Today was the first day that I really felt like I was not on holiday from work, as I had for the last two weeks.
Keith took Mike to school and then went for a walk before returning home. As Sophie wasn't working today we had breakfast of toast together before I embarked on housework. Is this going to be my life from now on? Endless housework?!!
It was a beautiful morning so the blue skies and sunshine lifted my spirits but I still felt very strange not being at work! Over lunchtime Sophie and I sat and watched A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun about a very lucky couple buying a holiday home on the Caribbean island of St Vincent. They were very picky about what they wanted and I think the lovely Jasmine Harman became a bit irritated with them!
In the afternoon we made a trek over to Tesco to buy things for dinner...how I contained my excitement I'll never know! The weather later in the day turned cool and cloudy so not the sort of afternoon to sit out in the sunshine. I feel like we haven't had a summer this year!
I met Mike on his way back from the bus as I went to post a letter and he hadn't enjoyed his first day back at school, bless him! Just one more year and then he'll either be going into sixth form or starting at college. How time flies!
Monday, 7 September 2015
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Sunday chores
After the sloth of yesterday I gave the ground floor of the house a good clean today and we made sure that Mike was all ready for his return to school tomorrow. This meant gluing on a strip of ribbon around both sleeves of his blazer as he will be a Prefect when he starts back.
Mike and Keith disappeared off to the barber's this morning so Mikey could get a haircut and it was lovely to potter about the house doing my jobs on my own. Bliss! Sophie was at work but I'm hoping she'll have some time off next week.
It's been a gorgeous day and I did manage to sit in the garden for a while to soak up the sun in between cleaning. Monty came out with me and was very affectionate and together we watched the birds visiting the feeders hanging from our Eucalyptus tree.
After collecting Sophie from work and bringing her home we watched A Place In The Sun about a woman looking for a holiday home in Barbados. Lucky thing!
Mike and Keith disappeared off to the barber's this morning so Mikey could get a haircut and it was lovely to potter about the house doing my jobs on my own. Bliss! Sophie was at work but I'm hoping she'll have some time off next week.
It's been a gorgeous day and I did manage to sit in the garden for a while to soak up the sun in between cleaning. Monty came out with me and was very affectionate and together we watched the birds visiting the feeders hanging from our Eucalyptus tree.
After collecting Sophie from work and bringing her home we watched A Place In The Sun about a woman looking for a holiday home in Barbados. Lucky thing!
Saturday, 5 September 2015
A day of rest...
Well, I didn't do an awful lot today and I enjoyed every minute!
The weather hasn't been great (no surprise there then!) so it was bliss to just mooch about, have a very relaxed start to the day, read the papers and then do some research on Keith's family tree. I didn't have a lot to go on but his brother had printed out a tree that I used as a guide although he hadn't put on places where people were born.
It turns out Keith's father's side of the family comes from Lancashire and we managed to confirm that the oldest ancestor we had was born in 1795. It was very absorbing and certainly gave me something to think about!
If I don't find a job over the winter I will definitely need something to keep me occupied and I might have found a solution with Keith's mother who had been adopted as a baby. I've sent for her birth certificate to see if that provides any clues so I'm hoping to have something to get my teeth into over the next few months!
The weather hasn't been great (no surprise there then!) so it was bliss to just mooch about, have a very relaxed start to the day, read the papers and then do some research on Keith's family tree. I didn't have a lot to go on but his brother had printed out a tree that I used as a guide although he hadn't put on places where people were born.
It turns out Keith's father's side of the family comes from Lancashire and we managed to confirm that the oldest ancestor we had was born in 1795. It was very absorbing and certainly gave me something to think about!
If I don't find a job over the winter I will definitely need something to keep me occupied and I might have found a solution with Keith's mother who had been adopted as a baby. I've sent for her birth certificate to see if that provides any clues so I'm hoping to have something to get my teeth into over the next few months!
Friday, 4 September 2015
Back to reality
Sophie, poor thing, was back at work today and she was a bit bleary eyed when I woke her up this morning! We took her into work and then we sped home to make a list for the shopping...I was being allowed to accompany Keith!
I felt a bit strange today as for the first time in years and years, I wasn't being paid and it brought it home to me a bit how things had changed in my life. It wasn't really a good feeling and certainly not how I expected to be!
We did the shopping and then went home where I found a perfect job for Sophie - working for Virgin Active at their Collingtree site as front of house... I sent her a text but she didn't seem too keen!
In the afternoon we went to Mum and Dad's house to let the estate agent in as they had a viewing and have gone away for the weekend. We turned lots of lights on and when the people arrived we made ourselves scarce by sitting in the garden. It was a shame the weather wasn't more pleasant as the early sunshine had been replaced by heavy grey clouds.
When the estate agent had gone, we returned home before I went to pick Sophie up from work. I'd talked to Maureen about going in to have a chat so it was great to sit and see the staff for an hour and natter about how things were going with the new owners. They seem to have introduced some strict rules and certainly aren't as laid back and easy-going as we were. Perhaps that's a good thing but I'm not sure it was popular with the staff!
I felt a bit strange today as for the first time in years and years, I wasn't being paid and it brought it home to me a bit how things had changed in my life. It wasn't really a good feeling and certainly not how I expected to be!
We did the shopping and then went home where I found a perfect job for Sophie - working for Virgin Active at their Collingtree site as front of house... I sent her a text but she didn't seem too keen!
In the afternoon we went to Mum and Dad's house to let the estate agent in as they had a viewing and have gone away for the weekend. We turned lots of lights on and when the people arrived we made ourselves scarce by sitting in the garden. It was a shame the weather wasn't more pleasant as the early sunshine had been replaced by heavy grey clouds.
When the estate agent had gone, we returned home before I went to pick Sophie up from work. I'd talked to Maureen about going in to have a chat so it was great to sit and see the staff for an hour and natter about how things were going with the new owners. They seem to have introduced some strict rules and certainly aren't as laid back and easy-going as we were. Perhaps that's a good thing but I'm not sure it was popular with the staff!
Thursday, 3 September 2015
A day in France
Last night, after talking to the children over dinner, we all agreed to go to France for the day, on the Eurotunnel rather than a ferry as it's quicker and much less hassle. Keith and I booked the tickets and then I paid for travel insurance, breakdown cover and the Dartford crossing.
So, this morning, at 6am we were all up and getting ready for the off. We left at just before 8am and encountered heavy traffic on the A43 which was a pain. However, as we were crawling along I saw a motorcyclist come off his bike and we realised there'd been an accident. We had no idea how it happened as the traffic was really slow moving, but we were able to get past and carry on our way. A lot of people had gone running to help and we just hoped that the poor man wasn't seriously injured.
The traffic was slow all the way to the M1 but we made very good time and arrived at Folkestone at 10.15am, which I thought was brilliant. We had a short wait until our number was called so I treated Mike to a pair of earphones and some chocolate.
Before very long we were queuing up to board the train and it was great to be able to just sit in the car and not have to go anywhere! I'd forgotten how easy and quick the Eurotunnel is! It took about 30 minutes to cross the channel and then we were in France and heading for Cite Europe.
The children were hungry so we decided to go to the shops first, have lunch and take a look about before going to St Omer. We chose the "Bar Provencal" and enjoyed a couple of beers (well, you have to!) with toasted cheese and ham sandwiches and frites. Delicious!
We noticed a new shop on the ground floor which used to be the large Tesco but was now a huge store selling every kind of alcoholic drink imaginable! They had some lovely whiskies for sale as well as all kinds of other spirits, beers, wines and ciders. We wandered around for a good half hour looking at everything and I bought two bottles of Leffe lager at 9% alcohol!
From the store we went off to Carrefour where we bought some more beer, chocolate and biscuits but I didn't get as much of a good look as I wanted as Keith wasn't that interested in buying anything and Sophie wanted to leave to go to St Omer.
The news in the UK has been full of the immigrants recently and we did wonder if it was a good idea to take the shuttle seeing as there'd been a lot of trouble there but apart from three men hanging about by the side of the road and a group of men walking along the train tracks it was all very quiet.
We found the A26 autoroute and headed towards St Omer which was about thirty minutes away. I do love the autoroutes in France as they're always very quiet, fast and smooth. Keith navigated and very soon we were heading for the "centre ville" and looking for a parking space. We arrived at a large carpark and found a space easily. There were signs for the town centre and after a short walk we found ourselves in the large market square bordered on all sides by lovely old buildings, shops and cafes.
Sophie was determined to have a waffle or a crepe before she left so we headed for a cafe called "Le Zinc" where we sat inside and asked for the menu from a woman who wasn't exactly over the top with friendliness!
Mike said that we weren't welcome and that's exactly what I thought as well. However, we persevered (I did speak French) and soon received three crepes with Nutella, a beer for Keith and coke for the kids. The crepes were OK, but they didn't taste freshly made...Keith makes much better ones!
After our snack we wandered off to have a look around the very pretty little town which in some ways reminded me of Bruges. There were some lovely old buildings, lots of shops and narrow streets to explore.
We saw a beautiful bridal shop and I just had to stop to take a photo!
I couldn't help wondering what it would be like to live in the little town and Sophie said she thought it was a great little place. Praise indeed!
After wandering along the streets we decided to head back to the car as by now it was past 5pm and we wanted to make sure we got back to the terminal in plenty of time. We only managed to get lost once on the way back to the autoroute which I was pretty pleased with! It did give us a chance to drive around a quiet residential area and then have another view of the imposing churches in the town!
The journey back to Calais was very smooth and hassle-free. There had been some technical problems earlier in the day so we were delayed for a short while but it gave Keith and me the chance to scout out a pub for the evening near Folkestone. I used the wifi at the terminal and we picked a pub in the village of Stowting called The Tiger Inn.
The journey back to the UK was great and I think I even fell asleep at one point on the train. I love the gentle rocking movements! We disembarked in the gathering gloom and left the M20 at junction 11 to find the village. It was at the end of a very narrow and winding road but first impressions were very good indeed.
The Tiger Inn is an old pub, full of wood, dried hops and dripping, waxy candles and I would love to have it as my local. We were shown to a table in the dimly lit restaurant and even though Sophie wasn't keen on the menu and choice of dishes, we still had a pleasant couple of hours.
Mike and Soph went for the ham and eggs served with chunky chips, Keith chose the beef and horseradish pie while I had the best meal of all - slow roasted belly pork served with crackling on champ mash. A steaming dish of carrots and courgettes came with it.
Keith wasn't too happy with the beer on offer, and although it was one of his favourite ales - Bishop's Finger - he said it tasted sour. I told him to take it back but he had a second pint and said that was the same!
I absolutely loved the pub - for me it was getting on for perfect with its log fires, candle-lit alcoves and stone-flagged floors. I would love to go back!
We left at about 9.30pm, filled up with diesel at the services on the M20 and then headed home through almost constant lane closures and roadworks. It was midnight by the time we reached home, all of us very tired but feeling great after a good day!
So, this morning, at 6am we were all up and getting ready for the off. We left at just before 8am and encountered heavy traffic on the A43 which was a pain. However, as we were crawling along I saw a motorcyclist come off his bike and we realised there'd been an accident. We had no idea how it happened as the traffic was really slow moving, but we were able to get past and carry on our way. A lot of people had gone running to help and we just hoped that the poor man wasn't seriously injured.
The traffic was slow all the way to the M1 but we made very good time and arrived at Folkestone at 10.15am, which I thought was brilliant. We had a short wait until our number was called so I treated Mike to a pair of earphones and some chocolate.
Before very long we were queuing up to board the train and it was great to be able to just sit in the car and not have to go anywhere! I'd forgotten how easy and quick the Eurotunnel is! It took about 30 minutes to cross the channel and then we were in France and heading for Cite Europe.
The children were hungry so we decided to go to the shops first, have lunch and take a look about before going to St Omer. We chose the "Bar Provencal" and enjoyed a couple of beers (well, you have to!) with toasted cheese and ham sandwiches and frites. Delicious!
We noticed a new shop on the ground floor which used to be the large Tesco but was now a huge store selling every kind of alcoholic drink imaginable! They had some lovely whiskies for sale as well as all kinds of other spirits, beers, wines and ciders. We wandered around for a good half hour looking at everything and I bought two bottles of Leffe lager at 9% alcohol!
From the store we went off to Carrefour where we bought some more beer, chocolate and biscuits but I didn't get as much of a good look as I wanted as Keith wasn't that interested in buying anything and Sophie wanted to leave to go to St Omer.
The news in the UK has been full of the immigrants recently and we did wonder if it was a good idea to take the shuttle seeing as there'd been a lot of trouble there but apart from three men hanging about by the side of the road and a group of men walking along the train tracks it was all very quiet.
We found the A26 autoroute and headed towards St Omer which was about thirty minutes away. I do love the autoroutes in France as they're always very quiet, fast and smooth. Keith navigated and very soon we were heading for the "centre ville" and looking for a parking space. We arrived at a large carpark and found a space easily. There were signs for the town centre and after a short walk we found ourselves in the large market square bordered on all sides by lovely old buildings, shops and cafes.
Sophie was determined to have a waffle or a crepe before she left so we headed for a cafe called "Le Zinc" where we sat inside and asked for the menu from a woman who wasn't exactly over the top with friendliness!
Mike said that we weren't welcome and that's exactly what I thought as well. However, we persevered (I did speak French) and soon received three crepes with Nutella, a beer for Keith and coke for the kids. The crepes were OK, but they didn't taste freshly made...Keith makes much better ones!
After our snack we wandered off to have a look around the very pretty little town which in some ways reminded me of Bruges. There were some lovely old buildings, lots of shops and narrow streets to explore.
We saw a beautiful bridal shop and I just had to stop to take a photo!
I couldn't help wondering what it would be like to live in the little town and Sophie said she thought it was a great little place. Praise indeed!
After wandering along the streets we decided to head back to the car as by now it was past 5pm and we wanted to make sure we got back to the terminal in plenty of time. We only managed to get lost once on the way back to the autoroute which I was pretty pleased with! It did give us a chance to drive around a quiet residential area and then have another view of the imposing churches in the town!
The journey back to Calais was very smooth and hassle-free. There had been some technical problems earlier in the day so we were delayed for a short while but it gave Keith and me the chance to scout out a pub for the evening near Folkestone. I used the wifi at the terminal and we picked a pub in the village of Stowting called The Tiger Inn.
The journey back to the UK was great and I think I even fell asleep at one point on the train. I love the gentle rocking movements! We disembarked in the gathering gloom and left the M20 at junction 11 to find the village. It was at the end of a very narrow and winding road but first impressions were very good indeed.
The Tiger Inn is an old pub, full of wood, dried hops and dripping, waxy candles and I would love to have it as my local. We were shown to a table in the dimly lit restaurant and even though Sophie wasn't keen on the menu and choice of dishes, we still had a pleasant couple of hours.
Mike and Soph went for the ham and eggs served with chunky chips, Keith chose the beef and horseradish pie while I had the best meal of all - slow roasted belly pork served with crackling on champ mash. A steaming dish of carrots and courgettes came with it.
Keith wasn't too happy with the beer on offer, and although it was one of his favourite ales - Bishop's Finger - he said it tasted sour. I told him to take it back but he had a second pint and said that was the same!
I absolutely loved the pub - for me it was getting on for perfect with its log fires, candle-lit alcoves and stone-flagged floors. I would love to go back!
We left at about 9.30pm, filled up with diesel at the services on the M20 and then headed home through almost constant lane closures and roadworks. It was midnight by the time we reached home, all of us very tired but feeling great after a good day!
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
Days fly past!
I used to think that the time went fast at work but being at home seems to have accelerated it even faster!
After a bit of a lie-in this morning we dropped Sophie off at work and then returned home to get Mikey sorted out for his uniform. He's back at school next Monday and seems to have been off for ages! I can't really say I've enjoyed this summer as we have hardly spent any time together as a family.
He said he needed a new blazer, a pair of new trousers and a shirt so we set off for the schoolwear shop in Northampton first and parked in a small, extremely scruffy car park behind Abington Square. Walking around the corner to the shop was horrible because of all the litter and the really scruffy, down-market shops that line the street.
Predictably the shop was crammed with people buying uniform but we spotted a blazer for Mike, he tried it on and within a few minutes we were done. Resisting the temptation to go to The Princess Alexandra for a swift half, we drove to The Fabric Warehouse to buy some fabric glue as we have to apply two bands of ribbon to Mike's blazer because he will be a Prefect when he returns to school next week.
From town we drove to the Weston Favell Centre (another of my favourite places) to go to Burton's for trousers and Tesco for a shirt. We didn't hang about there for long and I decided to treat Mike and Keith to a McDonald's. However, what Mike didn't tell me was that he no longer likes McDonald's food so we went to KFC instead and ate outside in the sunshine. I'm not a fan of KFC at all, but it was easier calling in for lunch there rather than all try and get ourselves something when we got home.
It reminded me a bit of eating in the US, with the busy retail park and overhead a distinctly Floridian sky, with patches of blue threatened by some hefty storm clouds in the distance! Just after we arrived home the heavens opened and we had some torrential rain. Has there been a day this summer, I wonder, when it hasn't rained?
I had a quick chat with Sue who was walking the dogs and arranged to go out for a meal with her in the near future. She's mentioned she has a new restaurant she wants to take me to, which sounds intriguing!
I popped around to see Mum and Dad quickly later in the afternoon and they'd been to look at a house in town which they'd liked. They have two offers on their house but it could take some time for it all to go through which might be a good thing as my Mum is not keen on moving. This certainly is a year of change!
I collected Sophie from work and between us we decided not to go to Kelmarsh this evening for the meditation class as we didn't fancy eating really early and then going out. We are naughty! We sat in the garden with a glass of wine and then, over dinner, discussed going to France for the day on Thursday! Talk about spontaneous decisions!
After a bit of a lie-in this morning we dropped Sophie off at work and then returned home to get Mikey sorted out for his uniform. He's back at school next Monday and seems to have been off for ages! I can't really say I've enjoyed this summer as we have hardly spent any time together as a family.
He said he needed a new blazer, a pair of new trousers and a shirt so we set off for the schoolwear shop in Northampton first and parked in a small, extremely scruffy car park behind Abington Square. Walking around the corner to the shop was horrible because of all the litter and the really scruffy, down-market shops that line the street.
Predictably the shop was crammed with people buying uniform but we spotted a blazer for Mike, he tried it on and within a few minutes we were done. Resisting the temptation to go to The Princess Alexandra for a swift half, we drove to The Fabric Warehouse to buy some fabric glue as we have to apply two bands of ribbon to Mike's blazer because he will be a Prefect when he returns to school next week.
From town we drove to the Weston Favell Centre (another of my favourite places) to go to Burton's for trousers and Tesco for a shirt. We didn't hang about there for long and I decided to treat Mike and Keith to a McDonald's. However, what Mike didn't tell me was that he no longer likes McDonald's food so we went to KFC instead and ate outside in the sunshine. I'm not a fan of KFC at all, but it was easier calling in for lunch there rather than all try and get ourselves something when we got home.
It reminded me a bit of eating in the US, with the busy retail park and overhead a distinctly Floridian sky, with patches of blue threatened by some hefty storm clouds in the distance! Just after we arrived home the heavens opened and we had some torrential rain. Has there been a day this summer, I wonder, when it hasn't rained?
I had a quick chat with Sue who was walking the dogs and arranged to go out for a meal with her in the near future. She's mentioned she has a new restaurant she wants to take me to, which sounds intriguing!
I popped around to see Mum and Dad quickly later in the afternoon and they'd been to look at a house in town which they'd liked. They have two offers on their house but it could take some time for it all to go through which might be a good thing as my Mum is not keen on moving. This certainly is a year of change!
I collected Sophie from work and between us we decided not to go to Kelmarsh this evening for the meditation class as we didn't fancy eating really early and then going out. We are naughty! We sat in the garden with a glass of wine and then, over dinner, discussed going to France for the day on Thursday! Talk about spontaneous decisions!
Tuesday, 1 September 2015
Back to it!
It was back to work for Sophie today and I also did a lot of things on the computer for the business. I was sitting at the table in the conservatory at 8am!
Mum and Dad came around for a cup of coffee and they took a lot of letters away with them to post out for me. We're slowly getting nearer to everything being sorted out but it has taken me longer than I expected due to a lot of loose ends needing to be tied up.
In the afternoon Keith and I went to Tesco to buy dinner - this is getting to be a regular thing now! I'm not sure how I feel about it, to be honest!
Keith and Mike had their dinner early tonight as both of them are out this evening...Mike back to Army cadets for the first time in a month, and Keith to a football match. This means that Sophie and I can have a girly night in for a change! I picked her up from work at 6pm and then we returned home to cook Chicken Kiev with mashed potatoes and sweetcorn. In between eating and collecting Mike we watched You've Got Mail, one of my favourite films. It was bliss to sit and relax and watch a good film.
At 9.15pm we went off to pick up Mike from Moulton and it was just like old times! I can hardly believe it's been a month since he went and the last time it was still light at 9.30pm. Tonight it was very dark so Autumn is well and truly on its way. When we got home we watched the rest of the film and all of us had a late night for a change!
Mum and Dad came around for a cup of coffee and they took a lot of letters away with them to post out for me. We're slowly getting nearer to everything being sorted out but it has taken me longer than I expected due to a lot of loose ends needing to be tied up.
In the afternoon Keith and I went to Tesco to buy dinner - this is getting to be a regular thing now! I'm not sure how I feel about it, to be honest!
Keith and Mike had their dinner early tonight as both of them are out this evening...Mike back to Army cadets for the first time in a month, and Keith to a football match. This means that Sophie and I can have a girly night in for a change! I picked her up from work at 6pm and then we returned home to cook Chicken Kiev with mashed potatoes and sweetcorn. In between eating and collecting Mike we watched You've Got Mail, one of my favourite films. It was bliss to sit and relax and watch a good film.
At 9.15pm we went off to pick up Mike from Moulton and it was just like old times! I can hardly believe it's been a month since he went and the last time it was still light at 9.30pm. Tonight it was very dark so Autumn is well and truly on its way. When we got home we watched the rest of the film and all of us had a late night for a change!
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