A Lotto Win & A Barbecue

Sunday, 22nd June.

Emma arrived home, from work, at 08:00 and set about feeding Keilyn, who had only just finished her milk, while I nipped to the shop to get some charcoal for the Barbecue.

On arriving, at Vimco, I had my lottery ticket checked and found that I had matched three numbers, resulting in a win of £25. Happy days. I then picked up some charcoal, cheese, Polish sausages, a couple of limes and headed for the till.

I arrived back home to find that Emma had bathed both the girls, who were now running around the house in pretty dresses. With coffee made, Emma went up to bed for a sleep, while the girls and I watched Sofia the First, followed by Gnomeo and Juliet. The latter of which is a highly entertaining telling of Shakespeare's classic Romeo and Juliet, told with Gnomes. While Keilyn had her morning snooze, I prepared some fresh home-made Lemonade.

[caption id="attachment_1516" align="aligncenter" width="180"] The first batch of home-made lemonade is ready for the barbecue.[/caption]

Before I knew it, it was lunchtime. Erin had soup, while Keilyn had chicken noodles. With both girls fed and watered, they disappeared into the garden for a run and play, while I relaxed with a bit of music.

Emma soon arose from her slumber and headed off to the shop to grab a few last-minute items, returning home just minutes after my mum had arrived. Alysha was in Cambridge, at a dance competition, so couldn't make the barbecue.  Soon, the food was cooking, (as were we in the hot afternoon sun), and cold drinks were soon flowing. We had Lincolnshire sausages, beef burgers made with mature cheddar and red onion, pork burgers with chorizo and the Polish sausages, that I had purchased earlier. Emma had made a salad and buttered the rolls and, very quickly, the food disappeared. Even Keilyn was enjoying her first barbecue.

As we sat and ate, a Robin kept flitting around the garden, waiting for someone to drop some food. He didn't seem to mind the girls, who were running and screaming around the garden, as he hopped between various perches.  Then the girls were in the paddling pool, with my mum. Water was squirted and splashed, helping to cool everyone down.

[caption id="attachment_1517" align="aligncenter" width="180"] Keilyn and my mum have fun in the paddling pool.[/caption]

As time drew on, my mum made her way to her dad's house, while Emma and I cleared away the remnants of the party. A few scraps of a bread roll were placed on the bird feeder, for the Robin, while the plates and cutlery were stacked in the kitchen. With this done, Emma went upstairs to get ready for her third night-shift, in a row, leaving me to play with the girls.

Erin went up to bed, just after 6 O'clock, with Emma heading out the door soon after that. Keilyn then promptly fell asleep, so up she went, too. With the washing up done, I headed outside to sit in the warm evening sun, with a cold beer, and relax. Soon, I had a visitor. The Robin that had been loitering around the garden, all afternoon, was now quite happy to sit on the back of a chair, not two-feet from me, eating the scraps of bread. Then he would fly off, before returning ten minutes, or so, later to have some more.

[caption id="attachment_1518" align="aligncenter" width="180"] This Robin kept me company, throughout the early evening.[/caption]

All-in-all it was pleasantly perfect family barbecue.

 

Father's Day Weekend, part 1.

Saturday, 14th June.

A typical start in the Morrissey household, saw the girls up and dressed, before Emma got in from work. Once they had been fed, I loaded them in to the battlewagon and headed off into town, giving Emma a chance to sleep.

We headed down Vicarage Road, crossing Whiggenhall Road and down on to the Lower High Street. We passed the Pump House Theatre and Arts Centre before arriving at the Waterfields Retail Park. Cutting across the car parks, while avoiding the few shoppers out that were out this early, we headed for our destination... Pets at Home.

Usually, on entering the store, there are pens with rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, mice, degu and other varied small livestock. Today, however, there was just one rabbit, two degu and a couple of hamsters. At least seeing the rabbit made both Erin and Keilyn happy. Heading straight for the Aquarium section, I picked up some fish pellets and some frozen food, plus a new plant for our tank, before taking the girls to look at the reptiles. Erin was fascinated by the snakes and the bearded dragons, while Keilyn was content to just sing to herself. As we approached the fish tanks, Erin began shouting, "Shark!", while pointing at every fish that wasn't a shark. Keilyn, on the other hand, just stared at the tanks of myriad fish, while saying, "ish, ish". They were quite cute and amusing to watch.

Only leaving Pets at Home, we headed across Dalton Way and entered B & Q, just to have a look around. There were some interesting items, in the sale, but I resisted the urge to purchase something, instead deciding it may to be time to head homeward.

Since the morning was getting warmer, with the sun doing its best to shine through the cloud, we headed back along the River Colne, through Oxhey Park. Even the park was pretty deserted, apart from a group of eight Friends of Oxhey Park, who were busy picking up litter and rubbish, from along the river's edge and the surrounding grassland.

From here we crossed Whiggenhall Road and continued our journey along the Ebury Way. With Keilyn fast asleep and Erin walking, it turned into a pleasant and leisurely stroll.

[caption id="attachment_1505" align="aligncenter" width="300"] One of the Information Boards along the Ebury Way.[/caption]

Typically, Keilyn awoke as we arrived home, which was precisely the time that the Heaven's opened, saturating the garden and the washing, which would have been almost dry.

After the girls had eaten their lunch, the temperature began to soar, so it was into the garden we went. Toys were soon littering the lawn, as Erin and Keilyn chased each other up and down the garden and in and out of the play house. Keilyn soon began to flag and after a couple of minutes, in my arms, was fast asleep. While Keilyn slept, Erin continued to run around the garden until Jason arrived with Charlie, just after 4 O'clock.

Erin, obviously not wanting her sister to miss out, sneaked upstairs and awoke Keilyn, much to Keilyn's dismay. Fortunately, after a few minutes, Keilyn was soon back in the garden and causing havoc with her sister and Charlie.

Jason and Charlie left, just before 5 O'clock, which allowed me to feed the girls and get them to calm down a little, before they went up to bed.

With the girls all tucked up in bed, I decided to empty the paddling pool, thereby giving the grass below it a chance to recover.

Considering that it took over 10 minutes to inflate, with a manual pump, and holds 900 litres (nearly 200 imperial gallons), and took over 30 minutes to fill, it only took 2 minutes to empty. Placing my camera on the floor, at the edge of the decking, I got this video of, not just the deluge, but the spiders fleeing from beneath the decking, as their homes flooded.

Emptying the Paddling Pool: Or, Spiders fleeing their homes.

Once that was empty, Emma and I enjoyed a quiet evening together, watching the TV.

Stay tuned for part 2.