New toy

I had another terrible night sleep and sat downstairs from 5 until 7am. Then went back to bed and before I knew it, it was 11am. Jon was downstairs tidying and Mollie and Henry had both gone out shopping. I still felt tired but got up. Loads of dreams and every time I wake I have other things going round in my head. At one point I had all the ideas for a book, but they sort of dissolved by the time I was up properly. I've tried writing some of them down.

So my day hasn't been very productive, but while Jon was out buying bread, Henry came back and we made some paper fire blocks with this lovely machine Henry bought me for Christmas. He was with me when I saw it in a charity shop, and was so close to buying it. He had snuck back and bought it himself. What you do is soak newspaper and squash it in to the mould, then when enough wet mushy paper is filling the mould you pull down the handles to compress the paper and squeeze the water out. We made 3, which got progressively better. I don't know how long they will take to dry, but I suspect it will be a long time in the current temperature. We plan to make them through the summer. Something else to do with my confidential waste. Then hopefully next winter we will have a stock of homemade paper bricks to burn on our fire.

Jon did chips and cold meat and pickles for lunch and mum came in to join us for a short while, before taking herself back nextdoor. Daniel has also gone home now, and with Mollie out all day too it feels like it's getting back to normal. I'd like to take the tree down, but they say I must wait a bit longer. The house feels like it's shrinking with furniture piled on top of ither furniture and no room to get any washing out etc, I just need to get it straight before I get back to work.

I've been doing some family history on my laptop this afternoon, among other things. Caught up with some Xmas TV that was missed (Call the Midwife, Gone Fishing with Bob and Paul to start with)

Henry has just been dropped off in Cromer to catch the train to Norwich with mates. A relaxed evening for us planned, doing little.