Good Thoughts Needed

My little study buddy, Bell, developed a lump a little over a month ago. We took her to the vet who said she was a bit fat and that due to the risk of the anaesthetic we should see whether it got any worse and try to slim her down a little bit.

Well, a month on and it's much bigger, so back to the vet we went today. The choice is really just to see if she can handle the surgery, or let nature take its course. We'd talked about it a lot before we took her in and decided to go for the op because at the rate that the lump has been growing, if we had her put to sleep when it started seriously affecting her mobility, I think we'd only have another two weeks with her and I'd hate for her to be suffering during that time.

She's only ten months old and is still just as keen on her food, climbs and burrows and snuggles with her sisters. She's my beautiful Bell-rat who snuffles and chatters and gives me kisses when I'm giving her cuddles. For a while if you searched for 'cute rat pics' on Google images, her picture was one of the top results.

So if you could spare a little thought for Bell tomorrow, I'd appreciate it. I know I'm going to be on edge all day tomorrow waiting to find out how she gets on. At least we'll know that we really tried everything for her and I desperately hope that we get to bring her home for more snuggles.

Project 365+1: Days 259 - 271

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I missed out on my chance to get my photos up on Sunday. This week I've been pretty tired and so most of the snaps I've taken have been on my phone (see if you can spot the one I took at the last minute right before I fell asleep).

We've had some fantastically stormy weather up here recently, though thankfully nothing quite as wild as at the beginning of the year, but it's rather hampered my desire to go out and take nice photos. Though with all the leaves turning brown and gold, and Autumn well and truly underway I'm hoping to be able to get out and take some nice pictures when we get a bit of a dry spell. I love Autumn colours!

Day 259: Fresh Apple Pie

Doesn't that photo just make your mouth water. This was an apple pie baked by a local lady - she does them to order at a very reasonable price. My in-laws' started getting them as a treat for pudding on a Sunday and when we couldn't manage it all, we brought some home. I LOVE apple pie, so it is a treat that has gone down very well with me.

Day 260: End of the Day

I have no idea why this picture is coming up this way round, I've rotated it round on the computer so we'll just have to put it down to some iPhone hinkyness. This is how many of our days end, with Tara collapsed on the bathroom floor while we get ready for showers and things before going to bed. The floor is all wood and she just throws herself down with such a thump. Obviously doesn't hurt though because it's as much a part of the routine now as our having a wash. If there was any way to take a photo of her trying to climb into the bath which didn't risk my camera getting wet, or inappropriate photographic nakedness then I would totally share that too.

Day 261: Getting To Grips With Othello

My OU course officially started yesterday, though I always like to try and get a little bit ahead of the schedule purely because it allows for things like procrastination (my number one enemy), tiredness, family emergencies, power cuts, illness and just plain getting stuck on something and needing to take a little more time to work through it. So I started work almost as soon as the course books arrived.

I have a very particular way of working. I've used the same folder for each OU course (it's a little bit of good luck for me now and so I can't change this late in the game). I write out detailed notes for each bit that I read. I normally start of writing really detailed notes, but gradually work myself down to writing briefer ones. So far I've been finding it all very interesting, and it all seems to make sense too. I hope that's not just lulling me into a false sense of security!

Day 262: Fresh Baked Failure

This is what happens when mid-way through throwing together the ingredients for a loaf of bread you realise that you've not got enough flour. The recipe I use calls for four, we only had three left (due in part to the poor weather and ferry disruption so we weren't able to get off the island for our shopping on the day we had originally planned). A quick flip through the recipe book suggested that three cups of flour could be used for a 1.5lb loaf. I modified the quantities of the other ingredients and we set it going hoping we'd have a small loaf for our soup at teatime.

Well, as you can see, we didn't. Somewhere along the line something didn't quite work out. The white you see at the bottom is flour, the top is totally sunken in and the whole thing weighed about five pounds. We ended up having omelette and sausages for tea instead.

Day 263: Supplies!

Luckily we didn't have to actually eat the bizarre loaf I made, because Mr Click went shopping and filled the kitchen up with all our essentials. He always waits to unpack everything until I'm around so I can see all the goodies he's picked up for us. He never disappoints, there's always something interesting, special or just a little bit yummy tucked away amongst all the regular stuff I put on the list.

Day 264: Pyramid

I love it when Mr Click cleans the bathroom. He always rearranges the stuff on the shelf in there and it's kind of fun to come home and see what he's done with the loo roll (hey, it's the little things that keep me happy). Recently it had been pyramids, but I'm holding out hope for a scale replica of the Eiffel Tower any day now.

Day 265: Add Wine

One of the goodies Mr Click brought home from his shopping expedition was a whole leg of lamb which he roasted following the instructions in the Good Book (AKA Delia Smith's cooking bible). It was very very nice, but he didn't think it necessary to use exactly the quantity of wine suggested by the great chef, so he added some wine to a glass and basted himself while he cooked. I have to say it certainly helped to add to the meal. ;-)

Day 266: Santa Gets Stuffed

I've posted this picture once already, so I've already explained the story behind it. Alas, Santa hasn't progressed a huge amount since this photo was taken because I've had studying to do and I've been good and actually getting it done. So let's all just be amazed that I've only got one hundred days left to go taking photos and so far, so good.

Day 267: Hard At Work

And just in case you doubted the truth in the last paragraph about all the studying I've been doing, look! Photographic evidence! I wasn't making it up at all. Although the course officially started yesterday and I didn't do any work on it then, and it's unlikely that I'll get any done today. Strangely enough, after working all day I find it much easier to get home and throw myself into studying at the moment, than I have done at weekends when I've got pretty much nothing to stop me from getting stuck it. I suppose it's something to do with being in the right frame of mind for it I guess.

Day 268: Making Money

Obligatory book cover photo so I've got something to use when I do my review without having to search the internet for a decent photo to use. I've actually got a review for this book already written because I'm doing the Reading Challenge on HTV and each review is worth 50 points (very good motivator), but it'll maybe be a little while before I get it posted on here because I'm still working through a backlog.

Day 269: Autumn Leaves

For the last week or so I've been desperately hoping to get a good photo of the pretty Autumn leaves all over the place on the Estate. There are some fantastic colours but I've just not been able to get out when it's been dry and daylight at the same time. So I decided that until I did, our living room curtains would be an okay substitute.

Random fact: nothing in our living room (well, the entire house really) matches. We don't have any particular colour-schemes, but thanks to all the colours in these curtains, everything kind of goes together.

Day 270: Just One More Page

I may have mentioned a photo which was taken as a last minute, oops-I-really-need-to-take-a-photo. This may or may not be it.

I can't be the only one who reads like this, lying on one side with the book tilted up so I can see the page. This doesn't always work so well with hardback books (which really hurt if you doze off and bop yourself on the nose with them). I have a funny feeling that this photo was taken while I was trying to read the last hundred or so pages despite it being late already and having to get up early the next morning, because it was Making Money and I hate going to bed with an unfinished Terry Pratchett book.

Day 271: Strike A Pose

And finally one of Tara being cute while we were getting ready to take her out for a walk. I'm not sure what it was that she was sniffing at but it wouldn't surprise me if she was just posing for the camera. When she's not being a silly clown she's quite the little poser.

A little catch up

I've been a little bit quiet here this week because my in-laws weren't well at the weekend so we gave them a quiet day on Sunday. Sunday is normally the day when I get all of the photos off my camera and write out planned blog posts. By rights I could have posted something on Sunday, but I got stuck into knitting my Santa and didn't really do much of anything else that day.

This is Santa shortly after I stuffed and sewed him up. I'm quite impressed with how well he's come together. All of this was knitted in one piece and then you sew him up, stuff him, and sew the last bit up. The neck is the best bit of all, you just wove a bit of thread in between the stitches around the neck where the decreases were, pulled it tight and suddenly Santa's head was separate from the rest of his body.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to add his arms on because Tara got excited and knocked my table, splashing lemonade all over Santa's arms. I had to wash them out then couldn't sew them up and stuff them until they were dry. I'm hoping to get some work on that done tonight, just as soon as I've finished getting caught up online.

I've also been getting stuck into my new OU course. It doesn't technically start until this Saturday coming, but what with work (and a school disco, woo hoo, better dig out that old school tie), I thought it better to get stuck in sooner rather than later. I've almost finised the first chapter and I've been quite enjoying studying Othello. It's really good to do the activities in the book, read the discussion and realise that I'm actually on the right track.

Anyway. I'm a little bit behind on book reviews and things. I've got some book tree posts which I'll start listing soon, now that the book tree is pretty much finished, everyone involved should know who picked which book.

Book 65 of 2012: A Game of Thrones

I'm almost up to date with my book reviews now, though I've got a few to post from the book tree books that I've been reading this year. The book tree is due to finish next month, so I'll get those all finished up and posted in the next few weeks.

Last year I watched most of the TV series of A Game of Thrones. I really enjoyed what I saw (basically every episode except the last one, because that was when we moved into our new house) and decided that I'd quite like to read the books. I took a look at them in various shops but they're such massive tomes that I realised I'd have to find a space on my shelves for them, so I put off getting them. When I got my Kindle I realised that this would be the perfect series to get on my Kindle, so Mr Click treated me when I passed my OU course. I've got this version: A Game of Thrones: The Story Continues: The complete 5 books (A Song of Ice and Fire) which comprises of all of the published books so far (the first five, in seven volumes).

Of course, my ebook version doesn't have a pretty cover. But it's got lots and lots of books which should keep me going for a while.

For those of you who've not seen the TV series or read the books, A Game of Thrones is the first in the series A Song of Ice and Fire. It's set in a fantasy world and each chapter follows a different character and is told from their point of view. This book mostly follows the relationship between the King in the south of the country with one of his subjects who rules in the North, Ned Stark, (though who isn't king). Originally the land was divided into seven realms which have all gradually pledged allegiance to the king (over many, many years). King Robert took the throne in his youth and a parallel plot follows the exile king and his sister.

During the course of the book one of the Stark children witnesses something which leads to an attempt to assassinate him, meanwhile King Robert asks Ned to be his 'Hand' (sort of second in command) and Ned and his daughters move south. Daenarys (the sister of the exile king) is married off to the leader of tribe; Ned's illegitimate son goes off to be a guard on the Wall. There's so many different strands to the book that describing it as a whole it quite tricky.

I really enjoyed the book. I'd seen most of the events in the TV series and it appears that the TV series stuck quite closely to the book, with the exception of just a few bits (though I'll have to wait to say exactly which bits were different until we get the TV series on blu-ray in November). The last few chapters were all very new to me because although I had a vague idea of what was going to happen, I was lost on the fine details.

I love the Stark family. There's something about them which is quite easy to relate to; they value family and despite their differences, they're quite close. Though I do think that Sansa needed a good slap for most of the book. Among my other favourite characters were Jon Snow (Ned Stark's illegitimate son) and Tyrion Lannister (the Queen's younger brother) who has some of my favourite lines.

In terms of the ebook edition that I read, it was great. I was very grateful that I had a slim 'book' in my bag instead of the big fat copies that I've seen. I do tend to read ebooks slower, and this was the case with A Game of Thrones. It was quite cool to discover that I could download the book onto the Kindle app on my iPhone and so read it on there, then sync it to my Kindle and have it recognise what page I got to. That's very handy for when I'm out somewhere when I can't take my Kindle with me (as was the case when I was on Red Cross duty and ended up sat in the tent with nothing to do in my down-time).

A slight downside is that you can't zoom in on the maps and they're so packed with detail about the places that the Kindle edition just doesn't do them justice. Luckily I was able to find an app (as well as various websites) that display all the same information and it was handy to have that open on my phone when I wanted to double check something, so see who a particular person was.

I did get a little confused about some of the numerous characters and places. Martin has several characters who are named after other characters, or who have names that are similar to other names. Plus there are various 'houses' and places which need to be kept track of. It's useful to have something to refer to to keep track of everyone. There's an Appendix at the back which explains who is who, but when I'm reading, I get a little bit annoyed at flicking back and forth and like to be able to compare side-by-side. Again, my phone came in handy here, though I was worried about catching a spoiler when I was looking at some of the sites I found so tried to stick to Wikis that would be spoiler-free.

I've really enjoyed getting into this series. I'm trying to pace myself with it to keep it lasting a little bit longer, but almost as soon as I finished this one I moved on to A Clash of Kings. I'm really looking forward to seeing the TV series again now, though we've just started watching All Creatures Great and Small so it's unlikely to be on the cards until the beginning of next year now.

""... My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer, and I have my mind... and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." Tyrion tapped the leather cover of the book. "That's why I read so much, Jon Snow.""Page 118

Band of Brothers

Way back, almost three years ago, Mr Click and I got married and were given some Amazon vouchers to celebrate. Being practical people we put them towards Band of Brothers on blu-ray at my recommendation (I'd seen it once before). It arrived (in a lovely presentation tin), we put it on our bookcase, and never actually seemed to get around to watching it.

Well, we finally got around to it a few weeks back. I'd totally forgotten how much I love this series. It's so well made that you just get sucked into the story. For those of you who aren't familiar with the series it basically follows the guys in 'Easy Company', an American Paratrooper regiment during the Second World War, beginning with their training. It's only ten episodes long and we managed to watch it within a fortnight (pretty much one episode a night on weeknights for two weeks); each episode runs to about an hour long with two running slightly longer than the rest.

Each episode is like a full on war movie, it's produced by Steven Spielburg and Tom Hanks, so I suppose it's to be expected really. It's brutal and violent and there's no softening of the realities of war. You get attached to a character only to lose them midway through the series, or see them fall apart as one by one their friends die.

What gives it so much impact is that at the beginning of each episode there are a few words from a few old guys. They talk about what life was actually like during the war, what their part in it was; it's quite heartbreaking watching them tear up as they remember fallen comrades and the awful things they experienced as young men. Because these aren't just 'a few old guys', they're the real people who experienced the events in that episode.

It's made even more effective by the fact that they don't actually name these men. You come to realise that they are the people you're seeing played by actors but you don't know which ones they are. You know who they aren't based on who survives certain episodes but it's not revealled who they actually are until the very end of the series. In some respects it's nice to see that they made it through, they survived and they went on to live, comparatively, normal lives. On the other hand, something about it made my chest hurt, watching these men talk about what they went through and seeing them as old men talking about their grandchildren, realising that so many didn't come home to have the same experiences.

Of all of the episodes two stand out as my favourites. The first is the very first episode 'Currahee' which follows the training of the group and their preparations for D-Day. It shows how they come together to form a proper team. I especially like a bit where one of the men is sent off to run alone and a group of other men from Easy Company run up alongside him to help him keep going.

The other episode which sticks in my mind is the penultimate one, 'Why We Fight'. It's mostly told in flashback and it's really powerful. I dare anyone to try and watch it without wanting to shed a tear. The company come across a concentration camp, totally harrowing, as they liberate the camp and try to provide food and support for the men abandoned there, then realise that they'll have to return them to the camp until they have somewhere to send them. It's something that I struggle to comprehend, just understanding how people could do that to one another.

I wish that something like this had been out when I was studying World War II at school. It was a really good way to show the human aspect of the war; what the men themselves went through. While I'm aware of various historical inaccuracies, on the whole I think it was well researched and I'm quite keen to read the books that helped to inspire it.

"I treasure my remark to my grandson who asked, "Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?"
Grandpa said, "No... but I served in a company of heroes"."

Project 365+1: Days 246 - 258

As I was hanging with a cold last week and in no fit state to leave the house I didn't get a chance to upload all my photos so here's another batch for the last two weeks. Unfortunately they're mostly phone photos (and there's a lot of knitting pictures) because I've been both poorly and tired (and my fancy camera needs a good charging).

Day 246: Box of Goodies

I got a nice little surprise when I came home from work to find a box sitting on the doorstep. I'd been expecting it, so it wasn't as big a surprise as it could have been, luckily I'd realised it was on the way so I got all my required reading books ordered. It was a bit like Christmas when the big box of goodies from the OU arrives, I had great fun opening it up and looking at all of the books I'll probably come to be very annoyed with by the time my exam is drawing near.

That one on top is the first of three course books, but hidden under the brown paper on the right is also a fiction book and a DVD. These books aren't quite as nice as the ones I had for my linguistics courses, not as many pictures, hehe, but it's been good fun getting stuck in in preparation for when the course begins at the end of the month.

247: Cowgirl

As part of the STV Scotland's Biggest Tea Party, we had a tea party at work. Of course we had to get dressed up for the occasion so everyone in my team decided to go the easy route and dress up as cowboys/cowgirls. This is possibly one of the easiest costumes to put together: checked shirt (stolen from my husband, so new he hadn't even worn it yet), jeans, boots, cowboy hat (I have no idea where that one came from, I think it just materialised in the cupboard one day). I actually left the hat in the car that morning, and it's been so long since I've worn three inch heels that walking was a little bit tricky, but we had nice cake and raised lots of money so it was a very good day.

248: Ray of Light

Now that the evenings have started drawing in (and Summer has decided it's just not worth the effort anymore), walking Tara is becoming a little difficult because you can't always see where you're going. Plus we live on a big old estate with a Gothic mansion which is illuminated at night so you can just make it out through the trees being all old and creepy; it's really just a matter of time before we're attacked by a vampire or werewolf.

So Mr Click decided to solve this problem by buying some supernatural creature repellant torches. After the problems we had at the beginning of the year (read: not having power for five days) we decided to go with some wind-up ones which we don't have to worry about having batteries for. They're definitely a success, though I'm still a little bit chicken about going outside in the dark.

249: And So It Begins

Here is photographic evidence that I've started work on my OU course a little bit in advance of when I'm supposed to. In truth I had to stop shortly after this point because I couldn't go any further without having read Othello (which I finished this morning, yay! Time for more notemaking). I like to make really detailed notes when I'm studying, so I can take everything in and it makes it easier to go back and find useful points. So far, so good, there's not been anything I've not understood yet.

250: More Supplies

I've been getting quite close to the end of the Terry Pratchett Discworld book series, so I've been organising books to take their place on the bookcase. Well, as we were off the island and wandering around charity shops I decided to treat myself to some books to keep the shelves from looking too empty.

The first of the books is written by Christopher Timothy about making the 'All Creatures Great and Small' TV series. As we've just started rewatching the DVDs of this, I thought it would be interesting to read at the end. Next is a study guide for Othello, bought just in case I need a little bit more help making sense of the text. Then a new series from Kathy Reichs which I've been looking out for since last year. And lastly a book to keep the little linguistic geek in me happy; it got mixed reviews from people on my course last year but I like the sound of it so I'm going to devote a section of my reorganised bookshelf to books about language.

251: Sometimes You Need A Cuddle

Mr Click hates this photo, so ignore his weird expression (seriously, this was the best of four) and just enjoy the cute labrador all snuggled up on the sofa she's not allowed on. I'm much stricter than Mr Click and rarely allow her up on the furniture...

Day 252: Get Comfy

... well, sometimes.

Day 253: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town!

Having been unsuccessful in my attempts to knit an elephant, I came across this lovely knitting pattern book filled with really simple patterns for toys. I've been in a bit of a knitting funk this year. I like things that knit up quickly but which aren't too repetitive, but which are easy enough that you can read or watch TV while you're doing them. My last project required a lot of attention on the lacework and got a little bit tedious.

Plus I've got loads of wool that needs to be used up, but seldom have exactly the required sort or quantity that I need for half the projects I want to try. I'd considered just knitting up a bunch of random socks to use it all up, but then I decided cuddly toys might be a bit more fun. And they are, this is Santa's boots, trousers and part of his body (I've very nearly finished him now). He's been nice and quick to knit up and, incredibly, I had all the colours I needed. I was anticipating him taking a while I knit up, hence starting him in September, but I think I'm going to look out some more similar patterns and make a bunch of Christmas decorations in the run up to Christmas.

Day 254: So That's Where I Left It

The other morning I was getting ready to go to work, and running spectacularly late on account of not being organised the night before. I knew I would be going to my in-laws' house after work so spent much of the time that I should have spent getting dressed organising my knitting stuff to take with me (for Father Christmas, remember).

That evening I sat down to dig out my knitting and discovered I was a ball of red wool short. I tentatively knit a few rows worrying the whole time that I was going to run out and have to give up because I'd not brought a spare ball with me. When I mentioned this to Mr Click he responded with "oh, I was wondering why there was a ball of wool in the bathroom".

Apparently, when he'd been home earlier in the day he'd spotted a random ball of wool behind the toilet and had wondered whether the spare bedroom had suddenly become too small to hold my vast wool collection so I'd started on the shelf in in the bathroom. I informed him that, just for the record, if he ever finds a ball of wool in the bathroom he should bring it with him because I've probably forgotten to put it in my bag.

Day 255: Butterfly Bag

Roughly once a year I replace my everyday shoulder bag with a slightly less battered and worn out shoulder bag. These are usually charity shop acquisitions and so sometimes are already a bit battered when they come to me (a situation that does not improve with my use). I'd made a noise about having to get a new bag as my green one is shedding sequins and sparkly bits, but hadn't as yet found anything that would be suitable.

Luckily my Mum-in-law was on the case and found this lovely little thing. It's a bit smaller than my last one but big enough for a paperback, my book journal and purse, along with other little essentials. And it's got butterflies on it, which I love so all in all, very good find, Mum.

Day 256: Othello

This is an 'Oops, I'm in bed and I've not taken a photo yet' photo, though it does a good job of showing the annoying formatting in the copy of Othello that I had to read. I've also just noticed that the angle it was taken at makes it looks like two of the legs have fallen off our wardrobe; rest assured that's not the case, I just don't happen to be very good at taking one handed photos on my iPhone.

Day 257: Return of the Halti

Tara's gradually gotten better at walking on the lead. The metal chain certainly helped, but recently she's gotten really pully again and on the advice of a friend from work, we got a Halti. And it was incredible! Suddenly Tara was walking to heel, she virtually stopped pulling, our two walks were nice and relaxing and I didn't feel like I was trying to correct her behaviour the whole time. It was perfect.

Until the next morning when the Halti was left in a bag where Tara could get at it and she decided to eat the damn thing, rendering it completely useless. Actually, she didn't eat the whole thing, mostly just the clasp as you can kind of see in the picture above. I love the look of fear and worry on her face in the picture, just a fraction of a second after I took this picture she tried to have another chop on it!

But rest assured, we've had the last laugh. Mr Click ordered a new Halti and she's back to walking nicely on the lead again. And we're keeping this one well out of her reach!

Day 258: Skinny Santa

And this is where I stand with Santa at the moment. He's going to need a hand this Christmas, and a lot of stuffing, but he's coming together quite nicely. I'm sure he'll look a lot better once he's got his nice white trimming on his cuffs, oh, and a hat, and a beard, and a face...

Book 63 of 2012: The Hungry Ghost Festival

Isn't it always the way? You wait around for your friend to write a book for ages and ages, and then two come along at once!

Earlier this year my friend Jen had her first book published, the very funny Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops. Just recently (well, during the summer) The Rialto published Jen's first poetry collection. I actually got it way back when it was published, and read it a month ago, but I'm a little bit behind.

The Hungry Ghost Festival (available to order on Jen's blog) is a lovely little collection of poems focusing on life in the North East and the journey through adolescence. The title comes from a traditional Chinese festival and there's a slightly fantastical element to some of poems.

I've been familiar with Jen's poetry for a while now. I've known her for about five years now and I've enjoyed the little teasers of her writing that she's shared on HTV and on her blog. But this was all new to me. I used to be a huge poetry fan as a youngster, but as I've gotten older I've not read quite so much. What I have read has largely been as a result of Jen (either directly or indirectly); she's organised Poetry Trees where a group of us have shared copies of our favourite poetry books, as well as just recommending poems and poets (and offering to send out copies of books that she's loved).

With the poems in The Hungry Ghost Festival there's a real story behind each one. Each poem gives you a little snapshot into the scene or events you're witnessing and odd little lines make you realise that there's a whole backstory to whatever you're reading. I like that, I read the book twice (once for the first read and then once more while I went through looking for my favourite quotes) and I found myself imagining what what going on behind the poem. Jen posted a really interesting blog post about her inspirations which you can find here - I loved reading that post after I read the book.

I got the impression reading the collection that there's a lot of Jen packed into these pages. The poems come across as being very personal, which is clear when you read Jen's blog post about her inspirations. I think it's so brave to publish something which has so much of herself in it. I'm glad that I read through it twice because I think there were things I didn't full appreciate on the first read-through; poetry is like that, it needs a bit of time to percolate through your mind.

I couldn't possibly pick just one favourite poem because I like different poems in the collection for different reasons and in different ways. Among my favourites are 'Kitchen', 'Memories Of Your Sister In A Full-Body Wetsuit' and 'Lobster Girl'; my absolute absolute favourite is 'Ullambana', dedicated to her Poppa, I challenge anyone to read it without feeling their chest go all tight.

"For you I signed a form to place my brain in a jar when I'm

done with it. They will lift it from my skull and see you."Page 27