My poor bed duvet. Caught outside TWICE in the pouring rain. But finally after hours propped over a full on radiator, it was dry. With my adopted manly themed duvet cover back on – Hawklads old Peppa Pig one – the bed was made up. All neat and tidy.
A couple of hours later I head for bed to find.
Some hooligan had decided to move my clean duvet onto the floor and create his own perfect bed.
Look at that face. He wins. That’s another night in the sleeping bag for me…
The Head Gardener seems to be enjoying his work…..
Don’t you just love cars. My car went into the garage to get its breaks fixed, the petrol tank made less corroded and then pass its annual test. The brakes and tank have been delayed since February due to parts being on back order. They can only be sourced from China for my car. Getting the parts was a tad difficult because of the pesky virus. Well a year later we tried again.
All good until the dreaded phone call. The petrol tank needs another part which is still unavailable from the Chinese supply chain. So the car has been partly fixed and partly patched up. It’s somehow fudged its way through the test. So I can drive it but not too far until the other part turns up.
Oh what fun. But as the car is doing about 0 miles a week at present. It’s not an issue.
However
What the Head Gardener is doing to the garden might be an issue.
Unbelievably some snowdrops have survived the paws of the mad one. Flowers are always welcome especially when they herald the arrival of Spring. They are even more welcome when they sort themselves out. We just have to enjoy and try to stop the dog trampling them into the ground.
This morning was felt like another Groundhog Day here in our family lockdown. Very like every other morning. Doing the same things. That included trying to find some socks to wear. Where do they go. Ok I will reframe that question. Where does the sock monster put them. It’s not as if we live in a big house with loads of rooms. Only a month ago I had to buy 7 more pairs to boost the numbers floating round our little world. Sill struggling to find a matching pair.
But here’s the thing. Here’s another reason to be thankful of the lockdown. No one will see what I’m wearing. It doesn’t matter. Odd socks rule….
A moment of quiet contemplation between the mayhem. A penny for his thoughts.
I wonder if it was ‘in a few minutes I get a chance to really bark at the shopping delivery driver’.
Well he needed patience today. Definitely late delivery.
We are so fortunate to be able to book a weekly food delivery. Ok what comes is a little random but it so helps during these strange lockdown days. The drivers are usually really friendly and helpful. Today it was a new driver who looked only just old enough to drive the van. About an hour late the phone rang.
“I’ve been sat outside for 10 minutes and your not in. I’ve food to be delivered.”
Sorry but you are not outside our house.
“Yes I am”
Sorry I can’t see you on our drive.
‘Well I am parked on your drive”
Sorry but your not. You might be at the wrong house.
“Definitely not, I’m here”
Wait a second and I will see if I can see you….. I can see you. I’m waving at you. You are at the wrong house.
“No you must have used put the wrong address on the order. It says xxxxxxxxx as the address ”
Yes that’s our house address. It’s the one that has been used by the supermarket for 9 months. It’s the address to this house not the one your parked at.
“Are you sure…..”
Strangely yes I am sure. I’m currently stood outside my house and you are parked outside the wrong house.
*******
Finally the van arrived at the correct address. The food was delivered and then the deep philosophical discussion continued.
“That house had the same colour door as the one you included in your instructions..”
I don’t think it does. I put on the order that our house had a white door. That one over there has a brown door.
“It’s very confusing I bet the other drivers have struggled to find you.”
No you are the first to get lost.
“For the future could you add some more detail to the delivery address.”
So apart from the correct address, the correct colour door, instructions on how to get to our house from both village entrances. The ones which are on the order already – what would you suggest.
“Anything to make it clearer….”
*********
So on the next order maybe I should include the door colours that do not apply to our house. A note saying that it might be an idea to check the door number on the door matches the one on the order. And listen out for the really noisy dog. That should do it…
A stunning morning sky which lasts for just a fleeting moment. If only it lasted longer.
So the online parent evening has been and gone. It was an experience.
So you try to book a 4 minute slot with as many teachers as you can. The booking process felt a bit like a 50% off sale at the local everything for a £1 shop. Chaos. The booking system opens and it’s every parent for themselves. Only so many slots. Survival of the fittest. Unbelievably I managed to book 6 subject chats while only suffering minor superficial damage.
So the evening arrived. Oh what fun. You log into the school system and select parent video chat. Then wait for your slots to arrive. Looking at a blank screen with a helpful timer showing a countdown to your next slot. What would happen. Do we get a fanfare and fireworks when the timer hits zero. Or is it more like the Alien attack in Independence Day. “Times Up”.
Nothing so dramatic. A box appears showing a live video of me. Another bigger box saying ‘awaiting teacher’ and a 4 minute timer appears at the top of the screen. A timer which doesn’t wait for the teacher to arrive, it starts to count down immediately. Then like magic the teacher appears at some stage. Then we chat while the timer rapidly heads towards zero. Helpful on screen messages appear telling me that I have x chat seconds left. Then at zero the screen instantly goes blank. The chat is terminated automatically. Then another timer appears telling me when my next chat will begin.
Wow.
So what did I learn from the process.
So that was it. It went too quickly. Now it’s a week before next years options are submitted. Much thinking to be done. But maybe I should have tried Hawklads approach. Play on the Xbox and go with the flow. Yep that sounds a much better use of 4 minutes.
A beautiful start to the day. Early morning. A time for reflection and renewal. The perfect time for yoga and meditation.
Well that’s the plan.
The reality was somewhat different. A creaking, stiff body. A sleep deprived mind and a cat. Yes that cat. The big boy. The biggest cat on the Vets’s books. Yoga is too much of a temptation for him. Great for him. Not so great for yoga practice. Not the greatest photos. Too dark. Cat way too close. Trying to hide my exposed short covered legs….
L
This is NOT today. Just needed some sun. Needed some fresh air and a different view.
This photograph was taken on our last outing before lockdown mode started way back in March.
Back then Covid was a headline but still only one of a number of main stories. It was very much carry on as usual and nothing to see here. A handful of National cases but everything was apparently under control. The Government insisted that Lockdowns would never be required here due to the countries world class response.
So on this walk we had taken the dog with us. A new local walk. In my mind I was planning to return the week after. Drop Hawklad off at school and 15 minutes later I could be running along this track.
But the first tell signs were already starting to appear. As we approached field gates Hawklad refused to touch them. I was asked to try and open them using a stick. When we got back home we both had to wash our hands for minutes. Full change of clothing required.
A couple of days later our family lockdown started. Then one more week later the national lockdown started and schools closed.
Our world shrank and the remains that way today. This wet and windy January day. Seems a very different world now.
Well not quite…..
Can you spot someone practising to be either Cyclops from the X-Men or Vision from The Avengers.
This was 7.20pm on Christmas Eve. It’s as white as it’s going to get. Thought I had better take a photo while it’s at its DEEPEST…..
So as we fight to survive this mega blizzard I want to send you warm winter wishes your way. ❤️
That’s a sky that could tell several stories in my dreams – so tempted to try them out.
Somedays I can operate perfectly well in tired mode. Then you get other days.
Woke up this morning to find that I was a zombie. I hear you ask – well what is the evidence for these bold claims. Well brace yourself, I shall tell you…..
So yes it’s a zombie today. It’s not easy being a zombie.
This is a photo from 3 years ago. I stumbled across it while looking for some old climbing ones. Another typical Yorkshire August day – all four seasons in one day. It got me thinking – what’s the same and what’s changed in those 1000 odd days. See that’s what a professional accountancy qualification can do for you – I’m good at those complicated adding up calculations.
THINGS WHICH ARE THE SAME
THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED FOR THE WORSE
THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED FOR THE BETTER
You might be thinking that looking at the relative number of entries on these lists that the last 1000 odd days have been generally bad. But look at some of those things on the last list. It’s not about quantity it’s about quality. Yep looking at that last list, over the last 1000 odd days we have challenges but some really good stuff has still happened. That’s why there is always hope.
A Dad trying to cope with the loss of his Partner and becoming a single parent. 