Tag: fall

Catching up

It seems like an age since I last wrote but it was actually 24 hours ago. After working all weekend I have had three days off which have been bliss. With warm sunny autumnal days walking the dogs, plenty of time to myself to chill out and we finally have a brand new boiler installed with piping hot water.

I had planned to go into Manchester on Monday morning for a catch up breakfast with a mate of mine but he cried off late on Sunday evening leaving me to my own devices Monday. However all I did was catch up on the house chores as well as giving my car a good clean inside and out.

Another mate of mine bailed out of meeting up for a catch up too. Do I smell?? Actually it has annoyed me that I have done lots of chasing of people who are quick to tell you they cannot wait to meet up and how it’s been ages since we did that, blah, blah, blah. When it actually comes down to it they disappear like a snowflake in summer. All those times they say we must meet up, it’s been ages, etc then when you try to get them to commit they go missing. Ah well, I did enjoy having time with the dogs so all wasn’t lost. My wife travelled up to Glasgow on Monday evening for a work conference so I really did have some “me” time.

Today we had a new boiler fitted which has set us back almost £2000. The old one which in fact was only 7 years old had me tearing my hair out as the way it was behaving. Whilst it was working to a fashion it would never have made it through the winter. I am so glad to see the back of the old boiler with the new one heating up the water in record time. I even have a new toy to play with. It comes with a wireless digital control to set the timer, etc so I’ll be having a faff with that later.

Tomorrow sees me return to training just for one day which means I won’t be in the office dealing with all the usual rubbish we deal with. Then it’s Friday and the weekend so I’ve had an easy week this week.

Being off has allowed me to go running every day which surprised me. My recovery is better now with no aches and pains and the runs are feeling slightly easier the more I do. It will be weekend before I get out on a run again but hopefully the two days rest will do me good. Soon I hope to up my runs beyond the two miles I have currently been doing.

Enjoy your day.

Sunshine, walking and homemade food

Despite Autumn being upon us, today we re-wound the clock back to summer with temperatures in the low 70`s thanks to the southerly jet stream from Africa. Back to t-shirts and shorts with clear blue skies and warm temperatures. I was off again today and had a few things to do including visiting a local farm shop and cafe that I had been meaning to visit for months.

A short ten minute drive away and I was at Ryders farm where there is a large equestrian centre, farm shop selling homegrown meats and pies as well as an onsite cafe. I wandered through the farm, locating the cafe and sat down to order a full english breakfast washed down with a cup of tea. Whilst waiting for my food to cook, I found myself marvelling at the scones, cakes and biscuits on offer thinking that the rest of the family would love to come here and sample the fayre.

Breakfast at Ryders Farm

Once the breakfast had been gobbled up, I went and found the farm shop. I do like a traditional butchers shop, somewhere that makes their own pies and sells great quality meats. Again I was marvelling at what they had on offer in the pie area. There were small, medium and large pies of every filling you come to expect. You really can tell homegrown and home baked food compared to supermarket food. After purchasing a large cheese and onion pie for dinner, I drove onto to see my dad.

Our boiler at home has been problematic for the seven years we have lived in the house despite the builder who renovated the property before us putting in a new boiler. Sadly, he clearly wanted to save money and fitted a cheap and nasty boiler that has had something wrong with it almost every year we have lived here. After throwing far too much money at it trying to fix it, we decided to bite the bullet and order a new boiler. After receiving a good quote for a top of the range model last week, in the afternoon I set about completing the deal and arranging a date for it to be fitted. Thankfully it will be fitted next Wednesday. So only another week of suffering showers that run hot then cold, then hot and cold again. That will be one less stress to deal with I can tell you and fitted before the winter.

I was contemplating another run today but the day seems to have passed me by whilst busily doing chores, so the run will have to be put off until Thursday after I have visited the dentist.

We have just returned from walking Lola this evening, her second big walk of the day. The warm air was still in evidence yet Autumn was in full bloom with trees displaying all sorts of browns, golden yellows and greens. Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year not only because of the colours but I enjoy colder mornings and clear blue skies. I do like wrapping up and getting out in the cold and frosty mornings (although we have yet to have a frost so far).

Summer returned today during Lola`s walk

So we will settle down now and see what rubbish is on the television before I wake tomorrow for my last day off. Oh by the way, the cheese and onion pie I served with mashed potato and beans was a triumph, absolutely delicious. The family agreed that they will have to pay the farm a visit and soon.