An extended shopping trip!

Sophie went off to the gym at 6.30am this morning and I got up with her and had a cup of coffee. I eased myself slowly into the day and before I had even showered and dressed I'd called HMRC to try and sort out a tax problem I have. I've been paying too much tax on my single salary so I contacted them via webchat and within about twenty minutes it had all been sorted out! I should get a new tax code and start paying a bit less!

Keith and I mooched about until 12pm and before going to get Sophie for lunch we dropped Mike off in town as he was going on a date (him and Georgia have split). He had arranged to meet her at the Abington Park Cafe so we dropped him off and carried on down to get Sophie. We were a little early so we explored the village of Great Houghton in a bid to try and find a newsagent, but the village, although having two pubs, did not have a shop!

I needed to sort out my Mum's birthday present so we hot-footed it to Next where I had a wander about and saw very little that I liked! In the end we decided to go and look at Jones's so after having a quick coffee and a mince pie in Costa, and dropping Sophie back at work, we drove across town to the wholesaler's. I had soon spotted a lovely cream chenille scarf and a necklace, and with a big box of chocolates from Mike, that was the children's presents sorted! I somehow managed to spend £48 in there and did get some bird food as well, to make sure our little feathered friends (lots and lots of sparrows at the moment) are kept fed as the temperatures get colder.

We decided to head for the Weston Favell Centre to try and finish the shopping and I'd planned on getting my Mum some Gin. Luckily it was quiet there and I bought her cards and a bottle bag before heading to the alcohol aisle. There were lots of different Gins to choose from and in the end I went with the Bombay Sapphire as it's a lovely bottle and I've always like the smooth taste. With a bottle of Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic, that was my purchases complete. Before I go and see her on Friday I'll get some flowers and a little cake.

We finally headed home and thankfully, it was a much quieter evening than the day had been!

An afternoon stroll

Sophie went off to the gym at 6.30am this morning as she prefers to go early rather than on her way home from work. I waved her off and then got ready to go to work myself. It was a foggy grey start to the day and I was relieved when she texted me to say she was at the gym.

Keith took me to work and I had a slightly more stressful day than yesterday. At 2pm we sped off home and after a quick catch-up with emails, we decided to walk down to the village as it was such a lovely afternoon. It was also very mild so I felt a bit warm in my woolly coat! We strolled down to the village and then turned around and went around the estate for one lap before going home. If we can do this every day it'll help!

Sophie was late home this evening because the traffic, for some reason, was terrible. It took her 45 minutes to do the journey and I don't know how she does it every day, to be honest! We had an early dinner of pizza and wedges as we were off to the cinema to see A Simple Favour.

I drove (to give Sophie a break!) but we couldn't park in the car park as it was heaving so we had to make do with parking at the Weston Favell Centre and walking over. We both enjoyed the film very much but we felt it went on about twenty minutes too long!

A return to work...

We awoke to a grey and foggy day this morning but the weather was set to get better this afternoon, thank goodness!

I wasn't really looking forward to my first morning back at work but it turned out to be a good day so that was a definite bonus! I was also given a bar of chocolate and a voucher for a hot drink so that certainly helped!

At 2pm I sped home as Mike was waiting for me to take him to Brixworth, and I had to go there anyway as I needed to visit the post office. By now the sun had come out and it was beautiful and mild, so when I arrived back home I suggested to Keith that we walk down to see the horses and then have a wander around the estate. He had been in the house all day as both cars were gone so I thought it would be good for him to get out for a while!

We took the carrots and after a lot of persuasion, the horses came over to eat them. We then carried on around the estate and I picked up a couple of cans of a pre-mixed cocktail drink that were lying on the verge. There had been a teenage party at one of the houses on Saturday night and it had been very rowdy, apparently! Sue had texted me that, out on a late night walk with her dogs, she'd seen young lads urinating in the front gardens of some of the residents so that was not very good.

We'd taken a parcel in for Sue and when she came over to collect it we had a very good gossip! I was surprised by what she was telling me about the party as the family are normally very quiet, so you never know!

Sophie came home from work so it was time to relax, watch the end of the Christmas film we'd started on Sunday and sip on a non-alcoholic cocktail. I am finding this no-drinking a lot easier than I imagined!

Drink disappointment!

Keith and I went to Tesco first thing this morning and did a small shop to get us through until Tuesday. As a treat, he bought me a bottle of Seedlip Spice non-alcoholic "spirit" which can be enjoyed with tonic instead of Gin! He also bought a small bottle of o% alcohol Cava for Sophie and some beer for himself to enjoy with lemonade as a Shandy!

We went home, had an assortment of pastries and coffee for breakfast and then Sophie and I put Mum's clothes on eBay. I did some ironing and Sophie did the majority of the work on the internet. Let's hope they sell!

Today the weather has been dismal and grey but it did brighten up a little in the afternoon so we went for a walk to see the horses. We took some carrots with us but they were nowhere to be seen! Typical!
We carried on around the estate and took Monty with us and it was really quite pleasant. Let's hope the mild temperatures last this year!

Keith cooked roast lamb for dinner tonight and Sophie and I watched a cheesy Christmas film while he cooked. Unfortunately the Seedlip Spice did not live up to expectations. I drank it with the Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic and it felt like I was having a proper drink but I'm afraid we still have a long way to go to replace Gin!

Pottering about!

I had a lovely lazy start to the day by getting up at 6.30am and watching Grand Designs with a cup of coffee. It featured a cob house built over seven years and the finished result was gorgeous. I remember seeing the programme when it was first filmed all those years ago!

The weather looked set to be fine and dry and I had plans to get out and enjoy the sunshine if I could! Keith and I went to get the newspaper and after having toast for breakfast I made a start on cleaning my car. It was a lot milder than yesterday and very pleasant in the sunshine. After I'd finished my car I also cleaned Sophie's car and made sure both vehicles had enough water for the windscreen wash. If temperatures continue to dip we'll have to buy some de-icer!

Mum and Dad popped around at lunchtime and dropped off some of Mum's unwanted clothes. We had a cup of tea and a chat and then spent the afternoon sorting out the clothes, giving some of them a wash and an iron and putting them on eBay. I really love selling clothes on the site and laundering them so they look lovely. I know my Great-Great Grandmother was a "Wardrobe Dealer" (not the furniture, though!) so maybe it's in the blood!

Keith went to see Sileby play in the afternoon so Sophie and I had a late lunch and watched 90 Day Fiance with a cup of hot chocolate. When Keith arrived home he said he hadn't been able to get any shortcrust pastry at the Co-op in Moulton for dinner so I said I'd go with him to Mawsley. We'd planned on having just beef casserole for dinner, but my husband does love a pastry top to go with it! We couldn't find any in the shop so we settled for Yorkshire puddings instead. I think there was a firework display going on in the village as lots of people were walking to the field and cars were arriving to park outside of the shops.

Back home I jumped into the bath and then it was time for a glass of non-alcoholic wine before dinner...which was delicious, by the way!

Remember, remember...Guy Fawkes comes early!

Sophie was off to Birmingham with work today so I drove her to Mum's house at 6.30am where she met her manager. It was then home for me and a much-needed cup of coffee!

During the morning I changed our bedding and sorted out the two pumpkins outside the house. I dried out the seeds in the oven for the birds (but not really sure whether they'll eat them) and cut up the flesh into chunks to put on the compost heap. I also hoovered downstairs again (you'd never know I did it all on Tuesday) and then went to have a long soak in the bath!

Sophie was home by 5.30pm which was great news as we were off to see the bonfire and fireworks in the village and it all kicked off at about 6pm. She quickly changed and Keith gave us a lift into the village where we walked the short distance to the field where it was being held. There are roadworks going on at the moment along this stretch of road and I think it has something to do with gas as there was a slight whiff in the air and deep holes had been dug out. Luckily it was well-lit - it wouldn't have been goof if someone had fallen down into one of them!

We were among the first to arrive and as Sophie hadn't had much to eat today she bought a burger from the team of volunteers helping out. She pronounced it delicious and after a little while we indulged in a hot chocolate each. No mulled wine this year!

At 6.30pm the huge pyramid of wood was lit and very soon it was burning brightly and sending out smoke and sparks. We could feel the heat from where we were watching! I texted Michelle to ask if her and Richard were coming along, but about ten minutes later we spotted them! It was great to have a chat and catch up, and watch the splendid display of fireworks above us. The team who organised them certainly excelled this year as the night was a huge success with loads of people attending and a long display that was fantastic, with vivid colours and some really loud bangs!

Once it was over we said goodbye to Richard and Michelle and made our way gingerly home in the dark. Keith had been home since 7pm and had prepared a chicken curry for dinner which was almost ready to be served. Mike was nowhere to be seen and hadn't come along to the fireworks as I'd hoped. Never mind!

A gloomy start to November!

We awoke to fog and gloom this morning so I suggested to Sophie that we take her in again, in case the fog returned in the evening, as it so often does. Driving on a dark and foggy night on our country roads is not pleasant!

We set off at 8am as usual and had the worst ever journey which took us over an hour, meaning Sophie was officially late. We weren't sure what the problem was but the roads were gridlocked and a lot of Sophie's colleagues were also late in. I left her and decided to go a different way home but even that route was busy with cars trying to find a way around the problems on the A45.

Back home Keith and I had a quick breakfast, did a sketchy meal plan and list and went to do our weekly shop. On the way we called to see my Mum and had a coffee with her - my Dad had gone off to see his mates as his flying club, which was brave of him considering the weather!

We did the shopping as speedily as we could and came out of Tesco to a horrible cold rain. It was the gloomiest of days! What a start to the month! After arriving home and putting the shopping away we had lunch, I chatted with Sophie on messenger and then I wallowed in a hot bath for a while. Outside it was still cold and wet but by the evening it had cleared up a bit and when we went to get Sophie, the sky was blue and we saw a gorgeous sunset on our (much quicker) journey down into Northampton.

I'd had a problem with my computer mouse before we left which made me very irritated so as soon as we arrived back home I sorted it out. We seem to have little annoying things go wrong lately, such as the Sky remote not working properly (the pause button is not working and we use it a lot!). I ordered a new one from Sky so hopefully that little niggle will be solved!

Dinner tonight was breaded pork escalopes which took a fair amount of work and involved three of us in our small kitchen. Keith and I have decided to go alcohol free for November, which isn't a pleasant prospect but I'm determined to give it a go! We have a couple of social outings this month but I'll be chuffed to see it through. I bought a bottle of very low alcohol wine in Tesco today (less than 0.5%) and it was horrible! Never mind!