A little splurge...

This afternoon Sophie and I went to Ikea with my Mum and Dad. We hadn't been since we sold the business so all the things we normally buy - cups, plates, bowls, etc - were certainly not on our list today!

We had something to eat first. Sophie couldn't wait to have the meatballs and I joined her even though I was going out for a meal with Sue in the evening! We enjoyed them with mashed potatoes and a lovely cream sauce, followed by Ikea's chocolatey cake. Mum and Dad just had a snack so they went off before we were finished and we arranged to meet near the checkouts.

I hadn't intended to buy much but I was very tempted by a small table for my computer as I'm now heartily fed up with it sitting on our dining room table. It was only £10 so hardly likely to break the bank! I also bought a smelly candle, loo brushes (!), a new bathroom mat, some new cutlery and a shower tidy as the one we have at the moment looks disgusting. The whole lot only came to just over £40 so I was very pleased! Sophie bought two beautiful glasses, a mug and some lovely little battery-powered fairy lights for her bedroom.

I also saw a beautiful kitchen that was very French and had masses of storage space. I took a photo just in case...

We had a really enjoyable afternoon and got home just after Keith picked Mike up from school. Our son, who had been allowed to go in mufti today because of his great behaviour last week at the Open Evening, was in an after school detention for forgetting his homework! I bought him some Pork and Elk sausage and a bar of chocolate from Ikea so he was very happy!

Keith put the table together and we set it up in the conservatory and I was very pleased with it. I now have a little workstation in the corner and I can look out and watch the birds hanging onto the feeders.

In the evening Sue picked me up at 7pm and we went to a restaurant we'd been to before, only it had been taken over by new owners. It used to be the Good Friends Bistro in Grafton Underwood, but has re-opened under a new name, Sage and Brooke.

The food was delicious and we both enjoyed warm goat's cheese as a starter, followed by King Prawn spaghetti for me, and Supreme of Chicken for Sue. Unfortunately, before we could try the desserts Sue fell ill so we had to go home very quickly. She developed a migraine so I had to drive her car...it was good I hadn't had a lot to drink!

An Autumnal walk

Keith and I had a lovely walk this morning and saw a little Muntjac deer!

We dropped the offspring off at school and Uni and then left the car on the causeway at Pitsford. I very nearly didn't bring a coat but I was mightily glad I did as the wind was very cold indeed. We also had the tiniest amount of drizzle but soon the clouds cleared to a beautiful day.

Once we were in the shelter of the woods, the wind dropped and it became a little warmer. It was very quiet and the little deer we saw had wandered out of the trees and onto the path where there was a lot more grass. It bounded off as soon as we came into sight but it was lovely to catch a glimpse!

We also saw lots of pheasants and two crows attacking a buzzard but no foxes or hares which Keith sees sometimes. The walk took us about an hour and a half and as soon as we arrived home we left to pick up Sophie in Keith's car. On the way back to pick up mine we saw the Vulcan Bomber flying low over the reservoir which was great to see, if a little sinister. The plane stayed over our area all morning and we saw it pass over our house several times. I took a picture but it's not very good!

We took Sophie back to Uni at 2pm and while she had her last lecture of the day we went off to Waitrose and enjoyed a cup of tea in the cafe. I think next week she's decided to stay there all day as there's lots of work she can do in the library.

The boys were out in the evening so it was a girls' night in - we enjoyed delicious Hunter's Chicken accompanied by creamy mash and a glass or two of South African Viognier. Yum!

The start of another week

I dropped Keith off at Pitsford this morning and decided that tomorrow I would accompany him as I felt really envious of him going for a walk. The weather was gorgeous and all the trees are really turning now.

Mum and Dad popped around mid-morning and then, just as I was getting out of the shower, Mike's school phoned to say he had a bad headache and could we collect him? As we were going out anyway, we drove over, picked him up and then went to the Weston Favell Centre as I needed some ink for my printer.

Mike seemed fine when we collected him and managed to wolf down a cheese and bacon slice from Greggs. I just don't think he wanted to be at school today! He spent the rest of the afternoon "taking it easy" but by the evening he decided to go off for a run...not much wrong with him at all then!

Decisions, decisions!

Unlike yesterday, today has been busy and after dropping Sophie off at work I went to the carwash to put my car through. I know it's a bit lazy but I wanted to hoover it out inside as well so I thought the carwash would get the worse of the dirt off and then I could concentrate on the inside.

However, the garage had something going on and half the forecourt was closed off, including the part where the carwash is, so I had no option but to go home and do it by hand! Mike wanted to be taken to Brixworth so while he was getting ready I hoovered it out and then gave it a good wash when I got back.

In the afternoon I went with Mum and Dad to the new housing development where I helped my parents pick out the units for their kitchen as well as the floor tiles. It took a fair while as their decision had to be right...it was no point rushing their choice and then being stuck with a kitchen they hate!

It's been a gorgeous day today and the sun was useful in getting the colours of the worktops and units right. After about an hour my parents were happy with their choices so we left and went to celebrate with a cup of tea at Beckworth Emporium. As it was almost closing time the place had emptied out and we were seated right away.

The garden centre now has an extensive Christmas display going on and no doubt the next time I go the ice-skating rink will be up and running!

Lazy Saturday

Sophie said she didn't fancy doing anything today and I agreed with her. It was lovely to just mooch about the house and do very little, although I did wash all her bedding and I found the time to put a colour on my hair.

The weather has been a bit disappointing today with the thick cloud never disappearing so there were no blue skies and sunshine at all. Keith went off to watch his team play in the afternoon and Mike, Sophie and me just lounged about and relaxed. I can't help feeling guilty when this happens but we've had a busy week and at times it's heaven to not do anything at all. I'm reading Bill Bryson's latest book at the moment and last night in bed I nearly collapsed with laughing so much. The tears were rolling down my face as I read some of his observations about life in Britain and I had to agree with so much of what he says.

In particular this line:

"If you took all the young men in southern England with those caps and that slouch and collected them all together in one room, you still wouldn’t have enough IQ points to make a halfwit."


Hilarious!

Friday again!

I have spent most of today cleaning - in fact anything that didn't move was given a good clean and at the end of it all I felt very good with what I'd done.

However, as soon as Mike came home from school, he dropped crisps all over the living room floor and left his tie and a bottle of water on the sofa so we had a bit of a heated exchange before we drove him to Brixworth.

After we'd dropped him off it was time to collect Sophie who'd had her longest day at Uni - 9am until 5pm. Her timetable has changed which is annoying as originally she was finished at 2pm. I have a feeling that from now on my regular cleaning day will be a Friday leaving the weekends free for fun...if only!

In, out, in, out!

Sophie had an appointment at the Orthodontist this morning and managed to get away without a telling off as she hasn't been wearing her retainers at night, as she should be doing! Luckily the orthodontist pronounced her teeth to be fine so that was the last visit, thank goodness. Now we have just Mike to take every six weeks or so.

I dropped my daughter off at uni and then drove to my Mum's house as I'd promised to look at her computer for her and sort out the printer, which turned out to be working perfectly. We had a cup of coffee and a chat and then I sped home to sort out the week's menu with Keith and go to Tesco to do our weekly shop.

Our bill was way over the top this week, probably due to the bottle of vodka that Keith treated me to! We are going to have to cut down a bit as we are spending way too much even though we work to our list and generally don't buy lots of treats.

Back home we put it all away and had a cup of tea before it was time to pick Sophie up from University. Mike was still at school as he was helping out at their Open Evening and wouldn't be finished until much later. We picked up Sophie and went home to await Mike's call as I was hoping he'd be finished before 7pm.

However, it was not to be and at 7.45pm I left to go to the school even though he hadn't called us. Keith was keen to get the curry all ready for dinner so we went off and found a parking space which was a bonus as the school was heaving with prospective parents. I called Mike and he angrily told me he was doing a tour which I doubted as it was now after 8pm and the evening was supposed to have finished at 7.30pm. I shouted at him and said he had to be in the bus bay by 8.15pm as he'd never told me he would be this late!

I drove to the bay which was crammed full of cars and then everyone started to leave so there was a mass exodus of parents which just added to my already high stress levels! Mike appeared and after a short sharp argument we managed to enter the flow of cars and finally get home to our curry dinner!

Back home I told Keith that next time Mike was at a school event he could drive while I stayed at home and pulled out all my finger nails...it'd be more enjoyable!