A glut of pea and ham soup

Sudofed tablets help to clear my sinuses and leads to a better night's sleep. There has been no further snow over night and about two inches of it cover the path and the field beyond, Normy only ventures a few yards into the cold, does his business and then quickly returns indoors. Before bed last night, I made a pea soup, using the smoked pork loin joint, marinaded in the slow cooker, one packet of dried peas doesn't seem enough, so I add a second, with a few diced potatoes, onions and oregano. This morning I find I have peas coming out of my ears, the good news is that it tastes great. The peas, onions and potatoes absorbing the sweet, smoky flavour of the pork. After tasting it, I decide to serve it for breakfast, unconventional, perhaps, but it sticks to the ribs, which is what you need when it is cold and snowy outside. We wait until the rush hour traffic has subsided before collecting Dolly and Teddy from Cherry and driving to Newbald Road. Roy has brought his sandwich van out of winter retirement, in order to take advantage of the sledgers, who have made a slalom down the side of the Westwood. It is a degree colder this morning and it makes all the difference, the ground is frozen hard under the covering of snow and we progress through the woods of Newbegin Pits, which have assumed the look of a winter wonderland, without yesterday's slipping and sliding. Teddy dashes about in the search for rabbits, but sensibly they are keeping underground and staying warm this morning, Norman jogs along behind us in his blue coat, his little legs barely keeping his tackle above the snow. As we make our way towards Black Mill, heavy, dark grey, snow clouds are rolling in from the east, but a patch of blue sky hangs above the race course to our North. At the mill, Dolly comes back to the lead, but Norman has had enough of the cold and heads off down the path made in the snow by other walkers, towards the car. We drop the terriers back at Pip's and then I drive to The Grange to visit Leslie, calling at the pharmacy, en route, to buy more Sudafed. The catarrh has really got hold of my sinuses and the decongestant tablets make the condition bearable. Leslie seems a little down when I arrive, the portable radio that William brought him has gone, and he tells me he doesn't want to listen to it anymore. We walk together down the corridors to the restaurant and back, the residents are playing bingo in the reception area, not exactly Leslie's thing. He doesn't want to sit in the Lounge and tells me he has booked lunch in his room. When it arrives, Lincolnshire pork sausages, potatoes, carrots and cauliflower, he eats the sausages and potato, but leaves the vegetables, and then eats a fruit yogurt for dessert. He is due to return home on Friday, and is looking forward to it, but I fear he will slip back into depression on his own in his bungalow. We walk up and down the corridors again and on a more positive note, he walks without assistance and looks much better, for eating regularly. I leave at half past one and drive home with Norman, we both have the pea soup again for lunch and afterwards, I check my mail and sit in the Garden Room for half an hour. The bathroom is in desperate need of a thorough clean, as a combination of lime scale and mould has resulted from the damp weather. It takes me over an hour to clean the bathroom, I need to schedule this on a weekly basisin future. Outside it is snowing lightly, so I dig out the vacuum cleaner and run it through the hall and garden room and then reorganise my sweaters in the wardrobe in the bedroom. Outside it is dark when I let Norman into the garden, and then give him some Baker's for his tea, before ringing William, Leslie's son in law, to compare notes. William and Margaret visited yesterday, Leslie insisted on eating in his room and when he walked with William, insisted on using his Zimmer. It seems to me that intellectually, Leslie wants to return home, but existentially he feels safer in the Grange and is ambivalent and conflicted in his options. I fear Leslie will revert to anxiety attacks and 999 calls when he returns home. I hope I am wrong. Felicity is still full of cold when I call her and doesn't want to see anyone. She also sounds a bit down, old age isn't for cissies, to quote Bette Davis. We listen to Hull vs Leyton Orient in the FA cup, while I iron a basket full of shirts and then eat Camembert and crusty bread, while listening to the second half. Hull eventually win 2:1 in extra time, with goals from Nick Proschwitz and Tom Cairney, in extra time. Orient's goal was gifted by our keeper, Jakupovich, who let the ball slip through his hands again. This is probably his last match in a Tigers Shirt. To bed for eleven.