Fresh air

1. weeding in the garden - still quite messy but much better than last year.
2. at Watchtree Nature Reserve on the old airfield at Great Orton. We met our friends there and had a good walk around the track.
3. in the car - the sun was shining so we drove with the top down. It's refreshing to feel the wind as we drive, although I was glad when I worked put how to stop my hair blowing everywhere.

It's all coming together

The jigsaw's piecing together for this week's big meeting. The meals are booked, the taxis are planned, and everyone's on their way here. Still don't have all the presentations ready though...

I've been given a piece of Herman the German friendship cake. I've not killed him yet (it's only been a day) but he's quite lumpy after I added the first batch of flour, sugar & milk. I'm guessing he'll bubble his way through ok though.

Where has the week gone?

Well, I don't seem to have found time to write anything this week, so here's a quick summary of what's been happening.  Probably not too interesting except to me!

Easter Sunday:
- we had friends round for lunch, with their little girl
- I made chicken stew in the slow cooker, and an apple/pear crumble when we got home from church.  The crumble was yummy (if I do say so myself!) with some sultanas thrown in and a little cinnamon too.
- we (I) watched a couple of films after they'd gone - "Stranger than Fiction" on DVD, which reminded me a little of the Bookworld concept but from a very different angle, and "Strictly Ballroom" on BBC4.  I enjoyed them both
- a relaxing afternoon and evening - quite a treat.

Monday:
- our annual trip out with A's family.  This time we went to Tullie House in Carlisle, and were joined by my dad for some of the time.
- It's been years since he's been to stay, so it was good to catch up and have a bit more time than we usually manage.

Tuesday:
- back to work... then round to Penny's for the evening. I arrived to find Andrew already there and that the pair of them had got our meal well under control.  What good timing ;o)

Wednesday:
- out in the evening for dinner with customers
- we went to Junipers, which is somewhere I hadn't been before but have wanted to.  I'd happily go back if I get the chance.
- a late finish to the day!

Thursday:
- I was exhausted by the evening... too many late nights, a busy day and the beginnings of a cold... so I parked myself on the sofa & didn't do too much at all.  The Clapotis is coming on well though.

Friday:
- Next week's TS Meeting is pretty much coming together now.  Just the taxis to book, menu choices to confirm, and tour bill to pay.  Oh, and I suppose I should get everyone's presentations saved in the right place too... hopefully they're all written (finger's crossed!)
- We ended the week with a picnic tea in the summer house - I love being able to sit (almost) outside in the (almost) warm evenings.  What a treat.

Saturday:
- Another trip to Carlisle, and we helped A's mum buy a netbook and printer to replace her obsolete word processor.  It's hard to know what the best choice is but hopefully we've chosen something that'll do what she needs.
- We were pleased to find it already has a basic word processor pre-installed, and glad we hadn't decided to go for the Microsoft Office deal with the netbook.  The simple package is plenty.

Sunday:
- We ended the day with a walk around Whitehaven harbour.  The sun was still shining, although I was glad of my long boots and a jacket.
- A couple of fishing boats came in as we were at the harbour gates, so we watched them showing off their catches to each other as they waited in the lock.
- The seagulls were also very interested, and quickly gobbled up the pieces thrown out for them from one of the boats.

 

The great outdoors

We went for a walk around Buttermere with housegroup today. The weather was overcast but dry, and it felt so good to be out in the Lakes again. I didn't miss being there until we were driving over Mockerkin, when I realised again how blessed we are to live here.

Back home the painting's going well, although a 4th coat's needed after all. And I did a bit more concrete scouring in the yard. I lifted some decking tiles we've been using to keep the plant pots off the ground and uncovered quite a few worms. When I looked later, a blackbird was doing his best to fit them all in his beak at once!

I've seen more birds this spring than last year: so far there are plenty of the usual house sparrows, yesterday there were 3 wood pigeons feeding on top of the wall, and there are at least 2 blackbirds. I hope we get some of the bluetits back as well, and I'm still keeping an eye open for the woodpecker.

Domestic improvements

We've made some more progress today: 
- while I scrubbed the back yard and cut back the overgrown plants, A started painting the bathroom.  It was trying to rain while I was outside but it still felt good to spend some time outdoors.
- I added a 2nd coat of paint in the bathroom while he made tea this evening; the 3rd coat will go on tomorrow and the previous blue shade will be only a memory.
- I've finished A's first knitted slipper, which meant ripping back a few rows to get the size closer to his foot.  It's a bit wide at the toes but good enough.  Now to make its pair... 

Ready for the Easter weekend

I enjoyed walking around the office handing out the chocolate nests and wishing everyone a Happy Easter.  It's a small way to recognise the reason for the long weekend, and I love that something so simple brings a smile to all our faces.

I'm very glad that it's now the weekend.  It's felt like a long week, with more ups and downs than usual, so I'm ready for a couple of days off.  And we've got a list of things to do - plenty of time with friends and family, and hopefully some time to get our house sorted out a bit more.

We ate in the summer house again this evening; I dressed warmly and enjoyed relaxing (almost) outside as the sun went down.

A surprise phone call this evening means we have an extra visitor at the end of the weekend.  It'll be good to catch up with him.

Safe travel & Easter celebrations

1. Andrew was away yesterday & overnight for work, and the weather took a turn for the worse during the day. I was relieved to get an email mid-afternoon to let me know he'd got back safely, and that his trip had gone well.

2. For the third year now I plan to take some Easter nests to work tomorrow. I love that something so simple can bring smiles to people's faces, and it's a simple way celebrate Easter at work.

3. I forgot I was going to make the nests until quite late in the evening but came through to the kitchen to find Andrew had started them for me.

Monday knits

I managed to find half an hour on Saturday to pop into Whitehaven to buy some yarn for the Clapotis wrap. I cast on yesterday and it's growing nicely... I think I'm almost halfway through the increase section, although I might keep going to make it wider. I'll see how it looks when I'm further into the section.

I've also restarted Andrew's slippers. The first one was too narrow, so I've added 6 stitches to the width and I've gone up a needle size. So far so good.

Exhausted...

...after a weekend of getting stuff done.

- We catered for about 24 people (including 6 kids) at Sunday's newcomers' lunch. Probably double what we've done before, and I found it quite stressful to plan, but it all went well on the day. Carrot & red pepper soup, bread, cheese, meats & salad, followed by little Easter nests. I bought far too much, so we'll be eating ham salad sandwiches for the rest of the week.
- We looked at a house in Cockermouth on Friday, which needs far more work than we can do. A shame, because it's got loads of potential, but we've got to be realistic.
- We then had an estate agent round on Saturday to have a look at our house. So that meant lots of tidying beforehand! We may end up deciding we're better staying where we are, but it'll be interesting to see what potential there is...
- Oh, and I played in the band and Andrew was in charge of the cafe at church. Busy morning!