Lat week of the holidays...

...and boy has it zoomed by so far!!

After being 'ladies that lunch' with Lou and Nicky on Friday, doing more kitcheny bits on Saturday we went back to Potton to visit my family on Sunday. Everyone is fine and well and Joshua is growing up fast...but still can't say 'Auntie Ray.' I may change my nickname...he seems to say car and lorry at every opportunity, so, I could be Auntie Lorry and Carl could be Uncle Car! Yes, we could be modes of transport!! Although, I don't really won't be a compared to a lorry!! We had a nice time catching up with everyone...and carl even watched the motor racing and rugby with my dad!!
On Monday we went to the Po household for a BBQ. We had lovely food (thanks Mr and Mrs Po) and great fun on the trampette...the best bit was watching the guys pose about on it! (Photos of Putin being Spiderman, and Chudders being Batman, trampette styleeeee!)

After the BBQ we settled down to watch the legendary Centre Parcs video. I must say I haven't laught that much, or been that embarrassed for years! I had no idea I did this strange pointy dancy thing in front of the camera - mortified. Joey did a fantastic Blair-witch moment! The cook-off was hilarious, Po doing a fabulous impression of Jamie Oliver, Joey taking the piss out of Po and Putin being an awesome camera-man. Soo many funny moments I can't possibly mention them all! We all laughed so much, Putin was scarlet and I was crying! Classic!!!

All this hilarity was followed this week by lots of waiting around for deliveries from B&Q. Tuesday everything except the correct magic corner unit (they ordered us one for the wrong side of the kitchen!) and the extractor unit arrived, and Friday the correct magic corner unit!

On Wednesday it was back to school for a day of planning. Why does it take so long? In a way it was nice to be back...it is sooo much better without the kids!!! ha ha!

Today my car failed its MOT...due to a rusty sill apparently! The welder is coming next week to fix it! I knew it was a bit rusty, but just wasn't sure if it was too rusty to pass the MOT...guess it was!

Am still going to Body Attack, and have decided to up it to twice a week...Thursday eve and Sunday morning...let's see how long it lasts!!

The kitchen

We have started to redo our skanky manky kitchen. Colin and Sonia kindly came up to help us as they are experts and we are, well, not! We had a busy 4 days, with countless trips to B&Q and various other places to get bits we didn't have and return bits we didn't need. After 4 days hard work our kitchen isn't finished (thanks to B&Q not having everything in stock!) but it is far superior to the old disgusting one. See Ray's Pics blog for photos!

The Ireland Blog!

Carl and I enjoyed visiting Ireland and would happily go again.

Thursday 9th August
We arrived at Bournemouth airport early! Too early to be checked in!! (not like Barcelona then!) After check in and baggage checks (which took no time at all) it was time for lunch and a few drinks!
After drugging up Barb so she could actually get on the plane it was a scramble for seats. Charlotte couldn’t sit with C and me as we in the emergency aisle and was not an adult (although she paid adult fare?!?) The fight was fine, although the landing was loud as they used airbrakes. Barb said it was all terrible, screamed in Charlotte’s ear and tried to break Bern’s hand!
On arrival we collected the baggage and picked up the hire car – a very nice 07 reg Ford Focus – with a huge boot!
It was now rush hour time as we drove from Shannon towards Limerick, our first stop. We were staying in a Travelodge, and although I had addresses for all the B&Bs we’d been staying in, I’d forgotten to get the address for the Travelodge. Not a problem, we thought, It’ll be signposted… After an hour of driving through Limerick and out the other side, we were told it was on Ennis Road…the road we’d come into Limerick on….so we’d managed to drive right past it! The Bern pipes up that he saw a sign for Travelodge earlier, but thought it was an advert when he couldn’t see it! Not that he mentioned any of this at the time.
We eventually found the Travelodge…with it’s neon sign covered by trees, yes we nearly missed at again!
After freshening up, we drove back into Limerick for dinner. We ate at the Texas Steakout, which had a warm friendly atmosphere and the food was pretty good.
After a busy, tiring day, feeling full and having had a nice cup of tea, we crawled into bed.

Friday 10th August
We were up at 8am, watching She-Ra and Transformers on TV while getting showered and dressed. Breakfast was at Eddie Rocket’s American Style Diner, a 60’s style place which was next to the Travelodge. I decided to have the Power Breakfast, knowing we wouldn’t be eating for ages as the wedding was at 1.30. After our fill, we got togged up in our wedding gear and headed off to Ennis. After driving to Ennis, and being unsure of where we were (again!), we spotted a couple of landmarks on JP and Caoimhe’s map and arrived at the church in Ruan more than an hour early! After about 45mins other people started arriving, so we stepped out into the drizzle and into the church. JP arrived at 1.15, looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights! Caoimhe arrived half hour later and the service commenced.
After the wedding, it was still raining, so it was straight to Ennistymon for the reception at the Falls Hotel. After another ‘are you sure this is the right way?’ journey and finally finding a town that was on the map, we arrived, assuming we’d be late and that everyone else would already be there, but we were one of the first to arrive! After checking in, finding our rooms, marvelling at the vampire toilet (It doesn’t have a proper reflection!) and having a cuppa, we headed to the bar as it was about 2 hours till the wedding breakfast.
At about 6.30 we headed down for the wedding breakfast and we on the same table as Gillian and David (Gillian is a friend of JPs from school) who were lovely. After the starter and soup it was time for the speeches, on which bets were placed. We said 41.41 for 4 speeches. We were no where near, the time being about 25mins and the priest won!! He couldn’t accept the €100 win, so the money went to charity. Then we had the main meal (delicious!), pudding (yummy!) and tea/coffee after which we all felt quite spherical! By the time we’d finished eating it was almost 10.30! The tables were then pushed back and the evening continued with a live band, which played some ‘hits’ but mostly Irish music. I even managed to get Carl up to dance for 2 songs! We went up to bed at about 12.30, and we heard the reception going on until about 2am, as our room was above it!

Saturday 11th August
After breakfast and a walk around the hotel grounds to view the waterfalls by the hotel, it was off to our first destination…The Cliffs of Moher. This was to be one of the highlights of our trip to Ireland, seeing the cliffs, rising over 700ft out of the Atlantic, stretching for nearly 5 miles along the coast. Sadly, we didn’t get to see much of the cliffs…and we renamed it the Mists of Moher, as that was what we saw! After a quick wander round we decided to move onto our next destination, popping back if the weather improved. So, it was north to Doolin to see Doolin Cave. Doolin Cave is the home off ‘the great stalactite,’ discovered in 1952 and measuring 6.54 metres (20 feet) in length, it is recognised as being the longest stalactite in the Northern hemisphere. After a minibus ride to the site, we were issued with hard hats and descended over 80ft to the first tunnel. The most impressive part of the tour is the Stalactite itself which is immense. You enter the chamber with all lights turned off, so it is near on total darkness, as it would have been when it was discovered. Then the lights come on…there certainly is a WOW factor (lots of awe and wonder!)
After the tour, we had a pub lunch (we were starving by this time!) in Doolin before taking the coastal road back towards The Cliffs of Moher, were we chose not to stop as the mists had come in even more! We continued along the coastal roads, taking in the sights, through Liscannor, Rinneen, and Quilty before going inland towards Cooraclare and Kilrush and onto Killimer to catch the ferry across the River Shannon, from Co Clare and into Co Kerry. The 20minute ferry ride was fine and we arrived in Tarbert and headed to the neighbouring town of Glin in Co Limerick! We stayed in O’Driscoll B&B, which was very nice.
After settling in, and having a little siesta, we headed off to O’Shaughnessy, a local ‘typically Irish’ pub for a drink. The pub was, well, not somewhere I would usually frequent! Its wooden floors and old bar had a certain charm, and as we sat and drank our beverages the only thing I could think of was ‘they really need to wash their net curtains!’ I mean COME ON! There was on old drunken Irish man, propping up the bar, swearing a lot, as is the norm apparently! After one drink, we were ready to leave, stopping off for some takeaway before crawling into bed. Having said that, Carl and I watched a fascinating game show, whose rules seemed rather complicated and you won €1000 for getting picked out of the audience! Sounds good to me!

Sunday 12th August
After a delicious full Irish breakfast we set off towards Tralee to tour The Dingle Peninsula. The route we took around the Peninsula was lovely. Firstly we travelled to Castlemaine, taking a detour to a viewing point to see the views of Castlemaine harbour and the valley and mountains of Killarney. En route to the viewing point we did wonder how many people travelled that way as it was rather narrow. Arriving at the top, we took in the views, especially observing the litter - an empty box for a blow up doll and a vacuum cleaner…chuckling to ourselves, wondering if the same person left them both and what they were doing with them half way up a mountain!!
From Castlemaine we took another detour, this time criss-crossing across the peninsula to view the north coast. We drove through Glennagalt Valley (The Valley of the Mad – so called because the water from a well in the valley was said to cure insanity) and then drove to Inch and stopped off at Inch Strand. Inch Strand is a beautiful 4 mile long sandy beach backed by dunes. After walking along the beach, watching an insane man go into the sea (it was cold!) and running up and down the sand dunes like children, we had lunch at Sammy’s Restaurant.
Feeling full, we headed off towards Anascul and on towards Dingle. We stopped off in Dingle and took a walk along the high street, taking in the brightly coloured shops. It was then off on ‘Slea Head Drive’ to drive the coastal road of the peninsula. Charlotte and I stopped off to see the Fahan Beehive Huts (and use the little boys/girls portaloo – see piccy!) The Beehive Huts were originally farmsteads of the free farmers of the Early Christian Period and would have been inhabited from ancient times until 1200AD. We then continued on to Slea Head, passing a Crucifixion shrine known as ‘The Cross’ and taking in the views over Blasket Sound and its islands, which were very picturesque. It was then on to Dunmore Head (yes…great name isn’t it!!), Ballyferriter to the Gallarus Oratory. The Gallarus Oratory is a 1300 year old stone building built by early Christians as a church. It is amazing really, the way it was built and the fact it is waterproof!! We then headed back towards Dingle seeing the ruins of a Romanesque church at Kilmalkedar along the way.
We then decided it was time to head to our next bed and breakfast in Skibereen….which was quite a drive! It took longer than expected due to very windy roads (and a windy car!!) We decided that there was no way you could actually travel at the 100km speed limit and stay on the road!! After driving through Killarney, through parts of Kerry’s National Parks (the best bit was driving through tunnels that went through the mountains!! Cool!) and through Bantry we were starving, and being a Sunday, a little worried that we would remain that way, thinking all the restaurants would be closed!!
We arrived in Skibereen and were staying in a farmhouse, which was cheap and cheerful. We headed into town and the only non-take-away, chippy-type place still serving was a Chinese restaurant. Being allergic to Chinese food, I was worried about ending up with chicken and chips, but I was pleasantly surprised. I had a lovely black bean sauce with chicken and rice. It was then back to the farmhouse for a well earned sleep…
…until 4.30 am when the fire alarm woke us up! Boy was it LOUD!! Luckily it was a false alarm and we didn’t have to evacuate, but by that time I was awake and struggled to get back to sleep. Bah!

Monday 13th August
After a poor night sleep we were up early, had another full Irish breakfast before heading off along the south coast towards Cork. Our first stop was Ross Carbery to see the Drombeg Stone Circle, dating back to 2nd century BC. It was then back into the car towards Clonakilty, Courtmacsherry and Kinsale, where we stopped for a well deserved beverage. Kinsale is ‘one of Irelands most picturesque coastal towns’ and I did think it was pretty. We walked along the harbour and around a few shops and had a refreshing cuppa in a rather hot café! It was then up to Cork, stopping briefly at a retail park before heading to Blaney and its castle.
We arrived in Blaney and were rather hungry! We walked past a few cafés and restaurants and found them rather pricy, so opted to get a baguette from the supermarket! The baguettes were freshly made and rather yummy. We sat outside munching away when we were bothered by a wasp. Barb had a hissy fit, and so we had to move rather swiftly to the opposite end of the park, away from Mr Wasp. After about 10 minutes Bern realised he’d left his digital camera on the bench and hotfooted it back to our original location, which was next to a group of lads. Barb was certain the camera would be gone, and asked me every 10 seconds or so if I could see anything – which I couldn’t – she could probably see more than me, being long-sighted!! Carl followed Bern and we then saw them disappear into the supermarket. The boys had seen the camera and handed it in. Big phew all round!
After the traumatic lunch, we headed into Blaney castle, deciding to go straight to the stone to get that done so we could then wander around more leisurely. After a short queue we had all kissed the stone (except Barb!) and went for a wander. My favourite bits of the castle were the garden walks. They were very pretty and entertaining too! Lots of nooks and crannies to investigate…along with a bit of tree climbing!!
After thoroughly looking around the castle and its grounds, we headed off to our next B&B destination near Mallow. This didn’t take too long at all as we travelled along one of the best roads we’d come across in Ireland!
On arrival we had tea and scones and a chat with our hostess. We then freshened up before heading off into Doneraile for some food and returning for an early night.

Tuesday 14th August
Our last day in Ireland. Our flight was at 1.30, so to take full advantage of our remaining time we got up early, had yet another full Irish breakfast, and headed back up to Limerick and spent the morning seeing Bunratty castle and Folk Park. The castle itself involves going up and down lots of spiral staircases to get to various rooms. The castle was well maintained and interesting to walk around. I particularly enjoyed the folk park, walking around the tiny thatched cottages, the reconstructed ‘high street’ and seeing the donkeys! All too soon it was time to leave, so it was off to the airport to return the hire car, having lunch at the airport and flying home. On this flight Charlotte sat with me and Carl, which was nice, and Barb was drugged up even more!
Back in England it was raining…we left blazing sun and home to rain! No fair. And had bad traffic on the way home too!! Nothing like it!

Catch up blog

A lot has been happening here…and here are the highlights!

Newbury Comedy Festival....every night for a week!! We had festival passes (£60 each) which meant we could book up and see whatever we wanted, and get 10% of drinks at the bus bar! Excellent! We made full use of this and saw 1 or 2 acts every night! My highlights were - Ed Byrne (hillarious!!), Brendan Burns Bad Film Club (basically we watched Roadhouse (feat Patrick Swayze) which is a bad film and the 3 comedians had pointers and mikes and pointed out all the mistakes and funny bits! It was hilarious!! Swayzeeeeeeeeeee!), Arthur Smith (of Grumpy Old Man fame - again very funny), Mark Thomas (political humour about protesting – much funnier than it sounds!), One Big Improv with Phil Jupitus (Carl got one of his suggestions (Tomb stoning) mentioned -well it was his birthday! The comedians didn’t seem to know what it was though!) and Adam Hills (Ozzy guy who is up and coming and very funny!) We also saw Ardel O'Hanlon (from Father Ted - not as funny as we thought he would be), Susie Essman (from Curb Your Enthusiasm – which I’d never seen. She was OK. Her routine was very ‘down with men’ stuff that’s been done before), Trevor Lock (a bizarre, contradictory, kinda sleazy guy! I also managed to get picked on by him! I was sitting about halfway back in a small theatre when I blew my nose...and heckled him! Yes, I heckled him with my nose!! Apparently it sounded like a clown car horn, and he asked me if I was hiding a small clown and his car. At this point I was very red and crying with laughter, as was Lou sitting next to me. He harped on about it for a while (not that long really, but it felt like ages!) before saying "Oh, I like you!" Probably because I was laughing a lot! He had picked on a couple of girls at the front basically asking if they were prostitutes! Nice!! So, my advice is, don't even blow your nose in case you get picked on!!)

End of Term ‘do’ – A BBQ and crazy golf at ‘The Sun In The Wood’ – and no rain!

The Floods - it was pretty bad here. On the last day of term we had 2 months of rain in 14 hours!! It was raining heavily and just when you thought it couldn’t rain any harder – it did! I got a phone call from Carl at lunchtime (he was at home that day as we had an electrician in) saying the water was nearly in the house...and we live at an altitude of 150m! The water was running off our garden and the garden of the house behind us who are the top of the hill, waterfalling down our steps and forming a lake on out patio as it had nowhere to go! Carl ended up 'swimming' around in it trying to find a manhole cover (there isn't one) before ripping the guttering off the wall and wedging up the fence so the water could get between the houses (there is about a 20cm max gap between our house and next doors garage) Carl videoed the waterfall (which I wouldn't have believed until I saw it) and the state of out flooded sunroom. The water was 1 or 2 cms away from getting the house! Scary stuff!!
Sadly, Ross and Nicky got flooded. To make it worse, they’d only moved a week earlier. Loads of their stuff was still in boxes in their flooded garage. Carl, Dave and I drove straight over as soon as we spoke to Nicky. Then Ross and Lou arrived followed by Putin. Travel around the area was a nightmare, with trains not running (Newbury train station looked like a canal), flooded roads, abandoned cars etc. We then spent about 5 1/2 hours sweeping/bucketing out all the water (as drains were full and water coming out of them to start with!) What a nightmare! Lou and I went to get chips at about 9.30 (I think!) and they didn’t believe we wanted 25 portions of chips!!

Family – been up to see the family a few times – but my nephew still can’t say my name! He says lots of things (especially car and lorry – at every one you pass in the street!) I thought I could trick him into saying my name by saying words and him repeating them, but when I got to ‘Auntie Ray’, he just said ‘Yeah!” He is very funny though, and I watched in great amusement as he repeatedly ran over Paul in his car!

Apart from that, we've seen the new Harry Potter film (which I enjoyed), I've read the new Harry Potter book (which I now need to read again! It was great!), we've been researching new kitchens and trying to tame our wild garden (Oh the joys of owning a house!)

Race for Life

The Race for Life is now over! Despite the rubbish weather on Sunday we completed the RfL...and didn't need to swim! We walked the race in an hour, which wasn't bad. We are going to run it next time though...Noo with get Lou and I training I am sure! Thanks to all my sponsors!

Check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplugs/ for more RfL piccys.

It has been a busy week. Wednesday was fun at school, with the firebell going off twice in 10 minutes, being outside for ages and having no electricity till hometime! We had a visit from a 'popstar' today. She is a cousin of a child in schol and she used to go to our school too. The band is called XYP and are from Holland. They are very Steps/S club 7/Liberty X and are very big in Holland with a number one single under their belt. The kids loved seeing a real live 'famous person'...most of them saying they wanted to be popstars too!

Lou and I went to Body Attack again today...it seemed harder to me though! Oh dear!!

I need a holiday!

Well it has been a while...

I will attempt a mammouth update...in no particular order (mainly as I can't remember the order!)...and I may miss vital things out due to lack of memory! Mmm what happened first...

Met up with Caro and Andy - we went round there place in Reading after her birthday. Just out for pizza and a pub - very chilled. It was gorgeous weather (not like now!) so we sat outside in their garden (with only 1 shed now and grass!!) drinking tea and being visited by the dog who lives in the hosue out the back of theirs and who sneaks though the fence on a regular basis!! We also had cooked breakie outside the next morning!!
Started going to Body Attack - Lou and I decided to try and get fit...by going to Body Attack. We've been going for about a monthish. The first time I thought I was going to have a heart attack!! I was as red as a beetroot!! After the 1st week, seeing as though I didn't keel over, we went back and it was easier...except my calf muscles hate it!!! After speaking to the instructor I am going to have to extra stretch them beforehand (until they get used to it!!)
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes - Saw this with CP and the Poes. Very funny film, especially the boardroom where they have to climb over the table to get the chairs and the noise the tomatoes make. Also the tomato wearing earmuffs/headphones! Superb!
Half term - came and went far to quickly! I really do not know what I did that week! I know I had 2 migraine days, had a haircut, went to the dentist and visited my parents, Paul, Sarah and Joshua. That doesn't add up to 9 days so who knows!?!?
IOW festival - The drive down was a bit nerveracking...leaving school at 3.20 to get a 5pm ferry in Southampton! We made it with time to spare!! Amazing! We got to the Island, finally got parked and walked to Carl's folks place, ate food and walked to Seaclose Park, only to be met with the worlds longest queue. In all fairness it only took 35mins to get in (For some it took 2 hours!) but it meant I missed The Feeling - bummer. We did hear some Groove Armada (which in all honesty could have been a CD!) and saw Snow Patrol who were really good. They made the hastle and queueing worthwhile! On Saturday we saw Amy Winehouse (good but couldn't understand a word she said when not singing!), Wolfmother (very loud!), the Red Arrows (very cool and unexpected!), Ash (well we heard some of them while eating!), Kasabian and Muse (who I thought were great. They played a few songs that were a bit obsure for a fest, but they played the classics too). A day of good music, cider drinking, good company and sunshine... Sunday we saw James Morrison (good chill-out music), Paolo Nutini (ditto), Fratellis (time to bounce around!), and Keane (who were amazing!!) We did see a bit of the Rolling Stones, but weren't impressed (not recognising anything!) and we had to go catch a ferry!!
Ofsted - 'Nough said!!!!
Reports - That dreaded time of year. Luckily the weather has been rubbish, so I have not wanted to be out and about in the sunshine. I finished writing them today, so I am chuffed and exhausted!
Rosspo's B'day - Went for a lovely meal at the Bunk Inn. Ross's pressie arrived the day they went on holiday! You'll get it on Friday Mr Po!!
Dentist - yep - finally went. It was okay, after my dread of the dentist who injected my nerve and caused me pain, this one is very nice and I had no pain! I had a filling yesterday which didn't hurt at all (until the anaestetic wore of later!! Then OUCH!!)
Babies - My friend Cilla had a baby girl last week - Caitlin Amy - and she looks gorgeous! Congrats Cilla and Paul!!

Dads 60th birthday - we had a great time. I decided we should have a BBQ. Mum and Dad invited lots of people. Then we found out the weather forecast and mum panicked!! Luckily the weather stayed dry, we had too much food, mum had too much wine and a good time was had by all!!


I think they are the highlights of the last month! This weekend is the Race for Life and I have sent nagging mails to people asking them to sponsor me!! Well it is for a good cause. I am quite looking forward to it actually. (I may change my mind nearer the time though!!)

Ciao folks!

What else will go wrong?

So, last time I mentioned the vacuum cleaner went wrong...and we exchanged it so all was hunky dory, but things always happen in threes...!
Our shower keeps blowing fuses. This morning was most annoying as I was halfway through showering at the time - hair all lathery etc, when suddenly it went cold and I had to dash about trying to find the hose for the taps (which doesn't actually fit properly), so I could actually rinse my hair, getting all stressy and waking up Carl in the process. Carl replaced the fuse (again!) but I believe an electrician is required...soon!
THEN...I get home from school and Carl tells me our oven has stopped working! The hobs, grill and top oven are OK, but our main oven, which we use a lot, doesn't even get warm! Not that we will replace it as we have a perfectly fine oven in the garage, just waiting until we install a new kitchen so we can have gas!! (as the gas is there, just not accessible at present!) How frustrating!!

On a brighter note, we had a good evening on Saturday with the Poes and Putins and I had a fun time at the school quiz on Friday (and watching Bagpuss in my youth helped me with a nature question! Kids TV of the past was obviously very educational!!)

It is off to the cinema tomorrow to watch Spiderman 3! SPIDEY!!!!!! Superb!

Bank Holiday Weekend.

The end of the bank holiday weekend...and I'm more tired than when I started!!
Friday I left school at 6.45 (yes...ridiculous I know!) and then decided a relaxing evening was in order, so watched Lady in the Water on DVD with Carl, which I enjoyed, with a nice bottle of red wine...
Saturday I took the boys to the train station as they were off to the Reading Beer Festival. I then went shopping (why on a Saturday when it is mayhem?!?! I did have an incident with a toddler trying to put stuff in my trolley...and then when his mum said no he clung on for dear life! Most amusing!) and then decided to try and sort my school work out a bit...which I did...while watching The Devil Wears Prada on DVD and scoffing popcorn! I then met the guys in town for a couple of drinks...
Sunday was spend DIY-ing. After returning our glorious, much raved about vacuum cleaner (it stopped working properly!) and getting a new one (which works fine!!) and doing a trip to Homebase, we set to work painting our bedroom. We have done it 2 colours, so we could only do the yellow today (2nd coat!) and then ordering pizza, drinking a bottle of Blackberry port type stuff (very yummy), watching 40 Year Old Virgin and falling asleep...
Today was spent painting the rest of the bedroom (blue!), doing school work and then 'unpreping' the bedroom (masses of used masking tape everywhere!), vacuuming and returning furniture so we could sleep in our own bed! (as spent the rest of the weekend in the spare room due to paint fumes and bed being covered in decorating rubbish) Now I am off for a snooze....

Times are a changing...

Since I last blogged much has happened. Actually, some stuff happened a fair while ago but I was unable to blog about it...(you'll read why in a minute!)

In mid-March we had a bit of a shock....Carl was made redundant...and was due to leave 2 weeks later! Over half the company he worked for were made redundant due to lack of funding, which was a bummer. Carl then started job hunting, spending vast quantities of time on the internet doing job research, putting his CV about and applying for jobs. In a way the timing was quite nice as this meant we had the Easter holidays off together! The good news is that Carl had an interview last week and was offered the job, which is a BIG relief and also meant we could inform certain people who would have gone into a mad panic if we'd have said before Carl got another job ( - yes I am talking about you Barb!) So, in way, the redundancy was a blessing in disguise as the job he has landed is better than the one he had before, in many ways.
Also, I had some good news on the job front. My teaching post was a temporary 1 year position and I have now been made permanent! Hurrah!! It is great as I really like the school and my colleagues and that doesn't always happen.

Also, on a congratulatory note - well done to Mr and Mrs Po who are now proper, officially qualified, fully fledges accountants! Wahoo!

So what else is new?
We journeyed to the IOW last weekend to spread the job news in person. We had as good time catching up and having a lovely BBQ.
Now Carl has a job (but not physically started work yet - when he does I will miss him being a house-husband - I liked all my dinners being cooked for me!) he is keeping himself busy doing some DIY. He has designed the garden (as it needs some work!! And I want a veggie patch!) and the kitchen (for which we need some money really!!) and has replaced the missing and broken fence panels, moved the shed (and then found out it was rotten! yuck!) and is planning to paint the master bedroom too. We also puchased a new shed (which needs constructing) and a new vacuum cleaner! Our old hoover (no offence mum!) was rubbish. It pushed stuff around rather than sucked it up!! We now have a new cyclonic Vax one which is the bees knees! Our carpets look like new (and we realised how manky they had got!) and it is so nice for the hoover to actually remove dirt and hair rather than squich it further into the carpet!

So, good news all round really....

Bunglehouse, babysitting & baby deer!

Yesterday Carl and I drove 'home' to see my family. We were amazed at what the bunglehouse looks like now!! It has a wet room (shower facility my dad can use), a ramp to the front door, the central heating is nearly complete and they've done a lot of the fencing (with my brother's help!) The garden still needs turfing, but it is really beginning to look like their place now. After lunch we wandered down to Paul and Sarah's to babysit while Sarah went to look at a flat with Liz. Joshua has grown...more and has a cheesey grin he shows every now and then. We had fun playing with his toys and keeping him occupied - he has such a personality now!

It was then dinner time (fish and chips), chatting and watching soaps (luckily Anna called and I missed most of Eastenders!) before heading home.

We'd only just got out of Potton and past Sutton when we spotted a baby deer sitting in the other lane. Carl thought it was dead, but I didn't, so we went back. The deer was alive, but in shock, so unable to just leave it (it would have been run over as it was on a bend) Carl flashed the car lights and clapped at it in an attempt to make it move but it wouldn't so we wrapped it in Carl's coat and put him in the boot, drove back to my parents and called the RSPCA. After a cup of tea, a lovely lady called Kate arrived and peered into the boot. She said we'd done all the right things, but as it was now moving about we'd try and let it back into the wild. We discoved it was a Monkjack Deer, and was probably clipped by a car or run over (so the deer was under the car but not squashed) so it was in shock. We went back to where we found it and managed to release it back into the wild, where it pranced off. Sadly the photo was a bit rubbish, but I din't want to scare it more by using the flash! We decided to name the deer Deirdre!!

I have to say, we drove home feeling all good about the whole thing!