It's nearly nine months since my Dad died. On Monday I pulled out the suitcase containing his CDs from the corner of the dining room where they'd been sitting since I brought them by train from my Mum's house. I put on one of the last CDs I listened to with him (music bringing him moments of peace towards the end), sat on the hallway floor in front of my CD storage units, and arranged them in piles, A-Z. As Dire Straits turned into Meatloaf I integrated them into my CDs, mixing his eclectic choices with my own.

I have the apartment to myself this afternoon, The Canadian and the babe having gone off to see our friends and their little one now that we can resume our social bubbles here in Wales. What to do, what to do?! Well, I'm kicking off by sitting on the rocking chair with a mug of black coffee, my Linux Star Lite laptop in my lap, blogging away and listening to Whitesnake's Greatest Hits album on the CD player. Old-School I know – but there is still something rewarding and pure about listening to an album you physically own from start to finish.

The light is starting to fade on a wet Saturday evening in Cardiff, as I listen to Francis Cabrel singing his song of the same title as this blog post. It's been a much needed low key day after a rollercoaster work week. A few hours of hanging out with the smallest one while The Canadian catches up on sleep, enjoying fun activities such as watching the laundry go 'round from her bouncy chair, followed by relaxing to the music of Jewel, Eva Cassidy (such effortless beauty in her voice, time suspended as each note hangs in the air) and now Francis Cabrel.

Not listened to this CD in years but sometimes an album just feels right. “Come away with me” on in the background, a glass of whisky near to hand (Lossit, a most welcome gift from a friend!), and typing away a few thoughts in Typora, the stresses of the day leaving as the last remnants of daylight fade to darkness.

I've not been sleeping well recently. Some combination of lockdown cabin fever, racing thoughts about the excitement and challenges of impending fatherhood, random middle-aged worries and musings (not a crisis yet!), and the inevitable mental and physical clutter that always seems to come with the process of de-cluttering.

I may add a search bar at some point but for now, you can also navigate posts according to hashtags, grouped below in a way that makes sense to me and evolving as I post more. Expect a mixed bag. Some of the posts will feature the tagged topic as the central focus of the post, others will merely touch on it. If you'd prefer to scroll through a timeline of posts, head to my Archive.