Reunion

 We were up early this morning so Ellie could be dropped off on Zoe's way to work. When she came through the door, she was subdued and whined that she had a tummy ache. I gave her a cuddle and sent her upstairs to see Nana. Within a few minutes, she was chatting away as usual and slotted back into her usual pre-school persona.

We dropped her off at school, and as Di went home, I headed off for a walk. By the time I got back home, I was within a few minutes of the end of my audiobook. Despite the temptation to listen over breakfast, I resisted and saved it for my next walk.

It is about 8 weeks since Trudy and Ian moved and thus transferred out of the Sonning Crew. We went across to Yapton this morning to see them in their new home. I must say it was a super house; it was a bit smaller than the old one, but ideal for just the two of them. I have no doubt they will be very happy there - particularly when a few more of the neighbouring houses are occupied. We had a tour of the house and heard about the trials and tribulations of the move and getting the house straight. We were only there for a couple of hours, but it was lovely to see them.

Back home, I grabbed a bite to eat and then set off for another walk. The route had to take me through the village so that I could call in at the pharmacy and collect some meds for Diane. I was out for about an hour, during which I finished the "Desert Star" audiobook and started "The Waiting" (also by Michael Connelly). I'm not sure if I'll match the 162 books that I read (or listened to) last year, but I have managed 10 so far this year.

We collected Ellie from school, and she was with us for about an hour until Pete came to collect her for the weekend.

Maintenance

 We were both up soon after 7 am. Diane was going to substitute for me on the walk to school with Ellie because I had to remain behind and await the arrival of an engineer to look at the window in Ellie's room. We had been given a time slot between 8 and 12, but they couldn't be more specific.

Diane had an appointment for Jasper at the vet. We loaded him into the car (with surprisingly little fuss), and they headed off to Oving. Soon after they left, the engineer arrived to look at (not through) Ellie's window. We had been experiencing a draft through the hinge side of the window, and he started to check it all to see if it could be adjusted. He fiddled and tested, re-fiddled and retested. In the end, he moved a wedge slightly. This should pull the window tighter to the frame as it closes. As there was no wind today, there was no way to check if the problem had been solved, but the solution seemed to make sense.

When Diane and Jasper arrived back, we left Lottie to do her weekly blitz on the house and headed to Sainsbury's. Though we didn't seem to have as much as usual, it did seem to take longer than expected. This was almost certainly because of the shuffling, brain-dead zombies that were already in the store when we arrived.

After a tasty lunch, I decided to go for a walk. I had missed my morning stroll, so I made up for it! I walked around the estate and then headed to North Bersted Street. I followed the old highway to Shripney. As I got close to the A29, I turned around and looped back the way I came. I was out for about an hour. When I got back, I plopped down in the lounge with my Kindle. Diane was already there, but she went to pick up Ellie from school with Zoe before coming home and rejoining me in the lounge.

G-Force

Ellie called G-Force last night, even though she was at home. She was having tummy pains again, but it was late at night and Zoe was fast asleep. She chatted with Nana on Facetime and Messenger until well after 23:00.

I was up at 6:30 and read the papers while waiting for Ellie. Zoe called to say that Ellie wasn’t going to school, but she would try to get another appointment with the doctor. Ellie was dropped off with us, and Zoe headed to work. She was back within 45 minutes. She had an appointment for Ellie and had been given the day off. Ellie was swiftly whisked away to the surgery. They returned soon with an update, and then they went home. G-Force could stand down.

The weather was peculiar. It was much warmer than it had been over the last week, and whilst it wasn't raining, it was soaking wet outside. It was much like the effects of a thick mist, without the visibility problems. It was not conducive to venturing out, so I spent the morning pottering in the house. 

Mid-morning a text message arrived:

"Morning Dad, I've had a change of numbers 07510 672359 is my new one."

I thought about this for about a nano-second and replied:

"David, Out of interest, how stupid do you think I am?"

(Just to be clear - I don't have any sons, and none of my daughters are called David. This attempted scam is so obvious.)

After lunch, I went to Zoe's. She has just bought another security camera and wanted it mounted in the garden. Once we had found a suitable spot and checked it was within range, I screwed it to the fence, and it was all set and working.

Dropping my drill back home, I set off for a walk. It was still wet but didn't feel quite as damp. I marched around a large loop of the neighbourhood for an hour before heading back home. The rest of the afternoon was spent with the Kindle.

(There was no need to break the afternoon to prepare dinner. When I got up this morning, I had primed the slow cooker to cook a chicken casserole throughout the day.)

Interrupts

 Ellie slept through and got up soon after me this morning. She asked for egg and bacon for breakfast, which surprised me but I knew it would set her up for the day. Once the clock had ticked around to 8:30 we walked her to school. Di headed straight home, and I set off on my walk.

My walk was supposed to follow my usual pre-breakfast route, which involves two big loops around the estate and the lake. I was listening to an audiobook through my AirPods. The weather was chilly, but bright and dry, making it a pleasant temperature for a walk. As I was nearing the end of my first loop, I was interrupted by a message from Chris about the installation of his broadband fibre. I had to cut my walk short and go to speak with the engineers to explain how to manage the feeding of the fibre into the cable duct. After that, I returned home for breakfast.

Later in the morning, I decided to go for another walk. At the spot I had reached earlier that morning, my phone rang. It was Zoe, and she was expecting the delivery of a mattress for Ellie. Could I please go and wait for the delivery? My walk was interrupted again, so I quickly headed back to grab the keys. Then, I went to Zoe’s house and waited for the delivery. When it finally arrived (packed tightly in a long box), I carried it upstairs for her and then headed home.

Back home, I had lunch. Diane had gone to the vet to pick up some medication for Jasper and would be returning some Amazon deliveries that didn’t fit. I took advantage of a quiet 30 minutes in the Orangery before setting off for another walk. 

Fortunately, this walk wasn’t interrupted. After a loop of the estate and lake, I walked down North Bersted Street and crossed the bypass. I managed to time my route so that I arrived outside the school just in time to collect Ellie. On the way home, we stopped off at the park so she could let off steam.

Strolling Around

I was up first and Ellie and Di followed me down after about ten minutes. Once breakfast was finished and she was dressed, she started on some homework related to magnets. She whizzed through it, and I uploaded it to the "SeeSaw" system. We dropped her off at school, and then I went out for a walk. I only did half of my normal route because I didn't want to stress my troublesome foot. I got back without incident but would see how it went during the day.

I spent the morning doing admin. It started with the accounts, and then I went through and booked the excursions for the autumn cruise. With that done, I returned to the (spring) river cruise planning and paid the final balance.

There were no adverse after-effects from the morning walk, so I decided to go out for another. Again, I took a shorter route than normal, but the sun was out and it was quiet as I wandered around. It was a very enjoyable 45 minutes, and (touch wood) there have still been no after-effects.

The afternoon was spent with my Kindle, while Diane was sewing in her hobby room.

We are expecting Ellie to arrive soon as she will be staying with us overnight.

Fancy Free

 I had a better night than last night and was delighted to find, when I got up, that my foot was significantly better. There was still some residual discomfort and I had to be careful how I planted the foot, and I certainly couldn't twist on it, but it was progress.

Despite the lovely (but cold) weather, I decided against a walk. I was not willing to chance it yet. I spent the morning editing last year's blog. Over several hours I managed to complete all of the entries through to the end of November. Diane had started to work on her sewing project but was interrupted by a call from Zoe which lasted for a couple of hours.

After lunch, I had a short Kindle break and then turned on the TV to watch the FA Cup 3rd round game between Tamworth and Spurs. Though it went to extra time, Spurs did win 0-3. When the coverage finished, we switched over to watch the Arsenal match with Man Utd. We saw through to the end of normal time but then had a Zoom call with Jane and Trevor. The Zoom call was set up to discuss the excursions for the cruise in the autumn. We now have to book them!

Ellie phoned to ask if she could sleep here tonight. She didn't want to get up early tomorrow, and by staying here she could have a more leisurely start.

Footloose

It was a restless night. The pain in my foot flared whenever I tried to turn over in bed, and each time it woke me. Having said that, it was 07:40 before I got up. I descended the stairs with the innate grace of a walrus on roller skates coming down a mountain. At least the foot problem didn't prevent me from making a coffee.

I had the usual call with the Empson cousins this morning.  Much of the call was taken up with Tim's tale of woe, stemming from a bin fire he had overnight on Monday. He and a neighbour managed to douse it before the Fire Brigade arrived. Now he has to deal with the cleanup and the insurance claim. It must have been quite intense as it melted his aluminium ladder.

Clearly, I would not be able to go for a walk. In fact, I could barely get around the house and had to descend the stairs on my backside as I couldn't bear any weight on my foot. While Diane returned to her sewing, I returned to editing last year's blog. I have managed to complete through to the end of the first week of October and could have done more but I am enjoying it so much that I want to eke it out.

Having reviewed the excursions for our autumn cruise, I thought I would review the itinerary and outings available for our spring river cruise. This turned out to be a fruitless exercise as no excursions seemed to have been released for the trip. I updated my notes and left it.

After some lunch, I had some Kindle time while Diane continued with her sewing. There has been a change in plan for this project but she is making progress.

I had an idea. Would the ankle strap that I used when playing football relieve the pain in my foot? Diane went to the garage to retrieve my kit bag and I grabbed the ankle strap. I fitted it tightly and tried to walk about a bit. No, it made no difference. I guess it was worth a try. I shall continue to feel sorry for myself because the weather has been beautifully clear and crisp and would have been ideal for a good walk.

Limp

 Though Ellie was slow to settle last night, she did sleep through and didn't emerge until we were both on the move. I had woken up with a "rick" in my ankle. It almost feels as if I have strained it overnight. Bizarre.

We went through the school countdown checklist, and when Ellie was ready we still had 20 minutes spare so she sat down with DuoLingo and practised her French. Once the clock had rolled around, we headed for school and dropped Elli at the classroom. My foot was too painful for me to consider a walk, so I headed straight home for breakfast. Diane had a Cardiac Rehab session booked, so scraped the ice off the car and she set off for the Community Centre.

I spent the morning editing the 2024 blog entries for August. It took a couple of hours, but it had been a busy month.

After lunch, Diane returned to her sewing and I had a quiet hour with the Kindle before firing up the iMac and reviewing the various excursions that are available for our autumn cruise. Jane and Trevor had sent me their selection and we pretty much agree, though we will probably do our own thing in Tenerife and Lanzarote as we know both so well.

We collected Ellie from school and she stayed with us until Pete came to collect her.

My foot is no better at the end of the day. I just hope that it sorts itself out overnight.

Slipping and Sliding

 It was another very cold night, in fact, we had some snow during the evening, yesterday. Not that the snow settled, but it was indicative of the temperature. I wrapped up well when it was time to walk to Zoe's for the school run, The girls were both full of the joys of spring and we chatted and chuckled all the way to school.

With Ellie deposited in class, I set off for my morning walk. The audiobook of Michael Connelly's "Desert Star" kicked off in my ears as I strolled around the neighbourhood. I was only out for 40 minutes, but the book already has me hooked. There were several spots on the route that were very slippery and I had to stay alert, particularly as I crossed the wooden bridge and viewing deck.

Once home, I had breakfast and completed this week's shopping list. We set off for Sainsbury's just after Lottie arrived. Shopping seemed to take a long time today, and certainly cost a lot more than I was expecting. I zig-zagged through the back streets to avoid the tailbacks caused by roadworks on our usual route. Seeing the tail end of the queue, I have no doubt that I made the right choice.

We had a Kindle hour after lunch and the bright sunshine meant that it was nice enough to sit in the Orangery, even though the outside temperature was only 2.5c. We went to collect Elli from school and I took her to the park to have a run around. She was explaining what she had been learning and doing during "Science Week" and was really enthusiastic. When we got home, her friend Jaxson came to play for a while and then, when he had gone, Ellie cracked on with her times tables before dinner.

Ellie is staying with us overnight.

Snowflakes

 It was very cold overnight and there was a hard frost when I opened up. Diane hadn't slept well, so decided not to go to Pilates as originally planned. I did the usual school run and then headed off for my pre-breakfast walk. I did a couple of loops of the state while listening to the approaching climax of my audiobook.

After breakfast, I quickly updated the accounts and then went back to my study to edit some more of last year's blog entries. Zoe popped in for a while just as I was deciding whether or not to go for a walk. The forecast suggested it was about to rain, so I decided against it.

The rain did start at lunchtime. By mid-afternoon, it had turned to snow, but it wasn't settling. We spent much of the afternoon with our Kindles.

I plugged my AirPods back in when I started preparing dinner. I listened through to the end of my book. I cannot recommend a book more highly - Michael Connelly's "The Dark Hours" (a Ballard and Bosch book). I have already downloaded the next in the series and will start it in the morning.

Much as usual

We had a gentle start to the day but I still wandered around to Zoe's to join the march to school. She and Ellie were both in a very bubbly mood and there seemed to be a spring in their steps. As soon as we had said goodbye to Ellie at the classroom door, I headed out for a walk. I did a couple of loops around the estate before returning home for some breakfast.

Though the Xmas decorations have all been packed away (except for the one thing we will have missed and will find in the next few weeks), the containers had been sitting in the Orangery. I rated everything out to the garage except for some of the soft goods which I stored in the loft.

We have been experiencing some condensation forming on the inside of our bedroom windows. I spent some time looking for a suitable dehumidifier solution. Because of the size of the gap between the blackout blinds and the windows, I couldn't find a perfect product. In the end, I managed to find something that would fit the gap and separately ordered some dehumidifying crystals. We'll see how this works out.

As it was still crisp, sunny, and clear, I went for another walk. This was longer than the earlier one, looping around the estate and crossing up through the village, through Bersted Green, and back home. It was a very enjoyable hour.

The afternoon saw the usual Kindle time.

Gnashers

 It had been wet overnight but the rain had stopped by the time I ventured downstairs. As Zoe had a later start today, Ellie was not being dropped off but I would wander across to join the march to school. After the school run, I returned home for breakfast before we wrapped up and headed off to catch the bus.

I had an appointment at the dentist's. The bus whipped us into Chichester in about 11 minutes - I couldn't have done it any quicker in the car. When we arrived, we split up. Diane went to do some shopping and to return some shoes that didn't fit. Though early, I went straight to the dentist and sat in the waiting room with my Kindle until called. The dentist gave me the usual 3rd-degree interrogation before checking my teeth and gums. I was out in 5 minutes with a clean bill of health (and a healthy bill).

I met up with Diane as she left M&S. We headed back to the bus stop and went home for a coffee, and to get on with our day. Diane returned to her sewing project while I attacked the accounts and returned to my Kindle for a while before heading out for a walk.

It was my first proper walk of the New Year. It was nice to stretch my legs and catch up on my latest audiobook. I was out for about an hour but stayed in the local neighbourhood.

We are eagerly waiting to hear how Kim's first day at the care home went.

Rain and Edit

  Much of the country was hit by freezing rain and snow overnight and throughout the morning. We had rain, lots of rain, and it continued throughout the day. At least it was not cold.

There was no point in getting soaked, so we both stayed in and buried ourselves in our respective studies. Diane was working on a dress pattern, which kept her busy all day. I provided her with regular infusions of tea. 

I spent the day working on the editing for last year's blog to ready it for publishing in hardback. It was fascinating to go back through our river cruise of last spring and my trip to the South of France to see my old school friends. It was painstaking work as I standardised all the photos' layout and size, wrapped the text to fill the white space, and continued to develop the index. It did take all day, but I have now completed the first six months of 2024.

I tried a different approach to the roast potatoes for tonight's dinner. I drizzled olive oil over them and sprinkled them with onion granules and semolina. I then put them in the air fryer for 30 minutes. I must say, they turned out rather well. 

It will be back to school tomorrow, but we don't need an early start as Zoe isn't due to start work until 10:00.

Charger

It had been very cold overnight and there was a hard frost. The weather warning forecast that we would have a dry morning but the snow and rain would begin at midday. I had my usual call with the cousins to start the morning. 

My plan for the morning was to take down the Xmas lights from the front of the house while it was still dry and then start on the indoor decorations. I seem to have mastered the art of removing all the lights and looping them onto the cable reels. I was surprised by how quickly that was done. I then started on the Xmas tree. The issue with the tree isn't the lights or the baubles, it is the disassembly and packing away. Again, I must have been inspired as everything was packed away without any problems.

As we then started to process the rest of the decorations I went to my "man tin" for some pliers. There nestling in the tin was the lost AirPods charging case. I was confused. There was nothing that I was doing on the day the case went missing that would have caused me to go to the tin. How did the case get there? One of life's first-world mysteries. I guess that I now have a spare!

Kim dropped by. She came to show us her uniform (scrubs) for her first placement (as part of the University course), which starts on Monday. She will be working at a Mental Health facility in Worthing for about 6 weeks.

She looked very smart and seemed very enthusiastic about the work.

Kim wasn't here for too long, and when she left we continued to tidy away the decorations. By the end of the afternoon, everything was boxed and ready to be taken back to the garage. That can wait until tomorrow.

During the afternoon, I made up a batch of chicken curry. That suited me for dinner this evening and gave me 4 portions for the freezer for upcoming weekends.