Malawi & More

 Yesterday was a big day and you will know why. A day I was quietly dreading. The week was generally intense as A had a doctors appointment on Thursday and I've been writing the NPQH assessment piece for cycle 3. It feels harder when it is now more theory because I'm not in charge of anyone anymore. I managed to do more in the garden, scuppered a bit by the concrete barrier at the side of the garden being much bigger and deeper than I had anticipated. The garden looks a complete mess but it is a phased project.  On Saturday I set off on the extremely short walk to a health center to get my COVID booster. (Got the flu jab at the same time which was good) And was very happy to fall into the vulnerable category - especially as if I have any time off I don't get paid. The queue was very long and it looked like they had booked at least 50 people per slot. I happily listened to a podcast, smiled at the other queuers and played a little silent game of 'guest the vulnerability....

  The restorative joy of catching up with friends really does make such a difference. And I began my weekend with a hurt foot but a great day and evening with Chaz and Sharon. Women I have known and loved for years, many years we recalled, as we looked at pictures from before A was born. All looking so young. It was great too, to find a bit of London I hadn't been to before. Sharon is always very good at finding lovely places with character and style. We laughed and hugged and I think did a little bit of crying. Soup for the soul and a really lovely burger to boot.  While I was out, BigA took the girls to a garden center, and they bought a lot of sedum plants for his bike shed creation. It looks really good, and now instead of a view of a dull fence and random stuff, when you look out of the kitchen window there is life and colour. Very impressive. Even more so when you know how disinterested he is in gardening. He's been getting practical in the week too, making the office a ...

  We had an amazing weekend, full of love and beauty. Tetbury is a picturesque part of the UK, cotswold stone buildings and lush green fields and trees. We fell into the comfortable chats and hugs with the Wagners and celebrated Michael's birthday with a sighting of the cycle race - the tour of the UK. We waited in the shade of a towns 17th century buildings and I very much enjoyed watching how the police bikes organized and arranged us all, cars, roads and people in readiness for the cyclists to whiz past in seconds. The speed and strength palpable. And then it was done. Everyone moved on and we headed back to their home. We went to a river to have a swim. I wasn't brave enough to face the freezing cold water any higher than my ankles, BigA, Michael and Bobby braving the rope swing in. It was so very cold but refreshing. Back home for cake and tea and a bbq. The heat of the weekend was really something unexpected but such an opportunity to have it at this time in September. It...

  I got up and finished off the bits of paint in the front room that I hadn't quite got two layers on, put the books back and moved the sofas. Then, still feeling like I had nervous energy to burn I decided to remove the bricks in the garden that were once a patio area but were simply a place where dandelions fought with me. Determined they won't win I got about half up and gleefully dug them out as deep as possible into their parsnip sized roots. With the nasty handy tool Margaret got me. I moved some paving slabs and made a new layer at the side covering a bigger patch of weeds.  After lunch,  we headed off to meet up with friends and Dan and Edgar for an afternoon of boozing. It was at lunch that A mentioned a rumour that her school wasn't going to be open as expected. I checked my email but no letter. Later on in the evening she said even more people had been talking about it. So, given that I can, I sent a message on LinkedIn to her headteacher to see if the rumour w...

  It's been a week of DIY, jigsaws and entertaining - very much enjoying having pals over for food and chats and seeing people out and about. Enjoying the freedom of my last week of holiday. I did a proper exercise class on Wednesday, far too much jumping up and down and bouncing back and forth for my taste, but it was free, due to a pal having a voucher. The class age probably averaged 40 so I didn't feel too odd there, although I think it was evident I haven't got much core strength. I've been keeping up my strength work at home, but I let myself off lightly and the class was better at pushing me, even if I was worried about wetting myself with all the leaping involved. Happily I didn't! I've been feeling a lovely balance of doing and not doing this week. We went out to a gig in Dalston, a beautiful outside space with a canopy of trees to keep off the slight drizzle. The first act was beautiful, loops of sound and soft rhythms that felt like soft and powe...