November - the birthday month - mine
How can it be November already! I just don't know where the time goes. My 64th birthday is looming - how did that happen??
Tues 1st. Determined that all my efforts now will be to get the house straight and catch up with the admin etc. Feel things are slightly out of control at the moment. Mike went to work - I went out of the house with him at 7.10 so had walked Suki and was back home raring to go at 8.30 am. I tackled the Organ music today - and succeeded in cataloguing all of it and putting it away in the filing cabinet drawer. It all fitted in one drawer and I printed off an index for the drawer. Very satisfying. Had some lunch and took Suki out - I need to make sure I get out earlier in the afternoon now that the clocks have gone back. When I got in I tackled the ironing - I was still at it when Mike came in from work. I finished it all, including all the bedding etc from the guest room which had been languishing in the airing cupboard. Another good job done. There was a button missing off Mike's dress shirt - so I found the spare in the button tin (a feat in itself) and sewed it on. What a domestic goddess! Mike didn't take any notice when I told him I had done this - never mind actually thanking me!! We had jacket potato for supper and then Mike went out to Chiswick Choir. I had a look at the stuff I had recorded and was amazed to find there was another episode of Poldark to watch - joy! I had thought the previous week's was the last. So I watched that with a glass of wine and then practised handbells for a while before going to bed with a hot drink and the last of the Cragganmore.
Wed 2nd. Got up reasonably early and had a shower then cleared the back room mess so that only the paperwork remained. A bit more progress. Did some washing to hand in the airing cupboard. Out early with Suki which gave me an hour to start catching up on the admin, including Numbers Club renewals and draw list, before going off to Keith's at 11. I didn't need to pick up anything from MacDonalds as we were going down the village for him to get a haircut. We went out as soon as I arrived - the carer helped me get the chair down the steps which was so much easier than doing it on my own. It was a sunny if cold day and it was nice to be out. After the haircut I took Keith to the Turkish shop for some tomatoes etc, and then to the co-op for some eggs. Once again they did not have any lard. When we got back I had a look at his computer for him and sorted out the emails and then came home reasonably early. Svetla was still there when I got back so we had a nice chat and she gave me a birthday card and box of chocolates. Mike's bedding all needed changing as either Svetla or Suki had knocked the connection off the bag! I dealt with all that and then heated up a mystery meal from the freezer for Mike's lunch - which turned out to be a rather nice chinese special rice dish with pork and prawns. I had muesli and finished up the yoghurt with it. Mike went out at 5 to a junket being held by the Back Up Trust - a Meet The Founder event. I stayed in and did more admin and handbell practice.
Thurs 3rd. Remembered to post the card Jayne had left for me to post, and also posted the monthly parcel to her mum. Took Suki to Acton Park in the morning after seeing Mike off to work. Then I went up to the Chiswick High Road and bought some more faux leather box files for music storage. Then I tried to take my hearing aids back to Specsavers, but I was told I had to come back on Saturday when the audiologist would be present. I knew it wouldn't be easy! I popped in to a pharmacy which was advertising a good deal on Clarins stuff and bought a gift box for Amanda - and some foot stuff for me - and that entitled me to three free items all of which were a reasonable size. I was very pleased with them. I chose body lotion, body scrub and shower concentrate. By this time I was carrying quite a lot and realised I should have done things in reverse order so that I ended up at the bus stop for the 272 rather than at the top of Turnham Green Terrace, but by that time the deed was done. I went to the pet shop and got some more meat pouches plus some sea jerky treats which Suki loves but which smell disgustingly fishy. Finally I went to Barclays and put the cheque in to the Numbers Club account - with much swearing which brought the assistant rushing over to help! I was rather embarrassed by that. I walk down to the bus stop by Turnham Green and luck was with me as a 272 came along 2 minutes later. When I got home I had a coffee and a baguette and then went to Tesco where I stocked up on stuff we needed, and also bought various gift cards to give as Christmas presents. I was rather pleased to have thus started my Christmas shopping. I had a completely full trolley load, plus a heavy rucksack and a carrier bag full. Once I had unpacked it all at home I had some lunch of soup and bread and then went to practice handbells on Abel for a while. Malc rang and we had a nice chat. Then it was time to take Suki out again before going off at 5 pm to Guys for handbells. We attempted Kent Major with Peter but unfortunately it fired out after an hour - which was a much more realistic experience for Peter (may as well get used to losing them). We then spent an hour trying to ring Cambridge Major - with some improvement towards the end. I had a glass of wine and a cup of tea when I got in and watched two episodes of Cold Feet.
Fri 4th. Stiff neck woke me again and I got up just after 6 which gave me plenty of time to get ready and walk Suki for an hour in Acton Park, which I did before taking up breakfast - Mike was still sleeping when I went out. I got to Steve's nice and early and enjoyed a coffee and croissant before we all went upstairs to ring handbells. We had several attempts at the Cambridge Royal from the start, and then spent an hour and a half ringing the last bit where Peter and I both get the 7-8 position for the first time! This was very good practice for all of us. Got back about 1 and made some beans on toast for lunch then spent the afternoon continuing to catalogue the music. I managed to clear the bed of all the piles in the guest room - so it is all now catalogued except for the stuff in the music drawers, and I just have to find somewhere to put it all now and then make a note of where that is. It poured with rain all afternoon and Suki and I got very wet when we went out to Southfields for our walk. They were digging up the road outside the house all afternoon, which wound Suki up. Went to Barnes with Mike intending to cross stitch during the QP - but Francis didn't turn up so I ended up ringing in the QP. It was Hereward Bob Triples by special request of Monica so I took the treble as I hadn't looked at it. After several starts and fire ups I swapped over with Monica, and after a brief look at the line we rang a nice quarter. It overran somewhat but no-one outside seemed to upset. Shared a really nice meat platter with Mike in the pub - warm scotch eggs, chicken, game pastries, coleslaw and fries.
Sat 5th. Monica arrived at 7.45 to get a lift with Mike to the Surrey Training Day in Bletchingly. Mike was running a Grandsire doubles course at Merstham all day, which is renowned for being cold, and both Monica and Malcolm were helping on the same course. I took Suki for a walk in Acton Park and then went up to Specsavers to see the audiologist and return the hearing aids. It wasn't as bad as I expected and they said I could come back any time I felt I wanted to try them again. I will have to wait some time for the refund as they had to put it through manually. I then went to W H Smith to get some birthday cards for Leanne, Ollie and Amanda, and got some things from Boots to put in Leanne's birthday box. I was giving both her and Amanda money for their birthday but I like to give a small present as well. I was lucky in that I didn't have to wait long for the bus back so I was home quite quickly. I spent the rest of the day cataloguing the music in the music cabinet. It was very interesting seeing all the old music with my grandfather's name on it, which Dad must have inherited. I even found a piece of music written by him - for The Lord's Prayer - and he had written a dedication to Dad and Michelle on the front.
Some of the music was extremely old and delicate, and some was just too damaged and fragile to keep. I had to stop around when Mike and Monica came home around 6 - I thought they had come home specially to be with me in the evening but it turned out there was no ringing at Bletchingley in the evening anyway! They had both enjoyed the day - which was nice and a tad unusual for Monica!We had a cup of tea and then we phoned in an order to CJs which Mike went to collect. It was a lovely meal and we shared a large bottle of Hoegarden which I had in the fridge. We stayed in the front bedroom with the curtains and door closed and Enya playing on the music system to try and minimise the effects of the fireworks on Suki. It seemed to work well and although she did some shaking and looking miserable she did scrabble at the walls or run around petrified. We went to bed at 11 - and then three or four loud bangs were heard which spooked her and made her scrabble at the door, but that was all and we ignored her and she eventually settled down.
Sun 6th - Birthday and Wedding Anniversary.
Got up nice and early giving me plenty of time to walk Suki and do all my bits and pieces before going out to church. Mike came to the service too - seems so odd to think we were in the same church 17 years ago exchanging vows! Mike had the scrambled egg and smoked salmon for breakfast at the cafe and I had one of their chocolate croissants with nuts on - well it is my birthday! We did the usual ringing circuit. Linda had made some scotch eggs for sale at Chiswick so I grabbed 3 quickly as they were disappearing at an alarming rate. When we got home I opened my presents and cards. I got a whole pile of presents from Jayne, all of which were delightful, and from my sister a bottle of my favourite drink - Remy Martin fine champagne cognac. I had lots of cards - including a delightful one with fresh flowers in from Malc.
Mike took Suki for her walk in the afternoon, while I carried on with the music catalogue. It started to rain while he was out, and by the time we left the house to go to St Giles in the Fields it was dark, cold, wet and miserable. I really didn't feel much like going out at all and was wondering why I had said yes! Amanda rang me while I was on the bus - but I wasn't able to talk for long as we arrived at Shepherds Bush station. We went on the Central Line intending to get off at Tottenham Court Road which was shown on the web site as having escalators all the way from the platform to the street, however as we left the station before it there was an announcement that Tottenham Court Road station was closed and the tube would not be stopping there. We got off at Holborn and enquired at the information point where the next station was on the Central Line with escalators from platform to street and was told "Stratford"!! So we went to the stairs and some passengers carried Mike up in the chair the short way to the escalators. In the end we rang a very nice quarter of Stedman Triples called by Lucy. The striking was good and there were very few trips. The footnote was impressive with all the birthdays and anniversaries being commemorated! I enjoyed it and the occasion, although I was struggling with my wrists and occasional dizziness but got through it. Mike's rope came undone which was a bit unnerving - good job it was his rope as he just got on with ringing it and didn't seem a bit fazed by it. We finished 15 mins before the service so some more ringing was needed. By then Leanne and Ollie had arrived so I fetched them up to watch. Afterwards we all had some cake and then the four of us went off to the Pizza Express in Soho Square for a pizza. It was very good and the service was very quick. Mike and I had a large bottle of Peroni each which went down well. The lights in Oxford Street had been turned on while we were in the restaurant so we then walked down the length of Oxford Street to see them - it was cordoned off to traffic so there was plenty of room for a change. Leanne and Ollie caught a 148 bus home from Marble Arch, which came almost immediately, and then Mike and I went over to the Notting Hill side and caught a 94 bus home - after running for it!
Mon 7th We both had a bit of a lie in this morning, after a string of early mornings it was nice not to have to rush to get out. It was another cold but sunny day and I listened to the Archers Omnibus while I walked Suki in Acton park. Continued with the music cataloguing project through the day - very nearly at the end now. In the evening went early to Chiswick with Mike to ring handbells before the practice. We were going to be in two groups so Mike sorted out 5 more bells, which I put in my rucksack, to go with the set in the red bag which would make two sixes. When we arrived at the church we realised that neither of us had picked up the red bag so Monica and I went over to get some bells from the church set which are kept in the hall cupboard. The box was buried under lots of boxes of children's toys, but we were appalled to find when we opened the box that all the bells were covered in green mould!
So we took the whole box over to the church and wiped down two sets of 6 so that we could ring them. Sat down with Peter and Richard to attempt a QP of PB minor called by Peter - but we never rang more than about 300 changes. Still it was good practice for both of them. When the practice started I got some polishing wet wipes and some jay cloths and cleaned all the bells and the case as best I could and we left the box open to allow some air to circulate. We left the box behind the curtain so that it could stay in a warm dry atmosphere for a while. When the practice was over the muffles were put on and a new rope put on the 7 so it was gone 9.30 when we left for the pub. Mike struggled to eat his scotch egg and could not finish his pint of beer as he felt very full. He also felt very tired and his eyes felt very strained and he was glad to get to bed when we got in.
Tues 8th. Very cold this morning - minus 2 degrees when we woke up. I delayed going out with Suki as long as possible - and put extra layers on when I did. The sun shone for most of the day so it was nice to be out and wrapped up. I took Suki for a walk in Acton park and then rang Amanda when I got back and had a long chat with her. I made jacket potatoes for lunch - Mike was still struggling a bit but did eventually eat it. Then I Skyped Jayne and had a long chat with her - as usual it lifted my spirits to see her and catch up on each others news. I took Suki out to Wendell and then round the roads - not quite as cold as this morning but I was still glad of the extra layer. Then I phoned my sister and talked to her for a while. I finished cataloguing all the music today - except for the choral stuff which has been mostly recorded and is on the bookshelves in no particular order. I intend to get the other choral music down from the loft and sort it all out so that we have one copy of everything downstairs and the rest of it in the loft - but I am treating it as a separate project and will get on with the rest of the admin and sorting the house out first as it looks neat enough on the bookshelves and at least we know what is there. All the other music is now stored in order and logically according to what type of music it is. I even have two drawers empty in the music cabinet now, and the two drawers in the filing cabinet are accessible and not stuffed so full they can't be searched.
Suki managed to find a nice sunny spot on the bed - and to make good use of the extra cushions I had bought for my chair. Not sure it was quite what I had in mind but clever of her to realise that they were now the right height to allow the arm to be used as a headrest!
Tues 1st. Determined that all my efforts now will be to get the house straight and catch up with the admin etc. Feel things are slightly out of control at the moment. Mike went to work - I went out of the house with him at 7.10 so had walked Suki and was back home raring to go at 8.30 am. I tackled the Organ music today - and succeeded in cataloguing all of it and putting it away in the filing cabinet drawer. It all fitted in one drawer and I printed off an index for the drawer. Very satisfying. Had some lunch and took Suki out - I need to make sure I get out earlier in the afternoon now that the clocks have gone back. When I got in I tackled the ironing - I was still at it when Mike came in from work. I finished it all, including all the bedding etc from the guest room which had been languishing in the airing cupboard. Another good job done. There was a button missing off Mike's dress shirt - so I found the spare in the button tin (a feat in itself) and sewed it on. What a domestic goddess! Mike didn't take any notice when I told him I had done this - never mind actually thanking me!! We had jacket potato for supper and then Mike went out to Chiswick Choir. I had a look at the stuff I had recorded and was amazed to find there was another episode of Poldark to watch - joy! I had thought the previous week's was the last. So I watched that with a glass of wine and then practised handbells for a while before going to bed with a hot drink and the last of the Cragganmore.
Wed 2nd. Got up reasonably early and had a shower then cleared the back room mess so that only the paperwork remained. A bit more progress. Did some washing to hand in the airing cupboard. Out early with Suki which gave me an hour to start catching up on the admin, including Numbers Club renewals and draw list, before going off to Keith's at 11. I didn't need to pick up anything from MacDonalds as we were going down the village for him to get a haircut. We went out as soon as I arrived - the carer helped me get the chair down the steps which was so much easier than doing it on my own. It was a sunny if cold day and it was nice to be out. After the haircut I took Keith to the Turkish shop for some tomatoes etc, and then to the co-op for some eggs. Once again they did not have any lard. When we got back I had a look at his computer for him and sorted out the emails and then came home reasonably early. Svetla was still there when I got back so we had a nice chat and she gave me a birthday card and box of chocolates. Mike's bedding all needed changing as either Svetla or Suki had knocked the connection off the bag! I dealt with all that and then heated up a mystery meal from the freezer for Mike's lunch - which turned out to be a rather nice chinese special rice dish with pork and prawns. I had muesli and finished up the yoghurt with it. Mike went out at 5 to a junket being held by the Back Up Trust - a Meet The Founder event. I stayed in and did more admin and handbell practice.
Thurs 3rd. Remembered to post the card Jayne had left for me to post, and also posted the monthly parcel to her mum. Took Suki to Acton Park in the morning after seeing Mike off to work. Then I went up to the Chiswick High Road and bought some more faux leather box files for music storage. Then I tried to take my hearing aids back to Specsavers, but I was told I had to come back on Saturday when the audiologist would be present. I knew it wouldn't be easy! I popped in to a pharmacy which was advertising a good deal on Clarins stuff and bought a gift box for Amanda - and some foot stuff for me - and that entitled me to three free items all of which were a reasonable size. I was very pleased with them. I chose body lotion, body scrub and shower concentrate. By this time I was carrying quite a lot and realised I should have done things in reverse order so that I ended up at the bus stop for the 272 rather than at the top of Turnham Green Terrace, but by that time the deed was done. I went to the pet shop and got some more meat pouches plus some sea jerky treats which Suki loves but which smell disgustingly fishy. Finally I went to Barclays and put the cheque in to the Numbers Club account - with much swearing which brought the assistant rushing over to help! I was rather embarrassed by that. I walk down to the bus stop by Turnham Green and luck was with me as a 272 came along 2 minutes later. When I got home I had a coffee and a baguette and then went to Tesco where I stocked up on stuff we needed, and also bought various gift cards to give as Christmas presents. I was rather pleased to have thus started my Christmas shopping. I had a completely full trolley load, plus a heavy rucksack and a carrier bag full. Once I had unpacked it all at home I had some lunch of soup and bread and then went to practice handbells on Abel for a while. Malc rang and we had a nice chat. Then it was time to take Suki out again before going off at 5 pm to Guys for handbells. We attempted Kent Major with Peter but unfortunately it fired out after an hour - which was a much more realistic experience for Peter (may as well get used to losing them). We then spent an hour trying to ring Cambridge Major - with some improvement towards the end. I had a glass of wine and a cup of tea when I got in and watched two episodes of Cold Feet.
Fri 4th. Stiff neck woke me again and I got up just after 6 which gave me plenty of time to get ready and walk Suki for an hour in Acton Park, which I did before taking up breakfast - Mike was still sleeping when I went out. I got to Steve's nice and early and enjoyed a coffee and croissant before we all went upstairs to ring handbells. We had several attempts at the Cambridge Royal from the start, and then spent an hour and a half ringing the last bit where Peter and I both get the 7-8 position for the first time! This was very good practice for all of us. Got back about 1 and made some beans on toast for lunch then spent the afternoon continuing to catalogue the music. I managed to clear the bed of all the piles in the guest room - so it is all now catalogued except for the stuff in the music drawers, and I just have to find somewhere to put it all now and then make a note of where that is. It poured with rain all afternoon and Suki and I got very wet when we went out to Southfields for our walk. They were digging up the road outside the house all afternoon, which wound Suki up. Went to Barnes with Mike intending to cross stitch during the QP - but Francis didn't turn up so I ended up ringing in the QP. It was Hereward Bob Triples by special request of Monica so I took the treble as I hadn't looked at it. After several starts and fire ups I swapped over with Monica, and after a brief look at the line we rang a nice quarter. It overran somewhat but no-one outside seemed to upset. Shared a really nice meat platter with Mike in the pub - warm scotch eggs, chicken, game pastries, coleslaw and fries.
Sat 5th. Monica arrived at 7.45 to get a lift with Mike to the Surrey Training Day in Bletchingly. Mike was running a Grandsire doubles course at Merstham all day, which is renowned for being cold, and both Monica and Malcolm were helping on the same course. I took Suki for a walk in Acton Park and then went up to Specsavers to see the audiologist and return the hearing aids. It wasn't as bad as I expected and they said I could come back any time I felt I wanted to try them again. I will have to wait some time for the refund as they had to put it through manually. I then went to W H Smith to get some birthday cards for Leanne, Ollie and Amanda, and got some things from Boots to put in Leanne's birthday box. I was giving both her and Amanda money for their birthday but I like to give a small present as well. I was lucky in that I didn't have to wait long for the bus back so I was home quite quickly. I spent the rest of the day cataloguing the music in the music cabinet. It was very interesting seeing all the old music with my grandfather's name on it, which Dad must have inherited. I even found a piece of music written by him - for The Lord's Prayer - and he had written a dedication to Dad and Michelle on the front.
Some of the music was extremely old and delicate, and some was just too damaged and fragile to keep. I had to stop around when Mike and Monica came home around 6 - I thought they had come home specially to be with me in the evening but it turned out there was no ringing at Bletchingley in the evening anyway! They had both enjoyed the day - which was nice and a tad unusual for Monica!We had a cup of tea and then we phoned in an order to CJs which Mike went to collect. It was a lovely meal and we shared a large bottle of Hoegarden which I had in the fridge. We stayed in the front bedroom with the curtains and door closed and Enya playing on the music system to try and minimise the effects of the fireworks on Suki. It seemed to work well and although she did some shaking and looking miserable she did scrabble at the walls or run around petrified. We went to bed at 11 - and then three or four loud bangs were heard which spooked her and made her scrabble at the door, but that was all and we ignored her and she eventually settled down.
Sun 6th - Birthday and Wedding Anniversary.
Got up nice and early giving me plenty of time to walk Suki and do all my bits and pieces before going out to church. Mike came to the service too - seems so odd to think we were in the same church 17 years ago exchanging vows! Mike had the scrambled egg and smoked salmon for breakfast at the cafe and I had one of their chocolate croissants with nuts on - well it is my birthday! We did the usual ringing circuit. Linda had made some scotch eggs for sale at Chiswick so I grabbed 3 quickly as they were disappearing at an alarming rate. When we got home I opened my presents and cards. I got a whole pile of presents from Jayne, all of which were delightful, and from my sister a bottle of my favourite drink - Remy Martin fine champagne cognac. I had lots of cards - including a delightful one with fresh flowers in from Malc.
Mon 7th We both had a bit of a lie in this morning, after a string of early mornings it was nice not to have to rush to get out. It was another cold but sunny day and I listened to the Archers Omnibus while I walked Suki in Acton park. Continued with the music cataloguing project through the day - very nearly at the end now. In the evening went early to Chiswick with Mike to ring handbells before the practice. We were going to be in two groups so Mike sorted out 5 more bells, which I put in my rucksack, to go with the set in the red bag which would make two sixes. When we arrived at the church we realised that neither of us had picked up the red bag so Monica and I went over to get some bells from the church set which are kept in the hall cupboard. The box was buried under lots of boxes of children's toys, but we were appalled to find when we opened the box that all the bells were covered in green mould!
So we took the whole box over to the church and wiped down two sets of 6 so that we could ring them. Sat down with Peter and Richard to attempt a QP of PB minor called by Peter - but we never rang more than about 300 changes. Still it was good practice for both of them. When the practice started I got some polishing wet wipes and some jay cloths and cleaned all the bells and the case as best I could and we left the box open to allow some air to circulate. We left the box behind the curtain so that it could stay in a warm dry atmosphere for a while. When the practice was over the muffles were put on and a new rope put on the 7 so it was gone 9.30 when we left for the pub. Mike struggled to eat his scotch egg and could not finish his pint of beer as he felt very full. He also felt very tired and his eyes felt very strained and he was glad to get to bed when we got in.
Tues 8th. Very cold this morning - minus 2 degrees when we woke up. I delayed going out with Suki as long as possible - and put extra layers on when I did. The sun shone for most of the day so it was nice to be out and wrapped up. I took Suki for a walk in Acton park and then rang Amanda when I got back and had a long chat with her. I made jacket potatoes for lunch - Mike was still struggling a bit but did eventually eat it. Then I Skyped Jayne and had a long chat with her - as usual it lifted my spirits to see her and catch up on each others news. I took Suki out to Wendell and then round the roads - not quite as cold as this morning but I was still glad of the extra layer. Then I phoned my sister and talked to her for a while. I finished cataloguing all the music today - except for the choral stuff which has been mostly recorded and is on the bookshelves in no particular order. I intend to get the other choral music down from the loft and sort it all out so that we have one copy of everything downstairs and the rest of it in the loft - but I am treating it as a separate project and will get on with the rest of the admin and sorting the house out first as it looks neat enough on the bookshelves and at least we know what is there. All the other music is now stored in order and logically according to what type of music it is. I even have two drawers empty in the music cabinet now, and the two drawers in the filing cabinet are accessible and not stuffed so full they can't be searched.
Suki managed to find a nice sunny spot on the bed - and to make good use of the extra cushions I had bought for my chair. Not sure it was quite what I had in mind but clever of her to realise that they were now the right height to allow the arm to be used as a headrest!
