A busy start to the week!

Monday

I drove myself to work this morning and spent a frustrating day trying to get our outstanding invoices paid. I was busy all day, but I didn't achieve much! I also had a Teams meeting with other colleagues and a woman from the Independent Cinema Office regarding the opening of the cinema soon. I'm looking forward to this!

Back home, I pottered about, and we had the beef burgers that we should have had last night for dinner. Keith was looking forward to watching Newcastle play Leeds tonight, but the outcome was disappointing. Sophie and I went upstairs to watch Help! We Bought A Village, a much more relaxing choice!

Tuesday

I had another busy day at work, and I think I'm keeping my head above the water! I'm determined not to have over three hundred emails in my inbox like Sheila had, and I try to tackle them when they come in!

Keith and I went home at 4:00pm, and I hoovered and did some housework before Sophie arrived. Her ankle is a little better, but over the next two days she'll be at a trade show in Birmingham, so it'll be tough on her feet!

We enjoyed meatballs and pasta for dinner, and Keith went to see Sileby play. We watched the last episode of a documentary about a woman who pretended her son was seriously ill, and when the cats came in, Sophie went upstairs for some cuddles while I watched a programme about Britain's lost masterpieces. Keith came home at 10:00pm, happy to report that Sileby had won!

A muddy run!

We woke up to rain steadily falling out of a grey sky this morning, which wasn't good news for Sophie as she was taking part in a 10K run at Holdenby House. She set off at 8:00am while I relaxed with a coffee in the dry!

We had arranged to meet her at 10:45am at The Red Barn Café near Spratton for breakfast. I kept in touch with her throughout her run, and she said she'd twisted her ankle as the ground she was running on was uneven and slippery in places because of the rain.

She collected her medal at the end and enjoyed a free bottle of apple juice to celebrate! We drove over to Spratton to meet her, and arrived at the café a few minutes before her. We were seated by one of the pleasant staff who changed our table because of an influx of flies! I certainly didn't want them bothering us as we ate our breakfast!

Sophie arrived looking wet, muddy and sweaty, and we congratulated her on her achievement. Before long, she'll be doing the London Marathon! We had a good look at the menu, choosing sausage and bacon rolls, and a bowl of granola and compote for Sophie. She and Keith had tea while I opted for a flat white, one of the smallest I've ever had!

We enjoyed our breakfast, but I'm not sure we'll venture back. Keith said his bap was greasy, and I did feel queasy myself after eating. The café was noisy and felt just a little grubby to me. It had good reviews and it was great to try somewhere new, and I didn't even know it existed!

Back home, we pottered about, and Sophie put her trainers into the washing machine to wash. Her ankle had swelled up, so she wasn't happy about that, especially as next week she's at a trade show in Birmingham and will be on her feet for two days. I put some grass seed down on the back lawn, but it's so bald I used it all up and had to order some more! With the sunshine and rain showers today, it should do well!

Sophie had a lovely hot shower, and we went to see my Mum for an hour. We took her down to the lounge for a change and chatted to her, as well as showing her some photos on our phones. Sophie's foot began to hurt, so we returned home to relax, and after Keith had watched the football, I switched on Saturday Morning Kitchen, not really the best of programmes to watch on a Sunday evening when the weekend was over!

Surrounded by art!

Sophie and I were up early this morning and on our way to Market Harborough at 8:45am, as my daughter had a hair appointment at 10:00am. We found a parking space easily and walked to Just So Italian for a coffee and an almond croissant. This is definitely our favourite place to go to now in Market Harborough, and I'm sure we've tried everywhere! We used to hang out at Café Nero years ago, but no longer!

After we'd enjoyed our breakfast, we popped to Boots and then crossed the street to the hairdressing salon. There were no seats free, so I went to Costa and had another flat white there! Once I finished my coffee, I went back and waited for Sophie while reading my book. It was very relaxing!

We avoided the charity shops today (apart from the Oxfam bookshop) and browsed in Waterstones, where Sophie bought three books. She is such a passionate reader, and I love seeing her curled up with a book in her nook! We also popped into the new art gallery and admired some very modern, brightly coloured art!

We walked up the main street and noticed more artwork in the shop windows. The art exhibition is on again at Lamport, and they were also showing off works around town. We ventured down a small alleyway to explore a couple more shops, and met a woman with a tiny Pomeranian dog in her bag. The dog was called Pom, and she was gorgeously fluffy and friendly!

We walked further up the street and went to a new store called Neptune, which specialised in kitchens and homewares. This is now the third shop in the town selling overpriced tat, and I noticed candles for £45. We beat a hasty retreat!

By now, we were a bit peckish, so we decided to have a light lunch at The Wine Shed. We sat outside (the sky looked a bit ominous, though!), ordered a glass of wine each, and had paté and bread, and a sourdough roll filled with cheese and salami, with a hot honey dressing.

It was breezy sitting outside, and guests who were attending a wedding at the nearby church arrived in flowery dresses and ordered a bottle of wine. A couple asked for blankets to keep warm; it was that kind of day! Sophie and I chatted about our dream of buying a property in northern France, and she texted her ex-manager, who has an apartment not far from Boulogne. We wanted to pick her brains, so we arranged to take her out for lunch and ask lots of questions! We then saw a lovely flat in Deauville, which would be great to rent out in the Spring and Summer! We have to have dreams!

By the time we'd eaten our lunch and Sophie had enjoyed a Negroni, we decided to call it a day and head to Lamport to check out this year's artworks. The sky had clouded over, and we had dodged a few droplets of rain over lunch. We parked behind the hall and went for a cup of tea and cake first. Sophie chose a slice of red velvet cake, while I went for my favourite, Victoria Sponge. We sat at a wobbly table in the old stables, and I was bemused to see that the café was using packets of wooden cutlery. Why not just put out normal knives, forks and spoons and wash them?

We then spent a pleasant hour wandering about, looking at the different forms of art, from photography, painting, jewellery, textiles and sculpture. There wasn't much that caught my eye apart from a gorgeous wooden bench that had already been sold.

Inspired by Tina Turner...why?

By 4:00pm we had had enough, so it was time to head home, relax and look forward to a Chinese takeaway and a game of Scrabble. Need I say that Sophie beat me? She always does!

After enjoying our meal, we started watching Charlie Wilson's War, but it left all of us cold, so we switched on Carpe Diem instead. A much better choice!

Remembering 25 years ago...

I was looking forward to a day on my own in the office as Dan was working from home, but I was joined by Liam, who used to work for my old company as well. We worked well together and had a little reminisce every now and again!

Time flew again today, and before I knew it, it was 4:00pm and Keith was waiting. We drove home, and I relaxed before Sophie arrived. Our viewing choice tonight was A Place in the Sun, with a very chirpy couple looking for a house in Soller, on Mallorca. The woman was very annoying, and in the end, they didn't find anything they liked, which didn't surprise us! Why not rent for a few months instead of buying? Their £300,000 did not get them a lot!

We were late having dinner tonight, as Keith didn't get home until 7:45pm last week, and the dinner was waiting around for his return. Of course, he was early tonight, so he had to wait!

After dinner, we watched a sobering account of the 9/11 terrorist attack, with moving accounts from people affected, including one woman who had over 80% burns on her body. It was a very sad and tragic documentary and also included footage of the plane which hit the Pentagon and the one which crashed in a field. I can remember exactly where I was on the 11th of September, 2001, and I was on my way to pick up Sophie from school when I turned on the radio and heard the terrible news. It seems incredible that it was 25 years ago. Where have the years gone?

Something different!

I was back at work this morning, and my workday flew by! I am now enjoying working on my own and organising things my way. Kally, one of the managers, came in again, and we had a great chat before we walked to the nursery, who rent space from us, and spoke with the woman who runs it. I wanted to introduce myself, and I have to admit that both of us were surprised she was there!

We then had a tour of the new gym, I showed Kally where I used to sit (our old office is now a beautiful, new gym with air-conditioning) and went downstairs to the Reformer Pilates room, where the equipment looked like instruments of torture!

After work, Keith and I sped over to Kettering to take Mum a bag of toiletries, and she was sitting in the dining room, so I didn't stay. I said I would pop back over the weekend to see her and bring Sophie with me.

Sophie was going running with Becky after work this evening, and they ran around Brackmills, doing a 5k run in preparation for a 10k event on Sunday. She became embroiled in traffic on the way home, caused by two separate incidents on the awful A45. 

Dinner tonight was simple: fish fillets, wedges and mushy peas served with a curry sauce! Definitely different for us, and the curry sauce was delicious! 

We are noticing how early it now gets dark. Autumn is well and truly here now!

Garden toil!

Sophie was working from home today, and it was lovely to have her in the house while I was off. We sat and had a coffee in the kitchen before I started work in the garden. I wanted to rake up all the leaves that had fallen, clear the small area by the fence in preparation for putting some gravel down and a bench, and just tidy up everything.

Keith came out to join me, and together we worked hard. I raked up loads of leaves, took some more ivy down from the fence and asked Keith to cut down a bush that had clearly suffered in the drought we had. He managed to cut it all away, and we put all the prunings into our big sack and made an appointment for the tip.

While we were sitting having a coffee that Sophie had made for us, we were joined by a young robin who certainly knew that we were clearing the soil so he could find worms! When Mooney came out, he eyed the bird with lots of interest and kept "chirruping". I warned him not to touch the bird! He had already caught one earlier today that had got into the living room!

Ready for gravel and a bench to enjoy the sunshine!

Toiling away!

Some plants never made it over our hot and dry summer

Remarkably, the grass has sprung back after the lack of rain, but I will need to put the grass seed down next week after we've had more showers.

Crouching jaguar watching the birdies!

Keith and I went to the tip, heaved the huge bag into the garden waste skip and returned home to have sandwiches for lunch. We then hoovered out Sophie's car, I hoovered downstairs and peeled some more vegetables for dinner. It had been a busy morning and early afternoon!

I called the care home to let them know I'd go and see my Mum tomorrow, as I had run out of time this afternoon. I wanted to get the garden tidied, and we were pleased it looked so much better!

Eureka!

I felt a little depressed this morning on the way to work, and felt that there was surely more to life than this. It was raining and grey, so that didn't help! I had another busy day, and I'll certainly never be bored in this job! On the way home, Keith and I called into Waitrose to ask if a ring had been handed in, but it hadn't. I even scoured the car park!

When I got home, I watched an episode of the new series of Help! We Bought a Village and felt a slight pang of envy for those who had bought derelict or rundown properties abroad and were doing them up. One couple had bought a hamlet of buildings in France and were facing a mammoth task to clear away all the overgrown bushes and trees, so they had called in help. I would as well!

As I was watching, my phone rang, and it was Sophie to say she'd found her ring. She had gone out to her car to drive home, and the ring was sitting in the middle of the passenger seat. Now, this was very weird, as she had checked several times, and I had even knelt on the seat last night to check under the driver's seat! Surely I would have felt it or seen it? She was ecstatic, and so was I! I hated seeing her so unhappy.

I cooked dinner tonight, and we had loads of vegetables as we hadn't been eating too well over the last few days (yesterday was leftover chilli from Friday with nachos). We enjoyed meaty sausages, mashed potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and green beans! It was good not having them for a while, as we all appreciated them more!

Our evening viewing was Carpe Diem, a series we're enjoying very much. It was a lovely feeling that I'm not at work tomorrow and was planning a day in the garden!