We can dream!

Well, I spoke too soon yesterday! Today has been a frustrating day and I estimate the majority of our phone calls were from people who had trouble understanding what I was saying. There were only two of us answering calls as well, so we were busier, even though there were a few quiet moments.

I ploughed my way through the first week's swimming crash courses and did a load of invoices and orders, as well as taking calls. By the end of the day, I felt drained, as it was warm and sultry. I headed home, looking forward to my day off tomorrow!

Sophie and I cooked a delicious pasta carbonara tonight and enjoyed a glass of white wine with it. It's been ages since we cooked this meal and it went down very well! Keith watched television upstairs and Sophie and I explored Discovery+ a bit more, finding a programme we used to enjoy about lottery winners choosing their dream home. It was an hour of pure escapism!

A pleasant Monday!

Today has actually been a lovely and very pleasant day at work. and I don't say that very often! We had friendly people on the phone and there were no complicated queries to resolve. It was also a lot quieter as Jo was away and Tracie covered. Tracie has a lovely, soft voice so that was a bonus!

Nicola came back to work today after being off for three months with heart problems. She'd had open-heart surgery and delighted in showing us her scar! Only Nicola could do that! It was good to see her back and her laughter and voice echoed around the office!

I walked out with Kathy and we both agreed that today had been exceptional - why was it such a surprise?

I popped into the post office on the way home and sent off a parcel. We've had a couple of good sales this week so the Paypal account is looking healthy!

A relaxing Sunday!

We've spent another day pootling about and relaxing at home. For once, it was beautifully quiet, just how it used to be, which was wonderful! 

Mike had stayed out last night and Keith and I went to pick him up from Brixworth this morning. He said he was shattered from seeing his friends last night, and after a quick bite and a coffee, retreated to his room.

Sophie went to have lunch with Laura and Daisy at 1pm and Keith and Mike went to the pub (he had recovered a bit and the lure of beer was too much), so I had an hour to myself. Sitting at the island in the kitchen and reading the Sunday papers was utter bliss! There was not a sound to be heard, except the birds in the garden! 

I collected the boys from the pub and spent the rest of the afternoon doing very little. The next week is set to be warmer with the hottest day on Friday when temperatures get up to the 30s. Phew!

Sophie arrived home with salad ingredients and pressies from Daisy, and we played Scrabble twice. She beat me both times! Mike had asked if Abbie could come for dinner, which was great. and we enjoyed cold meats, salad and new potatoes, a perfect meal for the warm weather! It was lovely to sit and enjoy Mike and Abbie's company, and after eating we looked at old videos of the children when they were teenagers! Some of them were hilarious!

Niggling irritations!

Mike texted me this morning to say he was on his way to Northampton but didn't mention that he was going to be coming to the house. Keith, Sophie and I went to Jones's at midday as we needed some essentials, and this in itself was unusual as Keith rarely comes anywhere with us on a Saturday afternoon! You can tell the football season is over!

Mike texted me again to say he was at home, so we returned as quickly as we could to see him. He and Abbie were up this weekend for Abbie's grandfather's funeral on Monday, and Mike said he was going out with friends for a drink later. It was great to see him and catch up with what he'd been up to since he last visited.

The afternoon was spent doing very little, and I had a look at Airbnb houses again. With all the travel chaos at the moment, we are reluctant to book anything, but I feel like we could all do with a couple of weeks away. We have had the banging of the ball almost constantly today, from when we returned home at about 2pm, to 8pm this evening. As it's a noise I find very irritating, it means that we have to have the windows and doors closed, not a great idea when it's warm like it's been today! I am all for children playing out and having fun, but this seems to be relentless.

And talking of irritations, the cat has become very annoying lately. We put food down for him but he seems to think he should be eating what we have, so ignores any type of cat food. It's become so bad we've had to ban him from being in the house when we have dinner. He is like a crack addict with anything dairy - milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt and especially cream. We don't eat dessert very often, but whenever we venture into the kitchen at night, he thinks we're going to get something for pudding and literally screams at us. 

He is 16, bless him, so his behaviour may have something to do with his age, but it's very trying, especially for Keith who has him all day at home. Monty follows him around like a dog and won't settle until Keith sits with him on the sofa!

Sophie and I played two games of Scrabble in the evening and enjoyed an "Aperini" Spritz and a glass of Rose. We won a game each and Keith barbecued, setting it up on the driveway again even though the weather was lovely! Towards the end of cooking the gas ran out... let's hope there's not a shortage like last year!

Our viewing choice this evening was a good film starring Michelle Pfeiffer called The Deep End of the Ocean, about a family where the three-year-old son goes missing. It was the perfect choice for a Saturday evening - enjoyable and easy-going!

Mike came home halfway through the evening and said he was going straight back out again to have a drink with friends in Brixworth... what a great social life!

Phew! A better Friday!

Memories of the horrible Friday we experienced last week haunted me this morning, but today wasn't as bad as I feared thank goodness! We were pretty busy but nothing like last week!

At 4pm it was bliss to go home and look forward to two days off. Keith didn't go to the pub and made a chicken curry. We saw the fish and chip van and they were very early this week. They usually park up at about 7.15pm but they were an hour earlier than usual this evening. We now have another fish and chip service coming to Walgrave every other Tuesday evening, and you can choose to enjoy your meal in the village hall! Once we had nothing, just the odd delivery from a local takeaway, now we seem to be inundated with food choices!

Sophie and I started watching a new series of 90 Day Fiance, and this one seemed to have been filmed at the beginning of the pandemic. In future, we will be able to date programmes accurately if anyone is seen wearing masks or standing a good distance away from each other!

Money, money, money!

I arrived at work at the same time as Sara this morning, and she told me she'd spoken to a couple of managers about our wages and although nothing could be done immediately, they both agreed that we were worth a bit more, so watch this space!

I did the daily cash up today and called Sheila over a couple of times when I had queries. I did most of it by myself, though, so I'm feeling a bit happier about this new job. I shall probably only do it when Sheila's away so this means we can't take annual leave together!

I sped off at 2pm and collected Mum from the care home. We then returned to my house and enjoyed a cup of tea and a slice of cake. We sorted out some of the banking and printed off statements so she could take them back and show Dad.

Keith came with us when we took Mum back and she called into the Co-op to buy a bottle of wine for Dad. He had asked for something to drink but she didn't know what! I think it's time we took him out to do some shopping as well!

A little shopping trip.

Keith and I decided to go to Ikea this morning, to buy some things for the house, and to have lunch. We set off at 10.30am and managed to catch the second contestant on Ken Bruce's Popmaster! It's been so long since we've done that!

We took the A508 to Milton Keynes and became embroiled in heavy traffic at Junction 15 of the M1. They're constructing a rail terminal there and the roadworks were horrendous. We decided not to go that way home!

When we arrived, Ikea was very quiet and we had lunch first. As I'm an Ikea Family member we had free coffee which is always a bonus! Lunch came to £8 which was a bargain!

After we'd eaten we had a look around and I bought some small kitchen utensils as well as spare bedding. I wanted some pretty containers for the cleaning products in the laundry room but didn't see any I liked. In fact, both of us were a bit disappointed today. Nothing really caught our eye and an office chair we saw seemed very expensive.

We set off for home and we chose the M1, which was extremely busy. There were sections when I thought the road was dangerous, to be honest. They're upgrading this section to a "smart" motorway and there was no hard shoulder at all. On some stretches, there was a concrete barrier alongside lane 1, so heaven knows what you'd do if your car broke down. I  hated every minute we spent on the road.

To make things worse, as we neared Junction 15 I passed a van and indicated to pull in but the horrible driver sped up and wouldn't let me in! The van had the name of the company on it - Adbly Construction - and I was furious! I hadn't tried to cut him up or anything,  but I had to brake and slot in behind him. When we eventually got home (the traffic carried on being heavy) I emailed the company to let them know! I am being Mrs Angry!

The rest of the day was spent pootling about and catching up with jobs. We had heavy showers of rain in the afternoon and dramatic skies. It's officially summer now, but the weather doesn't seem to realise that!