Puppies and stuff

Well it is that time again when I return to writing a blog post and tonight I really do not feel the love for having to do this. However I am going to and that is all there is to it. It has been a pretty eventful week all around, what with living every moment of A’s time in BG (and wishing I was doing more than that) and also all the things which are going on over here as well. So without any more waffly boring stuff I’ll go straight to it.

 

Good honest grub

I really cannot remember much about Sunday however I look through my pictures (the only reason I remember anything is because I get a photograph of it) and see something which reminds me; I did an awesome bacon, cabbage and tatties dinner and it was brilliant. Apart from that, nothing. This week I have slept a little better (other than one night when I woke up at 1am and that was it I was awake for two hours and nothing was getting me back to sleep at all) which is good but I am still waking up really early. Monday was no exception and I was at work again before my alarm went off which is supposed to wake me up in bed.

 

Mummy with the two girls

I drove to work as Monday after work I was off down to near Stoke to have a look at some puppies. What with the dramas we have had with the rats (I say we but obviously I’ve not really had to deal with any of it) we talked about getting a jack russell puppy for me to bring back to the Old School with the aim of it being a ratter for us next winter. A went onto gumtree and found a few listings and one of them looked good so on the Sunday I had rung and arrange to go view them on Monday after work. It was an easy drive down and I was a little early as per usual but that gave me time to get cash out for a deposit on one puppy, should I think they were suitable. A had sent me a LONG list of questions to ask and things to look for so I was certainly going armed and prepared.

 

Thelma and Louise... rat killers

I was greeted at the door by a friendly lady and a barking mother dog but, first good sign, she stopped barking really quickly and was then just interested in me and said hello; I do not like yappy dogs so if the mother isn’t yappy that is good. I asked my questions, confirmed that apparently the puppies have ratting in their blood, and was introduced. I was told that the middle-coloured one had already been sold and so there was only the lightest and the darkest left. Funnily enough those were the two which we had been discussing as to which we preferred. As I was in there playing with them, and talking to Bulgaria on whatsapp with pictures and discussions, it became clear that I would buy both. I asked if it was OK to just pay the deposit I had brought but put it for two and they said it was fine. So meet Thelma (the lighter, older, sister) and Louise. I will be picking them up in a few weeks time and I so very excited!

 

Celebration pint and mixed grill

On the way home after this I was driving past the pub and then thought “sod it” and swung in. This was a good choice. My neighbour was there, who had said hello to us before we left, and he said hi as I came in. I had a couple of pints and the mixed grill which was excellent and then decided to head home before I had a third pint and had to leave the car there. It really is a very good pub, that place; very friendly and the food is pretty good. I’m not going to it too often but it is nice to have it there should cooking for myself prove too much hassle for an evening, or indeed to celebrate the purchse of two cute puppies.

 

Pulled pork burger; also a success

Tuesday didn’t happen, as far as I’m aware. I think it just involved working a lot (with A not here I’ve been staying in the office late as well as getting there early) going home to eat and then sleeping for a bit. Wednesday was more of the same however it is good at work at the moment and the challenges are fun so I’m not complaining too much. After work on Wednesday my boss suggested we go out for a pint and some food and, having said I’m not at the pub that much, there I was again and once again my neighbour was there and said hi. Food was good but we didn’t stop long as he had to be off (and there was some karaoke being set up which wasn’t really my idea of fun) but after my boss had left I stood at the bar for ten minutes or so with my neighbour and met some other locals. It’s a good place, as I said. I walked home after this and read for a bit then went to bed not too early but that was the night when I woke up and that was it. I hate that and the next morning I was so dozy I even laid in a little bit.

 

If I never see another scaffold again in my life....

All week I have been worrying about the scaffold as the chap I bought it off said he would buy it back however it had not happened yet. I rang him a couple of times and this did put my mind mainly at rest. I was concerned that he had been taking the piss and not being serious when he said he’d give me back what I had paid for it but eventually I had a call from his office and the pick up was arranged. I asked for two hours notice so I had time to get back and bring it all round so it would be ready for the driver however when he rang me he said he was twenty minutes away. I ran from the office all the way home and, having quickly got changed, set to carrying the boards out onto the drive. I had almost got them all stacked out front by the time he arrived and when I explained about the request for more warning he laughed and said he was used to it. To be fair it didn’t take that long and I had some help from the driver for some of the metal work however when he finally drove off, having passed it all up to him stood on the back of the lorry, I really felt like I had had a work out. At least it is gone and I don’t have to worry about that any more and I got a fair price for it back as well.

 

It looks like the parents are still here

One little aside; as I was collecting together the boards I noticed that there were LOADS of frogs in the pond. Now the spawn hasn’t hatched yet so it seems the parents are still around. There were at least eight of the little creatures swimming around however when I went to get a better picture outside, having snapped this through the window, they all disappeared and I’ve not seen them since.

 

Mmmm Rice and Three!!!!!

And so it was Friday and a busy day indeed was planned. I worked from home as usual and was up early and got a lot done before I had to get in the car for my first appointment. I had been in touch with my old curry friends from my last place of work and arranged that we would go and have a Rice n Three at my old favourite venue. I drove in and was in time to catch up with another colleague for a few minutes who isn’t so into the curries and that was really nice but then the crowd arrived and it was off up the road. How I have missed these and it was just as good as I remembered though I’m glad in one sense I can’t have them as often; I was so full when I left to walk back to the car.

 

Two of my oldest friends

After this it was over to John’s to work from his for the afternoon. When we were at school there was a band called Gun who we really liked and I had found they were gigging in Manchester so had bought tickets for me, him, Cjc and a friend whom none of us had seen since school, 17 years previously. Cjc was working a bit late and so arranged to meet us at the venue but Andrew arrived nice and on time and just after the working day had finished so we sat around with a whisky before walking over to the gig. We met up with Cjc fine and settled to have a beer and here they both are, catching up and it is as if we never had any break at all.

 

A singer with straightened hair

We finished our pints and found our way to the actual venue to find that a band was already warming up. They were pretty good but very young and I wasn’t really prepared for them to only do a couple of songs after we got there and then stop so there are no pictures at all. After a little while longer the lights went down again and a band came on stage which divided opinion in our group. They were basically a cheesy heavy rock band and we all agreed that the rhythm section was outstanding however some of us thought the guitarist was terrible and ruined it completely while I was happily able to ignore that and just enjoy how tight the actual band was. Either way, they were a good warm up act and when we saw the drummer afterwards we were honestly able to tell him how much we had enjoyed it.

 

GUN doing their thing and doing it really well

Pretty soon the lights went down again and the main act came on stage and it was very clear very quickly that when we had loved this band all those years ago we had been onto something; they were absolutely amazing. I lost my voice within the first two songs, singing along with them at the top of my voice, and spent the entire night singing and jumping and bouncing and loving every second, even the new stuff for their new album. As I type this I still have a slightly sore stomach from all the jumping around I did and that is definitely the sign of an excellent gig. I loved it. Did I make that clear yet? If you haven’t listened to them go and check out their first three albums, and maybe even their newest as the songs they played were very good. Ignore the album which is a telephone number for its name; that is rubbish. Check themout. Gun. Do IT!

 

Some really nice book ends in the breakfast cafe

Gig done we staggered outside and found a takeaway open where I got cheesy chips and was laughed at by the staff because I shook the mayo bottle but the lid was off; whoops. We went back to John’s and watched some crazy music cartoon before it was finally time to go to sleep at about 3am. I was on my fold out mattress thing with Cjc folded up onto a small two seater but I think we both slept well enough though we were up at 8am on the dot again the next day. After a bit of sitting around and drinking brews (Andrew joined us very shortly after 8 as well) I dropped heavy enough hints to get John and his young lady out the door and we were off for breakfast. The first café was shut but we found another and it was really rather a good feed, thought at £1 for a cuppa after we had eaten we went back to the flat for more brews.

Puppy stuff ready for their arrival

After a little more time it was time for us to part and we did, promising not to leave it 17 years again before the next reunion. I dropped Cjc at the station and then went home and got out all the stuff I had bought at B and M the day before; lots of stuff for the puppies. I’m not a softy at all. I was pretty tired so after a cuppa I headed to bed and slept like a baby for an hour or two; I woke up feeling a lot better.

 

I needed to tidy the front room a bit

Saturday was pretty much a write off with lots of computer games being played and not much else (other than I did get my books much more up to date which is something I have been putting off) so when I woke up this morning I was determined that I would actually achieve something and tidy the front room which has been a mess ever since I got back. It did not take me long, not even as long as it took to drink my first cup of tea, and I didn’t just sort this room but cleaned up and swept in the kitchen as well. I haven’t hoovered but I will probably do that later in the week as I work through the house gathering things and even starting to pack stuff up that I know I won’t need.

 

Sewing up the hole in the dog bed

I played more of my game after this and then with my stomach rumbling decided I should walk to the shop to get some bread and milk and things. I also had spotted that my new dog bed had a tear so I was hoping to find a sewing kit. The trip was a success with said sewing kit located on the third circuit round the shop looking but there was some excitement as the burglar alarm or fire alarm went off while I was checking out and almost deafened me. No matter I was served fine and walked home, down the middle of the road for some of it as the incessant rain had caused some flooding on the pavement, and then set myself to make brunch (frozen breadstick things in the oven with tuna mayo and onion filling; gorgeous) then got the sewing kit out to find out if I remembered how to do it still. It turns out I do and while it isn’t the neatest job it has done the trick.

After this I played more of my game then got bored so went to read in bed and finally woke up to check on some trailers which I have been watching. I have found two; one is a bit more than I expected to spend but is also pretty much brand new and looks mint, the other is almost exactly what I expected but looks a bit more battered. I tried to ring about the first one but got no answer and then I had a rush on to cook and eat as Gandalf had arrived near and wanted to meet up for a beer which we had discussed but I didn’t know was happening. I did the spicy pork pasta again and made myself cry with the heat; it was amazing, then I was in the car and walking along the canal and found Valhalla moored up. They are only a few minutes away which is really nice. We found a very strange pub with almost no beers on and no people in it (and no lights on in the toilets) and had a couple of pints then I came back to write this before bed. I hope that next time we meet up I can get them up to my local; it is much nicer.

So there it is; the update for the week and I am now going to go and sleep before this next week begins. It should be another good week as I have a few things planned but all I’m thinking about at the moment is first picking the girls up and second getting back home so this period is being a bit of a weird one for me. I am really not the sort of person who just puts himself into a waiting pattern and wishes time away but it is very hard to avoid doing that at the moment. It won’t be long, huh….