Day 709

Day 709...

Today marks the beginning of the end of restrictions in England and a chance that things may begin to look more normal again. But at the same time we have reports of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine...we seem to be going from one round of fear to another and I really don't like the way the world is turning at the moment.

But it was still Thursday and there were still things to be done.

Back in 2019 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a lumpectomy to remove the 'bad stuff'. Following a successful surgery I am now about half way through five years of annual mammograms to make sure all is well. My next mammogram should be sometime in April as that is the anniversary of my surgery but a couple of days ago I'd received a letter inviting me to book an appointment as part of the breast screening program here in the UK.

I dutifully made the phone call today to book myself in, but when I explained that I had been diagnosed in 2019 I was told to ignore the letter and wait for my annual check. I wasn't sure whether the letter would apply to me or not but wanted to make sure. Just seems a bit of a waste of time and effort to issue an existing cancer patient with a letter that does not apply to them. In times when we are being told about the financial pressures placed on our NHS you would think that efficient systems would be one way to ensure that costs were held in check by only contacting those that actually needed to be contacted.

Around midday I headed out to meet the girls from work in the hail and rain and snow! The weather was a very mixed bag today, there was sunshine and blue skies, gusty winds, hail, rain and snow; not pleasant at all!

We met up at a local cafe for afternoon tea. Now as I follow a low carb/keto way of eating an afternoon tea is not something that appeals to me anymore and one that I know my body wouldn't handle very well. I will admit that the food that the rest of my team had looked lovely and was beautifully presented and everyone seemed to enjoy it all. I did decide to allow myself a treat and had a very nice cream tea...although I had coffee and not tea!!! And I didn't really touch the jam!

After a lovely couple of hours chatting and catching up I came home via my local Lidl as it was that time of the week when I needed to pick up a few odds and sods. And with prices seemingly all over the place at the moment I am finding that I am choosing what I buy from where much more carefully. I also stopped by a friend of pre-school's who had very kindly offered to donate some supplies to help with our topic over the next few weeks.

I arrived home to a freshly brewed pot of coffee and took advantage of the remaining daylight to make a little more progress with my current Disney jigsaw. And as Simon finished work for the day it was time for our gym workout. Simon even had me doing some bench presses...I managed 10kg and a set of 10 reps with Simon spotting for me which I didn't think was too shabby for a first attempt!

Thursday is done, roll on tomorrow.
xx

Day 683

Day 683..

We have reached a Saturday after a pretty rubbish nights sleep; the combination of night sweats and sinus pain was not a good mix.

As a result today has been decidedly low key.

I purposefully took my time getting up this morning and the whole day was spent at home. I managed to get on top of the laundry but other than that I have done pretty much nothing at all.

Rather disappointed this morning to learn that the venue of the White Lies gig I'd booked tickets for yesterday is still requiring covid passes/negative tests to enter...despite it only holding 150 people (and therefore never had to comply with that regulation) and despite those restrictions being lifted as of 27th January. I'd emailed the venue to double check, thinking that perhaps they hadn't updated their website in light of the changes but also no. I was told it was still their company policy to require a pass or a negative test and that they would be reviewing it on 28th February. Too late for me as the gig is on the 19th...looks like we won't be going then. And regardless of my personal vaccination status I just completely object to this 'papers please' culture, surely as a people we are better than that? 

On a positive note I spent the majority of the afternoon with my jigsaw and made some good headway. I am now at the point where all the remaining pieces are spread out and just waiting for me to fit them into place. The only problem is they are all red, or variations of red! As the daylight faded I used that as me cue to stop for the day.

Thankfully by the end of the day my blocked sinus had improved and although still not great is much more bearable than it had been earlier today.

Whilst I was occupied with my jigsaw Simon was continuing with his latest piece of digital art and he decided to pop a movie on and chose something that neither of us had watched in a while; Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Such a fabulous film with an amazing soundtrack so much so that while prepping dinner we switched Spotify over to the original Broadway cast recording. Now there is something that's on my 'to do' list; Hedwig on Broadway with Neil Patrick Harris!! A girl can dream.

Right think it's time to watch this weeks Drag Race so I'll see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 673

Day 673...

Middle of the week and although it was my usual Wednesday with a morning of work and an afternoon off I was actually working from home today.

I had an online meeting to attend and so it was easier to do that from home where it's quieter and has fewer distractions. Either side of the meeting I was able to get on top of lots of admin bits and pieces.

By the end of the morning I'd spent an hour and a half in a meeting and made appropriate notes and saved some useful links; I'd created invoices for next months pre-school fees; I'd updated some spreadsheets, I'd completed data input as requested by our county council and I'd kept on top of emails. So all in all a pretty productive morning.

I'd also been chatting with Molly online, arranging a date for coffee with an old friend and connecting via Instagram with a fitness and healthy eating advocate!

Then because I was at home for the day we decided to make the most of the dry and bright, but chilly, day and take a walk out at lunchtime. Our first lunchtime walk in a while and we managed 2.45 miles in 45 minutes.

My next job was to collect my dad to take him to the garage so that he could pick up his car. He'd had problems with his car before Christmas which had resulted in the fuel pump being replaced and the car being returned to him just after New Year. He'd had the car back only a couple of days before it started to play up again. So after being in the garage for another ten days he was finally able to get it home today. Apparently the problem this time was the starter motor. Now this is a Jaguar garage and the customer experience inside the showroom was lovely, very personal and attentive; just a shame that the car hasn't performed as well as the showroom!

Back home and I grabbed a coffee before taking the time to jump on the exercise bike. Both Simon and I are trying to get on the bike in between gym workouts and at the moment Simon is doing way better at that than me! But I was back on today and did 45 minutes of zone two training. 

With that out the way it was time for more coffee and some jigsaw chill out time while Simon took his turn on the bike.

The great news today is that England will be rolling back all it's current covid restrictions to plan A, whatever that is? But it means that masks will no longer be required and they are scraping the vaccine passport system from next week (why not now I don't know?), but thankfully they are removing the need for children to wear mask in schools as from tomorrow. So we have a glimmer of good news...please let this be a glimmer of getting back to something like the normal that we used to know.

And that is my post for today, all that is left to do is to watch the latest episode of The Book of Boba Fett. See you tomorrow.
xx

 

Day 622

Day 622...

So we have a Tuesday and another Tuesday where I worked a full day rather than my usual half a day and a day when, yet again, restrictions are being reinstated!

Well work was pretty standard. There was lots of admin and banking for me to catch up on as there is a lot happening at the moment. We are approaching the beginning of  the month when pre-school fees are due. We have a Christmas party at the end of term but parents need to help towards the cost and payments are due by Friday. We also have a Christmas concert in a couple of weeks and have just started issuing tickets, for which we also charge a small fee. And then we have the Christmas Raffle which is drawn in just over a weeks time so I am busy not only coordinating the sale of tickets (all done virtually) but also promoting it on social media and via newsletter to parents.

Once home my attention turned to my new Christmas lights that I'd bought yesterday. As the snow had cleared overnight I could now get them all set up in my courtyard garden. We have a low wall that surrounds our garden space and these lights sit beautifully in the walls and are, I feel, a rather classy affair.

They are battery operated and have an in built timer so once switched on they will stay on for 6 hours and then switch off for 18 hours and so on; perfect!

At the end of the day Simon and I headed down our gym for a weights workout and today I remembered to wear some gloves! As the weights are metal they are extremely cold to the touch and I was finding that as my hands got colder it was triggering 'Raynaud syndrome' in my finger ends. So I dug out my gloves from when I used to go running (well more a bouncy walk than running) and they worked brilliantly.

Back inside and as I was cooking dinner I remembered to power up Spotify to find the latest track to be released by White Lies - I Don't Want to go to Mars. Suffice to say it has been on repeat since it's launch at 7pm...a fantastic track and one that we were lucky enough to hear live a few weeks back when we saw them at Bournemouth.

And that is where I will end it for today...I feel the need for a rant about the current 'restrictions' but as it is late I am going to leave it for when I have more time as now my priority is to stop, chill, perhaps a little jigsaw time, a cuppa and some very dark chocolate.

See you tomorrow.
xx

End of 2020

Day 288...New Years Eve...

Well here we are at the end of 2020 and I don't think any of us could have predicted how this year would turn out this time last year.

Today has been another quiet day, especially as we are now in Tier 4! The morning was spent updating my online grocery shops...I like to have two booked in advance...and then getting on top of the laundry and ironing!

Just around lunchtime we took a short walk out over the fields which gave me the opportunity to try out my new wellington boots that had arrived today.

I must admit that I was a bit dubious about getting welly boots as my experience in the past had always been of ill fitting boots that felt like buckets on my feet. But with walking as often as we now do it seemed the sensible approach to take. Simon had bought himself a pair of Hunter boots a few weeks back and was really happy with them so I had tried to get myself a pair but after weeks of trying and never being able to find my size in stock I decided to look elsewhere. 

So these are Lakeland Active Helston boots and they fit me lovely and were cheaper than Hunters! They adjust around the calf of my leg and are made of neoprene so are soft and warm. So our walk out today saw us going over the fields for the first time in a few weeks and so far I am very impressed...feet were warm and dry, boots were comfy and easy to walk in and kept me upright!

This afternoon has seen me catch up on a little TV, make a start on my next jigsaw and Simon has taken over the kitchen table with electronics for his R2D2 build.

As I type this I am about to get ready for this evenings New Year celebrations...there will be no hosting of a party, or going out to celebrate instead it will be a table of food and an evening of board games!

Molly and I have made a trifle of sorts as we have made it with chocolate sponge soaked in a combination of Disarono and Cointreau rather than the usual vanilla sponge and sherry...should be interesting to try! Although we still have cream to add on top...so I'll share photos and a verdict tomorrow!

So as I stop typing to enjoy (not sure that's the right word!) the last few hours of 2020 I notice a lot of people online sharing their 2020 stories and trying to find the positives over the last 12 months. I admire those that can find the positive and don't get me wrong I have my own positives but there was also a lot not to like about 2020...obviously!

We have over the past 12 months embraced the time that we have had together; we have adapted and resolved to 'carry on'; we have dealt with sorting our 'other house'; we have re-discovered the countryside on our doorstep; we had a couple of lovely weekends away at the beginning of the year; we have learnt to appreciate the 'normal' things in life that until now we had taken for granted; Molly and her fella have survived despite everything and are going from strength to strength; small gestures from friends have meant the world, opportunities to see friends have been taken (safely of course) and enjoyed; we have educated ourselves and kept a breadth of all the information out there, from all sources and are becoming more sceptical as the days go on...and on!

But amongst the positivity that we can find we have to also admit that this has been the strangest of years, probably the most worrying for a lot of us, at times depressing, confusing, making us angry and frustrated, plans spoiled, life halted, liberty and freedom stomped on, anxiety levels rising and concern for those around us.

So let's hope that 2021 can bring about some change for the positive, that the powers that be can get their act together and get us out of this mess one way or another and we can all get our lives back to normal so that we can live them to the fullest. We take hope with us into 2021 because what else can we do except hope for things to get better.

I wish you all the happiest and healthiest of New Years, take care whatever you maybe doing.

xx

Whirlwind Monday

Day 271...

Well today has been a bit of a whirlwind kind of day.

Once up and out it was time to fetch this weeks grocery shopping as well as to nip in store to pick up some party food supplies for pre-school. We have a great relationship with Jon at our local Asda, who is their Community Champion, and they have supported pre-school for a number of years now. 

In 'normal' times Jon will come out to visit us at pre-school and conduct various activities and the children just love a visit by him. But that obviously can't happen at the moment but that hasn't stopped Jon and Asda supporting us whenever we have asked. So this month we asked if they could help with a few supplies for this weeks Christmas party and they have done us proud once again with lots of yummy goodness for the children later in the week.

With bags full of shopping we headed home via pre-school so that we could drop off the party supplies. A quick check-in with my deputy and I discovered that there maybe a problem with the delivery of our flat packed storage units as there was a problem with the lorry! Thankfully we found out later in the day that the delivery would happen today but not until about 5pm.

Once home and shopping unpacked and put away our next job was to sort out the few Christmas cards that we send along with some postage for a couple of other items. This was then followed by a trip to the post office to get said cards and parcels on their way.

After a quick coffee and bite for lunch we headed off for a two mile walk in just under 40 minutes, and despite some very dark clouds we managed to avoid any rain. Simon then had a few more R2D2 parts to spray paint before we headed over to pre-school.

We had said we would go over to pre-school to wait for the flat packed container units to be delivered rather than have my deputy wait on her own after a full day at work. True to their word the lorry turned up at 4.50pm and it then took about 40 minutes for the lorry to reverse into position, put down its stabilising legs and then off-load the two units. But this now means it's full speed ahead this week with getting them into position.

And then it was time to play taxi service for Molly, getting her to and from her kickboxing/karate class...well it's not a class at the moment...it's just a chance to practice using the gyms facilities.

And there we have Monday as other areas of the country prepare to join us in Tier 3 restrictions and the rest of the country await Wednesday to find out if we stay the same or change...oh and then we get told there's a new variant of the virus! Although they can't tell us what this means...good or bad. So yet again we have fear and confusion at the heart of all that we get told and we are left wondering just what is right and whether we are getting told the whole story or not!

Take care out there,
xx

Simple Saturday

Day 262...

Well after a pretty rubbish nights sleep I decided to get up earlier than a normal Saturday to see what the day would bring.

As it was it was a pretty standard sort of day. I had a couple of Ebay sales finalise this morning and so was able to sort the postage out for them, along with some Christmas gifts ready for posting.

Over the day I had a couple of deliveries arrive and between those and some online shopping this afternoon I think I am almost there with all our present shopping for Christmas...although I am sure I will probably add a few more bits over the course of the next few days as I think of things!!

Molly was back at her guitar lesson this week as they have been allowed to re-open...even though we are in Tier 3...really can't make head nor tail of how the 'rules' work or have been developed. So while Molly played guitar we went off in search of a coffee and headed to the nearest drive thru'. Must have taken a good 20 minutes to get our coffee (and a cheeky mince pie each) as there were easily 10 cars in front of us. The retail park where we were was as busy as any other 'normal' Saturday and the McDonalds drive thru' was even busier than the one we were in.

The afternoon was spent doing the aforementioned online shopping, my last two items on Ebay sold, Simon did some more sanding and priming for his R2D2 build (working on the legs!) and I decided that the plants in my garden needed some Christmas love so they were adorned with red baubles.

And talking of Christmas outdoors here are a few photos of my outside lights...

Even have a projector going in the background

Just love these blow mold figures

I love my outside lights, and those blow molds are my favourite. I just love the retro vibe...although as I've had a couple of them for over 20 years (or more) they probably are actually classed as retro! Such a shame they are so hard to come by, especially here in the UK. I always have a look each year to see if I can get anymore and unfortunately the majority are only available in the US and come with extortionate shipping rates, never mind the import duty I'm likely to get hit with!

The photos don't really do the lights justice as I have lights going through the bushes and trees and over my shed and you might just be able to spot the tiki statue wrapped in tinsel. I think I may like Christmas a little bit!

Take care out there.

xx

Coffee in the Sun

Day 194...

Another non-working Monday today and our usual grocery click and collect pick-up. Following the new guidelines brought in last week the store colleague operating the lockers (or as we call him...Marky Mark!) was wearing a mask today for the first time which was good to see.

We seemed to get home and get everything packed away in record time today and then we jumped back in the car and headed off to our local Ikea. Molly is re-organising all her Shutter Studios stock and supplies and wanted some new desk storage boxes and filing system and had found online exactly what she needed.

Visiting Ikea was great, everyone was wearing masks and was keeping their distance as best we all could. Molly found exactly what she was after and we picked up some more storage boxes for us as well and despite the queue for the checkout being rather long it moved very quickly and was very well organised.

We then decided to stop off for a coffee and something to eat on the way home. We visited a local cafe that we had tried a couple of weeks ago; we were able to sit outside in the sunshine and maintain social distancing. All the staff wore masks, they had the new QR code to scan and as always the service and food was lovely.

After we got home it was time for another coffee, sat outside again, with both Simon and I reading our respective books; I'm making good progress through Dr Aseem Malhotra's 21 Day Immunity Plan and Simon completed in one sitting a graphic novel by tidying guru Marie Kondo called 'The Life Changing Manga of Tidying Up'.

The rest of the afternoon saw Simon working on his mouse droid project. He has 3D printed rubber tyres for the wheels and is now modifying the chassis so that the wheels will sit within it properly and not only work but look the part as well. There has been lots of filling, resin applying and then sanding going on.

Molly has been getting all her new storage organised which in turn led to an overhaul of some of her bedroom; sorting through, cleaning, hoovering and throwing things out - I think we've all been bitten by the art of Mari Kondo! I even sorted a couple of my handbags out as well!

My afternoon was taken up with grabbing more photos of things for selling on Ebay which also involved some online research before I could actually start posting them online. Molly had her usual Monday evening karate lesson which meant taxi service from mum and dad in between more mouse droid sanding and online ebay posting!

So yet again another very productive Monday, it feels like it has been a very purposeful day and a day where it actually felt like we were almost doing 'normal' stuff...long may that continue.

Take care, stay safe...keep your distance, wash your hands and wear a mask.
xx

Work and Selling

Day 190...

So today was a full day in work with nothing overtly remarkable to report, just the usual admin type stuff. Almost all of our new children have started with us now and so we are getting to grips with the dynamics that inevitably appear at this time of year.

Once home, and changed, I settled myself into podcast recording mode. Normally I record the podcast from my bedroom as it is the quietest place in the house and produces the best audio but I used to have to sit on the floor with my laptop perched on a bedside cabinet. But now I have the space on my dressing table to be able to set-up my laptop properly and sit on a proper chair...such luxury!

I was already to go when I got a message from my partner in crime, Michelle, to say that she was currently in the middle of a thunder storm with horrendous hail and her power kept going off; non of which was very conducive to recording a podcast. We have therefore deferred our recording session to Saturday morning instead.

But as I was all set up and quite cosy in my new recording position I decided to stay where I was and start my next batch of online sales. This time I am trying to sell some of our old bedroom furniture which although shows signs of use is all in pretty solid condition and I am sure that someone, somewhere could make very good use of them. Within minutes of listing them via Facebook I was getting pinged with messages!

Next job after that was to get on with packaging up some more Ebay sales, so while Simon and Molly went 'down the gym' I got the parcel tape out. A quick break for a dinner of steak and burgers and then more packaging and more pinging of Facebook messages! It's hard work this selling stuff malarkey.

Right best get back to my roll of parcel tape - just take care out there, stay safe, keep your distance and wear a mask.
xx

Work and New Restrictions

Day 188...

So today was my first working day of the week and it was a pretty standard sort of work day. Plenty of admin, banking and emails to contend with.

I have managed to secure the staff at pre-school with a first aid course, which as childcare workers has to be a paediatric first aid course that we must take every three years. The course is a 12 hour course and usually involves 2 days in a conference room somewhere practicing bandages on each other and using resuscitation equipment. As you can imagine the thought of sitting in a room of strangers for 12 hours was not what any of us wanted to do, never mind the sharing of resuscitation equipment. But we have found a company where we can work through 6 hours of the course online at our own pace followed by a 6 hour Zoom workshop with the training company sending out the resuscitation equipment to us beforehand. So not only will we be training with just ourselves but we will be able to ensure everything we need to touch has been well and truly sanitised!

I think this just goes to show that despite the current situation companies can adapt their traditional way of doing things and come up with new and innovative approaches, and perhaps new ways of doing things that may stay with us long after this pandemic is controlled. It is much nicer that our team can undertake the training all at once, together and with no need to travel anywhere and all the complexities that that can bring. Maybe we have a new way forward emerging from all of this?

Once I was home, and changed, I decided to enjoy a coffee outside in the sunshine while the weather is still nice and almost summer like as the forecast for the rest of the week is for temperatures to drop to more autumnal levels!

Some of my new storage systems had arrived today so I have been able to re-organise one of my food cupboards so that all my spices and herbs are much neater and much more easy to find. I was also able to re-organise my make-up as well and I think I am probably due a bit of a clear-out as I am sure most of my eye-shadow palettes are probably a lot older than I think. Maybe it's time to throw a few out and invest in some new ones!!!

Because we received parcels today that did mean that one job this evening was to sort through all the packaging and salvage what I could so that I can now start my next round of Ebay sales safe in the knowledge that I can send them out securely. 

And I suppose the news of today is the new restrictions that the UK government is bringing in from later this week to help control the Coronavirus and hopefully get the infection rate back under control. For us, personally, it doesn't make a lot of difference; both Simon and Ethan are still working from home and there is no indication that is going to change anytime soon, Molly has her Shutter Studios venture up and running from home and I will still be going to work as education and childcare is remaining open.

Pubs will now be shutting at 10pm and must operate as table service only (I thought they were doing this anyway) and shop workers and taxi drivers must now wear masks, all along with tougher fines being introduced. 

Well, I will carry on as I have been doing; think carefully about where I want to go, only go out if I have to, keep my distance as much as I can, wash my hands and of course wear a mask. Let's hope everyone else can do the same.

Take care out there,
xx