Ladies who lunch (and shop!).

Sophie and I went and picked Mum up at 11am this morning and after grabbing a drive-thru coffee at Costa, we trundled over to Weedon. We wanted to go back to the huge antiques shop by the canal and thought Mum might like to come with us.

She was astounded by how much there was on display! Sophie was looking for old glasses, while I was on the hunt for jars or bottles to decant our laundry products into, to make my little "utility" room look pretty. At the moment it hasn't got the look I'm after!

I didn't see anything in the antique part but next door, where there were more vintage items, I spotted a grey, laundry powder tin and a pewter hook for the door to hang our aprons on. I've made a start!

From Weedon, we drove to the Shires Shopping Yard and had lunch at Darlington's. We are always lucky with a table here, and we were seated by a huge fireplace. Darlington's is one of my favourite places to have lunch, or tea and cake, and the food is always good, with excellent service. Sophie and I enjoyed a club sandwich again with masses of salad, while Mum went for a plate of chilli con Carne with rice.

We all found room for cake and Sophie and I had a cup of tea as well. Suitably fortified, we had a look in the shops and Mum bought Dad a model Spitfire aeroplane kit, in the hope that it will keep him occupied!

While Sophie and I climbed the stairs to the fabulous cookshop, Abraxas, Mum went back to the car. I bought a glass jar with a chrome top for the laundry capsules we use. My collection is expanding! Sophie spotted some beautiful, and very unusual coffee cups and bought two for one of her work friends. There is so much gorgeous stuff in Abraxas and I could have spent a fortune!

We returned by a much more direct route and dropped Mum off at the care home. Before playing Scrabble with Sophie, I read the weekend papers and tried not to think about going back to work tomorrow. This weekend has not felt like a Bank Holiday weekend at all. The weather continues to be grey and overcast and I keep forgetting it's August!

After a game of Scrabble, we started dinner and made the Hairy Bikers' Chicken Makhani, a version of Butter Chicken. We both had so much room to cook and Keith sat with us as we prepared the meal. It was delicious and one we'll definitely try again, but next time we'll follow the recipe to the letter and grill the chicken to achieve that lovely charred effect!