Day 428...Thursday

Day 428...

I think today's blog post is going to be a short one...

So it has been a pretty standard Thursday with the morning in work and the afternoon at home. This morning was a mix of the usual admin tasks; responding to emails, setting up text notifications and getting the invoices prepped ready for sending out in the next day or so.

On my way home at lunchtime I called in at the pharmacy to pick up my dad's prescriptions and then dropped them in at his house. He now has a doctors appointment, an actual face-to-face doctors appointment, scheduled for Monday so hopefully we can start to get him sorted.

The afternoon was spent at home in the warmth and dry of the house as I am convinced that despite it saying May on the calendar it is more like March; torrential downpours and howling winds! Where is the Summer? I am so ready for sunshine and warmth. So I used the time to get a few online bits and pieces sorted as we are away at the weekend and so wanted to get on top of things. And while Simon went down 'the gym' I stayed inside in the warm and did the ironing instead - whoop!

And that was pretty much my day. Looking forward to finishing work early tomorrow and having a weekend away in an actual hotel, even though the weather looks horrid...at least we'll have a different four walls to look at!

Take care.
xx

Midweek Mayhem

Day 427...

OK so maybe not 'mayham' as such but there was definitely plenty going on today.

The morning started with the fitter arriving to install our new boiler. At the same time I was on the phone to my doctors surgery trying to get an appointment for my dad. It took me almost 25 minutes to get through to the surgery but thankfully they agreed that he needed to be seen and would send someone out this morning.

I could then make my way to work; I'd told my deputy that I would be late in but I still don't like arriving late especially when our mornings are quite busy getting the room all set for the day. But my morning, once in work, was pretty standard with the usual emails, banking and admin tasks. This afternoon myself and my deputy got together as we are taking time each week to go over the expectations of Ofsted should we be inspected, as well as looking at the curriculum and the statutory guidance. This week we completed the overview of the Ofsted inspection descriptors and next week we will be able to start going through the 53 pages of the statutory guidance! The guidance has been updated and will come into effect from September so we need to go through it all and make sure that we are meeting all the legal requirements.

By the time I arrived home the new boiler was in and working although the fitter did discover a leak connected with our bathroom radiator as he brought the new boiler online. This might be the cause of a leak we have been battling with for a long while now that we thought was connected to the shower so who knows we might be able to get the issue resolved now.

My dad called to say that the doctors have been back in touch following this morning's house call and he now has an appointment for Monday morning with an actual doctor at the surgery!! Which is great news but it really shouldn't be this hard to see a GP.

I managed to do a little online Disney research ahead of podcast recording later this week before I set to cleaning around and putting everything back where it belonged after the disruption of the day. And then it was time for dinner, blog writing and next it will be feet up in front of the telly!

Take care.
xx

Day 426

Day 426...

Well it's been a busy day than I'd expected and hence it is rather late in the day that I find myself writing today's post.

It started off pretty normal with a morning in work and the usual bits of admin, time sheets and emails. I had an online, video, meeting at midday which not only lasted longer than I had anticipated but was one that apparently I was to chair. This took me a little by surprise as I had not called the meeting, I was using an online system for the first time ever and wasn't totally sure what the meeting was about. It then transpired that the person who had arranged the meeting couldn't make it because they were off sick but had sent a colleague along to 'observe'. Everyone else present then just presumed that I would take over the role of chair...err....I don't think so!! But we got through it and I think I did pretty well all things considered!

So I headed home later than normal, making a stop at a local supermarket to pick up a few supplies; we are away at the weekend which means that Ethan will be home alone for a few days so I picked up some bits and pieces to keep him going. Yes I am a big softie as he is more than capable, and old enough, to sort himself out.

Once home I had a couple of online bits to sort before heading out the door again for a beauty appointment. I'd not long returned home when I got a call from my dad who was struggling to get a doctors appointment. As a result of the current situation most doctors are no longer doing face to face appointments but instead using telephone and video calls. My dad had phoned his doctors yesterday and was told someone would call him back...which they did...but...he didn't get to the phone in time when they called and his answer phone kicked in. The person calling did not leave a message because they are not allowed to because of confidentiality. My dad did the sensible thing of picking up the phone and used the callback option but this took him through to a different doctors surgery from his own. He spoke to them but they, of course, couldn't help because they couldn't find his record...I am presuming that whoever had been tasked with calling my dad was working remotely out of a different surgery and hence the different phone number. And I would presume this is another effect of 'covid restrictions' and working 'covid securely'. But suffice to say I had one pretty confused dad.

I phoned the surgery myself and discovered that if I made an appointment today I would not get a date until mid-June but if I wanted to see or speak to someone quickly I would need to call at 8am in the morning and hope that I manage to snag one of the few appointment slots that they have. 

It can be difficult enough in 'normal times' to get an appointment with your doctor but this current set of circumstances just seem to be making it more awkward and difficult than it needs to be. My dad is an elderly gentleman who is suffering with a number of conditions and who needs to be seen in person, who needs a comprehensive review of his current medical care, who needs the care and attention that a GP is supposed to offer but who at the moment is not even getting a second rate service. It is appalling what we are having to put up with at the moment. My dad has paid his way all his working life, surely he should now be able to benefit from the care that he so rightly deserves and has earned, as should tens of thousands of others out there. 

But this is the situation we find ourselves in. How many people are suffering at the moment because they can't get to see their GP? How many have been terrified into staying at home and are not seeking the medical help they need? How many missed appointments have there been because people have been afraid to leave their home? How many delayed treatments have there been resulting in outcomes far worse than would have otherwise been expected? How many missed diagnosis? The list could go on and I fear the true effect of lockdown will not be know for a while yet and when we do find out I fear it will be far worse than the impact of covid.

Take care out there.
xx

Manic Monday

Day 425...

Well the day started off with no hot water. Our boiler had decided to stop working and was displaying an error code. It is a code that we have had numerous times before and last time we had it we said that the next time we would look at getting a replacement.

Thankfully we have a great heating engineer that we use and a few messages and phone calls later resulted in a new boiler to be installed on Wednesday, and by mid-afternoon all the parts had been delivered - wow, just amazing service.

With that sorted we headed out the door to collect this weeks grocery shop, we had a small detour via the local pharmacy to drop in a prescription for my dad but we were quickly home to unload and organise the groceries. Not only had we got our shopping but also a few bits for pre-school as well as some for my dad. He is still waiting for his car to be fixed and is relying on us at the moment to do the essentials for him.

So back out the door we stopped by my dad's to deliver the aforementioned groceries and then we headed off to Ikea. By the time we arrived at Ikea the heavens had opened and we were in torrential rain; suffice to say we parked up and sat in the car until it had passed over. But we had a successful trip bringing home two book shelf units, a new shelf for Ethan and numerous clear plastic storage boxes of different sizes.

Thankfully by the time we got home the weather had cleared up but we did notice piles of hailstones gathered around our front door! Suffice to say our afternoon was then spent assembling the two bookcases, locating them in Simon's workspace and then filling them with books and helmets...we have a Star Wars and art themed collection of books interspersed with a Stormtrooper helmet and a Mandalorian helmet.

Next it was time for Simon to go through the cupboard that used to live in his workspace but, because of its size, it will no longer fit. One bin bag later and lots of clear plastic boxes filled, progress has been made. There is still some sorting to do and then we will need to disassemble and get rid of the cupboard but that will be for another day. 

And in among all of that we have been given a date for our new windows to be installed, Simon helped Ethan install his new shelf and I got caught up on all the ironing! It's been all go!

So today marked another stage in the easing of restrictions; we can now dine indoors, stay in a hotel, hug others and indoor entertainments can open. But as we see these things open up the carrot of the 21st June when all legal limits on social contact will be removed is becoming more and more unlikely. The reporting today suggests that this date may not now happen because of the Indian variant of the disease...despite millions of us being vaccinated, despite the vaccine working against this variant, despite cases being low, deaths being low...do the government ever want us to go back to our old normal? 

The fear has gripped hold of the nation and the powers that be seem to like holding us all in this state of fear. They seem to enjoy the control and the power that they have developed over us. But is this how we really want to live? I don't! I want to see who I want, when I want, hug who I want, when I want, to go where I want, to travel, to go to concerts, to shop without restriction, to live rather than cower away afraid of my own reflection. But when, or if, this will happen who knows?!

Take care.
xx

Another Birthday...in lockdown

Day 424...

So we have another 'lockdown birthday' and today it was Simon's turn and for him this is lockdown birthday number two!

So while we are easing out of lockdown there are still enough restrictions in place to mean that life is not back to normal by a long way yet. We are only allowed to dine outside and as the weather this May has chosen to be rather wet and chilly that isn't an enjoyable option at the moment. But, from tomorrow, indoor hospitality is able to open up...providing masks are worn when not seated and that you 'check-in' for track and trace. And I would guess because of the 'guidelines' in place that most venues will be unable to operate at full capacity; such a worrying time for anyone working in the hospitality sector.

Interestingly over in the US face coverings and social distancing are slowly being eased with anyone who has been fully vaccinated no longer having to wear a mask, anywhere. Even in Walt Disney World they have removed the need to wear masks outdoors which is great news and will make wandering around in the Florida heat a much more pleasant experience.

But back here we have had a very chilled and slow day while we watched the blue skies turn dark and rain fall and then back to blue and then repeat all over again. There was the customary giving of presents followed by coffee and looking through one of Simon's gifts; The Art of Galaxy's Edge which is a fascinating book with some amazing concept art.

Before Molly headed off to spend the next week at her boyfriend's house she made Simon a birthday cake...a low carb, rich, dark chocolate cake; basically eggs, butter and chocolate. This is one of our favourite low carb treats and goes great with a few berries and some cream.

So Molly headed off and then we realised that she'd left her birthday cake here rather than take it with her. So a quick message and we managed to catch them before they joined the motorway so they did a quick about turn to head back to collect it!

We have had a sort through of some of our books today as part of our reorganisation following the new flooring going down last week. I managed to throw out some old cookery books that I haven't used in years which meant I could reorganise my book case and make space for some of my many Disney books. This means that they are now closer to hand and hopefully this will encourage me to read more of them, more often.

Next we had a couple of errands to run; a parcel to drop at the post office and then a quick stop by the house we lease out to complete the repair we had started yesterday. Thanks to the power of Amazon we had been able to order the part we needed yesterday and it arrived today.

The rest of the day has been quiet with Simon spending a little time doing some more digital artwork, a very chilled out birthday. And now with a drink in hand it's time to watch this week's episode of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under along with a piece of Simon's birthday cake.

Take care.
xx

Day 423

Day 423...

Saturday is here and this post is being written rather late in the day.

This morning we had a small DIY job to sort at the house we lease out and although we couldn't sort the problem straight away we have the necessary parts on order. 

Back home we started on trying to figure out some new storage for the living room and Simon's work space. Lots of measuring ensued with the Ikea website at hand! A shopping list has now been made and we will be heading to Ikea next week...there is no way I'm braving Ikea on a weekend!

Molly had a few of her girlfriends over this afternoon to celebrate her birthday and I helped with the cooking element of the festivities.

Later we made keto pizza and settled down to watch a movie...Rocketman! Wow what a fabulous film and performances, can't recommend it enough. Then it was time for birthday cake and to revisit a film that we hadn't seen in a very long time..To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.

Take care.

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

Say Goodbye to Lockdown Hair

Day 421...

Today was the day that I got my hair back and said goodbye to my lockdown look!

But that was later in the day. The morning was spent in work and a big chunk of it was spent in a video call with a local speech and language therapist as she helped us with one of our children. I will admit to being a little sceptical with the video call approach but it actually worked really well, and the good thing was the call backed up everything we had been doing so far and pointed us where we need to go next.

I had a quick catch up with banking, admin and emails before heading home at lunchtime via a local supermarket. As Molly is having her 'girls' around on Saturday there were a few 'party nibbles' that needed picking up for the belated birthday celebrations.

Once home and shopping packed away I had time to get changed, grab a quick bite to eat, a couple of coffees and a few more emails responded to before heading off to the hairdressers to get rid of my lockdown locks! So I went from...

to this...

Yay the old me is back and I feel sooo much better for it!

And well after three hours at the hairdressers it was home to cook dinner, write this blog and drink wine!

Take care.
xx

Birthday Celebrations

Day 420...

We have reached the middle of the week and today it has been Molly's birthday and she is no longer a teenager - eek! Yet again Molly has another birthday in 'lockdown' and while this year the lockdown is easing it is still not a proper birthday for her. She is having some friends around at the weekend but they will be outside in the garden as unfortunately the next installment of easing restrictions does not happen until Monday!! So frustrating!!

We had the customary opening of presents and cards this morning before the working day began. I have had a full day in actual work and have been kept busy once again.

Lots of admin, banking, phone calls, emails and a newsletter to issue. Then myself and my deputy got together as we are working our way through a couple of pieces of legislation to make sure that as a pre-school we are doing everything we need to be doing in the best way possible. As an educational establishment we have a curriculum to follow, which will be changing in September, and we are also inspected by our governing body, Ofsted. So as the management team it is our responsibility to review all of our practices on a regular basis to ensure that all that we do is meeting all of the requirements. We also review to ensure that we are as efficient as we can be and that the level of education that we offer is second to none; we are very passionate about ensuring that children attending our pre-school start their education journey in the best way possible.

Not long after I'd arrived home me and Molly had to nip out in search of a parcel that had supposedly been delivered today. On inspecting the tracking information it looks like the parcel has been delivered to the same street name as ours but in the wrong village...this is something that has happened before so we decided to investigate. Unfortunately no-one was home when we called but with a little investigation work I have worked out that the person who lives there is actually related to a friend of mines husband (small world or what!). So I am now in the process of enlisting my friends help to ascertain if the parcel has in fact been delivered there in error!

Home again and I had a couple of work emails to deal with, a little research for pre-school and some time looking for some specific photos ahead of another birthday tomorrow!! And then as it's Molly's birthday we decided to celebrate with an Indian take-away for dinner, so no cooking for me tonight! Oh and of course birthday cake that Molly made herself!

And today means it is now just one more sleep until I get my hair cut and coloured...it's been a long wait since the 21st December and I am so looking forward to a complete refresh.

Take care,
xx

Day 419 - Busy Tuesday

Day 419...

Well it's been another busy day.

My morning was spent in work and there was plenty to do. The usual banking, admin and emails to deal with. Invoices to chase. Uniform to organise. There was a long email sent to Jon at Asda to see if he could help us with a few bits. Now the email was prompted after I'd bumped into Jon yesterday but I think he may regret it when he sees the long list of things he could help us with!! I also had some prep work to complete for Father's Day at the request of my staff. Now it isn't until next month so I presumed we were being super organised but it then transpired that the we'd added Father's Day to this months planning by mistake - oops! Oh well no harm done we will just be ahead of ourselves next month.

I then dashed home at lunchtime so that I could be ready for an online leaders and managers meeting via 'Teams'.An hour and a half later and I think I had come away with just two pieces of information that were of any use. But while I was 'attending' the meeting I could at least click on all the links we were provided with to ensure that I'd already got them bookmarked, which I had! I was also able to deal with a couple of emails as they came in.

Once the meeting was over me and Molls popped to see my dad, to check-in with him and make sure he was doing okay and he also had a birthday card for Molls as it's her birthday tomorrow. When we arrived back home Molls set about assembling and decorating the cake that she had baked this morning, a three tier cake that she has made for her birthday - bless her!

While she sorted the cake I jumped back online to deal with a few more emails for work as well as add to a newsletter I am currently drafting. I wanted to add an extra piece and needed to link in to an existing document. But when I found the document I wanted I realised it was actually out of date, this then meant having to source the newer version and amend it to reflect our pre-school. A worthwhile exercise just not one I was expecting to do.

And then with a clear kitchen and Molls & Simon down our 'gym' I decided to attack the ironing pile; I've got a lot of things happening over the week and knew that today was the best, and probably only, day to get it done. 

So we have reached the end of the day; lots of work stuff done, meeting attended, dad visited, Molls has sorted her birthday cake, documents updated, ironing done and dinner cooked...now where's that glass of wine! Phew!

Take care whatever you are doing.
xx

Day 418

Day 418...

Well we have had another productive day. 

Monday is our non-working day of the working week and it started with the usual collection of our grocery shop. While we were collecting the shopping we bumped into one of the store colleagues, Jon, who we know through pre-school.  It was lovely to catch-up with him and he offered his help to pre-school once again.

Once home, and with all the shopping packed away, we then had a parcel to drop off at the post office and a car full of rubbish to take to our local recycling centre. This was all the rubbish left over from the fitting of the floors last week...enough to fill the car!

And then the rest of the day was spent with a little more organising of Simon's workspace as well as going through our DVD and Blu-ray collection. There were a number of films that we had on both DVD and Blu-ray, we even had two copies of the same format of one film and quite a few that we just haven't watched in forever and have no intention of watching any time soon. So we were quite ruthless and went through everything throwing some straight out and keeping others to sell on Ebay.

We even discovered some old VHS tapes, there were a few Disney ones, quite a number of Prince videos as well as some tapes of stuff that we had recorded from the television decades ago! Suffice to say it was a combination of bin for some of them and Ebay pile for the others.

Although at one point we did get rather confused when we couldn't find the Disney Blu-rays we thought we had and then Molly remembered that they were still in the garage in a storage basket - oops!

But by the end of the day we had them all sorted, and put back into the cupboards from which they came. And just in time to play taxi service for Molly as she had her kickboxing class tonight.

Oh and yes our government have given us the go ahead to hug people as from next Monday but we must do it carefully...for goodness sake we had four deaths in the whole of the UK today from Covid I think the time for hugging people is now! We had more deaths in the UK from cancer, heart and stroke conditions and more deaths from suicide alone than Covid today...really don't get it anymore!

But take care and I'll see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 417

Day 417...

After a very busy day yesterday we took things a little slower this morning and enjoyed a lazy start to the day.

The main focus of today was to get Simon's workspace back up and operational ready for work on Tuesday. So although we had managed to get his desk and chair into his workspace he now needed to get everything else back up there and more importantly connected, plugged in and working.

The space he has is up in the rafters and so he has to contend with slopped ceilings and only a couple of double electrical sockets. He has an awful lot of kit that needs to be connected and it is a mammoth, and complicated, job. But he is using this opportunity to make sure he only has what he actually needs and streamlining where he can. This is the ethos that we are taking as we 'put back' our rooms, to take a moment to reflect and ask; Do we need it? Why are we holding on to it? Is it useful anymore? Does it serve a purpose? Do we even like it still?

While Simon battled with technology I spent an hour or so online with my podcast co-host Michelle as we recorded this weeks Disney Dream Girls show. Ordinarily we would have recorded a show by now but what with all the work happening here this week, and Michelle just having moved house, today was the first opportunity we had had. 

We did take a little time out late this afternoon for a short walk; a quick 1.9 miles in about 38 minutes. And we were back in time for our weekly Disney quiz via Zoom...I say weekly but it has been a couple of weeks since we last hooked up so it was nice to see what are now very familiar faces, and this week I won! This does mean that I now get the honour of setting the questions for the next quiz which will have to be in a few weeks time as next week it is Simon's birthday and the week after we are away for the weekend...staying in an actual hotel...for the first time since March last year, which is just ridiculous.

So as we start to see restrictions being eased I spot a cousin on Instagram post her wedding photos...a scaled down affair because of the restrictions still in place, with a comment that they will celebrate with family later in the year...so sad! And then we have the promise from our government that we will be allowed to hug people from different households in a weeks time but that we have to do so 'carefully'...unbelievable we are now being told by our government how to hug each other...I am a grown woman I will hug who I want, when I want and how I want, I don't need politicians telling me how!

And with that I have a martini, a husband to hug and time to chill.

Take care.
xx
 

Day 415...Finally Friday

Day 415...

So we have a Friday and day three of our floor installation.

My day was spent at work while I left Simon home to supervise the floor fitters. 

Work was another standard sort of day. We started the day be going through the activities planned for the coming week which meant that I could set up email, social media, website and learning journal posts for all our parents. It was then a day of emails, filing and banking and a little indoor football with the children at the end of the day!

On my way home I stopped by one of my best friends to wish her a happy birthday for yesterday. I'd not been able to see her yesterday for various reasons so made a point of stopping by today to drop off a present and card. The great thing was that I timed it just right to see two of my other close friends who were also dropping off gifts...it was the first time that we had all been together in over sixteen months! We have now put a date in our diaries for a girls night out when the pubs should be open indoors...assuming our government sticks to its plan to let indoor dining happen from 17th May!

I arrived home to a very busy house; lots of sawing and banging noises from two very busy fitters. They worked so hard and by early evening the work was completed. We now have three rooms all fitted out with lovely wood flooring. And although we will have a lot of work to do this weekend to get the living room and Simon's work space operational again we have managed to get our bedroom back to how it should be. So tonight we get to sleep in our bed, rather than just the mattress on the floor!

Well, talking of bed that's where I'm heading, see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 414...Thursday...

Day 414...

Another day with the morning in work and the afternoon at home, as well as day two of our new flooring being fitted.

So it was up early to be all sorted before our fitter arrived. Just as I was leaving for work I received a text to say that my butchers order had been delivered...now we had not had a knock at the door but I know the last couple of times the delivery company have just left the order on the doorstep and then send through a photo to say it's delivered. I opened the door expecting to see a very big box and there was nothing! Simon and I investigated and found two boxes that had been left by the gates to where we live...no where near our front door. I appreciate that the boxes were on the heavy side, and there was a little bit of a walk from the van to our door but isn't it a delivery company's job to 'deliver' to the door?!

Simon, thankfully, was able to carry the boxes into the house while I dashed off to work. The morning was the usual mix of banking, admin, emails and chatting with staff about the remainder of the academic year. We have leavers celebrations to plan as well as a Summer fundraiser. Ordinarily we would hold a Summer Fair but with some restrictions still being in place and having to wait for the next steps in the 'roadmap' to actually happen it doesn't give us much time to organise anything. So we have decided to opt for another 'virtual' raffle and a special fun week for the children with lots of games and special treats.

I came home via a local supermarket; I went in for about five items and must have come out with about fifteen. One of the benefits of lockdown had been relying on just one grocery shop per week but I have slipped back into the habit of just 'popping' in to my local when really we could have survived till the next shop. Oh well, best get back into my new habits rather than pick-up the old ones that caused me to spend more money than I should!

Once home the floor fitting was in full swing and although we have a couple of issues it is going remarkably well. Simon's work area is a little awkward and has lots of nooks and crannies to work around so that has taken a little more time than anticipated but now we are onto the two main rooms so things should be a lot easier. Although there was a moment when we suddenly remembered about laying the wire for our speaker system under the floor...thankfully we remembered just in time!

My main job this afternoon was to sort the butchers order out into meal sized portions. We had delivered; 5kg chicken, 6kg steak mince, 20 burgers, 100 sausages, 4.5 kg bacon and 4 packs of steak. It must have took me well over an hour to bag it all up, sort out the freezer and get rid of all the packaging, but we are now good to go for the next few weeks. Adopting a keto/low carb, almost carnivore, lifestyle means that all our meals are focused on protein and fat. Cooked breakfast every morning with lunch and dinner being focused around a meat based protein, lots of black coffee, small glass of red wine and some lovely extra dark chocolate to enjoy. No bland carbs, no beige fillers just great tasty, and filling, food. It will be seven years in a few weeks time that I adopted a low carb lifestyle; I lost the weight, dropped the dress sizes and most importantly have maintained those losses. See my page 'Eating Well, Staying Healthy' to find out more about the changes I made.

And talking of good food dinner was a late one tonight as our floor fitter worked as late as he possibly could; bless him he has worked so hard and although we have a couple of issues that need sorting he is on the case. So we are having a quick dinner this evening of steak, burger and bacon with maybe a few fried veggies on the side and cheese on top!

Take care out there.
xx

Working Wednesday

Day 413...

First day at work this week, and it was a full day.

But this morning started off bright and early, to not only get out for work at the right time, but to also get ready for the wood floors getting fitted today. I needed to ensure that we had everything we would need for the next couple of days out of our bedroom just in case the floor needed screed to be applied as this would mean we could not use the room for around 24 hours.

My day at work was a mix of the usual admin and banking tasks and fielding emails. I have a new system to get my head around called 'virtual school' ahead of a meeting in just over a week and so I was back and forth on emails and phone calls to sort it all out. This afternoon me and my deputy got together to work out our plan for the remainder of the academic year which involves staff appraisals, leavers celebrations, fundraising and reviewing Ofsted requirements. Suffice to say whilst we were very busy we still have a big chunk of work to get through.

Throughout the day I was getting updates from Simon on the progress of our new flooring. Our fitter had a job to finish off first thing and got to us around lunchtime. Thankfully we only needed screed to be laid on a couple of smallish areas which means that we can still access both our bedroom and living room. Simon's office area has been boarded out and metal edging strips laid ready for the actual wood floor going down tomorrow. We now have lots of boxes of flooring and rolls of underlay all ready for an early 8am start tomorrow!

The day was rounded out with the usual Wednesday taxi service to get Molly back and forth from her kickboxing class and that was our day.

Take care, wherever you are.
xx

 

Happy Star Wars Day!

Day 412...

And it was another day off from work for me today. We had a scheduled Inset Day at pre-school, which ordinarily means the staff would be in work training or catching up with various tasks, but because we have already worked the hours it meant a day at home.

We did allow ourselves a slow getting up this morning as we had been so busy the last few days but we still had a pretty productive day. Molly had a driving lesson this morning and Simon and I took a short walk out while it was still dry. We only walked 1.6 miles in 32 minutes but we achieved the objective of getting some items in the post and then battled our way against the wind home again.

Then it was time to move the last remaining pieces of furniture out of the living room and into our garage for the next few days. This meant moving some rather heavy pieces so we were very grateful for Molly's help. But it also meant disconnecting all the TV and audio kit and the mass of wires that go with it all as well as dismantling our sofa to get that moved out the way as well. Thankfully our sofa was a 'build it yourself' type so taking it apart was pretty straight forward and it is now in about nine pieces! Although we did take plenty if photos as we went along to aid with the reassembling in a few days time! 

Once the room was clear of furniture we had yet more carpet to roll up and put in the back of the car. We then moved onto clearing our bedroom. We were able to disassemble our bed, while leaving us the mattress to sleep on for the next few nights. We then had to empty the drawers of the dressing table so that we could move that out of the room...it is a very heavy piece of furniture so we made sure we had the shortest distance possible to move it! We then removed the underlay from the remaining carpet so that all we are left with in the bedroom is our mattress and some carpet! I think we will be 'camping out' for the next few nights. If the floors need to have screed applied before we can lay the new wood floor we will have two rooms out of action for possibly 24 hours so we will need to make sure that we have everything we need for the next few days out of each room, otherwise we'll be in a pickle!

So with more underlay in the car we took our third trip to the local recycling centre. It was unusual to be out and about driving around in the middle of a work day and it was kind of reassuring to see how busy the roads were. Although it was also sad to see pubs that had been open in the last week or so now shut because of the typically temperamental British weather; to be only allowed to open outdoors at the moment is ridiculous. Pubs cannot survive on outdoors only dining when the weather is so unpredictable, after all who wants to sit out in the wind and the rain to 'enjoy' a glass of wine! And just today the government very quietly released a paper by SAGE (their scientific advisory group) that basically said there was no detrimental affect of opening up indoors hospitality yet all these businesses have got to wait until the 17th May...unbelievable.

Arriving home we refuelled with a coffee before getting the hoover out and cleaning around the best we could ahead of tomorrow. There is going to be more dust, and more cleaning, over the next few days but figured I'd try and keep on top of it as best I could.

So as today is 'Star Wars Day' (May the 4th be with you!) Simon treated himself to a new VR game called Star Wars; Tales from Galaxy's Edge. Galaxy's Edge is the new area in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World that takes you to the planet of Batuu and this game is centered around that planet. In the theme parks the area includes various shops, restaurants and rides including Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run. 

Now I am not a big fan of VR, kinda makes me feel a little seasick and disorientated, but Simon was insistent that I gave it a try this afternoon as I would be able to experience Batuu from a position that I would be unable to do so in actual reality. So I popped on the goggles and found myself in Sleesak's Bar with a window in front of me which looked out over the Millenium Falcon...

Inside Sleesak's Bar

...Wow! Everything looked so good and I really could imagine myself being in the actual Galaxy's Edge, somewhere which we have yet to visit. I said to Simon that if the real life version is as good as the VR then I am going to struggle to get Simon away from it all the next time we get to visit in person!

And there we have another Tuesday. Back to work for me tomorrow and the start of our new flooring being installed!

Take care.

xx

Wet Bank Holiday Monday

Day 411...

So today turned out to be your stereotypical bank holiday Monday - wet!

But that didn't stop us at all and we had another very productive day. Once we had collected the weekly grocery shop we decided to take up a little more carpet...we are basically left with a square of carpet in each room that will be having new flooring this week, just enough for us to live with for the next couple of days. It did mean another trip to our local recycling centre to get rid of another car full of carpet!

Then after lunch we decided to give the living room a little touch up of paint. When we realised that the paint we had was the right colour but a different finish we decided that rather than just 'touch up' we would re-do the whole room. Now it's a pretty decent size room so it took us all afternoon but we were really pleased to get it all done and give the room a whole refresh ahead of the new wood floor being laid.

And that was really it for today - grocery shop, carpet, recycling centre and painting - while outside it decided to rain pretty much all of the day. Fair to say I think we made the best of the day!

Take care.
xx

 

Sunday Drama

Day 410...

Well I am writing this quite late again today as we have had another busy.

After a steady start to the day we set about moving a couple of pieces of furniture out of the living room. One was a six shelf bookcase...full of books...so we had to empty it, then move it and then restack the shelves. We had to then do the same with a large cupboard that was full of DVD's. But both pieces are now in their temporary home and a little more space has been created.

We then had a trip to our local recycling centre to dispose of all the carpet that we had took up yesterday. We now have an empty car to fill with yet more carpet!

After a spot of late lunch we watched a brilliant video by Dr John Lee talking all about the pandemic, our reaction to it and explaining in plain english the errors that have been made and what should have happened. I urge you to seek out this short film and give it a watch.

We then took a walk out over the fields to get a breath of fresh air and have a break from furniture moving. We took a slightly different route to normal and managed 2.74 miles in 55 minutes.

But once back home we set to taking up more carpet in our bedroom and the living room. We have gone around the edge of the rooms to get rid of carpet, underlay and the horrid carpet grippers while leaving some carpet for us to live with over the next couple of days before the new wood floor goes down.

Before we knew it it was almost 8pm and we were covered in dust. So we decided take out was in order and we sent Molls and her fella off to pick up some kebabs while Simon and I got changed out of our dusty clothes!

And then the drama ensued...while eating my chicken and steak kebab I took my first bite and found myself choking! With a combination of me making myself cough and Simon giving me a good slap on the back as well as trying the heimlich manoeuvre I was able to get rid of the blockage. It's the first time I can remember choking like that and it was a scary experience. I didn't eat much after that and now have quite a raw throat that has left me with a gravelly voice!

So the rest of my evening will be spent with a vodka and tonic, dark chocolate and watching RuPauls Drag Race Down Under!

Take care.

xx

Saturday Shuffle

Day 409...

So having reached the weekend we find ourselves with plenty to do ahead of happenings next week!

But first we had a trip to the post office as Simon had sold another Shadowman poster via his website. Then we popped over to a local window company to chat with one of their sales guys about our new windows and more importantly our new front door. We have a non-standard size door that had been proving a little tricky to sort a replacement for but having visited the showroom we now have a solution and can move ahead with getting the windows and door sorted.

Then this afternoon we started to clear three of our rooms ahead of new wood flooring going down next week. We needed to make the rooms as accessible as possible and move as much furniture out of the rooms as we could.

One of the rooms was particularly challenging as it is a mezzanine floor, that we call the gallery, which is where Simon works. All the furniture was built in situ so removing it meant lowering them over  a balustrade to the room below! Thank goodness we had Molly and her fella on hand to help us! How we get it back up is a question for a week's time...eek!!

But it was an afternoon well spent with the gallery area being completely cleared including the carpet and a good amount of items getting moved out of the living room. We still have more furniture to move and the carpet to clear from the living room as well as our bedroom so it's a good job it's a long weekend!

Well a productive day was rounded out with the making of keto pizza, a few nibbles, strawberries, chocolate and wine.

Take care.

xx

 

It's the Weekend!

Day 408...

And we have reached the last day of the working week and for me it was a full day in work...I know...shocker!

The day started with a little drama as one of our staff had had their car broken into overnight. Thankfully there was no damage and apart from the inconvenience of a few phone calls and being late into work there was no real upset.

My work day was another pretty standard day of admin, emails and banking. As it's the end of the week we always look forward to what we have planned for the upcoming week so that we can make sure we have the right equipment and resources for whatever activities we have planned. My job is then to compose an email to parents to let them know what we will be doing for the week, I then use this information to create posts on our Facebook page, our website and the online learning journals for all our children. 

And with thanks to the husband of one of my staff we managed to get fixed a piece of our furniture that had been broken a couple of days earlier. All our furniture has to be on wheels as we need to move it in and out of our building each day into an outdoor storage container and a couple of days ago one set of wheels had broken away. Thankfully a few drill holes later and some new screws and all was fixed and working again.

On my way home I decided to nip into a local supermarket to pick up a few bits and pieces for the weekend...and I remembered why I normally avoid a Friday afternoon! Not only was the store busier than I would prefer...I like to be in and out...but there was also more traffic than normal. Oh well I will remember to avoid a late Friday afternoon in future.

With shopping unpacked and a coffee poured I jumped online to do a little more birthday shopping as well as a little card shopping, and then Simon finished worked and made me our now traditional Friday night Martini...or I should say Vodkatini as it was tonight. The last few Fridays we have enjoyed a little tipple while watching The Falcon & The Winter Soldier but as last week was the last episode we had nothing to watch so it was enjoyed as an aperitif  as I prepped dinner and Simon did a little more digital artwork.

And there we have a Friday and we are ready for the weekend...and it is an extra long weekend as not only do we have a bank holiday on Monday but I also have an inset day at pre-school on Tuesday and as we have already worked the hours it will be a day off in lieu.

Take care out there.
xx