30/10/2010 by Aileen.

Woke up at 4am and couldn’t get back to sleep, so eventually got up at 6am and had breakfast. Promptly fell asleep watching the telly.

Went out to the local shops. There were cars everywhere for some reason - even half way up our lane. Managed to squeeze in to the only space in Main Street, only to discover I had left my purse at home.

Back  for purse. Shopping. On to North Cave Wetlands as it was such a lovely day. Saw a water rail, which is pretty rare for there.

Home. Sorting out CRB stuff after lunch for new helper for Children’s Liturgy at church. Then remembered I had copy due in to Redemptorist Publications on Tuesday - 3 worksheets for their Look leaflets.

Still haven’t started that, ‘cos I watched The Big SIlence on iPlayer. John saw it last night, but I went to church for a Mass to celebrate the Howdenshire Martyrs.

Anyway, The Big Silence was centred around St Beuno’s in North Wales, where John and I have stayed twice before. Once for a silent retreat (5 days) and once for a workshop on Myers-Briggs. It is such a special place.

Martin has done really well with his business this year, and was going to treat us to a weekend at The Swinton (hotel) but we have decided we’d rather have a week at St Beuno’s instead.

In the programme they showed the lovely countryside around. (I don’t quite believe the sound track, though. It looked like autumn to me, and there was a cuckoo calling!)

Anyway, they failed to show the lovely ‘Chapel of the Woods’ chapel, so I’m recycling a photo of it here, to show how special it is.

Not doing much tonight. Starting on the Look leaflets. Did I mention John has 13 clients on the go at the moment? We make a point of not going anywhere at half term anyway, but we haven’t got a whole day free between us.

So just a lazy evening. Night.

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28/10/2010 by Aileen.

I don’t believe how confident I was the other day when I sent off my TMA. Maybe just ‘cos it was done and dusted. ANyway, I need to revise my expectations. Probably high fifties, and, if I am lucky, somewhere in the sixties.

The history of fairy tales is too long, I don’t think I’ve understood what institutionalism is, and my feeble arguments against Zipes (in an attempt to put some of my own ideas in) are fallacious.

I could resubmit, but although it would be easy to make the historical bit shorter I would then be quite below the word count (2,00) and I don’t have the inclination to put any more work into it. I’m sure I won’t fail anyway.

I tried to fail a course once. It was the web development one, where you learn about html and css. If  you failed, but got above 15% you were entitled to resit the course for free, and got the benefit of all the comments and tips on the forums. I really wanted this, as my web creating skills were/are so basic. Unfortunately I passed.

Great day yesterday at Normanby Hall in Lincolnshire. Lots of photos, but will just put up one at the moment. The deer were really in the distance, but I thought if I cropped this one it had potential. It’s a bit soft, but they were far away, and it’s very much cropped.

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26/10/2010 by Aileen.

TMA has gone off to tutor. It was about the fairy tale, and whether it was ‘institutionalised;, with particular reference to Little Red Riding Hood. It was a fascinating toopic. There’s so much out there. Did you know that LRRH has been used to advertise drink, lipstick and perfume? And there are adult film versions such as Company of Wolves and Freeway?

I’m hoping to get a mark in the 70s, but it could well be mid to high sixties. Depends how lenient a marker the tutor is lol.I really don’t think it deserves much lower unless I’ve completely misunderstood the question, or spent too long on the history aspect. (Quite possible)

Ploughing on with the next block now, which is about 19th Century lit and gender differences. Think I’ll write about the role of courage in Little Women and Treasure Island. The other option is about the literature as a form of social control. Don’t think there’s that much difference in the two topics, just different slants.

Today - John has the dentist again this afternoon, and I’m going in to Hull with him. Will go to the library while he’s being drilled. Only thing I want to buy is a macro lens, and I’ll do that on t’Internet.

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21/10/2010 by Aileen.

I really did intend to garden all day today. I really did. But it’s raining he he he. Think I’ll crack on with my OU essay.

Yesterday went birding to Paull, along a high ridge by the Humber estuary. It was FREEZING. A lovely sunny day with a wind that blew the cobwebs away, but at one stage my lips were numb with the cold. The Humber water usually looks brown, from the clay, but it was a lovely violet puce. We didn’t see any outstanding birds - a bedraggled kingfisher, a couple of little egrets and lots of grey plovers were the most noteworthy. Oh, and a linnet. Oh, and a little flock of long-tailed tits battling along the shore against the wind. Weird!

Didn’t take many photos, as the birds were in the distance (and I just missed the kingfisher). Also, the wind meant I couldn’t keep the camera still. Here are a couple of photos. The dog was in a pack of four, but I couldn’t take a group portrait as the birding group were in the way.

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19/10/2010 by Aileen.

Second posting today. Didn’t do any gardening, didn’t really diet.

Read a lot, and did some tutorials on clothes making for Second Life, as I’ve forgotten loads.

Heron on opposite bank of the lake today, so took photo. Thought it looked set iin for a while, so I came indoors, although I really wanted to snap it flying. Got to the French windows, turned around, and there it was, GONE.

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19/10/2010 by Aileen.

Raced to the shops the long way round today, as I did no exercise yesterday. Taking away the stops I did half an hour. I stopped to watch a fish bash himself against the concrete sides of the tunnel under the motorway, at the post office to pay in a cheque, at Londis to get some milk, and to chat to a man who was leaning over the bridge lowering a tin can into the canal. He said he was from the environment agency, and the woman at no.19, who has a lake at the back, had reported dying fish. The man was checking oxygen levels.

Isn’t life exciting?

Anyway, iti’s 11.20am and we’re on the coffee. Decaf but perc for me, strong instant for John.

I didn’t do the power washing yesterday, but I did a lot of my TMA about Little Red Riding Hood.

It’s such a lovely day today I’m going to clear the veg patch. Oh, and power wash the duck poo off the patio.

Bye.

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18/10/2010 by Aileen.

Yes, much better today.

Still 11st  9, so haven’t put on any weight.Showered, answered mail and forums, ready to go for the day.

Plans. John has three clients so that will keep him busy. I was a bit out of sorts with him over the weekend, as he got up so late each day, and just sat by his computer, then watched telly. I thought he had wasted his weekend. Bit of projection on my part methinks!

I’m about to run through the house (not literally) then might power wash the patio as the ducks have been doing their business (literally)

Sandy and Joy are  popping in this afternoon (on way down from Scotland) to collect clothes they forgot last weekend. Gardeners will be here too, hopefully.

This evening, I have Viewfinders, and we are to discuss our new Clikpic website. More important, Jane is going to show us her pictures from Canada. We were going to have a Photoshop tutorial, but I doubt there will be time.

Bye all. Computer going off now until after lunch.

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18/10/2010 by Aileen.

I really don’t know what I did this weekend. Wasted it. I had a good start, doing the village shopping very early, but then just seemed to have pottered. Not even enjoyably. Sorted out Building Society, who wouldn’t let me in to pay a bill as I put in wrong expiry date details, sorted out library which i couldn’t access online as I had changed my pin and forgotten that I had done so. Did some ironing. That’s about it. Oh , made quite a nice casserole.

Sunday. Church. Cofffee. More coffee. More coffee. Thought about going out to the local bird site but the time just went. I did sort a lot of photos and put them onto an external hard drive, and I’m in the process of backing up my computer. Only 80% done as it’s ages since I’ve done it.

Couldn’t be bothered to cook the joint, so we just had egg and chips. Couldn’t even be bothered to open any wine. Oh dear.

Tomorrow, Monday, is my traditional day for waking up full of the joys os spring. Hopefully I will. My diet didn’t really take off last week,  so will renew my efforts tomorrow. John is keen too, so I’ll have support from him.

Night. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZz.

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14/10/2010 by Aileen.

All 33 miners and the helpers are out alive. Unbelievable. What a great piece of technology was that rescue capsule. An  anti-Christian person on Face Book started a big discussion about why do Christians always take her attacks personally when they’re not. (She had an abusive Christian mother) I don’t normally get drawn in to these ‘debates’ but I have felt very hurt by her. Especially as she quotes from papers with an agenda against Christianity, or Newsarse, which sends up everyone. (probably not atheists though) and in my view are biased. Or they report on one crazy pastor (e.g. Terry Jones and the Burn the Koran campaign) and paint all Christians with this brush.

Anyway, someone said I shouldn’t be hurt when Jesus was criticised, as to them it was just like criticising Peter Pan. Well, feelings is feelings. If he can’t understand that, God (!) help his family, friends and colleagues. I got out of the discussion. (Actually, most participants were on the same side, re-inforcing their firmly held beliefs.)

Anyway, I headed this article with ‘Praise the Lord’. And I do praise him. I believe ‘he’ made us. We reflect some of ‘his’creative skills, and have used our intelligence to create the world as we know it today (for better and worse)

We were responsible for the mining disaster in the first place, and this time we were able to put it right. Behind it all is God, looking after us, and ultimately even death is conquered. So to me it’s logical to say ‘Praise the Lord’ whatever happens. That’s what Job did (and I know he’s mythical!) He said, ‘The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.’

So there.

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13/10/2010 by Aileen.

All the little birdies had flown over from Scandinavia and landed in Spurn today. Poor little siskins were under our feet, exhausted, eating whatever seeds they could find in the grass. There were robins everywhere. Cocky robins, goldcrest, redwings, an Egyptian goose, a black redstart which we didn’t see (although I met Sue and Mike later, having stayed on for a while, and they had seen a redstart)

I’ve come home with the sun/wind burning my face. Great day.

This evening the Viewfinders committee are coming round to look at the new website and discuss it.

Here are some photos. I’ll report on our lovely weekend another time.

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