Mrs Angry!

For some reason, I was in a bad mood today, so everything I did was coloured by my grouchiness! I can't even blame my mood for getting up late, although I woke up with a headache, which was annoying!

Yet again, we hadn't bothered to do the list last night, so Keith and I faced the onerous chore this morning. We both sat and looked at each other, and couldn't decide what to have for dinner over the next few days... so boring! Eventually, we managed to cobble something together, but I fear Sophie will have a few words to say about it later...

Keith went to do the shopping and grumbled about it, as it was far later than he normally goes. Going after 9am means it's busier than he likes (and therefore he doesn't have much time to chat with his bevy of favourite check-out girls...).

I pootled about and did some more onerous tasks such as filling the washing machine, emptying the dishwasher, sweeping the kitchen and clearing up after the cats. We hardly see Gomez during the day now, as he is out most of the time, while Mooney prefers the warmth and comfort of the sofa. Imagine my annoyance when Gomez flitted back in after being out for a couple of hours and promptly pooed in the litter tray... I was so angry, I could have cried... He then managed to trail litter everywhere on a freshly swept floor. Argh! I can now understand why Keith sometimes moans about being at home, and the endless repetitive nature of his day. There's always something to fill or empty!

Keith arrived home and became as annoyed as me when he saw the roller blind from the en-suite bathroom sitting on the island... I'd pulled it down again, even though I'd been as careful as I could have been with it. It should be more robust than that! He went storming upstairs to try and fix it, and then roped me in as an assistant! 

The next half hour was spent bickering at each other before I decided to take some old clothes to the textile recycling bins at the tip. I also, in a fit of pique, decided to bin all the medicine blister packs we've been saving. Terracycle have just - just! - introduced a scheme in connection with Aldi, where you can send off two envelopes' worth of blister packs a month for free. I sent off the first two a couple of weeks ago but then received an email from them saying that, due to overwhelming demand, they've had to pause it for a while. Superdrug take them but I've heard they don't like large quantities...

We tried to empty the bin bag of blister packs and they ended up all over the floor, which made me madder than ever. At the tip, there was a long queue of cars waiting to go in because a machine was busy doing something dangerous with the skips and having a crushing spree. I felt like doing that myself!

Once we were home, I calmed down and had a cup of tea and a mince pie. It was then time to collect my Mum from the care home and take her to her nail appointment. It was a good job I was early because the entrance road to the home was blocked by a lorry unloading what looked like dollops of concrete. I got out of the car to find out how long they'd be, and I think one of the men directing the lorry saw my face and asked the driver to move! I wound my window down as I went past and told him I was going straight back out again, but he looked at me as if I was a hysterical female and said I might have to wait!

When we arrived at Natalia's house, unusually, she was still with a client so we had to wait. It pretty much summed up my day, to be honest! I asked if we'd got the time wrong, but she said she'd be finished soon and, to her credit, she was done within fifteen minutes. 

However, this made us later than normal, so we hit rush hour traffic going home. I called in to collect Keith, and we put Mum's table and the lamp in the boot to take with us. I'd also managed to get their DVD player working and had bought an HDMI cable at Jones's yesterday to connect it to their television, so they could watch a DVD. 

We returned home and had a quick freshen-up before we took Sophie to Yardley Hastings where she was having a meal with Laura. We'd also decided to have a meal out ourselves and had booked a table at The Green Man at Lavendon, about five minutes away.

It was a bitterly cold evening and the temperature was hovering around zero! Brrrr! We dropped Sophie off and made our way to the pretty pub which was looking beautifully festive. In the dining room, we were given menus and our drink orders taken. Keith was delighted to find Abbot on the pump, and I had a half pint of Rocking Rudolph.

We had an audience for dinner

We chose our meals - tomato soup and beef and ale pie for Keith, and chicken strips in a barbecue sauce and katsu chicken curry for me. My starter was delicious and the chicken strips were sprinkled with crispy onions and chillies. When my main course arrived, I looked at it and knew that I wouldn't be able to do justice to it. There was enough to feed two people! Keith gamely made his way through his meal but I asked a waitress if I could box up my meal and take it home! It would be perfect for my lunch tomorrow!

We paid our bill (about £50) and had a last drink in the bar. It was quiet with only a handful of people drinking, which was a shame as the prices were reasonable and the staff had been friendly.

Out into the freezing cold night, we drove to Yardley Hastings, collected Sophie, and returned home. Our house felt cold as we'd turned the heating off and the cats were glad to see us! As usual, Gomez cried to go out... he must be mad, but we didn't give into him!

Sophie and Keith went to bed, but I poured myself a glass of Jura whisky and indulged in an hour of The Couple Next Door, which was riveting. Bliss!