse up at the surgery in the morning for a blood test to check my kidney function (on the new meds). Afterwards Kim's picking me up to get out to Almondsbury to get crickets and rats for Rosa and Feather, and I can't put that off as we're out of both and I can't let them starve, regardless of what else is happening. I shall get in to the BHOC as soon as I can afterwards, but the planned meeting with Ken and his workmates after work for a drink is completely out the window.

... can we rewind a couple of years and have everything work out properly, please?

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Monday, July 28, 2014

So - finally managed to get to see Transformers: Age of Extinction and actually rather enjoyed it. It still had far too many explosions and car chases and horrible Bay trademarks, and I could definitely have lived with the bots being less 'human' in attitude (and what the hell? That was Kup, not Hound!!), but the plot was decent, and the film was internally consistent and logical, and followed on well from the abomination that was Dark of the Moon. I think we can probably blame Steven Spielberg for the improvement! The ending sets everything up well for the sequel too. It's definite 'buy as soon as you can rather than wait for the price to fall' fare. I need to see it again, to pick up on the bits I missed the first time.

And our little darlings have been digging in the garden again - in the strawberry bed this time.


We've been having intermittent connectivity problems here - there may be an engineer coming to look at things tomorrow. Or not if they find the problem is at their end. But we were off for an hour earlier, so not sure... Wish us luck.

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Friday, July 25, 2014

... heh... assuming having an extra day would mean more time to update the blog was obviously a tad over-optimistic...

What have I been up to? A lot of weeding, hoeing and shopping, of course. Kai's computer components have been arriving bit by bit, and he's had an interesting time building the new machine - tentatively named FenFen. His right-angled cables arrived this morning, so he's now pretty much ready to install the new power unit (he was going to use the one from the old machine, but he's not sure if that was what was causing the problem, so we've bought a new one), move his old hard drive over in the hope that it survived the crash (it has all his fox videos on it), boot it up, and install the OS (Windows 8). I think I'd rather be elsewhere for that so may take myself off to Wells tomorrow, see if I can get some more plants...

The first three Rescue Bots dvds were on special offer on amazon us, so I ordered them for Yule for me, but Ken said we had to check they were all OK so we've been watching them. They're as much fun as I remember, and full of subtle homages to other shows (and although I can't confirm it I suspect that the attack of the lawnmowers in The Return of the Dinobot is a nod to the 'attack of the zombie lawnmowers' in Starscream's horrorscope in the old comics.)

Other than that? There's not so much to do in the garden this year since our neighbour spray-painted his fence - and my greenhouse, the patio doors and all my veg seedlings, and yes it was deliberate, but more on that after I've got legal advice. I'm now having to buy the veg that I would normally be picking from the garden, and I also won't be able to fill my freezer with veg for the winter. I have managed to get my sweetcorn in, and a few mange tout and dwarf beans, but that's it. At least none got into the greenhouse, so my tomatoes and peppers were safe.

Blood pressure was 136 (which is brilliant) over 92 (which isn't so good) at my appointment on Wednesday, so dr has prescribed me Tensaid to supplement the Ramipril. It's a diuretic - oh joy, like I don't need the loo enough as it is! - but the accompanying leaflet says it doesn't produce too much extra urine. Heh. We'll see...

Kai's Thursday appt was a bit of a washout: the lab had got it wrong and ordered his platelets for today (Friday) instead... But they took blood for the cross match, so I'm hoping today will be shorter than usual. There's twenty minutes left on the platelets, then at least one unit of blood over an hour and a half (it's 12.20 here).

After dinner I'm hoping we can watch another couple of Rescue Bots eps, then maybe a film. I picked up I, Frankenstein going cheap, and Get Smart (co-starring Dwayne Johnson) even cheaper...

But we're actually all too tired for a film, so just going to chill tonight and get client stuff done tomorrow. And next!Poppy (page and a half written today...)

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1 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

The trouble with an extra day is that you can easily find more to fill it with :)

10:56 pm  



Sunday, July 20, 2014

The Poppy Tales, New World 2, ch 19 - Reconnecting - now posted: link above.

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Friday, July 18, 2014

Worked hard today...


Absolutely knackered now and aching all over. Going to try for an early night. Next Poppy will have to wait til tomorrow to be finished (three and a half pages written yesterday...)

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3 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

That looks lovely - you do work hard to keep everything nice there.

8:08 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

We do try. It'll be a couple of years before it really looks decent, but that's fine, a garden is never really 'finished' anyway.

11:16 am  
Blogger Sue said...

Wow, looking good - and in this heat as well!

6:47 pm  



Thursday, July 17, 2014

Quick post to link to this - Real Time Lightning Map. We have some major weather heading our way and I have a headache already...

Kai's neutrophil and WBC counts have dropped again. I'll stop posting about them here until something definitive happens.

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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Catch up because I realised I'd forgotten to do the weekend...

On Saturday Ken and I treated ourselves to an afternoon out: went to Street, where we found this!

I've been trying to find Kai a fox mug for ages. GoodTwin did find one but it was a bit abstract and I really wanted more realistic (but thank you anyway!): this one was in the Shopping Village, Royal Worcester bone china in the Portmeirion collection. The design is actually called 'The Artful Poacher' and it's extremely cute! Kai's dead chuffed with it!

We stopped off at the organic supermarket in Glastonbury on the way so I could pick up some organic butter (both Sains and Tesco apparently no longer stock Yeo Valley, which is a bloody nuisance as it's our favourite...) then stopped off again at Wells, where we bought some more plants -

A selection of alpines...

... because they seem to do very well in the rockery (this was planted back in the spring and is now four times as big as originally!)

And this gorgeous artemisia ('Silver Mound' I think: there was no label. It's a bit limp here, needed water, but it's very pretty.)


In the evening we watched Cuban Fury on FilmFlex: great fun! I spent the last half an hour with a big grin on my face...

And last night I watched for twenty minutes while mama fox stood on the six-foot-plus fence - balanced like a cat - while two of the cubs frolicked in the garden...

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1 Comments:

Blogger bakayaro onna said...

I love foxes. Beautiful mug!

2:44 pm  



Monday, July 14, 2014

A silly post because of the date - 14.7.14.

Nothing really to report, just the usual busyness. Currently trying to keep the weeds under control in the garden while we reconsider what is gradually becoming known as the lookout (up at the square where the bench is going to sit once we've got it organised) and the meadow, which is now badly overgrown. We'll keep the vetch - the bees love it - and the cowslips, but the rest... not sure yet...

Later edit: I think I'm going to cry. ALL of my Thunderbird email folders have vanished. ALL of them. Friends, clients, personal with all the kudos and comments from fanfic readers, shopping, book info, all Kai's uni and hospital stuff... everything. I can't get them back.

Later later edit: OK, got everything back, but it took some doing and I've no idea how it worked (or why it happened in the first place). Before emailing Nick to take remote access and sort out the problem for me, I checked the forums (no joy there although apparently I'm not the only person it's happened to) and the different function tabs in Tb itself. And under [Go] I found [Folders] and under that I found [Recent] and under that I found a list of all my subfolders in alphabetical order. So mentally shrugging my shoulders - I could hardly do any worse harm - I clicked on [amazon]... and lo and behold everything went back to normal.

[sigh] I do not need the stress.

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3 Comments:

Blogger Sue said...

Yikes! I can imagine how alarming that was for you. Is there no backup with Thunderbird? Well, presumably not or you wouldn't have had quite such a panic.
As you say, you don't need the stress.
Glad it all got sorted out.

7:44 pm  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

I would die. I have thousands of emails from years ago. Mine do get backed up, but I'm a little remiss in running the backup frequently enough. Task for later, methinks...

11:14 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

I couldn't find a backup, but then again, I'm still relatively new at Thunderbird.

I back up all my emails every year, early in Jan when there's not much going on, then I delete them off the c drive. Used to be easy with Eudora - they saved as text files in chronological order. Thunderbird saves them as Thunderbird files in alphabetical order. [sigh] So I've at least backed up Kai's stuff.

11:50 am  



Friday, July 11, 2014

Kai transformed Death Starscream for me. He's very handsome!


(I had to clear another shelf as I simply couldn't fit him on the dedicated one. I now have two shelves of Starscreams - 33, with a couple more coming at Yule...)

And as a further example of how things grow in this garden -

- that's Tyjer's catmint trying to climb over the greenhouse...

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Thursday, July 10, 2014

A bit of a catch up...

It's been busy. I've been trying to catch up with the garden work (photos shortly), there's been much shopping, I've been re-watching Beast Wars (And thoroughly enjoying it), we've all been watching Transformers: Animated Season 3 (and thoroughly enjoying that, thought I'm not sure K&K are as enthusiastic as me. Last two eps tonight...)

Death Starscream arrived Monday but a signature was required, so I couldn't pick him up until yesterday. I have special dispensation to open him now, so I did: -

- and am in the process of transforming him (having the usual difficulty, plus the instructions are in Japanese...) Will rope Kai in to help later, he's much better than me at following these things.

And on the subject of Kai...

Today's appt was a platelets transfusion as normal - but the doctor says we don't need to go in on a Monday anymore, at least until the transplant. Everything has settled down so we know it's platelets every week and blood every fortnight: unless we're worried about something there's little point in us going in on Monday as well. So YAY!

Also found out a little more about post-transplant procedures. The average stay after the transplant is 5 weeks (although it can be as little as 2), and afterwards there will be regular check ups every week, probably twice a week to start with - early in the am - and a weekly/fortnightly BMT clinic on a Wed afternoon.

[whispering] His neutrophils were up to almost half of normal today, and his WBC count is creeping up too. This is very good, but not enough to get too optimistic about, yet...

So - garden.

Hemerocallis.

I can't recall the real name of this, it's that black grass I bought years ago and thought I'd killed. This year it has flowers!

Poppies!


Will try to update a little more regularly. Only needing to spend one day at the hospital a week, even if only for a few weeks, gives me a little more time to keep everything organised.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Sue said...

[Also whispering] This is all very good news. Fingers crossed it continues - and yay for extra haddock *g*

6:08 pm  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

Fingers crossed here too.

And 'Hemerocallis' - that's easy for you to say... :)

7:53 am  



Saturday, July 05, 2014

The Poppy Tales 

The Poppy Tales, New World 2, ch 18 - Decisions - now posted: link above.

And yesterday my copy of Transformers: Animated Season 3 arrived (will watch the last two eps of Season 2 later then hopefully the first ep or two of 3 this evening) and today my Henkei Ghost Starscream arrived. (He was £15 on ebay and is being put away for me for Yule...) Yes, I now have all of the more common Starscreams and several of the rarities and have started searching for the very rare ones (but only at sensible prices!) I also have a Black Gold Death Starscream on its way...

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Thursday, July 03, 2014

[sigh] We knew it was going to be a long appt as Kai needed platelets and blood. Usually they cross match the blood while the platelets are going through (usually starts between 10.30 and 11), so there's only a short wait (30 - 60 mins) afterwards.

Today somehow the request never reached the lab. It was gone 7 pm when we finally got home.

However, I saw Laura (of the transplant team) who was very pleased indeed with the BP and kind of implied that if it was urgent they would accept me now. However, since it isn't, she said to stick with the Ramipril and they'll schedule the transplant for the middle of August (only a few weeks later than the original date). So we now have a rough idea of the timing. I can also bring home three doses of the stuff I have to have to increase my white blood cell count and have them administered at our own doctor's surgery, but the fourth one will have to be at the BHOC as they'll want to do a full blood count afterwards. We're getting closer.

Bouncy yelpy cubs outside the patio doors again last night, but no foxy presents this morning. For which I am quite grateful after yesterday.

Four pages into nextPoppy (it's been a month. I have completely lost track of time. Then again, no one commented on the last one, which made me wonder if people didn't like it...) written today. Hopefully I'll be able to post at the weekend.

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Wednesday, July 02, 2014

Well, the good news is that my blood pressure is now down to 148 over 90 - just about normal for me, although it still needs to go down a bit more before the transplant team will OK it. There are other meds I can take, but they have unpleasant side effects and may make me feel ill, so we're keeping them as a last resort: now have to report back to the transplant team and get some dates figured out. In the meantime Dr is very pleased. And so am I.

Last night's fox gifts...

   

... a used disposable nappy and an ancient gardening glove.

Charming.

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1 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

Yeah, I'm rescinding my 'presents' comment. This is just the little darlings not bothing to take their crap with them :)

2:09 pm  



Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Not even really a catch up. Just assume that when I'm not at my desk I'm either shopping, gardening or at BHOC appointments...

Heuchera bed. I think I still have room for three more. I know I want Midnight Bayou, but I'm not sure about the others. I have a lot of dark ones now, perhaps something a little lighter...

Remember I said I really like poppies and was going to plant them up on the slope?

I thought the pigeons had eaten them all. I also thought they were a lot shorter than this!

I'll take another pic when more of the flowers have opened.

And my pears are coming on splendidly!


Last night mum brought the fox cubs - well, they're puppies now, getting quite big - to the garden. It actually got a little scary as they were right outside the patio doors, yelping and scrabbling, and bumped into the doors themselves a couple of times. Fortunately Tyjer was watching from upstairs and didn't show any inclination to come down to see: I think his encounter with the mum has put him off foxes for life. Suits me! And no, I didn't look out, didn't want to disturb them.

They brought a bone with them. Found it up by my sweetcorn - I assume it's part of a cow's pelvis or something. It's rather large!

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2 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

D'aww, they're bringing you presents, now :)

12:31 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

*sigh* It appears so. Two days ago it was a studded brown leather cuff and a chunk of bread. I'm almost afraid to consider what tomorrow might bring...

1:29 am  





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