Bank Holiday Monday

It didn't rain! Well, a bit of drizzle first thing doesn't count, not for a Bank Holiday in England.

So my daughter-in-law and I went to the Surrey County Show and saw chickens and horses and birds of prey and lots and lots of dogs. My daughter-in-law is a great animal lover so she was thrilled, especially when a puppy jumped into her arms!

They had stalls for clothes and toys and solar panels and masses of cars. I bought some sandals, which probably sounds boring but when you have wide feet getting shoes that fit is a big deal. One year they had a telegraph pole set up for climbing and I went to the top of it but there was nothing like that this year.

We ate lunch in the bar tent. There's something about the smell of grass under canvas; I suppose it brings back memories of camping when the kids were small.

I hope you all had a good Monday, whether it was Bank Holiday for you or not. And happy holidays to all the families who have half term this week!

(I didn't remember to take any photos so the one above is off the official website. I hope they won't mind!)

Oops!

picture by ictioscopio

Some of you know that I have CFS and have done for a few years now. I've not found much that helps: meditation and pacing plus "nutritional support" stopped the downward slide, but what helped most was vitamin B12 injections. They were recommended by an NHS consultant and given to me by my GP.

Today I received a letter telling me that my B12 injections would stop forthwith, and my son and his wife have five more weeks then theirs will stop. Apparently, using B12 for CFS is against the NICE guidelines and my GP surgery won't do it. Nothing to do with budget cuts, obviously.

I've been feeling better these last few weeks since I did the Lightning Process and was wondering about reducing the injections then tailing them off but I can't believe that stopping them this suddenly is anything but countertherapeutic. I worry for my son, who is very poorly indeed with CFS and is mostly housebound. Oh dear.

So, now I'm off to find out who can help: PALS, an ombudsman, CAB, the prime minister. Or maybe I can go private. I really didn't need this.

Not a pub crawl

Yesterday I went to Worthing to see my sister for her birthday and we went on an antique shop crawl in the Kemptown area of Brighton. We started at MetroDeco for lunch. It's an amazing shop: a tea room upstairs and a showroom with 1930s furniture downstairs. I fell in love with an Egyptian-looking screen but as it cost £2,500 I decided I could live without it.

We visited a dozen shops and ended up with tea and cake at the last one. Very civilised. If only my camera took better pictures! (The top picture isn't even mine.)

Any more ideas for a "not-a-pub" crawl?

Ramster

We found Ramster gardens today. They only open in the spring and they're glorious: they had colours of rhododendrons that I didn't even know existed. Sadly, my phone* battery ran out so I can't show you the oranges, salmons and yellows. It was almost overwhelming. There was a lake, too, with baby moorhens.

I got a few photos and for some reason the best ones all had my Beloved in them.

*This phone has the same problem as my last one: if I don't charge it it doesn't work.

Mind Control

Ever wanted to be more like a cat? Well, now you can be.



Thanks to Mind Hacks for finding this amazing video!

Brainwave!

I realised this morning that with all the story sloshing around in my head I could in fact put it down on paper (OK, on screen) in summary form. What I've decided to call "an outline".

What? You mean someone else already thought of it?

OK, maybe I didn't invent it. But pouring out all my thoughts onto the pc has helped. Now I'm not worried I'm going to forget a major plot point while I'm writing a scene about something else. Why did it take me so long to think of it?

Rubbish

Image by Ambernectar 13

I wrote over a thousand words today but I feel like it's all rubbish. The trouble is that I've got a story in my head but typing it out is too slow and too linear so what I end up with isn't what I want. I wish I could just dump it all out on the screen in one big lump but that doesn't work.

Still, at least I'm writing again!

Busy

I've been busy. I made these:

The top two are crochet and the bottom one is knit for my sister. It's all I've been doing lately.

But today I wrote 600 words of a story. My writing mojo hasn't gone completely. Yay!