Too Hot to Handle

Sunday 30th May
I woke up, made a drink, showered and then walked up to the shop to get the paper while Robbie was still dead to the world. I wonder what he did in Ireland to make him so tired?

It was a nice day, and we just enjoyed the freedom to do as we liked, we didn't go far, just a quick trip to Tesco to buy Shampoo for Laura, she had forgotten hers and couldn't cope with an inferior brand for a week!

I enjoyed the day, there is something relaxing and therapeutic about being by the sea, listening to the gentle lapping of waves mingled with bird song. There are loads of very vocal blackbirds and if you listen carefully you can hear the skylark singing as it soars high above. There was no hint of the drama that would unfold later that day. Sam and Laura had already eaten and we were going to have chicken and bacon pasta bake. Robbie put the oven on and as usual he was flitting around with a tea towel in his hand, unfortunately he put the tea towel on the hob and it caught fire because Sam has accidentally left one of the burners on low. There was no real harm done, just a cremated tea towel and a serious scare, but it caused a panic and Robbie is still sulking a whole day later!

A Lazy Day

Saturday was a lovely lazy day and I needed it so badly after all the rushing around. It was nice to just take our time and do our own thing and for the first time in ages I was able to have some me time on the computer. For weeks before Laura's birthday I was busy creating a huge photo scrapbook for her, it took up every free moment and it almost took over my life. It was worth the effort because Laura loved it, but she was so funny when she looked through the book, she complained about almost every photo of her. Just knowing that it brought back so many happy memories made all the effort worth while.

Chaos on the Coventry Corridor

This morning I decided to have a nice relaxing bath. The bathroom is about the only place in the house that I can have a few minutes peace, and even then it is not guaranteed. The bath water was lovely and warm and I lay back in the bath with my eyes closed listening to the radio and enjoying the luxury of the moment. Suddenly I became aware of a presence looming over me, he stood there hands on hips with indignation etched on his face. His lips were moving but I was getting no sound (bliss!) there was water in my ears but as I moved my head my hearing returned in time to hear the 'headline' Chaos on the Coventry Corridor. Robbie was pleased that he hadn't been at work today because there had been delays and confusion on the line. He told me in detail about each delay and the reasons for it, but I will spare you the detail. I have (mostly) enjoyed having Robbie at home and I will miss him when he goes back, but it will be nice to have a bit of peace!

Five Minutes Peace

I had a back to front sort of day yesterday. I had one or two messy jobs so afterwards I looked forward to sinking into a nice relaxing bath. I took a cup of tea with me and I switched on the radio ready for ten minutes of 'me' time without the rest of the world intruding into my thoughts. I love Robbie, but it is nice to have the occasional break from the constant chatter about the railways. The bath was lovely but as I listened to Radio 4 I realised that they were discussing – trains! In fact they were discussing ticketing, permitted routes etc., I can't seem to get away from train talk. I could have got out of the bath and switched off the radio, but once in the bath I was staying put. I just didn't listen, I have a very well developed 'deaf ear' – I can't imagine why!

A Scary Thought. 02.03.08

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.