© irene waters 2017
Welcome and come on in. Let’s get settled with a cup of tea or coffee and then I’ll tray and remember the week I’ve had. At this point all I know is that it was without drama and enjoyable.
If we were having coffee I’d tell you that we have eaten out a lot this week. We took Mum to the Noosa Sailing and yacht club for lunch. It has to have one of the best views on the river. Oh to be a school girl now and be able to do sailing as an elective sport. All the little sailing boats were lined up in readiness for the school kids when I spied a boat sponsored by our local member of parliament. He is a good man but of a different leaning to myself so I had to laugh out loud when I saw the name of the boat the club had allocated his sponsored sail.
© irene waters 2017
Was this coincidental or was the sailing club giving a subtle message or simply having a laugh?
If we were having coffee I’d tell you that we also went out to Thai with friends, and ate at the RSL (Returned Serviceman’s League) which I joined this week. I was so impressed that they have offered our Toastmasters club a venue which they are not charging us for, because they see the skills gained by membership will benefit the community, that I felt I should give a bit back. We can’t afford to eat there too often though as although cheap to eat the meals are ginormous and we would put on weight I think very quickly. I grew up in a family where we had to finish our meal before leaving the table or more importantly getting dessert. Try as I can I still can’t leave food uneaten on a plate (and sometimes anyone elses). My parents made me feel so guilty for those starving in Africa although my now rational self tells me that if I leave a bit of food on my plate it makes absolutely no difference to those starving as they don’t benefit from it any way what so ever.
© irene waters 2017
We took the dogs to a cafe in the hinterland for lunch as well. Bundy had surgery this week to have a mole cut off and he hasn’t quite come back to normal walking so we thought we’d give them an outing. Everyone had their dogs at the table set out under the giant fig tree. Bundy was the only one who was safe from the figs as they plopped off quite regularly. Luckily I missed being hit but Roger copped one on the top of his head – ouch.
© irene waters 2017
If we were having coffee I’d tell you that we have had the NBN connected. This is Australia’s fast broadband network that probably gives us speeds that the rest of the world would laugh at. I was happy with my new speed of 22mb/sec but Roger’s was lower than he was getting before. This led to a major reshuffle of where the modem lived which meant new power points, shelves, finding other places to have the stuff that was on top of the sideboard and lots of swear words. We finally have successfully got it up and running with both of us being happy. Long may that last. The telecom companies are selling the amount of bandwidth they have to more people than can fit on it (they have to cover their costs and it is expensive for them to buy). They are banking on the fact that not everyone is on all the time but if they are the speeds will drop. The government is hoping to sell the NBN to private industry but as it is already outdated technology we wonder who will buy it. A huge white elephant in the making.
I have spent the part of the week where I have not been eating or drinking coffee or doing NBN stuff, doing what I do most weeks of late – a little gardening, a fair amount of blogging, a little writing and a lot of thinking about writing and publishing, only a little reading. I have made a discovery that for me reading a non-fiction book takes approximately three times as long to read as a fiction of the same length. I think it is because there is possibly less flow to the story. Now I am aware of this I will try and work out exactly why this happens. Do you find the same?
Now it is your turn. How was your week? Has your weather been warmer/colder, wetter/drier. Have you read any good books or seen any good films? Thank you for dropping in for coffee, it is lovely to see you. As we don’t have a host at the moment if anyone wants to leave a link to their coffee share please feel free to do so.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
I think the sailboat choice was on purpose and funny as all get out! ❤️
Is Bundy a Cocker Spaniel? Can’t really tell from the backside, but looks a lot like our Ginger, with a tail. I just finished reading the Geography of Genius which took me several months to read. Like you, I can read twice as many fiction books in the time it takes to read one non-fiction. But for some reason it takes me twice as long to finish a book on tape!
Coffee Hugs!
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Yes I thought they knew it was funny too.
Bundy is a 14 year old cocker spaniel and is now acting as though he is in a nursing home – lies around and sleeps most of the time and does walks on sufferance. He never objects to visiting our coffee shop as they give him treats.
The only time I have listened to audio books is while travelling in the car so I haven’t paid much attention to time. I’m glad to know I am not the only person who slows down with non-fiction.
Coffee hugs back.
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This was a really fun read, Irene. I also am slower at non-fiction. There are lots of facts to keep straight, and sometimes I look up info to learn more details than what’s provided in the book. I seem to go back as often as I move forward, so it is slower to complete. I’m not fast at reading fiction either, so you can imagine that I never read more than a fraction of the books I’m hoping to devour.
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You are like me Sharon. I have such a long list but I know my life will not be long enough to complete it – especially as I keep adding to it.
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Yes, nonfiction engages us differently, it is a deeper conversation and we have to pause to listen, reflect, and respond. It always is a slower read. Of course I instantly think of informational text as nonfiction, a throwback to fourth grade teaching, but have recently begun to appreciate the broader boundaries of non-fiction, and the blurred boundaries between nonfiction and fiction.
I managed to drop by but must be off to the dump, and to leave off the packets of entries for the judges of contest #6.(Not at the dump, at their homes)
I managed to submit a TUFF challenge over at Carrot Ranch and found the process to be educational and enlightening. I learned about writing!
It is a delightfully gray day with wind so perhaps after my errands I will manage to get the inside chores done. Likely not, but with the CR prompts out of the way, what excuses?
Have a grand week.
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Yes nonfiction encompasses so many different types. My comment was referring to creative nonfiction which uses fictional techniques to tell a true story. I usually find the beginning gets me in and then by just over half way it is starting to lose me and my reading slows up considerably. I am trying to work out why this is. Text books I usually expect to be slow as I try to understand the concepts within.
Well done on doing the TUFF. I did one and I agree – it was an enlightening process.
Tip and judging – sounds like a perfect activity for a gray day. Yes I feel I will soon be back to normal but normal doesn’t include chores for me – they are always at the very bottom of the list of things to do.
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Irene, I have been so confused too with the #WCS, but this site (https://eclecticali.wordpress.com/) seems to be hosting it now! I think!!!!! I love posting on the weekends, so I shall continue regardless!
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Thanks for pointing me in weekend coffees direction. I have missed getting around and have been posting but it is a bit lonely drinking coffee on your own. See you soon.
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Yes, I always enjoy reading your blog and miss the others in the weekends too! I hope the new host follows through!
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Thanks. I hope so to as it is nice catching up over coffee. I was going to link to everyone I found still doing it but glad Ali has taken it on. Have a good week.
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