As the last few weekends have been very busy Keith and I decided that today we would do very little, but we still had to go and do our food shopping in Tesco after dropping Sophie off at work.
I was dreading it but actually it was less busy than I expected and we sailed around, just the two of us, as we'd left Mikey at home.
The weather today was grey and overcast, perfect for researching my family tree and staying inside in the warm as it was chilly as well. The heatwave of last week was definitely over!
Saturday, 31 March 2012
Friday, 30 March 2012
Fuel panic
Another theme that has dominated this week is the panic buying of fuel that has erupted after the tanker drivers here in the UK talked about going on strike. Unfortunately the Government made things worse by encouraging people to stock up on fuel with the result that every garage I've passed has long lines of people trying to buy fuel for their cars!
I've got just under half a tank in my car but as I'm planning to go to Milton Keynes on Sunday to do some shopping for Sophie's birthday, I'm going to need to get some soon, but I hate the thought of being in a long line of cars waiting to get at the pumps!
Someone posted a photo on Facebook today which summed up the situation pretty well. It shows a man holding a placard with the words:
"Severe shortage of common sense...Don't panic, receive your FREE complimentary slap on the head today!"
Hmmm...not sure now if I want to go and fill up even though I will need to either tomorrow or Sunday...I don't want a slap on the head!
I've got just under half a tank in my car but as I'm planning to go to Milton Keynes on Sunday to do some shopping for Sophie's birthday, I'm going to need to get some soon, but I hate the thought of being in a long line of cars waiting to get at the pumps!
Someone posted a photo on Facebook today which summed up the situation pretty well. It shows a man holding a placard with the words:
"Severe shortage of common sense...Don't panic, receive your FREE complimentary slap on the head today!"
Hmmm...not sure now if I want to go and fill up even though I will need to either tomorrow or Sunday...I don't want a slap on the head!
Oh dear!
I have fallen behind badly with this week's blog, simply because not a lot has happened and it was very difficult trying to make the blog interesting enough to read! I'm going to have to do some more fascinating things in my life!
This week has been dominated by the weather. We've had unseasonably high temperatures during the day despite very chilly mornings when there's been a frost. Afternoon averages have reached just over 20 degrees centigrade and we've had unbroken sunshine now for almost two weeks.
Understandably this has resulted in being very quiet at work, and I think this week has been one of our worst weeks ever for business. Every afternoon we've been empty so on Wednesday we closed at 3pm, on Thursday we closed at 4.30pm but today (Friday) we're much busier as we have several groups in, including two birthday parties.
Today the weather has been chillier and cloudy and it's amazing what a difference it makes. The children break up from school today for two weeks and I hear the weather forecast is set to be colder and cloudier, with even snow forecast for some parts of the UK!
I have to admit it's been nice to get home at a reasonable time and enjoy the good weather. Mum and Dad were due to take their new caravan to Grafham Water but they had a slight technical problem so they've postponed their first ever trip for a couple of months. They've now found somewhere to store the caravan on a permanent basis as getting it in and out of their drive is proving to be slightly tricky! I'm glad it's not me towing it!
This week has been dominated by the weather. We've had unseasonably high temperatures during the day despite very chilly mornings when there's been a frost. Afternoon averages have reached just over 20 degrees centigrade and we've had unbroken sunshine now for almost two weeks.
Understandably this has resulted in being very quiet at work, and I think this week has been one of our worst weeks ever for business. Every afternoon we've been empty so on Wednesday we closed at 3pm, on Thursday we closed at 4.30pm but today (Friday) we're much busier as we have several groups in, including two birthday parties.
Today the weather has been chillier and cloudy and it's amazing what a difference it makes. The children break up from school today for two weeks and I hear the weather forecast is set to be colder and cloudier, with even snow forecast for some parts of the UK!
I have to admit it's been nice to get home at a reasonable time and enjoy the good weather. Mum and Dad were due to take their new caravan to Grafham Water but they had a slight technical problem so they've postponed their first ever trip for a couple of months. They've now found somewhere to store the caravan on a permanent basis as getting it in and out of their drive is proving to be slightly tricky! I'm glad it's not me towing it!
Sunday, 25 March 2012
More hard work!
The clocks were supposed to have gone forward last night but I refused to move ours on at home as I had no plans to go anywhere today and I was NOT going to lose one hour of my precious Sunday!
We had a lazy start to the day and then went to get the Sunday papers and I bought some crumpets and raspberry jam for breakfast. On the way home we called in to see Mum and Dad and had a cup of coffee with them.
Breakfast was taken in our lovely sunny conservatory and then I tackled the front garden and had a long chat with Jenny who's son Matthew used to be at the same school as Mikey. They've just got a new black labrador puppy called Ellie who was gorgeous and at the really playful, bouncy stage. As soon as Jenny continued with her walk I had an equally long chat with Sue who was out gardening like me. It's wonderful how this beautiful weather brings everyone out and we're all so much more sociable!
In the back garden I pottered about examining the plants and seeing how they'd fared over the winter. I think the extremely low temperatures have caused damage to several of our shrubs but only time will tell. We cut a couple back and we can only wait and see what will happen over the next few weeks as the weather turns warmer.
Keith had cut the lawn yesterday so I just mooched about and trimmed a few bushes and swept up a load of leaves that had gathered in the gravel garden over the winter. I even managed to sit and have a very welcome drink in the sun! Bliss!
After a quick bite to eat Sophie and I went for a walk and met Liam and Sarah who were walking Max. The horses were out and wanting another cuddle and again, although we didn't have any food with us, they were quite happy to be stroked by Sophie, Liam and me and even Max went up to say hello! Can horses and dogs be friends?!
By the time we finished our walk I was a wee bit tired so it was into the bath for me with a good book and a long soak!
We had a lazy start to the day and then went to get the Sunday papers and I bought some crumpets and raspberry jam for breakfast. On the way home we called in to see Mum and Dad and had a cup of coffee with them.
Breakfast was taken in our lovely sunny conservatory and then I tackled the front garden and had a long chat with Jenny who's son Matthew used to be at the same school as Mikey. They've just got a new black labrador puppy called Ellie who was gorgeous and at the really playful, bouncy stage. As soon as Jenny continued with her walk I had an equally long chat with Sue who was out gardening like me. It's wonderful how this beautiful weather brings everyone out and we're all so much more sociable!
In the back garden I pottered about examining the plants and seeing how they'd fared over the winter. I think the extremely low temperatures have caused damage to several of our shrubs but only time will tell. We cut a couple back and we can only wait and see what will happen over the next few weeks as the weather turns warmer.
Keith had cut the lawn yesterday so I just mooched about and trimmed a few bushes and swept up a load of leaves that had gathered in the gravel garden over the winter. I even managed to sit and have a very welcome drink in the sun! Bliss!
After a quick bite to eat Sophie and I went for a walk and met Liam and Sarah who were walking Max. The horses were out and wanting another cuddle and again, although we didn't have any food with us, they were quite happy to be stroked by Sophie, Liam and me and even Max went up to say hello! Can horses and dogs be friends?!
By the time we finished our walk I was a wee bit tired so it was into the bath for me with a good book and a long soak!
Saturday, 24 March 2012
A bit of hard work!
Today Keith and I cleared out our garage and made three trips to the tip to get rid of stuff that we no longer wanted. The garage had become very cluttered again and walking through to get to our tumble dryer was becoming a hazardous operation!
Keith started by making a false floor in the eaves and put loads of stuff up there, some of which I wanted to throw out. A short argument followed with him getting his own way in the end. Huh! I just chucked everything out onto the drive and then tried to fit it into his car but I knew we'd have a few trips ahead of us. Our immediate neighbours, Gill and Tim, came out and had a chat with us and before long Tim was tackling his garage as well so all our mess didn't really matter as he was making enough of his own!
Our first trip to the tip was interesting as we were quizzed as to what we had in the car and then directed to one of the 10 skips. In the old days everything was just thrown into one but now we had to recycle almost everything we had with us and I was quite impressed. Their notice said that last month they recycled 80% of the waste deposited there which I was very pleased about. We managed to actually throw away just one black bag on our first trip with the rest of the stuff going into the metal, wood or textile bins.
After my second trip I went to pick Sophie up from work (we weren't at all busy) and then Keith and I made our third and final trip with our old exercise bike (into the metal bin) and a bag of old toys which sadly went into the landfill skip.
I went home, hoovered out Keith's car which was filthy from all the dusty, dirty items that had been packed into it and then covered the car with some old sheets as I'd taken it through the carwash earlier and I didn't want muddy cat footprints all over it! It raised a few eyebrows from our neighbours but I didn't care!
As we'd worked all day we ordered a Chinese take-away for dinner and Keith and I went to the pub in Walgrave for a drink while it was being cooked. Although I enjoyed going to the Hare at Loddington last night, I'll always have a special affection for the Royal Oak which we've been visiting for over 20 years. I feel very at home there, know most people who come in and it's great to sit at the bar and chat to Ian, the Landlord. Home is best!
Keith started by making a false floor in the eaves and put loads of stuff up there, some of which I wanted to throw out. A short argument followed with him getting his own way in the end. Huh! I just chucked everything out onto the drive and then tried to fit it into his car but I knew we'd have a few trips ahead of us. Our immediate neighbours, Gill and Tim, came out and had a chat with us and before long Tim was tackling his garage as well so all our mess didn't really matter as he was making enough of his own!
Our first trip to the tip was interesting as we were quizzed as to what we had in the car and then directed to one of the 10 skips. In the old days everything was just thrown into one but now we had to recycle almost everything we had with us and I was quite impressed. Their notice said that last month they recycled 80% of the waste deposited there which I was very pleased about. We managed to actually throw away just one black bag on our first trip with the rest of the stuff going into the metal, wood or textile bins.
After my second trip I went to pick Sophie up from work (we weren't at all busy) and then Keith and I made our third and final trip with our old exercise bike (into the metal bin) and a bag of old toys which sadly went into the landfill skip.
I went home, hoovered out Keith's car which was filthy from all the dusty, dirty items that had been packed into it and then covered the car with some old sheets as I'd taken it through the carwash earlier and I didn't want muddy cat footprints all over it! It raised a few eyebrows from our neighbours but I didn't care!
As we'd worked all day we ordered a Chinese take-away for dinner and Keith and I went to the pub in Walgrave for a drink while it was being cooked. Although I enjoyed going to the Hare at Loddington last night, I'll always have a special affection for the Royal Oak which we've been visiting for over 20 years. I feel very at home there, know most people who come in and it's great to sit at the bar and chat to Ian, the Landlord. Home is best!
Friday, 23 March 2012
The Hare at Loddington
Poor Dave (Keith's drinking mate) was ill again tonight (we're a bit worried about him) so it gave me another opportunity to have a drink with my husband on a Friday evening. We decided to go to the village of Loddington about six miles away to a pub that was always closed when we'd visited before. It was a bit of a risk but apparently it's under new management so it was well and truly open!
We had an exceedingly pleasant couple of hours sitting at the bar and having a good chat over a couple of drinks. Keith was impressed with his Abbot ale and I liked the very cheerful ambience of the pub which was busy with early diners making use of the pub's special deal between 6 and 7pm. We may well go back and take the children for a meal.
It's great to have an alternative pub to visit and a friendly local is always a bonus!
The Hare at Loddington
We had an exceedingly pleasant couple of hours sitting at the bar and having a good chat over a couple of drinks. Keith was impressed with his Abbot ale and I liked the very cheerful ambience of the pub which was busy with early diners making use of the pub's special deal between 6 and 7pm. We may well go back and take the children for a meal.
It's great to have an alternative pub to visit and a friendly local is always a bonus!
The Hare at Loddington
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Drought!
Today I finished a load of paperwork that had to be done at work so I was very relieved it was all done. The weather has stayed beautiful now for a few days but it's not a good idea to get carried away and think that Spring is here to stay!
Although it's great to have sunny, dry weather, our area is suffering from a drought at the moment and from the beginning of next month our water company has issued us with a hosepipe ban. I'll certainly be thinking carefully about what plants to buy for the summer as I really don't want to be lugging a full watering can all over the garden!
On a happier note, I booked for Mum, Sophie and me to go to Bruges in June for two days. We're travellling by Eurostar and staying in a hotel in the centre called the Jan Brito for one night. I'm really looking forward to visiting Bruges again as it's a beautiful city with some fantastic chocolate shops and some very good Belgian beer. I wonder if I can convert my mum to the beer? She's already a huge fan of chocolate!
Although it's great to have sunny, dry weather, our area is suffering from a drought at the moment and from the beginning of next month our water company has issued us with a hosepipe ban. I'll certainly be thinking carefully about what plants to buy for the summer as I really don't want to be lugging a full watering can all over the garden!
On a happier note, I booked for Mum, Sophie and me to go to Bruges in June for two days. We're travellling by Eurostar and staying in a hotel in the centre called the Jan Brito for one night. I'm really looking forward to visiting Bruges again as it's a beautiful city with some fantastic chocolate shops and some very good Belgian beer. I wonder if I can convert my mum to the beer? She's already a huge fan of chocolate!
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