Another fab result!

Keith and I went and bought another box of tiles this morning, to make sure we had enough in case any get broken. Of course, they were of a different batch but does it really matter? (When we got home we checked and we couldn't tell the difference!).

From Topps Tiles, we went to Curry's PC world where we looked at the huge range of fridge freezers on offer. We want an American style one, but we have to be careful as it has to fit between the two walls so we only have about 88cm to play with. I spotted a Kenwood fridge freezer that I liked, and we made a note of all the specifications so we could read reviews online. We also looked at tumble dryers - heat pump ones - so we could try and get it into the cupboard under the stairs instead of traipsing out in all weathers to the garage!

Whilst we were driving, Sheila from work called to say that the Cat Cafe visit tomorrow will have to be postponed as Sara's partner's Mum had sadly died. I was relieved, to be honest, as it meant I had a bonus day to get some chores sorted out.

After dropping off some unwanted bric a brac to the charity shop at Weston Favell we headed home for lunch and had a look at the reviews online. I'm a member of Which? and they said there were better and cheaper, fridge freezers available so we've chosen a Fridgemaster which we can buy from AO.com.

Mike wanted a lift to Brixworth this evening as he was watching the big match with friends, and I popped to the pharmacy to get something for this rash which is not getting better. The pharmacist gave me some antihistamine tablets so I hope they'll start working. It comes and goes and seems worse when I'm hot!

Keith, Sophie and I watched the first half of the football, then we girls went upstairs as I have a weird thing that they only win if I'm not watching - pretty ridiculous really, but there you go! I did think they would lose to Denmark tonight, but amazingly they won 2-1! We're in the final!

Work niggles!

Today has been stressful at work, and it didn't help that one of my colleagues seemed to be constantly logged off the phone, meaning that I had barely finished one call before answering the next. It's starting to become a problem, to be honest!

It was a huge relief to finish at 4pm and go home to relax. I have one day off to get things done as I'm going to the cat cafe in Bedford on Thursday with Sara, Sheila and Nicola from work. As much as I'm looking forward to it, I have so much to do in the house at the moment!

After dinner Keith watched Italy and Spain play and I predicted Itay to win, which they did, so now they're in the final on Sunday. With whom, is the big question! It could be England or Denmark!

Itchy, itchy!

This morning, my hands and arms started itching, and my skin broke out in lots of raised red bumps. I think I may have been affected by the ivy that I cleared away yesterday, as it's affecting the underside of both arms, where I was pressing the leaves and branches down into the bin...

Sophie had an appointment at the beauty salon this evening, so I took her to work this morning as parking is really difficult (it was a good job I did...). I dropped her off at just before 9am and this time I went straight into work to try and get some jobs done before the calls started at 10am. I managed to do most of the box office returns so that was a bonus!

As predicted our shift was busy today, and I gave up all hope of doing anything other than answering calls. We are all very much hoping that after the 19th of July we can abandon the booking of swimming sessions because to have to do that in the school holidays doesn't bear thinking about!

My arms and hands continued to itch through the day, and Sheila gave me an antihistamine tablet to take, which really didn't do much to help, but it was good of her to offer!

I was going to stay on for a while after 4pm, but I'd had enough so I sat in the car park for a while catching up with emails, and then drove down to Brackmills. We set off for Kingsley, and when we arrived, we realised we couldn't park in the car park as there were workmen doing something with the road. I had to park where I could, but thankfully I wasn't in their way! There seemed to be a lot of milling about, shouting, and then eating of baguettes! Just before we left to go home, a huge dumper truck arrived and I got out of the way while the going was good! I'm just glad Sophie wasn't in the beauty salon for very long!

Bring the ivy down!

Keith and I were asked to go next door this morning to be witnesses to our neighbours' wills and other legal paperwork. We were only too happy to agree so it was a bit of a solemn occasion, with their two sons present as well.

Once we'd done what we needed to, we drove to Mawsley, bought some bread and croissants for breakfast and came home to enjoy them. Well, I did... Keith went out into the garden where Mike had made a start on cutting down the ivy that's covering our wall. It needs to come down as it's gone mad, and Keith's worried that it'll get into the guttering and cause dampness on the internal walls by blocking the downpipes. Of course, we also need it gone for the new window we're having installed!

As I read the paper and munched on my croissants, I heard a lot of swearing and a few cross words, so when I finished I went out to see if I could help. The ground was covered by branches and ivy leaves so I made a start on gathering them all up to put in our garden bin.

I filled the bin, plus two plastic boxes, and brought another load through from the gravel garden. Sophie had texted me to say she was arriving in Northampton at about 1pm, so I had to leave everything in the garden. At least the worst was done and the ivy was all down! That's saved us about £800!

I dropped Keith and Mike off at the pub for a well-earned beer and carried on down to Northampton. Sophie was tired but had had a brilliant day in London and had thoroughly enjoyed being at Wimbledon!

We called to the pub to pick up the men and Keith offered us a drink as well. As I was still in my scruffs, we sat in the garden and enjoyed a cold Guinness - what a lovely way to spend half an hour!

Back home I pottered about, and then had a long hot shower before joining Sophie in the conservatory for Scrabble and a new cocktail - Campari, Vermouth and the remains of the Cava from last night. It was delicious!

After we'd played Scrabble Sophie and I sat and chatted about our California trip next year. I'd been looking at car hire prices on Friday morning, and I was shocked to see how much a car would cost us while we were there - about £1200! I think we only paid about £300 last time! We discussed going to Napa by Uber, and then picking up a car there, the day we travel down to Monterey. We don't really need a car in Napa as our B&B is within walking distance of the town, we're planning on taking two escorted wine tours, and we could get the bus to Yountville.

Sophie then made dinner completely on her own while I sat and chatted to Keith. A lovely, relaxing end to a busy day!

A fab result!

I took Sophie to the station early this morning, in the pouring rain. Luckily, as they have centre court tickets, the weather shouldn't spoil her day!

Back home Keith and I had breakfast and then I mooched about for the rest of the morning, doing very little, which I felt guilty about! I watched some of the early tennis games, and recorded both BBC1 and BBC2 in case I spotted a glimpse of Sophie and Zain in the crowd!

I had arranged to take my Mum out this afternoon, and I made sure I did a test before I went! I collected her at 2pm and we went to Tesco first so Mum could get some bits that she needed. I bought a load of bird food and a bottle of Cava to enjoy with the tennis later! I'd also been instructed to buy a meal deal for Mike who gave me very precise instructions as to what he wanted! I got it right eventually!

From Tesco, we popped home to take the meal deal to Mike, and then it was off to Beckworth to enjoy a cup of tea and a slice of cake. I hadn't been to the cafe since December, and it had been re-located from the marquee at the back to where it used to be. It has been extended, with all new furniture and tables with lots of plants dotted about. I have to say it was beautiful!

Mum went for a chocolate roulade slice whereas I chose the sherry trifle cake. Both were delicious!

After we'd eaten we wandered around the shop part but neither of us saw anything we wanted to buy. Beckworth now looks like a high-end department store and the plant nursery seems like an after-thought!

I dropped Mum off at the care home and drove home where I was itching to watch the tennis! However, amazingly, Mike suggested a game of cards so we sat in the conservatory and played a couple of games before ordering a takeaway from the Chinese in Broughton. If Sophie had returned home it would have been a steak and kidney pie for dinner!

After we eaten and cleared away I finally went upstairs with a glass of Cava to watch the tennis, while Keith tuned into the football. England were playing Ukraine and, unbelievably, they won 4-0! What a result!

I saw the first game shown on Centre Court, a very good game between Kauff and Juvan. At the end, when Kauff was being interviewed, I saw Sophie and Zain in the crowd! An even better result!

A grill malfunction!

If I was hoping for a quiet end to the week, I didn't get one! Kathy and I were flat out with calls today so I hardly got anything else done! It was a huge relief to walk out at 4pm knowing it was the weekend! 

Sophie returned home from work and was a little stressed. She's going to Wimbledon tomorrow and they have centre court tickets, so they're staying at a hotel overnight to make the most of the day, something she wasn't really expecting. She rushed around packing, but we did sit down at 6pm and watch half an hour of The World's Most Extraordinary Homes before tackling dinner.

We had decided to have a chicken and sausage traybake, but I thought it would be good to grill the meat first to give it some colour. I popped it all in a tray, put the vegetables (peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes) in another, and turned the grill on.

Everything was going OK until all of the sudden the whole oven and grill turned off! The food was only half-cooked so we had to come up with something fast! We bunged the veggies into the wok to stir fry them and the meat into a frying pan and cooked them that way. After ten minutes the oven was working again so it all went back to finish off! Phew!

By now I was hot and stressed - Friday dinners are supposed to be easy! I went to collect Keith and Mike and although the meal hadn't gone quite as we'd expected, it was delicious served with Mediterranean couscous!

After dinner, we watched Andy Murray lose, which was a huge shame, but he's in the Olympics later this month, so we'll have to hope he succeeds there!

Waiting about...

Keith and I had a busy day ahead of us, and we left home at 9am, calling into the launderette to pick up our super-king bedspread that had been washed and dried. From there, we went to Brockhall to get a quote for some scratches on my car's bumpers. We were quoted £680 which was far more than I was expecting, but I need to get them sorted out. However, as Keith rightly pointed out, we also need to sort out the ominous knocking as well, and if the cost of that is way too high, then it may be time to say goodbye to my beloved Audi. I've had it for eight years now, and it's done over 165,000 miles but there's only so much you can spend out!

After Brockhall, we popped to Tile Giant and picked up two sample tiles, and I suggested going somewhere for breakfast. We decided on the new cafe at Waitrose, but we were very disappointed to find it closed when we arrived! Apparently, the coffee machines weren't working!

We settled for Costa instead, and then it was off to do our weekly shop at Aldi and Tesco. Luckily, the supermarkets weren't too busy and we were home at just after midday. I was expecting a call from my Uncle David who was visiting my parents today, as we had arranged to meet for coffee afterwards. While I waited I fiddled about with my blog and nearly had a catastrophe when I changed the theme and layout... luckily, I'd downloaded the original so I was able to restore it, but the header photo still isn't right!

My Uncle finally called at about 4pm to say that they were heading home and would I mind not meeting? I was relieved as it was now quite late in the day, so we had a chat and then I decided to hoover my car and clean inside. Mike had told us this afternoon that he will be leaving mid-August to live with Abbie and they'll be going to Southampton where she will be at university. When he leaves I will get my car thoroughly valeted as it's not worth it while he's still at work and spreads grass and dirt everywhere!

The weather improved in the afternoon and we'd decided to barbecue this evening as it was really the only time we could. We have rain and unsettled conditions forecast for the weekend, so no point doing it then! Keith had marinated come chicken with our Jerk sauce which pleased the children greatly! Before he started the cooking we sat in the garden and chatted and it was gorgeous!

Later in the evening, Sophie came downstairs and said that Zain had managed to book tickets for Centre Court on Saturday! How lovely!