People who know us will recognise Dan and I as complete opposites. We couldn't be more different in our opinions, outlook, taste, everything. This has always proved a little bit difficult then when we've wanted to decorate things. We can never decide on ANYTHING....just as I'm looking at something (a chair, a colour, an ornament) and am about to say 'oooh that's lovely' he's turning to me to say 'that's DISGUSTING'! This has meant that in 4 years living here, we've only decorated the 2 rooms that really needed doing - the Barbie room and the Leeds Utd room because they were both flourescent.
Well, flushed with the success of our recent bed purchase, (which got delivered last week) we decided to see if we could take this streak of taste convergance to the next level and get some wardrobes sorted.....to that end we visited the 'Sliderobes' showroom in Birstall on Sunday, on the way home from camping. It would seem that a fitted wardrobe is going to be our best use of space in that room. Well would you believe it, we both liked the same design! To that end we have the sliderobes lady coming round to measure us up for a quote on Friday!
I'm so excited, I can hardly begin to write about the carpet.....capitalising on the last 2 successes, we went to a carpet warehouse in Birstall....and...yes....you guessed it....chose a carpet! OMG! This has NEVER happened before!
30 May 2007
28 May 2007
Camping at Barn Farm
Another lovely weekend spent at Barn Farm in Derbyshire - we went with Matt and Marina and Gemma & Andy. We got our lovely new tent to use - there were some pros and cons....
Pros....
On Saturday, Sgt Major Connor marched us up to the top of the hill on a nice walk which was a little challenging for a start but meandered through some lovely countryside to finish. It was about 5 miles and very pleasant indeed! We all subscribe to walkingworld.com which is a great resource for finding walks - not only does it provide the walk on an OS map section for you to print out, but there are descriptions of each stage as well as photos of the landmarks on the way so you can be sure you're at the 'right stile' of have passed the 'correct tree'!
Saturday evening we were booked into the Druid Inn in Birchover (walking distance from the campsite). The decor is lovely and the food was fabulous - unfortunately we think they were a bit short staffed as the service wasn't all it could have been towards the end of the meal. It just slightly took the edge off what was a really spectacular meal.
After dinner, Dan & I went for a lie down, it was only about 8:30 but we were pooped after the walk and hige dinner! Anyway, we both woke up about 3am dying for the loo....! So much for a wild night out. The rain had started overnight so we snuck out for a swift wee in the pouring rain...it didn't stop by morning so we all decided to pack u and go home. It took us about half an hour from start to finish. I'm very impressed.
We then all headed for the Grouse & Claret in Matlock for a lovely fry-up to finish the weekend off. Smashing! I'd not have been really into cooking in the rain!!!!
Pros....
- tent was very quick to pitch (in fact M&M pitched it for us on Thursday to enure a space on the campsite)
- it was chucking it down when we were packing up, tent took less than a minute to get it into the bag - no struggling in the rain and a few appreciative stares from campers around the field
- decent amount of room for sleeping (2 people)
- in the wet weather there wasn't anywhere to sit or cook
- the front door slopes inwards therefore when it's chucking it down, it chucks it into the tent as well (probably need to buy the tarpaulin to go over the entrance for when it's nasty weather)
- I'm not really one for having food stuff alongside your sleeping stuff so we kept most of it in the car - this was OK when it wasn't raining but when it was....it was a bit of a p. in the a.!
On Saturday, Sgt Major Connor marched us up to the top of the hill on a nice walk which was a little challenging for a start but meandered through some lovely countryside to finish. It was about 5 miles and very pleasant indeed! We all subscribe to walkingworld.com which is a great resource for finding walks - not only does it provide the walk on an OS map section for you to print out, but there are descriptions of each stage as well as photos of the landmarks on the way so you can be sure you're at the 'right stile' of have passed the 'correct tree'!
Saturday evening we were booked into the Druid Inn in Birchover (walking distance from the campsite). The decor is lovely and the food was fabulous - unfortunately we think they were a bit short staffed as the service wasn't all it could have been towards the end of the meal. It just slightly took the edge off what was a really spectacular meal.
After dinner, Dan & I went for a lie down, it was only about 8:30 but we were pooped after the walk and hige dinner! Anyway, we both woke up about 3am dying for the loo....! So much for a wild night out. The rain had started overnight so we snuck out for a swift wee in the pouring rain...it didn't stop by morning so we all decided to pack u and go home. It took us about half an hour from start to finish. I'm very impressed.
We then all headed for the Grouse & Claret in Matlock for a lovely fry-up to finish the weekend off. Smashing! I'd not have been really into cooking in the rain!!!!
21 May 2007
Saturday Night @ Drakey's
OK so Friday night was mental - more to eat and drink than you could possibly imagine - resulting in a Saturday morning that was, shal we say, less than savoury....! We knew it was going to be like this! All the way to Warwick it was touch and go as to whether I'd need the sick-bag! However, I managed to rally by the time we got there and the afternoon was a great one catching up with a lot of people we've not seen for a LONG time - some of them several YEARS! It was lovely!
Evening time was spent at the Rose & Crown and in the night time we were staying in the Warwick Arms Hotel - highly recommended! The scrambled egg at breakfast was superb!
Evening time was spent at the Rose & Crown and in the night time we were staying in the Warwick Arms Hotel - highly recommended! The scrambled egg at breakfast was superb!
Anthony's
Friday night was a most sublime experience (as ever) in Anthony's Restaurant, Leeds. We went with Marina & Gemma and all of us had the taster menu.
It was fabulous; there was Trout in a Licquorice foam, Pigs ear crackling crisps, the unbelievable Onion Risotto with Parmisan Air - out of all the times we've been to the restaurant, it was ABSOLUTELY the best!
It was fabulous; there was Trout in a Licquorice foam, Pigs ear crackling crisps, the unbelievable Onion Risotto with Parmisan Air - out of all the times we've been to the restaurant, it was ABSOLUTELY the best!
14 May 2007
The break-in hasn't affected me at all.......or has it?
As I've been delighted to tell people, the break-in hasn't affected me at all. I've not slept any better/worse, it's not been weighing on my mind, I don't walk downstairs in trepidation. In fact, life continues just as it always did in the Aldridge/Rossi household. That is until the dream I had this morning
Let me set the scene.
Let me set the scene.
I awoke at about 4:30 this morning to strains of the dawn chorus coming through the bedroom window. This is the window which is directly above the patio doors which were the entry point to the burglary. This window is also just below the eves of the house in which we have a family of very loud starlings nesting. They cheep, screech and scrabble in such a way that makes you think they're coming through the wall - we call them the flying haunted hedgehogs for reasons which are probably best left to another posting!!!!!
With all this noise going on I fell back asleep but started dreaming that I was awake in the bedroom looking out of the window at the starlings flying in and out of the nest. The birds were HUGE like swans and were thumping around in the roof-space making one helluva noise. In my dream I got back into bed and tried to get back to sleep. Suddenly I looked up at the ceiling where there was a small window in the roof (which there isn't in real life!) I saw a foot and an ankle stepping past the window. In an instant I knew it was the burglars who had returned for more stuff! I opened the window and grabbed the guy's leg, dragging him through the window...at the same time shouting for Dan to wake up & call the police.
We tied him up with the velcro fasteners you use to keep cables tidy, and went up onto the roof, which, in my dream, had morphed into something like the roof of a stately home, going for miles in each direction. Up there was my stereo, Dan's amp, the table and chairs and loads of our stuff. No wonder there was alot of thumping noises coming from the roof! We were trying to work out how they could have got it all up there without us noticing especially as the loft hatch is right outside the bedroom door. That was when we remembered the lift which seemed to have appeared from nowhere but which was at the back of the house, leading upstairs from a room which looked remarkably like Mum and Dad's dining room, and ending up on a flat roof space which was actually the top of the Museu d'Historia de Tarragona (remember Mum?)! Somehow all our friends arrived and as most of our stuff was up there they all came up to support / help us. We ended up having a very nice party up there.
So no, it's not affecting me at ALL.
There ya go Janey - beat that!!!!
With all this noise going on I fell back asleep but started dreaming that I was awake in the bedroom looking out of the window at the starlings flying in and out of the nest. The birds were HUGE like swans and were thumping around in the roof-space making one helluva noise. In my dream I got back into bed and tried to get back to sleep. Suddenly I looked up at the ceiling where there was a small window in the roof (which there isn't in real life!) I saw a foot and an ankle stepping past the window. In an instant I knew it was the burglars who had returned for more stuff! I opened the window and grabbed the guy's leg, dragging him through the window...at the same time shouting for Dan to wake up & call the police.
We tied him up with the velcro fasteners you use to keep cables tidy, and went up onto the roof, which, in my dream, had morphed into something like the roof of a stately home, going for miles in each direction. Up there was my stereo, Dan's amp, the table and chairs and loads of our stuff. No wonder there was alot of thumping noises coming from the roof! We were trying to work out how they could have got it all up there without us noticing especially as the loft hatch is right outside the bedroom door. That was when we remembered the lift which seemed to have appeared from nowhere but which was at the back of the house, leading upstairs from a room which looked remarkably like Mum and Dad's dining room, and ending up on a flat roof space which was actually the top of the Museu d'Historia de Tarragona (remember Mum?)! Somehow all our friends arrived and as most of our stuff was up there they all came up to support / help us. We ended up having a very nice party up there.
So no, it's not affecting me at ALL.
There ya go Janey - beat that!!!!
13 May 2007
Nice Job !
Well I always wondered I would do jobwise once I leave the world of IT.
I wonder if this is for me ?
We had a great meal with P & K last night, Li had done all the food as I had had a 12 hours day in a machine room in Alderley Edge! Which is always fun .
I wonder if this is for me ?
We had a great meal with P & K last night, Li had done all the food as I had had a 12 hours day in a machine room in Alderley Edge! Which is always fun .
12 May 2007
Dinner Party Tonight
Tonight we've got Paul & Kirst coming for dinner. Last time we saw them was when we went to Portrush in November. It's been such a long time!
The menu for tonight is as follows....
The menu for tonight is as follows....
--o-O-o--
Mixed Bruschetta
--o-O-o--
Tagliatelle Tricolore
(pesto, aglio olio pepperoncino, sun dried tomato)
--o-O-o--
Roast duck breast salad
(from the BBC Good food mag)
--o-O-o--
Individual Rhubarb crumbles
(My cumble is a variation on this - with ginger instead of cinnamon, and loads of wine!)
--o-O-o--
Mixed Bruschetta
--o-O-o--
Tagliatelle Tricolore
(pesto, aglio olio pepperoncino, sun dried tomato)
--o-O-o--
Roast duck breast salad
(from the BBC Good food mag)
--o-O-o--
Individual Rhubarb crumbles
(My cumble is a variation on this - with ginger instead of cinnamon, and loads of wine!)
--o-O-o--
11 May 2007
Follow up to yesterday's events
Yes, thanks to all the people who have advised us to change our locks! We kind of twigged that they had our front door key and that it wouldn't be good to leave that as the status quo! My car has gone off to get new locks fitted too, as well as having the front and back doors' locks replaced! The police have come and done a security review and extra measures have been put in place for all the doors and windows!
So all in all the only faff was having to wait in yesterday for the locksmith to come and replace the broken/stolen locks - and I also took the battery out of my car which was unprotected on the drive when Dan's car wasn't parked behind it; I thought if the buggers were cheeky enough to come in the house overnight whilst we were there...they'd certainly be bold enough to run up the drive and nick my car whilst I was in the house! The guy from the garage who came to bring me a courtesy car and take mine away for new locks was quite surprised as I wanderd outside with the battery and a socket set as well as handing the key over to him!
The neighbours have all been very nice - we've talked about being 'more neighbourly' and watching out for each other's houses whilst they're away etc, and, one guy came over and thinks he night have seen the perpetrators.....some 'dodgy geezers' who were asking about replacing people's patio doors / french windows. A good cover story as if they went round the street doing this and then were seen breaking into ours, people would be likely to think we'd taken them up on the offer to have some patio doors replaced, and not call the police! He's passed on the info to the police anyway. We'll see if anything comes of it.
So all in all the only faff was having to wait in yesterday for the locksmith to come and replace the broken/stolen locks - and I also took the battery out of my car which was unprotected on the drive when Dan's car wasn't parked behind it; I thought if the buggers were cheeky enough to come in the house overnight whilst we were there...they'd certainly be bold enough to run up the drive and nick my car whilst I was in the house! The guy from the garage who came to bring me a courtesy car and take mine away for new locks was quite surprised as I wanderd outside with the battery and a socket set as well as handing the key over to him!
The neighbours have all been very nice - we've talked about being 'more neighbourly' and watching out for each other's houses whilst they're away etc, and, one guy came over and thinks he night have seen the perpetrators.....some 'dodgy geezers' who were asking about replacing people's patio doors / french windows. A good cover story as if they went round the street doing this and then were seen breaking into ours, people would be likely to think we'd taken them up on the offer to have some patio doors replaced, and not call the police! He's passed on the info to the police anyway. We'll see if anything comes of it.
10 May 2007
Events of Today
It started like a normal day; Dan was in the shower, I gathered some laundry and went downstairs to put a load of washing on. At the bottom of the stairs, I stopped. The front door was WIDE open! Good grief,I thought to myself, I knew it was windy last night but didn't think it was windy enough to blow the door open, and I shut the door over.
I put on the washing and came back through the hallway. Something was wrong. The top two drawers of the hall cabinet were open. There's NOTHING in them that we use...it's old envelopes, hair clips and shoe laces. Why would they be open?
I called Dan downstairs. "There's something wrong, the front door was open and so were the top two drawers of the hall cabinet" He opened the front door and looked out. His laptop case was in the bush at the front of the house. We opened it up - laptop was still there. Phew.
I said, "I'm positive I locked the door with my keys when we came in last night so where are my keys, they should be in the door" We realise that my keyring which had the house key and my car key on it had gone.
"THE CARS!" we thought, running to the side window. 1....2....yes both safe and sound on the drive.
"Your handbag" says Dan. "Upstairs by the bed" I reply.
"Your wallet" I say, "Upstairs too" he says.
"Phones", "check".
We walk into the middle room - over to the double doors - he turns the key, it turns and turns. Outside you could see where they'd levered off the outside part of the lock plate and pulled out the barrel with pincers.
SHIT, this was a serious break in. We tried to remember items of value lying around. The tomtom (safe) the TV and stereo (safe) the x-box (safe).
So far the only thing missing is the keys.
Are we the luckiest people who have ever been burgled?
I put on the washing and came back through the hallway. Something was wrong. The top two drawers of the hall cabinet were open. There's NOTHING in them that we use...it's old envelopes, hair clips and shoe laces. Why would they be open?
I called Dan downstairs. "There's something wrong, the front door was open and so were the top two drawers of the hall cabinet" He opened the front door and looked out. His laptop case was in the bush at the front of the house. We opened it up - laptop was still there. Phew.
I said, "I'm positive I locked the door with my keys when we came in last night so where are my keys, they should be in the door" We realise that my keyring which had the house key and my car key on it had gone.
"THE CARS!" we thought, running to the side window. 1....2....yes both safe and sound on the drive.
"Your handbag" says Dan. "Upstairs by the bed" I reply.
"Your wallet" I say, "Upstairs too" he says.
"Phones", "check".
We walk into the middle room - over to the double doors - he turns the key, it turns and turns. Outside you could see where they'd levered off the outside part of the lock plate and pulled out the barrel with pincers.
SHIT, this was a serious break in. We tried to remember items of value lying around. The tomtom (safe) the TV and stereo (safe) the x-box (safe).
So far the only thing missing is the keys.
Are we the luckiest people who have ever been burgled?
9 May 2007
Great CLOCK
Well having a look around the net on my lunch and found a real jazzy clock
Also there is also a screensaver version of it which is great for your pc
Ok, back to work........... Dan
Also there is also a screensaver version of it which is great for your pc
Ok, back to work........... Dan
More Lovely Stuff
I think I mentioned in a previous post about the fact that buying things shouldn't make you happy - I firmly believe that you have to be happy to start with....and then the "stuff" is the icing on the cake, however, our latest purchase is making me very happy indeed!
PS It's the 3 second 'Air' - and no, I haven't worked out how to put it down yet!
PS It's the 3 second 'Air' - and no, I haven't worked out how to put it down yet!
6 May 2007
Fixing the car!
OK well after a month on the drive, my little 206 seemed to have clapped out - completely flat battery! Now, normally we'd just call the RAC to come and sort it out for us, but this week we decided to 'have a go' ourselves. Now, this is no mean thing, as we're traditionally not that good at doing practical stuff!
Th first challenge was getting the car battery out of the car - I'm SURE I had a socket set somewhere...but can I find it? NO! So with the help of a bicycle spanner and a pair of pliers we managed to undo 3 out of the 4 bolts holding the battery down. The 4th one just would not budge! I was dispatched to find a socket set....Sainsbury's fortunately managed to come up trumps with a super set for £4.99! Final bolt removed, we then had to suss out the charger! Does red go to + or - ??? Anyway, having finally got the battery on charge, it was just a matter of waiting.
About 4 hours later, the light on the charger went green and I managed to get the battery terminals connected.
EUREKA! The car then started! It's a small victory, but is a victory nonetheless!!!!
Th first challenge was getting the car battery out of the car - I'm SURE I had a socket set somewhere...but can I find it? NO! So with the help of a bicycle spanner and a pair of pliers we managed to undo 3 out of the 4 bolts holding the battery down. The 4th one just would not budge! I was dispatched to find a socket set....Sainsbury's fortunately managed to come up trumps with a super set for £4.99! Final bolt removed, we then had to suss out the charger! Does red go to + or - ??? Anyway, having finally got the battery on charge, it was just a matter of waiting.
About 4 hours later, the light on the charger went green and I managed to get the battery terminals connected.
EUREKA! The car then started! It's a small victory, but is a victory nonetheless!!!!
4 May 2007
Thought i better post something
Hiya
Only me, Had a bit of a catching up week @ work, and have managed to get through most of the 300 mails i had in my inbox when i got back to work on monday.
We have a quiet weekend planned, Maybe go see li's folks on sunday for sunday lunch but aside from that nothing much.
Dan
Only me, Had a bit of a catching up week @ work, and have managed to get through most of the 300 mails i had in my inbox when i got back to work on monday.
We have a quiet weekend planned, Maybe go see li's folks on sunday for sunday lunch but aside from that nothing much.
Dan
1 May 2007
NZ Pictures - driving trip
I've managed to work out the whole PicasaWeb thing and now I've got all the holiday photies up on there. Here is the set of pics we took whilst travelling round the north part of the South Island for 5 days.
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