Happy New Year!

We have spent today at home, and I did a fair bit of pottering about and helping Sophie with her mammoth preparations for tonight's dinner. I'm so proud that she wanted to make a three-course meal this evening, and the smells wafting about were heavenly!

Needless to say, the weather was horrible again with no hint of sunshine at all, although it's supposed to be better tomorrow. I can't believe my time off work has gone so quickly! The time has sped by and after today, Sophie and I just have one more day off before it's back to work on the 2nd of January.

In the afternoon I decided to do some research on my family tree, but my DNA results have definitely made me question the supposed Irish side of my family. If I had Irish great-grandparents, as I thought I did, surely there would be more DNA from there?

I went back to my Great-Great Grandfather, who was born in Kingston-upon-Thames, and I think I may have found his birth certificate, with his name spelt slightly differently. It means I need to send off for it, with the possibility it's incorrect, but I may take that chance. This branch of my tree has been infuriatingly difficult to research, and it could have been that they were Catholic, as my Grandmother was raised in this faith when she was a baby.

Towards the evening I gave up and went to have a long soak in the bath. Sophie wanted to kick off the proceedings early, with Moscow Mule cocktails and an early starter so we could pace ourselves. She made delicious drinks with vodka, fiery ginger beer and lime juice which we enjoyed in the living room.

We ate our starter - Samosa chaat - at about 6.30pm and the dish was delicious and very pretty!

The vegetable samosas were served on a bed of spicy chickpeas, and topped with red onion and Indian spicy snacks.

We then had a decent interval before the main course - chicken Tikka Masala served with rice and naan bread.

We used the new rice bowls I'd bought!

All the effort that Sophie had taken with the meal had paid off and it was beautiful. We watched the Christmas episode of Death in Paradise after the meal and finished with the dessert of the Gulab Jaman served with kulfi ice cream and a glass of Falooda.

Our own Falooda!

It was a long slog until midnight but we made it and watched the fireworks in London before wishing each other a Happy New Year! Let's hope 2024 is a good year for us all!

Happy New Year!

The highlights of 2023

We often ask ourselves on New Year's Eve whether this has been a good year or not, and I think 2023 was. We did a fair amount of travelling, we all made it through and we're still healthy and active! I will say, though, that the year has passed at an alarming speed and I'm so glad I write a blog to keep a record of what we got up to!

There have been a lot of good days, and here's a list of the best!

Sunday, January 15th - My birthday and a visit to the V&A followed by an excellent lunch at Ognisko, a Polish restaurant in London.

Wednesday, February 2nd - a trip to London and lunch at the Relais de Venise, L'Entrecote.

Wednesday, April 5th - Sophie's birthday, a Dali Immersive experience and a delicious Indian lunch.

Thursday. April 20th - Ten minutes in Luxembourg, the gorgeous Alsace countryside, wonderful lunch and shopping in Colmar.

Saturday, April 22nd - a day in Switzerland, a boat trip, and an Italian lunch.

Sunday, May 7th - Montreuil-sur-Mer, and lunch in Wimereux.

Wednesday, July 5th - another trip to London, a new café for coffee and a repeat visit to L'Entrecote.

Wednesday, August 9th - London, a good browse in Daunt's books and lunch at Cote Brasserie. A celeb sighting made our day!

Wednesday, September 13th - a visit to L'Escala, relaxing beers overlooking the beach and lunch at Cal Galan.

Tuesday, September 19th - Gala-Dali Castle, lunch in Peratellada, dinner at Antic Casino

Saturday, November 25th - a trip to London to see the Monet Immersive, fantastic shopping and a delicious late lunch!

Friday, December 29th - a festive treat to London, strolling along Marylebone High Street and a delicious lunch at Ognisko again.

Here's to a fabulous 2024!

A world of food!

Mike left our house yesterday and was heading back to Southampton with Abbie today so he hadn't been at home when we arrived back last night. Sophie had decided to cook the three of us an Indian feast on New Year's Eve, so she needed to go and get the ingredients. Keith had bought some of the items she needed, but there were specialist foods she wanted so I suggested a new World Foods supermarket in Northampton. She was supposed to have been going to Leicester with Vikesh today, but he wasn't feeling well and wasn't able to go.

We were up and out by 10am, and driving into Northampton in gloomy December weather. It was grey and cold, and not nice at all! The new supermarket had taken the place of a Lidl and catered for all kinds of nationalities, but mainly Indian and Polish. 

As we wandered along the aisles, I saw fruit and vegetables I'd never heard of before! Sophie was able to get kulfi ice cream, and a mix for Gulab Jaman, sweet dumplings served with syrup. She also bought a Falooda mix which is a kind of yoghurt drink with vermicelli and basil seeds. I was so interested in everything and could have spent hours in there, but Sophie wanted to get home, have a coffee and then go to Leicester to get the rest of the things she needed.

Keith elected to stay at home, as he was hoping to go and see Sileby play this afternoon, so Sophie and I set out following Googly's instructions to get to Leicester. Once in the city, we saw signs for The Golden Mile and we were able to park outside an Indian restaurant that Sophie wanted to go to for lunch, which was near several Indian shops.

We first went into a supermarket and Sophie bought vermicelli to go into the rice, some biscuits that I wanted and a box of Gulab Jaman that had already been made, and just needed heating up. If it hadn't been for her relationship with Vikesh, this was an area I'd never have considered visiting! We went into another shop to get more things she needed, and then we crossed the busy main road to go to Sharmilee, where they sold barfi, samosas and lots of Indian sweets. Here, she bought four vegetable samosas, barfi and chutneys.

Our last stop before lunch was a true Aladdin's cave of everything you'd need for the home... and more! There were statues of Indian Gods, flower garlands, decorations and homeware. I treated myself to three beautiful stainless steel bowls for rice, an ornate wooden incense holder and a new pink and grey marble pestle and mortar.

We took our purchases back to the car and went to Mirch Masala for lunch. Sophie did the ordering and chose a Thali each - two vegetable curries with rice and accompaniments. The food was great but the lentils in a sauce brought back memories of eating them every night with boiled rice in Nepal!

Once we'd eaten we set Trish to take us back home, and she directed us through the centre of Leicester and past the racecourse. It was a lovely route home and we went straight through Market Harborough, too.

Back home, Keith had gone to the football so we unpacked our purchases and relaxed. Outside, the weather hadn't improved at all and was still wet and windy. This period of unsettled weather is now Storm Henk!

Keith arrived home looking frozen, so we put the heating on and relaxed. He had prepared a corned beef, potato, onion and bacon dish which was perfect on such a cold winter's night. We decided to relax in front of the television rather than play Scrabble and ate later than normal, owing to our lunch in Leicester!

Manhattan cocktails made with our French walnut liqueur

A Christmas treat!

We were up and out of the house by 10am this morning for our trip to London. Mike was still in bed but Keith woke him to remind him not to let the cats out, and to feed them at lunchtime.

We planned on catching the 10.48am train in Euston, and we were able to get seats together which was a bonus, as I had imagined the train being busy with people visiting the capital between Christmas and New Year.

We took a taxi from Euston to Marylebone High Street and had a coffee at 31 Below. We sat at the window and we were able to do some people-watching as the street was bustling and busy with shoppers. Sophie and I enjoyed some toast with our drinks while Keith had a pain au chocolat. Our table at Ognisko wasn't until almost 3pm so we needed something to fortify us until then!

After the refreshments, we had a good look in Bayley & Sage, the delicatessen next door, and drooled over the fantastic array of food and drink on offer. From there, we crossed the road to Daunts Books. Sophie wanted a guidebook to Marrakech and Keith and I just wanted to look at all the fabulous books on sale!

Festive window at Bayley & Sage

The bookstore was hectically busy with lots and lots of people milling about and looking at the books. It seems as if reading is as popular as ever! Sophie bought a book and I surreptitiously noted some titles that looked interesting so I could download them onto my Kindle.

We had a look in a couple of charity shops and Keith found another book about Marrakech which Sophie bought for £2. She wasn't really in the mood for clothes shopping and Keith was starting to mumble about going for a drink somewhere.

We chose a pub next to Cote Brasserie, Inn 1888, and inside it was beautiful with old-fashioned tiles, dark wooden furniture and a welcoming fire burning.

Sophie and I had half a Leffe while Keith had a pint of lager as there were no real ales available. The pub was quiet with only a couple of men standing at the bar so we took a seat near the fire and relaxed. I thought at first it was a real fire, but then noticed a gas pipe leading to it, so it was fake, but it was lovely nevertheless!

We enjoyed our drinks, but we didn't have a lot of time, so we drank up and managed to hail a taxi outside to take us to Exhibition Road. We arrived with plenty of time and walked a little way down the road to Ognisko. We noticed a  new restaurant nearby called Stein's Berlin, so that will have to be sampled soon! It was closed today, but the menu looked great and they had currywurst!

Ognisko was busy, and we were seated in the beautiful dining room where little candles burned on every table. There was an outside area in use and we could see beautiful Christmas decorations. 

Bar area

I'd already looked at the menu and opted for the lunch set menu - Grilled Polish sausage served with cucumber salad, followed by the pork schnitzel, mashed potato and a creamy cucumber salad. While we waited we enjoyed a variety of breads, gherkins and pickled red cabbage and drank dark Polish beer, which was delicious.

Keith and Sophie chose from the a la carte menu, choosing "Pelmeni" dumplings filled with veal and pork, and mushroom soup. For their main courses, they opted for Chicken Kyiv and the cod. The food was delicious and I had to give Sophie some of my schnitzel as I couldn't manage it all!

We did find room for puds, though - pot au chocolate for both of us and a cocktail apiece. Sophie chose the Christmas Cosmopolitan while I settled for an Old-Fashioned.

As our dinner came to an end, the lights were dimmed and the restaurant emptied out. Ognisko is such a lovely relaxing place for a meal, with excellent service and food. It's a real treat! We had agreed that this would be our presents to one another as we hadn't bought gifts, and I much preferred this idea!

Sadly, we had to pay the bill and leave the beautiful restaurant but I'm in no doubt we'll be back again! Outside, we managed to get another black cab to take us back to Euston, and we had a great journey back, seeing Winter Wonderland on the way, Harvey Nicholls and Mayfair. The streets were unbelievably busy with people out enjoying the lights and Christmas ambience.

At Euston, we boarded the 5.19pm train back to Northampton and it only made two stops at Watford Junction and Milton Keynes, so it was speedy and efficient. We drove home and relaxed for the rest of the evening. A perfect end to a lovely day!

A quiet Thursday

Today has been quiet, with Keith popping to Tesco first thing this morning while I did some housework and tidied up after Christmas. Sophie had booked a table at The Rose and Crown in Yardley Hastings and met her friend, Laura, for lunch.

The weather has been wet and windy again, with heavy grey skies. It was great to stay home and just pootle about, and when Sophie returned at about 3pm, the house was lovely and cosy. Mike texted me to say he was coming home again tonight, but we hadn't anything planned for dinner as we didn't know what he was doing, or whether he was even bringing Abbie back with him. Keith had bought a pie in Tesco, but neither of us fancied it!

When Mike came home, he stayed in the kitchen for a while but then disappeared upstairs for the rest of the evening. What was the point of coming home then? The cats wouldn't go near him again, and I was perplexed by their behaviour!

Sophie and I enjoyed the wine I'd bought in Buckingham this evening and it certainly lived up to expectations. It was about £18 and was a Lirac, a white from the Rhone Valley. It was gorgeous and I was not disappointed, thank goodness!

Keith and I ended up having cheese on toast for supper as we just fancied something simple after the excesses of the last few days!

A stormy day!

I was up early this morning to find Keith already downstairs in the kitchen. Outside, it was raining and windy. Storm Gerrit had arrived, although it wasn't supposed to affect us that badly, and we had no weather warnings in place for today.

I curled up on the sofa and started watching Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine. It was the perfect day to indulge in a good black-and-white film!

Sophie came down and made us both coffee and toast. We watched some more of Suspicion, and then it was time for a shower, as I'd promised Mum we'd go and see her today. I'd forgotten one of my Dad's Christmas presents, so we braved the wind and rain and drove over to Kettering. 

Predictably, the care home was busy with people coming and going and the staff looking festive, but we found Mum and Dad asleep in their room. I really wish they would take part in more activities; there was the usual Wednesday coffee morning taking place in one of the lounges and lots of things going on later in the day. My Dad was delighted with his JFK book and started looking through it immediately, which was great. My Mum, unfortunately, was not in the best of moods this morning and barely spoke to us. She had a vacant look about her and said she'd had a bad night with my Dad's coughing. Sophie noticed she had a swelling on one of her toes so we called in a carer to have a look at it. She was as baffled as we were about what had caused it but said that someone would come and take a look.

As Mum was in such a morose mood, we left and returned home where we had lunch, and I treated myself to a glass of wine! We had been invited for tea at Vikesh's house later in the afternoon, but his Mum was having her own crisis with her mother, so we postponed until another time. We dropped Sophie off and sloshed our way home in the wind and rain. What a difference to yesterday!

Keith had been looking forward to going to a football match in the evening, but as we suspected, it was called off due to the weather. He decided to pop to Tesco as we had no beer in the house at all, no bread, no milk and just a couple of toilet rolls! I have no idea what day it is at the moment as it feels like a continuous run of Sundays!

I pootled about and relaxed in the early evening and we had leftovers for dinner again. I think I am all turkeyed out now! Once dinner was out of the way, we caught up with some recorded Christmas programmes and cuddled the cats who were very affectionate this evening. They have calmed down after Mike's visit but he'll probably stay over again before he and Abbie return to Southampton. We have no idea when, so they'll probably become skittish again!

Sophie arrived home at about 11pm and had had a great night with Vikesh's cousins. They have planned a visit to London later in January and there'll be twelve of them going! Blimey!

And... RELAX!!!

I was up early this morning and decided to watch the Christmas episode of All Creatures Great and Small. Mike and Abbie were also up early and, after showering, left to spend the day with Abbie's Dad. 

Once Sophie was up, we enjoyed bacon and tomatoes for breakfast and looked forward to chilling out for the rest of the day, with a walk planned to visit our local pub this afternoon. It was great to relax and pootle about, eating some chocolates and watching television. The weather was cold and sunny but tomorrow Storm Gerrit will affect the north of England and Scotland, with rain and strong winds forecast.

At about 3pm, we set off for the pub and had a lovely walk to the village. It certainly blew the cobwebs away! The pub was busy, with people lingering after lunchtime meals and standing at the bar with drinks. Almost everyone had a dog with them! 

We found a table next to the bar and Matthew, the manager, greeted us warmly. Sophie and I enjoyed half a Guinness each, while Keith had a pint of IPA. I'd recognised our "new" (not so new now, I suppose) neighbour's car parked outside so I kept a look out for them. Apart from parcelgate, we have barely spoken to them since they arrived last December, and I have never spoken to the woman, or even seen her properly.

Keith, Sophie and I had a lovely chat and thoroughly dissected Christmas! As we were talking, our neighbours came to the bar but we didn't speak, even though I'm sure they knew who we were! I just thought it was such a shame we don't know each other properly, and I sorely miss the old days when we were so sociable with our neighbours!

We had another drink and the pub began to empty out. Another neighbour, Sonal, came in with her family and we had a chat, before drinking up and walking home. The sky wasn't totally black and the stars were out, with an almost full moon.

Back home, we carried on with the beer theme and tried out some more of Vikesh's stouts and porters. Sophie wasn't keen on a couple of them, but Keith and I enjoyed some of the nuttier, smokier bottles.

Dinner tonight was, of course, bubble and squeak and cold turkey, supplemented by some more sausages. Sophie had chopped all the leftovers up this morning and I baked them in the oven so the vegetables, pigs in blankets and Yorkshire puddings were crispy. As always, it was almost better than the main meal yesterday!

I still have four whiskies to try and haven't sampled them yet as I've mostly been drinking wine over the last few days. I will save them up for New Year's Eve perhaps!

Happy Christmas!

I was first up this morning and I forgot to put the presents in the stockings! Oops! Sophie came down and asked where they were! I went upstairs, sorted them out and came down with them bulging! I was glad I was able to fit them all in!

One by one everyone emerged, and I put trays of pastries in the oven for breakfast, and we opened a bottle of Champagne. While the pastries were cooking we opened our gifts, and Keith and I were delighted to receive a beautiful hamper from Vikesh's family and a bottle of Irish whiskey from Abbie. All this did was make me feel guilty because our gifts were nowhere near as good! Mike and Sophie were delighted with their stocking fillers and the presents I'd bought yesterday at the last minute were probably the most appreciated - leather gardening gloves for Mike to use in his job, and a sweet stone coaster with a black cat painted on it for Sophie.

Sophie opened her presents from Vikesh - she received a beautiful Lego Succulents kit - and Mike and Abbie opened theirs, while I sorted out the pastries and set the table. We then enjoyed croissants with jam and butter, and Portuguese tarts, as well as pecan lattice pastries and toasted Pannetone. I opened a second bottle of Champagne and we enjoyed a lovely relaxed breakfast.

After clearing away and stacking the dishwasher Keith, Sophie and I planned out the cooking of the meal. We decided what time to put the turkey into the oven, and Keith prepared all the vegetables. It was a hive of activity! We'd decided on 3pm for lunch and I set the table with our best china and cutlery. With the grey and white crackers and the shining glassware, the table looked lovely.

I'd had plans to relax in the living room with a glass or two of Sherry and a film, but it didn't quite work out like that. Mike and Abbie were sprawled all over the sofa, so I sat and read the newspapers in the kitchen with my Sherry. They then came out and suggested a game of cards so we played until things began hotting up and Keith and Sophie needed help.

The last hour was spent writing down the timings for the vegetables and trimmings and at just past 3pm it was all ready. I carved the turkey and put the platter on the dining table, and then helped Sophie dish up. We left all the vegetables, pigs in blankets, Yorkshire puddings, etc, on the kitchen island as we'd never have fitted it all onto the table. My wonderful husband and daughter had prepared and cooked the turkey, stuffing balls, sausages wrapped in bacon, Brussels sprouts cooked with diced bacon, red cabbage and apple, honey-glazed roasted carrots and parsnips, roast potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, and mashed swede! Phew!

It was a fantastic dinner and was beautifully cooked. I'd chosen two bottles of Vouvray to accompany the meal and the white wine went well with the turkey. Mike went back for an enormous second helping and we pulled the crackers at the end of the meal.

Sophie and I washed up, stacked the dishwasher and cleared away, and then we collapsed in a heap in the living room. Keith went upstairs for a long nap (he deserved it) while Sophie and Abbie also fell asleep. Even I napped for ten minutes while watching Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond try and find the source of the Nile in three old estate cars in Africa!

At 6pm we served Sophie's Tiramisu and my daughter and I had to sit in the kitchen as there were no chairs free in the living room... The dessert was gorgeous and after we'd eaten we decided to go upstairs and watch television. Mike and Abbie were sprawled all over the sofa again and if we'd sat in the living room one of us would have had to sit on the floor. We took Mooney with us who was delighted to curl up on the bed and go to sleep.

I have to say it was a long night but we enjoyed a couple of episodes of Help! We Bought a Village! and sipped the rest of the bottle of Vouvray. How lovely that we were actually in the village in September!

🎄Happy Christmas to you all, and here's to a peaceful 2024!🎅

Christmas Eve!

Again, I was up at about 7am and having a quiet coffee with Mooney. Gomez can't wait to go out in the morning and cries at the door to be let out, bless him!

The weather has been grey, horrible and rainy all day so definitely not a white Christmas this year. Sophie made Tiramisu this morning for tomorrow's lunch, and I helped by whipping the cream and licking the bowl... well, you just have to! It is Christmas! She used the rest of my Tassimo decaffeinated espresso pods, which I was pleased about as they have been hanging around for a fair while!

We drove over to the care home and delivered Mum and Dad's presents. My Dad was still in bed with a chest infection, but he was looking better than I had expected. We stayed with my Mum for almost an hour and then left to drive to Weedon. Googly sent me off on a cross-country route, taking in the villages of Cold Ashby, West Haddon and Watford, and the countryside was a mix of greens and browns. I wished it was colder and frosty!

We spent a very pleasant half-hour shopping, and I bought another couple of stocking fillers for the children. At 2pm, we walked across to The 1867 for lunch and this time we were seated indoors. In fact, there was nobody outside at all and the restaurant was far quieter than I had anticipated.  Sophie chose lasagne while I opted for a jacket potato with tuna mayonnaise. We each enjoyed a glass of wine with our meal.

Halfway through our meal, a family came in with a dog who started barking, and this set another one off who was in a dog-pushchair type of contraption... This made three dogs (there was another at the table next to us) in a small dining area! Sometimes, I can't quite believe this is allowed as years ago, dogs were never allowed in cafés or restaurants, but now they seem to be as accepted as children and are often treated like them! The couple next to us had the restaurant's own treat jar for dogs on their table and another dog owner came over to help herself!

After our meal, we decided to have Christmas pudding and custard and it was delicious! It was 4pm by now and we definitely took the hint that the staff wanted to pack up and go home, so we drank the dregs of our wine and paid the bill. I was hoping to buy another couple of presents but everything was closed! I had tried to find out about the opening times on the website this morning but there were no special notices about Christmas, so I assumed that all the shops would be open until 5pm.

We drove home through the gloom, and as soon as we arrived home, Mike left to collect Abbie from town. We settled down to watch some television and they returned. We sat and chatted in the living room before a supper of cold meats, salad and new potatoes. Afterwards, I felt like we hadn't put enough of a spread on, as the food had rapidly disappeared, but we hadn't really been told what Mike and Abbie were doing for dinner this evening. 

Mike threw one of the cat toys at Sophie, which hit her in the face, so she went upstairs to be with the cats and be away from her brother. Gomez and Mooney have been wary of Mike for some reason and will not warm to him at all, which is very strange. Whether it's because he comes in without knocking on the door, I have no idea, but they have been skittish and jumpy around him and seem to prefer to be upstairs out of the way. I suppose it's a lot for them to cope with at Christmas!

A family affair!

I was awake at about 7am this morning which was perfect, and gave me time to feed the cats and have a coffee. Sophie had an appointment at the beauty salon at 9.45am so I drove her over and waited in the car. Mike had texted me to ask what time it was OK to be home and I said any time, of course! I did wonder if he wanted a lift but he didn't mention it!

On the way home, we called into the Waitrose at Moulton and Sophie treated me to a pastry for breakfast. As soon as I ate it, I started work in the house, and more specifically, the conservatory. Vikesh was due to come over in the evening for a meal with us, and there would be five sitting down to dinner. Mike arrived shortly after we got back and had driven himself, so no lift was required! He'd brought a load of stuff with him, including a present for us all from Abbie.

I cleaned the conservatory and Sophie hoovered, dusted the living room and cleaned the bathroom. Keith and Mike went out into the garden and cut down the trees at the back, as well as pruning a lot of the bushes. Keith had been wanting to do this for a long time and it did look a lot neater, but Mike said it was badly overgrown, especially the ivy that grows along the fence. This was now pushing up against the conservatory windows, which I hadn't been aware of. He cut it back but said we really should get rid of it completely. We'd like to but we think it's propping up the fence! It was great that all four of us were working on the house - many hands indeed make light work!

In the late afternoon, Vikesh came around and met Mike for the first time. The four of us played cards in the kitchen, and at 5.30pm he sat with Keith to watch Liverpool play Arsenal. The three of us carried on playing cards, and there was a lovely atmosphere this evening, which I was relieved about. There can be a bit of friction between Sophie and Mike sometimes, so it was great to see them laughing together.

We ordered a Chinese takeaway and the meal arrived quicker than we expected.  We all sat in the conservatory where I'd lit candles to make it cosy. I was just glad that the weather outside was mild and we didn't need to have a radiator blasting out heat!

After dinner, I suggested the film Die Hard but wasn't aware it went on for over two hours! By the time it had finished, I was definitely ready for bed!

"Amazing!"

Keith left the house very early this morning to do our Christmas shop and rang me just before 7am to say that Tesco was busy even at that early hour! He said that there was a lot of staff picking for online deliveries and stacking shelves, so it was a job to get about in the store. Rather him than me!

I was working with Shirley today and back answering the phone, so I knew I'd be busier than yesterday, thank goodness. We were busy with all the usual calls about swimming lessons and our opening hours over Christmas. It was lovely to turn the phones off at 4pm and go home, knowing I was off for ten days!

Sophie had finished at 1pm today and had gone to have lunch with Vikesh, but she was home when I arrived. Keith had cleaned the oven, and the fridge and shelves were full from his shopping this morning. Let the celebrations commence!

Keith went to the pub this evening to see John, and both of them were a little shocked as Ian, our old landlord from the pub, had died this week. He can't have been older than his late 60s, which was totally unexpected.

Sophie and I opened our first bottle of Sherry, a Fino, which we found dry. While sipping the drink, we nibbled on little rounds of cheese covered in herbs and satay chicken with two dips. The cats showed enormous interest in our snacks!

The second Sherry was a Bristol Cream and was medium sweet and fruity. We decided to watch Gambit, starring Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz and Alan Rickman, and it was very enjoyable! It was about Monet's paintings of haystacks, so it was great to see them in a film!

Our third Sherry was a dark, sweeter wine, and we both said we preferred the second, cream Sherry. We then opened a bottle of red wine from Emporda but neither of us was impressed with the wine, even though it was 15%. We've both been a little disappointed with the local wines in Spain and we perhaps know why this region isn't that well-known in the UK!

After a delicious dinner of chilli con carne, we watched the final episode of James Martin's Spanish Adventures and poured out three small glasses of Ratafia. Each time he said, "Amazing!" we had to take a sip! We also guessed how many times he would say the word: Sophie said 6, Keith said 7 and I went for 9 times...

His first visit was to L'Escala for the anchovies the town is famous for! He then cooked a dish on the seafront, near to where we used to go for a drink. The weather looked chilly and cloudy! 

From L'Escala, he went to Olot where Ratafia is produced and it was the same company that made the bottle I bought! This episode was a great ending to the series and he went to Girona which looked beautiful. Next time, we're definitely going to go and explore the lovely city.

By the end of the episode, he had said "Amazing!" ten times! I won!

A windy day!

We have weather warnings out for wind today, and it's set to continue like that for a few days. I've already looked at the forecast, and as usual, Christmas Day will be wet and mild...

I had virtually nothing to do at work, so I left at 11.30am. There was no point sitting there for another two and a half hours, and I had plenty to do at home!

I noticed lots of twigs and small branches all over the road on the way home, and I suspected a tree had come down as there were leaves and splintered wood at one point near Walgrave. When I arrived home and checked the local Facebook page, I learnt I had avoided making a detour as there was indeed a tree down!

I felt a bit giddy with the sudden, unexpected freedom and had lunch with Keith sitting at the island in the kitchen. I then made sure I used the bonus hours by catching up with some housework and other jobs that needed doing!

Sophie returned home after a stressful day at work and said she fancied a glass of wine, so no whisky tonight. I'm going to save them up for the weekend as tomorrow is our Spanish night when we're going to sample a couple of sherries and then watch the very last episode of James Martin in Spain!

Remembering Monty-cat

I managed a lie-in until 8am this morning and then had a quick cup of coffee before I went to the doctor's surgery with Sophie for a review of the antihistamines she was prescribed a couple of weeks ago. Today must have been vaccination day for babies and small children, as the waiting room was full of them. A mother came out of one of the consulting rooms with a baby and a little girl and both children were howling. She chose to get them dressed into their coats, hats, scarves and gloves right next to Sophie and me while they continued to scream and wail noisily. My daughter looked at them as if they were monsters and I think that, at the moment anyway, any maternal instincts have well and truly disappeared!

The nurse was pleased with Sophie's progress, especially as she is back at the gym and running again, as well as taking part in classes. She upped the dose of antihistamine and we talked about taking it at lunchtime or the afternoon to help her in the evening when she has more contact with the cats.

Back home, Keith and I were just about to set off to the Food Bank and Tesco when the phone rang. It was Highfields asking if one of the men could come out and measure the windows, so they could get the order in before Christmas. We agreed and I rushed around clearing things off the windowsills to make it easier for him. It meant I could have another coffee, which was a bonus! 

Johnny arrived and I recognised him for the work we had done in the kitchen when he'd fitted our new window. I made him a coffee and we had a chat before he measured up. It's been breezy again today and the draught in our bedroom is terrible! I can't wait for them to be replaced!

Once Johnny had gone, Keith and I drove over to Kettering and dropped all the food off at the Food Bank. There were a lot of bags already sitting in the large open space and a man was taking more bags out to the van to deliver much-needed food. We drove to Tesco and I bought chocolates and cards for my Mum to give to the staff, as well as some treats for us for the festive period. I like to have certain foods and drinks at Christmas so I bought some beautiful clementines, a chocolate Yule log, a bottle of Port, a box of biscuits and a bag of Celebrations. I said to Keith how lucky we are that we can just buy things we want without worrying. 

We drove home and lugged all of our stuff into the house. Vikesh had brought over lunch for Sophie and me - lovely wraps filled with chicken, salad and chips! After I'd eaten, Keith and I went over to see Mum and Dad and gave them the gifts for the staff. My Dad had a bad cough and didn't seem well at all poor thing.

We're nearing the winter solstice but tonight it seemed a little lighter at 4pm. Hopefully, it won't be long before it's much lighter at night!

Dinner tonight was a very easy meal of paté and toast, followed by apple crumble and custard. I drank my whisky for today which was That Boutique-y Whisky Company Speyside #3, 8-year-old Single Malt Scotch at an incredible 50.7%! Wow!

It was light in colour, smooth and reminded me of boiled sweets and warm spices.

Today was the anniversary of Monty-cat's death last year. A whole year of being without him, and Sophie still misses him very much. She lit a little candle tonight and put it in front of the picture I had printed for her.

R.I.P Monty-cat. You're much missed.

Two wee drams

My neck felt slightly better this morning so I drove myself to work. I still had just under three hours of holiday left to take (before the year ends) so I asked Sara if I could finish early today. She agreed, so I left at 1.15pm! What a bonus!

I sped home and managed to catch up with some jobs in the afternoon. I called Mum and Dad's opticians to confirm an order for them and did lots of housework, i.e. cleaning up after the kitts who leave a trail of destruction in their wake!

When Sophie arrived home the house looked lovely, cosy and clean! I had lit the candles and it was prettily festive.

Dinner tonight was easy - pizza and roasted vegetables, and before we ate, we saw a little more of Gone Fishing again. I just can't get enough of the scenery, and although I realised it definitely wasn't December when they visited (probably more like October or November), it still looked gorgeous.

After dinner, Keith and Sophie watched Newcastle. My daughter has suddenly changed into a huge football fan and was very vocal about Newcastle's performance this evening! I sat in the kitchen and sampled two of my whiskies:

The first, Roe & Co was a blended Irish Whiskey at 45%. It reminded me of plums, spiced fruit and custard. One I would definitely buy!

The second, The English Original Single Malt at 43% was very light in colour. When I had a smell and a taste, it reminded me of Fisherman's Friends cough sweets and made my eyes water! With a little water added, I detected pear drops but there was an odd chemical aftertaste! Not one I will be buying!

I joined Keith and Sophie in the living room and listened to the shrieks and groans. What has happened to my daughter and where has the real Sophie gone!

Being driven

My neck was very painful today and I'm fed up with always having an ache somewhere! I must be getting old! It was so stiff that I asked Keith to drive me to work because I could barely turn my head to the left!

Work was exceptionally quiet and I had a long chat with Kathy before the phone lines opened. Sara wasn't in and there were hardly any emails to deal with. Very soon, I'm going to run out of things to do!

Keith came back to collect me at 4pm and we drove home via Overtsone for a change, and to avoid the traffic on the A43. He had prepared a lovely chicken curry that smelt delectable!

Before dinner, we caught up with James Martin in Spain. This has been a long series (20 episodes) and the end is in sight. We're planning to watch the very last episode this Friday and have a sip of Ratafia every time James says "Amazing", which he does a lot! The last episode is from Girona and he actually finds out how Ratafia is made. We brought home a bottle from L'Escala, as we enjoyed it a couple of times after a meal. We also have some Sherry to sample and I'm going to treat us to a bottle of Cava. Spanish Wine Night!

No whisky for me tonight. I have two to enjoy tomorrow!

Just pootling

My neck hurts at the moment... the pain in my shoulder/back has now moved to my neck, and I think it happened when I was talking to Nicola at work the other day, and rather than move to face her, I kept craning around! Hopefully, a dose of Nurofen will get rid of it!

It's been a windy but dry day and we sorted out some chores this morning, namely Sophie's car insurance and the house insurance. Boring! We also looked at some restaurants in France for our trip next month, and that was not boring!

We pootled about and did some housework, ate leftover Chinese for lunch, and delivered our Christmas cards to neighbours in the afternoon. Getting out and having some fresh air was lovely, but it was very breezy!

When we returned, we had hot chocolate and sat and chatted in the kitchen. I can't believe how quickly Christmas is approaching, and Sophie and I are looking forward to some time off. I'm just excited at the thought of lie-ins!

I sat and sampled my whiskies this evening. Here they are:

The Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey was 40% and I found it sweet, honeyed and smooth. I'm a fan of this whisky anyway, so that was no surprise!

The Morris Signature Single Malt Whisky was 40% and was from Australia! It was smoky and reminded me of hot dogs on the barbecue! Sophie had a sniff and said it reminded her of woodsmoke and apricots. It was very unusual but delicious.

The cats have been very affectionate today and a pleasure to be around. I'm hoping that they are getting used to us and our little ways as a family now! They've certainly stopped skedaddling when Sophie or Keith shouts at the football!

Mooney, with a paw slung casually over the armrest

After a lovely cottage pie for dinner, we settled down to watch television and enjoyed Gone Fishing with Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse in Norway. It was last year's Christmas special but we enjoyed it all over again, and the scenery was stunning. I want to go!

Gomez cuddled up to me and was ultra sweet and cuddly!

A mega shop!

After a somewhat late night, I woke up at about 7am and made a start on the day. Sophie surfaced a little later but said she felt fine after her evening out! I'd made her take a couple of paracetamol before she went to bed, so they probably helped!

My Mum had an appointment at Woodlands Hospital at 12.30pm, so Sophie and I picked her up and arrived early as usual. I'm always worried about parking but whenever we're early there are plenty of spaces!

We had to wait an hour to be seen, and after seeing the consultant, we visited the nearby Costa for coffee and something to eat. We took Mum back and drove to Tesco where we had £190 to spend on groceries for the Food Bank in Kettering. Sophie's colleagues had either donated money or brought food into the office, and this year she received more than last year, which was brilliant.

We took a scanner as we wanted to keep track of how much we were spending, and set off into the crowded supermarket. We bought lots of products for babies and small children and then concentrated on groceries. Very soon the trolley was full!

We spent £190.51, and I was dreading going to the checkout as they normally do a security search to make sure we hadn't hidden a couple of bottles of Malt Whisky under everything (!). There was so much in the trolley, that some of the packets and boxes were in danger of falling out. We had 178 items!

Thankfully, they didn't have to do a search, so we paid and left, decanting all the items into boxes and bags in the car park. We'll take them to the Food Bank in Kettering on Wednesday.

Back home we relaxed and I fell asleep on the sofa again! Outside, the sky went a funny shade of orangey/pink but it was cloudy. We don't have any snow forecast so it must have been the reflection of the sunset on the clouds. 

Sophie and I played Scrabble this evening and opened a bottle of our old faithful, the New Zealand Pinot Gris. I opened the game with the word "mounted" and used up all my tiles, scoring an extra 50 points, which put me in the lead, and I stayed that way! Sophie was not amused!

We ordered a Chinese takeaway tonight for dinner, and it was supposed to have been for the four of us with Vikesh coming over, but he's not well, so he stayed at home poor thing. We ate the lovely, hot, spicy meal and then caught up with an episode of Disturbing Disappearances which was filmed in Dunkerque. It's not the prettiest of towns!

No whisky tonight as I was drinking white wine. It'll be double tomorrow!

Mooney Moon Bums

A little tipsy!

Sophie didn't go to the gym this morning as she was going to her company's Christmas dinner this evening and had asked Keith to take her to work. We would then pick her up later. She was wearing two of her charity shop buys and looked gorgeous!

She sent me a photo before she set off for work:

My shift was a quiet one as there was no Sara and no Nicola today. I managed to keep busy, and Kathy asked me for some cancellation emails to do, which I sent over. The time drags badly if there's nothing to do, and our phone calls were few and far between today. I think we had about 60 calls, so over the six hours between Kathy and Shirley, it's not a lot!

Sophie was having a great morning at work and had arranged various activities to do before they left for their lunch. She won a bottle of red wine in the "Re-gift Raffle" and had been taking part in craft activities! It's alright for some!

At 4pm I sped home and immediately missed my wine buddy. Keith wasn't at the pub this evening so I sat and watched the rest of my Christmas film before having a nap. I woke up at 6pm and realised that Gomey Gomez wasn't home yet... we called and called him for ages, but there was no sign of the little monkey... In the end, we decided to drive around the estate and see if we could see him, and we did two laps before returning home. Of course, he was in the conservatory, nose pressed up against the door waiting to come in. The relief was enormous!

Little monkey Gomez

Before we had dinner, I checked my emails and saw one from My Heritage saying my DNA results were in! I ran into the kitchen and accessed my emails from the computer to log onto the website. I was astounded to find I was 100% North and Western European! 

According to My Heritage, I am from the France, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland areas of Europe, with some South-Eastern England (I was born in Kent). I was convinced it would say I had an Irish background, but no, this was low. This may explain why I love France and Germany so much! The site also brought up various distant relatives who I share some DNA with, but nobody close. 

It was fascinating and over the weekend I'll look at the findings in more depth.

Keith and I had dinner, and then we sat and waited for the text to arrive from Sophie to say she wanted to be picked up. That came at 9.30pm, and we picked her up at 10.30pm. Keith drove, as I'd had a couple of drinks, and she was waiting for us outside The Picturedrome in Northampton.

She was very tipsy and didn't stop talking for the whole journey home! We went via the Wellingborough Road in Northampton, and it reminded me of the scene in It's A Wonderful Life when James Stewart, having been granted his wish of never being born, runs back to Bedford Falls to find it renamed Pottersville and full of bars, strip clubs, cabarets and gambling dens with flashing neon lights and people getting drink and disorderly! 

Back home, Sophie pounced on the cats and gave them some tipsy loving, and I relaxed with tonight's whisky:

It was Daddy Rack Small Batch Straight Tennessee Whisky at 40%. It was smooth, sherry-ish and sweet, like liquid toffee!

Money matters

It was lovely to face a shorter shift today, and I was determined to go home and just pootle about, and maybe catch a Christmas film!

Sara had left the emails for me to do, so I had plenty of work to get on with but I also received an email with the next list of films to be shown, so that kept me busy, and it's one of my favourite jobs to do!

Before I went home I popped to the Weston Favell Centre again as Keith's brother had sent us a cheque for Christmas, to be shared amongst the four of us, which was a wonderful surprise! He is now well into his 90s and still lives independently, and I keep saying to Keith that we must go and see him in the new year and spend the weekend in the North-East.

Back at home I did pootle about and recorded a Christmas film on Channel 5 to watch a little later. My Mum had been fretting that she'd lost the key to her drawer where they keep their valuables and bank statements, so I wanted to check their accounts to make sure everything was OK. Of course, I forgot the pin for one of their accounts so I had to search high and low for an old diary where I kept the reminders! Doing that ate up most of the afternoon!

However, once the porridges had been made, I was able to sit and watch the film for an hour, which was great, despite the film being a bit cheesy, as most of them are!

Tonight's whisky was The Singleton, a 12-year-old single malt Scotch whisky at 40%. I've enjoyed this before and it was sweet and delicious, and my favourite so far!

A little Christmas shopping

I wasn't looking forward to my day off as I'd arranged to take Mum and Dad to the Weston Favell Centre to do some shopping, and I was dreading getting my Dad in and out of the car.

Sophie didn't go to the gym this morning, so I had a lie-in and a relaxed coffee before getting ready to collect my parents. Keith kindly came with me, and they were both ready when we arrived at the care home. 

Getting my Dad into the back of the VW was difficult, and he didn't seem able to help himself by lifting his legs or moving into a more upright position. We finally managed it, put the wheelchair and Mum's stroller in the boot and set off. The weather was wet and windy again, but at least the Weston Favell Centre was all under cover!

We managed to park in a space next to a walkway, so we had plenty of room to get Dad out of the car. Again, it was difficult and I did start to wonder how we'd cope on Christmas Day when he wouldn't be able to use a wheelchair in the house.

We had a coffee at Costa first and Mum said she didn't think it would be a good idea to come over for lunch on Christmas Day. I had to agree with her, as I was terrified that Dad would fall over or even trip over one of the cats. It was a huge relief for both Keith and me, but I said we would see them over Christmas and I knew that the care home would make it special for them.

Keith took Mum to Tesco while I shopped with Dad for my Mum. He wanted perfume and a watch and knew exactly what he wanted! Once this was done, we joined Keith and my Mum in Tesco and had lunch at Burger King. 

I took a longer route on the way back and showed them the massive housing estate that's being built at Overstone. This area is almost unrecognisable now, and as well as the houses, there's a new Aldi, a new care home and more shops and restaurants planned. What was once green fields is now part of the sprawl of Northampton!

At the care home, Keith set up Mum's tree in their room and I said I would try and get some decorations for her the next time I went to Tesco. 

Back home, Sophie had left to have lunch with Vikesh in Olney, followed by a trip to Costco in Milton Keynes, where I was hoping she'd buy some wine for us! Keith and I had a well-earned cup of tea and I pootled about doing the usual Wednesday chores!

Our daughter returned at about 6pm and we sat and chatted before starting dinner. She'd bought two lovely bottles of red wine! I put the oven on but didn't set the temperature so after half an hour it was still cold! Not a great thing to do! 

Tonight's whisky went by the fabulous name of Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire, a 10-year-old single malt Scotch whisky at 40%. As the name suggests, it was antiseptic, smoky and peaty, and I loved it!

So quiet!

I didn't have the best night's sleep and woke up feeling a bit bleary this morning! When I arrived at work I was surprised to find I was first in for a change! Normally, Sheila is in before me. However, when she arrived, she was a bit upset as she'd had a prang in her car. I tried to reassure her that it happens to us all (I once backed down my drive and hit my Dad's car even though the rear sensors were screaming at me!) but she was annoyed with herself, nonetheless.

Today has been another quiet day and even Jo ran out of things to do! I scanned another load of box office returns and I'm hoping that I'll have my emails to deal with on Thursday!

At home, I played cards with Keith while Sophie cooked stand and stuff tacos, with chicken and lots of vegetables. We indulged in two episodes of Grand Designs after dinner, one of which was filmed in the pandemic with Kevin McCloud and the couple standing a suitable distance away from each other. Remember those days?! 

The whisky this evening was a Mortlach 12 year old single malt whisky at 43.4%. I tasted liquorice and hints of sweetness with this tiny bottle!

Our little beastie!

I now have just two weeks to work before I'm off for a week over Christmas! The way that the time is flying past, it won't be long!

I finished the moan report today and was up to date with everything, so I resorted to scanning the box office return forms. At 4pm, I had a quick chat with Kathy and Jo, before getting a tankful of diesel for my car. Keith had urged me to fill up last time as he feared that fuel prices were going to go up because of the conflict in Israel and Gaza, so I filled it to the brim, to the tune of £90! However, this had lasted me eight weeks so I decided to fill it up again this evening, but this time it only cost £84, so prices must have gone down!

Once Sophie had returned home from work, we sat in the kitchen and I tried tonight's whisky, Timorous Beastie! At 46.8% it was rather strong!

It was very light in colour and I thought it was warming and spicy with hints of fudge!

After dinner of turkey stir-fry, we watched the rest of the holiday and I cracked open some nuts to go with a glass of Jura. There was a vast amount of effort cracking open the nuts for very little reward!

Meeting the neighbours

The first part of the morning was spent preparing tonight's dinner and tidying the house. A neighbour and her daughter were due around at 11am to have a chat about looking after Gomez and Mooney while we're in France in January, and possibly looking after them whenever we're away in the future.

We had a great meeting with them and the teenage daughter was exactly the person we hoped would take on the job of feeding them twice a day and ensuring they have everything they need. It was lovely to chat and get to know them a little more.

Vikesh came over at 1pm and he and Sophie walked to the pub for lunch. I busied myself with chores and when they returned we tried another of the stouts in the "12 Days of Vikmas" box! I had already had a taste of my whisky for today, which was the Canmore Single Malt Scotch Whisky at 40%:

I detected plums and spice!

Vikesh stayed for a while and after he'd gone, we relaxed by watching The Holiday on television. Dinner was all done so we had to just pop the casserole in the oven and cook the veggies. The smells were divine!

A very merry day!

Sophie had booked a table at Casa Nostra in Market Harborough for lunch, and we intended to do some shopping afterwards, so I was looking forward to today!

I was awake later than I wanted (after first surfacing at 5.30am), and I ensured I caught up with my blog as I needed to catch up! Sophie came down for a coffee but went back upstairs to completely strip her bedding and hoover and dust her room, as per the nurse's advice the other day. We're hoping the antihistamines kick in soon!

We left home at midday and were glad the heavy rain had stopped. However, there was a lot of water on the road up to Lamport, and it was running off the fields in rivers. The surrounding farmland was sodden, with standing water making impromptu lakes!

Parking was free in Market Harborough today, which was a bonus! We walked to the restaurant and were seated in the window again, allowing us to watch the comings and goings outside and catch the occasional glimpse of Duncan in his wine shop. He looked very busy!

We had a wonderful meal, and we both said that the food was better than Pizza Express. We started with chicken strips with a spicy dip and meatballs in tomato sauce with lovely bread. We were so hungry that we ordered a pizza each, but I struggled to finish it! Sophie helped out, but we could have taken some home in a box if we'd wanted.

We made room for pudding - tiramisu for Sophie and Smores Sundae for me. With a glass of wine apiece, a bottle of water and the three-course meal, the bill was a reasonable £73.

We waddled out of the restaurant and crossed the road to The Attic. Sophie is having her work Christmas do on Friday and was looking for a new skirt and some boots today. She found a pleated skirt and a jumper in The Attic, and then we made our way around the rest of the charity shops in Market Harborough, where she bought three dresses and a brand-new pair of black court shoes that had never been worn! One outfit (dress and shoes) only cost her £5!

I spotted a new lampshade for the light in the conservatory and splashed out on some more Christmas lights. I looked for a new gonk but didn't see one that I liked. They have to have some meaning to us!

By 3pm we were flagging so it was home via the scenic route (more flooded roads) to relax. Sophie tried her clothes on and she was delighted with them all, except one dress which didn't flatter her figure at all.

She had done so well, though, and had found some great bargains today!

I hadn't opened my whisky advent calendar for a while, so it was a great opportunity for us to congregate around the island and try three of them! First up was the Peaky Blinder Irish Whiskey at 40%. I detected dried fruits and almonds. It reminded me of a Bakewell tart and was delicious.

Next was the Hinch Small Batch Bourbon Cask Irish Whiskey at 43%. It was very light in colour and had a peaty nose. Sophie wasn't keen, saying it reminded her of cigarettes in Spain! Hmmm! Both Keith and I liked this one.

The third was an old favourite, Teeling Single Grain Irish Whiskey at 46%. I bought a bottle of this from Duncan's shop funnily enough some years ago and loved it. Sophie wasn't keen again, saying it tasted sour but Keith and I liked it and it reminded me of Christmas pudding and raisins soaked in Brandy.

As we were enjoying ourselves, we tried a couple of the beers from Vikesh's beer box! Both were stouts and were chocolatey and coffee-ish.

We didn't try all of these - we left some for another day!

After enjoying the beers, we played cards and afterwards, Sophie and I watched a Channel 5 show about the top 30 Christmas films of all time. We didn't see the end, but I was hoping that my favourite, It's A Wonderful Life, was number 1!