Decorating

Sunday again, where do the weeks go? I've been at work all day. Managed to get lots of stuff sorted out so it's been OK. Captain John kept me company for about an hour or so this morning. I've always liked John and get on with him really well. I call him Captain John because a few years ago he took me out for a spin round the Island in his helicopter :O) It was a really warm summers day & I was hanging the washing out in the garden when the phone went. It was John asking me what I was up to. Nothing much I said, stood there holding a pair of wet pants and some pegs in my hand. "Do you want to come flying?" Well what would you have said ~ ermm yes!!! So off I went, bursting with excitement, to the airfield in Sandown. We flew over Sandown Bay and saw Mum & Dad sat outside their beach hut. He showed me the river Medina, the coast, Osborne House the lot. We were up there for about 30 minutes, it was fantastic. I walked round for more than a week with a permanent grin on my face lol. Anyway, after putting the world to rights, he left & I was back on my own.

I took my camera with me so thought I would use this as the 7th photo of my 365 project.

No.7

The sun was so warm through the window at work this afternoon, I had to open the door. Fresh air & sunshine makes you feel so much better doesn't it.

I've been pinching photos off Facebook again of my gorgeous Lisa & Liam. They look as if they are having the time of their lives don't they :O)

Lisa & Abby Lisa Lisa & Liam

Elena's been baking today just look at these beauties :O)
They started off like this ...Then with a bit of decorating ended up like this ...And look, some gorgeous chocolate cornflakes too! So much for losing weight lol. Talking of decorating, Andrew's been painting the Utility room. Guess what colour .... white! It looks loads better and has changed it completely. It will change again when the new fridge/freezer is in there. I hope it will look alright.

The utility room last night The Utility room today ROFL, Andrew trying to get away from the photographer Look at those sexy legs! Hubba, hubba ;O)

Frost

The freezing conditions outside are supposed to end tomorrow. Gem came round yesterday & showed me some photos of the ducks walking over the iced up river in Newport. I haven't got anything so thrilling in the garden but I did take these ... We called to see the vegetable man in Brading on the way home from Tesco this morning to buy another sack of potatoes. Andrew's been making everyone's mouth water this afternoon. A wonderful aroma of homemade bread with sun dried tomatoes has been wafting in from the kitchen and the smell was divine. Lisa's invented a new lunch time treat by smothering a thick slice of it in cheese & sliced tomatoes and melting it under the grill. It tastes like expensive pizza & it's to die for :O)

There seems to be a phantom cotton bud user in our house and it's caused major problems. Someone has stuffed half a dozen cotton buds down the upstairs bathroom sink causing it to block solid. Andrew (office worker by day & super hero by night) has managed, with a hell of a struggle, to clear it. As if he hasn't got enough to do poor thing. The weirdest part is the cotton buds that were down there were blue but we only have white ones??!! Nevermind, all's well that end's well as they say. My bestest friend in the whole world bought him a Superman T-shirt for Christmas, she knows him well :O)

Last night Liam showed me how to download programmes from the BBC iPlayer so I watched 2 episodes of 'Three men in more than one boat', which I loved (even though I can't stand Rory McGrath). After their two previous outings Griff Rhys-Jones, Dara O Briain and Rory McGrath return for a third one.
Thank you Liam xXx

Musical Appliances

Poor Elena is really tired since she started back at school yesterday. It's not that she's been going to bed late or anything like that, she's got a cough. One of those tickly coughs that drives you mad. She sounds like a dog barking & it keeps her awake most of the night. I've suggested ear plugs so she can't hear herself coughing, but she didn't find that funny, she must be tired.

Tomorrow the electrician is coming at something stupid o'clock, to upgrade the fuse box. Good job I've been in a tidying up/sorting out/getting rid of all the cr*p mood, cos if he had tried getting in the under stairs cupboard a month ago, he would never have found his way out lol. Luckily for him, there is only a few coats, the hoover, ironing board, dressing up box etc. under there now. Well I say it's in there, I've just moved it all out so he can see what he's doing. Elena in the under stairs cupboard.The big problem I have with him doing it is that it's my day off. I won't have any electric until he's finished! No heating, no kettle, no computer, no radio, no nothing and it's the coldest week of the year -6o OMG!!!! I'm just going to have to get in bed with Lisa & Liam, there's nothing else for it lol.

Last night Liam helped Andrew move the chest freezer from the utility room to the garage to make room for the fridge. OMG you should have seen the muck underneath! I think a lot of it was saw dust from Monkey the hamster's house, or that's what I'm telling myself *cough*. We are playing musical kitchen appliances at the moment don't you know. Mind you I still haven't got a delivery date for the enormous fridge freezer we ordered from John Lewis. Must give them a ring to see what's happening.

I must phone the opticians tomorrow to see where my glasses have got to too!?? Working for a living takes up too much free time doesn't it!!!

I got in from work this afternoon & Gem had let her self in and made a cup of tea for me. She's a good un. She's made herself a CV which she bought round for me to look at. Apart from adding a couple of things she'd done a brilliant job. I just hope she finds a new job soon. She's a hard worker and an asset to any company.

Andrew cooked us a fry up tonight. I say fry up, most of it was grilled apart from the eggs. He really is Superman :O) What have Lisa & Liam been doing?

Well Liam is on an Xbox marathon & Lisa has been doing work, work & more work in between attending the allergy clinic (she isn't allergic to anything, it's a trial she's been part of since she was a baby) and driving lessons.

Christmas Is Over

A sad day, the Christmas decorations have been taken down and put away for another 11 months. The house looks so bare :O( It's not my favourite job in the world but it has to be done. Elena came home from spending the day with Gemma and asked if we were moving out lol, the house looked so empty.

Festive Happenings

Gemma came round last night to borrow the fairy costume. She found the tutu but no wings or halo. We spoke to Lisa on the phone and she had them at Uni so she's going to bring them home tomorrow. I did offer a Santa suit that I made years ago so she tried it on. We were in hysterics laughing at her as I thinks it must be 2 sizes too small lol. The reason she wanted the fairy outfit's because she's dressing up at work on Christmas Eve. The last time she will be able to do it unfortunately as Woolworths closes a week later and Gemma, Skateboard Steve, Sharon & all the gang will be made redundant. What a lovely Christmas present hey! I spoke to Kat yesterday in Newport Woolies and she's going to go back to college to be retrained. She was hoping that Gemma would go with her. I hope she does.Elena's last day tomorrow at school. She's finishing at lunch time so her & Lucy are going to Newport on the bus to do some shopping. They are going to get a lift back home with Andrew so I will have a couple of hours on my own when I finish work tomorrow, well until Lisa & Liam come home that is. It's beginning to feel like Christmas now :O) It could be all the decorations around the house, or all the presents I've been wrapping. I'm not sure what it is but I am feeling very festive :O)

The new cooker & hob came yesterday so the kitchen is all ready for it's face lift now. All Andrew needs is a few more hours in a day and some energy to go with it & then the kitchen will be done. He's been baking tonight especially for Liam as he asked for some mince pies the other day. So we have home made mincemeat covered with home made pastry & they are gorgeous. In fact I'm eating one as I type ~ yummy scrummy :O) Not only that, he's put his homemade marzipan on the Christmas cake too. I can't wait to get my teeth into that!

I Love Wednesdays :O)

I watched the new episode of House this morning and what a great episode it was too.

Gemma & Matt came round to see me & bring season 4 of House back. It was lovely to see them. We spent a good couple of hours playing Wii games and chatting.

The carpet fitter called while they were here & fitted the new bedroom carpet. It looks fab and has changed the room completely. It's exactly the same as the one in Lisa's & Elena's room. I've left it up to Andrew to get what he wants. I went to order the new curtains so they will be here at the end of next week. By then we will have all four bedrooms finished :O)

Andrew is dying to get back working down stairs on the kitchen & is hoping to get one side of the kitchen & utility room finished before Santa arrives. It means 2 new worktops & cupboard doors. The problem with decorating is that it makes the old stuff look really old. So we've had a long discussion about replacing the freezer. We have a small chest freezer at the moment which is working fine but is really rusty (and unsightly) on the outside. We are going to put it in the garage and use it for 'big stuff' so Andrew informs me. Seen as he's the chef I'm not arguing. We are going to buy a small freezer with drawers in, to go under the work top in the utility room. That way we can have a full work top from one end to the other. I think he's sick of us putting stuff on the freezer lid which is a pain when you need to get something out. So it's all happening :O)

Great Expectations :O)

Andrew's nearly finished our bedroom today. The new carpet's arriving on Wednesday morning so it's all coming together nicely. He's taken all the handles off the wardrobes & doors (there are loads) and sprayed them all silver. He's finished all the painting and even replaced 5 double glazed units around the house that were broken. Not only that he's made Christmas puddings this morning and they are steaming as I type. Elena slept at Gemma's flat last night so I went to pick her up. She had had the best time ever & can't wait to do it again. That's not a hint or anything. Gemma's looking after her on the 13th December when we go out for our Christmas dinner. Have I got the best family in the world or what :O) Look at them, all grown up ~ aww.

Took Elena back to the Methodist Church in Ryde this afternoon for yet another rehearsal for her forthcoming show, Rock Nativity. We called in at McDonald's for lunch & to get our BOGOF cinema ticket. They are running a promotion at the moment so it would be rude not to get a free ticket wouldn't it. Called in at Tesco on the way back home to get my eyes checked. I'm not sure if it was me or not but I didn't feel as if the lady checked them properly? It was so rushed. I have to have varifocal (granny) glasses this time so may try somewhere else before I order some. I don't want to fork out a lot of money & not be happy with them. Good job the test was free.

I had a chat with Lisa this afternoon about what she'd been up to this weekend. Liam asked if I'd read the synopsis of the next House episode and told me of a new (well new to me) website ~ TV.com

House

Airs: Tuesday November 25, 2008

A man takes over Cuddy's office and holds House, Thirteen, and several patients hostage. His demand? A diagnosis. The man forces Thirteen to act as a guinea pig for his treatments and House has to end the standoff before a SWAT team opens fire.

Now that's got to be worth watching hasn't it :O)

Then my lovely, wonderful, mad friend Teresa phoned me and asked if she could book a caravan for 7 at New Year. Of course I told her no, but I knew of a lovely house with central heating, double glazing & it was available on an all inclusive basis. Then it struck me ~ 7 ?!! Teresa, Nik, Dan, Josh, Jake, Max & who? OMG she's pregnant. Teresa is having another baby, how cool is that :O) The only down side to it all is the 250 miles & a ferry crossing between us. But the best news is that they are still coming to see us at New Year! Andrew & I are going to sleep downstairs so Teresa & Nik can have our bed. I can't have a pregnant lady sleeping on the floor can I. I've told her there will of course be some very strict rules, no cooking, no washing or drying up infact the only thing she is going to be allowed to do, is anything that isn't classed as housework :O) OMG we are going to have another little baby I can't wait (((insert a huge grin here))) how flippin exciting is that :O)

The Dairyman's Daughter

Ooo err misses. Andrew asked me out tonight!! :O) :O) :O)

This is going to be a short blog as it's late. Andrew's been superman again today. Emulsioned our bedroom & glossed the door. Touched up Lisa's ceiling where he's fitted the new light. Planted the bulbs we bought in the front garden & came shopping with me this morning. I can't tell you how much I love that man, the words just don't exist.

Elena's been to drama this morning and gone back with Gemma this afternoon to her flat. It's Elena's first sleepover & isn't it fantastic to have an older sister that loves you so much that she's prepared to look after you like that ~ thanks Gem xXx I am a very lucky Mum to have such fabulous daughters aren't I.

So tonight, Andrew came downstairs and said, 'do you fancy going out?' Of course I jumped at the chance (when you've been married as long as us you have too lol) so we went to the Dairyman's daughter in Arreton for a bite to eat & a drink. We discussed all the things we'd love to do to the house & the things we'd buy if money was no object. We made a decision (a hard one) & decided that the outside Christmas lights were not going up this year. Not because we were being Bah Humbug, it just boiled down to the amount of work & time it takes (and Andrew's earned a rest) and the cost of the electricity. Then we both agreed that we have to get our priorities in order & holidays have to come first. It's so lovely when you think the same way.

So I missed Strictly Come Dancing & the X-Factor and do I care, no way, going out with Andrew tops the list every time. I did manage to watch I'm a Celebrity though & it was a good one :O)

Just pinched these from Lisa's facebook. The theme of their bop last night was Beauty & the Geek ROFL. So may I present, Lisa, Liam & Katy ...

Does Size Matter?

What a productive weekend. Andrew's changed the radiator in our bedroom because the old one had started to leak. The new one is a different size as they don't make the old sizes anymore so he had to take up the floor boards, turn pipes round and re plumb the new radiator. He's wired in a new light in both ours & Lisa's bedroom, sorted out the paintwork round our window & undercoated all the architraves etc. It looks fab. He is SO clever but then he did spend 5 years at college learning carpentry and if that wasn't enough, he's got qualifications in electrics & plumbing too. You could say he's a very Handy Andy lol.

Now you'd think that decorating our bedroom would be enough for one person to do (as well as work 40 hours a week in a demanding job). But Andrew doesn't think so, he's changing the kitchen cupboard doors too. Again, all the sizes are different now. When did it happen? Who knicked all the old sizes? The ones he's taken off have only been up 15 years! Anyway, the doors have to be altered, every single one. At the moment we've got a selection of styles which I think is quite funky :O) Everything in our house is slowly turning white. I've left it up to Andrew so I think he's de personalising the house. The House Doctor says to depersonalise your house if you want to sell it so I think it's him being very sneaky. One day I'll wake up and we'll have moved lol. Nice try Mr H!

Me, I spent most of Sunday ferrying Elena to & from Ryde. Cleaned the conservatory and sorted out the plants. Washed the net curtains and cleaned all the windows inside.

We slept on the front room floor last night. Well not literally, we dragged the mattress out of our bedroom & slept on that. It's weird how everything 'sounds' different in the lounge and how new noises wake you up. The train, cars, dustbin men, people walking past the house. We'll just get used to it when we move back upstairs :O)

HSMSHS word today is button so here's a photo from my button box :O) A sneaky peek at the next episode of House ~ Let Them Eat Cake :O)

Christmas Is Coming

It really is :O) I LOVE Christmas, I love everything about it. Friends & family being together, having fun, decorations, lights, music, everything. Just in case you're thinking, flippin heck it's ages away yet, well, according to my Christmas countdown, there's only 39 days left! I've been wrapping up again today look ...Andrew came home yesterday with an armful of minced beef from Lidl (the best shop, in our opinion, to buy less fat, more taste, minced beef) & this ... It's something for me to make (gulp) it's a gingerbread house that you assemble yourself then ice and decorate ~ we'll give it a go :O)

This morning after our usual trip to Tesco, we emptied our bedroom and Andrew started decorating. Last but not least, one of the 4 tops I bought from Matalan last weekend just for Lisa ;O)

Grain of Sugar

Todays HSMSHS word is Grain. The ideal photo presented itself this afternoon as I walked through the door from work. The postman had bought me another parcel! This time from my gorgeous Lisa. Usually I send her stuff to let her know how much I love & miss her. But today it was my turn ~ look. A couple of heartstrings snapped when I read the note, I told you she was gorgeous {{{grin}}}. I LOVE stuff like this, it means such a lot :O) Thank you sweetie xXx

Gemma called me from work 10 mins later to say that she has supplied us with sweets for the journey on Saturday. We always have sweets when we go on a road trip. I think Gemma sounds as excited as I am :O) She's counting down the hours now not just the days lol.

Elena's due home any minute so after we've had a drink & changed our clothes we're off to Ryde to Boots & Jak's (to buy some GHD's for Gemma's Christmas present) then on to Tesco to get some last minute shopping. After that I hope Andrew won't be too long before he's home so we can have some tea (Indian curry tonight) and we can go to bed early. Flippin heck that makes me sound old doesn't it lol. It's because last night we were supposed to be having an early night until we spotted the South Bank Shows documentary about James Bond which didn't finish until late. Then Andrew couldn't get to sleep for ages. Don't know if today's conference was playing on his mind or not? Then the alarm clock woke us up at something stupid o'clock.

We are getting really excited about this too. Hopefully we will be able to watch it when we go to Teresa's as it's being shown at the cinema on Halloween :O)