November ...ing

Some late autumn photographs (taken in between the rain) 

Hurtling through time (though luckily not space) at breakneck speed... Having recently declared to have reached the end of my work list of things to do, things have of course gotten out of hand again but I am getting better at asking for help so maybe there is hope for. The rest of my life is almost completely list free (exception below) and I plan to keep it like this. I would hate to have a list that tells me to wipe the kitchen surfaces on Tuesdays and put the dinner in the oven at 5 pm (or whatever). 

Listening to Arthur C. Clarke science fiction. I am on a total roll, now listening to 3001 A Space Odyssey. It is the only one in the series that I was not familiar with. Who would have thought Frank Poole comes back after being shot into space by a psychotic artificial intelligence 1000 years previously? Did you know that Stanley Kubrick's film 2001 A Space Odyssey was released before the book? I didn't either.  

Knitting my second second pair of autumn socks. Autumn is sock knitting time of year. 

Rediscovering my sewing machine. She is a beauty! For weeks I didn't have the energy to decide what to make next. I find this kind of inertia paralysing. So to break the spell, I made a staple garment, a simple long sleeve raglan t-shirt to wear under my linen tunic dresses now that the temperatures are cooler and heating is becoming a luxury. 

Thus enthused... cutting into waxed cotton fabric for a bag that I want to sew. I am making the Factotum bag by Merchant & Mills. I made a lot of tailor tacks to transfer pattern markings onto the fabric, a bit soul destroying. 

Sneezing and coughing - first good old fashioned cold in two years. I had forgotten just how miserable a cold can be and just how unpleasant Lemsip is to drink.

Loving my orchids in bloom. My chocolate scented orchid has produced a single stem with 9 dainty maroon-pink flowers for the first time in many, many years. The orchid with no name keeps producing single stems of bright orange flowers, one every two or three weeks. And best of all, the little orchid from Colombia finally got over the shock of moving to Glasgow and is producing a flower stem, ever so slowly (trying my patience!) 

Birdwatching, always a pleasure. My binoculars are next to my computer so I can distract myself from unpleasant emails (there is always one, without fail).

Looking forward to the Christmas break. I know, a bit premature but it keeps me going. 

Eating out. Richard and I went for a meal last weekend. It is nice to sit down for a meal and enjoy the creative cooking of a talented chef. I liked my deconstructed cheese cake for pudding most of all. 

Cooking continues to be a chore but I made delicious lentil bolognese the other day and we have tofu in the fridge for tofu fried rice with vegetables for another day. 

Starting a new running programme (having completed the previous one). I like structure for my running and I am more likely to exercise if someone tells me when to run and how long for (even if that someone lives inside my phone and is not a person at all). I am increasing my runs to 4 from 3 per week and add a bit of speed work. I know, I sound like a pro but trust me, I am still running at walking pace by anyone else's standards. I did my first tempo run today, it nearly finished me off (all 10 minutes of it).

Considering a career change. Is it too late? What transferable skills could I bring to a different type of work? Is it worth giving up a somewhat secure job with diminishing pension to chase a dream that I can't quite articulate? 

Feeling excited... tomorrow Pippin is coming home from the small animal hospital. I bought her a new name tag with updated phone number to welcome her home. I also got one for the little fat cat you can see in this post. She didn't care at all. Cats, eh?

So that's that's November. Let's hope for a more exciting December! Thanks for visiting.