Strolling along

 There was no hurry to get up today as Zoe had a day off. I wandered down for a coffee and started on the overnight news. It had been cold overnight and we had our first frost of the season. The house was very comfortable, however. The changes to the heating had obviously made a difference.

I wrapped up warmly and walked around to Zoe's to escort Ellie to school and then continued for my usual pre-breakfast walk. It was a lovely morning for walking. The sky was blue, the air was crisp and cold, and the sun elevated the day to "glorious". Once home, I made my breakfast as Diane prepared to go to Pilates in Angmering. 

After I had finished some domestic chores, I grabbed my coat and headed back out. I caught the bus to Bognor and then walked down to the Esplanade. To make a change from last week, I turned westwards and walked up past the pier and on towards West Park.

It was very quiet along the front. There were people about, but not many. I turned around when I reached the West Park Cafe.

Walking back past the pier I went as far as Butlins before turning back and heading to the bus stop.

The bus company really need to get their act together. There was no bus waiting for me. The information said there was a 9 minute wait. I hung around for a few minutes and found the information still said the bus was due in 9 minutes. I pocketed my bus pass and decided to walk home. By the time I walked in the door, I had walked 10 km.

After lunch, we had a quiet hour before it was time to collect Ellie. Immediately after collection time, Zoe and Di had a parent's session with Ellie's teacher. It went very well and Ellie is clearly a well-loved student in the class and is doing very well.

Ribbit

 After an interruption from Jasper, as he deposited his supper on our bedroom floor just after 03:00 this morning, we had a fitful end to our night's sleep. I was started when the alarm went off and I had to leap down the stairs to greet Ellie as she was dropped off. She was wonderfully chirpy as she burst into the house. Again, she was all ready; she was washed, dressed, her hair was done, and she had finished her breakfast. All we had to do was entertain her until it was time for school. Whereas some of the country was under an onslaught of snow, we just had some light rain. 

After dropping Ellie off, I headed out for my pre-breakfast walk. I did a couple of large loops of the estate and then headed home for breakfast.

I had some admin to clear before I got down to anything else. We hope the kids come for lunch on Sunday, so I have been considering the possible menus. I think I have decided on pork... and that means crackling. We love crackling and there may not be sufficient on the joint so I contacted a local butcher, however, he couldn't provide any rind. I headed to our local farm shop and spoke to the butcher there. He said they process the pigs on Wednesday morning - and suggested I ring them and ask them to put some rind aside and collect it tomorrow or Thursday.

While I was at the farm shop, I asked about beef short ribs. The butcher explained that he had some that had been prepared for a customer who never turned up to collect them. I leapt at the chance and bought a couple of kg of these ribs to put in the freezer.

After lunch, we had some Kindle time before I went to collect Ellie.

Beating the Rain

It was an early start this morning. Ellie was dropped off and was already dressed, her hair was done, and she had had breakfast. There was little for us to do besides keep her entertained until it was time to head to school. We dropped her at the classroom and then I headed off for a walk as Diane headed home. I managed a couple of miles before heading back for breakfast.

After some breakfast and consuming the overnight news, I did some domestic admin and then, seeing that rain was due in an an hour or so, I headed out for another walk. This was longer than the earlier effort and took in a couple of roads that I hadn't previously walked along. I was out for about an hour and arrived home before the rain started... but only just. The rain, though not heavy, has continued all afternoon.

I dug out the soup maker. We tend to use it a lot during the winter months. Today seemed like the ideal time to start. I chopped onion, sweet potato, red pepper, carrot, garlic, and parsnip. I added a handful of lentils, then topped it up with vegetable stock.  Twenty-five minutes later we had a lovely thick, creamy soup.

After lunch, we retired to the lounge with our Kindles. We had numerous interrupts as various deliveries arrived at the door and as the clock ticked towards 16:00, Diane went to collect Ellie from school and take her home.

Gallery

 For some bizarre but unknown reason, I had a dreadful night's sleep. As a result, I was up early to recharge my caffeine stream. Diane shuffled down some time later and we had a quiet breakfast. I prepared vegetables and some chicken thighs so that they could snuggle in the base of the slow cooker for the day. A casserole would make a nice change from the usual Sunday roast.

Diane did some pottering in the garden before the weather breaks (tomorrow). I took the opportunity to go for a walk but didn't manage to go as far as planned as my coffee intake clearly surpassed my bladder's ability to retain it.

Zoe called. She wanted some help putting up a gallery wall of photos. She had already done much of the work but wanted help and advice for some differently-sized pictures. I popped home to get my double-sided nano-tape. It is far easier to use and get the positioning right than using clips or screws. 

Back home we settled down for some Kindle time in the Orangery for the rest of the afternoon.

Oldies who Lunch

 I checked my watch.  It was 06:30. I turned over, intending to have another 15 or 20 minutes in bed. At ten to the hour, I got up and wandered downstairs to make coffee. It was remarkably light and that was when I checked my watch and saw that my 15 or 20 minutes had turned into an hour and 20 minutes. That was a result!

I had my usual call with the cousins. The chat was typically wide-ranging and fun. We covered everything from Butlins to the rules that forced pregnant women out of the Navy in the early 70's. With the call over, I managed a quick walk before Diane and I hopped in the car and headed up to the barren wastes of Surrey. We were due to meet with Jan and John at "The Refectory", on the outskirts of Godalming.

We had a very pleasant journey up through the countryside, marvelling at the autumn colours and surprised by how little traffic there was. We arrived early and settled in with a coffee before Jan and John arrived. We went through the usual "organ recital" (discussion of aches, pains, health conditions, and so forth) before moving on to the latest news from the respective families. The food was excellent. Di and I both started with the parsnip and apple soup (accompanied by delicious sourdough bread). Di then chose a steak sandwich from the "Lite Bites" menu. This was a misnomer as it was large enough to feed a family and had to be wheeled to us on a trolley. (No it didn't). I chose the fish pie which was served with peas and beans and was delightful. We are due back at the restaurant, next weekend to meet up with cousin Ellen.

We had a good. journey home - the only brief delay was for a wedding party in Petworth. (We hadn't brought a present, so we didn't stop). Once home, we settled down with a cup of tea and our Kindles and enjoyed a quiet evening reading and watching TV.

Charity Walk

 Ellie was awake at 06:30 and came in to check that it was ok to switch on her devices (the Wifi is scheduled to reactivate for her devices at 06:30). That gave us another 20 minutes in bed. We were all up soon after as Diane had to get Ellie ready and get ready herself for Cardiac Rehab. 

Ellie could wear her own clothes (as opposed to her school uniform) today. It was "Children in Need" day. We dropped her at the classroom and wished her good luck. She had a sponsored walk around the school playground scheduled for mid-morning. She seemed a little apprehensive, but we had no doubt she would do well. 

Diane headed home so that she could drive to the Community Centre for her Rehab session. I headed off for my pre-breakfast walk. Back home, I finished breakfast and then set about my mid-month habit of checking all of the utility meters. I then updated the accounts and then got on with some domestic chores. Once Di was back, I had made her a cup of tea and we discussed her session, I headed out for another walk with the intention of posting a Birthday card and picking up a card for Di's forthcoming Birthday. I was out for about an hour and thought how lucky we had been for the past few weeks of dry weather. I see that the weather is expected to break by the end of the weekend.

After lunch, there was Kindle time until it was time to collect Ellie from school. I stopped off at the park so Ellie could let off some more steam. It turns out that she managed 11 laps in her first walk, but then did another walk where she managed 19 laps. I'll have to raid the bank to pay the sponsorship.

Back home, Zoe joined us and we all had dinner together. They have just left.

Grandpa's Curry

There was no hurry to get up this morning. In fact, I managed to lie in until 07:10. By then, however, coffee was singing its siren song. When the time came, I wandered around to Zoe's for the school walk and then set off for my pre-breakfast exercise.

Back home, with breakfast finished, I completed the week's shopping list and, when Di was ready, we headed to Sainsbury's. Considering the time, I was expecting it to be busy, but I suspect there was a problem with the Zombie bus as the aisles seemed free of the usual shuffling imbeciles that arrive mid-morning on Thursdays.

Home and unpacked, we grabbed some lunch before retiring to the Orangery for some reading. I read for about an hour, then set off for another walk in the bright November sunshine. I've started a new audiobook, but am not convinced that I will stick with it. I'll give a few more sessions before I decide.

By the time I arrived home, it was time to collect Ellie from the after-school Craft Club. She came home and started to tell us about fossils, crystals, and volcanoes. Meanwhile, I was preparing what she calls "Grandpa's Curry" for her dinner. Once that was underway, I started on our sticky chicken pieces with sweet potato fries and beans. I think we all ate our fill.

Ellie is staying with us overnight.

Beaches

 It was another day where there was no need to get up early Despite this, I was making my first coffee before seven. As school time approached, I walked around to Zoe's to participate in the walk to school. Once Ellie was safely in class, I headed off for my pre-breakfast walk.

Diane headed off to Angmering for her Pilates session. I finished my porridge and reading the news then decided that the weather was looking quite promising. I grabbed my jacket and my bus pass and caught the bus to Bognor Regis.

I walked down to the beach and then turned eastwards. Though people were walking along the promenade, it was not busy. My biggest issue was that  I could not get my AirPods to play my Audiobook. I walked on in silence.

I headed up past Butlins, The Lobster Pot, and the Sommerly Estate. There, I turned back and headed back towards the town.

I stopped at The Lobster Pot and sat down with a coffee. I enjoyed the peace as I watched the world go by.

I finally stirred myself and continued the walk back to the bus stop and then rode home.

Diane arrived back soon after me. I grabbed some lunch and then settled in the Orangery for some Kindle time.

Cat food

We were up early to greet Ellie when she was dropped off. She was perky despite the cold and cough she was fighting. It was a lovely bright and clear morning as we walked Ellie to school. Diane went home and I headed off for a short walk before returning for breakfast.

I had some admin to clear after breakfast. Diane was heading to the shops to pick up various clothing items appropriate for the cooling weather. I was still finishing my admin when Lottie arrived to do some cleaning for us. I left her to it and headed off for a walk. I paused at the village and popped into the barbershop for a trim. With my hair scattered across the barbershop floor, I headed back out to continue my walk.

As it was so bright and sunny, the Orangery warmed up nicely. We settled down for some Kindle time until it was time to collect Ellie. I left Di in the warm and went to the school. It may have been chilly, and the North wind was quite cutting, but Ellie wasn't interested in wearing a coat. As soon as we arrived home, she raided the fridge. 

After an incident at the store, Zoe was delayed leaving work. In the end, Ellie was getting worried that her kitten, Bo, wasn't being fed on time. Di walked her home so Ellie could attend to the cat.

All Change

 A fairly usual start to the day, but thankfully not an early one. After coffee and overnight news, I wandered around to Zoe's to join the walk to school. After the drop-off, I continued for my pre-breakfast walk.

After breakfast, most of the morning was spent bringing the accounts up to date and then returning to the research I started yesterday regarding home printers for Zoe. In the end, I think I found the ideal solution... so that is Christmas sorted!

It is a case of "all change" today. Our neighbours, Trudy and Ian, moved out and new neighbours moved in. Needless to say, it didn't go smoothly. Though the exchange was due to happen at lunchtime, it was late afternoon before the conveyancer condescended to tell them the money had been exchanged. Because of the delay, we invited Trudy and Ian in for coffee while they waited. They went back to wait in the shell that was their house, and we settled down for some Kindle time.

Late in the afternoon, I headed out for a second walk of the day. I wasn't really in the mood for it, but I'm glad I forced myself. As I returned home I met our new neighbours - Sandra and Laurie. They seemed very nice and I gave them a bottle of Prosecco to welcome them.

A Quiet Sunday

 There was no need to get up early and I managed to stay in bed until 07:45. It had been cool overnight, but the house was comfortable warm as I settled down in my pj's to drink my first coffee and read the overnight news. Diane came down a little while later and we enjoyed a very leisurely breakfast.

I spent an hour or so doing some research into printers and iPad keyboards. I have an excellent iPad keyboard, but Diane's one is clunky and sub-optimal. I would like to get one the same as mine, but they have been "Sold Out" for months now.  As for the printer, I was looking for an alternative device for ~Zoe as hers is, frankly, useless. For both the keyboard and printer, I have narrowed it down (with the help of AI) but still need to make the final choice.

Diane cracked on with a pile of ironing. 

I headed out for a walk. I had no specific route in mind but found myself on the old highway to Shripney. As usual, with the exception of crossing the bypass, it was delightfully quiet and I was able to become engrossed in my latest audiobook. This book is an early offering from Ian Rankin (who wrote the Rebus novels - though this isn't related to Rebus).

It was a very pleasant hour or so.

After getting home and having some lunch, we settled in the orangery for some Kindle time.

Having finished dinner, we just checked "SeeSaw" to find that Ellie's Volcano Project has earned 25 house points and the teacher commented that she can't wait to show the video to the class. That will put her in a good standing for the upcoming "Parents' Evening".

Piccadilly Circus

 I was awake early, even though getting up was unnecessary. By seven, I was downstairs making coffee and settling down with the overnight emails and news. I had my usual call with the cousins which included various discussions of remote islands and volcanoes. This was triggered by my mention of Ellie's volcano project.

When the call was finished I returned to the MacBook and continued with the compilation and editing of Ellie's video. It took several passes to get it right and to mute some of the background comments from myself and Diane. My thought of adding background music was vetoed. Eventually, it was finished and uploaded to Google Drive; the file was too big to be uploaded to the school's "SeeSaw" system, but I could upload a link to the Google Drive instance. With that done, I sent a copy of the link to Zoe, Kim, Pete, and Jane.

After a bite to eat, I had to go to the shops and get more cat litter. The traffic when exiting the shopping centre was dreadful and what should have been a quick round trip took a surprising 30 minutes. When I arrived home, I quickly changed and headed out for a short walk. We were expecting ~Kim, so I couldn't be out for too long.

Kim stopped in on her way home from having her Covid jab. We had a lovely hour or so with her, hearing about her course, her commute, and even her iPad. I gave her a hand to get the Apple Pencil working so that she could use it for drawing diagrams. Sue and Trevor Taylor dropped by while Kim was still with us, though she didn't stay for much longer. They had been to Southampton to see Alan who was doing another drumming residency on P&O's Iona. We heard all of their latest news. Jean is enjoying herself at the care home; Kevin has remarried and they attended the wedding; their caravan holiday doing the North Coast 500; and, of course, no conversation in our age group can be completed without the health update (or Organ Recital, as I recently heard it described). Just as Sue and Trevor were preparing to leave, Zoe turned up. The afternoon had been like Piccadilly Circus.

As soon as everyone had left, I got on with dinner and, when that was done, Di settled down with "Strictly" as I wrote this.

Lights, Camera, Action!

 There was no need to get up too early, Ellie was leaving from home this morning. After my first coffee and a quick spin through the news, I grabbed the videos that I had recorded yesterday showing Ellie describing how to make a volcano. I needed to start editing them down to a consumable length and it is so long since I have edited video that I needed a bit of a refresher and some practise.

I went around to Zoe's and walked with them to school then headed out for a walk before returning for breakfast. A removals van was sitting outside our house as Trudy and Ian started the move that will complete on Monday. 

Diane went to her Cardiac Rehab and while she was gone, I returned to the video editing. It took me an hour or two, but the unfinished video stream is looking good. It still required additional video clips to show the eventual eruption of the video, but that would have to wait until Ellie finished school.

After lunch, I took a walk to the village to return some of additional devices EE had sent. Once home we had some Kindle time before collecting Ellie from school.

With Ellie back home with us, we returned to the volcano project. I filmed as Ellie explained how the mixture of bicarbonate, washing up liquid, and water was poured into the volcano. Then we made a mixture of red food colouring and white vinegar. This was poured into the volcano and we stood back as the chemical reaction began and "lava" bubbled out of the crater and down the sides of the volcano. It was very successful, and now I just need to splice the video onto this morning's video and then go through and tidy it up... and maybe add some background music.

G-Force

I was up early ready for Zoe to drop Ellie off. Ellie wasn't well, so she wasn't going to school. G-Force would be in charge for the day.

Diane had an appointment at the hairdresser, so Grandpa took the lead. Ellie and I decided to spend the morning making a volcano for her school project. Grandpa started with some sheets of A3 paper to develop a prototype. Once I had seen how it could work we set up with sheets of card and Ellie created a series of videos to talk through each stage of the build. There is still some more work to be done, but we have to wait until the paint has dried on the slopes of the volcano. We will return to this tomorrow.

When Di got back, we had some lunch before I took the opportunity to go for a walk. Soon after I got back, Zoe arrived and took Ellie home. I think she is well enough to go back to school tomorrow.

Off Sick

We were up early this morning so the deli could be dropped off on Zoe‘s way to work. Ellie had woken up with a sore throat and was feeling a bit sorry for herself. She’d had some medicine and was ready to go to school but we wrote a note for the teacher so that she could contact us if Ellie needed to come home.

I went for a walk before coming home for breakfast while Di came straight back so that she could get ready to go off to Pilates. After breakfast, I decided to move the smart Wi-Fi hub that I installed yesterday and put it in Ellie‘s bedroom on top of the wardrobe. This was a major piece of work because the wardrobe needed to be moved so that I could find a plug socket it took a lot of shifting and shoving, but eventually, it was all done and the smart Wi-Fi Unit is now providing a strong signal across Ellie‘s bedroom and indeed all of upstairs.

I had ordered some new pyjamas from Marks & Spencer, and they would be delivered to the Shripney store at lunchtime. I packaged up the old broken smart Wi-Fi unit, set off to the post office to return it, and then walked up into Shripney to collect my new pyjamas and some chicken pieces for the freezer. What with the walk after school and the walk to Shripney and back by lunchtime I had covered well over 10 km. and that has brought my total so far for November to over 25 miles.

After lunch I settled down in the Orangery to read for a while within about half an hour, I received a call from the school to say that Ellie really needed to come home so I went to collect her and we looked after her until Zoe finished work and she went home.

In the evening, we joined up with the Sonning Crew (plus Ken) and took the bus into Chichester. It was the end of an era as Trudy and Ian would be moving on Monday so it was the last time that we would have a chance to get together for a meal. We went to the Turkish restaurant Reina Kitchen. I think from previous experience people had learnt the lesson, the best dishes at the restaurant were from the grill. I must say that the food was excellent. I had their special which included sheesh lamb, chicken, and Adana. Di chose the lamb chops which were the best she’d ever had. Again from experience, we knew that we had to get the 9 o’clock bus home if we missed that the next one wouldn’t be for another hour. We timed it just right. For old people like us, 9 o’clock is plenty late enough.

Brake!

 There was no need to wake up early today. Zoe had a day off, so Ellie would not be dropped off. I wandered around in time to join the walk to school. I didn't go for a walk immediately after the school drop-off, I headed home for breakfast.

After breakfast, I took the car to the dealer. Two weeks ago, the service pointed out that the brake fluid needed to be changed, as did the spark plugs. They didn't have the parts at the time, so today was the first convenient opportunity for us. Dropping the car off, I plugged my AirPods into my ears and walked home via the old highway from Shripney to North Bersted.

Back home, I returned to the accounts. I completed the transfer of funds to the ISA and then updated the master spreadsheet. With that done, I updated the MacOS on my MacBook and then spent some time checking the settings on all my Apple devices to try and remedy an occasional problem with syncing messages.

A message came through. The car was ready. I grabbed some lunch, then set off to walk back to the car dealer. It was a lovely temperature for walking, but still grey and dry. When I got home, I found the EE Smart WiFi had been delivered. In fact, they had delivered two! I configured one of them, then settled down in the Orangery with my Kindle.

Back to school

 We were up early so that Ellie could be dropped off on Zoe's drive to work. She was a little subdued for a few minutes, but quickly snapped out of it. We took Ellie to school as usual, and then Di went home, while I headed off for a short walk before breakfast.

After breakfast, I started on some domestic chores while Di pottered upstairs. After I finished and the floors had dried out, I settled down with the accounts. I decided that I was going to move some funds from one savings account to an ISA. I hadn't realised what a faff that could be. I ended up moving the funds from one bank's savings account to its current account; from there I moved it to another bank's current account, and then to that bank's ISA account. They don't make it easy!

I headed out for another walk. My audiobook was playing as I wandered one of my frequently used routes.  It seemed remarkably quiet considering it was dry and mild. However, I like it when it's quiet.

We had an afternoon with our Kindles before Diane went off to collect Ellie and take her straight home to await Zoe.

Wrong

 We had a lazy start to the day. It was grey, dry, and slightly cooler than the last few days. After breakfast and wandering through the news and social media, I decided to install the replacement "Smart WiFi Plus" that EE had sent. I unpacked the box and realised that they had not sent the WiFi Plus unit but had sent a "Smart Hybrid Connect". I already have one of these and do not need another. I phoned them. Having selected the correct sequence of menu options, I was informed that I was in a queue and could expect to wait 45 minutes. Whoopee-do! I finally got through to a human from the Newcastle call centre. He was very nice, but couldn't help me. He would transfer me to the technical department. I was on hold for a further 20 minutes before a call handler picked up and we, hopefully, resolved the situation. A new Smart WiFi Plus is being sent and a bag for the return of the "Smart Hybrid Connect". That was 75 minutes of my Sunday gone in a flash.

Di wanted the leaves cleared from the front and back garden. We have a machine for that. I grabbed the leaf vacuum and worked my way around the front garden and then the back. The leaves were sucked up and shredded into a fine powder. It didn't take too long as the dry weather had stopped the leaves from being all mushy.

With the gardens clear (until the next windy day), I headed out for my walk. I wandered further than usual down a couple of the roads while listening to my audiobook. It's nice linking up a few more lines on my mental map of the area. It was cool, but it was pleasant weather for walking. By avoiding the main roads, it was amazing how quiet it was.

Once home, I settled in the Orangery for some Kindle time before stirring myself to prepare dinner.

12K

This is a momentous blog post. It is the twelve thousandth entry in this blog since I started it in 2004. It's a shame that there isn't something of huge importance to report or discuss!

Ellie slept well overnight. I was up well before she emerged, and Zoe came to collect her soon after eight o'clock.

After I finished breakfast, I started to unpack a self-assembly bedroom unit for Ellie's room. Di, meanwhile was getting ready for an appointment at the hospital. I laid out all of the components and checked the inventory. It wasn't quite as straightforward as some I have built recently. This is because they hadn't numbered each part, so they had to be identified by the pre-drilled hole positions. When I had everything ready to start assembly, it was time to head to the hospital.

The appointment was at Worthing Hospital rather than St Richard's in Chichester. Because of the parking problems, I dread visits to Worthing but having said that, there were no problems today. In fact, it was remarkably quiet. We found our way to the correct department and I waited while Diane had her check-up. She got a clean bill of health. When we had finished in the department we stopped off in Costa for a coffee before driving home.

Once home, I returned to the assembly of the unit for Ellie's bedroom. It went together quite easily, with the exception of the doors. The hinges were a bit fiddly, but eventually, they clicked into place. The unit now sits at the end of her bed and holds the TV. (The TV gets its signal via the Amazon Firestick over WiFi so I have created a schedule whereby the WiFi switches off at 20:30 and doesn't reactivate until 06:30 - this is the same schedule used for her iPad).

With the unit in place, I set off for a walk. I managed about a 5.5 km loop before settling down in the Orangery for Kindle time.

Chancellor

 I was up first, followed 45 minutes later by Diane. Ellie remained in bed but picked up her iPad to watch some YouTube videos. By the time I had finished my morning ablutions, Zoe had arrived to collect Ellie. 

My morning was spent sorting out the TV we had decided to install in Ellie's bedroom. The Firestick was working downstairs, but would it still get a signal in the bedroom? To make sure, I thought I would install a WiFi extender upstairs. Unfortunately, the extender wouldn't pair with the router so I then spent an hour on the phone with EE and they eventually agreed to send me a replacement. As it happened, the TV was able to pick up a signal anyway. With that working, the next issue was to find a suitable unit on which it could sit. We didn't have anything suitable so I spent time online and ordered a suitable unit that should be delivered by the end of the day.

Zoe brought Ellie back at lunchtime. She was feeling under the weather, so a quiet afternoon would do her good. I headed out for a walk.

I looped around the lake and Willows Edge, then up Berry Lane to North Bersted Street. I then headed across the bypass and down to Shripney, before turning back and retracing my steps. As I walked back, I passed the field with some old horses and the pen with the goats. As I approached, I could hear a donkey baying. I couldn't help but think of our Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Once home, I joined in the quiet afternoon - though this started with Ellie wanting to make a sweet concoction from melted marshmallows and Rice Crispies. It was messy and had the texture of Gorilla Glue. It was, however, quite tasty... even if Ellie didn't have more than a teaspoonful.