Ari and Lizzie

Hello,

So much stuff!

We moved house this week - hopefully for the last time in a long long while. That's pretty much dominated the week.

1. The actual move was done on Friday, with a little leeway into Saturday morning to clear some final bits and pieces and clean - not quite to the standard I would have liked, but as it was we overlapped with Joanne and Giolla by about half an hour.

Fortunately, Dora was in nursery all day Friday. We are also so incredibly lucky for all the wonderful people who've helped with this whole thing:

Andrew Ducker, who arrived in Burntisland early to help Jo with her moving. He messaged to ask if we needed help and we threw ourselves on him in 'omg yes'ness. (Our main problem is heavy lifting - because I can't, that puts it all on Ari, and apart from the fact there's so much, some things are two person jobs.)

Alex Rodgers, who took the day off work and arrived super early for super hefting.

Most of all, Erin, who got up even earlier to come straight from Glasgow, with a suitcase, to carry and clean and strategise and plan and execute. She even cancelled early evening plans to stay later. She is a superhero (and commander of the flag).

2. The kids - Dora and Cedric - have both coped amazingly well with the move. For Dora, I think it was actually great to have the first night in the new house followed by a final trip to the old house. We said goodbye to all the rooms, and now it's "We live at the beach now, next to the dragons."*

Cedric was much the same - a big investigation followed by "cool; this'll do". We need to get a cat flap put in in, but it looks like there was one in the back door that's been filled in, so fingers crossed that won't be too hard. In the meantime, we're just letting him in and out. He went for a long trip outside yesterday - I wonder if he maybe wandered to the old house.

* there are some dragons who live at the beach. Some of them eat rocks and some eat lettuce.

3. The folk who sold us the house, aka our new next door neighbours, are just lovely, too. They did lovely thoughtful things like chopping us some extra firewood, and setting the fires for us all ready to go. They've been so kind.

4. Mum arrived the day after we moved, which in retrospect was a terrible idea. There are things *everywhere*, and we keep abandoning her to unpack etc :(. Once everything is properly unpacked (I give it 1-2 months) things will be able to properly be awesome. Plus, the weather will be on the mend. (Talking of which: Housewarming/my birthday party on March 4 - save the date!)

5. I had (possibly still have?) a UTI. That was a fun addition to moving. #tmi

However, it did give rise to Dora's comment: "Stop weeing, Lizzie's brain!“ Other classics this week include:

On coming down the stairs to find us yesterday morning, because we woke up before her:
"Mummy, there was a person in the bed!"
"Really? Just now?"
“They were looking for you."
"OK. Was it you?"
"Yes."

During a discussion about what we all liked most about the new house (the fireplaces? The view? The Narnia room?):
"What's your favourite bit, Dora?"
[thinks for a long time]
[points]
"That lightswitch."
(No, it wasn't even a particularly interesting lightswitch.)

6. She's also captivated by her new doll's house. I saw this listed on Freegle a few weeks back, and it turned out to be the person selling the house - so she just left it for Dora, who *loves* it. It's great; she will properly play with it for ages, while we get stuff done.

Other stuff... maybe...

Tomorrow Ari’s parents arrive, and that and unpacking composes all of our plans.

Happy Tuesday,

Lizzie xx

Hello,

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This is highly unusual for Cedric; he’s not been sick since he was wee. So I was actually late for work. This is as opposed to just arriving on time, but without having achieved the things I had intended to, which is my normal late behaviour. I’m actually much much better than I used to be at getting to work on time even if I’m running late. Cat vomit is, however, not within my standard risk assessment. Bleugh.

Anyway….

1. Ari has Bad Teeth. She had to go to the emergency dentist, who prescribed her Metronidazole, the Beelzebub of antibiotics. I have spent time looking after her, cooking soup and buying icecream.

2. Have been feeling guilty about cooking recently: because I am out at work all way and Ari, whilst working, is not out, and because I have twice weekly exercise classes and Ari has nightly tours, she has ended up doing an disproportionate amount of cooking. Given that I did a massive shop on Saturday, I decided last night – when Ari was out at work – to Cook. I cooked up a massive batch of pasta sauce, made two lasagnes – one big enough to do tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s lunch, hopefully, and a smaller one which I put in the freezer – and still had leftover sauce which I froze and we can use to put on a pizza. So that’s basically dinner made for three nights this week. I made my sandwiches for today and did all the washing up and cleaned the kitchen. I also did all the laundry yesterday, which was a LOT. Just call me Donna Reed.

3. Aquafit was cancelled on Thursday, as the tutor was sick, so Ari and I decided to go swimming. We went to Porty baths, where the Turkish baths were half price, because something unclear was broken. It was quiet, so we mostly had the lanes in the pool to ourselves, so could do lots of stretching and fun stuff (I’m not a massive fan of the ‘lengths’ school of swimming; it’s why Aquafit suits me so well). Afterwards we got chips and walked home.

4. I also bought a Wagon Wheel from the chippie because they were only 25p and Ari had never heard of them.

5. Dinner with Hazel and John on Friday. Cheated the cooking part by buying Ricebox deep fried tofu and mixing it through with rice and egg. Voila: dinner for four. Then we got into some marvellously spirited discussions, but I’m sure we all still love each other.

6. Probably.

7. Went to Erin’s birthday party at the Regent on Saturday. Couldn’t stay for too long, as Ari was home in pain (see 1), but saw some cool bananas folk. I even intended leaving before I did but stayed ‘for five minutes’ to actually talk to Erin (the nature of these things being that I had talked to nearly everybody else). Then Erin played on my weak spot, suggesting we play The Machine. Diabolical fiend. An hour later, I left to tend to my sick wife.

Note: Erin was vere pretty with good eyeliner.

8. Had Epic Fail in making it to Hannah’s on Sunday. Day ran away with me, Ari was still really sickish, and Hermione had a flat tyre. Couldn’t face any of it.

9. Had some proper awesome time with Toby. Went over to distract him whilst Ems and Ade packed for their holiday. It was excellent because mostly, I go over to see the lot of them, and between wanting to have Grown Up Discussions with Emily, squishy cuddles with Seth and highjinks with Toby, I often end up doing none of these to any great effect. In this instance, although there was a wee bit of the first two, mostly it was about the latter. We played trains, and high speed buses, and lions and tigers, and horses (which involved him licking the rug; fortunately it’d recently been cleaned) and there was a lot of tickling. I had so much fun. It’s really important to me to maintain a relationship with him separate to my relationship with Emily, and with Seth (albeit that these are equally important), so it was just hella awesome. He is my homie and I love the bones of him. </sappy>

10. Epic Proofreading Fail: After encouraging John to register the domain www.edinburghthaimassage.co.uk, and redirecting it to his own site, despite it feeling a bit bold and cheeky, I thought I would take my own advice, and register proofreadingscotland.co.uk. I felt good about this.

I did wonder, however, why, after 24 hours, the redirect still wasn’t working.

It was at this point that I realised that I had registered proofreadingscotand.co.uk. Because I am both a numpty and, it seems, a terrible, terrible, proofreader. Good career choice, Lizzie.

11. My Ma is no longer mayor. She reached the end of her one year term in the blink of an eye. I’m hoping she will now have time for things like eating dinner, though. She’s planning to come and see us at the end of June. It’ll be a busy time; Ari’s 30th, and both Eve and Tristan will be visiting, too. Careful co-ordination a go-go.

12. Hoping we still make it down for her 70th. Booked flights + return of The Ash Cloud =Ah. Bollocks.

13. Had a job interview, at the end of which they told me they wanted to see me again. Spent a couple of days debating some dilemmas over it. They have not called me since. Think dilemma consideration may have been moot.

14. Due to run the proofreading course at Leith Academy again on Saturday, but last count there were not enough bookings. Have held off prep in case of wasting my time. Am very torn between the desire for it to run, for the money and practice, and the desire for it to be cancelled, as I have so much work on, and don't want to lose my weekend.

15. Now I am home and feeling really very not well. Achy face and nausea. Bleugh. 

Sleep and fun to the rest of you,

Lizzie xxx

Hello,

In which I talk politics at length in point 1 (tagged a couple of folk for interest):
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1. So, our international readers: there was a referendum. Stupid 68% of people voted against electoral reform. There was also a Scottish parliament election. To non-Scottish readers: We now have an SNP Government. We did before, but this time, much more so. They didn't actually have a majority before, but they had more than anyone else had, so were allowed to be in charge anyway. But now the other parties have lost so many seats that the Tory, Lib Dem AND Labour leaders are all stepping down in shame.

Here are my thoughts on the election:

It's an odd kind of landslide, because, as far as I can see, it's not really about overwhelming support for the SNP. I think the most prevailing rationale for voting SNP was:

1. I'm not bloody voting Tory: I'm Scottish and we hate the wee bastards
2. I'm not bloody voting Lib Dem: they're the wee other bastards that got in bed with the Tories
3. I'm not bloody voting Labour, they screwed things up royally
4. Actually, the SNP are doing alright so far. Yeah, okay then. 

Few people seem to actually *like* Alex Salmond. I personally suspect him to be a pelican; one day he will open his smug wee mouth fish will fly out in every direction. Maybe he's got Nemo in there, and that's what makes him so self-satisfied.

It's making me really appreciate PR. I'm not going to go into the Scottish electoral system at length but: We have 73 constituencies, each of which has an MSP elected to it. There are then 8 regions throughout Scotland who each then get an additional 7ish MSPs who represent the area. In the previous 3 elections (the Scottish parliament being fairly new) there hasn't been a majority government.

I actually have no problem with coalitions and minority government - I think it can make for a more balanced and representative approach to government (although the current UK coalition is bollocks, because the two parties' political stances are so wildly different). But:

• To get a majority government under PR really must mean that a significant majority of people want that government.
• By the same token, if we only had the constituency MSPs, 75% of MSPs would be SNP, making them all-powerful, with 20% Labour and no-one else meaning anything. When they only had around 50% of the vote, that doesn’t seem right. But because we have other parties from regional votes, they have only a little more than 50%. Given that they had around 50% of the vote, this seem fair and, well, proportional, to me.

Although all the evidence is that support for the SNP does not translate into a public demand for independence, David Cameron (Tory UK Prime Minister/evil robot) is the single strongest weapon the SNP have for Scottish independence. He said "If [the Scots] want to hold a referendum, I will campaign to keep our United Kingdom together, with every single fibre that I have." Given that most people in Scotland would like nothing better than to see Cameron's fibres stretched out across Hadrian's Wall, that quote'll be going on the 'Yes' flyers, then. I'd rather have a pelican than a robot (which was the alternative title to this week's blog)

Nicola Sturgeon really needs to use some of her new found power to get a haircut.

I actually spoilt my ballot, because I couldn't decide. I was tempted to vote SNP, but the Labour guy we have - Malcolm Chisholm - is a good guy. This is testamented by the fact that he's now the only non-SNP MSP in all of Edinburgh.

Here are pictures and graphs I made. The whole country's gone yellow.

2. Talking of yellow, I painted the newly-emptied study. It's now the same colour as the rest of the house and this, combined with its emptiness, makes it look twice as big (It's not entirely empty, just not filled with crap)

3. Helped with marking (and fact-checking) at the Hearts & Minds quiz. Great to see everyone, and meet the New Sarah (whose name is actually Clare). The Traverse quiz team I’m technically part of was there too; lovely to see everyone.

4. Registered for Aquafit. At a tutor’s meeting at Leith Academy last week, I discovered that I get a free class per term. Water based exercise is my favourite kind, so I start a ten week course on Thursday. I will also be trying my best to make it to Zumba on Tuesdays, partly because I have not only Emily but also now Fiona guilting me into doing so. By the time I finish at Edinburgh Uni I’ll be able to climb the stairs (fourth floor) without being out of breath. I will!

5. Talking of Edinburgh Uni, (see how seamlessly linked my blog is today?) they’ve given me full time work for a little while, Really don’t know how long ‘a little while’ might be, but they’re trying to get me on a more permanent contract, at least. It’s not massive security, but it’s a start and I really like it there and they seem to like me, too.

6. I also got accepted as a home online copy-editor for a company who may or may not be a bit dodgy. Still, anything I get from them is bonus money, particularly if I’m working full-time, and I do love doing it.

7. Spent a lot of time moving things in and out of Warriston Road – moving Erin out on Thursday and moving John in yesterday. I should start my own removal business. As long as people understand I don’t like heavy lifting.

8. Went back to the doctor for a follow-up appointment and it was so nice. I saw my own doctor and he was lovely. I was very late being seen, and I was prepared for a quick ‘I was told to make a follow up appointment, but I’m fine now’ ‘Ok, bye then’, but he properly sat and talked to me for about fifteen minutes about how I was feeling, and what support I had, making me laugh and recommending a book which he said wouldn’t revolutionise everything but might help a wee bit. I mentioned in passing about the locum I saw and his iphone and he said ‘Yes, well, thanks for your feedback, he won’t be coming back.’ I get the impression they had a hard time all round with him.

It’s a shame I didn’t get to see my regular dude the first time, because he gave me what I really needed then. But at least I did see him. Though things are looking up generally anyway, I felt a million times lighter and better about the world when I came out of there.

I just spent a long time writing this, and Live Journal (which I intially write it in) deleted the whole thing. Fortunately didn’t take as long to rewrite as it did to write. Hope I haven’t left too much out. Grrrrrrrr.

Rock on,

Lizzie xxxxx

Hello,
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1. So, after last week's melt down I went to see a doctor. He was pretty unhelpful on the whole. He was a locum who I think had been pulled out of retirement. He strongly reminded me of if someone had asked John Wilson's dad if he would mind terribly being a doctor for the day, as they were a bit short handed. But less compassionate.

Me: So, I'm very badly depressed.
Him: Ah! Right! Now. Dr R said to me this morning that if anyone came in with depression, I was to ask them these questions'
Attempts to find relevant thing on computer, failed and takes out his iphone. Asks me a series of questions, this test here, easily found in a number of forms of the internet. I point out that the flaw to this test is that it asks 'over the last two weeks, and the answers are very definite yeses to all the questions, every day for five days, but that two weeks ago I was fine. I get quite pissed off. He doesn't seem to get it, but offers me antidepressants, and my answer is a clear 'No fucking way'. 

The good news is he signed me off sick for two weeks. Of course it's a bit odd, given that I'm self employed, but I feel that it's bought me permission to just have a wee bit of respite and be off sick and try and take care of myself.

I'm feeling much better than I was. My sleep patterns are still messed up, and I'm not liking going outside, but I'm more anxious than depressed now, mostly. Ari, as ever, has been a beacon of wonder and support.
 
2. Took advantage of the time off to sort out the study and the house generally. Tidying helps me with brain stuff, like I'm tidying my head, too. The study is now unrecognisable. We're taking down all the big shelves, and then we can finally paint it. We put a whole load of stuff in the attic (which has been a revelation to us both; there's so much space up there) and sorted a *lot* of things to give away.

Ari had VERY good legs at Sketchy's.

She did not tell me to say that.

Hello!

Wow, this is the latest I've updated in a while. It's ok, not missing Monday. This is my 24th consecutive Actual Monday update. My record shall not be broken!

( All-the-stuff )

I feel like I have done more things with this week than I would expect to do in a year.

( Loooong )
Happy Monday!

Lxxxxx

Hello,

( things )

Ok I am going to go and fall asleep now. Enjoy the last week of February. With March, comes Spring, and daffodils. I like daffodils.

Lxxxx

 Hi all,

I have ten minutes; can I do this?

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2. This is the beginning of my last crazy week; trying to fit more days into the week than exist. This means it's technically my last week out in Dalkeith. The only trouble is I strongly suspect they're going to ask me to stay on for a bit. I can't really afford to say no. Hmm.

3. Celebrated Christmas! February be damned!  John mostly missed out on Christmas, and instead had it dominated by Korean food. So we put all the decorations back up, got a really nice piece of turkey from the farmer's market, had crackers and Christmas music, and Hazel brought a Christmas pudding and a santa hat, and Gregor brought a LOT of alcohol. We had the most delicious mulled wine I've ever had (Red wine, mulled wine spices (Sainsbury's finest), port, spiced rum and polish honey vodka, sweetened with honey. Yum). It was really really fun and I highly recommend Christmas in February.

4. Rearranged the furniture

 - oh, ran out of time. Will try and finish this at lunchtime....

Did this because we were trying to move things around so that we could put our dining room table out with five people around it. We managed to do that quite comfortably actually and thus discovered a way to make the room much bigger! The sofa is on the corner/under the window and the table is now where the sofa used to be. This is all very dull, but has the following exciting outcomes:

• The sofa is no longer in a direct draft
• The mess of ugly wires from the corner is sneakily covered up.
• There are now available surfaces to put a cup of tea when you sit on the sofa.
• The table is accessible at all times, meaning we can actually eat dinner at the table, rather than on our laps. I've always been sad about our lack of a dining table and now the lack has gone!

I know this makes me really sad, but I don't care. It has revolutionised our lives

5. Made a courgette and lemon cake. For Fiona's birthday (at Hearts & Minds). Although I think I may need to make another one for Ariadne some time soon.

6. Am running my proofreading course at Leith Academy on Saturday. A wee bit terrified just now. Eek.

7. Cedric brought in a live mouse. He has never done this before. He didn't manage to kill it, despite batting it around and carrying it in his mouth a lot. He must be very gentle. Eventually Gregor caught it and took it back outside.

Sorry, not much excitement this week - tune in next week to see how the course went, and Lovesick, and getting in all my content for the MGICF.

Happy Monday!

Lizzie xxx

 Hello kids!

Well, I'm starting writing this at 7:58, but may not finish it before I get get to work. However, I am up, dressed, and have had pancakes.

( Things )
Have a good week lovelies,

Lizzie xxxx