Catching Up On What I #AmWatching

Last week I told you about what I’ve been reading, so this week I thought I’d tell you about what I’ve been watching.

 

My friend, Kaila, and I watched the new version of “The Secret Garden” and the 1990s version of “A Little Princess” together.  That was actually back in March, so I may have mentioned that, but since I’m not sure, I figured I’d include them.  We’re also still working on “Young Sheldon” and have now started season 4.

 

I watched “Miss Potter” and “Pocahantas” with my Dad and my sister, Natalie, when Natalie was visiting from Norwich in April.  I’ve seen “Pocahantas loads of times, but it was fun watching it again.

 

Since I’m all caught up with the Critical Role campaign, I’ve also been watching all kinds of roleplaying Youtube videos similar to the ones the Critical Role group do.  The Critical Role ones are still my favourites, but I’m having fun watching others too.

 

Of Birthday Flowers, Christmas Trees, And Dried Lavender

I never got around to sharing my birthday photos.  So, here are the flowers I got:

 

The yellow ones in the bunch are from Kelly, and the pink ones are from a friend named Dara.

 

And here are my birthday cards:

 

*~*

 

We went minimalistic with decorations this year, but one thing we did get was a real tree.  We don’t usually, but I love the idea of real trees, so  Dara helped Kelly to arrange it for me as a special treat.  And here it is:

 

One photo shows it during daylight, the other after sunset.

 

Also, here are the Christmas cards we’ve received so far:

 

*~*

 

When Dara went to pick up the tree, they were handing out dried lavender, so she grabbed me some…

 

My living room smells like a cross between a lavender field and a Christmas tree farm, and I love it!

A Brief Post About Mam's Funeral

My Mam’s funeral was on August 22nd - three weeks to the day after she died.

 

It was a nice service, and – though there were some people who I wish had been able to come who weren’t able to – I’m pleased with who showed up, and some of those who couldn't make it sent flowers, which was nice.

 

The polebearers were my brothers, Wayne and Carl, my honorary cousin, Natalie, and a family friend who Mam was close to named Lee.  And I followed behind them with Mam’s Goddaughter, Shireen.

 

We had three songs played for Mam:

Elvis Presley – You Are Always On My Mind (because she loved Elvis Presley, and liked that song)

A version of Amazing Grace she’d particularly requested when she learned she was so sick

Dolly Parton – Shine Like The Sun (because she was particularly identifying with that song towards the end)

 

I’d planned on speaking, but in the end couldn’t do it, so had them share the following quote on my behalf:

 

It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things.

~Lemony Snicket

 

Wayne couldn’t bring himself to speak either.  Carl did speak though, and used these two quotes in what he said:

 

Picture a wave in the ocean. You can see it, measure it — its height, the way the sunlight refracts when it passes through. It’s there and you can see it and you know what it is. It’s a wave. And then it crashes on the shore, and it’s gone. But the water is still there. The wave was just a different way for the water to be, for a little while. That’s one conception of death for a Buddhist. The wave returns to the ocean  — where it came from, and where it’s supposed to be.

~The Good Place

 

"If I die," he whispered in the dark, "dinna follow me. The bairns will need ye. Stay for them. I can wait."

~Outlander

 

 

Rest in peace, and goodbye, Mam.

June 23rd 2023 Random Ramblings

The landlords' repair guy I mentioned last week came near the start of the time slot he gave us, and he wasn’t here long, so he had been and gone by the time last week’s post actually went live, but not with enough time for me to come in and edit the post.

 

It turned out one of the issues we could have dealt with if we’d known what to look for: we thought the heater in my craft room/office wasn’t working.  But it turned out it was only turned off (though why it was turned off we have no idea).  But, hey, the person doing the inspection on behalf of the landlord didn't figure it out either, so at least it wasn't just us.

 

We hadn’t noticed that it wasn't working before this past Winter, because it was more a storage space than a functioning room for most of the first two years we were here, but I definitely noticed this past Winter when I was in there regularly.  All Winter I’d been making do without it, making use of blankets whenever it got cold enough in there that I needed to do something to keep warm while working in my room, and learning it was for nothing was both funny and frustrating – especially frustrating.

 

I’d checked, and thought I’d found and tried all the knobs that controlled whether it’s on and how high.  Apparently I’d missed one I didn’t know to look for, because it was on the opposite side to the rest, and not so easily spotted.  Now that one is turned to the “on” position, my heater works.  Not that I need it right now, since it’s been pretty hot most days (though thankfully cooled down a bit after we had some rainstorms at the start of the week).  But at least I’ll be able to make use of it when the cold weather comes this Winter.

 

*~*

 

My Mam came out of hospital Friday evening.

 

They had things to the point where there wasn’t really anything they could do at the hospital that couldn’t be done either at home or via outpatient appointments, so didn’t see the point in keeping her in the hospital any longer.  I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how happy she was to get to go home, even if she does need people coming in every day to help her do things she can no longer manage for herself, which I know she finds frustrating.

 

Hopefully she won’t end up back in hospital again any time soon.

 

~

 

Because of my Mam's health, and what an energetic pup he is, it was decided that Cai should be re homed.  So, the woman who had been taking care of him while Mam was in hospital this second time has him.  She's a friend of a friend.  The woman was given the option of keeping Cai, or us re homing him elsewhere, and she decided to keep him.  I hope he gives her many happy years of companionship.

 

Izabel went back to my Mam though, since Izi is more manageable.  She was picked up on Saturday, shortly before lunch time, by one of the people currently helping my Mam.  Izi was very happy to see her Mami again.

 

I think Lilie kind of misses Izi, since the two of them were becoming great friends.  But Logan is definitely glad Izi has gone home.  I'm sure he's glad not to have her joining forces with Lilie to gang up on him.  Plus, he shares my feelings about keeping socializing to smaller groups as much as possible.  He did a sort of doggy happy dance when she left, and then stretched out on the bed for a long nap.  LOL!

 

*~*

 

Lilie and Logan have a vet appointment on Monday (June 26^th) at 3:45pm and 4:00pm respectively.  Don’t worry.  It should just be a smooth routine visit; it’s time for their annual shots and health checks, that’s all.

 

Normally we’d get a ride from one of my parents, or pay for a taxi, but with neither of them driving right now for various reasons, we’re trying a new transport scheme for disabled and low income people that’s recently started up around here, which will be a lot cheaper than the taxi would have been (which is one of the main points of having the scheme, the other being help with transport for disabled and elderly people).

 

I like the fact it's an option for more than just those of us with disabilities, since most places with schemes like this will only take people who don't come under the disabled or elderly labels if they happen to be traveling with someone who does.

 

It sounds like a great scheme, so I hope it’s as good as it sounds, since it will come in handy for us a lot if it is.

 

It should be fine though, since it was recommended by my Aunt Bev (who mans their phones sometimes, was the person who gave my Dad the number to give to us, and also happened to be the person who answered the phone to me when I called to learn more about it) as well as a family friend named Laura who I’ve known since childhood (who is related to the guy who runs it).  Ah, the joys of living in a relatively rural village where it seems like everyone either knows or is related somehow to everyone else.  LOL!

 

*~*

 

My spoon reserves are still pretty low from the events of the past couple of months, but I did manage to get some rest time in during the past couple of days, which helped a little.  Just as well really, since I’m one of the people who have been chosen to host for the virtual parts of the ACB’s 2023 convention, starting with the virtual only portion that’s currently going on, and continuing throughout the first week of July with the hybrid convention.

 

So, if I’m slow replying to comments, visiting blogs, etc, it’s because I’ll be resting when I can between hosting assignments, since I’m pretty sure I’ll need to if I’m going to  make sure I have the energy to do them well.