Today didn't start off too well this morning when I received a call at 8am from our cook at work phoning in sick. This put me in a grump and I managed to have an argument with the children before we even left for school about the mess they left in the conservatory last night...
At work I told my parents we were without a cook today so the next hour was spent trying to arrange cover and then our frozen food supplier arrived with the week's large delivery. We also had an important meeting scheduled for 9.30am when hordes of customers decided to arrive and the phones kept ringing!
As I was trying to deal with people coming in Polly wandered over from the restaurant where she had taken over Maureen's job and started wittering on about the cistern in the loo...was now really the time to tell me?
Luckily Paula arrived to cover Polly's job so I was able to escape back to the office and take part in the last half hour of the meeting. By this time I was desperate for a cup of coffee! Yesterday everything went very smoothly at work but today has been very trying! At least I was able to go out to the bank in the afternoon and drive my car. I am totally in love with it and I'm itching to take it on a long journey on the motorway but this weekend will be taken up with catering for a dinner with Mum and Dad on Saturday night and a Service of Remembrance with Mikey on Sunday. Maybe next weekend!
After work Keith and I set out for a walk but by 4.30pm it was already very dark, and cold! We walked to the village but then I said I wanted to go home as it was freezing and I hadn't put a coat on...a bit stupid, I know! We went home, opened a bottle of wine and sat in the conservatory to discuss what we were going to cook for Mum and Dad on Saturday night. My turn at Come Dine With Me is in December and my theme is Dr Zhivago so I was going to cook Russian dishes. We decided on pate to start (easy) and Beef Stroganoff for a main course followed by Pavlova. When the girls come I'm going to prepare Blinis with smoked salmon, but Mum and Dad didn't seem too keen when I told them about the starter!
Thursday, 7 November 2013
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
November rain
It's been a real November day today - misty, rainy and horrible!
When I got home after a busy day I found yet another letter about mobile phones, this time from Phones 4 U saying I'd taken out mobile phone insurance! I called the helpline immediately and managed to get through very quickly. The man I spoke to was very helpful and said he would pass all the information on to their fraud department. There was a mobile number listed on the letter so we called it, but the line was dead. At least it looks like the phone has been cancelled!
When I got home after a busy day I found yet another letter about mobile phones, this time from Phones 4 U saying I'd taken out mobile phone insurance! I called the helpline immediately and managed to get through very quickly. The man I spoke to was very helpful and said he would pass all the information on to their fraud department. There was a mobile number listed on the letter so we called it, but the line was dead. At least it looks like the phone has been cancelled!
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
Feeding the cake!
The school run was a great deal more pleasant this morning as I got to know my new car! My parents were very impressed and I took Mum for a little spin around the car park. We had a moment when I put the car in reverse and it wouldn't move as I hadn't got my seatbelt on! Talk about machines taking over!
The weather today has been very miserable - chilly, grey and rainy - and not what I expected as last night was cold and clear. I did talk to Keith about going for a walk after work but Sophie and I had to take a top back to New Look and we didn't arrive home until past 5pm and it was well and truly dark!
We fed the Christmas cake tonight. I used the leftover brandy that was used to soak the fruit and dribbled it over the top of the cake. I then added it to a half-full bottle of Port and the mixture smelt and tasted delicious so next week I'll feed it a bit more. Keith was looking at the cake with a gleam in his eye but we are not eating this one yet! I'm going to attempt to ice it and then keep it for Christmas!
The weather today has been very miserable - chilly, grey and rainy - and not what I expected as last night was cold and clear. I did talk to Keith about going for a walk after work but Sophie and I had to take a top back to New Look and we didn't arrive home until past 5pm and it was well and truly dark!
We fed the Christmas cake tonight. I used the leftover brandy that was used to soak the fruit and dribbled it over the top of the cake. I then added it to a half-full bottle of Port and the mixture smelt and tasted delicious so next week I'll feed it a bit more. Keith was looking at the cake with a gleam in his eye but we are not eating this one yet! I'm going to attempt to ice it and then keep it for Christmas!
Monday, 4 November 2013
Boring cleaning...again!
Today was time to take down the Halloween decorations but we are not putting up any Christmas ones yet!
As our cleaner at work had taken today off, it was down to us to do the cleaning which took up most of the afternoon. I took everything out of my car and I felt nothing at all, which surprised me. It was a bit like returning a hire car so my decision to change it is definitely the right one.
Keith and I went to pick up the children from school and miraculously, Mikey remembered he was meeting us! He didn't fancy coming to get the new car with us so he stayed at work and then Mum and Dad took him home.
I was very excited and a bit nervous, especially as the sun was really low in the sky, making driving difficult. I needn't have worried as we were in the dealership for over an hour and the sun had long disappeared by the time we emerged!
We dealt with lots more paperwork and then the handover man gave me a thorough session going through all the features of my new car. Many of them were the same as they were in the A1 (the stop-start system, the information screen) but I had some new ones such as cruise control and Bluetooth for my phone which was amazing. It means my phone is now connected to the car and I can use my voice to dial numbers and answer the phone without taking my hands off the steering wheel. Sophie was extremely impressed with all the gadgets - I even have a different floor in the boot for wet stuff! - and loves it as much as I do, which is a complete change from the previous car!
The registration plate transfer is going through so that was all dealt with and as soon as I receive the relevant paperwork I have to pop back to Audi to get the plates changed. All plans to go the gym were forgotten as we didn't leave the dealership until about 5.30pm and then we had to battle our way through the traffic go back to work, lock up and collect Keith's car. I followed him home so it was well past 6pm when we eventually walked through the door. Our dinner plans changed as there was no way he was going to make a chicken and mushroom pie at that time of the night so it was cold meat for us and lasagne for the kids. I can honestly say I'm looking forward to the school run tomorrow!
As our cleaner at work had taken today off, it was down to us to do the cleaning which took up most of the afternoon. I took everything out of my car and I felt nothing at all, which surprised me. It was a bit like returning a hire car so my decision to change it is definitely the right one.
Keith and I went to pick up the children from school and miraculously, Mikey remembered he was meeting us! He didn't fancy coming to get the new car with us so he stayed at work and then Mum and Dad took him home.
I was very excited and a bit nervous, especially as the sun was really low in the sky, making driving difficult. I needn't have worried as we were in the dealership for over an hour and the sun had long disappeared by the time we emerged!
We dealt with lots more paperwork and then the handover man gave me a thorough session going through all the features of my new car. Many of them were the same as they were in the A1 (the stop-start system, the information screen) but I had some new ones such as cruise control and Bluetooth for my phone which was amazing. It means my phone is now connected to the car and I can use my voice to dial numbers and answer the phone without taking my hands off the steering wheel. Sophie was extremely impressed with all the gadgets - I even have a different floor in the boot for wet stuff! - and loves it as much as I do, which is a complete change from the previous car!
The registration plate transfer is going through so that was all dealt with and as soon as I receive the relevant paperwork I have to pop back to Audi to get the plates changed. All plans to go the gym were forgotten as we didn't leave the dealership until about 5.30pm and then we had to battle our way through the traffic go back to work, lock up and collect Keith's car. I followed him home so it was well past 6pm when we eventually walked through the door. Our dinner plans changed as there was no way he was going to make a chicken and mushroom pie at that time of the night so it was cold meat for us and lasagne for the kids. I can honestly say I'm looking forward to the school run tomorrow!
Sunday, 3 November 2013
Boring cleaning!
I couldn't put off doing some cleaning today as the house was in a real mess! Mikey has trodden mud all over the carpets and there were more leaves inside than out! Keith took Sophie to work so I could just get on and do it without any interruption.
I worked until about 2pm and felt a sense of satisfaction when I'd finished as most of the stuff that had been irritating me for ages had been dealt with! Paperwork that just gets left on the table, dirty windows in the kitchen, mystery blobs of unidentifiable goo that nobody else seemed to notice and a trail of hot chocolate up the stairs and the wall (I know the culprit of that one!). It amazes me how dirty the house becomes and how little everybody else does about it!
The cleanliness will last for a couple of days and this time next week all my hard work will be undone! It was lovely, though, to get home from picking Sophie up from work, light the candles in the living room, pour a glass of red wine and watch a film!
I worked until about 2pm and felt a sense of satisfaction when I'd finished as most of the stuff that had been irritating me for ages had been dealt with! Paperwork that just gets left on the table, dirty windows in the kitchen, mystery blobs of unidentifiable goo that nobody else seemed to notice and a trail of hot chocolate up the stairs and the wall (I know the culprit of that one!). It amazes me how dirty the house becomes and how little everybody else does about it!
The cleanliness will last for a couple of days and this time next week all my hard work will be undone! It was lovely, though, to get home from picking Sophie up from work, light the candles in the living room, pour a glass of red wine and watch a film!
Saturday, 2 November 2013
Flying leaves!
Today has been a bit stormy!
In the evening I took Sophie and two of her friends over to the village of Hollowell as they have a large bonfire and firework display and it was certainly a wild and woolly night! I do like the road over to Hollowell - it's a bit twisty and turny and I took the Passat as I really didn't want Sophie's friends to be squeezed into the back of the Audi. I'd forgotten how good it is to drive, despite having over 170,000 miles on the clock!
When I got home Keith was watching the football, Mikey was hogging my laptop and I felt a bit sad I wasn't going out to a firework display...Normally our village would have something on but for some reason it's been delayed until next Friday - and Sophie wants to go to that one as well!
We ordered a Chinese takeaway tonight as there was just the three of us and the wind nearly blew me away as I went to pick it up. There are leaves everywhere at the moment and I wonder how many fall every year!
I picked the kids up at 9pm and they'd had a great time, but they were all a bit cold! It was home to the last of the apple crumble and a warming glass of whisky!
In the evening I took Sophie and two of her friends over to the village of Hollowell as they have a large bonfire and firework display and it was certainly a wild and woolly night! I do like the road over to Hollowell - it's a bit twisty and turny and I took the Passat as I really didn't want Sophie's friends to be squeezed into the back of the Audi. I'd forgotten how good it is to drive, despite having over 170,000 miles on the clock!
When I got home Keith was watching the football, Mikey was hogging my laptop and I felt a bit sad I wasn't going out to a firework display...Normally our village would have something on but for some reason it's been delayed until next Friday - and Sophie wants to go to that one as well!
We ordered a Chinese takeaway tonight as there was just the three of us and the wind nearly blew me away as I went to pick it up. There are leaves everywhere at the moment and I wonder how many fall every year!
I picked the kids up at 9pm and they'd had a great time, but they were all a bit cold! It was home to the last of the apple crumble and a warming glass of whisky!
Friday, 1 November 2013
Ah! The end of the week!
We've had the busiest day of our week at work so far which meant that I was roped in for a short while to wash up and clear tables (and sort out a mess in the Ladies' loos, but the less said about that the better!).
Mikey came in with Keith when he brought Sophie in to work and my dad took him to a shop in Northampton and bought him an air rifle... Last weekend they were practising with my Dad's rifle and Mikey did really well with the target so they've now bonded over weapons! Mikey is under the strictest of instructions to look after it and behave responsibly and it can only be used for target practice so let's hope he keeps to his side of the bargain!
After work we drove to Audi to drop off my registration papers and a copy of my tax disc. It wasn't really the ideal time to do it and the traffic was horrendous all the way there and then even worse on the way to the gym as I decided to cut straight across town. It was 5pm by the time we reached Virgin and we met Liam in the car park and swapped Audi stories. He was surprised to learn that I was trading in the A1 after having it for just two years, but understood perfectly my reasons. I just hope he doesn't think I'm a copycat as he has a beautiful A6 estate!
It was a bit too late to work out so we headed straight for the pool and had a good swim in an almost (at times) empty pool. Bliss!
Mikey came in with Keith when he brought Sophie in to work and my dad took him to a shop in Northampton and bought him an air rifle... Last weekend they were practising with my Dad's rifle and Mikey did really well with the target so they've now bonded over weapons! Mikey is under the strictest of instructions to look after it and behave responsibly and it can only be used for target practice so let's hope he keeps to his side of the bargain!
After work we drove to Audi to drop off my registration papers and a copy of my tax disc. It wasn't really the ideal time to do it and the traffic was horrendous all the way there and then even worse on the way to the gym as I decided to cut straight across town. It was 5pm by the time we reached Virgin and we met Liam in the car park and swapped Audi stories. He was surprised to learn that I was trading in the A1 after having it for just two years, but understood perfectly my reasons. I just hope he doesn't think I'm a copycat as he has a beautiful A6 estate!
It was a bit too late to work out so we headed straight for the pool and had a good swim in an almost (at times) empty pool. Bliss!
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