Major catchup before I'm too tired to get it written up. It's been busy...
Kai's been fighting off cold bugs for a couple of months quite successfully, but it was, of course, too good to last! Just after my last post he took his temperature - 38.3°. So it was off to the BHOC. By the time we got there it was up to 38.5°: the nurses took full bloods and throat and nose swabs to be analysed urgently while we waited to hear what we should do. Happily, the initial results came back negative, so we came home again (with a course of anti-biotics to tackle a minor unrelated possible-infection) but were advised, as ever, to contact them if we were worried. At this stage there's the possibility that other worse infections can creep in under cover of a cold or flu bug, so any time his temperature gets above 38° we're to ring for advice.
The bug is now on the way out - it was a cold, but quite a nasty one, and it looks like it may be a little while before he feels completely better. Hopefully his new immunity to that one will stop him getting another for a few weeks (for my sake too, his coughing keeps me awake). Other than that, all continues well. The next hurdle is in a few months, when they'll be testing for chimerism. It's vital that my stem cells have taken over, and there are none of Kai's left, for the transplant to be considered a success (as I understand it the tacrolimus is the drug that's keeping his down/killing them off, which is why they won't reduce the dose yet. That's the med that makes him feel fuzzy-headed, unfortunately...)
We've let the university know that, if all continues as it is, he'll be starting his course in October.
We haven't been for a walk in over a week, as he hasn't felt well enough. Looking forward to restarting them, as although I have time this fortnight to catch up with all my own stuff, I find I rather miss them!
Sunday was Mothering Sunday: Ken and I went out to Wyevale for me to use up some of my vouchers (2 for 1 on breakfasts, £2 off a purchase, £1 off the latest copy of the BBC Gardener's World, plus double points. It was really nice, and we came back with the veg seeds I need for this year and two camellias (on special at a third off!) - an Adolphe Audusson, planted out the front, and a Nagasaki (I've wanted one of the latter for a while now). That will be planted at the back, but we're not quite sure where yet. It'll probably be between the spiraeas in the unicorn bed to the side of the greenhouse.
After dinner we watched Starship Rising... Yes, we knew it was going to be pretty bad from the IMDb review, but I was fancying 'park your brain atthe door' entertainment to end the day.
... it was awful. I think it qualifies as the worst film I've ever seen. It tried hard, with some excellent, strong female characters (who would have been more believable had they not been plastered in inch thick makeup and wearing ridiculously high heels), with the look of the live action Casshern and a vague feel of Lexx, but apart from that... Ken described it as the visual equivalent of Vogon poetry. Kai said it was like a bad fanfic. To me it played like a 26 ep bad s-f series condensed into an hour and half. It was incoherent, the acting was dreadful and the dialogue incomprehensible.
And there's a sequel!!
Yesterday I (reluctantly, as the new position is much more exposed and less secure) moved the planting table out from it's usual position by the fence (to stop next door killing off my seedlings, he cost me hundreds in lost produce last year), cleaned it and got the first of my seeds on the go - spinach, radishes and the first batch of peas. Ken picked me up a couple of packs of peat/cardboard pots at Broadwalk: I need more compost, but I think I can buy a small bag at Sains to keep me going until I can get out to a garden centre.
When Sue visited last she brought over the Zodiac DVD set (I'd had it on my amazon wishlist) and we watched the first ep. I was hooked, ordered it, and we've been watching it after dinner for the last few days (and I've been writing the ep guides on the IMDb). It's wonderful! Very much of its time, but such fun! It has the ambience of The Avengers (the John Steed/Mrs Peel version, not the superheroes) with a tiny hint of Sapphire and Steel. I really wish it had gone to a full twelve eps instead of stopping at six.
Still ploughing through Transformers: Armada, writing up an ep at a time on the IMDb (ep 38 today...). Then - oh joy - I'm determined to do Energon and Cybertron too, at 52 eps each... Glutton for punishment indeed. But I don't like leaving things unfinished.
Which naturally leads to the consideration of Poppy. It's been nagging, but I've also been undecided how to proceed. The Tales are based on the Bayverse films, and now, of course, there's Age of Extinction to take into account. I could ignore it - but I actually really like the film... I think I have the plot organised in my head, will try to get it on rust asap.
Finally, Ken's latest book - The holy well and the Chapel of St Anne in the Wood.
Ken's been writing this for some years, slowly accumulating information, and when the Discover Brislington Brook project organisers suggested it would be a good complement to their work, he happily agreed. The book was to be paid for by the Heritage Lottery Fund - but instead of putting it out to tender, the organisers insisted it be published by Fiducia, a small, independent local publisher. Ken wasn't completely happy with this, but after so much work - and under pressure from the organisers - agreed.
Well, Fiducia might have been good in the past, but it's under new management, and said management is aggressive, combative and, quite honestly, incompetent. They wanted the book to go to press riddled with typos and inaccuracies: when Ken refused they asked to go to mediation. Ken had to take a day's unpaid leave to do so (and remember this was all happening at the time when Kai was facing his transplant and the future was uncertain and terrifying).
The results were not good. (How much so? The following day the mediator rang Ken to apologise: he said in all his career he'd never had to deal with anyone so unreasonable.) The upshot is that the time ran out for the Lottery Fund cash, we had to use Archyve as the publisher and pay for everything ourselves, at not-for-profit prices...
A (somewhat dubious) bright spot was that the printer printed the first batch at the wrong quality. The second batch was at the right quality, and it meant we were able to provide two versions of the book, standard and deluxe. The only difference is in the quality of the pictures, and even the standard ones aren't bad, just not quite as crisp and clear as the better version.
And the book itself? It's been very favourably received, and despite all the obstacles Ken is happy with it. I think it's gorgeous.
Later edit: [headdesk] sorry - it's Thursday tomorrow. I've been living the wrong day all day...
So - Friday tomorrow. Super moon, partial solar eclipse, and Spring Equinox all on the same day. Should be good!
Heh. Been typing this up for over an hour now - time to get out and get some shopping. Later!
Labels: books, British drama, Fiducia Publishing, films, garden, Kai, medical matters
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Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 9:46 am
3 Comments:
Hee, I know Thursdays are hard to get the hang of, but there is still one between today and Friday.
Glad Kai is on the mend and that it was nothing more serious.
Can you link to the reviews of Ken's book? What a palaver to bring it to print but at least it seems to have all worked out for the best.
It's Wednesday? [headdesk] Time, how does it work?
No written reviews that I know of yet, although a local paper thinks they might do one. Will post if so!
Ahh, that's me, failing at reading comprehension. I read received favourably as reviewed - sorry.
Hugely looking forward to the eclipse and I'm fortuitously at home on Friday - hurrah!