Friday 22 April 2016

I'm BAAAACCCCCKKKKK!

After umpteen weeks away again I've finally managed to get back on to the computer and check in with my email accounts.

Oh my lord, 496 in one (granted I haven't checked that one since just before the Infant Distraction was born) and 126 in the other.  This is going to take some time.

Wednesday 30 March 2016

The Infant Distraction Has Landed!

Hence why I haven't done a blog post in absolutely ages!

Our son was born on the 6th of February and life has never been the same since.  To start with the birth wound up being an emergency C-Section any way because he decided to go cross wise in the womb as well as taking fifteen hours to even think about making an appearance.  Then to cap it all he didn't take to breast feeding and wound up in the Neo-natal ward twice because his blood sugar was crashing out.  I will say that the staff on the ward where I was staying were fantastic to both of us except for one point - they were very resistant to the idea of me expressing the milk into a bottle and feeding him that way.  If they had given ground on that point sooner then he wouldn't have had that second trip to Neo-natal.  However, we did get it sorted eventually and we came home, five days after he was born.

I am now getting used to life being a near constant round of express, feed, change nappy and help him shift wind.  I will say that it is more than rewarded with cuddles, smiles and now, gurglings.  I know people said enjoy it while it lasts but it is not lasting!  He has gone from eat and sleep to trying to talk, trying to crawl and even trying to stand (!!!!!) in less than eight weeks.  I swear some days that I can see him growing!

As such work has gone on hold and I have for the first time in seven and a half weeks managed to get on the computer to check out my e-mail accounts.  491!!!!  I may be some time.

Monday 1 February 2016

Mouldering

Having a bit of a down turn on the productivity side at the moment.  Not only are we still waiting for the little wiglet to make his appearance but I've had a right snot banger of a cold.  It probably wasn't helped by having to have a glucoses resistance test to stop the midwife harping on at me.  Apparently my bump is too big so she was getting all twitchy about my having pregnancy diabetes, which apparently makes babies grow too big to be born naturally.  Well the test came back 'normal, no further action required' so now I have no idea why my baby bump is bigger than normal.  Personally the medics would probably save a lot of time and money, as well as worry, if it was routine for expectant mothers to have one last ultrasound at 36/37 weeks because at that point the skull and pelvis could be measured and any concerns about size flagged up then.

Any way, as for the glucose test itself - I'd had an interesting cough since the weekend and then I had to starve from midnight on Tuesday, be up at half six on Wednesday, be at the hospital for half eight, have a starving blood test, drink about half a litre of glucose water (tasted like icing sugar in water), wait an hour, have another vial of blood taken, wait another hour, have a third vial taken and then I was finally allowed to have something to drink and breakfast.  That was about twelve hours without food, or even much in the way of water.  Is it really surprising that the next day my throat was sore and my neck glands in the process of swelling up?  So instead of spending the last of the week working to produce stuff to sell for the rest of the year, I spent it feeling like mould and dosing myself with every cold and flu remedy I have found that works on me.  The most effective I've found is home made, extra strong garlic butter.  It makes you stink but it boils the germs out of your system just about as fast as they can go.

I am now just about in the last stages of the cold i.e. stuffy nose and glue ear so I'm finally back to work.  How long that is going to last depends on the little passenger.

Sunday 24 January 2016

Jobs Lots

If only I could sell them off as lots at an auction but if I did then they would no longer be my stories or my artwork so on with the show.

Know that it has been rather slow with the news on my blog recently but my husband has been cashing in the last of his holiday so has rather been hogging the computer to work his way through the I.C.T. degree that he's hoping will lead into a better job.  It's a case of two courses down and seven more to go so he's got a lot of work to cram in before June when his payment for the degree times out.  So I don't grudge him the hogging of the computer but it has meant that now he's back at work I do rather have a lot of catch up of my own to do.  Try over seventy emails for a start.  Working through that lot took several hours earlier this evening and I'm not even going to mention facebook.  That was rather like opening the cupboard and having a tidal wave of Tribbles fall out on top of you. (Sorry for the Star Trek reference but I did watch that show when I was a child and it probably had some baring on my own sci-fi writing.  That and it was one of the funniest moments in the original series.)

As part of my catch up work I am trying to post another Patreon post.  Trying is the word that is over working in that sentence as I have posted in total three Patreon posts.  However, only my first one appears to still be in existence, the other two having vanished into the ether as if swallowed by the ninth level of the internet.  Why this should be I have no idea but as you can imagine it rather ticks me off as it does explain why my husband, who has been on Patreon a shorter period of time than me, has patrons and is receiving a small amount of funding while I do not.  I'm not entirely sure what I am doing wrong as I am filling out all the boxes and clicking the 'Post Now' button, which I assumed was what one needed to do to make a Patreon post.  I'm sure that there is a reason why this method suffices for blogger and not Patreon but I am beginning to consider hitting the 'Post Now' button with my fist.

The other thing that rather makes all this catch up work rather pressing is that there are now only three weeks before the infant distraction is due to arrive.  That is of course assuming that he doesn't follow the family tendency for the last five generations and arrive early.  Considering he dropped two weeks back so that I can now breath easily again and I haven't had a day go by where I haven't had a serious practise moment since then I'm beginning to wonder.  I'll let you know the moment he gives me five minutes to think once he's arrived.

Saturday 9 January 2016

The Audio Has Landed

Finally, after many months of speculation, decisions, a few tantrums (I can see why children do it - it makes you feel better even if it doesn't change anything) and an awful lot of work on inter-communication (not an easy thing for an Autistic to deal with, I function much better with a clear road map to what I'm supposed to be doing) the audio sample for my book has finally arrived.

Here are the first twenty minutes of 'The Return of a Nagus'.  A huge thanks to Michael Hill and Hazel Willson for all their hard work and time spent on this project.  I hope we can work together again soon.



Or, here is the Youtube link if the above video is being awkward:



For those interested in grabbing the rest of the story the link is:

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/144687/The-Return-of-a-Nagus?src=hottest_filtered

Also Leaves of Dreams managed to raise the rent so if you fancy grabbing some of my framed artwork at 20% off, please visit them at:

Leaves of Dreams
47 High Street
Watton
IP25 6AB
Thanks to everyone who has helped me get this far.

Monday 4 January 2016

Falling Leaves

Besides the good news that I'm still on track to upload the audio sample of 'The Return of a Nagus' on Saturday, I've had some bad news as well.

It seems that 'Leaves of Dreams', despite an initially successful start, has run into difficulties and unless they get a serious wind fall by the end of the week they are going to have to close.  Obviously this not only has a knock on effect on my own career but I know the people who opened it last month.  They both have struggled due to disability to just receive a 'proper' job and opened 'Leaves of Dreams' in an effort to become self-employed and stop having to live off what benefits they could scrape together.

Despite what Ian Duncan Smith and Rupert Murdock would like you to believe, most people on benefit would like to be off it, if nothing else so we can stop having to listen to the government sanctioned libel that gets spread our way.  If you printed some of the stuff that has been in the news recently about disabled people only aimed it at non-white people instead then you would be done for inflaming racist violence.  Why is it that being disabled means that we are expected to just sit here and take the verbal and written slander?  Oh yes, I'm sorry, I forgot we can't fight back so that makes it alright to kick us around.  What is it about people in positions of authority that means that they want to be bullies to those that don't enjoy full mental and physical health?

One of these days I'm going to have to write a story in which a 'supreme leader' views those with handicaps and disabilities as valuable members of society that, if given the correct help, can drive their country to being the greatest empire in existence.  Could be a new take on the legend of Hephaestus, the Ancient Greek God of Smiths and workers, who managed to make many of the miraculous devices of the Parthenon, despite having a leg so badly crippled that he had to ride a donkey when ever he wanted to travel away from his forge.

The only thing is, I think I'd have to make the 'supreme leader' the villain to fit in with societies accepted norms.  Or I could go totally AWOL and actually write it how I want it with the 'supreme leader' being the hero trying to build a better world for everybody, with structures in society that help those who struggle understand the chaos,  while the other countries lambaste him for being a dictator.  Could even have it that he only allows people to immigrate to his country if they have a disability.  I'm liking this idea more and more.  What do people think?

Any way, back to the matter in hand, if you want to help support 'Leaves of Dreams' then they are located at:

Leaves of Dreams
47 High Street
Watton
IP25 6AB

They can also be emailed at leavesofdreams.venture@gmail.com

As well as their facebook link, https://www.facebook.com/Leaves-of-Dreams-1883563641867952/?fref=ts&__mref=message_bubble

And their tumblr, what ever one of those are http://wedreamoftrees.tumblr.com/ 

I don't like do the whole begging thing on my blog but this venture is directly getting two people off benefits and is helping many more to do the same.  Even just a few messages of support would be welcome right now.