A glimpse of Spring

Today has been beautiful, with a real hint of Spring about it, but I'm not becoming complacent! Apparently, we might get snow on Thursday morning!

After a lazy start Keith, Sophie and I went to Beckworth as Keith wanted to look at the ready meals to see if there was anything different we could try. Sophie drove and we'd forgotten about the road closure so we had to make a long detour and my daughter had a number of obstacles thrown in her way! She was very glad when we eventually arrived!

The frozen ready meals certainly weren't cheap, but after a good look we picked out a dish called Chicken Alexander that served four. It was £15 which Keith didn't think was bad considering it sometimes costs him £10 for a joint of beef or two chickens. I also bought some cheese scones, a Scotch egg and some biscuits. I saw a lovely picture for my Mum and I knew it would go really well in her kitchen so I bought that for a Mother's Day present.

There were Spring flowers everywhere and lots and lots of Easter decorations so it was lovely to know that the lovely season isn't that far away! We drove to Broughton afterwards to make a quick visit to Mum and Dad and then we popped to the Post Office to send a parcel back for Mike. He'd ordered a vintage Adidas top but it was covered in pen marks and was too small so he wanted to return it. I'm just glad we have the Post Office there as our village branch closed ages ago!

We returned home for lunch in the sunny conservatory and then it was off to school where we spent most of the session outside, even eating snack in the playground. We certainly couldn't have done that last week!

At 6pm it was home to compile the shopping list, play a game or two of cards and enjoy a lovely dinner!

Celebrating 30 years!

Keith and I have been together 30 years today, something I can't quite get my head around! I think it's an achievement to be honest, as our age gap is unusual and we've certainly had our fair share of worries and ups and downs!

We took Mike to college this morning and made our usual trek over to the Weston Favell Centre to get some shopping. I bought two trays of fairy cakes and some decorations as it's also Lisa's birthday today and I thought it would be nice for the children to decorate a cake for her, and one for themselves, to celebrate her birthday. The shopping centre was full of Mother's Day cards and presents so I suggested we go to Wyevale Garden Centre for a coffee and to have a look around.

The place was quite busy and after enjoying a coffee and a cornflake cake in the Costa there, we had a wander about. I saw some nice pots outside but I wasn't that impressed with them so we had a look inside. We made a visit to the pet store and marvelled at the grasshoppers and other insecty things that were on sale to feed lizards and other reptiles. There is no way I could handle some of the larger insects! It was bad enough when I had to feed crickets to next door's gecko!

I didn't see anything that really struck me at the garden centre so we left to go home and discovered there'd been a power cut while we were out. We had some lunch and sat around the table reading the paper and doing crosswords. I received a letter in the post from Audi saying my car has been recalled due to a heating fault so I booked it in to the Vindis dealership in Northampton and ordered a courtesy car...I wonder what I'll get! Knowing my luck I'll get an A1 when what I'd really like is an A6 estate!

The power came back on and then went off again so it was very hard for Sophie to do any work as she relies on the internet. It came back just as I went off to the school and they had been fine. We took the children out into the playground for a while and then went back in to decorate the cakes. I'd bought some liquid icing and hundreds and thousands and there were literally hundreds and thousands of little sugar balls all over the floor when they'd finished! They thought it was a good idea to coat their lips with icing sugar and then press their mouths to the plate and cover them with the decorations! However, the cakes for Lisa and her family did look good!

It was Parents' evening tonight so we had a lot of people wandering about. I hoovered up all the mess in the hall and wiped down the table and then went out into the sunshine as the children had gone back outside to play. We were at work until 6pm as the parents of two of our children had appointments for later in the evening. I sped home as Keith and I were going out for a meal at The Whyte Melville in Boughton to celebrate the anniversary of our first date in Brighton.

I had a quick wash and brush up and we drove over to the pub to find it empty. I had wanted to book a table but this time Keith was right in not bothering! I sampled a Warner Edwards Rhubarb Gin and Ginger Ale while Keith enjoyed a few pints. We shared a starter of breads served with olives, salt and pepper and balsamic vinegar and then followed this up with haddock and chips (Keith) and steak and chips for me. The food was very good, the service impeccable and the pub lovely and quiet. We skipped dessert and drove back to our local for a last drink where we had a great chat with Ian, the Landlord and another villager who we'd known for years. It made a great end to a busy, but enjoyable day!

Back to normal!

Keith took me into work this morning as I had a feeling the car park would be busy...and I was right! My session passed pleasantly enough - I still had quite a bit of error checking to do so that meant the time went quickly. Sophie and Keith were a little late to meet me as they'd encountered roadworks in the village so they had to take an alternative route.

There is still a lot of banked up snow on the country roads and I expect it will take some time to disappear completely! After school club was a little quiet as we only had eight children but we managed to get outside for a while so that was a bonus. It's a lot milder now, but I don't think we've quite finished with the winter just yet!

What a week that was!

Although it snowed last night, and sometimes looked a bit heavy, the thaw has begun today. We took Sophie to work and the road between Walgrave and Holcot was fine, although in places it was down to one lane and the drifts were really quite deep. We do have thick fog, though, so that's not pleasant and the overwhelming colour at the moment is dirty grey!

After dropping her off we went to the Weston Favell Centre as I needed to get a few things, namely bird food (yes, even more!) and it's Lisa's birthday next Tuesday, so I wanted to get her a card and some chocolates.

We went home to have breakfast and lo and behold! the sun came out (briefly!). This inspired me to go and wash both cars as they were filthy and I wanted to get all the salt off them. The temperatures have risen to the heights of about 5c and the snow is gradually all disappearing. Last week was certainly interesting and although it started off with a whimper, it ended on a bang on Friday night! The freezing wind and snowfall have affected everyone, I think, but it looks like things will be back to normal next week with schools back open and people back at work. A bit boring, if you ask me! We don't normally get such interesting weather!

After I'd washed the cars I sat in the garden for a little while but the sun had gone in so it was back inside and a soak in the bath!

Return of the rat...

It carried on snowing yesterday evening and Keith asked me if I could drive him to the pub at 6pm. I wasn't that keen to be honest, as I'd had a lovely bath and really didn't want to venture out into the freezing night again! However, I didn't want him walking down to the village so I agreed, but it wasn't a very pleasant journey and I'm glad we didn't have to go far! Sophie came along and neither of us were dressed warmly enough so the thought of getting stuck was a frightening one!

Luckily, we made it back in one piece but I was determined to dress more appropriately on the way back to get him! Even the simplest thing like taking the recycling out to the garage at the moment is a pain, as the driveway is covered in the white stuff and we tread clumps of snow and ice all over the kitchen floor whenever we come back in. It's a total pain. Who wanted all this snow?

When Sophie and I went back to get him, we bundled ourselves into coats, hats and scarves and I put some stout boots in the car in case we became stuck...and we nearly did, just yards from the pub when I stopped on a slight incline to pick him up, after saying I would meet him at the entrance to the car park (which is on quite a steep incline and no way was I going to risk that!). We had a few words as the car wouldn't move and couldn't get any grip on the snowy road. In the end I turned into a driveway and then reversed so I was facing the way we'd come, but I was not happy!

It snowed all evening so Sophie texted Maureen at work to warn her we might not be able to get her in tomorrow morning. The state of the roads into the village was horrible and I wasn't going to risk trying to get in if it snowed all night. Maureen suggested Sophe swap her day with another member of staff so we had the next day free.

It doesn't look bad but the drifts were far deeper!

We awoke to lying snow and a horrible fog over the fields, which has persisted all day. Mike called me at about 9am so Keith and I drove to Brixworth to get him. The roads had cleared a little but towards the village, the snow drifts meant that only one lane was usable. Luckily we didn't meet anyone coming the other way!

Keith bought some sausages in the Co-op and we had these for breakfast with scrambled eggs and toast. Unfortunately, as we were eating, we saw a rat in the garden again. It was rather big with a thick, long tail and it made my stomach turn. I suppose it's our fault as we put so much food down for the birds, but it was really horrible to see and it didn't seem at all frightened by our presence, even when Sophie banged on the window. It stole three fat snax so I asked Mike to go and get his air rifle and try and get him from our bedroom window. He went upstairs but of course the rat disappeared.

After breakfast, while I was keeping an eye out, we saw him again and this time he dropped a fat snax by the corner of the garage. I dashed upstairs and grabbed Mike's rifle and positioned myself at the window with the fat snax dead in the centre of the sights. He appeared again but I wasn't ready (in the panic I couldn't find the trigger!) so he made off with another one. I asked Keith to put one back in the exact location and waited again. This time my finger was already on the trigger and after a bit of a wait he appeared. I pulled the trigger and hit him, much to Keith's (and my) amazement!

I don't know where I hit him or how badly, but seconds after I'd fired the shot, he somersaulted over and we found blood on the snow. Keith had run downstairs to try and see what had happened but he'd gone so I can only assume he had returned to his nest. Sophie was really angry with me, especially as we'd just ordered a humane trap on the internet that catches them alive to be released elsewhere.

However, I tried to explain to her that the rat could have bitten Monty if he'd tried to attack him and that neither Keith nor I wanted him in the garden - the thought of him coming in and taking food makes my skin crawl. She knows I love animals and in all honesty I didn't think for one second I would hit him, but we haven't seen any sight of the rat since, so I must have either injured it or frightened it.

Today hasn't been the sort of day to venture out anywhere, especially as the roads are covered in icy slush. I sorted out my underwear drawer (as you do) and tried on some new clothes that I'd bought online. I also tidied the cupboard above our wardrobe and discovered an old holiday diary and some photos which set me off on a path of reminiscing!

Giving up!

Well, Keith and I tried to get into work this morning, but the roads were very bad! When we arrived at the crossroads in Walgrave, a man in a van told us that a lorry had become stuck on the road between the village and Holcot, where all the drifts were. We decided to head up to the A43 but the roads were treacherous in the village.

As we approached the A43 we could see the traffic at a standstill and we didn't know how long it would be to get into Northampton. I made the decision to turn around and go home and sent a text to Sara to say that we had tried. What I was worried about was the time it would take to get me to work, then for Keith to get home, only to have to come out at 2pm and pick me up again!

I felt guilty but it looked like a lot of people were struggling to get into work this morning and the roads were eerily quiet. After we'd had some breakfast we took a walk along the road outside the estate to see what it was like. The wind was still freezing and the forecast is for more snow this afternoon and evening. I was supposed to be going out with Lynda, Fiona and Andrea tonight but we've cancelled as it's just not worth the risk.

Mike wanted to go to Brixworth in the afternoon and Keith and I reluctantly agreed to take him. I needed to pick up a parcel at the library anyway and we hoped that the roads were a little clearer. They were near to where we live but the road from Scaldwell to Brixworth was quite bad with deep snowdrifts banked up along the hedges. At various points, only one lane was drivable.

We dropped Mike off and came home to thaw out. Just before we went inside we had the quickest of chats with Sue who was taking the dogs out for a walk. The wind was still very strong and it was snowing again...and there is more to come!

First day of Spring?

I carefully drove into work this morning in little ET but it was a horrible journey and I'll admit I was scared a lot of the time. The road between Walgrave and Holcot was particularly bad as the wind had whipped the snow up over the fields and had made deep drifts along the hedgerows. The road itself was covered with a layer of snow and when I gingerly braked, the wheels skidded a bit. I was just glad there was no-one else near me!

I made it into work but watched with dismay as the snow continued to fall. I was worried about Keith taking Sophie into uni and also concerned about Mike as he hadn't come home from town, as he had told me he would. Sheila gave me an error checking job to do but we were busy on the phones with people cancelling classes and asking if we were still open with the atrocious weather.

By 10.30am the weather looked worse and I was really worried about driving home in the snow. Sophie had sent me a text to say she was at uni but I knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate fully on the job so I asked if I could leave early and use some holiday I had accrued. Sara was happy to let me go and I went out into the car park to let Sophie know I was heading home.

The main roads were all quite clear but the A43 was bad in places because of the snow drifts. It's the wind that is really causing the problems at the moment as it's whipping across the open fields and making the snow bank up along the side of the roads. I drove home along the A43 and avoided the road between Holcot and Walgrave. Once off that highway the roads were worse and covered in snow.

I arrived home minutes before Keith who had been shopping, so that was a relief. We put it all away and then I left an angry voicemail message for Mike, who called me minutes later to say he was in town and could we pick him up?

We hastily had something to eat and then made our way into town, with Keith driving my car. I took some photos of the road between Walgrave and Holcot:

Sophie wanted to be picked up at 2pm so we had half an hour to kill. We decided to have a drink in the Sunnyside pub and the men had pints while I had a disgusting orange and lemonade. Mike had enjoyed his night on the town but looked a little worse for wear! He was very bleary eyed!

We collected Sophie and I drove home via Brixworth. The road from there to Scaldwell was also bad with drifts along the side of the road. The sky has remained grey all day today and it's been bitterly cold again with the temperature at about -3c.

I drove to school hoping upon hope that a lot of the children had already been picked up as the headmaster had sent an email out at lunchtime saying that parents, worried about the state of the roads, could collect their offspring early. We had eight children so we went into the cosier and warmer library where they did some colouring and drawing and then played on the ipads. There was absolutely no chance of going out as the wind was blowing across the playground like a blizzard and causing drifts to build up. I still couldn't believe we had children with us, as if I had been a parent I would have come before now and taken mine home!

We still had one little girl in at about 5.30pm and she had been the only one for forty five minutes. She was starting to get worried about her mum picking her up and we were very relieved to see her walk into the playground. We think she must have been at home so why on earth was her five year old daughter still at school with us?

I drove home along the snowy roads and it was such a relief to get home and get warm. During the evening I received a text from Lisa saying that the school was closed tomorrow. Yay!