April 2000
My diary entry for this month started with a confession that I'd almost abandoned keeping up to date with what was happening in my life so soon after starting and that I couldn't remember much of what happened at all! Michael seemed to have suffered with health during April: his rash hadn't disappeared and he developed a cough that had to be treated with antibiotics and an inhaler.
Sophie's birthday was celebrated on the 5th, and also on the Sunday before with the Big Nans. On her birthday I decorated a table in the party area with Barbie napkins, plates and cups and tied balloons to the chair. She had a lot of presents (a pushchair for her dolls from us) and loads of cards.
On the 12th April, Mum, Dad, Polly and I went to Wrexham to see a company called SPI who had designed a new playframe for work. The lease had been agreed at long last and we were able to go ahead with our plans. The trip to Wrexham was very good, despite an unsettling telephone call to Keith when I could hear Michael screaming in the background.
Our little cottage was put on the market on the 16th April with Jackson Grundy and we hoped that it would sell quickly!
Easter was late that year, at the end of April, and we were very busy at work. It was our busiest Easter yet as the weather was horrible.
After Easter we had a spate of viewings on the house, but no offers. The house had never been so clean!
The month ended on a good note at a friend's house where we drank Italian wines and we also took possession of a new company car - a Peugeot 406 Rapier - which was lovely.
May 2000
Our plans continued with the refurbishment at work and we decided to close from the 7th to the 28th July to install the new play area.
In the middle of May relations from Canada arrived to stay with Mum and Dad. They spent two nights with my parents and we all went to the Huntshouse restaurant in Kilsby on the 12th May. We had a delicious meal with lots of gossip and laughter. Kathryn, a Nursery Nurse from our Nursery, came to baby-sit and Michael looked at her like she was a vampire!
On the 19th May I had to go a friend's Hen Night in town, despite not wanting to go at all. Hen Nights were never my thing! During the day Mum and I drove down to Kent to pick up the Nans as she and Dad were off to a villa in Mallorca on the 20th May.
My Hen Night experience was not a pleasant one so at 9.30pm I disappeared to the loos and asked Keith to call me to say I had to go home. What a naughty thing to do! Lynda and I went to the Rice Bowl for a Chinese meal instead!
I started Michael on solid food in May. He enjoyed some yoghurt and baby rice with fruit. At first he screwed up his face but then started to kick his legs madly whenever he saw the pot of food!
I made a note of his achievements so far:
He could - smile, laugh, coo, kick his legs like a footballer, roll onto his side, hold his head up completely. hold onto his toes ("If all else fails, at least I've got my toes"), follow you with his eyes around the room, hold tightly onto a rattle or his dummy, sleep all night until about 6am, bite his bib, say "hello" and "Mummy".
He loved to - kick his covers off, have his nappy changed, kick you, headbutt you, play with his musical piano and his toys, play "Rockets!" with Grandad, watch television, kick his legs in the bath and grab Mummy's hair.
He absolutely adored Sophie, but that was no surprise!
He hated - being dressed, having his nose wiped, being put in his car-seat and waiting for a bottle to be warmed up even though he refused to drink it cold.
My parents were away so I had a busy week. Keith helped out and the Nans were a great support team. My parents returned on the 27th May and we had a busy Bank Holiday weekend with two potential buyers looking at the house. One woman was very interested and made an offer of the full asking price. We accepted!
Later that week Keith and I went to see Gwen and John (his sister and brother-in-law) in the North-East. Gwen wasn't very well and her children, Neville and Janet, also come around to see us. We stopped at a hotel in Piercebridge on the way home and were entertained by the owners who were very much like the couple from Fawlty Towers!
June 2000
I started the month by viewing a bungalow in Hannington with my mum but it was horrible. It was small and dark and the woman selling it obviously hadn't ever watched "The House Doctor" (my source of inspiration at the time). The estate agent never showed up either, which made things worse.
Michael was now adept at putting his toes in his mouth (I bet he wishes he could do that now!).
On Sunday 4th June we were burgled at work. I had to go and sort it out on my own (I don't say why here, perhaps Mum and Dad were away again?). Thankfully, Polly came in and sat with me while I waited for the door to be boarded up otherwise I would have been terrified.
The week of the 5th-9th June was not a good one. We had problems with not only customers at work, but financial woes as well and the sale of our house fell through.
On the Tuesday we were forced to call the police at work as a woman was threatening to come and smash the premises up...
With the rest of the Wine Club members, we'd booked a table at The Huntshouse restaurant but one couple called and cancelled, saying that one of them was ill after a disastrous holiday in Italy.
At work, we had meetings with both our Bank Manager and our Accountant and the figures looked good with a profit expected the following year. We kept our fingers crossed that we would get the loan for the refurbishment.
On the 13 June we drove to Birmingham to see Santana in concert at the NEC. We left home early as we'd booked a table in the Hospitality suite and were delighted to find we had a special parking place reserved as well!
We had a wonderful meal with wine and enjoyed seeing everyone arrive for the concert. I decided to call Keith to make sure everyone was fine at home and he told me that another couple phoned and cancelled for the meal at the restaurant as one of them had the flu...
This bad news made us very angry and worried that we'd done something to upset them. Dad recalled an incident with one of the couples' grandsons but it was such a minor disagreement that we refused to believe that was the cause of the cancellations.
We tried to forget about the problems with the meal and we thoroughly enjoyed the concert. They played a lot of songs from their new album but they did include Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va. The NEC was full and the atmosphere was great.
During this month Sophie became naughtier and naughtier - crying at the slightest thing and giving me lots of cheek. It reached a point on a Friday morning when I felt I was going mad with her so Mum took me to Milton Keynes for some shopping and I was able to relax for a bit.
Our neighbours in Walgrave, Pat and David, were mystified by the other couples' cancellations as much as us but we were all still looking forward to going out and enjoying a meal. Keith took delivery of our transport for the evening - an ancient minibus - and we discovered that it needed a good clean and smelled a bit...
On the night of the meal, Kathryn arrived to take care of the children, but Michael howled when she held him, which caused me to have a major stress about leaving my little baby, even though she was a great baby-sitter and a qualified Nursery Nurse.
We had a great night at The Huntshouse restaurant. We arrived a little late but they'd reserved a table for us by the window for our pre-dinner drinks and didn't mind our reduced numbers. It was a beautiful summer's evening and there were lots of other people eating and drinking. We chose the wine and Dad talked about his theory of why the two other couples had cancelled.
The meal was delicious. I enjoyed Parmesan Choux rings with chicken livers followed by broccoli soup and then a pork tenderloin stuffed with pancetta and spinach. We had a Semillon Chardonnay from Australia to start followed by a Beaune Villages and an Australian Merlot. The wines complemented the food beautifully.
The conversation never flagged but Ian (the owner) didn't go through the menu like he normally used to...maybe he was a bit overwhelmed by us all (there were eight of us!).
Dessert was gorgeous - a Tiramisu tart followed by coffee and mints at the table. We were the last party to leave and John and Sarah and Pat and David came back to our house for more coffee, which woke the children who did their own bit of entertaining!
On Sunday morning I awoke with a hangover, we had a viewing scheduled for 11am and the mini-bus had to be returned...
The viewing turned out to be a waste of time and in the afternoon it grew very hot, reaching 34c. Mum and I went to the garden centre but Sophie fell asleep in the car so we returned home. She ended up staying with my mum in the afternoon while I had a relaxing time watching television with Michael.
In the evening we went to the pub for a drink and then I cooked steak for dinner as it was Father's Day. Sophie stayed the night at Mum's house.
On Monday 19th June the builders started at work and our new office began to take shape. The bank had agreed our loan but this only made us worry more! During the course of the morning someone managed to steal a whole freezer-full of ice-creams. We still don't know how it happened. It was very hot at work and we started contacting air-conditioning firms for quotes.
On Tuesday work began on the male toilets as they were going to be split into two, with one half being converted into the ladies' loos.
On Wednesday we had yet another viewing so I had to go home and clean the house again.
We had a small crisis at the end of the week when the bank refused to release the funds for the loan until we'd signed the new lease. This should have been done months ago and our Solicitor had been sitting on the paperwork since the 29th March. Understandably my Dad was not happy as this meant that SPI wouldn't start actual manufacture of the play equipment until the bank had guaranteed the money. Angry letters were sent back and forth until we received an assurance that everything would be completed.
As well as the building works to the interior, we also had a team of gardeners rip out all the bushes in front of the Nursery to make way for a small outdoor play area. The intense heat dissipated by the end of the week and it turned cooler and showery.
On Saturday 24th June Mum and I took the kiddies strawberry picking near Geddington. It was cold and windy but we had a great time and picked three punnets full of fruit. We then drove over to Podington garden centre where I bought some geraniums for my window boxes. It was much cooler today - 14c - and we had a lovely relaxing afternoon with no stress or hassle.
In the evening Mum and Dad came around for dinner and Keith insisted on cooking. He made celery and Stilton soup, Normandy pork with vegetables and rhubarb and ginger Fool. It was all delicious and much appreciated by all of us. I served a South African Semillon and a Pinot Noir from Chile (Cono Sur). We enjoyed a lovely evening and both children behaved impeccably!
Sunday was perfect for barbecuing and I finished off the Pinot Noir.
Back at work, the tension increased with more financial problems and SPI demanding payment by the 3rd July. More angry letters were sent between us and them but thankfully all was resolved and a sensible schedule of payment was arranged. The lease still hadn't been signed though...
Work continued slowly with new party rooms being built and the refurbished toilets finished. We're pleased with the progress but the problem with the lease still hung over us like a grey cloud.
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