All alone!

I was assured that I wouldn't be alone at the CAB today and that someone would come over from the main office to help. I arrived and set up and Gill appeared to say that there was indeed someone coming over to man the Reception office with me...only they never turned up!

It was OK, though, as we weren't manically busy and it remained steady all day with no real issues to complicate matters, thank goodness! The only problem was that I couldn't leave the office to go and have lunch and I couldn't even make a tea or coffee! Gill stayed in the office while I popped to the loo in the afternoon but it was a long day under the glare of fluorescent lights!

After the session I headed to the main office to see Penny and she went through the training with me. I had no idea I had to complete some assessments online so I'll do that over the next week or so. I'd parked the car in the Mayorhold car park today and it was quite an easy process to get out using my CAB parking card. From now on I'll park there as it wasn't that bad and at least Judy had parked opposite me so we walked together.

From town I went to collect Sophie from work and as I was a bit early I sat and had a cup of tea and a slice of cake and had a good chat with Maureen. Sophie and I had an appointment to give blood at 5pm but Sophie couldn't donate in the end as she'd had her ears pierced a couple of months ago! She was disappointed but we both made an appointment for the 22 December...that will come too quickly!

Sophie and Keith had hatched a plan to go out in the evening to The Lamplighter. Mike had gone off to stay with friends so it was just the three of us going out. Sophie and I had a quick shower and we felt a lot better as today has been warm and muggy.

The Lamplighter was busy as the quiz was on this evening but we grabbed a table by the window and were soon munching on delicious garlic bread. Sophie and I chose burgers for our main course while Keith went for his beloved fish and chips! We left just as the quiz started and by now the place was packed! Driving home we left the car windows open and the variety of different smells going through the town was amazing!

A quiet day

Today has been an uneventful, quiet day and after taking Sophie to work Keith and I came home and did very little.

I stayed in the conservatory for most of the day and did some studying for the Citizens Advice Bureau. I'm having a meeting with the Training Supervisor tomorrow so I needed to do some catching up! Mike went over to Brixworth to see his mates and we put off looking at college courses until later. It's a huge worry at the moment!

Before going to collect the children we drove over to Mum and Dad's house to water the garden. It's been a glorious day today with blue skies and constant sunshine. The next few days are set to be the same so I wanted to make sure their new plants had enough water.

In the evening Sophie went out with her uni friends and I dropped her off at their house. It was then home to fish pie for dinner and a couple of episodes of The Glades until it was time to go back and pick her up again. The good thing was that Mike sat down after dinner and picked four courses to do at college. He chose Sociology at A level and then Photography, Applied Science and a Journalism course at Level 2. He seemed happy with his choices and has an interview next week. Let's hope it all goes well!

Gatwick bound...

Mum and Dad had asked us to take them to Gatwick today as they are flying off to the Greek island of Paros tomorrow. It couldn't have been a worse day to travel as it's Bank Holiday Monday and the long school summer holidays are nearly over.

I quickly hoovered all through in the morning and gave our en-suite a clean before it was time to shower and drive over to collect Mum and Dad at noon. They were all ready and squeezed into the back of the car with Sophie while Keith sat up front with me.

We made good time until we got past Heathrow and then the traffic slowed. Despite that we were dropping them off at just before 2.30pm so we had certainly made a better time than we did the other week when we went to Brighton! My Dad had been worrying the whole way down that he'd left their passports and documentation at home and the relief on his face when he got out and found them in the hand luggage was wonderful! I didn't fancy another trip back down the same day!

We bid them a fond farewell and drove back to the M25 via Reigate. It was much easier than battling our way onto the M23 and I'll never forget the time we'd arrived back at Gatwick after a long flight from Florida (in 2009) and I missed the turn for the M25. I ended up in central London!

We had no choice but to stop at Cobham services for a bite to eat and a cup of tea. It was packed again, with lots of people wandering around looking very dirty and wearing wellies...I can only assume they'd been at Reading festival and were on their way home!

We set off again and despite all the dire warnings we were home at just after 5pm. Keith was able to go to the pub while I cooked dinner. I wish we'd got delayed now!

No cake!

The weather today has been a replica of yesterday with a warm and sunny morning and heavy, thundery downpours of rain in the afternoon. We took Sophie to work at 11am and then came home to trim back our garden before the weather changed. A corner of our garden adjoins the drive up to three houses next door and we had heard yesterday that one of the residents had an issue with the bushes being overgrown on the land next to ours. As we didn't want to get into trouble as well, we trimmed the hypericum and two conifers so they didn't branch out over the drive too much!

After all the rain and wind yesterday we also tidied up the front and I swept up yet more leaves from the verge. I just had time to go in and have a shower before I picked Mum up at 1.30pm as we were off to an Antiques Fair at Lamport Hall.

Nice plant - no idea what it is. I will ask Sue!

The weather was looking a bit dicey on the way over and thankfully the field we parked in was quite dry - I didn't fancy getting stuck in the mud! There were loads of stalls and straight away I spotted a beautiful small vase from Masons which would be perfect for a candle. It was £7.50, so a good price, and I said to the stall-holder that I would be back.

Most of the stalls were situated in the stable block but there were also some on the field behind the courtyard. I looked in vain for a tea and cake tent but only saw a Hog Roast from a local Butcher's. We wanted tea and cake!

Mum spotted a Masons Jug in the Regency pattern that she collects so she decided to splash out and buy it. As she didn't have enough cash the stall-holder took her over to the entrance cabin where she could pay by card. While I was there I asked about refreshments and was told that the Hog Roast was the only source of grub! Another woman came up to the cabin and started to complain vociferously about the lack of food choices as she had a vegetarian in her group. I said that as there'd been a resurgence of all things baking they would have made a mint if they'd offered afternoon tea! One of the main reasons we go to an antique or craft fair is for the lovely teas and bakes on offer!

Mum and I went back to the fair and enquired about an ice-cream but they'd run out! I went and bought the Masons vase and also a lovely little dish that was sitting in a £1 box and looking very sorry for itself! We decided that enough was enough and it was a good thing we did as on the way to Brixworth (to buy cake) the heavens opened and we had a cloud burst so bad I had to stay in the car before I could get out to the Co-Op!

When I eventually ran in I met Judy who is the wife of Keith's old manager from Black and Decker. We had a good chat and I have to say she was looking very well and was certainly enjoying retirement. I bought a walnut cake and we dashed home through flooded roads to make a pot of tea!

In the evening I tried out a new Hairy Bikers recipe - Chicken in a Brandy sauce. It was delicious but we couldn't taste a lot of Brandy, probably because Keith had burnt it all off when he flambeed the pan!

Washout!

We had arranged to go to the local pub's beer festival today and had said we would meet Paul and Sue and Richard and Michelle at 12pm to walk up.

Sophie should have been at Leeds Festival today but had had to cancel as she couldn't get any time off work. It was a good thing, though, as the person she was going to see, Fetty Wap, had cancelled at the last minute due to illness...perhaps he had heard Sophie wasn't going!!

We walked up with the others (Paul was out walking the dogs and joined us later) and the weather was lovely - very sunny and warm - and we just hoped it would stay that way! Keith Sophie and I went into the barn to select our drinks and I chose a half pint of a very dark beer at 6.1% called T'Owd Navigation. Sophie chose a bottle of lager as it was cold!

We joined the others who had set up two picnic tables under the marquee and right in the middle, which, we later found out, was a very good thing! Sue and Michelle went for Pimms and Prosecco while Richard had a pint of a sweet cider that looked very cloudy, but was nevertheless very good, he said!

We had a great time chatting and laughing and Paul joined us with the dogs, followed by Mike who had walked up after his shower. He and Keith drank the T'Owd Navigation while I went for a slightly weaker beer called Earnest Anarchist which was delicious.

After about an hour and a half it started to rain and then we had a series of thunderstorms that were very violent!

About 3pm when the storm really got fierce! Stuart (one of the Managers of the pub).

Son and father

Bailey hiding on Sue and Michelle's laps. It became very chilly!

We were so glad our table was right in the middle of the tent as several people had to move inside because of the weather!

Of course, the rain prevented us from going home so we all had more to drink then we intended to! Keith had four pints of very strong beer while I had four halves. He and Mike dashed home at 5pm as Keith wanted to watch Newcastle play on the television and Sophie and I followed half an hour later with the others once the rain had stopped.

We all agreed that we'd had a lovely afternoon, though, despite the weather and that the terrific thunder and lightening had actually added to the enjoyment!

I cooked pizzas and potato wedges for dinner after waking up the sleepy menfolk!

More disappointing news...

I was ready before 9am this morning to work with Sue on the large garden again and it was shaping up to be a hot and sunny day. Paul came with us as he was trimming a couple of overgrown hedges which were beyond Sue and I!

We cut down some plants by the house that had died off and then I collected several wheelbarrow loads of compost for the borders. Sue had to dig out a beautiful plant called Alchemilla mollis as the owner didn't want it in the beds any more and it was very hard work as, although the soil had been softened a bit by yesterday's rain, the roots were still stubborn! We must have carted about nine or ten loads of smelly compost onto the beds as well as pull up some weeds that had flourished in the damp conditions. With the hot sun and lack of shade, it was hard work!

About an hour before we finished we helped Paul with the hedge at the front of the house and then he moved to the one in the back garden. I helped him shovel up all the branches and sweep up the dead leaves from underneath. By 1pm I was more than ready to go home, have a long cool shower and have a wee break! I'd been to see the horse again and had a cuddle and while I was shovelling up compost a little robin paid me a visit! There were loads of worms in the compost! Little, horrible red ones! Ugh!

We left Paul in the garden as he still had a fair amount to do and Sue drove me home. It was stright into the shower before I donned a completely new set of clothes and went shopping with Keith to Aldi and Tesco. I really didn't feel like doing it but I was glad when we had finished and put it all away.

After a quick lunch we went to collect Sophie and then it was home to sit in the garden with a shared bottle of cold beer. I discovered that my application for a job at the university library was unsuccessful. Oh well...better luck with the next one, hey?!

Exam results

Today, after dropping Sophie off at work, we went to school to collect Mike's exam results. He was really hoping he would do well enough to get into 6th Form but unfortunately he didn't get the grades he needed.

We saw one of the Careers Advisors and then went up to the very hot library to see Mr Jones who is the Headteacher. As soon as we sat down (after waiting for about an hour) it became clear that Mike wasn't going to be staying on as he wanted to.

We went and saw the Careers woman again and she ran through the options that Mike has. He can go to another 6th Form - Weston Favell school would accept his grades which was weird as that was where I went 32 years ago! Or he could enrol at the college and do his A levels there. He was extremely disappointed and so were Keith and I. It would have been lovely for him to follow in Sophie's footsteps and now we have the added hassle of getting him to college and Sophie to uni and both institutions are in different directions!

We'd been at the school since 10.30am and it was now almost 1pm so we drove home and after dropping Mike off, Keith and I went to see my parents, as my Aunt Joyce was dropping in on her way down to Kent to see her father. My Mum and Dad had laid on a little buffet so we were able to sit and commiserate with them and talk about what Mike was going to do next.

My Aunt arrived and we had a good chat - the last time I saw her was at Jonathan's wedding in May so it was great to catch up with her news. We couldn't stay too long, though, as we had to go and get some essential shopping and Mike was itching to get out to see his friends and either commiserate with them or celebrate!

A stressful day...

I asked Keith to drop me off in town today as he had to take Sophie in to work at 9.30am. I was a bit worried when I didn't see Frank opening up the CAB offices but I carried on in the hope he would arrive at any minute. When Gill, one of the Advisors, arrived she said that he had been held up because of a plumbing problem at home...

I did all that I could and thankfully we didn't have any clients as one of the laptops was playing up again. This turned out to be the theme of the day as both the electronic appointment system went down in the afternoon and one of the vital programmes we use also stopped working, although it was only for a short time, thank goodness!

Frank never came in so after Hilary went at 1pm I was all alone. Thankfully it was quiet and without any major issues so by 3pm I was more than ready to go home! I did enjoy today, though, and find I'm getting on well with Gill and Judy who are both advisors.  Keith and the children were waiting for me and on the way home we called into a Tesco Extra and Sophie treated us to an ice-cream. It has been another hot day and the temperature went up to 32c on the way home.

After getting home and showering we all went to the pub where we indulged in a pint of lager each. The bar bill wasn't so much of an indulgence though...£20 for four pints and two packets of crisps! The sunshine and blue skies had given way to heavy cloud and a real humid feel to the air. Rain is forecast tomorrow!

The heat is on...again!

Today has been rather a quiet and uneventful day. After taking Sophie to work we returned home and Keith actually washed Jim which was badly in need of a good scrub! While he did that I swept the drive as yet more leaves had gathered around our back door!

The heat today has crept up on us somewhat and when we went to get Sophie from work I was amazed to see it was 30c again! After dinner we sat in the cool of the garden and watched bats. They were wheeling around very close to us and it made a nice end to a beautifully sunny day!

A day of coconuts!

Sophie and I went off to Milton Keynes this morning as she had been paid last week and wanted to go and spend some of her very hard-earned wages!

We parked in the multi-storey and went to the Krispy Kreme cafe for a change. We both ordered a coffee and a doughnut and very good they were too! I still do prefer Costa, though!

After our refreshment break we pootled off to M&S where I looked at the bathroom range. However, I was not prepared to pay £99 for a mirror, thank you very much! We walked up to River Island where Sophie bought three lovely tee-shirts to wear to uni and then after looking in Accessorize for a bag for Sophie we meandered up to John Lewis to see what they had on offer, bathroom-wise. I wasn't that impressed so we decided to leave buying anything until we'd been to Ikea.

We walked back down the shopping mall, calling into Boots where I bought a bottle of coconut water. We'd watched Dragon's Den last night and saw a man selling a wide range of coconut based products and I was tempted to find out what all the fuss was about! Sophie picked out a jar of coconut body oil and once we were out of the shop we tried the drink. It was OK but I wouldn't rave about it!

From Boots we went to Schuh where Sophie treated herself to a pair of Converse trainers. By now we were both flagging a bit so we took our purchases back to the car and headed off to Las Iguanas. It was still warm but very cloudy so it was great to sit down in the restaurant and order a cold drink!

Both Sophie and I chose the chicken nachos to start followed by Tortas for my daughter and a Cuban Sandwich for me. Both dishes came with curly fries and were delicious. Sophie enjoyed two Caiprinhas while I treated myself to half an Brazilian beer. We managed to find room for dessert and Sophie chose the Mojito Jelly she so badly wanted on her birthday! It was a bit of a disappointment, though, and she said it was too heavy on the lime flavour! I decided on the Tembleque, a coconut cream pudding served with red berries and a mango sauce. It was extremely sweet!

After paying the very reasonable bill, we waddled off back to the shopping mall and Sophie made one last attempt to buy some Mac make-up. The stand was still very busy so she gave up and we returned to the car. By now it was 5pm and I just knew the journey home was going to be slow because of all the traffic. I was proved right! We crawled up to Junction 14 but once we were past Newport Pagnell the traffic eased and we arrived home just after 6pm.

Keith was at the pub but had given me instructions to get his and Mike's dinner on. They were having leftover beef casserole made into a pie and needless to say Sophie and I weren't joining them!

A day of domesticity!

I forgot to mention that yesterday was the anniversary of the sale of the business. The year has certainly sped by!

After dropping Sophie off at work this morning we went to see Lynda to give her the card and present I'd bought for her yesterday. We sat and had a coffee with her and then it was home to start work on all the chores I had lined up.

As well as it being wet yesterday, it was also very windy and all the leaves from a hundred mile radius were gathered by our back door and on the driveway. It infuriates me! Before I did anything else I hoovered them all up (I'm sure the neighbours must think I'm a mad woman!) and then I cleaned the rest of the house, which was hard work!

I was determined to give the en-suite a really good clean and asked Keith to put up the new storage caddy so we could keep the shampoo and conditioner there. When I finished it looked lovely so now all we have to do is paint the walls and ceiling. I will get around it it one day!

By 4.30pm I'd had enough but the house did look a lot better and the leaves were mostly gone, thank goodness! The earlier sunshine had given way to cloudy skies and it rained hard after dinner. Mike was out with friends again so there was just the three of us eating Keith's beef casserole with a cheesy potato topping. After dinner Sophie and I tried to watch a couple of episodes of The Good Wife but our internet is playing up badly at the moment and we had to give up...very frustrating!

Mooching about...

This morning we had a lazy start to the day but I did manage to prepare Coq au Vin for dinner, one of my favourite meals. It smelt lovely steeped in an Australian wine we'd bought!

In the afternoon Keith decided to go and watch Sileby play in Wellingborough so Sophie and I dropped him off (parking was non-existent) and went off to Dunelm where I was hoping to buy some things for the en-suite. The area around the shops was very busy indeed - is anywhere quiet these days?

I had a good look in the store and bought some new large pillowcases for our Superking pillows. I was pleased to see they sold a wide range of pillows as it's sometimes very difficult to find cases to fit the ones we have and I'm fed up of having to get them washed, dried and ironed before I can put on new bedding! I now have a spare set!

There was nothing I liked in the bathroom section so Sophie and I drove back to Northampton and went to Riverside. My daughter treated me to a decaffeinated Flat White in Costa Coffee and then we walked over to Next where she tried on some jeans. As they made her look like a band member of Dexy's Midnight Runners, I advised against her buying them! Before we left to go and get Keith I bought my friend Lynda a card and a candle for her birthday which was yesterday.

It's been a day of sunshine and showers and when we went to collect Keith it was raining again. The gardens do need it, especially as next week is forecast to be dry, warm and sunny again.

We had a lovely evening and before dinner all played cards in the conservatory. Mike has been at home all day after being out with friends last night so it was great to see him...sometimes I forget what he looks like!

Return of the rain

Last night it grew increasingly cloudy and windy and at one point I thought we were going to have a storm. This morning we awoke to grey skies and a definite threat of rain.

I was working with Sue again this morning at another house and she picked me up at 9am despite it starting to drizzle. She assured me the garden wasn't as big as yesterday but when I saw it I preferred the much larger garden! The young man who lived in the house was obviously not the slightest bit interested in gardening and hadn't even kept the lawn cut. We worked on the front bit first and Sue cut back the borders and did a bit of weeding while I cleared the driveway and the path. There was rubbish strewn everywhere so it was quite disheartening and I knew there was no way we could do much in two hours to make it look a lot better.

By 11am it had started to rain quite heavily but we'd managed to tidy up the allotment and trim the edges of the borders. We'd also filled two large wheelie bins and were now both soaked and filthy dirty. We finished and before setting off for home we had a cup of tea in the car to try and warm up a bit!

Back home all my clothes went into the washing machine again and I jumped into the shower, which was bliss. Mike wanted us to take him to a friend's house so I just had time to make myself a cup of tea and eat a sandwich before we set off into the rain.

I had to go to the post office today and we chose the very busy Weston Favell centre. It was manic, made worse, no doubt, by the steady downpour! It was lovely to finally get home and relax before it was time to go and pick Sophie up again.

By the evening the rain had stopped and the sun had come out. Sophie was off out with friends to a cocktail bar and Sophia's for a meal so Keith and I had decided to go out as well! Why not? It's been ages since we went out for a meal without the children and I was looking forward to not having to cook while Keith was at the pub.

We drove a very pretty Sophie into town - she took this pic on her phone with the evening sun behind her....

We dropped her off at Rev's bar and then drove the short distance to the Princess Alexandra. The pub was very busy and we had to stand at the bar for a while before we could grab a seat. There was a good atmosphere, though, and it was certainly a change from when we normally go in and it's very quiet!

We had a couple of drinks and then drove to Kingsley to the Imli Lounge Indian restaurant. The place was very quiet so we needn't have booked a table! We had a lovely meal - I chose a butterflied King Prawn to start while Keith had a Lamb Shami Kebab (I think that's what it was). We'd munched our way through poppadums to start the meal off and then Keith was persuaded to have a "Tawa" curry while I went for one of my favourites, a Chicken Korai. We each chose a rice dish (mistake!) and a mushroom bhajee. With a Peshwari Naan, we were soon full to the gunnels!

I wasn't bothered about a dessert but it was either stay a bit longer or go home and then drive all the way back into town so we had a leisurely end to the meal and went to pick Sophie up at 10.30pm. As usual we took Daisy home and the girls were extremely giggly in the car!

Hard slog!

Keith was awake early this morning worrying about the oven and what was wrong with it. After we dropped Sophie at work we went to see Ian who had all the bits and bobs that Keith needed. Within minutes of getting home Keith had fixed it, thank goodness! We can cook tonight!

We spent the rest of the morning making out the shopping list and planning the meals for next week. For some reason this morning it was hard work! Keith went off to do the shopping while I got ready for my gardening stint with Sue. Although it was quite cloudy it was very warm and I hoped that the sun wouldn't be out in full force when we were working!

Sue picked me up at noon and this time I was a bit more prepared! I took along my new weeding gadget as well as my new gloves, some shears and Keith's Bubba Gump hat. I also made a flask of tea and packed some biscuits and bottles of water. I was glad I did because although there were men working on the floors in the house, we didn't have access to any drinks at all.

It was hot hard work and I was very glad when the four hours were up! We did lots more weeding and carted about five wheelbarrows of compost up the hill to spread on the parched, hard soil.

A small section of the huge garden

We cleared dead leaves and innumerable weeds!

The dogs were let out for a little while and were very affectionate today and I made a new friend who was just gorgeous...

He/she was also very affectionate and we had a lovely cuddle. The owners of the house are away at the moment but are using a house sitter as the animals need looking after and the chickens have to be fed!

It was absolute bliss to get home, throw all my dirty clothes into the washing machine and jump into the shower. I was really hot, sweaty and dirty and it felt wonderful to stand under the gushing water and get all clean again!

Keith and I went off to collect Sophie in the evening and then it was home for an easy tea and an evening spent watching anything but sport!

New recipe

I have to admit I enjoyed my day at the Citizen's Advice today. I still can't bring myself to park in the Mayorhold car park but Frank told me to claim expenses for my mileage into town and back at least. We had a steady stream of people in and although there were a few issues with the internet, the computers weren't the problem today, the fire alarms going off were!

We all had to go outside and we ended up standing outside Buddies until we received the all-clear. One of the advisors, Gill, even ate her lunch while we were waiting as we'd been busy and there hadn't been any real let-up all morning.

I finished at 3pm and went to pick Sophie up from work where she'd had a quiet day. The weather has been gorgeous again with blue skies and warm temperatures. Mike was in town and was supposed to have been getting the bus home but he called us as we were playing cards to say he was in Moulton and could we pick him up? I was very annoyed but felt I had no choice to go and get him before cooking dinner. Grrr!

Tonight we'd decided to cook a new dish called Peri Peri Chicken Pilaf. I'm always nervous cooking a new meal especially if it has any chance of going wrong! I'll never be allowed to forget a particularly disastrous meal involving pork and apples and I was hoping this was going to turn out to be a family favourite!

I adapted the menu slightly and used breasts rather than thighs but cut the meat into fairly large chunks. The chicken had been marinating overnight in the Peri Peri sauce but I still couldn't discern much flavour...I browned the meat and then put it into a warmed casserole dish in the oven before cooking garlic, onions and red peppers. I then added the vegetables to the chicken and tipped in three bags of rice before adding chicken stock. That all went into the oven for half an hour by which time the rice had soaked up a lot of the liquid. About ten minutes before serving I added chopped up tomatoes which gave the dish some more flavour.

With garlic bread it made a nice meal but Sophie wasn't impressed. Keith and I drank a red Chilean Merlot with it and next time I'll cook it more slowly and add wine to the casserole rather than chicken stock. A good Spanish wine would be perfect!

I'd planned on cooking the bread and butter pudding afterwards but while we were cooking the chicken something happened to the oven and it wouldn't get any hotter. We had to abandon the pudding so that really annoyed Sophie as she'd been looking forward to it all day...oh dear!

A little spending spree...

After we dropped Sophie off at work this morning, Keith went for a walk and I headed off to Brixworth to send a parcel and buy some cream as I'm making a chocolate Bread and Butter pudding this evening. I've been promising Sophie I'd make it for ages and now I've run out of excuses!

Once back home I had a good sort out of my hand bag and removed my own weight in receipts and useless bits of paper. It felt good to have a clear out and shred them all ready for the recycling collection tomorrow!

After Keith came home and had showered we had a lunch of Sunday evening (and Monday picnic) leftovers and then drove over to Tesco to buy some chicken, which we almost forgot and which was vital for the evening meal tomorrow! On the way home we picked up my mum and after dropping Keith off went to collect Sophie from work before heading to Next on Riverside for a cup of tea. The voucher that Mum and Dad had given me was burning a hole in my pocket and I was eager to go and get some stuff for the en-suite.

I picked out a new towel holder, a shiny grey container for the toothbrush and toothpaste and a chrome tidy for the shampoo and conditioner. I had to buy one with suction cups as there is no way Keith wants to drill into the shower splash panel - not after the workmen broke the first one! I also picked out a really soft and cuddly bath mat so we're getting there. I now just need a new mirror, a waste bin and a laundry bin but will look at Ikea for them, hopefully next week.

It was very warm when we emerged from Next and went back to the car. Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer, which is typical as I'll be at the Citizen's Advice Bureau for most of the day! We dropped Mum off at home and then made our way home but got stuck behind two enormous tractors carrying bales of hay. They seem to be everywhere at the moment and are no doubt trying to get the hay cut and in before the weather changes on Friday.

Keith and I took Sophie to her friend's house in the evening and then we dashed home to eat dinner as Keith and Mike were going to see Sileby Rangers play. I was anticipating a lovely time to myself but after they'd gone and I'd made the Bread and Butter pudding I found I didn't really like being by myself in the evening...I missed my family! Luckily, by 10pm they were all home and it was great to catch up with what they'd been doing!

A bit of a disappointing day...

Today Keith and I celebrated 24 years of marriage and I was 24 when we tied the knot! We opened our cards and presents from the children (wine, beer and a beautiful photo of Sophie and Archie that she had had framed) and a Next voucher from my parents. That will go towards kitting the en-suite out!

We had aimed to leave for Brighton at 9am but it was closer to 10am when we finally set off. The traffic on the M1 was busy and there were some mad idiots about, as usual! On the M25 we heard there'd been an accident at Junction 20, just after we joined it from the M1. Of course, this slowed us down considerably and that set the tone for the rest of the journey on this horrible motorway...this section really is the road to hell!

We crawled past Heathrow and saw lots of planes and then crawled some more until we reached the Cobham services where we stopped and ate our picnic lunch. The services were extremely busy with people, no doubt, heading off on holiday or coming home.

We left the M25 and joined the M23 and thankfully the traffic improved otherwise I would have suggested turning around and going straight back home! We made it to Brighton by 1.30pm and the town was very busy which meant that we crawled all the way to the front to try and find a parking space. I had never seen so many people walking along the front and of course, the new attraction - British Airways i360 - is now open which meant that it was busier than ever!

Regretting very much coming to the seaside resort we turned right into the town where we saw a sign for parking. And then we stopped and barely moved again as the queue to get into the multi-storey car park was huge... By now we were all very frustrated so we decided to get out of the queue and head towards Worthing, a town a bit further along the coast to see if it was any quieter.

We drove out of Brighton and the scenery became a bit depressing with the town of Shoreham looking particularly industrial. We were on the lookout for somewhere to park and maybe have a drink but there was nowhere. Eventually, at Worthing we saw signs for parking and went into a large multi-storey. It tells you how busy it was when we had to go up to the fifth floor before we found a space!

As we all needed the loo and I was gasping for a drink we went into the first one we found and it was probably the mankiest pub in Worthing...typical! Sophie and I dashed for the loo and it was like being in the toilets of a seedy nightclub. We joined the boys in the bar and looked around the pub that really needed a serious re-vamp. Even our table was sticky with spilt drinks...yuk!

We quickly downed our drinks and emerged into the warm sunshine. Driving in I'd spotted Worthing Pier so we headed there and I said I would treat everyone to an ice-cream. The pier was lovely (it dates from 1862) and we had great views out to sea. The tide was out and there were lots of people going out as far as they could.

We strolled along and it was very windy but a few people were sitting behind windbreaks and lapping up the fierce sun. On the way back I treated Sophie and Mike to a delicious whippy ice-cream with two flakes and we threw the end bits to the gulls who were wading in the shallow water beneath the pier.

By now we'd all had enough and it was almost 4pm so we decided to head for the pub I'd chosen - the Seven Stars at Leigh, a pub we'd visited back in 2013 when we were flying out from Gatwick. I asked Sophie to find me the postcode and then we programmed this into Gladys. We took the A23 out of Worthing and she was obviously not happy with the choice of road as she kept shrieking at me to turn around. Keith told me to ignore her and we carried on up the A23 until we reached the M23. Even then she kept telling me to make a U-turn so I asked Sophie to check the postcode again and she discovered it was a Tunbridge Wells address!

Luckily her Google maps app was working so that directed me to the pub door...thank goodness! There was a large group of people sitting outside the pub and they all stared at us as we got out of the car, probably because we looked windblown and slightly mad at being cooped up in the car for most of the day! We found a seat in the lovely lounge area and were told that we could order food at 6pm.

Keith said the pub looked different to how he remembered it and I suppose it was three years ago we'd last visited. It hasn't seemed that long! We sat and had a drink and then at just after 6pm we made our way into the dining room to order. Unusually, we all had a starter - Sophie chose cheesy garlic bread, Mike had deep fried Mozzarella balls, Keith opted for smoked mackerel on toast and I went for Calamari with a sweet chilli dip. Of the four of us I was the only one pleased with the food...Sophie said her garlic bread was tasteless, Mike's balls disappeared in two seconds flat and Keith said he could have done with a bit more mackerel!

With the mains, Sophie had, after a long deliberation, ordered the Cajun Chicken burger with the addition of cheese and bacon and Mike went for the same but with Jalapeno peppers as well. Keith and I ordered the fish and chips. When Sophie's burger arrived it was without the cheese so she sent it back and looked very annoyed indeed. We'd all started our meals before hers reappeared but it was minus the bacon which she hadn't noticed before. She looked absolutely furious now and to make it worse the meal certainly didn't live up to her expectations.

Our fish and chips were OK but nothing compared to the meal we'd had in Aldeburgh. Maybe we should have gone there today instead?! Keith's beer was also awful and looked flat and cloudy. All in all, not the best of days!

We left at around 7.30pm and thankfully had a good journey home, arriving at just before 10pm. I'm just hoping that next year, our Silver Wedding Anniversary, will be much. much better!

Summer eating

Today has been another extremely busy day as I had asked my parents around for dinner in the evening and although we were only doing cold meats, nibbles and salad, I wanted to make my own bread and a panna cotta for dessert.

We took Sophie to work and Keith went for a walk while I returned home and started on the cleaning of the downstairs of the house. It's been a grey, muggy day without a hint of real sunshine so not pleasant to work in!

I made a loaf of wholemeal bread and prepared the panna cotta and managed some relaxation time in the afternoon before assembling a salad and the prawn cocktails for starters. I could have chosen the easy route and bought a pre-prepared salad but it's been ages since I did one myself and it looked really pretty when I finished, topped off with boiled egg slices. Delicious!

It was bliss to get into the shower after all my hard work and drench myself in lovely warm water! Keith and I went to get Sophie and when we got back I finished preparations and made sure the house looked pretty. My parents arrived and we had a lovely meal but hardly any of it was eaten! I think we all filled up too much on the prawn cocktail and bread which, I have to say, was very good.

Mum brought me cards around for our anniversary tomorrow - 24 years! I can hardly believe it!

An afternoon treat

Sophie and I had a very lazy start to the day while Keith went off for a walk. Mike was still out at a friend's house but we picked him up at lunchtime and he seemed fine, if a little tired! This morning Keith, Mike and I used the new shower for the first time and I was very impressed...it was great!

In the afternoon, after taking Mike back to Brixworth again (oh, to have a social life like his!) Sophie and I went to Farndon Fields Farm Shop for a cup of tea. A lot of people were sitting outside as the weather was lovely but we opted for a table by the window instead. I just knew that as soon as we started eating a swarm of flies and wasps would descend!

Sophie chose a chicken and bacon sandwich while I enjoyed a delicious warmed scone with butter and cream. I forgave them for the tea served in a weird cafetiere as it was very good indeed. Sophie's sandwich was packed with chicken, bacon and sun-dried tomatoes and came with a pot of chipped potatoes and a salad. Very good value!

After our refreshments we wandered around the shop and I bought some corn on the cob and courgettes to go with our barbecue tonight. As ever Sophie managed to find a rude looking sweet potato...

We also treated ourselves to a "Smokey Joe" Scotch Egg and a small pie to have for lunch tomorrow. Sophie bought us a tub of ice-cream to enjoy before we drove home which was delicious. All in all, we had a lovely time!

On the way home we had a couple of incidents...on the main road we came across a small herd of cattle that had escaped from their field and they were being rounded up by a policeman in his car. They ran past us and eyed my car like they were going to attack it as the lead cow (or bull?) had a set of very large horns! As usual we took the very narrow single track road and I nearly had a collision with a BMW coming the other way! Luckily we both dived for the side of the road and an accident was averted!

Back home we played cards in the conservatory and then had a barbecue for dinner. The corn was absolutely delicious and much better than the supermarket stuff we buy!

Going to the dogs!

Today has been another very busy day with a lot of driving about. Sophie was at work at 9.30am so we took her there and went straight to Aldi and Tesco to do our shopping. It's been a gorgeous day today - very sunny and warm with a lovely breeze. At one point in the afternoon the temperature got up to 27c.

When we arrived home with all the shopping Mike said he wanted to go and sort out his fancy dress costume for the party he was going to tonight. I'd already found a pirate costume that I'd used for a previous Come Dine With Me so I suggested he go as Jack Sparrow and I buy him a wig and a hat from the fancy dress shop in Northampton.

We hastily put all the shopping away and went over to the bank to draw some money out of his account as he owed both Keith and me some cash! While we were in there we met Mum and Dad who said they'd had a lovely meal last night...phew!

From the bank we drove into town and within minutes had picked out a Jack Sparrow-style wig and hat for £9.99...much better than hiring a costume for about £40! We dropped Mike off in a very busy and hot town and said that we could pick him up at around 4.30pm when Sophie was due to finish work. It was then time to return home and have a well-earned lunch!

As I was contemplating making some muffins the phone rang and it was Mike asking to be picked up early...two and a half hours early! I was a bit annoyed as it was only just 2pm so I called Sophie and asked if she could finish work an hour early, which, luckily, was fine.

Keith and I then got back in the car and headed back to town where we picked up Mike and took him to Brixworth. I did forgive him a little bit as while I was driving he gave me a head massage - wonderful for coping with the stress of the traffic but a bit too relaxing!

We bid farewell to our son as he was going on to a party in the evening and then staying at a friend's house and went off back to collect Sophie from work. She was sitting in the garden with Maureen and Polly and my parents who had called in to see them. I can't believe it's only a week until we celebrate our year anniversary of selling the business. Where has all the time gone?

Sophie wanted to get us a gift for our Wedding Anniversary on Monday so we went over to the Weston Favell Centre for the second time today and while Keith and Sophie went off to shop, I sat in Costa Coffee with a strawberry Creamy Cooler. Perfect for a warm day!

Back home it was into the bath and then hair and make-up with Sophie as I was out to Towcester Race course in the evening with Andrea, Fiona and Lynda for a night of Greyhound races. Andrea had booked us a table for a meal and hopefully we were going to be lucky with the betting!

I picked Lynda up and we headed over to Towcester where the car park was already filling up. Fiona and Andrea had already arrived and were waiting for us so they could order some drinks. It had to be a bottle of Prosecco (why is it so popular when there are other, really good Sparkling wines from France?) and at £23 a bottle it wasn't cheap!

We all paid Andrea £20 for the meal which I thought wasn't bad until I saw the menu - no starter but you could order bread, butter and olive oil/balsamic vinegar for an extra £3 a head...Of course the girls wanted this and then they ordered a second bottle of wine. They handed the wine list to me and a name popped out immediately: the Bicicleta Viognier that I can get in Tesco for £7 was going for £22! This was duly ordered (I figured that as I knew it was good and as the other wines weren't much cheaper at least we'd be guaranteed a good wine) and our dinner was served.

Now, I know I'm going to sound like a real whiny cow now, but the dinner was tiny and tasteless - you could have fitted my roulade of chicken and wild mushroom onto a side plate and it was garnished with two weeny potatoes and some grey veggies which were also devoid of any taste. I was very disappointed. I had a feeling my friends weren't satisfied either as they ordered cheese and biscuits for pudding (an extra £2) while I made do with a small chocolate tart that looked lost on the big white plate! The cheese and biscuits arrived without any knives and no butter so it wasn't the most smoothest of service...By now the bottle of Viognier was finished, so another bottle of Prosecco was ordered!

Unfortunately I didn't even win anything to compensate for the disappointing meal...I bet £2 on the first four races and lost every one. The race I didn't bet on I would have won, as the dog I liked the sound of came first! Keith had asked me to put a "reverse forecast" on two dogs, which I did, but one won and the other dog came third which made that bet null and void...oh well! We did have a good chat and a laugh and the other diners were obviously enjoying themselves immensely so it was a pleasant night. Our luck was summed up when another table gave us their betting slips for the last race as they were leaving early and not one of their choices won either!

The girls all finished down on their money even though they'd had several wins. I gave up after Keith's bet and saved my pennies! The girls were very fair though and adjusted my part of the bill accordingly as I'd only had a glass of Prosecco and half a glass of Viognier. We'd still racked up another £80 on top of the £80 meal so it was not a cheap night!

Lynda and I drove home through the countryside as there were a lot of roadworks on the route we'd taken to get there and by midnight I was home. Sophie very kindly gave me her dessert from the Tesco Finest she and Keith had enjoyed for dinner so at least I didn't go to bed ravenous!

Getting there!

We had a busy start to the day as Mike had an Orthodontist appointment at 8.30am so I drove him to the surgery and then took Sophie to work for 9am. When I returned to the Orthodontist, he still hadn't been seen so I waited with him until he was finished. He now has retainers that he's supposed to wear all the time but I can't see that happening!

When I arrived home there was no Darren, who was supposed to be at the house today finishing off our en-suite. I called him and he assured me he would be with us but it wasn't until lunchtime that he showed up. Thankfully, he replaced the shower splash panel, re-aligned the shower door and grouted the corners with a white sealant so that was good news. We're now just awaiting the new extractor fan light to be done and I can start decorating!

I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with various things and then I'm sure I was supposed to be working with Sue in the afternoon but there was no sign of her at all. Keith and I went to Mum and Dad's instead to wish my Dad a happy birthday. He was thrilled with his book and the wine I'd chosen and was looking forward to going out with friends in the evening to an Indian restaurant in town.

After we left them we sped home for a bath and then I went off to pick up Mike from Brixworth and Sophie from work while Keith cooked a roast chicken for dinner. We haven't had a roast for ages so it made for a very pleasant change!

A somewhat stressful day!

Today hasn't been the best of days, I'm afraid. I was at the CAB early this morning and helped Frank to unlock the offices and set up the laptops. Just after we opened I had a call on my mobile from Darren who was fitting our en-suite to say he wouldn't make it to our house because of a problem. I called Keith to let him know and then half an hour later, as I was dealing with a couple of difficult clients, Sophie called to say that Keith wasn't well and could I come home?

I made my apologies to Frank and it was a good thing that we had another girl in training with us as she could help out. I rushed home to find Keith looking OK but a bit worried as he'd been bleeding and didn't know where the blood had come from.

We took Sophie to work and then decided to risk the Weston Favell Centre to get tonight's dinner. However, the works to the car park are still ongoing and it was bedlam so we fled and went home to pick Mike up and take him to Brixworth before going to Tesco in Kettering. It's my Dad's birthday tomorrow so I bought him a card from me and one from the children and a new book by his favourite author.

Mum and Dad called around in the afternoon for a cup of tea and they said that my Dad needs two new knees at some point in the future! He will probably have the first one sorted in November and the other one next year but it will mean he'll be out of action for a while. My Mum needs to get driving again!

After they'd gone Keith and I went to get Sophie from work and braved the traffic through town to go to Majestic where I bought my Dad three bottles of wine from Chile. It was very quiet in there - I do sometimes wonder how they make a living!

On the way home we collected Mike and then it was home for a game of cards and roast gammon for dinner. Up until today Sophie and I haven't had any wine but tonight, after my stressful day, I couldn't resist a glass!

Return of the robin!

Keith called me into the living room yesterday as he'd seen a robin across the road in a neighbour's garden! I had high hopes we would see one in our garden and today it appeared! I don't know whether it's the same one as it's very flighty but it was great to see the lovely little bird flitting about again. I even think (I'm not sure though) that we have a juvenile robin as well as I can just see a tiny glimpse of red feathers beginning to come through.

I took Sophie to work this morning as Keith had gone off on a long walk. On the way home I called into the post office again as I had another parcel to send. I'm enjoying this Ebay lark but I'll never make a living from it! It's enjoyable though and I'm certainly clearing the house of unwanted clutter!

I called into home as Keith hadn't taken any keys with him and he arrived home all sweaty and hot! I'd promised Mum I would go and giver her a hand with her weeding so suggesting to Keith he stay at home and shower, I went off with my new gloves and weeding implement.

The front of Mum's house is a real sun-trap and I arrived to find her already started. I strimmed the bit of lawn and tidied the edges and we almost filled her wheelie bin with weeds that had really infiltrated the border. Bloomin' things! Half-way through our way along the border she made me a cup of coffee and we sat in the lovely cool back garden and had a chat which was very pleasant!

I worked with Mum until lunchtime and then went home to try and finish my latest assignment. I've typed it up but will leave it a day and then go back, revise it and send it off. I'm just glad I managed to get down to it this afternoon!

Manic Monday!

Today has been exceptionally busy... why do I always have so much to do? And how did I ever find the time to go to work?

After a delicious breakfast of leftover fried potatoes, I made a Key Lime pie with Sophie and marinated some chicken breasts for the Jerk Chicken pasta that we're having tonight. Keith tackled a load of ironing and I stripped my bed in readiness to put my new duvet cover on. The rubbish that was supposed to have been picked up on Saturday was still outside our house so Keith called B&Q and had a bit of a rant down the phone at them. As he was on the phone a van arrived to take the waste away so that was a result at least! He then had an argument with them about the new extractor fan light and the cost of installation which was over £80. We had thought this included the actual fan light but it didn't...As you can imagine Keith was not happy so after more complaining we received an assurance from them that they would supply the extractor fan light free of charge for all the hassle we've had. Hopefully, by the end of the week, everything will be completed.

At lunchtime Keith and I drove to Brixworth and went to the Post office as I had some more stuff to send off from Ebay. We collected Mike, who looked a bit tired, and I went home to hoover the house yet again!

Mike had an Orthodontist appointment at 3pm and we agreed that it was best for Keith to take him while I went with Sophie to her nail appointment at 4pm. To all go together would have meant a lot of hanging about and they were both back just as we were leaving to go into town. Sophie had taken my advice about her nails and had the gel polish removed without any more being applied. Her nails were in such a state last time that she would have been mad to have them done again. They still looked lovely, even without polish, as she has beautiful slender fingers and nails.

Back home Keith walked down to the pub and I tackled the front garden by sweeping up yet more leaves and tidying the verge where the rubbish had been. The plants weren't as damaged as I thought and by the time I finished it was all looking much tidier!

Sunny Sunday!

It's been a truly gorgeous day today with warm, dry and sunny weather. Poor Sophie had to go to work and I had a feeling they would be very quiet! Keith took Mike to Brixworth while I showered as I'd persuaded him to take me for a drink at the pub at lunchtime!

We sat in the garden initially and listened to the quiet clucking of the chickens, a sound I always find very soothing! They were gathered under the shade of a tree as it was very warm. We had one drink there and then retreated inside to sit at our usual seat at the window and we were surprised to find the pub almost empty. Perhaps it was too hot for a Sunday roast!

Later in the afternoon I took my Mum to Beckworth and she treated me to a scone and a cup of tea. Even Beckworth was quiet...perhaps a lot of people have gone off on holiday? We mooched about having a look at the plants and I treated myself to a pair of gardening gloves and a plant to replace one I threw away. It was very pretty with spiky purple flowers and loves a location in full sun so it should do well on the sunny garage wall.

Back home I just had time to water the garden before it was time to collect Sophie from work. She was in a bit of a bad mood as she was hot and felt as if she'd wasted a day being at work. She wasn't happy that Keith and I had gone to the pub and that I'd been out with Mum...maybe a glass of two of wine will put her in a better mood!

Rude awakening!

I woke up at 2am this morning and started worrying about Mike for some reason. I checked Messenger and saw he'd been on at 1am so I tried to go back to sleep hoping that he was safely at a friend's house.

However, I then saw a light go on in the house and got up to see if it was Sophie. Rather than my daughter responding, it was my son who shouted up from downstairs that he'd got a lift home! He couldn't get the key out of the lock and of course this then woke us all up! He was a bit merry and was carrying a huge McDonald's cup but I was just relieved to see him and know he was home safe! He was very chatty (tipsy) so we had a quick talk and then I packed him off to bed. The cat had sneaked in as well so rather than throw him back out and risk a lot of yowling we let him stay in.

It took me a while to get back to sleep but when I woke up again, the sun was shining. The weekend is forecast to be lovely - I hope it's right! After breakfast Keith and I tidied up the back garden. he hoovered (sorry, mowed) the lawn while I hoed the borders and picked up even more leaves. I'm starting to get obsessive about leaves!

At midday Sophie and I went to Market Harborough and had lunch in Costa Coffee. It's been a really warm (26c) and sunny day today and people were making the most of the sunshine by sitting outside. It was much cooler inside where we decided to sit!

Sophie bought some clothes in New Look and had a mooch in Monsoon but nothing caught her eye. The sales are on everywhere now and Autumn clothes are starting to creep in which is a bit of a depressing thought! I forgot to say in Thursday's post that when we went to Jones's there were Christmas decorations out on display...can you believe it? Some people haven't even been away for their summer holiday yet!

As it was getting warmer by the minute we decided to call it a day and after popping into Aldi to get some wine and lager for Keith we returned home to sit in the garden. Monty was delighted that we were sitting out and lay stretched out on the grass until he decided that was too warm for him so he sat underneath the garden seat!

In the evening we played cards and then barbecued. Keith had chopped up a load of logs in the morning and after we'd eaten he put them on the chimenea to burn.

We'd bought a bag of marshmallows in the shopping and we roasted these as well. Delicious!

Busy, busy!

I had so many things I needed to do today I didn't know where to start first! Keith cleaned the main bathroom and I brought the hoover up to get rid of the millions of tiny brown specks that have been blown in through the window. I have no idea where they come from but they are everywhere! They had even got stuck into the sealant around the tiles which was a pain.

After taking Sophie to work we came home and while Keith cooked breakfast of bacon and tomatoes, I swept the driveway as it was covered in dead leaves. The rubbish from our en-suite renovation is still outside the house and is a real eyesore. Darren called in this morning to "fix" the leak in the en-suite and promised he would be back next week to finish off the jobs that need doing. I have to admit that B&Q's service has been terrible and I certainly won't be using them again for any projects in the house.

Mike then wanted some help with his CV so I did that with him and caught up with my blog which I was really behind on! He wanted to go to Brixworth to see his mates and was planning on going to a party in the evening if he could get someone to put him up for the night!

The rest of the day was spent sweeping the front of the house and strimming the bit of verge I could get to! I had a long chat with Tom which was very pleasant - it's such a shame his wife Emma is not at all sociable and I still haven't seen their baby who is now nearly five months old!

Once I'd tidied up the front of the house I finished hoovering upstairs, replaced Sophie's bedding which had been washed and then gave downstairs a quick clean. Before I knew it it was time to pick up Sophie from work and I was looking forward to a chilled glass of wine and dinner. Mike called to say he was staying out overnight so while Keith went upstairs to watch Newcastle's first game of the season against Fulham (I had to pick him up from the pub early!) Sophie and I watched a very good film called Burnt starring the delicious Bradley Cooper! Mmm!

The braces come off!

Today didn't get off to a very good start as last night Mike drank the rest of the milk so there was none this morning for Keith's tea or my coffee! I was furious! To make it worse when I had a go at Mike about it, he laughed! I don't think he realises just how much I need coffee in the morning!

He had an appointment at 9am to have his braces removed by the Orthodontist and as Sophie was working later in the morning we all went. Keith took Mike while Sophie and I went to Costa so I could feed my addiction! I was still in a foul mood and the woman serving in Costa looked very grumpy as well. I very nearly said to her that a smile wouldn't go amiss, but I thought I'd already upset enough people for one morning!

I ordered a medium Latte which wasn't the best I'd ever had as it tasted very sweet...I also had a lemon muffin and took some painkillers for a headache I had so by the time we re-joined Keith and Mike I was feeling a bit more human!

We gave in to their pleading and took them to McDonald's for breakfast and then it was time for Sophie to start work. Mike wanted to go to Brixworth so we dropped him off and returned home to do the shopping list before trekking off to Tesco and Aldi.

I would rather have stayed at home as I wanted to tackle the messy floors and driveway but Keith wanted me to go with him as we needed some unusual ingredients, so I gave in. We did all the shopping and got home with enough time for lunch and a quick hoover before it was out again to collect Sophie.

She wanted to go to Jones's and I didn't think I needed much until we got there! I bought a new insulated lunch box to keep some food in for when I'm gardening and a flask for some tea! I then treated myself to a weeding tool on a long handle that should make that particular job a bit easier. With fat snax for the birds, an outdoor candle for Saturday night (we're barbecuing and it's supposed to be a lovely day) and a new duvet that I couldn't resist, I spent far more than I'd intended!

Back home I carried on with some cleaning and we went to collect Mike from Brixworth at 6pm. It had started to rain very heavily and he was soaked, poor thing! We spent a very pleasant evening playing cards and eating Toad in the Hole which we hadn't had for ages!

A fishy tale...

I wasn't looking forward to going to the Citizen's Advice Bureau today as I knew that the man I work with, Frank, was off for a funeral and it meant I would be all alone on Reception in the afternoon, something I really didn't feel happy about.

Keith drove me in this morning as I still can't face parking in the Mayorhold car park. He dropped me off outside the Guildhall and there was no sign, as I thought, of Frank. I fetched the keys to the offices and started to unlock and Hilary arrived. It was a bit like the blind leading the blind as one of the laptops wasn't working properly and in the end one of the staff members from the main office had to come over and sort it out.

We had a fairly busy morning with no real problems so that was a relief. I went out at lunchtime and sat in the courtyard with my lunch to phone Sophie who was at home all day. She was a bit bored! We had a chat and then it was back into the office for the afternoon session. hilary stayed until about 1.45pm so I was on my own until 3pm.

By now I was adept at booking appointments with the main office but if anything had cropped up that I didn't know how to deal with, I would have looked a bit silly! I think that there should be at least two people on Reception all the time as the advisors are constantly coming out and needing to book clients in for appointments or they need something printing off. Although I had a man come in at just before 3pm to ask about a problem, we did manage to finish by a quarter past and I rushed out to find my whole family in the car waiting for me!

It had been a gorgeous day all day (typical!) and when I got home I found that with the windows open, all the minute brown leaves had blown in and were all over the conservatory floor, all over our new en-suite floor (more of that later) and the driveway was covered in dead leaves of all kinds. I'd never seen such a mess!

We were due out again at 4.30pm as I'd booked to take the kids to see Finding Dory. For some reason I thought we were going to the cinema in Kettering and it was a good job I'd checked my confirmation email as I realised I'd booked Cineworld at Sixfields because we wanted to see the film in 3D. There was an immediate rush to leave as Sixfields is much further away!

Predictably, the traffic was horrendous but we arrived at the cinema at just after 5pm and after buying popcorn and drinks we made our way into the auditorium. It was almost empty, which surprised me, with only the top two rows taken. I was pleased but just as the film started a couple came in and sat right behind us! They were fine until almost the end when apparently the girl put her feet up on Sophie's and Mike's seats which was very annoying!

I called Keith as we left as he was cooking a curry and it was almost ready when we arrived home I went upstairs to change and noticed a puddle of water on the en-suite bathroom floor...

Back downstairs I told Keith who couldn't wait to finish his dinner and go and look. We both think it's coming from the new towel rail so that's a bit of a worry. We haven't heard from the men about coming back to finish off the room so tomorrow Keith will call B&Q and find out what's happening.

We spent the rest of the evening watching The Imitation Game, about Alan Turing and it was great to see the bits they'd filmed at Bletchley Park!

End of an era

Today has been horrible and it's rained all day. I suppose the gardens do need a good soaking, so I shouldn't complain!

Keith and I took Sophie to work and called to see Mum who was having a couple of issues with her computer. We renewed her anti-virus subscription for her and then it was home to do some studying for both the Citizen's Advice Bureau and my counselling course which I'm really behind with. Mike went off to Brixworth and before we knew it, it was time to collect Sophie from work. She was going out in the evening with some of her uni friends who had moved into their own student house. The pub they were going to was just around the corner from both their house and the university and Sophie was really looking forward to catching up with their news.

Keith left at the same time as we did and went to collect Mike from Brixworth. It was a gloomy, wet evening and the rain had continued all day. I took Sophie into town, came back and then drove Mike to his last ever Army Cadet session. As most of his friends are leaving he wanted to stop going as well, which is a real shame. He took his uniform in a big bag so he didn't even wear it again for one last time! It's the end of an era.

Keith and I had a very quiet evening without the kids! We ate cottage pie, our default meal whenever Sophie is out, and then watched an episode of The Glades. At 9pm we were back out again to collect Sophie and there was something going on over Moulton as the police helicopter was hovering overhead and there were three police cars parked on the road out of the village. Whatever it was, by the time we made the return journey to pick up Mike, they had all gone!

New job!

It's been a very busy day today as I had some ebay items to send off this morning and Keith wanted to go to the bank in Kingsthorpe. We set off at just after 9am, leaving both children in bed. The post office was very busy - probably with other people sending items off!

Back home I had a coffee and relaxed before Sue picked me up at midday. She has asked me to help her with a large garden in a village near Market Harborough and it's far too big for her to tackle on her own. I donned my garden clothes and my walking boots and we set off. Overhead it was cloudy but warm and I hoped it wouldn't rain!

As Sue had warned, the garden was huge! As well as a lawned areas with very weedy borders, there were stables, a vegetable garden, what looked like an orchard in the distance and a chicken run. We started off in one of the borders but then the owners came back and asked us to start weeding in another part of the garden. It was extremely hard work and to make matters worse the garden was on a steep slope! Over the four hours we were there we carted nine wheelbarrow loads of weeds to the bonfire heap and shovelled some compost onto the freshly weeded earth so we wouldn't have to do it all again the next time we visited.

By 3pm we were both gasping for a drink as we'd both forgotten to bring anything with us! Note for next time! The owner of the garden gave us some water and also made us a cup of tea. The heavy clouds passed over us and we managed to escape any rain, which was a bonus. I vowed to be a bit more ready next time and will definitely bring my kneeling mat and some drinks!

It was great to get back in the car and go home for a warm bath to soak my tired muscles. I'm just not used to physical work like that and I wonder how on earth Sue does it every day! After my bath I dressed in lovely clean clothes and awaited Sue's arrival as we'd planned on having wine and nibbles.

Sophie had very kindly cleaned the house for me and everything looked lovely and tidy. Sue arrived and brought some delicious food and a bottle of chilled Prosecco. Perfect! We had a good chat and Keith went off to the pub on his own. He came back an hour and a half later and tucked into the remainder of the nibbles...it was a good job we'd left some as that was his dinner!