So I got up at 7 am and can never go back to sleep when the sun’s shining.  Hung the washing out (after going back in for a coat,  wind jolly cold).  Had my usual breakfast smoothie – I have Activeblend (I think its a Breville) which comes with 2 large bottles and 2 small which is handy for a family.

I will put the recipe on separately.  I had two large slices of a branded fruit loaf one of their “new” recipes because I find that gives me energy.  Then I started on a massive pile of ironing (I think it is about 4 weeks worth,  you do a bit then the washing dries and the pile mountains back up).  At about 9.20 my 15 year old son wandered out of bed and announced that he wanted to go to the gym.  Now we go to a small privately run gym which is not open all the time and yesterday was going to be open only from 10 to 11.  In the end we arrived at about 10.20 (lucky it’s not far away from home).  The gym and associated classes are “pay as you go” which is brill for a very busy family which can’t commit to regular attendance but I prepaid a card of 20 sessions to save money (and my eldest daughter can use it for her Kettlercise class once a week as well).  And by the way the lady that owns/runs the gym is the most lovely person on earth.

After the gym was a trip to Sainsburys to get whatever shopping wasn’t available or was forgotten (!) when my partner and older daughter shopped on Thursday.  We do end up going back to the shops a lot on the weekend as we either eat food quicker that expected or find that in fact there weren’t any cans of baked beans stuck at the back of the cupboard as I was 100% sure there were!!

My eldest daughter was out with friends for the day so only had to worry (maybe?!) about master and miss queenie teenie.   they helped themselves to a sort of breakfast/lunch mishmash (not even proper brunch) and left all the washing up.  Ho hum.

In the afternoon myself and partner actually got to spend a couple of hours sitting in the garden of the local pub doing the cryptic and GK crosswords in the posh newspaper which we buy on Saturdays.  In fact for once in a blue moon we managed to do all of the cryptic except one clue.  Maybe pimms or G & T are good for the brain!  We rarely get much couple time on the weekend because older daughter plays cricket and has to be ferried around on Saturday afternoons.  Also in the morning during term times (including half terms) miss queenie teenie goes to Stagecoach (drama, dance, singing for three hours) and recently due to performances that has involved extended rehearsals (and even on Sundays).  at least it is over for 8 weeks now.

In the evening I had promised a barbecue.  Usually we invite my brother and his wife but they have sensibly gone away to Lanzarote.  So just us.  It was quite windy but warm so I set up the  plastic patio table (with the broken legs, really suitable for eating on!) with a wipe clean cloth that has done at least 10 outings in spite of being “disposable” and proper mats and cutlery.  Plus all the sauces known to man because of course each person likes something different!  I washed lettuce leaves,  put out baby tomatoes,  chopped green peppers and cress cut from a shop bought punnet.  I use foil baking trays from Asda to stop the barbecue getting so dirty. They’re really cheap and you get about 10 in the pack.  Poke holes in them with a skewer then they don’t curl up.   We had Asda cheap burgers (pack of 10, so 2 each) sausages and salmon (cheap steaks wrapped in foil with olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, ground pepper and dried parsley – pronounced delicious but not enough!).   I had seen some “gluten free” sausages in a premium brand in the supermarket on half price.  So I bought them on a whim.  They were delicious so I will be buying them again (although maybe not at full price).  We don’t need to eat gluten free but I have read/heard stuff which suggests it might be better for you and aid dieting (many sports people have gone gluten free) so from time to time I do buy gluten free stuff and frankly it is very edible.

After the barbecue kids disappear back to their screens (they can’t be separated for too long,  is it like Superman and his kryptonite?) and partner and oldest daughter to the telly for the golf.  After washing up (to Planet Rock,  ever seen a late middle aged woman head banging with a teatowel and the best china in her hand??!) I go in our blow up spa with miss queenie teenie for an hour.  It is really relaxing although there is no light in the tent which houses it (not found a waterproof yet lightweight lantern yet) so it does get dark,  advantage is you can’t see the insects falling in and drowning…  Yesterday we had some baby toy rubber ducks in there.  What fun!

Two loads of washing (and some tumble drying) later and having read various sections of the newspaper on the way to placing them in the recycling bin I fell into bed only just before midnight.  I don’t know how this happens,  every night I vow to go to bed early but it is always at or around midnight.  My partner says it’s because I “faff” around but I see it as getting the jobs done!