It has been nice to be at home this weekend, all weekend. Ivan (Mr Bicknell) disappeared off at the crack of sparrows to satisfy his climbing impulses on Saturday morning which left me to revel in a peaceful and meaningless day tout seul. So I languished in bed until 10.am when the phone rang - my friend Bex, having a hard time abroad - why do so many of my friends live so far away (don't answer that!)? It is so difficult to listen to their problems without being able to make tea and offer a proper hug. Bex is a survivor however, and if anyone can get by, she can, but these German men, blimey they are a nightmare!
Next my lovely Mum arrives for a cuppa - armed with my latest installments of Liz Jones's diary in the You magazine - ordinarily Ivan (Mr Bicknell) will not allow the Mail into the house, but I am not sure that he has put 2 and 2 together yet! As an added bonus she produced a couple of books too - I know it's sad, but we can't help ourselves - if you aren't familiar with Ms Jones and her trials and tribulations, I suggest you should be!
It was then time to trek into town - my mission? Why to pick up my Rubels and guide book for RUSSIA of course - hmmmm, tough life being a teacher, you have to take your students to all these far-flung corners of the globe! Actually, to be honest, I am rather nervous about the whole thing - it's only bloody minus 23 there at the moment, and well, have you seen how students dress these days, they don't seem to feel the cold anymore! I have been to -18 and that was bad enough, and I had been trekking for 8 hours so was rather warm when I faced that particular breeze! -23 is a whole new ball game, so even though I am probably better equipped than most given Ivan's (Mr Bicknell's) penchant for cold climes, I felt that desperate times called for desperate measures and headed off to our local outdoor guru and the Outdoor Scene in town - here I found a fab hat (it even fits my peculiar pin-head), some snazzy socks and some hand warmers - necessities! For some reason I then found myself wandering up to our local second-hand clothes agent - The Wardrobe. I have been in there a number of times before, but never actually purchased anything, so wasn't really holding out much hope, but something pushed me in. OH MY GOD! I am SO glad I did - there almost shimmering like a beacon was a full length winter coat - now I had been worrying about my legs - not for once how plump they are, but how cold they might get in Russia given that I did not own a full length coat, Deborah my collegue, has a rather snazzy full length down coat, and I had Been thinking that this was a good idea - but expensive and I am currently in the dog house about the size of my credit card balance...... So I take a closer look - wool and cashmere, black, fifty quid and MAX MARA - OH MY GOD, It's MAX MARA is what my head was screaming - and it's only £50 quid!!!! The lovely shop owner explained that previous coat owner was very keen to get lots of money for it as it had cost her a small fortune - I should Coco - 600 smackeronies at least I'd say, but she was uneasy about it given the torn lining - Oh I said rather crestfallen, until she pointed out the inch long tear - well, I'm not a textiles teacher for nothing am I????! So I tried it on - would have been rude not to huh? It said it was a size 10 - hmmm - don't remember EVER being a size ten - but I tried it on and well, waddya know - it's even slightly too big - apparently I am not of model length proportions - but I don't care - I'm thinking layers and the fact that the extra long arms (what is wrong with these people?) will further insulate my fingers! So, I bought it! Max Mara, 50 quid - would have been so rude not too!!!
Next was the making of Ivan's (MR Bicknell's) Valentines card - unconventional this year - a bit of a 3D effort - I found this great pattern on www.planetjune.com/hearts - clue is in the link! I LOVE crochet, it is super, super, easy and if it hadn't been for Charlie Divall, I would never even know!
So after a couple of hours wrestling with these , Ivan (Mr Bicknell) was home all safe and sound.
Sunday - well given that we didn't even wake before Midday, has been very lazy! First of all it was bacon and homemade guacamole sarnies for breakfast and then tying up a few loose ends...
We are rubbish at getting birthday presents to people on time - this month I have already failed to get Lynda's daughter's present to her on time and today I wrapped up Ivan's (Mr Bicknell's) step Mums present far too many days late - so a trip to the post office in my lunch break will have to take place tomorrow - although having just looked at the student blog just now, it looks like there are lots of pattern cutting problems out there - not my strongest point, so lunchtime might be needed!
I also felt like a movie and a few weeks ago I picked up a couple of Meryl Streep movies at good old Sainsburys - huge fan - Meryl not Sainsburys - the woman is a genius! So I dug out one of those and settled down to watch as I mended a couple of dying jumpers (I will need all the help I can get in Russia!) .....
BRILLIANT! You have to see it - I love Nora Ephron too who directed it - and well, it reminded me why I write this blog.
Next cam eValentines day - yes a day early, but we Bicknells have gym commitments on a Monday! I have never done this befor, but I went to Marks and bought one of their "Dine in" combos - AMAZING - £20 gets you a starter (Salmon parcels), a main (Steak au poivre), a side (stuffed mushrooms), a pud (chocolate squishy things), a bottle of pink fizz and a box of chocs! And well, it was very nice thank you!
Before..
After? Nothing to see here!
