Entertaining

We've just had a lovely evening with friends. Always great to chat to them - she is in the same line of work as H - and it's nice to extend our conversation beyond our usual!

Unfortunately I mucked up my timing a bit - leaving everything to the last minute isn't always the best idea! - but apart from cold lamb and roast potatoes, everything seemed to go down well!

Starter - Olive and sundried tomato hummus with gluten-free pitta bread, cucumber and cherries.

Main - lamb, roast potatoes, and a sort of roasted/stewed veg - carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, fennel, onion and beetroot cooked with chopped tinned tomatoes.

Sweet - fruit salad and cream (pineapple, pear, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, plum, nectarine).

Cheese dish - gluten-free savoury biscuits with 5 cheeses: brie, jarlsberg, danish blue, port salut and medium cheddar.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape was served, along with a Blossom Hill White Zinfandel rose wine. The driver and the cook were drinking freshly squeezed (although not by me!!) lemon juice.

Too full for tea and coffee, which was a shame because I had bought new coffee! Mum and Dad will need to return soon to drink it!

So, all in all, a lovely evening, and a day on which I have done very little else other than do the dishes, the shopping and the cooking.

This was because we were out rather late last night, first of all at the going away party of one of H's school friends who is travelling to Egypt then home, and then we went to the Double Club to celebrate the birthday of another dancing friend. Lots of lovely people at both events, it is nice to get out and about and meet new and interesting folk!

I do have quite a bit of marking to do tomorrow though:

* Finish Year 7 marking (this has been going on for the past three weeks, I think).
* Year 11 Mock Exams (2 and a half sets)
* Year 11 books
* Year 10 books
* Year 12 / 13 assessment booklets
* Year 9 assessments (2 sets; I set them the assessment for classwork to try to get them to do some work, which they haven't been doing recently. Not my class.)

Other things I need to do before the Christmas holiday on Thursday:

* Phone all the parents of the Year 7s who have not brought back their trip letters.
* Tidy up the office!! (A HUGE job ...)
* Write and send the Christmas cards.
* Return a document/booklet/resource to a teacher in another school.
* Write Year 11 and Year 13 reports.
* I'm sure there are many other things .... !!!

Off to bed now. It's after midnight and I have church tomorrow!