2024 Session 2: TLQuest week 14

 And here we are, come to the end of the second session of 2024!  I hope you've all enjoyed the quest and been able to tackle some important tasks this summer.  There will be an intersessional post up next week, an epilogue to the quest - thank you all for being such enthusiastic and engaged players, and reading all my excessively wordy posts!  

This week's discussion prompt is to plan the next session of TLQ, from sometime in September until sometime in December , to help us get through the semester without totally losing track of top left things.

THIS WEEK'S GAMEPLAY

Scout and Cornelius join Ramstein to work on the dam.  Ramstein turns out to be a huge help... when he can remember what he is supposed to be doing.  He can spend minutes underwater with no strain, holding things, bracing stones, explaining what he sees.  He also talks, chattering away about all sorts of small details of life in the woods as an otter, and occasionally pounces at a leaf or a tiny fish just for the splashy fun of it, or slides sinuously off a large rock into the water mid-sentence, and you find you need to be ready with dam-related questions for when his sleek head pops up above the water or he will be off into the reeds, chattering about some prank he played on a friend, or the nature of dragon-flies, or plunging into the deeper water to show off some amazing underwater acrobatic move you can't really see through the swirling bubbles and ripples of his movement.  You don't learn much about how and why he is doing a penance, but you do get the strong impression that being an otter is not very painful for him, for all his chatter of missing pastries and having been really very handsome and much admired in his normal form.  Rolling dice, I get 11 for Scout, 11 for Cornelius, and a 6 for Ramstein.  Mending the dam is not your normal work, but you both have a solid understanding of how to see the weaknesses in a structure and where a smaller blow might cause larger damage; with Ramstein's help and despite his distractions, you are able to turn your skill to creating an effective, if not entirely beautiful, barrier.  As you stand back to check your work, aware the afternoon is wearing on and mindful of the sprite's advice to be out of the woods by dark, you can see that the water level is already a little higher, smoothing over the exposed mud and rock.  Ramstein is utterly delighted with your work, and unties the knot of his necklace, sliding off two of the teeth, then retying it securely even though his otter paws don't seem quite designed to be able to do the task.  He hands one to each of you, bowing a little. "Ramstein has greatly enjoyed this opportunity to see your work.  Perhaps, when you eat a pastry or an especially crusty fresh loaf, you will think of Ramstein, and one day, maybe, when I am repentent enough, I will see you in the wide world, lordsnladies grant it be in a bakery or at a feast or festival, a place where Ramstein's true form may be most justly seen and admired, and then, well, you may still have this tooth, and we may help each other in some way.  Perhaps.  The world is wide and full of wonders!"  He turns, poses on top of the dam, waves gaily to you both, and dives neatly into the pool.  This time he doesn't resurface, as you turn to walk away.

Alice, Martha and Linnet follow the gnome, who speaks very softly, but you soon realise she isn't really timid, just quietly spoken.  Asked politely for her name, she says "oh, you can call me Enner, if that pleases your tongue", and when you admire the apron, she shrugs and says she likes ducks, although they are usually far too busy squabbling and dabbling to talk to properly.  She will be happy to talk about herbs and about the trees you pass, which she seems to know as individual friends, and will confidently lead you to the best places to collect the herbs you need.  I rolled a 20, a 17 and a 4 for the three of you, which means that Linnet and Martha do an efficient and effective job of collecting a goodly sample of the herbs needed, and Alice tries to help by holding things and not getting in anyone's way, and succeeds fairly well although she'd swear she can hear something suspiciously like a giggle coming from high up in one tree as she tries to remain patient and disentangle a bramble from her sleeve.  Enner appears beside Alice silently and helps with the bramble, saying only "I would be completely lost in a city of your people, I'd probably just hide under a table until I went back to the ground!", and reaches up to pat her on the arm before trotting off to join the other two.  As you walk back towards the edge of the woods, herbs all carefully stowed, she will tell you a little about how Ramstein came to the woods as a very confused newly-otter, and how, well, someone had to help him stop trying to eat the wrong things because his brain said one thing and his body another, and to try to stop him from trampling on too many customs and manners of the many different peoples of the woods, so he'd ended up being absorbed into the clan of her Great Aunt's Kitchen, because that was just the kind of person her Great Aunt is.  "And we are all the hands of the Ladies, one way or another, or of the Woods Herself".  She bids you goodbye at the point where the light ahead has changed, showing where the trees end, and has disappeared into the growing shadows of the late afternoon wood almost before you have replied.

The five of you arrive at the same camping place you used the night before just as dusk is closing in.  You anticipate a chilly night as most of your blankets were carried off with the big fish, and trying to make camp and prepare food or eat cold things in the dark does not appeal after your long, tiring day, but when you go into the sheltered area behind the old walls you find a pile of ten neatly folded blankets waiting for you, high quality, light but warm, and each embroidered with a single fish scale in one corner.  Next to them are six leaf-wrapped bundles - the talking cats sieze on one and drag it apart to tuck into the raw fish steak it contains.  Unfolded, the others each contain a slab of fish on a layer of root vegetables, perfectly roasted, and still warm.  Alice, as you sort out your things, you find several fish scales somehow made their way into your possession.  Held up in the fire light, they are iridescent and slightly translucent, flexible rather than brittle, and each the size of a coin.

How do you all feel about yourselves and your companions now you've come safely out of the Woods? 

LAST WEEK'S GOALS

DAISY

Read and edit new thesis chapters
Fun pop science article
Sample curation
Advising stuff
Plan out next paper or two
Contemplate grant application
Real summer: one existing friend patio wine, one hoping to make new friend lunch

DAME ELEANOR

- swim x3, weights x2, yoga x4
- finish Alms!
- finish syllabus for new class
- work out points and due dates for other class
- Greek 1 unit
- defrack habitat as energy permits
- campus run (scanning, library, office sorting, help a retired colleague move out)
- get a massage

HEU MIHI

1) Journal catch-up! Two revisions and two new articles to process.
2) Research! Write the Coda for my manuscript ("Conclusion" would be a misnomer); submit book review;
3) Teaching! Finish syllabus, try again to figure out the new CMS (and contact Help Desk if necessary), order desk copies, figure out readings for second day.
4) Admin! Secure replacements for TA who suddenly took another job, start planning (and requesting funding for) guest speaker at end of September, find an adjunct for a spring course, review spring schedule, schedule fall faculty meetings.
5) Admin+! Contact faculty about fall events (party [siiighh] and AI workshop [extra siiiiiiggghhhhh]).
6) Household! Begin the Great Tomato Processing of 2024; look at some recipes; vacuum the rug that the cats shed all over while we were gone (it's also one of about a dozen of our annual Pine-Tree-Part-Shedding Seasons, so there are piney...things all over the house, not needles, but these little things that grow at the base of the needles and seem to fall off eight times a year. The other four P-T-P-S Seasons are when the needles fall all over everything).
7) Self! Continue/resume daily sun salutations, run x 3, swim x 2, yoga class x 1; read a silly mystery novel; knit

JANEB

1. self-care: 75%+ of regular chores list, additional intentional movement three days, practice rest as needed. physiotherapy appointment, try to make some bookings/order stuff for a project for the leave week, get quote for cat fence, plant seeds when they arrive
2. fun: play D&D, crochet or knit some, draw something, read something, do some paintgemming (still no space for fun writing)
3. teaching and administration: do at least two blocks, mark any late resits, prepare for and do call line thing.
4. research: spend an hour writing notes about what my project idea might look like for the grant application that opens in September, an hour on my "pre-grant documents chore list", one article to referee, reconstruct Consultancy Paper, draft discussion for Slowly Evolving Paper, work on what was a Nearly Ready Paper but now isn't, sigh.

JULIE

I have driven home this morning in soupy heat and feel quite unmotivated, but here goes...
1. Finish archival material.
2. Mark resit exam(s).
3. Finish looking at corrections to a PhD thesis (another extra thing that came in last week)
4. Review postdoc applications.
5. Finish book if time
6. Phone tiler & get back to plumber about estimate.
7. Exercise
8. Fun stuff: dinner with local friends; weekend trip to see outdoor play by Susan's Famous Author and dinner with best friends from PhD days.

SUSAN

1. Finish promotion review that is due this week. (I've read the book ms., started the letter, so should be able to do this.)
2. Rewrite the prospectus for my book using comments from the editor.
3. Send packages (two more to pack, and then a trip to the Post Office)
4. Pack and organize
5. Enjoy time with brother and family when I get back to California
6. Unpack, and then start organizing for a year away.
7. And an additional goal: finish the tapestry project that is almost done so I can start the new one I carried on the plane home. (I'm hoping I can finish tomorrow, as this justifies my having carried the new one in my luggage.)

SESSION GOALS

Daisy

• Two big accepted papers and one smaller paper revised and finalized
• One new paper drafted
• One abandoned paper revived and submitted [maybe]
• One student thesis finalized and defended
• All the field work
• Go kayaking and camping
• Have small local adventures with kid when field work and teenager camp schedule allows
• Exercise to survive August fieldwork and field teaching
• Gardening

Dame Eleanor Hull

- finish the Alms chapter that is still hanging around and send it to a friend for comments;
- plan all my classes for next year;
- do what I hope is a limited-scope manuscript-related project;
- work regularly in my garden, taming various portions of it;
- regular exercise, yoga, and other self-care;
- at least two trips to see friends.
Alms really is almost done, I think, so I'm imagining devoting roughly a month to each of my other work projects, with gardening being an on-going effort. What do I most want to do this summer? Swim a lot. I think it would be very satisfying to get next year's classes all planned out, so that all I have to do is show up, teach, and grade, without having to plan while teaching. I always say I will do this, and never have really done it, so let's see if I can manage it this time around!

Heu mihi

1. Write an introduction for this book
2. *Really* finish the draft of chapter 6 (now chapter 5), revise chapters 3 and 4, start working on tightening up the whole very long manuscript
3. Read and review book by August 1, I think it was
4. Edited collection: Prepare and submit a proposal
5. Job-related: create info page for international students; line up workshop guests for TA practicum; prep new book(s) for fall course; fall syllabus; ORDER BOOKS for fall course
6. Grad students: I have one who is supposed to be finishing his dissertation, like, now. This student will take a lot of work. I must prepare for this.
7. Submit conference abstract IF I decide that I want to.
8. FUN: Make at least 3 books; finish knitting a cardigan; read a lot of novels; take forest days; finish France photo albums
And added at mid-session review:
9. second book review
10. read other student’s dissertation
11. edits to proceedings article
12. finish sustainability committee pamphlets, plural

JaneB

1) self-care: moving intentionally, eating mindfully, listening to my body and resting as needed, being kind to myself, caring for my home environment both through regularly doing the basic chores and through making improvements/doing one off tasks. it also includes the ongoing processes of healthcare and negotiating reasonable adjustments.  
2) fun: addressing most of the seven types of rest one does whilst awake, refilling my reserves and working out who I am as an neurodivergent late-50s person recovering from burnout, not just as an academic. 
a) knitted shawl and crocheted blanket - finish one and progress the other
b) writing – attend at least 75% of the creative writing course
c) D&D - play once a week if possible 
d) read at least as many books per month as last summer!
e) do something in at least two of the categories (handicrafts, drawing/painting, writing, reading, D&D) and at least one social thing every week
3) Teaching and administration - at least 3 teaching-related work blocks of time (half a day each) every work week of the summer (list has 30 blocks so far)
4) research.  submit three papers, start a new paper-project just for me, apply for every PhD student funding opportunity that comes up, and start to write the case for support for a fellowship (one year buy out) application that opens in the Autumn.

Julie

1. Teaching/admin - for this session, that consists mostly of marking, plus PhD students. I am thinking of leaving teaching prep for the next session, aside from sending reading lists to the library, which has to be done by July.
2. Research
i) Finally submit the grant application!
ii) Present at a workshop in France in June
iii) Submit an abstract to a call for papers for a special issue of a journal. This is something I actually feel excited about, so am adding it even though it might be a distraction.
3 Kids
i) Steer daughter through GCSEs without either of us losing our minds and have fun with her afterwards.
ii) Try not to neglect son in the process! Plan things to do with him in August while daughter is away.
4. House/life admin
i) Start one big house project (new bathroom(s)). On the list of projects for a while, but forced upon me now by leaking shower.
ii) Garden work - plant pots, get shed built, new patio furniture.
iii) Some small to medium jobs e.g. decluttering, frame photos
5.Self-care
i) Keep reading pace up - I've read a lot more this year already
ii) Exercise regularly
iii) Work on healthy eating and sleep.
iv) Keep up with journaling.
v) Fun activities - see friends, do creative stuff.
The one goal for Summer Me is probably the grant application, which is about 80% there, mostly costings and fiddly bits. It would be a huge load off my shoulders.

Susan

Research:
1. Figure out how I will revise Famous Author to meet editor's suggestions. (They want a longer ms, so I have to figure out where and how to do that.) Do it.
2. Finish last little bits (for now) of Big Collaboration (Maybe will be done today, but I'd like to say it's done for now!)
3. Start work on "Rest of My Life" project, which will really get going when I get to My Favorite Library but I'd like to start now
ADMIN:
My Admin job lasts until July 1, and it's not clear who will take over then. So just keep up with it and share information as I get it.
LIFE:
--house organizing
--read for fun
--plan trips for the summer
--exercise/ sleep / eat well

SUMMARY

TLQuest: how do your characters react?

TLQ: Reporting in on last week's goals and session goals, plans for the next session

2024 Session 2: TLQuest week 13

 I'm not sure how this happened, but this is the penultimate week of our summer TLQ session.  Out adventure might wrap up in the intersession week, but next week is time to check in on our summer goals.  After a couple of nice seasonally normal days the heat and humidity are ramping up again and my temper is shortening accordingly - not helped by another very depressing tranche of news about the Change Programme delivered on a Friday afternoon, and restricted to 45 minutes so we could all ASK questions, but only a few were dealt with - and several of THOSE were "that's complicated" or "that's down to Heads of School" (who are also in the at risk pool, so are themselves facing redundancy).  But that's my personal rant and this is where we try to keep things more general - as it's the second-last week of this session, let's talk about "back to school shopping" this week - can you suggest any work purchases which you enjoy making every summer for the new academic year, or something that turned out to be unexpectedly good at its job, or at just making  work life a little nicer?  I'm late to the game on this brand, but my sister introduced me to the Energel gel pen, and it plays SO nicely with my leuchturm1917 dot grid A5 notebooks - and comes with a lovely brown ink colour as well as the usual black and blue and that, so I have already bought a bag of refills for my pen and made sure I have a spare "work coloured leuchturm" on hand.  Oh, and a commercial sized box of the healthy snack/safe food fruit/nut bars which I always keep in my bag!

THIS WEEK'S GAMEPLAY

When none of you immediately say anything, the Ladies nod as one, and talk briefly to the Sprite who seems to be in charge, at least of talking to them.  They then say "let the words spoken be" in the common tongue, in their strange wood-sounds tones, and you can almost see those words drifting out into the air, spreading like bright pollen, not fading, just spreading thin and laying softly over the whole landscape.  The Sprite bows in midair, and the Ladies all turn and walk back into the trunks of the larger trees in a swirl of leaves of all colours from the soft yellow-green of early budding through high summer forest and crimson-gold fall to the dull brown of a wet winter.  With the ladies and the starling-coated cats gone, the woodland feels a little duller to your senses, a little more mundane.

The Sprite turns to you all and says "that was well, as these things go - we would lean on your patience a little more, your guides will be with you shortly.  But we strongly recommend you return to the camp outside the woods by nightfall, lest you get caught up in a wider story not your business."  It then calls orders to others of its kind in it's high tones, and they begin to move briskly, some to talk to and aid the small folk by the pond, some in pairs returning to patrol or watch duties.  You have a few minutes to talk, cautiously, aware of possible listeners, and for those who haven't yet met the Talking Cats to make their acquaintance; although they are a little distracted by grumpiness about the Lost Fish, they will accept some of the dried meat you have in your packs.  Scout and Cornelius probably talk about the technical aspects of what is basic dam fix will look like, whilst feeling slightly offended on behalf of their beloved black powder, which was nicely effective thank you.

After a few minutes you are all surprised to hear a polite throat clearing, and jump/turn around to see two short figures standing diffidently a few paces away, even though they somehow managed to sneak up on you.  One is a young looking gnome with a green cast to their hair and skin, wearing multiple layers of homespun robes and draperies, all topped with a rather incongruous white linen apron which a cheerful embroidered line of ducklings running along the bottom.  The other is a large, plump otter who is standing like a bipedal humanoid and wearing earrings and a necklace made of serrated fishy teeth, and starts the conversation by saying in a cheerful burble of rapid common tongue, clearly not coming naturally from an otter face, "hello, new friends! I won't bore you with the whole tarradiddle, but this form, whilst convenient in water and pleasingly athletic, is not my own, but a penance I am making the most of, there being little point in anything else once the Ladies have spoken.  Ramstein, that's my usename, at least, the usename of my true form, does get tired a little tired of fish dinners since Ramstein once knew the pleasures of bread and cheese and cake, but eh, one day penance will be paid, and then there will be a wholesale massacre of baked goods.  And this body thoroughly relishes the fishies.  Those of you who are going to work on raising the pond-lip, I'm here to assist, I do still have some abilities beyond swimmin' and filletin'."  He slaps his front paws together then bounces over to the tumbled rocks and starts to stick his whiskered nose curiously into gaps.  Left alone, the gnome whispers "umm, you seek Feyflax?  I can show you..."

Martha and Linnet will go with the gnome, Scout and Cornelius with Ramstein; Alice, what do you want to do?  Both your guides will turn out to be happy to talk - do you have any questions for them?

LAST WEEK'S GOALS:

DAISY

• Admin interviews and decisions
• Read and edit new thesis chapters
• Easy grant report
• Countless small but important admin things
• Real summer: 3-day trip

DAME ELEANOR HULL

- swim x3, weights x2, yoga x4
- finish Alms!
- finish syllabus for new class
- run some assignments for other class through one or more AI text generators to see whether I need to tinker with them
- Greek 1 unit
- defrack habitat as energy permits
- campus run (scanning, library, office sorting)
- take Mor to vet

HEU MIHI (carried over from last week due to BEACH)

1. Many, many tasks to get ready for the week at the beach (defrost freezer! set up cat sitting! clean the house! pack! shop! cook!)
2. Finish reading book and draft review
3. Draft prologue??
4. (Siiighhh) Help pack up retired colleague's office--it's not clear to me why this is my job, but there's no one else to do it, really, because the colleague (who retired about 3 years ago) has dementia and apparently our facilities people don't do this kind of work....
5. A couple of fun things with friends (lunch on Tuesday, a drink with my erstwhile Italian professor/colleague/hopefully new friend on Wednesday).

JANEB

1. self-care: 75%+ of regular chores list, additional intentional movement three days, practice rest as needed. electrical work, gardening tasks, reschedule hospital appointment again, get quote for cat fence
2. fun: play D&D, crochet or knit some, draw something, read something, do some paintgemming, find a corner to read the new Penric & Desdemona story (still no space for fun writing)
3. teaching and administration: do at least two blocks, check timetable, meet team for handover of final year project module, do homework and stupid training
4. research: spend an hour writing notes about what my project idea might look like for the grant application that opens in September, an hour on my "pre-grant documents chore list", and set up new version of Slowly Developing Paper. Two articles to referee.

JULIE –

1. Finish going through archival material.
2. Finish reading book.
3. Mark resit assignment for difficult student.
4. Chase even more difficult PhD student

5. Chase plumber for bathroom estimate.

6. Exercise

7. Eat healthily.

SUSAN

• Have fun on mini-break
• Start reading dissertation that may help with New Project
• Prepare to go to exhibit I’ve agreed to review. I’ve been but hav3 been sent a PDF of the catalog, so need to look at it.
• Send some things back home?

SUMMARY

TLQ: goals update and suggestions for back to school shopping list items for academics

TLQuest: are there things you want to ask your guides or to do whilst you're still in the woods? 

2024 Session 2: TLQuest week 12

Wow, it's really been a week of challenging news and challenging weather.  This is not good for my motivation!  And August to me is always an odd month - it is clearly still summer, but it's also a season of fading and change, as the leaves go dusty then start to turn, nuts swell and berries form, harvests come in and back to school signs flourish.  Even in England, where children have barely started their summer holidays & don't go back until September, and university years start around the equinox, August has a weary-of-this, drifting towards change feel to it.  And this session of TLQ has only two more weeks left to run!

So before the new academic year gets too attention-demanding, let's think about ways to make the most of the summer that we still have - are there a couple of summer bucket list items that you want to prioritise in August?  Things you do to capture a taste of summer for later in the year?  My mum, despite her age and arthritis, always spends a good chunk of time in August jam-making and bottling (canning in US speak) tomato sauce, because home-made strawberry, raspberry or blackcurrant jam or sauce made from the garden is summer whatever the time of year.  Or one or two work things which are also summer treats, and carry the pleasures of the season into the rest of the year?

THIS WEEK'S GAMEPLAY

Last week you extracted the fish from the pond and had it wrapped in blankets in the stream, and then the Ladies of the Wood arrived.  You all tried to show appropriately respectful attitudes whilst one of the Sprites gave a report (you assume - you don't know the language they used).  When the sprites finished talking, the party felt the Ladies' attention fall on them. Cornelius responded to the sense of pressure with a dorky little wave and a "hi, um, we thought this would work? To get the fish out? Because it, um, wasn't in the right place?"  

"Indeed it was not, monk, and not there by any natural or well-intentioned means.  To kill it here might foul the stream further" It's not clear which Lady is speaking to you, or which is also talking to the Sprite in that other language - a small detachment of Sprites dart away purposefully as they finish speaking.  One of the Ladies drifts over to view the state of the dam, another gives the fish a firm kick that shudders the whole wrapped package, and a third crouches down by the pond, making chirping sounds as several small and bedraggled fey creatures cautiously creep out of the water onto the muddy slabs exposed by the lower water or cling to the stems of the irises and cheep or speak back at the high edge of hearing.  You will also be uncomfortably aware that one of the cats is eyeing up the sprites with interest and the occasional wiggle.

After a few minutes, the Ladies will reconvene, stare at each other for a few moments, then turn to you and speak.  "We accept that you intended to do us a service, and you have certainly drawn our attention.  We had noted the lateness of the herb collector, and see you are his agents, and not yourselves ill-intentioned.  But you have wielded the iron world's foulness against our wood, the black-of-heart powder, and that colours our considerations".

At this point, the Talking Cats suddenly freeze, then start to look Very Nonchalent.  The Ladies are looking at something behind you, and if you follow their gaze you will see three great cat-like creatures, sleekly black although the sun dapples call out a starlings-wing corruscation of colour from their pelts, with fine tentacles shifting in an almost prehensile way where the Talking Cats have whiskers, stepping out of the woods to position themselves around the wrapped fish.  Their air of competent lethality makes all of you instinctively freeze, but they ignore you.  As soon as they have dragged the fish a few feet away from the stream the wood seems to wrap itself around them and they and the fish fade from view in what magic users will recognise as localised teleportation magic.

The Ladies continue to talk.  "To restore balance between us, restoring the level of the pond would level the scales for one thing, and we will send a guide with you to collect all the plants you asked for in reasonable measure for the other.  Is this acceptable, or is there some other boon you would have of us or offer to us?"

How do you respond?

LAST WEEK'S GOALS

DAISY
Field work with students
Proofread and submit difficult paper
Book two short camping trips for me and kid
Read and edit thesis proposal
Read and edit new thesis chapters
Real summer: two outdoor theater shows, yay!

DAME ELEANOR HULL (and New Cat, welcome New Cat!)
- swim x3, weights x2, yoga x4
- finish Alms!
- create syllabus for new class
- create syllabus for other class
- Greek 1 unit
- defrack habitat as energy permits
- dentist (again!)
- vet appt for New(?) Cat

HEU MIHI (may have departed for beach?)
1. Many, many tasks to get ready for the week at the beach (defrost freezer! set up cat sitting! clean the house! pack! shop! cook!)
2. Finish reading book and draft review
3. Draft prologue??
4. (Siiighhh) Help pack up retired colleague's office--it's not clear to me why this is my job, but there's no one else to do it, really, because the colleague (who retired about 3 years ago) has dementia and apparently our facilities people don't do this kind of work....
5. A couple of fun things with friends (lunch on Tuesday, a drink with my erstwhile Italian professor/colleague/hopefully new friend on Wednesday).

JANEB
1. self-care: 75%+ of regular chores list, additional intentional movement three days, do physio recommended stretches with great caution at least once, practice rest as needed. reschedule electrical work done, try to schedule gardening tasks, call dentist, reschedule hospital appointment, go to physiotherapy intake appointment. (Clothes Pile of Doom gets a reprieve this week).
2. fun: play D&D, crochet or knit some, draw something, read something, do some paintgemming, find a corner to read the new Penric & Desdemona story. (Writing is not going to happen outside of work and some ranty journalling)
3. teaching and administration: survive away day. Go over plans for the rest of the summer. Do at least one teaching block.
4. research: do homework for stupid training. Attend stupid training. Attend meeting for Slowly Developing paper (aka venting/support session as all three of us have jobs at risk), spend an hour writing notes about what my project idea might look like for the grant application that opens in September and an hour on my "pre-grant documents chore list", chase up application for that masters by research student (which local academic is in charge of graduate recruitment changed lately and this was NOT a change for the better).

JULIE - no check in last week, on holiday!  Goals from week 10:
I have four days, then we leave for a break on Friday. Away the following week, so no check-in this coming Sunday.
1. Finish working through archive material.
2. Finish reading book.
3. Send comments on dissertation proposal to student.
4. If time, read draft article for post-doc (not urgent).
5. Shopping, packing etc for trip on Friday, and for daughter's longer trip (taking her to the airport on the way back for her first solo flight)
6. Bathroom project - two meetings with plumbers.
7. Exercise

SUSAN (leaving for a trip on Sunday)
1. Do final revisions on Famous Author, get as much of Further Reading set up as possible, as many details...
2. Start identifying sources for new project (at least one day)
3. Have some fun, get in touch with people I need to contact
4. Eat/ sleep/ keep walking 

SUMMARY

TLQuest: how do you respond to the Ladies (and the Talking Cats)

Real life TLQ: what are your top priorities for the last weeks/month of summer, now we're in August? And check ins.

2024 Session 2: TLQuest week 11

Summer weather is finally arriving here and I am not best pleased - if it has to be hot why does it also have to be when I'm working?  At least the change from the last few days to the hotter phase will be smaller than it was so hopefully a little acclimation has happened!  But between the weather, the sense that August is the last month when I might have the chance to do Summer Things, and all the uncertainty and insecurity going on at NorthernUni and in the wider sector (never mind the wider world), I am feeling very unmotivated.  Any tips for keeping going when you're unmotivated but still need to make progress?  I have three weeks until my next block of leave (I booked another week off to sort out more chores, at my slow pace), and I really need to get some solid work done before then.

THIS WEEK'S GAMEPLAY 

Given the information from the sprites and squirrels, you seem to have decided to try and take the fish to the Ladies of the Wood without killing it first, and have proposed a plan.

You can see that the stream flows downhill as it leaves the pond, and between the rocky ledges and the presence of the waterfall over rock, assuming the pond has some kind of sill keeping the water in makes a lot of sense.  Scout does have expertise with explosives, and Cornelius has some supplies and some enthusiasm.  So I think we need to do a skills check... Cornelius got an 11, Scout got a 15.  Given your existing expertise, you are feeling confident that this task requires some careful calculations but is perfectly possible.  The sprites are not quite sure they understand how you plan to move the rocks, but they suggest that they could call up a squad of sprite archers so if the fish tries to disturb you they can scare it/distract it back into the deeper water.  They tell you that they know the deepest part of the pool is near the waterfall, and it becomes shallower where the stream leaves it, and they agree that it's more important to get the fish out and save the trapped small fey, and that repairing the pond can be dealt with later.

Cornelius, Scout and Linnet will go carefully to the outlet of the pond, and watched over by a group of about a dozen circling sprites with their tiny bows and needle-sharp stone tipped arrows Scout as your explosives expert wades into the shallow water and pokes around.  You are able to work out that the lip of the basin isn't solid rock, it's made up of tumbled pieces of broken rock, and largely holding water because of the pebbles and clay and silt that has built up in the gaps.  Linnet's woodcraft helps you quickly scout out the limits of this natural dam across the pool, and work out where best to place some small charges.  Scout will get some help from Cornelius to work out exactly how to do this, and in D&D the mechanism to capture one person getting help from another is that the person doing the task gets to roll the dice twice and take the highest score - in this case I rolled an 11 and an 18.  The explosions aren't very loud, and the leaf mold is damp enough that there isn't a great cloud of dust, but a clear trench opens up in the dam and water starts the trickle then flow steadily through the new channel.  Despite warning them what to expect, several sprites embarrass themselves by being startled enough to jerk out of position or exclaim loudly in their own language, but you politely pretend not to see.

Alice and Martha meanwhile will have taken everyone's blankets and rope, found some fallen wood that seems to be quite solid (they aren't sure about cutting any fresh wood in this place), and worked together to create a fish-carrier which will hopefully work well enough.  As you wait for the water to drain, they will soak a couple of blankets to cover the fish.  As the water drains and the pool shrinks, you'll see the fish moving around in the remaining space.  The sprites will fly to the waterfall side and use their arrows, and a couple of brave dashes into action with swords, to try and drive the fish into the shallows where it can beach itself.  I rolled a 12 for them, and they are experienced with their weapons, so the fish half-beaches itself, enough for you to get close enough to throw a blanket over its head to entangle those teeth and try to drag it onto the litter.  I rolled a 1 for Cornelius, a 16 for Scout, a 9 for Linnet, a 12 for Martha and a 1 for Alice.  You all find it quite an effort, and both Cornelius and Alice get knocked into the water and bruised by the flailing fish, but after a lengthy and frustrating wrestling mtch in which you all get out of breath, muddy, and practice your vulgar vocabulary in every language you know, you have the fish secured.  

You are able to drag the bundle through the gap you made into the stream bed, and lay it there with water flowing over its gills whilst you catch your breath and the sprites have a rather fierce discussion over where the ladies might be at this time of day and phase of the moon.  They've just agreed to send a messenger to several different places when you all feel a change in the wood - the light becomes a little more dappled, a waft of petricor and honey scents the air, the small sounds of flowing water seem more musical, and the magic-users among you feel all the hairs on your body stand up as potentials move around you and three figures step out of the trunks of nearby trees.  The sprites all bow midair, and one of the figures asks in a voice beautifully strung together of leaf-rustle and bird-call and bough-creak why you have not killed the creature.

What do you do?

THIS WEEK'S GOALS

DAISY

• Field work accounting for all participants
• Work on difficult paper every day, GET IT DONE!
• Essential admin
• Read and edit new thesis chapters
• Exercise in some form every day
• Real summer: read thesis chapters on deck? Anything will count…
• I feel like I'm sucking at real summer this year... More than usual...

DAME ELEANOR HULL

- swim x3, weights x2, yoga x4
- finish Alms!
- create syllabus for new class
- create syllabus for other class
- Greek 1 unit
- defrack habitat as energy permits

HEU MIHI

1. Finish (??) a very rough draft of intro (it's got to be short; the rest of the manuscript is already too long)
2. Read 5 essays from the collection I'm reviewing (I've discovered that none of them [so far] presents an argument as such, which makes it easier to read them quickly)
3. Finish batch of letters for progressive political group
4. Process journal article; find reviewers for other article

JANEB

1. self-care: 75%+ of regular chores list, sort the Clothes Pile Of Doom, additional intentional movement three days, do physio recommended stretches with great caution at least once, practice rest as needed. get electrical work done, confirm plans with gardening people.
2. fun: play D&D, crochet or knit some, draw something, read something, do some paintgemming, write something. 
3. teaching and administration: will largely be governed by what I find in my email! So go through my email and process everything. Three teaching preparation blocks, then reviewing where I am in terms of teaching prep versus time left.  Appraisal.
4. research: write a section for the Slowly Developing paper and attend meeting about it, if Consultancy Paper has returned to my desk see what I need to do, spend an hour writing notes about what my project idea might look like for the grant application that opens in September, pick up a lot of "nag other people" threads on behalf of researchers I work with

JULIE - no check in, on holiday!  Goals listed here to ensure they get carried forward

I have four days, then we leave for a break on Friday. Away the following week, so no check-in this coming Sunday.
1. Finish working through archive material.
2. Finish reading book.
3. Send comments on dissertation proposal to student.
4. If time, read draft article for post-doc (not urgent).
5. Shopping, packing etc for trip on Friday, and for daughter's longer trip (taking her to the airport on the way back for her first solo flight)
6. Bathroom project - two meetings with plumbers.
7. Exercise

SUSAN

1. Archive day in dissertation city
2. Three more chapters of Famous Author
3. Finish forgotten stupid task for Big Collaboration
4. Enjoy outings at the weekend (1 concert, 1 play)
5. Meet with successor in admin role to hand over information etc.
6. Change Out of Office message to reflect sabbatical
7. Eat well/ sleep/ keep walking a lot

SUMMARY

Prompt for TLQ - working when the motivation is off on its summer holidays, and weekly check ins

Prompt for TLQuest - what do you want to say to the Ladies?  (I'll try and add some replies in the chat...)

2024 Session 2: TLQuest week 10

 Hello everyone from a (hopefully only briefly) very hot UK.  I'm aware our hot is many others' lovely mild day, but between the humidity and the way our architecture is not designed for this, it's been A Bit Much (even Shoutypants the cat has been taking long naps during the day, and making up for it with heat-energised running around busily in the night).  So let's talk about some practical stuff this week - when the weather is tropical (or otherwise the least work-inspiring summer conditions for you), and your animal instincts are to lie in a hammock with a cold beverage under a tree until later, but you're supposed to work, how do you make that happen?  Do you change when you work, where you work, what you work on, or tweak the details of your work environment whether that's a fancy beverage or sitting with your feet on a cooling gel pad designed for pets?  

Oh, and a second question: is there still interest in trying to arrange a virtual write-in this summer?  If so, can you indicate which weeks and which days of the week are either good or no-go for you, so I can do a quick check of what might be possible?

THIS WEEK'S GAMEPLAY:

You're all currently lurking some distance from the pool, quietly watching to see if anything happens.  When Scout tossed in the different pieces of food, the fish snatched all three with the same agressive, toothy lunge, which definitely inspired you to back off and have a think.  Martha and Linnet will very quietly move a bit further away from the pool and see if they can find anyone to talk to, whilst Scout and Alice keep an eye on the water and Cornelius has his scary nap experience.  

Martha is looking for some small creature to talk to - I rolled a 12 on the d20, and since Martha has specific skills in this area, it only takes a few minutes for Martha to spot a squirrel, and given her abilities she quickly has half a dozen of them in the tree above her all eager to tell their version of the News Of The Week.  Amongst a lot of squirrel extended family gossip, observations on the weather and the quality of the potential Autumn food surge, a particularly reckless adolescent squirrel will tell her how he saw the "greenery toothery two leggers" carrying a wriggling bundle of canvas towards the pool, stopping to dunk it in the stream several times.  He thinks they buried it as they didn't have it later and he supposes they had a good digging place in mind.  He's rather vague about how long ago it was, but it was some time since the last crop of babies arrived, so quite recently.

Linnet will have gently cast "animal friendship" to help the conversation along, then backed off to give Martha some space and, honestly, because the gossip and chatter of half a dozen squirrels given a new audience is really quite a lot to put up with.  Whilst she's sitting quietly on a large, twisted root, extending her senses into the vibrant wood, a pair of sprites will alight next to her.  "We notice you're not doing anything about the fish yet" one says, "do you doubt our word about it being a problem?  Or are you afraid?"  Linnet will politely reply that you don't want to make anything worse, so are trying to collect more information about the situation.  I'm going to roll a d20 dice to see how much Linnet knows about Sprites specifically - she got a 17, and as a druid and woodland dweller, that is high enough that I think she must have actually had a neighbourly relationship with sprites near her remote cottage.  Linnet is well aware that Sprites are unusually "strait-laced" for fey; they pride themselves on their honour and act as border patrol and protector of their communities, and whilst they do sometimes play tricks on humans they are never malicious or harmful.  

The two sprites look at each other, then the other one says "assuming some of the people you travel with are ignorant, we will not at this point be insulted.  Pray assure them that our nature is highly honourable, unlike some of our fey brethren, and tell them that this fish appeared in our pool all unexpected two moons ago. It must have been brought or magicked, the small folk of the waters would have seen it growing and dealt with it appropriately if it were a natural beast.  The naiads were able to move out along the stream, but are in much distress as the fish ate several of the small fey and of their pet frogs before they realised it was there, and there are still small fey trapped in their underwater nests.  As we said, at the behest of the Ladies we are designing a raid to destroy the creature, there is not enough food for it and it is too dangerous to stay in the pool, but the peoples we can call on here are mostly not fighterly, and we prefer not to jump into its jaws with no chance of success." Linnet will thank them for the information, and ask if there were any outsiders in the area before the fish appeared, since the sprites will surely have noted any movements through their territory.  The two Sprites will look at each other again, and their wings droop a little. "The naiads saw the pair who were patrolling this area fall victim to the fish, defending the small fey, before they were able to report - they may have known more.  All we can tell you is that we have not had a powerful magic-user through the woods for months, that we can state with confidence, but small groups of disorderly humans or goblins pass through quite often, restless creatures that they are, and last winter there was an orc band."  Linnet will assure the Sprites that she will share this information and that she believes the group may be able to help.

Pooling your information, it seems like it's in everyone's interests to take action - Cornelius' dream interaction may have been with the small fey trapped in the lake, "greenery toothery two leggers" is a pretty good description of goblins for a squirrel, and the fish is clearly not going to be able to live in the pool long term or escape on its own.  So, what are your next steps?

LAST WEEK'S GOALS:

DAISY

None (other than surviving woods and brooks)

DAME ELEANOR HULL

- swim x3, weights x2, yoga x4
- finish Alms!
- create syllabus for new class
- re-read conference paper, think about expansion
- Greek 1 unit
- dentist
- defrack habitat

HEU MIHI

1. Intro work: Do at least two of the four tasks I've written out for myself.
2. Read part of an Italian novel.
3. Start reading essay collection for review.
4. Look at Festschrift document, at least.
5. Email grad student to check in about progress.

JANEB

1. self-care: 75%+ of regular chores list, sort the Clothes Pile Of Doom, additional intentional movement three days, do physio recommended stretches with great caution at least once, practice rest as needed. Attend eye clinic for lenses, meet with possible garden person, meet with employment counsellor, try to progress one other house project.
2. fun: play D&D, crochet some, draw something, read a lot of somethings, do some paintgemming, write something. Main goal for this second week of annual leave is to do something enjoyable or at least that induces a flow state of mind every day.
3. teaching and administration: NOTHING
4. research: NOTHING

JULIE

1. Plan for rest of session: read through notes, work out priorities, request readings through ILL.
2. Read at least one book/equivalent articles
3. Work through some archive material related to the article I just submitted abstract for (needs doing even if abstract isn't accepted).
4. Keep email to essentials only.
5. Meetings: 1 x post doc, 1 x PhD student, 1 x difficult undergrad, 1 x university PR (with people from Spanish consulate - not quite sure what I'm supposed to be contributing, but involves fancy lunch and some citizenship points)
6. Bathroom project
7. Life admin: birthday presents for niece and nephew, hairdresser, various extra-curricular stuff for son, kit daughter out for trip with friends in two weeks.

SUSAN

1. The rest of today is fun: going to an exhibit that is vaguely work related, then to see Kiss Me Kate, one of my favorite musicals.
2. Three more chapters of Famous Author, and check the references I've got at Big Library.
3. Follow up with editors
4. Start on forgotten task for Big Collaboration, and see whether we need more help.
5. Keep reading for fun
6. Visits with people
7. Any admin stuff that needs doing...

SUMMARY

for real life TLQ - goal check-in and working when the weather is not helping tips/habits

and are you interested in a "write-in" and if so, which week day/week(s) work well or badly for you between now and the end of August? 

for TLQuest: now you can see the big fish, what do you want to do next?  See what you can recall or deduce (effectively ask the DM for more information!)?  Launch into action?

2024 Session 2: TLQuest week 9

 Greetings all from a grey, cool and rainy UK - we're promised more warmth next week by the forecast, but for now I'm enjoying the July cardigans and only having pollen allergies, no heat rashes or chafing to go along with it.  I'm just over one week into a two week block of annual leave and my reading mojo came back in a rush - even a somewhat patronising, ecologically under-researched piece of highly recommended literary fiction got read in a couple of days - and I know that at least Susan and Dame Eleanor also have more reading time in the summer.  So let's talk about books!  Any suggestions for fun, mind-candy summer reads, well-written and informative non-fiction, or something thought-provoking which will hang around the corners of the mind for months to come? Or something teaching or academic career-related which is worth the time?

THIS WEEK'S GAMEPLAY

The group seemed to all feel that following the Sprites' suggestion made sense - the help of the Ladies of the Wood is clearly worth having, and the large fish is a problem which sounds within scope, especially now Cornelius has told Scout that he has some black powder!  Since the herbs you've found are close to the stream, which leads to the pond, between Martha, Linnet and Scout you are pretty confident you'll be able to find this spot again quite easily (you'll all be taking note of distinctive trees and local features that you can remember), so you decide to go after the fish immediately - it's only mid-morning after all.

Walking along the stream bank isn't entirely easy - it's overgrown and muddy, and walking up the stream bed is a hard slog given the varying depth and substrates, from slippery pebbles to fine, cloudy mud, but half an hour of persistence brings you to the promised pool - and it is as beautiful as it sounded, a fairly large pool big enough for a human to have a bit of a swim in, fed from a small waterfall scattering rainbows from the spray, with rocky shelves for basking near the waterfall, and to the left of the outflowing stream there's a shallower area of waterlilies backed by a reedbed.  But it is very quiet, quieter than the surrounding woods.  You settle in in hopefully concealed places to watch and get a feeling for the place.  After a few minutes, a bird (or maybe not) flies over and drops a small object into the water - as soon as it hits, a large scaly shape erupts out of the depths and large jaws lined with several rows of teeth snap at the ripple source, its back curving out of the water revealing spikes along its back and spiny fins, as it drops back down, slapping the water with its tail in seeming frustration.  There's definitely a fish here!  And it's about 8 feet long, too big to get out via the stream.

What do your characters want to do?  You could try to recall information relevant to what you've just seen (you can see what you might know/be able to recall about the creature's nature, any magical aspects or myths/stories that might be relevant or helpful, or see if your observations gave you any clues to its weaknesses), you could try to find some local creatures or inhabitants to get information from, or you could go straight to setting up a suitable plan for getting rid of this fish - it's clearly hungry so that might be helpful, and you all have different skills and weapons to use.

LAST WEEK'S GOALS

DAISY

• Work on difficult paper every day, goal to get it close to done
• Essential admin
• Read chapters maybe
• Real summer: beach with kid after next camp pick-up

DAME ELEANOR HULL

- swim x3, weights x2, yoga x4
- finish Alms!
- create syllabus for new class
- Greek 1 unit
- 2 phone calls
- 1 trip to campus
- dentist
- defrack habitat

HEU MIHI

1. Finish proceedings essay edits
2. Revise Festschrift paragraph
3. Overcome my fear of working on my intro
4. Finish stacking wood
5. Add website page for grad students
6. Work out a bunch

JANEB

1. self-care: 75%+ of regular chores list, sort the Clothes Pile Of Doom, additional intentional movement three days, do physio recommended stretches with great caution at least once, practice rest as needed. Make appointment for physiotherapy (I've reached the make an appointment point on the waiting list), call handypeople about lights and gate and cat-fence, make appointment to talk to employment advisor at neurodivergent adults charity.
2. fun: play D&D, crochet some, draw something, read a lot of somethings, do some paintgemming, write something.
3. teaching and administration: NOTHING
4. research: NOTHING

JULIE

1. Submit grant?!
2. Write abstract for call for papers.
3. Plan archive trip for September.
4. Last bit of admin - report for PhD student review.
5. Read chapter for PhD student.
6. Bathroom project.
7. Life admin - book train tickets, hairdresser.
8. Read book for book club.

SUSAN

1. Three chapters of Famous Author
2. Write again to editors
3. Actually do the stuff for Big Collaboration
4. Read dissertation
5. Plan trip to dissertation city for little archival work
6. Do something fun
7. Keep reading for pleasure

IN SUMMARY

for real life TLQ - goal check-in and book talk!  Any suggestions for fun, mind-candy summer reads, well-written and informative non-fiction, or something thought-provoking which will hang around the corners of the mind for months to come? Or something teaching or academic career-related which is worth the time?

for TLQuest: now you can see the big fish, what do you want to do next?  See what you can recall or deduce (effectively ask the DM for more information!)?  Launch into action?

2024 Session 2: TLQuest week 8

This has been a big week in the UK - our general election happened Thursday, and although there are many reasons to be concerned about the incoming government it is is so many ways better than the last lot (and not just by virtue of being new).  Their first actions are sending positive messages, but as the cynics say, it's the hope that will get you!  At work, the new Head of School started - he seems a little "corporate" but that may be an unfair judgement - maybe he just has a presonal style preference for crisply ironed traditional men's shirts even though the field norm is definitely more T-shirts, sweatshirts and a general impression of clean(enough)-and-comfortable rather than corporate, and he comes from the most casual part of the field.  But I'm sure he had lots of meetings with Faculty etc., and maybe he just had a wardrobe issue what with moving from the other end of the country.  And I just started two weeks of Annual Leave (I'm not going anywhere, the plan is to rest, do some small jobs around the house, and also (given impending Large Changes) do some serious thinking about finances and post-academe options, just in case (I like to have a plan).  All of which FULLY justified me ordering a delivery from a well known and exploitative coffee chain with delicious treats.  For this week's prompt - when it's been a busy week, what is your go-to treat?  I do really enjoy an over-priced, over-sugary coffee based beverage, a cinnamon roll, and an afternoon nap* to deal with the inevitable crash once those items properly register with my middle-aged and grumpy system, but what other options might you suggest?

*naps around here now come with added cat since Shoutypants has decided that I am safe enough and he's willing to sleep on the bed with me, not just pop up for scritchies then go somewhere else in the room to sleep.

THIS WEEK'S GAMEPLAY:

Last week, Martha found some Singing Nettles, Linnet spotted some Perennewinkle, and some sprites spotted the party.  The sprites are friendly, especially since Alice and Cornelius are being good sports about their mishaps and Scout knows to ask the proper polite questions.  Once you've shown them the token Silas gave you and explain your goal, their tone changes a little.  The main speaker says to Scout "as long as that druid makes sure only the necessary parts are taken, then Silas is welcome to what he needs of Singing Nettle and Perennewinkle,  But the Ladies of the Wood are not going to want to talk to people they don't know, much less show them where the Shadestar is, what you call Feyflax, and let you harvest some.  Are you bold enough to earn an audience?" Scout isn't entirely sure if the Ladies are guardian sprites, some other kind of lesser fey, or another creature altogether, but a polite enquiry about what sort of deed might win an audience seems safe enough, so she asks, The sprite replies "just to pick a random example, if you were to follow the stream against its flow for a short while, you would come to a pool with a waterfall, basking rocks and shimmering lilies in season.  But you would not find any of us small folk enjoying its waters, because a giant, aggressive fish-like horror with rows of sharp teeth and a taste for flesh has taken up residence.  We are planning a raid, naturally, but if big folk like you were to bring its body to the Ladies, they'd have to offer you a favour in return."

What would your characters like to do next?  You might choose to harvest the herbs you already found, ask some more questions, ask the Sprites to give you some privacy to talk among yourselves, or set off along the stream immediately - or whatever else you can come up with!

LAST WEEK'S GOALS:

DAISY

Two hours of work on difficult paper every day (doable during field work I think)
Keep up with essential admin while away
Read and comment on proposal draft
Read and comment on thesis chapters when (or if) they arrive
Real summer goals are suspended because it is freezing… Making soup and curries to stay warm!

DAME ELEANOR

- one more day of vacation, plus necessary travel stuff
- finish off the MS review and send
- six (?) hours on Alms
- one unit Greek
- format and send a thing to my Latin group
- do some unfracking of my habitat

HEU MIHI

1. It's window week! Wash the windows, bit of paint around bathroom window, clean bathroom curtain and fix son's blind.
2. Another work-through of chapter 5, including reading and incorporating a couple of articles
3. Start outlining/roughing in intro
4. Score 5 papers for assessment thing
5. Vacuum office rug and prep office for floor waxing
6. Work on proceedings essay edits
7. MAKE THAT DAMN PHONE CALL for the recycling pamphlet

JANEB

I want to wrap up and park a few things because this is the last week of work before a couple of weeks off (already filling up with appointments and stuff, but still, NO WORK).
1. self-care: 75%+ of regular chores list, sort the Clothes Pile Of Doom, additional intentional movement three days, do physio recommended stretches with great caution at least once, practice rest as needed.
2. fun: play D&D, knit some, draw something, read something, do some paintgemming
3. teaching and administration: two blocks of teaching preparation from my list, comment on chapter draft for one grad student and mid-year review paperwork for another, and attend the relevant meetings
4. research: Slowly Developing Paper or Neglected Paper one hour, all comments on Consultancy Paper (want to send it on before I go on leave).

JULIE

1. Final revisions to grant application (hopefully!).
2. Start on abstract for call for papers.
3. Admin - tie up loose ends, contact mentees, book annual leave.
4. Mark resit assignment for difficult student who failed, but has convinced university to let him resit.
5. Fun stuff - facials with daughter (her birthday present), 4th July party at American colleague's house (also election day here in the UK), possible picnic and brass festival in local park if weather OK, watch cycling with son.
6. House - visit at least one bathroom showroom, get ideas and quotes.

SUSAN

1. Get through two more chapters of Famous Author
2. Do stuff for Big Collaboration
3. Do any admin stuff that needs doing.
4. Have fun, enjoy people and adventures
5. Keep reading for fun, figure out what to start when I finish (as I soon will) the 5 volume series I've been reading this month.

IN SUMMARY:

Your TLQuest prompt is: what would your characters do in response to the new information?

Your real-world TLQ prompt is: what sort of treat do you recommend as a good soother after a full week?  And, as usual, report on last week's progress and set goals for the coming week.