The Thick of Winter

Good morning from my bed. My Saturday morning ritual continues: coffee, Dermott and blog. It's certainly been a good way to keep on top of recent things. At the other end, I'm desperately trying to bridge the huge gap that was allowed to develop over the late spring and the full summer. I'm up to mid June now, and need to get through to September so there's still a bit of work required. But, I'm getting there. 

So, this week. We're in a strong routine, it's been freezing all week and we're kinda just keeping our heads down and getting on with life. On Saturday, William and Iain came back from tennis and we eventually got out in the afternoon for some football in Parc Beaumont. Iain was particularly impressed with me running around, carving things up in a dress! We went home via Bosquet where we picked up some indulgent food for yet another Saturday night on the booze wagon. On Sunday, Steve and Laura came round for dinner. I made my crowd pleasing pulled pork and, as ever, it was a real winner. It was great to finally meet Laura. 

On Monday, we did our usual gym trip then I met some of the rugby girls for a morning coffee. The two Hannahs and Lish. It was lovely, even though it's meant that I'm a close contact as one of the girls has subsequently tested positive. :-{ (William is also a contact case, again, this week. It seems to be the world we're living in.) 

On Tuesday, Iain and I did a really decent walk and it was beautiful. We're so lucky to have all this time together at this age where we can really enjoy it. 

After our trip to the swimming last Wednesday, and enquiring about lessons, the woman from the pool actually called me back and asked me if we could go down to the pool this week for a "test". Obviously, I absolutely jumped at the chance but knew it might end up a bit of struggle actually getting William in the water without me. Things are often lost in translation so I didn't quite know what to expect and William's worst fears were realised when the staff wouldn't let me stay on poolside with him. He became totally overwhelmed, completely broke down and needed so much encouragement to go with the coach. It didn't make sense to me as he'd already done the swimming with the Section Paloise Dauphins and didn't ever get upset. Amazingly, he did it though and got through the whole 15mins test! The pool wasn't open for public use for another 30mins so we went down to a local playground then headed back to the pool together for the rest of the afternoon. It's such a brilliant thing to do together and I'm so pleased that we've spent so much time at the pool since he was a baby. I got an email from the organiser last night to say he's got a place in the 2pm group. Although it means I can't swim at the same time (aaargh!), I am delighted that he in such an early group as, when things start later, he's too settled at home and doesn't want to go out. That was probably one of the problems with the judo as well as the coach being mega grumpy. Anyway, we're in and I'm delighted. I just hope he takes to it. 

The "working" week has felt a bit like I'm running in mud. I've had so many jobs to try and get ticked off recently but the ball seems to be in everyone else's court at the moment so I'm going nowhere fast: the velux; the extractor lights; the CAF application; our health insurance. I'm frustrated. I did, however, have a massive win this week as I finally got my hands on my driving licence. Yes, four years after I began this bloody process. It really is the most ridiculous system. Four years. Just in time for us moving again. ;-) Iain's had three job interviews / chats this week and things are certainly looking positive. We're waiting on more information from the Germans but it's highly unlikely we'll be expected to move there at the moment. They're just looking at the legal aspects of remote working so we'll see how this pans out. 

The big change this week is that the building work has finally started. The scaffolders have been in from Monday and what they've constructed is actually quite remarkable. The next few months are going to be painful with all this going on. 

I can hear Iain and William just getting in from tennis so this is a perfect time to sign off. 

Catch you later, 

Lorna.