Sleepless... not in Seattle

4.02am this morning... Mr S-V was downstairs making us a cup of tea. Love him, he's worth his weight in bread pudden.

A head full of Covid crap, family "stuff" and a howling wind outside all conspired to make sleep impossible. Why is it so hard to turn down the volume of your mind during the night? Fast forward to breakfast time - I was feeling decidedly washed out and I looked even worse. 

I haven't done a damn thing today. Welcome to my world.

Well, there's a new President of the United States - I wish Americans luck, they're going to need it. Hilarious to see so many Brits online today saying how much they loved the inauguration and how "relieved" they are to see a Democrat in the White House again. They actually think Biden is normal - well, I suppose he is to them, but they must be as weird as he is! I've loved reading their reactions to Donald Trump - they've been choking on their outrage for the last four years! I'm sorry to see him go.

We had an unexpected bonus yesterday; we had our rickety pergola taken down. I've hated it for as long as we've lived here; it's finally gone, thanks to our go-to chap in the village for all things garden related who fitted us in between other jobs. He brought his dog with him - she sat in the garden, good as gold, and watched him work... it was all I could do not to dognap her and bring her indoors!

I cooked this Good Food recipe for dinner yesterday - it was quick, really tasty and amazingly easy. I didn't have any Thai basil, unsurprisingly, but I'm not sure it would have added very much anyway, since it was only for prettifying. I halved the recipe for the two of us and served it with naans and a dollop of mango chutney. Highly recommended and definitely one to do again. Might use cauli instead of sweet potato next time.

It's been good to try a few new dishes lately - I really got stuck in a rut of same old, same old. Nothing wrong with the old favourites, of course, but even the best loved recipes can get a bit tired. It's just a matter of habit, I suppose.

Right, bedtime for me. Let's hope it's a better night than the last one.