A decision reversed!

I was at work at 8am this morning but facing an early finish, and then a break until next Monday! I had plenty of work to do, including putting a new tranche of films onto the system as well as the May playscheme places. Customers had already been enquiring about when they could book them!

At 2pm I sped home and Keith and I discussed the window situation. I felt like yesterday we had made a  big mistake and I hadn't even checked any reviews! Anglian Windows have been around since 1966 and are a large company which is why I trusted them.

However, when I Googled reviews about them, I was horrified. A lot of people had paid deposits and had been left waiting for months for the work to be done, others had been subjected to the same sales pitch as we had - an inflated first price and then reductions for "offers". Too many people said the work had been unacceptable with poor after-sales care, so we both decided to cancel. We had seven days to cancel so we emailed immediately, and informed them that we no longer wished to go ahead with the work. Keith called his bank and they said that if we hadn't received a refund within 14 days to open up a dispute with them.

I am still amazed that Keith and I decided to go ahead yesterday, without checking first or talking to Sophie. The salesman was very smooth and friendly, but there were several things that rang alarm bells and I ignored them! We think we'll go with a local, small company and make sure we check those reviews first in future!

It was lovely to relax this evening and look forward to three days off work. We had a simple dinner and then sat and enjoyed Masterchef. Bliss!

No room at the table...

Keith went to get his hair cut this morning but everywhere he went was busy so he gave up! I stayed at home, hoovered my car, and the downstairs of the house, and got ready to take my parents out.

The plan was to do some shopping first at Tesco and then have lunch at Glebe Farm on the A14. When I got to the care home only my Mum came down. My Dad had been to the dentist earlier and was still feeling a bit groggy and uncomfortable. Mum and I went to Tesco where she splurged on clothes, and then we headed, in a heavy shower of rain, to Glebe Farm.

Unfortunately, there was a long wait for lunch so we gave up and drove into Kettering with the idea of going to the 1940s cafe for something to eat. However, I couldn't even get parked, so we gave up on that idea and decided to go to Costa. On the way, we saw McDonald's so I suggested lunch there, which went down very well with my Mum!

I keep forgetting it's the Easter holidays and everyone seems desperate to get out and enjoy their free time! We enjoyed our lunch and it was a real treat for Mum - she even ate most of her meal! I dropped her back off and went home to await the arrival of an Anglian Windows representative. 

We need four of our windows replaced: the front living room bay window, our bedroom window which the winds howls through, and Sophie's bedroom window which we can't open at the moment, as well as a small window in our en-suite. The windows are 20 years old, so we can't really complain, but it's just another expense to face!

As I was pottering about, Sue came to say hello and it was great to stand and have a chat with her for a while. After she'd gone, the salesman from Anglian arrived, and I showed him what we wanted to replace. He was quite derogatory about our existing windows and said that our builders had installed the cheapest they could... I wasn't keen on this as they'd been fine for the last 18 years. It was just recently we'd begun to notice them failing.

After having a good look we sat in the kitchen and he began his sales spiel. Keith was with me in the kitchen but he seemed to be in a bad mood and wouldn't really say much! After a lot of faffing about with his two iPads and his phone, he showed us what the new windows would look like and then went through all the technical stuff about what the windows were made of, how secure they were, and how draught-free they would prove to be for the next 35 years.

Then came the quote. I was expecting him to go away, prepare the price and email it to us, but no, he was able to do it straight away. The initial price he quoted us was high, but with various "offers" such as us filling out a survey, having a board outside the house, and putting something on Facebook, the cost came down quite considerably...

I wanted to talk to Sophie about the windows and not make a decision there and then, but obviously, this man (who drove a big, shiny Mercedes), had the gift of selling and closing the deal, as we agreed there and then... We paid a deposit on Keith's credit card, I signed the forms and that was it... Had we done the right thing?

After he'd gone I began to regret being so hasty. There were two things I really didn't like about him - the fact that he thought it was acceptable to slag off our existing windows and say they were shoddy, and the way he kept dropping the price as if the initial cost was hugely inflated. This put me in a bad mood for the rest of the evening.

Sophie was surprised by our decision but accepted it. The work couldn't be done until August so she would have to face a hot summer of getting ready without the windows opening. We made dinner, which was a real pain as everything we cooked stuck to the pans, putting me in an even worse mood! It was not a good evening!

Oil crisis!

Work was far busier this morning, for some reason, and the phones went mad! It was great to finish at 4pm and look forward to a day off tomorrow!

When I finished, I had to go and find some diesel for my car. We are having problems with supplies at the moment because of protestors blocking oil refineries, and I'd had trouble getting any at the weekend. I went to the garage near Tesco but it looked like they had no diesel, so I went to the Shell garage on the A43. They had some, but the prices are so high these days! Diesel is about £1.76 a litre, so putting in about £40 as I regularly do, does not make much of an impact on my tank! We are living in a time of extremely high prices, and inflation has risen to its highest level in decades.

Whilst at the garage I decided to get my car washed so it was almost 5pm by the time I arrived home. Sophie left at 5pm and I told her there was petrol available at the Shell garage. She had called in on her way home yesterday to find the pumps empty!

A somewhat trying day...

Although we were busy first thing at work, it wasn't as bad as I feared, seeing as it was the Easter holidays. We had a mad rush of calls in the first hour and then it quietened down a bit. Unfortunately, I had an angry customer on the phone who was very rude, but I managed to stay calm and give him another number to call about his membership. It did unsettle me slightly, though, and I sincerely hoped he wouldn't call back! We often joke about having a kind of rogues' gallery with the names of the people who are rude, and I don't think it would be a bad idea!

After work, I popped to the post office in Whitehills to post an eBay item that we'd sold, and to send back a top for Sophie. I had to go into the convenience store next door to the post office and somehow print off a label, which took me quite a time to do, and left me feeling a little stressed!

On the journey home I managed to get behind a very slow driver who seemed blissfully unaware that anyone else was on the road, and that we might not like to drive at such slow speeds... She overtook a cyclist and took forever to pull back in, oblivious to the queue behind her who were also trying to get past the bike! I followed her all the way from Brixworth to our estate so she's a neighbour! Grrr!

It was lovely to finally relax and have a peaceful evening!

Dubious purchases!

It's been another gorgeous day today with sunshine and blue skies. Mike and Abbie were already up when I came down this morning and we stood and chatted in the kitchen. Mike's cough was no better, and we both said that he really should use his inhaler as we believe he has seasonal asthma. He's so stubborn, though! They left mid-morning after I washed his laundry for him - I do like to see him have lovely clean clothes!

After they'd gone we pottered about and caught up with lots of jobs. Sophie now seems to take over the housework duties on a Sunday morning and makes the house look beautiful! 

At 2pm Sophie and I collected Mum and popped to Tesco so she could get some shopping. I don't need to take a test anymore to see her, but I took one anyway, just in case, and it was negative. Keith still feels quite rough with the aftermath of Covid and I'm stuffed up with a cough, but I think we've been lucky!

In Tesco, Mum bought some toiletries, and then we headed to Bosworth's garden centre for a cup of tea and cake. Sophie wasn't keen for some reason, but it was better than the other place in Burton Latimer! We sat and enjoyed hot drinks and cakes and then had a good mooch about, smelling all the scented candles and wax melts and watching a video for a "squidgy thing" that I ended up buying for £2.99. It had various uses, such as being used as an oven glove and getting rid of pet hairs and fluff!

I didn't buy any plants today as I'd rather wait until I can get some summer bedding in later in the Spring. There's still a chance of frosts, but hopefully no snow! We took Mum back and returned home via the scenic route, which was lovely. The countryside is looking so beautiful at the moment.

Back home it was time for Scrabble and a delicious beef dinner! It's Monday tomorrow, but we're looking at a short week. Hooray!

Planning ahead...

Today has been mostly spent doing very little, which I do feel guilty about!

Mike came in at 4am this morning, apparently... I didn't hear him come in but we gave him the front door key to make it easier for him! The new back door has two locks and I had visions of him forgetting to lock it after him!

He was in and out of the house all day, catching up with friends and mooching about looking for food to eat! Some things just don't change! It's been sunny and dry today, but there was a chilly wind that cooled everything down. Next week is set to be a little warmer, thank goodness!

We had the remaining pastries for breakfast and watched Saturday Morning Kitchen in its entirety, something we don't do very often. The actress Amanda Abbington was on the show to promote a new play at a theatre in Chichester called The Unfriend, and it sounded so good I booked tickets for Sophie and me to go in June. We now have quite a few things to look forward to in the next few months - another trip to London on the 20 April, going to the theatre in June, and tickets to see the Tower of London in bloom on the 9 July. Sophie is also going to Wimbledon again this year with Zain, plus they're going to a cricket match as well!

Keith went to see Sileby play in the afternoon and Sophie painted my nails for me, which was lovely. He texted me to say that hardly anyone had turned up to watch the game, and when it went to 1-5 he came home early! Perhaps the other fans had had a premonition that Sileby would lose!

Sophie and I had our usual game of Scrabble in the evening, accompanied by glasses of Aperol Spritz. We were both astonished to discover that the Aperol was only 11%... weaker than most wine! Next time I think we'll buy a bottle of Campari!

Keith cooked a delicious chicken curry for dinner and Mike joined us, so we sat in the conservatory which was a pleasant change. Now that the evenings are lighter and it's getting warmer, we will sit in there more often.

Abbie came to stay the night and Keith and I started watching Saving Private Ryan, but we were both too tired to see it all the way through!

A new eaterie!

I  had expected to feel tired this morning, because of our late night and early start today. However, I felt a lot better and managed to write out the shopping list before getting a shower! This helped Keith as he was going over to Aldi and Tesco later this morning to do our weekly shop.

I left both men in bed and went to work, where I had a pleasant shift with Denise. She had had covid at the same time as me and, was still feeling out of sorts as well. The phones were busy, but not terribly so, and I managed to get a lot of things done in between calls. I was very glad it was Friday, though, and I was looking forward to Wine Night with Sophie and not having to drive Keith to the pub, as he had decided not to go.

With our glasses of wine, we watched Stanley Tucci's new food show, Searching for Italy. It was bliss to see Italy in all its glory and hear the gorgeous language. If we can't travel easily at the moment, this is the next best thing!

At about 7pm we heard that a new fish and chip van had arrived on our estate. Hopefully, it will be coming every Friday and touring the surrounding villages, stopping on our estate for about half an hour. What a lovely idea! It will be great to try it next Friday when it's Good Friday and we always have fish and chips.

We had forgotten it was coming so tonight's dinner was baked potatoes and salad. Mike had already eaten his lasagne and had gone out with some friends, so it was just the three of us as usual. Bring on the weekend!