It was an absolutely gorgeous day today and is also meant to be tomorrow so I have given myself a couple of days off since I've not had any holidays this year really and we don't get a lot of nice weather. That is one of the big benefits of being self-employed, if I worked for a company I wouldn't be able to just take time off without plenty of notice. But having the sun in this country is usually few and far between, so it's nice to be able to take time off to enjoy it. So pretty much this week I am off work as I have to look after Rachel's dogs from Thursday while she does to Abigail's wedding overseas. Walter Rachel's dog is on crate rest so I will pretty much have to stay in at hers to make sure he is okay. It will be good to have some me-time where I'm not at home and thinking about stuff I need to do around the house etc. Kirsty is looking after my two so I can just relax knowing everything is sorted and I can catch up on my blog etc as I still want to do a lot of backdating and general memories from childhood etc.
Went to DBFY at the Old School Bus BBQ in Hollinwood. It was really hot so we had the meeting outside in the sun for a change. The guy speaking owns a self-defense school as well as runs a gin distillery, so could be a good contact for a Tavern gin for Christmas? It's a great group and a really nice venue, I really need to try and make an effort to go to one of the evenings Mark puts on as I could take mum and stay at hers.
It was a bit rushed for me at the end of the meeting as I had to get over to Leeds for market research for a drinks company. I don't like to rush off as the chatting part is where most of the networking happens.
I picked up Kirsty & Layla and then we collected Andy on the way. The market research was for energy drinks and about how they are set out in a supermarket. We were shown a new concept for diusplaying energy drinks in a suprermakrte aisle and asked for out opinions on various aspects. £80 for 2 hours, not a bad fee just for talking about drinks, and we even got to tak home a souvenir lol
I managed to get daytime and nighttime pics of the Californian poppies I've got in the garden as they open right up during the day but then as the evening draws in they curl up for the night like they are getting ready for bed lol. Nature is so fascinating if you take the time to notice it.
It was a lovely night and we didn't really have much in that we could whip up a meal with so Layla and Kirsty said they would treat me to a meal as they had done market research yesterday and got more than they were expecting. So we went to Stocco in Oldham (review to follow) and invited Nicky along as she's been a bit down and also been in court today (not my business to tell, but she'd the innocent party).
The food was gorgeous and both courses were spot on! I had the tuna carpaccio and then chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce with gnocchi. We shared a bottle of wine between myself, Nicky and Kirsty and then Nicky wanted to order an other one. I was trying to put it off but Nicky wasn't pickimngup the hont and just thougt I didn't want to pay for another bottle so offered to buy one. I just didn't want to encourage Kirsty to drink. To be fair though she was fine and when she is with me she usually just gets merry and then is okay. It's when she goes out with other people and end up on shorts and wine and get too drunk too quick. I need to stop worrying about it though as even Nicky picked up on my tnesion and said I look like Ive got the weight of the world on my shoulders. It's not just Kirsty though to be fair, it's the fact I am still waiting for my money off Ash and he has made no attempt to pay anything back at all.
When we got back it was still a lovely evening so me and Layla took the dogs out for a walk to work off some of the calories we'd eaten. It's gorgeous when it's nice weather in the UK and there are so many nice places to visit. It's just a shame we don't get enough nice weather.
There are lovely farms near me and a nature reserve so when the weather is sunny it's lovely to walk the dogs and be around nature.
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