I woke up late this morning and really felt like staying in bed all day. I don't know what's wrong with me at the moment, but I ache everywhere and I can't seem to shake off a bad headache that's lasted for almost a week. I need a holiday!
Today, of course, was cleaning day at work, so I took some more painkillers with my coffee and soon felt a bit better. Cleaning the tube slides is never my favourite job but the dust was getting thicker and they had to be done. After lunch Keith and I popped down to Homebase to get a new border for the wall in the Tots area and while we were there we bought the paint for Mikey's room and a new duvet cover for him. I'm not thrilled with our choice but it will have to do for the time being. If he decides he wants a theme, like Sophie, a bit later then we can adapt the colours.
Both Sophie and I wimped out of the gym tonight. I left my gym bag at home this morning and I just couldn't face driving home to get it and then driving all the way back down to Riverside. I felt guilty but I will make up for it on Wednesday and Friday when, hopefully, this dratted headache will have gone!
Monday, 30 September 2013
Sunday, 29 September 2013
Sunday sickie!
Today I had so much planned but I hardly did any of it as I woke up feeling a bit yukky! Keith took Mikey to his second day of Army Cadet training in Northampton and I made porridge again, which was delicious.
Sophie was due in at work, but Keith said he would take her while I had a bath and tried to work up some enthusiasm for getting things done that desperately needed doing! I made the mistake of going into Sophie's room to hoover up the cobwebs that festooned her walls and managed to spend the next two hours in there! I'd noticed them on Friday evening when I sat in her room while she straightened my hair and couldn't leave them any longer. She hadn't made her bed so I stripped off the bedding and put it on to wash before pulling all her furniture out and giving the room a thorough clean. Imagine my surprise when I pulled out her chair in the corner and found a tribe of people farming potatoes!! The dust was that thick!
I worked until lunchtime when Keith made me a cup of coffee and cut me a slice of his freshly baked banana bread. He'd made another loaf as he wasn't happy with his first one, and it was definitely an improvement!
I never did go and get the paint for Mikey's room or the varnish for the front door and the garage door. As the weather was forecast to be sunny and dry I thought I would take the opportunity to get this chore out of the way before winter sets in, but I'll bet now that we won't get another sunny dry weekend this side of Christmas!
Mikey called at 3.30pm to say he wanted picking up and no sooner had I got home than it was time to go and collect Sophie from work. Another weekend gone!
Sophie was due in at work, but Keith said he would take her while I had a bath and tried to work up some enthusiasm for getting things done that desperately needed doing! I made the mistake of going into Sophie's room to hoover up the cobwebs that festooned her walls and managed to spend the next two hours in there! I'd noticed them on Friday evening when I sat in her room while she straightened my hair and couldn't leave them any longer. She hadn't made her bed so I stripped off the bedding and put it on to wash before pulling all her furniture out and giving the room a thorough clean. Imagine my surprise when I pulled out her chair in the corner and found a tribe of people farming potatoes!! The dust was that thick!
I worked until lunchtime when Keith made me a cup of coffee and cut me a slice of his freshly baked banana bread. He'd made another loaf as he wasn't happy with his first one, and it was definitely an improvement!
I never did go and get the paint for Mikey's room or the varnish for the front door and the garage door. As the weather was forecast to be sunny and dry I thought I would take the opportunity to get this chore out of the way before winter sets in, but I'll bet now that we won't get another sunny dry weekend this side of Christmas!
Mikey called at 3.30pm to say he wanted picking up and no sooner had I got home than it was time to go and collect Sophie from work. Another weekend gone!
Saturday, 28 September 2013
Open Day
It was De Montfort University's Open Day today so 10am found us driving to Sophie's friend Danni's house to pick her up before we headed over to Leicester. It was the most beautiful day for September - a gorgeous blue sky and lots of sunshine with warm temperatures. The leaves are just beginning to change colour and I read that because of the warm summer we may have a fantastic Autumn. I hope so!
We arrived at De Montfort at just after 11am and struggled to find a parking space, despite signs directing us to special Open Day car parks. Finally I squeezed into a space on the street but we could only park there for three hours, with no return within another three hours. We made our way to the main campus and Sophie registered.
There were people everywhere and it was chaos! The first thing I craved was a strong cup of coffee (and some strong painkillers as well...no, I wasn't hungover!) so we grabbed a table in the busy cafe and while the girls settled down with a drink I ran to a campus Spar and bought a packet of Nurofen! Next up was something to eat after which we all felt a bit better.
There was lots (and I mean lots!) going on and I felt we were very unprepared for the day. As Danni was thinking of doing a different course to Sophie I quickly realised that we weren't going to be able to fit everything in. They decided they wanted to go to a talk on student life first so we found the room it was being held in and settled down to listen to an ex-student talk about her experiences of the University. I thought the talk was great but afterwards Sophie just freaked out, saying she didn't like the campus and wanted to go home.
I managed to persuade her to book onto an accommodation tour at 2.30pm and then we went to have a look at one of the buildings where she would be taking lectures and tutorials. As soon as she was inside the building she wanted to go back outside, saying she hated it!
Poor Danni was a bit bemused so I suggested we go and look at the brand new business centre where Danni would be taking her courses. Sophie wants to study Criminology but I think she may have changed her mind now! In an effort to calm Sophie down I said we could go and have a drink and sit down and relax for a while, but the Costa Coffee we went into had run out of chocolate so that didn't go down well! We sat outside in the sun and met another of Sophie's friends, Charlotte, who was visiting with her parents. They told us there was a talk on Criminology starting at 1pm in another brand new building so we sped over and managed to sneak in, despite being five minutes late.
The talk was supposed to have finished at 1.30pm but we were still in there at almost 2pm and I was beginning to sweat as the ticket for the car ran out at just after 2pm! The three year degree course sounded very interesting and I felt nothing but envy for Sophie and her friends at all the opportunities they have ahead of them. I regret not going to University and wish that I could take a career break and go and study something I find really interesting. I thought the campus was lovely and I was impressed by all the facilities on offer for the students.
Sophie, however, had different ideas and just wanted to go home. In a way I knew how she felt as she said it was all a bit overwhelming, and there was so many people about she felt crowded. I was surprised by her reaction as I thought she would love it, especially as she raved about the place when she went to see Lewis Watson. We agreed in the car on the way home to go to another Open Day as I felt we hadn't done enough to appreciate all that the University has to offer. Sophie is thinking of having a Gap Year, which I think would be a good thing and would give her the opportunity to have a bit of a breather before plunging into another three years of study.
We never made the accommodation tour and returned to the car to go home. After dropping Danni off we went home and Sophie got what she wanted - to curl up on the sofa and watch her favourite television programme! Home is best!
We arrived at De Montfort at just after 11am and struggled to find a parking space, despite signs directing us to special Open Day car parks. Finally I squeezed into a space on the street but we could only park there for three hours, with no return within another three hours. We made our way to the main campus and Sophie registered.
There were people everywhere and it was chaos! The first thing I craved was a strong cup of coffee (and some strong painkillers as well...no, I wasn't hungover!) so we grabbed a table in the busy cafe and while the girls settled down with a drink I ran to a campus Spar and bought a packet of Nurofen! Next up was something to eat after which we all felt a bit better.
There was lots (and I mean lots!) going on and I felt we were very unprepared for the day. As Danni was thinking of doing a different course to Sophie I quickly realised that we weren't going to be able to fit everything in. They decided they wanted to go to a talk on student life first so we found the room it was being held in and settled down to listen to an ex-student talk about her experiences of the University. I thought the talk was great but afterwards Sophie just freaked out, saying she didn't like the campus and wanted to go home.
I managed to persuade her to book onto an accommodation tour at 2.30pm and then we went to have a look at one of the buildings where she would be taking lectures and tutorials. As soon as she was inside the building she wanted to go back outside, saying she hated it!
Poor Danni was a bit bemused so I suggested we go and look at the brand new business centre where Danni would be taking her courses. Sophie wants to study Criminology but I think she may have changed her mind now! In an effort to calm Sophie down I said we could go and have a drink and sit down and relax for a while, but the Costa Coffee we went into had run out of chocolate so that didn't go down well! We sat outside in the sun and met another of Sophie's friends, Charlotte, who was visiting with her parents. They told us there was a talk on Criminology starting at 1pm in another brand new building so we sped over and managed to sneak in, despite being five minutes late.
The talk was supposed to have finished at 1.30pm but we were still in there at almost 2pm and I was beginning to sweat as the ticket for the car ran out at just after 2pm! The three year degree course sounded very interesting and I felt nothing but envy for Sophie and her friends at all the opportunities they have ahead of them. I regret not going to University and wish that I could take a career break and go and study something I find really interesting. I thought the campus was lovely and I was impressed by all the facilities on offer for the students.
Sophie, however, had different ideas and just wanted to go home. In a way I knew how she felt as she said it was all a bit overwhelming, and there was so many people about she felt crowded. I was surprised by her reaction as I thought she would love it, especially as she raved about the place when she went to see Lewis Watson. We agreed in the car on the way home to go to another Open Day as I felt we hadn't done enough to appreciate all that the University has to offer. Sophie is thinking of having a Gap Year, which I think would be a good thing and would give her the opportunity to have a bit of a breather before plunging into another three years of study.
We never made the accommodation tour and returned to the car to go home. After dropping Danni off we went home and Sophie got what she wanted - to curl up on the sofa and watch her favourite television programme! Home is best!
Friday, 27 September 2013
Catching up!
I haven't written much about Wednesday and Thursday as there hasn't been a lot to write about! In a nutshell - work, gym, home for dinner, work, home to play cards and eat dinner and then back to work on Friday! Dull, but there you are!
Work has been very quiet at the moment and we don't know whether it's the lovely weather we're having at the moment or whether it's because of the new play centre not far away from us. Whatever, the reason, it's a bit worrying and we're hoping for a busy half term at the end of October - still a long way away.
On Friday evening Keith and I went out for a drink with Sue and Paul to the Olde England. I'd already booked a table (thank goodness) as the place was heaving when we arrived. There didn't seem to be a free table with a reserved sign on the top floor so we trooped back down to the cellar bar which was packed. We'd never seen it like this before so it was a bit of a shock!
Luckily, a table became free upstairs so we were soon seated and three of us were sipping beer. I had picked a dark beer called Beijing Black which was lovely, if a little flat. Keith and Paul went for a lighter coloured beer, the name of which eludes me! The noise in the pub was unbelievable as a large group of people were playing a game which involved frequent loud crashes...Jenga?
Anyway, I know I sound like a moany cow, but I just wasn't feeling it tonight. The noise was so loud we could hardly hear ourselves talk and the food, which had always looked very good, was disappointing. We ordered nachos to start followed by burgers for Paul and Sue, a pie for Keith and sausages for me. My food was tasteless and the portion of mashed potato was so small it was gone in one mouthful! One consolation was that it certainly wasn't expensive at just over £30 for the four of us!
It was a relief when we finally left and made our way back to the car (Sue was an angel and had volunteered to drive tonight). When we arrived home I found a very disappointed daughter as her friend who was supposed to be coming over had let her down. To cheer ourselves up, we all had a slice of Keith's delicious banana bread and the adults among us washed ours down with a glass of Bushmills and a glass of Penderyn Welsh whisky. Cheers!
Work has been very quiet at the moment and we don't know whether it's the lovely weather we're having at the moment or whether it's because of the new play centre not far away from us. Whatever, the reason, it's a bit worrying and we're hoping for a busy half term at the end of October - still a long way away.
On Friday evening Keith and I went out for a drink with Sue and Paul to the Olde England. I'd already booked a table (thank goodness) as the place was heaving when we arrived. There didn't seem to be a free table with a reserved sign on the top floor so we trooped back down to the cellar bar which was packed. We'd never seen it like this before so it was a bit of a shock!
Luckily, a table became free upstairs so we were soon seated and three of us were sipping beer. I had picked a dark beer called Beijing Black which was lovely, if a little flat. Keith and Paul went for a lighter coloured beer, the name of which eludes me! The noise in the pub was unbelievable as a large group of people were playing a game which involved frequent loud crashes...Jenga?
Anyway, I know I sound like a moany cow, but I just wasn't feeling it tonight. The noise was so loud we could hardly hear ourselves talk and the food, which had always looked very good, was disappointing. We ordered nachos to start followed by burgers for Paul and Sue, a pie for Keith and sausages for me. My food was tasteless and the portion of mashed potato was so small it was gone in one mouthful! One consolation was that it certainly wasn't expensive at just over £30 for the four of us!
It was a relief when we finally left and made our way back to the car (Sue was an angel and had volunteered to drive tonight). When we arrived home I found a very disappointed daughter as her friend who was supposed to be coming over had let her down. To cheer ourselves up, we all had a slice of Keith's delicious banana bread and the adults among us washed ours down with a glass of Bushmills and a glass of Penderyn Welsh whisky. Cheers!
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Balloon chasing!
Today I was off work to celebrate Keith's birthday. Before the children went to school he opened his presents and cards and I ran Sophie in this morning to give him a break from all the traffic!
I can't say we had a very exciting day as we spent the morning doing house and garden chores - namely pruning our Virginia Creeper which has crept right up to the roof eaves and curled itself around our satellite dish. Keith also went up the ladders and gave our front windows a good clean...we know how to celebrate!
Today started off very misty but the sun broke through and the afternoon was glorious - the perfect early Autumn day. After school, when Sophie and I were watching a film we'd recorded, we saw something very strange in the sky, quite a way away. From our house it looked like a huge Alien Starship as the sky was still a bit misty so with the children I jumped into my car to go and investigate!
We drove almost to the village of Hannington and parked the car on a farm track, From here it was a bit nearer but it still looked very weird indeed! We realised it was a hot air balloon (what a shame it wasn't an Alien invasion...) but it wasn't until I uploaded the photos to the computer that I realised it was an Aston Martin balloon!
Well, I love Aston Martin (I'll probably - no definitely! - never own one), and it was very impressive indeed. While we were taking photos and watching it we saw the balloon recovery vehicle go past and we hoped it would go down near us. It was such a strange shape and although we've seen weirdly-shaped balloons at the festival that's held in Northampton every year, it was a surprise to see this on a Tuesday evening!
I took some more photos of the countryside as we watched...
In the evening we all went to the pub for dinner and had a lovely meal to celebrate Keith's special day. It was a great ending to a very enjoyable Tuesday!
I can't say we had a very exciting day as we spent the morning doing house and garden chores - namely pruning our Virginia Creeper which has crept right up to the roof eaves and curled itself around our satellite dish. Keith also went up the ladders and gave our front windows a good clean...we know how to celebrate!
Today started off very misty but the sun broke through and the afternoon was glorious - the perfect early Autumn day. After school, when Sophie and I were watching a film we'd recorded, we saw something very strange in the sky, quite a way away. From our house it looked like a huge Alien Starship as the sky was still a bit misty so with the children I jumped into my car to go and investigate!
We drove almost to the village of Hannington and parked the car on a farm track, From here it was a bit nearer but it still looked very weird indeed! We realised it was a hot air balloon (what a shame it wasn't an Alien invasion...) but it wasn't until I uploaded the photos to the computer that I realised it was an Aston Martin balloon!
Well, I love Aston Martin (I'll probably - no definitely! - never own one), and it was very impressive indeed. While we were taking photos and watching it we saw the balloon recovery vehicle go past and we hoped it would go down near us. It was such a strange shape and although we've seen weirdly-shaped balloons at the festival that's held in Northampton every year, it was a surprise to see this on a Tuesday evening!
I took some more photos of the countryside as we watched...
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| The spire of Walgrave church |
Monday, 23 September 2013
Up a ladder!
Today we cleaned the two big tube slides at work which were covered in two months worth of dust! I'm never comfortable up a ladder and today was no exception as it felt very wobbly indeed! However, after we finished (and the dust had all transferred to me!) they were looking beautifully shiny again.
Despite being up and down a ladder, I still managed to work hard at the gym tonight and certainly earned my relaxing session in the spa afterwards!
Despite being up and down a ladder, I still managed to work hard at the gym tonight and certainly earned my relaxing session in the spa afterwards!
Sunday, 22 September 2013
Start of Autumn
This morning for breakfast I made Gordon Ramsey's porridge! I bought all the ingredients yesterday and followed the recipe exactly. It turned out to be delicious - full of plump raisins, whole hazelnuts and almonds with a hint of nutmeg and cinnamon. It took some time to prepare and cook, so ideal for a lazy Sunday morning and I'll definitely be making it again.
My breakfast gave me the energy to tackle the household chores and tidy up the front garden before washing the car. The weather has been beautiful for the Autumnal Equinox, perfect for sweeping up the millions of leaves that gather under the bushes in our front garden!
In the evening Mum came around for dinner as Dad was off in Eastbourne flying his model aeroplanes. We had a delicious beef casserole with dumplings followed by apple pie (which I didn't make!) - a perfect Autumnal dish!
My breakfast gave me the energy to tackle the household chores and tidy up the front garden before washing the car. The weather has been beautiful for the Autumnal Equinox, perfect for sweeping up the millions of leaves that gather under the bushes in our front garden!
In the evening Mum came around for dinner as Dad was off in Eastbourne flying his model aeroplanes. We had a delicious beef casserole with dumplings followed by apple pie (which I didn't make!) - a perfect Autumnal dish!
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