Party time

 The advantage of Ellie being eight, going on nine, is that her birthday party is a daytime affair. We were up at the usual time, but by nine o'clock we were driving to Zoe's to collect Zoe, Ellie and her friend Poppy, along with some party bags and a cake, to head for the party venue. Twenty minutes later, we were waiting outside "Tenpin" in Chichester for the doors to open. Though it is not Ellie's birthday until next weekend, she will be with Pete on the day, so Zoe had arranged a party for today.

We were ushered into the bowling alley and allocated a couple of lanes. Over the next 15 minutes, her friends turned up. At 10:00, it kicked off, and the kids (split into two groups of five) started to roll the bowls down the lanes. With many other parties going on simultaneously and the background music, it was really quite deafening. Over the next couple of hours, both lanes completed their games (Ellie came second), drank lots of squash, and ate lots of sweets.

I took Neve out for a walk when the noise was getting too much for her, but that little break was enough for her to return and finish the games, the cake, the pizza, and all of the other trimmings.

It would have been nice to get a group photo, but frankly, it was like herding cats. The best I could achieve was this photo (which didn't include Neve).

We packed up at midday and took the presents and the remains of the cake to the car. We were home in no time, dropping Zoe, Ellie and Poppy, then going home ourselves.

We settled in the Orangery for some Kindle time, but before long Zoe called, asking for Di to come and have a look at a rash that Ellie had developed. She went on round and concluded it was an allergy to grass. Zoe's neighbour had mown her lawn today.  After some TLC from Nana, she was okay and went out playing again. 

Di left them to it and has just come back for dinner. We are hoping for a quiet evening.

Visited

 I was up at 6:30 and was greeted by another stunning morning. The sun was shining, and no cloud dared sully the firmament. It was about 6 °C, but the temperature would quickly rise. After our usual morning preamble, we walked to Zoe's to escort Ellie to school. There was an initial drama over the shorts that she was going to wear, but after several changes, Ellie made a decision, and we set off for school.

I set off for my usual walk as Diane returned home for her breakfast. It was a gorgeous morning to be out walking, and I was tempted to just keep going, but my need for coffee and some porridge took precedence. 

Di spent the morning on the phone with Denise. I spent the time giving some consideration to the challenge that Zoe has been given. She has been asked to do some analysis and some research into the general subject of home deliveries. Whilst I don't know the details, I can advise her on how to go about handling a challenge like that. I spent the morning providing an outline for a "consulting" document that defines the problem, explains the approach taken, the participants, the solutions considered and so forth. Hopefully, that will provide a structure for her response.

Just as I finished, Kim arrived. She had a day off and wanted to catch up after missing Mother's Day because of work. She was with us for a good couple of hours, and it was nice to just sit and chat. When she left us, she went on to Zoe's to keep her company for a while. We retired to the Orangery with our Kindles until it was time to collect Ellie from dancing and take her home.

We are home now and have just finished dinner.

Bright and Clear

 I was up soon after 6:30. Coffee was taken, and the news was consumed. The day looked bright and clear. What more could you want? Diane pottered downstairs for a tea as I pottered up to complete my ablutions and dress.

We went to Zoe's to collect Ellie for the walk to school. As usual, we dropped her off in class, and Di went home while I set off on my morning walk. I was out long enough to complete another audiobook. When I arrived home, I had breakfast and completed this week's shopping list.

Lottie arrived just as we were preparing to go shopping. We, of course, stopped for a chat before setting off. Sainsbury's seemed to be the focus of a Zombie Apocalypse today. It wasn't the quantity of Zombies that was the issue; it was the mental acuity. With a huge amount of self-control, I managed to complete the shop without resorting to violence (as tempting as it was).

Back home, we unpacked the shopping and then stopped for some lunch before retiring to the Orangery to sit in the sun and consume the next chapters of our respective Kindles. We collected Ellie at the end of school, and I took her to the park so she could let off steam.

Spring

I know that it is still a few days until (astronomical) Spring starts, but today was a very fine dress rehearsal. The sun shone throughout the day, and it was delightfully warm. I had emerged from bed at 6:30 and started my day, as usual, with coffee and news. When Di came down for her tea, I went to shower and dress.

We walked to Zoe's to take Ellie to school. She was very chirpy this morning. As she charged into class, Di went home for breakfast and to head off to Pilates. I went for my usual walk. It was so nice walking in the morning sunshine, with just a light jacket. I arrived home about 75 minutes later and sat down for my breakfast.

The morning was spent with some domestic chores and then some admin. Nothing of note. When Di arrived back, we sat down for a light lunch and then sat in the Orangery to enjoy the sun and consume some more from our Kindles. We went to collect Ellie from football practise, then took her home.

All-in-all, an uneventful day.

Own Devices

 I was awake stupidly early again. There was a damp, grey start to the day. Di pottered down at seven, and we had our morning drinks and prepared to take Ellie to school. We left to walk around to Zoe's a few minutes earlier than usual. In doing so, we bumped into Paul (our next-door neighbour). He announced that, having been trying to sell his house for a year or so, he is finally moving out next week. It will be a shame to see him go. He and Ali have been perfect neighbours.

We took Ellie to school and then Di went home for breakfast before heading off to Ramster to meet with Kathie. They had a day planned at an exhibition being held there. I went off for my usual walk. As I walked, the greyness gave way to blue skies, and it turned into a lovely morning.

When I arrived home, I had breakfast and then went back to Zoe's. She had left her freezer door ajar the other night, and now we had to ditch all of the contents. She, of course, could bend properly to empty it, so I provided a helping hand. When I returned home, I was clutching Ellie's iPad. She wanted me to show her how to make a presentation. I installed PowerPoint and checked that it was all working in preparation for a quick lesson after school.

I went for another walk as it was such a lovely day, then grabbed a bite of lunch before settling with the Kindle until it was time to collect Ellie. I brought her back here, and we set about creating a presentation. We prepared the first slide together and included some graphics that we captured as a screenshot from Amazon. Once she had seen how to do this, she created the next slide without any intervention from me. She's a quick learner.

I took her home, then returned to prepare dinner for when Di got back.

Mouth Mining

 I was up just before seven. It was dry, but light rain was forecast. I grabbed a coffee and read the overnight news.  di wandered down and completed her occasional blood test while I went up to wash and dress.

We walked around to Zoe's and collected Ellie for the walk to school. Dropping her off in class, we both headed home for breakfast. What? No walk, you exclaim! No, I had an appointment with the dental hygienist this morning, and there wasn't time to include a walk in the schedule.

Once back from school, we had breakfast, and I prepared for my trip to Chichester. I took the bus and then waited until the hygienist was ready. With trepidation, I entered her lair. That was when the "treatment" started. (She referred to it as treatment; I would re-categorise it as sadism or torture.) As I left, there was a queue of prisoners who had just been brought from a black site or Guantanamo Bay to wait for her ministrations.

Once the bus had delivered me back home, I spent some quality time with the accounts before getting on with some research. This continued into the afternoon. We went to collect Ellie from school and take her to Chichester for her weekly appointment. Traffic was remarkably light this afternoon, so we had no delays.

After dropping Eliie back, we returned home, where Di did some work on her latest sewing project while I prepared dinner for us both.

Mothers' Day

 I was awake very early, but stayed in bed until 6:30. I have no idea why I have been waking so early, but I don't let things like that bother me. It was another bright, if chilly, start to the day. I sat in the kitchen, with my coffee and watched a few YouTube videos that I had been meaning to catch up on.

Once Di had come down, we chatted over breakfast and then got on with the day. Being the 15th of the month, there was admin to complete. (I do the main household admin on the 15th, just as I pay most monthly bills on the 15th). I finished off with some research, then started preparing lunch.

Being Mothering Sunday, we had invited the girls. Kim, unfortunately, couldn't make it as she is suffering at present, has had a foul week at work, and has a significant essay to complete for University. We told her we would rather she didn't come, so she wouldn't stress over the "lost" time for the essay. She did, however, phone and had a long chat. After the call with Kim, Diane went to collect Zoe. She was able to have lunch with us, and we had a lovely few hours before taking her back in time for Ellie to return from Pete's.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent with our Kindles.

During the evening, we heard from Jane. Cousin Liz has just become a great-grandmother. Grandson Harry's wife, Eunyoung, has given birth to twin boys (in Seoul). What a lovely bit of news on which to end the day.

Gentle day

I was up at a stupid time. Having checked the plumbing at 4:15, I could not get back to sleep, so at 5:30 I was sitting in the kitchen with a steaming mug of coffee and my Kindle. As the sun came up, it was clear that there had been quite an air frost, and the Orangery roof had the tracery of ice fractals sprayed across the ceiling.

Once Di emerged, as the clock ticked around towards eight, I went for my shower and then returned for breakfast before my weekly call with the cousins. There was all the usual jollity, and it was good to see Chris back home in Turkey after his trip to Switzerland. We heard all the latest gossip from Tim's family and collectively censured Trump for his idiocy (that'll teach him).

There was little else of great importance during the day. We cleaned the inside of the car between us. This also involved borrowing a vacuum cleaner from Zoe as ours needed charging. We then found that Zoe's also needed charging. What did become clear was that the two greatest sources of dirt on the carpets were a) Ellie's snacks, and b) Zoe and Ellie's cat, Beau. Clearly, the (white) cat's fur gets onto Ellie and also onto our shoes, and gets carried into our car.

During the afternoon, we popped out for a few hours for a bit of change of scenery.

Anudda Nada

It was another uneventful day. I was up soon after 6:30, and we followed the usual pattern until going to Zoe's to collect Ellie and take her to school.  Dropping her off in class, Di went home to prepare for her Cardiac Rehab session, and I went for my usual walk. During my loops of the estate, I finished the Jonathan Kellerman audiobook and started another, this one by Sally Rigby. I may be a mere 15 minutes into the story, but I am suitably hooked.

Back home, I grabbed breakfast, updated the accounts, and spent the remainder of the morning doing research. I will reveal the outcome in the near future (should it come to anything).

The rest of the day followed the usual pattern, with Kindle time and then a run to school to collect Ellie after her dance class. We dropped her off with Zoe and then returned home for a quiet afternoon and evening.

Nada

Today was a typical Thursday. I was up before seven and enjoyed a coffee while reading the overnight news. When Di came down for her tea, I went to get ready, and then when the time came, we went to Zoe's to collect Ellie and take her to school. Leaving her as she walked into class, Di headed home, and I went for my usual walk. I am now within about 35 minutes of the end of my audiobook, and can't wait for tomorrow's episode. For anyone who hasn't read any of the Alex Delaware series of books by Jonathan Kellerman, I think you are really missing out on great stories.

We completed our shopping list and headed out to Sainsbury's. Zoe had given us some paperwork to drop off with Jason (the Manager), and a list of bits that she needed us to collect for her. There seemed to be some problems to start with regarding the handheld scanners, but we managed to sort that out and get started. The usual Zombie didn't seem to emerge this week, so we shopped relatively quickly. I dropped Zoe's list and Di back at Zoe's and went home to pack our shopping away.

After lunch, we had some Kindle time, before I went to collect Ellie from school. I left Di at home to have a rest, as she had been on the go sorting out stuff at Zoe's earlier.

There's nothing else of note to report.

Just bits

 There seemed to be a lot of movement overnight, with car doors opening and closing. This kept waking me. In the end, I got up just after six. I went down to quaff a coffee and read the news. When Di stirred, about an hour later, I made her tea and went up for my shower. 

We both went to collect Ellie and take her to school at the allotted time. She was very excited this morning as they had a class trip to see the Mary Rose at Portsmouth. Di headed home for some breakfast and to head off to Pilates, while I went for a walk. My route was different this morning. I only did one of my usual three loops, but then crossed the main road and took the back route into the village. I stopped at the Chemist's to pick up Di's meds, then at the Post Office to return something Di was exchanging. I then crossed the road to the Barber's shop and had my flowing locks trimmed to a manageable length.

Back home, I grabbed some breakfast, then got on with some admin and some domestic chores. Zoe called. She was trying to complete some spreadsheet work on her iPad. It was not working properly, so I took Di's MacBook around to her so she could use that for now.

After lunch, we settled down in the warmth of the Orangery and had some Kindle time. We heard that there had been major disruption on the A27. This would affect Elli's class trip. The coach arrived back well over an hour late, so we waited outside to collect her and take her home. The sun may have been out, but there was a nip in the air. We were both glad when the coach finally arrived.

Having dropped Ellie back home, we headed home for dinner and a quiet evening.

Taxi!

 It has been a day punctuated by car trips between brief interludes of peace. I was up at my usual time and followed the normal morning schedule before walking to Zoe's to collect Ellie for school. Leaving her in class, Di headed home, and I set out on my usual walk. My audiobook chatted away through my AirPods, and I became quite lost in the story.

Once home, and with breakfast finished, I did some quick admin, then returned to the problem I was having with the in-car hotspot. This doesn't affect Di or me, as our phones have direct access through their mobile signals. Ellie's iPad, however, needs a WiFi connection, and the car's hotspot should provide this. I researched, I fiddled, and I faffed. Three times, I went out to the car to try different solutions. On the last occasion, everything burst into life. It was finally working.

Di was going out to lunch at The Oystercatcher with Pauline. I drove her across and then headed home for my own slice of stale bread with some gruel. I finished another book after lunch and then went to collect Zoe and take her to the hospital for an X-Ray. Leaving her at reception, I then drove across to collect Di. We got back to Zoe's just a few moments after she had arrived home by taxi. Almost immediately, we had to head to the school to collect Ellie, and when we got back, we did some of her chores before heading home.

 A few minutes after getting home, Amazon delivered my parcel. I have bought an Ottocast device that automatically connects with my phone when I get in the car, and starts CarPlay on the infotainment system (without needing to plug in a cable). This only took 30 seconds to install, and it seems to work seamlessly. I'm very impressed so far.

I had a quick dinner (Black Lentil Dahl), and then we drove back to Zoe's so that I could drive her to school for Parents' Evening. Ellie's teacher is clearly quite delighted with her. She had no concerns and commented on how kind and helpful Ellie is and how well she participates in class. She's also very pleased with her maths, her reading, and her project work.

Play Misty for Me

I was up just before seven. The first 90 minutes followed the usual pattern, and then we walked around to Zoe's to collect Ellie and take her to school.  It was remarkably misty. After we had dropped Ellie at school, Di went home, and I went for my walk. The mist was thick, and several times during the walk, I had to pause to clean the water droplets from my glasses. I completed my normal route without any of the discomfort that I had felt yesterday morning. Obviously, the rest had done the trick.

When I had returned home and finished breakfast, I had an hour of Admin, then contacted Zoe to find out whether the Sainsbury's petrol station had fuel. She confirmed they were fine (she has been coordinating pricing of the supply across the region while she is laid up at home). I took the opportunity to whizz around the corner and fill the tank. With luck, that will see me through until next month.

After lunch, we had some Kindle time before going to collect Ellie. It was bright, and the sun seemed to be trying to break through. It wasn't trying hard enough. The mist persisted, and when we took Ellie to Chichester for her weekly appointment, it was even more noticeable.

We dropped Ellie back at home, then headed home ourselves. We've just finished dinner, and a quiet evening is planned.

Old Friends

My knee was stiff and a little sore when I woke up. I quickly decided that I would give it a rest today and not bother with a walk. I wandered downstairs and settled with a coffee and the overnight news until Diane came down. 

After breakfast, there was a bit of a cleaning frenzy as we were expecting visitors. Once everything was ready, we settled down and awaited the arrival of Jan and John. Old friends are like favourite sweaters, they are just comfortable. We settled down over a coffee and some biscuits and had the usual catch-up on family news. Then, we popped across to The Lamb Inn at Pagham for lunch. Di and Jan had chosen the plaice, but they had run out, so Jan chose a vegetable wellington while Di chose salmon. Jon and I both had the roasted pork belly. As usual, the portions were hearty, and the food was excellent. By the time we left, the restaurant was full, with people waiting to be seated.

Back home, we settled with some tea and a lemon cheesecake while the conversation carried on. We chatted about some of the short city breaks we did with them over the years, and they commented on how much they were looking forward to their forthcoming river cruise in Portugal. (They head off, just as we get back from our cruise on the Moselle.)

We had a lovely afternoon, but John was getting tired, so they left soon after four. We settled down for some Kindle time and a quiet evening.