Leaves

Had a very productive day today which I'm very pleased with . . . . .

Did more marking before breakfast - just 5 or 6 papers to go which I'll do before breakfast tomorrow then I'm done :)

Did a bit of laundry and hung it out in the sunshine. Yes - sunshine. None of the forecast rain yet, though it's definitely on its way . . . . . even a bit of snow for those further south.

Headed to town via the fireplace shop and put my order in. It's been a tough decision and one, to be honest, I'm still not thrilled about, but if I want to be warm when winter sets in I need to have something! The fireplace I've ordered is the one which requires least modification to the hearth and surround so at least I'll get to preserve some of the brickwork. In 2-3 weeks (hopefully!) my black hole will be burning the first few logs of the winter and will become a warm black hole!

Almost next door to the fireplace shop is a locksmiths who I visited again today. A couple of weeks ago I bought a new key for my front door as the old one was well and truly worn! Sadly, I couldn't get the new one to work in the lock either hence I took the lock out and headed back to the locksmith today. The first thing they did - which I never even thought of! - was to try the key in the lock (I'd tried to lock the door with the new key and couldn't, but I never tried the lock itself, free from the door) - to may amazement, it worked!!! He explained that with the moist weather we've had - and maybe the age of the door - it's probably dropped a bit so the lock and the lock hole don't now line up. When I got home and put it all back together again, sure enough, a slight lift on the handle as I lock/unlock it and all is sweet.

Made a trip to the Council just to tidy up something about my fireplace consent. At the best of times I find beauracracy incredibly frustrating and, even though I thought we might have been heading down the path of red-tape frustration, the 2 people I spoke with today were wonderful . . . . . . human, understanding, warm and caring. I left with a much more positive feeling than I had thought I might :)

Today's highlight however, was going over the road to the travel agent and making some serious inroads into putting together a possible itinerary for my India trip. Like any good puzzle, it takes time to work it out, but I feel really good about the first draft plans I have. All I now have to do is get the boss to OK some time off . . . . . . .

So - yes - today was very busy and very productive . . . . . . . . but still the garden remains untouched, untidied and the lawns unmowed. Another day eh?!