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Winter nights

Winter is now upon us, in terms of amount of daylight if not in terms of temperature. The weather is actually very mild, however the rain has been relentless over the weekend and doesn't look like it will ease up for the coming week. Poor dogs are once again having to get used to being jet washed after every walk, and I've come back like a drowned rat on more than one occasion. Having said all of this I managed to get out for my weekly long run today in between rain clouds and actually saw sunshine - that made the effort (up to 9.5miles this week!) all worth while.


All week I've had it in my mind that I wanted to try and get down to see Mum and Dad this weekend. No particular reason, it's just been ages and sometimes a phone call just isn't enough. Having checked they would be around we went from me going on my own for Saturday evening, to it being all of us for the afternoon, to in the end it just being me and Glenn for lunch and a walk. The kids were coming but then realised it was there and back in an afternoon, announced "It's just not worth it for that much time in the car" and promptly made other plans. I'm sure I should say I was gutted about this but the prospect of having a bicker-free journey was too exciting to argue with them and so I happily dropped them off at their respective friend's houses and off we went. With a peaceful journey there and back and a lovely few hours with Mum and Dad all to ourselves it was exactly what I wanted and was a perfect afternoon - hooray for independent children who are happy to make their own decisions!


We got home and agreed Izzy would be dropped off a bit later by her friend's Dad. I went up to do a quick trot on the treadmill (trying unsuccessfully to undo the damage of Mum's amazing mince pies) and just as I was finishing the do to the gym burst open to reveal a very tearful Izzy. she had obviously been crying for a while so I jumped off the treadmill to give her a hug and ask what had happened. Turns out Jamie had dropped her off without coming in and in my wisdom I'd locked the back door as I was upstairs and Glenn was in the sitting room. Izzy had rung the door bell but neither Glenn or I heard it. Whether the dogs heard it but couldn't be bothered given the fire was lit, who knows but she'd been out there 10 minutes or more before by chance Glenn went into the kitchen and saw movement and found her on the back door step in bits! We did ask why she didn't just go ring the front door bell but she said she didn't think of it - silly girl! Shows the difference between them - when this happened with Abi a few months ago she got the hosepipe out, turned it on full and sprayed the gym window with it to get my attention - very practical of her! Hopefully a lesson learned if nothing else.


Anyway - off to review my work diary and decline a few more internal meetings - I don't mind trying to maintain a pretence of interest until Christmas but beyond that it's a losing battle. I'm making the most of meeting up with people I haven't seen for a while but really struggling with much more than that - how anyone stays motivated through a long notice period is beyond me!


Wrapping up warm for winter!





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