Thursday 18th January 2018

This will be a Brexit free day in The Outside of the Asylum, you'll be glad to know.

Another day working from home, and a grand day outside.

Oh well. And there would no football to divert me in the evening, just as well really, as I had a dreadful night's sleep and woke up feeling like I barely slept. Outside a gale was blowing, roads in town were blocked, but it seemed fine for Jools to get to work. For me the commute from one chair to another seemed to be trouble-free. The gale did mean putting out the bins was an adventure, especially putting the paper out, but I sorted that out, so could go back inside for more coffee and breakfast.

Meetings, phone calls and more meetings. As usual, each day is pretty much the same as the previous, many times with the same issues. Which is not nice.

Outside clouds rushed from the west, being blown along by the storm, but it blew itself out by lunchtime, meaning I could go to the shop. Again. I decided to make the baked pasta pie thing from the Rick Stein book, and really needed carrots and some hard cheese; the latter a long shot in the village shop, but I live in hope.

Just a quick walk down Station Road, past the new house and up the other side. My back was complaining, as is usual this week, so bad I could hardly walk by the time I got to the top, but I made it. They had carrots, and some grated cheese, so that was good.

No trouble going down the hill, but a struggle up the other side back to the end of our road. I check the spring flowers at the end, still none out, but won't be long mind.

And I manage to get a session in on the cross trainer now that the ip pod is recharged. And I almost enjoy it, my legs pumping in time with the beat of Shoot to Thrill.

Inside, between work, I make a batch of tomato sauce, brown the meat and add the vegetables, then simmer for an hour with the sauce, red wine and seasoning added. Then an hour before Jools was due back, I cook the pasta, mix it with the ragu, sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs and the cheese. And let it cook.

And it was fabulous I have to say. And it made enough to have it again over the weekend, and another pie put in the freezer uncooked to have another time.

But we are both pooped, so after a quiet evening with the radio on, we go to bed before 9 and I am gone to the land of nod.