Still Writing

So, I'm still writing, but have decided to stop counting Staying Home days as we are now going out so much more. I didn't take any photos today, so have posted some more from Stowe yesterday.

I started today by exercising along side H, who agreed to do the 25 minute class on my weekly schedule rather than the 40 minute one she had planned. She breezed through it with dumbbells twice the weight of mine, while I felt half dead by the end. The heat didn't help, and I hadn't slept well last night. My legs ached, particularly one thigh muscle, and I couldn't settle so ended up moving downstairs to the sofa. I'm not sure whether the leg aches were a result of yesterday's walk or because I was a bit dehydrated - I certainly hadn't drunk enough to make up for yesterday's heat, so had only myself to blame. Today I have made a point of drinking more.

After I exercised I made smoothies for myself and H while she showered, then went to shower myself. It didn't go well. One foot slipped out from under me and I crunched my shin on the shower tray. No major damage, but a minor cut and what promises to be an impressive bruise even by my standards - I bruise very easily, something I inherited from my mother.

Once I recovered from the mishap and had showered I took my laptop out into the garden to work, and did a couple of hours in the morning and another couple in the afternoon. It was another scorchingly hot day. H spent time in the sun again - she is about to go back onto medication for her skin which means she will have to stay out of the sun, so is enjoying it while she can. M had a bright idea and remembered there was a sun shade in the garage that came with our table and chairs set, so we set that up so that people could eat lunch at the table without melting. We bought a black glass table with six chairs and a sunshade in the autumn sale at B & Q two or three years ago for a ridiculous price - I think £80 for the lot. We had spent a summer trying and failing to find garden furniture we liked after our old set reached the end of its useful days, then spotted these being sold off and bought them to tide us over until we found something better. As it turned out, they meet our needs pretty well, so we have given up the idea of upgrading for now. With the two cheap sunbeds I bought from Argos at the beginning of lockdown, the hammock and an IKEA beach style deckchair, we now have lots of options for sitting and lounging outside, and I think we paid about £200 for the whole lot.

TG spent most of the day doing school work. She tends to start quite late, depending on the time of any online classes (todays was geography at 10.15), then take an hour or so lunch break, and then do some more work in the afternoon. After she finished she had a dance class. M spent some time cleaning down some grimy paintwork this morning, and then chilled for the rest of the day. H went out mid-afternoon to Marks and Spencer to buy some food - they do a few things we either can't get anywhere else or are much nicer than the alternatives. She and her BF then went round to his parents for dinner. M and I went for a short walk (too hot!) and then ate leftover shepherdess pie, and TG had a Marks and Spencer ready meal - roast beef, potatoes and veggies inside a giant yorkshire pudding, which is a big favourite of hers. After dinner M and I watched the first episode of a drama about the Salisbury poisonings, where a former Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent. Although it was big news at the time, I hadn't registered just what a huge risk there was to public health and what a difficult exercise the clean up was.