Friday 11th November - Armistice and cross stitch

 Armistice day - we shall watch the cenotaph procession on Sunday.

Here's a link to a pattern for a cross stitch poppy, should you wish to stitch such a thing. You will find out later on this blog if it happened or not. You could nearly use it as a knitting chart, but be warned - knitting doesn't come out exactly square as the stitches are wider than they are deep, or is it the other way around? Anyways, it might not matter, but then it might... 

There aren't any words to describe the horrors of war, and to be honest, I shall stop at saying how grateful I am that there in spite of all that is really not right in this country, being at war, be it civil or international, is not one of them. I pray it stays that way, and that we can do something to assist in the bringing about of justice, reconciliation and peace in the places where this is not the case.

More bloggery tomorrow. I've emails to send, letters to write, lessons to teach...

Thursday 10th November - Still on top of things - How long can this last?

Ten days into November and I'm still roughly keeping on top of things.

Admin; writing up and emailing the note for yesterday's piano lessons, posting the notebook for this month's swap (my notebook partner's book dropped through the letter box today - hooray!)  

Housework; washed the windows in the small bedroom which catch the morning light and annoy me when the sun is shining and shows up every mark and smear. The cobwebs were something to marvel at - all due to that big black spider that scuttled into the crevices as my wet soapy cloth came near.  

Sewing for the post card project; it is a minor marvel that I am already part way through this month's design. 

Knitting; I'm suffering from second sock syndrome, you know, the sock I was going to finish last February? I've had a torrid time with it and in the end started again.

Christmas; What?!? I hear you cry! I've wrapped a couple of presents ready for a family meet up in a few days, so save posting them as one is heavy and the other flimsy.

Other stuff; I had a brainwave, and waited until I was alone in the house to explore my plans for a major furniture reshuffle involving me new desk, the ailing Roland digital harpsichord, my stationery trolley on wheels and a small filing cabinet on wheels. I managed to get everything measured, drawn up on graph paper and little shapes cut out for the relevant items before He returned from his work to find - well, it could have been worse. I had managed to restrict myself to paper cut outs, and not physically move anything while he was out.

The harpsichord needs a replacement power supply (Roland don't appear to make that particular one  anymore) and the power strip it plugs in to needs replacing as one by one the individually switched sockets have stopped working so only one is functional. 

So step one will be source the power supply, step two is a biggy, because the lead for the power strip goes BEHIND the tall cabinets to the socket behind the furthest one - there is a hole cut into the back of the cupboard at that point (are you still with me?).

As a gesture towards this, I have given up my wastepaper basket to become a home for all the knitting needles which were in the way.

But now, where shall I deposit all the little snips of paper and stray threads? This is perfect. Youtube to the rescue.

And here are the instructions. If, like me, relentessly chirpy cheerful musak drives you mad, you can perfectly well watch it with the sound off. Although there seems to be a cute little giggling baby on the track at one point.

Wednesday November 9th - No one is talking about this - Patrica Lockwood

 This was the last book club choice, after much dithering...

I'm still thinking about it. The oldest member of the group who is in her 80s and a voracious reader had finished it within a day or so of the meeting, and whatsapp'ed the group with her opinion that it was terrible and we should choose something else. But while we were all dithering and discussing she whatsapped up again to say on reflection it was worth reading. 

One by one we embarked upon the journey.

It is like nothing that I have read before; the main character lives her life entirely through the internet and social media, and the book is written in snippets and paragraphs, sometimes as much a a whole page, but all disjointed and incoherent and - I have no words to describe it.

Here's an extract; see what you make of it...

I do/did spend a lot of my time on the internet - I don't go on facebook so much these days, maybe every week or so. But I blog, and read blogs, and use twitter a little bit. I shuffle through youtube for videos on this that and the other, surf the net for information and ideas, recipes, how to prune clematis, sew such and such a stitch, knit using 'magic loop', or whatever.

I never made it through the whole of the book, reading just a couple of pages each night I was just about to give up (there's no rule that says you HAVE to finish every book!) and whatsapped the group for their views.

'Is it going to be like this for the whole book?'

'No, stick with it - it changes in part 2'. So I skipped to part 2, and was pleased that I read to the very end.

It's not for everyone, and the second half is very different in content although similar in style, and I have been left thinking since I finished.

Would I recommend it? Depends who I am speaking to....        

This month we are reading 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog' by Muriel Barbery. I don't think it is going to be about hedgehogs, though.

(The great thing about using kindle is that you can download a sample before you buy.) 

Tuesday 8th November - swimming along to the dentist

Just as we set off this afternoon, there was a real cloudburst - sudden, and luckily quite short as we hadn't gone more than a couple of hundred yards when I uttered the fateful words 'the back door IS locked, isn't it? By the time we had turned right at the end of the road, and right again at the first junction, and right again and returned to our house, (taking all of thee minutes) the rain had stopped. And yes, we had locked the back door...

That was just a lucky break in the rain for us - it pelted down down the first part of the journey so we drove through standing water and gushing gutters and, at one point, through a flood covering all of our side of the road, so that the on-coming traffic had to squeeze over to let our line of vehicles drive slowly and sloshily through.

Then the rain stopped, and the sun came out, and as we drove up the steep hill to the top of the North Downs the trees were glowing in all the autumnal greens, yellows, oranges and brown. Just wonderful.

The dentist who has taken over the practice was as careful and as gentle and as kind possible. The little thingy that puffs air to test for sensitivity uses warmed air! Oh frabjous day! 

I'm just going to have to endure the hygienist net week - but the dentist assures me that the water-pick also uses warm water - calloo callay! 

My BB is going to have to have a couple of sessions fixing a few problems over the coming weeks as well as the hygienist, so we shall be choosing the meals carefully....    

Coming home in the dusk, I watched the huge new moon just above the trees; smiling benevolently, or so it seemed.

Silver

 

Slowly, silently, now the moon

Walks the night in her silver shoon;

This way, and that, she peers, and sees

Silver fruit upon silver trees;

One by one the casements catch

Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;

Couched in his kennel, like a log,

With paws of silver sleeps the dog;

From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep

Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;

A harvest mouse goes scampering by,

With silver claws and a silver eye;

And moveless fish in the water gleam,

By silver reeds in a silver stream.

 

Walter de la Mare

https://www.poemtree.com/poems/Silver.htm

Monday 7th November - Tigger, Eeeyore, and bounciness

 “How did you fall in, Eeyore?" asked Rabbit, as he dried him with Piglet's handkerchief.

"I didn't," said Eeyore.
"But how--"
"I was BOUNCED," said Eeyore.

I have been putting off making a dental appointment for several weeks - Summer was cataract operations for BB, and then we waiting for the Covid boosters, and then for the flu vaccinations, and all the time my teeth felt reasonably fine so I wasn't worrying. 

However, these past few days the twinging molar has become - more twinging, shall we say, so I phoned the dentists. Our beloved dentist (yes, I can call him that; he had the gentlest touch and was almost the only one to do any work on my teeth for the last 36 years apart from his daughter who had the same light touch, and once or twice when there was a locum who was equally good) he retired. I suppose if he is about the same age as us that is not too surprising.

Our children have given positive feedback about the new dentist, so I phoned expecting to make an appointment for a couple of week's time.

'Yes, that's fine, we can fit you in tomorrow afternoon'.

I know just how Eeyore felt.    

Sunday 6th November - November proper

A couple of days of mostly rain, with a few dry moments. This is what November is usually like. I have been feeling slightly chilled all day. Of course, we could have clicked the heating up... but I wrapped myself in a blanket instead.

Our daft cat seems to enjoy getting wet - she's always been the one to stay out in bad weather. She still goes out out in all weathers even though she is in her 20th year, but more frequently, for shorter periods of time.

Each time she reappears, soaking wet, she likes to be dried off with a tissue, or kitchen paper, or when she is really drenched, an old towel.

Several times a day....

She is looking a bit moth-eaten at the moment, as her thick winter coat keeps forming into clumps of felted fur. I vary between teasing out the hairs as she slowly stops purring and starts looking thoughtful, eventually taking a warning swipe at my hand if I do not heed the warning, and just cutting out the clumps with round-ended scissors. I don't want to cut too much fur off or she will look even more tatty, and feel the cold as well!