Tag: slice of life

Long but productive weekend

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The in-laws came over for the weekend. It was Pam’s birthday. We managed to get through an impressive project list this weekend.

Mel and I laid down a new floor in the back shed so that when we buy a freezer, it won’t fall through the soft spots that had been forming in the old floor. Mel got a new motion-activated flood-lamp working to illuminate the sheds at night so that Katy won’t kill herself when she has to clean out the bunnies in winter.

We got a ton and a half of frames up on the walls – stuff that’s been piling up for years and now finally has a new home. They look really nice, but we’re running out of wall space!

There was a downside to the weekend though. Bean’s been feeling delicate for the past few days. He’s been running a fever and hasn’t been sleeping well – waking every few hours or so for a drink. This means that both parents are also dead tired.

Some pictures: http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/various_oct_2011

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Crisis averted

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Our spare set of keys, the one with keys for all the house and shed doors, has been AWOL for the past 48 hours. This was somewhat disconcerting and we’ve been tearing the house upside-down looking for them.  It was just continuing the trend that started earlier in the week.

I was >< this close to calling a locksmith and having all the locks changed, but happily the wayward keys have been found, locked in the small shed. I had to use my bolt cutters to get past the padlock, but that's a small price to pay compared to a locksmith's fees.

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What bean did in his summer vacation

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I’m a very bad blogger :(

My mom came for a 10-day visit a couple of weeks ago and I’m just coming ’round to blogging about it now. Her flight came in on time and Katy picked her up from Heathrow. We spent the first day around the house, but the next few days were quite busy indeed.

We went to see visit Audley End (finally, after 3 years of living in Saffron Walden) but bean was feeling under the weather so we only saw the garden, stable yard and part of the service yard. We ditched the house tour because Bean was running a bit of a fever. Turns out he had tonsilitis, but you could’ve fooled us by his still-high energy levels… The horses there were huuuuge, but very friendly.

We went to Lakeside, where my mom spoiled Bean rotten with new coats and a scarf and hat from Next. He also got a big green tractor like pop has (bonus for him that it makes noise!). We also stopped at Ikea, where Bean had meatballs and my mom treated us to a few goodies of our own.

We went on a mad framing rampage. We’ve had stuff that has been needing framing lying around for years. We got some frames from Ikea and we also took most of the stuff to be custom-framed at a local shop in Shire Hill. Hopefully those will come back soon. We had about a dozen pieces to be mounted and framed and I’m really looking forward to seeing the results.

We took my mom and Bean to Wimpole Hall, where we were so enthused by the farm that we bought a membership to the National Trust on the spot because we figured we’d be going there so often in the future (it’ll probably be a rotation between the farm and Scottsdales). Katy and Bean have been there again since, and Bean’s already gotten to chase some piglets and turn on a milking machine. It’s a really nice place to spend an autumn day and we got a really perfect day for it.

The gardens were beautiful (not something you’ll hear me say often) and I know that Mel will be proud that Bean scrumped his first apple (even if it was with the consent of one of the gardeners).

Mel, Pam and Stu came over for a day and we all went for lunch at Scottsdales.

Katy and I had a chance to have some alone time because my mom threw us out of the house twice. The first day, we went into Cambridge to shop a bit for things for Bean, Gaby and Antoine. We spent waaay too much money on children’s books and we had a really nice lunch at a french Bistro called Cote, on Bridge Street: herb chicken, steak frite, moules, calamari and wine :)

We’d planned on going to the Spanish mafia’s pub quiz that night, but I inadvertently poisoned Katy with some raw onions during the day and she didn’t feel up to going. I did get dispensation to go on my own though, and my contributions (Zara Philips and Chutzpah) were well received, even if we didn’t win. I got accosted by the rather elderly and inebriated sister of the pub landlord, a fellow expat, who spent a rather long amount of time telling me that life was great and the world was small. David won’t let me forget that moment. Bastard.

The second day, we went shopping for Bean’s bicycle. We’d been saying for months before my mom came that Nana would be buying Bean a bike, so we got him a little scooter and a proper bike with training wheels. He’s already gotten the scooter and will get his bike for his birthday. We also discovered that I can safely eat at Subway :)

My mom said that she ate very well, which makes me happy. I’d made gumbo one night, fajitas on another and we also discovered an italian take-away restaurant in Saffron Walden that can cater to my allergies! Shocking, I know!! My mom also had fish&chips, and had a few bites for my dad (who was, btw, seriously missing my mom)

All in all, I hope that my mom had a good trip. I know I enjoyed seeing Audley End and Wimpole. I think they’d be nice alternatives to our sunday plans.

Pictures online: http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/mom_trip_sep_2011

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A visit to the zoo

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It was a bank holiday last weekend and we took Bean to Linton Zoo to change things around a bit. Bean is becoming a walking ball of overzealous destruction when left to his own devices, so we though taking him to see home animals would be a good diversion. The zoo is cute, and they have some really nice big cats, but it’s expensive for the size it is, sadly.

Still, it was a nice walk and Bean seemed to enjoy it. We’ll probably keep it as a treat for future outings.

Lots of pictures here: http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/various_aug_2011/

We’re finding Bean a lot of hard work these days. He doesn’t listen, is very stubborn and has Katy’s temper (and elbows!). We’re having moderate success with time-outs, except that now he’s taken to putting his toys on time-out (no hit mummy and daddy!). It’s good that he gets the message, even though he’s not always acting on it.

We were in Leicester the weekend before that. I really needed a vacation from work stress so I’d taken some days off and we went to see the in-laws. The plan was to drop Bean off and spend some quiet time having cocktails, watch movies and some nice meals out. That went out the window when Katy’s dad was ill and her mom fell and dislocated her shoulder. We ended up babysitting the babysitters. Understandable, but poopey nonetheless. We managed to salvage some good times by making extravagant ice cream sundaes.

On a brighter note, Christmas is coming and we’ve started making plans!

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Two videos from this weekend.

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We were in Leicester this weekend and the weather was so nice and hot on Sunday that we ended up spending most of the day outside. I discovered that a home-made mocha frappucino made with chocolate ice cream and Cointreau is very, very evil. But tasty!

We tried to ship Bean to Canada in a large box. He seemed to enjoy it.

We got Bean’s swimming pool out in the garden and Bean really got in the spirit of things. All we got was really, really wet.

I need to keep that last video safe somewhere because, one day, it will make excellent blackmail material.

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Good news, bad news

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Good news: the electrician fixed all of the remedial work that needed doing.
Bad news: the RCD still keeps tripping.
Good news: the electrician has some suggestions we can try to help isolate the cause of the very intermittent problem.
Bad news: the suggestions doesn’t help the fact that the RCD tripped over the weekend, when we were in Leicester, and half our freezer defrosted.

Good news: we’re going to get the windows and doors replaced.
Bad news: it’s going to cost £4000.
Good news: it’s not as much as I feared, and we’re getting nice stuff.
Bad news: Natwest are being bastards about extending our existing loan.
Good news: My credit score is still classed as good, and we’ve found alternate means of financing, so screw you Natwest.

Good news: the cats are doing well and don’t seem too bothered about the heat.
Bad news: they feel well enough that they caught and ate a bird, inside the house, while we were away.

Good news: Katy’s going to reduce her hours so that she doesn’t feel as crappy and tired all the time
Bad news: Katy’s still feeling tired and crappy all the time.

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Pictures from Father’s day weekend

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We had the in-laws over last weekend, for Father’s day. We went into Cambridge on Saturday morning to run some errands and had BBQ’ed fajitas for dinner that night. On Sunday, we went to Scottsdales for lunch and then we spent the afternoon building a rabbit hutch so that Katy can finally fix her rabbit jones. While Katy and I were building the hutch, Mel was indulging his inner barbarian by mulching up all of the trimmed trees, bushes and shrubs that have been accumulating on the side of the shed.

Is it really bad that we’re getting Bean hooked on frappucinos before he’s even 3?

Reen-pig was being her normal gorgeous self, totally exhausted by the effort of maintaining appearances.

  

The swing got some good action that weekend.

On Saturday, while we were in town, I completely forgot to take my happy pill. I paid dearly for that slip of the mind on Sunday when I took that day’s tabled. Jeebus. My head wouldn’t stop spinning and my mood crashed like nobody’s business. The good news is that it went away just as fast as it came on while I was playing with the parrots and then feeding the Koi in the aquatic section of the garden centre. Still, I hope that’s not a sign of things to come when the time comes to go off the tablets.

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