Obstacles

So I recently discovered a source for a small amount of motivation and was hoping to turn it into a great rolling boulder of productivity but today I have hit an obstacle. As I was standing up to leave for work I leaned forward and picked up a bag (not a heavy bag). While stepping forward and straightening up something in the very middle of my back popped. Pop! Actually it was kind of between a pop and a ping. So much pain! Luckily Neil was still home. He helped me to the floor, got me some pain killers, gave me the phone so I could call work and eventually helped me to the bed.

Gradually the pain has become manageable. I've discovered if I breathe out when I move then it doesn't hurt as much.

It's so frustrating though, to have hit a obstacle. Why does this happen to a procrastinator? Doesn't the universe know it's hard enough to muster up a smidgen of momentum when productivity is at a low?

I'm still hopeful for tomorrow. If I can move I am going to get the first three things done on my to-do-list for sure. If it's harder to move I'll consider accomplishing one thing a success. Tonight I keep breathing and try to move as little as possible.

For Todd

Peanut butter noodles

This recipe was taught to me by Neil when we were still at university. It was the favorite of me and my roommate, and is the simplest meal I've ever made.

Ingredients:

• noodles (we usually use egg noodles or spaghetti)
• bell peppers/capsicums, sliced
  
• onion (spring onions are best or use slices of red onion or shallot)
• chicken, cubed (optional)
• cashews or other nut, chopped coarsely (optional)
  

for the sauce:

• peanut butter (use cruchy for added texture)
  
• rice or white wine vinegar
• sesame oil
• honey
• soy sauce

Method:
This is the tricky part to describe. Cook the noodles as per the instructions on the packet and stir fry the bell peppers, onions, nuts and chicken as you like. For the peanut sauce mix about a table spoon of peanut butter, honey and vinegar with 1 to 2 teaspoons sesame oil and soy sauce. The sauce is not an exact science and should be tasted to determine if more of any ingredient is needed. Add the sauce, noodles and stir fry together then eat. It's even better cold after a night or day of marinating together. To be fancy save some slices of spring onion for sprinkling on top as a garnish before serving.

Enjoy!

Turkey casserole (also known as hot dish)

This is my favorite way to use up turkey leftovers (and that includes turkey sandwiches). It's a hot dish (this is what we call casseroles in North Dakota and Minnesota) that my Mom has always made. Last year was the first year Neil and I cooked a turkey and I asked my mom for this recipe... I'm pretty sure this hot dish was the whole reason I wanted to cook a turkey in the first place. Thanks Mom.

Turkey (or chicken or ham) and macaroni casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (about 5 ounces)

• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 ounces)

• 1 1/2 cups cut up cooked turkey (can substitute eaqual amount of ham or turkey if desired)

• 1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems & pieces, drained (or I use a a couple handfuls of fresh cut into slices)

• 1/4 cup chopped pimento (optional, and I've never eaten it with pimento)

• 1 can (10 1/2 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup (My mom usually substitutes mushroom soup)

• 1 cup milk

• 1/2 tsp salt (My mom and I usually omit this because canned soup has enough salt in our opinions)

• 1/2 tsp curry powder

Instructions:
Heat oven to 350 F/175 C. Mix all the ingredients in an ungreased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Cover tightly and bake for 1 hour.

All the ingredients are usually in my cupboard (except the turkey) but last year I didn't have curry powder so I substituted a sachet of curry seasoning from a packet of ramen noodles which worked perfectly. One other tip is that I usually halve the recipe because Neil isn't fond of pasta or casseroles, which works just fine but takes nearly just as long to cook (about 45 to 50 minutes).

Enjoy!

unfair pricing

I could make this a long drawn out story because I've been following my current hair stylist from salon to salon over the last two years, but the gist of it is that when I found him I stepped into the salon asking about prices and he handed me the brochure. In one of my more outgoing moments I asked him if there was a different price for really short women's hair because it specified after a certain length women would be charged more. He looked at me to gauge how I would react then said, "I don't want to offend you, but your style would actually be considered a men's style." I wasn't offended, especially since a men's style was at least £15 cheaper than a woman's style. That was the start of our hair relationship. He's been great: good conversation, good styling, good price. Today's appointment has upset the goodness of the relationship. When I arrived the receptionist told me Andy (this is my stylist) wasn't in today because he may have broken his pinky finger. Poor Andy! Another stylist was available and since I hadn't washed my hair and was heading straight to work after I kept the appointment. She was nice and cut my hair without problem but when it came to paying she became a problem. She said that basically Andy shouldn't be charging me for only a men's style (£18) but rather a women's style (£32). And that she's been told by her boss (the salon owner), who is going to have a word with Andy about it when he comes back, that she has to charge me £32 and Andy will be doing the same from now on. I explained to her that I think it is unfair I have to pay nearly twice as much simply because I am a woman. She said she understood my perspective but that she has to charge all of her customers the same and so does Andy. I was getting special treatment which she couldn't let go on.

I feel frustrated and angry and ready to take on the establishment about this. It's not right. Andy books me in for a men's style so I know it doesn't take any longer in time and that my hair is actually less complicated than some of the men's styles I have seen. It really angers me enough that I want to never return to that salon, but I don't think that's fair to Andy. He's hinted that he might be leaving that salon for another and today I am really hopeful he's telling the truth so that I can go back to my fairly and reasonably priced hair cuts. What should I do in the meantime though?

Overrated virtue

The other day I happened upon a blog that covered an interview with a writer. One of the questions intrigued me: "What do you consider the most overrated virtue?" Her answer was "neatness" which I can agree with. But it made my wonder how I would answer that question. The more and more I think about it the more and more I consider both sides of the rating issue. From my perspective neatness is very overrated (the dishes will be cleaned even if I leave them looking very dirty by the sink until I have time and enough desire), except when Neil is cooking and I wish he could just sweep up the flour he spills on the floor instead of overlooking them. He's not a slob, but he's not always the cleanest either. But neither am I.

So then I wondered how I would define virtue. I ran (by means of mouse and fingers) straight to Wikipedia, which defines it as "moral excellence." Now that's an intimidating definition. What a scary thought to be "good by definition." I can admire virtue, but I can't relate. So I guess I'm not going to answer the question because I think virtue itself is overrated, and that rating is extremely situational. But still it's good to consider virtues, because it's reminded me that I would like my admiration to be situational and not judgemental.

That's enough philosophy for today though.

Today's little bit of joy

If I hadn't stopped to take these pictures I would have been completely on time for work, but these two shots make being two minutes late for work very worth it. First of all I would like to show you my favorite path to walk.


I know it doesn't seem like much... and I guess it's not. But this is why I love it:

Every autumn, without fail, walking to work puts a smile on my face -- a very big smile. The child in me loves playing in leaves. And this path (which is next to the regular path and really only leads to the Cambridge Chinese Community Centre or the playground beyond) fills with huge leaves from the lovely old trees between it and the real pavement/sidewalk. Apparently the council only likes to rake the leaves once a year so for a couple of weeks I wade through huge leaves unless the weather is too soggy. This morning was probably the last of 2008 that I will be able to happily walk through the leaves. Gosh it's fun and a great way to get to work.

Words I miss using

1. duplex
2. pants*
3. route**
4. roof**
5. candy
6. yeah
7. mall*
8. tv
9. got
10. call

*2 and 7 are used here but they mean something else so I miss using them like I first learned to.
** 3 and 4 are words that they use here but I've stopped using them because people here point and laugh at the way I say them.

Cauliflower

So I have a new way to enjoy eating cauliflower -- roasted. I found it on Brownie Points. It's such a simple recipe: a little oil, a little salt and cauliflower. I've never enjoyed eating cooked cauliflower because of the mushy texture and metallic taste. My favorite way to eat cauliflower is marinated in a vegetable salad. Lots of raw vegetables (tomatoes, olives, cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, onions), Italian salad dressing (a herby vinaigrette), and time. Marinated vegetables are best eaten in the summer though, with burgers and chips at the lake. But roasted cauliflower is just what I need since cauliflower is in season now when it's getting colder each day.

Hurray for new ways to eat vegetables! My hunt continues for a way to enjoy eating squash -- now that would be an amazing recipe.

Definately a bad day...

So I think I might have given myself whiplash when I fell yesterday. My neck, shoulder and arm hurt so much that not even regular doses of paracetamol laced with codeine plus ibuprofen seem to help much. Plus, it was a slow day at work today. They were good to me though, gave me a lot of sympathy despite the fact that I do a lot of stupid things and they have to give me sympathy often.

Tomorrow I have the day off. Nothing but rest and study planned -- despite the fact that I need to vacuum, wash dishes and do laundry. Those things will wait until my arm is up to it; or at least until the painkillers start to work.

3 reasons

There are three reasons that today should be a bad day.

1. I was late to work because, as I went to get my bike from the shed at 8.30, I discovered my back tire was totally flat and I had no money for a bus ticket.

2. After work, I decided to get the bus home. I was about a minute from the bus stop when the bus passed me, so I started to run for it. Then I fell -- and I mean fell -- face flat on the pavement. No blood involved but a lot of sore muscles, sore wrists and a really sore knee that is swollen and most likely going to be purple tomorrow.

3. When I got home I discovered Neil was sick and very unhappy.

There are also three reasons today should be a good day.

1. Work was very busy today and I got to work two hours on reception. Reception is the best part of my job. It's crazy and some of the customers are stressful, but there's so much variety and so many chances to help people and solve problems.

2. On my way home from the library I found an all day bus ticket valid for today.

3. When I told Neil about my face-on-the pavement flop he didn't laugh, he sympathized. I appreciated that.

Collections

Today's HSMSHS prompt is to take a photo to show off collections. I had to stop and think what collection I have. Although I'm a woman who likes the look of pretty shoes and handbags I'm too practical to actually buy enough for a collection. I used to collect thimbles but I haven't since I left my parents' house which is where that collection remains. I also used to collect mugs but the size of the collection became impractical so I gave away most of them. I guess the only things I have in enough numbers to be considered a collection are books, but there isn't really a logic to my book collection. Plus when I need more space I get rid of books I no longer have a need for. Did I just hear you gasp?

I guess I wouldn't consider myself a collector. I wonder if my husband does?

Halloween pumpkins afire

We had our annual Halloween celebrations last night which ended with our pumpkin lighting extravaganza. We were happy to have Michele join us this year and our dress-up theme (characters/people from Mythbusters) didn't detract from the night at all. I always worry that theme parties impose too much pressure on the fun. Instead it added a very creative element and a little bit of experimenting to the festivities.

Enjoy some photos of the night...

Autumn

I know I've been a little absent. But that's life right? Sometimes you gotta just live it.

Today's HSMSHS prompt: Autumnal - A characteristic of or occuring in Autumn.

This is my favorite time of year. I love the colors. I love feeling comfortable wearing a scarf and mittens without a coat. I truly look forward to taking walks to see orange and gold and red trees, to pick wild berries and to come home with a warm body (having been wrapped up in a scarf and mittens) but a chilled nose. Few things in life make me so peacefully happy.

A new perspective

Neil and I took a walk along the River Cam on Saturday. This is not unusual since we live so close and it's a lovely walk leading us right to the grocery store. But Saturday we crossed the nearest bridge (we haven't done this in years!) and walked the opposite direction to usual. I don't know if it's up river or down, but on our side of the river we can only walk towards town because to go the other way we would run into a fence and private land quickly. The other side of the river has a gravel path for walkers, cyclists and dogs that leads all the way to Ely supposedly. Saturday we decided to find out just how far we could go. We're not sure where we walked to, and the path continued on, but I decided we should return to Cambridge for a pint at the nearest pub and a study afternoon (well, what was left of it). I love walking in Autumn because you can walk in sunshine without getting sweaty. I especially like when the weather is just cold enough to go walking with a scarf and mittens but not so cold you have to wear a coat. I know, I'm weird. Perhaps next weekend when I've finished my essay and a report (I have two to write) we will attempt the walk again. It's beautiful! (If you come visit I will take you on a walk by the river, even if I still don't know where the path leads.)

Oh, the picture is from our way back. There was an old tree stump jutting out of the hedge as you can see. Although Neil's shoulder was sore he offered to climb up so I could take a photo. It's not that he wanted his photo taken; it's that his inner boy loves to climb on things but his outer man needed an excuse.

juicy floating combo

I comblined the HSMS prompts from yesterday (floating) and today (juicy).

I have an obsession with "crunch factor." I like food that has a crunch (only when appropriate, I do not want crunchy cake). I like my vegetables undercooked rather than risk over cooking them. I add seeds to my salads to ensure a nice crunch in every bite. My favorite salad when I worked at camp was cottage cheese, raisins and sunflower seeds because it was soft, sweet and crunchy! (And it was less frightening than the aging lettuce.) This obsession means I like to float croûtons on my daily bowl of soup. My favorite is Bertolli's Pepite, but today I had generic croûtons that met my crunchy needs.

And peaking out from behind is my answer to today's prompt- juicy. What you just barely see between my bowl of soup and very messy desk is a Pink Lady apple. It is currently my favorite variety of apple. I still enjoy a nice, crisp, tart green apple... but Pink Ladies are reliable - always sweet, always crisp, always juicy. But not as juicy as a pear-- who wants a fruit to be so juicy it dribbles down your chin?

I feel like I should explain why my desk is messy (it's much messier than I let you see in this photo). The truth is that my desk is almost always strewn with papers. Today it was extra messy because I had a complicated bit of forms to fill out and hadn't cleared up the piles of paper already existing on my desk. If there is one thing I have learned about myself it's that I have a natural piling system for filing. Not the most efficient system, but it works. It's something I should work on, but there's not much time to work on it at the moment. Perhaps I will rid myself of that fault one day... or perhaps it will just always be part of who I am. For now it's something I'm not going to worry about.

Blue

So I was supposed to be looking for a 'row' of something today as that is the HS/MS word prompt... but instead I saw this plant with beautiful blue flowers growing next to a rubbish bin and post box. I like how observant this photo prompt thing is making me. Hurray for keeping the eyes open!

It's official

I am now a coffee drinker.

Every morning since last Sunday I have had a cup of coffee (with milk and sweetener). It started because I had no Pepsi Max on Sunday and if I didn't have at least one glass of caffeine I was going to end up with a headache that no tablet would help (unless it was a tablet of caffeine). So I had a very milky and very sweet cup of coffee. It tasted nice. Over the week I have slowly reduced the sweetness - I'm down to two sweeteners now.

Why don't I just deal with the headaches and kick the caffeine addiction? It would be cheaper, it would probably be better for me (although the calories in one cup of coffee each day is manageable) and I my happiness wouldn't be dependent on caffeine anymore. I like flavor. I drink water, but sometimes I crave flavor. So now I'm a coffee drinker.

packet lunch

Each working day, when I get home, my cats are VERY ready for me to feed them. Maegan is waitin' atop the fridge for love and her biscuits whereas Owen greets me at the door with a yell and won't leave me alone until I set down his watery chicken filled bowl. Then I get to sort out my lunch. The last few months, apart from a day here and there when I had leftovers or a purchased sandwich, my lunch has been soup - soup because it fills me up, it's easy to heat up in the steamer and it's easy to count the calories.

Today Maegan had a special treat of wet food for lunch thanks to Ocado's penchant for giving away free stuff - making today a complete packet lunch.

Sweet

So it took a week. But I stood on one of the busiest roads in Cambridge today and snapped this photo, prompted by two things.


1) Today's HS/MS prompt word is sweet.
2) On Saturday Neil pointed out this ad while we were on the bus and I couldn't get a good look at it. He is a complete Cadbury's chocolate addict and was very interested that Cadbury's has a new product out... but we didn't know what it was, he'd just noticed the ad without having a good look. On my walk home today I saw this ad and I'm sorry to report that it's chocolate with bits in it. The cranberry and granola bar looks tasty to me, but Neil is a chocolate bar purist (nothing with bits in it, unless it's a candy bar or a cream egg). Sorry sweetie.

September: outlook optimistic

So today felt really great. Nothing amazing happened, and it was hard to get my bum out of bed - but it was a good day. I think it's because as a kid I was used to September being the 'start of the year' because of school. And perhaps because I still work in academia I feel like it's the start of the year (although our students don't come back for a few more weeks). The start of the year is always good - I always feel like anything (good) can happen.

Today I was also sort of surprised (I knew it was coming, I just hadn't remembered it could be today) by starting my training for a new part of my job. It's a little surreal to be in the same job for 6.5 years but beginning training for something totally new. I joined the ILL (Inter-library loans) team today and spent two hours learning the basics and sending new loan requests to the British Library. I had a bad caffeine withdrawal headache and a case of persistent yawning... but I still totally enjoyed it. I've known that this was coming since June, but I didn't think it would be so organized as to begin precisely on the first day of September.

I also came home to discover that my research problems were fixed and I could get on with an assignment I'm determined to finish by the 20th of September. Determined!

My camera came with me to work today so that I could finally take part in the photo blog that I read regularly. The word prompt was gate though, and caused two problems: 1. I wasn't inspired by any of the many gates I pass on my way home (it's about 37 minutes / 2 miles from work to home). And 2. I was struck by a fear of looking silly if the owner of the gate noticed me or by the traffic. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get over that and be able to take part. I did take a picture of my 'decorative corn' plants... for some reason I'm quite happy with them.

The book

(This is a long one, just to warn you)

So I think it's time that I mentioned some of my thoughts on the book that dominated my free time for nearly a week and has frequented my thoughts ever since – The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I was totally captivated by this book.

1. The love story is central and strong – but definitely not cheesy or over the top. I think the plot and time line seem completely original, yet I know many love stories and novels about time travel have been written.

2. There is a point at which Clare meets Henry for the first time and vice-versa; but one knows the other first. While reading there are continual thoughts about the inevitability of their relationships. Their love and lives together are simply fact, not even fate. But that's not depressing, just thought provoking. The plot seems totally reliant on the wacky time line, and yet it feels more like time is reliant on Harry and Clare. This wacky time line means that it is important to tell the age of the main characters (Henry and Clare) at the beginning of each section of time, but this is distracting at first... the only downfall in my opinion although it's totally necessary. After awhile you just glance at it and refer to eat if necessary.

3. The flitting back and forth in time, affecting the past while old and young, the future while young and old, and the present as normal, young and old lead me to think about the possible inevitabilites of life (not just their relationship). What I am doing now my future self has already done, if time works like that – whoa what a mind trip!

4. At first it seems like Henry knows everything before Clare, but at some point (when Clare is 20) Clare knows more than Henry. There is no chance to feel sorry for one more than the other. Their relationship is completely unlike “normal,” but they are still just trying to do their best. For this I could relate to them. Niffenegger did a great job of making these characters believable despite the improbable timeline.

5. My work colleague said that it was “science fiction for women.” Which I can understand as he's a fan of science fiction but his girlfriend made him read this book. I don't want to agree with him, I don't think it's as simple as that. There is time travel and discussions of “medical science” in it but I don't think the dominating love story has to be just for women, nor do I think the science has to be only for men (yes, I am a feminist – no I will not vote for John McCain just because he has chosen a female running mate). I think the plot and time line are what they are and can be enjoyed by any gender. I do know men who like fiction, not just science fiction... and I also know women who much prefer science fiction to anything else.

6. Niffenegger tells the end of the plot about 100 pages before the end – but like the rest of the book that just made me want to read more because it wasn't the end of the story. This book stresses that life or even just this story wasn't about the beginning, middle or end it was about all of it – including the transitions between each stage, despite which comes first.

It's such a complicated love story. And Niffenegger never seems to get confused by it, which means the reader never gets confused by it either (although I'm sure you all are probably confused by my explination by now). As someone who has romantically dreamed of being a novelist since I was very young, I marvel at Niffenegger's ingenuity and creativity and engaging style. I'm sure I will be reading this again and loaning my copy to everyone I can. And anyone who wants to have a conversation about the book please, please, please comment.

Good weekend

Neil and I had another lovely weekend. Nothing specifically wonderful happened but this morning I have the feeling of just finishing a good weekend. I've designed a few new cards and become a little ahead of the September birthday game (and finally caught up on a very delayed graduation card). Neil has been working on a new project which he's excited about, I like it when he's excited. Unfortunately, I feel kinda guilty because I'm finding this project difficult to get behind. I'm being as supportive as I can and I'm sure it will look wonderful when he's finished. I just get nervous about building a large water container from scratch and projects that mean Neil's testosterone levels sky rocket. He's not very relaxed when it comes to the frustrations of diy (do-it-yourself). So far so good though.

It was a good weekend despite watching some bad films. We watched Ju-On: The Grudge 2... please don't bother. I'm easily scared by horror films but even I wasn't convinced by this one. I don't remember seeing the first one, but Neil says this sequel seemed like they were just cashing in and lacked the story to do a decent job. We did watch the whole thing though, which is more than I can say for Hellboy. It was recently on telly so we thought we'd see if it was worth going to the sequel which is coming out in the theatres now. We won't be going to Hellboy 2. Which is odd, because we've really liked other things involving Guillermo del Toro.

It was also a good weekend despite our suffering garden. We took in our last tomato harvest, and it's a big one. I need to find space to ripen tomatoes and things to do with them after. Tomato blight hit the crop again this year, but counting or blessing we at least managed to ripen some tomatoes this time. We won't be deterred! We'll just rotate our vegetable plan and try again next year. In the meantime, anyone have a great recipe for tomato sauce that I can keep in cans to use for pasta and pizza over the winter? I mowed late yesterday, about 7pm (I can do this because it only takes a half hour to mow our grass, at the most). After finishing we had a wander around the garden pointing out the good, the bad, and the ugly. The ugly was already gone since we'd taken out the tomatoes on Sunday. But the bad is that we have a lot of hard graft planned for the winter in the form of digging over lots of soil, digging out lots of rubble to possibly extend the pond, and digging in more soil for the front flower beds. Lots of digging. We also need to plan the vegetable garden a little better so we order our organic seeds and start our plants off on time. The good is the fabulous looking decorative corn and things we learned from all the herbs and flowers and vegetables we planted this year. Gardening has a steap learning curve, but it's very rewarding and there's always next year to do improve. I'll try to add a picture of the corn later when the sun comes out (hopefully).

Pizza! Pizza!

This is such an easy pizza dough recipe that I thought some people might actually want to know about it. It was developed (based on existing techniques and recipes) by Neil.

The recipe:

Group A

150g of strong bread flour
1tsp of sugar
2tsps of yeast
250g of warm water (hand hot)

Group B
30g of oil
1tsp of salt
250g of strong bread flour

Mix ingredients of Group A together in a large bowl then set aside (someplace kinda warm and not drafty is good) to double in size. Then add ingredients of Group B, knead about 10 minutes (we rarely ever knead for more than 3 minutes if making pizza dough) and set aside to rise again. Use for pizza crust, bread, rolls, even donuts.

On Monday night we used it, with some slight alterations*, to make this...... and a small deep dish pizza that was so tasty we couldn't wait to dive in before I took a photo. We also used our latest tomato harvest to make the tomato sauce and tomato slices. Maybe someday we'll be able to make a pizza entirely from ingredients in our garden. Lets see, we'll need a wheat field, a mushroom forest, a cow or buffalo, a sugar cane field, onions, tomatoes and herbs. 3 out of 7 already!

* These alterations were due to a lack of plain bread flour and my herb fixation. I had enough strong plain bread flour to start the dough, but not enough when adding group B. So I used strong soft grain bread flour which gave a really nice nutty flavour and a bit of crunch. I also added some fresh chopped rosemary to the dough which made it smell fantastic!

And this week...

Looks like I'm turning into a weekly blogger. I don't want to be, I've discovered there are usually enough things on my mind to blog every day or two. I have been busy, but I've also been lazy lately and one of the victims of my laziness has been this blog.

Last week I was obsessed with reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. I'm going to blog about that on another day because my mind is still swimming with thoughts about that incredibly original novel.

This past weekend Neil and I did something totally unusual for us; we rented a car and didn't go to either Ikea or a garden centre. LOL! The purpose of renting the car was to go to Clowne, Derbyshire to meet our new niece. She was utterly tiny and utterly gorgeous. Neil was smitten. He only gave up holding her because she had to feed. We got in the car to go home and both wished that we lived closer so we could hold her and spoil her more often. But we'll do our best to love her and spoil her from a distance.

On Sunday we drove to Great Yarmouth, Norfolk for a bit of seaside walking, sunning and sand castle making. Some pictures:
The sun came out late but was most welcome. We ate too much, although it felt like we didn't eat much at all. I tried my first cockle. It was edible, but too gritty to eat again by choice. That was the best seaside treat I've ever had: a pot of prawns, cockles, king prawns and crab sticks. The only shame was that it was served in a polystyrene cup. The cup was most useful for making the top of our castle though, as we didn't come prepared with bucket and spade. Next on my list of seafood to try is the whelk.

Today I'm trying to focus on my studies by taking regular breaks so I can intensely study in between. Not working so far, but I'm trying. The next break will be to collect the ripe tomatoes from the garden for tonight's pizza making, but before that a lot of reading about collection management.

today's garden harvest

Neil and I collected a good looking harvest from our modest vegetable garden today. What do you think?


This is the second harvest of the tomatoes and potatoes. The first harvests were cooked and eaten right away (and I didn't think of taking a photo until we'd sate back with full tummies). They made delicious roast potatoes and a tasty tomato sauce, respectively. It is the final harvest of beans though, I pulled out the poor plants today which have been devastated by slugs, snails and caterpillars this year but still provided beans a plenty, they were some hard workin' organic dwarf bean plants!

We also took in a crazy tomato today.


Neil thinks it looks like an angel; I think it looks like a rabbit; what do you think? (Don't say tomato, because we know it's a tomato.)

Finally

In high school I was one that groaned at the idea of reading Shakespeare, just like the rest of my classmates. Mrs. Skauge started a love affair that year because I have loved The Bard since that first reading of Romeo and Juliet. Having professed my love for the writings of William Shakespeare it may seem quite peculiar that I only went to my first Cambridge Summer Shakespeare plays last Saturday... to be honest, it is quite peculiar. I'm so glad I finally went. Nothing like a willing house guest and an observant husband to finally get me out to a college garden to watch Puck and Oberon and Hermia and all those wonderful characters playing about. We saw A Midsummer Night's Dream in the garden at Girton College. It was very entertaining and I laughed a lot. Then my brain kept wurring over the details.

My favorite part was the wall in the 'play within the play.' It was so clever with its modern references while keeping the role true to Shakespeare's intent. The actor who played both Oberon and Thesius lacked interest. He was type cast. The actor playing Titania/Hippolita was the same. Puck was great until intermission and then she lost that real sense of playfulness. So basically, the players were average or below but the Shakespeare was wonderful and I hope to go again soon. It's just a matter of deciding which play.

This theater outing has rekindled my dream to see Shakespeare performed by the RSC in Stratford. Maybe that's how I'll celebrate my 30th next year.

Good day

Life happens. :-)

We're inching closer and closer to getting pictures taken of the study. The carpet tiles arrived today (thanks to my lovely neighbor who signed for them and helped me carry them from her house to mine). I haven't checked all the colors, but the one I did see looks very good. The cupboard doors have been quite the pain in Neil's everything this week. All we wanted to do was replace the door handles. They match the door handles I stupidly bought based on looks and not substance. How was I to know that beautiful and expensive hardware would be put together so poorly!

This weekend we have a couple of house guests (which may mean the carpet tiles get layed faster, or it may mean they get put off all together). One is a regular visitor who even has his own key to the front door. He's always welcome and it's always great to see him. The other is Patirck who hasn't been to Cambridge to see us in quite some time and has never seen the house except in pictures. He was suitably impressed. Now on to the adventure!

Personal radio

So it's been awhile since Neil and I had a radio. The online stations just don't seem worth the effort (at least not when we've tried). And when we rent a car we usually end up quite annoyed with the radio DJs and commercials. We miss hearing new music, but we don't want an expensive radio nor do we want to listen to music out of little tinny speakers when we have a great set of speakers hooked up to the computer network. We still like the albums we've purchased, but they get boring due to predictability from time to time. New is good. Neil mentioned last.fm to me and we set it all up last night... I'm loving it! It's like a radio station full of what I want to listen to, new songs and artists that are similar to things I know I like, and none of the annoying banter or commercials. Last night I listened to artists similar to Imogen Heap, and it really worked, they were a lot like her (if not actually her or her band Frou Frou). It just played in the background and it was perfect. At the moment I'm listening to things similar to Indigo Girls... not all have been good, but then I just ban it and skip ahead to the next song. Wonderful!!! Oh, I can also say that I love something and it will save it to a play list for me. There are lots of other features (including that it will make recommendations from both WMP lists and itunes lists) so if it interests you I'd suggest checking it out.

Happy Birthday Neil in a digi layout

If you have good enough eye site to read the schedule on the layout you'll see our plans changed from going to the aquarium. I was too impatient when the aquarium website took ages to book tickets. So when we arrived at the Aquarium and the queue was out the door our adventure changed to viewing the 3D Deep Sea adventure at the IMAX. It was a good alternative plan. Oh, go see Wall.e if you haven't yet... it's fantastic!

Redecoration continues

As you can see (if you've been here before last Sunday) I did a little redecorating again. The purple just wasn't working for me. I like purple, but it just wasn't what I wanted I like this green one. I'm not thrilled with the picture but it's a good shot with a smile. And in a way I kinda like looking at it knowing that I've lost weight since then. If you saw me now you'd see it in my face that I've lost weight. That makes me happy. The green makes me happy too. My favorite color is actually orange, but green makes me happy too.

The photo was taken by my friend Jessica when she was here visiting me. This shot was near the pond at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden. If you ever come to visit I will take you there (if you want to go). It's one of my favorite places in Cambridge. The rest of the banner was made using products from Scrap Girls. If you want to know the product list then leave me a comment and I will belatedly post the list. But as for now, it's back to real life decorating. The study is looking really good (and yes, study works better than den in m opinion). We just have one more coat of matt white on two walls and the ceiling, a coat or two of gloss white on the skirting and door, a shelf to add, carpet tiles to purchase and fit, and a portion of wall to paint green.* That may sound a lot, but when I think of all the work we've done so far this week... the light at the end of the tunnel is much more visible, so to speak.

Today is going to be an errand running day, even if it is Neil's official birthday. Happy birthday to my lovely hubby Neil! He's decided he would like to go to London on Sunday to celebrate. This is because we can have sushi for lunch, go to the aquarium, and then finish the day by seeing Wall.e at the BFI. Sounds like a nice day out to me, a great way to finish off our week's holiday, and the perfect way to celebrate my love's birthday (food, fish and film are three of his favorite things). Today's errands will be exchanging a couple of Wii games for store credit (hopefully), dropping off a friend's birthday present before she dashes off on her two week holiday in Wales, looking for curtain fabric, and picking up the last of the 8 foot shelves. We ran out of time to pick up the shelf on Tuesday since we had dinner reservations at Loch Fyne (lovely, lovely food) and yesterday was filled with rain. It's gotta be nice when we go because we have to walk the shelf home. It's 8 feet long... do you think they'd let us on the bus with it? Today looks sunny apart from a probable afternoon shower. I'm going outside to enjoy this while it lasts.

*I crossed these items out on July 11th. Woo-hoo! We're gettin' it done!

Happy 4th!

Happy Independence Day to all my USA family and friends. Everyone here keeps asking if I'm celebrating. We are, but very low key. We're grilling some chicken and vegetables on the bbq tonight. No fireworks as I'm not really a fan of small displays, I've been too impressed by the big ones over the years. If I had more friends from the States here I would suggest we all had a great late night party around the fire pit, but, alas, I don't.

My fondest memories of celebrating the 4th were days at the lake starting with a boat parade, followed by lots of swimming and eating and card playing, then everyone (usually at least 11 of us) cramming into one car - yes this involved the smallest people riding in the trunk - for the fireworks in a nearby alfalfa field. I have very old memories of my Dad and Uncle John setting off fireworks from the end of my Grandpa's dock but that tradition ended when we were young - I think it had something to do with wooden docks and fire not being a safe combination, and the expense of fireworks that had to be collected outside city limits, and the men having to run away from the firework on a aging dock. Good times with family. I miss my family. I hope they're having a great day at the lake.

Queries on collection management

This is a question for any library staff that may wander this way. In my collection management module (my current module for my Masters in LIS) there are three questions I should ask the professional staff at my library to learn more about the official collection management policies. I thought I'd open it up to the general public to see if I could learn more than just what my library does.

The questions:
1. Does responsibility for evaluation and review appear in relevant job descriptions?
2. Do the post-holders allocate time for this work? (if yes, weekly/monthly/sometimes/never)
3. Are targets set for achieving evaluation or review of defined parts of the collection?


They're all yes or no questions, but if you respond please tell me which library you work at, or at the very least where your library is.

Many thanks! Information is what I like!

Consider yourself warned

Pauline emailed this link to all of us at work and she warned us well that it was addictive. I thought I could handle it, that I'd just play a couple of times but I was wrong. I think it's because it's so slow at our reception desk at the moment that there's no reason not to play. Anyway this is a game to test your reaction time on the BBC website using sheep and tranquilizers. It's fun, but be warned that it's addictive.

If you're competitive... my best score so far is Rocketing rabbit with an average of 0.1568. Let me know what your average is if you choose to play.

Delayed surprise

So on Monday I weighed in (on the Wii) to discover that I somehow lost 3 pounds since Friday. Hurray for me! My Wii Fit chum was a little worried that I lost the weight too quickly, he's such a worrier. The more exciting bit is that I've kept it off this week and continue to lose, although much, much, much slower. I've lost about a half a pound since Monday. My Wii Fit chum isn't worrying so much anymore.

To be a cat in the afternoon

Sometimes I really wish I could be a cat in the afternoon. I feed ours when I get home at 1 o'clock in the afternoon and when they're finished they find a comfy place to relax and digest. Maegan's safe and comfy place is always above the refrigerator (this is where she gets fed as well). Maegan and Owen don't get along because Owen can't help but hunt her.


Owen used to sleep as near to me as he could while still being comfy, until last week. The weather has finally become wonderful here and the herb garden has been growing well. Owen is a herb lover, just like me. He's like a kitten again when he sniffs the thyme or the nibbles the mint. His favorite place at the moment seems to be just in front of the miniature apple tree and underneath the dappled shade of the fennel and oregano.
Doesn't this make you wish you were a cat in the afternoon?

Good morning from Owen

When Owen, our medically dramatic but lovable cat, wakes up enough in the morning to find me in the study/den this is how he greets me:

He comes in, gives me a little yell (due to one of his medical dramas he can't hear and therefore can't meow properly), then digs his claws into my leg so that I will pet him. Sometimes he stays there and pats (with claws) my elbow until I pet him again. On occasion he desires a little more attention and decides to pull himself up into my lap. Due to the same drama that left him deaf, he's unable to jump up higher than a foot. He's got strong front legs though and if he can dig his claws in then he'll attempt a climb. We love him, but often wish his claws were less sharp.

A change

It's all change around here. We're in the midst of redecorating the study/den (I can't decide which is the best name for purpose without sounding pompous). So I decided I could keep that decorating momentum going and do a little layout change on here too. How do you like the new banner? I'm not totally happy with it... I don't think purple is quite how I want it to stay. The sweet pea picture was the only one I was happiest to show off for the moment, so for now purple it is. I can't decide on the colours for the study/den either. Green is a definite, but to accent in blue or pink is the question. Pink would be very feminine and I'm not normally very feminine. I like the freshness of green, pink and white (the walls will be white) - but would that seem cold in the winter? However, dark and light blue with green is nice and a bit more practical (we have a blue futon in the room and my teapot and coaster are dark blue, light blue, green and white striped... and yest they are the source of this colour scheme option). The idea of practical is what is putting me off I think; sometimes I just get tired of being practical. On the other hand, I don't want to decorate twice.

I thought today might be a good day to add a little info about my blog title. Why student4life? When I joined a message board a couple of years ago I was just in the middle of the first year for my Masters course in library and information studies and felt like I had gone back to the begning of things, being a student again. I loved it and disliked it. Still do. I love learning and discovering new things. I'm so tired of feeling like I can't get on with life because I'm still studying about how to do it. So student 4life is both a declaration of wanting to learn for my whole life and a feeling of desperate fear that I will always be studying, feeling guilty that I'm not as studious as I mean to be, and never have free time again. It's a double edged sword that reflects the joy and guilt of study in my life, but mostly it's just who I am... a student for, of and in life.

Splurge: to spend money for fun

The day before yesterday I splurged on some new digital scrapbooking supplies from Scrap Girls because I was inspired to make a blog header for a friend of mine. Thankfully she loved the surprise. I like crafting and doing random fun stuff for friends, and finally I can do that again. I don't do that enough. You see I live nearly 4,000 miles (on average) from most of my friends. I have friends here, in Cambridge but not nearly as many as I made in the 22 years I lived in the USA (reasonable considering I've only spent 7 years here). I have been making a calendar for a friend here. I do it month by month and she's loving it. I design the pages on the computer, print them and give them to her. She enjoys them and I delight in making a friend happy. Few things are better in my opinion.

So now that I know how to make a blog header - and more importantly how to add a blog header to a blogger page - look out for some redecorating around here.

Don't give up

I know it's a little early to give up on blogging, I only started this week, but I was. I wondered if I should really be taking the time, if I really had enough of something interesting to say, if I was just using it to avoid studying, etc. But this morning a lovely person, someone I've never met or heard of or knowingly crossed paths with in any way left a comment on my first ever post. How wonderful! For now I'm going to consider it a much needed sign to carry on.

And I'd like add to anyone who may be browsing at someone's blog. If you want to say something to agree, politely disagree, or just to encourage... go for it! That's why it's a blog and not a journal.

New variation on a previously new theme.

Although I think I gained a pound overnight because of it (and I know I gained a pound because I weighed in on the Wii this morning) I'm still marveling at the wonder that was chocolate, rum and raisin bread pudding last night. We were having Mexican food last night, which here means flour tortillas and salad with all the trimmings, so I suggested we have our favorite Mexican pudding... chocolate and tequila. However we don't have any tequila in the house, the last bottle we had gave us headaches. Instead of making a special trip to the store we decided that rum and raisin sounded good, and we always have rum. Always. It was lovely. Neil is so adept at bread pudding and he used just the right amounts of the extra flavors, in my opinion. Unfortunately there is a lot of pudding because he's not so good at portion size - so I may be gaining another pound tonight. Oh dear, and tomorrow is goal day too. Don't think I'm going to make it. I suppose to be a good blogger I should have taken photos to post on here. Guess that's going to take a little bit of practice. Perhaps I'll start leaving the camera out of the bag so it's more accessible. That's one of those tricks I heard about getting more candid shots of one's children, but how do you know where the camera is all the time?

In the beginning...

I suppose most, if not all, blogs start with an explanation. A reason that random mutterings and thoughts are being posted for anyone and everyone to see. But I can't say I know completely why I'm starting.

I seem to spend quite a few moments each day catching up on the blogs I have bookmarked as interesting to me. And I admire the freedom, the sharing and the adventure of blogging. So I suppose this is my attempt at being part of that and hoping that at some point my blog might be listed as of interest to someone.

I haven't a strict plan for this blog just yet. I suppose I'll write about my interests: librarianship, freedom of information, reading, gardening, digital scrapbooking, crafts, music, traveling, adventuring and life. I tried a discussion blog before but I never received enough responses to keep it of interest (to me or anyone else). I might try that again here and there though, because I like conversation. For the moment, let's see where the adventure takes us.