Nine Feet Underground

Sunday starts at home, for  change, though I will be heading for the coast after lunch.  For various reasons this weekend has shifted by 24 hours so I'll be returning home on Monday evening, rather than Sunday evening. After breakfast my morning was taken up with packing, washing (yep! there's always bloody washing!), and a few other chores. Whatever needed doing, time passed very quickly. At around midday son #2 and I had another attempt at taking a passport photo that with satisfy the ICAO and Passport Office. Son #2 has been very patient having taking roughly 37,041 photos of me, which is approximately 37,041 photos more than anyone needs.  I have submitted a photo again and it was given a 'green light'.  I wonder what will be wrong with it this time? Had lunch with son #2 and finished the last 20 minutes or so of 'House' from Netflix.  Overall it was pretty good and I think I probably enjoyed the third tale best of all, probably because it has some relevance...

For the first time in a few weeks, I'm spending Saturday at home, and my plan is to get chores done and take things easy, especially in the form of reading the papers. Shopping first, then home for breakfast and washing - some things never change.  Breakfast eaten and washing under way, I decide to head out and get my car washed, something I haven't done for some time, which is probably the reason why I now have a muddy grey car. Success! I managed to get the car washed and am now home sorting out the washing. I have a call with a friend in Berlin this afternoon, but I'm still hoping to find time to read the papers afterwards. Made lunch and then called Berlin. After a long and enjoyable chat son #2 emerged and we tried to take a new passport photo, despite the fading light.  The Passport Office has rejected the original one, even though it was originally given the green 'light', apparently because my head was too low.  Unfortunately the new photos solved that probl...

After all the excitement this week has brought me so far, today doesn't have much lined up on the thrill ride front.  I am going to the shops early to pick up my meds, but I think that is currently the planned peak of excitement. Just back from the shops with a coffee and the expected meds and - wait for it - I didn't demolish any of Boots in the process. I consider that a result. I don't think I've mentioned it before, but I've taken to playing Wordle on a daily basis, alongside (not literally) a friend. Today's word really fucked me off! After six goes I got it, though up until the fourth go I had only two letters, but at least they were in the right place (not that that was helping me as my brain was fixated on a letter that turned out not to be in the answer!) Bastard! I always hated those two bloody pigs!!! (At last I've not been defeated!) Just for your information I am still wrecked post Wednesday's attempted pirouette: that'll bloody learn ya...

A quiet start to the day after a lousy night's sleep, mainly due to the discomfort resulting from my foolish behaviour last night. This morning my right hand and wrist are very painful (and not due to an excess of the activity suggested by one of E's carers) and my neck muscles are rather uncomfortable. After careful consideration, weighing up all the pros and cons, I have decided, on balance, never again to stand on the cardboard waste to compress it, unless I am holding on to something solid. Or maybe not at all. Ever. Under any circumstances. Work takes up the rest of day, made slightly more difficult by my wrist. Late afternoon I had the final counselling session of the series that began last Autumn, my first session since November. This session was really about wrapping things up and checking that I was in a better place.  Lots to talk about, though we finished after about 45 minutes having agreed that the discussion had come to a natural end. Thursday is Idler drinks nigh...

After the first carer had been I headed off for the garage to get the AdBlue tank topped up and try and wangle a tyre check and potentially replacement (as well as a car wash, which was pushing my luck!) In the end they re-filled the AdBlue tank and checked the front tyres, which they say have a couple of thousand miles left on them, but they don't have time to change them even if they needed it.  Turns out there's a recall on the ECU which means I have to bring it back in anyway, so I'll get the tyres and other things done then, given the next slot is over two weeks away. Home again and back to work, car is now minus warning message, which means the car stops nagging me every time I stop or start. After work, time to get the bins sorted to take out later, before dinner with son #2 while watching another Boba Fett episode. Once over, son #2 and I set to with the bins and this where I take leave of my senses for a brief, but critical moment: the cardboard/paper recycling nee...

When a man is tired of cake, he is tired of life, or something like that. (With apologies to Dr Samuel Johnson) That four letter word beginning with 'w' and ending 'k' dominates the day. Worse still it does seem to be having a detrimental effect on my eyesight, if not my palms. A plan for the week is currently emerging: take car to garage early tomorrow to get AdBlue topped up, and maybe hopefully get the tyres checked and replaced while they're at it. ('The Dog, The Dog...'); Thursday will be final Talking Therapies counselling session, a sort of 'mopping up' exercise (see earlier! (Only kidding!)) with Friday assigned to collecting my latest batch of meds. Unfortunately the earliest eye appointment I can get is the 9th February but at least it's in the diary. Sea Bass for dinner cooked by son #2 with some help from me, though I eat alone and watch the end of the programme about Billy Connolly, trying to avoid choking to death whilst laughing an...

Different, and very pleasant, start to the day and then drove home in the morning.  On arriving home late morning, it was back into the usual round of chores and organising.   As last Monday I had planned a chilled day but ended up making a couple of shelving units and then sorting out a cupboard in the hall and then the hall itself. Pleased with the results: lots of rubbish identified and disposed of, coats put away in the cupboard and the hall looks way tidier and cleaner. Excitement! In the afternoon I had a call to say my mother-in-law is being transferred to a hospice today, which is good news - it's safer than the hospital, for starters. Dinner tonight is home-made lasagne and carrot cake cheesecake, all made at the weekend making son #2 and I's dinner both enjoyable and easy.  We watched a programme about Billy Connolly together which really made us laugh, especially me. The day ended in the usual way..   Budjerah / 'Higher' / (Single) [[ ]]

I had considered merging this post with Friday and Saturday's, then I thought, 'Nah, I can knock up two, easy'.  Famous last words! As it turned out I've had a lot to do with rest of my day, so this post is likely to be brief too. As before, this has been written entirely after the event.  Sunday began very slowly, which made a pleasant change, there is no rush to get out of bed when the clock is not your master. We have the whole of today ahead of us, for a pleasant change, and the day begins with breakfast. Initial plans are to go for a walk, but it's cold and the prevailing feeling is that today is a day for chilling, but not getting cold! After putting on some beef and ale for a slow cooked stew to be ready for dinner in the evening, we sat down and watched a film: 'Munich - The Edge Of War'. We watched the film in parts to accommodate phone calls and the decision to turn the stew into a beef and ale pie, necessitating further cooking, finally finishing ...

Another one of those combined posts, this time covering Friday and Saturday, with both being written after the event. Friday was a working day so not much to say about it other than the observation that this week felt like it was one of the longest weeks ever, despite at the same time feeling that January is almost over and also being the month with 90 days.  Time and our perception of it, eh? Saturday started as usual with a trip to the bread stall in the market plus a few of the other shopping haunts before returning home for breakfast, washing and packing. Mid-morning, all chores complete, I packed my car and headed south for the coast, hoping to stay until Monday morning as there are several reasons why that would be a good idea, not least the company. Looked at a house in the afternoon, returned via the supermarket to get some ingredients to make lasagne and carrot cake cheesecake for dinner. The day draws to a close with another day away in prospect to look forward to... Melo...

Walking continues (I'm on a roll - brioche!) first thing after which it's time to get down to work, once the remaining rubbish is taken out. The cleaner is here and has cleaned my newly accessible office (there is still the small matter of the boxes of CDs on the floor and the books piled up in the extension, but hey! One step at a time!) and I can now settle down to work. As usual, work is the dominant theme until this evening's Idler call which is with Oliver Burkeman who has written some interesting books and articles debunking the time management, positive thinking, productivity bullshit and so much more! The post-Idler chat was immensely enjoyable covering all sorts of topics including dating shows (can't say any more about that) / dating, 'Come Dine With Me' and someone who has just given up their job, sold their house and plans to buy a campervan and drive round the UK and Europe for a couple of years. Living the Idler dream! Good luck to them!  I think a...

Started the day with a cold early morning walk followed by an unexpectedly eventful trip to the shops to pick up E's meds for the month. First stop Boots pharmacy which is where the excitement began: on may way in to the shop my coat caught the edge of a shelf laden with shower gel / shampoo on promotion. As I passed it, most of the contents fell  down and he started to put them back only to discover that one had lost its lid and was oozing yellow gel over the shop floor.  After helping a bit I went and queued for the pharmacy, feeling like an idiot!  After collecting E's meds, I apologised to the woman who had cleared the mess up. I'm figuring I need to lock myself up at home for the rest of the day so that I don't do any more damage! Excitement over, it's back to work for the rest of the day! Apart from managing to hit my walking target in three separate walks, there wasn't much else of note until I spoke to my big sister after dinner. Over dinner I started wa...

After yesterday's unplanned office reorg, returning to work today seemed like a break! Nevertheless, the day will be very busy as I have a lot of meetings and things to complete, so there won't be a lot written here, I suspect. The office reorg has made working from home much easier, which I'm really pleased about. It's probably the onset of madness but I've also planned to reorganise the cupboard under the stairs with some new shelves and another clear out. Enough of that! I am still keeping up my walking schedule this week and will hopefully continue to do so, though the onset of darkness and work make this challenging at times. I made dinner and ate it while watching the last 30 minutes of 'Get Back', which seemed to fizzle out rather than end. It felt like it needed a commentary on what happened next as a closing section, but overall it was fascinating and well worth eight-plus hours of my time. ...and again the day ended in the way it often does... Bree...

Started the day with a lateral flow test (negative) with a plan to finish off the small office reorg I started yesterday evening (essentially giving me more space on my desk) and then have a chilled day.  This was not to be! Initial move of some displaced books and identification of some books to dispose of (old editions of reference books I have newer editions of and odd books no longer wanted) led to the discovery that one of the shelves was detaching from the wall. In order to fix the shelf I had to empty it (!) and clear out all the storage boxes, magazines and documents stacked underneath the shelf(!!). Thankfully all the fixings were OK except for one where both wall plugs needed replacing. Unfortunately, successfully securing the shelves meant I had a choice: do I put everything back as was or do I sort through the stuff and get rid of things I no longer use, gaining back even more space in the office? I opted for the latter which took until around 5 p.m. (a shelf and the sp...

Usual start to Saturday, before heading off to the South coast mid-morning. Nothing remarkable apart from a trip to the shops for a lettuce resulting in me spending over thirty quid and a trip to the post office to send my old passport for my renewal application. What on earth am I going to do with a passport? In the evening we watched (I re-watched) 'In Bruges', still a great film third or fourth time around. Sunday started with bunch then a walk along the seafront in the sunshine. After a bit of tidying up, time to head home, another weekend over. Made dinner with son #2, watched some TV on my own ('Get Back' again!) before heading for bed and sleep Clarissa Connelly / 'Holler' / 'Voyager'   [[ ]]

It's Friday again and another working day! Lots to do and organise, especially work-wise, so the usual rules apply. Managed to keep up the walking, which was good, despite it being even colder and frostier this morning.    After work I did a lateral flow test which was negative, after which I had a long chat with my younger sister, the first of 2022, which was a good catch-up. I made dinner and then watched more of the final part of 'Get Back', which continues to be fascinating and we're starting to see some pulling in different directions with George wanting to release a solo album of songs he's written and John meeting Allen Klein, then introducing him to the band.  John seems mighty impressed with Klein, though hindsight shows he was less than honest. The usual steps were followed leading to bed etc... Surya Sen / 'Jessica' / (Single)   [[ ]]

Up and ready early in time to greet the cleaner.  After the meds carer call I'm off out for a walk in the freezing cold! Second day in a row! After the pleasure of walking in the beautiful, bright but cold morning air, it's time to get down to work. At lunchtime the Abbott nurse came to change E's PEG feeding tube, a roughly 6-monthly event, which went smoothly, happily.  It never ceases to amaze me that you can effectively have a hole in your body that goes down inside your torso through to another hole in your stomach and somehow this doesn't leak or cause bleeding or any other complications.  After a long day of working, with a couple of minor interludes for another walk (exceeded my target again), meditation and physio exercises, it's almost time for the first Idler drinks Zoom meeting of 2022. Tonight's guest is Yrsa Daly-Ward, who is a poet, author and model, currently in Brooklyn, New York. She's here to talk about her book, 'The How', describ...

It's the day of the week dedicated to camels! For the first time in a while I started my day with a walk. It was pretty cold but I am determined to get back into the habit of walking and, more than that, start hitting my daily target of 30 minutes brisk walking every day. Weather and time permitting 😁😁 Camels or not, it is a working day, so I will be busy all day with little opportunity to do much that I can write about here. So it went...easy dinner tonight with son #2 (who is the only one here now). Watched the third episode of the Boba Fett series before clearing up and heading for bed and the usual end to days these days... Melt Yourself Down / 'Balance' / 'Pray For Me I Don't Fit In ' (album not yet released)   [[ ]]

All the usual Tuesday things apply, so I'm expecting this to be a very short post. There probably are things to talk about but they will have to wait for another day... As expected work has taken over the day, with the only unexpected thing (clutching at straws here!) being the postponement of E's PEG change until Thursday. Finished watching the second episode of 'Get Back' over dinner then gracefully retired upstairs after washing up and loading the dishwasher.  Truly magnificent! ...and now for something completely different(not!) Nilüfer Yanya  / 'stabilise' / 'PAINLESS ' (album not yet released)   [[ ]]

First day of work in 2022! It's going to be a busy day catching up with emails and trying to get back into the swing of things! Work? Remind me? Worse than that, can I remember my passwords!!! Turns out I can remember and am spending the day working as a result! Early morning a couple of community matrons arrive to check E over.  Despite yesterday's misgivings all her readings are good and her chest sounds fine with no evidence of any additional damage/crackling. Breathe a long sigh of relief.  Tonight, after work, I'm heading off to the south coast to hang out with a friend ahead of a birthday celebration tomorrow at a secret location tomorrow. ( From now on this post is a compressed / summarised version of events, written after the fact! ) After cards and presents we headed off to Lyme Regis late Wednesday morning for a birthday celebration and overnight stay in The Pilot Boat hotel, near the seafront. On Wednesday the weather in Lyme Regis was wonderfully bright, if a li...

Last day of my time off for Christmas and new year and another busy day ahead.  Apart from the usual chores, I'll be taking son #3 back to uni in the afternoon. During the first carer call we noticed that E was quite hot and her cough sounded a little more chesty than normal.  We're going to have to keep an eye on things. E seems better during morning and lunch call, but on the tea call she seems quite hot again - at the very least she'll need paracetamol tonight. As I'm going to be away for a few days, I decide to contact the Community Matrons as a precaution. Hopefully they'll be able to visit tomorrow and check her over and in so doing, determine what the next step is. Time to load the car to take son #3 back to uni... ...back from moving son #3 in again, what's next? The evening carers arrive and E is quite warm again, so we decide to administer paracetamol through the PEG, hopefully that'll ease her temperature a little. My turn to make dinner tonight a...

Christmas is officially over - at least in this house - as today we're going to take all the decorations down, take the trees out and chop them up. I know it's not twelfth night yet, but life is too busy to wait until then, so today it has to be. Before we can begin the process of taking everything down, I need to enlist the help of one or more sons.  After breakfast... I started stripping the smaller tree on my own, mainly because I am impatient to get things over and done with so I can get on with the rest of the day. Son #3 joined me and together we took everything down and took both trees outside ready for chopping. After lunch we'll pack everything back in the boxes and, while we're at it, get rid of old decorations we no longer need/use.  We also did a bit of vacuuming to clear up the few pine needles that were dropped: these trees were remarkable this year as the barely dropped at all, even when we man-handled them out the front door. Last thing before making lun...

Here we go again! A new year begins! Happy New Year to anyone reading this, let's hope that 2022 turns out a whole let better than 2021 for everyone, even if it's not got off to the best of starts, Covid-wise, at least. Bring it on! For the first time in many years I greet the new year in a wholly different way, which was wonderfully joyous.  It's also the first New Year's Day when I've not woken with some degree of post-alcohol side-effects - a pleasant change. After slowly getting ready to face the world we head off for a leisurely coffee and breakfast before returning home. A Soul II Soul refrain comes to mind as I survey the scene post-New Year's Eve: time to put stuff away and return to life's realities. The boys had gone out to celebrate with a small group of friends, so the kitchen was relatively tidy, in fact almost exactly as I'd left it yesterday afternoon (even the dishwasher was not emptied), barring some extra crap here and there. The boys g...

The last day of the year! 2021 is finally coming to and end, an as it does so, Covid seems to be imposing itself on life again.  For the second day in a row I've taken a lateral flow test, primarily to be on the safe side but also because been invited to a New Year's Eve party and I don't want to go there if I've got it. Started the day with an old favourite - a shopping trip, accompanied by son #3, primarily because the supermarket is shut tomorrow and so there are no deliveries.  The trip was also an opportunity to pick up E's and my meds from the pharmacy - mine were particularly important as I'm away for much of next week and would have run out of sertraline whilst I am away. After that the usual stuff to do, including packing a case for a night away, but before that a friend and I are going out for a meal at the local Italian restaurant with the boys plus son #1's gf. Due to various logistical considerations, we arrived at the restaurant ahead of the bo...