Grey and listless

16 January 2025 (Thursday)

Grey and listless.  Three words that describe the weather and also my get-up-and-go, which today has decidedly simply got up and gone.  It’s fair to say a rather early start did not help!

You see, Richard’s a bit of a Bagpuss, in that once he wakes up all other creatures, including me, wake up too.  So, as Richard woke up very early again, I too was awake early, and despite wanting to sleep for another hour or so, it just was not to be.  I was warm, comfy, and cozy BUT my mind had started thinking of things, and however much I tried those things didn’t want to be tucked away until later.  However, there is an upside to Richard being the first up, and it’s that a cuppa soon follows.

Now just like mum, I’m not a fan of cold tea, so with a hot brew sitting on my bedside table my arm soon outstretched, gently gripped the mug’s handle, and with an industrial crane-like horizontal movement those first invigorating sips began to help me take hold of the day… and put those things I was thinking in my head to one side, for the moment.

“Alexa.  Play Radio 4.”  A soothing voice piped up telling of meteorological states, starting near Iceland and then slipping seamlessly clockwise around the British Islands.

At the end of the Shipping Forecast, with not-too-far-off names Bailey, Viking, Cromarty, German Bight, Rockall, Fitzroy and more tumbling through my mind, it was time to get up, go downstairs, top up my mug, then climb right to the top of the house to check through a client’s VAT return that had been sent overnight.  A quick once over, double-checking a few figures as I took it all in, and it was saved as a new file before uploading through a specialist portal and hitting the Submit button… shortly a confirmation came through that it was all safe and sound with His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs.  This fully digital process, which has been going on for some years, is all part of the HMRC’s Making Tax Digital initiative, which to be honest I find rather time saving compared to their old systems.

The rest of the morning bounced along, and I got plenty done, in between making a squash and lentil soup for lunch, and for portioning for the freezer… having something always handy is such a delight when you really can’t be bothered or, more often, time’s too tight to think of anything let alone actually make it.

So into the Instant Pot went a tablespoon of olive oil, one of water, a diced onion, a chunkily chopped half of a large Uchiki Kuri (skin on and leftover from an earlier meal), 250 grammes of red lentils, a fat rounded tablespoon of miso paste (not a spicy one - I always prefer to add my own spices), a tablespoon of soy sauce (I prefer Bragg’s Liquid Aminos but can’t get hold of it at the moment!), and 1.5 litres of cold water.  I set the timer for twelve minutes, and delayed it starting by thirty.  Back to my desk, I carried on with work work until lunch.

By this time, a blanket of cloud still heavily lingered… the sun had tried its best once or twice, lifting hope of some sunshine, but it was not to be… and with this grey and listless weather, my energy slipped away so that by mid-afternoon I was hunting for my mojo again.  It wasn’t that I was down, just tired and feeling rather blugh.

Just one of those days… and I’m sure tomorrow will be different.

Weather:  Mild, still and a blanket of grey clouds.

Breakfast:   Bran Sticks, Yogurt, Banana
Lunch:  Squash & Lentil Soup, Lidl artisan break stick, cream cheese and cucumber.
Supper:  Quorn Chick’n Fried Rice - olive oil, onion, carrots, peas, broad beans, Quorn Pieces, miso and soy sauce.