Inchworm.

To try to make myself feel better (see last post!) I've just been watching one of my favourite programs, The Muppet Show, and I came across this gem. It has to be one of my most beloved pieces from the show.


Inchworm

(Chorus)
Two and two are four
Four and four are eight
Eight and eight are sixteen
Sixteen and sixteen are thirty-two

Inchworm, inchworm
Measuring the marigold
You and your arithmatic
You'll probably go far

Inchworm, inchworm
Measuring the marigold
Seems to me you'd stop and see
How beautiful they are


The lyrics don't do it justice though. Such a simple song and yet it gives me shivers every time I hear it:

Here, watch the Muppet Danny Kay version in all it's glory:

Gah!

I am an IDIOT. Certifiable. You’d think I’d learn wouldn’t you? I know my body, I know its limits, I know its quirks and its quibbles, and yet I ignore all the warning signs for what?

All this last week I’ve been battling a cold. Now, I know that the best thing for me when in the middle of a cold is lots of rest and relaxation. Most of the time I am good and obey this rule and come out of it quite cleanly with only a few days of foulness to deal with. But when I don’t, then I can often find myself completely bed-ridden for days with a nasty fever and wracking cough – you know the kind I mean? The type that makes it feel like you’re hammering a spike into your head every time you splutter? Yeah, one of those.

So, what have I been doing every day this week? Walking to and from work in the cold and the wind (45mins each way) and spending 8 hours concentrating. And Friday, warning of all warnings, I was falling asleep at my computer – literally! I had something like six cups of coffee and I still wasn’t staying awake. But did I go home early? No, I battled on.

And even with all that, did I take it easy? Did I rest? Today what did I do? Get up early and go shopping, is what! Stupid, Stupid girl.

I got halfway to the shops and the shakes started. I ignored them, got some chocolate and a coffee and kept going. The cough became the spike-hammering kind half-way to Sainsburys but I went and did the food shop anyway.

Now the shakes won’t stop, the cough has settled in and I feel so rotten I want to cry. And Bonus: I have a fever.

And I am supposed to be starting NaNo tomorrow. Oh what a complete and utter, utter, utter, utter Idiot am I. Someone hit me will you? I assure you, the punch you give me will feel better than my head does right now.

Sleep, I implore you, come and take me away from my stupid self.

Two sleeps 'till NaNo!

Not nearly ready enough this year. I'm blaming a wicked cold but in reality I'm not so organised this year as I have been in the past... flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants may yet be required!

Wish me luck!

:)

No Cornish Pastie from Cornwall... :(

Today for work we had to go out to one of our sites and stake out a piece of land which is going to be sold off. GPS and measuring tape and stakes and yellow paint and huge mallet and wet weather gear in hand, we drove down to Falmouth to meet our contact. This was my first trip into Cornwall, despite living on the very border of the place, and I was looking forward to seeing the place which all Devonians make fun of and all Cornwellians believe is superior to England (they don't believe they are English). Two hours of beautiful countryside later, I was well impressed. The site was fun too - something that had been constructed for the second world war and no longer required, it was a tad overgrown and we waded our way through wet grass that was longer than our stakes were high - so trying to get a true line between points was a tad difficult, but we managed in the end. But I didn't get to taste a Cornish Pastie! They are apparently the best in England and highly recommended, but we couldn't find a place to buy them from. Ah well, next time perhaps.

Freezing Kneecaps

The water sheeted down yesterday. And whilst I was relatively dry due to my purchase of a knee-length raincoat (which is so thoroughly saturated, it's still wet 24hrs later!), my knees got a good soaking. And with a freezing wind whipping around me at 50km/hr that meant bloodly cold knee caps and soaked trousers. I changed my trousers when I got home to find my knees were red raw. It is COLD people!

JVC

I went to an interesting pub this evening. A new friend suggested I go along to the open mic night at this place. It wasn't a bad pub but the stand out was unfortunately the buck's party of wanna-be sailors who turned up just ahead of me. All dressed in white and most wearing only a singlet with lashings of coconut oil... they kind of stank. They were into getting smashed so fortunately only stayed a short while but in that time they made a lot of noise. The music during and afterward was quite palatable though so all good. Another experience I never expected to have but enjoyed. Having no expectations really is the best way to enjoy life I think.

STONEHENGE!!!

Well, I didn't actually get up and personal with it but I saw it. I took loads and loads of pictures from over the fence and as we were driving past, so I have a record of the visit, but one day I'd like to actually go in and see it up close.

The reason I was there was that we had a meeting outside Salisbury and as it is a 3.5 hr drive from Plymouth to Salisbury, we stayed overnight in the town. Andy was kind enough to take me to see the famous rocks en route to our meeting. And so I saw Stonehenge. Very impressive.

Salisbury is a very atmospheric place actually. The place we stayed at was the Pembroke Arms, and out our window we could see Wilton House I believe, which is the main seat of the Earl of Pembroke. The hotel used to be part of the (very large) stables of the estate, and is very old too. The door to my room was not quite square having sunk on one side, and if I'd been two inches taller I'd have hit my head on it.

Some of the people from the Salisbury office came out and took us on a tour of the town so I got to see Salisbury Cathedral by night, which was very fine. I wish I'd been able to see it in daylight actually, it was quite beautiful. And then they took us on a ghost tour. :) The ghosts are not inimical - one plays the piano, another is a maid who tidies up, and there is a poltergeist who re-arranged the china displays in the windows. Quite interesting.

We then went for a drink in a pub called "The Haunch of Venison" where they have a glass case enclosing the remains of someone's hand - it was apparently cut off for stealing or something during the 16 or 1700's and then re-discovered when the pub was renovated. Nice.

We then toured some more - there are some amazing old buildings around the place, of Tudor age I think, sinking their way gracefully into decay - and finished the night in a second pub called the New Inn which had beams low enough that even I would hit my head if I wasn't careful - very cosy and very cool.

And very atmospheric. Lovely town Salisbury. And lovely Stonehenge.

Knocking Pipes

My pipes creak!

I have never experienced this phenomenon before. I've heard of it, and read about it in novels, and seen it on TV. And from one memorable episode of red dwarf, I laughed my head off about it. But I've never witnessed it.

This is an older house so when I moved in I was expecting the usual creeks and groans. There are also 12 people living here (finally established the actual number) so I kind of expected strange noises to be happening and didn't really think much on those I did hear. There were a couple of regular one's I noticed in passing but didn't really pay attention to; there was a fairly persistent knocking sound that I thought was probably something loose somewhere and a door-closing recurring creak that puzzled me. But I never thought they were coming from my room. But so they are!

Today for the first time, I noticed that the heating element / radiator things were on finally. I went over to mine to get warm and then heard the knocking I'd been hearing coming from beside the radiator. And the noise that sounds like a door is gradually creaking shut is the radiator itself.

So I have talking pipes! How very cool. And how very annoying!

Wrathing Fantastic

In my first theatrical outing in my new home town I saw 'The Grapes of Wrath' at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth.

It was really good. The cast was simply amazing, including Christopher Timothy (who played James Harriot in All Creatures Great and Small), Sorcha Cusack and Oliver Cotton. Cotton as the Preacher was especially impressive, and his acting and story telling ability was incredible - I found myself riveted to him every time he spoke. The American accents were a bit dicey at times and there wasn't quite the consistency of accent across the cast you'd like but the acting was suburb and all the supporting cast members were equally brilliant in all the various (and multiple) roles they played.

The set was minimal and very evocative. With just a few changes, it was quite amazing the range of expression it could achieve. They had a working car that the cast all clambered aboard and which both somehow went forwards and backwards but also sideways and in circles!?! And not initially visible to the audience they had a trough of water in the stage which the cast members bathed in at one point, and later they made it rain and absolutely drenched the cast! Very cool.

Produced by the English Touring Theatre, who brought us The Scottish Play with Patrick Stewart, it was just as impressive. The story was vastly condensed from the book, or so I was told having never read it, but the idea and intent was definitely delivered; you could feel the anguish of the people who were being systematically crushed, and yet feel a great respect for their endurance and tenacity in the face of such hardship.

I went with one of my work-mates and her sister and they were understandably inordinately proud of their local theatre. I shall definitely be seeing more productions there. And I loved the Grapes of Wrath.

Slimy...

I always thought Autumn was beautiful; the cooling drop in temperatures after a scorching summer, the amazing array of colours, the lovely smell of fallen leaves, the crispness of an Autumn morning. I walk to and from work so I have been able to see the leaves turn and have been reveling in all the splendor of the changing season... But no longer.

Fact: Millions of leaves on the ground + days of rain/sea mist = wet leaves decomposing and turning into slime.

Wet decomposing leaves on footpaths leads to footpaths coated in slime.

Footpaths coated in slime leads to Kat having extreme difficulty remaining upright.

Ouch. :S

NaNoWriMo 2009!!

It's coming! Only 27 days now until NaNo 09. I'm really chuffed to announce too that this year I'll be joined by two lovely acquaintances in this month-long madness spree: The Oh-so-lovely-ancient-friend-Jason and the Most-excellent-new-friend-Charlie. I'm planning to have word wars with them both, so please feel free to keep up with our efforts. I'm HERE btw. He he he... SO looking forward to it now this year!!!

Dancing Lobsters...

When up in Bristol, for some reason which now escapes me, Clare and I had reason to refer to a piece of Lewis Carroll madness. I just wanted to reprint it here, as it is one of my favourite pieces of sillyness.


The Lobster Quadrille

“Will you walk a little faster?” said a whiting to a snail,
“There’s a porpoise close behind us, and he’s treading on my tail.
See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!
They are waiting on the shingle—will you come and join the dance?

Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, won’t you join the dance?

“You can really have no notion how delightful it will be
When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out to sea!"
But the snail replied, “Too far, too far!” and gave a look askance—
Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance.

Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance.

“What matters it how far we go?” his scaly friend replied.
“There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.
The further off from England the nearer is to France—
Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance.

Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, won’t you join the dance?”

Excerpt from Alice in Wonderland By Lewis Carroll

Bliss...

This has been a week of new experiences. Tonight I tried my third; a meditation class at the Ashoka Meditation Centre. I've been using guided meditation cd's on and off for years now to help deal with stress and generally reduce my worrying quotient, but I've never been to a class before.

I can't honestly say I'd thought I'd ever go into a Buddhist centre. A meditation class, yes - that's something that's been on the 'to do perhaps one day' list rather than on the 'must do' list, so I hadn't actively been looking into it. But on the way to Exeter on Saturday, I passed the centre and it's literally two minutes walk from my house. In fact, if it weren't for a fenced garden in the way (very pretty btw), I could see it from my front gate. It was one of those 'Ho boy - that's too neat to be ignored' things. So then I looked it up on the web - and guess what? Thursday evening classes at five quid, and a drop-in with no commitment policy, which would balance out the week nicely since choir will be on Tuesdays... so, why not?

The people running it were surprisingly normal and the participants even more so, and it was a good mix of sexes and we all sat on chairs bar the nun leading the meditation - not at all like I was expecting having been to Thailand and seen the Buddhist shrines and temples there. It was actually really interesting. The nun didn't go through any doctrine either that I could tell. The center has other classes if you're into that. But they do go through a 'course' - foci for the meditation if you will - and the current one is on anger. Rather insightful. I believe I'll be going again...