Hail and Sun

 After a night of heavy rain and strong winds, I was surprised to open up this morning and find the roads dry. There was cloud cover, but it was dry. Little did I know how it would change. By the time we were ready to collect Ellie to take her to school, it was raining, and the wind was very blustery. I had already decided that I would delay my walk, and that turned out to be a wise move.

Back home, we both sat down for breakfast. Di hadn't slept very well and decided to forego Pilates this week, so there was no rush. The rain stopped, the sun came out, and the wind dropped. I went for my walk, enjoying the bright sunshine, when there was a break in the clouds that scudded across the sky. It was growing dark again by the time I arrived home, and it soon started to rain again. This turned to hail before the sun came out again and dried everything. This was how it continued throughout the day.

After lunch, we sat in the Orangery with our Kindles. The sun had broken through often enough to warm it up nicely. We stayed put until it was time to collect Ellie from football. I was pleased to hear that, despite the weather, they had played outside. The girls were all bubbling and excited when they were dismissed, so the experience wasn't that traumatic.

We dropped Ellie off at home, Di sorted out the washing, and I dealt with the bins for the weekly collection. We then left them to their own devices and headed home for dinner.

Cold front

 I was up at my usual time. It was decidedly grey this morning, and though the temperature was higher, the wind had changed direction, and it felt significantly colder than the last few days. Following our normal schedule, we walked around to Zoe's to collect Ellie for school. She was very subdued. She clearly has an allergy to cut grass, and her face has erupted in little sub-surface spots. It makes her feel a bit self-conscious.

After dropping her off in class and explaining what was going on to her teacher, Di headed home and set off for my walk. I had not dressed for the weather and felt quite chilly, but it did, however, encourage me to up my usual pace. When I arrived home, Di explained that she was going to take Ellie (and Zoe) to the doctor to have Ellie's allergy checked. I stayed put, had my breakfast, and got on with several domestic chores.

Back from the doctor's, Di confirmed our diagnosis that it was an allergy to cut grass. An increased dose of her hay fever medicine has been recommended. I hope it works, as I well know how miserable hay fever can make you feel.

After lunch, we had some Kindle time until it was school pickup time. Today we had the opportunity to go into class to see the work the children have been doing in school. I went through Ellie's Geometry, Maths, and English workbooks. She is doing really well.

By late afternoon, rain set in. It hadn't been scheduled until 21:00, but decided to arrive several hours early. Rude!

Short cut

It was another glorious start to the day, but the forecast suggests that this is coming to an end over the next few days. I was up at 6:30, and Di came down at 7:00. The early morning followed the usual pattern, and by 8:20, we were walking to Zoe's to collect Ellie for school. She was feeling sore after yesterday's fall, and had some trouble getting enthused about walking to school. Despite this, she went into class without any trouble, and Di briefed her teacher about what had happened.

Di headed home while I set off on my morning walk. My audiobook chatted away in my ears as I lapped the estate. I was surprised that there were not more people about, but I did pass and greet several of my regulars.

Back home, I enjoyed breakfast and then set about my (short) to-do list. The accounts were updated, and I did some research into some technology options before calling a supplier for some details. While I was sorting this, Diane was catching up on some ironing and dealing with the laundry.

After lunch, there was Kindle time in the Orangery until we had to collect Ellie from school and take her to Chichester for her regular appointment. The traffic was dreadful, and we were in danger of not making the appointment on time. I remembered a shortcut that I had discovered several years ago when dropping Kim off in Chichester. I turned around and nipped up a side street onto the route. There were no further hold-ups, and we arrived right on time. By the time we left, an hour later, the hold-up had been cleared, and we whizzed straight through.

Grandpamedic

 It was another beautiful day. The overnight air frost had left a fractal landscape to decorate the Orangery roof, but it was soon dissipating in the bright sun. I rose at 6:30 and had a quiet 90 minutes before Diane was woken by her alarm. I washed, dressed and went out for my morning walk. An hour or so later, I returned home desperate for a coffee and a bowl of porridge.

The rest of the morning was fairly quiet. I spent much of it reviewing some videos and YouTube streams. Just after lunch, the phone rang. It was Zoe. Ellie was out with a friend, Poppy, at the other end of the estate and had fallen and cut her knees. (They had been out for a picnic with a couple of the young boys from their class). Poppy took Ellie back to her mum, who did some first aid and then called Zoe. I put on the blue flashing light and hurried around to collect Ellie and bring her home. I knocked on the door and announced the grandpamedic had arrived, and we bundled her into the car. She had certainly scuffed her knees, and they had bled profusely. She was feeling very sorry for herself.

When I got her back to Zoe's, Nana was just arriving to provide whatever TLC might be necessary. Ellie snuggled down on the sofa next to Zoe. She asked for the pouffe and put her legs up. What a pair they made, Ellie with both her legs up, and Zoe with her leg up. There won't be much dancing there this evening.

Party time

 The advantage of Ellie being eight, going on nine, is that her birthday party is a daytime affair. We were up at the usual time, but by nine o'clock we were driving to Zoe's to collect Zoe, Ellie and her friend Poppy, along with some party bags and a cake, to head for the party venue. Twenty minutes later, we were waiting outside "Tenpin" in Chichester for the doors to open. Though it is not Ellie's birthday until next weekend, she will be with Pete on the day, so Zoe had arranged a party for today.

We were ushered into the bowling alley and allocated a couple of lanes. Over the next 15 minutes, her friends turned up. At 10:00, it kicked off, and the kids (split into two groups of five) started to roll the bowls down the lanes. With many other parties going on simultaneously and the background music, it was really quite deafening. Over the next couple of hours, both lanes completed their games (Ellie came second), drank lots of squash, and ate lots of sweets.

I took Neve out for a walk when the noise was getting too much for her, but that little break was enough for her to return and finish the games, the cake, the pizza, and all of the other trimmings.

It would have been nice to get a group photo, but frankly, it was like herding cats. The best I could achieve was this photo (which didn't include Neve).

We packed up at midday and took the presents and the remains of the cake to the car. We were home in no time, dropping Zoe, Ellie and Poppy, then going home ourselves.

We settled in the Orangery for some Kindle time, but before long Zoe called, asking for Di to come and have a look at a rash that Ellie had developed. She went on round and concluded it was an allergy to grass. Zoe's neighbour had mown her lawn today.  After some TLC from Nana, she was okay and went out playing again. 

Di left them to it and has just come back for dinner. We are hoping for a quiet evening.

Visited

 I was up at 6:30 and was greeted by another stunning morning. The sun was shining, and no cloud dared sully the firmament. It was about 6 °C, but the temperature would quickly rise. After our usual morning preamble, we walked to Zoe's to escort Ellie to school. There was an initial drama over the shorts that she was going to wear, but after several changes, Ellie made a decision, and we set off for school.

I set off for my usual walk as Diane returned home for her breakfast. It was a gorgeous morning to be out walking, and I was tempted to just keep going, but my need for coffee and some porridge took precedence. 

Di spent the morning on the phone with Denise. I spent the time giving some consideration to the challenge that Zoe has been given. She has been asked to do some analysis and some research into the general subject of home deliveries. Whilst I don't know the details, I can advise her on how to go about handling a challenge like that. I spent the morning providing an outline for a "consulting" document that defines the problem, explains the approach taken, the participants, the solutions considered and so forth. Hopefully, that will provide a structure for her response.

Just as I finished, Kim arrived. She had a day off and wanted to catch up after missing Mother's Day because of work. She was with us for a good couple of hours, and it was nice to just sit and chat. When she left us, she went on to Zoe's to keep her company for a while. We retired to the Orangery with our Kindles until it was time to collect Ellie from dancing and take her home.

We are home now and have just finished dinner.

Bright and Clear

 I was up soon after 6:30. Coffee was taken, and the news was consumed. The day looked bright and clear. What more could you want? Diane pottered downstairs for a tea as I pottered up to complete my ablutions and dress.

We went to Zoe's to collect Ellie for the walk to school. As usual, we dropped her off in class, and Di went home while I set off on my morning walk. I was out long enough to complete another audiobook. When I arrived home, I had breakfast and completed this week's shopping list.

Lottie arrived just as we were preparing to go shopping. We, of course, stopped for a chat before setting off. Sainsbury's seemed to be the focus of a Zombie Apocalypse today. It wasn't the quantity of Zombies that was the issue; it was the mental acuity. With a huge amount of self-control, I managed to complete the shop without resorting to violence (as tempting as it was).

Back home, we unpacked the shopping and then stopped for some lunch before retiring to the Orangery to sit in the sun and consume the next chapters of our respective Kindles. We collected Ellie at the end of school, and I took her to the park so she could let off steam.

Spring

I know that it is still a few days until (astronomical) Spring starts, but today was a very fine dress rehearsal. The sun shone throughout the day, and it was delightfully warm. I had emerged from bed at 6:30 and started my day, as usual, with coffee and news. When Di came down for her tea, I went to shower and dress.

We walked to Zoe's to take Ellie to school. She was very chirpy this morning. As she charged into class, Di went home for breakfast and to head off to Pilates. I went for my usual walk. It was so nice walking in the morning sunshine, with just a light jacket. I arrived home about 75 minutes later and sat down for my breakfast.

The morning was spent with some domestic chores and then some admin. Nothing of note. When Di arrived back, we sat down for a light lunch and then sat in the Orangery to enjoy the sun and consume some more from our Kindles. We went to collect Ellie from football practise, then took her home.

All-in-all, an uneventful day.

Own Devices

 I was awake stupidly early again. There was a damp, grey start to the day. Di pottered down at seven, and we had our morning drinks and prepared to take Ellie to school. We left to walk around to Zoe's a few minutes earlier than usual. In doing so, we bumped into Paul (our next-door neighbour). He announced that, having been trying to sell his house for a year or so, he is finally moving out next week. It will be a shame to see him go. He and Ali have been perfect neighbours.

We took Ellie to school and then Di went home for breakfast before heading off to Ramster to meet with Kathie. They had a day planned at an exhibition being held there. I went off for my usual walk. As I walked, the greyness gave way to blue skies, and it turned into a lovely morning.

When I arrived home, I had breakfast and then went back to Zoe's. She had left her freezer door ajar the other night, and now we had to ditch all of the contents. She, of course, could bend properly to empty it, so I provided a helping hand. When I returned home, I was clutching Ellie's iPad. She wanted me to show her how to make a presentation. I installed PowerPoint and checked that it was all working in preparation for a quick lesson after school.

I went for another walk as it was such a lovely day, then grabbed a bite of lunch before settling with the Kindle until it was time to collect Ellie. I brought her back here, and we set about creating a presentation. We prepared the first slide together and included some graphics that we captured as a screenshot from Amazon. Once she had seen how to do this, she created the next slide without any intervention from me. She's a quick learner.

I took her home, then returned to prepare dinner for when Di got back.

Mouth Mining

 I was up just before seven. It was dry, but light rain was forecast. I grabbed a coffee and read the overnight news.  di wandered down and completed her occasional blood test while I went up to wash and dress.

We walked around to Zoe's and collected Ellie for the walk to school. Dropping her off in class, we both headed home for breakfast. What? No walk, you exclaim! No, I had an appointment with the dental hygienist this morning, and there wasn't time to include a walk in the schedule.

Once back from school, we had breakfast, and I prepared for my trip to Chichester. I took the bus and then waited until the hygienist was ready. With trepidation, I entered her lair. That was when the "treatment" started. (She referred to it as treatment; I would re-categorise it as sadism or torture.) As I left, there was a queue of prisoners who had just been brought from a black site or Guantanamo Bay to wait for her ministrations.

Once the bus had delivered me back home, I spent some quality time with the accounts before getting on with some research. This continued into the afternoon. We went to collect Ellie from school and take her to Chichester for her weekly appointment. Traffic was remarkably light this afternoon, so we had no delays.

After dropping Eliie back, we returned home, where Di did some work on her latest sewing project while I prepared dinner for us both.

Mothers' Day

 I was awake very early, but stayed in bed until 6:30. I have no idea why I have been waking so early, but I don't let things like that bother me. It was another bright, if chilly, start to the day. I sat in the kitchen, with my coffee and watched a few YouTube videos that I had been meaning to catch up on.

Once Di had come down, we chatted over breakfast and then got on with the day. Being the 15th of the month, there was admin to complete. (I do the main household admin on the 15th, just as I pay most monthly bills on the 15th). I finished off with some research, then started preparing lunch.

Being Mothering Sunday, we had invited the girls. Kim, unfortunately, couldn't make it as she is suffering at present, has had a foul week at work, and has a significant essay to complete for University. We told her we would rather she didn't come, so she wouldn't stress over the "lost" time for the essay. She did, however, phone and had a long chat. After the call with Kim, Diane went to collect Zoe. She was able to have lunch with us, and we had a lovely few hours before taking her back in time for Ellie to return from Pete's.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent with our Kindles.

During the evening, we heard from Jane. Cousin Liz has just become a great-grandmother. Grandson Harry's wife, Eunyoung, has given birth to twin boys (in Seoul). What a lovely bit of news on which to end the day.

Gentle day

I was up at a stupid time. Having checked the plumbing at 4:15, I could not get back to sleep, so at 5:30 I was sitting in the kitchen with a steaming mug of coffee and my Kindle. As the sun came up, it was clear that there had been quite an air frost, and the Orangery roof had the tracery of ice fractals sprayed across the ceiling.

Once Di emerged, as the clock ticked around towards eight, I went for my shower and then returned for breakfast before my weekly call with the cousins. There was all the usual jollity, and it was good to see Chris back home in Turkey after his trip to Switzerland. We heard all the latest gossip from Tim's family and collectively censured Trump for his idiocy (that'll teach him).

There was little else of great importance during the day. We cleaned the inside of the car between us. This also involved borrowing a vacuum cleaner from Zoe as ours needed charging. We then found that Zoe's also needed charging. What did become clear was that the two greatest sources of dirt on the carpets were a) Ellie's snacks, and b) Zoe and Ellie's cat, Beau. Clearly, the (white) cat's fur gets onto Ellie and also onto our shoes, and gets carried into our car.

During the afternoon, we popped out for a few hours for a bit of change of scenery.

Anudda Nada

It was another uneventful day. I was up soon after 6:30, and we followed the usual pattern until going to Zoe's to collect Ellie and take her to school.  Dropping her off in class, Di went home to prepare for her Cardiac Rehab session, and I went for my usual walk. During my loops of the estate, I finished the Jonathan Kellerman audiobook and started another, this one by Sally Rigby. I may be a mere 15 minutes into the story, but I am suitably hooked.

Back home, I grabbed breakfast, updated the accounts, and spent the remainder of the morning doing research. I will reveal the outcome in the near future (should it come to anything).

The rest of the day followed the usual pattern, with Kindle time and then a run to school to collect Ellie after her dance class. We dropped her off with Zoe and then returned home for a quiet afternoon and evening.

Nada

Today was a typical Thursday. I was up before seven and enjoyed a coffee while reading the overnight news. When Di came down for her tea, I went to get ready, and then when the time came, we went to Zoe's to collect Ellie and take her to school. Leaving her as she walked into class, Di headed home, and I went for my usual walk. I am now within about 35 minutes of the end of my audiobook, and can't wait for tomorrow's episode. For anyone who hasn't read any of the Alex Delaware series of books by Jonathan Kellerman, I think you are really missing out on great stories.

We completed our shopping list and headed out to Sainsbury's. Zoe had given us some paperwork to drop off with Jason (the Manager), and a list of bits that she needed us to collect for her. There seemed to be some problems to start with regarding the handheld scanners, but we managed to sort that out and get started. The usual Zombie didn't seem to emerge this week, so we shopped relatively quickly. I dropped Zoe's list and Di back at Zoe's and went home to pack our shopping away.

After lunch, we had some Kindle time, before I went to collect Ellie from school. I left Di at home to have a rest, as she had been on the go sorting out stuff at Zoe's earlier.

There's nothing else of note to report.