The Top 12 of 2018!

So, how has 2018 been? We've had another year of some health worries, but on the plus side, it was fantastic for Sophie to achieve a First in her Business degree and although it was hot and uncomfortable at times, it was a lovely day when she graduated in July. It's also wonderful that she is doing a job she really enjoys! We just need to get Mike sorted now!

2018 has been a year of a lot of highs and a few lows - perhaps a typical year for us all! Let's hope 2019 brings less health worries (especially for my parents) and job success for Mike!


Sunday 14th January - My Birthday and a lovely trip to London

Tuesday 13th February - Breakfast at Beckworth and a spa day!

Wednesday 21 March - An early start but a great day in London!

Thursday 5th April - Sophie's birthday and another trip to the capital - fantastic weather!

Wednesday 30 May - A trip to France and the beautiful Opal Coast!

Saturday 23 June - A mooch around our wonderful countryside and some lovely pubs!

Tuesday 24 July - Graduation Day and I was a very proud parent!

Sunday 5 August - Sophie and I make pork ribs and beans and enjoy the heat of the summer!

Sunday 2 September - A lovely day mooching about and cooking Japanese in the evening!

Saturday 13 October - An afternoon in Henley-on-Thames, a delicious meal and a talk by one of my favourite authors!

Wednesday 4 November - Not an exceptional day, but it was nice to have a mooch about in the shops!

Tuesday 25 December - A lovely Christmas Day this year with some wonderful presents, good company and a delicious dinner cooked by Keith, Sophie and Mike!

Here's to 2019 and I hope it brings everything you all want. Cheers!

A bit of a pamper!

Sophie went to the gym this morning and we gave her a lift as we needed to go to Tesco and buy food for New Year's Eve.

The weather this morning has been very pleasant and we saw the sun! It's also quite mild and feels more like early October than December! We went back to collect Sophie and as we were a bit early for her we sat in the car and read the Sunday papers. Lovely!

Back home we made scrambled eggs on toast for brunch and then it was time to relax and have a pamper! I put on a fruity face mask that was red and my eye masks, while Sophie applied the hair colour to my roots. She said I looked like Donald Trump! I will post a pic when she sends it to me!

Afterwards I had a lovely hot shower and did look a bit more plumped! Back downstairs, Sophie made me a Margarita and that went down very well! I researched pubs for New Year's Day (I have to get out of the house!) and also looked at my Birthday trip down to London when we want to visit the Olympic Park.

Keith made a delicious roast beef for dinner and we opened a bottle of wine that had been included in the hamper my parents gave us. It was gorgeous with the beef. After dinner Sophie wanted to watch a film called Bird Box that was on Netflix. It was a bit scary (and at times, gruesome) but we enjoyed it nonetheless!

Disappointing meals...

Sophie and I decided to venture out to Rushden Lakes this morning as we had some clothes to take back and both of us wanted to get out and do something, anything, other than sit at home!

I expected it to be really busy but we managed to get into the retail park easily and found a parking space with no problem at all. We went to River Island first where Sophie took back a couple of tops she'd ordered and tried on another, as she is going out tonight with her friends Laura and Daisy. We noticed that the changing rooms were filthy in the shop...dust bunnies in the corners and spilt food on the floors. Yuk! I did find a 5p piece though!

We then headed off to M&S where I exchanged a bra and then Boots where I bought some more hair colourant as I noticed some rogue grey hairs along my hairline yesterday...not good! I also bought some eye masks as I'm looking a little washed out and tired at the moment! I'm putting it down to the weather! Those wonderful summer days seem an age ago!

We decided to have lunch at Wagamama and arrived just before it started to fill up with people. We were seated where I had a view of the lake but it was a grey and miserable day. The sun is definitely in short supply at the moment!

We ordered a main course and a drink each but I chose the wrong dish...when we've been to Akasaka, Mike has always chosen the Ramen Noodle soup and it's delicious, so I went for it at Wagamama. Sophie stuck to her favourite, the Chicken Katsu curry. Unfortunately, even though I'd ordered it "rich" the soup was virtually tasteless and I kept adding soy sauce to it to give it some bite! I won't be ordering that again and it may be a while before we venture back!

On the way home we popped into Tesco and bought some Champagne for New Year's Eve and then we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Sophie went to get ready for her night out and we took her into town at 7pm. Keith and I had decided to order a Chinese for our evening meal and we went to the one in Boothville that Sophie and I used some time ago. I chose the Sweet and Sour chicken, Hong Kong style. while Mike and Keith both ordered ribs.

It must have been my choices today as my meal from here was tasteless as well...it was just like an orange gloop with one bit of pepper and a slice of tomato! Oh dear!

After dinner Keith and I caught up with three episodes of the Belgian drama, Code 37: Sex Crimes and then left to pick Sophie up at 11pm. We were unable to park outside Rev's where Sophie was enjoying cocktails, so we parked by the large church in the middle of town and for ten minutes watched the Saturday night revellers wander past. We saw some sights, I can tell you!

By midnight we were all back home and we spent half an hour relaxing before bed!

A sunset walk.

Things were slightly quieter at work today and Fran came in at 10am to work with me. I was glad to get out at 2pm and Sophie picked me up as she had dropped me off again this morning. She has been very good and has been to the gym, so I was determined to get out this afternoon.

We walked a little way down to the village and stopped to see if the horses were about but they were nowhere to be seen. Monty refused to come with us and stayed sitting on the drive. He's getting lazy!

We carried on and leaned on a gate overlooking the fields and it was bliss to see the changing colours in the sky and the start of a gorgeous sunset.

I always feel that the hour around sunset, when the sky is like this, has a kind of magic and tonight the clouds and the trees looked beautiful.

We wandered back to the estate and managed to encourage Monty to walk around with us for one lap. He gambolled about but was very glad to get home and have his "grubs" which he pesters us for every afternoon, from about 3pm onwards. How he knows what the time is, I'll never know!

Today hasn't felt like Friday at all - I kept thinking it was Tuesday as I'd been at work for two days. Keith walked down to the pub and Sophie and I used his new air fryer for the first time. He'd cooked some chips this afternoon but they were a bit burnt so we cut up some potatoes, sprayed them with a fine mist of oil and cooked them for about 20 minutes. Some were done, some weren't so we're going to have to experiment with the machine until we get it right! We bought the air fryer as Keith loves home-made chips made from real potatoes so we need it to be a success!

Back to normality!

Sophie took me to work this morning as she was off to the gym and Keith needed the car to go shopping (again).

I discovered I was alone in answering the phones, although Sara did step in when the calls mounted up, but it was a busy shift and I had to do the cinema box office returns as well, as Stella was on holiday. Subsequently, the time flew by!

Keith and Sophie came to pick me up at 3pm and we went to collect Mike from Gemma's house. The weather has been disappointing again today, with grey skies and a damp feeling to the air.

After we got home I did very little, and felt guilty about it, so tomorrow I've suggested to Sophie we go out for a short walk, just to get some fresh air!

Dinner tonight was Keith's turkey curry! It has all gone now, which is a shame, as it was a delicious joint and he bought beef for Sunday. I feel like I have eaten and drunk way too much this Christmas!

And...relax!

I spent the morning clearing up from our Christmas dinner yesterday and trying to find homes for all the new presents!

Keith went to Tesco as they were open today (surprisingly...I thought they were closed) and bought some stuff that we needed, namely tonic for me! We spent the day relaxing and doing very little which is what Boxing Day is all about!

Unfortunately, the weather was damp, grey and foggy, so not the best of days to venture out. It was lovely to stay in and get warm and cosy!

In the evening we did our traditional bubble and squeak with all the leftover vegetables, chipolata sausages and Yorkshire puddings. We then ate this with some more mashed potatoes and slices of cold turkey. I have been particularly impressed with our turkey this year - it's been very moist and juicy with a lovely taste.

It's back to work for me tomorrow and it will be good to get out of the house for a few hours and get back to normal!

It's Christmas!

I was awake early this morning, as usual, but we had to wait until about 9am to wake up Sophie and Mikey. How times have changed!

Before I woke them up I put all the little gifts I'd bought them into their stockings and prepared a bottle of Champagne and some chocolate Florentines that I'd bought in Lidl a fair while ago. I put a programme on the TV about the reindeer in Lapland and we were all set to go!

We had a great time opening presents and Mike was really pleased with his new turntable. Phew! That was a relief!

A lot of our presents seemed to be either alcoholic or foodie! I was thrilled to receive some Gordon's Sloe Gin and a bottle of wine, as well as a fantastic spice rack (our spice cupboard is now overflowing!) and a Champagne Brunch Cruise around San Francisco Bay to look forward to! As well as some nightwear, dollars and my usual £50 note I was delighted! Sophie also bought me a very posh bottle of olive oil and a copy of The Hairy Bikers' British Classics recipe book. I can't wait to try them out with her on a Sunday evening! Everyone seemed really happy with their gifts and the living room was awash with wrapping paper and boxes!

Once we had cleared everything up it was time for showers as Keith and Mike were off to the pub for a quick pint and  Sophie and I were going to go and fetch my Mum and Dad as we were a bit worried about my Dad driving home later in the day. It meant he could have a few glasses of wine and Sophie had very kindly offered to drive them home this evening.

Luckily I took my car to get them, as they had two huge crates of presents and I just about managed to get them in the boot! They were in high spirits and looking forward to the second round of gift opening and a turkey dinner!

The weather had improved slightly since first thing this morning and I think the sun was attempting to peek through the clouds. We arrived home, got Mum and Dad settled with a drink and I went back out to get Keith and Mike from the pub which was busy with pre-Christmas lunch drinkers.

Back home we opened all of our presents and my Mum became very emotional when we gave her the photo of the children on Sophie's graduation day. She was also thrilled with her Mason's china urn, so that was good! I had also bought them tickets to go and see Abigail's Party at Derngate in March and they were really pleased with that!

The children were showered with gifts such as underwear, nightwear and smellies and Keith and I also received a beautiful hamper stuffed with delicious foods. We have done really well this year!

As soon as the presents had been opened, Keith, Sophie and Mike disappeared into the kitchen to start preparing dinner. Our turkey had been cooking since 10am this morning and smelled delicious. Sophie had taken the bacon off the top and had chopped it up to add to the stuffing.

I relaxed in the living room (as planned) with a glass of Sherry and watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers along with my parents. I didn't hear any swearing coming from the kitchen, no arguments and nobody stormed off in a strop, so it was all going very well!

We had planned to eat at 2.30pm and dinner was served on time! As our table is a bit small, we got Mum and Dad seated and I dished up their lunch in the kitchen, which was a lot easier. Keith, Sophie and Mike had done a fantastic job with dinner and the meal was probably the best we'd ever had. The turkey was moist and juicy and we enjoyed stuffing balls, chipolatas wrapped in bacon, roast parsnips, roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and green beans as well as sprouts which had been pan-fried in butter and served with bacon. The gravy was lovely and I was very proud of the three of them for making such a good job of the meal. We agreed that Keith trying to do it on his own was too much, so maybe this is the way forward in the future?

We left a decent interval before dessert and ate my chocolate bread and butter pudding or Christmas pudding at about 5.30pm while watching the Strictly Christmas show. The desserts were lovely enjoyed with a small bottle of white Port I'd bought in Aldi.

By now we were all as stuffed as could be and Keith, Mum and Dad fell asleep! By 6.30pm my parents were ready to go home so I went with Sophie to take them back. It was a bit misty and damp outside and the roads were surprisingly busy!

Back home I changed into my new pyjamas and curled up on the sofa to watch a great programme about Tommy Cooper. Mike went out to see some friends in the village but was soon back and I think he fell asleep...it's no wonder with the amount of beer he drank today!