Small Successes

 I woke up at seven, only to find that I had missed about a dozen messages from Ellie on her new phone. She had been begging for extra time on various apps (which we limit) but had forgotten that all my devices go into sleep mode at 22:00. She'll learn.

Once the leisurely breakfast was over, I decided to try a new toy and went to wash the car with a cordless power washer, which gets its water from a bucket. (This would be a useful feature if we had a hosepipe ban - but we don't). Having rinsed the car well, I then attacked it with a snow foam and left it to slump off before rinsing the car. I deliberately did no more than that, just to see how well it worked as a concept. I must say I was very impressed (though I really should go back and redo the roof).

After that, I spent some time in the study looking at the long-term feasibility of Immich as a replacement for Adobe Lightroom. The biggest question mark hung over the facial recognition. I have spent years trying to get that under control in Lightroom. Could this be migrated to Immich? Well, after a lot of research, the answer is yes. The details are stored, not in Lightroom, but in the photo's metadata. This isn't recognised or used by Immich, but with help from ChatGPT, I managed to import that data. Now, in the case of a couple of test photos, that's all well and good, but for 80-90,000 photos, that will need to be automated. I can feel some coding coming on!

I spent some time in the garden. We have a large circular table with a glass top over the woven tabletop. Something has hit this glass, and it has shattered into millions of pieces. (It was laminated glass.) I made a concerted effort to shovel up all of the shards and dump them into sturdy cardboard boxes for disposal. I suspect we will be finding more shards forever, but the bulk is cleaned up.

A quiet evening is planned... dentist in the morning!

Playing

 I was up soon after seven. Yes, I admit it. I was lazy. I sorted out some tea for Diane and settled down with a coffee and the overnight news. When Di came down (a coffee was ready for her), I went up to shower and dress before the usual call with my cousins.

After the call, I settled down to experiment. ChatGPT held my hand as I installed Docker Desktop on the iMac, and then we spent a couple of hours (or so) installing Immich in the Docker container. Immich is an open-source (free) photo library manager. In the work that I am doing to ensure my family have everything they need to know when I have gone, I realised that the current "Adobe Lightroom" is a monthly expense they don't really need. So I asked what the alternatives might be. Immich came out as the best alternative. With Docker ready to receive Immich, I paused.

Zoe came round. She had bought Ellie a new iPhone and wanted me to put a screen protector on. We sat and chatted as I sorted out the protector. We also added WhatsApp and made sure that the "Find My" location app allowed us to see where Ellie was. It took a bit longer than we had expected, but once it was done, Zoe took the new phone across to Ellie (as she is going away with Pete for the next week).

I returned to Immich. It took most of the afternoon to install and test each feature. Eventually, it was in total control of a test folder filled with random photos and videos from the last 10 years. It's not perfect, but it is pretty close to it. If only it would import the facial recognition data from Adobe Lightroom. I have left that as a challenge for ChatGPT to solve (even though I expect I will have to write some code if we decide it is feasible). I want to solve as many problems as possible before I let it loose on my full photo library of nearly 90,000 photos and videos.

Physio

 I was up early again. In fact, I'm beginning to admit that this is not early; it is my usual time. So it was that soon after 6:30, I was making coffee and tea and preparing to read the overnight news. By 7:30, Di too was up and about. After a lengthy breakfast, we moved into the day.

I had a few minor domestic chores to complete (most involved cleaning up after Jasper). Once that was out of the way, I returned to my estate planning. This is moving towards completion, but it is also flagging areas where there are alternative approaches to my current strategies. I will have to examine these in detail, with an eye to the future and how I should optimise things for Diane and the girls.

This afternoon, we had to go into Chichester for Di's Physio appointment. He is very impressed with her progress and said that she is well ahead of expectations in terms of recovery. I am not, in the slightest, surprised.

When we got back from physio, we had a quiet hour with our Kindles before I started on dinner.

Construction

 I was up early again. I was greeted by an overnight package from Jasper that needed immediate attention, but I could then make some coffee and tea. Having finished her tea, Di pottered downstairs at about 7:30, and I set about my morning ablutions and made breakfast.

I drove around to Sainsbury's just after 9:00 and had a really pleasant shopping experience. The shop was fairly empty, and I could whizz about without let or hindrance. I seemed to be home and unloading in no time.

I managed to get some more of my "estate planning" document completed, but have a lot still to do.

Kim popped in to see us during the morning, and we had a lovely chat. I was able to explain the Probate Trust to her (as she will be one of the trustees). She's currently working one night a week at the hostel for disturbed young adults. Listening to her tales, she is certainly having some challenges.

We managed some Kindle time after lunch, then Di returned to the construction of the Book Nook. Progress is slow, but it's steady, and it is already looking really good.

I suspect there are several more hours of work over the next few days to get it finished.

Strolling

 I was awake early, so I snuck downstairs for a coffee and to read the news. Di wandered down an hour or so later, and we had a quiet hour or so with our breakfast.

This morning focused on household chores. There was ironing to clear (including the covers for our duvet)  and a couple of large loads of laundry.  When all of the chores were done, I returned to my "estate planning", which I dip into several times a day at present.

After lunch, we went for a walk. Each day we try to add a few hundred metres to yesterday's route. Today Diane managed 1.2 km, and we will probably repeat this later.

We had some Kindle time during the afternoon, then I returned to my documentation, and Di started to build her "Book Nook".

Clever

 It was a gentle start to the day. It was gone seven before I wandered downstairs for my first coffee of the day. An hour later, Di came down and the day started for real.

Once news and social media had been consumed (along with breakfast), I got on with some laundry, then took Di for a walk. We extended yesterday's route and planned to follow it again later. Once home, I dug into the admin. I had received several documents from a legal company. These included our draft Wills and a Probate Trust. I had to review these and will have to get back to them in the next few days. The complexity of the documents was such that I was having difficulty assuring myself that I understood the implications. I phoned the company to ask some questions, then I loaded the documents in Gemini-NotebookLm and asked it to create a mind map and an overview video.  It did a splendid job, and really got to the heart of the documents. I was most impressed.

We had some Kindle time during the afternoon, as you would expect.

Other than that, there is little else to report.

Satisfactory

That was a very satisfactory weekend, football-wise. Firstly, the England team beat France 6-4, achieving the bronze position in the World Cup. This game was played in a great spirit of fair play and competitiveness. At the end, the players all shook hands and had a chat. Perfect. Then last night, Spain beat the thugs and cheats from Argentina and were rightly crowned the World Champions. They were certainly the best team that I saw throughout the tournament. Somehow they managed to maintain their cool in the face of sheer thuggery and cheating from the opposition. At the end, the Argentine team embarrassed themselves even further by attacking the Spanish in what was nothing less than a brawl. Despite this, fair play won. The contempt in which I hold Argentina has reached a new level which I believe will never be equalled.

Back on earth, it has been a quiet day. During the morning, I popped to Sainsbury's to pick up some items that were not available (due to freezer problems) last week. Once back home, I went for a walk with Diane. We had extended our recent route, doubling the distance. She managed it without incident, and we plan to repeat this during the evening.

Chris, our neighbour who has been so unwell, went to collect some softener salt. He offered to collect some for us at the same time. I asked for a bundle of six, which he duly delivered, and we all stood outside chatting as I carried the salt through to the Orangery. We have resolved to go out for lunch some time in the next couple of weeks.

Di went to rest and do her exercises on the bed after lunch. I sat in the lounge with my Kindle and delved further into my current book.

We've had dinner now, and a short walk beckons.

Oh Yes!

 After last night's late night, watching England beat France 6-4 in the third-place play-off of the World Cup, I had a lazy start to the day. It was nearly 07:30 before I rose to greet the day. Coffee was brewed, and tea was made for Diane. There was nothing specific on the agenda; we could just float on the whims of our imagination for the day.

Once Di was up and about, and breakfast was cleared away, we went for a walk. We didn't go too far, but it gave Di the opportunity to stretch her knee and build up some resilience. 

Between various chores (and the walk with Di), I was working on a document with a working title of "Oh dear, I'm Dead". This is meant to provide all of the information that will be needed when I shuffle off this mortal coil. It is based loosely on several commercial templates which suggest the sort of things that will make life easier for nearest and dearest when the time comes. I seem to be making good progress, but there is still a way to go.

We had some Kindle time in the Orangery today. It was the first time that the temperature has been comfortable for several weeks.

Nothing to report

It has been a quiet and uneventful day. I was up just before seven and greeted by a package that Jasper had delivered in his litter tray. This, I thought, did not bode well for the day ahead. Having cleared up, I made tea for Diane and coffee for myself before wading through the overnight news.

I joined the weekly Zoom call with the Empson cousins. There was little worthy of comment.

The rest of the morning was occupied with minor domestic chores and an initial attempt to sort out the garden table. I should explain. We have a circular garden table with a glass top on the woven table top. In the last week or so, something has hit this glass, or the parasol has been shifted by the recent high winds, and the circular glass top has shattered. Being laminated glass, it has shattered into a million pieces, though many are still slightly connected by the lamination. Now that I had found a suitable, sturdy box, I began collecting the broken glass. After an hour or so, the box was full, but the glass tabletop was still 80% shattered and in situ when the box was full. When I have found a suitably sturdy box, I will continue this,

We had some Kindle time during the afternoon and plan to watch the 4th-4th place play-offs in the World Cup this evening.

End of Term

I was up early to greet Ellie on the last day of term, and her last day in Year 4. She burst through the door at 6:35, already dressed and well-pumped for the last day. She was an absolute pleasure for the next couple of hours. We headed for school, clutching the bags with the presents that Zoe had collected from the other parents. Mrs Reynold was retiring, and the parents decided a joint gift would be better than loads of individual gifts. Kelly, one of the other mums, organised and collected the donations, then gave them to Zoe to sort out. She, in turn, got a voucher for afternoon tea at The Ivy, and a collection of gifts for the garden (which is one of Mrs Reynolds' passions). I carried the gifts to school, and we presented them when the classroom doors opened.

Back home, I grabbed some breakfast, then did a few minor household chores. I headed back to Sainsbury's for a couple of things I couldn't find yesterday, and picked up Di's meds from the pharmacy in the village. Once home, the rest of the morning was quiet.

After lunch, there was Kindle time for me, though Di headed upstairs to do her exercises on the bed. I tried to sneak out quietly to go to the school for Ellie's last few moments in Year 4; Zoe managed to get there with a few seconds to spare, so Ellie was delighted that Mummy had been there to collect her. Ellie is off to Pete's for the next couple of weeks, so I said my goodbyes and left her to go home with Zoe.

I think it will be a quiet evening.

Disappointment

I was up well before seven, and Di wasn't far behind me. She had her regular INR blood test to complete first thing. I walked to Zoe's for the school run. Poppy had slept over last night so that the girls could watch the football. I asked them if they had enjoyed the game, and they both said no. Well, that's hardly surprising. Having exposed the Argentine weaknesses down the wings, we finally scored, and then, stupidly, decided to take off one of the wingers and replace him with a defender. Has nobody ever heard that the best form of defence is attack? As soon as that change was made, I knew the eventual outcome.

I took the girls to school, then headed home for breakfast and to prepare for the usual shopping trip. I had to drop Di at the hairdresser's first, but then went on to Sainsbury's. I completed the shop, headed home and stowed all of the shopping away. As I finished, Di phoned to say she was ready for collection. Perfectly timed.

Back home, we tormented Lottie for a while, until she left, and then settled down for a cup of tea and some lunch. Early afternoon was spent with our Kindles before I had to go and collect Ellie from school.

Ellie is back home with Zoe now, and we have a quiet evening planned.

Nada

 I have almost nothing to report. It was a quiet start to the day at 6:30; by 08:00, Di was up and about, and I had showered and dressed. I walked to Zoe's and took Ellie to school. Today, she wanted me to come in with her. The kids (including Ellie) were all dressed in England football kits. Two kids turned up in Argentina kits and were chased around the school until the doors opened.

Back home, there was little or nothing to report. I used the time to write some code while Di went to shower and dress.

The afternoon saw the usual Kindle time until I had to collect Ellie from after-school football. She was with us for about an hour before Zoe collected her.

We are preparing for the England / Argentina semi-final of the World Cup. I only hope it turns out to be a great game that does the team proud (win or lose). I thought the Spain team from last night was simply breathtaking. Whoever wins tonight will have their work cut out against Spain.

Pressing Engagement

I was awake early. In fact, by 6:00, I was getting fidgety, so I got up and went downstairs for a coffee. It was a further 2 hours before Diane stirred. I just had time to perform my ablutions and dress in time to walk to Zoe's and escort Ellie to school.

Back home, I grabbed my usual breakfast of porridge, a banana, and coffee and then, set up for the day, I set about a pile of ironing. This took a couple of hours, but it is always satisfying to see the pile of freshly pressed clothes growing by the side of the ironing board.

The rest of the day has been remarkably quiet. I spent some time learning a new technique on one of my computers, and spent some Kindle time until I had to leave to collect Ellie. As Zoe had a day off, she was there at the school gates, and when we had collected Ellie, I headed back home as they set of to their house.

We've just finished a light dinner, and plan to watch the World Cup semi-final between Spain and France during the evening. I'm looking forward to this game as I have no particular favourite, and so I can watch the game and just enjoy the spectacle without the stress of supporting one of the teams.

Just a typical day

I was up early to greet Elie when she was dropped off at 06:30. She was awake and wanted a cuddle, but then headed upstairs to get into bed with Nana. She went back to sleep, and it wasn't until I went to wash and dress at 7:30 that she woke up and went down for breakfast.  An hour later, I walked her into school as usual and then returned home for breakfast,

We had a couple of loads of washing during the morning, and these needed to be dried. I, meanwhile, got on with some admin. I had to update the accounts, then contact Allianz regarding our travel insurance. I was concerned that the travel insurance would go up significantly after Di's knee surgery. As it happened, there was no additional cost. In fact, the overall cost of travel insurance, including our age supplements and DI's medical history, was exactly the same as last year - to the penny!

After lunch, and a quiet hour, I collect Ellie from school. We hot-footted it home, then grabbed a snack (that I had already prepared) and headed into Chichester for her last appointment with the counsellor. Traffic in Chichester was dreadful, but we managed to arrive within 60 seconds of the appointment time.

I dropped Ellie back at Zoe's and then headed home. Di was chatting to Denise on the phone, and when they had finished, I made some chicken and prawns in red wine and tomato sauce on tagliatelle. We now have a quiet evening planned.