Half Term Week

Friday already? That week went fast! (I thought it had gone even faster - both M and I have kept thinking today is Saturday and that is what I typed, then realised it is still Friday.) We don't have any freelance work at the moment, but I have been busy in the mornings doing my archive work. The weather has been mostly nasty, though we did manage to get out for a couple of walks. Nothing exciting - just a couple of miles around the local area, staying on the road and paths to avoid mud, and a walk into town for coffee and a pastry on Wednesday morning before starting work late. TG seems to have done very little, but is still complaining that half term has gone by too fast! 

I have been doing quite a bit of social media stuff for work (something I can easily do from home) took the photo below to use on Instagram. There are two of these carvings, one either side of an archway over the entrance to what was once the Ewe and Lamb inn. It closed nearly 50 years ago, but the carvings are still there as a reminder of its history - I love spotting bits of hidden history like this, and was struck by the way the ewe and lamb were peaking out from behind the fascia of the shop next door.  

We are well into autumn now, with leaves everywhere, and some trees virtually bare. The blue sky is deceptive - it started raining again soon after we got home. Fortunately the forecast for next week looks better, with a few dry days. I bought myself a good waterproof raincoat before we went to Appleby so that we could still walk whatever the weather, but I find it very hard to motivate myself to go out when it is damp and miserable. I have been very lazy this month with exercise, partly because I was feeling short of energy and did a couple of exercise classes which left me feeling exhausted. I am determined that next week I will get back into some sort of routine, but will start off with gentle yoga to try to build my energy levels up again. 

We had a band committee meeting during the week, blended between in-person and Zoom. I was one of the in-person people (does that make sense?) which meant I got to play with my friend's gorgeous kitten again. We also had a takeaway curry. Yesterday H bought us a Chinese takeaway to celebrate getting paid, and I promised TG a trip to Wagamamas over half term. M doesn't like Japanese food, so we are going to go on Sunday while he is at work. I'm rather enjoying a week with less cooking. During the spring and summer I was sharing the cooking with H, but she is so bogged down with working and studying that I am back to being head cook.

Having found her independence with her shopping trip last weekend, TG and two friends took themselves to Milton Keynes again today to go to Nandos and binge on spicy chicken. This time they got the bus there, but got lifts home. M and I were going to go for a walk, but the weather was nasty again so we decided to go to Ikea. However we had forgotten it was half term and there was a ridiculously long queue (part of their coronavirus precautions is to limit the number of people entering to stop it getting crowded). We took one look at the queue, gave up and went for a coffee and cake in the M & S cafe instead instead. By the time we had finished, so had TG. She found us in M & S and we did a bit of food shopping before heading home. I picked up some frozen vegan party snacks to use at Christmas or New Year and some vegan chocolates for H for Christmas - I have learned the hard way that it is best to buy this sort of thing when I see it, rather than wait and find they are sold out. TG has a thing about mini Colin the Caterpillar cakes, so we got her a pack as a treat. Hopefully at least some will last long enough for her to take them to school as snacks next week.