Already at the end of April and this month feels like we're slowly starting to see the end of the house building works and start to concentrate on the garden, in the hope that actual Spring and Summer might be around the corner, but for now it's still pretty cold for this time of the year!

On the first weekend of this month, which was Easter weekend, Ellen had Lena's princess birthday party in Worthing, so after dropping her off there, Una, Ian and myself headed down to the beach to fly the kite and then up to the pier for a walk along and some lunch. That afternoon we were just at home and some time in the garden.

During that week, we managed to get the brickwork sorted above the living room doors which, up until then, was hindering the plaster work on the back of the house. Very happy with the end result and came out looking much better than first expected!

The next weekend we met up with Greg, Kim and the boys at Godstone Farm which was fantastic - very interactive with the animals and a few play zones and the kids really had a good time and enjoyed catching up with them. On the Sunday we had Laura with the boys over for brunch at ours, followed by an afternoon in the garden.

During that week, Ken finished up the exterior rendering and plastering, very happy with how it's looking, so next up will be to get it painted.

Then on that Friday after work I drove over to Hove to meet up with Una and the kids who had spent the afternoon in Brighton and Hove, so met up near Hove Lawns, took a stroll along the promenade and then headed home. The weekend was then fairly action packed with kids activities - Ellen had PQA on Saturday morning while Ian and myself headed to Vale Park. Then that afternoon we had Lila and Lark's party at Monkey Bizness in Lewes and on the Sunday we had William's birthday at Portslade Sports Centre.

The following weekend was busy around the house doing various DIY and house jobs, like sorting out the living room before the new flooring went in, as well as exterior window and soffit cleaning now that the painting is complete and wanted it done before the scaffolding came down. Then during that week we had the living room floor done which looks so much better compared to that old green carpet :) Last Friday we had the scaffolding taken down which has made a huge impressive difference to the house - can actually see the house again and looks amazing with the rendering and painting done - very happy with the result!

This past weekend was a mix of kid's birthday parties (Liam's in Portslade Village Centre on Saturday and Sophia's at Shark Park on Sunday) and in between those, Una managed to get the living room painted while I cracked on with the garden and tried to get some new turf laid where I could. Still plenty more to do, but good to get started with the garden.

This brings us to the end of April, hopefully we can get the last of the building works finished next month, like the patio tiling, the side gate and the driveway cleaned up. Then we'll be ready for the summer months which hopefully aren't too far away now...

The start of March brought an end to my few weeks of being "between jobs", which I utilised rather well with various DIY jobs getting done and started up the biltong making again which was good. Then on the Monday the 4th, I had an early start getting into London for my first day at Thispacerrd spacerBrspaceridge, followed by a fairly hectic first week of learning and onboarding. However on that Thursday, I met up with Lee, Adrian and Harvey at Beer Engine and then at the Ship for a few catch up beers which was good.

On the first weekend, Ellen had PQA in the morning followed by Leo's birthday. And then Sunday was Mother's Day which we had at home in the morning and then up to Holmbush for coffee and cake at Harris & Hoole.

The next week was busy at home with work as well as the flooring in the hallway and kitchen getting fitted. Then that Wednesday was Ellen's birthday so all went for dinner at Marrocco's that evening.

The middle weekend was busy with Ellen's PQA in the morning, Six Nations on the TV in the afternoon, Vee's party on the Sunday morning and then Ellen's party in the afternoon.

The next weekend was rather relaxing, it felt like one of the first weekends in ages where we didn't have a list of house jobs to urgently get done. On the Saturday we had Lorena and Lana over for a bit of the day, and then Sunday was nice and sunny so we got to open the patio doors and kids played outside a bit... in between the scaffolding :) That evening we drove into Hove for ice-cream from Marrocco's on the beach.

This weekend is the Easter long weekend, starting off with a small Easter Egg Hunt for Ian on Friday morning with a few friends from Busy Bees. That afternoon we had drinks over at Tom and Elle's place. Yesterday we had the morning at home and a bit in the garden then headed out to the Marina in the evening for dinner at Five Guys. Today we spent at Wakehurst walking around the gardens and enjoying the Bluey Trail which they have there at the moment.

Still got another day left of the long weekend and the weather isn't too bad, was originally predicted to be wet and miserable. Hopefully get out for a walk along the beach tomorrow if possible :)

We arrived back in the UK last Saturday morning after leaving South Africa in 30° heat and walked off the plane at 6am into a rather chilly 2° morning - however it was really sunny with clear skies which helped. After collecting our bags, grabbing breakfast and changing into warmer clothes, we headed over to the car and made our way down south to Southwick where the weather changed to dull and cloudy with a downpour of hail. So needless to say we spent the day chilling at home, watching a couple of the Six Nations games on TV.

On the Sunday we felt we should get out of the house a bit and drove over to Widewater Lagoon beach for a bit of a wander with pooch coming along too:)

This past week has been rather busy at home, with me still off work trying to get as much house and DIY work done as possible before starting with the new job next Monday. We had Daniel the painter in on Monday and Tuesday, and between myself and Una managed to crack on with bits and pieces around the house to start making it more homely and less of a building site :)

A couple of weeks ago, on the Wednesday night, we flew out to SA and arrived on the Thursday where the weather was predicted to be around 30° for the day. After baggage claim and a fairly sweaty passport control queue, we met the folks and headed back to Edenvale, wasting no time getting into the pool for a refreshing swim!

For the next week we kept busy with the kids as well as enjoying the weather and downtime at home, making full use of the swimming pool and garden. The plastic bikes for the kids were a great hit, especially with Ian and his racing laps around the pool :)

Other than that, we went for a braai with Dave, Trevor and Tasha, a visit to Rand Airport, lunch at Fahrenheit, out to Monte Casino, a morning visiting Leisure View Village, popped up to Bev's place, the Kidz Fun House Play Centre, Papachinos, Greenstone, coffee and muffins at Mugg & Bean and a dinner date at Fin & Fillet. In between all that, we squeezed in a few braais at home and plenty of pool time too!

This Tuesday we booked a night away at the Bothongo Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, so headed off there mid morning. That afternoon, after a lunch at the Neck and Deck Restaurant, we checked into the chalet, spent some time in the hot tub and enjoyed a braai that evening (until the loadshedding generator kicked in!). The following morning we had a game drive booked which took us around the reserve for a couple of hours, before lunch back at the restaurant and then headed back to Edenvale.

The past couple of days have been lounging around the house, garden and pool, soaking up the last bit of South African sun before we head off to the airport shortly for our flight back to a rather chilly UK.

The first weekend of February was rather action packed, with the Six Nations kicking off on Friday evening, followed by a couple more games over the weekend. And then on Sunday late afternoon we managed to get out of the house and down to Southwick Beach for a walk along the front - despite it being cold it was nice and fresh to get out for an hour.

Yesterday I had an all day meetup in London for work, followed by some leaving drinks and pizza at Pizza Union. After four and a bit years I've decided to move on from MyspacerSenspacerse to something else. Tomorrow marks my last day there, and then after finishing up at lunch time, we'll all head through to Heathrow and fly out to SA for a couple of weeks of sun :)

After getting back from Ireland on Tuesday the 16th, we got straight back into the building works routine again with the large picture window in the extension arriving and getting installed. For the most part it went well until it cracked... not sure what happened but a distinct obvious crack in the top corner. It would just need a new glass unit ordered, not the whole frame, so a shorter lead time hopefully.

On the weekend it was Jukkas Christmas which was delayed from December last year, and so Una decided to head through to Paul and Carol's place for the afternoon - just a lot easier to split these events up and alternate us going through. While she was out, Ellen had PQA in the morning and Liana's birthday in the afternoon, while myself and Ian headed down to The Cricketers for a late lunch of a burger and beer, while he had chips and sauce :)

After a busy Sunday of DIY at home, I had a couple of days out of the house up in Glasgow for work - flying out the Tuesday morning and back on the Wednesday evening. Luckily managed to time the flights in between the storms so they weren't too bumpy getting there and back.

This past weekend was a bit more house DIY, with us now able to sit and eat in the new extension looking out into the garden which is nice. Still a bit to go like that flooring, painting and decorating, but starting to feel a bit more complete now. Then Sunday we had a tasty lunch time braai at home before popping down to Southwick beach for a walk along there with pooch.

Already the end of the first month of 2024 and in store for a busy February between finishing up at MyspacerSenspacerse, a couple of weeks out in SA and hopefully start to wrap things up with the house reno works too.

Over the past few days we've been in West Cork in Ireland visiting Una's dad. We headed up to Gatwick on Friday afternoon then flew out that evening before picking up a car and driving down west, getting in around 22:30 that evening.

On the Saturday we spent a bit of the morning around the house then off to The Treehouse play zone with the kids and met up with Margaret and Lorraine and their kids there. After a couple of hours there we decided to have dinner at the West Cork Hotel before heading back to Bawn.

On Saturday we headed into town to the shops in the morning and that afternoon we popped up to Lui for a couple of hours. Then yesterday we took a drive down to Baltimore but was very quiet, as expected, so no chance of pizza at La Jolie Brise for lunch, instead we took a drive towards The Beacon and Lough Hyne before heading back to Bawn.

This morning we got ready, packed up and decided to stop in at the West Cork Model Railway Village in Clonakilty for a visit which the kids (and myself) quite enjoyed. We always drive past the model village signs but I've never stopped in there before.

From Clon we headed up to the airport, dropped the car off and landed having to run through the airport to get out flight - somehow between the model village, lunch, car return and everything we lost track of time and all landed up sprinting through the airport - fair play to Ellen and Ian who got their running legs on to make it on the plane just in time :)

The first day of the year, Ellen had a playdate over at Elodie's house, so while she was there visited her, myself, Una and Ian took Mia down to Southwick Beach for a New Year's Day walk along there which was nice, and then back home for the late afternoon before the storm came in. The following day was back to work for me, but an inset day for Ellen, so she got to enjoy an extra day of holiday :)

Last Saturday we decided to drive over to Lancing College and have a walk around the grounds, but since the Chapel was open we managed to head in and walk a nice leisurely stroll through it, until the kids started getting louder than the acceptable noise levels inside a Chapel :) But managed to get a good look around inside. On the Sunday we headed over to Splashpoint Leisure Centre in Worthing for a couple of hours of swimming, followed by an evening braai at home.

Not much then this past week, but off to Ireland this evening for a few days over in West Cork. So this morning I dropped pooch off at the kennels - not ideal having to take her there but the house just isn't quite yet ready for any housesitters. Then after dropping Mia, we picked Ellen up from school a bit earlier, got ready and just about to head off to get the train up to Gatwick before our flight this evening over to Cork.

Just over a week ago on Wednesday 20th I finished up with work for the year, having taken a few days off before and after Christmas which has been nice. That evening we went to look at the Thornbush Crescent Christmas Lights Display in Portslade, then the next couple of days were just spent pottering around the house getting a few things done. Then on the Friday we visited Hove Lagoon playground in the morning and that afternoon we stopped by Tom and Elle for Christmas drinks along with the other parents and kids too. Then on the Saturday, after the day at home, we went for dinner at Marrocco's.

The next few days were Christmas Eve and Christmas which were fairly relaxed days at home, with great excitement from the kids as can be expected. And then to get out the house, we decided to visit Nymans National Trust Gardens on Tuesday which was Boxing Day.

The rest of the week was spent at home, had Greg, Kim and the boys come for a visit, time in the playground when the weather was good, Sharky's one morning, a walk along Worthing Pier as well as a trip to Five Guys at the Marina.

This morning we headed over to Wild Wonderland in Lancing for a bit of soft play time, then home for the afternoon. The plan was to go through to Laura and Dennis this evening for a small New Year's celebration, but they're not feeling well so we'll have our own little celebration at home instead :)

The first weekend of December was fairly busy, with the Saturday morning being the Southwick Christmas Market in The Square. It was, however, bitterly cold, but still managed to enjoy ourselves for a little while there. We tried the Cricketers for lunch, but so had the rest of Southwick, so decided to grab lunch on the go and head home instead. On the Sunday after a day at home, Ellen and I headed through to Worthing in the evening to watch Sleeping Beauty pantomime which we had tickets through her school so was full of other Eastbrook Academy kids too :)

The next week was busy too, with plenty of work going on in the kitchen, as well as Ellen's nativity play at the school which was very sweet to watch.

Then on the weekend we had the Santa Bus pass through Southwick and on the Sunday we missioned out to find ourselves a Christmas Tree which we eventually managed to track one down towards Lancing direction after failing to find anywhere around Hove. So that evening we were busy decorating the tree and trying to avoid Ian undoing the decorating work :)

During the following week, there was more progress with the kitchen, getting the doors and electrics finished. Then from the Wednesday through to the Saturday, Ellen was part of the PQA Treasure Island pantomime at Southwick Barn, where the Poppets were doing a few supporting songs in the show. The Wednesday was the dress rehearsal and then they had a show on Thursday and Friday and two on Saturday, which Ellen attended everyone, so impressed with her determination! Una went through on the Thursday night and I went through on the Saturday morning - had to split as it was a bit too long for Ian to watch!

This past Sunday evening we managed to see Santa at Manor Cottage, who gave Ellen and Ian a little something each, followed by lunch at Brighton City Airport (aka Shoreham Airport).

These past few days have been hectic with full steam ahead in the kitchen to get it fitted as much as possible in time for Christmas. So they managed to get the worktops fitted, the electrics all complete, plumbing finished and various touch ups here and there, so at least we have a working kitchen for Christmas!

Then after a half day at work today, I've now finished up for Christmas and got the next couple of weeks off and heading back in the new year again which will be a nice break :)