Sunday 31 January 2016

Pian, pian, pianO......

This is how I found Smallest's bed this morning

The day started with an early alarm call and us getting out of bed, having a quick breakfast and waving off Huffle so he could help to get the piano from MrsPiano who has now bought herself a shiny new keyboard and given us her old battered piano. Huffle met MrBasement (what would we do with the him?) and his friend Scotty. Apparently they had already gotten it out of the house before he turned up and so he helped to load it onto the trailer. It was on wheels but boy it was heavy and old and quite weatherbeaten.

They drove it back to our house and I attempted to help them lift it into the house. MrBasement had boards with him so it didn't damage the wooden floors but we are going to have to get some castors to put underneath the wheels. The boys had a go and despite one of the keys that doesn't work (hoping the tuning lady can sort that) it sounded good. It is very noisy though so that might take some getting used to - no putting the volume down or getting the headphones out! It was also very very dusty.

Everyone did their own thing for most of the morning and then Small and I went to Sunday Development football. I knitted my hat and listened to a man talk endlessly about NOTHING!! If he had said Ryan Gigg (no S) one more time, I may have stuck my needle up his nose! One whole hour of pure BS. Small did very well and worked really hard as there weren't many kids there today so each one had to work that much harder.

At home we all had lunch and watched Ninja Warrier UK. The boys gave Grandma and Grandad a piano recital on FaceTime and then played on the Wii. Small finished off some homework and Huffle and I played a game of Catan online.

The snow is starting to really melt away now and we are starting to see the grass again. This is weird. If only it would all melt and then not snow again ahhhhhhhh. I know Huffle wants to snowboard and the boys want to sledge but I'm ready for Spring now.

I finished it!

 

 

Saturday 30 January 2016

Seymour saves the day

Ooh a really long lie-in. Bliss. Shower, breakfast and a sit and knit while the males tried to find the Stoke game on the TV or radio. Unfortunately they couldn't so the boys played on the Wii while Huffle cleared the drive. Smallest tried to find a white tee shirt so we could print on it but we had none so that will have to wait for another day.

MrBasement went and looked at the piano today and has decided he will fetch it tomorrow with the help of a friend, his son and grandson. Either Huffle or I really need to be there too to help but I'm not sure which of us is fitter (my dodgy shoulder and his back and hamstring!). Huffle and I played Catan online and then we had a quick lunch before Huffle took Smallest to his one hour football practice followed by a one hour game. We personally think this is too much and Huffle attempted to talk to the other parents to see how they felt.

Small and I stayed behind and played Thurn and Taxis. He won but it was a good game, one we haven't played for a long time so it took a bit of time to get back into it. After sorting some washing and stripping beds, I played on the Wii with him. It was funny.

I spent a long time clearing and cleaning the sun room so we can get the piano through there tomorrow. Small finished his homework. Big and Smallest came home, not many of the parents were there so there wasn't much discussion today. Thankfully, the practice wasn't full on but Smallest was tired when he got back. Huffle, Smallest and I played SkipBo and Small played on his tablet.

After a relaxing Saturday afternoon, we all went out for dinner. We took a pack of cards and played Fish. Back home the boys watched TV, Huffle played on the Wii and I carried on knitting my hat and watching the Gilmore Girls (it's my new favourite thing to watch, though I don't really watch it, I listen to it).

Huffles hamstring is looking extremely sore! The boys throats are not so sore anymore, only when they sneeze, yawn or cough. Mine too.

 

 

 

Friday 29 January 2016

Frozen ball of mess

Last night Huffle was too warm and I was too cold! He got up and opened his window which woke me later because it was making the door bang! Grrrrr. I had to wake Small who did not want to get up. Both boys throats are getting better and mine is just sore, probably a cold coming bearing in mind the amount of times I have sneezed today.

The boys stood outside waiting for the bus in -18* with windchill. It was very blustery and of course the bus was late. We were just about to drive them in when it arrived. They even came inside to wait as it was too cold!

I phoned TheEnglishRose to see if she wanted to go to knitting today but she ummed and ahhhhed and said she would call me later if she could get ready in time. I had time (while waiting) to write half a letter and get my knitting stuff together. She did call and wanted to go but I was quite late as the traffic was really slow this morning. The snow was drifting across the road making it a bit treacherous!

There was a full house (or table) at knitting. ShopkeeperEl had just become a Grandma and was showing off baby pics, Ally, MrsBasement and Miche were there and a few others who are newer to the group. It was quite noisy and TheEnglishRose turned off her hearing aid (wish I could do that sometimes). She gave me a $25 gift card for the knitting shop as a thank you for driving her and being kind. That was nice and it was her husbands idea. I know I will use that. When I started to get my knitting out, I realised it had disappeared. It wasn't in my bag or the car. Huffle found it on the drive, snow drifted all over it until it was a frozen mess of wool, needles and socks! He thawed it out for me until I got back. As I had nothing to do, I got some new wool and started on a hat. It's a beauty and it has sheep on it. It's supposed to be for me but I know a few people who might want it! I agreed to join a 'sign making' workshop in a few weeks time and then took TheEnglishRose home where I got a big hug, a newspaper and a calendar plus a text from ShopkeeperEl and MrsBasement telling me I had left my new wool there. Arrrrggggghhhh.

Back home, Huffle and I had lunch. He had finished the door handles and was waiting for me to measure and mark the drawers so he could do those too. We finished all the handles - I like it.

I went for an hours walk with ClownRose and Fin around the Hamlet. It was tough going as it was quite slippy underfoot and it was bitterly cold when the wind blew in your face (my face felt like it was going to fall off!) but it was nice to get out and stretch as my exercise has hurt me!!!!!!

The boys came home soon after I got back and I made dinner and finished my letter while Small did his homework and Smallest wrote a letter and played on the Wii.

Huffle and Small went off to football. Huffle was under strict instructions NOT to play tonight but just to coach from the sidelines! He behaved and didn't play but Small played very well and scored two goals. He was very pleased with himself. Smallest and I played on the Wii until I was dismissed due to poor playing and finished watching our film we started earlier in the week.

 

 

Thursday 28 January 2016

I'm alright nowoooooooooooo

I had a terrible nights sleep due to my throat and feeling very hot so I opened the window next to my side of the bed and then Huffle was cold. Oh dear. Everyone overslept this morning and I had to wake Smallest up. His first words were "my throat hurts". Too much to go to school? "Oh no, it's not that bad". Small also complained of a sore throat but not too much to not to go to school though he did consider it for a while. I dreamt that Smallest and his friends were throwing footballs off the top of a lighthouse and Small and I kept getting hit. Then Smallest was in a football game and 46 seconds in he got tackled and piled on by a small red haired boy. He had to come off because he got squished!!

Smallest trying to sledge down a lump of snow!

After they went to school, I did some washing and had a general tidy up. I stripped our bed and had a quick swiff around. Mid morning I drove Huffle to the doctors so he could carry on with his emails. His appointment was 11.10 and we got there ten minutes early. We didn't get seen until 11:50 and Huffle's emails were going crazy and he had a call due at 1pm which meant we had to get home for then. The doctor was in fine form today and cracking lots of silly jokes especially about Lupus (which is from the Latin word meaning wolf) and about werewolves, full moons and howling. Very funny!!! Anyway, Huffles MRI results were more normal than any he has ever seen before, which is interesting because the initial X-Ray he had said he had degenerative damage. Apparently not, he is fighting fit. In fact so fit that the doctor is going to do nothing (he was thinking of referring him to a Lupus professional but changed his mind) until symptoms appear again. He looked at Huffles hamstring and said it was a Grade Two Tear and that he could be lacking in Vitamin C. Huffle, thinking he was going to ask for a blood test again, quickly said "I'll take more vitamin C, not a problem". We discussed Lupus more and the doc said to look out for signs of Huffle going 'batty'. Oh good, can't wait for that to manifest itself, how will we know??? (Huffle edit - I will throw in a few fake batty turns to keep her guessing) we asked about the boys being tested but he didn't think it was necessary right now. He said people could go for years and sometimes never show signs but it was something to be aware of. He came home happy and in time for his work call.

We had lunch later and watched a bit of The Best Marigold Hotel. A group of eight celebrities on India trying to see if is better than Britain. Might be interesting. This afternoon I prepared dinner, sorted washing and the went for a walk in the Hamlet with MrsRoyal. When we started out it was snowing. Lovely fat beautiful snowflakes that came down rally slowly and softly. When we turned to come back it got windier and blustery and much colder. We walked for about 45 minutes. I did over my 10,000 steps today HURRAH.

The boys beat me home and were extremely silly again. They both had homework, Smallest at the computer with his bowl of chocolate covered fruit and Smallest in his room playing Kasabian at full blast with his cup of hot chocolate that he makes by himself (MrBasement showed him how to make it frothy). I got on with dinner.

After dinner, the boys played on the Wii (both went to bed a bit earlier tonight, their throats are a bit better) and Huffle and I started to put the handles on the doors. Lots of measuring and pencil marks, some drilling and all but three doors are done. We have to decide where they are going on the drawers and we will get on with those. It was scary to start with but as long as we measure and double measure, we are fine.

We had a call from the granite people and they are coming in two weeks time. Wahoo.

 

Wednesday 27 January 2016

Party bread

It snowed overnight and covered the drive and roads but it wasn't much. It wasn't too cold either this morning. I went to aerobics after the boys went to school but forgot my trainers and had to go home to get them. Aerobics was very hard today (I missed last week and that never helps). I know I will ache tomorrow, my legs and arms already feel like they are too heavy to lift and I can feel my leg muscles screaming for me to sit down. I tried to clear the drive of snow but I only managed the path to the front door and the path in front of our house, Huffle did the rest.

At home I did some cleaning, had a shower, had lunch with Huffle and spent the afternoon preparing dinner. Nothing special, I just took my time, interspersed with some catching up of TV. I made a lovely bread called Partybot which should have been 19 rolls, white and wholemeal (but I ran out of white flour) all stuck in a pan together with a mix of toppings, oats, poppy seeds and sesame seeds. It was a pull apart bread and very nice. It went perfectly with a wholemeal Macaroni Cheese and salad.

This was before I baked it, I forgot to show after it was baked and before we ate it

Huffle FaceTimed Grandma and Grandad and we sang to them for their anniversary (we were told it was too in tune!). The boys also Facetimed them when they got home and Small mainly chatted about his school trip.

After dinner Huffle took the boys to Basketball and I stayed at home by myself and rested. I have a very sore throat and am extremely tired. Huffle's leg looks horrible where his hamstring got pulled. It looks like it has bled internally. We are at the doctors tomorrow for his MRI results so we will get him to look at it, OUCH!

Two photos from school from Small's trip away

 

Tuesday 26 January 2016

Jonny 7

That damn train came through the Hamlet again at 2.30am ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH. I think I woke up as it honked a few times and then went back to sleep but it woke me again as it passed over our road. It woke Small and Huffle too.

The boys argued before school and while they were waiting for the bus and then they were gone Whooosh. Huffle had a tough day at his desk and I went out to Suffolks house. After a cup of tea and a chat, we went off to 'Solutions' to find solutions to my kitchen and her CD's. We then went for lunch and met a lovely women who chatted to us about living in Canada (she thought we were Australian). After lunch we went tile shopping. We went in many shops including Home Depot where we made the staff laugh a lot due to our silly questions. We also went to an expensive tile shop to get some ideas. I wanted cream coloured subway tiles originally and have looked at many different and lovely tiles. At the end of it all I have decided I definitely want cream coloured subway tiles - hurrah. Suffolk bought me some wine charms for my new stemless wine glasses (I was moaning before Christmas that my charms I made don't fit on the new glasses).

After dropping Suffolk off at home, I came back and started on dinner (plus I used my Solutions solutions which worked very well in the new drawers to organise things nicely). The boys came home and were very silly and loud. They FaceTimed Moo while I prepared dinner (Fishcakes) and then spoke to her myself when they went off to do homework. I gave her a tour of the kitchen. Huffle FaceTimed Grandma and Gradad earlier and gave them a tour too. It is their 45th Wedding Anniversary and Huffle made them pose for a special photo.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY G&G

After dinner, the boys put away their clothes and played on the Wii before Smallest and I went to football practice. I got a ticking off from the coach for not turning up five minutes earlier (not that I knew I should) and I heard the news that another coach was joining from another club and a second team was being created (I think we have heard that before but they never seem to find any other kids who are good enough or who want to play).

Huffle and Small stayed at home and cried over the fact that Stoke are out of the League Cup. BOO HOO, maybe if they supported their home team, they might be a bit happier! They played on the Wii.

Tonight it snowed and the snow in the full beam of my headlights made it look like Star Wars hyperspace. It was very off putting and mesmerising.

 

Monday 25 January 2016

Back to norm

It was nice getting up this morning and finding a kitchen (of sorts) stocked with pots and pans and no MrBasement (no offence) and no dust or mess. The boys Breakfast and lunch was made as usual despite everything being in different places. The boys went off to school and Huffle disappeared for a long full day of work. I got to eat my breakfast slowly and in peace and quiet. Ahhhhhh bliss.


A lovely red Cardinal in our tree

I did a grocery shop this morning and wandered around the supermarket efficiently but with a bit of a dawdle as I had no great reason to rush back. I also went to the Post Office and was told my tiny piece of mail would cost double what it should because it was too thick. The lady told me to get another envelope (which actually cost as much as the postage would have cost) and then took me to the card aisle where she let me have a free envelope and I paid half of what I should for my postage. Awww that was nice.

After putting the shopping away, changing a couple of shelf heights in the cupboards and filling them a little more, Huffle and I had lunch. We watched the end of Jericho (BBC). I filled a few more cupboards (there was still so much up in the loft) and then went to the forest where I met NoCustard for a lovely walk. We had a good chat and although it was hard work underfoot, it was really nice and picturesque.

Back home I sorted washing and put more on, added a few more things to the kitchen and then the boys were home. Small had forgotten his boots so I had to drive him back to school to get them as he needed them for later. Smallest set the table for me and attended to my bleeding foot when I trod on a shard of glass. MrsPiano came and Smallest had a very long lesson, so long in fact that I had to rescue him to get his dinner before he went off to football practice with Huffle.

Small had music homework where he had to listen to several pieces of music including tunes from James Bond, Harry Potter and Star Wars and identify the instruments, pitch, tone and write about it using musical terms. He finds this very interesting. He has a lot to do but it isn't due until February. I shouted him several times but he didn't hear me, too engrossed in the music. He had his piano lesson and is Learning the Cantina Song from Star Wars. It's quite complicated. I let MrsPiano know today that we would like her piano and that I will be in touch shortly to arrange to pick it up. MrBasement said he will move it for us.

Small and I had a quick play on the Wii and then I took him to Scouts where he sledged for an hour and had a hot chocolate. I came home and moved some more stuff into the kitchen. I think that's it, everything in and we still have space. Amazing. We now have to have a go at putting the handles on the doors and drawers and deciding what tiles and top we are having.

Smallest had a good time at football and Huffle had a good time chatting with one of the Dads. Smallest went to bed after his shower, it looks like he has a cold now. Small went to bed a bit earlier than normal. He is absolutely full of cold and still tired.

We received a lovely Christmas package from the Rumbleskins today full of super goodies. Thank you, we will enjoy them all x

 

Sunday 24 January 2016

Le Sponge War

Small loved being back in his own bed last night but is struggling to get back to his normal routine. Apparently he has been getting up at 6:30am and going to bed at 11pm. Tut tut, we will sort that out! Huffle and I slept well and Smallest slept despite feeling a bit under the weather.

We made waffles for breakfast as a welcome home for Small before he unpacked all his stuff and we set about washing it all. Smallest and Huffle played table tennis and then the boys played on the Wii while Huffle and I filled some more cupboards and reorganised others. We had a FaceTime with HB who showed us around her new house. Aunt Pear and Grandma and Grandad were there too but the signal was poor and we gave up in the end. Lovely house though, sure HB and GP will be vey happy there. It reminded me a lot of our old English house. Awwwwww.

We all had lunch and watched Ninja Warrior UK until Smallest went off to his party for one of football friends. It was a Gladiator Spongeball party and Huffle was asked to join in. They had a lot of fun.

Small and I stayed at home. Small had a long soak in the bath while I did some washing, wrote a letter and prepared dinner for later. Then we played Catan. Small won though we couldn't finish it because the others came home and we had dinner, finished the Ninja Warrior program and then we sent the boys to bed early.

 

 

Saturday 23 January 2016

Return of the prodigal son

Not a very good nights sleep for Huffle as his hamstring was giving him trouble. He came downstairs during the night and said the house was freezing. I think I slept okay until around 6am and then I felt like I had an elephant sitting on my head, my nose was blocked and I couldn't stop sneezing. In the end I gave in and got up. Smallest was just getting up too and he sat and watched TV while I tried to wake myself and get rid of the elephant.

This morning I left Huffle and Smallest at home watching the football. My Leicester City versus their Stoke City. Unfortunately I couldn't watch it as I had to be at my monthly sewing group. But I kept an eye on my phone and was very happy to see that we won 3-2. Funnily enough I had no messages from Huffle or Smallest - they were very quiet. Ha ha ha ha ha! Up the foxes! I didn't do my sewing for this month and was supposed to have paid my $10 penalty for not doing it but she let me off. I now have two squares to get done for next month. A Christmas Tree from last month and a snowflake that looks very difficult for this month. I may need Suffolks help.

36 little pieces plus a circle in the middle you can't see

Suffolk and I went for a coffee afterwards. In fact we had so much to talk about (we haven't seen each other since before Christmas) we had two drinks. It was nice to catch up and we are going to get together again next week for a sew and a cuppa. I came home in time to see Smallest and Huffle just go off to football. There was no proper game today, just an inter team game. Huffle thought that Smallest was tired looking and not playing at his best but the game was long and they only had a short break.

I stayed at home and had lunch and put some things away in the kitchen, put up the calendar and some pictures, add a couple more rails for the drawers. Before I left this morning I asked if Smallest's bed could be stripped. This is now done weekly to help him with his Dust Mite Allergy. Do you know what they did? They took the sheets off and rolled them to the bottom of the bed on top of the duvet still with its cover on, on top of the pillow with its pillowcase still on. The pair of dufuses. I washed, dried and folded, emptied and filled the dishwasher and generally tidied around. I got the radio and IPod hooked up and listened to music while I worked. Before I knew it, they were back.

Huffle and I went through all the pieces of the kitchen that were left and decided what was going back, what was missing and then got rid of all rubbish and sorted all the screws and fixings that we had over. We finished building the last four drawers, got the rails on and the drawer fronts. I don't know how but we seemed to have the hardest one till last and we were desperate to sit down and have a cup of tea by the time we finished. All done now as much as we can until our next visit to Ikea anyway.

In between, we played 'Newmarket' and Smallest won. We had a phone call from Small telling us he would be home around 8pm. Huffle picked him up from school. He wasn't feeling too well which I'm not surprised with because he doesn't travel well and it was an eight hour bus ride. Four films and one stop on the way. He had a fabulous time. Snowboarding, cross country skiing, tubing, snow shoeing, eating, playing, singing, using the French language and winning some Maple Syrup Fudge for excellent speaking. All the kids behaved well and were thanked by the teachers for their perfect manners and behaviour.

I think Huffle and I finally sat down in front of the TV around 9:45pm. Tired zzzzzzz

 

Friday 22 January 2016

Drawers, Doors and Dampners

An early start due to the Granite man coming between 8am and noon. He came at 11am in the end which was enough time for MrBasement to connect the sink, tap, dishwasher and put some wood on the top as a makeshift work surface.

Today was a PA day which meant that Smallest was off school. Lucky because he had a bad throat (not that he felt bad but he was quite warm and smelly of breath). Huffle worked in the bunker mainly but came up in between calls to help with various things. Smallest and I built a drawer and then started putting on hinges and hanging the doors. He got bored pretty quickly but did work hard while he was working. He had a few sessions on the Wii and computer and kept coming to help me every now and then including walking to the Beer Store (Co-op) with Huffle to fetch a piece of plumbing which they didn't have.

The Granite man was very quick and happy for me to tell him exactly what it was I wanted and didn't want though he did tell it was a bad idea to have a 'flush' work surface because of the anomalies of the wall so I gave in but asked for a small overhang rather than the normal overhang they normally put in. I also asked for squared corners rather than rounded ones. Hopefully it will be fitted within two weeks.

After lunch, MrBasement went out to fetch supplies, Huffle worked in the bunker and put on a door for me and Smallest and I went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. While we were there we stopped in at the doctors and asked if Huffle's results were in from his MRI scan. They were. They said that had there been anything on the scan they would have called us. I made him an appointment to speak to the doctor and he is going later next week. I will be going with him so I make sure we understand everything.

We all worked very hard for the rest of the afternoon and by 4:30pm when MrB left, the kitchen was looking pretty good. Smallest helped to move lots of things from the rest of the house into the kitchen and we put everything away. Not necessarily in the correct place but away for now. We cleared the table and put it back in its place and had dinner in our new kitchen. It's lovely. There are a few things missing that we need to get, a drawer front or two, a cupboard door, a couple of dampers (damper dampener not sure which is correct but they make the doors close softly) and a hinge. When the granite is fitted MrB will be back to finish the top of the cupboards - not sure if we are going for more drywall or crown moulding. There is a hole to fix above the fridge, the kick board under the cupboards to add, tiling the splash back and I think that's it unless I find more stuff.

Huffle went off to football and pulled his hamstring (again) and Smallest and I played Rush Hour and started a film and cuddled. He was very tired so he went to bed early after a salt wash for his throat. I read Harry Potter to him at bedtime. It's been so long since I read to him, for ages it has been Moo and before that Huffle mainly read to him. I should have been sewing my quilt square for my class tomorrow but Pah reading to my Smallest is much more important.

Ahh it's nice to have a nearly kitchen back.

MrsPiano left me a message today to say we could have her piano for free if we move move it as she has a new one. Need to speak to MrBasement who said he might be able to move it for us EEEEEKKKKK.

 

Thursday 21 January 2016

A Tap and a Paco

I slept better but we were woken by a train at 2:30am which meant Huffle then didn't sleep much. A huge long big noisy train honking its way brought our sleepy Hamlet. BOOOOOO!

Today MrBasement appeared at 8am and neither of us had had breakfast and Smallest was still cleaning his teeth and getting his stuff together. After Smallest went to school, I made a start on the baskets for the drawer next to the oven. This proved trickier than I thought but I did it anyway. Then I started on the second lot of baskets which proved much trickier as these are next to the sink and they didn't open correctly. MrB had to move the sink over slightly and then I had to spend forever trying to move the fixings inside. Huffle came and helped and we sorted it in end.

There was more washing up in the little bathroom sink. MrB got the microwave hooked up and modified the cabinet as it sat in front of a small pillar (lot of extra cutting WHOOPS). We all stopped for a quick lunch and then Huffle worked in the bunker, MrB went out for supplies of wood and plumbing supplies. I built the drawer under the microwave cabinet but it needs a bigger front or a shelf fitted. Mrs Royal visited to see how we were doing and that's when we realised IKEA had given us the wrong tap so we checked a local place, MrB called them and reserved it and Huffle went and picked it up. So we still don't have a tap, sink or dishwasher fitted BOOOO. Huffle did get the new tap and it's very nice so should be in tomorrow.

MrB put up the cooker hood and helped me out when I got stuck many times. Tomorrow the Granite people are coming to template between 8am and 12am. We are ready but still have a lot of things to be getting on with but it is getting there. MrB left us around 4pm when Smallest came home and helped me build another drawer and correct another track. He is very handy with a screwdriver and picking up little screws that we drop.

We all made pizza for dinner and watched a film. Small called us from Quebec to let us know how he was getting on. That was nice. He is loving the place, had a two hour snowboarding lesson today, doesn't like Cross Country Skiing and might be going skating or tubing tomorrow. The beds are not comfy and he is in a room with his best friends in bunk beds. Glad he is having a good time.

 

 

Wednesday 20 January 2016

A sink and a bucket

Small couldn't get to sleep because he was too excited about his trip away. I slepr for an hour and then was awake for about three hours and then had to be up at 6:15am - OUCH that hurt! At that ungodly hour of the day, Small got himself dressed and made his porridge while I woke myself up and stowed his bags in my car. At 7am we got to school, met his friends and put his bags in the big fancy bus complete with TV screens and blacked out windows (he couldn't see me waving boo hoo). It felt like the middle of the night again as I stood in the car park all by myself, all other Mum's choosing to stand in their little clicky groups. I felt quite miserable watching my first born go off on his first big trip without me with no friendly face telling me it would be alright. Once I had waved the bus away (I think the teacher told the kids to all wave in our general direction so at least we felt they were saying goodbye). Small was so excited, I hope he has the best of times.

I drove to the garage and dropped my car off to have its wheel rim put on. The garage was empty apart from the petrol station part who took my keys and wrote my name and phone number down. I then trudged home in the snow where I did meet a friendly face and a wet nose (girl from Hamlet and her dog) before reaching home. Smallest was already up and watching TV and Huffle was just emerging. We made breakfast and MrBasement arrived. Smallest went off on the bus by himself. No Small to bug him and no BabyMo to sit with so he got to be a big boy and sit at the back of the bus with Small's friend.

My early walk home
All by myself

He started with some electrics and put up the rail for the bottom cupboards. I was on hand for whatever he needed me for. Holding a piece of rail while he sawed it (making me very nervous as the saw got closer to my hands), holding cupboards, carrying, fetching, cleaning, making up many legs, taking legs off. I was very busy. Huffle had lots of calls to take and in between built a couple of cupboards and moved a few things here and there, he was very busy too. I walked back to the garage and picked up my car.

We all stopped for lunch and FaceTimed Moo as MrB wanted to tell her that the service had gone downhill since she had left. I went off to Ikea again to get two new cupboards as we noticed the sink unit wasn't sitting in the middle of the window so we did a bit of jiggery pokery and moved a smaller unit next to the sink. I travelled about 30 minutes to Ikea, to the kitchen department and ordered the bits I wanted, trekked through to the checkout and paid and then drove another 15 minutes to get to the warehouse to pick up my bits. Of course we didn't have to do this last time because the things were all ordered but at least I know for future. Plus I have to make another trip back to pick up the few things that were missing off the original order and take back the things we didn't use.

My trip back was about 25 minutes and the traffic was good so MrB was still there and had put in the sink which looks beautiful. I love it and can't wait to use it. Although it isn't exactly like the one we had in England it really reminds me of it. He hooked up the drinking water tap which looks a bit weird but at least we can use it. When he left for the day, I cleared up, cleaned and organised all the screws, brackets and bits and bobs.

Huffle took us out for dinner on the way to basketball for Smallest. His class was even bigger this week and even more full of dufuses. Honestly I don't know how the coach has the patience. I would have put half the class in the basketball nets if I was coaching! As it was he had to make them do sprint runs because they weren't listening. They make Smallest appear like an angel (which he is of course).

I found this photo of Facebook "memories of Leicester". It was 1993 and I laughingly asked Huffle if I could see Grandads smiley face. Funnily enough, not only was Grandad on there but Huffle too. With hair!!!!