Bonfire Night (not!)

I took myself off to work this morning and had another busy shift, working just with Jo. Yesterday, I'd covered the lunches and took a call about a member who had died, and the same thing happened this afternoon when I had to cover the last hour. It was very sad talking to the relatives and I cancelled the memberships immediately. This sometimes happens and it's never easy.

Driving home tonight was dark and horrible. I've been tracking the weather forecast in Berlin and the three days we're there are set to be sunny and mild. I just hope it stays that way!

Keith and I played cards tonight and he thrashed me again! I will get my revenge! He cooked a delicious cottage pie with seven vegetables, with enough left for me to have it again for lunch tomorrow, so I forgave him!

After dinner, we watched two episodes of Never Mind The Buzzcocks, which were hilarious. Sophie and I are going to see Jamali Maddix at Derngate next year and I looking forward to a night of laughter, as he is so funny!

We didn't hear many fireworks tonight, even though it's officially Guy Fawkes. The cats seem unperturbed by the bangs but it has been very quiet around here. Maybe the weekend will be louder!

A normal Monday

I was in a dream so deep this morning that I found it hard to remember what day it was when Sophie woke me up at 6am... and then I realised... it was Monday. Yuk! Still, once Monday is over and done with it's a steep downhill slide to Friday! 

The children (most of them anyway) were back at school today and the roads were busy. Keith dropped me off and I went in to tackle the emails which had built up over the weekend. I had plans to start the Moan report today, but the steady trickle of emails meant I had to postpone that lovely job!

Work flew by and Keith came to collect me at 4pm. We drove home in the gloom (the weather is still grey and horrible) and I pootled about at home doing jobs until Sophie arrived back.

Keith and I played cards in the evening and he thrashed me completely. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't beat him! Sometimes, it works out this way! We had soup for dinner with garlic flatbreads and then it was quiz time after we'd eaten. Roll on the rest of the week!

So many jobs!

Sophie had given herself a lot of jobs to do today, and the first was to colour her hair back to brown after her copper experiment! She had dark roots and wanted rid of them! I helped out a little and ensured her hair was properly coated in the dye.

When this was done, she prepared the vegetables for a chicken and pasta soup for dinner tonight. Keith volunteered to cut up the chicken and pre-cook it, which helped enormously.

Sophie had an appointment for a Reiki session at 11.30am in Wellingborough, so I said I'd drive her over to make sure the woman giving the treatment was bona fide! We arrived at a beautiful large house on the outskirts of the town and she was met at the door by a normal-looking woman so that was OK! I wish sometimes I didn't have such a vivid imagination! It allowed me to read my latest book in peace for an hour, which was lovely!

Sophie emerged looking truly relaxed and radiant. She said it had been a fantastic experience and the therapist had said lots of interesting things to her. I'd had Reiki years ago, just after Sophie was born, to help me with a bad back and it had worked for me, so I was pleased she'd had a great treatment.

Back home, Sophie simmered the soup on the hob and it smelt delicious. She had wanted to make a Guinness cake as well, but I asked her to make it instead next Saturday for my Mum's birthday. She just didn't have enough time today!

At 2pm, we drove over to see my parents, but they were just finishing their lunch. Plans to take Mum to Tesco were abandoned and Sophie and I went instead, buying Mum and Dad some bits they needed. My daughter treated herself to some clothes for Berlin, which is rapidly approaching!

We took the shopping back to Mum and Dad, had a chat and then returned home via the scenic route. The weather has been overcast again today, and the countryside was a symphony of greys and browns. It was still beautiful, though!

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and playing Scrabble with a glass of Chablis which we'd bought in the village itself. Ahh! Happy memories! I beat Sophie again and she was not pleased!

Her soup was delicious, and there was so much left over we decided to have it for dinner again tomorrow night. It was thick and warming and perfect for a chilly Autumn night!

Ladies who lunch!

I tried to get Mooney and Gomez to use the cat flap this morning and managed to rig it so it was open all the time. Mooney quite happily went through, but Gomez wasn't so sure! He kept looking at it and running off and then mewling at us pitifully, but I stood firm! When the desire to go out became too much, he used it! We'll keep it open for a few days and gradually lower it until they get the hang of it and realise it's not scary!

Sophie had an appointment for acupuncture today, and afterwards, we'd decided to go to Woburn for lunch. I drove over with her and sat in the car reading while she had the treatment, which seems to be working for her allergy to cats! She's not blowing her nose and stuffed up in the mornings any more!

We drove to Woburn via Milton Keynes on busy weekend roads and arrived just after midday. We had a good look in the antiques shop first and then wandered around Zoohause where I bought a beautiful blue bowl for the kitchen. There were so many things I coveted in the shop, including a round wooden bar table and barstools! Sophie bought two Christmas decorations that set her back £21! She wasn't expecting one of them to cost £15!

I was hungry by now, so we went to The Nook and enjoyed a glass of wine and a packet of crisps. We sat in the window and chatted, and outside it was a grey and dreary, typical November day. We discussed going to London later in the month and going to the Courtauld Gallery to see the Monet in London exhibition, but every Wednesday was fully booked!

At about 2pm we walked the very short distance to The Black Horse and took our seats for lunch. I could immediately detect a whiffy smell (wee) which put me off a bit and Sophie asked if I wanted to move seats. I said I'd be OK, but I had no idea of where the smell was coming from! We weren't near the toilets!

We ordered our lunch, sharing a starter of breaded halloumi cheese and a dip, followed by burgers. I chose a glass of Cotes du Rhone red to go with the main course, which was delicious. The food was very good and we indulged in a chocolate fondant between us for pudding. It was beautifully oozy in the middle!

After paying the bill, we waddled back to the car in a fine drizzle and set off in search of deer in the Woburn parkland. We saw a few in the distance and drove home in the gathering gloom. It was a horrible evening!

Keith arrived home shortly after us and had enjoyed seeing Sileby play. He was dressed in his coat, hat and scarf and I didn't blame him! Sophie and I curled up on the sofa and watched some of the Northampton-Kettering Town game and read our books. Kettering beat Northampton in extra time so they're through to the next round of the FA Cup!

We had a relaxed evening and watched The Cure in concert on BBC2. The channel always has good music on a Saturday night!

A new month!

So, it's the start of another month... where on earth did October go? One minute, we were enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures and sitting with our toes in a pool in France, the next it's chilly and grey November!

I was busy at work today with emails and putting another load of films onto the system until the 19th of December. Christmas is starting to loom! It's one of the most enjoyable aspects of my job, and I love accessing the IMDb website to look up films!

In the evening, Keith went to the pub to see John, and Sophie and I opened the Ventoux white I'd bought in Lidl and watched Bridget Jones's Diary, a film I could watch over and over again. We had a simple supper of breaded chicken and mashed potatoes and then caught a Fleetwood Mac concert after eating. Seeing "them" in Leicester the other week has put me off Tribute bands for good!

A Vampire's kiss!

My shift passed quickly at work today and before I knew it, it was 2pm and time to go home. For once, I didn't have anything planned but it took me a good hour and a half to prepare a sausage casserole for tonight's dinner. I didn't mind as I had nothing else to do and it smelled delicious by the time I'd finished. Keith had prepared all the vegetables, so once it was done, I swept the kitchen floor and mopped. 

Before Sophie came home, I also prepared the house for Halloween, and Keith and I found our terracotta pumpkin in the garage. I arranged candles along the windowsill in the living room and put on a YouTube video on the computer of a spooky house and pumpkins. Just before Sophie arrived, I turned all the lights out, sent Keith upstairs to get changed and hid behind the door to jump out on her. Unfortunately, she saw me moving and my plan was thwarted!

We sat in the kitchen and played cards and Sophie made us each a "Vampire's Kiss" - Prosecco, Vodka and raspberry liqueur served with a raspberry. The drinks were delicious and quite potent!

We had quite a few trick-or-treaters this evening and I put sweets in a big bowl for them to choose. We ate at about 7.30pm and blew the candles out and drew the curtains so we could have dinner in peace,  but I think most of the children had been and gone by then, It was a very enjoyable evening!

After dinner, we watched most of Psycho, but by 9.30pm we were flagging so it was time for bed!

Happy Halloween!

Building bridges...

Keith and I went to B&Q this morning to look for concrete blocks to help the cats get in and out of the cat flap, which was fitted yesterday. I was delighted with the new glass in the roof, and the cat flap looked great, but there's quite a drop to the path below.

We made straight for the building supplies section and picked out six rough concrete blocks, costing only £2.50 each. A helpful B&Q employee helped us put them through the checkout as there were no bar codes on them!

Outside in the car park, we chatted with a man in the car next to ours about cat flaps after he'd asked us what the blocks were for. He told us a funny story of when he worked as a site manager on a building development. A resident had asked one of his men to fit a cat flap in a door, and he had taken it off its hinges and fitted the cat flap but had put it on at the top of the door by mistake!

We were meeting Sophie for lunch and had a spare half hour, so we pottered about Lidl and looked at their wine range. I picked out a Ventoux white to try and noticed they were selling a Saint Emilion Grand Cru for only £13.99!

Sophie texted us to say she was out of her meeting and we made our way to Brackmills to meet her. Keith and I had had eggs on toast for breakfast so we didn't want a lot of lunch, and I chose a small bowl of fries and a cup of tea while Soph and Keith had sandwiches. The place gradually filled up with office workers arriving for their lunches and it was great to sit and relax for an hour.

Keith and I returned home and we put the blocks onto the path to make a little bridge for the cats to get in and out more easily, not that they have used it yet! I fear it will take some time for them to work out how to open the flap with their heads! I then asked Keith to chop up some vegetables for me and drove over to see Mum and Dad. I felt shattered today, for some reason, and it was pleasant to sit with them and chat for an hour!

Back home, I prepared tonight's dinner of spaghetti Bolognese, hoovered and made the porridge for tomorrow. I left the hated list for later when we relaxed with a drink!

The meal was lovely and had benefited from a long cook on low heat. Preparing the meal from scratch is so much better than using a jar and the flavours were intense!