Feeling overwhelmed!

My arms were covered in a rash this morning, and they itched like mad. I seem to remember last time the rash lasted quite a while, but I hadn't had much contact with the leaves this time, unlike the time before, when I was squashing them down into a box! 

As we had no paella last night, I called into a Tesco store on the way to work to buy myself a sandwich. When I arrived in the office, Sara said there were 180 "Bob" cancellations. These aren't straightforward, as we have to read the conversation with the AI chatbot and then obtain the DD reference number before sending an email to the customer service inbox to action. It takes far longer than a normal cancellation email, and I couldn't believe my ears when Sara told me how many were waiting to be done. I really didn't think that so many customers would desert us, but it seems they're very attached to the centres we're losing!

Sara and I worked steadily all day but I hardly felt like we'd made an impact! I'm surprised I'm not dreaming about emails!

Sophie made a delicious paella tonight, and we all sat in the kitchen and chatted before she made a start on the meal. It was then time for an episode of Shetland and a spot of relaxation before bed!

A spot of gardening

I think we were all suffering from Sunday syndrome today, even though Keith doesn't work! At least the sun was shining again, though! That managed to lift our moods a little!

Keith and I went out into the garden and chopped down two bushes behind the garage (the ones that had been affected by the caterpillars). We cut them right down to give them a chance to grow back healthily. I would love to have an outdoor kitchen in this area, as the grass is patchy and we store mostly rubbish here, which needs to go to the tip!

We then turned our attention to the hibiscus tree, which hasn't flowered for years and is spindly and weedy. We managed to get the root out, and we took out another spindly tree that wasn't doing a lot. I want to gravel over this border and place a bench here, as it's shaded in the summer. We left one tree alone and started to tear down the rampant ivy that has completely taken over the fence. 

Too late, I remembered that I come out in a rash if I have contact with ivy and I could already feel my hands starting to itch... We carried on, though, and cleared a large section of the fence. I was very surprised that the wood was still intact, buried under the leaves and hadn't rotted! It looked a lot better, but we left all the prunings on the lawn to be taken to the tip on another day. It felt great to be out in the garden on a mild, dry day, and although we made a complete mess, it will look better soon!

While we'd been working in the garden, Sophie had cleaned the house, which had helped! I made lunch for Keith and me, leftover mashed potatoes mixed with grated cheese and crispy bacon bits. We had been doing laundry all day, so that needed to be sorted out, and the twin beeping of the washing machine and tumble dryer nearly drove us mad!

The plan for dinner tonight was paella, but Sophie asked if we could postpone the meal until tomorrow instead. We readily agreed, but Sophie and I still drank a lovely Rioja! 

A right old mooch about!

We awoke to a rare thing in the sky this morning... the sun! We all had a relaxed start to the day, and Sophie and I went to Market Harborough at 10:30am, as we wanted to have a coffee in Just So Italian. 

I took a seat in the window and reserved another for Sophie, who was queuing to order our coffees. The man at the end of the row departed, and another took his place, but he was under the impression that the stool I'd had at one point between my legs was for his wife! It was a good job that there was another seat next to me on the right-hand side. We couldn't believe how rude he was!

We sat and enjoyed our coffees and almond croissants before doing some shopping. Sophie bought three books in Waterstones and all of them looked interesting! She also had a good haul in the charity shops, buying some pretty tops and dresses for work.

At 1:00pm, we walked to The Little Thai for lunch. It was Sophie's birthday treat for me, and we had a delicious lunch, choosing chicken money parcels, fishcakes and prawn crackers as sides, with a curry and sweet and sour chicken for our main courses. We had a glass of wine apiece and a bottle of sparkling water, and passed on desserts! 

After eating, I wanted to look for a wooden platter for serving charcuterie, so we popped into Bagel and Griff, a shop we'd never been in before. It was gorgeous! The wooden platters were beautiful, but pricey, and we explored the upper floor, which was stuffed with candles, soaps, bathroom items and greetings cards. I picked out a bar of soap and a box of incense sticks to take home with me.

We also called into another, very similar shop called Bunny and Clarke, where we had a good mooch about, and I sprayed myself with a couple of perfumes. When we left, we said goodbye, but the owner ignored us and didn't even look up! Charming! I finally found my wooden platter in the Cookshop, and it's beautiful but more reasonably priced! 

After all the shopping, we decided to have a glass of wine at The Wine Shed and sat outside. All day, the weather had been very pleasant, but it had clouded over a little, and rain was forecast. We were persuaded to order a bottle of Grüner Veltliner, but we didn't drink it all! It was lovely to sit outside and chat and enjoy a glass of wine with a small bowl of crisps. Towards the end of our visit, it did get a bit chillier, but it's been a lot milder today.

We paid for the wine, and managed to take some home with us! In the car, we turned on the heated seats, which was bliss, and popped to Farndon Fields to buy something for supper, and to have a look at the food. Sophie bought a couple of rustic Scotch eggs, and I popped a bag of ricey snacks into the basket! They'd be perfect with a cocktail.

As we mooched about looking at yet more candles and tableware, the heavens opened! We paid and took the scenic route home through Clipston, Maidwell and Draughton. The countryside was still a medley of greys and browns, but signs of spring are about, if you look carefully!

We spent the next couple of hours relaxing and decided to watch a new drama called The Curfew, about Britain in the future, when all men have to stay indoors between 7:00pm and 7:00am. I wasn't keen on the show right from the start, and the programme started an argument between Sophie and Keith, which rumbled on all night. Not really the best end to a lovely day!

Friday's here again!

On Monday evening, I remember saying to Sophie that the first day of the working week was over, and it would be Friday again before we knew it! I was right! This week has whizzed by!

I was facing mountains of emails again today, knowing I just wouldn't have the time to answer them all. To make matters worse, Sara has been unable to get anyone to cover on Monday, so I will be on the phone from 10:00am until 4:00pm... wonderful!

It was lovely to escape at 4:00pm and drive home, with the weekend to look forward to. We opened a bottle of Viognier, munched on some snacks and hummus, and watched a silly film on Netflix called Cellar Door. It was roughly an hour and a half of our lives we'll never get back!

Time whizzes past!

Sara is off for the next two days, so I was in charge of the customer service emails. Unfortunately, I couldn't handle everything in my six-hour shift, but Macy and Sheila helped with the cancellation emails. Consequently, the time absolutely whizzed by and before I knew it, it was 2:00pm and time to rejoin Keith in the car park.

We drove home in heavy traffic, and I dropped him off before going to Kettering to see my Mum. This time, she had the remote control, so we were able to sit and watch some television in between chatting. We started watching an interesting documentary on bears in Laos, but I felt so sorry for some of them who were chained up and kept in cages that I had to switch channels. I can't bear to see any animals (or fish or birds) kept in such a confined space.

I stayed for over an hour and returned home, where Keith and I watched the end of a Shetland episode from last night... we have the last episode of series 3 to watch this evening, and we just needed to know whodunnit!

A spot of pre-Spring cleaning

After a relaxing start to the day, I gave the upstairs of the house a deep clean. I paid particular attention to the bathroom and scrubbed the tiles and grouting. I even put the shower head into the dishwasher with a few other items that needed a good clean! Everything came out shiny and clean except the detergent drawer of the washing machine. Why does a piece of equipment, only used to clean clothes, get so dirty? It's a constant annoyance!

Keith prepared the ingredients for tonight's chicken stroganoff, so we were both busy. As I worked my way through the rooms upstairs, it felt good that I was tackling the chores that needed doing! Our house isn't dirty, but it was great to clear away cobwebs and move furniture out of the way to clean. By the time it was 5:00pm, I had cleaned downstairs as well (a deep clean will be done next Wednesday), and, between us, Keith and I had prepared dinner, so it just needed to be heated up. I lit all the candles, and the house was lovely and cosy.

Keith watched Newcastle this evening, but the kick-off was at 5:45pm, so the match didn't affect our evening's viewing of Shetland. Keith and I are becoming addicted to this series, but we have series 4, 5, 6 and 7 to watch, so it will be a long time before we finish!

Same old, same old...!

Monday and Tuesday have almost been identical this week!

Masses of emails at work ✔

Masses of phone calls at work ✔

Too much to do, too little time  ✔

Relaxing around the kitchen island after a busy day at work ✔

Watching episodes of Shetland and wondering whether I fancy Douglas Henshall or not? ✔

At least the weather was pleasant on Monday, although we had sunshine and showers! It's been bitterly cold, as well, but I'm now driving to work in the light and coming home in daylight, so that's a boost to the mood! It's school half-term in our area this week, so the roads have been quieter on both journeys. 

I had an interesting conversation with one of my colleagues on Tuesday afternoon about keeping up with the news, as a fair few of our customers still seem to be unaware of the imminent loss of three of our centres, which has been advertised on our website and in correspondence to customers. There has also been much said on Facebook, with several heated discussions taking place.

This colleague informed me she has no interest in social media whatsoever (OK, I'm fine with that) but never watches the news or reads a newspaper... She said she preferred to remain in a bubble without knowing what was going on. I was astounded! We always make a point of watching the headlines of the news at 6:00pm, and I would just have to know what's going on in the world and how it may affect me! Why bury your head in the sand! She's an adult, surely she needs to know what's going on in both the UK and the rest of the world? I'm not as informed as some people, but I have a working knowledge of what's happening, and I hope I can be able to comment on news items! 

The world is a bit of a frightening place at the moment, and we don't revel in upsetting news stories, but if we go away on holiday and don't have access to a British newspaper or news channel, I always worry I'm missing out!

I'm looking forward to a day off tomorrow, and not having to answer any emails! Bring it on!