October …ing

I wasn‘t going to write an October …ing post because I have not much to write that I haven‘t already shared. But here I am, doing it anyway. Returning to my desk after a week of doing only what I wanted to do reminded me just how much I work, too much. I rarely switch off completely and I often wake up in the night, remembering one thing or another that I didn‘t manage to tick-off my list. I now have a larger group of people taking on a proportion of my coordinating and teaching roles but it takes more time at the moment helping them to find their own feet and get used to online education than doing it myself. While a temporary problem, it is tiring. 

With the wingeing out of the way, let‘s move on to October.

:: Listening (books) to Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson. A generation ship kind of science fiction saga with some fairly annoying characters and a good natured AI. For book group, I am listening to Frankie by Graham Norton. I do like it a lot so far. I also listened to Cold Open by Andrew Raymond, somewhat underwhelming. I have started listening to Blind Eye by Stuart MacBride. I can‘t decide if I like this crime series set in Aberdeen. Too much swearing, too many plonkers and a raft of bully police superiors. Alas, entertaining enough.

:: Listening (podcasts) to Women‘s Hour on BBC Radio 4. I usually listen to this on my daily walk. I am also listening to a German Science podcast, Spektrum. Most evenings before going to sleep I tune into Off Air. I usually fall asleep halfway through. Another favourite is More or less on BBC Radio 4 and the new series of Inside Health, also BBC Radio 4. I don‘t listen to my own podcast but maybe should. 

:: Watching (often with a cat on my chest) a French crime drama, after finishing the Finish crime dramas I binged on in September. It is called The Promise and you can view it on the BBC iPlayer. Sadly, the sub-titles can‘t be turned off and I find myself distracted by the not always accurate translation. The spoken language is a lot more vibrant and rich. For the Nordic dramas I watched it was possible to turn the subtitles off but sadly, I don‘t speak any Finnish, Norwegian or Danish. 

:: Sewing slowly… the animal print denim jacket I mentioned previously. I was making good progress when I was off work but have not touched it since. I am still working on my Ice Cream Soda quilt, which I started at least two years ago. I am a bit bored by it but hope to connect all the blocks by the end of the year. Just two more rows. I think I might keep the final quilt as a wall hanging. I got used to the work in progress being my Zoom background. 

:: Still waiting for my biopsy results. 

:: Cursing my Microsoft Surface Pro laptop which I have for one work task only. Considering how little I use it, it is in terrible shape. It takes two days to charge enough to start it up, doesn‘t work on mains power and refuses to function in laptop mode for the 20 minutes battery charge I get. Tablet mode is not very useful for storylining lectures… I asked for a replacement and received a twice rejected brick of a laptop that I can’t use because the software needed for editing is not installed and I have no admin rights to set it up. It might come in handy to knock-out an intruder. I am now using Annie‘s laptop. 

:: Saying goodbye to our trusted dogwalker, Tim, who is emigrating to Spain. He has been walking Jack twice a week for almost 10 years. I feel quite sad and Tim seemed a bit emotional at the final drop-off but Jack has made friends with the person who is taking over Tim‘s business. We don‘t really need a dogwalker since someone is always at home but it gives Jack variety and dog company, which enriches his life. Well, we hope it enriches his life.

:: Adapting to the dark. 

:: Enjoying my being a mentor for a 14 year old young person. It is early days, but I think he is happy to have me as a mentor, even though I know next to nothing about football. Looking out for our young people is so important, youth services are not great here. Both my teens have mentors, too. I am mentoring in a different school to avoid conflict of interest. 

:: Encouraging teens to consider the future beyond the next 30 minutes. It is as well received as hypothetical suggestions to roll in a pile of manure. 

:: Booking my next work trip, to London in November. The only hotel rooms in Central London that didn‘t breach company price policy were windowless basement hovels with shared bathrooms. I breached the policy by booking a standard room in a budget hotel. I think it was approved. 

:: Cooking food to use up ingredients. For example, pork and prune burgers with a green salad. I‘d happily never eat pork but Annie had planned to cook these when she visited but didn‘t get around it. I also made spaghetti Carbonara (a first) for the teens and I am told it was as good as Richard‘s. I don‘t eat Carbonara myself, the warm eggy sauce makes me gag. 

:: Feeling grateful for a husband who cooks most days and very often food that I like. 

:: Sorting through and cleaning out our two kitchen pull out larders. This was long overdue. Everything was a bit jumbled up since the time James and Alistair were tasked with the same job. I found a small jar of mushroom powder and a tin of mock tuna. I have never seen those before. The mushroom powder was two years out of date. 

So, all things considering, a good month. Thanks for visiting 😊