Tag: Life

Putting the heating on.

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Mines older!

I’m limiting how long I have the heating on each day. I have a timer on my central heating that can be set to quarter hour intervals. I have set it to one hour in the morning, one in the evening and about half an hour at two other times. That way I can get the temperature up slightly for washing up and bathing while I wear warm clothes to stave off the cold.

My oven no longer works and I only use the hob on the top plus a microwave and an air fryer. So I can heat up food, and I have an oil filled heater near me if I’m getting really cold.

Why? My income is too low to pay out as much as when hubby was here. He had a seperate income. But just because I’m a bit cool doesn’t mean I’m uncomfortable. I can cope. Things will change. I will try and manage. I just hope for a warm winter! Not a good idea as the globe warms, but at least my carbon footprint is quite small!

Lady in the Van

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The Lady in the Van is a 2015 British comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner, and starring Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings, based on the memoir of the same name created by Alan Bennett

I’m watching the film, The lady in the van starring Maggie Smith who died recently. She was famous for her portrayal of the elderly homeless woman called Miss Shepherd who camped out for years in her van on the driveway of Alan Bennetts house.

It’s very surreal seeing her dressed in a “bag lady” costume as she was well known for her roles in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Harry Potter and Downton Abbey. As the film progresses we learn more about the lady’s history and how she got into the predicament she was in.

I won’t give too much detail incase you want to watch it.

Imagined aurora

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Still obsessed by not seeing the main auroras so I tried to imagine them and their spectacular colours. When you look at the incredible photos people have taken my rendition isn’t very exciting but I would have liked to see more than I did. Auroras are charged particles that follow the Earth’s magnetic field down to the poles. Without that magnetic shield we would be exposed to the radiation of space that would slowly deplete our atmosphere. Our magnetism is caused by Earth’s rotating molten core. Life on Earth is protected by it. Mars, a smaller planet has no magnetism and has lost its atmosphere because of this .

First change to pounds

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If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?

Dollars are not my currency so first I would have to exchange them for pounds sterling.

Who would I give my donation to?

As its not my actual money I would not feel obliged to give it to people I know. I think I might give it to three or four charities.

The selection would be :

A children’s support charity, possibly for children’s health.

A cancer research charity, I would have to think about which cancer needs the most help, some are less “popular” than others.

Support for a homeless charity. Either for housing issues or getting their benefits organised.

Finally, I would look for other people to support, perhaps a historical society, or a narrow gauge railway.

Money spent. I’d then need a good rest in a darkened room.

Being a doctor

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What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.

I would have to be 40 years younger, have the education to be able to train for the length of time required. I guess it would also be good to come from a well off family. If those things had been my reality I might have liked to be a doctor. I enjoy helping people and trying to solve their problems. That’s why I like these prompts, it means I can think of alternative career paths, or different outcomes.

But to be honest I’m quite happy with my life as it has panned out. I’ve always been an artist, whatever job I’ve had. I’ve painted and created, used my imagination. I might not be famous but a lot of people have bought my work and also commissioned me to paint things for them. I’m just glad I’ve had the freedom to do that.

Swimming a mile

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What was the hardest personal goal you’ve set for yourself?

When I was fitter I used to swim. I’m not fast but have stamina so I gradually built up the distance I could swim. My preferred goal was breast stroke.

I found out that a mile was about 40 lengths of the pool so I set a goal to see if I could  do it. I slowly built up the numbers, I was limited by the time it was taking me to finish it but after about two or three months I managed it. I have to say I never swam that distance again!