A Welcome Break

Last evening after the events at home over the last four weeks we thought we deserved a evening out so we decided to go for a meal at the Cuckoo up the road but on arriving the car park was heaving. So we did an about turn to the Nene Park at the Showground only to encounter the same problem. The advertising at the Showground gave us the reason. An antiques event all weekend.

Driving and discussing where to eat we decided to give the newly reopened and refurbished Willow Restaurant at the Windmill Pub in Orton Waterville a go.

It turned out to be a good choice. We knew the food would not be the cheap and cheerful deal we had aimed for, but, what the hell......

Ohhh...my..... this place was plush. you could definitely see where the money had been spent. It use to be old oldie worldie, stone walls and oak beams sort of pub. A village pub. Now its bright contemporary and luxurious.

The black table arrangement behind in an alcove me seats 14 and is a horseshoe arrangement with the food being served from the space in the center. A baby grand piano plays soft mood music and there are five sparkling chandeliers lighting the room.

This plush red room is the Ladies loo. I'm afraid I didn't investigate the gents loos, sorry.

And the food. Well the menu was good and Dave's meal was excellent but mine was a bit disappointing. Crayfish salad sounded good but the chef was just too heavy handed with the dressing. Too much Rose Marie dressing on the crayfish and the salad was drowned in dressing instead of drizzled. I suppose I should have sent it back but you didn't realise the flood of the dressing until about a third of the way though. I couldn't eat it all and I did say why. The pud, mmmmm.... was out of this world though. White chocolate and ginger cheesecake. Sorry I was concentrating on savouring it instead of photographing it!

The Final Countdown???or is it.....

.............So, here we are on day 26. Tony decided the sink goes in Tap or no tap. If the suppliers hadn't rang him to say the tap had finally arrived then he would go and purchase one from another source. On his way to do just this he had a call to say it had arrived.

Sink and tap are now installed. Are we finished? Noooooo..........two weeks ago the cupboards handles were supposed to have been ordered. Were they ordered? NO. So now we waiting on them otherwise we're done.

I decided to pay the fitter's for their work myself and deduct it from the showrooms bill. Now I'm going to play their game and keep them waiting for the final settling up of the bill and I have to haggle over the wet wall panels I was charged for and could not use.

How hard can it be to order a tap!!!!!!!!

We are now on day 24 of the shower room renovation. What happened to the 'Oh don't worry, it'll be all completed by 8 days'

This is the space where the sink should be. I know its not the plumbers fault. I've just rang the Bathroom Company yet again. Still no tap for the sink. Suffice it to say I registered my extreme displeasure. I think I deserve a big discount after all these delays.

If anyone locally reads this - DON'T USE A PETERBOROUGH FIRM CALL 'SIMPLE BATHROOMS'

Day 22

It's been a strange day . It started off OK. I went for my swim followed by a jaunt into the City for coffee and to look for a new bath mat. I think M&S have what I want a bright pink to match the wall.

The sun was out and it wasn't too cold so we saw at the tables outside with our coffee. The Cathedral Square renovations are still causing havoc everywhere and since my last outing for coffee, before my renovations started, the site guys had removed two magnificent mature London Plane trees from our little throughfare precinct. It does look bare with out them and we will have now lost our summer shade from.

The new look Square should have been finished last November, then January, then April and now June. We'll wait and see. Personally I cant see it. I haven't met anyone in Peterborough that approved of the Councils idea of how the Square should look.

So, back to my shower room progress. Well the news is there is no progress. Hopefully tomorrow!!!

Today we have just rested and relaxed and ignored all the bother that has been going on in the bathroom. We couldn't even be whip up the energy to go out. It had been our intention to go out car hunting again today as the time grows closer when my old faithful work horse will need to be pensioned off for good. Winter has not been kind to her and her bright red paint work is mottled with dark brown rust patched. The fan belt screeches unbearable at any sign of damp or wet weather. It's needed adjusting each winter as it protests against the cold and damp.

At long last Spring seems to have arrived on our doorstep. There seems to be some controversy about the arrival of spring. When I was a kid it was always on the 21st March but some websites now seem to be saying the 20th and to confuse matters even more the Met office seems to call the beginning of March the beginning of Spring. Anyway the weather during this last week has definitely perked up and the warmer temperatures and sunshine had made all the spring plant grow at such an unusually rapid rate.

The little Daphne bush is in full bloom and its scent is just so delicious. The original bush I had on this site died one winter, was dug out and consigned to the plant graveyard. This shrub is self sown from one of the first plants little red berries. Its a miracle it managed to survive and grow each year from a tiny unprotected seedling, considering the cats that scratch in the garden and Daisy that rampages over and flattens any tender plants or just eats them.

........and so to Daisy we've heard some faint scratchings coming from her hibernation box this week, so today we decided it was time for her to emerge. Himself unburied her from the depths of the garage and we lifted her out into the daylight.

After a warm bath and her shell oiled she sat in the sun on the patio for a short time. I wonder how long it will take me to get her to eat this year. Some years it can be several weeks. I'll try her with her favorite food, grapes tomorrow.

Day Nineteen

Not allot of Shower room progress today. The basin conundrum hasn't been resolved. I came home this morning with a basin that the tap fits only to find that there was other fitting problems with this particular basin. Tony the Plumber's taken it back this time.

On a brighter note spring has finally surfaced this week and with a garden recorded temperature of 18 degrees yesterday green buds are appearing on the shrubs and we've finally got a daffodil in flower with all the others bending their buds ready to burst open. A little tour around the garden if now revealing the winter damage and the work that needs doing to recover it.

My bamboo plant actually flowered in 2008, so last year it looked very unhappy and I was convinced it was dying. A search into the habit of bamboo's on the horticultural sites told me that they mostly died after flowering which they do very infrequently. I don't think I can afford another bamboo at the present time as they are quite expensive so I need to research another plant that will like that position.

18 days and counting

The Bathroom Showroom guy told me they take eight days to complete a bathroom renovation as they like to get jobs done without delays and they do no more than three jobs a month. So were now on day 18 and have encountered yet another delay. The tap I chose will not fit the available hole in the sink. This guy just does not know his products. So now I need to take the basin and tap back to him in the morning and have it all out with him. I'm not good at confrontations. Miss Lee where are you when I need you?

At least we now have a loo albeit not useable until tomorrow when the sealer has gone off and set. Tony the Tiler wasn't able to come today because of Tony the Plumber taking up the workable space. I suppose I've gone past banging my head against a wall. It's too painful. I just have to bite my tongue and bide my time.