Got a new work laptop this weekend which rewarded me with 3 months of Apple TV for free, so I’ve just watched the end of Ted Lasso again and now I’m a wreck

In store today. It’s mental. God know what it will be like on Monday

Mucked up a bit of my solo at my concert but got it back on track and that’s what counts I suppose. The fact that I even did it is an improvement on where I was a few years ago ago

I hope someone draws this wonderful story about Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and the power of the arts to help us see things differently, to the attention of our Education Secretary. Do read it, it will lift your spirits.

Signs I might be getting older other than my Spotify Wrapped age (58 those bastards!!): I now have cold day slippers and really cold day slippers

I’ve been to the pub after my last 3 work days and not drunk a single drop of alcohol. I won’t say I don’t miss a nice glass of wine but knowing it won’t give me a throbbing headache tomorrow or anxiety sweats is really nice

It’s all good at my house tonight. Just done my tax return. Ooooh the excitement.

People who overtake me because, despite driving at the speed limit down a dark country B-road in the wet, they deem me too slow are my official nemeses. Same with the people who don’t immediately switch off their full beams when they see me coming. Bastards! I can see how people end up voting Reform

This would help. A lot.

It is snowing the fattest, fluffiest flakes I had ever seen. So I’ve decided not to walk to the station until this stops

Finally had to get my winter coat out because it is, what I believe meteorologists refer to as, brass monkey weather all of a sudden

I wish I had some sense of taste and style. I’ve just ordered Christmas decs and a new fake tree and they’re going to look amazing to no one else but me

First concert with my new choir. Loved it. Love singing. Now I can take some decongestant and go to bed

Of course I’m all sniffly the day of my choir concert

I’ve just finished Empire of the Dawn. I’m a little bit blown away. It was so good.

Ok Traitors was great but now I really have to go to bed. My Kindle is downstairs so I am not tempted to read just one more chapter of my new book until I am at least dressed tomorrow

I’m at choir. Not only am I missing the Traitors finale later I am also not getting to read Empire of the Dawn which came out today and is burning a hole in my kindle.

Bumped into a colleague while we were both doing our food shops. She felt she had to tell me she was stocking up on wine, not that this was her weekly consumption! Haha! No judgment here!

Been for a walk that I’ve been meaning to do for a while and it was so pretty. Only involved a bit of mud but it was worth it!

Further proof I’m turning into my mother: sitting in the car long after I’ve got home so I can keep listening to the radio and sing along. In this case it was the In Paradisum from the Duruflé requiem. It’s so gorgeous

You might’ve heard the news: SpaceX just passed 10,000 Starlink satellites launched. And that number is already old news, as there’s now a new Starlink batch launched every other day. Here’s what that looks like in a short animation of Comet A6 Lemmon courtesy of Michael Jaeger:

Still feeling like I can’t breathe right but back to work today. Don’t know what’s wrong with me. I slept for 36 hrs, had no appetite and got all the chest pain back from Covid but didn’t have a fever or any other symptoms.

Gave myself an absolute fright this morning when I thought I’d lost my wallet right as I was about to go and pay for my car repair. Had a panic, found my backup, got the train and found my wallet in my brand new bag. How? Why? Anyway, that’s good

When will I be old enough to have learned that things get hot when I’m cooking and I shouldn’t touch them with bare skin…?

machine learning is incredibly useful when you apply it to actual problems, and yet for some reason the deeply embarrassing "maybe my computer will become a real boy" shit just refuses to die no matter how many times the proponents cop to not knowing what they're talking about

I lost my Oura ring in the house last week and have spent the last few days testing different location apps. The best one (ie the one I used to actually find it) is called Wunderfind. It’s free, although I will be tipping its maker, and it is the best one to use imo

Just realised it’s less than a month until the last book in an amazing trilogy comes out. I’m going to have to take the day off work to read it, I will have zero self-control otherwise

Have I got an impending cold, and impending migraine or a stress headache because I’m worried about my choir audition? Who knows but what a fun time we are all having today 🥺

Another adulting first today: car MOT. Driven up to Henley which is actually closer than I remembered so working from a Toyota garage this morning

Well this is never happened before - the men here to deliver and build me bed are 3 hours early. And there is a massive John Lewis lorry parked outside

What do you call this? It sounds like they’ve got a lawnmower strapped to them. Looks fun but they’d better not land on my house

Yay! Amazing to see the England Women’s rugby team win the World Cup!

I left my own porch light on to come home to in the dark after choir 🥺 my own little light

One for thing to do tomorrow morning in my whirlwind week of extracurriculars - round table at a conference which I am absolutely not hanging around for because it’s too big and too full of sales people. Don’t need to be back in the office until 2 though so where can I go for lunch??

Lawns mown: 2 (back and front including the shared bit with next door), weeds pulled from patio: innumerable (due to pigeon supplied fertiliser), dead birds removed from lawn: 1. The glamorous life of a home owner

Another trip to ikea this morning. I did get everything in the back of the car this time though so that is an improvement. Just recovering with cake and a coffee at the next door Starbucks

Weather is miserable today and my boat tour has been cancelled so like many others, I decamped to the War Tunnels for some history indoors and out of the wet

On holiday, have had to ask the housekeeping team not to use such perfumed cleaning stuff in my room as it gave me such a headache last night and this morning. Feeling much better now. Hurrah!

Went to sing with a new choir this evening. They were really nice and friendly. I had a very jolly time!

I have a gym induction at 8:15 tomorrow morning and I cannot find a single item of gym wear. I have opened literally every unopened box this evening. Where the fuck are my leggings and sports bras??

I just overheard someone say “peng” in real life. I have never felt so old

I find it very amusing that my biometrics always read “OMG SOMETHING IS REALLY WRONG” but actually it’s just the few days before my period. When will health tech realise they need to do better for women?

There are so many birds in the garden right now that Merlin can’t actually tell me what any of them are!

I’ve joined the loyalty scheme at my local garden centre. I have reached peak middle class, middle aged woman

Review of The Ministry of Time: meh. Didn’t enjoy the prose, the paradoxes upset me, if you’re going to write historical time travel with humour and romance be as good as Jodi Taylor. Or better yet, be Jodi Taylor.

Just convinced myself that I should wfh today as I have a morning of calls with external companies and then I remembered my laptop is in my locker in the office. Dammit

Booked my first haircut in 18months. What a treat!

Good news! I found the public footpath to the local winery so it’s only a 10min stroll through parks to the alcohol and not a 30min hike along an A road with no pavement.

Just walked into the patio door handle and now have the most enormous bruise on my right bicep. Ffs why do I always walk into things?

Exciting Saturday morning trip to Kwik Fit to get my slow puncture checked out