The week before last, my hoover died. I think actually it died way before that as it wasn’t working before that as it didn’t do a great job of taking up the pine needles after Christmas but such is my aversion to hoovering (look, I come by it honestly, my mum hates hoovering too!) that I finally had to admit when I tried to hoover again the week before last.

So it was time to buy a new hoover and I did and it was the cheapest one I could get away with and would do double duty as a dust buster (because that also died this year!), apparently all hoovers in my house (however infrequently used) have a 10 year shelf life. It’s gone up in price since last week but and I have to say this, it’s very impressive and because I’ve been indoors a lot this week, it was freezing and there was snow, so my lunchtime walk was housework, there was loads of hoovering this week. Lockdown has turned me into a person I don’t recognise anymore…

Also this Saturday we did the family Champions League draw via Zoom, it’s weird, we now have a WhatsApp group for all five of us, that Oli set up (called CL Rivals!) it’s lovely but slightly weird that he’s grown enough to be in a WhatsApp group with us and to set it up! Ben and I are close to Mum but we aren’t at all close with our aunts and uncles and our parents weren’t close with their siblings, it’s nice to think that we still are and that we’re finding ways to include Oli (and eventually Joe). Ben also has this theory that in order to stop an emu attacking you, you have to put your hands above its head. That sounds to me like a ‘Dad fact’ and in particular, a Noel Dempsey special – this was the man that told me that ‘Hey Jude’ was written for my Aunt Jude! Anyway, my Champions League draw was Porto, PSG and Chelsea. Wish me luck, I’m going to need it!

My plans for this week are to spend some time on the plot, to take advantage of half term and some key people being out of the office to do some longer term work, instead of the fire fighting I’ve been doing so far this year! We had a really good year in 2020 and considering 9 months of it was mostly us all at home, it was a stellar year. Unfortunately, or fortunately for our long term job prospects, there is always more to do and every day is (or should be) a learning day!

Lent starts on Wednesday, so Tuesday is all about pancakes and excess because after that, I’m not eating sweets, crisps, cake, ice cream, biscuits or chocolate (we’re no fun until Easter, I’m allowing myself sugar free jelly and tinned fruit). I’m doing other stuff for Lent too, I’m bedding in my no meat or fish eating Monday to Friday, upping my food bank donations, and adding 30 minutes of prayer and meditation to my days. This Lent feels a little different, last year I leaned into it because we were in lockdown and it seemed to fit. This year, it feels like it’ll be easier or harder to do. After the first lockdown, the only change in my life was that I was working from home every day and I didn’t get to see my nephews, I’m not madly social, I still got to see my mum and while I didn’t see everyone as much as usual, there hadn’t been a huge change. Our third lockdown, feels like a massive change, I’ve seen Sue every week for a walk, I’ve seen the godchildren (Ryan and Miss T excepted) for walks, but I haven’t seen Ma and everything seems to be dragging. To say nothing of doing Spring on the plot solo again, I guess it’s just going to be a case of do it and see what happens..