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
09/01/2007 - 09/30/2007
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
01/04/2008 - 04/30/2008
01/05/2008 - 31/05/2008
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01/01/2014 - 31/01/2014
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01/11/2014 - 30/11/2014
01/12/2014 - 31/12/2014
01/01/2015 - 31/01/2015
01/02/2015 - 28/02/2015
01/03/2015 - 31/03/2015
01/04/2015 - 30/04/2015
01/05/2015 - 31/05/2015
01/06/2015 - 30/06/2015
01/07/2015 - 31/07/2015
01/08/2015 - 31/08/2015
01/09/2015 - 30/09/2015
01/10/2015 - 31/10/2015
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
01/04/2016 - 31/04/2016
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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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01/10/2017 - 31/10/2017
01/11/2017 - 30/11/2017
01/12/2017 - 31/12/2017
01/01/2018 - 31/01/2018
01/02/2018 - 28/02/2018
01/03/2018 - 31/03/2018
01/04/2018 - 30/04/2018
01/05/2018 - 31/05/2018
01/06/2018 - 30/06/2018
01/07/2018 - 31/07/2018
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

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

And a few more.

Labels:





1 Comments:

Blogger AmandaHuffleduck said...

They are just gorgeous!

11:23 am  



Tuesday, May 23, 2017

My Sultan's Palace iris has started flowering!


They are magnificent! Will try to take more pics tomorrow.

Labels:





2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, beautiful.

I seem to be good at growing weeds... :)

GoodTwin

8:48 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Thanks!

Oh, we get plenty of them too. I'm just so pleased with my irises! I have given them a lot of attention this year and it's paid off.

8:59 pm  



Friday, May 19, 2017

Catch up...

Kai's now had 3 (of 4) exams, and hasn't enjoyed any of them, even Galaxies and the Universe, which we thought would be OK. Will have to see what the results are.

On the medical front: my root canal filling now done and fine. Kai's meds are being changed after the exams, so fingers crossed the new ones will be more effective. Ken's last set of Hep C meds (the ones that are an almost 100 percent perfect cure: headaches and insomnia the only side effects and the course only 12 weeks long as opposed to the first one that was 9 months and left him feeling like he had permanent bad 'flu) seem to have done the trick: his last test, the one the consultants insist has never been known to fail, showed absolutely no trace of the virus. He has a final check in December - if that is also clear we can say he's cured.

You can imagine the relief. It's been 28 years. We first found out he had it when he came with me to give blood back when we were both working for BT...

Films... Moana, which is wonderful.

Unlike Boxing Helena. Quite why I wanted to watch it I'm not exactly sure. Except it stars Julian Sands, who I quite like. It's not very good. Boring soft-core porn with a nasty twist.

Kai mentioned he'd heard good things about The Expanse. I found it reasonably priced on amazon, and as it sounded good ordered it. We watched it over the last week and a bit and ye gods it's fabulous! Absolutely deserves its IMDb rating, if not more. The best - intelligent, subtle, complex, entirely believable - sf series I think I've ever seen. Alas, the second season isn't out on DVD until July, so we now have to possess ourselves in patience for a couple of months. Seriously, if the SyFy channel can produce work like this - why don't they more often?!

And finally, it rained! And rained and rained. Ground now nicely saturated, pools refilled, and waterbutts completely full again.

And of course, the obligatory garden photos. Kai helped me plant the sweetcorn this afternoon..


First strawberry of the year...



Off to make supper while listening to J-pop on radio garden. Later!

Labels: , , , ,





3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fingers crossed for all the medical things - you deserve a break.

It rained here too. Actually, it hailed, for forty minutes straight. The roof on the rabbit shelter was seriously bending under the weight of water and ice; it's just as well we were here and able to clean it off immediately otherwise we'd have had a broken roof and very wet buns. I wouldn't have been very amused - we only replaced it last year!

GoodTwin

10:16 pm  
Blogger Sue said...

Garden looking good. The Expanse sounds interesting.
That's wonderful news about Ken and good news too about your filling.
Fingers crossed for Kai's exam results.

10:41 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Goodtwin - OUCH! Glad you were there to prevent disaster!

And thanks, both. It's awfully nice to have some good news.

10:56 pm  



Wednesday, May 10, 2017


New potting bench! (It wasn't originally that colour: I've painted on 'golden brown' wood preservative to give it that extra bit of protection). Nice, innit?

Forgot to say - the sky was clear on Sunday night for the Moon-Jupiter conjunction: took the 'scope out and saw the planet and its four main moons (three on one side, the fourth one on the other), and the lens is powerful enough that we could see Jupiter's bands and the red spot! Wonderful, wonderful sight.

It's probably time for me to start the major scanning operation - all Kai's baby/child photos...

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just as well you have it on gravel with the dodgy legs, but that looks smart.

GoodTwin

9:58 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Thank you! It certainly makes potting up a lot easier.

10:45 am  



Monday, May 08, 2017

Well that was busy!

Let's see, what have we been up to...

Chilling, actually. I'm following Dr Ng's orders and exercising three times a day (admittedly, the third time is a bit more relaxed in the shower. I massage my shoulders with my octopus then too), and (mostly) managing a rest early afternoon, although that went completely out the window this weekend. We've done a little gardening - I've planted more beans, and K&K assembled my potting bench yesterday in time for me to paint wood preservative on the underside (did the topside today). Tomorrow Ken has annual leave, and is going to prepare the location - a good patch of gravel at the far end of the greenhouse. Just in time as my sweetcorn need hardening off!

The bench... well, it's a good height, and seems quite sturdy, but one of the legs is a quarter of an inch shorter than the others, which ain't great. We can level it with the gravel, but given what it cost I'm not impressed. It's also been designed so that it's impossible to use an electric drill to pre-drill the screwholes, so Kai had to struggle with the hand-drill. Anyway, it should be in place tomorrow, and I'll post a photo or two next blog.

I've been watching Masterchef over the last few weeks, (I usually do every year, sometimes it's good for new recipe ideas, ones I can actually make, I mean, rather than the restaurant quality dishes they end up making!) so we haven't watched a lot of films. But Kai was fancying watching National Treasure (I thought we had it but found we didn't, so bought it cheap on amazon with the sequel), which we watched last night. I honestly remembered less than about 10% of it, so it was like watching a new film. Quite fun, though I could have done without the smug chauvinism. Hoping to watch the sequel tomorrow night, the one night this week that Masterchef isn't on (it's finals week)!

We have Crystal Clear coming to measure up for the windows in a little over an hour. Off to make lunch first!

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2 Comments:

Blogger Sue said...

Hee - had to click through on the IMDB link to be sure but I didn't think you meant this National Treasure http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5571524/?ref_=nv_sr_5

That's not too clever about the potting bench. Hope you can manage to get it level and stable.

4:47 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

...?? Never heard of that National Treasure. It's the Nicolas Cage film we wanted/got...

Bench has worked OK, it's sitting on gravel which has levelled it out. Will take photos tomorrow when there's stuff on it! Painting gate atm before making dinner then have to hosepipe again. PLEASE let the forecast storms arrive Thurs. Both my waterbutts are completely dry.

4:59 pm  



Monday, May 01, 2017

Finished. And it's not bad, even though I didn't have a brief to work to, or find out the title until last Wed...

I ended up committed to 8K words by last Fri and the remainder today. Tight, but proved very doable. Not sure when it'll be published - has to be edited first, but I've been told I will at least get to see the final book before it goes to print. Hopefully they won't need to do too much to it.

And everything fitted in around appts. Tues Dentist refilled the problem tooth with more of the medical stuff and I go back in a couple of weeks for the final filling, though since a chunk of the enamel has now broken off, it may be more work than originally planned. It is dead now though, no more pain. I researched for the book during Kai's counselling appt on Wed, then went with him to his drs appt on Thurs a.m. Andrew from Crystal Clear came in the evening and we're now waiting for the surveying bloke to come take the measurements for the first round of replacement windows: lounge, Kai's room and our room. Friday was my MATS appt with Dr Ng: he told me I need a holiday. Three months in Hawaii would do. Yes, he actually said that. In the absence of that, I have a routine of twists and stretches to do three times a day, with hand exercises every hour. And I have to lie down for at least 15 mins every day and do nothing. (Actually, I play my old New Age ambient music through the CD player I found at Weston, which now goes by the name of Cosmos since he's round like the little UFO. It's fun re-finding tracks I particularly like!) And he gave me the carpal tunnel injection into my wrist, oh joy. So that's me told. And now I have both Ken and Kai nagging me to stop bombing around and rest. Which will be fine if they carry on helping around the house...

Have had fun with amazon too. My old potting table managed to break (I think a fox may have jumped onto it) and while we've propped it up, it's a bit precarious. So I found a nice pressure treated wooden one on amazon and ordered it. Details said delivery in 3 - 5 days: was it hell! Two weeks - and then I got the email saying it had been despatched, went to track details only to find it was showing as undeliverable and on its way back to supplier! WTF??

Contacted amazon, who apologised and arranged to send a replacement.

Same thing happened again.

Contacted amazon again, who apologised, refunded the money, and said they'd investigate.

Just before I left for my MATS appt, potting bench was delivered.

[HEADDESKHEADDESK]

SO contacted amazon again, and asked how to pay. Luckily that just involved me giving them written permission to call for the payment again.

It's a nice little bench. Will photo once it's assembled and in place.

The obligatory garden photos...

Hazels and ramsons.


My life has been a long sequence of synchronicities, the latest one on Sat when Ken came with me to Tesco to pick up the heavy stuff in Wheelie. There are now a series of tiny Transformer turbo chargers blind bags and Ken said I should grab one. So I did.

It was Starscream...

But does this mean he'll be reappearing in the Transformers: The Last Knight film, out in June? Fingers crossed!

We watched Inferno on Filmflex last night. Interesting and thought-provoking.

Not sure if I mentioned radio garden anywhere: it was mentioned on tumblr. I'm currently listening to J-Pop live from Tokyo. Such fun! (The local ads are annoying, but I guess they must have to pay for the service somehow, it's free to use...)

Time to get dinner served. Roast chicken tonight as it's a Bank Holiday. Later!!

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Even if you were given three months in Hawaii you wouldn't stop... :)

Busybusy. I can't keep up with you. But the garden is looking splendid!

GoodTwin

9:16 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

There is that... I'd rather go to Japan though. Kyoto, specifically. That would be fantastic.

Thanks! It's doing quite well at the moment. Still a lot to do, but we're getting there.

9:23 pm  





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