We celebrated Steve's birthday in Zac's last night. Steve runs Breakout Adventure, a charity offering outdoor pursuits. Steve bought this old boat, Svanskar, years ago with the intention of using it for young people to experience life on board and ever since then it's been in dock being repaired. 

So it seemed appropriate for his cake to be ship-shaped.

Remember those sprouts I lost ...

on Christmas Day?

Husband found them in the outside toilet today.

He lifts me up

A good all-round meeting in church this morning but the best bit was a moment we were given early on.


The words of the song we were about to sing were up on the screen and Rich, who was leading worship, suggested we pick one line or phrase that spoke to us and think about it quietly for 1 minute.


The line I chose went something like, 'when I fall down you lift me up.' Initially I though, 'Well, I fall down a a lot so I'm really glad you're there to lift me,' but then it struck me that in order to lift me God has to get down there with me. 


Just like Jesus bent down in the dirt to write on the floor when dealing with the woman caught in adultery so he gets down in the dirt with us, in amongst all our rubbish and crap. And when we're ready helps us get out.


And I'm so glad we don't have a God who keeps himself clean and at a distance. He doesn't just hold out a hand and wait for us to reach up and take it, he gets down, wipes our faces, tends out wounds and lifts us up.

From Pretty Legs Hinds

If you've seen my Facebook profile photo you'll be able to judge for yourself how apt that is!

In which Husband and I argue and I am right

It's intolerable, don't you think? How many people must have - or should have - checked this survey before it was sent out to the public? And still it contains a major spelling mistake. That's lost the Conservatives my vote anyway ...

When I was trying to take the photo of the survey Husband came in and said I was holding the camera at the wrong angle. It needs to be at 90 he said. 

'What? That's stupid.'

I wanted to show 2 bits of the survey at the same time: the spelling mistake and the scribble that passes for the logo at the bottom. Husband said, 'You want it to focus on both those so you have to hold it at 90 degrees like this.'

And he held it as shown in the diagram below.

 

'That's the way I was going to hold it,' I said, 'but that's not at 90 degrees.'

'Yes, it is,' he said, and he held the camera at right angles to the piece of paper, lifted it up above the paper and turned it over. 'See it's at 90 degrees.'

'No, it's not; it's parallel.'

We continued in this vein for some time until he said, 'well I know what I meant,' which was the closest I'm going to get to an 'Okay, I admit you were right, dear.'

I have to tell you about this because it's rare for me to be right on something vaguely technical or mathematical. I'm not renowned for my precision or expertise in these matters. However I do have a fairly good reputation as a cook so perhaps I shouldn't show you these jars.

On the left is harissa paste as it's meant to be; on the right is harissa paste after it's been hidden in the back of the fridge for an indeterminate time.

I used the one on the left for my Moroccan lamb shanks this evening although the one on the right is probably just bubbling over with antibiotic qualities.

Judge a book by its cover

After getting up with the intention of being dynamic and starting to move furniture back into decorated rooms, I've just spent the last hour browsing book covers on Amazon's Kindle site.


Thank you all for your comments. I understand now that when you read an ebook you see the title in black and white but by then you'll have bought it so it doesn't matter. If I want to attract readers who don't already know me and are buying it just to be nice and make me feel good, then the cover is important.


I've come to the conclusion that you can tell a lot about a book by its cover. (Has somebody said that before?) Some are obviously 'home-made' - but that isn't necessarily bad - and some you wouldn't touch with a barge-pole. The title needs to be big and clear unless you're a famous author in which case your name will take centre stage.


So, of my three choices, I am discarding number 2 because it looks unprofessional. I still like number 1 but I'm not sure it's eye-catching enough. So I'm coming down in favour of number 3.


Yes, I know it's very girly but my audience will be primarily female. Also it needs to fit into an Amazon genre and Romantic Fiction comes closest even though it isn't first and foremost a romance. It's not family saga and it's not literary fiction.


It's in diary form and covers a year in the heroine's life. I did toss around some page from a diary idea and might still have a go at that before finalising the cover.


But now I really ought to go and shift a sofa.

Your opinions, please

Number 1: For some reason transferring it between programs made some of the bits move off the picture. Must be shy. Anyway that's the one I was working on yesterday and you get the general idea. I think it's too 'small' now.

Number 2: I wanted a different colour background but gave up after all my efforts failed. 

Number 3: Elder Son's first effort for me. He threw it together in a spare moment before I told him I'd finally settled on a different title. It looks more professional and good as a thumbnail but is it too obviously girly? Although I imagine my audience will be mainly female.

Going crazy

As I said, I've been working on a cover for my novel. After spending a lot of time on it yesterday - and giving up temporarily because I couldn't understand the software - I finally got round to reading some 'How to ...' advice on publishing ebooks.


One point they all stress is the importance of the cover. And the fact that it has to look good as a thumbnail. Which sort of rules out the subtle cover I'd been working on. Back to the drawing board. Or drawing bed in my case.


I lay there contemplating covers and came up with the 'perfect' design for my book, so I got up this morning all keen and enthused and bursting with excitement - only to be thwarted at every turn by the intricacies of vectors, file formats, programs that stop working at the drop of a pencil and remembering an article I'm supposed to have written by yesterday.


Article is written now, I've had lunch and I have the next 3 hours to 'be creative'. How long before I'm tearing out my grey-at-the-roots hair? (Note to self: must go to hairdresser soon.)


I'm off to a networking event this evening on behalf of Zac's. The good thing is we get fed; the bad thing is I have to talk to strange people. But it's about Zac's so I can manage that I'm sure. Ric's coming with me. He wasn't originally but I'm glad he is as, if I get The Call, he can stand in for me. When I told him that he said, 'At the dinner or delivering the baby?'
I laughed but apparently, in another life, delivering babies was second nature to him. Hm, maybe I should bear that in mind.


Now to stop procrastinating and get back to book covers. Wish me luck.

On the road

But not to Devon. No, I'm talking about a different road, one I've been journeying along for far too long but one I think might just have a happy ending - to mix a metaphor.


A couple of weeks ago Elder Son emailed me with a link to an article by a man who'd self-published his book on Kindle. ES said, 'If you've given up sending it to agents you have nothing to lose doing this.'


So that's what I'm in the process of doing: preparing my manuscript and starting the process of turning it into an ebook that will be available on Amazon. The manuscript of my first novel that is.


I began writing it about 8 years ago and I've been through highs and lows with it, the highest being when an agent asked to read it all after enjoying the first three chapters (I tell you, I'd selected the cast for the film version before she finally said no) and the lowest being a critique I received that was so bad I couldn't take what she'd written seriously.


I continued to have faith in my writing and in my novel, though it was a faith that wavered at times. Indeed when  I started reading it again when preparing to edit it for the ebook I got through the first chapters and thought, 'This is terrible!' But I think that's because it's over-familiar. I've worked, re-worked, amended, edited and changed viewpoints till I'm sick and tired. As I continued reading my opinion improved and lots of it made laugh and some moved me. And I think that's pretty promising.


So that's what is taking up my time at the moment. I've just about finished editing and now I'm working on a front cover. Elder Son asked me what the themes of the book were and he drafted a cover, which I loved - but then thought it might be a bit girly. But he's introduced me to the world of vectors and I'm driving myself crazy trying to work with a new drawing program. (When I tried to download the software I found myself with monkeys instead of a drawing program; it took me a while to find out what I did wrong - and I still haven't got rid of the monkeys.)


I'll be asking your opinions soon.


But I'm excited. I wrote the novel hoping people would read it and even if it's only a handful, if they enjoy it, I'll be happy. (Although happier still if I become a world-famous millionaire author who could ask for Alan Rickman to be cast as leading man.)

This'n'that

Daughter's due date is 4th February so we're on standby to rush off to Devon at any moment. It's a bit like living next to a volcano; you always have your bag packed just in case. (Not that Daughter looks like a volcano you understand!)


I had a frustrating shopping trip today. I went out ready to spend Husband's hard-earned money on rugs, curtain tie-backs and lamps and all I came home with was a can of paint. But Husband's now repainted the wall over the fireplace and I'm much happier. In fact you might say that we've ended up with the sludgey colours I wanted and Husband didn't want in the first place. The two walls for which I chose colours I thought Husband would like just happen to be the ones that have been changed. Ho hum.


I'm sure there were some other things I was going to mention before I move on to my next post which is the exciting one!


Oh yes, I was in a meeting this week and a role was being discussed. It happens that I'm already doing part of the role so you might have thought that people would have asked me if I wanted to take on the rest. But no. No-one even suggested me! I didn't want the job, you understand, but it would have been nice to have been noticed.


It reminded me of another meeting I went to once when suggestions were asked for. I was a newcomer to this group so still rather timid but I plucked up my courage and made my suggestion. There was a moment's silence and then the conversation continued as if I'd never spoken. I didn't say anything again for a long time.


And I found the borrowed book I knew I hadn't lost but put in a safe place. Which in this instance just happened to be under the bedside cabinet. If only I'd thought of looking there before I went out and bought a replacement copy to return.

It's going to be one of those days

I spent 5 minutes trying to find a number on the phone and wondering how I'd made calls before before I realised I was using the land line not my mobile.


In the bank I spent a similar time trying to work out how to get the lid off the bank's pen before realising that what I had in my hand was the pen holder and that the pen was missing.


Then I got home and my computer died in front of my eyes. It was especially bad as the recipe for the cake I'm making for Zac's tonight - and for which I'd just been out and bought the ingredients - was only available as a photo on the computer.


However as you know, I am a computer genius. I switched off the computer and turned it back on. No joy. I switched it off again, picked it up, shook it and switched it back on. Hurrah! See? Genius.


Now I'm working on the principle that things happen in threes so I'm safe for the rest of the day ...

Brazilians, cossacks and burpees

This is what Husband had me doing yesterday: shifting three sofas out of the lounge and piling them up on top each other in the hall. Just call me Superwoman.

Although I didn't feel like Superwoman when I was in circuit training later. I've come to the conclusion I have a problem with my brain. At least that's Husband's theory.

I struggle with any exercise that requires me to move both feet at the same time and in the same direction (such as a bunny hop or burpee). My right foot obediently does as it's told; my left foot follows - literally. A beat later. Like Corporal Jones in Dad's Army, my left foot is always one step behind everything else.

And, what's more, they should rename the squat thrust; for people like me it should be called the froggie thrust as my feet point outwards at roughly 45 degrees. I never realised how bad it was until I started doing circuits and Jules says, 'Your hips, legs and feet should all be pointing in the same direction.' Whoops.


P.S. Meant to say the carpet men are coming today to fit our new lounge carpet. Yay!
P.P.S. Carpet men have been. Now I need to go to the shop and buy different paint as the carpet doesn't match the wall over the fireplace.

A weekend away

We've been in London this weekend. Well, Egham actually but if I say London then you'll know which part of the country I mean.

Yesterday afternoon GrandSon had his first swimming lesson and we were able to watch. He was by far the best splasher and floater - and I'm not at all biased - and, of course, handsomest.

Then this morning we went for a walk in Savill Garden, which is part of the Crown Estate and I suppose officially part of Windsor Great park. It's a well-looked-after flower garden, which is very popular with people out for a Sunday stroll, and deservedly so. Even at this time of year there was much of  interest such as these brightly coloured dogwood stems. 

And this unimpressive shrub, which had the most delicious perfume that filled the air as you passed by. It was an unlikely contender when we were sniffing around to determine the source of the scent, which was vaguely jasminey.