NST A Gentle Jog Through July

apple_muncher

Dd has just informed me that she has a Star Wars phone - she 'made it so' by re-using the SW sticker that was on her glasses when we bought them. And she doesn't even know it's geek day!

mothernerd

(might have problems with the censor elves on this - Freudian slip, I put sensor elves first time)

Nerdy Fact: No 493
As 'Firefly' was set in a future where the United States and China have merged to form a super-country, many phrases were said in Mandarin to slip swears past the censors. These phrases included 'H0ly Test1c@l Tuesday', 'Fr0g- hump- 1ng SOB' and 'Shove all the planets in the universe up my ***'

Truth is Truth, even if no one believes it.
A Lie is a Lie, even if everyone believes it. V

There's a difference between a GEEK and a NERD
GEEK 'May the Force be with You'
NERD 'May the force be equal to the mass multiplied by acceleration'

A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep it's edge.'
George R R Martin

DON'T PANIC ... and Carry a Towel
Hitchhikers'

Curse Your Sudden But INEVITABLE Betrayal. Firefly

Are You Suggesting Coconuts Migrate'
Monty Python and the Holy Grail

When there is only one set of footprints... It is because Sand people ride in single file to hide their numbers
Star Wars

It's Han Solo and the π, F***er
Jay and Silent Bob fight back

All who wander are not lost. LOTR

It could be bunnies. Willow, Buffy musical apisode

The Cake is a Lie

Toni'sfriend

NSD No 10

Glad you enjoyed your break, Mothernerd. Can I ask if you go on coach tours? Himself and I did that quite a few times. A lot of year's ago now but they were great for getting us to places that were difficult otherwise as neither of us drive, They were great for giving us a "flavour" of the place. We try now by public transport but it can still be difficult so I still look to see if there is something that might be of interest.

Apparently today is world chocolate day! Dangerous but not as dangerous as the time my friend declared national bloody Mary day but that's another story! In the spirit of Geekness Day I tried to persuade Himself to watch all the Star Wars Films (can you believe he hasn't even seen the original?) No luck. He's watching the tennis.

Fridge is now all defrosted, cleaned and tidied. Not as bad as I thought. I put my foot down and disposed a few things that I knew just wouldn't taste nice any more but not a lot to be honest. Yes, F0xh0les almost all this stuff was bought YS but we haven't been using it properly - sticking it in the freezer without a plan. So I'm hoping that I can use most of it up without too many additional spends. Maybe just some veg.

Our target tomorrow is the "alcohol" cupboard. That isn't as wayward as it sounds. Himself has quite a lot of malt whisky which he has either bought himself when he could get it on an offer (I had a friend who worked for a company that owned a lot of distilleries in Scotland) or was given it as a present. Trouble is he doesn't really drink it that much (from a space point of view, of course). There are also a lot of glasses and dishes (things like olive bowls) that we never use. Need to have a look at it because we could really do with the space.

So another quietish day but we're plodding on and getting there.

dolly84

Ran first thing and then have been out all day. Weather was supposed to be dull but it has been lovely and has just started to cloud over now. We have been to a Steampunk Festival and then went to Haworth, always enjoy a wander around there.


Small spends but nothing much and all within budget.

dolly84

Toni'sFriend - I've never seen a single Star Wars film, or a James Bond film, not seen a single episode of Dr Who since it 'came back' and have never played a computer game. Just not my thing.

Kerry_Woman

Grateful for:
NSD.
Went to Park run - walked it.
Had nice chat with some people at park run.
A relaxing day.

Karmacat

Yay the geeks

I confess I've seen very few Star Wars films - the original, of course, plus the Felicity Jones one then Daisy Ridley/ John Boyega. OMG the Star Trek reboot: fond memories, my mum thinking that Leonard Nimoy was Zachary Quinto with makeup on (she didn't know the actors, it was just "him and him". Dr Daniel Jackson. The Firefly crew and their universe. Farscape! Buffy! And ooh, has anyone seen Cloverfield? Or Monsters? That's some seriously thought-provoking SF.

It's Geek Day. A once in a lifetime opportunity I won't do it again, I promise

apple_muncher

Ah yes, Dr Daniel Jackson, so understated .


Today I am grateful for dd getting a good night's sleep, for having enough balm tissues to deal with her snot-production-overdrive until we could get to the shops, for getting dd's ears pierced, for finding some good Thomas books in the ch shop, for also finding some bling sandals for dd 's final assembly production thingy, for a lazy day, for setting up a pensions thingy, for the tennis and the cycling.

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Evening everyone

mothernerd glad you had a lovely break; you were not far from me on your journey home when you went through Cheshire and over the Warburton toll bridge at Lymm

I have achieved my second NSD today!

Well done to everyone who has reached the school summer hols; DD1 works in a pre-school and has 7 working days left (& counting...). DD2 is at uni so she finished a few weeks ago. I took DD2 down to her boyfriends in Bristol yesterday where she is staying for a few weeks
While there, I had an adventure! I got in touch with a casual friend and invited myself for a cuppa tea - she offered me a bed for the night! So I stayed at hers and we had a lovely time, sharing a bottle of wine and some delicious handmade chocolate. She is a HR professional so I got some career advice foc too!

Left Bristol this morning and drove home; miss DD2 very much but grateful she is recovering well from her op and I met her boyfriend's family who are all lovely so I know she will be well looked after.

DD1 has cooked a lovely tea and we have had a nice chilled eve.

I have never seen Star Wars! Or Star Trek. But I do love Dr Who so I'm watching the first episode of Christopher Eccleston's reign

Take care everyone
Deni x

mothernerd

'It helps if you imagine auto correct as a tiny little elf in your ear who's trying so hard to be helpful but is in fact quite drunk.'
Michael Marshall Smith (quote added by someone to my Terry Pratchett group).

So far I've watched the first episode of the Prisoner and I am half way through the first episode of Blake's Seven (I had that on VHS but someone's done a good job of improving the quality). I have rescued lots of butterflies, pets and sea creatures, read posts on bookface from my (aforementioned) STP, Dragonriders of Pern (picture of a sculpted dragon done in plants by the Atlanta Botanical Garden who are hosting the Alabama Renaissance Fair) Jason FForde (Thursday Next, literary crime division and the Nursery Crime division stories) and Ben AAronovitch (Rivers of London) groups.

I'm not in pain (as long as I don't try to move much) but am severely mobility impaired today. Most things ache, I can get to the bathroom and back but had to shout down for water when I ran out as I didn't trust my knees and ankles on the stairs until gone 2 pm and it was so much of an effort that I put more food in my bag than I had planned so I can stay here as long a I need to.

The resting has helped ease most of the pains, reduce swollen ankles and I have been slapping suncream on my arm every hour to soothe the angry red patch where I got caught eating lunch outside the service station yesterday (brought foot cooling gel and ibruprofen up when I went to get my food from the fridge).

I am feeling great and not going to spoil it by feeling guilty (I have scrubbed the bath because Beloved went away with her family for a few days and DS3 has used but not cleaned it all week). Hope to be more productive tomorrow (if I don't do clothes washing I will struggle next week).

I saw the original 3 Star Wars films in my teens, the boys were born when they were out of fashion but we borrowed and then were given them on discs when mum's cousin's husband treated himself to the remastered ones. So the boys were brought up on them and we bought lots of toys cheaply (one of the 'antique' type shops in Reading had a box of figures for 50p each and they were very well made - Good Toy Guide recommends them or similar for imaginative play - children making up their own stories about what the figures are doing).

DS1 is very into Star Wars. We went to see the first of the prequels in 2000 (I think) when we were on holiday in Windermere (release date was 1999 so that's probably right as the tiny cinemas would have got it last). Later in the week we went to see a different film (might have been Space Jam) but he asked to go to the SW again.

When he was trying stand up his routine involved playing a game with wookies in your garden (performed in front of Sir Ian McKellen) and he went to all the others with friends as soon as they came out. Think I have seen the first of the 'new' ones at the cinema and the boys tried to get me to watch the second on tv or video (because yoda kicks @ss) but I fell asleep (multiple jobs, up to 70 hour weeks, when I sat down my body knew it was okay to sleep, occasionally fell asleep standing up) and they gave up.

Watched Doctor Who from the first episode, think Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy are the real low point, love all the new ones but had to stop watching part way through Peter Capaldi as they changed the rules and buying a tv license is an extravagance I can't afford. I have seen Jodie Whittaker briefly as Beloved and DS3 were watching some by piggy backing on her mother's code and I saw this Christmas's episode at mum's.

Loved Blake's 7, loved Farscape (sci-fi and muppets - genius), read and watched Hitch-hikers the first time (not thrilled by the film version which I saw with DS3) and love the Dirk Gentley's as well. Star Trek I know some episodes by heart (mainly because they were played and watched continuously through many summer holidays and even if you only see 5 minutes here and there with enough repetition it sticks - I can cope with the Picard and Jane Way series but haven't seen most of the films even the one with Simon Pegg).

I've read science fiction and science fantasy from an early age (apparently women don't read sci-fi). I was a prolific reader and the children's library only allowed me to have 2 books at a time. Even if i went 3 times a week I ran out of books. I solved this at the age of 9 by starting to read some of my father's reading books and then at 11 (had read nearly everything in the children's section - there were a lot more books aimed at boys then) I was allowed in the adult library and could have ten books a week (could have as many as you wanted but more than 10 was a bit of a handful and I always knew how many I and to round up to take back).

I've read a lot of 'classic' (1950s?) science fiction (Soylent Green is one of my favourite films, from a short story by Harry Harrison of Stainless Steel Rat fame, avoided Asimov for along time because my dad liked it so much), as well as literary sci-fi dystopian futures like Brave New World - really spooky when i did Business studies because the categories advertiser's divide us up into are really reminiscent of the alpha/ beta/ gamma, I was a classic 'Guardian Woman' - rive gauche, flora margerine and of course the Guardian. Guess who the current 'Are You gonna bingo?' ad is aimed at.

In my early twenties i discovered feminist sci-fi - Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland and Margaret Attwood's Handmaid's Tale and the Addam series. I loved the fantasy worlds created by Anne McCaffrey (Pern) and Katherine Kurtz (Dernyi) and all of Angela Carter's fairy tales with a twist (or back to more authentic originals).

I've introduced my children to some of these and they have introduced me to/ bonded with me over newer things - Spaced and Big Bang Theory (especially the spherical chicken jokes) with DS2, Sin City and Watchmen with DS1, the whole world of anime, Dirk Gently and hitch-hikers with DS3 (and the groot thing - but it's a good job they didn't take me to see that at the cinema, my singing would have embarrassed them so much). We all love Galaxy Quest but then we all love nearly everything with Alan Rickman in.

Sorry Dolly, there are lots of other things in July to get excited. about. If I've missed your favourite out, let me know and I'll throw something in.

Today i love everything and everybody and I'm grateful for my body recovering.

Yes Toni's friend they are coach trips. Mum used to go on lots (here and abroad) with her partner. The last time they went he refused to move out of sight of the place the bus would be picking them up again (a missed sign about two years ahead of them picking up on his dementia although he has many habits which his family called 'funny little ways' which should have been tackled a long time ago (OCD things which made a lot of work for other people, particularly mum).

Mum wouldn't go away with him again (they have been for a couple of caravan/ self-catering trips with one of the grand-daughter's and her partner where they could take turns 'minding' him and mum could relax for a bit) after that so hadn't been away on holiday for about 7 years. When he went into the home 2 years ago, I started to encourage her to get out and about more and after a while she asked about going on a little holiday.

I contacted a few firms and received information. The firm we have been away with most picks us up from the door by taxi/ mini bus and than takes us to meet the coach at a service station. Sometimes it's just us and sometimes we pick up another couple of people on the way and it's all very well co-ordinated. On the return journey several taxis will be waiting and everyone waits on the coach until their name is called and their luggage goes into their taxi.

At first i suggested we stick to Lancashire, Yorkshire, the lakes and North Wales as our ankles tend to swell (mum won't take her water tablet or drink much in case she gets desperate and needs the toilet) on long journeys. She can get up the coach steps slowly (has taxi tokens at home because she can't use buses - she couldn't walk as far as the nearest bus stop) but no way could I get her up and down the steps for the coach toilet (had enough of a struggle myself, hence the bruises). The longest we have been away for is 5 days.

Being picked up takes a lot of the stress away and you can choose to go on the planned outings - mum has stayed in the hotel on her own to rest on occasion and we have both stayed behind sometimes. We go on day trips with a different firm as our favourite is based in a different town and the pick up points are too far away - we'd have to go on an ordinary bus to reach the pick up point. The one we use picks up in the town centre so I walk across and mum has a taxi - there are places to sit down and wait.

The third firm advertises in the newspaper. Mum saw a trip to the Isle of Wight advertised and wanted to take me there (she had already been). I thought it was a long way and we both found it difficult (4 day weekend trip but Friday and Monday were travelling - I said we shouldn't go so far again unless it was for longer, so that we had time to rest and recover from the travelling and enjoy ourselves more.

The Bournemouth one was the second time we have been with this firm and it was lovely (I would like to go again) but the travelling is difficult. Mum thinks this firm is a lot cheaper (it's a bit cheaper) but we had 2 pickups before we met the coach (and were picked up at the bus station) and then 5 on the coach (between Northwich and Stafford) so all over the place. I know our regular firm would have had us home much sooner because of picking everyone up from their home locations to a central point (cutting out all the pick ups which aren't always easy when manoeuvring a large coach).

Mum's attitude to money is very strange. She barely acknowledged the Attendance Allowance I spent 3 days on the application form (she did thank me when i did it) but was adamant that I should apply for her tax over payment (less than one week of the Attendance Allowance) and phoned me 5 times (I must have had my phone turned off - no mum dialled wrong) about a missing 'very expensive' birthday card. I had been shopping and after the first couple of shops I had transferred mum's shopping, receipts and change into a separate bag. One card was bigger than the others and I had missed it when picking up the bundle of cards.

I know that we have often been very poor (mainly from dad keeping most of his wages) but she has had 'enough' (more than me, even when i was working many jobs) for many years now.

I will never be rich and I don't want to be rich (yachts and luxury holidays would be wasted on me - if I went on a cruise i'd get stuck with someone dreadful on the first day and be unable to shake them off). I want enough not to be afraid (vulnerable to any change in circumstances) and I'm not quite there yet (I will be better off when I get to retire, if I get to retire). I am poor but happy, would just like to feel a little more secure (and keep the NHS etc).

PS
Cannot do Lord of the Rings. Did the Hobbit in first year at Grammar School and it drove me up the wall. Looked at LotR but no way. I was so relieved when I read that Germaine Greer hadn't read it either (virtually compulsory reading for someone of her generation). DS3 insisted on going to one of the films and I sat there trying not to laugh (thought it was so funny but was surrounded by true believers and thought they might lynch me if I burst out laughing).

Deni that is one of the reasons I found the trip home so frustrating. We came through Middlewich on the coach, switched to the mini bus at Stafford and then went back past a lot of places we had already passed, taking the other couple in the minibus to Altrincham (they had to direct the driver after he missed a turn and then tell him how to start back). Mum is oblivious to her surroundings (she only knows she's nearly home when we reach one of the two turn offs we use to get from the East Lancs road).

I did a lot of walking when i was younger and drove around quite bit with the person who was my first grown up relationship (visited Lymm dam several times). I have a good sense of spacial relationships and where things are in relationship to one another. So when we dropped the other couple off I thought well it should be an hour to home at most, then half an hour later we were still an hour away from home and again another half hour later. My brother took us to Dunham Massey when DS2 was a baby and I remembered the route the ambulance took us home after he had day surgery (had to get the airport bus and bus back towards Manchester to get him there in the morning). I think the driver didn't want to go on the M6 because it was busy but I think his alternative was a half circle along the Cheshire/ Greater Manchester border staying on the wrong side of Manchester (we eventually came back through Culchelth and Glazebury). Ah well, it brought back a lot of memories.