Still here!!!

We are still here- KP and I decided to get up at about 06:30 and come downstairs. She is dropping bits of the wooden clock jigsaw that Dad and Maureen bought for Tim on the floor while I am creating this masterpiece,

I was away on a Project management course the last week- we didn't actually do many ghant charts- but it was still heavy going.

This week I had a development centre for work on Monday night and all of Tuesday, and then took the Mechanical Engineering team clay pigeon shooting on Friday- I did not win. (Equal second if you are interested.)

My new Christmas gift coffee grinder has arrived and been commissioned (thanks to Dad and Maureen) and now the utility room looks like this:

I always like to make an effort to dress the part while making coffee!

It is working very well and does not wake up the whole of Oxfordshire which the old one did.

Start Press again......

An update on life in the UK.

I have not paid much tax in the last week- despite buying some clothes and food.

We spent the day at a family photograph sitting- Tim would not actually sit, or look at the man with the camera- he also threw balls all around the studio for most of the sitting.

Anyway I am pleased with the contemporary feel of the samples we have got so far.

The photographer told Elaine that she was trying too hard and had developed a squint! (Was he coming on to her?)

We celebrated the whole very dramatic affair with a piece of "Broken Butter Biscotti" made by Elaine. (The recipe called it Coffee Cake, but it seemed to not rise in the least, and then broke into about 50 bits coming out of the tin.) The icing was the crowning glory- 99% butter, 1% icing sugar. The good news for me- as I don't like coffee cake, is that there was no hint of coffee taste in the cake- and our 'Camp' was in date!

We met our new Niece yesterday- Evie Scarlett is genuinely smaller than Tim's toy doll. She is wearing her parents out as all good babies do.

A quick car update- I got half of the money back for my latest breakdown.

We are going to play chocolate Trivial Pursuit tonight- as the chocolates go off on Tuesday........ oh and because we love to play 2 man Trivial Pursuit on a Sunday.

I put KP's curtains up this afternoon- no dramas except the assistance of Tim, which made the job stressful and protracted- I did consider getting a professional in, but his tax demands were not excessive and so I would rather do it myself.

For the coffee lovers, I now have a new tamper- which is the same as this one but more red.

Stop Press....

The news hot off the press is that Tim and Katie have a new cousin- Evie Scarlett Summers, born at 08:15 yesterday and weighing 5lbs 10oz. Tim thinks that 5lbs 10 is not a lot of money and that his new cousin was quite cheap to buy!

Another Car Issue

So another day, another huge bill to repair my relatively new but pretty crap French car!

Apparently 39 months life from the coils in my car is quite alright.... I suppose that they got the 36 month warranty just right!

Deep breath taken..... When I started my car up on Wednesday morning, it had a missfire. I put it down to the damp weather and assumed that it would stop after a short while. It did not and after 26 miles of spluttering, I looked for any obvious problems in the car park at work. There were no obvious signs- even that I was looking at an engine.... just a collection of black boxes connected by wires and pipes. I could not even get a positive ID on the sparking plugs! (and me, a Chartered Engineer.)

I took the beast in, and the next day I went back to collect it, along with 2 new coils (out of 4) and a bill for more than 200 quid!

I wrote a curt letter to Renault the next day and am waiting to see what happens.

On another front, I can report that my new coffee maker is fantastic- highly recommended.

I look handsome, I look smart, I am a walking...

Since my last post, we have had a great week in Centerparks (to be recommended to those who have young children and bikes,) and our 7 year wedding anniversary. I got Elaine tickets to see Lee Mead in Joseph...... the down side is that I also have to go. I am saying the line 'I love musical theatre' to myself over and over again to try and make it true!

The above is not actually a dreamcoat, but a coat that William had during the early 80's. I had one that was similar but the colours were reversed. All of the other lads at school were allowed Parka's.

Elaine bought me a new coffee machine- which I am delighted with.

It is trying to get some nice coffee in the mornings that has stopped me from blogging for the last few days- I seem to have cracked it now though.

It's actually not the morning as I write this though.... The Bicester Lady's book group is meeting in the lounge, so I am banished to the study

This is not them!

And this is a blue Cesna model which you could make if you had plenty of time- if you were retired for instance. I am still waiting for somebody to make one of the things that I have posted for you.

Perhaps if the coffee making goes well, I will blog again in the morning.....

Breakfast Guest

Big William guesting on Ben's Breakfast Blog - We have been flying a fish-kite we bought from China - minus a few of it's essential parts.

KP and T of course are even more gorgeous than ever. PK rarely stops smiling!

I couldn't wait to taste the Dorset Cereal but I have to tell you I didn't like it much - too many raisins in it. I like more dried, or fresh blueberries or cranberries or --- any berries really.

Mistake!

I broke the rules today and ate a bowl full of the forbidden Alpen Nut Crunch. One word...... disappointed. It is not as sweet as old fashioned Alpen, but does not even taste as good- which I though would be difficult to achieve and still be listed as fit for human consumption. It is a bit like small cardboard flakes with not many nuts or any crunch. I am still longing for my Quaker Muesli.
Here is an American breakfast- probably eaten by the same proportion of Americans every day as the English eating a fry up.

And here is a Danish breakfast- the best of the lot I think.
This is a Thai snack which I won't be trying by choice for any meal of the day.

And here is a bit more of a classic- just send the pictures to me when you have finished making them and I will make you famous (ish.)

06:49- time to get sorted.