Dead flies on the windowsill...

After Sophie went to work this morning, Keith and I drove to the Co-op at Moulton as I needed to get a 50th birthday card for my friend Andrea whose party we were going to this evening. They didn't have anything suitable so I said we'd go to Beckworth instead. On the way, we came across a little accident where an elderly lady had somehow managed to wedge her Mini up onto a very high kerb and was well and truly stuck. Keith got out to see if he could help and a man in front also get out to help but it meant none of us could go any further.

Eventually, they managed to push the car a bit so we could all drive past and a woman stayed with her until more help arrived. We drove to Beckworth and I found a lovely card, so that was a relief! I really should have got one earlier in the week!

Back home we had a quick breakfast and then I made a start on the conservatory. I am totally fed up with all the dead flies, cobwebs and general muck so I laboured away, up and down the step ladders until things looked a lot better. Keith came to help and after a lot of toing and froing we changed all the furniture around so we can now open the double doors that lead out onto the gravel garden. The sofa was originally in front of them so we never opened them, which was a shame. In the middle of it all, Mike suddenly appeared with his friend Brad and they changed and showered before disappearing again!

Our Southwold stone man and the shells from Sanibel

It felt great to finally finish as it was really hot work! I was so pleased with how it all looked and after cleaning the soffit above our garage door and the door itself, I went and put a colour on my hair and relaxed a bit!

Sophie arrived home from work and approved of the changes we'd made and while she ate her dinner Keith and I got ready to go out. The party was being held in the cellar bar of a pub in the village of Ecton and it was in full swing when we arrived. Andrea looked stunning in her dress and there were lots of very tanned people all having a great time. Parties aren't really my thing but we stayed for almost two hours and it was lovely chatting to Fiona and her husband, and Lynda who looked very glamorous.

We were home before 10pm and Keith made me a delicious Gin and Tonic to relax with before bed!

Phew! It's Friday!

Although we didn't get a huge amount of calls this morning, the ones we did have were fairly complicated, including several playscheme bookings which took forever to sort out! It was a relief to go home at 2pm and enjoy a slice of Sophie's banana and almond cake with a dollop of cold custard! Delicious!

We only had a handful of children in the afternoon and Lisa's daughter helped me mop the floor so that passed a few minutes. Lisa and I are both looking forward to the last day of term now and we have just three weeks to go!

We were finished at 5.30pm which was a lovely bonus and I rushed home to enjoy a glass of sparkling wine with Sophie. I'd bought a bottle of Tokaji in Lidl and was looking forward to tasting it. I liked it but Sophie did not so she opened a bottle of our old faithful Pinot Gris from Aldi instead! We settled down to watch The Snowman starring Michael Fassbender but after about twenty minutes gave up! We hadn't got a clue what was happening!

Memories!

I was on my own for an hour at work this morning but at least it was nice and quiet. It became noisier as the morning wore on!

Today had started off grey and cloudy but the sky soon cleared and we had sunshine and blue skies again. My morning was fairly busy and I sped home at 2pm to have a chat with Sophie and change.

We only had ten children at the After-School Club and we spent the whole session out in the playground again. In the distance I could see a bank of white cloud but it was very slow moving and I did wonder if it meant we'd get a thunderstorm later on.

I was at home before 6pm and we settled down to watch Dale Winton's Florida Fly Drive. It's such a shame he has now passed away but it looked like he was having the time of his life in the Sunshine State! He visited Sanibel, Captiva and Naples so it was wonderful seeing places we'd visited on the television. That's a recording to keep so we can watch it again!

I feel asleep on the sofa in the evening when England were playing Belgium. It was a good job we didn't win!

Decisions, decisions!

As Sophie has an interview with BA next week for Cabin Crew, we went to see a friend of mine who works on their long haul flights, and has been an employee with them for over twenty years. She lives on our estate so we walked over at 10am and had a cup of tea and a chat.

She was very honest about the company and what Sophie should expect when she goes for her interview and she gave us a lot of very good advice. We were there for about an hour and when we got home Keith was ready to go out as we needed petrol for Sophie's car.

We went over to Kettering and visited Next, where Sophie picked up a blouse and some jewellery, and B&M where I bought yet more bird food. It's been another warm and sunny day and as we were leaving my Mum phoned and asked if we could go over and help them with their garden furniture as they wanted to put it on their decking so they could sit and enjoy the beautiful weather.

After we'd helped them put out their sofa and chairs we went home for lunch and Sophie decided to wash her dusty little car. Although the weather's great it has made everything so dry and I'd love to see a good downpour of rain to clean our conservatory roof!

We had sixteen children at the After-School Club this afternoon so it was a much better session. All the children played outside really well. On the way home I came across Keith and Sophie who had walked down to meet me and we returned to relax and have our "picnic" dinner which was lovely!

After dinner we had a chat about the BA interview and Sophie decided that if she did get the job she would find it hard to commute down to Heathrow and the six weeks of training was a bit daunting, seeing as she'd just spent three years studying. She decided to withdraw her application, which was a relief to me, to be honest! The thought of her driving back and forth to Heathrow was a bit worrying!

Keith wanted to watch the football and cricket after dinner so Sophie and I retired upstairs with Monty to see 90 Day Fiance. It was lovely and cool in our bedroom and made a good end to a busy day!

The perfect find!

As we now no longer have to take Mike to college on a Tuesday morning, we are free to go wherever we like to do the shopping for tonight's and tomorrow's dinners! We therefore went off to Rushden and visited the Lidl there for a change.

The next few days are expected to be hot so we chose burgers and salad for tonight followed by a "picnic" on Wednesday evening, i.e. sandwiches, salad, pork pie, etc. It's too hot to cook a heavy meal in this weather!

After the shopping we called into Rushden Lakes and went to House of Fraser where Sophie spotted a beautiful dusky pink crushed velvet dress from Biba for her graduation. It looked gorgeous on her and although she tried on other dresses, we all thought the Biba one was the best. It was also reduced from £110 down to £32 which I thought was marvellous! What a result! She was so pleased.

We drove home and had lunch and tried to keep cool. The temperature was about 26-27c and the school Dance Afternoon was on today so I felt sorry for all the hot parents and children roasting in the playground! Because of this, Keith gave me a lift to school as it was utter bedlam, with cars everywhere and parents trying to leave. In the hall, there had been stalls set out so Lisa and I helped to clear away and sweep up.

Although some of the mums had been to the Dance Afternoon they left their children with us, so we had six little ones again. They seemed quite happy to play out in the playground despite the heat and Lisa and I tried to keep cool by sticking to the shadier parts!

Although I'm enjoying the warm weather and the sunshine and blue skies, I think the time has now come for some rain! The grass has turned to straw and our conservatory is dry, dusty and covered in dollops of bird poo again. I think the last time we had any significant rain was the 27 May, with a few light showers on the 31 May so everything is really suffering. The only good thing is that with the felling of our Eucalyptus tree, we don't have leaves covering the lawn. That really used to annoy me!

Keith and Sophie picked me up at 6pm and we went home to play cards in the conservatory and drink a bottle of Le Chouffe. Sadly, it tasted nothing like it did when we were sipping it in Wimereux!

Good news!

I'd managed to shelve my worries about the job over the weekend but this morning I needed to speak to somebody about retracting my resignation. Luckily, as I walked in, Sheila was standing at Reception and told me that the girl I work with on a Monday wasn't coming in so would I be OK to work on my own?

This then gave me an opportunity to say I'd made a dreadful mistake accepting the court job and would they take me back? Sheila almost danced with joy so that was enough of an answer! She then texted Sara and now everything is back to normal so that's a huge relief!

I covered the phones and at times the calls were relentless so I was very busy. I then realised that the girl who takes my place at 2pm wasn't coming in until 4pm so I offered to stay on until then and let Lisa know I would be late. As the headmaster of the school hasn't even spoken to me since I handed my resignation in, I had no qualms about supporting this job as they had been so happy to have me back and told me how much I was valued there, something that has never happened at the school (I never received an employment contract from them). I now can't wait until the school breaks up for the summer on the 20 July! I told Lisa I will work the extra week to help out so everyone was pleased. Phew!

At 4pm I sped to work and parked right outside the school. I found Lisa and the children sheltering from the heat in the small lean to and I was glad to see there were only five children booked in. Amazingly, everyone went early so I was able to go home at 5.30pm. What a bonus! I sat with Keith and Sophie in the cool of our living room and we just talked about our day, especially as Mike had been late for work this morning as he'd been out at a friend's house and Keith had been looking for him in the village at 6am. That's the last time he's staying out on a night before work!

We had a simple supper of soup, crusty bread and croutons and enjoyed a chocolate dessert and cream for pud! The weather is set to get even hotter in the middle of the week so we've planned very light meals! I think we need to invest in a barbecue!

A spot of shopping.

Sophie and I went to Milton Keynes today as she is on the hunt for a Graduation dress. It's been another warm and sunny day and I was struck by the lack of air conditioning in the shops. Are things that bad for retailers? It would have made today's trip a lot more comfortable!

Sophie wanted to drive so I directed her and she did really well as it was her first time going to Milton Keynes and driving on, to her, unfamiliar roads. After parking in the large multi-storey car park we went for brunch at Giraffe, and were served by a very friendly waiter who explained why it was so quiet - England were playing Panama today at 1pm! We had a delicious meal - I went for the Big Brunch while Sophie opted for the Morning Po Boy. It certainly made a good start to our day!

We went to M&S first as Sophie wanted some good foundation underwear. She chose a body shaper but it was dirty on the hem so we asked the assistant for another, but they didn't have any more in stock. At the cash desk I asked if they could do anything with the price and we were awarded £7 off! Result!

We then had a good look in House of Fraser, Monsoon, John Lewis, Next and Coast, where she tried on four beautiful dresses. There were sales on everywhere so some of the shops resembled jumble sales with Zara being the worst - the clothes were heaped up in piles all over the place and we took one look and turned back around!

Before going into Debenhams we treated ourselves to an ice-cream sundae from Baskin Robbins which was truly delicious! By now we were hot and tired and had almost had enough. In Debenhams she tried on two gorgeous velvet dresses, one in a beautiful blue and another in red, but one size was too small and the size up too large! I think they would have been too hot anyway.

We decided to call it a day and. feeling a bit disappointed, headed for home the way we'd arrived, via the A5 and the A508. Unfortunately, as we neared the roundabout to take the A5 we saw that the road was closed and we were diverted away from Northampton, following a long route that seemed to take us a fair distance from the way we wanted to go. Sophie was quite nervous and I made it even worse by panicking slightly, as we hadn't got a road map in the car with us and Google maps on my phone was telling us to take small random roads that looked like they led nowhere!

We arrived in Buckingham and stopped to buy a useless road map from a garage. It was all they had and the print was so small I had to use my glasses! We've been to Buckingham before and I wanted to get onto the A43 which would have taken us straight home but we couldn't see any signs for the road, just the M40 which I definitely didn't want to take!

We headed out of Buckingham and unfortunately, headed back onto the same road so we met the diversion signs again! I was hoping to get back into Milton Keynes and then take the M1 home and we ended up in the middle of the countryside with a lot of other, very confused drivers!

We agreed that I would take over driving while Sophie used her phone to navigate and we turned around as there was a huge queue up ahead. We returned to the roundabout and took the sign for the village of Deanshanger. From there we took a very narrow single track road and we were soon joined b y loads of other cars who were all trying to find their way around the diversion! Up ahead was another massive queue of cars so I got out and questioned the man in front of us who was trying to get to Bedford! I'm sure he was on the wrong road!

Eventually, the knot of cars in front of us sorted themselves out and we drove in a tight convoy through the countryside and back out onto the A508. Phew! It was such a relief to get home! Keith then told me that Mike was in Chapel Brampton seeing a new girlfriend and we had to pick him up in a short while! I just wanted to sit and relax in the sun with a drink!

After we collected him it was time for a G&T and a sit in the garden before Sophie and I cooked a chicken noodle dish from the Hairy Biker's Chicken and Egg cookbook. It turned out very well and was delicious!

Going on a mooch!

Today has been dry and warm but we've had a covering of cloud which has made it feel quite oppressive. Sophie went off to work and Keith and I dropped my Dad's car back to him first thing as he had plans to drive to Tesco's with Mum today to do their shopping. I think it's a bit too soon, but he was adamant he wanted to go.

At lunchtime Keith and I decided to go for a "mooch" - a term we use for wandering around our beautiful countryside and exploring pubs. We headed for the The Saracen's Head at Little Brington first, a pub I used to deliver to last year when I worked for Majestic. There was another couple at the bar but that was it, so it was very quiet. We stood and had a drink and chatted, occasionally glancing at the television in the corner which was showing the World Cup.

From here, we drove to the next village of Great Brington, and The Althorp Coaching Inn. This was a lot busier with people enjoying the sunshine in the garden and several men in the bar reading papers and watching the football. There was a lovely relaxed atmosphere in the pub and smells of woodsmoke permeated the air. This is a heavenly place on a cold winter's night when they have the log fires burning!

From Great Brington we drove across country to Long Buckby and The Old Kings Head. It's tucked away in the middle of this large village and we nearly had a mishap in the car park when I parked on some broken glass!

There was a private function on in one of the bars so we had to go into the "snug" and we had to wait a good while to be served, so that wasn't a good start! This pub seems to have jumped firmly onto the Gin bandwagon and had a huge range of Gins behind the bar, accompanied by every tonic that Fever Tree produce. Keith just had a half pint here and we went to sit in the comfortable chairs in the corner which was very relaxing and beat standing at the bar which we'd done previously!

Our last pub of the day was supposed to have been The New Inn at Long Buckby Wharf but it's situated on the very busy A5 (and on the side of a canal) and as we approached I could see queues of cars waiting to park. We sped on and saw a sign for Ashby St Ledgers so we decided to go to The Olde Coach House instead. We went a long time ago and haven't been back since so we were surprised to see it quite changed from years ago and it's now a pub with rooms. This village has links with Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder plot, but there was very little mention of it in the pub, just a lot of white wood and stone flagged floors. The round here was the most expensive of the whole mooch - £6.30 for a pint of beer and a Fever Tree tonic - but the service and friendliness was the best. Keith wasn't happy with his beer and it was changed without any fuss. We stood at the bar and chatted and soaked up the relaxed atmosphere. Hopefully we won't leave it so long before we go back again!

The drive home took us through the stunning Northamptonshire countryside, passing through the villages of West Haddon, Ravensthorpe, Spratton and Brixworth. The cloud hadn't lifted at all and it was very warm.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and in the evening I helped Keith cook Beef Stroganoff for dinner. Mike was out with friends so didn't make it to the table!

Worry, worry!

Needless to say I didn't sleep that well last night, worrying about the job and wondering whether it's really right for me. At the moment I'm earning more by working part-time!

Unfortunately, for me, Sara is now off as her daughter is getting married but she seemed genuinely sorry to see me go, so she might let me withdraw my notice! However, I'm not going to stay on at the school as Lisa has a new job to go to in September and doing two jobs has become harder to do lately. I hate the rushing around at 2pm!

Work was quiet with phone calls, but I had plenty to do for Sheila so the morning passed very pleasantly. It helped that there were only four of us in the office so it was very quiet! As soon as I got home I checked my emails and discovered that there is no staff parking at the court, all that happens is you get put on a reserve list for a space, and as a new starter I could guarantee I'd be way down on the list! I even looked at getting the bus but I would have to leave at 7.30am and not get home until 7pm! And that would cost over £11 a day! I spoke to Keith who agreed that it wouldn't be economical for me to take the job as it would cost me £40 a week to park or £108 a month to buy a permit!

At school we had five Reception year boys and one slightly older girl, so it seemed a long session! We stayed indoors at first as it was quite warm but the children wanted to go out and play so we took them into the playground so they could run about like mad things!

Sophie came home half an hour after me and we sat and enjoyed a glass of wine before dinner. Thanks heavens it's Saturday tomorrow!

A small shock...

I woke up feeling a bit tired and headachy this morning and although we hadn't had that much to drink, I think it was the combination of Prosecco, The Ned and the two different reds that caused me to feel a bit hungover. I'm glad Keith was driving!

As the morning wore on I felt a bit better and did a lot of work for Sheila so that made the time go quite quickly. When I came out at 2pm my Mum and Dad were in the car as Keith had taken them to the doctor's. We took them home and then Keith dropped me off before going to get Mike from work. We cut it very fine!

We didn't have that many children in the after-school club and again, we went out into the playground and made the most of the sunny and dry weather. It hasn't rained for ages now and next week is set to be a heatwave with temperatures hitting the 30c mark! Phew!

When I arrived home I found that my contract for the court had been emailed to me and I received a bit of a shock when I saw my salary - it was paltry and I'm sure it was lower than I remembered! I also had another worry as there was no mention of car parking in the welcome letter. I knew the car park next to the court charged £8 a day and with that salary and the cost of diesel getting there and back, it would leave me with very little every week. I was angry with myself for not asking the question sooner (at interview would have been ideal!) so I emailed the woman who had spoken to me about the start date and I just now need to wait to see what she she says. If there is no available staff parking, I have a bit of a dilemma!

Nibbles and wine.

Keith and I took Mike to college this morning as he had to get some work finished for his course. We then drove to Mum and Dad's to have a coffee and my Mum asked me to pick up a prescription for her at the pharmacy at Weston Favell.

I'd said to Keith I fancied doing something different today but going to the chemist and the Weston Favell Centre wasn't really what I imagined! However, we drove back over and called in to Screwfix to get some sealant for the bathroom. How I contained my excitement, I'll never know!

We did have a coffee with Sophie, though, who was at work and I was hit by that nostalgic feeling again when she produced a sign we'd bought at Gatorland in Florida when we first visited with my Mum and Dad back in 2009. The new owners didn't want it displayed any more so we could take it home with us. I felt quite teary when I thought back to buying it as it was very apt for our business at the time! It went like this:

Open most days about 9 or 10
Occasionally as early as 7, but some days
As late as 12 or 1
We close about 5.30 or 6
Occasionally about 4 or 5 but
Sometimes as late as 11 or 12.
Some days or afternoons we
Aren't here at all, and lately
I've been here just about all the time
Except when I'm someplace else
But I should be here then, too.

It's been almost three years since we owned the business but when I look around and see things we'd bought or chose, it does make me feel very emotional still.

Keith and I went home and had lunch and then I hoovered upstairs before going to the school at 3pm. It's been another glorious day so we spent the whole session out in the playground, which was lovely. I'm developing a great tan!

In the evening Sophie and I walked up to Michelle's house for wine and nibbles. We took a bottle of The Ned Pinot Gris and some breadsticks and dips to add to the feast. We sat in the living room and waited for Sue who was out gardening still. Richard came home and joined us in a glass of wine and we really had a lovely evening, with lots of naughty gossip and loads of laughter. I'd planned on being home for 10.30pm but when I asked Sophie the time she said it was 11.15pm! We scuttled off home double quick as I have work tomorrow!

Mundane chores...

Sophie drove herself to work and Keith and I followed soon after as we had to go to the Weston Favell Centre, to go to the bank and Tesco. I visited the international foods aisle but it wasn't the same without my daughter with me!

When we finished we drove over to Mum and Dad's and after having a coffee with them, I drove Dad's car home as I needed transport to get me to work in the afternoon. I suppose I could have walked but it's quite warm again even though we've had a fair amount of cloud today. I also cleaned the downstairs of the house before starting work and I sweated buckets! Ugh! It needed doing though and I was really pleased when I'd finished and the rooms looked a lot cleaner, with no cobwebs about!

Sophie popped in to see me at the after-school club on her way home from work which was a lovely surprise and she met the children we look after. They quizzed her on what the school had been like when she was there so she chatted away about her time while two of the girls messed about with Lisa's and my hair!

After school it was home to relax and play cards in the conservatory. Sophie has an interview with British Airlines in a couple of weeks and as it's at 7.30am in the morning, we booked a hotel room overnight beforehand as a treat!

Monday again!

It's amazing how quickly Mondays come around again! There were three of us working today - Mike, Sophie and me - so poor Keith had to do some ferrying about! I drove myself to work and had a fairly busy morning so at least the time went by very quickly. I formally gave my notice in to Sara who is still upset that I'm leaving but said she will put me on a casual contract in case I fancy doing some extra hours!

After work I returned home to an empty house as Keith was out picking up Mike from work. They appeared in the distance as I was leaving for school so tomorrow I'm going to go and get Dad's car as Sophie will be driving herself to work and I can't wait until Keith gets home at almost 3pm to leave for the school.

We only had three children in the after-school club so it was a very quiet session. We could have gone to the park but we hadn't had a consent form back from one little girl's mum so we had to stay in the playground. Hopefully, next week, we'll be able to go as a treat. The weather today has been a bit hit and miss, with cloudy skies, sunny spells and a brisk wind.

We finished well before 6pm and I sped off to get Sophie from work. On our return home I discovered Keith had bought me a bottle of Elderflower Gin from Tesco. Not Warner Edwards, but it was just as good!

Father's Day treat!

We enjoyed a lazy morning and at midday, Sophie and I went to collect my Mum and Dad as we were taking them out for lunch for Father's Day. Mike had made an appearance earlier so Keith was able to open his presents and cards from him and Sophie.

Today has been grey and overcast with a nasty little wind blowing. My Dad was very pleased with his bottle of Woodford Reserve bourbon and his card from me. I just hope it puts a bit of colour in his cheeks!

We drove to Sywell as I'd planned on going to The Aviator, a bar and restaurant for lunch. I'd looked on the menu and was sure they served sandwiches and snacks but when we got there they were only doing Sunday roasts. My plan fell to pieces! Last year, when I'd been delivering wine here I'd seen people sitting on the terrace and enjoying lunch whilst watching the planes so that was a huge disappointment. There was another cafe called The Pilots Mess but it was a fair walk away and then up two flights of stairs so that was definitely out! My Dad was OK walking with a crutch but already he looked tired.

We had no option but to go to Beckworth, and I'm glad we did, as we had a lovely, relaxed lunch. We had to wait about twenty minutes and Mum and Dad were given a chair to sit on while we waited, at the front of the queue so they didn't have to stand.

I ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio for Sophie, Mum and me while Dad enjoyed a glass of Rioja. We had a really lovely lunch and a good chat but afterwards we took Mum and Dad straight home without looking at the plants and food as he'd done more in a couple of hours than he'd done in six weeks, and was really tired.

Sophie and I returned home and I had a nap on the sofa before we prepared tonight's meal - Chicken in Brandy - from the Hairy Bikers' Mums Know Best recipe book. It was very straightforward and not at all complicated!

Sunny Saturday

Keith and I went to get the papers this morning and dropped one into Mum and Dad before returning home. They seemed a bit subdued today and I think that staying in the house all the time has definitely had an effect on them. Hopefully, when we go out tomorrow they'll feel better.

At home I sorted out the laundry as today has been a perfect drying day with plenty of sunshine and a lovely breeze. I prepared tonight's dinner of Coq au Vin and caught up with various jobs that needed doing.

Mike graced us with his presence mid-morning and after making a mess in the kitchen and having a shower, off he went again, after relieving me of £25 which I lent him until he gets paid! He also seems a lot happier so maybe this job is doing him good! Let's keep everything crossed!

After doing some frustrating work on my family tree I went and had a lovely bath and awaited Sophie's return from work. She arrived home at about 6.30pm after having a busy day and was more than ready for a cold Brahma. I enjoyed a G&T before finishing off the dinner. Mike was staying out again so there was only the three of us eating.

Sophie and I watched a film while Keith went to watch the golf upstairs. At the moment he's in heaven as there's cricket on, the World Cup, rugby and golf!

We did a time-lapse video of the evening skies. It was a gorgeous evening!

Phew! It's Friday!

I nervously told the centre manager at work this morning my news and also let Sara know. She said she was gutted and did seem genuinely upset. However, she said that if things didn't work out I could always go back which was lovely, and a bit of a relief, I have to admit. I've obviously got used to working there and knowing (mostly!) what I'm doing but I think we are going to get more jobs to do in the future and it's been hinted that the summer holidays are manic!

As news got around, I had a lot of people offer their congratulations, but Sheila, in particular, seemed sad as I do a lot of extra work for her and I'd been doing a job for her all morning in between answering calls.

I received a phone call from Sophie as I left, asking if I could pick her up. This was a real bonus as I thought I'd be going to get her at 6pm. She said that work for her was very quiet and I know that feeling only too well! June was always a terrible month when we had the business!

I was surprised to see Lisa when I got to the school as she had an interview today and told me she wouldn't be in work until about 4.30pm. She had got the job so that means there's now two of us leaving and not returning in September!

We only had seven children and we spent the whole session outside again. It was a glorious afternoon and it was great chatting to the parents when they arrived to pick up their children. Even Mike showed up to say hello and to let me know he was spending the night at a friend's house. No need for him to get up early tomorrow! He has done really well this week and I'm proud of him!

 Keith and Sophie walked to meet me and we left Keith at the pub before heading home to open a bottle of sparkling Vouvray I had put on ice to celebrate with!

Good news at last!

We awoke to a windy, overcast day and apparently Storm Hector is affecting northern parts of the UK.

I had a busy session at work but my job doing the cinema box office returns has now ended. The woman who normally does them returned from holiday and she gave me no feedback at all as to how I'd done - not even a thank you! I felt like an old discarded sock!

My phone had pinged a few times during the morning and on my way to the car I checked my messages and I had a voicemail from the woman at the court...I'd passed all the vetting and when could I start? Hooray! However, as I ended the message I must have pressed 3 by mistake I deleted the message with details of her mobile phone number! I couldn't believe it!

I dashed home and frantically tried to find the number of the court but all I got was an automated message! Finally I got through to the Clerk's office and a woman I spoke to had the number I needed. I phoned straight away and we have decided on the 16 July, one week before the children break up for the summer holidays!

I was almost late for work as I had been mucking about with the number so I dashed off again and made it just in time! We had a fair amount of confusion this afternoon with the children attending but it was all sorted out in the end and we had about 16 children! We spent the whole time outdoors as the weather had improved from this morning and it was sunny and warm.

Sophie cooked enchiladas for dinner with spicy stir-fried vegetables and they were delicious!

Yet another hectic Wednesday!

Keith and I took my car to the garage in Broughton first thing this morning before I then took Sophie into work as we needed her car today! Perhaps we should have three cars now!

I returned home and managed to mow the back lawn and do some tidying up before I went to collect my parents to take them to hospital for Dad's physiotherapy session at 11.30am. After I dropped them off I sped home and had a shower and then it was time to pick them up again! My Dad wanted to go and have a coffee so we went to the Costa at Tesco and he really enjoyed his Cappuccino with a bacon roll. They felt so much better for being out and it's hoped he can start driving again soon. He seems to be much better on his feet now which is a relief.

After I took my parents home I had lunch and then Keith and I watched the clock as we were expecting a delivery today but we also had to go and collect my car and pick Mike up from work. Keith said he would leave at 2pm, go and get Mike then come back for me, drop me off at work and then go and pay for the work done on my car, and park it outside the garage ready for us to pick it up when I'd finished work at 6pm. I would then go and get Sophie...phew!

However, with just minutes to spare, our delivery arrived (the Chouffe Belgian beer and glass I'd ordered last week) so we were able to speed off to Broughton, pick up my car and Keith went on his merry way to get Mike! The bill for the work on my car came to £185 which was a bit more than I was expecting, to be honest. Oh well! I returned home, did some small chores and then went off to work at 3pm, hoping that we'd get away on time tonight!

We had two women come and visit us this afternoon who were looking at what we were providing in terms of childcare (I think they were from the council) so Lisa was tied up with them for over an hour. I prepared the snack, doled it out and washed up and was a bit disappointed with the children as they thought it was great to play up a bit, even though they knew both of us were busy. There was also a lot of bickering and fighting going on so it was quite a stressful session!

We had one child left at the end and it was getting on for 6pm. The annoying thing was that we knew his mum was at home so there was no reason he was so late, especially after she'd called Lisa earlier in the afternoon to assure us she would pick him up at 5.30pm. Lisa let me go a few minutes early which was good of her and I sped off to get Sophie who had been sending me texts asking me to get there as early as I could. When I arrived they were shutting the gates so I'd got there in the nick of time! I heard from Lisa that the mum arrived on the dot of 6pm, so the poor boy had been on his own with us for almost twenty minutes!

When we arrived home we sorted out the menu for the week and bickered about Father's Day which is on Sunday, so hardly the relaxing evening I'd anticipated!

Mooching about!

Mike was back at work today so at least he's giving the job a chance! I woke up to hear Keith come home but stayed awake this morning!

We went over to Tesco and left Sophie at home to get ready. We called to see Mum and Dad and took them a paper and I learned that my Dad had a physiotherapy session tomorrow! I wish I'd known earlier!

We returned home, picked Sophie up and went to Jones's as I needed bird food again! We are still being visited by flocks of starlings, sparrows, blackbirds and the little blue tits, but we also have very hungry bigger birds visiting in the early morning, such as rooks, jackdaws and magpies and it's these that take all the food on the ground. They even try and hang off the feeders!

After Jones's we went to Riverside and visited Boots and Next as Sophie needs a new dress for her graduation ceremony next month. There was nothing at all in Next so we returned home for some lunch and a mooch about. It was too late to start anything worthwhile so I literally hung about until it was time to start work at 3pm.

We had a good session and stayed outside for the whole afternoon. It's been a mixed day of sunshine and clouds and a lot cooler than yesterday, thank goodness. It was quite hot! It was lovely to get home again, play cards in the conservatory and sip a Gin and Tonic. Bliss!

A hectic day!

Keith and Mike were up at 5am this morning and I heard Keith return before falling asleep again, having a weird dream just before I woke up of being in a maths class at school!

As ET was due in the garage this morning, I drove to work with Sophie so she could then take the car into town, followed by Keith in my car. I had a fairly busy morning at work, but the phones were down for a good while as they were playing up. Even when they came back on they were still not right and it made it very difficult talking to the customers, especially when they were paying for a class over the phone!

For some reason I'd forgotten that Keith needed to pick me up but that also Mike was finishing at 2pm as well! Sophie and Keith collected me and we sped over to the golf club to find Mike ready to go home. He was all sweaty, had sunburned shoulders and looked exhausted. He wasn't that keen on the job and said it had been hard work! Why he wants to do it is beyond me!

I arrived home ten minutes before I was due to leave again so I just had time to get changed before Keith dropped me off at the school. As it's been a glorious day today we spent the whole session in the playground and one of the little girls drew me a picture of a sun. I think she's taken a shine to me as when her Mum arrived to take her home she ran and hid from her!

It has been hot today, though, with temperatures of about 25c, so towards the end of the session we took the children into the shade and played basketball with them. We had three siblings who don't normally attend and they were picked up on the dot of 6pm!

Keith and Sophie had come to collect me and we walked down to the pub car park. When we arrived home I was delighted with how good ET's bumper looked, so that was great. My car has also been booked in for early July.

Keith and I played cards in the conservatory and I sipped a delicious Gin and Tonic. Have I been converted?!

An encounter with dinosaurs!

Today has been beautiful, with clear blue skies and lots of sunshine. Keith and I went to Tesco this morning and I bought a pack of tonic water to go with the Gin I bought yesterday. On the way home we called to see Mum and Dad and had a quick coffee.

As soon as we got back I washed my car as it was filthy. I want Keith to get a quote for the scratches on my car tomorrow when he takes ET in to have the bumper repaired. After I'd washed the car Keith and I had a wander around the garden and noticed that a tree on our neighbour's side of the garden was completely dead. We have no idea why it should suddenly die but I'll try and get in touch with Sarah and we'll offer to cut it down.

I then tackled the bird mess on our conservatory roof, which is a real nuisance. We'd only cleaned the conservatory a few weeks ago and it's filthy again with a thick sticky substance coating the glass and ample dollops of bird poo. I cleaned off as much as I could in the limited amount of time I had and then went inside to get a bath!

In the early evening we all went off to Milton Keynes to Cineworld to see the latest Jurassic Park film, Fallen Kingdom, in 4DX. Sophie treated us to popcorn and drinks and we took our places in the busy theatre. We were certainly thrown about a lot with this film and soon Sophie and I were screaming and laughing! We enjoyed the film and it ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, awaiting the next instalment in 2021, I think!

We went to The Banana Tree for dinner afterwards, in the Milton Keynes hub. It was quiet, which I hadn't expected, and we were seated at a long table in the middle of the restaurant. This was a bit unfortunate as Mike decided to start an argument about tattoos. As you can imagine, we didn't have the best of evenings and although the food was very good I'm not sure we'll go back. I started with chicken dumplings (as did Sophie) and I enjoyed a very tasty sweet and sour crispy chicken to follow.  Mike didn't enjoy his noodle soup at all and said it was nowhere as good as Akasaka. We all had a beer and the bill came to £93 and that was with a 20% student discount!

We left at about 9.30pm and had a very good journey home on the M1. It was great that it was still light! Mike starts his new job tomorrow and judging by his mood tonight, I don't think he is looking forward to it one bit!

A Gin tasting!

My friend Lynda came to pick me up this morning as we were off to a Gin Tasting with Andrea and Fiona at the Warner Edwards distillery in Harrington. We'd been looking forward to it for ages as the Gin is enormously popular and the tours and tastings get booked up really quickly. At the time we didn't know that today was National Gin day!

We were a bit early so we sat in the car park and chatted until the girls arrived. The farm where the Gins are made isn't that big at all, which was surprising, seeing as the brand is now so successful. We were given a Gin of our choice with a Fever Tree mixer and both Andrea and I went for the Honeybee Gin mixed with Mediterranean tonic. Lynda sipped on a Sloe Gin while Fiona went for the London Dry.

We sat outside until the tour began and had a good chat as it had been a while since we'd all seen each other properly. I hadn't finished my drink when the tour started but that was OK as you could take the glass with you! We walked across the road and gazed out over the acres of fields that belonged to the farm. The woman leading the tour gave us a history of how it all started and told us that there were springs in the area that were used in the distilling process.

We then went into a tiny barn that housed "Curiosity" the German made still that produces every bottle of Gin they make. Again, as they are now so successful, another still is on order and the two will be housed side by side in a bigger barn. We were shown all the botanicals that go into the Gin and given juniper berries to squash between our fingers to release the aromas. It was a very informative talk and the lady running it was clearly passionate about the product, as all the staff seem to be.

After this we all sat in the tasting room and tasted all six of the Gins Warner Edwards produces. We started with the London Dry, mixed with a little tonic and then worked our way through the Melissa, Lemon Balm, Elderflower (my favourite), Rhubarb and Sloe Gin. We then had the opportunity to buy whichever ones we wanted and although I had said to Lynda I wasn't going to get anything as I'm a Vodka drinker, I couldn't resist a bottle of the Elderflower as it was delicious.

From the distillery we drove the very short distance to the Tollemache Arms pub and asked if they had a table free for lunch. They said there'd be an hour's wait but after ordering our drinks (Gin cocktails, naturally!) they said we could be seated immediately. Poor Lynda, as the designated driver, stuck to tonic water but our cocktails were delicious.

We had a lovely time and ordered two different breads to eat while we looked at the menu (and to soak up the alcohol!). We all chose the Pork Belly Bites as a starter followed by burgers (Fiona and I), pizza for Andrea and Macaroni cheese for Lynda. We sampled a sweet bottle of Zinfandel Rose with the meal, which at £20, was the only gripe of the meal. I thought it was over-priced for what it was.

We definitely had no room at all for dessert and Lynda very kindly drove us all home. The weather had brightened up a bit and it was great to get back and relax. Amazingly, I didn't fall asleep! When Sophie came home we had a good chat and the rest of my family had dinner while I sat at the table with them. I certainly wasn't hungry!

After dinner we watched a film but I was more interested in the antics of a pair of pigeons on Paul and Sue's roof and gazing at the ever-changing evening sky, which was beautiful!

Time drags!

After being busy for the last few days it was a bit of a shock to have a quiet day at work, and the time really dragged. However, just before my shift finished one of the other managers showed me how to do a new job which would have kept me busy all morning!

On the way home I called to pick up Mike who had been at college. Keith and Sophie were at the hospital as it was time for Keith to have his routine body scan and our daughter had gone with him in my place. I felt awful for not being able to go with him, but Sophie was a fine substitute.

We only had four children in the after-school club so the time dragged a bit there, as well. However, it was great to give our attention to the children we did have and I think they enjoyed themselves! Keith and Sophie called in on their way home and it was great to catch up with them after the hospital visit. The weather today has been a lot better and we've had a good dose of sunshine and blue skies.

When I walked down to the pub to get the car, Sophie and Keith met me and a lot of people were starting the weekend on a good note by having a drink outside on the picnic tables. Keith stayed for a drink while Sophie drove me home and we started watching the last film in the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy. I was really tired, though, so we decided to leave it until another time! I just wanted to sip a glass of wine and chill out on the sofa! It has been a long week!

A better day!

I had a very busy morning at work doing the box office returns and another, urgent job for Sara which meant she took me off answering the phones. The time flew by, which was a real bonus and Keith came to pick me up. He'd had to give me a lift today as Sophie was using her car to go to work and we'd had an electrician in to fix the extractor fan lights in the family bathroom and our en-suite. After so long with them playing up it was lovely to see new fittings and a brand new light in the bathroom. For some reason, this had inexplicably stopped working for good a few days ago!

It was all finished when we arrived home and Mike even hoovered the house for us! Amazing! I dashed off to work and we had a much quieter session today. There were a few spots of rain during the session so we had to retreat inside and by 6pm all the children had gone home.

As Keith hadn't been shopping today, we went to get fish and chips for dinner and then it was time to relax. The weather today has been very disappointing with heavy grey skies and a lack of sun. Horrible!

Not the best of days!

I took Sophie to work this morning as we needed both cars. My Mum and Dad had an appointment at the hospital for a physiotherapy session and Mike had to go to the Golf Club again to meet one of the management staff.

I picked my parents up at 11am and we drove the short distance to the hospital. I dropped them off at the entrance and decided to go and get my car washed at Tesco. However, once there I changed my mind as they looked really busy but I decided to get some cash out anyway. I put my card and pin into the ATM and waited...and waited... I then started to panic as the machine wasn't doing anything so I pressed the cancel button twice and luckily my card came back out! A couple were waiting behind me and I warned them not to use the machine as it looked like there was a problem. I went into Tesco and told them about it but they didn't seem that interested!

I bought a coffee but after a couple of minutes I decided to go home rather than wait around for my Mum to call me. I wanted to check my bank account to make sure no money had been taken out!

Thankfully, it hadn't (so far!) so I did a couple of little jobs and then my Mum called to ask me to pick her up. I took Keith for moral support as we needed to go down to Riverside and sort out a bulb that had gone in the headlight of my car. My parents were waiting for me and we went off along the A43 into Northampton, my parents enjoying being out in the car for a ride!

As we neared Northampton, though, the traffic came to a standstill and we realised that the busy dual carriageway was down to one lane because there were men cutting the grass. We dodged down a side road and came out by the Weston Favell Centre to find the road still at a standstill! By now, I was pretty fed up but I couldn't turn around so we had to keep on going. We made it to Riverside and headed straight for Halfords where we bought a bulb and asked someone to fix it for us. They said we'd have to wait a little while so I went over to Costa and bought my parents a coffee each. They have certainly missed their trips there!

Finally, two members of staff came out to fix my headlight bulb but they took a long time to do it and I could see they were having difficulty. In the end, they managed it and we hurriedly drove back as by now it was almost 2pm!

We avoided the dual carriageway and once in the village I dropped my Mum off at the Co-op so she could do a bit of shopping and took my Dad home. The weird emissions light had come on again in my car so after settling my Dad at home we called into the garage to see if they could fix it for us. They asked me to bring the car into the garage and the bulb went again!

The very kind men then had enormous difficulty getting the bulb out as it had been jammed in and was bent, so it was a total waste of money! They replaced it for me and I made an appointment to have the emissions problem sorted out as the head man said it needed doing. They also recommended I never go to Halfords again as the staff there don't seem to be properly trained for the jobs they are doing!

Keith and I sped home and I just had time to eat a ham roll before it was time to go to school. We had a few disasters this afternoon as well - several children ended up in tears - so it was a relief when it was time to go and pick Sophie up from work when the session ended! Even going home I encountered hold-ups so I was very thankful to arrive back in one piece and treat myself to a Leffe to recover!

Coming to the rescue!

Keith, Sophie and I went to sort out my Dad's tyre today and had borrowed Sue and Paul's inflator so we could get to the garage in Kettering.

It was another grey and chilly start to the day but we had been promised sunshine later. Keith pumped the tyre up and I followed Sophie and Keith to Kettering. We'd already rung them to ask if they could either repair the tyre or replace it so at least we knew it would be done today. We left the car there and drove to Tesco to do some shopping for tonight and tomorrow. Of course, we had a coffee at Costa...it would have been rude not to! While we were shopping the garage called and said they could only replace the tyre so I agreed to do the work on behalf of my parents.

Once we'd finished our shopping (amid quite a bit of bickering as we couldn't decide what to have on Wednesday!) we went back to get the car to find it hadn't even been started on yet! We sat and waited and after about half an hour one of the mechanics appeared with a long nail! It looked lethal!

Mum and Dad were really glad to have had the work done so after bidding farewell to them we sped home and I caught up with a few little jobs in the garden. My compost heap is coming along nicely but I added some cardboard to it and an egg box to balance the "browns" and "greens"!

We had quite a few more children at the after school club today and a new little boy who was really sweet. They all played happily in the playground and then we went in for a while as it was still chilly. However, the weather brightened up at about 5pm and we all went back out to play.

Keith and Sophie met me tonight but we managed to resist going to the pub! We're all trying to be good and Keith and I played cards with a glass of water each!

Back to work...

I woke up feeling a bit gloomy today as it was back to a long day working! I was very busy at work trying to do all the box office returns from the weekend in between answering calls. The time flew by and soon I was driving home to have a quick chat with Sophie and Keith before going to school.

We only had one child in the after-school club at first and then two more little girls joined after they'd been to a French class. It was too cold to stay long in the playground so we came in and played Monopoly, something we haven't done for quite a while. The weather has been very disappointing today with a thick layer of cloud that hasn't shifted, and it's been chilly with it!

Mike and Sophie came to meet me from school and then it was home to play a few games of cards before dinner. At least I'm not in tomorrow morning like I have been for the last two weeks!

A cinema treat!

First thing this morning, Keith and I went over to Tesco at Kettering and bought the Sunday papers to take around to Mum and Dad's. I also put some more diesel in my car. I've noticed the prices have shot up again so now £40 gets me just over half a tank. Grrr!

Mum and Dad seemed much brighter and happier this morning so we sat and enjoyed a cup of coffee with them before dashing home, as Mike had an interview at a local Golf Club at 11am where he was going for the job of greens keeper...hmmm! He's never really shown any interest at all in outdoor work but we're humouring him as he needs to get a job again. I think his bank balance is at 10p! Not really ideal for him as he enjoys going out with his mates!

We drove him over and managed to get into the grounds and after a bit of blundering about, Mike found the clubhouse and the man he was supposed to be seeing. Keith and I sat in the car and read the papers and after about 20 minutes our son emerged. He has to go back next Wednesday to see another man but the hours are from 6am, which means he would need to leave home at 5.30am! I will not be taking him! As he finds it difficult getting up mid-morning at the moment, I dread to think what he'll be like getting up that early!

We returned home and at midday Sophie and I drove into town as she'd booked cinema tickets to go and see The Shining at the Errol Flynn cinema. We parked in the car park by the theatre and walked the short distance to Pizza Express where we enjoyed lunch of dough balls and dips followed by pizza. The weather today has been beautiful and we had a real "Florida" sky today with big white clouds that could have turned into a storm.

Both of us were really looking forward to seeing the film again, but on the big screen this time! It was well attended and almost full which was great. I've always enjoyed The Shining and think that all the actors are tremendous in it, but Jack Nicholson is really superb. It was strange afterwards to emerge into a British summer's day after seeing all the snow!

We sped home and after watching A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun (featuring Grand Bahama) prepared tonight's dinner of sweet and sour chicken, from scratch, of course! Sophie had cut up all the peppers and onion earlier and had made the base for the sauce with vinegar, soy sauce, tomato ketchup and pineapple juice. I cut up the chicken and the pineapple and after frying the vegetables we added the meat and then coated everything with the sauce. We also made egg fried rice with onions and peas and the meal was delicious. We'll never buy a jar again!

Doing jobs!

Keith and I popped around to see Mum and Dad this morning and had a coffee before heading home and finishing off some jobs we had to do. I sorted our recycling boxes out as now we have a big wheelie bin to put all of our bottles, papers, etc into. Our household (i.e. non-recyclable) waste collection has been changed to every three weeks which I think is a disgrace. Rather than the weekly recycling collection we used to have, this has now been stretched to two weeks. Is it really so bad in our country that basic services are being cut like this? I fondly remember in Florida we had waste and recycling collected twice a week!

Talking of waste, Mike decided to have a clear out of his room and chucked out his old chest of drawers, along with loads of clothes that either no longer fitted or he didn't want. This has been long overdue! He also changed his bed around so it's at the opposite end of his bedroom. How he did it by himself I'll never know!

I finished off glossing Sophie's skirting board and we brought the shelving unit she no longer wants downstairs to put in the study. It looks great there and has freed up some space elsewhere as we can fill it with books that I've secreted all over the house. It'll be nice to have easy access to them once again!

I was bitten this morning when I ventured out into the garden! I had only been outside for five minutes and received three nasty bites on my arms. I think they're horseflies and Sophie was bitten yesterday when she went for a walk with Keith. You don't think you can get bitten like that in your own back garden but immediately they came up in angry red bumps. Horrible!

In the afternoon Keith and I went to the tip with Mike's discarded rubbish and drove on to take Sophie's chocolates into work for her as she'd forgotten to take them this morning. It's been a lovely day today with blue skies and sunshine. When we returned we sat in the garden for a while, all three of us, and soaked up the sun. We even had a beer as Sophie drove herself to work this morning!

Before she came home I hoovered downstairs and tidied everything up. I'd put some books on the shelving unit and we'd had to move our wine rack so now the wine bottles are horizontal rather than vertical but we think it looks better!

Swapsies!

I had another busy session at work and it was great to escape at 2pm and go home to relax. Sophie and I decided to drive down to Dunelm as she wanted to change her lampshade. She'd bought a gold coloured one but had realised when she'd got home that her two lamps on either side of her bed were silver!

It had been quite a while since she'd bought the lampshade but we were able to do a straight swap and she even received £2 back as they been reduced! On the way home we called into Gallone's to treat ourselves to an ice-cream but their credit card machine wasn't working. We went to Waitrose instead and bought two boxes of ice-creams which cost half the price of the sundaes we would have chosen in Gallone's!

In the evening we enjoyed a glass of wine and I finished off the curry that Keith had started earlier. After dinner we settled down to watch a good film from 1996 starring Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore called The Juror. I'm just glad I didn't see it before I did Jury service last year!