Victoria Zigler's Blog: Zigler News, page 13

A Short Late March Catch-Up Post

This week's post is just a short one to check in and say, "Hi," to everyone.

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I've been doing a lot with the ACB, especially the ACB Crafters, and do have quite a few craft projects to share with you.  But I didn't get a chance to sort photos of them in time to put them in today's post, so I guess I'll show you them another time.  One of these days you'll get a long post full of craft creations.

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Lilie is trying to use her leg, but not as well as she should be.  We're giving it a bit longer to see if it will improve more, since she's happy in herself, and if it doesn't will take her to be checked to see if they can do anything to make things easier on her, and if so what that might be.

She turns five tomorrow.  Hard to believe, isn't it? And she still has the excitement and enthusiasm for life she had when we brought her home as a tiny puppy.  Inside anyhow.  Her leg makes showing it on the outside tough.  She's trying though.

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Speaking of birthdays: my brother, Wayne, had his birthday on March 15th.  So, though I doubt he'll see this, since he doesn't generally read my blog, I'll say it anyhow... Happy belated birthday, Wayne.

    

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It was the Spring Equinox a few days ago, so a belated blessed Ostara to everyone.

 

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When we had a power cut during the bad weather several weeks ago, our electric meter did this weird thing where it put itself in something called, "Safe mode," after the power came back on.  This meant we couldn't check what was on it or credit it.  The power was in no danger of going off while it stayed in that mode, but eventually we'd get billed, and I prefer to be paying for things as I need to rather than getting a big bill all of a sudden.  The power company were pretty sure it would sort itself out, but it didn't.  The result was the need to replace the meter.  Naturally, they're now trying to switch to smart meters instead, which meant they wanted to go down that route.  They also decided to go ahead and change the gas meter while they were at it.  IT would need to be done sooner or later, and we weren't paying for them to do it, so we agreed.  So the meters both got changed yesterday (Thursday).

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To be honest, that's essentially what's been going on around here during the past week.  At least, those are the main things.  Besides those things it's just day to day stuff, like housework, pet care and playtime, etc.  It doesn't look like much written down, but I assure you it fills a whole lot of time.

March 18th 2022 Random Ramblings - #WhatsUp

First, for those who wanted to see a photo, here's Mam's little dog, Izabel, wearing the collar I made her, which - you may or may not remember - I did while practicing loom knitting stitches, and then put a flower I crocheted when learning how to do the crochet puff stitch on to it.  Anyway, here's Izabel:

 

 

*~*

 

As you may or may not know, it was St Patrick's Day yesterday.  We don't celebrate it here.  You'd think how close we are to Ireland would mean we did, but nope.  Still, I have been joining in with some shamrock-making with the ACB Crafters.  But I don't have photos of them.  I made a crochet one and two different kinds of loom knitted ones.  I'll hopefully have photos to show you next week.

 

*~*

 

My Dogs haven't been groomed since before Christmas.  They're in need of it again.  Especially Lilie, who has trouble wearing her own claws down.  However, since I had trouble getting hold of the groomer, and all groomers have a four to six week waiting list these days (and that's minimum... I've spoken to some quoting longer waiting lists) I couldn't get the dogs booked in for grooming until April.  Even then, I couldn't get them booked for the same day.  So, since Lilie needed to go to the vet for a check up before they'd renew the medication she gets for her skin irritation issues, I booked Logan in first, with Lilie the following week, and asked the vet to trim Lilie's claws.  I'll be switching dog groomers after this though, because I've found one who will come to us, but they can't do the dogs until at least June, which I also booked now.  So, Logan is getting groomed at 9:00am on April 14th, and Lilie is getting groomed at 9:00am on April 21st, and then a groomer is coming to the house to do both dogs at 10:00am (or 10:30am, if the dog they're doing before my two takes a bit longer than anticipated) on June 21st.

 

Back to this past week though, when Lilie went for her check up.

 

She was doing her happy wiggle dance while the vet was cutting her claws, despite my best efforts to keep her still.  The result being that one ended up cut a bit shorter than it should have been, and she bled a bit.  It wasn't bad, and the vet wasn't concerned.  But when she started refusing to walk on that leg on Monday, we were concerned it was worse than it appeared.  Well, it wasn't, but we did learn something we should have been told when Lilie was a couple of years younger than she now is: Lilie has a physical abnormality in her back legs called loose knees.

 

The vet here didn't tell us because he assumed we already knew.  In fact, when I saw the other vet at the practice on Monday, she acted as though I did know, and only realized I didn't when I asked what she was talking about in response to the words, "Her existing knee issue."  Because it's something that will have been obvious since she was a puppy, so with her having been almost four by the time we moved back to Wales (she's five in a little over a week) the vets here assumed her vet in Hastings had told us.

Except, they hadn't.

We had mentioned her little skippy walk to the vets in Hastings, and her habit of sometimes lifting one of her back legs for a short time, and then seeming fine a few minutes later.  But they said it wasn't anything to worry about, and gave us the impression her skippy walk was just a cute thing she did, and the other thing was her finding a new way to get attention.  I mean, Lilie loves attention.  Except, while it isn't really anything to worry about when she's only doing that, it is because of a genuine physical problem with her legs where, as I understand it, her knee joints don't fit in the sockets right, which - as I said - I learned about just this week, and is called loose knees.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, as long as she doesn't keep her paw up for more than a short time, it's nothing to worry about.  And if she's reluctant to walk on it for a day or so, all that means is she needs Metacam (which is an anti-inflammatory and painkiller).  However, if she starts doing it for more than a day or so, she'll have to go in for x-rays so they can take a close look and see if they need to do more for her.

In theory she shouldn't go beyond the needing Metocam sometimes phase at this stage in her life.  But the chances of that not being enough will increase when she gets older.  So, now she has not only the skin irritation issues for us to try and keep under control (which, by the way, are currently under control; she's still doing well with her Apoquel pills and Recicort ear drops) but also this issue with her back legs.

    

~

 

On the subject of medical issues...

 

When I went to the dentist back in September when I had the issue with the abscess, they said for me to come back once I was healed and better so they could give me a checkup and do anything that needs doing.  But first it took a couple of weeks to heal, and then I was dealing with hospital tests, and it was my birthday.  And then... Well, you know how it goes.  Anyway, I called them at the end of last week, and the soonest they can fit me in is June 29th at 3:15pm.  Yes, really.  So I took the appointment, because I figured better to have one for a few months down the line than none at all.  I can always call them and mention it if I have an issue in the meantime.

 

Unlike Kelly, who got refered to one all the way in Swansea (the nearest city to us, and about 14 miles away) even though we have this one literally up the road, and several others between us and the one he was sent to, when he was trying to get seen by one because he was dealing with a dental issue.  Which, if I'm honest, was what reminded me I needed to call to book to see my dentist.  Well, to be totally honest, I called them first for Kelly, and only thought about booking my appointment when I was talking to them.  Either way, they said they couldn't see new NHS patients without a 111 referral (111 being the emergency number to call here in Wales for situations where you can't just wait for a doctor, but aren't in enough danger to need to call 999; 999 being our version of 911) and when we called to get that he was sent to the other dentist, and it was take that one or get no dentist appointment.

 

So... Yeah.  There's an example of the pros and cons of the NHS right there.  I'm still grateful we have it though, even if sometimes the round-about way you have to get things done is frustrating and generally incredibly slow.

A New Laptop + #InternationalHyggeDay + #StDavidsDay + #Crafting + A Weather Report

I got a new laptop...

 

 

It's not as amazingly powerful as Kelly's new gaming PC.  But I'm sure you aren't surprised to hear that, since it's a laptop.  But it's plenty powerful enough for me, is better than the computer I was using, and it's a laptop so it's also portable.  And takes up less space on my desk so that my brailler can be on my desk too.  I also made sure to update to the latest version of JAWS (my screen reader software) even though the new laptop does have something called Cortana on it (I think that's how it's spelled) which gives it some basic speech capabilities, as well as the option to use close captions if I was hearing impaired.  JAWS does more, but it's nice to have the backup, and to know that Microsoft are thinking about making things accessible to people with visual or hearing impairments these days.

 

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In other news: February 28th was International Hygge Day.  Well, it falls on February 29th if it's a leap year, but this year isn't, so that's why International Hygge Day was February 28th this year.  Anyway, it worked out well, since it was a Monday, and Mondays have become the closest thing to a day off I give myself these days, so I spent a lot of that day relaxing and reading.  But I also made Welsh cakes, since the following day, being March 1st, was St David's Day here in Wales, but Tuesdays are generally pretty busy for me.  Especially every other Tuesday when I now have a tips segment on a Zoom cooking call on top of the crafting and time with my Dad Tuesdays generally involve for me.

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Speaking of crafting: I finished a couple more craft projects.

Kelly helped me make this little leprechaun hat...

Which then got stuck on this four leaf clover St Patrick's Day decoration:

And I also made these Spring and animal themed gift tags:

 

Plus, while on some of the crafting calls I was learning some new stitches with loom knitting and crochet, and made this little collar with the pieces for Mam's dog Izabel, with the band decorated with some different loom knitting stitches, and a flower made using crochet puff stitch.

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Still no sign of my snow.      We've had a decent amount of wind and rain, though even that's not been as much as it might have been.  I hope I get my snow before it gets too late in the year for it.  Not holding my breath though, because unless we get a late snowfall it's looking like this will be one of those Winters with almost nothing as regards snow.  Several people said they'd send me theirs if they could.  I wish they could.

 

~

 

I'm sure I had some other things I was going to say, but right now I can't think what they were, and I need to publish this.  So, I guess this will have to do for today.  Hope you have an awesome week.

#WordCrafters Book Blog Tour for "Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog" + My #Review

 Welcome to my stop on the Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog Book Tour.  I have a review of the book for you, but first let's check in with the author, Robbie Cheadle, who has a recipe to share with you.  Then we can find out about the book, and check out my review.

 

 

How to make a meringue cake with fresh cream and fruit

 

How to make meringue

Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius.

Beat 4 egg whites in a mixer with ¼ teaspoon salt for 4 minutes on a medium speed. Gradually add 125 ml granulated white sugar. Increase speed to high and gradually add 190 ml icing sugar until stiff glossy peaks form.

Cover the baking tray with a layer of wax paper.

Insert the meringue into a piping bag (or a small plastic bag with one corner snipped off) and pipe into a circular shape.

Bake in the oven for 3 hours until the top is a light golden grown and the meringue is hard. Switch off oven and leave overnight.

The above recipe makes the third layer (second from the top) of the meringue cake pictured below.

Use 6 eggs, ¼ teaspoon salt, 190 ml granulated white sugar and 285 ml icing sugar for the second layer.

Use 8 eggs, ½ teaspoon salt, 250 ml granulated white sugar and 380 ml icing sugar for the bottom layer.

Use 2 eggs, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 62.5 ml granulated white sugar and 95 ml icing sugar for the top layer.

Prior to assembling the cake, cut up the fruit of your choice into slices. I used raspberries, sliced kiwi fruit and melon for my cake.

Whip 500 ml of whipping cream until stiff.

Just before serving, sandwich the cake together using in the cream and decorating with the fruit.

 

 

 

Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog

 

 

Blurb

 

Sir Chocolate and Lady Sweet’s son, Chocolate Fudge, sees one of Lord Humbug’s dogs struggling to stay afloat in the hot chocolate pond.

Can Chocolate Fudge save the sugar dog from drowning?

Includes lovely new recipes.

 

Purchase links

 

Paperback: https://tslbooks.uk/product/chocolate-fudge-saves-the-sugar-dog/

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Fudge-Saves-Sugar-Dog/dp/1914245547

Ebook: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/michael-cheadle-and-robbie-cheadle/chocolate-fudge-saves-the-sugar-dog/ebook/product-j7k4e6.html?page=1&pageSize=4

 

 

*~*

 

My review:

 

 Rating: five out of five stars

This is a really cute little story.  The world and characters all being made out of edible items is fun and creative, and the rhyming story is adorable.  I also really love the addition of the recipes in the book.  What a delightful way to encourage children to enjoy food and cooking.

*NOTE: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  This fact has in no way influenced either my opinion of the book or the contents of this review, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

*~*

 

Author CV – Roberta/Robbie Cheadle

     

Robbie Cheadle is a South African children's author and poet with ten children’s books and two poetry books.

The eight Sir Chocolate children's picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.

Robbie has also published two books for older children which incorporate recipes that are relevant to the storylines.

Robbie has two adult novels in the paranormal historical and supernatural fantasy genres published under the name Roberta Eaton Cheadle. She also has short stories, in the horror and paranormal genre, and poems included in several anthologies.

Robbie writes two monthly posts for https://writingtoberead.com called Growing Bookworms and Treasuring Poetry and one monthly post, under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle, called Dark Origins: African Myths and Legends.

Robbie has a blog, https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.... where she shares book reviews, recipes, author interviews, and poetry.

 

Follow Robbie Cheadle at:

Website

https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

Blog

https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/bakeandwrite

 

 

Check out all the other awesome posts for this tour...

 

Mon. Feb. 28th

Opening Post: https://writingtoberead.com/2022/02/28/welcome-to-the-wordcrafter-chocolate-fudge-saves-the-sugar-dog-book-blog-tour/

Review & Author generated content – Showers of Blessings: https://theshowersofblessings.com/2022/02/27/blog-tour-chocolate-fudge-saves-the-sugar-dog-by-robbie-and-michael-cheadle/

 

Tues. March 1st

Writing to be Read – Review & Michael Interview: https://writingtoberead.com/2022/03/01/day-2-of-the-wordcrafter-chocolate-fudge-saves-the-sugar-dog-book-blog-tour-author-interview-my-review-2/

 

Wed. March 2nd

Review & Interview – This is my Truth Now https://thisismytruthnow.com/2022/03/02/blog-tour-chocolate-fudge-saves-the-sugar-dog-by-robbie-cheadle-w-review-interview

 

Thurs. March 3rd

Writing to be Read: https://writingtoberead.com/2022/03/03/day-4-of-the-wordcrafter-chocolate-fudge-saves-the-sugar-dog-book-blog-tour-review-by-d-l-mullen/

Undawnted – Review: http://www.undawnted.com/2022/03/wordcrafter-chocolate-fudge-saves-sugar.html

#Storms + #Crafting + Random Ramblings

Storm Eunice, which hit at the end of last week, was bad enough that the MET office issued a red warning for severe weather, and I'm told stories of the damage from it were mentioned on the news outside the UK.  There was a bit of rain and hail with it (and a little snow in some areas, though not anywhere near me) but mostly it was the winds that were the problem, and the cause of all the damage.

 

Schools were switched to remote learning the day it hit, and the rubbish collection didn't happen.  It's possible there was no post delivery that day either, because I don't recall hearing any sounds of the postman/woman (we have both, and I'm not sure which would have been delivering that day) and something I'd been expecting to arrive that day didn't come until the following day, when the winds weren't quite so strong, though the rain and hail were heavier, and the storm was definitely still around.

 

The noise from the wind tossing things about, and making our letterbox bang, was driving the dogs nuts, so they were barking a LOT.  Though I was struggling to remember it while dealing with the constant barking, I'm incredibly grateful things weren't worse for us - we only lost power very briefly, and the only damage we needed to worry about was to a drain pipe that somehow got bent in the wind (which we're now waiting to have fixed... Unless it gets done between when I'm putting this post together and when it goes live).  A lot of people weren't so lucky.

 

~

 

The milder storm Dudley had been here before Storm Eunice, and then Eunice was followed on Monday by Franklyn, which hit further North, so things were even milder in my area than with Eunice, with just a little wind and some rain.  They say there's yet another named storm on its way in the next day or so though, so we'll see what happens with that one.

 

*~*

I finished some more craft projects.

For one thing, I worked on an enamel jewelry kit I got from Cosy Craft Club, and made a necklace with three red and white flags and two blue flags on it, as well as a bracelet with a round circle that's blue with white flecks.  Had to get Dad to help me with atatching the chains, because it was rather fiddly, and I was struggling to manage it.  Anyway, here are photos of them:

I also went to a Future In Sight quilling class, which is part of the Zoom sessions they do for their Kaila's Craft Corner podcast.  And I made this picture of a flower, which also has two hearts and two stars in the corners of the canvas.  The colours are kind of random, because I didn't know which colours I was grabbing for each piece (and didn't really care, hence not asking Kelly to help me make sure I knew which was which before I started).  Anyway, here's my quilling picture:

And I made this good luck card, just as an excuse to play with the Celtic knot and shamrock stamps I got recently.  Yes, I wrote the, "Good luck," on the card.  Anyway, here's a photo of it:

~

I love getting my happy post, as I call it, but I've decided not to continue with the Cosy Craft Club and Makerly Crafts boxes any more.  Though I'll be continuing to get the subscription boxes I have for other things.

 

They're fantastic kits, and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a craft subscription box.  However, it's harder for me to do those kits because of instruction accessibility, so for the most part they're just piling up while I work on other crafts.  And even when I have accessible versions of the instructions - like I got from Rachel of Cosy Craft Club for the jewelry kit... Thanks for that, Rachel (if she happens to see this post, which is doubtful, but you never know) - they're still really tricky for me to do without calling in sighted help, because they're designed with sight and the ability to see the pictures in the instructions in mind.

 

So I decided to stop those, and use the money I'm spending on those each month to ensure I have the supplies for any projects I want to do with the ACB Crafters group or Future In Sight, which are spacifically designed with visual limitations in mind, so are much more accessible to me.

 

I will, of course, get someone to help me get the Cosy Craft Club and Makerly Crafts kits I do have done - Dad and Kelly have both agreed to help - but I won't have those coming every month now, and they'll just be done whenever time and availability of sighted help permits in between other projects.

*~*

There's new content on my YouTube channel, with hopefully plenty more to come in the not-too-distant future.

 

The new stuff this time is all music videos and poetry readings, but you might like to check it out.  If you would like to check it out, and aren't subscribed to my channel, you can find it here.

I'm thinking of possible ideas for other things to put on my YouTube channel, but not sure what I'll do yet.  Suggestions and requests for content are welcome, so feel free to post those below, or eMail me.

*~*

 

On February 13th I did host training with the ACB.  Now I'm officially an ACB trained Zoom host, and can host calls as well as facilitate them.  Well, not at the same time, since the two roles have to be held by separate people if it's on an ACB call, but you get the point.

 

I had my shadow session this past Sunday (February 20th) which is when an experienced host acts as co-host for a newly trained one, just to make absolutely certain they know what they're doing.  It's something all new hosts do for their first time hosting, just to be sure someone's on hand if they have issues.  And tonight (Friday February 25th) I do my first solo hosting session.  It was going to be tomorrow, but I got a message asking if I can fill in tonight, and I'm available at that time, so I said I could.

*~*

 

On February 15th Kelly had his Covid booster.  Now he's tripple vaccinated.  He was a bit more tired than usual for the first 24 hours after it, but otherwise you wouldn't have known he had anything done.  He's been really lucky with jab reactions every single time, even with him being given the Maderna vaccine this time for some reason, despite having had the Pfizer one for the other two.

 

*~*

Speaking of Kelly: he went to the shop for something the day before Valentine's Day, and came home with a present for me.  These white roses:

 

And he promptly apologized because they were white and not yellow.  He said there were all kinds of shades of pinks,  as well as both red and white, but he couldn't find yellow.  It bothered him because he knows yellow roses are my favourite kind of flower.  I told him the white ones are close enough, and anyway I appreciate the thought enough not to mind what colour they are.

#Paperback Now Available For #Holiday #KidLit #Book - "Jelena"

 

Coniferous tree macro. for branch close up. evergreen tree in park

© kle1njke@gmail.com/depositphoto

Forest dryads and their magic

© A_Petruk/depositphoto

 

Humans have forgotten the old ways, and no longer respect nature as they once did, or ask before taking what they want.  They’ve forgotten about nature spirits, and the strength of the bond a dryad shares with their tree.

 

When an excited family come to the woods to choose their Christmas tree, and end up choosing the Frazer Fir to which Jelena is bonded, they make no attempt to warn her to find herself a new tree.  Now all Jelena can do is watch in tearful dismay as her tree is cut down and taken away; feeling its pain through their shared bond as though it were her own.

 

Distraught and in pain, Jelena can do nothing to save her bonded tree.  But she doesn’t have to share its fate; there’s a chance she can save herself.  Will Jelena find the inner strength to survive the experience, and bond with a new tree before it’s too late? Or will she follow her bonded tree to the place where spirits are reborn?

 

*NOTE: this story – while not overly violent or graphic in nature – is not your average cheerful holiday story, so may not be suitable for younger or more sensitive readers.

 

Previously made available in eBook - purchase links for which can be found in this post from December 2021 - "Jelena" is now also available in paperback via Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Amazon US, many other Amazon sites, and anywhere else Amazon distributes its paperback books to.

An audio version will be made available for those who prefer that format as soon as it can be arranged.

 

~

Regardless of your format of choice, if you're on Goodreads and would like to add the book to your shelves, you can find the book's Goodreads page here, where all available formats will be listed.

If you buy a copy, I'd really appreciate it if you could leave a review somewhere - either where you brought it, on your blog, on the book's Goodreads page, or anywhere else you happen to review books - and tell your friends, family, or book club members about it.  Remember: reviews and word of mouth help authors sell books, and I appreciate any review, no matter how long or short it may be.

Random Ramblings - February 11th 2022

When Logan was a puppy and we were having a very hot Summer, the vet advised us to put him in the bath to stop him keep getting dehydrated.  At first he wasn't a fan - he wasn't keen on the whole idea of water in general, which was actually the problem to start with.  But after a while he started to love it, and it wasn't long before he started getting excited about baths, and learned how fun it could be drinking waterout of the tap.  And, when he got big enough to do so,he started jumping in to the bath to ask for the tap to be put on.  This had the unfortunate side-effects of making him use a bowl even less than he already had been, and meaning I couldn't have a bath or shower without first giving him a few moments to drink from the tap (at least, not unless I wanted him to attempt to join me in there).  He does now drink from a bowl regularly, but not nearly as much as he should, because he still prefers to get his water straight from the tap.  Just like he's doing in the below photo, which was taken a couple of weeks ago.

*~*

I still don't know what my blood test results actually were.

 

Nobody who can get access to them sees any reason to tell me, because apparently if they're fine it shouldn't matter what the numbers are, and those who would tell me - even though they also find it odd I want to know when the doctors are clearly saying there's no immediate issue - don't have the authority to discuss them, not even with me.

 

The best I could get is the secretary of my doctor telling me I could find out from the doctor when I see him next (which will be in a couple of months time; date to be confirmed via letter closer, apparently) what the results had been, but to not worry about them in the meantime, because the doctor is satisfied my levels aren't a concern right now, so I shouldn't be concerned either.

 

Good to know, but frustrating for someone like me who likes to know the numbers.

*~*

I technically finished the purple scarf that was my first loom knitting project a couple of weeks ago.  Then a mistake while casting off had it unravelling on me, and my attempts to stop that happening made it worse, so I ended up starting it over.  I suppose that's one way to get in some loom knitting practice.  Anyway, I finally finished it for real yesterday, so here it is:

I also finished this white needle knitted heart:

As well as this little red crocheted heart ornament:

~

I'm also attempting to learn how to do something called a heart stitch with crochet.  I still need to work on that.  My first attempt, done while in the class, I wasn't at all happy with, but it seemed too pretty to unpick (despite not being quite right) so I used some of the loose ends that needed weaving in to make a sort of braided tastle on one end, and turned it in to this little red and white crocheted bookmark:

*~*

February started with the Lunar New Year - so welcome to the Chinese year of the Water Tiger.  And Imbolc was at the start of February too, so a belated blessed Imbolc.  Also, Valentine's Day is coming up on Monday, so happy early Valentine's Day.

We didn't do anything of note for Imbolc, did even less for the Lunar New Year (AKA, did absolutely nothing for it; I only mentioned it because it happened and I could) and already did what we plan to for Valentine's Day, which was to treat ourselves to Dominos Pizza.

 

We don't have it often, because it's expensive.  But there's one near enough to us that they'll deliver to our door (and for a reasonable price) and they do a pretty decent vegan pizza, so we treated ourselves to that.  I haven't personally had take-away pizza since we left the Hastings area, which was more than 14 months ago, because most of the pizza places around here don't cater to vegans.

 

Anyway, we had it Wednesday, because we didn't want to be trying to have it over the long weekend with everyone else possibly wanting to celebrate Valentine's Day by ordering from various places too (estimated delivery times are around an hour here as it is) and since Wednesday's a pretty busy day it was a good day for a dinner that didn't require us to do any cooking.

Febookary Book Tag 2022! (Time For The #Febookary Book Challenge!) - #AmReading

Welcome to Febookary, which started on 1st February, and will take place during the whole of February!

 

~

 

For those that don’t know, Febookary is a reading challenge Cat over at The Strawberry Post created two years ago with the goal of trying to encourage everyone to face their reading ‘fears’ and read something you never would have tried before.  The challenge is a flexible one, which doesn’t have any specific challenge board or mini goals to reach, the goal is simply try during February to read a book in a genre you’ve never read before, a book you’d never normally pick up but which sounds interesting, and for those who are reluctant readers, just try to read anything at all. 🙂
 

I hope you’ll all want to try and take part and get any children who are reluctant to read involved too.  You can read as little as one book for the whole month, but you might discover a new author and genre you’ve never tried before, or even a love of reading if you’ve never enjoyed it before. 🙂
  

~

 

Below is a new Febookary tag Cat created, based on the old one from last year, but with some newer questions.  You can read Cat's answers in her post from last week, which you can find by clicking here, and - as I always say when doing these tags - I'd love to know what your answers to the questions would be, so feel free to join in with both the tag and the challenge.  And, if you do the tag on your blog or social media, make sure I know where to find your answers, because I'd hate to miss them.  For now though, let's check out the questions and my answers.  I hope you enjoy my answers and the whole of Febookary! 😀
 

~

 

1. What books, if any, did you dislike reading when you were younger?
 

None.  I've loved reading since I knew how, and would read anything I could as a child.

 

2. What books, if any, did you like to read when you were younger?

 

I loved reading pretty much anything I could get my hands on, especially if it contained animals.  Bonus points if those animals were horses, since I was absolutely obsessed with horses as a child.  Still love horses a lot, and mention of a story being about a horse will still get my attention.  I also loved - and still love - stories where the children were in boarding schools, for reasons I'm not so clear on, but there you go.

3. What fiction genres, if any, do you enjoy reading?

 

I still enjoy reading pretty much anything I've tried besides Christian Fiction, though Fantasy, Science-Fiction, and Cosy Mystery are my absolute favourites, with Dystopian and Historical Fiction a close second.

4. What non-fiction genres, if any, do you like to read?

 

When it comes to Non-Fiction I enjoy books about any subject that interests me in its own right, so, for example, enjoy reading recipe books and blogs, books and articles on crafting, scientific papers, books and papers about certain periods of history, as well as articles and books on meditation and mindfulness.

 

5. What is the last book you DNF (Did Not Finish) and why?

 

There isn't one.  If I start a book, I finish it.

 

6. Are there any genres/books you just don’t like or have never tried reading?

 

I do not like Christian Fiction, or Christian Non-Fiction.  I'm sure the stories in the books are great - if you like that kind of thing.  But I struggle to enjoy them due to a conflict of beliefs.  Those beliefs sprinkled throughout something else I can deal with, and I have no problem with people believing whatever they want to.  But it's not for me, so I steer clear of anything in those genres.

 

7. What book(s) are you going to try reading for #Febookary this year?
 

The book I'm reading for Febookary this year is "The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity" by Julia Cameron, which I'm reading not only because it's one I've hesitated to read for some time - I have no idea why, but have passed over it without adding it to my to-read list or buying a copy several times, despite briefly considering it multiple times - but also because there's an ACB call for people reading it, which started up on February 2nd, so I can combine my reading for that with my reading for Febookary.

 

8. Any other goals for this month?

 

My other February reading goals are to read the review copy I got of "Leaving And Other Poems" by Kevin Morris, and read "Paper, Scissors, Death" (Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series, Book 1) by Joanna Campbell Slan, which is the book of the month for the newly started ACB Crafters Bookclub, as well as "Critical Role: Vox Machina - Kith & Kin" by the cast of Critical Role, who are a roleplaying group who game live via YouTube and a couple of other streaming platforms, who I've mentioned on here at least once before if I'm not mistaken, since I follow them on YouTube and often watch their sessions.

Of Post Notifications, #Crafting Progress, And Medical Mutterings

*NOTE: Post notifications have been a bit hit and miss for me lately.

 

Sometimes I get them through Feedburner (even though that's meant to have stopped) and sometimes I get them through Bloglovin' (which, for some reason, is happening even less frequently than the Feedburner notifications these days) or however I made sure to be signed up to get post notifications for your blog when Feedburner said they'd be stopping doing the notifications.  Sometimes I get them soon after the post goes live, other times I get them a day or two later, and other times I don't get them at all.  For some of you who are on Goodreads I'm also following you on there, and get a weekly digest of posts that way, but that's only weekly, like I said, and a lot of people I follow aren't on Goodreads.

 

So, if I've been slow with comments to your posts, or haven't commented on them at all, that - along with having not felt too great during this past week, so having not done much in the way of dealing with eMails and post notifications some days - is why.

 

*~*

 

Before we move on to the other topics of this post...

 

I got a thank you card from Rita, which arrived early on Friday morning – just before I had to leave for my hospital appointment.  So, thanks, Rita, and here’s a photo of the card:

 

 

*~*

 

In Last Thursday evening’s knitting session, we made some six pointed stars, which can be used as fancy coasters, sewn on to things, or made in to holiday decorations.  Here’s a photo of mine:

 

 

I figured it didn't really matter what colour it was, so I just knitted my star in the first colour I grabbed from the selection of random balls of wool I have in my craft room, which happened to be white.

 

~

 

I did some more work on my loom knitting scarf while they were demonstrating this month's kit in the Cosy Craft Club Zoom session on Tuesday evening.  I’m now about half done with it.

 

One of these days I'll surprise them and actually be working on the kit with them.  I have loads to catch up on (both from Cosy Craft Club and Makerly Crafts).  But mostly I end up just getting tips to try and remember for when I'm working on the kits later, while working on some project of my own, whether one of the ones I'd like to get finished from mine and Nan's unfinished projects, a project I ended up starting in one of the ACB Crafters sessions, or something else I want to make.  I enjoy going to their Zoom calls though, which is what matters.

 

~

 

I joined in with the crochet projects the ACB Crafters group were doing this week though.

 

Rather appropriately, since it was St Dwynwen's Day (day for the Welsh patron saint of love) on January 25th, and that was the day the crochet Zoom call happened, one of the projects was a crochet stuffed heart.  I know they were thinking in terms of starting Valentine's Day projects, but it was still appropriate that they started it on that particular day.  Anyway, I made a red one.  I pulled it a bit tight when I was weaving in the end and closing up the bottom after it was stuffed and finished, so it almost looks like I was making a wooly heart baloon, but I still like it.  Here's a photo:

 

 

The other project was a crochet hot chocolate amigarumi.  This one we had to make some of the pieces ahead of time for.  Making the purple cup wasn't too difficult - though I was excited about being able to, since it was my first time really shaping anything using crochet - and once I'd done the cup doing the brown circle for the chocolate was comparatively easy.  The white part for the cream (which we did in the call together on Tuesday) really challenged me though, and it took me ages to get it to work.  Everyone else was already assembling their pieces by the time I'd made the cream.  But I managed it in the end.  And, though I stuffed my hot chocolate amigurumi a bit more than I should have when I was putting it together afterwards, so it looks like it's about to spill any moment (to me it does anyhow) I'm proud of it.  Here's a photo so you can see it:

 

 

~

 

My crochet blanket is still unfinished, but didn't get worked on during the past week.

 

*~*

 

Last Friday was my first time seeing my new Haematologist.  I hadn’t seen anyone to be regularly checking on my Anaemia and Thrombocytopenia before.  Well, the Anaemia was being checked regularly by my doctor when I was in Hastings, but that all stopped after I had the hysterectomy, and I wasn’t seeing an actual Haematologist, since it was my doctor and the gynaecologists checking it (or the doctors at the hospital whenever I showed up at A&E).  But I'd have needed a new Haematologist because of moving back to Wales regardless.

 

Anyway, the Haematologist seemed terrified at finding himself forced to hold an actual conversation with a blind person.  My Dad had taken me, but I had him wait in the waiting room, which is something I usually do if someone goes with me, because doctors have a habit of ignoring me and speaking directly to him (or whoever takes me on those times when I have a family member or friend act as my transport and helper) instead.  Besides, I don’t see why I shouldn’t get the same amount of privacy when talking to a doctor that anyone else would get.  And I can tell you for a fact this would have been one of those doctors who spoke to my helper rather than me, since he panicked when the nurse made to leave me with him.  She had to promise to leave the door to the outer area where she’d be working open so he could call her if he needed to before he’d relax.  Even then I swear he’d have run from the room screaming if I jumped up and said, “Boo!”

 

He did manage to relax quite a bit by the time I was done talking to him, but his attitude makes me wonder if he really meant it when he acted concerned and told me to go home after I had my blood taken so I didn’t need to be at the hospital longer than absolutely essential, because they’d call me if there were issues with the levels, and it would be better for me with my immune issues not to be at the hospital longer than absolutely essential, or if he just wanted the scary blind person to go away.  Perhaps a bit of both?

 

I mean, he could have been genuinely concerned.  After all, Covid is bad again everywhere right now (not helped by those people who are either tired of social distancing, or convinced the jabs give them complete immunity to all strains of the virus, or both, so going back to how they were doing things pre-pandemic) so there is good reason for him to be concerned about me risking being exposed if I hang around where potentially sick people could come near me.  It's just that his decision coming after his reaction when he realized I couldn't see, and being completely different to how things are usually done when you go see someone at a hospital like that, makes me wonder.  After all, they had me wait for the results when I went to have blood tests a few months back.  But then, I suppose it is possible the way things are done now is different because of the continuing threat of the pandemic.

 

Either way, he even gave me the blood forms for next time, so I can go get the tests done a week before my next appointment, and then he’ll have them ready for me by the time I’m seeing him.  He said it would be easier for me, but that depends how you look at it.  Yes, I do agree it means less time hanging around at the hospital, which is a good thing, especially for someone like me.  However, it also means making the hour long round trip to the hospital twice instead of once, and in that respect it isn’t easier, because it would be a real headache arranging that if I didn’t have my Dad for transport.  This way also means I have to brave the big wide world more times, which is an unpleasant thought these days.

 

~

 

Anyway, I’ve heard nothing about my results from either the doctor or the hospital at this point, and the doctor surgery said the results weren't showing on their system as being available to share with me when I called looking for them (which I’ve done twice in the past week) so I assume that means my levels were at least not too bad.  Not too bad for me, I mean.  Had they been really bad, the hospital would have flagged them for immediate attention, and in theory I’d know about that by now.

 

Regardless of what my blood tests may show though, them taking the blood for the tests hit me hard this time around.  This either means my levels are at least a little lower than usual, or all the times I’ve had to do this are catching up to me, making it harder for me to bounce back these days.  Or possibly even both of those things.  Whichever is the case, I missed Friday's ACB Presents call, even though I was technically home in time to make it to that call, because I was just too tired, and it took everything I had to make it to the Free To Be Me Call Friday.  Then I slept a lot - in fact, most - of Saturday and Sunday, missing an ACB Crafters call I'd been planning to go to Saturday evening (opting to go for a nap instead) and almost cancelling my plans to go to kareoke Saturday night (had I been going out to do it, I'd have cancelled for sure, came close to doing so regardless, and hope how bad I felt didn't show when I was singing).  It took me until Monday evening to start feeling more like my normal again.

 

If I still don’t hear anything from either the doctor or the hospital by Monday afternoon, I’ll give my doctor surgery another ring to see if they can tell me yet exactly what my levels were, since I like to know and keep track of the numbers myself.  Apart from anything else, it makes it easier for me to be able to tell any new doctor or nurse I see if things are - or aren't - my normal. 

A Weather Report + #Crafting + #AmWriting + #Music + Day To Day Life

No sign of any more snow here.  Some rain, some sun, some chilly temperatures, but no snow.

 

Never mind, there's plenty of time for more yet, and it's not unusual for us to get our best snow in March, so I'm not giving up hope.

 

~

 

Anyway, it's been a busy week, so let's take a look at what's been going on in my world during the past week, shall we?

*~*

Friday was mostly taken up with Zoom calls.  I try to make it to the ACB Presents call every day at 9:00am Eastern, and like to pop in to the ACB Crafters call for a while before the Free To Be Me call I co-facilitate on Fridays.  But I also decided to go to another call, which I don't always attend, but is fun when I do.  Between that and the usual day to day chores, petkid care, etc - which you can just assume I did every day, and I won't bother mentioning every time - there wasn't much of Friday left.

*~*

Saturday was a day mostly filled with crafting.  I attended a Zoom call on ways to add crochet to other forms of crafts (cards, fabric, etc) which was fun and interesting.  I also finished up the crochet mug hug I'd been making, which I mentioned in last week's post, and which Kelly has claimed for his mug.  LOL!

Here's a photo of the green crochet mug hug (essentially a mug cosy) on Kelly's mug:

Oh, and here's a photo of the blue needle knitted round dishcloth/doily thing I made too:

~

 

I also wrote the first draft of an article on audio book production I've been meaning to get to.  I've been promising someone I'd work on it since about November, so it was long since over-due in my opinion, even if I didn't officially have a deadline for when I was meant to submit it by.

~

The other thing I did Saturday - well, I'm calling it Saturday, but it was technically Sunday, since it was actually early hours of Sunday morning for me - was to go to ACB's Saturday night kareoke, which I've started doing on a regular basis now.  And, yes, I sing each time I'm there.

I attend the ACB's open mic night when they do that too, but that doesn't happen every week like kareoke does, because the person who facilitates that can't do it every week.  But I read some of my poems for that instead of singing.  I mention it though because it's another one that happens late (when it's on it's a Wednesday night/Thursday morning thing) and I wanted to tell you about what happened after the last one ended, since you won't have seen about it if you're not on Facebook, and might find it as amusing as I do.

So, when open mic night ended it was about 3:00am for me.  And - seeing me remove my headset - Lilie and Logan got up and ran off in to the bedroom, knowing I go in there afterwards, even if I end up reading rather than sleeping.  I didn't pay much attention, but the next thing I know there's a whole lot of noise going on in there, so I went in to see what they were up to.

They were jumping on the bed.  Literally just bouncing up and down on the bed.

I asked them if they realized it was 3:00am, and they stopped bouncing for a moment, looked at me as if to ask if I had a point, and - deciding I clearly didn't - promptly started bouncing on the bed again.

I guess they didn't care if it was 3:00am, or see why that meant they shouldn't bounce on the bed.  LOL!

*~*

Sunday I finally got a chance to play with my potters' wheel.  I made two pots of slightly different sizes and shapes (one a sort of vase shape, and the other a little round pot) which you can see in the photos below.

 

 

 

 

I also made the pen part of a pig sty I'm making as part of the scenery I'm making for my Dad for gaming.  I told my Dad with how much crafting I'm doing he'd likely end up with handmade items for his birthday and Christmas the way I'm going, and he said the thing he needs most is more scenery for his figure gaming, and mentioned an interest in things you'd find in farms or rural settings, like a pig sty, a pond, etc, so I'm taking him at his word and making him a pig sty, and will later make him a pond or two as well.  He gets what he wants/needs for gaming without having to pay ridiculously high prices for scenery, or find time to make it himself,and I get to play with my clay.  Everybody wins.  But, anyhow, I only got as far as making the pen part of the pig sty on Sunday, since I wanted that to dry before I started working on doing the shelter for the pigs to go in it.  Plus ran out of time to do more than that anyhow.

~

I also went to a cooking themed ACB Zoom call on Sunday, where they sometimes do cooking demonstrations, and other times discuss things on the general theme of cooking.  This week they were talking about meal planning and prepping, which is something I'm trying to get back in the habit of doing.  It was an interesting call, which I'm glad I went to.

*~*

Monday afternoon I had a papercrafting Zoom meeting scheduled with someone I won it from in the ACB Crafters holiday party I attended a week before Christmas, which for various reasons has taken us this long to be able to arrange.  So I tried to make sure to have everything ready for it before the ACB Presents call, since with my time difference I was scheduled to literally come out of one meeting and in to the other.  I forgot a few things though, so had to go run and get them during the call.  Despite not being quite as prepared as I thought I was, I still managed to make two cards during it though, trying out a couple of new techniques for me; I'd never done cards with extra folds like these before.

One of the cards I made was a star-themed one.  The bulk of the card is white.  The inside has green stars stamped across the top of what would be the back of the card front, and blue presents stamped across the bottom of that same side, with a strip of blue running down the other side.  When the card is closed you can see that strip of blue, and the rest of the front has a strip of green on it, more stamped green stars and blue presents, and three slightly overlapping stars (two blue stars, and a bigger silver glittery star with a small red star in the center of it).  Here are photos of both the inside and outside of that card:

 

The other card is a more feminine card.  The inside has purple butterflies stamped on a white background on what would be the back of the front of the card, and the other side is a yellow background with a pink balloon up near the top of one corner, and a pink heart almost centered at the bottom.  When you close the card the balloon and that area of the yellow background is visible.  The other side of the top of the front has an orange background with a silvery glittery heart on it, and the bottom of the front is left white with purple butterflies stamped on it, and a pink ribbon in the shape of a bow. Here are photos of the inside and outside of that card:

 

 

~

 

I have roleplaying some Mondays, but this wasn't one of them.  Just as well, since we ended up having Mam's dog, Izabel, over for a sleepover Monday night, because Mam was unwell.

 

Lilie loved it; Izi and Lilie had a great time playing together.  Logan wasn't so pleased about the idea; Logan thinks Izabel and Lilie are much too energetic, and spends most of the time when Izi is here just trying to stay out of the way of the girls' games, while also trying to keep them in sight so he doesn't miss anything he might decide he'd like to be involved in after all.

 

*~*

 

To Logan's relief and Lilie's disappointment, Izabel went home Tuesday early evening, during the time when we often have had Dad over for roleplaying and dinner, but as it happened this week I only saw Dad for him to act as mine and Izi's transport, since he and Wayne had their Covid boosters Tuesday afternoon, so we had planned on us not seeing him until it turned out I needed transport to first pick Izabel up on Monday, and then take her home Tuesday.

~

Shortly before Izabel went home on Tuesday I went to a different ACB cooking Zoom call where they were making ginger brownies, and offered some substitution tips for those who might want to reduce the amount of sugar they use (or use a different kind of sugar) or avoid using eggs for whatever reason.

~

I also went to an online clay workshop on Tuesday, which was for the visually impaired, but not run by the ACB.  It was run by Future In Sight.  Officially it was a beginner workshop, but to me it was just an excuse to play with my clay again.  LOL!

Anyway, I made a sort of oval shaped shallow pinch pot.  And here it is:

I also made the walls for the shelter part of the pig pen.  Since some games are better with no roof put on buildings you make for scenery to use with them, while for others a roof is a good idea, and I'm not sure which kind Dad wants this for, I decided to let Dad do the roof if he wants his pig pen to have one, so here's a photo of the finished pig pen, which is essentially a round pen with the walls for a square-ish structure inside it, and a gate like you'd find on a farm in one area of the pen's wall.

*~*

Wednesday was one of those days when I needed a lot of resting time.  But I also had my keyboard lesson, and there's a fun chatty call I like to go to about an hour after the music lesson ends, so I did make sure to be up for those, as well as for the ACB Presents call.

~

The only other thing - besides essential petkid and personal care tasks - I stayed up to do on Wednesday was to take the time to use the bit of clay I hadn't used up from the open packet Tuesday to make the foundation and walls for another building I'll be giving to Dad.  Again, he can either add a roof or not, depending on what he wants to do with it.  But here it is:

*~*

Thursday I finished working on that article, and finally sent it to the person.

I also got caught up on laundry - in case you're interested in hearing about that.

~

The only other thing of note about Thursdays is that I have a knitting Zoom call I go to late evening my time on Thursdays.  This week's was needle knitting.  It's needle knitting on the first and third Thursdays of the month, and loom knitting on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month.

*~*

Since I'm putting this together Thursday ready for it to publish Friday morning while I'm on the way to the hospital for my Haematologist appointment, that's you all caught up with everything that's happened between now and my last post.  I hope you enjoyed having a day by day glimpse in to my week.  Not all my weeks are as full as this one was... I had a lot going on this week, that's for sure!