Money Pit?

Look what I came home to yesterday. How annoying! Just what we needed...so no heating AGAIN! What a pile of pants!

The words 'money pit' were banded about and I am just waiting for the moment I fall through the ceiling and get trapped Tom Hanks style.

You're leaving, On a jet plane...

So, Jeannie and Mark are off travelling the world. Alright for some huh!
And so there was a gathering to wish them fair well, drink too much alcohol and hopefully not get hungover. They had much alcohol that needed consuming as it wasn't work packing it...but we all seemed to bring more!! They didn't stand a chance! We ended up going home with more than we brought with us - desperate was there need to rid their house of booze! A few of us decided to drink around the world...people had brought bottles from various countries and we decided to go around the world a drink at a time...starting with ... Cornwall!! Yes Cornwall - the place where people like shiny things, or so I've been told... We had a glass of Red Current Wine from Cornwall to start us off...Other drinks included wines from Chili and Argentina, Rums from the Dominican Republic and Australia and various other things I cannot recall - not that I drank that much mind you!!
Mark and Jeannie had set up a quiz...and I was accused of cheating (other teams did it too) as I held the paper up to the light to look through the tip-ex! I call it using my initiative!! Some of us did play the 'Spot the Intro' game later in the evening...which did seem to turn into the longest game in the world!
Myt favourite comment of the evening was early on and made by Caro. We were talking about penguins/Planet Earth etc and she said "Well it is getting smaller down there" to which we all laughed...dirty minds we have - she was talking about the environment, not their 'bits!'
All in all, a good night was had by all...crawling into bed at about 3am (and getting up at 7.30am as I was boiling and couldn't sleep, even though I was tired! D'Oh)
So, J & M - I hope you have a truely fabulous trip, seeing and experiencing wonderful, exciting things. Keep safe, keep blogging and I expect the odd postcard or two!! :o) Love you both! Oh and I will try not to kill the beanstalk, er I mean plant!

The name's Bond, James Bond...

Well...that's a lie for a start! Lou, Ross, Carl and I went to see the new Bond film on Saturday in Reading. It was sooooo good! Lots of action and a few comedy moments too...and the new Bond is easy on the eye...not my type but I won't complain! I won't say much, so as not to give away anything if you haven't seen it, but the base jumping (not sure if that is the correct terminology!) at the beginning was very cool! What made me laugh was when the film finished...people started clapping. Carl and I looked at each other with puzzled looks on our faces. Do these people think they could be heard?!? I have never been to the cinema and had people clap before. The theatre, most certainly, but not at the pictures! Bizarre! I am sure they were just showing their appreciation for a fine film... A drink in the Purple Turtle (what a great name for a pub...and such groovy music too) and food at Nandos with such great company...who could ask for more!

Carl, Lou and I were swimming again bright and early on Sunday morning. 14 lengths this week. Surely these early Sundays wont last!?!? Lou and I went to salsa again Monday night. I decided to continue dancing as a man...I like a challenge and as they don't have an advanced class at least I am paying to learn something new...and it will hopefully help my dancing as a lady too. It was fun...although Lou and I decided that maybe a bottle of cider each and dancing wasn't the best way forward...turns aren't as easy when you have had a drink!

We've been in our new house for just over a month. It is weird really as it feels longer and I can't imagine the old place any more...not supprisingly really as we hadn't leaved there properly since July!

Fireworks, New Forest and stuff

We went to see the fireworks at the Newbury Racecourse on Saturday Evening. I really enjoyed myself - very pretty fireworks...not too many bangers...all set to film music. My fave bit was to the Lost In Space theme - you couldn't help but wobble about like a weeble! We then went to the pub for some refreshment, but it ended up getting really smokey and I had a sneezing fit and thought I was getting ill! Ban smoking NOW I reckon!

On Sunday morning, Carl, Lou and I were in a swimming pool at 9am! We were very pleased with ourselves!! I managed 12 lengths...not bad after a 3 1/2 month break! Carl and I then went down to Ringwood to see Jeannie and Mark. We had a lovely walk in the New Forest (around somewhere called Fritham), where we saw many ponies (hurray!) and lots of PIGS!! The pigs were fabulous. They were in a field with a horse acting as a sheepdog does with sheep - so a pighorse then! Then the little piggies saw big mumma pig outside the field and so escaped one by one under the fence! (see elongated, squishy, stretchy piggy photo!) The they snorted as they followed mumma piggy around - very cute! We did see them when we were heading back to the car, a couple of hours later...still following mum, and we think one had a boot in it's mouth! We then went out for a pub dinner. Sadly, the carvery was nowhere to be seen, but we had yummy food from a normal menu instead...on the 2nd pub we tried!

Apart from that, we've been trying to organise the house, I've had the joys of parents evening, Carl was away on a course and Lou and I failed miserably to go to yoga (well, we went, we just didn't go in! They'd started, they were all sitting in a circle, in a brightly lit room, with towels on their heads. We thought it would be rude to disturb them, and a cup of tea would be a far better idea!) Lou and I did go to salsa last night though. The teacher for my class was very late, so I decided to be a man in beginners and had a much better time!

Other news is that Paul and Sarah are moving on Friday! Hurrah!! And Lou and Ross got the keys to their new place!! I think I'll need a new address book, what with almost everyone I know moving house!!

Our Quirky House

House Quirks 1

All was well in our new house to begin with...until the weather suddenly turned cold and we realised the heating wasn't working as it should. So the house turned into a fridge over night. You know it's not good when you lie in bed and can see your breath! It took a good couple of days to heat up the house (hense wearing hats indoors to keep warm!) and even now the timers (there are 3!) don't actually do anything - so we have to manually put the heating on. Not ideal, but it is better than freezing to death!

House Quirks 2

Poor Carl He had great fun with the electics in this place! Firstly there was the lights in the hall/stairs. You would expect that with the downstairs double light switch the switch closest to downstairs turns on the downsytairs light and the one closest to the stairs the upstairs light...but NO! This annoyed me, so Carl set to work to fix the problem...a quick job he thought...wrong! The place is wired up like a nightmare! It took several dozen attempts (and a couple of small electric shocks) to sort the switches out! Also in the lounge the double switch near the front door turned on the porch light, but not the lounge light (meaning you'd have to walk through the room in the dark to switch the lights on.) This was even worse than the stairs switch problem and took hours and more shocks to fix. Then there are the upteen switches that don't work or seem to do anything...and that is not including the range of phone sockets ad ariel sockets littered about the place! (3 ariel sockets being in the small bedroom!!)

House Quirks 3
Why do we have 3 fuse boxes? And why are they in the garage, so high up you can't reach them without a step ladder! Great during a power cut, when you've blown a fuse (as we did during house quirks 2!) Also the gas meter is practically on the garage roof...nice and easy to read then!

Home sweet home!

Well, we finally moved on 20th October! And quite traumatic it was too - too much stuff and too little time! Anyway, not to dwell on that (and the fact that our solicitors were complete pants - you know, stained, holey, smelly Y-fronts - as in useless) we are in and that feels gooood! We have carpet, a TV and a bed that doesn't squeak everytime you breathe...oh the luxury!!!

So, half term was spent trying to get the house in some kind of order. Carl did a good job putting loft panels in the loft so there was somewhere to store stuff. I got a brand new desk...and huge it is too!! It took 4 different people about 5 hours to build the complex contraption - if only they'd labelled the bits!
I spent all last Monday on the phone, sorting out final bills, new accounts, changing addresses etc. at a cost of £25 on my mobile! So happy was I when NTL came to connect our phone, TV and internet!

On Thursday last, I went home to visit my parents. We had fun picking up my desk and a table and 4 chairs (all flatpacked). Fitting these and 3 people in a Fiesta is a challenge - Dad was in the back seat - being 6'3" it was a squash, Mum was in the front with her nose practically pressed up on the windscreen and I was driving with my knees round my ears looking like Mr Magoo! I then went to salsa in the evening which was great! I have only been once in Newbury, so I thought I'd be way out of practice but I was ok! I did forget my decent shoes, which my knees are now cursing me for!

Saturday night was our housewarming and Carl's very belated 30th birthday party! (His birthday is in July!!) Jeannie and Mark came down on Friday night and it was great to have a catch-up with them. Mark's turtle tales had us in stitches...but those stories are never to be repeated...and will forever remain between us four, the bar and the 20p stuck to the floor which Mark tried to pick up!
Saturday itself was spent trying to clear rooms of boxes so people whould have somewhere to sleep that night, so by the time the party was happening, I was practically asleep on the sofa! Andy did teach Mark some Karate and Lou some self-defence moves. ("Grab me from behind but mind my back I've just been to Physio", "You're clammy" and "He's like my brother" were all wonderful Lou phrases of the evening!) I drank my birthday Scrumpy Cider, which was OK at first, but the more you drank, the ranker it got. Nice!

Yesterday Lou and I went to 'Body Harmony' while the guys went to the driving range. Body Harmoney is a mix of Pilates, Yoga and Tai Chi...and it very hard work...and I do ache a bit today I must confess. I liked the Tai Chi bits best, and some of the Yoga...I found the Pilates the hardest!

The other main event over the past month was Carl going to see Seether with Roisin. He was really looking forward to it. I say went to see Seether but he only heard them. The problem was he drank a wee bit too much so missed the main act as he was chucking up outside the venue instead. Best £12 he's ever spent!

It was back to school today. Boo! But it was nice having breakfast at home and only a 10 minute drive to work, so, mustn't grumble....much!

Anyone else moving?!?!

Where has the last month gone!??!?

Well, we haven't moved yet! Hoping it will be in the next 3 weeks or so - so fingers crossed please! At the moment we are in Reading (staying with our fab friends Caro and Andy - thanks guys!) during the week and 'home' at the weekend. It is knackering and so the move needs to happen soooooon!

Speaking of moving...Mum and Dad are moving! They are part way through moving to a bungalow (or 'bunglehouse' as dad calls it). The main move is next weekend, but the last 2 weekends have been moving boxes, decorating and trying to sort the jungle that is the garden (I did get to have a go with a chainsaw...it is soooo cool - my destructive streak coming out again!) Also, Paul and Sarah are moving...they are a few weeks behind us...and are moving to Potton. So, we'll all be in new places for Christmas - very weird! Lots of moving going on, with the Po's and DL & Joey getting in on the act too!

So, what else is knew? I started my job at the beginning of September, and all seems to be going well, although a working day of 8-6.30 is a little draining (especially leaving Reading at 7.15 and getting home at about 7.30!) Also, Carl, Po, Putin and DL have started golf lessons, and it sounds like they are having a good time...us girls are having girlie time while they are swinging their clubs about.

I think they are the main events of the past month...

It's all going too fast!

...the summer holidays that is! 2/3 of the way through already!! sob sob!

The houses are going through nicely, although quicker would be good - we won't be in for when term starts which is a bit annoying!

This weekend was spent sorting stuff out. Saturday we spent 6 hours in the loft, going through boxes of stuff. Carl also went through his video collection and actually got rid of a LOT of videos (a lot meaning quite a few bag fulls, but a small percentage of the videos he actually owns!!) So, the charity shops in the area have done quite well out of us!! Sunday was spent going to the tidy tip (1 car load from the loft alone!) and then sorting out the shed (2 car loads to the tidy tip!) Our shed looks massive now as it is virtually empty!! Hurrah!

Other stuff is starting to be boxed up now too, with the aim being all but the bare essentials will be done by the end of the weekend.

What else have I done in the past week? I took mum and Dad to see Sarah and Joshua (and I heard him speak!! No raspberries today!) and my friend Catherine came for a visit - we haven't seen each other for over a year we worked out! Also, went to salsa and had a good time. Chris is teaching me to be a man (as in dance as a man, not be all macho and fancy girls etc!) I can now do 9 moves as a man! And Chris makes a good woman too....although I would like to see more mincing!! :o) It is rather sad that I only have 2 more weeks as a regular at Salsa Estrellas. Shame they don't do a club in Newbury - a bit far away I suppose!! At least I can come back during holidays...they can't get rid of me that easily!!
Oh and more exciting news - Paul and Sarah sold there house and had an offer accepted on one in Potton! Hurrah! Talk about all go here!!

Back to packing...

Ring ring!

Another busy week so far, with most of it being spent on the phone it would seem!

On Saturday we saw 11 houses. Yes 11! It was manic and we saw various standards in housing, from lovely to oh...that's...erm...yes. After seeing all these houses we had a shortlist of 4, with one of them being the one we really want.
So Monday was spent waiting around to see if offers were excepted etc and in the end we got the house we wanted for a bit under the asking price. HURRAH! We have a HOUSE!! So more phonecalls to solicitors, estate agents, mortgage people... I really don't like phoning people either. It is ok if there are family or friends, but anything else stresses me out. So, as you can guess I have been a bit stressy!!
Yesterday I spent the afternoon with mum and dad, just chilling out, waiting for phonecalls and the like. So today, I start packing. Just stuff we wont be needing...but it needs to get started. Great fun!!

Busy week

First things first...WE SOLD THE HOUSE!!!!!! HURRAH! It is a relief, but I know that nothing is final until you have the keys in your hand...but fingers crossed!

The whole house thing happened on my journey to Ringwood. Phonecalls back and forth while I was stuck in traffic on the M25 (2 hours to go about 25 miles...NUTS!) But it is done so at least I don't have to keep our house immaculate anymore...it is very stressful keeping it so clean and tidy.

I had a great time in Ringwood with Jeannie. We went out to Bournemouth on Friday night. We went in a few pubs, all of which seemed to have great music playing until you got halfway through your drink and then it went rubbish! Oh well!
On Saturday we went shopping in Bournemouth and got plenty of bargins in the Next sale!! We also had a very yummy dinner in a pasta place :o) In the evening we decided to rent out a couple of DVDs. We thought comedies was the way to go, and so got out 'The Weather Man' and 'Just Friends.' We watched 'The Weather Man' first, and boy were we disappointed. If it says comedy on the box, you expect to laugh...a lot. I laughed once. It was just depressing, not even a black comedy. We watched it to the end as we needed closure, but it was cery disappointing. Film number 2 was more comedy like. A typical American teen chick flick, but at least there were some laughs!
Sunday was spent chatting and putting the world to rights, before having a game of croquet (is that how you spell it!??!) and then I headed up to Newbury.
All is all a great weekend - Thanks Jeannie!

I stayed in Newbury for a night to see Carl. Unfortuately I had dodgy eyes again. By morning my left eye was red and puffy. On the drive home it got worse and by the time I got home it was very elephantman-ish - the upper lid was so swollen. And I had a lump ON MY EYEBALL! How disgusting is that! And I hate all things eyebally. Eugh! After resting my eye for a couple of hours, dropping eye drops in and generally being disgusted by it, I went to see Mum and Dad. Even they said it looked bad, and it had gone down a bit by then.

On Thursday I took Mum and Dad round to see Sarah and Joshua again. We, well, more me actually, played with the blocks and Joshua spent most of the time making raspberry noises!! He did enjoy knocking down my towers though.
I went to Salsa in the evening and has a good night. I also had the pleasure of dancing with a guy who had no idea about salsa. well, it seemed that way. I have no idea what his feet were doing and he flung me around alot, trying to dislocate my arms I think. He did say I was brilliant...but on relflection I don't see that as much of a complement...anyone who can count to 8 in time is going to be vastly superior to him! (Mean aren't I!) Suprisingly I declined a second dance with him.

I have spent most of the week booking viewings on houses in Newbury. We have 11 to see tomorrow!! Fingers crossed there will be our perfect house waiting for us...