earthquake?

I got woken up by an earthquake last night. Which is the sort of thing I'd expect my friend in Indonesia to blog about, but no, there was an eathquake in England last night. According to the BBC News website "The British Geological Survey (BGS) said the epicentre of the 5.3 magnitude quake was near Market Rasen, Lincolnshire."

I woke up because my bed was shaking. I wasn't entirely sure whether I was dreaming or being woken up by a large lorry going past or something. I checked the time, just in case it did turn out to be an earthquake and went back to sleep. So this morning, it was people's statuses on Facebook that confirmed what I'd felt and then the news. (hmm, what does that tell you about my media habits? Probably that on radio news you have to wait for headlines or news summaries to find out everything that's going on. Whereas with social networking, events that concern a large number of people in the same locality get reported almost instantly, like a small bunch of snapshots from your immediate locality.)

whee!

Yesterday was so much fun! I met a bunch of really interesting people, I wasn't (too) scared. I came away with loads of idea for my MA dissertation and (hopefully) future PhD. Yay!

struwwelpeter fingers

I'm feeling nervous and stressed. Whenever I do, there's this ache in my fingernails, like they're growing longer and longer with the tension and perhaps if I could just cut them off, the tension would go. (It doesn't, I have tried).

I'm nervous about the conference I'm going to tomorrow, not for the conference itself, but for the meeting I've arranged at lunchtime. I feel like I've got too many things to worry about and I don't know where to start, so I worry about which one to worry about first. Most of the things I'm worrying about involve reading, writing or both and worrying impairs my ability to read.

I need to remember Matthew 6 v25-34

25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,
29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

(ESV Bible Online)

fuzzy photographic proof

too early butterfly, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

cameraphone pic.

meet Wom

My sister HP and her boyfriend have a blog, Tales from Exeter, which sometimes chronicles the life of Wom the wombat. You really should go and take a look.

Part 1: Wom: A Life

Part 2: Wom's Grand Day Out

butterfly update

I found it under the radio when I was dusting. It was folded up and not moving. I thought it was dead, so I opened the window and threw it outside. It instantly wove up and fluttered down to the ground where it rested on the grass for a while. I hope the sunshine lasts long enough for it to find somewhere warm to sleep again before the cold gets to it. It's not really warm enough for butterflies yet.

february fluttering

I've just been surprised by a butterfly fluttering around my room. According to the UK butterflies website, it's a Small Tortoiseshell. Reading the page about it, it might have been hibernating in my room all winter and has now decided it's warm enough to emerge. It spent a few minutes flapping wildly at the window and is now settled between the radio and the window. I wonder what it'll do. Should I open the window and encourage it out or just leave it be? I don't regularly open that window at the moment, it's far too cold.

ETA: It's gone now. I don't know where.

you what?

Ashes to Ashes*, right? Silliest thing ever or pure-dead-brilliant-style-over-substance-must-watch tv? Can't decide.

Can't wait for the next episode.

*Yes, I'm a bit late, I'm catching up via iPlayer again.

fooled again

Just when you think spring is just around the corner, the weather changes its mind. Today I've been surrounded by fog all day. It's wet and it's cold. Urgh!

Still, it can't last forever. And the crocuses and daffodils are coming up regardless.

signs of spring

crocuses, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

As I cycled past the backs today, I noticed the crocuses were out behind St John's. Spring is coming!

(This picture is from last year.)

I'm OK

Thursday got better. Friday's been good, apart from an inexplicable face-ache which lasted about an hour and then went away again. A reaction to the cold wind? Sinus pain? I've no idea. Anyway, it went away and hasn't come back, so far.

I have finished knitting the jumper I started at Christmas! It's currently drying after a good bath. This should really be on the knitting blog, but that's currently on hiatus until I find a workaround to the not having a camera problem. Ho hum.