February 2023

February 28, 2023

Adam left early for Sweden – he’ll be back tomorrow evening. Actually it works okay in terms of Lyra’s birthday – she can do things with friends on the day, and we’ll have a family meal tomorrow.

Today’s preparations included: present wrapping (what with the turntable and speakers it makes a pretty impressive stack); baking chocolate wafer biscuits to make a skunk (I think they’ll be okay – I had to buy special black cocoa powder to get that Oreo colouring. They turned out thicker that the ones from the packet but taste just the same). Ran out of time to make a birthday card this year…

The beauty website membership changes have thrown up a couple of additional complications I need to resolve. Turns out you can’t change prices for existing customers. Instead, we’re going to make the annual and monthly memberships last for twelve months, then encourage people to renew. Not sure of the wisdom of that strategy, but there’s no option if they want to be able to increase the rates.

It was a very noisy day next door – I’m getting pretty fucking sick of it. About five minutes after they finally downed tools, the school kids next door launched straight into an annoying music rehearsal. They were practicing, so by definition not ready for an audience, and going over the same bits again and again and again…

Had a long chat with Wade – a nice break after a solitary day. Before I turned in I assembled the skunk – I’m pretty sure that my biscuits will need a bit longer to soften up and schlepped the presents upstairs. To bed about 1am…

February 27, 2023

Started the week with my regular run in the Woods. After I showered, I made myself a  protein shake for breakfast. According to my food tracker, I never get anything like enough protein apparently. I bought a bag of whey protein during my keto phase, most of which is still left which I blitzed up with almond milk, vanilla, ice cubes and sweetener. I was surprised at how pleasant the resulting shake was, and pleased it accounted for half my target protein allowance.

Had a text exchange with David and Wade about birthday money for the kids. There is a spate of birthdays coming up and both Kael and Lyra are turning 16. It makes sense to be on the same page.

It’s crunch week on the UN sustainable farm financing document, and I put in a good chunk of work on it. There have been some complications that have extended the project – missing comments from key reviewers, an updated set of references after I’d already edited the first version, a request to cut 80% from the executive summary, and a plagiarism review that flagged up 37 sections of the document that needed addressing.

Met Adam at St James Park tube for a special meal at the Cinnamon Club, sponsored by the Hardens restaurant guide. The menu:

Awadhi lamb galouti, smoked raita, saffron bread
Pithod – Chickpea and yoghurt gnocchi, tamarind chutney
~
Carpaccio of house-cured Shetland salmon and caramel jhal muri
Sauvignon Blanc Sula Vineyards, Mahārāshtra, India, 2022
~
Clove-smoked Anjou pigeon, pumpkin, peanuts
Carmenère Gran Reserva, Vinedos Calcu, Colchagua, Chile, 2015
~
Char-grilled Obsiblue king prawns, Alleppey curry sauce
Muscatedda, Marabino, Val di Noto, Sicily, 2020
~
Tandoori-spiced Balmoral Estate venison, black stone flower reduction
Shiraz, Sula, Mahārāshtra, India, 2020
~
Warm dark chocolate mousse, chocolate and chilli ice cream
Dows LBV, Douro, Portugal 2013

Sat with a nice enough couple – she was a barrister, he was in airplane finance – as well as a chef with an Italian restaurant behind the Royal Albert Hall. Taxi home, as Adam is off to Stockholm first thing tomorrow.

February 26, 2023

Brunch at Beulah’s with Doron and Antonia this morning. Lyra cried off – she’s still feeling iffy with a stomach thing that started yesterday morning. Bagels, toppings, juice, coffee and grapes for after. Beulah was on good form, and it was nice afternoon. Home again about 3pm.

Worked on the UN doc and also made some changes to the beauty website membership scheme. They are announcing price updates tomorrow, and it is easiest to have everything in place this evening.

No one was hungry for dinner, though Lyra was restored enough to graze a bit. Adam and I watched High Noon – such a perfect film, I love it. To bed about 11pm.

February 25, 2023

Lyra worked a shift at Kalendar this morning – 9 to 2pm. Sounds like it went well, and they have started teaching her how to take orders, Alex told her she already is doing it better than some of the girls they have trained as waitresses.

The Pond was at 6°C for my swim this morning, and and indulged myself by doing two laps. It was a gloriously sunny morning, with the wind lightly fretting the surface of the water and spraying me in the face.

Back home, we fixed ourselves a fry-up then got thinking about our summer holiday. Adam has a vision of taking trains around Europe, sort of like interrailing, but with more money – ie, not sleeping in train stations and parks. We’re thinking eastern Europe, Croatia or Bosnia-Herzegovina. Fun to think about and plan to time it for when Lyra is in Ecuador.

Worked on a draft for the UN on financing sustainable food systems. Interesting stuff, if stultifyingly written. That’s where I come in…;-) Though there’s only so much you can do.

Headed into town to meet Dave and Claudia (who’s visiting from Milan) for dinner at Mildreds. Dave is just back from three weeks backpacking round Morocco and was looking very well. You wouldn’t think that he was 70. The food was good but the acoustics are terrible and we decided to move on someone for another drink and conversation.

All the pubs in central London were crazy busy, so we caught a bus to Camden and went to the Spread Eagle for a pint before heading home to bed.

February 24, 2023

Had a broken night’s sleep, waking from a bad dream with my heart racing at 4am. I’ve had couple of dodgy dreams lately…

The night before last I had to sit down and write an Oxbridge entrance essay under exam conditions. Of course I was utterly unprepared, and even didn’t know anything about the exam conditions. I had the vague idea that it was supposed to be on dreams and illusions in the context of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with relevant quotations. I thought maybe I can just write generally on the topic and quote other things that I already have memorised that could almost be relevant. Happy to wake up from that one…

Did a three mile run in the Woods. It was a chilly morning, but at least the ground was firm underfoot. I prefer that to mud – it can get really slippery and squelchy on those paths at times.

I’d arranged a visit Tate Britain with Lyra to see an exhibition that finishes tomorrow. The plan was to meet Lyra and her friend Ava out front at 4pm. I was just arriving when Lyra texted to say they were running late, having gone to get bubble tea, so we agreed to meet inside. I wandered through the permanent galleries for twenty minutes or so before checking my phone to see how she was progressing. I could see a little dot moving steadily along the Southbank, which meant they’d gone to the Tate Modern instead…

I thought maybe they should just see something there, but as they’d had a recent school outing to Tate Modern she still wanted to join me. I left a message with the person on the door saying what had happened and could they let the girls in when they arrived, and went in without them.

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye is a British artist of Nigerian(?) descent, who does beautiful, mysterious portraits from imagination. Almost all are black people, mostly set against dark backgrounds. There’s a similarity to the figures – one group shot looked like octuplets, maybe it’s meant to be that way. It was a large exhibition, and there wasn’t a lot of time to check out anything else and we missed the café as well…

Adam was out at bookclub – discussing Babel, which he hasn’t read five pages of. He tried to start it on a couple of evenings, but he’d be snoring within a minute. Not a great recommendation… Lyra and I had kimchi udon for dinner, definitely in the “fakeaway “family. Watched Carol, which was good if slightly cold from my point of view. Lyra enjoyed it more than I did.

February 23, 2023

The weather turned very cold again, and I was surprised that the water temperature was still at 6°C. Perhaps the longer days mean it’s going to be a bit warmer from now on? Actually, I’m going to miss the cold and quiet when summer season rolls around. I was formerly a May to September type swimmer, but I could see turning things around and skipping those busy warmer months.

Drafted a case study for half the day, then interviewed my colleague Chris who had delivered the work. I think that approach works better than starting with the interview – I’m up to speed with the project and can ask better questions.

Found time to make a sourdough-based, apple carrot coconut quick bread from Dad’s sourdough cookbook. Having nursed my starter back from the edge of extinction want to use it more regularly to help it gain strength.

Dinner was something called “egg roll in a bowl” – basically stir-fried pork and cabbage seasoned with soy sauce and sriracha – not the kind of thing that even counts as a recipe in my book.

Watched Community with Lyra, then  after she left Adam and I watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Another one of my top ten westerns, and one I’ve been keen to rewatch it since seeing The Fabelmans. I know that John Wayne wasn’t the greatest human being, but I do enjoy his films. Definitely guilty pleasure territory…

February 22, 2023

Adam and Lyra were both out of the house by 8am this morning, which made a nice change. I had plans to get out for a run, but the house intervened. I’m currently nursing my sourdough starter back from the brink of death and it needed some attention, among other things (such as the internet falling over).

It had gone 10am by the time I set out. Not as good a run as late time, but I’m definitely speeding up overall. Unplugged the internet box while I showered and happily it came back ok. The crew next door have stacked a mountain of bricks on top of where our cable runs along the school wall, and we were concerned that it might have damaged our connection. 

Made Moroccan chicken with preserved lemons, green olives and a ton of coriander seeds. Ate with Lyra and watched a Shameless – haven’t done that in ages. Adam was out until bedtime at some work thing…

February 21, 2023

Once again, Lyra was a challenge to wake up. She’s obviously not getting enough sleep, but once kids are past a certain age, imposing a bedtime isn’t realistic. I eventually got her up and out, after which I meditated then went for a swim. They said the water temperature had climbed to 6°C, but I couldn’t detect any change from the weekend. Despite that, I swam a lap and a half instead of getting out after one.

Made a pretty good batch of keto crackers using ground flax seeds, almond flour and the inevitable eggs. I’m not actually following a keto diet these days, but all that watching of carbs has made me more aware of avoiding unnecessary ones – crackers, biscuits, low-quality baked goods etc.

Watch The Blue Dahlia up afternoon. It wasn’t great, but I needed something to drown out the construction noise next door which was pretty intense in the afternoon. Hooked by airpods up to the telly when the sound cancelling on, and kept half an eye on the film as I worked.

It should have been better. Raymond Chandler wrote the script, Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake make a good pairing, but overall it was a confused, flabby mess – especially in comparison to the honed perfection of High Noon.

Cottage pie with a side of peas and edamame from the back of the freezer. Shrove Tuesday pancakes for dessert, courtesy of Lyra. Finished watching The Catch – what a ridiculous pile of tosh that was. At least a second season doesn’t seem likely…

February 20, 2023

It’s Lyra’s first day back to school after half term, but she was almost impossible to get up… >:-( Could have done without that start to my week. Finally shifted her, and set out for a run. It went really well – I recorded my best time in ages.

There was lots to do in the house. I laundered all the bedding I’d changed on the weekend post dog – three large loads. Washing is more of a pain than it is in Canada, what with our miniature washing machine, and need to hang everything up to dry.

Finally got down to client work, though broke off at lunch to watch High Noon. I often watch a film over three or four days, but this is relatively short and so good that I indulged myself and watched it in one sitting.

Chicken piccata for dinner, and to bed not long after 10pm. Adam has the impossible task of reading a daunting tome called Babel by his bookgroup on Friday. Ha! That thing puts him to sleep in about ten seconds. I’m struggling a bit myself with Burnt Sugar it’s fine, but I’m not loving it…

February 19, 2023

Went for a swim in the pond this morning. Saw Luna on the way home – she seems to be back  to her barking self, though in a much slimmer version for the moment. Nova walked down with us, but opted not to go for a  5°C swim. Ate breakfast at  Kalendar afterwards – there were a couple of particularly gormless girls waitering/bussing. It’s extremely hard to imagine Lyra not being way better than both of them.

Drove to Crouch End to collect the turntable for Lyra’s birthday and to drop off our beauty product recycling, which has been building up. Adam and Nova headed over to see Beulah. Apparently she tried to give Adam back her mobile phone, on the grounds that no one is willing to help her learn how to use it…!

Nova headed back to Bristol afterwards, and Lyra, Adam and I drove down to the Bull and Last to have dinner with Mitsuko and Berndt, old friends of ours from StM’s who had a boy in Nova’s class and a daughter the same age as Lyra. They are staying there, so it made sense as a venue, though I wasn’t super keen due to the crazy prices last time. Being a Sunday, they were doing roast dinners which were better value. I opted for fish and chips, and left a lot of the batter.

They are visiting because Nana is applying to attend boarding school for a couple of years, the way her older siblings did. The two girls hadn’t seen each other since they were about five years old, so I was expecting they might be a bit shy with one another at first, but there was something else going on.

They may have had a big row, or she may be struggling with serious anxiety or food issues, but Nana wouldn’t eat or drink anything, sat turned away from us at the table, refused to say a word, and left before the meal was over. It was pretty awkward. Lyra did her best, and her parents said that she was very tired etc, but we were all relieved when the meal ended. It’s a shame, because Mitsuko and Berndt (and Nana I’m sure) are lovely and I was looking forward to seeing them.

February 18, 2023

Got up and out for a run first thing. I’ve ended up missing two runs this week. Although I’ve compensated with dog walks, it’s  not the same. Felt pretty good – I’m still sticking with a half hour of running, but increasing my distance each time. I’m going to do that until can complete a large, medium and small lap of the woods in 30 minutes, after which I’ll extend my route up to  Ally Pally again.

Kate came by to collect her puppy this afternoon, praise be. Weirdly, Lily was really well behaved today. I’ve sort of enjoyed having her at times, but am very happy to see the back of her. Dogs are too damn much work, and it’s not nice for Cleo. Lyra made £240 towards her Ecuador trip though, which is good going.

The minute they’d left, I hoovered the house and changed the beds. Lyra headed straight out to meet Liz at a café, pleased to have some autonomy back. Adam and I caught the tube into town to see the excellent Chris Killip exhibition at the Photographers Gallery before it closes.

Stopped at a place called Maresco afterwards for a glass of wine and a bit to eat. Everything was really good and I’d  happily return for a meal. Nova requested lamb burgers for dinner, which I served with garlic yogurt and a Greek salad. Watched The Banshees of Inisheren again – both Nova and I have seen it, but the other two hadn’t. Such a great film. I really hope Colin Farrell gets the Oscar for it (and Barry Keogh actually) –  brilliant performances.

February 17, 2023

Lyra refused to get up with the dog first thing, and weirdly Adam didn’t bother to take her on his Heath walk with Doron. Liz was sleeping over, so I wasn’t going to argue with Lyra and just did it myself.  She did a poo on the green first thing, which is not her normal routine. I gave her breakfast, and when Lyra still wouldn’t get up I ditched the idea of running and took Lily for a walk on the Heath.

She was quite the little pest, running up to any and all dogs, jumping up on people, and manifesting a weird habit of scraping her side against walls then suddenly darting into the street. There was no way in hell I’m letting her off lead when I walk her.

Lyra was apologetic when she finally surfaced and shifted Lily to her bedroom for the afternoon. I  worked straight through until my meeting with my architecture client. I  haven’t been doing much for them recently, as they’ve had too much project work to focus on the website and marketing.

Made “chip salad” for a treat, and watched the first half of Quadrophenia with Lyra. Kung pao chicken, Hong Kong green beans and rice with The Brady Bunch Movie when Nova arrived home for the weekend. For Brady Bunch aficionados like us, the film is an endless delight of in-jokes – “Tiger? Whatever happened to that dog?”* – and references to the sillier aspects of the series, with cameos from some of the original Bradys. 

* According to Wikipedia, “the original dog that played Tiger died early in the first season. A replacement dog proved problematic, so the producers decided the dog would appear only when essential to the plot. Tiger appeared in about half the episodes in the first season and about half a dozen episodes in the second season. Tiger seemingly vanished without an explanation and was not shown again after “The Impractical Joker” (last episode shown with Tiger) and “What Goes Up” (last episode made with Tiger); however, his kennel remained in the back yard for the entire run of the series.”

February 16, 2023

Hung around waiting for Adam to do his morning meeting then headed down together for a swim, where the water temperature had climbed to 4°C. There were two newbies in the change room – 60-something women (one in a full wetsuit) who’d been hearing about swimming in the Ponds and just had to try it. Wetsuit woman was pretty rotund, and it took three of us to zip her into the wetsuit. Kind of missing the point imho…

Encountered Manon the fox strolling down the path on my way out. She’s a regular visitor and pretty tame. Certainly better looking than the poor mangy creature we saw in the garden last week.

The recruitment work has proved pretty time consuming. We weren’t overwhelmed with top quality applicants, but I’ve managed to pull together a decent long list for both posts. Finally got down to the trauma-informed coaching work have been putting off all week and did a good hour or so on that.

Adam and I took Beulah to the cinema to see The Fabelmans. She was a little unsteady on her feet and I was nervousworried she was going to pitch down the centre aisle when we got up to leave. Other than that, it was a pretty successful outing and the film entertaining enough, though I don’t expect I’ll spend much time reflecting on it.

February 15, 2023

Went round to Wendy’s for coffee. – a friend from Nova’s primary school days. What with the builders quadruple blocking us in, and the hassle of London parking, I decided to walk the two-ish miles. Nice morning for it, and a nice green route, cutting through Queens Wood.

We haven’t seen each other in years, though we used to be quite friendly. One year gave her a set of knitted teds and I don’t think anyone has ever appreciated them more. She texted me last December to say how she always thinks of me when she does the tree and let’s get together.

I think the main reason we lost touch, aside from the kids changing school,  was because she updated her nursing credentials and returned to work. She works half time in the blood cancer clinic at Barts, and it was really interesting to hear about that.

Shopped for Lyra’s birthday present at Audio Gold on the way home – she asked for a turntable. Ended up paying for one, and  putting it aside to collect on the weekend. 

Recruitment work for Jx in the afternoon, reviewing, shortlisting and redacting cvs. There has been an absolute deluge for the project manager post, almost all of whom are Indian engineers. Linkedin makes it too easy to apply…

Adam was out, so I ate dinner with Lyra. She did the cooking, which I appreciated – Greek chicken in the airfryer with Greek salad and yogurt.

The damn dog wee’d on the carpet for no apparent reason, given Lyra had taken her out shortly before. An hour later did it again. I called Rachel for advice, but she had no idea why Lily might be launching a dirty protest. She’s sweet little thing, but what a fucking pest…

Lyra and I watched a film called Mid90s about skateboarding, which we both enjoyed. At bedtime, I had to call Cleo in from outside, where she was lurking in the undergrowth behind the bins. Brought her into the bedroom for a cuddle – she’s been keeping a very low profile this week…

February 14, 2023

Happy Valentines Day! Had our usual heart-shaped toast and Lindt truffles breakfast. Adam managed to carve out a bit of time to eat with us before we all got stuck into our various daily tasks.

I have a ton of work on, and didn’t manage to get outside all day – I hate it when that happens. Didn’t put much thought into food and we ended up having huevos rancheros for dinner, with the last of the truffles for dessert.

Watched Synechode New York, with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, a distinctly weird film. Adam was too distracted by tech issues on his computer to join me…

February 13, 2023

That puppy is running the show around here… She got the girls up at 7:30am, although it’s their half term. Sophie stuck around until almost noon, leaving after a pancake brunch. She seems a nice girl, and is the one who got Lyra out skateboarding the other weekend. Sophie also composes and produces her own music, some of which can be found on Spotify.

Went for a run in the Woods before starting my day – felt pretty good, perhaps for being so well rested. Adam headed off to the office, Lyra went to a cat café with Liz and Huxley, and I had the pleasure of Lily’s company for a few hours. It’s going to be a long week…

February 12, 2023

As ever, I was awake by 6:45am. Not the greatest night’s – I’d woken up a couple of times in the night, finding the room too hot, though I didn’t think to open a window or try to turn off the radiators unfortunately. One thing about our sieve like house, do get to sleep in a well ventilated, cool room.

After breakfast, we went for a walk in the grounds. It was nice to get outside for a bit. Back in time to robe up for our first treatment of the day. When Adam booked it, we thought it sounded like a body wrap type treatment, but it was pretty massage-y – and it didn’t make much sense to have another massage in the afternoon. We weren’t able to cancel, but could swap the massage for something else – a Tibetan head massage for Adam and a manicure for me. Life’s tough…

Made our way to the 25m pool and for a swim, followed by the outdoor jacuzzi, and then lunch. Sauna, cold plunge, then more treatments, culminating in getting pedis together. Tea and cake and it was time to head for home.

Lyra had her friend Sophie over for some hair colouring. It took hours – Sophie has black hair, and has ended up with really professional looking blue highlights. Lyra has a steady line of friends whose hair she colours. She should start charging – she’s certainly good enough.

Watched The Matrix, which neither Adam or I had seen before and both enjoyed.

February 11, 2023

We’re going to Champneys in the afternoon so I decided against swim, though I probably should have gone for a run. Stuff to do around the house and the puppy underfoot, though Lyra is in the driver’s seat for that one.

They’d taken her out for a morning wee, and measured out her breakfast crunchies, which they spread on the floor so she doesn’t eat too quickly and choke. Luna still in hospital with pancreatitis after eating something in the park. It’s be at least a week’s stay – there’s going to be a scary bill for that one.

Honestly, wonder how all those dogs I grew up around in PG lasted a week. They were mostlly Heinz 57s, hung out in the yard all day, walked themselves, ate dinner leftovers or whatever else they found, and all seemed right as rain.

Saw the mankiest fox in the garden today. It must have had mange – most of its body and tail fur was missing, aside from a pompomy bit at the end of the tail, and some leg fur. Looked like one of those fantastic beasts from Dr Suess.

Bumped into our future neighbours Alex and Anna as we were setting off for Champneys in the early afternoon. The men seemed to have lots to talk about but Anna and I struggled for conversation. At one point she said how much she loved how she could hear birdsong around here. Not much chance of hearing birdsong in the week, I said. Their baby looking well after the operations to separate his skull plates.

Champneys is the grand old lady of UK spas. A very different vibe to our previous spa trip two summers ago. Booked in, robed up and set off to check out facilities – hot pools, sauna, steam room, plunge pool – before our first treatment. 

It was meant to be a facial, but their insurance wouldn’t allow them to treat me until six months after surgery, so I ended up with a very nice head and shoulder massage instead.

More spa’ing, then back to our room to get ready for dinner. We hadn’t read the brochure about dinner being smart casual,  our arrival clothes were just about fine. There were people more dressed up, but plenty like us as well. 

There was lots of healthy options to choose from, and a wine list (wasn’t expecting that). Back to the room by 9pm and dozing by 10pm.

February 10, 2023

Not enough sleep… I was still up for running, but when Millie texted suggesting breakfast that sounded like a better offer. Back to Bottle for a filled croissant and coffee.

Headed down to Kate’s for the meeting as the endless construction noise that is now the soundtrack to my life would have made it impossible to do from here. The client seems pretty happy with how the site looks, but the main guy wants to go through all the content again before signing off, after which I’ll make the new pages live.

I found it hard to maintain my work momentum after that. I managed to do some good work on emails, and fixed  and issue with the website footer that I hadn’t noticed until today.

Lily the mini schnauzer puppy arrived for a week’s stay. She’s certainly a lively little thing. She kicked off when her family left, but we quieted her with some kibble. Kate is super careful with Lily’s diet, weighing out food to the gram, and the only treat allowed is a small piece of raw carrot daily.

Lyra and Ellie got back about 5pm and took over on the dog front. We ordered curry and watched Memento – my second viewing in a week. Sparked a lot of discussion afterwards – it’s a good film for that.

February 9, 2023

Rachel cried off swimming this morning, having tested positive for covid. She’s not feeling that bad, just a heavy cold. It flies in face of what we’ve heard anecdotally from friends lately. With that bug people had over Christmas, those who did tests came back negative, though a couple of people kept testing and did get positives eventually. Just hope we don’t pick it up…

The pond was at 2°C again – actually I think I’ll be sorry when the water warms up. There are still plenty of women swimming in the winter, and it’s going to be crazy in the summer. Wild swimming is really having a moment.

My friend Lynne was there, and I caught ride up the hill afterwards. Had enough time to come home and hang up my kit before my meeting with Alicia at Bottle.

Finished my Jx case study draft and sent it off, then focused on the environmental construction website updates in advance of our meeting tomorrow.

February 8, 2023

Did my usual 30 minute run in the Woods, gradually increasing the distance I can cover in that time. I’m going to stick with this approach until I can do a big loop, medium loop and small loop in that about of time. Cold, frosty morning and everything glazed in white.

Working on an interesting case study for Jx – some work they did for the Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg. Didn’t quite manage to ship my draft before I had to down tools to head to the Wrestlers with Rachel and Richard.

They’ve had a tough week – Luna is still in hospital in Hertfordshire with pancreatitis, though she is finally showing some improvement. “Well, at least you’ve got pet insurance, unlike Kate,” I said. Turns out they don’t… and the bill is mounting by more than £500 a day…:-(

Ordered burgers and chips, which were reasonably priced in comparison with the Bull & Last. They don’t have the same restaurant aspirations (definitely a pub that happens to serve food), but still… Home and to bed by 11pm…

February 7, 2023

Walked down to the pond for a swim first thing. The water was 2°C and had that slightly gelid, silky feel…

Got down to work about 11am and put in a few good hours before I ran out of steam. Started watching a film called The Best days of their Lives over lunch. Apparently it won the best picture Oscar in 1946.

The premise seems to be how servicemen found it difficult to adjust to civilian life after WW2, and also how American society didn’t treat them very well. I thought that was something that the experience of Vietnam vets – I hadn’t realised it was more universal. 

Cauliflower sweet potato tacos for dinner, scraping the bottom of the fridge. I’m trying not to order groceries until next week.

February 6, 2023

My run this morning was weirdly slow – I’m not sure why. I slept alright and the ground was okay underfoot. Oh well… managed 2.5 miles in the end.

Put in a reasonable day’s work for a change. Tandoori salmon for dinner. I’m trying to rationalise and use up random food items in the cupboard and freezer, such as a jar of homemade tandoori seasoning I discovered on the top pantry shelf.

I also made kale and potato pakoras in the airfryer to make inroads into some chickpea flour that’s been hanging about for so long I can’t recall buying it…

February 5, 2023

Made a trip to Costco, prompted by the fact we were pretty much out of toilet paper. We’d been over the Christmas holidays, but ended up sharing the paper products with Doron and Antonia. 

I’m always surprised at how rammed Costco is when we visit. Is it always like that? Are there people who shop there every weekend? I’m also dismayed by the number of people who buy flat packs of mini bottles of water. Nearly all the carts leaving the store as we were going in were stacked with them.

Spent a bit of time browsing the middle sectino (normally we just do food) and Adam bought himself tracksuit bottoms, a new sports top and a pack of socks.

We were on our way to Beulah’s when we remembered that we had yet to eat anything. Stopped of for salt beef sandwiches in Temple Fortune en route and ate them on TV trays while we visited.

No need for dinner after that. Fixed some leftovers for Lyra and limited ourselves to a glass of wine and some of the sriracha almonds we picked up at Costco. I don’t anticipate those lasting long…

Heard from Rachel that Luna is in hospital with a serious gastro-intestinal issue. It sounds a lot like what happened to Kate’s dog Olive. That didn’t end well…:-(

February 4, 2023

Started my weekend with a swim in the pond with Rachel – a nice 3.5°C. I’m actually going to be sorry when it starts warming up again. I have got to the point where I really crave the cold water. 

Made myself a salad a Greek salad with crumbled lamb burger stirred through for lunch, which was very nice.  

Adam got back from Somerset in time for our dinner with Will and Sara at the Bull and Last. We met in Highgate Village and walked down the hill together. Their prices have gone through the roof since we last ate there. Aside from bar snacks, starters, and a vegetarian ravioli, there wasn’t a thing on the menu under £30. At least the food is good…

February 3, 2023

I was about to head out for a run when Veronika texted inviting me for a coffee. I haven’t seen her for ages, so changed out of my running kit and met her at the top of the path. Drove to Roni’s and had a half hour or so to catch up before she was due at the high school.

Hung out with Adam for half an hour until he headed off to Somerset with Lawrence to visit the field. They are staying at Ben and Michaela’s overnight, and have arranged a few meetings with a forestry expert, local farmer who currently grazes his sheep on the field, and possibly some local connections of Ben’s? Didn’t enquire too closely…

Nice evening in with Lyra. Ordered pizza and watched Twentieth Century Women, which we both liked it a lot. Set in the late 70s in California, the protagonist was exactly my age and they’d done an excellent job of conjuring up the era. 

February 2, 2023

Lyra woke up with a migraine, which delayed our morning start. She took her medication when she woke and was finally in shape to head into school about 10am. Migraines are the bane of her existence…

Walked down to the ponds with Adam for a morning dip. The water was at 2.5°C, which felt less intense having swum at that temperature a few days ago. The main excitement was some ongoing Canada goose violence. A pair of geese had just attempted to murder a solo goose, attacking it with their beaks and then forcing its head underwater. The surface of the water was scattered with clumps of white down, like enormous cotton balls.

The lifeguards didn’t intervene until the attack ended, then paddled over to the limp goose and raised its head. The injured goose sputtered to life and paddled over to a far corner of the pond to recuperate. We were warned to keep aware of the location of the three geese while we were swimming and if a lifeguard yelled “Duck!” to immediately submerge. Made for a trepidatious swim…

Had a meeting with Brad in Canada about doing some copywriting for their second website, which is focussed specifically on training. Great to see his face – makes me realise that I should Zoom/Facetime people more. 

Carrot, leek and miso soup for dinner, with crackers and cheese and a particularly lame episode of Community. To bed by 11pm.

February 1, 2023

Rabbits! Meditated and went out for a run before I could entertain the idea of putting it off. Sticking with the half hour plan – and managed .2 of a mile more this time. Felt pretty wiped out afterwards, and had a little recovery time on a bench before my cool down walk home.

Showered and got straight to work. Knocked off to have lunch with Lyra. We got into a super interesting discussion about mortality, prompted by the book I’ve started reading – Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. We were talking about how our society tends to death as something to be cured, leading to people ending their lives in unfortunate circumstances – hospitalized, away from family, friends, pets and home, muddled by medicines, expending precious time and energy recuperating from interventions that are unlikely to make a meaningful difference.

Lyra wondered if things are different in cultures that are more accepting of death, such as Latin America with its Day of the Dead, or Japan where you have shrines to your ancestors and rituals and occasions for attending to them. I thought it was a good point. 

Down to Kate’s for a meeting on the soil solidification website that I’m working on again. That project went pear-shaped in the autumn but things are moving forward again. Had to rush back to join a team development session with Jx on purpose, vision and mission, which was really interesting. When the company was smaller I felt a bit awkward taking part in team things – it felt slightly “mom&pop”, but there were maybe ten of us on the call.

Lamb burgers and salad for dinner – a family staple. Started the new season of Community. Adam had a meeting about the Highgate School developments, which have been submitted to the planning office., which some residents are organising to respond/oppose. In bed by 11pm…