Sun, Nov 30th

The last day of our long weekend and Dawn spent a good part of it painting doors, skirting boards, and door frames. I spent some much needed time sorting out the kitchen. Or I should say rearranging the contents of the cupboards to make the items I use the most more accessible.
Dawn had her weekly video call with Brady after hanging her paint brushes up for the day, and I spent several hours running my eyes over the environmental course I was able to get stuck into. I counted over 500 pages of text to read and study, the best part of 250 exercises and self assessment questions to complete, and then an estimated 30 hours on the actual assignments that I have to submit for my grade. Looks like I am going to be busy for the next few months doing this it seems.

Sat, Nov 29th

This morning we ran into town and did some errands. Picked up my blood pressure pills, Tiny's food, dropped off some more books at the Oxfam book store, popped into Woolworths, and then stopped at Fringe Benefits for our haircut.

Back at the house Dawn then got stuck into more painting while I worked on editing our photos and the annual Christmas letter.

We did get some R&R this weekend. We plonked out butts down in front of the TV and watched some Strictly Come Dancing and X-Factor before calling it a night.

Fri, Nov 28th

The last few days had left the two of us exhausted. So today we decided to take things a little more leisurely. That was after the new futon bed had been delivered and I had assembled it. Then we had a nice turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich before hitting the road for a couple of hours.

First port of call was Hertford North where Dawn picked up an annual rail ticket. Dawn feels more settled at CU and had arranged for a loan from CU to spread the cost. B&Q followed where we picked up more paint and rollers before stopping at Morrisons. The place was packed and we couldn't wait to get out of there. Thankfully, I made a couple of pots of soup last weekend, so our weekly grocery bill wasn't too much.

Back at the house Dawn started writing out the Christmas cards and I got stuck into the Christmas letter. It was wild looking back on how this year had gone, so far.

Thu, Nov 27th

Today was Thanksgiving Day. And yes we did celebrate it here - well we did. We celebrated it in the typical American way, too. I spent the best part of five hours on the road with everyone else. However, here it was with the rush hour traffic when I drove to and from Dad's in London to collect him and take him home.

We gorged out on roast turkey, dressing, broccoli casserole, sweet potato mash, rice covered with a rich giblet gravy, and some cranberry sauce. Once we had given this half an hour to go down, we followed that up with more carbs in the form of an apple pie with vanilla ice cream. All the food, excluding the ice cream, being home made by yours truly.

Then to finish the day we lounged in front of the television watching football. However, in my case, I watched Spurs beat NEC Nijmejan 1-0 in the UEFA Cup. I could have watched NFL had I wanted to. Sky Sports were broadcasting three live games back to back.

Oh yea, we even found some room for a turkey sandwich, too.

Wed, Nov 26th

Our first of three days off work and we were more exhausted than we would have been after a normal day at work.

Dawn spent the best part of the day painting the landing and hallway walls and ceilings. She would have done it quicker had she used a larger roller (see picture). Then, if that wasn't enough, she vacuumed the house from top to bottom.

I, on the other hand, spent from 9am until gone 4pm in the kitchen. Apart from lunch and a trip into town to pick up a pie dish. First I made some broccoli casserole followed by some cornbread, which I used to make some dressing. I then roasted the turkey and made some giblet gravy. For dessert I made (hopefully) a nice apple pie. In between each of these I washed up the mess because Dawn hates me leaving the kitchen like a bomb has hit it. Boy this food better be good.....

Tues, Nov 25th

Today was the last day of our working week and as expected it was hectic. After two days reviewing timesheets I was finally able to pass all the paperwork onto HR to pay the salaries. The good news is that we have enough cash to pay it on Friday (just). Dawn on the other hand spent the whole day packing as her office is relocating once more. By the end of the week they will be in their new location. Boy, is she glad that she is not going to be there the next three days.

Tonight I tackled the walls in the downstairs hallway. As you can see from the photo, the damage to me was even worse that yesterday....

Mon, Nov 24th

Back to work after a long weekend of working on the house and running errands. However, being at work was a nightmare. Like Friday I worked ALL day analysing timesheets for the month's payroll due to be paid on Friday. I have never seen so much mess. It took forever to list all the sickness, holidays, lay off days, overtime, unpaid leave, and hours deducted not worked. Roll on Wednesday so I can have a few days break.

However, this evening was not much better. After a really good home made tomato soup, I spent a good hour or so sanding down the landing and stairway walls. Which is why I look so old in the photo. I assume it's the dust. But, then again, perhaps the last few months at work has really aged me.

Sun, Nov 23rd

We went to bed with a weather warning that snow was likely when we woke up. Thankfully it was just a thin layer of sleet. However, it was pretty damn cold.

After breakfast and a shower I went out to fill the car up. Petrol (gas) is now 92p a litre. A lot better than it was six months ago.

I then spent a couple of hours plastering over the cracks on the hall way and landing walls, while Dawn cleaned the extractor fan and stove in the kitchen. After lunch Dawn put up the curtain baton in the spare room while I made a large pot of carrot and leek soup, and a pot of tomato and onion soup. After Dawn finished her ironing, she had her weekly video call with Brady while I watched Spurs climb out of the bottom three of the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers. We reached the heady heights of 14th. However, we'll drop back a place after the West Ham - Sunderland match.

Sat, Nov 22nd

With 4 weekends before Brady and Jim arrive, and just 5 before Christmas, time is running out for us to get everything ready. This week we also have Thanksgiving to worry about too. Which was why Dawn was not looking forward to the grocery shopping today. Usually, the Saturday before Thanksgiving is one of worst grocery shopping days of the year. Thankfully, we picked up our turkey and trimmings at the local Tesco and not a Publix store (like Dawn was worrying about).

With that out of the way, we headed back to Stevenage to pick up the curtains we ordered last Saturday and some more bits and pieces from Homebase.

Back at the house Dawn put up some wall paper to cover the wall on the landing that had the worst damage, while I tried to plaster over a lot of the cracks and damage downstairs. By the time I'd finished, the floor had more of the white powder than the walls. But, with me that was a given from the outset.

One other good piece of news is that we ordered a cheap futon bed for the spare room from IKEA. Hopefully that will be here on Friday.

Fri, Nov 21st

Another late night last night. This time I was up until midnight working on the Aspect and Impact register. I had to create a method to score the impact that all the activities were having on the environment, taking into account severity of impact, frequency of activity, and whether it had a direct or indirect influence on the environment. By the time I had finished, I was not surprised to see that air pollution through CO2 emissions from our 60 vehicle fleet, depletion of natural resources, CO2 emissions from the use of electricity and gas, and increasing the depletion of land use and water pollution through increased use of landfills came top of the list.

Dawn on the other hand had a half day holiday today and met Nick and Keith from London City College for lunch on the South Bank. Dawn worked with the two during her time at Schiller before we immigrated to Florida and really enjoyed catching up on how they and LCC are doing.

Wed, Nov 19th

Over the last year or more, Dawn has been the secretary of HEBCoN (Higher Education Business Continuity Network), spending countless hours keeping everyone informed of what was happening, making more arrangements than she can care to count, and travelling the length and breadth of the country attending seminars and gatherings. Well, with the restructuring of her department, her colleague and chair of HEBCoN is standing down, and with him Dawn, too.

Today Dawn and all her efforts were acknowledged in the form of a colourful bunch of flowers and box of chocolate truffles from the other members of the HEBCoN executive committee.

It's nice when your efforts are appreciated. And, in my opinion, this was much deserved.

Tues, Nov 18th

Like I have been saying for a while, the only way I am going to be able to study and assist JT with the ISO 14001 accreditation is to do it in my own time. So for the last two nights I sat up in bed until 11pm working on the Aspect and Impact register. I had already spent several hours over the last three weeks reviewing my company's business streams to produce a list of almost 100 activities that affect the environment. Now I had to analyse this information. By Tuesday night, I had done the first draft.

Sun, Nov 16th

No decorating today. Instead we caught a train to Finsbury Park to pay Dad and George a brief visit. Normally we go on a Saturday. But there was no way that Dawn would battle with the best part of 60,000 descending on the north London to watch Arsenal. So, we left a little earlier than normal, had a lite lunch at Nandos, and spent some time with Dad.

When we got home, I made an excellent leek and carrot soup while Dawn did the ironing before ordering some Christmas gifts online for her sister Kelly and our niece Michaela.

Sat, Nov 15th

With 5 weekends before Brady and Jim arrive, and 6 before Christmas, Saturday and Sundays are going to become pretty hectic. Today I did the grocery shopping on my own at Tesco before the two of us drove over to Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage.

At Welwyn, we dropped into B&Q to pick up some DIY stuff before stopping at Parcel Force to pick up my study material. Almost forgot, I have to find time for that, too.

At Stevenage, we dropped into DFS to look for a futon (no joy), B&Q for more DIY stuff, and Paul Simon's for a curtain for the spare room.

If that wasn't t enough, when we got home I made a large pot of chili before making a cottage pie for dinner. Dawn in the meantime had her weekly video call with Brady. We did however get some down time. We watched Strictly Come Dancing and X-Factor.

Thur, Nov 13th

Today was a black day in the White household. Perhaps I should say a grey day. At work several senior and long standing employees were told that they would be placed on a 3 day week from next Monday. My boss then informed the accounts staff that the transport manager, who works in our office, was one of those now on a three day week. To make matters worse, we were also informed that December may see the rest of the accounts department going on a 4 day week, including my boss. So, not to end on a bad note, at least I still have a job. However, who knows what 2009 will bring.

Wed, Nov 12th

I know that this is our blog. However, being a lifelong Spurs fan, it would have been unforgivable to fail to mention that Spurs knocked Liverpool out of the Carling Cup with a 4-2 victory at White Hart Lane. We've now beaten them twice in a couple of weeks, the only team to have beaten them all season. Not bad for a team that had started the first 8 games this season without a league win and had recently fired the manager. Best of all, I had the pleasure of watching the whole game live on Sky Sports.

Tues, Nov 11th

A couple of bad days at work. It's been a very stressful few months thanks to the cash situation. In fact, it's now beginning to take its toll on the majority of staff now. Worse still is that it is not going to get better between now and Christmas.

On a lighter note, we escaped from the pressures of work by watching last night's Hell's Kitchen finale and were pleased to see Christina defeat Petrozza to win the right to be Gordon Ramsay's next head chef.

Sun, Nov 9th

Ditto. Same as Saturday. But this time no grocery shopping, and this time Dawn also did the laundry, vacuumed the carpets, and also did the ironing..............

How was this for a nice relaxing weekend?

Sat, Nov 8th

Weekend time again. As usual we drove over to Tesco to do the weekly grocery shopping before getting stuck into our housework. This time it wasn't laundry, ironing, vacuuming and cleaning. This time I spent several hours stripping the wallpaper of the landing and hallway walls, while Dawn did some more painting in the spare room. The spare room is really coming on well. Which is great, because the the hallway now looks a complete mess.

Fri, Nov 7th

Dawn got out of the office this afternoon by attending the Archant Environmental Awards presentation near Marble Arch with a couple of colleagues of hers. City University was again up for an award, although Dawn felt like the last time she went to one of these events that it was just to make up the numbers. She couldn't have been more surprised. This time they picked up the award for Best Environmental University in London. Boy, if Dawn's application to become Environmental Officer is successful, then next year they'll probably win best University in the country...........

Thur, Nov 6th

Got to work at 7:00am as normal and proceeded to attack my workload with vigour. However, that soon changed when I was asked whether I wanted to attend a Legionnella Awareness seminar we were running. As I felt that this knowledge would be advantageous to my environmental role, plus the class was virtually empty, I joined the class.

Wed, Nov 5th

Woke up without an alarm clock this morning at 2:15am. I threw on a housecoat and went downstairs to watch the US presidential election unfold. At 3:30am I then woke Dawn up so she could see the historic moment when all the news channels announced that Barrack Obama had reached the required number of electoral votes to become the President Elect.

The two of us then watched both John McCain's humble concession speech, and Obama's acknowledgement speech, making me quite emotional. Over the last 8 years Dawn had become embarrassed and ashamed to be an American as it lurched from one travesty to another. Finally, the American public had come to its senses and realised that democracy was reflected in one's actions, not one's rhetoric.

Tues, Nov 4th

Today I had a meeting with JT to discuss how we plan to get ISO 14001 environmental management accreditation. It was quite simple. The two of us have to do all of the work required in addition to our already overtaxed workload. I am of course primarily the Cost Controller. So, this comes first and any time spent on this project, plus my studying, is in my own time. This is what happens when you volunteer for something.

Mon, Nov 3rd

Today my post school education, and career adjustment, took another little step forward today. When I got home today there was a letter on the mat from the University of Bath confirming that my application to enroll as a distant learning student had been approved. Now I just need to find the time to do the studying.

Oh yea, our back hedge finally came into contact with some shears. We had to pay someone to trim our extremely overgrown conifer hedge to a more manageable size. It's just a shame that the sun sets around 4.45pm at the moment, so we were unable to get any pleasure from spending our much needed cash.

Sun, Nov 2nd

The last day before we go back to work and we really needed to make the most of it. Dawn did the laundry and ironing while I took several bags full of crap from the loft to the recycle centre. I then dropped into Tesco to pick up some carnations for my wife to say thank you for 12 incredible years before buying our monthly season tickets at the railway station.

After lunch I changed the socket outlets and light fitting in the spare room before the two of us carried the two tall book cases from the hall way up to the spare room. By the time we had put the photo albums and books back on the shelf, our aching bodies were crying out for a break. We're not as young as we used to be, obviously.

Dawn then worked on the computer for a couple of hours while I watched Lewis Hamilton become the youngest Formula One World Champion in history by finishing 5th in the San Paolo Grand Prix. After dinner Dawn then called her mother before we chilled out for an hour watching the Strictly results.

Sat, Nov 1st

Today Dawn and I celebrated the 12th anniversary of the day we met in New York City at the top of the Empire State Building. Neither one of us can believe it's been twelve years. After getting up, we exchanged cards and we both wrote the same thing. How fortunate we were to have met each other, and how much we appreciate the other for being there with everything we have been through. Then, looking forward we both acknowledged that no matter what the future had in store for us we would come through it all as long as we had the other by our side.

To celebrate we went into town and had a nice lunch at Baan Thitiya, a Thai restaurant we like. We also splurged by picking up a brownie and carrot cake at Waitrose, too. We had that as we enjoyed the evening in front of the television watching Strictly Come Dancing and X-Factor. I was also following the Spurs' recent revival on the Internet where again they scored in the last minute. This time to beat the previously undefeated Premier League leaders Liverpool.