A successful, albeit slightly reluctant, morning shift is achieved. The new story is still a struggle but it’s slowly, painfully coming together–like extracting a nugget of truth from Trump’s cabinet. I manage just over 500 words, but the greater victory is the gradual dissolution of the fog that lies between the story in my mind and the words on the page.

On a random urge I check the EB Games site and see that the game the Elderbeast wanted last week (Skyrim) is on offer and finally within his means. However, in a sign that the universe is definitely against us, our local EB Games store was without internet and unable to process the Elderbeast’s gift card. I’m not the kind of person to get angry about things that retail staff have no control over, and I’m pleased to say the Elderbeast took it very well too.

Without Skyrim to waste the day on we needed a backup plan. It may still be the case that every day lately is finding me wanting to go straight back to bed, but I still mustered up enough conviction to propose a trip to the swimming pool. In the end a trip to the in-laws, to collect the bike that they had given the Kinderbeast for Christmas won the day. I stopped by the park on the drive home, but the Kinderbeast’s cycling game is currently poor. More training will be required.

Determined to make some further use of my day off I bake some banana bread and clean up the more flagrantly cluttered areas of the house. I also make a futile attempt to fix our water cooler, which no longer cools. Hey, it’s the thought that counts.