All in the course of a days work and training

 

All in the course of a days work and training

We were lucky this morning to get our 8 mile run in before a lonely little shower drifted along. We met a lady on a chestnut horse just as we were returning to our car, who couldn’t believe her bad timing or her choice of clothes since she only had a tee shirt on and no waterproof coat. As it turned out it was only a short shower and we were in the car and off to the next part of the day before the heavier burst of rain briefly fell.

Out on our run we had seen more deer than we had for the last few weeks including a pretty doe with the sweetest little twin fawns just behind her. Then later on there were several more here and there. Just about at our four mile point, where we came out of the darkness of the woodland and into bright sunlight, behind the village church in Patching, there was the only chance we had had of catching a photograph. The little deer looked up startled as we appeared and stood looking at us long enough for me the get the camera out of Steve’s stretchy Flip belt.

We are among the most open of countryside geeks. A great view, or any animal or photographable bird, will stop us in our tracks. Our runner’s world so early in to morning, is simply marvellous and we are happy to be alive and healthy enough to spent hours running through nature. Sussex is an amazing county with beauty everywhere.

Before going home, Steve drove into Arundel for a slow lap of the centre before going to look at the sea two miles south of there. The sea looked calm and inviting and a couple of early swimmers were taking advantage of the convenient high tide. There were a couple of paddle boarders further out there too.

After turning round, Steve drove into the nearest garage to our home and bought Diesel. It was the first fill in over three months. Just before the official lockdown, he had filled both our vehicles; the VW Caddy van that we use mainly for business, but also as transport to races etc. Our other car is also a VW but it is a Golf; and a very, very old one that; it had been my daughters car before we acquired it from her. So that shows how very little we traveled during lockdown. One fill in three months, compared to the normal use, mainly for Steve’s antiques shipping work.

Once indoors it was time for another cup of coffee before starting on our second round of exercise. Today, Qigong again, that is so nice to do after a good hard run. It was a very good run, because Steve checked the Garmin Forerunner when we got in and it told us that this mornings effort was the 3^rd best out of the nine 8 milers we have done in the last two months. The device also told us that we had run 99 miles in the last four weeks. After the Qigong it was time for our ballet workout. It is as previously mentioned mainly for core strength exercises with a gentle movement based warm up and some entry level ballet, Pliés and the like for the main set.

We have both done a few jobs in the garden, which is a whole new world for Steve who has always left it all to me. He had busied himself trying to prevent the blankedy-blank seagulls from coming in our teeny weeny little garden and eating everything before the pretty little birds, that we enjoy watching, had had their feed. Steve had arranged the chairs (that belong with the table) as a shield around the bird table and hanging feeder. Before I go on I should mention that if the cat does not eat all her food when I first put it down, that I tip the rest on the table for the birds rather than attract fly’s with leftovers in the house.

I had not long done that, when a huge seagull battled its way into the garden. This is not easy for lumbersome creatures like that. It easy for tiny birds, but the big boys have to negotiate the garage wall, a wooden shed, a wall that disguises the oil tank, another decorative wall with big pots secured on top of it. There are also two washing lines, since I prefer air dried garments and hardy ever use the tumble drier.

There was a battle royal when I saw its ugly flapping, and I went straight out to shoo it away. It didn’t manage to get the height to take off and in the end I cornered it at the garage door where it was panicking. There was contact with huge flapping wings and my legs and arms but I managed to get in behind it and get it aimed at a clear route out where he could and did eventually take off. Steve watched astonished and offered congratulations at the manoeuvres.

Steve’s skills, were called to serve later on when during some needlework my sewing machine jammed and I could not manage to get it working again. I fiddled with it for a while but then called in the cavalry to step forward with small screw drivers etc. Unlike some people, my husband loves it when I ask him to do something for me that I have failed to sort out myself. He asked me to stay close, in case it needed testing because he doesn’t know how to use the machine. He took this bit of covering and that off and cleaned everywhere and each time I tried the machine again. He found the part that was jammed and soon it was cleaned and serviced and he was happy to do it.

The first thing I did when I put on my close work glasses was to lose a screw! Yes, I had a screw loose. (Always). It was gone and my glasses had only one arm. Steve saw this but I said not to worry that I would get them to the opticians to repair or easier still order another pair and have them sent. He left the room but came back in a few moment later with an old pair of glasses with which to rob Peter to pay Paul.

What would I do without my darling husband? He knew that although I have a lot of different pairs of distance glasses that I only had that one best pair of reading glasses from the optician, all the rest that are floating around are off the reading glasses stand, standard readers in shops that are OK for looking at a menu or the phone but not that I can thread a needle with. I do some form of hobby sewing everyday.