A little sale!

Today dawned a bit grey and overcast but at least it was dry. The forecast had said we might get some light rain showers in the morning...I hoped it was wrong!

Over the road Sue was already out preparing her tables for the garage sale. We were a bit slower to get started but by 8.30am we were nearly set up. As usual, we had a few traders come around very early and one man bought our entire collection of knights and horses, which gave us a very good start!

As the morning wore on it became very busy with cars coming past and slowing down to see what we had to sell. Sue had an enormous amount of people turn up at her house to help as she was running a pop-up cafe on our front green in aid of a local charity and was also doing songs with younger children. It was manic! The sun had come out as well, which was great and added to the fete-like atmosphere!

We had a steady morning and I took Mike to work at midday. He suddenly produced some shirts he wanted to sell as well as his guitar which sold later in the day to a neighbour! The village was also abuzz with people and I'm sure the pub was doing a roaring trade!

Things slowed down a little in the afternoon and Mum and Dad popped over to see how we were getting on. My Mum took a liking to one of my large ornamental plates and two pictures and bought them!

By 2.30pm it was all over and we had made over £100 - enough to go out for a meal tomorrow night to celebrate! As I had my meeting at the wine shop at 3.30pm I went to get ready and left at 3pm. However I was dismayed to find that the road leading into town was closed! Damn! Luckily I had kept the phone number of the man I was meeting so I called him and told him what had happened and that I was on my way but might be a little late.

I arrived two minutes after our agreed time and we had a very informal chat over a cup of tea. He gave me some forms to fill in and said that as soon as they had been sent over he would give me a start date. I was delighted!

Back at home I discovered that Keith had bought a bottle of Cava to celebrate and we all played a couple of games of cards in the conservatory before dinner. A lovely end to a busy and fruitful day!

Fade to grey...

The weather today has been truly horrible with heavy grey skies and an annoying drizzle. I do hope it won't be like this tomorrow!

We took Sophie to work and picked Mike up from the house where he'd been at a party. He was groggy and tired but he had work in two hours! We returned home to drop him off so he could have a shower and then went to Mum's to pick up the clothes she wanted us to sell and her clothes rack where we would display them.

As we were taking Mike to work his phone rang and it was Sophie asking to be picked up. Her back and ankle were hurting and she wanted to come home...

We sped into town to collect her and then it was back home to spend the rest of the dreary day pottering about and not really doing a lot!

A nice surprise!

I had understood I was doing some ironing for a neighbour starting today but the bag of laundry I was anticipating never materialised. I was a bit disappointed and wondered what had happened...perhaps I should have called to see her, but I had thought it was all arranged.

Unfortunately we had another disappointment when we went to get our half leg of lamb from M&S. I collect points with the Daily Mail every day and had spent 3000 on a free joint of lamb which could be collected today. We drove into town (never my favourite place to go) and did some shopping in Boots before heading to M&S. We looked everywhere for the lamb but couldn't see any so we asked a staff member at the collection desk who informed us that they hadn't got any yet and we would have to come back...not very good! What would we do for dinner now on Sunday?

We called into McDonald's as Sophie fancied some chicken strips and she treated me to a McFlurry. Keith didn't want anything so we sat and ate our treats on a bench overlooking the large church in the middle of the town. For once, it was pleasantly warm and sunny!

We called to get Mike on the way home and when we returned I checked the answerphone and discovered that I'd received a message from a major wine retailer in Northampton. I'd seen a job vacancy this morning and after tweaking my CV a bit, I'd sent it off to them. They had already seen it and wanted me to call them back! I did so and after a chat I arranged to go into the shop on Sunday to find out more! I was delighted! The job is a temporary contract for eight weeks so that fits perfectly with our holiday plans.

We took Mike to Moulton in the late afternoon as he was going to a party and headed home to relax with a glass of wine, our first of the week. Keith drove to the pub (he is off alcohol again at the moment) so Sophie and I could indulge. The first sip was like nectar!

We were just settling down to watch an old episode of Masterchef when the doorbell rang and it was Paul asking if Sue could have a bath at our house. They must still be having problems with their heating and hot water. Sue came over with her toiletries and a towel and was very quick, unlike me when I languish in the bath for ages reading a book!

Casting our votes!

I could hardly believe that another Thursday has rolled around again - the weeks are whizzing by! Mike was at college so we dropped him off and returned to draw up a list for shopping. Sophie came with us this morning so we had plenty of help with packing and loading all the bags into the car. Somehow we managed to come up with a list of meals for the next few days!

Today has been windy and cold but sunny - will we ever get any warm temperatures again? We returned home, calling to see Mum and Dad on the way for a very quick coffee, and then unpacked all the bags before having a quick lunch.

Today is voting day for the local council elections but somehow we'd run out of time to go before picking Mike up so we collected him, dropped him off at the entrance to the estate and then went and did our duty. Sophie was agonising about who she was going to vote for and I told her that all the candidates would have made their manifestos available online for her to read before she voted!

No sooner had we got home than it was time to go out yet again, this time to Mike's Parent's evening at college. We had to wait a fair while to see his tutor but she told us he was doing very well and had picked his socks up after a slight dip late last year. Amazingly, he will be finished on the 7 June if he manages to get all his assignments in and marked, which was news to us! We really should have booked our holiday for late June rather than August!

A steady day...

I took Mike to college today as Keith was waiting in for the tyre fitter to come. After I'd dropped him off I seemed to get every red light on the way to the car park so I arrived just after Frank. We set the offices up and made everything ready but we had a quiet day today and left on the dot of 3pm.

Keith had let me know that the tyre fitter was all done by 9am which was good news and meant that he could pick up Mike from college and take him to Brixworth. I drove home and curled up on the sofa with the remote control because I still felt a little ropey with my tummy ache. I have made the decision to go to the doctor next week if it's no better.

Sophie and I aren't having a drink in the week but to be honest, I'm not missing it at all and once dinner is under way I don't think about having a glass of wine. We went to pick Mike up at about 6.30pm and returned home for a dinner of sweet and sour chicken served with prawn crackers. We are still having problems choosing meals for the week and we should have sat down this evening and
made our list, but we just couldn't be bothered!

To the rescue...again!

I was just about to disappear into the shower when I heard a loud banging on our front door and the bell was rung a couple of times. Sue was standing there looking frantic and said could Keith and I go to her house as she'd had a flood again.

We both rushed over and discovered that there'd been a leak in her airing cupboard and all the carpet was soaked through. This had led to a leak into their living room and she was desperately trying to turn the water off. Keith managed to get it turned off by talking to the builder who'd done a lot of work for them but we had to leave her to it as we were taking Sophie for a doctor's appointment at midday.

Unfortunately, the doctor was running very late indeed and it got to 12.45pm and we had to leave as Sophie was meeting her friends at uni to work on a promotional video for students going to New York next year. We dropped her off and went to Jones's where I bought some more bird food (I can't keep up with them at the moment!) and a few other bits and pieces.

It's been a gorgeous day today but it's still very cold with a nasty wind that seems to go right through you! We returned to pick Sophie up but before we went I took some photos of Sue's ruined towels and sheets so she could put an insurance claim in.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, thank goodness!

Blow out!

My tummy really hurt this morning, so much so that I Googled appendicitis but thankfully, it doesn't sound like I have that! I took some more Ibuprofen and sat on the sofa for a while until the pain eased.

Keith wanted to go to Tesco as we were due to have sweet and sour chicken for dinner and he said that he just couldn't face any more chicken served with rice. He said he was sprouting feathers and starting to cluck!

I felt a bit better so we both went and bought food for tonight and Wednesday night. The supermarket was packed with people - not really the way I wanted to spend a Bank Holiday Monday! We returned home and I just lazed about which made me feel guilty but I was determined to take it easy today.

The weather hasn't been brilliant but we have had the occasional sunny spell and Sophie and I managed to sit in the garden for ten minutes with Monty. The robin is constantly about at the moment and flying backwards and forwards feeding his babies, I presume. I think his nest is on the other side of the fence. It's lovely first thing in the morning when I go to take the food out and we have a little chat. He stares at me and turns his head this way and that as if he's really listening!

Mike wanted to go to Brixworth later in the afternoon so Keith took him (I've been banned from driving while my stomach hurts) and I went and had a long soak in the bath followed by a nap on our bed.

Mike called at about 6.30pm for us to pick him up and Keith went on his own. About twenty minutes after he'd gone Sophie took a call from Mike to say that they'd had a puncture...just what we didn't need today! As Keith had gone to collect Mike in a pair of shorts, he'd asked that we meet them in Scaldwell with some warmer clothes.

Sophie and I sped off and found both of them about to change the wheel. Luckily it was one of the front tyres, which was due to be replaced anyway. Keith put on the spare tyre while Mike un-jacked the car and we all returned home to make a late start on our dinner of beefburgers and salad.

After dinner we arranged for e-tyres to come out and fit two new tyres on Wednesday...giving us a nice bill of £200! Not a great start to the month!