Missing Mooney!

I had another productive day at work, and things are beginning to fall into place now! Sheila and I enjoyed a bacon roll for our breakfast, and the day passed quickly and pleasantly.

Sophie was working from home this morning and said that Mooney had been naughty; jumping on her chair when she vacated it and acting like Monty used to when she worked from home during covid. It was great to get home and find her already there, and I toasted some crumpets to have as an afternoon snack.

After seeing Mooney in the morning, she never saw him again during the day, but, unusually, Gomez had been asleep on her bed for most of the afternoon. We had dinner, and there was still no sign of Mooney, and he didn't appear during the evening as he usually does. Gomez was still in the house, which was a bonus, but we were both a little worried about Moonbums, as he is never far away and loves to come in for a cat yoghurt or his dinner.

By 10:00pm, we were both worried, and Sophie and I were both calling him. There was no sign of him at all. By 10:30pm, I said I was going to go to sleep, but I couldn't settle until I knew he was in. In the end, at well past 11:00pm, Sophie and I decided to drive around the estate and call for him. We drove to the field entrance just past our estate, and Sophie called him. We then drove around the estate slowly, but there was still no sign of him. 

To our utter relief, just as we were about to give up and go back into the house, he came running towards us with a little shrew in his mouth. He had obviously been hunting and had ignored all of our calls! We scooped him up and scolded him while hugging him! We were both so relieved!

A late start!

I woke up at 6:00am this morning with a horrible headache. I waved Sophie off to the gym, then went back to bed and didn't wake up again until 9:30am! I couldn't believe it! I had slept through my alarm, two texts from Sophie and a phone call!

I pootled about in the morning, and at midday, Keith and I got ready to go down to Riverside for an appointment at Wickes. We had arranged to see a bathroom designer at 2:00pm and went up to the mezzanine floor where the open office was situated. There was nobody there, but when we leaned over the balcony a few minutes later, a man on the ground floor said he would be with us shortly. I took an immediate dislike to him and wanted to walk out there and then!

Eventually, he was ready for us, but I was disinclined to speak to him! He seemed very false and kept getting my name wrong! When Keith produced the measurements he'd drawn up, the man asked for dimensions that Keith hadn't included! In the end, he said he would come out to the house on Friday, and then have a follow-up meeting with us next Thursday when I finished work. As it was all free, I decided to go along with it, but I wasn't that happy with his attitude, to be honest!

From Riverside, we drove straight to see my Mum as I had some colouring pens that she wanted. Keith stayed in the car while I sat with her for a while. She made absolutely no sense at all today, and I wondered again whether she had a urine infection.

Back home, I did the usual chores but didn't have to prepare any porridge as I'm now part of the Thursday morning Greggs breakfast club!

A fruitful day

We have had a little rain, but certainly not enough to make a difference to our parched lawns. I drove myself to work this morning and was warned by Sophie that the A45 was closed due to an incident. Sheila also called me to warn me that the traffic was building up to the turn-off for the Weston Favell Centre, so I went a different way to avoid it.

I had an enjoyable day at work today, spending my time matching up invoices with payments we'd received. I think Sheila had left this as she wasn't too sure about how to do it, but I loved it! I felt like I had achieved something at the end of the day!

Sophie texted me when she was leaving work and said that the A45 was still closed. A woman had fallen (or more likely jumped) and had been hit by several cars, so the police were still investigating. What a terrible thing to happen. It took Sophie an hour and a half to get home, and she made the mistake of trying to get onto the A45 at the Barnes Meadow roundabout, only to find the dual carriageway still closed, and had to retrace her route. 

When she arrived home, we sat in the kitchen and chatted before preparing dinner, a disappointing meal of chicken and mushroom soup and crusty baguettes. I added some potatoes to the soup, and it was a very bland meal! Not something we will eat again!

The evening was saved by an episode of Best Medicine, and I looked forward to a day off tomorrow! Hooray!

Rain?

We are facing a week of unsettled weather, which should help a little. The threat of fires is still with us, and I'm sure Keith and I both smelled burning this afternoon when I returned from work. I had the feeling it was our next-door neighbour, Vince, using a blowtorch in his garage, which was a little shocking. We haven't even lit the candles in the house, just in case!

Work has been uneventful today, and I insisted on a short lunch break. If Sheila wants to work through, then that's up to her, but things will change when I'm working on my own! She is great but very disorganised and flits from one job to another. I can't work like that!

Keith prepared a delicious chilli con carne for dinner, and we watched an episode of World War II with Tom Hanks after we'd eaten. This episode was all about Burma and Japan, and I didn't find it as interesting as the events happening in Europe. We caught the end of University Challenge afterwards, and I was thrilled to identify a painting by Van Gogh that the students didn't get! Perhaps all that culture is finally having an effect!

Making plans

Sophie and I did housework first thing this morning and got ready for a visit from a neighbour who had agreed to look after Mooney and Gomez while we're away in September and October. Isla, who usually looks after them for us, was going to university in September, but another lovely girl, Tabby, was taking over the job.

She popped around, we had a good chat, and we talked through what we needed her to do, which, to be honest, isn't a lot! Neither cat appeared, and I said she probably wouldn't see them at all. Yesterday, we stopped by the gate leading into the neighbouring field and called for Gomez, who we hadn't seen for four days. He appeared, and Sophie went into the field, but he wouldn't go near her. He is turning feral! He did reappear last night, though, so that was good. At least we know he's OK! He is very skinny at the moment, but he obviously loves being free!

Once Tabby had gone, we relaxed, had the leftovers from last night's Chinese for lunch, and booked a week's trip to Annecy for next April. It's a place Sophie has always wanted to go, and we can pop into Switzerland while we're there. We booked the Airbnb for the stay near Annecy, and also for overnight stops on the way there and back. We also reserved an Airbnb for December near St Valery-sur-Somme, from Boxing Day for three nights. We're hoping the house, with a pellet burner, will be lovely and cosy!

I had a shower in the late afternoon, and we discovered, to our dismay, that we had a water leak into the kitchen. We have had this, on and off, ever since we moved into the house, but Keith was very worried when he saw it. This has prompted us to get the en-suite done as soon as we can. We don't want water bringing down the kitchen ceiling!

We almost postponed our supper of chicken and vegetable bake with cous cous, but we cooked it after all! I can't believe the weekend is over so soon. Both Sophie and I had a touch of the Sunday evening blues... oh well! We need to work to pay for all of our planned trips!

A day of celebration!

I had a much better night's sleep, and I was looking forward to today being a little cooler than of late. Today was Keith's and my wedding anniversary, and we were celebrating 34 years together! Where have the years gone? He was off to see Sileby play this afternoon, and Sophie and I had decided to return to Bletchley Park today, as the tickets we were given on our previous visit were annual passes. To celebrate our anniversary, we had booked a table at The Han in Market Harborough for this evening.

Sophie and I set off at about 10:30am and arrived about an hour later. The kindly man at the gate said the normal car parks were full, so we had to leave Olive in the car park we used last time and walk to the entrance. First up was coffee and something to eat before we started exploring. We had a look at the introductory exhibitions and then had a quick look in the gift shop, where Sophie bought a Christmas decoration and a coaster.

We ventured outside, and a very friendly volunteer had a chat with us and told us the best way to explore. We went to the house itself first and had a look around, but it was warm inside, so we didn't linger! We had been hoping that today would be a lot cooler, but the heat seemed to have built up inside the buildings, making them stuffy and hot.

The last time we had missed the garages, so we had a quick look at the motorcycles used for transporting messages around the country and an old car and ambulance.

I was fascinated by the motorcycle riders who had to negotiate routes without road signs (they had all been removed) and were forbidden from stopping.

About 10,000 people worked at Bletchley Park (not all at the same time!) and the history was fascinating. We decided to have an ice cream and then explore the huts. We both chose a flavour and sat in the shade of a tree to enjoy the ice creams. The ground was baked hard, and the clouds had parted to let the sun shine through.

We explored a couple of huts and then went to see a film about intelligence and the D-Day Landings.

A lot of the information about the codes and how they were broken was beyond us; I think it took a special breed of people with differently wired brains to work out how to break the code! We enjoyed an exhibition on AI and played a game, which was great as the building was air-conditioned!

By now, we were flagging, so we returned to the car for our little picnic of Keith's sausage rolls and a can of Aperol Spritz. Sophie added ice and a slice of orange, and we sat in the cool car to enjoy the food and drink.

We returned home via Olney and had a lovely journey. The countryside was looking parched, and even the trees seemed to be suffering now, with dried-up leaves scattering the ground in an early fall.

Back at home, we relaxed, and I fell asleep for almost 45 minutes, far longer than I wanted! Keith returned from seeing Sileby, and we left for Market Harborough at 6:00pm with the intention of having a drink at The Wine Shed.

Our usual car park was empty, and most of the shops were closed. We walked to The Wine Shed, but even before we walked up the little alleyway, we could tell the place was busy! They had no tables free, so we walked to Louisa's Place and had a drink there. I chose a non-alcoholic Mojito, Sophie had a Negroni Sbagliato, while Keth had a cloudy IPA.

We sat and chatted about Keith's birthday trip to Northumberland and then crossed the road to The Han. The restaurant was already pleasantly busy, and we were seated by the window. We ordered drinks and chose the Han Banquet, which consisted of various starters and main courses that you could choose from a list. This worked out better for us as we could include our favourites.

The food was delicious, and Sophie and I shared a bottle of Chilean Chardonnay to go with the food. We enjoyed the starters, crispy duck and pancakes, followed by four dishes. The food was excellent!

We were all too stuffed for dessert, so we paid the very reasonable bill (£117, the same as the pub the other night!) and walked back to the car. Market Harborough was a very different town at night than during the day, and several noisy groups of youngsters were about, so we wondered if there was a local nightclub?

Back at home, Sophie and I had a glass of Mallorcan Hierbas, and we watched television before it was time for bed. What an enjoyable day!

Shock and alarm!

Even though the heat was supposed to abate a little today, it still felt uncomfortably hot, especially at work. Was it because it had built up yesterday?

I found it hard going at work today; Sheila didn't let up at all, and we had a constant stream of people coming into the office. My old workmate, Sue, was most welcome, but the other extra bodies added to the heat! I will be a lot happier when I'm working on my own and can take a short break for lunch, as Sheila just powers on through! At one point, I wanted to scream, so I took myself off to the loo and texted Sophie as a way of letting off steam!

I could not wait for 4:00pm, and it was utter bliss to get into the car, switch on the aircon and head home for the weekend. As soon as Sophie came home, we finished off a bottle of Italian rosé and started watching a Netflix documentary about Charles Manson. The book I'm reading at the moment is loosely based on the Manson family, and we both found the documentary very interesting. 

As we were sitting watching, all of a sudden, both of our phones made a terrible shrieking noise, and we nearly fell off the sofa in shock! It was a notice from the government about not using disposable barbecues (they should have been banned years ago) or starting fires at the moment, which included fire pits, incinerators or fireworks. Surely, only a complete imbecile would do that at the moment, with all the fires that have happened lately? In Stourbridge, nineteen houses were affected by a wildfire which spread from a nearby golf course. Who in their right mind would have a naked flame in the open at the moment?

To calm our nerves, we opened a lovely, fruity bottle of Picpoul de Pinet and put the finishing touches to dinner, a very easy pizza/quiche and Caesar salad. No potato products tonight! As we were eating, we saw Milo sneak into the conservatory to nick some of the cats' biscuit, so we went outside with him. A little gaggle of boys were riding around the estate on their bikes, and they stopped to chat. We had spoken to two of them before (they are fairly new and have a cat called Roxy) and it was lovely to sit and chat with them. They were mostly talking to Sophie, and they were lovely and polite!

There was a delicious breeze wafting about outside, and it was bliss to feel a little cooler. When I went upstairs, the bedroom was gorgeously cool, as I think the wind direction had changed and it was coming from the north. Hooray! Is the heat over?