A lovely long walk and another baby!

Keith and I went for a great long walk this morning - we were out for about two hours and enjoyed the scenery and the peace and quiet! We went our normal route over the fields but added a little bit in to the usual path, skirting one large meadow that overlooks Walgrave.

There was an abundance of flowers and blossom, lots of birds and insects but we didn't see any rabbits or hares like we sometimes do. We didn't even see any fish in the stream at the bottom of the hill which was a shame. Although the sun never came out, it was dry and breezy and perfect, in my opinion, for walking. We stopped off for a short while in the cemetery and said hello to a few old friends who have sadly passed away. Right next to the graveyard was a field of sheep, the lambs having a great time while their shorn mothers nibbled the new grass.

Back home we checked on a baby starling that had somehow managed to get itself into next door's meter box! Archie knew exactly where it was and we managed to get it out and put it into one of the cat baskets before we left for our walk. When we got back the poor little thing was still huddled in a corner but he was alive. I looked up the RSPB site on the internet and they advised leaving fledglings where they were found so we put it in the guttering right under the nest, in the hope a parent will find it and rescue it.

 The weather has been disappointing today. I was hoping to be able to sit in the garden with a cold beer and enjoy the sun but we haven't seen it all day and it's been overcast and on the chilly side. At least we haven't had any rain!

New babies!

Today Mum, Sophie and I went off to Kent to see Nan. We had lunch and did some shopping at Bluewater which is a huge retail outlet based in an old chalk quarry. It has every type of shop you can imagine and we really must try and get there for the whole day. Sophie dragged me into River Island but I did manage a quick peek in Waterstones.

I'm not really a huge fan of shopping although I do love buying things for the house and garden, the children and books. It's always too hot for me, too crowded and sometimes the choice can be bewildering!

We had a very good journey home and for once there wasn't a queue at the Dartford tunnel! Back home, with a stiff drink in my hand, we wandered around the garden and I noticed that we have two baby vines now and three baby tomato plants!

Wet and dreary!

Well, the weather forecast has certainly been right today. I awoke (again!) at 4am and got up to watch a film until I felt sleepy again. The sky at that time was overcast but when I woke up again later it was raining. After a rushed breakfast (grrr!) I took Sophie and Vicky into a soggy Northampton town and then returned home to await Sophie's call to pick them up. We had our boiler serviced today which I've been asking Keith to get sorted for ages. The last thing we want is for or boiler to go kaput!! And in fact we might turn the heating back on today, it's so chilly!

I noticed today we have a baby vine! And it looks like another is about to emerge so that's good news. It would be lovely to grow a vine to maturity and have some grapes from it! A few more would be better to enable us to have a Chateau Janie! We also have two tomato plants growing and I think I'm getting the bug for home grown fruit and veg!

Friday 28 May

I'm really glad this week is over - it has been a tad stressful at work. The dry and sunny weather has affected us but we're hoping that next week's half-term will be busy and maybe we might even move on with the lease. I can hope, can't I?

So, the Bank Holiday weekend is upon us and I have a few things planned. Tomorrow Sophie is off to town with a friend and I'm being taxi (as usual). On Sunday we're planning to go to Kent to see nan with my mum, which will probably be the best day, weather-wise, of the weekend!

Bird watching...

We watched a programme last week about nature in the city which was fascinating, but over the last few days I've realised that wildlife is truly everywhere. I put some cooked potatoes down for the crows in our car park today and was amazed to see one of them carrying a huge piece over to our grassy area and then hide it under some moss for later.

Back home, we have some starlings nesting under the eaves of our neighbour's house and it was amazing to see the mother (or maybe father) starling go off to get more food and then return to an insistence squawking!

It's easy to go about our daily lives without giving a thought for nature all around us, but it really is rewarding to just stop and listen for a few moments and see what's going on under our noses!

A little weary...

Last night, or rather this morning, I awoke at 3am and found it almost impossible to get back to sleep. I don't think the meal we had at the pub helped, but I lay there listening to all the night sounds and wondered what on earth was going on in our back garden. Shortly before 4am, Keith thought he heard something as well so went to investigate downstairs, but everything was OK. I did manage to go back to sleep, but woke up heavy headed and tired, before I'd even started the day.

Keith came into work and did a lot of the mowing while I grappled with the payroll. It was lunchtime by the time I finished all the paperwork and then I went out and swept some of the car-park and fed our two resident crows who are always hovering about on the lookout for food. I threw some biscuits down for them and watched them as they watched me. Needless to say, when I went back into the building and then came out again, all the biscuits had gone...

We went to the garden centre, had lunch (two very over-priced sandwiches) and then I bought some geraniums, verbena and begonias for the garden. We arrived back at work shortly before 3pm and I managed to get them all planted before I went to pick Sophie up from school.

Back home, I did some more gardening and then had a long soak in the bath, trying very hard not to fall asleep!

PS...we have a feeling we know what the noise was all about last night. Archie wouldn't eat anything this morning and Keith thought he was a bit off-colour. It wasn't until he got home this afternoon and went into the garden that he discovered a dead bird under our table. We're not sure what it is but it has talons and a curved beak, almost as if it's a bird of prey. It was picked clean and not a scrap of meat remained. No wonder he didn't want any breakfast this morning!

Tuesday 25 May

Well, yesterday was frustrating. Our lease has still not been signed and now the Landlord wants us to pay his surveyor to check that whatever works we do are correct and acceptable. Understandably, we told them to go take a running jump as their surveyor could constantly say things weren't right and to have them done again. And why should we pay their costs? This is dragging on interminably and is getting us all down. There is such a lot of things to be done here and we're just stuck in limbo without any progress at all.

We did manage to get some outdoor furniture for the garden, though! Mum and I went to Wilkinson's and bought eight chairs and two tables and had some fun trying to find their loading bay. I'm sure we provided some entertainment for security as we wandered up and down the service road trying to identify which door was Wilkinson's!!

After such a disagreeable day, we went to the Royal Oak for dinner and it was packed! We had a delicious meal - cod for hubby and I, Thai green curry for Sophie and steak and ale pie for Mikey. It made a nice end to a very frustrating day!

Hot and sticky

Today has not been pleasant. We had a large school group in first thing and one of the buses hit our main entrance gate, breaking two of the coach windows and showering the children with broken glass. Luckily none of the children were hurt but it shook us all up. We've no idea how the bus driver managed it seeing as we get huge lorries turning around in our car park and numerous coaches have driven in with no problems over the years.

For the next few hours the noise and mess was unbelievable and when they left at 1.30pm we had to clear it all up - not the best of days to do it as it was registering 31 degrees centigrade in the car park! Our building is incredibly hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter and we really think our landlord should put some sort of insulation in to solve the problem...but I can't ever see this happening!

It was lovely to get home, have a cold drink and relax!

What a scorcher!!

Today has been hot! It's been a day of doing very little, not moving very far and enjoying the odd glass or two of Stella Artois!

The day started with coffee in the garden and we really didn't leave it, except to go to the nearest shop to stock up on supplies of cold drinks. Dinner tonight will be cold turkey, salad and new potatoes but I have smelt the odd BBQ in the air today - and the sound of children having fun in the sun.

It's been perfect!

Freedom

Today we let Mikey bike into the village on his own. We had to do it, and if we'd done it last weekend he could have cycled home from the pub on his own last night rather than me coming to pick him up. Sophie was working for us today so we had a lovely few hours sitting in the garden in the peace and quiet. I got what I wanted then! Eventually!

Today has been beautiful - not a cloud in the sky and about 25c. Keith made another huge pot of tomato soup which we had for dinner with rolls and croutons. It was delicious and made for a perfect supper after the heat of the day when we really didn't feel like cooking a large meal, or even having a BBQ. I have a feeling that, this weekend, a BBQ cloud will cover the UK, rather than a volcanic ash cloud!

Solitude

I'm never on my own. The last time I had any time to myself was last December when Keith took Sophie to the school concert to see Mikey in his play. I'd been the night before with mum and it was bliss to just sit and watch something on TV (Kirsty Allsop if I remember rightly) and not have someone go off into a grouch because they wanted to watch something or constantly interrupt to ask for something to eat, drink, help with homework or generally be an irritant.

Tonight Sophie is off to a friend's for a sleepover and I hinted that Michael might like to go to the pub with Keith and play in the garden or call for one of his friends who live in the village. I'd just settled down to watch a Swedish film (no...not one of those!) on Sky Anytime and the phone rang. Apparently Mikey was bored and wanted to come home...

As he was on his bike, I had to manoeuvre my car out of the driveway, get Keith's out (which is an estate) and drive off to the village, muttering swear words as I went. At the pub, the whole village was out to watch me do a hundred point turn in the car park and then struggle to get the blasted bike in the back. I think that
everyone who was sitting outside merrily having a drink in the evening sunshine got the impression that I was seriously p****d off...

Back home, I settled back to watch the film and was interrupted twice by Mikey firing questions at me about the computer...GRRR!

Don't get me wrong...I would hate to be on my own all the time, bearing in mind it will happen one day, but is a couple of hours too much to ask for? To be able to watch what I want, or play music really loudly, or just sit in the silence and read? Oh well...

One good thing though...tonight Keith will repair to Sophie's bed and we'll both get a good night's sleep!!!

Thursday 20 May

This week has gone alarmingly fast again. I know I keep harping on about this, but it really is frightening. No sooner is Monday over than it's Friday. I'm sure all this time goes off somewhere, like a time-bank, and then it comes back when you least want it. I watched Stephen Hawking's Universe last Sunday night and I found it fascinating because it dealt with time-travel. He said that time is affected by dense matter and that the satellites which orbit the earth have a fractionally different time than us down on earth. They are ever so slightly faster. Maybe, without me knowing, I'm travellling in a satellite...

Yesterday was busy (as always) and hot. Not much happened at work (not much is happening with the lease as yet) but we did walk around and plan the improvements we want to make to make the business look a little more attractive to customers. Let's hope they will all come to fruition.

In the evening I went to see my friend Lynda who lives in Cogenhoe. I'll give a prize to anyone who can tell me how it's pronounced correctly... Another friend, Claire, was also there and we had a pleasant time eating a delicious Chinese takeaway and catching up. One thing we discussed was separate bedrooms for husbands and wives. I'm a huge fan of this as I really don't think it's natural for two human beings to sleep together every night. Luckily we have a super-king bed and if I stretch out my arm I can hardly touch Keith which suits me just fine! I'm after an Emperor bed which is supposed to be 7ft wide... Poor Claire has a double and had a bad night's sleep because she was kept awake by her husband who had a cold. "Get another bed!" I cried and after a cuddle with hubby, creep out to your own bed to sleep in peace! Brilliant!!!

Blood, sweat but no tears.

It's been a hard day! Keith and I mowed the Nursery gardens and strimmed the edges and then tackled the large piece of lawn that borders the entrance which was totally overgrown and covered in dead leaves and fallen branches. We filled six black bags full of garden rubbish and there's still more to do. It was very warm in the sun and by 3pm we'd both had enough! We enjoyed it though and it was great to see the difference we'd made in a short time.

I picked up Sophie from school, drove home and had a quick bath before going to give blood. This time I had a man strike up a conversation with me which I didn't mind, but I was rather bemused! He was perfectly pleasant and I learnt all about his holidays, his plans to be in Aberdeen next week and his wife nagging him about a holiday this year!

It was great to get home, have a drink and relax after the strenuous day!

Walking

Mum and I are trying to go for a walk every day to get some exercise and fresh air. We walked into Moulton today to buy a paper from the newsagents and it was an ideal excuse to peer into gardens and look at what people had put out in their recycling boxes...

I find it fascinating how some people really lavish care and attention on their gardens while others just neglect them (or maybe aren't able to look after them...don't be bitchy!) We saw some beautiful plants but I just know that next time at the garden centre we won't be able to find them! It was a lovely walk, the clouds grew very stormy overhead but we didn't get any rain, just lots of fluffy things floating in the air and greenfly! There's always a downside to the warmer weather!

Another Monday!

I'm not keen on Mondays. They're always too much hard work and today was no exception so I was glad to see that we have a school in to visit next week and the week after that is a Bank Holiday! I do like those!

We scrubbed the party room floors, washed yet more balls and I swept and picked up litter in the car park. It was pleasantly warm today and when I got home Keith and I had a stroll around the garden and sat in the sun for a while. It was lovely. It was just a brief period of calm before we all have to rush around later today!

It wasn't me!

Ever since yesterday morning I've been dreaming of winning the Euromillions. I didn't check until a few minutes ago, when the happy dream was dashed! But never mind! Would I really want to win that amount of money? I love my house and especially my garden, so I wouldn't sell it. But I would move, so what would I do with this house? And would I really want people looking at me and seeing all that money rather than me? And what if I gave some people money, and not others? Hmmm! The second prize was about £200,000 and that would be perfect! Maybe next week!

Anyway...I've had a lovely weekend and most of it has been spent at home and in the garden. We went out with mum this afternoon and I bought a beautiful geranium, a new hanging basket and a lovely basket thing with a candle for the table in the gravel garden. It was a good job I didn't order the gorgeous outdoor table for eight, complete with gazebo, just in case the winner was me!!

Earlier today I went out with Sophie and took some photos. I've fallen badly behind with the photos and the blog so it was catch-up day today. I also managed to get one of Jake!

I have to say the countryside is looking at its most beautiful at the moment. Why can't it be Spring all year round? The fields are ablaze with yellow rapeseed and everything is blossoming and bursting into life.

We had roast turkey planned for dinner but we're still all stuffed from breakfast so we're having turkey baps! I might go on the Buddies diet! One meal a day is all you need!

Breakfast Buddies

Another late start, this time for Keith as well! It's lovely to have a lie-in but it does eat into the day. We went out for breakfast this morning to Buddies which is an American diner and the food is very good. It was a great chance to talk about our trip to Florida next April which we booked yesterday. I'm really hoping Keith will enjoy himself as he's never been to the US before and he may find it a bit overwhelming! I think it's about time he experienced the country, though, and I defy him not to enjoy himself in Florida. Let's hope it will connect him to his inner child, as it did with me last year!

Today the weather has been a little cloudier but no rain as yet. This afternoon we have plans to go out with mum to the garden centre ("Not again!" as Sophie said!) but I won't be eating cake. Not after the breakfast I had, anyway!

Saturday 15 May

Today was lovely - very relaxed and indulgent. I woke up very late and then Keith and I pottered about the garden in the morning and moved a few plants. I must say I'm loving the garden at the moment. Everything is looking lovely and in the lurrvvvve seat we are completely hidden which is great. We sat down there with a cup of coffee and it was heaven.

Early evening we drove down to the pub for a quick drink while the children stayed at home. As always, there was a lovely atmosphere as some of the locals were in and there was a lot of banter with Ian, the Landlord. We've been going there 22 years now so we have lots of memories. Ian told us he'd been in for 8 years as we couldn't remember - the years have flown by!

Gone AWOL!

Ooops! I feel very guilty I haven't written the blog since Thursday! Anyway...here goes!

Friday 14 May

A normal day at work, but very busy for me as I have loads to do at the moment so my desk is normally covered in paper and "to do" lists - it's the only way I can remember the things I need to do! Sue came around for a drink in the evening. She's still off alcohol so it was another bottle of Schloer for her and a vodka and ginger ale for me. It was a nice end to a week that has gone amazingly quickly!

A spot of shopping

I'm not keen on Milton Keynes on a Saturday but late night shopping on a Thursday is much more acceptable! Three generations (Nan, mum and daughter) drove off after work and did a spot of quick shopping, and it was lovely and quiet. I desperately needed some new bras so I made a bee-line for M&S and was astounded by the amount of choice! Even Sophie, who just wanted a plain bra, couldn't believe what there was on offer! Push-up, balcony, underwired, support, teeshirt, minimiser, multi-way! It's enough to make your head spin and I do wonder sometimes if we have too much choice. I dread to think of the amount of capital that's tied up in M&S stock!

It's been a beautiful day today, but still on the chilly side. This week has flown by again. I can't believe it's Friday tomorrow again and the weekend will be upon us.

I went into a travel agent for the first time in years today to see about our planned holiday in Florida next year. I was worried that Virgin weren't showing any available flights for next April (Easter) and soon found out...they're fully booked already! We looked at villas with Thomson so I'll do a bit of research and then we'll book...if there's anything left!

Dodging the showers...

As usual, on a Wednesday, Keith came into work with me and between us we tidied up our garden area and then moved onto the grass around the edges of the car park. We'd just finished the garden when the heavens opened which was a pain!

We were very busy at work today which was good! In all the 16 years we've been running the business, I'll never understand why some days we're so busy and others we're not. It's almost as if everyone gets together and picks us to visit!

By the time I got home the rain had stopped and it was a beautiful, if chilly, evening. I planted my tomato plant seeds (I'm into this grow your own now!) and then it was cards and drinkies in the conservatory. Bliss!

Full of hope...

Let's hope we can make this country into the Great it used to be. For me anyway, some great news tonight.

It's been a busy day today and we went into a huge mess at work after the men cleaned last night. I was still vacuuming when customers were coming in at 9.30am! After the clean-up, I drove over to Broughton to take JH02JLH for her MOT. I met Keith at the garage and he came back to work with me to help me move one of the bouncy castles as it had moved sideways.

The rest of the day was busy and I managed to get a lot of work done. Mum and Dad gave me a lift home and then we went to pick up the car, calling into mum and dad's for a drink on the way home. It was a very relaxing and pleasant way to spend an hour!

Clean balls!

It was a day of intense cleaning at work today with our ballponds cleaned and all the girders and lights above the play area dusted which was lovely to see as they hadn't been washed properly for sixteen years!

The weather today has been cold and windy - not like I expected May to be at all. Tonight they've even forecast a frost and snow in Scotland! Brrrr!

Chilling out!

Yesterday was a washout - cold, wet and windy and perfect for doing very little which is what we all did! It was so chilly that we put the fire on in the living room which is not the best thing to happen in May. The political arguments are still rumbling on and Gordon Brown is refusing to step down as Prime Minister despite almost 70% of people wanting him to go (Source: Mail on Sunday!).

Today has been much better weather and most of the day has been spent pottering about and putting in new bedding plants that I bought in B&Q Kettering. They were amazing value and I almost ran out of pots and tubs to put them in! The garden has really sprung to life now and the long wait's been worth it to see everything flowering and coming to life.

 On the way back from B&Q I stopped at mum's for a coffee and we sat in the conservatory and had a good chat. We were joined by Jake who loved all the attention I was giving him. I really must try and get a photo of him to post on here.

Back home I pottered some more and sat on the lurrvvve seat to survey my hard work. It's amazing how the garden survives after the long hard winter we had. I know we lost a few plants, but the majority of them are all flourishing now and I love sitting out there and just having a few minutes of peace and quiet!

Interesting times

We certainly live in interesting times and 2010 is shaping up to be an unusual year already. I awoke this morning to predictions of a Hung Parliament with the Conservatives having the majority of seats but not as much of a majority as they need to form a parliament. By the time I was preparing to leave work, David Cameron was discussing a coalition with the Lib Dems so the next few days will be very interesting indeed!

Sue came around for a drink tonight and brought a tray of goodies with her which was wonderful. We had raw carrots and peppers, olives, feta cheese and two dips. They went very well with the lime and chutney poppadums I bought in Tesco. We had a good chat as always and put the world to rights!

Election Day

So, the day has finally arrived and Britain goes to the polls. We went to vote this evening and had a lovely stroll into the village to cast our votes. We'd planned to have a sneaky drink in the pub on the way home, but it was closed! I think they may have missed out on an opportunity there!

Today has been busy (a lot of schools were closed for polling), but not nearly as stressful as yesterday. The weather, so grey and horrible this morning, changed as I was driving home, to a lovely sunny evening. 

Tonight I plan to stay up until at least midnight to see what happens.. I'm praying that the future of this country will be brighter and I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing for less crime, lower taxes and rewards for those of us who work hard and contribute to society...somehow I fear, though, that we'll all have to scale a few hurdles before these wishes come true.

New phone!

The curse of Wednesday has struck again...I was at work a full hour before I actually got down to anything because I had a constant trail of staff popping in and out of the office and treating me as if I was a glorified agony aunt. It's my fault...I should have told them to b****r off! Keith arrived as I was flying around trying to get everything ready and he wisely stayed out of the way!

Later in the day we tried to get the lawnmower to work so Keith could cut the grass in our garden area, but of course it refused to work. We tried everything (and even added some petrol) but no...it went on strike. It was soooo frustrating!

But then machines have been playing up all day. My new Vodafone 360 phone arrived yesterday and it's giving me the runaround already.

My old phone was wonderful - easy to use, light, smallish and I had no problems until recently when it started to call random people at 3am in the morning...this thing has a load of "apps" and is able to group all my contacts together in one place! How wonderful!

The plant murderer strikes again!

Well, yesterday ended on the same dramatic note as it started. I'd just gone off to sleep when the phone rang at 10.45pm...we'd been broken into again. I phoned mum and dad who said they'd be fine going in, but there was no way I was going back to sleep. I went downstairs and saw the end of a Spanish film I'd started watching on Friday and they called me at 11.15pm to say there'd been damage to the games machines and an outside door.

This morning we were all in by 8am and clearing up the mess. All day I've been thinking it's Monday so it was a shock when we had customers coming in at 9.30am!

Most of the day was spent contacting the insurance company and getting someone to come out and fix the door until we can get it replaced. The burglars had peeled back the steel casing to gain entry and we watched them on CCTV as they made their way around the play area with torches.

Back at home, I planted my new periwinkle and sowed my baby vine seeds. They'll sit nice and comfortably in the conservatory until they're well grown and able to go out into the garden. If all of them grow, then I'll have a vineyard!

Keith decided to crop the top of our Eucalyptus tree but managed to snap off a whole branch by mistake...I wasn't very happy, but to be honest it lets more light into the garden and you can hardly see where the branch had been...I think this will be the last time I let him loose in the garden!!

April showers...in May!

Today has been a real mixed bag, weather wise. We've had sunshine, rain and hail and lots of wind! Despite the showers, I managed to get all my washing dry on the line which was lovely. I love the air dried smell of clean sheets.

Our Bank Holiday Monday started off with a bit of drama. Sophie had a nose bleed but it just wouldn't stop, even though we told her to sit quietly. After a while, and with it still gushing from her nose, she started to panic (and I must admit I did as well). Keith, ever calm and controlled, made her lie down flat and keep still and of course it stopped, but there was blood everywhere! On the cloakroom floor, all over her top, all over her face (she looked like she'd been beaten up) and bloody tissues everywhere! Both Sophie and Michael have colds at the moment, so they're going through loo roll like nobody's business and I'm finding them on every surface...

After the drama was over, I spent the morning doing housework and I soaked some tiny vine seeds that Sue gave me for Christmas. In a couple of days, I'll sow them and then hopefully have some baby vines which I'll plant into bigger pots. Who knows? One day I may have Chateau Janie! Keith put up my new lizard and plant holder in the garden and they look very good!

In the afternoon we made another trip to the garden centre with mum and I bought a periwinkle for the empty border. The place was heaving with people so it looks like everyone had the same idea!

More plants!

The weather turned on us today and we awoke to grey skies and a cold wind. Last night we had thunder and lightening and extremely heavy rain but the gardens do need it so I'm not complaining.

We had to go and buy Michael some new shoes today so we went to McDonald's for breakfast (I have the porridge which is lovely) and then we drove to Brantano's in Corby which has become a bit of a tradition! Sophie chose two pairs and we had Michael's feet measured. Luckily they were still a size 6! Otherwise it would have been upstairs to the Mens' section!

We took a long meandering journey home, via Aldwincle and Thorpe Waterville and then Wellingborough to see what was happening to Keith's old place of work.

In the afternoon we drove back over towards Wellingborough and went to Podington Garden centre. I treated myself to a beautiful lizard ornament for the wall and a pretty plant holder so Keith will be busy tomorrow morning. I also bought a few bedding plants but I still think it's a bit too early for them, just in case we have a late frost. "Ne're cast a clout, til May is out" and with today's weather, they are wise words indeed!

May Day

So far today, the forecast rain hasn't arrived. We made the most of it and spent all morning in the garden, doing lots of tidying up and getting rid of a couple of plants that were no longer very good. We took up a Hebe from the gravel garden and replaced it with a lovely bushy plant that's been sitting in a tub, so hopefully it'll do well in its new spot. The sun continued to shine and we went off to the pub at lunchtime for a couple of drinks.There was a great atnosphere as usual and it was lovely to sit and relax.

When we returned we chatted to Sue who was also making the most of the fine weather. Let's hope it carries on over the weekend but already I can see clouds gathering overhead. For lunch we finished off Keith's delicious home-made tomato soup. We were literally fighting over the last few drops so I think we'll have to put in another request for some more! We had most of it for dinner last night, before our pizza!