An extra day!

So, today we have an extra day of winter, and the weather lived up to it! There was horrendous rain on the way to work, with rivers of water running down the side of the roads. Sophie didn't go to the gym this morning and left after me, so I called her to warn her when I got to work!

My shift passed quickly and we had many challenging emails... we have three customers who seem hellbent on arguing with us and the exchanges go back and forth without any resolution, which is frustrating!

Mum called and cancelled her nail appointment this afternoon even though she'd told me last night she felt fine to go today. I drove home at 2pm and called her to see how she was but she didn't make much sense on the phone and couldn't hear what I was saying so there was more frustration!

My afternoon was spent mopping the floors and getting rid of the muddy paw prints. The rain had abated, thank goodness, but yet more is forecast over the next few days.

After dinner, we watched a riveting programme about two juries hearing a case of a man who'd killed his wife. It was interesting, and sometimes disturbing, to hear their comments about the defendant and the victim. It brought back memories of when I did Jury service and how much I'd enjoyed it. I didn't get a murder case, though!

A non-day!

Today has been what I would classify as a "non-day" in that I did very little and just mooned about the house. Next Wednesday, Keith and I celebrate being together 36 years... 36 years! I'm determined to do something enjoyable!

I went back to bed after Sophie had gone to the gym and woke up a little later. Keith went shopping to get something for dinner tonight, and I pootled about, doing some chores, but not much else! Sometimes, you just get days like this, and I didn't feel that well in the afternoon, feeling a bit queasy! I blame it on the two leftover sausages I had for lunch!

I wanted to find the Come Dine With Me episode filmed at our soft play centre, and managed to locate it on the Channel 4 archive channel! I watched it on the computer, and it was great to see it again, especially as they all fell out with each other!

I didn't fancy dinner in the evening, so we all made our own! Sophie took out a chilli from the freezer and topped it with nachos and soured cream, Keith had toast, and I had scrambled eggs. Definitely not ideal, but it won't hurt for one night!

Argumentative customers!

I walked into work this morning wondering whether we still had a phone system but everything looked OK, despite us not showing on the screen when we were logged in. 

I had to jump onto the phones first thing, as Jo had a bit of drama going on, but thankfully, it wasn't too long and I could get on with the emails. I had to see Sara over one email, written by a man who was adamant he hadn't taken out a membership, even though we could prove he had! Our customers love arguing with us!

At home, Keith made me a cup of tea and we sat and chatted in the kitchen. He was cooking dinner this evening - sausages with Yorkshire puddings, heaps of vegetables and a delicious gravy. We watched another episode of Come Dine With Me, which was hilarious!

Later in the evening, Sophie ate her tiramisu from Sunday and Mooney wanted some as well!

Mooney, tiramisu and Mr Owl

Work niggles

Work was fine this morning but in the afternoon things went a little pear-shaped and we had several complicated emails, an angry customer on the phone, and problems with raising orders for my cinema figures!

It was great to escape at 4pm and head home, knowing that Monday was over. Before we know it, it'll be Friday again!

I'm now into Come Dine With Me, showing on Channel 4 at 6pm. We watch the news headlines and then turn over, laughing at what the contestants get up to. I have fond memories of them coming to our soft play centre years ago to film someone taking part, an American woman who was very abrasive! I'd love to see that episode again!

Tonight, we had the beef stroganoff we should have had on Saturday night! Sophie cooked and it was gorgeous with enough left for our lunches tomorrow. After we'd eaten, we caught up with Arctic Circle, a Nordic Noir set in a snowy Finland. It's a worthy successor to True Detective!

A lunchtime treat

I've added two more chores to my never-ending "To Do" list - break up and dispose of the garden seating, as it's old and looking horrible. I must admit to not looking after the "love seat" in the gravel garden or the bench, but they are beyond repair and need replacing in the summer. Keith started on the bench today and attacked it with a hammer and screwdriver!

After a relaxed morning, Sophie and I drove to Woburn at midday. Sophie had booked a table at an Italian restaurant called Fratelli's for 2.15pm, so we hoped to get to Woburn a little earlier and mooch about. We had a good run down the M1 and parked easily in the free car park.

We decided to look in the antiques shop first, and we couldn't believe how much stock they had, crammed into every nook and cranny over two extensive floors. I fell in love with an oil painting until I saw the price tag - £925!

We went downstairs and almost lost one another in the labyrinth of rooms. I saw a painting by the artist Michael Matthews that I coveted as well, but there was no price tag on it. I love the snowy scene and the colours in the sky. It reminded me of a Dutch painting. The photo I took doesn't do it justice:

From the antiques emporium, we popped into a wine shop close by but I was put off by the high prices: £26 for a bottle of Vouvray! The man running the shop didn't seem to have a lot of stock, but I did see a 1966 bottle of Sauternes for £250! However, the wine looked almost orange and the bottle was standing upright, which I think was wrong as the cork wasn't in contact with the wine.

Deciding it was time for a glass of wine, we walked across the road and came across a new wine bar/art gallery called Woburn Mosaic. It looked interesting so we went in and asked if we could just have a glass of wine. The man running the place was friendly and hospitable and said of course! We found a little table and sat down to look at the wine menu, eventually choosing a white wine from Georgia! It was made from the rkatsiteli grape, which I'd never heard of before!

It was enjoyable to sit and sip our wine in such lovely surroundings. We had a good natter, paid the bill and walked the short distance to Fratelli's. It's housed in a lovely old building (former coaching house maybe?) and the restaurant was buzzing with lunchtime diners.

We were seated at a table by the window and next to the bar and had a good look at the menu, choosing dough balls and chicken croquettes to start, followed by a Calabrese pizza to share with courgette fritte as a side dish. The food was delicious and the pizza was huge and tasty.

Amazingly, we managed to find room for dessert, and I just had to have the chocolate fondant to do the Masterchef test! Sophie chose tiramisu but couldn't finish it so it came home with us in a foil box!

The chocolate fondant had a bit of melt in the middle, but it didn't ooze out properly, It was still delicious!

Reluctantly, we paid the bill and walked back to the car. The previously sunny morning had given way to cloudy skies, and we decided to go and see if we could find any deer in the grounds of Woburn Abbey. As soon as we came to wide open parkland we saw a herd of them in the distance. There were hundreds of them!

We turned around and drove back and Sophie took some photos. I think we more than made up for the disappointing trip when we were still in the grip of covid on Sophie's birthday and saw none at all! Just after we moved off, some deer decided to cross the road and held up a line of cars!

We drove back home and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Neither of us could face any more food and we only had a couple of glasses of wine each. I suspect the dough balls had expanded in our tummies and soaked up the rest of the food we'd eaten!

* I emailed the antiques shop asking how much the Michael Matthews painting was selling for... £1100!

Chucking out time!

I was awake at a much more reasonable time of 7am this morning and went downstairs for a coffee. Outside, it was frosty and foggy and the forecast for today was sunny, but cold and dry. Hooray!

Keith and I decided to take our old fridge to the tip today, as well as the wheelie bin full of garden rubbish. We had great difficulty getting the fridge into my car as it was so heavy, but finally, it was in and we secured the boot with elastic ties.

We both had to sit in the front with our knees under our chins, and it was an uncomfortable drive to Brixworth! It was great to get rid of the horrible old thing and return home to put the much lighter wheelie bin in the back of the car! Vikesh had driven over to see Sophie and we passed them walking up to the pub on our second visit to the tip.

Once this was done we decided to try and get our other fridge to work. It was almost brand new but the door wouldn't close properly so it had stood empty for years! We stood it on a level part of the garage floor and tried to adjust the door, managing to actually take it off its hinges! Keith then had to put it back on, but no matter what we did, the door wouldn't close tightly. We had no option but to get rid of it as well. Luckily, this fridge was a lot lighter and smaller than the other one, so we had no difficulty getting it into the back of the car!

After our third trip, we returned home and I hoovered and tidied up. Sophie and Vikesh arrived shortly afterwards and played Monopoly while I managed to grab something to eat. Keith and I sat and watched the rugby and horse racing and when Vikesh had gone, I had a nap.

We didn't bother with dinner this evening as Sophie had enjoyed lunch at the pub, and Keith and I grazed on some snacks. I opened a bottle of Beaumes de Venise red which we'd bought last year in France, but the cork was stuck in the neck of the bottle and I had to dig a hole and then filter the wine through a sieve! It was worth the effort though, but I do sometimes wish the French would adopt the screw-top method!

Wine and gossip!

I had another busy day at work, answering all the emails and putting the films onto the system until the middle of April. Shirley also asked me lots of questions, and this seems to be a habit now, as I sit in front of her, and it's easier to ask me than to work it out herself!

At 4pm I drove home and spent an hour clearing up after the cats. The conservatory floor was covered in muddy footprints and the footstool we have in there was also covered in mud. I tidied the kitchen, and hoovered, and mopped all the hard surfaces, so by the time Sophie arrived home from work, the house was looking lovely again! It felt noticeably colder this evening and we have a couple of dry days and frost forecast. Thank heavens no more rain!

Sophie and I had a lot to gossip about tonight, and we enjoyed a glass of wine - a successor to the Aldi Pinot Gris: a Cotes de Provence white - with some nibbles. Keith had made a chicken curry and it smelt delicious. He didn't go to the pub this evening as John was away, but he kept himself to himself and didn't intrude on our Wine Night!

We decided to watch an old film from 1994, Only You, which is one of our favourites. It was a lovely end to another hectic week!

Rain, rain, rain!

We had yet more rain today and a weather warning accompanying it. How much longer is this weather going to last?

My shift at work passed quickly as I had so much to do. I still have films to put on, but they'll have to wait until tomorrow. I  left at 2pm, drove home and changed, and then went straight out to see my parents. It was good that we hadn't arranged to go out anywhere as the weather was atrocious!

Dad was downstairs, participating in a residents' meeting, and Mum wasn't feeling well again. I sat with her and we watched A Place in the Sun, which featured a couple looking for a holiday home in France for £140,000. They eventually chose one for £133,000 and it had three bedrooms and a pool! What a bargain! I could tell it had been filmed in the time of covid, as they all stood well apart from one another!

After an hour, I left and told Mum to see one of the carers about her feeling of nausea because it was stopping her from doing things and going out. I sloshed home and tackled the huge expanse of water across the road outside the village again. It was like driving through a ford!

Sophie arrived home shortly after me, and we sat and chatted. I'd received a list of prices that my parents' furniture had made at the auction last week, and I was dismayed to see the low prices for some of the items. However, it would have cost us more money to have disposed of the furniture, and at least it was all sorted now, even though I felt sad that their belongings had been sold. At least we have Mum's china. It does honestly make me think hard about buying stuff for the house.

Sophie went to get ready for an evening out with her friend, Laura, and I pootled about, tidying up. As we were having a very simple dinner tonight, I sat and relaxed with a glass of wine after seeing Sophie off. She was having a meal at the pub at Yardley Hastings, and I told her to be careful around Billing, where the flooding was bad.

We had a very quiet evening, watching a documentary about the Miners' Strike in 1984, and Sophie returned home at about 10.30pm. After a quick chat, it was definitely time for bed!

Washout!

I'd arranged for a company to come and clean our conservatory, and they were booked in today, after postponing last week. It was probably the worst day for them to do the work as the weather was unrelentingly awful, with gusty winds and rain. However, I didn't want to postpone again and there are very few dry and sunny days coming up!

Pete, the man who was doing the work, texted me to say he was on his way, and he arrived at about 10.30am with his partner. They parked across the driveway and dragged thick coils of hosepipe into the back garden, which was already saturated!

They then spent a good 45 minutes trying to get the jet wash to work... I sat in the kitchen cringing every time they fired it up before it failed again! Not a brilliant start! I texted Vince and Sue next door to apologise for the noise, and I was so glad Sophie was working from her office today and not home!

Finally, they got the jet wash working and they cleaned the roof, windows, windowsills and guttering. It looked a lot cleaner after they'd finished and the film of grime on the roof had gone. However, the garden was a sea of mud and we decided to keep the cats in for the rest of the day as they would just bring loads of dirt in on their paws. They'd been in the house while the work was being completed, as I thought they would be scared if they came into the garden to find strange people and a very loud noise!

Once they'd gone, Keith and I cleaned the inside of the conservatory as some of the powerful jets had breached the roof! Our conservatory is now over 20 years old, and I'd really like to get a proper roof put on. Maybe one day!

We cleaned up and I hoovered and mopped the floor. I also cleaned the kitchen floor and hoovered downstairs. This is all I seem to do these days! It's never-ending!

By the time Sophie arrived home from work, the house was cleaner and warmer! She cooked chicken fajitas for dinner and they were delicious!

Another day done!

Work was busy again today, and I had to jump on the phone right from the start as we had multiple calls waiting. Yesterday's pleasant weather changed to grey skies with a chilly wind and, tomorrow, when we're having our conservatory cleaned, it's set to be wet and breezy.

I sped home at 4pm and did very little, putting off hoovering and cleaning until tomorrow. I have no plans, other than to be at home for the conservatory cleaning, so anything urgent can wait until then!

Keith made cottage pie for dinner, served with lots of vegetables and enough left over for lunch tomorrow. After dinner, we watched the last episode of True Detective: Night Country and Sophie spent most of her time with a cushion over her face, she was so scared! It was a bit creepy, I have to admit! 

Feeling a little flat...

I don't know what happened on our drive out yesterday, but Keith contacted me at work this morning to say that the VW had a completely flat front tyre on the passenger side. The tyres are brand new so that was annoying. I must have picked up a nail somewhere, and I'm just glad it didn't happen while Sophie and I were out.

Keith had to stay at home all day, and said he would go shopping when I got back after work. We were as busy, as I'd predicted, and I had to help out with the calls several times. Luckily, during the school holidays, most calls are dealt with quickly and easily and the anticipated problems with the phone system didn't materialise. We still have our wallboard... for the time being at least!

At 4pm I left work, filled up with diesel and drove home. The traffic was awful on the A43 and I crawled most of the way up to the Holcot roundabout. I then met two horses walking abreast in "cut-throat alley" which was sheer madness as the traffic at this time of the evening was busy and the road was very narrow!

Keith was waiting for me outside and sped off to Tesco to buy some groceries. I pootled about and Sophie also had a bad journey home with slow traffic for most of the route.

When Keith returned from Tesco he pumped up the tyre, but we don't hold out much hope that it will stay inflated. The tyre man is coming tomorrow with a replacement so that's another expense we weren't planning on making this month!

Chocolate and onions...

I woke up at about 9am this morning so it seems I needed the extra sleep! In the morning, I spent some time relaxing, and Sophie and I sorted out all our recycling. We had collected several Pringles tubes, mainly Paprika flavour, as well as bread bags and crisp wrappers. Later in the afternoon, we planned to take them to George in Milton Keynes. After dropping off our recycling, we wanted to visit the Hotel Chocolat café and shop near Junction 16 of the M1.

We left home at midday and made a stop at the care home to drop off some things for Mum and Dad. Then we went to a local shop to send off a bag of Tassimo discs. After that, we drove to Milton Keynes and dropped off the recycling with George. We used to go more often when he would take pet food pouches and coffee pods to raise money for two local charities. Unfortunately, we don't go as often as we used to.

Yesterday's grey weather had cleared, and we saw sunshine in the afternoon. However, driving towards Junction 16 of the M1, we saw waterlogged fields due to the heavy rain we've been having lately. We are all tired of this miserable weather and long for longer, warmer days. Hopefully, it won't be long!

The Hotel Chocolat café was crowded with families enjoying a Sunday afternoon treat. Sophie and I picked a hot chocolate and a sundae from the café menu. I enjoyed my ice cream, and the drink was very indulgent, with thick chocolate cream topping the mug. 

Browsing in the shop afterwards, we picked out some chocolate treats and then headed home. On the way, we were shocked at how much standing water there was on the roads. In our village, two huge areas of water hadn't drained away as the drains just couldn't cope. There's more rain forecast over the next week so I dread to think what it'll be like then.

Back home I started on tonight's dinner - French onion soup. I sliced three onions and put two baguettes into the oven to bake, to make the croutons. I cooked the onions with garlic very slowly so they softened and caramelised. 

Sophie and Keith watched football again (my daughter wanted Luton to thrash Manchester United) and at about 7pm we enjoyed the soup which I had covered with crusty bread and a layer of Gruyere cheese. It was a perfect meal for a chilly February evening! 

An indulgent afternoon!

I had a longer lie-in than I wanted this morning and surfaced at about 9 am. After coffee and breakfast, Sophie and I cleaned the house and tidied up, which didn't take long as I'd given everywhere a good clean last Saturday. Keith was looking forward to going to see Sileby play this afternoon and was hoping it wouldn't be postponed like last week! The weather was dry for most of the day, but very cloudy and mild.

Keith went to see the match at 2pm and Vikesh came around shortly afterwards to see Sophie. He looked a little thin after his illness, and he could only speak in a whisper because his vocal chords had been damaged by the ventilator tube, but he was in good spirits.

I retired to the living room and watched the new Grand Tour with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, who were driving three beautiful sports cars through the desert in Mauritania. In the kitchen, Sophie and Vikesh made red velvet cakes and when they were cooked my lovely daughter brought me one in with a mug of tea. Bliss! What a delightful way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

Keith came home and when I'd finished the Grand Tour, he put on the football. Vikesh didn't stay for dinner as this was his first outing after coming home from the hospital.

While Keith and Sophie watched football, I read my book and we ordered from the local Chinese takeaway. This arrived at about 8pm and was delicious. I think the takeaway has changed hands and the food is a lot better. We just love that they deliver to us as hardly anybody does, out here in the sticks!

After dinner, we watched BBC2 and two programmes about music from the movies. I was enjoying them so much I stayed up late and watched one about the Bond films as well. I didn't go to bed until after midnight! I felt like a proper adult!

Changes afoot!

During my shift, I sat with Sheila who explained to me the new phone system that we will be required to use from the end of February. Unfortunately, our wallboard will no longer function which means we won't be able to keep track of how many calls are coming in or who is logged in. This concerns me because some team members already spend too much time logged off even with the current system.

It was a busy day and I had to help out with several calls. Shirley kept interrupting me with questions, which was frustrating as I was trying to finish the moan report and catch up with my emails. Next week is half-term, so I know we'll be even busier!

In addition to the emails and cancellations, I had to update the list of films until mid-April. Time flew by and it was a relief to finally go home at 4 pm and look forward to the weekend!

Keith went to the pub, and Sophie and I relaxed at home with a bottle of white wine while watching Love Is Blind: Sweden, which I have become hooked on! We had a simple dinner of baked potatoes and salad and then relaxed with a new drama on Channel 5 called Too Good To Be True. It was intriguing! 

Work mayhem!

When I turned on my computer this morning at work, one of my monitors (we all have two) was bright red... not a good look! Sheila told me to turn it off and then on again, but it was still red! She went downstairs to our archive room where we store spare equipment to fetch another one, and I logged onto another computer but this one was purple!

Sara went after Sheila to tell her, so I decided to check the other computers and found the one that Sue uses was yellow! Very colourful, but different from how they should be!

The monitors on the other computers were fine, which was quite bizarre! Sheila lugged a load of spare screens up from the archive room and set mine up so I could get some work done! I had the box office returns to do, plus lots of emails as Sara had been out of the office all day yesterday.

We thought there was a bug in the monitors but Sheila phoned IT and said someone would be coming out mid-morning to replace them all. We're still linked with our local council, but this contract is ending soon and our phone system will also change in the next couple of weeks. I can see a challenging time ahead!

I got on with my work and halfway through the morning, the IT man came out and said that it was the cables that were faulty, not the monitors themselves. He replaced them all so things calmed down a bit, thank goodness!

I finished my shift at 2pm and went home to pootle about. It was a lovely day but any plans to get out into the garden or take some stuff to the tip were put on hold as Keith said he felt shattered!

Anti-Valentine!

Today has been challenging! Sophie worked from home and didn't go to the gym, so I was up slightly later than normal. The cats had very thoughtfully bought me a Valentine's Day card, and some presents for Keith and me, so that was lovely! How advanced they are, and they're not even 1 year old yet! 

We had arranged for our conservatory to be cleaned today, but the window cleaner texted me to say he had family problems and had to postpone. I was glad because the weather, although mild, was drizzly in the morning, with heavy rain in the evening.

I spent the morning catching up with jobs that needed doing, which included the highly exciting task of cleaning out the fridge and cupboards and writing the shopping list. I went out to our garage fridge to check what was in there and was dismayed to find it looking horrible and mouldy. We only store bottles of drink in there, but I emptied it out and said to Keith that we should throw the fridge out. He refused, saying he wanted to put his beer in there so we had a huge argument. Not very romantic on Valentine's Day! The fridge is as old as the hills and is disgusting. Because we were arguing, Keith transferred some of his money into another one of his accounts but didn't know where it had gone. He blamed me for the mistake as we'd been arguing! While this was going on, a beautiful bouquet of red roses arrived for Sophie, which prompted me to make a sarcastic remark to my husband... oh dear!

Keith eventually relented and said that we would take the fridge to the tip at the weekend, so I won that particular argument! It's only because I'm worried about the mould in there and how unhealthy it is!

It was lovely to have lunch with Sophie, though, and we enjoyed nachos with chilli and cheese. After clearing up, I showered and drove over to the care home to see my Mum. I'd arranged to take her shopping but when I arrived she was sitting on the sofa looking woebegone. She said she had a headache and didn't want to venture out, so I made a list of things she wanted and said I'd go shopping. My Dad was downstairs watching a cabaret act with the other residents, and there had been a lovely atmosphere when I'd walked in.

I drove over to Kettering and decided to go into Next and buy myself some new perfume. I love Chanel for special occasions, but for work and everyday smellies, I wear Next's Eau Nude. However, I fancied something different, so I spent a little time spraying different scents onto my wrist and picked out one called Cashmere, which was lovely. A Valentines treat for me!

After doing my shopping in Aldi, I headed back to the care home, dropped the toiletries off for Mum and sat with her for a chat. Just as we were going back down to the lift, my Dad came up and said the show had been great. My Mum really should have gone and enjoyed it!

Back home, I made tea for everyone and sat with Sophie in the conservatory. She took a call and I made a couple of noises, earning me a telling off, so we had an argument... my second of the day. Yes, the common denominator was me!

Thankfully, we made up and before dinner we cracked open a bottle of pink Prosecco and relaxed. Dinner this evening was cold meats, salads and nibbles and then it was another episode of the disturbing True Detective!

Happy Valentie's Day!

Sloshing along!

Sophie was feeling back to her old self this morning, but she didn't want to push it by going to the gym, so she woke me up and we had a coffee together before we both got ready for work. The strange noise of last night had stopped, so that was a relief! It sounded so spooky!

I wasn't looking forward to today because Jo had taken a day's leave and I was working with Angela, who seems to be constantly making outbound calls. I did as many of the customer service emails as I could before the lines opened at 10am. 

We have an increased workload at the moment as our company has taken on another leisure centre in Derbyshire, so we're receiving calls and emails from customers. Thankfully, though, the phones weren't as busy as they were yesterday!

When I left work I noticed I'd had a call from Mum who wanted me to drop some toiletries over to her, so I had no choice but to head home to collect them and then drive to Kettering. It was raining hard and the traffic on the A43 was abysmal. It was an atrocious early evening and not really what I wanted to do!

Keith and I drove over, I met Mum in reception and, after a quick chat with her, we headed home to relax. I texted Sophie before she left home to warn her about the amount of water on the roads as they were beginning to flood with all the rain we'd had. The fields around here are saturated and I dread to think what it would have been like if the rain was snow!

Feeling annoyed!

Last night, Sophie felt like she was coming down with a cold, and felt rough, so she had a day off work and stayed at home. I got myself up at 6.30am and had a coffee before I left for work.

I was all alone in the office until the others came in at 10am, so it was lovely and peaceful! The phones were busy first thing as next week is the February half-term and people were booking their children onto our swim camps, which run all week.

Annoyingly, although I was helping out with calls for only a short time, I had to do a cash-up and made a mistake. Sheila, who had been in a bad mood all day, made me feel like an idiot when really, she should have explained properly what I needed to do. I went home in a foul mood myself, so not the best start to the week!

When I arrived home, Sophie was feeling a lot better and had hoovered. It was warm and cosy and lovely to walk into a neat and tidy house, so that made me a lot happier!

Much later in the evening, as we were all in bed, Sophie called me into her room as she could hear a strange noise above... it sounded like something scrabbling about! I hoped that it was a trapped bird and not a rat! We'd have to let the cats up in the loft to investigate!

A quiet Sunday

After a relaxed start to the day, we all trekked over to Tesco to do some shopping. Keith also wanted to recheck the tyre pressures after the warning light came on when we travelled north last week.

Tesco was heaving with people, and if we hadn't realised it was Valentine's Day coming up, we were certainly hit with it in the face! Sophie wanted to buy some gifts for Vikesh and a card for her friend Laura, and I wanted a good bottle of white wine for tonight's meal.

We did what we needed to do as quickly as we could and escaped! As we drove past the Tesco garage, it was busy with people waiting for the air machine so we decided to head to Morrison's garage instead. Here we found, as I had expected, the driver's side front wheel was a fair bit higher than the other three so that could have caused the warning light to come on. Keith released some of the air and we returned home. I think we'll have to visit a VW garage to get the computer reset.

We drove home via Loddington, and the landscape was grey and brown. I'm sure that if you look closely, though the trees and bushes will have buds on them, just waiting to burst into life once it gets a bit warmer!

Back home, we busied ourselves preparing tonight's chicken casserole and enjoyed some Indian snacks for lunch. I was supposed to be seeing my parents this afternoon, but Mum hasn't been feeling well lately so we postponed the visit until next week.

I had a sort out of some books we didn't need and sold them to Ziffit. They were mostly cookery books that we'll never use so we were glad to free up some space on the kitchen shelves!

Sophie cooked the chicken casserole for dinner tonight and it was delicious served with rice and asparagus. Gomez wouldn't come in this evening and he's staying out later and later now. I know for a fact we'll probably never see him when it's spring and summer, but we do like him to be in before 8pm! Eventually, he waltzed in and then joined us on the sofa for a cuddle!

Housework calls!

I was awake at just before 7am this morning, so perfect for getting up and having an early coffee. I had planned on cleaning the house today and getting rid of the dust that had been created from the window replacements.

We are happy with how they look, thank goodness, and we seem to have so much more light!

They also seem more modern and a couple of other houses nearby have installed new windows without the "Georgian bar" that we had previously. I've arranged to have the conservatory windows and roof cleaned next Wednesday and I'm determined to keep them looking immaculate!

So, today has been spent cleaning the house from top to bottom and changing the beds. Sophie helped with the bathroom and other chores before driving over to see Vikesh in the afternoon. Keith was looking forward to seeing his team, Sileby, play but he returned home because the game had been cancelled, even though the website said it was still on! I had settled down with Mooney to watch A Place in the Sun but that was shortlived!

I pottered about for the rest of the afternoon, still doing piles of laundry, and then had a soak in the bath. I banned the cats from the upstairs bedrooms as I didn't want muddy little feet all over the clean bedding!

Sophie had dinner with Vikesh and his family and Keith cooked succulent slices of beef in a gravy. We enjoyed the meat with giant Yorkshire puddings, mash and vegetables. Delicious!

Yippee, it's Friday!

After a busy week, I was glad that today was Friday! The time flew by at work as I had a lot to catch up with! Before I knew it, it was 4pm and time to head home for the weekend! Hooray!

Earlier this week, the birth certificate arrived for the sibling who had suddenly appeared on a tree linked to Keith's family, and as soon as I saw his mother I knew that he wasn't part of Keith's family. I was annoyed because the man who had set up the family tree and included these "new siblings" obviously hadn't researched as well as he thought he had. In the early days of my family tree research, I quickly learnt never to assume, as he admitted he'd done. I have no idea what repercussions this has with his own tree as it's completely wrong, but that's down to him to sort out. I sent him a message and offered to scan the birth certificate over to him as proof, but he ignored my message, which I thought was rather rude, especially as I'd tried to help him!

Keith went to the pub this evening and Sophie and I opened a bottle of wine and watched another riveting Netflix documentary about a poor man who'd met a woman on a dating website who turned out to be completely mad! 

We had the pizzas we'd bought on Wednesday for dinner and, although they were "Pizza Express" pizzas, I didn't enjoy them. I really only like pizzas cooked in a proper pizza restaurant! 

PS - I have found an alternative to Cracksters... the original Pom Bears that the children used to have when they were little. I haven't tried them out on Mooney yet. but I have a feeling he will like them. I'm currently trying to work out when we can go back to France so I can get the real thing!

A trip oop north...

An early start

We were all awake at 3.30am this morning and ready to go by 4.30am. I'd packed a flask of coffee and some biscuits and Keith had even put a spade in the boot of the car in case we did encounter snow! We put the cats in the conservatory with plenty of food and water and drew the curtains so they couldn't see Johnny! They were a bit wary of him and we wouldn't be around to reassure them, poor mites!

I'm glad it wasn't raining or snowing and we took the A14 and then the M1. After about twenty minutes, a notice flashed up on the instrument panel saying that there'd been a loss of tyre pressure and to carry out a check. The front two tyres were brand new, so we couldn't understand why, but we pulled into the next services we came to and found the air machine. Luckily, we could pay by card, and Keith checked all the tyres which were fine. We were mystified! We didn't really need this at 5am on a cold, wet morning, but we carried on, relieved that the tyres seemed to be OK!

Apart from that little scare, we had a good journey north, passing Sheffield and skirting Leeds to stay on the M1 until we reached the A1. The traffic had grown increasingly busier as we headed into the heavily-populated north. We weren't on the A1 long before we reached Wetherby, and Sophie used her phone to direct us to HMP Wealstun, a category C prison, where she was hosting an employability event.

We arrived at 7am and Sophie had arranged to meet a colleague before she went into the prison so she could leave her phone in his car. We took the opportunity to have a coffee and a biscuit while we waited and watched as the visitor car park gradually filled up. Amazingly, quite a few of the local residents used the grounds next to the prison to walk their dogs! Opposite was a modern housing estate, and I wondered what it was like to live so close to a prison!

Sophie's colleague still hadn't arrived by 8am but she spotted someone else she knew and went to talk to them. We waited until they were walking in and then decided to drive to Harrogate in search of more coffee and breakfast.

A wasted journey

We set Trish to take us on the twenty-minute journey and passed some interesting countryside on the way, with steep crags jutting out of farmland. It was clear we were driving along with commuter traffic and as we neared Harrogate, we encountered a line of cars all heading into the town. 

We crawled along and it began to sleet. The people walking past, taking their children to school, looked thoroughly miserable, and I could sympathise! It took us about half an hour to make the rest of the journey into a busy Harrogate. We looked out for a car park, but neither of us really fancied getting out of the warm car and venturing into the town in the truly awful weather.

I suggested going back towards Wetherby and stopping at a Sainsbury's supermarket we'd seen. We'd be able to use the loos and have something to eat there. Keith readily agreed so we turned around and went back, this time against the heavy line of traffic!

It wasn't exactly the kind of breakfast I'd envisaged - I wanted to go to Betty's Tea Rooms in Harrogate - but the sausage sandwich and coffee we had were adequate. After we'd eaten we had a look around the store and I bought some Fevertree Ginger Ale and Lemonade. I had a feeling I would need a drink tonight when we got home!

We've lost a castle!

By now, it was snowing, so we made the decision to head back to the prison. There was no point in walking around Wetherby, so we resigned ourselves to sitting in the car and reading the newspaper we'd bought in Sainsbury's.

On the way, we passed through the village of Spofforth and saw signs for a castle. Keith was intrigued, so we came off the main road and headed into the village, vainly looking out for Spofforth Castle. It became apparent that we'd missed it, so we had to turn around and retrace our route again! We finally spotted the "castle" which was a ruin on a hillside overlooking the village! The castle was built by Henry de Percy in the 14th century but was reduced to ruins in the English Civil War. It's an English Heritage Site, but we certainly didn't fancy walking around the ruins on such a horrible day!

Back at the prison, the car park was full so we parked along a residential street not far away. The snow was coming down properly now, and I was glad we were back at the prison and not far away. We had spoken about going to see Keith's brother but it was a further 60 miles north and we'd seen weather warnings out for the North-East, so it would have been foolhardy to attempt it!

We contented ourselves with reading the paper, listening to Ken Bruce on Greatest Hits radio (we missed Popmaster) and chatting. The layer of snow on the front of the car set the sensors off, and the vehicle must have thought we were too close to something as the alarms kept going off! Periodically, we drove down to the car park, and on our third visit, we managed to park.

A late lunch

Sophie emerged from the prison at about 12.30pm and was covered in snow! We'd noticed people coming out carrying loaves of bread, and she had one with her! They'd been made in the prison bakery, and each visitor was given one, which we thought was a lovely touch!

We headed back to the A1 and I asked Sophie to look for a pub off the motorway. The driving was hazardous, and it was still snowing, the third lane covered in slush. I took it carefully, but I wasn't happy to be driving in such nasty conditions!

Sophie found two pubs - one in Monk Fryston and one in the neighbouring village of Hillam, near the town of Selby. We passed the Monk Fryston pub and decided to carry on to The Cross Keys at Hillam. The pub looked inviting and they were doing food all day. Hooray!

We took a seat by an unlit fire and I wished fervently that it was roaring away! Sophie was delighted to see lasagne on the menu, I chose the steak and ale pie and Keith opted for steak and chips. The staff were friendly and we sat and chatted about our respective mornings!

The food was good and Sophie and I managed to share a bread and butter pudding between us. The snow continued to fall outside and I was dreading the return journey. According to the traffic reports the snow was bad around Sheffield and Derbyshire so we made the decision to carry on down the A1 until Stamford, rather than take the M1 home.

Homeward bound

After paying the bill, we drove back onto the A1 and soon became caught up in a traffic jam because of roadworks. This held us up for about forty minutes, but once we were on our way, the weather improved a bit and the snow turned to rain. 

The rest of the journey was fine but it did rain heavily all the way to Stamford. We turned off and drove towards Kettering on the saturated A43 where luckily the traffic was light. I had hoped to get home before it got dark but we arrived back at about 5.30pm to find that Johnny still wasn't finished and was coming back tomorrow to complete the windowsill in the living room.

It was heaven to relax with a drink and we watched the third episode of True Detective, which made both Sophie and I jump out of our skins! A scary end to a challenging day!

Ladies who lunch

Sophie went to the gym this morning and although I tried to go back to sleep, I was wide awake at about 7am, which gave me a chance to get ready for the busy day ahead.

Johnny arrived at about 9.30am and made a start on the living room window. I knew there would be a fair amount of disruption and it was cold as, very soon, we had no window at all!

When he took out the windowsill I was shocked to see the bare bones of the house beneath. They hadn't taken much care finishing it off! I was so pleased though, as there was a fair amount of damp in the corners and the old wooden windowsill had warped badly.

Keith and I pootled about, chatting to Johnny and making him cups of coffee. I was glad that Sophie had decided to work from her office today so she wasn't disturbed by the noise and banging. 

She was finishing at 12.30pm though, and had planned on going to see Vikesh in hospital. He had texted her and said they were going to discharge him today and there was no point in going to see him. We decided, instead, to make the most of the day and have lunch at Farndon Fields!

Leaving Keith and Johnny to it, we drove over to Market Harborough and waited for a table in the restaurant. I couldn't believe how busy it was on a Wednesday lunchtime! We didn't have to wait long and we were soon seated. I ordered a tuna and sweetcorn panini and Sophie chose the chicken and bacon sandwich. We shared a bowl of chips and treated ourselves to a glass of wine. I think we deserved it!

It was lovely to sit and chat and Sophie was feeling better today, thank goodness. Vikesh was sent home this afternoon, so it'll be easier for her to visit him from now on.

After lunch, we had a quick mooch around the shop and Sophie bought a box of macarons. Before heading home I filled the car up with petrol, and we bought a couple of pizzas and salad for tonight's meal.

When we arrived home we enjoyed the macarons with a cup of tea and sat in the kitchen chatting. Johnny was still working and had replaced the living room, cloakroom and kitchen windows.

The old windows chucked on the garden!

When he left I hoovered and tidied up, and we all decided to skip dinner tonight. Sophie and I were still full from lunch and we had to have an early night as the alarm was set for 3.30am tomorrow morning!

Feeling a little stressed...

Work was OK today, but for some reason, it always drags on a Tuesday! I was hoping that Sophie wouldn't go to see Vikesh tonight and that she would spend all afternoon with him tomorrow instead. We were supposed to have been in London on Wednesday, but Sophie had cancelled her appointment with Dr Bawa as there was just too much going on this week.

Johnny replaced the bathroom and spare room windows today and at least I was able to vacuum when I got home from work. We still can't get over how much bigger the windows look without all the white frames we had before. We're very pleased with them!

Unfortunately, my daughter was a bit stressed when she arrived home from work but had already decided not to go and see Vikesh this evening. I was hugely relieved because I didn't fancy taking her over again, and I wouldn't have been able to sit in the waiting area by intensive care as he was now on a normal ward.

We sat in the kitchen and let her rant about work while she made up almost sixty name badges for an event she's hosting on Thursday, at a prison near Wetherby in Yorkshire. We're taking her there, as to try and get a train would be almost impossible, and the event starts at 8am! Keith and I were looking forward to a day out, but the forecast was bad weather and snow...

We had the bubble and squeak and roast chicken for dinner that we should have had last night, and I enjoyed it all the more with a day's gap!

A long day!

Today has been painful and not the best start to a busy week! Work passed quickly, as it always does on Monday, because I try to catch up with emails received over the weekend, and I have all the box office returns to do.

Keith texted me to say that Johnny had arrived to start work on replacing the windows and would be with us for at least four days. I couldn't wait to get home and see what they looked like!

On the way home, I decided to pop into Waitrose and get myself something for dinner. We'd planned on having bubble and squeak and the leftover chicken from last night's meal, and I just didn't fancy it at all! As I neared the roundabout, I could see the traffic was backed up all along the A43, which wasn't a good sign... I went into Waitrose and finally, after much deliberation, bought myself a little steak pie for dinner.

I debated whether to go through Moulton or Overstone on the way home, but in the end, I stuck it out on the A43, but it took me half an hour to get to the Holcot roundabout. It was due to roadworks (filling potholes) so the last stretch it did speed up a bit. I'd warned Sophie when I was parked at Waitrose, and neither of us needed this holdup because we wanted to go and see Vikesh.

When I drew up outside the house I could see that Sophie's window had been replaced, and Keith told me that the main bedroom and en-suite had been done as well. I was delighted with how they looked and they appeared to be so much bigger! The view from Sophie's room really opened up and we stood and stared out over the dismal winter landscape. The new windows made such a change and have given us much more light!

As soon as Sophie arrived home, she quickly changed and we flew out of the door again. Keith hadn't done anything with the vegetables so we decided to get fish and chips on the way home. We sped over to Kettering, I parked easily and we walked quickly to the intensive care ward. I sat outside again and read while Sophie went to see Vikesh.

He was a lot better and really needed to be on a normal ward. We left the hospital at about 6.30pm and popped into the only fish and chip shop that was open in Broughton. They had to cook our order from scratch so we stood and waited. We both felt drained and I sincerely hoped that Vikesh would be home soon as I was worried about Sophie feeling she had to visit every night.

Once our fish and chips were cooked, we sped home and ate straightaway, but Keith did make me a drink to enjoy with the meal! 

A hard day's work!

Thankfully, I woke up slightly earlier today, so I was able to make a start on the front garden and help Keith cut the bushes down to a more acceptable level. The windows are being replaced next week and at the moment the bushes are halfway up the front window! 

It was a much bigger job than I'd anticipated and we had to get rid of the cuttings already in the wheelie bin! We went to the tip, got rid of it all and headed back to start all over again!

While Keith cut down the bushes, I chopped them up to get as many in the bin as I could. Once that was full, we put more cuttings in boxes and returned to the tip. And then repeat! Vince and Sue came out to have a chat, which gave us a few minutes of respite! I was glad that the weather was mild and dry, but we've had thick clouds all day so no sunshine at all.

Sophie drove to the hospital at 1.30pm and managed to park easily, which was a relief. She wasn't allowed onto the ward until it was precisely 2pm, though. Rules are rules! Keith and I carried on, and on and on...  but by about 3pm we were all done, the bushes looked a lot neater and we could see out of the window! Inside it felt very exposed!

While Keith did all the preparations for a roast chicken dinner, I swept up outside and hoovered downstairs. Sophie returned home at about 4.30pm and we managed to eat at 6pm, a bit later than we wanted but much earlier than usual!

A pootling kind of day...

After a bad night's sleep, I was up far later than I wanted. I hate this! I like a balance of a lie-in but not so it encroaches on my weekend! After a couple of coffees, I helped Sophie make a chocolate bread and butter pudding for tomorrow's dinner and pootled about for the rest of the morning.

Sophie wanted to see Vikesh this afternoon and was worried about parking, so I gave her a lift to the hospital. Predictably, there were loads of spaces! He is still in intensive care and she'd been coordinating her visits with his family,  as only two people are allowed to see him at any one time.

I returned home and mopped the kitchen floor and the conservatory, as the cats had been in and out all day, leaving muddy footprints everywhere. I am so looking forward to the spring and summer when we can have the doors open and it's drier and warmer!

Keith and I returned at 4pm to collect Sophie and headed home to relax. We'd planned on playing Scrabble but it was nicer to sit on the sofa with a drink and chat. Vikesh was a lot better but there weren't any beds available on the other wards, so he will have to stay in intensive care for a few more days.

We had beefburgers for dinner with roasted vegetables and after we'd eaten we watched series four of True Detective. Sophie and I had enjoyed the first series immensely, but not the second one so much. The fourth series is set in Alaska and stars Jodie Foster. It reminded me a little of Fortitude and had three British actors, all speaking with silly American accents... why do they do that?!

So glad it's Friday!

I was facing a shift answering the phone today as Kathy had taken the day off, so I dealt with as many emails as I could before 10am and the onslaught began! At one point we had seven calls waiting, but thankfully, it did quieten down a bit!

Sophie had gone to work and started at 8am, the same as me, so she finished at 4pm again. We met at home and left to go to the hospital straight away. I went with her because of the difficulty parking and the dark walk to the main entrance, but if she goes over the weekend, she can drive herself and not worry about me waiting for her.

We took Sophie's little Hyundai so it was a lot easier to park and repeated our visit from yesterday. I sat and waited and finished Le Grand Meaulnes, a book I enjoyed so much at school when we read it in the original French. I'm sure it helped develop my love of France and all things French!

Sophie came out and said that Vikesh was a lot better but having trouble talking, probably due to the tube that had been down his throat. She seemed a bit calmer than yesterday and we went home to have a glass of wine and prepare dinner.

Luckily, Keith had made a chilli con carne and had set the table so we settled down for an hour with a glass of red and caught up with a couple of episodes of A New Life in the Sun. Things weren't going so well for some of the people who had moved abroad, and it was funny!

Car annoyances!

The commute to work, always horrible and dark, was made worse this morning by crazy drivers, all of them in BMWs! I pulled out of our estate with nothing in sight to suddenly have a BMW on my bum! It's a 40mph limit into the village, and then 30mph, so I was not happy to have him pressure me! The craziness extended to the A43 and the new bypass, and it was a bit like being in the Wacky Races! Everyone was in such a tearing hurry! If you're late for work, then leave earlier! I was mightily glad to arrive at work in one piece!

Sophie texted me at work to say that Vikesh was awake and off the ventilator, so she wanted to go and see him this evening. I suggested she finish work at 4pm, and we meet at home at about 4.30pm, take Mum back after her nail appointment and go then.

I had a busy shift and left work at 2pm. However, a huge lorry was blocking the exit of the car park so that delayed me! I had to approach from another angle and fold my wing mirrors in to get past! Not really what I needed! 

I sped off to Kettering, collected Mum who was waiting for me, and we drove back to Northampton. I then had an hour of sitting and relaxing while Mum had her nails done, which was much needed today! Sophie texted me to say she'd left at 4pm, and we met at home where she gathered together some things for Vikesh, and we took Mum back.

I hate hospitals and in the winter gloominess, it was even worse. We squeezed into a space in the multi-storey car park and walked to the hospital, both of us feeling very nervous. Vikesh's Mum had told us where to go and the intensive care department was on the first floor. It was eerily quiet with nobody on reception, so I walked down to the main door with Sophie and she asked to go in and see Vikesh.

I didn't want to go in as well, so I went back to the reception area where there were sofas and a television. I sat and read, and Sophie came out after seeing him, in tears, saying he was talking nonsense and kept telling her to go home as he was worried the staff in the hospital would kill her! She knew that it was the result of the drugs and sedation, but it was still alarming for her, nonetheless! She said he was wired up to several machines and had drips and a catheter fitted. I just knew it wouldn't have been a good idea to have seen him yesterday, but we both hoped that over the next few days, the effects would wear off.

We went home, collapsed on the sofa with a drink and Keith cooked dinner. We both felt drained and we were so thankful that tomorrow is Friday!