Sophie phoned me this morning on her way to work to say that the roads were flooded around Holcot - both as you enter the village and on the way out to the A43 by the duck pond. She told us to go careful.
When we left at about 7.15am, the roads were indeed very bad and there was chaos by the pond as a Mercedes had broken down after going through a huge puddle of water that resembled a ford! This meant that only one car could go through at a time and the traffic was backed up a fair way coming into the village. It was pandemonium! Luckily we managed to get through but the roads were very wet everywhere with lots of water coming off the fields.
Work was OK today and at 3pm Keith collected me and we drove to Jones's as I needed some bits and bobs. He'd been to the doctor's this morning and had been given antibiotics to take so let's keep everything crossed that he'll feel better soon!
Christmas was in full swing at Jones's and I bought some cards - the same ones I've bought for the last couple of years by Peter Pauper Press and they're beautiful. I managed to resist buying anything else!
We drove home through the Bramptons and admired the evening sunrise. After all the rain of this morning it had dried up in the afternoon and the sun had come out!
Thursday, 7 November 2019
Wednesday, 6 November 2019
Hard work!
Today has been hard work, and until the evening, Keith and I didn't set foot outside the house! We were both up when Sophie went to the gym and I had a couple of coffees to keep me awake!
Keith tackled the en-suite shower room this morning as we had been putting it off for far too long. He had to remove all the mouldy seal from the shower and give it a good clean before re-sealing it. I headed to the bathroom with our little portable radio (Ken Bruce was back) and finished off the top of the walls before glossing the door. I was very pleased when it was all finished!
I helped Keith try and remove some of the sealant which was stuck like glue and took the shower hose downstairs to give it a good clean. By early afternoon Keith had at last managed to remove the sealant but it was a horrible, dirty job and at one point I feared we'd left it too late. When he finished we gave the glass surrounds a good clean and I washed the back splash. It looked better already! He then resealed the shower and we left it to dry.
I hoovered upstairs and down and did a general tidy up before collapsing in front of the computer! By now it was late afternoon and we realised we didn't have anything in the house for dinner this evening so we suggested to Sophie by text that we go to the Indian restaurant in Mawsley for a treat! I think we deserved it!
I spent a very pleasant hour clearing out some old files on the computer while listening to some classic 80s music and then jumped into the bath when Sophie arrived home.
We drove over to Mawsley at 7pm and were shown to a table in a quiet corner as Keith was still coughing. I had said to him it had gone on too long so he promised to call the doctor tomorrow. Perhaps he now needs antibiotics?
We had a lovely meal and shared poppadoms with relishes to start followed by various curries. The food was delicious and the service very good indeed. Sophie and I shared a dessert and then it was home to relax before bed. I'm going back to work tomorrow for a rest!
Keith tackled the en-suite shower room this morning as we had been putting it off for far too long. He had to remove all the mouldy seal from the shower and give it a good clean before re-sealing it. I headed to the bathroom with our little portable radio (Ken Bruce was back) and finished off the top of the walls before glossing the door. I was very pleased when it was all finished!
I helped Keith try and remove some of the sealant which was stuck like glue and took the shower hose downstairs to give it a good clean. By early afternoon Keith had at last managed to remove the sealant but it was a horrible, dirty job and at one point I feared we'd left it too late. When he finished we gave the glass surrounds a good clean and I washed the back splash. It looked better already! He then resealed the shower and we left it to dry.
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| We're getting there! Just need a new bathroom cabinet and a mirror! |
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| A symphony in grey! |
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| Our poor en-suite which has been a bit neglected of late... |
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| Looking cleaner! |
I hoovered upstairs and down and did a general tidy up before collapsing in front of the computer! By now it was late afternoon and we realised we didn't have anything in the house for dinner this evening so we suggested to Sophie by text that we go to the Indian restaurant in Mawsley for a treat! I think we deserved it!
I spent a very pleasant hour clearing out some old files on the computer while listening to some classic 80s music and then jumped into the bath when Sophie arrived home.
We drove over to Mawsley at 7pm and were shown to a table in a quiet corner as Keith was still coughing. I had said to him it had gone on too long so he promised to call the doctor tomorrow. Perhaps he now needs antibiotics?
We had a lovely meal and shared poppadoms with relishes to start followed by various curries. The food was delicious and the service very good indeed. Sophie and I shared a dessert and then it was home to relax before bed. I'm going back to work tomorrow for a rest!
Tuesday, 5 November 2019
Microwave woes...
This morning I didn't spill sultanas everywhere, it was milk! I love my Tassimo coffee to start the day but it's never hot enough so I pop the mug into the microwave for 30 seconds. However, after spilling milk everywhere I put it into the oven and nothing happened...it emerged even cooler after the addition of the milk. I put it in again but the same thing happened and it dawned on me that our microwave wasn't working...
It was a fairly old one anyway as we'd inherited it from my parents but now I had to resort to heating up my coffee in a small saucepan and it wasn't the same! I had already prepared my porridge (in for two minutes while I finish getting ready for work) so I had to ask Keith to heat it up in a saucepan for me. Grrr!
Apart from one horrible coughing fit when I was booking a squash court for a customer, my cough wasn't too bad today. I drove myself while Keith stayed at home but as soon as I returned we left to go to Tesco as we needed something for dinner this evening and most importantly, a new microwave. We only ever use it for heating things up (peas, baked beans, coffee etc) but we picked one out by Breville that looked very stylish and had a grill if we ever decided to use it. More importantly it had a clock!
Tonight I had suggested to Sophie that we go and see more fireworks and there was a display at Overstone Park. We bought some jacket potatoes to have for dinner and I selected Birthday cards for my Mum who will be 75 on Saturday!
The weather has been horrible again today and it was cold and rainy. It was lovely to get home and put the heating on. I did wonder about going out this evening but I thought it would be great to actually see fireworks on the 5th so as soon as Sophie arrived home we went back out again into the rain.
Driving was horrible because the traffic coming the other way was heavy and with the drizzle and glare it was not a nice journey. As we neared Overstone the traffic came to a standstill and we could see groups of people walking to the display. There is a huge residential area near to Overstone Park but it looked like many people had decided to drive as the traffic was not moving. Sophie and I looked at one another and decided to abandon the idea. With the weather, I thought it wouldn't be that busy, but as with all things at the moment, the crowds had descended!
We drove home, curled up on the sofa and watched Escape to the Chateau! Bliss!
It was a fairly old one anyway as we'd inherited it from my parents but now I had to resort to heating up my coffee in a small saucepan and it wasn't the same! I had already prepared my porridge (in for two minutes while I finish getting ready for work) so I had to ask Keith to heat it up in a saucepan for me. Grrr!
Apart from one horrible coughing fit when I was booking a squash court for a customer, my cough wasn't too bad today. I drove myself while Keith stayed at home but as soon as I returned we left to go to Tesco as we needed something for dinner this evening and most importantly, a new microwave. We only ever use it for heating things up (peas, baked beans, coffee etc) but we picked one out by Breville that looked very stylish and had a grill if we ever decided to use it. More importantly it had a clock!
Tonight I had suggested to Sophie that we go and see more fireworks and there was a display at Overstone Park. We bought some jacket potatoes to have for dinner and I selected Birthday cards for my Mum who will be 75 on Saturday!
The weather has been horrible again today and it was cold and rainy. It was lovely to get home and put the heating on. I did wonder about going out this evening but I thought it would be great to actually see fireworks on the 5th so as soon as Sophie arrived home we went back out again into the rain.
Driving was horrible because the traffic coming the other way was heavy and with the drizzle and glare it was not a nice journey. As we neared Overstone the traffic came to a standstill and we could see groups of people walking to the display. There is a huge residential area near to Overstone Park but it looked like many people had decided to drive as the traffic was not moving. Sophie and I looked at one another and decided to abandon the idea. With the weather, I thought it wouldn't be that busy, but as with all things at the moment, the crowds had descended!
We drove home, curled up on the sofa and watched Escape to the Chateau! Bliss!
Monday, 4 November 2019
Cough, cough, cough...
My day didn't get off to a great start when I opened a new packet of sultanas a bit too forcefully, and they scattered all over the worktop and floor... I love them in my morning porridge but spent wasted minutes picking them all up!
Keith took me to work this morning and I was first in. My cough is now very irritating and after the first few calls, my throat was really dry so I had to go and buy myself a bottle of water to keep hydrated. I'm sure the others found me very annoying!
Luckily work passed very quickly and at 2pm Keith met me to take me home. Our new bathroom cabinet had arrived and Keith had started putting it together so I helped him. The first one I'd ordered had to be returned as the mirror was cracked and this should have been a warning to me as the replacement was cheap and nasty.
I helped Keith attach the back panel but the screws were tiny and very hard to drill into the wood. When the time came to attach the magnet closing on the door, the screw holes were out of kilter! Keith did his best but then I noticed that a piece of the wood had bent on the corner of the door and then it snapped off!
We were both furious as he had spent ages struggling to put the cabinet together and it was now ruined. I called customer services and told them what had happened (the man on the line didn't really care, to be honest) and arranged a return and a refund. I certainly wasn't going to order it again!
We boxed the horrible item up again and left it in the garage to be collected. I didn't feel like doing anything else this afternoon so we pootled about and caught up with Strictly from the weekend, even though we knew who had been booted out of the contest!
Keith took me to work this morning and I was first in. My cough is now very irritating and after the first few calls, my throat was really dry so I had to go and buy myself a bottle of water to keep hydrated. I'm sure the others found me very annoying!
Luckily work passed very quickly and at 2pm Keith met me to take me home. Our new bathroom cabinet had arrived and Keith had started putting it together so I helped him. The first one I'd ordered had to be returned as the mirror was cracked and this should have been a warning to me as the replacement was cheap and nasty.
I helped Keith attach the back panel but the screws were tiny and very hard to drill into the wood. When the time came to attach the magnet closing on the door, the screw holes were out of kilter! Keith did his best but then I noticed that a piece of the wood had bent on the corner of the door and then it snapped off!
We were both furious as he had spent ages struggling to put the cabinet together and it was now ruined. I called customer services and told them what had happened (the man on the line didn't really care, to be honest) and arranged a return and a refund. I certainly wasn't going to order it again!
We boxed the horrible item up again and left it in the garage to be collected. I didn't feel like doing anything else this afternoon so we pootled about and caught up with Strictly from the weekend, even though we knew who had been booted out of the contest!
Sunday, 3 November 2019
Mammoth cake!
We took Sophie to the gym this morning and went to Tesco to do some shopping while she did her workout. We didn't have anything in the house for dinner tonight and Sophie wanted to make a Guinness chocolate cake, so we had a list of ingredients to get. Afterwards, we treated ourselves to a coffee in Costa.
Mike is away at the moment, visiting Abbie in London as her flatmate returned home for the weekend. I'm not sure he really wanted to go but she bought him his train ticket and Keith dropped him off at the station on Friday afternoon. I have no idea when he'll be returning but at least Keith can sleep in his bed at the moment while he's still coughing!
After getting Sophie, we called to see Mum and Dad for a quick chat before heading home to cook breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, potato smiles and baked beans. Already the morning had whizzed by so three quarters of the weekend had gone! Why does time go so fast!
After enjoying breakfast and reading the papers, Sophie set to with the cake while I had a shower. While it was baking in the oven it smelled delicious and was huge - I think she had used a whole block of butter in it!
The weather has been slightly better today but we still stayed indoors and did very little. I now have a cough as well which is extremely irritating and I'm dreading being at work with it tomorrow.
When the cake had cooled a little Sophie spread a delicious topping over it:
We enjoyed it while it was still warm and it was delicious!
Luckily we managed to catch Mrs Doubtfire a few minutes after it started so we watched it all over again, whooping with delight when we saw the outside of the house - we'd been there! It's a lovely film and one I can watch over and over again!
Mike is away at the moment, visiting Abbie in London as her flatmate returned home for the weekend. I'm not sure he really wanted to go but she bought him his train ticket and Keith dropped him off at the station on Friday afternoon. I have no idea when he'll be returning but at least Keith can sleep in his bed at the moment while he's still coughing!
After getting Sophie, we called to see Mum and Dad for a quick chat before heading home to cook breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, potato smiles and baked beans. Already the morning had whizzed by so three quarters of the weekend had gone! Why does time go so fast!
After enjoying breakfast and reading the papers, Sophie set to with the cake while I had a shower. While it was baking in the oven it smelled delicious and was huge - I think she had used a whole block of butter in it!
The weather has been slightly better today but we still stayed indoors and did very little. I now have a cough as well which is extremely irritating and I'm dreading being at work with it tomorrow.
When the cake had cooled a little Sophie spread a delicious topping over it:
We enjoyed it while it was still warm and it was delicious!
Luckily we managed to catch Mrs Doubtfire a few minutes after it started so we watched it all over again, whooping with delight when we saw the outside of the house - we'd been there! It's a lovely film and one I can watch over and over again!
Saturday, 2 November 2019
Rugby disappointment!
Today has been a bit of a lazy day and the weather has been abysmal; the sort of Saturday to keep warm in the house and ignore the wind and rain! We'd all been looking forward to the rugby this morning but within minutes I realised there wasn't going to be a good outcome as England weren't playing particularly well, or maybe South Africa were much the better team. Either way we lost, so that was a huge disappointment after the victory over New Zealand last Saturday.
Sophie was meeting Laura and Daisy for lunch at the Cromwell Cottage pub in Kislingbury, so I dropped her off in Moulton where Laura was picking her up, and returned home to have some lunch of my own.
All thoughts of getting out into the garden or doing anything outside was hopeless so I just gave in to staying inside! I had a lovely bath in the afternoon and a snooze before getting ready to go out to Miller and Carter with Keith in the evening.
Mum and Dad had given us a voucher to use in the restaurant and before we went we popped to Mawsley to get some cash from the machine near the shops. Unfortunately, our "quick" visit coincided with hordes of people descending on the village for their fireworks so the traffic was horrendous! Keith hurriedly got some money and we fled to Walgrave for a drink before our meal.
There were still some men in the pub who had been in the bar since this morning to watch the rugby and they must have been drowning their sorrows! We sat at the bar and chatted to Ian while we had a drink and then made our way in the rain over to Miller and Carter. The A43 up to the Round Spinney roundabout was closed for roadworks so we had to drive through Moulton to get there - the road will be closed all weekend, which is a bit of a nuisance!
The restaurant was quiet and we sat just inside the door. I had suggested to Sophie that she meet us there later as after going to the pub in Kislingbury they were returning to Laura's house and then going to Yardley Hastings for a bonfire and fireworks. Rather than have Laura's mum take her all the way back home, we thought it was easier if she was dropped off at the pub, then she could join us for a drink!
We had a lovely meal and shared some cheesy garlic bread to start. I sipped a mocktail while Keith had two pints of a good beer, which surprised him as he wasn't expecting to get one! He chose a T-bone steak for his main course (a hefty £30!) while I opted for chicken but I received two large breasts so it was definitely not a lighter option!
Sophie texted to say they were leaving Yardley Hastings and soon she was with us and ordering a cocktail, which was lovely. We had a good chat about what she'd been up to and then we paid the bill and returned home (it was still raining).
Before bed we relaxed for a while and I really hoped I'd have a good night's sleep and a lie-in tomorrow!
Sophie was meeting Laura and Daisy for lunch at the Cromwell Cottage pub in Kislingbury, so I dropped her off in Moulton where Laura was picking her up, and returned home to have some lunch of my own.
All thoughts of getting out into the garden or doing anything outside was hopeless so I just gave in to staying inside! I had a lovely bath in the afternoon and a snooze before getting ready to go out to Miller and Carter with Keith in the evening.
Mum and Dad had given us a voucher to use in the restaurant and before we went we popped to Mawsley to get some cash from the machine near the shops. Unfortunately, our "quick" visit coincided with hordes of people descending on the village for their fireworks so the traffic was horrendous! Keith hurriedly got some money and we fled to Walgrave for a drink before our meal.
There were still some men in the pub who had been in the bar since this morning to watch the rugby and they must have been drowning their sorrows! We sat at the bar and chatted to Ian while we had a drink and then made our way in the rain over to Miller and Carter. The A43 up to the Round Spinney roundabout was closed for roadworks so we had to drive through Moulton to get there - the road will be closed all weekend, which is a bit of a nuisance!
The restaurant was quiet and we sat just inside the door. I had suggested to Sophie that she meet us there later as after going to the pub in Kislingbury they were returning to Laura's house and then going to Yardley Hastings for a bonfire and fireworks. Rather than have Laura's mum take her all the way back home, we thought it was easier if she was dropped off at the pub, then she could join us for a drink!
We had a lovely meal and shared some cheesy garlic bread to start. I sipped a mocktail while Keith had two pints of a good beer, which surprised him as he wasn't expecting to get one! He chose a T-bone steak for his main course (a hefty £30!) while I opted for chicken but I received two large breasts so it was definitely not a lighter option!
Sophie texted to say they were leaving Yardley Hastings and soon she was with us and ordering a cocktail, which was lovely. We had a good chat about what she'd been up to and then we paid the bill and returned home (it was still raining).
Before bed we relaxed for a while and I really hoped I'd have a good night's sleep and a lie-in tomorrow!
Friday, 1 November 2019
Girls' night in!
Keith had had a terrible night and had ended up sleeping on the sofa because every time he laid down he started coughing. It was a real shame that he needed the car this morning and had to take me into work, otherwise he could have gone back to bed when I got up.
My shift passed quickly at work but we had lots of niggling little problems, so I was very glad to leave at 2pm! We called into the Co-op in Moulton on the way home to get some flowers and chocolates for Sue as Sophie and I were going to visit her in her new house this evening.
At 6pm Sophie and I dressed warmly in coats, scarves and boots and went to the bonfire and fireworks in the village. We parked on the outskirts so we could drive straight to Kettering to see Sue afterwards. A lot of people were walking along to the field and after paying our admission fee we walked up to the tent where Sophie bought a plastic beaker of red wine. We also indulged in a burger and a hot dog smothered in crispy onions. Delicious!
The bonfire was lit at about 6.30pm followed by the fantastic fireworks. I love this tradition so much and it was wonderful to see the huge bonfire alight with the fireworks behind.
Sophie took a selfie of us to record the occasion...
After the fireworks we walked back to the car in the rain (it had rained on and off all evening) and drove to Sue's house. I vaguely knew the way and we saw Richard's Audi parked at the entrance to the street where Sue lives. I managed to manoeuvre Sophie's car in front of Sue's and we knocked on the door. The door opened slightly and a weird man's voice asked who it was...for one moment I thought it was Sue's new partner, Martyn, but it turned out to be Richard goofing about! He hugged us and after a few minutes left to go home. Tonight was strictly girls' night!
We were introduced to Martyn who seemed lovely and he disappeared upstairs to his "man cave" while Sophie and I caught up with Sue and Michelle. Sue had put on a feast of Indian appetisers, cheese, biscuits, dips, crusty bread and olives. I drank a whole bottle of the Freixenet 0.0% fizz while the others sank two bottles of the New Zealand Pinot Gris that we all love.
We had a great evening with lots of chat and laughter and left at about 11pm. On the way home I spotted a police car and shouted out at them to come and breathalyse me! Sober for a whole month!
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