The boy makes his first loaf

I managed to capture Phil in the kitchen, taking his first loaf of bread out of his new oven. It looked okay, all bar a dent in the top and I could tell Phil was feeling very pleased with himself. He had to put it on a wire rack and wait it for it to cool down and no sooner had the temperature dropped he was straight there with the knife smothering a slice with butter and jam. I had a bite and it was tasty enough but Phil thought he could do better. He had to guess the amount of floor because we don’t have any scales in the house but he’s off to buy some scales today. It’s all very well this bread thing but we are meant to be on a high protein, low carb diet and bread is against the law. Never mind, I’m sure the novelty of bread making will die off by next week!

We don’t really have much to blog about really as we have had a fairly dull and unexciting week. I haven’t been feeling too well with some kind of bug and a bad back but thank goodness I feel very much better today. Harriet thought I may have swine flu but it wasn’t, just some kind of virus that I have cured with aspirin and white wine! Jim picked up Phil on Wednesday night and they went to The Barge in Woolstone to meet up with George and Alfie. Phil said that he was a ‘good boy’ and didn’t have anything to eat but I am sure he consumed enough calories with a fair few pints to make up for the food. Since we went to Suffolk the diet seems to have gone out the window. I am still trying because I watch everything I eat but Phil has gone totally the other way. Yesterday he had cheese pie, salad, a fishcake and a huge pile of chips from the chip shop. Admittedly he couldn’t eat it all, mind you his plate was loaded, but he had a bloody good go at it!
On Wednesday morning Phil went to view a 4 bed terraced house in Hodge Lee which was up for sale with Carters for £125k. We don’t know the estate very well but after a good drive round, despite it being local authority, we were actually impressed. It was obvious they most houses were now privately owned, most of the windows had been replaced and nearly all of the gardens that we could see were being maintained. Anyway to cut a long story short, I went back with Phil in the afternoon for a second viewing and liked what I saw. The house was a repossession, hence the low price and straight away we put in an offer of £110k as a cash buyer. We knew that this was low and we didn’t stand much of a chance but we were excited for a little while and our hopes were raised. However a call last night from the agent last confirmed that our offer had been rejected and also an offer of £115k from another perspective buyer had been rejected. So now it’s back to the drawing board. I’m going this morning to pick up a copy of the citizen because we don’t seem to get it delivered here at the NH house.

Yesterday Phil woke up with a hangover. For the first time in ages he made me a cup of tea in bed but I knew that it was going to be one of ‘those days’. After eggy soldiers for breakfast I managed to persuade Phil to come with me to the gym for a swim. Remarkably he agreed that this was a good idea and got his kit together. I couldn’t get him in the gym but we swam10 lengths of the pool, and had a Jacuzzi and a steam. This seemed to perk him up for a bit but then he had a massive lunch and all he wanted to do was lay on the sofa afterwards because he was so full up. As we were having a lazy day I suggested that we go to the cinema so we picked a film and walked to The Odeon. It was the first time that we have done a long walk from the NH so it was exciting to be going on new territory. It didn’t take long and we were soon at the city centre in no time. We had a drink in a bar at The Moon under the Water and then went to the Odeon for half past two to see ‘The Taking of Pelham 123’. Phil really wanted to see the new Harry Potter film which I didn’t fancy. The film we saw was all about a subway train in New York being hijacked by a gangster and taking the passengers as hostages. We enjoyed the film and especially liked that it starred John Travolta and also Tony Soprano as mayor. The sun was shining when we got out and we enjoyed a pleasant walk downhill back to home.

Not sure what the plans are for the weekend. Phil has to look at his stocks and shares before making the lunch, then no doubt this afternoon he will the scan the property pages. Not sure what I shall do; my back is better so I think I will give the house a good blitz and clean all of the windows inside. How dull are we?