Recipe for a lovely evening

For the first time I turned on the air conditioning in my car as I made my way in the sunshine. I was as usual later leaving home than I had planned, driving along the familiar motorway then turning north on the A road that I have driven many times before but this time watching out for the side road that I had never taken before. The winding country lane I found myself going up and down hill, I noticed the Ancient Farm off to my right. I had always wondered where that was although I had believed it to be a mile or two further north on the west side of the A road. Well now I know exactly where it is, perhaps I will visit it one day.

Cautiously racing on up and down turning left and right as the lane meandered between farms. I soon found my destination, parking in the one obvious space left, I checked the time…..only a couple of minutes late……..not bad seeing how I had left it so late to leave. Scanning the tables set out in the garden I could see them through my rear view mirror.

As I walked across the car park they both looked around, I waved to indicate that it was me. They both stood up to greet me, I had remembered as I was driving that he no longer sports the facial hair he has worn for most of his adult life. One of the first things I noticed was that like me, she was wearing red and black. We sat talking about our children and the problems of bringing up our teenagers while he went inside to buy my glass of cider. Where I don’t feel the cold so much these days my companion was feeling cold especially when the sun was hidden by the building cloud. Such a shame as until now it had been a lovely sunny warm day.

Conversation with both my companions was easy and relaxed. So much to talk about, so little time. We made a move inside to get out of the chilly breeze, another round of drinks more chat about the differences between life here compared to where my companions live. We talked about blogging, of course we did after all it was blogging which had brought us together. Time was passing hunger pangs were making themselves known so we decided to have a meal, although there were some interesting dishes on offer none of us were in the mood for these, I plumped for a jacket potato with fresh beef chilli topped with cheese. Both my companions plumped for hoisin duck wraps but ended up with baguettes.

Eating did prompt us to discuss the diet plan we had been on last year and agreed that while we have continued to try keeping to the diet plan in the year since we had started we had slipped in our resolve but do try to avoid bread where possible. My female companion told me about her experiences of trying to cook dishes from her native country whilst here and how difficult it is using the ingredients available.

I did enjoy our time together but all too soon it was time to part company as my new friends had another hour to drive before reaching their destination for the night. Driving home I was enjoying the space on the roads with such little traffic, very different to my normal drive home among the rush hour traffic. As I was passing the city a car came speeding past me, its occupants waving, together we raced up the hill and down the otherside until I reached my junction and waved goodbye for the final time.

I wonder if any of you can work out who my companions were. Trixie is banned from answering.

blowing away the cobwebs

Darling, for once it is a warm sunny sunday afternoon and I am looking out to sea from the place where we shared our first kisses. I miss you so much with all my body and soul. xxxxxxxxxxx

I was sitting on top of my favourite hill with the city spread out below me surrounded with blue sea under an almost cloudless blue sky. I didn't stop long, just long enough to write and send my text to Romeo. Before reaching this spot I had spent 45 mins driving at speed (averaging 80 - 90mph along the coast road to Chichester and back again, windows down, wind in my hair, music up loud, singing my heart out. Is there a better way to spend a quiet sunday afternoon, when my lover is away.

I had a headache all day saturday, and no that was not the countless rum and cokes I drank on an empty stomach on friday night. This was a tension headache, partially down to the ever present money worries. Did I mention that I had written to the child tax Credit agency to put their records straight. Last year they thought I was entitled to tax credit for DC until he turned 20 in feb but I was not claiming for OJ who is doing a 2 year A'level course at college!!

So now they have amended their records. In July they had increased my money by £60 per week now they have halved it, So I am back where I was before July, scratching around for every penny, but one of my debts has only £8.77 left to pay in October and another ends in November and another in December so progress is being made although it is slow going. At least the petrol prices are going down I paid £1.06 today at Asda.

Added to this is the worry about what to do about our shower. I mentioned a while ago that our shower was not working as it should and someone cae out to look at it. I thought I was being fobbed off when he said it was just a case of cleaning the nodules. I am stil not convinced as there was no change in water flow through the nodules but I did buy a new head and it did make a difference. However, on friday morning I left the shower running while I made my cereal, when I went back upstairs I thought someone had turned it off but it was still on, only no water was coming from it. There was not much I could do about it at that time. So a quick strip wash and off to work, feeling dirty and yukky all day until I managed to grab a quick bath before I dashed out again for the marriage blessing.

Now my problem is that although I could live with having a bath every morning (short term) it is going to be a problem with 5 of us trying to get ready every morning. So I need to get the agency to come out and fix the shower which means being here when they decide to come out!!!! Why can't anything ever be easy.

I am also fed up because I have been trying to lose weight again but I seem to be gaining or at least my clothes are getting tighter. I feel like a bloated whale at the moment, which doesn't help my confidence. I really want to look good when Romeo returns but I feel as though I have become the michelin.

So that is why I have been suffering with headaches plus the tension at work which will hopefully improve soon. NL was poorly on friday and I begged Boss Lady to send him home, but she wouldn't because she didn't think he deserved to go home. But by 10.30 am we had all had enough and off he went, leaving me on my own and it was lovely. Oh and I was a bit naughty too, I asked one of my favourite customers if he had an email address (meaning a work one) but we ended up exchanging personal email addresses. (there has been an email exchange over the weekend).

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed with no headache but it did gradually return, so when I set off to go shopping I decided to have a run down the motorway and back to blow away the cobwebs as it were, had I got more time I would have just kept on going but I needed to be in Asda by 3ish. Who knows how far I would have gone without the time restraint, Bognor ? Littlehampton? Worthing? or maybe even as far as Brighton. One thought did occur to me as I was racing towards Chichester, it is now a year since my last late night visit to Bognor.

back to the grindstone now