Nerd Church - Unpopular Opinion: I've Never Liked Gavin and Stacey

...confessions of a rebel Welsh chick, I guess. 😅

OK - I know that there are international fans of this series, but since it's less well-known outside the UK, a little background:

Gavin and Stacey is a BBC sitcom about a Welsh woman from Barry and an English dude from Essex meeting on the internet, falling in love, and trying to get together despite being from opposite ends of the country.

It's also where James Corden hit the big time, in the UK at least. So... there's that. Make of it what you will 😅

Nerd Church - Random Audiobook Ramblings

 

...a post brought to you by my boredom with walking, and my doctor's insistence that, if I go walkies, it'll help with my mental health. (I'm not buying it - it's never helped before, but I'll try anything.)

When there's been no rain for a couple of days in a row, it's not so bad 'cos I can go to the woods, but otherwise said woods are like a very slippery mudslide. 

So if it's been raining within 48-72 hours, then I have to walk around streets and shops and sh** so I don't trip, fall, and end up in the river/bang my head on a tree/anger one of The Fair Folk by falling into them or summat. 

*Sigh* The woods are my natural habitat, dammit!

Nerd Church - It's OK (Just Keep Going)

 

The world is a total mess, but it's OK, just keep going.

There's war and floods and famine and disease, but it's OK, just keep going.

The things that bump in the night are real, but it's OK, just keep going.

Month In Review(s) - March 2024

 

March wasn't great.

Not terrible - but then, the bar for terrible is pretty high (or low, depending on your perspective, I guess,) at this point - but not great.

Basically: my mental health sucks at the moment.

Month In Review(s) - February 2024

 

February for yours truly wasn't too bad.

...It wasn't great either, tbh. But it's still one of the better months I've had lately, so I'll take it!

Month In Review(s) - December 2023 + January 2024

 

And 2023 is OUT OF HERE!!!!

And thank whoever's listening for that.

Because, in case you weren't aware, my 2023 effing sucked.

Nerd Church - I Seem To Be Watching More True Crime...

Warning: This post references true crime and murder, and discusses mental health problems - especially Anxiety.

Disclaimer time: I am not any type of psychological, medical, or scientific expert. I'm a chick with a blog, nothing more, nothing less.

Wild-child that I am, of an evening I like to get myself a snack, and a glass of diet coke, and watch TV for a while.

Lately that's meant, more often than not, true crime.

Because there's nothing more calming than some grisly murder before bed.

Nerd Church - Putting Self-Care At The Top Of My To-Do List

I've had to remind myself so many times, over the years, that it's best to take things one step at a time.

...That I only have two hands.

...That I actually get more done when I relax.

And yet... it's still so hard to do.

Month(s) in Review(s) - October + November 2023

 

Yes, this post covers two months.

No, I have not done that before.

But I was already pretty busy/lacking in time in October, and then November...

Well, my criteria for a 'good month' in the hellstorm of 2023 is one where no-one I care about (human or animal,) dies, almost dies, or has a life-changing diagnosis.

Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: The Words Need To Be Out There, Somewhere

Warning: brief references to Depression and Anxiety

A lot of the time, when I write, it's not so much a choice as an exorcism.

(Metaphorically, ofc 😅 )

Don't get me wrong - I love writing.

But sometimes it's the case that, if I don't do it, these words are gonna rattle around my head and drive me to distraction.

Not necessarily in a bad way. It's just... they gotta come out, y'know?

The 9 Year Blog Anniversary Post!

 

Yes, I've been at this, right here on Dora Reads -

(or it's previous name of 'Diary of a Reading Addict' aka DORA - and I do not miss typing the full thing out all the time 😅) 

- for a full NINE FREAKING YEARS!

Nerd Church - The World In A Spin

 

I recently took up spinning my own yarn from wool - because apparently I wasn't doing enough weird old-timey crafts for my brain's liking.

So, yeah, in addition to my previous heritage (i.e. ye olde timey,) crafts - knitting, weaving, embroidery, and cross-stitch - I now also spin wool fibre into yarn.

...Honestly sometimes my brain just, entirely out-of-the-blue, is like, 'we should learn how to abseil while painting stained glass windows!'* and I'm just like, 'yeah, sure, why not?'

(I do some non-heritage crafts too. Because I am like this, apparently. 😅)

*Don't panic, it hasn't actually suggested doing that. Yet.

Anyhow, it got me to thinking - we don't know enough about how stuff gets made, about where stuff comes from.

We in the modern world - especially in the West and the global North - have become so far removed from the means and methods of production that we can't even fathom it any more.

(Can you tell I was raised by South Wales Valleys (i.e. Socialist,) working-class hippies? Yeah? Great. 😅)

Month In Review(s) - September 2023

September.

(Yes, I know we're halfway through October - I have a lot of metaphorical plates spinning, and sometimes I drop one 😅 )

Iesu Effing Grist, September.

Well, it wasn't the worst month of this year - by a long shot. But it, uh... it crammed a whole lot of stuff in there.

...I am very, very, tired.

Nerd Church - My Spotify Playlist Is Calling Me Out

...Algorithms are rude, actually.

Month In Review(s) - August 2023

 

Warning: brief mentions of mental health problems

August.

...August actually wasn't that bad.

Which is freaking awesome as far as I'm concerned!

(In case you don't know: my 2023 has sucked.)

I mean, my mental health hasn't been brilliant - but so much better than in July - and I had a migraine which is really not fun.

But honestly given what this year has been like, and that my migraines are linked to changes in stress levels, it's really not surprising.

Month In Review(s) - July 2023

Warning: this post briefly discusses Depression

July. Ugh.

Well... let's look at the positives.

Once again, nobody in my life - either human or animal - died, almost died, or had a life-changing diagnosis.

Which is a low bar for a win, but that's the bar that I have - so it's a win.

Nerd Church - The Nebulousness Of Self-Care (Or 'What Do I Need?!')

Warning: Vague discussions of mental health issues

Disclaimer Time: I am not any sort of psychological, medical, or healthcare professional. I am a chick with an internet connection: nothing more, nothing less.

Does anyone else find it hard to figure out what sort of self-care they need?

Because it's not all bubble baths and scented candles 

- in fact I have to be careful with bubble baths in case my skin allergies freak out, and I don't like lighting candles anywhere near the cats because that's just an accident waiting to happen...

And apart from all that, the consumerist, one-size-fits-all, version of self-care does not, in fact, fit all.

Month In Review(s) - June 2023

June was too damned hot.

I hate the heat - I'm not built for it.

Ugh. It sucks.

Also, the mountain fires are apparently releasing heavy metals, like lead, from the vegetation, due to Wales' past status as lightly smouldering industrial wasteland.

It's potentially getting into the water supply. Fun times.

...On the plus side, maybe the English won't want our water now. (No, I'm not explaining that one - Google 'Wales water exports,' and once you've done that, Google 'Tryweryn'.)

Month In Review(s) - May 2023

May was hard. May was very hard.

But that's actually an improvement as far as 2023 goes, for me.

No-one in my life - including both pets and humans - died, nearly died, or had a life-changing diagnosis, so it's all good.

And, unlike last year, I did not catch Covid, so we're calling it a win.

(I need the win, OK? I'm so tired.)

Month In Review(s) - April 2023

Have I mentioned that 2023 hates me?

Because 2023 hates me.

I'm having the worst year. And that's saying something.