Sorry, I'm entertaining a visitor and we went out for a long walk this evening - it was delightful, but by the time we got back I was late starting Bike and keep falling asleep as I try and write it. So rather than have you read a load of gobbledygook, I'll finish it tomorrow and post it.
Sunday is Bastille Day, the anniversary of the storming of the notorious prison in Paris which was one of the trigger points of the French Revolution and arguably, the French have been revolting ever since.
being one of the few intelligent life forms on this planet. Over the weekend I laboured in my garden removing an invasive species of plant, periwinkle, which forms matted roots which required me to use a mattock to get through. I took them to my back garden and tried to burn them. The fire smouldered all night, but didn't destroy half the pest. I'll finish the job tonight, thought I.
Been out watching hedgehogs in my garden then had to listen to an hour long phone call from my needy friend. It's been an exhausting week, culminating in my working twelve hours yesterday and Tuesday. I am knackered, though enjoyed the hedgehogs - have a family of four zipping round the garden.
Hopefully normal service will be resumed tomorrow.
Which involved some walking there and back, plus a bike ride this morning against a strong wind. So, I'm just starting to scribble tonight's Bike, if I can stay awake.
Sorry folks, I was just starting to write tonight's bike and my needy friend rang - do I have to say more? She talks for England - she's lonely and anxious and I don't have the heart to tell her to go away I'm busy, but after a twelve hour day, I'm going to bed, I'm simply too tired to do Bike tonight. I have started the next 'Bonkers', so over the weekend I might get some more done, along with redoing the brakes on my bike, decorating, gardening, laundry, shopping, cook...
I recently reread this series and actually enjoyed it, forgetting half the stuff that was in it. I'm tempted to write another episode, even though the person it was written for seems to have vanished. Such is the nature of people with gender identity problems, though I hope she and her family are safe.
Why I'm blogging is, assuming I find the time, and an even bigger assumption - I can rekindle Kylie's innocence and charm - are any of you interested in me doing another one. In other words, would you lot read it?
Sorry I've been distracted by my fridge turning up its compressor or whatever happens to deceased cooling units. I had to dash out an order a new one as well as cough up the readies to pay for it. Amazingly, my freezer is still working, so in that regard it could be worse, but the new one won't arrive until Sunday morning - so bang goes my lie in.
A girl can't have too many shoes can she? In my case that also applies to bikes and books, the latter outnumbering the former by about 400:1 and I have ten bikes so do your own calculation.
Since the death and resurrection of BC, my stories have received more hits but fewer kudos. I accept the extra hits might be multiples by the same reader through continuing tech problems, but curious as to why my kudos rate is down unless of course fewer readers consider my efforts worthy of kudos button.
'Apologies for not posting today but I got stuck in North Wales in various traffic holdups and didn't get home in time to post. I'll sort it as soon as I can get to the back up computer in the next few days.'
With only ten more episodes to go to the 2000 I feel it incumbent upon me to ask the readers if they want me to continue this saga for a bit longer, assuming the indulgence of Erin and her pixies, in supporting the proposition.
Sorry folks, got watching part 1 of Labyrinth by Kate Mosse and the night just disappeared. Part 2 is tomorrow but I shall try to do Bike early or late. I have an early bike ride tomorrow and the clocks go forward overnight, so that's an hour off my beauty sleep - and believe me I need all the help I can get in the beauty department.
So apologies to my regular readers, will try to do better tomorrow.
It seems that today I've been posting stuff here for 5 years and 52 weeks - doesn't tempus simply just fugit? In that time I suppose I have posted a few things here, about ten zillion blogs, over two thousand episodes of serials and fifty odd short stories - odd being the operative phrase.
I hate to think how many hours I've spent writing for, posting on or reading stuff here but it must be thousands of hours. In return, I've received 104,149 Kudos from you, thousands of comments and made loads of friends.
I've always been a believer that much of the trouble we find ourselves in is influenced if not created by us. Okay, so I don't have much influence on the weather, the movement of celestial bodies or the government, but I do in regard to the things I do.
A quick check on my account confirmed my suspicions. You lot have been very generous with your bestowing of kudos on me and my two feline helpmates - now before someone spoils it all by saying it was a sympathy vote - I can reveal that I now have the magic number of kudos in six figures, no not six kudos, but 100,000. Given that the kudos system didn't start until Bike was a couple of hundred episodes or more old, your generosity is overwhelming.
Thank you all for your generosity, if you keep it up I might yet write something worth reading.
A new book on 'Fanny' and 'Stella' two young men who were arrested for being dressed as women created a sensation in Victorian England. This article by the Daily Wail is reasonably sympathetic and has some photos not in the book - how do I know? I received a copy from Amazon on Thursday.
The surgery went well and she seems to be more awake than I expected. My ex has been to see her and confirmed it. I hope the recovery will maintain this rapidity of rate, but at the same time accept some of this might be adrenalin.
Thank you all for your good wishes and kind thoughts, it's much appreciated. Now if only you could have a word with the man who controls the weather...
My daughter is in hospital and goes down for surgery tomorrow morning. Her tumour is in C1/C2 so right at the top of her spine. As I can't do anything except worry, I shall go and see her at the weekend when I hope she'll be alert enough to at least recognise me or know that I came to see her.
She is very frightened and given the circumstances, I would be, too. In fact I am but from a sightly different perspective. I can't even send her flowers because that unit has a no flowers policy.
My daughter has finally had an MRI scan. The good news - she doesn't have MS. The bad news - she has a tumour on the top of her spine which is causing the symptoms of muscle weakness, loss of coordination, tremor etc. She's on the urgent list for surgery at the University of Wales Hospital, Cardiff.
We have heavy snow forecast for tonight & tomorrow, so it looks as if I won't be able to get to see her this weekend.
So the post Christmas/New Year period is over and we all return to normal - um, not quite. My cough remains and my energy levels are still well down on my usual, possibly not helped by working silly hours.
Checks can be made out & sent to:
Joyce Melton
1001 Third St.
Space 80
Calimesa, CA 92320
USA
Note: $6000 is the operating, maintenance and upgrade budget. Amounts received in excess of the $6000 will be applied to long term debt accrued over the last 19 years.
