Any other takers for a 3 day weekend?

[jadesfire]

Things I have done since I last posted:

~ Waddesdon Manor is just lovely, especially in the sunshine. It's not enormous, and the house wasn't open, but the grounds are nice to walk around, and there are lots of paths, an important consideration when it's been raining all week. Although there were so many people there that the car park was full, it didn't feel crowded, and we had a nice meander through the grounds to the Stables cafe.

And yes, okay, it all went a little pear-shaped there, since you shouldn't have to wait 35 minutes for luke-warm vegetable chilli on a jacket potato, but the surroundings were nice enough and once the family next door left, it wasn't too noisy. There was a Christmas gift fair down at the plant centre, so we walked on down there and found that their cafe was much nicer, so we'll eat there next time! The gift fair was fascinating, and we tried some gormet cheese and fudge, and some incredible oils and vinegars that could become seriously addictive. They've got a full-on 'Christmas food fair' in a few weeks time, so that one's already in the diary.

~ They closed the Ashmolean a year ago to finish the new extension at the back, but the building work started long before that. The library I used to work in is next door to the museum, and we went through a year of drilling, banging, dust and cracking (it turned out the old museum wall was holding up one of *our* walls, which caused some problems when they took it down...) before it all went quiet and they started to fit out the inside.

Although they haven't finished yet, the new galleries look fantastic. It's a bit of an MC Escher building, with walkways and bridges everywhere, and staircases in unexpected places, but for me, that only made it more fun. Lots of the gallery walls are glass, so you look through a cabinet of objects into the gallery below/behind/above. There was lots of light in some areas and a complete lack of it in others (for conservation) but the whole place felt modern without being intrusive. To me, it felt like they'd managed to keep the spirit of the building, while improving on its usability and design. Oh, and the cafe was great too :)

~ Sunday's remembrance service was incredibly moving. Also, I led the singing (unexpectedly) on my own, which is always nerve-wracking. It's a big church - about 250 people - and I try not to think how people are looking at me and listening to me to find the next note. Everything was going really, really well until we got to the 4th verse of the last hymn, and whoever had typed the service sheets had left the last line off. I tried to improvise something that rhymed, but TBH, everyone in the congregation cracking up was more than a little off-putting. Note to self: if singing, make sure you practice ALL the verses of long hymns...

~ Hoovered and tidied the flat.

~ Started looking at a January holiday. We've found that our vague plans are possible, assuming J has a job and we decide we can afford it.

~ Had a few minor melt-downs, but have kept on recovering.

~ I am ALWAYS HUNGRY at the moment, and am struggling to get a grip on it. I can't *actually* need the amount of food I'm eating, and I know I wouldn't in the summer, so I'm trying to switch to smaller, more frequent meals, in the hope of tricking my brain. I'm also trying to stick to healthy food, or I'm going to be out of even more clothes than I already am.

~ Signed up for yuletide \o/

~ Replaced most of my icons with old ones I'd missed and shiny new ones. I really need to rotate them more often and use some of the 800 that I have on file.

Things I have not done since I last posted:

~ Written a word on any of the fics due over the next few weeks.

~ Recorded any podfic.

THIS IS NOT GOOD. My brain feels full of barbed wire at the moment, and it hurts every time I try to do something creative. So my plan for this week is to write *something* every day, even if it's just a drabble. And I'm not going to cheat and post the ones I've already written. You're getting completely new words and stories, even if I have to bleed out of my ears to get them to you.

How was everyone else's weekend? Doing okay? My Monday so far has involved a surprisingly good work meeting and a whole lot of coffee. I'm hoping the rest of the week follows this pattern!

Comments

[with-apostrophe.livejournal.com]

Heheehhehe!

I think there were just a few that had words that I've never heard any one use, not even while preaching.

[mad-jaks.livejournal.com]

*g*
Oh yes, granted some of them have words that are never used anywhere else, ever.