Half Term Happenings

Hi all,

If I get to the end of this update without throwing this laptop out of the window it will be a miracle. It has become so slow and frequently freezes for no reason. I have tried every update and every scan and every clean up that I can think of and it's still the same. I think that I just have too much on here and this machine, although only being 5 years old, needs replacing.
It's so frustrating when I get half way through a sentence or paragraph and I'm typing away quite happily and then ...nothing. No response from any button. Ggrrr. I can't afford another laptop and I do have my iPad mini but it's not really how I like to do this. I know I should be grateful to have so much but it's still infuriating, I have to be honest.
The other bit of technology that is causing me grief at the moment is my iPhone which I use all the time for everything from taking photos to checking the internet and, yes...even for making the odd phone call! The battery life seems to have suddenly halved and the phone just turns itself off when it gets down to 20% of battery life remaining. I could live with that but, yesterday while at my father in law's flat and having a good tidy up of everything in his absence, I leant over the the toilet and mu phone fell into the pan. I'll spare you any other details but my phone has not worked since. It is currently in a box of dried rice which is a tactic that I have used before with some success but I fear that this time it's not going to help.

All of that aside, it's been a busy old week. My shed, which I was insulating with bubble wrap last week, has a leaking roof! I have been to the local hardware store and got some emergency roof sealant and we shall see if that does the job. Having had a good look at the roof I think the felt that is on there has not been put on properly. I have had a go at sealing it this morning but I'm a bit too scared to climb onto the roof without hubby being here just in case I fall through it or something!! Hopefully, what I have done thus far will do the trick. Time will tell.

Regular readers will know that I work at a school and so I have had this last week off. I needed that week I can tell you. As usual, my days got filled up pretty quickly. On Tuesday it was back up to Addenbrookes for my daughter to have her eyes checked post surgery. All is well and she can now go and get some new glasses and consider what steps to take regarding learning to drive.That fact alone is amazing....considering driving! When you are told from day one that your daughter will not be able to drive and then, 30 years later, it's an option it really is incredible.
Wednesday was a wonderful day. Hubby and I went to London and saw a matinee production of 'Sunny Afternoon', a musical based on the lives and music of The Kinks. We both enjoyed it although my anxiety about being in an enclosed space was pretty high after tube rides and being in  the middle of a row in a packed theatre. By the end of the show we were all up and dancing and singing to 'Lola', one of my favourite songs. 'I met her in a club down in old Soho where they drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola....'.
We then took a walk along Piccadilly and had a lovely time window shopping at Fortnum and Masons. £1020 bottle of port anyone?! Next was a wander around a Cath Kidston store which I enjoyed. Hubby spotted some fab trainers there. Fortunately, there were none in my size! I don't need more trainers but I find funky trainers very hard to resist these days.
Finally, it was time for us to go to The Ritz where we had a 3 course meal waiting for us courtesy of our wonderful children who had given us a voucher for the meal as a 25th wedding anniversary gift last October.
We had champagne on arrival, we had wine chosen by the sommelier and were waited on by very attentive staff who catered for our every need. The food was spectacular from start to finish. I have photos but they are all on my phone and I can't access them to put any on here.
We were even presented with a little cake with 'happy anniversary' written in icing on it and 2 candles, one pink and one blue, as the waiter had heard me say that the meal was a late anniversary celebration. Hubby was horrified temporarily as he feared that the staff were going to start singing to us but he need not have worried. If it had been a birthday celebration it might have been different though!
On Thursday I had a visit from a good friend and we had tea, cakes and a good catch up and then I went and had a back massage which I had booked some time ago.
On Friday hubby and I went and picked up three of the grandchildren and brought them to our house as they hadn't visited the new house, It was lovely to have little people here. Harvey, our dopey dog, was a little overwhelmed by the excitement that children bring to a house but he soon got over it. We made a quick visit to the beach hut (two out of the three children ended up in the sea, soaked to the skin and fully clothed after 10 minutes so we had to come home again!) and then it was tea time and very soon time for bed. All three wanted to sleep over for the first time and so they settled into a double bed, topping and tailing, and they were asleep in minutes. They were really good, bless them.
I didn't sleep well and there were various wake ups throughout the night but it was all fairly uneventful.
Saturday saw bagels for breakfast and then a trip back to take the children home before going to have an attempt at tidying and cleaning Grandad's flat while he is in hospital where is currently bed blocking until we can find a suitable plave for him to go as we don't feel he is able to look after himself at the moment. The hospital say that he is medically fit to leave but we don't want to take any chances and would like him to go somewhere where he can be looked after, at least for a little while. We can then see if he gets his confidence back enough for him to go home again.

Apologies for the lack of photos...especially as I had some good ones to add a bit of brightness to the text. I'm just keeping everything crossed that my phone suddenly springs back to life but i fear the worst.

Have a great week everyone. I shall be returning to work tomorrow and hubby starts his new job in the morning as well and will be away for a few days. It'll be just like the old days in a way.

xxxxx