An Unsatisfactory Day

It feels like I have spent time flitting from one thing to another, and haven't settled on anything. Consequently, very little has been achieved today.

There have been to little 'wins'. I made a couple of face masks, and received two deliveries for the shop. I 'finished' at 3pm, and it feels like I have an afternoon off!

Tomorrow, I shall make a list, and choose the top three items that must be done, and make a start on some of the rest. (It's so weird being in the shop by myself!)

The Day Before Lockdown 2.0

 

It has been a crazy 24 hours! The Isle of Man is returning to lockdown at midnight. We had so many people coming to the shop to buy supplies for masks, and just to keep themselves busy over the next 3 weeks. 

We haven't been asked to engage in social distancing prior to the lockdown, but many business have already started doing so. I was in the shop at 8am, putting up signs moving some things around so could make it as safe as possible for the staff and customers.  We were only allowing 2-3 customers in the shop at any one time, and using a one-way system. The first customers arrived at 8.45. I rang the Beloved for help at 9.45 (to deal with the telephone), and it wasn't until almost midday I was able to stop to draw breath. The Beloved and the staff are all most fantastically wonderful!

Due to the very robust border policies put in place by our government, we have enjoyed unparalled levels of freedom over the last 6 months. The island had been Covid-free for months. When the border were softened a little, and Manx residents were allowed to leave and return, people required to self-isolate for 14 days. This has worked so well for quite some time. People were returning to the island with Covid, but they were keeping it to themselves. Only a couple of people needed hospital treatment, the rest were able to remain at home.

At the end of December, it was found that 14 days wasn't enough, and on the 23rd of December, new measures were put in place. Testing was required on the 1st, and 13th day, or people could isolate for 21 days. Since then testing on the 6th day has been introduced too.

But despite these measures, this nasty virus has escaped into the community. The borders have been closed, apart form dire need, and from midnight we enter lockdown.

The former owner was not able to offer a collection/delivery service during the pervious lockdown, but I hope to be able to provide on, just to keep things ticking over.

Dog Biscuits

One of Sue's friends makes rather fantastic dog biscuits. Ava loves them. I've asked a few times for the recipe, but as yet nothing has been forthcoming. The label had a list of ingredients, and I've searched for a suitable recipe. This is one that seemed to be almost there, and I've tweaked it a bit.

Ava has declared the spiced treats are very acceptable.

Ingredients
310g flour (I used gluten-free) (plus 3 rounded tablespoons)
60g porridge oats (plus 4 rounded tablespoons)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

good pinch of black pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
175g treacle
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water (if needed)

Method
Preheat oven to 170C. Lightly grease baking trays.

Place all the dry ingredients in to a large mixing bowl and stir. Add the eggs, treacle and oil to the dry ingredients, mix until well blended. Add the water if needed. Mix until smooth.

Either roll the dough to 5mm thickness, and cut into shapes, or form into balls, and squish them flat (about 5mm). If rolling, used a very well-floured board, if making squished balls, dampen your hands with water to help the balls not to stick.

Bake for 30 minutes. Thurn off the oven, but leave the biscuits in to crisp up for a further 30 minutes.

Notes

The dough created was far, far, far too wet! I added 4 rounded tablespoons of oats and 3 of flour.  I couldn't give the weight in grams as my kitchen scales were wet.

Good Habits - A Small Beginning

One of my tendencies is to leap in with both feet, both hands, well.. everything. This is not the way to create good, long-lasting habits. 

There's a couple of ways to make new habits, and to get them to stick. 

1. Make small changes.

2. Tie the new habit into something you already do.

3. Don't make it a matter of will power.

On Christmas Day, I decided the small table beside my chair was far too cluttered. I cleared it off, apart from  some herbal tea, a coaster, and my laptop. I've been doing it now for 9 days. This prevents the table becoming too great a mess during the day, and it reverts to its 'base state' each evening. 

I've also been laying out my clothes for the morning too. It's felt good waking and not having to think about clothes. It will make work mornings especially easy.  To help with creating easy mornings, I've added in a new habit: remove soup/lunch from freezer the night before. This will give the food a decent time to defrost, ready either for heating, or to be packed in our lunch boxes. 

Decluttering - Hot Drinks

 

In a previous round of decluttering and re-organising, we decluttered, and transferred the remaining items from the kitchen junk drawers (yes, there were two) into the top drawer of the set of drawers where I keep my candle and soap making supplies. This left two empty drawers in the kitchen. These were then turned into storage for teas, coffees and hot chocolate. It's right beside the kettle, the teapot, mugs, and an arm's reach from the fridge. These two drawers have now been decluttered, cleaned and tidied.

The baking cupboard, and the herbs & spices have also been done.

It's great walking into the kitchen and seeing the difference. It is so much tidier! I love it.

Decluttering - Old Kitchen Cupboard

 

An old, heavy, wooden wall cupboard has been removed, and it has been replaced by a set of metal wire shelves. There is more usable space, AND I can reach everything!

Another decluttering task have been ridding the fridge of unmentionables. Decluttering, cleaning and tidying has happened in the sink area, the pantry, the cutlery drawer, and the wooden implements drawer. The kitchen is looking a great deal tidier, cleaner, and also a bit bigger. I'm delighted by how little food had to be thrown out.

New Year Goals and Aims

Goals

1. Lose 50lbs this year

2. Declutter

3. Adopt good habits

Aims

1. Find a good work/life balance

I'm not too sure what a good work/life balance is, but I'm sure it has something to do with being able to spend more time crafting, and having a tidier house.

What's New?

 

Life suddenly became a little more exciting and complicated. My boss asked me if I might be interested in buying the business! The answer was 'Yes!' The second answer was 'Let me try to get the funds sorted'.

There was (and is) so much to learn! I've gone from working 20 hours each week to 45-50. It's not surprising the blog has suffered. But there are plans.

Happy Hop Tu Naa!

I saw this last year, and wanted to save it.

A friend told me, "It is important to eat locals." When I asked "Is it?" She answered, "Yes, it cuts down on the food miles. … Unless you chomp on a tourist by accident."

So there you go. Eat locals. Be wary of tourists masquerading as locals as it will bump up your food miles.

Project Clean Up

My role is changing at work, and my hours are slowly getting longer. With this in mind, we (as a family) have chatted about changed needed at home. 

We're trialing a system where we all do one hour of cleaning and tidying at the weekend, and 15 minutes each days. The people who don't make dinner are responsible for washing up, drying the dishes and tidying the kitchen. Thankfully none of us are terribly messy cooks. 

The sitting room is looking so much better. The windows have been cleaned, the floor vacuumed/swept, everything dusted, my crafting stuff sorted, chairs cleaned of dog hairs, and the bin emptied. 

In the kitchen all appliances, apart from the kettle, microwave and coffee maker have been put away. The cooker cleaned, and also the work surfaces.  Dishes have been wash, dried and put away.

No area is perfect, but there is a significant improvement.

50 Character Building Questions

My poor little blog has been neglected very badly. I've been focusing my attention on writing "Jenny and The Bobs", and also on work. 

Yesterday, I came across this fabulous list from Ginny Di on youtube. I've been using it to flesh out various characters. It feels like the novel has taken a huge leap forward, and the characters feel real! Several new scenes popped into being as I was answering the questions.

1. Are you a morning person or more of a night owl?
2. What’s the first thing you notice about a person when you meet them?
3. You see a huge spider in your room. What do you do?
4. If you could go back and change one decision you made in the past, what would you change?
5. Tell me about your first kiss.
6. Do you give people second chances?
7. Are you a cat person or a dog person?
8. Do you think you’re attractive?
9. What’s your worst habit?
10. When was the last time you cried?
11. Are you a good liar?
12. What’s your biggest pet peeve?
13. Have you ever had your heart broken?
14. Are you more likely to use your fists or your words in an argument?
15. What’s something you’re naturally good at?
16. What’s something you had to work hard to be good at?
17. Can you tell when someone is flirting with you?
18. Do you think money can buy happiness?
19. Do you believe in destiny?
20. Are you a good cook?
21. What do you think happens after you die?
22. Did you have to grow up fast?
23. Who do you look up to?
24. When you go to a tavern, what do you order?
25. What do you like most about yourself?
26. What do you like least about yourself?
27. Do you want kids someday?
28. Are you a planner, or more spontaneous?
29. Can you keep a secret?
30. Do you like being the center of attention?
31. If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?
32. Do you enjoy getting all dressed up for a special occasion?
33. Where do you feel safe?
34. Do you love or hate being alone?
35. What’s the last nightmare you remember having?
36. Do you admit to mistakes when you make them?
37. Do you want to grow up to be like your parents?
38. How do you deal with being sick? Are you stoic, or super whiny?
39. What did your parents expect from you when you were born?
40. Do you have a strong sense of style?
41. Would you rather camp outdoors or stay the night in an inn?
42. Is there a food that most people like that you absolutely hate?
43. Are you more of a hoarder or a minimalist?
44. Are you superstitious?
45. Are you the kind of person who remembers people’s birthdays and pets’ names and stuff?
46. What do you do to feel better when you’re sad?
47. Is it hard for you to trust someone?
48. Are you susceptible to peer pressure?
49. If you decided to stop adventuring and settle down, what kind of job would you take?
50. As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Some Say...

Some say he sleeps upside down. Some say his boots are made from tyres left in the TT pit lane. Some say he knows 17 words for rain. All we know is he's called the RPU Stig.

In researching this story I've been asking many questions of many people. This evening, after crafting group, a police officer came into the cafe. I asked if I might ask some questions. There are times each year when applications are invited from UK police officers who would like to transfer across to the Island. These officers are first sent out on patrol to become acquainted with the Island. If the officers have specialist training, like Stig from the Road Policing Unit, they will be slotted into jobs as openings arise. There is no standard time period. It all depends on the individual and the roles that need to be filled. This is all useful for my story.

Sophie, one of the crafters, had told me a bit about casinos. This week she mentioned some casinos give new members a £10. If this £10 token was placed on a roulette table, and won, and then left again, and won again, this would mean the person had won almost £13,000 in two spins of the wheel.

I'm loving that people are now advancing ideas and additional pieces of information.

Honey Hill Farm

This morning, we took a jaunt up to Honey Hill Farm. It was rather glorious. 

Ava had a fabulous time finding all the sniffs, plants she could nibble on, and she stop numerous time to sample the water flowing down the lane. 

I now have a far better idea of where Jenny Quayle is going to be living, and an idea of where Uncle Bob lives too.

August 2020 Goals

My three goals for August are:

o use my bullet journal each day

o exercise at least 20 days

o finish making my cardigan

So Productive

With the changes ahead, my brain is buzzing. I'm concerned it won't be able to keep track of everything, hence the return to the use of a bullet journal. It was very helpful before in making sure things didn't slip through cracks. 

I've only just restarted, and I feel more productive. As I remember things to do they are written down. As I get ideas for "Jenny and The Bobs", (a novel), I write them down. The same thing happens when I need to research subjects.  

Birthday money has been used to buy a new journal and fancy pens. I'm going to keep using my old note book for at least the next month. This is to enable me to work out exactly what I need right now without making a mess of my new one.  (Perfectionist tendencies? ME?!)

Are You An AI?

I've had an interesting 5 minutes chatting on-line with customer services at Amazon. Yesterday, a silicone pastry brush was delivered. Unfortunately, the silicone had ripped where it joined the acrylic handle. This rendered the brush unusable.

I tried to instigate a return, but the options were for Hermes ParcelShop and the Royal Mail. None of those options are available here on my little island. My thoughts turned to customer services.

It was very obvious I was dealing with an AI as I could only select specific responses, but the AI decided to call in back up, Karl. Everything was fine at first, but I realised the phrases felt like stock phrases, not a genuine response to what I was writing. It was all good and appropriate, but stilted. Karl, on behalf of Amazon, decided it wasn't worth it for me to return a faulty piece of kit worth £2.99. I agreed. Karl refunded my pennies and asked if there was anything else he could do to make my day better. That's when I asked "Are you a real person or a fabulous AI?" 

On reflection I should have asked if Karl was a human, not a 'real person'. But Karl said he was in fact real. …  Hold on, he said he was real, not a real person... Is Karl a real AI?!

Oh My!

The plan was to write each day. Today's writing is "Oh my!"

There's not a lot more I can say at this moment, but it look like there are big changes ahead. I'm oscillating between butterflies in my stomach, and then there's a a sinking feeling. Thankfully, the Beloved is behind me, and I can talk this hugely important decision through with him.

Bullet Journal

Way back, in my previous job, I started using a bullet journal to track all of the tasks I needed to complete. Some tasks were daily ones, some weekly, others monthly, yet others quarters, and a few yearly. It proved to be very useful.

I've decided it is time to re-start journaling to keep track of my many ideas, habits, dailies, weeklies, monthlies, goals and to-dos.

Manx Cottage

I have discovered I am a writer who loves research.  It's important to me for my tales of fantasy to be rooted in reality. 

Today, the Beloved and I drove up to the primary location in my story. I had thought it would have been a little further west along the road to the Creg Na Baa, but there was just such a convenient water supply I couldn't overlook the spot on the corner of the Creg Na Baa Back Road, and Honey Hill.

The back of the house is very close to the Creg Na Baa Back Road, and the front has a southern aspect, looking down over fields to Clypse Reservoir, over to Douglas, and the sea beyond. It's only five miles from the sea terminal in the capital, but it's in the middle of nowhere.

'Honey Cottage' is a traditional stone Manx cottage. It was known as Quayle's cottage.It has mains electricity, but the water comes from a stream running down from the hills. The water is fresh, clean and flavourful, having being filtered through layers of peat. When the rain is heavy the water is very peaty.

Write Every Day!

This is advice given by Anne Lamott, Stephen King, and countless others. It was advice I had been following, or at least trying to follow. Back in at the end of February, I decided to write a blog post most days. I managed 25+ posts each month for the next four months. Then along came July, and I began to feel self conscious. It felt a bit pretentious. So, I stopped. 

This seems to have been a poor decision. Pretty much the only times I have been writing have been at Shut Up and Write. This is my blog, and the writing, recipes, and bits are almost solely for my own amusement. This blog lives in the backwaters of the internet, a tiny creek, many miles from the ocean. If this is a place for me, then I am the one who gets to decide what appears. 

I need to write most days as it prompts me and keeps my brain ticking. It doesn't have to be every single day, and I'm happy to slip in backdated posts every now and then. For my own developer as a writer, I need to do this.

My goal is to write a post a day until the end of the month. In August, I'll add in an extra task of writing or researching for my story about Jenny Quayle, and Grunkle. I've been working on it at Shut Up and Write each Saturday, and the characters are really coming to life.