September ...ing

I am back from South Africa. I'll write about this in more detail later because today I want to do my monthly round-up of general news.

:: Enjoying a small number of beautiful, sunny and warm days. I am told it as nice while I was in Cape Town, too. The colours this time of year are nice, vibrant against the backdrop of autumnal decay.

:: Working like crazy to get the over the starting line of a new teaching year. We have a disappointing small number of new students on one programme and a waiting list for the other programme. All in all, I am responsible for the learning of approximately 150 students this year. It is a somewhat crushing responsibility but it is my job and I'll cope.

:: Using my upholstery/carpet cleaner on various items of furniture. I know, exciting. I cleaned the rug in James's bedroom, a truly revolting affair. I am now gearing myself up to clean the rug in Alistair's bedroom. I hope I have worked up the courage by mid October.

:: Celebrating two family birthdays, Richard and Annie. I made two cakes for Richard because I could not decide which one he'd prefer. I finished the blue linen shirt and I am pleased that he likes it even though the sleeves are a bit short. He wears his shirts with sleeves rolled up mostly, so not a big problem. Annie was in Greece for her birthday so no cake for her but we all went for a family birthday dinner before she left. 

:: Listening to The Ministry of the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. This is a substantial book with lots of voices and it is quite challenging to keep track of it all. I enjoy it but it is not an easy read. I gave up on the book group choice, The Bee Sting by Paul Murray before it even was a book group choice. It is long winded and a bit dull. I really wanted to like it because I loved Skippy Dies by the same author. I gave up 2 hours into the 26 hour audio. 

:: Keeping my step count high every day. My daily average over the past 12 months is 11,274. I am a bit obsessive about this and get really annoyed if my watch battery is flat and I only notice at the end of my walk, or if I am too ill / tired to walk... All I can think of then is how this will affect my average. I probably need some professional help with this.

:: Replenishing the bird feed reserves for the cold season. We should have enough up to about Christmas. 

:: Feeling grateful for meeting kind, generous and interesting people through my blog. I met with Moira in Cape Town and had a lovely time. Moira gifted me with South African fabric and sock yarn, which I cherish very much (I'll show you later).

:: Searching unsuccessfully for an upholsterer to replace the fabric on our small sofa. This is covered with a beautiful blue herringbone wool tweed which unfortunately turned out not to be as durable as advertised. Any suggestions (preferably local) are appreciated. For now, a blanket is covering the damage.

:: Cooking... not much but I did make a few acceptable meals, notably fresh pesto pasta with lots of green vegetables and variations of risotto, chicken shawarma and a fresh carrot salad with carrots straight from the garden. 

:: Being matched with a mentee. Finally. I haven't met them yet, I need to work through the safeguarding training. It has taken over a year to match me, probably because I am a bit weird. 

:: Watching KAOS, which is a bit silly but quite entertaining. I am also watching Deadwind (both on Netflix). The former is a British dark comedy about Greek mythology set in modern times, the latter a Finnish crime drama. It is in Finnish with subtitles. I like TV and films in original language. I wonder if I could learn Finnish?

:: Feeling the cold. Richard is still wearing shorts and sandals. I walk around the house with a wooly hat and double jumper and cosy slippers. I am not sure what I'll wear when it gets properly cold. Maybe tuck a hot water bottle under my jumper or a down filled body suit? Richard suggests a heated body warmer, one of those rechargeable one. The heating makes no difference, the cold is deep inside me.

:: Waiting for my biopsy results. I have a GP appointment next week, hopefully the results are back then. In the meantime, the synthetic progesterone seems to have stopped by bleeds. 

:: Thinking of booking a last minute short trip in October break. I am not encouraged to take leave during term but I have so many days left, I need to use them (or lose them). Alistair wants to go to Poland. I quite fancy something sunny and warm. We'll probably end up staying home because decisions are tricky. 

:: Generally feeling good but always a bit on edge.

Thanks for visiting 😊