Tuesday 17 November 2009

Monday 16th November

Up just before nine again, left ant sleeping, did the usual online stuff, then ant came down around ten and we sat and chatted for a bit. We packed up ready for Thursday, all outfits planned and ready to wear, made up the spare room for William's visit then had some lunch. I phoned Janine to ask if she would like to come over for a cup of tea, and set to making a cake. Ant had a bit of a tidy round and Janine arrived at three, we sat chatting about her holiday and other bits then Jacqui arrived and a little later Simon. The cake seemed to go down well and it was a pleasant way to pass the afternoon.
Due to the excessive cake eating i didn't feel like making the chicken pie i had planned for dinner so ant made some calamari and chips for himself and i had chicken and chips, very seventies, then we had a night in front of the tv. Just as we were settling in to the evening ants friend phoned and he was on the phone for over half an hour, which got on my goat but we got over it and had a couple of glasses of wine and watched the Enid Blyton story, what a cow she seems to have been. We decided to end the evening with a major disagreement with a couple of good old favorite recriminations thrown in for good measure and ended up getting to sleep some time after two thirty.

Monday 16 November 2009

sunday 15 nov

Up at nine again, did the cafe and other bits on facebook, ant had a good lie in, then aunty m popped up on facebook so we had a chat and then she called me on skype. I had a good long chat with mum, it really was great to see you on the cam, lets have more of it!! I was a little disappointed mum won't be coming over before xmas but she has a lot to get on with at the moment so it is entirely understandable. Ant came down and had a chat with mum as well, aunty m was fooling on in the background, which was fun, loved the parrot! Ant phoned his mam and i had a bit of a chat to her as well.
We had a quiet morning after this and waited for the wood to arrive, i sat reading a book, Discovering Kendal, which i have had for a while but never bothered reading, it was full of interesting info i never knew. The wood eventually arrived at about four in the afternoon, so we got that sorted then i went over to Jacqui's to show the wood people where to deliver for her and to choose some cards for next week, we have a ridiculous amount of birthdays in November.
I made a fish pie for dinner, which went down very well but i am not sure i will do it again as the fish was a little too strong in flavor. We had an easy going evening in front of the tv but i then turned it off and read. It eventually got too hot in the living room, that fire certainly does kick out the heat and i retired up stairs where the bedroom was a little cooler, and finished off the book, then off to dream land.

Sunday 15 November 2009

fri and sat 14th nov

Up at nine, let ant lie in for a bit, did the usual computer stuff and had a chat with Mandy on Skype, ant surfaced sometime after eleven. We went down to David and Marks for coffee then on to Hesdin to check the bank and see Marion. We had a mega trawl around the shops and headed back home. An easy going evening with pizza for dinner and a bit of tv, we watched La Cage Aux Folles II, one of my favorite films then the new series of Beautiful People, which i found somewhat distasteful and not at all funny.
Saturday we did very little but in the afternoon the kettle broke so we had to head down to Hesdin to buy a new one, mid way there ant suggested a microwave instead, so we had a look at the various models for sale and ended up buying a hot water fountain, which gives boiling water in three seconds, we got this home and had many cups of tea to try it out. Another easy going evening, i made a beef stroganof and we sat down to a game of scrabble and a glass of wine. After the scrabble we watched Four Weddings and a Funeral then headed off to bed

Friday 13 November 2009

Thursday 12th Nov

A busy day of housework today but when i got up the water was still off so i had to make a full milk coffee, which was less than pleasant, i had a bit of a session on line then set to. A few moments after my milky coffee the water came back on, typical. I gave the kitchen a good clean through then phoned my friend Andrew in Scotland to catch up, it has been an age since i spoke to him, though little had changed. I then phoned Sarah to see how they were, they were good and think they might come down to visit us in the lakes since i have had to cancel our trip to Glasgow whilst we are in the uk.
I got back on with the work, dusted and vacuumed the living room, plumped up the sofa then moped the floor, i vacuumed the hall, moped the kitchen floor, then moved upstairs. I sorted out and put away all the laundry, gave the beds a bit of a plumping, i will need to strip the spare beds and give them a wash since we have a guest arriving with us when we get back from the uk. Vacuumed upstairs and put fresh bedding on our bed. I gave the en suite a bit of a going over, we have not used the shower in a few weeks as we seem to be preferring the bath in this cold weather, but ant will insist on spitting toothpaste in to the sink and not washing it down, my life is soooo hard!! With the en suite sparkling i had finished my housework so i had a bit of lunch, just some tuna with mayo mixed through, then watched a bit of tv. Ant phoned about three so i got changed and set off to pick him up, this meant hitting the Brussels ring road at rush hour, which is very busy and the Belgians are crazy drivers, but it was quite exhilarating and gives me a chance to be an aggressive driver.
Ant was waiting for me at the drop and kiss so all went smoothly and we headed home, we stopped at McDonalds on the way home and had a bit of convenience food, i had an M burger which was actually really nice. By the time we got home it was nine in the evening, the dogs were extremely excited to see us, ant unloaded all the bits of rubbish he had picked up on his trip, including a couple of gifts to take with us next week. We sat and watched a little tv, Hugh at River Cottage, which was quite interesting, especially his pear pudding cake, i may have to get the recipe and give it a try. We went up to bed at eleven and i sat and read for a while then headed off to sleep.

Thursday 12 November 2009

10 & 11 November

On Tuesday i had the usual morning, then in the afternoon went round to see Jacqui and pick up the card for mum, very nice it is too. We sat and chatted for a while and then Simon came back from working and joined in. I headed back and had a gentle evening with the fire blazing and the tv on. A nice grilled lamb steak for dinner, i don't get lamb very often as ant does not like it so it is a bit of a treat.
Wednesday i rose and had the usual morning too, but i got dressed up ready for the Armistice day ceremony in the village. I had a long chat with Mandy on skype, she has booked another holiday so she was happy, then had a chat with gran, she is being mysterious about where she is taking me for lunch when i am in the uk and insisted i bring a suit and tie, so it must be swanky.
I headed to the church at ten to eleven, no one there, so i headed over to the Marie, no one there either. Back at the church one of my neighbors informed me it started at eleven thirty so i headed over to Jaqcui's for a coffee and a chat. At eleven thirty people were there, we had a short ceremony at the memorial, the names of men from the village who died in the two wars were read out and "Mort Pour France" was responded, followed by a couple of prayers. After the ceremony we headed round to the Marie and all sat with a glass of sparkling wine or two and chatted, people asked about the house and discussed the difficulties of selling and the sparsity of English money in the local economy, several people asked where ant was and when he was back.
In the afternoon i had a good session on the computer with Civilization, then ant phoned on skype and i realized it was after six, so i had a quick chat with him then set to making dinner, a nice duck stew in a tomato sauce, and getting the fire going, then an evening roasting in front of the fire. I was going to make a cup of tea at ten but the water had been turned off so i could not fill the kettle, this happens now and again and can be a real pain in the back. Off to bed and a good reading session, ant is home tomorrow so it will be a day of housework.

Tuesday 10 November 2009

up to 9th Nov

I have received a couple of moans that the blog has been left undone so here is last week, many apologies to the thousands of readers who have missed it. On the Tuesday we took a trip up to Arques, a world famous chrystal producer that has a majoy sale of stock in November, we took Jacqui with us and had a nice afternoon, buying a fair few gifts, though it took us an age to decided what to get for Mandy. Ant was supposed to go to work on wednesday but was unfit so he phoned in sick. Thursday saw the demise of our lovely kitchen table, the woodworms finished off one of the feet so we had to take it out of the kitchen. We headed up to ikea to buy a new one, then when we got it back i could not find a suitable screw driver to put it together, there then followed a great deal of frustration and a little agro, in the end we left it. Saturday we headed down to town to buy a new screwdriver and some bits of shopping, then headed up to visit Jackie and Tony before coming home. I got the table up, it doesnt look too bad but it is a shame, then made a brownie cake as we went to Jacqui and Simons for dinner. She had done a selection of currys, which were very tasty, then we all played Wii games, very entertaining.
Sunday morning we had a conference call with mandy and mum, which was fun, then a relaxing afternoon, ant phoned in fit and was given a trip a couple of hours later. Unfortunately it has not changed his christmas rosta so i will have to drive to the uk on christmas day and pick him up. I took him to Brussels on Monday morning at 3.30 am then had a quiet day round the house. I set up a new currency transfer account and sent off the deposit for our aussie holiday home, so at least that bit of it is booked.

Monday 2 November 2009

Sat and Sun 1st Nov

A day of housework on Saturday, though i did go for a walk with Marte and the dogs in the middle of this. On the way to Lille to pick up ant i stopped at a supermarket to get some bits for dinner, a nice cannelloni for a change, then picked ant up at five and we headed home. We had a nice evening of food wine and chat, we headed off to bed quiet content.
I was up by eight on Sunday, nicely clear headed, i read the post from Mum, which brought a tear to my eye, I am glad Aunty M is going to be there for her on Tuesday. The weather was truely fowl so ant and i had a day indoors, we messed on with computers most of the day, had a nice lunch, had a look at what we will do for our January trip, i sent an email off to a rental place in Morphet Valeto see if we could get a weeks rental in the Adelaide suburbs, but it still seems so far off at the moment, will probably leave the flights until January. I did a nice leek tart for dinner with potato wedges and baked beans, which went down well, then ant chatted to gran for an age on the phone, then his mum, and by the time he had finished it was nearly time for bed.