Random Ramblings - March 2018 Edition (FD & LBE)

The grey teddy bear in the photo above is one Kelly got me as a late Valentine's Day present.

He brought it home one day after Valentine's Day and gave it to me. When I asked what was with the teddy, he said it was because he didn't get me one for Valentine's Day and he saw it and thought I'd like it. Which I do, because I love cuddly animals, it's soft and fluffy, and it's from him.

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Fellow author, David Estes, sent me these signed bookmarks from his "Fatemarked" series:


He sent me them because I'm now a supporter of David on Patreon.

Having read his work for a couple of years now, I know he's worth supporting, since he's an excellent author, and getting the rewards for doing so is an added bonus. I already have the bookmarks and a sneak peek at part of the new book he's releasing in the near future... Which looks to be another awesome read, by the way.

Anyway, thanks for the bookmarks, David, and for writing your awesome books.

***

Another bad storm hit the UK, but most people didn't panic as much with shopping. Mind you, they were probably still trying to use up the stuff from the previous storm, since there wasn't much time between them.

Anyway, the weather wasn't too bad where we were. A fair amount of wind and rain, but not really much more than is normal for this time of year, and temperatures in the past week or so had mainly been averaging between 6 degrees C (44 F) and 9 degrees C (50 F). It actually went up to 11 degrees C (54 F) for a day or two at one point. So, not too bad, especially when compared to the below freezing temperatures that some places were getting.

But I say, "Had been," for a reason. You see, that changed over this past weekend, and our temperatures dropped down around - and, a couple of times, below - freezing again. We even got a little snow, though it wasn't even enough to bother with photos to be honest, so I don't have any snow photos for you this time.

What we got on Saturday was more a collection of snow flurries than a real snowfall. It was still a nice thing to wake up to on Saturday though. At least, I thought so. Although, the nasty ice a lot of places had - local and otherwise - wasn't quite so pleasant, andplenty of people would have been more than happy to give me their share of the snow.

It snowed a bit more Saturday night. I thought it was snowing when I woke in the night, but was too sleepy for more than a passing thought of, "YAY! It's snowing again." Sunday morning we woke to find some snow still in sheltered places, and some still on some roofs, but it was more slush and ice than anything on most of the ground.

Like I said, not really worth taking photos of. Although, I might have insisted we grab some photos anyhow, if we didn't have those good photos from last time.

Either way, it was more snow than I expected us to get, since I figured we were done with our snow for the year after the snow I mentioned last week. Even when I saw the weather reports saying there would be snow, I didn't get my hopes up like I usually do. Not because I didn't want there to be more, but because I didn't think it would happen with all the snow we'd already had. I expected us to be waiting until at least late October before we got more. Not that I'm complaining, of course.

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In other news: our kettle died.

We had to heat water for cups of tea and things using a pot on the cooker. This not only takes a lot longer than using a kettle, but it's also something that's quite tricky for me to do safely, which meant Kelly had to be in charge of making hot drinks until we could get a new kettle. I could have done it if I had no choice, but Kelly doing it was safer. OK, so he makes them most of the time anyhow, but at least with a proper kettle I can make them myself sometimes.

It's interesting how much we've come to rely on the convenience of modern appliances. I mean, we didn't have a fancy kettle. Just a basic one that quickly heats up water, and has a pouring spout to help direct liquid. But it's amazing how much we missed even that. You don't think about how long a pot of water takes to boil until you're waiting for it to do so. At least, I never gave it much thought before. Not until I was impatiently waiting for the cup of tea to go with my cookies. Of course, in my case there's the addition of relying on an easier and safer method so I can have some ability to do things myself, which was taken away from me just by the lack of a kettle, and shows how much technology has helped people with disabilities do things they otherwise couldn't do for themselves.

Anyway, we have a new kettle now. Still nothing fancy, but it heats water quickly, which is good enough for us.

The new kettle is a silver one. I almost had a purple one, but the silver one had good reviews and the purple one didn't, and the silver one was almost £10 cheaper than the purple one, so Kelly wanted to get the silver one. A part of me was disappointed not to have the purple one, because... Well, it's purple! But mostly I'm just glad to have a kettle again, to be able to have a cup of tea quickly whenever I want one, and to have the option to make it myself.

The other new thing we got is some new curtains for the living room. Our friends Lorna and Andy gave them to us. They're thicker than the ones we had up, so keep the heat in better. I'm told by Kelly and Lorna that they also look good with the colour scheme of the room. I never cared much about that kind of thing even when I could see, but I do appreciate the thickness to keep the heat in better, and am grateful to Lorna and Andy for giving them to us, as well as for putting them up for us.

I've kept hold of the ones we had though. I don't really need to... I could give them to the charity shop or something. But they're red curtains, and that very fact makes me reluctant to let them go, since the only thing I like more than red things is purple ones.

Yeah, I know I can't see the colours any more, but that's totally not the point.

Anyway, the new curtains are brown,which is why they say they go so well, because this place is carpeted in brown (not my idea). The walls in the living room are blue and white, and apparently it all looks really nice in there. I'd have Kelly take photos, but we're still trying to organize things properly after having to move things around when Lilie ate the computer wires, and I don't want you to see the mess.

***

It's Lilie's first birthday in a week; Lilie will be a year old on March 26th 2018.

How did that happen?

It seems like only yesterday we were bringing home a little eight week old puppy. Now she's about to be a whole year old!

We've had her for about ten months now.

Time flies, doesn't it?

Happy birthday for next Monday, Lilie Monster!

Actually, I've been really bad about remembering to post about birthdays, so I've missed several, including - but not limited to - our nephew, Devon, who celebrated his birthday on February 25th, and my brother, Wayne, who celebrated his on March 15th. So, happy belated birthday, Devon, Wayne, and anyone who reads this who had a birthday in the past couple of months.

Also... Happy birthday for next Wednesday, Rita!