Day 1 of family self-isolation has been profitable: that’s the teddies all sorted into size order... #KidsAmusingThemselves #workingFromHome #KidsAtHome @nickisapiro 
Day 2 of family self-isolation has been more academic in nature: the kids have (unprompted!) sorted their books into alphabetical order by the first letter of the author’s surname. I’ll teach them MHRA referencing tomorrow. #KidsAmusingThemselves #workingfromhome @nickisapiro
Day 3 of self-isolation has been more practice-led, with a focus on architecture and engineering. That’s just my take on things; the kids called it den building. #KidsAmusingThemselves #workingfromhome #KidsAtHome @nickisapiro
Day 4 of self-isolation has been a fusion of trivial pursuit categories: art and nature. Painted Russian doll animals, though I’m not sure owls 🦉eat foxes 🦊, which eat rabbits 🐇, which eat hedgehogs 🦔, which eat mice 🐀 🤔. #KidsAmusingThemselves #KidsAtHome @nickisapiro
Day 5 of self-isolation has seen us (more accurately mainly @nickisapiro) start on the garden, the kids make a 🦊, and me lay the foundations for a home-educating maths/design tech project building a computer desk. We’ll see how that turns out later in the week. #KidsAtHome
Missed doing my Day 6 of self-isolation tweet yesterday! The kids did rainbows for the windows (just before no-one was allowed outside to see them), and we started home educating which was ... ok actually. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome #KidsAmusingThemselves @nickisapiro
Day 7 of self-isolation has been spent mainly wearing headphones in a succession of tutorials and meetings on #MSTeams. Kids did PE with @thebodycoach, dancing with @OtiMabuse, maths with @nickisapiro and played junior scrabble with me (English). #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 8 of self-isolation and I built a computer desk for @nickisapiro from timber with the kids (a quasi maths and design tech lesson). Photo to follow tomorrow once the glued bits have dried! #KidsAtHome #KidsAmusingThemselves #WorkingFromHome
Day 9 of self-isolation has seen us start science by checking what the kids (and I) do and don’t know. The day has also featured butterfly art and the moving #clapforourcarers. Here’s the work desk I made @nickisapiro too. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome #KidsAmusingThemselves
Day 10 of self-isolation has included maths this morning, a family game of Trans Europa this evening (geography & transport planning 😂), and watching @RoyalBalletSch’s wonderful production of Peter and the Wolf. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome #KidsAmusingThemselves @nickisapiro
Day 11 of self-isolation has been quiet without email, MSTeams and schoolwork. Kids and @nickisapiro made wraps for lunch and we watched act 1 of @NationalTheatre Oklahoma! on @BroadwayHD, partly as prep for (hopefully) doing the show in Jan, but also good family fun. #KidsAtHome
Day 12 of self-isolation and we finished the @NationalTheatre Oklahoma! on @BroadwayHD, put down some stepping stones in the garden and played a lot of Trans Europa. It snowed at one point, which was not welcome!! Back to the juggling act tomorrow... #KidsAtHome @nickisapiro
Day 13 of self-isolation saw a review of the kids knowledge of geography, history, RE and science. We’ve also progressed from Trans Europe via Ticket to Ride New York to Carcassonne, all while juggling Teams meetings and emails. Fun! #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome @nickisapiro
Day 14 of self-isolation and the kids did some serious bickering for the first time today. Nothing serious, of course; colouring/reading, jumping on the trampoline and making bead bracelets sorted them out. An otherwise uneventful day. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome @nickisapiro
Day 15 and we’ve gone from self-isolation to the general lockdown 🤔Nice family walk, but it was stressful avoiding the people blocking the pavement, talking. Virtual pizza lunch with @nickisapiro’s team was fun and the day ended well with Frozen II. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 16 and the kids really engaged with the packs we collected from school yesterday. Busy work day but still managed to do three laps round the block, studiously crossing the road to avoid other people! We all did #clapforourcarers too. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome @nickisapiro
Day 17 (late tweet!) was another busy one but the kids were fantastic, doing a range of craft activities largely by themselves. Got out for a walk round the local green space and caught up with lots of colleagues at virtual cake Friday. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome @nickisapiro
Day 18 has featured more Trans Europa, watching @OfficialALW’s Joseph thanks to #TheShowsMustGoOn (the kids loved it), a nice walk (and, at times, run) including delivering garlic to a local isolating resident, and a zoom chat with friends. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 19 and the kids did some baking with @nickisapiro, a four-player game of Ticket to Ride New York led to a very cluttered board and close scores, and the little one got cold on our walk so ended up wearing my hoodie! #KidsAtHome
Day 20 saw the kids get out the jigsaws (I’ve started on the Dissertations!), and we’ve kind of started the annual attempt to de-weed the garden. Lots of good reading, English and Maths lessons, and piano too. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome @nickisapiro #KidsAmusingThemselves
Day 21 and I picked up the Asda ‘click and collect’ shopping order we placed nearly 3 weeks ago. I’ve never felt so pressured to do a job quickly in my whole life! Otherwise a nice day and the kids decorated some of the fence with chalks. #KidsAtHome @nickisapiro #WorkingFromHome
Day 22 and the kids have been great. I did some marking in the garden where we had a little fluttering visitor this afternoon. Lots more good puzzling, and the kids joined us for ‘Cake Wednesday’ with colleagues. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome @nickisapiro #KidsAmusingThemselves
Day 23 and instead of work the kids and I made matzah (tasted better than it looked!) and then they decorated a tea set in rainbow colours and pink/purple. We held a seder for 19 via zoom this evening and for all the chaos it was very nice to have a ‘family dinner’. @nickisapiro
Day 24 has been furniture moving day. @nickisapiro and I decided it would be sensible to move a heavy sofa upstairs into the kids’ room as part of a switch around. Managed it, and the house is better, but we’ll be sore tomorrow! Enjoyed JCS on #TheShowsMustGoOn tonight too.
Day 25 has involved weeding, tidying the study, and getting stuff out of the loft. We now need to tidy the study again... We’re lucky to have a garden. The kids did some painting outside and since our hose has a leak I used a super soaker to clean down the patio 😂 @nickisapiro
Day 26 (a bit late). The kids practised piano and violin today (quite novel!), and we introduced them to Ticket to Ride Europe, a step up from the NY version. More stones/weeds dealt with in the garden and the soil is flatter, if still not really level. #KidsAtHome @nickisapiro
Day 27 was unusual since the girls engaged with piano practice and piano lessons. More surprisingly all went well 😂. Nice to catch up with @DaveIreland5 and finally get the guided tour. Also, @nickisapiro and I found some old photos in the loft that brought back great memories.
Day 28 and the great loft clearance and garden weeding marathons have continued. We’ve started a 1000-piece jigsaw with the kids and they’ve really gone for it! @nickisapiro and I are back to #WorkingFromHome tomorrow 🙁, but we’ve had a lovely family long weekend. #KidsAtHome
Day 29 featured story time with Grandad and the cousins via Teams and a morning of Lego building, which both girls enjoyed a lot. A bit of school mixed in with dissertation marking (me, not the kids!), and @KatyRR’s vocal warm-up for fun! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 30 and I did a lot of stone removal and soil dragging today to try and get the garden ready for us to sow grass seed next week. By no means a perfect job but it’s a big improvement! We also finished the 1000-piece jigsaw we did with the kids. #Triumph #KidsAtHome @nickisapiro
Day 31 and the kids did art with Dr Grandma for 2hrs on FaceTime. Great drawing from them both, and so engaged too. Meant @nickisapiro and I got some work done! The jigsaw marathon continued, and I’ve measured out part of the garden for grass seed. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 32 saw us use gaming to educate the kids on current affairs - we introduced them to Pandemic! It went down well and we won 2 out of 3 games. Frustratingly it rained just we were about to head outside so we’ll have to sow the grass seed tomorrow. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 33 and we’ve finally sown grass seed - about 40sqm of it! The kids helped stamp it down, and I enjoyed using the new hose too. Heaven knows how much will take, given the stones, weeds, leaves, etc., but hopefully it’ll be better than it used to be. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 34 was busy for me and @nickisapiro balancing work, home school and family time too. Watered the grass seed and scowled at the birds who came to snack on it! Played Pandemic with all 6 epidemic cards and won, which was a nice way to end the day. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 35 (really, really late tweet!) saw our older daughter have her first triple-bill of ballet, French and violin all in one day, plus the girls did PE with @thebodycoach and had story time with grandad. They’re almost as busy as us! 😂 @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 36 (also late) and our younger daughter had a full day with ballet, Spanish and PE. Kids had a good long chat with grandparents too. I had a surreal experience doing a report at a Teams meeting with all other mics/cameras off - was anyone else there?! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 37 has been a bit hectic, but it was nice spending some time with the kids this afternoon exploring the history of Horsforth for their projects, through photographs from the early-mid C20. No sign of life from the grass seed yet 🤔 @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 38 saw another brilliant doodle art session for the kids run by Dr Grandma on FaceTime. Work-wise a busy morning for me and afternoon for @nickisapiro, but we managed to balance it all out. Installed some shimmering rainbow poles in the garden 😂 #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 39 and @nickisapiro and I kicked down a fence (with the neighbours’ blessing!). Good family walk this afternoon and the kids practised piano really well today. The older one gave the younger one a violin lesson too 😂. Still no sign of grass growing though 😞. #KidsAtHome
Day 40 and the tree stumps that line the side of the garden where the fence came down defeated me. I’ve bought a saw. The apple tree is blossoming beautifully - must be spring. Kids asked to play the Pandemic mutation expansion and we somehow fluked a last round win. #KidsAtHome
Day 41 witnessed the start of term and, somewhat surprisingly, a slightly quieter day for the most part. Kids did well with their lessons (including piano), and nice family video call in the late afternoon to wish Grandma happy birthday. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 42 heralded completion of the 750-piece (+5 extras) edgeless ‘Hook, Line and Sinker’ jigsaw. Unrelated to this, my new reciprocal saw was delivered, so I can resume war with the tree stumps. About a ton of fruit also arrived... @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 43 has been mainly about future planning at work, passively learning Spanish while our younger daughter had her lesson (but not doing so for ballet!), and hoping that, to misquote Les Misérables, ‘rain will make the grass seed grow’. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 44 and it was nice to catch up with some finalists in project supervisions today. Good school stuff with the kids too: a good draft of a book blurb from the older and a sunflower drawing from the younger (the older drew hers later). @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 45 has seen progress - we have the beginnings of grass! Not everywhere (yet?) but patches are appearing. The kids did more great artwork with Dr Grandma and I had some very useful work chats today. @nickisapiro and I work with wonderful people 😄. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 46 and armed with my new reciprocating saw I resumed battle with the tree stumps. Something of a score draw I think. The grass is definitely growing now! @nickisapiro did the girls’ nails, and we ended the day with the @OfficialALW concert (guilty pleasure!). #KidsAtHome
Day 47 started with a good walk this morning on which we saw some toys enjoying nature and had and a yelled chat with @DaveIreland5 down his driveway. The kids played on the street and in the garden this afternoon, and @nickisapiro and I did some more loft clearing. #KidsAtHome
Day 48 saw the arrival of a dock and monitor, which will make working much easier. Thank you @ITServicesUoL! Wood now ordered to make myself a desk to match the one I made @nickisapiro. Kids had stonking piano lessons with @JennyRMartins today too. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 49 means it’s 7 weeks since we entered self-isolation. We’re doing ok I guess, and the most important thing is we’re all well. Older child had some good zoom lessons today and younger did number bond adding and subtracting very well. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 50 and I started a task I was due to get going 2-3 months ago. As it happens waiting was useful, given all that’s happened! Kids did good work in maths, Spanish and ballet today, and they had another nice chat with their grandparents. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 51 and after a largely unproductive/disrupted morning I achieved this afternoon. Dissertations done (one still to come in) workload planning started, cleared some emails. Kids did great work in lessons with family members online too. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 52, and after a good walk this morning we enjoyed a #VEDay75 street-party-on-your-own-driveway this afternoon. Nice to catch up with the neighbours (at a suitable social distance) and the kids loved it. Also saw a veteran who lives on our road 🎖✌️🇬🇧 @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 53 started at 12.20am when I had to go out and ask the guys down the road to kill their music. On our family walk we saw the planes grounded at the airport and had a driveway chat with @DaveIreland5. We also cleared more of the loft - making progress! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 54 lacked the weather of the past few days but we still got out for a walk, exploring Clayton Woods for the first time - just 10mins walk from our door! Did a lot of loft emptying so the study now looks like a junk shop/tip. I’ll tidy it sometime 😂. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 55 was a bit odd, but not as bad as it could have been. The kids have been fantastic, playing really well and working quite hard in lessons too. Meant I got a lot done, which was useful! Also, we opened the huge sack of bread flour. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 56 included seeing @tobyhuelin present a great paper, internet issues with an online ballet class (not for me!), and finally listening to some of The Rink ahead of next year’s show. Had a short walk and I made pizza from scratch too. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 57 seems to have consisted mainly of admin and the kids having zoom lessons, with two going on at once at one point. They’re still being amazing and they’re even enjoying our family walks. @nickisapiro and I are ok too! #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome #KidsAmusingThemselves
Day 58 and I’ve finished my 2019-20 dissertation marking, 1 day before leading the 2020-21 dissertation briefing session! The kids have been asking about when we bought our house and where we used to live, so @nickisapiro & I are recalling past homes. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 59 involved Collaborate lectures going well (but don’t mention the breakout rooms) and some good engagement and project ideas from our soon-to-be @LeedsUniMusic finalists. My kids did well keeping the noise down while I lectured too. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 60 started lazily with a relaxed morning, picking up with a good post-lunch walk and some family game time this afternoon. After the kids struggled to get to sleep last night they went out like lights tonight, thank goodness! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #KidsAmusingThemselves
Day 61 (a whole day late) featured a morning walk to the old quarry and some home-office desk making in the afternoon. I now have one to match @nickisapiro’s, and this one also doesn’t wobble!! Chats with family and game playing completed the day nicely. #KidsAtHome
Day 62 started early with a pre-8am click-and-collect from Tesco (not as stressful as the Asda one in early April). Lots of useful work done today but it took longer than hoped. Kids were great though, especially in their piano lessons. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 63 has provided some clarity on a few work matters, which is good. Older child enjoyed her various zoom lessons today, and the younger did some good maths with @nickisapiro and me. Got some conductor/accomp videos for The Rink sorted and sent too. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 64 saw @nickisapiro and I run two online sessions; the kids just about let us manage 😂. Younger one had a solo ballet class, and older one has done an excellent version of Munch’s ‘Scream’, for school art project. Also, we saw horses on our walk. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 65 included Teams meetings (me and @nickisapiro), zoom and FT sessions (kids), an #ArtWorldRecords attempt, and a viewing of the @VictoryGardens production of @funhomemusical (still love that show). Looking forward to being on leave tomorrow 😄 #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 66 started with a lovely 8km walk to Rawdon Billing and back, probably the furthest the little one has walked without any carrying. We began the epic task of tidying the playroom and I cleaned the bathroom too! Also cut my own hair/beard. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #AnnualLeave
Day 67 and despite creating more mess we’re starting to get there with the playroom (I think). Did a nice 5k walk today using one of @nickisapiro and my old running routes (a bit hilly!) and we started a new family jigsaw this afternoon. #LivingTheDream #KidsAtHome
Day 68 (a little late) and the weather this morning implied we’d skipped summer, though the sun found us this afternoon. @nickisapiro did hers and the girls’ nails, playroom tidying stage 3 went well, we got out for a walk and we’ve baked choc chip brownies. #KidsAtHome #NiceDay
Day 69 saw us do some of Leeds Country Way in a 6k walk and complete another jigsaw. I’m livid our brown bin was deemed ‘too heavy’ to empty (@nickisapiro could move it!); all valid waste, lid closes and no limit is given online. It’ll only be heavier by next time... #KidsAtHome
Day 70 means it’s 10 weeks since we started 14 days self-isolation (@nickisapiro and I have no family within 45 miles; just saying). Anyway, we made huge progress with the playroom today, found lots of shoes for the younger daughter, and watched the older do ballet. #KidsAtHome
Day 71 has been frustrating (work-wise) waiting for vital info with no sign it’s coming. Good at home though; watched the younger child do ballet, repotted the sunflowers and marvelled that the kids kept the playroom tidy for a whole day! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 72 and we’ve finally sorted the kids’ home education plan. I think that was quick work, but I work in HE so... 😂. Nice walk about 5.30pm but sad the local teenagers are ignoring social distancing. Had some power paragliders over the garden today too @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 73 and the kids produced some incredible artwork with Dr Grandma again. They also worked really well on their school learning today, meaning @nickisapiro and I also had productive days and we could have a proper family walk to get some exercise. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 74 saw us cross off some more of Leeds Country Way as part of a 7.5k walk. Saw the runway approach lights up close! Both kids did good piano practice, and @nickisapiro and I have overseeded part of the area we’re trying to turn into lawn. Need more grass seed now! #KidsAtHome
Day 75 included more of Leeds Country Way (Apperley Bridge to Horsforth), with a nice stroll alongside the River Aire as part of this section. The girls are enjoying the walking (as are @nickisapiro and I, of course), and it’s a fun family activity too. #KidsAtHome
Day 76 was unexpectedly busy so no walk, but the girls did some excellent school work (@nickisapiro and I worked hard too!) and played together wonderfully. Both piano lessons were good, and they asked to hear a symphony at dinner (I chose Prokofiev’s ‘Classical’)! #KidsAtHome
Day 77 included a surprise for the kids; my parents came over for a socially distanced garden chat and dinner. Hadn’t seen them since 5 March. We even braved the rain since they weren’t allowed inside! Younger child finished her version of Red Balloon too @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 78 was busy with Teams meetings and much hilarity when @Karenburland discovered how careful you need to be inviting someone to speak 😂😳. The girls had a lot of screen time too, but for good reasons (grandparent chats and lessons) @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 79 saw some rapidly arranged meetings and (I hope) some decisions taken at long last. The kids were a bit fractious this morning, but reading to Auntie Gill on Zoom sorted them out and they were better this afternoon. We’ve begun a new family jigsaw! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 80 saw the kids being model children. They really enjoyed their lessons today and got loads done in art with @DianeSapiro2 this afternoon. @nickisapiro and I did some useful planning, and we even managed a short family walk between rain showers. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 81 saw us venture out for a socially distanced walk with @LibbyClarkLeeds and @MrBC3000 and explore the woods around Alwoodley. Just about dodged most of the rain too! Finished our latest family jigsaw this afternoon, so all in all a very good day. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 82 began with rain, but dried off so we did more of Leeds Country Way - Thornbury to Apperley Bridge. A bit muddy and rather samey, but good to get out. I also built a simple stand for when my MacBook is docked, so I think my desk space is now sorted. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 83 was a quiet one for me though @nickisapiro barely emerged from Teams meetings all afternoon. Some good English work from the kids today saw the older one learn lots about comprehension and the younger do some excellent colouring and sequencing. #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 84 (12 weeks) saw a new afternoon schedule with our older child doing French, violin and ballet all within a couple of hours. Worked well, and our younger child did some fabulous colouring of sea creatures for her ‘Commotion in the Ocean’ schoolwork. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 85 handed me a morning of meetings, meaning @nickisapiro had to deal with the girls having a ‘misunderstanding’. All smiles by lunch, and good Spanish, ballet, English and maths work done this afternoon. We got a bit wet on our walk, but it was good to get out. #KidsAtHome
Day 86 has sort of passed by in a haze of work though I can’t recall specific things I’ve done or achieved. The girls worked really hard with @GillBracey this morning though. We looked at the new lawn this afternoon - it needs some serious weeding! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 87 included my first two exam-type meetings of this cycle, punctuated by one or other child coming to show me and @nickisapiro their school or art work 😂. I got a huge 53pts at Ticket to Ride NY (2 route last turn pick-up = 15pts!) to end the day, which was nice. #KidsAtHome
Day 88 was spent expecting a thunderstorm that never came. We managed a 3k local walk and then (finally) weeded the new lawn. Still a bit patchy but looking more like grass now! @nickisapiro and I watched ‘The Wiz Live!’ this evening. We’d never seen the show before. #KidsAtHome
Day 89 and the unexpected good weather enabled us to tick off another 6k of Leeds Country Way. Lots of garden weeding this afternoon means it now looks (more than) half decent. Kids have had a lovely weekend of walking and playing and have been great. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 90 was quite bitty but I was able to pick off what felt like about 1,000,000 emails. Found time to paint the kids’ faces this afternoon (as cats) and did it quite well. Also had my first experience of 2 Teams meetings at once 😂. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 91 started with the arrival of a large, complicated and important set of documents, was punctuated by helping the kids with schoolwork, and ended with a nice evening family stroll. The kids have done really well with work today too. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 92 and I got a big document sent off, though I’ll get it back at the meeting I’m running on Friday. Started my final bit of marking for this session too. Kids have worked well today; the older found volcanos on Google maps while the younger did ballet @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 93 included the kids lessons with @GillBracey in which they did some excellent work. The older really engaged well with her class book, and the younger wrote about seahorses. Nice to end the day with a long chat with Paul and Ffi too. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 94 has been spent on Teams: chaired 3 exams meetings and a student education meeting, and squeezed in a chat with a colleague in another school too. Couldn’t have got through it without @nickisapiro. The kids were awesome, amused themselves all day (were the #KidsAtHome 😂?!)
Day 95 started with a good 7k (ish) section of Leeds Country Way from Batley to Drighlington. After lunch I hurriedly put up the gazebo so my parents could sit under cover if it rained. It didn’t but it was great to see them nonetheless! @nickisapiro @DianeSapiro2 #KidsAtHome
Day 96 - fathers’ day - and I had a lie in until 8am. Latest I’ve slept in for ages! Got some niggly DIY jobs done, sorting out the screws in a carpet trim and fixing(?) the temperature issue on the shower. Shame @LFC didn’t win, but every point counts! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 97 saw the start of the next batch of exams meetings, though I don’t have as many as @nickisapiro! The kids played really nicely today and also did some excellent maths work. They’re both doing well which is pleasing and also relieving too!! #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 98 and I managed to complete an important document, which was a relief. Got through a few more exams meetings and heard an alumna present a great paper at #hiddenfigures2020 too. Won’t talk about the kids’ nearly missing story time with grandad... 😳 @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 99 included the 2nd day of #hiddenfigures2020. Couldn’t attend it all, but enjoyed papers by @tobyhuelin and @CathreeneH. Congrats to @JDGodsall and the team! The kids coped well with the heat today, and @nickisapiro and I did ok too. @LFC are just 2 points away! #KidsAtHome
Day 100 started with me chairing an exam board with the Institutional External Examiner present (no pressure), and ended with @LFC crowned Premier League Champions for the first time. The kids did some nice origami too. All round good day really! @nickisapiro #YNWA #KidsAtHome
Day 101 finally saw the end of the exam meetings, and also the arrival of the long-awaited thunderstorm, with hailstones too. The kids set up the dining room as a restaurant for dinner with signs to use hand sanitiser and arrows to show the way to walk. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 102 has been wet but the kids did start their school sports day challenge. They’re missing school so they wore summer uniforms today 😂. This evening I was lucky enough to join @rufusjunior and @RichardNiles to present an @ASMACinfo webinar on British Arrangers. @nickisapiro
Day 103 saw us brave the rain to cut back the acer at the bottom of the garden so the grass growing under it gets more light and rain. The kids did good violin and piano practice. Both are doing really well with their music - @nickisapiro and I are very proud 😄🎻🎹 #KidsAtHome
Day 104 included a visit to @LeedsUniMusic to collect some books and other materials. Bit ghostly in the building. Good maths, English and history work from the kids, and excellent piano lessons too. Younger one even ran an exam board 😂 @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 105 was dominated by getting the right child onto the right zoom calls. The kids hid under their table too. Don’t think I had 15mins at my desk until 4pm! Got an important document finished though (thanks @Karenburland @DaveIreland5 @nickisapiro). #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 106 was busy but we got through it. Had some good (though a bit scary) news this afternoon that’s meant some diary shuffling, but nothing problematic. The kids have continued to work hard and also made family paper dolls. Love my beard/bald look... @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 107 included a wonderful moment when I explained something to a student who then told me it was like a cloud had been lifted 😄. The kids have done some good work today and read well to @GillBracey. They’ve basically amused themselves most of the day. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 108 saw us walk the 4km ‘gap’ we’d left in Leeds Country Way (Pudsey to Thornbury) even though it was raining. Nice to take a day’s leave and have some proper time with the kids. I fluked a victory at Trans Europa and we’ve started the #hamifilm too. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 109 has included more of the #hamifilm with the kids, discussions about a new garden fence, and much tidying of the house. No prizes for guessing which of those was most fun. The kids basically made dinner with our help today, and it was very tasty! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 110 started with some of Leeds Country Way (W Ardsley to Batley) and we finished another jigsaw. Watched the rest of #Hamifilm too. It’s not quite like being ‘in the room’, but the cast and band are great and @ReneeGoldsberry is absolutely incredible. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 111 saw another class chat and quiz for the younger child and a long zoom chat with a close friend for the older. Two very happy kids! A meeting-free day for me (not for @nickisapiro) meant I could get on with some bitty tasks. Making headway slowly but surely. #KidsAtHome
Day 112 was busy for the older child but it was the younger who curled up and went to sleep on the sofa. Both managed some schoolwork though. Had a good Teams chat with a senior colleague and I’m starting to get stuff sorted for the coming week or so now. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 113 saw more slow but steady progress on ongoing (but need to be finished) tasks and some useful Teams chats with @DaveIreland5 and @Karenburland. The kids amused themselves most of the day and made some colourful displays with their domino rally kit. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 114 and I think I’ve finally got to the bottom of the pile of spreadsheets I’ve been wading through. Also did lots of prep for next week’s meetings. The kids read well with @GillBracey and got on with their schoolwork too. Little angels both of them. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 115 (on leave) included a morning walk (partly in the rain, often in the mud) with family friends and the kids doing art on Zoom with @DianeSapiro2 while @nickisapiro and I got dull but necessary admin done. Home-made lentil curry was devoured by all at dinner 😄. #KidsAtHome
Day 116 started with more of Leeds Country Way (Lofthouse to W Ardsley). Nice walk through lots of wheat fields, but odd to have the M62 in view for most of it. Lovely to see my parents this afternoon and for dinner, and they brought cake! @nickisapiro @DianeSapiro2 #KidsAtHome
Day 117 and @nickisapiro took the kids out this morning to deliver some stuff to @antonybutcher, giving me time to read part of a long document I have to get through. They brought me back a cookie too! Enjoyed the sunshine with friends in the garden this afternoon. #KidsAtHome
Day 118 included a potentially stressful but actually ok meeting, and a chat about an unusual gig. The tee stumps in the back garden were removed ahead of a new fence going in. Kids were great again though they’re finally getting a bit restless at times. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 119 included a lot of reading, followed by more reading. More importantly @robbracey and @emmaforster123 called with fab news this afternoon!! The kids celebrated by getting dolled up for dinner and insisting @nickisapiro and I had wine so we could made a toast! #KidsAtHome
Day 120 has been very busy with meetings of various kinds. @nickisapiro and I managed a 5-minute conversation this morning and that was just about the only time we had before dinner I think!! Still, at least we’re in ‘the quiet time of year’ now... #KidsAtHome #WorkingFromHome
Day 121 saw a disappointing outcome but it’s not the end of the world. On the plus side, I finished my long read and we got our lawful development certificate. Older child did a Zoom quiz for younger child’s class and I don’t know who was happier 😂. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 122 (on leave) included a chat to and herb cuttings from @DaveIreland5, an end of term distanced gathering that the kids loved, and finally seeing Inside Out. Highlight was @nickisapiro checking if my claim footballs were sized in ‘cabbages’ was true though 🥬=⚽️. #KidsAtHome
Day 123 was generally quiet. We went to a local garage sale then played Ticket to Ride Europe. The kids threw a birthday party after dinner so the four of us could celebrate our new nephew/cousin. They did pass the parcel, a disco and balloons. #VerySweet @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 124 included more of Leeds Country Way (Carlton to Lofthouse) and lunch in @Steve_katongo’s garden. The girls amused us all with their antics and were totally worn out by the time we got home. We also had a lovely chat with @ShelleyChocs this evening! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 125 has seen the start of the fence installation, though it was held up by a huge rock that was in the way and part buried. The kids also played with toy tents in the garden. We’ve survived day 1 of the school summer holidays - just 49 more to go! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 126 was odd because the kids went to childcare for the 1st time in 126 days. Disconcerting for @nickisapiro to work in a quiet house! Found sweet wrappers under the kids’ pillows last nights from a midnight feast they had a little while ago. Cheeky monkeys! #KidsNotAtHome
Day 127 and for the first time (I think) I had more meetings than @nickisapiro. The kids did some computing work even though it’s the holidays, used some of their craft kits, then set up a tent in the playroom. @LFC finally got the Premier League trophy tonight. #KidsAtHome #YNWA
Day 128’s tweet is late because the washing machine decided 11pm was a good time for a fault so @nickisapiro and I had to deal with it. Kids were at childcare today leaving us free for School Development Forum. It went well; our colleagues are fab! #WorkingFromHome #KidsNotAtHome
Day 129 saw the older daughter make a puppet theatre for the younger and lead a zoom art session for her sister and @DianeSapiro2. I had an intense but good afternoon so @nickisapiro was solo parenting! Now on our first trip away from Leeds since mid-March. Feels odd! #KidsAtHome
Day 130 and we met the newest member of the family (and saw the new bathroom). Both kids held their new little cousin and were brilliant with him. Was also good to see my in-laws in person for the first time in over 4 months. @nickisapiro @robbracey @emmaforster123 #KidsNotAtHome
Day 131 featured a (short but much needed) lie-in. This morning we did some gardening, dodging the rain. This afternoon I seem to have managed to fix the washing machine while @nickisapiro and the kids baked some delicious banana loaf and choc-chip cookies. Win-win!! #KidsAtHome
Day 132 was quiet since the kids were at the childminder. @nickisapiro and I had a lunchtime walk in the driving rain and had a nice in-person(!) catch-up with @DaveIreland5. I got a lot of work done though perhaps not quite the work I planned to do. C’est la vie! #KidsNotAtHome
Day 133 saw our internet go off randomly mid morning while @nickisapiro and I were on Teams calls and the kids were talking to @DianeSapiro2 on Zoom 🤬. Got lots done today and played Ludo with the kids before a social Teams chat to mark colleagues finishing in roles. #KidsAtHome
Day 134 began with a trip to campus to risk assess @LeedsUniMusic with @Karenburland, @_DanMerrick and @kegemac. Big step towards safe reopening. Nice to grab cake with Karen afterwards too! Kids did well at Spanish and violin this afternoon. A good day! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 135 included 3 meetings with @antonybutcher (lucky me/him) and great discussion with our students about plans for welcome week in September. #partnership I also got a load of proposal feedback out to finalists. We finished a circular jigsaw too. @nickisapiro #KidsNotAtHome
Day 136 was a scorcher so we set up the paddling pool and gazebo for the kids. Attached the hose to the kitchen tap and only soaked the place 3 times before deciding to use a bucket instead 😂. @nickisapiro did a good job cutting back the front garden trees today too. #KidsAtHome
Day 137 saw us do more of Leeds Country Way (Methley to Carlton) this morning and play family co-op games this afternoon. We won Pandemic (6 epidemic cards!) and introduced the kids to the Lord of the Rings game, which we won by the narrowest of margins! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 138 saw us welcome @nickisapiro’s parents over this afternoon for the first time since early March. The kids were super happy! Went into Leeds in the morning (saw a rainbow crossing by LGI) and had the kids’ feet measured. We felt completely safe at @clarksshoes. #KidsAtHome
Day 139 was full on with work though I didn’t end up doing anything I’d actually put in my diary. Kids were at the childminder today and played board games brilliantly once home. Nice chat with my brother and sister-in-law this evening to end the day. @nickisapiro #KidsNotAtHome
Day 140 and the kids were great. Yoga, story time (Zoom), playing, reading, colouring, making rainbow baskets, and hardly a peep from them at all. Good family game of Pandemic too, with @nickisapiro as the bioterrorist (we won and beat the game). I got some work done. #KidsAtHome
Day 141 went pretty well but was derailed for about 30 mins before lunch when I helped the kids make a bracelet from a kit. Box said age 8+ but really 8 hands would have helped! They devoured sea bass at dinner and would have had 2nds if there’d been any. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 142 and I’m very pleased to have got an intense job done. The kids were with the childminder so @nickisapiro and I worked without interruptions and both achieved a lot. They went hunting for fairy doors at Paul’s Pond and had a wonderful time, so everyone won. #KidsNotAtHome
Day 143 started with a shopping trip. Setups in Sports Direct and Next were good, less so at Asda Home. My parents came over for the hottest, longest afternoon ever, so the kids marked up the garden with arrows and social distance guidance! @nickisapiro @DianeSapiro2 #KidsAtHome
Day 144 included recording myself playing a piano part for some show auditions that will hopefully happen, lunch in the garden (again), and a lovely family walk in the woods. Mid-afternoon we headed to Liverpool so we can see more family tomorrow morning. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 145 was spent mainly in Liverpool. It was great to see some of @nickisapiro’s family before they head back home to the Far East (at last). Kids has a great time in Childwall Woods. Socially distanced lunch and afternoon tea with the grandparents were also lovely. #KidsAtHome
Day 146 and the girls were absolute angels. @nickisapiro and I hardly heard a peep from them all day and they even did their piano practice! I got some jobs finished off, so hopefully I’m still on track to leave things in reasonable order when I go on leave next week! #KidsAtHome
Day 147 saw another trip to Music sorting out the one-way system and signage with @_DanMerrick and @kegemac. Making progress! Tried and failed to meet a (stupidly) tight work deadline this afternoon, but at least @nickisapiro and I collected the kids on time today. #KidsNotAtHome
Day 148 has been spent trying to pick off jobs, and several were actually completed. The kids did a great job of choosing their clothes for our holiday, which saved @nickisapiro and I a job! Older daughter made a lovely mobile from sticks and origami hearts #inventive #KidsAtHome
Day 149 (late) was extremely busy. @nickisapiro was on A-level duty! I managed to get out provisional workloads (at last), finished tasks, remembered to collect the kids from the childminder and packed up the car to start our holiday. Much needed week of leave now. #KidsNotAtHome
Day 150 and we are in Aldeburgh! Can’t express how great it feels to be away from our house and from work. We all needed a break and we’ve finally got one. Went and sat on the beach this afternoon. No sun but still warm, quiet and peaceful. @nickisapiro @GillBracey #KidsOnHoliday
Day 151 and we met artist Paul Evans at Aldeburgh Contemporary Arts. Bought one of his paintings (for my birthday) and he wrote me a message on the back. Later we walked from Snape to Iken Church followed by pizza and music at the Maltings. @nickisapiro @GillBracey #KidsOnHoliday
Day 152 was my birthday, and was a lovely day. We looked round the gardens at The Red House (Britten’s house), did some of the Aldeburgh ‘spot the window’ kids’ activity and had fish and chips for dinner (thanks @nickisapiro for queueing in the rain!). @GillBracey #KidsOnHoliday
Day 153 started with a morning of rowing (🚣♀️ not 🤬) on Thorpeness Mere. Went on the beach after lunch and swam in the North Sea (hilariously @nickisapiro was fully clothed) and we ended with a BBQ. Little one was so tired she fell asleep mid-afternoon! #KidsOnHoliday @GillBracey
Day 154 saw progress with getting older daughter to ride her bike without stabilisers. Steering remains a problem, but riding went pretty well. Went to The Scallop and the boating pond this afternoon and saw a fabulous rainbow over the sea. @nickisapiro @GillBracey #KidsOnHoliday
Day 155, our last full day in Aldeburgh. A sunny morning walk to the Martello Tower during which we saw some of the regatta was followed by a rainy afternoon tea at Snape. We had sea bass (caught locally today) for dinner; it was delicious. @nickisapiro @GillBracey #KidsOnHoliday
Day 156 was spent mainly in the car driving home. Odd moment at services: I parked in a space next to a car parked with wheels on the line. That driver’s belly/parking almost stopped him getting into his car, so he called me a moron. Look who’s talking! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 157 and @nickisapiro and I were back at work. Inbox was horrific and the afternoon filled up with Teams meetings, but they were all useful conversations so it was fine. Kids went to the childminder to get a break from us 😂. Hung my new painting this evening. #KidsNotAtHome
Day 158 started at 2am when I went outside to get drunk people to shut up. This, and the rain, led to a bit of a lazy day. I took some of the kids old toys and books to a charity shop, @nickisapiro did some baking, and we played Pandemic and Carcassonne with the kids. #KidsAtHome
Day 159 saw me start thinking properly about the music arrangements for some @UHCLeeds livestream events in Sept. This afternoon @nickisapiro and I took apart a unit from the study and sorted out more junk while the kids rewatched #hamifilm. I think they had more fun! #KidsAtHome
Day 160 saw a morning spent doing tasks relating to last week’s emails and an afternoon trying to get on top of today’s emails. I did achieve though! The kids had great piano lessons and seem to have made progress despite (very) limited practice recently. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 161 (late) included a late morning visit from @DaveIreland5 for a chat and to borrow a book, and a continuing effort to get caught up from last week’s leave. The kids enjoyed their day at childcare, and had fun blowing bubbles when they got home. @nickisapiro #KidsNotAtHome
Day 162 was mainly spent solving workload and timetabling issues. Luckily I enjoy puzzles!! We took a family walk after work to pick some plums from a local resident’s tree (we were invited to do so). A good haul, and the plum crumble cake was tasty too. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 163 and the kids were so tired out from making the house a mess that they both fell asleep on the sofa this afternoon. Very sweet 😍. I had a good chat with a potential VL and made further progress with music for the streamed events I’m doing in Sept. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 164 was hectic because @nickisapiro and I crammed a day’s work into the morning and took the afternoon off. We went to the recycling site, wrapped birthday presents for our younger daughter (kids were at the childminder’s) and made plum jam. #RomanceIsNotDead #KidsNotAtHome
Day 165 included my parents visiting with a late birthday present for me. A fitting day to receive an MCU hoodie #WakandaForever. The kids were super happy all day. Shame @LFC lost, but we did last season too and then won the league title! @nickisapiro @DianeSapiro2 #KidsAtHome
Day 166 included a welcome return to Leeds Country Way (Little Preston to Methley). @nickisapiro and the kids made pasta from scratch this afternoon (delicious) and I got some more music arranging done. We’ve now prepped the living room for a birthday tomorrow. #KidsAtHome
Day 167 was our younger daughter’s birthday so we tried to make it special given we couldn’t have people over. Present opening in the morning, afterZoom tea with the family, games, headband making, and a fish and chips dinner (requested). She loved it 😍. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 168 started with 7km of Leeds Country Way (Garforth-Swillington) and our 6yo daughter didn’t grumble like when she was 5 😉. Great to see @nickisapiro’s parents this afternoon. I trailed cable across the house so we can now work in our study instead of the lounge! #KidsAtHome
Day 169 and @nickisapiro and I working in the study seemed to go ok. Got a fair bit done today (kids at childcare) but it’s always a catch-up job after a long weekend. Nice to see @DaveIreland5 at lunchtime. We got a haul of apples and blackberries from his garden. #KidsNotAtHome
Day 170 and the kids were so good that @nickisapiro and I almost forgot they were here. We remembered to sort out lunch though! Had a couple of tight transitions starting/ending Teams calls today, but after nearly 6 months we’re now almost used to sharing an office 🤣 #KidsAtHome
Day 171 saw me back in @LeedsUniMusic for a walk-through with the UCU rep. Technical team have done a great job with the signage, sanitizer stations go in next week so we’re nearly open! The kids made birthday cards for their cousin totally unsupervised. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 172 started with lots of house cleaning (overdue) and the kids were set to work tidying the playroom (big job). @GillBracey came this afternoon and we’ve had a lovely time. She and @nickisapiro did tasty home-made naan bread and apple crumble. Thanks @DaveIreland5 #KidsAtHome
Day 173 and I spent the morning sorting music for this month’s livestream events. Kat and little Sophie came over for a socially distanced picnic, which was lovely. Both kids practised piano and they’re playing more and more fluently. On leave tomorrow! @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome
Day 174 included excellent piano lessons, with both kids doing surprisingly good sight reading. More of Leeds Country Way (Barwick in Elmet to Garforth) this afternoon. Started in the rain but ended in sunshine and good walking weather. @nickisapiro #KidsAtHome #AtSchoolTomorrow
Day 175 and the kids returned to school for the first time in nearly 5 months. They were so excited and had a great day. Let’s hope it lasts!!! @nickisapiro and I managed to get out for a short walk at lunchtime - part of a new plan to ensure we get some exercise. #KidsAtSchool
Day 176 was spent mainly on Teams in meeting after meeting after meeting. Nice to see some of @nickisapiro’s fabulous team for a lunchtime picnic in our garden though (just 6 people!). Still arranging music for the livestream events. Getting there... @antonybutcher #KidsAtSchool
Day 177 has included picking off a lot of fussy jobs that are ostensibly small but really time consuming. Still, progress is progress! My parents did their first school pick-up since February and it was nice to have some sense of a ‘normal’ Thursday. @nickisapiro @DianeSapiro2
Day 178 included two rare events: @nickisapiro and I dropped the kids at school and we picked them up too. Quite a frustrating work day though, which was annoying. It’s 6 years since my then new baby daughter was cuddled by Claudia Gorbman at our #MAViM conference! #KidsAtSchool
Day 179 started with a music blitz this morning. Brother, sister-in-law and kids came over this afternoon (rule of 6 starts Monday!); first time we’ve seen them in 6 months. Celebrated the three girls’ birthdays (early and late). @LFC beat Leeds, who were excellent. @nickisapiro
Day 180 and we celebrated my grandma’s 90th birthday with afterZoom tea. Shame we couldn’t all be there in person, but it was better than nothing. Played ‘On Tour’ with my brother - good game. Heaven knows when we’ll see him and his family in person again #RuleOfSix @nickisapiro
Day 181 was one of the few ‘down’ days I can recall having since lockdown. Don’t really know why, but little energy or motivation at times. It wasn’t as bad as I imagine and I still got some tasks done. Playing Lego with the kids after school was a great pick-me-up. @nickisapiro
Day 182 was so much better! Started with my fabulous Head of School @Karenburland sending me good news, music is done and printed for tomorrow, @tobyhuelin was great this afternoon, and the kids had good days at school. Built a duvet hut for @nickisapiro to do some recording too.
Day 183 and I conducted a socially distanced rehearsal with piano quintet and cantor for live-streamed the high holy day services we’re doing in the coming fortnight. I can’t express how amazing it was to do some live music. Fully covid-compliant, totally rewarding. @nickisapiro
Day 184 is exactly 6 months since our older daughter had a temperature and we started self-isolating. My parents came over this afternoon, and we had a visit from @Steve_katongo this evening too. Just in time - lockdown looms for Leeds (and Liverpool). @nickisapiro @DianeSapiro2
Day 185 (on leave) started with a 9k walk with @nickisapiro, included news that @LeedsUniMusic is COVID-safe and open, and ended with a live-streamed gig, my 1st performance work in 11 months (facebook.com/albert.chait/v…). The closing Adon Olam arrangement got the intended reaction!
Day 186 and the kids went to in-person ballet lessons and also had their hair cut, neither of which they’d done since Feb/March. Both also practised piano, with mixed results 😂. An evening spent faffing about with home-recording gear for @nickisapiro was unsuccessful though.
Day 187 was definitely a walking day. Around 9km in Knaresborough by the castle and the River Nidd this morning and a local 4km walk with @nickisapiro’s parents this afternoon. Almost no complaints from the girls too, which shows the stamina they’ve built up in the last 6 months.
Day 188 was almost normal, which was odd. At work in @LeedsUniMusic this morning welcoming our new masters students, then ran an online welcome for our new undergraduates with @Karenburland (too many to get in a room). Finished the day with auditions for a musical! @nickisapiro
Day 189 has been a bit non-stop but nice to spend some more time with our new masters students today. Our girls are still enjoying school. They watched @JRobyns’s concert at dinner time today; fair to say they loved it! @nickisapiro did some recording this evening under a duvet.
Day 190 was a chance to pick off bitty jobs this morning, then meetings this afternoon. The Uni media system captioned my name as superhero 😂. Older child had an in-person violin lesson and I had a rehearsal this evening for Saturday’s livestream Kol Nidre service. @nickisapiro
Day 191 was spent on Teams and Collaborate, but the saving grace was that meant I didn’t have to brave the ludicrous weather. Still suffering email overload 😢. Chose my @LFC shirt for ‘show and tell’ with the new Masters students who seem like a very nice bunch 😄. @nickisapiro
Day 192 (late) saw the end of welcome week and online meetings with all our taught students. Been unusual but it’s gone well. New restrictions for Leeds coming in but our livestream Kol Nidre service can still go ahead Saturday evening since it’s work for all of us. @nickisapiro
Day 193 was busy this morning with the kids doing ballet, piano practice, violin practice and homework. All done well! Also bought a violin on eBay. Had the pleasure and privilege of conducting a live Kol Nidre service with musicians from UHC Synagogue this evening. @nickisapiro
Day 194 started early with me being ill in the night (but no covid symptoms!) so was a slow and quiet day. Watched the stream from last night’s service and very proud of what we did. Played games with the kids and we had a short walk. @nickisapiro was super. I’m much better now.
Day 195 was the start of term and once again I’m thankful that my colleagues in @LeedsUniMusic are so flexible, adaptable, sensible, committed and (perhaps most importantly) reasonable. Some inevitable changes of plan, but a successful start to teaching for 2020-21. @nickisapiro
Day 196 saw me get (just about) on top of recent emails (less said about the rest of the inbox...) and some useful work done on module prep and other admin. Also made headway with some home improvement stuff this evening, and we’re up to date with #MasterChefAU too. @nickisapiro
Day 197 saw me make a totally unnecessary rail trip to Harrogate to try and sort out the sticking keys on my Mac. They’d have had to send it away for 7-10 days for repair. New appointment booked at the Leeds Apple store for next week (repair in store!). #frustrating @nickisapiro
Day 198 featured a morning of getting stuff done and an afternoon of meetings (getting different stuff done). Still seems to be lots of stuff to get done though. The girls had their piano lessons today and we played lots of Bandido and Junior Triominos before dinner. @nickisapiro
Day 199 started with teaching. Just a shame the class was so big it had to be online. Booked in a lot of student project supervisions, did an interview, and just about kept up with my inbox. Watched the live-action Aladdin; I liked it much more than the stage show. @nickisapiro
Day 200 was busy for the kids, with ballet, piano (and violin) practice and homework all squeezed in before lunch. They played brilliantly this afternoon; barely saw them. I braved the supermarket. Not gonna lie: @UniversityLeeds campus and @LeedsUniMusic feel safer! @nickisapiro
Day 201 was our older daughter’s birthday. Scavenger hunt this morning, family afterZoom tea, played her new games (Enchanted Forest, Blockus), Chinese takeaway for dinner, and a disco with mood lighting. Said it was the best birthday ever. Best not to mention @LFC. @nickisapiro
Day 202 included research for the first time in 2020. Not the full day I planned, but a couple of hours at least. @nickisapiro put a little too much chilli in dinner but the kids still gave it a good go, bless them. Played another birthday family game - Labyrinth. Very good fun.
Day 203 included so many meetings for me and @nickisapiro that I moved my whole setup into the dining room and used the lockdown desk I made, so we didn’t disturb each other. Kind of lonely ☹️. The kids were very bubbly after school, having had good days. They’re really great 😍.
Day 204 and I’ve finally got my MacBook keyboard fixed. Great job by the staff at the Leeds Apple store. Felt like a safe place and the keyboard is good as new. Older daughter had a good violin lesson and I played games with the younger, who then helped make dinner. @nickisapiro
Day 205 was mad busy with a morning of dissertation supervisions (good fun and good to catch up with the students) and an afternoon of meetings. Somehow stayed on top of emails (just about) but it was quite exhausting. @nickisapiro
Day 206 was another Teams-fest: meetings with colleagues, dissertation tutees, teaching a class, personal tutees and my drop-in hour. On the plus side I’ve had lovely chats with lots of wonderful students today, all of whom are doing well. Nice way to end the week. @nickisapiro
Day 207 was busy for the girls with ballet, music practice and homework, but we had time to play (and win) Pandemic and Mysterious Forest. We’re bubbled with @GillBracey and it was great to see her this afternoon. Nice for me and @nickisapiro to have some different adult company!
Day 208 started with another 5k of Leeds Country Way (Thorner to Barwick in Elmet). Made good time and only ~15k left. Girls Zoomed with grandparents this afternoon then we played younger daughter’s new games: junior risk and junior rummikub. Fun and quick to play. @nickisapiro
Day 209 was a productive but boring day for the most part. Better once the kids were home from school. They both had great piano lessons and we all played Rummikub (junior and ‘proper’) before dinner. Very impressed with both of them for how well they play the game. @nickisapiro
Day 210 and I’m still on top of my inbox, having got it to 0 (first time ever) at the end of last week. Read lots of meeting papers and revisited some instructions I wrote 4 years ago. Played Scotland Yard Junior with the kids after school. Both are very good at it! @nickisapiro
Day 211 was spent mainly on Teams with my fellow DSEs. Younger daughter was in a mood at dinner. She didn’t want the meal @nickisapiro made so I took it and pretended to throw it out. Cue tears! She ate it happily after that 😂. Horsforth Xmas lights went up today! #ItIsOctober
Twitter was down for me last night so I couldn’t tweet. Yesterday’s tweet incoming now...
Day 212 included @nickisapiro and I seeing an actual other person in real life! Clive dropped round some apples from their tree. Shame he had to stand on the drive in the rain to chat though. Older daughter had a great violin lesson and younger loved Zoom art with @DianeSapiro2.
Day 213 saw me as annoyed as I’ve been for ages about something at work, but @nickisapiro helped get it sorted so all is well. The IT failed us in some of our meetings, but we got through them. I finished the day with some good interviews with prospective students. Weekend time!
Day 214 was busy this morning with the girls going ballet, music practice and homework. Watched @LFC at lunchtime; still think the VAR official was awful. Family game playing this afternoon was good fun - Rummikub (and Junior), Scotland Yard Junior and Carcassonne. @nickisapiro
Day 215 and another 7.5km of Leeds Country Way ticked off (Wike to Thorner). One section left now! We watched last night’s @bbcstrictly with the kids this afternoon. We all enjoyed it and it was great to see and hear the live @SCDband and singers performing again. @nickisapiro
Day 216 started with a spectacular sunrise sky. Seemed to spend most of the day dealing with lots of small things that had to be sorted out. Kids had piano lessons after school, and younger one insisted @nickisapiro and I had to play school. She taught us geography (continents).
Day 217 has been bitty but included a good chat with colleagues and a meeting to try and sort out some student problems, so I’ve (hopefully) done some good. Home-made pizzas for dinner went down well. The biggest issue we’ve had today is running out of decaf tea for @nickisapiro!
Day 218 was notable mainly for our older daughter having a very technical violin lesson in which her teacher worked hard with her on her bow hold, intonation, wrist and elbow position, etc. A sign she has potential I think. Good (if scrappy) win for @LFC tonight too. @nickisapiro
Day 219 saw the morning zip by in a blur of applied project supervisions. Our @LeedsUniMusic students are I credibly creative and it’s quite inspiring to talk with them about their ideas. Enjoyed @Paulawolfe’s research colloquium this afternoon too. @nickisapiro @Steve_katongo
Day 220 (a bit late) was a day of leave owing to a training day at the kids’ school, so it’s felt like it’s Saturday all day. I used facepaints to turn the girls into a cat and a dog before lunch, and we had home-made curry for dinner (younger child devoured it). @nickisapiro
Day 221 included a bit of composition by older daughter as part of her piano practice. The girls helped make dinner, including cutting up fish, peeling potatoes and juicing lemon. @nickisapiro and I played Pandemic with friends over Skype this evening. It worked well and we won.
Day 222 saw us catch up with @bbcstrictly this morning. After lunch we finished Leeds Country Way by walking 8.5km Eccup to Wike. All 100+km done as a family in the last 10 months, almost all of it since lockdown. The girls were great and we’re really proud of them. @nickisapiro
Day 223 (on leave) saw home school return as the kids did their half-term homework. Younger one did some maths and both have researched their Black History Heroes - Rosa Parks and Aretha Franklin. They worked hard and enjoyed learning about these two amazing people. @nickisapiro
Day 224 was notable for three things. The kids were great and looked after themselves all day including doing some of their homework. Less helpfully my MacBook stopped charging though it’s working again now (overheated I think). And it was @DianeSapiro2’s birthday. @nickisapiro
Day 225 and I’m still picking off the emails I got on my two days of leave, hoping to sort them out before another day of leave. Useful meetings today though. Younger child is voluntarily doing maths when her sister does her maths homework. They’re great. @nickisapiro made cake.
Day 226 was wall-to-wall meetings across the afternoon, some of which were more useful/organised than others. Got most of what I needed to do done though, ahead of tomorrow’s leave. Kids rescheduled piano lessons were good and they both got on with their maths too. @nickisapiro
Day 227 (on leave) saw us visit @GillBracey (support bubble). When opening a tight jar of pickled cucumbers I splashed half the liquid over our younger daughter. She was not pleased; @nickisapiro just laughed. Great parenting from both of us. We all got soaked on our walk too.
Day 228, Halloween. Kids enjoyed dressing up, a ‘spot the pumpkin’ walk (99, + 1 at home), treasure hunts for treats, and pumpkin carving. Boris kept us waiting 3hrs for an announcement that’s 2 weeks late and couldn’t even format the PowerPoint properly. @nickisapiro @GillBracey
Day 229 has been spent in the wind and rain, including throughout the drive back home this afternoon. Quick visit to the Apple Store reassured me that my MacBook is working properly (phew!). Kids have enjoyed half term but can’t wait to be back at school tomorrow. @nickisapiro
Day 230 and I think I achieved a reasonable amount. Had a lovely lunchtime walk with @nickisapiro - just round the block really, but it was good to get out for some air. Kids did well with piano and also at Blokus. Some signs of strategy in their gameplay, which is good to see.
Day 231 was productive! Checked through a document for a colleague, had fruitful discussions with other colleagues, and spent most of the afternoon working on a project I need to get moving properly again. Only got a little rained on walking with @nickisapiro at lunchtime too.
Day 232 and I actually left the house to collect some shopping (how novel!). Lots of work on plans and comms this afternoon and hopefully we’ve made the right decisions on things (time will tell). Older daughter had her violin lesson on Zoom and focused really well. @nickisapiro
Day 233 included marking (less than I should have done) and, unusually, @nickisapiro and I picking the kids up from school. They were very chatty coming home 😄. Older one made a pattern with two lines of symmetry using the Blokus pieces this evening. It was very colourful too!
Day 234 ... not much really happened today. Had a short walk at lunchtime and picked off a number of jobs, but all in all more seemed to happen in the US election than here, and that really is saying something! Kids enjoyed school though, and were great this evening. @nickisapiro
Day 235 saw the kids back on Zoom for dancing. Both enjoyed their classes! Homework was done, had video calls with my parents and grandparents, and we walked part of the canal towpath and saw some of the locks. We made tuna burgers for dinner - they went down well! @nickisapiro
Day 236 saw me help the kids with music practice. Good composition and piano from the younger, and very pleased with the older for both violin and piano. Nice tone on the former and achieved well with the latter. Got out into the garden too; our leeks are surviving! @nickisapiro
Day 237 included some proper academic reading; I’d almost forgotten how to do it (still not sure I always do I well, mind). Seemed to get back on top of the inbox today as well, including sending out some nice messages. Kids both did well in their piano lessons too. @nickisapiro
Day 238 included some good meetings, one of which finally finished 2019-20 (I think!). Went to @LeedsUniMusic briefly to complete a job; very quiet on campus. Kids talked enthusiastically about school over dinner - older did the Romans and some ICT, younger did RE. @nickisapiro
Day 239 began with useful discussions with a colleague and a student, followed by a good (and funny) chat with my fellow DSEs (nice to be reminded we’re all human!). Last thing we had a meeting where I learned a lot. Barely saw @nickisapiro, who was buried in meetings of her own.
Day 240 included an unexpected dash to the childminder before school to give the kids letters they didn’t actually need, and taking a large cardboard box with the word ‘crap’ on it (covered up!) to the school when we went to collect the kids at home time. Fun! 😂 @nickisapiro
Day 241 started with torrential rain but was actually nice and sunny most of the day. Shame I was stuck inside. Another day with lots of time spent on Teams and only managing to pick at odd things in the gaps. @nickisapiro and I watched @EmiliaThePlay this evening. We enjoyed it!
Day 242 and the kids had dancing lessons which @nickisapiro and I ‘sorted out the house’. Got a lot of downstairs cleared of clutter, and went through most of the kids’ clothes and removed everything that is too small for them (a lot!). All boxed up in the loft, which feels good.
Day 243 included watching @bbcstrictly with the kids, a nice walk this afternoon, and more house tidying. The kids also did their music practice and homework, and ‘tidied’ some of the playroom. Back to work tomorrow for a rest! Younger daughter lost her first tooth! @nickisapiro
Day 244 saw me get involved with another project at work and get annoyed with rule breakers and goalpost shifters. @nickisapiro did some recording this evening so we only got halfway through #HisDarkMaterials ep. 2. Enough to get @Lornebalfe’s great score stuck in my head though!
Day 245 was quite frustrating but some good meetings in the afternoon helped a lot and I was able to tick off some small jobs across the day. Feeling just about prepared for the meeting I’m chairing tomorrow and hoping the fireworks are minimal! We’ll see I guess... @nickisapiro
Day 246 reaffirmed some important things (that I already knew). It’s crucial to consult with stakeholders, you have to listen in order to lead, change can be scary, you can’t rush proper change, and (perhaps most of all) my colleagues really care about what they do. @nickisapiro
Day 247 was a supervision-fest this morning. Lots of exciting final-year projects underway in @LeedsUniMusic this year. Nice doing the school run with @nickisapiro to pick up the kids. They were very chatty on the walk and had a lovely Zoom call with grandparents once home too.
Day 248 was a ‘get stuff done’ day and I think I managed this quite well across the morning at least. Squeezed in a quick walk at lunchtime (in light rain) too. The cat started demanding food at 2.30pm but was only fed at usual time (5.30pm). Need to get him a watch. @nickisapiro
Day 249 started with a much needed (and very rare) lie-in (until just after 8am!) and quite a leisurely morning while the kids did ballet on Zoom. Our bubble, @GillBracey, came over this afternoon and we had a stroll by the canal. Roast chicken dinner went down well. @nickisapiro
Day 250 included some good music practice from the kids (who also did some unprompted improvisation on the piano, which was wonderful). We got out into the garden and @nickisapiro and I swept up a whole tree’s worth of fallen leaves for the last garden bin collection of the year.
Day 251 was a ‘no meetings’ day (apart from a quick one at 4) and was instead all about doing paperwork. Living the dream! Highlight was definitely my brother calling me to help with a maths problem. @nickisapiro finished her recording, but my Mac’s USBs have now stopped working.
Day 252 and my MacBook still isn’t charging so I went to @LeedsUniMusic (twice) to borrow a laptop and get it set up. I can work now but the computer is slow! Annual School Review meeting went well this afternoon (phew). @nickisapiro and I finished a Strictly jigsaw this evening.
Day 253 has been based around Teams meetings and the bread-maker (never thought I’d write that!). I did a favour for our fantastic neighbours today, one of many we must owe them after so many years of Ombra feeding. @LFC were poor this evening but we’ll bounce back. @nickisapiro
Day 254 was stacked with supervisions this morning. It’s great talking to our finalists about their work, but I must schedule some gaps in future! Got back on top of the inbox to some extent this afternoon, which always feels like a win. We’ll be in Tier 3 next week. @nickisapiro
Day 255 was Friday so included Teams cake with colleagues (always nice). I learned about the University’s Access and Student Success strategy today too: thought provoking. Kids are sleeping in their playroom tonight to #BoycottYourBed and @nickisapiro spent the evening recording.
Day 256 was ballet day for the kids, and they also did their piano practice (some of which was good, some of which was less good...). Otherwise a bit of a slow day, not helped by awful weather keeping us cooped up inside the house. We must try and get out tomorrow! @nickisapiro
Day 257 was notable for some really good violin practice by our older daughter. She worked very hard at timing and tuning and reaped the rewards through the pieces she played. Good to get out for a family walk this afternoon. It wasn’t as cold outside as it looked. @nickisapiro
Day 258 saw me take part in my first Virtual Open Day, though only as cover in case the presenter’s internet failed (it didn’t). @nickisapiro and I had a late walk and went past the kids’ school just after home time. We waved to them as they got into their childminder’s car 🤣🤣.
Day 259 included a trip to town to drop off my MacBook at the Apple Store for diagnosis/repair. Great dissertation presentations from some of my and @DaveIreland5’s students to end the day. @nickisapiro and I spent the (whole) evening wrapping presents for Chanukah for the kids!!
Day 260 was notable (work-wise) mainly for a session of enjoyable and informative dissertation presentations. In other news, our older daughter had a good violin lesson working hard on technique, and our younger daughter fell off a bench at school and bashed her eye. @nickisapiro
Day 261 started with the cat deciding midnight was a good time to take up piano 🐈⬛+🎹=🤬. I did some actual in-person teaching with actual real-life students today. Great to go and teach in @LeedsUniMusic and I think the class went well. @nickisapiro and I did the school run too.
Day 262 (on leave) included the school run (morning and afternoon) and a trip to town with @nickisapiro to get some presents. Huge variety in how much shops are managing things like customer numbers - left one quickly because it was so crowded. Not too harrowing overall though.
Day 263 included a very nice (distanced) walk with @DaveIreland5. @nickisapiro and I watched the #MasterChefAU Junior finale with the kids; there was a live orchestra playing the music in the kitchen! We’ve started #TheMandalorian and spotted it’s in our local Christmas lights 😂
Day 264 started with a welcome lie in. The girls did their music practice and I helped our older daughter prepare a presentation for her class on Hanukkah (to do in a week’s time). Good win for @LFC vs Wolves this evening, even if Jota’s cameo spoiled my #FPL score. @nickisapiro
Day 265 (on leave) saw @nickisapiro and I go shopping, go to the bank, wrap some presents, and get the wheel rim repaired on the Verso (hopefully that’s the tyre pressure issues sorted!). We still had time for a good walk too. Kids played well in their piano lessons this evening.
Day 266 was a nice chance to catch up with some of my personal tutees before term ends. I had a paperwork hurdle removed (which was good) and made a decent dent in the emails that arrived while I was on leave. Still got lots to read and respond to tomorrow though. @nickisapiro
Day 267 included meetings about two projects for which I’m part of the pilot implementation. Good to be involved early in things that will be rolled out institution-wide, and to ensure that @LeedsUniMusic and @LeedsUniAHC are able to feed into policy creation. #Arts @nickisapiro
Day 268 started with slow internet but got better. The kids did Zoom art after school with @DianeSapiro2 and were really excited that Chanukah started this evening. Also, younger daughter was thrilled to open her class nativity by saying a few words about Chanukah. @nickisapiro
Day 269 (late) was full of meetings so we watched the @TheCCLeeds Christmas Concert as a family after the kids finished school. Our evening was disrupted by a candle deciding to spill a load of wax over a unit and down to the floor, which was not fun to clear up. @nickisapiro
Day 270 was quite intense for the kids with ‘watching week’ for ballet meaning their grandparents and @GillBracey could see them dance on Zoom. Did some great piano practice too. They loved their Hanukah gifts though! Younger one lost her third tooth this evening. @nickisapiro
Day 271 was relaxed, mainly because it rained all day and that stopped us going out properly. Older child did good violin practice, we all watched Strictly, and younger child seems to have spent all day on her new roller skates. She’s getting the hang of it now. @nickisapiro
Day 272 included some research inasmuch as I did some academic reading. More than I’ve been able to do for a while. Girls had good piano lessons and older daughter did her Chanukah presentation at school - lasted all afternoon!! Younger still loves the roller boots. @nickisapiro
Day 273 was odd because @nickisapiro was on campus and I was at home! Lots of discussions with colleagues today, all very useful. In other news, it seems the way to stop the kids messing around at bedtime is to give them a stopwatch as a present so they can time themselves 😂⏱
Day 274 marked the end of the 2019-20 academic session with an online @LeedsUniMusic graduation event. Well attended and it was great to see some of our graduates again. Very positive meeting with colleagues this afternoon and a great win for @LFC this evening too! @nickisapiro
Day 275 saw the end of a big set of meetings at work. The kids finished school today - we managed the whole term with neither class bubble bursting. We know we’re very lucky! The last night of Chanukah was tonight - @nickisapiro and I aced it this year according to the girls.
Day 276 was the last day before the New Year shutdown. It’s been a heck of a term but I’ve ended it with an empty inbox which means I’ve done something right! @nickisapiro and the kids had hair cuts (all look fab) and we finished a Wasgij jigsaw this evening. Time for a rest now.
Day 277 started with a (welcome) lie in and included outdoor carol singing with @nickisapiro, @AtomicMrPelly and a few others (any excuse to make music!), a brilliant 7-0 win for LFC, and playing Catan Junior, which the kids did very well at. Pleased with the Strictly result too.
Day 278 was very nice. Played Catan Junior with the kids and we had a good family walk this afternoon, doing 5k round Horsforth. Before dinner we did the escape room we got our older daughter for Chanukah. Good fun and the kids did pretty well working out the clues. @nickisapiro
Day 279. Didn’t really think I’d still be doing this when we started self-isolating back in March, just before lockdown 1.0. We got out for a walk this afternoon and delivered some Christmas cards to local friends. The kids have (voluntarily) played the piano a lot. @nickisapiro
Day 280 started with the kids doing Zoom art with @DianeSapiro2 for 2 hours while @nickisapiro and I got some jobs done. Did a local 5k walk this afternoon before playing games of Catan Junior and Settlers of Catan (which the kids won!). Also finished a glow-in-the-dark jigsaw.
Day 281 was @nickisapiro’s birthday and our 19th wedding anniversary. Breakfast in bed, nail painting (not me/mine), game playing, watched @LeedsPlayhouse’s excellent A Christmas Carol, curry for dinner and home-made sticky toffee pud birthday cake. Chatted to @ShelleyChocs too.
Day 282 included a cold but much needed walk this morning, with freshly baked bread at lunch our reward. Played Pandemic with the kids this afternoon, used the new pasta maker and also baked a choc cheesecake! Did the jingle bells at 6pm, though few others did here. @nickisapiro
Day 283 was quite chaotic, but all in all very nice indeed. Zoomed with my family this morning, headed over to @robbracey and @emmaforster123’s in the afternoon (great meal!), and Zoomed @GillBracey and my in-laws from there. Leia (the dog) was very happy to see @nickisapiro!
Day 284 was a lot quieter than yesterday. Got out for a walk while it was both light and dry (but cold!). Spoke to my grandparents on Zoom, trying to get both to write their memoires! Sweet moment when the kids were on the sofa with the younger reading to the older. @nickisapiro
Day 285 and the kids amused themselves most of the day with some of their new craft kits, so @nickisapiro and I got on with a new jigsaw. We went to Stockeld Park this evening to see the illuminated Enchanted Forest and do the maze (also lit). It was cold but we had a great time.
Day 286 saw more progress with the latest jigsaw, and the kids made a little exhibition of the art stuff they’ve done over the last couple of days. Lovely (and muddy, and snowy) socially distanced walk with @antonybutcher and @blowfishfellova this afternoon too. @nickisapiro
Day 286 began with @nickisapiro and I finishing our jigsaw, and included a trips to the shops to buy the kids some walking boots. We then got the boots (and the kids) VERY muddy on an afternoon walk. This evening I extracted another of our younger child’s very loose front teeth!
Day 287 started with a nice sunrise. We watched Hetty Feather on @the_shows_go_on, which we all enjoyed. Walked with @DaveIreland5 this afternoon (distanced, of course), this one rather less muddy than yesterday’s not least because of the amount of ice on the ground! @nickisapiro
Day 288 saw us welcome our bubble, @GillBracey, to see in the new year. Nice walk around Horsforth avoiding the icy pavements. Kids made progress with their Lego model this afternoon and we all got dressed up for NYE dinner. Happy New Year all, here’s to a good 2021! @nickisapiro
It seems that my tweets for days 286-288 should actually be 287-289 (there are two day 286 posts on consecutive days). As a result I’ll jump to day 290 for the next post and there won’t be a tweet numbered day 289. Sorry for any confusion/anxiety/annoyance/irritation caused.
Day 290 was a baking day. The kids made chocolate treats with @GillBracey and also did the first recipe of our younger daughter’s baking subscription. Chocolate treats and gingerbread for afternoon tea! Saw a spectacular light display this evening on our walk. @nickisapiro
Day 291 was snowy, though we waited until mid-afternoon to build a snow person since more snow was forecast but it didn’t materialise. The kids loved it anyway! Older child helped younger make a Roman shield like hers from school. We harvested our first leek today. @nickisapiro
Day 292 included the kids doing piano practice for the first time in a fortnight. This was a somewhat mixed experience. @nickisapiro was out at a rehearsal today and the kids did art with @DianeSapiro2, so I spent some time sorting stuff out. Back to work (and school?) tomorrow.
Day 293 and @nickisapiro and I were back at work (at home). Generally quite a calm day, though the chaos is yet to come. The kids were at school and were really excited to see their friends. It all went wrong just after 8pm: #LFC conceded the only goal of the game at Southampton!
Day 294 saw the kids at home again, though home-school will start tomorrow. No respite for me and @nickisapiro, though at least we have a fair idea of what can and can’t be done now. The kids were great all day and have done so much painting we don’t have anywhere to put it all!
Day 295 (late) was a return to English, maths, science and geography. Both girls wore school uniform because they were ‘at school’ 😂. Need to work on managing the balance of working and supporting the kids again I think, but it went pretty well. Let’s hope it lasts. @nickisapiro
Day 296 was split between a conference and trying to sort out the mess the government’s dropped us in. The kids were angels again, getting on with their lessons well. @nickisapiro and I watched @CurveLeicester’s #SunsetBoulevard; nice to see two @LeedsUniMusic alumni in the band!
Day 297 was mainly about planning my classes, which was enjoyable. Trying to vary the readings but a bit hampered by needing everything available online. We had a lunchtime family walk in the snow, and I built a snowman with the kids after work in the fading light! @nickisapiro
Day 298 included a family effort to remove the snow and ice from the car and driveway so we can get out tomorrow. Took a while... I got a not-Lego model of Anfield a week and a half ago and have finished it. Just 4650 (tiny) pieces. Almost like being there! @nickisapiro
Day 299 was dominated by click-and-collect. Four stores, so we now have food, more salt for the drive, a device for the girls to use for school, and a new desk and chairs for them (they picked the colours!). Nice walk in Horsforth park too. Found a home for Anfield. @nickisapiro
Day 300 was the start of Welcome Week for our January starting Masters students at @LeedsUniMusic. It would have been nice to be in CCCH but we made do with Teams and the turnout was very good. The kids did art with @DianeSapiro2, and had their piano lessons too. @nickisapiro
Day 301 saw more teaching planning, though other jobs needing to be done meant I didn’t get it all finished. The girls were again angels and got on with their schoolwork. Had a look through it this evening and it’s all good. They also drew and coloured this picture. @nickisapiro
Day 302 included another Welcome Week session with some of our new Masters students. Today seemed to last ages, but that meant lots of time to get stuff done! Kids did their lessons well again and older one did violin too. Hard on Zoom, but she’s making progress. @nickisapiro
Day 303 saw both kids do English, maths and art, a small argument between them (one wanted to do some work, the other was upset they wouldn’t have time to play together!), and me and the girls build a large snowman. I squeezed in some of my own work too, I promise. @nickisapiro
Day 304 started with some tutor meetings and ended with a lot of reviewed paperwork. Good to get that done before the weekend though! Is it really only a fortnight since the New Year break?! Kids made snow angels in the garden this afternoon. Rather them then me. @nickisapiro
Day 305 (a little late) started with @nickisapiro and I clearing the driveway of snow. Feels like a never-ending job, a bit like planning for the coming semester... The kids did ballet lessons on Zoom, we had a slippy/slushy walk, and made pizza from scratch (bases and sauce).
Day 306 saw me and our older daughter do a Rubik’s Cube, and both girls do great piano practice. We braved the slightly icy pavements for a walk, played a game and spoke to my parents too. Shame #LFC only drew; bigger shame I switched my #FPL capt from Dias to Salah! @nickisapiro
Day 307 was frustratingly unproductive. The girls were, for the first time really, not good at getting on with their schoolwork and I wasn’t able to get into a work rhythm as a result. Here’s hoping for better focus and achievement tomorrow, for me and for them! @nickisapiro
Day 308 was a bit of a whirlwind compared to yesterday. The kids knuckled down much better and caught up well with the stuff they didn’t do yesterday, and I did likewise to a decent extent. Getting quite excited about my film-music module now. Starts next week. @nickisapiro
Day 309 included 2 important meetings so luckily the kids did their school work quite independently (occasionally seeking help from @nickisapiro). Older daughter navigated an atlas well this afternoon searching for European capital cities; younger did some excellent English work.
Day 310 saw some excellent work from the kids including some independent research. This means my older daughter has done more research than I have recently. Made progress with other parts of my job today though, and enjoyed the @BARNVirtual session this afternoon. @nickisapiro
Day 311 brought another manic week to a close. Got most of my marking done, key emails dealt with, and next week’s classes sorted so I’m pretty pleased overall. Kids did some excellent work and had a chat with @DianeSapiro2. We welcomed our bubble, @GillBracey, too. @nickisapiro
Day 312 saw me finally remember the combinations to do a Rubik’s cube without looking them up. Small wins! Kids did some good piano practice and had Zoom ballet too. Had a nice walk with @GillBracey this afternoon and recorded ourselves for #MusicalsTheGreatestShow. @nickisapiro
Day 313 started with a lazy morning in which just about nothing happened at all. Squeezed the kids’ violin and a bit of piano practice, a walk, older daughter attending a Zoom birthday party, and younger doing a presentation about her hero into the afternoon though! @nickisapiro
Day 314 felt like one long Teams meeting (@Karenburland must be sick of the sight of me!). Fending off emails most of the day too, though I managed to clear one important time-limited job. Kids worked hard, and made birthday cards for grandad with @DianeSapiro2 too. @nickisapiro
Day 315 should have marked my return to the @BSPAODS pit with the opening night of #Oklahoma! Oh well. Lots of lesson planning done today, ready for tomorrow. We recorded older daughter playing piano instead of her school music lesson (on 4 in a bar); she was great. @nickisapiro
Day 316 started with my first proper Teams class session at 9am (film music). Seemed to go pretty well with good chat contributions and some spoken. Hope the students are as excited about the module as I am!! Heavy meetings this afternoon but that’s the job I guess. @nickisapiro
Day 317 was a morning of supervisions (nice chance to catch up with the students), a long afternoon meeting and then @kegemac’s leaving do on Zoom. The girls read with @GillBracey on Zoom this morning and @nickisapiro took them to the optician this afternoon. Busy days all round!
Day 318 was a deluge of emails, not all of which were dealt with. Important emails got sent though, which I’m glad about. @nickisapiro and the kids walked to school to get the kids’ new reading books. Younger child flew through her maths test and older one did great storytelling.
Day 319 was notable for two musical firsts in our household: the girls (just about) managed a short piano duet, and they very much managed to sing in three-part harmony with @nickisapiro (while I played piano). We’re super impressed with them both and they loved doing it too.
Day 320 saw the kids do some baking with @nickisapiro this morning and a trip out to grab some resources from work this afternoon. Did our walk around the campus. Nice change, and St George’s Field was very peaceful. Another good win for #LFC - need more of those (& a defender!).
Day 321 was not as productive as hoped, but I think Mondays never are really. Got a class planned and some work marked though. Did some landlord stuff too: 6.38-7.54pm spent on the phone to a big company who should do a lot better is time I’ll never get back though. @nickisapiro
Day 322 saw a lot get done (in contrast to yesterday). The kids worked very hard at their lessons and still found time to get out and play in the snow. Frustrating meeting after lunch but otherwise it was a good day. Looking forward to tomorrow’s film-scoring class. @nickisapiro
Day 323 started with my film-scoring class, which went well. But why can’t you play system sound (videos in PowerPoint) over @MicrosoftTeams on a Mac?! Please fix this @Apple and @MicrosoftUK! Had to unplug my headphones so the mic could pick up the speaker sound. @nickisapiro
Day 324 felt like 1 long supervision this morning (it was 6 back to back), but it was good chatting with the students about their work. @nickisapiro and I commissioned a builder today to do (a lot of) work on our house. Won’t happen for a few months, but it’s exciting/terrifying!
Day 325 brought a very long week to an end. Dissertation class first thing, and the was morning punctuated by the girls asking me for help with the Lego. Got some processes sorted out with a colleague this afternoon, and chatted with a friend about doing a show too. @nickisapiro
Day 326 was mainly about the rain. Got wet bringing in the milk, wet again going for the shopping, and (unsurprisingly) very wet when we braved a family walk in the afternoon. The girls did ballet this morning and we watched the Junior Bake-off final this afternoon. @nickisapiro
Day 327, surprisingly, featured only a light powdering of snow. The kids did some baking with minimal supervision from @nickisapiro - we’ll see how it tastes tomorrow! They stayed up late to watch #MusicalsTheGreatestShow, which was conducted by @LeedsUniMusic alumnus Jon Ranger.
Day 328 was dominated by trying to record, edit and upload a video lecture in time for a session this afternoon. No other aspect of online delivery has been as stressful as that! The kids were angels today, getting their work done and then playing happily together. @nickisapiro
Day 329 included a morning of fruitlessly trying to route my system audio into Teams via BlackHole. Everything set right (I think) but it didn’t work. Delivered a seminar late morning that went well and got some planning done too. Kids were good as gold all day. @nickisapiro
Day 330 started with a film-scoring class featuring an interview with @LeedsUniMusic alumnus @JapjiSV. Great talking with him, and the students seemed to get lots from it too. Kids have done some good story writing and part of a book review among other things today. @nickisapiro
Day 331 started with a supervision-fest, then had 3 back-to-back meetings for the 2nd day running. Ended with a great @BARNVirtual colloquium though! Younger child finished her story today - she’s very pleased with herself! Nice chatting to @GillBracey this evening. @nickisapiro
Day 332 saw the girls finish half a term of home school. They’ve been great, @nickisapiro and I are so proud of them. Highlight of my working day was chatting with @ilaneshkeri ahead of him speaking to my class in a fortnight. Always a pleasure & I always learn something new too.
Day 333 started with a chat with the builder who’s going to do a lot of work on our house. We thought that would start in late May but actually it’ll be late March! Rest of the day has passed in a blur of excitement and panic! We also had a family walk in the cold. @nickisapiro
Day 334 saw us measure every piece of furniture we own and think about what we want to keep (store) and what we will throw out/sell/give away. I found this fun (sad, I know!). I nearly used my new clippers on my hair without the guard - close shave in all respects! @nickisapiro
Day 335 was a busy one, but at least the kids played together well for the most part so @nickisapiro and I could work. The girls made another birthday card with @DianeSapiro2 on Zoom and did a lot of painting, but stayed surprisingly clean! 4 more days of half term to negotiate!
Day 336 went very smoothly until the evening when @nickisapiro and I encountered a potential spanner. Hopefully nothing, but we’ll see soon enough. In other news, the excellent @Bradders solved a problem for me, the kids made bracelets today and we enjoyed pancakes this evening.
Day 337 started with my film-scoring class, which this week featured @tobyhuelin discussing library music with us. I had very useful meetings with colleagues this afternoon, before a family afterZoom tea to celebrate my grandpa’s 90th and brother’s 39th birthdays. @nickisapiro
Day 338 was a morning of supervisions and an afternoon of leave. Car battery died so we put everything in the electric car and headed to see our bubble @GillBracey. 1st recharge fine, 2nd charge point faulty = 14 miles to find another. Managed, but very stressful!! @nickisapiro
Day 339 started with our younger daughter waking us at 2.45am and 3.30am... The day itself was lovely though. A 6k walk this morning, game playing this afternoon (I won Flux quickly twice - very lucky!) and a birthday dinner for @GillBracey with some excellent wine. @nickisapiro
Day 340 started with a much needed lie in while the girls had breakfast with @GillBracey. Found somewhere to charge the car up (phew!) and did another 5k walk as part of the girls’ charity challenge. Rehung some heavy artwork this evening and also finished the wine. @nickisapiro
Day 341 saw us return home from our bubble, @GillBracey. Trip was good (charging all ok), apart from an aggravating call from an incompetent major company. Kids have had a good half term break. @TheRAC_UK replaced the verso battery this evening so that will run now. @nickisapiro
Day 342 saw a couple of students use my drop-in, which was good (that’s what it’s for, after all). The girls settled back down into home school well - hopefully just another fortnight of that to go 🤞. Listened to some audition submissions this evening for a show! @nickisapiro
Day 343 was a ‘get things done’ day and I think I generally managed that. The girls had contrasting topics in geography lessons - older did rivers of the world and younger did Horsforth from the air. Both enjoyed it though. Excited for tomorrow’s film scoring class! @nickisapiro
Day 344 started with my film-scoring class, which seemed to go well. The meeting I chaired this afternoon was done in 2 hours instead of the scheduled 3. The kids did well with their schoolwork again. @nickisapiro and I spent the evening packing up glassware. Not a bad day.
Day 345 was another dominated by trying to stay/get on top of emails. It was lovely to hear the girls engaging wholeheartedly with a school music lesson this afternoon (and credit to the school for including music on the home-school syllabus!). @nickisapiro got more packing done.
Day 346 included discussions with colleagues about timetabling and workload and a very interesting session on the @UniversityLeeds strategy led by @SEBuitendijk. Lots to think about, but also reassuring to know we’re already doing some good things in @LeedsUniMusic. @nickisapiro
Day 347 (a little late) was about packing, packing and more packing. No matter how much we do it still looks like we haven’t started! Kids went outside on their roller skates for the first time today and did pretty well, especially the older one. Need more practice. @nickisapiro
Day 348 started with a welcome lie-in! Did our 3rd 5k walk as part of the girls’ charity challenge, and tied it in with a drop-off at @DaveIreland5 and a pick-up from another friend too. The girls baked @LittleCooksCo biscuits (supervised by @nickisapiro) and I sorted the study.
Day 349 (slightly late) saw me achieve a heck of a lot, and also almost nothing I actually planned to do! Kids did some good violin and piano practice this afternoon, and older one enjoyed her first additional ballet class too. More packing done this evening with @nickisapiro
Day 350 was immensely productive. Turned email off about 9.30am and focused on reading some materials for the rest of the morning. Brief post-lunch email check and back to reading this afternoon. Now exhausted but pleased with what I’ve achieved. Must do this again. @nickisapiro
Day 351 (slightly late) started with a site visit to @LeedsUniMusic with @_DanMerrick and colleagues to look at getting the building opened again. Great chat with @tobyhuelin this afternoon about some potential co-authored research. Plenty achieved today I think! @nickisapiro
Day 352 was a morning of final-year project supervisions and an afternoon working towards getting @LeedsUniMusic open. If only it was simple! Surveyor looked at the party wall so hopefully that’ll progress smoothly. Amazon excelled themselves packing masking tape... @nickisapiro
Day 353 saw my final UG dissertation supervisions for the year. I’ve enjoyed discussing some fascinating topics with the students! Started marking the library-music submissions for my film-scoring module today too. The kids have (hopefully) finished home school! 🤞@nickisapiro
Day 354 included ballet for the girls, dropping off some stuff with @DaveIreland5 for safekeeping, and lots of bubble wrap. Just about all of the art and photos on canvas are packed up now, meaning we have even less floor space in the house. The girls helped me and @nickisapiro.
Day 355 started with a full conservatory and ended with a (nearly) empty one. Some interesting furniture moving by me and @nickisapiro this afternoon! Managed to get rid of various things on eBay so the clutter is reducing slowly. Less said about #LFC (and my #FPL) the better.
Day 356 saw a monster PhD supervision with @DaveIreland5 and @tobyhuelin this morning in which we discussed all sorts of fascinating things about library music. Really inspiring! This afternoon was spent marking. Kids settled back into school perfectly. @nickisapiro #QuietAtHome
Day 357 was dominated by marking and I’m not near the bottom of the pile yet. Fortunately that time-turner I ordered has arrived so I should be ok... Couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure today but I’m sure I’ll work it all out somehow. I think. Hopefully. @nickisapiro
Day 358 started with a film-scoring class, included film-scoring assessment (still not quite done), and ended with a lot more photo and picture wrapping. Basically nothing on the walls now so the house feels strangely alien. Progress is slow but it’s still progress. @nickisapiro
Day 359 started with student discussions in supervision meetings, featured student voice through student-staff partnership forum, and ended with student questions that I’ve sorted out answers to for tomorrow morning’s final dissertation class. A good day all round. @nickisapiro
Day 360 was busy with teaching, tutorials, a student support meeting and a lot of reviewing. Pleased to get to the weekend! Kids have had a great first week back at school and did well at piano this evening too. The unending packing up of the house is also ongoing. @nickisapiro
Day 361 seems to have been all about filling the house with stuff! Took a car load from the loft to the tip and have another car load ready to be removed now, but emptying the loft has meant even more stuff in the house itself. I’m sure we’ll clear it all in time... @nickisapiro
Day 362 saw us beat the rain with a family 5k walk this morning; we’re halfway through the kids’ fundraising challenge now. Today’s packing has featured shoes and some of the kids’ clothes, and it seems our older child has grown. Put more unwanted stuff on eBay too. @nickisapiro
Day 363 included some research this morning and lots of workload stuff this afternoon, as well as a sprinkling of ‘get some students back into @LeedsUniMusic’, which was nice. Prep for our building work continues apace with more paperwork sorted out. Not long now... @nickisapiro
Day 364 was a day of two halves. Work this morning with a PhD supervision, and leave this afternoon doing a landlord visit. Inspected a new kitchen and garage roof! Took ages to get home owing to a big accident on the M62, but our bubble @GillBracey held the fort! @nickisapiro
Day 365 began with my film-scoring class. Lots of meetings followed and there was a nervy moment this afternoon when we thought Ombra had wandered off (he came back!). Skip was delivered and conservatory taken down today, prep for the main building work! @nickisapiro @GillBracey
Day 366, or perhaps I should say year 2, day 1! Can’t believe it’s a whole year since we started self-isolating just ahead of the national lockdown. What a mad year. At least we can see some light on the horizon this time and the kids are back at school (for now!). @nickisapiro
Day 367 (on leave) was all about packing, though it included a trip to @LeedsUniMusic to drop off some stuff and get protective covering for our piano. Rubbish in skip ✅, loft empty ✅, spare room done ✅, kids clothes sorted ✅, playroom getting there! @nickisapiro @GillBracey
Day 368 was as intense as yesterday. Lots of bedding packed into suitcases and vacuum bags, and all the clothes except what’s needed for the next week packed up. There are boxes, tubs and cases EVERYWHERE! Huge thanks to our bubble @GillBracey for helping this week. @nickisapiro
Day 369 was census day - first one for the girls who were keen to help complete it. Took apart some furniture today and started making sense of which boxes are where, so while we still have boxes everywhere there’s more order in the madness. Got a 5k walk in too. @nickisapiro
Day 370 included the first two 2-hour slots for tutorials for my film-scoring module. Lots of gaps, meaning a lot of students choosing not to get feedback on their initial ideas. Made decent progress with three tasks due towards the end of the month, so that’s good. @nickisapiro
Day 371 (very late) saw the scaffolding finished off and I learned That despite this I could still squeeze one car past the other on the drive. Frustrated that a package wasn’t collected for delivery, but we made more progress with the packing. Worked all day too! @nickisapiro
Day 372 was long, full of tutorials, meetings and yet more packing. Older daughter had her violin lesson too, and did very well. @nickisapiro and I keep telling ourselves the packing is nearly done but there just seems to be an endless amount of stuff. Running out of time now!
Day 373 included my last supervisions of the term, discussing Applied Projects with finalists. Had a potentially difficult but actually ok meeting after lunch then took some annual leave to get the rest of the packing up done. One day to go and we’re *nearly* ready. @nickisapiro
Day 374 was moving day. We weren’t quite ready when the removal guys arrived but did defeat the kids’ bunk bed! All went smoothly except we realised too late the kids teddies must have been packed at the back of a storage container. Cue new teddies (and happy kids)! @nickisapiro
Day 375 saw us back at the house for the kids’ ballet (better WiFi!). @nickisapiro sorted out the rest of the stuff not in storage, and we started taking out the kitchen too. Going pretty well - back to finish(?) it off tomorrow! Nice seeing both families online this evening too.
Day 376 saw us back at the house for final clearing. @nickisapiro and I moved the piano, which was easier than wrapping it up! We then took apart the rest of the kitchen. Fun doing the plumbing - felt good throwing the kitchen sink (literally). All stacked up ready for reuse now.
Day 377 is the first day of the building work. Sorted some details first thing with the builders, and the carpets were rolled up and a (planned) hole was in the ceiling by 8am!! No going back now! Ombra explored the little balcony at our rental house this afternoon. @nickisapiro
Day 378 and no gas. Turns out it’s prepay but the landlord didn’t know which company! My academic-ness kicked into overdrive - internet research and a phone call meant I got us reconnected, so we have got water and a hob again! Work on the house is progressing well. @nickisapiro
Day 379 was pleasantly panic-free! Got a review finished this morning and ran a productive meeting with colleagues this afternoon. Lots of active debate and a plenty to mull over! Older daughter had a violin lesson early evening so the rest of us did a short walk. @nickisapiro
Day 380 included me and @nickisapiro doing the school run and popping into the house - part of the wall is down! My article on the Treksachord seems to have come 4th (kind of) in the @OUPMusic Grove Music Online Spoof Article Contest. I’m chuffed! Congrats to @elsie33 on winning!
Day 381 started with a (small) lie in. This was a mistake because it gave the cat longer to make a mess... Otherwise it’s been a nice family day. Got more of the house sorted and we did another 5k walk as part of the kids’ challenge, our first visit to Beckett Park. @nickisapiro
Day 382 included a trip to our storage place to deposit stuff we brought to our rental house but don’t need. I saw the bag of the kids’ teddies at the top near the back of the unit. It was put into storage by mistake so I climbed through and got it. Major dad points! @nickisapiro
Day 383 and we went up to the house to have a look around. Dust EVERYWHERE but two steels in. Younger child insisted on washing up after lunch. Did another 5k walk for the kids’ challenge, going to Burley Park for the first time. Also watched Lion King (animated!). @nickisapiro
Day 384 started with an emergency trip to the house to grab the girls’ winter hats (in April!!!). Nice morning meeting up with some friends at Kirkstall Abbey though it didn’t half get cold. We watched Snow White this afternoon - kids were entranced and so were we. @nickisapiro
Day 385 has been mixed! Got a urine sample from my cat for the vet (don’t ask!), spoke to the builder about more steels, and walked with @MrBC3000, @LibbyClarkLeeds and family above Lindley Wood Reservoir. We saw some new-born lambs and experienced all four seasons! @nickisapiro
Day 386 and back at @LeedsUniMusic after the extended Easter weekend break. Spent just about the whole day trying to clear my inbox and there are still 70 messages in there. Sent 33 emails today and it’s still a net gain! I guess I’ll just attack it again tomorrow. @nickisapiro
Day 387 was generally quiet at work. The builders constructed a new wall on the landing at home to support one of the steels, and they removed the en suite. A small amount of water was dripping when we popped in this evening so they went back at 9pm to sort it out. @nickisapiro
Day 388 has seen some excellent eBaying - we’re managing to sell on things we no longer need. Pretty quiet at work today, meaning I’ve continued to plough through the inbox and I think I can nearly see the bottom now. Plans for the summer term coming together too. @nickisapiro
Day 389 saw us finish the kids’ 5k challenge with a run (walk) on Woodhouse Moor before the sunshine gave way to snow. Quick trip to the storage place to locate a missing item (successful) this afternoon. Good wins today for #LUFC and (more surprisingly?!) #LFC too. @nickisapiro
Day 390 began with a landlord visit and then dropping the kids with our childcare bubble @DianeSapiro2. Distanced walk with @nickisapiro’s parents (not seen them since Aug) and a garden visit with my grandparents (not seen them in even longer). We ended the day with a 10k walk.
Day 391 was oddly quiet without the kids here. @nickisapiro and I went up to the house first thing to talk with the joiner (who is project managing the build). We saw the new loft floorspace. Roof started coming off today so hopefully it’ll stay dry for the next week or so!
Day 392 was the first time in ages I’ve focused on one thing at work and really got into it. Almost forgotten what that felt like! @nickisapiro and I walked in and home today - very invigorating. Went to the house after work. Roof came off today - I may have gone up to look...
Day 393 felt like a succession of meetings, though I did also manage to mark a dissertation and deal with some pressing email business. We walked to work again today - very pleasant. Couple of days off now with @nickisapiro and the kids for the end of the Easter school holidays.
Day 394 didn’t turn out as anticipated. Sadly my grandpa passed away last night, aged 90, so we made an emergency trip to Liverpool this morning. He was a wonderful man and I’m really thankful our kids knew him properly. Glad we all saw him on good form this week. @nickisapiro
Day 395 was tough, with my grandpa’s funeral this afternoon. My grandma has been amazing. My mum, @DianeSapiro2, and her sister have shown great strength, not least when saying some moving words about their dad. Also a shout out to my fabulous dad who’s been a rock. @nickisapiro
Day 396 has been nice and relaxed. Saw my in-laws and some other family via garden visits before we returned to Leeds this evening. Ombra the cat was very pleased to see us - the sitter had looked after him really well (she’s great!). Kids have been amazing, as has @nickisapiro
Day 397 included a trip to see the house this morning. They’ve done the top roof steel and built the frame for most of the new dormer. Nice walk in Harrogate with friends after lunch, and garden afternoon tea too. Not sure what I think of the #LFC #superleague plans. @nickisapiro
Day 398 started early with our older daughter coming in at 3.20am with a bad dream. Bit tired today as a result! Got some useful stuff done this morning, had interesting meetings, and read some work for a PhD student this afternoon. Dealt with a bit of the inbox too. @nickisapiro
Day 399 included a lot of meetings but there was some good stuff discussed and agreed on so that was ok. Positive PhD supervision done too. The windows are at the house, there’s more insulation to be installed and another steel is now in too. Also, the #ESL is dead! @nickisapiro
Day 400 started with a chat to the plumber and kitchen guy at the house before a mad dash to work in time for @nickisapiro’s first meeting of the day. Managed 9/10 items on this morning’s to-do list; slower afternoon but made progress nonetheless. Still battling the inbox though.
Day 401 saw the morning pass by in a blur of Word docs (always lots of fun...), but I made progress with planning and things are falling slowly into place I think 🤞. Definitely plenty of house progress! There’s now a stairway to the loft and we could see the space. @nickisapiro
Day 402 started with a chat with the electrician about where the sockets need to go and getting the internet wired through the house. Read a lot of papers at work today ahead of meetings on Monday. Kids had their 1st piano lessons in a month and did well considering. @nickisapiro
Day 403 was exciting because the girls returned to in-person ballet classes! They enjoyed swapping Zoom for a room with other people and the teacher in it. Had a nice walk to Kirkstall Abbey this afternoon in the sunshine. Shame #LFC conceded another late equaliser. @nickisapiro
Day 404 showed how fab our kids are. 10k walk this morning (their longest) with little complaint, taking in West, Beckett and Burley parks and some lovely woodlands. Both did excellent piano practice this afternoon, and read too. Watched Dumbo (animated) as a treat. @nickisapiro
Day 405 was a series of high-level back-to-back meetings, a concentration-fest but good to be involved in and interesting working closely with colleagues from other schools and faculties. Some of the skylights are in at the house and we have part of a new column too. @nickisapiro
Day 406 was meant to be dominated by marking but was in the end largely overrun by lecture prep, emails and admin, with just two (important) bits of marking squeezed into the gaps. Looking forward to seeing my film-scoring class tomorrow morning (still on Teams). @nickisapiro
Day 407 started with my film-scoring class, and we were lucky to have @JessDannheisser as our guest professional talking about all things film composition and orchestration. In other news, our cat seems to enjoy looking out of the window and has claimed the bookcase. @nickisapiro
Day 408 saw my last UG supervisions of the year. My applied project students have done some great stuff this year - hope their presentations go well! Off this afternoon on carer’s leave. Collected the kids from school and went up to the house - dormer window now in! @nickisapiro
Day 409 and @nickisapiro and I have booked our Covid jabs! Did a decent job of getting through a lot of my inbox today but my marking is behind where I want it to be. Next week’s problem now! Girls had piano lessons this evening and both did well. It’s hard on an electric piano.
Day 410 has been busy, with both girls having dance classes and the older squeezing in violin practice too. We managed to have a family stroll down to Kirkstall Abbey this afternoon though, so we got some fresh air. Plasterboard and insulation going in at the house. @nickisapiro
Day 411 has been a ‘daddy day’. @nickisapiro did a long training walk so the kids and I amused ourselves. Leisurely morning ended with a nice walk, and the afternoon included some reading and a game of Ticket to Ride NY. Also met with a joiner about the kitchen, which was useful!
Day 412 took place mainly indoors owing to the incessant rain in Leeds. Spoke to my grandma, who is still amazing. The kids did amazing piano practice, really focusing well, and they read to @GillBracey on Zoom, which they enjoyed. We watched Alice in Wonderland. @nickisapiro
Day 413 started with a strong institutional response to proposed cuts to performing arts HE funding, included useful meetings, and saw me find time for some marking too. Went to the house after work to find rain coming in! Called the joiner who came back to sort it. @nickisapiro
Day 414 started with my last film-scoring class. It’s been great speaking with @JapjiSV, @tobyhuelin, @ilaneshkeri and @JessDannheisser - hope the students have found them as insightful as I have! In other news @nickisapiro stripped wallpaper and the old doors are being binned.
Day 415 featured a dental appointment. Turns out I have a gum infection, lucky me (but my teeth are fine, so it’s not all bad!). Got some marking done today and had an afternoon of meetings. The house is coming on - we have roof lights, door frames and bannisters. @nickisapiro
Day 416 was lost to a long (and quite intense) blur of emails. The kids had excellent piano lessons and we got a date for the older one’s violin exam. @nickisapiro and I listened to part of @TheAshatones streamed concert (we’ll finish it tomorrow!) and I redesigned our kitchen.
Day 417 was busy as usual, with both girls doing ballet and the older doing violin practice too. Squeezed in some wallpaper stripping at the house too. Went to Wakefield for a nice birthday afternoon tea in the garden with @Steve_katongo and family. Shame it rained! @nickisapiro
Day 418 was delightfully slow! Very lazy morning, chat with the in-laws on Zoom, kids did piano practice and some reading, and we had a stroll to Kirkstall Abbey. @nickisapiro and I did more research for house stuff this evening - paint sprayers and notes for the tradespeople.
Day 419 was all about reading committee papers - riveting stuff, a real page turner 🤣. Got through some of the inbox and heard one of my PhD students give a good presentation too. @nickisapiro and I had lunch with @antonybutcher in the pouring rain (under a large umbrella).
Day 420 saw @nickisapiro and I unexpectedly having to do the school pick up, so we all went to see the house afterwards. The plasterers have done most of the master bedroom and dressing room! We got to see the view from the new window for the first time too. All very exciting!
Day 421 and I’ve finally got on top of my inbox again (just about, anyway). Managed to tick off some jobs and got a good distance through another that I really should have finished by now. With any luck I’ll beat the backlog just in time to do my film-score marking. @nickisapiro
Day 422 started early so @nickisapiro and I could get the kids to the childminder and get to Elland Road for our Covid jabs. We had the Moderna vaccine and so far no side effects apart from sore left arms! Lots achieved at the house this week - we now have some lovely new doors.
Day 423 and I’ve felt a little under the weather post-jab. Not significant enough to stop me doing stuff though, which is a relief given how much there is to get done! Useful meetings, videos assessed and student queries sorted. Kids did well with piano today too. @nickisapiro
Day 424 featured @nickisapiro and @LibbyClarkLeeds doing a half-marathon distance @WalktheWalk this morning. We joined them and @MrBC3000 after the girls had done ballet and we all got soaked sitting in their garden. Very pleasant company, very unpleasant weather! #BritishSpring
Day 425 included wallpaper stripping and a trip to Morrisons; I preferred the former! Had lunch out for the first time in ages though. @nickisapiro has gone to our bubble @GillBracey for the week so the girls are stuck with me. A goal scoring goalie kept #LFC’s top-4 hopes alive!
Day 426 was pretty quiet overall. Got some marking done and kept the inbox ticking over too. Younger child started her Secret Agent Training (SATs) today and was very excited about the tests she’d done. Both girls were great, and it was good to chat to @nickisapiro this evening.
Day 427 featured a lot of thinking, which is useful in a thinking sort of way but less useful from an actually doing perspective. The kids and I went to the house this evening. We’ve got a new front door and French doors, coving is gone and some scaffolding is down. @nickisapiro
Day 428 included marking and lots of time spent in meetings. Older daughter had swimming at school today and enjoyed it as usual. She also had her violin lesson so our younger daughter read her reading book to me while that was going on. One more win needed for #LFC! @nickisapiro
Day 429 was momentous: we had our first live 2021 final-year recital in @LeedsUniMusic! Great to have @Bradders and @AtomicMrPelly working it and to see Stan teaching in the building. My parents were over for the usual school pickup too. It’s all felt very ‘normal’. @nickisapiro
Day 430 kind of got us started with next year, featuring a morning of dissertation preparation with our soon-to-be @LeedsUniMusic finalists. Eventually I’ll get the Teams breakout rooms to work properly, but it was still better than last year’s Collaborate debacle! @nickisapiro
Day 431 is late being posted because @nickisapiro and I seem to have spent an eternity trying to buy (not choose, actually purchase) tiles this evening. Eventually sorted but needlessly difficult! In better news the house is nearly all ready for the plaster skim now. Exciting!
Day 432 (late) began with the girls having in-person piano lessons for the first time in over a year and we collected the new tiles for the house. Caught up with @LibbyClarkLeeds and @MrBC3000 in the afternoon and got our roof box from their garage. #LFC made top 4! @nickisapiro
Day 433 featured an email morning just when I could have done with being able to prioritise other things. Oh well. Interesting session this afternoon led by @Karenburland on student success. Loads of plastering been done in the house and the final window frame is in! @nickisapiro
Day 434 was more awkward than anticipated because my back went this morning. @nickisapiro sorted out a hot water bottle for me, and it was on my back most of the day. Ibuprofen has helped a bit too! The kids did their practise on a real piano this evening thanks to @DaveIreland5.
Day 435 was almost a late start since my phone was somehow off so the alarm didn’t sound. Woke up anyway though! Back was a bit better but it’s seized up a bit again now. Had a kind of stressful couple of days but things went as well as they could have done I think. @nickisapiro
Day 436 was disappointing. @nickisapiro
Day 437 started late because I took Ombra to the vet for a blood test (they had to use mild sedation). Busy day with lots of meetings then @nickisapiro and I went to Horsforth in two cars. She got the kids and took them to piano. I got the cat who did a wee in the car. I lost. 🙀
Day 438 was a dancing day for the kids, and the older did excellent violin practice too. We were at the house most of the day, had a nice picnic lunch in the garden and @nickisapiro started painting the walls with a sprayer. Bathroom stuff and remaining tiles were delivered too.
Day 439 was also largely about paint and masking tape. Got the rest of the mist coat done in the bedroom and @nickisapiro did some of the top coat too. Think we’re getting the hang of the paint sprayer now. Lunch in the garden in the sun, and a chat with the in-laws on Zoom too.
Day 440 included yet more painting - mist and top coats in the bathroom and top coat in our bedroom. Had lunch with @DaveIreland5 in his garden, then collected lots more paint from Homebase. The girls played brilliantly; the older put flowers in the younger’s hair. @nickisapiro
Day 441 was busy but ran like clockwork. @nickisapiro and I took the kids to Liverpool, saw my grandma, sorted new kitchen units, had lunch with my parents (@DianeSapiro2), saw her parents, did a landlord visit (@robbracey @emmaforster123), collected paint and did more painting.
Day 442 was a day off work but not a day off working. It took a while to get the sprayer to work properly but @nickisapiro and I got a lot of painting done, mist coating the top landing and stairs and half the main landing too. Got the blue wall done in our room this evening too.
Day 443 started with a mountain of emails and never really let up. Got some other stuff done today, but not what was planned. @nickisapiro and I did manage to do more painting this evening though, doing the ceiling of the top landing and stairs. Hard work all above head height!
Day 444 was mainly about assessment. Morning and early afternoon were all about film-score marking (1/3 done now), check marking was done next, and I directed a conducting exam too. More painting this evening - @nickisapiro and I started the stairs and landing walls. Looks good.
Day 445 was another spent decorating at the house. @nickisapiro washed down a lot of walls, I used our new orbital sander, we painted the landing walls and ceiling, the girls’ room ceiling and the toilet, and we mist coated some more plaster. Also chose our carpets and flooring!
Day 446 was largely about decorating. @nickisapiro got most of the landing and stairs done and I used about a tonne of filler making the walls good. It’s starting to look like a house again. The kids returned from Liverpool and were reasonably pleased to see us 😂 @DianeSapiro2
Day 447 saw me crack on with the marking and achieve quite a lot in that respect. Some useful meetings with colleagues too. Work continues apace at the house. No decorating today, but the guys have done a lot of snagging and the tiling is really progressing well. @nickisapiro
Day 448 and I carved out some more marking time - so nearly at the bottom of the pile now, I can almost see the light! The girls did their piano practice after work (thanks @DaveIreland5!). All the glass is finally in at the house, so our bedroom window is finished. @nickisapiro
Day 449 saw the end of a large pile of marking (on one module anyway), which was a relief. @nickisapiro and I had fun managing the kids’ diaries this evening. We took two cars to the house so I could take the older daughter to violin and she could take the younger to rainbows! 😂
Day 450 was pretty uneventful. More marking achieved, a long afternoon meeting, and progress made ticking off some small tasks too. I went to the house for a couple of hours this evening and spent the whole time sanding the edges of new plaster. Dull but necessary. @nickisapiro
Day 451 was rather dominated by an exceedingly long meeting at which colleagues including @nickisapiro, @DaveIreland5 and @Karenburland heard multiple tales of woe. Light relief at the start though, when Dave offered us all sweets and I actually popped to his office to get some!
Day 452 was a big day - our older daughter did her grade 1 piano exam. She was a superstar, very relaxed, and gave it her best shot, which is all you can ask anyone to do. Afternoon spent at the house where the girls helped paint their room. Still loads to do though. @nickisapiro
Day 453 started with @nickisapiro racing to the house to take receipt of the hob and didn’t really let up. Wall cleaning, painting, a shopping trip to look at lighting and curtains, and masking the living room windows. I mist coated the whole room this evening; it got quite dark!
Day 454 started with news that our younger daughter’s school bubble has burst so she’s isolating. @nickisapiro worked from home (with difficulty) so I could go in to do my marking (which I managed to do). I went back to the house this evening to paint ceilings. It wasn’t fun.
Day 455 saw more marking during the day and painting in the evening, the latter made more fun by not being able to use the water in the house. Plumbing nearly done now! Older daughter got a well deserved merit on her grade 1 piano - we’re all very pleased for her. @nickisapiro
Day 456 started with a snagging chat with the builder. I did the first session on a JISC Digital Leadership programme this morning. Very thought provoking, I’m looking forward to the rest. No painting today, but I did have to dash to the house to get our shopping! @nickisapiro
Day 457 was my turn to work from home with our isolating daughter while @nickisapiro went into work. Interesting inserting maths, English and IT into meetings with colleagues this morning 😂. Got more painting done at the house today too - ceiling hopefully done in main room now!
Day 458 was a meeting-fest but they all went well. @Karenburland, Ewan and I made progress first thing, and excellent chairing across the day by @DaveIreland5, ably supported by @nickisapiro and Tom. Hopefully this was the last day of home schooling for our younger daughter too!
Day 459 started a bit early with me having to sort out the cat. Lucky me… 🐈⬛🤮💩. The day got better and also more productive. I filled all the dents and cracks in the living rooms walls and took delivery of our new oven. This afternoon @nickisapiro painted the kitchen walls.
Day 460 was something like fill, sand, paint, repeat. @nickisapiro did a fantastic job painting just about all the living room walls today. Hopefully that’s it all done bar some tidying up 🤞. Younger child finished isolating today … just as older child’s class bubble burst 😫.
Day 461 started with me meeting some guys from a company who can hopefully sort out a blind for our large roof light. Lots of papers read at work and some productive meetings too. @nickisapiro worked from home today with our isolating daughter. I did more painting this evening.
Day 462 (late) was basically one very long meeting. In the end I had to leave early (at 5.15pm) because our older daughter was due to have a violin lesson (Zoom) in the room. @nickisapiro went to the house tonight and got yet more painting done, and I wrote a letter of complaint!
Day 463 included training (very good), a meeting (well chaired by @DaveIreland5), and a PhD supervision with @tobyhuelin (more good stuff). Lost power mid-morning and had to top it up! Daughter did her schoolwork quickly and had a good long chat with @GillBracey. @nickisapiro
Day 464 provided a chance to see lots of colleagues. Had to be done virtually, but it was nice nonetheless! Squeezed in some time to accompany our older daughter doing her violin practice this afternoon. Did some sanding and knot treatment at the house this evening. @nickisapiro
Day 467 was a bit frantic with some meetings running a bit long, but also some useful quick chats with colleagues too, so I guess it all evened out. A night off decorating because @nickisapiro was out at a @LeedsBaroque rehearsal. Yes, an actual rehearsal with actual people! Wow!
Day 466 was a careful balance of arts and crafts. @nickisapiro had more @LeedsBaroque and our younger daughter did ballet (arts) and there was also a lot of sanding, painting and, latterly, filling (crafts). Slowly but surely the house is taking shape. Running out of time though!
Day 467 (really this time) saw @nickisapiro recording a concert with @LeedsBaroque this morning. Decorating again this afternoon, with undercoating and more priming the order of the day. Managed to work out how to take off the door handles, A small win but a big personal triumph!
Day 468 included marking and some meetings, but also good chats with colleagues. Older daughter’s last day of isolation today so hopefully they’ll both be at school tomorrow🤞. She’s been brilliant. My parents did a lot of cleaning at the house today! @DianeSapiro2 @nickisapiro
Day 469 (on leave) started with our older daughter’s grade 1 violin exam. All about the house after that. Kitchen units cleaned and moved (thanks @DianeSapiro2), more sanding, filling and undercoating, and @nickisapiro painted a ceiling. Got home to find our internet is off 😢🤬
Day 470 was busy, with a training session and meetings dominating the day. Our colleague Jo retired today - I remember meeting her in 1997 when I became a UG at @LeedsUniMusic. We’ll miss her! In other news our younger daughter made her Rainbows promise this evening. @nickisapiro
Day 471 featured a trip round @LeedsUniMusic with @_DanMerrick and Lindsey to see how we can use our practical and tech spaces next year. Lots of decorating done at the house today too. I finished the mist coat on new plaster and @nickisapiro started the top coat on the woodwork.
Day 472 began with meeting a new colleague, featured two meetings that finished early, and included lunch on campus with another colleague. Started drafting dissertation allocations this afternoon. @nickisapiro got more painting done, and older daughter got a merit in G1 violin.
Day 473 (late) was another busy decorating day. Did the spare room ceiling and @nickisapiro did more undercoat and top coat. The kids had dancing and otherwise amused themselves. Saw @Opera_North’s brilliant #ALittleNightMusic at @LeedsPlayhouse. 1st theatre trip in over a year!!
Day 474 was a rest day from decorating! Popped over to Liverpool and saw the family in instalments. @nickisapiro’s cousins and their kids over from Thailand, both sets of parents, my grandma, and my brother and his family to celebrate my sister-in-law’s birthday. @DianeSapiro2
Day 475 started with me chasing the cat round the living room (and catching him), included lots of meetings chaired (well) by @DaveIreland5, and ended, as so many have recently, with me decorating at the house. I got all of the first-floor woodwork sanded. Result! @nickisapiro
Day 476 was quiet this morning. Turns out Outlook simply wasn’t showing me the emails that arrived today. Sorted it out after lunch but was living the dream for several hours! @nickisapiro and I both went to the house tonight and we got a lot of undercoating done. Getting there…
Day 477 and more self isolation for our older daughter as her class bubble burst again (2nd time in 3.5 weeks). Childminder has to isolate too so we’re doing the school run, which is awkward. @nickisapiro got loads of top coat painted this evening; I watched the England match! ⚽️
Day 478 was 2nd jab day for me and @nickisapiro! Not a lot to report for the day in general, but I went to the house this evening to put our new kitchen units in place and found one was larger than expected 😱. Kitchen Tetris ensued and I *think* it works now. Fingers crossed!🤞
Day 479 was full of exam boards, and me and @nickisapiro not feeling quite 100% following yesterday’s jabs. Managed to fit the school run for our younger daughter around our morning and afternoon meetings, and our older daughter did some superb colouring (as well as schoolwork).
Day 480 had a lazy start, which was nice. Took our younger daughter to ballet then took one of our new doors over the road to a neighbour who’s kindly offered to oil them for us. @nickisapiro spent the afternoon painting, I did the evening. Started packing to move back home too.
Day 481 was busy. @nickisapiro spent most of the day decorating while I did more packing up and the girls amused themselves. I did a short stint at the house late afternoon. Watched the #Euro2020Final as a family. Proud of the team, disappointed by the ‘fans’ who trashed London.
Day 482 saw me on the interview panel for an academic role for the first time; my second time will be tomorrow 🚌🚌. Our older daughter is still isolating and she sewed a lovely sash for her sister. @nickisapiro did loads of decorating, and the kitchen installation has started!
Day 483 was also dominated by interviewing, and again our older daughter amused herself brilliantly after completing her schoolwork. Lots of work done at the house today by various people. Kitchen units set in place, electrics, cleaning and painting. @nickisapiro @DianeSapiro2
Day 484 saw me in @LeedsUniMusic for the first time this week while @nickisapiro worked from home with our isolating daughter. My parents did more amazing work at the house and we’re just about ready for the carpets tomorrow as a result. Electrics nearly done too. @DianeSapiro2
Day 485 saw @nickisapiro and I both work from the rental place. She could get online and I couldn’t, which wasn’t helpful. @DianeSapiro2 and Phil did more cleaning and the carpets are going in. Bought furniture from @IKEAUK. and had a nice chat with @LibbyClarkLeeds this evening.
Day 486 started with @nickisapiro heading to the house to let in the carpet fitters and meet the templater for our new worktops. I attended possibly the worst training session I’ve ever been to, sadly. Dropped in to say hi to the Little Shop gang this evening and saw real people!
Day 487 started with a tip run to throw out some of the old carpet and decorating rubbish. We went to see @robbracey and @emmaforster123 for their son’s 1st birthday, and baked in their garden. The girls loved being with their little cousin (and the paddling pool!). @nickisapiro
Day 488 (late) was all about preparing the house for Monday. I sorted out worktop support, put a curtain pole up and got the main room nearly ready. @nickisapiro painted panelled doors (8 sides!) and built furniture. The girls played holiday, school and other make-believe games.
No more counting days! Today @nickisapiro and I were on leave to start the move back into our house. I’d like to say we’d finished decorating but… Managed to get the beds and some other furniture constructed but there are boxes everywhere and we don’t have a working kitchen yet!
A day of interviewing done from the sweltering heat of my @LeedsUniMusic office. Good chat with @DaveIreland5 and @tobyhuelin about some future plans too, to end the day. Got more painting done at the house this evening and prepared to receive the worktops tomorrow. @nickisapiro
Worktops arrived today. The island is huge (160 x 190cm) and the guys had to carry it since it didn’t fit through the door on the trolley. I helped keep it supported; it was bloomin’ heavy! Sleeping at the house tonight but no curtains so could be an early wake-up. @nickisapiro
Joiner and plumber finished off their bits of the kitchen today, so we now have a working sink and closable cupboards. Electrician is very nearly done, but the hob and extractor are still to go in. Brought Ombra home this evening so we’re all back living here now. @nickisapiro
Hob and extractor were fitted today so we have a fully operational kitchen. My parents went shopping for us and sorted out our awkward part-angled curtain (quite a feat!). @nickisapiro was out rehearsing tonight and I got the rental place nearly clear and cleaned. @DianeSapiro2
I removed the last of our stuff from the rental place today. @nickisapiro and @DianeSapiro2 did battle with the boxes for the kitchen and living room, while dad and disposed of a lot of rubbish and attached wardrobes and bookcases to walls. The kids spent the day applying makeup!
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