Hi, I’m Alexandra, a tea drinking humanoid with an over active imagination. When not scribbling on random bits of paper, or doodling in my journal, I capture my thoughts with a butterfly net, stuff them into tiny glass jars with brass lids, and store them on dusty shelves in various corners of my mind till I’m ready to share them with the rest of the world.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Today’s live entertainment: watching two squirrels chase one another through the snow. Fighting over buried seeds I guess. And no, no photos those damn things move too fast!
I’m waiting on Maintenance arriving to fix the thermostat in our home office. It’s stuck on at 30 degrees and no amount of twirling the dial will make it switch off. Which is fine when no one is working in said office like, the OH, but yesterday they sat on a 2 hour conference call wearing a summer tee shirt and shorts. Though it’s true, no one saw the shorts.
Of course, office hours for Maintenance is 8am to 1pm. So yeah, of course they’ll turn up at 2 minutes to 1, stay exactly long enough to say, “Oh, I need x, y, z, part…” and then, vanish for another hour or three or turn up tomorrow with said part that doesn’t fit..
At least it’s not cold in the apartment!
After two days of howling gales and snow, it’s time to dig out and yes, of course me and mine have an appointment this afternoon at the optician. But hey, at least I don’t have to shovel snow off the roof …
The wind is howling crazy outside, and blowing the snow horrizontally. It’s wild but, it’s also as pretty as hell, everywhere is frosted and white.
Alex is wearing: a white tee shirt, black jumper, blue jeans, white socks Alex is feeling: happy Alex is listening to: Surfacing by Sarah McLachlan Alex is playing: Hay Day Alex is watching: Tennis
Alex has had enough of talking about herself in the third person …
This post is happily stolen from Keenan who lovingly stole it from Katherine who probably stole it from someone else. And so it goes … steal this one if you want to take part!
With the windchill, it was a brisk MINUS 32 outside this morning. It’s now risen to an almost balmy MINUS 28.
At least the sun’s shining in a clear blue sky …
What is it with tennis players these dyas that they have to grunt on every play regardless of whether they’re male or female. They all sound like they’re trying to give birth to a cow!
#tennispetpeeves
Following in Thomas Rigby’s footsteps, I thought about some of the stuff I own, and just how old some of it is. There’s a lot, especially my cameras which are about 28 years old. But really old? Hmm…
Let’s see:
I’m sure I have a lot more than this but I’ll just stick to these top five for now. And you, what’s the oldest thing you own?
As with book one in this series from Robert Jackson Bennett, A Drop Of Corruption is an action-packed adventure come murder mystery, and fantastical exploration of a magical world that sees our erstwhile heroes, Dinios Kol and brilliantly eccentric Ana Dolabra, doing what they do best. Sifting through the clues however confounding and tedious a job, to catch a brilliantly clever killer.
This time around, Din and Ana are far away from all they know in Yarrowdale, a territory outside of the Empire. But one on the cusp of joining the Empire. That is, till a high ranking officer of the Treasury delegation leading the negotiations with the King is murdered. A murder that necessitates Ana’s sharp mind and Din’s formidable skill, as an engraver, at committing every last detail to memory.
Untangling a plot that has lies and corruption at every twisted turn, Ana and Din are in a race to find a killer and get to the heart of a mystery with so many layers and misdirects, you may be forgiven for feeling bewildered. But thankfully we have Din and Ana, the Empire, and all the checks and balances we wish existed in our own world.
“This work can never satisfy, Din, for it can never finish. The dead cannot be restored. Vice and bribery will never be totally banished from the cantons. And the drop of corruption that lies within every society shall always persist. The duty of the Iudex is not to boldly vanquish it but to manage it. We keep the stain from spreading, yes, but it is never gone. Yet this job is perhaps the most important in all the Iyalets, for without it, well … The Empire would come to look much like Yarrow, where the powerful and the cruel prevail without check. And tell me—does that realm look capable of fighting off a leviathan?”
A wonderfully complex murder and political mystery that flies along through a few hundred pages without ever missing a beat, without ever dragging or rushing, paced perfectly and with constant tension and high stakes and the satisfying feeling you get when you read a story that’s plotted and executed with confident mastery.
Bravo Mister Bennett, I cannot wait for book three, A Trade of Blood, coming out in June, to see where you take us next.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Hollie was talking this morning about using Apple’s TextEdit to write all her notes in and it reminded me that one February, when the weather was particular horrendous, I sat at my Mac and wrote an entire 80,000 word novel in less than 6 weeks.
Yes, in text edit. It was a very liberating exercise in just writing. Pounding away on the keys without thinking about style or editing. Literally letting the words pour out of me. Of course, I later imported the edited text into Scrivener to make it look more like a novel. But only after. It’s such a clean way of writing.
#TextEditforever!
The reason I had such a wonderful meal out yesterday evening was the fact I had a doctors appointment. It was a follow up after my blood tests to discuss the result and then, what to do next.
Me and mine were celebrating, of sorts, as the news was nothing but good news from said doctor. He’d asked for a full panal of tests all of which came back really good. Well, all except my cholesterol. Which is no surprise, though it’s still the same it’s been for over a decade. I have no idea what the numbers mean, but am not too worried given everything else was healthy and normal.
And yes, while I will have another follow up blood test at the end of February, the doctor seems confident the numbers will hold steady based on my current exercise routine and the new adjustments to my diet.
All except us eating out last night, that is. I went with the restaurant’s version of a Philly steak sandwich with jus, housemade mayo and fries. Oh, and because I’m me, a Shirley Temple. I felt giddy enough to feel 8 years old again. Even for just a minute.
Let’s hope this year is going to be a better year.
The wind was blowing crazy fierce this weekend, so much so, it blew the snow into interesting sculptures.
Happy Cat has come over all pink …
It’s not that I’ve been thinking about death, even though, last year, I had another brush with death — waving at Him on the sidelines of my own personal battlefield. But Death has a way of following us around once we reach (a) a certain age or (b) have that close encounter with Him. He’s just there over our left shoulder, lurking.
For now, He’s mildly passive but, we all know, who know, that this state of being can change, and change in a fraction of a second. A mere heartbeat, and it can all be over. Death being there to catch us as the light winks out.
What started me thinking about Him, again, is talk of wills and notaries and the Other Half having had a fright of their own: the possible loss of me. And here we are, talking about what we want to happen to what’s left of us when we pass to that other realm, that supposed realm of Darkness. Though I prefer to think of it as the realm of light. But of course, we’ll never know till we arrive which state it will be and then, given no one on the other side has ever let us know, we are, as they say, in the dark till that final moment of seeing the light.
But all jesting aside, the OH has been talking almost nonstop about us getting our affairs organised. Not that I own anything of great value. But needs must, as they say. And so, the OH has set up an appointment with a Notary to start the process which, I understand, will take a couple of visits at least, to get said affairs in order.
The thing is, all this talk of wills has me looking over my shoulder to check out if Death is still hanging around (of course He is) but you know what I mean.
It’s not like any of us get out of this alive to live another day. Death and taxes. Isn’t that the axiom?
Am I rambling? Probably. To be honest, all this talk of notaries and wills has me twitchy. I told myself after surgery to live in the moment, the here and now, and not think or worry about the future and things beyond my limited control. But here we are. Sometimes we have to plan for a future we don’t particularly want to think about, our own demise.
All joking aside, sometimes we have no choice but to step outside of the here and now, and make decisions for our future. So if ever there were a moment of Memento Mori, it’s the writing of a will. And that time to have that last say in the land of the living of what happens to you when Death finally does come.
I would like my last will and testament will simply read: Bury me under a sapling oak.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Let’s face it, I really did poorly last year with my reads averaging one book per month with a long dry spell over the summer (as I was otherwise occupied). Ending with nothing read in November and December or, I should say, nothing finished. I did start THE LOST by Sarah Beth Durst in (I think) November but, sad to say, DNFd it to the TBR pile on the coffee table. And then, excited to get Len Deighton’s reissued BERLIN GAME, started reading that and, well, got sidetracked.
It’s still sitting on the side of the coffee table next to three stacks of unread or partially read books. I got a couple of chapters in and wasn’t feeling it. Though I do love me a good spy thriller set in 60s-70s pre smart phones when Gooks still had to do a lot of leg work. When it was all about connections and spy craft rather than tech. But, all that aside, I’m struggling to focus.
Cue my third read in as many months. A DROP OF CORRUPTION, a fantasy and the second in a series by Robert Jackson Bennett. I raced through book one earlier this year, pre-op, and loved the characters and world building, which was so different to the usual books I read, murder-mysteries and thrillers. I’m hoping as I’m familiar with the world and characters that I’ll find the same magic as I did in book one.
Wish me luck, I’m starting it this afternoon after lunch.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
On this day, Donald Trump inspired a riot of the capital.
While John F. Kennedy inspired a generation.
I’m nondescript. Of average female height, do not stand out in a crowd as such, and am probably considered average to look at with short semi blond mousy hair, petaled blue eyes 1 and an unmemorable face unless, you are paying attention. Then, you might see the small scar to one side of my nose, and then remark on the odd shaped nose sat above somewhat thin lips.
Definitely not pretty and nothing to write home about. Sometimes this to my advantage if I want to disappear into a crowd and not be noticed. But mostly it means I get served last at the deli counter when I go in for sliced meat and potato salad.
Does that matter in the long run? Probably not. When you look at the big picture being average is okay, most of the time. I can’t say I enjoy it when I want prompt service, but hey, it’s something I’ve adapted to however much I wish otherwise. This is it, this is my life and, at my age, it’s a little late to complain or, worse, try to change.
I am who I am. I look how I do thanks to my parents and a random set of genes shaken not stirred to perfection. Thanks, I’m use to the face that stares back at me from out of the mirror (hi, Alex).
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Though it’s true, one eye has a large brown spot in it which, according to my mother is inherited from her side of the family. She had it but not her sister. I have it but not my sister. My mum’s mum had it but not her sister. You see what I mean. Also, my gran was told by a traveller it was the mark of a witch, an Irish thing apparently. ↩︎
We decided to catch up on one or two shows, on Netflix last night, and chose the movie, Troll (no, not the kiddies animated version). And, I have to say, I’m glad we went with a silly fantasy because, it was ridiculously good fun. Putting aside whether we believe in trolls or not. It doesn’t matter. They gave their existence plausibility in this amusing Norwegian romp through the countryside.
Genuine and heartfelt in places, whimsical in others, it was all the scifi references and throw away lines that made this all the more enjoyable. And yes, before you ask, we will be watching Troll II at some point and will probably enjoy it just as much.
Great fun from beginning to end.
Four bags of buttery popcorn 🍿🍿🍿🍿
We decided to set to a do a deep clean on the apartment today given we hadn’t touched it in over two weeks. So we dismantled the tree and stowed everything holiday related back down in our lockup, in the basement. Then we set too and vacuumed, dusted, washed, and stripped the bed.
Strangely enough, it only took us just over a couple of hours to do all that, which surprised me. Talk about working like a team, or clockwork. It was cathartic. And I’m thankful the OH did most of the heavy lifting. I’m still on no lifting anything over 20 lbs till the next doctors appointment in March. So I’m behaving myself till then.
After a much needed shower and a very light lunch we collapsed on the couch and watched a couple of episodes of Neil Patrick Harris in his new Netflix gameshow (yes, I watched a gameshow can you believe that?) What’s In The Box. What you need to know is I don’t normally watch that much TV, and definitely not a gameshow, but there we were laughing and thoroughly enjoying this one for what it was worth.
To be honest, after everything, I think it was just what the doctor ordered, something silly, fun, and mindless to watch and distract us after a morning’s workout cleaning.
Now, excuse me while I go make a brew and watch another episode and see who’s going to Paris.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
