(no subject)

[turps]

I'd hoped to post for the whole of the month, but it wasn't to be.

Oh well, in the last few days we've been out and about. James had his back check-up and it was the fastest ever. Seriously, we literally sat down in the room, shook hands, the surgeon asked if the procedure had helped the pain. James said yes, surgeon said great, get in touch in the future if it needs redoing, and that was it. We were out of there in a couple of minutes. After nearly an hour wait to go in of course. Not that it was an issue as we had a good talk with one of the nurses we know there. Though sadly James found out his childhood surgeon who he really liked and respected had died last year.

The day before we'd gone to see The Upside, which was good. I liked it but James thinks it's one of the funniest films he's seen and he really loved it a lot. We were talking to one of the staff on the way out and he was saying it hadn't been getting good reviews and they had a discussion about if it was one of those things that if you weren't disabled yourself it could feel uncomfortable laughing at the jokes. Whatever it is, I did think it deserved more than the one-star reviews it was getting.

The temperature has dropped significantly, so it feels more like winter. We even had a dusting of snow but it hasn't stuck around. The new car is fab but we need to rig a string up so James can reach the boot to close it. I did have a moment when it hit neither mam or nanna would ever see or drive in it, but I guess those moments will always be lurking.

We also went to Company Store yesterday -- and that place remains my new favourite. Two visits ago they were giving away packs of bagels, last visit selling cartons of good brand juice for 3p each. Yesterday was mostly excess Christmas stock and they must have had a delivery from catering companies as I now have a 5kg bag of already cooked potatoes which cost £1. I see a lot of mash in our futures.

Fandom snowflake goes live today and I'm a bit nervous. I wrote four fills -- which is nothing compared to Sperrywink, who was amazing, but I'm still pleased. Two of them are brand new for writing fandoms for me. Two I've written before. So now it's just sitting and hoping they'll be liked.

Comments

[pensnest]

I did not know that buying already cooked potatoes was a Thing! I am amaze.

Glad the new car is working out well. And well done on stuffing a few Fandom Stockings. I kept trying to get into it, but by the time I'd found a request I could maybe do, the impulse was hard to follow up.

[turps]

I am amaze

So was I when I saw them. But random things I've never seen before keep turning up there. A few weeks back they had a big bag of already cooked poached eggs. Now, I'm sure they would have tasted okay when heated up and served, but seeing them floating in a bag of clear milky liquid was rather off-putting.

I've enjoyed stuffing the stockings this year. And have actually joined the comm at last so may hang one up myself this year. Before I was just relying on Sperrywink to link me to what stockings I could attempt.

[rikes]

OMG, the poached eggs sound so gross. But how handy that they have pre-cooked things sometimes - daily cooking is such a hassle that anything that can make it easier is a plus. Especially if it's so cheap!

[shadowhive]

That’s how it is with doctors, sometimes it’s a long wait for something so quick. I’m sorry the doctor he liked died

I’m glad I you enjoyed it. Sometimes I’ll see a film and wonder what the reviewers were watching.

We had a bit of snow last night but I’ve not checked if it stuck. *hugs* Yeah, such moments always lurk. I’ve had them too.

Yay cheap stuff!

That’s great! I’ll be sure to take a look at what you did. I felt nervous like that about bandom holidays but I’m thankful that it went so well so I’m sure this will for you too 💜

[turps]

He was so sad about the doctor he liked. He looked after James throughout his childhood and early adulthood and got him through some really big operations.

Yep, me too. Of course that works both ways at times. I've watched some rubbish that was supposed to be amazing. It's why I don't tend to take notice of reviews now.

The snow was really pretty on Wed, big fat flakes floating down. I'm still glad it didn't stick, though.

Thank you. I'm just glad all the stockings got filled. I was starting to think they'd need to delay.

[shadowhive]

That’s such a shame, to lose someone that’s helped him go through so much must be awful

Yeah same here! If there’s a film I really want to see I usually just skip reviews until after I’ve seen it

Oh that sounds pretty!

Yeah that’s good, I hope everyone likes their stuff

[wenchpixie]

<3 <3 Yeah, the lurking moments are always there, and they can take your breath away, but I quite like to think that it means that my people are always still with me, and as in life, tend to be there more presently when there are big, special and/or important things going on with me. It's a tough one though <3.

Every gift I've ever seen you create has been wonderful, so I'm sure they will be (I get the nerves, though <3 <3).

I wish they did the Company Store up here - there must be a similar amount of stuff needing selling and it's such a good idea rather than it going to waste (although catering things are often very weird, like the potatoes - super convenient though!).

[turps]

It is tough. But that's a nice way to think about it. I know when we went to pick up the car I wore my ashes bead, so mam was there in a way.

Ah, thank you ♥

Whoever came up with The Company Store had a fantastic idea. It's so much better doing this instead of letting food get wasted and thrown away. I know there are a few shops dotted around the UK which are for people on certain benefits and not the NHS, which I think is great, too.

You do get some weird and wonderful things, though. I don't know if you read comments, but like I was telling Pen. A few weeks ago they had catering packs of already cooked poached eggs floating in liquid. They looked so strange.

[sperrywink]

If James stayed awake for the entire movie, it must have been good!

*g*

Glad his doctor's appointment went well.

Go you and your ficlet writing self!!! I am so proud of you! ANd of course they'll be amazing and well-received!

[turps]

It's like you know him or something *g*

But yeah, he didn't even come close to nodding off.

I've never been to an appointment that went as fast. I guess he's just one of those doctors that needs the facts only, and once he knew James was back pain-free we could go. Which is fair enough I guess.

I'd never have done them without being prompted by you ♥

[turlough]

Good to hear that James' check-up went well! But it must have been sad for him to find out about his childhood doctor.

It's been quite cold here for a couple of days but sadly no snow here either. (Well, we did get snow on Tuesday afternoon but then it rained heavily all Wednesday so it was soon gone again.)

The Company Store sounds so awesome! But just like Pen I'm amazed by the pre-cooked potatoes :-)

You've been so productive this holiday, go you! And I'm sure the recipients will love your stories. You're a wonderful writer!!

[turps]

He was really sad finding out about his doctor's death. The man was a huge part of James' childhood and early teens, there to get him through losing his leg and all that went with that.

The one day of snow we had was lovely. Big fat flakes floating down, then it all went and we were left with biting cold wind. Wind sucks anyway, adding cold to it is just wrong.

The pre-cooked potatoes look so weird. I'm going to try using them later today, so guess I'll see how they compare against 'real' potatoes.

Thank you! Three recipients have said they enjoyed their stories, so that's great. Not just one to go.

[frausorge]

I'm glad to hear the appointment went smoothly! But sorry about the other doctor. What a loss.

And I can relate to the lurking moment. I had some tough ones when I moved, thinking about how I was leaving the last place my parents had ever visited me. But we can't just stay stagnant, either.

[turps]

The other doctor is a huge loss. I only met him a few times when I first started to date James, but he tells so many stories about him it's obvious how much he was respected. And also, in front of his time in terms of medical techniques.

The lurking moments suck, but you're right, we can't stay stagnant. My brother said the same recently when I was talking about the new people who'd moved into mam's house, and he just went, it's not mam's house any more. And he's right. But sometimes you need someone to say that out loud.

[glitteryv]

Waiting at the doctor's office is never fun. Though I'm glad that things checked out with James.

Huzzah for the new car as well. I'm sure y'all gonna give it some good mileage.

Though, yeah, I get the sudden/downbeat jarring feel of those lurking moments. At least they're momentary, right? <3

You've been way busier writing wise. Hot damn and keep going!!!

I have to say that I'm one of those anti-The Upside ppl, hahaha. The backlash, at least here in the US, is a 2-pronged thing.

First up, kevin hart's bullshittery. Back when he was tapped for the Oscars, he threw tantrums claiming that he'd apologized about anti-LGBQ+ comments and tweets he did in the past. He...never apologized.

The second thing was the actor who plays the quadraplegic guy in the movie. He doubled-down abt tremendously valid criticisms for his taking the role. His basic argument was "well, it was a business decision" which, what does that mean? Obvs, he's not totally responsible for the part (that would be the casting agent and other behind-the-scenes ppl). It all boils down to this: how are the ppl doing that movie gonna say that, in the year of our Lorde 2018, there isn't a single actor who happens to be quadraplegic out there? Not one? In the entire planet?

Sure, sure.

And, so his casting feels like the ppl behind the scenes didn't even try to look for a disabled actor. Which, again, WHY?

So, I do agree with critics in this instance. /steps off my soapbox.