Disney you say...

So how did my love (some may call it obsession) of Disney come about?

When I think back Disney has always just 'been there' in my life. I remember as a child growing up in the UK we would watch 'Disney Time' a movie clip compilation show that would appear on the TV at special times of the year. 

I have a vague memory of one of my very first trips to the cinema being to watch 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks', although I can't be sure this was during its initial cinematic release as I would have only been about 4 years old. But growing up in the 1970's and 1980's Disney was simply a part of the pop culture we were exposed to.

I very recently re-discovered an album that I still own to this day and which was probably bought for me as a child, it's dated 1975.

Then in November of 1990 during a trip to London we made a point of visiting the then brand new Disney Store on Regent Street; it had only opened that month and was the first Disney Store outside of the US. I have this photo of me wearing the Mickey ears that we had bought. I remember them being of a very hard, shiny plastic and that they dug into my head so hard it meant wearing them for anymore than a few minutes just wasn't doable! Oh how times, and ears, have changed!

Then in 1991 Simon and I made our first trip to Orlando, Florida which was kind of by accident. We had originally intended to go on vacation with my parents who were planning a trip to Austria but I'd gotten the dates mixed up and had booked the wrong weeks off from work. It was also the time of the Gulf war and the rumours were that flights to the US were 'going cheap' so we decided to take advantage and book a Florida vacation. However, when we came to make the booking we soon found out that the rumours of cheap flights were just that, rumours! But as we had chosen where we wanted to go we decided to book the vacation anyway staying in a hotel on International Drive.

On 30th July 1991 we made our way to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World for the very first time and stepping onto Main Street USA I just knew I was 'home'.

Taken 30th July 1991, waiting for the fireworks.

Since then there have been numerous trips to Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris, one trip to Disneyland, one Disney cruise and Simon has been lucky enough during work trips to visit Tokyo Disney Resort. I have lots of books and memorabilia, handbags, clothes and just the odd one or two Disney themed tattoos! Oh and I co-host a Disney theme parks podcast with my very good friend Michelle, called the Disney Dream Girls.

So yes Disney plays a big part in my life and I think it always will. 

There is something in the ethos of Walt Disney and the company that he created that draws you in. But it is still hard to explain what it is exactly that drives this love of all things Disney and the indiscernible magic that it creates. It's in the story telling, the attention to detail, the characters, the customer service, the ability to leave the real world behind for a little while and for everyone no matter what age or background to enjoy something together. 

Some will look at Disney and the theme parks and assume it's 'just for kids' but it is so much more than that. And to use a quote attributed to Walt himself from the opening of Disneyland in 1955, and then immortalised in plaques at both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom...'here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy'...oh and remember 'adults are only kids grown up anyways'!

Day 867 & Day 868

Day 867...Wednesday

And the day started with another two minute and thirty second cold shower followed by our early morning walk of 1.9 miles in 36 minutes. The clouds were rather grey but there was a hint that the sun was trying to get out and my weather app told me that there was only a 13% chance of rain...suffice to say we experienced the 13%. Just as we stepped out the door it began to rain so I quickly grabbed my lightweight rain coat and Simon grabbed the umbrella. Thankfully within about ten minutes the rain had stopped and although it was a little cooler than yesterday it was actually lovely and refreshing.

First job of the day was to head out to Lidl for a little catch-up shop, all those fresh things to keep us going over the next few days.

Once back home I had a relatively quiet day. I had a few odd jobs around the house to do, a little laptop work and a little internet distraction! I have been eyeing up some Funko Pop Vinyl figures that I had seen in Forbidden Planet in Nottingham and thought I would look online to compare prices. Now I'm not normally a Funko collector, we have a few odd ones that have been received as gifts but this particular set had caught my eye. It's a set to mark the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World and involves one of my all time favourite attractions; the People Mover. There are four in the set and they feature Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Stitch each sat in their own People Mover carriage. Although it looks like the Stitch one maybe a little hard to find at a reasonable price but I think the other three should be quite reasonable. I am still in two minds but they would go rather lovely in our new study/craft room!

Mid-afternoon I hooked up with my good friend, and podcast co-host, Michelle to record an episode of the Disney Dream Girls podcast. We chatted about the new Magic Band + that has just been released in Walt Disney World as well as looking at the Halloween foodie offerings. Would you believe that Halloween starts mid-August in Walt Disney World and as Michelle will be visiting in a few days time she has booked an evening at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! While it's great that more people can get to experience Halloween Disney style I still think August is just a tad early!

I was able to make a little more progress on my latest jigsaw before we headed down our gym. This was our second weights workout of the week and it was another warm and muggy evening that just seemed to sap the strength out of you. In fact I did most of my exercises outside of the garage in attempt to feel a little cooler although it didn't give me any extra energy!

Although my second cold shower of two minutes and thirty seconds was actually quite pleasant!

Day 868...Thursday

It was a lovely morning with blue skies and clear views for miles around as we completed our usual walk of 1.9 miles in a sprightly 36 minutes, our pace has definitely improved over the last few walks.

I wasn't really sure what I had planned today but knew that I had a couple of boring online jobs so got them out of the way first thing. It was then onto the ever so exciting (sarcasm here!) ironing before I decided to defrost the freezer! I know I am just living the dream! 

Although defrosting the freezer would have been easier if I'd actually switched it off. To be fair I thought I had as we have a plug that is clearly marked 'Fridge' (it's a combined fridge and freezer) and I dutifully switched it off. What I didn't do was actually check to see if it had actually switched off, it was only part way through defrosting that I heard a noise from the fridge, opened the door and saw that the light came on. I then looked at the oven which is plugged into the same socket as the fridge and lo and behold that was off! So somehow or other we have managed to label up the wrong plug. I did start to make a little more progress with it switched off and Simon lent me his heat gun to help speed things up! But as it had been quite some time since it was last defrosted I didn't manage to get it as fully defrosted as I would have liked but as it had taken up most of the morning I decided to call it a day and attempt the remainder another day.

After a spot of lunch it was time to catch up on a few more jobs. All not very exciting just those need to get done things. I spent a few minutes chatting with one of my elderly neighbours who is a 'tour de force'. She is in her very late eighties and lives alone having been widowed 28 years ago but she is active and gets herself out and about in her car and shows no sign of letting up. She is a gleaming example of how to embrace life and carry on whatever is thrown your way.

I did manage a little more jigsaw today and was able to grab a little time outside in the sunshine with a coffee before rounding the day out with another session down our gym. Tonight it was body weight exercises with a focus on legs and tummy!

Well, I best sign off and see you all tomorrow.
xx

p.s. I even managed to get those Funko figures ordered...well all but the Stitch one so I now have a mission to track one down.

Day 861

Day 861...

We were back to a bit of a grey and overcast start to the day so we ventured out with an umbrella under our arm just in case. As it was we completed our 1.9 mile walk in 37 minutes and stayed dry the whole way round. We did comment that we are back to typical British Summer weather after the searing heat of last week!

My morning saw a few general jobs around the house get done, a trip to Lidl and a little preparation ahead of podcast recording this afternoon. As Michelle is now on her summer break (the plus side of working in education) it does mean that we can record at any point in the day rather than having to find the time at the end of a working day.

So just after lunch Michelle and I got together online to record a show for release this coming weekend as well as a show for our Patreon supporters. An hour and a half later and both shows were done; we spoke about some Disney history, looked forward to Michelle's upcoming trip to Walt Disney World as well as look at some items in the Disney news.

I then decided to have another re-organise of my kitchen. I have a lovely red Kitchen Aid mixer that sits on the counter top but very rarely gets used...baking cakes is a rarity in this house...and so I decided it needed a new place to live. I'd found space in one of the cupboards which had the knock-on effect of finding new homes for the existing inhabitants of the aforementioned cupboard. Well suffice to say two and a half hours later I had cleaned inside and out five kitchen cupboards and re-organised where all the contents lived in a vague hope that everything is in a much better and logical place!

At the end of the day I headed down our gym to complete some body weight exercises along with some light weights as well. Today I found a routine targeting the triceps and so I thought I'd give it a go...we shall see how I feel this time tomorrow! After my workout I needed a shower and so thought I would have my second cold shower of the day and my first two minute one! And it wasn't that bad!!

And that is it for this Thursday, I shall see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 846

Day 846...

Wednesday started with our usual early morning walk of 1.9 miles in 37 minutes. The weather was bright and clear and a lovely cool temperature compared to the last few days.

This meant that my morning was spent catching up on a few tasks around the house that would be more bearable in the slightly cooler morning temperature. So lots of cleaning around, laundry and ironing all mastered.

I then had some online bits and bobs to complete which were interrupted by lunch. As I knew we were podcast recording later I took the time to have a look for some Disney headlines and latest happenings.

It was then time to head out to pre-school and as I left the house I came across a water engineer who was looking for our house as he wanted to update our water meter. Turns out that we should have had a letter advising us of the change but I think the confusion on my face confirmed that we had not had any such letter. Anyways it was a quick job and only resulted in the water being turned off for a few minutes which was not an issue for me as I was on my way out!

I stopped by my local pharmacy on my way to collect a prescription and for once I walked into an empty shop, I was served straight away with no fuss and best of all the staff were not wearing face masks! I know that shouldn't be a big deal but I am fed up of seeing people wearing masks when there is no need, when there is no science to back up the supposed 'need' and when for the vast, vast majority of people that are unlucky enough to get covid it really isn't a big deal. If people took the time to make themselves as healthy as they possibly could then getting what is by now another variation of a cold would not be such an 'issue'! I am fed up of people testing themselves and posting all over social media that they have covid...we never did it before when we had a sniffle, or the flu, or a tummy bug so why are we doing it now? It is beyond me and I am so over all of the fuss and the drama!

Anyway, back to my afternoon and it was onto pre-school to be a guest at this years Leavers Concert. Everyone did so well and it was lovely to see the children who I've known over the last couple of years being so confident and performing so well. It was also lovely to be able to enjoy the concert without having the stress of rehearsals and staging and performing it!

Back home and with a coffee brewed it was time to hook up online with my podcast co-host Michelle, as we recorded another Disney Dream Girls episode ready for this coming weekend. 

And while Simon got some exercise in by way of the static bike I took the time to write this blog post and then prep for dinner...meatballs I think, so I better stop typing and make those balls!

See you tomorrow.
xx

Four Days for the Price of One - Day 830 - Day 833

I'm not sure where the time has gone this week but it has been difficult to find the time to write these blog posts so in the end I am writing up four days in one go...

Day 830...Monday

So the day started, as is our new normal, with an early morning walk; however we only managed 1.3 miles in 23 minutes as rain stopped play. We'd not got our waterproofs with us so we made the sensible decision to head for home when the precipitation started!

Our morning was then taken up with what we referred to as 'Kondoing the wardrobes'. When we revamped our bedroom the other year we adopted the Marie Kondo approach to tidying and we have adopted it ever since. It is a great way to ensure that you only hold onto those items that you genuinely need or love. Since it had been a while since our new wardrobes had been fitted it was time to re-evaluate the storage and assess whether it was working and whether we were actually making use of its contents. We did pretty well and only filled two bags with clothes for our local charity clothes bank.

So after a spot of lunch we hopped in the car and dropped off the clothes, stopped by my dads house to drop off a couple of bits and then had a quick tour around our local Lidl.

Back home and after a coffee and a quiet hour we decided that the weather was more conducive to walking and headed out completing 2.3 miles in 47 minutes.

Day 831...Tuesday

The weather played nice this morning and so our usual morning walk of 1.9 miles in 38 minutes was much enjoyed although at the top of the hill it did feeler a little cooler than of late with a strong wind that I described as bracing.

Then my day took on the theme for much of this week...gardening. Now I am not a gardener at all, my mum used to love gardening however I have not inherited that love, but my task this week was my dads garden. As we are about to sell the house both the front and back gardens were in need of a lot of taming if we wanted to make them look presentable. The morning was focused on the front garden and by lunchtime I'd done a pretty decent job and the whole plot looked a lot smarter.

I came home for some lunch with Simon before heading back to my dads to start on the back garden...a much bigger garden and a much bigger task ahead. It was heavily overgrown and full of weeds and other bits that shouldn't have been there.

By the end of the afternoon progress had been made, although I'd literally just scratched the surface.

I could just start to feel my muscles beginning to ache but that didn't stop me squeezing in a weights workout to round out the day!

Day 832...Wednesday

Thankfully the weather was much better this morning than had been forecast yesterday which meant we could take our usual 1.9 mile walk in a steady 38 minutes, despite my achy body. Why does gardening have such an impact on the body, no wonder it's not my favourite pastime!

So we had a repeat of yesterday today with a morning and afternoon spent at my dad's house gardening. It did rain a little mid way through the afternoon but I was able to occupy myself with other little jobs inside the house. The focus of this week is to get the house looking presentable for estate agent photos next week, so lots of moving things around and storing them out of site.

After a shower and a coffee we decided to head out for another walk in lieu of our usual exercise session. Simon is a little restricted as to what he can do with his arm in cast so walking is proving to be a great alternative; we took a different route to normal in an attempt to find a less hilly route. It was a little less hilly but there's just no way to avoid an incline or two where we are; but another walk of just over 2 miles in 44 minutes was achieved.

I was very glad to finally stop, put my feet up and watch this weeks episode of Ms Marvel.

Day 833...Thursday

And despite my achy muscles we started the day with our usual 1.9 mile walk in 37 minutes.

I was then straight out the door to my dads house to carry on with the gardening although today I had a little company as I was joined by my brother and nephew and by the time I left at lunchtime the back garden was looking pretty good and a whole lot better than when I'd started on Tuesday!

So for the first time in a few days I was able to spend the afternoon at home, although there was no rest for me!

Lunch and a shower out the way it was time to get some research done ahead of podcast recording later in the afternoon. We were talking about the upcoming Epcot Food & Wine festival as all the details of the various food booths have just been released. And as my podcast co-host, Michelle, will be visiting during the festival I had the task of picking some tasty treats for her to try!

We had the most efficient podcast recording session ever as in under an hour we'd not only recorded a show to be released this weekend but also a show for our Patreon supporters. But we had good reason to be efficient as at 5pm UK time tickets for next years Star Wars Celebration in London went on sale and I needed to be poised and ready.

Just before 5pm I clicked on the buy tickets option and found myself on a queue holding page, as 5pm ticked over I was put into the queue and told I had over an hour to wait! Well I was convinced at that point that any chance of getting tickets was looking doubtful, but as I sat and watched the screen the wait time went down surprisingly quickly. Within 20 minutes I was choosing my tickets; the most expensive Jedi Master tickets were all sold out which was fine as we didn't want those as we were after the 4-day tickets and the four day tickets is what we got! A much more cost effective buy than the individual tickets and so by 5.29pm I had our confirmation that we are going to Celebration next April!!

But by 6pm I was starting to see a lot of disappointed fans who'd not been able to secure the 4-day ticket and could only buy the more expensive single day options. It certainly isn't a cheap hobby being a Star Wars fan and I feel exceptionally lucky that we've been able to secure (and been able to afford) the tickets and a hotel. London 2023 here we come!

Phew - the end of Thursday and hopefully a slightly quieter and less garden focused day ahead tomorrow.

See you all then...hopefully!
xx

Day 806

Day 806...

Friday and another bank holiday! And another day that started with an early morning walk of 2.3 miles over the fields, and a few hills, in 44 minutes.

This morning saw Simon busy in the garage making a wood plinth to go underneath a freestanding mirror that we have in the bedroom that is just a bit too low. I was able to get the mountain of ironing completed and then had some time to try out some make-up for my Star Wars cosplay.

Having got back into uniform last weekend I'd decided that the make-up that I use to create the character needed a bit of a revamp. As we have another troop ahead of us this coming Sunday I wanted to have a practice run through of my make-up to see if I could create the look I wanted. I was pretty happy with what I did and feel a lot more confident about the look going forward.

This afternoon I enjoyed a little time sat outside enjoying the sunshine and the warmth, which was a nice surprise as the forecast had been for rain. I was also able to get a little research done ahead of podcast recording this evening.

But before that I decided to get a little gym workout in. I concentrated on getting my daily planks completed along with a few body weight exercises before heading outside to our gym to lift a few weights around. I will admit that today's workout felt a little hard going although I'm not really sure why.

The end of the day was spent chatting with my podcast co-host Michelle as we recorded an episode of the Disney Dream Girls for this Sunday's release along with a special show for our Patreon subscribers.

And that was Friday, see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 799...Last Day

Day 799...

And we have reached Friday...

...last day of this term...

...and last day at pre-school for me...for good!

I set off for work at the normal time armed with goodies for my team. When I arrived at work I was greeted by this attached to the front door...

Suffice to say there were more 'dodgy' photos displayed inside along with a massive banner wishing me a 'Happy Retirement'.

But the day started with me handing out some gifts of chocolate and alcohol to my team along with some cakes and strawberries and cream to keep us going throughout the day. My team knowing that 'sweet stuff' is not really my thing anymore had prepared a more keto friendly option for me...

Mmmm meats and cheeses!!!

Although there was still work to be done over the course of the day it was a much more relaxed and chilled out kind of day compared to the normal hustle and bustle.

Midway through the day the children presented me with my leaving card and gift to which I am extremely thankful to all my staff...

Card made by the children...much bigger than it looks here!!

Gorgeous Disney Couture Kingdom Junkyard Mickey necklace

And although it has been my last day at work I will be staying involved with the pre-school as chairperson on their committee. 

I started on the committee way back in 2001 when Ethan started at the pre-school. I'd volunteered as a parent helper whilst heavily pregnant with Molly and I was talking to one of the staff and happened to  mention that I used to work for a bank. Their ears pricked up and asked if I would like to take on the role of treasurer...I said 'yeah, ok, don't see why not' and the rest is history.

After a couple of years on the committee I moved into a paid role of 'administrator' before eventually joining the team as an early years practitioner in 2004. I attended evening classes to study for my level 3 childcare qualification which I'd achieved by mid 2005 and by 2008 I was manager! 

We grew from a small pre-school that opened for just 5 mornings a week to a very busy full five days a week venture. A small team of four grew to eleven at it's peak. During my tenure we have been inspected by Ofsted three times, I helped the pre-school move premises back in 2002 and then again in 2020, we've held so many fundraisers from cake sales to Christmas fairs to sponsored bounces to 'Back to School' discos, fashion shows, retail evenings and more.

And not only was this the pre-school that both Molly and Ethan attended it was also the pre-school (or playgroup as it was known) that my brother and I attended way, way back in the early 1970's. So I cannot walk away completely I will continue to support them as best I can in my new role of chairperson I just won't have to 'go to work' anymore.

So what will I be doing in my 'retirement'? Well at the moment I really don't know, but what I do know is that I am going to take my time to figure out exactly what I would like to do with my time and for a change put my wants first!

But back to today...and back home; my first task of the late afternoon was to jump online and record an episode of the Disney Dream Girls podcast for this coming weekend. 

My next task was to get out my cosplay outfit ready for Em-Con tomorrow with our fellow Star Wars geeks the East Midlands Garrison. I needed to make sure my boots were clean and comfy to wear and I needed to try on my wig to make sure I remembered how it should look. Thankfully both tasks were completed with ease - phew!

And now I think it's time I stop typing as we have the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series to start watching this evening...I think we better get it watched so that we don't get it spoiled tomorrow as we will be amongst a large contingent of other Star Wars fans!

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 779

Day 779...

Well this is going to be a very short and quick post as it is rather late in the day to be writing this.

But suffice to say it was another full day in work as I provided cover for a member of staff who is off at the moment whilst also assisting our new admin clerk as she takes over some of my tasks.

On the way home I dropped by to see one of my best friends as today was her birthday. A quick chance to say hello, drop off a pressie and have a little catch-up with her and her hubby.

Arriving home it was time to grab a coffee and set-up my laptop for podcast recording. Michelle and I spent about 45 minutes catching up and recording a Disney Dream Girls show ready for release this weekend where we chatted about the Disney Cruise Line and restaurants at Disneyland Paris.

And then after a dinner of keto pizza my brother dropped by to go over some papers in connection with my dads estate. We are finally able to get things moving with winding things up and moving forward.

And with that I will see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 770

Day 770...

The middle of the week and another full day in work and I think another relatively short blog post.

My day in work was spent, yet again, helping to transition my job role over to others. We were able to submit data, balance accounts and start to predict cash flows.

Once home it was chance to grab a coffee before jumping online with my podcast co-host, Michelle. We were able to record a couple of shows for our Disney Dream Girls podcast; one was our regular weekly show and the other was a special Patreon recording. We chatted about some news items along with a hotel review from Michelle's recent visit to Disneyland Paris where she was lucky enough to stay in Disney's Hotel New York - The Art of Marvel.

And that was pretty much it for the day and all that is left to do is to watch this weeks episode of Moon Knight...let's see if it's making any more sense!

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 757

Day 757...

Another day that saw a good amount of 'stuff' get done!

First job of the day was to pop to the funeral home to collect the jewellery that my dad was wearing when he passed away. There were only a couple of pieces to collect which included my mum's wedding ring that he used to wear on a chain so I was very happy to get them back. Although there are a few pieces of jewellery that we haven't managed to find yet but that I know he used to wear and I also know would mean a lot to Molly if we could find them.

On the way home I stopped at our local Lidl to pick up a few essentials. Good job I did as I also have an Asda shop to collect tomorrow and yet again there are quite a few items that I cannot get but thankfully I had the sense to pick them up from Lidl instead.

Once home it was podcast recording time with my co-host Michelle. We recorded two shows; this coming Sunday's Disney Dream Girls and a special show just for our Patreon supporters. We talked about Disneyland Paris as Michelle is off over there next week, some news items, some Easter food treats and ticket prices and reservations.

I finished recording just as Simon was about to break for lunch and so we decided to pop out for a lunchtime walk completing 2.5 miles in 48 minutes. After a spot of lunch I then headed to my dad's house to see if I could find any jewellery pieces and check on the post. No jewellery found but I have had a look through some other bits and bobs as I try to get clear in my head those items that we may want to keep, those that can be sold and those that will be thrown away.

Back home once again and I had the pleasure of the ironing pile to attack...whoop! Actually it wasn't as bad as I thought it was and was dealt with relatively quickly. In fact I even found a spare few minutes to sit outside with a coffee and enjoy a spot of late afternoon sunshine. Although between the rather large bumble bee buzzing around and the wood pigeons that like to swoop on and off the fence next to where I was sat it wasn't the most relaxing of times!

The day was rounded out with a trip to our gym. But now I think I need to put my feet up and have a cuppa!

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 731

Day 731...

And we have reached Friday and the end of my working week!

My fourth full day in work in a row...which is not the norm for me! And today I was working with a new member of our team who will be taking over some of the administration type tasks that make up my job.

One thing I am realising, as I pass on my knowledge, is just how eclectic my job can be and how each day is always different from the day before. I may start a day with a plan in mind but this can often get derailed as the day unfurls. But we had a good day today and made steady progress, all ready to get back at it again next week.

Once home, and with coffee poured, I needed to do a little online research ahead of podcast recording. I needed to find some interesting Disney history facts, have a look at the news happening in the Disney parks as well as listen to some music by todays guest Tom Ameen. It was then time to hook up online with my podcast co-host Michelle to record this weekends Disney Dream Girls show. We had a great time chatting and as always Tom was a lovely guest to have on the show and talked passionately about his love for music, and especially Disney music. He has a new album being released on 1st April and Michelle and I have had the privilege of being able to listen to the tracks already.

It was two years ago on the 18th March 2020 that myself and my deputy made the horrible decision to close pre-school because of the Covid outbreak. We were faced with scared parents not knowing whether to send their children to pre-school or not, we had staff worried about what it all meant for their safety, there was panic and scary stuff on the news and we were all simply confused, worried and scared. We took the decision to close one day before our government said that schools would close and for the next 12 weeks we remained closed. As a small charity pre-school, operating out of a shared building that was classified as a 'community room', we could not have opened even if we had wanted to as the emergency laws put into place forbid community rooms from being used by anyone. 

Looking back now I remember how scared and nervous we all felt and how emotional it was to take that decision to close. There were tears as myself and my deputy made the decision but at the same time relief that a decision had been made. We were blessed with very supportive parents who even bought us gifts of wine and chocolate as we embarked on a very surreal few months. We could not have envisaged that two years later we would still be dealing with the effects of the 'pandemic', that it would have been drawn out for as long as it has despite science saying otherwise. 

Two years on and I am even more sceptical and challenging of anything that the 'main stream media' are want to tell us. After two years of being fed mistruths I find myself extremely cynical and distrusting and now seek greater information and question what we are being told. I no longer watch the standard news channels but instead prefer to use the internet to discover differing viewpoints in an attempt to uncover a more balanced view and hopefully one closer to the actual truth. I will confess that I don't like what these past two years have done to our lives; the questioning of those in power, the distrust of those supposed to be looking out for us, the lack of accountability of those in charge and the feeling that life will never be quite what it was two years ago. 

But onwards and upwards we must go. We are fortunate living in England that most of our restrictions have been lifted and we are able to go about our lives pretty much as we used to. But there are still a few that remain so fingers crossed we can get everything back to normal sooner rather than later.

Happy weekend, I will see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 717

Day 717...

We have reached Friday and the start of the weekend but it was a full day in work first.

My work day saw me catching up with the banking, dealing with emails and then I had a project to print out a big chunk of our policies and procedures and file them appropriately. We have tried to keep everything online rather than print pages and pages but as some of these policies can be quite lengthy we decided that paper copies would be easiest for reading through and referring back to. I made pretty good progress and whilst I still have some more that need printing I have completed the vast majority.

Arriving home it was time to set-up my laptop ready for podcast recording and to make a coffee! I then spent about an hour online chatting with my Disney Dream Girls podcast co-host Michelle, as we looked at some Disney history and the 30th anniversary celebrations starting at Disneyland Paris this weekend.

And the day has rounded out with playing taxi service for Ethan as he enjoyed a meal out with his work team, at work's expense!

Roll on the weekend, and I'll see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 694

Day 694...

Today was an unexpected Wednesday at home.

As Simon was working we were up and about at our usual time and I was on standby to go off in search of some rugs for pre-school. One of the team had seen a post on Facebook where a local group had a supply of children's rugs they were giving away for free that would be great for pre-school. As it turned out my services were not needed as my team member had contacted the group direct and they were happy to put a couple of rugs to one side for us for her to pick up at the end of the day.

I then had some online research to do. First it was time to look up some Disney related facts ahead of a podcast recording session later on in the afternoon. We were talking about some Disney history as well as looking forward to the upcoming Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot. I'm sure this festival gets longer every year as this year it starts at the beginning of March and goes all the way until early July!

I also wanted to look at electric charging point locations. We have the route to see Molly and Dan in Bournemouth all sorted now but I am wanting to book my next tattoo session and my tattoist of choice is about 50 miles away. Now in theory a round trip should be perfectly doable but knowing where charging stations are located would give me peace of mind. But when using Zap Map to look up the route it would appear that whilst there are loads close to home that's not the case for the town I need to get to! There are a few charging points but they are located within work places or car dealerships and therefore only for the use of their workforce and customers. There are a few locations 'en route' which would have to be our back-up locations. I'm hoping that as the weather warms up we see an improvement in the battery life as that would then be in our favour!

Next job of the morning was to get the ironing all sorted; not a very exciting job but one that needed doing. Knowing that Simon would be breaking for lunch around 12.30pm I grabbed thirty minutes to make a bit more jigsaw progress before we put our boots on for a lunchtime walk. We had a slightly longer route than normal as I needed to drop something into a post box which meant we walled 2.9 miles in 54 minutes.

This afternoon I decided that a walk at lunchtime wasn't enough exercise for the day and jumped on the exercise bike for 45 minutes of zone two training while I watched a couple more episodes of The World According to Jeff Goldblum.

Armed with a coffee I grabbed the last bit of decent daylight and completed my jigsaw!

The question is now which one to do next...I have three to choose from.

Then it was time to record a couple of Disney Dream Girls podcast episodes with my good friend Michelle. We managed a show for this coming Sunday as well as another twenty minutes for our Patreon supporters. And while I chatted Simon managed his forty five minutes on the exercise bike...we should sleep well tonight!

Well with dinner out the way there is only one thing left for today...the final episode of The Book of Boba Fett! Fingers crossed it matches the quality of the last couple of episodes.

See you tomorrow.

xx

Day 670

Day 670...

Sunday once more and we started with the usual collection of our grocery shop, which since the debacle of a few weeks ago has been plain sailing. I'd got some bits and pieces for my dad as his car is still out of action so we dropped those at his house on the way home.

Back home and with everything packed away we had for the most part a very lazy and quiet Sunday. There were a few household chores to complete but after that we had the day to do whatever we wanted. My aim was to see if I could complete my current jigsaw in daylight; I'd not got much left to do and wanted to get it done and out the way. Well, at long last, it's done!

Now this is the second jigsaw from a set of three, so you can guess that the next one I'm going to start is number three...another Christmas scene with a lot of reds and oranges!! In fact by the end of the afternoon this one was packed away and the outer edge of the next one was complete...well all bar one piece which I'm sure I will come across as I begin to complete it.

Simon has spent his day 'capturing' more of our old home video from 1998 as well as making progress with his latest piece of digital art. 

Mid-afternoon I jumped online with my good friend and podcast co-host, Michelle, to record a couple of episodes for our Disney Dream Girls podcast. Our first episode was for our Patreon subscribers and we chatted about Epcot's Festival of the Arts which started on Friday. We then had a guest join us for our second episode. Our guest was a good friend who has been a regular member of our Sunday Disney quizzes and who was lucky enough to visit Walt Disney World just before Christmas. 

And that was my Sunday, see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 652

Day 652...

One more of those days between Christmas and New Year when you keep having to ask what day is it? Well as far as I have been able to make out today was Wednesday!

One side effect of this time of year is my inability to get out of bed on a morning! I've never been a 'morning' person but now add in disturbed nights sleep due to night sweats and mornings become even more of a struggle!

But my late morning I was able to hook up online with my Disney Dream Girls podcast co-host Michelle to record a couple of shows. One was our main show which will probably get released over the coming weekend and the other was a special show for our Patreon supporters.

By the time we'd finished recording it was early afternoon and I made myself busy by getting up to date with the laundry and getting ready for our few nights away tomorrow. We then decided to take an hour out to watch the first episode of the new Star Wars series 'The Book of Boba Fett'. We were already starting to see comments appearing on social media and so decided to watch the show to avoid any potential spoilers. This is a weekly show and so it's going to be a challenge each week to stay away from any spoilers until we can get it watched. All I will say is that the first episode did not disappoint and we are now eager to see more.

Tomorrow we are driving down to Bournemouth to spend a few days there to catch up with Molly, Dan and his family. Molly has been living down with Dan since the beginning of November but this is the first time we will have visited since taking delivery of our new electric car! We have about 190 miles to travel and whilst in theory our car should manage around that on one charge we know from a little research that we will need to re-charge en-route.

So this afternoon we loaded up 'Zap-Map' and planned our route. This allows us to not only get the directions needed to get there (which we know anyway) but to plan where to stop for re-charging. We have found about four places along the route that would be sensible places to stop; all motorway services with fast-charging units and options for food and coffee. The plan is to stop at at least one of these stops or maybe two depending on how we feel and how the car is performing. We haven't yet completed a long distance drive so this will be new territory for us and so it will be interesting to see how the car actually performs...while at the same time being a little scary!!

As we would normally stop for a coffee at least once on a long car journey we are hoping that stopping to recharge shouldn't be an issue. Most fast chargers are designed to charge a car to an 80% charge in about 30 minutes so fingers crossed it shouldn't be too much of an inconvenience. We shall find out tomorrow!

And then finally late afternoon I was able to put the last few pieces in my current jigsaw...

...this took longer than I had thought it would as it was deceptively tricky! Lots of red and green that were hard to distinguish whereabouts they should live! I have two more jigsaws in the same artistic style that came with this one (one box with three jigsaws) so I think I will try one of those next to see if I can eventually complete all three. Then once all three are done I can 'recycle' them and find someone else who will enjoy them.

I have also been 'chatting' with Molly to plan the next couple of days and for tomorrow she has booked Simon and Ethan tickets for ice-skating. I shall be watching from the sidelines as no-one needs to see me attempt to skate...I am not a skater and have no desire to be one! Molly on the other hand is getting rather good at it all. Simon has always been a good skater and unfortunately for him it is my lack of skill that has over the years put paid to his skating time, but thankfully it is a skill that he has retained and I know he will enjoy himself immensely tomorrow. Ethan is willing to have a go and all kudos to him as he is way braver than me! I will report back tomorrow as to how the skating unfolds!

And while Simon grabbed a little 'gym' time this evening I prepped tonights dinner - keto chicken parmesan! Yum!

See you all tomorrow.
xx

Day 602

Day 602...

We have reached the middle of the week and another day in work and today I was in a little longer than normal.

Our day at work was focused around our 'parents to pre-school day'. We had invited our parents to come and visit and spend an hour with us to see what happens at pre-school, what their children get up to as well as chat with the staff. It was a great success and a completely worthwhile exercise. 

We had allotted an hour this morning and an hour this afternoon, and this afternoon we had a prospective new parent stopping by for a visit. So, ordinarily I would only work the morning but today I stayed back for an extra hour or so to meet with the new parent and go over what pre-school can offer them and their child.

I was home for the middle of the afternoon and I jumped online as I had a little research I wanted to do ahead of podcast recording later and I also had a little pre-school work to complete. Nothing major just a couple of emails to deal with and a few more tweets to be sent trying to drum up some donations for our Christmas raffle fundraiser.

And then finally today I had a response from the company who will ultimately be installing a charging point for our electric car (when we get it). Basically the engineer that visited last week told us that the electric supply in the garage wasn't 'strong' enough and that we needed to talk with the company to sort something out. Numerous emails later...with a number of additional prompts because they are so slow at responding and don't have a phone number!...I got a response. The response is basically yes we need a better cable installing but no they can't do it but then didn't tell us how we can do it either!! I have now contacted the local power supply company to see if they can help. Thankfully their online chat was very helpful and I have now completed a form and await their call back, but I have already had a text to say they have the form and will be in touch...fingers crossed somebody somewhere can help me get this sorted. Why do I feel this isn't going to be cheap?!!

And then it was podcast recording time with my fellow Disney Dream Girl, Michelle. We had a good old natter about all things Disney; some bits of history, some news items and then a look at various attractions at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. As always a fun way to pass an hour or so.

Right time for a cup of tea and I will see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 588

Day 588...

The middle of the week and after a slowish start to the day I soon sprang into action when I got the call from my podcast co-host, Michelle, to organise a recording session.

So armed with some Disney history facts and along with some news items Michelle and I set to recording a show ready for release this coming Sunday. We also managed to record a special show just for some of our Patreon supporters.

Recording took a little longer than planned so our lunchtime walk had to be postponed till this evening. 

After a quick bite to eat I sat down with Molly to help her with some planning for her upcoming move to Dan's. She needs to find some storage solutions for all her stuff! Thankfully there is a built in wardrobe that Molly can take over but she needs to configure the storage inside, which means Ikea to the rescue. She had found some solutions and just wanted me to help cast an eye over it all to make sure she was making the best choices. Now that she knows exactly what she wants we will have a trip to our local store tomorrow to purchase all the bits (fingers crossed) and there will, of course, be the obligatory buying of meatballs and cinnamon rolls because it's the law!

Molly then headed out a bit earlier than normal to her second kickboxing class of the week as she'd offered her help with teaching the children's classes before her class as they were short on instructors today. I then had our butcher's delivery arrive...

...about an hour (maybe more) later I had it all packaged up into meal sized portions; well there was 5kg of chicken, 24 burgers, 6 steaks, 5.5kg of steak mince, 4.5 kg bacon and about 45 sausages! Should keep us going for a few weeks! So thankful to have found Rendalls butchers online during the first lockdown last year when everywhere was going crazy with supplies. The quality and value has been outstanding and so I have continued to use them and just love the fact that I can stock up and not have to worry about buying meat each week.

Once all the meat was put away in the freezer Simon and I headed out for our postponed lunchtime walk. Because the nights are now drawing in we just kept to the main road through our village but still managed just over 2 miles in 41 minutes and although a little blustery it was dry and not too cold for a late October evening.

And that was today, see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 581

Day 581...

And we have the middle of the week and I decided to have a day working from home.

I had lots of admin tasks that needed completing before the end of the week and I knew I would be able to get through them quicker sat at home. But my first job of the day was to speak with my contact at my local council to discuss the needs of a child and the best way to support them. We were able to chat over a video call which made things so much easier to explain and chat over.

An hour later it was back to the admin tasks; invoices issued, wage slips generated and payment scheduled, emails sent, banking updated and text messages scheduled. It was a very productive morning!

I then popped out to the post office as Molly had made a sale on her Etsy store and as she is not at home this week the responsibility of packing and posting has fell to me. When I got home Simon and I headed straight back out to take advantage of a dry spell of weather and have one of our lunchtime walks that we haven't done for what seems like forever. We managed 2.45 miles in 47 minutes and we arrived home just in time for my online 'leaders and managers' meeting.

I then had an hour and a half meeting to find out what's happening in 'early years' at the moment; most of which I already knew and so by the end of it I was very much in need of a coffee!

The day was then rounded out with a little Disney Dream Girls podcast recording.

See you all tomorrow.
xx

Finally Friday

Day 422...

And finally we have got to Friday. It has felt like a long week I think because we had a short working week the week before.

But it was a full day in work for me and I had plenty to keep me occupied. We decided to have a change around of the room and it seemed to work really well. At first my desk was out of the way and I was missing being part of the room so a little adjustment and I was back in the thick of it.

But I had the usual emails, banking and admin to do. Each Friday we go over the plans for the coming week and I then draft an email out to parents to let them know what's happening, I then make sure this gets posted to our website, our Facebook page and our online learning journal. I had some prep work to complete for a new starter in a few weeks time and then some data input for a 'virtual school' system that we use for a few of our children. It was the first time using this system for me and so it was a matter of learning how to navigate the system and make sure everything was updated as I have a meeting scheduled for next week.

At one point today I even got involved 'on the floor' and found myself hosting a story time with all the children...much to the staff's amusement...I thought I did pretty well as it's not something I get chance to do that often, if at all, anymore!

After getting home I did a little prep work ahead of recording this weeks Disney Dream Girls podcast with my co-host Michelle, and then it was time to do the recording. We managed to not only record this weeks show but also an extra piece for our Patreon supporters.

And that was my Friday and I am now ready to put my feet up and embrace the weekend.

Take care.
xx

A Quiet Tuesday

Day 391...

And today was Tuesday and it was a quiet day today.

Once up and about I grabbed Molly to be my 'muscle' as I needed to pay some cash into the bank for preschool. As it was 80% coin it was rather heavy and whilst I could lift the bag...just...I needed someone to carry it from the car park to the bank!

Once we were back home I had a few household chores to do...the very exciting laundry and cleaning of the bathroom - whoop! Thankfully I was interrupted by Simon's lunch hour so we took a walk over the fields managing our usual 1.8 miles in about 36 minutes. So far in April we have managed a walk for 11 days in succession making a total of 37 miles in 12 hours.

The afternoon saw me complete a little Disney research as well as find some time to watch the last episode of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. Although I only got half way through before I jumped online with my podcast co-host Michelle to record another episode of our Disney Dream Girls podcast.

And by the time I'd finished recording it was time to 'go down the gym'. Simon and Molly make use of our garage with a bench, pull-up bar and weights while I stick to the comfort of a yoga mat and my bodyweight exercises.

So although gyms reopened yesterday we have decided to stick to using what we have at home. Back in the Summer last year when the gyms were able to open for a few months we had decided to cancel our membership, save some money and carry on using our home set-up. It means that we can easily 'work-out' whenever we like, we can get there very quickly and not have to worry about finding a car parking space and even when the weather is bad we can still 'get to the gym'. It has worked so well for us that we are going to stick with this approach for the foreseeable future. But it is great to know that for those who enjoy what a gym can offer they are now able to get back to doing what they love.

Take care, wherever you may be.
xx