Life Trundles On, Chez Collison:

* Grandmama's kitchen refit has finally (mostly) been fitted. The design promised 'more room for storage', so naturally there is now approximately half the amount of space that there was before.
     On the downside, this means that Grandmama - a perpetual and incurable hoarder of food and utensils - has had to get rid of a mass of stuff.
     On the plus side, however, this means that Grandmama - a perpetual and incurable hoarder of food and utensils - has had to get rid of a mass of stuff.
     ...And another plus; it does look terribly nice, and Grandmama is very pleased with it.

* Mother's recent attempt to broaden her mind has gone pretty much as expected. For a while, her usual Agatha Christi novel in the bathroom was replaced with Steven Hawking's "A Brief History Of Time". This led to four days of discontent and general defensiveness - as it became clear to Mother within one page that she hadn't the faintest idea what the celebrated scientific and mathematical genius was talking about - before she finally admitted defeat. Agatha has regained her rightful place on the shelf beside the 'throne' (as MJ calls it), and poor Steven's tome has been relegated to a pile of unwanted literature in the kitchen, destined for the Church raffle.

* ...speaking of Mother, she has finally heard back about her pension. With regards to the lump sum, it is due on 30th September - and is far higher than anticipated, which is very lucky, as Aunt 1 is going to need financial help soon if she is to continue Paddy's treatment regime, which is essential for him to a) live and b) be happy living - and with regards to the monthly payments, that will be slower getting off the mark due to the (stupid) way that the system is worked out, but we should apparently be good to go from November 4th onward.

* Bingo appears to be growing stiffer. We have upped the dose of painkiller to full, but only for two days. Right now we are two days on, two days off, and plan to carry on that way for a few weeks to see what happens. I know that it would be better for Bings to have the full amount every day - the thought of him being in even slight discomfort is a terrifying one for me - but his tummy just can't cope with it. Hopefully this will be an acceptable compromise.

* My trainers split across the back this morning, mid shift. They've lasted two months.
     =sighs=
     It would be far better if I could wear my waterproof boots to work, but I can't. They haven't broken in as well as I'd hoped. I took a risk, buying army boots, that they wouldn't stretch as much at the toes - how I wish I could have had the next size up, but it was hopelessly too big - and the risk didn't quite pay off. Nearly, but not quite. Dog walking wise, the boots are perfect: my feet stay dry, and I can walk on pretty much any terrain without the fear of slipping over due to the terrific grip they have. I can only wear the boots for approximately two and a half hours, however, before they begin to pinch my little pinky toes (as I have fractured them both - on separate occasions, thankfully - they are misshapen and fatter than the other toes, which really doesn't help), and three hours before the discomfort passes the baton over to pain.
     So, they are my official super-duper waterproof dog walking boots. I am not sorry I forked out the money for them. These boots will serve my hiking needs for many, many years to come.
     ...As for work, well, trainers are no good. They are too soft, and the seams are not strong enough to cope with the stress put on them by my insoles. So, back to boots I go. Ordinary run-of-the-mill boots, non-waterproof, strong enough to cope with the insoles - hopefully - yet soft enough that my little pinky toes are able to keep from crying.
     I've brought the next size up, though (which with this style is do-able)  just to be safe. So, we'll see...

* The Story is growing, inch by inch, millimeter by millimeter. Carrying on like this, I should have finished it by January, which is my goal. It will be the third story I have written in full, and the first that has any real potential. The other two were written years before, and while they have some good ideas and some sections of them are quite good, I wasn't particularly happy with the result. I was stiff sort of 'finding myself', I think, writing wise (God, I hate that phrase!), and it shows.

* The money I've been waiting to hear about has been confirmed. It should be going in on October 10th. As soon as it's in, I'm ringing the college in Worcester and making an appointment to meet the head of the IT department. The sooner I'm enrolled, the better. Even if there's been a mistake, and I have to wait until January to start, I don't care: at least I'll be enrolled ready, and know that it's going to happen.

* My birthday is fast approaching. You know it's close when you find people are asking you sutble, non-obvious questions like; "...so, what did you want for your birthday...?".
     ...I'll be 32.
     Blah,..

* ...did I mention the trainers? Because they split today. Mid shift.

* I finally watched Suicide Squad the other day.
     Not bad. Not bad at all. I'll definitely be watching it again.

* I was the driving force behind stopping Felix - have I mentioned him? He is about 8 years old. and autistic (or so a trusted member of B&Q staff tells me); he comes in with his father every single weekday morning, and has a high fascination with all things mechanical and electrical - from having a meltdown this morning.
     God bless Petal. That mopping machine has stopped many a tantrum simply by driving slowly past, and it's always nice, but the huge beaming smile I got from Felix today was particularly sweet.


...and there you have it, lady and gent: the last few days in bullet points.
     Now, don't you feel special?

Alice X