Day 873

Day 873...

And with Simon back at work today we had our usual 1.9 mile early morning walk in just 36 minutes and it was another glorious start to the day.

My day has been relatively quiet and has been a simple sort of day. I had a quick Lidl shop to do as we needed fresh salad and a few other bits. It is so handy having a Lidl just a few minutes car drive away and I am finding that without being at work it is much easier to change the way I shop. I am no longer tied to a weekly shop where I try to get everything at once from one place but can now shop when needed and when I feel in the mood to! 

I made a point of sitting outside with my coffee to soak up some sunshine before it got too hot and I have started to re-read one of my low carb books. It's called 'Low Carb, High Fat Food Revolution' and it's an easy and informative read to understand how we got to where we are today and what we can all do to make ourselves healthier and slimmer too.

And while the day was a little cooler, and the sun had not yet reached the window where my jigsaw resides in front of, I decided to take a few minutes before lunch to get some pieces into place. 

Our lunch was a little later today as Simon is very busy with work. They have a deadline looming and so it's a case of everyone working as many hours as they can over the next few weeks. This does mean that our plans for this coming weekend may not happen and at the most optimistic are 'on hold'.

Over the course of the afternoon I was able to get a little cleaning done, a few more jigsaw pieces moved around and some online searching for canisters for storing our tea & coffee. An easy task you would think but who knew it could be so boring and that there would be so little choice! I had to walk away as my eyes were beginning to cross and so instead I headed down the gym!

My workout tonight was focused on mainly abs with a few squats thrown in, but it was a rather sweaty session and a shower was very much needed at the end of it. Although I am quite pleased to report that I had my second three minute cold shower of the day!

And with that I shall see you tomorrow.
xx

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 854

Day 854...

Well after the glorious weather that we've been experiencing these past few days today was grey and first thing it was a tad wet. But it didn't stop us getting out for our early morning walk of 1.9 miles, which was done in 36 minutes.

The rain was that very fine rain, that often gets referred to as wet rain because you end up being way wetter than you think you should be. But I still went out in my shorts and after the initial feeling of very damp legs I quickly got over it and didn't really notice it for the majority of the walk.

Over the last few days our view when we get to the highest point has looked like this...

...but today it looked like this...

Last night after writing my blog I was determined to get the remaining few pieces of my jigsaw completed, which I did...kind of...

...a lovely Dumbo inspired jigsaw but can you spot why it's not complete?

Yep, we have a missing piece! Now this jigsaw was bought brand new and arrived in cellophane so there should be no reason for a missing piece and in fact I think it may have something to do with the wind! I had the jigsaw set up in our living room in front of some french doors that we had open because of the high temperatures. On Tuesday it had also been quite windy and when I returned home from volunteering at pre-school I noticed that some of the pieces that I'd sorted were strewn across the living room floor...the wind had been up to tricks. As I sorted them back to where they should be I remarked, rather flippantly, to Simon that 'if I end up missing pieces they'll be under the sofa'! Now I did actually find one piece under the sofa but this piece has eluded me and despite searching today I have still not found it!!

But back to today and this morning, without planning to, I found myself cleaning the oven. Not very exciting but one of those jobs that was a little overdue so having the time I decided it was due a thorough clean. Although I may have been a little over zealous in my efforts as I have inadvertently wiped away the decals that indicate what each knob does! Whoops! I obviously don't know my own strength!

The remainder of the day was spent catching up on some more laptop focused jobs. I had a couple of payments to make, a little pre-school committee work to do and then a little online shopping. Online shopping that turned into much more shopping than I'd anticipated. Not only did I purchase some clothing items that I needed but also some towels, a couple of kitchen storage tubs, a new chopping board, a vanity mirror and some new wall lights for our bedroom!!

Oh and I also managed to get Simon and I booked in for our next tattoos, although we will have to wait until early September.

And then as is the norm for a Thursday night it was time to head down our gym for a weights workout. Simon was able to push himself a little further tonight managing a slightly heavier weight and even a few sets of pull-ups.

And that was Thursday...I will see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 703

Day 703...

A very windy, stormy Friday has been upon us today.

One bonus to being stuck at home is that I haven't had to venture out in the horrible weather. Although I think we have been rather lucky as being in the middle of the country we have escaped some of the worst of Storm Eunice.

So another day sat at my laptop getting lots more admin completed. This week has given me chance to get a couple of non-urgent jobs completed because I've had a bit more time on my hands although this did involve fighting with my printer at numerous points. What's that saying about how great technology is until it stops working!!!

At lunchtime Simon and I did venture out into the garden as the felt on our garden shed had started to lift and as the morning had worn on it was getting progressively worse. So armed with a hammer and some nails and with me holding the ladder Simon managed to get it all tacked down. 

Mid-afternoon I nipped outside once more as one of my team was stopping by the house to drop off some work for me. It was very blustery, a little bit damp and rather chilly and so I was glad I was only outside for a few minutes. This does now mean that I can actually complete the half term accounts at some point over the coming week.

And while the wind howled around the house I used the surprisingly sunny at times daylight to complete my latest jigsaw...

...depiction of the London Underground map! It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be and I actually really enjoyed the methodical approach that I took with it.

Well Friday is done and now it's time to say hello to the weekend and a week off from work!

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 687

Day 687...

Middle of the working week and another day that went as it should with a morning in work and an afternoon at home.

My work morning was taken up with a parent meeting, some admin, emails, course research and some forward planning with my deputy. A packed and productive morning.

At home, and after I'd caught up with Simon, I decided to strike while the iron was hot (so to speak) and jump on the exercise bike. I recognise that this is not my favourite thing in the world and that I need to grab the chance to get on it rather than finding other things to do!

So I made a conscious choice to change out of my work clothes straight into my workout gear so that I had no excuses. I switched on the TV and found some episodes of 'The World According to Jeff Goldblum' on Disney + to watch while I cycled. Forty five minutes and two episodes later my zone two training was complete. I still don't like it as I get a bit bored, but I've done it and that's what's important.

With a freshly brewed coffee I spent a little time with my latest jigsaw and actually made pretty good progress...

As the light failed I turned my attention to a little pre-school work as I am currently working on a cash flow forecast and wanted to make a little headway with it. I still have more work to do but am happy with what I managed to get done.

And with that it was time for dinner before an evening of watching 'The Book of Boba Fett'...fingers crossed it's as good as last weeks!!

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 686

Day 686...

Back to my normal routine and a Tuesday split between work and home.

The morning in work saw me catch up with the usual admin and banking bits and pieces as well as make a start on a newsletter. We were joined by Jon, who is the local Asda community champion, to help us make some 'winter wonderland ice-cream sundaes'! Jon is a great friend of pre-school and will visit us on a regular basis and organise all sorts of activities with the children. Suffice to say ice-cream, marshmallows, squirty cream and white chocolate went down rather well with the children!

I arrived home in time so spend the last half of Simon's lunch break with him, which meant we got chance to update each other on how our days were going. It sounds like Ethan will soon be returning to work in the office! He has been working from home since March 2020 and through a combination of the pandemic 'work at home' orders and his company needing to find new office space (their team has grown over the last two years and so they need more space!) he has spent two years with his bedroom doubling as his work space. And while it's very convenient to fall out of bed and straight into work it really is about time he had some semblance of normality return.

For those of us of a certain age we have had our time out in the big wide world working, meeting new people, going new places, work events, social events, lunchtime meetings in the pub and the rest but for this current generation so many have missed out on these 'life events'. University life has not been what university life should have been, social times have not existed and even the boring and mundane have been missed for a whole cohort of young adults and they are never going to get that time back and that is such a shame (and that's putting it lightly!).

But talking of the mundane my afternoon at home consisted of sorting laundry and getting the ironing up to date - whoop! But I was also able to keep Simon and Ethan fueled with coffee as well as make a start on my latest jigsaw. Although I think I may have made a strategic error when I decided to sort out all the pieces that contained parts of 'Stitch' - it's a Lilo & Stitch puzzle - and there are rather a lot of 'Stitch's'....

Latest puzzle...

...out sorted 'Stitch' pieces...

...but some progress has been made!

I think all I've managed to do is make piles of pieces that will need sorting through again! Oh well it'll keep me quiet!

We ended the day with a quick workout in our 'gym', throwing around a few weights...carefully of course.

Right time to log off and I'll see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 684

Day 684...

Sunday has rolled around once more and as seems to be the theme of this weekend it was another quiet day.

Because we had our grocery shopping to collect this morning it did mean that we were up and about with a little more purpose than we were yesterday.

Once we were home we gave Ethan a hand to sort returning a parcel. He'd bought a TV only a few months ago but the screen had started to fail; a line of pixels could be seen vertically and another horizontally. As he'd bought it through Amazon he'd been online yesterday to see what could be done and after running through some potential remedies (that didn't work) they said they would refund the cost once the TV had been returned.

So although we hadn't retained the box it had arrived in we did have more than enough packing materials which meant that between us we were able to pack it up pretty well. Simon and Ethan were then able to take it to a local drop-off point to get it on it's way back to Amazon. Ethan is now free to buy himself a new TV, and I think he could actually buy the same model again for less than he paid for it originally!

The afternoon was then rather quiet. Simon set about uploading the latest home video that he'd captured so that we could watch it through for any glitches. And while that played Simon continued with a little more art and I finally managed to complete my latest jigsaw - phew!

This was the final jigsaw from a box of three...

...now that I have completed them all I will be passing them onto the mum of one of my work colleagues so that someone else can have enjoyment out of them.

I do have a few more jigsaws waiting to be completed, so I just need to decide which one to do first!

And as the afternoon drew in everywhere turned pink as the sun began to set...

...the sky looked amazing and everywhere was bathed in a pinkish glow.

And for the first time in a few weeks it was Disney quiz time with my fellow Disney nerds courtesy of the Disney Dream Girls podcast. I was responsible for setting the questions and will admit that they weren't the easiest of questions, but it is so hard finding questions that will challenge people who I know will be pretty hot on most things Disney. But we had a few giggles and it was just nice to see familiar faces and have a catch-up.

Well that was Sunday, so I will see you tomorrow.
xx 

Day 657

Day 657...

Today marks the end of our Christmas break...sort of. Both Simon and Ethan are back to work tomorrow while I still have a couple of days to go, so there is that feeling of day-to-day life returning.

Molly messaged me this morning with a photo to show that they had taken down their Christmas decorations today. Because I will be at home the next couple of days while the men of the house are working I've decided that I will start to take ours down then. I have three trees, multiple ornaments and outdoor lights to sort so I will approach them all in a steady fashion. I love all my Christmas decorations and always hate taking them down as everywhere feels so empty...Simon on the other hand tolerates the clutter that Christmas brings and always looks forward to 'getting the house back'!

We had a very slow start to the day, so much so that breakfast was more like brunch! Early afternoon we headed out for a coffee; a chance to just have a little time for Simon and I and chance for Simon to drive the car. He is loving it, in fact I've never known him enjoy a car so much before!

We arrived home just at the right moment as we had an Amazon delivery arrive and the lady delivering was looking rather confused and was struggling to find our house and that of a neighbour and so we were able to come to her rescue just at the right moment. Our delivery now means that we have a set of dip bars to add to our gym. Simon had tried the set that Dan has and was surprised at how neatly they stored away and had quickly found a pair online. Once inside the house the bars were assembled and of course had to be tried out. I can't see me using them but never, say never!

This afternoon Simon jumped on the exercise back for a 45 minute workout and while he 'cycled' I moved some jigsaw pieces around. As you can tell my idea of exercise and Simon's are quite different, but I think once I am back into our normal routine I really need to get focused with using the bike and alternating that with gym sessions.

And that kind of rounded out our day, very chilled and laid back and no doubt will see a few more episodes of Queer Eye and Canada's Drag Race watched this evening with the obligatory glass of red to hand and some dark chocolate.

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 627

Day 627...

Today was a pretty standard and quiet Sunday.

We started off with a trip to collect our weekly grocery shop which meant a moan from me as we had one unavailable item, and seven substitutes.  But when we got home they'd actually substituted the item that was unavailable and messed up with the substitutions!!! Argh! But not to worry as we can survive with what we have been given and refunds have been sent for those items they messed up on.

We then popped out to go visit my dad as we've not seen him for a couple of weeks. He's doing okay but is struggling with his mobility and his ability to withstand doing anything for a length of time. He was referred to cardiology in September last year and still has not heard anything, I fear he is going to a be a statistic of the effects of multiple lockdowns and restrictions. But as a bonus we got to see my brother as he also popped by to see my dad; we've not seen my brother in a fair few months although we do keep in touch.

Back home and while I tackled the ironing Simon was updating his various social media accounts with his latest art piece. 

I then packed away the jigsaw that I'd completed last night...

...I then contacted one of my work colleagues to see if her mum would like the jigsaw as I know she is another jigsaw fan. I thought I would rather pass it on to someone else to get joy from it rather than it taking up space in my loft for goodness knows how many years.

It was then time to break out my next jigsaw and this time I had a box of three to choose from...

One box that opens up to...

...reveal three jigsaws inside.

This is the one I've opted for first...

...I think I may have attempted this one before but I can't remember finishing it. The only problem I have discovered is that it is in portrait format which means it won't fit on my puzzle board width ways. This just means I won't be able to sit on the comfy sofa to complete it, unless I attempt to do it sideways!

Although I have managed to complete the outside already.

The jigsaws are proving to be a nice distraction from the world at large and for a short time I can lose myself and forget the horrors that are going on around us all.

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 621

Day 621...

And we have a Monday and as usual it was a non-work day for Simon and I. Ethan was back at work after a week off, although as he is still working from home it made little difference.

The day started off very relaxed and that set the tone for pretty much the rest of the day. We sat with a coffee or two and enjoyed watching a You Tube presentation all about the 'fast pass' system employed over the years at Walt Disney World and other Disney parks. Absolutely fascinating and very enlightening on how these systems are developed and implemented; totally appealed to the geek in me.

We also had a phone call from our 'ground-works' crew apologising about not being able to get to us yesterday! Obviously the change in weather had impacted what they were able to do and we appreciated that circumstances were out of their control. But they have said they will get to us this week as soon as the weather allows! Fingers crossed we can get everything sorted this week so that maybe, perhaps, with fingers and toes crossed we can finally take delivery of our new electric car next week!

We then took a short drive out through our, still snowy, village to our local Lidl...

...where we picked up a few bits and bobs along with some more Christmas decorations! Well, they were just too good a deal to pass up; some outdoor, battery operated snowflake shaped stake lights. So I bought three sets to go in our courtyard garden. And bonus when I got home and went to test them I found that they came supplied with batteries!! I've not been able to put them out today as the snow has lingered about for most of the day but with milder weather for overnight forecast I should be able to get them in place tomorrow afternoon.

New lights!!!

After a spot of lunch I decided to have a quick tidy around our 'cupboard under the stairs'. We have a large cupboard space in the kitchen that is great for housing cleaning stuff and more but always seems to be overcrowded and awkward to get to things. A few weeks ago I'd bought some new storage boxes from Ikea specifically for re-organsing this cupboard but hadn't had the time. Well in about half an hour this afternoon I'd cleared out what we no longer needed, swapped over storage boxes and created extra space; so much so that I can now walk into this cupboard which I could never do before. Mission accomplished.

Th rest of the day was spent in a very chilled and relaxed manner; Simon was happily creating more digital art and I was happy to potter with my Christmas jigsaw.

Back to work tomorrow!

xx

Day 620

Day 620...

Another Sunday and a bit of an earlier start than usual. This was for two reasons; one we were due to have the ground-works completed today ahead of the electrics being installed for our electric car charging point and two we had more Christmas decorating to do!

As Molly and Dan were heading back down South today just after lunch we wanted to use the morning to complete all the remaining bits of Christmas decorating. Yesterday evening we had managed to complete the decorating of our Disney Christmas tree along with putting out a lot of various ornaments that I have collected over the years.

Disney themed Christmas tree

This Mickey Mouse Christmas stocking is probably one of my very first Disney Christmas purchases and has been well used over the years. Ethan adopted it when he was little but now it is simply hung as a decoration...guessing it is around 25 years old at least!

Just a few of my Disney ornaments...love this Christmas Carol playset - too cute!

Even R2D2 is getting all festive!

We then had two further trees to decorate this morning...

Black and silver themed tree that lives in my hall

...and...

We call this our quirky Santa tree that sits in our dining area

More ornaments to compliment the quirky Santa tree

...this tree in my dining area started out many years ago with a few 'quirky' Santa's by the designer Gisela Graham. I just fell in love with the unusal style and have, over the years, bought ornaments to match.

It was then time to see Molly and Dan off on their way home; the next time we will see them now will be Christmas!

By now it was early afternoon and we had not seen any sign of our ground-works team appearing and Simon and I had commented that if they didn't turn up soon they would run out of daylight. At that same time I commented that it had gone very grey...about twenty minutes later we had snow...a pretty decent amount of snow!

And suffice to say, of course, no ground-works team ever appeared - first job of tomorrow will be to chase them and find out what's happening and when!

We then had a very relaxed afternoon with Simon doing some digital drawing and me making a start on my first Christmas jigsaw this year.

One edge piece missing - argh!

And to round out this Sunday evening it was keto pizza time...

Yummy!

...while looking out into our very festive garden!

See you tomorrow.
xx

Snow...Ice Day

Day 314...

Well the first job of the day was to decide whether to re-open pre-school after our 'snow day' yesterday. 

It's always difficult to assess what is best to do especially as where I live is away from main roads. So myself and my deputy exchanged a few messages in order to weigh up the situation.

Although we have had no more snowfall since Sunday evening everywhere was still thick with snow and now it was very icy. We decided that the footpaths were too treacherous to be out and about and a lot of the roads had still not cleared so we made the decision to remain shut for today.

I was still able to get on with most of my work at home. There were some emails to respond to, a little banking to update, some online learning journal entries to add and then my main job of the day was to continue updating our safeguarding policy. We had a new policy given to us by our local safeguarding board so I have had to use that as the basis for our own version. A 56 page policy...badly presented...into a 44 page document that is now much easier to read and modified to reflect our pre-school.

I ended up finishing my work about an hour later than I had intended but still had a little daylight left to spend some time on my latest jigsaw, although it was just sorting pieces today.

We had a little home workout this evening; Simon doing the heavy lifting down the 'gym' aka our garage and I stayed in the warmth inside and kept to my bodyweight exercises.

And that has been today.

Take care out there.
xx

Snow Day Monday!

Day 313...

And we had our first 'Snow Day' of this academic year! Although I technically don't work Mondays I did have to make the call as to whether we should open or not and then let all our parents know what was happening.

But our first task of the day was to collect the grocery shopping...in the snow. Thankfully we only have to travel about 3 miles to the store but none of the roads to get there appeared to have been either cleared or treated in anyway so it was a very steady journey there and back.

Making our way steadily to the store!

But it did look very pretty...

Once we were safely home and the shopping took into the house we set to clearing some of the paths around where we live. We have a couple of elderly neighbours so along with another of our neighbours we made sure there was a clear path for them to use.

After we had unpacked and put away all the shopping we decided to take a walk out across the fields where we live. We are extremely fortunate to live right next to farmland and have numerous footpaths and bridleways to walk, which have been a lifeline during these past 303 days!.

We managed a couple of miles which took us just under an hour which is slightly longer than it would have taken normally due to walking through snow and across uneven ground...and stopping to take photos of course!

We even came across a family of snowmen!

After a spot of lunch Simon re-organised all of his various tools and supplies that he had accumulated while completing the elecronics for his R2D2 build. He then left R2 plugged in to see how well it worked and suffice to say he was very pleased with the results. Head over to his Simon Phipps Art Facebook page to see a video of R2 in working order. He is now left with just the legs to finish off and attach.

I made a start on my next jigsaw which is another Disney and Christmas combination and I have managed to complete the outer edge...I think this will be the third time I have done this particular jigsaw!

And there we have 'Snow Day' let's just hope that it's not too icy tomorrow!

Take care out there.

xx