The end of an era...

My shift passed in another dizzying blur, but before I tackled the emails, I put on the last of our films up until the 31st of March. Our last ever film will be an animated children's film, Hoppers. It will be screened on the 31st, at 2pm, and that's it. The end of an era. I felt very sad, as I've enjoyed working on the cinema stuff and reporting the box office returns. Some of our members can't take it in that we will no longer have the cinema, and I find it hard to believe as well!

Keith and I were celebrating 38 (38!) years together today, and he wasn't going to the pub, so we ordered a  Chinese takeaway and cracked open a bottle of Champagne. Sophie lit all the candles, and the house looked lovely. Our usual restaurant was closed, so we ordered from Brixworth and were pleasantly surprised by how good the food was! Sophie and I chose the set meal for two and tried dishes we wouldn't normally choose. The food was delicious, with enough left for lunch on Sunday.

Sophie and I watched Sabrina, a remake of the original 1954 film, starring Julia Ormond and Harrison Ford, who was a much better choice than Humphrey Bogart in the older brother role! 

Yippee! It's Saturday tomorrow and a lie-in beckons!

A flying visit

I took myself to work this morning, and we faced another mountain of emails. I think we have passed the peak, though, and Bob has been turned off. Customers must now email us directly.

My shift passed very quickly, and I sped home to find Kym already attending to Keith's feet. When it was my turn, she told me about the problems she'd been having with her wedding venue, and how the woman running it had conned about thirty brides out of their money. It sounded terrible, and she was furious! She also kept me entertained with her story about her Hen Night in Newcastle, and not being told what she was doing over the weekend. When she finished, we made another appointment, so I'm dying to hear all about it!

Once Kym had gone, we dashed over to the care home to see Mum, who was sitting in the dining room having tea. I stayed for a quick chat and then returned home to do the usual chores before Sophie arrived.

Dinner tonight was a delicious beef pie with loads of vegetables and a return to Shetland. We have one episode of series 5 to watch, and the tension is building!

Having a clear out!

I had a lovely lie-in this morning, and it was great not to have to rush about as I normally do. Keith had an appointment with the GP, and then he went to shop for tomorrow's dinner as he won't be able to go on Thursday. We have Kym coming at 2.30pm to see to our feet, and she always arrives early!

I pootled about and made an appointment for the tip, for 11:30am. When Keith arrived home, he backed the car up the drive, and together, we heaved the huge bag of garden rubbish into the boot. I made sure I wore gloves and a long-sleeved top! My arms are almost back to normal now, and I don't want the rash coming back!

Just before our allotted time, we drove to Brixworth and got rid of our rubbish, which included our BBQ as well. Back home, I made another appointment for 1:30pm, as we still had a large box of greenery, some electrical items, and batteries. I was glad that none of the stuff we took today went into the landfill skip!

I swept the garage and tidied up a bit, but there's still stuff that needs to be cleared out. We'll wait for slightly warmer weather!

The rest of the afternoon was spent pottering about doing jobs, and I had a soak in the bath. When I undressed, I found bits of leaves and twigs down the front of my top!

Keith had made a delicious curry for dinner, and then he retired to the living room to watch Newcastle play football. No Shetland tonight, then!

A little bicker

It's so much easier when Keith drives me to work, as we don't have to leave so early, and there's no worry about finding a space! I called into Tesco to buy myself a sandwich and arrived nice and early, ready to start another day!

I put my head down and dealt with all the Bob conversations, and then switched to normal emails. We're not behind in terms of age, just sheer volume! I didn't volunteer to go to work on Wednesday, as Keith and I need to go to the tip to get rid of all the garden rubbish. And I'm going to wear long sleeves and gloves!

When Sophie arrived home, we had a bit of a bicker about how much water I'd drunk during the day. I am notoriously bad about this, but I'd had three coffees, a bottle of orange juice (rare for me) and eaten fruit. She wouldn't join us in the kitchen when Keith and I played cards, and the atmosphere was a bit tense all night...

Apparently, Mercury is in retrograde again... I'm blaming it on that!

Who's in, and who's out...

Sara told me this morning that I would have to man the phones from 2:00pm until 4:00pm, as Shirley wasn't able to cover. It was a bit of a blow as we had so much work to do. However, I was resigned to it!

The shock I'd received on Friday was common knowledge today, when some of the staff discovered if they had been transferred to Everyone Active on the 1st of April. To my huge surprise, Sheila had been TUPE'd over... I'm not sure what she'll be doing, as she is a manager who looks after the banking and finance side of the business. She's due to retire in November, which was one of the main reasons behind the decision. So, there were a lot of meetings going on today, and hushed conversations. I already knew I was staying with the company, which was a huge relief!

Around midday, we had another fire alarm, so we all had to troop outside until it was safe to go back in. Luckily, it was a lovely day, and the sun was shining! Some poor people who'd been in the pool joined us, wrapped in towels! 

At the end of the day, we hadn't made much inroads into the emails, so tomorrow it will be more of the same old, same old!

Lazy Sunday

In complete contrast to yesterday, today has been very lazy, which is just what we planned! We did do laundry, and we washed up the last few glasses from yesterday evening, but it was lovely to potter about and relax. The house was clean, supper tonight was simple, and both Sophie and I would be busy back at work tomorrow. I had sneaked a peek at the work emails and was horrified to see so many coming in. I knew I'd be in for a busy week!

In the evening, Sophie and I played Scrabble, and she made us both Mexican Mule cocktails with the last of the Tequila and ginger beer. They were delicious! She beat me at the game, though!

Spring is finally here (the meteorological Spring, anyway!), and we said we'd have to use the conservatory more often. I have put my bed throw over the sofa, and it looked cosy and inviting. A perfect place to sit and read on a Sunday afternoon in the future!

Dinner was cold meats and cheeses, and then it was time for an episode of Shetland before an early night. The working week beckons!

A manic day!

We had Sarah and Liam coming over for dinner this evening, and Sophie and I were in charge of the cooking. The night was Italian-themed, and we had asked Keith to get the ingredients for panna cotta. We had planned on making this, and then going shopping for the meats and cheeses for a charcuterie board as a starter. However, when Sophie took the tub of cream out of the fridge, she realised she didn't have enough... 

We decided to go shopping at once and buy everything we needed, and then come home and prepare the dishes. It must have rained heavily in the night, as the roads were awash with water. We sloshed over to Kettering and braved the crowds in the busy supermarket. 

We bought everything we needed, and a box of chocolates for Mum. We called to see her on the way home, and she was up and dressed nicely, which was a relief. I'd dreaded going into her room and seeing her still in bed.

Back home, Sophie made a start on dessert while I chopped up the vegetables for the tagliatelle Bolognese. Sophie discovered that gelatine sheets she'd asked for were actually sachets of powder, so she had some calculations to make! 

She managed it, though, and decanted the panna cotta mixture into pretty glasses. She'd even found time to tie ribbon around the stems, bless her! I made the Bolognese sauce and let it simmer for the rest of the afternoon. 

I then cleaned the conservatory (a job I'd been planning to do last Wednesday), and Sophie made sure all the crockery, cutlery and glasses were gleaming. She ironed the tablecloth and set the table while I draped a throw over the sofa. This area is very much the domain of the cats, and it took a while to remove all traces of them!

After cleaning the kitchen, scrubbing the cloakroom and hoovering the living room, we were all done and could relax for a little while! I had a soak in the bath before applying a coat of clear varnish to my nails, and getting dressed. My allergic rash is still flaring up now and again, and I've had to remove my engagement and wedding rings as they make the irritation worse.

I joined Sophie in the kitchen as she was putting the finishing touches to the charcuterie board, and I lit all the candles and turned on the heater in the conservatory. We were all done!

Sarah and Liam arrived, and I was given a beautiful plant, Italian wine and chocolates. We stood and chatted in the kitchen before moving into the conservatory for the meal. The Italian meats, cheeses and olive bread went down well, and we served Prosecco with the starter. Sophie took care of the pasta and garlic bread, and the Italian wine Liam brought went beautifully with the main course. He was driving, so he only had one glass, but Sophie and I certainly enjoyed it!

We had a pause before the starters, and we were hugely relieved that the panna cotta had set and was delicious served with chopped up strawberries! We also had tiny glasses of Limoncello to accompany the dessert.

Sarah and Liam left at 11:00pm after a great night of chat and laughter, and we promised we'd see each other again soon and not leave it so long!

We did some washing up and then had a real job getting Moonbums in... we called and called, and eventually he emerged from where he'd been when Sophie walked up the road to call for him. We grabbed him, had a cuddle and then went, thankfully, to bed!