Battleships

Today, I went into work.  My daughter came with me as she likes to do her homework there and we spent about an hour or so there before returning home.  

At home, after a bit of a rest, we all went out for our family dog walk.  It was a bitterly cold day and when we got there, time was short as sunset was approaching.  Leia loved meeting other dogs again and met more this time than before.  Socially distanced chats with other dog walkers took place and both children took turns holdings her lead.  I suspect that next time, my son will wear more appropriate footwear as he was not as prepared as he would like.  

Anyway, we are now relaxing playing Battleships. My daughter did not realise that she was beating me in the first round at first, but once she did, she did not let go of her advantage and slaughtered my fleet.  My kids are now playing against each other and they will decide who I play next.

My daughter is truly evil.

My daughter is evil.  She knows I do not like to know the football scores before watching Match of the Day.  I did not watch the game last night but I knew that Arsenal was 2-0 up at half time when I accidentally saw the scores when looking at social media.  But my daughter later told me yesterday that the score was 3-0 before it ended, which stressed me out as I know that Arsenal have thrown away leads like that in the past, examples being against Wigan in 2010 and against Newcastle in 2011.  I still watched it, and yes, we went 3-0 up.  And then Chelski scored.  I said many rude words about her.  So when Chelski got a penalty, my heart was in my mouth.  We still won, and Chelski did make it easier for us, possibly because they thought that three points were guaranteed.  To be fair, I thought that they were to win as well.  Anyway, after watching it in the morning, I confronted her about this and she laughed.  I have done similar in the past to others I know, about things like Game of Thrones (one of my friends at work watched the seventh series as a box set and I may have convinced her that something that did not happen did).

On a different note, I had hoped that we were all to go for a walk as a family.  We had agreed that, but my son changed his mind, because he was asked to zip up his hoodie.  I was disappointed.  Leia would have loved us all going for a walk, but I don’t know when we will be able to go for a walk together.  The weather was amazing when my wife daughter and I took Leia out.  It had been raining before which influenced our choice of destination.  Leia got to meet other dogs and we all bonded.

We did bond as a family later though, playing Pointless.  We played two rounds, and it was fun.  This is a game I definitely will want us all to play again.  Maybe tomorrow...

Alan Shearer said - "a week or two ago" - he thought Arsenal might get relegated...

Has he changed his mind?#MOTD on @BBCOne and the BBC Sport website 👉 https://t.co/IQvwYDcJBg #bbcfootball #ARSCHE pic.twitter.com/BpDqbzZPPL

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) December 26, 2020

Gosbecks Archaeological Park

Today we relaxed. The highlight of the day was when me daughter and I took Leia to Gosbecks Archeological Park.  We had planned on a family walk outside, but my wife needed to rest after yesterday and my son and daughter could not agree on a place to visit.  So instead of the five of us, or even the four of us, it was just three.  She loved seeing and meeting other dogs, though things had not gone to plan this morning when she saw six dogs, meeting one, being barked at by two and ignored by the other.

As the day draws to a close, I am watching Gilmore Girls with my wife while Leia chews on my slippers.

Christmas 2020

The woof alarm, i.e. Leia, woke us up and I went down to keep her company after taking her out for her walk.  She does not like walking about at night.  Well, in the dark.

Later my wife took great pleasure in waking my daughter.  Revenge for may years of her rushing into our room shouting about how it is Christmas was sweet for her.

I had intended to help with cooking but was not able to do so having not slept that well.  But I was woken for lunch which we all enjoyed.  Later in the day we played a game of scrabble.  My son almost won, but I pipped him at the last.  I am proud of him and would have been pleased deep down if her had beaten me.

The day was very different to our Christmas last year, but we all agreed that having Leia with us made it better.  I think that she felt left out when it came to eating lunch naps well as opening our presents.  But thanks to one of the patients that I have seen, she got to enjoy Christmas as well when she got a present.

Leave a light on

Quick update on the family.  They appear to be enjoying the holiday.  Both occasionally contribute towards global warming than is needed, one leaving the light on in their room, the other forgetting to switch of the television.  I do hope they get to relax as for one reason or another, both have had a few stresses this year.  Saying that, I do wish that they could relax without using up energy which could and should be saved.  

Leia does calm them down though and since she has been at home, while we have still argued, they have been not as often.  One thing though, at work today, I joked that a common denominator when it comes to her leaving a mess on the floor has been when a particular one of the kids has been looking after her.  Today, on getting home, I found the same had happened.  The child concerned had taken her out to do her business in the garden.  She did her wee and then they brought her back in rather than giving her time to open her bowels outside.  So she did it on the kitchen floor when brought in, while my wife was cooking and the kids were both not around.  She was not too pleased.

Arsenal and Stewart Houston

When it comes to Arsenal, we look doomed and for now, are in free fall.  Watching the highlights on Match of the Day, we appeared to give Everton a game, but this view has not been shared by all.  I do remember a terrible run when Stewart Houston was given control of Arsenal after George Graham, an amazing manager for the team, was sacked for corruption.  We managed to pull things around then and given got to the final of the European Cup Winners Cup, before the loss to THAT goal.  A goal that the Spurs fans at my work will remind me about from time to time.  

"It's bleak."

What can Arsenal do to get out of their rut? #bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/Gg3tKjOAYj

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 20, 2020

I am not sure if this is just very bad luck or if we need a change in manager.  Ideally, it should be the team that are changed, but I am not sure that the mentality in Arsenal can be changed easily and due to this, Mikel Arteta may need to leave.  He is a great manager in many ways, and I am forever grateful to him for his service as a player and manager, especially when it comes to the team winning the FA cup last season.

At least the women's team are showing the men how to win!

Bill and Oti

Congratulations to Bill and Oti. I loved them and was amazed and the improvement Bill showed throughout the series.  It was nice in that my daughter watched it with us, as did Leia.  My son however has grown out of it.

We had hoped to go for our first walk with Leia, but as my son is in quarantine, this was not possible.  Instead she met the puppy of a friend of my daughter. Leia loved meeting another dog and had to be dragged away especially when the other dog started to growl on occasion.

So it will be Wednesday when we take a family walk with Leia who I am sure will love it more than we will.