nishatalitha

My hair looked very fluffy today. I still very much like the new look and length, but it's settling down and hasn't looked the same two days in a row yet.

Showed another couple through the house this afternoon. They took an application form away with them, but I doubt we'll hear back.

Have also packed seven fairly large boxes of books. I've packed all my mass-market paperbacks and comics. That leaves the manga, hardbacks and non-fiction, all of which are more awkward to pack.

Our lounge does not look like our lounge now - the large mirror has been taken down and the holes where the house nails were patched with sealant prior to being touched up with paint. My room still looks much like my room, aside from one mostly empty bookcase and the complete lack of ornaments.

The cats are nervous and tense. Jemima has been through this before and is only really coming inside in the mornings and evenings in order to be fed. Tobias doesn't really know what's going on. I keep getting my weeks mixed up and thinking it's next week when it's not.

Still not sleeping particularly well - it's taking me ages to drop off once I hop into bed. Accidentally stayed up until 3am today watching all the episodes of 7 Periods with Mr Gormsby that I hadn't seen (about nine or so). It's a very good show and I recommend it.

Exams tomorrow. Despite my almost complete lack of study, I don't actually feel underprepared for these, although I doubt I will feel that way when sitting Estates tomorrow afternoon. Still, at least Property is in the morning and I have a couple of hours between the two, so can cram some more, if I need to. I have at least gone through and highlighted relevant legislation, something I haven't done for any other exam.

Read By Blade and Cloth by Helen E. Davis this evening (recced by sartorias) and quite enjoyed her take on Elves. It was a bit patchy in parts and occasionally skipped perspective very quickly, but in some scenes it was clearly deliberate. Worth US$5 for the e-book. There were three sample chapters available and then I wanted to finish it.

The wind is howling outside and it will be cold enough for me to be comfortable wearing the jacket I have worn to almost every exam since third form; my heavy denim one with big pockets and autumn tapestry inserts that I got from Orlando in September twelve years ago when I was thirteen. We got it in a large, so I wouldn't outgrow it as fast and I remember it costing US$90 - I think I paid half, although that bit is unclear. It's tradition now that I at least take it to every exam I sit.

I have both cats in my room at the moment, which is a rare thing. When I went out before, Tobias looked lonely, so I brought him in, and now he's stretched out against the wall by the door. Jemima has moved from being on my bed to sitting directly next to the heater. This is Jemima's space; Tobias wasn't allowed in here when he was a kitten so she would have somewhere that was hers. But they haven't fought - well, Jemima hissed a bit, but that's hardly uncommon - and now Tobias is taking a bath. Maybe they're tired as well.

Picked a sprig of blossom from the apple tree the other day and stuck it in a small vase. I know it's flowering, but I've never seen water go down in a vase so quickly! I have to refill the emptied vase about twice a day: morning and night

The cats got their first visit to the vet today. I'd tired them out previously by sitting outside in the sun on the kitchen chair watching them race around outside, so when the three of us went inside again, they settled down very easily and which made it a lot easier to put them in the catboxes.

Jemima was, surprisingly, on her best behaviour. I had thought she would be growling and spitting and absolutely furious with me, but instead she stayed on the stainless-steel table and was affectionate and smoochy. She even purred. The vet couldn't hear her heartbeat because she was purring so loudly. She was fairly sure Jemima doesn't have a heart murmur anyway. Jemima weighs 4.33kgs at the moment and is probably about six years old, which is a lot younger than I was expected. But clearly happy and healthy, which was good to hear. And she has now had a flu-jab and goes back in three weeks for the booster. I am considering getting her micro-chipped when I can afford it. Not that she wanders; I'm just paranoid.

She is currently curled up sleeping on my bare duvet and the pile of clean washing on my bed. Tobais (also jabbed and weighed) is dozing on the other side of the pile of clean washing, on the bottom duvet.

G came over this afternoon and we got a decent amount of LARP work done. I have a couple of characters to finish and I have to type up what I have, but we are on track. Now we only need people who want to play the characters...

This evening, some friends of mine were having a winter warming party (cheese fondue and mulled wine). I rarely see some of these people, so went along. It was fun. And as often happens at these parties, I turned to A. and said "This is neat music. What is it?" and was promptly informed. Whereupon I muse about borrowing it. Last time, I had his Cradle of Filth CD for absolutely ages. This time, he burned me Leave's Eyes and Liv Kristine, which I liked and Nightwish, which he thought I might like. It's rather cool. Semi-operatic, but with these heavy metal type sections and the male singer sometimes reminds me of the Cradle of Filth lead singer...

I should fold my washing and move it so I can go to bed.

A couple of word-images I forgot to post when they occured. There a some compensations for getting up early to go to the gym and being at the busstop before the birds have started singing. One of them is the moon.

I forget the precise term, but when the moon was last in its last quarter, the sky was clear and still and the moon shone so brightly I looked up to see if it was full. The cresent was as bright as the full moon is normally and the rest of the moon was only slightly darker and it all had a faint halo. I could see shadows and brights over the entire surface. It looked amazing.

The other morning, while the moon was full, the sky was not bright and clear, but covered in pale clouds with darker clouds, like black lace, spilling out like a tattered overskirt. Against this background, the moon spilled a halo out like a round pond on the clouds and black lace danced over the still surface.

I finally have some time to get things done, by which I mean I have a list and feel too relaxed to get onto it anytime soon, save for the beta-reading I started recently. I will make a cup of tea soon and later on, beetroot relish.

Jemima sleeps relatively peacefully on my bed at the moment. This morning, while I was asleep, she left, leaving the door partially open. Sometime later, I was woken by Tobias jumping onto my bed by my shoulder. When Jemima returned, Tobias had wandered off somewhere under my bed and so she reclaimed the spot where she now sleeps. It is her spot, and she'll be dammed if she relinquishes it. Tobias jumped back on the bed, upsetting her a bit, but not enough to leave. She settled down once Tobias decided to sleep on my neck. I was rather warm with one cat by my feet and the other draped over my neck.

When Tobias did the same thing later on this morning, he got swiped at for his troubles. She didn't get him, and this doesn't seem to have made a dent in his enthusiasm, since he came in later on still. Either my room holds a fascination for him or there isn't anyone else he can go and spend time with.

But Jemima seems to be acclimitising some and this is good.