Cauliflower

I wish that some bright spark hadn't thought of cauliflower "rice", and it subsequently has become a "thing".
Before it was dreamed of, there used to be a time in the year when cauliflowers came very cheap, due to the seasonal glut.  But no longer.....the buggers just make the glut into fake rice, I suspect.
I can only hope that it's just a fleeting fad.
In case you haven't guessed, cauliflower is possibly my favourite vegetable.

Prevarication is the thief of time.

So....Almost a year ago my distant cousin, Julie, sent me a book titled Knit your own Zoo.
She put on the gift tag, "I'd like a giraffe", or similar words.
I knitted all the pieces, using Ricorumi cotton yarn. (Made for toy making,).
However, when I have started to assemble the giraffe, I have become disheartened, as the stuffing is showing through. So, I have been putting off assembling it. I hate it when something like that happens.
I even crocheted a four foot square blanket rather than assemble. (I'm not a wizard, it was chunky yarn....took me the days.)
And I am even writing about putting it off in preference to assembling.
Get on with it woman, I hear you shout.....OK, I will.
But how can a tiny thing take so long?
Oh, and I knitted a beret for myself as well.

Right......time to sew a giraffe together.

At long last

I'm not entirely sure if I posted about this before, but I have applied for PIP, (personal independence payment,) .
This time was my fourth application, and at long last I have got it. When you're dealing with several chronic health conditions things can be difficult.
It doesn't mean that I will be able to live "the life of Riley", but it does mean that things will be a little easier for me.
Now I just need to hear back from the Visa/Mastercard people, and things should be looking much better.

The kid who said "Wow".

I think that it might start a trend.
The kid who said Wow at the end of a performance is not the first child to be taken to a classical performance, and won't be the last.
I hope that children don't start doing it at the end of every performance.
As I said, it's not rare. As a child I was a brass band kid....in that dad played in a brass band, and back then the band would go to competitions, and performances on a coach, families included....so we would often be part of the audience. We knew to behave.
I took my daughter, when she was about 7 and a half to a performance by Evelyn Glennie. She wiggled about, wanting to see the performance better, it was in a flat hall, and the people behind us told her to stand on her chair. She stood on her chair almost hypnotised by the speed of Evelyn Glennie's hands. She climbed down and whispered in my ear, "she's got nothing on her feet,Mum".  I knew this, as that's how she listens to the music, being profoundly deaf.
I was lucky enough to see Ms Glennie again with my elder son in Liverpool. She's extremely entertaining.

The hydrotherapy session that never was.

I am beginning to wonder if I will ever get to hydrotherapy.
I was referred by the podiatrist before Xmas, there is a waiting list, so I had to wait.
The first one I had to cancel because I had a streaming cold, and it had affected my asthma. (The letter they send with your appointment states not to attend if you have any of four conditions.)
Roll forwards to mid March, I got a chest infection, so had to cancel again, as that is one of the "no,no's......so, it was rearranged for today.
So....here I am costume, towel, shampoo at the ready.....the phone rings.....it's the booking service...the physiotherapist who takes the session is ill, so today is cancelled.
As the sessions are held in the pool at the local special needs school, there's none for the next two weeks, due to the school being closed over the Easter holiday.
I wonder........will hydrotherapy ever happen.......meanwhile....I'm off for a soak in the bath. 😂

MPs

Not Military Police, Members of Parliament.
They are elected to represent the interests of their constituents. However, it is only on TV, and in the minds of script writers that "landslide" victories occur.
 There is always a section of the electorate who vote for one of the other candidates, and some don't even bother to vote.
So, in an ideal world, the elected MP would consider ALL their constituents before making a choice in a vote, and it is naive in the extreme to think that they will always follow the wishes of the section of their constituents who voted for them.  They should consider the other constituents, especially if they wish to keep their position in the next election.

Wanting a simpler life

Every now and again I think that I would like to live in a much simpler time, and, or, place.
Before I started reluctantly collecting health problems I wanted to live on Skye, it's such a beautiful island. So peaceful and quiet.
However, now I am less physically able to do certain things, perhaps somewhere in the Scottish borders would be more sensible, but I would love to be near the sea still, or maybe certain places in Wales.
It's all just a dream though, as I am in no position to make it happen.
Maybe one day, who knows?

RIP tricycle

Three and a bit weeks ago my tricycle died.
It started by dropping the chain, so I ended up walking more than cycling. Then on the 13th of February, I set off to go somewhere. I thought that the chain had dropped off, again!.....but no, the gear assembly had come adrift, and after around 25 miles, my tricycle is no longer operable.
I am more than a bit unhappy about this. I ended up walking further than I can, and consequently have ended up back on my crutches, as I did something to my foot that means it hurts to walk with just a pair of sticks.
The vendor has briefly replied to my email, asking me to wait. But that's three weeks ago. I don't want it repaired, or replaced. I just want a refund of my money, as the tricycle is not fit for purpose. C
If they don't reply soon, I am going to leave extremely negative feedback on eBay, plus I bought with my visa card, so I might involve them. I really hope that I don't have to resort to that though.
As well as being angry, and hurt, I am sad that the tiny bit of freedom I thought that I had has been taken away from me.

Random acts of kindness

Last week there was a "Random Acts of Kindness" day. (RAK day)
At the weekend, one of the radio stations was encouraging listeners to ring in and describe their own RAK.
I have a few problems with this, and what I heard on the radio.
But.......before you jump down my throat telling me that RAK are a good thing, yes, I know that they are, but the radio phone in was all wrong.
RAK were originally supposed to be anonymous, with the act making the recipient smile. I have carried out RAK in the past, I won't say who, or what, etc.
But asking people to ring in and tell about their RAK, to me takes away from the act, in my eyes.
Another problem I had was people were saying that they did X for family member Y, and so on, but to me, it's natural to be kind to your family members.
Another facet of the original idea was to make a random stranger's day by your act.....not one person rang in udescribing their act to a stranger.
Being kind to others comes normal to less and less people, which is a shame, as the world we live in is becoming increasingly harsh, which is a great pity.

Colour of the year?

Every year, someone picks the "colour of the year".  It's Pantone who pick this colour. Not entirely sure who gave them the licence to pick the colour, but they do, and fashionistas all over the globe slavishly use the COLOUR in, interior design, furniture, housewares and clothing.
I have possibly missed something out, as I am not a follower of fashion, I do my own thing.
But there are people with more money than sense who will keep the colour at the forefront of their minds when choosing clothing, etc.
I don't blame Pantone, after all we live in a materialistic society, where money drives everything else, often at the cost of happiness, health and peace of mind.
Some people HAVE to have items in the colour of the year, which creates a market for them.  My question is, what happens to the things that are the "wrong" colour? And isn't there something wrong with a society where furnishings are bought because they are "this season/year's colour/design" and the existing furnishings are deemed unfashionable?
Love it or hate it.....and quite frankly, clothingwise living coral does nothing for me, it's a pretty colour this year, but having everything in this year's colour would be weird. Like living inside a body, or something.
If the colour had been chosen in order to help raise money for a related cause, I could get behind some random group of people choosing an annual colour.
Imagine how much money could be raised for the upkeep of the world's actual living coral if just say 5% of each branded sale was donated to a global organisation caring for coral reefs around the globe.
Anyway, if you want to know more about this colour......that only looks best underwater, surrounded by tropical fish.....here's a link to Pantone.

New superpowers......probably?

So, as the years roll by more and more things that were once taken for granted are disappearing from every day usage.
I wonder if you can add any to this list?
Common sense is fast dying out, you only need to pick up a pack of peanuts, turn them over, and there it is......MAY CONTAIN NUTS! It's a packet of peanuts, what else do you expect?
The next two go hand in hand, for me. These are courtesy and good manners.
Yesterday, I was having a hobble to Morons, using crutches, when a young man was walking towards me.  We were both on the same line of walking, and if neither of us took evasive action, we would have collided.
Now, when I was his age I would automatically have walked around the person, (me,) for two reasons....1) being younger than them, and 2) more mobile......did this young man walk around me? Well, yes, eventually, but he gave me a filthy look.......unfortunately I can't change direction easily any longer, due to my ankle/foot, osteoarthritis and sometimes my spinal stenosis can affect my mobility.  I would have thought that elbow crutches are pretty noticeable......perhaps I should have a large sign printed stating that my crutches, or sticks, are not an affectation, but are actual tools/aids that help me get around, and without them I can't walk so far.
So....common courtesy and good manners are also dying out.
Can you suggest anything that used to be almost automatic and no longer is in every day use?

Fitness trackers

Yes, I'm going to mull over fitness trackers. As many jobs become sedentary, and lifestyles do, the health service, at least in the UK, have become concerned that people are not getting enough exercise. Shortly after this, fitness trackers started popping up for sale.
I'm not against them, used properly.  They are meant to keep track of your activities throughout the day.  The people who bought them, who already kept themselves fit, in whatever way are not the focus of this post. That's because they were already keeping fit, and I believe that the more expensive fitness trackers record heart rate and periods of in activity, etc.
It's the cheaper ones that just count steps, and let the wearer know how many calories they have burned that I have a problem with. The cheaper ones tend to react to any motion of the arm, so if the wearer waved enthusiastically to attract the attention of someone, it would record activity and calories burned that weren't actually used.  Recently the researchers have found that fitness trackers can be inaccurate.  I could have told them that, and saved them the research money for something more important.
Here's my take on fitness trackers. You find that it's usually people who think that they should keep fit who buy them, and they are constantly watching how many steps they have done. Look.....just walk short distances instead of going in the car, don't have endless email conversations with work colleagues, go and discuss the subject with them if a single email doesn't sort the matter out. 
Using technology to track fitness isn't the answer, taking a break from technology is a saner answer.
Also, wearing a fitness tracker won't make you fit, actually doing some exercise, even if it's just walking will make you fitter.
By the way, I'm not completely against them. I have a friend who has angina, and she keeps herself fit by walking, cycling and dancing, plus her job is very physical.  Her fitness tracker keeps track of her heart rate and I believe that it has an alarm that she can set in case her heart is in danger of an angina attack, which I think is good use of the tracker.

Beware, they walk amongst us.

I have heard a the Darwin Awards, and even have a book about it, but today I encountered two people who might be candidates in the future.
I'll set the scene for the first. I was walking/hobbling, (still using the crutches,) down the street, and there were some guys working around a hole in the road, they had a pump going, that looked like it was losing the battle with the water in the hole. At first, I thought it was the water authority, due to the water around, but I noticed that one of the vans had northwest electricity on it. I just commented that it didn't look great, and the guy said that they had been forced to switch the power off in the immediate area. I went on my way. Further down the street I saw one of the shopkeepers, she was letting people know, as the hole was right next to her shop. Then one of the other people who was around, trying to find out what was going on complained that she'd just got in and wanted a brew.....she wondered why they couldn't switch it on so she could have a brew!  (Obviously doesn't know that electricity and water are a bad mix, to put it mildly.
The second was a pair of women in Aldi, I overheard them questioning rhetorically why strawberries are so expensive at the moment?   I had to move past as quickly as I could, before I started laughing.  It's not as if where I live is in the centre of a huge city. They must have seen fruit and veg growing, if not locally, on TV shows.  Have these people not heard about growing seasons, and know that it costs money to have soft fruits imported from other countries?
Oh well, I guess that sooner, or later, they might become Darwin Award winners.

Poof.....wheeze, wheeze.....and it's dead.

Before you get worried, this is about an inanimate object.  One that we almost all have in our house, and we all take for granted, yet I don't think that many people replace the one they have on a whim.
I mean, I wouldn't, but I have heard of people who replace the small electrical items in their kitchen, just because they have new units, new cooker, etc, etc.
I wouldn't do that. When I moved in here the only kitchen appliance I had, large, or small, was a fridge, so I indulged myself and bought all green appliances, and painted the walls a bright sunshine yellow.  Through the years the small green appliances have gone their way, my green range cooker the only thing that is still there.
But it wasn't my cooker that made funny noises, it was the kettle.
I put some water in it, and went to do something in another room as it boiled, pick up my mug I think. I heard a poof, then another strange noise, I went to the kitchen and it was sat there wheezing. The strange thing is, I let it cool and tried it again. The light that shows that the kettle has been switched on is showing orange, so I am not entirely sure what is wrong with it.
I'm not too bothered though, as I have a stove top kettle.
I'm pretty sure that there might be an old kettle in the cellar. (One that I thought had stopped working, but it turned out that it was just the fuse.....so I kept it.)
You probably think that this is a fuss about nothing, but us British like their cups of tea.

Interesting conversation

As I went out for a hobble this afternoon, I met a man who I have known for a while, no idea what his name is, but just over twelve months ago his wife and kids came to join him.  He's from one of the north African countries. (I know that it's not Egypt or Algeria.)
That aside, what he said truly hit home. 
World leaders are all about prosperity of their country, and although they have environment summits, it's all words.
Until the world, as a whole, starts putting the environment first things will get worse. It won't matter how much money people earn, if there's no food to buy.
We need to do everything we can to stop global warming.  Politicians in global meetings can't do anything tangible. The action needs to be made at grassroots level.
You might not think that your bit of environmentally friendly action helps,  but if we all do our bit....maybe...just maybe....we can do it.
Yeah! And the creepy politicians will try to take the credit.

"Celebrity" crusades

I believe that certain celebrities are taking exception to telling their kids fairy tales, and letting them watch Disney films of the fairy tales.
At first this seems like a good idea. Their, the celebrities, argument is that the female lead characters have unrealistic ideals. But....that's because through the years the original stories have been softened in order to be more child friendly.
Hans Christian Andersen and the brothers Grimm collected folk tales and made them child friendly, although I believe that the Little Mermaid was Andersen's own story.
If you read the the folk tales that today's fairy tales are based on, you'll find much darker tales.
Cinderella, for instance, has several tales that it was developed from. Some of the tales are quite violent in places. They were usually told around the fire at night, after the evening meal, and before turning in for the night. Normally shared by mainly adult audiences.

If the Hollywood celebrities read the original tales, they might change their minds.
Also, it might be more useful to teach their children the difference between fact and fiction, but maybe people who make a living out of being someone else have lost understanding of the difference between fact and fiction themselves?

Just grr

Since my Dad died in February 2012, I have rung Mum most evenings, unless she's been out, or on holiday, or on the rare occasion that I have been out. Been out tonight, but haven't phoned, as Mum got me very cross when we last spoke.
I won't go into what she got me cross about, other than it is something that is in the past, which can not be changed. I can see that you can't change the past, you have to learn to accept whatever is past, and if you don't like it, learn to accept it and learn how to grow from that point on. Life goes on.

Be wary of the Ritalin ranter

As you probably know, I like to have a hobble along the prom.
It's peaceful there if you sit and watch the sea, and the sea wall blocks most of the traffic noise, apart from at peak times. In the evenings it's very peaceful, when it's warm enough, and watching the sea, seabirds and the kite surfers/windsurfers is calming.
However, I went down last week just wanting a short breather, and to watch the sunset when I met up with the Ritalin ranter. If you live here, and have encountered him, you'll know exactly who I mean.
This guy only has one topic, oh and he's the one person who watches the televised parliament.
He's convinced that he was "spiked" with R, (as I am going to refer to it from now on,) as a child at a very good school.....as the jokes go.....you know, an approved one.
His son was also put on it, and he thinks that it dulled him, no, his son was out of control and found  to have ADHD....or whatever the initials are
He's a total conspiracy theorist.  His conspiracy that he's convinced with is that the government have known all along how bad for people it is.  The funny thing is, that he doesn't mention the fact that R can cause heart problems.
At one point the Ritalin ranter walked around with earphones in, and blanked people he knew. Perhaps he was listening to the parliamentary goings on via his earphones. I wish that he was still doing that.
He really spoiled my chilling out time.
There is a good chance that I can avoid him from now on, as he has a dog, not a little one either....so if I spot the dog.....no....not that Spot.....I'll do my best to avoid him.

Grey Day

Just a short one today.
Don't you just hate grey days?
You know, those where the sun struggles to make a dint in the thick clouds, but it doesn't rain.
At least it was bright enough to make it less grey outside the house.

Robots, or not?

I remember in the late 60s, early 70s, there was a programme on TV called Tomorrow's World.  They were predicting that in the future everyone would have robots around the house.
At first glance, they were miles off, but if you look again, some people are slowly turning into partial robots.
What on earth does she mean? I hear you say.
Years ago if someone walked down the street seemingly talking to themselves, you would be right to assume that they weren't talking to you, or anyone in particular.  Plus if they started shouting, it was a safe bet that they unfortunately had Tourettes. 
Now, if you see people walking down the street talking, it's not to themselves, or at least 99 times out of 100, it isn't.
Or, you walk past someone you know, and they blank you, because they haven't heard you due to the music playing straight into their ears.
Or, they're glued to their mobile phone and have no idea you're trying to talk to them.
Sometimes, the only way to gain their attention is to give them a call, send them a text.

So, we have people turning into robots as we watch. Not quite what Tomorrow's World had in mind, but if you look at it from a tangential point of view, the robots are there, and some of them are part of your family as predicted.

Insomnia

Well, had to start taking my "rescue"pack as my peak flow has been consistently lower than the threshold of when to start it. Pretty sure that I have a chest infection. Unfortunately, because I decided to have a lazy Sunday, watching TV and knitting, I haven't made myself tired.
So, at gone three o'clock in the morning, I am writing this blog post. Bit annoyed with myself really, as Oliver is here, he's come down to see the dentist, but he's not an early riser so I might get away with not getting up to early.
I've tried having a milky drink, but it doesn't seem to have worked.

Soup, beautiful soup!

Well, it might not be, but that's what I did today. It was supposed to be a fairly quick make. Roast the veg with some garlic, ground cumin and ground coriander. Throw it in a pan, add stock, bring to the boil, then blitz with my blender.
That was the theory.
But.....I used swede as part of the soup......note to self, next time chop the swede up into smaller chunks.  It took ages to get it soft, so a fast soup took up an incredible amount of time, almost three times as long.
Oh well, you live and learn.

Bitterly cold

This January has started off bitterly cold, but I can't let the cold get in the way of things.
One thing that I want to try this year is needle felting. With this in mind, and after looking online for prices of things, I decided that a hobble down to the market for a piece of dense foam was a good idea, as the mats are just foam, or bristle. The foam ones are quite expensive for what is a small piece of foam.
£3 for a 12 inch square, 3 inch deep piece.
I do need to get other things, but until I can go to Preston, I won't be getting them. (I have £25 in vouchers for Abakhan, the nearest is Preston, but the vouchers are to be used in the shop only, as I no longer have a car, and couldn't drive it if I had one, I have to wait until a kind friend is going and asks me along.)
Then on to the meat stall, a bag of bacon bits, don't mind if I do. £3.50 for 5 pound in weight.
Then a gentle hobble back along home on the seaward side of the sea wall. Tide out, and the sea very calm.

Tricycle "adventure"

Mum gave me cash for Yule, and as I'd sold my car I bought myself a tricycle to keep me semi-mobile for the time being.
Due to recent surgery I can't put pressure on my left ankle.
I had some paperwork that needed to be somewhere.
Who knew that riding a tricycle could be so challenging?
I won't say that I am comfortable with it yet, but I am working on it.
Until then I suppose riding up and down the prom will be me, until I am completely comfortable.
By the way, I got the paperwork where it needed to be.

Looking forward into 2019

Looking forward into 2019, I need to set myself some goals.

The first is master my tricycle. It's years since I even road a bicycle, as since the accident that damaged my left ankle, causing my foot to collapse, I have not felt secure enough to ride and bicycle. Also, as I had to sell my car, a couple of good reasons that I won't go into here, I need some form of getting around that is low impact. Today when I tried to ride my tricycle I was like a little kid, without much control. So that's a work in progress. I don't want to race, or anything like that, I just want to get around.

The second is to keep my container garden tidy, as possible.

Third, read, of course. Again, I think that I should read at least one classic, and at least one translated from another language. I also think that I should read, Early Riser, the three Shannara Chronicles that I have, The Book of Dust, and Undying. Maybe a book that takes me out of my "comfort zone".

Fourth, complete at least four of the OU, Open Learn courses.

Fifth, not to be on the last minute with Yule presents, especially when I decide to make them.

Sixth, and last, as there's plenty of goals here. Try to get back to tutoring, but that's something that I can only do so much towards.