Staying On Track: Blog Calendar

Ever since I started setting out to blog every day I've struggled with keeping track of what I'm posting and when. Back in the days of my first A to Z Challenge it was simple, I had a memo document on my phone with the days of the week listed down the side and the things I was going to blog about next to each one.

Then I started setting regular days for certain types of posts and things got a little bit more messy. I tried using apps on my phone but I just couldn't organise myself properly with them. I needed to have it all on one page, not in a variety of different lists.

And so I created The Word Document. It became so massive and unwieldy that it deserves the capital letters! It might have worked better if each new week went above the previous one in the chart, but I didn't have the foresight to do that when I created it.

It was a chart with the days of the week across the top, then the date in each box and underneath that the blog posts I was planning to write. Italics meant not yet written, underlined meant it was still needing revisions, strikethroughs meant it should have been one post but it had been changed to another.

And it ran to a nine pages (landscape format), starting in April and going down to December. So each time I wanted to look at my current blog posts I'd have to scroll through all the others. It worked well enough, I could see between two and three weeks at a time, I could see what I'd done in the past, I could plan several weeks ahead.

But it was a bit rubbish.

So during the Christmas break I set about doing a redesign. And then I made a spreadsheet and I'm so proud of it I'm going to show it off here:

How the schedule looked on January 1st.

I'm quite pleased with how it looks. For starters, it's not boring black and white like the old one. I've copied it each month into a new Sheet so I can flick between different months and continue with the schedule I've created for myself. And most importantly I can see the whole month at a glance.

As you can see I've already set up a complicated little way of keeping track of which posts I've written (coloured boxes mean a post has been written, greyed out means all posts for that day are written and scheduled). I've also got notes about things I'd like to write about (like a post about what I got up to in Wales upon my return).

And it's nice and easy to make changes to. I like to keep a record of what I've blogged about, so this time next year I can fire up a brand new spreadsheet, but then refer back to this one to see if there are any blog posts I'd like to repeat.

Do you use a calendar or any specialist software to plan and organise your blog posts?

Weekly Rundown: On the Road

As you're reading this my view probably looks something like this:

As I'm currently on my way to Wales for my second Christmas with my Mum.

I'll still be active on Twitter and Instagram while I'm away, and I've got a week's worth of blog posts scheduled, so it'll hardly be like I'm away, but I might be a little bit slow to approve and reply to comments.

In the meantime I'm onto Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen for my Week 2 book of the 2015 Reading Challenge. It's on my Kindle so that makes for a nice easy to transport travel book. I'm still working on my knitted socks as they're nice and portable for working on in the car. And I'm working on taking lots of photos while I'm away so I have plenty to share when I get back.

Have a good week.

Film Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, Part 1

I wasn't entirely sure how to number these posts, considering I usually use Part 1, Part 2, etc. and this film already has a Part 1 as part of the title. I toyed with the idea of writing it as 1.1, 1.2, etc. But writing it like this amuses me so I think I'll stick with it like this.

Last weekend, while wrestling with my computer to try and write all the blog posts I needed to for the coming weeks, I remembered that I hadn't yet watched the next film in the Harry Potter series for these review posts. So everything was put on hold for this, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.

Enjoy.

In this first part of five all is not well in the Wizarding World, Harry gets moved to the Burrow with a couple of deaths along the way, and Harry realises that he's going to need his friends to get through all this. Aww.

1. We know that this is going to be a dark film because the Time Warner logo is all dark and manky looking. Oh and the creepy, tinkly music.

2. And look, it’s Rufus Scrimgeour being the Minister and reassuring everyone that Voldemort’s being back isn’t going to change much. The Ministry is strong apparently. I don’t think so somehow.

3. I like how this film sort of jumps right into the action. Hermione’s all concerned about her family, Harry’s family are finally getting away from him, and Ron is standing outside looking all anxious.

4. I love the way that Hermione’s spell wipes her out of all the photos, though I do have to wonder if her parents (hello Catelyn Stark) will wonder why they have a bunch of empty frames now.

5. As far as introductions go, I think this is one of my favourites. It’s short and gets the action moving quite quickly.

6. It is of course still all taking place mostly in the dark, which makes it a little difficult to see what’s happening. Snape’s flouncing into the Malfoy Manor by the looks of things. It’s not exactly a happy tea party, considering the fact that one of his former colleagues is currently suspended over the table.

7. They’re working out when Harry will be moved and where they’ll take him. Bellatrix wants to volunteer her murderous services, but Voldemort’s decided that he must be the one to do it. Would probably save a bit of time if you just let anyone do it, mate.

8. The Malfoys do not look very happy at the moment. Lucius even less so when he realises that Voldemort wants his wand. When Voldemort snaps the snake head off the end Lucius looks like he might throw up.

9. Now we get an introduction to the Muggle Studies teacher hanging over them all. That’s one subject that I would really have liked to see in the books or in the films.

10. Now it’s Draco’s turn to look like he wants to throw up as Charity is Avada Kedavra’d on the table right in front of him before Nagini goes for the camera.

11. And we get a flashback of Dumbledore falling to his death while Harry hangs out in his room with the fake locket. Downstairs he checks out his old bedroom, in the cupboard under the stairs. It’s a nice little nod to the first film.

12. This next bit is one of my favourite bits in the whole film. I love watching the special features showing how they did this bit.

13. Mad-Eye Moody interrupts Tonks trying to make an announcement about herself and Remus. I wish they’d got more screen time. We don’t see nearly enough of them in the book and I was hoping we’d see a little more of them in the films. Alas it’s not to be.

14. Harry doesn’t take the news that they’re all risking their lives to move him very well. But they go ahead with it anyway.

15. The way they change into Harry is kind of creepy to watch. Half Hermione/half Harry is easiest the ugliest thing in the world. Though remembering how wooden I always find Daniel Radcliffe in the first film, the fact that he takes on all the role of all the fake Harries so well says something for how he’s come along over the course of the movies.

16. As they all head off I have to worry that Fleur!Harry will give the game away, considering the way she’s hugging Bill’s back.

17. Obviously they’re not going to make a smooth getaway. They’re under attack and Hagrid and Harry are off on their supercharged giant motorbike. Because this is a Hollywood blockbuster we need to some car crashes.

18. And that’s the first death of the film. Bye bye Hedwig. I think that was one of the bits that got to me most in the first read of the book. It was so sudden and unexpected, just as it is in the film here.

19. Luckily switching wands hasn’t improved Voldemort’s chances of bumping off Harry. I love how we travel along the beams of the spell. Bad luck for those people who have just lost their power in a fairly dramatic way.

20. Once again, Harry is in the pond at the Burrow. This seems to be the place he usually lands when he comes to visit now.

21. No one else is back. Yet. Until Remus arrives with George who’s been injured. Remus is a little bit wild, grabbing Harry by the scruff of the neck and checking he is who he says he is. This has to be repeated with everyone who arrives. It’s at night again, so I’m spending most of this time watching my own reflection.

22. Aww, Hermione has to give Ron a hug when he gets back. They don’t have long together before Harry joins in the cuddlefest.

23. Back in the Burrow George’s ear does not look good. In fact there’s not much of it left at all. He’s still cracking jokes though, so we know that although things are dark and scary, we can be happy.

24. Except Mad-Eye Moody is dead. So we have to feel sad again. Just to remind you, this isn’t a happy film.

25. Another flashback. They might as well begin this one with ‘Previously On Harry Potter’. It ends with Voldemort complaining to Olivander for giving him misinformation.

26. In the darkness I can just make out Harry striking out on his own. Luckily Ron is right behind him, telling him he can’t just leave like that. They’re all in this together and they need Hermione to help y’know, keep them all alive.

27. I like the way that Harry doesn’t actually agree to go back, but he drops his bag and Ron picks it up. That sort of settles it. They’re such good friends.

Check back next week for a wedding, the fall of the Ministry, a visit to Grimmauld Place, and a journey via toilet.

Chapter-by-Chapter: The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter 5

I ran out of time to get all the chapters read and written that I needed to to in the run up to going away. Rather than having my posts dry up completely I've just scheduled these to post on this Friday and next, before returning to normal afternoon (with a double-dose on Fridays) on the 19th of January.

It's not run reading these books if I'm just doing it to churn out blog posts, this way is a lot more fun for me so hopefully it'll be more fun to read.

What Happens?

Olaf bought Lulu the lions to feed the residents of the House of Freaks to; each day there will be another person fed to the lions. The crowd loves the idea; the employees less so. The children realise that they are running out of time and so they have to get inside Madame Lulu’s tent to find out how she is finding out where the Baudelaires. When the Baudelaires get to the tent they see the big eye outside it again and suddenly realise that hidden in the design are some very familiar letters.

Thoughts as I read:

As usual we’ve got our little picture to kick start the chapter. This time it appears to be of Madame Lulu’s tent. It’s a very nice looking tent with stars and a moon on it. Oh, and there’s on of Olaf’s creepy eyes right across the door as well. It’s done in such a way that I didn’t notice it right away, then I glanced back at the page and it was just staring at me.

This chapter has a wonderful opening. You get to the first page of Chapter Five and it tells you all about the meaning of deja vu. Then you turn the page and it’s the start of Chapter Five again. How clever is that?! I love the little ways that this book series goes against the norm and messes with your head.

The reason for this is because this is the exact same sensation that the Baudelaires are experiencing as they stand outside listening to Olaf explain that the lions are going to take the place of the tagliatelle whip. Basically the lions are going to be fed employees from the House of Freaks, after all they’re experiencing such miserable lives they won’t mind being fed to a lion once a day.

I’m inclined to think that Olaf and the crew are onto the Baudelaires and that this is their way to get them out of the way and thus claim the fortune. Even someone as insane as Olaf can’t possibly think that killing one’s employees (if you can call them that, considering they don’t actually get paid) is the best way to ensure the business survives, after all in a week the House of Freaks would be no more!

The crowd likes the sound of this turn of events; the Baudelaires, Hugo, Colette and Kevin, not so much. The crowd are all about the violence and the sloppy eating so this combination sounds like a fantastic hit. Luckily for the Baudelaires, this isn’t due to start until tomorrow, but it looks set to be a big hit.

There’s a slight fly in the ointment when Esme discovers that Olaf has given Lulu the lions as a gift, after all, he’s never given her a gift of lions. In fact, he’s not got anything for Esme, because she didn’t do ‘wonderful fortune-telling’. This starts to sound even more like a euphemism than going ‘inside her tent’! It may also give us a clue as to how Madame Lulu is finding out where the Baudelaires are, my money is some sort of GPS system in Violet’s ribbon and Klaus’s glasses. Her technique includes ‘magical lightning’ and a ‘magical hum’. Sounds like electricity to me. Whatever it was, it told Lulu that one of the Baudelaire parents is still alive.

Hugo is concerned that there doesn’t seem to be a better way of making the carnival more popular without killing people. But as Hugo’s job is to give the people what they want, and what they want is man-eating lions, Hugo’s got no comeback and is dismissed while Olaf’s crew set to digging the man-eating lion pit.

Olaf and Esme are off to have a ‘discussion’. I suspect this will be about Olaf’s relationship with Lulu and Esme’s lack of gifts…

Away from Hugo, Colette and Kevin, Violet congratulates Sunny on the addition of cinnamon to the hot chocolate but laments the fact that imminent consumption by lions kind of makes it hard to enjoy. Sunny replies ‘Ificat’ which means ‘Me too’. The whole thing about lightning in the tend has got Violet’s spidey-sense tingling, well inventy-sense, so she wants to go check it out. Sunny concurs with ‘Chow!’ meaning ‘Before we’re thrown to the lions!’

Violet’s got so many questions and as she runs through them all she gets a little choked up. Poor Violet. I feel sorry for all three kids, but I think Violet is going to need some serious counselling when all this is over. Then it’s Klaus’s turn to break down and soon he’s actually crying. They draw comfort from one another and pull themselves back together. ‘Chithvee’ says Sunny, ‘But I can’t help thinking about our parents’ as they all apologise to each other.

They then move on to wondering why their parents having found them yet before realising that the three of them have been moving around so much that if would be impossible to track them down (unless you’re Olaf) and also that Mr Poe is hopeless so would be no use whatsoever if the Baudelaire parent had asked him for help.

As usual it’s Sunny who directs them all back to the task at hand, ‘Galfuskin’ which means ‘This is all guesswork – let’s go to the fortune-telling tent and see if we can find anything for sure, and we’d better do it soon before the others get back.’ I love how much information Sunny can pack into just three syllables!

While all the other carnival employees are distracted by pondering their fate or closing up for the day, the children nip inside the fortune-telling tent. We’re reminded again of the eye which we saw at the beginning of the chapter but the children have just realised that the eye appears to be more like an insignia:

Sometimes an insignia can be a simple shape, such as a wavy line to indicate an organization concerned with rivers or oceans, or a square to indicate an organization concerned with geometry or sugar cubes. Sometimes an insignia can be a small picture of something, such as a torch, to indicate an organization is flammable, or the three-eyed girl outside the House of Freaks, indicating that people who were unusual in some way were on display inside. And sometimes an insignia can be part of the name of the organization, such as the first few letters, or its initials.

Can you see where this is going?

The children all study the eye as realisation dawns and they try to figure out what they’re seeing. Sunny says ‘Volu…’ just in case the reader is a little bit slow on the uptake. Because, yes, the eye spells out V.F.D.

And I just scooted back to the picture at the start of the chapter and checked. Yup, it’s hard to see because of the folds in the tent material, but you can just about make it out there as well.

Interesting.

Q & A A Day 5-Year Journal

Normally I would post a snippet from my Wreck This Journal or Finish This Book right now, but over the Christmas period, I've not really touched them.

That's not to say that I've not got anything new to share with them. The Christmas holidays have given me lots of Christmas cards, so I've finally been able to tackle the postage stamp page in my Wreck This Journal. It's just that the not really touching them has extended as far as not opening them to take a photo of the contents.

And it would be really boring to try describing the inside of my books, without having a picture to share alongside them.

So I thought I'd show off one of my other new goodies.

It's a five-year journal which means that down the side of each page you have space to fill in the year and then a couple of lines to write down something about that day.

What drew me to this one, as opposed to some of the others that I've seen, is that at the top of each day there is a question to be answered. I love the idea of answering it each day and then going back to the beginning the next year and seeing how my answers change. As it's a five-year journal I'll be able to see, at a glance, what a difference there is between me aged 28/29 and me aged 33/34.

It's going to be interesting.

And hopefully I'll still be blogging here in five years time, so you can see how I've changed too!

Wordless Wednesday: Eye

Book 31 of 2014: Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett

Back in the summer last year my cousin, in Gloucester, got married which I travelled down to. Until the day before I was due to leave I was reading Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix which isn't the most portable of books. I knew I needed something lightweight and in the end I selected the two Johnny Maxwell books I was still to read, and promptly read the third one instead of the second.

This is the third of the trilogy which sees Johnny Maxwell accidentally time travelling back to the 1940s during the height of the Blitz when the town of Blackbury was bombed, resulting in the destruction of an entire street. Chaos ensues when one of his friends gets left behind in the past when the others jump back to the present, and Johnny also sets about to change the course of history to try and save the lives of a whole street of people.

Although I read this out of order, I don't think that I missed any crucial details. In the first book Johnny was experiencing 'trying times' as his parents were constantly arguing; in this one they're separated but aside from that I didn't notice that I was reading them out of order. Obviously though, if you're going to read this trilogy, I'd recommend reading them in the right order.

There are lots of funny bits in this book, as I've come to expect from Terry Pratchett. There were a few references to Discworld, usually from Mrs Tachyon who speaks complete gibberish most of the time (and some of that gibberish is familiar to readers of the Discworld series). I like to copy out funny quotes into my book journal, but it's so tricky with these books because the funny sections can run on over a page or more.

I'd imagine that normally I'd be able to read this in a day or just over but as I was travelling I took a little longer. On the bus down and back up I was alternating between knitting, reading, listening to music and playing on my Kindle, and some of the time I just sat and stared out the window. And in Gloucester, it was wedding time! Not so much time for reading there either.

I think I actually enjoyed this one more than Only You Can Save Mankind. I suspect that it's aged better than the first book because it's not dealing with computer games that have developed incredibly quickly since the book was written. I enjoyed seeing more of Blackbury and also Terry Pratchett's humour in the World War Two setting.

After reading it I vowed not to take so long to read the second on in the series, Johnny and the Dead, and failed, not getting onto it until October. You'll probably get to read that review sometime around April!