Remembrance

As per my tradition, I always watch the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance and the Remembrance Service at the Cenotaph.  It is important to remember and reflect the sacrifices, trials and hardships of these two most gruesome of wars.  Whilst I am humbled and thankful to all those men and women who chose and still choose our amazing armed forces as a career path, I always specifically think about the hundreds and thousands of people who were conscripted to join the war effort, those who during war time volunteered to join, ordinary people who didn’t have a tantrum of ‘it’s not fair’, who didn’t have the modern day selfish, I’m owed privilege, but with pride, patriotism and sense of duty went to defend their way of life, and our future.

As I watch ‘the old guard’ march past the Cenotaph, I remember the remembrance service I stood at in November 1994.  I cannot tell you where I was, because I was standing at the bow of STS Lord Nelson as Captain John Fisher led us.  My voyage was in its second week, so likely just off the coast of Portugal.  As we sailed the Atlantic Coast with the sun shining around the white clouds, as we crested the rolling waves, my buddy and I trying not to burst into giggles at the thought of a crashing wave washing the foredeck at the bowsprit.  Trying to keep to the tune and timing of “those in peril on the sea” hymn without any accompaniment.  Quite poignant and moving to be so isolated on the vest ocean, yet knowing such services were taking part all over the globe.

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Call My Boobs

I’ve had one of those ‘craft’ moments, my brain was absolutely no help, all it had to do was remember one simple thing.  Settle back and picture the scene…..

I have a distant relationship with my mobile, often it is in the draw needing to be charged to get the code to log into some secure online account or whatever. I might top it up once a year or eighteen months, you see if people need me they call my landline, email or message me via t’internet. I think I’ve just heard the whole teenage generation faint nthe surprise.

An on-going situation requires me to keep the thing handy.  I had made my coffee, shuffled back to the sofa and sat ready to tackle a to-do or two ….. where’s my phone …..

• Is it hiding under the tv magazine …. No
• Is it caught up with my crochet …. No
• Did it slide off the side table …. No
• Did it slip between the cushions …. No
• Has it fallen into the wool bag beside the table …. No
• Did I leave it on my desk …. No
• Did I leave it by the bed or on the pillow …………..

As I was resigning to having to get up and go look I felt something move.

It was in my bra, it had been snuggled in there all warm for the past few hours since I’d got dressed in the morning.

 

User Interface Stuck

Back a few posts ago I had set a to-do list with a completion date of before BFF’s visit ….. Let’s evaluate…..

1. Research and write the new article
2. Upgrade video player (current one doesn’t handle mobile devices)
3. Rework each video file/page
4. Upload everything to the server and publish
5. Update back-up drives 1 and 2 (I’m not loosing all that hard work)

1. The new article is written but it needs putting into an HTML format and a couple of things are needed from third parties before publishing – not done yet.

2. Website video – with the introduction of html5 a new coding method can be used, but it needs the videos to be in three different formats and uploaded to the server, time consuming – each video has been converted into the three types, I am currently still uploading, one set at a time.

3.  Video pages – in order not to get lost as not everything can be done at one go at the desk, I update the pages as the trio of files are uploaded. So the review pages additions are done, the YouTube embedded ones are done, a couple of short interview segments are done, just the longer interview videos needs to be done…… so almost but not quite.

4.  Uploading is done gradually as each page/video is completed…. so on-going.

5.  This plan was expanded as there was an operating system upgrade, so total system back up, download and install OS upgrade, then after satisfied everything is as it should be another total system back up.  Now just need to do the secondary specific files back up (hey better to have two back ups, just in case, mild paranoia is sometimes wise).

HOWEVER :: I did finish a cat blanket and am halfway through a second.

Harnessing and fanning motivation is still an incredibly difficult thing, I ‘need’ to spend more time at my desk, I ‘need’ to not be disheartened by the faff of shuffling on the chair from desk to sofa and focus more on the enjoyment/accomplishment/occupation of being at my desk.  When every single element of everything I try and do involves an ever growing degree of struggle, and having to juggle how much time spent on job ‘A’ before impacting on necessary job ‘B’, it’s so much easier just to roll over and snuggle under the duvet where I’m pain free, struggle free, discomfort free and toasty warm.

Could do better, my dear, procrastinating isn’t going to motivate the mentals or bring satisfaction.  

 

C-Antics

This is #NotMyCat aka Mickey …. A somewhat charismatic, charming, Turkish van cat who uses my wheelie bin (which is at the back door) as a throne, upon which he snoozes in the sun, surveys his grounds, supervises my kitchen goings on and generally ‘cat’ things.   When BFF is here she lets him in, feeds him, and we fuss and play with him, and he often snoozes on my posh black desk chair (white hair repository).  BFF has a mild allergy to fur, she had changed the duvet as she was itching and sneezing, she took a call from daughter2 and had company on the fresh, unfurred duvet – best laid plans.  You could say this is ‘his’ house.

As I’m a late sleeper, BFF gets up and goes off on a three mile speed walk, returns and breakfasts with Mighty Mickey before I surface to consciousness.  I could hear her talking to him, heard the front door open and close (M’s preferred exit method) and then heard the tell tale sound of his dish tapping against the kitchen skirting board. Had the little beep trotted around the building, leaped onto his bin and re-entered through the kitchen window? “Meooow……. Meeooww…….. Meeeooowww…..” That’s not a Mickster squeak!  I called to BFF and low and behold Mickey’s nervous cautious but curious best bud aka Ginger had taken a bravery pill and wandered in (via bin and window) but couldn’t or wouldn’t jump on the worktop and exit the same way.  BFF shepherded Ginger through the lounge and he sprang with much relief out the front door.

With the nights being warm, we often had the window open slightly, so it was no surprise that at some point Mickey would sneak in and settle on the bed (after the kneading ritual).  He was against my feet as I turned and after a brief while I felt him stand and jump off, I cracked my eye open and gazed towards the window where a blurry lump was wiggling (I’ve very poor eye sight and glasses were on the table). I thought M was taking a wander and thought nothing more until a guttural growl began from somewhere in the corner of the room.  Odd, was M observing something from the window (we have hedgehogs and possible a fox in these parts).  Again the growl began with greater earnest, persistence and aggression, BFF hopped out of bed to the window, where the fuzzy lump high tailed it, replaced by M up at the window scanning and searching, not happy.  We had had a new furry intruder!  A stripped tortoiseshell moggy, possibly the known wanderer from a neighbouring street called Bert (or is it Ernie, they’re so alike).

Okay, so granted I have reached my golden decade and am single, but I didn’t order the old lady kitty cat starter kit and Signor Mickey d’Mooch feels he has exclusive rights to this cat club establishment.

That reminds me, I must retrieve the conker from under my desk.  Big Sis has placed a few in my porch to deter the arachnid intruders, Mickey got it in his cat nip induced noggin to play football with one.

 

The Holibobs Blues

Like the weather, my mood has dipped to decidedly chilly since my BFF fly off back home just over a week ago.  I’m sure the seventeen days she was here are the absolutely fastest of the year.  It’s amazing how a few days of simple changes can make such a difference.  Okay, so we are not the most adventurous vacationers, infact our greatest outing was to the cinema.  Spending our days chatting, reminiscing, stitching, playing with ‘Not My Cat’ (didn’t take him long to catch on treat giver was back, lol).  

So viewing pleasures ….. I’ve forgotten a few.

• Funny Girl
• Funny Lady
• Churchill
• Another Mother’s Son
• Christine
• Hitchcocks Lifeboat
• The Girl
• Breath
• Shepherd & Butchers
• Eight Days A Week
• Love & Mercy
• Eat Pray Love
• Before You Go To Sleep
• Deniel
• Sully
• Doc Martin
• The Marvellous Mrs Maisel

Good food, treat food, tasty food, thoroughly enjoyed and relished.

It’s horrid to say good bye when we know it will be a few months before we are together again. 

To add salt to my blue mood, you remember that list, just a few things, that I set to do before BFF arrive Do? Yeah, well, erm, that didn’t go so good either, but that’s for another post.

 

How Much Do You Forward Think?

Are you enjoying your lazy Sunday evening?  Are you comfy, feet up, maybe watching the GP, or reading a book, not really thinking of anything.  I’m sure there are a few readers out there chasing those last chores to be ready for the ‘paid job’ that calls on a Monday morning.  Me? I’m just strategising my logistics.

Before getting up to start dinner I had to plan, and plan in detail.  First put used dish, coffee mug and trash on the chair. Get up, off for a wee we go, whilst seated remember to roll up your sleeves (can’t do it standing up). Once in kitchen turn on grill as you pass taking dirties to the sink. Fill washing up bowl.  Move dry pots from draining board to oven top and put pork steak under the grill and set time for 5 minutes. Put pots away in the cupboard, get dinner plate out and rice packet.  Return to sink, start washing up (technical glitch, I forgot the sleeve rolling, sigh, options don’t do dishes or try and squish up sleeves keeping elbows at my side to hold them out the water). Beep beep beep, okay turn over steak, get rice pack ready to zap in microwave.  Stuff trash into bag ready to deal with tomorrow. Turn everything off, dish up, return to lounge.

Essentially, no journey is a single task, and you cannot back track or forget something, and you cannot drop anything. Get it right first time, every time.

Now I’m planning bedtime. Put cardigan on chair, get up and off for a wee, off to bed. Put cardy in laundry basket, get clean clothes out onto chair, put dirty wearings in the basket.  Hold that thought ……… I need to take the phone with me to put on the bedroom charger ……. put phone under cardigan otherwise it will slide off.  Contingency plan, if I cannot get up off the loo, leave phone in the bathroom, put cardy on back of chair (I sit on the chair and shuffle through to the bed).  Okay that should work.

In bed I’ll strategise tomorrow. Up, off to the bathroom, dressed and etc, return to the bedroom. Fold laundry put on chair (unfolded tends to slide off and I cannot pick anything up off the floor) make way to kitchen and load the washing machine and start, put dry bath towel on chair, put away last nights washing up and return to bedroom.  Fold towel and leave on chest of draws to take to bathroom next morning (haven’t the strength/balance to do it as its own job).  I have to sit and rest because I’ve not got the energy for the next bit as well. 

Right then, up, to the kitchen, make coffee and brunch/lunch sandwich, take out dinner from the freezer.  Waddle through to the desk, get seated.  Wheel to sofa and grab purse and note pad, check work list …… Hold on, hold on, I forgot something, I’m taking the phone through tonight, so must remember to put phone on chair before getting up and making lunch.

This is nothing special, this is everyday.  I’m constantly going over the next set of logistics, adding and amending, adjusting and revising.

And some people have problems solving the old fox-chicken-corn across the river riddle.

 

Burnsy Woz Right

With Big Sis away for a weeks break, I decided to allocate this week to getting to grips with the video issues on the website. I had already googled and bookmarked a few how to pages and had mentally mapped out my productive days.

That’s where I went wrong, having a determined plan.

As some may know I’m pseudo consultant to the Resident Management Company that I used to run before handing it over to an agent when it got too much.  To say that the Agent have had ‘issues’ is a bit like calling pneumonia man flu.  Staff changes, lack of communication, confusing cross communication, time delays, etc have been adding to the general rumblings of dissension around here.  Consequently for every email sent, it generated two more, needing immediate attention. The Director and I decided to get to grips with everything and lick em into shape, we were going to go through the invoices of the past two years noting anomalies, we listed general running issues and we’re trying to get the next (already over-due) residents meeting organised.  

I did manage to list all the videos that need converting into three different file types (devices use different formats, desktop v tablets and phones, Apple v Microsoft v Android).  Apart from a couple of snaffoos that skipped along nicely, even managed to save the relevant back-ups.  This brought a recurrent issue, getting FileZilla to transfer the large files to the server. I’m three desk sessions into trying and I just cannot get it configured, nor find the instructions and answers online, it’s just something further than my limited knowledge and ability can handle.  So I’ll have to hope the web hosts ftp can cope with the file sizes.  It’s a time consuming process.

Each video page needs the HTML re-writing, all eighteen of them.  Some are videos I’m hosting, others are on YouTube, but I cannot start these until the video files are uploaded.  It’s already Saturday, that leaves a heck of a lot to go wrong right before Big Sis gets here at 9am Tuesday (her hubby’s car has a garage appointment first thing, so he’s using her car for work).  I’m polishing a draft for a new web article before coding that into a fresh HTML page as well.  BFF’s visit is coming up and I so want it all done by then.

Who was it who said, if you want something done, give to a busy woman, well if you find him, shoot him!