I am going to go for the highlights rather than the tell the time as it is, simply because my memory is not that clear. I have had to try and remember back and things have happened since and things slip off the top of the pile.
Right lets see. I managed writing group a fortnight ago, for the second week running. What is more I was worrying over missing them last monday when I remembered that it was half term, so there was not a meeting. Its a group of about twelve which meets regularly, most of the others are writing novels, there is one specialist poet and then there are a handful like myself who are still exploring mediums or would that be better described as unsettled. Anyway we are planning to have a whole day next week on plotting a novel, should be interesting as one of the reasons I don't write anything longer is I am not confident that I could plot it out. I am pretty sure if I had a plot I could write the story around it because the plot itself would provide the way to divide the story into writable bits. Anyway I have a PhD thesis to plot eventually.
I don't think anything particularly happened on tuesday or wednesday but thursday I was out interviewing for my PhD again only this time I decided that the headache on my right hand side was not serious enough to be a migraine. Actually I was fine driving out, but the interview was less satisfactory, whether because I had not given the information packs in advance, natural reserve or my migraine meaning that I was not communicating as well as I normally do. However the clear sign I was not functioning properly was I had the recording all set up but did I think paused it right at the start. A typical under the weather mistake for me. So I only have recorded the last question of the interview. The journey back was scary as I realised that my brain was now decidely showing signs of migraine and I did not feel safe (I am not sure what the other options were).
Friday was a writing day although I spent a good deal of it analysing the interviews I had. Saturday was also a writing day. Sunday I used most of the day to write with but went to the Just Desserts in the evening as much because I enjoy Just Desserts as any other reason. The session theme was what do we mean by Lord when we use it of Jesus. Started off by us trying to find common phrases meaning "Lord". Had an argument over whether it mattered to God when we sinned. The person was saying it did not because God would love us anyway. I was saying that it did matter precisely because he loves us. Then again a talk afterwards with David when we said that to see the call to discipleship as that to obedience is really too weak, the call, or invitation is more similar to falling in love with God. Perhaps not a bad thought on the day after valentines day. Mind you I think I had the best valentines greeting I could have got that evening. David and Trisha's son is mildly autistic. He came up to me an said "I like you" and walked off. No agenda just the bald statement. He is actually very good when with the congregation, just like a minister he will work a room and greet and talk to everyone individually.
Monday I finished the essay. Actually spent a long time putting in sign posts and when I got it back for proof reading I was still up the creek without a paddle in places. Those are the very hard bits to edit as I have to suss what I meant from the gibberish that I wrote and sometimes the two are so intertwined in my brain that I have great difficulty doing so.
Tuesday was Mum's eigtieth birthday. So the whole family apart from Adrian came over to Sheffield. It at least started out as a sunny day with a hint of spring in it. So much so that the kids were quite happy putting their hands into various fountains and Mum and Dad when we first stopped for coffee decided to try sitting outside. I think we counted five on our route up to the Peace Gardens. That was including the big one in the Peace Gardens. We gave the poor waiter a terrible time as there were six of us all wanting hot drinks, with five different types, I ordered decaffienated Lattes Mum and Dad, Sam was a Hot Chocolate with whipped cream, Hannah was a decaf-cappucino with whipped cream, my sister a milano hot chocolate, and me a decaf soya latte. Being by the Peace Gardens Hannah and Sam (provided they stayed within view) could run around while the adults drank and chatted. When Mum and Dad decided to go to the loo I took Hannah to go on a fairground ride that was in the Peace Gardens. Cathy waited to gather up the rest. Then we went for a stroll around Fargate. Cathy needed to get money out, I needed a couple of birthday cards and there were other rides which Sam might like to have a go on. Unfortunately Sam chose a ride where you always got a prize. This seemed unfair to Hannah whose ride did not have prizes and she burst into tears. Also Mum and Dad were then taking Sam to Blacks to get a late birthday present, I could not see how if he got his birthday present we would not have a bigger and greater squall. So I took Hannah into Boots opposite to get something specially for her. This had a double effect. Firstly she got something, secondly she did not see Sam getting even more. We then walked down to the No1 Chinese Buffet . This is a favourite with Sam and Hannah and as both Mum and Dad like Chinese food we thought it would be a good place to have lunch. We were the first group in although it was half fall by the time we left. It is help yourself and somehow Dad managed to not just get on his plate small dark red chillies but eat one which then lodged between his teeth. He tried drinking water and such, to little avail until I went and got him ice-cream, I bought him a very small helping but was sent back for seconds!!
After dinner we then caught the tram up to the University and walked up to Weston Park Museum which was pretty full but not packed. Early on mum and dad decided they were tired so went and sat down and waited for the rest of us to go around. The RSPB had a competition on the go and Sam wanted to enter it. Hannah and Cathy went hunting for animals in the next room but did not find either a weasel or a mouse of some sort. When they came back to the table, Hannah found they also had colouring in so we went to look for the weasel and the mouse but only found the weasel. Then went rather quickly through the rest of the displays. So we then walked down via the Hallamshire Hospital to my flat. I forgot that most of the way was rather steep down hill and we regularly had to wait for Mum and Dad to catch us up. In the flat we had afternoon tea which was bog standard for Cathy, coffee for Hannah, Green Tea for Mum and Dad, Lemonade for Sam and Lime and Ginger tea for me. However Hannah was worried by this time that they'd miss the train. This was silly as we knew that there was well over an hour before the train. However she managed to get my Mum worried so we ended up setting off for the station about an hour before the train. Unless a tram breaks down there is no difficulty in getting to the station in an hour. Mum and Dad chose to wait on the platform while Hannah by far the smallest of us, demanded that she had her sandwich on the way home, so we went to Marks and Spencers. Cathy thought this was due to the fact she had been told that was what they were doing so there was NO WAY she was going to not have her sandwich.
I had a migraine Wednesday and Thursday. I think due to a lot of small accumulations during the day before which had just tipped me over the balance. Friday was a normal working day.
Saturday I at last had my post Christmas pleasure shop. So went and spent some Boots tokens on make up and went and spent the book tokens I had got for Christmas in Waterstones (the Sheffield branch do take book tokens). So now have a good selection of lighter reading to get through. I also bought the wool to make an amigurumi tortoise for my Mother and also to make a cat for myself.
Today I went to Chesterfield in the morning and then did some plant care this afternoon. So all my pot plants and my heather and looking as if they have had a bit of a haircut and have been fed and watered. It has been the sort of day where I was begining to worry that if I did not deal with them soon they would start to have this years growth on them and it would be too late.
Next week I am down to Birmingham again and I have a busy week work wise.
No comments:
Post a Comment