Who flipped the calendar?

It cannot be March since I last came here! Judging by the dust and mustiness it has been!! Sooo what’s been going on… *scrolls through calendar*…. meetings ….. crocheted a baby blanket…. meetings….. singalong…. meetings…. quiz night at neighbours….. meetings…. argue with hospital….. meetings…. crochet cat blanket…. nominated for an award…. more meetings….. said bye to staff leaving…. Easter raffle, won two Easter eggs ….. meetings ….. argue with hospital again ….. meetings…. shortlisted for a National award ….. meetings ….. meetings ….. got my hair cut and coloured. Yeap, that’s about it.

Back in early February, after BFF’s visit I made a brief little to-do list, okay let’s see……ohhh-errrr

• Book an at home eye test – done, ended up having to go to the opticians in-person anyway, which ended up with eye clinic referral, which ended up…..well that’s another story of broken system incompetence.
• Call for a Dentist appointment – done, booked the taxi, dentist cancelled appointment, made another that was not do-able, so cancelled that, rebooked another and the taxi.
• Start stitching the baby blanket – done and done (for a dog) and done (for a cats outdoor house) and another in slow slow progress
• Spend some time at the desk – done, but will need to do more when new Mac arrives
• Bravely ask for help with some sorting of my junk jobs – can we skip this one, wish my Mary Poppins style click of the fingers worked.

What’s that? Oh, the nomination and shortlisting, you saw that. Well, quite unexpectedly I was approached by the Housing Association who wanted to put my name forward for the annual national “Women In Housing” awards. Flattered and surprised sprung to mind, I’m relatively new to all this and didn’t feel I’d done anything exceptional that warranted such reward but hey ho, who am I to question the wonders of the world. Earlier this month the shortlist was published and bugger me, I’m on it, as Board/Committee Member of the Year. There’s a swanky do in June when the winners will be announced.

May is a month of meetings, there’s a spotlight project drilling down into the nitty gritty of an area to weed out issues and suggest improvements. A few strategic governance meetings so make the bigwigs and contractors squirm a little. A couple of hospital appointments, each will take up the day and result in nothing or something tediously unhelpful.

Still my reward will be a new Mac. My current one is over ten years old, slower than a politician answering a yes/no question and as I get reward points from the Housing Association for meetings and reading, I’ve saved up a years worth to redeem against a new shinny speedy machine.

Curious how life changes, once upon a couple of decades ago I’d be blogging most weeks, now things have shrunk considerably.

I did write a couple of clerihews for April 23rd which I was rather pleased with.

Remarked St George
"I strived to forge,
But those buggers instead
Cut off me head!"

Scribbled The Bard
"All this rhyming is hard
I know what I'll do
Finish Taming Of The Shrew"

Simple pleasures!

 

Sigh, humph,

::sigh:: I’m struggling to shake off my winter lethargy and general clouded funk that cloaks me every year. It was certainly not helped my the sinusitis and blocked ears across Christmas and New Year, both events passed me completely unrecognised.

The good thing about January was my BFF visiting, and as she was finally well enough after her three months of chest infections, she was pleased to get here too.

We surpassed our level of activities by doing absolutely nothing. We watched films and tv series, we ate tasty comforting food and we did little else. Our viewing list (not including the quiz shows) consisted of –

1. Man of the year
2. St Trinians
3. Heat of the night
4. Chicken run dawn of the nugget
5. The trust (Netflix series)
6. I am a stalker (Netflix series)
7. Maestro (Leonard Bernstein)
8. Nyad 
9. The Mercy 
10. The electric life of Louie wain 
11. The reverend & Mrs Simpson
12. It snows in Benidorm 
13. Pamela with love - her words
14. Murdaugh Murders (both series)
15. Inside the mind of cats
16. I used to be famous
17. King of thieves
18. Failure to launch
19. Morning Glory
20. Murdered
21. Man vs Bee (series)
22. Filthy Rich, Jeffrey Epstein
23. Our Father
24. Hard times
25. 23 Walks
26. Belonging
27. May contain nuts
28. Walking the Grand Canyon
29. H is for Happiness
30. Archie (becoming Cary Grant)

All too soon she was on her bumpy way home 😢 but will be back in June 😁

What else – I think I mentioned I’d become an ‘engaged customer’ with the Housing Association, while I enjoy the sessions and the putting forward of opinions and suggestions, questioning some issues etc, the involvement in governance and recruitment at higher levels, with much more intelligent experienced people than me, I do have a bubbling bout of imposter syndrome. Have I over egged my past experience and abilities or just lost a level of confidence that comes with increasing age and decreasing health.

Anyway, maybe I need a list 😆

• Book an at home eye test
• Call for a Dentist appointment
• Start stitching the baby blanket
• Spend some time at the desk
• Bravely ask for help with some sorting of my junk jobs

Onwards and upwards as the year brightens……

 

An Extra Hour To…?

…..sleep, or doze, or lay there trying to sleep or doze, or lay there planning what to do when I get up.

That said. I do want a gold star, shiny medal and suitable praise because I have, after over twelve months of procrastination, ordered my wall mounted tv and a man to put it up! Double star, it might even be erected before I get round to finishing this blog post and publishing it. *gasp*

Now, if I could juuuust get motivated about the pictures to go up on my walls. Steady on gal, hold you hard (as the old natives round these parts say), don’t get over excited.

So, what are my plans for the winter whilst hibernating in my toasty abode.

Crochet some new little Christmas Stockings. Whether for the food bank to pop a choc in for the festive season or a little something for my team of carers or another garland to add to all the decorations.

Some back up and updates on the computer.

Sort the pictures for the walls, as mentioned above.

The best bit ….. BFF is coming to play I mean stay for two weeks, lots of lovely scrumpy comfort foods and chatter and tv watching to be done.

Happy extra hour, full moon, Halloween night to you all!

 

October – Poem

Here we are, the beginning of the tenth (hang on, I need to recount …..) crickey, yes, the tenth month of the year. Another poem, another string of thoughts.

October the month of ghosts and ghouls
With treats for the good, and tricks for fools
Foggy mists hang round lanterns bright
Throwing eerie shadows across the night

Pumpkin spice pervades the menus 
With chocolate and orange hues
Bobbing for apples floating
Perhaps ones with caramel coating

Dried leaves drop and swirl 
As the chill blows whirl
Nature is shutting down
To the fading shades of brown.

 

September Poem

Welcome to September and another verse. I’m late posting, it’s the third, did you think I’d forgotten or given up? What!! You hadn’t even noticed!!! *overly drastic upset wailing* Lol. Here we go…

It's been as hot as Hades
Climate change doesn't help us ladies
We can't exactly 'man-spread'
To elevate the boob sweat

Trussed up in the boulder holder
Straps digging into the shoulder
Going all Ada and Cissi
As our mood turns us hissy

Thankfully we ladies know
September breezes soon will flow
Cooling and calming things down
No more sticking to the night gown 

What's that you say?
A Saharan plume coming our way?
Indian summer an encore
Sweaty days as temps soar

Sun might try its last hurrah 
From the Sun King Ra
All to no avail
September balances the scale

Soon Autumn colours golden
And hearty soups to embolden
Rustling leaves strewn our path
Evening fire in the hearth 

September, starts with shiny shows and crisp uniforms, bright eager faces and ends with scuffed, crinkled, tired zombies trudging to and from school (and that’s just the teachers). In our family there are birthdays and anniversaries. The quiet month before the dreaded ‘C’ word takes over every adverts and shop shelf.

Laters…..🤓

 

August – Poem

Silly season in the mediA
Gatherings that happen impromptU
Long ice cooled drinkinG
Trotting in an open landaU
Summertime beachy dayS
The month for holidaying, AugusT

Did ya see what I did there …. a line end acrostic 😬

August always felt like a nothing month, as a child it was spent at home because my parents were both working, we holidayed at a different time of year. Across five+ decades some of the family were always working in the leisure industry and as it was the busiest month, no time off, more likely early starts and late finishes; and when I worked in an office I didn’t take holiday as those with school children booked theirs then. When we were “free” to enjoy the month, after years of seeing and serving Joe Blogs on his holibobs, it was too peoply out there, lol.

 

July – Poem

July – by heck it’s getting harder to wrangle these with originality! Whose bright notion was this challenge …. oh yeah, mine 🤦‍♀️

July quite a month of quandary
Summer nights drawing in
Lines still full of laundry

The year is half gone
The school year ends
But the start of Wimbledon

These dog days of Summer
National month of hot dogs & ice cream
Wearing t-shirts while carrying an umbrella

The larkspur and water Lilly floral appeaser
The birth stone of rich red ruby
In honour of the Roman, Julius Caesar 

 

June Poem

Half way through the challenge! For June we have a Limerick, a very popular and well known poetry method.

There is a lovely sunny month called June
Filled with many a lazy hazy afternoon
You're having a laugh
Likely you need a raft 
Because it always rains a monsoon!

 

May – Poem(s)

Here we go, I’m sure these months are getting shorter. This month another style to tackle.

A clerihew has the following properties: It is biographical and usually whimsical, showing the subject from an unusual point of view; it mostly pokes fun at famous people. It has four lines of irregular length and metre for comic effect and has a rhyme structure is AABB; the subject matter and wording are often humorously contrived in order to achieve a rhyme, including the use of phrases in Latin, French and other non-English languages.

The first line contains, and may consist solely of, the subject’s name. According to a letter in The Spectator in the 1960s, Bentley said that a true clerihew has to have the name “at the end of the first line”, as the whole point was the skill in rhyming awkward names.

A well known example being – Sir Christopher Wren
Said, “I am going to dine with some men.
If anyone calls
Say I am designing St Paul’s”

So here are my attempts.

King Charles the third
"This crown is absurd
So heavy one fears
It'll just sit on one's ears"

~~~

Camilla the Queen 'Consort'
A title, insult and retort
Causing such strife 
As mistress and wife.

~~~

Charles and Camilla
Appear quite vanilla
Leaked phone calls broadcast 
A quite salacious past!

I’ll just take myself to the Tower, I know the way I’ve been there before 😬

 

April Poem

I set myself a doozy of a challenge this time. I blame Google and the rabbit hole of “types of poetry” search.

Villanelle is another very old form of poetry that came from France and has lots of rules. It is made up of 19 lines; five stanzas of three lines (tercet) each and a final stanza of four lines (quatrain). As you can see from the rhyme scheme; ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA, this type of poem only has two rhyming sounds. Plus, there is a lot of repetition throughout the villanelle. Line one will be repeated in lines six, 12 and 18; and line three will be repeated in lines nine, 15 and 19. So although this takes out the extra work of having to write 19 individual lines, the real challenge is to make meaning out of those repeated lines.

When April is remembered for its showers sprinkling
Washing the seedlings awake 
And the Easter Bunny with eyes twinkling

Thoughts of garden parties bring
Sumptuous BBQ's of sausages and steak
When April is remembered for its showers sprinkling

Amassing eggs into the garden for hiding
Excited little hands to find and take
And The Easter Bunny with eyes twinkling

Maybe a spot of seaside esplanade strolling
Melting ice cream with a crumbly flake
When April is remembered for its showers sprinkling

The aromatic minted lamb roasting
And afternoon tea with toasted teacake
And The Easter Bunny with eyes twinkling

Seasonal attractions begin opening
Days out of fun and excitement to partake
When April is remembered for its showers sprinkling
And The Easter Bunny with eyes twinkling

I shall now go and lie down in a darkened room, lol. Happy Easter everyone 🫠