Come and tell me your dull and unexciting news 9: Calmly through the day

[MissConductUS]

I've started a new one. Please join us and share the boring and mundane things happening in your world. It will be calming for all.

The other day I told DH it was black bin day - he said you are wrong everyone else has put out their green bin in the whole street. I said no its definitely black bin day, I looked it up and everyone else must be copying each other but they are wrong. He was but went along with me. Next morning he was wow you were right its been collected. Think its as they've altered the schedule with the bank holidays.

I'd like to hear what our friend the owl has to say, you can post us updates :)

Silkie hope kids not disturbing you again!

I signed up for bin notification with council to try to avoid palaver again

Only the cat tonight, no DD coming in every few hours and saying do you think my science teacher is dead tonight. He put a link on today so she knows he is alive, just off long term sick.

DD is having her 2nd bottle of the night ..

But I love the snuggles really

@EggNogPegg our DCat does that too, so funny. He's a very pampered rag doll boy who disappeared yesterday for a bit which terrified me, as he doesn't go out - he's meant to be a house cat but he escapes quite a lot. Anyway he was hiding outside under our big tree in the front garden and came running as soon as my voice reached another level of panic...
DS fell off his chair at breakfast yesterday and so I had to deliver him to nursery with a grazed forehead. Seems ok today tho. Can't describe the relief that they have kept childcare for the very young children, it's the difference between keeping my job and not. It really is. I have to counsel people and negotiate with people and you just can't do that with a screaming baby in the background.
Happy to report DOwl very loud last night letting us know he's ok! So nice to hear him we have looked it up and he's a male tawny owl 🦉 but we think he's alone and calling for a mate.

We put our bin out yesterday, not our regular day but correct for Christmas adjustment to schedule and they didn’t collect it. There is No Space for anymore recycling in our street.

@HelenaJustina so annoying when that happens. We always report it, used to happen loads at our old place.

@Imissmoominmama We also have a farty dog! DH thinks it’s something he’s eaten; I think it’s just his age. But dear god, it’s the most appalling smell once he gets going

DS’s work area is ready! It’s a bit Heath Robinson, but hopefully it will work. I think I’m going to print out a Gojetters wallchart for him with all the places they visit too.

Morning all. I've woken up with a headache. And some more sneezing. Starting to wonder if it's some kind of lurgy. If I thought it would but me any time to lie around in heaps I would hope that it is but lone parents don't get a huge amount of that at the best of times and certainly not during these lovely lockdown times so I'm going to dose up on tea and painkillers and pretend to be a grown up. Again. Maybe one day it will self actuate...

@MissConductUS

Oh, and sleeping cats be damned. Mine wake up when they hear a can tin being opened.

My dogs leap up when they hear the (tiny) click of my wireless mouse being turned off; they assume I'm taking them out. (Because of course all I do is either play on the lap-top or walk the dogs; unfortunately true at the moment)

@kittlesticks it was collected at about 7am! They were clearly running very behind, but huzzah for bin space!

Today should be black bin day, and everyone had put out their black bins. But the bin men hadn’t been by the time I left.

Having a conversation in the family WhatsApp group about spoons. It’s as exciting as it sounds.

I can now refill a Rexel Giant stapler. 💪 The Director’s PA usually takes care of these things, but hasn’t set foot in the building since last March. I had to google, but I feel so proud to have mastered a new skill.

It’s still cold in our building. I wore an extra layer today but I will have to put my fingerless gloves back on soon. 😞

Didn't sleep well last night because of period pain. I feel pretty wiped out this morning so I'm eating a huge pile of peanut butter toast while waiting for the ibuprofen to work.

Silkiecat is currently right by DH's ear and howling as loud as she can into it, he's going through all the things he might have done to offend her. It seems it was him talking to DD so now DD has gone and cat is happy again, her rightful place as no 1 to DH is restored. He really isn't supposed to communicate with anyone other than cat unless a video call when people can admire her.

Just done drama and French with DS, eaten a salmon and cream cheese toasted roll, well 2 and drinking tea. DD now with me. Had e-mail from EA saying our buyers ready to exchange, checking with their buyers.

I love the idea of SilkieCat only approving of video calls, so people can admire her but not encroach on her personal space

ChampagneCat can hear DS on a video call from the other end of the house. His friends think she's highly amusing (as does DS, though he pretends to be infuriated with her antics) She has perfected a whole repertoire of rolling on her back, head butting the camera and knocking things off of DS's desk to keep her online audience amused

I've taken DS for his penultimate orthodontist appointment, after almost three years they come off next month! We celebrated with a KFC as DH is at work and disapproves of KFC. I figure he will be too sore after they've been removed so we made good today.

Silkiecat has similar techniques for video calls - ones from DHs work are fine as they always start off with rightly admiring Silkiecat. DH's online piano lessons sometimes Silkiecat has to walk over the piano or knock all the piano music off to get her rightful level of attention. In work calls Silkiecat has also been known to walk over the keyboard and turn screen upside down by standing on keys and also show her bottom to everyone. She is keen when everyone online calls DH as she knows it is just to see her and say cat a lot.

ChampagneCat can hear DS on a video call from the other end of the house. His friends think she's highly amusing (as does DS, though he pretends to be infuriated with her antics) She has perfected a whole repertoire of rolling on her back, head butting the camera and knocking things off of DS's desk to keep her online audience amused

Sodding is popular with DS1’s friends and has a fan following of his own. He’s fired off a couple of half finished emails on my laptop and regularly shows off his bum in meetings. 😫

@Iveputmyselfonthenaughtystep - I'm sorry to hear that you're still feeling poorly. Head colds are making the rounds here too.

@sueelleker - I had dogs growing up. Any move in the direction of the front door set off a frenzy in anticipation of a walk.

@QuestionableMouse - I hope you feel better soon. I'm so glad those days are behind me. Be careful not to overdo it with the ibuprofen. It does terrible things to your GI tract if overused.

DS's haircut situation appears to be approaching a resolution. DH sent him the contact info for the salon, which he and DS used to go to together. In 2019 DS found himself a new stylist he liked better and was much more expensive who has since disappeared. DH has been urging him to just go back to the old place, which DS agreed to over the weekend. DH gave him the money to go, even though DS has plenty of cash. DH texted him yesterday to remind him to call. He now has an appointment for tomorrow. His hair, as it is now, simply would not do for an internship, which even DD has told him.

And he's almost 21.

Have you got many restrictions in new york state? Have you had the vaccine yet?

I felt a bit sad earlier walking past a secondary school which was deserted. Normally I have to avoid hyper teens.

Have you got many restrictions in new york state? Have you had the vaccine yet?

New York is not in bad shape compared to lots of places in the US, like California or Texas. Restrictions in NY vary from place to place. NYC has no indoor dining in restaurants but it's permitted where I am at 25% of capacity. Some schools are open and some are closed, depending on the case rates in the surrounding communities. I'd say most are closed.

I have not had the vaccine yet but I'm also not providing front-line patient care currently. I hope to get it soon but the distribution is turning out to be much harder than anyone anticipated. The states, including NY, have done a poor job planning for it. I'm not terribly fussed about it. I think there's a good chance that I had an asymptotic case at some point since March, but I should still get the vaccine at some point.

I'm also taking some vitamins and dietary supplements that have evidence of providing prophylaxis for covid. They won't provide immunity but they may well moderate case severity.

I have (in a fit of wild enthusiasm and hopeless over optimism for which I am well known) signed up to walk virtually from Lands End to John o'Groats in a year. I'm two days in and almost two miles behind already.

I got DH to sign up as well, but I suspect as he works less than me and is also in charge of spaniel walks he will find it less of a challenge. This has piqued my competitive streak

Welp, today has been an utter shitshow. We started well (baking banana bread, as per Ye Olde Lockdowne Traditions) but then we had Teams maths... DH volunteered to supervise so I could go for a run. Came back to find them both in a state of despair, with nothing learnt and much sadness / frustration all round. Got DS cheered up, then we had Teams phonics which was equally awful and ended in tears (mine!). Basically DS cannot cope with these calls, they are too much stimulation and too much pressure, and it all goes very swiftly to utter crap. Not helped by seeing the rest of the class apparently behaving beautifully and taking part as DS thrashes around, throws things and looks everywhere except the screen as he scribbles all over himself and recites stories so he doesn’t have to listen...!

Anyway, after sending a rather sad message to the class WhatsApp it appears not to be just ds (or me) who is struggling... I sent a rather heartfelt email to the SENDCO followed by a longer email to DS’s class teachers (cc-ing SENDCO in) saying that we would no longer be taking part in the teams calls because DS can’t cope, and asking what I can do instead to support him and actually, could they offer any support as well please? And we downloaded ‘teach your monster to read’ which is going down an absolute storm, and printed some pencil control worksheets off too. I hope I’m doing the right thing with this. But those calls are appalling, they just send DS into a frenzy and he isn’t actually learning anything - I think they’re becoming an actively negative experience for him and that’s the last thing I want. So 🤷‍♀️

I have eaten my own body weight in biscuits and now feel a bit sick as well. Sigh.

Spudlet, I'm so sorry that it's gone so badly. I think that you're doing exactly the right thing by downloading some things that you and he can work on in peace without the pressure of the video classes.

You can only do what you can do.