household

Happy Memory

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I was having a brief online chat with my daughter this evening, where she was recounting a work drama with her usual dry wit – and she mentioned how her hope for the summer is to be able to drag her boyfriend to Thorpe Park.

Long-time readers and family friends will of course recall our many visits there over the years, supported by Merlin Passes and a love of being flung around complex rollercoasters. She then ruminate that now she’s earning full-time she has every intention of finishing the day loaded down with merchandise.

Pretty much simultaneously we then opined that a return to Alton Towers should happen again, and with that came memories of our staying there for the weekend of her 16th birthday – which still ranks as one of our favourite memories ever

We hadn’t told her we were going there, and it was late on a Friday when we got there, and I’ll never forget the look on her face as we arrived, or when we got to our room to find a cake and a Teddy bear waiting for her.

It was me, Lady M, and the Charleesi, staying on-site and just making the absolute most of absolutely everything. From food to early access on each day I think we hit nearly every ride several times and had glorious sunshine the whole weekend.

Even just writing these words has put a smile on my face – a wonderful antidote to the discomfort of the last 24 hours or so

Unwell Day

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I’ve mostly been in bed, or on the loo today. Something I ate yesterday really disagreed with me and it has not been pleasant.

On the plus side Lady M had her post-surgery checkup and they were very very pleased with her healing and improvement so that was great to hear.

I’m finally getting back to normal, so back to work in the morning

Proof of life

Quiet Day, New Tshirt

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My body decided that today was going to be one of largely sleeping on the sofa – I suspect as a reaction to the stresses of last week and the adrenaline of the mostly ad-libbed game session last night.

The stresses were also largely alleviated by it being payday – so I may have treated myself to some new ultrafine pigment ink pens – but that’s very by-the-by.

Seems appropriate

One of the bright points though was a delivery of a new tshirt bought for me by myr s, so I’ve been very happily wearing that all afternoon. I’m a simple soul, doesn’t take much to keep me happy.

All The Geekery

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So, Lady M and I have ended our Friday by watching Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s first episode, followed by the Snyder Cut – one after the other. Safe to say we’ve been happy little geeks.

I’m not spoilering anything for anyone. I am recommending both unreservedly as very different beasts. The former is mainstream Marvel to its core, and feels like a Captain America film (appropriately). The latter is heartfelt and indulgent, and epic in scale while providing some proper depth.

So we’ve retired to bed to watch some Critical Role. Because we’re geeks.

I had intended to get up and buy some pastries for breakfast in the morning before writing for the game, but I’ve been reminded that tomorrow is Saturday, not Sunday, and so I’ll need to go to work instead.

Oh well. At least the worst of the side effects from the jab seem to be fading.

Just Wholesome Things

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I’ve been pottering around this morning trying to find various parcels that couldn’t be delivered to us this week – with a roughly fifty percent success rate – and dropping in to one of my libraries to catch up with some newer staff I’ve not seen in a while.

If that all sounds exhausting, well maybe a bit of an exertion was involved, but I’ve since heard back from royal mail that they’ve found the last of the missing items, and have had another thing delivered since then so I’m letting go of the low-grade grumpiness and settling with a cuppa.

I’ve just had a notification that my present for my mum for mother’s day has been delivered, the sun is sort of out, and in the carpark outside my kitchen window a guy is teaching his girlfriend how to use a skateboard, and they are lots of grins – it’s very sweet.

Back to Work Tomorrow

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I’ve enjoyed having a quiet day, left broadly to my own devices, while Lady M plunged back to work. Every now and then I heard fragments of new meetings, each dominated by how well she looks.

My work week restarts tomorrow afternoon for a short shift, so it’s a gentle ease back in – or that’s the theory anyway.

Today has been spent drawing, reading, and creating a new map that I’ve uploaded this afternoon. Games and Gaming has now been retitled as Roleplay Games in the menu as its a more focused description of what is there.

A new map appears!

All very civilised…

Murphy’s Law Day

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I knew today was going to be a pain when I got up and couldn’t put a t-shirt on properly, put both legs into one trouser leg, and promptly dropped the first thing I tried to pick up.

It hasn’t disappointed. Anything physical today has been blighted by clumsiness, causing more frustration that has led to haste that has led to more things either dropped or seeming to adopt a “sod you” recalcitrance designed to drive me further up the wall.

In the end this led to me having to climb into the communal bins to gather up the contents of bin liners that had split and spilled everywhere. So I’ve gone and had a lie down on our new mattress.

Tomorrow is my birthday, its going to be much better.

Still Tidying

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I’ve managed to get the general mess and piles of things to be recycled vs thrown out down to more manageable levels today: specifically near enough that its now needing me to set a pace to continue it rather than say “that’ll do”

Whenever I weaken I look at how much better the corner I started with is, and do some more. My reward has been to then let myself do some more drawing, or to do some prep for Sunday.

Not much more to do

Cathartic Clearout

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I bought the first piece of new furniture for our flat since we finalised buying it: a standard lamp with shelving. It arrived today and I spent a quick twenty minutes or so assembling it – and then clearing a space for it to live.

This meant steeling myself to start digging into the huge piles of cds and dvds that had taken over a corner of the living room. Many of them were items I’d bought when I wasn’t well, and I compulsively bought a great many things at the time.

There are items we’re keeping, certain classics for example, and comedian sets, but there are many more that neither of us have looked at in ten, or in some cases, twenty years – so in the bin they’ve gone.

I could have sold them on in non-lockdown circumstances, but I needed them gone – and it’s been oddly cathartic to get rid of impromptu reminders of painful times. There’s still more to go through, so that’ll keep me busy spring-cleaning tomorrow.

Well That Was A Week

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Somehow it has already been a week since Lady M had her surgery, and I’m pleased to say she is generally recovering well. She still keeps wanting to dive back to work, which tells you everything you need to know about how unwell and uncomfortable she was that being immediately post major surgery she was feeling well enough in comparison to think all was okay.

A slow pace has been enforced, marked by cups of tea and sessions playing on the xbox. There has even been embroidering on a cosplay on one slow evening. The smile is back, the giggle is back, occasionally there is a wince.

So, so far so good