Flu & stuff

I'm sorry it has been a while since I have been blogging I have been puli bad, having had the flu (apparently being ill around here has something to do with misbehaving dogs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puli ). Now normally I would try my best for my ailments not rule my life, but this did properly floor me. I did go into work but that was more to not knowing whether I would have my shifts covered. I really wished I had phoned in sick so I could have properly rested, but other than going into work I was sensible, hibernating under a duvet, keeping up my fluids, avoiding dairy & eating soup & dry biscuits. I did have to take it easy as flu & asthma are not exactly the kindest of bedfellows & at the moment my lung capacity is not back up to normal & my chest is still rattling like a  toddler with a set of maracas. If you are unfortunate enough to get flu be sensible don't treat it like a cold, take care of yourself as unlike a cold (unless you are an alien from War of the Worlds) the flu can kill. This is one time I let myself be the patient & I do feel better for it

Coping with the winter weather

I'm not entirely sure why snow brings people into mass hysteria, it is easier to cope with it if you are a lot more rational. Panic buying, clogging roads to get home before everyone else snarls up the traffic in the bad weather which does not work. Plan in advance. If it is going to snow first of all dress sensibly, this is the most important thing if you do get stranded you need to keep warm, it is not a time for vanity, sensible shoes, winter coats, warm jumpers, hats, gloves & scarves, leaves the heels, skirts, fashion shoes & denim at home. As far as food goes, dried goods are far more useful than perishable goods. Why do people think that bread & milk are the most important things? They deteriorate quickly, sure bread flour is a better idea & if you are stranded at home you will have time to bake. Long life milk would be more useful if milk is absolutely essential to you to have it, though at this time of year building up mucus is not the best idea anyway. Keep curtains closed will help keep heat in. wear you jumpers & warm clothes around the house so you don't have to ramp the heating up too much more than you'd need to. Keep your phone with you so that you can contact loved ones just in case you get stranded. Do take some high energy food with you just in case you get stranded & a hot drink in a thermos flask. If you have these then you are less likely to need to do the panic things that grinds the country to a halt. Also only drive anywhere if you have too, walk if you can or work from home if you can. Check on neighbours if they are elderly, sick or disabled. Most of all enjoy it, build snowmen, throw snowballs put out bird feed & see what birds come into your garden. I have a 4.2 mile walk to work tomorrow though being sensible I am looking at finding an alternative route as it is quite steep. Those are my tips to cope

Confidence crash

Sorry for the major hiatus in the posting I had difficulties getting onto my blog. I have had issues recently with my confidence, it took a nose dive recently for real apparent reason, I feel I'm coming out of it as I realised there was no reason why I shouldn't have confidence in my self & kinda shook myself & told myself to get a grip, my life could be worse & has been in the past. Well it appears that I need to de clutter my head & do tasks that are important to me & my life, take strength from my faith. So if you are having a crisis in confidence & your not sure why, dig deep, concentrate on your strengths, do something you love & are good at & you may find your confidence creep back, but the first step is to acknowledge your lack of confidence first otherwise you won't be able to do much about it. The much happier Pagan Chaplain.

Things I'm having to get used to in the New House

This is not a rant, I am however having to make adjustments. Although the house we were renting was a detached property & this is an end terrace we haven't really down sized as such, more shunted sideways in size. But there there are things that I'm having to get used to, we are nearer a busy road so it is noisier at night & if the kids are being really naughty next door you can hear the screams, stomps & tellings off. We also have a different micro climate as we are on the top of a hill, it is colder & wetter. the garden is more than just a little water logged. I'm hoping that planting the fruit trees in the garden may help with sorting that out. The electrics in the kitchen & the boiler are a little temperamental so we are going to have to sort that out. The oven I'm going to have to keep spotless otherwise the house will fill with smoke. We still need to get rid of boxes, which are empty but need to go back to the owner. We also need to put up shelves so we can properly store the books. But I have to say despite the teething problems I've got to admit I like this place. It is starting to feel like home already.

The Stress of Moving House

I have now moved & yes there may have been the usual worries & some minor irksome situations but we seem to have not had the the nightmare scenarios that some people that we know have had. Are we lucky or just too chilled out? We have not argued, bitched or sniped, yes the djembe that I bought Richrd which was one of the first or if not the first got broken after Richard put his thumb through it, but things get broken & it can either be fixed or replaced. I had mislaid my binoculars & got despondant over them until Rich looked in a box that I could have sworn I hadn't packed them in, but obviuosly had. The cats are probably the ones who were most stressed by the move though as they hid when the removals people came & didn't emerge from behind the sofas in the new place for about 24 hours. Most of the stuff is now moved & the cats are now exploring. All the boxes are unpacked & now all we have to do is get the last couple of things from the previous house & give it a good clean. Not bad for a week's  work & the new place is feeling homely already, though we do need to get used to the quirks of the house. Like the alarm that goes off for no apparent reason on a thankfully rare occurence & the fact that there are power surges & the washing machine needs to be moved so the pipe will fit better & not leak & getting the boiler which is thankfully still under warrantee sorted as it drips. But thankfully nothing too major has happened. There has been some stress as my eczema has made an appearance on my forehead, but generally quite happy with the move as it is closer to family & some of my friends, although I do miss some of my old neighbours already.

Clearing Out the Rubbish

This not a metaphor, it is not until you are moving house do you realise how much rubbish you accrue, having a good sort out just proves this. We have 2 Christmas trees we discovered when clearing out the loft & it appears we have been using the scrattier looking one. I also cleared out the medicine cupboard to find that half of the remedies were out of date. We have had 3 charity shop runs with various items & then when it comes to packing up the stuff you do want it fills way more boxes than you expect. I have been brutal with the cull of random items that we don't need but still we have loads. Why do we accrue so much? I'm drowning in a sea of boxes. I'm keeping this post short due to needing to get cracking with packing & tidying. Take care & I shall post from the new house.

Be Kind to All Life, Become Vegan?

This is not an attack on veganism or vegetarianism just a question which I have wanted to ask for a while & would like to know an answer to. A friend on facebook recently put a post up about the blatant disregard for life within the poultry rearing industry, isn't it time you went vegan? Which also lead me to remember a sign on a vegan march in Birmingham which had a sign saying 'Be Kind To All Life Become Vegan'. Now I'm not arguing that farming practises in this day & age are all fine & dandy & the animals don't suffer at all, in fact the opposite rings true, I think all people should rely a little less on eating animals & then perhaps then with a change in that habit we would be more able to keep animals in a more humane way. My argument falls like this, a blatant disregard to all life surely should encompass that of plants, just because they can't talk does not mean they can't communicate, they have pheromones for that & they do respond to each other, acacia trees let other trees know that there are giraffes nearby so they can produce a chemical that will make their leaves unpalatable for the giraffe if it decides that the acacia that it is feeding on has gone too bitter so will try to wonder to another to continue feasting on. Plants suffer, if you pick a bean, courgette, chilli or tomato off a plant, it will grow another, not because it wants to, but needs to to survive, essentially harvesting fruit is committing abortion in the plant world. Blanching vegetables, is starving them of light, which helps provide some of its food therefore malnourishing the plant, just so chicory, rhubarb, dandelions etc don't taste quite so bitter. Then there is the cut & come again salad crops which suffer from a regular disembowelling by removing their leaves. So is this being kind to all life? Or is this if it doesn't make a sound, it doesn't count as it must be a lesser being?