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
01/06/2008 - 30/06/2008
01/07/2008 - 31/07/2008
01/08/2008 - 31/08/2008
01/09/2008 - 30/09/2008
01/10/2008 - 31/10/2008
01/11/2008 - 31/11/2008
01/12/2008 - 31/12/2008
01/12/2008 - 31/12/2008
01/01/2009 - 31/01/2009
01/02/2009 - 28/02/2009
01/03/2009 - 31/03/2009
01/04/2009 - 30/04/2009
01/05/2009 - 31/05/2009
01/06/2009 - 30/06/2009
01/07/2009 - 31/07/2009
01/08/2009 - 31/08/2009
01/09/2009 - 30/09/2009
01/10/2009 - 31/10/2009
01/11/2009 - 30/11/2009
01/12/2009 - 31/12/2009
01/01/2010 - 31/01/2010
01/02/2010 - 28/02/2010
01/03/2010 - 31/03/2010
01/04/2010 - 30/04/2010
01/05/2010 - 31/05/2010
01/06/2010 - 30/06/2010
01/07/2010 - 31/07/2010
01/08/2010 - 31/08/2010
01/09/2010 - 30/09/2010
01/10/2010 - 31/10/2010
01/11/2010 - 31/11/2010
01/12/2010 - 31/12/2010
01/01/2011 - 31/01/2011
01/02/2011 - 28/02/2011
01/03/2011 - 31/03/2011
01/04/2011 - 30/04/2011
01/05/2011 - 31/05/2011
01/06/2011 - 30/06/2011
01/07/2011 - 31/07/2011
01/08/2011 - 31/08/2011
01/09/2011 - 30/09/2011
01/10/2011 - 31/10/2011
01/11/2011 - 30/11/2011
01/12/2011 - 31/12/2011
01/01/2012 - 31/01/2012
01/02/2012 - 28/02/2012
01/03/2012 - 31/03/2012
01/04/2012 - 30/04/2012
01/05/2012 - 31/05/2012
01/06/2012 - 30/06/2012
01/07/2012 - 31/07/2012
01/08/2012 - 31/08/2012
01/09/2012 - 30/09/2012
01/10/2012 - 31/10/2012
01/11/2012 - 30/11/2012
01/12/2012 - 31/12/2012
01/01/2013 - 31/01/2013
01/02/2013 - 28/02/2013
01/03/2013 - 31/03/2013
01/04/2013 - 30/04/2013
01/05/2013 - 31/05/2013
01/06/2013 - 31/06/2013
01/07/2013 - 31/07/2013
01/08/2013 - 31/08/2013
01/09/2013 - 30/09/2013
01/10/2013 - 31/10/2013
01/11/2013 - 30/11/2013
01/12/2013 - 31/12/2013
01/01/2014 - 31/01/2014
01/02/2014 - 28/02/2014
01/03/2014 - 31/03/2014
01/04/2014 - 30/04/2014
01/05/2014 - 31/05/2014
01/06/2014 - 31/06/2014
01/07/2014 - 31/07/2014
01/08/2014 - 31/08/2014
01/09/2014 - 31/09/2014
01/10/2014 - 31/10/2014
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
01/05/2016 - 31/05/2016
01/06/2016 - 30/06/2016
01/07/2016 - 31/07/2016
01/08/2016 - 31/08/2016
01/09/2016 - 31/09/2016
01/10/2016 - 31/10/2016
01/11/2016 - 31/11/2016
01/12/2016 - 31/12/2016
01/01/2017 - 31/01/2017
01/02/2017 - 28/02/2017
01/03/2017 - 31/03/2017
01/04/2017 - 30/04/2017
01/05/2017 - 31/05/2017
01/06/2017 - 30/06/2017
01/07/2017 - 31/07/2017
01/08/2017 - 31/08/2017
01/09/2017 - 30/09/2017
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

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Long post is long. 

... and has photos...

Catchup time again!

Wed.... what happened last Wed...? Usual shopping etc I think.

Thurs. Uh... um... gah! Really must write up blog more often!

Fri - usual shopping and house stuff in the morning, Maplins in the afternoon. This wonderful chain is closing down, and having an up to 70% sale. Came back with a whole heap of treasures! (Well, Kai did! Though I found a lightweight telescopic window cleaner perfect for the greenhouse, and magnetic L plates and a tyre pressure gauge and tread depth set from Halfords next door, and later in the week found a sturdy footpump and spray de-icer at Wilko. That's my car kit started! Still need a lockable petrol cap and a steering wheel lock (visible deterrent more than anything) and spare bulbs, though won't get those 'til we know which car we're getting.) Halfords also sell a 3-bike rack which fits most hatchbacks, for a very reasonable £59: Kai and I were wondering if we can persuade Ken to get a bike... Then after dinner it was Sucker Punch, which I found for 49p at Broadwalk. Extraordinary film, surreal in places, gorgeous cinematography. Need to watch it again, I think...

Sat - took a day off for a mammoth film fest. Robot and Frank - an unusual, subtle and complex little film, well deserving its IMDb rating - then The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, which Kai had never seen (and Ken and I hadn't watched since before he was born), which was most enjoyable! Later it was more House for Kai and I.

Sun - planted out my tomato seedlings in the greenhouse (just in time for the cold snap forecast for next week. Glad I bought cloches end of last year!) Glorious sunshine: K&K went for a walk. I hung the washing out for the first time this year (and it mostly dried!)

Monday - K&K were off to Torquay for mum T's birthday (it was on Sat but train tickets on Saturdays are three times the price they are during the week). I've begged off: at the moment sitting down for any length of time is very painful for the legs. We're hoping to all go down again later in the year - possibly by car.

I read my birthday present Lady Killer in bed (that's a treat these days!) It's good, but I didn't enjoy it enough to want to collect them. Well worth a look though. Shopped in the morning, and found the perfect recliner at the Furniture Shop down the road, on the way to Sains. (Been pricing these up as sitting with legs up on the sofa makes the sciatica worse: sofa is a tiny bit too short for it to be comfortable. Problem is most of them have the back lower as the leg part rises, and that's not what I want.) Furniture Shop one is a Kinman, £250 (originally £600ish, according to the guy in the shop), and felt wonderful. Needed to check the finances and get Ken's opinion, so said I'd be back.

In the afternoon treated myself to Wild Zero (link full of spoilers so if you ever plan to watch the film, don't click!)...

It's hysterically bad. Plan 9 and Santa Clause conquers the Martians bad. But hysterically daft with it. I mean, the baddie wears very tight, very short shorts that lace up the side, ankle boots and dreadful wigs. (... nice legs though, and he's actually quite convincing when he isn't talking...) Guitar Wolf rides a bike with flames shooting out of the exhaust (and out of his microphone when he... sings may not be quite the right word...) Bass Wolf and Drum Wolf spend most of their time combing their greased back quiffs. And one of the zombies seems to think she's supposed to be a baglady and roots through bins instead of attacking the living...

It's insane, completely bonkers, and is absolutely screaming out for fanfic (there isn't any, of course). I couldn't recommend it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it once I got over the initial '... wut??...'.

Tues - deliveries, swimming in the afternoon (20 lengths. While I was there the delivery note for Megatron arrived - more below), then I went back to buy the recliner, which was delivered at 6.10 that evening. Absolute bliss!

On Wed Wendy visited for the day. I met her from the train station after picking up a few things from the Wed Market. Lovely relaxed day, with The Hobbit trilogy on in the background, as she hadn't seen it. Great day!

Thursday was supposed to be a quiet day, but I had to go and ransom Megatron (£24.16 for import duty) from the delivery office.

He was not very happy with me making him wait...

This is the end of the fusion cannon you don't want to be at...

Gorgeous gorgeous quality. I am very happy.

Caught the no 2 bus up the Wells Rd on the way back to pick up my glasses from SpecSavers at Broadwalk (they're absolutely fine now) and found this in St Pete's Hospice...

It's a rather stylish shark (I think) bottle opener. But it's the other side that made me have to have it.

That's either the happiest - if manic - shark ever, or the creepiest!

Yesterday I took off. Well, emailed a complaint to Staples about the printer cartridge they sent us, did a little work on the Fox and Howard website, and made caramelised red onion marmalade (which failed badly as the caramel part burnt without me realising it and it tasted awful. [grump] Lot of work for nothing...) before we sat down for Power Rangers (cheap at Tesco). It's OK, fun, nice sfx, OK acting, but basically brain candy for a rainy afternoon. Which this was.

Today? Well, the rain is stopping, and Ken has offered to hoe my higher bed so I can finally get the peas, beans, carrots and radishes on the go (should have been done at the beginning of March but the weather was so awful everything's been delayed). He may be going out this afternoon: I'm going to watch an hour of Masterchef before getting anything else done. The recliner is working marvellously: only had it three days and the sciatica is already drastically improved (didn't need to take any painkillers at all yesterday - first time in years). Kai has work to get done - team project for one of his uni courses - which he wants to clear as quickly as possible as he has venesection tomorrow and BMT Clinic on Wed. So another relaxed day. We're getting there!

Labels: , , , , ,





1 Comments:

Blogger Sue said...

Busy, busy! The chair sounds great and the shark is a hoot!

10:29 am  



Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Wash put through and hung up, delivery put away - I have an hour before I need to leave for swimming. Let's catch up.

Last week...

Mon - trip to dentist. She's dug out some more of the root, put in something that should kill off anything that's still living there, and put in another temporary filling. I go back for the final replacement filling in three weeks. While I was up at Broadwalk picked up some bird food from Wilko (and just missed the bus back down the hill, but luckily the rain held off until I reached home walking).

Tues - both deliveries (large ones), then I went swimming in the afternoon. There's a 514 hourly bus that gets me up the hill for the 2.30 over 50s swim, which is perfect. I don't mind walking back down Talbot Hill, but walking up it is a nightmare these days. Surprised myself too - managed 20 lengths!

Wed - a bit achy after all yesterday's exercise, but bussed into town to renew my driving licence at the main Post Office, then picked up onions, peppers and mushrooms at the Wednesday market at St Nick's. On the bus back I suddenly remembered that GoodTwin and Sue were visiting on Fri and I hadn't organised food, so dived into Sains before going home.

Thurs - quick shopping trip over to Tesco, then rang National Express to organise the refund of my return journey from Plymouth. (The email was very apologetic: I guess they had a lot of people asking for money back for cancelled buses!)

Specsavers rang - my glasses were ready for collection. More importantly, GoodTwin and Sue visit! As always it was huge fun. We played Nostalgia and IQuest - and I opened birthday presents! Touch (which is very good), Wild Zero (which looks absolutely bonkers and I'm really looking forward to watching!) the first Lady Killer graphic novel, and the Complete Zombie Survival Guide! All brilliant!

Many thanks, both of you. I had a fantastic day!

Sat - snow. Again. [grump]

So not much was done. Although my new driving licence arrived, which was extremely fast!

Sun - the snow was bad enough to stop us going in for Kai's venesection - will need to rebook. So it was just the usual getting ready for the new week.

Yesterday - picked up my glasses. The close work ones are fine, the computer work ones aren't: I have to hunch over the keyboard to bring the screen into focus. Taking them back before I go swimming today. In the afternoon, doctor called with results of my blood test. It's all good: liver function is fine, BP is stable at normal for me, cholesterol is down from 7.1 to 6.1, BMI down from 45 to 40, I'm two stone lighter than they had on file, and my stroke/heart attack risk is 7.08% (if it's over 10% they give you statins). So internally I'm in pretty good shape. Just wish I could say the same for the rest of me!

We've started looking at cars (online) and I've booked my first refresher driving lesson with Red driving school (highly recommended by a number of people I've spoken to) for first week of May. Two hours, £62 - so they'd better be good! Fingers crossed I won't need much: I can quite vividly remember how I used to drive, and fortunately I don't need to take the new tests, so... we'll see.

Back from swim: only did 16 lengths as shoulders and back sore. Sciatica is really playing up today too - been prescribed Naproxen, which works, but only for a couple of hours. Will see about getting another appt and asking for advice.

But for now Kai and I are going to watch the first ep of House season 4 (hair's too wet for a lie down: this will have to do instead.)

Labels: , , , , ,





2 Comments:

Blogger Sue said...

What a good job we came over on Friday and hadn't planned for Saturday instead. Lovely day as always!

8:18 pm  
Blogger AmandaHuffleduck said...

that's... a lot going on! :)

10:24 am  



Sunday, March 11, 2018

And life got back to what passes for normal - manic - in no time flat...

Actually, it was a good and very productive week. After the amazing sleep I had on holiday, last Sun I did a little research and Ken and I agreed we'd try a Casper mattress. Pricey at £550, but they were advertising a 10% off for Mothers' Day, so we took advantage of course. Bit of a hiccup with delivery (bloody UPS...) but it arrived on Thurs. Kai helped me unpack and get the old mattress downstairs, and Thursday night was a dream. Sleeping through the night and waking up free of pain is fantastic. It's actually proving a bit difficult to get up these mornings, it's so comfortable! Ken's not completely convinced yet, but he seems to be sleeping well and said his back isn't so stiff, so I think he's getting used to it. It is completely different to the old-style pocket sprung mattresses, and does take a few nights to accustom oneself to the way it moves (or rather, doesn't!) It's also silent - no creaking of springs... I'm very happy with the investment.

Mon: Into town to try to organise National Express refund (no joy at the ticket office: they said to contact customer service, which I did online when I got back): buy a Crazy Fox t-shirt for Kai's birthday: then to dr for blood test. Tesco shop on the way back.

Tues: generally domestic stuff - two washes, organising deliveries, tidying up stuff. In the evening we watched Geostorm: rather disappointing, if pretty to look at. Miscast, in my opinion.

Wed: deliveries. First seeds planted in greenhouse. The tomatoes on the kitchen windowshelf have now nearly all sprouted - should be able to plant out at the beginning of next month (or earlier if the cold weather has finished).

Thurs: back into town to throw money at the bank: Specsavers for eye test. I need new working glasses and also close work ones, finally. It will be nice to be able to thread needles again, and read instructions... After that it was down to Sains to get refund for the crappy HP speakers.

Fri - Kai's 23rd birthday: woke up pain free... Had a lie in! Took the day easy as legs and back aching from doing so much the day before. Kai and I carried on watching House (up to Season 3 now). The day was generally low key: Kai had to go in to uni for a couple of meetings (it's been pretty much closed this last week as lecturers are on strike), but he seems to have enjoyed the day. In the evening we watched stuff...

And yet again I forgot to ring for blood test results (cholesterol, liver function and levothyroxine levels). Have made a note to myself to do it tomorrow.

Sat: early shopping, as Dawn was coming over for the afternoon for a fest of Children of the Stones and stayed for dinner. I found salted caramel peanuts at Ssins, so picked some up to try. Addictive! I suggested K&K try them, thinking they wouldn't like them, but Ken said they're divine and should be this year's pub nibbles of choice, so I'll have to hide them! Afterwards we watched Lucky Number Slevin, which I picked up for 49p at Broadwalk. It's absolutely brilliant! Loved it! Wish I could write like that.

And today... Mushrooms and scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast, frewtnog pool treated with blanket-weed killer, and a few more seeds on the go in the greenhouse. My second planting of garlic has now sprouted, and there are buds on all the fruit trees... Paninis with red onion marmalade, bacon and brie shortly, then Native on Filmflex for a treat. Roast duck and salted caramel torte (not together) for dinner!

Later...

Labels: , , , , ,





0 Comments:



Saturday, March 03, 2018

Just a quick catch up!

Photos of the spray. Storm Emma was still way out at this point, but the Channel was getting decidedly choppy. You can see the snow on the hills in the distance - that was the first fall, a light dusting. The real stuff happened as I was leaving.

The garden Thurs afternoon. It's melting - visibly - now. Tyjer isn't keen: I only let him out via the patio doors yesterday, as snow had just about covered the cat flap. He has full access today, but keeps coming in and settling down by the radiator in this room to warm up. It's very cute.

And this is Talbot Hill (Ken and I went to Tesco to grab provisions yesterday, ahead of the second wave of snow).

We watched Thor: Ragnarok... It's big and bold and pretty and very funny - and utterly pointless! Actually rather nice when a well-established and rather sombre franchise is confident enough to make something so completely daft!

I opened my birthday cards - many thanks, everyone! Loved them! - and a little parcel from Kai. In it was this glorious wooden wol...

And this is the face. Offended, affronted, incensed, pissed off - it's perfectly me! Kai thought it was perfect too. (Should I be worried he knows me so well? [g]) Thinking of using it as my new icon...

I have now ordered that fabulous Megatron and pre-ordered Dinobot from the Big Bad Toy Store: that's my family birthday and Yule pressies for the next couple of years! Photos when they arrive.

Probably time to wake K&K up now, for brunch. I'm hungry...

Labels: , , , ,





0 Comments:



Friday, March 02, 2018

Blogging from Bristol 

Or,

How Joules can turn a simple holiday into a Lord of the Rings style adventure...

After I posted yesterday's blog I caught the weather forecasts, and began to wonder if perhaps I ought to leave early after all. Unfortunately I couldn't get a signal on my phone anywhere on the property, so had to get Ken to ring the Millbrook taxi service from Bristol. They said the roads were hazardous and there was no way they'd go out, so that put paid to that for Wed. Jane (the apartment's owner) said she thought everything would be OK, and there shouldn't be a problem with me staying a night longer if need be. So I left it and watched a DVD after dinner...

When I got back to Prowl at 11 pm K&K were waiting on a call back from 111, as Kai had fallen ill and his temperature was over 39°, which is dangerously high. I gave what advice I could, and the dr who called back said to take painkillers and keep an eye on it, but it sounded like another of the viruses that are doing the rounds: he gave Kai his telephone number in case he wanted to check back or the symptoms changed.

With nothing I could do, I had to leave it at that for the night. But I slept really badly, woke at 4.30 and couldn't get back to sleep, and with the forecast getting worse and worse (and given that my food - and more importantly BP meds - would run out on Sat) I emailed Jane again...

She advised me to go see if there were any maintenance staff around, and ask them if the road down to the fort was accessible then let her know. I did so, and when I got back to the apartment her friend and Fort resident Sue was at the door. I explained my predicament, and she kindly rang a couple of the other local taxis for me, booking one for 10.30.

Which gave me 20 mins to get ready and tidy the apartment. Which I just managed - then couldn't find the key!

Cue 5 mins panic, which ended when I found I'd put it in my bag. [headdesk] With that sorted out, we headed off for the taxi, Sue showing me a handy short cut that meant we only had to climb a hundred yards up the hill to the turning circle rather than three hundred from the bottom.

Told the taxi driver I needed to get to the Plymouth coach station (there was a 12.35 Bristol coach that would get me back ahead of the storm) and thought getting the ferry from Torpoint then a bus would be the way to go. He did that thing with his face that tells you he wasn't at all sure about that - the road up from the Fort was icy in places and it was worse on the rest of the peninsula - and suggested getting the Cremyll ferry instead. Much shorter and faster trip, and he rang one of the other cars to meet me at the other side and drive me to the station.

So we did that - only the taxi wasn't there when I got off the ferry. And it was cold. I don't normally feel the cold that badly, but I had on two jumpers, my heavy bodywarmer, warm scarf and gloves and I was freezing. And I waited and waited, and didn't know the number to ring to see what the hold up was, and it got colder and colder. Then after 20 mins, when I was 2 mins from actually putting on the llama hat, a young lad asked me if things were OK. I explained I was waiting for a booked cab but it looked like it wasn't coming - whereupon he rang another company for me and booked a taxi (although they did say it would be a half an hour wait). At that point I decided anything would do. But the taxi arrived a couple of minutes later: the lad grinned and wished me well. So sweet! (Perhaps I reminded him of his grandma?)

The taxi driver was another grizzled older man whose daughter is a midwife at Southmead Hospital in Bristol! So we chatted as he drove me - to the railway station. Which, luckily, is only a few hundreds yards from the coach station. (He switched off his meter for the last bit of the drive, since he'd gone to the wrong place...)

The coach station is a bit bleak, with no obvious ticket office. I managed to find a National Express employee, who told me that all their services were cancelled until the weather cleared, but I could claim a refund on my return ticket. Which wasn't exactly a matter for concern right then.

There was a Falcon coach next to the empty and dark NatEx one, which said Bristol on it. I'd not heard of Falcon, but at this point I just wanted to get home. So I boarded, checked that yes it did go to Briz (stops in Bond St near the Megabus stop) and asked how much it was. The extremely grizzled older driver (is it a feature of South West drivers?) grinned widely...

"Are you under 25?"
Me: *snerk* I wish!"
Him: "Not being rude, but are you at the other end of the scale?"
Me: "Nah. Not yet. 59 on my last birthday, which was this week."
Him: "Aah, make it a fiver. I'm on commission..."

Which is how I ended up travelling 122 miles for just £5.

Nice run too - very very good and careful drivers. Even coming over Haldon, which can be hair-raising even in good weather, was a doddle. There were llamas in a snow-covered field outside of Collumpton. I found there's a Butlins on Exmoor. And we successfully zoomed through the Danger of Death red alert zone that stretched right across our path. Ken was waiting for me when we arrived at the Bearpit, and we got a taxi home.

So that was a right performance! But I got here, and there's severe disruption and transport service cancellations everywhere in the UK tonight and for the next few days, so I'm very glad I persevered.

Kai is a bit better today, though sneezing and coughing badly. Tyjer didn't want to speak to me until I'd unpacked and given him a pouch of food. I do have some more pics - including one of the garden, which is covered with several inches of snow - but they'll have to wait til tomorrow. I kind of got used to having 7 - 8 hours sleep while I was away, so the bare 4 hours I managed last night, coupled with the stress of today and outracing the storm, means I'm knackered and heading to bed soon.

Despite the last 48 hours it was a fantastic break, and I feel very much better for it. My back and legs haven't hurt at all the whole time (GOT to get one of those mattresses...) And the amount of writing I got done?

...

One page of Poppy.

But hey, that's better than nowt!

Later!

Labels: , , , ,





2 Comments:

Blogger Sue said...

Glad you are home safely and, overall, had a good time. Yesterday was absolutely bitter here and we had plenty of snow but nothing more so far today. Hope Kai recovers soon.

10:31 am  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

That was a bargain journey - if a little traumatic...
We've had quite enough snow here - bored now :)
Love to Kai and we'll (hopefully!) see you soon.

6:42 pm  





This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours? Blogarama - The Blog 

Directory