Pumpkin's (mostly) Positive Post: A Busy Week Off

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Hello to you all. As I've had some time off work, I've tried to get to at least a few of your delicious discussions. I'm having a bit of a lazy day today. Well, sort of. I did get up earlier to prepare some vegetables for dinner. I then came back to bed, which is where I am still at about 11am. I have to be back at work tomorrow My job is OK but it can be stressful, boring, and mentally draining. It also involves sitting in front of a computer all day and talking to people (I'm not a fan of either of those things ) I've just had a week off. I booked the week because it was my sister's 50th birthday (which I mentioned in previous posts). Due to how my annual leave works, I had to book the time a year in advance even though I didn't know what exactly would be happening for the big birthday. As it happened, I only spent a little time with my sister so I had some extra free time to do other things. First, there was my sister's party last Saturday. She said that was awesome. On Monday, my sister and my eldest son and I went on the train to a nice nearby town. We had a wander through the parks before going to see 'IF' at the cinema. After that, we had food at Turtle Bay. The cinema in that town is quite small but nice. I fell asleep at the beginning of the film, but my sister poked me to wake me because I was snoring! It's not like me to randomly fall asleep like that, and I didn't even know I was tired We did enjoy the film and the food. On Tuesday, I didn't do much. I got a bit of writing done for both my book and an article, and I played some games mostly with my eldest son but my husband did join in with us for half an hour. Tuesday was my sister's actual birthday. I knew her partner was going to take her somewhere for a day but I didn't know exactly what his plan was. He took her to another nearby nice town where they went to a teddy bear museum and an antique shop. I'm sure they did other things as well. I know my sister's best friend visited her later. The friend had wanted to be at the party but couldn't make it. It seems she more than made up for it. On Wednesday, I forgot what I did most of the day. In the evening, my eldest son and I went to see a local theatre production of Oliver! My sister's mother-in-law was in the show but, after I don't know how many years, this was her last show with the group. She is almost 81 and more active than some people half her age! Before the show, my son and I had got to the town early (it was in our neighbouring town) and went to get something to eat. There aren't many sit-down places that were open but we found a new one. The food was nice but a little expensive. We then popped into a pub on the way to the theatre (it's one of my favourite pubs that I used to frequent when my husband and I were dating as he lived near to it. It's also just across the road from the theatre). The pub was pretty empty as it was before 7pm and they don't tend to get bust until 9pm when they have bands and things. At the theatre, we bought a programme that had a bit about the aforementioned young 80 year old leaving the group. I also bought some raffle tickets and I did win a prize. It was some eau de toilette and moisturiser, which I will never use and will quite possibly donate it to a future raffle! On Thursday, I did a bit more writing work. I also went for a wander along the canal. My husband had said he wanted my help with a few housework jobs (so I planned for that) but then changed his mind after I'd waited all day for him. I was annoyed because I could have made much more of what was a lovely day. I'm stuck inside most of the time so I like to take opportunities where I can. That's why I wandered to the canal. It was too late to do anything else like have a day out or meet up with someone for a cuppa. On Friday, there was an open day at a place not too far from us. It's a castle ruin (well, its name has 'Castle' in it but it was more of a fortified manor house) and part of it has been converted into a hotel. I got tickets for the open day. They were free tickets but they advised to book to give them an idea of visitor numbers. I booked four tickets, with the intention of going with my husband and two sons. My youngest son never wants to do anything so he chose not to join us (he did have some work to do, though). I asked my dad to come along in his place. My dad originally said he wanted to go but then phoned me first thing to say he couldn't. My husband decided on the day (after waiting for him to get ready) that his knee was hurting too much so he wasn't going because we didn't know how much walking there would be. It was too late by then to ask anyone else (not that I could think of anyone else who would be available and want to go) so it was just me and my eldest son. We got a bus to near where my parents live and then walked for just over an hour to get to the Castle. We could have gone a different way and only had half the walk but it would have meant two buses and I wouldn't have known where to get off the second one! I was familiar with the walk we did as I'd been up there regularly both walking and driving. Had my dad and/or husband gone with us, we'd have gone in a taxi. Anyway, we had a look around the castle/hotel, which was quite interesting. There was also a lot of information available about the site and its history. It has royal connections (on different family branches) to Henry VIII and Lady Jane Grey. After that, my son and I walked the hour back but stopped about halfway as there is a book farm with a coffee shop. We had some lunch in there before completing the walk. We popped into my parents before heading off on a bus into the city where we played a couple of games at a gaming place. After that, we went back to have dinner with my parents before heading home. Saturday (yesterday) my day started with some volunteering. An important local venue has been closed for some time and is finally coming together. Various things need doing before the building is functional. I'd had a call earlier in the week from one of the people getting things organised. I'd put my name down at an event and said I'd basically do anything. The caller said it would be things like sanding and painting. My two sons and I went. There were maybe 10 people there. We were tasked with whitewashing some office walls. I think I did a good job. My boys, being giants, were really useful for reaching the higher bits! I also had a chat to the CEO of the group that has taken over the building. I've known him (on and off) since we were children (although I don't know if he remembers that ). We chatted about what the vision was for the place, he welcomed ideas. There may be an opportunity for me to set up a youth theatre group in the future. My husband did tell me not to take on too much but, as I said to him, anything I do/have for myself is lonely and I would very much like to get involved in the community, especially with something so close to my heart. My sons and I were all involved in the same youth group that had to disband. They did try to return following covid but it wasn't to be. It was a shame because it meant my youngest didn't get to do a show with them. He's joined the adult theatre group now, though. I'd ideally like to recreate a youth group similar to how it used to be when I was there. We spent about two hours painting (and chatting). I enjoyed it, and found painting walls quite therapeutic. The eldest seemed to enjoy himself. The youngest said it was tedious, although I did tell him that it's good to turn up for the tedious things because it shows commitment, people will see your presence and will (hopefully) notice you when it comes to the fun parts! After the volunteering, we went home. The boys stayed there. My husband took me out for lunch. He'd offered to do that as we hadn't really spent any time together and I think he felt bad about not coming to the Castle with us. I did tell him I was busy and point out that we'd had most of the week that we could have spent together, including two full days where I'd had nothing planned. We went into town for lunch. There isn't much in town but there is a small cafe so we went there. We used to have a few cafes nice independent cafes around town. Now it's just that one, a Costa, and a supermarket cafe. We're hoping to re-open the one that's attached to the building I was painting. After lunch, we came home for a bit. I dressed up to go out with my big sister. We went to see 'Bye Bye Baby', a Frankie Valli tribute act, at a local venue. That was another of her birthday gifts. I did say she didn't have to go with me as, being a gift, she could choose who to go with. We very much enjoyed the show. I think it was about 11pm when my sister said we should head home as it was past my bed time Although I'd been tired in the afternoon, I had actually woken up a bit during the evening! On the way home, I popped in to my sister's to collect something. Her house is on the way to mine. She'd been given some birthday gifts that she couldn't have (allergies and things) so gave them to me. She also gave me a polar bear stuffed toy (polar bears are my favourite animal) that she'd bought for me from the teddy bear museum. She'd also sent me some flowers that I received last Saturday. I'm quite proud of myself as they are still alive! They are in an old hot dog jar because I don't own a vase. While at the show, my sister told me all about her week. She told me about her friend coming round. She also told me that she and her partner had had a relaxing time in Wales (that was another birthday gift). It was just two nights so only really one full day in Wales with lots of travelling either side. She said there wasn't much to do where they were but she just wanted to relax. She said her partner often likes to have an itinerary of things to do so it was nice to just be somewhere else with nothing to do! When I came back home, I stayed up for a couple of hours with my husband and eldest son (youngest was alseep) and watched a couple of episodes of 'Professor T'. I told my husband that I didn't want to go back to work on Monday (I say that ever weekend ). He said if he could earn enough to support us, he'd do that so I could work on my writing and other things that are important to me. Sadly, his health makes a lot of things impossible and what he is able to do isn't a guaranteed income. As we've not had a lottery win or anything either, I suppose it is back to work tomorrow! Only six weeks, though, until I'm off again to go on holiday. That's all paid for as it's all-inclusive. We might just need a little spending money. We've been practicing our German (because we're going to Germany) but I won't be surprised if everyone speaks English where we're going anyway! That's my week off. It's been nice to get some fresh air and do fun things. I took pictures of different things. The one I'm sharing here is in a field by the boom farm. It is mostly fields in that area. How has your week been? If you're working, do you find yourself feeling like you're busier during your time off?