It is nearly That Time of Year, and I am behind with everything, just because I got a little bit drunk one evening and then it snowed. It snowed a lot, actually, and has been very cold ever since, so the roads are treacherous and I thought that I might walk to badminton, which is quite a long way. I was sure that someone would offer me a lift home, because I made cakes out of cornflakes for everyone. And they did, mentioning that I could have had a lift there as well if I'd asked, but I didn't think of it.
Mr A and The Boy's tobogganing expedition was not a great success, because there was too much snow that had not yet been packed down. The Boy's train to the next stop of his tour was also cancelled, which was a little worrying for him, but the next one ran OK. I started to feel that I was missing the beauty of snow-covered Leamington, so I went out on an expedition to take photos and buy some essential supplies (e.g. chocolate).
Other than that, I have not been working as hard as I might, getting distracted quite easily. Our house has been throwing challenges at us - it experienced a power cut in the middle of the night, which meant the heating timer was reset and the heating didn't come on in the morning as it should, giving us a brief twinge of panic (and frostbite) until the boiler successfully fired up. The timer is Not Very Well though, allowing access to most functions except the one that turns the central heating on and off on demand. It still does everything else, so we are ignoring it for the time being and hoping that it will get better by itself.
The washing machine has also showed signs of rebellion by spewing water over the floor. A process of elimination revealed that the outlet pipe had accumulated a plug of detritus which we removed, but a seal was weakened on some other pipes that we took apart during the process of elimination, so we're catching the drips and will attend to it when we have more strength. It could be a lot worse, but just writing this is tempting fate. There are still a whole lot more appliances and devices around the house that could join in the revolt and make our lives uncomfortable in the current subzero temperatures.
I have done a small amount of work, and my research project supervisor was kind enough to telephone so that I didn't have to turn up in person for a meeting. All is well, she gave me much useful advice, but I need to actually do the work, and time is slipping by. I have a great deal to do before we go on a real holiday to a place where there may be no Internet access for a week.
Final note: I wrote most of the above yesterday. When I got home from badminton, Mr A was in the kitchen mopping up water that had been coming in from above the window. It is a mystery where it is coming from, because there is a flat roof above the kitchen, but we have called a plumber and are living on minimal water until tomorrow. Unfortunately we have our second snowboard lesson this afternoon, which they stress very emphatically is non-transferable and non-refundable. Perhaps there are showers there we could use...
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