Happy Sad Annoyed Inspired Music Food
Latest Diary Entry
It’s New Year’s Day, 2024 and Ruth and I are alone. We don’t have anything planned for the day other than to eat, not drink, but definitely watch TV at some point. New Year’s Day has become nothing more than a Sunday on a different day of the week! That said, it does hold the expectation of probable change—though this rarely happens, and any New Year’s resolutions are often broken on the first day of the year.
This diary entry differs from others—well, it is the start of a new year, and I am trying something new.
Having moved the live section to David’s Live, I realise the concept of live posting still has uses—adding content to my diary entries. I will still use David Live as a standalone website. Maybe as a social media poster.
Time to cook the remainder of our New Year’s Day lunch. The pork has been slow-cooking for a few hours. With this, we are having sprouts, carrots and roast spuds. I am also doing parsnips for Ruth, as they have too many carbs for me. Not as much as spuds, but…
Lunch is now over, and I have finished washing up. However, I was naughty today, enjoying three roast potatoes with lunch. Admittedly, they were previously frozen, so the carb hit won’t be as bad as it could have been, but it is still naughty.
How David’s Diary Works.
I have struggled to find my voice—how I want David’s Diary to work. I have also struggled with motivation—making it hard to create diary entries. This struggle has led me to miss important moments or write about my feelings—especially those that might upset others. Then, there are the diary entries that should be elsewhere. Writing a diary is hard, even when only writing mere snippets.
Sometimes, more than a mere snippet is required. What started as a diary entry might become a more in-depth article and be posted in my journal. Should this happen, I will link to the Journal entry via a diary entry.
All my diary entries are colour-coded. Yellow for happy, grey for sad, etc. Some aren’t really about me, such as my music entries—I will say that I listen to a lot more music than is listed within David’s Day. Then there’s the food items. Again, this is not a diary entry; these form part of a recent health kick—trying to alleviate my body from diabetes.
Things may eventually change, and food posts might have their own section, as might the music entries—actually, I do have a music section already. Mmhh!
Enough, or I’ll spend more time writing this brief introduction to my diary than actually writing diary entries. So enjoy, or not!
Recent Diary Entries
I woke with a headache this morning, the morning after the night before—the night before being New Year’s Eve. However, I only had a couple of drinks—two Jarrold’s Sloe Gins with coke. My thinking is that the headache was brought on by a poor night’s sleep, which was caused by the alcohol. Drinking so close to bedtime is not ideal, but Ruth & I had to toast in the new year. Had to? Perhaps not!
After a day of grafting, I have almost got this site ready in time for this new year. I could have finished it; however, Ruth and I watched TV during the evening. We saw a film—Death on the Nile (Disney Plus), and the last three episodes of All the Light We Cannot See on Netflix.
The last half an hour of 2023 was spent watching Rick (with a silent P) Astlee. Well, Ruth watched it. And I shouldn’t be so rude; the silent “p” bit is how I always introduce Ricks.
Anyhow, it is now 2024! Happy New Year Everyone!
The final part of our trip to Portsmouth was a family meal at the Deep Blue restaurant on South Parade Pier in Southsea. Geoff and Kay turned up first, with Bailey Rae—a Teardrop Chiwawa. We were at the top end of the pier, and Evie and Maisie excitedly rushed over to Geoff and Kay. However, I think Bailey was a big part of their excitement.
Geoff bought us a drink—I had a cider—and we sat on the pier at the Deep Blue restaurant and waited for the others to arrive. Adam, Jenny and her parents were next to come, followed ten minutes later by Bethany and Nathan—mummy and daddy to the girls. After a bit of chit-chat, we ordered food.
I know I am on a low-carb diet. However, I had consciously chosen to eat carbs today—who can resist fish and chips by the sea—or on South Parade Pier.
Ruth had scampi and chips, I had fish and chips, and the girls, Evie, had battered sausage while Maisie enjoyed her chicken nuggets, both with chips.
After the meal, the British Navys’ Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier left Portsmouth harbour. South Parade Pier offered an excellent, though distant, view of the event.
Soon after, it was time to go. Ruth and I missed walking the girls off the pier, which was sad, considering trips out like this would now be few and far between. It would have finished off the day.
Geoff and Kay brought us back to Petersfield as we would have had to wait an hour for our train. The girls went home with mummy and daddy.
Though the day took a different route than expected, spending time with the girls and our family was wonderful.
Our day didn’t quite work out as we expected. We took the girls on a train to Portsmouth—they kept asking to go on a train. And we had our lunch in Victoria Park—as planned. However, Maisie got a blister on her instep.
Watching this little girl struggle as she tried to walk to the adventure play area in the park was heart-wrenching. However, she did it and enjoyed the few elements she was old enough to use. However, it was clear that we needed to sort out her foot.
Ruth tried to put a plaster on Maisie’s foot—she screamed. Evie, bless her, kissed the sore area. Maisie was still not happy. So, rather than go onto the next phase of our trip—vising Gunwharf Quays—it was off to the shops to hunt down some footwear.
With the two girls suited and booted—an hour or so later—OK, new socks and shoes, and yes, Evie wanted new shoes like Maisie. We headed to the bus stop. Alas, with time now against us, we decided to forgo the trip to Gunwharf Quays and head to Southsea as we were due to meet up with the family for a meal.
Two buses failed to turn up, so we caught a different bus with a longer route. Evie informed us that we were on the number one bus, not the number 3.
Anyhow, we arrived in Southsea before the others!
Last 200 Diary Entries
It’s been two months. Two months since I last visited this website, two months since I posted anything. Yet earlier in the year—I am sure I mentioned this, though I can’t find where I had written it—I mentioned writing more often and learning my diary writing style*.
*I have now found where I had written it; it wasn’t quite what I remembered. What I actually said was:
David’s Diary is made of snippets of my life. My 2023 Diary is a test—helping me find my voice—and by 2024, I hope to have my “way” sorted. But what is a diary?
And it can be found on my Diary page! However, I cannot find the piece that mentions writing more often. So, I must address this.
There are many reasons for neglecting David’s Day. But the main reason is working on a new cruise website of mine called Cruisez. I’ve been so focused on that project that I have forgotten this blog—perhaps neglected is the right word choice. So, I am now making a conscious decision: I will TRY and do regular entries. When time permits, I will also try to create some diary entries retrospectively.