Nine Feet Underground

It's a bank holiday Monday and it's raining. That's unusual. Today is a day for catching up with people: I owe several people a reply and I am also overdue speaking to my big sis. My plan is to have a day of catching up interspersed with a bit of learning Spanish courtesy of Duolingo.  An uneventful day is coming to a close, next step dinner.  There's been a change of plans and it's now easiest if we have a takeaway.  We've ordered Japanese food, including sashimi, as I've had too many chips lately. Whilst we wait, I start watching the first episode of the latest series of 'Race Across The World'. Variety is the spice of life. Once the food arrives - and very good it looks indeed - we watch the second episode of 'Blue Lights'.  This is a really good series and I now have a new catchphrase: 'Don't be a notebook wanker'.  Excellent. On my way to submerge in white noise. Wish me luck. Caroline Polachek / 'Smoke' / 'Desire...

Our cleaner swapped days this week and came today instead of tomorrow.  Consequently, I'm up early, which was just as well as the first carer of the day arrived first, before 7 and before our cleaner. Work will dominate the day, so the usual rules apply. The post delivered a pleasant surprise in the form of the latest issue of the occasional journal 'Strange Attractor ', which describes itself as 'presenting more high weirdness from the margins of culture.'  What's not to like? Over lunch a friend in Berlin and I have a catch-up, the first of 2023.  We both decide we're not speaking frequently enough and have agreed to try and speak more often, but for less time (yeah, right!) Lunch made for son #2 and I, time to eat it quickly before a decorator arrives to estimate for a quote to paint the ensuite, the last step in its renewal. Not a big job, you might point out, but life's so busy I don't get the time, and frankly it's like watching paint dry. ...

I'm still suffering with lower back pain, though just to be awkward it's now on the left hand side rather than the right.  The answer is movement and (prescription/over the counter) drugs. I'm planning to  get in touch with friends and family for chats, doing the usual boring chores, hopefully going for a brief walk and reading at least some of the papers. Just before midday I managed to have a chat with my big sister (she will forever be thus-named), which was good.  It's strange that as family shrinks, you get closer to those that remain.  Over the past decade or so, I've been closer to both my sisters than ever before. We grew up almost as distant planets from one another and from our parents, to some extent, though we do have shared memories, good and bad. The sun appears to be coming out and so is my washing. After lunch I called a close family friend who is godmother to son #2 and we had a long chat about life and agreed to meet up soon. It's been a while ...

The day began with a walk to the bread shop (this could become an addiction!!), to get a loaf and a few other goodies, including something I've never had before called a bostock (blueberry and almond in this instance!) On returning we had a very meaty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and pigs in blankets (the Christmas theme continues) washed down with coffee. With the wind gusting and howling around we settled down to watch the end of 'Argo', interrupted by a delivery and a roof slate crashing down in the front of the house, narrowly missing the window. Admittedly I wasn't dahn sarf on Friday, but if anything the gusts seem stronger today. As the curtain of darkness draws to a close I get ready to return home. The wind is still ferocious, so I decide to delay departure until 7 pm.  As my normal 6pm departure time passes, it is suggested that maybe it would be safer to delay the journey home until tomorrow morning, when the winds should have died down a little and the...