Same old, same old!

Mondays roll around far too quickly for my liking and it was cold and dark when Sophie set off for the gym at 6am.

I really didn't want to be at work today - there were loads of people in the office, and our MD was present for the whole shift. I took my leftover risotto to heat up in the microwave, but I don't think I'll be doing it again as the food went cold while I answered the phone! I really do believe that we should get a fifteen-minute break to eat something as several of us work eight hours without a break!

It was great to escape at 4pm, and on the way home I dropped off our eBay packages at the small post office in Whitehills. Back home I didn't do a lot (it was almost 5pm) and Keith and I played cards in the kitchen before dinner. I am really looking forward to the evenings being a lot lighter when I feel like I could do more when I get in from work! Hopefully, it won't be long!

Caught in the storm!

Thankfully, I wasn't up as late as yesterday and Sophie and I settled down to watch our recorded episode of Saturday Morning Kitchen after breakfast. The star on the show was Ralf Little from Death in Paradise and he was very similar to the character he plays in the crime drama, and came over as lovely! Phew!

The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent mooching about, and Sophie did a lot of preparation for dinner this evening - a pork and chestnut risotto. I attempted to do some research on my family tree but just wound up going in frustrating circles as usual! There are several other people researching my ancestors as well, and they have added some dubious links which I find hard to believe! 

Sophie and I had some items on eBay which were ending today, and we'd done really well with selling most of it. We made sure everything was packaged up ready to send tomorrow and we made about £40 on clothes and a pair of boots that Sophie no longer wants! More savings in our Paypal account for treats!

The weather today has been a mixed bag of sunshine and showers with gusty winds, and at about 4pm I suggested we go for a short walk to the village, just to get out of the house as we haven't left it all weekend! We wrapped up warmly in coats, scarves and gloves and set out, just as a huge black cloud appeared! We pushed on nonetheless, but within minutes we had light rain falling, and then we heard several burglar alarms start going off on the estate, so I guessed we'd had a power cut. The rain didn't deter us and we crossed over the road to say hello to a flock of sheep who were huddled together under a hedge, poor things. There was no sign of any lambs, but I don't think it'll be long!

Just as we decided to carry on a bit further I could see the rain coming over the fields like a white mist and then suddenly we were being pelted with hail. We immediately turned back and almost ran towards home, getting more and more soaked by the second! Luckily, Keith had seen the weather and he met us at the entrance to the estate but we were wet through!

Back home he had lit candles and the power cut lasted almost an hour. Sophie went to have a hot shower while Keith and I played cards in the kitchen by candlelight. I do love a power cut! The electricity came back on, so I re-set all the clocks and then it went off again! Arggh!

Sophie cooked the meal entirely on her own tonight and it was delicious. The rice was lovely and creamy and there was enough left over for lunch tomorrow! Perfect!

More entertaining!

I had the mother of all lie-ins this morning, and I wasn't happy! Why am I waking up so late? Anyway, Sophie and I had planned to watch Saturday Morning Kitchen, but we decided to record it instead as Sophie needed to get ready for Daisy and Laura's lunchtime visit.

I hoovered the house, did some cleaning and helped Sophie get everything ready, and by 12pm the house was looking lovely. Sophie had set the table on the island in the kitchen and had prepared all the food. They both arrived on the dot and they stayed in the kitchen until almost 7pm.

In the meantime, I looked up ferry prices for our trip to France in April and looked at the Covid rules for entering the country. We need to take lateral flow tests before we travel and we can't use the NHS ones we have at home. So, that's another £60 added to the cost of the short break! We have a voucher for £90 for the P&O ferry and the price was about £175, which I didn't think was too bad for a five-day break. When we'd postponed it last year I had no idea that we'd be going in the first week of the Easter school holidays, so that was a pain! We are still not 100% sure if we will go, but it would be great if the rules are loosened a bit between now and April!

The weather today has been dry and sunny, but in the evening it started to rain and the wind became stronger. Once Daisy and Laura had departed, Sophie and I played Scrabble, and Keith sat at the island with us. We ate the leftovers from lunch (lots of cheese biscuits, grapes, celery and dips) and enjoyed a bottle of Rose Prosecco that one of the girls had brought around.

After eating we watched Death In Paradise and then stumbled upon a programme showing one of the Fleetwood Mac concerts from 1998, which we enjoyed until almost midnight. It was the Dance Tour and both Sophie and I immediately took a shine to Lindsey Buckingham (as he was then!). As he's now 72, I think Sophie went off the idea a bit!

A strange request...

Sophie woke me at 5.50am this morning... ugh! To make things worse it was a horrible morning with cold temperatures and sleety rain falling. On the way to the gym, Sophie used her hands-free to call me to say there was a puddle of water stretching over the entire road leading up to the roundabout on the  A43 and to avoid it. I now go through Moulton in the morning as that particular roundabout is like the Wacky Races and I hate it! I think it's because it's so small and the drivers literally lunge at you!

I made myself a cup of coffee and watched half an hour of Escape to the Country before showering and leaving for work. Today wasn't as bad as the hell that was last Friday, but we were still busy and I had plenty to do - orders, emails and answering plenty of phone calls!

I was very much looking forward to Wine Night, and we drank the rest of a bottle of Pinot Gris and then a white Rioja that I'd forgotten we had! Keith didn't go to the pub this evening so he cooked dinner for us - what a Friday night treat!

Sophie and I decided to watch a new series on Netflix - The Woman Who Lives Across The Street From The Girl In The Window... it was a bit strange and I learnt it was a parody of several other, very similar films. We watched three episodes, but that was enough!

After dinner, I had a Facebook friend request from Mikey. It was a bit strange, but I accepted it as I thought that maybe he'd lost access to his usual Facebook account. I immediately received a message from him, which was weird, as we'd been talking about him at dinner and how we hadn't spoken since Fleagate.

He sounded his usual self and I was glad we were talking again. However, after the initial small talk, he asked if I knew I was on some kind of winners' prize list. This is when I knew I was definitely not speaking to my son... I called his number and he didn't know what I was talking about! Really, I should have been suspicious when I received the friend request as we normally speak via text.

After egging the scammer on for a little while, and receiving a link to click onto where I could access my "prize" I told him exactly what I thought of him and where he could go, and reported the whole conversation to Facebook, before blocking him. It just shows how easy it is to be duped (I believed it was Mike at first) and how scum of the earth can deceive people out of money and/or personal information.

At least one good thing came out of it, though... I'm talking to Mike again!

A little shopping...

I was so pleased I'd asked Sophie to take today off work as we were all tired after our late night. The thought of getting up at 6am after going to bed at 1am didn't bear thinking about!

We had a lazy morning and at lunchtime, Sophie and I drove over to Weedon. We went to the antique centre first, and I spotted a beautiful Mason urn with the fruit basket pattern:

My Mum has been collecting Mason's pottery for years, but I'd never seen this pattern before and it was perfect to go in our kitchen! It was £10 so I bought it!

We had a good look around and said hello to a sweet little chihuahua who was wearing a little coat that said "Security"! She was gorgeous and very sweet, and most definitely not a guard dog!

After having a look in the vintage shop next door we drove to the Shires Shopping Village and had lunch in Darlington's. We shared a ham and cheese sandwich and then indulged in a coconut and raspberry slice with a dollop of ice cream. As ever the food was lovely and it felt great to be able to sit and have lunch together on a weekday!

Sophie was looking for presents for Daisy and Laura, and she bought some lovely trinkets in the vintage shop. I found another beautiful, hand-painted urn for £22 and just had to have it! Again, it was perfect for the kitchen, but I think that's it for now! I don't want to clutter up the kitchen! I think I'm turning into my Mum!

From Weedon, we drove to a Tesco in Daventry to get some food for when the girls come over on Saturday. Sophie decided to use a self-scan so she could keep an eye on how much she was spending, which was a great idea. She bought some delicious nibbles and the ingredients to make a non-alcoholic Sangria as both girls will probably drive over.

Back at home Sophie and I celebrated the end of our day off by playing Scrabble and having a drink. Dinner was very easy this evening - jacket potatoes and salad!

A lively catch up!

After Sophie went to the gym this morning I sneaked back to bed, as I had a long day ahead of me! I woke at 8.30am, and by 10am Keith and I were heading for Kettering to shop for what I needed tonight.

I had changed my mind about what to cook this evening and in the end decided on asparagus wrapped in Serrano ham, paella and a fruity Eton Mess. We shopped first in Aldi, and along with the food, I bought some red and white Rioja. I finished my shopping in Tesco and we headed home to have something to eat.

The rest of the afternoon was spent giving the conservatory a good clean, doing the same in the kitchen, preparing all the vegetables and meat for the Paella, wrapping the asparagus in the ham, making the meringue and setting the table. Sophie arrived home and asked what I wanted her to do, but everything was prepared. I needed her to make the paella later in the evening!

I had a shower at about 6pm and spent fifteen minutes relaxing on my bed before getting dressed, putting some make-up on and lighting all the candles and tealights dotted about. The house looked and smelled lovely!

Lynda arrived first at 7.30pm and minutes afterwards, Andrea and Fiona rang the doorbell. It felt like it had been ages since we'd seen each other so there was a lot to catch up on, and they were all impressed with the new kitchen! We sat in the conservatory with a glass of Cava and some nibbles and had a good chat.

The meal went very well and the asparagus starter was delicious. Sophie had managed to get the vegetables beautifully tender and with some Hollandaise sauce, our plates were wiped clean!

We had an interval between the starter and main course and again, Sophie did full justice to the paella. Keith was content to sit in the living room and nibble on leftovers, and Sophie joined us when we had dessert, which was lovely. She amused us all by talking about our sun signs and did Andrea's birth chart so there was a lot of hilarity around the table!

Just before midnight, while I made coffees, Andrea called for a taxi. but she never received a text confirming it. After forty minutes of waiting she had to call again to discover that the previous booking had been forgotten! They left an hour later, and Sophie and I left whatever needed washing until tomorrow and sat with Keith in the living room for half an hour. It was a very late night and I was so glad we could have a lie-in tomorrow!

Planning ahead

The phones were slightly busier today but I still managed to input all of the playscheme places for Easter, so that pleased me. We have been getting lots of bookings for the February half-term which is approaching fast!

I gave Sara my holiday dates for Easter as well. As far as I know, we are still set to go to Wimereux in April for Sophie's birthday. When we re-booked it last year I wasn't aware that the dates were the first week of the Easter holidays, but there's not much I can do. Sophie's birthday regularly falls at Easter (she was born on Good Friday) and that's the main reason we're going!

It was lovely this evening to look forward to two days off. I am having Lynda, Fiona and Andrea over for dinner tomorrow and I asked if Sophie could take Thursday off so we didn't have to get up early! Bliss!