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A canalside with low buildings on the right and a lock in the distance.

'The dull bit' is a common, but unfair, description so says the guidebook. I'd say it was definitely unfair, unless you are exclusively focused on hills and mountains. This was/will be the shortest and flatest leg of our holiday by some way.

( Picspam under the cut )

Welshpool to Llanymynech: 12m/20km.

ruric

It's been a while since I did one of these.

HOME: still revamping my "Do ALL The Things" list and hoping to make progress - see below.

HEALTH: finished phased return but now working 4 day weeks to 20 August to use up annual leave. Have also booked time off from 20 August to 31st August and may take 1-6 September too - again need to use annual leave (likely to be a week in London and a week in Wales).

LIFE ADMIN: caught up with some forgotten payments and a couple of parking tickets (curse ANPR). Did a credit card switcheroo before expiry of balance transfer offers so all debt is 0% and on track to be paid off. Sinking funds looking good and only major bills upcoming is cat insurance renewal. Sorting pensions on back burner until decluttering done - which should reveal where I stashed all the paperwork!

DIGITAL DECLUTTER: JFC cannot catch a break here! Phone is full - need to look at killing some apps and re ieejng whats burning through my storage space. Emails (2 main1 fan related gmails) went out of control, now a bit more back under control but still apparently subbed to too many lists. Big unsubbing exercise coming. Staying on top of transferring To Keep items from tablet to dropbox.

GARDENING/ALLOTMENTING: Ive done nothing on garden or allotments since late April/early May. Committee have given me a pass on cultivation of allotment as long as I strim/weed/prep for next season which is fair. Back/front gardens plan to tidy by end of August and plant up for winter.

COOKING/EATING: I lived on takeaways the 6 weeks I was off work - no spoons for cooking/food prep. Proving a difficult habit to break but some progress being made.

READING/LISTENING: still readingepic amounts of Heated Rivalry fanfic. Barely scratching the surface and most of what I've read is sooooooo good. I've broken my own rule multiple times and am reading so many WIPs.

WATCHING: caught up on a lot of viewing when off. Up to date on summer shows. Enjoying The Vampire Lestat. Trying not to get involved with new series!

CREATING/LEARNING: have been back to crochet club for last two weeks. Getting close to finishing granny's quare bag projects (small bag and project bag). All square finished just need to join, linebags and create handles.

CATS: all good. They're both being super affectionate at the moment. Cuddles all the time.

VOLUNTEERING: missed the last committee meeting but we're in a low activity phase until September when we have end of season BBQ and start work days again.

SOCIALISING: this was a while back but Steve Carlson came over for his annual West Hampstead UK gig on 27 June so got to hang with

gingerpig and do a bit of crowd and autograph management. Put in a request that he sing one of his old songs "Chloe Bowed Her Head" an all time fave of mine- which he did mid gig. Ta Steve! Stayed overnight with

gingerpig in a perfectly located airbnb and had a fab post gig/full English brekkie Sunday morning before we toddled off on separate journey's home. Was supposed to be meeting Heated Rivalry pals yesterday for a reading event (Tonsil Hockey) alas I picked up a stomach bug from somewhere so stayed home.

WORK: our temp office space is hot but not unbearable, being off for 6 weeks put the wind up everyone so additional support is still happening, allotment software well on the way to being purchased and I have at least 3 people checking that I'm not working late - hold this space!

Super glad to be working a day week this coming week but it will be a busy one - combo of courses, inspections and appeals means I only have Wednesday for admin. So plan to be in the office all week. Friday will be cleaning the flat and crochet club whi h should mean time for the garden and allotment at the weekend.

purplecat

Panorama shot showing mostly dry grass and fencing, but there are patchwork fields beyond and a man to one side trying to consult his phone in the shade of an info-board.

This was a gentler walk than Day 3 and took us along several sections we had walked previously on a group holiday to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary.

( Picspam below the Cut )

Mellington Hall to Buttington Bridge: 13m/21km (Guidebook) with additional diversion to Welshpool 25.52 km (Strava)

purplecat

Rest Day, so have a Random Doctor Who Picture

Cover for the Doctor Who Past Doctor Adventure The Eleventh Tiger by David A. McIntee. The first doctor stands between two Chinese Lions in front of a temple.

Cover for the Doctor Who Past Doctor Adventure The Eleventh Tiger by David A. McIntee. The first doctor stands between two Chinese Lions in front of a temple.

purplecat

A man stands proudly behind a sign that reads The Line Behind is the Exact Border between Wales and England. Please Place your feet in two Separate Countries.

This was pretty confusing since we were heading West at the time but, whatever, borders wiggle.

"This is the toughest part of the whole route" warned the guidebook ominously, speaking of the path going "against the grain" of the countryside. It was honestly not too bad until just past the halfway point, but then there were a series of steep ups followed by steep downs. We looked enviously at various side paths that zig-zagged in a sensible way up and down the hills but the Dyke went straight across in the manner of a Roman road and so, so did we. Strava has congratulated me on my longest day walking, despite having definitely walked further in terms of mileage in the past.

Anyway, we are now ensconced in a fancy room* in a fancy hotel with rubbish internet. We have a rest day tomorrow where our plans amount to walking to the nearby village/town to buy B. a new hat (having left his in a Thai restaurant in Kington) and see if we can find good enough internet for "Family Zoom".

( Not much picspam below the cut because I stopped taking photos when we hit the relentless up and down. )
* B thinks I booked the Bridal Suite - we certainly have a four-poster prominently in the centre of the room and a jacuzzi bath.

Knighton to Mellington Hall: 14m/22.6km (Guidebook) 26.45km (Strava)

purplecat

A view over countryside consisting of a patchwork of fields

Today was more challenging. It was hotter, or at least felt hotter, and I was concerned enough to be rationing my water supply. Theoretically it was a shorter distance, but we got lost a couple of times in a golf course and one stretch of path was so covered in bracken and low trees that we ended up taking a detour so Strava, at least, things we walked a mile further than the official distance. We saw a lot of the actual dyke though.

( Picspam of Offa's Dyke )

Kington to Knighton: 13.5 miles/21.7 km according to the guidebook 23.16km according to Strava.

purplecat

A man stands on a rolling hilltop, a landscape of fields beyond.

Having, for reasons documented elsewhere, had to cancel the first three days of our planned walk of Offa's Dyke, we set of this morning from Hay-on-Wye (where we did not buy books because our luggage was quite close to the limit allowed by the baggage transfer company).

( Picspam under the cut )

Hay-on-Wye to Kington: 14.75 miles/23.6km

purplecat

View of a low rocky hillside with many squarish holes in it.

I mentioned in my Sightseeing in Cyprus post that I thought the Tombs of the Kings were worth a post in their own right. This is a sprawling necropolis that was in use from the 4th century BC to the 3rd century AD. The Brasilian with the car dropped me and the other Brasilian off to view it while he went to forage for fresh olive oil, saying he'd seen it before on a previous visit to Cyprus and no kings were involved. He afterwards did admit that it was pretty impressive, lack of actual kings notwithstanding, but that acquiring fresh olive oil was a priority. Some of the tombs were labelled and numbered, but we never established to our satisfaction if we'd explored them all - there were at least 8 across a large site - and many others that were just holes in the rock.

( Picspam below the cut )

pensnest

Spent the weekend at chorus rehearsals, being coached on how to improve the impact of our contest package. Hard work, but very satisfying! And not *too* hot. I found my left ankle getting cramp yesterday evening, so that my foot was rising towards my shin unless I kept it down. Most unpleasant.

Today I had my diabetic eye check, in another new location, the surgery in a village a little to the east of us. Very efficiently done, the chap put the evil drops in my eyes with dispatch, and took the pics very quickly as well.

Vegged, this afternoon. Speaking of veg, there is now a hosepipe ban. For the moment I am filling watering cans from the water butts—we have four, but I have been using them for the tomatoes (on the patio) and the indoor plants for several weeks and they have not been replenished for a good while. The sweetcorn is looking promising, three bean plants have at last decided to grow, the courgettes have provided us with delicious little finger-sized fruits for several days now, and the raspberries are waiting to be picked for breakfast. The rhubarb is weirdly thin and spindly this year, and I don't think the kale is going to work out. Is it too late to sow more, do you think?

ruric

Last week was in theory 2x0.5 days and one full day. I say in theory because Thursday ended up being the kind of day where I ended up pulling an all nighter - but I did have a 3 day weekend to recover!

All things considered its going well - additional support is still there - I've wrestled the inbox down to 200 emails - though things are going a bit slower as I'm now working through the more thorny issues no-one could deal with while I was off. Alas I only have 2x0.5 days to deal with admin this week, as this morning, Thursday morning and Friday morning as are all site inspections.

But it feels OK and I'll be setting aside some dedicated days for admin clearance and work digital decluttering from August through to December.

Ridiculously I still have 20 days annual leave which I'm supposed to take by the end of August so obviously that isn't happening!!

However I'll be taking every Friday from next week off, and I've booked time off at the end of August. Which means I'll have 10 days left. We can carry over 5 with no issue and in the past they've agreed to 10 in special circumstances so I'm hoping to get that signed off. If not I can sell the extra 5 back - but Id rather carry them over - though that does mean I'll end up with something like 40 or 45 days leave (including public hols) for the next 12 months. That's an issue for future Ruric. :o)

Friday's off mean a return to crochet club and I went to my first session for ages last week and the week before. Made significant progress on one outstanding project so feel happy about that.

Because this week is still phased return I have tomorrow and Wednesday off. Current plans are: tidy front garden, tip run, continue with sorting bedroom, tackle the allotment for a few hours early Weds morning and do a giant load of washing at the ex's on Weds afternoon.

It's still hot as balls here - 29-31C but it feels a tiny bit less brutal - as we've had some breezes and the humidity has dropped a bit.

On the casa chaotica front tidying is taking longer than expected because HEAT but I am plodding along slowly.

This evening will be an episode or 2 of TV, making some healthy food and I still have a couple of hours of work to do (left the office early because it was too hot).

purplecat

Cover for the Target novelisation of The Leisure Hive by David Fisher. The leisure hive building - a central spikey think with seven prongs and more spikey buildings at the end. Behind Pangol and a Foamasi.

catness

Title: Ghost of Pokémon Go
Fandom: Pokémon Go
Characters/Pairings: an original character
Rating: G
Word Count: 600
Summary: A glimpse into the life of a mysterious player, whose personality and habits are revealed through his gameplay style and digital traces.
Notes: Coursera Writing Course, a gift that keeps on giving ;)
Disclaimer: While the vibe and style of the username and in-game locations were inspired by a real person, the exact names themselves are completely made up by me. They don't belong to any real-world players, active gamertags, or actual places.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: nostalgic

purplecat

Looking down into a the remains of a stone hut in a sand dune. A stone dresser is prominent against one wall. Sea beyond.

Skara Brae

catness

Title: The Unaccounted Variable
Fandom: The Locked Tomb
Characters/Pairings: Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Gideon Nav, an original character
Rating: G
Word Count: 400
Summary: Harrow and Gideon meet a Lyctor who is sent to Canaan House to oversee the competition.
Notes: Yippee! my writing course assignment literally asked for FANFICTION! Specifically, a scene between 2 canon characters and one original character. We aim to please XD It's my first attempt ever at a Locked Tomb fanfic. Pity that the word count limit didn't let me explore what happens next... yet.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: silly

silverflight8

I apparently live in a place where there are are a lot of indoor/outdoor cats. I'm not quite sure why I see so many cats. I guess there are just a lot of people with indoor/outdoor cats here (oof - mixed feelings). I live in an apartment with no yard (the building itself occupies the yard) but since I live on the second floor, I look out over multiple neighbours' yards. I love this. I look at my yard constantly when I am home. First thing in the morning, all day if I work from home, with my desk set up so I look out, one last time before bed - primarily for birding and just general enjoyment of the outdoors but, increasingly in the last few months, also for cats. I guess I am outside all the time because I walk to and from the train station, I bird all the time, plus I play ingress, I get groceries on foot, etc. Also okay yes I do randomly pspsps on the street sometimes. I see so many that my friend suggested I start a bingo of cats.

Here is a list:

Calico cat, mostly white with scattered orange and tabby spots - Jenny - very friendly, learned her name via tag and also a poster on the street
Big plush grey cat - no idea, often plopped in the yard now
Big fluffy orange cat - probably lives down the street - this cat I have seen for the longest but have no idea who he is
Small white cat with tabby on head & raccoon tail - Luna, owned by the convenience store
White-and-orange, orange saddle - Noisy
Fluffy tabby-and-white, very thin with age, now deceased - Sarah (learned her name bc she only hung out right by her home and I actually talked to the humans who lived there on occasion). She lived till 18!!! but I miss her and when I pass by her place I still reflexively look for her under the bush she liked. I petted her so many times because she would trot to the pavement and let you admire her.
Fluffy large black cat - probably lives near park
Tabby with white paws and white sliver on back - new, I only started seeing them a week or two ago
Dilute tortie/calico - new within a few months, don't know name

This is Jenny:

This picture is so cute I could die

This is how I learned Noisy's name, though I actually saw Noisy after the poster was put up:

But yeah a few days ago I went to get groceries and as I was walking by I distinctly saw Noisy disappear into someone's yard.

Then there are the cats in windows:

Ollie & Luna, the asymmetric and symmetric tuxies in the window (also learned from talking to the neighbour)
A nondynamic duo of a tortie and a tabby tuxie, always sleeping in a bed in the window
White-and-orange shorthair cat, plopped in the window

I have no conclusion for this entry. CATS. (Please keep your cat indoors!)

catness

Killing 3 birds with one stone. (Not really, no birds were harmed :) A writing assignment for Coursera, a game development assignment for Coursera, and a submission to Creative Court on DW.

Author/Team: Catness/Winter
Title: Escape Directive
Fandom: n/a (it's a background story for my own video game, the playthrough video is included)
Characters/Pairings: n/a
Rating: G
Word Count: 833
Summary: A corporate cleanup android enters a sealed disaster zone to erase the evidence, but finds something that changes her purpose forever.

( click here to read )

Member/Team: Catness/Winter
Number and Type of Works: 1 video
Warnings/Spoilers: It's a full playthrough of my game (which only has 1 level so far), so technically, it's all spoilers...

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: working

Friends

Offa's Dyke Day 5: Welshpool to Llanymynech

Week 29ish/52

Offa's Dyke Day 4: Mellington Hall to Welshpool

Random Doctor Who Picture

Offa's Dyke Day 3: Knighton to Mellington Hall

Offa's Dyke Day 2: Kington to Knighton

Offa's Dyke Day 1: Hay-on-Wye to Kingon

Tombs of the Kings

got a lot farther by working a lot harder

Return to work week 2 and into week 3

Random Doctor Who Picture

Ghost of Pokémon Go

More Orkney (AKA Random Neolithic Stones on a Friday)

The Unaccounted Variable

a list of cats I see around

Escape Directive

Profile

Welcome!

November 2012

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