Tag: flat

The Good, The Sad, and the Dusty

I know, I know.  It’s been ages.  Again.  I won’t try to update on everything that I’ve been up to, so here are five things: three good, one sad, and one dusty.

The Good.

1.  I have a new blog!  What on earth for, when I hardly ever post in this one, you may ask?  Well, this one has kind of got too unwieldy for me, so I’m taking out the ‘Review’ categories that I never use, and narrowing the focus of this blog to be… well, what I actually do post about, which is knitting and bipolar, for the most part.  So no real changes, except to how I think about it.  Never mind, it helps in my weird brain.  So the new blog, Frozensoul.net, is my review blog.  So far it’s all book reviews, but it’s for whatever I feel like reviewing.  TV, movies, music, podcasts, gigs, events, stuuuuuff.  I’ll probably go back to posting general life stuff and fandom rambling at Dreamwidth / Livejournal, as well.  There may be some crossover there, though.

2.  I’m going to be an auntie!  My brother and sister-in-law are expecting a little girl this summer.  Yes, I am knitting.  Mwahahaha!

3.  The doctor (psychiatrist) reckons I’m well enough to start back to work gradually!  So I’m going to be looking into the Permitted Work scheme, and speaking to the Bridge-builders worker at Together, as she has info about all of that.  So far, the vague plan is to get back to freelance web design part time, and see how that goes.  Fingers crossed!

The Sad.

My lovely fuzzy Xandermog has moved on to hog the big sofa in the sky.  He was really ill last year, and he never completely got back to full health, although he was happy and active and pesty up until he got ill again last month.  It was all very quick, and he went peacefully – lovely Adam the Vet did the necessary while I was stroking Xander.  It’s very strange and quiet to be mogless, even though he wasn’t a noisy cat most of the time.  But I’d had him for over 11 years, so I spose I was used to his presence.  I shall probably find a new furry dictator to arrange my life fairly soon.

Xandermog

The Dusty.

I’ve been spring-cleaning.  Or really, I spose it’s getting on towards summer cleaning by now!  It’s an ongoing project.  My allergies aren’t impressed, but I’m sure they’ll be happier with the final result.  I’ve sorted out a whole load of things that I was hanging on to for no good reason – hairbands and scrunchies when I’ve had my hair short for over a year with no intention of growing it again, and so on.  Old make-up, random bits of paper and fabric… so much clutter!  I seem to have all manner of things that I’ve stashed away “just in case” they might come in handy some mythical day.  But no!  I need to get rid so that I can do the re-organisation of my living room that I’ve been planning for months.  I will get it done!

Fly By

I have no time to make a the post I’d planned tonight (knitting & spinning related)… although it serves me right for leaving it so late.  I’d planned to have a nice bath, then post and be off to bed.  But no, fate intervened.  Or my Downstairs Neighbour did, by hitting the fire alarm for the second night in a row and setting it off (then hiding in his flat until the rest of us banged repeatedly on his door).  Luckily I was just out of the bath and decent again!  However, now I’ve had to get out of my PJs and dressed again because in all the drama, our neighbour from the garden flat is locked out – he was asleep when the alarm went off, and left his keys in the inside of his front door.  Downstairs Neighbour didn’t hit the alarm on purpose, btw – he’d probably had a few and made a mistake.  But there’s a £40 call out charge to get the thing fixed.  Luckily we had a glass panel so could do it ourselves this time, but… argh!  I really hope he doesn’t do it again.  But now I must get back downstairs and see what progress has been made Garden Flat Neighbour getting back into his place…

[Half an hour passes]

… Yay, go us!  Thanks to a group effort, Garden Flat Neighbour is now back indoors.  As are we all, warm and dry out of the pouring rain.  It took my ladder, Upstairs Neighbour’s Son#1 (to wriggle through GFNs bathroom window), and GFNs torchlight and assistance in getting Son#1 over the garden wall.  And now I’m going to dry my hair, and get myself to bed.

And I’m Done

Woohoo, I’ve completed NaBloPoMo for June.  I shall give myself a pat on the back… and maybe check if there’s a “winner” badge or something.  No big deal if not.

I’ve also been seeing how I can do on the Monthly Scavenger Hunt on Flickr.  This is my first month, and I didn’t get something for all twenty items, but I managed to do sixteen, so that’s not a bad start!


Mosaic of June Scavenger Hunt photos
Mosaic of June Scavenger Hunt photos


1. Abandon hope all ye who enter here, 2. Smile Though Your Heart is Breaking, 3. Call the fashion police!, 4. Veteran, 5. Bubbly, 6. Reflecting, 7. Mad, bad and dangerous to know, 8. Nightlights, 9. Prized Possession, 10. Belly up, 11. Desolate, 12. Walkabout, 13. The north wind doth blow, 14. Microcosm, 15. An elephant in the room, 16. Born to be wild?

So, what next on the blogging front?  Now that I’ve managed to maintain blogging through June, I don’t want to just stop again.  The Tour de Fleece is coming up, so I think I’ll plan to post an update on how I’m doing each day of that… which will mean it’ll be very spinning-centric around here for a couple of weeks.  I dare say I’ll ramble about other things though.  I can only say “today I span such and such a thing, here’s a photo” so many times!

Y is for Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn!

The hot weather is continuing, and now it’s got to the point where it’s really too hot to sleep at night.  Not so much fun.  Especially with a cat who’s determined to plaster himself against you!  Ugh.  I didn’t even go out today, but stayed inside knitting (my Clapotis is very very nearly done, yay!) and doing housework, all while listening to podcasts.

I was really quite productive though, which is good.  I’m tired now, yes, but the house is clean, and I’ve managed to file away (or recycle) a whole load of paperwork that had been lurking.  I can even use the dining room table again – it had been covered in said piles of paperwork.  I have every intention of covering it up again, as I want to finally sew up my Menace jumper.  Now that I’ve got started with the filing, I’m planning to carry on tomorrow.  Because yes, there is more.  I need to go through my files, too, and shred all the older stuff.  I should ask Mum to bring her shredder up when she comes over to help me consign stuff to charity donations.  My filing cupboard definitely needs some paring down.  Hah, so much for spending more time on the beach – I’m thinking up excuses to stay in out of the heat.  I get a lovely breeze blowing through my flat most days.  But I really must get out as well.  Maybe later in the week.  Too tired to think about it now.  Zzzzzzzzz.

U is for Uninventive

Which is how I’m feeling today.  I think it’s the heat – lovely as it is, I’m starting to get lethargic.  I could just go for a nice snooze right about now!  And I’m only just back from Knit & Natter at Carisbrooke House.  I think I’ll go and find something relatively mindless to do that involves me moving around.  Housework should do the trick!  Not exciting, but necessary.

D is for DIY

My brother is here today to do some DIY for me… which perhaps means it’s not strictly DIY since all I’m going to be doing is directing proceedings a bit.  It’s going to be less stressful all round this way, though.  Or at least, that’s the plan!  At the moment he’s gone off down the road in search of rawl plugs and masonry screws (and a 9v battery) while I continue tidying up in preparation for Charlotte’s visit this weekend.  Or, OK, while I sit here blogging.  But I’m going to go and get on with the tidying in a minute!

Actually, I should probably do that now, since she’ll be here soon.  Wish me luck, and firmly-affixed-to-the-walls mirrors!

Oh well

Well, I had intended to keep on posting as much as possible for NaBloPoMo, but it turns out that wasn’t to be!  My landline was dead as a Dodo for a few days, and my internet connection with it.  BT fixed it today – they didn’t have to come here, so I assume it was a problem at the exchange – so at least I’m back just in time to take part in IComLeavWe instead.  Or sort-of as well: I might as well have a go at posting every day for the rest of the month, at least.  NaBloPoMo does keep running year round anyway, so I might try again next month.  I think they have themes for months that aren’t November, which might also be a help if I run out of inspiration!  Or I could borrow an idea from Paula, who has been using an alphabet theme for this month.  That could definitely be fun.

Anyway, IComLeavWe is the name-smush for International Comment Leaving Week, so starting today and continuing until 28th, I need to leave comments for at least five people every day, and return at least one comment (assuming I have any here to answer back to, I guess!).  Off I go!

17: Workspace

The blogathon site challenged us to post pictures of our workspaces – I’m late for the challenge because I only just saw it, but here’s mine:My deskYes, that’s a didgeridoo in the corner with a bunch of fake sunflowers in the top.  And The Master’s laser screwdriver (the sonic screw driver is hidden behind that dagger shaped letter opener in the desk tidy).  There are two mobile phones because I’m in the middle of changing from one to the other.  Lots of bits of paper, remote controls for the telly and hi-fi, hand cream, nail varnish, and way more jewellery than I ever wear at once – I tend to sit down at the desk, take it off and leave it there.  Keyboard, monitor, landline phone, speakers are obvious.  As is the desk tidy full of pens, pen drives, a lip salve, nail clippers and sundry other stationery items.  Um… mp3 player, watch, meds, a stone with a hole through it, notepads, an inhaler, some fingerless gloves that Charlotte made me.  Oh yes, and a sheep and a tiny Dalek.  Hooray!

—————-
Listening to: Florence And The Machine – Girl With One Eye (Bayou Percussion Version)
via FoxyTunes

Project 365, 22nd March – 4th April

I meant to post these weekly, but I’ve gone and slipped up already.  So here are another two week’s worth of Project 365 photos.  They’re also up at Flickr in my Project 365 ’09-10 set and in the Project 365 album for this year in the photo album here (you can see the great-big full size versions there).  This time I’m going to put the medium-size pics up here rather than the thumbnails and put some comments in as well.  Ideally I want the medium pics to link to pop-ups of the full size versions, but the plugin I’m using to integrate the blog with the photo album is being a bit temperamental about that.  But with a bit of luck that’s what I’ll get.  Here we go:
Continue reading “Project 365, 22nd March – 4th April”

Project 365 #9, Days 68-82: 17th – 31st March

Back to the catching up! Here are days 68 to 82 of my Project 365 photos. If you want to see all the photos so far, click on the Project 365 category link, or check out the Project 365 folder in the photo album. Or for the most up-to-date version, try my Flickr set.
On to the pics (click them for the full sized versions):

Continue reading “Project 365 #9, Days 68-82: 17th – 31st March”

Project 365 #8, Days 52-67: 1st – 16th March

Stiiiiiiiill catching up: here are days 52 to 67 of my Project 365 photos – the first half of March. I’m going to post them in chunks of half a month at a time until I get caught up, now. If you want to see all the photos so far, click on the Project 365 category link, or check out the Project 365 folder in the photo album. Or for the most up-to-date version, try my Flickr set.
On to the pics (click them for the full sized versions):

Continue reading “Project 365 #8, Days 52-67: 1st – 16th March”

Project 365 #7, Days 45-51: 23rd – 29th Feb

Still catching up! Here’s the rest of February: days 45 to 51 of my Project 365 photos. If you want to see all the photos so far, click on the Project 365 category link, or check out the Project 365 folder in the photo album.
On to the pics (click them for the full sized versions):

Continue reading “Project 365 #7, Days 45-51: 23rd – 29th Feb”

Project 365 #6, Days 35-44: 13th – 22nd Feb

Since I’m still playing catch up, here’s yet another picdump: days 35 to 44 of my Project 365 photos. If you want to see all the photos so far, click on the Project 365 category link, or check out the Project 365 folder in the photo album.

On to the pics (click them for the full sized versions):

Continue reading “Project 365 #6, Days 35-44: 13th – 22nd Feb”

Project 365 #1 – Day 1-6: 10th – 15th Jan

I mentioned in my last post that I was thinking about doing Project 365. A couple of days later I decided that if I was going to do it, then I’d better just start before I started thinking about it too much. So I did.

Which means that I will, all going well, be posting a photograph for every day from 10th January 2008 to 9th January 2009. I’m planning to make a post every five days or so. In actual fact, I might post more than one photo for some days – this is to stop myself getting mired in indecision! I’ve set up a specific folder in the photo album for the set of photos to go in, as well. I won’t be putting them on Flickr or adding them to any group sets there, though I have joined the Ravelry group for 365-ers, and I’m intending to join the webring.

Anyway, that’s enough rambling on the theory. On to the photos (click ’em for the full size versions):

Continue reading “Project 365 #1 – Day 1-6: 10th – 15th Jan”