Here's an update on Monet from last week:

Not much to see I'm afraid, 'cause of the pre-printed fabric I guess. There isn't actually too much left to stitch - I never thought I'd see the end of this one.

I'm always too tired in the evenings during the week to do anything, most days I just get home and sort of collapse on the settee! No stitching, certainly no studying. sometimes I can get myself to tidy up, but often by Friday the house resembles some sort of warzone... get's me frustrated.

Anyway, it's been a pretty good week:
1. WW on Wednesday - I couldn't believe it, I lost 3,5 lb, and now have only3 lb left and I'm on goal!!
2. Nafees got his 1st wages from his new job, and as he got paid for 1 1/2 month, it was a .. nice sum.
3. Had my PDR talk today with my manager, and it went incredibly well. makes me feel very happy with the job.
negative:
1. hardly did any studying, I'm behind again. Tutorial on Tuesday was cancelled, so I haven't go a clue where to start with the next assignment which is due middle of June - and there is still plenty of reading to go tru.
2. weather is suppose to be really shi...y for Bank Holiday Weekend.
I just occured to me that I can turn those two negative points arround and use the bad weather to catch up on studying.

Should I start writing?

I took Ruby and her best friend Casey to the library today, and afterwards to Dartford Central Park. Got us some icecream from Iceland .. yum yum.

I found some books on writing, one is 'Write children stories' and the other 'write crime stories' (something like that anyway). I still feel that I would like to write, but did push the idea out of my head since I did a short creative writing course last year. Basically, I did not enjoy the course at all! I had always enjoyed writing stories as a young girl/woman, and now I suddenly found the exercises which I had to do for this course really hard. I sat in front of the screen and had to force every single word out. No , I did not enjoy the course at all, and had one of my lowest marks ever for the work I submitted. Maybe it was because I had the psychology course running at the same time and could not devote enough energy to it. Maybe I thought it would be easier - just sit and write. Or maybe I just need more practice. More time!!

I still feel there are lots of stories in my waiting to get out. but no rush, I don't want to write with the sole aim of getting published, but rather for myself. I would like to tell stories about me growing up in East Germany. I want my children to know about this. And most of the common stories about East Germany are about spies, cold war etc - that really get's to me sometimes and I want to show the more 'human' side to it, and that we were quite normal people leading a .. somewhat different life. And my job now provides me with so many leads to tell stories, after all, Forensics, Crime examinations etc is a 'hot topic' now! So, watch this space.

Here's Ruby and Casey enjoying themselves in the park.

Kitten Big Brother House

Another one of the kittens went last night, the last tabby one. A family with 4 children from Woolwich. They seemed really nice and were besotted with the kitten straight away - I'm sure she's gonna have a good home- now we've got only the 3 black ones left (+ Thomas of course). Imran said it's like Kitten Big Brother: Every day another kitten is leaving 'Tabby, pack your bags, you have 5 minutes to leave the house'. I do feel quite upset in a way. Here's one last reminder

:

Books!

got two books today. Monica Ali 'Alentejo Blue'. it's only just come out in paperback, but -- lucky lucky - I found it in our library in Southwark for sale. it is the hardback, which I don't really like (too bulky to carry, too much space on the bookshelf), but hey, for 30p, how can I complain. I can only recommend looking at library withdrawn sales, the one in Southwark is really good and surprises me with very current titles. don't assume the withdrawn one's are really only very old and grubby books - they are not! (Don't rush all to Southwark Library now will you!)

Now despite this I still was drawn to WH Smith when catching the train. Jilly Cooper's 'Wicked' was half price offer of the week, and I got it - what the heck! The blurp promises a good summer time read. It's basically a story of 2 schools, a comprehensive and a posh one. I read somewhere (Metro?) it is full of stereotypes, especially those from the lower end of the social order :-)). Still should be a good read. Only problem --- when! It goes to the top of my TBR pile which is currently about 50 books (?) high. Sigh.

Here's an update on Spring Queen. I just so enjoy working on those!

Tonight, one of the kittens is going. A bit sad, but I'm also quite relieved. That will leave us with 4 (+ Thomas).

Melvyn Bragg ' The Soldier's Return '

Now I'm not at all into war-stories (yep, you know, German's and don't mention the war...). This book starts were war-books end, with the returning home of the soldiers. Sam comes back from Birma to his wife and 6 year old son, and while his son idolised his father who was away, reality catches up with them. His wife had to hold down 2 jobs to survive, and when Sam asks her to give them up now he is back, she is not prepared to do so. This is just one of the small things eating away at them. Both have different ideas on how to deal with their son, and this is especially evident when the son gets terribly bullied. There is a dreadful scene in the book which got me as a cat lover where kittens get drowned in a bucket -- my mum told me though this was usual practice in her time as well (she grew up in the countryside). Sam is hounted by his experiences in the war, and some of his old soldier friends are completely going down, so he sees his only option of escaping - to a different country, as far away as possible. His wife would rather try to make a home and new life where they are. The story is relevant today with many soldiers returning from Iraq to find their loved ones who they had left behind, and life will have changed for them. All n all,not my usual read, and don't expect big action and dreadful suspence, but a wonderful study of human life and the more 'subtle' sufferings of war.

Last weekend, 3 of the kittens went to their new homes, with Jake. I'm quite pleased because I know where they are going, and I know that his family are real cat lovers as well. And we can still visit at least one of the kittens who will stay with Jake, the other two are going to his grandma.
Well, this leaves us with 6 (5 if you discount Thomas, it is now final that he will stay with us I guess, much to Danial's delight.
An update on the Cat picture from the previous week:
I suddenly felt like knitting last week, and completed 9 squares for the blanket (this is from the magazine where they send you 4 magazines every 4 weeks or so, and each of them has - apart from other things - a tiny bit of woll for a square which eventually forms a blanket. The knitting was fun - I really started to enjoy it and thought I'm starting a knitting-phase. However, disaster struck when I tried to iron the piece (as recommended!). I used of course the lowest iron-setting, and put the square between two thick towel - but even so, the wool almost disolved from even this small heat! It surely must be the cheapest of the cheapest acryl wool. I don't have enough wool to knit the spoiled square again. Suppose could use some wool from my stash, but I lost the will to knit at the moment!

Michael Connelly ' Void Moon '

This is a crime story, but not the usual kind. It is narrated from the view of the criminal - in this case it is Cassie Black, a professional burglar. Her last big 'job' got horribly wrong, her partner Max ended up dead and she spend some time in prison. Now out, she want to do another big hit which would give her enough money to retire. We get introduced to the world of Las Vegas and Casinos, big money. Cassie makes her big hit, but gets caught out with the Mob - who wants the money back and try to hunt her down. Plenty of bodies buried in the deserts outside Las Vegas during the course. Spoiler -- we learn halfway through the book that Cassie has a child with her dead partner Max, and the girl becomes a centre figure in the big showdown. though Cassie is obviously a criminal, you cannot help but feel a lot of sympathy for her and wish so much for her to get away from the even bigger criminals.