Spooky!

Trick or treating with the family and friends - ten children dressed as witches, wizards, ghosts and ghouls - tramping the local streets to visit  and claim sweets from any house decorated for the occasion - lighted pumpkin lamps through to complete camouflage with cobwebs and spiders.
The children had a whale of a time, bagging small bucket fulls of goodies, even a home made cup cake each from one committed householder.
We chatted with other groups doing the rounds, before retiring to the pub for a quick drink, then home for dinner.
Halloween is a big celebration in these parts due to the American families that lived locally - a lot of effort put in by a good proportion of locals.
I've spent the day quietly, entertaining myself with catching up on mail, chatting on the phone,  drinking coffee,shopping, ironing and watching TV - at least two at a time - don't think I can't multitask!
Time for bed - an even busier day tomorrow!

Feeling Impish.

Up early this morning - cold and dark - as a day out in Lincoln in the offing - B due at a mtg at the power station at North Hykeham at 9.00am.
A rare treat to be welcomed with a cappaccino & toast when I came down, ready for the day and with an overnight bag packed.
It was a beautiful morning, bright and sunny with blue skies, the journey goes through some lovely countryside, despite the M6, M1 and A46.
We arrived in plenty of time at the end of the road, to find the road closed in our direction - the council upgrading after the power station is operational - I suppose they only had about 10 years notice!
It took another 15 minutes to drive around and access the site.
I abandoned B and drove into Lincoln, parked the car by the castle walls, at great expense and pottered into the cathedral and castle - only the outer sanctums of each as the castle wasn't yet open and I intended to return to the cathedral at noon for the service.
Down the long steep hill to the town, in and out of shops, to coffee and a scone at M&S.
That must be the steepest pedestrian hill in the country, if not the universe!
I failed to buy any new jeans - all the wrong width, shape or length - I will have to try elsewhere.
What is the world coming to?
Back up the hill - didn't stop once - into the car and off to find B.
We shopped en route home and have just enjoyed a delicious M&S Indian meal - highly recommended!
Watching the "Great British bake Off - Masterclass" - how many calories do they manage to get into one dish?
Our dinner seems quite abstemious in comparison

How clean is your house?

A lot cleaner than it was yesterday!
J & Th came mid-morning; as the sun was shining I was tempted to sweep up the 2.2 million acorns on the yard and barrow them to the top of the field, but decided to spoil myself and so polished and vacuumed downstairs instead - didn't get as far as the scullery, porch and laundry.
I did quite enjoy it, which is pretty sad in itself, but I am delighted with the outcome - neat , clean and tidy with paperwork sorted, rubbish out, even the dustbin emptied.
After lunch we walked/cycled/scooted to the village shop to sort out a planning letter from the land registry with the chair of the PC and buy milk, then on to the playground for a scamper round for half an hour.
Home to make a chocolate cheesecake - lots of crushing, stirring and melting, then baking.
Boiled eggs and scotch pancakes for tea, then story writing until P came.
I went to BHX to collect Ben, home for dinner then, to my shame, a nap on the settee - I woke up too early this morning, then I have to do the calculation re BST to check whether it is too early.
I do need to wake early tomorrow, so hope that BST change is in my favour.
B's changed the clocks that baffle me by having no visible nobs.

What storm?

A great deal of water lying about this morning, but quiet& still - no sign of the threatened storm.
So much for having an early night with a Benedictine (liqueur, not monk!) in order to sleep through the turmoil.
I did sleep until 6.00am (7.00am really) which was good.
The house was really warm as the clock on the boiler needs changing.
How?
I'm sure that someone will visit and sort it and the bedroom clock - I can't find any means of adjustment.
I released the chickens then went back to bed, chatted on the phone & looked through the papers from Saturday.
The bank phoned to apologise and give me £100 for a couple of failings that had caused me grave concern - not bad without getting out of bed!
When I did eventually start the day, I ran to Jan's to do some paperwork for a couple of hours.
Home for a cheese sandwich, visits by two friends, Jane to invite me to her birthday lunch, John, to collect a chicken pen and offer to update my chickens  - no way, these talk to me now.
I managed to get the paperwork done before going to salsaexercise at 7.30pm - a laugh a minute, as usual.
I can cope with the exercise bit but the mambo/foot crossing/twirling and knees upping leaves me giddy at best, falling about laughing at worst - the final session of dancing leaves the instructor falling about laughing - I think that he does try to take us seriously.
Home for an avocado, e mails & staying up too late - the heating went off an hour early, must get the clock put right.
J and Th tomorrow so up early.

What did you do with your extra hour?

I woke early - 6.00am, but really only 5.00am, read some of yesterday's Telegraph then cleaned the bathroom, before getting up.
Beat that.
I've since been to church, had coffee & caught up a little more on the papers, whilst watching TV & waiting for the showers to stop -  I have about four barrow loads of acorns to sweep up on the yard, before the floods come tomorrow - hopefully the leaves will blow away, the acorns........
The exercise will do me good.
Out this evening so I need to keep clean or leave time to shower again.

The Barn Dance last night was great fun & great exercise - a good mix of ages, from 5 to 80, with a smattering of young farmers, the floor full all evening, apart from supper time - ploughman's supper, locally sourced! (Morrisons, Coleshill)
We covered our costs, which are high for a caller & band.

Today is our 18th wedding anniversary - the third spent apart.
On two occasions g has been diving.
Today he's in Boscombe, no doubt planning yet another trip to Thailand.
A sad day.   

Bats alive!

Yesterday I was woken before 8.00am by a phone call from the gas engineer, coming to service the boiler, arriving shortly - the evils of staying up until the early hours!
Presumably he did a grand job, recommended a magnetic filter  (£355) to be fitted to remove sludge from the system & a CO detector in the laundry (£30)?????
Jan came for coffee & a giggle which we then shared with Marion from Plumbs - measuring the settees for loose covers & choosing fabrics.
Are loose covers comparable with recovering?
I'll have a quote for recovering before making a decision - have to be soon, before the covers fall off altogether.
A trip to the Mill for bird food - more expensive to feed the wild birds than the chickens - then no more diversions to be found, I mowed the lawns.
This was hard work as the bin filled so quickly with leaves & acorns as well as grass.
It was dark by the time a flat tyre caused me to call it a day - outside lawns not quite finished.
Bother.
I'll get the tyre sorted & the mower serviced next week & finish the mowing with the little mower.
That'll be it for 2013!

A bath, a fillet steak & salad completed the day, whilst catching up with Doc Martin on TV - they've made him such a grumpy old doc with some mental imbalance this series, certainly not fit for purpose  as a husband or a doctor.
Shame, he was so nice - I hope they sort him out in the next series.

Presently watching CBBs with J & Th whilst the lunch cooks - house full of bats, ghosts, ghouls ; spiders already - paper everywhere.
Pumpkins to carve after lunch!
We watched the mole tunnelling this morning, just outside the conservatory - a rare site.

Thanks, Pret!

Two highlights of the day - Th's school harvest Service , produced by their brilliant music teacher -  delightful as ever, followed by a wonderful lunch in Pret a Manger, a gift !
The assistant said "have this on me", when I went to pay - apparently they give a meal away each day to a customer they like. I was really touched - it made it taste even better than usual.

 AJ & I returned yesterday from a long weekend in Richmond, staying with aj's son & girlfriend, in their lovely cottage, minutes from the park.
They took us out for an Italian lunch on Saturday, with little Harry, six. We then pottered around the shops before home for tea.
Aj & I babysat, or more accurately, maintained a presence whilst Harry slept & P & N went to a party.

On Sunday we ventured out in torrential rain to meet up with Tim, Rachel & Dick for a scrummy , late lunch somewhere in the countryside.
By the time we had finished eating the car park was under water but the sun had come out.

On Monday aj & I did Richmond, both sides of he bridge, stopping for coffee at M&S, then back to prepare a meal whilst aj ironed a dozen or so shirts.
We're better at domestic chores than shopping!

We came home on Tuesday, stopping off at Bicester for coffee & a potter around the village & town..
We found B at home when we stopped off to deliver a box of biscuits, so had a nice cup of tea & a biscuit before collecting T & KP for a cuddle & a chat, before we left for home.

This morning I collected Barbara for Th's  Harvest Service, then we went back for coffee, taking a senior citizen gift box for Adrian, Barbara & I being far too young to be mistaken for senior citizens.
We put the world to rights for an hour or so before I went in to Solihull, then home via Knowle.

I'm hoping to do some tidying up in the garden tomorrow - barrow loads of acorns, tons of leaves & ten molehills on the lawn - a good day is forecast, the only one for a while.
      

Viking invasion ended.

Sadly.
W, Mk & the boys left after lunch for Manchester Airport - they arrived home  an hour or so ago, to recoup in time for work/school/nursery on Monday.
W & MK took over the kitchen/catering for most of the week as they follow a Paleo diet, relaxed somewhat when here - a rare treat to be cooked for, even the shopping done as I'm not trusted to get it right.
Morrisons does have it's limitations!

W made gluten free pancakes for breakfast - a triumph with damson jam & cream or nutella.
Mk made a wonderful lunch of all of the food still in the fridge - hot & cold salads, meats, sausages & cheeses, with freshly made GF bread.

We did some jobs, played football & it was time to go.
I left shortly afterwards to collect J & Th from school - this necessitated running half the way from P & A's to school, by the time I'd managed to extricate the key from the front door.
Home before 7.00pm for supper with aj.
I've spent too long using the laptop since then - awaiting a letter that hasn't yet arrived.

Half term.

We had a lovely family day today - a walk around the reservoir in the sunshine - we walked, J & DK ran, then sat surrounded by ducks & geese, whilst we caught up.
We were home for lunch, followed by further building work to the cardboard bat house, whilst I went to the hairdressers.
The boys had a good scamp around the garden, venturing into the field to glean  a bucketful of potatoes.
The mud will wash off - boys & tubers!

We cooked a very special cottage pie  for dinner , which well deserved a nice bottle of wine.
Aj arrived in time to partake; we  then had a mini firework celebration to give J & DK  the opportunity to recognise Guy Fawkes night, strangely overlooked by the Danes!

The Bible discussion group took place, as planned, followed by tea & lemon cake & chat.

I have the dress & shoes ready for the weekend, only the manicure & packing to get done tomorrow.

Hi, I'm back!

My blog imploded today - my fault, I'm sure.
All of this stuff is a total mystery to me - I'm always surprised & delighted that it does work.
When anything goes wrong I turn the modem off, then back on.
If that doesn't work, I get upset, then phone a friend.
Presently W, MK & family are staying, all of whom are more competent than I am; W has saved the day!

J & I have had a fun day together, watching CBBs, to Coleshill to shop for lunch & dinner, picnic lunch on a rug in the lounge, scooting to the reservoir to feed the very appreciative ducks, baking a malteser cake & making a bat cage out of a collection of boxes, as a finale.
I prepared dinner - salmon joint with parmentier potatoes & stir fry vegetables, then picked up Keith for an Alms Houses trustees meeting at the Rectory - no wonder I'm tired!

We bought some fireworks  for a celebration tomorrow - it being Thursday & aj will be joining us, to the boys' delight - a large cascade & a sparkler each!
I hope the rain stops.
I'm watching a recording of today's "Flog It".
Paul Martin with shaggy hair, looking about 40, rather than his more usual 56, wearing a cord jacket that he has since grown into.
Bedtime - I hope to sleep beyond 4.00am, having done enough thinking for the time being.
 

Shop till the spirits drop.

No failures with the security system today, which is an improvement on yesterday.
No disappointed family members out in the cold to avoid the siren, given a key but no info regarding the alarm.
Today we went to Solihull as the Danish side of the family clothes shop whilst here as the prices are much lower & children's clothes also carry VAT in Denmark.
Even so, the children over there always look very stylish - especially my grandchildren, who gave a fashion show, had a bath, whilst undressed, & are now awaiting a meal.
I'm tired, not helped by a glass of wine before the meal.

I have just postponed the Charles Hanson valuation Lunch, planned for the end of the month; his PA phoned yesterday to say that he has cancer & starts chemotherapy next Tuesday.
We are hoping to hold this in the spring, when he is hale & hearty again.
Please remember him in your thoughts and/or prayers. 

Bottoms Up!

I bought a charming little tankard with a figure hanging over the rim, by Weetman pottery with the slogan  "Bottoms Up", written on the side, in a charity shop in Bicester today.
made in the fifties, I think, that's all I know.
I was on my way to M&S to buy an Indian meal for this evening - that was very good as well.
W, MK, J & DK are here for a week, which is great - the boys sparkle - they are excellent house guests.
We all went to Bicester yesterday - they went for lunch, I went in the evening as I had Family Service to take at 10.00am & Evening Prayer at 6.00pm, with a friend for tea sometime in between.
The grandchildren had a whale of a time together, turning T's bedroom into a dorm for the night.
This morning J went to school with KP & had the girls fighting over who should sit next to him - inherited his father's charm!
It rained all day yesterday, it has rained much of today & the yard is flooded, but is not too cold, just damp.
We should have had a fire tonight had I filled the log basket before the rain came.

Chief regret of the day - forgetting to tell W & MK about the burglar alarm - they arrived home from Bicester half an hour before me & were in the drive to avoid the noise (DK does an excellent imitation of the siren now) & to reassure the visiting neighbours

  

Glowing!

That's the house & owner.
Peter finished the decorating yesterday - it all looks fantastic - the grubbiness creeps up on you slowly & you don't realise just how grubby things are until you start afresh.
He's coming back again in a few weeks to finish the downstairs.
I'm still in my bedroom, admiring the results & with furniture rearranged so that it works better.
The family are arriving later today; I have the quandary of whether to try & move the heavy furniture back so all is done or leave it & let w help me later - some of it is really big!
I can manage, but it's a struggle.
I have tomorrow's sermon & Family Service to get down on paper yet.
Where shall I start & can I fit in a visit to the hairdresser?
Does he have an appointment anyway??
Decisions, decisions......

I have to decide on a new curtain pole & curtains for the bedroom & a lounge suite & then decide if I really can afford it all.
I have decided that the pole should be fancy & metal - decision made there as Peter sawed the other one in half to make it fit in the dustbin, the curtains should be pale & velvet, & the suite.....tartan.
I may even have seen the fabric - amazing & will look so good with the panelling.
Comments welcome.

Yesterday spent shopping, cleaning things & putting them back - lots still to do - photos on the hall walls, clocks, etc,.
I helped set out the harvest supper, prepared a quiz for the tables with ads for our forthcoming events & went to church to print off, showered changed & back to enjoy the aforementioned event.
Food was great & company was good - I ate more than I've eaten all week!
A first - I was told that "a whippet like me didn't have to worry about what I ate"
Never been called a whippet before, but I was wearing a slinky dress, which may have helped.
Lots of requests for my diet - a bit drastic for most, I suspect.

Not as chilly as it looks from indoors - 10 degrees when I released the chickens first thing, but damp, grey & leaves everywhere - about typical for mid October, I guess.
I filled the feeder & put clean hay in the laying box so perhaps the chickens will reward me with an egg apiece today - they have the pastry ends from a number of slab pork pies as their treat.
beat that!
I was tol

Ten years younger.

I am sitting here glowing, having had a wonderful facial & massage at the Skincare Spa in Dorridge at lunchtime., courtesy of a Travelzoo deal, hence a bargain, to boot.
It was a great experience - soothing & relaxing.
The last massage I had was in Vietnam on 23 May last year - today's was much more relaxing, I kept more clothes on & I wasn't offered sex at the end of it - much more to my liking really.

I was up early as Peter the painter arrives before 8.00am.
I spent an hour cleaning the church, came home to change then went to Knowle for a potter, then on to Dorridge to the spa, then spent a couple of hours in Solihull, starting with a delicious baguette & coffee in Pret.
I looked at curtain samples, but have to see the bigger picture; I fancy a soft sage green.
as I'm planning a new suite, I suppose I should choose that first.
Sitting in the lounge, or "drawing room",  as Dad called it, devoid of anything but the basics, I can see the suite in a new light & I don't like it - perhaps I never did.

The chickens are doing well - let out for the first time since replacement 3 arrived.
both in the box tonight & two eggs again today - I ate them for my tea, poached!
I walked around the village, putting up posters on the village noticeboard & in The Plough, delivering fliers to 30 houses, selected by likelihood to be interested in the forthcoming events or accessibility of letterbox, in the dark.

It feels like bedtime but I must clean the lounge so that Peter can put the hooks back in for the pictures, tomorrow morning.
he measures before taking them out & knows exactly where they go.
Amazing!  

Summer palace

The decorating's coming on a pace - my bedroom is "Summer Palace" by Laura Ashley - bedroom done, dressing room lined, painted so will be completed tomorrow - it looks brilliant - hall & landing started.
I have to find curtains to finish off the lounge & bedroom- those taken down have been up for over twenty years so are due for replacement - you only notice the faded streaks when the curtains come down.
Nearest Dunelm Mill needed for velvet curtains, to keep out the cold.
Any better ideas?

I spent far too long this morning trying to register for Royal mail shares on line, gave up  &picked blackberries & gleaned potatoes from the edges of the adjoining field whilst the grass dried out, then spent 4 hours mowing the lawns this afternoon, finishing in near darkness at 7.00pm.
Hopefully, this will be the last cut of the year so I was keen for it to be well done - apart from grass, I collected lots of leaves so it was easy to see where I'd mown, even in failing light.

I did have a second try at the Royal Mail shares later, with success!!
Have to wait & see now.

I had a much needed bath after the mowing, then off to bell ringing - not too bad this time, but slow progress, it seems.
I did manage to leave my handbag, with car key, in the ringing chamber, not realising until all was locked up - oh dear.
It was retrieved by a good Samaritan!
About time for bed - treats laid on for tomorrow - more later.

Indian Summer

and forecast to last for another day before the autumn arrives, on Wednesday.
Tomorrow I plan to mow the lawns & then put the mower to bed for the winter - I managed to start the little mower yesterday & mow a double strip around the edges & round the trees, which should make life a lot easier.
B mended the little mower - the cable had worn through where it came from under the casing, & so shorting.

A busy weekend, catching up after a week of Granny duties in Bicester & Solihull - all great fun.
The decorator had been in all week - lounge looking wonderful, but curtains needed.
He finished my bedroom today - it looks amazing - better than I could ever have dreamt.
The dressing room still to do, then the hall, stairs & landing & downstairs loo - should be done by Friday ready for the family to arrive on Saturday.

Yesterday I went to church at Sh, took the service at BW, had coffee with Jan then mowed for a while, made a couple of visits & collected a chicken from the farm - a chicken died whilst I was away - I warned them about going across the road, but they wouldn't listen!
A short life but a happy one!

Today I've played tennis, put up posters for the Barn Dance, Charles Hanson lunch & Entrepreneurs sale, tried to use my 20% off voucher at M&S, but failed as there was nothing I wanted, then collected J & th from school, tea, football & lego.
Home for a quick tea & salsaexercise class.

I heard part of "Museum of curiosities" on radio 4 at 6.30pm
It was brilliant - an anthropologist comparing man with apes, brilliantly - do catch it on I player  if you can.
Time for bed - two short nights, too much to think about & e mails to compose.
I need a holiday!
 

Good friday.

Friday was a good day, starting in Bicester, with T coming in for a chat at 6.15am, joined shortly afterwards by KP;, ending in Solihull, watching "Father Ted", having put J & Th to bed.
T & KP had a race getting dressed which T won - tights take more time to put on than socks!
T then played his clarinet for 15 minutes  - pretty well, by my judgement - a good way to wake everyone else up!

There was a charming Key Stage 2 Harvest assembly, with great singing, poems & presentations.
I visited Bicester Village & tried on a few dresses in Hobbs - they didn't do anything for me, so I settled for coffee & a sandwich at Pret, before setting off, eventually, for Solihull.
I pottered around the shops along the Stratford road for a while, in the pouring rain - too little time to go to Solihull & too early for school.
By the time we arrived home we were all pretty wet, but cheerful.
Lego is the choice of the week - T was particularly pleased with his leisure centre, especially the toilet, complete with "sitter".
After tea, time with mum & "You've been Framed" ........ bedtime .
Th was asleep within minutes, J read, briefly & I did some reading & thinking about Sunday's sermon.
I wonder how many channels you must have in order to find a programme that you want to watch, as opposed to watching the least awful.
Even "Have I got news for you" was disappointing - it has a team of scriptwriters - very obvious, on occasion.
"Father Ted" was good - stands the test of time.
Home late, lots of stuff to bring in from the car & a pile of mail I should have left until the morning.


 

Oxford was beautiful - the sun was shining & it was quiet with just a busker or two, sand artists modelling sleeping dogs, alongside the itinerants with their real sleeping dogs.
I pottered around the centre, main streets & side streets, as far as Christ Church College, walked around the gardens & had coffee in Pret before catching the bus back & speed walking back from town to collect T & KP from school.
We cooked chicken curry & made fruit salad for tea before KP was collected for Beavers, which she loves.
T & I visited Tesco!!!! to choose a special lunch for today - his school trip to Silgrave Manor(?)
Home, KP & so to bed then dinner in peace.

Today Kate came to clean, whilst I ironed, then I took three family photos to the framers so they will be ready to hang in the hall, which may have been decorated by now.
My planned visit to Bicester Village didn't happen - I lost the will somewhere, visited M& S Food & came home for coffee & some lunch.
I intended to mow the back lawn afterwards, but it rained hard whilst I had my lunch, so that didn't work either - I chilled for half an hour before B came home & we collected KP - T at digital leaders, to collect later.
B & E are having an evening at the theatre - TKP & I visited BCC - a local school - their Open Evening for potential year 7 students .
A newly appointed head to get them out of special measures, much improved, apparently.
We arrived early & had a look around for half an hour before the rather too long & tedious presentation - a DVD of the school, which we were about to see in the flesh, followed by EIGHT students telling us, in turn, what a wonderful school it was.
No criticisms at all - perfect!

Home for cocoa & bed!

Gleaming Spires.

Can anyone explain why last week's blog "Phew Again" has now had over 80 hits?
Did I unwittingly use any dodgy phrases?

Anyway, back to the more mundane for my usual readership.
I'm in Bicester this week picking up T & Kp from school & doing the myriad (exaggeration!) of clubs & after school activities - they tire me & I only do the transport.
They have been great fun as usual - never a dull moment.
T has a time issue - he insists on being very early for everything, especially school - not usually a family failing!

I played tennis on Monday morning before setting off - the decorator is in - he is brilliant so I know that I shall be delighted with the make-over, when I get home.
Yesterday I made damson jam, speed walked into town & pottered around for a couple of hours before picking up T & KP.
We made damson jam buns (delicious) - they are very good helpers in the kitchen, whilst the tea cooked, then off to cubs & gym.

Today I'm planning a trip to Oxford on the S5 - another speed walk into town for the bus.
Never a dull moment!