I really enjoy noting down how my day passes and how I fill the minutes of each day. At the off chance of boring everyone to death, I have noted what happened during an ordinary Tuesday. It is a rather lukewarm kind of Tuesday I am afraid!
6:30 am: The alarm clock goes off. My first thought for once is not that of utter hatred for the alarm clock but that of concern for Richard, who has done his back in and is almost immobile. Watching him climb out of bed (over several minutes) was both upsetting and comical. He insists that he is fine. I offer to make coffee but I am not allowed to.
7:05: Dressed and ready for breakfast. Porridge with banana slices, as usual on a weekday. I woke the boys up on my way down, checked the relative cleanliness of their uniforms and asked them to get ready for breakfast club. Alistair pulls his duvet back over his head and pretends I don't exist. Downstair, I notice that the door to my sewing room is closed. This means the cats were either locked in or out. I have a good look around but find no cat poo.
7:30. No sign of James and Alistair. I am shouting up the stairs to get them going. They appear a few minutes later, dressed and teeth cleaned. I pop frozen yogurt pouches in their lunch boxes (prepared by Annie the night before), and hand them to the boys. I forgot the snack and rush upstairs to get it from its hiding place. The boys fill their own water bottles.
7:45. Richard is dressed in a suit, he has to go to a funeral. How he will get there I don't know. He moves like a badly oiled robot but insists on walking the boys to breakfast club and take Jack for his morning constitutional. I question Richard's ability to pick up dog poo as he literally can't bend. Alas, the question is moot because Jack makes a dash for freedom as we bicker. I set off to find him. Jack comes home by himself but it is now too late for a walk. Richard decides to take the car and I stop myself from watching him getting in.
8:10 Teeth cleaned and ready for work. I dash off, reminding Annie to lock the house when she leaves. She is the last to leave today, Sam went to the gym at 7 am (I know, crazy).
8:30 I am at the desk in the office. I am editing recordings from last week. It is not particularly enjoyable to listen to myself.
9:45 I remember a meeting and rush off to a different part of the campus. The meeting is one of the best I had in a long time. Short, efficient and friendly. "Yes of course I am happy to contribute my teaching expertise to your course and why don't we build up on one of the tasks you assign the students earlier in the course?" Music in my ears. I can tell you now in confidence that this is not the normal state of affairs. I bump into an old friend on the way out, she is temping in the department until she starts her MSc. It is always good to meet old friends.
11:00 I am back in the office and continue editing.
12:15 I am thoroughly sick of hearing my own voice and I decide to eat my egg roll and the delicious teeny tiny tomatoes I have for my lunch. My wax wrap serves as a table mat. I read a few blog posts. Yes, I am eating at the desk, spilling egg mayonnaise over my key board.
12:30 Back to editing. I was obviously getting tired on the day I was recording (this is the third presentation in a string of four). When I record, I just keep going, repeating sentences or entire sections as I go along, until I am happy. There is some sighing and some random sentences ('damn that fish van bleeping its horn' and 'not that fat ugly fly again' for example) that need to be edited out. I feel sorry for the students that will have to listen to my lecture. I am more comfortable teaching face to face to be honest but there are no on campus students for this course and I can do it all in my pjs.
13:00 My brain calls for coffee and a handful of those mini teacakes that sit next to the kettle in the office. Coffee is my friend, I love the smell and smooth warmth.
14:25 Time to go home. I pack up and cycle off, at great speed but then I remember that the monkeys are walking home from school, giving me plenty of time. I usually go home, get the the dog and walk to school.
14:50 Jack is delighted to see me. He always is. We sit down for a tummy rub (his tummy) and wait for the young ones to come home. I enjoy the calm before the storm.
15:20 James and Alistair are back and bouncing off the walls with energy. Nothing has happened at school I am told. Alistair returned a partially completed consent form to his football coach, silly sock. I make them a snack of jam on toast and apple (I notice we need to go food shopping, urgently) and then do some homework. I detest homework. I don't always make them do it. I knit while supervising. No dramas today.
15:50 The teenagers return at the same time. I wonder if they maybe walked together. Probably not. Sam tells me that he needs flat black shoes and a white shirt for a job interview at McDonalds. I visualise his collected footwear and conclude that all his shoes are black and flat.
16:15 Homework done, James and Alistair want to go to the playground, without me. I am not arguing, that I have to stay at home and knit. We compare times on our watches. I ask them to be back at 5 pm and slump into an armchair, knitting socks. I let me mind wander freely.
17:00 I get up to cook dinner. The boys return on time but go off to play with the next door neighbour straight away. Well, James is, Alistair wants to have some screen time. Richard hobbles in, clearly not better. He is now immobile and pumped full of strong prescription drugs. I make sausages and mash and corn on the cob.
17:45 We sit down for dinner and catch up on news. There aren't many. I have some good work news but nobody is interested. Richard insists in clearing up the table but can't put things in the dishwasher and I take over.
18:45 Jack and I take James and Alistair to cubs. I am dressed for a run. I signed up for a 5 k race on Halloween and need to get in shape. Jack and I start the ZombiesRun 5k training program, which is fun but the app is going wrong, the timings of walk/run intervals are off but we wing it. It takes about 15 seconds to run from one lamp post to the next.
19:45 Jack and I are back. Jack is exhausted, he only has very short legs. I shower and sit down with my laptop to browse the internet for a while. There is a sale of knit fabrics at Minerva Crafts. I treat myself to a selection of discounted fabrics for next year's t-shirts. Richard is sitting in my favourite chair, which is not normally acceptable but I let it go.
20:35 The boys are dropped off by a friend after cubs and need feeding and watering. They are in bed and asleep by 9pm. Richard is watching the Vuelta on the telly, which bores me tremendously. I plug my earphones into the laptop and start watching 'Big Bang Theory', very light entertainment that makes it easy to concentrate on the heel flap and heel turning of my sock.
22:50 I am going to bed, far too late for an early start the next day but I never learn. The house is so peaceful when the kids are tucked up in bed.
I realise it is Sunday and this post is from Tuesday! Nothing much has happened since, it has been an uneventful week. I have written a post about the dress I sewed for the summer but I am still waiting for an opportunity to take photos. In fact, I have been lazy with the camera and have only got three photos to show you. Our fruit trees are doing well. The plums have attracted two million snails, there is one almost on each plum, which makes me cross. I am pleased to report that Richard's back is much better tonight.
Thanks for stopping by, it is nice to see you here. Have a lovey week dear friends. xx
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