Well, it was another bit of a “bitty” day today – Julian took off early again to trundle more boxes around, and to clear out the rest of Doncaster’s “storage cage” (every apartment has a “storage cage” in the underground car park – a bit like an “attic in the basement” 😉 ) The three wardrobe boxes and one other box of “miscellaneous” items were delivered to Saint Vinnie’s, and by this afternoon the storage cage and our lovely apartment (*sniffle*) were both empty, and two of the three storage bays (bays? bins? sheds? I’m not sure of the exact terminology, and for once, neither is Julian!) that we’d needed between 2007 and 2016 – that had been jam-packed with our boxes of “stuff”, and bits of our “extraneous furniture” – have at long last been consolidated into just one storage… bays/bins/sheds (strike out those which do not apply!) And while all that was going on?

I sat and played… World of Warcraft! (gee, what a surprise!) I’m sad to say that young Boudìcca didn’t last much longer than poor Braåchaë did (I wonder if it was something to do with their names, and starting with “B”? mmmm… Nah, don’t think so!) Anyway, I now have a young Draenei Hunter called Círce, and I have determined to play her differently! When you’re playing WoW, sometimes, when you pass a level “milestone”, or reach a particular point in the game, a little exclamation mark lights up on your bottom Action Bar, suggesting a quest for you to move on to – often totally unrelated to where you are or what you’ve been doing. F’rinstance, every time I’ve played a Draenei, I’ve dutifully marched on through all of the quests and quest chains, usually boring myself silly because I know them so well. This time, being determined to do things differently, when I reached level 10, the little exclamation mark lit up, and apparently the game thought that I was ready to leave the Azuremyst Isles and go to Stormwind, in The Eastern Kingdoms. I had sort-of planned on going there anyway, as I had to go through Stormwind to get to Ironforge, so that I could go out and Tame Mangeclaw, the big white bear! So while I was on my way to turn in a completed quest – and only considering ditching the rest of the Azuremyst Isles quests and taking the game up on its offer to go to Westfall – I spotted a new quest that had suddenly appeared just outside the main door of the Exodar! It was a Goblin, who wanted me to go to Stormwind to chase up some shady dealings that were being conducted by another Goblin over there. “Fate” obviously wanted young Círce over in Stormwind, and who am I to argue with Fate, hmm?! So I accepted the quest, and went to Stormwind – chasing up the nefarious Goblin was a “fun” little quest, following up clues, getting information from various sources, blowing up a wagon load of rockets (that was fun! 😉 ) Then I went on to Ironforge, and made my way up the mountain to find Mangeclaw, whom I then Tamed! And silly idiot me forgot to change where I was Hearthed, didn’t I! (the place that you always magically go back to when you use your Hearthstone) I had Hearthed myself in Azure Watch, and I fully meant to change that, and Hearth myself in Stormwind, because that was going to be my new “home base” for a while – but I forgot, so I had to “hoof” it (quite literally – Draenei have hooves, not feet!) all the way back to Ironforge, or end up back in Azure Watch, on the other side of the world! Tomorrow (or tonight, whichever comes first), I’ll catch the Tram back to Stormwind and Hearth myself there. Yes, there is an underground (and undersea) “Tram” between Stormwind and Ironforge! It’s called the “Deeprun Tram”, and although you can fly between Stormwind and Ironforge, most people take the Tram, because it’s faster!

Wynterthyme and her Garrison are doing fairly well – I think – and just to get other Guild members in on the act, I’ve made Círce a Skinner and a Leatherworker, so even if I can never get her into the Garrison itself, at least I can send her leather to work on 🙂 And there’s another, very big difference between WoW’s Garrisons, and Rift’s Dimensions – with Dimensions, if it’s a Public one, anyone can enter it, explore, have a look around, and admire your hard work (naturally, of course, they can’t do anything, touch anything, or take anything, but at least they can look around and admire! 😉 ) With Garrisons, as far as I’ve been able to see, you are the only person who can enter it – even your Alts (your other characters) can’t get in – which seems a damn waste, really – what’s the point of having this way-cool Garrison, that only you ever get to see and enjoy?!

So, on to food stuffz: well, we didn’t have the lamb backstraps for dinner last night, or the frenched lamb cutlets, or the chicken, we had sausages! King Island Beef sausages, with green beans, chips, and the usual half tomato! Tonight we’re having the lamb backstraps, cooked with lemon and pepper! (*drool*) probably with the usual accompaniments – mashed potatoes would be nice, but chips will be easier and quickest – poor Julian is pretty exhausted after his two days of shifting heavy loads! For dessert last night I had another of those weird but nice (nicely weird?) Dark Cacao Chia Pods – which really do have a strong chocolate (as in a cocoa, not a block chocolate) flavour! I had a really delicious sandwich for lunch today, with bread (obviously – it was a sandwich, not a wrap) basil pesto hummus, quinoa tabouli salad, and I think ham, and perhaps some Halloumi cheese – but whatever was in it, it was delicious! 🙂 I wonder if my scales will notice it or not… Oh, and talking about “delicious”, you know what I’ve been seeing a lot of lately? My very, very, most favourite “treat” in the entire universe! I reckon I could probably glug myself back to 134 kilos in twenty-four hours (or less) if left alone in a room full of them! I first met them in las Vegas in 2004, and of course, I ate them. They were the most fantastic, delicious, wondrous substance invented by mankind! They were simply heaven incarnate, in small patty papers! And they just simply weren’t available here in Australia! Oh, how I mourned for them! Then, gradually, gradually, little by little, they started coming into the country, in little, slow, dribs and drabs… Now that I’ve lost all this weight, all of a sudden, they’re everywhere! Looking accusingly at me, as though to say, with tears in their little, rich voices: “You don’t love us any more!” But I do! I do! I just won’t eat you any more, because I would become undone! What??! Oh! You want to know what they are! 🙂 They’re Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups! 🙂 have one for me – you won’t be sorry! (well, actually, you might be – because you just won’t want to stop eating them, ever!)

Weigh-in this morning. I think I should have asked Julian to bring me two chocolate cakes smothered in cream – or maybe just a large box of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – because I went down another two points this morning – from 62.2kg to 62.0kg! I can’t really say that I’m all that pleased! Sure, I want to be “slim”, but I don’t really want to be “skinny”! Looking at myself this morning I suddenly thought: “I think I must be entering my second childhood!”, because when I was little – between about the ages of 3 and 10 – I was so skinny that the neighbours worried about me and kept inviting me in and feeding me jam-filled or chocolate biscuits (which believe me, were very expensive back in those days – they only appeared for “special” occasions – or when you thought that one of the children in your street was unhealthily skinny!  ) Mum always said that when I was born, I looked just like a skinned rabbit! (how’s that for a back-handed compliment, eh?! 😉 ) So, how did I come to get so fat? Well, it’s a long story, but suffice to say that in my early teens I became very ill, and the medication the doctors gave me changed my metabolism – I didn’t particularly care, and the weight just went on… and on… and on. It took Dr. Y. to wake me up and make me care again, which is why although I long to – I’ll never eat another Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, because they are my favourite thing to eat in the entire world, and the temptation to start “not caring” again might just be too strong, even for me! 😉

I’m not sure what’s happening tomorrow – Clarke is supposed to be coming over to fix my shower door and my vanity unit drawers that are very stiff and recalcitrant, and to show me whatever plans he has drawn up for our pigeon loft – but I haven’t heard back from him, so… who knows? So in my infinite spare time, I might take Círce off to Westfall and start her off on some of the “Human” quest chains, and after that, just take her wherever the magical flashing exclamation mark tells me to take her – but at least it shouldn’t be dull and boring! 🙂 Anyway, once again that’s about it from me for tonight – but do call in again tomorrow night – I’m quite sure my weight will be back up to where I think it ought to be (about 63.5kg?) by tomorrow, and you’ll be able to find out if Clarke did turn up, and if my shower door and drawers have been fixed, and if I finally have a fixed plan for the pigeon loft! So there’ll be lots here to entertain you all, so make sure you don’t miss out on all the latest! 😉 Until then, please do bee good, remember that it’s idle to dread what you can’t avoid, and don’t forget to keep cool – or warm – depending on your preferences, to drive carefully, and to look after yourselves… but above all, don’t forget to stay safe! 🙂 ciao, all! 🙂