it is all a bit much

The other day Annie kept on staring at my face, which I found a bit disconcerting. Eventually she asked me if I was growing out my moustache. Oh the joys of parenting. I am not, as a matter of fact, growing out my moustache. I just can't see it. I felt very self conscious after her comment and proceeded to rip out every last hair above my lip. Alas, I had forgotten about that on campus meeting in an actual meeting room. I am glad we have to sit far apart in meetings and maybe my plucked chicken appearance was not noticeable  

I am slowly and reluctantly emerging from my pandemic bubble. I had not one but two actual real work meetings in the past 10 days. For one meeting we were four people in a ridiculously large meeting room, windows open, wind rattling the dilapidated window frames. The wind is always howling here. At least it seems that way. The second meeting took place outside. My colleague (and friend) met at Little Italy on Byres Rd, where we enjoyed sitting outside with coffees and a selection of mini cannoli, followed later by Aperol Spritz and savoury nibbles. I dare say it was a successful meeting, both from a work perspective and also a social perspective. It was a late Friday afternoon in case you are wondering about work ethos and all. There was the occasional drizzle but not enough to disrupt the meeting. 

Both James and Alistair are back at school. Ventilation upgrades were completed in the sporting facilities and children can now use the changing rooms before and after sports so no more joggy bottom and t-shirts instead of uniform on gym days. This was not a welcome change and I noticed Alistair trying to sneak out of the house with gym clothes under his uniform. It was the nappy bottom look that gave it away. Alistair was moved to a different registration class, it took three days to get him moved back to his own class. It was not a good experience for him. James is now focussing on self selected subjects, quite a broad selection actually and I hope he finds something that he enjoys. He has one period a week to work towards the Duke of Edinburgh bronze award. He'll like that.

On Mondays and Thursdays we queue up for our lateral flow tests. School children should be tested twice a week (it is voluntary) and at my institution, we are also encouraged to test twice a week if working on campus. Luckily this is a rare occurrence for me. Richard (our family swabber) was a bit mean about my tongue being fat. He didn't use these exact words, being quite subtle but here we have it, fat inside and out. At least my fat tongue won't offend the aesthetic sense of friends and colleagues, it being tucked away.

With restrictions being minimal, Annie had her 18th birthday party, a few weeks early. She'll be at St Andrews on her actual birthday. Richard and I left her to it and spent the evening with friends. James and Alistair stayed home with Annie but spent the evening watching rubbish on tiny screens, not partying. Well, this is what we were told anyway. It is a bit weird, the first time Richard and I socialised inside since the beginning of the pandemic. All fully vaccinated but still weird. Most of Annie's friends are at least partially vaccinated and she suggested lateral flow tests to minimise risk of infection, which of course is still quite significant. So much to think about for social gatherings. I don't know if it is worth the effort.

Meanwhile Covid numbers are going up steeply, not doubt to an extent due to the increased testing after schools went back, and also casual indoor socialising. I am going to pull back a little, the last week was a bit much for me

I just finished Annie's leaving home quilt, in good time for her moving date. I just need to stitch on a label and take some photos. I also cut binding for a quilt that I started back in July 2020.

In other news, we have new neighbours. They seem nice and I am optimistic that they are not as noisy as the last ones. No more loud Friday night sing-alongs, usually culminating with the same old Sinatra song. Of course we are also noisy but in short bursts, shouting here and there when tempers are a bit frayed. Nothing quite like an evening of sustained karaoke I dare say. 

And finally, I spent some time scrubbing the garden bench cover with warm soapy water. The cover sat forgotten in a dark corner of the garden, covered in smelly decomposed vegetation and creatures that love this kind of habitat. The cover looks almost new and thankfully is not stinking anymore. 

Thanks for visiting xx