My birthday and other achievements

When last we spoke t’was my birthday eve. Since then, important news has been received that I HAVE A FOLLOWER! Only one (so far), but it’s (she’s!) a very good start.

My birthday was great. We got up early and went back to Dr Fox’s Tearooms for breakfast. It was amazing. Here’s what I had

Proper butcher’s sausages, thick-cut bacon, sauté potatoes, home-made baked beans and fried eggs, with lots of hand-cut crusty toast. It was delicious. So much so that I posted a review on Trip Advisor, here’s the link.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g191282-d2013465-r109420171-Dr_Fox_s_Tearoom-Weston_super_Mare_Somerset_England.html#REVIEWS

It’s their first review, I hope they like it.

It was incredibly windy so we passed a happy few minutes jumping from the shelter into the wind. I don’t think we looked insane at all, what do you think?

Then Mr D & I toodled down to my sister’s house in Devon, where I had more presents, some lovely “cuckles” from my gorgeous niece and nephew and TWO cakes! My mum had done this one for me:

And my sister made a delicious Sultana Loaf Cake from Delia’s Book of Cakes which is a big family favourite.

http://www.kitchen-delights.blogspot.com/2006/10/sultana-loaf-cake.htm

In other news, I have been invited to become a committee member in the Women of Weston WI (or WOW-WI). I am very proud to have been asked and looking forward to learning my title, which I have been promised will be very grand. I’m hoping it will also have a rude acronym. Believe it or not there isn’t an existing WI in Weston-super-Mare so this is a new group and I’m excited to be a part of setting it up. I hope we can keep the good parts of the tradition of the WI (like baking and jam-making) but get rid of the old-fashioned image. Our first Committee Meeting (sounds very official!) is mid-June.

I went back down to see my sister yesterday. She had lots of gardening which needed doing and with 20-month-old twins, needless to say she doesn’t have much time to do it, so I went down to help. Unfortunately it was quite rainy, but we still managed to get quite a lot done, between (and during!) showers. Hopefully I’ll be able to go down again soon in better weather and finish it off.

My sister, with her hands full, literally

Little Marcie* and Popstar* are so much fun and I have acquired a new name, Hennie. A slight improvement on Neng, although I will always remember Neng fondly! My sis’ car was in the garage so I had the car seats in mine; I was a bit nervous about the responsibility of driving them and driving is not my favourite pass-time by any stretch of the imagination, but it was fine, they even went to sleep.

This weekend we will be earning our next free holiday by collecting my sister-in-law from the airport. She works on a cruise ship and is home for a few weeks between contracts. I think she is flying into Heathrow (don’t worry I will check before we leave!) so I will have plenty of time to finish off My Sock. Hopefully I will be able to post some pics of both my feet encased in cosy hand-knitted woollen socks (yes I know, just in time for summer).

In traditional Bank Holiday style, we’re also hoping to get some thrilling DIY done. There’s nothing to compare with starting Saturday morning with a trip to the tip; the best bit about it is when the camera reads your number plate and welcomes you! The back part of our house has been a work-in-progress for ages now, but the end is in sight; we need to do some more plaster-boarding to get it ready for the plasterer to come. I am really fed up with the house not being finished and being a mess all the time so it will be good if we can make some progress. To give you a giggle, here’s a pic from the last Bank Holiday of Mr D camping it up in his demolition gear.

* (names have been changed!!)