Mornin' all

How are you all doing today❓  I've already drunk two litres this morning... before even 8.30am❗  I've made my carer's breakfast and taken his recycling out as well as the usual caring I do for him so we're already over an hour of care today and I'm hoping it'll be close to 11 hours of care today so that I can get back on track for hitting 75 hours of care by bedtime on Sunday.

 

I've taken my morning pills and they all went down pretty easily this morning, so I'm hoping that means my body's telling me that today is gonna be a good day.

 

The virus scan didn't pick up any nasties and I'm zipping through the news this morning.  I've checked the tomatoes and I won't water them this morning otherwise they'll drown after last night's downpour.

 

I've just asked my carer what we're having for lunch and he confirmed yet again that it'd be chilli but I won't believe it until it's in front of me.  Assuming it is actually made, I've gotta remember to take a photo of it for you all.

 

Are you all enjoying seeing my lunches❓  Is there anything else you wanna see photo's of❓  Let me know in the comments and I'll see what I can do for you all... be as wild and whacky as you want, but it has to be something I can take photo's of within the house.

Gotta remember to phone up for an appointment to review my AP today, so I'm gonna go for a wee then do that now, before I forget.

I haven't watered the tomatoes this evening 'cos...

...the Green Man decided to give me a rest and it started tipping it down with rain about half an hour before I was due to go out, so that's them sorted until tomorrow morning at the earliest.

 

I'm absolutely wiped out so I'm gonna head to bed for an early night now.  I'll be back, as normal, tomorrow.

 

Nite nite orl.

 

The groceries kept pretty much within the slot today...

...only 5 minutes early and as always my carer didn't want to cook for us so I made a Mugshot for him and a cafetierre of decaff coffee for both of us and he's promised that we'll have veggie chilli and rice tomorrow but I won't believe it until it's in front of me.

 

I was approved for an ARC of a children's book this afternoon, so I'm currently reading and reviewing that.  It's different from my usual fiction 'cos it seems to be historical fiction and I'm still not sure which age group it's aimed at... hopefully I'll find out soon though.

 

Mornin' all

I've forgotten to post here all morning - woops!  Quick run-down of my morning so far:

• Watered the tomatoes
  
• Made breakfast for my carer
• Ran the daily virus scan
  
• Brought the recycling things back into the house
• Took my morning pills
• Put up the reviews on my site and here on the blog
• Went through each of the sets of news but there wasn't anything interesting, so I've got the day off from that
• Just had the email about our grocery substitutions which I'll give you a run-down of now:-

My stuff:  £3.60
Steve's stuff:  £17.69
Joint stuff:  £15.27

Dunno why I thought it'd be fairer this week tbh 🤷 

I've had to take my chocolate soya milk off again next week, so that there was room in the budget for the washing powder that we are rapidly running out of, so next weeks grocery breakdown atm looks like this:

My stuff:  £3.60
Steve's stuff:  £16.70
Joint stuff:  £19.76

I can pretty much guarantee that that'll change before the weekend though and it's only 'cos of the washing powder that's on there that makes the joint stuff more expensive atm.

My carer is asleep again and has been for the best part of 2 hours so far this morning which means I'm under 10 minutes away from caring for him for 4 hours so far today.  Reckon it'll be 4 hours by the time I publish this and maybe 12 hours total by the time I head to bed tonight.

The rubbish truck thing has just reversed down the street, so I'll publish this and hopefully be able to bring the canvas rubbish sack in without waking my carer.

TTYAL.

Book Review: "The Olive Grove" by Eva Glyn

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Every book I read and review starts off with the full five stars and the hope that they will still be in place on the last page and this book is no different.

Blimey the text in the prologue is tiny!  I hope it's bigger after that otherwise the first star will be coming off already!

Chapter one was good, but the tiny text is already giving me a headache.  Onto the second chapter.

The second chapter was good too... if a little predictable.  I think I can guess what'll happen before too much longer lol

I hope the author has got written permission to use these well-known brands otherwise they could get themselves into seriously hot water!

I'm really into this book now, so much so that I've forgotten to review the previous two chapters lol  Every one of those five stars are still firmly in place and I'm still hopeful that they'll stay there too.

That's the third big brand name that's been used, I'm guessing without written permission, so unfortunately that's the first star coming off after just under a third of the book  :-(

I'm half way through this book now and another big brand name has been used, but I've already taken one star off for that reason, so we're still at four stars... this book is sooo good though and I'm so glad I discovered it hidden in the depths with all those other books that I've yet to read and review!

Only got 53 pages left to read now and the last couple of chapters must have been absolutely heartbreaking to write but I reckon the author has handled it really well... not so heartbreakingly that you heart feels ripped to shreds but at the same time they have made me emotional too.

Down to 28 pages now and it's taken a few unexpected turns and I was possibly wrong with my assumptions at the start of this review, but at the same time so right in other ways.  I won't spoil it for you, but I can see a 'happily ever after' at the end of this wonderful book.

OMG!  That was a shock I wasn't expecting so close to the end... could there be a sequel in the works??

This is a definite must-read by everyone and the one and only reason I'm not giving it the full 5 stars is 'cos of the use of those brand names is all.

Book Review: "The End of Bias" by Jessica Nordell

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Every book I read and review starts off with the full 5 stars and this book ain't any different.

I usually read fiction but non-fiction is also cool and groovy, as long as it's not boring and doesn't use words that I've never even heard of before.  

This book sounds really interesting and something I feel passionately about, so I'm hoping it'll be a high scorer, star-wise.  I got a free copy in advance, thanks to NetGalley and I can't wait to get stuck into it!

The cover is simple but effective  and I can't wait to get started on it when I've fished my Kindle out of it's drawer beside me... I hope it's fully charged up!

Nope, it's dead, so I'll plug it in and leave it to charge up a few percent so that I can open the book lol

There have been 14 mostly blank pages at the start of the book... is the author and/or publisher trying to add pages to the book to make it feel like it's more worth the price?

I'm loving this book so far... it's sooo different from my usual fiction and I'm really appreciating what the author is saying and it's making me realise just how good my life is in many ways compared to others - I've got a roof over my head, food in my belly and drinks available whenever I fancy quenching my thirst... there are so so many, even in rich countries like the UK, who don't have those luxuries and I admit I've been taking them for granted.  Even healthcare is free at the point of use, unlike other countries in the world and all prescriptions cost the same.  Hospital treatment is free, whether it's for a broken toe or a triple heart bypass (I don't even know what that is, but I bet it costs the NHS a pretty penny every time it's performed).  I saw a Neurologist this morning and it was free 'cos I'm a UK-er born and bred, but there's no way I could afford it in America!  That's without even considering those who live in poverty... they would be equally entitled to free healthcare, but when was the last time they had a drink of fresh water that they didn't have to beg for?  When was the last time they replaced their toothbrush or even managed to afford  a tube of toothpaste?

Back onto the topic of this book now though lol

I hope the author has got written permission to use all these big names, ads and music groups or they could get themselves into hot water!

Blimey Charlie!  Where have the hours gone?  It's taken the best part of 3 days to get this far, but other than the things I've mentioned already about using trademarks and stuff (which may have different usage rules to fiction, but I dunno about that, so I ain't knocking off a star), the days have disappeared into the ether and after I start reading I don't stop until I head to bed!  It's rare to find a book like that for me, so the author should feel really proud of themselves for keeping me reading without even needing to go for a wee and my hot drinks have usually been left to get cold too, which is another sign of a good book.

I was wrong at the start of this review, thinking that the blank pages were a marketing thingybob... the text is pretty small and there are over 350 pages so maybe it was more of a gentle introduction to all these quality words throughout the rest of the book?

Just reached the conclusion and it may sound daft, but I'm starting to feel emotional about not having it to read and think about during the times that I'm asleep or doing other things online.  It's seriously opened my eyes and made me think about how I can explore my own beliefs and biases and how I can adjust them to make me a better person amongst those who aren't like me.  I thought I was open-minded and unjudgemental and that I was all for helping those who needed my support, but this book has made me realise that even though I do my best, I've still got a looong way to go to help others.

Just finished the book (with the exception of the notes ;-) lol) and I'm a changed person because of it... it's made me want to examine myself and my past and constantly challenge each thought - where has it come from, who introduced that thought and most importantly, why?

Just finished reading and...

...it's too late to code and upload it everywhere now, so I'll try and remember to do it first thing tomorrow.

 

I've also decided that I'm gonna publish the reviews on my sites and blogs as soon as I've finished writing the review instead of waiting for publication day, I'll just have to wait until publication day before I can put it on Amazon.  There's already one review ready to go up tomorrow morning, plus this book too, so hopefully there will be two book reviews up first thing tomorrow, assuming I remember of course lol

I'm gonna head to bed now, but I'll be back tomorrow.  Nite nite orl.

Lunchtime pill taken, lunch eaten...

...pill organiser refilled, so now I'm just waiting for Steve to finish his lunch, then I'll spend this afternoon burping, parping and reading, possibly reviewing if I finish in time, then I'll water the tomatoes before I head to bed tonight.

 

Steve's just said to...

..."leave off the watering 'cos there was a fair bit of rain last night" and the soil does look black, so I'll leave it until tonight before I water them and Steve's having a wash at the kitchen sink (which is totally gross) so I'll do the rubbish and recycling after I've taken my morning pills, then make our breakfast when that's done and Steve's come back in.

 

Mornin' all

It's Sunday today, yeah?  That means it's rubbish and recycling day so I reckon I'm gonna water the tomatoes while Steve's in the bathroom then make a start on that if Steve's pooing 'cos that takes him the best part of half an hour, or make our breakfast if it's just a wee.

 

I'm absolutely exhausted after yesterday so won't be moving far from the sofa today for safety reasons, but I'm just over 10 hours short of caring for my carer for 75 hours this week, so I'll be able to do that from the sofa, thankfully.

 

The toilet has just flushed, so it's brekkie first then.

 

Gotta remember to do the news and keep reading today so that I can get it all sorted and start tomorrow with a clean slate.

 

BBL.