Christmas shopping and special Christmases gone by

I have been somewhat panicked after last Friday's gem show with Jilly, when so many of you texted and rang in to tell us how organised you are with your Christmas present buying! The fact that I was still sunbathing in October has lulled me into a false sense of security and, as I admitted on the night, I have only just begun to break the back of my shopping list! 

I don't think Jilly was much further forward than me, although she rather fancied the boots I was wearing on the night and caught me unawares just before we went on air (see photo left)! So now you know what goes on underneath the table  - Jilly was in a sleeping bag! :) 

Actually truth be told we always have a bit of an issue with the air conditioning in that Studio - it's either freezing cold or boiling hot, but as long as my feet are warm I'm OK. 

What a glorious week it's been!

I couldn't believe the sunshine over the weekend, and have even managed to top up the tan a tad whilst on a 6-mile walk with my friend Diane around a huge quarry near her home. Blissful :) 

That said it's certainly got a little colder at night, so I would highly recommend snuggling down on the sofa wrapped in something warm.
 
Any Mexican recipes?

Well, I had a night off from cooking when Colin and I went out with Sam and Becks for a Mexican meal. I introduced them to the delights of the Mojito cocktail, which I had quaffed on a beach in Ibiza, but they weren't all that smitten. So not wishing to appear ungrateful, I drank theirs too! 

The sombreros and ponchos weren't standard dress code but I think they looked pretty good, don't you?! A cracking night was had by all, and I'm now introducing enchiladas and fajitas to our weekly menu. Actually, if you know of any variations on the theme, or an alternative to chicken, I'd be really grateful, and then I could always create and blog the results!!  

'Julie and Julia'

I've had another lovely night out recently to see the film 'Julie and Julia' with Lucy and Jack. To be fair, it really wasn't Jack's first choice but being a true gent he graced us with his presence and motored through a huge bag of popcorn while Lucy and I sat enthralled. 

Seeing the London sights with my Mum

I escaped my domestic duties to have a day out with my Mum in London which was great fun! Mum had suggested we take one of those river cruises down the Thames from Westminster to Greenwich. We would have lunch and then get the boat back in time for the train home. 

I met her under the clock at Waterloo Station, and then we walked over the footbridge to Embankment Station (I would recommend keeping large stones in your pockets, it's VERY windy) and caught the 'Kathleen Sarah' - Mum's name! - to Tower Bridge. 

It was a relatively small boat but the river was pretty choppy so when Mum started to turn a pale shade of pistachio, I tried to be a comfort by reminding her that the Thames wasn't all that deep in the middle... forgetting momentarily that she can't swim. I tried to backpedal by reminding her that I did get my lifesaving badge when I was a Girl Guide, but I don't think that helped!
 

Just how much excitement can one girl have in a week...

...I ask myself as I remove a dead shrew from underneath the armchair in the sitting room. After Sam's skydive, life has started to quieten down a little but if you're a cat, this time of year is heaven! 

The field behind us has just been 'mown', or whatever it is you do to a field, and this in turn has uncovered masses of little mice and shrews' nests. I lost count of the number of baby shrews I saved, returned to the field, only to see them back again 10 minutes later in the middle of the kitchen floor!

Well, I say them... in truth it's almost impossible to differentiate between one shrew or another, but suffice to say I did my best to rescue them all whilst chastising the cats with some choice language. However, one little soul clearly escaped underneath a very large, low chair, and ended its days among the dust that had gathered there. 

How did I find it, I hear you ask? By a process of elimination... the rather unusual odour wasn't my feet, or Colin's, or the somewhat damp carpet I'd attempted to remove a rather large cherry Lambrini stain from, or even a stray sock I found jammed between the cushions. It was indeed the, now rather stiff, body of the shrew.

I'm happy to say the room has now returned to normal and Willows and Dodge are having to content themselves with catching rather large spiders - for which I will be eternally grateful!

Plus, having finally succumbed to the cold and moved the heating switch from 'off' to 'timed', I went to buy a leaf rake and passed this... (see photo above). I was so shocked I felt the need to share it with you... XMAS DECORATIONS ALREADY!!!!! Please don't tell me you've seen them as well!  

Oh go on then... looking forward to hearing from you :).

Love Ali xxx

Some great news and embarrassing moments

Miracles can happen...

What a glorious day to share some fabulous news with you, more than two years on from Sam's dreadful road accident, where he was so badly hurt. My boy was able to get up on water skis! Not the easiest thing to manage with a prosthetic leg, but after weeks of trying, he did it!

Before the accident, he could wake board, ski and mono ski, and I know he was doubtful he'd ever do these things again... I can't begin to tell you how proud I was, or how pleased he was, but I think the photo (left) says it all...

Off the back of this he's decided to make a tandem sky dive on the 5th September, so there'll be me all grey and shaking on the ground, and him floating above me with a smile no doubt as wide as his parachute! I guess there's an element of devil may care when you've survived what he has... so I will be brave and applaud him :)

Ibiza here we come!

I plan to sit in the sun and share a beer with him over this next week as we've decided to take a last minute break to Ibiza. We're going with Sam's best mate James, my Jack, Colin and his entire brood of children and various others... 13 of us will board a plane this weekend for the sunshine island that I haven't visited since I was 18! 

Braving British summer weather at the beach

I seem to have driven all over the country in the last few days, but I wasn't a million miles away from Surrey last weekend when I went with Jack, my friend Jo and her daughter Sophie to the West Witterings. 

You may remember the heat, clear blue skies and balmy breezes that caressed the country last Friday, in stark contrast to the FILTHY weather last Saturday! 

Jack and Sophie were born within 8 weeks of each other and are now 16... both Jo and I reckoned we were pushing our luck to expect them to come to the West Witterings for a day on the beach, but they surprised us both and themselves! 

Rounders, hair rollers and film recommendations...

Firstly, thank you all very much for playing my 'spot the ball' competition in an earlier post... you were of course correct in saying it was behind me and to the left. 

However… I though you might like to see where the ball was just a fraction of a second earlier. In a truly dramatic action shot this was the moment immediately before I hit myself in the face with the bat... just before the ball got me! 

You've got to laugh... I say that because everyone's who's seen the photograph has! Out loud! 

Anyway, the long and short of it is that I am no longer on the team, and have handed over the baton of power to Debbie Greenwood... well I had until I found out she's on holiday, so if any of you wish to add to our somewhat depleted numbers that'd be grand.

I want your birthday celebration suggestions!

My daughter Lucy has just packed her little bedroom up and flown the nest... this time permanently. Pathetic I know but I still can't bear to go in there now it's so empty. I never really expected her to come home to me once she'd left University, but the fact that she's been with me over the last two years has been such a comfort, particularly while Sam was so ill and in hospital. 

Sam too is talking of setting up home possibly next year, and now that Jack's 16, he's hardly ever here... I feel a little as though I'm trying to hold sand in my hands, and it keeps slipping through my fingers. My role as a full time mum is coming to an end. Not quite sure what will take its place, although my expert laundry service is still of use to Lucy, so I may utilise that skill!

Always guaranteed to raise a smile though is time with my friends. The group of girls that I go away with twice a year arranged for us all to have 'tea' at Luton Hoo on Saturday (see photo above). It was a joint birthday celebration and we had a ball! Nothing like putting on your posh frock, jewels and high heels, and eating your entire body weight in scones, cakes and sandwiches. LOVELY! Especially when you don't have to do the washing-up. 

I thought it was quite an original way to celebrate a birthday, but as Sue's is still to come in August, could you possibly suggest anything that the six of us could do that would be completely different? I'd love to hear from you, so we can book it up!

Love Ali xx

I'm back from the bright blue seas of Zante!

I've discovered something about myself over the last couple of weeks (something I've always suspected, but never had confirmed) and that is my innate skill at choosing to holiday in places with sunny climes, when the weather here in England is hotter! 

At least I don’t feel so guilty for having had such a lovely time away as I know you’ve all had the best of British sunshine here, while I‘ve been swimming in water the colour of paraiba tourmaline, and eating my entire bodyweight in feta cheese and moussaka.

What can I say, other than I highly recommend a trip to Zante - a jewel in the crown of Greek islands that inhabit the Ionian Sea. It’s not that big but has an incredible collection of tiny coves and bays, with crystal clear waters and some sandy, some stony beaches. It’s fairly still in the morning, but as the temperatures climb, soft breezes start to blow and take the edge off the hot sunny days. 

My weekend trip to Scotland with Suzi B

Hoots Mon! And other such Scottish phrases which I have yet to hear a true Scots person utter. But I thought I would drop you a line to let you share in my fab weekend. 

I'm sure you're all familiar with Suzi B from California Style (see photo left). Well, we have become quite firm friends over the years, and as her husband Adam's family originally hail from the Highlands, they chose Perth to celebrate his 40th birthday! 

Colin and I flew to Edinburgh on Saturday morning and then caught the bus to the city centre. It took about three hours in total - which I thought was amazing considering it can take me that long some mornings to travel the 45 miles to QVC Towers. However, 50 minutes in a plane and it's like another world! WOW! I've never been to Edinburgh before but I loved it.