Weekly Diary - W/E 26th June 2021

After a weekend up in Yorkshire, this week was all about getting back into our normal routine here in London. It was good to have a break from London, but equally, it was good to get back and get on with our everyday lives, especially after a strange two weeks for me, not being at work.

On Monday, I enjoyed my last day before returning to work, I did a food shop, so that we had all we needed for the week ahead. LB got her first Covid vaccination on Monday too, which was good and she didn't have any side effects, which was even better.

I returned to work on Tuesday and I was pleasantly surprised to find that things weren't altogether too overwhelming. It is taking me a few days to get back up to speed, but I think that by next week it will feel like I've not been away at all.

At home, in between completing online work documentation and learning, I've been trying to catch up with a massive pile of ironing, which is slowly going down. I'm determined to clear it completely by the end of next week and then try to keep on top of it, instead of letting it build up so much.

I've also been continuing with my hand stitched quilt when I get the chance. I'm very near finishing the top of it, which is very exciting. It's probably taken six months or thereabouts in total. I do still need to find some fabric for the backing though, so I may have to put it aside for a while until the right thing comes along. (I don't think I have anything suitable in my stash, as it needs to be king sized width). Possibly a flat sheet or second hand quilt cover might suffice, but I don't own one in the right colour presently, so I will just have to keep a look out for one.

In all, it feels like it has been quite a productive week. The fact that I'm getting anything done in between work days is progress, as I'm usually too tired to do much on my days off. It's probably the result of having had two weeks away from work, it must have done me some good. I think that the physical challenge of working in charity retail is cummulative and if I don't take time off for months on end, it is quite debilitating. I now realise that I need to book my annual leave at regular intervals throughout the year, especially now LB has left education and we can all go away out of season. This year will be the first year that this has really been possible all year round, which is quite exciting. Just a pity about the Covid restrictions, we'll just have to see how they go.

Healthwise, my knee, is still feeling okay, despite going back to work. It's slightly stiff and sore on the days I work, on account of being stood on it all day, but recovers much more quickly on days off and generally stiffens up less on the days I don't work, so that's a good sign. I'm almost feeling like my normal self again and even managed to run to catch a bus the other night, although I did so very carefully.

Looking to next week, I've got a few garden jobs that need doing, more specifically, I need to wash all of the dirty plant pots that we've used this spring. It's a good excuse to get outside on a hot day and catch some sun. I also need to pot on one of my indoor plants to a bigger pot. Small and easily doable jobs, if I can just put my mind to them. I've also got a couple of errands that I need to run locally to tick a couple of things of this month's to do list. To be honest, many things just get carried over from one month to the next at the moment, so I do need to pay more attention to it and actually get some of the things on it done.

Another job will be to harvest some of the fruit from the garden. The gooseberries and blackcurrants are pretty close to being ripe and need to be made into jam. I always quite enjoy the process and the moreso the results.

I hope you've had a good week this week.