h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This weekend was productive for me and very filling.

Spent most of the weekend re-arranging my room and building a blasted dresser/armoire sort of thing. I had originally planned on putting the thing in my closet but as that would require me to clean out my closet (as well as the fact that I like to keep it closed and use it for long storage mostly) I decided to move my bookshelf to the opposite wall and put the dresser there. Now my room is so crowded and messy that it will take me the next three weekends to clean it all up! (furniture in my tiny room: bed, bookshelf, dresser, kennel (for Cooper ), computer desk (same length as bed), CD tower, DVD rack (holds 400) and three chairs).

Blah!

Plus there was lots of FFXI playing (stuck, seemingly forever, as a lvl 8 black mage) and baking.

Lots of baking.

First I made Mama Stamberg's cranberry relish, then I made a pot of chili and cheesy cornbread, followed by some swedish meatballs, a roasted chicken and sage and walnut stuffing, a pizza with spinach, mushrooms and garlic, and finally a pineapple upside down cake and a chocolate pudding cake.

We need a smiley.

On the upside I will be having leftovers for several days

BTW, if any of you are planning on buying FFXI look me up! I'm playing as Rincewind on the Diabolos server.

I've just had my first day at Good Hope, and whilst the NHS inspectors might not have given it any stars, I would certainly give it 3 rating! Good canteen, free coffee for students, and there weren't any signs of poor treatment of patients. Well all the corridors I saw were trolley free anyway.

You all should be truly amazed. I was awake before 11AM today.

Well done! now that's an achievement.

I hardly wake up at all..you're lucky!

I find it's just a matter of resetting your body clock so that you wake up in the morning! This is best if you go to bed when tired, and don't have an afternoon nap.

Amy, I didn't spot John and Sylvia at the Camphill bonfire so couldn't pass your message on but I'll try and remember whenever I do see them next.
I did see lots of people I haven't seen for a while, endured a little light teasing at my airfield absence and grounded status and then bumped into some neighbours! Totally unexpected 40 minutes drive into the Peak District from home. Personally, I'm impressed they recognised us cos me and Phil couldn't have identified them.

Today I've been lucky enough to have a day off work and have made the most of it, getting out into the hills while the sun briefly shone at lunchtime. Gorgeous autumnal browns and yellows everywhere. Walked past the beginnings of the Longedendale memorial forest. Only a few young trees with memorial plaques so far, some with poignant messages of remembrance. A lovely spot for it.

[MTG]

[-leavescallingcardB4leavingtheAtelier-]

Oh yes?
Well my mainspring in my body clock has expatriated to Tokyo.
Rock On Surfers!

Couldn't get on earlier this morning. Or, at least, I couldn't stay on, or post.

And I could have done with some company, because I discovered something else that my brother stole on his way out, back in January. My father collected stamps all his life and so I inherited an extensive range of stamps from before 1940, which are the really valuable ones.

Now the thing about collections is that they only have value when they are complete.

Brother lifted out the most expensive part, a complete set of early airmail stamps, which were probably taken to pawn shops and converted to beer and cigarettes many months ago.

I was intending to put the collection up for sale in order to buy new equipment for the business. I brought the cartons down from the attic yesterday when I brought down the old fax machine, and the first one I opened was half empty. The albums had all been gone through and some of them hadn't been re-closed properly. There was also a gorgeous set of antique balancing scales with little brass weights. Gone.

I ~knew~ it would be like this, that for the next year or so I would be finding holes that used to be filled by valuables -- who inventories their possessions every day? But that hasn't assuaged the anger one bit.

*settles down by the fire with a cup of tea, trying to think of another way to finance the business*

This weekend I started packing for my upcoming move next weekend into the new digs, and I got a great deal on a new sofa and end table at a local furniture store. Both have a 1940s-style clean retro look. If we get a nice Christmas bonus at work again this year, I will be going back to purchase the matching loveseat.

I also finally got around to seeing the first two movies in the Godfather trilogy. I liked most of the first one, except when Michael Corleone goes back to Sicily while in hiding (it was too sappy and didn't seem to fit into the movie, as if it was an afterthought). Then I liked the backstory involving the rise of Vito Corleone in the sequel, but not the way Michael's character changed into a vicious santimonious hypocritical bully. Ah, but that's Mob life, eh?

Never seen any of the movies, have read at least one of the books tho.

Lil. I've been witness to that same kind of 'take advantage kin' you spoke of so poignantly. God bless you real good. Let there be something else that takes the place of those items taken. May the freindships you cherish, both IRL and at the Atelier, be the most treasured possessions you can share.

From someone who values your contribution to my life via the environment you've grown here on H2G2.

B4

Me too.

Lil, I remember you being concerned about your brother coming to stay and the problems he may leave in his wake. It really does leave a nasty taste in the mouth when you do your best to trust someone and they repay you by confirming your mistrust. I am so sorry,

Listen Up
Anyone wanting to turn grief into steam is welcome to offload here!

It's the sense of failed stewardship that is giving me the most trouble. We shouldn't be attached to things, but so there was so much stuff that was in the family for several generations like the scales, which dated back to about 1875. Brother didn't take things just from me, but from history. The vandal.

The stamps are different. By taking those, brother has hurt my business.

But you know I couldn't have acted any differently. If I never let him in my house in the first place, I would have held that against myself as a failure of charity.

Alcoholism is a dreadful disease.

I'm going to go paint.

Lil, our actions have a way of rebounding back onto us. You'll only see good rebounding onto you, but your brother...well, unfortunately life will probably repay him in another way. It must be terrible being him.