• Feeling: OK
• Listening to: Nothing today
• Watching: The boy who harnessed the wind

Hot today! Despite this I was determined to get the path at the front done before we went away (tomorrow!) and with some help from D we got it done.

Very exciting when a delivery man (some new reading lamps for us all from Habitat) was the first person to use it to come to our door 🙂

After we’d done that I was pretty exhausted and didn’t get much done the rest of the day (except making a bolognese sauce to take with us tomorrow). In the afternoon, sheltering from the heat, we all watched TV (Merlin, followed by The Boy who Harnessed the Wind – based on a true story about a boy who taught himself enough electrical engineering from a library book to build a wind powered generator.)

It was too hot to be outside most of the afternoon, but in the evening we ordered pizza’s and had them out on the deck. I’ve finally managed to put together the timelapse footage of me building the deck into a video.

Tomorrow we head to Wales (via Cheltenham to pick up my Mum). So excited.

Stay safe, stay strong

• Feeling: OK
• Listening to: Nothing today
• Watching: The Umbrella Academy

Woke at about 9 feeling a bit under the weather – sore throat & generally a bit lacking in energy. The kids were awake but in bed reading, and they both stayed that way until about 11am. D was already up of course and waiting for a shopping delivery.

Had breakfast on the deck, and then actually read a book for the first time for ages. I’ve been in a reading slump since we went into lockdown and have barely read any fiction since March. When I have tried to read I’ve just not managed to get into the book and given up. So this morning I sat down with a book I got for Christmas: Starsight by Brandon Sanderson. It’s a sequel to Skyward which I really enjoyed, and so I’m not really sure why it’s taken me so long to pick up this one. Immediately I was back with familiar characters and an exciting dogfight in space for the opening chapter.

While D tried to get the kids to leave their beds, I did some more work on the path at the front – I’ve been wondering if I really ought to get something to edge the path, but eventually decided to keep it simple for now so I can hopefully get a path down before we go to Wales on Saturday.

After lunch we went to Hanbury Hall – a National Trust property about 45 minutes drive west from us (we were booked in for 2-2:30). It’s got some pretty formal gardens then some extensive parkland and we had a walk – but it was hot and muggy, with occaisional rain or drizzle – enough to make us damp but not enough to clear the air. F was also a bit grumpy about the whole trip, and going later in the day the property was quite busy – so all in all not as successful as our outing to Packwood House on Tuesday – although still nice to be out and D got some good photos.

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Out & about

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When we got back I made tea (spaghetti and meatballs) and after some TV & stories the kids went to bed (although B was still awake when we came up about half-an-hour ago. It’s still hot and muggy and its left me feeling a little drained.

Tomorrow I hope to finish the path and make a full list of things we need to pack for our week away.

Stay safe, stay strong.

• Feeling: Good
• Listening to: Nothing today
• Watching: Vagrant Queen

Had a lie in today and didn’t get up until 10am. In the meantime D had been for a run and persuaded (somehow) B to go with her – I was very impressed with both of them!

This morning we did a bit of meal planning for when we are away next week and made a shopping list (we also found out that the people who rent out the property also run a butchers so they can provide meat and fresh produce which is great).

In the afternoon I started the next garden project – a new path in the front. I didn’t make a lot of progress (most of the time was spent making space for me to dump the soil and turf I’m digging out) but it was good to make a start.

Later on in the afternoon we went to visit C and N and spent a very pleasant hour and a half sitting in their garden (although it rained!) and just chatting and passing time. Really nice to be able to do that.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to do some more work on the new path and in the afternoon we’ve booked tickets for Hanbury Hall.

Stay safe, stay strong.

• Feeling: Sleepy
• Listening to: Nothing today
• Watching: Ultimate Beastmaster

Was up first this morning – we had to be up early-ish (for a non-work day) because we had tickets booked for Packwood House at 9am. We went straight after breakfast and it was pretty quiet when we arrived (although it was much busier by the time we left). We went for a walk that isn’t in the main grounds, but goes through some small woods. Although the walk was only about a mile we took a good hour to do it because we kept stopping for the kids to play and climb trees!

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After the walk, we got a drink from the refreshment stand and went to the main grounds. The house was open, but we didn’t go in, and while the majority of the grounds were open, the formal garden wasn’t, which upset F as she wanted to play hide-and-seek around the yew trees & hedges.

We headed back home for lunch and had a pretty lazy afternoon (introduced F, and ourselves, to “Ultimate Beastmaster” – where you watch people complete extreme obstacle courses – which F is very keen on).

I got a message from Screwfix that some fixings I was waiting for had arrived, so I went to get those and then put up the sail awning over the deck – and with that I think I’m declaring the decking project officially done!

We had dinner out on the deck and after a couple of glasses of wine I’m now feeling pretty sleepy.

Stay safe, stay strong.

• Feeling: Fidgety
• Listening to: Nothing today
• Watching: The Speed Cubers (Netflix)

Didn’t wake too early today. It was nice to wake up at 9am on a Monday morning and not to feel I was late for work! D had been out for a run already and made me tea.

It was Rakshabandhan today which celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters, and Ds eldest brother rang her this morning and D and B (who were up first) spoke to all the family (V is the cousin on Ds side of the family who is closest in age to B and they get on well).

After I’d had a luxurious breakfast (which meant having some left over double cream on my porridge) F also appeared (having spent an hour or more listening to a Harry Potter audio book before getting up) and had her breakfast as well.

Eventually I decided it was time to put gravel down around the deck, and B helped me while D did some gardening and F did some spray painting in the garden. We worked pretty quickly and by lunchtime we had all the gravel done, the planters in position and partially planted up and other plant pots back in place around the deck – it looks fantastic (in my opinion at least). The big planters are going to have herbs in (we already have some rosemary and sage in one) and the smaller planter has a Caryopteris x clandonensis (or Bluebeard) which Mum bought us in memory of Dad.

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I’m still not really feeling relaxed and feel fidgety when I’m not doing something productive at the moment, but tomorrow we’re going to a National Trust property (Packwood House) first thing (booked tickets for 9-9:30) and hopefully a walk in the surrounds will help me get into the holiday spirit a bit more (although it means an earlier start than today!)

I’m also hoping to get fixing for our sail shade/awning – and once that’s up it really will be the end of the deck project (and I can make a start on the next project which is a new gravel path at the front)

Stay safe, stay strong.

• Feeling: Hot!
• Listening to: Eurythmics
• Watching: Charlie’s Angels

The hottest day of the year and third hottest day “ever” (presumably with some qualification on ‘since records began’ or something) for the UK – and it feels it.

Despite the heat I had much more energy today (yesterdays lethargy gone completely probably because of all the napping I ended up doing yesterday). I was productive and got through lots of work, and feel I’ve left everything in a pretty good place as I declare myself on holiday for two weeks (although I can’t imagine I’ll actually manage to completely step away from work while we’re at home next week).

F had her session with Mrs C (aka Liz) this morning and was so upset to find we’d said we were on holiday next week we booked in an extra session for next Friday to keep her happy!

B spent the day on the computer – tidying up some code he’d written then trying to create an “air scooter” simulation (meant to be like a ball of air a character (Aang) from the cartoon series Avatar (no not that one) rides around on.)

F watched The Greatest Showman in the afternoon (skipping the Jenny Lind songs as “boring”), and in the evening we all watched the new Muppet show on Disney+.

But now it’s holiday time – looking forward to being away from next Saturday (desperately hoping the current lockdown measures don’t turn into a second national lockdown or affect us or the area we are travelling to), and the plan for this week is to do some work in the garden and around the house. But I think tomorrow I’ll just take it easy 🙂

Stay safe, stay strong x

• Feeling: OK but tired
• Listening to: Tom Jones
• Watching: Vagrant Queens

Been absolutely tired out today – it felt more like a Friday than a Thursday. As a result I’ve not got a huge amount done, and left myself with a pile of work to get through tomorrow.

After getting up (late) I went straight into a meeting at 9am (no breakfast or coffee, although D had made me tea) with a review of an online course I helped facilitate. It was a good meeting, but by the time it was done I was ready for breakfast.

D was in college in the morning, and by the time she was back it was time for lunch – we ate outside (on the deck – natch!) but it was baking hot and none of us wanted to be out there for long – still waiting for some fixings for the awning (which arrived a week ago). I chased up the supplier (for the third time) but wondering about just ordering some stuff from Screwfix so I can get the awning up.

After lunch F watched the Jumanji reboot (“Welcome to the jungle”) and I had a nap. I did some work in the afternoon and then some more this evening, but I really haven’t been that productive today.

B and F spoke to their US cousins around tea time (spaghetti bolognese) and then TV and bed.

Holiday feels really close now – just one day and hopefully I can put work away for 2 weeks!

• Feeling: Down and then Up
• Listening to: Nothing today 
• Watching: Bake off: The Professionals (the final)

It’s been a bit of an up and down 24 hours. Yesterday evening we got an email saying our holiday cottage had been cancelled. I just felt so down. I immediately looked for other potential rentals but finding nothing appropriate (unsurprising with only 10 days to go before we want to go away) I went to bed, and woke this morning, just feeling crap (although thanks to recommendation from N we watched the first episode of Fort Salem yesterday which was a welcome distraction and looks like it’s going to be good.)

The day itself was mainly work – I’d foolishly agreed to meetings at 8am and 5:30pm as well as several meetings both planned and unplanned during the day – altogether quite stressful although not giving much time to dwell on the holiday situation. We did, however, have to tell the kids about not being able to go, which was another big disappointment for them – and especially B seemed to be upset by it. F was upset but also bounced back very quickly suggesting things we could do in the house to make it seem like a holiday.

Then, just as I was adjusting to the idea of not being able to go away for our vacation, at about 5:30 this evening (just before my last meeting of the day) I found an alternative property that looks great, and while slightly further south west than we’d planned, still broadly in the area of Wales we wanted – I immediately booked it and got a confirmation. I’m so happy and relieved (and desperately hoping that nothing goes wrong this time – B did say we shouldn’t have told them we’d booked something in case something goes wrong).

So now feeling positive again, although slightly bruised by the whole thing. Just two more work days until two weeks off – the first week at home (planning to finish around the edge of the deck and put a gravel path across our front garden) and then a week in Wales (fingers-crossed).