Autumn photos from the canal and a couple of great reads from last month. I particularly enjoyed reading 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' around Hallowe'en time, it's deliciously dark. I have moved on to 'Fourth Wing' now, one of those books I am reading to see what all the fuss is about/so as not to miss out. I'm enjoying it so far.
I made miso and surprisingly it has been an absolute triumph. It matured for ages and I'd sort of forgotten about it or assumed it wouldn't be anything to write home about, but it's fabulous. As good as professional miso! I have loads of it, so I'm hoping it will keep. In the meantime, I'm making lots of soup and aiming to boost everyone' immune systems - they've been bringing various viruses home from school on a regular basis.
I have a new washing machine, which plays Schubert's "The Trout" at the end of a cycle which I am told may be some complex metaphor for being trapped by doing the washing. One of its first tasks was to wash an egg out of a pocket.
Someone gave the littlest boy a freshly laid egg which he was intending to cook for his breakfast the following day. This was around lunchtime. He put it in his pocket (I KNOW) and wandered around with it in there ALL DAY. He even flopped down on his bed and still it was fine.
In the end he plunged his hand into his pocket to put his ear buds away and that was the end of it. Me and the middle boy have not got over our amazement that he could carry an egg around for as long as that without breaking it.
I am in the middle of doing NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month at the moment. It's challenge where you aim to write 50,000 words in a month, which isn't generally a whole novel, but it's nice start. I am all on track so far, even a couple of days ahead in fact. I do love writing a first draft, but the editing bit is a strain.
When I am not writing (which is my day job as well), I am looking out the window at the wildlife. Lots of long-tailed tits appear sometimes, right outside of the window. A squirrel came looked right in the other day as well. Good job the dog didn't spot it. Still no hedgehog though. There was a dead one on the green the other day which was sad. Someone told me that they eat pumpkin and it can kill them.
So I may be adding unattended pumpkin to the things that I am opposed to now, which already includes fireworks and Christmas. Well, more of the packaging/landfill side of Christmas, you know what I mean. But I worry that it makes me a Grinch and that the list is getting longer.
I hope all is well at your end and that you haven't been too badly battered by wind and rain. CJ xx
