G & T.

G has landed at Bicester after 2 days with JR.
The journey is divided into 3 parts: beautiful countryside until Baldock, junctions to Milton Keynes then roundabouts every half mile for the remainder.
G is now at T & K house and is watching the TV and picked T up from school.
T & k hope G has a nice time from T & K xxx xxx.

Up & running....

I really was not counting the days of G's absence, more the days of his big adventure.
China does not allow blogging, so we will have to wait until he moves on, to Hong Kong, I think.
He phoned yesterday whilst boating on the lake with the cormorant fishermen, as seen in the HSBC advertisement.
Aj & I have just spent a week cruising the Nile from Luxor to Aswan in the sunshine.
The sunset at about 5.00pm, after which it became quite cool in the evenings.
We visited the Valleys of the Kings & Queens & the temples of Luxor, Karnak, Kom Ombo, Philae & Edfu the ollossi of Menmon - all amazing spectacles - as well as the souks in Luxor & Aswan.
Aj was wary of the harassment in the souks but is a born haggler, leaving the traders in tears.
This puts me to shame as I forget to haggle after the pressure of deciding that it's something I want to buy.
Anyway, we had a great time & met some really interesting people.
Lesson learnt: don't have a cabin on the lower deck near to the engine as it is noisy when sailing overnight.
I had a Thomas day yesterday & an early night, having slept on the settee for much of the evening. I have a sermon to write & JR to visit before the weekend.
We are looking forward to a visit to Ringsted, which coincides with family involvement in a gym display - I see MK as an Olga Korbet, for those who remember the 80's.

Spellcheck didn't like this blog!

Day 3.

A nice quiet day - aj arrived this afternoon for a break.
We have had steak for dinner & we are now finishing off a nice bottle of wine, watching TV.
It's a good job that I am not relying on comments for contact with the outside world.
I am taking a week off to write my first novel & do the illustrations.
I have settled for "Healthy Helen", which will obviously have a message .
Lunch with B, E T & KP tomorrow

Day 2.

I intended to go to the gym today, before collecting Thomas from nursery.
I didn't wake up until 8.00am, then spent too long in Knowle on the way, leaving only an hour, so gave up on the gym.
Disgraceful!
T & J were on good form, despite a soaking on the way home from school this afternoon.
G e-mailed, just stuff to forward.

Discovery of the week - it's much easier to iron with the ironing board set at about waist height.

Why can't they put something good on the TV - anything with Nicholas Cage is rubbish.

Day 1.

It's been a good day - I should be in bed by now as I'm really tired.
This morning Di came in for a cup of tea & a chat, the Volvo man came to collect the car for it's service, Jan came for a cup of coffee & a chat & suddenly it was lunchtime.
Strangely, the Volvo man left a car in the drive all day, despite the fact that they didn't have one to lend to me. Also, he looked like a mass murderer.
He returned the car at 3.00pm, without attempting to do away with me, so perhaps I misjudged him.
I've washed all of G's clothes, emptied, cleaned & tidied all of his drawers & put everything away again. I've even binned the odd thing that I hope that he won't miss.
The cards are down, the house cleaned & a bag of things out for the charity shop.
The car has been cleaned & vacuumed - I haven't seen the bill yet, but I suspect that I wont like it.

G phoned this afternoon. He has met up with his group & had enjoyed a Chinese lunch for about £2.00. He sounded very upbeat.

A Thomas day tomorrow. I plan/hope to go to the gym first. This will require planning &self-discipline.

I'm watching a programme about weight loss.
The secret would appear to be high protein, liquidised to form a soup as this stays in the stomach for longer.
Thick soup is the secret for successful dieting!

I broke the jug from the coffee maker by putting it under the tap when hot.
Bother.
Any advice about a good replacement - plain, not multi-tasking!

Home alone.

G is off on his "journey of a lifetime", presently in Beijing, then set to travel in China.
Keep abreast of his adventure on his blog -" journey of discovery".
I left him at Heathrow very early on Monday morning, along with two rucksacks, one large, one small but dense (I know a few people like that)
I drove to Bicester, bought a large box of doughnuts from Tesco, making the sign of the cross as I entered the establishment.
Tip - shop at 7.30am on a bank holiday if you want to shop alone.
The family were such good company & the food so good that I only left today, mid-morning.
E did a Jamie Oliver 50 minute meal with scallops & egg-fried rice, which was superb.
Tonight I settled for a Count-on-us stew from M&S, followed by a couple of G's chocolates.
I have just sussed the BT vision box to watch a recording of "Wonderful China" as the normal channels are rubbish. I was afraid that the technology would be beyond me, but I haven't even needed the guide book yet. Recording may be more challenging.

I have a busy week planned; confined to barracks tomorrow whilst the car is serviced, Thomas on Friday & aj arriving on Saturday.
Tomorrow I intend to wash, iron & clean, then relax.

I filled the car with diesel tonight - £1.309 per litre!!!!

I have been reading "Horrid Henry", it has inspired me to write my own stories.
I am considering "Mercenary Mohammad" or "Porky Pauline" or "Soppy Sophie" or.....
Any other ideas?

Phew!

We had a great New Year party yesterday lunchtime - I thought so, anyway.
Over thirty friends & family here for a few hours of eating, drinking & catching up on the news.
The grandchildren were brilliant - KP & Thomas munched through most of a box of After Eights, KP having decided that no-one else wanted any.
She was probably right.
The dishwasher worked overtime, & with aj at the sink, we were all cleared up by suppertime & had a lazy evening. (I think that I was asleep for most of it)

Today we have put out the Christmas tree, breaking with the habit of a lifetime of keeping everything in place until epiphany.
I have vacuumed up an entire Dyson gutful of needles - there are sure to be more hiding in the pile somewhere, to keep appearing until at least July.
G took us out to lunch at The Bull at Meriden, where he & aj tucked into roast beef dinners; I had fishcakes.
Not as good as home, but less preparation & clearing up.
Aj has just departed & I'm sitting by a nice fire with a second cup of coffee.
The holiday has all gone very well, mainly thanks to family & friends & M&S.
Thank you all.

We have not vastly over-indulged, but I've seen enough of food now for a little while - a few hours anyway.

I can think of nothing that I want apart from some decorating done.
Is there a brilliant decorator/plasterer out there who would like to oblige in return for bed & board?
Happy New Year.