Nine Feet Underground

Merry Christmas everyone! I am up first today just after the first carer arrives at 6:45 a.m., and after she leaves I get showered and dressed for a busy morning of cooking, starting with the final steps to complete the celeriac soup. Son #3 is up first, and I decide not to put the turkey on until 10:30 at the earliest. I've decided today is going to be a chilled one for me too, and everyone can help prep the vegetables and sides and set up the extension/dining room for dinner. As has become traditional, we'll eat in with my wife, so that she can feel part of the celebration even though she can't eat. Once everyone's up we make breakfast and eat accompanied by Christmas music - please can diarrhoea get home so he can stop singing about it. Back to the kitchen to prep spuds, sprouts and parsnips while the turkey finishes cooking. Son #3 helps me get the turkey into resting mode, whilst the rest of the dinner starts cooking. All three sons and son #1's gf get things s...

I thought I'd go crazy and have a lie-in today - 6:30 a.m. instead of 6. Usual stuff to do in order to get ready to start training at 8.  The trainer announced there was going to be a final 1/2 day of training on Tuesday next week, though it looks as though that's going to start at 7 a.m. UK time. I could obviously make that time, but I've queried whether we really need to start an hour earlier than we did this week and the week before. My fingers are crossed. It is Friday, which is good, in theory, though I'm not feeling very upbeat about the day, or indeed the weekend ahead. The death of our best man is weighing heavy on my mind, for a whole host of reasons. When I told my wife who'd called me, she initially smiled, until I said why she'd called.  I've no real way of knowing what she makes of the news, or even if I did the right thing in telling her.  On top of that, things really don't seem to be falling into place for me on most fronts. Futile effort...