Saturday 20 February 2010

All work and very little play

Rows of books in the library
At risk of tempting fate, the coursework is going quite well. I have a timetable that stretches out to the end of March, and one week in I seem to be just about ahead of the game.

The iron deficiency anaemia coursework had to be handed in yesterday, so I read through it on Wednesday and found a huge error in my calculations. I would never have noticed it if I hadn't come back to it after a break, so thank goodness for finishing early.

I also thought I'd finished the research data coursework, but when I talked to the lecturer who set it to clarify a couple of points, I realised I hadn't. Part of the worry was that I managed to stay well within the word limits even for the first draft, which made me suspect that I had missed something crucial.

While I'm doing all this coursework before, between and after lectures, Mr A has taken over many of the household chores. He is now in charge of cooking, and is mostly planning ahead, although he could improve his timing by reading the recipes better. Earlier in the week, supper was delayed by 90 minutes because he hadn't realised the potato dish needed an hour in the oven. But it's all very good, even if provision of any vegetables other than tomato is fairly scanty. This week we have had braised pheasant, baked mackerel, cabbage with bacon, asparagus risotto, a potato stew with cheese and tomato, and last night, tomatoes stuffed with crab.

What we aren't dealing with are any surfaces within the house other than the kitchen worktops. They are all covered in dust and/or filth. Mr A does a bit of hoovering every now and then, but dusting, cleaning hard floors and bathroom surfaces is not where his talents lie. He is working hard though, getting on very well with the Open University modules, and finding it very satisfying. He also has a couple of days paid work next week.

News just in: Lola II is finally connected to the Interwebnet. Let's hope for some contributions before long, even if it's just to help me out.

No comments: