Tuesday 2nd May 2023

And so, back to work.

Life has settled back down here in Chez Jelltex, with the cats relaxed again, and Cleo seeing me as her personal bed.

Which is nice.

In this hectic perios, I have a four day week this week, a four day week next week which I will spend in Ireland. The week after that, five days at home before a week off, then June comes and we will be heading to Svalbard.

Its all go.

It is now getting dark again at five in the morning, Jools wanted to be up and about so she could leave for the office early. I checked my phone: quarter past five, so I woke her up and the dance begain again.

Jools was gone by six, and I had an hour to listen to a podcast and try to remember my password for work, without that I would not get on the system. I do remember it, but as soon as I am logged on, the computer tells me I have a long series of updates to install, so I do it straight away, and that takes half an hour, and then I could start work.

As I was so up to date, nothing pressing in the inbox, so I clear that, log some working hours and call up colleagues to see if I had missed any big news when I was away. None really, I was told.

And then to work, preparing for the next series of audits, and in preparation, wondering what box of delights my preparation would reveal.

The cats had gone to bed, the radio played quietly, and outside, the sun rose into a clear blue sky and the chilly morning air warmed up. From the back door, the back garden looked wonderful, the lawnmeadow about to become an actual meadow. And we did that.

Most of the birds have yet to return to the garden from the week-long empty feeders, but I fill them up every day now, and hopefully they'll come back in large numbers.

The day creeps forward, like we've never been away.

Really.

At three, I do go for a walk, up Station Road to the first track and along. Not much new seen, and no butterflies seen either. And the mud that blights this track had dried out just enough so a path could be picked out aong the clods.

I see a couple of dogwalkers, and we swap news, its all nice stuff, to be a part of the community. I'm sure I'm known as "hm with the camera", which is fairly accurate.

Back home to sit in the garden, and to prepare dinner, which would be late as Jools had to pop to Margate for an appointment, meaning I sat surrounded by raw asparagus and butter, ready to be combined in a frying pan for dinner.

Jools got back at seven, I cook and then we eat. And by the time we had washed up and made coffees, it was ten to eight and time for the evening game, Arse v Chelski, which was diverting enough to keep me awake, though not for Jools who went to bed at half eight.