This Week ...

... we're promised sunny days and warmer temperatures so I'm hoping to be out and most days this week.

Entertainment & Socialising

If L is free we'll meet for lunch at a local farm café, and I hope to speak to J as well though I can't remember whether she's away this week or not. I have some books and gardening stuff to drop round to Joy so will be contacting her to arrange that, and I'd like to catch up my sister at some point ... now the Olympics have finished she will be back in the real world and I won't have to pretend to be interested in the results!

I've requested a seat at the local records office for Tuesday afternoon but that still has to be confirmed. They may offer a different date as they have to temporarily redact information in all the documents I have requested to view so may need more time to get the documents ready.

Online Classes & Talks

  • Wednesday: Nutrition Club
  • Thursday: Indian Cooking 
  • Friday: Nutrition Focus
The Tai Chi classes aren't on as the instructor is on holiday so I will continue with my daily practice using the practice video

Health and Fitness:

Daily: a 30 minute walk, 30 minutes of Tai Chi, and 20 minutes of knee strengthening exercises. 


Home and Garden

Home: I'm decluttering one item a day for my August decluttering challenge and will update my list of items in tomorrow's post. This week I will be placing some more adverts on eBay and Gumtree but my priority has to be to make space in the music room as I need to be able to set up my laptop with a clear view of the piano keyboard ready for online lessons and I want to get that organised as soon as possible in case I need to get an external webcam. I also need to organise the piano music, although that shouldn't take too long.

Garden: It's up to me to look after the garden for the next next couple of weeks as M is on holiday. She'll be back on the 20th so I have to try not to kill anything before then!

  

Food: The supermarket delivery arrived on Saturday night so yesterday I did a bit of prep ready to do some bulk cooking today ... chilli, bolognese sauce, and chicken casserole to be portioned out and frozen. I'll also make some fishcakes, a couple to be cooked for lunch and the rest left uncooked for the freezer. 


End of Lockdown Adventures

  • this week: a photo walk
  • by the end of August: visit the Wilts Local History Centre (I've requested a date and time but am waiting for confirmation), and visit Caen Hill Locks
  • within twelve months: complete a minimum of twelve items on my post lockdown wish list, aiming to complete at least one thing on the list in August. Possibilities for August include:
    • a trip to the beach 
    • visit The Hawk Conservancy
    • visit Avebury or Stonehenge
    • visit another National Trust property (but haven't decided which one yet!)
but as it is the school holidays, all of these places are likely to be busy so I may need to rethink.


and finally, Hobbies:

Reading: I'm reading a selection of drafts for a book; these are drafts of the same chapter written three different ways plus notes on character development, etc. This is for a friend who is planning to write his first book and he has asked four of us to read the drafts and discuss them with him via Zoom at a later date. So far, it's turning out to be a very interesting exercise.

Italian: 15 - 20 minutes daily practice

Piano: 30 minutes daily practice. The piano teacher phoned me on Saturday and we got on really well, chatting for 2.5 hours, and I will be starting lessons on September 7th. She is currently only offering online lessons which I'm happy with but as and when the Covid situation improves I will have the option to switch to face to face lessons or continue with online teaching, depending on what we both feel comfortable with. So that gives me a month to practice and prepare a selection of pieces for the first lesson - she's asked me to look at one or two pieces at each level from grade 1 onwards so she can assess my current level.

Comments

  1. Sounds like you have a very nice week planned! Glad the weather is supposed to be sunny and warm (but, hopefully, not too warm for you). I'm excited on your behalf about the piano lessons! I'll probably start back on my lessons in October. :)

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    1. I've just looked at the forecast again and it's not quite as promising with the weather this week but there should be sunny periods every day so I will still be able to get out and about.

      I'm excited about the piano lessons. I cleared enough floor space in the room yesterday and today will be experimenting with the laptop to work out the best position for it. If necessary I'll buy an external webcam - the room is an odd shape and the piano just fits along one wall so I can't think how to position the laptop so we will be able to see each other's faces and keyboards ... that's today's thing to puzzle out! Have you started practicing again?

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    2. I don't know if this will help you figure out where to place the laptop, but...my piano is against a wall in the living room. I keep my laptop on a side table that I place to the right of the piano stool facing the keyboard, angled so that S can see my hands on the keyboard. I don't see her face unless I look around over my shoulder at the computer screen (although, sometimes, I see her reflection on the piano itself which can be a bit distracting) and she doesn't see my face when I am playing. I haven't started practicing yet, but, keep meaning to do so! :D

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    3. Thanks Bless. I'll try this arrangement tomorrow. 😀 I may need to make a bit more space to set it up but nothing I tried today was any good so your suggestion helps enormously.

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  2. I do like the plans - I hope it is nicer your way than it is here.
    xx

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Joy. The forecast has changed this morning so there's now more rain than previously stated but it looks like showers with sunny spells so that suits me fine.

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  3. Sounds like an interesting week ahead for you. How interesting to be helping a friend write his first book, that's lovely to be involved in it. Fingers crossed for some good weather this week for your days out and gardening duties.

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    Replies
    1. We did a similar review on some of his writing before and that's was very interesting. This time it's more involved as he is experimenting with his writing to find the 'voice' for his novel. I'm looking forward to hearing what the others have to say.

      It's currently raining! But trying to keep a positive head on ... that's good because I need to carry on sorting out the music room and the decluttering today 😀

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