A quiet Monday

Sara had taken today off so I was kept busy with emails and the start of the moan report. We had a rush of calls first thing, but it's definitely quieter than the previous school holidays. In the past, I remember lots of calls waiting as people rang up to book swimming sessions but these have all stopped. It's amazing what a difference it makes!

Not a lot of note has happened today. I did some housework when I returned home which kept me busy, and the house looked lovely when Sophie arrived back from work. 

Dinner tonight was OK, but the bubble and squeak was a bit gloopy... Keith had added mashed potato to the mix which is never a good idea as it turns to mush. We are still having difficulty choosing meals that we all like, and I will be glad when we go on holiday and eat out!

After dinner, Keith and I watched the last two episodes of TraumaZone, with some upsetting scenes (the warnings, for once, were justified). It was incredibly sad seeing Russian mothers searching for their sons who had been fighting in Chechnya, and I just thought about Mikey and how terrible it must be to not know what happened to your child. 

Sophie started watching the programme with us, but soon fled upstairs. I didn't blame her!

A sociable day!

Today was supposed to have been almost as bad, weatherwise, as yesterday, but we got away with it, enjoying blue skies, sunshine, and no rain. I pootled about all morning, catching up with jobs and scanning some photos onto the computer. I'd wanted to try and tidy up the garage but gave up, leaving it for a day when I hadn't got to go anywhere. I just wasn't in the mood to go to the tip with all the rubbish!

Sophie went out for lunch with Daisy and Laura to Farndon Fields, and at 2pm, I went to the care home to see Mum and Dad. I bought myself a sandwich in the Co-op as I hadn't had time for lunch. Mum was a bit down today so it wasn't the most cheering of meetings, and I left at 3.30pm to be home at the same time as Sophie.

Vikesh came over to see her and they went to the pub for a drink. The weather said it was going to rain as they set off, so they drove there but we didn't have a drop, just some dark clouds. While they were gone I sat and read all the newspapers and was sitting in exactly the same position when they got back. It was bliss to have a quiet hour and a good read.

Sophie and I played Scrabble and I thrashed my daughter even though she had Vikesh to help her. I used all my tiles on my very first word which definitely gave me a head start! Vikesh kept trying to come up with words that didn't exist, which was hilarious! We drank a beautiful red wine called Pepper Box and it went very well with dinner tonight - beef casserole with a crispy potato topping and lots of vegetables.

There was a lot left over so we've kept it for dinner again tomorrow night, served with bubble and squeak!

Stormy Saturday

We've experienced another wet and windy Saturday, and again, I felt sorry for anyone organising outdoor activities today, as the weather has been truly awful.

I'd booked a table at Teapots in Olney for lunch and Sophie and I were looking forward to having a look in the shops and having something to eat. We sloshed over to Olney in heavy rain and winds and managed to just about get parked in the car park in the middle of the town.

We visited a charity shop overlooking the marketplace first and Sophie found some lovely clothes. I was on the lookout for a blender (almost impossible) and a pretty pot for our Basil plant.

We walked up to another two shops where Sophie bought more clothes - she now had a haul of a pretty pink lacy dress, a red polka-dot top and a gorgeous 100% silk blouse that will look fabulous with white trousers on holiday.

It was almost 1pm so we splashed our way back to Teapots and took a table right at the back of the small teashop. Sophie ordered a coronation chicken sandwich, while I opted for a cheese and onion toastie. I was disappointed with my toastie as the bread was very thin and I had been expecting something a little more substantial for almost £7.

We finished with a pot of tea and a slice of rhubarb and almond cake, but this was a little dry and crumbly. Hmmm! Maybe next time we visit we'll look at going somewhere different, which is a shame as the little teashop is so friendly. The bill came to £28 for the two of us, so certainly not cheap!

 

Selection of cakes

We visited two more shops before leaving and driving home. The rain had stopped briefly but on the drive back it started again. It was also misty and grey. What an absolutely horrible day!

Back home it was time to relax and I sat and watched the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships coming from Fort William in Scotland. The riders were taking turns to speed down a mountain like bats out of hell and, predictably, some fell off. It was riveting! It was like skiing without skis or snow! The rain was pouring down there as well but that's not surprising for Scotland!

Sophie and I played Scrabble in the evening and enjoyed a whiskey and red Vermouth cocktail with some posh crisps and a hummus dip. Sophie had put little tealights in the glasses liberated from the old wax candles and they looked really pretty.

We had Keith's chicken curry for dinner a bit later than normal and afterwards settled down to watch another scary, new drama called Wolf. After an hour we looked at each other and all wondered the same thing... what on earth was it all about?!

Scared silly!

Sophie was going to Woodhill prison today for a meeting with a couple of the staff there, and I was not looking forward to her going, to be honest! She set off at 8am, and I did admire her for going alone and meeting the staff there. She's only ever gone with colleagues before so I was very proud of her!

My shift at work passed quickly as I dealt with the emails, put some new films on up until the end of August and checked the next week's children's activities. At just before 4pm I had to change some of the sessions, which annoyed me hugely, as I should have been informed much earlier. Sara also had to stay behind to change the website, so she wasn't happy either!

When Sophie arrived home (she'd been back at work in the afternoon) we opened a new bottle of wine (a Chardonnay) and settled down with some nibbles to watch the Netflix documentary, The Night Stalker, which was suitably scary! We watched it after dinner as well, and we were on our own again as Keith had gone to bed! We certainly made sure that all the windows and doors were closed!

Creepy crawlies!

My shift passed very quickly today as I had so much to do. I had some difficult emails to write, telling people things they probably didn't want to hear after requests they'd made. We get the odd email saying that they thought a membership had been cancelled but it was still live, and generally, they want a refund. Sometimes, this can have been going on for years, so we have to investigate and see who was at fault. What I can't understand is why people don't notice? Don't they check their bank statements?

At 2pm, I sped home and took advantage of Sophie's absence by re-using several old, spent candles, and making them into a new one. Sophie gets annoyed when I refuse to throw out our old glass candles, so I've resorted to hiding them from her! I had a stash in the living room behind a little ornamental chest of drawers, so Keith and I put the glasses into a pan of gently simmering water to melt the remaining wax, I then removed the wicks and we put the molten liquid into a pot to heat up a bit more. After cleaning out the glasses, I just had enough wax to make one candle! The old glasses were now lovely and clean, and we can either use them for new candles using some wax pellets I already have, or we can use them as holders for tea lights (or even drink out of them!). They would also be perfect for chocolate mousses!

Sophie arrived home and had a good chuckle when she saw what we'd done, but I was proud of our recycling afternoon! Once the wax hardens, we'll light it!

After dinner, we watched The Sixth Commandment again, and Sophie discovered that Ben Field (the murderer) is in Woodhill prison, where she is going tomorrow! 

Before bed, we had to catch and release two spiders - a huge one had been lurking in the cloakroom for a couple of days but had ventured into the hallway. I asked Sophie to deal with it and she just about managed to get a pint glass over it, it was so big! The other was directly above my head in the bedroom but was a bit smaller, thank goodness. Both are now enjoying the cooler temperatures... outside!

A rude awakening...

We had a power cut first thing this morning, just after Sophie left for the gym, and it triggered Richard and Michelle's burglar alarm which started shrieking. There was no point trying to get back to sleep, and when the alarm stopped and nothing came back on in the bedroom, I knew our electrical switches had tripped again. I went downstairs and balanced on our little step ladder to flick one of them back on, and Keith woke up. What a start to the day!

It was definitely time for a coffee, and I sat and watched George Clark's Old House New Home. A couple had bought an enormous house and had completely gutted it to start again. When they'd finished it did look gorgeous! When Sophie arrived home, she showered and had her breakfast in the conservatory, all ready to start work.

I grappled with some financial jobs, and mid-morning, Keith and I went to book my car in for its MOT, and the VW in for a pre-holiday service. We then popped into a very busy Aldi and bought dinner for tonight, before sloshing home in the awful, drizzly, grey weather. Is it really August, or November?

Lunch for Keith and me was a pack of two vegetable kebabs which had a very strange, almost chemical taste! Hmmm! I'm not sure we'll buy them again! They did nothing to satisfy our hunger so we both had a beef and tomato bap afterwards! I blame this chilly, horrible weather for our appetites!

The afternoon was spent pootling about and doing exciting jobs such as tidying up the airing cupboard and sorting out all the towels and bed linen we keep there. It was in a huge mess and at least now I know what we've got and what we don't need!

Sophie went to the pub with Vikesh in the evening for a meal and they stayed for a little while for the monthly quiz. I went and had a soak in the bath which was lovely and perfect for a nasty evening!

A regular Tuesday!

We had our young newbie working with us today and she did very well, bless her. She was sitting next to Sheila who was able to help her with any queries.

The pattern of phone calls has changed in the last couple of days with no intense rush first thing, but we're having an almost constant "drip, drip" of queries throughout the shift. I was glad I wasn't answering calls! I wouldn't have achieved anything!

I felt a bit weary when I got home and I was glad I was off tomorrow. Sophie cooked fajitas for dinner and we watched a new drama after we'd eaten called The Sixth Commandment, starring a much slimmed-down Timothy Spall. It was gripping!