Bank Holiday?

Today hasn't felt like a Bank Holiday as I was at work from 9am until 2pm and Sophie was out with her beau visiting Castle Ashby gardens.

Keith took me to work this morning and I was working with Jo. We were both hoping that we'd have a quiet shift, but the first four hours were manic with non-stop phone calls, mainly from people booking swimming sessions. I will be so glad when the school holidays are over and the children go back, which in our area is Wednesday.

Sophie will be very glad as well as she's found it quite hard working at home since March and we have a family next door where the children have been very loud over the summer. One of the boys has played basketball virtually every single day since the middle of March and at multiple times during the day. The noise of the ball's constant thud, thud, thud on the patio has been a nightmare! I know children need to play outdoors and I'm all for them getting out in the fresh air, but the noise has really got to us this year. We have two playing fields with basketball nets within a short walking distance and I just wish they would use them!

Luckily things did calm down a bit at work so I was able to tackle some of the 170 emails in the customer service inbox... I tried hard to get as many done as I could but when I finished we had 172... oh well!

Keith picked me up at 2pm and we called over to Mum's to get some warmer clothes for them. We were astonished to walk in to find the heating full on... the buyer had been in on Friday to measure up and whether he'd tried out the radiators, I don't know but I was not happy. The thermostat had been turned up to its highest setting so no wonder the place felt so hot. I called the estate agents to find out what was going on but the woman I've been dealing with wasn't in today, so I asked for her to call me tomorrow.

We dropped off the clothes and coats at the care home and I made an appointment to see my parents on Sunday, as a big envelope of documents had arrived from the solicitors and they need to sign them. My hours are set to increase a bit this week (I will be dealing with emails) so to be on the safe side I made an appointment for the weekend.

I saw my Mum through the window but she didn't answer the phone, which was a shame. I had talked to her in the car earlier and she said she was going to have her hair done today so I hope she did, bless her.

When we finally got home it was time to relax a bit and Sophie picked up Mike from Abbie's so that was a bonus! We decided to have fish and chips from the new chippy in Broughton and despite having to wait a while, they were delicious. We will go back!

Sunday pootle!

As usual for a day when I didn't have to get up, I was awake early! I kept watch for horses again but we had no four-hoofed visitors, which was a relief! Sophie had another lovely lie-in!

The idea today was to pootle about at home and catch up with things. Keith went off to get the Sunday papers while Sophie and I made beans on toast with some bread we bought at Farndon Fields yesterday. It was a seeded bread and the kind that tastes much better toasted and covered in juicy beans!

After breakfast I went out and tackled the back garden. At first I though I was being foolish as the grass was long... and wet! However, I persevered and soon it was looking a lot better. With all the rain we've had lately, it has really grown. I tided up the plants and put out some food for the birds but we've run out of fat snax and peanuts so I said to Sophie about going to Riverside this afternoon.

The weather has stayed dry today and we've had a mixed bag of sunshine and clouds. It's still on the chilly side, though! Sophie went to the gym while I cut the front verge and hoed the border. It looked lovely when I'd finished and the grass seed I put down a while ago has definitely sprouted, filling in the bare patches very well.

After Sophie arrived home and we had showers, we set off for Riverside and my naughty daughter suggested a McDonalds... I can't remember the last time we had a meal from there... was it this year? I would normally have said no, but breakfast was a long time ago so we went and ordered a burger and some chicken tenders. I was hesitant about going inside so we chose the drive-thru and encountered a horrible man who was adamant I wasn't going in front of him even though it was my turn. Why they have two lanes for cars is beyond me... I was hoping that throughout this pandemic people would be nicer to each other, but sadly that hasn't happened. Kindness and thoughtfulness are as much in short supply as ever.

We drove over to the other side of the car park and munched on our meals before walking to Wilko's where I bought loads more bird food. The numbers coming into the garden has lessened a bit but they do love the fat snax hanging up, especially the hordes of sparrows!

We popped briefly into Homebase as this morning I lost our pair of secateurs (I wish I knew where I'd put them!) but they were just about to close so we headed home to relax.

Dinner this evening was the chicken Kiev we should have had yesterday and I helped Keith prepare the meal. We also had Gratin Dauphinois as a change and the meal was lovely and very garlicky!

Our favourite haunt!

I stood guard at the window this morning in case we had a visit from the horses and riders. Sophie muttered last night that if she didn't get a lie in this morning there would be big trouble! I was up at about 7am, so I got dressed ready to rush out in case they came around. Well, of course, they didn't and Sophie got her much needed lie in!

Today the weather has been horrible - cold and rainy - and not at all like it should be at this time of the year. Apparently, last August Bank Holiday it was about 30c!

Sophie and I went to Market Harborough at lunchtime and our first stop was The Attic where Sophie bought a top and a wool dress for £15! We then decided to make our way to the Polka Dot cafe as we didn't want to miss out today! I'd made a veggie sausage sandwich for breakfast so we didn't fancy lunch but we did tuck into a white chocolate and raspberry cake accompanied by a Mocha for Sophie and a big pot of English Breakfast tea for me. Scrumptious! It was so good to be back and this was something we really missed during lockdown!

After we'd eaten we mooched about in the kitchen shop opposite and I bought Mike a glass mug with a lid and straw as he manages to spill coffee in my car every morning on the way to work. We then popped into several of the charity shops and Sophie bought some tops at a knockdown price. Her total haul today of four tops and a dress came to about £25, the cost of a blouse in Next or River Island! Even I did well today and I bought two lovely new handbags for £10!

Before going home we visited Harborough Kitchens and asked if someone could come and have a look at the kitchen. They make bespoke cabinets and the price is probably out of our budget, but I wanted to compare suppliers. The woman we spoke to was very friendly and we've arranged a visit for a couple of weeks' time.

By now it was very chilly and it had started to rain so we decided to call at Farndon Fields where we bought some treats. The place was very busy and the cafe is now open but we were still full of cake so we'll leave going for another visit!

Back home we pootled about and Sophie put her new clothes in for a quick refresh wash. I helped her put her bedding back and then suggested we play a game of cards in the conservatory. Dinner tonight was supposed to be homemade chicken Kiev but half way through our games, Keith decided he wasn't hungry... he made himself a sandwich while Sophie and I had leftover chilli baked in the oven with cheese and tortilla chips! This Saturday night change of meals is starting to become a habit!

Outside it was truly horrible so we brought Sophie's quilt down and curled up on the sofa with the cat to watch a couple of episodes of The Bridge. Keith and I couldn't remember much of it, which was hardly surprising as it was first shown in 2011!

So glad it's Friday!

Work wasn't too bad today but I had so much to do and the time flew by! As well as answering the phones, I had to do the box office returns and I also had a load of invoices to deal with. Plus, I'd been given new films to put on and we're showing "Love Sarah" and "Pinocchio" next weekend. Our screenings haven't been that well attended but I think with the bad weather we're having at the moment, we'll be busier.

The rain first thing this morning was horrendous and the road was flooded at Holcot. On my way home the sky was a mix of huge storm clouds - some of them were pure, dazzling white, while others were dark grey. It was very dramatic and I wish I could have stopped and taken some photos.

I had planned on a nice, easy afternoon of doing very little but I somehow got caught up with trying to connect my computer to Mum and Dad's printer as I had something I needed to print off for them. It was very frustrating, especially as I had ordered new ink! In the end I gave up on trying to connect it wirelessly and had to connect it by a USB lead instead. Grrr!

We took Mike into town at 4.30pm and I went a different way to try and avoid the Friday rush hour traffic. Sophie beat us home and after taking Keith to the pub (the sky was still very stormy and it has rained for most of the day), Sophie and I poured ourselves a glass of red and settled down to watch "That Touch of Mink" starring Cary Grant and Doris Day. It was pure bliss and fantastic escapism!

Dinner tonight was chilli con carne which was perfect as outside it was chilly and very rainy. Oh, of course, it's a Bank Holiday weekend!

Mrs Grumpy!

As is the case now, work was very busy again this morning. I know all of us will be very glad when the school holidays are over and swimming lessons have settled down.

I didn't sleep well last night because of our heavy meal and a few glasses of wine so I felt very irritable this morning. I was glad we were quiet during the first half hour because my colleague didn't actually log onto the phones until well past 8.30am. I don't know what she was doing, but I felt very annoyed! She then spent a lot of the morning going between two desks and cleaning everything so my levels of annoyance increased!

I really think at the moment that I'm truly turning into a grumpy old woman! My patience with customers tends to run out by mid-morning mainly because some of them are so stupid! It's not just me, we all agree with this! When someone genuinely needs our help I am very sympathetic but we get so many queries that people could solve for themselves and it's wasting our time and theirs. And to think I really missed work during lockdown!

Keith picked me up at 2pm and I dealt with three missed calls I'd received since being at work. They were from the estate agent who wanted a key to Mum and Dad's house. I'd had to take it out of the key box by the front door as I'd had a feeling that someone had been sneaking into the house without us knowing - in fact they said that they'd been around this morning without telling me and obviously didn't realise they key was no longer there...hmm! I was not happy!

I said I would put it back as the buyer wanted to go in and measure up and we drove over in very heavy rain. Because we were so close to the time to pick Mike up we went straight there and of course, he was late! Typical!

Back home I had a nap as I felt so tired after my bad night's sleep! Sophie went out this evening with her friend Laura and they went to The Royal Oak in Cogenhoe. Naturally, I waited up for her and she arrived home at about 10.30pm. I could then go to bed and hope for a better night's sleep!

Eat out to help out!

The wind overnight was very strong indeed, and it woke me up at about 11.30pm. Sophie appeared in the doorway of our bedroom and said she was going to get Monty in as she was worried about him being out!

This morning it had died down considerably, but I still urged her to be careful driving to the gym. Keith said that the roads had been OK on the way to Kettering so I think we escaped fairly lightly!

I did some housework first thing and tidied up as we had the Magnet kitchen designer coming at about 10am. When she arrived she was completely different to how she was last week and was very friendly and chatty! She asked us lots of questions, measured up and said she would put something together for us to look at.

I went to work at 11.30am and work was extremely busy indeed. It was quiet at first so Denise asked one of the general assistants to bring a hoover into the office so she could vacuum the carpet, but as soon as she'd done a bit, the phones went mad! A lot of them were about the imminent return of our swimming lessons and parents desperate to get their children onto the time and day of their choice!

I took a call at 17:59:50 but thankfully the woman on the phone just wanted to know what time her child had been swimming in the past so I was able to deal with that quickly and then log off. Phew!

I sped home, did some paperwork for Mum and Dad and got ready to go out for the evening with Fiona and Lynda. Abbie was at our house and Sophie was cooking fish pie for dinner, with instructions I had provided, bless her, but she was more than capable!

Keith took me to Miller & Carter on the Round Spinney roundabout and I walked in just as Fiona arrived. We weren't allowed in the bar for a drink and we were shown straight to a table. Just above my head was a loudspeaker and the music was blaring out... I thought this wasn't allowed at the moment, as it forces people to speak more loudly, thereby possibly spreading the virus?

We asked to move and although the new table also had a speaker above, it was much quieter, thank goodness! We ordered drinks and Lynda arrived as Fiona was telling me about how ill her husband had been. The doctors kept thinking he had Covid, but he'd actually got pneumonia due to builders creating a lot of dust in their house. He was in hospital for quite a while, but is now on the mend.

We had a good look at the menus and I chose the chipotle chicken to start followed by lamb, which we all decided to have. The food was very good but I thought the main course was a bit sparse! We had a really good chat and all of us had room for dessert which, in my case, was a gorgeously gooey chocolate brownie served with ice-cream and caramel sauce.

Keith and Sophie came to collect me at about 10pm and the bill came to a much more reasonable £37 each, despite the "Eat out to help out" offer!

My Chipotle chicken starter... delicious!

Cheers!

Chocolate brownie...Mmm!

Storm Francis.

I awoke this morning to the sound of heavy rain - Storm Francis has arrived! This storm is from the 2019-2020 season and is very unusual for this time of year.

Sophie texted me from the gym to say the roads on the way were very waterlogged and an hour later, when Keith took me to work, they were probably worse.

I was working with Jo this morning and we were hectically busy. The phone calls were virtually non-stop giving us very little time to do anything else in between. At 12pm Denise came in so I was able to go off the phones and help Sara with the emails. We had over 80 in the inbox! Hopefully, one day we'll all look back on this and laugh...

Keith picked me up at 2pm and said that Mike was at home as there was very little he could do at work because of the heavy rain. By now, the rain had cleared away, though, but the wind was growing stronger.

I spent the afternoon pootling about and listening to the wind outside. Our poor plants were being buffeted every which way and the letterbox was flapping like mad! I told Sophie to be careful driving home in case there were fallen branches on the road.

We sat and played cards in the conservatory before our dinner of beef curry and it was very pleasant indeed. We haven't sat outside very much this summer and thinking about it, I do prefer sitting in the conservatory as it feels like we're outside anyway, but protected from the elements!