Saturday, April 02, 2011

7 Quick Takes: 2nd April 2011


1. I am a day late writing this as I decided to try to get the first of my two final assignments for this term's course module drafted yesterday. They aren't due in until early May, but I want to get them essentially done before Easter, Passover and the school holidays make chunks of time and coherent thought hard to come by. Having tried to keep my essay nice and tight and to the point, I ended up 350 words short and finally gave up trying to write any more at 3am. At least it is more or less there, albeit still needing footnotes, a little padding and tidying up.

2. I am a Motivated Mom again. When I fall off the housework wagon, I need something to pull me back on to it, otherwise I flounder around not knowing where to start. Pathetic, but at least I know where to go for a kickstart. Motivated Mom is simple, doesn't overwhelm me, and gets me back into better habits. When I went to look for the Motivated Mom planner, I was delighted to see they now have an iPhone / iPad app. Job done! (Well, jobs not done yet, but at least I'm trying!)

3. On the subject of iPhone / iPad apps, I am definitely an e-reader convert. I find reading on the iPad or MacBook easier than a real, paper book, because I usually knit while I read and don't have to worry about pages flipping over of their own accord while my hands are occupied. I love, love, love the Kindle app. I can read the same book on the iPad, the MacBook, or my Android phone, and it will magically open at the spot I left it on another machine. Having my current book on my phone is a bonus, as it means I can read wherever I am without having to take a book with me. I tried the iBooks app recently - South Riding was available on iBooks before Kindle, and I was impatient to read it - but found it disappointing. The reading experience was fine, but it is only available for iPhone or iPad. Not being able to access the book on the laptop (not even on an Apple machine, what is up with that?) or my phone was a frustration.

4. This week's archive find was a contract for the rebuilding of the canal bridge linking the two halves of our town. I can't remember the exact date, but I think it may have been 1845. The aim was to reduce the height of the arch - I imagine it must originally have been a humpbacked bridge - and the specifications included good quality Yorkshire stone and two coats of oil paint.

5. I have also come across a number of agreements involving debtors. In one case, a long list of creditors agreed to accept repayment of just half their outstanding debts. Given that the debtor had left the country and gone to Germany, I imagine they were lucky to get anything! In another case the creditors of a local clergyman agreed not to pursue him for payment for the next three years.

6. From Tevye's Facebook:
Conversation with Cherub during a card game this morning... Ch: "I know what 3 and 3 is." Me: "What is it?" Ch: "6". Me: "That's right. You're very good at sums". Ch: "What's sums?" Me: "Adding up." Ch: "Yes, and I'm very good at adding down too." Well, that's an interesting way to describe subtraction!
 7.  I am cooking a Russian main course for our meal with our neighbours tonight. On the menu: Chicken Moscow, Russian roasted potatoes, red cabbage, and lemon basil carrots. A-Next-Door-But-One is complaining that the country she picked out of the hat for dessert is nearly impossible! Thank goodness for Google.

Read more quick takes at Conversion Diary
 

4 comments:

Willa said...

I used Motivated Moms one year when I was floundering. It really did help. I may have to check it out again since I've been drifting this spring as far as housework goes.

Pamela said...

I like the look of Motivated Moms - it might be just what I need. What is a cep in your Russian chicken recipe and what did your friend end up making for dessert?

The Bookworm said...

Pamela, I had to Google ceps. They are a type of mushroom, which I think are the same as porcini. I used dried porcini - very strong smelling! Expensive too, so if I was cooking this as a family meal I would just use ordinary mushrooms.

It turned out they had also picked Russia for dessert (I forgot my original country and had to pick again, hence the overlap). They made a Russian honey cake and apple babka. Very yummy! The starter was tuna and sweet potato cakes from New Zealand.

Missus Wookie said...

I like the idea of adding down :)

I'm tempted on the e-reader stuff. But suspect unless I do get a iPad at some point it will only be on my ipod touch.