8 Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts (11)

[birdienl]

Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts is a weekly blogging event hosted by Bookishly Boisterous. It allows book bloggers (and non-book bloggers) to write about pretty much anything, bookish or otherwise (i.e. sharing exciting plans for the weekend, rants on things they've encountered during the week etc.)

1. Hello everyone! I've been rather AWOL lately.... My life and most of my free time has been swallowed by preparations for this little thing called my PhD defense in June... Lots of organising, preparing, last minute changes to the manuscript, filling in forms, etc. However, it's all coming together and last week I held the proof print of my thesis in my hands! It looks great, all official and shiny ;-) In less than two weeks I most likely have the final products and will ofcourse show it to you guys as well!

2. So, ending my PhD period means ending my work contract which means: applying for a new job. Not my hobby, to say it mildly... Research jobs are in high demand, so it might be hard to get in. If you could pray for me or send positive thought my way, I would be very grateful.

3. Onto something nicer: I bought a sword! The real deal: a battle-ready, expertly made, late-Medieval 1,5 hander. I call it my 'finishing-my-PhD-thesis-present' ;-) I bought it at a festival from the Czech blacksmiths Kovex. My teacher already owns multiple swords of them and is very satisfied with their products. I already used my sword twice for training and it's a great feeling, sparring with my own sword!



4. Another something Medieval ;-) During the long Ascension weekend, I decided to visit a castle and it was lovely! This one is called Doorwerth castle and it even has quite an extensive English Wikipedia page I can link you guys to!

5. Let's talk about reading. I'm in such a reading slump... It might be that my head is too busy with everything that's going on, but I only read two books in April and it looks like May is not going to get a lot better. I'm hoping that with the nicer weather I will spend my evenings out in the garden with a book instead of in slumped in front of my laptop. But my housemates will also be in the garden and might tempt me with some boardgame....

6. Another nice thing I'm doing with a few housemates is a little vegetable gardening. Last year I grew a few things in my windowsill, but this year a few of us have some boxes outside and we've already got quite a few things growing! In fact, I think we might be able to eat the rocket salad (the green 'blanket' on the right) in a week or so. Unfortunately, my little brocolli sprouts were eaten, probably by snails. Ah well, such are the trials of a vegetable gardener!

7. Lastly, I seem to be really into medical series at the moment. I'm loooving Grey's Anatomy at the moment (how is that series still so good in it's 12th season!) and I devoured ANZAC Girls and Call the Midwife season 5 which were both amazing. Longer reviews coming hopefully, if I can find the time...

That's all from me for now! Hope you're all doing well, all the best from my corner of the world.

Comments

[richyl88.livejournal.com]

Good luck with finding the right job for you :)

that castle looks beautiful!

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[falena]

Prayers coming your way...and fingers crossed for the defense, just for good measue. ;)

The sword is awesome. Also, congrats on keeping plants alive. I'm hopeless at it.

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much!

[msantimacassar.livejournal.com]

So good to hear from you!!! Congrats on finishing your proof! Hope the defense goes well! :D

That sword is SO AWESOME!!! What a dream! *_* And a perfect reward for a job well done!

I'm drooling over that castle! As always, so jealous you get to visit wonderful places like that so frequently!

I'm really glad you enjoyed Anzac Girls!!! And Call the Midwife too! That season was so intense! I was so weepy in the finale. :'(

I will be praying for the perfect job to fall right into your lap! Best of luck with your garden too! :)

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

Thank you, thank you!

One day you have to come to Europe and then I will show you around all kind of wonderful historic places!

Call the Midwife is intense but amazing, they handle difficult themes so very well, full of compassion and without being all 'in your face' about it.

[msantimacassar.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, I would love that so much! <3 Someday!

Yes! I am always amazed that they cover such difficult things with such tact and warmth.

[ever-maedhros.livejournal.com]

Wishing you the best with your job hunt and your PhD defense in June!

That sword is simply beautiful! What is a 1.5 hander, does that mean the handle/grip is just about 1.5 palm lengths? (Sorry, I love how swords look but don't know a whole lot about them in a practical sense.)

Oh, Doorwerth Castle looks lovely! Glad you got a chance to see it.

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

1,5 hander basically means that you can use it either with 1 or with 2 hands. A real two-hander you need to hold with two hands, a one-hander always with one hand. I do use my sword mostly with two hands, because it is still relatively heavy for 1 hand. But sometimes I use a small shield (buckler) in the other hand.

[ever-maedhros.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, I see! Thank you, that's most informative. I didn't know there were swords that allowed that much flexibility with the grip. :)