December 2022

December 31, 2022

New Years Eve… I won’t be sorry to see the end of 2022. There have been some highlights – being able to travel mostly – but overall it hasn’t been great.

Despite steady light rain, I was determined to go swimming in the Pond. I’m feeling so much better, and my energy levels are approaching normal. The water temperature was up to 5°C and without the ice, I was able to make a wider circuit. Did one and a half laps, deciding I’d go a bit easy after my break.

Did a bit of shopping in the village, then home for a fry-up. Did some house stuff to get ready for the new year, like changing the beds. Finished my Kawabata novel as well.

Watched a DVD about the Lionesses (English national women’s football team). They way women footballers have been treated by the FA, and ignored by the general public until just a few years ago is shocking. Called John McLaughlin to wish him a happy birthday and had a good chat. 

Both girls are stopping in tonight and spending New Year’s Eve together. They ordered sushi, made cocktails and watched films. Lyra’s friend Liz came round and ended up staying the night

We spent the evening at Kiran and Birgit’s. Drove down, knowing we’d walk back. I wore my new long dress from Nova, teamed with a leather jacket to make it a bit more “going out”. There were ten of us – Kiran & Birgit, Lawrence & Madonna (our partners in the field), Nick & Tessa, and Helen & Steve.

Started with an interesting salad of peas, ricotta and candied dates. This was followed by baked salmon (with a hoisin-based sauce), a lemon tart, then cheese. Lots of delicious wine, it goes without saying. The time passed quickly and it was nearly midnight when someone thought to check. Walked home about 2am…

December 30, 2022

Happy birthday, Drew! Althougth it was too wet to go swimming, it made a nice change to feel well enough to consider it.

Adam headed off to see his mum and take her to the shops. I pootled about the house, then played cards with Lyra, who is now as good at speed as I am – we had a very competitive little tournament. She then got her violin out and played for an hour or so – a most surprising development. It was lovely to hear her play. She was a bit rusty at first, but improved with each song she played.

Doron, Antonia and Oliver (Marni was working) came over for dinner. Nova helped with the preparations. We made Thai sausage rolls and a couple of salads – winter slaw and rocket, feta, dried cranberries and roasted pumpkin, which I did successfully in the airfryer.

It was a nice evening. After the food, we played Articulate then sat talking until they left about 11pm. Played  another round after they left, then cleared up and to bed around midnight.

December 29, 2022

Feeling better this morning – getting an amazing night’s sleep didn’t hurt. According to my FitBit I managed more than nine hours, including two hours of deep sleep. Pretty much unheard of for me…

More energy for doing stuff round the house, which is looking pretty untidy. Ran the hoover round, put on some laundry, that sort of thing. Settled down in the afternoon to watch Tär with Lyra – a great performance by Cate Blanchett, who is tipped for an Oscar.

Lyra’s friend Ava came round for a sleepover. We thought it was scheduled for tomorrow and I hadn’t planned anything for dinner. In the event, they ended up going out to get hair dye, making some gyoza in the airfryer, then spending the evening doing Ava’s hair. Lyra does a lot of her friend’s hairdying…

December 28, 2022

I feel like I’ve gained a little ground on this damn cold, and was well enough for a family outing to the Museum of the Home (formerly the Geffreye Museum, renamed after his connections to the slave trade became more widely known). Actually, Lyra didn’t join us as she’d arranged to go to Westfield with her Norwegian friend Lottie who is in London over Christmas.

The museum has had a significant revamp since my last visit, with mixed results. There are a lot of new exhibits about different facets of home, and living in London which were excellent. The rooms through the ages have been redone, there are less of them, and they’ve lost a lot of their charm. It’s now about the “winter festival” not Christmas.

The new signage is also annoying in places. There’s been a noticeable effort to write text that appeals to young children, which seems misguided. I’d be surprised if a single eight-year-old has bothered to read a word of it. It’s also pretty “right on”, one of the rooms depicts the home of two black lesbians home from a Christmas Eve protest march or something along those lines…

Back home we got stuck into Die Hard. Didn’t make it to the end by the time we had to leave to meet Millie at the Wrestlers for a Christmas drink. The place was full of people we knew from the school, including the owners and their two (grown) kids. Ended up sitting outside, shades of the covid years…

Millie’s life is as eventful as ever – her auntie Ida died this month, and she moved into a new flat. There’s always something going on in her life…

December 27, 2022

Today was the quiet home day in that Boxing Day often is. Carried on working on the Vancouver puzzle, finishing it in the afternoon with lots of help from Adam. Made turkey soup in time for lunch.

I’m still feeling pretty meh. My sinuses are paved shut, the headache is relentless, and I feel very draggy. I haven’t had much in the way of sore throat or coughing. Adam appears to have the same bug but it’s hitting him a bit less.

He felt well enough to go to Rebecca’s Christmas gathering, which I didn’t. I hadn’t got out of my pyjamas all day and wanted to keep it that way. Once he set off, I airfried some brussels sprouts and green beans with the girls, which we had along with turkey sandwiches.

Watched The Silver Linings Playbook, which Netflix has suggested to me on numerous occasions. It’s being removed at the end of the month, and thought I should give it a watch. We all loved it – it’s a great film. 

December 26, 2022

Boxing Day… I got up and did the stock first thing, but it needs to chill, so there won’t be soup until tomorrow.

Adam and I set out pretty early for a walk on Heath, swinging by Jemima’s to feed the cats. This time I discovered Lady Sparkle Gem on the balcony, meowing silently to be let in, but I didn’t have the key. The axolotl had its head stuck in a flower pot, and didn’t move when the blood worms I tipped in drifted slowly down onto its back.

By avoiding main paths on the Heath we saw only thirteen people we knew, and a sing celeb sighting (the comedian Sue Perkins).

Back home I started the Vancouver puzzle, breaking off when the girls surfaced for a round of turkey sandwiches. Very nice, despite the gravy being solidified to the point of being unusable.

Headed over to the Stevens for an early supper. I was a bit dismayed when I saw all their Christmas leftovers arranged for dinner, but it was just different enough from ours. I’ve no idea why they had such heaps of food left. I certainly didn’t overcater this year. Aside from lots of turkey, there was a small amount of red cabbage and some stuffing to go in the sandwiches.

Brought them a pair of teds for the tree, which were a were a big hit. Nova, Lyra and I stayed on after they left, playing a fun card game called Duchy with Thea, Etta, Will and his (recently widowed) mother. Home about 9pm, via pet feeding. Sir Sparkle Gem was absent this time, though happily the axolotl had reversed itself out of that little pot. Glad to see the end of that responsibility – it wasn’t as stressful as the Christmas we had the hedgehog, but it’s easier when I know what to expect from a creature…

Finally connected with Margo and Aaron on facetime, after a couple of days missing our opportunities and had a good visit. Wallbangers and Glass Onion. What a damp squib that was… really mediocre…

December 25, 2022

Christmas Day! Adam and I were awake about 7:30am, and up by 8am. Nova surfaced a bit later and at 9am went down to wake up Lyra. There’s a turn up for the books…

The usual format… stockings together then presents. The girls were pretty pleased with their haul – beauty products (both), books (both) and clothes (both). Nova got a pod coffee machine from Margo and Aaron, which she was thrilled with. 

I’d floated the idea of going to the nativity service at church but the late start put paid to that. We were also invited to two separate gatherings at the Wrestlers, but the timing didn’t work for those either.

This year’s turkey was a bit misshapen – it looked as if someone had given it a kick, which was a bit disturbing. I massaged in back into reasonable shape then got stuffing it. I’d forgotten to buy sausage meat for the crop, so made a second batch of stuffing for that.

Cranberry sauce, braised red cabbage, and prepped the roast potatoes, while Nova made the dressing for the steamed carrot, leeks, and brussels. There was time to make a start on It’s a Wonderful Life before Adam had to leave to collect Beulah.

Put the potatoes on when he returned, cranking the oven temperature after I took the turkey out. The annual gravy trauma, but I got there… We sat down pretty much at 6pm, as planned. Everything was very nice – no duds this year, and I remembered to serve the cranberry sauce. It was great to see Beulah tucking in (she’s lost a lot of weight). She found room for Christmas pudding and eggnog ice cream, managing two portions.

Played a round of our new Articulate afterwards. Beulah was a bit of a chaos agent, but it was still fun. Phone calls with Wade and David, during which we finished watching the film. Beulah headed off in a pre-booked cab at 10pm. Tackled the cleaning up then sat down to listen to A Childs Christmas in Wales then to bed. A good Christmas, all in all…

December 24, 2022

Christmas Eve already… We made our traditional family trip to Borough Market, setting off around 8am. Adam had formed the view that Mrs King no longer sold melton mowbrays, but there she was and we bought three large – two for us, one for R&R.

Next stop, Neals Yard for a cheese tasting-and-buying frenzy. After that, we just mooched around buying whatever caught our fancy – hot juice drinks, rye bread, a stalk of brussels sprouts, port, olives, gherkins, saucisson, more cheese, coffees… A most delightful way to spend the morning.

Stopped in at Rob and Jemima’s to start the pet feeding on the way home. The cats were straightforward, and Jemima had helpfully pre-thawed portions of blood worms for the axolotl. As we were leaving, Lady Sparkle Gem slipped out the front door. The cat flap seemed stuck shut, and we hadn’t discussed whether the cats should be allowed out, so I thought I’d better catch the damn thing.

Managed to corner Lady Sparkle Gem on the green and carry her twisting and wriggling back to the house, but she streaked out again before I could shut the door on her. Lyra managed to nab her and we deposited her well in the centre of the house the second time.

What with one thing and another, I was late making a start on the Christmas puzzle. We had most of it framed up before it was time to go to Pete and Pasc’s for the annual get together. They’d done quite the spread, to which I contributed Christmas baking and we all had a good nosh between opening our gifts.

Christmas pjs – and everyone happy except for Lyra, who didn’t like hers… More puzzling and wall banging while the girls watched Polar Express. Took a break to watch Christmas Carol, where as per usual I dozed through the bit of Christmas present where they visit the Welsh miners. I haven’t seen them in a decade or more…

I was inclined to abandon the puzzle and go to bed, but Nova insisted we power through, and we placed the final piece just before 1am. Stockings and bed.

December 23, 2022

My last day of work… But actually with this wretched cold I’ve been staggering around with – and the girls being home – I’ve managed only a few hours paid work all week.

Finished watching Dr Zhivago. I really enjoyed it, but found the ending a melodramatic, what with Yuri keeling over in the street and dying a few feet behind Lara without her noticing.

Today’s Christmas cards included one surprise – a card from a couple called Paul and Tina, who appeared to live locally, given it was hand-delivered, and also to know us reasonably well. We both drew a complete blank as to who they were. Adam went through school emails and found a couple from the panto with those names, though neither of us could remember them in the slightest. Turns out it was the girls pranking us…

Out to dinner with Richard and Rachel at St John. The girls stayed in to look after the dog and also take receipt of the Christmas grocery order. Made a nice change to escape the Highgate ghetto and encounter a different menu. Shared a couple of amazing Scotch eggs and some padron peppers, after which I had grilled sea bream. Really nice meal and good to catch up with those guys.

December 22, 2022

Still feeling very congested plus I slept appallingly, so decided against swimming again today. I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardise our evening at the theatre.

Adam headed off early to drive Beulah to the GP for another appointment. She went yesterday but forgot her hearing aid, so the doctor told her to return when she had them in. Apparently she could hear everyone at the office perfectly – even through plate glass – aside from the doctor, who mumbles…;-)

I churned the eggnog ice cream, started some wrapping, and did some work for my engineering client. Got my hair cut in the afternoon – shorter than usual, but Becky suggested it and I thought “why not?”

Caught the Tube into town to see Totoro at the Barbican – our Christmas theatre treat. Despite it being the hottest ticket in town, there has been very little publicity, images etc and I didn’t know what to expect. It was the most beautiful, captivating, magical thing I have ever seen staged, and so true to the original. None of the charm was lost, and the woman playing four-year-old May was astonishing. By the end, by cheeks were aching from smiling …

December 21, 2022

Thought I might go swimming this morning and even put my swimsuit on, but by the time I’d cleared away some essential emails and done a few other bits, I reconsidered. I’m still somewhat congested and we have theatre tickets tomorrow evening to see Totoro at the Barbican, which I don’t want to jeopardise. I’d feel pretty silly if I immersed myself in freezing water and made myself sicker.

Started watching Dr Zhivago with Nova over lunch. I think i’m enjoying it more than she is. There are nits to pick – Julie Christie doesn’t look remotely 17 (more like 27), the score is a bit intrusive, and the beginning with the word “Overture” on the screen for a good eight minutes while they played the overture stretched our patience, but I think it’s great.

Japanese curry and Elf for dinner. Got dozy at the end of this one as well. I’m falling into a bad sleep pattern, going to bed too late, waking up too early, then napping at some point during the day (like after lunch when I’m meant to be working). It could be this wretched, endless virus messing with me…

December 20, 2022

Drilling before 8am and piledriving before 9am… ho, ho, ho… I was just getting dressed when the doorbell rang. Went downstairs to find Alex on the doorstep with a bag of Sicilian treats – cannoli, a lemon-orange cake, and a block of nougat and another apology for the disruption.

I think that makes the third peace offering. Their extended family are off to Tenerife for a week to celebrate his dad’s 70th birthday, which sounds nice, and apparently there won’t be any works between Christmas and New Years. He’s not sure when they are planning to stop though – I expect they’ll go up to the 23rd.

The garden plans have changed – instead of three steps up from the extension to the pit, the whole thing will be on one level – ie, a deeper pit…

I’m keen to get back to swimming, but will leave it at least another day with my cold. Instead, I went for a morning walk with Nova – down the private road, up to Kite Hill, back through Swains Lane and Waterlow Park to the village. Picked up some more wrapping paper, mushrooms for tonight’s stroganoff, and made a hair appointment for Thursday.

Adam took Lyra to Enfield late afternoon to have her septum pierced again. I thought she’d quietly gone off it, and that’s why she wasn’t angling to replace it after the first one fell out, but apparently not…

Nova and I watched the Ted Lasso Christmas episode then made the stroganoff in time for their return. Watched Love Actually for our film. I was dozing off by the end – this virus has really zapped my energy – and Adam and I ended up dozing upstairs afterwards until midnight…

December 19, 2022

The last work week before Christmas… not that I feel remotely like working. The cold symptoms have lessened but I am still very low energy. Adam’s cold has stepped up a notch and he decided to work from home rather than spread it round the Tube and office.

Lyra gave herself another nitcomb before heading off to the hairdressers – so strange the school has had an outbreak – we have been almost entirely free from that grief since primary school. She must have done a thorough job as they didn’t send her away in disgrace. Nova into town to meet Shira for lunch, managing to style her Edwardian nightshirt (tucked into a long black skirt, boots, scarf) in a way that looked pretty chic.

I headed over to Jemima’s for coffee to get the details on catsitting for them over Christmas while they go to their beach hut. Turns out they also have an axolotl for me to feed – pellets daily as well as defrosted bloodworms…

Our Christmas tree lights seem to have packed it in. They are the kind where if one bulb is loose, the whole string stops working. Had a go at testing each one in situ before removing them from the tree and testing again, but couldn’t make them work. We have a little cheapie bag of lights that we’ll use instead this year. It’s not quite long enough but works okay with the smaller tree.

Phoned Beulah to thank her for yesterday – she thanked me for not calling on her new iPhone. She’s lost her hearing aid, and there was something wrong with the landline, which produced a dreadful clicking and crackling so it wasn’t much of a visit. Sounds like she’s managed to get a GP appointment for Wednesday to look into the light headness and the leaning.

At 6pm started the Christmas decorating. Unpacked all the house decorations out, arranged the stuff for the tree, assembled and hung the stars and snowflakes, set up the nativity, and did the first elf hidings. When Adam appeared Nova fixed us a round of Guinness shots (Kahlua and Baileys) then we flew at the tree.

I thought we’d have issues getting all the decorations on, but there was ample room. I think they may have shaped this tree a bit, shortening every second tier of branches for a slightly stepped effect. Whatever the reason, it is an excellent tree. Nova’s turn to do the angel, which she was able to reach from the arm of the sofa.

Baron of beef for dinner, followed by the newly decorated Christmas cake and the baking. We were all stuffed and in a sugar coma afterwards. Staggered to the sofa to watch The Snowman. It was a getting late by this point – news and bed.

December 18, 2022

Maybe feeling a bit better…? The relentless headache is finally shifting, though I’m now coughing more and my voice is a bit croaky. Adam is sneezing like crazy, and snored like a buzzsaw in the night, so I’m pretty sure he’s coming down with it as well. He went to play football regardless, which I wouldn’t have done in his position.

Nova is travelling back from Bristol today. It isn’t a strike day, but there were loads of cancellations anyway. Her train was delayed, which looked like a bad sign, but it eventually got underway.

It’s the World Cup final this afternoon – France v Argentina. Adam had to collect Nova from Paddington, but we watched the penalty shootout together. After such a closely fought match, it seems harsh for one side to end up with nothing. I was pleased for Argentina and Messi.

Headed over to Beulah’s at 7:45 with a sackful of Hannukah presents I wrapped this afternoon. Beulah answered the door looking haggard and leaning curiously sideways. She’s still feeling poorly and had considered calling things off. She’s having trouble with dizziness and balance, which could be due to an ear infection, low blood pressure, or her meds perhaps?

At last year’s Hannukah celebration (which we joined via Zoom as Nova had covid), Beulah had somehow lost the menorah, but it has been found again. Lit the candles, sang the song and into gift giving. Marni appeared to love her gloves, Oliver liked his rice cooker, but Beulah wasn’t so keen on her iPhone, which we’d tactically made a joint present from all of us.

Oliver was feeling sentimental, and made a little speech over the delicious homemade mince pies about how much he appreciated all of us. He also stirred a truffle chocolate into his coffee and kept prodding Marni and mucking around with the coffee cakes, to the point I started wondering if he’d imbibed something…

The house was pretty cold – like much of the country Beulah is trying to manage without the world’s most expensive energy. Sat in the “coffee and crumpet room” afterwards, (as the girls have named it), which was pretty chilly. It’s also clearly the cigarette room – the lingering secondhand smoke played havoc with my sinuses, which hadn’t been too bad until then.

Home about 10:30pm. Nova tried on her “Edwardian nightshirt” from Beulah and tried to work out how she might wear it to great hilarity. It’s not a nightgown (definitely shirt length), but it’s quite billowy with sleeves of a strange length and a lot of embroidery.

Beulah had asked Nova back in the autumn if she would like an Edwardian nightshirt, and she did say yes…

December 17, 2022

Woke up in the night, with my right ear completely blocked. It’s full of liquid as well… not sure how that has happened. I gingerly blew my nose, which helped a bit.

Lyra headed off to meet Liz’s new kitten during the day and then out to see the new Avatar film with friends in the evening. It’s a pain with the rail strike, the overground is the best way to travel to northwest London from here.

Took receipt of a Christmas tree – slightly more modest than previous years – and set it up in the stand. It’s just the right size for the space actually. Got the lights in position, but will wait to decorate until Nova arrives.

It is Vince and Danni’s annual carol sing, but I’m not feeling well enough to go. Plus it’s not fair on other people to broadcast my virus like that. Adam headed out about 8pm. I made a pot of tea, fixed a snack and watched When a Woman Ascends the Stairs.

Set in post-war Japan, the film tells the story of a bar hostess who is reaching thirty and facing choices about her life. Though in such a patriarchial and rigid society, “choices” isn’t really the right word.

December 16, 2022

Felt pretty crappy all day… Adam was up early so did Lyra’s breakfast, and she didn’t need lunch as it’s a half day and took the tube, so a soft end to the term.

Had a phone consultation with a nurse from the opthamology clinic for my eye operation in January. We went through my medical history, and some details of the procedure and aftercare. It’s considered minor surgery, but I’m advised to take a few days off work for the initial recovery.

I’d agreed to dogsit for Rachel and Richard so they could attend their friend’s funeral. Luna arrived about 10:30 and hung out with me until 5pm. I spent most of the day on the couch, with her cuddled up beside me. Did very little work aside from email.

Adam took her out to the green once and I did as well. Luna has developed a new “crying wolf” trick, where she feigns needing to go out for a wee/poop, but then showed no interest whatsoever once outside. That got old pretty quick…

We were meant to be going round to Kiran and Birgit’s for dinner this evening to celebrate the acquisition of the field, but Laurence & Madonna have come down with covid, so it’s postponed. Ordered sushi, mixed a batch of manhattans and watched Bad Moms Do Christmas (or something like that). There were a few laughs in it but it’s not on the Christmas watch list…

December 15, 2022

My cold is progressing. I woke in the night congested and sneezing, with an unpleasant tightness in my chest. Fished out the oximeter from my nightstand, which gave me an okay reading. Finn and Allegra left at 5am, but I’d fallen back asleep by then. It’s very cold again today, both inside and outdoors. Perfect condition for rolling out and baking shortbread.

I managed to get the date squares done as well, though down to the wire before I needed to leave for town. Christmas baking – √! While things were baking, I put the finishing touches on the Jx teds. It was tricky to create the logo in so few stitches, but think I got there.

Decided to take tube to Old Street and catch a 55 to Morito. The station is being redeveloped, and it was impossible to find the exit I needed. Ended up emerging somewhere I didn’t recognize at all. By the time I oriented myself, it made sense to just walk.

Nice tapas meal, washed down with a bottle of prosecco, followed by white wine. Food very nice, pretty sure the cauliflower dish is basically the one I make from my new cookbook. I’d brought along a film quiz, which was Adam-Jo vs Helen-Charlie (Alice couldn’t travel down because of the train strike).

Caught the Tube home – masked up as a courtesy to the other travellers, though few others were of the same mindset. Didn’t see more than a dozen mask wearers the whole journey. Covid is on the rise again in London. A handful of friends and colleagues have had it this month. Apparently the flu numbers are terrible as well and it’s hitting hospitals hard.

Made Lyra some fried rice for dinner then settled in to watch The Holiday. The more I see that film, the better I like it. After it ended she wanted to watch About Time, so we did that as well, though I felt increasingly lousy as the evening wore on…

December 14, 2022

My cold symptoms continue to niggle… I really hope they’ll resolve themselves, but Lyra’s been properly bunged up for days, so I expect I’ll go the same route. I’m pretty sure I haven’t had a cold since 2019…

It’s the beauty website Christmas party tonight, and I wanted to get the bulk of the refresh done before travelling in for it. Updated the headers, footer, did a bunch more snagging and it’s pretty much there. Scheduled the social posts for my architect client as well, to take us through to January . Pretty productive day, work wise.

Unfortunately, not so good on the health front… What with the cold and the endless construction racket next door, I had a nasty headache by late afternoon and decided that travelling in for a Christmas party wasn’t a smart play.

Cabbage, cannellini bean and pumpkin soup for dinner – we like our peasant food round here. Lyra fancied mince pies, and headed off to the village. Brooksby’s closed early and Tesco isn’t doing them this year. The horror… Returned with Gu chocolate zillionare pots instead, which made a nice substitute…;-)

Watched Nativity. I love that film – I soft spot for Coventry and the way they cast actual local school kids is what makes it. Lyra and I both boohooing away throughout…

December 13, 2022

Had my regular monthly meeting with my engineering client and followed up with some work for them afterwards – finished the logo slider of clients, posted a news article and sorted an issue with their news template.

Had a little Jx Christmas social on Zoom in the afternoon. We all shared the Christmas carol that best captured our mood at that moment, did a Christmas quiz (including a music round where you had to identify carols in differnet languages, then another round where you had two minutes to style yourself as the girl in the pearl earring from the Vermeer painting – surprisingly good fun…

Took Finn and Allegra out to dinner at Kiplings. There was some confusion round the arrangements. I assumed we’d head out together, but they returned from their day’s outing briefly and left for the restaurant by themselves. We’ve been communicating mainly by Messenger, unlike the old days when we had to actually speak to our house guests face to face.

They are a very nice couple, quite earnest and high minded (at least when they were with us). She’s looking to get onto a masters programme for English, having graduated with her BA from UVic. Finn is interested in plants and spent the summer taking tens of thousands of photos for iNaturalist last summer.

Adam ordered too much food, so we had them pack it up. It will do nicely for Lyra’s lunch tomorrow.

December 12, 2022

We got a pretty decent snowfall overnight. There was no way we could get the car up the hill to drive Lyra to the bus stop, and the Tube was pretty fucked as well. And this is before we have three days of scheduled train strikes (not to mention the nurse strikes and mail strikes).

The builders next door weren’t able to drive in either. But being resourceful Romanian types they parked up somewhere in the village and hiked in with their tools. They had more sense than the Ocado driver who spun out on the hill, hitting two luxury cars on the hill and getting stuck for hours.

Went for a walk in the Woods to enjoy the snowfall before starting work – it was so pretty. Bumped into Dan who was trying to sweep the snow from the road with a big fluffy broom and loaned him my snow shovel.

Finn and Allegra arrived about noon. They had a challenging time getting here with the state of public transport. They are travelling for a month, heading to Spain on Thursday for Christmas with her parents, and then maybe Portugal or Morocco. (I’m a little concerned about how they’ll get to Gatwick for 7am on Thursday, and was relieved to hear he’d taken my advice and booked a cab well in advance._

The building works were at a steady low rattle next door by that point, and while the flat while the warmest part of the house, it was still decidedly nippy. They’ve been sleeping on the living room sofabed in the tiny flat of an online friend they’d never met, so I think our place still represents a step up.

Made a Thai tofu brothy thing using silken tofu for dinner and watched Community with Lyra.

December 11, 2022

Didn’t appreciate having to take a day off work to travel to Derby in December, but was nice to still have a Sunday left. Adam headed off to play football, but didn’t take the car as the road too slippery. I made Lyra and Ellie breakfast in bed, then did some cleaning upstairs, Adam joining in when he got back. Finn (Carolyn’s grandson) is coming to stay in the flat for a few days with his girlfriend.

Went for an icy swim in the pond, which was at 3°C. It had iced up over night, and they broken it up near the wharf and were letting two people in at a time swim for a dip. Felt pretty amazing, exhilirating really. My flask of tea was  welcome after I got changed. Bumped into Pete and Pasc on the way home, who thought we were crazy.

Soup and a toasted bagel for lunch. Warmed up for an hour or so under the electric throw then headed downstairs to clean the flat, which took an hour and a half. Made dinner – roast veg on quinoa with rocket and feta – while Adam interviewed a potential new consultant in Vancouver.

Watched a couple of episodes of Community, followed by a hot bath, then into bed to continue with I May Destroy You. Viceral stuff…

December 10, 2022

Felt surprisingly okay this morning, although if you spread the drinks over the hours spent at the wedding it wasn’t an excessive amount. Opted for the breakfast buffet this time, toasting some bread and fixing myself a bacon sandwich.  At checkout, Adam spoke to the manager and had our breakfast refunded for first day.

Had a little wander round the hotel grounds as it was a beautiful frosty day, with lovely views over the surrounding countryside. Popped in on the brunch event back at the venue, where there were some impressive hangovers on display.

After an uneventful drive home we spent a  couple of hours relaxing before it was time to go to Will and Sara’s for the England. Will was sick in bed, so Chad stepped up and did the cooking, making a lamb orzo stew and mulled wine.

Although England lost, it was a pretty good game. They can hold their heads high going down to the defending champions that way, and actually they could have won it.

Lyra had Ellie over at ours. They’d fixed themselves some dinner and were watching a film in bed when we got home. To bed ourselves…

December 9, 2022

Slept fine, though it isn’t the finest mattress I’ve encountered. Down for breakfast at 9am. Antonia and I both went for the eggs benedict, which was a mistake. I don’t what was up with the muffins, but it was impossible to cut into them and the sauce was tepid. The ham was nice enough, so I had that with a croissant from the buffet bar.

Back upstairs we changed into our day outfits then set out for the Darby Mills wedding venue – a fifteen-minute drive to the outer edge of Derby. It was immediately apparent that the event was meant to be black tie from the get go. According to Adam, it’s a faux pas to wear black tie before 6pm, but these young folk clearly don’t care about such things.

Nearly every man was in black tie, and the women’s outfits ranged from full-on ball gowns, through little black dresses and bandage dresses, to sequinned cocktail dresses and jumpsuits. The guys were okay in their dark suits, and my black bird dress worked, but Antonia who was in a cheerful patchworky dress in shades of brown with a sort of shirt on top felt pretty self-conscious.

The event is to be staged over multiple floors, and minutes after arriving, we trooped up to the third floor for the service. Charlotte wore white satin, and her six bridesmaids were in black floor length gowns. The service was non-religious, with a couple of readings, and a series of vows.

When it was over, we repaired to the ground floor for drinks. I had a few glasses of prosecco (interspersed with glasses of water), and three canapés. Antonia went for the fizzy gin bellini option, which may have been stronger because she was definitely tipsy when we headed back to the hotel to change.

Unfortunately they accelerated the schedule and we ended up missing Simon’s speech though we were back in time for the sitdown meal. The food was pretty good for mass catering – a really nice smoked salmon starter with a dollop of pickled salad, nicely cooked chicken on an unidentifiable carby thing, and sticky toffee pudding for dessert.

Downstairs for dancing, cake cutting and more drinking. Doron and Antonia left pretty soon after dinner but we stayed on until about 10:30pm.

December 8, 2022

It seems to be even colder today, though the temperature is roughly the same. It’s very bright and clear out, which might be the difference. The mayor has issued a cold weather warning for Londoners to take care, keep warm, avoid travel etc. None of which I’m doing, aside from blowing off my swim this morning due to work pressures.

Spent most of the day updating the beauty site and have started publishing the new pages. It’s looking good. Broke off occasionally do a bit of packing or preparation for this evening’s trip to Derby. Finally closed the computer around 6pm and shifted gears.

We are attending a formal wedding in Derby tomorrow that requires two changes of outfit. The dress I borrowed from Antonia is sleeveless and I can’t imagine wearing it in this cold weather. Maybe if I had something to cover it up with, but it’s royal blue satin and I don’t…

Ended up with my bird dress (black, long sleeves, quite thick) for the service bit, and then two options for the evening – either my black velvet/crepe jumpsuit or my pleated black dress. The dress is also quite light, but I have a little shrug thing I can button over it.

The girls have long since nicked all my black tights… Found a pair of fishnetty ones that they missed somehow and a pair of sheers. I’ll wear my long boots if I can get away with it, and tights won’t matter much (and not at all with the jumpsuit).

On the road about 7:30pm. The motorway had been salted, rush hour had passed and we had a pretty uneventful journey, arriving at Makeney Hall Hotel about 10pm. It’s quite a grand place, chosen mainly because we thought it was right for Beulah, but I’m sure we’ll enjoy it. 

Speaking of Beulah, Adam called her from the car to check in. She sounded terribly breathless and reported that she’d fallen. It was hard to hold a conversation – she could barely hear us – but insisted she was okay, and can fall without hurting herself because of doing some diving in her childhood…?

Had a drink in the lounge with Doron and Antonia, who’d arrived before us. Their car heater has packed it in, and they made the journey wrapped in blankets. Left the boys to have another drink, and headed upstairs to find our room. It’s absolutely massive – about the size of the top floor of our house, with a big bathroom. Had a bath then to bed.

December 7, 2022

Cold, cold, cold… No running or swimming for me today. I’ve got a heap of work to do, and we are taking Friday off for Adam’s cousin Charlotte’s wedding.

Mostly worked on the beauty website with little bits and bobs for other clients. I’m still transitioning updating the design, which I’m doing element by element, working through the site each time to ensure that things are manifesting correctly. Reminds me a bit of nitcombing…

Adam was in a tizzy of busy-ness. He’s out at a Christmas thing tonight, and needed to travel with ironed clothes to change into for the evening. He had a full slate of meetings, which he couldn’t do on the tube, so ended up travelling to Whitechapel by taxi and doing them en route. He found time to phone and tell me he’d forgotten his business cards, and could I package them up and hand them to the courier he was sending to collect them.

Beulah phoned to tell me the gifts we’d bought for her to give Lyra had been delivered. She sounds very congested and is still breathless. I’m feeling a bit worried about her – Doron visited yesterday, but not sure if he’s reported back to Adam. Cancelled her hotel room for the wedding – she definitely shouldn’t be attending in her condition.

Dinner with Lyra was baked chilli with a cornbread topping. While the oven was on I took the opportunity to make a batch of cherry slice as well. Caught up on the latest episode of White Lotus then started I May Destroy You, which I’ve heard good things about. I couldn’t really understand what was going on, but will persevere…

December 6, 2022

Still bloody cold, and apparently worse is to come. There is a general cold weather warning across the UK for the next week or so, with snow likely in Scotland and possible anywhere else. Just the thing for an evening road trip to Derby on Thursday night…

Got Lyra off on schedule (bus today). Adam did his Heath walk with Doron, and I walked down for my usual Tuesday morning swim. Coldest one yet – the water temperature is 6.5°C. Stuck with two laps, though if I gets much colder I’ll probably cut back to one.

The Canada geese were still lurking about, though not in the main swimming area this time. The silly buggers were attempting to dabble – they’d submerge their heads, lift their butts in the air, and promptly topple sideways like a toddler learning to do a somersault. It was laugh out loud funny. I don’t know if this typical of Canada geese, or if this pair are unusually fat or ungainly.

Put in a good chunk of time on the beauty website, which is undergoing a design refresh. I updated the body font today, which worked in about 80% of the places is appears, but there were a number of places where it didn’t take, or manifested oddly and I had to go through page by page and check everything.

Did my committee meeting by Zoom, which allowed me to carry on working until the last moment, send off a couple of emails and have an egg on toast while it was going on. Met Chiara and Tim (our former neighbours) at the Gatehouse for a drink – home about 11pm and to bed.

December 5, 2022

Another cold one… We can see our breath in the house…

Lyra two-day painting exam starts today. She’d planned to get up a bit later, take the tube and actually get to school a bit earlier, but that plan didn’t come off and Adam ended up running her to the tube so she wouldn’t be late for school.

He was home in the morning working on a proposal for a big-name client – would be great to get that work. I had a productive few hours, then sort of flagged in the afternoon. Relocated to the sofa and electric throw, and didn’t manage to achieve much after that.

Beulah called wanting to cancel the hotel room we’ve booked her for Charlotte’s wedding this weekend. She’s been ambivalent about attending from the start, and has essayed a couple of reasons for not attending. Actually, at 91 I think you should do whatever the hell you want.

She actually sounded pretty terrible on the phone, and I was concerned about her obvious breathlessness. I wanted Adam or Doron to go over with the oximeter and check her blood oxygen levels, but they are going to leave it until tomorrow. We talked to her a couple more times over the day, and she maybe sounded a bit better. There’s a lot of covid about again, so that would be another thing worth testing…

Made the cauliflower-chickpea piccata again, served over pasta this time. Watched Community with Lyra, and then an episode of The Crown. I was all for going to bed and saving the final episode for another day, but Adam wanted to see it through. He fell asleep after about five minutes and I watched it on my own.

He was convinced this was the last series, but they stopped in such an unlikely place that I did a search and learned that there is to be a sixth and final series at the end of 2023.

December 4, 2022

Pretty damn cold here today… not much above freezing… Had a little burst of housework first thing then Adam and I sat down together to make sure we are in a reasonable place for Hannukah. We’re away this weekend at his cousin Charlotte’s wedding in Derby, and then Hannukah is upon us.

Played tennis with Millie at 3pm. It was cold as fuck and my hands were like ice blocks. You can’t wear gloves and play tennis. Maybe high-end leather sport gloves, but nothing I own is up to the task. Eventually warmed up enough to move easily and make some decent shots, but by then the light was fading…

Came home, fixed myself a late lunch and dove under my heated blanket for a stretch. Ended up dozing off and didn’t feel remotely like going down to Will and Sara’s for the football match when Adam woke me.

It was nice once we got there. (They have underfloor heating for one thing.) Will made veggie chili and the most delicious steamed pear pudding with caramelized pears for dessert. The kind of dish that they swan over on MasterChef.

The match was pretty good too – Senegal started out trying to physically intimidate England, but we were two goals up by half time and the match ended up 3-0. France (current champions) to play next…

Ran myself a bath when we got home. I can’t think of the last time I had a bath – more than a year ago I suspect – and thoroughly enjoyed it. Poor Lyra was still toiling away preparing for her art exam tomorrow. I’m not 100% on this, but I think she has two days to complete a large oil painting under supervised conditions. She’s had a pretty full-on weekend, submitting all her sixth-form applications as well. Year 11 is a bitch of a year, workwise…

December 3, 2022

Went for our regular Saturday swim. Pretty nippy out today and the water slightly gelid as you moved through it. I was surprised it was still 7.5°C – it felt colder. The Canada geese were behaving like obnoxious yahoos, honking at and chasing other birds for no reason, and swimming a little closer to the bathers than they should have. Assholes…

We didn’t have time for breakfast afterwards, as another Haringey planner was coming round to look at the proposed redevelopment site from our garden and bedroom. This guy seemed very much on the residents’ size, but I doubt he’s the decision maker. Managed to drop in a reference to the bats and how they feed against our living room window every night. Light pollution and overlooking are our two major concerns, and maybe the Bat Preservation Society can come to our aid…;-)

Pasc and Pete’s annual Christmas gathering this evening – a permanent fixture in our social calendar for the past couple of decades, aside from the Covid year – reassuringly unchanged in guest list and format. Actually, Pasc had pushed the boat out a bit this year, adding smoked salmon blini to the offerings of mini sausage rolls and crisps. Had a nice evening catching up with people we haven’t seen in ages, and home to bed at midnight.

December 2, 2022

Lyra didn’t go to school until the afternoon to allow the antibiotics more time to work on the conjunctivitis. I should have used the extra time that gave me to fit in a run, but instead I progressed my sourdough sponge and dealt with some urgent emails that had cropped up overnight.

Adam ended up working from home today, which was a bonus. The racket next door was dialled back a notch again – they are apparently continuing to apply the noise and vibration controlling measures. What they aren’t doing is holding off the noisy work until 9am as the contract specifies – once again they started up about 8:15am…>:-(

Beauty site edits and finally started a Jx case study I’ve been failing to get to for weeks. Unfortunately, the project seems to be a bit of a dud. It was one I worked on, where I prepared a report of recommended website improvements, none of which have been done in the months since we delivered it.

We were meant to be going for a birthday dinner at the Bull with Richard and Rachel, but he has tested positive for Covid. I suppose we could have kept the reservation for the two of us, but we opted to stay in. Lyra was at her friend Huxley’s for the evening so we were home alone. Launched the weekend with a negroni, pizza from Fabrizio, and Molly’s Game for movie night. To bed about 11:30pm.

December 1, 2022

Rabbits! And the Christmas countdown begins…

Brought Lyra’s advent calendar in with her breakfast, retrieved the Christmas movie box from the garage, and light the advent candle for the first time. Hannukah is relatively late this year (we’re celebrating on the 18th), so it’s all coming at us more or less at the same time.

Adam’s plane landed on time and got back about 10am, which was nice. He was straight into meetings, and I headed down for my swim, but it’s good to have him home. The water was down to 7.5°C – a new low. A pair of Canada geese were on the water today, the first time I’ve seen them. They brought a different energy than the ducks and heron exhibit – loud, pushy, argumentative. Not very Canadian at all…

Had the barley lentil soup for lunch – such a good recipe – then worked for the afternoon and on until nearly 8pm, as I hadn’t done much in the morning and also had a visit with Wade. Invented a sorted of curried chicken dish, which I served with sautéed spinach and chickpeas, and steamed rice.

After dinner, Adam called Beulah to check in. To my surprise, she told him that she went off to a friend’s house to play bridge today (travelling by bus one way and taxi the other). It sounded like the exact same event she described to me as happening last night.

The first thing out of her mouth when I called yesterday was that she had some friends round for bridge. I said multiple things along the lines of “well I won’t keep you if you have people round”, or “I’ll call tomorrow when you aren’t busy”, none of which she corrected me on. Very odd…