Mon, Aug 31st

Bank holiday and no work, so we basically chilled out at the dining table today. In a nutshell, you could say that we just spent the whole day wasting time. I did edit loads of photos and upload them to Photobox and ordered the next batch for Dawn to put into albums. Dawn worked on paperwork before we settled down in front of the television and did NOTHING. It felt really good.

Sun, Aug 30th

As I mentioned yesterday, we are thinking about growing some vegetables in the back yard. So this morning, after I had got the papers for Dawn and downed my breakfast, I went out back with some sheers and tackled the overgrown weeds and bamboo against the side fence. That tired me out for the day.

With this being a long weekend, I decided to take it easy for the rest of the day. Tiny did, too. As did Dawn once she had vacuumed.

I watched the F1 grand prix from Spa before watching Stargate. Dinner was a scrumptious baked chicken and vegetable casserole. Then we ended the day watching Apollo 13.

Sat, Aug 29th

I did the grocery shop run on my own this morning because Dawn preferred to clean the fridge out.

We then caught a train to Finsbury Park and popped into Cats for a Thai lunch before dropping in to see Dad and George. Dad had called us last night to say that my brother Phil and his wife Jean would be coming up, too. However, there were problems with one of the four legs that they needed to travel from Rainham today, so they didn't make it. I think it's been over two years since we last saw them. So it's anyone's guess as to when we'll get another chance.

When we got back home, I watched Spurs get their fourth consecutive win of the Premier League season. Chelsea pushed us back into second place on goal difference. No complaints from me there. We're still above Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Oh yea, we've been talking about growing vegetables in the back yard. One look at the picture above shows we have a lot of work to do before that happens.

Fri, Aug 28th

Dawn had a great start to the day. She received an unexpected pay increase. Something you get working in the universities in England. It's called a mandatory annual pay increase. Sadly it went downhill from there. Dawn had a couple of meetings that resulted in her almost missing her lunch time food and eventually getting out from work three quarters of an hour later than normal and us getting back to Hertford North gone 5pm this evening (we were there a little after 6am in the morning). The best news of all was that we had already decided to stop off at Carleys for some fish and chips so Dawn didn't have much washing up to do.

Thur, Aug 27th

The good news is that I have finally finished going through all my IEMA study material. I have even started on the draft notes for the second half of my assignment paper. Sadly, though, it's about 3000 words long and the assignment limit is just 1500. Worse still is that I haven't even answered the questions. Needless to say, I still have some work to do on this one. I think I will give myself until the end of next week to complete it so I can relax a little at the weekend.

Wed, Aug 26th

A relatively quiet week so far. Although I did attend one meeting and received a visit that ate into my time behind my desk.

I was invited to a meeting between our representatives from our landlord and a waste management company. I'd kicked up such a stink over the last two months about the recycling problems on our industrial estate that it would be advantageous for all concerned if I hosted the meeting.

My visit was from a pest controller to give me a quote to deal with some four legged creatures that had been seen on the back stairwell. Hopefully they'll disappear on their own accord.

Sun, Aug 23rd

A great day. Had a nice lie in before getting up, picking up the papers from the Post Office down the road and relaxing in front of an episode of Ghost Whisperer.

Had breakfast, shave and shower, then took it easy the rest of the day. The highlights were watching Spurs regain top place in the Premier League with a 2-1 win over West Ham on the laptop, then watching England take the last five wickets to defeat Australia at The Oval and reclaim the Ashes with a 2-1 series win.

Dawn did her usual chores and then got stuck into some environmental stuff for work.

We called it a day by eating a nice place of mushroom risotto then relaxing in front of the television watching Run Fat Boy Run.

Sat, Aug 22nd

Usual start to the weekend by riding over to Tesco to do the weekly grocery shopping. Then after taking that home we popped into town for a little. First we picked up some food for Tiny at Chestnut Vet and then stopped at Starbucks for a cappuccino. Dawn, as usual, was convinced that this is now a creche rather than a coffee shop.

Another stop at Boots (pharmacy), Clinton (cards) and Messages (generals store) before we headed towards Datchworth and lunch at one of our favourite pubs, The Tilbury. Dawn ordered a burger (again) and I got some fish and chips (as usual).

Stevenage was our next port of call to get some litter for Tiny from Pets At Home, some T-shirts and shorts from M&S, and some napkins from TK Maxx. This will save us using paper napkins - another environmentally-friendly step.

Tonight we relaxed in front of the television watching the start of X-Factor.

Fri, Aug 21st

Last day of the working week and again we were both more than happy to board the train home to Hertford North so we could spend a weekend together. It's been another hectic week for the two of us in different ways. At least next Friday is pay day.

Oh yea, all the good work I have been doing at work regarding waste management has resulted in the arrival of our own recycle bin. We have 32 units on our industrial estate and our landlord has been kind enough to allocated one of the 4 small bins for us to use exclusively. Not bad, eh!

Last thing. My left leg is beginning to ache again. Must be an indication that I have put on an extra pound or two recently and my legs are beginning to complain!!

Wed, Aug 19th

Today I attended the monthly quality meeting in my capacity of Environmental Manager. I have to admit that it makes me feel good to know that for once I am actually doing something at work that is more important that the bottom line, financially.

Later today I paid for our car's Road Fund Licence. Six months ago I only paid for 6 months because I didn't know where I'd be. This time I paid 12 months (£215). At least this means that we won't get hit for this next February when we're putting the car through its annual MOT test. If only we had a new Smart car. It would save us at £300-£350 a year for the first three years alone. Not to mention car insurance.

Tues, Aug 18th

Dawn dropped me off at the station this morning. She went into work late today as she was attending a seminar in the shadow of the new Arsenal stadium in Drayton Park held by LUEG (London Universities Environmental Group). It also meant that she was able to end the day early.

I had a meeting with the site manager from our landlord to discuss our waste management situation. It went pretty well. After several complaints about the way the waste is being collected, they agreed to give us our own recycle bin.

Mon, Aug 17th

Back to work again. My highlight of the day was submitting my first assignment (ten questions, each with a 15o word limit) to the University of Bath. I'm glad that bit is behind me. However, despite Dawn's word of praise, I am not as confident as she on what my grade will be. Now I have to work on the second assignment which is a 1500 word essay describing the tools used in an EMS. I've given myself two weeks to complete this one.

Sun, Aug 16th

Had a little lie-in before popping out to the gas station to fill up with petrol and top up the tyres. I filled up with premium unleaded to try and help the engine. It cost £1.1o per litre, the most I have ever paid for gas.

I then spent the best part of the day in the kitchen cooking and preparing meals. For breakfast I did home made hash browns with egg and beans. For lunch, I dished up some Portabella mushrooms with mozzarella cheese and bacon. For dinner, we had some roast beef with roast potatoes and parsnips, along with cabbage, carrots and Yorkshire pudding. I wasn't finished there either. I also made a couscous lunch for this week.

Sat, Aug 15th

Hurray for the weekend. We did our usual grocery run to Tesco before spending a little time with Tiny. Then it was over to North London on the train to visit Dad, stopping off at Nandos in Stroud Green Road for lunch.

Dad had a strapping on his hand following his incident at Morrisons on Thursday (the 13th). He got knocked flying by an employee who had stepped back into him as Dad walked behind him. He spent a couple of hours at the hospital and has to go back on Tuesday, once the swelling has gone down, to see whether he has a break or not.

Today also saw the start of the 2009-2010 Premier League season. All eyes were on Man Utd and how they will cope without Ronaldo. They won today, as did Chelsea and Arsenal. Spurs play tomorrow and will be live on Sky against last year's runner-up Liverpool.

Thurs, Aug 13th

We've both had a couple of quiet days. This doesn't mean that we weren't busy. It's just nothing major out of the ordinary has got in our way.

Today I had a training session in the boardroom with our new sales guys so I could learn more about the water services part of the business. Their agenda was to be able to market our company more, obviously. But in my case it was more about learning the environmental aspects of how we do CCTV work, jetting and other work we do down drains and culverts.

Today was also the 6th anniversary of Dawn losing her Granny, and the 5th anniversary of the day we evacuated Dunedin with Hurricane Charley, a Cat 4 storm, bearing down on our home.
Thankfully for us it changed direction and spared us. Although we did experience its power as a Cat 1 where we had evacuated to in Orlando.

Mon, Aug 10th

Neither one of us wanted the weekend to end. But work usually follows on a Monday.

My day was pretty quiet. Dawn on the other hand issued her environmental newsletter, called Green City, and finally completed her food policy. I daren't list all the other projects she has going because I'd never complete them all.

Oh yea, I also continued with my studying.

Sun, Aug 9th

Back into the front yard today. The weeds have taken over where they left off, so I spent a good hour and more ripping them out again. Dawn then tackled the car. She vacuumed it out and gave it a good clean inside.

Then it was onto the computer to edit photos, update the blog and do some IEMA studying. Still keeping up with my schedule to complete the course by the end of the month. But, it's still early doors.

Sat, Aug 8th

Today we had a visit from my daughter Hayley. We popped into town and grabbed a coffee and some tea at Starbucks before getting eco-refills. Not only are the chemicals better for the environment, but refilling the bottles saves on plastic too.

We then headed over to The Three Lakes restaurant where we all had burger and chips. Dawn and I shared ours and shared a chicken club sandwich. It gave us the chance to show off the wonderful scenery and golf course there.

Then it was back home for a little chat before I dropped Hayley back at the station for the ride home.

Tonight, after dinner, we then watched America's Got Talent. At first we thought we were wasting our time. Thankfully four of the last five on show were worthy of making it to next week's final.

Wed, Aug 5th

Same again. Still studying and still dealing with problems at work.

And as with the last two nights, we unwound with a film. This time Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was okay. More important was that it made me wish I had lived through the 50s. Pollution and technology have really left its toll on our planet!

Tues, Aug 4th

Still doing my IEMA studying. And we're also still getting stressed out at work.

When I got home from work, and had eaten dinner, I called Dad to check up on his eye surgery. I was pleased to hear not only that it had gone ahead, but that his cataract operation appeared to go well.

Tonight we relaxed by watching The Killing of John Lennon. As with last night's movie, we both have a connection with New York and visited the Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park in 1997, and the original one in Liverpool (as well as other places made famous by John Lennon and the Beatles) in 2001.

By the time the film ended, we both looked at each other and found it incredible that someone with a psychiatric record could get a gun, let alone get it from Hawaii to New York.

Mon, Aug 3rd

Back to work and neither one of us was pleased with that idea. It was busy and stressful to say the least.

Tonight we watched Man on Wire. It's the documentary about the true story of how a Frenchman (Philippe Petit) had decided to walk between the twin towers in Manhattan before they had even been completed. It was an incredible movie, and an even more incredible feat considering that he did it without permission from the authorities.

Every time we see a movie with the twin towers in it, we both thank our lucky stars that we were able to enjoy some time at the top of them together. They are certainly still there in our hearts.

Sun, Aug 2nd

Chore day again and the end of a four day weekend.

As usual, Dawn spent a good chunk of her day on her usual Sunday routine. However, I was able to unwind a little with some SG1 in between editing photos and uploading them to Facebook and Photobox.

And yes, I did some more IEMA studying, too.

We ended the day downing a nice huge plate of mushroom risotto and relaxing in front of the television.

Sat, Aug 1st

Today we did the Tesco run early because we had to make it into town for our haircut at 10:00am. We then chilled out at Starbucks before catching a train to Finsbury Park and lunch at Nandos.

The long walk along Tollington Park Road, past St. Mellitius Church and Christ the King School, helped walk off some of the food on the way to Dad's. We spent some time with him catching on everything before heading back to the station and the journey home.

Today I got stuck back into my IEMA studying again. I have set myself a target of finishing it by the end of the month. So I have a lot of work to do.