Lockdown Clothes Shopping

I needed to pick up a click and collect order from a clothing store in Milton Keynes, so M and I drove over this morning and combined it with a walk. After a nasty, rainy day yesterday it was bright but definitely on the chilly side. After struggling to find our way out of the car park on foot (it is a very large car park, serving a retail park, cinema and restaurants, and the football stadium, so there was a lot of potential for dead ends!) we walked to the canal and down the tow path to the old village of Simpson. 

Milton Keynes is a planned new town built over the last 50 years which swallowed up four towns and several villages, so has pockets of old buildings in unexpected places - like this 14th century church dedicated to St Thomas and the thatched house below.  

This doorway was so cheerful! There was also brightly coloured bunting all round the house. After walking through the old centre of the village we walked back to the shops to pick up my packages. I need new jeans - genuinely a need rather than a want, as the pair I am wearing are very comfortable but too large. I wish I could say this was because I had shrunk, but it is because the jeans fit when I tried them on but then loosened up when I wore them, to the point where I keep having to hitch them up to stop them falling down. This works while at home, but makes them awkward to wear out of the house! As all the shops are still shut I ordered pairs from three different shops to try. Today's pair are good and I'm going to keep them. I had also ordered three pairs of shoes - I need something comfy for when I go back to work, ideally smart trainers or something similar (the job includes step ladders and carrying boxes around, so footwear needs to be practical). Unfortunately none of them were right, so they will all be going back and I have ordered another couple of pairs to try. 

H has been busy getting ready for her move today. She went in to town this morning to go to the bank and transfer her share of the house purchase money to the solicitor ready to complete the purchase on Wednesday. She took TG with her and bought TG a new bedside table so she can take TG's old one (which is a pair to hers) to the new house. Then this afternoon she packed up all her clothes. While H was packing TG decided to tackle her flat packed bedside table by herself, and managed to successfully follow the instructions with only a couple of queries. Then the girls cooked lasagne from scratch for dinner. I'm very much going to miss H's cooking! 

 As H's coffee maker will be moving out with her, I ordered one for myself and TG to use (M is not a coffee drinker). I found a very reasonably priced own-brand one from John Lewis which arrived yesterday, but when I set it up it wouldn't work properly. It is supposed to automatically foam and froth milk and add it to the coffee, but the milk wasn't pumping through. M kindly rang up John Lewis for me this morning and they have sorted out an exchange. We should be able to pick up the replacement from our local Waitrose tomorrow. Hoping for better luck at the second attempt!