Holiday prep!

It's been a busy old week - with a day trip to Cornwall to celebrate early with this one. Granny will be 96 on Saturday, we'll be on an aeroplane, so we brought forward the celebrations with fish and chips for lunch and chocolate caterpillar cake for pud!

I love seeing Sam and Granny together, he's now a giant!!

It was lovely, although brief to see her x

Here's wishing her an early happiest of birthdays x

Sophie, Sam and I all finished work on Wednesday and Sophie and I decided on Thursday, the hottest day of the year, that we ought to start the packing!! I've done lots of bits and pieces before but we lay it all out together 'tit for tat' and then I end up doing the actual packing bit, performing a minor miracle and getting it all into the actual case!!

This is the Villa! Hoping it's as lovely when we get there!
There's always that bit of trepidation about what you will find but all the photo's have recently been updated on the listing and it does look lovely - will share on our return xx

Another week.....

.....another night out!

This time in Bristol at the Bristol Harbour Festival, watching New Order.

It's a 'Bucket List' band for Jeff, not my music really but he had a great night and I recognised 4 tracks. Also managed to spot my sister and her hubby in the crowds.

Sam has now broken up and joins Sophie working the odd shift up at Millfield Prep. I keep telling him to "just think of the money" as he groans about having to get ready!! We go on holiday soon, so he'll have a genuine excuse to not have to work then! Jeff's been busy tackling the hallway - stripping off the old wallpaper and giving it all a fresh coat of paint, a work in progress!

I went along to my SW group this morning to get weighed before hols. I'm back in target and I realised it's now 5 summer's that I've managed to keep the weight off, pretty proud of that little achievement. Not gonna lie, it's blumin hard but I'm determined to keep the weight off.

As always, when the holiday approaches, the garden does it's thing!! Sweet peas in full flower, the beans are growing madly, still need sunshine and warmth to ripen my figs, loads of daisies in flower and lots of bursts of red from the geraniums. All looking lovely, am paying my neighbours boy to keep things watered and hopefully alive, whilst we are away xx

Fab week, results, Bath, SFG

What a week! Soph got her results on Tuesday - a First for Year One!

Not that it counts towards her degree but will helpfully aid securing a good placement year,

 in Year 3. Her face says it all, over the moon and one very proud Mum, resulting in treats on our day out in Bath xx

The boy has applied for his Provisional License!! 

How is that even possible!?! Keep off the roads mid August!!

In between work and everything else, I've been thinking about our holidays. I'm such a list maker, don't like to leave anything to chance - think I'm getting there!

Last night, other than Sophie's results, was the highlight of the week for me

 Scouting for Girls at the Cheese and Grain in Frome! 

Fourth time for Jeff and I seeing them, but Sophie's first and they did not disappoint. We ended up right at the front, for me they are THE best live band. Best songs, can't help but dance and sing along and fair play to Howlin' for Riley, the support band, best we've had, other than Rick that is! But boy was it hot! They were giving away free bottles of water and let's just say, we all had to shower when we got home!!

Sophie started listening to them last Summer, her playlist to her A Levels - her destress in the car, roof down in the mini with SFG's playing on full volume! They'll play She's so Lovely at Uni but they are coming to Reading during their new tour, so I think she'll persuade some others and go see them again! Jeff and I will be trying to get tickets for Bristol, worth every penny x

Belated 'Pinch and a punch....'

WOW!!! July already and a week into the month too!

Also, 4 yrs ago on the 3rd we moved house. 

How is it 4 years ago already??

Jeff has finally given in to the horrors of the hallway. I must confess I have run out of steam where the decorating is concerned but I think it's begun to annoy him more, so now he's on his hols for the Summer, he's stripped off the wall paper and made a start on making it look a whole lot better.

He did take a break and came with Sophie and I to see Yesterday!

I enjoyed it, coffee and biscuit matinee, what's not to like!

On Friday we went 'en famille' to Cardiff, in an attempt to stir a little enthusiasm, inquisitiveness in Sam about the possibility of going to University. He's an August birthday, young for the year, so we've already agreed on him taking a year out but after that he has no clue what he wants to do. He's not desperate to leave home and he's not the most studious individual or self motivated to study, so this was a chance to see if anything stirred any hint of enthusiasm in him. It did confirm he wants to do more with Chemistry but it won't be in Cardiff!! I still think an Apprenticeship Degree would suit him better, where he's employed by a company and whilst working for them, gets time off for study - one: he has someone keeping him on track two: he earns money three: he can decide if he can commute or board weekly - it just gives him, I believe, a more structured way of doing things, they just seem to be very few and far between. One thing he will be doing is learning to drive when he turns 17 and start saving up for a car in his year out, so he has even more options when the time comes.

We've had some lovely weather, watering the garden is now on the daily list of jobs. Sam is being paid to look after our neighbours garden whilst she's away on holiday. Finally, thanks to a little warm sunshine, the sweet peas are beginning to flower, the daises too and everything is growing at last!