Friday's Fave Five - 25th February 2022

Every Friday Susanne, (at Living to tell the Story) reminds us to look back on the week and find the positives, the things to be grateful for.  It's not always easy, especially when we're still in a pandemic and there are conflicts going on such as Russia against Ukraine, but it does help keep us positive.

This week I'm grateful that:

1)  Hubby and I have had very mild cases of Covid.  We've had cold like symptoms but nothing major.  I'm sure being triple jabbed has been the reason for this.  My isolation period ended yesterday and Hubby's ends on Sunday but as of yesterday all our Covid restrictions have been relaxed.  Now if you test positive for Covid you do not have to isolate although we are still being advised to isolate for at least 5 days.  They are also going to phase out free tests.  It's good that we are reaching the stage where we can live with Covid but for people who are vulnerable it's not clear how they will keep themselves safe.  I'm not sure the Government have thought this through completely.

2)  Today I managed to put both my socks on!  Yes I know that sounds daft but on Monday morning I woke up to find my back was bad.  I don't know how or what I did but I could hardly move.  Getting out of bed was very difficult.  Getting to a standing position or then trying to get into a sitting position was extremely painful.  Every movement was hard.  I've had this happen before so I know that it will ease but it's taking time.  Keeping moving is the important thing to do but it's been hard just to do simple things like get dressed.  Hubby has been a great help - even putting my socks on and helping me shower.  It's improving each day but it's a slow process.

3)  Lots of books to read.  Between moving around the most comfortable position earlier in the week was lying flat.  I've read a lot of books on my Kindle app this week.  I've also been doing the daily Wordle, Quordle, Octordle, Sedecordle, Worldle and Globle.  I've given up on Nerdle.  Even though all of these only have 1 puzzle a day it's still time consuming lol.

4)  We managed to come through the recent storms that hit the UK with no damage to our property.  It has been very wet and windy but today we have bright sunshine and there is just a gentle breeze.

5)  We don't live in an area of conflict.  I can't even imagine what it must be like for Ukrainians at the moment or any other groups that are being oppressed.  I hope a resolution can be found quickly and bloodshed kept to a minimum.

So nothing exciting going on here.  It's been a very quiet week.  We haven't even seen any of the grandchildren except on video calls which I'm also grateful for.

I hope you all have a good weekend.  I think ours will be quiet as my back continues to recover.  

Book Review - Small Pleasures - Clare Chambers

Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

1957, south-east suburbs of London.
Jean Swinney is a feature writer on a local paper, disappointed in love and - on the brink of forty - living a limited existence with her truculent mother: a small life from which there is no likelihood of escape.

When a young Swiss woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud. But the more Jean investigates, the more her life becomes strangely (and not unpleasantly) intertwined with that of the Tilburys: Gretchen is now a friend, and her quirky and charming daughter Margaret a sort of surrogate child. And Jean doesn't mean to fall in love with Gretchen's husband, Howard, but Howard surprises her with his dry wit, his intelligence and his kindness - and when she does fall, she falls hard.

But he is married, and to her friend - who is also the subject of the story she is researching for the newspaper, a story that increasingly seems to be causing dark ripples across all their lives. And yet Jean cannot bring herself to discard the chance of finally having a taste of happiness...

But there will be a price to pay, and it will be unbearable.

Warning: spoilers ahead.





Initially I was enjoying this book. Set in the late 1950's it follows Jean, a nearly 40 year old reporter on a local paper as she follows a story about a woman, Gretchen, who claims to have had a virgin birth. At the time of conception Gretchen was an inpatient at a hospital due to her painful rheumatism. The hospital run by Nuns only had female patients. Her daughter Margaret is now 10 and Gretchen has since married Howard, an older man.

As the story unfolds Jean tries to uncover information about Gretchen's past and Gretchen and Margaret are subjected to tests to see if parthenogenesis (a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization by sperm) has actually occurred. During all this Jean becomes closer to the family and, when Gretchen subsequently leaves Howard, they begin an affair.

I enjoyed the way it was written and although there is some homophobia represented in the story when Gretchen is shown to be a lesbian and leaves Howard to seek out Martha, who had been in the same hospital as Gretchen when Margaret was supposedly conceived, I didn't find this offensive but a sign of those times. Similarly some reviewers have complained about misogyny in the book and again I think this would have been common then and less likely to be challenged.

Sadly there is no happy ending. Gretchen attempts a reconciliation with Howard but he refuses leaving him free to continue his new relationship with Jean.

The truth of the circumstances around Margaret's conception are discovered and this is rather glossed over despite it being serious and alarming (rape). Another cause for complaints from reviewers. This, or Gretchen simply lying about being a virgin, was always likely to be the case but in some ways, given how the story ends it wasn't actually necessary to unveil what had actually happened.

Of course this is a work of fiction but there was a real competition run by a newspaper to find women who might have exhibited parthenogenesis and a medical study did take place. So some factual basis. There is also another event that was factual and was referenced both at the start and the end of the book. But why I have no idea. It did not add anything to this particular story and it actually gave it a very abrupt and unsatisfactory ending.


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Friday's Fave Five - 18th February 2022

Friday's Fave Five is hosted by Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story.  Pop over to her site to find out more and to find other like minded bloggers.

Here are my Five Faves of the week:

1)  I have a mild case of Covid.  That might seem strange but I'm thankful that I don't have a severe case and that I'm double vaccinated and boosted because otherwise I dread to think how ill I might have been this week.  I tested positive on Monday so have to isolate until 25th Feb (next Friday) unless I test negative tomorrow and Sunday. (Or any 2 consecutive days before next Friday.)

2)  We met up with quite a few extended family members last Sunday to wish one of our nephews and his fiancée good luck as they have since left for New York where he will be working.  It was lovely to catch up with family members, some who we hadn't seen for a while.

3)  I'm thankful that I only seem to have passed Covid onto my hubby and not to anyone at the gathering.  The excited couple had negative pre-flight tests and left as planned on Tuesday.  Fortunately Hubby's case of Covid also seems mild.  He tested positive yesterday despite us trying to avoid one another as much as possible.

4)  Online and home delivery of grocery shopping.  We wouldn't have starved but it was good to get our usual delivery today with things like milk and eggs etc.  Although we've both been contacted by our local council to check if we needed any support.  Thankfully we don't but good to know it's out there for those that do.

5)   Books to read!  The main symptoms I've had with Covid are cold like symptoms plus I've been very tired.  Thankfully with no commitments I've been able to take things really easy and I've managed to do a lot of reading this week.

As I'm writing this I'm listening to the wind from Storm Eunice which has swept across the UK today.  We were actually in a Red Alert area which is not something that happens often.  It has been very windy but thankfully we haven't suffered any damage although there are a few trees down in the local area and I expect there will be some down in the forest but the advice generally was to stay home unless it was absolutely necessary to go out.  Of course as we're isolating we didn't have any plans to go out anyway.  The winds seem to have eased a bit and currently the sun is shining.  

Have a good weekend all - ours will be quiet!

The time had to come!

Regular readers will probably be wondering how I've managed to read so many books over the last few days.  This is why:

This was my LFT result on Monday - Positive!  So I'm currently isolating.  Fortunately I haven't felt too unwell but I have felt very tired.  I decided to be sensible and take things easy so I've had lots of reading time as well as catching up with some TV.  

I have no idea where I caught it.  We've still been fairly careful but we did use public transport last Friday and I did go to the supermarket on Saturday.  Although I hadn't done a test for a week or so before this one so I could have picked it up from the grandkids who I saw last Wednesday.   They haven't had it as far as we know but they do attend nursery and so many cases are asymptomatic and therefore not always picked up.

I was kicking myself for not testing before a get together on Sunday with quite a few extended family members.  One of our nephews was finally setting off for his new job in New York so there was a leaving get together in a pub for family members to say goodbye to him and his fiancée.  As you can imagine, when I tested positive on Monday after feeling a bit like I was going down with a cold I was worried that I could possibly have been infectious at the gathering and passed it on to others, including them.

Thankfully their pre flight tests were negative and they left as planned on Tuesday.  I haven't heard any other family members testing positive either so that was a relief.

Hubby tested positive today so despite trying to keep our distance in the house which isn't difficult I have most likely been the one to pass it on to him.  

Under our current rules I can start testing myself from day 5 (Saturday) and as soon as I get two consecutive days of testing negative I can stop isolating.  Otherwise I have to wait 10 days.  Of course hubby is now a few days behind me.  

I'm just thankful that we're both fully vaccinated and hopefully our cases will continue to be mild.

Book Review - Truth or Dare - M J Arlidge

Truth or Dare by M.J. Arlidge
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A crimewave sweeps through the city and no-one is safe. An arson at the docks. A carjacking gone wrong. A murder in a country park. What connects all these crimes without causes, which leave no clues?

Detective Inspector Helen Grace faces the rising tide of cases which threatens to drown the city. But each crime is just a piece of a puzzle which is falling into place.

And when it becomes clear just how twisted and ingenious this web of crime is, D.I. Grace will realise that it may be impossible to stop it . . .

Another good instalment in the DCI Helen Grace series although there are a lot of deaths taking place in this one. I do enjoy a police procedural but I'm not sure how much further this one can go. Also the plot behind this one wasn't completely original.  I still enjoyed it though.

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Book Review - The Appeal - Janice Hallett

The Appeal by Janice Hallett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

ONE MURDER. FIFTEEN SUSPECTS.
CAN YOU UNCOVER THE TRUTH?

There is a mystery to solve in the sleepy town of Lower Lockwood. It starts with the arrival of two secretive newcomers, and ends with a tragic death. Roderick Tanner QC has assigned law students Charlotte and Femi to the case. Someone has already been sent to prison for murder, but he suspects that they are innocent. And that far darker secrets have yet to be revealed...

Throughout the amateur dramatics society's disastrous staging of All My Sons and the shady charity appeal for a little girl's medical treatment, the murderer hid in plain sight. The evidence is all there, waiting to be found. But will Charlotte and Femi solve the case? Will you?

Of course I love a "who dunnit" so this was a good choice of Christmas present for me. The story centres around an amateur dramatics group which provides many of the characters as they prepare to stage "All my sons" by Arthur Miller. It also focuses on an appeal to raise funds for the granddaughter of one of the main players who has been diagnosed with brain cancer. The funds are needed to source ground breaking treatment from the US.

As the first night of the play nears it is clear that all is not well and then a murder takes place.

That all sounds straightforward but the book is presented in a very unusual way. We are introduced to Femi and Charlotte, 2 law students, who are given various papers by a Barrister to work through to try and work out who was responsible for the murder. The book then catalogues the evidence they are given, (and this is ongoing) their responses and further questions raised by the Barrister.

As if that isn't complicated enough the majority of the text of the book consists of the transcripts of digital communications - e-mails, texts and WhatsApp messages.

It's a complicated story to follow. Just when you think you have a handle on it further transcripts are released to Femi and Charlotte with more questions that send them off in a different direction.

It's cleverly done and definitely a brain teaser but the format won't be to everyone's liking. There is humour in the book though and there's certainly no horror element to it.

I enjoyed it. It was a good debut novel by the author who is due to release their second book this year. I'm not sure if I'd want to read through a similar format again though.

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Book Review - All my lies are true - Dorothy Koomson

All My Lies Are True by Dorothy Koomson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From the bestselling author of The Ice Cream Girls comes a gripping emotional thriller of love and obsession and the nature of coercive control. 'The author plays a blinder' says the Sun.

Verity is telling lies...
And that's why she's about to be arrested for attempted murder.

Serena has been lying for years. . .
And that may have driven her daughter, Verity, to do something unthinkable...

Poppy's lies have come back to haunt her . . .
So will her quest for the truth hurt everyone she loves?

Everyone lies.
But whose lies are going to end in tragedy?

This is the sequel to The Ice Cream Girls which I read back in 2016. I don't remember that book too well but the author provides enough background detail in this book that it can be read as a stand alone. However if you've never read either I would read them in order and closer together!

All that said this is another page turner from Koomson. It's very twisty. A lot of lying goes on so that it's hard sometimes to fathom exactly what happened and when. It can seem a bit far fetched at times and although it brings attention to the fact that men can easily be the victims of abuse by women the way this is portrayed in the story is rather diluted by circumstances around it. (Can't say more than that without a spoiler.) It does also show though that abuse doesn't always have to be physical.

It also contains scenes of a sexual nature so if that's not for you I'd give the book a miss.

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Book Review - The Missing Sister - Lucinda Riley

Start here

The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The six D’Aplièse sisters have each been on their own incredible journey to discover their heritage, but they still have one question left unanswered: who and where is the seventh sister?

They only have one clue – an image of a star-shaped emerald ring. The search to find the missing sister will take them across the globe; from New Zealand to Canada, England, France and Ireland, uniting them all in their mission to at last complete their family.

In doing so, they will slowly unearth a story of love, strength and sacrifice that began almost one hundred years ago, as other brave young women risk everything to change the world around them.

The Missing Sister is the seventh instalment in Lucinda Riley’s multimillion copy epic series.

This was supposedly the last in the Seven Sisters series. I didn't feel it was up to the standard of the previous books but knowing that the author had since lost her battle to cancer it's perhaps understandable that this book feels a bit rushed in places.

The first books in the series each centre around one of the D’Aplièse sisters as, following the death of their adopted father, they search for the story behind their adoptions and their family history. This final story follows all the sisters as they try and track down their "missing" sister.

Once again the book contains historical segments, this time on the troubles in Ireland and how the battle for setting up the Irish Republic took place. This was interesting as it wasn't something I knew much about in depth.

However, the present day elements of the book were less satisfying. The way the story moves from place to place in rapid succession is less than credible at times. As I said above it felt like it was rushed.

This book also left many questions unanswered and there was to have been a final book based on the adoptive Father, Pa Salt, that would tie up all the loose ends. We're told that this will happen as Lucinda has provided her son, who is also a writer, with enough information for him to be able to write the book. It will be good to have the proper closure of this saga and hopefully with good editing it will still have the same feel as the earlier books.

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Friday's Fave Five - 11th February 2022

Friday's Fave Five is hosted by Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story.  It's where a group of bloggers share 5 things we're grateful for from the previous week.  Pop over there if you want to join in.

Here are my five this week:

1)  A coffee out with hubby last weekend.  This was the first time I'd been to one of our local coffee shops since we moved here.  I know, how bad is that!  We've been here 16 months now but of course during the pandemic made things difficult, especially my anxiety.  It was a new place that has only just opened and it was ok.  Nothing special but it was a case of one coffee shop ticked off, plenty more to try.

2)  Good news from a family member.  One of Hubby's SILs had minor surgery recently but the results were good.

3)  More walking this week - yesterday I managed to get down to the lake just before sunset and took some photos.

4)  We celebrated our youngest son's birthday last Sunday so we had his family and my daughter's family here for lunch.  It was hectic but the little ones loved it.  We had a roast beef dinner followed by apple strudel and custard and of course a chocolate birthday cake.

Unfortunately the only photo I took was this one:

 Birthdays are not as exciting once you have children.

5)  A lovely walk today with Hubby.  We took the train to Chingford, just one stop north of us and then we walked to a place called Connaught Water.  I remembered to take some photos.

We came across this rather fearsome looking cow and decided to edge past it to the left

and then spotted a few more!  Fortunately they didn't seem the least bit bothered by us.

We made it to the lake despite the pathways being very muddy.

As you can see there were a few clouds in the sky so it was mainly sunny but chilly!  

When we got back to Chingford we found a coffee shop to have some lunch and then we came home by bus.

We didn't actually walk a great distance but it was more about me getting out and about and not feeling anxious.  We ticked that box!

Have a good weekend all.

That time of year again. Preparing for the A-Z Challenge

Yes I know I've just finished the Just Jot it January challenge but now it's time to start thinking ahead for the A-Z Challenge.

For all things about the challenge click here.  The organisers do a fantastic job with this challenge which has been running since 2010!

I've only been participating since 2015 but it definitely presents more than just posting something every day of the month of April to me.  I've mostly gone for a themed approach which have been as follows:

2015  Family & Relationships - I have a large family to draw on and this didn't require much in the way of research.

2016  London Underground Stations - this set me the real challenge of getting out and about, taking photos etc.  It really pushed me to overcome the anxiety that plagues me, particularly when using public transport.  I didn't visit all the stations I wrote about but I did get to most of them so this was a good year for me.

2017  Random words - this was a much looser theme but reduced the stress levels of trying to visit places, take photos and get blog entries composed and posted on time.  I felt I'd been a bit too ambitious in 2016 and this theme allowed me to do what I do best - waffle!

2018  Sports - this was prompted by watching the Winter Olympics and I tried to find more obscure sports to write about so again a theme but manageable.

2019  No theme (Conversations in my head.)  Of course there was a theme really.  This was the year I decided I wanted to actually do posts that were more of a "writing" nature.  Many of the A-Z participants are writers, including published ones.  I felt that many of my posts were much more frivolous, didn't have the continuity of a story and were often short just so that I could get them posted in time.

The posts were still quite random and not continuous but had the underlying theme of Alice from Alice in Wonderland.  It was quite a different direction for me but I definitely enjoyed it.

2020  Moving House - yes we actually managed to move house in 2020 although when doing the challenge we were still in the preparation stages - we had a buyer for our house by March 2020 just before the UK locked down for Covid.  We didn't actually move until the September but the process gave me plenty of ammunition for A-Z topics.

2021  Life in Lockdown - again I drew on life experiences for the challenge last year.  2021 wasn't a good blogging year for me and I did hope the A-Z challenge would improve things.  It didn't really - it boosted the amount of posting at the beginning of the year but overall my posts were down almost 50% compared to 2020 by the end of the year.

I'm hoping that I'm going to do better this year and I've already completed the Just Jot it January challenge so I'm looking ahead to April but I have no idea yet what to write about.

Maybe I need to let Alice out of the cupboard.

Suggestions in the comments would be more than welcomed.

  

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 9th February 2022

Joyce hosts the Wednesday Hodgepodge over at From this side of the Pond.  You can find out more about the Hodgepodge and see who else is playing by popping over there.

1. Besides the predictable name-rank-serial number, what's something you know by heart?

Well I'm still pretty good at my name rank and National Insurance Number here and I'm reasonably good with my passwords.  I used to be really good with telephone numbers until mobiles were invented.  There's no logic to them like there was with landlines.  The only 2 mobile numbers I know are my own and hubby's.   I don't even know our kids' numbers because some of them have changed several times and now with a smart phone there's no need!

2. Something recently that had you tickled pink?

I took a video of Grandson Vinny where he was laughing at me playing peek-a-boo with him.  What was funnier though was him laughing at himself when I played him the video.

3. How do you define the word romantic, and are you one? 

Being romantic for me means showing loving gestures.  I'm not particularly romantic and Hubby definitely isn't although sometimes he does surprise me.

4. Finish this verse with your own original thought....'Roses are red, violets are blue...

Although none of us is perfect, I still love you. 

5. Five little things you are loving right now? 

Days getting longer

HelloFresh meals

Good news from a family member

Having space for family get togethers

Smiles from Grandkids

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Sometimes it is just the little things that keep us going.  Even when things are tough.

Actually things aren't really tough for us, we're fortunate in so many ways but that doesn't stop anxiety or other problems but the welcome we get from the grandkids always lifts me up.  They are (nearly) always pleased to see us.

I clarified that last fact because there was one occasion when I collected Grandson Rory from nursery and he didn't seem pleased to see me.  He didn't even want to tell the carer who I was.  He seemed quite subdued but halfway home I discovered why.  "Nanny I need a wee".  Fortunately his home is only a short walk from the nursery but I've never walked it so fast as we did that day and we made it home - just! lol

Friday's Fave Five - 4th February 2022

I missed joining in with Susanne and other like minded bloggers last week, listing my favourite 5 things of the week, so I'm determined to get this post done but it's already quite late and I'm using my iPad and phone so it's not going to be pretty.

If you want to join in or just see who else is taking part go to Susanne's site: Living to tell the story 

My faves for the last couple of weeks are:

 

1.  My daughter and her family have moved house! It's been a long time coming but they now have their own home (with a mortgage of course) and the keys for their rented house were handed back on Monday.

2.  Lovely sunsets. They have been amazing on several evenings this week. I haven't been out much to take my own photos but there were some lovely ones posted on local Facebook group pages.

3. A hubby that cooks. I know this gets mentioned regularly but during the last couple of weeks where I've been helping with the move or babysitting it's definitely been a blessing to have my dinner put in front of me each day.

4.  Progress on some of our own house "to dos" - the boiler was serviced this week, one extractor fan was replaced, a faulty socket was fixed and I've set the ball rolling on getting an extractor fan fitted in the downstairs bathroom and decorating the spare bedrooms.

5.  Saved the best for last - a lovely catch up with 5 of my sister-in-laws. We met in a place called Belgique which is a cafe and patisserie.  It has a large outside area which is covered and heated and during the cold or wet weather the open sides have pull down clear blinds.  One of my SILs is undergoing chemo so has to be very careful because of Covid so this place was ideal especially as it was very wet this morning but soon after we arrived (around 11.30) the sun came out although it was still cold.  We had brunch and drinks. More drinks and eventually dessert (mine was a vanilla & raspberry cheesecake on a brownie base).  3 nieces and a nephew also dropped in during our visit as they all live nearby and are working from home.   All in all it was a lovely outing- we didn't leave until about 4.30!  But I was exhausted by the time I got home.  I'm so out of the habit of socialising!

Have a good weekend all.

Book Review - The Long Call - Ann Cleeves

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.

Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

The case calls Matthew back into the community he thought he had left behind, as deadly secrets hidden at its heart are revealed, and his past and present collide.

I think my opinion of this book is clouded by the fact that I had already seen the TV adaptation. I couldn't remember everything of the TV show but it did follow the book quite closely.

Essentially it's a "whodunnit?" and "why?" which unfolds gradually and with some red herrings along the way. I enjoyed it but felt it needed a bit more depth to the main police characters.

I've enjoyed other series by this author but I'm a bit on the fence about this new one.

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Wednesday Hodgepodge - 2nd February 2022

For details of the Hodgepodge and to see other participants go here.

1. The Wednesday Hodgepodge landing on Groundhog's Day sounds about right. Besides the Hodgepodge what else lands on your calendar just once a week? Is it as much fun as the Hodgepodge-ha!? 

There are several things I can think of - putting the bins out, doing my online shopping order, booking a slot for my online shopping order etc etc all those fun boring things lol.  The fun thing that does happen on my calendar each week is looking after Grandson Vinny which I do every Wednesday.

2. The Winter Olympics begin on Friday, surrounded by much controversy. Will you be watching? Why or why not? Have you ever been to China?

I will be watching certain sports such as Ice skating which I enjoy and some where Brits might have a medal chance but I can take it or leave it.  I have not been or am ever likely to go to China.

3. Something in your life lately that has felt a bit like an 'olympic event'? 

Helping my daughter and her family move house.  It's felt like a marathon with a sprint finish.  It's over now in that they are in their new home but still a lot of unpacking and sorting out to do.

4. Do you like fondue? Sweet or savory? Restaurant only or do you own your own fondue set?

Well we used to have a fondue set - I think it was gifted to us when they were more fashionable.  We used it for meat but of course I prefer a chocolate one.

5. Give us five short (2-3 word) phrases to sum up your January. 

Busy Busy Busy

Beautiful sunsets (which I haven't photographed)

More blogging

More reading

More focussed

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I feel good about the way 2022 has started.  I've definitely been more focussed and productive but it was also quite tough helping my daughter and her family move house.  This is something that's been a long time coming - they've been wanting to buy their own home for a while and for a variety of reasons it just hadn't happened.  It's been very stressful for them but hopefully things will be a bit easier now.  It made it very clear though, that you never stop looking out for your kids, even when they're grown ups!

Day off! (What's that?)

Having completed the Just Jot it January challenge I thought that I should at least try and post something today so I don't let my good habits start to slip.  However, once again, I'm posting late in the day when I'm tired and needing my bed.

Apart from posting a blog I had also decided that today was going to be a day off.  No work, just relaxing after all the hard work of the past few days.  What I'd forgotten though was that prior to planning for my daughter's move I had set up a few appointments to do with our house.

One of those was today - getting our boiler serviced!  At 8 am!  No lie in for me.  Ideally I would have had this done back in November ready for winter but anyway..... next year maybe.  Oops that's this year now.

So I was up early but I have had a lazy day.  We did get a few things done - we straightened up our hallway and garage from where I just dumped a lot of things from my daughter yesterday so the place looks a bit tidier and it's organised into areas at least - things for the loft, things that need to go to my daughter's house, things for the charity shop etc.  I don't mind having clutter in the house temporarily as long as it's organised clutter.

Apart from that I've watched some TV and finished the book I was reading.  I'll post a review of that soon.

I'm going to take a shower next and then head for bed.  Tomorrow is Wednesday and that means Vinny for the day but it will be slightly easier as my son will actually be at home as he's waiting in for delivery of a new bed for Rory so I'll spend the day at his place with Vinny.  Less travelling and a slightly shorter day.  Yay!

My daughter hadn't cleared her car out after yesterday so she took Nathan to school by train today.  He was quite excited about that.

Fortunately with lots of people still working from home the train wasn't very crowded and it didn't take too long.

Hope your week has got off to a good start.