Robbie and I had planned to go out for the day today, but the snow dictated otherwise. It would have been madness to try to go very far today, but I wanted to get as far as the supermarket because we needed supplies and I didn't fancy trying to carry everything home. Robbie went out and cleared all the snow off the car, it proved to be a long and exhausting job. Then when I got in the car and attempted to start it, there was a tiny splutter and then nothing. That dratted car is definitely male - high maintenance and totally unreliable!
We had to jump start the car with the help of my daughter and her Yaris. Then I thought it would be best to take the car for a drive before going to the supermarket. It wasn't a very fast journey but at least we stayed safe. By the time we got to the supermarket Robbie was in a foul mood, I tried to ignore it and keep things pleasant, but it was hopeless. He was in the sort of mood where nothing was right, every item of food that I selected was wrong in some way and as we progressed around the store our trolley remained ominously empty. When we got to the pet food section he even criticised my choice of cat food - apparently he had appointed himself as spokesman for the cat! Having provided a detailed explanation of the cat's likes and dislikes he chose a selection of food that was more in keeping with the cat's (expensive) tastes! At least the trolley was filling up so we were making progress of sorts.
We got to the meat section and it seemed that nothing pleased him so I asked if he would like some gammon for a change. I suggested that it would be nice with new potatoes and vegetables but he said that he only likes gammon with egg and chips, so I said that we would have that instead. I went over to choose the gammon and he turned his nose up. That was the last straw, I abandoned the trolley and left him to have his strop on his own while I regained my composure in the magazine section. That is his favourite part of the shop so I knew he would turn up eventually. He appeared surprisingly quickly still with a face like thunder so I left him there looking at the railway magazines while I went off unhindered to pick up a few essentials.
The calming effect of railway magazines should not be underestimated. When I returned to collect Robbie he was 'mellowing' and by the time we got home he was keen to find a way back into my good books. It took me a little longer to 'thaw' but before long harmony was restored. The snow on the other hand showed no sign of thawing, in fact it looked as if there was plenty more to come.
2013 arrived with a bang or to be more accurate it arrived with an irritating cacophony of bangs from fireworks which began way before midnight and went on for far too long afterwards. I don't approve of fireworks at New Year, they are a fairly recent intrusion into our new year celebrations, when I was young fireworks we only had fireworks on 5th November. It is a pity we can't go back to the way things used to be, in fact it I would be happier if they banned them completely except for organised displays because they are dangerous and they frighten pets and other animals
Yesterday we spent the day at my mum's house celebrating her birthday. It was a real house full, my brother, his partner, my two little nephews, as well as my family. It was such a lovely day, my youngest nephew has just learned to walk and he spent the day showing off his new skill. His big brother who is four and a half enjoyed lots of attention from his grown up cousins. Today was a perfect start to the new year, my mum and stepfather spent the day with us, it was a nice relaxed family time. So we spent the last day of the old year and the first day of the new year with some of the people who matter most to us, our family. Tomorrow we will be back at work and the I will be up at the crack of dawn to drop Robbie at the station. I don't really mind, I have some very happy memories of Christmas and the New Year, we have to get back to work and the normal day to day routine because the bills will not pay themselves. For now Robbie is making the most of his freedom, he is sitting at the table playing with his Lego! When I have finished writing for the blog I am going to answer the first question in my five year question and answer journal.
Robbie bought me the most amazing present today, it didn't cost a fortune but it put a huge smile on my face. I could hardly believe my eyes when I picked him up this evening and he presented me with a 2 litre bottle of my favourite brand of Root Beer. In terms of calories there is probably a whole month of wickedness packed into this bottle but I don't care, I love Root Beer and I feel like celebrating (I don't drink alcohol so celebrating with Root Beer suits me very well). The other good thing about Root Beer is that no one else in the family likes it so I don't have to share! Robbie is happy too because I reminded him that he still has a few bottles of Uncle Stuart's real ale stashed away, we bought them from Wroxham Barns in August while we were on holiday when today was little more than a dream. Back then it felt like a very big step to contemplate walking away from a job that he had loved and a company that meant so much to him, but deep down I think we knew that the time was right to move on.
So much has happened since then; Robbie has said a fond farewell to his friends at Cross Country, closed the door on that chapter of his life and finally after lots of hard work and mountains of red tape the new chapter of his working life has finally begun. I think it will surprise a few people, in fact I think it will surprise a lot of people because there have been quite a few rumours about what Robbie will do next and none of them were right! I am very pleased about the way things have worked out, but it is not my news to share (and I never write in detail about work on the blog) so if you want the details you will have to ask Robbie.
