Day 846

Day 846...

Wednesday started with our usual early morning walk of 1.9 miles in 37 minutes. The weather was bright and clear and a lovely cool temperature compared to the last few days.

This meant that my morning was spent catching up on a few tasks around the house that would be more bearable in the slightly cooler morning temperature. So lots of cleaning around, laundry and ironing all mastered.

I then had some online bits and bobs to complete which were interrupted by lunch. As I knew we were podcast recording later I took the time to have a look for some Disney headlines and latest happenings.

It was then time to head out to pre-school and as I left the house I came across a water engineer who was looking for our house as he wanted to update our water meter. Turns out that we should have had a letter advising us of the change but I think the confusion on my face confirmed that we had not had any such letter. Anyways it was a quick job and only resulted in the water being turned off for a few minutes which was not an issue for me as I was on my way out!

I stopped by my local pharmacy on my way to collect a prescription and for once I walked into an empty shop, I was served straight away with no fuss and best of all the staff were not wearing face masks! I know that shouldn't be a big deal but I am fed up of seeing people wearing masks when there is no need, when there is no science to back up the supposed 'need' and when for the vast, vast majority of people that are unlucky enough to get covid it really isn't a big deal. If people took the time to make themselves as healthy as they possibly could then getting what is by now another variation of a cold would not be such an 'issue'! I am fed up of people testing themselves and posting all over social media that they have covid...we never did it before when we had a sniffle, or the flu, or a tummy bug so why are we doing it now? It is beyond me and I am so over all of the fuss and the drama!

Anyway, back to my afternoon and it was onto pre-school to be a guest at this years Leavers Concert. Everyone did so well and it was lovely to see the children who I've known over the last couple of years being so confident and performing so well. It was also lovely to be able to enjoy the concert without having the stress of rehearsals and staging and performing it!

Back home and with a coffee brewed it was time to hook up online with my podcast co-host Michelle, as we recorded another Disney Dream Girls episode ready for this coming weekend. 

And while Simon got some exercise in by way of the static bike I took the time to write this blog post and then prep for dinner...meatballs I think, so I better stop typing and make those balls!

See you tomorrow.
xx

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 843

Day 843...

Well this will be a short post today because we haven't really done an awful lot.

Our morning was focused on attending a table top sale being run by the pre-school I used to manage. So this meant there was no morning walk as we decided to have some breakfast to set us up for the day. Ordinarily our first meal of the day would be around lunchtime but we knew that we would not be home by then so didn't want to risk feeling hungry later on.

We had had the sense to load the car up last night after we had picked up Ethan from the BBQ he'd been attending so we could get straight out this morning. We arrived at pre-school around 9.15am and by 9.30am we were all set up and ready for the doors to open at 10am. However, the doors opened and over the course of the next couple of hours only a handful of people showed up. No-one bought anything from our table and in fact I gave away a few bits and pieces. So by about 12.30pm we started packing away even though the event was on until 2pm.

We dropped all the unsold stuff back off at my dads and will now have to decide what best to do with it all. Then we nipped back home to collect a roll of artificial grass that we have had living in our shed for at least two and a half years and that a friend had said she would take off our hands. I saw the same friend at the table top sale and offered to drop it round today for her as she'd simply forgot all about collecting it; as we were already moving stuff from one place to another it was no real effort to get the roll to her as well.

By the time we got home it was very warm...ok it was hot...and sunny and so we decided that the best option was to stay inside where it was a little cooler and try and chill out. We had come across a news story yesterday about the latest Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney + and how a fan had edited all six episodes together to create a single movie of about two hours long. Having found this 'new movie' online we decided to give it a watch and we were not disappointed. The fan edit was much better paced, it made the story more coherent and highlighted the acting skills of all involved. It was really enjoyable and a definite recommendation for any Star Wars fan.

We had hoped to go out for a walk this evening as the weather cooled down but as it was still 28 degrees we decided against it...back on it early tomorrow morning!

See you all later.
xx

Day 842

Day 842...

It was a pretty early start to our Saturday as Simon had a 7am appointment at the barbers, with me as taxi service!

Once we got back home we put on our walking shoes and headed out over the fields for our early morning walk, completing 2.5 miles in 45 minutes and we were still back home before 9am. Without really stopping we headed straight back out the door to go to my dads house so that we could load the car with items that I am going to try and sell tomorrow at a table top sale. We were limited by the amount of space in the car and so couldn't take everything I would have liked but we will see whether or not we can get anything sold and passed onto new homes.

The remainder of the morning was spent with me finding yet more paperwork to shred as well as a few bits to file away. I also discovered that I have more Disney theme park memorabilia than I realised and I am going to need to figure out a way to store it all effectively as I know I won't be able to part with it. I have stacks of park maps, hotel details, park tickets, room keys, pins, coasters, note paper...the list goes on! 

While I did that Simon made a start on getting his 3D printer up and running again and after initially making some good progress he hit a snag with the 'hot end' which means that he needs a good amount of time to try and re-configure it. He has also started looking at different printers as this one is over 5 years old and was bought as a 'test to see if it was any use'; suffice to say it has been well used and a newer, improved version is probably overdue.

After our lunch/brunch it was time to play taxi service for Ethan as he was off to a friends for a BBQ, which also involved a stop by Lidl so that he could pick up some suitable supplies.

With Ethan dropped off we headed off to a local Next store to pick-up my online order that I'd placed a couple of days ago; some new shorts. And because we were out we took advantage of the air conditioning at the nearby Starbucks and enjoyed a coffee and a cool down. It has been another lovely, hot and sunny day again today.

It has been interesting watching the mileage range on our electric vehicle today as in warmer weather the battery is supposed to perform better but we could see the miles disappearing disproportionately to the miles we knew we'd actually travelled. Then we realised with it being so warm the air conditioning was working at full blast and as a result was eating up our battery charge. We do have an 'eco' mode that we can put the car in which would scale back the heating or air conditioning in order to give a greater range but as we were only staying local it wasn't something we needed to use today but we need to keep it in mind for if and when we are travelling longer distances on hot days!

Back home again and it was time to try on the shorts I'd picked up as well as the gym shorts that had arrived earlier this morning. Thankfully they all fit beautifully. I'm always reassured when buying new clothes that my size (that I'm always critical of) hasn't actually changed, even though I may think it has. I bought UK size 8 shorts for the first time 7 years ago, the summer after I lost around two stone in weight, and today I am still buying size 8 shorts as well as size small gym shorts...so I must be doing something right.

Well that's about it for today...we still have Ethan to play taxi service for...maybe...just waiting to hear whether he needs us or not, but otherwise I will see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 841

Day 841...

Friday and the weekend have arrived but the day started with a little disappointing news. Molly and Dan were due to come home for the weekend but we woke to a message from Molly saying that Dan was not well. Stomach pains and a disturbed nights sleep...at best it's just a stomach bug and nothing worse.

Molls and Dan wanted to see how he felt later on and then travel up to us but I put my 'mum' hat on and told them 'no!'. They have a three hour car journey to get here and it was going to be a hot day so not ideal for being stuck in a car for three hours. Plus there would be nothing worse than if Dan became ill while travelling, or either of them were ill while here, or they could pass it on to us or if it turned out to be something worse then they would be stuck here. So no, sensible head on, and the decision was made to postpone until a couple of weeks time and let Dan get better.

But that didn't stop us having our early morning walk and we took our usual route of 1.9 miles in 37 minutes. It was a beautiful, clear, bright and sunny morning and was just an idyllic start to the day.

Having ventured into our garden yesterday and discovered a few plants that were getting a little overgrown I made the decision to get out and do some gardening. Despite having completed three days gardening at my dads last week I have still not fell in love with gardening, but it needed to be done. So a few bushes got chopped back where needed and some weeds removed and everywhere now looks a little tidier.

After lunch I continued with the outdoor theme as I decided to wash all the windows...thankfully our house is all on one level so it was a relatively straight forward job. It was then time for a much needed coffee in the sunshine before jumping online to record this weeks episode of the Disney Dream Girls podcast.

And at the end of the day while Simon jumped on the exercise bike I took a glass of red wine out into the garden and sat and did a little research for my next Disney themed tattoo. I need to get some ideas together so that I can get a date booked in with my tattooist of choice (Saint Heywood at Acadia Tattoo) plus I was also waiting for my brother to stop by.

The selling details for my dads house have been approved today and so it will be on the market in the next day or so. Very strange to think that the house that I grew up in and have known for almost all my life will be passing onto new owners...the end of an era.

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 839 & Day 840

Day 839...Wednesday

The day started with our usual early morning walk and another 1.9 miles in 38 minutes.

My morning was then taken up with a visit to the hairdressers. It was time for a change so out with my blonde and in with a lovely dark purple.

I was home just in time for lunch. We have been making lunch our first meal of the day for a few weeks now and seem to have adapted to it really easily. We start the day with a coffee before we have our walk and then lunch has become our breakfast. It is so much nicer eating our first meal of the day at lunchtime as it is no longer something that is rushed to facilitate getting out of the door at a certain time but can be enjoyed and savoured.

The afternoon saw yet more cleaning and tidying around. Having sorted the vast majority of paperwork over the last few days I just had a few bits left lying around that needed new homes before I could start cleaning. And as Molly and Dan will be using the room as their bedroom when they visit at the weekend it needed to be done before then.

The day was then finished with a workout and while Simon stuck to the exercise bike because of his broken wrist I headed out to our gym and moved a few weights around.

Day 840...Thursday

And yet again we started the day with another 1.9 mile walk in 39 minutes. It is so great to be out and about in the fresh air so early in the morning and really starts the day off with great positivity. We are blessed to live so close to open countryside and to be able to experience it on a daily basis.

Next up for me was a trip to Lidl, I needed to re-stock on some fresh bits and pieces as well as make sure I'd got some extras in for the weekend...as we have visitors!

Back home and armed with coffee I braced myself for the task of cancelling my dads Sky (broadband) account! After my dad had died the broadband account was in credit and so we had left the service running but transferred it into my name. This meant that whenever my brother or I were at my dads house we could access the internet should we need to. This turned out to be the right thing to do as my brother was able to work from there a few times while we waited on things to happen. But now that the house is about to go up for sale, and the credit has run out, we needed to get the account cancelled.

Well suffice to say it wasn't as easy as it could have been. The online account hadn't been set up correctly but once I'd sorted that myself I was able to pay an outstanding small balance but it still wouldn't let me cancel. The online chat option wouldn't let me cancel as it couldn't identify me! I then found an email address and started to compose an email to them and all the while trying to call them. I was cut off at least three times, had weird voice prompts that made no sense and scolded me for not answering questions that hadn't been asked. But finally I found a different number to try and after about 20 minutes I spoke to the lovely Stuart who had been in a similar situation to me when his dad had died a couple of years ago and we were able to get the account cancelled...sort of. Basically it takes them two weeks to cancel it all and then there maybe a small amount to pay but I won't know that until it happens which means me having to remember to check the online account on a semi-regular basis! Argh!

With perfect timing I put the phone down and deleted the email I'd been writing just as Simon broke for lunch.

Over the course of the afternoon I enjoyed a coffee outside in the sunshine, did all the ironing, cleaned the bathroom, caught up with the laundry and did a little online retail therapy. I've ordered some new shorts that I should be able to collect tomorrow along with some gym gear and protein bars which should arrive in the next few days.

I then had a lovely phone call from my good friend, and podcast co-host, Michelle. We have agreed to hook up tomorrow to record a show and so the remainder of the afternoon was spent doing a little research in preparation. I did sit outside in the sunshine for a short time while I used my phone for some online research, but it didn't last long as the sun was too hot and too bright for my poor phone!

And as Simon finished work for the day we opted for another walk, this time of 2.8 miles in 56 minutes. Because we tend to walk very similar routes each day we have noticed that some of the walkways at crucial points, like crossing over stiles, have become a tad overgrown with nasty nettles, brambles and thistles. So Simon now carries with him a small pair of pocket secateurs so that he can clear the way of any nasty bits to make our life, and hopefully that of other walkers, a little more pleasant!

And with that I will see you all tomorrow.
xx

Day 837 & Day 838

Day 837...Monday

The day started with our usual early morning walk and today it was one of our slightly longer routes at 2.4 miles in 46 minutes. It was overcast and a little chillier than it looked but we braved it in t-shirts and shorts!

I had an online doctors appointment mid-morning as I try to look at ways to improve my menopause symptoms. It's a tricky one as the obvious answer is to increase my estrogen levels but with my history of breast cancer it's not a good option for me. We are trying one lot of medication and are going to give them a little longer to see whether they can help at all.

We then had an early lunch/late breakfast before setting about a few jobs. We had to stop by my dads house to bring the bins out ready for collection and then I needed to pay a cheque in at my bank. I have to use the ATM and unfortunately the one I chose was 'out of service' so that will have to be a job for another day. As we were out and about we decided to grab a Starbucks before heading home for an afternoon of 'sorting'.

Simon has now managed to update his laptop and install it next to his 3D printer as he would like to start printing again soon and has a couple of Star Wars themed builds in mind. I was able to complete the ongoing relocating of paperwork and the mountain of shredding. As it was our recycling bin collection this week I wanted to take full advantage and get rid of all the unneeded paper I'd discovered.

My day was rounded out with a little social media interaction as I set up some tweets on behalf of the Disney Dream Girls podcast.

Day 838...Tuesday

And another morning and another walk of 1.9 miles in 37 minutes. Slightly shorter walk today to ensure that Simon was back home in time for starting work.

My first job of the day was a shopping trip to Lidl - whoop! Followed by yet more sorting and tidying; having moved things from one room to another I am now in the process of making sure everything is in the right places. This inevitably meant that I found more stuff to sort, move and re-organise but as Molly and Dan will be home this coming weekend and will be using our new study/craft room as our guest bedroom I really needed to get on top of things.

After lunch I was at my dads house once more as the estate agents were visiting to take photos and video of the house. They even took video for Tik Tok as well as their YouTube channel! A bit different to when I last sold a house...which to be fair was over 20 years ago!

I then made use of a very pleasant and sunny afternoon by soaking up some vitamin D while I had a coffee and summoned up the energy to get on with yet more tidying! But by the end of the afternoon everything was looking a lot better, although everywhere now needs a good clean!!

We then decided that the evening was too nice to miss and we headed out for our second walk of the day, taking 53 minutes to complete 2.8 miles.

And with that it's time to watch the last couple of episodes of The Umbrella Academy...see you tomorrow.
xx