RedGage

Following on from my first edition of The Spixworth Sentinel – http://www.redgage.com/dashboard#rf:/blogs/jackie118/the-spixworth-sentinel.html - I thought it might be an ideal time to give you the first little taster of what hopefully will develop over the coming months.  This edition isn’t jam packed with links as it’s only a week or so since I posted my first edition but I’m hoping that, once I get going, you’ll find a good selection of links to get you hooked!

I’m very fortunate working from home as a freelance digital secretary – unlike some of you poor people out there who have to work from an office, I have no real admin so, when the typing’s done and has gone back to the client, I’m free to do as I will until the next lot comes in.  Not for me all the filing, disruption caused by annoying phone calls, photocopying etc.  I can just make a coffee, sit back, listen to some music online and type up whatever comes into my head.

Last week was incredibly miserable weather-wise.  It rained almost daily and, to be honest, I was so glad not to have to turn out and commute.  I can well remember the days pre-2003 (when I became self-employed/freelance) when I used to trudge for 10 minutes up to the bus stop in the rain and wind and then find myself waiting for ages for a non-existent bus – the 7.50 am one always seemed to be the one where the designated driver phoned in sick or that broke down before it got to my stop.

The only saving grace was that my stop was a terminus – sounds grand but in fact the terminus for my village was just a pull in outside some senior citizens’ bungalows!  But at least I knew I was guaranteed a seat as it was the first stop.  The only problem was that, if I was a bit later getting to the stop I often had to sit on a seat next to the aisle. This wasn’t good once we left the village and headed towards Norwich as I then ended up with wet commuters from the suburbs standing beside me dripping folded soggy umbrellas into my lap or swinging their wet and heavy rucksacks into my face.

The journey home wasn’t much better.  I was normally one of the standing commuters as my office wasn’t close to the Norwichterminus but thankfully I knew I wasn’t guilty of swinging a rucksack into the faces of the seated passengers.  But now, I don’t have to worry on that score.  I seldom have to go out in the rain and the wind if I don’t want to.

But I digress.  The weekend was as grim as the week.  We had a friend over on Saturday which, to a certain degree, brightened up the day, but Sunday was really wet and horrible.  I still had some gladioli bulbs to put into pots but there was no way I was going out to plant those up.  The grass, due to all the rain, could have done with a cut but again – not a good idea to plug in an electric mower and cut a saturated lawn … unless I wanted to end up with a frizzy perm!!

So I did some housework, baked a cake, had a lovely roast dinner and then settled down to play DragonFable.

Monday dawned … yep, you’ve guessed it … wet and windy.  Had my usual bowl of cereals and cup of tea and, from my armchair in front of the fire, watched the poor city saps heading for the bus stop; shoulders hunched, umbrellas intermittently blowing inside out and looking more than a little pee-ed off.  After eight years of working from home, it’s still satisfying knowing that I no longer have to join the Stepford-like Spixworth villagers forming their unhappy throng around the bus stop.

And now, today, Tuesday, we’ve got yet another cold and wet day.  We had two deliveries due today (I buy so much now online) – one was from an organic/free range meat supplier (here’s a link if any of my UK friends are interested – http://www.farmerschoice.co.uk ). I don’t go for the expensive cuts but can highly recommend the sausages, the free range chickens and the rump steak!!  I rarely spend over £50 and end up having enough meat to keep two of us going for a month and know that it’s from farmers who care about their livestock.  I’d been practically vegetarian for a number of years as I can’t abide the way our meat is farmed.  Animals are kept in unnatural environments, poked and prodded around at markets, live such short and unhappy lives and then they’re herded into lorries and lined up basically on a conveyor belt system for slaughtering.  Thankfully my meat doesn’t undergo all that trauma.  This is most certainly borne out by the fact that the cheaper cuts are full of flavour and are far less tough than the more expensive cuts that come from stressed out younger animals.  I’m also dubious when I don’t know what country the meat comes from but I know that my meat comes from farms that comply with our UK animal welfare rules, rather than from countries that have less stringent animal welfare laws.

The other delivery was our normal monthly supermarket shop.  It was absolutely teeming when my meat order arrived but as I only had to answer the front door, take in the parcel and sign for it, it didn’t affect me unduly although I did feel sorry for the delivery driver.  He could hardly see what he was doing or where he was going as the rain was driven straight into his face and onto his glasses.

However, the second delivery wasn’t quite so enjoyable!  Although the driver would carry the shopping into our kitchen for us, we prefer to take it off the back of the van so we can sort the bags into “categories” – the store cupboard stuff goes to one area; the frozen goes somewhere else, the fridge items another area and the cat food close to the cat food cupboard. This necessitated us going in and out of the house through the rain.  I have to admit that, if I lived on my own, I would probably let the van driver just bung the bags higgledy-piggledy in my kitchen but, due to his military precision, Adam is always so organised!  It can be a real bind sometimes but, once we’ve got the shopping in and it’s unpacked, it’s a real boon!  I get back to work and leave him to organise the storage.  He’s brilliant at packing the cupboards, fridge and freezer so that we can both find what we’re looking for in a flash!  So at least I know that the UK tax payer’s money was well spent – he was not only trained in the RAF to be a lean, mean fighting machine willing to put his life on the line for Queen and country, but he’s now able to pack away the shopping efficiently!!

So here I am, replete having had my lunch and a lovely cup of tea, and I’m satisfied as I know we’ve got enough food tucked away to see us through for another month! Even the cats are well catered for.  So as my work has petered off a little this afternoon after quite a hectic morning, I thought it was the ideal time to update my Spixworth Sentinel and give my Redgage friends an update on what I’ve published over the last week or so.

I had a look through the online newspapers here in the UK and came across quite a shocking article which indicates that children over the age of five are still in nappies/diapers!  This means that teachers and their assistants are having to spend time changing their pupils on a regular basis or clearing up when those children are just being taken out of nappies and have “little accidents”.  I sometimes wonder what our country’s coming to … but I suspect there are many readers out there across the world who feel the same way that I do.  I’m just wondering what’s going to happen when some of us oldies have long gone.  The majority of younger folk are nanny-ed throughout their lives and I’m sure they’re really going to struggle when they’re left to their own devices after their parents have gone.

http://gomestic.com/family/were-your-kids-toilet-trained-before-starting-school

On a more cheerful note, I came across a very interesting slant on the common all garden omelette.  If you’re a keen cook and horticulturalist then try mixing some of your flowering plants in with your omelette.  Here’s a recipe which I found on the internet.  I’m just hoping that my flowers actually thrive and flower but, with the weather as it is at the moment, I’m wondering whether the poor things are going to be washed away or rot in the torrential rain.

http://notecook.com/desserts/fruits/petal-and-potato-omelette

Despite all the grotty weather, my partner did manage to snap a picture of some red legged partridges out in the meadow behind our office, taking advantage of a few minutes of sun which somehow managed to fight its way through the dark and dismal clouds.

http://www.picable.com/Art/Photography/Red-Legged-Partridges.3573493

I’m now trying to finish some research and typing up of a new Bitesize Biography which hopefully will be up and running for you all to look at next week and I’ve got numerous other things in the pipeline.

At least I know if the weather continues as it is for the next six months, I can make good use of my time with my writing.