Sunday 4th August
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| Walcott Sunrise |
Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny, I got up to go to the bathroom then went to the back window to enjoy the beauty of the morning and the sounds of the sea. Then I crept back to bed, I was tired, it had been a busy few days, and there is nothing better on a Sunday morning than listening to Radio 4 in bed. Sleeping Beauty was still in 'the land of nod', he'd stayed up late last night enjoying the freedom to do as he liked without worrying about an early start in the morning.
It was nice to have a lazy start to the morning, but we weren't going to waste the day - and we weren't going to miss the Archers! We drove back to Mundesley at midday, Sunday lunch at Jonet has become a bit of a holiday tradition with us, this week it was roast chicken. Robbie grudgingly agreed to have a few peas but he left all the cabbage and carrots for me - I love cabbage. We spent a couple of hours in Mundesley, then we came back and sat in the garden until about 8pm. It was a beautiful day.
I have a lot of writing to do while I'm here (I'm writing a book) but I want to have fun too so I've brought a book with me called ' From you to me - A journal of a lifetime' my older daughter bought it for me. It gives lots of questions and prompts to write about my life and hers. With a bit of luck it will help to get the 'grey cells' working so that I can get on with my book. I also have my question and answer journal with me (another gift from my daughter), some of those questions are really challenging. Anyway I made a start on the lifetime journal, it is harder than it looks, but I am enjoying the challenge.
I always look forward to spending weekends with Robbie. Weekdays are so hectic that we hardly see each other so weekends are very special and those rare Saturdays when we can just be lazy and take life at our own pace are extra special. Last Saturday we had been enjoying some 'us time' when Robbie said "Mrs J, there is nothing better than cuddling up an a Saturday morning and listening to Kate Adie on the radio". I told him that it may have been better to have left that little gem as an unspoken thought, but he didn't take the hint. He went on to tell me why Kirsty Wark was even better than Kate Adie, well I guess I should be grateful at least I always know what he is thinking!
A little later Robbie was contemplating his navel when he looked up and swore. I was startled and asked him what was wrong. He told e that his long held theory had been disproved then he held up a small quantity of red fluff fro his belly button. He said that he had believed that belly button fluff was always blue but this proved him wrong. I shrugged (wondering why Robbie has to waste so much tie on trivia) and said that it must depend on what colour clothes you wear. Later I noticed that he had made a facebook post on the subject, and one of his 'wicked' friends had decided to encourage his already unhealthy interest in the subject by sending him the link to a website about belly button fluff. He managed to put me off my meal by showing me pictures of jars of fluff - Ewwwww!! Just in case anyone is interested, this is the link http://www.feargod.net/fluff.html. Why can't he just be 'normal'!!
I always look forward to the weekends, it is good spending time with Robbie, and it is nice to take life at a calmer pace after all the demands of the week. On week days we are out of bed by 5am so the luxury of a lazy morning with Robbie is one of the best bits of the weekend. Generally we have things planned on Saturdays so Sunday is our lazy morning but one way or another Robbie always manages to burst my bubble. On Sunday morning we were cuddled up in bed just enjoying the moment when Robbie announced that he had rearranged the meat draw in the fridge. I asked if I was so boring that he had to think about cleaning the fridge, he looked a bit confused and after a brief sorry he cuddled closer. All was well for a few minutes then at the point that I should have had his full attention he announced that he wanted to wash the car later on! Needless to say that the moment was lost. I despair of him sometimes.
By Wednesday we were getting used to the lazy mornings and making the most of them, it was such a nice day that I wanted to freeze time and keep it like this for ever. I know that Robbie loves his work, but I will really miss him next week and I will not see much of him because he will be busy making up for lost time. It was lunchtime before we were ready to go out, we had one or two errands to do, doctors, chemist etc, but after that we had the day to ourselves.
One thing that Robbie is very good at is twisting me around his little finger, I find it really hard to say no to him because I want him to be happy. We were chatting about the Doc Shop and the lovely day that we'd had and we both regretted that he hadn't bought the other pair of boots that he liked. They were tan Chelsea boots at such a good price that it seemed like madness to miss the chance of buying them, so we headed back to Wollaston (by a different but equally scenic route) and he had an early birthday present!
We drove home via Castle Ashby, Robbie loved the scenery and the rural shopping yard. He got lots of pleasure from wandering around taking photos. We had only been doing fairly ordinary things but it was such a nice day, I really didn't want it to end.
It has been almost a week since I last wrote the blog. Robbie and I have had time off work together and it has been really special, we have had such a good time that the blog just had to wait! So I have a bit of catching up to do...........
Saturday
I was determined that I would not let the day slip through my fingers as so often happens on a Saturday, so I set my alarm to wake me up at a reasonable hour and I made my mind up to enjoy the day to the full. The alarm went off and as soon as I popped my head out from under the covers I knew that it was distinctly chilly. I managed a brief dash to the bathroom before retreating back under the covers. It was nice to sit in bed snug and warm with my laptop while listening to the radio. There is something very special about the luxury of time and the freedom to do whatever floats your boat. In my life, time is a rare commodity so it is extra special to have days of total freedom stretching ahead of me. Robbie made good use of his time - snuggled under the covers exploring the land of nod!
After a very enjoyable morning and a lazy lunch the phone rang and Robbie's eyes lit up when he realised who was calling. It was the optician to tell him that his new glasses were ready for collection. I have never seen him move so fast, one minute he had been trotting around the house in his 'smalls' Homer style, the next he was 'fully booted and spurred' and ready to go and collect his glasses. We rarely go to town on a Saturday (I don't cope well with crowded places) but it was a very pleasant couple of hours. Robbie's choice of glasses was fairly reserved by his standards, both pairs have a little hint of the unconventional, but you have to look carefully to spot it. Once we'd collected the glasses we had time to visit the bookshop and then enjoy a visit to Costa.
On the way home Robbie spotted a sign for a shop that sells vinyl records. The excitement was almost too much for him, it was too late to visit the shop that day but it is high on his 'to do' list for the week ahead.
Why does the weekend go so quickly when the week seems to drag on forever? Robbie and I planned to go shopping in Birmingham on Saturday but when it came to it neither of us had the strength to tackle Birmingham on a Saturday. Our week days are long and challenging and at the weekend it is nice to take things slowly and relax.
We had a nice lazy day we enjoyed a meal together and got some shopping done, but we didn't tackle any Christmas shopping. We really need to get organised because time is marching on. I really enjoy having young nephews to buy for, but as our own children have got older it is harder and more expensive to buy for them. Even my (almost) 11 year old niece seems frighteningly grown up all of a sudden - I must be getting old!
At last a weekend without Robbie dashing of to 'play trains'. It was nice to have a bit of time to ourselves without having to dash around. After so many very early mornings and late nights it was nice to have a lazy start to Saturday morning, but Robbie's dad had other ideas, he phoned soon after 9am and was scandalised because Robbie was still in bed! We were awake and listening to Radio 4 (with a cup of tea of course!) and I was determined to read my family history magazine before tackling the next round of the laundry marathon and all the other jobs that seem to compete for my attention. Sometimes it is nice just to have time to talk without having to watch the clock.
Robbie did his usual 'wrong time wrong place' thing when he announced that there was an interesting article in one of his railway modelling magazines about buildings for a railway layout based on shops in Northampton - I could hardly contain my excitement (yawn). It wasn't quite such a turn of as when Barry Doe popped up in conversation, I like reading his column in Rail magazine but I certainly don't want to think of him when I am in bed! I am probably doing the poor chap an injustice but something about his head and shoulder photo in Rail always makes me imagine him wearing bicycle clips. Usually the mention of his name causes Robbie to swear so it was a shock to find Robbie conjuring him up at the most inappropriate time.
Yesterday I took some time to work on my family tree and after months of frustration (and with a bit of help from a friend) I have managed to trace back another two generations. I may have mentioned before that I have been researching someone called Jones who married someone called Johns, his father it turns out married someone called Jones so it has been like looking for a needle in a haystack when tracing this particular line, but I have now got back to 1790's so I am quite pleased.
Robbie promised to build the bookcase that we bought several weeks ago to house his massive collection of railway books. I am certain he said it would be done by Saturday evening, but his words proved about as reliable as Network Rail promises, it is now Sunday evening and the bookcase is still in it's box awaiting the attention of Bob the Builder!
We had tea at my mums today because it is Mother's Day. Mum seemed very pleased with her presents, plants for the garden from my brother and DVD's from us. I had nice presents from the children too, but the nicest thing is to be together and to enjoy a few hours of family time.
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