Skip to main content

Phew...

Another win for Izzy & team!
Well that's January pretty much done - a whirlwind of school, work and play as ever. I'm trying not to wish the time away, but I'm only too conscious that February is a short month and then it's March and then forget it... summer will be upon us and then it will be 2023!!  

This week we have been looking forward to the summer and decided to throw Covid caution to the wind and book a holiday. Glenn and I have been determined that we would find somewhere new to stay, with the girls equally determined that we go back to Jerry and Pauline's again. While we absolutely love them, we are more than ready for a bit more luxury than it offers, not least for someone to have cleaned under the bed and put some sheets on the bed that are less than 25 years old!

Knowing the pressure was on, we spent a few evenings looking for the perfect place - same area but more modern - preferably with enough room for others if they chose to join us. We finally came across what looks like an amazing place outside a village called Monpazier. It has 4 bedrooms, a lovely looking pool and was very recently refurbished so ricks all the boxes. Izzy was immediately sold on the idea having seen the photos (they'll look good on Instagram). Abi was a bit harder to win over but finally came round to it. Simon and Sharron then got on the case and they have booked into a hotel in the village so the plan is coming together nicely.


The final question is whether Kerrie and Elsie could join us. Kerrie couldn't face the long drive down so we hatched a plan today whereby we will drive down the Friday / Saturday and she, Abi and Elsie will follow by plane on the Monday. We can pick them up and as longa s we dont all want to go somewhere by car (we wont have enough seats) we will be laughing! I am trying not to think too hard about who is going to be the responsible adult out of the 3 of them - but as Kerrie said, she'll be 32 by then - surely she can get on a plane and get to France!

It is so good to think that we might be moving away from the relentless pressure of the last 2 years of pandemic. This week BoJo threw all caution into the bin and has pretty much scrapped all the Covid rules. While I think this makes sense - we have to learn to live with it - I suspect it's more to do with the fact he's being investigated by the met police as well as his own internal affairs team. Never mind, we'll take it whatever the reason. 

Also this week I have been suffering from a cold which I think is far worse than most people's experience of Covid these days. I have been sleeping really poorly and so I'm knackered which isn't great when work has been so busy. We are starting to get back into going back to the office so there is also the shift in routines to get used to. While I'm keen to get back in a few days a week, the trains are still operating on a reduced service and so it's not quite as easy as it seems. It will all come back in time so I'm trying to accept what will be will be. I've been trying to take it easy this weekend as a bit of recovery time but its quite a challenge - there is always so much to fit in.

So Sunday night again and the brink of another week. Laurie will be 16 this week - if that doesn't make us all feel old I don't know what does. Mind you, Ben has been off travelling to Serbia and Switzerland this week with his videography business - maybe he can give Kerrie and Abi some travel tips!!

The gorgeous Elsie - growing up
so quickly

  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Busy, busy, busy

Full English brunch for these two! Life is VERY busy and I don't feel like we have stopped for weeks (or is that months?) It seems like the 'to-do' list is endless and while I know we don't have to do it all at once, I have taken on the unenviable task of trying to get the Muppet to finish all the work he promised / we have paid for and that has been like pushing a mountain of water up a very steep hill. We've got to the point where I think we have got all of what we are likely to get and the rest we'd rather finish ourselves anyway. The electric gates are clearly a work of his imagination based on the gates / the electric cables he spec'd and the cheapo motor mechanism - there is no way they'll work so we have decided to not bother and source proper gates that do the job and look better as well. Knowing that we are almost at a point where we sever the ties feels very liberating. Looking back this last 6 months has been incredibly stressful and just didn...

Decluttering

Girls buying baby clothes - this could get addictive! It's Easter weekend already and we still haven't completed!! However we have made some progress, most importantly with the paperwork which has not been Steve the Builder's forte throughout this process. Stags finally got their act together and got in touch with the planning office and got an update from the Planning Officer. Apparently she is broadly happy with the application, and is prepared to pass it with only a few minor modifications which we are completely comfortable with. The Building Control Officer also came and did all of what he needed to, which means the final certificate should be issued which allows the warranty to also be issued. On our side we finally tracked down the paperwork (or more correctly got the BC Officer to come out again and do a second assessment) for the outstanding BCC on our windows (which went in 6 years ago but due to an admin error were never registered) - nothing is straightforward i...

Bank Holiday sunshine

Off to meet FiFi and Grumps for a walk  (and yes, she is on the seat) Finally after weeks of rain and cold weather, the tide has turned and we have glorious sunshine for the bank holiday weekend and half term - hooray, it's about time.  Also just in time is half term as the kids were definitely ready for a break. They have both done brilliantly settling into the school, making new friends and finding their feet in an unfamiliar environment. Izzy has just had her exam week and felt it went OK given she hadn't covered all of the syllabus, and Abi's exams start as soon as she is back next week. I hope she's done some revision as she left for Devon with Claire, Adam and Mia today and isn't back until Saturday. There is talk of looking at some of her notes but who knows. My view is that a bit of R&R will probably be at least as beneficial if not more so than cramming all week so she should take the time to relax and have some fun - she deserves it. So we packed Abi o...