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Hibernation I reckon that squirrels and bears have got the right idea - hibernate for the winter!!! It's not officially winter here until the solstice on December 21st, but it seems as if winter has already arrived. The colder weather and dark afternoons have sent me into a sort of hazy cocoon that's making it difficult to concentrate on anything for long. Doing anything is an effort. My FM isn't happy either. One of the reasons that the updates have been less frequent is that I'm in a mini flare-up, with quite a lot of pain. My hands don't want to work properly either, making it difficult to type much. I need to write the draft of a short story for the workshop on Saturday, to start writing xmas cards (well, at least those that are for foreign shores) and to wrap up several presents for when my sister and her husband come up next Monday to collect them for distribution 'down south'. Instead all I want to do is to curl up in the warm with hot cups of tea, chocolate and a good sloppy film!!! Posted 9.55am GMT
 12th anniversary Twelve years ago I moved into my present home. It was a milestone for many reasons, but mainly because it was the first house that I'd ever owned (well, ok, mortgaged!!!) as a single person. Then I hardly had any furniture and it seemed carvernous. Now, with bookcases, books, teddies, dragons, computer games, cd's and dvd's as well as all the furniture that I've acquired and the stuff that my partner has brought into the house with him, I really need to have a huge clear out to make room for me!!! I now dread the thought of moving out - it would take weeks of packing as opposed to the day or so it took me before I moved in. Luckily, I have no plans to go anywhere. It also marks the incredible fact that I've now lived here more than double the time that I'd ever lived anywhere else - the longest time that I've lived in any other place has been just over 5 years. Probably because, for the first time in my life, I have control over where I live, rather than having to go along with parents or my 'ex'. It's a good feeling. This morning I've actually done some writing - ok, only about 350 words, but a big improvement. Having had some positive feedback on yesterday's 'snippet', I've begun to explore the situation between Ramone and Thorne and why he broke her 'precious orb'. It seems that they're husband and wife, and he's in debt. He wanted, or needed, the orb to pay off his creditors. Denied by his wife, he broke the orb in anger. As to what happens next, I'll hopefully find out tomorrow!!! Posted 11.10am GMT
 Wednesday 24th November Dreamy Sorry I haven't updated sooner, have been very tired and dreamy since the weekend. It went ok and we had a lovely Thai meal out on Saturday, as well as a pub lunch together on Sunday. But, as usual, the extra activites left me shattered. Still, recovering a bit now, and at least I've had snooker to watch - always a bonus! I've done no writing, of course, apart from this morning in response to an exercise set by Writerspark. I don't often do them but
decided that I would today - the challenge is to write something in 50 words or less that
includes the bold words in order:
Splinters of Ramone's precious orb lay
around her.
"Why?" she snapped. "You know that I could never sell
it!"
Thorne shrugged. "Your penance," he answered as he
sheathed his blade, "is to reflect on what
might have been had you indulged my need." Perhaps there's the start of a story in there - I confess that I wish I knew who Ramone and Thorne are, and what their relationship is!!! Posted 14.45 GMT
 Friday 19th November Snowy Yep, we've had our first snowfall - even though officially it's still autumn. Earliest that we've had snow for a fair while: although it was forecast several times last year none ever came. Yesterday evening the snow fell thick and fast from just before 6pm, covering almost everything with a very beautiful white coat. By 9pm it had stopped but we still have snow in some shady places - and lots of ice. I don't like the latter, especially as I had to go into town this morning. But I survived. And the sun is shining! So despite the cold it makes a wonderful change from the grey and wet days that we've been having. Hence the sunny mood. Heightened by getting some good xmas shopping done, with a bargain present, that I thought cost £10, marked down to only a £1 - ooh. Tomorrow, my partner's folks are coming up for the weekend. It means that I still need to do some cleaning and tidying <groan> and will have to pace myself carefully. But at least the house will look nicer than it has done for a while, especially after my partner lends a hand in the morning. And it will make a change from the normal do-nothing routine. Time now though for lunch, a rest and hopefully a little play as well as housework. Posted 1pm GMT
 Wednesday 17th November Generators Looking for ideas for that short story I have to write, I stumbled across Seventh Sanctum - a great site with loads of different generators for fantasy worlds and the characters that inhabit them. Great fun. Didn't help me with my own story though. I've just spent half-hour or so jotting down some ideas but none of them really appeal. In a way I'd like to base it on the fantasy genre, as I feel more comfortable with that than with a more real-life situation. I did try some free-writing, but my attempts so far have been futile. Just hope the Muse is kind and helps me out!!! Posted 14.08 GMT
 Workshop The workshop went well, although I was disappointed with my own efforts - all the other writers seemed so much better than me, using phrases and humour and metaphors that I could only admire. And wish that I had thought of! Still, it has sparked a few ideas - just as well, as I have to write a short story in time to take to the next workshop on 4th December. Apart from that, I was shattered Sunday (not surprisingly) so did very little apart from watch the snooker (John Higgins won, in case you're interested). Yesterday I was playing with my latest purchase - Jump to Lightspeed - the first expansion pack for Star Wars Galaxies. Good fun, and I have a new character (an Ithorian named Arani) on my favourite 'galaxy' where my son and friends all play. It has meant that I had to dump my existing character (only 1 allowed per galaxy) but I was extremely tired of her and wanted a change. Ithorians are a new race that comes with the expansion - she looks totally weird, but hey! her statistics are pretty cool. You can see that I'm totally addicted - although I know of at least one other 'mature' female with a character on SWG, I suspect that we're in the minority, not just of female players, but of being over 40... not sure what that says about me, but I honestly don't care about being different. I'm me, and if people don't like who I am, then tough!!! Come fight me in the skies above Naboo  .Posted 13.52 GMT
 Friday 12th November Journals in general I wrote in my diary-journal (as opposed to my blog or the numerous notebooks that I have scattered around the house) twice yesterday. Considering that I had gone nearly 10 months between entries, this is a vast improvement! I'm hoping that this revised interest will continue and thrive. I've had another idea for a journal project - a biographical or memories journal in which I can jot down all my memories and snippets from my childhood and life. Not sure if it would work, but the reason I'm considering this one is because I have no diaries, and very few other items, from my childhood. Or from my teens and indeed from my life before 1990. A huge gap that I think it may be useful to fill, especially as my daughter has begun to take an interest in family history - she has already done a lot of research into our family tree and seems keen to continue. A biographical journal that includes quotes or information that I've gleaned from older relatives who are no longer here therefore seems a good idea. I'll see. Haven't been too bad the last couple of days, health-wise. Even managed to clean the lounge window and wash the net curtains yesterday - something that I've been wanting to do for months (yes I know - that type of housework isn't one of my priorities!!!). Of course, I had to take pain-killers later, but seeing nice freshly-laundered curtains and being able to see out of the window makes up for the pain. I need to pace myself carefully for the rest of today, however. Tomorrow I'm going to a short story writing workshop, an all-day affair that will probably push me to my limit. I'm looking forward to it, though. Apart from the learning skills that I hope to acquire, it will be good to get out and chat to people with similar interests. For now, though, time for lunch followed by an afternoon watching the snooker (British Open at Brighton) from the comfort of my reclining chair - bliss!!!! Posted 12.40pm GMT
Thursday 11th November Arafat Just to acknowledge the death of an intriguing, charismatic and important man. I know little about him (who did?) and thus can not comment on what he was really like, although I respected his courage, determination and strength of character. His passing is an important moment in the history of the Middle East and should therefore be acknowledged. Readers may wish to check out this link - interestingly from a Chinese source - that documents the reactions of some world leaders. May he rest in the peace that in life he was denied. Also, on Armistice Day, a poppy in remembrance of those of our armed forces who have died, and contine to die, doing their duty for our country. Posted 9.10am GMT
 New browser Having seen this earlier today, I decided to download the new Firefox browser. So far it seems good, but the one thing I can't find for it is a composer similar to Netscape Composer that I currently use to update my blog. Shame. Perhaps eventually they'll bring one out. What I do like is the ability to add themes and extensions (although currently this is slow - I assume that a lot of people out there are doing the same). The tabbed pages are neat, too. Worth a look folks, even if only to annoy the Microsoft camp!!! Posted 12.55pm GMT
Wednesday 10th November Journal-keeping An interesting discussion on the Purple_Ink group about the keeping of journals etc. has decided me to try and find all of my notebooks, journals, poetry and art that are presently scattered all over the house and to keep them all together. A monumental task, as several are just lying around in odd corners whilst others are haphazardly stored in numerous boxes and cases stacked in the attic. It's not something I'm going to do straight away or in one go, but will be a project that I suspect will be ongoing for years!!! Another (associated) project that I wish to embark upon is to scan in all of the photos and transparencies that I've taken over the years and save them to CD's so that (a) they'll be available in an easy format for my children, grandchildren as well as myself and (b) will keep them catalogued and ordered. At the moment, my photos are stored in various boxes, photo albums and the original photo envelopes. For those of you who are aware of how many photos that I've taken over the the years, you'll realise that this is one project that will probably never be completed - probably not even started! But, hey, I can dream... Posted 12pm GMT
Tuesday 9th NovemberMoon River From ideas gleaned at the poetry workshop on rivers, the following is a 'work in progress' - in other words, I'm not completely happy with it yet, but believe it near enough the finished poem to share! Moon River Black surface barely seen; No hoot of owl to break the silence here, just tremblings of distant motors and a gentle singing weir. Then the moon breaks cover from shrouded clouds; but her light is broken by oiled ripples shattering illusions of calm. © Linda Doughty 2004 Posted 10.15am GMT
Saturday 6th NovemberGenerated pics... ...that reflect how I feel this morning...
Posted 10.40am GMT
Thursday 4th November Power of Nightmares Watched the 3rd and last in the series about the illusions fed to the world by the neo-conservatives. The Power of Nightmares has been a revealing look at how a few people have been able to cause fear by creating the illusion of a non-existent network of terror. Even the creation of Al-Qaeda was a work of the Americans - according to the programme, the group has never existed except in the minds of those who wanted it to exist. Interesting stuff that should, I believe, have been compulsory viewing for all Americans prior to them voting, as well as for us here in the UK. I shudder with horror at the prospect of another 4 years under the rule of Bush and his right-wing advisors... Posted 9am GMT
Tuesday 2nd NovemberDisappointed Never made it to yoga last night as I was too tired and achy - no point in paying good money for a class that I couldn't participate in and would probably sleep through!!! It transpired that my neighbour wasn't well either - she's suffering from the cold/flu bug that's doing the rounds at the moment. So between us, think we've decided not to bother going to yoga class again! Disappointed in a way, but not surprised. I knew it was a very, very slim off-chance that yoga would help. Still, I have the book and can practice the relaxation and breathing techniques at home by myself. The part, that to be honest, is best suited to my needs. So all is not lost. Reading my blog, you'd think I was unaware of the big event happening across the puddle (an affectionate name for the Atlantic, for those of you who are confused!). I am, however, very much aware of the election (who couldn't be - the media have been blasting us about it for weeks). We've watched numerous programmes on USA politics, the system, the issues and the views of various people during the last few weeks. It has intrigued me. But one question puzzles me - why doesn't America use the same electoral registration system as us? Or do they and has it failed? Here, every household receives a registration form, detailing exactly who is allowed to vote. It's an offence, I believe, not to inform the registrar who is eligible to vote within that household, and to deceive. Seems a reasonable system that works here - why so much hassle in the USA to get people to register? Presumably there is no obligation to register (one of the freedoms of the Americans?). But sometimes, freedom has to be backed up by law. At least, that's how I see it. But if there are any American readers of my blog who can put me right on this issue, I'll be grateful to hear from you!!! Posted 10.20am GMT
 Monday 1st November Workshops Went to a poetry workshop on Saturday. About rivers, it was very enjoyable and I met up with 4 or 5 people that I know from other writing courses. I didn't write anything much, but we composed a joint poem and I learned a couple of other tricks for getting ideas that I hope will be useful in the future. Whilst there I booked for 3 more workshops: a series on short story writing, one a month starting in a fortnight. I'm looking forward to them - I never did the module specifically for short stories when on my Creative Writing course, although we did write a few in other modules. The downside to having been to the workshop is that I've been tired since. So have done nothing much apart from general housework, a bit of shopping and surfing. I'm supposed to be going to my 2nd yoga class this evening. Planning to go, but suspect that I might end up falling asleep during the relaxation!!! Posted 2.15pm GMT
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