From the weekend

Mother nature decided that she wanted a nice new white coat so we got a dusting of snow, roughly 3 inches worth came down over Friday night and we (like much of the UK) awoke to a blanket covering everything in sight. Now that is bad news where we are as it takes very little to make getting home in the car very difficult, if not impossible. We are at the top of a slope/hill on one of the highest bits of ground inside the Derby City boundary, but we are about 400 metres from the bus route (which gets gritted by the council) and most of that is in shade so the effects of the sun don't get through to assist any thaw. So, out with the broom and shovel. One elderly neighbour gave up a spare snow shovel, which made things easier, and another supplied some salt (that may appear generous but he is self employed so couldn't spare time to shovel snow and dearly wanted to be able to get his van back up to his house, one door up from ours).

So I spent a good part of Saturday morning clearing The Close of snow and laying down salt/grit, just in time for the delivery of our new washing machine (ordered on the internet and delivered from Manchester) which I then had to install. Old machine got stuck outside by the back door, and it will sit there until the weather improves - which could be a long time. Then it was out to do the weekly shop. Then back to do the ironing (my part of the weekend's chores). With a mug of vegetable soup for lunch somewhere in the middle and a quick trip to check on Mum & Dad, Sue and I were glad to put our feet up and spend an evening alone in front of the TV.

Sunday morning, no more snow had fallen so I took myself off to clear Mum & Dad's drive of snow and put down some of the salt/grit I'd got left over from Saturday. I know Dad can't get out and Mum doesn't go out much when the weather is bad like this, but the carers provided by social services, along with the nurses and doctors that regularly call to check on Dad means that I like to keep their drive clear if I can. Anyway, I got it done and called in after work tonight to check on them again and Mum said that everyone had remarked how nice it was that the drive was not slippery and that they felt safe as a result of my efforts, so that's reward enough.

Mum is well. Dad was better at the weekend but wasn't so good again tonight. He still hasn't shaken off the cold and chesty catargh that has palgued him for the last several weeks. Both are now starting to get used to my new tactics of little but often - instead of just seeing them once a week I now try and pop in at least 3 time a week, each time being short and sweet.

Oh, and while I'm on I might as well comment on how much better the VW Passat is in these poor weather conditions when compared to the Mercedes. So far I'm much more impressed with the Passat than I ever was with the Merc. Let's hope it stays that way.