Creepy calls...

I did not sleep very well last night! Maybe twelve tapas dishes were a tad too much! I woke this morning feeling bleary and weary, and very glad that it was Friday!

Sophie worked half a day today as she is spending the weekend with Vikesh in an Airbnb in Leicestershire, and he was picking her up this afternoon. I drove to work in heavy rain and the nasty weather stayed with us all day. It was truly horrible.

Work was fine and we were busy on the phones, with people booking swims and activities for next week. I had a slightly alarming phone call from a man who was hesitantly enquiring about the naturist sessions we hold at one of our centres. He said he'd been told about them by a female friend. I thought they had stopped because of covid, but Sheila came over and said they meet once a month on a Sunday evening when the centre was closed to the public. The man was fine at first and apologised for asking about the sessions, but that was fine with me. I'm open-minded! However, he carried on chatting and the conversation became a little more sinister. He mentioned going to his local leisure centre and taking a shower, mumbling something about the showers being viewable to other people, namely mums and children, which I didn't believe for one minute. Then he said he was worried about getting aroused, and that was when I shut the call down. 

I think at the time it didn't sink in what he was getting at, but afterwards, I felt horrible, as if I'd been violated myself. I couldn't believe that someone would call up and say that! Maybe I'm too innocent, but we never get calls like that! The rest of my colleagues were as shocked about it as me, and I wondered how Shirley would have reacted if she'd taken the call!

I was glad when it was 4pm and the shift was over, but my cash up was out so poor Sara had to stay with me until we sorted it out. I had so many receipts it took us ages! Back home I was able to relax and look forward to Keith cooking a lovely cottage pie for dinner. We had so much left (just the two of us eating) that we're having it again tomorrow!

Hobnobbing with the aristos...

My shorter shift passed rapidly today, as I was busy with emails and orders, and I helped Angela and Shirley who were working. It was great to leave at 2pm and not have to go anywhere or do anything!

The mystery of all the subterfuge over the last couple of days was revealed today: we received a letter about our pay rise and notification that from now on, we'll get our birthdays off as part of our annual leave allowance, which I thought was a nice touch! Not a horrible letter, then, as we were fearing!

In the evening Sophie and I went out for a meal with our friend, Sue, to The Pig and Waffle in the village of Grafton Underwood, just outside Kettering. I had asked Keith to drive us as I fancied a couple of glasses of wine, and we picked up Sue first, driving to the pub through Kettering using our SatNav, Trish.

Keith didn't fancy going this way back to pick us up later, so he said he would follow Trish who had initially wanted us to go along the A14 and A43. He dropped us off, and we took a seat at a table away from the main dining room, but it was good because we could gossip and cackle to our hearts' content!

I ordered a bottle of Spanish Tempranillo and we perused the menu which was tapas dishes. There was an offer available - buy five dishes and get one free, so we ordered twelve in total (looking back this was more than enough!).

We ordered a wonderful selection, including Padron peppers, Spanish omelette, garlic mushrooms, bread and olives, chicken smothered in cheese and chicken cooked in a honey and mustard dressing, patatas bravas, meatballs and chicken croquettes. Phew! The food was very, very good indeed. One of the chefs is Spanish, the other is Mexican, and they certainly know what they're doing! The tapas dishes were better than I've eaten in Spain.

We were so busy eating, drinking the delicious wine (we had two bottles) and gossiping that I forgot to take photos! After the tapas we managed to find room for dessert - I enjoyed an Apricot and Pistachio Frangipane, Sophie had a Black Forest Waffle and Sue chose the sticky toffee pudding. We were certainly stuffed by the time we finished!

Sue very kindly had organised a little treat for Sophie's upcoming birthday, a profiterole with a candle surrounded by mini smarties sweets. What a lovely touch!

I'd phoned Keith when our desserts arrived to ask him to pick us up, and I went to the window once or twice to see if he'd arrived. We paid the bill and he still hadn't appeared but I knew it was about half an hour from home to the village.

He arrived after about forty minutes, and when we got into the car he was in a bit of a state. He'd slavishly followed Trish who had indeed taken him onto the A14 and then the A43 towards Geddington. Just before Geddington, she told him to turn right but in the dark, he couldn't see that this was, in fact, a private road going to the Boughton House estate. He had followed a car up the lane and didn't see the gate, but when he reached the next one it was closed. He got out of the car and read the sign which said it was private land and to call a number. He hadn't got his glasses with him so could barely read the sign or the numbers on his phone, but he managed to get through to someone, who demanded to know why he was on private property! The man he spoke to sounded a bit posh... was it the owner, the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry? 

Poor Keith turned around and headed back the way he'd come, armed with the code he'd been given to open the first gate, but it wouldn't work so he had to phone the man again! He said he was so relieved when he finally got out of the place and found his way to Grafton Underwood to collect us! We had no network on our phones at all at the pub and I'd had to borrow the landline phone to call Keith, so I have no idea what we'd have done if he hadn't turned up!

An admin day.

Today has been a day of getting things done! It's Sophie's birthday in a week, so I sorted out lots of things for this (I can't say what, as she reads this blog), and also bought travel insurance, breakdown cover, and extended the car insurance to cover European travel.

I am sure I saw the weather forecast for today and it looked lovely, with sunshine and mild temperatures, but it has rained, mostly all day, on and off. Plus, it was chilly, so all plans to get out into the garden have been shelved, and I made the most of being indoors to get all of our admin jobs done. 

Keith and I also fitted a new dashcam to the VW so we'll have this when we go away. We took the car for a drive up to the village and back to make sure it was fitted properly and it rained the whole way!

I did some housework in the afternoon, watched the last twenty minutes of Great Expectations, and had a bath. Dinner this evening was a lovely Butter Chicken curry served with rice, naan bread and poppadums.

After eating we watched the last hour of The English Patient and it was very sad. Sophie, much to my relief, enjoyed the film and it was great to see Colin Firth and Ralph Fiennes looking so young!

Something's up...

Our office was very noisy today and my head was spinning! We had Angela working with us as it's Emma's last week and she will be taking over on a Tuesday and Wednesday. So, there were four of us answering phones, plus numerous other people in the office. And something was definitely going on, as there was a lot of whispering, closed doors and confidential print-outs. I was annoyed, as I said to Keith later, that if they were planning something that affected us all, wouldn't it have been better to have spent the day at another of our centres? It's not like we're short of space! It might not affect us, but it certainly made us all wonder what was going on! Only time will tell!

Again, it was bliss to escape at 4pm and go home. I felt drained from my busy, noisy day and settled down to watch the first episode of Great Expectations that I'd recorded on Sunday night. It's my favourite Charles Dickens novel but it had been slated by the critics. I actually enjoyed it and was delighted to see that the opening scenes came from my old stamping ground, Gravesend!

Keith went to see Sileby play tonight, bundled up so much that he could hardly move! It was windy and cold outside so he did need his two coats, scarf, hat and gloves! Sophie and I opened a bottle of New Zealand Pinot Gris, and watched a new programme called Tempting Fortune, which was enjoyably silly! We popped some potatoes into the oven to bake and enjoyed them with baked beans, cheese and salad.

After we'd eaten and cleared away, we settled down to watch The English Patient, which at 2 hours and 42 minutes was too long to see in one sitting! Keith arrived home at 10pm, frozen as always, and tucked into the oven chips I'd cooked for him and a mug of tea. This will be repeated again next Tuesday!

Feeling refreshed

I woke up feeling a lot better this morning, but I still went back to bed for an hour after seeing Sophie off to the gym. I was dreading work as I had four days' worth of cash-ups to do, and although I managed to get a lot done before the phone lines opened at 10am, I had to come off and do the rest so Sheila wouldn't have loads to do when she returns tomorrow. There were quite a few mistakes, but all I did was report everything so Sheila can sort it out.

Weirdly, both Kathy and Jo felt ill last night, and Jo said she was actually sick. Can you imagine if all three of us had called to say we weren't well enough to come in! I was glad when it was 4pm and I called into the post office on the way home to send all Sophie's purchases from ASOS back for her.

Back home, I did some preparation for dinner (chicken risotto) and Sophie cooked the dish, which was delicious and real comfort food. Keith and I sat at the island while she cooked and after we'd eaten we watched the last episode of the documentary about Waco. I had forgotten that so many people died when the building went up in flames and that a lot of them were children. What a disaster.

Tomorrow night Keith is out watching Sileby so it will be wine night and a film - The English Patient - which Sophie has resisted seeing until now!

Losing a precious hour...

The clocks went forward this morning so when I awoke at about 8am, it was really 7am. I think it's time for this outdated ritual to stop now. I hate losing a precious hour of my weekend and getting used to the new time takes me about a week! It means tomorrow morning, Sophie will be awake at 4.30am and getting me up at 5am. Yuk! I realise that I'll go to bed an hour earlier tonight, but I do resent this happening twice a year!

Ok, rant over for another six months! We pootled about this morning, mostly doing laundry and housework. No drying the bedding on the line in the sunshine today; the weather was grey and cloudy with rain forecast for the afternoon (although it stayed dry).

We collected Mum later in the afternoon and drove down to Riverside as I wanted a new doormat and more bird food. We popped to Next first for a coffee and a snack and had a good chat, although it was a bit noisy in the café. The homeware department was full of Spring nick-nacks and we all managed to avoid being sucked into the new season hysteria!

We called into Wilco's but there was not one mat to be had, so Mum bought a load of toiletries while I put grass seed, azalea food and bird titbits into the trolley. She said that the prices were far better than Tesco, and she was right!

Keith had asked me to get beer for him again (grrr!) so we popped into the Co-op near the care home and I bought him three bottles of McEwan's Champion, which I could have got yesterday! We dropped Mum off and went home where we saw that absolutely nothing had sold on eBay this week. We took everything off and put the clothes and shoes into an Air Ambulance donation bag!

Sophie and I played Scrabble and enjoyed some utterly delicious Indian poppadum-style snacks that Sophie had bought in Leicester last week. We had decided, like mad idiots, to barbecue tonight, simply because it would be light at 7pm... the weather was horrible and cold and in the evening I felt really yukky. I couldn't get warm and was suddenly overcome by tiredness. I barely ate anything for dinner and just wanted to curl up somewhere warm and go to sleep!

I was in bed at 9pm (8pm) and fell asleep almost instantly!

Ladies who lunch

Keith and I went to get my Dad's car from the garage today, as the paintwork had been repaired and it was ready to come home with us. We were impressed with the work, so we'll use this garage again! The scruffy huddle of mechanic repair shops and bodywork specialists is a hive of industry, down a very rutted and pot-holed track, but the standard of work is excellent. I sometimes wonder whether Rob, from the garage we used to use in Broughton, wonders where we are? All three of our cars now go to Glen in Moulton, and he does a wonderful job.

After getting back and having my second coffee, I pottered about and Sophie and I got ready to go to Olney in the afternoon. We had booked a table at Teapots for 1pm, and before we went to eat we had a look around the large charity shop on the main street. Sophie picked out some lovely tops and found four beautiful old glasses in the vintage shop next door. She was extremely pleased with her finds! It was a gorgeous day with sunshine and scudding clouds, and Olney was busy with shoppers.

I was glad I'd booked a table at Teapots; the little café was already busy with people eating and a couple behind us were indulging in an afternoon tea. We ordered a jacket potato with coronation chicken (me) and a club sandwich (Sophie). With a glass of raspberry lemonade, the food went down very well as we were hungry!

After the savoury came the sweet, and we had a pot of tea and a cake apiece - I chose the lemon and blackcurrant while Sophie opted for the rhubarb. The café became even busier as we sat there with two nearby tables reserved. I think people have cottoned on to Teapots being a wonderful place to come and have a bite to eat!

Before heading to Milton Keynes to take the recycling, we popped into Tesco to buy something to eat tonight. We had planned on having chicken and ham tangle pie but we both knew we wouldn't fancy eating it after our large lunch! Keith had asked us to get some cooked chicken he could heat up, and four bottles of beer. We hunted for the beer but couldn't find it, as he wanted bottles of Abbot, not his usual tipple, He's trying to wean himself off the high-strength beer as it's over 7%!

We dropped off the recycling and headed back along the M1 to Northampton. This was the first time I'd driven along this stretch after the change to make it a "smart" motorway and realised there was no hard shoulder at all, just safety lay-bys every mile or so. I am definitely not a fan.

Junction 15 had changed as well and was now a lot easier to navigate. Before, it was like a chicane which could be fun if was wet or icy! There is now a huge rail freight terminal at the junction and the works were still ongoing.

Something had happened further up the road and the traffic was at a standstill, so we diverted through Hunsbury and drove through town, stopping to look for the beer for Keith, and failing miserably! Back home Sophie tried on her "new" clothes and they all looked lovely. She had also had a delivery from ASOS and only one item looked good on her! How ironic is that!

After the impromptu fashion show, we relaxed and had a game of Scrabble with two very strong cocktails! Keith heated up his chicken while Sophie and I contented ourselves with a garlic flatbread and salad.

Our evening's viewing was a Netflix documentary about Waco which I remembered being on the news back in 1993. Very interesting!

Friday again!

Amazingly, Friday is here again after a week that felt like it lasted a couple of days! I had another busy shift as there were just two of us answering the phones. and there were many orders to sort out. I also tried to do some of the cash-up for Sheila, a job I'm really not keen on!

It was truly lovely to relax this evening with a glass of red, while Keith cooked a delicious chilli con carne. After dinner, we watched Gardener's World (very soporific), and then the last episode of the documentary about Frida Kahlo. It was riveting and very sad that she died so young.

The weekend is here! Bring it on!

Getting ready...

I was busy at work today, answering more moany emails (two were as long as novels) and helping Angela and Shirley who were taking calls. Angela needed a lot of help as she is so new, and Shirley again asked me a question that she knew the answer to! Consequently, the time flew by and 2pm arrived very quickly!

Keith had given me a lift to work as the VW was still at the garage, now having some bodywork repaired. Our holiday is less than four weeks away, and we wanted the car serviced and the scrape along the back left bumper sorted out. We have taken delivery of the headlamp converters, and the Crit'Air sticker needs to be attached to the windscreen. It's getting exciting!

Keith and I returned home, and I pottered about doing some jobs, which included sorting our recycling. Sophie and I are going to Olney on Saturday, and popping to George's recycling depot first. He no longer accepts pet food pouches but he does take Pringles tubes, and lots of other hard-to-recycle items to raise money. We have a bag full of Pringles tubes (collected over a long time!), as well as toothpaste tubes, loaf bags and make-up remover wipe packets that he will take.

The weather today has been breezy and rainy, with some heavy downpours in the evening. This time of year is always unsettled, though! One minute it's sunny and mild, the next it's snowing!

I realised today that it's the third anniversary of the first lockdown in 2020. Unbelievably, a colleague at work had covid this week! Who would have believed it would still be about?!

Parcelgate is resolved!

Keith and I took Dad's car to the garage for its service this morning at about 8am and then returned home briefly before deciding to go out for breakfast.

We popped to the post office in Brixworth first and then tried to decide where to go. Locally, there is a dearth of good breakfast places! It's at times like this when I wish we had an iHop! We drove into Northampton, to the Sixfields area, to discover that a favourite US-type diner, Buddies, had closed down. We drove onto the leisure park itself and saw a sign outside The Walter Tull pub advertising cooked breakfasts.

I did feel a little like I was in America! The weather was gorgeous, sunny and mild and with the nearby fast-food restaurant chains it felt like we were abroad! We went in, made sure they were serving breakfast and found a table. We didn't know whether they came to serve customers or we had to go to the bar, but in the end, Keith went up and ordered. Two cooked breakfasts, extra toast, tea and coffee came to £10! A bargain! At Beckworth, it would have been three times the price!

The pub belongs to Greene King so Keith spotted one of his favourite beers, Abbot, on the pumps. It was great for breakfast but I don't think I'd want to visit at night, especially if there was a big football match on! The food was very good and the staff friendly, so it was a pleasant hour, and the meal kept us full for the rest of the day.

Back home we donned boots and ventured out into the garden to prune the rest of the Larch trees. Keith balanced precariously on a ladder while I gathered up the fallen branches. Quite a few of them fell over the fence onto our new neighbour's path, and surprisingly, he turned up... awkward! Keith apologised for the branches and he said it was fine, which was a relief! He could have tossed them back over the fence at us! Just before he went, he mentioned a parcel we'd had for over two weeks... The postman had left a card as he always does, but nobody had been around to collect it. Before Christmas, the same thing had happened, and Keith eventually took the parcel around to be told by the woman that she'd been meaning to collect it... This time we refused to take it around as we are not a delivery service! A bit petty, maybe, but we wanted to make a stand!

So, he mentioned the parcel, I said we had it, and he met me at the front door. He brought the family dog, Barney, with him and introduced himself, and we had an agreeable chat. Parcelgate resolved! Keith and I are always prepared to help out our neighbours, and we frequently take in parcels for people living nearby, but we didn't want to be seen as a soft touch! I felt very relieved, to be honest!

We carried on working in the garden and I even managed to cut the grass, although it was still quite wet. We didn't touch any more bushes as we suspect we have a colony of sparrows living in them and the last thing we wanted to do was disturb them if they were building nests. It was lovely to be out, and although it was breezy, the sun was gorgeous. The little robin appeared and when we'd finished we put some more food down for the birds and a bowl of hedgehog food. One has been spotted roaming around the estate so I hope they come back to our garden!

Sophie was out this evening, another attempt to go to Five Guys at Rushden Lakes after the snow of the other week. She was driving this time, and I warned her not to try and cross the horrible A43 to get to Vikesh's house. All was fine on the way there, but Google maps sent her back across the deathtrap junction at Hannington on the way home... it's about time this awful crossroads was made safer as there have been no end of accidents there. Thankfully, she was fine and came home after having a delicious burger and dessert at another restaurant. It's alright for some!

Girls' night in

I had another busy shift at work and helped Sara out with the customer service emails, most of which were moany and whingey. As I said yesterday, I have never known so many complaints about our swimming lessons and I would love it if we scrapped them all together and just provided leisure activities for the children!

The time flew and I helped Shirley out with a lot of questions, some of which she knew, which was annoying. The Easter holidays start in two weeks so that will be a test, as she won't be able to keep asking people for help as we'll all be busy!

Keith went to watch Sileby play tonight, so Sophie cooked a very delicious meatball and pasta dish, which was much better than mine! She chopped up spring onions, a red pepper and a courgette, added a good glass of red wine, and the meal was gorgeous and very cheesy!

We searched for a film to watch but settled instead for an old episode of Grand Designs and then the first programme about the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (we watched some of the second episode last Friday). It was very good but a little disturbing.

Keith arrived home chilled to the bone and said that the other team, and their supporters, were horrible. He tucked into a plate of chips and a mug of tea to warm up a bit!

Whingeing and whining!

I was expecting a tricky shift today as we had newbie Angela in and Shirley covering for Jo, who is on holiday. Luckily, Sheila sat next to Angela and helped all she could, otherwise, I think Sara and I would have been demented! At one point, just after the phone lines opened, we had eleven calls in the queue so we were somewhat busy!

Many of the calls were about one of our pools which has been closed for over a week because of a boiler problem. We had to move swimming lessons to other pools which has proved very unpopular. Honestly, we can't win! If we cancel them we get moans and now that we've had to move them, we get moans! Some of the complaints have been ridiculous for a situation that is only temporary! Parents whingeing about the number of children in the pool, the depth of the pool and the fact that the children are cold! Sophie has been ranting about resilience recently, and she's right! Nobody seems to be able to withstand changes or minor inconveniences, and children are treated like they're precious china! I dread to think about what will happen to them when they grow up and they find that the world does not revolve around them!

So, today was busy and I managed to put the rest of the Easter crash courses onto the system, which was a bonus. In a few weeks, they'll be bookable!

After dinner this evening, Keith and I watched a gory documentary on the Black Death pandemic in the 1300s. What I didn't realise is that the bacteria that caused the pandemic is still about, and a man died of it in California in 2021... yikes! We are coming up for the third anniversary of the first lockdown in 2020, and I really wouldn't want to go all through that again!

Mother's Day!

I enjoyed a lovely relaxed start to Mother's Day and opened a card from Sophie with beautiful photos on the front! We pottered about and I set the table for lunch and hoovered, while Sophie made a salad.

We collected my parents at 1pm, and I have to say I wasn't looking forward to getting my Dad in and out of the car. I was terrified he was going to fall. However, it all went very smoothly and he was soon sitting at the table with a glass of red wine in his hand! Next to him was Mum with a G&T so both of them were happy! I was surprised to read this morning from my earlier blog entries, that this was the first time since 2019 that we'd celebrated Mother's Day properly! Mother's Day 2020 was just before lockdown and my Dad had broken his leg a month earlier so he was housebound, in 2021 we were in lockdown, and in 2022, I had covid so I was isolating! 

Mum was delighted with the card I gave her, as well as a box of chocolates. We chatted for half an hour and then enjoyed a lunch of cold meats, quiche, salad and new potatoes. It was lovely to be sitting in the conservatory on a gorgeous sunny day and it was mild, which meant we didn't have to have the heater on!

We lingered over lunch and then enjoyed a strawberry trifle for dessert. We sat and reminisced about holidays, and I'm looking forward to finishing the book I have planned for them, with my old diaries and photos from holidays since 1980.

We took Mum and Dad back at about 4pm and the care home was busy with people visiting their mums. We returned home to relax and play Scrabble, and I narrowly beat Sophie! Well, it is Mother's Day! It was great to think we hadn't got to cook this evening and we enjoyed some of the delicious Indian sweets that Sophie had brought home yesterday. They were very moreish!

A sociable Saturday!

Keith and I carried on cleaning the conservatory today and halfway through the work, a neighbour, Ruth, arrived to pick up some books I'd advertised for free. We sat and had a coffee and a chat, which was great as I hadn't seen her for a while. I apologised for not being involved with the recycling scheme as much lately, but I think she's taken a back seat from it as well.

Just before Ruth left, Sophie's boyfriend Vikesh, arrived as they were both going to Leicester today to meet up with some of his cousins for lunch. Keith had gone out into the garden to prune our trees which I wasn't happy about! I really don't like him balancing at the top of step ladders!

I went out and suggested we do the other two trees next Wednesday and I could help him properly. I wanted to get the conservatory straight for tomorrow and I was delighted with how much cleaner it was! I opened all the windows to let some Spring fresh air in and ventilate the house after the winter.

The rest of the day was spent pootling about, doing some overdue jobs, and having a long soak in the bath. Outside, the previously sunny and dry weather turned and we had heavy rain and wind. Sophie arrived home at about 6pm and we ordered a Chinese takeaway. She'd bought me a bagful of goodies for Mother's Day tomorrow, including biscuits, cakes, incense sticks and delicious-looking vegetarian crackers and chutney. Yum!

She'd had a fantastic time in Leicester and had enjoyed a delicious vegetarian meal, and got on really well with Vikesh's cousins who had fun letting her try out different things like a mouth freshener paste that she wasn't keen on at all!

Our takeaway arrived and after we'd eaten we settled down to watch Romancing the Stone starring a youthful Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. It was great fun to watch and very funny!

Yippee! It's Friday!

I had another busy shift at work, processing many orders, helping Sara with emails and answering the phone. The time certainly flies by!

I returned home to find that Keith had had another couple of winners so he's had a very successful week! He said he enjoyed it immensely, but it was hard work... yeah! Right! He didn't go to the pub this evening and sat at the computer while Sophie and I attempted to watch the recent Oscar winner, "Everything Everywhere All At Once". 

We opened a bottle of Pinot Noir and munched on some posh crisps and tzatziki that Sophie had bought in Waitrose on the way home (along with two pizzas for dinner) and settled down to watch, but I gave up after about half an hour. I hadn't a clue what was going on! Why was it so successful at the Oscars?

Dinner was lovely and Sophie and I started watching The Philadelphia Story after we'd eaten. Keith had disappeared upstairs to watch football as Newcastle were playing. The film was good but both of us were a bit weary, so we turned it off to watch tomorrow. Sophie had a nap while I watched a very interesting documentary on the painter Frida Kahlo on BBC2. This took us nicely up to 10pm and bedtime!

A new friend!

My shorter shift passed very quickly today as I was asked by Sheila to put all the holiday activities onto the system, and I also managed to finish the first week's crash courses. I had orders to process and the moan report to scan before I gave it to Sara to read, so the time flew by!

At 2pm I drove over to Kettering to collect my Mum and we sped back to Northampton for her nail appointment at 3pm. Natalia's dogs were about and she let the female dog into her little room to say hello. She'd recently had pups and was very friendly and affectionate!

She was a little stinky, though, so all my clothes went into the wash when I got home later in the evening!

Keith and I watched a new series in the evening, after dinner, called A Town Called Malice, which is set in the 1980s with a soundtrack from the era, so right up my street! Halfway through, Sophie appeared at the door looking an absolute fright, with a face pack covering her face. Talk about scary!

Doing jobs!

I went back to bed this morning, even though I didn't feel particularly tired, but was woken by the sound of constant tapping. When I ventured into the kitchen I saw that Keith had chopped up a mountain of vegetables ready for the Mulligatawny soup we were having for dinner tonight. There's a scene in the film The Slipper and the Rose where Cinderella is forced to prepare vegetables for a feast and they're piled up high all around her, and this was reminiscent of that. He had even chopped up piles of potatoes, which aren't actually an ingredient in the soup! That explained the sound of tapping! Sadly, for Keith, he didn't have a Fairy Godmother to help out!

We decided, for the third and hopefully, last time (for a while anyway) to go to the Weston Favell Centre to pay in the remainder of our £1 and £2 coins, and pop to Tesco and the Post Office. After we'd completed our errands and shopped in the supermarket, we had a coffee and a late breakfast in Costa and then returned home.

My job this afternoon was to clean the conservatory as my parents are coming to lunch on Sunday. Keith was engrossed in the racing at Cheltenham so I was on my own, up and down step-ladders and doing as much as I could. It looked a lot better when I'd finished but some of the cleaning involved balancing precariously on the very top of the ladder which I was not very keen on doing!

We left the last side until the weekend as I had the soup to prepare. I was grateful to Keith for all of the preparation and very soon the vegetables were simmering nicely in the big casserole dish with a decent helping of curry paste. The one thing we didn't have was mango chutney so we drove over to Mawsley to get some. They had everything but the chutney, so we drove home and made do with what we had. I think the chutney makes it unnecessarily sweet anyway, so we didn't miss the ingredient!

All I had to do later in the evening was blitz it with our stick blender and add rice. With grilled naan bread it was delicious and very warming on a chilly Spring evening!

Sophie and I watched an excellent documentary on the six wives of Henry VIII this evening and it made the King out to be a very nasty man indeed!

 

Fresh blood...

We had a newbie at work today called Angela. She seemed very confident, and even agreed to take phone calls later in the shift, which was great!  It was a very busy office today with our MD in and other managers popping in and out. I managed to finish the moan report in between calls, so that was a relief!

Sophie cooked again this evening, but Keith had prepared all the vegetables and meat for her chicken and bacon pasta bake. When she arrived home, we sat and chatted in the kitchen over a delicious glass of chilled viognier. Keith was in a jubilant mood as he had had a few good wins at the Cheltenham races and although we toyed with the idea of eating out tonight, we were sensible and ate what we'd planned!

After dinner, we went upstairs to watch A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? and it was sad to see that some couples had experienced severe health problems since they'd last been filmed (one man had died, so that was very terrible). Some couples had split up as well, so maybe it's not all happiness in paradise!

Snow again!

When Sophie set off for the gym this morning, it started to snow! I thought we had seen the last of the wintry weather, but obviously not! It was even heavier when I left at 7.30am but it wasn't settling. By about mid-morning, it had all gone.

Sheila managed to sort out my computer, thank goodness. I really didn't want to have to sit at another desk today! The rest of my shift was busy as the Easter holidays are looming and Sheila was dropping hints about crash courses and holiday activities!

Dinner this evening, cooked by Sophie, was a delicious stir-fry again, but we all agreed, we're a bit stir-fried out at the moment!

Keith and I indulged in an episode of Beyond Paradise after we'd eaten. It's a great spin-off from Death in Paradise and the beautiful Devon countryside is stunning!

Meet and greet!

Keith and I met Vikesh for the first time today, as he and Sophie were going for a walk over the fields. He'd brought his brother's dog, Reggie, with him so it was lovely to meet them both and have a chat before they left.

While they were gone I sorted out some boxes and a small suitcase which have been languishing on our landing for a good while. I unearthed some old diaries and lots of photographs, some of which I will add to the blog. I managed to finish my holiday diary from 1984 (Italy) and I transferred it to a word document in preparation for making a book for Mum and Dad.

Sophie arrived home looking a little muddy and fresh-faced and had had a great walk, doing the "round", a circular walk to Walgrave and back. Between us, we prepared tonight's dinner of sausage casserole and Keith peeled all the veggies so we can relax later this evening.

We went to collect Mum at 2.30pm and before heading home, called into the Co-op to buy a red velvet cake. Back home, she was delighted with the scarves and jewellery so I put them in a bag for her along with an antique china set that she wanted.

It was lovely to sit and chat in the conservatory with a cup of tea and a slice of cake, and we took her home at about 4pm. Next Sunday is Mother's Day so we've having both Mum and Dad over for lunch.

When we returned home (after taking the scenic route) we looked at eBay but we hadn't sold anything from last week. Sales are very slow at the moment! We enjoyed a game of Scrabble and popped the casserole in the oven to cook slowly. It was delicious with a good bottle of red wine.

We started watching Murder on the Orient Express again, but I gave up.  It's not often I lose interest in a film, but this one just didn't do it for me!

A busy day!

Today has been hectic and we managed to achieve a lot! We had a lazy start and watched a little bit of Saturday Morning Kitchen before putting loads of items onto eBay. Our last lot didn't go very well, and it never ceases to amaze me what sells and what doesn't! I also advertised some books on our residents' Facebook page to give away for free, and a couple of people replied, which was good! The conservatory is still full of "stuff" but I'm determined to take it to one of the charity shops on Wednesday!

I still had some clothes belonging to my parents so I sorted them out and washed a few lovely scarves to show Mum tomorrow when she comes over for a cup of tea. Sophie re-heated some chicken, rice and vegetables for lunch and we enjoyed them with nachos and cheese. 

The weather today was sunny and cold first thing, and then it clouded over in the afternoon. No more snow is forecast for the time being and all the snow that fell late last week has well and truly disappeared. 

Keith was supposed to have been going to watch Sileby play this afternoon but the match was called off. We had no idea why as the early frost had all gone by 3pm! 

Sophie and I played Scrabble in the evening and sipped cocktails made with the Prosecco we won last night. They were delicious! Keith cooked chicken en croûte with lots of vegetables and baked potatoes which went down very well as we haven't had this particular dish for a while.

Our viewing choice this evening was Murder on the Orient Express with a plethora of celebrities in the film. I ordered the film from Amazon Prime as I wanted to go and see it when it first came out in cinemas. However, I was disappointed and fell asleep halfway through! We decided to watch the rest tomorrow evening when I hoped I'd be more awake!

We won!

This morning was worse than yesterday! At 6am it was snowing again, but the road seemed clear outside the house, so Sophie set off for the gym as usual. 

By the time I left, at about 7.30am, it was snowing heavily. I set off in my car as it was under cover, but Keith called me (he'd been in bed when I left) to make me come back, as he was worried about one of my tyres looking a little deflated yesterday. I turned around in Walgrave and headed back home to get my Dad's car, which was covered in snow!

The journey to work was not pleasant and it was snowing hard. I took it carefully, my heart in my mouth, especially when I descended the hill to Holcot. I made it to work well before 8am but I was relieved to see the weather forecast for sun and much drier weather later in the day.

My eye has made a rapid recovery so the eye drops worked, and I was able to wear my contact lens again today to drive to work. I had a major problem, though, first thing when I tried to access the emails and internet side of our system at work and was forced into calling our IT department, in the end, to see if they could help. To cut a long story short, I had to change desks in the end, because when I was able to access our emails and internet, I couldn't log onto the phone! Arrgghh!

I was very glad when my shift was over at 4pm and I could go home! Outside, it was sunny and dry, and completely different to this morning when it was grey and snowy! I couldn't believe it was the same day!

Back home I had a bath as Sophie and I were out tonight at the village hall for the Cricket Club quiz! We had a Tesco Finest curry before we went, and a glass of wine, as Keith had very kindly offered to drive us.

We were in a team of seven with Lynn, Julie, Richard, Simon and Sheila. Once the queue at the bar had died down, Sophie went to buy a bottle of wine, to be told they'd sold out and there was only a horrible blush wine available! I was speechless! Looking around I could only see a couple of bottles of wine so they must have only bought a few to sell! The man behind the bar told us not to worry as someone was going to go out and buy some more!

We did very well in the quiz, and at the first interval, we were lying second. I think the lovely bottle of Shiraz we were enjoying helped! Sophie's raffle tickets won her a place in the "Higher or Lower" game and she won £20! Yippeee! She was ecstatic! We also did very well in the second half of the quiz, and when the other teams began giving their scores, we realised we'd won! Yes!

Sophie and raffle tickets!

Before the evening ended, we had the raffle and Sophie won three prizes! Three! She nabbed a bottle of Prosecco, an Easter egg and a set of storage jars! What a night! Our prize for winning the quiz was a £50 voucher for the White Horse pub, which we decided to donate to the next raffle for the charity, Home Start. It had been a brilliant evening, with lots of laughter, and I suspect that Julie's husband, Richard, was the secret to our success!

Snow!

Last night, Sophie cancelled her classes at the gym as we both knew that this morning was going to be tricky. When we woke up there was a decent covering and I asked Keith to take us both to work. I hate driving in the snow. I hate the feeling of losing control, and I think it stems from when Keith and I went to Cyprus in December back in 1994, and we'd driven up to the Troodos mountains where it was very snowy. On the way back down, our car started to slide towards the edge of the mountain because of the slippery road conditions, and I actually started to get out of the car! Luckily, we weren't going very fast, but it was terrifying!

I texted Sara to ask if I could start at 9am rather than 8am and after we'd all showered and dressed, we set off in the falling snow.

I know conditions weren't anything like they have in some countries, and I know we're not really prepared for the weather, but it was a bit hairy all the same! The local roads were slushy but once we were out onto the A43 and A45, it was a little better.

We made good progress down to Brackmills and dropped Sophie off before heading back to take me to work. Keith was then going to pop to Aldi on the way home and buy the ingredients for a chicken stir-fry tonight.

Everyone managed to get to work, and I spent my shift dealing with emails and orders. Keith returned to pick me up at 3pm and we went home on very wet and slushy roads. I was supposed to have taken Mum to have her nails done this afternoon, but I'd cancelled as there was no way I was taking her out in the snow, and risking her falling over!

Back home, I just had time to do some housework, before we went to get Sophie. Keith had prepared all the vegetables for dinner and our daughter cooked a lovely chicken stir fry in an oyster and spring onions sauce, packed with vegetables. Delicious!

Plans thwarted!

Today has not been enjoyable at all, and I was glad when this particular Wednesday was over! I went back to bed after seeing Sophie off at 6am, and when the alarm woke me a little later, I did not want to get up. My eye was still bloodshot, and after I'd had my first coffee of the day I felt very off-colour.

Keith wanted to go to the bank to take some more £1 and £2 coins to pay into his account. He's been saving them in a big pot for a good few years, and we decided that it was silly to keep them in the house as by now we can hardly lift the thing, it's so heavy! We've been using the coin counter at the bank in the Weston Favell Centre to count the coins and then put them into our joint account.

The weather today has been bitterly cold again, with constant sleety, light snow falling. We trekked over to the Weston Favell centre, called in at the bank, took an ink cartridge to Tesco to be recycled, and popped into Boots so I could get something for my eye. The pharmacist was busy, so the woman serving behind the counter gave me some eye drops for bloodshot eyes. I haven't worn my contact lens for a couple of days, hoping that will help, but I don't like things like this and was a little worried. The good thing is that I don't have blurred vision or a bad headache, so I'm hoping it's just irritation.

We had a coffee and something to eat at Costa, and before heading home we called into the Co-op at Moulton to take a box of books to be sent to Ziffit, and a couple of bags of Tassimo discs to be recycled via Podback. We were soaked walking into the shop as by now it was snowing properly!

Chores completed, we drove home in the gloom, and I spent a dreary and monotonous afternoon printing off over a hundred pages of bank statements for the council, a job I felt extremely resentful of. Looking back to 2020, and all the transactions, I felt a little violated that somebody would be poring over them and examining all the payments. It was a horrible feeling.

Sophie came home and rushed upstairs to get ready for a date with Vikesh. They were going to eat at Five Guys in Rushden Lakes, and I was worried about the weather. The light sleet of this morning had been replaced with big, fat, flakes of snow, and it was settling fast on the road outside the house.

Sophie came back downstairs at just after 6pm, and I stared anxiously out at the gathering snow. I really didn't want her to go, as I didn't know how competent Vikesh was driving in the snow. He has a BMW, which is nice and sturdy, but they would be taking country roads to get to Wellingborough and I was not happy!

I needn't have worried. He called Sophie at 6.30pm to say that cars were having difficulty negotiating the hill up to Walgrave from Holcot, and he was going to turn around and go home. I felt very sorry for him as he was obviously uncomfortable with the weather conditions, but I felt it was the right decision. Sophie was disappointed and was annoyed with me as I was so relieved, but I didn't care!

She had been salivating over what burger she was going to enjoy but had to make do with breaded fish and oven chips instead! Oh, dear! It was a very subdued and quiet evening, and outside, the snow continued to fall!

A hint of snow

I helped Sara out with customer service emails at work today, and trying to deal with them in between phone calls was a tad stressful! Shirley was at work covering for Emma, who was on annual leave, and she was helped out by Jo, which meant that sometimes I was the only one available to take calls. I think Sara saw my face and jumped on when the calls ramped up!

I had a bloodshot eye today, which I wasn't happy about. Last Wednesday when I went for my eye test I felt like I had a hair in my eye so maybe I hadn't rinsed it out properly and it was causing irritation?

On the way home from work the sky was a mix of big angry snow clouds and blue patches with bright sunshine. We had a brief snow flurry as I drove home and I think there's more to come over the next few days! It was very cold!

Keith went to see Sileby play in the evening and he wrapped up warmly! Sophie and I enjoyed a new recipe of gnocchi with pancetta and peas in a creamy sauce, washed down with a bottle of chilled Sauvignon Blanc. The meal was delicious and very comforting on such a cold night.

After we'd eaten we watched A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? and for some, the new life wasn't all it was cracked up to be! One woman was working 70-80 hours a week! Not my idea of fun in the sun!

35 years!

Keith and I had very muted celebrations today but both of us were amazed at how quickly the time had flown past since our first date in 1988! 

I groaned when I swung my legs out of bed... Mondays roll around far too quickly for my liking! That said, it seems like a downhill ride to Friday once today is over! We had a meeting first thing at work, which gave us an opportunity to air anything we wanted to say and Sara did mention that Shirley was taking longer than she thought to get the hang of the job!

Kathy left early today as she was watching a Zoom call of her sister-in-law's funeral, so it was just Jo and I answering calls in the afternoon. 

Back home, Keith and I started watching Endeavour, which was a bit naughty but I felt very tired this evening! Both of us struggled to keep up with what was going on, to be honest, but it was lovely to see the wonderful views of Oxford!

Mistaken identities!

The weather has been dull and cloudy today with a chilly wind blowing, so not the nicest of Sundays. Winter is still definitely with us even though technically, it's meteorological Spring! I listened to the last ever Ken Bruce show this morning on BBC Sounds and felt a real pang that he would no longer be on Radio 2 on weekday mornings. Just lately, I haven't had a lot of opportunities to listen to him, but Keith and I both love Popmaster and Ken Bruce is taking it with him to his new show. Maybe on a Wednesday I'll track him down on his new radio station and tune in! I wonder how long Jeremy Vine will last!

Sophie went over to Olney today to see Daisy and Laura, do some shopping, and have lunch. Keith and I had booked a table at The White Horse in Old for lunch as tomorrow we're celebrating 35 years together! I can hardly believe it! Our first date on Sunday 6 March was to Brighton!

We drove up and the pub was pleasantly buzzing with Sunday lunchtime diners. As we walked through to our table, a young man stood up and hugged me, greeting both of us like we were long-lost friends! He looked familiar but I couldn't place him! When Keith joined me at our table a couple of minutes later he said it was Charlie Batch, a friend of Mike's... but he looked completely different! I always used to joke that Charlie Batch looked like a younger version of Robert Smith from The Cure, and the young lad we'd said hello to looked nothing like him!

A few minutes later he came over to us and I suddenly knew who he was! The son of old friends who lived on our estate, Matt, who had been away at university for the last four years. His family had moved away and he did look different, but I knew it wasn't Charlie, even though he sometimes works at the pub and Keith had assumed it was him! We had a laugh and a chat and he asked after Mike and Abbie as he knew them from way back when. 

We ordered drinks (beer and a glass of red wine for me) and our lunch. Keith chose sticky chicken to start, while I opted for Brixworth paté and melba toast. As it was Sunday, Keith chose roast pork while I went for the beef, both portions of meat served with roast potatoes, cabbage, carrots, Yorkshire pudding and gravy.

The starters were delicious but Keith was a little disappointed with his pork which he said was tasteless. My beef was thickly cut and tender but I would have loved another Yorkshire pudding!

We were too full for puds so we paid the bill (£80 with a tip) and returned home. For the rest of the afternoon, we did very little, and I lounged on the bed reading and having a nap.

Sophie returned home at about 6pm and we cracked open a bottle of Champagne. We relaxed in the living room and talked about our days. Sophie had found some excellent buys in the Olney charity shops and was delighted with her clothes! She paid £34 for six items! Bargain!

A little fragile...

I had a muzzy head this morning so I had two cups of coffee, one after the other, and felt a bit better! We managed to get through at least three bottles of red last night, as well as the glass of fizz, and mixing the two always gives me a headache!

As I felt a little fragile, I pottered about this morning not doing much at all and we actually watched some of Saturday Morning Kitchen. I have gone off this programme slightly because of all the manic laughter... The wine guru, Helen, is the worst! She laughs at everything even if it's not remotely funny! It's very irritating!

In the afternoon we collected Mum and drove to Tesco. Sophie wanted to buy some leggings and a sports bra, and Mum needed some shopping. We all had a coffee first and Sophie and I had something to eat as it had been a long time since our pains au chocolat this morning! 

Unfortunately, Sophie couldn't find a suitable sports bra but she did get some leggings, and I bought four bunches of daffodils to cheer up the house. Spring is not on the horizon at the moment and we have a cold snap forecast for next week!

Mum did her shopping and we took her back to the care home, popping up to her room with her to take back some washing I'd done and to see my Dad. They've put new carpets down in the corridors so there was a lovely "new carpet" smell!

Back home I put the daffodils in water and we relaxed. Keith had gone to Raunds to see Sileby play and he came home at about 5pm, freezing cold as usual! we'd had the heating on so the house was lovely and warm!

It was time for Scrabble with a glass of Picpoul de Pinet, and I beat Sophie for once! She cooked Mary Berry's Panang chicken and rice stir fry and it was delicious!

Our evening's viewing was a film starring Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba who had a silly American accent. I fell asleep!

Out with the girls!

Work was a tad stressful today as Sara was off and I was looking after the customer service email box, I had two weeks' worth of films to put on, and there were over twenty emails/orders to process as well. Shirley was back in after being off sick yesterday and asked lots of questions, so I felt very frazzled! The last straw was the cancellation of a swim session at one of our pools and I had to email a number of non-members to let them know and ask if they wanted a refund... which they all did!

At 4pm I sped home and wallowed in the bath for half an hour as I was out tonight at Fiona's house for a meal. Sophie spruced up my hair for me and Keith very kindly gave me a lift as parking is a nightmare on the street where Fiona lives. When we arrived there was a taxi double parked (Lynda's) and someone delivering food so it was chaos!

Fiona gave us a glass of fizz when we arrived and we went upstairs to her lovely cosy living room where there was fire burning in the grate. We sat and chatted with Dennis (her husband) and it was lovely and relaxing. The smells coming from the kitchen were wonderful!

Back downstairs in her equally cosy dining room, we enjoyed a delicious starter of spinach leaves, baked halloumi and orange segments in a gorgeous dressing. This was followed by a lamb shank, Dauphinoise potatoes and tender stem broccoli. The meal was washed down with copious amounts of red wine!

While we ate we had a good chat and it's an indicator of how we're all getting older by our choice of subjects! We discussed how to get stains out of clothes and our ageing parents (Andrea, Lynda and me), as well as making a will and retirement plans!

We still managed to have a laugh, though, despite some of the serious things we talked about and it was lovely to sit and catch up with my friends over a wonderful meal. Our dessert was rhubarb crumble served with custard and by 11.00pm I was texting Sophie to ask her and Keith to come and collect me. We gave Lynda a lift home so it was midnight by the time we got back.

It was a lovely night, and I was so glad tomorrow is Saturday and I had told Sara I couldn't work!

Rushing about!

My Thursday morning did not get off to a good start as Sophie was still in bed with a headache. I had woken naturally at about 6.20am, but it meant all three of us were trying to get ready and out of the door for 7.30am. I had asked Keith to give me a lift to work as I wanted him to come to the launderette with me (I have to park on a double yellow line and I'm always wary of getting a ticket!). I also discovered that my work trousers were still damp from being washed yesterday and not dried properly, but I had no choice, and had to wear them, which was slightly unpleasant! I really must order myself another pair!

The time flew by at work as I had so much to do. I cleared all of the customer service emails and processed some orders, so it was 2pm very quickly! Keith was waiting for me in the car park and we decided to go to Moulton first as there are two schools near the post office and I didn't want to get caught up with the school-run traffic! I posted a package off to Mike, took a box of books to the Co-op for Ziffit, and then we drove to the launderette. On the way home we managed to wash my Dad's car which was completely filthy!

Back home I caught up with some jobs and before I knew it, Sophie was home. Why is every day always so busy?!

Sophie was going out this evening, to see Laura at her new home, and wanted me to give her a lift. We left at about 6.3pm while Keith cooked dinner and I dropped her off with her bag of goodies that we'd shopped for yesterday. I headed home to have dinner with Keith and relax with an episode of Death in Paradise.

Sophie had asked her to pick her up at 10pm, so not a late night, which was a relief!

A love/hate relationship...

I had an appointment at the Boots opticians today at the Weston Favell Centre, but Keith and I had some jobs to do beforehand, so we left home at about 10am. I fondly thought I had loads of time, but I was mistaken! No lazy morning today!

We popped to the launderette first to drop off a super kingsize bedspread that needed washing, and then it was off to my favourite place. As we walked in I noticed signs saying that the centre had been in existence since 1974 so next year it'll be celebrating 50 years! 50 years of going to the blasted place on a regular basis! When they celebrated 40 years, there was a picture of my grandmother with David Jacobs, so I'm hoping that they'll bring that out again! Even though I joke about loathing the Weston Favell Centre, it does occupy a special place in my heart as I've been such a regular visitor ever since it opened.

We did some shopping for Sophie, went to the bank, and then we had half an hour spare for a coffee before my appointment. When it was time, Keith returned to the car with the newspaper to wait for me. And he had a long wait! The opticians were very busy with people coming and going and not enough chairs!

I was booked in for an eye test but I booked a contact lens test for later in the month, as I just didn't have the time today. The optician gave me various tests and said that my prescription had altered slightly, but my eyes were healthy, which was good news!

Keith and I went home and I quickly tidied up as Sue was due around at 2pm for a cup of tea and a chat. Keith had bought a gooey chocolate cake and I made a big pot of tea to drink while we sat and gossiped in the kitchen. It was lovely to catch up!