Blessing 31 – Lost in a good book January 31, 2012

Do you ever get so into a book that you get completely caught up in the story and the character, and it’s all you can think about? It takes a special book for that to happen for me, the Harry Potters, Twilight series and Kim Harrison’s Dead Witch Walking series are the ones that spring to mind. I get so addicted to the story that I have had to go to extreme measures in the past. I had to lock The Half Blood Prince in a cupboard because I kept picking it up every time I saw it, often without even realising what I was doing until I’d read a chapter. Reading too much makes my ME worse and I pushed myself to read THBP and felt so ill by the time I finished; but it was kind of worth it too!

I’m currently reading A Discovery of Witches – Deborah Harkness and it has having that effect on me. I’m thinking about it all day, having to fight the urge to just read, because there’s other things I need to do. So I’m trying to limit myself to two reading sessions a day.

I still keep thinking about the story, wondering where it’s going and I guess that’s what draws me in. I find that a lot of books are quite predictable, so you can guess where the story is going to go, so the incentive to read quickly isn’t there. Alternatively I find it difficult if the language is clunky. If it doesn’t flow off the page as quickly as my eyes can scan, then I get frustrated, the words became a trap slowing me down, rather than adding speed to my journey through the book.

So this post is short and sweet, because I’m off to read my book!

Blessing 30 – Online Banking January 30, 2012

I’ve had mixed feelings about internet banking. At times it can be a complete nightmare, you spend so long going through the security checks and trying to remember all the codes, passcodes, passwords and secret words that you start to feel a bit boggled, I normally can’t remember what I meant to do in the first place. And am I the only person who has to count out on their fingers the word or number, to make sure you get the specific character they want. I feel a bit insane every time I do it; but I can’t figure it out any other way.

At other times I love the speed and ease with which I can pay a bill, check my account or set up a  direct debit. I find it difficult to get out to the bank and it would be hard to have to go every time I needed to access my account. Even worse though is the thought of telephone banking – it literally makes me shudder.

Last night I was torn between loving and loathing it. At three in the morning I suddenly sat bolt up right in bed,  I realised that I’d stupidly taken money out of the cash machine on my credit, not my debit card. Doh! I was so annoyed with myself, I still have no idea why I used the wrong card; but for some reason I did.

I’m not the kind of person who can go back to sleep and sort it out in the morning, so I tried to access my account to see what I could do. Typically I couldn’t remember my log in details and the reminder service wasn’t working. By this point I was exhausted, desperate and on the verge of tears. I finally had an aha moment and remembered the details, so I could access my account and check everything out. Turns out I couldn’t sort it out without calling them for advice this morning (hence my shudder about the memory of telephone banking). I did eventually find out what I needed to do and it took a matter of minutes to set up the payment online. Just like that I could magically move my money around, check my statement and even order some new paying in envelopes. It truly was amazing. I won’t speak too soon, as it’s still got to clear (fingers crossed); but if I’d had to drag myself out to the bank this morning I wouldn’t have been happy on top of feeling exhausted from my bad night’s sleep.

It was the wake up call, no pun intended, that I needed. I try to keep an eye on my finances; but I’m not great at it. I’ve decided from now on its time to take control and I feel a lot better about it. It might have been a good thing after all.

Blessing 29 – What makes a great shop? How it affects on enjoyment and disabled customers. January 29, 2012

Following on from yesterday’s topic of what makes a great meal out, today I’ve been thinking about what makes a great shop? Mum and I popped into the city to do some retail therapy, well that was the plan at least. I didn’t actually buy anything; but I did collect my lovely free sample of Shea Butter Hand Cream from L’Occitane – how on Earth do you pronounce the name of that shop? I think I say it differently every time.

We went into one department store and it was the first time I’d been in there for years. I have to admit to being a little disappointed, as it was a nightmare to get round in a wheelchair. The stock was much too close together and on multiple occasions we had to reverse and go around another way. This drives me nuts! I believe that every shop owner should be forced to go round their store in a wheelchair, just to see the hazards and difficulties that it presents to their disabled customers. Other shoppers, with their sharp elbows and bags, are bad enough; but when shelves, racks and precarious stock is at risk of taking your eye out or just halting progress completely, it makes the whole thing a difficult experience.

Anyone that’s ever been in or pushed a wheelchair will know that they are not the most graceful of things and despite my Mum being a very capable driver in a car, I’m not sure she’d pass her test if it was required for pushing a wheelchair. We’ve removed a fair amount of paint in our time; but when it’s due to a badly arranged shop or a nightmare door I don’t feel too guilty.

When we did manage to get around the shop, I saw that they had so much stock, I wasn’t sure where to look, not in the “oh wow this is so amazing”  way; but more in the “my senses are on overload, I feel like I’m looking at a Where’s Wally Puzzle” kind of way. The thing that frustrated me was that there were so many things I know I would have loved, if it had been more spread out and/or better displayed. I understand the logic that they are trying to fit in as many products for as many people as possible; but for me it just didn’t work.

Which brings me to my point, what makes a great shop? One that you walk into and just have to buy something, everything, as much as you can afford. I’ve been into shops like that, where I can’t wait to go back and buy more, somehow it’s set up to sell.

There’s one example that comes to mind. A few months ago Mum and I went to a local Waitrose. Going in, the atmosphere just felt wrong, nothing was in the place you would expect, it was difficult to find anything and the whole shopping experience didn’t seem to flow. It was disjointed and uncomfortable and we didn’t buy very much – great for the bank balance; but not for the shop, or for us, we felt cheated out of a fun shop (I love food shopping, I’m “different” I know).

Just before Christmas we went back again and the whole shop had been refitted and reorganised. The only word for it was WOW! It was like being in a completely different store, the shelves and locations of the food made sense, we were happy to browse the aisles and it was as if we were led from one section to the next and all we wanted to do was pick things up and put them in the trolley. Products seemed to jump off the shelf, begging to be bought, they were even giving out free samples of cake! Seriously how much better can it get?! The cook ware and gifts section was beautiful, colourful and light. Everything was inviting and I wanted to spend money, in the end I had to resist so many things; but I came out feeling happy and satisfied after a really good shop, you know what I mean, you come home smiling, everything feels right with the world.

I think that a great shop has a good lay out, well spaced for wheelchairs (or prams/pushchairs for that matter), it must be light and airy. You need to be able to see what you’re looking at and it needs to be displayed well, in a way that makes you want to reach for a product, not be scared of knocking over the display. There has to be a flow to the shop, products need to be seamlessly arranged from the entrance, drawing you deeper into the shop, like a maze leading you further and further in to the treasures waiting at the centre.

If I’m in a shop, then I’m there to spend money (I hate window shopping, so depressing). I’m there because there’s either something I’m looking for, or I want to treat myself or someone else to something. Give me reasons to buy, encourage me in my decisions, make it easy for me to part with my money, because if you don’t Iwill be leaving empty handed and I won’t be rushing back.

Blessing 28 – What makes a great meal out? January 28, 2012

This week Mum and I went to The Sole & Heel, a local pub for a meal. We’ve been before and it was really good, so we were keen to go back. As with the last time the food was amazing, home cooked, not just nuked in a microwave or deep-fried within an inch of its life. Although saying that I did have the cod and chips which were yummy.

I enjoy eating out, it’s one of the low energy activities I can do and it’s all sitting down, perfect! I have fairly high standards though, I expect good service, friendly staff and well cooked food. I think a restaurant is a business like any other and should deliver the same quality customer care if you want me to a) part with my money, b) come back and c) give you referrals.

The exact formula for a great restaurant is difficult though, some get the food spot on; but the staff leave a lot to be desired. In others the staff shine and make the experience; but the food is sadly lacking. Then there are those that have both of these things; but yet they lack atmosphere and customers. These restaurants get me the most frustrated, when they have everything working and yet people aren’t going.  I want to demand that they tell me what marketing they are doing, how they are publicising what they’re doing, because I want to help them succeed. I want people to go because I think there’s nothing sadder than a great business going under just because not enough people know about them. I’ve seen very bad restaurants with full car parks and I have the urge to march in and demand that everyone get up and follow me to the quiet place down the road. Okay so I may be a little crazy!

Does it really all come down to marketing? Advertising? Luck? I don’t know; but I’m going to do my bit to promote as many great restaurants as possible, because they deserve it.

The Sole & Heel are one of the places with a great combination. They have something really good and they deserve to do well. If you’re in the area, you have to stop in and leave room for dessert, they’re out of this world!

Blessing 27 – Facing Your Fears January 27, 2012

Okay so I’m not talking about jumping off a bridge attached to a rubber band, swimming with sharks or diffusing a bomb; but there are little things in life that can get you really scared. There often trivial; but specific to you. Jobs that you put off and put off, until either they become irrelevant or you have to grit your teeth and get down to them.

For me, I’ve been really worried about updating my website. There was a reason I got in professionals to design and build it, because I wanted a site I knew I couldn’t do on my own – I did a basic web design course years ago which has helped me; but I don’t have the graphic ability or any clue about CSS.

I’d intended to let the site take care of itself, hopefully making enough to pay for some updates; but as with everything, life never turns out as you imagined. I decided to replace one of the holidays with a virtual party that I’m planning for Valentine’s Day. This mean that I was going to have to get into the heart of the html and make some major changes. The thought of ruining my beautiful and very precious site made me feel physically ill, even now I can feel waves of nausea rolling over me. It would have made sense to get a content management system; but at the time I wasn’t sure of the direction of Holidays From Home so a basic six page shopping site made sense. How I longed for the ease of content management this morning!

February is getting closer and closer, I knew I had to find some courage and do it; but despite saving copies of the original pages it was still a very tense job. I actually quite enjoyed doing it. There were a few teething problems, a few mistakes; but I managed to work them out and now I’m delighted that I’ve made all the changes I wanted to, plus a few extra that I’ve had in the back of my mind.

I know feel like a super star! My sense of achievement is rather inflated, considering how relatively simple the job was and the fact that the majority of the tech community could have done it with ease; but I feel like I fought a tiger and won!

Blessing 26 – Generosity of Spirit January 26, 2012

People in general get a bad reputation, there’s a very cynical sense that everybody is out for themselves, not interested in anybody else. When you have a bad day, with difficult people, it’s easy to feel disillusioned; but there are so many great people in the world. I’m reminded of this all the time; but especially when I work with volunteers, who help to produce virtual day trips for places they have visited.

They get in touch because they like the idea of Holidays From Home and normally they are travellers who love to share their adventures. They often have one country that they are particularly passionate about and you can tell because their whole face lights up when they talk about it. It pulls you into the place and you started to get excited to. I’ve added so many places to my list of “one day holidays” because of the volunteers.

Friends and family can get bored hearing all about your holidays; but with Holidays From Home, the travellers have a captive audience who want to hear about the different places, what they’re like to visit. The trick is to capture their enthusiasm and experience, and then get them to write the holiday describing the places as if it’s the reader who is actually there. It’s all about their experience, bringing them as close to the atmosphere of the destination as possible.

Today I met up with Derek who produced the virtual trip to Switzerland. It’s fantastic, I had so much fun reading it and then finding web cameras and other related sites to add to it. The singing marmots were one of my favorites! Derek was so pleased with the final result and so excited to share the day trip with everyone he knew, even publicising it to some different magazine’s he reads. Doing the publicity for me!

I get so much from Holidays From Home, it’s lovely to see other people benefit in the same way and that’s not even thinking about the people who read the virtual holidays, they are normally ill or disabled and can’t physically get to the places, so this is the next best thing. I’m so grateful to the volunteers who give up their time to help others, I’ve met some lovely people because of Holidays From Home, people I would never have met otherwise.

If you have been somewhere that you would love to share with people who are house bound and unable to travel then please get in touch. If Derek and the other volunteers are anything to go by you’ll have as much fun writing it as people will reading it.

Blessing 25 – Great Days v Dull Days January 25, 2012

Why is it that there are days when everything is just bleugh, things go wrong from the minute you get up to the moment you go to bed and you count down the hours, eager for the stress and hassle to be over? Then there are days that are an absolute dream, wonderful things seem to happen every single hour, you feel like you’re floating on air and don’t want the day to end.

I’ve had one of those amazing days today, an incredibly exciting letter, wonderful feedback about my blog when I was considering taking a break, sold another virtual holiday, I was asked to do a talk about Holidays From Home and had a delicious meal out. It’s been brilliant; but I had no idea when I got up this morning what to expect. It could just have easily been another bad day.

What determines if it’s going to be a good or bad day? Is there something in the air? The way the planets align? It can’t just be how you’re feeling because lots of great things seem to happen at once, things you could not predict, that have nothing to do with your mood. Why do they happen all at once?

Is it better to have one really great day followed by weeks of dull days or would life be more fun if the good things were spread evenly out over the weeks? I think I’d quite like to spread them out, because the last few days have felt like a rollercoaster of highs and lows; but I’m very grateful for the highs, because they make everything else worthwhile.

Blessing 24 – Blog Love – Versatile Blogger Award January 24, 2012

I’d like to thank WordPress, my family, my trusty laptop, the wonderful people who read my blog, Red Jim for my nomination. Sob! Pass me the tissues…

It’s called the Versatile Blogger Award; but I think it really translates as “Writes about lots of random things award”. I definitely qualify for that! It is lovely to get recognition and has made me feel very smiley. I am a bit wary that like Red Jim says it’s some kind of pyramid sales/chain letter type experience; but if it promotes other good blogs then it’s a great thing. It does mean I have to nominate 15 blogs and while I read a few, I never have enough energy to read as many as I would like to.

I also have to tell you seven things about me, so here goes:-

1. I love crystals.
2. I enjoy sci-fi fantasy books / television / films.
3. I hate coffee, since my severe ME gave me bad nausea I’ve felt sick at just the smell. I feel very left out now there are lots of cool coffees to try.
4. My first pets were stick insects.
5. I’m allergic to animal fur (hence the stick insects).
6. I’m a reiki master.
7. Roses are my favourite flower.

These are my fifteen nominations, as they say on Big Brother, they’re in no particular order. Nominees you can see the rules here…

• Emotfit’s Blog

• Pat Bean’s blog 

• Wordsmith’s Desk

• analyfe

• Knotrune

• notyethere

• Nissi Knows!

• The Athele Series

• I’ve been thinking about………….

• allaboutwordswa

• 1 Story A Week

• The Traveling Book Club’s Blog

• Away with Words

• Thoughts in my heart

• The Laughing Housewife

I’m off now to tell everyone…

Blessing 23 – Little achievments can mean the most January 23, 2012

Today I’ve had one of those days when I wished I’d stayed in bed. Nothing in particular went wrong, I just felt like I was struggling with everything and the harder I tried, the more frustrated I got. I was counting down the hours until bed time; but then Mum asked me to sort out some photos and frames. I found some lovely photos from my Grandma’s 80th with some perfect frames for them.

Just putting the pictures in the frames and then standing them up in the living room gave me more satisfaction than anything else  I did today. I just felt like I’d achieved something worthwhile.

Sorry for the dull post today, feeling uninspired. I’ll try harder tomorrow!

Blessing 22 – Miracle of a child’s first words January 22, 2012

Yesterday I saw my friend with her two children, who are gorgeous and such characters. I’ve watched Willow, the little girl, grow up and she’s now two and learning to speak. It is the cutest thing to be greeted by a little person who keeps saying “Hello!” over and over again, with the biggest, cheekiest grin ever! She then spotted that I had brought a cake with me and followed me around saying “Cake! Cake!” I felt a bit like the pied piper. My friend Lizzie was delighted that Willow asked her “you alright?” in a proper Norfolk accent, think Somerset, broad, farmer style.

A lot of the things she says is unintelligible; but from the look of clear intent on her face, it makes utter sense to her and I felt a bit sad that I didn’t understand her. She looks so proud when she says something and so she should do! I can’t wait until she can say more, she’s learning new words every day, pizza was new yesterday – guess what we had for dinner. The cake I took was Rocky Road and when I told people, she said “ocky oad” which was adorable.

How do children do it thought? How do they know to mimic? To copy the sounds? That their brains and coal chords work together, when nobody has ever taught them how to make specific sounds. It’s just incredible.

The really funny thing is that the adult conversation descends into single words, often repeating what Willow said. At times I think she sounded more advanced than we did! I’m not sure why we do that; but it does make all the women in the room coo and grin, while the men look completely bemused!

I’m looking forward to seeing Willow soon to see how many more words she can say. Fingers crossed she might even be able to say my name!