Happy Birthday to Dad

It is my Dads birthday tomorrow, he wont be reading this but I’ll say it anyway, “Happy Birthday Dad!”

We couldnt make it to his birthday lunch with the rest of the family on Sunday, so I suggested taking him out for lunch on Saturday. We picked them up and headed to the Wetherby Whaler in Wakefield. Here’s Mum and Dad as we chatted while waiting for our food.

Hurrah, my “Giant” Haddock arrived. I can confirm that it was wonderfully cooked, the chips were like Gran used to fry and the mushy peas perfectly mushed 🙂

On the way home we stopped off at New Miller Dam and enjoyed a treat from the ice cream van. The boy in the ice cream van had 2 hearing aids, he was very good though.

A couple handing out religious postcards were quickly rebuffed by me. Unfortunately, Mum opened things up again, “is it religious? I’ll take one, I am a confirmed Christian.” I then had to spend the next 5 minutes explaining how this version of religion is just a little bit kooky.

We then went for a walk in the woods along the waters edge. An Andrex puppy being walked by a couple caused quite a stir, I put my foot down, no dogs allowed in my house!

We made it back to the car with seconds to spare on the parking meter and completed the journey back to Mexborough, dropping off the parents, finally driving back to Sheffield and liberating a couple of Lagers from the fridge.

A succesful day and mission accomplished 🙂

The End.

Pumping Petrol

The price of petrol is a pretty hot topic at the moment, fuel prices in general seem to be spiraling out of control. This isn’t worrying me to much, having just down-sized our car from a 2 ton, 2 litre, gas guzzling monster to a small but perfectly formed 1.4 litre Astra.

What does bother me at the pumps, is waste. That is to say, wasted time. Why do people still persist in filling their tank upto the exact pound that they want to spend? how much of their time is wasted each year by people squeezing that trigger bit by bit as it approaches the desired figure.

Now, I’m not saying I never did this. Oh no, of course I did, but there used to be a reason it. Remember when we all carried cash? If I had a tenner in my pocket to fill up the tank, then it wouldn’t do to go over even by a penny. Nowadays, we all carry plastic right? So who cares what the total comes to?

Well, its seems people still do. You can see them at the pumps, cursing when they mis-judge and hit £30.02. They can’t possibly just leave it there, so they start trying to squeeze a bit more in, edging up to £31.00. You can see them struggling against the auto cut-off thing, desperate to end up on a round number, as if the cashier is going to laugh at them for being so spazzy when they go in to pay.

Actually, the cashiers do seem a bit surprised when they read out the amount I need to pay for my fuel, “£46.32?”

I’m not entirley free of fuel pump OCD of course, I collect loyalty points which give me a point per litre bought. So after the auto cut-out thing on the pump kicks in, I check if I’m just under or over a round litre. If I’m just under, I squeeze a bit more in to get another Nectar point 🙂

Lazy Mondays

NaBloPoMo July 08 Day 22

Mondays are a bit rubbish, aren’t they? Getting up and going back to work after the weekend is a real effort. As soon as I get to work I just want to come home already. Once home I just want to chill out, relax and get over the shock of the whole Monday thing.

So it’s no surprise that I want want to make as little effort as possible with Monday meals, I just want to eat. Last night, dinner was planned to be leftover Sunday dinner. During the day and getting stonger as 6pm approached, was the feeling that leftovers just wouldn’t do. I wanted quick easy comfort food. I wandered over to Pauls desk and made him an offer he could’nt refuse. The offer was KFC, something he can’t refuse 🙂

So here you have it, a KFC indoor picnic.

I dropped Paul at home, he warmed plates and mixed up some instant gravy, making it extra thick so it sticks to the chips. KFC gravy is tasty but just too runny. I drove around the corner to the drive through and was back shortly with the food.

There are a few pieces of chicken leftover, I’ll take them to work today for my lunch 🙂

Gout bout.

Last Tuesday our new car was delivered and I drove it around a bit in evening. When I went to Asda, I noticed I was feeling a bit of tightness in my ankle

I woke up Wednesday and my ankle was starting to feel quite stiff. The day went on and I realised it was swelling just like it did when we returned from Cyprus. I went to bed and by that time was in some pain.

On Thursday I was tired all day, I hadnt slept well due to the pain, and I really had to hobble around all day. Paul was doing my head in, wanting me to see the Doctor. I narrowly escaped this because I was able to say that the pain was easing off by the evening.

On Friday, it was deffo better, I woke up with no pain, still stiff but it didnt wake me in the night. Sunday came around and it was pretty much ok again.

As I write, on Monday evening, a week after it started again, I’m happy to report I’m ok again.

I’m now thinking that I may have been mis-diagnosed last time, given the heavy weekend that preceded this episode, I’m wondering if it was actually a bit of gout? After all, last time it started was on the final day of an all inclusive holiday. Maybe the insect bite was a red herring?

Of course, I’m not going for tests to confirm it, if I did then it would be real, if I just manage it myself I dont have to worry about it.

All of this really just helps me to remember that I’m starting to feel old!

Calling all Drag Queens……

 I have your Christmas present right here 🙂

With VAT you’ll get change from £1250 (just!)

Thursday Tram Ride

Thursday was one long adventure, really it was, let me tell you a little about it. First of all, we were up really early, instead of 08:00, it was like 06:30! I know! It was like totally dark outside!

This was because we had to take the car in to the Dealer for some work doing. Saab wrote to us back in March, advising of a safety recall and asking us arrange for the work doing asap. Well to my shame I promptly forgot about it and then in August they sent a reminder. Apparently, under extreme conditions our fuel pump may drop off due to a faulty retaining tab. We dropped the car off and then headed towards town looking for a Taxi. Would you believe that we didn’t see a single black cab at all? Except, of course, the one parked 10 yards from the Tram stop!

So we decided on using the Tram, there is a stop a minutes walk from work and it would save a few quid 🙂 Paul got a single ticket for £2.20 and I bought an all-day ticket for £2.70. The journey was made all the more special by the scrote that sat on the seat facing us. He ate, coughed and belched his was through a triple-mega-cheese-mcburger thing with sides of hash-brown. I was amazed by his ability to keep his mouth open, not only while chewing, but while drinking too. That really must have taken some pretty special effort!

Thankfully we got to work without any further upset and it was just a case of waiting for the phone to go and pick up the car.

The call came at 4 and I set off on the reverse journey, armed with the return ticket I had been clever enough to purchase earlier. I remember thinking as I waited for the Tram “At least I wont have to watch anyone eat breakfast this time.”

I got a seat on the Tram and at the next stop a big fat guy sat next to me. Facing me was an old gent and facing my neighbour was a rather large young lady. At the next stop the old gent opposite me got off and would you believe, the guy next to my moved across into his seat. Now I found this very odd, if not a little disturbing. I was even more amazed to see that he was now jigging his leg up and down causing his large thigh to rub against the thigh of his neighbour. Her eyes grew wide as she realised what he was doing and so did mine as I saw that he was clearly enjoying himself. As soon as she realised what he was doing she jumped up and walked away down the tram.  It was surreal really, even now I wonder if its really what I saw!

Eventually I made it back to the car and was so pleased to see it! they had even washed it! That made me happy 🙂

So that was my little adventure on public transport this week, an experience I’ll not be in a rush to repeat. Unless you count the flight to Malaga on Sunday morning 🙂 

Recipe for a Busy Saturday

Wash the dishes
Load laundry in washing machine
Wash car
Hang washing out to dry
Load laundry in washing machine
Polish* car
Hang washing out to dry
Clean the exterior of the conservatory (3 hours!!)
Vacuum the car interior
Water the plants
Scrub the bath

You’ll know youve done it right when you fall asleep while taking a bath!

* I believe this to be the only word in English that can change meaning when capitalised!

Just had a right good servicing

Oo-eerr missus!

Of course, I’m talking about the car 😉

It was a couple of months overdue for the service because I wanted a better deal than that offered by the main dealers here in Sheffield. Talk about daylight robbery, £350 for a service, thats one price of owning a Saab I suppose. Actually, we had a letter from Saab the other day advising of a recall due to some fuel pump retaining lug problem. I dont mind the main dealer doing this though since its free!

So, I found a nice independent Saab garage, recommended by people on the Sheffield forums and took it there. a much more reasonable £170, thank you. I asked him to have a look at the roof too, remember how I “broke” it a couple of weeks ago?

When I went to pick it up, although he had found the fault on the roof, he hadnt had time to fix it after doing the service. I’m taking it back on Thursday and the good news is that its a pin in the linkage that has sheared. Sort of like a mechanical fuse from how he explained it, and it shouldnt cost much more than an hours labour to repair.

Hurrah! We really need a fully functioning roof now that the weather is turning nicer.

And once its fixed I promise I wont try to use the car as a van again.

Ever!

Rested, relaxed and back to work, Hrmph!

We got back from Lanzarote yesterday afternoon, feeling all relaxed, the only downside is that we are both working today*.

This morning, waking up at 06:20 was a bit of a wrench, though not as much as it was for Paul. When we are away, my body clock wakes me at roughly the same time as home. So I get up and mooch around, go for breakfast, usually sitting at the breakfast table with a book and several cuppa’s**. Then at a decent time for Paul, around 10:00, I go back to the room with a Croissant and a large chocolat au lait or similar. He loves his bed that boy does.

Anyway, we stayed in Costa Teguise at the Ficus Apartmentos on an All-Inclusive basis***. No grumbles about the hotel at all, food**** was varied and there was always something to eat. The Weather was varied, some cloudy days but overall it was mostly sunny, and believe me on those cloudy days you really feel how hot it is, when the Sun emerges it feels like someone has turned up the gas!

The entertainment was ok, the “animation” team were from the UK so there was none of those incomprehensible games that pass for entertainment in Hotels in mainland Spain 🙂 Sadly, I was unable to win one of the prized “Superstar” T-Shirts, despite learning the oath I needed to make at the winners ceremony each evening. Since I learnt it I’m going to say anyway, now repeat after me…..

“I do solemnly swear, I will wear, my Superstar T-shirt around the pool, and in doing so I will look kewl!”
“The entertainment at the Ficus rawks!, and on the way home I will tick the excellent box!!”

When we arrived we were all like, lets go and see this and that, do trips and stuff. Then, as the first week went on, this enthusiasm waned a little and we were content to just lie around relaxing. At the start of the second week we tried to hire a car, yes that right “we tried” unsuccesfully, to hire a small car for a couple of days. I’ve never known anything like it, all the car hire offices (and there were loads) were staffed by people employed only for the purpose of explaining “we have no cars today, come tomorrow.” What kind of car hire industry is that? One without cars, or the ability to book ahead, because they dont know if they will have any cars tomorrow or the next day. After 3 days we gave up.

Lets see, what else? Oh yeah, the flight home had the most kids on it that I’ve ever seen. An Easter thing I suppose. I ended up sitting next to 2 under-10’s, whose Parents and 3 year old sister were seated in front. The elder kids were no trouble, the little one kept coming around and trying to squeeze through to her sster in the window-seat. she was a cutie though so I put up with her gracefully, even when she appeared with a crayon and paper and asked me to draw something for her! Paul was fuming at this point as he pointed out that I was babysitting the kids and the Parents were having a whale of a time. When I had a look and confirmed that they had already downed a whole bottle of Champagne, I stopped playing. Really, the nerve, I bet they couldnt believe their luck!

We were back home by about 19:00, so plenty of time to catch up on Corrie, Betty Suarez and those Housewives that we all love so much. Interestingly, it was more about the husbands of Wisteria Lane, which was a nice change.

To round off our holiday mood, we ordered in, Chinese food, and stuffed our faces, yum yum!

I’ve got some nice photos, I’ll post some to Flickr soon and link them from here.

Promise.

* Only thinking of the Bank Holiday overtime is keeping me going!

** I’m back on the Coffee btw, but I’m drinking de-caf now.

*** I sound like one of those travel-TV-holiday-shop presenters off SKY

**** Though I am grumbling about the 8lbs of excess belly I checked in for the return flight.

One of those days.

Ever have one of those days?

I had one yesterday, in review, it was like this.

Went to garage to fill up with fuel. While checking tyre pressures at the free air thingy, a sleety snow storm starts and freezes me to the bone.

Went to visit Mother and took big bunch of Flowers, box of Thorntons and a Mothers Day card. After 1/2 an hour with Mum, I had to get out, she drives me crazy sometimes. Long story, but recently things are getting worse, now she has discovered the Church and I’m afraid its going to be all down hill from here.

Went to visit Sister and Nephews, highlight of day, little Joe is a smasher and growing up so fast.

Sister gave me a large compost bin that she didnt need and I decided to put it in back of car to take it home. Took roof down and sat the bin on the back seats. Put roof back up without checking clearances properly. One crunch later and I’ve damaged the roof or the tonneau cover or something, whatever it is, you have to “help” the roof going up and down.

Paul worked all day on overtime, bit of extra cash towards holidays, probably will cost more to fix the car than he earned 😦

Wish I hadnt got out of bed!