It can't be half term again?

Well yes it is. Two weeks of it.

I have booked two playscheme days this week, but there are no playschemes next week, as everyone else will be back to school. One of the down sides of having a child in a specialist independent school.

So the only respite I can get next week are short windows of time when Son 2 can be cared for while I attend the parent support coffee mornings. I shall of course do that, as I will be craving adult conversation!

Help save Salt Publishing

You have probably all seen this elsewhere, but I thought it worth posting again, as a reminder of how we can all help out a struggling indie publisher.

Salt publish beautifully produced, quality books, specialising in collections of poetry and short stories, for which there are all too few outlets.

Chris Hamilton-Emery, who runs Salt with his wife Jen, explains the predicament in which they have found themselves here on his Salt Confidential blog.

What can we all do to help? Well, in the words of Chris:

Please buy just one book, right now. We don't mind from where, you can buy it from us or from Amazon, your local shop or megastore, online or offline. If you buy just one book now, you'll help to save Salt. Timing is absolutely everything here. We need cash now to stay afloat. If you love literature, help keep it alive. All it takes is just one book sale. Go to our online store and help us keep going.

You can visit Salt's website here.

I've bought two and spread the word. How about you?

Your project has been received...

I logged into my Open University homepage this morning to find this message awaiting me. So now there is nothing I can do except wait for the result in August. It's slightly scary to think that both a diploma and an honours degree depend upon it.

I'm worried that I wrote my project story too quickly, the words flowing for once, unlike the novel, which since writing 1000 words on Sunday has ground to a halt. I've only added another 200 words or so. It's like drawing blood from a stone except that would actually be more productive.

In my defense I did have a meeting yesterday. Well actually it was cancelled, but that threw my day into disarray. Then today I had to go to a leaving party at our special needs parent support group, for someone who is emigrating. Couldn't miss it, could I?

Now what excuse will I be able to find tomorrow?

Going quiet

Still here and all is fine. But I am somewhat distracted at present.

There is the small matter of the OU Advanced Creative Writing course to complete in the next 10 days or so. Then there are some goings on around some work I do. I'm not directly involved, but it is constantly in my thoughts. And there is a novel waiting to be written...

So don't be surprised if I don't post for a couple of weeks.

I will be back very soon.

Handbags, gladrags and laptops

It's been a strange week. On Monday evening my trusty laptop died, resolutely refusing to turn back on at all. Now that wasn't entirely a surprise, as it was old, slow, very noisy and starting to overheat. But I had hoped that it would hang on for at least another month to allow me to finish the OU course, then research and buy a new one at leisure.

Of course that was not to be and with deadlines looming, I needed a laptop fast. A quick search around the internet identified a strong possibility in John Lewis so I decided to dash down to Oxford Street on Tuesday morning. I also needed to get a new watch battery, as my watch had stopped on Monday too. Although Hubby had promised to take it to the cheap jeweller near his office, he had left for work without it.

So after quick and easy tube journey into London, my first stop in Oxford Street was for the battery. I knew there was a watch repair bar in Debenhams so I headed there. The cost was about twice as much as Hubby would have paid, but it included a voucher for a free coffee while waiting. Furthermore, the repair bar was right beside the handbag department and I never need an excuse to look at lovely bags.

Battery sorted, I headed down the road to BHS in search of a new pair of jeans, as their Petite range is a good length for me. I got what I wanted and a top which our local branch had not had in stock in my size, so I was very pleased.

Then finally to John Lewis, where I found that the Toshiba Satellite laptop I had researched did indeed seem to be the best available option within my budget and being John Lewis, they throw in a two year warranty. So computer duly purchased, I set off for home.

It has taken me several days to get everything up and running. It's my first time using Vista and Office 2007, so there were some annoying incompatabilities with old software and hardware I use. But I hope it is just about set up now. At least I had obsessively backed up my old files, so I don't think I've lost anything important and it is wonderful to type on a responsive keyboard again.

The clothes, however, were a less successful fit and will be returned to my local BHS store tomorrow. Hubby and the bank manager will be relieved.