Wed, Jan 28th

Today will hopefully be my last off day. Well the signs are good. If nothing else, everyone got paid today. That in itself was worth celebrating, even if I had several days docked because I was on a four day week all month.

Took Dawn to the station and collected her later in the day and in between I spent several hours doing my IEMA studying.

Mon, Jan 26th

The main news today is that the chairman has intimated that everyone will be back on full time next week.

Sun, Jan 25th

A nice day at home. With work being as stressful as it is, we both really enjoy the weekend even more than we did before, even if we didn't do anything out of the ordinary.

Dawn did the Sunday chores while I ran over to the recycle centre in Ware, and edited some photos and updated the blog for everyone that cares to check and see what we've been up to the last week or so.

Sat, Jan 24th

Today I did the grocery shopping on my own so Dawn could tidy up at the house and wrap George's birthday present. Then the two of us drove up to Holloway for a change to visit Dad and George. This was because today George turned 56 years old. Four more years and he will be able to get a free bus pass (eat your hearts out Americans). George is a little awkward to buy for so we decided on some stationery. He likes to write to his penpals. So this seemed the ideal gift, seeing that Christmas was just a month ago.

We then drove to Highgate and bought him a birthday lunch. He had a mixed grill and half a Guiness, Dad had a salmon dish and glass of orange juice, I had breaded plaice and chips with a hot cup of tea, and Dawn had a five bean chili with rice and chips (tortilla chips, not fries) which she washed down with a bottle of still water.

Tonight I watched an episode of Stargate Atlantis before the two of us watched Your Country Needs You and the film Definitely, Maybe. The latter was pretty good and I have to admit it did grab at the heart strings.

Fri, Jan 23th

The last day of the week and for only the second time this month I was able to work on environmental matters at work. Not bad for the so called environmental manager. But then again, it's only for show. I have this role to assist in getting 14001 accreditation, but no more.

Anyway, today I spent virtually all day on the quality manual. First I had to check for places where EMS had been missed out. These were pointed out at stage 2 of the accreditation process. I also worked on some of the environmental procedures that were missing too.

Wed, Jan 21th

For the third time this month I dropped Dawn off at Hertford North so she could catch the train to work. And, for the third time this month I returned home knowing that I would not be paid for today. A decision made by the chairman to cut costs.

As usual Dawn called me after she arrived at work. I then popped out to collect a parcel from the post office, a calorie counting book, and then dropped into Tesco to get some groceries for tonight's dinner. I then spent the best part of the day getting stuck into my environmental course work before making my way into the kitchen.

I collected Dawn from the station around 5pm and within quarter of an hour later she was sitting at the table with a nice hearty beef stew for dinner.

My day didn't end there, though. I sat up to watch the Carling Cup semi-final 2nd leg from Turf Moor between Burnley and Spurs. With a three goal advantage from the first leg, we should have made it to the final fairly easily. However, we did our best to help the Championship team's endeavours by giving them a hand on two of their goals to allow them to level the tie. Thankfully there was extra time. We needed it to score a couple and make it to Wembley for the second year running 6-4 on aggregate.

Mon, Jan 19th

Dawn is now an environmental officer. I think I mentioned at the tail end of last year that Dawn had applied for and got the new position of environmental officer at City University. Well lady luck has been looking down on her this year. She feared that it would be the middle of February before she got the chance to get her teeth stuck into her new role. However, the powers that be decided that with the interim PA in place, Dawn could move to her new desk and work on environmental matters full time.

Well not exactly. Dawn still had the little task of training the interim PA and will be assisting the permanent PA once they have been found.

Sun, Jan 18th

Today was chore day as usual with Dawn doing the vacuuming, laundry and ironing. I had some important paperwork that needed to be done, countless photos to edit, and of course spent some time in the kitchen. Today, I dished out a plate of eggs and beans on toast for breakfast, cheese on toast for lunch (Dawn had a tin of soup), and for dinner I grilled a pork chop which we had with some rice, sauteed onions and tomatoes.

This afternoon I sat in front of the television and watched Spurs draw 1-1 with Portsmouth live on Sky Sports. Once again I was left feeling frustrated as my good old Lilliewhites did everything they could to avoid winning. Thankfully the point we got for the draw lifted us off the bottom of the league and out of the relegation zone. Albeit on goal difference.

Sat, Jan 17th

Both Dawn and I were glad there was no work today. Instead we did the weekly grocery shopping at Tesco before popping into town to pick up some other bits and pieces. The highlight of the morning was stopping at Starbucks and enjoying a nice skinny latte. Dawn relaxed with her little green friend too. She got out her Ninetendo DS Lite and did some more brain exercises.

After lunch, which was a nice plateful of egg on toast, Dawn called her sister Kelly to check on Justin (Kelly's middle one who will be 20 in just a couple of weeks). Earlier this week he passed out and was rushed to hospital. Thankfully he seems to be okay. Although the doctors don't seem to have any idea what caused the problem.

Thu, Jan 15th

Like I mentioned yesterday, little going on over here at the moment. However, I can proudly boast that today (after Dawn had let me get on her Nintendo DS Lite) I posted a brain age of 34 on one of her brain age games, and a brain age of 36 on the other. I was pretty pleased to say the least. However, I feel that these are blips and soon I will be back into the 40s where it probably should be. Thankfully it doesn't measure the body age. Even if it did, I don't think I would own up to those results...........

Wed, Jan 14th

This year has really started slowly for the Whites. Especially on the work front. This is the second week back and I have been racking my brain to think of what has happened this week and the first major event was my second lay off day.

Today, as with last Wednesday, I dropped Dawn off at the station and then drove over to Tesco to pick up some groceries for dinner. Then, after dealing with a load of paperwork and loving on Tiny a little, I prepared dinner for this evening.

Dawn loves fish pie, so today I made her a really nice haddock fish pie. Thankfully Dawn loved it. I know I certainly did. Sorry, nothing else much going on at the moment.

Sun, Jan 11th

Today we ventured back into London for the first time since Brady was here. However, this time it was by train to visit Dad and George. With Arsenal playing at home yesterday, there was no way Dawn would go through Finsbury Park then, but today was okay. In fact, this was the first time that Dawn had been to see Dad since before Thanksgiving last November.

Again we enjoyed a chat and some tea before heading home again. Dawn then did the weekly ironing while I watched a recording of Spurs' defeat at the hands of Wigan. Dawn's weekly video call to Brady was cancelled and Dawn called Brady instead because of IT issues in Atlanta.

We then had dinner and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and counting the minutes before bed time. Not that we were looking forward to going to bed. Both of us were dreading the thought of work again in the morning.

Sat, Jan 10th

Today we had the pleasure of my daughter Hayley again. We'd received a couple of texts over the last day or so and Hayley wanted to come down. Unfortunately for her, the normal train that brought her to Hertford only came as far as Cheshunt today. Needless to say, I didn't hesitate to drive down there to collect her.

When we got back to the house and Hayley took off her jacket, I was shocked by her appearance. I knew that she had had her hair cut recently. But dressed in a sweater, jeans with belt and ankle boots, too, she looked a different person. She looked great. I am not saying that I didn't like her appearance before. But she looked a different person.

We spent a couple of hours chatting about things and enjoyed some lunch and several cups of teas before Hayley left. It was good to see her and we both look forward to seeing more of her this year.

Fri, Jan 9th

The week came to an end with some good news. Dawn had met with her temporary replacement yesterday and found out that she would jump at the chance to make it permanent. This would really suit Dawn as it would mean that she could hand over the reigns to one person and not two. Not to mention she would not have to deal with handling 1001 CVs. Well, by the end of the day, it was agreed that the vacancy would be posted internally only. This will also speed up the day when Dawn can say good-bye to the PA work for good, too.

As for me, I survived with no real problems this week. I still had a job. But, best of all, today I got out a little early to take mail to the post office. Never have I looked forward to the weekend as much as today.

Wed, Jan 7th

Today I dropped Dawn off at Hertford North Station and then went home to Tiny. No work for me today, and no pay. The reality of my four day week really sunk in. I made an effort to do some studying. I hadn't touched the IEMA course since before Brady and Jim had arrived. However, I could not focus and after about an hour I put it down and spent the rest of day keeping Tiny company. The highlight of the day for me was watching Sleepless in Seattle.

The day was not completely doom and gloom though. Dawn received her paperwork from CU relating to her new position of Environmental Officer with a start date of Monday, January 19. So Dawn was pleased with that. However, was not pleased when told that she would have to deal with recruiting her replacement..........

Tues, Jan 6th

Day two and the ground in Hertford was still frozen. Our backyard was still a layer of white. But then again, when Dawn and I got in the car to drive to the station, the temperature gauge displayed minus six degrees Celsius (22 degrees Fahrenheit). And it did not get above freezing all day......

Mon, Jan 5th

Back to the grind and what a start to our new working year - SNOW. We woke up at 4am this morning, looked out of the window and saw snowflakes falling and a layer of snow on everything. This was not how the new year was supposed to start. We dreaded going back to work as it was. Thankfully, I had my new parka coat that Dawn had bought me for Christmas so I felt pretty toasty despite the white stuff falling out of the sky.

The least said about work the better. However, by the end of the day, three members of staff where I work found out that they had no jobs and that they would be out of work by the end of the week at the latest.

Sun, Jan 4th

The last day of our Christmas vacation and we feel exhausted. It some ways it feels like we haven't had a break. It didn't help with me going down with a cold on Christmas Eve. At least that's gone now.

Well today was tidy up day. Dawn had more laundry to do, and of course the ironing for the week. She also added the captions to the last of the Christmas photos so we could post them on Flickr for everyone to check. The rest of the day was spent dealing with odds and ends that we needed to get ready for work. I had to cook some chicken for my work lunches.

After dinner Dawn finally sat down and got back to her Nintendo DS Lite. It was the first time she had looked at it since Christmas Day. I then called Dad to check on him. The two of us were feeling down to say the least. Neither one of us were looking forward to going back to work on Monday. Especially as I will be on a four day week, and Dawn will be doing her PA work until they find a replacement for her.

Sat, Jan 3rd

Once again we had a little lie in before we got going. Today, though, we headed into town for our haircut. It was hard to believe that the last one had been five weeks ago. Even harder to believe is our next one will be in February.

We enjoyed wandering around town as there was hardly anyone out today. We popped into Boots and Waitrose before stopping at Starbucks where Dawn enjoyed a gingerbread latte and I had cappuccino. Then it was back to the house and those damn photos. By now even Dawn was fed up with the sight of them.

Once again we took the chance to unwind and as a result stayed up late once more. This time we saw Your Country Needs You and then the film Lions for Lambs.

Fri, Jan 2nd

We have so much still to do before we go back to work it's not funny. Today,I ran over to Ware and took with me several bags of cans, bottles, plastic and cardboard to the recycle centre while Dawn took down the decorations upstairs, did the laundry and vacuuming.

I also spent God knows how many hours editing the Christmas photos again (and fell asleep in the process, as Dawn caught on camera). Dawn also logged onto Flickr and started adding captions.

Again, we tried to get some rest. This time watching Fielders Choice. Once again we didn't get to bed until way past our normal bed time. However, what I haven't mentioned is that we have also been getting up pretty late, too.

Thur, Jan 1st

Well we made it. Dawn and I stayed awake to do the First Footin and brought 2009 in standing on our doorstep with a piece of bread, a coin, a piece of coal, and a glass of Baileys (food, wealth, warmth & cheer) in hand to give the new year a fighting start. We then sat in front of the television and watched the fireworks display from The London Eye before calling it a day.

2009 started the same way 2008 ended for me. I spent more hours than I cared to count editing photos. However, I did take a break to dish up our new year breakfast (mushroom and bacon in milk with bread) and Dawn's new year meal (roast pork, greens, black eyed peas, greens and gravy), and to make a large pot of turkey soup with the carcass from the Christmas dinner.

We of course called Dad, Brady and Kelly to wish them a happy new year. We then crashed and sat in front of the television until it was time for bed.