December ... ing

It is time for another ...ing post. Just one more week until winter break, I can do that. I am also taking your advice, I am on annual leave today to use up one of my 11 leftover leave days. It turns out that this year only, we are allowed to carry over 10 days so I am not losing the leave. I can sense a long summer holiday in my near future. 

Counting down the days until winter break. Richard and I break up for Christmas before the kids, which is unusual. 

Strengthening my weak ankle with physiotherapy. I have progressed to using the wobble board for one of my exercises. It is torture but I hope it helps. 

Walking instead of running. I cover the same sort of distances but it takes a lot longer. Thank goodness for audio books and podcasts and flexible working hours (one of the advantages of being an academic).

Listening to "Shuggie Bain" by Douglas Stuart (narrated by Angus King). A well deserved winner of the Booker prize. Listen to the audio if you can, the narration is superb. It is a good introduction to the local Scottish accent (a bit rough around the edges). Recently I tried to read one of the two Booker prize winners from last year, "Girl, Woman, Other" by Bernardine Evaristo but it doesn't contain a single full stop and I can't bear it, it is too difficult to read. How can a book with no full stops win a prestigious prize? 

Cooking & eating porcini mushroom risotto with green salad. Also eating fried eggs with a sprinkle of paprika. My dad liked that and sprinkling the paprika reminds me of him. 

Knitting socks. I am on my second pair now. I needed to replace some old socks that could not be darned. I noticed the other evening that Richard was wearing socks my grandmother had knitted for him. I should get hold of some of that yarn, it is indestructible (my grandmother died in 2013). 

Avoiding to open the ominously thick NHS envelope that has been sitting on the window sill for a few days. I know it is the poop test. I turned 50 this year and one of the pleasures of turning 50 in this country is to be offered a colon cancer screening test for the first time. 

Wondering what to buy our children for Christmas. Their wish lists are pretty modest and we usually give relatives first pick. Annie is the most difficult to buy for but I have an idea or two. I'll have to go to an actual non-essential shop for this (possible again from today). Oh the adventure! I feel like Indiana Jones. 

Sewing a black dress. I cut the fabric a few weeks ago. I don't need a dress because there are no occasions to wear one but I am cautiously optimistic for future occasions. If nothing else, I can wear it for funerals. I permanently live in yoga bottoms now, I have two pairs on rotation. A dress will feel very  glamorous.

Feeling very excited. Today a large bundle of someone else's fabric scraps is scheduled for delivery. It has been posted in Canada at the end of September and traveled by boat. Boats are slow but postage is much much cheaper. Fingers crossed Royal Mail actually finds our road today. Postal deliveries have been intermittent at best and we are still waiting for deliveries dispatched in November. 

Dreaming of future adventures. I hope to go somewhere different for a few weeks. I am looking into volunteering, preferably on the African continent, maybe Ghana? Of course this is a long term dream as travelling is not possible for the foreseeable future. I was scheduled to run a practical class in Malawi in February but this is postponed by a year. 

Looking forward to Christmas baking. Realistically, this is not going to happen until the 19th but that's quite soon. I made a Christmas cake a few weeks ago, it is maturing in the pantry. If the postman ever delivers my mums package with the Lebkuchen spice, we'll make a Lebkuchen house. 

Wrapping birthday presents for Alistair. He will be 12 on Monday. I hope it is dry this weekend because he wants to toast marshmallows over a fire to celebrate. We have marshmallows the size of a child's fist, he'll love that. 

Listening to Richard belting out Christmas carols. He has a fine singing voice, deep and rounded. 

And that's it all for now.  I hope you are doing well. I know life is not easy for many of us just now but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, the first vaccine has been approved in some countries and more will follow (countries and vaccines). For some of us, the tunnel is still quite long but we'll get there slowly, once the most vulnerable and those at high risk of exposure are are protected from disease. There is of course a 50% chance that I am already vaccinated but with vaccine trials being double blinded, I won't know. Participants in "my" vaccine trial can request to be unblinded if they are invited for vaccination by their health authority. By the time they get to my age and risk group, the study will be in its final stages (it runs until October 2021) so I doubt I'll have to make a decision anytime soon. 

Thanks for visiting. Have a lovely weekend xx