The Voice Of Reason

The gig last weekend was ..well not my cup of tea and in fact, Graham admitted it wasn't his either but he was going because the promoter invited him to interview the band for his radio show and he wasn't going to pass it up. The pub was kind of grubby as I expected but it does tend to have an eclectic mix of music through the run of a month. Musically, I often admire these bands. They sometimes quite good, not just faking it behind  a lot of noise but as soon as they open their mouths and The cookie monster growl out at me, i can't take it seriously. our friend S. didn't make it. WE only stayed to hear the first couple of songs from the featured band and got a taxi home.

More ok sleep nights, one or two less than the others. Doc. didn't get the results from the sleep apnea test when I had gone to see her. She doesn't think I'm anemic any more, but i still have to build up my iron levels. Just feels like all these things I have as symptoms couldn't all be due to being out of shape but I suppose that's one way to.

Did our tax returns the other night but i can't formally file them until Feb 26. Ah well. It's all filled out and ready to go at lest.Quite pleased with the results.

Baby Bree thrives. STill haven't seen her in a few months but there's a party for three birthdays all together so I'm hoping Bree fix.

My feet don't hurt. Can I just say that again? My feet *don't* hurt.
At all.
I don't think I have been able to say that for a good 2 or 3 years. It's always been some kind of ache or pain.
Before last year, i  had pain in my right foot and I'm pretty sure it came from having my right foot be so much smaller than my left. I think it was gripping harder in my shoe which I have to buy to fit the larger one.I realized my orthotics really needed to be replaced but before got round to that, I got plantar fascitis in my left foot and hoo boy did that hurt! I was suffering that from early spring until the fall. Little by little it eased and in the middle of summer I got new orthotics done up. That nearly instantly fixed the pain in the right foot. But what I thought was lingering pain from the fascitis near my left heel was not. I realized when  i was away that the fascitis was indeed gone but there was something else hurting. Turns out I had a rock hard little ball of callous on the outside edges of both soles by the heels. I broke down and went to a podiatrist. I should have done it years ago. He removed the callouses and corns and I haven't had a twinge since! Result!

Still not sleeping well. Dr. going to send me for sleep apnea screening to see if that's what's waking me up. You have this thing you have to put on your head though I've seen a video of it and it doesn't look too intrusive. I'm worried that it's going to disrupt my sleep more, knowing it's there. You can't win. Last night wasn't too bad, in that it was closer to the usual and not overly wakeful. Not more than the usual but the night before was not as good. Tried to nap yesterday afternoon but the phone rang an hour in. I dozed for another hour but that's all. Since last Monday when the dr. suggested the sleep apnea screening and I saw the video on the company site, I think that's been making me more wakeful too, thinking about it, imagining what it will be like or what it will show. If it gets me thinking and imagining, my brain won't settle down! Anyway I get the machine after work next week.

Also having foot problems. There is a spot on either foot just by the heel where callouses and corns are building up and I think it's because of the new orthotics. I've gone back to my old ones so as not to make it worse but I'm still walking on the sore spots. The chiro where I get the orthotics suggested a podiatrist first, to fix the problem areas in the feet before then determining if the orthotics are to blame or not and if so, they could try doing some sort of adjustment on them without sending them away. I didn't really look at my feet to see what the problem was until recently because I had plantar fascitis in the left one from last spring onward. I thought the pain there was a last bit of it hanging on.

Gosh, been awhile since I updated my reading list. I guess I will do that just to finish off the 2017 books read before I start on 2018. Still participating in the Goodreads group CAnadianContent where there will be another Bingo reading challenge this year as well as a year long Read Across Canada challenge. I'm definitely going to participate in the Bingo challenge and give the cross Canada one a good try. At least for the provinces that have fewer choices, it means I find books or authors that are new or that I haven't read before and i discovered after this year's challenge, there can be some real hidden gems. I am glad I'm reading across Canada, one for each of 10 provinces and 3 territories and not the USA! I think if you were going to challenge yourself to Read Across America, you'd want to choose a state from each coast, and north and south borders, Alaska and Hawaii and then choose another 6 or 8 states from across the map. Or you could find a train route from the east coast to the west and follow that on the map, choosing the states that way. Anyway, I'm focussing on Canadian Lit and it's a lot more straight forward.

So, yes, 2017 books, the last of them behind the link
( 2017 books )

And that's it. I read 100 books in 2017. I find i read a lot more now since I have my ereader. It's so easy to carry around with me and read anywhere. I can also read on my phone via the Kobo or Kindle apps or Overdrive for library books. I do have a stack of about 8 paper books on my bedside table and another 4 or 5 books that I've borrowed from a cousin that I really need to read through and get back to her. G. gave me the hardcover edition of the new Ken Follett for Christmas and I'm looking forward to getting into that as well. With paper books, I keep them for my bedtime reading rather than carrying them around with me.

I've already started my 2018 book list, finishing one yesterday that I had been reading.

The Clockwork Dynasty - Daniel H. Wilson
sort of Steampunk but maybe leaning more towards scifi since it really doesn't take place during the Victorian era. It had some inconsistencies but overall not bad. The Avtomats were far more interesting than the present day human character.

We are back from our holiday and utterly exhausted. It wasn't even that the vacation was tiring. We've been away to places where we've been far more active with more walking and tramping around. Before this one, I hadn't been sleeping overly well and was having some other issues. While I was away, my sleep patterns broke up into complete disrepair and most nights I probably only got about 2 hours sleep total, most of it interrupted constantly by urges to wee. (and that's another story but I won't bore you) Add to that, two overnight flights in a few days to get back from Oahu and then back from Vancouver and I was barely coherent on the weekend. Lack of sleep being far more of a problem than jet lag. All of the beds we had while away were comfortable though two were double beds so were a bit small for us. Since I've been home, I do find I'm sleeping a bit better. Not completely uninterrupted and I'm still up a few times to wee but in between I'm sleeping longer and deeper, or at least it feels like it. I am back to work today and I still feel tired but not spaced out.

One of my friends told me that his wife discovered that tea (black, caffienated) was a bladder irritant. Since he had been getting up in the night a couple of times (oh I *wish* I was only up a couple of times!) he decided to stop drinking tea. He didn't like decaff which apparently would be ok but he does drink coffee. It's not the caffiene that's the problem, apparently. Caffiene isn't a natural ingredient in tea, I don't think, it has to be added so i suppose it's something that happens in that process. ANyway, I'm going to switch over to decaff tea since there are a few brands of K-cup decaff tea that I don't mind and I am going to get some peppermint tea as well. My friend said it had an effect almost immediately for him. I thought about kicking tea altogether but my weekend mornings are going to be awfully sad without it and i don't have to worry about sleeping badly on a Saturday night anyway. Time will tell. It'll work or it won't and it might help a bit through the day as well.

The trip itself was really good, however badly I slept. Spent time with relatives and friends and saw lots of stuff. One lovely place was a very old stand of trees, some as old as 800 years, tall Douglas Fir and Red Cedars on Vancouver Island called Cathedral Grove. It was an overcast, drizzly day, too, which made it even more magical. We went on an submarine in Hawaii, one built for tourists so we could see out the large portholes/windows to see the various fish around the man made reefs. They take you 100 feet below the surface and everything is blue! We aren't beach lovers but we did go down to Waikiki beach and have a look. It was very busy and there were lots of places that rented surfboards, lessons, and all the other things you might expect. The temps were 30 every day, warm but with no humidity at all.I'll get back to you when I have my photos online and some travelogues posted.

Graham left the UK in early April 2016. He talks to his nephew most Saturdays plus his sister-in-law whose computer he's using (or his nephew's who also lives there). We generally talk to him and a little bit with her. She isn't too good for chatting because she can't hear well and you can tell. I talk to her and I can tell sometimes she didn't hear what I said at all! She's nice, though, we get along and like each other. She watches most of the soaps too so we can always talk about Corrie!

We always planned to return to the UK to see his family and our friends so I think we'll do that next year in October. We are thinking of combining it with a road trip around Scotland. This will be a more expensive trip, with having to have hotels most of the two weeks or so there in addition to the rental car for two weeks. Previously, obviously, he still lived there so I stayed with him unless we went away on a trip which would only be for up to 5 or 6 days at the most. We can't stay with his sister-in-law as there's no room. There's a hotel around the corner from her which we used last time and it's a Best Western takeover of an older hotel but it's fine and due to the location, that's where we'd go again. We might be able to stay with friends in Manchester though I hate to invite myself. But we'd be going to Manchester for a few nights to see various people. There's at least three different groups which don't cross over. Well, I say groups but only one is an actual group, the other two are individuals who don't know each other or the group. There's another friend we can stay with on our travels, too, for one night. But for the most part, best case scenario, we'll need hotels for more than 75% of the trip if we do the Scotland leg which is fairly definite at this point. Even B&Bs aren't all that cheap these days but at least you get a nice breakfast. We wouldn't really be comfortable in hostels.

Now the decision to be made is do we start and end at the same airport or do we start at one and end at another? We might try flying Westjet this time to take advantage of the companion ticket which is going to cut the flight costs down a good 30%. Because of the Westjet Mastercard, we qualify for a companion ticket once a year. For overseas, the ticket costs $399 plus taxes. That's probably about half the cost of the normal ticket, especially if flying in high season/summer. THen you'd probably save about 50%. It's worth less in the fall because the normal price is lower but it's still a saving most of the year. We can fly from Halifax into Dublin, Gatwick or Glasgow and since we aren't going to IReland this time, it would be one of the other two. So, considering our road trip, I thought we could start at Glasgow, go around Scotland from there, work our way down via Manchester and Sunderland where another friend is, then to Ipswich for the family and then to Gatwick with a night in an airport hotel, and home. Seems the most logical to me.

We can get the rental car from one and return to the other. The service we used last time should even pick us up at the airport and have everything all ready for signature. They were a private company but also use Europcar I think as their partner. I found their ad in a British tourism magazine and checked them out. We used them last time and everything worked out well. They were a little cheaper and offered second driver free which was a plus because since the credit card is in my name, we often have to pay for a second driver. There will be a fee for dropping off at a different location and probably a premium fee for airports I don't drive in the UK using a standard shift gearstick. I haven't driven one of those in decades.I know I don't forget how but trying to figure that out plus driving on the opposite side of the road is a bit intimidating.

And really, if we only use a car for half the time and book trains around for the rest, it's not going to be any cheaper. Planning is everything and God is in the details. Or the devil. I can never figure out which.

Rest of the week has been quiet. Two more weeks to liftoff. Getting all my papers together, the pdf files, the ticket vouchers etc. I put the pdf files on my phone but I think I'll still print them off. Booked a half day tour to Pearl Harbour, considering a submarine tour but it's not cheap. Still, it's probably a once in a lifetime thing to do and by all accounts it's amazing.

Just needed to do a book catch up...
( 2017 books )

Thanksgiving was a lovely feast as always. Staci didn't bring Bree because she didn't want her overwhelmed by so many people. Two of Rick's kids were also there with their families, 2 school aged kids under 10 and two 10 month old twins!

This week I've been knocking out the last few little details for the trip. We decided to go to the Fan Expo in Vancouver because there will be a number of actors there from a couple of tv shows that Graham really likes. They still don't have any schedules up of the appearances and no prices for actor  photo/autograph tickets. They're cutting it pretty close, I think. Anyway, we'll check the schedule and do that for one day or part of one day. I booked the day passes for that. Then also booked a rental car so we could drive up to Parksville on Vancouver Island to see our friends there. Had a hotel booked for overnight. I couldn't assume and certainly couldn't invite ourselves to stay with her and her husband because she's not been well. She had a stroke a few months back and when she had it, she fell and got a very bad concussion which is probably what's giving her more trouble than the stroke was. I had another friend who had something similar, a seizure followed by a fall and nasty concussion. Took him a long time to recover properly.

We hope to do a bit of driving around the island on the way up and back to Victoria where we're staying with my aunt and uncle (mother's brother). Called them this week, too, to confirm and give them the flight details. 

Not sure yet about going on a submarine tour in Hawaii. I know Graham really wants to and I would love it too but I'm concerned with the ladder/steps down into it. I won't have too much trouble going down but I'm worried about climbing up again. I don't *think* it's a straight up and down ladder, that it's on a bit of a slant but there are no photos that really show how far apart the rungs/steps are. I must go to the website and find an email address. I think I could manage if the rungs aren't too far apart. We'd want to pre-book that too. Let's hope the weather is consistently decent. Hate to book things too far in advance .

Have brought in my rolled coin to change to American money after work at the bank and sorted out our phone access online.  I used an online chat with the mobile phone company. They have a deal where you pay only $5 each day that you use your phone, which includes data roaming as well. That's $5 per day per phone of course, and it doesn't count if you're on wifi. Seemed like a pretty good deal. Having the maps alone might make it worth while.

We leave in three weeks from Saturday!

Vacation! (or nearly there, just the day to get through).
Lovely pedicure yesterday. I really have to do that more often! I do plan to get it done again before we go out west/Hawaii in November. I don't plan on doing any swimming but I might want to wear sandals with a skirt if we go out somewhere nice for dinner.
Didn't sleep well last night, in addition to having a sore hip periodically, I was too warm even with the ceiling fan on. You just can't win. It's going to be a long day today.

And just to catch up on books since I don't know what kind of time I'll have for reading over the next two weeks. This lot of books were all top marks for the most part or almost. I really enjoyed all of them for various reasons as they were mostly quite different from each other.
( 2017 books )
I'm currently reading several books, each by classic Canadian authors and a Jane Austen. I think I'll try to read all of her books. Not by the end of the year but over the coming months at least.

The remake of IT was quite good. I haven't read the book since the 80s so I couldn't say whether it followed it well or not but it only focussed on the part to do with the kids, not the adults years later like the original mini series did. I would think they are planning a sequel for when they come back and fight it again as adults. All of the child actors they had were very good, unusual really, there's always at least one that irritates me or more. Not all of the kids themselves are likeable but then that's just me probably but it don't put it down to the actors that irritate me, just the character and I would think the actor must be doing a good job if he's making the character annoying! The one playing the girl in the group was good, too. Really pretty. She's gorgeous now, she's going to be a stunner in 5 or 10 years. She's 15 now and kind of reminds me of Deborah Messing from Will and Grace. Her name is Sophia Lillis. Watch that space.

The man that played Pennywise the clown is Bill Skarsgard from the Swedish family of actors. You've seen his father in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and his brother Alexander was in True Blood. We've only just seen him lately in a creepy series called Hemlock Grove. Excellent stuff with vampires, a werewolf and lots of other creatures. Tim Curry played the original Pennywise but Bill did just as good a job, I think.

Since this movie was all about the kids and their experience, it went into more detail about the lives of most of them and about their fears which is what the entity feeds on. Their parents are not major characters and only appear if it contributes to either the child's state of mind or to their personal fears. If they do make a second movie about the adults, it should be interesting.

Afterwards, we found a place for a bite to eat along a little street in halifax that's lined with pubs and cafes. There are 2 or 3 places along there that are long standing, with the rest seeming to come and go. It's been difficult for the businesses this summer because they have been doing construction on the street all summer, between a major trade centre going up at one end and redoing the other end for pedestrians and making it look "pretty". Most of those businesses usually had outdoor patios built for the summer but most of them haven't been able to and the foot traffic is down a lot because of all the uproar. It's too bad because it's worth the inconvenient to find a decent place. Our meal was quite good. I had fishcakes made with garlic mashed potatoes and the salad was gorgeous, with apple and goat cheese and walnuts with a raspberry vinegarette. The slice of cheesecake, on the other hand was nasty. I don't know what htey used to thicken it but it was almost gluey and sticky. Horrible. I don't mind if it  isn't homemade on the premeses. I've had some decent cheesecake that was premade and even probably frozen but which came out creamy and soft. This could have been sitting on a shelf for a month.

All in all a Grand Day Out. Our houseguest comes next Saturday so we'll get a rental car on Friday and stock up on groceries.