Saturday and I am up early and showered as today I am meeting friends for lunch. It’s to be a day when I will wear “normal” clothes, shirt and real trousers with actual shoes with laces. It feels slightly odd. I have breakfast and then walk down to the village shop to get some cash. By the time I get back its time to start out. It’s a familiar drive to the Whinnery in Burton and goes smoothly. It feels like a while since I have driven but in truth it’s not that long ago that I have driven to and from north Devon. When I arrive, I find one of my friends has already arrived, so we sit and chat over a drink as we wait for the others. Two more friends arrive, and we settle down to drinks and to wait for the remaining people to arrive. We get a message that motorway work has delayed the arrival of our friends and that we should order our food and continue without them. They will arrive late and then catch up with us. We eat and chat until the remaining two finally arrive some two hours later and in need of a stiff drink. One or two of the group need to be away quite early and leave the rest of us to drink and talk. There is a lot sharing of how we are and there is a great deal of laughter as we recount the ups and downs of dealing with our relatives and the anticipated frustration of neighbours appallingly tasteless Christmas Garden displays. It’s well past 5 o’clock before we contemplate leaving. We find a new date to meet in December and book a table before wandering into the car park where we say our farewells.

I get home after Strictly has started and settle down to try and catch up. Not difficult really but then it’s hardly a challenge. We watch it to its twinkling, glittery and sparkly end with no particular favourites. We then nibble pizza and watch the concluding episodes of Sherwood before giving it best and going to bed. I’ve really enjoyed my day and reconnecting with friends over food, it’s a very basic human activity that has been good. It reminded me about how fun we are when we are trying to be kind in the face aggravating relatives or trying to deal with natures changes in us. I discover one thing my current hormonal situation has equipped me for is to be able to participate in a conversation on menopause and the joys of hot flushes. I take my night meds and go to bed.

Sunday and I wake up to a coffee and a chat before getting up to a bacon sandwich. There is the usual post breakfast chat with my youngest daughter. There is good news, the new bathroom is completed and even better news, her partner has a new job with an increase in wage. So, all is good with them. For the moment they are two young professionals building their futures together and building their home successfully. At some point we will go and visit them. Having completed our Sunday morning ritual my partner and I go to the garden centre to buy fruit and vegetables and indulge in a scone and a dink. It’s another opportunity to chat about things and where we are. We return home and my partner goes off to the gym, I head for the garden before television beguiles me. I dig up all the self-sown foxgloves in the garden and then replant them in two patches at the back of the front garden. If all goes to plan next year will see a backdrop of foxgloves adding height to the front garden. I am fatigued by the effort but manage to check Fort Hog and replenish the food therein. I tidy away and retreat to the sofa with toast and a drink to watch some rugby and to catch up with the blog.

This evening will see me watching the Strictly results and then drift towards my night meds. In general, it feels a silent day, a day where I find myself in in the Chinese box and reflective.