What a tret!*

Another strange night of sleep. Everytime Huffle moved, one of the springs in the mattress went 'boiiinnngg'. I woke up around 4am and could hear loud deep snoring (possibly Grandad) and although we went to bed freezing (just 4*) it was warm and I had to abondon my fleece, bed socks and extra comforter (a bit like a flat duvet or eiderdown).

This morning, after breakfast, the Stoke fans went to Small's room and watched Stoke v Southampton (2-1) while the Leicester fans sat in the main stand and watched a 0-0 draw.

The big boys went into the garden and moved compost and the little boys played on their tablets. The girls made Small's birthday cake. It took the rest of the day and was a complete disaster. I wanted to make a chocolate cake with an explosion of caramel and chocolate on it. The chocolate cake recipe was a new one I wanted to try and it turned out too rich and dry and flat so I made a Victoria sponge to go in between. That didn't brown and was too flat. I used recipes from British Bake Off books but they use SR Flour and I only had cake and pastry flour. Shame. Still, we put it together with butter icing and then put it in the freezer while Grandma made a caramel. The caramel tasted lovely but was too thick and didn't run down the sides like we envisioned. She mixed it with some caramel sauce we had and it was better but it melted the cake a bit. Then we started adding all the bits and pieces we bought yesterday. Grandma and I ate too many of the sweets whilst adding them so by the time the cake was finished we didn't really want any. The cake inside was awfully dry (though Smallest said he liked it and that's the main thing). After videoing it and photographing it, we tried to light the candles but as it was outside (to get the best ambiance and photographs) we didn't fare too well. We all had a small bit but wanted to save ourselves for our meal out at the Italian later.

Mushroom growing in grass. Compost ready. Raspberry came cut and secured. Bonfire ready. Chalky lost and now found. Veg bed looking nice. Compost bin emptied

Grandad had a bath. Huffle had a shower. Grandma and I played on our tablets and the boys played football. We had a bit of chilling before going out for our dinner.

Small chose our favourite Italian restaurant but when we got there it was really busy and we would have had to wait for forty minutes for table. It was cold outside so we decided to not wait. Instead we drove to the pizza place we found New Years Day. It isn't a place we would normally go for a birthday treat but it has very good food though we did end up eating late.

Back home the kids went to bed, Huffle set up his telescope to look at the Moon and then I wrapped Small's presents. He has requested pancakes for breakfast.

*so many blog titles to chose from today. What a tret was said several times by the Irish commentator on the LCFC match. He was saying Threat. Grandad was trying to guess a song on the radio by DJ Quevo and I said it sounded like a crisp - he said Dorito. Oh yes that famous DJ Dorito. Small gave me a clue to someone singing on the radio and said 'baseball team' and I said 'blue sox' DOH! I said something that Grandma didn't like and she told me to 'shut your Canadian face'.

 

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You could feed the Third World with the biscuit crumbs HE makes

Sleeping in the new bed last night was interesting. It squeaked when we both got in and I moved, but only on Huffle's side. If I was in by myself, it didn't squeak. I'm wondering if a screw needs securing. It wasn't as bad as first thought though I did keep Huffle awake by snoring but I blame him because he has a cold and invariably has given it to me! I felt like the mattress was a little too firm but I suppose that won't hurt me, just take a little getting used to.

What I can't get used to, is which room I am in. I rushed up the stairs and straight into my bedroom and realised I wasn't in there. Went into the bathroom and came out straight into Small's room. NO Wrong again. I got changed while Huffle was at his desk on a call. I did notice his eyes didn't wander from his screen, then again he's not very observant so I could probably have pranced around naked with tassels and he still would have continued his call! Ha!

The boys went to school. Tall one with wellies for a science pond lesson finding creatures. He went in the pouring rain and found a water spider and a snail! Smallest should have been running the Terry Fox Run but it was cancelled due to rain also. He was going to run for Stuvy because he eats haggis (I don't know who or why or what!), he later told me he was running for AuntPear. He will be continuing on Thursday.

Huffle had a tough day at work. Grandad stayed at home and played in the barn sorting gloves and plant pots (I'm 'appy maarg) and he put up Small's birdbox up on the top of the barn and Smallest's on a post in the side garden. When we left he was doing a crossword and when we came back he was wet! He had been caught in the rain, thunder and lightning.

Grandma and I went birthday cake topping shopping and came home with a huge bag of goodies. I bought Grandma and Moo a Christmas present and Small a birthday present and Grandma bought me a birthday present. We got caught in the rain too and got soaked and bored and hungry. Our options for lunch or a cup of tea were limited and we ended up in the College where we had a lovely bowl of Asparagus and Spinach soup and a not so lovely cup of tea. We ended our adventure with a supermarket shop and came home. There was an accident which diverted our journey slightly. I'm not surprised there has been an awful lot of rain falling today and the roads are quite slippy.

One boy was home and started his homework (not too much today) and the other wasn't far behind. Grandma and I stopped for a quick cup of tea and then we made dinner. Two different quiches, jacket potatoes and Grandma's red coleslaw and salad.

Grandad disappeared for a shower and when he came downstairs he said "We've been on the bed wriggling and jiggling". At first I thought he meant Smallest and him were messing about but it was actually Huffle and Grandad and they were trying to check for the squeak. They haven't solved it but maybe made it slightly better. Grandad and Smallest played table tennis (Small beat him twice) and Table Football (smallest won again).

After dinner, we discussed some options for what to do for Small's birthday on Sunday. He has decided he wants to go to Toronto and go onto Centre Island and maybe go on a boat tour. We all played Newmarket and Small won.

 

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Deported in one day!

I loved sleeping in Small's room last night because his ceiling is full of glow in the dark stars. I have always wanted an observatory and I asked Huffle if he would ever build me a house with one in and he said he doubted it, so it will have to be the glow in the dark stars. Huffle didn't sleep well because he never does when he is not in his own bed. The bed used to be mine before we were married and then as a spare for many years. I slept well. I could probably sleep on a washing line though to be honest! Grandma and Grandad slept well in our bed but Grandad was moving his feet and snoring and Grandma had a dream about bugs falling on her head. Small slept well in the penthouse.

The boys went to school. Small should have had band practice but it was cancelled. Smallest had a football game after school but had to leave early in order to get there in time. Someone else drove him but Grandad and I went to watch and brought him home afterwards.

We had a slow start to the morning and then Huffle and I took Grandad round the garden and we made a list of things needing doing now and in the future. We have lots of paths planned. Grandad decided to start taking the compost out of No3 and put them on our veg beds. The compost we (I should give Grandad full credit really) made is lovely stuff. Granada thinks we filled, and emptied, ten wheelbarrows full of lovely compost. He says it was the finest compost leaf mould can make. He is only saying that because I want to mulch the leaves and use them directly on our beds instead of raking them to compost corner. We may have to compromise.

We stopped for lunch and helped Grandma with her TImes Crossword. We did very well with some help from T'internet. Grandad and I went off to find Smallest's football game and watched while they drew 3-3 though there was a penalty given for a silly shoulder barge and then the referee shook hands with the penalty taker after he scored! Smallest missed an open goal with his Chocolate left foot much to the consternation of Grandad who gave him much stick for the rest of the night.

Grandad coaching Smallest from the side

.....and big goals, shame there were no nets!

As we arrived home, the bed was just being delivered and luckily for Huffle, they took it all the way up to the loft penthouse suite. Grandad, Huffle and I made light work of putting it all together. It looks lovely and Huffle is looking forward to a good night's sleep. I am going to miss the stars.

We left Grandma at home making dinner. She made us burgers, chicken, potatoes wedges, a medley of vegetables and a red coleslaw made with homegrown beetroot, MrsM's red cabbage, red onion, apple and carrot. It was yummy though the boys would disagree on the coleslaw.

The boys made a ThursdaySundae for our dessert. Very nice.

 

 

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Easter's coming back with ice balls?

Today was the last of the hot hot warm weather that we have been enduring over the last week or so. Although it was quite hot and humid this morning and some of the afternoon. Then we had rain and wind and it cooled it right down. This evening, Huffle turned off the air con and out came the socks and slippers.

Small went to school expecting to go out for lunch with his friend but his friend forgot so he went to the cafeteria instead. He said it was really good and cheap. He had Macaroni Cheese and a Muffin. Smallest said nothing happened today apart from a boy wet his pants and tried to stab another one with a pencil!

Huffle worked very hard and was a little grumpy, especially when he tried to leave to collect Grandma and Grandad and people kept calling him. There were lots of swears uttered!

I went to excercise and took MrsM with me (well she picked me up and drove me home so she knew where to go). It was really warm in there today and we did a very toned down session, ExerciseNic was brilliant with MrsM as she is not very mobile. I managed 10 press-ups today (well eight in one go and then two after). MrsM said she will go next week and paid already.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning bathrooms, changing bedding, washing, mopping, sweeping and making soup. Huffle and I had lunch and watched an Undateables.

With everyone's stuff moved to the appropriate rooms and the house clean, I had my shower and waited for the boys to come home. Huffle went off to get Grandma and Grandad who came through customs really quickly due to a new system in place. Small did homework and Smallest had an early dinner while I gave a crochet lesson to 'Flamingo'. She is getting on very well with her chains but is struggling with the rows. We are trying to think of what she can do with her huge long chains.

Smallest had his last try-out for his team tonight and I had to take him, so Small came with me to keep me company. I'm glad he did because just as we got on the last road before the football field, we ran over a bolt in the road and got a puncture in the back tyre. We clunked up the road and we managed to park the car. As soon as we got out the tyre was hissing and we saw what was stuck in it. I called Huffle and Grandad answered because Huffle was driving. "Welcome, I have had a problem". We decided I should call CAA (Canada Automobile Assistance) who came out an hour later and fixed it within minutes and blew my other tyres up. I didn't know you could fix a tyre but he explained what he did and said it will last as long as my tyre lasts, ie until it goes bald. Just $20 too! We got to watch the end of the tryout and then came home. Luckily it didn't happen on the big Toll Road we were on shortly before.

Grandma and Grandad were home and Grandad was just emptying his case full of our goodies.

Just to prove everyone is the same height

.......or perhaps not!

Puzzle, tee shirts, caps, magazines, curtains, Percy pigs, jellies, Angel delights

Comics, tea bags, golf shoes, chocolate, lemon curd, biscuits, seeds

Smallest has to wake up Small tomorrow but needs to remember he is in the loft. Small needs to wake me but has to remember I am in his room. Could be interesting.

 

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Who's reading in France?

Last night's dream was about being in a coffee shop with MrsElderflowerMeadow and Jill. There was lots of hugging and laughing and they went to get coffees and I saved their seats using my socks!!? They were gone for ages and when I went to look for them, they weren't there. I was so sad and disappointed! I can't decipher this one except that I did sock sorting yesterday!

Boys went to school. According to them, nothing much happened. Smallest does have a new gym and French teacher, a lady and she is strict. Small has asked to go out at lunchtime tomorrow. He does not want a packed lunch. Ummmmm interesting.

Huffle worked very hard again in the loft mainly (the one place we don't have air conditioning OUCH). I persuaded him to come out at lunchtime (still wearing his headphones and in the middle of a call) in order for us to buy a bed. We went to two shops and bought one in the second one. Hurrah. It gets delivered on Thursday.

We came home and Huffle went straight back to work while I made our lunch. I ate mine whilst watching some 'TheChildInTime' (BBC). Very good.

This morning I made another Courgette Chocolate cake. This one worked perfectly, in fact I think it might have been my best. MrsM called yesterday to say it was too hot to work, thank goodness, so I had a free day to get things sorted more for Grandma and Grandads visit. I also FaceTimed Moo and caught up with her news. This afternoon I picked up Smallest and two of his teammates and took them to their football game half an hour's drive away.

The game was ridiculous on many counts. First of all, the team was put together two days ago and they have had just one practice. Both teams, playing today, were wearing all black. There was no pitch and the touchlines were marked by cones. The goals looked like they had been borrowed from hobbits (so very tiny) and the referee was new and only blew his whistle and nothing else (the kids words). They did, however, win 3-0. The other team were only created today and had no practice. We have another game on Thursday. Smallest played up front for part of the game and as a defender for the rest. It was extremely hot today (32* not including humidex) and I felt for the kids playing. The mums sat in the shade, too far away too shout or see much except a mass of black clothed kids running around after a ball. When I dropped my passengers off at school, they both got out of the car and walked away. I shouted 'thank you' several times and one of them said 'you're welcome'. Honestly. What happened to manners? I am not driving on Thursday and I asked Smallest to make sure he thanked whichever Mum drives him. He said 'of course I will, I always do'. At least the teacher thanked the people who drove.

Huffle was peeling potatoes when we got home and we quickly made some dinner. No-one wanted to play a game after so Huffle and I went for a Hamlet walk before coming home and sitting down to TheGreatBritishBakeOff. Puddings!

 

 

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Muskets and Biscuits

I had a terrible nightmare about a man in our house who needed a cheque writing and he came too close and was menacing so I kicked him where it hurt and ran away. I found refuge in a family round the corner who sheltered me and gave me a biscuit. I know the dream is because of writing a cheque for the washing machine man and the man being in our house was from watching SafeHouse(ITV). I don't know why I watch these things!

The boys went to school. Today Smallest got his new teacher MsBiscuit (was my dream a premonition). He says he likes her and she started off well by sending home a form for everyone's parents to fill in asking for information including phone numbers, emails and some info about our kids. I can't wait to meet her. Smallest also had a football practice in 29/30* heat. He is going to be playing up front. Small came home with lots of homework.

Huffle worked hard in the hot hot loft and I saw him at lunchtime and only briefly throughout the day.

I went to my one on one exercise class. Although we had air conditioning it was still very warm. ExerciseNic toned it down again but we worked hard, especially on our triceps! Back home I cleaned and dusted and swiffed and swept. Huffle came down briefly and hoovered up some cobwebs for me (I don't like cobwebs and spiders). I moved all my bathroom stuff into baskets ready to move into the family bathroom and sorted washing and drying. Oh it is good to have a washing machine back.

Huffle and I had lunch and then I made a start on dinner (fish cakes) plus I made a Courgette Chocolate cake which went wrong. I think I put too much Courgette in and it was too wet because it just wouldn't cook.

I had a bit of time to knit before the boys came home. Small went straight upstairs to do his homework and Smallest put his clothes away before MrsPiano came and gave the kids their lessons. Smallest is working on a Harry Potter theme and she is trying to get him to use his correct fingers as per the music sheet. Small is playing Moondance but I'm not allowed to sing it.

Huffle and I went out for a small walk (still very hot) and the sky was amazing.

Huffle showing show tall our cosmos are

 

 

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Walletgate

This morning the four of us sat and watched a CakeBoss(2009) before breakfast. Smallest was looking for something new to watch and had been watching HalloweenWars about a group of people who made cakes out of cake, obviously, pumpkins and sugar craft. Huffle made breakfast for us this morning.

We had two games of Yahtzee, one of which we had five different Yahtzee's (five dice same number) resulting in huge scores.

Late morning, Huffle and I completely cleaned our bedroom. Under the bed, under the drawers, everything was moved and vacuumed and dusted. It definitely needed it. We are planning on putting Grandma and Grandad in there and we are moving to Small's room and he is going up in the loft. Sounds a huge move but we were going to look for a new double bed today for the loft so that we could move up there for the duration but Huffle decided to lose his wallet just as we were leaving to take Smallest to his Football Banquet. All plans had to be changed as we let Huffle take Smallest to his event (more on that later) and Small and I drove to the supermarket where we last paid for things to see if his wallet was there.

We spoke to the Manager who said they didn't have it. Then we drove to the bank to see if we could cancel his cards but it was closed. It was sooo hot today we had a 'Heat Alert' to say temperatures could get to 40* plus a 'special air quality statement' from Environment Canada stating asthma and cardiovascular sufferers should stay out of the heat until Monday a.m. Wow. I asked Small if he wanted to go and stand in McDonalds to get out of the heat but even Small declined (that's how much we hate it there!). Small and I sat in Tim Hortons (for those of you that know me well - TimHortons is not a place I go unless I need an emergency bagel, donut, toilet, coolness or frozen escape. Small had a CreamyChocolateChill and I had an iced coffee (no syrup or milk) which was disgusting. Bearing in mind I don't like their coffee, chucking some ice in it and giving it to me cold, makes it no better. I guess it's water for me in there then for our next Emergency.

We booked a table at our local pub and sat in TH for half an hour waiting for Huffle to drive to us and then we had a nice dinner whilst still worrying about the wallet. Huffle went off to get Smallest, post a letter (we had to pay our washing machine NON service invoice) and get a new bulb for the car.

Small and I came home and looked for the wallet in the sun room, in the freezer (well he was carrying ice cream so you never know), and in the bedroom. Lo and behold it was under the quilt on the bed! Small and I had much pleasure in calling him and telling him what a Dufus he is! I watched a bit more of TheHandmaidsTale and knitted and Small watched the baseball and played on his tablet.

Smallest's event: he had to sit down straight away in a particular seat. He had a water and a salad. After a while they had soup but Smallest didn't get one even th ugh he med for one. He asked for a drink but they said NO so he got his own from the trolley behind them. He had chicken fingers, they were really chewy and the skin was too thick and then he had stale ice cream which he had to use a knife and the cream was like a brick. No games, lots of photos, lots of speeches. It was very boring. We paid for this in our initial fee, luckily we didn't choose to go with him else we would have paid an extra $45 each. NO WAY!

This evening we sat and watched the end of PiratesOfTheCarribeanDeadMansChest with a nice ice cream. Then Smallest wanted to watch another CakeBoss and we finished with an XFactor before the little one went to bed. Phew it's been a hectic and hot day!

 

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Bags of Smells

I can't wait for the weekend. Oh it's here. It's so bl00min' hot. 32* (feels like 37*) with heat warnings. PHEW!

The boys (all three of them) watched Stoke v Chelsea lose (meh not a bad game says Huffle). I sat upstairs and knitted and watched two episodes of The Handmaids Tale (oh my goodness. What a series).

Leicester v Liverpool was on the TV (very good game but unfortunately they lost says Huffle though I think the unfortunately bit was my word not his). I had a quick sandwich and left all the boys still watching Leicester and playing on their tablets, while I walked in the sweltering heat to a ThirtyOne party in the Hamlet, hosted by 'Spider'. I hadn't heard of this before but it was a storage and bag party. Plus there was a lady selling handmade soaps and body butters.

I haven't, as yet, ordered anything, but I will. I have my eye on a nice slouchy bag for me as I owe myself a birthday present from last year. I could have bought lots and lots but I can't justify all that money at the moment. Suffolk should have gone too but she wasn't feeling too well. I bought a couple of soaps for Christmas. I stayed for about three hours and then walked home. It was hotter which is crazy.

The boys were waiting for me and wanted to go out. They had tidied and downloaded some ring tones for Small's phone and chosen some photos to update their frames in their bedrooms. Huffle and I started moving stuff ready for Grandma and Grandad. We have a different plan for this visit and it involves Small and us moving. A bit of a palaver but we think it will be worth it. Smallest was measured today and he was 140cm which is the same as Small when he was 8 1/2. At first I thought WOW he's going to be taller than Small!!!! Then I realised my mistake. I don't think anyone is going to be taller than Small. Thank goodness, we'd have to move to a house with raised ceilings!

We went out and printed the photos, bought Small some birthday presents and a new lunch bag and then went and got some dinner out. It wasn't very busy so we didn't manage a whole game of cards today. Supplies were picked up from the supermarket before coming home and doing our own thing for an hour before sitting down with an ice cream bar and watching XFactor. Grandad told us there was no-one rubbish on anymore. We beg to differ!

Bedtime for boys and Huffle and I watched KingArthur:LegendOfTheSword.

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Happy Birthday Nellie

Small had to vote on a trip for Band today. There will be an overnight trip for all band members. Did they want to go to British Columbia at a cost of $2,000 each (eeeeeeeeek) or to Kingston Elementary Schools (nearly 3 hour coach ride) plus a stay in Quebec City (6 hours on from Kingston) for $1,000 each? Small said he chose the latter because although he wants to go to BC, he knows the cost is just much. What a sweetie. To be honest, I'm not sure how I am going to tell Huffle about the $1,000 either, plus there is no guarantee that it won't be the BC trip either. It depends on how the students voted. I'm guessing not too many students would think of their parents bank accounts like Small has. We are thinking it might be time to get Small a job.

Smallest played football at every recess and had a lunchtime practice. He was tired when he got home and then this evening he had another try-out for his rep team. Poor little Bear ended up wearing Small's old boots because at the last moment he realised he had left his football boots at school! Then he injured his ankle, possibly because of the poor fitting boots, possibly because he was so tired!! He is still so sensitive and looks constantly close to tears. We told him he needed to rest properly and put him in an Epsom Salt bath when we got home from tryouts. Huffle and I had to piggyback him to and from the car!

Huffle worked hard as usual, in fact I only saw him at lunchtime. He is tired and just a little grumpy.

I had an opticians appointment this morning and told her all about my weepy right eye. She checked my tear ducts by putting a dye in my eye and watching where it went. My ducts are not blocked, well the bits she can see. She did say she would prescribe drops and it if they didn't sort it, I may have to see a lid specialist who will stick a syringe down the corner of my eye (under a local anaesthetic). OUCH that doesn't sound nice, no thank you! I now have drops that I have to put in my eyes four times a day for two weeks. My eyes are dry and they produce tears to try to relieve them which sounds crazy. I also need to drink more water. The optician also put in gunky yellow drops to check for other things. This made me blurry but wasn't supposed to and I looked jaundiced and a bit alien-like. So I popped into Walmart to see if I could scare some people while I picked up some milk and wool. Of course, this is the time I bump into someone I haven't seen for ages and have to stop and chat to, though I did explain.

I came home for lunch and then Suffolk came by and sewed her quilt while I knitted. We had a nice hour or so before she rushed off to get her kids and mine came home. Smallest and I FaceTimed Grandma and Grandad briefly and made pizza for dinner. Small did homework and stayed behind and cleared up while we took Smallest to his try-out.

Our cosmos has finally bloomed

 

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Love you to AlfieMoon and back

Another scorcher of a day. Air conditioning still on. Both boys went to school. Small should have had band practice but the air con isn't working in the music room so it was cancelled which meant that I didn't have to pick him up from school. Smallest is still being very sensitive which normally means either something is bothering him, he's going to be poorly or he's tired. I'm thinking it's the latter so will see if we can get him to bed earlier tonight.

Huffle worked in the loft. I realised I had NOTHING to do all day. Wahoooo. I had a lovely slow breakfast, did some washing and drying. Who would have thought having a washing machine in your own house would be so convenient! Changed Smallest's bedding and attempted to hang towels on the line. That's when I smelled the familiar 'pot' smell followed by a very smokey smell. Otto was using his 'smoker' and the lovely smoke was drifting our way as usual. I shouted "what the hell are you burning now?" and stood and watched him over the fence. He had no idea I was there and when I realised it was just his 'smoker', I relaxed a little and waited for the smoke to die down a bit. I am at the end of my patience with him. I think I will have to visit!!! Not looking forward to that. Last time I tried to reason with him I found out he burned his dog!!!

I did a bit of tidying and cleaning and some knitting and then I drove off to have lunch with Suffolk. We met at a restaurant and had a nice long lunch, lots of chat, some giggles and a couple of cups of tea. It was lovely and just what we both needed. I had left a key hidden for Small so he didn't have to bother Huffle. However, Huffle didn't know so he came down to unlock the door not knowing that Small was already inside hiding from him. He scared him by jumping out at him! More homework tonight, but just an hours worth today.

Smallest came home. No homework, no sign of new teacher. He FaceTimed Moo and read her a magazine about subscriptions for more magazines for a school fundraiser. He is supposed to sell them to raise money but I don't believe in it, so it went in the bin! He was trying to get Moo to buy wrapping paper too. He played piano to her and then I sent him to get the washing off the line and fold it as his chore.

After dinner, Huffle, Smallest and I went for a Hamlet walk. Checked out the building of the new cafe, car park and units, wandered round the streets and checked out the school rebuilding. I was told it would be finished by December 2018 and Smallest was told they would be in by next year so we'll see. Apparently they are interviewing for Smallest's class tomorrow.

 

 

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The fact is I'm not drunk

That's it. Air-con's on. Too hot, going to get hotter. Ridiculous weather.

Small was told his Gym/Soccer Coach wanted to speak to him about quitting the team. Small said (to me) he'll have to find me then because I don't know where to find him. Apparently they now don't have enough players for the tournament so they have entered as a Senior Team and have merged the junior and senior teams together. Whoops. I had a text from Small while he was in his Science class to say "I thought science lab was going to be fun. It's not (grumpy emoji)". Then another that said "she said we would use fire. It was a candle. (Grumpy emoji)". Oh dear, poor Small. It's still early days! He had homework but not too much. Smallest got into the school football team and is very happy. He also had homework, just a bit of maths.

Huffle was busy today and had to catch up on yesterday's work from sorting the washer. I went to my group exercise class where it was even hotter than my Monday class. ExerciseNic toned it down a bit for us. Still tough, very funny. We had a discussion on Swede (Rutabega) and Turnip. Some people don't know the difference and swedes are called turnips and rutabagas and who knows what else. It's a bl00dy Swede!!!

I came home and FaceTimed Moo "how was Jamiroquai?" she asked. You mean Kasabian. Oh yes that's right. Silly Moo. After we put the world to rights, I went shopping where a man asked me about shopping for a month. I think he was saying I had a lot of shopping but I was getting extra stuff in for Grandma and Grandad and besides, what's it got to do with you, Man with one loaf of bread and a tin of beans?

Huffle and I put the shopping away and had lunch and he went back to work. I had a nice cooling shower and then sat outside on the porch and did some knitting until the boys came home. We chatted about school and they did their homework.

I made a start on dinner and had a knitting class with 'Horse'. It went well. I taught her how to purl and to do stocking stitch. She got it straight away. We had decided to make a dishcloth next time so I can explain how to follow a pattern. We think we are doing a horse as she rides. Her mum is going to get some cotton.

I finished dinner and we all ate. Smallest got a tummy ache and couldn't finish so went outside to sit in the cooler part of the garden whilst watching something on his tablet. Small and Huffle cleared the table and kitchen and made a playlist for Small's phone and I sat on the porch. How is outside cooler than our house? Crazy. Still, the air con will cool it all down soon. Better for sleeping in anyway.

 

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What's teletext, Fengshay and Mark&Spencer?*

The boys were absolutely fine by themselves last night and although ClownRose was on hand should they need or want anything, they didn't call her. They went to bed at a reasonable time and looked after each other. Awwwwww. I owe them a Kasabian T-shirt each.

OMG we are soooo tired. Got woken up by Oliver the dog woof woof woofing at 6:50am. Huffle threatened to cut his tongue out (only to me, not the owner). The boys went off to school. Small decided he was going to give up his football as it was interfering too much with his schoolwork and band. We are so very proud that he came to that decision by himself. He was also, unjustly, concerned about the monetary aspect (we had to buy him a Football shirt and pay a mandatory fee) and the amount of driving I had to do to ferry him backwards and forwards (I may have complained I had to move various things around to accommodate him but I never would blame him for that). Anyway, he couldn't find his gym teacher/coach today so he sent a message with Al his friend and teammate. Now Al is thinking he doesn't want to play anymore. Oh dear!

Smallest was told, at the end of the day, that he will be losing his teacher this year as Paddigntons Dad will be moving to the Grade 7's. He was quite upset about it and I don't blame him. They do this every single year at the beginning of each new school year. They place everyone in their class, mess around with their seating, wait for them to be settled and get used to the new surroundings and then change things around. I mean it's not like it's a huge school and 100's of new people join each year. They can't just turn up and any 'I want to come to this school'. They have to register. He is getting a new teacher ASAP and not one from the school already. We hope it's a nice one. Shame because we all like PaddingtonsDad.

I left Huffle patiently waiting for the washing machine and working and I went off to work. We didn't do much today. Jan didn't turn up until coffee break and we were worried about her as she drives a long way and she has no mobile phone. She did turn up in the end and had got stuck on the highway for an hour and a half. She was ready for coffee! She also brought some lovely chocolatey Courgette Cake. MrsM and I harvested beans, cut back flox and thalectrum and collected seeds. I filled the pond with water and watered all the pots and dug out some geraniums for Suffolks garden. We think we may have to get all the frogs out of the pond and we all thought of Smallest, the frogman!

I had lunch with Huffle and then I went and gardened at Suffolks. I put around 15 geraniums in under the cedar hedge, cut stuff back and did a bit of weeding. I came home, Small was doing his homework and Smallest came home five minutes after me.

The washing machine people called Huffle and said they would be here between 11am and 2pm but when didn't arrive, he called them and they said they were on the way, they turned up around 3:30pm. Huffle said they were smelly, they wouldn't plumb the machine in and they left our old one on our grass instead of putting at the curb. Over here, if you place things at the curb, someone will always collect it. With electrical items, it is normally a scrap metal collector. It took Huffle a while to get the machine in place and hooked up but we got a load of washing on before we started dinner which Smallest helped me to make.

Note: my overseas friend, SpanishChica, suggested using the pesto we made on Salmon with breadcrumbs on top. It was delicious, especially as we used our breadcrumbs from the Courgette bread we made too. Very tasty and everyone liked it even Small who doesn't really like Salmon. Thank you SC, that's another one of your meals we will be having.

Smallest had his first Football Try Out this evening for his current team. OldCoach turned up too so his son could tryout as they don't like their current club and chatted with Huffle through the whole thing. We also chatted to Angel and Ju. Smallest worked very hard.

This evening we watched TheGreatBritishBakeOff while sorting washing. Arrrgggghhhh. It's lovely to ave a washing machine to wash when you want but it's a pain in the neck when you have a backlog!!!!

* so many blog titles today, I had to put them all in one.

TELETEXT: Small said he was checking the Stoke score by watching updates on the website. It reminded me of when you only had teletext and we had to explain to the boys what it was. We used to take the Mickey out of Grandad for watching teletext in the pub!!! BTW Stoke lost their game 2-0 and Leicester won their game 2-0. Just saying!

FENHSHAY: At the tryout today, a woman was walking round the path backwards. Actually walking backwards, facing the wrong way. We laughed and OldCoach asked what she was doing twice. She ignored him and gave him a mean look when she walked past again. Angel said she wondered if it was 'Fengshay'. She meant FengShui but we told her that was furniture moving. We're not quite sure what she was thinking of though and we have no idea why you would walk backwards.

MARK&SPENCER: another one of Angel's quotes when she asked us if UK had a Mark and Spencer. We sat and giggled and then had to tell her what it was really called.

 

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Lestah friend and a drunk Scotsman

Woken up at 7am by a man yawping at another man on an ATV! I hate being woken up like that so I yawped back "WHY DONT YOU SHOUT LOUDER NEXT TIME?" I thought I was grumpy but later Huffle was stomping around the house calling Otto all the names under the sun. He had, once again, lit a fire. A very smokey stinky fire. I had JUST opened all the windows as it was another boiling hot day and the house felt airless and stuffy. Huffle yawped (word of the day?) out of the window and then I sent him round to talk to him. "C'mon Otto, you're killing us. We can't open windows or put washing on the line. Put the fire out!" OH YEAH MAN IM JUST CLEARING UP SOME BRUSH. 20 minutes later and it was still puthering but not as much. Our house stinks!!! I keep asking Huffle why we don't live in the middle of nowhere, away from noise and idiots and he always says I wouldn't like it because I would feel isolated. WELL GUESS WHAT? I'M READY TO BE ISOLATED.

I had to wake Small up after Smallest woke him. The boys went to school, Huffle worked from the kitchen table and cleared the laundry room/bathroom ready for our new washing machine (honestly I can't even get excited about that now, I feel so sceptical that it will happen when it says it will despite them calling today to check on the address for tomorrow). I went to my one on one exercise class. So hot in there today, so difficult but fun as usual. At least we laugh!

When I got home, the fire debacle started, and I didn't know if I was walking in the forest with NoCustard or not so instead of having a shower, I put away toilet rolls and clothes and had a general tidy up whilst listening to Kasabian in preparation for our concert later today.

Huffle and I had lunch together and then I did go for my walk in the forest with NoCustard. It was very hot and humid and we were both tired and weary so we did the shorter trail today (4.2km). Still an hours walk and quite uphill but very nice, especially under the shelter of the trees. Every time we stopped though we got attacked by bugs!

At home I had a cooling shower and sat on the porch with a cuppa. Small came home with lots of homework and got on with that after a quick snack and then not long after Smallest came home. He had his Football try out and hurt his ankle a bit.

MrsPiano came and gave the kids their lessons while I set about making dinner. She brought us a jar of her homemade salsa. Huffle and I decided to stay and eat with the boys tonight before the concert because the support act was a punk band and we weren't that bothered about seeing them. Online it said the club didn't allow shorts (you kidding me, have you felt the outside temperature?) so we wore them anyway and took some extra clothes just in case.

ClownRose came by with a bunch of flowers for me for giving her our rocker that we no longer wanted. We got it from 'curly' from across the road anyway and we didn't like it and we knew she did. We gave her the jar of pesto too.

After dinner with the boys, Huffle drove us to Toronto, to the Rebel Club to see Kasabian. It opened at 7pm and we got there in under 50 minutes which at that time of night was good going. We were hoping to miss the support act but in fact we were in plenty of time. We were allowed in with our shorts thank goodness because although it was air conditioned, it was very hot in there at times. Huffle and I sat outside and enjoyed the view because the 'slaves' were a big horrible noise. Apparently they were very entertaining but they were just too noisy for us.

We went to the bar for a drink and met two very Scottish men (who noticed my Leicester City scarf). We chatted to them for a while, they were very funny. We then placed ourselves in the middle of the 'throng' and prepared for the band coming on. We met a man from Leicester wearing the same tee-shirt as Huffle. We learned all about him. We chatted to an American girl who was going out with a Manchester boy. She had a great time and loved it. We also bumped into MrBurlington who incidentally has a new MrsBirlington, thank goodness because the old one was truly a Grumpy Goat!!!!

Kasabian came on at 9pm and finished at 10:45 including an encore. They were absolutely fantastic. I had two extremely big and tall men in front of me which made me crane my neck but as Huffle said later, they formed a barrier between us and lots of silly people who could have caused us trouble. I did a lot of very loud singing and waved my scarf. The band had a shout out to Leicester people as there were a few there. We saw several Leicester shirts, plus Huffle's Les-tah friend and a couple of Tigers rugby shirts.

I also did a lot of jumping and dancing and it seems I jumped for 4km. WOW? I had a proper workout today; an hour of hot exercise, an hours walking in the forest and and hour and 3/4 jumping. Oh yeah!

Love this scooter

Rock bus?

Goodnight Toronto

I had a truly fabulous evening. Thank you Huffle. In just over a year we have seen Florence, Adele, ColdPlay and Kasabian. Who's next?

 

 

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