vivdunstan

Clearing more books - many academic - that I no longer have need for, and can't read properly now due to my neuro illness. Helped by them lurking in a bookcase unseen for decades! Some survived the cut eg histories of Dundee and Cupar and John Kay's caricatures. But most are off to charity.

We have many more books still to clear out. There are still too many piles of things to dismantle in the study. But it's progress. And it is refreshing how easily I'm finding it to pass these on. It helps that I know that our local Oxfam's will sell them well. And they will also find homes for the Scottish history journal issues.

Doing another quick reading, drawing 4 cards at random, and arranging them from top to bottom in order of how much I connect with them. With the option to ignore or reduce in applicability the card I place at the bottom. Then some personal reflections on the topics raised by the cards drawn tonight, and how I feel about them.

I'm using my new in hand Venetian Tarot deck this time. Not only is the art gorgeous - Renaissance Venice inspired - but it's also fantastic to hold in the hand, great to shuffle, and gold gilded edges. Just lovely.

My first reaction was "Aarrgghh! I've drawn the Hanged Man!" But thinking more, it's the card in today's random draw that resonates with me the most. I'm currently in a state of transition, in more ways than one. I recently got some big work-related things finished, and am moving on to focus on other things. And I'm also seemingly starting to slowly come out of my latest 3-month neurological flare. And want to have fun. Meanings associated with this card can include all of sacrifice, release and new perspective. And I honestly feel that's on point.

Alongside that the Seven of Cups and Knight of Wands both fit in with this state of transition and where I'm moving to. The Cups card is often associated with romance, but also with new ideas, adventures, passions more generally. And I'm very much feeling that I want to pursue things I'm passionate about. Likewise the Knight of Wands brings up ideas like impulsivity, action and determination. And again ties in so strongly with how I'm currently feeling.

I placed the Ten of Swords at the bottom in my arrangement today. This is one of the more bleak cards in the Tarot deck, associated with despair, trauma and feeling rock bottom. I just don't feel that, though I do feel the hope this card can conversely be associated with. But yup, not really the card for how I'm feeling today.

That was so much fun. And wow, these cards are just stunning.

Absolutely brilliant Capercaillie gig tonight in Perth. Huge thanks to all the band, celebrating 40 years together. Karen Matheson’s voice was sublime as always. But I loved how their strength as an instrumental Scottish folk group was also highlighted. Normally accordionist me is glued to Donald Shaw’s virtuoso playing. Thanks muchly from an old timer for playing Calum’s Road! But tonight I was most wowed by Charlie McKerron‘s fiddle playing. I’m a very long lapsed fiddler too, and his playing was epic. Absolutely brilliant treat. All the best for the remaining concerts.

It was a really big step for us to go to this, since the start of Covid, and how much iller I’ve got neurologically in recent years. But it went brilliantly, and we’re so very grateful to have been able to go. Both of us have loved Capercaillie’s music since 1989/90. We last saw them in concert in Edinburgh in 1997 or 1998. Seeing them again was special.

Just had my first go using a blunt syringe with a 3D-printed ink miser to load my piston filler daily journal fountain pen. The ink in the big bottle was now too low a level for me to get a good fill directly. But my neurological illness hands were rather terrified of today's process! But it worked brill. Filled the syringe, then the ink miser (almost totally full), then filled through the pen nib using the piston filler. Worked brilliantly, and I didn't knock anything over! Just a little ink left over in the miser, which I poured back into the bottle. Very happy fountain pen user. Martin was around today, but I decided to try to tackle this myself. And it worked.

A third of the way through sleeving cards in my new Fellowship of the Ring card game, and it’s a tight fit, but they do fit sleeved (there are 3 slots in the box for 48 cards each). Relieved to have managed the first batch - hands cooperating well there today despite my progressive neurological illness. But definitely leaving the rest to later this week! P.S. You don't have to sleeve the cards, but I prefer to in this case. I'm using Gamegenic 66 x 91 mm "Gray" code Standard Card Game Matte Sleeves (3 x 50 packs). But there are other options too.

Very difficult week with my progressive neurological illness, but delighted to end with some accordion practice. Mainly playing my own arrangements, including here Despacito, and also Speechless from Aladdin, and Don't Shut Me Down from ABBA. Extremely light headed, and there were fluffs, but happy.

Very recently I replaced my rapidly dying old Kindle Paperwhite 4 with the latest model. And a few days on I thought I'd post some quick thoughts.

On plus the new one (Kindle Paperwhite 6) is much much more responsive for page turns. This makes a huge difference to me since I read with a gigantic font for disability/neurological illness reasons. So have to turn pages much more than most folk for the same amount of text. In the old model there was a noticeable delay each time. Now it feels almost instant. Which I'm very happy with.

It was also remarkably easy to set up, using my iPod touch (like an iPhone, but without any phoning) to send by Bluetooth my Kindle login details and wifi network. Which sounds a bit risky as I write this, but worked ... And then I just had to tweak the font size, screen layout and brightness to my preferences, and I was done.

On the downside the new Kindle Paperwhite uses a different transfer protocol (MTP) which is not Mac friendly. So if connecting it up via USB there are extra hurdles to get eg a screenshot off. Which I do rarely. But still. It also affects side loading ebooks onto it by cable, though you can also upload them via web and email.

Also the Kindle Paperwhite 6 is a little bit bigger than my previous Kindle Paperwhite 4. It's not too big for me to handle, but felt a little unfamiliar at first.

I really like the plant-based cover I got, the official Amazon version. It's not fully plant-based, but much more so than the standard cover. I picked it partly for that reason, but also because it got better reviews for softness and no sharp edges than the main alternatives.

Big relief I don't have a yellow band at the bottom of my screen. This has been a problem for many latest Paperwhite owners as well as the new Kindle Colorsoft model. I am mightily relieved.

Back to Gaelic study, and restarting from the beginning with Moray Watson's books. Hoping to get a bit more of the vocabulary to stick this time, despite my severe memory problems from my progressive neurological disease! Which really really doesn't help, and eg stops me using things like Duolingo. Also conversational teaching doesn't suit me. On plus much grammar has stuck over the years. I'm surprised how much has stuck. But I need to make a more conscious effort re learning new vocabulary. And increasingly so as my neurological disease progresses. I love Gaelic and its sounds. And was given a Gaelic middle name at birth. Will persevere!

Pleased that my temperature has stabilised finally 6 days after my latest double vaccines. It's continued swinging for ages, though I was feeling much less fragile overall by Monday afternoon. My arms are still sore, but improving a lot too. Enormously grateful to have got my protection. Even as I expect a very nasty and prolonged post Covid vaccine auto immune neurological illness flare to start shortly 🙁 But got my protection!

Back to the Urban Crow deck, and as usual my 3-card past/present/future spread.

Play / Anomaly / Anticipation.

There could be lots of interpretations of these cards. But looking at them I'm immediately reminded that I'm in a brief phase of slightly better health at the moment, and about to go very very downhill again in a few weeks time. So I've been having fun, and trying to make the most of it. Albeit hampered by my failed experimental immunosuppression dose change from May. Which still needs a few weeks to resolve itself since the dose went back in September (it takes up to 12 weeks to show the full effects).

Admittedly I've had post Covid vaccine flares so many times (9/9, with my 10th Covid vaccine due in a couple of weeks) that it's hardly an "anomaly" in my life! But it is still phenomenally disrupting each time, very distressing, leaving me extra incapacitated with devastating increased neurological symptoms for 3 long months at a time. It's a never-ending rollercoaster. But not one I'm willing to get off. I want my vaccine protection too much, and severely immunosuppressed me really needs it to get through Covid ok. Which we keep catching.

On plus I've got Christmas looming in the next few months, and that's what the last card today shouts out to me. I am not religious - was brought up vaguely Church of Scotland, but I've been agnostic for many years. I take after my Dad re this. However I love the mid winter festival that is Christmas, and the sense of snuggling down, in the warmth, with good food, and celebrations. So that's something to look forward to. Even if I will still be neurologically flaring very badly then.

This year we can also look forward to our annual pre-Christmas rewatch of 1984's TV Box of Delights being the new next month Blu-ray remastered version. So that will be a treat to carry us through to Christmas too.