Currently...

Being...
... a rather lax blogger.

I was full of intentions to post on Monday and get some NaNo done as well before I went out for a meal with a group of friends (for one of the group's birthday). Except, I never actually got as far as switching on my laptop before I went out.

That means my NaNo word count has taken a bit of a hit as I didn't get any writing done yesterday. It was late by the time I got home and showered, so in the end I just left it. I'm still optimistic that I'll hit 50,000 words by the end of the month, but I'm not sure I'll be at the end of the story by then.

I need less than 900 words per day to the end of the month to finish on time, and I'm optimistic I can double that on some days before the 30th.

Anticipating...
... not one but two trips to the mainland!

One is pleasure; a trip to the cinema to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was going to be a trip for Mr Click's birthday except I'm desperate to see it as soon as possible. We managed to get a good deal on our contents insurance so we're using the money we've saved for a slightly earlier than planned trip. I may also get some Christmas shopping in too.

The other is definitely not pleasure!

I mentioned a little while ago that at least one of my wisdom teeth is slated for demolition. Well, I've got an assessment appointment where they will have a good poke around and figure out the best method of attack. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to that trip so much!

Watching...
... The Wizard of Oz.

It's the penultimate film in our Not Quite Christmas List. Tomorrow we're watching Bridget Jones's Diary and then on Friday we'll be watching the first of our 38 Christmas Films.

As we've been watching, each time I hear a Christmas song I've been adding it, or a variation of it, to my Christmas playlist on Spotify. Considering we've not actually started on the real Christmas films, it's grown pretty large already. I've got almost 60 tracks (including two Christmas albums which I stumbled upon by chance). It's going to be a behemoth by Christmas Day!

Reading...
... The Plains of Passage.

Still.

I've managed to get about halfway through in three weeks. I'm determined I'm going to finish it by the end of the month, though there's no way I'm taking it with me to Glasgow or the dentist which I head off the island. It weighs an absolute tonne!

I'm looking forward to finishing it and getting stuck into some Christmas Kindle books.

What're you currently up to?

Books 87 & 88 of 2015: The Secret of Annexe 3 by Colin Dexter & A Christmas Carol & The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens

These books see me reaching almost the end of my Reading Challenge for last year. This year I didn't bother taking part in a reading challenge (and I've read a lot less as a result of that) but I'm on the fence about taking part next year.

Week 51's book was 'a book based on or turned into a TV show', coincidentally Mr Click had recently finished reading Colin Dexter's The Secret of Annexe 3 which is from the Inspector Morse series, which seemed like as good a choice as any. Although it wasn't directly adapted for the TV series, it was used for inspiration for one of the episodes.

In this story, Inspector Morse is called to solve the mystery of a death at a hotel. One of the visitors to a New Year's Eve party doesn't get up the next morning, leading to a whole host of mysteries for Morse to unravel before he can learn the truth about what's happened.

I enjoyed this one a lot more than the last Morse book that I read (The Riddle of the Third Mile). I think this is mainly because although it was a rather complicated case, with a costume ball and people not being who everyone thought they were, it was still fairly easy to follow what was going on.

It also didn't hide too much from the reader, so you could follow along with the crime and try to solve it yourself. As you'll be aware from my previous book reviews, being able to solve the crime yourself is really important to me in detective/crime books.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there wasn't the usual high body count that you often get in Morse books. I don't remember seeing the TV adaptation that this one inspired, but Mr Click and I are planning on watching the complete series at some point in the future.

I was definitely reading it at the right time of year. It's all set around a New Year's Eve party and I started it on the 19th of December, finished it on the 23rd. This was entirely accidental, but it was pretty cool. I tend to read Christmas books in the run up to Christmas, there's not really many books set at New Year though.

This was also a good choice because it didn't take too long to get through. I was a little worried that I wouldn't have time to read my traditional Christmas read, A Christmas Carol, before Christmas.

But I did.

On one of my trips to the mainland I managed to find a copy of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol and The Cricket on the Hearth which I had in the Children's Classics collection that my grandparents got me as a child. Last Christmas I decided that this was the version I should read, since I like to try reading a different version of the book each year.

This edition has the traditional story of A Christmas Carol (I don't need to recap that for you, do I?) as well as a short story at the end, The Cricket on the Hearth. It's another Victorian Christmas story, in which a mysterious man shows up at the Peerybingle home and stays with them. Meanwhile May, the girlfriend of a man named Edmund who has been missing for some time, is preparing to marry a miser, but the mysterious man might put a stop to that.

It didn't take me very long to finish A Christmas Carol. I started it on the 23rd and finished it on the 24th, whilst sitting at work, watching the Disney film of A Christmas Carol. At one point it was kind of race to see how far ahead of the film I could stay.

Although A Christmas Carol was a reread, The Cricket on the Hearth was a first time read for me. I did try reading it once as a child, in this edition nonetheless, but I gave up on it then. This time around I found it a lot easier to read. I suspect my issue before was a combination of the language and the fact that the story wasn't as familiar to me. I really enjoyed the way that this story ended.

I really love reading A Christmas Carol each year. It's as much a part of Christmas to me as putting up the tree and decorations, or listening to Christmas music. Although it begins in the festive season, I don't see The Cricket on the Hearth as quite such a Christmas story; I'll probably not reread it again this year, though next time I pick up this edition to read, I'll give it another go.

Silent Sunday: Avenue

Sleep Tight Yoda

Yesterday evening we arrived home earlier than usual and it quickly became apparent that our little Yoda rat was fading fast.

He'd been showing his age recently; slowing down, sleeping a lot more, wasn't as sprightly as he'd been in the past. We kind of knew it was coming. He was two years and nine months old.

I wrapped him up in an old t-shirt and we both took it in turns cuddling him, stroking him, telling him we loved him and that it was okay to go. Around an hour passed before he finally left us.

He never once had to go see a vet. He was spoiled absolutely rotten; he always ate a little of what we were eating (sometimes Mr Click would actually make a little extra just for him). He got into the routine of coming to bed with us (in his little cage) to watch whatever we were watching before we put out the light and came to expect a bit of digestive biscuit at this time each day; he let us know what he thought if we didn't have a biscuit at bedtime.

Yoda was my Yo-Yo, Yoda-Bean, Little Man or Grumpy Old Man Rat. I upset Mr Click this week by pointing out that the way his fur lay on his head kind of reminded me of Donald Trump's hair; my rat was so much better to look at though.

Yoda was not the most cuddly rat I've ever owned. I think that yesterday was the longest I've ever cuddled him for in one go. He was terribly independent; when I used to lift Wicket out of the big cage, Yoda would make his way down to the bottom to climb out by himself. If you stuck your hand into the cage you were liable to be nipped, not really aggressively, just to warn you that he was the boss in his house.

He was very smart though. He could hear a packet of chocolate opening at twenty paces and he'd be there, up at the bars of the cage, waiting for a tasty morsel before you'd even gotten out whatever you were planning to eat.

It was also Yoda who learned to put himself to bed. Unlike our other genius level rat, Carol, who learned how to open the cage to let herself out, Yoda never mastered this skill (mainly because since Criminal Mastermind Carol we've added extra clips to our rat cage to prevent further escapee rats) but he did learn to navigate the staircase. If you popped him on the stairs, he'd hop his way up to the top, trundle across the landing and climb into bed. It was a trick Wicket learned too, but he was never quite as good at it as Yoda was.

You could also dump Yoda at the top of the stairs, head on down and call him at the bottom, and he'd do a cute little bunny hop thing down the stairs. It was very cute to watch and something which I hope to teach future ratbags to master.

Recently a colleague lost her cat, Hicks, which was a bit of a shock as he was only a young thing. Hicks was actually Yoda's friend from when she watched both our boys when we took a trip to Wales last year. I remember being anxious about how the cats would be around the rats so it was a pleasant surprise to hear that they became fast friends, apart from the time when Hicks left his tail too close to the cage and Yoda gave it a good tug; it looked like nice cosy bedding.

So now I'm picturing the three of them together. Wicket would be snuggled up on top of his brother, with Yoda (skinny by comparison to his brother) squashed underneath. And somewhere nearby is Hicks, wanting to join in on the snuggle too.

Sleep tight, Yoda.

Mount Stuart Water Supply: The Saga Concludes

I've been sharing the saga of our water issues for a while. My last post on the subject was about the connection we had made between the strong chemical smell and the runny nose, sneezing, sore throats, tight chest, breathlessness, etc. we were experiencing post-evening shower.

At that point I was feeling pretty happy since the issue had been pretty much resolved. I'd called and been told that, yup, there was a little too much chemical in the water, sorry about that, it's fixed now.

Which was cool but we still ended up spending an afternoon at the hospital because nearly two weeks later we were still getting that tight chest/breathless/sore throat feeling and when Mr Click tried to make an appointment at the health centre, he was summoned to the hospital instead.

And it was pronounced that we had bronchial irritation, likely caused by the steam we had inhaled from whatever was in the water. Turns out the doctors were aware of the water issues up here.

So we got in touch with Mount Stuart and were told to put it in a letter, which we did.

It's not my most eloquent of letters ever written, but I think it makes the point:

We are writing regarding the recent disruption to the water supply on the estate.

On the 18th of October we noticed that there was a noticeable odour to the water, however we had recently received a letter advising us that the issues with the water supply had been resolved and assumed that this chemical smell was due to the cleaning agent that had been added to the water. After taking a shower that night, Click felt as though she was coming down with a cold; headachy, runny nose and sneezing. At the time we did not connect this to the smell in the shower.

The smell and symptoms continued over the following day so on the 20th of October we got in touch to confirm that the water was safe to drink. The chemical taste was very strong making it unpalatable. We were advised that although the taste was unpleasant and the smell strong, the water was perfectly safe and had passed all the tests confirming there was no bacteria in the water.

However when we took a shower that evening, within minutes the steam began to sting our eyes. After ten minutes in the room, Click developed a tight sensation in her chest and felt as though she was having to work harder to get her breath. At this point we realised that our symptoms were actually being caused by the steam from the shower as whatever chemical that was being added to the water was aerosolized in the steam and we were then inhaling this while we were in the room. From this point we did what we could to maximise airflow in the room when showering or washing up, and avoided exposing ourselves as much as possible, expecting to hear from the office regarding the situation.

Having spoken to our neighbours that weekend we noticed that they were also reporting similar complaints, such as the steam from the shower affecting their asthma, tightness in their chests, breathless, coughing, sore throats, runny noses, sneezing, and upset stomachs.

Click contacted the estate office regarding this on the 24th and was advised that there had been an issue with the chemicals being put into the water which was being resolved and we did notice a massive improvement to the water taste and smell by the following day.

However by the 28th of October we were still suffering from the effects of the chemicals; feeling breathless, coughing, and with lingering sore throats. When Mr Click got in contact with the Health Centre regarding this, he was told to visit A&E where a doctor advised that he was aware of the problems with the water supply and diagnosed bronchial irritation as a result of inhaling the steam. Unfortunately there isn't much that can be done for this, except to wait for it to clear up on its own.

That day we got in touch with the Estate Office and were advised to make contact regarding this via letter.

We were rather surprised not to receive any written communication regarding the problem with the odour and health complaints caused by the water as we felt we were well informed when there was a problem with bacteria in the water. Could you advise us, via letter, what steps are being taken to ensure that this does not happen again? Also, will there be any form of compensation, such as a refund on our water bill, for the disruption and discomfort caused by the problem with the water supply, specifically regarding the problem with the chemicals in the water?

We look forward to hearing from you,

Well, we got a reply today.

I'm not sure which my favourite part is. The bit which focuses on the fact the water is safe to drink (which you'll notice I stated in my letter) or the part that states there were low levels of chemical in the water which contradicts what I was told by the person I spoke to in the Estate Office on the 24th!

Either way, it's us against them so it's obvious we're not going to get any further with this, despite my overwhelming urge to write another letter straight back pointing out the above.

The saga has come to a close.

Currently...

Watching...
... Frozen.

That's my Bullet Journal page of all the 'Not Quite Christmas Films' that we're working through at the moment. Since taking that photo we've also watch Hogfather. I'm still working on the list of 38 titles in our Christmas Viewing Collection.

Enjoying...
... having a little bit of schedule flexibility at work.

I've mentioned before that I normally finish early every other Friday. Well, it's recently occurred to me that so long as I'm working the same number of hours I can redistribute that early finish occasionally. So I was able to take a two hour break in the middle of the day today. It completely threw me off but it was really handy.

And bonus, I've not used all three of my early finish hours so I can still finish a little early this Friday as well.

Writing...
... very little.

I'm not feeling quite so in the mood for NaNo tonight, so I've given myself permission to write the bare minimum. I'm going to snuggle in bed and read and hopefully pass the 31,000 words mark before I do that.

What films do you like to watch during the pre-Christmas season?

Books 85 & 86 of 2015: Creepy Christmas by Jaimie Admans & Memoirs of Fanny Hill by John Cleland

For the last couple of years, when November hits, I start going through my free Kindle Christmas books and select my reading material from them. I'll alternate these with book-books right the way up to Christmas Day.

Which is how I came to read Jaimie Admans's Creepy Christmas at the beginning of December last year. It's a children's Christmas story about a girl named Kaity whose parents are separated. Her mum has a new boyfriend and Christmas this year just isn't going to be same as usual; especially as there are some very strange things going on in her home town as Christmas approaches.

Not going to lie, I totally picked out this book because of the cover when I saw it as a free download. How cute is that Santa? I don't think I realised right away that it was a kids story and then I started reading it, realised it was narrated by a ten year old and figured that I might as well finish it.

As it turns out, it's a nice quick read. I was done in a couple of days and I imagine that it would have been even more up my street had I been about twenty years younger. It's the sort of book that confident young readers could read alone, or less confident readers could share with a sibling or parent.

At times I thought Kaity, the narrator, sounded a little older than she was supposed to be, but on the whole she was a fairly likeable character. Often I find in books with children as the narrators the kids are a little too sickly sweet or annoying, but Kaity came across as a well-balanced kid.

I cold almost imagine this book as a made for TV movie. The sort which plays on the Christmas 24 channel or Channel 5 in the run up to Christmas. Something with a low budget but which once you sit down to watch it is fairly enjoyable once you get past the wooden acting. The Santa in this story reminded me of all the Santas in virtually every cheesy Christmas film.

Although I've not yet found anything else by this author, I would be interested in reading more. I felt like she had a nice style and strong voice in her writing. If you're looking for something a little bit festive for your inner child, I'd give it a go.

I followed this up immediately afterwards with Week 50 of the Reading Challenge: a banned book. I did quite a lot of searching to select the right book, which saw me scanning through lists of banned books from around the world. Ultimately I selected Memoirs of Fanny Hill by John Cleland using my usual criteria for choosing books for the challenge; it was shorter than most of the alternatives.

This book was banned for obscenity when it was originally published. It follows the life of the titular Fanny Hill as she rises through the class ranks whilst working in brothels, all the while hoping to find a man to love. And there's quite a lot of sex.

I was honestly surprised at how explicit this story was, considering when it was written. Apparently Fifty Shades of Grey isn't so original after all!

Despite its length it took me a while to read, mainly because it wasn't really the sort of book I felt I could sit and read in the canteen at work. It's a pretty short story really though, if I'd been reading it somewhere less public and could've saved my blushes, I would've gotten through it a lot quicker.

I did find it a little strange to think it was written by a man. His descriptions of what a woman feels were pretty interesting and there were a few times when I wondered what on earth he was going on about. It was funny in places just because of the way that things were described.

It's probably not the sort of book that I'll reread in the future. I did kind of enjoy it and I'm glad that I did read it because now I can say I've read it Another one I can check off the list of classics.