Project 365 day 333: Avenue and Triangle

It was a beautiful, bright, frosty morning. J's PA doesn't start till 11 on Mondays, as J needs me to sign interpret her online wellbeing session - relaxation and visualisation - for an hour first. It's run by one of the team who, pre-pandemic, offered holistic therapies at her care centre; J really misses her hot stone massages. Her PAs sign well enough for everyday communication and can use a range of strategies, including fingerspelling words or writing things down, if they don't know how to sign something, but they can't really manage simultaneous interpreting of unprepared material. But I digress; when M arrived, I seized the opportunity to wrap up and walk for half an hour before settling down to the urgent tasks which I knew would keep me at the computer for most of my available time today. 

This is National Tree Week, so I plan to photograph trees, or bits of trees, all week. This is part of the beautiful avenue which borders the Triangle, our village green, and is my route into the village. The weekend gales have brought down most of the remaining leaves, but they are still bright and crisp underfoot. I also photographed frosty leaves on the ground, glowing beech leaves with the sun behind them (today's extra), the giant yews at the churchyard gate, and a still bright acer beside the church. Then the battery gave up and I just walked and soaked up the sun and blue sky.

The rest of the day was usefully productive. I finished some emails and a document, then prepared for tomorrow's annual local authority audit of J's Direct Payments account, through which I manage the financial arrangements for her social care, employing and insuring the PAs, liaising with the payroll provider who calculates their tax, national insurance and pension payments, and paying invoices from her care centre and a few other bits and pieces. I needed to ensure I had all the paperwork in order and up-to-date, and could quickly access online bank statements and other documentation to evidence all expenditure. Most of the funding comes from the local authority, so accountability is obviously required, and we are fortunate that the person currently monitoring us is both thorough and pleasant.

P spent the afternoon cutting more wood, so we have had a deliciously cosy fire this evening. Unfortunately wood cutting is always rather hand-to-mouth here; there are far too many other jobs to fill the summer.