This Weekend

This weekend has been pretty chilled really.  Saturday was OH's birthday, so after he'd taken the dog for a nice long walk in the morning, we left her at home and headed out for the day.

First stop was the local Nike store, to buy his birthday present of a new pair of trainers.  I'd budgeted £200 for his present this month, as I still owed him a decent Xmas present.  I'd already bought a few items including some single malt whisky, a book, chocolate, coffee, chorizo, socks - mostly consumables.  In all honesty, he has almost everything he needs. 

The trainers he chose were probably the most expensive in the store, but I expected them to be as he likes good quality and the latest trainer technology.  As a consequence, there wasn't anything left in the budget to get him any cycle gear, but he was happy enough with his new trainers.

Whilst in there, I managed to source some trainers and gym t-shirts for me at a reasonable cost.  I didn't buy them, but I know exactly where to go next month to buy at least one t-shirt, when I've got some money in my budget again.

From there we headed into town, well the City of London to be exact. We managed to find free parking in our favourite spot near St. Paul's Cathedral and then went for a pub lunch before walking across the footbridge to the Tate Modern. We had tickets to see the Giacometti exhibition there, which we enjoyed.

When we came out of the Tate, we both felt really tired. It's always quite intense going around an exhibition and it was pretty busy.  Before heading home, we stopped off for a coffee/hot chocolate in Starbucks at the back of the Tate.  You get a great view of the back of the gallery from there and can see the controversial viewing gallery. We find the rear of the building much more interesting than the front facade.

Later, I took the dog for a walk and then collapsed in front of the TV until I started nodding off at about 9pm, when I decided to head off to bed. I think I must be getting old.  I find the crowds in London more exhausting to negotiate the older I get.

Today, was much more normal.  Up and out with the dog, class at the gym, followed by grocery shopping at Lidl.  Sometimes a tried and tested routine is reassuring. I have noticed, however, that the grocery bill in this store is consistently higher these days.  Gone are the days when I could do a weekly shop for just £40.  It's more like £60 + these days.

This afternoon, LB went out to meet a friend, so I spent the afternoon at home and started on my Zone 4 detailed cleaning in our bedroom.  I cleaned the shelves next to my bed, as they were very dusty.  In the process, I managed to declutter over 30 books and a few other items, so it was a very productive afternoon in terms of simplifying.  That was probably the worst job that needs doing in the room, so it felt good to tick that one off and possibly be able to get more done later in the week.

I cooked us a chicken casserole for supper and after catching up with my weekly fix of The Durrells, I emptied the ironing basket ready for the week ahead and then it was off to bed.

It's been a good of a weekend, but I'm ready for a new week. LB has two theatre trips with school this week and then it's half term next week. A busy week for her. I'm doing just one class at the gym tomorrow and then a couple of us are heading off for a coffee in a local café to have a catch up, which we haven't done for a while.  It will be a nice start to the week.