Routine

Sunday Musings At The End Of February

~ beetleypete ~ 40 Comments

Something of a ‘Groundhog Day’ week for me, with every day much the same. I am not complaining, as I find routine comforting, and having no dramas or stress about anything is always to be welcomed.

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My only break from routine was to empty out my old car in preparation for handing it over when we collect the replacement next week. It is strange to discover what you can accumulate inside a car during ten years. I found sunglasses I hadn’t seen for at least five years, and numerous expired entrance tickets for car parks. Two umbrellas stored in the back in case of rain, and a first aid kit I had previously searched the house for.

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Ollie is doing well, but we await his Spring moult. This not only covers the house in his fur, but usually signals the onset of one skin condition or another. I am hoping he gets away with that this year, as we have only just got on top of his last ear infection.

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I finally took a camera out and photographed the new bridge to Hoe Rough. The photos appear in a separate post today.

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Weather-wise, it went back to being very cold. Hovering around freezing in the mornings, and a couple of days of rain too. That rain felt icy when it fell on you, and the North-Easterly winds made my face ache. But the sun is out this morning, and I can hardly see the keyboard for sunshine reflecting on it.

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I hope your Sunday is what you want it to be, whether peaceful or hectic.

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A Busy Wednesday

~ beetleypete ~ 76 Comments

Yesterday was a big break in routine for me.

Julie had to renew her passport. She had asked about a postal renewal, and was told it would take ten weeks at least. As she is travelling abroad in March, her only option was to go to the main Passport Office for the East of England. That is 65 miles each way from Beetley in the city of Peterborough, around 90 minutes each way by car.

I offered to drive her there in her car in case of parking issues, so I was up much earlier than usual, and took Ollie out while it was still below freezing, and very frosty. As it turned out, we parked easily, and were also early for her pre-booked appointment. It all went smoothly inside, (I was not allowed in, so waited ih the car) But even with that ‘personal appearance’, she was still unable to return home with a new passport. They will send it by insured courier within seven days.

The journey home was even easier, and I was back in plenty of time to give Ollie his favourite dinner of cold chicken.

Forty minutes later, the car dealership phoned to say my car was ready for collection. Out we went again, just 4 miles each way this time. I was told that the mechanic was able to remove the magnet and electrical connection that was stopping the gear selector going into and out of park, but he also had to rig a small cable below the selector in case the ‘override’ happened again for any reason. Just pull it, and the selector moves easily. I would have preferred a new part, but had already been told it was no longer available.

Then the mechanic showing me how to operate the cable-pull informed me that if the very small part had been available, it would have cost me a staggering £500! Add to that the fitting charge of well-over £200, and I would not have been a happy bunny.

The final bill was £198, intead of around £740 had they fitted a new part. As I drove home, I had never been so grateful for a part no longer being in stock.

More November Sunday Musings

~ beetleypete ~ 49 Comments

This past week has been dominated by the weather. To be specific, rain. Relentless rain, day and night for days on end. I wrote about it on a blog post, and despite a dry day on Saturday, it started again overnight. As well as being unpleasant and affecting my mood, it has caused chaos further north, with flooding in Eastern Scotland causing the death of a woman who was swept into a river in Aberdeenshire. I really don’t want to hear one more person say, “It’s good for the garden”.

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Otherwise, it has been an unremarkable week in Beetley. I have stuck to my routine, and so has Ollie.

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There was a government ‘Financial Statement’ during the week that basically announced tax rises for everyone, and a windfall tax on some oil companies. We were told to expect austerity and slow growth, and some ‘difficult decisions’ to come until the next election. This from a Prime Minister with a personal fortune exceeding £30 million, five houses, a bilionare wife, and a salary of £162,000 that he should really give away to charity, as he doesn’t need it. And from his sidekick Chancellor, a man on a salary of £153,000, plus expenses up to £200,000 in addition to that. Austerity is not something those people will ever comprehend.

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Julie has been baking, making Bread Pudding. It is delicious. Readers outside of the UK may never have heard of this cheap-to-make cake, so here is what it looks like, with a recipe. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/bread-pudding-0

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Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope you have a very enjoyable Sunday.

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The First Sunday Musings For October

~ beetleypete ~ 55 Comments

Back to normal at long last. Shopping on the usual day, things to watch on TV in the evenings, and Ollie’s routine firmly established again.

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Royal news was still around, but the channels kept it sensibly short. The public can now view the big engraved slab covering the Queen’s tomb, and new coins showing an image of King Charles will be released soon. Other than that, we got a break from Royalist intensity.

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I managed to get my Covid-19 booster two months early, thanks to numerous no-shows at the vaccination centre. I received a phone call in the afternoon inviting me to attend, and less than 30 minutes later I was fully vacccinated.

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The weather has been up and down. Very cold at the start of last week, then some bouts of heavy rain and near gale-force winds by Friday. Then on Saturday we had a sunny and warm day, seeing temperatures much higher than expected at 19C. (66F)

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The cost of living increases (which are still being blamed on the war in Ukraine despite the huge profits of most major companies) are now more noticeable at the supermarket. Last Monday’s big-shop had increased by almost £14 on the previous week, buying much the same range of items. I can only expect it to get worse in the coming winter, when they can blame weather conditions in addition to the war.

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Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope you have a peaceful Sunday.

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Adjusting To Change

~ beetleypete ~ 88 Comments

In less than twelve years, my life has changed completely. As well as moving away from London for the first time, I also developed a love of daily routine that changed my entire outlook on life. Recently, I was thinking of some examples that illustrate those changes.

Me, previously.
“It’s not even midnight yet. I’m sure we could find a club still open somewhere. Then we can walk home over Waterloo Bridge and watch the sunrise”.

Me now.
It’s nearly midnight? I can’t believe I have stayed up so late! Time I was tucked up in bed”.

Me, previously.
“Let’s go for a drive somewhere. Doesn’t matter where, just head for the south coast and see where we end up. Maybe go to Rye, or down to Bexhill”.

Me now.
“Out for a drive? Nah. Parking will be a nightmare when we get anywhere, and I might have to drive home after dark”.

Me, previously.
“We could go into the city. Have a look at the sights, then have a nice meal out later”.

Me now.
“The City? Too crowded, and too much hassle to get buses back late in the evening”.

Me, previously.
“I can’t go out to eat without wearing a suit and tie. I don’t care about everyone else, I like to look smart on social occasions”.

Me now.
“I’m not dressing up to eat out in Dereham. Nobody does, and I will look stupid if I do”.

Me, previously.
“I have to go and see that new film. I’ll walk down to Leicester Square tomorrow and catch the late afternoon showing”.

Me now.
“The local cinema will never be showing that, and I can’t be bothered to trek into Norwich. I’ll wait until the DVD comes out”.

Me, previously.
“Let’s try that new coffee place that has opened in Covent Garden. We can get a table outside if we are lucky”.

Me now.
“No way am I going to pay almost four quid for a cup of coffee when I can have one at home for nothing”.

Me, previously.
“Let’s do a weekend away. Maybe a nice village in the Cotswolds, or a hotel by the beach in Sussex”.

Me now.
“No need to go and stay in a village when you already live in one. Besides, who will look after Ollie?”

And many more…

The Last Sunday Musings For September

~ beetleypete ~ 53 Comments

It has felt like a long week, for no good reason. Perhaps because Monday was a Public Holiday for the Queen’s funeral, the days have been out of synch.

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Unusually, everything closed for the day on Monday. No shops opened, not even for reduced hours. So my usual supermarket shop had to be put off until Tuesday. That made Tuesday feel like Monday, and every day after that just felt in the wrong place. By Thursday, we were both convinced it was Friday, and I was wondering why the TV was showing programmes on the wrong day.

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For Ollie of course, nothing changed. As long as he got his routine in the right order, and his walks at the right time, he didn’t notice any changes. On Friday, I had to drive to the Vet to get his repeat prescription. I had added an extra, a steroid cream that helps heal a sore spot on his chest. It worked exceptionally well in July, but soon ran out. I wanted to have some more just in case, so asked for another tube. That increased the bill to a mammoth £91. I had to remind myself once again that he is always completely worth the expense.

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After the relentless 10-day TV coverage of all things Royal, the normal news returned and I finally found out what had been happening in places other than Balmoral, Windsor castle, Westminster Abbey, and in countries outside Britain. Naturally, Monday was written off, with 24-hour coverage of the funeral on all main TV channels. Once they got back to normal on Tuesday, all the schedules had to be ‘bumped up’ by one day.

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Out on the dog-walks, we caught up with some friends (and their dogs) we had missed for the week we were away in Lincolnshire. It was back to greeting familiar dogs for Ollie, and marking his territory with an intensity that had to be seen.

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Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a peaceful and happy Sunday.

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Back To Reality Musings

~ beetleypete ~ 57 Comments

We returned from our holiday on Monday afternoon, and had things to do yesterday. So I have not been online from the 4th, until this morning.
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We were lucky with the weather, despite some overnight rain and an occasional heavy shower during the day, we managed to avoid getting wet and stayed in pleasant sunshine. Like most people do on holiday, I had too much to eat, and a lot more wine than I would have at home. Ollie had a wonderful time meeting new dogs, (including two Sharpeis) but he came home exhausted by the extra exercise of long walks along the seafront. He has been sleeping all the time since Monday, save for his walks across Beetley Meadows.

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It felt strange for me to not be blogging of course, but I am back today, starting from scratch. This means that I have replied to comments on my posts while I was away, but have not managed to tackle the hundreds of posts of bloggers I follow. By the weekend, I should be back to my normal routine.

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Thanks to everyone who read my older posts while I was gone. It was encouraging to discover I had regular views every day, even when not posting anything.

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Quite a lot happened while we were on holiday, including the death of the Queen, and Ukraine retaking ground in the ongoing war against Russia. But I watched little or no TV, as I had a porch to sit on, and watched the world go by outside instead. I make no comment about the death of Elizabeth II, and the media circus that has accompanied her passing. Everyone who reads this blog will know I am not a royalist, and have no interest in anything to do with the British royal family.

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After an enjoyable time breathing sea air, and travelling around a different part of England, I am actually looking forward to re-establishing my routine with Ollie. Julie has today off work, so it will be spent quietly, with a necessary supermarket shop and some catching up on domestic things.

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I hope you have all had an enjoyable week while we have been away, and I will catch up with all of your blogs soon.

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Normality returns

~ beetleypete ~ 63 Comments

From tomorrow, the 4th of January, life goes back to normal in Beetley. Other than some different days for bin collections, the local kids go back to school, people who still go out to work (including Julie) start work again, and all shop-opening hours return to pre-Christmas times.

One of the things about geting old, at least for me, is comfort in familiarity. I don’t embrace change as I once did, (if I ever did) and like to know my routine is not disrupted. Just like my beloved dog, Ollie, I am happy with what I know.

Because of the Christmas holidays, I had to write down the bin-collection revisions on my new 2022 Sharpei calendar. I always have a calendar on my desk, and write everything I need to remember in the large box provided for each day. When you are retired, so many days merge into a blur, so I also get a lot of comfort from my calendar.

(Tech wizards please note*, I am too old to rely on a mobile phone to tell me all this stuff.)

So from tomorrow, I will be able to ring the Vet to get Ollie sorted, and ring the car mechanics to get my car sorted. I will be able to make a booking for Julie’s birthday meal on the 14th, and every service normally used will be back to normal.

That makes me very relieved.

Since Christmas Eve, I have felt as if I was in limbo. Every day was the same, just different levels of housework or cooking required. Once Julie’s birthday is celebrated on the 14th, (I have already bought the card and presents) we can relax until my birthday in March.

I have eleven months until the Christmas madness starts all over again, and I will enjoy every one of them.

Ollie And My Office

~ beetleypete ~ 67 Comments

Most days, I spend a fair bit of time in the small third bedroom. It no longer has a bed in it, just some bookcases, a big desk with my PC on it, and the second hand office chair I have enjoyed sitting in for some years now. The room is always referred to as ‘The Office’.

Ollie likes to be within reach of me at all times, so when I go and sit down in the office, he follows me and lies down on the carpet twelve inches from my chair. Once he realises I am going to be in there for some time, he generally goes to sleep, snoring noisly next to me as I type.

It didn’t take my dog very long to start to identify what he obviously thinks of as ‘signals’.

Me: Moves chair back to reach something behind me.
Ollie: Stands up immediately, no longer asleep. Are we going out now?

Me: Opens a drawer in the desk to find a pen, charging cable, or notebook.
Ollie: Stands up, tail wagging. We must be going out now!

Me: Closes drawer, slides chair back in and resumes typing.
Ollie: Slumps back down. False alarm, we’re not going out yet. Immediately asleep again.

Me: Decide to have another coffee. Stand up and head for the kitchen.
Ollie: Jumps up and follows. He’s heading for the back door, must be time to go out.

Me: Gets a cup and switches on kettle.
Ollie: Slumps down in the kitchen doorway. Looks like we are not going out after all.

Me: Decide to start on the draft for tomorrow’s serial episode.
Ollie: Enough is enough! He’s getting my chin on his leg!

Me: “Come on then, let’s take you out”.

Nothing Getting Done

~ beetleypete ~ 57 Comments

Do you ever have those times when nothing seems to get done? I do, and this is one of them

Day 17 of rain means nothing has been done outside for almost three weeks, unless you count creating a blanket dam to stop the shed flooding completely. I would like to have cleared the gutters, so that they managed the downpours better. But that’s not a very attractive prospect, when you are on the tail end of a bout of Flu, and feel as weak as a kitten.

Even things that can be done inside are not getting done. Remember the expensive camera I got got for nothing from Amazon? Well other than a quick play with it to justify my review, I still have not set it up as I would like. What’s the point? I have no intention of taking it out to photograph rain.

And as some things get fixed, others keep breaking. The printer can wait, as I cannot muster the will to try to fix it. Then Julie took my car out today, and got a slow puncture. I do less than 4,000 miles a year, but the local neglected roads chew through at least two tyres a year on average. Something else to deal with, come Monday.

I could sit and type a list of all the things that need doing; from the simple mopping of the kitchen floor because of trodden in dirt and leaves, to routine paperwork that needs to be sorted out by the end of the month.

But truth be told, nothing’s getting done.