VAR

 At 05:15 Ellie wandered into our room and asked if it was six-thirty yet. I assured her there was still a long time to go and that she should go back to sleep. She duly returned to her bedroom and we heard nothing further until 06:45 when she fired up her tablet (quietly).

Today was sports day. We took Ellie to school (along with Zoe) and then set up some chairs so that we could watch the races. It was grey and overcast. Rain threatened, but was never brave enough to put in an appearance. A cold wind made sure everyone was equally uncomfortable.

Class by class they started to emerge for the school clutching their chairs. They lined up, class by class and house by house within the class.

Parents were streaming in and taking up their positions. The main topic of conversation was the cold wind. Eventually, all the classes were sitting by the track and the Headmistress introduced the event and welcomed the parents.

The first event was for the reception class. When that was over, Ellie's "Beech Class" took over with an egg and spoon race. Ellie came 3rd.

After the egg and spoon race, we had the relay race. Ellie was the second runner in the return leg. Ellie ran a very good leg, increasing the lead her team had developed. Her Unicorns team blasted it, blowing away all the other teams.

The races continued class by class. Finally, they came to individual sprints. Ellie lined up for the sprint. She hurtled off and crossed the line in what appeared to be a photo finish. She relaxed as she got to the line instead of blasting through it. She needs some of Grandpa's competitive spirit. Two steps back she was a clear winner, but on the line, she was joint first. (What a good job Grandpa was recording the whole thing and can now send in his VAR assessment).

Ellie was a winner, however. We collected her from school and she revealed that she had been awarded the Headmistress's "Golden Ticket" for her outstanding project work. Grandpa laminated the Golden Ticket when we got home so that she can save it in her memory box.

Ellie stayed with us for dinner and then Pete came along to collect her for the weekend.

Curry

The most important item today is the fact that it is Jane's Birthday. Though we won't see her today, we have arranged to meet her and Trevor for lunch on Saturday. 

I was up early. No particular reason. Just awake. When the time came I went to escort Ellie to school with Zoe. Zoe was starting work mid-afternoon. Her store was undergoing an inventory check but that would start until late afternoon. She had to be there as part of the oversight process. She won't be home until the early hours.

We had the usual shopping extravaganza with Ocado kicking off the festivities before we headed to Sainsbury's. By the time everything was packed away, it was time to take Diane for her latest blood test. This turned out to be very positive and her INR is now within the target range.

We collected Ellie from school and again stopped at the park so that she could play before coming home for tea. Tea was the requested "Grandpa's Curry" with rice. A fresh batch of "Grandpa's" sauce was made up and served with rice and chicken (cooked in the pressure cooker at lunchtime). There was enough sauce for tonight's dinner and to freeze three further containers full.

Just ticking by

Another glorious day was spent just ticking by. 

I escorted Ellie to school with Zoe (who was starting work later today). Then, after breakfast, I  got on with a few domestic chores before retiring to my Study to process the accounts. It was while I working on the accounts that I spotted the opportunity to improve the way in which the information was displayed. `A few minutes and a few lines of code later, all was done.

We went and collected Ellie from school and stopped off at the park on the way home. We didn't stay too long, leaving just after two of Ellie's classmates got into a fight and their parents stepped in to sort things out.

Darren came to collect Ellie soon after 18:00.

Ticking Over

 There is little to report. Life is just ticking over at present. I was up early again so Ellie could be dropped off soon after 07:00. She had been awake since 05:00 and was bursting with energy. Once the usual morning agenda was complete, I took her around to school and then returned for my own breakfast.

The morning was occupied with the usual domestic chores and Diane had a long phone call with Marilyn. After lunch, we had some time with our books before collecting Ellie. With Zoe finishing at 15:00, Ellie wasn't with us for long.

Had an online chat with cousin Paul in the US. He's convinced that Cathy had a bout of COVID when here in the UK a couple of weeks ago. Despite multiple negative Covid tests, Paul thinks that is actually what she had. All the symptoms - and when she got home she lost her taste for a few days. He had stopped by the bank office when he was in London and they told me that it was ranging through the city.

Paul also gave me an update on his sister, Claire. Claire went to Jacksonville last week for eye surgery. She had cataracts in her bad eye and was virtually blind but the surgeon did an amazing job and she should be at 20/20 in that eye now. This will be life-changing for her. Doctors in Toronto basically said there was nothing they could do for her. Fortunately, she had a close girlfriend to take her on the week-long trip as she wouldn’t have been able to make it otherwise. That will be life-changing for Claire.

Storm? Not really

 As a modicum of normality returned, Zoe had left for work, Darren dropped Ellie off at 07:15 and we clicked back into gear. Breakfast was the first order of the day and then she went up to wash and get ready for school (under the watchful eyes of Nana). When all was done she presented herself clutching a box of board games and decided we would play “Snakes and Ladders” until it was time to leave.

Once I had deposited Ellie at the classroom door, I returned for my own breakfast and a few minor household chores. Most of the rest of the school day was spent with and update to the accounts and then a good book.

Diane came with me to collect Ellie at the end of the school day. By then, Zoe was already on her way home. Ellie munched her way through ice cream, hula hoops, and jelly while waiting for Mum to arrive. Zoe made good time and was here before 16:00 and was eager to tell us about her day (even if it was a repeat of the food hygiene standards that she had to re certify with every 6. Months at Lidl). She seemed very relaxed about the day. That’s good. The last thing you want is to be stressed at the end of the first day of a new job!

Calm

 It was 08:00 before I wandered downstairs for a coffee. It was at least another hour before Diane emerged. She had not slept well. It was destined to be a calm, quiet day.

During the morning I managed to get some ironing finished and then we both spent time with our books, though I did update the Medical Alert information on both of our phones. It was important to get the Warfarin tablets onto the alert.

With Zoe starting her new job tomorrow, we will be seeing a lot more of Ellie again. This meant that there was a delivery of school uniform and other favoured clothes. Zoe didn’t stay for long and we returned to our books.

Sticky Chicken

With another glorious day on the cards, I was quick to open up the windows and doors to get a good flow of air through the house. I had the statutory Cousins' call at 09:00 and it was nice to see the Australian contingent participating this week. (Maybe it's too cold for them to be out and about - recently there was an article in the paper where a lady returned to Oz after 12 years in Canada. She commented that she couldn't believe how cold it was. The reason was the houses were badly insulated and badly heated so when it did get cold, the houses never really warmed up properly).

With the call over, I hit the kitchen. I wanted to prepare some sticky chicken breasts and some salad. Denise and Becky were expected this afternoon and I wanted to be sure we had something prepared for them. 

Chicken breasts were duly cooked in soy sauce, ginger, honey, and brown sugar. They were left to cool before being sliced. The salad was all prepared also. There was just some ciabatta to heat up when they arrive.

Stop Press... the sticky chicken was delicious. I only wish I had made a note of the quantities of each of the ingredients!

Denise and Becky arrived early in the afternoon. Zoe popped around to say hello but had to go back home as she was expecting guests.

We had tucked into a late lunch (or was it early dinner) and chatted about everything under the sun. We heard about Becky's job and some of the training she has completed. It is clear that she is highly regarded and they have her earmarked for greater things.

We heard about various trips and holidays that were planned (and Emma's inability to pack sensibly, resulting in fleets of suitcases being required for even the shortest trip). We caught up on the progress that Louis was making and his competitive streak. 

In fact, we just chatted. It was a wonderful afternoon and it was a shame to see them go. We really must do this again.

Skeleton Crew

Another glorious start to the day. There was no particular hurry to get going as long as I was in time to escort Ellie to school.

Once home I had a couple of items on my "must do" list. Firstly, a glass of coke had been knocked over, yesterday. The table needed to be opened up and the hidden leaf cleaned. Then the floor needed another attack from the steam cleaner. The other "must do" was to tighten the base of the kitchen table. Whilst not noticeable when it is closed, it wobbles when extended. The table is immensely heavy so it took a bit of effort to flip it so that I could gain access to the fixings for the legs. The fixings are just simple nuts and bolts and it was just a matter of tightening the nuts. It was soon done and the table flipped upright.

Zoe was back at the hospital this morning. They were busy, so she was there for several hours. After the various checks on her toe, she was discharged into the care of our GP - on the proviso of weekly checks until all is better. It looks as if it will be a fairly long road to full recovery - but it shouldn't stop her from working.

We had invited the Sonning Crew for afternoon tea. Chris and Maureen couldn't make it but Trudy and Ian came round. I had conducted a raid on the Runcton Farm Shop to get some of their huge fruit scones and some cake. We had a lovely few hours, sitting in the garden, sipping tea, and eating scones with clotted cream and jam.

It was while we were chatting that the subject of Di's medication came up. Her new tablets had not been delivered. The pharmacy is closed on Saturday and Sunday, so it was clearly going to be Monday unless we intervened. A phone call was made to check the tablets were ready and then I whizzed around to West Meads to collect them. The pharmacy's excuse was that they were only delivering emergency prescriptions today. Well, with the greatest of respect, who are they to determine what is an emergency prescription. We were not impressed.

Nights are Drawing In

 I had set the alarm. I needed to be up and about soon after 07:00 so that Darren could drop Ellie off before heading to work. She was very good as I explained that Nan was still resting and would come down soon - but we needed to be quiet until then. She tucked into a hearty breakfast and chatted away. When Nana joined us, Ellie was ready to wash and dress for school and when she came downstairs we got stuck into her maths homework (which she whistled through).

After dropping Ellie at school, the day reverted to a normal Thursday morning with Ocado delivering and a trip to Sainsbury's for the top-up.

Meanwhile, over near Brighton, Zoe was at her first Senior Managers' meeting - meeting up with the other store managers and the regional executives. Se had a wonderful time, from what she tells us.

Kim dropped in. She had picked up some blouses for Diane and thought she'd drop them off. She also got stuck into some gardening tasks that Diane wanted to be done. She didn't stay too long but left clutching one of my beef curries.

Diane came with me to collect Ellie from school and we gave her dinner before Darren came to collect her.

Pretty Quiet

It's been a pretty quiet day. I had the usual school run with Ellie this morning. This gave me the opportunity to catch up on Zoe's day with Sainsbury's yesterday. She clearly enjoyed it and is looking forward to the meeting on Thursday and getting started next week.

The rest of the day was fairly quiet but had a few interruptions when Di wanted a trip to Next and late in the afternoon she had a scheduled ECG. Zoe popped in at lunchtime for Di to check on her toe... and that was it. The day in a small nutshell.

Sports

After last night's resounding 7-0 win for England against North Macedonia, everyone was up for some sport. Ellie's class and those above and below walked across to the Regis Centre to join with other schools in a morning of Sports Challenges.

Zoe had a meeting at Sainsbury's in Horsham. With some encouraging words from her father, she headed to the store. She's home now, but we haven't chatted yet to find out how it went.

I made the most of a quiet morning to steam clean the floors and catch up on the accounts. Kim phoned late morning for a chat with Diane. After lunch, we settled down with our books until it was time to collect Ellie. Diane came along for the walk. This showed a slight return to normality for Ellie, though there is still a way to go.  Ellie stayed with us for an hour or so until Darren picked her up to take her home for tea.

Do not disturb

 Though a little grey to start, the day soon brightened up and we now a have glorious summer day. It was very relaxed - a couple of loads of washing to complete, some vacuuming of cat hair from the carpets, and some general tidying about.

Zoe popped in mid-morning. She needed her dressing changed, and nobody can do that better than her mum. She didn’t stay for too long.

Diane, meanwhile, has written to the Cardiac Team to provide them an update on her various stats and her progress. We were very impressed when they goy back to her within about 30 minutes.

Chicken this time

We had quite a downpour during the night accompanied by a rumble of thunder. By the time I got up, the sun was out and the patio was dry. It is very humid again today and there is a forecast of thundery rain for later.

After making up a huge batch of beef curry yesterday, I made another batch today. This time it’s chicken curry and seems to be a little hotter. There’s another 45 minutes of cooking and then I’ll allow it to cool before portioning and freezing it.

We are expecting Zoe, Ellie, and Darren later. They are going to cook dinner for us so I just popped to Sainsbury’s to grab some wine.

Diane has had a long telephone chat with Denise this morning (I think we are expecting her to visit with Rebecca next weekend).

Domestic Science

There was a short sharp shower just before I got up. This the first rain for several weeks and didn’t last for more than a few minutes. By the time I was up and making coffee, the patio was already drying out. It was bright, but very humid and remained humid throughout the day.

I had my usual call with the cousins. Chris was having trouble with a new computer and couldn’t get the camera to work, Maggie was fresh back from a couple of weeks on a narrow boat with her younger brother and nephew. The rest of us had little to add to raise the excitement level even higher. 

Other than this morning’s call with the Empson cousins, my day has been focussed on domestic science. There was a load of laundery to be washed, and a pile of ironing to press. It didn’t take too long, but was enough for me to enter a Zen-like state - I find ironing very relaxing. After that I had to start on my curry. There was a kilo of diced beef shin that needed to be cooked. The usual recipe (adapted from Nadia Hussein) was followed and the beef has been simmering in huge pot for more than four hours now. The smell is fantastic. I’ll turn it off soon and allow it to cool enough to portion into containers to store in the freezer (keeping back sufficient for tonight’s dinner).

Diane’s blood pressure was quite low today so we only had a short walk - though we might repeat it later.

Hair

The focus for the day was hair. We are not referring to my flowing locks, but rather those of young Diane. She had an appointment at the hairdresser for the first time since her surgery. I drove her to the salon and later returned to collect her. She was delighted with the outcome - trimmed and coloured.

We collected Ellie from school and looked after her while Zoe went to the hospital. It was her final IV dose and with a couple of caveats, she was discharged. She has a couple of dressing changes to affect during the week and a check-up next Friday. Other than that, they are happy.

Talking of Zoe, she was copied on an email from the Regional Stores Director at Sainsbury’s. The email was informing her Regional managers of Zoe joining the team and welcoming her on board. It also pointed out that Zoe would be attending their next Leadership meeting even though she doesn’t start until the following week.

PQRSUVW

That may seem like a strange title. It’s not half as strange as getting to the evening and realising that Diane has not had a cup of tea. That’s right no T.

Being Thursday we had the Ocado delivery and then, with Kim tagging along as escort-extraordinaire we went to Sainsbury's. The idea was that I would complete the normal shopping and she would escort Diane around the store so she could get some exercise in an air-conditioned environment. This worked well and prevented her from overheating in the sunny weather.

After all of the shopping was unpacked, and Kim had gone home, we had to get to the local hospital for the latest blood tests then headed home for some lunch. Ellie instructed me, this morning, that she wanted a curry for dinner so once I had eaten I made up some of Grandpa's curry sauce and cooked a chicken breast so it could all be reheated later. 

We managed a quiet hour before heading off. I walked Diane to Zoe's (she had already gone to the hospital) and then went to collect Ellie. We were a little longer than planned because Bonnie's mum was running late and we stayed with Bonnie until she arrived. Back at Zoe's I prepared some rice and heated the sauce and chicken and Ellie tucked into a very healthy helping of dinner. Zoe's hospital trip was, again, very quick and we were home by about 18:00.

Visit

It was another glorious start to the day.  I had to whip around to Zoe's to take Ellie to school but then it was a quiet breakfast at home.

We were expecting Jane and Trevor later in the morning so I got down to making up some salad for lunch. Now, the real problem we have with all our very welcome visitors is that they are all bringing bunches of flowers for Diane. It is a lovely thought; she loves flowers. We have, however,  run out of vases (despite ordering an extra one from Amazon). Jane had brought some lovely flowers and fortunately, I found a vase with some irises that had gone past their best. A quick shuffle and all was sorted.

We had a lovely lunch chatting about their recent holiday and the family wedding in Portugal (Michael and Emily). At Trevor's request, there was a quick tour of the iMac. Before we knew it the time had ticked around to Ellie's pick-up time. They said goodbye and we went to Zoe's.

I collected Ellie from school and then Diane and I stayed with her while Zoe and Darren went to the hospital for today's IV. Maybe it was the Junior Doctors' strike, or maybe it was the luck of the draw, but she was seen very quickly and home before we knew it.

Farewell

It was strange, allowing the alarm to wake me.  I had an early start. After tea and a slice of toast, I headed onto the King's Highways for the drive up to Bushey. Traffic was fairly kind as I headed for the A3 and up to the M25. The last 2 miles before that junction, however, took 25 minutes. What a good job I had allowed plenty of time.

I was one of the first to arrive at the church but was soon followed by Simon, Marie-Claire, Mary Louise and Margaret. Over the next 30 minutes, more and more of the family started to gather. It was so nice to see so many cousins. We so rarely get the chance to meet up - and a funeral, though a catalyst for such meetings, hardly seems the perfect gathering.

We were there to say our farewells to Angela, my Dad's younger sister. She was a wonderful lady. As she was finishing school in the late 1940s, Angela’s hopes of going to university were put on hold when her headmistress asked her to take over the teaching of Mathematics, and so began her career as a teacher. She was a musician, both singing and playing piano and violin. She became a member of the Royal Choral Society. Years later, after retirement, she joined the Watford Philharmonic Chorus, with which she stayed until her early 80s. She married Peter, a widower with one son, Bernard. They went on to have 7 more sons.

Angela was such an important part of my young life. After my own parents died, she just absorbed me and my sister into the family when it came to holidays and events. I loved her with a passion and will never forget her love and kindness. She is a new star in the firmament and will always light my life.

We had a full Requiem Mass, conducted by their local Parish Priest and concelebrated by our cousin - Fr. Phil Law. It was a lovely service.

The committal was held at the cemetery in Elstree and as we left the graveside, we had the traditional trip/fall when Angela's sister-in-law was tipped out of her wheelchair onto the path as we approached the cars. (Someone always seems to trip or fall at our funerals - the most serious of these was when my grandfather nearly fell into the grave when we buried my grandmother.

We returned to the church hall for the Wake/Reception. They had put on a wonderful buffet and there was plenty to drink. (Being such a hot day, that was a must). We mixed and mingled with Angela's boys, their children,  and their children's children. We also met up with other cousins who we rarely see. I left as it approached 3 o'clock. I must conclude that our family lays on great funerals!

Back on the road, Google saved the day. It warned me of an accident blocking the M25 just where I wanted to join the A3. It re-routed me down the M3 and across the country. Traffic Reports on the radio revealed that the delay on the M25 had I remained on that route, was 90 minutes. Good old Google!

I was very weary when I got home. I am clearly out of the habit of driving for 5 or 6 hours in the day and I was very grateful to get home and sit down.

Next

 It was an earlier start than planned. Just before 05:00 Jasper decided he wanted to play. We were treated to an Olympic trampoline display with us as the trampolines. This was followed by choir practice. Despite throwing him off the bed several times, he would not give up. In the end, I did. Soon after 6:30 I wandered downstairs and opened the bi-fold doors. Not good enough. Jasper wanted the side door opened and stubbornly sat there until I acquiesced. He then poked his head out, did an about-turn and walked back into the kitchen.

I did my customary school run. Zoe hobbled along with us, as did her neighbour Lorraine (who had dropped a glass decanter on her toe last week and was all bandaged up like Zoe). Ellie was dropped off and I headed home for breakfast.

I needed some supplies as we have guests on Wednesday and I'm out tomorrow. I headed for Sainsbury's and picked up what was needed then went across to "Next" where I bought a nice dark blue suit. As I am attending a funeral tomorrow, something a little more appropriate than a polo shirt and chinos seemed sensible!

The rest of the day has been fairly quiet and spent buried in my Kindle until it was time to collect Ellie. She went back to her friend Neve while Zoe was at the hospital.

What?

 I notice a headline from “Cornwall Live”:

“Mum’s fury at dog running loose on beach days after biting her son”

It makes you wonder if the Mum should have been muzzled.

Wandering

It has been a very relaxed day. The weather was hot and a bit thundery - though at the time of writing, we hadn't heard any thunder. We have had a short but heavy shower this afternoon. It was perfectly timed to soak the washing that had been drying on the line.

Diane has been for a couple of walks today. The last one saw her break the kilometre for the first time as we walked around the lake, stopping to look at the swans and their cygnets.

I have been doing more reviewing of the old journals and had a quiet afternoon finishing my latest Kindle book. I also had a WhatsApp with Jane. It seems that they are returning from their holiday in Portugal early so that they can attend Angela's funeral on Tuesday.

Another Visitation

It was another fabulous day with wall-to-wall blue skies and temperatures in the high 20s. We had a gentle start to the day and once Diane had showered and was ready we went out for the first of her walks. Again, we went that little bit further than yesterday. Not too much, just a bit.

It was a quiet afternoon for me. Diane's friend Kathie had come to visit so, other than making tea, I was able to squirrel myself away in my Study. I have started editing the older journal entries. I'm not yet sure how (or if) I will publish these. I may just use them as a sparse journal (i.e. a journal with huge time gaps between entries) or may extract holidays and business trips into a travelogue. Firstly, I need to edit them down to relevant content and then decide on the way forward.

We watched the Champions League final during the evening and were delighted to see Manchester City emerge victorious. I was getting so cross with the blatant cheating and simulation used by Inter Milan. My view is that if you cannot win without cheating and playing dirty, then you should not be playing at all. I have ruled. So bet it!

Visitation

 I had the school run to start the day. Zoe was looking a lot more mobile, first thing, and seemed brighter in herself. Ellie was her usual chirpy self and held my hand most of the way to school.

Back home we had a busy couple of hours. Jan and John were due and there was a list of things to get done before they arrived. Usually, when we visit each other, we go out to eat. This was not(yet) a sensible solution for Diane, so I made up a huge bowl of mixed salad that we could eat with some chicken pieces, ham, cheese, prawns, or whatever. It seemed like a good solution… and so it proved. We caught up on all of the families, their health, their jobs and so forth. The time seemed to whistle by. Before we knew it, it was time for me to collect Ellie from school. This also proved to Jan and John’s departure.

I collected Ellie and we went home to Zoe’s. Ellie had a quick change of clothes and we headed off to the hospital for her daily IV antibiotics. The doctor seemed pleased with progress but there is still another week to go.

Blood

 It will become a long-term theme. Diane will have to have blood tests on a regular basis to ensure that her INR levels are within the correct operating range. If they rise or fall beyond certain thresholds, she has to change the dose of Warfarin - this is dictated by the hospital when they get the results of the blood tests. We were up early this morning and by 8:20, Dracula the phlebotomist was draining another armful of Diane's life force ready to be sent to the lab for analysis.

The early morning blood test meant that Ellie was collected by a neighbouring school mum and wicked off to school without my normal escort. Being Thursday, however, there was the usual shopping delivery and top-up to occupy the morning.

After lunch, we managed a walk. We dropped in at Zoe's to check on her and to deliver a few bits of shopping that she needed. I also left her my MacBook (stripped down, reset, and rebuilt) to play with until she can afford to buy her own.

The rest of the afternoon has been fairly quiet. Dinner is now finished and the dishwasher is humming away. Diane is in the garden with the hose, ensuring the plants are kept healthy. We have heard from Zoe and it seems that her foot has improved... but there is still a way to go.

Contact made

I had the usual start to the morning with a good coffee prior to the school escort run. Ellie was very chirpy right up until we left the house. She wanted to use her scooter to get the school. I said, No, not today. She then had a good sulk all the way to the school gates, where she met up with some classmates and went off to play until the classroom doors opened up.

I had a dental appointment this morning so Kim came to Mum-sit for a couple of hours. By the time I got home, they had been for a walk and Diane was supervising some planting in the garden. I had picked up some ham rolls from Turner's Pies on the way back from the Dentist, so we munched through those for lunch before Kim went off home.

I went to collect Ellie from school. While waiting for the gates to open, my phone rang. It was cousin Paul. I called him back once Ellie was safely home. We had a lovely long chat, catching up on the health of all the various family members, the memories from last week's wedding in Portugal, holiday plans, and his recent purchase of a boat! Cathy was feeling unwell, but hopefully will be better and able to make the most of their last two full days in England, before returning to the US.

Diane's brother, Paul, came to visit. I had retrieved a couple of curries from my last batch and defrosted them during the day. Rice was cooked and Diane's salmon and some chips were blasted in the air fryer. It was a lovely evening, with Paul only leaving at about 21:15 to drive back to Lyndhurst where he is working at present.

Nurse!

 I rose at the usual time and started the first infusion of caffeine, thanks to the Nespresso machine. Diane was up soon after as she had to get breakfast before the Cardiac Nurse arrived for her introductory visit.

Ellie had a school trip to Marwell Zoo today and couldn't wait to get started. I whizzed her around to school and she was absorbed into the pre-trip melee.

The Nurse, Lou, arrived. She was like a whirlwind. Stats were checked, history discussed, meds discussed, plans made, numbers exchanged, advice given, wounds checked, and information downloaded. A very impressive Nurse. One in whom we can have confidence.

Diane has managed a 650m walk today. This is good progress.

Most of the rest of the morning Diane spent on the phone as call after call came in. I retired to the Study. I am still working on a specific project and I needed to refine the information beyond that which was extracted from the database. This has taken almost every spare minute of the day and there is still more to do. I am, however, very pleased with the project as it stands.

Zoe is back at the hospital. It has not gone as smoothly today and she has been seen by several doctors and had some X-rays taken. Kim is with her, and Darren has collected Ellie. We are awaiting the latest update from the hospital.

Warfare-in

We were up and about early this morning. I was on school patrol with Ellie - Zoe's foot is still causing problems - and Diane had to get going so that she was ready for today's blood tests and her first appointment at the Warfarin Clinic.  There were several domestic chores to clear also.

We headed to St Richard's. The blood test was marked as Urgent so we skipped the queue. We then had to wait for the lab to process the results and pass them on to the Anti-Coagulation Nurse. As a result of her surgery, Diane will be on Warfarin for the rest of her life. The Nurse took us into her office and spent about 90 minutes chatting with Diane and explaining the mechanics of the process and the outlook for the next few months while her stats stabilise. She was very thorough and we left with a good background of what was needed and a fistful of supporting documents and some additional medication.

Diane looked weary, so we skipped the planned walk with Kim on the way home. We settled down to give her a quiet afternoon. Tomorrow we have the Cardiac Nurse visiting for the first time.

Zoe has been back to the hospital also. She has had another infusion and is beginning to improve more noticeably. I collected Ellie from school and took her straight home to Zoe so that she could accompany Mummy to the hospital and see what was going on. She was clearly intrigued by the whole process. (Evidently a nurse in the making).

Onwards

 We both slept remarkably well. Breakfast stretched out over a couple of hours accompanied by the latest news online. I had some domestic chores to clear before heading for the Family Tree and fiddling with some statistics and facts and looking at some techniques for data extraction. The research showed up a number of options but I have not yet decided on the best approach. I will have to look at some more during the week.

Kim and Jon popped in to see us, late morning. It was nice to see them and nice for them to see the progress that Diane is making. Kim is threatening to pop back in during the week, which will be good.

Zoe was back at the hospital for a further IV of antibiotics. This new one seems to be doing the trick as she seems a little better in herself. There is still a way to go yet! Meanwhile, Grandpa is on school duty this coming week.

Diane has managed a couple of walks again today. Slow but steady.

A couple of walks

 It has been a quiet day. I was up first and made coffee while reading the papers and opening up the doors for Jasper. It was 50 minutes later that Diane started to move around. The kettle was switched on for her tea and I went up for a shower before the cousins' call. 

Clearly, the cousins were all eager to hear how Diane was doing and all sent their love. After that, the call descended into a series of Empson reminiscences.

Other than tending to Diane and the basic household chores, I have been focused on extracting data from my genealogical records in such a way as to produce the contents of a book. The basic data has now been extracted and has a basic format. I now need to polish this up in such a way that I can send it off for printing.

We have taken a couple of walks today. The first was to Zoe's, where we stayed for a while before walking home the long way. The second was a loop of the Crescent, round by the school and back. We just need to concentrate on a little bit further each time.

Zoe is back in A&E this evening. The infection seems to be tracking up her leg. The hospital staff are on the case!

Plans change

 We went to bed knowing that Diane had an appointment with the phlebotomist at 8:30. The correct alarms were set to ensure we were up and ready to go. As we got into the car we received a call from Zoe. She was having to return to A&E after a dreadful night and an early morning consultation with the on-call doctor. We would complete our trip and then look after Ellie until Zoe was sorted out.

Ellie arrived at 9:40 and was a bit worried that Mummy was going to the hospital again. She stayed with us and we distracted her for a while, then we got her washed and dressed and stood by to provide whatever entertainment was required. 

Ellie was going stir-crazy by the time she had finished lunch. We (Diane and I) walked her around to home to get some sensible trainers so that she could go to the park. This was part of Diane's rehabilitation - she needs to walk every day. As we headed back home, Diane dropped off to rest and I took Ellie on to the park for a while.

By late afternoon, Zoe was on her way back. Ellie was collected and would be going to Pete's for the weekend. Zoe was in need of further painkillers. Once they had left, I headed around to Sainsbury's to do the weekly shopping.

Touch wood, everything seems to be back on an even keel! I do suspect we will both sleep well tonight.

Return to normal.

With Diane home, Jasper has switched his allegiance again. He won't leave her alone and is only interested in me for food. (He did, however, snuggle down on my lap last night - but he would never admit to it).

Relax!

The first thing of note is that Jasper did not indulge in choir practice during the night. This was a huge relief in that the only interruption to sleep was self induced. I emerged at 06:30, well rested. It was scheduled to be a momentous day. Diane was coming home from the hospital. This meant that I had to switch to domestic chore robot mode. Floors cleaned, washing done, and toilets scrubbed within an inch of their lives. Plants were watered and things appeared under control.

At lunchtime, Diane had been given the all-clear. I checked Google and it suggested that the gridlock around Chichester would stretch my journey to 90 minutes. I fired up the car and we headed off. Google immediately rerouted me and we ended up zigging and zagging across toward Chichester Harbour and popped out in front of the tailbacks.

Once at the hospital, it only took 20 minutes to get the car loaded, say goodbye, and head back onto the highway. An hour later we were home.

Meanwhile, in Portugal, Michael Badeski was marrying Emily Tiemann. We were meant to be there, along with Jane and Trevor. That did not happen, for obvious reasons. Ultimately we had the opportunity to watch the event over Google Meetings, with the video thrown onto the big TV.

In the soap opera that is our life, we got a message from Zoe. She was about to head off to A&E. She clearly had an infection in her foot that needed immediate attention. Ellie went to play (and possibly stay) with her friend Maddie, while Darren took Zoe to St Richard's. After we had finished dinner I went around to see Ellie and check that she was all right. She was in her element and no intervention was required.