Saturday 30 April 2016

Anyone for tennis?

Huffle and I had another trip out by ourselves and left the kids at home. I don't think they moved from in front of the TV except to brush their teeth and get their tablets. We went back to the charity shop where they were selling garden and patio stuff. I wish we hadn't bothered because there was nothing. We cheered ourselves up by visiting the bakery. It was nice to be out on our own though.

The football was on when we got home (Stoke v Sunderland) so all the boys watched while I sat upstairs and watched one of my programmes and did a dot to dot (so rock n roll).

We had a tiny snack and went off to football practice. I walked to the pharmacy to get Smallest's eye drops (can't remember whether I mentioned that the Allergy Doctor prescribed the wrong dosage for him and luckily the Pharmacist picked it up nd got it changed). I went to a different pharmacy today and asked them to transfer the prescription but when they asked for his date of birth, I give him Small's birth year by mistake. It all got very confusing until I realised what I had done. Eventually the other pharmacy said they would fax it through. Luckily I decided not to wait as it took six hours. I will pick it up another day. At football Huffle and Small didn't get to play as all the pitches were full. Smallest worked hard and we were hungry by the end so went out for dinner.

We went to the burger place, all freshly made so it takes a while and we took Smallest's new game Bananagram with us.

This afternoon we spent a couple of hours on the tennis court. The sun was very warm and we had a lot of water breaks plus a few wine gum stops. Smallest and I ran out of energy first, Smallest HAD played football for an hour earlier and I hurt my shoulder again.

When we got home we started Small's new game Monopoly Puzzle which starts as a huge foam 3D puzzle and then you play the game but we tried for an hour and then I put some together later. It may take time!

This evening we all watched Britains Got Talent.

 

Friday 29 April 2016

The fox doesn't wag!

It is officially Spring on Sunday and I know that this curious country we moved to has had snow later than April, even mid to late May but at least we had another good sunny day today. Still needed fleeces or a thin coat but I actually got into the garden and did some weeding later.

Huffle worked hard and got stressed and has been called to the Toronto office on Monday. He's worried that he is being made a scapegoat for something that's going pear shaped. We discussed what the worst could happen and we are okay with that. I just don't want him stressing unnecessarily. He is talking to me and not keeping things to himself so that's something. Much later he had a telephone call that made him less worried.

I went to the charity shop this morning for the garden and patio sale. It opened at 10am and I got there about 10:15am. The car park was full and had people queueing for it as well as people trying to reverse, turn around and park. The street next to it was blocked with parked cars and cars trying to park plus it was bin day and the bin lorry had trouble getting through. I managed to park and then had to queue to pay before I even looked around. The only way you could see anything was to look and grab while the line moved. It was ridiculous and a lot of stuff had already gone (I know because Huffle and I looked through the window yesterday). I picked up a funny round chair and a wicker table ($16 total). Apparantly there is another one tomorrow with different stuff. I'm not sure I can be bothered but I guess if we are up early and wanting to do something.

I went to knitting this morning. It also was packed and we had trouble finding chairs. Suffolk joined me later, we were invited to stay for lunch but we declined as we had already decided to go to lunch on our own. Easier to talk, plus we needed to go to the sewing shop. I managed to knit loads of my second sock (will be done in no time at this rate) and got some good tips on other socks from one of the ladies there. We went for a lovely lunch and a cup of tea and then went to the Quilting shop where we signed ourselves up to make a fabulous organiser bag, hopefully in May. We also bought some material to make a little bag I bought a pattern for a few weeks ago.

Back home I weeded the garden till the boys came home and they helped me for half an hour each. We dug out the majority of the dandelions and I got lots of unwanted grass out. The front is not looking too bad but the side is terrible. The soil is just dry clay and needs some serious nutrients putting back in.

I made a start on dinner and sat on the porch in the sunshine while the boys played on their tablets. Huffle worked later than normal trying to get the horrible work done and then eventually we all had dinner. Foxy Loxy came to visit again this evening and Huffle threw a ball near him. He didn't pick it up and run back with it wagging his tail ha!

After dinner we were regaled with much piano playing and a Tuba session. They are very talented boys. Then we had to play hide and seek.

 

Happy birthday Little TateB for today

and LittleTateM for tomorrow.

 

Thursday 28 April 2016

Trouble at Mill

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTY A. Hope you have a lovely day.

A sunny day that started off warm and got cooler. I think we had a frost overnight but nothing too bad. There are many many plants coming up, a sprinkling of daffs out (though I'm convinced I planted more than is out). The boys went to school in shorts again even though some are still in coats.

Grandad sent me a photo of the Bee Bicycle we gave him. It is now sitting on his front lawn.

Huffle had a nightmare of a day where everything he touched went wrong (keep away from me then!). He had trouble with some work data. The new Kodi TV crashed and needed updating but then got stuck half way through (he has logged a support call). Last night we couldn't get Netflix working properly (though to be fair that's not been working well since the last upgrade on Apple (we have a call open with them but they have not been very quick to respond). Smallest trainer had flappy bits which he glued last night but then came apart (we've tried gorilla glue Grandad!). The printer stopped working so he changed the cartridges, one of which splattered up the cream wall (had to be the Cyan). When he got the Printer working, the copier part refused to work and he had to do lots of tests and cleaning. He ended up flooding the cartridge holder in steaming hot water (which I then hairdryered to get dry). It works HAZAAAAAA. My phone stopped briefly but is fine now. Is there something misaligned with the planets today?

I had a slow start to my morning (for a change) and then Huffle and I managed a sneaky hour where we went out to the Dead Mans shop where I bought three games and a knitting stitch holder and Huffle bought two pairs of shorts, two pairs of joggers and a jacket. We noticed that the upstairs shop is now selling garden and patio stuff but only opens for two days starting tomorrow (If I remember I will have to get there in the morning and wrestle with the pensioners. We then popped to The Tire and bought some perennials, a box and a coriander. Can't plant them out just yet but soon.

I had a good tidy of the sun room that Huffle started yesterday and we moved things around and cleared out the boots. It needs a good clean but looks much better and we have opened the back door now there is less risk of snow. After lunch where we realised the KodiTv wasn't working, I went out and met Suffolk and Taff for a coffee. We had a good chat and decided we were going for a trip out to a fancy mall sometime soon.

I got home just as the boys were coming back. Smallest went to see MrsPiano who was busy helping someone else and Smallest had to stick his sheet music to some other paper. He made a right mess, which is why we needed the photocopier to work so we could make him a new one!!!! I made dinner, the boys tidied their rooms and put their clothes away and played on their tablets after piano practice (Smallest did. Small says he doesn't need to practice ha!).

After dinner we tried two of our new games. Blokus which Small won and UBuild Mousetrap which had the trap missing but we worked out you didn't need it. I won this one. It's different and playable. They were only a $1 each so we haven't wasted much really!

Tonight, Foxy Loxy visited us on his way to see Otto's chickens. He was a lovely thing and he came back later when we were doing a 'yes run'.

 

Wednesday 27 April 2016

The yawning King

Yesterday my shoulder was hurting and I was wondering whether to go to aerobics today. Smallest said "have you paid" YES "how much did you pay?" $10 "ummmmmmm, I think you should go". Fair enough. So I did. I did most of it but cut down on the weights a bit and did a plank with my bum in the air. I'm glad I went, thanks Smallest.

The boys got me out of bed earlier and had already had their breakfasts. They have so much extra time now, it works perfectly for them and they don't seem to make a mess either! Smallest was supposed to see MrsPiano at break but forgot (what am I going to do with him?) still he did a good long practice on the piano when he got home and doubly practised the part he is having trouble with so its not all bad, plus he says he will go and see her tomorrow.

Huffle was very busy today and I didn't see him much. After Aerobics I went off to Suffolks to dig out her Acer Tree from the grass (nice and easy) and two gorse bushes (not so easy). In fact I broke my very special, very old, digs out any tree, spade (though I was standing on the end at the time and using it as a lever). It took me an hour to do all three and I was knackered by the end. She caught me lying on her deck in the sunshine when she arrived home and made me a nice cup of tea while I moved the roots to the garage. She also made me lunch and we had a nice catch up and chat. She insisted on paying me though I was happy to do it as a friend. She wants me to do more work in the garden for her and feels happier paying and not so guilty. I came home with the little tree but I'm not convinced it is alive. We'll see. I planted it when I got home.

I made some pizza dough in the bread machine for tea and sorted some washing before the kids came home. Small thought he had broken his finger but I think it's just bruised. Same thing as usual, a football hit the end of his middle finger. He could bend it and it wasn't swollen, plus much later he said it had improved and went off to basketball.

Freaky face swap with Smallest and Huffle

I managed to get the pizzas cooked despite putting the bread machine away with the still proving dough in it!!!! The boys did a chore, played on their tablets and ate their pizza all before 5:30pm when Huffle took them to basketball. He is giving me another rest evening as he has to work away next Wednesday so I will have to do it and he will no doubt be tired. I knitted, watched a scary series, emptied and filled the dishwasher, sorted more washing, did a dot to dot and had a shower. Very resting.

 

 

Tuesday 26 April 2016

Full of frolicks and fiddle-de-dees

Last night we had an email from the football coach asking if any of the team wanted to play in an exhibition game against the team that caused us huge problems (threatening behaviour, following the coach home etc) at a place 45 minutes drive away (at least) at the start time of 8am (meaning turn up half an hour early). OMG get a life man! We declined but didn't give a reason and slowly watched the replies coming in from the 'try hards' saying "what fun" "yay we're in" etc. Huffle much later found out that it had been cancelled (though we are yet to hear that officially) due to it being Orthodox Easter and we have a number of Greek origin players. HA!

The boys forgot to get me up this morning and insisted I said I didn't want them to wake me. Who is going to make their lunch then? Who is going make sure they are ready for the bus? How do I get ready for work if I don't get up? Silly boys. Luckily, Huffle woke me. The bus was early too!

We had a text to say that Grandma and Grandad got home safely and had to drive through snow and rain. Whoops! Grandad left me his washing (just his work clothes he leaves here) thanks for that smelly present! We should have had snow today but the worst we got was rain.

I went to work and stayed in the greenhouse potting on Succulents and got to bring two little babies back with me. The boys really like them and we try to grow as many as we can. Jan was back and we had White Chocolate and Pecan Blondies - yummmmmm very nice.

Huffle worked hard at his usual work with some hoovering and tidying on his breaks (he's a good 'un). We had lunch together when I got home and watched 24 during his lunch break and then I went shopping briefly to pick up a few bits. Really I just needed some vegetables and fruit so I went to my usual supermarket but didn't want to come back the normal way (who knows why) and I got terribly lost on the way home. I ended up further away than when I started so I had to use my GPS. Stupid girl!

I made a soup for dinner and Facetimed Moo. We had a couple of weeks worth of catching up to do. The boys came home. Small is training with for the Baseball team at school (though is not officially in the team yet). He has to train at school on Tuesday's and Thursday mornings at 8am so I definitely will need to get up on those days to get him there. Smallest didn't get to have an extra piano practice for the talent show today as MrsPiano wasn't in her room but she has promised him one tomorrow at break time.

After dinner all the boys went off to Smallests football practice. Small and Huffle had a kick about while there. I rearranged the pantry (oh Grandad it looks so much better and everything is back where it should be he he) and sat and watched two episodes of Home Fires and knitted MrsElderflowerMeadows sock (one nearly finished), did some washing, folding and drying and a general clean and tidy of the kitchen.

 

Monday 25 April 2016

Off they go......

Today was Grandma and Grandads last day. The boys got their own breakfasts (which I suddenly realised half way through the day that that means Small is not getting his usual fruit on his porridge - doh he duped me!).

After breakfast, Grandad and I left Huffle worrying over his reports, that he inadvertently ruined this morning and Grandma packing. We went to Johns Garden looking for bulbs for Grandad, the Bank for some cash and Richters looking for tea for Grandad to take back for me. We stopped at Hi-Hope farm for a pie for tea and a nice loaf of bread and came home for lunch. We persuaded Grandma and Huffle to come for lunch and went to Symposium for omelettes and salad. The waiter was all by himself and obviously struggling as the service was pretty bad. He introduced himself twice (at two different times, about two minutes apart), brought Huffle a Coke with no fizz in it twice and then gave up and gave him bad tap water instead. He brought my coffee (very weak tasting) with drips all down the outside of the mug (I'm hoping it was fresh and not yesterday's) and didn't say a word when we left. Luckily wavy lady (whose only job there seemed to be to ask if we were okay and wave energetically when we left) was very attentive. Still, it did the job and filled us sufficiently to get Huffle back home and into his reports again and Grandma to carry on her packing.

Grandad and I went off for one last adventure to see Quiche who had saved some pallets for Grandad. We were greeted by a notice board........

We picked up the best pallets we could fit in my car (Quiche said he would bring the others to us via a friend's van), said our goodbyes and headed home again. I had to honk at people twice today for pulling out in front of me. Stupid drivers! They don't even know I'm there despite the long hard honk I give them.

Pallets were moved into Grandads cave (smelly bugger trapped me in the Grandad Cave and trumped violently!) and then he packed his case.

The boys came home. Smallest had been handed a note that said "......your child has been notified that.......talent show.......if improvements have not been made in one weeks time they will be excused from the ......concert". Poor Smallest. I blame Grandma and Grandad having too much fun with them.

We moved all the bedrooms back to how they should be, Small from Smallest's room back to his own room with fresh bedding, Smallest from the loft into his own room with fresh bedding. After dinner they both swapped their clothes around too. Small is very much looking forward to his nice comfy big bed and I am looking forward to Snallest being downstairs so I don't have to go up the stairs to check on him at my bedtime.

MrsPiano came and helped Smallest with his talent show piece. She said he needed to work on it for fifteen minutes everyday and she will give him an extra practice in school tomorrow. She will also help him stick his sheet music to some thicker paper as he had trouble with it falling off the piano today. She said he will be fine.

When it was time for Grandma and Grandad to go, there were much hugs all around, lots of thank you's, a few tears and raspberries.

It has been a very quick three weeks and I think we fit a lot in. They had all sorts of weather from Snow to Burning Sunshine with rain, fog, hail and wind in between. Thank you both for all your hard work. It has been a good visit.

They got upgraded on the plane - lucky things (at least Grandma won't have to sit next to MrsMargoliesx2 on the way back this time).

I took the kids to Scouts/Cubs where they did egg protecting. Making a protector for an egg and then dropping it from a height. They enjoyed it. I got a rare moment of peace as I was completely home alone ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

 

Sunday 24 April 2016

Seller-butory

Small was sick in the night but didn't bother us because he was too tired. Bless him. I think he ate too much yesterday. He was fine for the rest of the day.

I made a pancake breakfast for everyone but not too many as we were still recovering from our meal last night. Small and Smallest looked after Grandma while the rest of us went to visit the local flea market. I have decided I don't want to go here again until they have plants for sale. It is utter rubbish there. One of the sections sells chocolate, sweets and biscuits (normally imported stuff). Huffle attempted to buy a pack of chocolate marshmallows (teacakes) but when he went to give the lady his money, she said "oh I wouldn't bother, lots of people are bringing them back because they are stale and the chocolate is white on top, I don't want you to be disappointed". Then she tried to sell us a big pack of Hershey's Marshmallow Eggs until I told her that Hershey's was a horrible tasting chocolate and we were used to the best! Grandad bought himself a BlueJays tee shirt as he has somehow lost his in between visits. We went to Home Depot next where Grandad needed a length of drain pipe to finish the drain work. He had fun trying to get an Indian worker in there translating things.

Back home all three were still on their gadgets playing. Grandad, Huffle and I started work on the drainpipes. We worked well as a team, one up the ladder, one undoing screws, one getting the sealant off things. We had a brief stop for lunch that Grandma and the boys made. The kids played football, on the swing and a bit of cricket and Huffle joined in while I visited Home Depot again to pick up another elbow joint. All work was finished by 5pm with just a tiny problem of the sealant not quite sealing (possibly too wet) so we are leaving it until tomorrow when it is dry. Hopefully we can just buy another sealant (or caulking) and finish it before it rains.

Grandma made dinner with a little help from me and we all ate and then played Pictionery which was very funny.

Today was Grandma and Grandads last full day but it was impossible to all do something together as we had such a busy day yesterday, some of us needed to rest and others had stuff that just needed doing.

We have noticed that Grandma has started 'liking' things Canadian. Here are a list of things she now likes:

Maple Biscuits. Salmon Jumping. Hudson Bay. The staff in Hudson Bay. Weighable Frozen Yoghurt. Sunning herself next to a Nuclear Power Station. The Kit Kat Restaurant. The Steak at the Kit Kat. The Creme Brulee at the Kit Kat. Canadian Wine. The train. Cous Cous. Ship load of Tissues. Troy Tulowitzski. Steven (tintin duffy). Canadian English style ginger biscuits. Shoppers Drugstore. The pharmacist at Shoppers Drugstore but she really wanted to call her a Chemist. The Speed limit on construction. MrsMurnumunum (doo doo do doo do). Her very big plant pot of a tea mug she keeps here. Tin Mill Tin Frites. Cheap fish and chips. Homesense. Winners. Costco.

On a negative side, here are the things she didn't like:

The Raptors supporters sitting behind on the train who used the F word constantly. Sears (again). The boys on the beach next to the power station. The cyclist who tried to knock her over who happened to be one of the supporters behind on the train. Any tea that isn't Yorkshire Tea. That horrible sprinkling wine that she finished. Arugala (neither the taste nor the silly name they give it here). The fact that chemists are called Pharmascist. The word Sellabutory for Celebratory. FabricLand. Value Village. The Thrifty shop moving to a different shop (too big and smelly). The flouncy flowery yellow dress in the Thrifty shop. Homesense chair that collapsed when she sat on it. Not getting freebies at Costco. Our Hoover and the fact it's called a Vacuum here. All adverts on the radio. Matt Edmundson who was sitting in for Scott Mills while she was here.

 

Saturday 23 April 2016

The pinball wizard

What a lovely day. Today we went off on the train (drove first to the train station 20 minutes away) and travelled along the waterfront (very picturesque in parts, much quicker and cheaper than the bus) into Toronto for the baseball game Blue Jays against Oakland Athletics. We arrived in Toronto around 11:45am. The weather was nice, sunny but not too warm with a cool breeze.

On the train

We headed for the normal gelato shop but it was shut (not warm enough yet obviously) so we popped into the local shop and picked up a pack of mini choc ices which we ate on our way into the stadium. Once inside we had the obligatory tattoos (Grandad had his positioned for him by a young girl who asked "where would you like it?" Brave girl). The kids did their drop the ball game and won a bookmark each (though Small lost his later), Grandad did some silly photo poses and then we left the kids and Grandma with another game (this time winning a bracelet and a poster which was also lost later) while Grandad, Huffle and I signed ourselves up as Designated Drivers and picked up our free soft drinks.

Today our seats were in the 500's but in the lower part so no stairs today. The roof was closed and a lot of the seats around us were empty however they did fill up later. Can't understand why people come in half way through. There was a lot of moving out of seats, everyone having to stand up to let others out. The man next to Huffle drank six beers. Blue Jays won 9-3 easily. There were three home runs and some amazing catches.

After the game we walked slowly and leisurely towards the Kit Kat restaurant where we had booked a table for dinner. Grandma and Grandad have adopted this place as a tradition now. On the way we spotted some Ronkey statues (donkey rabbit cross things) and had to have silly photos and sit on them for a while.

We arrived at the restaurant too early but they were happy to seat us and looked after us very well. Smallest, Huffle and Grandma had the steak (can't believe Smallest ate it all, it was bigger than him!). Grandad had the Pickerel and Small and I had pasta. We even had pudding. Everyone but Smallest and I had Creme Brûlée (Grandad stated that it is so good in this particular restaurant that he WON'T have it anywhere else). I had a Grand Marnier Cheesecake and Smallest had a huge Chocolate Fudge Cake which was once again bigger than him (though he did end up taking half of it home).

We had another leisurely walk back to the Station being silly, taking photos and taking in the sights of the city. We found the cow and elephant statues and had some fun with them.

In the station we were early so had more silly photos before getting on our train and travelling back home.

A fabulous but busy day.

 

Let's go fly a kite.......

The kids got their own breakfast again this morning and were happily sat in front of the TV watching The Simpsons. When they saw me they requested their lunch so they could get their bags ready. Shorts again today though it was cloudy and misty. Grandad stayed at home and made some shelves for the pantry. He also had a problem with his guttering as it was put in at a higher point, all the water is just sitting and not draining away. He has worked out how to make it right but it means taking it apart and re-doing it. What a pain! Huffle worked today.

Grandma and I went to Oshawa Mall with the main intention of trying to take back Small's Duvet Cover that Grandma bought him for Christmas. It was originally bought in October when she was here last and Small opened it at Christmas and has had it on his bed ever since (a lovely warm flannel one which we have just swapped over due to it being warmer now). It was a cover that I had to wash with salt at first to make it colour fast. Then every time I washed it after that I had to do it on a cold wash (all by itself) and a very cool tumble dry. The zip had started to pucker and it broke too. We had no receipt and neither us knew whether it was paid for on my debit card or her Credit Card. We popped into a different branch and asked their advice and they said to try and take it back to the original shop. So today we did just that. The lady said our dryer was too hot and it had shrunk it which is why the zipper was puckered. She said if we ironed it, it would be okay but when I tried the zip it broke again. She agreed to swap it for us but only for a bigger quilt as that is all she had left. Grandma is going to cut it and sew it. Huffle has been informed we need a new dryer. To be fair, I knew it was drying things hotter than it should be.

We also bought a couple of bags, a watch for Grandma, a gnome for Small as promised, an egg slicer for the house as ours broke and some cards in a box. We also got Smallest's prescription for his allergies. His eyes were looking a little swollen this morning so we picked up his nasal spray but the pharmacist was not happy to give us his eye drops as they were extra strength so after lots of discussion she agreed to fax the allergy doctor to check and call me back on Monday where I can then get the drops from a closer chemist. Lovely lady and very helpful.

Perfect gift for our Golden Archer

We had a stop for a hot drink and a muffin (lemon, blueberry and Greek yoghurt) and a stop for an orange juice and then we had a quick stop on the way home for a bagel (but pronounced baggul - weird!). Also on the way home we found a mini IKEA and had a look but it had only just opened so didn't have much in there. We also went in a homey shop and Winners and Homsense before coming home and making dinner.

The boys were already home and had emptied their bags, done a chore and were playing on their tablets. Grandad was playing on 'Simon'. He has beaten his score and now has 7. Tonight we had fish cakes with cous cous. After dinner Huffle took Grandad to the pub to meet Quiche and then went on to pick up some stuff from the supermarket.

Small, Smallest and I went into the garden to fly Smallest's new kite. He ran down the garden dragging it along the floor so Small and I gave him instruction on what to do. Between him and Small they got the string all tangled up. Then I got it flying well and handed it to Smallest, who dropped it, ran after it and Small almost got it before it flew to the top of MrsRoyals tree and got well and truly stuck. Small kept an eye on it while Smallest and I ran to the Royals with our new line prop. There was no way we were going to get it. It was really high. Prince came out and climbed the tree but he couldn't reach either. Grandma came out to lend support and when the wind died down and the kite got close to us, I managed to drag it down. Smallest held onto the kite while I tried to pull the string but it was firmly wedged. Grandma got us some scissors and we cut it down. MrRoyal thinks he may have a spare handle and we can get some more string another time. Well that was short lived! If I remember rightly, just before we left The Village we flew a kite which got stuck on the school roof and we got into trouble! Maybe we are not meant to fly kites. Grandma played one footed football with Small while he waited for Smallest to return.

Grandma and I watched a Victoria Wood tribute which was very funny and then she went to bed. Huffle picked up a lightly drunk Grandad who regaled us with stories of the bar when they returned.

The Leicester Boys
Saw this sign today - love it

 

Thursday 21 April 2016

Inanimate before 8:30am!

Small woke me at 7:15am this morning and I asked him to make his own breakfast as I wanted a shower. The boys have now decided they want to make their breakfast everyday (hallelujah, though the reason is because they watch TV whilst eating. However it does make them eat earlier, get ready earlier and be out of the house on time - hallelujah again).

Huffle took a day off today and after a leisurely breakfast, the four of us headed for a local Mall to buy Grandad and Smallest their owed birthday presents. Grandad wanted to go in The Bay (an expensive department store) and here he found a Tommy Hillfiger top and then bought a Wayne Gretzky top in Sears whilst Grandma and I stopped for cup of tea. Our next shop was Best Buy in another town where we replaced my phone charger for one that worked and he bought himself a Tablet plus Chrome Cast to enable us to watch Kodi on there plus use it upstairs on our other TV. He was very happy with his purchases. Grandma and Grandad bought Smallest's birthday presents. An electronic 'Simon' and 'Bananagram'. We all played 'simon' when he got home. Grandma has the top score so far of 12, Smallest 11, me 10 and Grandad and Huffle a poor 6.

While we were in the toy shop, Grandad got friendly with the stuffed animals and he particularly fell in love with a sparkly eyed owl.

We chose one of our favourite burger places for lunch as Grandma and Grandad hadn't been there before (plus there was a Frozen Yoghurt shop next door). After a lovely lunch we had a walk around the Vintage Garage place so Huffle could check out the garden robots and then a quick trip in the Hardware shop before eating some Frozen Yoghurt. It was in here we learnt of Prince's death. Victoria Wood yesterday too. Then I heard about Choppers, the last PGTips chimp died at Twycross Zoo. Goodness this has been hell of a year for celebrities dying. So sad.

While we were out I got a phone call from Small at school asking if I could bring the Tuba in. His lesson was NOW (11am) and we were 30 minutes drive away. I took it back for him when we got home around 3pm, too late for his lesson but at least it's there now.

Grandad made dinner for the boys. A one pot dinner of bacon, sausage, egg and beans. They loved it and finished their 10/10 dinner with treacle pudding for one and 2 donuts for the other (naughty Grandad).

Drunk on the love of fried food!

After dinner we all played Banagrams. It was just like the game we play called Take Two but slightly different. It got quite silly.