A Lull

 Today was a lull. I was up early and enjoyed a quiet coffee while reading the news and devouring some of the social media. While waiting for Di to come down, I started to install and configure the Echo Show that Zoe had given us. It was clear that there were plenty of settings that could be tweaked as I decided how best to use the device, and resolved to return to it during the day. 

Once Di had come down and I had provided her with life-sustaining beverages, I dressed and headed out for my walk. Again, it was cold, a mere 2 °C, but at least we didn't have the bitter wind of yesterday. It was a very quiet walk. There were far fewer people out and about than yesterday. I assume they were nursing hangovers or still in a food coma from the festivities.

Back home, I grabbed breakfast and then configured (yes, I know!) the kettle. This didn't take long, and I can now, in addition to just pressing a button, instruct Alexa to "Turn on the kettle" without being in the kitchen. Indeed, using the Alexa app, I should be able to do it without being in the house. Of course, the flaw in the design is that the kettle cannot fill itself, so I have to remember to always ensure there's at least a couple of cups of water in the device. I did learn something, doing this. The kettle recommends that we should only heat the water to 86 °C for tea and 90 °C for coffee (it tells you the temperature of the water as it heats up and stops heating at the temperature you set). I tried both settings, and they were just fine.

Di spent much of the morning baking, and there was a wonderful smell pervading the kitchen. I know she has some butter icing, and I assume she will decorate the cakes tomorrow morning.

We had a quiet afternoon with our Kindles before I started on this evening's dinner and preparation for tomorrow's festivities. Half a side of salmon has been baked, and 8 large chicken breasts have been roasted, ready for the morning. After we had finished our dinner, I went to our local Indian takeaway to get some onion bhajis ready for tomorrow. Everything I could do in advance is now done.

It is likely to be a busy day tomorrow, but for now, a quiet evening is planned.