READING so much this month. The new issues of both Bitch and Bust arrived within days of each other last week and both are really at the top of their game in terms of brilliant content. I've also been racing through books, as mentioned in my March Reads post yesterday.
BUYING a very cool mid-century modern mirror from Vintage Utopia in Clarendon Park, Leicester, for the bargain price of £15. Plus a new camera, hooray! I've been using an ancient point-and-shoot for years, so it's going to be fun learning how to use a more complex model. Question for camera owners: do you have a special camera bag, or just a bigger handbag? I'm loathe to carry around more than just one bag, but I don't particularly want my camera getting bashed about in my satchel either. Any recommendations?
RELEASING my first book-crossing book into the wild. I picked up The Snow Child when I was in Nottingham last month and, after reading it, released it here in Leicester.
WATCHING lots of good films at our local indie cinema, Phoenix. I am obsessed with this place, and for good reason: their programme is consistently excellent and oh, the joys of being in a cinema screen where everyone is silent and no-one is crunching popcorn! If you have an independent cinema near you, I would wholeheartedly recommend supporting them. We are lucky that Phoenix also has a nice cafe/bar with vegan food, and our date nights almost always end here.
WEARING sunglasses and t-shirts. And then a winter coat and boots. And then my raincoat and wellies. And now sunglasses again. I do love spring (is there any better sight than daffodils nodding in the wind?), but the changeable weather can be difficult to dress for.
BOOKING an appointment for my next tattoo, yippee! Also, lots of test drives as I am looking for a new (to me) car.
LEARNING yoga, after my GP suggested it might help with my stress-related jaw pain. So far, it's causing me more stress because I'm so bad at it, but I do enjoy it.
EATING out far too much. It's the bad influence of The Boy (ok, it's the novelty of having someone to eat out with). But there are so many great options in Leicester, places where he has remarkably little trouble finding vegan food, that we feel we should take advantage. That, and we're lazy and enjoy not having to cook .
FEELING remarkably well, actually. Thanks to some great advice from friends and readers after February's post about my ill-health, my IBS has been better than it has for months. I also got some new medication to ease the pain in my jaw, which seems to be working, and it's been wonderful to have some completely painkiller-free days. Even better, it's also recommended as a treatment for IBS (randomly!) so I'm sure that's also helping my digestive system settle itself.
PLANNING a meet-up with Laura this Saturday - I'm looking forward to finally meeting after years reading each other's blogs.
I think BookCrossing is such a great idea - has your book been caught, yet? I joined a few years ago as I had a very enthusiastic BookCrossing friend, and it's been great to get involved, and see where my books have been travelling.
ReplyDeleteNo, it's still in the wild. I'm definitely going to have a go at BookCrossing again, now I want to hunt down some of the local books listed at the moment.
DeleteI've only ever found one book completely by chance, it made me very excited! Have a look at the BookCrossing forum, people organise book rings (among other things) and it's great to receive a well-read book before passing it on to yet more people to read. In fact, I might head over there now...!
DeleteConcerning the camera problem: I still haven't found the perfect solution. I do have a camera bag, which I take with me on days out when the main purpose is photographing. And on holidays, as it's a solid bag, which makes it a bit more theft-proof (besides the fact it really shows you're carrying a camera, but still). When I'm just out and about, I have a teeny-tiny camera bag, which basically only holds my camera and nothing else, a bit like a bodycon dress for my camera really. Then I put that one in a slightly bigger handbag, because I hate carrying around two bags at the same time, I'd rather just have one slightly bigger. But truth be told: that's all up to your personal preference.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a bodycon dress for a camera - that's exactly what I want! And oh dear, it looks like I might need to buy a new bag to fit it in, what a shame.
DeleteI have the same camera (( think, coolpix P520?) and I love mine. The DSLR takes better shots (when I can figure out how to use it properly!) but the coolpix does a great job too and I like how accurately I can capture colours with it, with minimal faffing! I just keep mine in my bag, so I have it on me and it's fine in there, all my scrapes and scratches are from the many times I've dropped it! If you want to protect it, you could just get a little bag for it though, or some bubble wrap or something.
ReplyDeleteI've not heard of bookcrossing, but it sounds interesting.
Coolpix L820, so nearly the same!
DeleteIf yoga's not for you, you might like pilates - I found yoga too slow and faffy; pilates actually sorted out my aches and pains and left me feeling like I'd done a proper workout.
ReplyDeleteAs for the camera bag, I made a sort of envelope for my camera using some wadding and random fabric. I just tuck it inside that and put it in my handbag - it's easy to reach without any zips or buckles or other irritating bits and, years on, none of my cameras have come to any harm.
The thing is, I actually really enjoy it - I'm just shit at it! Pilates does appeal though, it's just a case of finding classes at times that suit me.
DeleteI'd thought about sewing a camera pouch, so thanks for the tip. I'll give it a try.
Glad to hear you're feeling a lot better :)
ReplyDeleteLove the camera, I really want to buy a better model as I've also had a point-and-shoot for years but I really need to get back into taking more photos so I can justify it (hence all the photography challenges at the moment!)
I did a book crossing thing a long time ago where I "released" a bunch of empty notebooks around the world (literally) and had people write or draw things in them and sign in to book crossing. It went great for about a year and then one by one they all dropped off the face of the planet. I might do it again but keep better track of where they're going, maybe have them pass between bloggers or something.
ReplyDeleteHere's the blog I made specifically for those books. Haven't heard from any of them since 2012 but my hopes are alive that at least one of them will make it back to me safely. http://finditandpassiton.blogspot.ca/
That's such a cool idea! It's amazing to see how many countries the books made it to, but what a shame they've never come back to you. A blogger swap sounds like a good idea.
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