c306.net
Holiday log
Saturday. Drove to Hounslow twice in 6 hours – to drop off and pick up parents. 4 hours driving. Upside: The new car is really comfortable to drive, and I got to familiarise with some features. Binge watched _The Residence_ on Netflix. Saw the finale of _Milan San Remo_. Watered plants. Tilled the compost in begonia and dahlia pots in the conservatory. I can already see green shoots in most of the pots.
Sunday. Watched _The King_ on tablet while hiding in the bedroom from Ma. In my defence, I was already knackered from all the driving the previous day. R had left for Exeter leaving me no buffer.
Monday. Trimmed and watered indoor plants. Factory reset the tablet then set it up for Papa with his account. Cried inside when Chewie dragged his limp back legs at end of a short walk. Saw off parents at Heathrow. Watched an episode of latest season of _The Wheel of Time_. Still can’t understand how they cast _Rosamund Pike_ against such a weak rest of the cast. It feels such a waste of money. Checked messages on the office phone, then switched it off for the week.
Tuesday. Deep cleaned the kitchen. Vacuumed and steam mopped most of the house. Used papa’s left leftover mustard oil (सरसों का तेल) to oil feet and legs. Saw Zero Dark Thirty. Started watching No Hard Feelings but felt lost. Checked messages on the office tablet, then switched it off for the week. Later shut off the office laptop too. Briefly researched Ghost again. Tried `ssh`ing into my server with a typo in the username. Strict rules mean I’ve banned myself! Will need to use the web based console to unban :/
(Update: did unban. Updated robots.txt)
Wednesday & Thursday. The days became slow, boring, often lonely. Missed dad a lot, even mom occasionally. Missed the younger T who would have gone for hours long walks in this weather. Missed Duds. Cursed R for not being here.
Started Mary Kondoing all my clothes. I’ve doubled in size since I stopped running 2-3 years ago. Tried on and filtered out anything that doesn’t fit and doesn’t have a strong emotional reason to be kept. Over 2/3rd the clothes are now in a huge “elephant” bag that R got from the US, ready to be given to charity. Several of them – particularly a few cycling and running ones – were never worn. I got them in bulk when R left the job to make use of her 1/3rd discount, then kept them aside to slowly bring into circulation. Never did.
Did a bit of gardening – cleaned up weeds in a few pots to prep for upcoming shoots, planted the three sweat pea plants, cleaned up a bit under the apple tree, trimmed and watered indoor plants.
Went to Puttenham common with the boy. Enjoyed the sun. Got a feeling that any of these visits to his favourite places may be his last one.
Went to the _Rec_ another day. Enjoyed the sun.
Watched _Dark knight_. Watched a bit of a few different movies and TV series. Nothing stuck.
Friday. Adi’s day out. Went to the office to pick up new laptop. It was a beautiful, sunny day. Walked a slightly circuitous route from the office back to Waterloo enjoying London at it’s best. Ate brunch at a nice neighbourhood cafe between St Pancras and Russell street. Lovely cafe, good staff, nice location, terrible food1. Should have held out for the place I’d originally planned to eat. I dropped in to have a look on the walk – it looked great! Joined the crowds enjoying the sunshine in Russell square, Bloomsbury, Covent garden, Southbank. Picked up a gelato from _Gelatirano_ – it was ok but they don’t do _Gianduja_ anymore :(
Spoke to DV and family from Southbank. Av loved the views. She stayed with us before she was one. Hope she can come over again soon.
Back in Guildford, did a bit of clothes shopping – a couple of collared t-shirts for office, and a walking trouser for regular wear. Almost bought another book from Waterstones. Reminded myself of the big pile already at home.
Set up the new laptop a bit. The next work week is going to be hard enough anyway, don’t want to waste some of it struggling to set up the new laptop.
Saturday. Emptied out the last two clothes containers and filtered them. Most went to the donation bag. All the ones kept were memorials – t-shirts from all the marathons, the fred-whitton and de ronde. R loves the three tees I’d kept aside for her. Offered her a bunch of barely/never worn woollens and walking clothes. Most fitted her perfectly, so she took them too. A couple she kept aside for her dad who’s visiting us later in the year.
Set up a few more things on the new work laptop. Can’t get the iOS app to build though. Will need to ask for help. Cooked lunch – a stir fry. It didn’t turn out well. Will try more spices and a different sauce next time.
Walked a bit then enjoyed the sun sitting on the grass in the rec. Met Gray & Pirren. Pirren is strong as ever. Gray is wise and friendly as ever.
Sunday. Boy has a bad stomach again. Cleaned his poo from one end of the living room to the other and into the conservatory. It’s the second time this month – and it leaves him weaker every time. Given all his other illnesses, this isn’t good :(
Packed up and gave all the clothes to CRUK – 3 large bags full. Erased and factory reset my old laptop to give it as well but CRUK didn’t take it – no electronics.
Went for a short walk and a long sit on the grass in Puttenham Common with R & T. The sun, light breeze, lack of traffic sounds, and a curious T made it trés special. Watched half of a new rom com on Netflix – The life list. Enjoying it – it’s the kind I like (and need) – slow but happy and simple.
End of log.
* * *
1. Got an Eggs Benedict. Muffin was fine. Poached eggs were ok, maybe slightly undercooked. The ham was bad – dry and hard. The hollandaise was completely, utterly tasteless. It cost nearly £18! ↩
### _Related_
