Osteoarthritis is no fun

I need happy toes:

When I look back over the years, I remember the seizing up of joints going back to my first marriage. We would sit for a couple of hours over dinner, or go and see a film and, at the end, everyone else would get up and I would begin to... and then have to stop while I gentle unfolded my hips and knees, especially those on my right side. This means I have been dealing with osteoarthritis since my early 30's. As I approach my 60th birthday next year, that's a long time to be dealing with joint pain.

There is no doubt that I have had good years and bad years, and I have to be particularly attentive to my neck and upper back, as there is particular damage to that part of my spine. 

But, the worst damage to deal with is unquestionably that in my foot. It makes walking and standing incredibly uncomfortable and, in the past few years, has become much worse. 

I have been having cortisone injections in the joint of my big toe for a while now, but today it has been decided that surgery is the better plan going forward. I didn't even know that surgery was an option, but they will fuse the 2 joints in my toe, which means the joint will no longer bend, putting an end to pain from that joint. The bones will be set with a slight bend, so that there is rocking motion to the joint to make walking easier.

Joint surgery, or arthrodesis to give it the correct name, 'restores stability, provides pain relief and improves alignment of bones in arthritic patients' - sounds like a good plan to me. 

As I can't have surgery within 6 months of a cortisone injection I have had to forgo the injection today and need to continue managing the pain with rest and painkillers, but if it means I have a permanent solution to a painful condition, it has to be worth it. I just hope it doesn't take too long for the appointment to see the specialist to come through.

After it all heals one of the benefits, other than the lack of pain, will be that I may finally be able to wear normal, pretty shoes again.

Now, that's something to look forward to.

Summertime...

It's been a while since I've written anything on here, my life has been consumed by writing, promoting and generally all things book related, but there are times when there a little distractions and this has been one of those weeks.

On Saturday we were at a large family gathering of Peter's family, followed by Jessica's graduation ceremony on Monday. It was a wonderful day and so lovely to see all the hard work she has put in over the last 3 years pay off, (and I got a lovely spur of the moment visit from my brother while we were in London).

One  very proud Dad.

So, after the rushing around of the weekend a couple of quiet days at home, giving me chance to wander around the garden to see what's new.

I love spotting the flowers as they bloom. Today we have a new fuchsia flowering, 

the little rose tree has gorgeous blossoms 

and even the clematis is beginning to get there. 

We have an awful problem with snails which seem to adore the clematis, so it has been a real struggle to get it to this stage. As well as this, the first tomatoes are ripening, and the flowering cherry tree is dripping with birds gorging themselves.

So, for now, as they say, everything in the garden is rosy.

Today I had my annual asthma check, at which I was told I have good lung function (tell my body that when I am running for a train!) and tomorrow I have the dreaded cortisone injection. I hobble a lot by the end of each day and these injections in my toe are really very painful, but I endure them because they give me a couple of months normal walking before I start to hobble again. 

Not the best way to finish a week off work, but hey ho, it has to be done. Hopefully, it will be sunny and I can sit in the garden and read all day while I rest my foot.

Welcome Smokey

Friday night saw the arrival of the latest addition to the household:

Introducing SMOKEY

Smokey is 12 weeks old, and is already an experienced traveller - he travelled with Jessica on the  train from London. 

There is already an older, established cat in the house - 

Wiskers - a serious threat to a small kitten (or so we thought)

It seemed sensible to follow the research from books and Google and keep the kitten in a separate room, apart from Wiskers and gradually introduce the presence of the kitten.

So far, the kitten has been all over the house, Wiskers appears not to notice any new scent.
After a couple of days we took Wiskers into the room where the kitten is. The kitten was in his cage and immediately noticed Wiskers, but Wiskers simply turned around and left.
We brought the kitten into the room where Wiskers was - nothing
We put the kitten in eye-line of Wiskers -oooh, reaction! Her eyes widened. Not a muscle twitched, no hissing and spitting - just a modicum of interest, then she turned her back and went to sleep.

Later that same evening Wiskers was settled on my knee when we brought Smokey in and let him play on the floor in front of her. She stayed where she was but watched him. When she began to tense, I worried that she was ready to pounce so we picked Smokey up, but I am now not sure she wasn't just re-positioning to get an easy view.

We worried that the kitten may make Wiskers feel she wanted to move out. Last night we couldn't find her at bed-time. I couldn't find her this morning either, but it turns out she had been settled in the cushions from the settee we currently have in the garage. Well enough hidden that we worried she'd been outside all night in the cold, when in truth she had been totally cosy.

Today we brought the kitten into the lounge to see what reaction we would get. This time Smokey really wanted to get to Wiskers, but the feeling wasn't mutual.

It really can't be this easy and I am sure Wiskers is merely lulling us into a false sense of security - but so far it has been so much more peaceful than expected.

Through Time To London - the book finally arrives

It's always good to have an ambition. My ambition started over 20 years ago when I walked through W H Smith's bookstore and saw a new book written by Jacqueline Wilson on display. It was a children's book, and I was at this time an adult. What caught my eye was the name, it was my name too. I remember thinking how good it must be to have your name on a book in a bookshop. That was the day the seed was planted.

Then life got in the way. I continued to be an avid reader, to this day I have never read one of Jacqueline Wilson's book, yet she is responsible for me now having a paperback with my name on it, (well, more on that later).

Today I took delivery of the first copy of my children's novel. A time-travel adventure featuring my two fabulous dogs, Brandy & Brinkley. 

I wrote the first few chapters as far back as 2013, but only finished it earlier this year. Several weeks of proofreading, re-writing, taking feedback from beta-readers and a massive learning curve in self-publishing and finally, I am at this epic moment in my life. And it feels amazing. An ambition well and truly achieved.

I can now call myself an Author. 

As for the name? I have used Brindy as an online user name for several years, well, since I got Brandy& Brinkley, as it's a combination of the two names. So, when I decided I would write under a pen name it really was a no-brainer what to use for my first name. The surname took a little longer, but I wanted some way of incorporating my mum's maiden name. Mum taught me to read at an early age and instilled a love of books that has been with me my whole life. 

Hopefully, this will be the first of many, I have already started working on book 2.

What more can we do to test the cat...?

Whiskas is 11 years old. She behaves like any normal cat.

So last year we introduced a hamster to the house.

The cat is curious and often sits and watches the hamster in its cage, although she doesn't stay around when he is in his hamster ball, as he rolls at her like a bowling ball attempting a strike. I have found her sitting on top of his cage a couple of times, but neither the cat or the hamster seem stressed by this, just curious.

We have made the garden a haven for small birds. This year we had a nesting pair of robins. Not the most sensible place for robins to be, considering the cat.

She is more curious than over the hamster, and may have frightened them away, although we did see one back in the garden yesterday.

And now we have a new test for the cat... fish. We have a new garden pond which is now home to 6 goldfish. Time will tell whether the dislike of water or the curiosity of the fish will win through.

We do love the cat, honestly... but it does seem we are acquiring anything we can to test her patience.

Trust me, we do not have plans to get a dog!

A Little Bit of Time travel

They say that time flies when you're having fun. Well actually, time also flies when you're not having such fun times, but only when it;s over and done and you can look back.

Scroll back to February 2014, (edges go blurry, and wobbly, as indicates travelling back in time), I am sitting in the conservatory tapping away at my laptop, dogs laying close by. Chapter 21 is complete.

Fast forward to September 2014, I have been struggling to be creative but have finally completed chapter 22.There is no longer a conservatory or dogs in the image.

Another jump forward to November 2014 and another chapter complete. 

Major changes have rocked my life and darker times are looming ahead.

The book remains untouched, my world falls apart...

Time travel forward to February 2016, almost 2 years on from my last truly creative spell, and suddenly the story is progressing. Living through the last 2 years has been difficult, but I'm settled again, content with my life and the muse appears to be back. I have begun writing before, only for it to come to an abrupt halt, so this time, I keep my own council. I am near the end, I struggle with a section then decide it works as well without it, so I leave it out. I want a good ending, it needs to work...

Suddenly, I am there. 25 chapters, done, finished, my first book complete.

Well, ok, it needs editing, proofreading, sending out for beta reading. But in essence, I have completed the task, the excitement I had for this project is back, I enthuse when I speak to people of what I am working on.

Suddenly, the last 2 years have disappeared. I focus on a phrase that works for me:

When one door closes another one opens. The thing is we are normally so focused on the door that closed, we forget to look through the door that has opened, and that is usually where our focus needs to be, that is where the new opportunities are. Forget the regret and recriminations that belong to the closed door, it is pointless. 

So now, it's April. The edit process if halfway done, I have feedback from new readers, and it is still good feedback. I am encouraged to continue to my goal of publishing my first novel. It feels so close, I can almost see it on the bookshelf in Waterstones.

A little flat footed

When I wake in a morning I don't assess whether I have any pain or not, I assess how much pain I have and where it is. It's rarely in just one place as it does like to move around my body. Recent months has seen an increase in the pain levels and it is now noticeably affecting my day to day life.

OK, time to see what can be done. I have read copious amounts of info on the internet, but maybe the doctors have some other advice that I can use. I asked my GP to refer me to the rheumatology department and my first appointment was yesterday.

The outcome of a long consultation is I have osteoarthritis in hands, neck and feet. The index finger on my right hand is showing signs of bone deposits and  slight deformity, the pain being manageable most days. 

I have cervical spondylosis in my neck, supported by my MRI scan of several years ago, which is getting worse, but I manage this as best I can as there is little I can do other than take painkillers and rest it.

None of this was new or a surprise to me.

What was a surprise to me is that I have flat feet.

Flat feet, fallen arches, whatever you want to call it... that's me, and this is contributing massively to the pain from the arthritis in my feet, from my toes, all across the balls of my feet making and distance walks very painful, (and sometimes some not so long walks are almost impossible). So, I am now waiting for a referral to a podiatrist, who no doubt will advise me I can no longer wear cheap, fashionable shoes, (something I am already well aware of) and need clumpy, sensible shoes with supportive insoles. 

While I wait for the appointment to come through, back on to the internet to research flat feet. I find these may be hereditary or it may be something I have acquired. Either way, this is news to me and so I am curious to know whether there is anything I can do to help control the pain while I wait for the appointment to come through, after all, I could be waiting upto 12 weeks.

So, apart from increasing the price I pay for good, sensible shoes, what else can I do?

Well, apparently I can do foot exercises to rebuild my arches. OK, I can give that a go. I don't need any specialist equipment, a can of tomato soup for 1 and a towel will get me started. Well, I say tomato soup, it could be any flavour, we just happen to have a cupboard full of tomato. 

First exercise, stand on a step with the balls of my feet on the step and the rest of the foot handing off, lift myself up slightly and hold, relax down slightly and hold, making sure not to go too low or it will turn into a calf exercise. 12 times... and rest. OK, painful, but manageable.

Next, spread the towel on the floor and using first one foot then the other pull the towel towards me by scrunching in my toes. OK, not so sure about my ability to scrunch towels with my toes, but here goes.  Now, that really isn't easy so lots of practice needed... or maybe a lighter towel, maybe I should start off with a tea-towel, progress up to a hand towel and ultimately onto a bath towel. 

And so it goes on, but now that I know part of the problem is my flat feet, I can at least try and do something about it... and hopefully, by the time I see the podiatrist, I will be part way to solving the problem.

So, hands... ok, I have some stronger ibuprofen gel to use, while I see if using chilli based gel will have the long term effect of numbing the nerve ends so they don't tell my brain I'm in as much pain as I am. Known as Capsaisin, (no, I'd never heard of it either,) it is a substance found in red chilli peppers that gives them their heat. As it doesn't contain any ibuprofen it means the capsaisin cream can be used in conjunction with ibuprofen if necessary. Rather ironic that I cannot abide chillies in my food, and maybe if I had been eating hot curries my level of pain may have been reduced as a side effect. 

So far, so good. 

Of, and there are my hips too. That turns out not to be arthritis, but something called trochanteric bursitis. My right hip is much worse than my left and so I been referred for a cortisone injection into my right hip, and if my left needs one at a later date, I can ask for that to be done too.

So, I have pain in my neck, hands, hips and feet... no wonder the other bits in between sometimes feel painful too, they are getting attacked from all directions. The good news is, there are things to make life more comfortable which don't involve steroids.

Now, me and my flat feet are off to roll my soup can.

Robin Update...

No sightings all day.

Over the last week or more we have seen first one, and then two robins on a regular basis throughout the day and early evening.

Unfortunately, we have not seen them for over 24 hours. There was no sight of them yesterday evening or at any time today, and so I fear they have left the garden, feeling it is no longer safe to be here.

I have checked all around the garden, and especially around the fir tree and there are no signs of the birds being caught by the cat, but they are certainly no longer to be seen around the garden.

The cat is in the dog house, so to speak and the garden seems less bright for the lack of the little red-breasted birds.

I hope they learn from their experience and nest somewhere safer next time.

Is it the end for the robins?

We have been so happy to see a nesting pair of robins in the garden this spring, they play around the trees flying from one to another and have genuinely seemed oblivious to out presence.

BUT..., and it is a big but...

We have a cat, and more than that, we have a cat that catches birds.

I have been reading up on nesting robins, courtesy of the internet and I now know that they will nest anywhere, often quite low to the ground, and maybe these two are young, inexperienced birds who are unaware of the dangers of nesting in a garden with a resident cat.

They have chosen a dense fir tree and made their nest about three feet from the ground. There is a convenient stalk growing from another plant which allows them access and, after some patience, I managed to get this shot at the weekend.

We found half a robin's eggshell in the garden a couple of days ago, a lovely pale blue, and I was concerned that the cat had been at the nest, but then I read that female robins clear the eggshells from the nest when the chicks hatch, so I was encouraged that maybe our pair had been successful in incubating a chick or two.

So far, the cat has taken little interest in the birds... but I knew she was aware of them, but not that she knew where the nest was.

This morning I went out into the garden to see if the robins were active and, aware the cat was outside, I went to look for her. She does go out of the garden, so I was not too concerned when I didn't immediately see her. There was a movement over by the little fir tree and as I looked closer I realised what it was. The cat was threaded up the centre of the tree trying to reach the nest, all that was on show was the tip of her tiger striped tail.

Seems nature has taken over and the chase is on. If nothing else, she will have chased mom and dad away, at worst any chicks that were there possibly aren't anymore. There has certainly been no activity from the robins so far this morning, and there is no sound coming from within the tree to prove any presence, although I will continue to hope.

Meanwhile, the cat is now back indoors taking a well-earned rest after her activities of the morning.

No more sticking keys

Isn't it typical, just as I decide to get back into blogging in a hope that it will re-motivate my writing, my laptop decides to play hardball. The sticking k and the beeping turned out to be a serious keyboard problem know as liquid damage. Now, to my knowledge, I haven't spilled anything on the keyboard. However, I do often have my keyboard in the same room as I do my hair each morning.

No, I do not leave the damp towel on my laptop after towelling dry my hair, but I do wonder whether the amount of hairspray, (sorry ozone layer) that is required daily to keep my mop in place could be responsible. Are those little particles of stickiness that are so valuable to locks actually finding their way into my keyboard and settling under the keys causing them to stick? It sounds far fetched to me but more likely than the idea it's liquid damaged.

Safe to say, I have now had a new keyboard fitted, that does not stick and neither do I have to guess where certain characters are hiding as they have fitted me a lovely new english keyboard.

So, my writing can re-commence...

Well, not this weekend, I'm off to Liverpool...

Oh, and not next weekend, I am off to Ross on Wye...

Oh and not the weekend after that, I am off to Sheffield,

The weekend after?...

Nope, off to Crawley...

Oh well, at least the intent is there, not I just need the time.

Any letter but K...

I have been away from Blogger for almost a year. I needed a break, time to rebuild, time to find a sense of purpose after everything in life went sour.

So, a year on I feel it's time to switch the laptop on and re-join living with a sense of purpose. Time to complete some of those unfinished plans.

We all know the saying when one door closes another one opens... well, it's true, but many of us, me included, focus on the door that closed when we should be looking at the door that has opened. It's taken me a while and a lot of changes, new home, new town, new job, new man... but finally, I feel content again.

And as for the letter K, I have a sticky 'k' on this keyboard and when I press it once I get millions. My trusty, faithful laptop died and as Windows 8 was cancelled and Windows 9 not available, I decided to get a refurbished laptop for now. It's fine, except it's french and so some of the keys don't have the correct symbol on them and the characters above the numbers are all one to the right of the symbol, if I want an "( " I have to press ")", but only from the 6 onwards. It took a while to discover the @ and the : they are where they should be but hidden under french symbols.

Hey ho, there's always something to takkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkke the edge of a good day!

There's a Hurricane coming, let's go out for the day...

The weather forecast has been quite definite that today we would be hit by Hurricane Bertha bringing a months' worth of rain in a day. 

Let's plan a day out!

The 3 of us are all members of the National Trust and enjoy a day out at a large house with lots to look at and beautiful grounds for a walk. We decided to find somewhere that would have lots to look at indoors, due to the forecast. An hours drive would take us to Belton House, on the outskirts of Grantham. the house looked large and to have lots of rooms to walk around, along with a cafe. If we got chance to have a walk, it would be a bonus.

It rained constantly all morning, and the drive there was limited to 50mph with wipers on double speed. We expected to be the only ones daft enough to be out on the roads, but they were reasonably busy and more surprising there were plenty of cars parked at Belton House when we arrived.

First stop, the cafe...

The rain was beginning to slow down so we were hopeful that it would stop by the time we'd had a coffee. And when we came out, it had, so we deciced to take advantage and walk down to the boat house by the lake. It looked so pretty, even with the stormy sky and the sound of thunder.

We headed back towards the house and the rain continued to stay away, so we decided to visit the church and Orangery before heading inside.

The gardens were holding up surprising well in view of the deluge earlier and the dahlias looked very impressive.

The sun continued to stay with us as we wandered around the gardens

Although the sky looked better in one direction than the other.

We even took a risk on trying our hand at the maze. It didn't look high enough to get stuck, but we did make a wrong turn or two before finding our way to the centre where we found this little chap, Bertie Brownlow.

The greyhound was a favourite of the Brownlow family and can be spotted throughout Belton, represented in guilded plasterwork, sculpture, floor painting, wrought ironwork and now in willow. Bertie Brownlow was created for Belton by local weaver Alison Walling.

Finally, we decided to head to the house and had a wonderful walk around a very impressive house, fabulous rooms and well worth a visit.

They have a special exhibition of silverware, and while I am not a fan of silver I have to admit that some of the pieces were truly fabulous.

The rain even stayed away for our drive home, so I am really pleased we took the risk to go rather than stay indoors. 

For further information on Belton House see

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/belton-house/

The Plan is Working...

Two more nights and the read through of 22 chapters is complete. Before going to bed last night the folder was closed, the work area set and the laptop opened ready for work. 

The plan is for my alarm to wake me at 6am, allowing time to shower, have breakfast and get everything ready for work, I was sat at my laptop ready to type by 7am. That gives me a good hour to work.

I had already started working on chapter 23, and a quick scan through the first page and I was back on track with the story so far. I haven't written a sentence in over 4 months, it seemed strange to be sitting back at the keyboard waiting for words to emerge. 

Over the last few months my laptop has been used daily, for all kinds of things, checking emails, searching Google, playing games... so it's not as if I didn't know where the keys were, but sitting down to write creatively is very different. There has to be structure, there has to be continuing plot, there has to be a consistent writing style. It is a task you learn and I certainly have learned that the more you do the easier it becomes, the brain does seem to learn the process. 

I soon got back into the flow and in the hour have managed to write 1,800 words. The story has progressed and as I break to go and do my day job, I feel the plan to get back to writing has worked.

The break from writing has given me some distance from my book and re-reading it was a good way to re-connect. As I read the story it felt fresh again and as I read it, I realised I was actually enjoying the story, and that gives me hope that others will too.

For now, the hardest part is yet to come. The ending. So important to finish a story with a good ending, a believable ending, an ending that leaves the reader wanting to read more, a second, third book.

I am fortunate, I have the ending all planned out in my head, I have the skeleton of the ending mapped out on my timeline, my big, black notebook - a large A3 artists pad where every idea, thought, new discovery is jotted down. A notebook that is frequently referred to, all my characters are in there, all the plans to the city... 

It is all there, waiting to be converted into the final few chapters.

For now, that's where it needs to remain until I have done another day at the office. The work of a first time author has to be fitted in around a normal daily life schedule. I do not have the luxury of saying writing is my job, I just have the dream that I will be able to say that one day, in the future.

Getting back to writing...

Writing is a discipline, it's a task to apply yourself to, it doesn't happen without effort or planning.

My writing was interrupted for several months, and all the timescales for completion and publishing have passed and the the final few chapters have still to be written.

Sometimes circumstances change and the ability to think creatively isn't there, but I feel I'm ready to move my life forward rather than dwell on the past. I cannot change the past. I can, however, change my future. I can allow week after week to drift or I can knuckle down and start to work again.

I have decided it is time to knuckle down. Time to set new timescales for completion and publication. 

I probably last wrote anything significant in February. I have written over 200 pages, I am halfway through Chapter 22. I have only 3 or 4 more chapters to write to complete the first draft.

Come on, girl, there is too much work done to leave it all behind.

This week I planned my weekend. Saturday would be a day to do all my jobs around the house leaving Sunday free. It would begin again Sunday... TODAY!

I have actually missed writing, missed seeing my story come together, missed my characters interacting but my brain was too fuzzy to see the story. Once I had planned to start again today, I found plot lines beginning to form days ahead of my target start date.

So, my plan for today was to have a day out, away from the house, away from the temptation to just do a few more jobs before sitting down and starting work. It seems such a long time since I worked on my book that the first thing I needed to do was to re-read what has already been committed to paper. And yes, although it is all done on my laptop, I really have it all printed out. It gives me a sense of how much work I have done, I find a sense of achievement seeing the folder grow thicker and I find it easier to work through to edit, proofread and generally add ideas. 

I have moved house recently and need a new local National Trust place to visit, somewhere without the memories of my previous life. I chose Hardwick Hall, the home of Bess of Hardwick. It's only a couple of junctions down the motorway, takes about 15 minutes (when you don't go the wrong way... but that's another story). 

I knew it would be busy today, we are still in the midst of a very hot, sunny English summer. I chose not to take my big camera, that was not the purpose of today. Today was about re-connecting with my book. The plan was to find a nice corner and settle myself down with a cappuccino and my manuscript and to spend some me time reading my creation. Due to the 45 minute journey I had, I was ready for a coffee as soon as I arrived and headed straight for the restaurant. Even though it was almost noon, there were plenty of tables outside, with or without shade and I settled myself down and began to read. I lost track of time, and when I finally glanced up I realised all the tables around me had filled up. My backside felt a little numb and I decided it would be good to take a break, have a walk and see some of the house.

There are 2 houses at Hardwick, one ruin and one complete. I walked over to the ruin first and took the audio tour. It was remarkably interesting and the views from the top of the old hall were stunning, due to the clear weather. 

From the old hall, you can look across to the new hall, an impressive building designed to portray Bess's wealth and standing in society. When Mary, Queen of Scots took refuge in England, Queen Elizabeth the first saw her as a threat to the throne of England and so she detained under the custody of the Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife, Bess (of Hardwick).

History lesson over, I promise. Any of you wanting to know more can Google Hardwick Hall and Bess of Hardwick.

Walking around the new hall was fascinating, it was opened in 1597 and it occurred to me as I walked around that it was probably very similar to the stately homes and palaces of Charles II, the time of the plague and the setting for my book, (1665). I felt a real connection with my novel as I wandered from room to room, visualising my characters there. I could not have chosen a better place for my visit.

Having completed my walk around the house I spent the next hour wandering around the gardens, seeing the splendour of the hall along the lawned avenue

And, as I wandered through the wooded paths came across this little folly in the base of a tree ... no explanation, just very cute.

Just goes to show you need to explore everywhere.

Walk over, houses explored I headed back to the restaurant for a further coffee and a chance to read a few more chapters.

I thoroughly enjoyed my day, I began to enjoy my book again and started to feel ready to write more. I am about halfway through reading it, and have already found a couple of inconsistencies, so more has been achieved than just re-familiarising myself with the story so far...

Now, my mind is buzzing and my fingers are itching... more coffee and several more chapters to read before I can start work, time to get the frothy coffee on.

Watch this space, my target now is to have this published in time for the Christmas market.

So THAT'S how it works!

While dividing up the furniture and bits and bobs as we went our separate ways, there was some logic in me having the Spanish washing machine, on the basis I learnt a bit of spanish when we lived over there some years ago, so would be able to work out what all the programs did.

Or, that was the logic.

I remember we did our research well when we bought the washing machine in Spain, and that it was a) a good one and b) hardly used as we bought it only a few months before moving back to the UK. Since then it has been in storage, just over 4 years.

I made sure I did a full wash before I packed everything to move, so having been in my new home for a little more than a week I had accumulated enough clothes to be ready to do a wash.

Clothes in washer, detergents in drawer it came time to turn it on, and that's where the fun began.

There is a function to delay the wash on a timer by either 3, 6 or 9 hours and no matter what buttons I pressed it seemed that it was always on delay. It would not start to fill with water. No matter what logic I applied, I couldn't get it started. I tried every combination of buttons and then suddenly the water started to flow... it was working... and I had no idea what I had pressed to make it happen.

Since then I have done a couple more loads, each time getting it to work after pressing a host of buttons and never knowing which button combination made it work.

So tonight I decided it was time to work it out. Logging on to the internet to find a manual, I found a full manual in pdf format and downloaded it... it came in either Spanish, Basque and 2 other languages I couldn't identify, but definitely not in English. I could, apparently, order an English copy from some website for 14 euros if I wanted to wait for 24 hours. No, I need my clothes washing now, please.

Scrolling through the spanish manual on line I noticed a series of diagrams... and they looked just like the controls on my washing machine. Working through them I identified which button should make it start. I pressed it...

Nothing.

I turned the dial and pressed it again...

Nothing.

I turned it off and turned it back on, selected my program and pressed it...

Nothing.

Back at the diagrams I checked - there was no other button to press, it had to be that one.

Back at the washing machine I repeated all previous steps, how difficult can it be?

Then, the penny dropped, or rather the water flowed. I was pressing the right button, just not for the right number of seconds. There is a child safety feature on it, you have to press and hold for 3 seconds and hey presto...

I have the lovely sounds of clothes tumbling in soapy water.

Now, what's my next challenge?

Race for Life, Sheffield June 2014

When I first thought about joining the crowd at this year's Race for Life several months ago, it seemed a long way on the future. I have never joined in anything like this and felt it was high time I did. The day arrived all too quickly and today the sun shone, the crowds gathered and 5,000 women donned pink T-shirts and race numbers and ran, jogged and walked the 5km around Meadowhall.

We were walking, as were over half of the field, so we were towards the back of the crowd and took over 10 minutes to reach the start line. The four of us all had our bunny ears, so we could find each other, (Sue is taking the photo) and we managed to walk the 5km in just under and hour.

It was quite warm and we were happy to see this.

Well done everyone who took part, everyone that helped organise it and everyone who stood and applauded our efforts. 

A fun event to join in.

I have a plan but shhhh... don't tell anyone!

After discovering that my book title had been used, I have spent the last couple of weeks cogitating.

And it's worked... I have a new title. My illustrator will re-design my cover and work can proceed...

But, it'll stay under wraps for now, don't want to risk this happening again.

In the meantime, I have a new timescale - end of September publication.

That should give me time to promote it ready to become a Christmas present for all those people who don't know what to get someone...

Watch this space!

The Wrong Colour...

I like blue, my bathroom is duck egg blue, I have a number of blue items in my wardrobe.

I like blue.

I have blue liquid soap, it gives an aura of cleanliness, antiseptic... maybe I believe what is on the label.

I have blue disinfectant, it makes me believe those germs have been obliterated.

So why do I have trouble with blue shampoo?

I use a lot of the Herbal Essences range, I like their shampoo. I am currently using this one and I struggle. It has coconut, which is white, and vanilla, which is cream... so why is it blue?

It feels like I am washing my hair in antiseptic hand-wash. I thought it was the bottle that was blue, but it's not, it's the shampoo.

My hair feels good after use, it is just the perception. The bottle fits my colour scheme, but the shampoo pushes my boundaries of putting a blue lotion on my hair.

So it will remain on the shelf as part of the accessories and I will return to my trusted cream coloured shampoo, and then all will be well in my little world again.

Now, I wonder what else is the wrong colour...

The Case of the Missing Birthday Card.

So, OK, this is just a way of publicising that today is my birthday in order to remind anyone who has forgotten, and for those who did remember, thank you for your cards and birthday greetings.

I had 4 cards to open this morning, more expected from the postman's visit later. I opened them over breakfast and, as I had an errand to run first thing, I stood them all neatly on top of the boom box speaker next to the TV cabinet.

Errand run, I returned home to find Brandy laid on his blanket with one of my birthday cards next to him, the corner having been nibbled away (both my dogs have always enjoyed eating cardboard, but seemed to have given up the habit over the last year or 2)

I delicately retrieved it from him, so as not to upset him too much and went to replace it, when I realised how carefully he had removed it from the top of the speaker box as the other cards remained in place, undisturbed...

Or so I thought...

It didn't take me long to count the multitude of cards and re-count to identify that there were only 2 left standing, the half-nibbled one in my hand made 3...

One was missing.

I scoured around the speaker box to see if it had fallen down the side or behind the tv cabinet... nothing.

I checked all the bed areas we have for the dogs, behind the settee, in the kitchen, under the dining table...nothing.

The only conclusion I can reach is that card number 1 has been eaten in its entirety, not a morsel, a corner, a scrap of evidence remains to say the card even existed. Had I not opened it myself, I would have questioned it's very existence.

So, thank you Shirley & Keith, I did receive my card, read it and enjoy the picture... but it is no more.

Brandy is now snoozing happily with a full tummy.

On the other hand I did get a bit of a surprise when I turned on my computer this morning and found that Google were wishing me a happy birthday... Is there anything they don't know about us?

Have a Great Day Everyone, I know I'm going to.

Oh Bu**er!

It was always possible, but I thought I'd done enough to deter someone using the same title.

I had an idea for a title for the series of children's books I am working on. I set up the website with a holding page to keep both the .co.uk and .com web addresses away from others. I set up a Facebook page knowing that anyone searching to see if there was anything out there with the same title, they would hopefully be deterred from using it.

Unfortunately, it would seem all that was to no avail. Personal circumstances have delayed the completion of my first novel and in the meantime someone else has published using the same title I had come up with. 

The story is very different although also features a dog, the covers could not be more different and the style of writing is quite different...

BUT...

I cannot help but feel very disappointed. Having searched the internet to ensure I was not duplicating a title, as recommended by various writing sites, to have this happen is really, well, disappointing.

It IS possible someone else came up with the same title, purely through creativity, it is possible someone landed on my website and as my book was not yet published, decided to use it. I'll never know. Maybe they haven't done the same research into the publishing scene and taken on the same thought process. 

What is sure is that I cannot change what has happened, and so time for a brainstorming session. I still have the domain names and websites, but these days more and more people rely on Facebook and so that may not be an issue for this other writer.

I now need to move on and find a new series name, have the book cover re-designed...

... and get the book finished, published and out there.

Personal issues? Move over, they will have to take a back seat... I have a goal and I have a plan.

Now all I need is a title!