Swamped with emails!

I felt overwhelmed by the number of emails waiting for me today, and before my colleagues came in, I managed to finish the swim camps, as it was lovely and quiet. These have been done by the skin of my teeth... they go live on Sunday!

Once these were out of the way, I knuckled down and dealt with as many emails as I could. Some of them were simple to answer, while others were a bit more complex. I seem to be doing lots of password resets at the moment, as members have difficulty logging on to our online booking system. It's driving me mad! I have lost count of the times I've booked the cats onto activities as test members! They are very busy! In fact, Gomez and Mooney, Smudge (Sheila's moggy), and Sara's four cats all take part in various activities such as badminton, soft play sessions and even swim camps. What a talented lot of kitties they are!

At 2pm, Keith collected me and we returned home for a cup of tea and a lovely biscuit. I was horrified to read the newspaper and see a photo of the beach at Banyuls-sur-Mer, overshadowed by huge smoke from a big fire nearby. The fire covered an area near Perpignan, and it was close to the autoroute we travelled on just a few weeks ago.

Sophie was out for dinner with Laura tonight, and I sat and watched a couple of episodes of Ever Decreasing Circles while Keith cooked dinner. I chose a red wine to enjoy and didn't recognise the bottle at all. Where had it come from? It was delicious, which always seems to be the case when we can't remember where we got it from!

After dinner, Keith and I watched a documentary on France after the Second World War, and then I went upstairs with a very loving Mooney, who kept giving me cat kisses. Sophie was home earlier than normal, after I'd promised her a glass of wine and a catch-up before bed!

The return of Masterchef!

I was back at work for a second Wednesday and helping Sheila with the childcare payments. Before we started, I had a sneaky peek at the customer service emails and was horrified to see so many awaiting me tomorrow (with more to be added).

I toiled away for six hours and made good progress with the payments. We just need the bank statements now to reconcile some of the figures, but they won't be available for a couple of weeks. Good timing, as I'm not working next Wednesday!

From work, I went straight to the care home to see Mum and Dad, but it was a depressing meeting with my Mum making little sense and talking about a mysterious man who had been in their bedroom yesterday. When I asked the staff, nobody had been in, so she probably dreamed it. She did look a little better, though, and had had her hair done, but she looked very thin.

I drove home and spent the afternoon pootling about and doing the usual chores. Keith and I sat with a cup of tea and compiled the shopping list, but left the decision of which meals to have until Sophie came home!

We had another very simple supper tonight (tomato soup with garlic bread), and settled down to watch Masterchef at 8pm. It's finally back! I know that both Gregg and John haven't been on their best behaviour, but Sophie and I were glad to see it on television again and meet the new contestants, a couple of whom were very irritating!

We have started our list for 2025 and already have:

Cookery

A crumb

Asian or Ethnic background

Influenced by parents or grandparents

A crisp

Gochujang

Neurodiversity/mental health issues

Too much on the plate

Bring it on!

A bit of a tizzy!

Sophie stayed at home this morning, instead of going to the gym, and we sat and watched Fake or Fortune with a cup of coffee. I could have honestly sat there all day with a coffee and relaxed!

I had another busy day at work, but as three of my colleagues were answering the phones, I didn't have to jump in and help out. It did get a bit frantic first thing when the phone lines opened, but I had enough to do today, anyway!

It was a relief to leave at 4pm and head home. Keith had hoovered and the kitchen was lovely and clean, which was a pleasant and wonderful surprise! It's the little things that make all the difference!

Before dinner, we played cards, and this time it was my turn to thrash Keith and win almost every game... except the last when he had a washout! Dinner was simple and delicious tonight, and just before we were about to eat, I checked my emails to find one from Booking.com to say that our Berlin hotel, the Wall Street Park Plaza, had cancelled our reservation! They didn't say why, but it sent us into a bit of a tizzy!

We talked about the options over dinner and eventually decided to try somewhere new, a Novotel closer to the Nikolai Quarter. Sophie and I had walked past last year and we liked the look of the bar and restaurant. We reserved but will pay when we arrive on Christmas Day. We toyed with the idea of going back to the Grosser Kurfurst, but the bar will probably be closed, and it's always lovely to sit and have a cocktail before dinner!

Storm Floris

Sara is on holiday all this week, so I walked in to over 140 emails this morning! I have a busy week with a lot to do, and I put my head down and got on with it! Luckily, my back feels better, which is a relief! I concentrated on emails, but tomorrow I must start the fourth week of swim camps. I don't think I'll be the only one to be glad when the holidays are over!

Keith collected me from work, and we went home to tackle the usual chores before Sophie arrived home. It was lovely to sit and relax before dinner tonight and play cards, but Keith thrashed me! He won every game! He had made a delicious chicken casserole with dumplings. Storm Floris had failed to make an impact on our part of the country today. We had a brief spell of torrential rain, and it was fairly breezy, but that was it!

After dinner, we watched a new documentary with Bettany Hughes about the Seven Wonders of the World. She is so enthusiastic about everything and it made for great viewing!

Good news at last!

Sophie and I went for breakfast at the Courtyard Brasserie in Olney this morning, and both of us were ravenous! We noticed the Farmers' Market was taking place, so we parked on the main road and walked in.

People were seated outside, but the weather was looking a bit dodgy, and we took a table inside, just to be safe! Minutes after sitting down, the heavens opened! We ordered breakfasts - the full English for me and Eggs Royale for Sophie. I really fancied a good fry-up, and I wasn't disappointed with my plate of egg, bacon, sausage, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, hash brown and toast. All washed down with a big pot of tea! Delicious! Sophie also enjoyed her poached eggs and smoked salmon. What a lovely treat! We love this simple, unpretentious restaurant, and the food is always good.

After we'd eaten, we had another cup of tea and a mocha and chatted while others ordered and enjoyed their breakfasts. After paying the bill, we waddled off to look around the market and bought three slices of cake at an Austrian stall. The woman running it was from Vienna, so we had a great chat about Eurovision and the possibility of the contest coming from the city again. We also bought a wedge of cheese, picalilli and cheese biscuits.

Sophie found a gorgeous dress and a pair of trousers in the Willen Hospice shop, and another couple of dresses in the charity shop on the High Street. I received a phone call to say that my Mum was back at the care home, which was great news. 

Today has been muggy and I was astonished to see some people wearing thick jumpers and padded coats... madness! I felt hot just looking at them! We made our way over to Kettering to see Mum and stayed for half an hour. Mum looked relieved to be home, but still seemed confused. I just hope that being back in familiar surroundings will aid her recovery.

Back at home, Sophie prepared tonight's meal, a chicken, leek and pasta soup. I hoovered and tidied up, and when we were finished with our chores, we sat with Keith and enjoyed our slices of cake with a glass of Austrian white wine. Our cake, a vanilla and walnut combination, was delicious, and Keith enjoyed his apple one with cream.

I felt shattered after eating the cake and managed a lovely nap. It will make up for the terrible nights I've been having with my painful back! I then played Scrabble with Sophie and beat her by fifty points. Yippeee! It doesn't happen often!

Sophie's soup was gorgeous and very comforting. They say that chicken soup is good for the soul, and I can heartily endorse that!

We take a gamble...

I had a better night's sleep, but was still achy this morning when I got up at just past 6am. Way too early! I sat and watched a recorded programme of Human, which was very interesting, but I fell asleep again, much to Keith's amusement!

Sophie and I were going to go to Olney today, but we postponed the outing as Mum was still in hospital. I knew that the news I received on Thursday was too good to be true. We mooched about, feeling a bit miserable, but cheered ourselves up by booking our overnight stays in Portsmouth and France for next June.

Even the weather was dreary outside today, and at 1pm we left to pop to Mawsley shop and then the hospital. I bought Mum more drinks, some chocolate, and a box of Celebrations for the daughters of the woman next to Mum, who had been keeping an eye on her, as a gesture of thanks.

We parked easily and had a quick coffee before making our way up to the ward. Today, my Mum looked the worst I have ever seen her, with a vacant expression in her eyes and a rambling way of talking. She wasn't on a drip, but she looked like she'd gone downhill again. She made no sense at all, and Sophie went to find a nurse who said she had a urine infection but could go back to the care home tomorrow, which was good news at least.

Sophie found the whole experience deeply upsetting, so we left and went home. She was upset by how vacant my Mum was, but I said that was down to the infection, and with antibiotics, she should be better. My Mum's problem is her lack of eating and drinking, which has caused problems in the past.

We went home and relaxed in the kitchen with Keith. Sophie made us a delicious banana-flavoured cocktail with Rum and lemonade, and then looked at houses for next April, which will be her 30th birthday. After a lot of consideration and a message to the owner, we booked an Airbnb in Wimereux. Her birthday falls on Easter Sunday next year, so we'll need to get the shuttle booked quickly, as it will be the beginning of the Easter holidays.

We also, amazingly, took a gamble and reserved a room at a hotel in Vienna for May, to see the Eurovision Song Contest. We have no idea whether it will be Vienna that hosts the contest, or even the date, but we've booked anyway and can cancel without penalty. Phew! We should know more details by next weekend!

Dinner tonight was chicken burgers and potato wedges served with salad, and we settled down afterwards to watch a new crime thriller set in the South Tyrol area of Italy, called Pale Mountains, on Channel 4. However, half an hour in, none of us were enjoying it, and so we switched it off. It certainly wasn't in the same league as The Shadow!

In pain...

I had a bad night's sleep as my back is hurting at the moment... I really don't need this! Sophie was so concerned about me being in pain that she stayed at home and didn't go to the gym. She was very caring and helpful, bless her! What would I do without her?

After a couple of painkillers, my back felt better and I took myself off to work where I had a busy shift. I listened out for a message from the care home, but nobody called, so by the evening, I came to the conclusion that Mum was still in hospital.

It was a relief to get home tonight and relax. Keith went to the pub while Sophie and I opened a bottle of Spanish rosé (a local one to Emporda, from the holiday), and we watched a new BBC programme called Destination X, which we thoroughly enjoyed, especially as we guessed the first two destinations! It was like a cross between The Traitors and Race Across The World! And, we have Masterchef to look forward to next week!