He Did It!!!!

Hugh sat his driver's test yesterday and passed!! We're so proud of him - he's been driving to work with me in the car for the past couple of months and I've seen how much his driving has improved. So so pleased that he passed. He couldn't believe it when the instructor told him and said "Really!!!!". We knew it probably wouldn't sink in until he actually went out driving on his own. Today, he got to do just that! He bought himself a little second hand car (which we'd been told about by a friend) and got to drive it home on his own! He loves it!! Unfortunately for him, it started snowing again this afternoon so that slowed him down a bit and he's home tonight waiting for Sarah to arrive. Here are a couple of photos of him when he arrived home this afternoon after following Jon back from Caterham where they picked up the the car. Well done Hugh! Now I've got to get used to him driving himself wherever he wants to go - I could end up a nervous wreck in the coming week - until I get used to it and then perhaps he could become taxi for a while ;o)

And, because I haven't been doing an awful lot this week, a few more pictures of Tom. I've been going through the notes from an online photography course last year and trying to practice more with shooting in manual.

This was Tom stalking back towards the house after deciding he wasn't that keen on the remaining snow.

As he got near the steps Cloud thought it would be fun to flick some snow on him (see his whiskers and back) before I told her to leave him alone. He wasn't over impressed.

He decided he prefers looking at the snow from the bay window in the lounge (out of Cloud's reach!)

Not sure he was so enchanted at having a camera in his face!

So he turned his back on me - enough perhaps?

As for what we'll be up to this weekend, if the weather doesn't improve it'll probably be staying home and keeping warm. A good book and a cup of tea? Sounds good to me!

Have a great weekend.

xx

Snow Day

Emily's school is closed for a Snow Day today. It's the first time any of my children have had a Snow day and, as you can imagine, she is really excited. To give her her due, she had been dressed and ready to go when it was announced on the local radio that the school was closed. We've had about 3" so far and it's just starting to come down again. I know for a lot of the people who read this, 3" isn't that much snow but it is quite exciting for us ;o) It'll be interesting to see how much we get today - on top of what's already lying. The children in our road have already been out sledding and I'm sure there will be snowmen on the green later on. All good fun and a good excuse for a blobby day! This was Claire and her friend, Tom, before they walked into town for lunch yesterday. The snow had only just started and wasn't lying at that stage. It was still cold though!

Taken this morning at about 7am - still quite dark out.

Same scene taken around 9am and from a slightly different angle.

Looking from our front door

Looking towards the fields from our back door.

Have a lovely day

xx

Today

This morning I got stuck in and did the washing, ironing, hoovering and mopped the floor so that I would then be able to relax. We went into town at lunch time, picking Emily's friend, Emily up on the way. They are getting to the age where they quite like to go into town and then wander round the shops by themselves (and I feel a little bit redundant - lol!). Today I met up with Claire in her lunch hour and had a coffee while she had lunch, so I didn't have much time on my own. Emily (the friend) then came back to our house for the rest of the afternoon and, quite honestly, I'm not sure what I did exactly but the day certainly disappeared quickly. I have a few photos again today, starting with this one of Jon's Uncle Morris (5th from the right) who was invited up to No 10 Downing Street, to meet the Prime Minister and his wife (5th and 6th from the left). Morris sent the photo through this morning and we thought it would be nice to include it on the blog. This photo of Jon was taken a couple of evenings ago when he decided to go for a walk after dinner. Do you think it was quite cold outside??

The two Emily's - taken today.

Now a little story about Tom, Claire's cat. Here he is sitting outside Claire's door hoping that I'm going to let him in

Why won't you let me in????!!!!! I'm not happy and if you don't let me in, I'm going to .....

Jump off the landing!!!!!

Cloud was most concerned!

Ok, time for me to go and get a life! Hope you enjoyed the pet story ;o)

Claire is now traumatised and not talking to me - hehehe!!

xx

A sunny afternoon

Today I was planning on popping into town to pick up a couple of things and then doing some housework. I thought I'd phone Mum and see if she wanted in to town for anything and offered to pick her up. It's been bright and clear but quite cold. We decided to have a coffee to warm up before doing the shopping. A good chinwag later we left Nero's and did what shopping was required before heading home. A better morning than doing housework ;) A little later, when I had just sat down to have my lunch, Hugh came in to ask if I fancied going to Starburger before he went to work. As it was coming up to 1 o'clock we phoned Claire and asked her if she wanted to meet us in her lunch hour. So, I had lunch with two of my children instead of sitting at home - another result!

By the time I got home I was feeling a little sluggish, and there was an hour before Emily was due home, so I decided to take the dogs out for a walk and take my camera with me. As it turns out, it's not that easy trying to take photos and hold two leads at the same time =) We walked for over half an hour and I felt so much better by the time we got back. It was really fresh out which helped blow the cobwebs and sluggishness away. Here are a few photos from our walk. Hermitage Lane

Walking down Lower Mere you could see over the fields in the distance though there was a bit of a haze.

Passing the green in Lower Mere the sun was filtering through the trees.

And near the bottom of Lower Mere we even saw some daffodils in bloom. I'm sure they're probably too early but it was lovely to see them all the same. Makes me think that it won't be too long before spring arrives (PLEASE!!!)

Not sure what we're doing this weekend but hopefully I'll find something to take photos of. Hope you all enjoy your weekend

xx