5 OS pleasures in your day today - part 3

villagelife

Haven’t posted in a couple of days

For Thursday

1. Meeting a friend for lunch at Costa in the hospital- she had blood tests. Ie was really good having a catch up.
2. Boss finally acknowledged 2 emails. No progress with what she will do but I’ve stopped worrying.
3. Saw a colleague I hadn’t seen in a while.
4. Had cauliflower cheese and ham for tea which was good.
5. Start of six nations

For Friday

1. Good walk with my doggy friend. Saw loads of deer far more than normal.
2. Had a chat with next door neighbour she was very excited about her upcoming 8th birthday. Conversation had to be cut short as she was on her way to school.
3. Lovely catch up with my sister in London once we found each other. London Bridge is a confusing station.
4. We walked and had lunch and chatted. Had lunch at the right time as it poured with rain but we stayed dry all day. Had a 20% money off voucher.
5. Went for a quick drink in local pub as it’s been refurbished. It looks good and was very full.

For Saturday

1. Meeting a friend for coffee- had a great catch up and us usual talked about weird and wonderful things.
2. Watching rugby- England won convincingly and Quins won.
3. DS1 and DIL came over and we all had a good time.
4. Used some candlesticks I hadn’t used in ages when we ate. They looked good and I’ll keep them.
5. Long conversation with my mum on the phone.

DigForVictory

Evening all. This isn't going to be a single post is it? And the New Formatting. <Rueful sigh> (only 5000 characters too long, so right, Part One.)

Suffolksue - Saturday bacon sandwich treat? Must remind Youngest of this delicacy! no HWB? Yegods, remedy forthwith! "went to Scrabble" - atta girl! Ah Christmas cake, one of the thankfully time-constrained delights. Ouch, yes "counting the “you knows“" it isn't sporting but you have to get Something from these speakers. "Cooked a bargain piece of lamb which was lovely" - can't go wrong, And leftovers! Sleep fixes things no pill gets near. (Just it's good to have the pills too.) Fresh bedding is a very special pleasure (I wrestle my kingsize with a wrist of hair elastics to hold the blighter down at the corners!) At least you have good intentions, as well as interesting meals! (Says she, sketching in the dust and litter with a somewhat shamefaced toe.) "alcohol free wine ,tasted like sugar free Ribena" - I learn so much! Glad the colour was right. Won at Scrabble! Excellent! Biblical rain means no hosepipe bans for another week? Out on the razzle with the WI, & your granddaughter rightly shining - well done! "fed up with this weather" - wholly reasonably! You did Anything after a bad night - I salute you. Bowling then carvery, then DGS "for his orthodontist appointment" - it takes a special love to haul a young student off to the dentist!
villagelife - always good to mend earrings & bring them back into use. "won a car park season ticket" hence attendance - fair enough! Sri Lanka & "elephants, monkeys, turtles and more wildlife" - wow! "Chat with someone on walk to work. I only see her every so often so good to have a quick catch up" - it is good to catch up with your village. "Managed to sort out couple of things I should have done ages ago" - some things take time to build up the 'argh' needed to get them boxed off. "Enjoying a cup of spiced tea from Sri Lanka" - and why not?! Good trip and "Even managed to park for free"! "Saw some lovely patients many of which I had seen before- makes a huge difference to how enjoyable day is." Gosh yes! "spoke as little as possible" whilst resisting unleashing in manger & line manger who are not helping. "Blue sky for majority of day" definitely a pleasure! Watching rugby - I love it as I know next to nothing but ye gods they are young & healthy & a joy to watch.
LaineyT - "deerstalker snorkers" sound lish! "outfit of choice was cosy" sounds wonderful. "much happy dancing" - the joys of home cooking! "forgotten bag of wine gums"?! How? "Last of the festive chocolate" dear heavens I am appallingly behind... I think my problem with Lynley is I Can't "ignore the fact that they are meant to be based on the original characters".. "have felt rough all week" - yep, grief will do that to you, but good for you crocus spotting. "two large snorkers in a bap" - sounds wonderful & I expect C dog delighted too! Then braised beef - all the walks have a point! Lucy W on TV is grand, & there are 4 series on Sounds on the radio? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002ppx4 Window cleaning already?! Ah, you may already be well aware of the podcasts! Had to swap pout the mended fleece for a warmer rug? There's this 'Spring' playing yoyo with temperatures. So right houseplants need love & repotting too. Muddy mare & warming workout grooming... "DN who has found himself an apartment in Brisbane and a job" - your family do not muck about! Ah Sudocrem, brilliant in so many situations. Then honey heel. "went for a walk in hand and found some grass for her to munch on" - yum! Aw "DB came for lunch ... tales of his Australian travels … lots of cricket chat" - lovely! "knitted pot of snowdrops" sounds charming & talented to me. "chorizo and butter bean stew" - I will definitely be suggesting that to Youngest to review! "picked three snowdrops from the garden" - lovely. "blood orange season" - drat, knew I forgot to put something on the list. "Biblical rain but cosy in stable with her" - warm dry companionable - some days you remember young people wanting to sleep in the stable. "RHS Sandringham flower show" - ooh, stunning plan! "such a rubbish night we pulled up the drawbridge and stayed in" - er, yes. Us too! "Driving across flooded Fenland and seeing all the swans & geese grazing in the wet fields." Will try to see swans & geese next I drive past a flooded field!
PaulieHerts - "bakers, butchers and fish mongers" you have a bungalow in paradise? "looking forward to having a bigger kitchen again" - more to clean though? "Completed son’s accounts and submitted tax return a day before the deadline!" - greater love hath no mother. Son took you out to lunch - no idea who said what, but very right & proper! Boggling at the photos & the skies - This is dear old Blighty? (where is your trans-universe portal & can I have a weekend without paperwork in July 1985)
mhagster - "this is going to be a crazy week!" they happen & you plan. Your lasses are barrelling on, how's the lad? "ouchy ouch massage" - things we do to keep skeleton going. "muddy after a night of heavy rain" - oh yes... I like noodling behind a tractor but then it's such a Holiday thing. "invoice... printing.. emails" but once you're prepared, you're prepared. Swathes of snowdrops, that's a very special pleasure. Migod local motorists! "hairy dog time of year" - oh yes! Wonder how how remembering a discount code is a real pleasure. "Nice to have an uninterrupted catch up" - gosh yes, friends and time are the best Venn overlap! Curtains washed, ironed then bannistered?! So impressed you have things in your wardrobe your daughter wants. Recycling at supermarket "and walked straight back out" - awed, here! "mobile library came!" - a wonderful pleasure that seeks you out. A quiet day works wonders on wellbeing health & morale. Love the Moon, the charity shop finds for daughter & the line drying which hasn't quite... ". Glad you meet "the loveliest of families", even if usually in complex circumstances. "wee snoozette" <I must try this> "We are a clean and tidy house to start a new month/week!" <Looks at laundry & thinks post this first> Windy enough to dry things on the line? "ceramic baking tray with hearts" sounds like it was meant to find you! The little tins of beans have been subject to scout derision, as they can eat a big tin in about three gulps, but for 7 pence why have the extra recycling? "the gift of dog poo bags" - well, they're always useful. I really have left this file Far Too Long if you have a second "ouchy shoulder massage".
Frith - "Torrential rain now so I can test the mended roof and gutters! " = did they pass?! Insects in art class? Novel! Glad Dr "noticed my stiff neck", we only had hints. "to look at the plants in a local nursery" - there's restraint, but very canny to learn. "roofer phoned about the other leak" - oh gosh, still, you'll Know when it's all sorted. ""making the new garden" - wonderful! 'last antibiotic' - oh, Good. "played cards in the café" - poker school?! Lovely that baby nephew being smiling and cooing. "Mammogram done and clear" - huge congratulations on both! Hurrah planting out lots of sage plants! "dad has finally agreed to a cataract operation" - gosh, well done. "Day off work!"- definitely a pleasure!
DundeeDoll - there is a best before on "single christmas puds"?! Love "Christmas flapjack ... now decluttered"! UAE?! Cor & conclave en route. Remembering milk for tea - a vital pleasure. Watching someone else's big wedding - even if you can't use the pool. "sauna with 2 lovely south african poets" - do not let Anyone else write your autobiography. The sheer raw material is superb. "I'm home hooray" after a lot of travel but a pre-breakfast swim! What fabric for the loved new bedsets? Happy Burns Night & ooh leftovers for lunch. "got my tops handwashed and dried for India" in the one day of sunlight... And you get the soft plastic recycling dropped off all using public transport. Chennai & visa gulp, but Marking at stopover & hotel...
Highdays - not sure forum code could cope, but from the photos PaulieHerts could be anywhere & share blue skies! I confess I find Patrick Grant fascinating, an engineer with a solid grip on accountancy as well as tailoring - he's unique. Huge congratulations to Middle grandson on getting on so well with UCAS & to you for coping! "first blissful cup of tea" - it can be a near-spiritual experience. "Staircase ... will be a thing of beauty when finished." just a challenge right now. "get decorators in" - absolutely. Why exhaust yourselves? Chuckling at 'little grandson' (who Isn't) & eldest grandson & "supplies" (snorts of recognition here). "Out for a wander round an RHS garden today" - ooh, which? (You're not supposed to take cuttings, are you?!) Ah, young people on a coach & call comms off - yes, that puts grey into hair. Honestly, the MRI should be a great deal less exciting. Absolutely breathe - it helps route you to your happy place, despite the noise.
adrich - "caught up with an old friend" - superb & apparently good for your health.
Purple kitten - "need to get back in the habit of posting daily" if you want & can, please. Just observe how tolerant folk are of me! Gosh yes decluttering starts with tidying & is easily led astray by finds! Welcome donut! Garden planning is rewarding. (Says she with 5 pots of bulbs that really need to be in a greenhouse or deep underground....) So much easier to eat "less processed / unprocessed foods" if everyone agrees. "and we’ve still got a hose pipe ban" - WHAT?! Clearly the animals love fresh bedding too "they were clambering in as I did it!" When your IT goes bonk, it goes. It may not mean the complete end of hopes. More decluttering, more finding - well done!
topsyturphy - Expression of interest is usually less hassle & more rewarding than the full application form. Chocolate to get through the night shift, oh yes! Sleep is an underrated pleasure. "So much rain" - oh yes! "oil filled radiator", cor. "A mini magnum" is a smashing little treat. Charity shops are wonderful for really solid reference books. "lobster Raviolli" - adds to foods I want to try! "8 minute commute" - I will not be envious, but Plan Harder! "Been offered a secondment promotion for 3 months" - Brilliant, what an opportunity & richly deserved. "Had a tour of DS2 house" - it's all happening!
Happycas - "Proper rainy winter tea" stil sounds wonderful! Eye-catching pleasure "DH cut a ring off my finger" but grandma's, can be repaired, will go with mum's & godma's to DGD in October- win-win-win, I think! Happy assorted birthdays party! Well done decluttering & someone will be ecstatic to find proper press studs and hooks and eyes, as the haberdashers of my youth have collapsed under amazon & co. Love the sound of the crochet lamb, & giggling your money plant Deserves a new pot!
BoP - yadaphone? Oooh, excellent. Seems to do the job, no subscription - splendid! Delighted Chloe has a part in Teams calls! Friends finally putting a ring on it? All sorts of good reasons to, party with you Just One. I would never leave my beloved ma with an interactive speaker who didn't have a pulse.
Skint yet Again - great to see you! And 'hear hear' to Thank you both for your service.
ampersand - happy birthday & huge congratulations on Birthday fundraiser target passed! Missing posts are probably worse than missing bits…

weenancyinAmerica - good to hear you can lower your blood pressure by recalling a good holiday!

OS Pleasures recently
I say, jumping into bed without an HWB for the toes means your core temperature drips out of your toenails. (Happily the remedy is apply HWB & do not repeat this foolhardy experiment.)

I don’t Need keys for handcuffs (lovely to hear another imagination pulling at the leash) - I was eavesdropping on coppers talking shop as we have police folk as scout leaders etc & it seems the long key is a cherished gift as opposed to the short key supplied with. Just easier, simpler, safer - and you do have to know what you’re looking at to recognise one.

Sister planning a few jobs as domestic cleaner & me thinking that still requires “count in count out” security as meeting an online date. She has at least plans to attend a Suzy Lamplugh course. (Had. She lacks the detailed focus to do a good enough job to get paid for cleaning.)

The comfort of pizza. It may not be a Good habit but it takes some pressure off Youngest.

Two portable heaters bought online will arrive tomorrow - irony after the first frost free night of the year but the “dreadful mother” feeling will have a heater to fight back. Small, safe, portable, efficient - I am a week late but the right tools are coming. (And may bait Fate into sorting the parts & engineer for the boiler.) [Engineer will call tomorrow, heaters unlikely to arrive tonight dashit. Indeed they now think Wednesday 14…]

Planning to relocate a few of mum’s day lilies (vivid orange) from her garden to mid sis’ just to ensure they stay in the family. Sisters delighted & amused. (Me booking up on YouTube!)

Car insurance checked & son with own car & licence adds nearly 50% to my premium. He agrees we’ll not bother, as he deplores my little Fabia anyway. (As I get nearer 21 days, the gulf widens - truly Martin’s advice on timing can save you Serious money!)

Firmly handed 4 bounty sweeties to help empty the tub. It would peeve the cook not to. (Most unwise!)

Temperature has dropped again but HWB at my toes & I am snug as a piglet under a pile of blankets, (well a wool duvet & two fleece blankets)! Despite the promises, Amazon has not delivered the heaters - but Youngest is also curled up under a nest of bedding (I am just not speculating as to the use of duvet covers!)

The hazel twig stars are down from the Scout gates & I briefly ponder which leader put them up & if anyone thought of the implications & grinned - we’re an East Lancs troop with a witch on our county badge, I should be pondering who took them down…

DigForVictory

And here, Part Two. Hurrah, I am not going to be embarrassed as I was, ahem, a few years ago with parts three & (o gods be merciful) four.

Gasman cometh & we have heat again!

Class went well - small & over teams & with a slightly ‘odd’ reputation but they’re from another silo. Besides I have a cheerfully “odd” reputation myself, and am willing to negotiate. They’re all now off at some silo meeting til Monday. What can you do?!

Plans being sketched to grow my own triffids (lilies) & just see how we go. May all go horribly wrong, or may not. Exactly one way to find out … [Being delivered by Evri, hm. Shrug, in the hands of Fate. Still. In February]

Eyeballed the acorns - one has a hearty couple of inches of root already! The other three are altogether more cautious. (Another 4 acorns are in the fridge contemplating stable coolth.)

Just how does Flambeau maintain that devastating charm?! (Crooning over Father Brown’s scriptwriters, as well as the actor John Light.)

Taking a day off to see old uni mate in Birmingham. Realising my grip on Manchester public transport near zero - ah well, up an hour earlier. Still need a taxi! Argh.

Bedlinen on the line! Then the paracord in the shed. It got fresh air & not sleet.

I am trying this commuting by public transport thing. I am deeply unconvinced, not least as I needed a taxi to get to the bus station, as the little bus doesn’t start til past nine. Something else to add to the retirement cottage requirements…

Tucked in a train seat, waiting, I reread psalm 23 & it still flows easier in a Welsh accent than a Received Pronunciation one.

Had a whale of a time in the Birmingham museum, admiring the Ozzy & pre-Raphaelites & Staffordshire hoard displays (plus fish & chips & a cream tea) as well as a stunning Medusa cardigan on the curator guiding us around the highlights of the Classical Pre-Raphaelites. (Yikes, we got the steps in as well as the culture!)

Dropped in on Lego shop & just boggled for a while. (Later saw Lego puppy & thought prefer Boston dynamics big dog even if much more complex & expensive.)

Godma’s dog is watching Godma eating intent & I’m chuckling.

Fascinating to be a guest in a house of menfolk and recognise some bits but not others!

Flying visit to matriarch’s mum, bless her, tiny but almost all heart & a vivid dash of opinions!

The train back, looking at fields of sheep. So restful to watch! Whereas passengers less restful but more bewildering - is it usual to have curlers in?

And the eavesdropping is unparalleled - “you know you are technically an old bag?” and the lady laughed! “Aya, did mum get back OK?” (Strewth, ours is cherished & escorted!)

Driver of bus home happily nattering in Polish with a fellow countryman. It’s the comfortable inflexions of blinking weather & the garden, not stressed about hoojit’s chances in the cup. Almost as melodic as Welsh!

Oooh this bus terrifyingly smart, automatically announcing each stop & what to change for. As it whisks me past rooflines ancient & modern.

Lovely scampabout little bus driver arrives early & lets us board even though he has a quarter hour break as it’s warm in the bus & draughty in the station. Unexpected kindness! (Cheery cheeky little old ladies who don’t like drafts & who are hoping young driver not utterly fed up!) Eavesdropping on the ladies, who came for the quiz which “is a bit of fun” & one who went to Blackburn as every time she goes to Bury she spends too much money. Hearing plans to walk down to the doctors, but can’t walk back as it’s all uphill.

It’s not advocating guerrilla gardening if you want to divide & relocate an abandoned lavender plant to at least four other community locations, is it? (It’s the getting past the wire fence round the building that’s ticklish.)

Oh my. My own bed. Plus lack of cat - delightful creatures just not my preferred company in the bedroom. Odd drowsing memory of Wales, of being wrapped in sleeping bag, in the cottage, in folds of mountain, safe cradled against the dragon. Hiraeth indeed.

Youngest & I enjoying Danny Kaye’s “civilisation” & while I saw the film, he heard the music through Fortnite… which apparently is where he gets a lot of his music from. Strange world he lives in!

More music - Bruce & the e street band playing Staying Alive (Brisbane 02/26/2014) - great to see & hear the brass get a front line segment, & great closing chords!

Class all showed up on time (always a good start!) even if co-trainer & I uncertain how much permeating their minds…

Bowie, heroes, live aid - thought to be seen by about 40% of the world population then & much appreciated decades later.

Cousin can’t make family meeting in February or early April, so we check our diaries for March. (May clash with Scout camp!) Just have to see when we can all meet.

Solar activity suggests aurora tonight but listening to the rain spatter onto the flags I know I’ll see nothing other than cloud. Ah well, keep hoping!

Reading up on PIP as one sister supporting other through application interview. Strange system, but added my tu'pennyworth. (Postponed as interviewer sick...)

Linen to snuggle under. Glorious. (My sons roll their eyes but won’t even try it.)

Lovely call with local nurse, for me, statins are working, liver & kidneys fine, all my worries gently met with knowledge (& blood test result based) reassurance.

Son posted photo of self with bottle of beer “shanksawing it up” & promptly I hit Google to clarify the reference. His shed now has a roof!

There’s a “say you could wake up with mastery of a skill, what would you chose & why?” buzz & to my bemused delight portrait painting & Russian are both popular. Gemstone cutting would be my research historian buzz - imagine being able to confidently, competently reproduce things from the AngloSaxon hoard, or the Louvre?!

Oooh, package delivered during training turns out to be sent to his old address & Middleson instructing Youngest in what to do… My sons are an ongoing source of amusement & joy to me.

Some days teaching leaves you ready to bean the little dears with a cricket bat. Anyone who can sit behind teams & say nothing for 40 minutes, whilst everyone else completes the exercise? Gets a special fanged snarl (also on mute) from me. Still, Monday, they’ll get a Mock and that will rattle a few cages.

Colleague gurgled happily that I was one if her favourite people as she loves my eccentricity. All as I had ‘defrost haggis’ in my work calendar…

DofE gold certificates traditionally awarded in palaces in gardens & I was hoping to go. For the cuttings & the bragging rights. Son has abided by his father’s ruthlessly republican principles & as he did the work, time to smile proudly Anyway.

Argh family tree climbing I thought we had a link, turns out a duplicate. Still Arieta can lose a vowel & ye gods Catherine or Catharine…! [Fixed! Phew.]

Ah, Burns might faint, but haggis on toast is a hearty warming & relatively simple repast.

An acorn has really got the memo & has a full three inches if green upwards as well as several roots downwards. Ok I’ll have to cut the spice jar cap to move the oakling to larger quarters but hey!

Old sewing bee & the 30s dresses…. Bias cut glam! Just yikes those seams. I look (& could never wear) - it’s glorious.

An oops message in the scout WhatsApp chat. I love it when that happens… (tickles my curiosity & reassures me it’s not just me.)

Made my Lego roses & they’re now in a vase by the Myrtle cuttings to remind me of friends & Denby vase & to check on how the cuttings are doing.

Just gurgling with laughter at Flanders & Swann “built up area”. Apparently the introduction to a song, but I’ve no idea which, & frankly am still giggling so hard I don’t particularly mind.

There is nothing like a feminist, an engineer (at work in another county) & an artist to bicker over changing a key fob battery, changing a car battery & reprogramming. Especially when 2 of the 3 are hungry. All may yet be well but o Lord! Youngest swapping the car battery ”I’m feeling very masculine right now” (intriguing given that he saw me swap it half an hour earlier.)

Meant to do the birdwatch but car battery shenanigans happened instead. Back to sewing bee for tranquillity & more serene language.

Excellent exam, two rockets illuminating trainer spirits & the rest learning salutary lessons. Like 'check when you’re taking leave…'

Car working! So grabbed Aldi yarn for beanie (& maybe mittens) alongside groceries.

Finished reading a real print book! (I keep forgetting about glasses & lighting.) My ebook count easily into double figures but I do see the satisfaction of a book you can chew as well. I’ll up my target.

Christmas sewing bee (23) & Toyah singing sharp dressed man - oh my! What a voice still…

Youngest suggests I am brachiating around the room. He thought it meant walking leaning on the knuckles, (oh how I wish my arms were long enough, I am a T rex in the forearm dimension) but the verb is actually to swing from branch to branch (which I can’t do either) Truly I learn much from my children even if it is Googling their vocabulary later.

It’s cold wet & gusting and the car windscreen is covered in sleet, so of course I’m driving into Manchester for 7.30 am.

Where there is rather too much excitement where over a tiny bit of electronics that is the key to serious code, but hurrah, found & kit divided amongst three lockers for better security. (The AWOL extension cable has a note in the team chat - just bring it back for Monday…)

Quarterly admin done & some interesting lectures signed up for.

Home via Iceland (shop) & thus a fish & chip supper! Youngest really enjoying the air fryer chips, which is a win twice over as he’s somewhat leery of the device.

Reading Jenny Joseph & thinking hers is the more active social life, but that I think spitting is disgusting. My Granny upheld standards, & that was more interesting, if harder. <Flickering through a few memories, gosh.>

One trainee is back off leave & has sat the mock & passed!

Rereading “Guards! Guards!” & just whimpering with laughter at “…his Lordship should be released unharmed immediately—” The figure stared at him in astonishment. “Why?” it said. “It’s my bloody dragon.” Atta girl, Sybil! All those “first met” stories so rarely include such vigorous pragmatism.

Read up on schedule 8 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. A handy list of plants you may not dig up, as you never know what will stop the body snatchers…

Made it to the office to find where I usually roost occupied. Ensconced myself where v senior colleague prefers. (Can’t see why, view most unimpressive. Eavesdropping opportunities unparalleled though.)

Planned practice with tech kit halted as fog in Leeds where my mentor lives.

Cheered on colleague who was twitching about his upcoming vetting interview. His birth certificate is written in Tamil on paper records in Sri Lanka, & he was married to a Russian lass but it didn’t work out - I have mild sympathy for vetting but they have taken Months to ask him to interview, which should settle down much of their concerns. Still, it’ll make his next security upgrade a lot easier.

Colleague on my floor strode through the door & two yards in did a double take as I puttered after “sorry! where’s my manners?!“ he apologised - “no, you’re heading home, I quite understand!” (I’d stride the same, just as focussed just shorter legs.)

Offered leftovers as a hot snack, yum “finish off the weak & wounded” approves Youngest. Not quite what I was thinking but hey, why debate the matter?!

Annual leave! So cleared my bedroom floor and some of the stray stuff on the bookcase. Lovely to be reunited with some things, nice to look hard at other things & decide I wouldn’t pay for that in a charity shop & so bin. The charity will hopefully get saleable stuff. (Relocated to the weaving shed for restorative cup of tea & eyeing the floor dubiously!)

The music round of ISIHAC with Rory Bremner & co - I’m sat giggling as he hits the top notes & Lucy Porter replies… then Tony Hawks & Henning Wehn (o dear heavens, the decluttering is utterly abandoned!) I realise (very belatedly) this circus’ devising is credited to Graeme Garden - wishing him ongoing good health but thinking when Fate finally applies the shears the retrospectives broadcast are going to be superb.

Oooh! Unexpected delivery, of rum. Given my effectively teetotal status (I stick to the Classic Movie Icon’s tipple, tea) this is just occupying shelf space but is going to make an amazing present sometime. Meanwhile the packaging is of rigid bubblewrap in bars (I really do not do it justice) which has me even more intrigued! I am a complete toddler at heart.

Have I said recently how much I adore Youngest? Came in bearing a full pint of tea, didn’t drop it as I pounced whimpering, looked at the surrounding devastation (not massively changed) & said reassuringly “looks pretty clean!” The lengths he’ll go to, to keep me away from suggesting he tidy his room.

There is a Facebook assertion Queen Elizabeth wrote daily letters to Philip after he’d died. I can’t test that for accuracy, but can vouch for the comfort.

Middleson casually gloving up to drain my car & change the oil. Almost surgical in the two pairs but one pair’s waterproof & somewhat delicate, the other is neither!

Oh his reading, stacked on the radiator, the table, above the fridge. Glad to see he’s got plenty of history as well as fiction & cookbooks. Weakens his position trying to get me to live book free in the next house… Also that his kitchen table is relatively organised mayhem, ah truly the apple has not fallen far. Somewhat Heston in the technology but then Youngest tried to whisk eggs with a drill & duct tape - I love their experimental pragmatism! (So long as they clean up after.)

I’m not safe left alone with a year planner. I have Middleson’s travel dates copied into my phone.

He has Other Plans too, like a future dog I can dog sit for him when he goes on holiday... Nope. I want to live my way in my old age, not brisk healthy walks twice a day at least. He’s giggling in the phone, I really do hope this is a windup.

Just seen a poster "you don't have to be crazy to work here, we’ll train you" & after four weeks of delivering training mocks & feedback I feel very seen!

Sewing bee & pausing to translate various Welsh phrases, to find (as I type into Google translate) the other hobby detective fiction bubbling through, as “finished” in Welsh is only characters off “dead body”.

To hear the ting of a reaction to a text message is an unexpected & reassuring pleasure.

Youngest escorting me on a late wassail & hug of Eldest’s tree. (Then grumbling as I insist on picking off the dead bindweed from the dwarf fruit trees.)

Then to be rewarded with a bowl of chilli. I may be the luckiest woman on the planet. OK grieving a son who should be celebrating a birthday & his father who would be quietly generous with the cake let alone the well thought through presents, but the chaps are warmly around me.

Aww, sewing bee & variations in the inflexion of ‘gusset’… Patrick (nicknamed the Great White in an earlier series & I do see why, although everyone still has all the limbs they arrived with) rehanging a jacket “because this is distressing me” - I do sometimes wonder how he copes with the crazy rush.

I have a new thing to try this year. I’ve decided to try to learn the trumpet. I’ve barely the lung capacity to blow up a party balloon, I can’t sight read (even in bass clef & me a lapsed cellist) & I was raised to think of the brass as a bunch of mischievous so-&-sos, with the sole redeeming feature they could find beer in any environment & usually get back before the Conductor realised they were missing. Apparently the muting technology exists so I shouldn’t be kicked out of the parish, even Youngest is positive (at the idea, all he knows of trumpet is “the jazz man” by whom he means Louis Armstrong - so no pressure!) so now all I have to do is get off my duff & go hunt.

Also started the annual weeding of the herb garden. So much easier to pull plants that are mostly dead than ones that have decided to get growing.

Had to explain Sewing Bee to Youngest, he ‘gets’ the pattern challenge, was intrigued by the transformation & slightly horrified by the made to measure !

Somehow Winter Olympics & Milan struggle to fit together in my head, but news that the British village moves in with breakfast cereal & teabags then sets up a dedicated medical area sounds like most family holidays.

Loo wasn’t draining so took the snake to it with ruthlessness & was triumphant. [Memo to self, get snake into play sooner another time].

Read of “dark showers” & thought might be soothing but being a clumsy mortal I’d need more than a single candle for orientation. Will mention to a colleague grousing about sleep though.

Fire alarm tests. Repeated. The fire alarm used to go off A Lot when the building had toasters as one clerk was no good at making breakfast, so we got a Lot of fresh air. There are now No Toasters in our buildings, (& I have no idea what the poor chap eats) but fire alarm tests are still usually met with snarls of “toast Again …” (Tradition trumps fact every time!) Well, why have a good communal grouch & let it evaporate under facts?

Scouts, badge work, leader-getting-peeved, fire practice! (Ye gods my fresh air intake!) All good fun but muddy floors, so much brushing & mopping. Largely by scouts!

Funny how a long day feels longer even with coffee when you’re driving. Still, a 10 minute nap helped a lot.

There’s a very bracing “what the heck?” Moment when you wake up find there’s a floral top hung up, and you don’t recall seeing it before you fell asleep.

That little fanged moment when you find the mug you wanted to use, in the wrong room & not washed up. Then the wry smug grin as you put it into the dishwasher (which you unloaded, virtuously hopeful, earlier).

Mum, ensconced in Good Housekeeping, is gently hauled out for meals & coffees… At least she’s in the warm & dry - it’s jolly wet, out.

Assorted vases filled & existing arrangements updated with fresh water, plant food & strategic greenery. One of Mum’s carers said she’s learned all she knows about flower arranging from me & I’m thinking I need to get several books from various libraries so she can see I am a total amateur! (Judith Blacklock for a start?)

Coming an easy fifth at crosswords has me yearning for sudoku, which I can use logic on. (And succumbing to Google for the crossword - I ask you, who else knows dried coconut kernel is ‘copra’?!)

Dug some outlying day lilies. They need splitting properly as they’re a near solid path of knotted roots! “Invasive rhizomes” doesn't do them credit, they’re some horror film material they way they survive & extend. The flowers are vivid orange & we’re fond of them as they were here before we were toddlers.

And first reasons I cannot fathom, Flanders & Swann are singing “In The Bath” & the pleasure is they’re certainly right, the bathtub is a place of increased good temper. The pondering is who would dare enter the water with various leaders!?

After a brief skirmish with Youngest (he won easily) I retreat to Springsteen & Burning Love which is just joyful & leaves me smiling as I slide into sleep.

Doorstepped by Witnesses - courteous, but slow to the point & anyone offering me happiness tends to trigger a certain cynical sarcasm but I was able to heave up a smile & murmur “terribly sorry but this is a house of medics” (well, one retired & the rest of us beneficiaries) & they got the hint & left.

Mum Still Smitten by “how well we did” with the crossword - using Google, I really can’t take any pride in it. Just it makes mum So Happy! (Even if she then looses her place & can’t find where to get the answer in.) If I never see another crossword again (or at least not for at least 3 months), that will be a pleasure!

It’s all very civilised. After a hearty bowl of stew cooked by her grandson, mum is sat reading to be ready for her book club, with a mug of coffee cooling beside her & the cat snoozing on the other armchair. Me, I’m sprawled on the floor reading as I’m quite happy that way & not minded to argue the toss with the cat.

Driving up the M6, we keep seeing water. Apparently it has rained every single day this year, topping a 150 year maximum in Cornwall. Weather forecast explaining were in for another damp week, a glimpse of sun & ah, more rain…

There’s some game “rivals of kaboom” the name of which amuses me. (Somehow Jilly Cooper & Kabul don’t seem like an obvious children’s game?)

Youngest has bought Reece’s eggs. I want to know what they will hatch into. He assures me, when he finds out, he’ll tell me...

Just read chips described as “greasy potato sticks” & thought ‘yep, & pass the ketchup…’ no wonder the girlish figure has been missing presumed having a good time for a while.

The Economist on job interviews (reasonably, savage, but rueful - what are the alternatives?) & doozy questions “tell me what have you been doing since you got out of prison?” (Always laugh. Then quip. Humour will get you the job qualifications may not.) <Says she thoughtfully, improving my counterfeiting…>

Right, health, strength, love & courage to all as have need, really effective waterproofs & may you see something green & growing to cheer you when you need it!

Frith

Pleasures for today (Sunday)

1)Not a bad sleep.

2) Had a cup of tea in M and S.

3) Did hoovering.

4) Cleaned the porch.

5) Put the cat's electric heated pad in a fresh cardboard box and washed her blanket.

6) Chinese takeaway for tea.

mhagster

oooh I’ll come back and read DFV tomorrow!!

A quiet day.

A lot of watching stuff.

A bit of tidying up.

A bit of work done, printing and invoice.

DD2 popped over to pick up her car which had been left here last night and brought over mini egg cookies she had made.

Has rained all day…seems to be the forecast for the coming week.

And a very sick doggy this evening which is certainly not a pleasure…see what the overnight brings.

Purple_kitten

Wow, I'm coming back to read DFV properly.

Mhags, I hope poorly pooch improves overnight.

A lazy day today, there was even a smattering of sunshine.

I put a stew on using only half the meat and all the spices, it smelt amazing cooking through.

The animals are shedding their hormones, phew it'll be a pleasure when all done.

It was lovely to sit and read properly.

topsyturphy

Pleasures for today

1. Not exactly a pleasure - started with another cold, feel slightly better today but now look like Rudolph and the zinc seems to be working.
2. Dog walk with friends for over an hour. Felt much better for it.
3. Quick dinner of roasted chicken breast, potatoes and veg with gravy
4. Yet again a mini magnum-soothed the throat
5. Now in bed ready for sleep.

Highdays

Heading bedwards so I too will enjoy DfV's post(s) tomorrow over a leisurely coffee - a treat to look forward to.

But just to say the RHS garden we went to was Harlow Carr, near Harrogate. No cuttings taken but all very much enjoyed as was a delicious lunch in Betty's and a browse in the lovely bookshop.

Night night all, sleep well.

LaineyT

Huzzah to learning the trumpet DFV, Capt S played the Cornet for a brass band in his yoof and often talks about taking it up again!

Weekend pleasures,

Saturday morning and kitchen witchery, a loaf made plus a batch of sultana scones.

A patch of purple & white crocuses.

Reading that this is the last time until October that the sun sets before 5pm, so much rain and mud at the yard that the thought of warmer days is all that’s keeping us going, that and of course the love of our horses.

Lots of jigsaw puzzling, addictive once you start again.

A dry day and the opportunity to clean the mini, poor thing, it bears the brunt of belonging to a horse owner.

Sunday roast dinner and the gentle tap tap of C dog’s feet on the wooden floor as she reminds us that yes, she is being a good girl and staying on her bed as we eat but please, please don’t forget that I like a chicken dinner too.

Lots of Winter Olympics watching, strange how sports that you are barely aware of yet alone follow are suddenly something you can’t possibly miss.

villagelife

For yesterday

1. Trains all ok.
2. Went to a free food exhibition at the science museum which was very interesting. Then had a look round the medicine exhibition. We both enjoyed it.
3. Walk back to the station - long walk but remained dry.
4. Stopped for a coffee and cake.
5. Home and a relaxing evening.