Christmas has passed me by

I have been sick since the 23rd of December and am only just emerging. I remember very little about Christmas Day, nor Boxing Day come to think of it. This morning I had a look at the presents under the tree that I had been given by various members of the family and it was like having Christmas Day all over again. I have no memory of originally receiving them. Who had given me a box set of the Darling Buds of May for example? (I have since found out that it was Emma.) I must admit that The Darling Buds of May is the only present I remember from my look through this morning. That just shows you how affected my mind is! I will take another look through and it will be a matter of guessing who might the giver be!

Everything has been put in a lovely green shopping bag with the words "reuse and use again and again" repeated over and over again. In the bottom right-hand corner of one side in larger print are the words: Bags don't grow on trees. It is green and black and by its size, I think that I will be using it over and over again! The top item in the bag is a tea cosy. I remember this because my oldest daughter gave it to me on the evening I became ill so my mind hadn't yet become swamped in cold. It is handmade by oldest daughter from the most amazing wool she bought on eBay. I really should find out more about that. Imagine buying wool on eBay. I may have to photograph the cosy since it would be too difficult to describe. That makes it sound as if the cosy is somehow different than others. It isn't. It's the wool that is unusual. I have a cosy at home but not at school so I may take it there.
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I'm not sure why I have been rambling on about Christmas presents. I was sicker than I am now when I wrote the above so that might be in part an explanation! I think that I was wandering towards making some comments on the changing nature of Christmas presents. I shall do so at a later date!

(To be continued)

Christmas Tree Decorating Day

We didn't have a Christmas tree last year, except in my classroom. The cats had just joined us and I was sure that any tree I put up would end up on the floor. This year, I have greater hope of keeping them off it. However, Noah, just over a year and just starting to walk, is coming to visit for a few days. I can see that the tree may have to be moved during his visit but I won't let that dull my enthusiasm today.

Emma and Michael are coming over this afternoon to help and so in advance of their arrival I am going to do some baking. I want to make shortbread and muffins. I will also make some dough so that we can have homemade pizza for dinner. Now if only I had the necessary items for mulled wine!

I will post any recipes on my baking blog: http://livemorewithless.blogspot.com

How very odd!

I haven't written since November. Today, I thought that I should check to see if anyone had left any comments...usually, it will be Mary Jane. Instead, I found a message from someone unknown, perhaps from Japan, I'm not sure. Then I checked my site meter only to discover that 42 people had visited my blog this week alone! That has to be the most visits I have received in one week in all the years I have been writing. My goodness! What a surprise? If any of the 42 read this, perhaps you could tell me what brought you so unexpectedly to my blog. I really would like to know.

I suddenly feel discovered!

Not only does it languish!

Alas, not only did my novel languish, it hasn't progressed since the first week. I am going to blame the fact that I have been battling a cold and an ankle injury for not making much progress. I can say that at least I am further ahead than I had been with my 'comedy horror' cult novel. I have a feel for the main characters and a good idea of most of the minor ones.

My leg is feeling better, thank goodness! I was beginning to wonder if it ever would. I'm back to swimming and seem to be doing better having had a week off. That's interesting!

School is...school! Our principal is still doing nothing about my time table and working conditions. Did I expect anything else? Probably not! However, I did manage to get something done about the lighting in my office and over my desk. Not in the rest of the library yet but that will happen later in the year.

Four weeks to Christmas! This year we can go all out because we have a new head of school who doesn't have a Christmas phobia. Yeah! I'm going to decorate the library next week and set up a Christmas tree. What fun!

Novel languishes!

My novel is languishing on my desktop. It hasn't helped that I fell and hurt my ankle the day before the month started and that it is still causing me problems, or that I now have a nasty cold and persistent cough! I did well the first week and have done absolutely nothing this week! I've been either too tired or had too much to do. I was at a conference last Friday in London and then another on Monday. Too much going on in my head for the novel to find room. I realize that these are but excuses. However, I have come to the decision that I will continue to work on the novel but that I won't beat myself up over not managing to keep up with the word count.

This weekend is Noah's 1st birthday. We are heading up to Swansea tomorrow morning, and taking GB with us to help them celebrate. James's family will be there as well. The forecast for the weekend is for torrential rain and gale force winds across the country. What fun the drive will be!

The 1st of November: Novel writing month has finally arrived!

I may not be writing here all that much during the month of November since I need to write nearly 1700 words a day just to stay ahead of myself in order to complete 50,000 words by the end of November. If you aren't sure what I'm talking about, I have joined the challenge to write a novel during the month of November. The link to the site if you are interested is: http://www.nanowrimo.org/ I will try to let you know about my progress from time to time and I think that you can set it up so that you receive a notification whenever I post. Wish me luck because at this point, I'm still not sure which novel I'm going to start. I have two possibilities. One is a children's book and the other a story about the dysfunctional relationship of a mother and daughter. I won't know till later today!

And of course, good luck to all my friends who are starting the journey as well!

The Best laid plans

I was looking forward to a weekend of swimming, gardening, a bit of shopping and starting my novel tomorrow for novel writing month. Well, I went to the pool, fell at the edge on a patch of water and will now be spending my weekend on the sofa with my laptop. I suppose that will be good for the novel! How annoying!