Niggling irritations!

Mike texted me this morning to say he was on his way to Northampton but didn't mention that he was going to be coming to the house. Keith, Sophie and I went to Jones's at midday as we needed some essentials, and this in itself was unusual as Keith rarely comes anywhere with us on a Saturday afternoon! You can tell the football season is over!

Mike texted me again to say he was at home, so we returned as quickly as we could to see him. He and Abbie were up this weekend for Abbie's grandfather's funeral on Monday, and Mike said he was going out with friends for a drink later. It was great to see him and catch up with what he'd been up to since he last visited.

The afternoon was spent doing very little, and I had a look at Airbnb houses again. With all the travel chaos at the moment, we are reluctant to book anything, but I feel like we could all do with a couple of weeks away. We have had the banging of the ball almost constantly today, from when we returned home at about 2pm, to 8pm this evening. As it's a noise I find very irritating, it means that we have to have the windows and doors closed, not a great idea when it's warm like it's been today! I am all for children playing out and having fun, but this seems to be relentless.

And talking of irritations, the cat has become very annoying lately. We put food down for him but he seems to think he should be eating what we have, so ignores any type of cat food. It's become so bad we've had to ban him from being in the house when we have dinner. He is like a crack addict with anything dairy - milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt and especially cream. We don't eat dessert very often, but whenever we venture into the kitchen at night, he thinks we're going to get something for pudding and literally screams at us. 

He is 16, bless him, so his behaviour may have something to do with his age, but it's very trying, especially for Keith who has him all day at home. Monty follows him around like a dog and won't settle until Keith sits with him on the sofa!

Sophie and I played two games of Scrabble in the evening and enjoyed an "Aperini" Spritz and a glass of Rose. We won a game each and Keith barbecued, setting it up on the driveway again even though the weather was lovely! Towards the end of cooking the gas ran out... let's hope there's not a shortage like last year!

Our viewing choice this evening was a good film starring Michelle Pfeiffer called The Deep End of the Ocean, about a family where the three-year-old son goes missing. It was the perfect choice for a Saturday evening - enjoyable and easy-going!

Mike came home halfway through the evening and said he was going straight back out again to have a drink with friends in Brixworth... what a great social life!