September 2023

September 30, 2023

The weather was meant to be iffy today, but it looked pretty good first thing, so we headed out for a walk after breakfast. Walked up the hill to Port Isaac and then out the far side for a couple of kilometres. Cornish coast walking is always a lot of up and down – steep climbs out of a little inlet, a brief stretch of flat and then a steep descent to the next little inlet.

Bought dressed crab on the way home to make crab sandwiches for lunch. Richard and Rachel made a run to the farm shop to buy and roast and the trimmings. Richard led on the cooking, and I gave him a hand. He didn’t think one roast was enough, so we cooked two. Ate most of the first one and the second will be nice for sandwiches.

It was a pretty mild evening and we sat out on the balcony overlooking the harbour for a couple of hours before bed.

September 29, 2023

We’re off to Cornwall to spend a few days in Port Isaac with Richard and Rachel. What with Cleo’s health issues, the trip was in the balance, but she’s been so well the last couple of days we’ve decided to go ahead.

Leaving Lyra alone in the new house for the first time. I expect she’ll be fine but left a spare key with #9 in case she locks herself out. She got back from school before we left so I was able to show her a few more house things before we went.

Lyra got a part in this year’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire! She’d auditioned for Stanley, although she didn’t think she had any chance of getting it. The play is for year 12/13, and the school has a number of drama scholars among the 60 kids who auditioned. She’s been cast as the nurse – a small part, but she gets to drag Blanche off at the end.

Managed a couple of hours work before I did the packing and got my kombucha bottled as well for the final ferment – I’m making strawberry-basil kombucha this time. Lyra’s going to have to monitor the bottles and stick them in the fridge when they are sufficiently carbonised.

The car arrived home one minute before the taxi. Annoyingly they didn’t do either of the two repairs we’d flagged up – a new rear wiper blade and the trunk latch, which no longer works. Instead, the sent us a report saying they’d discovered those very faults and advising us to rebook to have them done. Unimpressed of N8 again…

Got to Paddington in good time for our 3pm train. We’d planned to take the 2pm, but by the time we went to book it had been cancelled. This meant our train was over full with all those 2pm people. We had seats, but there were folk standing in the aisles and food service was cancelled.

The woman in the next row to us had a terrible, hacking cough and after about five minutes I opted to wear a face mask. Gave one to Adam and offered another to the woman sitting across from me who was covering her face with a pashmina and looking stressed.

She accepted happily, explaining that she has MS and needs to be careful. Not sure why she isn’t travelling with her own face mask in that case, but happy I had spares with me. 

Rachel was waiting at Bodmin Parkway to drive us to Port Isaac, where we’re staying this time. Dropped our bags then headed straight to the pub for dinner – fish and chips and sauvignon blanc. To bed about midnight.

September 28, 2023

The cleaner came at the new time of 8am this morning. Thursday generally isn’t a good day for us, but the early start definitely works better.

The car went in for its annual service today. The agency was late collecting it and I wasn’t much surprised when they weren’t able to return it the same day as agreed.

Cleo seems more herself today. She’s come out of the basket and is sitting around the living room again and doesn’t dart around like she’s being chased. Her eyes are clearer and her fur looks great from all that combing.

Also, the vet called last night with her blood test results. Aside from a slightly elevated level of urea, which isn’t uncommon for her age, everything looks good. We’re to bring her in for another check-up in November to see how she’s doing, but it’s possible she had an illness or an injury and is now recovering.

Made a cinnamon-spiced chicken dish with pilaff and a pomegranate-parsley salad for dinner. Very nice – even dinner party fare. Another issue of The Bear and to bed by 10pm.

September 27, 2023

I was first up to do Lyra’s breakfast and lunch (leftover stirfry), then did house stuff (bins, dishwasher, laundry, baking chocolate zucchini bread) before getting down to work.

I was hoping to get up to the allotment in the afternoon, but the plumber was rescheduled to come after blowing us off tomorrow. He showed up at the end of the allotted window, and spent about five minutes repressurizing the boiler, which should make the taps hotter (we’ve been using only solar thus far) and allow the underfloor heating to work as well.

Tteokbokki for dinner, which made Lyra very happy. She texted a picture of her dinner to Ava, and I’ve agreed I’ll make it for her next time she eats with us. Doron and Antonia popped round to see the house – their first visit. They were very pleased for us and didn’t find the place at all “compact”…😉

September 26, 2023

Up early to sort Lyra’s breakfast and lunch. Travelling down that road again… She says she’s finding it impossible not to sleep through her alarm, so we’re also ensuring she’s awake at 6:45am.

The electrician came round this morning and sorted out some niggles that were bothering us – a kitchen socket that wouldn’t work, the hob lights, under shelf lighting, bedroom light switch on my side etc. We talked about swapping out the multitude of halogen lights for LEDs, which he’s going to quote on. Because of the dimmer switches, it involves changing the transformers as well.

While that was going on, Adam took Cleo to the vet for a blood test. I’ve had to not feed her since 8pm last night, so she wasn’t the happiest of cats. Her appetite has certainly returned though, and she seems more herself, using the litter tray etc.

The vet thinks something is wrong though and is now wondering about her thyroid. We get the results of the test tomorrow… Gave her a full sachet when she got back and a half sachet top up in the afternoon. I even heard her chowing down on some crunchies.

Bits of client work, lunch with Adam on the roof in the sunshine, then back to the computer. Did some food shopping in the early evening but didn’t have anything sorted before Adam headed off to a WoodCouldShould meeting for the evening. Lyra was at Loki’s so I had a stirfry on my own, watched School of Rock, then made a batch of kimchi before calling it a night.

September 25, 2023

Welcome to the working week. Started in on the fitness site logo, which they’d requested some amends to when I received a text from the client saying that something had come up and not to work on the site until further notice.

In the afternoon, she texted again to say that they’d decided not to go ahead with the project after all. She went out of her way to say how much they’d appreciated my support and so on and to send them my invoice, but I still feel a bit down about it.

Chicken thighs with broccoli, onion and chorizo for dinner – just Adam and me, as Lyra was at her friend Annie’s house. Watched the second episode of Top Boy. Apparently this is the last season, and there are only six episodes, so I expect it will be a pretty intense ride.

Started some cabbage for kimchi, which I’ll mix together and start fermenting tomorrow.

September 24, 2023

Woke up with an upset stomach, which is unusual for me. Adam and Lyra both have delicate digestive systems and are always dealing with something, whereas I joke that my system is cast iron. Not today it isn’t…

Felt well enough after a bit to go for a swim in the Pond – a chilly 17.5°C today. Adam was off to the football in the afternoon, and I was going to meet Dave and friends in Stoke Newington, but ended up dozing on the sofa and missed his text.

Watched Mystic Pizza instead, not great but mindless weekend afternoon fare. The young Julia Roberts (possibly her first film?) was pretty awesome, plus a baby-faced Vincent d’Onofrio, and 30 seconds of Matt Damon (almost definitely his first ever film appearance).

Made steak salad for dinner when Adam got back and started watching Top Boy. Lyra had spent the day round Huxley’s watching films, so it was just the two of us for dinner.

September 23, 2023

Mooched around in bed until after 10am – pretty unheard of for us. Jane came round to check out the place, and we ended up going out for coffee and a bagel with her afterwards.

Bumped into Birgit and Sophie in Waitrose. We’d invited them round this evening but they were busy – having other people over for dinner. She ended up inviting us as well, and although I wasn’t that keen I didn’t want her to get the idea we were offended at the late invite and thought it better to accept.

Just time to build an additional bookshelf in Nova’s room and transfer all the extra books from the living room up there before it was time to go. It’s impossible to bring wine to their house, so we picked up some sunflowers and Lindor truffles from the Coop and drove over, intending to leave the car.

Turns out it was quite the gathering they were having – Rob & Karen, Lambros & Paula, Nick & Tessa. Felt a little awkward but it was okay. Lyra texted part way through the evening to say she’d forgotten her keys. We don’t know any of the neighbours well enough to leave keys with them, so she and Loki walked up to collect my set. I met them part of the way down Wolseley Road.

Although I didn’t drink much it seemed better to walk home anyway. It’s no further than when we lived in Highgate Village, just the opposite direction. Up to bed about 1am to discover that kitty had done a big shit on the bedspread (Adam’s side of the bed – she always chooses that side, small mercies etc.) Sorted that out, opened the windows wide and called it a night…

September 22, 2023

Caught a lift with Adam to the Heath where he was meeting Doron for a walk and got a swim in – my second of the week. It was just perfect. The water temperature was 18°C, there was mist rising off the water, the heron was in situ, hardly any other swimmers.

Managed to get back to Swains Lane in time to catch a lift home as well. Otherwise, I’d have probably walked to Archway and then taken the 41.

Kitty is very lethargic. After eating some sachet first thing, she curled up in my knitting basket and didn’t move. She wouldn’t purr when I petted her, and when I lifted her from the basket and carried her to the living room to sit on my lap, she hopped off immediately and trotted back to the basket.

She would eat cat treats and licked some Greek yogurt off a spoon, but I don’t think she’s excreting anything at all. I’m concerned that it’s kidney failure. I called the vet again and made an appointment for a blood test, but the earliest I can get is next Tuesday morning. In the meantime, I carried the basket up to the office and had her beside me while I worked.

Ended up working quite late and ordering pizza for dinner. Watched The Misfits with Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift – what a heartbreaking film…

September 21, 2023

Let Cleo in with us last night. She was a bit of a pest but it felt like it might be her last normal night so I indulged her. Despite the broken sleep, I got up in time to fix Lyra a thermos lunch with the doenjang tofu stew and rice.

Took Cleo to the vet for her 9:30 appointment. It was quite the job wrestling her into the cat carrier, which she clearly remembers from our trip here. Finally managed to squash her in backwards.

We haven’t been the vet in more than ten years, and they’d deleted her record. It’s still the same vet – an eccentric woman about my age, with a strong, unplaceable accent. She thought Cleo looked pretty bright eyed and bushy tailed, and the ride in the car did seem to energise her.

She was weighed, had her heart rate, teeth and temperature checked (she didn’t like that one). Apparently she’s in very good nick for a cat her age, and has been “well looked after”.

However the poor thing is hopping with fleas. What I thought was dirt from her digging and rolling on the patio is a massive flea infestation. Flea infestations can cause anemia and lethargy, though personally I don’t think it’s that. Started a flea treatment and stuffed an appetite stimulant down her throat before relieving me of £74.

I’m to bring her back in a couple of weeks for a blood test. In the meantime I should feed her what she fancies most, ideally strong smelling food, buy a cat comb and hoover the hell out of the house on a daily basis. I know who’s going to be doing the bulk of that…

Dinner out at Bar Esteban with Adam and Lyra for a belated family birthday meal. Excellent food as ever and a super nice evening.

September 20, 2023

Made it downstairs in time to pull together a packed lunch for Lyra before she left at 7:30am. Went back upstairs for kitty and plonked her in front of her food. She nibbled on her crunchies and lapped up some water in a diffident way. No interest in her litter box though.

Put in a bit of time organising the office, getting rid of another box. The second office chair arrived today, so I assembled that. Next step, a second desk.

Contacted the vet in the afternoon and arranged an appointment for Cleo tomorrow morning. She’s not to eat after 8pm so that they can do a blood test if the vet thinks it’s warranted. That shouldn’t be a problem.

Adam was out at his book group this evening so Lyra and I ate lamb burgers, itch and yogurt for dinner over an episode of Shameless. I enjoy it, but it feels like we’ll be watching for years to come.

After Lyra headed upstairs I finished the last episode of Severance, which I kept on with while Adam was away. I’m keen to get going on Top Boy, but he’ll definitely want to watch that together. I was asleep by the time he got in.

September 19, 2023

Back to the grindstone… Actually kitty is my main focus in the morning – she’s not feeling right at all. She seems less stressed and manic – today she’s more lethargic and has no appetite. I was careful to keep our bedroom door closed to avoid a repeat of yesterday’s weefest.

Did some client work, sorting out the navigation filters for this year’s British Beauty Week. It’s fiddly and I’m not sure it’s the best solution, but they want it to work that way.

Finished my book over lunch – it was a good read, and inspired me to make Korean food for dinner. Strolled down to the Asian supermarket for doenjang, enoki mushrooms and dried anchovies to make stock. So different from shopping in Highgate…

I was expecting Lyra for dinner, but she made last-minute plans, heading over to Lily’s after school and then on to Loki’s. He brought her home about 9:30pm, apparently his parents insist on that.

Started series two of The Bear. Good but not great…

September 18, 2023

Happy birthday to me! Coffee in bed from Adam (present to come), earrings and flowers from the girls. Flowers delivered from Wade, and Pasc round with a bunch of sunflowers.

It was shaping up to be a lovely day until I looked outside to see that Cleo had dug up all the potted plants, flinging dirt everywhere. She is behaving like she has a UTI, returning to the pots manically again and again.

I covered them up as best I could and cleaned up the dirt and mess. Actually, the pot thing started a couple of days ago, but I wasn’t certain Cleo was the culprit. Thinking she might prefer to do her business outside, we moved the litter tray to the patio yesterday.

This was a mistake, as heavy rain overnight turned the litter to sludge. I cleaned that up as well and trooped off the the grocery store for fresh litter and redid the tray. I went upstairs to catch Cleo in the act of weeing on our bed…

Something’s not right with her, and I’m a bit concerned. After changing the bed and washing the sheets, I decided to take the day off. Spent a couple of hours reading Crying in H Mart.

Grabbed a quick lunch with Adam at a local Vietnamese place. Lyra had Loki and Ava round after school, and the little sweetie gave me a Japanese novel. She is such a lovely kid.

Nachos for dinner with the kids then off to the theatre. Adam had booked tickets to The Effect as well but managed to swap them for a show about Gandhi and his assassin. Despite going bus/tube/bus we got to the Southbank in no time.

Our seats were excellent and the play super engaging. What a good birthday (aside from Cleo’s contributions)!

September 17, 2023

Went for a swim in the pond this morning. While the weather is getting cooler, the water is still pretty warm. I need to start going more regularly to ensure I can deal with the lower temperatures. They say you need to do it at least twice a week, and three times would be better.

We parked at the top of the private road and walked our usual route down and back again. The derelict house I’ve passed for years and wondered about was unexpectedly open and couldn’t resist sticking my head through the door for a peek.

Swung by 23B to collect a couple of keys we’d left in the doors, then dropped an envelope at the lawyers in the high street. I was surprisingly unmoved by the whole experience.

Back home, we grabbed a piece of toast then headed off to IKEA. Did some desk shopping, as well as a couple of other things we’re on the lookout for.

Popped round to see Beulah for coffee on the way home and had a nice visit. She insisted on paying for the IKEA purchases as a combination belated anniversary present and housewarming, which was generous of her.

Lyra was out on an interesting babysitting gig. The same woman who paid her to entertain her hamster with classical music, has engaged her to take her fourteen-year-old son to some starry, private West End theatre party. Nice work if you can get it… Leftovers for dinner.

September 16, 2023

Launched our final assault on Kingsley Place today. It was a three-stage process: stage one –loading up the remaining bits of furniture and selling Adam’s old desk to a Indian exchange student for £20. Drove to the furniture to the tip together, swinging by the house for the second bedside table, which I had to hold on my lap. They recycle furniture that’s usable, so it’s our best option at this point.

Stage two – back at KP, Adam headed to the charity shops with the remaining housewares, while I cleaned the ground floor.

Stage three – swing by the allotment with my gardening tools and the strimmer (which surprising still works) and bringing the last few odds and ends to Chimes. Adam bitched about it but we can carry on freecycling from here, or taking things to charity shops or whatever. For such an environmentalist, he’s way more inclined than I am to throw things “away” (wherever “away” is).

Planned to have showers, but R&R arrived before we had a chance. They were loaded up with beer and wine. Headed to the roof terrace for a drink, and sat enjoying the warm evening. Fired up the little fridge to have chilled drinks up there (I need to get some kind of rooftop kitchen sorted).

Ordered pizzas through Deliveroo. I always have the worst luck with them. Instead of three pizzas and one garlic bread, the driver eventually turned up with two pizzas and two garlic breads, 40 minutes later than promised. Unimpressed of N8…

They headed off about 10:30pm. Tried to watch our final episode of Kominsky Method but both conked out immediately.

September 15, 2023

Adam had said he’d spend some time round the house and help a bit as we’ve got Will and Sara coming over this evening, but he bailed on that. Got stuck into computer work before 8am, then left a couple of hours later not having done a thing…

Made the syrup for the sorbet, did the shopping after the cleaner’s arrival and before the plumber came, and managed some client work as well – we’ve got sign-off on the fitness site 😊

Dinner required a couple of trips for groceries, which at least is very convenient now. As well as the sorbet, I made oven roasted hake and peppers with a parsley-based dressing, slow-cooked garlic courgettes, bulghur wheat pilaf, and a salad of tomatoes, chickpeas, olives and steamed potatoes.

They arrived before 8pm and were very complimentary about the house and how much we’ve sorted already. Nice to get that feedback after the Beulah visit. Adam also seems very frustrated with my lack of sorting everything out.

The food went down really well and it was a nice evening. Such a warm night, we had the door fully open to the garden all evening.

September 14, 2023

Up at 6:45am with the alarm. Gave Lyra a wake-up call this morning, which she was pretty grumpy about. Meditated, did my Spanish and the laundry etc. Seems to be lots of stuff to do every morning – I expect it was the same at the old place, I was just more used to it.

Walked to the allotment – slightly less circuitously than last time. Did some picking, weeding and watering, and left some greenhouse supplies.

On the way back I stopped to buy some limes to make lime sorbet. The grocer had single limes for 35p, or five for £1. The recipe called for six, which he rang in at £1.35. I challenged him, saying it should be £1.20, but he insisted that the bargain rate was only for groups of five limes and could not see my point of view. So I bought the five limes and picked up another one somewhere else.

Progressed my fitness site, refining the home page design further. I think we’re finally closing in on sign-off. Lyra was over at Huxley’s for the evening and Adam not home until 11pm, so I was on my own for dinner. Finished the Thai curry and watched an episode of Severance. I’m enjoying it…

September 13, 2023

Made sure Lyra was awake by 6:45am. For some reason, after all the outfit stress yesterday, apparently today it was fine to throw on a pair of sweatpants…

Decided to get a walk in before starting work and bit of a little more than I intended. Made my way to Ally Pally (don’t think I found the most direct route), then circumnavigated the grounds more or less. Much bigger than I’d realised – usually confined ourselves to the upper heights on previous visits, aside from the little field I run around sometimes and the bit where the farmers market is.

Home via the high street where I bought a plant pot tray, and a squash for tonight’s Thai curry. Long chat with Nova over lunch, then did some work sorting slides before getting down to client work. I’ve bought a little light box, thinking that it and a magnifying glass will be the quickest way to review slides that are already in plastic sleeves.

Produced a v2 of the fitness home page that I think is pretty strong and sent it off. Squash and runner bean red Thai curry for dinner. I thought it was awesome, but apparently Lyra doesn’t like squash. I did not know that but am pretty sure I didn’t like squash much either at her age.

Watched an episode of Shameless together, then had a scratchy conversation with Adam in Amsterdam, who gets home late tomorrow evening and then is out Friday at some kind of business event with his friend Charlotte. Lights out by 11pm – makes a nice change.

September 12, 2023

Lyra woke up late for school this morning. She had lots of time, but with it being early days she wants to put extra time into her appearance. She was ratty with me and not at all appreciative of my efforts to help – outfit suggestions, making her breakfast, packing her lunch etc – but texted later to apologise and managed to arrive on time anyway.

First meeting with my engineering client after the long summer break, so did some prep for that. Need to churn out a bunch of news stories and project pages for them in the coming weeks.

Took a break at lunch to head down the high street, dropping a bag off at a charity shop and buying groceries. Made a blackberry oat tray bake with the berries from the field and gave Beulah a call while I ate a late lunch. She seemed very pleased to hear from me, and we didn’t allude to the rotten visit last week. I’m pretty much over it, though not keen to have her round again any time soon.

Lyra brought Lily home from school. I thought Lily was planning to transfer to Camden School for Girls but she’s still at Marylebone. She joined us for dinner – watermelon feta salad with grilled chicken. They seem so comfortable together – you can’t replace the friends you’ve known since you were babies.

Watched an episode of Severance and in bed by 11pm.

September 11, 2023

It’s a little cooler today, thank heavens. More like 23°C than 33°C. Adam was up and off to Amsterdam before 5am. He’s staying until Thursday night to attend a conference and have some meetings. My friend Aggie offered us her place to stay, and it would have been lovely to come along but I don’t think the timing is right with Lyra starting sixth form, living in a house she’s still getting used to – not to mention all the work that seems to have piled up.

Put in a good stint on the fitness website, sending them a draft site map, revised style tile and wireframe for the home page, plus a schedule of work with dates. I’ve got another deliverable deadline tomorrow, but a least a couple of balls are now in their court.

Dinner was slow-cooked garlic courgettes with pilaf and seasoned yogurt. We’ve eaten that dish quite a bit this summer but am still enjoying it. Would be a good one for tenmorebites, if I ever find time to update that site.

Went to the cinema with Lyra to see Past Lives, which everyone has been raving about. I wasn’t completely convinced until the last half hour when the tension built to something incredible. The two main actors had the most amazing chemistry. Lyra missed all that – she conked out halfway through and proved impossible to wake.

September 10, 2023

Another scorcher. Finally got down to the allotment, where there were berries, courgettes and runner beans to pick, two tomatoes (finally…) and the last apple.

Met Millie in the Woods and we walked back to Crouch End together to show her the house. This was more the reaction I’m hoping for from people. She loved it, raved about the views, thinks the green walls are brilliant etc.

Out for brunch with Lyra at Beam, then a bit of shopping before returning home. Adam got back from the field around the time she was heading out with Loki to see a band at the Garage (Codeine).

Made chorizo sandwiches for dinner and watched You Hurt My Feelings – entertaining but a big step removed from last night’s cinema.

September 9, 2023

Did some morning gardening, cleaning and weeding the pots, and moved a few to the front of the house to break up the starkness. Started another batch of kombucha as well. It should ferment pretty quickly in this weather.

Got down to client work mid-afternoon and put in a few hours on the fitness website before it was time to go to the cinema. Lyra made gyoza for the four of us – her, me, Ava and Loki – and ate those before making the three-minute journey across the road to the cinema.

We saw Tokyo Story by Ozu. Like all his films, it starts very slowly then draws you in and it becomes increasingly engaging until it’s the whole world. Poignant, sad and beautifully filmed, I had sympathy for all the characters, but especially the aged parents that none of their children have time for in their busy Tokyo lives. I was in tears at the end.

The kids were straight off to a party at Max’s house. We definitely don’t want a repeat of Max’s last party – but apparently Lyra isn’t drinking at the moment…

Waited up until she got home at 11:30 and then to bed.

September 8, 2023

Still feeling upset about yesterday evening – Beulah really gave quite the performance. Adam went for his walk with Doron, who says that their mum doesn’t realise how rude she’s being. I don’t agree – I think is angry with Adam (or both of us?) and was deliberately mean.

We’ve changed to a new GP practice and nominated pharmacy – Boots in the high street. What a different experience to Highgate. The prescription was available for collection two days after it was requested, the pharmacist was pleasant and professional, the order was complete and the icing on the cake? He told me about the menopause prepayment certificate that means you pay one prescription fee and are then covered for a year. I applied for it on the spot.

We’ve inherited cleaners, who came for their first visit this morning. We have the wrong mop, wrong cloths and wrong hoover. Wrong, wrong, wrong… They are very nice pair of Albanian women (Gina and Bella) who I expect I’ll get on well with once I sort out our inadequate cleaning products.

I’m feeling overwhelmed with the Irish fitness project, and a meeting later in the afternoon was stressing me out. Adam helped me draft a schedule of deliverables before heading off to the field for the weekend.

In the event, the meeting went fine, and was reassuring for everyone. I’m going to work this weekend to ensure I can send them some stuff on Monday.

Lyra was over at Loki’s this evening, meeting his famous dad and new kitten. Did some grocery shopping and fixed dinner – Caesar salad with a Cajun chicken breast, and a broccoli salad with dried cranberries and feta cheese. Watched Women Talking, which I thought was great.

September 7, 2023

Went for a morning swim in the ponds – my first visit since Copenhagen. I’ve just been too damn busy with the move. Headed up to the house afterwards to grab the rocking chair and take it to an auction house in Southgate.

Adam made a huge palaver of getting home afterwards. His obsession with finding cut throughs bit him in the bum and we spent about 20 minutes lost in the side streets and dead ends of Bounds Green.

Had Beulah for dinner. We were both working so we told her it would be a simple, weekday meal and I was true to me word. We had veggie fritters, tabbouleh, hummus, olives, chopped salad and pittas.

Adam was late picking her up, due to an issue in our little street. A mentally ill woman was lying at the entrance to our street and refusing to move. It took three hours, five police and an ambulance before they succeeded in shifting her, and the drama was still unfolding when Beulah arrived.

Not an auspicious start to her visit. She came through the front door and proceeded to make nasty remarks about the house. I was gobsmacked and didn’t know what to say. I was going to give her a tour but abandoned that idea and went straight into the serving the food.

Beulah clearly not happy with that either and didn’t say a word about her meal. When Adam brought out the baklava he’d bought for dessert announced that she didn’t like baklava. News to me, as I’ve seen her eat it on multiple occasions at the Durum.

A sampling of her remarks on the house: “it’s very compact, very compact”, “Is that the whole garden?”, “Where did all those plants come from?”, “Oh well, it would be so empty without them”. “That wall colour is very dark and will be terribly gloomy in the winter.” “Why do you have so many books? Do you ever read at them?” “Oh the kitchen is right here. Hmmm. It’s adequate.” “You’ll need to put rugs on this floor before winter – it will be terribly cold.”

She’d brought a leaflet along for a luxury care home that costs £2500/week. “You won’t need to worry about inheriting anything if I decide to move there!” Last week shared an article with us about how for the first time in decades it is now cheaper to rent than to buy.

Adam showed her the rest of the place after dinner while I did the dishes. “Oh, you’re going to deign to show me the rest of the place?” I couldn’t hear her remarks, but he seemed to be doing a lot of explaining and justifying.

I expect it’ll be funny in time, but I was pretty upset by her behaviour…

September 6, 2023

I’m having an issue with my personal bank account that has taken ages to sort out. It turned out to be a standard locking out after too many wrong password attempts, or at least that’s what they told me.

I’m not convinced – I didn’t make any password attempts (though I guess someone trying to hack me could have?) and the error messages didn’t say that was the problem either.

I don’t need this extra grief… I also need to migrate away from my blueyonder email address in a matter of weeks. Given that it’s been my personal email address for 25 years, and is intertwined with every aspect of my life, that is plenty to be getting on with.

September 5, 2023

Worked in the morning and did my invoicing such as it is – August was a pretty dismal month, earning wise.

Took Lyra clothes shopping in the afternoon. Caught the bus to Finsbury Park and then took the Victoria Line to Oxford Street, which was pretty efficient.

Bought jeans, a few teeshirts, a long skirt, strappy dress, socks, underwear and toiletries. She no longer wears uniform to school and was pretty keen to get some new things before classes started.

Adam headed over to 23B again this evening. It went better this time, with people getting into the spirit and taking extra things. There’s not much left to dispose of now.

Lyra and I finished watching Stalker. I thought it was pretty good, but I didn’t love it and obviously am not cultured enough to consider it 29^th on my list of all-time favourite films like the BFI does.

September 4, 2023

Headed over to 23B for 9am to hand over the wine rack, filing cabinet and television to various people. Shifted all the stuff I’d organised that we want to keep from the greenhouse – some for the field, some for the allotment, some for the new place – then headed back to Crouch End.

Something is up with my mobile phone, which is annoying. It doesn’t always ring and is randomly adding extra digits to numbers I’ve called for years. Eventually worked out that it was set on “do not disturb”, which I took off. Not sure what the extra digit thing is about…

Loki came round for dinner. We ate at the dining room with the back wall opened out, which was pretty nice. I made a vermicelli noodle dish, sort of like Singapore rice noodles but without the curry. I thought it was good and Loki was complementary but the other two were harsher critics.

Afterwards Adam went to 23B for this evening’s freecycling. He was pretty frustrated by people saying they were definitely coming for something and then not bothering to show when someone else who did turn up wanted the item.

Watched the first half of Stalker with Lyra. Apparently it’s Loki’s favourite film – interesting enough, but it definitely won’t become mine…

September 3, 2023

Back to 23B for a spot of freecycling etc. Managed to rehome a bag of fancy kitty litter that Cleo turned her ass up at. It’s pretty cool the way you and your things can find people and new homes. Still, I’ll be glad when this phase of the moving project is behind us…

Made a chicken chorizo cauliflower thing for dinner – pretty good – and watched a good episode of Black Mirror with Lyra.

September 2, 2023

I thought our guests were leaving at 7:30am, but when I got up at 7:15 to see them off, it turns out the cab had come at 7am. Oh well, ‘til next time…

Headed over for the garage sale at 23B to try to shift the remaining items we haven’t moved or taken to a charity shop. Adam took the lead on that while I organised the greenhouse. Lots to do out there…

The sale itself was a damp squib. A couple of neighbours came by, as well as an Iranian refugee (recently arrived) who filled a large suitcase with things we gave her for free.

Headed up to the village to grab a sandwich, then photographed stuff and started sticking it on Freecycle. That got some traction, but it back to managing lists of potential claimants and individual pick-up times. There’s something satisfying about getting things to where they are wanted though.

Home about 8pm. Leftovers for dinner and another episode of Severance.

September 1, 2023

Remembered to say rabbits always makes me happy.

My main work achievement today was to finished the Mackay case study, which has been dragging on for ages. Nice to hit a milestone on a Friday as well.

Into the West End with Lyra and Adam for an evening out. Dinner at Wahaca with Shenda and Rosie, then on to the National to see The Effect. The actress from Bones and All was in it and a guy from I May Destroy You. Shenda seen a production in Canada, which was also good but very different. She’s pretty sure there were changes to the script.