Good morning Mick and all GN's from a very cold, still, grey morning in North Yorkshire. Definitely winter clothes weather and if it is this cold I shall go out in the car , as I think it is too bitter to go on the yellow peril.
Yesterday I had intended to go out for a couple of bits, but never left the flat. Once I had got started, I just carried on with the search for the missing blood pressure machine, and combined it by being quite efficient as I then had 3 bags with me. One was for real rubbish to go in the bin, one was for recycling stuff and the third was for everything that was found in the wrong place to remove and sort later. It was a very efficient way of dealing with things, so that I didnt have to keep toing and froing for small amounts.
At the same time I had put washing out to dry early on, and for a change of job a bit later did the cashmere sweaters, and got them out on the line too. I stuck with the job in hand and had some smoked haddock for lunch , rather than doing the cooking I had intended, as while I felt able to continue I needed to carry on. So I had radio 3 to keep me going as I plodded through high up cupboards, carefully getting up the steps - which fortunately are very light - to reach the top ones. On the plus side, I am pleased to have sorted quite a lot of things out, but still no sign of the machine, which was really the major reason, so today I am going to have to contact the doctors and explain why I havent been keeping the checks and see if they can lend me a machine perhaps, or she will have to wait until I find mine before I can do as she asks.
One thing I have now resolved is that I need to insist that the cleaners check with me before putting things anywhere and that I know what is where, They have done a good job in general but it is the odd bits and pieces that I found in unexpected places , and it can make me so cross when I cant find things and think it is me or they are lost.
So I must carry on to at least finish checking one room and be able to see things in a more organised manner to show for all my efforts. As it is so very cold this morning it wont be an effort to stay in. The mountain of ironing awaiting my attention will have to wait for a bit longer, but I need to make a lamb curry and a beef casserole from the meat I got on saturday and then they can provide tonights meal and also some to go into the freezer for later. Well that is the plan, not necessarily the end result!
I kept on with my sorting, with stops for my back, and reading the Yorkshire post for a break. Was very virtuous in ignoring my new books that I am itching to read and look through, but they will be a pleasure to enjoy later I hope. The only slight negative at the moment is that as I get a cupboard or drawer sorted they then get closed , so that whilst I know that I have done well, the room still looks awful as the tidied bits are hidden and the bags of stuff to sort out are on the floor etc.
I felt a bit fed up not finding the machine, it was expensive and it just niggles anyway as I used to pride myself on knowing where I had put things and I see from this effort that there are lots of things that I have put away "for now" which never got dealt with and need to try harder to do things correctly in the first place or have a bag perhaps to put things into until I feel able to do things properly. However I decided to stop and enjoy watching The other Miss Bennett to cheer the day. I enjoyed it very much, and it was a very good switch off from the days effort. She is very good in the part I think and I remembered her playing Sister Francis I think she was called in Call the Midwife, so she is having some good parts and no doubt we shall see more of her in the future.
This morning I plan to throw out the rubbish, return things to where they belong and do the bits of housework before having another bash at the sorting out and hope to have checked all one room completely. As I am going through things I am also writing down little bits that I need to get sorted, such as a better more robust picture hanger so that I can put up a larger picture that is languishing against the wall , waiting to be hung, finally sort out the annoying string on the blind, etc. I am rarely in this mode these days so need to make the most of it! As I look out the sky is lighter but it is still very cold and no sign of the squirrel , just a couple of pigeons pecking about on the ground and then wandering along the bare branches of the tree prospecting for nest sites.
Hope your meals arrive early Mick so that you can get off on your trip to town. Hope you find something interesting to do today grandMattie. Grandmabatty, how sad for your friend, and how helpless we feel to offer any words or comfort at such times. I hope that being with your grandchildren for a little while will be a comforting thing for you today. Marzipan what a great photo and such a lovely reminder of a happy time. Sounds as though you had a good time and hope that you can get your medicine quickly to allow you to get off early to "foreign " parts.
Well time to begin todays efforts and hope that I dont run out of this rare efficiency mode before the jobs are done. I wish you all a positive and pleasant day, whether it is getting jobs done or meeting friends and family and enjoying time together. Have a good day
. We’ll be off out today, as it looks to be sunny, perhaps head along the coast for a while. 
