Pottering along under the weather.

Another unsettled night, but now the reason has become obvious, I have some sort of bug, my throat is sore, my glands up and I have the beginning of a mouth ulcer. Norman on the other hand, is in rude good health and in exuberant high spirits, rolling on his back and wriggling with pleasure at the anticipation of another day, or knowing him, more likely in anticipation of breakfast! The snow has gone, replaced by driving rain and high winds, Normy heroically braves the elements in order to perform his morning ablutions in the garden and then hurries back indoors and takes station by the radiator, waiting for me to fry breakfast. He is out of luck this morning, as I am having smoked salmon with cream cheese on rye toast for breakfast and the old guy has to make do with dry dog food. We can't hang about this morning, as I have to collect Louis at 8:30 and take him to school, so after coffee and a quick flick through the Guardian, I shower and dress, grab Normy, complete with new coat, and leave the house at 8:15. The traffic is nose to tail all the way into Beverley, and the delay means we get caught at the level crossing for the 8:25 to Hull, so it is almost twenty five minutes to nine by the time I collect Louis. Because we are later than usual and it is still raining, I ask if he wants to go in the car, but no he wants to walk with me and Norman and chat about stuff. I give him my umbrella, but the wind blows it inside out in seconds, though fortunately the rain has eased to a few spits, Norman dragging his heels until he offloads some "treasure", which we deposit in the bin at the start of New Walk. Mostly Louis wants to talk about how cool the iPad, will be, that Santa Claus is bringing him, I try to sell him a visit to the Panto, but he is firmly set against this, though keen to go sledging when it snows during the holidays. In his mind it will be a classic Hollywood Xmas, with Santa, Reindeer and picture postcard snow scenes. Who knows, he could be right, but it is equally likely to be wet and squally. At the school gates he gives me a hug and a kiss, before running happily to class, despite being told, by me, to walk. Norman and I retrace our steps to the car and drive to Cherry, I have decided to walk the dogs around the village today, as the Westwood will be a morass of mud, now the ground has thawed and following the heavy rain overnight. The rain has stopped by the time we collect Dolly and Teddy, so the three of us set out on our stroll round the village, the dogs checking out the scents on every lamppost and blade of grass. With this amount of attention, it takes almost an hour to walk the mile or so around the outskirts of Cherry Burton. When we return, Pip asks me to fill the washer bottle on her Micra, which I do, before driving to Morrison's to buy more rye bread and some seafood for a paella, that I intend to make for lunch. I have a missed call from Felicity, so ring her back and ask if she needs anything from the supermarket while I am there? She asks me to get some cooked chicken pieces, and I tell her to put the kettle on and that I will bring some cakes. Shopping only takes five minutes, the cakes become an apple pie, and I also buy an enormous Sicilian aubergine, that will become a Parmagianna tomorrow. When we arrive at Albert Terrace, Liz the Aussie Sherpa, who helps Felicity three mornings a week, is still there, she declines the offer of tea and apple pie and leaves shortly afterwards. We have ours as elevenses, while Norman raises a paw and begs for food, resplendent in his new blue coat. We only stay for half an hour, as I can see the old girl is tiring, she is usually up by half past five and likes to have a nap after lunch. We arrive back in Tickton at midday, and, after unloading Norman and the shopping, I fetch my washing from the garage, where it has been hanging for almost two weeks and is still not completely dry, but OK to iron. The next task is to separate my whites from my coloureds and put the former on to wash, there are quite a lot, as I missed wash day last Saturday. Finally we make the paella, Normy is getting quite impatient, but it takes as long as it takes. Not long really, the only prep, is peeling and dicing an onion, the prawns, mussels, peppers and Mediterranean vegetables are all straight from the freezer. I give it an oriental twist by frying the seafood gently in garlic, chile and ginger and then set it aside in a bowl while the onions, rice and vegetables are sautéed, equally gently, and then sprinkle some turmeric for colour, pour on some fish stock and add a few peas, before the prawns and mussels are reintroduced and the dish left to simmer over a low heat, until the rice has absorbed all the stock. It is ready by the time "The World at One", airs on the radio. Norman has his in a little bowl and I serve mine on a dinner plate, in practice, I take the covered pan off the heat and leave it to stand for five minutes, after first giving it a good stir. This prevents sticking and burning and ensures the rice is fluffy and has absorbed the last bit of fluid. We both clear our plates and later, whilst I am drinking a glass of pop, Leslie phones and asks me not to call this afternoon as he hasn't been sleeping and wants to rest, so I agree to see him over the weekend. My batteries are also running low and I feel tired, so I meditate and then put my feet up for an hour, with Norman on my knee. He soon falls fast asleep and snores gently, while I watch the rain that has started again, whipping against the window. The spin cycle on the washer, clicks off and stirs me from my reverie, I retrieve my underwear, which I am reduced to drying, hanging from rails on the radiators. After putting my shirts and pyjamas in to wash, I put the oven on and then knock out a batch of oaties, as the last biscuits were eaten yesterday. Bolognese sauce is made next and transferred to the slow cooker, for tomorrow's Parmagianna, the monster aubergine is sliced and salted and then the slices pressed in a collander in the sink, under the weight of a two litre bottle of cream soda. This removes all the bitterness and tomorrow, I will rinse, dry and fry these slices to a golden brown, in olive oil and then use them to build my dish, with alternate layers of sauce, aubergine and mozarella cheese, before baking it in the oven for 45 minutes. It is now five o' clock and Norman wants his dinner, there is half a pan of Paella left, but I give him his dog tin instead and then we walk round the village, playing "praise and pat"' on our way home down Green Lane. When we return indoors, I make tea and eat a couple of oaties, before reading last Sunday's Observer Review on my iPad. There is a mountain of ironing to do, but I can't face it tonight, I will attack it tomorrow, whilst listening to Watford v Hull on the radio, assuming that my bug doesn't get worse. I read " The Arcanum", for half an hour, but have to give up as I feel too tired. To bed for nine.