How Not to Have a Sex Life and Other Stories..

I have had a long day but thought to blog about some of the things I missed out yesterday.  No photos this time though.. (well, maybe one).

Firstly , and astoundingly,  I am mentally well for the first time in ages – this is wonderful and I am trying to enjoy every moment.  I had been having a go with a new antidepressant called Sertraline (a SSRI also called Zoloft), which seemed to work well for me.  After a while however I ran into a wee problem that is apparently common for many of us poor bastards on SSRIs, and is also responsible for large amounts of people not completing their course of treatment. Which is what has happened to me, except I have stayed well – long may it last!!

I had been meaning to  write about this problem for some time but could never get my head around exactly what I was going to say without giving too much information.  Then when I was paying a visit to one of my favourite bloggers  I came across her post on the same subject – and here it is. .  Why reinvent the wheel huh? And she says it so much better than I could.  It is really interesting reading some of the post comments as well.

I first came across Dooce’s (Heather Armstrong’s) blog when I became aware after four years, that the mystery illness I was suffering from was actually depression.  She had been through the hell of post-partum depression and was so badly affected that she had ended up in a psych unit.

I love her blog for many reasons, not the least being that she shows it is possible to be on  depression meds and still have a lovely life.   Also because she and her husband John strongly remind me that not all Americans are bonkers – Oh and because she takes photos of her dog Chuck with objects balanced on his head.. well maybe she is bonkers, but in a nice way..

Chuck

One of the most helpful things that I came across in my research about depression was information about mindfulness, which is why I go on about it so much.  The book I probably found the most helpful is called The Mindful Way Through Depression,  another is called The Noonday Demon – An Anatomy of Depression by Andrew Solomon.    This weekends Guardian bought an article by Tim Parks who has just had a book published called Teach Us To Sit Still, A Sceptic’s Guide to Health and Healing, which I found really interesting for his discovery of how mindfulness/meditation helped him with his illness.  It is on my Amazon Wish List.

Sunday’s Observer bought a wonderful interview with Christophoer Hitchens which can be read here, for anyone who is a fan of the man..

And last but nowhere near least, is the podcast which features Terry Pratchett and Jacqueline Wilson in conversation on the subject of folklore.  So if you are after a little insight into the writing of the Discworld Novels  and/or just plain fascinated as I am, in how humans seem to really need to invent and tell ourselves stories, go and have a listen.

Title..

yes, it has been a while..

i think i am still here…

yes, that’s right, I am….

Hiya folks!  This is my two hundred and oneth post – it may not be any where near the best but it’s lucky to be here at all.  Myriad things have got in the way lately, not the least of all another go at some new anti-depressants.  Also lots more hours of work at the shop and suddenly everything starts piling up on top of each other in trembling heaps and my life lands jam faced down on the carpet.

I have managed to get through some of my birthday books – Connie Willis’s Doomsday Book being an absolute unputdownable dream of a read  (Pat if you are reading this – I think you would love it), I am just starting another one of hers – To Say Nothing of the Dog.  I have got through two Terry Pratchett’s – Johnny and the Dead and Only You Can Save Mankind, which I have read before but thoroughly enjoyed again.  Also two of the Bloomesbury Group reprints, Henriettas’s War and Henrietta Sees it Through by Joyce Dennys.  I really, really want to read all of these so called ‘lost novels’,  what a great idea to revive them all.

I have a new hair cut – v short, which I love,  sooo easy to look after, but that of course necessitated a purchase of a felt hat from work, to keep the cropped bonce warm.  I think it is a lot colder in Hay than in Swansea,  I quite like it as I get to wear all my favorite cold weather clothes and lots of new scarfs.

New Hair

New Hat

What I don’t like is that I am on my second bout of sickness since September and this flu has lasted a week already.  I was meant to be out with my Stitch and Bitch group tonight, yarn bombing for Halloween but instead I am on the sofa, typing this , taking photo’s of my head and staying warm and cozy.  I am supposed to go with a friend to Ikea in Cardiff tomorrow to buy some much needed shelving units for the flat and as well as that I am working both Saturday and Sunday and would like to be well for it.

The dear, kind people at work let me come home from work an hour early this afternoon as I was still feeling poorly.  In fact they were probably just pleased to see the back of my miserable, possibly infectious body.  I got in, tripped over the mail on the floor and discovered that my best blog buddy Katyboo and her mum Sue from Box of Misc had both sent me belated birthday gifts!!!  Talk about making my day.  A Persephone book from Kate and a rubber stamp from Sue with a Celtic design on it – I adore both of them, the gifts as well as the giftees.

Belated presents, book and stamp

Well – that is about if from me for today.  My head hurts when I cough, when I bend over, when I look up and I think it may need some analgesics.  In the mean time..

Stay cool till after school..

In My Room – I Can Watch The Wind..

I finished Unseen Academicals a couple of weeks and give it top marks.  It even made me slightly more interested in soccer, which is saying something believe me.  I have since started and finished another Terry Pratchett tome The Bromeliad trilogy which includes the three books about nomes, Truckers, Diggers and Wings.  I have had this book for several years now but never read it, so I had a real holiday treat.  It is supposed have been written for young readers in mind but don’t let that put you off, you would never notice.

My latest read is Tigana by Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay. I first came across his writing in the mid eighties when the three wonderful books of The Fionavar Tapestry -  The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road were published.  Prior to writing the trilogy Kay had assisted Christopher Tolkien with the editorial construction of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Silmarillion.  He is a master fantasy/fiction writer and I still have another couple of his books to catch up on – with another coming out this year;  that will be on my Amazon wish list for sure!

Weather update

While it continues to snow like a bastard in the UK and Europe, here it continues to blow.  Hot air.  And I am just a tad pissed off about it.  Honestly, it seems like it’s been going on for months, and it’s not just gentle breezes.  Two days ago we had a minor panic because one of the larger branches on our gum tree snapped off and just missed the neighbours shed, which it would have definitely squashed.  The neighbour, being a good kiwi bloke, whipped out his chain saw and made short work of it, just a bit more wood for the fire.  Fortunately, from the look of the forecast there might just be a short break in the windiness tomorrow in time for our b.b.q., before the north west gales and rain sweep in for Sunday.

The room it all happens in

Thought you might like a look at my craft/blog writing room.   As you can see it is a hell of a mess but I like it.  The observant may also spot me taking the picture in the mirror.

“I’d rather be a rising ape than a fallen angel”

Terry Pratchett is responsible for my heading today, he has been interviewed for the Guardian Book Club, you can read a report of it here. There is also a video of part of the conference and I was so pleased to see that the illness he suffers from has not got him down yet.

I am thoroughly enjoying Unseen Academicals, I try to read it when I am not tired as it is quite complex in some ways.  I know that he has another book on the go – with one of my favourite characters, Tiffany Aching in it. Yahoo!

We have spent part of our Saturday visiting friends and chopping down their trees (they did ask us to).   Or Tude did the chopping and I just sat around looking pretty   Our last trip of the day we visited Yvonne and her lovely brood of animals, which include amputee Titan, the dog who I reported on in my last post.  He greeted us happily but is not quite his old self yet of course.  I forgot the camera, so maybe next time I will get a photo of his beautiful mug.

The weather is shaping up well for the Summer Solstice and I have my eye on a bottle of Nelson Boysencider which I spotted in the supermarket today and will make an interesting change to take along to the party.

It is going to be a quiet weekend, although I have been promised home made popcorn later tonight along with the unbelievable United States of Tara.

Cheers

Stormy Weather…

We are having a wind storm – all today it’s been blowing a gale. Walking the dog was interesting because she nearly left the ground occasionally. There are bits of trees all over the place and the tomato plants that haven’t been tied up yet, have all fallen over.

I was exhilarated by the wind at first, but now it’s starting to annoy me, it’s just so noisy.  Any how, I thought I would do a quick post today because I’m hungry and have just finished creating a rice salad which looks very edible – and also I have a book I am dying to get into. Tude is away driving people over to the B52/Proclaimers concert in Martinborough and will not be home till late, so I am going to kick back with the salad and some french bread and read my new Terry Pratchett book and maybe later watch a Friends DVD. Lovely, mind candy, relaxing evening.

Enjoy yours everyone