Day 844 & Day 845

Day 844...Monday

It was another gorgeous morning and as it was Simon's non-working day of the week we took a slightly longer early morning walk of 3.6 miles in 1 hour and 13 minutes. It was surprisingly hot for an 8am walk!

And because it was still relatively cool compared to the forecasted high for the day we popped out to Lidl to pick up some fresh bits and pieces. We also got to meet our neighbours new Labrador puppy although it was from a distance as he hasn't had all his injections yet. He will eventually become a guide dog for the blind as our neighbours are part of a programme that trains the dogs ready for their prospective owners. But whilst they are puppies and are too young to be trained they still need to be looked after and that's where our neighbours step into the picture. They will have him for about a year before he leaves for his guide dog training, although I'm not sure I could do it as I would worry he'd be too cute to give up!

After lunch and in the need for an activity that would involve somewhere cool we decided to head off to the cinema. So into Derby we went to one of our favourite smaller cinemas, The Quad, to watch Thor Love and Thunder.  We had the cinema to ourselves, it was lovely and cool and we enjoyed a couple of hours of Marvel movie madness!

Day 845...Tuesday

Although it was still pretty warm first thing this morning it was rather cloudy which meant it was cooler than, and a nice relief from, the heat of yesterday.

We still started the day with an early morning walk but it was a much shorter and quicker 1.9 miles in 37 minutes and we were back home for 8.35am. This gave me just enough time to grab a few slurps of coffee and a change of shoes before I headed out the door.

I needed to be at my dads for 9am as I had an auctioneer visiting to advise about clearing the house and whether any of the items we have are worth putting to auction. I was there for 8.55am and realised I'd left my phone at home - doh! Thankfully it's less than a mile between home and my dads so I was able to dash home, get my phone and be back at my dads for 9.03am!!

It looks like all the contents of my dads house will be left for me to either sell on or dispose of myself. While there maybe some value to some of the items that we have, the auctioneer was very honest and advised against using their services as it really would not be worth our while by the time we've paid their costs and commission. So it looks like I will be getting familiar with Ebay and Facebook Marketplace once more! 

Whilst I was at my dads the estate agent stopped by to collect a set of keys so that he can start showing the house, in fact we have two viewings already booked in for tomorrow evening!

Mid-morning and I was back home and armed with a coffee it was time for some more internet research as I begin to prepare myself for selling stuff online. I also have a couple of places in mind for where I might be able to sell on some of the larger items and collections.

After lunch it was time to take Simon back to Derby hospital to see if the cast on his arm was ready to come off. Suffice to say we have two functioning arms once more, although he still needs to take it steady while his left arm heals - so no lifting heavy weights for a few weeks yet. He should hopefully hear from a physio so that he can make a quick and speedy recovery. 

The remainder of the afternoon was spent catching up on a few little tasks while I drank coffee outside; taking advantage of a lovely warm afternoon but with no real sunshine as it was still relatively cloudy...we even had a few spots of rain at times. One of my jobs was to get in touch with my tattooist, Saint Heywood, with the ideas that I have for my next lot of ink and send him over some reference material. Fingers crossed he can fit me in soon as it's almost a year since my last tattoo!

As Simon worked a little later than normal, to make up for the time spent out at the hospital this afternoon, and the weather was rather oppressively warm we opted to forgo our Tuesday workout. Simon needs to still be careful with his wrist and isn't allowed to be lifting heavy things for the next few weeks so we are still going to have to find alternatives to our usual workout sessions. But not to worry we will still be able to get out for our early morning walks and at least the weather should be a little cooler then as the forecast for the next few days is looking rather hot!

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 816 & Day 817

Another couple of days together...

Day 816...Monday

The day started with an early morning walk of 2.3 miles in 48 minutes and whilst it was a tad grey it didn't stop us enjoying our new normal.

The morning was spent catching up on a few jobs around the house until lunchtime. It was around this time that I received a text message from preschool letting me know that they'd had the dreaded Ofsted call! This meant that tomorrow would be inspection day and they wanted to know if I could be available.

Being part of the early years education sector means that all settings are inspected by Ofsted every few years. We'd been waiting for our next inspection ever since we moved into our new premises over 2 years ago, so whilst it didn't come as a surprise it still left everyone feeling nervous and anxious.

We have a fantastic team at preschool who all do an amazing job with passion and care but as soon as inspection gets mentioned everyone tends to self doubt themselves. This is only natural as the thought of someone who you don't know watching every thing you do and firing random questions at you can be enough to cause even the most confident of people to falter.

I then received another text asking if I could pop down in the afternoon to just go over a few things. So I jumped in the car and spent just under a couple of hours with them to reassure and answer questions to help get them ready for tomorrow.

Back home and Simon and I could resume our plans which was to run a couple of errands, one of which involved a trip to Lidl - whoop! By the time we arrived home it was quite late in the afternoon and so we decided to get a little exercise in. Simon jumped on the exercise bike while I concentrated on my body-weight exercises.

And with that Monday was done.

Day 817...Tuesday

So rather than getting out for a walk today I was up and out early to go into work to assist, where I could, with their Ofsted inspection.

I spent the morning with the team and my time was mainly spent interacting with the children which is something that I haven't done for quite a long time now. The inspector was lovely and spent lots of time talking to the staff and observing various activities. But around 12.30pm I had to make my excuses to leave. I spoke briefly with the inspector in case there was anything she needed me for, or any questions she had for me in my new role of committee chairperson, but all was good.

I needed to get home to play taxi service for Simon as he had an appointment at the fracture clinic at Derby hospital. So after a quick bite to eat for lunch we headed off to the wonders of Derby hospital. I had to kick Simon out of the car as the queues for the car parks were so long. It took me almost 25 minutes to get into a car park and get parked up. I then had the fun pastime of waiting for Simon in a rather warm car while writing this blog.

It was when I received messages from Simon telling me that a lady he was sat next to had been there an hour and forty minutes that I began to be a tad concerned as to how long we would be there for. Think we'd been spoilt by the efficiency of our local walk-in centre last week who'd been able to assess, x-ray and cast Simon's wrist in about 40 minutes straight!

Well after I'd been sat in the car waiting for about and an hour and a half I decided to go for a wander, stretch my legs and get out of the rather warm car. I managed to find a bench that was in partial shade and with a little breeze that was way more comfortable than sitting cooped up in the car. I messaged Simon to see how things were progressing and ten minutes later my phone was lighting up with a ton of messages from him, and just as I was about to reply Simon appeared at my side. It would appear that being in the depths of the hospital meant that the messages he'd sent hadn't physically been sent until he'd moved away from the fracture clinic and consequently they'd all arrived in my inbox at once!

Simon is now sporting a very smart looking, slimmer and less awkward cast in black! The consultant was happy with how the break was looking and it is now a case of keeping it in cast for about 4 weeks and hope that when he goes back all will be healed.

By the time we arrived home I'd received an update on the proceedings at pre-school. We will know the result in a few weeks time but until then it's a waiting game.

As Simon had missed a few hours of work this afternoon he spent a little time catching up this evening before we finally settled down with a cuppa to watch some TV.

See you tomorrow.
xx