Good Morning Sunshine!

 Friday. 7.50 a.m. Already been out with Alfie, He was barking at me when he saw me getting ready. It's sunny and warm, but I am hoping we get rain soon, as it's too much. The digital thermometer reads 23ºC. On the weather forecast on BBC Breakfast, they were saying we might expect rain over the weekend. As much as I love it bright and sunny, I really can't cope with it being too hot. Alfie can't cope either.

I've done washing up, put rubbish out and washing in the washing machine. It should be done at around 8.40.

I saw a cat climbing a tree as Alfie and I walked towards Oldbrook Green. I don't think I have ever seen such a thing. It was clinging onto the trunk of the tree and then, when it saw me, it decided to come down and ran off into the tree-filled space between the rear of Dexter House and the next property, which is SIA (Spinal Injuries Association.)

6.35 p.m. I've mentioned in an earlier post my intention of selling my old iPad. It was bought during the pandemic lockdowns, but it didn't work with an Apple Pencil, which was originally why I wanted an iPad. I have to admit I didn't do my research and I now have a more powerful iPad Pro which works with my Apple Pencil. Having got all my data removed from the old iPad, I wanted to find a way to sell it. I went to the Apple Store in Midsummer Place this morning, to check that it was completely free of my data, and they did a diagnostic test to check for its technical specifications. It passed, and I was offered £120 for it, except this would only be paid as an Apple voucher.

 I wanted cash, so went to C.E.X. in the main shopping centre for a quote. The quote I got was £145, which I was more than pleased with. I had to wait 30 minutes, so they could do a security check on the iPad. I imagine they get quite a few stolen items, so they need to do a security check to make sure. My iPad is clean, so I got my payment in cash. I went to Nationwide and paid in most of the cash into my account and had some in change. We have another of the famous Shenley Christian Fellowship quiz night and I required £1 coins for that. It's this Friday evening. I went to Boots to buy Feroglobin and, as there are fewer manned tills, I had to use a self-service till. Just a pain, and as usual this one was particularly irksome. Do I need to say more? It was the same in Sainsbury's about 15 minutes later when I went in to buy one or two items. 

7.55 a.m. There's a possibility of rain sometime today or tomorrow. As it is, looking out of the window this morning, it's quite overcast.

Current temperature on my digital thermometer reads 22ºC. 

10.15 a.m. I've been to Waitrose. I use glycerin soap because other soap dries up my facial skin, and it appears that they are the only supermarket which sells it. Sainsbury used  to, but don't any longer. I think, in general, most people use liquid hand soap or shower gel. 

Having unpacked my shopping, I took Alfie out, and I saw two police horses come from the direction of The Cricketers pub and cross over Strudwick Drive and go towards Fishermead. I know these horses are kept in a field along Chaffron Way. Great to see them, and they are so well turned out.

When I came out of the door onto Strudwick Drive, there was a slight fall of rain. It was so slight that by the time we had walked halfway to Oldbrook Green, it had stopped. Not even enough to settle the dust.

4.15 p.m. It's a good deal cooler. As I write this, the digital thermometer reads 25ºC. The weather forecast suggests there will be thunderstorms soon. 

New Skills , Editing and Rewriting

 Thursday. 7.15 p.m. This must be the latest in the day I've ever started a blog post, but it's good to change these things occasionally.

I've recently upgraded my iPad to a far more powerful model which can be used with an Apple Pencil. This means it's possible to do graphic work, although the pencil can be used to great effect when using a wide range of apps, not necessarily for graphic work. I have downloaded Procreate, which allows some quite sophisticated work, and the results don't look like they've been done on a computer. There is no pixelation, which you might expect. I have now discovered an animation package which is called Squid Toon (don't ask me why they gave it that name. It has nothing whatever to do with squid or any other sort of sea creature.) Both these packages are £10 each, which is an incredible bargain and under different circumstances, would probably cost in the region of £200-£300. I am slowly learning how to use them, and I'm viewing YouTube videos to find out how to make the most of them. Both these packages are exclusive to iPad and don't work on Android tablets.

Saturday. 7.40 a.m. Goodness, gracious! Where did Friday go? As you would have realized, I didn't write anything for yesterday, Friday. I suppose it was because nothing really happened. Well, let's be honest, not a lot happens at Dexter House. 

I want to put in a new character in my writing project. It isn't just a question of 'adding' this character. I have to go back and edit a point where this character can enter the plot line. I think it's a bit like unpicking a knitted jumper and then reknitting the jumper. My mother was a great knitter and made us all beautiful jumpers. She made me a really fantastic jumper, very thick and warm. It had a cable stitch pattern on the front. It had to be remodelled, to give it a different neckline. She had to unpick a certain amount of the neckline and then reuse the wool to reknit the neckline. I think previously it had a roll neck and this was changed to a lower neckline. This is exactly the same as what I am doing with my creative writing.

I have printed off several pages of what I have already written, so I can edit it and insert this new character.

I was thinking, about how many words we use which have a connection with print and writing and sewing and weaving. Just think of weaving a story, text, texture, loose ends, dénouement, losing the thread etc.

10.55 a.m. I've been to the monthly men's breakfast at the Fountain at Loughton. We seem to have more men coming than ever before. The only problem is, it's quite difficult to hear what anyone says at the furthest from where I was sitting. It's not easy for anyone to speak and be heard clearly. We propose meeting on the 18th March at the Oaktree Centre next month and ordering McDonald's, which should make the food part easier.

It might be bright and sunny this morning, but there is a definite chill in the air, which meant I wore my jumper under my Regatta jacket. It's that time of year, almost spring, with the sun shining and a hint of wintery weather. It's difficult to know whether to wear a jacket or jumper or not, and not always choose correctly.

Sunday. 8.05 a.m. Another cold but sunny morning. 

1.20 pm. Extremely busy at church this morning. I'm not sure how many were actually in the hall, but I don't think there were any vacant seats.

Monday. 8.35 a.m. It's a great deal more overcast this morning. Actually quite cold out, when I took out Alfie around 6.45. On BBC Breakfast, Carol Kirkwood, the weather lady, said there was snow in parts of the country. 

1.30 p.m. I had transcribed around four pages of handwritten text into word processing. I'm editing and making changes as I go. Furthermore, I have to say, I'm rather pleased with how it's going. This is something I wrote some while ago and had forgotten all about, but it seems perfect as the backstory for the new character I want to introduce. 

Happy New Year!

Thursday. 9.00 a.m. I haven't written any posts for the past few days, as you will have realized if you read them regularly. There has been little to report, so there is no point in writing.  

I went into the central shopping centre yesterday, more to escape Dexter House than anything else. I bought a Rugby shirt in the Marks and Spencer sale. I do like their shirts, not just Rugbys, but also polos, of which I have quite a few. They are quite expensive, but they last through many washes, so in the end, they are worth every penny.

I have ordered a new iPad. I have been considering upgrading my current iPad, which is somewhat basic. I want to be able to do painting and drawing, using an app called Procreate. It is somewhat confusing when you start on the journey of buying these devices, as there are so many in the Apple range I went into the Apple Store in Midsummer Place and asked a staff member what was the minimum requirement for drawing and painting with Procreate, and using an Apple Pencil. I have now ordered an iPad Pro from Very, and it should be delivered within the next week, and I don't expect it to turn up this side of the New Year bank holiday. I can't wait to have it and to start experimenting with its various features. I can get the old iPad recycled and should get a price for it in much the same way I did for my old MacBook.

I washed Alfie's bed yesterday. It went into one of the machines in the laundry room. Fortunately, I took out the padding, which zips out. If I hadn't, all that padding would have come apart in the machine and might have caused problems. I was wondering if the bed would come out any cleaner, and, it did. It's so much cleaner. I'm really pleased with the result.

2.00 p.m. It's actually quite bright and sunny, but it's really deceptive, because, once I went out with Alfie, I found it was windy and chilly.

Friday. 7.40 a.m. It's cold, dark and somewhat dreary windy out, but I took out Alfie a bit earlier than usual, the main reason being that I need to load up the washing machine and I like to have it done around 7.50. 

Saturday. 3.10 a.m. Here I am again, wide awake and writing this blog post. I have been looking through emails and found one from Royal Mail, telling me the iPad I ordered is on its way. Lovely. The only trouble is, there have been strikes by the Communications Union and my parcel is probably stuck in a sorting office somewhere or other. Okay, these people have a right to strike, but I'm concerned that my parcel is in danger of being damaged. I'm hoping it's likely to be delivered to me today and not held up too long.

12.40 p.m. I had a further email from Royal Mail, informing me that the parcel from Very, containing the iPad, would be delivered sometime today. There was no indication of what sort of time to expect it, not even a window of, say, an hour or two, so I can't go out, as the parcel has to be signed for.

New Year's Day. Sunday. 12.15 p.m.  So, another year begins. 

There have been fireworks being let off yesterday evening, starting around two hours before midnight. It was more like bombs going off, quite loud and disruptive. I imagined it was in and around the open space of Oldbrook Green. I couldn't understand the sense because it wasn't like an organized firework display, just a couple of quite spectacular displays of rockets going up over Milton Keynes, which I could see from my kitchen windows. Then it went on for a further hour and a half after midnight. 

I went out with Alfie as usual around 7.30 a.m. and we walked around Oldbrook Green I was shocked by the debris left by those setting on fireworks, as mentioned above. No attempt to clear up after themselves and boxes of rubbish were left by a couple of the bins around the green. I would have been only decent of those responsible to clear up after the fireworks were let off. It does say, on the signboard on Oldbrook Green, that you aren't supposed to let off fireworks in and around the area, although who will prevent you, such as the police. Those responsible for the fireworks would have been better off giving the money they had spent to charity.

I have now set up the new iPad. I had a few issues getting the Apple Pencil to connect to the iPad, but with just a bit of effort, it connected and I have tried it out, quite successfully and will have to spend time experimenting with Procreate. I bought a manual for its use on Amazon, and I can use that to take me through the various functions. I will post how I get on with it on here, so look out for more on how I get on.

Quite a traumatic time at church this morning. There had been problems in the servery area of the cafe, as there had been flooding from the water boiler, which had been the case on Christmas Day, so it wasn't clear whether there would be tea or coffee to serve after the service, although it got resolved. Then, the lady who was due to lead and do preach wasn't able to get to church as her car broke down and had to wait for Green flag, the rescue service, to arrive. She had to sit in her car in a lay-by near Crownhill, and wait for Green Flag, so someone stepped in at short notice, but you wouldn't have known it.

Christmas Is Coming!

Sunday.10.15 a.m. I am making an effort to reach my 10,000 steps today and, hopefully, exceed that target. As I write this, the FitBit shows I have done 4132 steps. I have been out with Alfie around 7 a.m. and we have also been out at around 9.15 and did two circuits of Oldbrook Green.

4.55p.m. I have exceeded 11,000 steps (the actual reading from my FitBit is 11,647.) I took Alfie out and we did another two circuits of Oldbrook Green and went around Oldbrook, some way along Strudwick Drive and some other roads. I'm now knackered.

Monday. 10.35 a.m. Here's a thing. I've been to Sainsbury's. I bought some brandy butter. Well, you can't NOT have brandy butter at Christmas, with your mince pies or Christmas pud. On the label, it says 'contains alcohol.' Now, THERE'S a surprise! It's got brandy in it, so it's bound to have alcohol in it. Or is it? I suppose it could have brandy FLAVOUR in it, perhaps essence or something. But what do you expect from it? Tea? Coffee? It really makes you wonder who has the idea of putting obvious labels on things, such as cups of coffee that state, 'hot. May cause burns.' Or a glass bottle, 'will break if dropped.' Doh!

2.45 p.m. The weather has changed considerably. As I write this it's raining and was tipping it down when I went out with Alfie just after lunch.

Tuesday. 7.40 a.m. Fairly mild this morning. Not a lot more to report as I write this

It didn't seem quite as busy on the road, driving to Camphill yesterday morning. There wasn't the great long queue of cars at the roundabout just before the Camphill entrance, thank goodness. Another super day with the theatre workshop guys. The morning was spent with some of the guys being interviewed on video, talking about a show they had done earlier in the year, particularly how much they had achieved, what they had learnt and how it had grown their confidence. I'm not sure where this video will be shown, most likely on YouTube and other online sites and used to show the way drama helps people with learning disabilities and particularly to help with funding and making sure it carries on. A few drama exercises to get limbered up and to help with speech and after lunch Terrie, the leader of the group began working with the group on rehearsing the first few scenes of 'Twelfth Night.' The group are allowed to put their own stamp on things and add their own ideas. It looks very good at the moment. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this show develops.

Wednesday. 7.50 a.m. The weather is changing. I wasn't expecting rain when Alfie and I went out. He soon took me back indoors and is now merrily curled up on the sofa.

9.35 a.m. It's windy. In fact, looking out of the kitchen window, I can see the branches of the trees moving quite vigorously. The sun is now shining, but I don't expect it means it's very warm out.

Thursday. 7.45 a.m. Mild and calm this morning on the weather front. 

12.50 p.m. I've been to the Oaktree Centre this morning to help set up the playgroup. I left Dexter House a good deal later than usual, and as a result I managed to avoid the gridlock which I have to experience in earlier weeks. Then, on the way home at around 11.45 I had to go on a somewhat circuitous diversion because Chaffron Way was closed off at Watling Street. It was really annoying and there was no sign that this was going to happen further back towards Shenley.

5.05 p.m. As you may know (or, for that matter, maybe not) I have an iPad. I bought it during lockdown and it has been used quite a bit and I have uploaded quite a few apps, Facebook, Twitter as well as having The Telegraph app and a subscription which means I don't have to buy a print copy. I had intended using the iPad with an Apple Pencil, so I could use an app called Procreate. I downloaded it and had a look at it, but it turned out the iPad didn't work with the Apple Pencil. I just assumed that all iPads would work with such a device. Both were bought through the online store, Very, so I could pay by instalments. You never get told the basics for such things. I wasn't aware, until a few days ago, that there were so many different iPads in the range. They range from a mini version up to around a 12.5 inch version. Mine is 10.2 and, after some research to discover which version it is, that mine is a seventh generation model and doesn't work with Apple Pencil. I am therefore planning to buy a new iPad which will work with the Apple Pencil. I went into the Apple Store in Midsummer Place and spoke with a staff member, showing her the Apple Pencil I have, which has the special tip missing. It turns out it's a second generation pencil and only works with later iPad models. I had hoped to buy new tips, but they didn't have any in stock. At home I went on Amazon and have ordered some (a good deal cheaper than the Apple store.) and they should arrive sometime tomorrow. I will now order a new iPad and hopefully, the Apple pencil will work with it. (I will be more careful that I order a model with is compatible.)

Saturday Shopping and Afternoon Thunderstorm

(Saturday)This is becoming a habit. I go shopping once a week since the lockdown began and I go on a Saturday. I think most people don't get out of bed early on a weekend, (and who can blame them?) but I find that usually if I go shopping in Sainsbury's early it is easier to get in and out. I have learnt to go early enough, just before 8 o'clock, when the queue to get in is only a few people long, a lesson I learnt a few weeks ago when I got there at 7 and didn't realise that key workers and N.H.S. staff got preferential treatment so as not to have to queue. Anyway, I was in and out of Sainsbury's in a little over an hour, which was fairly good as far as I'm concerned. Having a shopping list makes all the difference but I do wish some of the shoppers would at least smile as they all look as if they're 'doomed' as Frazer used to say in 'Dad's Army' with monotonous regularity.

(Later) I've been watching a documentary series about the River Thames, presented by Peter Ackroyd on the History Hit platform (of which I'm a subscriber.) I have reached the third episode and then it goes dark outside. It was attempting to rain when I last went out with Alfie around 1.30, but I didn't let a bit of drizzle put me off, or Alfie for that matter. Then there was an almighty clap of thunder, very much like a bomb going off, and then it rained as if the whole world was going to end. It made me jump and I don't think Alfie liked it very much. It is still dark (relatively for being daylight at 3.20 approximately) and the thunder is still rolling around Milton Keynes. I don't think we will be going out for a while or at least not until the rain has stopped.

(Sunday) It's a rather dull outlook this morning. Probably just as well because the past week or two it's been unbearably hot.

I got the Apple Pencil delivered yesterday morning and I'm attempting to get it working, charging by putting it on the iPad. It's difficult to know how to get this going because it didn't come with a manual, which seems how most computer equipment comes delivered. I have to go on line and also watch YouTube videos to find instructions. I also got a parcel from Bibliophile, the discount book company, because I had ordered a rather beautiful book on Art Nouveau which I had seen when their catalogue arrived in the post and ordered on line. It has taken almost two weeks to arrive, probably held up due to the coronavirus pandemic. Likewise with the Apple Pencil.

Later. I've just been to the Tesco Metro store in Oldbrook Boulevard. It's almost comical, attempting to avoid other customers as I walk around the store. I think there's a game in there somewhere, a bit like Monopoly. It could just be called 'Lockdown.' I might even be an afternoon gameshow on television. How it would work I don't know. Probably start off with a load of points and as you go around the board you loose points if you meet other people and have to answer questions to move on round. Anyway, I wanted to get a Sunday Times and get some chocolate. Only in there five minutes and then home to then take Alfie out for another walk.