Special friends coming for dinner tonight ...
Carrot and celery soup with chervil and garlic foam
Smoked eel salad
Sea bass à la meuniere with wilted spinach
Rack of lamb with tomato farci
Cheese (and such cheese!)
Pannacotta with a blueberry kebab
Saturday 28 March 2009
Friday 27 March 2009
Deadlines
This week seems to have been full of deadlines (well, this includes arranging deadlines too). Generally, I subscribe to Douglas Adams's approval of deadlines - he claimed to love the whooshing noise they made as they went by. However, some are harder to dismiss like the marking deadline for a module I'm coordinating for a colleague who's in Australia -- nearly 200 assignments to moderate takes time.
It's also been the deadline for 3rd year students to submit their dissertations - so more marking.
Then my publishers have finally put their foot down and demanded a final date for the text of the book (we agreed on July) - they've been really tolerant until now. [They have produced a chapter as it will look in the final text -- and I think it looks pretty good!]
At least it's the end of term today!
It's also been the deadline for 3rd year students to submit their dissertations - so more marking.
Then my publishers have finally put their foot down and demanded a final date for the text of the book (we agreed on July) - they've been really tolerant until now. [They have produced a chapter as it will look in the final text -- and I think it looks pretty good!]
At least it's the end of term today!
Friday 20 March 2009
ANOTHER WEEK OVER ...
So much going on - and not much of it good.
Father-in-law's funeral was last Tuesday, went as well as these things can and I'm glad to have it over and some semblance of normality returning.
Lots of stuff happening - some that needs time to assimilate --- a dear friend's mother is ill and may have cancer; trying to decide how I'd like to spend the next few year at work --- realising thet the pound:euro exchange rate is now so bad that we may only get to France once this year (and that's only because I was paid for some work in €s) --- worrying about students (their dissertations are due in on Monday) ...
Oh, just lots of stuff!
Father-in-law's funeral was last Tuesday, went as well as these things can and I'm glad to have it over and some semblance of normality returning.
Lots of stuff happening - some that needs time to assimilate --- a dear friend's mother is ill and may have cancer; trying to decide how I'd like to spend the next few year at work --- realising thet the pound:euro exchange rate is now so bad that we may only get to France once this year (and that's only because I was paid for some work in €s) --- worrying about students (their dissertations are due in on Monday) ...
Oh, just lots of stuff!
Sunday 15 March 2009
Not a great week ...
My father-in-law died on Monday morning at the nursing home where he's been for the last 5 years. Mother-in-in law didn't make it in time to be with him, but the nursing staff were (I really like the idea that no-one should die alone). Still not sure how I feel about someone who stops for breakfast before visiting their dying partner.
We got there at about 10:30. This isn't the first dead body I've seen, but it still isn't a very pleasant experience. Ali stayed with her mother for the rest of the week (brother-in-law was on vacation in Canada, and came home on Saturday).
Still, it'll be good to get the formal 'goodbye' said on Tuesday (Meifod church at noon) and I'll soon get over the fact that he was a humanist/atheist and probably wouldn't have approved -- funerals are for the living, after all.
Thanks to all those who have been kind...
We got there at about 10:30. This isn't the first dead body I've seen, but it still isn't a very pleasant experience. Ali stayed with her mother for the rest of the week (brother-in-law was on vacation in Canada, and came home on Saturday).
Still, it'll be good to get the formal 'goodbye' said on Tuesday (Meifod church at noon) and I'll soon get over the fact that he was a humanist/atheist and probably wouldn't have approved -- funerals are for the living, after all.
Thanks to all those who have been kind...
Sunday 8 March 2009
It's been an interesting weekend
On Friday we went (with Jaz & Nicki, dear friends) to a gourmet evening at a very decent restaurant in Hall Green, a Birmingham suburb. 7 courses of remarkable food that made a great start to the weekend - though it was probably the company that really made it great,
Then Saturday -- to Wales. It looks like Ron, my Father-in-law, has probably reached the end of his allotted span - he hasn't eaten much for a while now and it's fairly apparent that he's had another stroke. He seems to be reasonably comfortable or, at least, not in pain and the nursing home is taking good care of him and trying to prepare my Mother-in law for the inevitable. My best guess is that he won't see next weekend. I have a lot to thank Ron for, he taught me how to lay bricks and build dry stone walls. He also introduced me to drinking port. He also taught me - b y example - NOT to drill through live cables! I'll miss him (though I said my real goodbye 5 years ago - dementia is a tough thing for friends and relatives).
Today? Well, I had my hair cut. Put new wipers on Ali's car. Cooked 3 meals (breakfast was OK - scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and dinner wasn't bad: Warm chicken liver salad, rabbit ragout, cheese) did some work - the final year students are at the point where they're really scared about their dissertations. But, just at the moment, I've had enough. I've been supporting a number of people through various difficult times and it just feels like it's too much. Maybe tomorrow will be better, but I'm not counting on it - especially as it starts with a doctors visit!
At least the computer seems to be stable and functional!
Then Saturday -- to Wales. It looks like Ron, my Father-in-law, has probably reached the end of his allotted span - he hasn't eaten much for a while now and it's fairly apparent that he's had another stroke. He seems to be reasonably comfortable or, at least, not in pain and the nursing home is taking good care of him and trying to prepare my Mother-in law for the inevitable. My best guess is that he won't see next weekend. I have a lot to thank Ron for, he taught me how to lay bricks and build dry stone walls. He also introduced me to drinking port. He also taught me - b y example - NOT to drill through live cables! I'll miss him (though I said my real goodbye 5 years ago - dementia is a tough thing for friends and relatives).
Today? Well, I had my hair cut. Put new wipers on Ali's car. Cooked 3 meals (breakfast was OK - scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and dinner wasn't bad: Warm chicken liver salad, rabbit ragout, cheese) did some work - the final year students are at the point where they're really scared about their dissertations. But, just at the moment, I've had enough. I've been supporting a number of people through various difficult times and it just feels like it's too much. Maybe tomorrow will be better, but I'm not counting on it - especially as it starts with a doctors visit!
At least the computer seems to be stable and functional!
Wednesday 4 March 2009
COMPUTERS!
My system at home got hit by a virus (turns out my anti-virus hadn't been updating) and has trashed my desktop PC twice! At least I'm getting good at re-building, and I didn't lose too much data. But it's tedious - to say nothing of trying to find all those installation CDs that you thought you'd never use again. (also interesting to see what you can't get from the Internet -- Epson seem to be specially bad at this).
Anyway, I think the crisis is (probably) over -- I'm living in hope!
It's sunny and cold here today after last night's torrential rain. At least the roads are OK as it looks like we may have to rush off to Wales sometime soon ...
Anyway, I think the crisis is (probably) over -- I'm living in hope!
It's sunny and cold here today after last night's torrential rain. At least the roads are OK as it looks like we may have to rush off to Wales sometime soon ...
Sunday 1 March 2009
A Sunny Weekend
The weather has been unusually clement for the end of February/start of March. The sun has shone and the temperature has reached double-figures.
This weekend, I've finally straightened the edge of the big lawn and put in some permanent edging (a job made a lot more difficult by the fact that some previous owber seems to have buried a lot of masonry underthe edge of the lawn). Never mind, it's finished now. I've also prepared the 'old' vegetable garden for sowing to grass.
Our DTR (Digital Television Recorder) decided to die yesterday and - even though it was 51 weeks old - we managed to get a refund and replace it with something a bit better!
Otherwise, life goes on -- but we'll be in Sète in 5 weeks.
This weekend, I've finally straightened the edge of the big lawn and put in some permanent edging (a job made a lot more difficult by the fact that some previous owber seems to have buried a lot of masonry underthe edge of the lawn). Never mind, it's finished now. I've also prepared the 'old' vegetable garden for sowing to grass.
Our DTR (Digital Television Recorder) decided to die yesterday and - even though it was 51 weeks old - we managed to get a refund and replace it with something a bit better!
Otherwise, life goes on -- but we'll be in Sète in 5 weeks.
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