Swapped Again

 Ellie wouldn't settle last night and we were up and down all evening trying to comfort her. She was suffering from tummy pains and was clearly very uncomfortable. By the time we went to bed, it was clear that she needed to sleep with Nana again, so I padded across the landing and settled in her room again. It was gone midnight before she finally dropped off, but she did sleep through the night.

I was up an hour before the girls pottered downstairs. Once I had dressed and had some breakfast I headed off to the pharmacy to collect the meds that had been prescribed yesterday. I had to hang around for a while as the pharmacist was conducting a consultation and she would have to sign off the meds. By the time I left, it had started to rain so I was quite wet by the time I got home. Ellie has now had her first dose and we hope it will sort things out.

While I was out, UPS delivered my replacement AirPods charging case. I have charged it up, recharged the AirPods, and paired the devices with my phone, tablet, laptop, and desktop. It's good to have them charged up and means that I can continue with my audiobooks when walking.

After lunch, Ellie's friend Ariana came around to play. This gave us an hour or so of relative peace before Zoe came to collect them. Zoe will bring her back later to sleep overnight.

As the year draws to a close, I must say that it has been a good year with a few uos and downs to keep us on our toes. We managed a short break in Sidmouth (twice), we went on a river cruise along the Danube, I visited friends near Toulouse, we saw Paul and Cathy (on their way to the Olympics), and Ellen (on her way to a conference), and we went to Turkey with all the family. In general, our health is good, though there was a period where Diane was unwell.

We are blessed.

Bed Swapping

 Ellie wasn't her usual self as she went to bed last night. In fact, she was tearful and clearly very uncomfortable. We decided that she should sleep with Nana so that Nana was on hand if she was taken ill, and that I would use Ellie's bed. As it happened, Ellie dropped off to sleep at 11 o'clock and slept through.

I was up first and enjoyed a quiet hour before Diane and Ellie wandered down. Ellie seemed a lot better this morning.

We spent some time working on our shopping list and when the girls had completed their ablutions and dressed, we headed off. The car park should have been a warning. It was chock full. We entered the store and it was carnage. It was a zombie apocalypse with morons wandering about and blocking the aisles. I suggested to Zoe that she set off the fire alarms so the store could be cleared for us... but she didn't seem enthused by this idea.

Ellie seemed to take a dip and Diane contacted Zoe and she booked an appointment at the surgery. We had a quiet afternoon (I managed a little Kindle time) before heading to the surgery. We have a prescription for some antibiotics, which we will collect tomorrow. It's only a 3-day course, but will hopefully knock this on the head.

(I spent some time online with Apple and ordered a replacement AirPods charging case.)

Theatre

We had a very lazy start to the day. Ellie had slept through and I was downstairs snuggling up to a cup of coffee before she stirred - and even then she stayed put in her bedroom until Diane came down.

The morning offered nothing to report but we headed off to Chichester at lunchtime. We had tickets for "Cinderella" at the Chichester Festival Theatre.

It was an interesting show, put on by the youth theatre group. It was a play, as opposed to the traditional pantomime, and they did an excellent job of the story.

Ellie was a little unsettled during the first part and had to go to the loo with Diane. She stayed out in the lobby watching the rest of the first half on a video screen. I went out and joined them during the interval and we all went back into the theatre for the second half.

The second half was much lighter and Ellie got totally enthused. In the end, she declared she had really enjoyed the whole play and declared which characters were her favourites.

We dropped her at Zoe's for dinner and went home for our own. Ellie will be back to stay overnight.

Tidy

 I slept well. In fact, it was 07:30 before I woke up. It was a suitably gentle start to the day with a breakfast of porridge and coffee as the call with the cousins kicked off. The call was the usual mix of reminiscences and banter as we caught up on everyone's Christmas.

While I~ was on the call, Zoe dropped Ellie off for the day (and night). By the time I emerged, Ellie was huddled under her headphones and catching up on goodness knows what. When she went upstairs to wash and dress, I started on a bit of a tidy-up. The spare table was cleared and collapsed, chairs were relocated (but not put away as I couldn't be bothered to hit the garage), and Diane started on a deep clean of the family room and kitchen.

I was debating when to go for a walk and checked the status of my AirPods. The battery status was very low. I searched for the case again, but have to conclude that I have lost it so I hit the Internet intending to order a replacement. I found a case by Otterbox (sold by Apple) - but cost £17 instead of the £89 for the Apple case. Otterbox got the business and the new case should arrive tomorrow.

Despite the lack of Audio input, I did go for a walk.

Soon after getting home, Ellie's friend Ariana (and her mum) came to call and invited Ellie for a playdate. She couldn't get away quickly enough... and it gave us a couple of quiet hours with our Kindles.

Ellie is staying with us overnight.

Colourful

 For some bizarre reason, I was awake by 2:15 this morning. My brain clicked online and I started to process random ideas... how would I prepare lunch when I didn't have sufficient burners on the hob? What would be the best way to serve up the pasta and various sauces? Where would everyone sit? Where is the case for my AirPods? What will we do with the current kitchen table when the new one arrives? So it went on, and when all of these had been dealt with, I restarted the whole list to ensure I had the best solutions. I got up soon after 6:00.

We expected Jane, Trevor, Mark, Zoe, Ellie, and Kim for lunch. Kim made contact to say she had an upset stomach and unfortunately wouldn't be able to make it. Diane and I spent the morning preparing for our guests.

Zoe and Ellie arrived first. Ellie had ridden here on her bike. Mark, Jand and Trevor arrived soon after. We had a noisy hour while everyone caught up with their collective news and viewed some of Ellie's Xmas presents. We even set the Nintendo Switch up in the Orangery. (The Switch is in a sorry state after Zoe managed to drop it and break one of the controllers... but it still works).

For lunch, I had prepared some linguine with a choice of sauces. One sauce was made with chicken, bacon, chorizo, roasted red pepper, white wine and cream; the other was a shop-bought carbonara sauce with prawns and salmon. It seemed to go down well and there was very little left.

After lunch, we continued the general chat. I discussed the accounting spreadsheet with Trevor as he is in the process of starting one of his own. It was during this discussion that we were attacked by Ellie with her hair dye. Before we knew what had happened we looked like victims of a paint explosion. (We were assured it would wash off!)

After that, we discussed Ellie's recent chess prowess and this led to Trevor downloading the sea chess app that we use (SmallFish). In turn, that led to a game against the computer... which we lost.

We finally remembered that it was Xmas and exchanged gifts. I was particularly lucky as Trevor and Jane had bought a super painting of Sidmouth for me. I think we have the perfect spot in the lounge where it can be hung.

Everyone left early in the evening and it only took a few minutes to clear up before we settled down for a quiet evening.

Relative Calm

 There was no need to get up early. Despite this, I was drinking my first coffee by 07:20, Diane, however, managed a further 90 minutes in bed. 

Once breakfast was over, we set about preparations for tomorrow. In previous years we have set up the Orangery as a dining room. With the new sofas installed, this was not going to work. Chairs were moved from the family room and our spare dining table was brought in from the garage and cleaned up. We think we have a workable plan, but time will tell.

Zoe popped in to collect the various parcels that were left behind last night. Her plan was to take Ellie ice skating this afternoon.

As we tucked into some cold turkey for lunch Diane said those fateful words; "I've had an idea. Do they make circular tables that expand out to accommodate more people?". I knew that they did. I didn't know where to find them, nor how much they cost. I thought about Winchester, where they have King Arthur's Round Table - but we don't want something that's second-hand. I pressed Google into service and soon realised that such tables vary wildly in price and £11500 wasn't unusual. I did find a table at a moderately sensible price and we measured up. It should fit... and with the Boxing Day sales, we managed a significant reduction in price. I just have to wait for 4-6 weeks for delivery.

We had some Kindle time this afternoon before I returned to the kitchen to prepare some of the food for tomorrow and cook this evening's dinner.

A quiet evening is planned.

Merry Christmas

 Christmas Day started earlier than planned. Soon after 2 a.m. Jasper decided to share his dinner with us, depositing it on the carpet by the side of the bed. We leapt out of bed and cleaned up so that it didn't stain before snuggling back down to sleep for the rest of the night.

We had a fairly relaxed breakfast before beginning the serious preparation. Diane sorted out the festive table, lounge, and Orangery while I concentrated on the food. There were vegetables to prepare and turkey to roast.

Kim and Jon arrived at midday, followed by Zoe and Ellie. Drinks were served and Ellie showed all the various gifts she had received from Santa! 

At a suitable break in the excitement, we retired to the lounge and opened the presents. Ellie acted as the helpful elf and handed out the various piles of wrapped boxes. She was very excited as each gift was revealed.

I returned to the kitchen and began the final push towards lunch... roast potatoes, carrots, and parsnips, then the cabbage and Brussels sprouts, and finally carving the turkey. We settled down to eat a little later than planned but it had been a lovely family morning and timing didn't matter.

Lunch was the usual feast accompanied by chat, jokes from the crackers, and general teasing. After we had all finished eating, we had made no appreciable dent in the mountain of turkey and ham. I suspect that will be the source of several meals over the next week.

The clearing up was soon done and dusted and we headed out to the Orangery where we had set up Ellie's Nintendo Switch on the TV. She and Kim could then play with the Karaoke game using the two microphones she had received from Santa.

I think it was about 19:00 when everyone had left and we locked the door. We had a quiet evening watching TV before going to bed and reflecting on what a lovely day it had been and how lucky we had all been.

Prep and loss

 We had a gentle start to the day. There was nothing scheduled, though there were various preparatory tasks to complete for tomorrow.

After breakfast, I washed the floors downstairs while Diane finished sorting the cleaning laundry and tidying upstairs. With the floors drying, I headed out for a walk. It was grey, mild, and very damp. A slight mist still lingered as I wandered the streets listening to my audiobook through my AirPods. It was probably at some point while I was out that I must have dropped the charging case for my AirPods. When I arrived home and went to put them away, I realised that I couldn't find the case. I will conduct a more thorough search through the house, but fear they are gone. for now, I will have to recharge them using Diane's case for now and, if they don't show up, get a replacement case.

During the afternoon, Diane wrapped the presents and I started cooking in preparation for tomorrow. We now have a lovely ham with some excellent crackling, and a "hog in a duvet" (which is a giant example of pigs in blankets).

We spent the evening watching all 4 episodes of "The Ink Black Heart" by J.K. Rowling (writing as Robert Galbraith). It was the perfect end to the day.

Buses, Bishops, Knights, and Pawns

 I was up first this morning. Ellie, though awake, waited until Nana woke at eight. It was then a bit of a rush as we had to get into Chichester for Ellie's dental appointment. We decided that the bus should take the strain. It was a good decision. Most of the car parks were full and the streets were heaving with traffic and pedestrians. I left Diane and Ellie on their way to the dentist and spent 40 minutes getting some walking under my belt. I looped around and back several times and discovered an open area that I had not previously realised was the site of the old Roman amphitheatre.

Once we all met up again, we went to do a little shopping and then stopped off at Crispin's for a snack. In the end, we decided the snack was sufficient to last the rest of the day, so there was no dinner this evening. We caught the bus home (Ellie does like going upstairs on the double-deckers). Once home, we spent some time playing games. Again we played Bingo, and then Nana played Noughts and Crosses before Ellie and I played chess. It was a good game, but it was clear that (though she had asked for the game) her heart wasn't in it. She played some sneaky moves, but the attrition she was suffering meant that I took her to checkmate after about 40 minutes.

Pete's just been to collect Ellie. She'll be with him until Xmas morning.

Melt down

With Ellie staying overnight, we were in no hurry to get up this morning. I was up first and had the best part of an hour of peace and caffeine before the girls descended from the bedrooms.

The morning was filled with some general tidying up of the remaining Xmas decorations. I put up the cards on their ribbons and then moved the unused decorations back to the garage.

Ellie was getting stir-crazy after spending most of the week with us (while sick) and now being with us but not getting out. We said we would take her to Hotham Park. The problem was that the 7C temperature felt more like -5C with the prevailing winds. We insisted she wear a thick winter coat. She did not want to wear the coat... and threw a strop when we arrived at the park. We gave her an ultimatum: wear the coat and enjoy the Christmas rides and the ice rink, or continue with your strop and go straight home. The strop continued so we drove straight home.

After lunch, I had to do a quick run to the shops. I hit the Pet's store for cat litter; Next for a new top that Diane had ordered; and Sainsbury's where we needed some bananas, milk, coke and butter. Zoe said how busy they had been. People were queueing to get into the car park, queueing to get into the store, and queueing to get to the checkouts. By the time she came to collect Ellie, Zoe had done nearly 40K steps and the store was heading for another record day.

Ellie is having dinner with Zoe, then coming back here to sleep tonight.

Solstice

Today is the Winter Solstice... sunrise is the latest in the morning, and sunset is the earliest in the afternoon.  Despite all of the "hype" the day still has 24 hours. I was up before the sun, not emerging for my coffee until 07:35. It was pouring with rain, much to Jasper's disgust. Once Diane pottered downstairs, I provided her with liquid sustenance, dressed, and prepared for my call with the cousins.

The call followed the usual pattern of laughter and banter before we all wished each other Happy Christmas and signed off. Zoe brought Ellie around as the call finished. She was clearly a lot more sparkly than she had been for the past few days. We ended up playing chess, bingo, and even Monopoly with her throughout the day.

I managed to get out for a walk. Diane needed her meds collecting from the local pharmacy. I plugged my book into my ears and headed out into the wilds. I had dressed in my head-to-toe waterproofs... only to find they were superfluous. The rain had stopped and despite the local forecast, did not start again. By the time I got home, I was beginning to overheat. My waterproofs are lined for icy weather and were too warm for today.

The afternoon has seen us cocooned in front of the TV. Ellie had played another game of chess against the computer and decided she had had enough for the day. I just hope she maintains and builds on this level of interest.

Stop Press! Ellie has just rushed in to show me that she has just beaten the computer. I checked it all and could confirm that she had achieved a very good checkmate.

Late News

 I have just realised that I forgot to comment on the momentous arrival of Eloise Danielle into the world. Paul sent me a message from Connecticut late one night this week to inform me of the arrival and to provide some first-day photos of the beautiful little bundle snuggling up to Cathy. Micael and Emily (the parents) are doing well, and the grandparents are just moving into overdrive (which will last for years)! We are so pleased for them all.

I set a wakeup alarm this morning. Our plan was to complete yesterday's shopping before Sainsbury's got busy and before Ellie was due to be dropped off. We walked in the door at 08:00 and the shop was almost deserted. We were able to whizz around and collect everything that was left on our list from yesterday. By 09:00 we were back in the car and heading home.

Ellie was dropped off mid-morning. She is clearly a lot better. She had colour back in her cheeks and was full of beans. During the morning she helped Diane finish off some of the decorations and watched a lot of YouTube junk. At lunchtime, she settled down and asked if she could play chess with me. I was delighted that she wanted to play, but nervous because I hadn't played since my early teens. Could I even remember the rules?

The game went well and it took me about an hour to beat her, but in so doing, I showed her various moves that she could make to damage my attack. She took it all in and started to think independently. It was very much cat and mouse. When we finished, I went back to check some of the rules... (which I admitted during the game, had not been clear to me). Next time we play, we will adhere to the rules that I had missed... and no doubt, she will beat me. What a shame I have lost contact with Carl Spencer (Deep Blue); he would trounce me and teach Ellie properly.

This afternoon Ellie went and played with Maddie. We had some Kindle time until Diane had to take Jasper to the vet. 

With Ellie back here, we have just finished dinner and, if it stops raining, plan to go to the Salvation Army Carol Concert just along the road.

It stopped raining, so we strolled along to the next road and joined in the carols with the Salvation Army brass band, who had set up on someone's driveway.

We stayed out singing carols for about 45 minutes. Though there was quite a gathering, very few seemed to be joining in with the singing. We did our bit but seemed to be lone voices in the dark.

It was a nice little event and it provided an opportunity for the neighbours to get together.

Lightning Raid

 `it was a slow start again as Zoe didn't have to be at work until 11, so Ellie would be dropped off mid-morning. I did, however, have to deal with both of our bins (refuse and recycling) and Chris and Maureen's now that they are cruising through the Bay of Biscay on their way to the Canaries for Christmas. It was bright and sunny, but remarkably chilly first thing.

Diane had an appointment at the hairdresser during the morning. (The result is even more lovely). I stayed put as Ellie was due. She had had a bit of a setback and was very pale and suffering from a sore throat when she arrived. I let her go and chill out in front of the TV while I worked on a rough menu plan for the next 10 days... with emphasis on what would be suitable for Ellie as she is likely to be here a great deal. Then, having done a meal plan I completed the shopping list for a raid on Sainsbury's.

After lunch, I left Ellie with Di and headed for Sainsbury's to wade through the list. It went smoothly, since everything was available, but it failed because my trolley was full long before my list was empty. I paid the bill (with a hefty contribution from the accumulated Nectar points) and headed home. It took ages to squirrel everything away... and I am now worried there will be nowhere to put the remainder of the items from the list that we will have to get in the next day or so.

We are expecting the local charity Santa run and collection tonight, so hopefully they will arrive before Ellie collapses.

That didn't quite go to plan. 

Santa, it appears, has broken down just around the corner. We had to get dressed up and head out into the chilly evening to go and see him. At least Ellie had a one-on-one with him while his Elves wandered around the estate explaining to people that Rudolf had a blowout in his hoof and was waiting for the AA.

At least it happened tonight, and Santra has time to get it fixed before the production run on Christmas eve when he has to visit all the kids across the world.

Ward 12

There was no need to get up early. Ellie was not going to school and Zoe was not due to start until 10:00. Diane had cancelled Pilates but did meet with the girls to exchange cards and gifts. Ellie stayed home with me. We played several board games and she finished writing Xmas cards for her friends. She seems a lot brighter today and the antibiotics seem to be working.

After I had made lunch, Ellie and I started working on a jigsaw. I say "started" because she only lasted about 10 minutes and then left it to Grandpa. To be fair, it was quite a complex picture with many similarities across the image - just to make it more difficult.

When Nana got home, Ellie swooped onto her coattails and followed her like a shadow for most of the afternoon. They went out for a while to hand deliver the Xmas cards for the neighbours... I carried on with the jigsaw.

I did have some fun with the new "Image Playground" feature on the MacBook (and iPad). I generated AI representations of the family members. To save embarrassment I will only show the image of me.

Diane has gone back out this evening. She is meeting up with Kim in Southsea to see Anton du Beke at the King's Theatre.

Bulletin

 It was nearly one o'clock before Diane, Zoe and Ellie returned from the hospital. It appears that Ellie has a chest infection and has been given some antibiotics. By the time they got home, Ellie was asleep and it was 10 o'clock this morning before she woke up. She has started on the medication regime and will hopefully recover quickly. Clearly, she did not go to school today and is unlikely to return before the end of term on Thursday.

Despite the very late night, I was awake at the usual time but did manage to stay put until nearly 7:30. It was another hour or so before Diane emerged.

The morning was spent finishing off all of the Christmas cards (both real and virtual). It did mean, however, that I had to raid Sainsbury's for an extra box of cards. As I left the house, I found that Yodel had left a package on our doorstep. It was a 35kg box containing our new bookcase. I slid it (I couldn't lift it) into the hall and then headed out.

Back home, with the extra Xmas cards, and tank full of petrol, I set about the assembly of the bookcase. The instructions were not as good as some recent items we have bought, but with a bit of thought it became obvious what needed to be done and the the unit was soon complete. 

Diane came to my rescue when it came to finding the optimum location for the bookcase. It is now under the lounge window and contains all of my blogs.

Trimmed

 We were up early for Ellie's drop-off. She was bubbly as usual and ready for breakfast. I left her in Di's capable hands and went up for my shower. We walked Ellie to school and I then peeled off for my morning walk.

Diane was going out to meet a friend for coffee. I stayed put and made a start on the Christmas cards (a bit late, you may well say). Cards were a mix of atoms (physical cards) and bits (eCards). We haven't finished the list yet, but we are nearly finished.  

I did manage to sneak out for a walk and to get my hair cut before lunch. There was no time for Kindles today so we continued with the cards until it was time to collect Ellie from school.

When Ellie came out from class, she was very pale and hadn't been feeling well. The school (claimed) they had tried to call Zoe, but there was no "missed call" on either of her phones and Diane and I had been available all day and could have been at the school within 5 minutes if needed.

Zoe collected Ellie and we have just heard that she has been on the phone with 111. They want Ellie seen by a clinician, so we await the outcome. The phone rang. It was Zoe. They want Ellie to be taken to A&E. Nana has grabbed the keys, her Kindle, a battery charger and her phone, and disappeared in a cloud of dust to collect Zoe and Ellie. She will keep me updated; meanwhile, I will slump in an armchair a read my Kindle.

Santa Run

 There was no frantic hurry to get going this morning. Despite this, I was up before seven. Ellie and Diane followed me down after a while and started on breakfast. The important thing was for Diane to avoid the overnight news, Facebook, and the radio. We hadn't seen the "Strictly" final and she wanted to watch it without knowing the winner.

Once everyone was ready, we loaded the car and headed off towards Newbury. We were meeting with Denise, Dom, and Becky at The Craven Arms for lunch. Ellie was sitting on her booster seat watching the iPad. I had managed to connect the device to the Skoda's WiFi hotspot so that she could watch whatever took her fancy... meanwhile, we listened to music from my iPhone to make sure we didn't inadvertently hear a news report revealing last night's winner. We had an excellent run to the restaurant, arriving at the same time as Denise, Dom, and Becky. 

We were shown to our table in the TeePee. During previous meals in the teepee, we had been cold so we came prepared. It wasn't necessary. The teepee was cosy and warm. The menu was much the same as on previous trips (though chicken had been replaced with turkey for the festive season). We all chose roast dinners - Di had lamb, Dom and Becky had beef, Denise and I had turkey, and Ellie had some chicken nuggets. The food was excellent though we did struggle to finish our portions.

Between courses, Ellie went outside to play on the swings and the slides. We also played a Christmas Bingo board game while waiting for our sweets. This was fun and kept Ellie (and the rest of us) entertained.

We exchanged presents and cards and said our goodbyes as it was starting to get dark and headed back home. Again, we had a good run, though we did get re-routed through Winchester for some reason.

We dropped Ellie off at Zoe's and then pottered back to settle down for a quiet evening so Di could watch the Strictly final.

Decked

 I was so pleased to be woken by ~Ellie at 6:30. "Grandpa, my TV is all snowy", I was informed. I staggered across the landing and pressed 2 buttons (the same two I had shown her before) and the TV burst into life. I returned to bed, but I was now awake. I managed to force another 20 minutes in bed before the call of a caffeine infusion became too much and I went downstairs

I had my usual call with the cousins at 9:00. It was an interesting mish-mash of facts and fun. When it was over I grabbed the keys and opened up the garage. It was time to retrieve the Christmas Decorations and allow Diane to "do her thing". 

Once all of the boxes were ensconced in the Orangery and I had erected the Christmas tree, I went around to Zoe's so that we could do the booze cruise around the islands of Sainsbury's. It was fairly frantic in the store but walking around with the Deputy Manager meant that staff were very eager to go and get things for us. This was particularly helpful when we reached the wine aisle and wanted cases rather than bottles.

Back home, I unpacked the fruits of our raid on the shop and then returned to the decorations. Diane and Ellie had made a good start on the Christmas tree, and I knew that I was only trusted with the external lights. I grabbed the step ladder and set up the lights around the bay window and then through the shrubbery. everything was triggered to start soon after 16:00 and would run for 6 hours before switching off.

We are meeting with Denise, Dom, and Becky tomorrow and Ellie is coming with us. I managed to set up the WiFi hotspot in the car so that she could get Internet coverage while we travel. Hopefully, this will keep her entertained on the journey.

Ellie is staying with us overnight tonight.

It's a Cracker

 We had another leisurely start to the day. It was somewhat ruined by me waking up just after six and only managing to stay still until seven. Once up and caffeinated, I went to wash and dress. Unfortunately, my electric razor seems to have developed a flaw, and I managed to scratch my face and draw blood.

I went to Zoe's and collected her and Ellie for the walk to school. Once Ellie was safely in class, I headed off for my morning walk. Diane had Cardiac Rehab this morning and was going straight onward to the Vet for Jasper's meds. Once home, I settled down for my breakfast and to read the news. Once breakfast was finished, I returned to the accounting spreadsheet for next year. I spent a while checking various aspects of it but determined that it was correct as it was.

After lunch, we relaxed with some Kindle time before I picked Ellie up from school. Ellie is staying with us overnight since Zoe has an early start tomorrow. She’s been a real delight since we got home and just finished her dinner (Toad in the Hole with sweetcorn). Meanwhile, Di and I had our own (Southern Fried Chicken, chips, and a mix of onions, bacon bits, red peppers, and baked beans).

After dinner, I gave Ellie the jokes from the Christmas Crackers we had last night. I had saved 8 of them for her. I’m not sure how often we’ll hear them, but she’s already gone through all of them once. (If last year is anything to go by, we’ll hear them hundreds more times before she gets bored).

Jingle Bells

 We had a lazy start to the day. There was no need for any alarm clocks. After the statutory coffee, I headed to Zoe's and joined the walk to school. The kids all seemed a bit subdued this morning, though Ellie was fine. After they filed into class, I headed off for my walk. The weather was decidedly grey and damp and the temperature was hovering around 4C. I started a new Michael Connelly audiobook during the walk and I'm sure this will entertain me as much as the last few during my daily rambles.

Back home, I finished my breakfast just as Lottie arrived to do the cleaning. She was focussing on the downstairs this week, so Di and I headed up to our respective workrooms so that we didn't get in the way. I spent much of the morning refining the accounts spreadsheet for next year.

After lunch, we managed some Kindle time before I headed back to the school to collect Ellie. She was staying with us until Zoe collected her after she finished at seven. Ellie changed into her PJs and settled in the lounge until I prepared dinner. This was pasta for both her and Di. I would be eating later

Soon after six, I drove into LA and parked by the Windmill Complex. I took the opportunity to have a short walk up and down the riverside where I noticed this Lifeboat decorated for the season. 

I dropped into "Mussell Row". This was the venue for this year's Arun Ambler Christmas Social and I was soon rubbing shoulders with plenty of old footballing friends and a few new ones. I settled down for a chat with Jack and was soon joined by Ron (who never stopped moaning) and David.

We had a lovely meal which began with a lovely chowder and was followed by the traditional turkey with all the trimmings, and finally a crumble. It was way too much and I am embarrassed to say that I failed to clean my plates.

After a brief speech from David thanking the staff and the club, I said my goodbyes and headed back into the night. I was home before ten, but it still seemed very late to me!

Doorbell

 We had a lazy start to the day, Zoe was off so Ellie was leaving from home. I was up, however, at seven and enjoying my first coffee when the doorbell rang. I answered the door in my PJs to find the Postman standing there with a package that wasn't due until this afternoon. The package contained some new saucepans to replace the old John Lewis set that was rapidly deteriorating.

Once showered and dressed, I headed to Zoe's and joined the walk to school before heading out for my walk. This followed my usual route, but I added an extra 500m to the route as I was within a few minutes of the end of my audiobook and was desperate to hear the end.

Once home, I had breakfast and headed out to Sainsbury's for our weekly shop. Our usual list was enhanced with some stuff for Zoe. Sainsbury's seemed remarkably busy for a Wednesday, but somehow I managed to retain my equanimity.

After lunch, we enjoyed some Kindle time before Diane went to meet with Zoe and collect Ellie.

Bookcase

 Diane was feeling under the weather with symptoms of a cold. I was up early for Ellie's drop-off. We completed the usual daily pre-school protocol and I marched off to school with Ellie at the appropriate time. I didn't have to insist that Diane stayed behind. she had already declared she wasn't leaving the house. After dropping Ellie, I headed off for my usual walk.

Back home, I grabbed breakfast and Di went back up to bed. I had a quiet morning working on next year's accounting spreadsheet. When that was done, I retrieved the Xmas card list and performed the first set of updates for this year. I also went through my "E-Card" account to update the various email addresses that had changed this year and to update the group lists.

Di hadn't managed to sleep but did rest throughout the morning. She pottered downstairs and after a cup of tea, I started on some soup for lunch and when we were finished, we settled down for some Kindle time before I went to collect Ellie.

Diane had managed to find a suitable bookcase online. We debated whether it would fit and address our storage issue. It isn't perfect, but it is the best option we have found. I went ahead and placed an order. Hopefully, this will be delivered early next week.

Nurse!

 I was up early to greet Ellie when she was dropped off. Unfortunately, she wasn't feeling well and her school attendance was touch and go, today! After a cuddle with Grandpa, she went up to see Nana (who was also feeling a bit rough). As the early morning procedures continued, it became clear that school was not going to work. 

Diane had plans for the morning - she was meeting Pauline for lunch in Arundel. I stayed put so that I could look after Ellie. We completed her homework, and then she read 4 books to me. With that complete, she started on her Times Tables. Soon after she was finished, Zoe turned up to collect her and take her home. I grabbed my coat and headed out for a walk. It was well-needed, and I should have walked further but bladder pressure provided a certain impetus to head home.

After some lunch, I settled down for some Kindle time before returning to my quandary over the bookshelves. Emails had come back from suppliers showing the weight limits for the shelf supports. Unfortunately, they were clearly not suitable for the weight of the books we have (currently 26kgs).

Diane got back from Arundel late in the afternoon and suggested a different solution for the books. I have called it Plan "D" and that will have to be the subject of another day's research.

Adminisphere

 I had a dreadful night's sleep, but, being retired and having no important commitments, I didn't care. I got up soon after seven and treated myself to the day's first caffeine infusion as I read the overnight news.

Once the household was awake and breakfast was done, I set about the annual task of building the accounts spreadsheet for next year. This took me most of the morning. Not because the spreadsheet was complex (which it is) but because there were plenty of changes to the annual expenditure between this year and next. I am familiar enough with this process not to assume it is complete, but I feel it is a long way to being ready for use.

With the spreadsheet done, I returned to the search for suitable glass shelves and their supports for my photobooks and printed blogs. I feel that I am narrowing the choice down, but really need to speak to someone and be convinced that the shelf supports will manage the weight of the books.

Diane spent much of the afternoon "sorting out" her study. I think mine would require the intervention of a tornado to make sense of it.

I didn't walk today. The wind was still pounding the south coast and rain clattered through at random intervals. I used the time to snuggle up to my Kindle.

Gusty

 I had a very leisurely start to the day. It was 07:15 before I emerged and went searching for a fresh coffee. Storm Darragh was barrelling towards us and I ducked outside to move the garden furniture to a sheltered spot. In Wales, wind gusts are expected at 85mph - that's Hurrican Force. Even here, we expect 50-60mph winds.  Satisfied that I had taken sensible precautions, I then settled down with the overnight news and my caffeine infusion.

I had my call with the cousins at 09:00. The Aussie contingent was smugly pointing to their thermometers which read 40+ degrees. I pointed out that the measurement could be in Fahrenheit for all we knew.... and that was similar to the temperature here.

After the call, I settled down to consider the Christmas menus. I expect we will be hosting at least one "do" but more likely, two. I started to review the online offerings from M&S and Sainsbury's. Then I decided that despite the weather, I wanted to go and look at some of the offerings. I headed to Sainsbury's and looked at their turkey, gammon, and salmon. The offering looked good, but some had a "Best Before" date the week before Christmas. I bumped into Zoe and she said it would be best to wait until the 19th of the month when the "fresh" deliveries for Christmas would arrive. With some firm ideas, I left the store, crossed the road to M&S, and checked what they had.  I now have some firm ideas and can relax for a week or so.

After lunch, we had some Kindle time. Storm Darragh seemed to be fizzling out and we enjoyed a quiet afternoon before I prepared dinner.

While in Sidmouth, I bought a milk pan from my favourite kitchen shop. I have been so impressed by the quality that I have just ordered a set of saucepans to replace our old John Lewis set. These old pans have not really lasted well - one was thrown away because it leaked, and others are losing their finish. Hopefully, these Swiss-made pans will last much longer.

Shelved

 There was no hurry to get up this morning. Zoe had a late start. Despite this, we had a call from Zoe to say Ellie had decided she wanted a different dress for her "mufti" day... so she came around for the alternative offering soon after seven. Ellie is clearly a fashionista... with very clear ideas.

After the school run, I went for my usual walk as Diane went to the community centre for her Cardiac Recovery session. When I finished my walk, I had breakfast and then started on admin. I was flummoxed by the NS&I website that wouldn't let me buy bonds for Ellie. It kept claiming that I was pressing the "back" button - which I clearly was not. Ultimately, I went up to my study and used the iMac. This worked perfectly. It really is a dreadful website.

Most of the morning was spent looking for a suitable solution for storing my printed journals. I want to mount them on glass shelves with invisible fittings and edge lighting. Sounds feasible, doesn't it? Well, the problem is that the books weigh nearly 50 kg. Most "invisible" fittings are limited to 18kg. I have a lot more research to do! I have shelved it until tomorrow.

After lunch, we had some Kindle time before it was time to collect Ellie. Collecting Ellie from class we queued for the school's Christmas Fair. This was well subscribed. In fact, it reminded me of trying to get onto a tube train during the rush hour. We didn't stay for too long, and Pete arrived to collect Ellie soon after we got home.

Filing

I was up early to greet Ellie. It was raining when she arrived but had stopped by the time we had to walk to school. After the school run, Di headed home to go for a blood test to check the calibration of her home testing machine. I went for my pre-breakfast walk.

Lottie turned up soon after Diane arrived back home. She headed upstairs to clean through. Di started to wade through a pile of ironing, and I headed for the study. I had a couple of months of photos that needed to be filed in my master library along with the correct facial recognition where relevant.

After lunch, we had some Kondle time before I went to collect Ellie from school. She was full of beans and eager to have a snack, and then do some colouring. Zoe collected Ellie, and then Di sat down for a phonecall with Denise before dinner.

Lofty Heights

 There was no need to get up early... but I was still wandering down the stairs with the natural grace of a mountain walrus, at a few minutes to seven. Tea was brewed, and I started preparing a casserole for tonight's dinner. Chicken, red peppers, carrots, parsnips, baby potatoes, celery, garlic, mushroom, and chicken stock filled the slow cooker, and it was powered on. That was it, nothing else to do until this evening.

I went to Zoe's for the school run and then had my pre-breakfast walk. By the time I returned, Di was just going out to Pilates. I settled down for some porridge and then finished a few domestic chores before heading out on another walk. I didn't walk as far as usual as I had a little gastric discomfort... and didn't dare stray too far from home. Despite this, I was out for about an hour.

After lunch, I went to Zoe's to help her put some items up into the loft. She had stored some clothes and bedding in several vacuum bags but didn't like the loft, so Dad had to help.

Most of the afternoon was spent with my Kindle.

We have just finished our casserole but have sufficient leftovers for tomorrow's dinner.

Catching Up

 We were up early again. Ellie was dropped off and was excited that today was the first proper performance of the school's Christmas play. She trundled off to school with us and dashed into class as the doors opened. Diane headed home for breakfast while I went for my morning walk.

Back home, I finished my breakfast and then completed the shopping list. We had some catching up, and Sainsbury's was bracing itself for our arrival. It took us longer than usual but we eventually squeezed everything into the boot and went home to unpack.

I made up some soup for lunch and then we had 30 minutes of relaxation before heading back to school for the afternoon's performance. We managed to get a seat in the second row and had a fairly good view of Ellie whenever she was on stage. As Mary, she was on stage for quite a lot of the show even though she only had a few lines. The show was very good and was quite a funny twist on the traditional Nativity story.

We brought Ellie back home and gave her dinner before Zoe collected her and prepared to take her back to school for the evening performance. (Pete is due to come across to watch the performance - which will really please Ellie).

Our dinner this evening saw me prepare some pork loin chops in paprika and accompany them with linguine in a white wine and cream sauce containing onions, mushrooms, and roasted red pepper. It was a great success and was a dish I will certainly make again.

Back in the Saddle

 We were up early for Ellie's drop-off. It was lovely to see her as she burst into the house and ran to give me a cuddle. Then she raced upstairs to see Nana. She was Diane's shadow until it was time for school. We dropped her at the classroom door and Diane headed home while I went out for a walk.

Once home, with breakfast finished I spent some time bringing the accounts spreadsheet up to date after our recent break. With that tucked away, we headed to Sidlesham to collect Jasper from the cat whisperer. He was all ready for us and even gave Diane a huge chocolate cake for her birthday before handing Jasper over to us. Jasper yowled the whole way home (and most of the afternoon). While we were there, we booked Jasper in for next year's trip at the same time next year.

After some lunch, I walked to the local convenience store for some milk and fruit so that we could defer a big shop until tomorrow. It was warm enough to settle in the Orangery for some Kindle time until it was time to go and collect Ellie from school. She had played the part of Mary in the school's Christmas play. Today was a performance for the young children... tomorrow we will attend the performance for the parents.

Heading Home

 We finished our packing before heading down for breakfast. I made several trips to the car to load the boot (having remembered overnight that the rear seats slide forward to make more luggage space. This was necessary as we have contributed so heavily to the local economy that the local Chamber of Commerce is debating whether to give us the key to the town.

After a hearty breakfast, we finished loading the car and said our goodbyes. We were on the road soon after 10:00. In complete contrast to our journey down on Wednesday, we had a trouble-free run home. We stopped for a quick comfort break at Rownhams Services on the M27, then powered on homewards. We arrived back just after 13:00, unloaded the car and unpacked the suitcases.

We had an immensely quiet afternoon with our Kindles, followed by a frozen pasta bake for dinner, and a quiet night catching up on some recorded TV.