Naive or not?

A few posts back there is a video of Helena Bonham-Carter reading Small Kindnesses by Danusha Lameris. I thought about this poem in the theatre last night as people automatically twisted in their seats or pulled in their feet so we could go past. 

In spite of all the horror in the world it is a good place and people, on the whole, are more good than bad. We all have our off days but I want to believe in niceness. Or am I naive?  

On a lighter note here's a clip of an original production of The Addams Family.

Did it again

Last time I went to Mumbles early on a Saturday morning i.e. 9.30, the shops were closed. I forgot and went early again today. Fortunately some shops were open and it was only the library I had to wait for. And the reason I was at the library was to pick up the books I'd ordered that I'd forgotten to collect when I was there on Thursday.

Anyway home now to tidy before GrandDaughter1's fourteenth family birthday party at our house. 

We went to the theatre last night. Getting ready I thought about putting on my make-up. "Nah, it'll be dark."

Most years, certainly pre-pandemic, we have gone to see one of the local am-dram-singing groups, The Abbey Players, in their annual musical. They are always very professional, with hired sets, costumes, and talented singers. This year it was The Addams Family and with such a show to live up I was dubious how it would work. But it was very good. 

Daughter, Wednesday, falls in love with and wants to marry a normal boy, and his family is invited to meet the Addamses. Cue inevitable disaster with a happy ending. Entertaining and very well done. Oh yes, as well as the family there is a cast of dead people, the ancestors of the Addamses. My friend was one of those, a corseted lady of the night by the look of her.

Out-sourcing all brain activity

I don't have a resting bitch face so much as a resting saggy old woman face. It's most obvious to me in the gym with its mirrors and bright lighting, so I make a point of trying to smile as I'm exercising. It probably comes over as resting complete idiot face but there you go. 

The other night I woke at 1 in the morning and was trying to think of the word that can be used in place of 'find' and 'get'. I knew the word I wanted but couldn't think of it. 

At 2 I woke and continued the brain search but confusion was beginning to set in. I no longer knew the word I wanted but knew I wanted it.

At 5 I woke and knew I wanted to find a word but couldn't remember the word I wanted to find.

At 7 I woke and said, "Source," but I had no idea why I wanted it.

It's no wonder I'm tired all the time.

You can never get a funeral director when you want one

Well, we got through the evening. People participated and all was well. Three boys in the corner - actually they were men - kept having the giggles. In true schoolmarm style I threatened to separate them.

Responses to the question in previous post varied from "Eat everything they tell me I shouldn't" to "Be a witness to others" (you always get one dedicated Christian!) to "Call the funeral director."

I also made a really nice variation of this salmon traybake yesterday. Its tastiness was probably due to the butter and honey sauce (fat and sugar, a wonderful/terrible combination).

So this morning I went to the gym with Husband. I start off on the treadmill so I can watch morning television to take my mind off the pain. As well as the usual celebrity nonsense - I'm told they're celebrities but I have no idea who they are - there was an item about research done in America comparing the cognitive functions of people over sixty-five with pets and without. Unsurprisingly people who had dogs showed better cognitive functions but even cat owners were better than those with no pets.

I pointed this out to Husband. The fates are telling us we should get a dog. And Daughter sent me a link the other day to an article, 7 Best Dog Breeds for Fighting Depression. Honestly it's a no-brainer, but Husband persists in his resistance. I shall wear him down. (He will read this and come and say, "No, you won't," but I will.)

Baby George and Husband before he ate the chair. (George that is not Husband.)

Enough already

An unexpected hiccup means that I am leading bible study this evening. I only found out at about 10.30 this morning so it's been a bit of a mad panic to pull something together. We're looking at Elijah and his non-death. 

Because he knows he's about to leave this world he goes off to visit other groups of prophets presumably to encourage and/or warn them. So I thought I'd begin the study by asking, "If you knew you were about to die what would you do?"

Should I admit that my first thought was, "Eat Maltesers like there's no tomorrow," which there wouldn't be? Of course I'd want to be with my family, tell them I love them and Jesus loves them, but I felt I needed something more meaningful, something that could take its place amongst famous last words.

I couldn't come up with anything. Can you?

The best I could do is, "Never believe you're not enough. You are."

(Do what I say not what I do.)

So, thank you, Monty, for calling in sick this morning having forgotten you were leading anyway.

Small Kindnesses

 

The new and the old

Well, an interesting day.

Cleaner, Bev, is very nice and efficient. She loves cleaning. We chatted in between and all is well but I am still not comfortable with the idea of paying someone to clean for me. But I shall force myself to accept it! And I did get lots of writing done while she was here as I was terrified to move out of the study.

Alfie Porsche has been in the garage garage i.e. not ours but a repair one, for about six months and they can't get him started. Husband made the decision to put him for sale as is. The advert went up Saturday and today he was bought. The man, a car renovator, also came to the house, saw Brian Beetle, and bought him too. 

It is sad to see them go but practical. We've not used Brain - Brian but the sentence still stands! -  for several years and they've been causing Husband a lot of stress he can do without.

So we will have an empty double garage - because of course we don't keep Mini in there. And on that front, we will indeed be getting a new Mini - when they can find it. Apparently it's a display model and no-one is quite sure where it is at the moment.

Alfie

Brian

* * * * *

I find that every time I go on the internet for anything I get distracted and end up buying a book or two. Does anyone else have this problem? 

How to waste a day without trying

It took me until 3.30 this afternoon but I finally completed the book titles game. Thankfully there were lots of clues on Facebook but even with the clues I still struggled with several especially the one I included in my last post. It turned out to be very simple - although I'd never heard of the book. In fact I didn't know most of the books. I did know the children's ones though. 

In between I also had a video chat with the grandchildren in Italy and wrote over two thousand words in my manuscript. 

Not a bad if inactive Sunday.

Now I have my cleaner coming tomorrow for the first time. I'm terrified! I don't know what to do.

And it's about five weeks to Christmas so I resolved last night to make a real effort to get my eating under control and try and lose a bit before then. One day in and I'm doing good but hate it already.

It's addictive

Every year the National Book Tokens website runs a Hidden Books competition. (I don't know if you'll be able to access the page outside the UK.)

There are twenty book titles hidden in the picture and all you have to do is find them in order to be in with a chance of winning £500 of book tokens. It is very hard. It's as much about deciphering clues as knowing book titles. I've been trying since last night and still only have eleven and that's having clues from Daughter who has completed it!

Here's one I'm struggling on.

Mean anything to anybody?

Still on the subject of books I've read two 5* ones recently. Before that I had a spate of disappointing ones so I'm pleased.

The Gosling Girl by Jacqueline Roy. 5* A girl who committed a serious crime as a child is released from prison with a new identity. Things go downhill from there. Sad, challenging, depressing, real. And if that doesn't make you want to read it I don't know what will. 

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. 5* The other extreme. Funny, delightful, wonderful. A cleaning woman befriends a giant octopus in an aquarium. He helps to change her life.

A little slice of Slice

Husband wasn't able to book a table at Slice for my birthday so we went last night. A superb meal as always. I say that as if we go there every week instead of once a year.

Husband had the scallops and I had the artichoke (both included in photo) and the first image is the amuse bouche, a poussin leg and chestnut rissole on a cranberry sauce. All servings are very small of course leaving you filled but not overly full.

You can see here how Slice gets its name. It's a small restaurant seating sixteen at most.

 

* * * * *

This morning I popped into Zac's to do some clothes sorting prior to a big clear-out next week. I was very ruthless! After spending several hours sorting jeans I would earnestly beg all manufacturers to put the size clearly on the waistband, not to hide it here, there or halfway down a trouser-leg.

You have to wonder though at some of the items we get donated. I'm pretty sure these are gun holsters.

And because I thought I would be walking around town today I put my jeans on for the first time this autumn. Correction, I squeezed and pushed until I got my jeans done up. Must stop eating so much. (She says after showing you the seven- course meal she most recently devoured.)