Lazy Days & Sundays

We have had a pleasant long weekend with no major traumas or disasters. Vanessa came round for a cup of tea on Friday and brought me a rather large courgette which she had grown in her garden. Phil went on a major shopping trip for all kinds of food and drink supplies and spent the whole of Friday afternoon marinading his meat and preparing a mint chutney and a raita in readiness for our Indian feast supper on Saturday evening. We were going to get Dolly to cook for us but she hasn’t been well lately and has had to give up her cooking. So Phil decided rather than just order a takeaway he would have a go himself.

On Saturday we went shopping for some last minute bits, I did the housework and some washing and ironing and Phil got cooking his Chicken Tikka Masala, ginger lamb chops, Aloo Gobi and a huge bowl of pilau rice in readiness for when Jill and Tony arrived. Phil huffed and puffed and got very hot in the kitchen whilst he was preparing his dishes and so after he’d finished we got our kit and went to David Lloyd. Phil was too worn out for a workout so we had a lazy session in the Jacuzzi and the steam room. Naughty really and we must get back in the swing of doing a proper work out. All clean we drove home, had a cup of tea and waited for Jill & Tony to arrive.

We did think about walking down the canal along to The Giffard but it lashed down with rain late Saturday afternoon and we were glad we decided to eat in at home. Jill & Tony turned up a little after 4pm and one of the first things we did was hand them back the keys to the villa. It was lovely to regale our tales from our holiday in Kalkan and of course they were happy to listen because Jill and Tony haven’t been out to Turkey since December but are booked to fly out to their villa on the 25th September. They can’t wait and I don’t blame them.

Phil did a good job with cooking our Indian feast and I think everyone enjoyed it. The Aloo Gobi was a little on the dry side because he’d left it too long in the oven, trying to keep it hot, but other than that, it was all very tasty. Too much wine, rich food and a late night bedtime and I didn’t feel too hot the next day. Jill & Tony were as bright as buttons but both Phil and I were suffering from over indulgence. Phil cooked a fry up and after a couple of cups of tea, we said goodbye to Jill & Tony and waved them off. They are dog sitting so had to get back to relieve their daughter from dog duties and I think also they were booked to go to lunch with Jill’s mum and her friend. BTW Jill, if you’re reading this blog today, hope you got back safely and thanks for all the beer and the wine that you brought us!!!

I am ashamed to say that after putting on the dishwasher, we slunk back to bed with another cup of tea and our books. I was going to write that we haven’t done this in ages but we did this on our last day in Kalkan! Twice in two weeks is a lot but we really don’t make a habit of lazing in bed until lunchtime; Phil thinks it’s good if I can stay asleep until 7 o’clock! Mind you, what do you expect if you fall asleep before it gets dark???

Anyway, needless to say, that yesterday was a day lost at sea. We got up way past midday, cleaned the kitchen and hovered upstairs and down and then went to David Lloyd. The idea was to blow the cobwebs away with a swim and a cold shower but again, like Saturday, we ended up just going for a Jacuzzi and a steam. We got the papers on the way home, read these and then watched a film and then switched over to watch Lewis. And that was the weekend gone.

It’s been a slow start to the day and we really do need to up the anti. Phil is in bed as I type this, reading the ‘Phil & Claire’s Adventures in India’ book which Jimmy did for us when we got back from our big trip. Phil got this out to show Jill and Tony and has ended up reading the whole book from start to finish. He was meant to be up early this morning and out at the OU hunting for snails to get enough information to do his next TMA which, I think, is due in next week. When he gets back (when he finally gets out of bed that is) we need to dismantle the spare bed and the top half of the leather sofa and this afternoon, somehow we need to get these round to the flat. I’ve asked Harriet if Shane will help us get the sofa up the stairs at the OB flat and she has said that it’s not a problem. I am relieved because my back is still not 100% and the last time we got this sofa down the stairs, it nearly killed me.

Just want to end by saying ‘welcome home’ to Jim, Shirley and Dan. They’ve should have just got back home after flying out to Singapore where they were meeting up with Tom for a holiday. Jim sent Phil an email and he said that the hotel and food were good and they were all having a great time. Jim also asked about Joan who’d had a really bad fall on Stony Stratford High Street whilst we were on holiday. Jimmy had put a comment on the blog about this but somehow Phil missed it. Vanessa told me about Joan’s accident on Friday and said they been to visit and she was still in a very fragile way. Poor Joan, it sounds like she is going through the mill with a very painful fracture to her arm. We hope you’re feeling better very soon.

Well I can hear the boy thumping down the stairs, so I shall get this blog posted, add some photographs and get started with the new week.