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Just watched a bit more of Rex playing FFVIII and he finally got round to reading Selphie's diary - but because he's at the point where Garden becomes mobile, there was quite a lot to read :D He described it as a boss fight, which I don't think is fair - but then I'd have read as I went along. Oh, and he got the bad date because he mismatched the music. Irvine tapdancing is still the funniest thing in a video game ever.

I managed another 2k today, so keeping at it. There are a lot of moving parts to this one and 'Chapter 1' (aka, the first 5k words) reflects that fact. Hopefully, readers will be intrigued by the switching between characters and won't feel like I've given them whiplash!

I made progress in Stray Blade and we are now in The Desert Section. We've done The Mines and The Icy Place already. There is some poisonous gas to navigate, which led to me dying. Oh, well, we'll have another go tomorrow.

I've found a new series to binge on - Anatomy of a Scandal. Very much 'she said, he said' at the moment. I am debating whether to watch the end of it... it is Saturday after all... Arguments against - it'll give me something to watch tomorrow, and just because I CAN do something doesn't necessarily mean I should. AND I still have my evening prayers to do, and I can read more of S&S. And there's just exercising a little discipline over myself. There - it can wait for tomorrow.

Liverpool are back at the top of the table after what sounds like a rather fortunate win for them, and losses for City and Arsenal. In fact, Arsenal are now fourth, with Forest(!) sneaking up into third. So, what was all that about a two-horse race between City and Arsenal?

And that was today. See you tomorrow, DW.
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It's been a long week.

Today, I actually managed to communicate something that needed to be communicated. Considering communication is an important part of my role, you wouldn't believe how bad I actually am at doing it. Anyway, I started archiving the documentation for a project that recently closed and sent a message on the Teams site to say I was doing so. There was immediate wailing and gnashing of teeth because people were keeping live documents on the project site. I understand why they might have started out there because they were being used in the roll out of the project, but once the project is over we aren't going to keep the site open forever. The timescale I had suggested was deemed too tight as the users would need time to decide what to take and where to keep it going forward, which I understand. I withdrew my original timeline and said I'd let them do their thing - but I've made a note in my calendar to give them a nudge in a few weeks :D 

I've archived stuff in the past but usually as an after thought rather than as proactive housekeeping. And as part of the prep for the GDPR project, I've also set up a records retention schedule that says I'll completely delete archived material after so many years (5, I think...) - which I also need to factor in to my calendar. *skips over to work email/calendar to put in a note to check* But today reinforced the value of communication and why it helps to make it my first thought rather than my last!

I also expanded the RAPID Log for a project that's in its early stages but actually has quite a big list of Risks already. We have some 'standard' items that we ask PMs to consider including and I think I can expand that list based on this project. Risk management is becoming something of a passion of mine. Project for Web has a slightly different way of scoring risks, though - probability is out of 100 (as in percentage) and impact is out of 10. Our spreadsheet has 5 and 4 respectively. I actually find the bigger numbers harder to work with but I suppose I'll get used to it. 

So, quite a bit of housekeeping-type work today, which is another of my happy places - making order out of chaos.

This evening, I watched a couple of episodes of Psych and tonight's HIGNFY.

Tomorrow, we're hoping for cuddles with grandson #2, and I will be watching Doctor Who.
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FICTION WRITER
I struggled to wake up this morning, even with the alarm, but I still managed to do the edit on the 'Hunting' story that I wanted to do. I've tweaked it a bit more this evening and I'm still not sure it works, but I'll see what the Beta readers make of it!

HOMEMAKER
With that done, it was downstairs for breakfast, throwing in a load of washing on the way past. I even got the washing on to the line and almost dry before the rain hit mid-afternoon! And I ran to the shop after tea to pick up some bits and pieces, so I won't be in a panic in the morning.

PERSONAL ASSISTANT (to myself...)
Every Monday morning I run through my calendar for the week picking out the highlights so I'm not taken unawares. And every Friday I review the 'to do' list and see what got done, what didn't, and what got moved. I'm also going to set up my personal 'to do' list for the next couple of days before I go to sleep.

DRAUGHTS-PERSON
I edited the roles and responsibilities doc, and the terms of reference for a committee, prepared a draft agenda for one meeting and tweaked one for another, and drafted the minutes for a third. I've also prepared the liturgy for tomorrow night, complete with a reading about Nazirites (an ancient Jewish community who took specific vows), and some bullets for a brief introduction to monasticism as contained in High Street Monasteries.

TRANSLATOR
My previous LM asked my current LM for a walkthrough of the new PM process but new LM didn't quite get the message. I've checked with previous that I've understood what they're asking for and will attempt to pass that on tomorrow.

PROUD GRANDPARENT
Got all soppy over some pics of grandson #2 getting shy because a woman in Costa looked at him - bless.

CHILLER-OUTER
I rounded the day off with a couple of episodes of Psych. I did consider playing Zau first, but decided I just didn't have the energy.

And tomorrow, we do it all again! I'll be editing a different story, renewing part of husband's prescription, leading a meeting to plan another meeting (love those!), watching Dave continue his adventures with FFVII OG, and leading evening prayer with added monasticism.

Just hope I get a better night's sleep, tonight...
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The service led by my two colleagues went really well but the tech let us down so we had to resort to paper :D Our discussion was around 'what does prayer mean to you?'. I decided to sit back and listen for a change but I think everyone in my group was saying something similar to what I would have said. Prayer is conversation with God, and we can access it at any time. There's no need for special words or positions - we just get to 'take it to the Lord in prayer'. But having 'special' times for prayer can be helpful because they take us out of ourselves, focus our attention on the divine, rather than random thoughts rattling around in our heads.

When I got home, the kettle, which was playing up yesterday, failed completely. I boiled a very small pan of water on the stove and it took 10 minutes! There was no way I was putting up with that until Tuesday, when I'm next in the office, so I headed into town for a kettle, toaster, and some other random bits I was going to pick up in the week. The most annoying thing was having to get dressed again after getting comfy in my PJs. I hate town at the best of times and Sunday shopping is perhaps the worst. Sundays for me are about rest and quiet - not quite a full-on Sabbath, but something close. These days, Sundays are at least as busy as Saturdays, perhaps even worse. Anyway, I got almost everything I wanted and left the rest for later, and got back home hot and sweaty but successful.

I'd left the washing machine on when I went out and it was ready to hang out when I got back. I considered putting it on the line but I knew we were due a thunderstorm, so decided to hang it out indoors. In the end, it probably would have had time to dry but better safe than sorry! We had a two minute downpour with perhaps one peal of thunder, but later on we had some real rain and LOTS of thunder. In between, we had the Man U v Arsenal match on and the storm arrived in Manchester, with live lightning and thunder! I've never seen that before.

After yesterday, I knew I was in no state to play Zau, so I watched the two episodes of Doctor Who that I completely forgot about yesterday *horrified gasp*

Thoughts on the new Doctor Who
I'd read some comments on fb, so I was a bit wary going in to it. But here are my thoughts.

Space Babies - if the babies were 'born' 6 years ago, why are they still babies and not 6yo? (possible RL reasons - perhaps 6yos command higher fees than babies? or it would have been harder to corral that many 6yos?) And how do they know - but don't know - how to operate everything? And wtf set up all the pulleys and levers? Actually - Nan-E is probably the answer to those two questions... I did like the prams. And saving the 'monster' (which looked VERY like a Propagator :D). One of my fb friends talked about 'virtue signalling', which I'm guessing referred to the stuff about a) insisting on babies being born but not looking after them after that and b) refugees are only refugees when they arrive on your shores. I actually thought that stuff was handled with SLIGHTLY more subtlety than similar issues have been handled in the past. Oh, and I did like the 'story so far' bit at the start - helpful even to those of us who've been Whovians for a while!

The Devil's Chord - an interesting idea. What would the world be like with no music? But it wasn't explored in enough depth because we had to have a song and dance routine at the end. WTF?!?! I liked Lennon and McCartney teaming up to play the final chord - although McCartney being played by Leafyard Man REALLY threw me. Anyway, amongst the 'there has to be a twist at the end' nonsense, 'Henry Arbinger' made a brief appearance, so presumably he'll be back later in the series. The Maestro was sinister in a way I found deeply uncomfortable rather than delightful. More Weeping Angel than Missie :D

I will, of course, continue to watch the series but it's going to take me a while to really get into Gatwa's Doctor, I think. In particular, I'm not getting any real chemistry between The Doctor and Ruby. Maybe the actors are too close in age? Or maybe The Doctor just hasn't been alien enough, yet. Time will tell.


After tea,
I came back up to continue with Zau. I played for about 45 minutes, of which 30 were spent escaping the Black Cloud of Doom whilst trying to negotiate obstacles. I learned a new skill and had a few goes at using it when... hey, presto! The BCD was back!!! And not only do I have to run away from it, I have to use my new skill, too!!!


I noped out of THAT (there's football on tomorrow, so I'll have a go then, I think), and watched an episode of Psych. I think there's an issue with the continuity because the Chief had her baby but I'm sure she wasn't pregnant in the previous episode... Anyway, this episode was about a Comic Con, which reminded me that we had one in Liverpool last weekend. Sometimes it's hard to know what's a cosplay outfit and what's someone's preferred way of dressing :D

Oh, and we have video evidence of grandson #2 walking <3

And that was my Sunday. Back to work, tomorrow *sigh*
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According to my diary, I'm supposed to be leading at church tomorrow. When I agreed to be on the rota for this Sunday I stipulated that I wouldn't prepare a talk during my week off, and our vicar agreed to send me their sermon to read out. Since then, they organised a house move for this week but I wasn't sure if they were off completely or just busy with moving. This morning, I emailed asking for the sermon but didn't hear back all day, so guessed they were off-off. Which is absolutely fine - their spouse is also a vicar with a different parish (the new house comes with their job) and they have three young kids; moving house is quite enough to be doing without writing sermons! I decided I'd just wing it with a lectio devina on the Gospel reading; it's the sort of thing that always goes down well and doesn't need much prep. Anyway, a message popped up on the WhatsApp group we use for organising the music at our church that two other members of the leadership team are leading and speaking tomorrow. Result! Not only am I off the hook for leading, but I hadn't even thought about music :D

After doing my cleaning jobs and feeding everyone, husband and I went out for a walk and did a bit of shopping. It was an absolutely glorious day - the year is finally warming up! 

When we got home, I came upstairs to play on Zau but I was still too hot and bothered and my hands kept slipping on the controller. I'm at a point that requires physical and mental concentration and I just couldn't provide it. So, I had a go at A Hat in Time, instead. Not really feeling that one, but it might just be that I wasn't in the right frame of mind.

I've also watched another four episodes of Psych. It's still utterly ridiculous but I still love it. Shawn's dad is throwing up a lot of surprises for him >D And Gus is suffering from Geordie-syndrome; the smart black man that can't get more than one date with a woman. I hope that changes at some point... I wonder if they'll show the college frat-party episode?

Oh, and grandson #2 is finally on his feet - at 15+ months! I thought our son was late at 14 months. On the one hand, it seems weird because he was early with both rolling and crawling, but on the other it makes sense because he can zip around on all fours like lightning! Why bother using your feet? So, now we want to see him toddling for ourselves <3
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Why do holiday weeks go by so fast?!

I got another load of washing out on the line. I love drying stuff outdoors. So fast, so fresh, so convenient!

I also made progress with Zau. I think I've reached the final boss for Act Two, meaning I've completed this act in about half the time it took to get through Act One. I had to stop without beating the boss, though - tired brain was tired :( 

And I watched four episodes of Psych. It's absolutely ludicrous and beyond far-fetched, but I'm hooked.

We had an absolutely gorgeous afternoon but husband had spent too long sitting out in the garden and was already hot and bothered before I suggested a walk, so we didn't get out. But sitting in the garden is still being outdoors! We really could do with a parasol, though...

I also made some more home-made fat balls for the birds. There's something very satisfying about squishing together lard and bird food.

Oh, I managed to hoover the whole house, too - so that's one less job for tomorrow.

And tomorrow is just a normal Saturday. Bath and cleaning, here I come!
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Husband didn't feel up to the appointment and I can't say I was disappointed to have a day at home. I tried using the url in the letter to change the appointment, which just kept taking me to the main NHS page. Clicking on 'my appointment' simply told me what to expect, not how to change it. I checked the email we were sent, which had a link to the details of the appointment and said to 'ring this number to change it'. For the first 5 minutes, the number was just engaged. Then I got through to the muzak, which was interrupted occasionally by a woman's voice telling me I don't need an appointment for a chest x-ray, I can go to Aintree Hospital or Litherland Town Hall(!), followed by a man's voice telling me all the operators were busy. After a few minutes of that, he told me I was #4 in the queue and another minute later... #5... WTF?! Anyway, we eventually moved in the right direction in the queue and got through to someone - who then transferred us to Rheumatology *sigh* More muzak and then an almost incoherent young man grunted down the 'phone at me - first asking why I was calling and when I said I wanted to reschedule he mumbled something that could have been a comment or a question. After a short pause I asked him to repeat and my brain unscrambled the mumble into 'Why can't he attend?'. I answered and he said a new appointment would be sent out. If only I could have done it online!!!

I took advantage of a day at home with warm, sunny weather and washed husband's bedding and dried it on the line, so that was a good use of the day.

I also made progress with Zau. The purpose of the journey is clearly to teach Zau to embrace his role - I mean, Act One all but spelled it out! - but he's being obtuse, so we have to go through the whole thing. When my fingers and brain work together, it's a fun experience. Wall climbing in particular is very satisfying. When my fingers are too slow to respond - or my brain sends the wrong signal - it's a mess. But I'm keeping on keeping on. I've just looked up how long it should take to play the whole game - 8 hours for the main story, 9-10 for everything. It's taken me 5 hours to get to Act Two (of four) >D Yeah, we're going to be here a while...

And this evening, I watched the pilot for Psych, which I very much enjoyed. I particularly like Gus.

And that was my day.
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The final haul stands at:
- Husband: a Griever necklace and moogle pin badge
- Son: bonsai pots and a Terry's chocolate orange
- Daughter, sil and grandson #2: a Lush voucher and birth flower key ring
- Grandson #1: flower seeds
- Mother and stepfather: a carved(?) stone rose

Not bad at all.

I started off with a bath and then husband made breakfast. Then I made my fairy cakes - orange butterfly cakes with chocolate spread rather than butter cream, and chocolate cakes with orange icing and chocolate sprinkles.

Next I tackled the thing I was stuck on in Zau and got across in a couple of goes, so it was worth leaving it until I'd had a sleep. I'm currently saved at another tricky bit and I think I've been taking the wrong path - but what I think is the right path looks like a right pain in the arse! I will NOT be trying for the plat on this one; the hidden areas where the collectables tend to lurk are just too tricky, and I'm having enough of a fight with the 'happy' path :D Still, it's a measure of my development as a gamer that I'm getting past the obstacles reasonably efficiently AND as a person that I'm seeing this as a Challenge and approaching umpteen attempts at the same puzzle with patience rather than throwing my controller out of the window. As I keep saying, there's a reason I don't platform... And yet, it seems, I do!

We had a sit out in the garden with a cuppa and a cake, this afternoon. Remarkably, it not only didn't it rain (it so often does rain on my birthday) but was warm and sunny.

I also watched the second and third episodes of the series on Pompeii, which was really fascinating. Immense wealth built on the backs of enslaved workers, evidence that many people managed to escape and proof that many did not, the fragility of human life in the face of the power of nature. If you have access to BBC iPlayer (and are in any way interested!), I recommend giving it a watch.

I've also just discovered that Psych - another of the programmes my chat buddy goes on about all the time - is on Netflix. Because I don't have enough things to watch...

Tomorrow, husband has an appointment with a rheumatologist out at Broad Green. Oh, goody...
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Had a really nice walk with husband this morning. Warmer than yesterday but still quite overcast. We walked past the Uni of's student encampment to protest the war in Gaza. Power to you, brothers and sisters!

When we got home, the pots and soil for my bonsai had arrived. Husband bought me a 'grow your own bonsai' kit for my 50th and of the many, many seeds in the kit, only two have made it to this point. I had to disentangle the roots because the pots they were in had got so full of weeds - I'm sorry, little trees! But each is now in its own proper bonsai pot, its roots wrapped around a stone from the garden, because those are the type of bonsai I like best. I've always been fascinated by miniature things - dolls houses, bonsai, tiny boxes.

Grandson #1 bought me a 'grow your own flowers' kit for THIS birthday, and I've planted some of the sweet pea seeds in the tin cans (washed out and painted red) that are scattered around the 'frog pond' - which is a green ceramic bird bath with a ceramic frog in it that USED to be a fountain until the solar panel gave out. I've given up trying to get sweet peas to climb around the fence because it just doesn't get enough sun, but these seeds are in a nice sunny patch, so hopefully they'd trail instead!

On the other hand, the ivy growing around the old gate really doesn't mind being in the shade! In a year or two, we'll forget there IS a gate there, I think :D

Then husband and I sat in the garden in the sunshine and just enjoyed our green space. We work on it in patches and fits of enthusiasm but it's a precious little oasis that we both love.

I think I've finally hit a metaphorical wall in Zau. I've got a skill that lets me freeze water, which caused some frustration, but I could see what I needed to do - it was just a case of doing it at the right millisecond. But now I've got to jump and dash and jump and dash over a patch of sharp rocks, with more sharp rocks in the ceiling. If I wait too long to jump, I land in the lower rocks. If I jump too soon, I hit my head on the ceiling. And if I get across, Zau doesn't seem to want to do the final dash, so I land in the lower rocks right next to the solid ground on the other side. This is why I don't platform! And why I'm unlikely to put myself through the Plat because I might have to redo stuff like this. If I don't get across it tomorrow, I will admit my chat buddy is right and it is Too Hard and watch a LP, instead.

I've just watched the first part of a series about new excavations in Pompeii. They found a house with builders' tools laid out neatly in one of the rooms and brand new roof tiles stacked in the entrance hall, and decided they must have been undergoing renovations following the earthquake 17 years earlier. They also found a fresco showing what looks very like a pizza! You can take a virtual tour of Pompeii here - Pompeii | BBC Partnership (open.ac.uk). History is another of my many interests :)

And that's all for now. Tomorrow's pleasures beckon :)
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I got three loads of washing done this morning and hung out on the line - at 7pm, some of it was still damp, so I've hung it up indoors *sigh*

I realised we were low on coffee and decided on a trip to the big Tesco, and husband felt like some fresh air, so we went together. I was almost too warm in jeans, t-shirt and light coat, but there was a coldish wind, so husband wore his leather coat and wooly hat and gloves! It was a lovely afternoon for a walk but I had to put my sun hat on because I still hadn't got round to buying any sun glasses. But, thankfully, Tesco provided them, too! I had made a list but left it at home (doh!), but remembered everything except jam.

On a previous trip, we bought Bonne Maman chocolate spread. It's one of the few brands I have positive feelings about and actively buy - I have a much longer list of brands I avoid! - AND the chocolate spread is palm oil free. I cracked it open to have on my toast this morning because we were out of jam. It is very good :)

Back home I played an hour of the Stella Blade demo, which covers the early part of the game. It felt like a combo of Horizon and Scarlet Nexus. I would be interested in the full game but not at full price. It's on my wish list, so I'll know if/when the price drops. There is a difficulty setting but it isn't possible to change the button settings, as far as I could tell, anyway. And I couldn't use the items in my bag <_<

This evening, I've played an hour or so of Tales of Kenzera: Zau, which is giving me flashbacks to Dust: An Elysian Tale - side-scrolling action platformer with some VERY nice combat. Of course, I'm not getting on with the platforming but it's challenging rather than impossible. There is a difficulty setting but I had to hunt for it, and I was able to completely customise the button settings.

I'm amused by the different approaches games take to trophies. In Carto, the chapter complete trophies were all visible and the accomplishment ones were hidden. In Zau, the chapter complete trophies are the hidden ones (well, they're the top half of the list, so I'm guessing they're the chapter ones), and the accomplishment ones (mostly collectables) are visible. In the case of Carto, the hidden ones could be said to be spoilers, and perhaps the chapter ones in Zau would give away story elements.

I finished off the evening with three episodes of old Doctor Who. I am, of course, very excited about the new series starting on Saturday *dances*

I've hit the first brick wall in my editing. It's a story that needs more than just some tinkering with the word count - the whole thing needs work. But I've been thinking about it and how to make it more interesting, which counts as working on it! I also need to bundle up the first 10 stories and send them to my Beta readers.

Tomorrow, I need to pick up husband's prescription that I completely forgot on Friday, collect a blood form for next week AND book a telephone appointment because the online system DOESN'T WORK! Honestly, it's the 21st Century and pen and paper/F2F is the most effective method of dealing with medical stuff.

Otherwise, I'm going to be playing Zau, I think :)
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 Took husband out for a walk today. It was overcast but quite warm. I like feeling I'm contributing to his wellbeing in ways that aren't connected to food and medication :)

When we got home, I completed the platinum trophy for Carto - although there was a point where I felt like giving up! I had to slide across some icy patches to find a hat for a snowman, and even with the YouTube guide it was a pain. It took about 90 minutes altogether, and 30 of them were on that one section! But I got there in the end.

And this evening I watched another episode of Farscape. Alien food has different effects on different aliens :D

Looking forward to a family meal tomorrow.
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Our neighbour passed away just over a year ago. She left her house to her 5 grandchildren, one of whom has bought it (presumably the others get the cash) and now is transforming it into their 'dream home', or something. All I know is there's been hammering and drilling going on all day, every day for weeks. Today, it started at 8am and finished at 8pm - seriously. Oh, there was a pause in the middle of the day when the match was on.

Which Liverpool drew, BTW. They seem determined to finish the season on a low :( We will get a homecoming, but only one trophy out the four we were hoping for - but Klopp deserves a proper send off.

I finished FFXVI. The emotions hit me but didn't wipe me out. Finishing off the final boss was very satisfying. I'm still hoping for more DLC but I've bid farewell to Valisthea for now.

I've started Carto, which is a very simple game that is going to screw with my brain :D

Farscape is proving interesting. Still very early days but I am definitely enjoying it.

And now I'm heading for bed. Had a very late night last night and I've been feeling slightly out of it all day.
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You know when you have your evening planned out and then other people want something from you and suddenly it's all gone to pot? Not that the boys wanted anything bad - and not that I can't still do what I wanted - just that it reminded me that I'm not in this life alone :D

Which is kind of the point of this week's Friday Feature from Playstation Access!

And now I'm watching Farscape, which I've heard about but never had an opportunity to watch - and now it's on ITVX!

Expecting to finish FFXVI again over the weekend.
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When I got into work today, I mentioned I wasn't feeling 100% and that a year ago I'd have worked from home but now we've been told 'if you aren't well enough for the office you aren't well enough for work'. My line manager took me aside and said they'd have no problem if I asked to work from home, but the edict was given because some people abused the situation - which is fine but actually they shouldn't treat me differently. Having one rule for one and another for another only breeds ill feeling.

Anyway, I do feel like I've shaken this bug off. Thank goodness for Beechams! My main worry now is that it'll develop into a cough.

I have another potential meeting to facilitate, which will provide some governance around our main record system. The structure is a quarterly steering group (which I think there's a good argument for me to support) and a monthly working group (which I think there's less of an argument for). My line manager has set it up and suggested someone else for the steering group, and I responded that I'd rather do that meeting and could make a stronger case for it when my line manager changes next month. They took the point and suggested the working group could be self-managing.

I'm slightly anxious that there's a move for the steering group to be used to manage some of the projects related to the system. A quarterly steering group, with other business to conduct, cannot provide adequate governance for a project; I still think there's a need for a project board, which could report TO the steering group. This is a model we've seen work elsewhere.

And yes, I'm changing LM again. I've just done a quick count and I think this is #15 - but I feel like I'm missing someone...

Anyway, I've got a number of plates spinning at the moment but not so many, or so fast, that I feel overwhelmed. And next week is a 4-day week (husband's birthday on Monday) and the week after I'm on leave (my birthday is a fortnight today).

I've just watched the first two episodes of Monk, which looks like it could be fun. I'll give it another couple and see how it goes. I really do want something new.

And Liverpool are losing 2-0 to local rivals Everton. This season really has fizzled out :(
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Finally got to have a 'catch up' with a colleague who's been having a rough time. And it was sooo much rougher than I thought. I think they were glad to get it all out, though.

Otherwise, a fairly quiet day. We did get the PMF 'signed off'. In between dodging meetings, I'll spend some time polishing it up and attending to some additional bits and pieces to go with it. I'm not sure how or why, but this week is already rammed and it's only just started. Although there are one or two meetings I'm not sure we need.

I've just watched the first episode of 'Grimm Variations' on Netflix. I don't think I'll watch any more. I'm all for reimagining fairy tales but that was just weird.

And I think grandson #2 has given me a cold. I'm snuffly and have what feels like the start of a sore throat. Given my workload this week, I really do NOT want to be ill!

I'm holding off on finishing FFXVI. If there's no more DLC I'm not sure I'll play again, and I don't want to leave Valisthea. Whenever I save, I go up to the balcony off Clive's chamber and stand him opposite Jill, so they can gaze at each other while I'm not around <3

The moon is very bright but also very small - and keeps hiding behind tattered black clouds.
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My first task this morning was to do some washing. I checked my weather app, which assured me it was going to be a cloudy day with only the slightest chance of rain. Of course, as soon as I put the washing outside, the clouds burst, so I brought it back inside. Thank goodness we have space for drying indoors!

The rain went off again after dinner, so husband and I had a nice walk. We went up Prince's Boulevard because it's much flatter than Windsor St. It looks as though something may be happening with the old Welsh Church; all the undergrowth has been cleared away. I'm sure it will be turned into flats but it's better than it being left to decay any further. It does look like the sort of building you'd find in W3 or DAI - or even Horizon!

We went through Prince's Park, around the lake and then off to Tesco for some shopping, including the bread mix I forgot to get yesterday. I now have quite a fine-looking loaf to go with the Scouse I'm planning for tomorrow's tea. We came home via Windsor St, which is all downhill in that direction. Husband complained about the number of bumps, though. Well, I don't maintain the pavements, unfortunately!

Just after we got home, it started raining again! Then there was a beautiful blue sky this evening. Truly four seasons in one day. Gotta love that British weather :D

I had a go at one of the Chronoliths in FFXVI but time trials really don't excite me. I think there's a reward for the Wall of Memories if you do all of them...? But I'm a looong way from being a completionist, so it is unlikely it will ever grace Clive's wall. I did have a go at the Hall of Virtue and worked out how to use Megaflare and Zantetsuken, so it was worth it for that. I've equipped Odin but added two of Titan's abilities to R1 and R2, and added Flames of Rebirth to R2 under Shiva. But I've really got nothing else to do in the game until Rising Tide lands.

But that leaves me more time for watching telly! I got in a couple of old Doctor Who episodes and the 2007 version of 'Northanger Abbey'. The Doctor Who episodes are from towards the end of Hartnell's time - I'm watching them so I can say I've watched them. My favourite colleague, who is also a fellow Whovian, has said more than once that they don't understand how it kept going when the old stuff is so bad. The only thing I can offer is that people really didn't know what good telly was back then because it was still so new! We can only be grateful that it did keep going and we got to enjoy Tom Baker and Peter Capaldi :D

'Northanger Abbey' wasn't great. I know it's a short novel but squeezing it into 90 minutes really doesn't do it justice. Felicity Jones makes a wonderfully naive and wide-eyed Catherine but I didn't find Carey Mulligan's Isabella very convincing (although I've loved her in other stuff!). And they had her seduced by Captain Tilney - which I'm sure he would be capable of but I don't think she would risk. Although she does believe herself secure enough in his affections to break off with James... Anyway, it's a not-terrible adaptation, if you like Austen.

My favourite adaptations are (in order):
  • 'Emma' 2020 - is there any character Anya Taylor Joy can't play?
  • 'P&P' 1995 - beautifully paced, well acted, and wonderful costumes
  • 'S&S' 2008 - Elinor shines throughout
I've watched a couple of adaptations of 'Mansfield Park' but they suffer from trying to make Fanny 'interesting' when the whole point of her is to be in the background, observing everyone else. Anne in 'Persuasion' suffers a similar fate in the two adaptations I've watched - as it's my favourite Austen novel, it's particularly painful to not have a good adaptation to watch. And Catherine always ends up burning her books in 'NA'.

Well, it's been a good day overall. Here's hoping tomorrow doesn't disappoint :)
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Today was probably the least restful day of my break because I had no energy to do anything that I could then rest from, if that makes sense? I woke up at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I spent some time going through my work email account so there were only actual work emails left and then poked a tiny bit at the Parish Profile. I got back to sleep about 5am and woke up again about 8.30am but I just had no energy for anything much.

My mother and stepfather left one of their cameras here on Saturday, so they came round today to pick it up. So, that meant hanging around all morning waiting for them because I had no idea what time they were going to arrive. Which is also tiring. They were in less-annoying-than-usual mode today, so that was something - except when husband started talking and stepfather ignored this and started calling my name to tell me whatever he thought was more important and had to be hushed by my mother.

In FFXVI, I cleared out some side quests - the end game really is packed to the hilt with Stuff! This a good thing, though, because it raised me up another level. I'm also hoping to be able to craft the Gotterdammerung this time. I'm thinking of poking at the Arete Stone and Chronoliths if I finish EotF and the main game before 18 April.

I've just watched the first episode of 'The Chosen', which is the Gospel story told by combining the four Biblical accounts of Jesus' life but from the pov of the disciples, especially Mary Magdalene. It's OK, so far.

A few years ago, I watched a documentary on the women in Jesus' group, and a couple of things really stood out for me. The first was about Mary Magdalene. 'Magdala' means 'tower' in Aramaic and scholars have read 'Magdalene' as 'of Magdala' and tried to identify which of the possible places called 'Magdala' could be her home town. However, this documentary suggested that 'Magdala' is actually one of Jesus' nicknames - like Simon 'The Rock' Peter, or James and John 'The Sons of Thunder' - so she becomes Mary 'The Tower', which conjures images of a tall, imposing, statuesque woman.

The other memorable bit was when Jesus sent the 12 disciples out 'in pairs' to the surrounding towns and villages. Although it's not mentioned in the Gospels, the documentary suggested the pairs were actually a man and a woman. Women would have been able to go into the domestic areas of houses where men would be in the way. So the male half of the pair would go to the market place or chat to other men in the street, whilst the female half would be in people's kitchens, chatting with other women as they cooked or played with the children. This is an image of the Kin-dom I can get behind <3

I'm also working on getting to bed earlier, so I'm going to stop there.
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Husband had an eye screening appointment today all the way out at Aintree but I really didn't feel up to taking him. My body just wanted to stay put and heal. I didn't want to end up stranded at Aintree, not feeling up to getting home again or struggling to do so. Plus, it takes almost half a day - an hour's travel each way (allowing for the taxi to arrive, traffic issues, etc) and an hour for the appointment. So, I rang up to cancel and the receptionist said they'd get us an appointment at the Royal, instead! The Royal is so much easier. 

Got a head start on my monthly report because I'm on leave next week, and did the fortnightly dashboard update for what I'm hoping is the last time because our wonderful placement student is building me a new one in Power BI! I've left it in EPC's hands but I will need to focus on getting the final tweaks done.

Watched Fuzzfinger do the Junon parade, which looks like a bit of a pain. Barret looks cute in his sailor suit, though <3

Some progress in FFXVI. Mid is now firmly installed and I did a couple of sidequests. Dorys' VA seems - lacklustre...? But now that I think about it, I remember her improving as the game progressed. She's one of the NPCs who has an interesting story arc, too.

A couple of biopics coming up on Netflix look interesting - 'Shirley' about Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to run for POTUS, and 'Scoop' about the women who organised the interview with Prince Andrew about his relationship with Epstein. I didn't watch the interview at the time because I have zero interest in Andrew, but I'm intrigued by this being from the pov of the women.

And that's about all from today. 
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Today started like any other Saturday with a bath. I LOVE my baths but I limit myself to one per week in normal circumstances. I have been playing 'Rooms: The Main Building' on the DS but I just couldn't work up any enthusiasm for it. The puzzles are just things to get through so I can do the next level, not things I particularly want to solve. And it's all puzzles. I think it's time for it to go into the 'reject' box.

Then I went downstairs for breakfast with the husband and we decided on coffee and crumpets - and then I realised I never got round to buying coffee beans last week! So we had to have instant. I mean, it's GOOD instant but 'proper' coffee is another of our little weekly rituals.

I did a quick clean and then my mother and step-father arrived. I gave mother her Mother's Day present, which she really liked, so that was good. Then there was a long conversation between the two of them about holidays involving steam trains with me and husband pretty much zoning out. But then mother asked if we could recommend a plumber, so I gave her the name of the chap who put our toilet in. And she also asked if I could find a particular street on their A-Z - which I couldn't but I did find it on Google maps and showed them the street view, so at least I was able to be of use. She also left me a copy of a Hilary Mantel book. I vaguely remember being REALLY irritated by 'Wolf Hall' but I can't really remember why. We'll give it a go, though.

Then daughter and grandson #2 arrived. And mother and step-father left about 5 minutes later. They've said to me they want to see more of the baby - then leave when he arrives! Anyway, we had a nice afternoon playing with baby toys and feeding him junk :D He's getting better at sticking his magnetic blocks and their attachments together. And is still ridiculously amused by me juggling two balls. As they were leaving he held his arms out to me, but more from habit, I think. He certainly didn't cry or otherwise protest. 

It was about 4pm when I finally got to the PS5 and made some progress with FFXVI. There was a tearful reunion and I felt myself tearing up. I've been trying to remember which bits got me bawling my eyes out on the first playthrough. I know I sobbed for a good 5 minutes when I finished the demo. It seemed SO perfect - beautiful graphics, characters I wanted to know better, interesting combat; it was EVERYTHING I had been hoping it would be. I'm pretty sure I cried near the end too - and a number of times in between but I don't know now what set me off. It could even have been the deaths of some of the antagonists, because they are all fully fleshed out characters with very believable motivations, and some of them are gone far too early.

I spent the evening watching telly with son and husband. A quiet night in front of the box is just what you want, sometimes. And I've put a record on 'Barbie'.

And I've just had another play session, getting Jill her redemption <3 But back at the hideaway I'm running around doing fetch quests and monster hunts :D

I think I'm ready for tomorrow...
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Grandson #2's first birthday was a pretty miserable one weather-wise, but he enjoyed a visit to the Blue Planet Aquarium and his first MacDonald's, so I don't think he was too bothered :D

I managed to do some strategic thinking about our PMO and how we might move things forward. I have... not quite a roadmap but certainly some suggestions for our direction of travel. Ultimately, though, I'm not sure how much control I'm going to have over it going forward. As part of the restructure, a role called 'Head of Portfolio Delivery' was created who should, surely, be taking the lead on that...? In the meantime, I'm getting support and guidance from the lead PM who I expect will become my line manager in the not-too-distant future, so maybe it will remain in our gift. Only time will tell!

Watched episode 4 of Dave's journey through FFVII OG. The last episode ended on a bit of a damp squib when he managed to cast bio on himself instead of Rufus' cat (ROFL) - but he started this episode by smashing that battle and ended it by capturing a chocobo, so I think he's redeemed himself. Rob (who is the resident FF expert at Playstation Access) was extremely excited about Cloud riding down that staircase on his motorbike, and it still gives me goosebumps - but Dave seemed unimpressed. Perhaps he was still recovering from the fight with Rufus.

Having finished watching The Traitors UK, we've now moved on to the Australian version :D Of course, the faithful continue to point fingers at each other and ignore the traitors.

I was going to talk Heaven and 'the other place' tonight but now I don't have the energy. Maybe another night...

I definitely want an earlier night, tonight.

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