Today I've been printing off more photos, in between doing my own work! I shall be very glad when all this printing is over!
It was freezing cold this morning with a thick fog so driving conditions weren't ideal. I have to say, though, that the trees did look beautiful outlined against the fog. I wish I'd had time to take some photos before the day cleared to blue skies and sunshine.
After work Sophie and I went over to Timpson's and we picked five photos to have printed in A3. The lady in the shop is always very helpful and seems to manage the place all on her own. When we arrived there were two families having passport photos taken and she was coping with everyone really well. I'd have been flapping like mad!
When I arrived home a CD had been delivered of Parish records from several villages in Kent. It meant I could fill in some of the gaps in my family tree and go back a little further to my 6x Great Grandparents who lived in the village of Smarden, somewhere I've never heard of! It really does feel strange sometimes, looking at the names of the people who were vital to my being here at the present day. I really wish I could time-travel and meet them - I'd have so many questions!
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Monday, 20 January 2014
Monday morning blues...
I have this theory that if you have a lovely time, you end up paying for it sooner or later. I thoroughly enjoyed my three days off work but came in this morning to a whole host of problems that swiftly wiped out my good mood!
It took us all morning to sort out the takings from the weekend with receipts missing and a note from our receptionist to say that one party had gone home without paying. We really shouldn't have to deal with niggling little problems like that as our procedures are very straightforward and simple!
I did manage to get away with not doing a lot of cleaning though as by the time we'd sorted out the money and I'd sent off our Booker order it was lunchtime and then I had to go and get some urgent things we needed for first thing in the morning. By the time I got back to work and had a cup of tea with Mum it was time to pick Sophie up from school.
We never got to the gym tonight, despite our best intentions (I wanted to try and go for a swim at 6pm) as we had to sort all her photos out for the exam this week. The deadline is Thursday and as I write I'm still at work listening to the printer churning out photographs!
I'm looking forward very much to getting home, having a glass of white wine and enjoying the roast chicken dinner we should have had last night!
It took us all morning to sort out the takings from the weekend with receipts missing and a note from our receptionist to say that one party had gone home without paying. We really shouldn't have to deal with niggling little problems like that as our procedures are very straightforward and simple!
I did manage to get away with not doing a lot of cleaning though as by the time we'd sorted out the money and I'd sent off our Booker order it was lunchtime and then I had to go and get some urgent things we needed for first thing in the morning. By the time I got back to work and had a cup of tea with Mum it was time to pick Sophie up from school.
We never got to the gym tonight, despite our best intentions (I wanted to try and go for a swim at 6pm) as we had to sort all her photos out for the exam this week. The deadline is Thursday and as I write I'm still at work listening to the printer churning out photographs!
I'm looking forward very much to getting home, having a glass of white wine and enjoying the roast chicken dinner we should have had last night!
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| Sophie at my desk with a photo of Keith taken in Berlin |
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Recovering!
I awoke this morning at almost 9am feeling a wee bit groggy, but better than I expected after last night's debauchery! Seeing as I'd drunk a glass of Cava, several (lost count) glasses of red wine, almost a third of a bottle of Port and a Kahlua liqueur, I think I managed to get away with it! I wasn't tempted to have a sip of my Jura whisky that Keith was passing around so maybe that was my saving grace!
Today was spent doing very little but I did pick Sophie up from work early as she had a desperate need to go to Boots to get some more make-up after she smashed her face powder. After we'd bought what she wanted we had a quick coffee in Costa which was very pleasant and made a nice end to the day.
Back home we wrestled with Sophie's photographs that she needed to print off for her exam. Some of them worked out OK and then the printer started playing up and the brand new colour ink I put in, ran out. We gave up and I said we would do them at work tomorrow as it was getting late and tempers were starting to fray.
We had planned on having roast chicken for dinner but Keith and I had finished off the leftover chicken dish from last night at lunchtime so neither of us were hungry! We enjoyed the cheese and biscuits instead (I finished the Port) and then watched the two recorded episodes of The Bridge from last night. They were brilliant as ever!
Today was spent doing very little but I did pick Sophie up from work early as she had a desperate need to go to Boots to get some more make-up after she smashed her face powder. After we'd bought what she wanted we had a quick coffee in Costa which was very pleasant and made a nice end to the day.
Back home we wrestled with Sophie's photographs that she needed to print off for her exam. Some of them worked out OK and then the printer started playing up and the brand new colour ink I put in, ran out. We gave up and I said we would do them at work tomorrow as it was getting late and tempers were starting to fray.
We had planned on having roast chicken for dinner but Keith and I had finished off the leftover chicken dish from last night at lunchtime so neither of us were hungry! We enjoyed the cheese and biscuits instead (I finished the Port) and then watched the two recorded episodes of The Bridge from last night. They were brilliant as ever!
Saturday, 18 January 2014
Entertaining
I love having friends over for dinner and I really enjoyed all the preparation today. Keith made his delicious tomato soup first thing while I made two loaves of bread to go with it - a wholemeal and a white loaf. I then set the table (it was a tight squeeze with all the glasses and plates!) and cleaned the conservatory before shutting it up.
I cleaned the rest of the downstairs and then Sophie and I headed to Jones's as she needed ink and paper for the printer as she had loads of photos to print off for her forthcoming photography exam. The plan was to go home and spend the afternoon printing them all off, but she had a few problems so she may have to finish them off at school or use Timpson's as we've done before. To be honest I wasn't a lot of help to her as I was busy preparing the vegetables, chopping fruit for the Pavlova and making the meringue, but I'm sure we'll get it all sorted next week.
We'd promised to take the children to get a KFC meal and luckily I had a quick look at the recipe for my main course - chicken and chorizo tray bake...the only problem was that I'd forgotten to buy any chorizo! Luckily Tesco's is right next door to KFC so we dashed into the deli counter, bought the spicy sausage and then headed off to feed the hungry wee ones!
Back at home I had a lovely bath and then asked Sophie to work her magic with my hair and make-up before going downstairs and finishing off the preparations for dinner. I only had one more hitch...the large casserole dish would only fit in the very bottom of the oven so I had to put it on a lot earlier than I'd anticipated otherwise we'd have been waiting a very long time for the main event!
We had a really lovely evening with Sarah and Liam and Sue and Paul and I think the food went down very well. Nothing disastrous happened and we went through quite a few bottles of wine (including the magnum of Redwood Creek that we brought home from Florida) and the lovely Longhorn Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from California. Keith's tomato soup was a big hit and everyone liked my chicken dish which was fine after it had been in the oven for an hour and a half!
Sophie was tremendously helpful and made sure all the washing up was done for me which was great. I would have had much more work if it wasn't for her! We finished with my fruity Pavlova followed by cheese and biscuits and Port and then I took orders for coffee and hot chocolate while my friends relaxed on the sofas.
It was 1.30am by the time they left which was great as I hoped they all felt relaxed and comfortable. I stayed up for another half an hour to wash up and then it was off to bed, and thankfully I didn't feel too tipsy!
I cleaned the rest of the downstairs and then Sophie and I headed to Jones's as she needed ink and paper for the printer as she had loads of photos to print off for her forthcoming photography exam. The plan was to go home and spend the afternoon printing them all off, but she had a few problems so she may have to finish them off at school or use Timpson's as we've done before. To be honest I wasn't a lot of help to her as I was busy preparing the vegetables, chopping fruit for the Pavlova and making the meringue, but I'm sure we'll get it all sorted next week.
We'd promised to take the children to get a KFC meal and luckily I had a quick look at the recipe for my main course - chicken and chorizo tray bake...the only problem was that I'd forgotten to buy any chorizo! Luckily Tesco's is right next door to KFC so we dashed into the deli counter, bought the spicy sausage and then headed off to feed the hungry wee ones!
Back at home I had a lovely bath and then asked Sophie to work her magic with my hair and make-up before going downstairs and finishing off the preparations for dinner. I only had one more hitch...the large casserole dish would only fit in the very bottom of the oven so I had to put it on a lot earlier than I'd anticipated otherwise we'd have been waiting a very long time for the main event!
We had a really lovely evening with Sarah and Liam and Sue and Paul and I think the food went down very well. Nothing disastrous happened and we went through quite a few bottles of wine (including the magnum of Redwood Creek that we brought home from Florida) and the lovely Longhorn Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from California. Keith's tomato soup was a big hit and everyone liked my chicken dish which was fine after it had been in the oven for an hour and a half!
Sophie was tremendously helpful and made sure all the washing up was done for me which was great. I would have had much more work if it wasn't for her! We finished with my fruity Pavlova followed by cheese and biscuits and Port and then I took orders for coffee and hot chocolate while my friends relaxed on the sofas.
It was 1.30am by the time they left which was great as I hoped they all felt relaxed and comfortable. I stayed up for another half an hour to wash up and then it was off to bed, and thankfully I didn't feel too tipsy!
Friday, 17 January 2014
Preparation!
I took today off work as we have friends coming over for dinner tomorrow and I wanted to go shopping with Keith, buy all the food we needed and get everything ready so that I wouldn't have too much to do on the day.
We dropped the children off at school and drove over to Tesco's in Kettering, which was beautifully quiet. I took my own trolley and spent a very pleasant hour choosing cheeses and wines and buying all my vegetables and fruit. I love having time to choose things properly and while Keith bought all the stuff for home I filled a trolley with lots of goodies.
Back at home we put everything away and then I sorted out all my glasses, cutlery and crockery. This was a good thing as I discovered I only had five soup spoons so I decided to use a cutlery set that my Nan had left me and has proved to very useful in the past!
I was expecting a delivery from M&S so we dashed back to Kettering to pick it up and then it was almost time to pick Sophie up from school. Time has certainly flown past quickly today!
The plan was to go to the gym early but Sophie wasn't really in the mood and I was quite happy to go home and do very little for the rest of the evening. I have a feeling that tomorrow will be a late night!
We dropped the children off at school and drove over to Tesco's in Kettering, which was beautifully quiet. I took my own trolley and spent a very pleasant hour choosing cheeses and wines and buying all my vegetables and fruit. I love having time to choose things properly and while Keith bought all the stuff for home I filled a trolley with lots of goodies.
Back at home we put everything away and then I sorted out all my glasses, cutlery and crockery. This was a good thing as I discovered I only had five soup spoons so I decided to use a cutlery set that my Nan had left me and has proved to very useful in the past!
I was expecting a delivery from M&S so we dashed back to Kettering to pick it up and then it was almost time to pick Sophie up from school. Time has certainly flown past quickly today!
The plan was to go to the gym early but Sophie wasn't really in the mood and I was quite happy to go home and do very little for the rest of the evening. I have a feeling that tomorrow will be a late night!
Thursday, 16 January 2014
Glad to get home!
Today's been a long one at work as I stayed behind with Sophie as she was looking after a party for us. The party was for 32 children so I ended up helping Sophie clear the room and wash up. I was going to head home but I'm so glad I stayed despite it being a bit manic and noisy!
So it was utter bliss to get home at about 6.30pm and relax while Keith cooked dinner. There's no better place after a busy day and it was lovely to light a candle and sit and watch TV with a drink!
So it was utter bliss to get home at about 6.30pm and relax while Keith cooked dinner. There's no better place after a busy day and it was lovely to light a candle and sit and watch TV with a drink!
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
Birthday celebrations!
Today was my Birthday and I've had a lovely time, despite having to go to work!
I opened my cards and a present from Keith and the children (Jura Malt Whisky) before leaving the house and was delighted with two beautiful bunches of flowers that Sophie arranged for me. It was a miserable grey day, but the weather certainly didn't affect my mood!
We had a group in at work so most of the morning I was busy but Mum and Dad popped in to see me with a card and chocolates and just as they left I had a delivery of flowers from Mum which was lovely. I do love having a Florist deliver a bouquet - makes me feel very special indeed! All through the day I received some lovely Birthday wishes on Facebook, which again made me feel great. Why can't Birthdays happen every day! To make things even better my Tassimo delivery arrived mid-morning so now we can enjoy lots of different teas, coffees and chocolate!
After work it was home to relax in the bath before we headed over to The Han restaurant in Market Harborough. The restaurant wasn't at all busy and we chose the Han Banquet which was four courses, so plenty to eat! I enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine as Keith had very kindly offered to drive so all in all it was a great night.
We staggered off home afterwards and all collapsed on the sofa to watch Fashion Police having a go at the celebrities arriving for the Golden Globes. Hilarious!
I opened my cards and a present from Keith and the children (Jura Malt Whisky) before leaving the house and was delighted with two beautiful bunches of flowers that Sophie arranged for me. It was a miserable grey day, but the weather certainly didn't affect my mood!
We had a group in at work so most of the morning I was busy but Mum and Dad popped in to see me with a card and chocolates and just as they left I had a delivery of flowers from Mum which was lovely. I do love having a Florist deliver a bouquet - makes me feel very special indeed! All through the day I received some lovely Birthday wishes on Facebook, which again made me feel great. Why can't Birthdays happen every day! To make things even better my Tassimo delivery arrived mid-morning so now we can enjoy lots of different teas, coffees and chocolate!
After work it was home to relax in the bath before we headed over to The Han restaurant in Market Harborough. The restaurant wasn't at all busy and we chose the Han Banquet which was four courses, so plenty to eat! I enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine as Keith had very kindly offered to drive so all in all it was a great night.
We staggered off home afterwards and all collapsed on the sofa to watch Fashion Police having a go at the celebrities arriving for the Golden Globes. Hilarious!
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