Three to become One

 It may be Saturday, but I was up early anyway. I guess it's a consequence of age! DI pottered downstairs about an hour later, but it was still much earlier than needed.

I had my usual call with the cousins. Helen was struggling after an eye operation, Sam was still getting over her cold, and Sarah was looking after a puppy that had chewed through her carpet. It was the usual varied discussion covering every subject under the sun.

Much of the rest of the morning was spent looking into how we could best rationalise Ellie's three accounts into one and sort out her burgeoning requirement for photo storage. It took a while to work out the correct sequence, but I am pretty sure I have got a workable plan (which includes testing to make sure she doesn't lose anything).

After lunch, Di went to potter in the garden. I had tried to add some driplines to the irrigation system, but couldn't push the bayonets through the hose. I went to the store around the corner, but they were closed. It will have to wait until tomorrow or Monday.

I finished another book during Kindle time, and downloaded several more so that we have plenty on the virtual bookshelf before we head off on the river cruise. Dinner tonight was salmon with salad for Di, while I had a chicken vindaloo using the East at Home sauce. It was exceptional, and I will certainly order it again.

Zoe and her friend Poppy made contact. They wanted me to escort them to the corner shop so that they could get some snacks for tonight (I assume they have a sleepover planned). I wandered long to the shop with them to make sure they crossed the roads safely.

Links

I was up and about soon after six. There was a bright start to the day, and with a coffee inside me, I was ready for anything.  Di was up well before seven, and we had a leisurely hour or so before going to collect Ellie for the school run.

Leaving Ellie at school, Di headed home to get ready for her Cardiac Rehab session, while I headed out on my walk. I was on the second loop of my usual route when Di drove past on her way to the community centre. I continued with my route and finished my audiobook. With another loop to go, I switched to BBC Sounds and listened to "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" and laughed like a maniac for the last 30 minutes of the walk.

After breakfast, I headed for my study. I had to reformat a micro SD card for the home security system. The old one had developed a fault, so I binned it. While I was finishing that, Zoe called. She was trying to sort out Ellie's phone, which was running out of space. Ellie had asked for a couple of additional apps, but there was insufficient space to install them. This started a long-running discussion involving Apple and us. In the end, we managed to get everything working, but it has highlighted some more consolidation that we should consider.

After lunch, I spent some time trying to add a link to Di's watch strap and remove two links from her Med-alert bracelet. The watch strap was simple, but the Med-alert bracelet was an absolute nightmare. I did succeed in the end, but I hope I don't have to fiddle with it again!

After some Kindle time, we went to collect Ellie from school and take her home.

If it's Thursday...

 There was a cult film back in the 70s called "On Any Sunday".  In our case, it's "On Any Thursday", and in our case, it doesn't feature motorbikes; it focuses on shopping trolleys. 

We were up at our usual time and walked to Zoe's to accompany Ellie to school. Diane then headed home, while I set out on my morning walk. Lottie was already starting her blitz of the house by the time I returned home for breakfast. Once I had tidied away the breakfast things, I finished the shopping list, and we headed to Sainsbury's.

There seemed to be a new, younger breed of Zombies there today. These were an entitled breed who blocked the aisles and wandered off without their trolleys to collect things. Though the store wasn't busy, it was congested, and the thought of fitting curved blades to the trolley wheels seemed alluring.

We dropped a few items off for Zoe and became embroiled in a call with Apple. Zoe was trying to install some additional apps on Ellie's phone. She had, however, locked it down and was having trouble unlocking the ability to install new apps. I eventually cracked the problem, so now Ellie can do her Maths practise on her phone.

We had a quiet hour or so with our Kindles after lunch, then set off to collect Ellie and take her home. Zoe's friend Tammy and son Brodie are visiting this afternoon, so we left them to it.

Drizzle

We were up at the usual time so that we could be ready to collect Ellie and take her to school. There was a fine drizzle as we set off, and it didn't ease until well into my walk. Even then, it restarted before I completed my normal route.

By the time I arrived back home, Diane had already left for Pilates. I settled down for breakfast and a quick pass through social media. The rest of the morning was spent with domestic tasks, including planning for next week's menus and the shopping list for tomorrow.

By the end of the morning, the rain had stopped, and it was bright and sunny. The Orangery was lovely and warm, and we both sat out there with our Kindles. We collected Ellie after her football session (it had started drizzling again by then) and took her home, then returned home ourselves. Diane phoned Denise for a chat, and I prepared dinner.

The new regime for bin collections starts in the morning. We have been checking that we have all the right items in the correct bins. Goodness knows if we have got it right! It is fair to say that this new regime is not universally popular:

ANYONE ELSE HAD ENOUGH OF THESE ****** BINS OR IS IT JUST ME??? Because honestly, I’m at the point now where I’m questioning my entire existence over household waste. Years ago life was SIMPLE, you had one black bin, you put your **** in it, it got collected, DONE. Then some council genius clearly had a breakdown over landfill and decided what we all needed in our lives was MORE BINS. Not one, not two, but a full ****ing rainbow of responsibility sat outside your house like some sort of plastic shrine to poor life choices. Recycling bins, garden bins, cardboard bins, and probably a bin soon for your thoughts and feelings, because apparently, nothing can just go in one place anymore. And God forbid you put the wrong thing in the wrong bin because suddenly you’re basically a criminal and facing a fine like you’ve robbed a bank instead of misplacing a yoghurt pot.

Anyway, I accepted it, I adapted, I became one of those people who stood in the kitchen like a lunatic separating rubbish into categories like I’m running some sort of domestic recycling facility, and just when I thought I’d reached peak bin life… NOW they’ve introduced a FOOD WASTE BIN. Not just a bin either, oh no, a MOTHER BIN with a BABY BIN inside it. I’m sorry, but what in the actual **** is that about??? So now I’ve got this tiny baby bin in my kitchen that fills up every 2 minutes because, shock horror, a family of 5 eats food, then I’ve got to take the bag outside to the mother bin like I’m completing some sort of Olympic bin relay that nobody asked for. And I’m sat here thinking… WHAT THE **** IS EVEN GOING IN MY NORMAL BIN NOW??? Because apparently food goes in one, cardboard in another, recycling somewhere else, garden waste somewhere else, so what’s left??? AIR??? MY SANITY??? THE LAST THREAD OF MY PATIENCE???

And can we just address the fact that I am essentially now providing FREE STORAGE for the council on MY OWN LAND. These ugly bastards are sat on my garden where I could have had a lovely border, some flowers, a bit of peace, but no, I’ve got a ****ing bin exhibition going on outside my house. I should be charging them rent at this point, and if they fine me for not complying, I’ll happily deduct it from the YEARS of unpaid storage fees they owe me because I never signed up to house this plastic army.

And these new bins?? Built like absolute ****. A light breeze and they’re off. Storm Dave comes through, and they’ll be halfway down the M1. We’re going to need EMA air traffic control just to manage rogue bins flying through the neighbourhood. Honestly, a gust of a fart would send one of these airborne, and some poor bugger’s going to be taken out on a morning dog walk because a food waste bin’s decided to go on a journey. Health and safety haven’t even begun to unpack that.

I’m telling you now I am DONE. I am 40+, menopausal, and I no longer have the capacity to deal with this level of absolute nonsense in my life. When that bin turns up at my house, it is going STRAIGHT BACK via the arsehole of whoever delivers it with immediate effect. Enough is enough. The government can push people so far, and this, THIS is my limit. Anyone else, or am I about to go to war with the council on my own???

With acknowledgements to the original author on: Long Eaton:Spotted, on Facebook. 

Pitchside

 It was a school day, so things played out in the usual fashion. 

We walked Ellie to school, and then Di went home, while I went for my walk. There were meds to collect from the Chemist's, so I diverted from my usual route and looped around the estate before heading to the village. It was a bright morning, and it was a pleasure to be out and about, particularly as so many of the trees are in blossom.

Much of the morning was spent on domestic activity and admin, while Di went to Zoe's to help with jobs that she can't do. Having said that, Zoe is moving about a lot more easily than she had been.

After lunch, we had our traditional Kindle time until we had to collect Ellie. She, like most of the kids, seemed to be hyperactive as they bounced out of school. We took her home, then went home ourselves.

We hadn't been in for long before Ellie phoned me. "Grandpa, would you like to come and watch football with me between six and seven o'clock? My boyfriend Oscar is playing." Well, how could I refuse? I prepared an earlier dinner and waited for Ellie to come and call for me (yes, I know!) We walked along to the local pitch where the coaches were preparing for a training session. It turned out that there was no match; it was an hour of football training. This was not the most riveting way to spend an hour in the cool of the early evening, but Ellie enjoyed it. I said that if she wanted, I'd take her along to watch a proper match at Bognor Regis Town sometime soon. We'll see if she remains interested.

Back to Normality

 With the start of the new school term, we have returned to normality. We were up around seven and prepared ourselves to take Ellie to school. She was a bit quiet this morning, probably because she was tired after a couple of weeks of late nights. We walked her to class, then Diane went home, and I went for my morning walk.

Once home, I tucked into breakfast and the social media while nursing a coffee. Di processed her regular INR blood test and sent the results to the Anti-coag clinic. I retired to my study for a morning filled with admin. I had to contact the bank regarding an ISA transfer, contact HMRC regarding my tax code, file my P60, write yesterday's blog post, and check the passwords for some of the NAS volumes I use regularly. This filled the morning and early afternoon.

I joined Di for some Kindle time before we went to collect Ellie from school, and take her to her appointment in Chichester. She was in a bit of a strop and needed cajoling to attend the appointment. Once there, however, she soon reverted to her normal self.

Colonials

 We had a gentle start to the day. I was up at my usual time, but Diane, thinking it was Monday, got up earlier than she would have otherwise. We had breakfast and then prepared to go a-calling.

Michael and Emily had invited us to their wedding in Portugal a few years back. Unfortunately, we were unable to go as it coincided with Diane's heart surgery. They arrived in the UK this morning (from home in Connecticut), and it was our opportunity to meet them and their daughter. Jane and Trevor were hosting them, and we were invited to lunch.

We had a good run to Wokingham, which included a brief comfort stop near Camberley (just as the heavens opened). We arrived soon after midday and were greeted by Jane and Emily. It was so nice to finally meet her. Mark and Lel were also there, and we all stood and chatted until Michael and Trevor joined us. 

Their daughter, Eloise, was asleep when we first arrived, but she woke up after a while. She was an absolute joy. Despite all of the noisy adults and the attention, she remained happy and alert. She reminded me of Ellie in that way.

As usual, Jane presented us with a wonderful lunch, which we all tucked into and demolished the lot. After lunch, we settled in the lounge so that Mark could play with the trains using the excuse that it was to amuse Eloise.

Mid-afternoon, except for Jane, Diane and me, they went for a walk between the showers. The idea was to allow Eloise to play on the slide in the local playpark. They did manage to catch a shower but didn't get too wet.

Michael, Emily, and Eloise are off to Rye tomorrow to stay with Emily's dad.

We set off for home at about 18:30, and had a wonderful run through, getting home by 20:00.

We'll be seeing Jane and Trevor again in a couple of weeks for our next river cruise.

Library

 I didn't have a lot planned for the day. It was bright, but quite nippy, and the forecast suggested it would be windy throughout the day. I had my usual Zoom call with the cousins. Sarah was unable to join as she was flying home from the Alps, and Simon (her twin) was somewhere in the outback visiting one of his children. Sam was suffering from a combined cold and hangover and got very little sympathy.

As I returned to the kitchen after the call, Zoe phoned. She had decided that she wanted a tall shelving unit for books to install in Ellie's bedroom. It was discussed at length with Di, and she went ahead. This meant that I was sent to Argos to collect the unit. It was a bit of a squeeze (being 180cm tall), but I managed to get it into the car. I then spent the next few hours putting it together and positioning it so that the girls could finish tidying Ellie's bedroom (they have been doing this for a couple of days, now). 

I left them to it and returned home to go for a walk and do some reading. Late in the afternoon, I started preparing dinner. We had invited Zoe to join us, so I went along to collect her. We had a lovely couple of hours as Di tucked into her salmon, and Zoe and I enjoyed a Chicken Bhuna curry.

Once we had taken Zoe back home, we settled down for a quiet evening.

Finding Fino

I was up at my usual time and settled with a coffee and the news. Di came down about 30 minutes later. I took the opportunity to get myself ready and head out for a pre-breakfast walk. It was a little grey, and there was a nip in the air, but once I had got underway, it was really quite pleasant. During my walk, my latest Jonathan Kellerman audiobook came to its conclusion. It was another very enjoyable read (if audiobooks count as reading). I had another book already lined up, so I switched over to that immediately. This is a totally different author and has moved my focus from 2024 LA to 1867 Brentwood.

I grabbed breakfast when I got home and then pottered during the morning. We had planned to go out for lunch with Chris and Maureen. We made our way to "Fino's" at Felpham, arriving just as they opened. This was a good move as it meant the car park was empty. Over the next couple of hours, we sat and chatted, putting the world to rights and updating ourselves on the latest news from our respective families. We chose from the lunch menu (rather than à la carte), and I started with some whitebait, which was followed by a Chicken Milanese with Spaghetti Pomodoro. To be honest, it was a little underwhelming. Di chose more wisely, selecting the lasagne, which she rated as delicious. 

When we left the restaurant, we stopped off at Zoe's. Di had resolved to sort out the mess in Ellie's bedroom. I picked up Zoe's driving license so that I could collect a parcel from the local shop for her. In the end, the license wasn't checked, and the parcel was handed over with little more than a cursory check on the addressee. I dropped the parcel back at Zoe's and came home, leaving Di with a cup of tea and a plan for Ellie's bedroom. I spent most of the afternoon in the Orangery with my iPad and Kindle. The Kindle didn't get switched on, however.

Rinse and Repeat

 For a Thursday, it was a case of rinse and repeat. Nothing was startling or memorable. The day started just before seven with coffee and the news. After some breakfast, I completed the week's shopping list, and by ten we were heading for Sainsbury's. Sainsbury's was very quiet (not just because Zoe wasn't there) and we completed our shopping quickly. As we left, we stopped to fill the car. We have been lucky. Though the prices have gone up, we have had no difficulty getting fuel, nor have we had to queue.

Back home, with the shopping packed away, I updated the accounts before we had some lunch. We then had our usual Kindle time. I realised, late in the day, that I hadn't had my usual walk. I will leave it for today and give my knees a rest!

Irrigation, Arigato

We had a quiet start to the day. Di had to get ready for her Pilates, and I had plans to sort out the irrigation this morning. She left as I went out to the garden. 

The first task was to install the new 2-port manifold to split the water from the tap between the hose and the irrigation system. That went remarkably smoothly. Next, I had to cut the existing pipe and install an elbow joint so that the pipe sat properly along the edge of the garage. The new length of pipe had been wound into a circle for a while, so I poured hot water through the pipe to straighten it out. Another elbow joint was fitted, and the system was complete. I did a test run. It worked. It didn't work well, though. The problem is that the original contractors had laid a dripline pipe. This has holes every 30cm and is designed to leak. We don't want that. We want the water to be taken to the specific pots where it's needed, and not just wasted among the slates and the cobbles.

I measured up the existing pipework and returned to the chap around the corner. I explained my problem, and he agreed that I need a completely different type of pipe. I have asked him to get one of his contractors to make contact so that I can see about getting it replaced.

We managed to get some Kindle time in the Orangery this afternoon. While there, we overheard some people examining the garden next door. It sounds as if they may be our new neighbours before long. It also sounds as if they have plans for a conservatory or Orangery.

Drip feed

 It was a bright and sunny start to the day. The forecast was very promising. I was up just before seven and started the day in my usual way with coffee and a trawl through the news. Di came down soon after, gasping for a cup of tea.

Zoe went into work for a couple of hours this morning to see how well her knee would stand up. She wasn't there too long, but I think she was relieved to see something other than her four walls.

Jasper had an appointment with the vet, so we plonked him in the carrier, and Di chauffeured him to Oving for his monthly jab. I stayed at home and, after updating the accounts, hung out the washing and waded through a pile of ironing. When Di and Jasper arrived home, Jasper took himself upstairs, and Di and I went to the local nursery and charity shop. I took the opportunity to go into the Irrigation Centre. There, the chap was most helpful, and I was soon clutching some pipe (to extend our current system) and some connectors and drippers. It was clear that the contractor we had used was not up to scratch, and I learnt more in 20 minutes from this chap than I did in a couple of days from the chaps who installed it to begin with. I just need to wait for the replacement 2-port manifold that I have on order, and I can hopefully finish the job properly.

When we got back home, Di headed out to the garden to potter, while I went for my walk. When I got back, I settled with my Kindle until it was time to start on dinner. All of the virtual paperwork has arrived from our energy supplier, so I spent a while filing this in the document management system.

Bargains

 I did not sleep well. I have no idea why, but I just seemed to doze throughout the night. By seven, I was up and about, making coffee and tea, and preparing to read the news. When Di came down, I grabbed my breakfast and then headed out for my walk. My second coffee would have to wait until I returned.

Di had gone to Zoe's while I was out. She was sorting out the washing and getting it out on the line, as these are the sort of domestic items that Zoe still can't manage. In the meantime, I had to sort out the garden tap, which sprays everywhere when connected to the hose. It turned out that the washer was missing from the connector. A new washer was fitted and the problem solved. The other problem we have is the manifold, which splits the water to the hose through one port and the irrigation through the other, has a gaping crack in it. I managed to find a suitable replacement from Amazon, and this should arrive tomorrow.

Di pottered in the garden during the afternoon, and I read in the Orangery. The phone rang. It was Zoe. She had heard from a colleague that sides of salmon had been reduced from £24 to £4.50; she asked the colleague to put three to one side for me. 

I drove to the store and asked for the colleague, and she presented me with three huge packs of salmon in exchange for some coins of the realm. They were much too big for the freezer, so I cut them down into 500-gram portions and froze them. We now have 6 Sunday lunches sorted out for the next few months.

Family

Happy Easter. May peace and kindness return to the world, and may you be content and healthy.

I managed a walk after breakfast, before starting on preparations for lunch with my wonderful family (of crocks). I prepared a nice leg of lamb, with parsnips, roast potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and sweetcorn (for Ellie). Zoe and Ellie arrived first, Di having collected them. Zoe hobbled in on crutches, her knee ligament still preventing her from getting around easily. Kim and Jon arrived soon after... Jon, having had a couple of days off with gout in his knee, and Kim arrived wearing a sling, having fallen up the stairs and dislocated her shoulder (which she subsequently relocated before spending 6-8 hours in A&E, yesterday). To complete the picture, Di is still awaiting a knee replacement. I think that Ellie and I should wrap ourselves in cotton wool in an effort to remain whole.

We had a lovely few hours as we demolished the Easter lunch. We chatted about everything under the sun, and I can't help but feel blessed to have such a wonderful (if damaged) family.

By late afternoon, everything was tidied away, and everyone had gone. We settled in the Orangery for a while, then migrated to the lounge to watch some TV later in the evening.