Weekly Update Y2w17

I feel like I'm starting to make progress!  I even got down to dead on 92kilos at one point, and thought that didn't stay, it's daily fluctuation that is normal.  Hopefully, if I keep eating right and mindfully this week I can break the 92kilo barrier and get into the 91s! <fingers crossed>

I exercised three times last week, and am aiming to either exercise for longer each time, or exercise four times in the week.  I need to keep at it!

The Lost Heir by E G Foley

I actually listened to this book as an audiobook.  Audible Stories have given free access to a selection of audiobooks for children, for as long as schools are closed due to coronavirus.  Sitting in the garden with DD2, I started listening to this book because it was her age-level and sounded like I book that I would also find interesting. Next thing I know, DD2 had wandered off, and I'm thoroughly enjoying this book.  I don't listen to books that often, but it has given me a chance to sit in the sunshine, doing my latest MosaiCraft project whilst listening to the story.

The blurb says:

Take a dash of Harry Potter and a splash of Oliver Twist, add a pinch of steampunk and a sprinkle of Victorian fairy lore, and what do you get? The Gryphon Chronicles! A rollicking fantasy adventure series that’s as much fun for grownups as it is for kids.

Strange new talents...

Orphan Jake Reed is a smart, plucky twelve-year-old pickpocket living by his wits on the streets of Victorian London. Lately, he’s started seeing ghosts—then discovers he can move solid objects with his mind! He has no idea why, but it seems to be the reason that a Sinister Gentleman and his minions now come hunting him. Suddenly on the run for his life, the rascally lad plunges headlong into a wondrous world full of magic and deadly peril. A world that holds the secret to the greatest question haunting him: who he really is. The answer leads the rough-and-tumble guttersnipe to a mysterious stranger’s mad claim that he is the long-lost heir of an aristocratic family…with supernatural powers.

But with treacherous enemies closing in, it will take all of Jake’s wily survival instincts and the help of his friends—both human and magical—to solve the mystery of what happened to his supposed parents, Lord and Lady Griffon, and defeat the foes who never wanted the Lost Heir of the great magical House of Griffon to be found.

So, yes I did enjoy this book.  It's a shame my children didn't give it a chance (they'll only sit still for watching TV or playing computer games) and listen to it whilst drawing or anything, as I think they would have liked it.  I know I would have liked it when I was a child.  There are 6 books in The Gryphon Chronicles, and though I have no intention of reading more myself, I thought the book was good.  It was very well written, with lots of excitement in the story.

Mental Health due to Coronavirus

So far, I have been fine.  Honestly.  I'm quite happy sat at home pottering about.  I do miss seeing people face to face, and giving friends a hug when it's needed, but we do our best using Zoom, Houseparty, Facebook, Skype, Messenger etc.

My family, otoh, suffer more with anxiety so I have been busy supporting them where I can. Everyone is more stressed, and my daughter who is excelling at school, is finding it difficult to learn online. I tell her to take breaks, but she is worried about getting in trouble (thankfully her teachers seem understanding).  DD1 wrote this poem instead of doing her school work the other day, and it has a depth of feeling that amazed me.  DD2 is worried about my husband and me dying.  And my husband is stressing about work and the fact we're trapped in the house.  Yes he can go shopping (he won't go out more than once a week), and yes he goes for a long run daily, but when he's stressed he likes to leave the house and go to the beach or visit someone or go to the cinema or any of the other stuff that we can't do right now.

I've been calm, making the most of the slowing down of daily life and the sunshine in the garden.  I've been reading more than usual, doing a new MosaiCraft, and I have even started doing Pilates on BodyGroove.  Life has been good to me - until this morning.

Due to having the BRCA1+ genetic mutation, I have an annual mammogram and MRI to check I don't have cancer.  This is usually in February, and when I didn't hear anything, I assumed it was because it had been deprioritised due to coronavirus.  Last week I had a call inviting me to screening today, and that I'd get a letter through the post.  Despite having received a letter from the NHS/Council saying that I need to shield myself for 12 weeks, this is important so I accepted the appointment.  My husband wasn't happy, but with everything I have read and seen about coronavirus, I would make sure I took adequate precautions and everything would be ok.  I bought some disposable gloves, have wetwipes to wipe down surfaces in the car, made a face-mask from a bandana and hairbands and have antibac gel.

Then this morning it hits me - I am going to the place they take everybody with coronavirus.  Doctors and nurses who have PPE have died at this hospital after contracting it, and I am willingly walking into this environment.  My rational brain knows that they wouldn't have called me to the appointment if it were dangerous, but that part of my brain went into hiding.  I was worried.  Thankfully a friend talked with me and helped put things into perspective and making me laugh (I don't know if you can see the skulls on the bandana, but it was suggested I carry a scythe too.  I don't have a scythe, but do have a garden hoe, and my husband's scholar's gown from Oxford that would complete the look!). Haha.

In the end, I went to the hospital.  I couldn't wear the mask, as though it didn't when I tried it at home, it kept steaming my glasses up.  I wore gloves going to the appointment (not during the MRI) and antibac-ed my hands every time I went through a door.  And when I returned to the car, I wiped my handbag down, and also the car steering wheel/radio/seatbelt/indicators/doorhandle etc when I returned home again.  Now I'm back home, I'm calm again.  I immediately changed my clothes and put them in the wash, washed my hands and face again.  It may be overkill, but I don't want to be responsible for bringing the virus to my family.

This has made me realise how brave loads of our workers are in this country.  I only had to go to hospital for an appointment that took less than 90min.  There are men and women who daily have to go to hospital to care for others, to treat others, to clean the wards where people have died or are dying, maintenance people who ensure all the equipment is running smoothly, people in the kitchens making sure staff and patients are fed, receptionists who are the first faces you see when you go to the hospital or to the department, and then the morticians who are encountering large numbers of people who are dying from the virus.  God bless you all.

I'm back home and am going to stay safe and stay here until the coronavirus has past.  I know at some point I will encounter the virus (it is inevitable) and I hope initially that I don't suffer badly, but also that it will be after the peak of this pandemic has passed.

Weekly Update Y2w16

Yes, this week's update is nearly identical to last weeks, except that I can say my weight has gone down!

Only a little, admittedly, but hopefully this is the start of another longer dip in my weight.  In fact, my lowest weight (which I have hit three times) this year is 92.6kg - and two of those times were this past week!  As I am now 92.8kilos this morning, hopefully it is realistic and achievable for me to hit a new low this week, and maybe, just maybe, it won't be too long for me to break into the 91s.

I have already done more exercise this week than I did last week (not that that was hard, tbh) but I need to keep that up and do even more. I am still reading Made to Crave and being accountable to my friend.  I am trying to exercise more and drink a lot of water. 

Tomorrow's Guardian by Richard Denning

Tomorrow's Guardian is another children/teen's book, and is D in my series of choosing books based on author's name.  I think the reason I have so many kids books in my to-read list, is because every now and then I come across lists of "30 books every bibliophile should read", "50 books everyone should read before they are 50", and recently a "books every child should read before they are 21".  I add them to my wishlist, thinking that my girls may want to read them one day.  Of course, they don't want to.  At some point I get notified that books on my wishlist are free, so I "buy" them given the chance, and they automatically get added to the to-read list on my kindle.  And since they sound good, at some point I actually download them to read them - like this one - without realising until I actually start reading that they are aimed at children, and not 30-something year old adults...

The blurb says:

Experiencing disturbing episodes of déjà-vu, eleven year old Tom believes he is going mad. Then, he meets the adventurer Septimus Mason, who shows him that he is a “Walker” – someone who can transport himself to other times and places.

Septimus explains that these abilities could be removed leaving him, once more, an ordinary schoolboy. Given the hurt these talents have caused, the choice would seem easy enough, but it is not so simple.

In dreams, Tom has experienced life as other “Walkers” in times of mortal danger: Edward Dyson killed at the Battle of Isandlwana, 1879; Mary Brown who perished in the Great Fire of London, 1666; and finally Charlie Hawker, a sailor who was drowned on a U-boat in 1943.

Reluctantly agreeing to travel back in time and rescue them, Tom has three dangerous adventures before returning to the present day.

Tom’s troubles have only just started, however, for he has now drawn the attention of powerful individuals who seek to use him to change history and to bend it to their will. This leads to a struggle wherein Tom’s family are obliterated from existence and Tom must make a choice between saving them and saving his entire world.

The Hourglass Institute Series is a Time Travel adventure for Young Adults: Time Travel Sounds like fun until you try it.

Prepare yourself for a thrilling dash through history as your read about the adventures of Tom and the Hourglass Institute.

Without overstating it, I was blown away by this book.  Yes, it is aimed at teens or young adults, but there is a lot going on within it.  There is the sci-fi aspect of the time travel, or since it is an innate talent of the Walker it could be seen as magic with a fantasy genre.  It also has aspects of historical fiction, as Tom goes back in time to different periods; horror due to living/experiencing the deaths of other Walkers from the past, and the story describes a dystopian future of what could be if our history was to be altered.

As I am trying to read all the books on my kindle and not by more, I have 'only' added the sequel to my wishlist, rather than buying it outright; but I look forward to reading the next in Tom's adventures when I do start buying books again.  (I am also trying to encourage my girls to read this book, so that they get absorbed by this book and provide me with the excuse of buying the next one earlier, lol.)

Murder under Construction by Maddie Cochere

This was the book I chose based on AuthorName = C.  It is the first book in the Two Sisters and a Journalist series and still seems to be free on Amazon.

The blurb says:

Jo Ravens is thirty-two, divorced, and stuck in a rut. She wants two things in life - a new career as a private investigator and to lose the sixty pounds she packed on after her divorce.

When she crashes her nephew's bike in a construction site, she lands on a girl with a large knife in her chest. Jo enlists her sister Pepper and journalist friend Jackie to help solve the girl's murder. Things become creepy for Jo when the girl appears to her in dreams and offers unusual clues to her death.

Murder Under Construction is a humorous mystery with Jo's family adding to the antics of the three women. Mama caterwauls, Jackie's two children offer sleuthing assistance, and her brother Hank laughs at all of them from the sidelines.

This cozy mystery was an enjoyable romp.  The book does allude to previous murders that Jo has solved, but unlike some books, the author does go on and explain what happened, so you feel confident that this is the first of the series.  As well as the dead girl appearing in Jo's dreams (which doesn't get explained, so I don't know if that'll be a recurrence in future books?), there are romantic interests for Jo and comical situations she finds herself in.

I did enjoy this book.  If I wasn't trying to read all the books I currently have, I would buy the next one in the series, however I have opted for adding the next book on to my wishlist. 

Weekly Update Y2w15

My weight has stabilised!  I'm happy staying here for a bit, before it hopefully starts to drop again.
Thankfully it has stabilised at a lower weight for me, so that gives me hope.

I have already done more exercise this week than I did last week (not that that was hard, tbh) but I need to keep that up and do even more.

I am still reading Made to Crave and being accountable to my friend.  I am trying to exercise more and drink a lot of water.  I am finding the latter easier than the former.

So just a brief update today.  Once I've established these habits, I want to be able to kick start the weightloss again.  If my weight is stable for another week, I will still be happy.

Easter thoughts

Today is Easter Day, and is a celebration of God's love for us, where He defeated sin and death, and enabled us to approach Him without fear and condemnation.  Jesus is alive!  We can now have confidence, through faith, in the hope of being with God in Heaven. 

Whether you agree with my proclamation of faith above, or not, Easter for most of us is a time of celebrating with our family.  We get to enjoy a long weekend in the UK with Bank Holidays on both Good Friday and Easter Monday - admittedly they'd be more noticeable were we not locked down at the moment.  The kids do an Easter egg hunt, chocolate for breakfast, lots of people have lamb for lunch, and scoff the rest of the chocolate for afters.  The day is spent with family, sometimes a walk in a park, and it is restful whatever beliefs you may have.

This year is different.  We are locked down.  The kids don't have as many eggs as usual - whether that be because people are only going to shops for essentials, or relatives are unable to give eggs for Easter.  Church services are online, so no sociable Easter services that many look forward to.  Easter egg hunts that are open to the public are cancelled, and people are confined to their own homes; a walk in the park may be permissible as long as everyone stays distanced from each other.

We're lucky in that we normally do an Easter egg hunt for the girls around our home and garden anyway.  This year, whilst I've been watching a church service online, my husband did the Easter Egg hunt, writing clues in rhyme about being in lockdown, and where to find the next clue.  He also bought me an Easter egg, and I hadn't got him anything as I haven't been to the shops in weeks.

Unfortunately, I have friends who are not so lucky.  On what should be a day of celebration, I have friends who are going through trials and tribulations in their own homes with their partners.  I am not going to go into their difficulties, it just highlighted to me how lucky I am to have my husband.  We may not agree on everything, but I am thankful to God for him.

On the first Easter day, God freed us from the bondage of sin. God gave us love, and wants us to experience it in all its fullness. We should not be trapped in our homes if we are in danger.  In case this information is useful to you: Safety Advice for Survivors

Bless you and I hope you have a Happy Easter however you celebrate it xx

Reliable Coronavirus Information

There is a lot of misinformation being spread about Coronavirus: causes and cures.
Some of these theories are funny, some make you raise your eyebrows and some are downright scary and will certainly lead to more deaths!

So, I thought I would do my bit and share the people who I have been following in the recent weeks, and they are all medical doctors*.

Firstly, there's Dr John Campbell*: Dr J Campbell's YouTube Channel
He is British and has a very calming voice.  He does a daily global update based on facts and figures.  He gives his expert opinion about what to expect in the coming days and weeks and so far has been proven correct. He also has other videos about whether to wear masks etc. If anybody wants to know what is happening around coronavirus, without any hype and scaremongering, listen to Dr John.

Secondly I follow Dr Duc Vuong: Dr Vuong's YouTube channel
He is an American surgeon who specialises in obesity.  At the start of every episode he shares his qualifications and degree certificates to prove his credentials.  I like Dr Vuong.  He is passionate, to the point he has been accused of scaremongering, but actually he tells it like it is.  He does swear, which I find amusing (especially when he tries not to!) but you can see he believes in what he is saying.  He has produced some good educational videos about how the coronavirus attacks the body, what a cytokine storm is, and he is now moving towards doing more videos with other people.
If anyone is suffering with anxiety around coronavirus, I would suggest watching just one of his videos before you subscribe to him, because he is blunt and he is passionate.  I, personally, find his passion and straight talking to be a comfort against all the crap that is spouted online and from those in positions of power and influence who should know better.

Lastly, ZDogg (or Dr Zubin Damania): ZDogg's YouTube Channel
Again, he is American and he produces videos against "pseudoscientific nonsense" and recently has done videos about coronavirus.  I confess to not having watched as many of these as I have of Dr Campbell and Dr Vuong, but the ones I have watched I have found informative and enjoyed. Especially his satirical and musical ones.

*Technically, Dr Campbell isn't a MD, but he is a medic (nurse) and has a PhD with a medical focus.

The Magemother by Austin J Bailey

Working through the unread books on my kindle, I am skipping books that are for very young children, but reading books that are aimed at teens.  I'm also going through my books and choosing them based on author's last name (so I previously read and A, this is B for Bailey and next I'm reading C).

This book is actually aimed at Middle-schoolers (I had to look that up, and seems to be roughly 10-13yo), so slightly younger than any of the books I usually read.

The blurb says:

An invisible girl. A missing mage. A world in need…

Brinley has spent most of her life lost in her own imagination, teaching bullfrogs to do gymnastics and pretending to be invisible. Now, when a magic bell from another world summons her across time and space on a journey to find her mother, she will discover real friendship, face true evil, and overcome her greatest fears in order to save the ones she loves.

The Mage and the Magpie is the first book in Austin J. Bailey's Magemother series: an epic middle-grade fantasy adventure series with witches, shapeshifters, and cliffhangers, and awesome kids (There are no boring adults in this book!).

I could tell this book was aimed at children - slightly quicker pace with less description and depth than I'm used to, but actually it was still really enjoyable.  I'm not going to read the subsequent books in the series, but if my children were looking for a fantasy book I would encourage them to read this and I would buy the following books for them.  (And admittedly, once I've bought them, for the kids, I probably would end up reading them.)

The book is really well written and the story is easy to follow, even though you are following multiple characters at times.  I like books with a sense of good prevailing over evil, and even though there are sad bits, the book is built up as an adventure and you cannot always predict what will happen next.

Weekly Update Y2w14

I don't want to get too excited, because I know what I'm like - a couple of weeks of weightloss and then I pile it all back on again.  Especially as this is Easter week, and all the associated foods that I don't/won't deny myself.  Added to the fact that we're in lockdown and we need to use up all DD2's Easter chocolate from last year, before she gets given more this year, I am not pinning any hopes on losing weight this week.

On the positive side, though, we're not in self-isolation any more, so can go to the shops if we need to.  My husband went out yesterday, so we have lots of yummy food in the kitchen, and we still get a weekly delivery of fruit/veg (alternating each week), so there are plenty of ways to be healthy.

And little as it may seem, I have started doing Body Groove again - yey!  I've convinced my husband to join me too.  We're building up slowly due to my unfitness and his embarrassment at dancing round the living room, but we've started and that's the main thing.  And he's still going on runs by himself to keep his own fitness levels up, so isn't his main way of keeping fit, but I know I need to do more, and little by little it can make a difference.

Damage Limitation by Roland Meighan

As a home educator with one child now in school I was interested in a book that discusses reducing the harm that schools do to children. 

This book is actually a collection of articles, talks, letters and other writings from a variety of contributors (as indicated by the front cover).  It is split into eight sections: Damage Limitation; Point of View of Learners; Compulsory Mis-education; Point of View of Parents; Grandparents; Teachers; Damage Limitation; and Education for Violence.

This book was first published in 2004, and from my point of view, I would like to read a similar book that included more recent articles and research.  Having said that, I am glad I have read it, and can imagine it prompting thoughts for some readers, whether parents or teachers!  My favourite bit was the post-script at the very end, entitled "Postscript: beyond damage limitation - teaching in the next learning system..." as it consists of a list of points for anyone in the teaching profession to consider whilst moulding the minds of the youngsters in their care.

I'll end with the text given on the Amazon page:

I have to take a deep breath and I have to put on a positive, cheerful demeanour, for I know that 1 will have to look the system full in the face, every visit, and I know that it will make me unutterably sad.
Why? Why will my walk down the corridor and my visit to the classroom and my attendance at a Governors' meeting make me so unhappy? And why has the recent OFSTED inspection of our secondary school - an expensive charade played out before a captive audience - driven me to speechless levels of impotent anger?
Why does my heart sink when I read of the pupils temporarily and permanently excluded? Why can't I rejoice in the school's strategies to improve the exam results? Why can't I rejoice in the school's strategies to improve the attendance rates, and in its strategies to stamp out bullying and in its policies on the wearing of school uniform and the control of litter? Why can't I rejoice in the knowledge that, after a few days' presence, the OFSTED team consulted its tick lists and concluded that a high percentage of the lessons observed were ‘satisfactory’?
I cannot.
As I walk down the corridors now and sit in on lessons and attend Governors' meetings, I see and hear from the imprisoned, the deflected, the exhausted and often the deflated. I find myself particularly studying the Headteacher for any sign of his or her cracking up, or giving up. Amazingly, despite everything, some enthusiasms do survive in small places and small doses.
But all is not well. Almost every week now I read of changes in the educational policy of the government, and these changes add up to an unacknowledged admission that things have gone badly wrong.
As I write, I have on my desk some news of the latest change: national trials are under way, apparently, of a new and less stressful test for seven-year-olds in England. The head of testing at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has said:
"I think this is the future, if we are going to move away from high stakes testing. We want to see if the current system can be improved, above all by valuing the teacher's detailed knowledge of the children in the class."
What words! What sentiments! Shall we weep now, or later? The damage already done to seven-year-olds by key stage one testing is quietly buried beneath another vision of the future for young children in the schools they have to attend. The damage is real. This book makes that abundantly clear; so powerfully clear in fact, that one could be forgiven for doing a Corporal Jones, who, whenever a threatening situation occurs, runs around exhorting people not to panic.

The contributors to Damage Limitation offer an alternative to panic, and an alternative to formal schooling. They are not siren voices. Far from it. They look at the present system of schooling with a clear, unflinching eye, and suggest what should happen to make schools, which are by their very nature authoritarian institutions having to march to a tune not of their own making, far less damaging to children. In addition, they go on to unfold their belief in children, in how children learn and in how they should be treated. They declare their belief in the life-affirming purpose of education, and in doing so they refuse to accept that there is no alternative to what John Taylor Gatto calls the ‘twelve-year jail sentence’.
As a briefing book on how to get educated despite school, this is both a timely exposure and a heart-warming inspiration. It is written by people whose experience in education has touched them deeply and made them think long and hard about what it means, and what it takes, to be educated. It deserves to be read by as wide an audience as possible, and we owe Professor Meighan a debt of gratitude for bringing it to life.
Peter Holt

Black Virus and Black Rust by Bobby Adair

We're in the middle of a pandemic.  What better way to pass the time than to read about a pandemic that sweeps the whole world?

Black Virus is a short story prequel about the virus itself...

Virus. Chaos. Survival.

Alienated in a world where he doesn’t fit in, Christian Black survives because he’s different. Then the virus came, and made the world turn different, too.

Now people are dying by the million. Food supplies are short. Riots are blazing through the streets, and Christian’s only goal is to keep his family alive. But safety lies far from the city, and just getting out will be tougher than anyone knows.

...whereas Black Rust is set 15 years later, and is about how people deal with the aftermath.

The virus came, and the world fell into an abyss.

Starvation camps, corporate farms, endless ghettos, and failed states darken a future where most of the population has been twisted by the disease.

To protect itself, a corrupt system pays Christian Black and others like him to exterminate violent degenerates who would destroy what's left of the world. Unfortunately, a mistake has been made and Christian has put too many of the wrong ones to death.

Laws have been broken. Punishment comes for Christian, but he will stop at nothing to keep his freedom.

Fortunately, the Brisbane Strain is nothing like the Coronavirus we're currently dealing with.  Rather this is type of zombipocalypse - though those badly affected by the virus become degenerates, rather than zombies who die and come back to life.

These are two thrilling stories, and even though Christian Black is portrayed as 'different' and needing a therapist, actually he doesn't seem that different to me.  He just makes hard choices and sometimes goes too far.

At the very end of Black Rust there is a twist in the plot that I didn't see coming (and I like it when I don't see them coming!).  According to Amazon, the next book is due out August 2016 and to my knowledge it hasn't been written yet.  If/when it does, I would happily read what happens next in the saga.