BACK IN THE SADDLE!

The saying goes, I believe, that if you fall off a horse, you should get straight back on the saddle!  That was the intention when I returned from my fortnight in England, and as I had said last week, I returned to work on the Friday, to 'get back into the saddle'.

Whether it is mind over matter, age or something else I have not quite thought up, I find it harder and harder to shake the 'jet lag'.  With a weekend of severe relaxation, and plenty of exercise in the swimming pool, and reading to 'improve the state' of my groggy mind, I thought Monday may have been a little less tiring.  

My house had not been vacuumed in over two weeks, the washing had piled up and there was a fine film of dust everywhere.  For those who know the 'old' me, you can imagine the angst, but I did not do as I would have done years ago, and spent the whole weekend cleaning.  No.  I left it to this week!  Suffice it to say, Monday morning started rather energetically, and the hoover realised that its holiday had also come to rather an abrupt end!  Shares in 'wet wipes' soared again, with word that 'she is back' hit the streets! 

My phone 'pinged' soon after I got up, and I moved in slow motion to retrieve the message.  It was probably Samantha.  Maybe it was my sister.  I really didn't want to see a 'bad news' message this morning.  As it happens, it was joyous news.  My cousin Charlotte had got engaged!  It certainly gave me a lift and I worked methodically, cleaned and tidied with a  and finally got ready for work.

"Does that mean I wont be able to find anything?" said Dana, when I apologised for my slight tardiness, arriving just a few minutes late for work, due to a 'refurbishment' of our room!  I sat at my desk, turned on my computers and started with the morning rituals.  Coffee and contests!  Priorities are priorities!  

I swam with some ease at lunchtime, which at least made me feel a little better, but the afternoon was a struggle.  The postman seemed rather pleased to see me, and asked me about my trip.  "Doesn't it always rain in England?" he asked, when I told him that it was quite a wet fortnight, and when it rains, it is not hot like Texas, but makes things feel damp and cold.   I responded with my usual patter.  I remember summers being summers, with blue skies, comfortable temperatures, and no rain throughout the long school holiday.  Hollywood films England in the rain!  I tried to remain non-plus about the whole thing, but felt my tone to be slightly indignant.  

Contest entries were put on hold on Tuesday morning.  We had a power cut.  Apparently, a large transmitter had blown and was affecting a large area of the capital city.  One of our office neighbours had called the management company, but they, too, were in the dark!  I was about to call the energy company when the lights came back on, but our database system was not working.  Dana had been experiencing some glitches for a while, and had assumed it was a router problem.  However, the power cut had managed to cause a few more conflicts, and he took the 'server' to his original computer providers.   Samantha and Grant were out attempting to find other components, so I was left on my own in the office.  This was a wonderful cure for jet lag as I did not have time to be anything but 'on the ball'.  'Back in the saddle', and running the show!  If anyone who called did not want to talk to the English woman, it was tough!  It was me or nothing!  Eventually, all came home and I went swimming!  

As I was only expecting a total of four for dinner on Wednesday, I decided to go very basic.  Boiled beef and cabbage!  I believe the English version is 'carrots' instead of the green veg, but I wanted to make it easier.  'Pudding' was also an old English favourite, with a twist of course!  I went to see Joe, gave him his presents, the usual heavily patterned and brightly coloured socks, and some chocolate.  We enjoyed coffee, a chat, and then I had to go.  'Back in the saddle!'  Across town I drove to get my nails revamped, and then to the office.  Contests, coffee and work!  During the morning, or what was left of it, Samantha received an email to say she had won tickets for the circus, on Friday.  My perseverance had paid off!  

I arrived home on Wednesday, went for a quick swim, and then started to prepare dinner.  "Best yet!" I was told by Grant.  I had taken the cabbage and mixed it with the potatoes to make 'bubble and squeak'.  Eves pudding with apples and a variety of berries, with Birds custard (with a dash of cherry concentrate) was for dessert.  "Wow!" was the response.  It was with delight that I pointed out that this was a very, very basic English dinner, and how in the past English food had been labelled plain and boring!  I know that 'Shepard's pie' is now considered a delicacy, but who would have thought 'bubble and squeak' would have been classified 'gourmet'.  "What do we know other than Tex-Mex", continued Grant.  Oh how I love Texans!

Samantha went to collect her tickets on Thursday but apparently they were in my name.  They could not find her details anywhere. I would have to go to the station.  She relayed this information to me when I had finished by swim.  My car was due for its annual inspection and I asked Dana to see if our garage of choice could fit it in that afternoon.  Amazingly enough, they could!  I drove to the station.  "You share an email address", said the lady at the desk.  She showed me her screen, which showed that we did, indeed, show our email as being the sane.  However, the email to which the message was sent, was not mine.  "But this is the only email we have for you", said the lady behind the desk,  We were both rather perplexed.  She removed Samantha's name from my email and asked me for a new one.  As I gave it to her, and she started to enter it, she saw that this was the email to which Samantha's details were actually attached.  "This is the address to where the email went".  I said.   We both looked, open mouthed, confused and unable to work out what had happened.  Perhaps it was the week for computer glitches!  "I dunno", said the receptionist, and shrugged her shoulders.  "It's just weird".  However, I managed to retrieve the tickets, and vowed to sort the problem when I returned the office, if I could.  

My car took just under an hour to have an inspection and oil change.  The old lady was back on the road for another year!  I drove back to the office and continued to work diligently, and caught up with most of my work by the time we left, which was much later than anticipated. It had taken almost a week, but I now felt as if I was truly 'back.....'.  

The long weekend was upon us but Friday was not quiet.  The illusion that our car park gave, virtually empty of vehicles, was a cruel joke.  Our phones did not stop ringing.  'Back in the saddle', I was and I was quite looking forward to the usual, e.g., a lovely quiet weekend.  A lovely quiet long weekend.  Could it be?  All will be revealed in ............... another story!