NOTE ON PICTURES: This shouldn't be necessary but I have, sadly, noticed growing cases. Please DO NOT link directly to pictures on this website - it steals my bandwidth and is BAD! I CAN trace you if you do and I will take action.
Archive : September 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
12
Happy Birthday Rosie!
12 today - wow! how time flies!
We went out for her birthday meal at Pizza Hut on Saturday evening and it was really, really fun :) There were about 10 of us in total and we got put on a great, long table at one end of the restaurant - the only problem was that one side of the table was against the wall with a built in bench seat and if one person needed the loo everyone had to get up *laughs*.
Today she had croissants and marmalade for breakfast and had some lovely new things - Nintendo stuff, books, birthday money and a clock from her grandma that has gorgeous pictures of garden birds instead of numbers. It's kind of like a cuckoo clock in that it chimes every hour but instead of being a cuckoo it makes the bird noise for that hour (which does include a cuckoo for 12.00!) Really quite pretty and original but how annoying it's going to be chiming out bird sounds all night we'll have to see!
Of course, I was up late last night - as I am every year - making her birthday cake :) She loves my sticky lemon icing cake so that is was I made. Always end up with icing running everywhere but it is sooo yummy. This year I printed and laminated pictures of Hemmy and Jeff (her request!) and stuck them on cocktail sticks - it looks like they're running around on the top of her cake! April drew (with some help from me) a picture of Sticko (a little cartoon character stick man that Rosie made up and writes stories about), holding some balloons. Haven't eaten it yet but will hopefully get a candle-blowing-out picture to blog soon :)
Friday, September 25, 2009
Ummm...
I have no suitable title today! This is just a mish-mash of different things from the last couple of days.
Today I've been really busy - I decided to remove EVERYTHING from our kitchen and completely clean it from top to bottom! You know how it is, it gets to a point where normal day-to-day cleaning isn't enough and you feel the need for something more thorough. So it's done and I'm a bit weary now!
Also been getting ready for Rosie's birthday - buying presents (and hiding them!) and whatnot. Her birthday is on Monday but Saturday evening we're going to Pizza Hut (her choice) for dinner - haven't been there for ages!
Anyway, here are a few bits and pieces from the last day or two:
Fangs!! Tim found a disgarded spider skin so we put it under the microscope for a closer look *shudders* It was only a tiny thing but look at the size of those under the scope!
A couple of pet pics - no idea why but I guess they're cute :)
Hemmy, very slightly giving the evil eye here (probably disturbed his snooze)
Jeff! This is a better picture than the one I first put of him when we first got him.
April is loving Starfall! Here she is using one of the computer games - it's a really great programme
It also comes with printable reading books and activity sheets. Today she did "d" and we cut out some pictures to stick on it - dragon, Dipsy, Dora and ducks!
April is also doing an Autumn lapbook - today she made a leaf man :)
Rosie did some work on her Japanese lapbook and made some origami. I love doing origami so I worked with her. Here are our efforts (hers first then mine) - a yacht, a pencil and a cat.
That's about it. Off now to peel Tim off the living room floor where he has been lying pretty much since he got home from work a while ago - got to have tea :)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Nearly time ......
Soooo looking forward to this ... just check out these gorgeous animals :)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Hey ho, hey ho
It's back to work we go - well, tomorrow anyway.
Yes, Tim's holiday is basically finished and tomorrow he goes back to work. As holidays go, it's been a bit lame - no exciting days out, no going away ...nothing apart from gardening and car hunting. Maybe sometimes "holidays" are like that, you use them as a time to get stuff done but I have to admit to feeling a little sorry for him (in particular him). Having 2 weeks off and then spending it all doing rubbish stuff is a bit not nice for him :( We really will have to make up for it next time!
He's already started to think ahead to his next holidays! This is not because he hates his job but because a) he needs to use up some days before the end of the year and b) because we are thinking ahead to "going away" next year. I'm very excited! Last year we went to Jersey, this year we didn't go away but next year we are going to (taa-daa!) Center Parc! Yes indeed, that slightly more upmarket Butlins!
There is a little story behind Center Parc. A few ago I first discovered the place, thought it looked amazing, and made some comment to Tim about going there on/round my 30th birthday. Well, of course, due to lack of funds we never went and I was a bit disappointed but made a joke that we'd go instead when I was 40 and he promised we would (whilst probably hoping I'd forget about it!) Next July I'm 40 and, naturally, I reminded Tim, half seriously, that he had a promise to honour - so he said "right, we'll go!", hopefully in June. NOTHING is going to stop us this time ..... NOTHING! I don't want to wait until I'm 50!
Although, what's to stop us going on the inbetween years I've no idea. Clearly some unwritten rule that decrees that, "thou shalt only go to Center Parc once a decade". Ahem.
So this year we went nowhere - this is partly due to keeping a very tight hold on the purse-strings although we probably could have done something cheap and cheerful. Tim's mum mentioned camping ........... "you can borrow our tent!", she said. Oh dear god. We've never been camping, Tim did as a little boy and said he really loved it but we never have. Reason? I'm SCARED. That's right, scared. I'm scared of getting bitten half to death by midgies. I'm scared of lack of decent hygiene facilities. I'm scared of the kids clambering out in the middle of the night and disappearing. I'm scared of being murdered to death in our sleep because there is nothing but a flimsy tent between us and the outside world and ANYONE could get in. I think, if I'm honest, this one and the kids getting out are my biggest fears. Tim, of course, laughs in my face and says "for heavens sake woman - you don't camp in a creepy field in the middle of nowhere!"
Thing is, I kind of like the idea of being that sort of "free" ..... maybe I might be persuaded but ONLY if Tim sleeps nearest the entrance in order to protect me from the CROWDS of maniacs outside. I'm SUCH a "girl" aren't I? *laughs*.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Just because ....
..... it's the Autumn Equinox - my favourite time of the year, beautiful, special. So here is a little something I made (cute!) - and a poem I love.
Hope you have a gorgeous, happy autumn day :)
AUTUMN EQUINOX
~By Heather Shackleton~
Web flash morning -
Poised and bobbing on Arachne’s thread,
Nimbly spin your myth of sloe-eyed beauty,
lush and bramble-sweet.
Drop your orchard fruits on rain-greened grass,
Laid to rest in scattered languor,
Bruised and wasp-wreathed in succulent decay.
Show me napped-facet field flints,
Ancient past imagining, yet sharp as first frost.
Tempt me with low sun warmth, hop and berry,
colour wash.
Take me and turn me in your slow waltz,
Your circle dance,
Your sinking cycle spiral...
Saturday, September 19, 2009
A little thoughtful spot
Gone all Winnie-the-Pooh "ish" this morning!
I think it may have all started with a very strange, sorrowful, odd dream I had last night. I remember, ages ago, blogging a bit about dreams and whilst I never did get into really studying them (and thus, am no closer to working out "why"), I still find the topic fascinating! I don't really think about them much unless it's one that, for some reason, left me feeling unsettled or sad or ridiculously happy or whatever. Also, those ones that are incredibly "real" - like you wake up and almost think "did that happen or not?" - those always make me think too.
Anyway, last night's dream left me feeling somewhat disturbed although it wasn't scary or unpleasant - it happened like this ..... I found myself in this big, old house - the sort you'd see in horror movies only it didn't feel haunted or scary, just old and a bit dark. I was wearing this long (floor length) black dress, no shoes (!) and my hair was all loose and just hanging down my back. I wandered around this house, drifting from room to room, opening doors and there was never anything there - just empty rooms. Eventually, I came to a wide hallway and there were some childen (didn't see their faces) doing circus acts (like juggling) on the stairs and completely ignoring the fact that there was an old lady lying on the hall floor. I've no idea whether she was ill or injured or just asleep. I felt momentarily panicked thinking "why is everyone ignoring her?!" and then I just wandered on and found myself in another room. I stood there, it felt like there were no more rooms to wander into and then a man walked in (again, like the children, couldn't see his face). He was wearing a white shirt and dark trousers and he had dark hair - he came up to me and embraced me and I did the same back to him and lay my head against his chest and sighed but it was a sort of sad little sigh .... and that was it ... the end. Don't remember anything else after that.
So what was all that about then? Honestly? Dark houses, me looking all gothic, empty rooms, kids doing juggling, all ladies lying motionless and, finally, a mysterious man. What on earth?....... The human mind is truly and very, very bizarre thing!
Anyhow, got to get myself in gear now and go hunting for Rosie's birthday present - her birthday is on the 28th so not long - can't believe she'll be 12! Nearly a teenager .... oh. my. god.
Might take some blogging-time out now (actually, just get off the computer full stop!) until the new week so have a lovely weekend won't you? :)
Friday, September 18, 2009
Silly goings-on of various kinds!
Had a quiet morning today and then, after lunch, popped out to do various things. First, went into Tim's work to pick up his wages (actually, FIRST, we got stuck in a quite alarming traffic jam near Bournemouth Airport!) - nothing interesting to see there (work) .... not that I thought there would be!
Next, we drove the short distance into Christchurch town centre and went for a walk along the river and fed the ducks. We also wanted to collect some river water in a jam jar for an ecosystems experiment Rosie is doing (as part of her ecosystems lapbook). In the end, I sent Tim off to do this because his arms are longer than mine and it was a bit of a stretch down into the water! Annoyingly he didn't fall in, in an amusing comedy fashion (oh, how we would have laughed!) and came back with a jar of what looked exactly like tap water - it was so clear! I'm not sure our experiment is going to work with it so we may have to go elsewhere for some slightly more inhabited pond water or something.
Anyway, after hoping my poor husband would fall into the water and give me a laugh, I was duly punished by falling down the steps leading from the ruined tower and promptly making a complete arse of myself *rolls eyes*. Note to self: don't "will" silly things to happen to Tim again! I'm going to blame the fact that I was wearing my high heeled boots (my favourite knee high boots!) for the first time since last winter and I've been wearing flat sandals all summer. Wasn't used to the heels .... ;)
Next stop after that was Sainsbury's at Castlepoint however, so bad was the traffic that we had to take a ridiculous route to get there and it took AGES! We eventually pulled into the car park and were listening to the radio and Tim (for some reason that I can't remember now) decided that the next song after the one we were listening to would be a Chas and Dave one. WHAT?! Chas and Dave! What on earth was he thinking?! Anyway, so there we were sat in the car for EVER while we waited for the song plus a load of adverts to finish so that he could find out if he was right.
He was wrong - it was Marillion. What can I say? His psychic powers were clearly having a day off.
Chas and Dave! .... I ask you!!!
PS - having just typed that last sentence, I can't help thinking what a WEIRD thing it is to say! "I ask you" ..... I mean, it's something people say without thinking about it but when you actually type it, it seems odd! I ask you what exactly? *laughs* What a strange mistress the English language is!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
We haz wheelz
.... or, today we viewed a suitable automobile and purchased the said automobile.
Brace yourself for an overload of excitement .....
It's a Nissan Primera! Could we have got more routine? Probably not but it's a nice car with a brand new MOT for a super-duper price. Job done :)
Here it is in all it's sort of greeny blue glory!
I'm speechless with relief that this whole tedious episode is done with (especially given that we've spent the whole of Tim's holiday trying to find one!) - although, it needs taxing which Tim will do when he's got paid tomorrow. So, when we go out tomorrow we'll still have to go in the Citroen and leave the new one on the drive which is slightly annoying!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sims 3 nonsense
Ok, yes, I was a bit bored this evening! Here is my attempt at doing some movie making with the Sims 3 - lady cycles to the beach (at night no less!), whips a book out of nowhere and proceeds to have a read before going home again - all set by my good self to some rather nice Bach *laughs*
The way the Simmies get on their bikes is slightly odd - they sort of vanish and then reappear again!
Anyway, here it is ..... I really do need to get out more ....
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Work
Trying to get my head into "work" mode at the moment - must try and bring in some extra money! As quite a few readers of my blog will know, I don't actually "go out" to work - my way of contributing to the household funds has been through my Montessori materials which I design and make and have, in the past, sold in pdf.
This way of selling the materials has had advantages to both my and the customers that brought them - they get to have the materials at a lower cost than if I had to print/laminate/post them, they get them quicker (always within 24 hours), they can make as many copies as they want. For me, it's less time consuming - I simply store the materials on my computer and email the customers what they've ordered - simple! I also don't have to worry about keeping huge amounts of card, laminating pouches, ink, envelopes etc to hand.
However, lately (over the last couple of months or so), it has become apparent that some of my materials (and who brought them, I have no way of knowing) are being made on various sites and being passed off as made by someone else.
This I cannot and will not tolerate. I didn't make huge sums of money from my work - I always tried to make them reasonably priced so that anyone who wanted them could afford them so it really upsets and angers me that some people would do this.
Anyway, I've thought about it long and hard and come to the conclusion that the only way round this is to start selling in printed format only - this might not stop the problem completely but should lessen it (it's very hard to photocopy something clearly enough to then pdf and sell on!) This is obviously going to involve more work and greater expense for me which means I'm going to have to sell at a higher price than I used to. This is unfortunate but that is the way of the world is it not? A few unscrupulous people have spoiled it for the others.
As I said, I need extra money - if I don't do this for a living then we have less money so it's this or ... gulp ... get a "proper" job. I think I'd find it hard to find something that fit in around homeschooling the kids! I'd have to work when Tim didn't!
Anyway, back to the grind!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Foodie post :)
Plums are in season at the moment and very lovely they are too! Tonight, I made plum and apple crumble for pudding - here's the recipe - this was just enough for a small crumble to serve 2 so increase the ingredients as required:
Ingredients :
Plums
Apples
Plain flour (100 g)
Unsalted butter (50g)
Demerara sugar (1 level tablespoon)
How to ... very simple this!
Put the flour and butter into a mixing bowl and rub together until it takes on a breadcrumb-like appearance. Stir in the sugar and put to one side.
Peel and slice the apples (don't slice too thickly otherwise they will take a lot longer to cook than the plums).
De-stone the plums - do this by slicing vertically all the way round the plum then taking both halves and giving them a firm twist. This should pull them apart and you can remove the stone. Chop each half in half again and then peel off the outer skin.
Place all the fruit into the bottom of a dish.
Everything ready :)
Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over the top of the fruit. Take care to cover the fruit really well otherwise you'll get burnt bits. Cook in the oven at 190c/gas 5 for around 40 minutes but check at 30 minutes. In any case, they crumble should be light golden brown and the apple (when you stick a knife in) should be soft.
Done! Some of the fruit escapes up the side and caramelises but don't panic - meant to be like this!
Serve with a blob of Greek yoghurt - yum!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Home education? What's all that about then?
Yesterday, when Tim was busy hacking his way through the jungle that is our back garden, this was discovered:
A bird's nest - a pigeon's nest to be more precise (we saw them nesting in there but never discovered where the nest was exactly until Tim unearthed it). A work of art it isn't, in fact, it's fair to say it's a positive shambles as far as nests go! The kids thoroughly enjoyed examining it though, and it gripped their attention for a fair old while.
On a Monday morning. When, in the distance, we could hear the other kids outside in the school playground.
So, this is home education is it? Rummaging around in the garden, happening on old pigeon's nests and spending the rest of the morning examing them?
Well, for us, yes and no.
We don't spend EVERY day doing stuff like that, we DO have a timetable (of sorts), we DO have certain times when the kids have to sit down, concentrate and work. Yes, we have textbooks, workbooks, lapbooks - expectations.
In short, we don't unschool. I'm not knocking unschooling - I just know it doesn't work for us. We have, once slipped into unschooling when I was in the early stages of pregnancy with April and I was vomiting every hour, on the hour and in no fit state to do ANYTHING much. Initially, it was fun for Rosie .... "woohooo! I can do whatever I like ALL the time!" However, the novelty wore off pretty quick - she found she actually missed our lesson time together, missed doing the lapbooks or working through her workbooks. It was nice to get back to our usual routine when I was well enough.
Home education is what works for YOUR family - that is where school fails - one size does not fit all. What works for one kid does not work for another. Unschooling works for some and not for others. It doesn't work for us so we "do lessons".
Our lessons bear so very little resemblance to the sort you'd find in a school though - that's why our kids enjoy their work and why Rosie, at nearly 12, hasn't lost her love of learning or enthusiasm for it.
Show me a school where ....
* you work in a warm, comfortable room where gorgeous scented, beeswax candles are burning and the open windows let in a gentle waft of fresh air regularly (instead of stale, school air) and you can get up, get a drink, go to the toilet or even take a complete break whenever you like without having to ask first.
* you finish lessons early enough in the day to allow you to spend the rest of the day choosing your own activities.
* you're not forced out into a cold, windy concrete playground for "a break" and (if you want to) can stay tucked up indoors with a warm drink and a good book (or, yes, a computer game or the telly)
* you can choose your own social experiences based on your likes/dislikes (as we, as adults, do) instead of having to choose your friends from a pre-selected group of individuals - by virtue of birthdate.
* you can enjoy healthy, enriching activities like gardening, cooking, music and art regularly instead of in one hour segments once a week (if at all!)
* you can say "I'm not in the mood for this today" without fear of reprimand or de-merits or detentions or being labelled a "trouble maker".
* you can choose your life path, stick to it, be encouraged in it and work towards it (as Rosie has) instead of being told "I'd forget that if I were you, you're not just suited to it" - put off, left demoralised (as I was)
There is NO school standing that offers all of this.
That is why we home educate. Yes, we have "formal" lessons but the work is individualised to each of our children and, thus, they are happy to learn. However, for us, home education is more than just the textbooks that we might use .....
For us, home education is all of this:
Oh, and exploring a bird's nest on a Monday morning when everyone else
is at school 
Monday, September 14, 2009
A car!, a car!, my kingdom for a car!
Yes indeed, I am still looking - in fact, I grow ever more weary in my search for a "new" automobile for this household. I have browsed so many advertisments I fear I may go permanently crossed eyed.
Part of the problem is (or was) money - our savings didn't stretch to much and, at one point, we even considered going without things (like, y'know, food) and getting one on credit. In the end, we approached Tim's mum who is very kindly going to lend us a bit extra so that we've got a bit more choice.
Now we come to the tricky topic of "what" car ....... we have done our research (based on reliability and general robustness rather than looks or how cool it is) and what have we ended up with? A choice of a Mondeo, a Rover 400 series (shame that when they DO go wrong you have to wait about a millienium for new parts because Rover doesn't exist any more), a Volvo, or a Honda Accord.
Tim is (simply due to the sheer number of them available), leaning towards a Mondeo. Oh dear god, he'll buy one and by the end of the week will have got himself a sales job and a suit and be cruising up and down the motorway. YES! Tim will have transmogrified into MONDEO MAN!
We've got a few to look at and so will hopefully be sorted by the end of the week ....... hopefully.
In the meantime, Rosie's got Guides tonight (her first time there so she's a bit nervous!). Tomorrow she and Tim are going to get haircuts - I can't remember the last time Tim got his hair cut, it's ridiculously long and messy! I have been threatening to sneak up on him in the middle of the night (à la Samson and Delilah) if he didn't get on with it soon. Wednesday it's trampoline class for Rosie, Thursday is more gardening I believe and Friday we're going to pick up his wages and then go into Christchurch and walk along the river and feed the duckies (ANYTHING to get away from cars and gardening!)
That's all for now - off to get Rosie's stuff ready for Guides.
Added much later .... Rosie did good at Guides :) She was nervous at the start but apparently had a great time and came out buzzing. She played some strange fish game (!) and learned how to set a table with cutlery as in a restaurant - next week they're learning how to fold handkerchiefs (she laughed when she told me that and said "ooo! how useful!")
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Oh and ...
.... on doing loads of gardening you also discover that:
a) you do in fact have a fence between you and the next door neighbour - look! see that? It's not been visible for literally years! -
and,
b) you now have a HUGE pile of stuff in the middle of the lawn that you have absolutely NO idea whatsoever what to do with -
Sunday, September 13, 2009
No garden toys required
One of the fun side effects of doing the gardening - particularly the kind of large scale gardening that we're doing at the moment - is that you end up with loads of quite cool base-building material :)
Tim chopped down a huge amount of overgrown trees/shrubs this morning and when he stopped for a break me and April went out and trashed his nice, tidy pile of offcuts. I LOVE doing stuff like this - no toys, just a bunch of branches and leaves and we have SUCH fun :) We tried building a sort of teepee first but that fell to bits so, in the end, we got some of the biggest branches and laid them against a large bush and then started putting lots of smaller leaves and twigs over the top for a roof.
I have to say, it wasn't very large and certainly wouldn't provide much in the way of shelter but April enjoyed crawling under it and bug hunting on (what is left of) our lawn. The grass (as you can tell from the pictures) has not stood up well this summer - it's really brown and patchy! We've got loads of leaves starting to flutter down off the trees as well so the garden is looking pretty messy.
Provides loads of play opportunities though - for a 4 year old and their 39 year old mum! Nothing I like better than being outside, no shoes and feeling the grass under my feet :)
Did get some pictures but they're not very good - as I said, it wasn't a truly magnificent structure but it was certainly better than the pictures make it look! Love the one of April sat on the floor bug hunting - she found a ladybird!
I think April's moving her furniture in, in here :)
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Poor April
Went round to Tim's mums tonight for dinner (we were supposed to be picking up Rosie at the same time but she's having a sleepover instead).
Anyway, the kids were down the garden playing and I decided to go down there and get April in because it was dark. About halfway down the garden is a fence and gate and I'd just got to that when I noticed the kids were coming the other way and April was sniffing a bit sadly (still not found out why that was). Rosie climbed over the gate, next was Luke (who, as usual, was completely out of control). Instead of climbing over the gate carefully (bearing in mind that April was right behind him), he LEAPT over it, swinging his legs out and KICKING her straight in the face and sending her flying backwards down the steps and onto the grass.
For a split second there was a horrible, sickening silence and I actually thought he'd knocked her out or something ... then she started crying. Meanwhile, I was frantically trying to get through the gate to get her only to find the stupid boy had PADLOCKED it!! Why for heavens sake?!
I was really angry about him being so careless and silly when he knew she was right behind him but, more than that, I was furious with m-i-l (and d-i-l!) because they did NOTHING (other than to say "oh I'm sure he didn't mean it". They didn't move out of their chairs, didn't get up to see if April was ok, didn't reprimand him in ANY way for being silly and over the top with a 4 year old child about.
On the way home in the car, Tim says "that's the problem, they were really too old to adopt him really and they just can't deal with him". That's the truth I'm afraid *sigh*. He's a demanding child with various issues and, although not his fault, he needs someone with more get up and go to deal with it. They just don't.
Thankfully, April appears fine - her bottom seems to have taken the brunt of it (luckily a very chubby bottom and so it acted as a shock absorber!) Her face doesn't appear to have any marks on it at all so I guess he must have caught the side of it rather than square on.
Poor child, that's the second time this week she's been whacked in the face!
Anyway, needless to say, we were pretty glad to get home! I cleaned up April to get her ready for bed and Tim was promptly dispatched to buy a bottle of Baileys!
.....no I haven't drunk the whole thing! Just one little measure ..... bliss!! :)
PS - now watching the last night of the Proms - can't believe it's the last night! That has gone really, really quick this year!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
*Yawn*
Yesterday I felt full of the joys of spring, today I feel a bit deflated and va-va-voomless .... can't think why .....
Oh well.
Tim's just taken Rosie off round to grandma's so that she can spend the day with Luke and when he get's back he's going to tackle some more of the gardening (bet he can't wait *laughs*) Not sure what I'm going to do - could do some work on some materials I'm making at the moment - could do some tidying and clean out the bunny cage (actually going to have to do that at some point today). Could spend MORE time looking for a car for Tim (this activity, for some reason, has fallen on my shoulders).
I'm beginning to be of the opinion that he has no choice but to buy one on finance (even if it's still a fairly old car) because we are just NOT finding anything decent within our price range - i.e the money we have saved up. If he DOES go down this route it will mean that ......
* He'll end up with a newer car than if he paid cash for one
* He'll have saved the money that he would have spent (but which would then, presumably, have to be put towards the monthly repayments)
HOWEVER ...
* We'll have to watch the pennies even more than we do now and ...
* He'll have to take every bit of overtime offered to him at work to help pay for it.
In other words, it's doable but a bind. Hmmm ......
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Naughty bunny!
Jeff-the-rabbit is very naughty - he keeps trying to eat the carpet! He's very lovely apart from that - I was slightly worried that an indoor rabbit would be smelly but, really, they're very clean and there's no smell at all! He hops about the floor looking cute - although Tim says he's a "ridiculous looking creature" which is very mean!
Anyway, we have a slight change of plan for tomorrow. Not going to Burley now as we simply have too much other stuff to do (so sorry Carolyn, I can't hug the donkeys for you *laughs*) will have to order my candles online instead.
Still going into Tim's work after lunch to pick up his wages but then, instead of Burley, we've got to go to Tesco because I have to exchange an outfit that I brought April the other day. The hanger said 5-6 but the age on the clothing was, in fact, 2-3! I suspect I missed this because of the fact that I was so wound up about the trolly-in-the-face incident.
After that, we've then got to stop off at the church so that Tim can pick up some music that he needs for the harvest festival he's doing.
Today was a glorious day - glad the weather is turning out so lovely for Tim's holiday! Got a fair bit of gardening done today and it's starting to look way better already. Still car hunting (unsuccessfully car hunting!) which is getting a bore now. Tim doesn't know much about car's and isn't a car person and I'm not remotely interested .... actually, I'm interested to a point but it's all very girly stuff as opposed to being based on performance or whatever. I like big cars (feel safer), and cars with a decent music system (ours in the Citroen is broken), and cars with a nice, plush interior (comfy) and black cars (can't explain this one!)
Off now to tidy up a bit, get the kids in bed (not long!) and make a chicken/brocoli pasta bake for dinner with Tim ..... I mean, I've got to join Tim in the making of, not that I'm going to bake him in the bake! I think you know what I mean!
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Cars and things
Well, I'd like to say that we've spent the first few days of Tim's holiday being massively productive and getting all our jobs out the way. Hmmmm ....... I'd like to say that.
Sadly, things have been a bit frustrating - we've wanted to get things done but other things keep getting in the way!
We've done a bit of tidying in the garden but there is loads more to do, I've not started anything that I wanted to do around the house yet (touching up the paintwork on a few windows, sorting out seasonal clothes etc) and (and this is the real nightmare), we've got nowhere with the car yet :(
Tim really wants to get this sorted before he goes back to work on the 24th partly because it just makes sense to try and do that but also because the MOT on our current one is due on the 2nd October so, clearly, we need to get another car before then!
He really isn't THAT bothered what sort of car it is - he's not a "car" person, he just wants something reliable and (if we're honest!) at least a year younger than what we've got now and big enough (he's tall and lanky!) We've shortlisted a few makes that are (going on AA and Which Car reports) particularly robust and reliable so now it's just a case of finding something.
To be truthful, he could do with an extra £200 or so to go on top of what he's already saved, just to give a little bit more choice. It's frustrating really, it's one of those times when it would be great to be able to go to his boss and ask for an advance of his wages and, say, pay it back out of any future overtime (which he does reasonably regularly) ....... do people still do advances on wages? I remember, years ago, that I did that a couple of times when I worked for the Bournemouth Echo - they were always quite obliging! Mind you, they were a wonderful organisation to work for full stop :) Anyway, I digress, the thing is with most companies working to tight budgets these days I'd imagine asking for an advance is probably not a good thing to do! I don't know ... I don't run a company and I'm not very well "up" on financial things so I don't know.
Anyway, other stuff ... Rosie's got her first trampoline class of the new school year this afternoon. Was thinking of going so that April could go in the swing park at the Littledown but the weather is a bit lousy and I (for some reason) am very chilly - I say for some reason because I don't think anyone else is! So I might not. Have to see!
Tomorrow we are DEFINATELY going to get on with some gardening!
Friday we're going out - we're going to stop off at Tim's work so he can pick his wages up and then going into Burley because I want to go here. No, I'm not going to buy a wand and turn everyone into frogs! I'm getting some beeswax candles - won't have parafin ones in the house any more and have not found anywhere else locally that does beeswax ones!
Right, going now - lunch soon :)
Monday, September 07, 2009
The good, the bad and the downright hideous
The good .......
Meet Jeff. Yes, really. Jeff. The cutest bunny in the whole world with the stupidest name (for a bunny). Terrible photo, sorry, he kept moving around! He's a lionhead and we got him from a woman who could no longer keep him because she had got a dog that kept trying to eat him (nice!) I found him on a sort of Free Ads list and he came with his hutch and we decided to just sort of go for it and get him. I'm sooo glad we did - he looked a bit sorry for himself and sad when we picked him up but when we got him home, settled him down and let him run about (he's an indoor bunny) he really perked up and is very, very happy now. I cleaned his home (which still had straw in it from when we picked him up) and was DISGUSTED - it had about an inch of poo in the bottom and had just had fresh straw chucked on top! The woman we got him from said at the time "oh, he's not been out for about a week because of the dog". REALLY?! Judging by his miserable face and being knee deep in poo, I'd say he hadn't been out for ever!! Anyway, I spent ages and got him and his home all spruced up again :) He's totally friendly and cuddly!
The bad .....
This morning, before we got Jeff, we went to Tesco for some routine shopping. I'd just been in to the instore health shop to get some essential oils and just as we walked off to get on with the rest of the shopping April suddenly screamed and started sobbing! She was clutching her nose and I was trying to work out what was wrong with her but she was sobbing too much. Anyway, this woman came over and said "I just saw that woman hit her with the trolly". WHAT?!!! I looked up and the culprit was, literally, running away!! I just didn't know what to do - I checked that April was ok, not bleeding or anything and by that time the woman was gone off into the distance. Really, I should have got her to apologise to April and had April been more seriously hurt I would have done. As it was, her nose was a bit red but ok. I was so angry and fumed all the way round the rest of the shopping!
The downright hideous .....
I got up yesterday morning, went into the kitchen and was greeted by this on our chalkboard:
Tim had drawn it! Apparently, this is him being shocked senseless by a house spider that he had encounted on the air vent in the kitchen the night before! *laughs*. Anyway, this was the start of it. Yes indeed, it's house spider season again - that "very special" time of the year when these HORRIBLE creatures come out looking for a girlfriend and, in doing so, terrorise me for a few weeks. Last night I was sat at the computer and one just suddenly appeared on a pile of dvd's next to me and this morning I saw this creeping horror outside our bathroom window:
However, it WAS outside, let's be grateful for small mercies here. I don't understand it - we don't see these for MONTHS and then all of a sudden they just appear all over the place! So, we've started our yearly "keep the house spiders at bay" battle by putting lemon oil around the window frames and doors and hoovering like nut cases.
Still, I'm going around glancing fearfully into dark corners in case one of them is about to jump me.
Yes, I'm very girly scared :(
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Mellow
I really do love this time of the year - sinking into Autumn with that
gorgeous smell you only ever get at this time of the year and the
dazzling summer green fading into muted gold colours (this is very
poetic isn't it?!) I've also just really noticed how the sun is having
to bend down a bit more to look in our windows :) It's really mad, but I
also realised that at the end of next month I'll be making the Christmas
cake! CHRISTMAS!! It's true what they say that as you get older time
seems to pass more quickly because it really doesn't seem two minutes
ago that I was writing this
and getting all huffy because Tim was going out for Christmas lunch
without me *laughs*. Honestly though, I do sometimes feel a bit like
Cinderella (with Tim being a fabulous ugly step-sister .... I JEST!!),
come Christmas. Tim gets all the lovely festive niceness - the church
things he does - ok, we're not religious but I remember years ago going
to the Lessons and Carols when he was playing and it was GORGEOUS, all
flickering candles and dim lighting. Then last year he got whisked off
out for lunch with his work (and very nice it was too apparently!) It's
really not fair, I want some festive fun at that time of the year ......
where's my fairy godmother to magic up a ball for me? 
Anyway, back to now! Must stop whining about things that are 3 months away yet! It's quite peaceful at the moment but we are expecting the next couple of weeks to be busier. Tim's on holiday but, as I mentioned before, we've got the garden to sort out - honestly, it's getting so bad out there that we're going to need a crash course from Ray Mears to go out there soon! Also I want to prepare a little vegetable plot which I'm going to have to do in a large container of some kind. We've got a really big garden but it's all shrubs, lawn and patio with no planting ground whatsoever - plus the ground is really stoney and we just get MILLIONS of slugs!
We've also got to sort out the car soon *groan*, the MOT is due at the beginning of October but we really are in two minds whether to bother. The car is getting on a bit now and the intermittent (hugely irritating!) clutch problem is something that is not likely to go away. We are expecting it to fail on a few things (tyres for one and quite possibly the weird up-and-downy-crazy-Citroen suspension). We don't have a vast amount of money to spend so it's a tough decision either way - Tim could get credit and buy something newer but he doesn't like "owing" so cash it is. The other problem is that he doesn't know much about cars and is worried about buying something rubbish - he NEEDS a reliable car, even if just for getting to work because it's a bit of a trek from our house to his work.
So what with the gardening, the car and (hopefully!) some days out AND Rosie's trampoline class starting up again next week (back to the weekly hike to the Littledown Centre!) AND she's got Guides the following week ......... I think we're going to be a bit busy!
PS - looking on a bit further - it's Rosie's birthday towards the end of the month - we're getting vague requests for a Nintendo and a small cuddly pet of some kind. Haven't had any small cuddlies since Smartie and Rolo our guinea pigs, so a bit nervous about that.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Not back to school :)
April would have started school today (yep, I know, CRAZY to do one day of school and then be off for the weekend!), but, obviously, she hasn't. D'you know what though? I got up this morning and thought about what it would be like if she HAD. I got the most horrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach imagining the poor little soul being forced into starchy uniform, marched off down the road and left.
Instead, she had a relaxed morning - breakfast followed by looking at books in bed followed by BBC Little Animal Centre and Numberjacks in her jim-jams. Then she (finally!) got dressed, did some colouring and then played outside (until it started raining). Now she's playing with some paper cut out Mario figures that Rosie made her and waiting until Rosie finishes her work so they can go on Club Penguin :)
Off now to enjoy the rest of the day - got a few things to sort out because Tim is only at work today and tomorrow and then he's on holiday for 2 weeks WOO-HOOOO! ...... the garden will get done at last!! .......... *laughs*
I'm just TOOOO cruel ;)
PS - Had to add this .... here's an entertaining little thing we've (me and Rosie) have been enjoying today ..... The Story of Physics - enjoy! :)
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Lazy!
You're getting mostly pictures tonight because I can't be bothered to type much (and in any case, Tim will be back with pizza very soon!). Yes, of course, I could just not blog but I like to blog ... just sometimes don't want to type much! :P
So here are some random and unconnected pictures from the last couple of days:
No, we didn't have some sudden freak weather here in the south of England! Tim brought back a ice box thingy from work and proceeded to empty our food into it and defrost the freezer. It SO badly needed doing. He chucked the ice outside and April decided to use it as a frozen dinosaur land!
Tim and April sprawled out watching telly ... aaah!
A weirdy cloud that Tim photographed
Rosie FINALLY finishing up some decimals notebooking work I set her. Very glad. Suspected we'd be doing decimals for the rest of our lives.
Autumn nature table. Yes, I've done it already!
That's it .. byeeee!
See archive index for other posts