Getting there

Slowly, but surely, working my way through the assessment task list. Nearly, very nearly completed the Critical Rationale for PWR3. Would've carried on with it, but it's gone 2am already, I had my blog to write(!), and an early start tomorrow, followed by a long day. Been a long day today. Seemed to pass exceedingly quickly though. Squeezed in a mountain of things as usual.

Started off by cycling Billy to school – haven't done it in ages, but he was hideously late, and I wasn't prepared to drive him. Was the nicest part of the day really, ultra mild, and zooming down the hill, always a buzz. Grabbed some shopping at the Co-op, and more fruit and veg on the way home. Intended to get stuck straight in, but the relative warmth made me think I should scrub the mold off the girls' bedroom wall – with the window open, would have half a chance of drying. Am so fed up with battling against mold; can't wait for the day when I'm living in a centrally heated, spore-free house. In my dreams.

Took longer than it was supposed to of course, as did the laundry. When I did log on, wasted loads of time browsing other people's websites to glean some style ideas for mine. Needn't have bothered, as wasn't at all useful. Typed up a load of semi-pertinent quotes, that will hopefully be useful, but who knows. Pearls of wisdom like:

Whenever I have to choose between two evils, I always like to try the one I haven't tried before.

Mae West

Poetry often enters through the window of irrelevance.

M.C. Richards

Words are a form of action, capable of influencing change.

Ingrid Bengis

Cycled down to DPN – Digital Peninsula Network, to meet up with the lovely Nick, who foolishly agreed to help me with my website. Disregarded, totally, the rubbish set-up as done at Falmouth. Came up with a funky header of Fi Read (writes...) which is rather clever. And then a sophisticated, textured parchment background with all the menu bars in place. Took 2 1/2hrs, so now I'm feeling incredibly guilty for having imposed on his goodwill – think I'll buy him a 'thank you' bottle of wine, and drinks on me when next he's in the ACORN. I even had to dash off to the ACORN part-way through for the bar staff meeting, while Nick had a fag. Arrived in the nick of time for shift allocation; relieved not to have missed out on that.

Eventually headed home just after 5pm. Had just missed Lucy, who'd gone to gym, leaving a trail of pasta twists in the sink, and exploded pasta sauce in the microwave. Cooked everyone else's tea, shoveled it down (was so hungry), then snuck out to drive to Breague, and pick up the boy's bike offered on free-cycle. Filled up with diesel on the way – amazed that the tenner I put in previously lasted 162 miles; the Fiesta would've struggled to make 100 on that amount of petrol, so well chuffed with the fuel economy!

Well chuffed with the bike too – hopefully so will Billy be when he gets it for his birthday. Super dooper, blue, virtually brand new model with suspension, and 15 gears. Bought for their lad who was born with one leg shorter than the other, various operations meant that he'd grown out of it with little use. Made the mistake of asking how the latest op went, only to be told he'd had a below the knee amputation – now what's the etiquette for responding to that?

Anyway, really pleased to have sorted Billy a decent bike out, will have to smuggle it down to the cellar when he's not about. One day, I'll have a house with a garden, with a shed, so we won't have to trip over all the bikes stacked up as you come in through the front door...