A whole extra hour in bed. How lovely! Well, in theory. I am not at all sure what happened to me last night but I couldn’t sleep. Half past three when I finally nodded off. And then, instead of snoozing on, I was awake at seven o’clock and ready to get up. Goodness knows….
It being Sunday and all, I thought maybe I would get to church this morning, but I started on with jobs and the time ran away with me until it was too late. Maybe next week.
We had planned to go over to the Sutton Sleaths today so that we could take them a spare printer we have, but in the end, they came to us. It was all lovely, because the sun was shining and, although it was a bit chilly, we lit the chimenea to huddle round. I brought out the cushions for the garden chairs and offered blankets for anyone who wanted them. William was feeling the cold as he had not long woken from his nap and, although John was in his big winter coat, he was also feeling the cold. William and Michael did some running to keep warm. John wasn’t up to that though. “Would you like your birthday present early?” I asked him. “Depends what it is,” he said, cautiously. “I think I’ll just go and get it,” I declared and ran upstairs.
Mindful that we are likely to be sitting out in the garden for the foreseeable, and knowing that John does feel the cold a bit more than most these days, I had taken the plunge and ordered a heated over-blanket for him to snuggle into. I thought it might be useful indoors sometimes too. Well, he was delighted with it and I was delighted that he was delighted. I think it did the trick and kept him going for the whole duration of the visit.
The blanket was going to be a surprise for John’s birthday but, to be honest, much better to make use of it when it’s needed rather than wait, don’t you think? And I also had to confess to him that I had bought a second one – either for me to use on the coldest days or for others to use when they come to visit us at our ‘garden’ parties.
Michael and Danielle hadn’t had their lunch before they left home, so I rustled up a salad – perhaps not the best food for a cool day outside but, when I started making it for John and me, the Sutton Sleaths hadn’t yet arrived and we were going to eat it indoors. I have to say though, that it was a tasty lunch.
And what other treasures could we find today? “Do you still have the goldfish bowl, Mum?” Michael wondered. “Yes, I do.” Of course I do, never one to chuck anything out. “Ah, but do you know where it is?” John teased. “Yes, I do – it’s in the loft.” The upshot of the conversation was that Michael thought it would be a nice thing to have for William. He’d been planning on buying one when he suddenly remembered I used to have one. And so now it’s all set up just outside William’s room and ready to receive a goldfish. Definitely exciting!
After the Sutton Sleaths left, John sat and watched the Grand Prix, which I think he enjoyed. It’s galling though, isn’t it, when the drivers are interviewed and they only look like they are sixteen? I mean it’s the young ones who are coming up now – Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen – and honestly, they hardly look like they are out of nappies.
We had a bit of a kerfuffle though this afternoon when it was time to SKYPE Carol and John. I was in the kitchen pot-washing when I realised that it was a quarter past four. I popped through to the lounge to see about setting up John’s laptop. John was on the main computer trying to put an order in for a Tesco delivery on Tuesday afternoon. So, I thought I’d not bother him as he was ‘in the middle of’ and I’d fire up the laptop and get it all set up myself. The laptop had other ideas. It was exceptionally slow. Nope. Not a lot happening. Took ages to fire up, then was just buffering with that little blue spinney thing on the screen. Then a message came up saying that it was refreshing (or something) the XBox, or Gamebox (or something) …….
Of course, when I told John all this, it was clear that I’d done something wrong. “I’ve never had a message like that before.” he growled. Oh. Right. I know, I’ll switch the thing off and then John can start it up again to make sure it’s done right. More growling. “I never switch my laptop off. I don’t why you’ve done that.” I did a bit of bleating…. the laptop was off when I picked it up, gov….. I just switched it on, honest.
Twenty minutes after the appointed time, we were in. Well done John. The four participants all had a glass of wine in hand and we settled down for a good old chinwag. It were luvverly. I really don’t know why we don’t do it more often. It wasn’t until our rumbling tummies could be heard over the conversation that we thought we’d better bring it all to a close. Once again, I was overwhelmed with the wonderful friendships we have. Thank the Lord.
And so to the stats today on what the virus is doing to us all. 19,790 people were confirmed as infected with COVID-19 today and 151 people died. The NHS figures hadn’t been updated today when I looked, so it was on 112 deaths on 22 & 23 October. Still a lot of infections and a lot of deaths.
And how was your Sunday? As good as mine I hope. My heart is full of family and friends. God bless.