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 of ends 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!

A lunchtime treat

Keith and I went over to see Mum this morning and stayed with her for a little while. She'd had another fall yesterday but seemed fine. I am having trouble contacting her on the phone lately, which is a shame, as at least we were able to speak every day. 

Back home, we got ready to go to the pub for Sunday roast, something we were all looking forward to, especially as the weather was horrible again! It has rained all morning, and the roads out towards Mawsley were starting to flood.

The pub was packed, and we sat and had a drink before our meal. The fire had been lit, and it was lovely and cosy to sit and natter! At 2:30pm, we were seated in the snug and chose our meals, with Sophie and me opting for the roast chicken, while Keith was brave and decided to have the trio of roasts - chicken, beef and gammon. We had starters as well - chicken wings for Keith and Sophie, and a goat's cheese and beetroot tart for me.

We were all pretty hungry by now, so as soon as the food arrived, we tucked in! The starters were delicious and set us up beautifully for the traditional main courses. Keith looked at his plate in amazement when it was served, as it was piled high with food, including a huge Yorkshire pudding and three mammoth roast potatoes! He genuinely struggled to eat everything! We certainly didn't have any room for pudding!

Just as we were finishing our meal, a party of people from our estate came in and sat behind us, so we said hello. We much prefer this pub to the one in Walgrave now, as the staff are always efficient and friendly, and the food is lovely. Sophie and I are looking forward to walking up in the summer and sitting in the garden with a drink!

Back home, it was time to relax and while away the cold and wet afternoon! We snoozed in the living room, and Keith and I caught up with a couple of episodes of Shetland in the evening. We are well and truly hooked!

At last! Some sun!

We had a relaxed start to the weekend, and it was great to see the sun shining. It was cold, though, and we had frosty patterns on the conservatory roof again.

At 11:00am, I drove Sophie to Daisy's house in Moulton, as they were going to Olney with Laura to have a mooch about the shops and eat lunch. I had forgotten it was Valentine's Day today, and the girls had renamed it "Galentine's Day"!

I haven't done a lot today, and I didn't feel guilty one bit! I pootled about the house, and in the afternoon, I researched houses in Normandy for my birthday in 2027! I picked out seven possible contenders to show to Sophie when she came home later. We want to stay closer to Deauville next year as we both love this stretch of the coast.

Keith went to see Sileby play, so I put the heating on and had a long, hot shower as I felt cold. Afterwards, I watched a couple of episodes of Ever Decreasing Circles and had a little nap. What a relaxed afternoon! Both cats have been in today, and I didn't blame them as it was so cold outside!

Keith came home at 5:00pm, chilled to the bone, and immediately switched on the England-Scotland rugby match he'd recorded. Sophie texted me to say she was on her way home, so after they'd dropped Laura off, I drove to Moulton to pick her up from Daisy's house.

On the way home, she told me about her day. She'd bought two of David McCloskey's books, some tulips for me, and a couple of items of clothing. Neither Laura nor Daisy bought anything, not even a book!

We sat and had a look at the houses I'd picked out with a small cocktail. Each house was lovely, but in the end we decided on a sweet bungalow in Houlgate, one of our favourite towns. It's where we collect shells on the beach, and the town is beautiful and very close to Deauville. We didn't even have to pay a deposit! The owner contacted us straightaway, so we were delighted. Another little trip to look forward to!

Sophie had eaten Italian today, so she didn't have dinner with Keith and me, which was prawn salad, served with wholemeal bread. I prepared it while Keith watched the Newcastle-Aston Villa game, and Sophie and I opened a bottle of Italian Pinot Grigio. 

After eating, we watched Alan and Amanda in Corfu, followed by an episode of Masterchef: The Professionals, as Matt Tebbutt is now a judge!