&tc. And Stuff

It’s the breakfast of champions, kids. And the lunch, and part of the dinner…

It isn’t the pancakes that are so fabulous in this shot, although they were pretty darned good with the cranberry compote that was going to be jelly except someone decided they were bored with their partner being in the kitchen watching the pot and convinced her to turn it off — ahem. It’s not the pancakes, or the slightly out of focus Linda McCartney sausages lightly festooned with apple-plum sauce, nor the pretty stainless steel fork which is the last of a very large retro set, some of which must still be buried in a drawer in T’s mother’s kitchen. No, no, it’s none of those things. It’s the fact that in the background, the sky is a washed-out blue.

That hasn’t happened in a awhile around these parts.

We got about eight consecutive hours of sun two weeks ago, but today’s temperature was actually in the fifties – 10°C – which made it deceptively warmish. (Quite a few were deceived, including the man in pink tee, white shorts and Birkenstocks. He looked to have been deceived by a great many things, however.) A few more days of warmth like this, and some of the crocuses might start to consider wakening. We are DESPERATELY hoping this happens, as the biggest of T’s so-called Littles are coming to visit, and she is trying to special order sunny skies and daffodils for them. This could take some doing.

As a courtesy tutorial for the Littles, we present this tidy little explanation of the United Kingdom. Unlike the gentleman from Stanford who recently visited the University and miscalled the country wherein he was speaking ENGLAND, we are hoping the Littles will make a better showing than this. (Explanations are more needed than you know, as we have acquaintances who believe we live in Switzerland — and last time we were home, someone asked us how things were in Finland. Americans, stop making us look bad with the geography stuff, okay?? Just because it all ends in “land” does not make it the same country!)

There. Hopefully you’ve got that now. Not Switzerland. Not Finland. SCOTland. Part of the UK, but not ENGland. ::sigh::

It’s been a busy time. We are enjoying gaining mastery with our Rossini piece in chorus, and the Vaughn Williams is all but polished. Of course, that means Il Maestro had to introduce something new — Belshazzar’s Feast is a cantata by the English composer William Walton. It is so very theatrical,so very bizarre and so, so, difficult that we are doing a lot more snorting and chortling in the ranks than actually singing. We sound AWFUL. It’s hilarious. We plan to record rehearsal next time we think of it — the cries of dismay and the odd pauses where people attempt to come in are priceless. Music composed in the thirties — full of cacophony and general weirdness — it’s good fun, and it keeps our brains sharp to keep grappling with strange music. Or, so we tell ourselves.

It’s a good thing to be able to laugh at oneself… at times, there’s really just no choice!

In “business” news, T’s just shot off another novel to the eagerly waiting editor, who is promising to bump her to the top of the list, as her agent is buzzing to all and sundry that this is a “lovely” one. This is the fastest novel she’s ever written, as it came together in just under five months. She begs her agent not to come to expect that kind of time! Meanwhile, D. has been in a bit of a funk for a bit, as his advisers got into a disagreement about how he was to display a set of statistics — ending with him having to rewrite his first chapter and do a lot of annoying backtracking, then present the statistics BOTH ways — but that’s finally over. The cobwebs are clearing, and he’s grateful indeed to be writing on his dissertation again, and making clear progress. He’s also somehow been roped into teaching this week and next, but is taking it all in stride.

As much fun as D’s time in Scotland has been, it’s definitely coming to a close in terms of the University. The BBC has reported that major cuts in both courses and in faculty, in order to raise money mean that thousands of both faculty and students will be affected, and there’s definitely a feeling of uneasiness in the ranks. Protests and sit-ins are becoming routine, and everyone is unhappy. It’s a real shame — and it seems very much to be a sign of the times, as we hear the same news from the U.S.! Friends of ours who are new graduates are not sanguine about finding positions in academia at present — but D. is optimistic that he’ll be able to find a job regardless — just not as a professor. And he’s not sorry about that, as he’s not sure he can deal with any more academia at this point anyway.

It’s a chaotic, turbulent world out there, and everyone seems to be feeling the strain. What do you do to lighten the load for yourself and those around you? At the moment, the hope of Spring keeps us going. How about you?