Reflecting on my week #141

Well, we did manage a paella as I hoped, though we’ve not managed as many barbecues in the last week as we’d hoped. What we hadn’t accounted for was how early it’s dark now. And how quickly it’s chilling down, that’s definitely more than a hint of autumn, but it’s not all bad.

I’d rigged up a string of solar lights across the garden in a very small attempt to get some light out there. Of course it doesn’t give anywhere near enough light, but they do look pretty. It’s across the garden, and has quickly become affectionately known as the washing line.

MOH spotted some battery garden lights, which can be connected to make longer strings. And so a master plan has been formed. Armed with a length of solar lights, a measure and today’s equivalent of the back of a fag packet, the plan was hatched.

The plan is to add three further strings of lights across the conservatory, the patio and further down the garden to transform our garden into a twinkling wonderland, although not so much of the twinkling. MOH is tasked with making the purchase tomorrow, and now all we need is some lanterns to supplement these. If I’m lucky i’ll have sourced these by next spring!

I took some time Wednesday afternoon away from my laptop, and away from work. Not quite as soon as I wanted, but some time nonetheless. I was dithering about what to do, and where to go, as I was waiting for the doctor to call, and with impeccable timing, he called. My blood pressure average for the past week wasn’t so different from the reading when I visited the surgery, in fact he asked me if I’d been taking the tablets. I had, and now I have more, so hopefully we’ll see a difference. And all because of a routine medication check, which has been a few years overdue, as it turned out.

I said last week about how the littlest #notmycat has an unhealthy interest in the squirrels, it seems her attention has been turned. Not for the first time this week we’ve spotted her making full use of the small shed’s roof. Yesterday instead of darting off, she tolerated my attempts to get closer. Not quite up to a tickle like her brother Sid (aka Killer) but comfortable enough to settle down.

We spent most of Sunday gardening, which is the first time for a while. But it looks much better for it, and I even found a lone sweet pea.

Gorgeous, I wish there were more!

I’ve only got a couple of days at work this week, but looking at the weather forecast I’m not sure that our planned trip to the south coast will happen. But then again if Boris has an announcement anything like the predictions we might choose not to go anyway.

Who knows, I think we’ll just have to wait and see. That’s much the story of 2020 though, isn’t it?

Reflecting on my week #140

The weeks are going past in a ‘blur of sameness’ at the moment, even though schools are back and more people are heading back to work. Last week was week 25 of working from home, and while there may be occasional trips to the office, for me, things are likely to stay the same for a little while yet.

I skipped posting here last week, I seemed to have run out of time, which on reflection I think is a manifestation of priorities out of kilter that’s been building for a while. Though a reality check quite often comes along, and mine has too.

I’ve posted before about not quite switching off and needing to be offline, and that’s true, but while my online time can’t always expand how that time is spent should be within my control. So I’ll be working more on that, as well as trying to get my blood pressure down. A routine blood test and an actual visit to the doctors last week identified it was more than a tad on the high side.

In the garden, the roses are starting to flower again perhaps sensing the burst of warm weather that’s expected. I caught the squirrel sitting in one of our mysteriously nibbled pots of salad leaves, which has somewhat dampened our interest in picking some leaves to eat ourselves.

The smallest #notmycat has developed an unhealthy interest in the squirrels, who chase each other round and round in circles. On Friday the cat joined in, and watching them made me laugh out loud. Even more so when the squirrel headed up the tree at full pelt, leaving the cat confused and wondering where it was. As only cats can, it styled it out, wandering nonchalantly off in the other direction.

In other news I’ve finally finished a crocheted item, and it’s been a while since I have. I have many projects on the go, so it was good to finally sew something together. This laptop sleeve is practical as well as pretty, and will help protect my laptop in a bag, but more on that in another post soon.

The weather is looking good for at least the first part of the week, and we’re planning to get the barbecue fired up again, it’s been a while. The last time we used it was the middle of August when MOH slow-cooked some fabulous pork belly. This week it’ll be more usual fare, though we might get as far as a paella if the weather holds.

Let’s hope so, let’s also hope the ‘rule of six’ does what it needs to in the next few weeks and months.

Reflecting on my week #139

The big weeks at work seem to be continuing at the moment. Last week there were disappointments with people who were leaving and promised things before they went, that didn’t deliver but also plus points when an article was submitted after a very short brief, that absolutely hit the mark. There was a weekend of being on call, and actually being called, which thankfully is rare. But this weekend’s call saw a media interview being set up at short notice on the Bank Holiday, a little out of my comfort zone but we got there.

We went into the weekend with few plans, but spent some time mooching around Greenwich on Saturday picking up some food shopping, some lunch from the market and some conkers from Greenwich Park on our way home. It’s been many years since we’ve been conker hunting, and it was quite good fun. MOH quickly slipped back a good few years, and was looking for the best “cheese cutter” which made us laugh, but also because we’re collecting these to scare our spiders, not for some major championship.

Though if it comes to the championship, I’ve got a trick or two up my sleeve. Let’s just say conkers soaked in vinegar and baked…

I’m sure we’ll spend the next few weeks positioning them carefully to deter the spiders which seem so comfy in our conservatory though. It’s not the spiders that bother me so much, but their webs. This year they are huge, and they will be evicted. We’re trying conkers, and I’ve also some Peppermint Oil on order after asking for suggestions over on Instagram, so we’ll see how these go - and how quickly the spiders go too.

Actually it’s been a good week for advice over on Instagram. I pondered what to do with our increasing supply of empty and pretty gin bottles, wondering if filling them with LED lights would be a viable option. And, yes you agree and you’ve also told me about the lights you can buy that have the battery and/or switch in the cork, so I’ll be doing some internet searching for those. I think though it might not be that long before our garden could become the south’s equivalent of the Blackpool Illuminations if I’m not careful…

There was other news for MOH this week too. The consultation period for his role has ended and his company confirmed his redundancy. He’s fine about the outcome, but the delivery was less, shall we say, humane and a little galling. However, it’s also vindication of why the outcome is a good thing. He says he’s not surprised as such, but the timing was sooner than he’d anticipated, but it is what it is. There’s provision for training in the package and of course his actual work is lessening, which is no bad thing, as you’ll remember how the stress contributed to his health earlier in the year. We know that there are many people in worse situations than ours, and so while it’s not great news - redundancy never is - it’s not the worst news either. As he’s already been “bored” by lockdown the challenge will, I’m sure, be more of a mental one, but definitely one to make the most of, and I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that he’s very keen for me to go back to the office. Me, not so much, but that’s a whole other blog post, maybe for another time.

We had another trip out to a National Trust property on the Bank Holiday Monday, taking MIL to Standen, which is less than fifteen minutes from where she lives. It was only our second time there - we went in 2015 for the Tulip Festival - and it was a nice surprise to learn that the ground floor of the house was open. So of course we headed there first, joining the short socially distanced queue. It’s funny though, looking back at my post from our first visit, I’ve taken many of the same photos. I clearly know the stuff I like, and I’m drawn to it on five yearly intervals!

For a Bank Holiday, the weather was good. A little on the chilly side, but it seems that autumn is already knocking on summer’s door and making itself known. In some ways I don’t want it here yet, but in other ways it’s ok, I mean, I think autumn’s food is the best, so I’m looking forward to that part at least, the chillier mornings and putting away my flip flops, less so!