Best laid plans, Vol 9

Well, the plan to blog devotedly and regularly sort of slid a little.  Partly due to a bout of particularly wet weather which led to rather dreich photos of the back garden (or The Somme, as we called it) which I did not feel very enthusiastic about posting and partly by the half term holiday.

We had a rather nice week off down at the cottage where we were joined by my mum and dad for a few days.  The weather was reasonably kind and we were able to potter around a bit and spend a day at Beamish. My mum had always wanted to go to Beamish so we thought we would have a family day out.  It's a brilliant place and I heartily recommend it.  I should warn you that if you are over, say, 60 years of age, you will spend the day like my parents going "I remember that soap! My granny used that soap!"  and "A white fiver!  Haven't seen one of those for years!"  And if you have any children with you, you will require a crowbar to get them out of the old fashioned sweetie shop.  Especially if the grandparents have said "Of course you can have some sweeties! Pick whatever you want!........"

We got to ride on trams, and go down a coal mine and eat fish and chips cooked in a coal fired range.  Fish and chips cooked in beef dripping.  I am salivating at the memory, even as my arteries harden. 

We came home on Saturday and the work in the back garden has progressed.  We now have a sort of  third-class gazebo affair but you can at least see where we are going with this now.

The cat remains unsure of his feelings about the whole project.  On the one hand, he has to jump about two feet to get through the cat flat and he likes to complain about this loudly and frequently.  And he is permanently covered in mud.  Perhaps because he insists on doing this sort of thing.

On the other hand, the perching opportunities are really quite splendid.

I see you bird, entering my airspace.  You have been warned.

Husband is away on business for a few days at present so I took the opportunity of a quiet evening yesterday to go out on the Internet and play with our credit card.  I bought an oven and a hob for the new kitchen.  It was rather exciting.  Next: wall tiles.