Week Off

I was looking forward to Thursday evening and it really didn’t disappoint. I had been invited to go and see The Jesus and Mary Chain at Manchester Academy with my brother in law, David. He has always been into music and was my main influence when I also became interested in music, in fact Dave bought me my first alternative album, Pulp. Since then I have developed my own musical tastes, but I owe it to Dave for starting me on the journey. The Jesus and Mary Chain were mainly active during 80s and 90s so I don’t remember them the first time around, but they reformed and are touring their album PyschoCandy. The gig was awesome and I really enjoyed it, the band were on top form and the gig was loud. I was back in work on Friday after a late night getting back from Manchester. It was my last day in the office before taking a week off on annual leave. I handed over some pieces of work to the team and was excited to have some time off. On Saturday I was down at the gym again. As I have been a few times now, I find that it is getting a little easier so will probably increase the circuit over the next few weeks. I want to be able to feel the benefits of the workout. In the afternoon my sister, Sheila, dropped off her three girls, Amelia, Lottie and Evie as she was out for the night. We were looking after the girls overnight and as a treat we took them to 9th Penwortham Scout Hut to watch a film (How to train your Dragon 2) which was being shown to raise some money for the scout troop. While all the kids were watching the film we popped round to see my mum and catch up. It was a lazy morning on Sunday as we got the kids ready and Sheila popped over to pick them up. In the afternoon I watched the final Formula 1 from Abu Dhabi and was please that Lewis Hamilton won the Championship. In the afternoon the water went off and it made me think about how lucky we are and what we take for granted. The water wasn’t off for long but those couple of hours where we were stuck saw us having to adapt, we struggled and thought that this is definitely a first world complaint when a lot of people around the world don’t have access to clean water. This week I have spent a lot of time doing things around the house, planting some raspberries and repotting some indoor plants. I have been enjoying doing the school run with the boys and also been swimming with Leonie on Monday. I have been going to the gym for a workout each day but decided to take a day off on Wednesday. It’s nice to be off and have some lazy time after the busy few weeks. I have even managed to start the Christmas shopping as well, and I have noticed that I have generally been more active than when I am usually at work, but perhaps this is walking to school and back each day. I am looking forward to this weekend as we have Ema and Dan visiting again and we will be getting into the Christmas spirit by going to Barton Grange, and getting some ideas for decorations. It has become an annual tradition over the last few years and it is something to look forward to. This year we have an added bonus for the weekend as we are going away to Chester for the night on Sunday and having a night in a lodge with a hot tub. It is really something to look forward to and will be a good start to the Christmas period.