A mercy dash!

We had a very relaxed start to the day and watched Saturday Kitchen Live from a week ago, when Bob Mortimer was the guest of the week. We also witnessed the atrocious end to yesterday's show when James Acaster "lost his temper" over Food Heaven, and acted like a spoiled toddler, hitting the table decoration, a Polar Bear decoration, and a Christmas Tree. We watched the aftermath, and everyone seemed highly embarrassed by his childish actions.

I then went and put a colour on my hair while Sophie and Keith prepared tonight's dinner, a gammon joint served with creamed cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli cheese and roast potatoes. The smells coming from the kitchen were delicious!

Back downstairs, I was relaxing and having a bite to eat when my phone rang, and it was Mike asking if we'd pick him and Abbi up from Bletchley train station as the trains from London were stopping there, unexpectedly. They were getting in at 1.30pm, in just over half an hour's time! Sophie said she would come with me, so we hurriedly changed and set off in the pouring rain.

The M1 was busy, and the spray being thrown up from the vehicles using the motorway made driving difficult. It was a relief to pull off at Junction 15 and follow the signs to the station. Mike and Abbi were waiting outside when we arrived and were very grateful we'd driven to collect them. They'd been to a friend's birthday party in London and hadn't realised there was a problem with the trains until they got on in the capital.

I asked Sophie to take me home via the A5 and the A508, and it seemed a lot quicker getting back! We dropped them at Abbi's Mum's house and popped into McDonald's so Sophie could have something to eat. 

Back home, we were straight back out again to the care home to collect Dad's clothes and shoes. We packed them into two suitcases and a box, sat with Mum for a while and then went home. Plans to play Scrabble tonight were put on hold, and Sophie made us both a small vodka and tonic.

Our dinner tonight was utterly delicious, but it was hard work! Luckily, Sophie had prepared the cabbage and broccoli and cauliflower earlier, and just had to heat them up. We simmered the ham with cloves, onions, celery and carrots and then brushed over a marinade and roasted the joint in the oven. It was lovely to sit and read the weekend's papers while the smells wafted about us!

The gammon was moist, juicy and sweet, and the vegetable dishes were gorgeous. Sophie can certainly make them again, perhaps when we have our Christmas meal on New Year's Day!

A busy Saturday

Sophie woke me at about 8.15am this morning as she was going to the gym for a run. I had a relaxed start to the day with a coffee, and before I knew it, Sophie was home.

She was spending the day with her friends Laura and Daisy, going to the Christmas Market at Lamport Hall, and then having lunch at The Tollemache Arms in Harrington. Soon after Laura picked her up, Keith and I drove over to Kettering to pick up the plane from the florist shop in Kettering, and then we called to see Mum, who was sounding very confused when I spoke to her earlier. 

Luckily, I was able to see Anna, one of the senior carers, who said she would make sure the clothes I bought for the funeral fitted her, and we arranged for the other room to be opened so I could sort out Dad's clothes tomorrow. I sat with Mum for a little while, and then Keith and I drove to Great Houghton to visit The White Hart, where we'd booked a table for a meal with Mike next Wednesday.

The pub was all higgledy-piggedly, with steps everywhere, but looked lovely and cosy and was decorated with Christmas trees and tinsel. It was a traditional pub, and after we'd ordered a drink, we told the young girl behind the bar that we wanted to pay a deposit for next week and gave our orders.

We paid a deposit of £40, gave our orders for the meal, and relaxed with a drink for half an hour. Reluctantly, we tore ourselves away and headed home, calling into Waitrose on the way, where I bought Sophie a bottle of Cava for when the girls called around after their meal. 

Back home, I had some lunch, hoovered and tidied up and wrote my blog, with Mooney curled up on a barstool next to me, bless him! He loves being close, and the horrible weather we're having lately definitely doesn't suit him!

Sophie, Daisy and Laura arrived back at about 5pm, and Sophie made cocktails with the Cava I'd bought. She added cranberry juice and triple sec, and the drink was delicious! She then did Tarot card readings with the girls while I sat in the cosy, warm living room with Keith and read. I might have dozed off at some point!

The girls left at 7.30pm, and we had a simple supper of paté, crackers and salad. After we'd eaten, we couldn't decide what to watch, so Sophie went upstairs to watch her new obsession, Homeland, while Keith and I started watching the last series of Shetland again. I have a feeling we never watched the end!

More social antics!

Sophie and I watched most of Race Across the World this morning with a coffee, so that was a good start to the last day of the working week. I had a very busy shift and managed to finish the moan report and answer all the emails, as well as deal with Bob, our new AI chatbot, who helps customers with membership and cancellation queries. He directs any complicated queries to us, and needs reminding to send them through!

Georgie came in to try and turn our radiator down, as yesterday, one of our maintenance team had turned it right up, so the office was sweltering. Everyone who came into the office mentioned how warm it was, so it wasn't just me! Georgie took a pair of pliers and turned the radiator off, so it was a lot cooler, thank goodness! This won't be a problem soon, as we are moving to our new office on the 17th of December...

At 4pm, I drove home in the pouring rain and relaxed ahead of our evening out to the pub with the good ladies of our estate. Sophie and I had showers, and Keith braved the awful elements to go to the pub to see John. He then returned home and gave us a lift to the pub in the village.

The place was heaving, so we ordered a bottle of Chenin Blanc and disappeared upstairs to the room where a large table had been set up for our festive meal. Lynn came in and grabbed the seat opposite us, which we were pleased about as she's the stalwart of our community and always interesting to talk to. Sharon, who lives in the house across the red brick drive, also sat opposite us, so we were mightily pleased!

Gradually the room filled up with the ladies who live on our estate and the noise level increased! We were served starters - Sophie had chosen paté while I opted for the goat's cheese and beetroot tart. Our main courses of turkey and all the trimmings were delicious, and the meat was moist and juicy. Sharon managed to sneak her Brussels sprouts onto our plates as she hates them!

The talk never stopped, and at times the level of noise was deafening! We didn't swap seats like we did last year, but those who had taken part in the Secret Santa exchanged gifts. Our desserts were as delicious as the rest of the meal, and we were well and truly stuffed!

Keith picked us up at 10.30pm, and we gave Sharon a lift home. It had been a lovely, very sociable evening, and a great end to a busy week!

Totally unprepared...

Sophie and I were supposed to have had another dentist appointment this morning, but I cancelled it. I have too much to do at work, and I couldn't lose any more hours. I spent all of my shift dealing with emails and rejoined Keith at 2pm to go home.

I'd received a call from the registry office that my appointment at 4pm had been brought forward to 3.30pm, so we barely had time to get the things together that I needed to take with me when we arrived home. I knew I had to have two forms of ID and pension details for my Dad, so I made sure I had them.

We set off for Kettering in heavy rain and went to the building where I thought we needed to be. However, the email I'd received said something about the office being closed, so I checked the address, and it was another building entirely, near Tesco's in Kettering...

We drove there in abysmally heavy traffic and dashed into reception. The lovely woman behind the desk said we were in the wrong place, but she would call ahead and tell them we were on our way. The correct place? The building we had just left!

By now, I was stressed out, and the traffic was awful. We crawled back into Kettering, parked and ran down to the main council building, where we stood in a queue behind a rambling man who was making no sense, much to the annoyance of the receptionist there! Luckily, the security guard offered to show us the correct building, and we sat in the waiting room until we were called.

The registrar was lovely and kind, and I apologised for being fifteen minutes late. She ran through all the details and printed out six copies for me. She also advised me of the Tell Us Once service, where you can inform all the relevant authorities of a death.

We sloshed our way back to the car and drove the short distance to the florist's to see if we could collect Dad's plane, but they were closed. It just about summed up our day! Driving home was horrible, with the darkness and the unremitting rain. I didn't have the heart (or the time) to go and see Mum, so we just went back, and I did the usual evening chores before Sophie arrived home.

Keith had made his North-East dish of Pan Haggerty for dinner, and after we'd eaten, we watched Shetland. It's getting good, and I have a feeling I know who the murderer is!

A very sociable day!

Weather-wise, it's been a gorgeous day today, with crisp blue skies and plenty of sunshine. I had arranged to see my friend, Sue, this morning as she was visiting from Cornwall, where she had moved to just over a year ago.  

She came in all cold from having a walk with her dogs, Archie and Bailey, and I made her a mug of tea. It was lovely to sit, munch on posh Christmas biscuits, and have a good catch-up! She told me about her interesting job and said she loved living in Cornwall. The winter was especially lovely when all the tourists had gone home!

She stayed until lunchtime, and then it was time for the celebrant to arrive. I had been assigned a woman called Kerri, who was a Humanist celebrant, so she wasn't religious at all. She declined tea and coffee, and she made a start on taking notes about my Dad and the sort of person he was. I tried hard not to get emotional when we were talking, but it was quite difficult. To be honest, I wasn't really keen on her as she didn't seem kind and sympathetic, which is what I'd imagined her to be like. She asked some probing questions, and I felt like I was in therapy at one point! I hadn't realised she would be writing the eulogy as I had wanted to do it myself, but it will save me one job!

I had put off registering my Dad's death until tomorrow afternoon, as I was conscious that we didn't have a lot of time today, so I was relieved about that. When Kerri left, after regaling me with her Florida holiday plans with her extended family, I was able to catch up with the blog and relax for a little while. 

At 2pm, I drove to Tesco and picked out a pair of black trousers for Mum and a pretty grey, woollen jumper with pearls radiating from the neckline. I hoped that they would fit and she would wear them to the funeral. I also bought "Thank You" cards for the staff at the care home and Sophie's colleagues who had given us chocolates and wine.

I picked out a sandwich to eat at the care home as I realised I hadn't eaten since having a couple of biscuits with Sue this morning! I drove through Kettering, and the traffic was horrendous as I'd come up against the school run. When I arrived, my Mum was asleep, and she looked awful. She is so thin now, and she seemed very confused when she woke up. Worryingly, she asked where my Dad was and said she had seen him standing in the room a little while ago, which made shivers run up and down my spine. I suspect she has another urine infection, and before I left, I asked one of the carers if they could take a sample to see. It was a thoroughly depressing visit, if I'm honest, and she was very changed from when Sophie and I had seen her last week. 

I drove home and wished I could take photos of the trees outlined against the beautiful winter sky. I had barely time to change, spritz some perfume on, and leave again, this time to see my work colleagues at (another) Sue's house, where we were all meeting to have a relaxed evening.

I'd bought two bottles of Fever Tree raspberry and rhubarb tonic in Tesco to drink tonight, along with two boxes of little cakes. At work, Sue has been steadily feeding me (and everyone else), so I wanted to give her a little treat to thank her for her generosity. She isn't working with me now until January (if at all), and I will miss her as she's so lovely and kind.

I arrived at the same time as Sara and Nicola, and we went into Sue's house to see Sheila there, as well as two other women who work closely with us. Sue's dog, Willow, a huge and bouncy chocolate Labrador, was having the time of her life, her tail wagging furiously. She never calmed down all night!

We all sat in Sue's "pub" before it was time to help ourselves to her pasta, salad and garlic bread. It was lovely to sit and relax and chat, mostly about work and what's happening over the coming months.

I left at 7.30pm and trundled home, where I sat with Keith and Sophie and sampled two of my whiskies from the Advent Calendar that Keith had bought for me again this year. I will list the selections separately!

Normal service resumes

We were back to normal this morning, with Sophie off to the gym, and me starting the day with a coffee and the news on BBC1.

Keith came with me in the car as he was going shopping, and I had a better day at work, although I was busy with emails. I'm going to have to try and finish the moan report this week, as that is now overdue, but I'm sure people will understand!

At 4pm, I went home and wrote a list of things I need to do tomorrow. It's growing ever longer! It was good to sit and read the paper and chat this evening, and Sophie cooked again, preparing chicken burgers with roasted new potatoes and salad.

After we'd eaten, Keith watched Newcastle v Spurs, and it didn't start until 8.15pm! I pitied the poor Spurs supporters who had to travel back down to London when the match finished at 10pm!

Early morning torture...

Sophie and I had a hygienist appointment at the dentist this morning, and I was dreading it after our visit in June! It was pouring with rain again, and we had to find a space on the residential street a short walk from the surgery.  

Sophie was seen first, and I could see her twisting her hands tightly as the hygienist prodded and probed in her mouth. The sound of the vacuum machine is particularly horrible! However, afterwards, she said it wasn't as bad as last time, and it didn't take long, thank goodness! 

I explained how sensitive my teeth are since the last visit, so the hygienist put some numbing gel on my gums. She told me not to swallow as my throat would go numb, and I almost freaked out! It wasn't too bad at all, except for one bit where I felt like I had multiple hands and tubes in my mouth!

I was hugely relieved when it was all over, and we could escape! We sloshed our way to Northampton, and I arrived at work at about 9.40am. I was staying until 5pm when Sophie would collect me on her way home from work.

When I walked into the office, I was amazed to see that the wall divider behind my desk had been removed and all the notices had been scattered on my desk. My computer mouse was missing, and my phone list was gone. I wasn't too happy, to be honest! I'd only missed two days, but it felt a lot longer!

Everyone was sympathetic, and I knuckled down and tried to make headway with all the things I needed to do. Kathy was clearly unwell and went home at lunchtime, leaving me to answer the phones with Angela for an hour until Shirley came in to take over. She wasn't feeling too good either, and was suffering with stomach pains... we're dropping like flies!

I felt a little overwhelmed with all the things I had to do, and I was glad of the extra hour once everyone had gone home. Our MD had arrived in the early afternoon, and when I'd popped to the loo, Sara told him about Dad. When the office was empty, we had a chat about our respective parents, so that was lovely, and he was very sympathetic.

Sophie collected me at 5.15pm, and we trundled home in the dark. I checked my emails and found a message from the funeral directors with a link to a tribute page for my Dad. I was feeling overwhelmed again and said I would sort everything out on Wednesday when I'm not at work. The celebrant is also coming to see me on Wednesday, and I've made an appointment to register the death.

Deciding that was enough about the funeral, I played cards with Keith, and Sophie and I enjoyed the rest of a bottle of wine. She cooked a delicious beef stroganoff for dinner, and after we'd eaten, we watched the rest of Groundhog Day. 

I went to bed hoping that tomorrow wouldn't be as traumatic!