Winter woollies on again.

A little light shopping this morning, home by 3.30pm!
The most interesting buy was an indenture, dated 1770, on vellum, with a double sided glass frame - a document between Mary Dale, widow & her son, George.
Fascinating.
We shall sell it at the next sale, having done the research into it.
We bought the food for tomorrow & I seem to have been cooking ever since so that we can enjoy the day.
Gordon Ramsey is to blame - I looked recipes in his cook book whilst in DMK - I was so impressed that I ordered the book on Amazon & am using some recipes for tomorrow - choc & ginger cheesecake & Gordon's trifle plus a number of salads.
It's about time I expanded my repertoire!
I  think an early night may be a good idea.

Flog it!

We went to Bigwoods, auction house at Tiddington, just outside Stratford, this morning, as they were selling a couple of postcard albums, a couple of catalogues & a couple of books for us.
When we arrived, James ....., the plump smiley antique guy was outside, Charles ....., the smarmy one, was inside & Paul ....., the presenter was there - "Flog It" was being recorded.
Great excitement.
Our lots sold well & a number of lots sold for many times the estimate.
A good sale.
We went on to Stratford & had a little lunch at Carlucchios before going home via Morrisons in Solihull.
Aj's arrived to help G celebrate, on Sunday, now fed & in bed
G went for a good bike ride whilst I cooked dinner.
A little light food shopping tomorrow then home to make a b'day cake, whilst G works on the mower.

A lot of caravans on the road today - Warks schools broke up today, Solihull, next Thursday.

Fill up your tank....

What a load of rubbish!
The Stratford road jammed at the point where there are two garages off a small roundabout as the good folk of Shirley take up the suggestion of DC & keep their tanks full.
The increase in tax on hot fast food - typified by the Cornish pasty - has been made much of.
Apparently, you would need to buy - not necessarily eat - 900 pasties to spend as much in increased "pasty tax" as you will have gained by the increase in personal allowance.

Anyway, we have fuel, although the Lotus will be back on the road in April & has an empty tank, & don't eat pasties, so life looks good.
Warks police is to be cut from 850 to 650 - I don't think that they reach as far as Coleshill as it is, so we may not notice.

Today I have cleaned the house from top to bottom, filled the front borders with  an array of brightly coloured polyanthus, washed & ironed three loads of washing. G has sorted his pensions & is sorting the carburetor from the mower, so, one man may go to mow, on Saturday.

I have caught up with  J & Th, having picked them up from school for the last two days; tonight we bought fish & chips from Meriden, on the way home.
Delicious.

Happy Birthday twins.

Another great day, which started early this morning, scouts' pace to school, with J on his bike (scouts' pace I've decided is running until you can't, then walking until you can run again) & finished back home at 7.00pm after being seen off at the railway station by the family, train to CPH, a very good flight to BHX & being met by G.
It was such a clear day that you could see all of the Danish islands, in bright sunshine - doesn't happen often..
I had the most expensive coffee of my entire life, at the airport - 47kr/£5.89 for a medium cappuccino - I put a lot of chocolate on it for added value!
It's the exchange rate that's to blame rather than Starbucks - only 8kr to the pound, when it has always been ten.
Gordon's fault, again then.
MK's sister , K, had identical twin girls today, all doing well & according to today's telegraph, the twins will have a one in three chance of  living to be over 100!
Amazing.
I guess that that means that they will retire at 85 or thereabouts.

Lots of jobs to do tomorrow, housework, gardening & shopping - a promise of more hot weather until the weekend.

Thanks to W & MK & the boys for an enjoyable week.
DK made amazing progress in coping with his "red plaster wellies", during the week.
By Friday he had totally mastered moving, walking & climbing, as normal.
I'm sure that he was chattering in English by the end of the week; J's English is brill!

A Danish summer.

I can scarcely believe that I've been here a whole week & the weather has been fantastic - warm/hot, dry & sunny all week.
I may have hit the Danish summer!
W had a very early start today - I heard him leave.
J leaves for school at 7.30am, which was a struggle, he cycled & I did "scouts pace" with heavy breathing!
We took DK to nursery, where he stayed until 10.00am, which was pretty good going under the circumstances. He rested up, had lunch , then we went out for a walk for a couple of hours - did the bottle bank, fed the ducks, walked around town & collected J from school.
They were both tired & took little active entertaining.
All well with the world, everyone in bed, asleep.
Home tomorrow - I hope the sun keeps shining for a little longer - I have some gardening to do.

Hot, hot, hot.

Everybody has made the most of a beautiful, hot sunny day - you never know, this may be the danish summer!
Mk took J to his football training session this morning, W went for a 70km bike ride, then we spent the afternoon in the garden, variously playing football, gardening, hedge trimming (now in an experimental vase - perhaps I misunderstood!), enjoying coffee & cake.
We have just had another wonderful meal - roast pork (what else?) followed by Eton mess, with T & B for entertainment.
All ready for an early night to beat the "Spring-forward blues" in the morning, when W has a very early start for a three hour journey somewhere.

Elton John was 65 today.
Blimey.
Must be a good age to be! 

Happy Birthday from DK

I am in Ringsted with W, MK & family, coping well with the danish language, as usual - point,say a number, & the reply is always in excellent english - & that's just in the house!
DK has acclimatised to life with two bright red "wellie boots" on, in fact, he likes them a lot.
The greeting at Nursery is to stick out a leg, the boot is then tapped or the knee stroked, sometimes both.
He has visited Nursery each day to be tapped/stroked before coming home 20 minutes later.
Yesterday we ("we" this week is DK & me) went to Roskilde with MK to collect a little zimmer frame - "little" added there to avoid confusion -  "we" then spent the morning in Roskilde, having an adventure, then came home on the train, to have lunch with W, who had been confined to the cellar for four hours, working!
Both J & DK are now whizz kids on the wheelchair & zimmer frame - great fun spinning round on them.
The wheelchair has the benefit of not deafening everyone within a five-mile radius.

Last night we went to T & B's for a delicious dinner, to celebrate T's birthday - us Mums just get younger & more able!

Clocks forward tonight - I'm always pleased as I then wake up at about the right time for a few weeks.
Nobody else seems to be looking forward to getting up at 5.30am on Monday.
Strange! 

Wishy washy.

 It's been like a Chinese laundry here today - six loads of washing done, line dried, ironed & away.
Nothing dirty in the entire house, apart from what we're standing up in.
Fantastic
I've vacuumed from top to bottom - unbelievabe, the amount of dirt that the Dyson picks up after only a couple of days.
W, MK & DK arrived this evening after spending the day in Manchester, DK having an operation on his heels - all went well & he is very pleased with his "red boots"
I'm going home with them tomorrow to entertain DK.
Actually, he seems so good that he may well be going back to nursery quite soon - I can be Au pair rather than nanny!

Sunday already.

The simnel cakes turned out very well, as did the gingerbread.
The theory of making in advance didn't work out well as everyone kept having a piece, so there was only a bit left by today.
Never mind - it was enjoyed.
I had my shopping day on Thursday, ready for the weekend - 3 hours in Solihull, including coffee at M&S. Jan came to dinner & a chat, as Chris was away.
On Friday, I got the house ready for the weekend - J, G & family staying & the rest of the family for Sunday lunch - then off to Solihull to pick up J & Th from school & tea.
In the evening we went to friends in Sutton, for dinner - a good evening - home after midnight, so we saw the family on Sat morning.
J & G went shopping whilst we had fun with the g/children - great fun with the battery driven jeep.
Tired out, bathed  & ready for bed by 7.30pm.
G did stirling work organising them in the garden while I baked cakes for Sunday church - coffee, lemon, 2 dozen fairy cakes, a dozen rock cakes & a malteser cake for home.

Church was a big success - congregation of 70, including 2o+ children, wearing hats labelled with the jobs mums do then hanging flowers on a Mum tree!
A big rush on the tea & cakes afterwards, then the church kept open all day, serving teas throughout.

There were fifteen of us for lunch - the dishwasher has done three runs & still has some of  the tea things to do.
The seven g/children have had great fun playing together, mainly in the garden, on bikes & ride-ons & playing football with A.
I shall sleep well tonight!

W, Mk & little DK here tomorrow after DK has his operation in Manchester.

Wednesday.

Ovaltine is 105Ccalories per cup, I noted last night, whilst the kettle boiled.
Bother.
It may be worth 50 Cals, but not 105.
Tidied & cleaned the house from top to bottom yesterday, going out to lunch with the tennis ladies in between times, as in cleaned - showered & did the Cinderella bit - lunch - home - did the Cinderella at midnight bit - cleaned - cooked dinner - ate - slept.
Hence no blog.
Stuck on easy crossword again:
Chicken    - - - c - t
Aggressive   p - - - -
Custom     - - a - e

G at G Eliot, I'm about to make simnel cakes for Sunday/church.
I may make gingerbread as that will keep/improve, then make sponges on Saturday.
Cooler today but pleasant.

Do try the disgusting sounding Philadelphia cheese with chocolate - I only bought it because Jennifer saunders is an intelligent woman.
It's relly good, lower fat than butter & less dangerous than red meat, apparently!
Enjoy your day.

PS  spellcheck makes "Simnel into "Seminal"
Now that could be an interesting cake.

Nice out, again.

Hectic Sunday, two services, quick shop in Coleshill, three hours gardening then a walk around the block, collecting litter, before dinner.
A warm summer's day - perhaps it was the summer.
Cooler today, but a good morning's tennis then gardening - a square metre of leaves off the rockery, a walk to the Parish hall with G for the parish Council meeting, then home to dinner.
At least the meeting makes the TV look enthralling.
We wanted some assurance that we would be informed if expansion of the kennels at Cottage Farm was proposed - woof woof woof!
What to do about the litter?

I'm glad I'm not Chinese, I would never cope with the script.
God knows what a keyboard looks like.

Tomorrow, simnel cakes to make for church on Sunday - fruit cakes with marzipan in the middle, by my estimation, then lunch at The Cock with fellow tennis players & remove some dust before the weekend, in places where it shows.
That' the plan, anyway.
Hope it works.
Can anyone solve - "Portentous -   o-i-e-s"
                                "Cad  -   r-t-e-"
Have I got something wrong - only the simple one, what a failure!
I think I might make a cup of ovaltine & go to bed.

Weekend again.

Wherever did the last week go to?
We saw "The Best Marigold exotic Hotel" - words may be in the wrong order there - it was brilliant.
I think that it may appeal more to real grown ups, but it was well worth the effort.
Sign of the times, we went to the 5.30pm performance, then came home & ordered an Lndian take-away, to keep in the spirit of the film.

Yesterday  we did some shopping in Solihull before picking up J & Th from school & having tea with them.
In the evening we went to a wine tasting at Coleshill Town Hall, with the Wheelers & friends.
The somelier was.... Tony Souter.
He was very good, we drank half glasses of seven wines  plus the extra glass we seem to have been allocated every time, & were well oiled by the time we came home.
I have spent most of today writing a sermon for tomorrow - I hope that it works.
G has chopped logs & made a year's supply of kindling.

We have embarked on the preparation for an e bay account by photographing our goods from all angles & filing the photos.
What do we do next?
Enjoy your weekend. 

Showery!

Got up at 7.15am & did some ironing whilst keeping an eye on the weather.
tennis was on, off, on, off, then the sun came out at 9.45am, so we played - two sets with a coffee break whilst it rained hard.
Good fun & a laugh.
Home for lunch then G went to Coleshill to do some jobs.
I went for a walk, to see Phil & Marg (out), then finished the litter pick, up as far as the church - two big bin liners - nearly did my back in carrying it all up to the church dustbin, in two trips, then home for dinner.
Big bowls of salad with olives & ciabatta & a glass of wine, then asleep, after all the exercise.
Second wind now - some e-mails to see to, including a job offer to work with a group of 4 SEN, science, at Solihull College, a 2 hour session per week.
Sounds interesting.
A good day, despite the weather - lots of fresh air & exercise, a job offer & capped by a party political broadcast by ...... David Cameron!

Tuesday again.

Weekend flew past - shopping, cleaning Chris Thompson & Malcolm to dinner (hence the cleaning), then bed, G exhausted from talking - I couldn't get a word i !
Good to catch up with old friends
Went to church at Shustoke, then took the service at NW, on Sunday.
had a snack lunch, then took a cake to Marg & Phil, saw Jan & Chris, for a natter & then stayed in the warm - cold, wet & windy!

Went to Bicester on Monday as it was parents evenings at T & KP's school - from 3.30 until 6.00pm, to B's chagrin, as he missed KP's meeting.
Lovely evening with the family then a good night's sleep.

Did the school run this morning then back to Stratford to Bigwoods, auctioneers with boxes of books & alcohol, rejected by Bonhams.
Booze all catalogued as well as some books & albums, so came home considerably lighter.
Live in hope.
We shall start e-baying the rest, when we get round to it.
Lovely bright, sunny day, so we pottered around Stratford, including looking around the refurbished Shakespeare theatre & having coffee there, sitting by the river.
It is really spectacular now, well worth a visit.
Pottered in Henley on the way home, buying a great Aladdin oil lamp & a piece of Leeds ware pottery in a "Granny china shop".
Lazy since we got home - G put new batteries in the toy jeep & has been test driving it around the garden, smiling broadly.
He's limited the speed before the gcs get on it!
Tennis tomorrow, weather permitting.

Points.

We went to the ballet last night at The Hippodrome in B'ham - 2 ballets by Frederick Ashton ;
"Daphnis & Chloe" & "The two Pigeons".
The first went on a bit (G slept), the second was brilliant - dancers portraying  - you've guessed it - pigeons & gypsy dancers.
Wonderful costumes & fast.
We pottered in the morning & then did the school run for J & TH, looking rather better-dressed than normal!
G is getting the "Talbotmobile" on the road/yard ready for Mothering Sunday, when we hope for a mass invasion. I am putting the spare room back together, which involved a trip to the charity shop with excess clothes, & a number more to make, I would guess.
It's the security of having wardrobes full of clothes that you once enjoyed wearing, but know that in reality you'll never wear again.
It's also good to have space, &, as Bart Simpson once said (so aj once told me) "You can either have things or space"
I aim to have a little more space.
I was so lazy on Wednesday that I didn't bore you with the details - washing, ironing, crossword & pootling.
I may have done more, I forget!

Lovely day here again.
G off to P & A's to do a shower repair - I suggest a hammer it to bring forward the obvious decision about an elderly, frequently leaking through the kitchen ceiling device.

Tibor Reich - a name to conjure with.
A textile artist who worked at Denby Pottery in the 1960s
We put the TV on late on Wed evening - old Antiques Roadshow - collection of his works, called "Tigo ware", including a copy of a plate that I have - bought some years ago because it was so distinctive, worth several hundred pounds
Yes, yes, yes!

Just remembered, J & CH came to dinner on Wed, I spent quite a while on a new menu!
Not such a bore after all.