A busy end to a busy week...

I was hoping that we'd end the week on a quiet note at work, but it wasn't to be. Kathy and I took about 185 calls between us, and we had 40 abandoned, so it was a very busy shift. As expected, a lot of the calls were about swimming in one form or another, and neither of us can see it ending any time soon. I was supposed to have been doing some work for Sheila, but there was no chance of me even looking at it!

Keith had to drop me off at work this morning, and we made up after our argument yesterday! I am still determined to have a postal vote next time, though! He collected me at 4pm, and it was a relief to get home after a busy week. Monty is still not much better, although he did eat some salmon this morning which I found in the cupboard, so that was a good sign.

Sophie arrived home and sat with Keith and me while we played cards in the conservatory. We played a couple of games before cooking dinner - the pork with noodles that we should have had yesterday! Keith has already battered the pork to tenderise it and had cut it up into strips, so we just cooked the noodles, stir-fried the pork with spring onions, pepper, ginger, garlic and bean sprouts, and added soy sauce. It was delicious!

Our film choice this evening was Sweet Home Alabama, starring Reese Witherspoon. I had seen bits of it before, but never the whole film. It was very enjoyable and perfect for our Friday night wine night!

Voting niggles...

Keith did his usual stint at the shops this morning, while I tackled a load of paperwork for my parents. I needed to change their address, so I printed off about six letters for them to sign. It took me all morning to do, but I did feel better when I'd finished, as again, it was a job I'd been meaning to do for ages. I also had the letter that Tesco Bank sent me with the password for my Dad to give them, so we could sort out the fraudulent payment on his credit card.

Monty doesn't seem to be very well at the moment - he's off his food which is not like him at all, so we're a bit worried. If it carries on we'll take him to the vet. He spent a lot of the day asleep in the conservatory but we do have to realise he's getting older and is now 15, about 76 in human years, bless him!

Keith dropped me off at the care home because we're not driving my car at all at the moment. We've booked it into a garage in Moulton for next Monday when I'm hoping we can get it fixed. While he went to get Mike from work, I did another lateral flow test and then saw my parents at 2pm in the garden room. It took me almost the whole time I was there to sort out the credit card, and it appears a new one was sent out to them at their old address in March. Why it wasn't forwarded to me, as it should have been, is a mystery. Apparently, someone tried to use it again for an Uber ride, but this was after I'd put a stop on it, thank goodness.

We can now take residents out for a visit so I'm going to make an appointment to take Mum out next week. At long last, things seem to be returning to normal!

Keith and Mike picked me up, we returned home, I wrote out all the envelopes, and we popped to Brixworth to post them. A good job done!

When Sophie returned home from work we went to vote in the local elections. Mike said he wasn't interested and at the last minute Sophie said she didn't want to either! So much for having their say! We had to bring our own pens to the polling station but, despite having loads in my bag, I only took one in...

As usual, two stuffed shirts were manning the desks (a man and a woman), and we gave our names and addresses. Keith went over to the voting booth and I followed him as he had our only pen. I wasn't intending to actually stand next to Keith in the booth, but the woman at the desk barked at me to go to my own booth in a very loud voice. I said he was my husband, but she said it was the rules. I felt so embarrassed, and to make it worse, a group of people had arrived to vote as she was ticking me off. I had to wait for ages for Keith to make his selections, and I was so annoyed I can't remember who I even voted for!

To make it worse, Keith agreed with the woman about telling me off, so we had a major row in the car! We had decided to have fish and chips this evening, as neither of us felt like cooking, so it was a very tense ride in the car to Kettering to buy our evening meal. Sophie was bemused by what had happened, and I vowed from now on to cast a postal vote in the future!

A change around!

Keith and I had arranged for a van to come and collect my Mum's two-seater sofa this morning, and I'd been receiving regular updates as to when he was going to arrive. Keith had already taken off the feet, and we managed to get it outside and onto the drive all ready to go. While we waited I gave the conservatory a good clean, something I'd been meaning to do for ages!

The man with a van arrived at about 11.30am and at first it looked like the van was already full! However, he was very professional, and within minutes it was in the van! We suggested to the man that he follow us as the care home sometimes doesn't appear on satnavs. We had also put Mum and Dad's picture of Big Sur into the car, as well as a bronze ornament I'd bought for their 40th wedding anniversary.

Once at the care home, it all went very smoothly again and we were met by the handyman who was going to install the sofa and put the picture up on the wall. It was a big relief for us and I hope that my parents will enjoy having their own furniture in their rooms.

Back home I did some more cleaning in the conservatory and re-arranged the sofa and table. It does give us some more room and access to the double doors leading out into the garden.

Keith and I popped down to Riverside just before lunchtime as I needed some bird food. With all the young babies about at the moment, they're going through food like mad! After we'd shopped in Wilko's I went into Next to look at quilt covers. I spotted a beautiful tropical design with silver, grey and greens, which would go well with the curtains in our bedroom. They didn't have our size in stock so I took a photo on my phone and decided to order it online.

We were a bit hungry so I treated both of us to a Subway before we went to collect Mike from work at 2.30pm. Back home I worked until about 4pm and felt satisfied that we had actually achieved something today. My Mum was so pleased when she called me later in the day, so that felt good.

After dinner this evening Sophie and I went upstairs to watch television as Keith was keen to watch the football. As Chelsea won, they will now face Manchester City in Istanbul for the Champions League final. No supporters are allowed to go, so why can't the final be held in the UK? Madness!

A noisy shift...

I had heard, that over the weekend, we continued to be busy with phone calls, mostly about swimming. I can't tell you how glad I'll be when we no longer have to book people into sessions. It's driving us all mad!

It was very noisy in the office this morning, as there were lots of people in. We had some complicated calls early on with membership problems and confusion, which added to the farcical quality of the day! At one time I did think some of the calls I was receiving were prank calls, it was that bad!

It quietened down late morning, and I was able to try and put on some crash courses for the next half-term holiday. However, I spotted a problem and had to ask Sheila to sort it out. Normally, she does a lot of background work for me (technical stuff) so all I have to do is physically add the sessions to the system, but she hadn't had time, so we got into a bit of a pickle...

As always, it was a huge relief to finish at 4pm and head home. Keith had stripped the two-seater sofa of its cushions and feet, all ready for it to be collected and taken to the care home tomorrow. I spotted a mark where Monty had been lying so I had to deal with that!

We drove down to the station to pick up Mike who had been visiting Abbie this weekend in London. It's amazing to see the station car park so empty! Normally, at about 6pm it would be full of commuters' cars!

We headed home and Sophie and I caught up with what we'd been doing (she'd had a rough day as well) and I had a drink. I needed one this evening!

Bank Holiday washout!

Today dawned cloudy and grey, and although the sun poked its head through the clouds at times, it was mostly dull and dreary!

I made banana porridge for breakfast, using some very ripe fruit that was delicious when cooked - it's really the only way I can eat it! We mooched about all morning and the rain started at midday. This afternoon we were forecast 40mph winds, so typical Bank Holiday weather! I am working on the 31st, the next one we have, and you can bet it'll be gorgeous!

Sophie and I decided to venture down to Homesense in the afternoon as I'm starting to look for kitchen items, and they have a lovely eclectic mix. We took my Dad's car again and joined the queue of traffic heading for the town centre. When we reached St James Retail Park, we couldn't even gain access to the car park because of people queuing for the Starbucks drive-thru! We were in a filter lane, controlled by traffic lights, and three times the lights changed to red without us even moving! We gave up!

We drove to Brackmills, as I wanted to see where Sophie is now working. Her building looked lovely and modern, and I was impressed that she had a cafe opposite! We called into the local Costa a two-minute drive away and enjoyed coffee and sandwiches sitting in the car park. Not really what I had in mind for a Bank Holiday Monday, but at least it was quiet!

We spotted a Topps Tile outlet opposite, so we called in to have a look. Some of the tiles were gorgeous but very pricey!

I loved the range of colours in this mosaic tile

There was so much choice available, and although I'd originally wanted to go for white subway tiles, I don't think they'll provide enough of a contrast with the worktops. There's plenty of time to come to a decision though, and more places to visit before we decide!

From Brackmills we drove to Moulton in search of a new garage that we're going to take the car to. It was at the back of a new residential estate and looked a bit run-down, but if they're good, who cares?

After doing a little more exploring we headed home as by now it was starting to get windy and very wet. It was great to sit in the conservatory with a glass of wine and play Scrabble, while outside it grew very stormy. I had put away anything that could potentially blow away but I'm sure the wind wasn't as bad as it was supposed to be!

Dinner tonight was bubble and squeak, leftover chicken and veggie sausages. I can't believe that the extended weekend is over... it's back to work tomorrow!

Lazy Sunday

Sophie was going to see Zain today and was meeting him at Milton Keynes station. Keith and I dropped her off at 11am and then drove over to Broughton to pay our newspaper bill. There was some kind of table-top sale going on in the village, and the newsagent was closed so we returned home via the scenic route to avoid the temporary 30 miles an hour speed limit that's been imposed on the A43. The route earmarked for the decline in speed is very long, but there was no sign of any roadworks being carried out? They're not going to start dualling it already, surely?

Back home we mooched about doing little jobs and enjoyed leftover mince and dumplings for lunch. After we'd eaten I went out into the garden and took some compost from the bin to put on our borders. We have the fat babies in the garden at the moment, and they peck about looking for food or beg for it from their poor, hassled parents!

Sophie called at 3pm to ask us to collect her at 3.45pm so we duly went down to the station to fetch her home. It was cocktails again at 5pm and a game of Scrabble while Keith cooked a roast chicken for dinner. Sophie had enjoyed cocktails and lunch in Milton Keynes so she didn't join us for dinner. There were the inevitable leftovers so that's tomorrow's dinner sorted...bubble and squeak!

After we'd eaten we watched the film Internal Affairs, starring the gorgeous Richard Gere (who played a real baddie), and the equally lovely Andy Garcia. They both looked so young!

We hit the shops!

After a lovely, lazy start to the weekend, Sophie and I watched some of Saturday Morning Kitchen before getting ready to hit the shops of Market Harborough in the early afternoon.

We took my Dad's car today as mine is still making a horrible noise. Keith and I are going to try and get it sorted next week, but we are going to use a different garage... let's hope we have success!

In Market Harborough, we parked easily in our usual car park, and after popping to the post office to send a dress back to ASOS, we called into The Attic where Sophie found a beautiful pair of tapestry ankle boots, a dress and a top. She was over the moon with her haul, and this was followed up with another top at a different charity shop! Unfortunately, there was nowhere to sit and enjoy lunch - most of the places which had outdoor dining were either full or just not open, including our favourite, The Polka Dot Cafe.

We were hungry, so we decided to call into The Bakehouse and buy some sandwiches to eat in the car. We also bought a brownie each, a sausage roll for Keith, and two teas, and the lovely lady serving us threw in two almond and pear croissants for free!

It was lovely to sit in the car and enjoy our lunch. I opened the large roof panel so the sunlight poured in. Although it's been sunny today, the wind has been chilly, and we are forecast some bad weather for Bank Holiday Monday. Typical!

We drove home, and after doing all the preparations for dinner, we relaxed until 5pm. It was then time for  Scrabble and cocktails in the conservatory, our very enjoyable Saturday habit! 

Sophie and I were in charge of dinner tonight - a Hairy Bikers' recipe of minced beef with herby dumplings. The meal was delicious, and after we'd eaten we decided to watch the film L.A. Confidential. Unfortunately, Sophie and I just couldn't get into it, so we retired upstairs to watch a few episodes of Come Dine With Me. Far funnier!