The Pink_Hebe definition of a 'me' day now seems to include time to sort out bank accounts, tax returns, and do the filing.  It is, I must say, very nice to have the time and, more importantly, the energy to deal with such things.  Quite often, I get home, and while there is an hour or so before bedtime, all I really want, and need, to do is go 'flop' and try to wind down.

Anyhow.  The personal administration is finally, thank you God, done.  The Brownie admin is also done (I even know the amount in the bank account left over from when we changed the Pack's Name from nth Local Brownies to n+(n-2)th Local Brownies.  And, let me tell you, that cash will come in handy!)  There are still bits of paper to be recycled everywhere, but I have made my bed.

It will take all of fifteen minutes to restore order to the sitting room, and then, I shall throw on some makeup (vanity, vanity), and leap on my bicycle, and head off to post some letters.  While I think about it... OneHotProcessor sent me yarn, and I made socks:

You'll have to ask her what the yarn is.  I have lost the label at The Welshman's place.  It is almost June, and yet I am still wearing woollen socks.  Summer occasionally appears this year, but it's being a bit sporadic about it.

The rest of today shall be spent thusly:

• Bring the laundry in
• Sweep the garden, bin up rubbish in new exciting boingy bin thing that will hold the bin bag open
• Sew a new hot water bottle cover, my red dress, maybe the oven gloves red dress jettisoned, as mistake made too far back to actually rectify.
• Knit the paternal socks

And remembering to eat something between breakfast and supper (I got too caught up in events yesterday, and forgot).

I am doing both the 5km Race for Life and the 10km Macmillan Fun Run this year. I shall end all posts until June with a shameless plea to donate: because if you can manage £2, which is, I believe, the minimum allowed, and all of you do that, well, that'll get me to my target no problem! The Race for Life money goes towards Cancer Research, and the Fun Run money goes to Macmillan Cancer Support. The former charity is all about scientific research, the latter about living with cancer, and making life a bit easier for people affected by cancer.

Thank you to everyone who's sponsored me so far. I really do appreciate it

xxx

I miss Em.  We've had a perfectly lovely (if rather long and tiring) day bouncing round the South Bank with the Guides in the sunshine, going on an awesome, awesome trail.  We looked at elephants, found out interesting facts (not that I can remember any of them), went up Tower Bridge, had a go on a clipper boat, starting and ending from the Golden Hinde.  We had a couple of mild wheezy moments, one tooth fell out (molars always bleed lots, but with some water, some ice, and some sweeties, we were OK again), we had to get extra water, and we didn't get sunburnt.

It was quite, quite awesome.  They had a lovely time, we meandered, we played pirate flag beetle (you get to keep your flag at the end of it), we waved at people, and saw things that we might not have done otherwise - Pepys Street, Dead Man's Hole, Clink Street, Fruiterer's Passage, various wharves.  The view from the top of London Bridge is wonderful, and very good for those of us that are rather bad at heights, as it's terribly well enclosed.  The engine rooms are not very interesting unless you're into that sort of thing.

Like the Brownies' trip on a steam train on Bank Holiday Monday, it was awesome, different, and fun.  It was sunny, it was cheerful.  And I just missed having Em to tell about it.  I missed having her be around to be sensible about the Guide with horribly severe asthma.  I missed being able to talk about it on the way home.  It's lovely talking with the other Guiders, but I'm a good five to ten years older than them.  It's different!  I missed her dreadfully on Friday, and a bit on Thursday.  I've been feeling rather insecure, for a few days, about everything in general and nothing in particular, and I did my usual "I've got a Guidey trip tomorrow and I'm going to get incredibly wound up about it" thing last night, and didn't sleep very well at all, plagued with nightmares where Mr Still Attached was being a berk (I walloped him) and the County Commissioner was being ineffectual and dillettantery (I said it was a nightmare).

Last weekend, there was less Guideyness going on.  I took Mum down to the Club, and we had a rather superb lunch (she got proposed to, in a slightly indirect manner, by one of the chaps across the table - they're both gardeners, he professionally.  I think he was overwhelmed by her abilities in destroying Japanese Knotweed), and then trundled round Buckingham Palace Gardens in a selection of showers and sunshine.  I rather liked the gardens, but they're a tad heavy on the rhododendrons. They're very ecologically friendly, and make their own mulch (they used to use the leftovers from the Royal Mews). 

Intervening evenings have been heavy on the Guiding, the Guiding Admin, and Meetings.  I shall draw a veil over that.

I haven't said much about the Brownies' day out on the steam train either.  It was awesome.  Victoria to Windsor, a boat trip, a picnic, and then a rather huge field with a marquee, Robin Hood and his Merrie Men, and the Sheriff of Nottingham, and horses, and sword fighting (and eight Brownies who cheered for the Sheriff in the face of around 1292 Brownies cheering for Robin), good looking actors, and then a trip home again, with more steam.

Lowlights include having to clean loos on both the train and at Buck House.  Seems both Brownies and the Ladies of the Club have similar issues with using slightly streaky loos.  Brown Owls are made of slightly sterner stuff, and are happy to wield bog brushes in all locations and then Wash Thoroughly and Apply Anti-Bacterial Hand Stuff.

Another lowlight will be tomorrow, when we have to clear out the attic again.

Oh yes, and The Welshman cycled all the way down to the South Bank with me, and dropped me off at the Golden Hinde.  The Guides did their usual version of screaming "Is that your BoyFriend"? And it was with great satisfaction that I could cut them off there, rather than letting them run through "Is that your Brother? Is that your Dad?  Is that your Uncle? Is that your Father? Is that your Son?"  They then moved onto screaming "Brown Owl Loves You!  You should marry her!" and demanding to know how long we've been going out.  Bless 'em.

I cannot wait for the long weekend, and I am now working my way down el-mahousive glass of red wine after having had some twerp essay a left turn from the right hand lane, and nearly running me over on the way home.  Sigh.

I am doing both the 5km Race for Life and the 10km Macmillan Fun Run this year. I shall end all posts until June with a shameless plea to donate: because if you can manage £2, which is, I believe, the minimum allowed, and all of you do that, well, that'll get me to my target no problem! The Race for Life money goes towards Cancer Research, and the Fun Run money goes to Macmillan Cancer Support. The former charity is all about scientific research, the latter about living with cancer, and making life a bit easier for people affected by cancer.

Thank you to everyone who's sponsored me so far (should that be whose?). I really do appreciate it. 

xxx