Are holidays a good idea?

Ask me in two and a half weeks ...

Counting down

Just 3 days to go, and we're on holiday!

moBlogging

Just trying cellSpin ...

AirShow

Anticipating an interesting day - the Museum of Flight down the road is hosting its annual airshow. After yesterday's sun and blue skies we have cloud and drizzle - but I wouldn't have wanted it to be too hot, with two children in tow and the risk of sunburn.

Somewhat anxious about the travel arrangements - we're leaving the car at home (well, not quite - we're driving to the station), and taking the train and a shuttle bus - I'm just hoping that the the shuttle bus is big enough for all to fit in ...

wayPoint

Will I ever escape from the prison of too much to do, too little time - and the consequential tiredness? I live in continual dread of failing to get something done, or doing something inadequately, because I haven't the time, and I haven't the energy.

Another meeting, this afternoon, with somebody whose job it is to help us; but being invited to attend yet another meeting is not being helped, unless something is then offered. I'm tired, and afraid that in my fear and my frustration I will come across as uncooperative.

Pray for me ...

Top deck

As holiday time approaches, and I wonder how I shall survive away from a computer, I guess that it is only natural to be trying out some mobile blogging options.

And, a little more prettily

With a title ...

At last! I can use ping.fm ...

Just testing

From the café ...

Reaching for the sky

Needing, on so many fronts, just to take one day at a time ...

Trying to be creative

Frustrated ...

Breaking the silence

Silence can be golden - not always ...

I'm finding it difficult to report on what is happening around me these days. A crisis, I guess. On many levels. Too many questions - reminds me of the old days of trying to solve applied maths problems - if there were too many unknowns, the problem couldn't be solved ...

A crucial week

As I've been told often, a crisis can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. So, looking back on the turmoil of this week, I have mixed feelings. But, to focus on the positive - I have discovered (or, rather, re-discovered) a new resource - Scripture Union's WordLive which means that I no longer feel that I'm trying to haul myself up by my bootstraps. And there's a mobile version, which means that with my web-enabled mobile phone I have access virtually anywhere ...

Where am I?

This is a peculiar darkness ...

Work terrifies me, these days. There is simply too much to do. Perhaps, if I had different skills, I would be able to get other people to perform some of the tasks - but I don't. I've had my second interview with the lady who is trying to decide whether or not I have Asperger's. It's an odd experience. I had to complete a questionnaire which was designed to assess how well I empathise with other people. As I worked through it, I was conscious of how much, throughout my life, people have said to me that the one thing which is more important than anything else is what they generally call love, but which seems to me to be something like empathy. And here I am, being asked - do I empathise? Of course, it feels like a trick question.

So, if, because of who I am, I can't empathise (maybe I can - the doctor seemed to be thinking that I do empathise - but then if I've put so much effort into trying to empathise, surely I have been able to, to some extent - but, then, maybe I've been fooling myself all along). What I'm trying to get my head around is - how can they say that love is everything, if there is a group of people who are unable to love? Except, I suppose, that empathy and love aren't necessarily the same thing.

Picture postcard

It's been an odd day; for a while this afternoon the sun shone, but the sky darkened as threatening clouds moved in, and rain (maybe some hail) began to fall. This, by the way, is our church - more rural than you would expect for the community we live in ...

Getting my head down

Yesterday was a logistical nightmare (and, in the event, a significant achievement) - but highs (in terms of somehow managing it) tend to be followed by lows - and I'm struggling to get useful work done to-day - which is a problem because there's too much to do and too little time (as usual) - so I'm using every tactic available to get my head down and keep working ...

Easter

I've been ironing Hama Beads (I searched for a suitable link, but I can only find people who sell them). Contrary to the forecast, the sun is shining. The visiting cat prefers to stay indoors, however - I guess that it's still cold outside.

Of course, Easter was last week-end, but with it coming so early this year, the children are still on holiday. Life still feels like a struggle to keep our heads above water - it's difficult to think of anything positive to report. We're having new windows and doors fitted, in about 10 days' time. In preparation, the computer has been moved - it now resides in what feels like a good location - the landing in this house has an open space which is like an extra room. And my wife says that she's been sleeping better since the computer was moved upstairs - I wonder if the gentle swishing sound of the fan could be soporific. But it's more difficult for me - my desk is still downstairs - it used to be easy for me to swing round from my desk to the computer whenever something needed to be recorded electronically.

But I am enjoying the more open, brighter space. I guess that this arrangement will stay.

Spring - imminent?

I can't think where I got that idea! It's been so bitterly cold ...

It's been a long week

But to-day did feel as though spring might not be too far away ...

Despatches

In a crowded hall, waiting for the concert to start, my knees cold because my jeans are wet - I had to change a (car) wheel because of a flat tyre ...

But eagerly anticipating a feast of music ...