Tuesday

Spin

I used my new tablet in conjunction with my bike trainer this morning. The new one is larger than the old one. This gave a much better screen to watch my cartoon self peddling furiously around an oriental island. The app was slightly different on the new tablet and did not warm me that a sprint was coming up. That was a good thing, I did not feel the need to work myself up for a sprint.

Work

My boss was in the office today and in full delegation mode. I had various things thrown at me that I knew that he did not want to deal with as they were too hard. I struggled through layers of rubbish to find that the basic premise was wrong. It was a painful process.

Swim

I went to the pool this evening with the intention of doing a threshold set using my new timings. It became obvious, very quickly, that I could not hold the pace. I turned my beeper off and did the intended session at a more pedestrian pace.

Soup

I had to go to a meeting after swimming, I decided to have a bowl of soup with some bread at the pool. I ordered that and a beer. I sat down with the beer and waited. I had to leave by a certain time and that time approached quicker than the soup. I left before the soup arrived feeling a little aggrieved. How hard is it to warm some soup?

Meeting

The meeting had been set up as a mediation between myself and the person who had made complaints against me. However, that person found a reason not to turn up. I sat with the others and chatted about the problems for a while. From my side the debate centred around the concept of respect. It seemed to me that the person making the complaint thought respect meant agreeing with them. Once that was over, we moved onto more interesting matters such as how to develop the club so that it becomes what it once was.

Home

Loved One picked me up from the pub, the swimming, lack of food and beer probably accounted for my slight tipsiness. That did not amuse Loved One who had been ironing since she got home from Yoga. I went hunting the cupboards for food and Loved One finished the ironing before we both headed for bed.

Monday

Cat

The cat managed to push Loved One onto myside of the bed and this led to me hanging over the edge. It was not the ideal way to sleep.

Noise

I thought that the demolition of the house at the back of us was completed on Saturday, but I was wrong. We were woken by the loud sounds of a mechanical dinosaur removing debris from the plot were the house once stood. It scared the cat so much that she refused to do her dawn patrol of the garden.

Work

I was not overly engaged with my work today. I had a few meetings, none of which were of any importance. I cruised through the day and was glad to leave for the day.

Soup

I got home in time for a bowl of soup and with some cheese on toast and a chat with Loved One.

German

Tonight’s German was made easier as I had done the homework the night before. The rest of the lesson was on a grammar topic that I was vaguely familiar with. Unusually I was not totally at sea.

Evening

There was not much of the evening left by the time that I had finished my lesson. Loved One and I sat on the sofa and listened to music until bedtime.

Sunday

Swim

The wind was stronger today and the sea was a little angrier. It took a lot longer than normal to reach the far jetty. I got there feeling as if I had gone several rounds with a prize fighter. The return trip was a lot faster and just as rough. I felt completely exhausted by the end of the swim. I felt that I had done enough for the day.

Visit

A friend of ours was recovering from a recent nasty fall. We decided to pop round and pay them a visit. We sat in her front room and caught up with the gossip.

Meal

Early in the year we had won a voucher for fifty percent off a meal at a beachside restaurant. This weekend was the last weekend we could use it before it expired. Once we found the restaurant, we had a pleasant Italian style meal. It tasted even better knowing that it was half price.

Ice Cream

We declined the dessert menu in favour of getting some ice cream from the ice cream shop just up the road.

Nap

Loved One suggested that I had a nap when we got home. I did not need to be asked twice. I laid on the bed, closed my eyes and fast forwarded an hour or so.

Call

We had our usual Sunday call with my parents and caught up with all the news from the family. It feels like they are getting excited at our impending visit.

Saturday

Swim

We got to the beach to find that the wind was a little stronger than we would like. We knew that this coupled with the tide would mean that going north was going to be a struggle. My plan was to swim up and back a couple of times today but that was dubious in these conditions. We quickly decided that one up and back was enough, I could do the rest of the distance in the pool. Going north was a slog. I was fighting against the wind and the tide. The waves kept pushing me into the shore and shallower water. The return journey was a lot faster, but I still had to contend with the waves that were doing their best to disorient me. I did not think that I could do another lap and was happy that we had settled on an alternate plan.

Bracelet

Loved One’s daughter’s birthday is coming up and it is one with a zero in it. We visited a jeweller and looked at a lot of pretty silver bracelets before settling on one that was not quite finished.

Pool

Loved One dropped me off at the pool so that I could spend the next few hours swimming up and down. I concentrated on keeping a steady pace and tried to be careful pushing off the wall to avoid cramp. I spent the last hour fantasizing about the bowl of soup and bread that I was going to have when I finished.

Soup

The soup of the day was Thai spiced pumpkin soup. It was served with some large lumps of bread. It filled the hole that I had created by swimming so far.

Nap

Once we got home Loved One suggested that I might like a little lie down. I did not think I did. I laid on the bed and woke up over an hour later. Obviously, I did need a map.

Demolition

The house over the back had been taken down while we were out. It was there in the morning but by the time we got home the house had been levelled and the palm trees that Loved One does not like were no more.

Chips

Loved One had found some curry sauce in the freezer and some mussy peas in the cupboard. All it needed was some freshly cooked chips to make one of my favourite comfort meals

Film

After the clearing up from dinner was done, we settled on the sofa and watched a film.

Friday

Restless

I woke numerous times throughout the night and just could not get comfortable. I woke feeling tired and was glad that I had decoded last night that I would not be cycling this morning. I took my time going through my pre work routine. I was not in any rush to get to work.

Work

Today was another slow day with very little happening. I just got on with things at a relaxed pace so that the amount of work that I had would fill the day. I slightly mistimed it and ended up looking out of the window for the last half an hour.

Shopping

I had to get a few things in town this evening and had arranged to meet Loved One for a small shopping adventure. It started with a visit to the bike shop to pick up some gels to power me through the weekend’s swimming. The next stop was to buy a new tablet. I knew what I wanted so it was all extremely easy. I thought that shopping was over at this point but Loved One had other ideas. She felt that I needed some new jumpers and shoes. I was guided towards a menswear store. The next quarter of an hour or so was spent trying things on. Loved One yet again, tried to convince me that polo shirts and short sleeve shirts were proper clothes. This is not a view that I agree with.

Restaurant

We finished our excursion at a Thai restaurant. We felt we needed the treat after all the shopping. I had a nice Pad Thai and Loved One had a crispy belly pork dish. The pork was not as crispy as Loved One thought it should be. We were amused by the amazingly allergic man who sat a table next to us and went through the menu pointing out all the things he had an allergy to. He ended up talking to the chef about the contents of each dish. We left before we could find out if any of the meal he ate was plotting to kill him.

Home

There was not much of the evening left by the time we got home. We listened to music until bedtime.

Thursday

Spin

Even though it was the first spin with my tablet held in front of me I was not overly keen on getting out of bed this morning. I had had a restless night and felt exhausted. It was only the thought of trying out the new arrangement that made me get on the bike.

Work

My boss was in today and that meant the return of annoying delegation. Luckily, he was on the phone most of the day and that limited his opportunities.

Grievance

I received a text today to say that my response to the grievances laid against me by a member of the swimming club had been passed on to that member. It also suggested that I produce some sort of remedy. I felt that this was a little presumptuous as in my opinion I did not think I had done anything wrong. I am not sure that asking the member for a full and unreserved apology for bringing the grievance in the first place would set the right tone.

Swim

I went to the pool this evening for a long swim. I foolishly used my new critical swim speed as the benchmark for the timings and consequently went at a much faster pace. I was almost into the last kilometre of the swim when I fell off the pace. The next part was to be done slightly quicker and I knew that I would not be able to hold that pace. I did the honourable thing and got out. I felt that I had done enough.

Soup

Loved One made a massive vat of soup yesterday and put most of it in the freezer. We had the remaining little dribbles of soup with cheesy toast for tea. I could have eaten a lot more but there was not any more to eat, except for a slice of frozen cake.

Reading

I settled down on the sofa with some music and a magazine for what remained of the evening. I was very tired and knew that bedtime was creeping up quickly.

Wednesday

Spin

I very reluctantly got out of bed and on to the bike trainer this morning. I selected a short loop in a non-existent world and peddled through a lava field and round a volcano. It was an odd way to start the day

Work

There was nothing too taxing to be done at work today and that was a good thing. My boss was working from home, that cut down the many interruptions that I get from him during the day. I just quietly got on with my work and the various meetings that I must attend. The last meeting for the day finished a little too late for my liking.

Swim

I walked over to the pool intent on doing a shorter session this evening. It seemed like it was time to re-evaluate my critical swim speed by doing a little time trial. My new sports watch had an ideal session for this preloaded and did all the maths. I got into the empty pool and followed the instructions. It was all straightforward. At the end of the session, it presented me with a number. It was the lowest that it has ever been. That made me happy.

Dinner

We had some meal kits delivered on Monday and Loved One used one of them to produce a delicious Pork and roast vegetables with salad for tea. The swimming had made me hungry, so I probably ate it a little too fast.

Stand

A stand for my tablet arrived today. I had to construct it from the box of bits. I can now do my indoor cycling without resting my tablet on the tri bars of the bike. I feel that this will be a vast improvement.

Tuesday

Sleepy

I had set the alarm to go off early enough to get on the bike trainer but after a night of having the blankets being pulled off me, I felt an extra half an hour in bed would be a better proposition.

Work

Today was a quiet day, I did not have that many meetings and there was relatively little happening. This gave me a chance to finish the items on my Monday list and write my Wednesday list. Even the hated weekly review meeting went by with relative ease. The only downside was that my boss was in the office all day and, in his usual way, wanted to delegate everything to me. I often wonder if he actually knows how to do some of the things that he sends through as some take less time than writing the e-mail to ask me to do it.

Swim

The pool was empty when I arrived. It is a lovely feeling having the entire pool to myself. It did not last for long and I was soon joined by a few other people. I happily worked through my routine and finished it off with a few lengths of butterfly.

Yoga

Loved One was at yoga this evening so I got home to an empty house. Loved One had done some of the preparation for tea and had sent me a message to finish it off so that it would all be ready when she got home. The finishing off consisted of frying some chicken and putting two trays into the oven, something that I can do.

Paddler

Loved One had, during the day, found me a paddler to accompany me on my long swim in a few weeks’ time. We had a long chat with her to sort out the arrangements.

Music

We spent what remained of the evening on the sofa listening to music. I did not feel up to much more than that.

Sunday

Swim

I felt well enough to attempt the usual swim to the far jetty and back. We had a slightly later start as the Lond Distance Lady was visiting her mother. The sea was nice and calm. The wind had died down from yesterday’s cooling breeze. It all made for a lovely swim.

Seal

I almost swam into a seal. He was sunning himself about halfway along the beach. The captain stopped me, and we walked slowly past.

Breakfast

Loved One’s son took us for breakfast this morning. We sat round a table in the surf club and devoured their largest breakfast offerings whilst chatting about his impending wedding. I was invited to the stag night. I made it clear that I would duck out early in the evening.

Gardening

There were a few things that needed trimming around the garden and this week was green bin week. I did the necessary trimming and sweeping to make the garden look nice. Loved One pointed out more trimming that she would like to have been done but I had lost enthusiasm by that point. It went on to the to do later list.

Nap

I felt the creeping tiredness coming over me. I slipped into the back room for a nap and emerged an hour or so later feeling less tired.

Pole

The cat has destroyed her scratching pole by scratching. We felt by using some old carpet, glue, and nails we could revitalise the pole and give the carpets in the house some relief from the cat claws.

Dinner

Loved One found some mysterious boxes in the freezer that contained leftovers. They turned out to be a Shepards pie and another similar pie. We had them for dinner in a spirit of the adventure that finding things in the freezer brings.

Call

We had our usual chat with my parents this evening. We did not have much to say as I had been ill. They did not have much to say as Dad had had a fall and spend most of the week in front of the television whilst the swelling went down

Music

We finished watching a film and then found there was very little else we wanted to watch on the television. We listened to music instead.