Cohorts and Others of Ill Repute

I am a little bemused to discover that it is more than a week since I last posted. I am entirely failing to work out what has been going on. Surgery recovery seems to be going better than the first time, although there might be some contribution from the fact that staying nearly flat on my back is the best way to not irritate the pulled shoulder muscle.

The last two days have been having Weather! with yesterday's temperature (in the city, so 15km north) peaking at 43°C. Today is quite mellow; it is currently 20°C and I'm resenting the breeze for not being warm enough. We have, however, swapped the warm quilt/doona for the very thin one made by Artisanat's mother.

There are fires, with friends currently hosting parents who have been evacuated (D&F, D's parents, I believe). The gold mine at Boddington is listed as on fire. I am choosing to not go down the rabbit hole of working out what that means, although I suspect it is actually bushland on the same site that is on fire.

Youngest finished up their internship on Friday last week, and is beyond bored. Fortunately, they are reasonably good at keeping themself amused (although, if it weren't that all retail and hospitality work is already grabbed for the season and winding down, I suspect they would be out there trying to get another job).

I have been working on two low energy tasks - digital decluttering, and finishing books. Over in the Discord for the Habitica Book Club, I signed up for a bingo card with 16 books that I have abandoned ('paused') over the last however long. The challenge runs December/January, and I've finished three and progressed two. Which isn't really as much as I would like, but is well within the goal of 'make progress'. I probably won't get around to writing those up, and I'm kind of okay about that.

I do have a stack of other notes that might get turned into blog posts at some point, but I'm very much allowing life to just happen, and if the enthusiasm hits, that is a win.

As for uni: I took this week off entirely as recovery / summer break, and I'll go back (work from home) on Monday. I have to have a stack of my ethics application done by mid-January, and before that can be written I need to have a solid theoretical framework for what questions I want to ask. Which means reading about 50 papers next week ('reading').

Craft wise I have abandoned hope on getting Eldest's quilt top done by the end of the year. Not being allowed to do much with the right arm and having upset the shoulder has meant that sewing has been Too Hard. I do have thoughts about just getting the pieces cut though, and maybe I'll do that this evening.

The damn things continue to overlap

• surgeon appointment: nothing new, but the margins on what was removed aren't big enough, back in surgery - that's my Friday.
• the next step in the candidacy paperwork was in fact not my responsibility, and I now have an email to say I've passed that hurdle (here it is called 'Milestone 1').
• Last Monday rehearsal of the year was this week; I tried bowing for one line of very long/slow notes and ow, nope, not yet. Was, however, good support for the other viola player, including singing some of the bits where the viola has the melody. We had a new violin player! I hope they come back, they seemed to be having fun.
• Today was my last day on campus for the year. I will be working some over the shutdown, because I'm supposed to have my ethics drafted by mid January, and I still don't know what I don't know. Treated myself to curry and a fizzy drink for lunch.
• Finished Building a second brain (Tiago Forte), which I've gained some useful ideas from. Recommended if you are needing a way to organise the information that is coming in to your life; not elsewise.
• Youngest went bouldering with co-workers on Monday, and is learning yet again about not relying on hyperextended elbows to do the work (their grip strength isn't, and their forearms hurt "weirdly")
• have woken up twice this week having done Something Stupid in my sleep. Monday it was the right hip not quite in the right place (went back in during rehearsal, I staggered in looking awful, I gather) and today it is something with the muscles of the right shoulder and halfway down the back -- I could barely move the shoulder this morning, and it has settled down to 'about half the time one or more muscles are spasming'.