Freedom!

Tommy the roofer and his men had their first weekend off for the first time since they started this job at Easter!  With the scaffolding also gone it felt like we'd been released from jail so we made our escape and enjoyed a little time in the garden.  Lola had a ball (quite literally!  :-)) 

I also did something today that I haven't done for 20 years....took delivery of new shoes bought online from the high street!!  And not just one pair....seven pairs!!! 

Those of you who have followed me for a while know that due to a motorbike crash in my teens and the resulting arthritis from broken bones, my shoes usually come courtesy of the NHS Orthotics Dept.  Two pairs of the ugliest shoes ever, every four years (if I'm lucky) but I am grateful because they are comfortable and I would be lost without them, however there are many things I would love to wear but don't purely because it would just look ridiculous with these shoes.

I've been dreading trying to find outfits for the weddings we have coming up in 2023/24 purely because of these shoes.  But I had a eureka moment last week!  Most of the time when we are out, unless I only have a short distance to walk, I am in my wheels, so if I am not walking / standing for any length of time, I don't need to wear the Ugly Clodhoppers!!  Jeez!  It's only taken me a year to work that out!  

So I ordered 7 pairs of casual shoes, trainer types and converse types, to wear with jeans, and one pair of dressy shoes, thinking I would perhaps keep two pairs if they were suitable.  Turns out they all fit me and I love them all, well apart from the dressy ones which were a little tight, but no worries, turns out my best friend Agnes was thinking of buying the same pair so she's bought them from me :-) 

I have justified keeping the seven pairs as none of them were expensive and it's the first shoes I have bought in 20 years.  And of course I am now looking forward to looking for wedding outfits knowing I am not restricted to wearing the clodhoppers! :-)

After the excitement of trying on all the shoes, I was running late for Agnes, Adrian, Emily and Sam arriving.  Luckily they were running late too so it all worked out perfectly.

We had time for drinks before heading to the golf club for our anniversary dinner (their wedding anniversary was two days before ours and two years ahead of us)  It's so great to be able to trundle to the club under my own steam and not have David have to drive the short distance.  We had a lovely evening.  Delicious food and lots of laughter.  Great to hear all about Emily and Sam's wedding plans for next year and about Emily's five months at the University of Amsterdam as part of her marine biology course.

More chatting and laughter once we got back home and I think it was almost 2am by the time we called it a night.

Good times :-)