Back comes the rat!

It was great this morning to be able to ease gradually into the weekend, and not have to rush about! A local painter and decorator arrived at 10am to give us a quote for the kitchen. Mum and Dad have used his services in the past to decorate their house, and have always said how good he was. We have given up on the man who came around ten days ago, as he hasn't even bothered to contact us with a quote and we've wasted time. We are both very annoyed.

David gave us a quote then and there but said that we had the wrong paint for the three doors. When I looked at the tin again I realised I'd been given emulsion and not paint for wood. Keith said that we could use it in Mike's bedroom, for one of the walls and that we'd go and get some more next week.

After David had gone, Sophie and I had breakfast and I pottered about, doing a few chores and some paperwork, and then ventured out into the garden to tidy up all the branches that Keith and Mike had cut down a few days previously. Sophie spent a good couple of hours preparing dinner for this evening, and marinating a pack of chicken for the curry we're planning to make tomorrow. Very soon the kitchen was full of gorgeous spicy smells!

Our grass hasn't really grown at all in the back garden, and it could be because there has been a distinct lack of sunshine this month. We seem to be having a run of very overcast and grey weather, and the thick cloud is horrible! Summer has been extremely disappointing this year!

I mowed the lawn and then cut up all the prunings and put them in the bin. By the time I'd finished, it was completely full! The garden did look a lot better, though, and I weeded the border and cut the edges. Thankfully, it doesn't take long to do and in between, I sat on the garden seat and looked out for the birds, but they had disappeared. For some reason, I have been a bit neglectful of the birds lately, so when I finished I put down some fat snax to encourage them back.

Unfortunately, it also encouraged our rat back. Keith had found three dead ones the other day when he was gardening, but we now have a very healthy, very big one back with us. Sophie and I both said that it's pointless to try and eradicate them. We are surrounded by countryside here, and although we've tried almost everything to get rid of them, they still come back. I will just have to stop putting food on the grass. Three whole fat snax disappeared in the space of half an hour!

Keith went to the football in the afternoon, and Sophie and I relaxed with a face pack. It has been a lovely day today, and just what we wanted from a Saturday. Sometimes it's lovely to just stay at home and chill!

While I was getting a shower, Abbie and Mike arrived, and we all congregated in the kitchen to chat, which is just how I imagined we'd be doing. Sophie and I played Scrabble and I was ably helped by Mike, so I beat Sophie, something I don't do very often these days!

Sophie cooked this evening - she made the delicious sausage and orecchiette pasta, accompanied by a huge mound of garlic bread. The food went down very well and needless to say, there was none left at the end of the meal!

After a cocktail and wine, Sophie was very sleepy and fell asleep on the sofa, bless her! Keith and I watched 50 years of celebrating Michael Parkinson, the revered talk show host. Some of the celebrities who featured looked so young, but then some of the footage was from 50 years ago!