Thursday at Home

Day 309...

So Thursday's are my other non-work day of the week and it has been relatively quiet - no surprise there then.

The morning started with a very early delivery from the online butchers I use. So after we'd had breakfast and were moving about my first job was to unpack and sort the order ready for freezing. Unfortunately I was missing part of my order...some sirloin steaks and instead I had received a rump roast joint. I emailed them to let them know and within a couple of hours they had replied, apologised and are sending the missing steaks out today and they will be with me tomorrow. Fantastic response!

A big chunk of my day has been spent doing more of my current jigsaw; I'd sorted a lot of pieces out yesterday which meant over the course of the day I have been able to fill in quite a lot of space. Lunchtime came around and saw us take a blustery walk out through the village, just a half hour walk today.

Later this afternoon I hooked up online with my Disney Dream Girls podcast co-host Michelle, to record a show ready for releasing this weekend. We had a lovely guest to chat with, an author by the name of Jim Korkis who writes all about Disney. He has an amazing portfolio of published books covering everything from Walt's life to the movies to the theme parks and even the Disney Cruise Line. His passion and knowledge of all things Disney is astounding and it was a joy to chat with him and to simply sit back and listen to him speak.

At the end of the day we decided we were in need of a little gym workout so Simon departed to the garage while I preferred the comfort of the living room and my new exercise mat!

And there we have the day, a day when our government have announced that the chance of coming out of lockdown before Spring is not looking likely - what?! Really?! I appreciate that the death rate is bad at the moment but the actual number of cases is coming down...so what is going to be the definitive reason for being able to come out of lockdown? Do they even know?

The WHO have changed their criteria only yesterday for defining a positive test by recognising that tests need to be performed at the correct levels (or number of cycles) in order to reduce the error rate (i.e. false positives) and should ideally have a clinical diagnosis. So it will be interesting to see if our government recognise and follow this recommendation. 

There is so much information out there and I will admit that I am now looking beyond our main stream media for what is happening. The main TV channels in the UK seem to only want to scare us and don't seem to be questioning anything that we are getting told . Where have the investigative journalists gone? But then again when there is an Ofcom mandate in place to only publish the government message we don't stand a chance.

Take care, wherever you are.
xx

Middle of the Week

Day 308...

This morning was spent in work getting on top of some policy amendments along with a few emails that needed sending out to all and sundry. It was a productive morning before I headed home for an afternoon off.

Once home, and after a spot of lunch, I will confess to completing a little more work...a census to complete that was only available to complete online today and needed to be done by tomorrow. Tomorrow is my second non-working day of the week so thought I might as well get this short task completed and out the way.

Then my afternoon was spent chatting with a few friends via WhatsApp, sorting jigsaw pieces and listening to the inauguration of Joe Biden. Simon had the inauguration on live stream while he worked and it was uplifting to listen to the whole proceeding; there were some wonderful words spoken and Lady Gaga singing the national anthem was amazing, and she looked fabulous too. It does feel like the dawn of a new era and a return to some sort of semblance of normality as far as American politics goes, and hopefully there will be a knock-on effect around the world too.

We have watched an awful lot of American media over these last four years. I remember waking up to hear that Trump had won the election back in 2016 and truly not believing it was real and couldn't fathom how anyone could have possibly voted for him. We have then kept track of everything that his presidency brought and were left flabbergasted and frustrated most of the time. And while Biden may not be the most progressive politician out there he has the gravitas of someone who knows what a politician should do, and how to do it, and he has assembled a diverse set of officials around him. Let's now get back to grown-up politics and sort out the mess that the world currently finds itself in.

Whatever you are doing, wherever you maybe, take care.
xx

Working Tuesday

Day 307...

The first working day of my week today.

And an actual day in work as well. A chance for a catch-up between myself and my deputy manager followed by the usual responding to emails, some banking and then updating some policies and starting to write a newsletter.

Once home there wasn't much else to do except have a coffee and have a little 'me time' by starting on my next jigsaw. As I had sorted all the straight edges yesterday I had just enough time before the natural daylight vanished to complete the outside edge. 

Simon has been making some more tweeks to his R2D2 build as last night he was able to 3D print a part to hold the power supply inside the dome. This evening it was time to attach the new part and ensure that the dome would still rotate which it did successfully. Now my help was needed to ensure that the position of the 'radar eye' was correct; a case of comparing reference photos to Simon's model and trying to get the best match possible!

Plenty of reference materials!

The part in question that needs attaching to the front of the dome

So with the positioning sorted we needed to mark it out with some masking tape before Simon could glue it to the dome...and fingers crossed it holds!

Well I think that's today done, time to sit back and chill with some TV I think.

Take care out there.

xx

And it's Monday

Day 306...

Another Monday has rolled around and started with the usual grocery shopping collection from our local supermarket of choice.

Once everything had been put away we decided to take a walk out a bit earlier than normal and managed another 4.25 miles in just under an hour and twenty minutes.

The afternoon saw me get a few household chores completed while Simon disappeared into the garage to cast a few helmet parts as he'd had an order come in.

Really seem to be struggling at the moment. And I know we are all in the same boat but for some reason I'm beginning to feel the strain of it all. Even though we are doing our best to keep active and get out for walks and find things to do the 'no end in sight' is now quite draining, and I wonder how long we, as a society, can keep this going. I can't even contemplate beginning to plan for anything as I have no faith that whatever is planned will ever come to fruition. 

Disneyland Paris has now announced that it will no longer be re-opening in February as planned but is now looking at the 2nd April as a possible date. I know from social media that people had made bookings for late February and March and they will now have to go through the hassle of moving their dates or getting refunds...and probably not for the first time in these past 10 months or so.

So as Simon had been in the garage for an hour or so this afternoon with the heater on, he decided to take advantage of the slightly warm space and use the garage for it's other purpose...the gym! I on the other hand decided to start on my next jigsaw and as predicted it's a Disney one with a Christmas theme!

I have managed to get all the straight edge pieces sorted out but that's as far as I've got today...at least it will give me something to do!

Take care out there.
xx

Sunday, Sunday

Day 305...

And we have Sunday and as seems to be the theme to this weekend it was another very slow and steady start to the day.

I had the usual job of updating my online grocery order ready for collecting tomorrow. Simon has continued with the electronic components of his R2D2 build on and off throughout the day; he is figuring out where to install all the necessary switches and cables for the lights and sounds inside the dome in a way that will still enable the dome to move.

I decided to have a bit of a re-sort of my wardrobe. Having had new wardrobes back in September and having lived with them for a few months I decided that I needed to move things around. So it was a case of emptying sections of cupboards and drawers and then deciding the best places for them to go back.

Mid-afternoon we took a walk out and decided to go visit my dad. He only lives a mile away so it was a quick walk there and back but we had to dodge around all the other walkers; and yet again we've never seen so many people out and about, but as I've said before - what else can people do at the moment?

Once home I finished re-organising my wardrobe before settling down for an hour or so of our regular Disney quiz hosted by the Disney Dream Girls podcast I co-host. It was good fun as always to check-in with our regular group and attempt to answer some questions; didn't do too badly this week as I think I came second!

Another day, another Sunday done. Take care out there.
xx

Yay it's the Weekend!!

Day 304...

And we have reached the weekend...again!

Now normally January can be a bit of a rough month, the downer after the festive period, the month when the excesses of Christmas are being felt and often results in a lack of money to spend and therefore a lack of things to do. And guess what January is turning into another month of same old, same old and it's all getting to be a bit tedious and boring.

So no alarm set this morning meant a very slow start to the day with my motivation feeling severely depleted, and having no idea what to do today.

After finally moving and getting a couple of odd jobs done around the house we headed out for a walk. We managed just over 4 miles in just over an hour. We bumped into a neighbour of my dads, and someone I had grown up with, and it was nice to stop and have a chat for a few minutes or so. Once again we noticed how busy it was out and about walking...but then again what else can people do?

Simon has been tinkering around with his R2D2 build off and on all day; he has been spending time getting all the electronic components working and is now figuring out how to install all the necessary switches and cables into the dome part of the build.

And there we are another Saturday almost done. Just time to eat the keto bread I've just made, make something for dinner and settle down to watch this weeks episode of RuPaul's Drag Race.

See y'all tomorrow. Take care.
xx

Meeting Online

Day 303...

Last day of the working week today and another day split into two halves.

This morning was another working from home morning with a mixture of emails, continuing with updating our safeguarding policy and attending an online 'leaders and managers' meeting.

I must admit I am liking having these sort of meetings online. I don't have to drive anywhere; there's no worry about getting parked or having to pay for parking; I have access to decent coffee; no sitting in a draughty room waiting for everyone to arrive; no sitting through the usual 'housekeeping' duties for the venue; no having to make small talk with people I don't know and am not likely to see again for at least three months...if ever; no having to do random tasks. Plus I can continue working up until the minute the meeting starts; I can carry on working through any boring bits!; any relevant documents and links can be shared and accessed instantly rather than relying on my scrappy notes and so all in all a much better use of my time and I would guess the person delivering the meetings time as well.

For the afternoon I actually went into work for only the second time this week. An afternoon of more emails, admin and banking; all pretty straight forward.

Once home I had a few more work things to catch up on; a butchers order to place online and a new exercise mat to order.

And that was today!

Take care out there.
xx