Mon, Dec 31st

The last day of 2oo7. First we drove to a small butcher shop near Sele Farm in Hertford to pick up a ham for dinner today and tomorrow. Then it was off to Welwyn Garden City to get some kitchen stuff for me in the sales. Well, Dawn too. She fancied some home made biscuits with her ham and realised we didn't have a rolling pin. Well that problem was solved pretty quickly. After that we grabbed a quick bit for lunch at Bebo's before heading to the grocery mad-house that was Morrisons. There were more people there today than before Christmas. The line of cars leading into the car park as we left reminded of us of the Publix in Dunedin when a hurricane was on its way.

At the house (you've guessed it), I was back in the kitchen again. This time baking honey glazed ham for tonight's dinner, macaroni and cheese (from Nigella Lawson's cookbook), and some home-made biscuits. Then, if that wasn't enough, when that had all gone down I made some caramelized bananas for dessert while we watched the movie Prestige on TV.

Being New Year's Eve, we had to stay up (much to Tiny's disgust) to see in the new year, stepping outside the front door seconds before midnight so that we could bring in the new year (with some coal, money, bread and a glass of wine in hand) for good luck.

Sun, Dec 30th

This was supposed to be a down day where we took things a little easy. However, it didn't turn out that way. Dawn spent several hours taking down our two Christmas trees and putting away all the ornaments.

I was kept busy, too. I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen making a nice and tasty beef stew to freeze before making dinner for the evening. We had (not that you need to know, but as it was delicious we thought we'd tell you) home-made salmon patties with slow roasted cherry tomatoes on rocket lettuce with goats cheese. I know, all we seem to have done this Christmas is eat, eat, eat. But, we have certainly enjoyed it!

Sat, Dec 29th

Today my daughter Hayley paid us a visit. I picked her up at Hertford East Station and together popped into Tesco to get some sandwiches for lunch. Back at the house, with Dawn, the three of us chatted about our Christmases and caught up on things. It was great to see Hayley and spend some time with her. Hopefully in the new year she will be back so we can all pop into town and enjoy some of the local scenery. I even promised to cook us all a nice roast lamb dinner with all the trimmings next time.

Fri, Dec 28th

This morning we had a ride out towards Hertford Heath to visit a local farm shop at Foxholes Farm. However, when we pulled up outside the shop we just couldn't bring ourselves to get out of the car and check out the butchery and delicatessen. There was a barn full of cute cows grazing on some straw. We just couldn't do it.

So it was off to Morrisons in Welwyn Garden City for the weekly grocery shopping. However, our journey didn't work out as planned. They didn't have a single sachet of Felix "As Good As It Looks" tuna. So once we got home and unpacked, we had to jump back in the car and head out to Crews Hill inside the M25. Now that Tiny has settled into eating this particular food, we weren't going to try her on something else.

Back home Dawn finally got a chance to read the day's newspapers while I made a cottage pie using Gordon Ramsey's recipe. It was "excellent". We have been in food heaven this Christmas.

Thu, Dec 27th

Today we had a ride up to Watton-at-Stone for lunch at The George & Dragon. A work colleague of mine that lives in Hertingfordbury recommended the place and she was spot on. The ambiance and food was excellent. Best of all was that we enjoyed a stroll around the little picturesque town and even found a butcher that sells mostly local food. We'll definitely be back here again. The butcher, who had been working there for over 30 years, also recommended some other pubs in villages nearby where we could get some excellent local food.

Back home I finished uploading all the photos that I had edited and posted them to our photo diary on the web. You can check them out by clicking on the link to the right. You can also check out our Christmas letter, too. We have links to both this year's and last year's for those who want a quick glance on what what we have been through the last two years.

Wed, Dec 26th

We used today to recuperate and relax after the last few days. We certainly needed to catch our breath after all that we had been doing. Best of all was that we didn't have to go anywhere. Although I did pop into town to pick up a couple of newspapers for Dawn.

With us eating such a big dinner yesterday, we decided to postpone our Christmas breakfast to today, Boxing Day. Needless to say, we both thoroughly enjoyed a plate of Eggs Benedict before jumping in the shower.

The rest of the day was spent with Dawn downloading music from i-Tunes and a new website we found where she could get songs for 5p each, and making a festive video call with Brady. I on the other hand spent forever editing all the photos that I had taken since Thanksgiving.

Best of all was that we were able to have some Christmas dinner seconds. Our leftovers from yesterday tasted even better, if that was possible.

Tue, Dec 25th

Christmas Day. As usual we got up early like kids to open our gifts. However, that was more because we had a long day ahead rather than eager to open our presents. Tiny joined in, but was more interested in her Christmas stocking than the chair we bought her.

Dawn and I opened each other's cards and those from Dad and Hayley before opening our gifts from each other. We both loved our gifts. Dawn especially loved her pearl earrings and personalised hardback book of our 1997 vacations. I just loved the gold cross she gave me.

Before a quick shower, I then got back into the kitchen to prepare the veggies for dinner and bake the stuffing. Then all of a sudden my cell phone rang. I answered it to hear my daughter Hayley's voice. We talked for a little before she hung up and called Dad. It was a Christmas gift better than money could buy.

We then drove up to Holloway to collect Dad and George and brought them back to Hertford. Here they were given a basket each, full of food goodies wrapped in Xmas paper, before I disappeared into the kitchen to complete our dinner.

As for the meal, it turned out to be the best Christmas meal I had ever cooked - Roast turkey, roast potatoes cooked in goose fat, honey baked parsnips, Brussels sauteed with pecans and bacon, sausages wrapped in bacon, stuffing, Yorkshire pudding, cranberry sauce and gravy. For dessert we had Christmas pudding, mince pies and whipped cream.

After allowing our food to go down, we took Dad and George home before crashing on the couch and watching a recording of the Queen's speech.

It was my best ever Christmas Day with a couple of text messages from Hayley before reading Christmas Jars (a gift from Brady and Jim) adding the icing to the cake.

Mon, Dec 24th

Yep, the Christmas period is well in the swing now. Today, again after another leisurely morning, I was back in the kitchen getting more stuff ready for the big day. This morning I made the Christmas stuffing. We used a recipe from last year that was excellent. I then wrapped the sausages in bacon and then cooked the turkey. This time I lay the bird on a bed of onions, carrots and garlic. We saw it on a food show recently and apparently it will add some wonderful flavours to the gravy.

Once that was in the oven, I went out the back to clear up the back yard while Dawn completed putting the year's photos in photo albums.

Tonight we watched the last of four films that we watch as part of our Christmas tradition - It's a Wonderful Life. The other three being Miracle on 34th Street, Christmas Vacation and of course Love Actually. I'm sure next year we'll add another film or two to the list.

Sun, Dec 23rd

We like the Christmas holidays. Today we took our time getting up and getting dressed. It made a nice change from rushing around. However, once we were up, and after Dawn had read the morning papers that I had gone out to get from the local newsagent, Dawn did have to tidy the house a little. I on the other hand ran into town and picked up a few presents for Dawn that I had not been able to get before.

Back at the house Dawn then continued to tackle the last eleven months' photos that we had taken. It's part of her usual festive routine. Leave the photos in a shoe box for the best part of the year and then in two days put them in photo albums while I work in the kitchen.

I made some home-made Beef Wellington. That too was excellent. Best of all was that we had plenty of left overs for Monday.

Sat, Dec 22nd

Today Mum and Dad should have been celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary. Sadly Mum is no longer around to enjoy the day with Dad. However, she is still with us in our minds and hearts. And on occasions still offering a helping hand where needed. Anyway, this morning we had a ride up to Holloway to collect Dad and George and take them to the cemetery to lay some flowers on Mum's grave, and also Dad's parents' grave, too.

Later in the day I watched Spurs on Sky Sports lose to Arsenal in a match that they should have at least got a point from if not won. Not a good start to the festive period for my team.

Dawn and I then chilled out watching a couple of films. The first we had recorded from Sky movies, The Holiday. Then after dinner we watched (as part of our Christmas tradition) our favourite film - Love Actually.

Fri, Dec 21st

At last Christmas is here. We may already have a Christmas tree beautifully adorned in the living room and a collection of Santas bringing some festive colour to the mantle piece, however, it didn't really feel like Christmas until we could turn our backs on our jobs for the holidays. And today we both felt one hundred percent better waking up knowing that we didn't have to go to work until the New Year. In fact, I never received one card from anyone I work with.

To celebrate, and get the festive season off and running, we booked a table at the White Horse Hotel in Hertingfordbury for lunch. We had been meaning to try this place out for a while and this seemed the ideal time to go. It certainly turned out to be a memorable occasion, but not for the reason we expected. We thought that the restaurant would be quaint and old, with a couple of areas for an even more romantic setting. However, the room was an open plan room with a conservatory attached to the back. Under the conservatory and stretching into the main area were four long banks of tables covered with white linen. The staff were laying the china and cutlery, not to mention party hats and Christmas crackers. Our single table was located to the side at the back of the room with two chairs side by side. In between was an area big enough to be used as a small dance floor after the party had finished the food. The party by the way was not scheduled to start until 7.30pm.

You've got it. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves. It did have piped Christmas music in the background, and the food was excellent. But the ambiance was not what we expected.

Thu, Dec 20th

When a company relocates their office in England, under employment laws the employer and employee must undergo a 12-week process called a consultation period. The main component of this is for the employee to visit the new location so that they are able to evaluate the affect on their working conditions and travel situation. So, today, Steve (my boss), Christine, Simon, Ilyas and I (the accounts team) made the journey over to the new location in Enfield.

After a leisurely walk through the building, the biggest issue was where the accounts department were to be located in the new set-up. The journey also received one or two complaints as well. Fortunately, when we arrived back in Hertford, the issue of the accounts office was raised with senior staff and it was agreed to move the department to a better location. As for the travel, that will be what it will be.

I ended the day feeling pleased that I had somehow been able to not only complete my week's work in four days, but had also been able to deal with the cash for November that Steve wanted and sorted out the first payment run since Lina had left last month. Unfortunately, I left for the Christmas break with one issue still to be resolved regarding the company's relocation in the New Year.

Wed, Dec 19th

Today I had a meeting with my new boss to discuss the move to Enfield and how it would affect me. It was a positive meeting with regards to my work load, as I will be passing a lot of the data input work I currently do to the new accounts assistant. We were even able to address the travel situation. Instead of being a five minute drive to the office, it's planned that I get the same train as Dawn in the morning and walk the two miles to work from Enfield Chase. This will mean that I will get to work around 8am. A huge difference from being able to go home for another hour to be with Tiny before I leave for work. I won't be coming home to see Tiny at lunch time either. As for the journey home, I will have to leave before 5pm so that I could be back at Enfield Chase station to catch the train Dawn had boarded at Old Street. I still have one or two things to resolve, but it's alot closer than things were a month ago.

A Christmas footnote: This morning I handed out Christmas cards to some of my work colleagues. Those in my immediate office also received a special CD that I had copied with my favourite Christmas songs.

Sun, Dec 16th

More relaxation today. However, I did work on some papers for work while Dawn had her video call with Brady. We then sat down and enjoyed watching Christmas Vacation on DVD before watching several Christmas cooking programs on the Food Channel.

Oh yea, Dawn also wrote out several cards for some of her workmates at her office.

Sat, Dec 15th

Today we spent the morning in Hertford. First port of call was to get our hair cut. However, the girl that cuts our hair did not turn up. We waited for about 30 minutes before the owner decided to do our hair herself. We had it easy though. She had to re-schedule all the other people who were due to have their hair cut that day to Sunday instead. That would have been her day off, but she decided to come in especially to make sure her customers got their cuts.

Then it was the usual places. WH Smith for newspaper and stationary, Clinton for some cards, the Oxfam shop for some cheap books to read, Waitrose for a Christmas pudding, and then the local garden centre to find something green and festive for the mantle piece. The latter being unsuccessful, I am afraid.

Back home we chilled out and watched the first of many Christmas films this festive season - the original Miracle on 34th Street. I always remember watching this when I used to arrive home from midnight mass in the early hours of Christmas morning. Later tonight we then watched the X-Factor final. Dawn was pleased that Leon won. Although we're both convinced that Rhydian will have a huge career.

Fri, Dec 14th

A nice day off work. However, it was not an inexpensive one. We dropped the car off at Marshalls in Welwyn Garden City for a major service and made our way on foot to the Howard Shopping Centre so Dawn could pick up some new work clothes. An hour later we got a call on the cell phone to advise us that we needed new front break pads and that a rear tyre had a slow puncture. That just doubled the cost of the bill. But we had no choice other than to get it done.

Dawn was in heaven though. Not because of the car. But because she was finally able to find some warm work clothes that she liked and that fit her. I got something, too. I picked up a new roasting pan for the Christmas turkey and an oven thermometer. After cooking the fruitcake cookies on Sunday, I felt I needed to check out whether our oven's temperatures came anything close to what they should be.

After a nice lunch we picked up the car (also had a silent cry when we paid the bill) and then drove around to Parcelforce to pick up a Christmas parcel Brady had mailed us. When we got home, Dawn found a couple of packages of grits and popcorn inside, as well as a few gifts that we put under the tree and several Christmas ornaments (including one for Tiny from Chance).

Thur, Dec 13th

This was a short week at work for the two of us as we both booked Friday as a day's vacation. However, this didn't mean that it was any easier as we both had to cram a week's work into less than four days. That was because I had a dentist appointment on Monday, and Dawn had an appointment with her doctor on Wednesday.

If that wasn't bad enough, I had to train and supervise the new bought ledger clerk at work, too. By tonight I was more than glad to be out of the office. Dawn on the other hand was having to deal with the aftermath of one of her director's resignation. It looks like as his PA she will be the one tasked with a lot of the handover of information from him to his successor. As with me, this will also mean in addition to her already extremely busy workload.

Sun, Dec 9th

Another busy Sunday. I did some (yes, you can guess) work on the baseboards before Dawn put our new Christmas tree up in the living room. Dawn keeps reminding me that it's a Fraser Fir. I, on the other hand, remind her that it's still artificial.

In the meantime, I made a mess in the kitchen while I baked six dozen fruitcake cookies. We used Brady's recipe as best as we could, but had to substitute some dried fruit for glazed pineapple pieces, which we couldn't find. The first batch got overcooked as I left them in the oven too long. I had stuck to the recipe. However, the later batches came out fine as I adjusted the temperature and the length of time I left them in the oven.

Sat, Dec 8th

After running out to do our grocery shopping, we made our way to Hertford North to catch a train to Holloway to visit Dad. We chilled out by reading our books. That was until Dawn noticed a reindeer on a leash looking into our carriage as we arrived at Gordon Hill station. Dawn asked me what it was doing there. Apart from suggesting it was waiting for a train to the North Pole to meet Santa, I hadn't a clue.

We caught the tube from Finsbury Park to Holloway Road so we could stop for a bite at the Coronet before stopping in to see Dad. However, as I had forgotten our umbrella in the car and it was pouring down with rain, we had to stop at a local shop to pick up a cheap one to keep our heads dry. This it did successfully (almost). However, our backs, jeans and feet were soaked by the time we got to Dad's. Thankfully, the walk back to the station afterwards was a little easier as the rain had subsided.

Back home, I worked on the baseboards again. This time I started to paint them.

Fri, Dec 7th

Today Dawn used some of her holiday entitlement by taking a day off work to recover from her long day yesterday. However, she didn't waste it with her feet up. I dropped her off in town when I went to work in the morning and she spent the next four and a half hours doing some Christmas shopping before I picked her up again when I popped out of the office for lunch.

After I returned to work, Dawn then spent a good few hours pulling out the Christmas ornaments. When I arrived home shortly after 5.30pm, I was welcomed with a wreath on the front door, a festive clown hanging in the den, a mini Christmas tree on the kitchen windowsill, a small Christmas tree in the bedroom on top of the dresser adorned with countless miniature ornaments, and a nativity scene on top of one of the radiator covers in the living room.

Again after dinner I worked on the baseboards before settling down in front of the television.

Thur, Dec 6th

Will this week ever end? We set the alarm for 4am this morning because Dawn needed to catch a 6.30am train from Stevenage and needed me to give her a lift there. Dawn then enjoyed (perhaps not the right word) a 3-hour hour ride to Durham where she attended a Business Continuity meeting at the university there.

I, on the other hand, had to drive out to the other side of Stanstead Airport to attend my company's overhead Christmas lunch at the Lion & Lamb. Thankfully it started around 1pm so I could make my way there and back without too much of a problem. However, it was probably the most surreal Christmas lunch I had ever attended. Our HR officer Christine was the only female present among the 30 attending the festive meal.

When I got home, I did more work on the baseboards before picking Dawn up at Hertford North after her long journey home (one that she needed to get two connecting trains resulting in a 20 minute wait on the platform in Stevenage). We finally sat down for dinner around 7pm feeling completely exhausted.

Wed, Dec 5th

Our busy weekend continued this week as I spent the evenings after work gluing baseboards to the walls in the living room and then filling the gaps the following night. At lunch for a couple of days I made a trip to the post office so I could mail some packages that we needed to send to the US, and also pick up stamps for our Christmas cards.

Oh yea, on Tuesday I also spent another half an hour on the treadmill. This time at 5am in the morning before we jumped in the shower and got ready for work.

Sun, Dec 2nd

A very busy day for us today. I continued from where I left off yesterday. First I sanded the walls that I plastered yesterday before adding a coat of paint. Next I fixed the two radiator covers to the wall, and then I started cutting the baseboards ready for the walls. I had a brief break while Dawn had her weekly video call with Brady around 1pm. I was also able to relax in front of the television for the second half of Spurs versus Birmingham live on Sky Sports. Once again they threw away points by conceding a goal in the second minute of injury time to lose the game.

Incredibly, I was also able to get out to the shed and spend half an hour on the treadmill. This was the first time this year that I had been on it, so I took it easy and didn't over do it.

Sat, Dec 1st

Another busy weekend. No rest for us this time. We had a ride up to Welwyn Garden City to do our weekly grocery shopping before stopping at B&Q to pick up some baseboards for the living room. That meant that when we got home I had to spend a couple of hours plastering the bottom of the walls so I could start fixing them this week.

Dawn, in the meantime, spent a good couple of hours writing out our Christmas cards and wrapping some gifts that we need to get in the mail next week.

Tues, Nov 27th

I don't know whether you all realise how finicky Tiny is when it comes to her food. When we lived in Florida, she would only eat Fancy Feast. When we arrived in England in March last year, we had to find an alternative. She liked Tuna or Chicken flavoured Sheba. Recently, when she wasn't eating her Sheba, we tried her on the Felix tuna. She loved it. The problem is that's all she wants now, so we have to run around to several stores to see if we can find more. Today, I had to make such a trip to Welwyn Garden City in my lunch break to satisfy our kitty's needs.

Dawn,on the other hand, had to stay behind this evening for a tea-time get together at the home of the new Vice Chancellor of the school so he could get a chance to meet all the PAs. Not Dawn's cup of tea. Worse was that she didn't get home until gone 7pm.

As for my work situation, we received confirmation today that my company have finally exchanged contracts on our new offices. This means that it's official that they will be moving out of their current offices in Hertford by the end of February. A consultation period has now started to address employees' issues and to see whether the concerns can be addressed.

Sun, Nov 25th

We had a fairly relaxing weekend for a change. Yesterday we did run out to Morrisons to do our weekly grocery shopping. But once home, we spent the rest of the two days pottering around catching up on all the things we have been neglecting over the last few weeks. I did watch the live coverage of West Ham versus Spurs on Sky Sports. Again Spurs did their best to throw some more points away in the dying minutes. It has been pretty tough watching them this season.

Fri, Nov 23rd

With the two of us enjoying a much deserved holiday from work, we popped over to Harlow to visit the Harvey shopping centre so Dawn could look for some warm work clothes at BHS and M&S. In addition to complaining about the bitter cold, she also complained that neither the sizes available or the styles of today really suited her. On the way back we did our grocery shopping at Tescos before picking up some stationery at Staples.

Thur, Nov 22nd

Thanksgiving Day. We woke early so I could make the broccoli casserole and bake the dressing before we headed out to pick up Dad and George to bring them to Hertford for a Thanksgiving meal. On the way we called into Jollyes and picked up a new litter box for Tiny. Her current one is over 18 months old and really needed to be replaced.

When we arrived home we gave Dad his belated birthday presents, which was a nice surprise for him. Then we sat at the table enjoying one of our favourite meals of the calender year. We had roast turkey, broccoli casserole, dressing, sweet potato mash with some boiled rice and gravy. A little later we had a slice of apple pie and ice cream before taking Dad and George back home.

All four of us really enjoyed the day, even if in Dawn's and my case it had been long and tiring. We were up at 5.30am so we could start preparing the food and drove to and from Holloway twice before we could finally settle down for the day around 6pm. At least we didn't need to prepare more food. We were still full up when we went to bed a couple of hours later.

Wed, Nov 21st

A sad day for England. After two days where Dawn was attending an emergency planning course at City University's business school, she was able to start her Thanksgiving celebrations early. Better still she was able to make the dressing and cook the turkey for Thursday's meal. As for the sad day, tonight we both watched England's qualifier with Croatia. The media have printed every adjective possible to describe the national side's lacklustre performance. But at the end of the day we will not be represented next year in the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland. As an Englishman, it's a travesty. But as a realist, we also have no one but ourselves to blame. Once again we failed to live up to our reputation, or reach the level of the nation's expectations.

Tues, Nov 20th

Following a late phone call last night, our plumber called around this morning and re-installed the radiator in the living room. However, even this wasn't without incident. The a seal on the valve was worn and the rad started to leak once he had installed it. Thankfully he had a spare one in his van and was able to fix it.

I also finished reading 'The Tide Knot' by Helen Dunmore. This enabled me to accomplish another one of my targets for the year - reading 50 books. That's a little over a book a week. Not having a television in the bedroom certainly helps, though.

Sun, Nov 18th

On Saturday we ran over to Welwyn Garden City and did the grocery shopping and picked up an artificial Christmas tree. Dawn kept on reminding me that it was a Fraser Fir. But at the end of the day, it's still an artificial one. At least it will save us having to fork out the best part of a couple hundred pounds over the next five years for live trees. Best of all, it will save on clear up afterwards.

On Sunday I spent a good couple of hours making a radiator cover for the radiator by the window. The radiator, however, is currently in the storage room as we're waiting for our plumber to come back and install it.

Fri, Nov 16th

This week I spent a lot of time with Lina so she could show me everything she does on the bought ledger. This is because next Tuesday will be her last day and the new Financial Controller has asked me to cover the position until we find a replacement. I have no problem with this. However, on Friday I had a meeting with the Financial Controller about something else I was not happy with. Only time will tell whether the matter is resolved to my satisfaction. If not, then I will be looking for a new job before the company relocates office in the new year.

Sun, Nov 11th

On Saturday we popped into town and did some shopping. We ran into the usual stores: Co-op Pharmacy, WH Smith, Boots, etc., before calling into the frame shop to pick up a couple of pictures that we had dropped off a few weekends back. Then it was up to Holloway to visit Dad and George.

On Sunday Dawn as usual did the laundry and ironing, while I did the vacuuming for a change. This was after I had gone to Hertford North railway station to pick up Dawn's monthly rail ticket. We even found some time to relax and watched The Devil Wears Prada on the television.

Fri, Nov 9th

After all the work we had done over the last few weeks, it was nice to concentrate on our jobs for a change. However, neither one of us found that easy. The two of us had a pile load of work, not to mention we both needed time out of the office for medical appointments. On Monday, Dawn dropped in to the dentist for a periodic review. On Thursday, I called in at my doctors to have my blood pressure checked. As expected, having gone there in my lunch break, it was higher than we would have liked. Now I need to get over to the hospital for a load of blood tests.

Sun, Nov 4th

The weekend was spent working on the living room and doing the chores as we feared. Dawn spent most of Saturday painting. First the windowsill, then the paneled wall, then a baseboard. And then finally the coving. In the meantime, I built a radiator cover from scratch. It doesn't seem much when you list it like this, but for some reason it took most of the day.

On Sunday, Dawn touched up some of the paint jobs after I had painted the radiator cover and hung the rear window curtain rail. Dawn also had to deal with the laundry and ironing as usual. At least we (including Tiny) could sit down at the end of the day and enjoy our front room. Although we still need to install some new baseboards and another couple of minor jobs.

Fri, Nov 2nd

Our last day off work was spent window shopping at the Howard Centre in Welwyn Garden City. We did pick up a few odds and ends and had a pub lunch in the Doctor's Tonic. However, the best part of the day was being off work and spending the time with each other.

Unfortunately by taking the last few days off from working on the house meant that it was all left for the weekend.

Thu, Nov 1st

Today 11 years ago the two of us met for the very first time at the top of the Empire State Building. We celebrated it by spending the whole day in Hertford, the town we now live in, after an incredible journey together.

We popped into a few shops and walked around the castle to enjoy the park that surrounds it. We also walked up to The Hillside and enjoyed a wonderful anniversary lunch at a Michelin star restaurant.

The day ended relaxing in front of the television with a cosy fire and Tiny laying next to me on the settee.

Tue, Oct 30th

Dawn spent her second day home painting the living room walls while I was at work. I on the other hand worked like a dog to make sure I had the manager's figures ready for the manager's meeting tomorrow. I had two days to do three days work. But at least once the day was over I was able to look forward to three days off.

Mon, Oct 29th

Dawn started her week off work by helping me rip up the old carpet in the living room and hall way before I went off to work. She was then imprisoned upstairs with Tiny while we had the new carpet laid. However, that wasn't the worst of it. The carpet fitters accused us of making a mistake with the measurements as they were short on the carpet for the hall. They could of course resolve the problem at an extra cost. At least they sorted it out. However, that just meant we had another dispute to resolve. The fitters also told Dawn that we would have to cut down a cupboard door as it wouldn't fit back on after they had laid the carpet. Again not true as I was able to hang it without any problems at all.

Sun, Oct 28th

Back to the grindstone again. We spent all day working on the living room or getting the chores done. First we had to wash down the living room walls, having got all the paper off this week. Then we had to fill all the holes and cracks (and there were plenty), and sand the walls. Next the baseboards came up (what a mess). And, finally we were able to put up the new curtains in the front window. We'd had brown paper up the last few days having taken down the old curtains on Friday.

Dawn had to do the laundry, ironing and hoovering, too.

Sat, Oct 27th

Today Dad finally got out of the hospital. During his 36 days there he had pneumonia, thrombosis in his leg, and was diagnosed as having malignant cancer. He only went there because he was feeling really rough and was having palpitations. Dawn and I drove up to take him home.

As for George, I called the flat again all morning and got no answer. We were really worried that something may have happened to him. Especially when Dad said he didn't pop up to see him Friday (he had been up every day previously).

When we arrived back at the flat we were a little concerned as to what we would find. Thankfully, George was there. Only just. He had passed out the day before and had been kept overnight in the West Middlesex Hospital. Needless to say, we have made sure that he and Dad have our correct cell numbers so someone can contact us in an emergency like this again.

In between we popped into Paul Simons in Harlow to sort out curtains for the front room and even found time to take some of the old ones down, too.

Fri, Oct 26th

I've spent the last four evenings of this week stripping the wallpaper from the walls in our living room. That may sound either excessive work or pretty slow work. I'd have to say it was the latter. The previous owners had embossed paper that they had painted, so I needed to removed several layers before I could get to the walls.

In between this and work I called the hospital and George. The doctors have been pleased with Dad's progress and are letting him come home on Saturday. As for George, he's been doing well on his own. With the exception of today, that is, as I never got hold of him despite calling the flat all night. We thought that he may have been spending his last night of freedom with a neighbour.

As for work, my new boss Steve started on Monday. It will be interesting to see how I get on with him compared to his predecessor. Dawn had another trip out of the office, too. On Tuesday she went to University of Westminster for an Estates Management Statistics workshop.

Sun, Oct 21st

On the seventh day God rested, and we tried to do the same. However, Dawn still needed to do the ironing. Although I did help with the vacuuming.

We also popped out to Harlow to visit CarpetRight and ordered some new carpet for the living room and hall, and checked out some curtains in Paul Simons. It feels like all we do is spend money at the moment. But at least the living room will look nice once we have finished. Not to mention it will be ours and look the way we want it to.

This afternoon I watched Lewis Hamilton miss out on becoming the first driver to win the Formula 1 World Title in his rookie season. He did well to achieve what he has. Maybe he'll go one better next season.

Sat, Oct 20th

What a hectic weekend. We started the day with a ride into town where we dropped into Frame Shop (to get our Empire State Building and Dunedin pictures framed), Hertford Pet Store (grass for Tiny), Woolworths (umbrella for Dawn; she left the last one on the train), Co-op pharmacy (for Dawn's prescription), Albany Radio (filters for the Hoover), a jewellers for a watch battery, and then Cafe Nero for a coffee and hot chocolate while we waited for 11am to come around so we could get our haircut at Fringe Benefit.

Then it was back home for lunch before I headed up to the Whittington Hospital to visit Dad on my own. Dawn by now was dead on her feet and was also concerned about passing her bug onto Dad. As for him, he was still positive despite starting his fifth week in a hospital bed and receiving the news that his growth is also malignant. They are now doing tests to see whether the cancer is the same as the prostate or something new. He's definitely been through the wars this year.

Tonight we watched the first live show in the X-Factor show. We'd got hooked on American Idol when we were in Florida. However, we prefer the style and makeup of this show a lot more. I then watched England lose the Rugby World Cup Final to South Africa 15-6 while Dawn slept on the sofa while the fire was blazing in front of her .

Fri, Oct 19th

The winter is here in Hertford. For the second day running I had to scrape ice off the windscreen of the car before taking Dawn to the station. Thank God we'll be able to put the new gas fire on in the mornings from this weekend. At least it won't be so cold in the house before we set out for the day.

In addition to that Dawn now has the flu. She didn't have the stomach problems I had last week but now feels like crap. She would have stayed home today in the warm, but she had a special project at work that she had to do. On the way home tonight she fell asleep on the train and was lucky she woke up as the other commuters got off the train at Hertford North.

At least Dawn was able to relax in front of a nice warm fire. We lit the fire for the first time and enjoyed the nice flames without having to spend ages trying to light the wood like we used to. Tiny got a little upset because she wasn't the center of attention and started to claw on the furniture and chew papers.

Wed, Oct 17th

Good news from Chiswell Fires. I spoke to the owner this morning and he confirmed that the installers had not gone the correct route when laying the new gas pipe for the fire. He did give me the choice of having them come back and relay the pipe correctly. But, as a compromise I was more than happy to leave it as it was when he offered to waive the cost of the installation. As it would have been a couple of hundred pounds using the new route, I was happy to leave it was it was.

Tues, Oct 16th

Dawn took today off work so she could be at home while we had our new gas fire fitted into the living room. Already it's getting pretty cold out here in Hertford where the temperature in the mornings is a little above freezing when we get up.

The fire was installed, including with the guys from Chiswell Fires having to drill out a channel through the concrete floor for the pipe. However, the route they took was three times the distance agreed with their surveyor, so we weren't pleased with that as they charge by the feet for this. At least the new fireplace makes the front room look a lot more cosy. We just have to wait until Friday before we can get the pleasure from its warmth.

Dad finally had the biopsy of his growth today. It took longer than planned because the doctors wanted to make sure his I&R was okay because they needed to be sure that the area would stop bleeding after they had done the biopsy.

Mon, Oct 15th

Back to work after my long weekend. I still can't believe I had food poisoning. It felt more like flu symptoms, but with acute stomach problems. At least it's subsided enough for me to be able to get back to the office and start earning a wage again.

Sun, Oct 14th

In preparation for the new fire going in, we had a couple of tasks we had to get out of the way today. One was moving the bookshelf that housed many of our mementos and souvenirs up to the spare room. We decided to use it as a bookshelf for a change and put the ornaments and some bears on the fitted wall in the old dining area. This also meant that I had to rearrange the spare room to accommodate the bookcase.

Once this was done I needed to paint the chimney breast. The old brick wall already looked a darn sight better having been plastered over. The brilliant white paint made it look even better. The only problem is that we now need to paint the rest of the room. Although we'll wait until the fire has been installed before tackling that task.

Oh yea, congratulations to England on beating the French in their own back yard last night to reach the Rugby World Cup final for the second time.

Sat, Oct 13th

Today we headed out to Stevenage for Dawn to take the practical half of her driving test. Let's just say, for legal reasons (she doesn't want to be sued), it did not end in success.

Then after a trip to the grocery store and short visit with Tiny we headed up to the Whittington Hospital in North London to pay Dad a visit. I of course kept my distance as I didn't want to pass on my bug to him. He looked in good spirits despite the bad news of the last seven days, and the fact that he was now starting his fourth week there.

I suppose it helps that George has been up to see him every day, Dawn and I pop up to see him at weekend, and even Phil (with Jean on Friday) has been up to see him twice this week.

Fri, Oct 12th

I'm still off sick, and yes I've now lost two days' pay. This sucks!!!!!!!!

Thu, Oct 11th

My stomach finally got the better of me today. Or I should say last night. After the best part of five days trying to ignore the symptoms, I finally gave in to to the pains and contacted my doctor. To my disbelief (I had also been suffering with flu type symptoms), diagnosed food poisoning. This despite the fact that I had been having these symptoms for over five days now. Anyway, hopefully a course of antibiotics will help. Needless to say, I stayed off work today. The first day I'd been off sick at my new place of work since I started. Even worse was that I lose a day's pay in the bargain.

On the plus side, while I was at home, I had the chimney swept ready for the new gas fire that is scheduled to go in next Tuesday. Check out the Mary Poppins view scene.

Wed, Oct 10th

Today the accounts team, including the current Financial Controller who is leaving at the end of the month, met with his possible replacement. We all met him in the board room to give us a chance to ask him some questions and also give him a chance to meet the people he would be working with. It was certainly a novel way to manage finding a new employee, but at least he won't have any shocks to face should he join the fold.

Dawn in the meantime met with Mavis and Margaret at the Angel and had a nice pub lunch at The Steam Passage in Islington High Street. The three ex-Schiller work colleagues really enjoy catching up on what everyone has been up. However, Dawn is a little envious that the other two are now retired and can now roam freely Monday to Friday instead of trundling off to work.

Dad had yet another examination and got the results of some earlier scans. In addition to prostate cancer, he now has a growth somewhere else to worry about. However, we'll have to wait for the results of a biopsy to see whether this is malignant.

Mon, Oct 8th

Back to the grindstone again. However, today both Dawn and I left work early and for similar reasons. Dawn had a 5.40pm appointment with her doctor to follow up on her recent stomach ailment, and me because I too had a stomach problem. Hopefully the two aren't related. I also popped into Specsavers earlier in the day to complain about my verifocal glasses. It seems that the centre of the spectacles hadn't been lined correctly with my line of vision and was causing the blurred vision and headaches. All seems okay now.

Sat, Oct 6th

Today we had a ride into town to pick up a new pair of glasses. However, after getting them home and wearing them around the house, I decided I'll have to take them back. We then did some grocery shopping before heading home.

After lunch we popped by the local sorting office to mail a card to Kelly (Dawn's sister) for her birthday on the 16th. Thanks to the Post Office strike, it may not get there on time. We then headed up to the hospital to visit Dad, taking some grapes and a camera magazine for him. Dad was asleep, so we didn't wake him. Thankfully he woke up after a little while and we had a chance to chat with him.

Dad was in good spirits considering that he had now been in the hospital over two weeks. The good news is that the swelling on his leg seems to be going down. The bad news is that (in Dad's words) his prostate is no longer benign. However he is still in good spirits.

Fri, Oct 5th

Today Dawn took a day off work so one of us could be at the house while the plasterer repaired the damaged wall in the living room and old dining room. We moved what we could from the living room, but we couldn't move the sofas and bookcase with our ornaments on so we covered them with some old sheets. We remembered the mess that he left behind when he repaired the damaged ceiling. Dawn didn't want to have to deal with that all again.

As for the work. Let's just say that we were both pleased to see the chimney breast covered and a smooth surface for when the fire goes in. Not to mention the yellow stains and damaged plaster from the water leak removed.

Called the hospital as usual and found out that Dad had a second scan today. That's three in five days. Thank goodness we have the NHS.

Thu, Oct 4th

Today I asked my boss for a couple of hours off to visit Dad in hospital - so I was able to pop up to the Whittington Hospital to visit him again. Dad looked well considering he has DVT (a thrombosis of his leg). Unfortunately they won't allow him out until the swelling goes down. The good news is that the cyst on his kidney looks the same size as it was six months ago, so the doctors are pleased with that.

My visit was cut short when the hospital porter arrived with a nurse to take him downstairs for a CT scan.

I was also able to see George while I was there. He seems to be coping well on his own this time.

When I got home from the hospital I finished scraping off the wallpaper for Friday and removed the cast iron fire from the fireplace. We'll be glad to get a nice warm fire installed just in time for the winter.

Wed, Oct 3rd

As part of the new fire project, we decided to move the thermostat from the wall next to the chimney breast to the wall in the old dining room between the living room and the kitchen. Following the problems I had changing the light fittings in the bedroom (due to the poor wiring), we decided to get the same electrician back to do it for us.

All seemed to go well until he drilled through the wall and hit neutral wire leading down the socket outlet connected to his power drill. Thankfully the circuit breaker worked and he didn't hit the live wire. He repaired the damage he'd made before finishing the job.

While this was going on, I was scraping the wallpaper off one of the walls that the plasterer was going to repair at the end of the week. I had already removed the decorative bricks that had been glued to the wall (instead of normal baseboards) the previous night.

Mon, Oct 1st

Today I was late in to work as our plumber came out to remove the toilet and radiator from the small room at the back of the house. We felt it was a waste of money heating the room, plus we wanted to use the room for storage instead. On the downside, we'll have to visit the bathroom upstairs in future. The plumber also removed one of the radiators in the living room so the plasterer due at the end of the week can plaster the wall.

Dad had an ultrasound while he was in hospital. Here's been in there eleven days now.

Sun, Sep 30th

Finished!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I finally finished the first draft of Leap of Faith. It's taken over ten weeks of writing every day, coupled with reading every email that Dawn and I exchanged in the three months before we met in New York, but it was worth it. Although, I have to admit there were times when I got very emotional writing about some of the events that we went through leading up to that fateful day. I felt like I was reliving each and every experience all over again. At times it was heartbreaking, but worth it.

As for the stats, over the last week I wrote over 46,000 words and completed over quarter of a million by the time I finished. The page count was an incredible 524. This means that when I sit down to edit the book it will take a very long time. However, that won't be until the middle of November. My next writing project will be writing a children's book for a competition that Dawn saw in the Sunday Times a few months back. I need to write it, edit it, and have it ready to go by the middle of November. Wish me luck.

Sat, Sep 29th

Today Dawn and I had errands to run and popped into town before doing our grocery shopping at the local Morrisons in Welwyn Garden City. While in town I had to pop into Specsavers to order some new glasses. Last week I had popped in to to get my eyes tested as I was having a problem with the VDU at work. Then, they quoted a price of nearly £300 for a set of verifocal glasses. Today, after we discussed the options in greater detail, I was able to get the price down to just under £200. However, they will not be thin and lightweight, or have an anti glare coating. I wasn't paying an additional £100 for features I didn't need.

Back at the house I then spent the rest of the day, and even night (up until gone 11pm), writing the first draft of my book Leap of Faith (provisional title). I set myself the target of the last day of September to complete it and I was still on course, just.

Thu, Sep 27th

Today was Dad's 80th birthday and he celebrated it in the Whittington Hospital. Dad was aware that I had been phoning the hospital every day to check on his progress, and calling George in the evening to see how he was doing. However, I decided to surprise him by taking half a day off work to go and see him and wish him a happy birthday in person. I had told him the previous Saturday that I wouldn't be able to make it during the week as I was too busy at work. However, as I thought he might still be in hospital and we weren't able to do something special for him, the least I could do was surprise him. He seemed to be pleased to see me. As he had every day George dropped in too. Phillip also took some time off work and made the trip with Jean as well. I think it was nice for Dad to have three of his sons visit him on his special day.

Wed, Sep 26th

Dawn had yet another trip to make today. This afternoon she visited the Guildhall in central London to attend an Emergency Planning conference. Although conference would be a slight exaggeration as there were only a couple of speakers. One being a work colleague of hers, which was why she attended.

As Dawn was late getting home, I decided to surprise her with a take out from a Chinese restaurant in Hertford, Paddyfields, that we hadn't tried yet. It was well worth the trouble. The Won Ton soup was the best Dawn had ever tasted, and the mussels in black bean sauce were excellent as were the salt and pepper chicken wings. The only down side was that none were really the ideal food for Dawn's sensitive stomach.

Tue, Sep 25th

Today Dawn stayed off work with a stomach complaint. It had been playing up for over a week, so she decided to see her GP. He gave her a prescription that seems to have eased the symptoms, if not cured the problem. She then spent the rest of the day on the computer typing out minutes for work that she hadn't been able to complete when she was in the office thanks to countless interruptions and the piles of other work she needed to do.

Sun, Sep 23rd

Called the hospital and George and both he and Dad seem to be doing fine. The hospital called George and asked him to bring up some slippers and Dad's glasses, so that sounded positive. When I called George later he said that Dad was sitting up, and even moaned at him that he had brought the wrong hangers up. That too was a good sign.

Dawn and I spent the day at home. Dawn was shattered from the week she'd had, and I spent the whole day writing. By the time I hung it up around 5pm, I had written over 9,500 for the day and had completed in excess of 200,000 words and over 430 pages.

Sat, Sep 22nd

Last night I called our hedge man and cancelled that so we could ride up the hospital to visit Dad. We had no idea how he would look, and to be honest were concerned because he did not sound at all well when I spoke to him Thursday evening. We ran out early to do our grocery shopping then swung by to collect George before making our way up the hospital.

We were both relieved to see him resting comfortably. The doctor came around earlier and was pleased to confirm that they had stabilised his heart problem, and got his fever under control. However, the bad news was that he had pneumonia. Hopefully they found out quick enough that it didn't become too serious. Dad seemed fine and was talking normally and sounded alot better than he did on Thursday, so that was a good sign. We gave him his birthday card (he will be 80 on Thursday) before leaving him to drop George home.

Fri, Sep 21st

Tonight I called Dad to check on him and got no answer. As he didn't sound too good on Thursday, I immediately called the Whittington Hospital and found that he had been admitted to the Recess ward. Several calls followed before I found out that he had gone there earlier in the afternoon with a fever and high pulse rate. Thankfully they had given him several ECGs and said that he wasn't having another heart attack. By 9pm they said that he had a cold and they were keeping him overnight for observation. George was with him and said he seemed okay.

Thu, Sep 20th

Again Dawn was out and about. I dropped her off at Hertford North around 5.15am so she could get a train into London to meet up with a work colleague at Paddington station. Together they then got a train to Bath University in the west country for yet another business continuity conference. She's a busy girl. By the time she arrived back shortly after 6pm, she was exhausted.

Tues, Sep 18th

Yesterday Dawn was again out of the house early as she had to attend a Business Continuity course. This time in Chiswick, on the west side of London. Thankfully it wasn't a real long day for her and she was home normal time.

Today we travelled together on the train as I had my periodical examination at our dentist in Winchmore Hill. All went well, I am glad to say.

Sun, Sep 16th

Today we just took it easy. I'll rephrase that. We stayed home and were busy. Once Dawn had finished reading the newspaper, she did some laundry, vacuumed the house, hung out the laundry, ironed my shirts for work, edited the Scotland diary, and still found some time to play with Tiny.

I, on the other hand, made grits for Dawn's breakfast (I had crumpets), grilled cheese toast for lunch, a large bowl of home made bean soup to freeze for dinners in the week, and then cooked a roast chicken for dinner. I also spent the best part of five or six hours writing our story. I have now completed 176,000 words and 370 full pages of text. I still have another two weeks to get to the end of October 1996, so should be able to finish the initial draft of the book by the end of the month.

Sat, Sep 15th

Today we had a ride (again by car) to see Dad and take him to the cemetery. Although we had been there last Saturday, Dad prefers to go there on the anniversary of when Mum was buried rather than the day she passed away. On the way back to his flat, the four of us, including George, dropped into the Flask at Highgate for lunch. The food was nice and the place was booming. Clearly the no smoking ban hadn't done any harm here. Admittedly virtually everyone was outside in the gorgeous sunshine.

Fri, Sep 14th

Today Dawn left work because she had an appointment at the "Doctors". As she was in town when I left work, we decided to try out the Thai Rack for an ethnic meal and see how their Red Chicken Curry compared to the one she gets at the Pride of Siam when she goes out for lunch with Tessa at work. It was good, but Dawn still preferred her usual curry from the restaurant in Exmouth Market.

Thur, Sep 13th

Today was one long work day for my poor wife. She needed to attend a Carbon Trust workshop at Nottingham Trent University and had an interesting day to say the least travelling there and back. First she needed to get a train from Hertford North to Stevenage. That was so she could get a train that went to Petersborough. And when she got to Petersborough she got another train that took her to Nottingham. But the fun didn't end there. Once she arrived there, she had to walk several blocks to catch a tram to the University. If that wasn't enough, in addition to having to make the reverse journey home again and not getting in the front door till nearly 8pm, each time she got off a train she had to stand around for over 20 minutes for the next train. She was not a happy camper when she got home. She was smiling even less when I reminded her that she has a trip to Chiswick on Monday and then Bath next Thursday, too.

Sat, Sept 8th

Today was the tenth anniversary of Mum passing away, so Dawn and I had a ride up to the cemetery to lay some flowers on her grave. I got pretty upset seeing the date in the marble stone and couldn't believe that it had been so long. When we got home, I continued to edit the Scotland diary and finally finished my edits. Now Dawn can get back on the computer and make my changes. You may be able to read it by the end of October if you're lucky.

Oh yea, today marked eighteen months since arriving back from Florida and yesterday was our first anniversary of the day we moved into Cecil Road.

Mon, Sept 3rd

I had a late start at work today as I had to wait in for someone from the fire showroom to check the gas run for the fire, a plumber to check the water leak that was damaging the wall between the living room and computer area, and an insurance surveyor to check on the damage caused by the said leak. The first and last visit went well, but the plumber wanted £300-£350 to re-grout some tiles and put some caulk around the shower base. I thought I could do it cheaper and said no thanks.

Sun, Sept 2nd

Even though it was a short week thanks to the bank holiday on Monday, we were both glad to see the weekend arrive. However, a leisurely ride on the train to see Dad on Saturday was sabotaged as we needed to drop into Jollyes along the way to get some litter for Tiny. It's not only the cheapest we can find, but Tiny prefers their brand of white crystals. As everyone knows, it's only the best for our Tiny.

Today was a day of rest with me working virtually all day on writing in one shape or another. Again, I spent several hours or more on our book before taking a breather to spend another couple of hours editing my copy of the Scotland diary. Dawn in the meantime had her weekly video call with Brady.

Mon, Aug 27th

Hurrah, it's a bank holiday and we didn't have to go to work today. However, we didn't have it all easy. Dawn did some vacuuming she neglected to do yesterday, not to mention some ironing and washing. I, on the other hand, prepared some bean salad for our lunches this week, and made a nice roast beef dinner, our first in ages. This was after we'd had an excellent Zucchini Carbonara last night, thanks to a new recipe we saw Jamie Oliver do on his new cooking show.

It wasn't all work and no play though. Yesterday we watched 'An Affair to Remember,' the classic Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr movie where they were supposed to meet at the top of the Empire State Building. And today we saw the George Clooney movie about McCarthyism called 'Good Night, and Good Luck.'

And I have also been writing every day working towards completing the first draft of my book about how Dawn and I met. It's been incredible re-reading all the emails we wrote to each other eleven years ago. As for the book, I am averaging over 3,000 words a day and have completed over 103,000 words (217 full pages of text). And I still have the whole month of October to go, not to mention our fateful weekend in New York.

Sat, Aug 25th

Today we headed out to St Albans to visit a gas fire showroom. As much as we like having an open fire where we can light our logs and listen to them crackle, it's just too much work keeping the damn fire clean, not to mention we can only use it while we're in the house all day. We really wanted something that we could use in the mornings before work and in the evenings, too. A nice gas fire would suit the bill perfectly. We left after placing an order to have one fitted in about five to six weeks' time. Unfortunately when we got home we noticed that it looks like we have another water leak. This time from underneath the shower. Needless to say, we're not looking forward to having to deal with this too.

Fri, Aug 24th

Today I completed my six month probation, and can now relax knowing I have a full time job and can't be shown the door with just seven days' notice. It's just a shame that I can't celebrate the fact. Instead I have a few months to wonder whether my company will be relocating and I'll be looking for another job by Christmas. Although the move looks likely at the moment, I am still holding out for the 'nothing is as expected as the unforseen' to happen, but don't hold out a great deal of hope.

In the meantime, I spent the week working on the labour analysis, covering for the purchase ledger clerk who was on vacation, doing management charts for the Financial Controller, and last but not least working on a proposal for migrating one of our information systems to another. I didn't seem to remember any of this in my job description when I started work there six months ago.

Wed, Aug 22nd

Following weeks of waiting, today we finally had the three piece purple light fitting removed from our bedroom ceiling and replaced by a ceiling fan and light. I came home from work early to be at the house for the electrician and ended up being home the rest of the day. At least it gave me a chance to do some more writing.

Sun, Aug 19th

After a day where we had spent most of the time out of the house, we spent Sunday at home with Tiny and she loved it. She spent most of the time resting on a Publix paper bag on the floor, or the couch behind me, while I was writing or while I was sitting on the couch watching the movie "Ice Storm" with Dawn.

Dawn was able to speak to Kelly for the first time in a month, and then had her weekly call with Brady.

As for me, I made some chili, and wrote, wrote, and wrote some more. I quit halfway through the afternoon to give my eyes a rest having completed over 75,000 words and 16o A4 pages of my first novel. I have now set myself a target of completing the first draft by the end of September so watch this space.

Sat, Aug 18th

Today we got out early and did our grocery shopping before the rest of mankind descended on Morrisons. We need to do that in future. Then after a salad for lunch we caught the train from Hertford North to Finsbury Park to see Dad and George instead of making the 40 mile round trip by car. It may have cost more than it would have in petrol, but it was certainly less stressful than making the trip by road.

While we were there Hayley called Dad and asked if it was okay for her to pop up to see him. We bumped into Hayley after we left Dad's on our way back to the station.

Back home, I continued to write our story, which I have now provisionally called 'Leap of Faith' because it described exactly what we did when we met in New York for the first time back in 1996.

Fri, Aug 17th

Dawn has had another week of problems with her daily commute to work, but not for the reasons she has become familiar with. On both Monday and Tuesday, I got held up in traffic on the way to pick Dawn up at the Hertford North station. What made matters worse was that I couldn't find out what caused the problem. On both occasions Dawn had to start making her own way home walking, while carrying some kind of injury in her foot. Thankfully I was able to meet her halfway home. Wednesday night I left 15 minutes early and sailed through in no time and had to wait 20 minutes for her train to arrive. On Thursday, there was another delay but Dawn's train was late, and on Friday I left ten minutes early and got out just before the traffic built up. Hopefully next week won't be so bad.

Sun, Aug 12th

We had another successful day working on the Scotland diary and our future best seller, Our Story.

Dawn sat on one chair with the laptop reading aloud while I called out the changes to the travel diary. Occasionally, we would be in fits of laughter, like when I fell down the stairs. However, you'll have to wait until we finish it before reading how that happened.

As for our story, I passed one hundred pages. I've now written in excess of 50,000 words and averaging 20,000 a week. It's got to the point where I'd rather be writing than going to work. Which is what I'd rather be doing anyway. Oh yea, as with the Scotland diary, you'll have to wait until it's completed and a bestseller. Which it will be. Just mark my words. I've always wanted to write and always wanted to be a writer, and for the first time in my life I actually believe it will happen.

Sat, Aug 11th

Bet won, bet lost. However, even the loser had something to celebrate this time. Dawn, after three months abstinence, finally gave in and went to a hairdresser and got her hair cut. She couldn't cope with spending quarter of an hour every morning fighting a battle with her hair that she felt she could never win.

So, with tail between her legs, she apologised for being so weak before dancing up and down having lost her curly waves.

Thu, Aug 9th

More fun at work for me. For the umpteenth time our systems were down again. No one could send or receive emails all day. The accounts department couldn't access Sage, so no invoices were posted or payments made. The Adeo system kept on disappearing as did the fileservers, so no one could access their documents. No one keeps their work on their desktops. All in all it was a waste. It's nice to know that in the 21st century we have advanced from books, ledgers and typewriters powered by finger tips instead of electricity.

Mon, Aug 6th

More fun at the White household. Over the weekend the sight of a few wasps in the kitchen had progressed to a dozen in the ceiling light fitting. A nice nest had formed in the brick vent that allowed ventilation to the loft and the wasps were being drawn into the kitchen by the light. I called around in an effort to find someone who could come out before Tiny caught one of them and got stung.

Luck was on our side as I found someone who could be at the house by noon. Unfortunately, he didn't arrive until half one. Then, once he had pumped poison into the brick, he informed me that he would have to smoke the pests out to guarantee success. Which by the way would cost twice what I was quoted at around £100. Left with no choice, I told him to go ahead and just do it. Thankfully we can report that the smoke did work.

Sun, Aug 5th

Today was even better than yesterday because, not only did we not have to go to work, we also spent the whole day at home. That is except for my trips to the Post Office down the road for the The Sunday Times, and Tesco in town for some baking soda.

The rest of the day was tied up with doing things we both love to do. Well, except for Dawn vacuuming and ironing that is. Dawn spent almost all her spare time reviewing and editing our Scotland diary. By the time she quit for the evening she had only a few pages left and would be able to complete it in the morning. I spent virtually all day on the laptop writing 'Our Story.' After finishing the Scotland diary, I finally settled into writing the book about how Dawn and I met eleven years ago. It's painstakingly slow, but I am getting there.

I also spent some time in the kitchen boiling pasta twirls to make tuna salad for my lunches this week, baking oatmeal muffins for Dawn, and prepped some fajita mix for this week. I also got some breaded turkey steaks ready for dinner, too.

Sat, Aug 4th

It's been a long time since we've looked forward to a weekend as much as this. Both of us had a rough week at work again. Although Dawn had a good review meeting, as I'd had a few weeks back, other issues at the work place made us both look forward to the sanctuary of each other's company and our home.

Even running up to the grocery store wasn't as bad for Dawn as normal. Especially as she drove the car to help her in her goal towards passing the second part of her driving test. Although she turned down the opportunity to drive to Dad's this afternoon. She hates the drive into London; thankfully she can tolerate being a passenger. As usual we enjoyed Dad and George's company before heading back to Hertford and steamed mussels and French bread for dinner.

Sun, Jul 29th

Following a wonderful meal last night, some may think I might have had a little to much to drink and had been suffering from the after effects of the night before. Especially when I allowed Dawn to use the gadgets she had picked up yesterday in John Lewis labeled, 'Haircutting for Dummies.' It was the plural of dummy that I didn't understand. If I was sitting in the chair while Dawn had the hair trimmer in her hand behind my back, who was the other dummy? I hoped to God it wasn't Dawn.

All joking aside, she did a pretty good job on me. And I didn't mean for that to sound the way that it came out. She did a good job cutting my hair, I should say.

The rest of the day was spent doing the usual weekend chores before settling down to watch the 'Da Vinci Code' on Sky Movies.

Just for the record, Dawn said she won't let me try out the trimmer on her hair as she ain't no DUMMY!