Forty-nine pints...

Keith and I left for work a bit earlier this morning, so he could get back home and call the GP Surgery at 8:00am. I faced another busy day at work and shared the office with Gina. Two members of staff were sitting outside, but that will all change soon when the balcony area will be used for classes and a group meeting, and the big tables and sofas will be stored elsewhere. We are in for a period of disruption as our dance studio and sports hall will be refurbished. It's good news for the centre, but I can see there being some noise and dust for us in the office!

As Keith had dropped me off, there were no issues with parking this afternoon, but I had a blood donation appointment at 4:30pm at a local school. Keith dropped me off, and Sophie said she would pick me up on her way home.

The nurse who initially screened me asked me lots of questions about the travel I'd done in the last six months, and I had to tell her I'd been to France (three times), Austria, Belgium and Germany. West Nile Virus is present in some of the areas, so she constantly checked my dates.

When it came time to take blood, she said she was a bit worried about a vein that branched off, so she sought advice from another nurse who expertly inserted the needle and started the donation process. I was all done within about twenty minutes, my forty-ninth pint!

Sophie texted me to say she was waiting outside, and after a quick cup of water and a Club biscuit, I went out to join her. We drove home in the dark and watched the end of a George Clark programme we'd started watching this morning. Sophie still had a headache this morning but now felt a lot better, and Keith had been to the doctor's and had seen a paramedic rather than a GP! He had another course of antibiotics, and we're praying this will cure him! The coughing is constant!

Mooney also seemed a little better and ate some treats I gave him. He still wasn't interested in a cat food pouch, but he wasn't sick again, so that was a relief. If he had been, it would have been a visit to the vets tomorrow!

Down in the dumps...

The weather is set to be windy and wet for the next couple of days, and with the darker nights, it was not a pleasant prospect. Those hot and sunny days of summer seemed a long time ago! Did we really moan that it was too hot?

Work passed very quickly today as I had so much to do. Keith hadn't gone shopping today, as the meal we were supposed to have had last Thursday was on the agenda for tonight! When I went out to the car park, I found a mini wedged almost up against my car, making it impossible to get in. I was furious that someone had parked so badly and thoughtlessly. My fear was that it was a customer having a swim, but when I went to reception, they recognised the car as belonging to a new member of staff who was sitting in her little nook where she sells memberships.

I asked her to move it, and she burbled on about the cars on either side of the space being right on the line. Mine wasn't, but if you can't park, go somewhere else! I then had to navigate out of the car park as a van had broken down and was being picked up by a recovery vehicle. I was mightily glad to get home!

This set the tone for the evening, unfortunately. Sophie came home with a bad headache, Keith's coughing is getting worse and driving everyone mad, and Mooney was sick three times. We were a very despondent little family tonight, and Sophie and I urged Keith to make another appointment at the GP surgery tomorrow.

Mooney was definitely not himself this evening, and when Sophie picked him up to say goodnight, he let out a series of little grunts, as if trying to tell us he felt poorly! We felt so sorry for him!

Meeting old friends!

Although the worst of the weather was behind us, it was still very windy today. It was sunny, however, and lovely to see blue skies after all the grey of recent days. We had a lazy start (the clocks went back last night), and at 10:30am I left to meet my colleagues from my old job. I had suggested the café at White's Farm Shop near Earls Barton, and Kathy was already there when I arrived. We hugged and went into the café, and we managed to grab a table for six to accommodate our little group!

Sheila, Jo, and Angela arrived shortly afterwards, followed by Sue, and then Denise. The atmosphere in the café was quite loud, and our chatter definitely added to it! We ordered our own drinks and some of us had a bite to eat, including me. I fancied a couple of crumpets with butter and jam, which were perfect!

We sat and nattered for over an hour, and said we'd definitely meet up again to catch up. Maybe somewhere a bit quieter next time, and for lunch! I said goodbye and had a look in the farm shop, selecting some squashes for Halloween decorations, a box of cheese biscuits, cheese and a tin of soup for my lunch at work next week.

I drove home, noticing small twigs and branches on the road, and a busy covering one half of my lane near Holcot. Storm Boelo was still causing mayhem! 

The afternoon was spent relaxing, and I read for a short time in the conservatory. Sophie and I played Scrabble in the early evening, and my daughter opened a bottle of Champagne that a friend had given her. It had a lovely, soft rose tinge and was delicious as an apéritif before our dinner of chicken stroganoff.

I think Sophie and I had a twinge of Sunday syndrome this evening. This weekend has sped by, but once Monday is over tomorrow, it's downhill again until Friday!

Storm Boelo

Sophie had a flu jab booked for this morning, and after she'd been vaccinated, we drove to Market Harborough. It had just started to rain, and we'd forgotten to take an umbrella with us! We parked as close to the town as we could, dropped off a parcel at the post office and grabbed two seats in the window at Just So Italian. The owner was back and made jokes with Sophie when she ordered our coffees and almond croissants!

It was lovely sitting in the warm café and watching the world go by. We had another coffee and split a chocolate twist before venturing out into the light wind and rain to go to Steffan's, where Sophie had sold one of her necklaces.

From the jewellers, we crossed the road to browse in Waterstones, where Sophie bought two books. As we emerged, we realised that the rain had become heavier, so we walked quickly to Duncan's, where we had a small tasting of two of his wines: a French white of a blend of grapes, including Sauvignon Blanc and an Italian red. We weren't keen on either, so we bought two bottles of Portuguese wine instead! It was lovely to chat with Duncan and Nick, and I popped a bag of Brittany crisps into the bag to munch on later at home. 

After a last visit to The Attic, we walked around the corner to The Wine Shed and asked for a table for a drink and some nibbles. I chose an Argentinian Malbec while Sophie had an Alsace Riesling. We ordered a plate of paté and bread as a light lunch and settled back to relax. The wine bar gradually filled up, but the service was a bit disappointing today. The normally attentive and lovely staff seemed to be preoccupied, and we just couldn't get their attention to order another drink. Sophie wanted a Negroni, but we gave up after twenty minutes of waiting, paid the bill at the bar and left. The drinks menus are never left on the table, which makes it difficult to order!

By now, it was raining hard, and we trundled back to Northamptonshire and headed for Kettering to see my Mum. We stayed and chatted, but she wasn't making a lot of sense today, as usual. It makes for quite an upsetting visit, as it's impossible to have a conversation with her, and the television didn't even work today. I have no idea what she does with it!

Back home, we decided to watch a film called The Substance early (it was a good job we did, as it was over two hours long) and postponed our planned meal for tonight. I don't think any of us fancied it! The film starred Demi Moore as an ageing fitness guru who's fired to make way for someone younger, and discovers a mysterious substance that splits her into two. The alter ego is young and beautiful, but not all goes to plan! It was one of the most gory films I've ever seen and definitely not for the faint-hearted! Sophie watched half of it behind her hands, and I couldn't bring myself to watch one of the violent scenes... Keith wondered what on earth we were watching! It'll certainly be one to remember!

Storm Austen

It's been a wild and woolly day today, with high winds and constant rain. Shiela popped in to say hello first thing, and then I got on with my work, trying to sort out some bookings and payroll issues. I was on my own in the office all day today, and at one point, when I looked out of the window, the rain was lashing down, and the wind was blowing leaves about like snow.

Keith picked me up, and we headed home to start the weekend. He'd been to the doctor's today about his cough and was given a course of antibiotics. It's been a while since he suffered from a cough and cold, but he's well and truly caught one this autumn!

He wasn't out with John this evening, and Sophie and I watched Atonement, starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. I had seen it before, a long time ago, and Sophie has just finished the book. I was disappointed to learn that none of the scenes was filmed in France, and the beach location was Redcar in Yorkshire! It was a tad depressing for a Friday night, but a good film nonetheless!

All by myself!

I drove myself to work this morning and enjoyed a Greggs breakfast as usual. I was in the office on my own for most of the day, and I had a telephone chat with my manager, Dan, who seemed to be on the mend. This was a huge relief, and I hope he'll return soon, but not until he's fully better. 

At 3:00pm, Liam came in, and my heart sank, but he only left his stuff in the office while he had a meeting, so I was spared the pen clicking! It was great to escape at 4:00pm and go home to relax. One more day and then it's the weekend, not that I'm wishing my life away, of course!

The UK is bracing itself for two storms over the coming days: Storm Austen tomorrow, which will affect mainly the south and south-west of the country, and Boelo from Saturday, hitting Northern Ireland, the north of England and Scotland. The storm season has begun with a bang!

Plans finalised!

Keith went to Tesco this morning to do a quick shop, and I waved Sophie off to work. While Keith was out, I made a start on the jobs I needed to get done today... and there were a few! We are still unpacking from the weekend! When he returned, we had a light breakfast and got ready to go to Riverside for an appointment with Jamie at Wickes.

The weather today has been atrocious, with constant rain and heavy, leaden skies. As we neared Riverside, it became busier, and there was a queue to get onto the retail park, which was unusual. As the stores came into sight, I saw a huge Percy Pig and my heart sank... today looked like it was the opening of the new M&S Foodhall. No wonder the traffic was so heavy! I doubted very much we'd get parked, but amazingly we did, and we sloshed our way across the car park to Wickes, a little early for our appointment, but determined to sort out the en-suite today!

We had a wander around the bathroom displays, and I spotted one I hadn't seen before, which I immediately liked the look of:

I liked the taps, and the handle on the loo was very similar to what we used to have in the house when we first moved in. When we saw Jamie, I showed him the sink and loo and said we had changed our minds about moving the door and had decided to have a smaller shower, but one that was still bigger than the one we have now.

We sat and thrashed out the design, and looked at tiles, picking a patterned tile for the floor and a plain white subway tile for the walls. We have even moved the sink to another place to give us more room for a slightly bigger shower.

I thought this would match the chrome accessories

New layout

I could then paint the upper areas of the walls in green matching the loo seat. Jamie showed me photos of two rooms in his house, and I was astounded! They were gorgeous! He certainly knew what he was talking about!

Keith looked very bored today, and I began to think it would have been better to do this with Sophie! We finally finished the plan, and I was very happy with the result. Hooray! Keith paid the 10% deposit, and we shook hands with Jamie. It was done!

We thought we only had three hours of parking on Riverside, but it was four, so we drove down to Halfords, and I bought two new number plates with my own person registration on them. I've had to retain the registration plate for the last two years since selling the Audi, so it was always the plan to put them on my next car. I was thrilled!

Before going home, we went to Costa for a cup of tea and something to eat as we hadn't had any lunch. I was so pleased with what we'd achieved today and relieved that we'd finally made a decision on the en-suite. If it gets done before Christmas, it'll be great, but it's not urgent.

Back at home, I vacuumed and lit our little battery-powered tea lights to make the house cosy. When Sophie came home, I explained our change of direction with the ensuite, as Sophie thought we were going to have green tiles on the wall. I'm just hoping she will like the end result!