thelesis_w

Kayleigh and Lucy are having a short break in Kraków, atm -- Bodhi is staying with Lucy's mam and sister. They left Saturday evening and will fly home tomorrow morning, so it really is a short visit. This means I've been on/am on cat and tortoise duty at their house.

Though, the cat looking after isn't as involved as previously ( cut for sad talk about a cat, not Murphy or Kevin. )

Before they went away Kayleigh asked if I wanted a hoover they were going to throw away as they'd bought a new one. I figured it would be perfect to keep in James' craft room, as that's always full of saw dust. I tried it for the first time today and the thing is a beast! It's a Shark brand, and there's not a thing wrong with it, so much so I'm seriously considering keeping it for my main hoover and giving James our usual one. I can't believe they were just going to throw it away.

I usually watch Eurovision, but tapped out halfway through on Saturday night. I just wasn't feeling it, and was tired as we'd taken the bus to Durham for a walk before coming home to take Kayleigh and Lucy to the airport. I did enjoy Doctor Who beforehand though and liked how it tied into Eurovision day.

It was class earlier, and I enjoyed it. Though, had a laugh with my friend as we walked home as Rosie split us up for the circuits, making us feel like we were back at school and had been split up for talking too much. That's not why she did it though, at least, I don't think so. Just, there were new people, and she wanted them to be partnered with old timers. I ended up with a lady coming to her first class, and it was also the first time she'd been out in public for a long time, so I'm glad I could be a friendly face in what had to be a difficult situation.

I got my intoabar assignment which is Aramis (The Musketeers) meets Joey Fatone (Nsync ) in a bar.

I opened the notification email. Then I stared. Then I laughed a little hysterically.

But, thinking about it since then, I'm sort of thinking of leaning into fanon and how Aramis hates the cold after Savoy and of course Joey survived the bitter cold of Germany -- which is North Pole levels of cold it seems, and often leads to huddling for warmth in a shared bed.

Surely something to bond over? How they actually meet in the first place? Hell if I know.

James was off the last two days so Wednesday we headed to Beamish for a long walk in the sunshine.

Then yesterday did something a bit different in that we took my SiL and oldest nephew for a train driving experience that he'd been given for his birthday.

I have to admit, I was a bit dubious before going as the railway people had sent all these emails saying to take part people had to be able to climb six foot into the train, wear sturdy shoes and clothes that couldn't be ruined by dirt, and I was very much of the opinion, yeah no. But I guess they had to stress worst case scenarios, as nothing like that happened.

It was a bog-standard modern train which Andrew got to drive over 22 miles of private railway track. It was a beautiful journey too, through gorgeous countryside, and I got to sit in the passenger part of the train with my SiL while James sat in the cab with my nephew, with the instructor standing behind and giving instructions.

I thought there would be some kind of dual controls, but nope, Andrew was in total control and did so well. He's obsessed with trains and buses, so this experience was a dream for him. Seeing him so happy was amazing, and showed that he could actually drive a train. Sadly, his autism means that while he could do that aspect of the job, dealing with the public or anything unexpected would completely throw him. Which is a shame, but after summer he's about to start a specialist college programme designed to get disabled young adults into the workforce, so hopefully, he'll be helped toward some railway based role, even if it's not a driver.

I enjoyed the wedding on Saturday. It was such a lovely location and the bride and groom were so happy, and both looked amazing.

There was a lot of waiting at first as things had became delayed so the main wedding party were still eating dessert when the evening guests arrived. But, we could wait in a courtyard with an attached bar, and met up with some old friends and just chatted until everyone could go to the main area.

Because of that delay lots of things got pushed back, the photo booth people could only take photos for an hour as they'd turned up at the time they'd been booked from, when the majority of people were still waiting outside. Then the food -- hot rolls, beef in gravy, pork in gravy, vegan sausages in gravy, complete with chips and various sauces, wasn't served until 10:30. Which was good for the main guests who were still eating at seven, but not so much for everyone else. But, there was also a nicely stocked free candy bar, so people were fuelled by sugar.

Funny story, while waiting a lady came rushing over saying, I know you but don't know how! I didn't know how either, though knew her face, so gave a few suggestions, were we at school together? Scout events? ( The bride and groom were both scouts, which is why we were invited, from that connection ) but it actually turned out she works at Company Shop, just neither of us clicked the connection due to being dressed so differently than usual.

She was such a lot of fun though, and insisted on buying a round of shots for everyone while we were waiting. No idea what the shot was, but it tasted good.

Despite the timing issues it was such a good night and if it wasn't such a long drive home we would have stayed even later than we did. If anyone is interested, I posted photos on Insta, here.

Yesterday was class, then Bodhisitting on the afternoon. Lucy did offer to pick me up but I said I'd just walk up after class as it seemed pointless to walk home then be picked up half an hour later. Plus, it was a lovely sunny day, so I enjoyed the walk.

Class was about fibre, which was quite interesting, and the battle ropes and slam ball was out, which I enjoyed. Though, things felt a bit extra challenging after class being off last week and me not doing my usual at home stuff due to not feeling well. After leaving some of the ladies were stopping for a drink at the attached gym cafe and asked me if I wanted to join them, but I couldn't which is a shame. Hopefully, that will happen again as while I've made one friend who I tend to walk home with, it'll be nice to talk to more of the others away from the class setting.