Writing

I was up early for Ellie's drop-off. She burst into the house, full of the joys of spring, and after giving me some breakfast instructions, charged upstairs to see Nana. Her chirpy mood lasted, and we deposited her at the classroom, eager to enjoy another day of school. Diane headed home for breakfast, and I went for my walk.

After breakfast, I set about some admin tasks. I have started to develop a document "Oh Shit, I'm Dead". This will, hopefully, provide the family with all they need to know to handle matters when I shuffle off this mortal coil. (Not that I'm planning on leaving anytime soon). The first task was to create a template that I could fill in over time. Then I had to try and dig out the details of the contacts that need to be informed at IBM and our pensions administrators. Emails were sent, and I await the response. Further sections and sub-sections were defined and embellished. It will take a while to finish it (and get it right).

While this was going on, Diane was on the phone to Pauline. I offered to bring her lunch, an evening meal, and even a duvet and pillow as time would demand. She declined but gave in when I offered tea. I made myself some lunch and went out for another walk. It was delightfully warm, and the sky was punctuated by a few high clouds. I didn't go far, but it was nice to get out and stretch my legs.

Back home, I settled down in the Orangery with my Kindle - soon to be joined by Diane. It was very hot in there - just as she likes it, but a little too warm for me. I managed to consume all but the last chapter of my latest book before we had to go and collect Ellie.

It will come as no surprise that we stopped at the park for her to run about, and then we headed home for a snack and drink before Zoe collected her. She will be back later as she is staying with us overnight to accommodate Zoe's early start tomorrow.

A Bit of a Change

 There was a bit of a change to the day's typical agenda. There was no need for an early start, but I did get up and clear the bathroom by a few minutes past seven. Diane had an early appointment with the hairdresser and I had agreed to provide the transport there and back. This meant that I would not be a participant in the school run. Despite that, I still found that I had to walk around to Zoes's to drop off some bits for Ellie's packed lunch.

I ran Diane to the hairdresser and came home for breakfast. Then I dug down into the admin that was required for the day - focussed on the data needed for the development of the latest Will. I also used the time to scan and file the data received from Saga regarding the river cruise.

Di called. She was finished at the hairdresser. I picked her up and went straight to Sainsbury's to complete the weekly shop. By midday, we were home and soon after, everything was stowed away. After lunch, I set out on a walk (after all, I had missed my usual morning ramble). Then, back home, I settled down for some Kindle time until Zoe, Ellie, and Diane returned from the school pickup.

Late in the afternoon, I sent copies of various documents to the legal consultant dealing with our Will. All of today's planned admin was complete, so I started on dinner while Di phoned and chatted with Denise.

Trust

Zoe had today off so there was no need for me to get up early. It was well after seven before I sprang out of bed and greeted the day. It was another cloudless morning, but the sun was still hiding beneath the rooftops. After some coffee, I wandered around to Zoe's for the morning trek to school and having left Ellie in class, set off for my morning walk.

Back home, I managed to finish breakfast before Zoe summoned me. She had a couple of trellises that she wanted mounted in the garden. I grabbed my drill, some screws, and saw and presented myself at the door. The trellis frames were too long, so I cut them down to the right size and then mounted them in the bottom corner of the garden. Then I helped Zoe move her desk back into the living room (we had moved it for Ellie's party).

We had a legal consultant call to see us at lunchtime. It was time to ensure our Wills were up to date and addressed our requirements. He was with us for a couple of hours but we received some excellent advice and have started the process of a major update to our Wills and Trusts.

Diane needed some meds from the pharmacy so I took this as an excuse to squeeze in another walk. By the time I arrived home, Diane had gone to collect Ellie with Zoe. I settled down with my Kindle for about fifteen minutes before they all trooped back and quiet time was at an end.

We have a river cruise scheduled in a few weeks. It was nice to receive all the boarding documents and itinerary through the post today. It starts the countdown.

Cured

 I was up early to greet Ellie as she was dropped off at 6:40. It was a crystal clear morning but the sun hadn't quite arrived at work yet. Ellie was looking sorry for herself and Zoe explained that she was complaining of a tummy ache (and had been since last night). Though I had prepared her breakfast, she wasn't interested and went upstairs to see Nana. It was a very quiet couple of hours but Nana had convinced her to try going to school. We walked her to the classroom and explained how she was feeling to the teacher and that we could be contacted if needed. 

Diane headed home and I set out for my morning walk. My accompaniment is a Jonathan Kellerman book featuring Alex Delaware. The book chatted away in my ear as I followed my usual morning route around the developments. Forty-five minutes later I arrived home and set about making some breakfast and reading the overnight news. By now, the sun was in full swing but a breeze prevented the temperature from climbing too high.

With a new month starting, I updated the accounts. I then returned to the installation task I had tried yesterday. The software package was installed, but some of its features (and ease of use) are still eluding me. Unlike yesterday, I have left it installed and will return to it later.

I went for another walk to clear my head and then returned for some lunch and to enjoy an hour with my Kindle before we collected Ellie. She had perked up during the day and bounced out of class asking if we could stop at the park on the way home. I think the school day distracted her and things have settled down.

Cloudless

It has been a cloudless day, and the spring sunshine has made it pleasantly warm.  Ellie was dropped off at the usual time, and we followed the usual morning procedure except for the addition of preparing Ellie's packed lunch. (She usually has cooked lunch, but this week she is opting for packed lunches). We walked her to school, and I set off on my morning walk. After yesterday's crash landing, walking was a little sore, but I ignited the discomfort.

Back home, we enjoyed breakfast, and Diane started hanging out the washing to dry in the sunshine. She had woken up with a sore throat, so I went for another walk to collect some throat lozenges for her. 

After lunch, we had some Kindle time before I went to collect Ellie. We (obviously) stopped at the park on the way back, but once home, she sat and read with Nana. While they were reading, I tried to install a combined software package on the MacBook. This was installed, but not in the way I wanted. I couldn't be bothered to faff about, and I didn't want to leave it partly installed. I deleted the package and reset the software before starting the preparation of dinner.

Clocks and Mothers

The clocks leapt forward overnight. We are now basking in British Summer Time instead of Greenwich Meantime. With a late night last night, we decided on a late start to the day. Well, it was virtually late since I got up at 8:00 BST (which was really 7:00 GMT), but I fooled myself into believing it was a lie-in. We lingered over breakfast and the news. 

I was just preparing to go out for a walk when Kim and Jon turned up. They had come to wish Diane a Happy Mothering Sunday and, while Jon and I kept Diane talking in the kitchen, Kim assembled a magical tea party in the orangery.

We settled down for a chat while drooling over the little cakes on the elaborate cake stand. We heard all about the proposed expansion of the business where Jon works and some of the projects they have on the go. They seem to be doing really well, and Jon is clearly loving it.

We migrated into the garden where we discussed the cleaning of the rill. Jon volunteered to borrow an industrial wet-and-dry vacuum from work and come along to help us drain the rill and clean it. It will certainly be a lot easier than using the hand pump we tried this week.

I went out for a walk when Kim and Jon had left and then settled down for some Kindle time alongside the preparation of the Sunday roast.

Zoe and Ellie dropped in to wish Nana a happy Mothering Sunday. Ellie was in a bit of a strop and was hiding in the footwell of the car. Grandpa went out to chat with her and calm her down. It didn't take long before she had returned to normal, and I sent her in to tell Nana and Mummy how much she loved them. Crisis averted.

I dozed off with my legs crossed. I was sitting in the kitchen. When I woke, I tried to stand up but hadn't realised my leg had gone to sleep. Ooops. I crashed to the floor in spectacular fashion and now feel as if I have bruised my hip and find it hard to walk upstairs. Stupid idiot.

Brighton

Today was Ellie's 8th birthday. She's with Pete this weekend, and I believe the plan was for him to take her to an adventure park called Knockhatch, somewhere near Hailsham. 

It was a bright, cloud-free start to the day.  I had my usual call with the cousins to start the morning, and it was nice to see Cate calling in from Kylesku in the far north of Scotland. The call followed the usual pattern, with suitable abuse being shared among all participants.

The rest of the morning was quiet, but immediately after lunch we hopped in the car and set off for Brighton. The SatNav had warned us of various delays and I selected one of its suggested routes. Almost as soon as we left, the SatNav recommended a change to the route and seemed to guide us into every tailback and set of roadworks that it could find in West Sussex. It even guided us into a dead-end street at one point.

We arrived at Trevor and Sue's just after 2 p.m., and after a quick chat, we walked the 150 yards to the care home where Jean now lives. I was amazed by how close it was. We were given the full tour of the facility and must admit that it was more like a top-class hotel than a car home. The facilities were stunning and included several lounges on each floor, several dining rooms, a coffee bar, a small shop, and even a hairdresser. It is clearly well run, and whilst expensive, it is a comfortable home with a family atmosphere for its residents.

Jean, who is now almost totally blind, walked back to S&T's with us and we settled down for some tea and a good chinwag. Sue spoke (ad nauseam) about their grandchildren and their progress at school and with their other activities. We also heard about their recent (somewhat disappointing) trip to Morrocco and their planned river cruise up the Danube.  

Time ticked by, and we piled into the car and drove around to the village (Patcham), where we had a table booked at "La Tana", their local Italian restaurant. I must say that considering it was tucked away, off the main areas of Brighton, it was superb. The decor was nice, the ambience was cosy, and the staff were delightful. Diane had some fresh sea bass in cream and lemon sauce, and I had some "Penne al pollo" (pasta cooked with chicken, peppers, garlic, onions, with cream and tomato sauce). We could not fault the food (not that we were trying to), it was excellent.

We drove Jean back to the care home and then settled down with Sue and Trevor for some more gossip before finally heading home. In contrast to the journey to Patcham, we had a fabulous run home, where we were greeted by Jasper, who had eaten all of the dinner that we had left out for him.

A Visit

It was raining when Ellie was dropped off this morning. The forecast for the morning suggested it would remain wet. We went through the usual morning rituals and as Ellie was ready early, she sat down and read to me for a while before we had to walk to school. Despite the forecast, the rain had almost stopped, and there was just a soft drizzle as we walked the 250m to school.

Leaving Ellie at the classroom (clutching a bag full of sweets for her classmates to celebrate her birthday), we wandered home for breakfast. (I was not walking this morning).

A few weeks back, I ordered some shoes from a store in Chichester. They phoned yesterday to say they had arrived. Originally, Di had volunteered to come in with me but was not in the mood this morning. I plugged Carl Sagan into my ears and waited for the bus. In Chichester, I zig-zagged to the shoe shop where I tried on the shoes. They were immensely comfortable, but the colour was a dreadful deep chocolate brown, which I don't think I would wear. I rejected the shoes, and they processed a refund. I moved on to several other shoe shops. There were some lovely shoes in one of them, but the wear-surface on the heel looked very thin, and my shoes take quite a battering. Another shop had some more suitable shoes, but they didn't fit well, or they were too flat (I like a proper heel). Trying several other stores, I made my way to the bus stop empty-handed. It had been an abortive trip.

After lunch, we had some Kindle time until Kim arrived. It was the last day of her recent University placement in the community, and she had managed to finish early. She wanted to come along and surprise Ellie at the school pick-up. Also, she had some birthday presents for her. We all had a lovely afternoon, and it was good to hear about Kim's progress at uni.

Zoe came to collect Ellie and get her home in time for Pete to collect her for the weekend.

A Normal Day

 It has been a very normal day. There has been little to report since I rolled out of bed at 6:30 to ensure I was ready to greet Ellie when she was dropped off. She was in a chirpy mood this morning and managed her ablutions without intervention or supervision from Nana. She even did her hair.

We dropped her at school, and Diane went home while I had a shorter walk than usual (only doing a single loop of my usual route). Back home, I finished breakfast and the usual review of overnight news, and then we drove into Shripney to do the weekly shopping. Lottie was finishing the cleaning when we got home, so we stowed the shopping quickly and made ourselves scarce.

After lunch, I went out for another walk, making sure I looped through the village so that I could collect Diane's meds from the Chemist as I passed. Then, back home, I managed an hour of Kindle time before we went to collect Ellie from school. She was just bursting with energy, so we stopped at the village green for her to run around and let off steam with her friends Bonnie and Edie.

Zoe collected Ellie soon after 16:30.

Replaced

It was a gentle start to the day. After some coffee, a wander through the press, and a shower, I walked to Zoe's to join the walk to school. Zoe took the opportunity to go into class to review Ellie's work (like we did yesterday). I left her to it and headed off for my morning walk. I added an extra loop into the route so that I could get some more of the Carl Sagan book. finished. I only wish I could remember a small fraction of what I have heard.

Back home, after a peek at social media, I started on a bit of research regarding the latest and greatest Linux distros. I chose Ubuntu (again) and started the download to create a bootable image. With the image clutched in my eager fingers, I tried to reset the book sequence for Siane's old laptop (Osprey). I tried everything, having resorted to looking up the process on Google. Nothing seemed to work. I did realise, however, that I already had a Linux image on the old laptop. I still wish to change it and install Ubuntu, but it can wait. I have no immediate need for it.

FedEx rang the doorbell. They delivered the replacement pool vacuum. I put it together and took it into the garden to try out. This one worked, though I'm not sure how effective it will be as it stirred up a lot of the detritus I was trying to vacuum up. I needed to wait for everything to settle to see how successful it was.

After some Kindle time, I went to meet Zoe at the school gates. We had a Parent/Teacher consultation scheduled. We settled down in the class (the seats are too low for an old bloke like me), and Ellie's teacher proceeded to tell us about her progress in English (reading, writing, and comprehension) and Maths. It is clear that Ellie is doing very well. I used the audio notes feature of my iPhone to record the whole session - this kept the audio but also transcribed the meeting. This was a lot easier than taking notes and meant that I could share it with Diane when I got home. (If you haven't tried this feature yet, it is well worth giving it a whirl to record important meetings).

Backups

There was a gentle start to the day (unlike yesterday). I went downstairs for some coffee and an initial trawl through the papers. When Diane emerged, I got dressed and headed off to Zoe's to take Ellie to school. There was no early morning walk, as Ellie had insisted on bringing her scooter to school. This meant that I had to take it back home for the day.

I settled down for breakfast and a more thorough reading of the overnight news. I then finally headed out for my walk. I chose a different route, heading to Shripney via the "Pre-14th Century Highwayway from Berstead to Shripney and the North". It is one of my favourite routes, and today, I only passed one other person and two cars in all the time I was out.

Back home, I retired to the study. (Diane was on the phone with her friend Marilyn). I spent some time researching several legal matters and contacting some providers of legal services. It is time that we updated our Wills and registered some Lasting Powers of Attorney. The process has started, and now I await contact.

With that done, I returned to the master photo library. I needed to update the automatic backup settings for the new year. (The overall library is tens of gigabytes, and checking the whole library every night would be stupid, so I just check the last two years each day for any changes I might have applied). This didn't take long, but it was good to know that it was now operational). On reviewing the backups, I realised my 5th copy of the master file was several years out of date. I manually applied all the missing updates. I must look into automating this for the future, but that can wait for another day.

We went to collect Ellie from school. As the class finished, we were able to go in and review the classwork that she had been doing during the year. It is clear that she is doing very well, but she really must improve her handwriting.

Communication Breakdown

There was a communication breakdown. The work rota Zoe had sent us said she was starting at 09:00... she wasn't, she had changed it and forgot to tell us. I was awake but lying in bed pondering the meaning of life and the universe when I heard a car pull up outside. The next thing I knew, Ellie was trying to come through the front door. I exploded out of bed and ran downstairs to unlock the door and get things going. Oh well, I can have a lie-in tomorrow.

I took Ellie to school and left her as she strode into class. I tapped my watch, screwed my AirPods into my ears, said "Good Morning" to Carl Sagan and set out on my pre-breakfast walk.

Back home, I finished breakfast and read the news before phoning the supplier of the device for cleaning the rill. Their operative took me through their checklist and exhausted the suggestions she had to hand. (In fact, I had tried every one of them). She took my phone number and said she would call back after talking to someone in the warehouse. An hour or so later, she called me back. They are flummoxed and will send out a replacement. That is a perfectly acceptable way to respond to our problem. Well done.

I buried myself in the study. I wanted to update my master photo library with all the photos taken since the last update. This did not go smoothly, and I was worried my code was the source of the problem (photos were being misfiled against the wrong dates). I went and grabbed some lunch so I could think it over. I re-read my code, and the logic seemed sound. I deleted all of the photos I had updated during the morning and then reapplied them in small batches so I could quickly check each batch. Everything ran perfectly, and the library is now intact. Tomorrow, I will check the backup rules to ensure 2025 photos are replicated in my other storage locations.

There was limited Kindle time this afternoon before we went to collect Zoe from school. She was with us for a while and started on her homework. Zoe has collected her, and she can finish the work at home.

Dull

After the last 10 days or so, today's weather seemed particularly autumnal. It was dull, grey, and damp. We had a quiet morning. After breakfast and a wander through the news and social media sites, I went upstairs to my study. It had occurred to me that it was a long time since I had updated my master photo library.  On checking, it was at the beginning of December that I last performed the update. 

I downloaded all of the photos that had accumulated and started the import program. Several hundred were filed away, and a few were liusted as problematic. I will have to return and deal with these at a later date - I think I have found the common feature that caused the problem - it occurred to photos where I had used the AI features to remove an unwanted blemish or feature from the original.

We wandered around to Zoe's. I had to help her get the furniture back into the living room. This didn't take too long, but as always, handling large items of furniture was difficult. Once that was done, we let Ellie open the few presents we had brought with us. She was clearly tired from last night's sleep-over, but rallied at the thought of a few more presents.

We left Zoe and ellie to a quiet afternoon. Indeed, Zoe sent us a photo of Ellie asleep at the table, and later on the sofa. We had a bite of lunch and some Kindle time before I started preparation for tonight's dinner.

(As an aside, I opened a new email account with Proton Mail. This provided end to end security and is based in Switzerland (rather than the USA). I'm not sure how much use I will make of it, but thought it would be an interesting experiment).

Celebration Day

I was sitting in the kitchen, enjoying my morning coffee and debating whether I should go and get washed and dressed, yet. The iPad rang. It was Ellie; "Grandpa can you come around and help mummy empty the lounge ready for my party?" I guess that made my decision. I finished my coffee, completed my ablutions and walked around the corner. It didn't take too long, but we shifted the two parts of the sofa, the footstool, and the desk in the garage. Ellie vacuumed the detritus that had accumulated under the sofa, and I showed Zoe how to extend the dining table (which had been ours until recently).

I returned home for breakfast and then connected to the weekly Zoom call. This followed the usual mishmash of banter and news. One subject of interest was a recent BBC segment discussing Margate Football Club, which included clips of Francis (Uncle Frankie, as he's known at the club), Maggie, and Sharon.

DPD delivered a device that Di had ordered. This is similar to a huge bicycle pub and should create a vacuum to draw water from the rill and filter it. It was a bit of a devil to put together but looked "feasible" when complete. I took it out to the garden to try it. It didn't seem to work. The plunger went up and down as expected, but it didn't seem to create sufficient vacuum to draw the water in. I fiddled, I re-read the instructions, I took it apart, I reassembled it, I tried again. Nada. I followed this procedure again and again had no luck. On the instruction leaflet, there was a phone number to call. I called. Nada. They are closed at the weekend. It will have to wait until Monday.

With rain forecast over the next 24 hours, I took the opportunity to dig out the leaf vacuum and clear up all of the fallen leaves that had lingered on throughout the winter.  I managed to get two huge bags full in about 15 minutes. 

After some lunch and some Kindle time, we went around to Zoe's. A table had been booked at "Smith and Western" for her birthday treat. We had to take two cars to get us, Zoe, Ellie and her friends to Chichester. We were greeted by the cacophony of a busy "country and western" styled restaurant packed with various parties, all trying to be heard over the music. As birthday treats were delivered to various tables, the staff jangled triangles and beat tambourines while singing Happy Birthday. I should have brought ear defenders!

Despite the apparent chaos and noise, the food was very good. The girls all chose burgers or hot dogs from the children's menu. Zoe chose a New York burger, Diane had a club sandwich, and I had a rack of ribs. The helpings were generous, and the food was delicious. It was not "fine dining," but it was very good. I suspect that a lunchtime visit during the week would be a little less chaotic.

We all headed back to Zoe's to cut the cake and ensure everyone was sorted. It was almost noisier there than at the restaurant.

The girls put on their PJs and their special robes, and then Zoe cut the cake. Like the decorations, the theme for the cake was Wicked. This meant that half was green and half was pink. There was some debate over who wanted a slice of which colour. Nana and Grandpa headed home clutching slices of green cake!

Walking in our front door, we were greeted by Jasper. He had to wait. I was not doing anything until I had a glass of wine, and my ears had stopped ringing!