Thank God for Grandsons

Charlie and Adam have provided me with two wonderful cinematic experiences. Charlie and I went to see "Indiana Jones" yesterday. It was a full on date with dinner after the film. I let him choose the restaurant and he picked Cafe Noir because it is French and trendy and suitable for a sophisticated 11 year old. We spent the rest of our evening watching Medieval shows on telly and then he had a sleep over.

Today was Adam's turn. We went to see "Speed Racer" followed by luncheon out. Again, it was his choice. I assumed it would be MacDonald's but he threw me a curve by suggesting Burger King. I went from smoked salmon with Charlie to chicken bites and fries with Adam. It is nice to have eclectic taste. Both films were excellent, especially "Indiana Jones". I was afraid Harrison Ford might look very old and very face-lifted but not a bit of it. In fact he was so hot that I rushed out today and joined an upscale gym for six months. The boy who showed me around the gym expressed surprise when I told him I am 66. So I said, "You don't have to flatter me; I'm going to join." And he said, "No, really, you look good. My mother is only 61 and she looks like she's just about to fall off her perch." I shall have my induction session tomorrow and then set to work on the flab ab and crummy tummy.

Allotment Goddess

I think I mentioned before that I have an allotment with my friend, Zoe. Here she is being wonderful with weeds. She did 90% of the ground preparation and most of the planting of our potatoes, courgettes and parsnips. Another friend has extra runner beans which we will put in after he has started them in his green house. I like runner beans because you can have those cute wig wammy looking things made from bamboo poles. We haven't yet set a date for our harvest festival supper. Probably better wait until we get a shed where we can store the wine. Someone on one of our allotments is growing hops so we will definitely invite him to the festival and he can bring the beer.

Rosie and her Grandad

Rosie thought she might have to call the fire department when Grandad proceeded to blow out his 73 candles.

The caption for the top picture is: "My Dad grows the best asparagus in Oxford."

My Spring Garden

My garden is at its best in spring. I have a profusion of bluebells, Queen Anne's Lace, cowslips, forget-me-nots, alkanet, tulips, comfrey and stinging nettles. The leaves have begun to come on the trees which means more shade but they are beautiful trees.

After Pictures

We were right to plaster. Colin did a wonderful job. The room is very light. I've started sleeping in it even though the new carpet won't arrive for a couple of weeks.

Before - New Bedroom Pictures

As promised, here are a couple of pictures of the bedroom when the ceiling had been removed. The original plan was to keep the beams and to make it "olde worlde". When we discovered that everything was mismatched including the bark on the trees, it seemed a good idea to plaster over.

A Week Later

I'm still nursing the last stages of flu which is a bloody nuisance. I was better last week for a few days while Rachel had her turn at being sick and bedridden. I took Rosie on walks into town. She and I have a favourite coffee shop on Walton Street. I have a croissant and a cappacino and she has the froth on the top of the cup. It works well for us. Also she encouraged me to buy a digital SLR camera during one of our trips. It was pouring rain on Wed. so I put her in her pram and covered it with a big plastic wrap and I in a hooded raincoat. We dripped into the photo shop where I announced that I was in need of a camera. He took one look at us and made his way toward the point and shoots. I said, "I don't think this is what I'm looking for. I want one of the ones that has lenses." "Oh, well they're over here." "I think I want a Canon" I said. "Oh well, they're on the top shelf." Over we go. They're quite expensive" he says. "Are you sure that's what you want?" "Couldn't be surer," says I. "I'm old and I'm rich and I want a Canon DSLR." Message received. It is not pure self indulgence that I have this camera. I have signed up for a four week course on how to use it and I think I will have a great time with it. I love taking pictures and this will be just the thing especially with spring in full bloom. When Sian got hers, it was so obvious that her pictures were better than mine and I have to keep up with Sian otherwise they won't let me take pictures of Harry and that would be a tragedy.

This stupid flu has rendered me useless on the allotment. Poor Zoe has been doing all the heavy lifting. I'm planning to be well for our first harvest supper. She has been so kind assuring me that she doesn't mind being the labour force but I'll bet she is grinding her teeth as I slink out the door blowing my nose. I spoke to JF last evening who requests pictures of the new bedroom. I shall oblige in the next post.

Weekend

I was feeling better on Friday but not better enough to drive to Brighton so Alison and Harry came here overnight on Saturday. It was lovely to have the company. If you look at Alison's blog you will see that we had a fine mother/daughter evening with burgers and telly. Also, I slept in the new bedroom for the first time and it was lovely. It's not finished yet because I don't have the carpeting down. I'm agonizing over which carpet to have. The first quote seemed a bit high so I went to a second shop yesterday for more samples. They are coming this week to quote and then I will be forced to make a decision. A friend was around last evening and I was extolling the virtues of cheap carpeting which I could change often. She pointed out that it is a major job having carpet fitted because of all the furniture moving and upheaval. This has caused me to swerve back toward the higher priced option. What I'm really hoping is that the next quote is no better than the first one.

The weather is good today but I have to tidy the house in preparation for the cleaners who will start tomorrow. Tidying is essential but I am forcing myself not to pre-clean.

Bored and Fed Up

I'm going crazy with boredom today because I have been sick since Tuesday. I woke up on Tuesday morning with a stomach bug and feeling weak and miserable. I had to cancel my dinner party and stay in bed. Wednesday was worse. I obviously have a virus because I ache in my limbs and joints and I'm even more prone to tears. I feel a bit better today and the sun is shining so I walked to the shops for medication and fluids and then came home and back to bed. As you can see, I'm feeling very sorry for myself. Then I remember how lucky I am that I'm not working and I don't have young children to look after. I can go off the radar and it is just fine. I was supposed to go to Brighton tomorrow for the weekend but I know I won't be up to the drive. Alison might be able to come here instead.


I've chosen the new carpet for the front of the house. The new back room looks wonderful. I can't wait to get it finished and move into it. It's nice to have a project that is going well.

Knife Skills

Yesterday was a wonderful day. I went up to London to meet Alison and go to a knife skills class. She had organized this for me as my Christmas present. She and Sian came up from Brighton with Harry and we all met at Starbucks down the street from Divertimenti. This is a "to-die-for" kitchen shop where they have a teaching area on the bottom level. Sian was the star of the day because she looked after Harry between 11 and 3 while we were in the class. He had to come to London because of the breast feeding which happened immediately before the class and immediately after. In the interim Sian wheeled him around and shopped on Marylebone High Street which is a shoppers paradise. So much so that I bought a trendy cardy on my way to the class. That was because when I looked closely at the one I was wearing, it had dirt from the allotment on the sleeve and baby sick down the front. My wardrobe management these days seems to go from the sublime to the ridiculous. The class itself was excellent. She showed us how to keep an edge on the knife, then how to joint a chicken then we turned our attention to vegetables and finally fruit. One of the really super aspects was the lady who came around constantly to clear our work areas and wash our cutting boards. In between these activities, she assembled and cooked the food we were chopping into a wonderful meal which we ate at the end. Obviously these knife skills will require practice so I'm going out today to buy a lot of onions and carrots and I am going to recreate the meal on Tuesday when I have friends coming for dinner.