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Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

  1. I’m in the process of writing another article about Harry Potter, which is making me exceptionally cheerful. I could spend all my time thinking about the world of Harry Potter. Hmm, actually…
  2. Getting really excited about going to Amsterdam on Monday. I’ve never been – and it’s very flat, so it should be reasonably wheelchair friendly, which is always A Thing.
  3. Because life is made up of little triumphs, I feel I should celebrate the fact that Splendid Son’s wellies still fit him. He hasn’t worn them for ages but needs them for his own school holiday next week. I thought we’d have to go on an emergency welly-boot expedition, which given my energy levels was not something I was wildly enthused by – but we don’t! Hurrah!
  4. Our microwave finally gave up the ghost this week, about a year after my sister told me that it was the most appalling thing she’d ever seen (or words to that effect). I successfully bought and installed (plugged in!) a new one, and feel thoroughly accomplished.
  5. Umm… wow, this is a difficult week for this! The weather has been slightly cooler, which means that spending hours and hours tucked up in bed with my two cats has been rather lovely. I tried to take a picture of them cuddling – my ginger boy had one of his legs tucked around my spotty girl – but they wanted to know what the hell I was doing, and moved at the vital moment!
  6. I’m exploring going to Greece at Easter, which is apparently an outrageous plan, but we seem (slowly) to be getting somewhere with finding options. Holidays are good.

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

 

Well. I have been missing for a dreadfully long time, for which I apologise. Health things have been troubling me – I’m currently spending the vast (vast) majority of my time in bed, and the time outside that is spent doing rather dull tasks so it’s been difficult to think of things to say! (And time when I’m awake and not doing dull tasks in which to say them…) However, though things have not wildly improved, I’m going to attempt to get back into keeping in touch and I thought a nice Satisfied Saturday Six would be a good way to get things going again.

  1. I wrote an article which came out this week 🙂 It was about Harry Potter (if you didn’t know I was a total fangirl, you do now!), and the new things we’ve found out since the books came out. No real spoilers for Cursed Child or Fantastic Beasts, incidentally. And not nearly as much about the next generation (Harry et al’s kids) as there could have been…
  2. Although my physical health is… well, the less said about it the better, really… my mental health is unexpectedly good. I am holding up well, which is extremely pleasing. Trust me, as someone who’s had both physical and mental illnesses, I’d take the former over the latter. (Hint to body: I’d rather not have either.)
  3. I’m currently doing the second round of edits for Love Plus One, which will hopefully come out in January with Nine Star Press. I’m so excited about this book, I really can’t tell you. PLUS (have I mentioned this before?) it’s the first in a series about these characters (I hope), so there’s more to come…
  4. Splendid Son has had an interesting couple of weeks. He turned 11 the week before last, and took an exam which will determine where he spends his next seven years going to school, so that’s quite a major thing. We also found out that he unexpectedly passed (very well) a tenor horn exam which he strongly believed he’d failed, so that’s been pleasing news.
  5. Lovely Partner and I are going to Amsterdam in less than ten days time. Given the health problems, goodness knows how this is going to work, but I’m really looking forward to it anyway! It will be lovely to get away with just the two of us for a bit.
  6. (Wow, this is hard when you haven’t been doing anything! Goodness!) Ooh, and I’m also looking forward to having a friend and her family come and stay in a couple of weeks’ time! I’ve known her for more than a decade, but thanks to the fact that she usually lives on the other side of the world, we’ve never previously met. I absolutely can’t wait for her to visit!

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

  1. I’ve started a new story! It’s going quite slowly at the moment, but it’s taking up quite a bit of my mind, which is always a good sign. Please cross your fingers that it works out for me – I’m always happiest when I’m working on something.
  2. The Sisterhood is up on UK Amazon as a Kindle release, though it’s not going to be officially released until 25th Jule, it seems. I’m not quite sure why that is, but at least that means there’s movement towards getting a UK release for the book, which has got to be a good thing!
  3. I also proof-read my story Something You Really Want for Xcite books. It’s due out in their Gay Romance anthology in August, which is very exciting. I love the characters in that particular story.
  4. I helped out at Splendid Son’s school fete yesterday, which whilst it has left me needing copious quantities of painkillers today and being unable to get out of bed, has also given me a pleasing sense of virtue. Which is something, right?
  5. And talking of Splendid Son, he has a music exam today, but Lovely Partner has taken the day off and will take him, which given the ‘unable to get out of bed’ thing is a great relief! Please to be sending good thoughts his way (SS’s, not LP’s!).
  6. Later today, I’m hoping to buy some coach tickets to go and visit some wonderful friends in the summer. It is great to have things to look forward to, and I appear to be going on holiday for three entire weeks during August!

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

This has been quite a difficult week for me, so forgive me if some of the six things are quite little things. But it’s even more important in the bad weeks to try and find the good, so…

  1. I got the first lot of edits of The Sisterhood finished and returned to my editor. With any luck, the second edits should be fairly minor, and all will be on target for publication in June.
  2. It looks like the cuts to disability benefits which were announced this week are going to be reconsidered after a lot of protesting, which is wonderful.
  3. I have been making arrangements for the Easter holidays, where I am hopefully going to be seeing various wonderful people. What’s more, they are wonderful people who also understand that my health is very poor at the moment and I know they will be supportive if I can’t do a lot.
  4. Splendid Son has not been having a particularly good week, either, but he has felt able to talk to me about it and I think I’ve managed to help him feel a bit better about it.
  5. He also informed me that lobsters can be hermaphrodites, with half of the lobster male and half female – and that the different sides can be different colours. This is immensely pleasing, and something I did not know.
  6. I got an unexpected bit of praise for something I wrote a few years ago, which was very nice.

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

Considering the attacks in Paris (which is closer to my home than many places in England, and any place in Scotland), it seems slightly insensitive to post an SSS. But in the theory that at bad times, recognising the good is important, I’m going ahead.

  1. After a few days of feeling “I never want to write again” after submitting The Sisterhood, my writing mojo is back. I’m avoiding anything long still, but poetry and flash fiction are singing through my brain, and I’ve been reminded that I do indeed write for the love of it. It got a bit lost in the epic battle to turn in a decently edited novel on time, so it’s nice to be feeling it again.

2. Lovely Partner and I are planning a couple of nights in Berlin sometime next year. I won accommodation there, so it’s just a case of getting there and finding food. It’s giving us something nice to look forward to – I’m not a winter person, so it’s good to be planning great things.

3. I had a medical appointment on Wednesday which went much better than anticipated, so that was a relief.

4. I am looking at getting business cards made up for Friday Yarns, which feels like a terribly grown up thing to be doing.

5. Next weekend, I have organised to go up and visit one of my sisters. Then, when I get back, my other sister will be staying locally, so I will get to spend time with her as well. This is very pleasing.

6. I efficiently managed to do much cooking of food earlier in the week, which is all portioned up in the freezer, so that is rather excellent.

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

  1. I got a goodly chunk of The Sisterhood written this week (yes, this is a reoccurring theme at the moment, but such is life). The end is still not yet nigh, but I’m quite pleased with the book nonetheless.

2. In other work-related news, albeit of a different type, Sowley of Canterbury have agreed to take some of my hand-knitted scarves. So if you’re in the market for beautiful fuzzy knitwear, I can only suggest you go there..!

3. And to plough a third vein of work (back to writing again, though), I’ve been talking with Scope about their ‘End The Awkward’ A-Z look at disability and sexuality for their ‘N’ (NSFW) section about erotica. Which is quite fun. ‘N’ isn’t out yet, but I believe it’s not too far away.

4. I had an excellent and unexpected trip to see my sister and nephew this week, which was splendid! Lots of talking and laughing and drinking  🙂

5. And talking about going away, Splendid Child is going on a school residential trip for a couple of nights soon, and Lovely Partner and I have just organised to go away by ourselves for a couple of days to Bath. I can hunt Jane Austen connections down to my heart’s content!

6. Last Sunday, Splendid Child and I took an exciting trip to London to watch Charlton Athletic football team. It was quite an adventure, including getting a bus to (close to) the ground, and then trying to find where we were going. SC did a splendid job pushing my wheelchair, and got bonus heroic points for that – and we discovered that our seats were right near the pitch (indeed, my wheelchair stopped a couple of balls that came flying off the pitch at various times) and practically next to the Home Team’s dugout! It looked like it was all going to end in disappointment for our team, as they were 2:0 down with 10 minutes to go, but incredibly, they managed to get something out of it and ended up with a last gasp equaliser for a 2:2 draw. Looking forward to the next game we can attend (24th October)…

Satisfied Saturday Six

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  1. We’ve had a lovely holiday – another, less crowded, week in Cornwall when many schools had started back.
  2. My copy of this edition of Jane Austen’s Regency World was awaiting me when we got home last night – it has an article I wrote about alternative medicines in the Regency. Trust me, you should be grateful you live now!
  3. I have got my cats home – apparently, they caused a lot of fuss and bother during their time away, which is rather embarrassing. However, I did miss them and I’m glad to have them back with me.
  4. I had a lovely time last Sunday, not only with my boys but with my sister and assorted family. We got to spend time with fab family members, and actually also went to a gorgeous village I’d not visited before (in living memory) but which I’ll certainly be visiting again.
  5. I got most of my *whisper it* Christmas shopping done whilst I was away, too. I love present buying, so it was fun for that reason; it will also be useful as I have to help Child with all of his presents, which can be stressful unless I have plenty of time.
  6. None of the fishes managed to die whilst we were away. There are een a few more little babies, so I may have issues in the other direction in the not too distant future by having too many fish for the size of the tank. But at the moment, I am delighted that we seem to be able to keep fish alive, as long as Lovely Partner is responsible for everything!

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

A quick one this week as I’m on holiday, but I missed last week, so here goes.

  1. I’m on holiday in Cornwall, pretty much my favourite place, with my boys, pretty much my favourite people. This is excellent.
  2. My editor at Jane Austen’s Regency World liked my piece on toilet habits,  which should be published in November, I think.
  3. I am finding Cornish beaches incredibly inspiring for writing: I’ve written a few thousand words whilst being here, which is pretty good going. Whether any of it is any good, I’m less sure – but then, that’s always the case with me!
  4. I am compiling a list of things I need to google when I get home – when people started drinking hot chocolate is one of them, and when it became more regular. I am vaguely entertained by the things I end up needing to google.
  5. Oh, also, I discovered a massive sub-plot to The Sisterhood, which whilst it means I have a lot of research to do, explains the existence of a couple of characters who had insisted on pushing themselves into the story for no good reason. Now there’s a good reason.
  6. I’ve been enjoying watching some of the Athletics World Championships in idle moments.

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

1. The school summer holidays have started! Six weeks of no school run, no panicked “oh no, what about your homework?” conversations and no “Mum, we need an Ancient Greek costume for tomorrow!”

2. My contract for The Sisterhood came through: a new lesbian historical romance. I haven’t finished it yet (nowhere near, to be honest!) but I got 2.5k written this week. I’m hoping to get going with it. I’m full of inspiration at the moment 🙂

3. I hit my first weight-loss goal last Tuesday. I rather suspect that I’ve drifted away from it already this week (but hey, I have a couple of days to reel myself back in) but it’s encouraging to know I CAN do it.

4. I would invite everyone to look at http://www.pledge15.org.uk and consider joining up. (There’s a twitter and a Facebook as well.) Making a little difference can sometimes make a big difference.

5. A  friend of mine inadvertently gave me the best laugh of the week on Thursday. Writing to his boss, he sent an email saying “I just want you to look a tit.” Not, you might think, the most tactful or appropriate thing of which to inform your boss (even if – or perhaps especially if – true). Unfortunately for my friend, he had intended the considerably less inflammatory “I just want you to look at it.” Oops?

6. I met Child’s teacher for next academic year on Monday, and asked him what I could do to help Child transition into a much more academically focused year. He said something along the lines of “Not much, really – give him a break so he comes back fresh.” That’s very much something I want to hear from a teacher. (The fact that Child actively WANTS to do maths over the summer is a different matter, and something I’ll just have to cope with myself!)

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

1.  Article on the Regency written and submitted – for a sneak peek, click here.

2. A couple of people I’ve proof-read for are happy to give me a reference if anyone contacts them, which may  be very useful.

3. I’m so delighted for the USA that the judgement on equal marriage has gone through. I know there are plenty of other battles to fight, both here, there and elsewhere, but a step in the right direction is worth celebrating.

4. This being so, perhaps I should also celebrate the fact that my son’s school are finally beginning to acknowledge that it’s inappropriate to park their minibus in the disabled parking spot. A new teacher demanded I move from it (I am a blue badge holder, for the record!) so that they could park the bus there, but after a somewhat heated debate, I did get an apology.

5. And talking of my son, he’s taking part in a football tournament today, about which he is very excited. Some very kind friends have also volunteered to take him and bring him home, which means that when I’ve finished writing this, I’m off for a sleep!

6. I’m beginning to get plans for the summer holidays sorted. There will hopefully be a lot of things going on, including seeing lovely friends and family and spending time in my favourite place, Cornwall.