The last weekend of October did not commence well with a bout of winter melancholy over my present situation of my own making and the darkness of the months ahead literally and figuratively and perhaps sparked by the moving of the clock’s back an hour creating even great darkness earlier but extending the light of the afternoon’s, a little. Yet one advantage of the UK north is that there is more light than in its far south and then even more than say the South of France or in Greece.
I am locked into the immediate cycle of interests which means that I am not working on or taking steps to change my position fundamentally from fear mostly that the outcome will create a worse overall situation where it matters than any significant improvement and I have the recent experience during the course of 2009 and 2010 reinforcing the anxiety.
And yet the immediate condition does not merit further analysis because of overcoming recent small challenges and satisfying or interesting and engaging developments. In part my present mood is caused by last night going to bed and sleeping and then waking as usual but also knowing I was not going to return immediately to slumber. I rise, found I had enough milk to make a milk based drink and watch the three latest episodes of Tremé which I report shortly and then slept well but one disturbing waking dream until just before 10am. It is now 11.30 so has just about going with a good plate of mushrooms and tomatoes as a brunch. I need to go for a shop immediate after lunch to return to listen to Sunderland’s game against Aston Villa with Newcastle on Sky away to Stoke on Monday evening to look forward to. I could go out later but risk the shelves having been emptied of what I seek.
I managed food well over the week sometimes with a cereal bowl or the mushrooms and tomatoes rather than both. For main courses there was curry with chopped turkey breast on Monday after lamb cutlets on Sunday, the Tex Mex mix on Tuesday, fishcakes, scampi and beans and tinned tomatoes on the Wednesday, a pork chop with the rest of the beans and tomatoes on Thursday, a piece of white fish with mixtures of peas, carrots broccoli and rice from two individual frozen packets and to day, shortly Chinese style chicken wings with a whole roast chicken on Sunday with road potatoes commence the fortnightly cycle I have established. For evenings there were salad combinations with a cos lettuce base and a daily choice from cucumber, olives, beetroot, sweet peppers and a tinned mixed bean salad which provides two portions. I am using a plate rather than bowl and eating slowly while I do other things. As a salad topping I alternate between quiche, smoked mackerel, and prawns from shell and occasionally sardines and now and again tinned salmon or crab meat. I usually have a cuppa soup with dry crackers early evening instead of the previous afternoon snack and then having the soup with the salad and also leave until the evening the stewed fruit mix which this week I made in two cookings, the first just with plums and chopped apple and the second with the addition of a banana. This latter was very successful so that two apples, six small plums and one banana and one small packet of custard made four potions which in one instance I then enjoyed cold and another heated in the microwave. I have one or two cups of coffee a day and now usually only one can of coca cola whereas in the summer I was having an average of two and sometimes three.
I have been considering the budget for this over the period of a fortnight. These are rough calculations which I am tempted to put to the test by detailed monitoring, sometime: Breakfasts including coffee 50p Midday meals average £2.50 with cold drink and the evening combination about a similar amount. This is a reasonable £6 a day which includes additions such as sauces which I am reducing and liquorice portions to keep me regular. However it is more than many families budget per head although a world away from regular modest eating out and as much as some couples spend on an individual meal in a posh nosh with vin specialé. Out under the present regime is alcohol, bread and roles, bacon, salami, chocolate and Danish pastries.
The bright change of the week was working out how to repair one of the Brother printers after one of the new colour cartridges for the Lexmark failed. This was the oldest of the two identical Brother machine and reason for the recovery arose when I got a paper jam in the Lexmark and move the print head carriage gently to one side and removed the offending paper, I did likewise with the Brother and after replacing the black cartridge with a new one it has worked brilliantly enabling me to catch up with printing out of transcripts from the House of Commons Culture and Home Affairs Committee and the Lord’s Communications Committee but deciding against the voluminous material from the Leveson Inquiry with available documents each running into the hundreds of pages and which I suspected the intention it is bury the subject over years of inquiries and their paper.
I have now rescued the second printer which was outside in the garage ready for the next visit to local authority recycle and disposal centre. I will investigate if it can be self repaired tomorrow having spent a pleasant half hour or more outside clearing dead growth and bringing evergreens under partial cover to avoid the worst of the winter and sorting out general in preparation for whatever the winter brings. I may even change my mind about bulbs after making visit to Wilkinson’s later to day. I have changed my mind about the time of going out enjoying the Arsenal at Chelsea game, where at present the score is 4.4 to Arsenal after Terry slipped leaving Van Percy with just the goal keeper to go round. He has now got a hatrick as they lead 5-3 in extra time, the final score.
It was cold this morning first thing and last night but now there is a clear blue Sky and it is pleasant. I shall however watch the 20 20 game in India and keep an eye on the Rugby League International and listen to Sunderland at home to Aston Villa before having a shave and going to Wilkinson’s, possibly Azda as well as Morison’s, to replace a cheap every day saucepan and get another packet of mini packets of sweets to give for callers on Halloween on Monday, some mushrooms and sprats if they have them at Morison’s, milk, quiche mackerel, stir fry, beetroot and lettuce
The Le Carré film and TV DVD’s have arrived with four that I have viewed including Smiley’s People viewed on a poor recording and the Spy who came in from the Cold plus also this year The Tailor of Panama and with the past couple of years the Constant Gardiner where I though I acquired the book but cannot find. I have seen the Russia House in the past which I will save to read with the book and then the Looking Glass War and the Deadly Affairs which I may have also seen but have no immediate recollection. I am reading The Mission Song which I do not think I completed and am treated as a quick read through before considering in greater depth.
I am locked into the immediate cycle of interests which means that I am not working on or taking steps to change my position fundamentally from fear mostly that the outcome will create a worse overall situation where it matters than any significant improvement and I have the recent experience during the course of 2009 and 2010 reinforcing the anxiety.
And yet the immediate condition does not merit further analysis because of overcoming recent small challenges and satisfying or interesting and engaging developments. In part my present mood is caused by last night going to bed and sleeping and then waking as usual but also knowing I was not going to return immediately to slumber. I rise, found I had enough milk to make a milk based drink and watch the three latest episodes of Tremé which I report shortly and then slept well but one disturbing waking dream until just before 10am. It is now 11.30 so has just about going with a good plate of mushrooms and tomatoes as a brunch. I need to go for a shop immediate after lunch to return to listen to Sunderland’s game against Aston Villa with Newcastle on Sky away to Stoke on Monday evening to look forward to. I could go out later but risk the shelves having been emptied of what I seek.
I managed food well over the week sometimes with a cereal bowl or the mushrooms and tomatoes rather than both. For main courses there was curry with chopped turkey breast on Monday after lamb cutlets on Sunday, the Tex Mex mix on Tuesday, fishcakes, scampi and beans and tinned tomatoes on the Wednesday, a pork chop with the rest of the beans and tomatoes on Thursday, a piece of white fish with mixtures of peas, carrots broccoli and rice from two individual frozen packets and to day, shortly Chinese style chicken wings with a whole roast chicken on Sunday with road potatoes commence the fortnightly cycle I have established. For evenings there were salad combinations with a cos lettuce base and a daily choice from cucumber, olives, beetroot, sweet peppers and a tinned mixed bean salad which provides two portions. I am using a plate rather than bowl and eating slowly while I do other things. As a salad topping I alternate between quiche, smoked mackerel, and prawns from shell and occasionally sardines and now and again tinned salmon or crab meat. I usually have a cuppa soup with dry crackers early evening instead of the previous afternoon snack and then having the soup with the salad and also leave until the evening the stewed fruit mix which this week I made in two cookings, the first just with plums and chopped apple and the second with the addition of a banana. This latter was very successful so that two apples, six small plums and one banana and one small packet of custard made four potions which in one instance I then enjoyed cold and another heated in the microwave. I have one or two cups of coffee a day and now usually only one can of coca cola whereas in the summer I was having an average of two and sometimes three.
I have been considering the budget for this over the period of a fortnight. These are rough calculations which I am tempted to put to the test by detailed monitoring, sometime: Breakfasts including coffee 50p Midday meals average £2.50 with cold drink and the evening combination about a similar amount. This is a reasonable £6 a day which includes additions such as sauces which I am reducing and liquorice portions to keep me regular. However it is more than many families budget per head although a world away from regular modest eating out and as much as some couples spend on an individual meal in a posh nosh with vin specialé. Out under the present regime is alcohol, bread and roles, bacon, salami, chocolate and Danish pastries.
The bright change of the week was working out how to repair one of the Brother printers after one of the new colour cartridges for the Lexmark failed. This was the oldest of the two identical Brother machine and reason for the recovery arose when I got a paper jam in the Lexmark and move the print head carriage gently to one side and removed the offending paper, I did likewise with the Brother and after replacing the black cartridge with a new one it has worked brilliantly enabling me to catch up with printing out of transcripts from the House of Commons Culture and Home Affairs Committee and the Lord’s Communications Committee but deciding against the voluminous material from the Leveson Inquiry with available documents each running into the hundreds of pages and which I suspected the intention it is bury the subject over years of inquiries and their paper.
I have now rescued the second printer which was outside in the garage ready for the next visit to local authority recycle and disposal centre. I will investigate if it can be self repaired tomorrow having spent a pleasant half hour or more outside clearing dead growth and bringing evergreens under partial cover to avoid the worst of the winter and sorting out general in preparation for whatever the winter brings. I may even change my mind about bulbs after making visit to Wilkinson’s later to day. I have changed my mind about the time of going out enjoying the Arsenal at Chelsea game, where at present the score is 4.4 to Arsenal after Terry slipped leaving Van Percy with just the goal keeper to go round. He has now got a hatrick as they lead 5-3 in extra time, the final score.
It was cold this morning first thing and last night but now there is a clear blue Sky and it is pleasant. I shall however watch the 20 20 game in India and keep an eye on the Rugby League International and listen to Sunderland at home to Aston Villa before having a shave and going to Wilkinson’s, possibly Azda as well as Morison’s, to replace a cheap every day saucepan and get another packet of mini packets of sweets to give for callers on Halloween on Monday, some mushrooms and sprats if they have them at Morison’s, milk, quiche mackerel, stir fry, beetroot and lettuce
The Le Carré film and TV DVD’s have arrived with four that I have viewed including Smiley’s People viewed on a poor recording and the Spy who came in from the Cold plus also this year The Tailor of Panama and with the past couple of years the Constant Gardiner where I though I acquired the book but cannot find. I have seen the Russia House in the past which I will save to read with the book and then the Looking Glass War and the Deadly Affairs which I may have also seen but have no immediate recollection. I am reading The Mission Song which I do not think I completed and am treated as a quick read through before considering in greater depth.
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