elisi's humble abode

So, week before last (17-21 April) Darcy and I went to Barcelona on a mini-break - our first holiday without 'children' for 25 years... It was truly lovely, and Barcelona is so utterly gorgeous! (I hadn't been since I went there on a school trip when I was 18.) We went to both Park Guell and Sagrada Familia, the latter which is properly awe-inspiring.

And then we got home and I had to go back to work and just be a normal person again, instead of wandering through narrow European streets filled with tourist shops. Boo.

~

However I have managed to write fic (Dead Boy Detectives of course...). Chapter 1 of many:

Crystal Gets A Boyfriend

Summary:

“You okay?” a voice asked, and Crystal turned to find a boy next to her, looking at her with concern.

For a brief moment she wondered what it might be like to be the sort of girl who could let herself get chatted up by a cute boy. To be a regular seventeen year old who could have a fun little fling, maybe even indulge in the kind of fluffy relationship that you saw in teen dramas…

Except she had never been that sort of girl. The last boy she had kissed had been a ghost. The one before that, a demon.

So yeah, the likelihood of a cute teen romance was basically nil.

~

OR: Crystal deserves good things, so I decided to give her a boyfriend. However, what started out as a single, fun idea became a sprawling story, delving into all her issues and then some… And she does get that teen romance, it’s just a bit more unusual.

I keep thinking I ought to do an update and then... not.

So instead I'll try to do a bit of a summary.

RL:

- One reason I've not been around is that my parents came to visit (for the first time since February 2020!). Which was nice, but also VISITORS and I spent all my time with them.

- Bonfire night we went round to the in-laws which was also lovely and there were fireworks and fire and small children and it was lovely.

- Today we (rather spontaneously) decided to go to York for the day. We were looking for a winter coat for the Cherub and also we need a new teacosy, but mostly we were just walking around York and enjoying a day out. (We got neither coat nor teacosy - the coat because she wants a pink teddy bear coat which we couldn't find a version of that she liked, and the teacosy because they are IMPOSSIBLE to find.)

Fandom:

- Saw Dune on my birthday and have many thoughts that I am still no nearer to organising... I'll try to get there, but there is so MUCH. Chewy, chewy goodness and endless layers and great adaptation to try to get to grips with. Much much goodness, my fannish cup runneth over. I have notes, just nothing actually written down yet.

- Doctor Who is back and I have very little to say. Ep 1 was solid set-up, but the whole of Chibnall Who still feels like some sort of AU. Although for non-UK fans you should go read this Den of Geek introduction to John Bishop, because he is lovely. I also need to write something about the return of RTD - again, I have notes. They just haven't turned into anything solid. Mind you, I have time. ;)

- Good Omens is of course a source of never-ending joy and the set pictures from S2 are unfailingly making me flail and squee. Honestly, they could spend the whole of S2 just reading the phone book and I'd be happy.

ETA: Squid Game! How could I forget Squid Game? We basically binged it, and I think it's brilliant and deserves the hype. Unsure if I know what to write about it, because the it's a very blunt and open critique of capitalism that doesn't really need any kind of meta. ETA2: This shouldn't be taken to imply that it's a simplistic show - it's clever (and gruesome) and with absolutely fantastic richly developed characters.

~

Finally I should get back to posting Dimash, because there is so much more and he is my daily delight and the soundtrack to my life. For now however, have this amazing duet:

Daily Dimash: A Question of Honour

Dimash performed 'A Question of Honor' with Zarina Altynbayeva - a famous Kazakh soprano - at the opening ceremony of the 28th Winter Universiade (held in Almaty in Jan 2017). The production/set/performance is amazing - dancing, ice skating, people flying and fountains - the only downside is that the audio is slightly out of sync with the singing. But it reminded me how much I love pageantry; the thumbnail is completely wrong, the thing is hugely colourful and exuberant. (Original song by Sarah Brightman, with an added aria snippet from 'La Wally'.)

ETA: Zarina has it on her channel:



Although this one is better quality I think.



(The Charismatic Voice analyses it here if you are curious)

It was filmed between the recordings of episodes 3 and 4 of Singer. Dimash flew to Almaty, Kazakhstan to perform in the 2017 Winter Universiade opening ceremony, on January 29, where he preformed this song with Zarina Altynbayeva.

Dimash Masterpost

Yesterday was a good day. We met up with Impish Girl in London for her birthday since she is studying way 'dahn south' and also having a day in London seemed a good birthday treat. We went to Tate Modern (free, but you have to book), wandered round different places (including Oxford Street and Picadilly Circus) and went in the umbrella shop and Hamleys, plus went on the tube (obvs, and although 99% wore masks, social distancing was NOT a thing) and took a Black Cab (the girls deemed this the most exciting thing of the whole day!). Oh and they walked around all day wearing party hats. <3 <3 <3

My legs are so so tired today. But m-i-l sent a message to say she'd made cake since it was father's day so there was a somewhat impromptu family gathering (in their garden) this afternoon which was also lovely.

~

A couple of things I read on the BBC yesterday:

Juneteenth: After decades, Opal Lee finally gets her day off

Covid: Queues at pop-up vaccine centres amid jabs push

~

Daily Dimash: Hello

In 2018 Dimash was invited back on The Singer as a guest (not a competitor) for a charity concert. He sang Lionel Richie's 'Hello', but obviously put his own spin on it.



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So, today I posted my Transthology (like an anthology, but about trans issues) which I feel is quite enough work for one day. ;) I have been working on it for... months.

Also I know I keep disallowing comments, but honestly I have nothing to say... Nothing keeps happening. Various [extended] family members have had covid, but they all had a very mild version and are now fine. OTOH several are now vaccinated (and both Darcy & I have ours booked) so we have also been able to see people. (Outside, in gardens, in the sunshine.)

And that is all that has been happening... My life is very dull. And, currently, rainy.

Hiiii. So, guess whose husband woke up feeling achy, warm and Not Great, and whose eldest child 21 year old has a cough?

You only get one guess.

However I've managed to log onto my work email, so can at least tell the other people in the office all the things I need them to do. Wahey, 14 days of self-isolation here we come! The 14 year old is already bored. (I can write so much fic! And I might finish my novel???)

Oh and middle child is coming home from university today. Full house! :D

On a more serious note, mostly worried we've infected the in-laws, who are in their 70s. (They are generally healthy, but both have had cancer.)

ANYWAY. Here's to living in interesting times!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Been meaning to do a round-up thing. Don't really like them, but hey, new decade...

( Christmas )

( Fannishness 2019 )

( Some sort of looking back at the past decade? )

And finally...

Fact we’re in the ‘Twenties’ sounds so weird. It’s so synonymous with the 1920s. Sounds like a bygone era when women were still fighting for their rights, the upper classes were living a life of hedonism whilst people starved & the world was on the verge of financial ruin and war

— Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) January 1, 2020

The only thing I'd add to that is that this decade we need to be saving the actual planet. (And the NHS of course. And the country. And...) Starting 2010 I don't remember worrying about any of this. (Maybe I was naive and living in a bubble. And OK, sure climate change was a thing, but I guess I thought that governments would *do* something? Instead they just got racist & cosied up to billionaires.)

I suck at RL updates, but since stuff has actually been happening - here you go! :)

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Meanwhile, in elisi's abode...

I was forecast of course, but that doesn't explain WHY. It should be spring.

/rhetorical question

Last weekend it was the Cherub's 12th birthday.

And today we took Miss M to Cambridge.

So... that's why I've not been around. But life is good. <3

(Closing comments, because... no time.)