A weekend off

If you should be looking for an alternative to a roast for a hot summer Sunday outside lunch, may I suggest buttered new potatoes, green salad (lettuce, spinach, watercress, asparagus, mint, lime juice and yoghurt) with smoked salmon omelettes, with a glass or two of chilled white wine. It really was remarkably pleasant.

Barb came to visit for the weekend, arriving at about 10:00 on Saturday morning. After a light, late breakfast we took ourselves out for the day. First, to the Dunstan Hall nursery for some meal worms for the birds and some zucchini plants for me. Then to the herb nursery at Hardstoft for herbs for my little holes along the brick path. And then to Hardwick Hall. Stopping at the Hardwick Inn (at the back of the hall) for lunch. The Hardwick Inn is 16th century and serves abundant plates of rather nice food.

We had a pleasant walk around Hardwick Hall and a very pleasant potter around the gardens and part of the park and then headed back home for a long late afternoon and evening sat outside in the garden, eating, drinking and chatting. Oh, and an inspection visit to the allotment, which could do with the wilderness being cut back. There could be tigers and giraffes down the back and we’d be none the wiser!

Sunday was a beautiful day. The Builder took himself off to Wakefield to collect two more 1k litre water butts he had bought on eBay. Barb and I pottered and pondered and sat in the garden. I talked to Austin on Skype and Freyja by text message and Tabitha by mobile phone. The Builder came back and we took the butts round to the allotment and, using the wheelbarrow, manipulated them into place by the greenhouses. They aren’t set up yet, but they will be sometime this week. Not that it matters – there’s no sign of real rain for days and days. Lunch. Then we went out and did the round Wetlands walk. They’ve introduced animals to keep the grazing down. There are two Highland cows on the sidings side of the walk and 8 Shetland sheep on the wetlands side. It was ever so exciting. We couldn’t see the cows, until I stopped and looked at a thicket and asked why anyone would put two haystacks underneath a thicket. Wasn’t haystacks, was the woolly cows hiding from the sun, trying to keep cool!

Then Barb went home, and The Builder and I abandoned any plans we had to do anything practical or useful and opened another bottle of wine and sat outside until quite late. It was the first weekend that I’ve had completely off for weeks! And I was at home. Was ever so nice :-)

We have lost our SKY connection :-( It was there on Thursday evening. Went to turn on the telly on Friday. And nothing. No satellite signal being received at all :-( Unplugged everything, refitted everything. Nothing. Rang SKY. Twice, cos the first person I spoke to got cut off (or cut me off!) half way through. Still no joy. No SKY satellite signal being received at all. Right, said the man. I’ll send a Fixing Man around on Monday. What time on Monday? Either 8-1 or 12-6. No good. I’m at work. Well, that’s what we do, said he. Hmmm. I might be able to get home by about 2:30. Nope. No good. Only those slots. So, effectively, I would have to take a whole day off. Not only that, a whole day for which I have given my boss no notice at all, it being 10:00 on a Friday night and me not expecting to communicate with Peter until Monday morning. The other alternative was Thursday when I am teaching all day. The next available day is Tuesday 12th. So no TV until then. Might have to buy a little internal aerial to see us through. In the meantime, I am watching DVDs. I’ve watched a Man from Uncle film on Friday night and half of Hogfather last night. The other half is for tonight. The Builder is sleeping through me watching DVDs!