Getting ahead of myself!

We went to see my parents this morning for a coffee (Dad was playing about with his machine) and I bought them some fancy biscuits as we're always eating theirs!

We stayed until 11am and then returned home where Sophie put a colour on my hair. Keith took Mike to work as I was half-way through the procedure! It did look so much better when Sophie finished and all the grey bits have gone! Hooray!

Today the morning has been lovely and sunny but it clouded over in the afternoon. I swept up all the leaves from the front garden and managed to fill the wheelie bin. It was great to be out in the fresh air and just before the sun set Keith, Sophie and I went for a walk to see the horses with Monty. As soon as they saw us the horses came over and ate some carrots that we'd taken with us.

We walked around the estate with a very frisky Monty and then it was home to write out some Christmas cards. I keep the previous year's cards for reference so I ended up bringing down all the decorations to keep in the conservatory, Next Sunday we will be putting them all up!

Snow!

Amazingly, at about 8.30am this morning we had a very light snow flurry that lasted about half an hour! Is this a sign of a hard winter to come?

We dropped Sophie off at work and then went on a hunt for Fajita sauce. We had got a spicy powder to marinate the chicken with, but Sophie likes her fajitas a bit "wet" so we drove to Aldi but they hadn't any at all. We tried Waitrose but they had everything but! As a last resort we walked to Asda and had a choice of two jars! Bingo!

Back home we had toast for breakfast and I caught up with some jobs that had been waiting for me all week. Next week I'll be glad to have Tuesday and Wednesday off again! I dropped Mike off in town at midday and came home to wash my car. Keith went off to the football and after hoovering downstairs I managed to sit out in the garden for a little while with a mug of hot chocolate. The sky was blue with some big fluffy clouds and it was great to get some fresh air for a little while. The sun sets here at about 4pm now and it was really low in the sky but it was still great to sit outside for just a few minutes.

I settled down to watch Scrooged on the television and Keith returned from the football looking frozen! We caught a very old cookery programme with Nigel Slater and an astonishingly young Nigella Lawson (she looked about 12) before Keith turned over to watch the football.

Mike had gone from town to Sophie's work so we were able to pick him up from there which was a lot easier! It was home to relax before dinner of fajitas, and the sauce was very good indeed!

She passed!

It was a very cold and frosty morning and Keith and I were up and out by 7.30am. He was determined to get my tyre sorted out today but had to use the Honda to take Mike to college. He was on a trip down to London and the coach left college at 9.30am so we woke him before we left with dire warnings if he didn't get into the shower straight away!

I still didn't manage to resolve the problem with my loss of earnings today and the office was very noisy as the one of the managers was in and spent almost the whole time cackling like a witch and talking very loudly despite us trying to hear customers on the phone. I have really got to hate this job at the moment and I'm actively looking for something else!

Sophie had her driving test today and was very nervous so I kept her spirits up by texting her and when Keith and I were driving home at 2pm she called to say she'd passed! We were so proud of her because both Keith and I failed our driving tests the first time! Now we just need to sort out an automatic car for her and Keith to share!

Keith had managed to get the puncture in my tyre fixed but unfortunately, somehow, had managed to scrape my front bumper so now I have two deep scratches, which I was really unhappy about. I will definitely have to get it sorted out.

We had film night at the after school club but as it was a lovely afternoon, we took the children out for half an hour before putting on the movie. This meant that the film finished just as the parents were arriving to pick up their children so it worked out very well.

It was great to go home and relax with Sophie but Mike had called to say that he wouldn't be back at college until about 8pm. Sophie had heard of a suspected terror attack in London but it turned out to be a false alarm, thank goodness, but this had held the college trip up as a couple of students had been caught up in it all. He eventually arrived back at about 8.30pm so Sophie and I went to collect him before finally getting home and relaxing!

A bit annoyed!

When I got into work this morning I was told by Sara that the court's Loss of Earnings certificate I'd asked to be signed by HR was causing a problem because I was not a "contracted" employee... As the company weren't going to be reimbursing me, the court was, I was a bit put out! Sara gave me the extension number of the woman I needed to speak to, but despite leaving a message and emailing her, by the time I went home I still hadn't resolved the issue.

I was annoyed because I had no choice in the matter when it came to Jury Service...it's not a voluntary option and I'd only missed two days of work, anyway! It did put me in a bit of a bad mood!

The weather today has been fine and dry and the winds of the last couple of days have eased.  I sped home at 2pm to spend a few minutes with Keith and he had some more bad news...he thinks the Audi has a slow puncture so that will need to be sorted out! Keith took me into work as there was hardly any petrol in Jazzy Jim, so he dropped me off and went to fill the car up as he would be using it this afternoon to go and get Sophie from uni.

At work we managed to get out into the fresh air for half an hour and when we went back into the hall it all became a bit chaotic as we had thirteen children! It was lovely to finish at 6pm and meet Keith and Sophie in the pub for a quick drink. It was the best part of the day!

A loooong wait!

Yesterday, at the after school club, I called the court answering service and learned I had to go in at 11.30am today. It was a bit of an odd time to go in but I hoped I'd be on another case.

We took Sophie to uni and as we had an hour to kill, we called into Costa next to Waitrose and had a coffee. After this we popped into the supermarket to buy some bread (weren't we in Tesco yesterday?) and then Keith dropped me off at the court.

I went in and saw a couple of jurors I'd been with last week so after ordering lunch, I sat with them. I was a bit early and by 11.30am a few of my fellow jurors also arrived, including Megan who I had got on very well with. We all sat together and had a chat and I learnt that Luke and Matt were on another case and had been since Monday, lucky things! I felt a bit jealous!

At around lunchtime the court official read out my name as a possible juror for a case lasting 2-3 days that would start in the afternoon but we weren't given a time, just that we had to be there for 2pm. We all amused ourselves by doing a couple of crosswords and I had a cheese and ham toastie for lunch.

In the afternoon a lot of my new friends were told they weren't needed (the trial couldn't go ahead) and Matt and Luke went back into court so I was on my own. I tried to read but couldn't concentrate and spent the time texting Sophie.

At 4pm we were told we'd be going up to the courtroom so we all made ourselves ready but about fifteen minutes later we were told that the defendant had changed their plea to guilty so we weren't needed! A five hour wait for nothing! Arggh! As they had already arranged for the jurors to attend for the next day, we were told to call on Thursday evening to see if we were needed for Friday. So it's back to work for me tomorrow, then!

Keith and Sophie came to get me, in very heavy traffic, and waiting for them in the car park was not pleasant as it was very windy indeed. When we finally got home it was great to relax and look forward to dinner!

Feeling festive!

It was great to be facing a few hours of freedom but we did have to go to Tesco to sort out meals for Tuesday and Wednesday, so maybe not that good!

We dropped Mike off at college and we were late as there were roadworks on the A43. I knew I should have gone the other way! We took Sophie to uni and then called to see Mum and Dad before we went shopping. Keith managed to fix their oven light for them and we had a chat over a cup of coffee. They have had some work done in their garden and it looked great - it really finished off the landscaping and it's another area for them to sit in if they want to.

We popped to Tesco and Keith managed to spend £80 even though we'd just popped in for a few bits! I picked up the Christmas food brochure to have a look at - I love seeing all the different festive foods and even if I don't order anything, it's nice to see it all looking so beautiful!

We returned home, had lunch and before I knew it, it was time to collect Sophie from uni. I dropped her off at home and then it was time to go into work. We only had eight children this evening so it was nice and quiet!

As soon as I returned home I was dragged into the conservatory to play a game of cards with some popcorn and a drink. Bliss!

Back to work.

I was up and and out very early this morning and left my family sleeping, which was a horrible feeling!

Work was busy and although we did have a slight lull mid-morning, the time passed very quickly. I picked up Sophie from uni and sped home to have lunch. I'd bought a Scotch egg yesterday from Beckworth and I'd forgotten to take it with me to work!

At the after school club we had just seven children so it was quite cosy in the hall as it grew dark outside. Poppy and Syd were pleased to see me and we played monopoly for the first hour.

We managed to get away at just before 6pm and it was home to relax while Keith prepared dinner of jacket potatoes and roast chicken. I called the court and was told I wasn't needed on Tuesday so at least I'll be able to have a lazy-ish morning tomorrow!