Been drinking this stuff the last two nights.

It’s very light, tastes nice enough, but unsure about it’s claims for calming and focus.

It’s supposed to make you feel more sociable, like you’ve had a couple of pints.

All it made me feel was like I needed to pee every half an hour.

At least it upped my step count and gave my kidneys a work out.

A glass with a pale yellow beverage sits on a coaster next to a can of non-alcoholic beer on a wooden table.

Finally some positive news: I managed to buy and replace the headlamp and brake lamp on my car all by myself without freezing to death or stabbing myself with a spanner.

Harrow Council’s lawyers have sent me a cease and desist notice for driving in a bus lane on New Year’s Day.

Exciting news - big kid found (what we think is) a faint Saturn not far from a bright Venus in the night sky with little kid’s binoculars.

Back to work

The last time I worked full-time, in 2015, I got fired for taking too much time off sick.

The last time I worked full time before that, in 2011, I got fried for taking too much time off sick.

So I was quite happy to work part-time since 2016, fifteen hours a week to begin with, increasing to twenty two and a half hours in 2017. It felt like something I could cope with.

And it allowed me to spend a lot of time with big kid when he was little, and then little kid, too. Although that was often tiring ‘work’ I feel very fortunate to have had that much time with them when they were so young and fun.

Working two or three days a week and really being in charge of my own hours and schedule also allowed me lots of flexibility. I could almost work when I liked and didn’t worry about how many hours I’d done. If I needed to I could easily make up time or catch up on another day.

Going back full-time today, I was very conscious of how much time I spent working, and not working. I’ve got much less flexibility now to make up my hours.

Then again, I know that at work, it’s possible to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, the bathroom, the hallway, and the office not actually doing much work. I won’t be too hard on myself for making a cup of tea, powdering my nose, connecting the wife to the internet or checking my online socials every now and then.

All in all it wasn’t a bad day. Nothing urgent to do and I ended up going down a fundraising rabbit-hole. Found a couple of new-to-me funders and shared them with the relevant people, one of whom has already said they will apply.

Job done.

Exciting first day back at school as the skies suddenly opened up and dropped huge, fat flakes of snow on the kids as they waited to go into their classrooms.

A snowy canal lock is flanked by buildings and trees on a wintry day.A narrow canal is flanked by trees and a path, with snow falling gently over the scene.

Little kid ate a leftover sausage and reheated chips.

Big kid had a bowl of rice and gravy followed by two taco shells with cheese and two soft tacos fried with melted cheese.

After which he asked, “What’s for dinner?”

Wife just rescued little kid who was hanging off the top bunk bed ladder.

The peace and quiet is great, but not entirely relaxing. When the kids are quiet it usually means they are up to no good, or something is wrong.

Making chilli sans carne this morning. Kids are back at school tomorrow, so they are hanging out in the bedroom away from the smell.