Today was my last day in the office until after Easter, and the to do list was rather long. I had a pretty steady procession of people coming to my desk with requests for things to be done.
Still I made it out at a reasonable time, and now the focus turns to getting ready for my trip across the Atlantic.
Off out tomorrow morning to buy myself some dollars.
Friday, 22 March 2013
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Just passing
Today's first trip was to Wimbledon for one of my occasional visits to see them out of the tennis-playing season. If you've ever wondered what it looks like when the tennis courts aren't tennis courts, well here it is.
On my way heading back south, in the eventual direction of Hove, I stopped off and saw Bec. We put the world to rights over a cheese toastie and a cup of coffee, and jolly nice it was too!
On my way heading back south, in the eventual direction of Hove, I stopped off and saw Bec. We put the world to rights over a cheese toastie and a cup of coffee, and jolly nice it was too!
Wednesday, 20 March 2013
Turn back the clock
Nicky and Jake have been home having a duvet day today, both of them having succumbed to the lurgy. Still they've at least been able to enjoy a new discovery - one of their favourite programmes from last time's Florida TV has made it onto a UK channel - Dance Moms, so they've been watching a bit of that. And Storage Hunters was on last night. With the number of channels on Sky, it all arrives here sooner or later!
Nicky and I both heard a song on the radio this morning which was something of a blast from the past - turns out that Johnny Hates Jazz have brought out a new song, and have a new album coming out soon. Bring the wheels of time to a stop indeed!
Nicky and I both heard a song on the radio this morning which was something of a blast from the past - turns out that Johnny Hates Jazz have brought out a new song, and have a new album coming out soon. Bring the wheels of time to a stop indeed!
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Overdue
Definitely long overdue for an update to the blog. I was sat reading through old posts last night, and thoroughly enjoying them (they were written mostly for this purpose after all), but it made me realise that I have been missing out recently by not blogging. Seeing some of the older posts reminded me of things that would otherwise have long been forgotten, and so now is the time to start up once again, reporting on the little things in life.
I worked from home today, which I have managed to do about once a week over the last few weeks. I thoroughly appreciate not having to face the M25 every day, especially with its rotten roadworks between 5 and 7. A couple of weeks ago, I had a four and a half hour journey home, and that was no fun at all. Mind you, I did sense a slight undercurrent in my boss's voice when talking to him on the phone at one point earlier on - "oh, you're working from home again". Will have to keep an eye on things there - make sure people realise that I am still working (surely the fact that I was on the phone to him was a clue!).
Anyway, there were a couple of practical reasons why working from home was sensible today - I needed to go into Maidstone so that I could go to the Post Office there and get an IDP (International Driving Permit). Seems highly unlikely that I'll actually need one when I'm in the US next week, but better safe than sorry. The fact that I could have lunch with Nicky at The Living Cafe was an added bonus (she even stood up the Samsung repair man for me - he's coming on Friday now!).
The other good reason for working from home today was that Jake and I had an appointment at the dentist, which went well apart from the stark warnings about acid erosion risks as a result of a liking for fizzy and sugary drinks. Not good news when your favourite tipple is a glass of Mountain Dew! For our sins, we've both been booked in to see the hygienist in a couple of weeks. Plus, we should be getting a referral to go and see the orthodontist in Maidstone some time soon. Maybe braces beckon?
Saturday, 16 February 2013
Monday, 14 January 2013
Jury's
A while has gone by since my last blog, and I guess that the first task is to finish off the holiday story:
Day 14
We were up at a reasonable time, having deliberately chosen not to start any packing the night before, and despite initial concerns, it all fitted into the bags that we had brought with us (although when we got to the airport a while later we did discover that they had just about doubled in weight!).
Once packed, we went over and enjoyed a final breakfast at Olivia's, before a final go on the table tennis table. The weather had turned rather British to encourage us that it was time to go home, and so we had to dry the table with towels before it was ready for play.
And then, due to the earlier flight times than normal - due to the connecting flights - it was time to wave goodbye to WDW and head for the airport. There had been stories on the news of accidents of I-4, and so we avoided it on the way back, approaching the airport from the south.
The check-in line at the Air Canada desks was pretty short - certainly much shorter than we were used to at the Virgin desks, and the good news was that it wouldn't be necessary to handle our bags or to go through immigration when we got to Toronto.
Once checked in we did the usual wander around the airport shops before going through security (worst part of the airport) and heading to the gate. A bit of confusion and stress at the gate as there had been a problem with the previous flight and we ended up with a changed gate and a late-departing flight - again.
However, once we got to Toronto, we were able to get off, hand in our landing card, and leg it to the gate for our onward flight in time to discover that whilst they had started boarding, they hadn't got to our row yet. Phew!
Flight home uneventful, and being a couple of hours shorter than the direct one from MCO made a noticeable difference. Air Canada customer service nothing to write home about - favourite moment was when I was told that the dinner choice was pasta or chicken and I made the mistake of asking what sort of pasta it was - to which I received the reply - "don't know, but it looks like this!".
Anyway, we won't be using Air Canada again any time soon, and only for trips to Canada. It has been decreed that from now on, all trips to Orlando will involve direct flights to MCO.
We landed back in Blighty on time, and our chauffeur (Grandad) was there waiting for us when we emerged in arrivals.
And that was the tale of our Christmas holiday!
Since then we've been busy in our new house, and every day and in every way we're gradually continuing to get it just how we want it. It'll take quite a while to get it just so, but we're enjoying the journey - even the little things.
Since getting home we've:
Day 14
We were up at a reasonable time, having deliberately chosen not to start any packing the night before, and despite initial concerns, it all fitted into the bags that we had brought with us (although when we got to the airport a while later we did discover that they had just about doubled in weight!).
Once packed, we went over and enjoyed a final breakfast at Olivia's, before a final go on the table tennis table. The weather had turned rather British to encourage us that it was time to go home, and so we had to dry the table with towels before it was ready for play.
And then, due to the earlier flight times than normal - due to the connecting flights - it was time to wave goodbye to WDW and head for the airport. There had been stories on the news of accidents of I-4, and so we avoided it on the way back, approaching the airport from the south.
The check-in line at the Air Canada desks was pretty short - certainly much shorter than we were used to at the Virgin desks, and the good news was that it wouldn't be necessary to handle our bags or to go through immigration when we got to Toronto.
Once checked in we did the usual wander around the airport shops before going through security (worst part of the airport) and heading to the gate. A bit of confusion and stress at the gate as there had been a problem with the previous flight and we ended up with a changed gate and a late-departing flight - again.
However, once we got to Toronto, we were able to get off, hand in our landing card, and leg it to the gate for our onward flight in time to discover that whilst they had started boarding, they hadn't got to our row yet. Phew!
Flight home uneventful, and being a couple of hours shorter than the direct one from MCO made a noticeable difference. Air Canada customer service nothing to write home about - favourite moment was when I was told that the dinner choice was pasta or chicken and I made the mistake of asking what sort of pasta it was - to which I received the reply - "don't know, but it looks like this!".
Anyway, we won't be using Air Canada again any time soon, and only for trips to Canada. It has been decreed that from now on, all trips to Orlando will involve direct flights to MCO.
We landed back in Blighty on time, and our chauffeur (Grandad) was there waiting for us when we emerged in arrivals.
And that was the tale of our Christmas holiday!
Since then we've been busy in our new house, and every day and in every way we're gradually continuing to get it just how we want it. It'll take quite a while to get it just so, but we're enjoying the journey - even the little things.
Since getting home we've:
- unpacked a few more boxes in the games room;
- got a new light for Nicky's study;
- taken delivery of the new sofas for the lounge (happy days - a sofa big enough to lay down and fall asleep on!!) and moved the old ones into the conservatory;
- had the removals firm come back and take away a couple of huge stacks of moving boxes;
- put up a few more pictures around the place;
- played lots of games of pool on our inherited pool table (I know this doesn't count as sorting out, but it's still fun!);
- bought a cheap and cheerful freeview box and been pleasantly surprised when it worked really well in our bedroom (despite the fact that all the houses around us have huge poles on their roofs with aerials on);
- made emergencies repairs to the dishwasher;
- had a trip to Ikea for Billys and Poangs;
- continued to sort out in Nicky's study now that it has some more bookcases in it;
- ordered an ottoman (which should be delivered this week and will either end up in the hall or our bedroom); and
- bought some new lights for the conservatory.
And then there is the minor matter of work - I am catching up from blogging from my hotel in Brighton, at the start of another one of those weeks!
Friday, 4 January 2013
Day 13
And so, the end is near ...
Our last full day and we are still taking it easy - no need to rush around - it'll all still be here when we come back next time - whenever that turns out to be!
Up late, and out and over to Epcot (parking at Beach Club as yesterday) in time to wander over to the Coral Reef restaurant for our lunch reservation. Food was nice and the view of the aquarium was fun. We were stopped by a researcher when we came out to ask us some questions about what we thought of Coral Reef. We told her that we were disappointed there was no DVC or annual pass discount, that the food was nice, that the servers could have been a bit more chatty, and that we might choose to go back to a World Showcase restaurant again before a revisit to the Coral Reef.
We walked through Innoventions, stopping off to play an interactive game with a piggy bank (!) before a few final (ish) pin choices at the pin station and then back through the International Gateway to the Beach Club, and having decided against dessert at the Coral Reef, a trip to Beaches 'n' Cream (no - we didn't have a Kitchen Sink - we decided that it would be just a bit too much for the three of us!).
We bought a nice DVC backpack at the Beach Club shop, which had a better DVC selection than the OKW store, and then got back in the car to head to CVS for a few purchases to take home (mostly enough cherry twizzlers to last until next time). We went via the Western Way, just to try it out as we'd not been down there before.
Shopping completed we came back home (we've settled in to calling OKW home whilst we've been here, not surprising given that we've spent almost twice as long here as we have in our own house!), and then spent the rest of the day here, with obviously a bit of table tennis thrown in for good measure.
Plans for the morning are: packing, breakfast at Olivia's and then off to the airport for our 2.20 flight to Toronto, and fingers crossed for making our connecting flight!
See you all soon.
Our last full day and we are still taking it easy - no need to rush around - it'll all still be here when we come back next time - whenever that turns out to be!
Up late, and out and over to Epcot (parking at Beach Club as yesterday) in time to wander over to the Coral Reef restaurant for our lunch reservation. Food was nice and the view of the aquarium was fun. We were stopped by a researcher when we came out to ask us some questions about what we thought of Coral Reef. We told her that we were disappointed there was no DVC or annual pass discount, that the food was nice, that the servers could have been a bit more chatty, and that we might choose to go back to a World Showcase restaurant again before a revisit to the Coral Reef.
We walked through Innoventions, stopping off to play an interactive game with a piggy bank (!) before a few final (ish) pin choices at the pin station and then back through the International Gateway to the Beach Club, and having decided against dessert at the Coral Reef, a trip to Beaches 'n' Cream (no - we didn't have a Kitchen Sink - we decided that it would be just a bit too much for the three of us!).
We bought a nice DVC backpack at the Beach Club shop, which had a better DVC selection than the OKW store, and then got back in the car to head to CVS for a few purchases to take home (mostly enough cherry twizzlers to last until next time). We went via the Western Way, just to try it out as we'd not been down there before.
Shopping completed we came back home (we've settled in to calling OKW home whilst we've been here, not surprising given that we've spent almost twice as long here as we have in our own house!), and then spent the rest of the day here, with obviously a bit of table tennis thrown in for good measure.
Plans for the morning are: packing, breakfast at Olivia's and then off to the airport for our 2.20 flight to Toronto, and fingers crossed for making our connecting flight!
See you all soon.
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