March ... ing

March ... ing in the nick of time! It is the Easter weekend and I am planning on doing very little, other than maybe wiping some surfaces, re-arranging the fruit bowl and generally faff around. I'll have a cocktail every evening and I'll listen to books. Richard is away cycling but Annie is here and I look forward to her famous roast chicken on Sunday. She makes a mean roast chicken. I'll be volunteering as well. 

:: Enjoying a quieter week at work. I am still covering for my colleague but with a break in teaching, there is a little more breathing space. I decided against a holiday during spring break but have booked a couple of single days off to shorten the weeks. 

:: Loving all the signs of spring. Buds and new shoots everywhere, some blossom, too. Beautiful.

:: Planning two work trips, one short one to London, the other to Cape Town. I hope to add a couple of days to the South Africa trip, just for fun. I am a little envious of Richard's work trip to Kathmandu. I'd love to visit Nepal. Exciting destinations are a good reason to keep on doing what we are doing.

:: Keeping a close eye on James whose latest affliction is extreme laziness. Incurable he says. He has two exams and doesn't study. I informed him of my plan to block his phone at set times and I insist that he emerges from his cave to study for a bit during spring break. I'll be very happy if he gets a decent pass. 

:: Feeling annoyed about study leave. Alistair will be on study leave even though he doesn't sit exams. What will he do? Drive me up to wall no doubt. We have been promised a "special programme" but I am not optimistic. During the last study leave period, this was one hour of schooling on some days. The British education system is as depressing as the British healthcare system (amongst others).

:: Upping my game as podcaster. I have decided that it is not good enough to be the token woman. I have become more involved in the planning and taking a lead. Woman Power!

:: Listening to a new crime series by Joy Ellis. It is the Jackman & Evans series. The link is to the first book in the series. Quite enjoyable. I am looking forward to listening to Leave No Tracee by Jo Callaghan. This is the second book in a new series. I hope it is a new series. Quite unusual in that the detective, Kate Frank is assisted by AIDE Lock (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity). I have also been listening to non-crime fiction. Maybe I I'll write a book post or something. 

:: Creating very little. There is a pair of socks on my needles, fabric for a linen shirt for Richard all cut out and ready in a bag, fabric for a white vest top for myself in another bag and lots of quilt blocks to be stitched together. Maybe the Easter bunny will bring some creative energy. 

:: Refreshing the colour of our bath towels. I am using all-in-one Dylon dye for this. Dying fabric used to be such a faff and really messy but now it is easy peasy. 

:: Looking forward to eating my chocolate bunny on Easter Sunday. I was going to colour some eggs and even bought some white ones but I am not motivated enough. My mum always makes beautiful Easter eggs and if she sends a photo, I'll just enjoy those. 

:: Enjoying my Saturday walks with my friend A and our four legged friends. Our dogs are coming up for 10 years old and with a few interruptions (first lockdown then Jack's leg injury), we have been going on Saturday walks since they were old enough for longer distances. 

:: Thinking about the apocalypse. I need to dig out my lecture water, sanitation and hygiene, which includes latrine design and construction. This knowledge might come in handy. Such anxious times. 

And that's it all, really. March was a keep-my-head-down-and-work kind of month. 

Thanks for visiting 😊