January so far
1. I cleaned and cleaned again, and sprayed with white vinegar which apparently inhibits 82% of mould) and last weekend I put the bookshelves back and my books back in alphabetical order (of course!) *g* Landlord isn't going to take the wall off to fix it, because his mate (not an expert, the bloke who helped him do up the house) said it was probably just from poor ventilation and lack of heat, so I was left to clean it up and try and solve those two problems... which wouldn't have been problems if they'd been solvable to start with, cos I know how important they are! But there's only one window, which in the winter you can only keep open for so long, and there's no heating in there except for any space heater I turn on (which is hugely expensive, and my electricity bill is fairly ridiculous to start with, cos nothing the landlord supplied is even vaguely energy efficient). The best I can do is spend more money on the heaters, and leave the bedroom door open at night (which I'm really not keen on), and generally keep an eye... *sighs*
2. I've been watching The Detectorists, which my brother recommended. I'd heard of it, but sort of connected it to The Office, which I didn't like (the connection is Mackenzie Crook, who was in The Office, but wrote, directed and is in Detectorists), and so ignored it really - but it's bloody brilliant, and I love it to death! It's a sharp but gentle comedy, filmed in a way that makes England look just amazing (probably because it was filmed in Suffolk, which I've always loved) and I keep putting it on repeat. I might also be eyeing up a new hobby... *g*
3. It's tax month. Queue dread-tummy and panic-face (well, ever since the returns were due back last April, to be honest...), but bravely sticking to my decision that if I had to be self-employed again, I'd get someone else to do them for me this time. So I did. Which was it's own panic-face, but... I'd massively massively over-estimated what I'd have to pay! I can afford to pay them! And deal with some other stuff! And... have enough to perhaps treat myself to a new hobby... *vbg*
4. Work continues blah, exam work is now contracted to continue blah, tutoring has vanished after all, and I'm still waiting to hear back about the food saving re-application.
5. I've started work on my Mt TBR for this year - Darkhaven by A.F.E. Smith, which I thought someone had recommended, but is actually signed to me by the author, suggesting that I gave into one of those author-tables somewhere... can't remember where... But it's good! I'm enjoying it, actually. Not that I'm signing up for Mt TBR or any reading challenges. I'm trying not to succumb to counting how many books I read this year...
6. And when I finally dragged myself out into the world today, this is what it looked like today!
And - and - I saw a kingfisher! My first kingfisher ever! The most gorgeous flash of blue, as it zipped around the Bishops Palace moat, and then went and sat on some greenery on the wall - me cursing that I'd not brought my proper camera. In fact I thought there were two, and apparently there are two there, so it might have been. A kingfisher! *g*
So really I should be saying less blah, and more don't-I-live-in-a-lovely-part-of-the-world... *g* In other news, we're down to -3C tonight, but sunshine is forecast again tomorrow!
2. I've been watching The Detectorists, which my brother recommended. I'd heard of it, but sort of connected it to The Office, which I didn't like (the connection is Mackenzie Crook, who was in The Office, but wrote, directed and is in Detectorists), and so ignored it really - but it's bloody brilliant, and I love it to death! It's a sharp but gentle comedy, filmed in a way that makes England look just amazing (probably because it was filmed in Suffolk, which I've always loved) and I keep putting it on repeat. I might also be eyeing up a new hobby... *g*
3. It's tax month. Queue dread-tummy and panic-face (well, ever since the returns were due back last April, to be honest...), but bravely sticking to my decision that if I had to be self-employed again, I'd get someone else to do them for me this time. So I did. Which was it's own panic-face, but... I'd massively massively over-estimated what I'd have to pay! I can afford to pay them! And deal with some other stuff! And... have enough to perhaps treat myself to a new hobby... *vbg*
4. Work continues blah, exam work is now contracted to continue blah, tutoring has vanished after all, and I'm still waiting to hear back about the food saving re-application.
5. I've started work on my Mt TBR for this year - Darkhaven by A.F.E. Smith, which I thought someone had recommended, but is actually signed to me by the author, suggesting that I gave into one of those author-tables somewhere... can't remember where... But it's good! I'm enjoying it, actually. Not that I'm signing up for Mt TBR or any reading challenges. I'm trying not to succumb to counting how many books I read this year...
6. And when I finally dragged myself out into the world today, this is what it looked like today!
And - and - I saw a kingfisher! My first kingfisher ever! The most gorgeous flash of blue, as it zipped around the Bishops Palace moat, and then went and sat on some greenery on the wall - me cursing that I'd not brought my proper camera. In fact I thought there were two, and apparently there are two there, so it might have been. A kingfisher! *g*
So really I should be saying less blah, and more don't-I-live-in-a-lovely-part-of-the-world... *g* In other news, we're down to -3C tonight, but sunshine is forecast again tomorrow!