tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22924250771428262182024-03-06T00:02:17.009-08:00This Little LifeLady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.comBlogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-71031499119229922192013-06-09T14:17:00.001-07:002013-06-09T14:17:59.743-07:00Not far, as it turns out<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwEnqRHi7expAcdgVP2r4JuGKaRndytAH0Q5Xmq1wKi8wXpR7gV604-zKNxtWvImIuc4xqyvcfGj9c0tuOHDeiw6WmUYuMzJzxGZzP-vAzjjqU_FDN_NUZEl6P4Tw-W-5L07t2fIg_5E/s640/blogger-image-2060935273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwEnqRHi7expAcdgVP2r4JuGKaRndytAH0Q5Xmq1wKi8wXpR7gV604-zKNxtWvImIuc4xqyvcfGj9c0tuOHDeiw6WmUYuMzJzxGZzP-vAzjjqU_FDN_NUZEl6P4Tw-W-5L07t2fIg_5E/s640/blogger-image-2060935273.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">We only got as far as the back garden today. It's nice playing at home and the boys enjoy the freedom to do whatever they want to do. The only trouble is that when I tell them it's bedtime they have a horrible feeling of having achieved nothing with their day and I am scowled at by three very dirty faces, who all think that it's my fault the day hasn't been better. They're so funny. They've had a ball, playing with their friend across the back, digging, making potions, trading football cards, playing a gigantic game of cars in the dirt and generally being fun and adventurous and creative boys, but because we haven't spent any money or been anywhere, they think the weekend's a failure; whereas I think it's a huge success. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">James is the scowliest. Some days he tells me that he hates me. He says it with a smile, but he really means it. He says it to shock me, but it never does.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">They won't be with me next weekend, so I'm glad it was so nice today and yesterday. When we're at home I don't see much of James and Thomas now because they play at Oliver's whenever they can. But Matthew tends to get bored there, and he comes back to help me make tea or just chat to me. Today he chatted to me as he made me some pictures and secret notes, and while he pruned the acers with my craft cutters, and pulled dandelions out of the patio. He's amazing. He's so great at pottering and finding things to do. There's a big brain in that little head, and it's so fascinating watching it develop. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with it. I'm looking forward to seeing what they all do, because I'm sure they will each do very different things. Thomas is outdoorsy. James is ... hmm, I don't know ... James is just good at everything he tries, but he's very interested in music and dancing. He has good rhythm and a good ear. I think that Thomas will do something creative, but I can't tell what. Something combining creativity and being outside. I said this to him and he looked happy with it and said 'yeah, I know, I'm going to be an outside artist'. Mmm. Well, why not.</div>Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-64288083673509277242013-06-08T14:07:00.001-07:002013-06-08T14:07:40.548-07:00Blogging from my phone? What?!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div>Let's give this a shot then. I have an app, I don't know how well it works, but let's do a little test and find out.<div><br></div><div>So, as you will know, summer is here. An untidy house just has to wait once summer arrives - it would be a terrible waste of time to spend the day hoovering and folding great piles of washing when the sun's out and it's not too hot for walking. And when you've a spare loaf of bread, you might as well go for a walk along the canal and feed the ducks, really.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLV6GLU5UOyf0LuJVGit6cpb4Xc6b05RRGSd-6k1v3jFwyOqj2UPSuMH69DXnSzkjlcU-12QulZnIA6YBC7UTy7XpfFCNqV1M21rvMN4QQjJz6kCp1C__Wz51SIrZ-6WKteyutZTDxzw/s640/blogger-image-91073916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLV6GLU5UOyf0LuJVGit6cpb4Xc6b05RRGSd-6k1v3jFwyOqj2UPSuMH69DXnSzkjlcU-12QulZnIA6YBC7UTy7XpfFCNqV1M21rvMN4QQjJz6kCp1C__Wz51SIrZ-6WKteyutZTDxzw/s640/blogger-image-91073916.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And then you might as well go and eat chips on the prom, if you live near a prom. And while you're there you might as well have ice-cream.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd2qP1lxftDxOdlhwsaunAQnh7-tv_pFwj6lVdjWiP03_F_Mqk3r3Xq4Z9icjwtmYk7BsSzFyt5Kiw4wt67C2NVn3TnoFbqG-ihkeRlgBFlyQ97MLYbQ1oPD7FRD8PAyz-AMl4FlThwj0/s640/blogger-image--1297755190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd2qP1lxftDxOdlhwsaunAQnh7-tv_pFwj6lVdjWiP03_F_Mqk3r3Xq4Z9icjwtmYk7BsSzFyt5Kiw4wt67C2NVn3TnoFbqG-ihkeRlgBFlyQ97MLYbQ1oPD7FRD8PAyz-AMl4FlThwj0/s640/blogger-image--1297755190.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And then you might as well just chill out and mess about on the grass and take advantage of the fact that it's not soggy and boggy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy8K6hLFnbRwK2laFM1unQugXJPH4RKhWmYeEF8S__0LsdIG3OZEdQsxkQ54zRdJyOeMB3lb9G6IB85_bVOS2FLUoGOCDALUNHEeokBTdl4bYJmxZcTnk8r_pXz1zt8XdP9s1PtAVXumw/s640/blogger-image-1833768455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy8K6hLFnbRwK2laFM1unQugXJPH4RKhWmYeEF8S__0LsdIG3OZEdQsxkQ54zRdJyOeMB3lb9G6IB85_bVOS2FLUoGOCDALUNHEeokBTdl4bYJmxZcTnk8r_pXz1zt8XdP9s1PtAVXumw/s640/blogger-image-1833768455.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">A thoroughly lovely late afternoon and early evening. I wonder where we'll find ourselves tomorrow ...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHGSrdRX01LPJUPhEI3L1tJoCEHkXbLpfIIbaUgubjlU1SrtFRkhxvj45pGLEGr7-U3icOhuxb0xGzjoyM2VZCDhNomszPsKMJNYixK_HLZrhOY4AqSx4jRRNMnNSUNIQiGbMJjGI180/s640/blogger-image--307451401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHGSrdRX01LPJUPhEI3L1tJoCEHkXbLpfIIbaUgubjlU1SrtFRkhxvj45pGLEGr7-U3icOhuxb0xGzjoyM2VZCDhNomszPsKMJNYixK_HLZrhOY4AqSx4jRRNMnNSUNIQiGbMJjGI180/s640/blogger-image--307451401.jpg"></a></div><br></div></div></div></div>Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0Lancaster Lancaster54.058392 -2.816822tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-58150763437658365462013-03-09T05:30:00.000-08:002013-03-09T05:30:07.604-08:00Life is always so surprising - in a good way though.Once again life has changed. I always enjoy a change as it's like giving the world a good wash, with a delicious new bar of soap, making it all fresh and clean, cleansing the pores and really getting rid of all the dirt. <div>
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This setting hasn't changed. I still live in the same house, with my little boys. But it looks different. It hasn't been decorated or anything. No, it just looks different because we do different things in it. The person whose life has changed the least is James, my middle son. Matthew, the littlest, has started school, so his life is completely new. And he's thriving (now - it took a little bit of settling in), and is doing exceptionally well at school. </div>
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It's mine and Thomas's lives who have changed beyond recognition (that's a bit of an exaggeration). Thomas is no longer in school, and is being home educated by me. Things, academically, haven't been going well for him for the past three years or so. He's fallen further and further behind the rest of the class. His reading picked up a little this year, but not enough to make the transition to senior school anything other than extremely difficult. We discussed it for a long time, and my mind changed back and forth many times. Finally, last week, we decided to go for it. </div>
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And it's been super. Thomas has worked hard, and has surprised himself I think. He loves it. Mostly I think he loves being able to stay at home with me, which is a bonus. But he also loves having someone with him to explain everything that he doesn't understand. The school system doesn't allow for that, so he would just have to muddle along as best he could there, as so many children do. We tried to do what we could at home, but after school isn't so great a time to concentrate, when all of the brain power has already been used up, energy levels are low, and quite frankly, kids are just sick to death of having to think about maths. I am able to do this for him now because I am not working (proofreading can be done when Thomas is doing some work that I've set him, or in the evenings). It means that my things get put on hold for a while, but that's not a problem. I have to put Thomas first just now, because I'm really the only person who can get him ready for senior school - his teachers at school were doing a useless job of that. I was getting the impression that his teacher and teaching assistant didn't like him, because he seemed to be getting told off every day simply for being behind and not doing well in tests. I wouldn't have minded them telling him off for being naughty, but telling a child off for struggling academically is ridiculous - actually, it's cruel, and it's bad teaching. He was coming home almost every day feeling more and more stupid, telling me that each day was just as bad as the last. We sorted the bullying problem with the children, but it was starting to feel as though he was being bullied by the teachers. </div>
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Now perhaps you might think that I should have gone into school and demanded that this be sorted out. Well, we've had dealings with the head teacher (who is retiring at the end of the year, thank goodness! At last!), and the class teachers before, and whenever a parent has any criticism or grievance, the staff close ranks and deny everything. Parents get absolutely nowhere. The head never gives an inch. She's a terrible woman. I knew that if I went into school my criticisms would be taken badly, and no extra help would be forthcoming for Thomas anyway. Teachers only work with the children who are at the top of the class, and the useless teaching assistants provide a little help for those who are struggling, and my shouting my mouth off to the head will not change that as long as she's still there. So I just pulled him out of school, and sent them a letter to inform them of our decision. </div>
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It was mostly Thomas's decision. He was free at any time to change his mind, and I'm so proud of him because he asked so many questions about it, and looked at it from every angle. He worried about missing his friends, and he changed his mind a dozen times. But once he'd decided properly, he was ready to get on with it. He came to me the night before what turned out to be his last day, and said 'tomorrow is going to be my last day'. We talked about that for a while and he said that he definitely was ready to pull out of school, but that he wanted to get on with it now that he'd made the decision. He said that he didn't want to be waiting around for a week, in school but knowing that he was leaving - he knew he would find it nerve-wracking. So that's what we did. He went to school the next day, really just to see his friends in class one last time, and to collect his PE kits, and then the next day he was at home.</div>
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He's been at home for over a week now, and it's been brilliant. What we've found is that we have plenty of time. He has done maths every day without fail. We've started easy, on Key Stage 1, to give him confidence. His confidence is shattered when it comes to maths. He doesn't know his tables, and he doesn't know how to do simple arithmetic, so that's what we're concentrating on for now. When he becomes very confident with those then we'll move right on to Key Stage 2. He's done 40 pages of maths this week (that's the maths workbooks we're using). He's done reading, history, music, a teeny bit of French. He's done a little bit of socialising, as in visiting family a little bit. We're just settling into a routine (we have a timetable), but we can do more next week. He worked hard, but I think he can work harder, so I plan to get through loads more next week. And he's keen to do that too. He has enjoyed it, a lot. It's nice to see him feel pleased with himself. </div>
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He's finding some of it difficult, but that's no problem. That's what I'm here for.</div>
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I have a little latent anger about the teachers. I just wonder why they go into teaching if it's not to teach children who struggle. Anyone at all can teach children who find academia easy - I could regurgitate a load of stuff, and feel pleased with myself about the gifted children being able to repeat it back to me. But the real rewarding challenge about teaching is surely watching children work things out that they've been finding difficult. That was certainly the best bit for me when I was listening to the Year 1 children read. (I've had to give that up for the time being, because I can't be in school when Thomas is at home - that's the only very sad thing for me, because I had wanted to still be in Year 1 when Matthew moved into that class, and Matthew was looking forward to having me there. But Thomas may catch up enough in the next term, so that he can go back into school for Year 6 - we'll see about that.)</div>
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One thing that I will have to help Thomas with is separation anxiety! Seems strange because he's never really suffered from it. But now that he's back with me 24 hours a day, he's got used to me being there all the time again. When I dropped him off at Kev's last night he had a cry because he had to leave me. But we'll deal with that. He's a strong little lad, who's dealt with a lot in the past few years - mostly at school. Home stuff has always been a breeze for all of them.</div>
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Anyway, this is rather a self-indulgent, diary entry of a blog. Sorry. I haven't blogged for ages, or written anything at all. I'd best go and have my bath and then get some scribbling done. </div>
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ttfn</div>
Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-25576628558704660902012-11-29T02:16:00.001-08:002012-11-29T02:16:19.503-08:00Is this it? Teaching?Eventually, I will stop floundering and fix on the thing that I'm going to be doing for the next twenty years or so! <br />
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I think I might have found it. I've been saying that I don't want to teach, based on other people telling me that I don't want to teach. And I know that teaching is stressful, and that it can be thankless. But, really, why am I running away from it, when I've got a pretty good idea that it's something I'll be good at. I've noticed that when I do work in schools (I'm volunteering in my kids' school now), I do find it easy to engage with the children, and find it very rewarding. And, for some strange reason, children seem to like me! I'm horrible to my own kids, but don't have that shoutiness when it comes to the children in school - I have more patience. And I enjoy it. Listening to little Year 1 girls and boys read, whilst repetitive and not very demanding, is quite a highlight of my week. It's wonderful, after watching them struggle, to see them learn something under your guidance. I didn't think I would like it as much as I do, but I actually love it. And when a wee person rushes up and gives you a big hug for no reason, that's got to tell you that you're doing something right. <br />
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So I'm going to have a chat with a nice lady this morning, about doing an Access to Teaching Diploma. That would get me on to a PGCE - if I do well, of course! I need to know more about the course, what it qualifies me to do, what I'll be able to teach, how I will manage financially - I might need some funding, because I'll still need to pay my bills and feed my own children. And I would like to teach Secondary level, not Primary. The little kids are gorgeous, and lovely, but I think that after a while I would start to get bored. I think I would prefer the challenge of teaching Secondary, perhaps get more out of it myself, and learn more from the kids. <br />
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I really hope I'm able to do this - I hope financial constraints don't prevent me. My only other option, if I can't afford the Access course, is to study, self-funded, with the Open University, to complete a BA in English (that would take six years), then do the PGCE. It would take me until I'm 42 to be qualified. I don't want to be waiting that long, if I can help it. If I can do the Access course, I could be a qualified teacher by the time I'm 38. That sounds better.<br />
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Once again, I am in limbo, waiting to find out if I can do this. I always seem to be in limbo, waiting to find out something. I think I'm going to have to go to meditation classes, to learn to deal with anxiety! I can cope well with depression, but anxiety is a whole different thing. <br />
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I think I suit a sewing machine. It's about time I did some of that again as well. I've got a dress to make up. Although it's possible I might not be invited to go to the festival it's intended for next year! Life's a bit strange when your mum has cut you out of hers. Mental illness really sucks, I can tell you that.<br />
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But life goes on ... well mine certainly goes.<br />
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Lx.Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-57327187554599651172012-11-06T15:37:00.000-08:002012-11-06T15:37:01.686-08:00I am NOT doing that again!Well, I never thought it would happen to me, because I have an unshakeable core of happiness and joy, but I've just spent a couple of weeks being depressed. I didn't like Depression, so I decided not to stay.<br />
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I shan't go into the details of what made me depressed, because it's all rather personal, and if it's all the same to you I'd rather save it for my diary :) <br />
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But two things I've learned about myself from this short period of downness:<br />
1) It's possible for me to be low, emotionally speaking;<br />
2) I can recognise that I'm not feeling tip top, and can take steps to fix my brain, which makes me very proud of myself :) (That's not to say anything disparaging about anyone who suffers really serious depression - their depression is their business, and mine is mine.)<br />
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So I've put all the negativity behind me now. I did it this morning, and decided that I'd like to get back to being myself. It's quite amazing that it's possible to just flick a switch and feel one's mojo return. Mmm. Good.<br />
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Suddenly, heaps of motivation, skiploads of ideas, bucketfuls of energy, none of which did I have yesterday. The first thing to do though, is get an early night, and approach tomorrow completely fresh and eager. There's a whole morning to fill with job searching and writing (I'm a single parent now, and have to find a job as quickly as possible), before an afternoon of Key Stage 2 maths (for helping my children with their homework - but I think I might sign up to do a GCSE in maths next September, just because). I think I will update blogs tomorrow morning, and take a look at one of my novels and decide which one to work on again (anything familiar here?!).<br />
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I'm volunteering at the boys' school a couple of afternoons a week now, and I kind of wish I wasn't. It's nice and all, but it's really going to eat into my week. The days pass so quickly anyway, but having to break off from productive stuff is a pain. Mind you, if I start to get proofreading work again I'll have to give up the volunteering - I suppose I could make use of the CRB check that school paid for by offering my services for a story club or something. I wonder if they'd let me do that. It could be for years 4 and 5 perhaps, the kids who can actually write properly so that we'd get some good stories out of them. I could teach them how to write a proper story over a term. Or maybe over a half-term. And then they could read them out at the end of term. Maybe they could read extracts from them in assembly. I think I'll do my volunteering for a while longer, and then perhaps put the idea to the head. I think I should get paid for that though!<br />
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Ha! See? No depression here now :) Motivated. <br />
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Ooh, ooh: I'm also supposed to be thinking about writing a script, after the inspiring BBC Writersroom workshop I went to at the <a href="http://www.dukes-lancaster.org/" target="_blank">Duke's</a>. Yep, yep, I need to do that too.<br />
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And a short story. They're expensive though, on account of there being an entrance fee for most competitions.<br />
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Going to watch the end of <i>A Time to Kill</i> before I go to sleep. Nanight.<br />
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Oh no, before I go, here's a picture of me with Adrian Lukis (Mr Wickham from the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice), which was taken by my mum in the Assembly Rooms in Bath :)<br />
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And me with Caroline Langrishe :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YX8LQvpeD2uCsg5Ec0SFjRGWcL5Jm6-wZsVmibjSWRENFRBzk4ZAf9WV2mgXO857nDhFlz_SlNdXBQb4xG-ONFgzQiIFTt0-EIJnXzpCiyKSrNG27_6w-IN0ZAMpB7LzAER2QqNakmA/s1600/IMG_0086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YX8LQvpeD2uCsg5Ec0SFjRGWcL5Jm6-wZsVmibjSWRENFRBzk4ZAf9WV2mgXO857nDhFlz_SlNdXBQb4xG-ONFgzQiIFTt0-EIJnXzpCiyKSrNG27_6w-IN0ZAMpB7LzAER2QqNakmA/s320/IMG_0086.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I look like a moron in both photos, but at least you can see one of my dresses. There were five more. I'll show you those another time.</div>
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Night.</div>
Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-91126334383044853302012-08-08T03:46:00.002-07:002012-08-08T03:46:23.413-07:00The Lilac Stripe DressToday, I have this to show you:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8sFBOQiPtcBxFsKBoa9nSXDu9tu4NJAxP4ausXUZ_k37QlcbUeAobMAgL6x6E1FAqfmzB_ZVFfcrzHLGTteGBbz46IdeZPtEoVfrHqyZ29E6ahChjBKHR-U6T7djoHi41uTAefxBsvE/s1600/IMG_1078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8sFBOQiPtcBxFsKBoa9nSXDu9tu4NJAxP4ausXUZ_k37QlcbUeAobMAgL6x6E1FAqfmzB_ZVFfcrzHLGTteGBbz46IdeZPtEoVfrHqyZ29E6ahChjBKHR-U6T7djoHi41uTAefxBsvE/s320/IMG_1078.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzMtSKx3TbyrFWA2q3hVHvGp6O8or-3rjvICypW1jM876njtT0hhy5HfyuT9veNaTnKFaOKvPqxeJMBg5vkhe60XQ2qTFx98vWiiKFOciDf5r8A-PVJrwO5PExLaVwv4oKLNdqB_rAUs/s1600/IMG_1080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzMtSKx3TbyrFWA2q3hVHvGp6O8or-3rjvICypW1jM876njtT0hhy5HfyuT9veNaTnKFaOKvPqxeJMBg5vkhe60XQ2qTFx98vWiiKFOciDf5r8A-PVJrwO5PExLaVwv4oKLNdqB_rAUs/s320/IMG_1080.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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What do you think? This is the Lilac Stripe. Isn't she pretty? You can't see her whole form at the moment, because she's rather creased and needs a good press. However, I did a little work on the ribbon detail last night and was rather pleased with it. Obviously, hand sewing, I couldn't get the zigzags completely uniform, but I am rather chuffed with how even the stitching is. I was going to machine sew the ribbon on, but thought it would actually be more fiddly to try and keep the dress out of the way of the needle. She's not finished yet - I've just got the second piece of ribbon to sew on, and the bottom hem to finish, and she's ready for me to wear to a fancy dress party on Saturday :) <br />
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Sadly, Miss Lilac Stripe and Miss Black Stripe are a little short, as I didn't buy enough material :( And all of the dresses are rather tight in the bodice, because the pattern we used is a small fit. We expected size 14 (UK) to be just fine, but it looks like we needed just a cm or so extra. Not to worry - learning curve! Next year's dresses will be perfect fits. Mind you, I'll have been cycling all year, so I'll probably be smaller anyway.<br />
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I've also got this to show you:<br />
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This is Miss Blue Beaded Bracelet. She's almost finished. I might finish her in the next few minutes, since I'm simultaneously blogging and beading. I keep having to rest my fingers, because I'm making my own jump rings out of head pins, because there were no head pins left in the right colour. It's quite painful on the fingertips, making jump rings. Homemade jump rings are not as neat as ready-made ones, but I think they kind of look nicer; and of course, they're more satisfying to look at on a finished piece, because one has the smugness of knowing that the bracelet was more difficult to make. I have six links left to fill with beads, and then I'm done and I can wear the bracelet today :) Bear with me a minute; I'll try to finish it quickly now...<br />
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Nearly done ...<br />
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Here she is:<br />
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Ah. Sorry, that is not the best picture in the world - my camera is on the verge of breaking and I get only a second to take a picture before the camera switches itself off. But you get an idea of what Miss Blue Beaded Bracelet looks like. I must save up for a new camera though.<br />
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Nice to blog again :) <br />
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<br />Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-14419700668381038822012-08-06T07:35:00.000-07:002012-08-06T07:35:54.830-07:00SewingOnly about six weeks to go until the Jane Austen festival in Bath, and I've only got one dress done. Cripes, eh? Every time I make a start on an evening of sewing something goes a bit wrong (my thread gets all tangled in the machine, and I cannot fathom what I have done wrong) and it takes me much longer to finish bits than I would like. I've still got four dresses to make, with linings and handmade button holes, and lace and ribbon trimmings. I've also got to make a couple of hats, a spencer (jacket) and a couple of reticules (bags). I think that's all. I've just ordered boots and white tights. I've also got to try out some ways of doing my hair - it's a bit short so it'll be tricky to make it nice. I've left it a bit late really. But I am in the mood to sew, so perhaps in the next couple of weeks I'll make some headway! My mum has finished her six dresses - she's much faster than me, obviously. She's also sewn up two of my jackets, as well as finishing two hats of her own and a spencer and a couple of reticules. I wanted to do everything myself, but time was getting rather short!<br />
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I've only got one photo at the moment - this is of the Green Dress. You can't tell from this picture, but it's covered in a print of tiny green flowers and leaves. Can you see my trainer poking out at the bottom?! I didn't have the right shoes when we made this dress. <br />
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Actually, I think my mum sewed most of this one up. I haven't put sewn a skirt onto a bodice yet - that's what I'm going to try to do tonight. It's all a bit trial-and-error with me and sewing. I get there in the end, but I usually get the first attempt wrong and have to unpick the whole lot. I had to do that last night, when I sewed the lining into my Black Stripe - it was a mess, the material was pulled in all kinds of directions that it shouldn't be pulled in. But I learn from these mistakes, and I was able to put it right by myself :) I really enjoy it. It's very satisfying to take lengths of material and turn them into something you can wear. And I think I'm quite neat ... in the end. It's very time-consuming, but there's no need to rush, really - if you're willing and able to take your time over the process and not panic if things go wrong (which they will), it's a gorgeous thing to do. I am very eager to make more after the festival for next year.<br />
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Tonight I will be sewing up the Blue bodice and attaching its skirt, as well as attaching the skirt of the Black Stripe. I think I can do all of that in one night. Then I will have four dresses with skirts attached. The trickiest one is the Black Lace: that has a cream cotton lining, with black lace overlaid, so instead of just sewing together two pieces of fabric, I have to sew together four pieces each time. Fortunately, I do like tacking pieces into place before sewing them on the machine, and this is what I will need to do in this case. <br />
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I'd love to get on and sew right now, but the boys get too curious and want to have a go - of course, they can have a go on the machine, but that doesn't get my dresses done!<br />
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Next time I blog about the dresses I'd like to have some finished ones to show you :) So many things to do - I do so dearly wish I didn't need sleep.Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-90195465764944995192012-07-31T09:17:00.000-07:002012-07-31T09:26:50.597-07:00'The time has come', the Walrus said, 'to talk of ... keeping a blog up to date'.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Well, hello there! How the bloody hell are you? Oh, I'm fine, thanks for asking. A lot going on in my house this year, some of which I'll not go into right now. But I'm really thinking that it's time to blog again. I'm actually itching to write at the moment, as is always the case in the summer holidays, when I have very little time to do it; absence makes the heart grow fonder, sort of thing. I almost wrote 'fronder' then, which would suggest that the heart was becoming ferny, which, of course, is something that the heart might well do if left alone for too long.</div>
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Look at that: it's only been two minutes and already I'm off again, talking nonsense.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4X94EhpF55jfz5WHiEX71HJAoNgyTTIlVSFwYc5QwDtBKKNArGJyUD076pzyHv9opzdRVRhinUeW57O8RD4iZDgeshA7Mqr9oOF4AO7P95PbI_1Wcywk8vhMZEr984D9YOhP7FRUmyxg/s1600/Photo+110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4X94EhpF55jfz5WHiEX71HJAoNgyTTIlVSFwYc5QwDtBKKNArGJyUD076pzyHv9opzdRVRhinUeW57O8RD4iZDgeshA7Mqr9oOF4AO7P95PbI_1Wcywk8vhMZEr984D9YOhP7FRUmyxg/s320/Photo+110.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda and Matthew messing about with Photo Booth effects.</td></tr>
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So, I am now self-employed, a freelance proofreader, doing work for <a href="http://www.full-proof.co.uk/" target="_blank">Full Proof</a> as I've already said. So far I've had work every month, for four months. I could not really have hoped for a better start to my new career, as I understand that it can be very disheartening and that jobs are very difficult to come by. I work for Nick, who owns Full Proof, and he's very nice indeed, a lovely 'boss'. Of course, I don't have a boss, because I'm self-employed! And that means I have to do a tax return and pay National Insurance. I'd better get on with that - no tax yet, as I'm not earning even nearly enough. But who knows that one day I'll get my dream? My dream is to pay tax! It's just so that I can tick that Gift Aid box on forms - I always feel like such a flakey flakester when I have to leave it blank.<br />
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Another thing that is quite exciting - if you like words and books - is that my mum made a wonderful discovery the other day: UCLAN (Preston University or the University of Central Lancashire) do an MA in Publishing. I had been itching to do the MA in English with the Open University, but I was finding it difficult to justify the £6k (not to mention, finding it difficult to find £6k, of course). But now then, an MA in Publishing I can absolutely justify - perfect! Still £6k, but I can spread it over two years, and maybe, if we live on beans on toast (or just beans; bread's quite expensive at the moment) for a long while, I think it can be done. Don't hold your breath over that one - I've enrolled for three MAs in the past two years. But I do think that this is the one I would really like to strive to do, so I'm going to apply and see if I can at least get a place. I do think, after doing this little bit of student proofreading, that publishing is where I would like to be. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTyR957gP-SBcu13H55GffzVJzVcMyrLKd0PBunRZaNcuLUQ4yWeViv7SH3TboAS13IiEQnStpoFhsXztDiiy9c0d2-AtwPDogEBMnjgnSHynnGGBLLClbnJCOG8iMnBAw9QYBHiIT7hc/s1600/IMG_2691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTyR957gP-SBcu13H55GffzVJzVcMyrLKd0PBunRZaNcuLUQ4yWeViv7SH3TboAS13IiEQnStpoFhsXztDiiy9c0d2-AtwPDogEBMnjgnSHynnGGBLLClbnJCOG8iMnBAw9QYBHiIT7hc/s320/IMG_2691.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barbados</td></tr>
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The most exciting thing, for me, will happen at the end of August. I'm having a mini-break. Yes, I am. Oh my goodness, I can't even put into words how excited I am. My excitement is on a par with the anticipation I felt on going to Barbados for my brother's wedding, because I was on my own (sans kiddies) then too. This time I'm going to be away for just three days, two nights that is, and I'll be staying in the UK. I'm going to Bamburgh, which is just about my favourite place in the world, and one day I think I will live there - if a house ever comes up for sale there, which is doubtful because it's so beautiful that I would imagine that people would be born and live their whole lives there. Really. It's that special. Well, I think it is, anyway. Bamburgh. I am to stay in an attic room Bamburgh Hall Farm (it looks rather posh), and my room will overlook the castle - which is all I really wanted from my room; really, it could have been a mattress on a dusty wooden floor, and I wouldn't have minded as long as I could see the castle from the window. I will just be at peace there, I won't do very much, just some writing, some reading, some walking, some photo-taking, some eating, some sitting-and-listening, some people-watching, and I'm fairly certain that the time will pass quickly and I'll come home exhausted after all of that relaxing. But I think it's just what I need - I'm going to treat the weekend like a little home-made writing retreat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzjIp_LDiijeo78ARmsIgqvihS4wxPjekgjFEXH-jQFwN3rqmUfBdiWEILXons6Y4jt7EXo-XnhVM0g5n4e9E1s7Nf0_JfHKbpkq0OUhvOSYrEpeF_26yWkAIz-wY_glFf94q3XSlaTY/s1600/IMG_2118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzjIp_LDiijeo78ARmsIgqvihS4wxPjekgjFEXH-jQFwN3rqmUfBdiWEILXons6Y4jt7EXo-XnhVM0g5n4e9E1s7Nf0_JfHKbpkq0OUhvOSYrEpeF_26yWkAIz-wY_glFf94q3XSlaTY/s320/IMG_2118.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bamburgh in 2011 - who wouldn't want to go here for some peace and quiet?</td></tr>
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September is not all that far away, and I'm looking forward to it - things change forever from September, when Matthew goes to school, I look for lots of work, and I get my freedom! Don't get me wrong now, I do love my children, and I will miss having them at home, but it's going to be lovely to only have myself to think about while they're busy at school. If I can manage to make freelancing work I'm going to have a pretty near perfect life. Not perfect to some people, sure, but perfect to me.<br />
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And there's my new book. I wasn't content to be writing three novels, so I decided to add a fourth. I think this is the one (I know, I sound like a teenager). I won't say anything about it. It's good, I think. I'm going to work on it in Bamburgh, because that's where I'm setting it - although, since I don't really know too much about the people there, I think I might change the name. I'm not very good at names. It takes me ages to think of good character names, and place names are even worse. (I can't even decide on what to call myself - to pseudonym or not to pseudonym?) But I'm not in a rush, I just want to make it a good book.<br />
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I am on the verge of babbling, so I'll leave it there. <br />
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OLYMPIC FEVER! I'm off to watch some more - isn't it good?! I was never in any doubt that London 2012 would be excellent - ha! to the cynics and grumps!<br />
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Linda.<br />
Xx.<br />
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<br />Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-66081575874399541442012-05-04T03:59:00.001-07:002012-05-04T03:59:24.430-07:00It's all going on...Life was already busy, but it's about to get Buuuzzaaaaaay!<br />
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Well, when I say 'about to', I mean that it will get busier in September. But you can't just sit and wait for September, can you? You've got to start 'doing' whatever it is you have to do before it's time to do it, you know? <br />
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September.<br />
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Oooh. Always one of my favourite starts, a month of potential and motivation, inspiration and excitement. But I anticipate even more of these things this year. Matthew starts school this year, and on that first day I cease to become a full-time parent, a SAHM, a lazy layabout, a kept woman, a lady of leisure. On that first day we enter a new era. The era of ... the erm ... the era of the Many-Stringed-Bow! Yes, we'll call it that. The era of the Many-Stringed-Bow. There is much to do. I'm very excited. We will really find out how I cope with stress then (albeit quite a relatively small amount of stress compared to millions of people), when I have to juggle several different mes (that says 'mes', meaning 'more than one me', you know?). I will still be Mum-me, but I will also be Masters-student-me, proofreader-me, author-me (if I pull my finger out), cyclist-me and freelance-writing-tart-me (we'll see about that one - ways to earn money have to be found, and who knows what uses I might find for my wordy skills?). <br />
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It's already begun. I'm proofreading now, for <a href="http://www.full-proof.co.uk/" target="_blank">Full Proof</a>. It's very, very good. I'm finding it very easy to fit the jobs into my evenings and mornings. But from September I hope to be able to keep all of my evenings free for writing, and squeeze the money-making activities in between school times. Of course, I'm pretty certain that it won't stay that way - as I start to add more strings to my bow I will probably find that I have less and less time for writing. But in a way, that's not so bad - I have so much free time at the moment, and I am still guilty of squandering it. I find that when I have less free time I am more likely to fill it with something productive, because I'm feel a little starved of productive creativity. So, I have high hopes for September. I can organise myself then, and really get stuck in. I want to concentrate on making that lifestyle affordable, so that I don't have to waste my time in an office job just because it pays well. Money isn't everything - I know that, because working in an office at the university made me miserable. It wasn't worth the wages.<br />
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I can't believe this time has come, already. Where have eight years gone? Well, nine, actually. I would have expected to feel sad that my time at home with the kids is almost over - but that's the thing: it isn't over, because if I can make freelancing work I will still get to be with them in the holidays. So there's plenty to motivate me to work hard.<br />
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The first thing to do - after this weekend, when we're at a wedding - is to look again at my website, and think of more ideas for it, and start getting it noticed. I'm not sure how to do all of that, so I need to have a meeting with my mum and Janine. Janine is an ideas person, and she will know exactly what to do. My mum has also said that she thinks I should teach creative writing - I have no idea how to do that either, but I'd love to give that a try. I think I could be good at it. I might ask my friends to take a trial-class, with me teaching! That might be far too much of a giggle though!<br />
<br />
Aaaaagggh! It's noon! I must get back to my car before I go over my time and have to pay £10!<br />
<br />
I'm back on the blog :D Nice to be back.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCCLJ3p_aTUvRDD1XCodlfQhpvfpBpwutyif5CGNR5Arqm0H-k4d8woPA4YQ2wxS0OySwTstHqpHmlKcStiJxK_ozBvrecjEuwEpVvFy7LmLcrN-i3lEdxZhI-kepZz9ZNr7wHDCFg9Oc/s1600/avengers-chris-hemsworth-thor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCCLJ3p_aTUvRDD1XCodlfQhpvfpBpwutyif5CGNR5Arqm0H-k4d8woPA4YQ2wxS0OySwTstHqpHmlKcStiJxK_ozBvrecjEuwEpVvFy7LmLcrN-i3lEdxZhI-kepZz9ZNr7wHDCFg9Oc/s320/avengers-chris-hemsworth-thor.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Hemsworth as Thor - I find him quite inspiring ... or is that perspiring?</td></tr>
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<br />Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-65138580870729980112012-03-25T03:11:00.000-07:002012-03-25T03:11:04.575-07:00Spring! Joyness!A new summer, and a new season of motivation? Well, we'll see... How many new beginnings do I have each year? I'd say at least four. And that's not counting all the other ones.<br />
<br />
Thought I might manage a really good fresh start last night, what with Kev being in Amsterdam on a Stag Do, and the kids being out at my auntie's for a sleepover. But no, I got sucked into the telly and didn't manage to get out again until midnight (which I think might have been 1am, on account of the clocks changing). But in my defence, I think I did need a bit of recharging, and I have woken up this morning feeling refreshed and lovely. I do feel like writing. I feel that there's something brilliant lurking at the back of my brain. I just need to find something to tempt it out - I wonder if it would fancy a nice bit of cheese...<br />
<br />
So, glorious weather, just right for getting out to the park and such like. Tiring out the boys is the thing to do, get them to bed early, and then settle down for a write. The shame of it is that I write much more and much better stuff in the mornings and on sunny afternoons, but I don't get many of those for writing. I'm supposed to get Matthew's nursery mornings of course, but lately other things have been claiming those. I must try to claim them back.<br />
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I have a Noo Tattoo :) It's a biggie! I love it. It matches perfectly with everything else - a little bit of colour, and a little bit of detail, but still fitting in nicely. I'm very pleased with it. Not to everyone's taste of course, but we don't all want to be the same now, do we? You have your tattoos, and I'll have mine. I'm telling my own story on my skin - this tattoo represents my late teens, a time when I was blissfully happy and blissfully ignorant and all that mattered were guitars, Jack Daniels, a-pound-a-pint, and my first boyfriend, Andy. Life was very simple, and a lot of fun. I could have regrets about some of my choices, but what a waste of time and energy that would be. So I look back on those few years with tremendous fondness and a big beaming smile, because it was brilliant. I got to see Guns 'n' Roses before they split up! For goodness sake! Do you know how many fans didn't get to see them? Loads, I reckon...<br />
<br />
So I got out my G'n'R CDs yesterday, that I haven't listened to for a very long time. Couldn't find one of them - think I might have lent it out to someone, so will have to buy that again. I played some songs to the boys, songs from Appetite for Destruction, and they were very impressed. In fact they, Thomas and James, both said that Guns 'n' Roses are definitely their new favourite band. They want to listen to my CDs loud in the car all the time! And now my work is done - I can give my children no greater gift than Rock 'n' Roll. Henceforth, the words Slash and Axl will be as familiar to my boys as 3DS and Mario are to other children. I am proud.<br />
<br />
Better go and collect my wonderful boys now then. But look! I have blogged :) And would like to continue to do so. I wonder if I can manage to keep up a blogging challenge, and post at least every other day from now until the end of the year? I need some kind of writing challenge to get me going again. I was thinking of a Hub-a-Day, and am still thinking of that. Things that get me writing are good, because they usually encourage me to write more of my novel - and I find that the novel somehow magically starts to get written when I'm writing other things to. <br />
<br />
Wow! This blogging has been like a long-awaited meal today. I feel nourished by it. How strange. But it is actually as lovely as eating chocolate after not having eaten chocolate for a long time. Perhaps I could give up chocolate and sustain myself with writing. <br />
<br />
Well, those boys are missing me - they phoned me, with little tears in their voices last night. Well, Thomas did - James and Matthew were fine, so I told them to look after Thomas and give him hugs and be nice to him. How funny that, even though I shout at them lots, my kids still love me! <br />
<br />
See you anon (what does that mean?)<br />
<br />
Lx.<br />
<br />
<br />Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-78184479971561261772012-03-02T04:21:00.000-08:002012-03-02T04:21:08.429-08:00Contented:)<br />
<br />
Hello.<br />
<br />
Having a nice year, so far?<br />
<br />
I am. <br />
<br />
Just plodding along, doing the things I love. Reading, writing, being with my kids. All good. Particularly the kids part. I keep finding that I'm putting them to bed very late, just because I'm enjoying talking to them, and doing homeworky things with them. Last night I brought them upstairs to get ready for bed at 7pm, but they didn't actually settle down until 9pm because we decided to write in our diaries together, and I spent a good 40 minutes printing photos on my Pogo for us all. Each boy wanted the same photos as his brothers, so I printed out four copies of each one. There's nothing much better than sitting on my bed, with three little boys chattering away, asking me how to spell things, and telling me all about absolutely everything. That is one of my favourite things to do in the world. *deep sigh of contentment, interrupted by deep rumbling of hungry tummy*<br />
<br />
It's lunch time, and I'm about to go and find something to eat, but thought I'd just kill some time before I go to collect young Matthew from playschool. Perfect opportunity to blog a little. I'm pleased with myself this morning. I have been working on a short story. I typed it up first, to remind myself of all its details, and then I carried on drafting it on the computer - something I never do, I always write by hand and type up when something's finished. But I decided that it's about time I started typing as I think, because I'm taking too long to get things done. This story got nicely embiggened by working in this way. I'm going to finish it! I know, crazy eh? Me actually finishing something? And then, I'm going to enter it into a competition. It won't win, but that's okay. The more stories I finish and submit, the more likely I am to win something. If they're any good, my stories, that is. If they're not then I could submit a hundred stories a week, and I'd never get anywhere. And it doesn't really matter anyway. I'll still keep writing.<br />
<br />
Here are Thomas, James and Matthew. It was World Book Day yesterday, and T and J's costumes were splendid. I didn't get very good photographs, because the light in our house is atrocious and my phone camera is not very good. But you can get a rough idea of how good they looked. Matthew wanted to join in, and was Harry with his Bucketful of Dinosaurs. Thomas was Peter Pevensie, and James was Edmund Pevensie (whom you will know if you are a fan of Narnia).<br />
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<br />Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-87502864146408267882012-01-17T14:06:00.000-08:002012-01-17T14:18:09.243-08:00The year's going great so farNow, I do know that I've changed this blog's photo for a new ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE one. But it's a good picture! I don't know how to resize it for the blog. Some people have nice long, narrow photos that fit absolutely perfectly. They know something about photo-trickery that I don't. I've not the patience to try and find out, so you're stuck with a massive photo. Hey, it's it good one though :D<br />
<br />
So, as I said, the year's going great so far. I'm not watching any TV at all really, unless I happen to accidentally go downstairs for something and notice that Kev's watching 'Have I Got News For You' and get sucked into the telly. But mostly I am sitting in my 'office' and reading and doing a little bit of writing. I am just enjoying the productive vibe that's going on. I have lots to do, and not enough time to do it all. That's okay though, I'm just doing which bits I can. I've got very lovely business cards now, which I need to distribute properly. So far I have only sent some to Preston Uni via my friend Sara, and I have posted some on the <a href="http://www.whaletailcafe.co.uk/" target="_blank">Whale Tail</a> noticeboard - this is clearly not going to make me rich. I must do more. I had intended to go to the Guardian office and give them one of my cards, but I've chickened out so far - this is exactly the wrong thing to do. See, what I've done there, is I've imagined that I'll make a tit of myself, and I've made the Guardian office a scary place to go. Now, it's very unlikely that I will actually make a tit of myself, because all I have to do is ask if they have any vacancies for a proofreader. They will either say no, or they will say maybe. It's very unlikely that they'll just say yes, and give me a job. But all I want to do is give them my card and let them see that I'm enterprising. Then I have to go to the university and distribute some cards there - that's also easy, but I've allowed it to grow into a task of Herculean proportions simply by putting it off. All I have to do there is go into the library and ask if I can put my card on the noticeboard. It's not difficult. I've no need to fear rejection, because I already know what that feels like.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My pretty little business cards. Apologies if you think they're a bit trite (I said 'trite'), but they're very me, <br />
and I'm not about to pretend to be someone I'm not :)</td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
I'll try to do these things on Friday morning - that is my only window, and I must use it wisely.<br />
<br />
I have been writing, as I said. Writing my mammoth Faerie novel - that is, my novel-of-mammoth-proportions that is entitled 'Faerie', not a novel about mammoth Faeries, or Faerie mammoths. It was very nice to get back into it, and to move the story along a good bit. I'm getting right into the action now, and it's starting to become exciting again. And writing that stuff also inspired some ideas for hubs. Hubs are great, and I've missed writing them - I did see them as a bit of a procrastination exercise, but actually, they're not, because they keep me writing and keep that creative bit of my brain in shape. I've neglected the hubs, and probably as a consequence, I've neglected all of my writing for the past few months. It's refreshing to be writing just anything again. I hope I don't have another break like that for a very long time. Writing makes me feel like I'm on holiday.<br />
<br />
So, I have much to say, and lots of places and platforms to say it on and in and at. Wednesday morning feels like just exactly the right morning to make some headway - if I don't get ill again.<br />
<br />
Honestly (just a little moan) - has anyone else been ill for the past month? This year's coldy-fluey thing is a horrible one, that just doesn't seem to want to eff off. That's all I'm saying about that - people have worse things than colds!<br />
<br />
Lx.<br />
<br />
<br />
Addendum 1: I'm so brainless. I've already written about some of the things I've just mentioned here. How is it that I can completely forget that I've written in this blog since New Year? What is bloody wrong with me? I think I need to go back to Barbados for a week.<br />
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Addendum 2: I have just been looking at my statistics for this blog, and it hardly gets read at all! Lots of posts have been read less than once. Less. Than. Once. Hmph! But I did notice that posts that were tagged with a famous person, or a topical issue, got a lot more views than other ordinary posts. So I've tagged this post with a handful of famous people to see what effect that has. Just a little game, you understand. No doubt the people who drop by to see what I'm writing about Rhod Gilbert will pop right off again once they realise they've been had. (I love Rhod Gilbert though - he's a very sexy man.)Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-61246134181013856772012-01-13T04:17:00.000-08:002012-01-13T04:18:56.222-08:00HeadacheIt's hard work looking for jobs online, there's so much rubbish. I have actually got an actual headache, and my eyes hurt, and I think I will have to take something evil to get rid of these little afflictions.<br />
<br />
At the beginning of the week I thought I was going to find some jobs by the end of the week. Now I think I might never find any. All I need is one person to give me a good break, and then I'll be able to get more jobs. I've applied for lots, but I'm competing with people who say they have decades of experience - of course, they could be lying; I'm not going to lie.<br />
<br />
I've still got to take my business cards to the University and the college though, and to the Guardian office. But, you never know, the lady that received my CV at the beginning of the week might suddenly come through with a job that I could do. I might really impress her and she might send me work regularly. Or the test that I mucked up a couple of weeks ago might not have bothered the person who was doing the hiring, and he might hire me anyway. (If I hadn't mucked up that test I would probably be up to my neck in jobs by now! What a golden opportunity to throw away! Maybe I should write to that bloke and tell him that I've got my final mark back - he might be impressed and give me a chance.)<br />
<br />
:(<br />
<br />
I just got phoned by a man claiming to be from Facebook. He wanted me to give him £99 to pay for a month's advertising! I hung up on him when it became clear that he wasn't going to shut up - god, I'd hate his job.<br />
<br />
So, plodding on, plodding on. Looking for jobs, looking for jobs. Hope I can find some, hope I can find some. It's hard to find jobs when you don't know where you're supposed to be looking though. Maybe I'll just go and work in the Spar.<br />
<br />
Or maybe I'll stop moaning, and get on and finish my bestselling novel. Aha! That's a good plan.<br />
<br />
Oh, that oDesk job did not turn out to be the start of anything amazing. The jobs on there are all rubbish, and the pay is stupid. I'm not going to waste my time on it. That is not the place to find good proofreading jobs.<br />
<br />
<br />Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-84335593768918187392012-01-04T13:46:00.000-08:002012-01-04T13:46:57.122-08:00oDesk - could this be the start of a bit of cash coming my way, or is it a waste of time?oDesk. I've started using this huge virtual office type of network. People advertise jobs that contractors can do online, or just on their computer; contractors bid for the jobs, and someone gets hired. Pay ranges from virtually nothing, to quite a decent hourly rate, depending on experience and skills. I'm a beginner, so the first job I've been hired for pays pretty much nothing. I'm writing articles - 150-170 words is all - on a topic that this woman sends me. I'm a BMR writer this week! I write articles for her, and her ratings are boosted! Whatever that means. I don't really want to be doing it, but I discovered that it's actually quite good writing practice - she tells me to write, say ten articles on the same topic, and I have to come up with new ways of writing about the same thing over and over again. It's sort of boring, but it's sort of interesting at the same time. The way I seem to be doing this is by hearing different voices, different characters talking about the topic from their point of view; so I'm a lady of 60, new to the internet, finding out that it's not as scary as it seems; I'm a man of 24 who thought he'd decided to do one thing with his life, but has found that he's taken a completely different path; and so on. It's very bizarre, because I'm essentially writing about absolutely nothing, and yet I have to include very specific keywords. The keywords have to be in the right sort of place in the text, and the subject of the article has to be loosely related to the keyword. I don't really understand what it's all about at all, but I can make a miniscule amount of money from it, so it's worth a go. I suppose I will continue to work with this lady until I find another job on oDesk that pays properly, and that is more interesting. That could be tomorrow, or it could be next week, I don't really know. Actually, I don't think I'm allowed to just tell this lady that I've found another job and abandon her - I think I have to do a certain amount of work for her (I think she mentioned a hundred of these little pieces) before I can move on. That's absolutely fine - it's boring, but at least it's getting my brain to work. It's actually a lot easier than I thought it would be when I looked at the topics and had an initial panic! Always pay to have a go, you see.<br />
<br />
I could see how this sort of work could become completely soul destroying if a person did it for too long though. I wouldn't want to do this for the rest of the year - I'd go mad. Although, having said that, I suppose if you intersperse it with your own writing it might be more bearable.<br />
<br />
So what I did was, I spent an hour on my Faerie book this morning. I moved the plot along just a nudge and introduced another character, and felt quite good about myself. Actually, I just generally feel quite good about myself today, because I have successfully ignored the stinking cold I've got :) It has not prevented me from doing anything - although I think I'm a bit feverish this evening, and might be struck down tomorrow! But it's just a cold - I know people who have worse things than a cold today :(<br />
<br />
So, all in all, a good start to the year. I may have seriously messed up my chance of getting a lovely little proofreading job, because I'm an idiot and should not have done the test piece when I was tired. But at least I'm being productive, and at least I haven't curled up in a corner and cried and said something like 'oh nooooooo, I'm so stupid, how could I be so stupid?' and 'I'll never be a proofreader now!' Because I still will be a proofreader; I just won't have my first job with the very nice and patient Liam Bennett. <br />
<br />
Well, and that's all for now. I'm going to get <i>Lord of the Rings</i>, and I'm going to start reading it, because I need to find out how to write battles - I'll be coming up to a small skirmish in my book soon, and I need some ideas on how to put down the right words for that.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg19IK5KKKefYLf8IPK1H7FD-2ukyEhEEShv6OkXWFVjgcjKkw4BS0jO3UpIQCJ2Q6a2KKdR6Z9QpJz6ZJYV_aKrUn2Em-LAQM67LO0g3Qbz12O5IwkZBoP-RwhvQFkdfu6qqrokqiiLE/s1600/eragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg19IK5KKKefYLf8IPK1H7FD-2ukyEhEEShv6OkXWFVjgcjKkw4BS0jO3UpIQCJ2Q6a2KKdR6Z9QpJz6ZJYV_aKrUn2Em-LAQM67LO0g3Qbz12O5IwkZBoP-RwhvQFkdfu6qqrokqiiLE/s320/eragon.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eragon, by Christopher Paolini, as you can see. <br />Another book with really good battles in it - battles with dragons: stupendous!</td></tr>
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<br />Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-1227912314213151462012-01-02T15:47:00.000-08:002012-01-02T15:47:36.763-08:00New stuff, as per traditionI suppose it might seem that there are New Year things going on around here, but I do new things all the time, at any time of year, so it's just coincidence. But, right, there are some new things that I'll just quickly share with you.<br />
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I've finished my proofreading course, and I'm looking for jobs *smiley face*! Fancy me, looking for jobs. It's very exciting. I hope I find some - because it might eventually become less exciting if I don't. To this end I have applied for work with an academic proofreading company, and am waiting to find out if I passed their test. It was a bit tricky, because it was using Word track changes facility, which I haven't used before. But once I got into it - i.e. once I'd made roughly ... two corrections - it was easy to use. I hope I get one of those jobs - the company is looking for a few proofreaders for the coming year - because it seems to be a lovely way of working. Editing on the efile is very nice; I'm surprised a little, as I thought I would have an aversion to it, having just done my course on hard copies. But it was great, and I think I could be very good at it. <br />
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I've also registered with oDesk, which seems to be a virtual huge office. There are all kinds of online jobs to apply for there and it seems a very professional place. I don't know how easy it will be to find jobs without experience, but there are a lot to rake through. Most of them require more specialist knowledge and experience than I have, but there are plenty of writing jobs to have a look at and apply for. There are skills tests to take to demonstrate what kind of knowledge you have before you've managed to get any jobs. Anyway, I'll see what comes of that. I've applied for one job already, but so have quite a few other people! <br />
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Something else is new, but I've temporarily forgotten what it is. Gah! My brain just doesn't work properly at the moment, it's very frustrating. I can't remember what I had for my tea. But long-forgotten childhood memories are not coming back to me yet, so that's a good sign. <br />
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So I might be working soon. And then all kinds of things might change and be new. Don't know what, but I think it'll be an exciting year for me *another smiley face*. <br />
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I'm doing well to feel positive today, because I have a head full of snot, and there's often a feeling that if we don't start off the very first bit of a new year in a positive and productive way that the rest of the year might be a disaster. Well, I say that, but I never feel that way! I'm always excited in January, always looking forward to the spring, and finding out what I'm going to be up to in the next year. But seriously, I think this will be a good year - it'll have some bad stuff in it, as all years do, but let's not despair, eh? Let's look at the good stuff a bit more gratefully, eh? There's a lot more of it about than many people realise.<br />
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A picture ... a picture should be inserted here. But what of? I've nothing new - I seem to have forgotten that I own a camera this year. Ooh, ooh, perhaps with my earnings - if I earn enough - I might buy a new camera, a DSLR!<br />
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But a picture. I'll just find one ...<br />
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This is my oDesk profile picture; perhaps a tad too informal, but at least it's presentable, and at least my writing is professional. </div>
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Right then, I'll be off to bed. Got to make sure the kids have uniform ready for Wednesday - I've put away not a single piece of clean laundry over Christmas! Shock, horror, what a terrible, lazy woman!</div>
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:)</div>Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-8248607879494613722011-12-16T02:59:00.000-08:002011-12-16T02:59:54.714-08:00And there we have it ...... things achieved, Christmas shopping all done, house tidy, ready to be decorated with the kiddy-winks over the next few days (white paper snowflakes, anyone?), proofreading assignment finished and sent, getting back into reading properly (Dickens at the moment, a bit of festive grotesqueness with <i>The Old Curiosity Shop</i>). And relax. I don't know what I felt so blue about last week - I do annoy myself sometimes.<br />
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There's a massive pile of clean washing on the couch opposite me (we have two couches), and it's not bothering me in the slightest. I know I'll get around to dealing with it eventually, hopefully before Christmas Day. I am calmness, I am chilledness. Probably because I gave myself an actual slap across the face the other day, and told myself to stop being so moody and useless. <br />
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That is all I have to say really. I have my mojo, and I will use it tomorrow to help me to do a small cycle, of perhaps 40 or 50 miles. Funny how I now consider this to be a short distance. Hmm.<br />
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If I don't see you before, have a lovely Christmas. I personally cannot wait for it to be all over, and for January the 1st to be here (one of my favourite days of the year) - I'm getting very bored of it, and would like to do something different at this time of year. <br />
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X.Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-8466136934916644432011-12-05T02:32:00.001-08:002011-12-05T02:44:20.021-08:00Time - could I have a little more please?An abundance of time is what I actually have. But I squander it, all the time. One would think that I might be a little more careful of the ways in which I spend my time, since I am acutely aware of how quickly it can run out. But, as I've said before, I am inherently lazy (if I use that word, 'inherently', it allows me to take no responsibility for my laziness, do you see?) and find it difficult to resist a sit on the couch, a nice brew, and a biscuit. <br />
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I've have achieved pretty much ... nothing this week. I have started to do the pre-Christmas clean-up, but the house is a bombsight. Actually, it's a bin. Actually, a giant skip. But I can see light somewhere, and it'll be alright. This is the first year I have not allowed the state of the house to stress me out - and it's telling, because I've passed the stress on to Kev who cannot believe how stupidly messy every room is! Ha ha! :D And I just can't get up the energy to care; 'it'll get done', I keep saying. I suppose one day soon I might have a burst of energy and finish it all off.<br />
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I'm not writing anything, not even the new cycling blog. I'm writing neither hubs, nor Goodreads book reviews. I'm not even writing in a diary. Nothing. I'm watching telly and crocheting. No novel-writing is going on at all. I have an assignment to get finished for my proofreading course, my very last assignment, and I'm just not doing it. <br />
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I'm shopping online, and I'm eating, and I'm sitting about. Oh, and learning Russian. I suppose that's something - but it's not something useful, it's just something I like doing.<br />
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BUCK YER IDEAS UP, LINDA!<br />
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Yeah, yeah, I will. Just let me finish this brew and this biscuit.<br />
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One thing I really would like to do, once I've got that assignment out of the way, and written some cycling articles, and some hubs, and some chapters of my novel, is to catch up on reading the work of my favourite hubber, Twilight Lawns. He's my friend, and he always reads my hubs, even when no one else does. He deserves the same special treatment back. That's one of the very important things that I have to do. It's on the List.<br />
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I think I'm not enjoying winter this year - I think it's sapping my energy, which it's never done before. I don't like it. I'm looking forward to spring. But spring's not coming for ages, so I'd better find a way to be friends with winter. I will. Maybe when my house is tidy. Maybe when the kids have finished school for Christmas and we can spend time making decorations and Christmas bakes. That'll be lovely. We can have carols on, and cover the place with tinsel and snowflakes. I think we'll have a very tiny tree this year, as I am not in the mood for a big one. <br />
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What's up with me, I wonder? My inner core of blissful happiness is still intact, but I've got a crusty, snappy shell that's doing my head in. I think it should bugger off.Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-14861456631574407262011-11-28T06:36:00.001-08:002011-11-28T06:42:59.549-08:00Hell, yeah!Me and my brother Noomski have decided to write a blog together. Actually, it was all my idea, because I'm clever like that. And Tezmondi is new to the world of blogging, though he's been thinking of having a pop for ages.<br />
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<a href="http://cyclingtitans.blogspot.com/">http://cyclingtitans.blogspot.com</a><br />
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That's it, right there. You wanna check it out, because it's going to be quite exciting, and quite funny, and just generally quite interesting. We're going to try, once we've written a couple more entries, to get it featured on a newspaper website, or something like that. We're quite eager to get our little project noticed and followed, because we'd like to be local celebrities. Yeah.<br />
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You don't have to read it if you don't want to, but I do think it's going to be good. We're going to write articles together, write sort of journal entries about our training, useful info and bits of advice (tongue in cheek, absolutely no doubt) to do with chafing and fibre, tyres and Lycra. We might interview people (probably just each other, actually), pop on photos of our adventures, do cartoons of things we didn't manage to photograph. I'm hoping it'll be like a sort of magazine style of blog. Jam-packed full of information and stories and interesting things, written by two people who are not professional cyclists and who do not take themselves at all seriously. You might as well just read it, because if you don't, everyone else will be talking about it, and you'll start to feel left out. <br />
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Enjoy :)<br />
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<br />Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-68886648711838470542011-11-14T03:11:00.001-08:002011-11-14T03:36:50.401-08:00CYCLING!Quick post, if I can manage it; got to type up my book synopsis to send to my mum for approval :)<br />
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Just wanted to record the fact that I cycled 55 miles with my brother on Saturday. It was an important milestone to reach. I've been so bummed out about cycling (what am I, suddenly American? When do I <i>ever</i> say 'bummed out'?!) lately, because, let's face it, it's pretty hard work. It's difficult to get up the motivation to go out and do two hours of solid exercise after tea (especially when you're inherently lazy, as I am). So I'm very, very proud of myself for breaking the 50 marker. Not only breaking it, but doing 5 miles extra as well :) Terry asked if I could've done five more and made it to 60; instinctively, I said 'no way'. But when I thought about it, and forced the panic to die down, I supposed that I could've managed five more. What's five miles when you've already done 50? Not much, less than half an hour. <br />
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So, cycling is going quite well. I'm realising that I still have plenty of my week left even if I cycle three times. And three times is what I need to do to make those bigger rides possible - I found this week that tackling that 50 miler was made easier (not easy) because I'd already done seventy miles over the week. I suppose I might say that I can feel myself getting fitter! Never thought this would happen, did not think that I had it in me to get fit at all. But now I'm eager to do more, to do bigger distances, and to push myself as much as I possibly can. I'm determined to do the big challenge now, the coast-to-coast-to-coast in just two days. I will have to be fit enough to do 170 miles followed by 170 miles! I can do it. I now know that I can. I'm not sure why, but breaking the back of the 50 miler also broke down a psychological barrier, I think. I'm sure I'll hit walls again, but it's good to know that I can get over them now. I hit a small wall at the weekend, and started off the ride in a bad mood and expecting to have a bad ride. I got over it. Now I know that I can, hopefully I always will be able to. <br />
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And my goodness, it feels amazing: to look down at the bike computer (which Terry has just given me as an early Christmas present - I don't like getting early Christmas presents, but I like this one) and see that I'm doing 23mph on the flat, and keeping up 16/17/18mph going uphill, and over 30mph downhill. It's brilliant! Very, very exhilerating. And then there's the added bonus of being outside in such glorious surroundings - we really do live in a very beautiful place. Soon I'll be cycling to the Lake District, and that will just be a joy. This weekend I suppose I did cycle to the edge of the Lakes - Kendal, is kind of the gateway to the Lakes. I'd like to get to Windermere next, and have my lunch overlooking the lake at Bowness. This is <i>living</i>!<br />
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And you know what else is living? Writing my book. So I'd best crack on :)<br />
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Have a nice day, whatever you're doing. I'm spending the rest of my day being smug at my awesomeness! ;P<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYJednxlTDNqrbFO6owMgvgnjru9UVJc2HbiQ9jr1JJv1J7nCqFNd4HvcsfRtgit3u5XnRAa1Ig9ptruiO0yUUE2rwbjMx55W-7w3zZcL2zns213nZPx7dKr2u3ir3dCYTU_VK8XVXDE/s1600/IMG00409-20111106-1027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYJednxlTDNqrbFO6owMgvgnjru9UVJc2HbiQ9jr1JJv1J7nCqFNd4HvcsfRtgit3u5XnRAa1Ig9ptruiO0yUUE2rwbjMx55W-7w3zZcL2zns213nZPx7dKr2u3ir3dCYTU_VK8XVXDE/s320/IMG00409-20111106-1027.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandside, which we cycled through last week, on a beautiful frosty morning.<br />
It was stunning. I needed a panoramic lens; didn't have one.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-45136155741157538982011-11-11T03:46:00.001-08:002011-11-11T04:24:17.471-08:00This is when I'm the happiest :)Every now and again this happens. It's brilliant. And each time I think 'I'm keeping hold of this, this is forever this time'. It's my motivation. I'm rather tired at the moment, on account of it being term-time and busy and backwards-and-forwardsy, cycling as much as I can, and taking on new crafty projects. And it always seems that the more things I add to my day the more motivated I feel. It's an odd thing. <br />
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This is what I am doing (you know I like bulleted lists, and I have now learned that, generally, they do not have closing punctuation!):<br />
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<li>Writing some new chapters for <i>Faerie</i>, which are coming along very nicely, and which I am pleased with</li>
<li>Writing some outlines and snippets for<i> The Death of Tom Rawlinson</i>, which has come to a little impasse, and which I am trying to work through</li>
<li>Reading, and enjoying the freedom of having more than one book on the go at once! Reading 'A Shabby Genteel Story' by Thackeray, rereading <i>Twilight</i>, and trying to finish <i>The Gormenghast Trilogy</i>, which has become a bit boring on account of its being published posthumously despite never having been finished by the author (I'm being kind there - it's actually boring because the story's moved away from the castle, and it was the castle and its inhabitants that I loved - without them the story is very flat)</li>
<li>Cycling - this week I have done 60 miles already, with another 20 planned for this evening, and 50 tomorrow; I will have done 130 miles by the end of the week, which is a little ridiculous, but bloody brilliant: very, very proud of myself (haven't done it yet though)</li>
<li>Crocheting, beading, cross-stitching and knitting: four projects on the go: crocheting a blanket for my bed, and to go over my legs to make me look like an old lady when I'm sitting in front of the telly of an evening, working on ... the scarf that I am also knitting for myself, with wool that I could not resist; cross-stitching a simply <i>gorgeous</i> new Christmas and wintry kit, all Victorian and stunning (quite a big and complicated one); beading new jewellery things, which I will probably never really wear, but which I make anyway because I love making beady things</li>
<li>Diarying and blogging: I have now set up my desk with my printers ready to go and my computer in an easy-to-use position, and all my reference books and inspirational books to hand; my cutey little Polaroid printers are brilliant for getting pictures off the computer and into a diary right quick - digital camera we love, do we not? But wasn't it good when we had actual photographs to look at and thumb through? I miss that. Printing photos is a bit of a pain in the bum, but it's the way it is now, and I'd like to get on with it</li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6_3JvGhTYaX9AzzA_GWfLI1b2yxH2Sjvt0lDCKvxdppRddiIDqKhrgPREpepTxwwPDI_bGaJAyHPwEYffNT_e1ztP2fjU913wlcKi-ChyXrfSKlevIt58QjbnahCbuSJhyphenhyphenPW0PS2li4/s1600/Polaroid+pogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6_3JvGhTYaX9AzzA_GWfLI1b2yxH2Sjvt0lDCKvxdppRddiIDqKhrgPREpepTxwwPDI_bGaJAyHPwEYffNT_e1ztP2fjU913wlcKi-ChyXrfSKlevIt58QjbnahCbuSJhyphenhyphenPW0PS2li4/s320/Polaroid+pogo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the Polaroid Pogo, with Z(ero)Ink. Love it. I have a black one and a red one. Why do I need two? Well, I don't really, but my excuse is that if I'm doing a lot of printing, it's good to use two because they do heat up A LOT.</td></tr>
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I think there are some other things that I'm doing as well, but I can't remember what they are. And there's playing with the kids as well, and homework and all those fun things. (Actually, homework is good fun at the moment, because Thomas and James are both very motivated just now - James has discovered that he's good at drawing and he now loves it, though he hated it a few weeks ago. Thomas has been spurred on to practise drawing as much as possible so that James can't catch up to him and be better! Thomas is enjoying life in Mr Hendra's class VERY much, and is learning maths properly for the first time. Both boys are getting very good at writing and reading, and I just could not be prouder mummy right now. They're amazing. I'm so excited about their futures. Mind you, at the same time I'm desperately trying to encourage them to play with as many of their toys as possible and as often as possible because, bloody hell, already Thomas is saying that he doesn't really want to play as much as he used to and that if he doesn't get any toys for Christmas he's not really bothered! Nooooo! Not yet, I'm not ready for them to start getting serious and mature yet!</div>
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So that's a little update of me. I'm enjoying life this week, whilst at the same time, wallowing in a little self-loathing for being rather a lazy sod. I've written here this list of things that I'm doing in my spare time, but I don't actually achieve very much, and do duck out of actually getting down to some hard graft with the writing in particular, in favour of ... writing a blog entry! I'm such a slacker, really I am.</div>
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Now I'm off to collect Matthew from playschool. What shall I do with him this afternoon? I did promise that we'd bake some bread (in the bread-maker - didn't I say I was lazy?), so maybe we'll go and get ingredients for that. Banana and walnut bread anyone?</div>
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<br /></div>Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-43307437013239418522011-10-25T15:21:00.001-07:002011-10-25T15:21:35.369-07:00Oops<br />
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So, it's probably about time I blogged again.</div>
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So right, let me summarise the last two months, since we were on holiday, in easy to read bullet points:</div>
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<li>did some proofreading assignments</li>
<li>did a little bit of rubbish writing</li>
<li>did some good cycling - some longish distances, and one very difficult climb</li>
<li>spent a lot of nice time with the boys, including doing some really good homework</li>
<li>experienced single-mumming and rather liked it</li>
<li>spent a lot of time procrastinating, yet again</li>
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So nothing out of the ordinary, all the usual stuff, with the added extra of cycling. I actually haven't done as much cycling as I should have done, on account of two bad colds and a bad back. Can't cycle with either of those. Bit of a bummer, as I'm getting a little behind with my training. I'm supposed to have done a 50-miler by the end of October, which is in six days. Fortunately, I have a beautiful new trainer for use in the home - phew! I plan to stick the kids in bed early on Saturday night and cycle my way through two or three films and get my 50 miles done that way. I stick my bike on this thing that lifts up my back wheel, pop my front wheel on a stationary stand, whack a DVD in my laptop and off I go, cycling in my kitchen, with snacks and drinks on hand :) I don't have to stop, can cycle on and on. It's brilliant. But I have only used it once so far. Really I need to get using it, to keep my fitness up when babysitters are scarce and the weather is rubbish. It's all very well braving the gales and the torrents, but if they just serve to get us wet and cold without becoming any fitter, then I think we may as well cycle indoors! There's a goal in sight - albeit eight or nine months away - and I haven't got time to enjoy the scenery, I just have to get mega fit.</div>
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This is interesting, as I'm the fattest I've ever been in my life, and had never imagined that there might come a time in my fat life when I might actually feel like getting fit - never mind mega fit. But I'm quite enjoying it, and am already fitter than I was when I did my first cycle. I can now sustain a speed of 18mph for quite some time on the flat. I am now only ten or twenty seconds behind Terry on the bigger hills, rather than thirty or forty as I was at the beginning of my training. It's like Rocky! Getting stronger... </div>
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Ah, thought I might be tempted to go on about cycling. Didn't really want to as I suspect that it might be quite boring to read about. But it's going to be a big part of my life next year. I just hope I've still got time for writing as well - I do love cycling, but I hate that it needs to take up so much time. It's not just the cycle itself, it's the fact that you have to warm down when you get home, have a shower and then eat because you're starving afterwards. Then you get really sleepy and don't feel like doing anything for the rest of the day or the evening. I'm very often tired the day afterwards as well. Maybe I'm doing something wrong though, because I thought exercise was supposed to energise one, no? Perhaps that happens when you get much fitter. Perhaps that will happen when I get rid of my jelly belly.</div>
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I am also now working on a different novel. I was switching between two projects, alternately hating and loving each one. My mum asked me to look at the one I started in January again, the one that I did for the NaNoWriMo January project. I did look at it, and I loved it. I'd put it aside thinking that I'd never look at it again, it had gone very bad and I thought it had no potential at all. But when I reread the first 20-30,000 words I saw that it was good :) There's a lot to work with, lots of possible threads to follow, lots of really good characters, already quite well drawn and easy to visualise. I've decided to work on that for a while. It's not like anything I've ever written - but mind you, everything I try is new because I've not been writing for all that long. But anyway, this new project is going to be good fun, as the story's just ridiculous. It's quite funny, quite farcical, a bit like a Carry On story, a bit like a St. Trinian's, a bit like Terry Pratchett, and a bit like Thackeray (I'm now reading some Thackeray, because I bought quite a lot of his work when we were in Alnwick - see my hub on the subject of Secondhand Book Shops) which author I love more than any, ever; he is my definite favourite. I am now a collector, of a particular set of Thackeray's works - very beautiful they are, and possibly a little bit rare (I don't really know whether they are, but I've just done a little search about for them and could only find a couple on ebay that were in dreadful condition - mine are in beautiful condition, especially considering that they're nearly a hundred years old :) )</div>
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Well, I think that'll do. I've no pictures to share with you, because I haven't used my camera since we were in Alnwick. I must start taking photos again. There are lots of things that I must start doing again, lazy so-and-so that I am.</div>
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Night.</div>
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P.S. Forgot - we have two new cats, Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy; surprising how many people don't know where those names come from. My girls :) They're gorgeous. I have no photos of them, because my phone camera is rubbish and the cats won't keep still enough, and Bellatrix is completely black which seems to make her invisible on photos.</div>
</div>Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-83958039499873768502011-08-23T03:52:00.000-07:002012-03-02T04:22:42.737-08:00Alnwick, Bamburgh, Beal, Ulgham and WarkworthPlaces in the North-East that we have visited over the past week and a bit. We've been having a really marvellous time, but today the energy has run out a little. There are only so many days out one can have before one burns out. So today we are still sitting in the house at lunch time. No castles today, no beaches, no gift shops. Actually, that's not true, because we're going out for a walk around the town of Alnwick this afternoon. The town is two streets away from the house we're staying in, 'the lady's house'. I wish I did actually live here. It's beautiful. Beautiful aesthetically, but also beautiful because beautiful people live here and beautiful people holiday here, and the whole place just feels good, feels nice, feels pleasant. It's idyllic really, and now that I think about it I cannot remember how it happened that I decided to book a holiday here last year. I remember trawling through websites of cottages, but cannot remember why I looked at this part of the world. Perhaps it was on a recommendation. Anyway, I'm glad that I did. I will live here one day. I don't know if it will be soon, or if it will be in a couple of decades' time, if it will be with my family or if it will be alone, but I will live here one day.<br />
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I have pretty much no photos to share at this time, because all of them are on Kev's computer because his Apple has a card slot and mine does not, and I didn't bring my lead. I have only this one, from Bamburgh beach, which I managed to pinch from Facebook, where Kev left it. This is me in the pit that Thomas asked me to dig - this is only a half-dug pit, we managed to make it quite a lot deeper, and reached the water table and turned the pit into a pool. But the boys soon filled it in again, because they are destructive (I love my boys, but I do not like their destructive sides).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifm9FBY4YDQLe6nBR-7XiYGiRRqjVaxaBZBJl9N68Zsv_I3NPiL44vUULIkJ_wJsQ17r1YH8ubhgrSMzTow9Oki6CBIYfP1hXQLq8JaxtTlWYtHze_ezA0XW61yZkm8-8ffLd_GzABt_Q/s1600/338747_2011871820667_1359904844_32009277_4698805_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifm9FBY4YDQLe6nBR-7XiYGiRRqjVaxaBZBJl9N68Zsv_I3NPiL44vUULIkJ_wJsQ17r1YH8ubhgrSMzTow9Oki6CBIYfP1hXQLq8JaxtTlWYtHze_ezA0XW61yZkm8-8ffLd_GzABt_Q/s320/338747_2011871820667_1359904844_32009277_4698805_o.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Oh, now that I see this picture again I can see that the water is just visible at the bottom. This is as deep as it got. Funny how this angle of this photo makes the pit seem much shallower than it actually was. From another angle you can see that the pit is almost as deep as I am tall. When the boys were in it the top came above their heads. Matthew made himself some steps to get out :)<br />
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We're expecting some rain, so our planned trip to Bamburgh beach tomorrow may be cancelled. I would have liked to have had one more beach day, since the beaches here are so much nicer than the 'beaches' at Morecambe, but if we can't, we can't, and we'll have to do something else. No matter. We'll be back :)<br />
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Ahhhhhh, sigh of deep contentment. I just wish we could stay for an extra week. <br />
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More photos next week, when I get home to my lead.Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-61030492889814470302011-08-01T07:50:00.000-07:002011-08-01T07:50:21.121-07:00Not my usual Monday morningUsually, on a Monday morning I'm full of beans, and looking forward to a good week, and bursting with ideas and creativity. Not today. Today I am boring. Today I have no energy, and I'm annoying myself. What I should have done is got up early, piled us all in the car, and taken us off to the Lakes for a good walk. But I didn't. I just didn't do anything. We watched the final Harry Potter DVD in preparation for watching the proper last film at the cinema this week, and then the boys tumbled out into the garden and played in the rain. They're still there now, though the rain has stopped, much to their disappointment.<br />
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I have done nothing. Well, I have done boring stuff, such as the washing up, making lunch, and folding some clean washing. Now I have itchy hands. I'm not allergic to washing up liquid, no, I just need to do some writing. It's been a good month since I wrote anything worth showing to anyone, and I do start to feel a bit down when I haven't produced anything good for as long as that. <br />
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The solution is clear, as it always is: I must make the most of my evenings. When I produce good writing of an evening, my days are always better, and I always have more patience with the kiddy-winks, and I always feel more motivated to play with them. I must start tonight. I must get something written. I will do it.<br />
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Though I'm a little worried that I haven't got time in my life for writing, and cycling as well. <br />
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SLAP!!!!<br />
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That was me, giving myself a slap. I know better than to say things like that. How ridiculous - of course I've got time for cycling and writing.<br />
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In fact, I could do some writing now, since the boys are happily playing in the garden, and actually do not want me to play with them - who could blame them, when my face alternately looks like this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQusTckh3wgA9KqrT-5Klm3L2G3xf2UMM9xG8483JbGBrM_TmRS0m4df8mHVrySqYn7XYYuXiZQ3DpHnGH941y6CwgaYqSqNL19ZOlF3EKxrlVqanDY25SCFq-7Iz2HQI1Z2ojQGy8mRQ/s1600/Photo+88.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQusTckh3wgA9KqrT-5Klm3L2G3xf2UMM9xG8483JbGBrM_TmRS0m4df8mHVrySqYn7XYYuXiZQ3DpHnGH941y6CwgaYqSqNL19ZOlF3EKxrlVqanDY25SCFq-7Iz2HQI1Z2ojQGy8mRQ/s320/Photo+88.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">zoned out,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">clinically depressed,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">pathetically mourning the loss of a dear pet rat,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9XJVZnl4aPKeio95Tg4tjXwnhZAessWZ3L6P7o8RMbn1-aGoCO9uQM2CsdoAoSMLfoXx0ejtVp796RhEBvnYbNnQcSFPQPPbQr4cakTRMcLRGrVo6N_KuMKIGMndPFEEJ209wY4m_pg/s1600/Photo+92.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9XJVZnl4aPKeio95Tg4tjXwnhZAessWZ3L6P7o8RMbn1-aGoCO9uQM2CsdoAoSMLfoXx0ejtVp796RhEBvnYbNnQcSFPQPPbQr4cakTRMcLRGrVo6N_KuMKIGMndPFEEJ209wY4m_pg/s320/Photo+92.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">discovering the pair of dirty socks stuffed down the side of the couch,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">noticing that someone has folded the towels incorrectly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">I'm only looking like this very occasionally:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a little bit demented, on discovering the chocolate hidden at the back of the cupboard </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(it's past its use-by-date, but we're not fussy when it comes to chocolate).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Aren't you, reader, in luck today? You've been given the rare treat of seeing me <i>sans</i> hair products! What a blinkin' state I look! An uncanny resemblance to Cliff Richard c. 1963.</div>Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-50748670466167359512011-07-27T14:33:00.000-07:002011-07-27T14:33:15.741-07:00More sketching<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">About half way through with my sketch now. Didn't get chance to work on it today, though was itching to pick it up and have a scribble. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1CTG4aGcc2GbkpaQPBeP6pvZ3o9v8_E9CBcApvGR5f1M9IDME1dAFYAFRY1Nu2v8SuFHnjx1uk4cFLiVQ0Ubd88KChQk1INxTws2xu3fUxethUL0f1TxRhjxVVL8HaixgjH7qCOruXW0/s1600/IMG00099-20110726-1549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1CTG4aGcc2GbkpaQPBeP6pvZ3o9v8_E9CBcApvGR5f1M9IDME1dAFYAFRY1Nu2v8SuFHnjx1uk4cFLiVQ0Ubd88KChQk1INxTws2xu3fUxethUL0f1TxRhjxVVL8HaixgjH7qCOruXW0/s320/IMG00099-20110726-1549.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I am actually itching to do something creative for a longer period of time than ten minutes without being interrupted. But this is the way it is in the holidays when you have three young children (or any number of children - I'm sure it's the same with one as it is with three). It wouldn't be fair of me to expect to have lots of time to myself, so I resign myself to the fact that I won't get much done for six weeks. No problem really. I do get twitchy hands though - I'm dying to sit with a coffee and do a bit of writing for a couple of hours. Too tired in the evenings though.<br />
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Instead, the holidays are a time to do other things that we might not really get chance to do at any other time. Cloud watching is a good thing that we've discovered this week. The clouds were amazing yesterday (we didn't see them today as we were ridiculously lazy and stayed in all day!), and the boys were fantastic at spotting different shapes and animals and fantastical things in them. James was particularly imaginative, and he saw things that I would never have thought of, such as bird skeletons and wolf eyes! I took a couple of pictures of the clouds. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIBXtX_rjJVpkr3X8RwqW3rzHwje_qSdk3H2NVn1ewflaRSG64jCc5W2iSqgJyVGwMwW_Xnk_UtVVCqvTErYSpv-EzyYBQ-i5dZYGVYJiN49c1yU56V9ld37ZBD2nmB7C6fostxDZ9o8I/s1600/IMG00097-20110726-1440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIBXtX_rjJVpkr3X8RwqW3rzHwje_qSdk3H2NVn1ewflaRSG64jCc5W2iSqgJyVGwMwW_Xnk_UtVVCqvTErYSpv-EzyYBQ-i5dZYGVYJiN49c1yU56V9ld37ZBD2nmB7C6fostxDZ9o8I/s320/IMG00097-20110726-1440.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Maybe if the weather is nice tomorrow we'll get to lie in the garden and look at clouds properly. Oh, it's a very hard life, he he! :D</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2292425077142826218.post-20654683665118350572011-07-25T16:20:00.000-07:002011-07-25T16:20:13.159-07:00Sketching.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We've had a lovely day today. The boys have been great - heavily influenced by the lovely, and well-behaved kids that they played with on our camping weekend I think. It was so nice not to be breaking up the fights and bickering, which is what I've been doing a lot lately. I think that nice weather that allows them to stay out in the garden all day really helps. Oliver was in in the afternoon, so I didn't see much of them for a couple of hours in the afternoon, so chatted with my dad for a while and then decided to find something to sketch. It's not easy to find time to write in the holidays, I don't like to sit in front of the computer for a long time when the boys are all home with me. But I'm finding that I need to find some kind of creative outlet so as not to start getting grumpy. I can't write much over the next few weeks, but I can sketch. I can do this because the boys like to spend a lot of time drawing and writing: Thomas is still producing work at a rate of knots, and the work is becoming more detailed and more mature; Matthew usually joins him once he's finished whichever bit of mischief he's been working on; James doesn't draw as much, but when he does he creates masterpieces with no effort whatsoever. I'm thrilled to bits that they can all draw so well - they may not use art to make a living (although they may, I don't know, of course), but it's nice that they each have a good eye, and the ability to see the world in colour and form. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, this is how far I got with my sketch today. It's a small section from a photograph of King's Circus in Bath. I'll show you it again when it's finished. I'm quite pleased with it. It's not perfect, but it's amazing how easy architecture is to draw. I'm really enjoying it. I've been wanting to sketch for a long time, but I just can't do people at all, I'm terrible. So I'm pleased that I've found something that's within my capabilities! I'd like to try to complete a sketchbook of drawings of buildings - but you should know me by now: I never stick to one thing, and rarely finish anything! Though saying that, I do feel as though I'm settling down now, finding a bit of a niche, and being comfortable exactly where I am, and doing exactly what I'm doing. That's nice :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">King's Circus, Bath.</div>Lady Wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02539951812137473757noreply@blogger.com0