Sat 18th July

Ant is home today so its a busy day making the house sparkle, i really enjoy the clean through as the place is so much more pleasant with a bit of tender care. I decided to do a real good deep clean and try to banish some of our many cobwebs so it took most of the day, it's a shame they can't find some use for cobwebs, we would be coining it in if they were worth money. After cleaning the kitchen i stopped and chatted to gran on the phone, i like to break the work up, not much news but apparently Barry is learning how to use a computer, i am not sure what he will use it for when he has but maybe it is a sign he is joining the modern world. The dog situation is still a bit of a pain as i am having to keep them all separated and i think the smell Ruby is giving off is driving the boys a little mad. I put together a meatball dish in the slow cooker for tea, and boy did it smell good;
I finished the housework by two, had a shower and got dressed to head out and pick ant up, his train usually comes in to Lille which is about an hours drive from here. I stopped off at a supermarket on the way to get a little wine as requested by ant, and got to Lille about five minutes before he was due in. On the return journey ant chatted away about his trip and meeting his mum and brother in London, he looked a bit tired and seemed extremely relieved to be home after so long. When we got back there was a message on the phone from Jacqui asking if we were coming over for the evening, i asked ant what he wanted to do, he wanted to go for an hour or so then come back and have dinner at home so i phoned Jacqui back and said we would be over in a little while.
The evening was good fun, Simon did barbecue, which was very tasty, and there was a nice spread of salads, Jacqui's daughter Sophia, father, niece, a friend of Sophia and a lady friend of her father were there and they were a good mix. After eating half the group went downstairs for karaoke but i stayed upstairs and had a good blow out argument with Jacqui about immigration to the UK, i think she was a bit worried i was upset with her but i emailed her the next day to re-assure her, so hopefully it won't affect our relationship, though i suspect she was frustrated with me as i am a staunch liberal. Unfortunately ants romantic meal at home did not materialise but the meatballs will keep for Sunday dinner.
At about half eleven we headed home, nicely glowing with the free flowing wine, but not drunk enough to fall into a hedge on the way home, put the dogs out for a while then headed off to bed, we had the girls in the room with us to see if the distance would stop the boys from howling all night, which it seemed to, instead we had Ruby licking herself all night and Banjo scratching, i hope she hasn't picked up fleas, though they both had a jab last November that's supposed to make them flea resistant for a whole year. Another social engagement on Sunday, it's Marion's birthday, this time i will be driving so no booze for me, i don't really like drinking two days on the trot so that's a blessing, i just have to hope ant keeps it real because he can be soo annoying when he's drunk and i'm not.
catch you soon