Friday 22nd Jan

Up at nine thirty and online with a coffee, had a chat to mum on skype and ant came down and chatted too, did the blog and the cafe then turned the computer off. I set to clearing the rubbish out of my larder cupboard and had a chat to Marion on the phone, then ant and i had a bit of lunch. After lunch we headed to the tip and dumped a load of rubbish then headed in to Hesdin, as we were going in the engine started to over heat, the warning light came on and i started to panic, we were ok, got in to Hesdin and left it to cool for half an hour. We went to buy light bulbs from Mr Bricolage then anti freeze. When we got back to the car it was completely out of anti freeze so i topped it up and then it was ok. We went to get some petrol and then dropped in to Lidl to see if we could find a dehumidifier for the downstairs bathroom, there were none so we bought three bottles of wine instead.
When we got back i got the steam cleaner out and gave the bathroom a good going over, the difference was quite noticeable, a lot more light bouncing round the room due to the clean tiles. Then i set to on the kitchen, while ant was doing the living room, i made us some dinner, a pasta bake, then we settled down to an evening of wine and chat. We started the evening on a rosè which was very drinkable but a little on the sweet side, then moved through a Pinochet, again very drinkable, to a cab sav, all three just 1.99 euros, almost un heard of for a drinkable wine here, and they are new worlds so they dont have the same weight as the french, personally i prefer something a little lighter. Needles to say we had a good evening, we listened to ant's new favorite radio station, playbill radio, on the internet radio, it plays all the great hits from the musicals, and sat and chatted until we were ready to fall in to bed.

Thursday 22 Jan

We did not get up until after eleven due to our late night, so i came down and did the usual and then we made a start cleaning the house in readiness for going away. We cleared out the big spare bedroom and the cupboard so it looks more acceptable, then hoovered and vaxed the carpets, unfortunately we broke the vax in the process, but at least the carpet looks better. In the afternoon i went out and sawed up a few of the branches we have stored from over a year ago, ant made up the fire and we settled down to a getnle afternoon and evening, we watched tv, ant made a curry, which was quite good, and then we headed off to bed by eleven thirty and read for an hour.

Wednesday 20th Jan

Up at the usual time, made a coffee and went online, did my online bits, ant came down and we chatted over coffee. Ironically i heard on the radio that Peter Goers will be back on ABC next week and i won't be here to listen to him. I had a browse through property for a good while with ant ohhing and ahhing at each new build design. At twelve thirty i started making the dinner, roast chicken with all the trimmings, which we enjoyed immensely. After lunch we headed out for a walk with the girls, it was just starting to hailstone when we left, we walked up to Humieres and back, during the walk it started snowing and by the time we got back the whole landscape was covered in snow, and ant me and the dogs. We got back at about four thirty and then started on having a bath and getting ready for our evening out, i had my usual crisis of what to wear, 'does this make me look fat' he is very good he always says i look good even though we both know the answer is 'yes that does make you look fat but it's not the outfit!'. I had a good long chat on the phone with Andrew in Scotland, it has been a little while since i spoke to him. I sorted out the kennals for the dogs and emailed to make the final arrangements for our holiday rental next week.
We headed out to Hesdin just before seven and met up with Maggie and Mike, Jackie and Tony at Maggie's place, we all settled down to a drink, Maggie and Mike gave ant a birthday present, a lovely man bag, which he was ecstatic about, and we all admired the new decor of Maggie's beautiful grand salon, very tasteful! After a couple of drinks we headed down to Abbeville for the bowling. The place was really busy with local bowling clubs but we got a lane and had a couple of really enjoyable games, plenty of good hearted banter flying about. I started weakly then found my form, then lost it again. Ant came last in the first game, i was second, and he was first in the second, i won on overall score. About half way through the second game Tony started to realise his dream of a big mac was slipping away as the clock got to 10.45, his game suffered dramatically and by the time we finished we were too late, McDonalds was shut, and we were all hungry, not to worry, supper hostess Maggie rose to the challenge.
We headed back to Hesdin and decamped to Maggies house where she busied herself in thier stunning kitchen, i assisted cutting up veg for a salad, she has really lovely knives! About ten minutes later we were all sat down to spaghetti Bolognaise, salad and pita breads, i don't know how she manages always to create a lovely meal at the drop of a hat, i know if six people dropped in on me expecting to be fed they would get a much worse fare. We sat ate and chatted till two in the morning and then she kicked us all out, she did have to get up for work the next day. We headed home, i had a fight with the garage door but eventually won, then we all went to bed, dogs with us on the bed, Banjo did her usual refusal to sleep outside the covers so ant let her under the duvet where she warmed his feet.

Tuesday 19th Jan

Up at nine thirty and made coffee, went online and did the usual, ant came down about an hour later and we had a coffee together. We both had a bath and then checked out what we were going to wear, did some ironing and got dressed. As per usual ant decided to panic about something and started looking for his passport just at the time i was ready to head out. He found the passport under the spare bed, don't ask how it got there, and we set of in to Hesdin to check the bank.
After the bank we headed to Marion's where we spent a very enjoyable afternoon, with good food, St Jaques, pork pruneau and a tarte au pomme, and good grog and very enjoyable conversation. Marion never fails to be good company, by six it was time to head home, we got back and i checked ant had not been given a two day trip by work whilst he went out to chop some wood. We watched a bit of tv and decided we would not bother making a big meal as we were both still full from lunch so we had a baguette each, mine a cheese and caramelized onion chutney, ant had two chicken cordon blues in his, which is a bit greedy but he seemed to enjoy it. I have decided that i am now going to give the french system a try and do our main meal at lunch time and have a light snack in the evening, i run the risk of wanting a big meal twice a day but i will try it out for the next couple of days, we get two hours of cheap electricity at lunch time so it would make making dinner half price, has to be worth keeping some money back from those thieving bxxtards at the electricity company.
The tv was a bit hit and miss but we managed watch it throughout the evening, we watched the new Krypton Factor, which was actually not bad, then at the end of the evening Planet of the Apes was on and we watched a little of that as ant had never seen it before! i used to use the film in lessons when teaching about animal rights (the modern version with Marky Mark) so i have seen it far too many times. There seems to be so little of interest on the tv at the moment, there is usually somthing i look forward to at least once in the week but now there is nothing. Off to bed at eleven thirty, a read for a good while before heading off to sleep, another day down!!

Monday 18th Jan

Up at the usual time and went online and did my stuff, i was sitting in my pajamas when the dogs went crazy, i noticed Jean coming in to the garden, so i shot upstairs and got dressed. Jean had come to tell us that we were due to go to visit Mdme Soyez today, something we already knew, well it got Anthony out of bed so that was something. I gave David a phone to see if he was ok, he needed to go shopping again so i phoned Janine to find out what time we were going to set off for our visit and i thought she said 12.45 so i arranged to take David in the afternoon.
We arrived at Janine's door on time, and she told me it was 2.45 she was expecting us, she invited us in for lunch but ant declined and we headed out to take David shopping, he spent a fortune on cat food again and nothing on himself, i bought a foot pump for the car as the front drivers side was looking a bit flat.
When we got home it was time to head over to Janine's and she drove us to Frevent, where Solangè Soyez lives in sheltered accommodation. She let us at the door and welcomed us in to her home, we all had sparkling wine and cake, then coffee and sat chatting for nearly three hours. When we got home we i made a corned beef pie for dinner and we had a look to see what was on the tv, but was disappointed to see there was nothing i fancied so we sat and chatted for a bit, then ate dinner, and then played two games of Monopoly, which i won, all irrigated with gin and tonic, so it was a very pleasant evening. We headed off to bed by eleven and allowed the dogs in to the bed with us.

Sunday 17th August

Got up and made coffee, did the washing up then went online, then had a good long chat with mum on skype, ant came down about half an hour later and he joined in, we were on for a good long while and by the time i had finished all my online bits it was nearly half twelve. I was still in my dressing gown at this stage, so i went in to the bath, then had a bit of lunch, it was the first nice day we have had for a while, the sun was shining and the snow had all gone, but for some reason i didnt even make it out of my pajamas all day, never mind the house.
Ant and i discussed what we would do with the day for a while and nothing came of it, so we had a sofa day, watched a bit of tv, chatted on, and the day seemed to slip by some how. Ant made dinner, roast ham with the trimings and we watched the usual slew of sunday night tv, phoned gran and chatted to her for a bit, we ended up heading off to bed at twelve thirty and reading till after one then off to sleep.

Saturday 16th Jan

Up the usual time and did the usual, washed up and tidied a little, Ant came down and we chatted on for a bit. I phoned David to check he still wanted to go visit mark, which he did, so we got dressed and headed off to pick him up, on the way to the hospital we stopped in Hesdin and had some frites for lunch, we then headed over to the hospital. Mark looked a lot better and we stopped and chatted to him for a while then drove back and dropped David off, stopped in for a coffee.
When we got home the weather was still foul so i went online, there was an email from aunty m saying she was def coming whilst we were there and that mum was having a good time in the Barossa Valley and was impressed by the house prices, so i had a look at the property to be found in the area with ant and we were quite impressed, though a little disturbed by the prices. We had a bit of a quandary where i suggested we get dressed and head down to Hesdin for a meal and a drink and a packet of fags but we managed to overcome this and settled in for a night in front of the tv, which was not too bad, sausages for dinner, which ant enjoyed, then just a relaxing night. I went up to read at eleven and ant came up a little later and we read till twelve then went to sleep, just a week to go till we head off.

friday 15th Jan

Came down hangover free to a kitchen in turmoil and glasses all over the dining table, i shifted everything in to its rightful place to wait for ant to come down and give me a hand with it. Made coffee, went online and did me bits and then waited for ant, he came down at half ten. We made a start on the washing up and had the place back to normal in no time, then i phoned David who said he didn't need to visit Mark but did want to go shopping so i said we would see him later. Ant and i had a bath, then some lunch, i finished off the lamb from the day before, then i made a nice beef stew for dinner.
We went down to Hesdin with David, drove to the Purina Factory to see if the had a factory shop, it didn't seem as though they did so we went to Carrefore, we needed some dry dog food for the dogs, and David bought another load of cat food. We had a little look in Gifi to see if they had a cheap dog bed, they didn't. We had a coffee back at Davids and chatted on for a little then headed home. We took the dogs a walk to Humieres, all the snow has melted now and it was a little milder, it was an ok walk and will do us both a bit of good.
When we got home we put the girls in the hall and nipped across to with Janine a happy new year, she made some tea and cracked out a lovely stollen, very fruity and buttery, i ended up having three slices. We came back and ant got settled in to a book while i messed on in the kitchen, i put some dumplings in the stew and put it in the oven for half an hour, had a look to see what was on the tv, nothing, so i annoyed ant until dinner was ready. After dinner ant read and i messed about online all night, it went surprisingly quickly and at eleven we headed up to bed and i read for a bit, am still enjoying the Driberg book.

Thursday 14th Jan

Up early as Ant had to phone in sick, then we sat and watched the news for a while until the daylight came. I went online and did the usual stuff then got started in the kitchen. Ant had defrosted some curried pumpkin soup so i added a bit of cream and liquidized it as it was a little lumpy still, i then set to making some bread. While the bread was rising in the oven i made a quick call to gran to see how she was, we discussed my menu and then i handed her to ant and they chatted, I sorted out the leg of lamb, smeared butter all over it then covered it in Herbs de Provence, covered it in tin foil and put it on a very low temp in the roasting oven. I got the cheeses out of the fridge and set them aside to warm through, i had a good bit of mature Cheddar, a nice bit of Stilton, a piece of Brie de meiux and a small Munster, so a nice selection. After the cheese i peeled the potatoes and parsnips and parboiled them ready for roasting, then did the carrots and broccoli.
Ant had busied himself cleaning the house and it did look good when he had finished, and once everything was underway in the kitchen i set to cleaning in there and then went through and set the table. The bread turned out quite nicely, which is always a bit of a relief, so i set that to one side to cool and turned up the roasting oven. Ant and i got dressed and ready, and had about an hour before people arrived so we sat and chatted over a cup of tea.
Tony arrived just before one and then Rosemary arrived a few moments later, Ant cracked open a bottle of bubbly and the day began. We had a very enjoyable lunch, the soup was just right, the lamb turned out wonderfully and the wine flowed freely, the conversation was good. Jackie was on skype half way through the meal so we chatted to her for a bit before the cheese course, which was nice. Jean, from the village, called in during the desert course, wished us a happy new year and advised us we had been invited to visit Madam Soyez, the lady we bought the house from, and wanted to know when we would be free, i advised him we were free all week next week. I invited him to join us in the desert, a very good apricot tart brought by Rosemary, he stayed a chatted for a bit then left us to it.
Rosie and Tony headed off about five in the afternoon and ant and i settled down to the rest of the wine then a gentle night in front of the tv, i had found series one of Early Doors so we watched that. I made sure to drink glass after glass of water during the evening and came out of my merry state into a normal one (as a result i am completely hangover free this morning). We headed off to bed at eleven and read until twelve thirty, i have made a start on the biography of Tom Driberg, and so far it has been quite interesting.

Wed 13th Jan

Woke around the usual time and did my online stuff, as per, ant came down and we had coffee together. We decided that after lunch we would take the dogs for a nice long walk, then David phoned to tell us Mark had gone into hospital again so we arranged to take him to the supermarket in Hesdin. At the supermarket David bought a ton of cat food for their myriad of cats and i bought some dogs shampoo since our girls are starting to get a bit smelly. We didn't stop for coffee but headed home, changed our shoes and headed out on our long walk, which was quite enjoyable if a little cold. We were out walking for about two hours, when we got home i put the dinner on, a nice chicken curry, and left it to simmer whilst ant started the fire.
Bath time for the dogs, well shower time really, Ruby first and then Banjo, i am not sure what they think of being showered but they stand there like stunned mullets whilst you are showering them, they did smell wonderful afterward and Ruby was soo soft and cuddleable. The curry was most enjoyable, with a glass or two of wine, a nan bread each and a little rice, ant and i sat and chatted for a while and then he said he would like to watch Early Doors, so i sent him up to find the dvd and we settled in to the sofa, it took a little rejigging of cushions to get the four of us on comfortably but we managed. We also managed to get nicely merry without falling out, so that was an achievement, we did however open a pack of smokes and spend the night smoking, the packet will be gone tomorrow so we will be back to no choice.
So after a most enjoyable evening we all headed up to bed, another day closer to going to aus!

tuesday 12th Jan

Woke with a headache this morning, so i crept downstairs and had a huge glass of juice, followed by two paracetamol, this eventually shifted the pain, then I got on with the usual morning routine, did the cafe and the blog then mum phoned on skype and we chatted for a good while, then i called ant down and we all chatted, then aunty m came on and we conferenced for some time, in all we were on chatting for two hours, so by this time i realized it was time to get dressed.
Ant and i headed out to Hesdin to do some shopping, i checked the bank account, all was as i hoped so that was good, then we headed to Lidl as they do better veg than Carrefore. We bumped in to Rosemary in Lidl and stood and chatted to her for a bit, i ended up inviting her for lunch on thursday, it will use up the leg of lamb in the freezer, and she is always good company. We bought a fair bit in Lidl then headed down to Carrefore to finish off the shopping, i managed to get it all in under budget, and we bumped in to Mark in Carrefore, he was not looking so good, and said he felt a little under the weather. After Carrefore we went to Cultivert to buy some fuel for our little fuel heater then we headed home.
I checked the mail when we got back and found the tickets for Quantas had arrived, and series 8 of Are You Being Served, so a red letter day, i made some lunch, put all the shopping away then settled down with the Grace Bros team, it was a little disappointing, but i suppose after eight years the formula will get a little samey. Ant slept on the sofa next to me most of the afternoon, a most annoying situation. By the time i had watched the whole series it was about seven in the evening, neither of us were particularly hungry so we had a bitty dinner then settled down to more tv. I gave Mandy a call and chatted to her for a good half an hour then rejoined ant, we headed off upstairs by eleven and read for a while, I have just finished Waugh's Vile Bodies, so will now have to find something else, i really need something decent for the flight so i will have to pick something out and keep it to one side.

Monday 11th Jan

Up then usual time, went online and did the usual, had coffee, the house was really cold so i decided to throw caution to the wind and put a radiator on. I checked ant's flight and it was due in on time. I made a start on the housework, phoned William and wished him a happy new year. Ant phoned about midday to say he was back in the country, which was good. I had a spot of lunch, patè on bread, and a little more time online, then finished off the housework.
Ant phoned again to let me know he had a seat on the Eurostar and would be arriving in Lille around five, i had a quick check on sncf and found out there was a train to St Pol at five thirty so phoned him back and advised him to get that. I had a relax and watched a couple of episodes of Kath and Kim whilst i waited. At six i headed out with the dogs in the car, made a quick detour to Intermarchè to pick up some wine then down to the station to meet ant.
When we got home he ran a bath and i made a start on the dinner, steak and mushroom pie with mashed potatoes and baked beans, not an ideal meal but there is little in the house until we go shopping on tuesday. I cracked open a bottle of bubbly, a bit of a celebration at ant being home, he had a glass whilst he was in the bath. We had dinner and sat chatting with wine, we had our traditional fall out when we had celebrated a bit too much but it ended with us in the same bed so it was not to bad.

sunday 10th Jan

Two weeks till we head off to aus, jees the days are dragging. I woke and tried to have a shower but the water upstairs was not working too well, so i went down and ran a bath, it took twenty mins to get a tiny bit of water in the bath, so i hunkered down in that and cleaned my self as best i could. I then had coffee and internet time until Tony arrived then we headed off to the restaurant for Rosie's birthday.
The restaurant was very nice, and it was a good feed and nice to see people again, unfortunately i fell off the wagon and bought a packet of smokes, and enjoyed many a cigarette throughout the course of the day. The dinner was over by five and i was back by five thirty, i put the fire on and got the internet going, spoke to a friend in the u.s then ant came on so i had a chat to him for a bit. I settled in front of the tv with a glass off gin and tonic and relaxed for a bit, then had a good chat to gran on the phone, then had a pizza for dinner. I watched the antiques roadshow, then the new Larkrise to Candleford, which was a bit of a disapointment.
At ten thirty i went back on line and had another chat with ant, it looks as if he is definately due home on monday, after i had finished with him i went up to bed and read for a while before heading off to sleep.

Sat 9th Jan

Had a bit of a lie in, got up made coffee and did the usual, spoke to ant for quite some time on skype then headed out to see David and Mark and get some petrol. Spent about 30 mins at Davids, had a nice chat then headed down to Hesdin, checked the bank, took some money out for sunday, then went and put some petrol in the car. It was a bit of a squally snowy day so when i got back i cleared a space in the garage and put the car in it, will make things easier.
Went back on line in the afternoon but no there was no ant about, i did a couple of bits around the house then settled down to a bit of tv with the dogs, the fire roaring and all well. I had a nice dinner of sausage and veg then had an evening in front of the tv. Late evening i spoke to ant, he is stuck an extra day in Houston, typical of him, so i need to phone the eurostar and see if he can change his ticket.
Headed off to bed and had a bit of a read, then invited the girls in to the room as it seemed a bit cold in the hall way and we all headed off to sleep

friday 8th Jan

We were up at five this morning, and i came down to find the back door wide open and the kitchen absolutely freezing. I made coffee and went to watch the news whilst i waited for ant to come down. We had coffee then set off to the train station at St. Pol, it took ages for the car to de-ice, i really should leave it in the garage overnight, but i am a lazy bugger. When we got to the station the ticket office was shut and we couldn't find the the automatic ticket machine, eventually i found it but there was no way i could print off ants ticket to Lille so we ended up buying another ticket and having a bit of a row. I stormed off to the car and left him at the station and immediately felt bad so stopped the car and got back out to say good bye, just then the whistle blew so i just had time to wave him off.
I got back and made some coffee then went online and did all my bits, i phoned ant a couple of times but couldn't get through. I did get to speak to mum on skype, which is always good, then turned off the computer and watched a bit of tv. I woke up a couple of hours later, the dogs on the sofa asleep with me, all cozy and a little dazed. I decided to give the gym a miss and spend the day with the dogs, poor banjo had a bit of a limp and was feeling a bit sorry for herself and spent the entire day next to me, she is usually a bit more offish, this upset Ruby a little as she is used to hoovering up all the attention due to Banjo's disinterest
I did feel a little guilty about not going to the gym but it is soo cold at the moment and the house was so snug with the girls on the sofa, that wild horses would have had to pull me out of the house, ant will be home for next week so that will get me out of the house to the gym every day, i will have to make up for it then. I cant quite remember what we watched on the tv but we managed to spend the entire day doing it, i made some cookies at lunch time, which were not very good, and spoke to David on the phone. At dinner time i phoned gran and we were on for a good half an hour, then i had the left over ham from the other day with a nice Morrocan style cus cus, very pleasant and quite low fat. An evening of bitty viewing, nothing spectacular, then off to bed with a book.

Thursday 07th Jan

Got up, made coffee and went online, did emails and the blog and cafe as per usual. Ant came down and i sorted out the travel arrangements for his commute tomorrow. After a while on the computer we decided to go out for a walk with the dogs, it has snowed lightly, i took the camera with us and took some shots. When i got back i uploaded the pictures and put them online, had some lunch, had a quick chat with Kendall on facebook then headed out to the gym.
Did the usual at the gym but came home for a bath instead of showering there. Had an easy going afternoon, watched season six of are you being served, ant napped on the sofa next to me.
We had mince and dumplings for dinner, watched a bit more tv then went up to bed in readines of our early morning.

6Th Jan 10

usual morning, up, put the kettle on, did the washing up, made the coffee, went online, checked emails and did my cafe on facebook. Ant came down and sat and chatted for a bit then we chatted to Jackie on skype who informed us the uk was in panic due to the snow, so we put the tv on for a bit and watched the news and the whole country seemed to have been plunged in to pandemonium. We have had no snow since before Christmas so we have missed out on this. Ant decided to take the dogs out for walk and i got the tickets booked for our internal flights in Australia, so that is everything booked up and paid for now.
We had a bit of lunch, a nice tomato soup with bread for me, then i headed out to the gym again and did just that little bit more than yesterday, it has to be worth it, not that i want to be body beautiful but i dont want to be body ugly. After two grueling hours at the gym i stopped in at Lidl and bought a couple of cartons of milk and then headed home. Ant had the fire on when i got back and the living room was roasting hot, which is always nice. I went on line and had a look at the easiest way of getting him to work on Friday and back on Sunday, phoned Eurostar to reorganize the ticket he should have used when they stopped for the day. For dinner i roasted a nice bit of gammon which we had with some taboulé and potato salad, with plenty left for left overs and a bone for the dogs, it was a win win dinner which we all enjoyed. Ant and i sat chatting for a while after dinner then we watched a program about the relationship between humans and dogs, we had a gin and tonic, watched a bit more tv then went up to bed.
I have to say we are both really missing the smokes, we are still on the nicotine replacement therapy, going back on it has stopped me picking at food, which is good, though ant seems now to be eating more than he needs to. I have been invited out for lunch on Sunday for a friends birthday, which i have accepted but now wish i hadn't as i will be on my own again and have nothing to wear and all that. The days are dragging by and i seem to be getting more and more tetchy with ant, poor bugger is going to be a nervous wreck by the time we eventually get off the plane in Adelaide, i think i may have to go back on the smokes to counter act this.

Tuesday 5th Jan

I got up and started on with internet stuff and a coffee whilst ant was still in bed, checked the emails, nice one from mum, did the cafe and then the blog. Ant came down and we had coffee and chat then got ready for David coming round to do some washing. We sat and read for about an hour then i got a bit fed up of waiting and decided to give him a phone. It turned out it was Mark who was coming and he would be here lunch time. I set to and made a bit of lunch, kippers on toast, not too nice, and Mark arrived in the middle of it. I sat and chatted to him for a bit and then headed off to the gym.
What a sweaty mess i was by the end of it, i really pushed myself hard, half an hours jogging, fifteen on the bike, fifteen on the cross trainer and half an hour fast walking. The gym was quite busy for a change with a lot of very pretty well built french men posturing to each other to better show off their perfect physiques, and me in the background muttering under my breath and breathing heavily, due to the exercise! I was home before four and i sat and chatted to ant for a while then went online to book our train tickets to Paris for our trip to Aus, only the internal flights to book now. Then we sorted out the weighing scales, the batteries had gone, and had a weigh session, i was not as bad as i thought i would be but still much worse than i want to be.

Ant and i had a long online session in the evening looking at housing in the Adelaide area, rental, buying and building, and he managed to keep his interest for quite a long time. I made a nice bolognaise for dinner which we had with some ravioli. By eleven in the evening ant was struggling to maintain interest in Australian property and we decided to head off to bed, another day done and closer to the 24th.

Monday 4th Jan

Up late, after ten thirty, i left ant in bed and came down, put the heater on and made a coffee. Put the computer on and did the usual, had a good long email from mum, which is always nice, and i started the blog. I did my cafe on face book and had a good look at the Stamford Grand Glenelg, looks like a very swanky joint so i am very much looking forward to that. Ant came down by twelve in the afternoon and we chatted on about stuff for a bit then David phoned, their washing machine is still not working so i said i would pop in for a look on my way to the Gym. Ant and i had a little lunch, was quite nice a roast chicken and cranberry sauce ciabatta sandwich then i headed off to the gym.

I had a look and David's washing machine, it seems to be saying there is a blockage, it was speaking in french! so i advised them to try to clear out the waste water tube, which he did. Then to the gym where i did a good hours work out, quiet again, fortunately, i am not seeing any of the fruits of my labour yet but it will come. After the gym i popped in to Aldi and picked up a new kettle and some other bits before heading home. When i got back Ant had the fire on, which was nice, and we tried the new kettle out, the water tasted a bit funny so we will look at buying a water filter. We sat and chatted for a little bit then i went on line to have a look at how much a first class return on Etihad cost, we were both quite impressed at the first class seat they have, looks nicer than ba, and there was an email from Mark, their machine is still not working so they are coming tomorrow to do some washing at our place.

We had a nice steak pie with mushy peas and boiled potatoes for dinner, made by Ant, sat and chatted for a bit more then watched a little tv till the end of the evening. Hence passed another evening.

First post for a new year

Hello again all, sorry i have neglected this for so long but i had fallen in to a bit of a malaise with the onset of winter and the necessary hibernation that that involves here. Nothing has particularly changed since my last post, the house is still up for sale, no one has been to see it, we have had to drop 30,000 euros off the price which will have a bit of an impact on our future house buying choices but we want to get moving.

The one big change since my last post is that we have both stopped smoking, i can't say it has been an entirely smooth experience and we have fallen off the band wagon a couple of times, most notably on boxing day where we smoked a whole packet of Jackie's ciggies. A consequence of giving up smoking is that i have put on weight, not something i really needed to do, so am now very unhappy about the way i look. Ant, of course, is very supportive and is still as randy as rabbit, telling me i am the sexiest thing ever and that kind of thing but it is a big stretch of the imagination.

There was a point where the lack of anything to do, the lack of movement on the house, the weight gain, money, and the situation with ant's work all came to a big head and started to really get me down until finally ant raised a huge argument in the car and forced the issue in to the open and we worked out a couple of solutions, starting with me going to the gym, firstly to give me something to do and secondly to get some weight off.

Christmas and new year were as disrupted as normal at our house with ant returning from Japan on Christmas day and me going to pick him up from Heathrow, then us being stuck in a squalid little room at Heathrow for new years as he was on two hour standby. I was quite unwell at new year with a touch of glandular fever that has more or less lifted now, though i can still feel the swollen glands slightly.

Ant was sent on a trip on new years day and i drove back to France alone, but at least the festive period is now over and we can start looking forward to our great trip to Australia in January. This trip is almost mythic to me at the moment and until it actually comes off i can hardly believe it is going to happen. With the strikers threat still hanging in the air i don't even know what will be happening in three weeks i can just hope that we get there. This is the big difference when you are traveling on a staff ticket, you can't just book it the look forward to the event coming you have the constant worry that at any point in the chain of flights you won't be allowed on the flight because it is full and then what are you going to do, anyhoo i am not going to let it get me down, i will just slavishly check the flight loads on a daily basis.

Well now that's all there as background for the everyday i can start!

Sunday: Ant was due back from a trip to Denver. I got up in the morning and went online for a while, i had a bit of a swimmy head for some reason and was feeling quite dizzy. Ant phoned to let me know he was in the uk and was making his way to Dover. I got off the computer and made a start on the housework. The dishwasher gave up the ghost a few weeks ago so all the washing up is being done by hand now, which i am quite enjoying. Ant had initially wanted to replace it but i said we are not paying two hundred odd euros just to throw something away in however many months.
I have to say out hot water fountain has turned out to be a bit of a disappointment as it spits stuff all over the place, which is not good when you have stainless steel tops as it stains them and it is a bugger to get off, so that will have to go, i have seen a kettle in the Aldi freebie paper for 9 euros so will get that on Monday. I put together a nice stew with a brisket joint i had picked up cheap in Tesco on new years day and left that going in the slow cooker.
I had the housework done by mid afternoon so dollied myself up ready to pick himself up, i am dressing in black a lot these days to disguise my figure, not that it works unless the room is dark! and then had a bit of a relaxing afternoon. Himself phoned to let me know he would be getting in to Boulogne at 8.45 in the evening so i had plenty of time to sit about and wait for him, which i did. There were two lovely old episodes of the Simpsons on the latter being the one where Lisa has a crush on her male supply teacher, this is such a well written emotionally troubling episode and i was sat with very moist eyes throughout.
I set off to pick himself up and took the dogs with me in the car, i had not put any fire on as i would be out for too long so thought it better they came in the warm car than sit in the cold house, and it is a little company as Ruby sits on the front seat upright looking out of the window just like a person. When i got to Boulogne i went to the car ferry and ended up in the ticket sales line, then i spotted the foot passenger bus as it headed out of the port so i had to back out of the port and try to figure out where it was going. I eventually found him at the old port, picked him up and we headed home. We got back just in time for 'La Vie En Rose' the film of Edith Piaf's life, which we actually have on dvd, but he wanted to watch it anyway. I put his dinner together and he had a glass of wine. After dinner i gave gran a phone and we chatted for a bit, then she chatted to ant. By eleven it was clear he needed to go to bed so i sent him off upstairs and left him to sleep for a while. I watched two new episodes of Family Guy on BBC 3, they really should make more of the fact they have the franchise, then headed up to bed.

more of David's exciting adventures tomorrow? You'll have to come look to find out, it's like blog roulette