Friday

A couple of the windband arrangement I used in schools are going today. They will go to the youth brass band; we already have the (white) Mini Christmas Collection so this will provide additional copies, and the (pink) Junior Band Series is the correct level for the children and is still available so we can purchase more copies if we decide to use it.

Some time ago I applied for a ticket to watch the recording of the game show Tipping Point and I heard yesterday that I've been lucky enough to get one of their VIP tickets, which means guaranteed entry, no waiting in queues and a seat at the front. It's being recorded in Bristol and I will be going on Wednesday afternoon so that's something in the diary to look forward to.

It turned into a family day yesterday. I saw my nephew and he will come round to help finish the garden, laying the rest of the membrane and gravel. The weeds are back with a vengeance in that part of the garden but Lauren has offered to help with that (if we can agree a date - she's starting her new job next week), but if she can't get here I will ask my friends if they can help me out. I will feel much happier when this is completed so I'm hoping this can be done some time in the next two weeks. 

I also spent quite a long time talking/texting with my sister about the family tree. I started by asking if she had any other recollections of an uncle though she didn't really remembered any more than me, but this led on to discussions about my research and led to me telling her about some of the recent discoveries. I heard back from the new cousin but it turns out she is an orphan and was raised in a children's home so knows nothing about the family. This is disappointing for both of us as she was hoping I'd be able to tell her about her origins but as it stands I can't see how we are connected, although the information she has managed to find provides a good starting point for further research.

Today is more of the same or in other words, doing very little. The only difference is that instead of looking on this as wasting time and feeling guilty, I've turned my thinking around and am counting it as a sort of holiday, a staycation. Thank you to Bless for the suggestion. It's surprising how looking at it from a different angle has changed how I feel ... no more guilty thoughts and I'm looking forward to the next few days of indulging in taking things at a much slower pace. I think I'll look out one of the jigsaw puzzles and get started on that.