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Satisfied Saturday Six

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1. I’ve read some really interesting books this week, including Joanna Trollope’s updated version of Sense and Sensibility. Also For The Record, by Ellie Irving, which Child lent me and which was fab.

2. Writing a poem last Sunday, out of the blue, was fun. It’s not Wonderful Po-tree. But it was silly and fun.

3. I am, rather meanly, enjoying watching UKIP implode in the weeks up to the election. Sorry, but it’s true.

4. Last Thursday, I invited one of Child’s friends home for tea. I try to do this at least once every half term (we have unofficial visits from the boy-who-lives-round-the-corner regularly, but that’s different) and it makes me feel like I am doing Worthy Motherly Things.

5. When you’re not feeling well (and even when you are), there is something ineffably consoling about having a lapful of cats.

6. Although I’m still car-less, I have a most wonderful ‘dalek’ so I can pick up Child from school without needing anyone else to help me.

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 PAPERBACK COPIES OF MY NOVEL CAME! I make no excuse for shouting at you – if you wouldn’t be excited by copies of your first paperback novel, I pity you.

 

2. I talked to a shop about potentially stocking my rugs/throws/comfort blankets. And we’ve agreed that they’ll stock some on a commission-if-sold basis for a month or two. I am counting no chickens, but it’s pleasing to know that I’ve tried.

 

3. I finished my article about mistresses. I can’t think of a title, which is annoying me, but I’m sure the lovely editor will be able to think of one if I can’t. (And I should stop dilly-dallying and send it to him so he can see it exists, incidentally.)

 

4. I’ve read some really good books this week, the best of which was White Feathers, by Susan Lanigan. A book about WW1, it followed a very real heroine and neither shirked the nasty bits nor over-emotionalised them. Brilliant.

 

5. I made a deliberate decision to stop trying to lose weight/improve my diet for the present. I want, and intend, to make changes in the future, but at the moment I’ve been struggling and it’s a relief to have stopped putting that pressure on myself.

 

6. I spent Thursday morning playing Mah Jong (the real game, not the extremely disappointing computer version) with my mother. This is an excellent way to spend time.

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 am slightly embarrassed to mention it again, but my novel Petticoats and Promises came out this week. I know, I know, I need to shut up about it. But squee! Novel! Exciting! Yay!

 

2. My lovely sister has been visiting over half-term, and it’s been excellent to spend time with her in person rather than hours on the phone (also good, but actual!real!sister wins).

 

3. AND I saw my gorgeous niece and her boyfriend on Monday, which was also excellent.

 

4. It was confirmed that I’ve been re-awarded disability benefits. As my Satisfied Saturday Six has been over-full of medical appointments over the last months (yes, I did have one this week – but there are NONE next week!), you may possibly have gathered that my health is not precisely the best. I appear to have started doing the SSS at a particularly difficult point in my life, which probably makes it more worthwhile for me, but a bit tedious for readers. Sorry about that!

 

5. It is half-term from school, which means that Child has been around more than usual. He is good value, and also had an excellent time on Wednesday on a day course which covered archery, falconry and bushcraft. I am somewhat jealous!

 

6. Talking of Wednesday, I also went out for a meal with my family that day. Mmm, steak. Mmm, red wine. Delicious.

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 got through another very boring medical appointment. (I would like to make it clear that my life is not usually quite so full of medical appointments as it is at the moment.)

 

2. It was Friday 13th yesterday. I like Friday 13ths. I was born on one, as was my uncle before me and my grandfather before him. There is a lesser known version of the ‘seventh son of a seventh son’ mystique, called the ‘third child of Friday 13th’ so I am blessed with remarkable magical powers. (Okay, I just made that up. But still. I like Friday 13ths.)

 

3. Also, Child and I had great fun with make up and dressing up yesterday 🙂 He is very cool.

 

4. Child has a new tenor horn. We have bought him one of his own, which feels like a Very Grown Up thing to have done. But he has been good about practising, so he deserves it.

 

5. We have been watching our way through the BBC’s series of Merlin. I make no claims for it being Amazing Television, but I do enjoy it and we’re now onto Series 3, which I know less well than the first two, so it’s interesting.

 

6.  The majority of the first draft of my article about Regency Mistresses is completed. And OMG, I have learned so much interesting stuff researching it!

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 made it to the ME/CFS Clinic this Friday, after last time’s attempt was foiled by our car engine stopping when we were travelling at 70mph on the motorway. And I think some useful things came of it.

2. I read 20 books in January, 16 of them new to me. I re-read a lot of books, so this is quite an impressive statistic of new reads.

3. Lovely husband and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary last Sunday. We got married (in UK terms) on the first of the second of the third – 01/02/03 🙂 It makes it easy to remember.

4.  I’ve confirmed that a local bookshop is going to stock my novel, Petticoats and Promises, which is very pleasing (and exciting!)

5. I have an appointment to see a Rheumatologist in a couple of months’ time. This is good because I’m having awful joint problems, but also good because the first date I was offered was whilst I was supposed to be on holiday. Having had to miss my last holiday thanks to ill-health, I didn’t want to do so again. So when the letter came through this week, I was somewhat depressed. But I gave them a call and they’ve moved the appointment back a week, which is splendid of them.

6. Erm…. *thinks* Oh, there have been satisfactory sports results from my point of view. Manchester United beat Cambridge midweek in the football, and England just beat Wales (sorry, Welsh friends) in the rugby on Friday evening. Yes, good sporting results actually do affect the cheerfulness of my week. Yes, this is kind of sad.

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.  Final proofs of Petticoats and Promises completed and back to the production team. Now all I have to do is wait for it to come out 🙂

2.  I wrote 400 words of ‘things to write about’ in my prospective article about mistresses in the Regency period. That’s about a fifth of the length the actual article needs to be! I don’t think I’m going to run out of things to say.

3. Child and I have been re-watching the first series of Merlin. Which is also probably my favourite – I like it best before it gets too serious.

4. Child is currently sitting in a cinema watching Tinker Bell and the Never Beast whilst I sit outside with my computer. As he said, “Most boys would say ‘I’m not watching that because it’s for girls’ but that’s silly, and I’ve seen a trailer for it and it looks good.”

5. I’ve just finished reading a really good book, called Elements of Eloquence. It’s about different techniques which can be used in writing to turn a good phrase, but it is also very funny! (I’d quote one of my favourite bits, but alas I do not have the book with me.)

6. Our car had a crisis last week, but it is all mended now (touch wood!).

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. My boys are back from holiday, and it’s lovely to have them back here. (I did wonder for a bit on Sunday, when I had a grumpy and over-tired Child, but he’s better now and it’s been great since then.)

 

2.  I got more than 1000 words of the new novel, The Sisterhood, written this week. It’s not an enormous amount, but as I sometimes say to Child, it’s better than a slap in the face with a wet kipper.

 

3. It is beginning to be noticeable that the days are getting longer again. I much prefer longer days.

 

4. We had a sprinkling of snow, so we didn’t feel left out of the whole ”snow” thing, but it wasn’t enough to cause complications.

 

5. Although both of our cars have been doing alarming things this week (mine needs filling up with water every three seconds, and my partner’s engine keeps cutting out for no apparent reason), we have not got so stuck that we needed to call our breakdown cover. (Look, it’s been quite a tough week, I’m taking anything I can!)

 

6. Um… um… um… Gosh, this has really not been a good week. I have read several new-to-me books, and I have several more to read in the future. PLUS, my voice and Child’s voice have finally both recovered enough for us to continue our nightly reading together (we’re reading The House of Hades).

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. My boys come home today! I’ve missed them – though I’ll probably miss the quiet once they’re back 😉

 

2. I had a lovely birthday on Tuesday (with lots of good wishes – thank you to everyone who sent them!). Eating, drinking and being merry definitely sum it up!

 

3. Although I haven’t done as much writing as I’d like this week, I have at least written a little bit more of the new novel (The Sisterhood) – which is another f/f Regency story, by the way.

 

4. I completed my tax return! So nice to have that off my mind.

 

5. Had a lovely time earlier this week playing Mah Jong with my Mum. (This is not the computer game, which is disappointingly NOT Mah Jong, in my opinion, but the real thing with tiles.) She beat me by a country mile 🙂

 

6. My father has lent me a book called The Elements of Eloquence. Judging by the snorts of laughter coming from him when he was reading it, I’m going to enjoy it!

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 have submitted my article to Jane Austen’s Regency World magazine, and agreed the next one I’m going to write for them – about mistresses.

2. My boys have been safely packed off to the airport for a good holiday (I hope!)

3. And talking of the boys, Child got his report for the Autumn term yesterday, and he’s exceeding expectations in all sorts of things (including attendance… that one, however, is about to go down as he’s off school this week).

4. My health has been fairly dire for a few months, but I’ve got a couple of referrals to specialist units so I’m hoping I’m going to get some support, and – who knows? – maybe things will get a bit better.

5. Ooh, ooh, I went to the local charity shop on Thursday and bought myself a little bit of light reading. (Um, which might translate to ’37 books’…)

6. I’m generally feeling much more cheerful than I have done for months – and it clearly shows:  my partner and my Mum have commented on it independently. Apparently I’ve remembered how to smile. (Now I just need to remember how to talk – I’ve had no voice for several days, and hardly any for the last couple! However, I’ve got a week by myself so it’s not so vital, though I have to admit I talk to myself and the cats quite a lot usually!)

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 took some time to think about the good things which happened in 2014. Have to admit, it wasn’t the best year (understatement!) but just as the SSS helps me remember the good things in bad weeks, it was good to think about the good things in a bad year.

2. I confess to having an unkind glee about Chelsea FC losing to Tottenham Hotspur in the football the other day!

3. I currently don’t have any voice (bloody annoying, actually) but usefully my mother has taken Child out for a while so he doesn’t have to cope with a very sub-par mama all day.

4. I just need to chase down a couple of quotations and then my Jane Austen article (looking at what diagnoses some of Jane Austen’s characters might get in modern medicine) will be finished.

5. I had to cancel a holiday abroad (this isn’t the good bit) because of bad health (not the throat, my longer term battle with ME/CFIDS) but was really touched by the support I got from other people and the offers of hospitality from them. I think I just want to sleep for a week, but  I do feel very lucky to have people who like me enough to want to look after me ❤

6. Child and I made pizzas from scratch yesterday, and they were TASTY.