Another Year , Another Blog

That's My Boy

2012-01-16T12:33:00.000-08:00

The paperwork says it all .....

One proud boy ... one proud Mum. One step close to a career in media production. Well done Theo.

The Digital Age

2012-01-15T02:17:00.000-08:00

In our house I refer to it as the mosaic age. This is because when I can find a channel that actually works, it is displayed as a pixelated mish mash resembling a psychedelic mosaic, accompanied by a stuttering of sound bites which may or may not belong to the programme , who knows , you can't make out enough of the picture to know what the hell is going on anyway.

We have a telly in the bedroom. Nothing posh but at least flat, unlike the dinosaur sitting in the living room which I'll be donating to the Design Museum before long as one of those laughably enormous pieces of equipment that people actually used to watch in the 80's.

So, my smallish , flattish telly sits in our wardrobe which glows like a scene from Encounters of a Close Kind when the door is shut, as I can't find the button to turn off the luminous blue glow that emanates from within. It comes with a remote ( notice omission of the second word 'control' - a complete oxymoron ) , just the one, thank God, which you press at random in an attempt to locate a channel. There are about thirty something channels, apparently, but none of them actually work. When I say 'work' I mean display a picture which you can recognise in synch to a soundtrack which doesn't sound like the recipient of a recent tracheotomy.

So here I am at bedtime trying in desperation to find something, anything to watch. Eventually I narrow down the thirty something ( more like twenty something actually, as at least a dozen are named salubriously along the lines Boobs 'n' Tits or Dave +1 . I'm sure just plain Dave without the 1+ would be bad enough but in case the neanderthals watching it first time around couldn't quite decipher any words longer than one syllable , they clearly needed another dose but then it was probably all pictures of cars and boobs and gadgets anyway so who'd need words ) to just one solitary channel. So much for choice.

So here I am at nearly midnight watching a couple of ponces fannying around in Sicily, gushing about the lemonyness ( yes that's actually what they said and it had 4 syllables) of a lemon sorbet. It got worse , a lot worse. They then went to watch a Good Friday parade from the local church from which a weeping Madonna icon was held head high, borne through the cobbled streets, by costumed locals in celebration of the imminent resurrection of Christ. Gosh , the gushing continued , this is just so ... so .... so Sicilian . Well yes , that may have been because they were in Sicily.

Enough. One last press of the remote and the picture thankfully reduced to the size of a pin prick of light. Silence is golden and not at all pixelated.

That's it ...

2011-12-31T09:18:00.000-08:00

... no more sale shopping for me. But I'm very happy with my lovely goodies that I bought today.
These were too pretty to resist.

Can't stand all those Special Purchase buys they have in the stores although I did succumb to a set of towels from John Lewis but only because ours are threadbare. Oh ... and there's one more thing arriving in the post soon - a very gorgeous half price dress from my favourite label Avoca. If only they had stores in the UK. Almost worth a trip to Dublin ... now there's an idea .

Holidaying with a teenage boy

2011-12-30T13:41:00.001-08:00

My top tip - don't

I've just dragged our 17 year old away with us , possibly ( hopefully ) for the last family holiday - only 2 nights away - not too much to ask ?

I have some advice for those considering the same ...

1. Expect to have at least a week of "Do I have to come?" Ignore their pleas to be left at home - the house will be trashed when you return or razed to the ground.

2. Don't expect to be able to leave before midday

3. If he claims he'll be able to pack, ignore him and pack underwear at least on his behalf. Their idea of packing includes headphones and mobile and precious little else.

4. Do NOT plan any activities - they are allergic to the word activity.

5. If siblings are involved, anticipate bickering for the entire duration of the journey.

6. Do NOT under any circumstances ask if they are looking forward to it. You have been warned.

7. Expect no thanks

8. Don't expect them to emerge for breakfast even if you still have to pay for it.

9. Bring emergency sugar / chocolate rations to avoid dangerous blood sugar drops . The Pot Noodle that they ate the night before will not keep them going for more than 6 hours.

10. Inure yourself to swearing.

That's about it .

Compatability

2011-12-30T13:31:00.000-08:00

I like to turn the music up , he likes to turn it down

I like to shop 'til I drop , he'd rather not shop at all

I like to cook , he'd prefer take-away

I like to stand up , he'd rather sit down

I like to have the windows open, he'd rather close them

I like to chat, he likes it quiet

I like to drive fast, he'd rather slow down

I like to let it all out , he'd rather keep it all in

I like to tell the world , he'd rather keep it to himself

I like to live a little

So what does it all add up to ? Are we compatible or do we compliment each-other ... discuss .

No More Bah Humbug

2011-12-01T11:03:00.001-08:00

I might have given the impression that I was fed up with the whole Christmas malarkey in my last post . Who am I kidding ? I LOVE it .

Kitten Jack helped me wrap the boys presents today.

... and I had my first turkey sandwich, the first of many I hope. Oh and I've decided what I'd like ( or rather need) for Christmas ... gift vouchers for my dentists ! Managed to break a tooth last night and so my dentist ( who's lovely really ) relieved me of a large wodge of cash today . Having said that I'm eternally grateful to him for fixing it up this afternoon, albeit temporarily, as I can now glug down a few gingerbread lattes without wincing.

More Christmas shopping tomorrow which hopefully will include a trip to Jo Malone's if I have anything to do with it. So if you're reading this dearly beloved, anything from these shops please and not the electrical department of B & Q.

Christmas in Advance

2011-11-29T02:55:00.000-08:00

Never one to do things in a orderly fashion, I think I'm going for a different approach this year. I'll be celebrating the festive season in advance.

That means I get to drink all the BOGOF bottles of plonk now instead of waiting for the so-called BIG day , much better to pace myself. Mince pies - why wait ? I'll be sated with the little currant infested lard pastries by the second week of December in any event so might as well enjoy them in advance whilst the brandy butter is still fresh in the jar and not tasting like a rancid oil slick.

Presents. Hmm , judging by husband's previous record there's nothing more dispiriting than opening another kitchen utensil on Christmas morning so best to stock up on self purchased Jo Malone and Thorntons special toffee this week whilst the affordable gift sets are still in stock . I suppose there is one benefit to the male ritual of the 5pm on Christmas Eve shopping trip though. The reasonably priced gifts have gone by then so they have to opt for the all singing, all dancing, break the bank option and throw money at it, as my friend pointed out the other day and she should know as she now owns Anya Hindmarsh handbags by the dozen.

I could dole out the children's gifts now . Saves schlepping up to the attic to hide them and now they know where the pokey tool for the loft hatch is , they can go take a look between now and the 25th anyway - and usually do. No need to wrap either.

So that just leaves carol concert, annual bun fight for the perfect turkey at Waitrose at 6am on the 23rd with no-where to store it for the next 48 hours and up to my elbows in pork sausage-meat and chopped onion late into Christmas Eve when I should be watching White Christmas on the telly. I have an answer to all of these dilemmas.

Frozen turkey - why not, its half the price and gets slathered in gunky sauces anyway. I can never get enough of the stuff really so I'll be gorging on M&S turkey sandwiches for the entire month anyway and will doubtless forget to defrost the big bird in sufficient time so it'll be ready for Christmas 2012 .

Will I miss the Christmas sing song at church ? Nope, now that I've got Classic Christmas FM on speed dial, I should be suitably jaded with every Christmas hymn known to man by the 1st of December . And anyway you usually get sat next to a snotty nosed, dribbling infant who'll doubtless infect you with a dose of tonsilitis in time for the 25th so best give it a miss or just sing along at home during November and get it out of my system. And no-one likes stuffing anyway , so that means curtains for the sausage-meat and the Christmas Pud come to that whilst we're on the subject of extraneous festive food.

So there we have it. I'll have done Christmas in advance and dispensed with the rituals and the feasting in advance whilst my trousers can still be zipped up, although not for much longer.

I could never understand as a child, when asked "What's your favourite thing about Christmas Mum" by mother would always reply " Boxing Day". But I can now.

Christmas Fair Season

2011-11-18T05:42:00.000-08:00

The boys' school very sensibly hold their Christmas Fair at the end of November before the frantic silly season notches up a gear. That gives me a chance to put together some goodies without cursing at midnight that there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done, which I'd be doing if it were held mid December.

In fact I can honestly say the last few days have been a pleasure of baking, crafting and wrapping. This year I've made white chocolate drizzled cinnamon loaves, little packets of mulled wine muslin bags which youngest son helped to fill and treat bags filled with chocolate balls and candy canes. And rather lovely they all look too.

Two Ways to Spend Money

2011-11-07T05:31:00.000-08:00

Can you tell that finances are occupying a good deal of my thoughts these days ?

I have broken down spending into 2 categories :-

1. Undesirable - parking tickets, speeding fines, Customs and Excise, Inland Revenue, electricity bills, bank charges ... you get my drift.

2. Desirable - good causes , spontaneous gifts, scrap-booking stash, happy days out, chocolate, cake ... more drift getting.

This weekend ( apart from the exorbitant cost of the train fare ) I spent a good deal of time on category 2 thankfully ( of course the upside of traveling by train is no need to worry about speeding fines or parking tickets or the duty payable on fuel ) , in the company of good friends , never further than an eight second stroll to the scrap-booking shop and never 2 hours away from another feast of fabulous food ( think chocolate fountains, bacon butties, pecan pastries ) , Rhubarb and Custards, Chocolate Limes, Refresher Bars and Candy Necklaces on tap. Perfect.

I was , of course , at Sarah's Cards Retreat. Thank you girls for another wonderful weekend.

Six delectable classes , make and takes, challenges, bingo , no washing up , king sized, snore free bed, out of earshot of the "What's for tea " cry of hungry teens. I only have to wait another 20 weeks before the next retreat in March , in celebration of which I made this ....

... as my entry for one of the challenges - which was to fashion an item using only a 5" x 7" canvas and scraps leftover from the classes at the retreat. Now I can open a window for every week between now and the next retreat in March ( 20 in total ) and get myself well and truly prepared. 1st window says " Book Place" which I have now done.

Bought myself some stash lovelies too. Ironically though, my scrapping seems to be working in inverse proportion to my stash acquiring. The more I buy , the less I use on my layouts . What's that all about ? In love with simple scrapbooking at the moment - the " less is more" school of thought. Leaves more time for chatting and eating as well, brilliant on all fronts.

Setting Light to Tenners

2011-10-30T03:09:00.000-07:00

I love a good bonfire but urban life prevents it ( neighbours washing on the line etc ) . Therefore I succumbed to the temptations of a chiminea at the local garden centre. It's the kind of thing I'd have looked at a few years ago and thought " Who the hell would ever buy one of those ? "

So fast forward to Autumn 2011 and here we are , new proud owners of this bulbous terracotta monster ... and I have to tell you its the best fun of a chill evening. We lit our new friend last night and burned a decade's worth of bank paperwork, which felt good ... very good indeed. Quite cleansing , almost like expunging ourselves of former financial burden ... if only . So as we sat and watched the pound-signs singe and flicker into fiery life, I felt compelled to write this poem.

I'm not given to arty farty poetry writing , but I'd been to see and hear Roger McGough earlier in the week , one of my all time most favourite poets ever and so thought - better late than never to have a go. This is an ode to all the monies we've ever spent , as hard working tax-paying workers and I've called it .... Setting Light to Tenners.

SETTING LIGHT TO TENNERS

... with apologies to Roger McGough who would probably laugh out loud ( but not in a good way ) at my feeble attempts at poetry, but he isn't that way inclined and so he may politely smile and encourage me to write some more because he's a very nice, kind man.

We bought a chiminea
and half filled it with sand.
It weighed a flipping ton
So eldest gave a hand.

We shoved it on the patio
and waited until dark,
matches at the ready
this should be quite a lark.

Husband fetched some paper
scrunched and tore and shred.
Lit the match and poked it in
Just like instructions said.

A satisfying flame
took hold, the paper burned.
Bills, receipts and statements
All our money ever earned.

School fees, mortgage , council tax,
it all went up in smoke
If only life were like that
for us ordinary tax-paying folk.

Fright Night

2011-10-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year agin, love it or loathe it ( and I fall in the former camp) , Halloween is upon us.

I'm thinking that maybe the days of the novelty latex mask and the bag full of hideous sweets are numbered and therefore I'm making the most of it this year. Youngest is inviting some friends over for a 'Fright Night' evening of calorific overload. We cycled home from Sainsburys today laden with litre bottles of blood coloured pop and a plastic cauldron to serve it in ...a tin of peeled lychees will suffice for lookalike eyeballs that should float nicely.

The walls of the playroom will be transformed into a dungeon and kitten Jack may even oblige us with a toad or two , captured from next door's pond. Cobwebs will hang from the ceiling and neon skeletons will dangle from above.

Meanwhile DH and I will hide upstairs until it's all over - teenage boys , takeaway pizza and a bucketful of fizzy drink will be too much to handle at our age.

Had great fun making the invites - the splattered blood is courtesy of a bottle of Cosmic Shimmer and the Cricut has been working overtime.

Bruises and breakages

2011-10-06T08:46:00.000-07:00

I'm dyspraxic , so are my boys. At least I know where and who they got it from.

I didn't realise until they were diagnosed although it was staring me in the face. I hadn't put 2 and 2 together when I thought back to my schooldays' nickname of Clumsy Clobbers.

Many broken plates, bottles and minor mishaps later , it dawned on me that there was a name for it. It now has me in stitches , literally ( we're regulars at A&E ).

So today , whilst shopping in John Lewis , I was reminded yet again of what its like to be so clumsy. I'd treated myself to a quick sneak peek of the Christmas goodies ( yes I know , still 2 months to go and all that but what the hell) and had just picked up a delightful gift box to have a closer look. What then unfolded was a piece of pure slapstick. Somehow, I managed to lose my grip and in a desperate attempt to regain my hold, managed to bat the thing , ping pong style, across the shopping aisle, but not before a sort of slow motion juggle first. If this wasn't bad enough, once I'd retrieved it and replaced it on its shelf , I then managed to do the whole thing all over again with a thankfully slightly smaller box. It was farce. There was a fellow shopper within a yard of me who watched with disbelief. You honestly couldn't make it up . A few years ago I might have blushed and moved swiftly on but these days I usually have to laugh out loud.

At about the same time as this comedy was taking place there was an almighty crash followed by the sound of breaking glass. It sounded expensive. I looked up to see an elderly gent standing alongside a pricey lamp that was now missing its glass shade. The price ticket was clearly visible to all - £199. He had my sympathy vote already . The poor man then had to go through the pretense of pretending to be interested in the cabinet it had been standing on, going as far as to enquire whether it was in stock. I felt his pain and shame. That could have been me.

The price tag for my shopping breakages to date has been relatively slight all thing considered. I knew my youngest took after me when we managed to shatter a glass topped coffee table in M&S some time ago , although I suspect it was cracked already. It was enough to put him off furniture shopping with Mum for life although I suspect this was just a rouse to get out of ever having to go to Ikea ( must take after his Dad on second thoughts). I'm a constant embarrassment to the boys although I do consider this to be part of my job description as Mum.

There are a few rules I now have to follow:

Never try to get car keys out of my handbag whilst standing over a drain in the road ( that's how my youngest first learnt the F*** word.

Avoid carrying cans of paint whilst lids are slightly ajar

Do not attempt to place tray containing hot drinks onto table whilst handbag strap is sliding off shoulder with a jolt

Greasy hands and glasses don't mix

Avoid old fashioned milk bottles with foil tops, screw caps are the only safe option.

I could go on but then I'd be here for some time. Mealtimes are hysterical in our house to which the kitchen table bears testament. Glassfulls of water are usually horizontal within seconds and bottles of sauce with indelible ink staining properties have re-coloured our kitchen floor over the years. If you want to know what dye they put in something called Ass Kicking Hot sauce , check out our floorboards ... and its not one you'd find in the Farrow and Ball palette.
I was considering replacing our table a while ago but decided to preserve the memories of a lifetime of food serving disasters for a while longer. Besides, the table I'd set my heart on was made of glass. Enough said.

A Place for Everything ...

2011-10-05T07:31:00.001-07:00

... and everything in its place. Forgotten who said this originally but I'm getting close to achieving it. A brand spanking new Expedit arrived yesterday along with a new desk and a couple of whizzy chairs for my scraproom which I'd recently raided to kit out my tutor room.

In record time they were all assembled and so my scrap room has now been resurrected courtesy of Ikea. Loving the new storage and now I can start filling those shelves. It's still a little messy around the messages but I'll soon find a place for everything.

The best part is that I can now have my Cricut and sewing machine out permanently and ready to use at the drop of a hat. Off to Ikea again next Monday to buy some more storage boxes and accessories to kit it out properly. Watch this space.

Wordsworth got it wrong

2011-09-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

Spring's OK but I've never been a big fan of yellow or daffodils come to that but Autumn's where it's really at. Azure blue skies, crisp mornings, conkers, that musky smell of fungi in the park, blackberries the size of plums ... need I go on ?

Incidentally how do cats know when you've had your carpets cleaned and why do they choose the week after to throw up ? Sixth sense or are they just downright cussed ?

At the risk of turning everyone green with envy , I've just had the perfect weekend. I generally hate those smug Sunday paper articles about the subject but as it only happens once in a blue moon I feel justified in bragging.

In no particular order , here's what last weekend involved :
Birthday, friends, a lot of laughing, chocolate, gin and tonic, red wine, curry, shopping, scrapbooking, cake, scones, more laughing ... you get the picture.

I have Sandra to thank for the following quote from a fabulous book she gave me ....
" The best sort of husband is healthy and absent " So true.

Rug Doctoring

2011-09-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

That's what I've spent my day of rest doing. Sounds vaguely like money laundering , only not quite so lucrative.

For those of you familiar with this little miracle device that you can hire from Homebase, for the price of a takeaway curry, you'll know that my arms now ache and yet I'm left with a wonderful sense of accomplishment.

Three smelly carpets have been transformed from grubby to , well if not spanking clean , then at least refreshed. The water which I tipped from the last gazillionth tank was light brown as opposed to the colour of treacle and I have culled enough cat hairs to knit a large jumper and possibly a scarf to boot.

DH was perturbed that I might disrupt his planned viewing of Downton Abbey tonight , should the telly room carpet not dry in time. He informed me of this from his sick bed as he's currently suffering from flu aka the common cold. Maybe I should have glugged some Night Nurse into the cleaning tank instead of the carpet shampoo and he would have cleared both nostrils and hopefully nodded off to sleep from the medicated fumes.

Aside from the irritation of having a man down in Team Fader all weekend, the thing I hate most about other halves being ill is the hourly update on symptoms. I will know precisely the exact nature of each and every ache and pain by the middle of next week as doubtless he'll be passing on his germs to me as I write.

Feeling Very Blessed

2011-09-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

At the risk of sounding cheesy , I'm feeling very blessed right now at having found what it is I really want to do in life.

I'm 2 weeks into term and I'm loving every minute. I see 12 pupils a week of various abilities, ages and stages and help them to understand what the hell Maths is all about. It never fails to amaze me how many people tell me that they HATE maths. Usually its because they were taught badly, sometimes its because they missed a vital stage at school and fell behind and sometimes its because their brains just aren't wired to deal with it. Occasionally, sadly, it's because their teachers humiliated them at school and left them feeling at best intimidated and at worst downright scared.

Fear is a funny thing. It can paralyse you. If you are always telling yourself that you can't do something, or worse , someone else is telling you you're not able to do something then unsurprisingly, eventually you'll believe it.

Anyway , doing what I now do , tutoring youngsters in maths, I have the golden opportunity to put things right. Nothing beats that moment when they smile wryly and say " Oh, I get it ! ".

Having spent a year in the classroom last year, hide bound by the ridiculous rules that now govern state education, NOTHING in the world would induce to get behind a desk in front of a class again. Having the freedom to teach instinctively is liberating. As the old Chinese proverb says " Tell me and I'll forget. show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand". So true.

Sometimes, it takes an awfully long time but we get there in the end and boy does it feel good.

Defrosting the Fridge

2011-09-11T06:24:00.000-07:00

Not the kind of headline grabbing title that might inspire you to read but the I like to blog about the ordinary as well as the extraordinary.

It's Sunday . Eldest son upstairs with girlfriend, youngest glued to the X Box having done 'bear minimum' homework. I'm mid defrost and have just discovered a dead wasp and a mini Mars bar on the bottom shelf. Not sure how either got there.

If you ever want to know how much oil one tiny jar of pesto contains, try dropping one on a hardwood kitchen floor. The house now smells like an Italian restaurant ( no bad thing ) and also on the up-side , I may never ned to wax that floor again. How many bottle of chilli sauce does one fridge need and why are they all in the fridge anyway? Aren't these thing so choc full of preservative that they'd last a lifetime and beyond ? The rest of the contents reads like a diary of my life. There are un-drunk cartons of Cambridge Diet banana milk, a dozen condiments from last Winter's Sunday roasts, for some reason at least 5 packs of pepperoni, ancient vegetables that have almost taken root, assorted sizes of egg and of course David's beers.

Nothing that would actually constitute a meal unless one whipped up a chill sauce omelet, deep fried in beer batter with mint sauce and horseradish on the side. Which is probably why I've just eaten a mini mars bar for my lunch. I stopped short at the wasp.

If anyone has a recipe for something that requires 5 different types of mustard, most of which are past the sell by date, please let me know.

So new fridge rules ...

One type of mustard only , it has to be Colmans.

Vegetables to be composted before they take root.

Orange juice only , who needs pomegranate and mango.

You can have enough tubs of Philadelphia Extra Light , it's probably only whipped air in any event.

Buy new parmesan grating tub - enough grated parmesan spilled on the fridge floor to keep a pizzeria n business for a year.

Stockpile mini Mars bars , they come in very handy for lunch.

How would you like to be contacted ?

2011-09-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

I had to fill in a form this week I'm starting a course at my local Adult Education College next week. Funny isn't it how learning is a joy in older age - if only we could convince our children of that.

About 8 pages in , I came across a lengthy list of contact preferences. How would I like to be contacted in the event of ...

The options were endless , I could be contacted by post, email , telephone, presumably carrier pigeon if so desired. The circumstances under which they may wish to contact me were equally lengthy but the one that entertained me the most read ....

' How would you like to be contacted in the event of .... death.' I'm not sure I'd care by that stage but the maverick in me made my insert the words 'ouija board' .

On the form went relentlessly. The section about my employment status was equally entertaining. Apparently I could describe myself as unemployed intentionally, unintentionally, by choice, by circumstance or a squillion other options. there wasn't a column for just plain old 'Mum' or 'stuck at home doing ironing and cleaning' so I opted instead for 'economically inactive'.

Trouble is, that's a slight misnomer I'm actually rather active in the economy . Trouble is the flow of money is mostly out and not in.

So next week I'll be going back into a classroom with a new pencil case and a banana for break. Can't wait for that heady scent of disinfectant and pencil shavings that will transport me back in time.

From this ...

2011-09-06T07:20:00.000-07:00

... to this ...

... in just a weekend. Mind you, I can hardly move today as my back is aching but it was worth it.

I've evicted DH from his office, if you can call it that, and replaced all the dusty cupboards, junk and ancient paperwork with some (ancient but still serviceable) Ikea storage cubes and the old desk from my scrap room. This is my new 'Tutor Room' as I now like to call it, ready and waiting for my pupils to arrive for the new Autumn term.

I absolutely adore it and it has the best view in the house. I can "yoo- hoo" down to postie when he arrives with a pizza box shaped parcel of scrapbooking stash. It looks out onto trees and the goings on in the road at the front of our house.

The best bit about it is that it's all sourced from furniture culled from just about every room in the house so it hasn't cost a penny. The Ikea storage cubes were probably the forerunner to the ubiquitous Expedit cabinets. I think they count as 'vintage' Ikea - no doubt they'll be appearing on ebay and year now marked up as "rare' ... then again maybe not. These seem to have stood the test of time, unlike a lot of other Ikea stuff that seems to have a built-in obsolescence factor of about 5 years.

The desk is also ancient Ikea and almost fills the room which is tiny but it works perfectly. From my ( also ancient Ikea ) swivel chair I can spin round and access all of my teaching resources that are now neatly stashed away in labelled storage boxes, or reach up and access all of my books and paperwork on the 2 shelves above. The carpet is pretty shot but then you can hardly see any of it underfoot as the furniture covers almost every available square inch ( you can tell I'm old school ) .

The walls are painted in my favourite Farrow and Ball hue called Bone and the lamps make it really cosy. Haven't filled up the shelves yet as you can see from the photos but that won't take long.

I had my first pupil in this morning and the room worked a treat.

Of course the best news is that I can now go splurge on a replacement desk for my scrap room. I'm planning on having a raised height bench, almost like a kitchen work-top as I like to scrap standing up. My poor old scrap room looks like a tip now and DH is now squeezed into an even smaller box room upstairs but as he only needed room for a small desk and a filing cabinet, he's happy enough.

Swiss Trip 2012

2011-08-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

The thing I love most about our trip to Switzerland every year is that nothing ever changes . Well the Alps and the Bernese Oberland wouldn't but then nor do the delightfully old fashioned tea rooms, still decorated in their 70's brown and orange hues with rafia lampshades. There's something rather re-assuring about a place that doesn't feel the need to re-invent itself every decade in the name of 'progress'.

The hotel we stay at is family run and friendly and looks like it would have done 20 years ago, even the staff are there for life, which makes it all the lovelier. The view from our balcony overlooking Lake Thun never fails to make my heart sing and the cool mountain air is the perfect antidote to everything that's stressful in modern day life. And if all of that fails to impress then I can eat my own body weight in cheese and chocolate every single day. What's not to like about a country that is clean, decent, old fashioned , polite and beautiful to look at ?
Oh and then there's the stationery shops brimming with art supplies and coloured pencils and every shape, colour and size of pen, pencil or pencil case. Don't start me.

So here's a few pictures to show you what I mean.

Cycling down from the Niederhorn with the Eiger in the distance.

A quiet backwater in Interlaken

The hillside in Sigriswil adjoining our hotel apartment

The local Baren Fest ( Bear Festival) where you buy a carrot and if you pick a lucky one you win a delightful bear ... but if you don't at least you get to eat the carrot !

Most bakeries have a sign like this outside . I love to take photos of them all .

The view of Lake Thun from the top of the Niederhorn. Can't get enough of this view nor the turquoise of the water.

The Swiss take real pride in homemade crafts. I bought this table runner with a matching bread cloth for when we have fondues at home at a local craft fair. It's beautifully hand embroidered and cost next to nothing.

Just a few buttons to add to my collection bought from a local garage sale... you can never have enough buttons.

Thrilled to discover an exhibition of the craft of Scherenschnitt - a traditional hand papercutting art which has to be seen to be believed. The detail and intricacy of design is phenomenal.

Meet Susanne Schlapfer who kindly allowed me to photograph her at work.

The organiser's car - how beautiful is that ?

Braving the heart-stopping icy lake waters - those are Max's feet in the air ! Nothing beats swimming in freshwater Swiss lakes fed with water from the surrounding mountains. Even better when followed by a snooze in the sauna. That look on my face is a mixture of pain and pleasure.

Cruising the chocolate aisles at the local supermarket - spoilt for choice.

Views from Oberhofen castle.

Filling up the water bottles from mountain waterfalls.

I only have to wait another 364 days before we're back again.

Calico Cat

2011-07-27T02:08:00.000-07:00

Every month, something REALLY exciting happens. It starts with a ring on the doorbell where I'll find my lovely postie standing with a large brown box in his hands.

If I can make it down the hallway without ripping the tape from it's sides in order to spill its luscious contents, by the time I reach the kitchen table , I'm already gasping with delight at the prospect of revealing what lies inside.

Yes its D for delivery Day for my monthly Studio Calico kit.

By the time I've carefully eased the pretty sticker that seals the brown paper bag and stroked each and every piece of paper, I usually find there's an interloper on the scene. His name is Jack and he knows he's in for a treat. I swear he can smell that box a mile away . I'm convinced the lovely packers at Studio Calico must slip in some catnip on the sly.

We've tried a number of comfy, plushy, squishy, furry, padded, quilted cat bed things but to no avail. He knows his place. Not for him the luxury of designer comfort. He prefers the solid, honest, integrity of a brown cardboard box. But I must credit him with great taste . If you're going to curl up for a nap , you might as well surround yourself with the beauty of a Studio Calico kit.

Way to go Jack.

This cake contains ....

2011-07-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

... 1 large bar of the finest 70% cocoa solids chocolate, 2 Crunchies, 1 large box of Maltesers, 1 large bag of mini marshmallows, unsalted butter, golden caster sugar, golden syrup, 1 packet of crushed biscuits , 1 large pack of M & M's , 12 candles and about 5 squillion calories.

We'll be injecting it into our arteries after we've polished off a burger and fries at Byron's Burgers, washed down with a vanilla milkshake for youngest son's 12th birthday tonight.

If I'm not back by midnight, call an ambulance.

Happy Birthday Son !

Been Busy

2011-07-10T14:52:00.000-07:00

Bought one of those printers trays from 7 Gypsies and I've filled it with loveliness for Max's 12th birthday this week. Rather pleased with how its turned out. There's a message for him in the envelope in the top right corner. It was great fun picking through my stash and finding just the right bits and bobs to fit the spaces. Love these trays.

What the hell are weekends all about ?

2011-07-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

You read stories in the weekend sections of the broadsheets , you know the sort , "My ideal weekend' . They always begin with exquisite breakfasts comprising freshly percolated coffee accompanied by pastries from their local artisan bakery and usually end with al fresco dining washed down with a few bottles of Rioja.

Mine are never going to live up to those standards. For a start , I'm usually on Mum's taxi duty, so Fridays are alcohol deprived. By Saturday I'm usually dealing with a couple of sleep deprived, hormonally stroppy teens. The situation normally deteriorates by the early evening because DH has spent the bulk of the day achieving nothing , rounded off by some inane TV sports marathon.

Saturday is my binge drinking opportunity and I make a point of maxing out on cheap plonk. Sunday rolls around all too quickly, beginning with a dehydrated hangover and is usually peppered with family duty visits, homework which usually includes the tail end of some hideous project on which we're usually 3 weeks behind schedule and a couple of sports bags full of stinky, sweaty trainers and T shirts.

There's usually the arbitrary row about how dull our lives have become and a spot of self flagellation about the number of unticked tasks on the To Do list.

Meanwhile the rest of the world appear to be having happy, cheerful, sun kissed family meals al fresco or a spot of pampering at the local spa, rounded off with cocktails or some such with wildly witty mates.

Maybe the grass is always greener. One of these days, I hope to find myself in their shoes. If only.

Art

2011-06-25T05:36:00.000-07:00

Just spent a happy hour down at The Landmark in Teddington's Midsummer Art Fair. Never fails to amaze me just how creative and clever artists can be. I always come away bursting with inspiration.

Here's a little peek at my favourites. Do check out their websites, I guarantee you'll be enthralled.

Joseph Silcott - each bird, heart or butterfly has been painstakingly cut by hand.

www.josephscissorhands.co.uk

Wirework artist Helaina Sharpley - these images don't really do her work justice. The play of light on their 3 dimensionality casts lovely shadows against the blacks they're mounted on.

www.helainasharpley.co.uk

Glyn Walton - Life in miniature. these exquisite domes are only a couple of inches high. I adore the way that rabbit is poking his head above the corn.

www.glynwalton.co.uk

And my favourite ...

Kate Newington

www.katenewington.com

Kate is not just a talented collage artist but an extremely nice person. I commissioned her to do a collage of the boys for my husband's 50th and it now has pride of place in our kitchen where I spend most of my time. There isn't a day goes by when it doesn't give me pleasure just looking at it.

It captures the very essence of the boys at a time in their lives in a way that fills my heart with joy. Isn't that what art is all about ? The picture incorporates everything the boys were wild about at that time... for Theo it was dinosaurs, Pokemon, purple Starburst sweets and a video he loved called Baby Mozart. For Max it was wind chimes, the lullaby I used to sing to him at night and even the smear of lipstick on his forehead that I'd leave behind on my way out to work. Beautiful.

Lace

2011-06-24T07:25:00.001-07:00

Love a bargain. This beautiful piece of cotton lace cost me 50p from a charity shop. Can't bear to think of all the work that's gone into it and then it ends up in the bargain bin. Still, its ended up in a good home.

Just finished this layout

2011-06-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

I have a little suitcase and inside that suitcase is a little trinket box and inside that little trinket box is a selection of treasured finds ... which I raided to complete this layout. I'm loving gold at the moment . The tape down the right had side is actually a roll of decorative masking tape with gold labels. I've filled each one with a little treasure. There's a little secret message to my son on the card inside the glassine paper envelope and I've managed to sneak a few birds and butterflies in there too. Quite liking the A4 format these days too. More pleasing on the eye somehow. Oh ... and the man in the moon stamp is from the latest Studio Calico kit as my son always tells me how much he loves me in terms of trips to and from the moon.
Isn't it funny how you don't notice things about a layout until after you've photographed and uploaded it .. like the fact that he has a birds nest sat on top of his head and that the gem in the top right corner is wonky ... oh and that I forgot to attach the strip of gold German scrap to the frame. Ah well.

Dontcha just love it ...

2011-06-15T06:38:00.000-07:00

... when you're out shopping for mundane items like shoelaces and something for tea and you come across little beauties like these ....

... and this...

The badges came from Habitat and the little birdie photo holder came from Bentalls. Now you may wonder why I'm in either Habitat or Bentalls when all I need is spag bol and a pair of medium black laces .... well you see , my route to Sainsburys is quite circuitous and takes me right past Habitat's front door and Bentalls ... well I have to walk right through the stationery department to get to the multi story car park. Sort of makes grocery shopping almost bearable.

Incidentally the photo is one of my favourites of my eldest knee deep in mud in the garden when he was 4 years old. That was the summer his baby brother was born and his best friends in the world were a plastic beach spade and the garden hose. Who needs Centre Parks ?

Tell me what you're listening to at the moment . I've just downloaded Ralph Vaughan Williams' Lark Ascending and I'm still dumbfounded, since the day I first heard this, wondering how on earth a human being can produce such an extraordinarily beautiful sound to almost rival nature if that were even possible.

Choosing to Die - Terry Pratchett

2011-06-14T07:16:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling overwhelmed having just watched this documentary on iPlayer.

I cannot get the image of Peter Smedley and Andrew Colgan out of my mind, all the crueler for the latter given his young age. And then there were their nearest and dearest , Peter's wife and Andrew's mother - stoic to the last.

What struck me most was the surreal and yet at the same time the ordinariness of it. A total juxtaposition which left me reeling with emotion. A cup of tea , a choice of meticulously wrapped neapolitan chocolates with which to mollify the bitter taste of the poison.

Reading the reviews I see that the usual 'against most religions' argument has been wheeled out again as a reason to condemn the taking of one's own life, as if it is anyone's business other than your own.

This might well have been called Whose Life is it Anyway . Who on earth has the right to judge whether it is right or proper for a human to choose whether and when to die and the manner of their own death.

All the sadder for this last trembling act to have to be played out on foreign land in a foreign language in a small, blue, rather impersonal house, ghettoised onto an industrial estate for fear of upsetting nearby residents, with a couple of kindly and compassionate 'hosts' ready with the Kleenex.

I was touched by the irony of the yellow and black chevron safety tape adhered to the front door step , a nod to health and safety , as if the potential of a grazed knee caused by a stumble upon entering can even begin to compare to what is about to happen inside.

I can barely begin to imagine how this must feel for those in the precarious position of finding themselves trapped in a body or mind that has deteriorated to the extent that 'normal' life, whatever that is, no longer seems possible.

The documentary was compassionately edited , sensitively filmed and possibly the most haunting piece of television I have ever watched. One can only hope that the debate will now be widened to allow those with a real say in the matter to decide for themselves. Those whose lives are theirs to relinquish without the overbearing voice of moral jurors breathing down their neck ( as if they were even entitled to have an opinion ) bearing judgement on the actions of a desperate and dying , yet dignified soul .

The Deed is Done...

2011-06-14T02:41:00.000-07:00

... I have just submitted my application to become Lord Sugar's next Apprentice. These youngsters haven't got a clue. Move over there's an 'oldie' coming through.

You're Hired !

At Last ...

2011-05-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

.. I've finally found an excuse to buy some of those wonderful little bottles of Windsor and Newton's inks. I've always lusted after them in art shops but wondered how I might put them to good use. Well yesterday I was in one of the world's greatest stationery and art shops ( Coleman's - if you haven't been then go - they're a chain in the Midlands and the last word in personal service , I can't fault them ).

There they were , all lined up tantalisingly and the polar bear on the bottle of white ink seemed to be imploring me to take him home ... so I did along with a quill pen - cheap and cheerful - extra fine nib which you can store inside the handle thereby avoiding the risk of poking your eye out in transit.

The perfect marriage . Beautifully drawn fine white lines . Beats my Uniball Signo white pen hands down and I thought that was unbeatable.

The only problem is , the inks come in a range of about 20 colours with lovely names and even lovelier packaging. I feel a new collection coming on but then at just over £2 a bottle it's cheaper than wine which I'm not drinking at the moment.

The little birdy is one of Marianne's Creatables. I'm not sure who Marianne is but thank you anyway wherever you are Marianne - your dies are delightful.

Bargain Flip Flops

2011-05-27T06:08:00.000-07:00

Amazing what a trip to the Supermarket can lead to . Bought these rather plain flip flops for the bargain price of £1.50 ( £2 originally with 25% off at Sainsburys) .

Loathe to pay the exorbitant prices of Accessorize's decorated flip flops ( £20 and upwards ) I set to with my glue gun and an assortment of buttons and brads and pimped them as follows ....

Whether any of it stays glued remains to be seen .. me and glue don't go very well together.

I'm sat here dabbling in my scrap room when I really should be at Sports Day. It was the black cloud/monsoon icon on this mornings weather forecast that persuaded me to stay home and now I'm paying the price ... Mummy Guilt ! Nothing that a home baked cake won't resolve ... why is food the solution to everything ?

Scrap A Mia

2011-05-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

Now just a distant memory .... a lovely weekend spent scrapping chatting and laughing , the best sort. No photos sadly , compact camera has gone AWOL .Can't even upload any of my layouts as I'm ashamed to say I haven't finished any of them yet and wouldn't be able to photograph them if I had .

Favourite class had to be Emma Trout's using Webster's Pages. I am insanely jealous of Emma's sublime attention to detail and her innate sense of style and composition. Her layouts are a joy to behold. When I grow up I'd like to scrapbook like her.

In the meantime I'm muddling along with my own layouts and have this page to show you. A class designed for Lorraine at Scrap Revolution featuring our little kitten Jack , hence the title.

In respect of all things British I actually consulted the official Union Jack website to use the exact proportions and layout of the Union Jack flag.

I also need to tell you about a new magazine I've just discovered called Mollie Makes. OOOh , what a delightful little publication. I devoured it in one sitting and now have to wait a whole month before the next one. I feel a subscription coming on.

Anyone else at the end of their tether ?

2011-05-02T04:40:00.000-07:00

Just 2 words .... exam revision ... oh and 2 more ... teenage sons. Enough said.

My Royal Wedding Top Ten

2011-04-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

Drinking Champagne with the girls , the cheaper the better

2. Eating cake , homemade of course and piled high with red , white and blue sprinkles.

3. Making paper chains with the boys - you can never have enough.

4. Making bunting - ditto.

5. Watching telly in bed with a mug of tea in my brand new Union Jack mug, of course if I'd known our own little Jack had tasted it first .....

6. Getting dressed up in my wedding dress.

7. The look on my eldest son's face at the the sight of me in my wedding dress with a jauntily placed plastic tiara on my head and a glass of champagne in my hand - priceless.

8. Caviar for tea ( gift from very generous friend).

9. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Flypast. My father was a Lancaster pilot during WW11 and it never fails to bring a tear to me eye.

10. Watching it all over again in the evening.

You can't beat a good wedding, especially when you haven't had to shell out for an outfit or a toaster . How was your day ?

Hellisters

2011-04-22T01:36:00.000-07:00

I've discovered a whole new shopping hell on earth . It's a place called Hollisters . The designers and architects had a field day on their drawing boards. The branch at our local shopping centre can only be described as a Hawaiian / mock Tudor fusion with colonial overtones. If you're ever trying to find it a your local shopping centre just look for the hoards of pre-pubescent texting tweenies hanging around outside .

Once over the threshold, past the leather wing chairs and Victorian candelabra ... oh and you sometimes you have to queue up outside ( crowd control ) as if entering a hallowed nightclub, the light levels dip to about the strength of a 20 watt bulb. You don't need to actually see the merchandise as it's all identical - sherbert coloured T shirts sporting Californian slogans like 'Surfs Up' or 'Beach Bum' or maybe even ' I'm only buying this to show that I can afford £25 quid for a T shirt and all my mates have exactly the same one ' .

I stumbled my way past the throngs of twelve year olds fingering the merchandise, looking for something with an affordable price tag . Fat Chance. The sales staff are on permanent T shirt folding duties as everyone seemed to be doing the same thing - pulling out a T shirt from an immaculate pile , looking at the price tag , mouthing the words " How Much ?!" then replacing it in a crumpled pile for the folders to do their magic.

Deeper inside this hell-hole , your eyes begin to acclimatise to the dingy lighting but not quite enough to avoid serious injury to your ankles as you trip over the 5" high plinths clearly designed to catch you unawares. The teens presumably have memorised the floor layout in their sleep and can navigate their way around blindfold. Bruised but not defeated I rounded the corner and entered the preppy area where the clothing was emblazoned with fictional college emblems 'Californian Surf School Alumini 1963 ' and the like. Oh dear. It was all getting much worse than I'd dared imagine. The cotton felt nice though until you realised that it had probably been harvested at the expense of a 9 year old child labourer for the cost a bowl of rice a day.

Eventually I found a 'bargain' garment for £12 and made my way to the till where I found a snaking queue of at least 30 people clutching their prospective purchases . You could just about make out the whites of their eyes - difficult to determine whether this was due to a heightened pitch of shopping fever or a nervousness at the prospect of parting with a day's wages.

Gasping with disbelief I plonked my T shirt back on a random shelf in a crumpled pile - well , you have to give the brigade of T Shirt folders something to do , and groped my way to the exit, past the bamboo plantation, round the next bend , hang a right at the Georgian mahogany library shelves, emerging , blinking, into the sunlight.

I don't think my 11 year old will be too upset that I failed in my conquest to bag him an uber trendy T . Bless him - our local Oxfam is his favourite shop.

Next time you're in town , take a look at the passing shoppers. You'll be able to spot the Hollisters customers a mile away . They will usually be a 40 something Mum with bruised ankles and an empty wallet with a texting teen tagging along with a big grin on their face.

Poor old Martha Stewart

2011-04-17T02:30:00.000-07:00

She must be exhausted . So far this month she's planted a forest, made all her own soap , appliqued a squillion eggs, hand carved her own herb labels and by page 120 she's held an Easter egg hunt for a bunch of kids dressed in linen suits. It's called a " casual Easter brunch ' , so casual in fact that all of the grown-ups have clearly been instructed to wear yellow whilst sipping champagne ( presumably from her own hand planted vineyard ) before helping the kids decorate their goose eggs at the craft table ( don't think little Johnny's felt penned mess is going to cut the mustard with Martha ) . I'm exhausted already and I haven't even ventured on to page 158 where she tackles cleaning her oven , which includes a step by step tutorial on how to unblock your fuel ports with a paper clip. And how come her duck egg blue apron is spotless ?
Just out of shot are the crew of 100 who doubtless actually do the unblocking for her.

It's easy to have a pop at Martha but it's such fun and that may account for why I shell out £3.90 for her monthly mag , it's the best laugh I've had since watching Michael Mackintyre judge Britain's Got Talent last night on telly.

Flipping through to end of the mag I found a section on how to look bloody marvellous too. Not content with laying your own eggs and crafting your own rugs, she's now telling us how we should dress. Strange though , everyone's upside down , maybe its for the Australian market ? No you have to turn it the other way round apparently and start from the other end to make it look like a whole new mag. What will those clever marketing chappies think of next ?

Incidentally my Easter egg hunts normally get rained off and involve an indoor version with a handful of the lurid foil wrapped cream egg variety squished behind sofas and hard to find places which , unfound, turn up months later - a real bonus when you're clean out of chocolate sometime in July and have a desperate urge to stuff your face with something from Cadburys.

I'm currently also reading , as if a glutton for punishment, a book about simplifying your life. I usually have at least one of these on the go on my Kindle at any one time. They're usually another source of guffaws. This one tells me I need to eliminate and simplify . So that's how you do it ? And here's me been cluttering and complicating my life for years with unnecessary burdens. So this morning I'm going to simplify my life by eliminating the ironing and I plan to go out for breakfast and let someone else do the washing up. Actually there are a few gems in the book which I plan to put to the test so if some of you don't hear from me in the next few months it may be because I've eliminated you from my email list. Apparently email and the internet is the scourge of 21st century living ( an element of truth) and we spend 30% of our lives attending to it . So , switching off now so that I don't get lured into the den of the internet iniquity known as the shopping cart. but not before I've checked out Martha's online clip art page which will show me how to print my own rhubarb compote labels.. trouble is I was supposed to plant the ruddy rhubarb plants last year and I clean forgot. Too busy scrubbing down my garden statue collection with baking soda no doubt ( p132 ) .

Bunny Humour

2011-04-15T02:41:00.001-07:00

Seeing as it's nearly Easter ...

Oh , I've just checked my blog and seen that the picture above has disappeared to be replaced by a menacing little blue square containing a question remark. Anyone techies know why that is ?

Qualy

2011-04-15T02:26:00.000-07:00

I have one problem with this design company. I want one of everything . Feast your eyes on this scene of loveliness.

Oh ... just tried to post a picture but it won't let me ... hey ho , you'll have to look here instead .

Oh , so now it's letting me copy a picture ... ah well , have a look at this little lot.

Trouble is , I can't find anywhere in the UK that stocks their products and as much as I'd love a visit to Bangkok , that would be one shopping trip too far. Incidentally , the white bunny's ears are a pair of scissors and his carrot holds paper clips.

Tut tut HARRODS

2011-04-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

What a ghastly place it is really ... serves me right for going but the promise of a Swiss themed store event and a confectionary department fit to burst with Easter chocolate was too tempting.

As we sat in the stupidly named Ca'ppucino coffee bar ( and yes that is where they put the apostrophe ) my 11 year old son dared to open a cellophane bag containing fudge which we'd just purchased , at which point the snotty waitress appeared and humiliated him by informing us that it was against store policy to consume any food other than purchased in the coffee bar. For crying out loud. He is a child and it was a sweet. What next ? No farting on the premises ? I only wished he had. That would have given her something to justify the 'smell under her nose' look she gave us.

Anyway , undeterred I had the audacity to ask for a glass of water to drink with our ice cream. well that nearly finished her off. What a horrid experience and one I'm happy not to repeat any time soon.

Harrods ... you scored 2 out of 10 and the 2 was only for the chocolate . Incidentally the crimeful piece of fudge that my son consumed scored even lower - truly disgusting.

The lure of London during school holidays never lives up to expectations. I always go with the boys with high hopes of experiencing our capital city in all its glorious loveliness but I always return on the sweaty train at the end of the day feeling distinctly disappointed , penniless and as if I need to have a damn good wash of my hands as soon as I get home.

Been a long time

2011-04-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

.. since I posted any layouts. Sadly they're sitting in a pile above where I keep my albums awaiting their final resting place . So I' thought I'd take the opportunity to photograph a few . A mixed bag . I'm really enjoying scrapping all my photos of the boys from their early childhood. I carry them around in my scrap tote and they're my first 'go to ' photos when I start a layout.

Thank you Sandra for setting the 'red theme' challenge in aid of Comic Relief at our crop for which I produced this.

Thank you 7 Gypsies for producing this sumptuous collage tissue which I used for this.

Thank you Emma for putting together this kit for me for our Ally Pally £3 page kit challenge.

Thank you Kate , likewise, for putting together this kit for me for our Ally Pally £3 page kit challenge.

Thank you Max for loving me all the way to the moon .. and back.

Thank you Fowey Hall for being our favourite child friendly holiday when the boys were little.

And finally one of the old man !

I quite like posting these on my blog - it gives me the chance to look at them objectively and spot what looks wonky and needs fiddling with ... ( the layouts that is ... not the old man ... although maybe .....)

Everything is Going to Be OK

2011-03-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

Wish I could believe it , although this lovely item could turn me into an optimist. So, might as well fly the flag and proclaim it from the treetops in style with this bunting. Another of the flags reads " You can still do a lot with a small brain". How true.

And as if fate almost intended , I found a delightful bag at the weekend with that very sentiment printed on it . One of the things I love the most about it , apart from the fact that it describes my brain size to a tee and the wonderful artwork by Rob Ryan, is that it's beautifully made and will last a lifetime.

Must go find a picture of the bag now too ...
here you go ....

Rob Ryan aficionados will be familiar with this artist's work but for those of you who have yet to discover his charm , have a look here. If anyone has found anything else by Rob, please let me know .

Butterflies and Buttons

2011-03-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

I promised myself that I wouldn't spend another penny until payday ... and then I realised it was payday - which was just as well because having seen this in the window of an antique shop on the way back from this morning's lesson it would have seemed criminal not to have set it free .

So it's now sitting on my scrap desk and just waiting to be filled with some pretty vintage buttons.

Just as well then that I found these little gems in the same shop. Now they have the perfect home.

You can never have enough charm bracelets

2011-03-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

What scrap-booker wouldn't want this in their collection ?

The purchase was justified on the grounds of

a) I've worked my socks off this week

and

b) My new rule - not allowed to go shopping unless it's on my bike which means I not only save money on the car parking but also on my purchases as I can only buy what you can carry on a bike.

Mind you , it's amazing what you can cram into a pair of XXL bike panniers !

All You Need Is ...

2011-03-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

I have a fetish for pretty purses and this one tops the lot. I only wish I had enough money to put them to their intended use.

As the say "money talks , mine says "goodbye" '

It's Spring

2011-03-11T06:41:00.000-08:00

It's Spring when, according to Tennyson, young men's fancies turn lightly to love or maybe its the start of the footie season but then that seems to go on all year now ... whatever ... anyway my fancy turns to brightly coloured objects of beauty.

I've just been shopping for custard powder, school shirts and stamps but somehow managed to come back with these little beauties instead.

For some unfathomable reason this was reduced in John Lewis from £28 to £14.

Then I found this ...

... which I intend to use for my sweet little pots of Cosmic Shimmers and the like. I was going to buy one of those silly Tim Holz tin cases just because I have a couple of others , in fact you can just see them on the left of the picture, but this is SO much lovelier and half the price too. Sorry Tim.

And finally there were these shouting BUY ME from their shelf in Marks and Spencer and again for some unfathomable reason were reduced in price. Well, how could I NOT buy them ?

And who needs custard powder anyway although I'm not sure what the boys are going to wear to school on Monday.

Just in case you were wondering how cute Jack is looking these days ( renamed Kung Fu Kitten for obvious reasons) , here's a little shot of the cutest Kitten in England.

Retreat

2011-03-07T06:04:00.000-08:00

Dictionary definition : A quiet or secluded place to which one can retreat for rest and relaxation.

I'd go with the rest and relaxation but I'd have to draw the line at quiet or secluded - but thankfully in a nice way.

I've just returned from a scrap-booking retreat in Warrington. Our retreat hosts Sarah and Lianne were exemplary in organising a wonderful weekend, full of treats and surprises . All 6 classes were gorgeous ( as Mary would say ) , only surpassed by the company. Thanks to my table mates who provided hilarious comedic moments and company throughout to which the photos below will testify.

And is if it couldn't get any better , there were unsurpassable stash shopping opportunities, a delicious old fashioned sweetie shop ( I can recommend the Strawberry laces) at our disposal and fresh coffee on tap. I think it might even have been sunny all weekend not that I would have noticed as my head was buried in a mountain of pretty paper, buttons and ribbon. Bliss.

I let the train take the strain this year and apart from the expense , not just the train fare but then the exorbitant taxi fares to and from the station to the hotel, it was bliss. Wouldn't risk traveling without a reserved seat though. VIrgin must be coining it. Speedy too, no sooner had I opened my Glamour magazine than we seemed to be sailing into the station.

Notes for the next retreat .... bring larger suitcase (check that the wheels aren't about to fall off ), forget changes of clothing as they'll end up covered in sandpapered chipboard and glitter whatever you wear, bring wine, leave chocolate at home, persuade kindly fellow scraper to get you to and from the station, don't forget glasses and leave heavy tools behind .
So roll on November when we get to do it all over again !

Getting ready for the 14th

2011-02-12T04:48:00.000-08:00

Yes I know it's a sham the whole Valentine's thing, dreamt up by Hallmark to increase cards sales after Christmas, but I still love it .

What's not to love about hearts and red and pink and chocolate and teddy bears and all the other nonsense that goes with it. I try not to spend a whole heap on tat and clutter but the odd item slips through under the net , like this year's coca cola lip smacker balm packed in a special Valentine's heart shaped pack, justified on the grounds that the boys get through tons of the stuff trough the winter months thereby killing 2 birds with one stone - cute and useful.

Not to mention the pack of Cath Kidston heart shaped buttons which will doubtless find their way onto a layout before long , that is if I can bear to rip them from their sweet packaging. I have an embargo on buying anything by Cath Kidston as we live in the epicentre of the Cath Kidston sheep-following, handbag-toting Yummy Mummy Brigade, who can't be seen out of doors without at least a dozen of her sprigged floral accessories, stuffed into their status symbol oilskin handbags. Who wants a handbag made of oilskin for goodenss sakeand is there anything she hasn't had manufactured yet ? ( I haven't seen a Cath Kidston range or toilet paper yet , but then it's probably only a matter of time ) but this was an exception as you can never have enough buttons.

Oh and there's the card I've bought for my husband , which made me think it had been made especially for him ... yes me and millions of other wives...

Husband and I are past the lovey dovey stage, that usually manages to sustain from honeymoon through to 1st wedding anniversary if you're lucky , but that doesn't mean to say I can't indulge in a little celebratory nonsense with the boys who still make me heartfelt Valentine's cards and cut heart shapes out of toast . They must get it from me as indeed I did from my own Mum who loved a good celebration , any excuse , but then that was probably the Irish in her.

So , Sunday evening will find my baking heart shaped cakes and lining up the heart shaped cookie cutters, the heart shaped sugar sprinkles and a bunch of other pink red and white stuff in preparation for Monday's mornings lovefest breakfast for my boys. They love it and so do I , so that's all that counts.

And talking of cute .... meet Jack our latest addition...who is filling out hearts with love right now.

2011-01-24T05:46:00.000-08:00

I've just eaten a slice of lean ham for my lunch. On the back of the pack it told me that a traffic light system was in place to let me know how healthy it was. I'm just wondering how long its going to be before food warden turns up and gives me a ticket for overeating.

Love Songs

2011-01-19T01:44:00.000-08:00

I reckon about 99% of all popular songs are about love and when I listen to them I laugh at that teenage , hormone driven , love angst thing they all sing about ... and usually in their teens and early twenties when they haven't had the life experience to really feel its depth and pain.

But then I went and heard this ...

... performed by Adele ( and I understand also by Rebecca recently on the X Factor although her version is a little too warbly for me ) and I was stunned to learn that it was written and originally released by Bob Dylan. Anyway, every single word is divine and has filled my head since the moment I first heard it . When I listen to it ( and this now numbers several hundred times ) I think immediately of my boys. I can never hear enough of it and I'd like it sung at my funeral please if anyone is reading this that might be there.

Is there a New Year's Eve equivalent for Bah Humbug ?

2010-12-31T12:23:00.000-08:00

.. in which case happy (Bah Humbug ) New Year's Whatever.

I've never quite understood NYE. A kind of forced joviality and contrived spontaneity ... the worst combination. Reckon hedgehogs have the right idea ... hibernate until the whole ghastly winter experience is over.

Looking forward to a day in bed tomorrow - might as well start the year as I intend to continue.

This time next week ...

2010-12-17T13:23:00.000-08:00

.. we'll be lighting the fire, warming up the mulled wine, hanging up the stockings and probably shovelling the snow from the front path at this rate. This afternoon I got caught in a blizzard . Luckily I was in a rather lovely shop and so had to wait it out whilst browsing all the loveliness. Worse places to get snowed in I guess.

The boys are blundering around the place, taking up a lot of room and eating everything in sight. The fridge is empty and the house is a mess but what the hell, the presents are wrapped and no-one has gone down with swine flu ... yet.

In amongst he mayhem I actually found time to make some Christmas cards. Simple but sweet.

Men and Christmas

2010-12-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

Not two words you often see sitting comfortably together in a sentence.

Husband let out an exasperated sigh last night after managing all of 4 Christmas cards. Mind you that's more than he's managed in previous years.

So for all you hard working ladies out there who are single handedly managing the shopping, cooking, cleaning, carol services, teachers presents, children's stockings, in laws gifts, cards, tree, food etc etc . Here's a joke my lovely friend just sent me. Apologies for the bizarre layout but it's the best I could do by copying and pasting. Enjoy.

Proud to be English!
Three
men were sitting together bragging about how they
 had given duties to their new
wives.
     Terry had married a woman from
Greece and bragged that
 he had told his wife she needed to do all
the dishes and
 housework. He
said that it took a couple days but on the
 third day he came home to a clean house
and the dishes were
 all washed
and put away.
     Jimmie had married a woman from
Italy.  He bragged
that
 he had given his wife
orders that she was to do all the
 cleaning, dishes, and the cooking. He
told them that the
 first day he
didn't see any results, but the next day it
 was better. By the third day, his house
was clean, the
 dishes were done,
and he had a huge dinner on the table.
     The third
man had married an English girl. He boasted
 that he told her that her duties were to
keep the house
 cleaned, dishes
washed, laundry and ironing twice a week,
 lawns mowed, windows cleaned and hot
meals on the table for
 every
meal. He said the first day he didn't see
 anything, the second day he didn't see
anything, but by
 the third day
most of the swelling had gone down and he
 could see a little out of his left eye,
just enough to fix
 himself a
bite to eat, load the dishwasher, and call a
 handyman.

My Luvverly Secret Santa

2010-12-03T02:54:00.000-08:00

... has excelled herself . I'm feeling very spoilt as every morning I get to open a present that has gorgeous written all over it , well not literally , but the contents are.

This morning I opened a pack of letter stickers to go with the papers I received yesterday. It's a lovely way to build up an idea of a layout .. day by day.

Thank you Santa XXX

Peppermint Bark

2010-12-03T02:50:00.000-08:00

For all of you who are snowed in for yet another day , here's a foolproof , fun-to-make , even more fun to eat recipe. Thanks to my sister for providing.

Take as many slabs of white chocolate as you like - I used 5 bars of the Basic white chocolate from Sainsburys which are only 30p per bar.

Melt them however you like , microwave is fine, in a jug. Grab a 10 pack of peppermint candy canes ( 99p from Sainsburys ) .

Stick them in a thick plastic bag and arm the children with a rolling pin.

Stand well back as they bash the living daylights out of them.

Sprinkle a layer of the crushed canes onto a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Pour the white chocolate on top , sprinkle with the remainder of the crushed candy canes and bung it in the fridge.

This is the worst part - you have to wait a while whilst it all hardens. When it's well and truly solid whip it out of the fridge and let the children smash it to pieces. I defy anyone one to make this and not eat it all in one sitting . I would have taken a photo of the finished product ... but it's all gone !

My Christmas Manifesto

2010-12-02T09:19:00.000-08:00

Should have snow more often , I've blogged more today than I think I have for the whole of last month.

I'm using my blog as a holding place for all of the journalling I plan to include in my " Journal Your Christmas" album. Here's my manifesto for this year's celebration.

This year , like all those that precede it, I'm aiming to keep it simple. This makes me laugh even as I write it, as 'simple' is not a word I often apply to my life.
My eldest son asked me this morning what my favourite Christmas memory was and I have to admit that I struggled to think of one immediately. Not because I don't have any but because I have an absolute ton - an embarrassment of riches really. As my mother embraced the rituals of Christmas with her typical verve and zealousness , I do too and I reckon my sons will in years to come. So this year's aim is to get the memories down on paper so that they can read about them in years to come and so the Christmas spirit will pass on down the family line ad infinitum.
I plan to shop my socks off . Not necessarily spend , just look, wonder, admire and enjoy. The shops are stuffed full of those nonsense 'gift ideas' that turn up in charity shops 6 months later. But in amongst the nonsense there are some real gems . I love to ferret out those little trinkets that make me smile as I anticipate the recipients' reaction as they open them on Christmas day. Shopping is an art form ... little and often is my motto , liberally interspersed with a sampling of those ridiculous Christmas coffee flavors like gingerbread mocha latte - whatever that is ! But boy does it taste good and why not.
Go with the flow. Nothing is going to irritate , frustrate or annoy me . Not even the inevitable kitchen item that will be under the tree for me from DH .... last year's bread bin, the year before's salad servers. Bring it on I say .
Plan the last week before the boys break up with military precision. Large doses of ME time, more of that gingerbread frothacino nonsense and maybe even a manicure or some such. Remember that when school breaks up all hell will let loose.
Let others do the cooking . Why not ? In fact meals these days are more like assembling with all the luscious ingredients available at even the most humble of supermarkets. Avoid those ghastly Iceland 500 nibbles for £1 type bargains. Might as well eat cardboard with cheese on it. Go for simple snacks like a selection of cheeses and a vat of red wine to accompany. I'm such a control freak that you usually can't keep me out of the kitchen but this year will be different. Famous last words.
More walking . Now that I'm superslim it's so much more pleasurable and just think of all those positive endorphins that will course through my bloodstream.
Enjoy the moment.

As its snowing outside I might as well blog

2010-12-02T03:17:00.000-08:00

Don't often get the opportunity to write that in December.

I'm taking part in Shimelle's "Journal Your Christmas" class this year . Can't believe I haven't done it before what with Christmas running through my veins the way it does. I've probably been too busy upto my ears in gingerbread houses and Christmas Fair gifts to find the time before.

Anyway here's what my Christmas is looking like so far :

1st December - out come the Advent calenders ... posh ones this year . I haven't even been allowed so much as a sniff of them this year.

... but then I get to open up a present a day from this gorgeous pile of goodies every day in december, courtesy of my Secret Santa at the Cheam Crop.

Here's the view from the bedroom window this morning. More snow please.

And finally a little beauty of a lamp that I picked up from a strange shop called Clas Ohlsen - a kind of town centre version of Ikea, for a meref £6 , now that's what I cal a bargain. I'm planning on putting it up in the Christmas room ( more of that later ) but it's so lovely I really just want to keep it in the kitchen and gaze upon its beauty whilst I do the ironing.

Ever played that game ?

2010-12-02T02:59:00.000-08:00

... the one where you have to say if you had to lose a sense which one would it be ? Most people go for smell I reckon , thinking that if they weren't tempted by food they'd probably lose a few pounds . I know the one I couldn't do without is the sense of hearing .

In fact if I went blind tomorrow, I'd still know it was Christmas from the sounds around me. Out shopping the other day I heard the unmistakable din of the Bentalls Shopping Centre Bears and found myself rushing over to get a closer peek at how they looked this year . They never fail to disappoint in all their cheesy gloriousness. And there they were resplendent in full Victorian garb awash with train sets and fireplaces, garlands and stockings, piles of presents and a few of Santa's little helpers and a polar bear or two thrown in for good measure.

I had to suppress a tiny squeal of delight - God forbid if the boys had been with me , they would have run a mile . Never ones to gasp in amazement or clamour for a ring side seat, they would rather leg it in case Mum decided to join in with the singing which I have been known to do . Let's face it our job here on earth is to embarrass our kids.

So there we have it , the sound of Christmas - Bing and his mates belting out a jazzed up version of White Christmas, karaoke style, whilst the Bentalls Bears lip synch along for the pleasure of a hundred or so tots bundled up in their buggies straining for a closer look at this extraordinary spectacle.

I can't help but wonder what the workers in Korea must be thinking as they construct these visions of a Western Christmas in the heat and humidity of their sweat shop factories ready for export . They must think the British are completely bonkers . And thank goodness we are.

So the Bears have been installed and now Christmas can officially be pronounced open.

Boys , if you're reading this I'm planning on taking you along to see them this afternoon and yes I will be singing along especially as they have a rather snazzy version of " All I want for Christmas is Yooooooou.......... " this year.

Sweet 16

2010-11-30T09:16:00.000-08:00

How did that happen ? ... I blinked and he grew up all of a sudden.

Oh the weather outside is frightful ...

2010-11-30T09:02:00.000-08:00

...but the fire is so delightful
and as I've no place to go,
Let it snow , let it snow, let it snow !

It's -3 degrees in London and falling , as is the snow much to the boys delight . The prognosis of a day snowed in at home is becoming all the more likely - they can hardly believe their luck and its only November . You see there are some benefits to going to a school that's miles away in the depths of the countryside at the bottom of an ungritted lane.

I've had the piano playing carols, we've just made our Christmas cake and the kitchen is scented with nutmeg. There's half a mug of cheap brandy left over from Delia's recipe ... Christmas has come early - that will do nicely tonight after the boys have gone to bed. Can it get any more Christmassy ?

Two chocolate advent calendars have been uncellophaned and are propped up on the table ready for their first assault first thing in the morning . Even the cat has one this year. Ah yes , the cat ... curled up in her basket next to the radiator. She's no fool.

It's that time of year again

2010-11-18T16:04:00.000-08:00

The boys' School Christmas Fair looms ... way too early this year ( tomorrow 19th November) but what the hell. Any excuse for a mince pie and a glass of mulled wine is OK by me whatever time of year.

As usual , by about October, I'm envisioning expansive projects involving labour intensive sessions in my craft room , devising all kinds of magnificent Christmas finery. The reality is more like a mad dash to run up something attractive the week before.

In fact this year , I've been moderately productive and in good time. I've made Christmas Cupcake kits and sweet little bags of something called White Chocolate Peppermint Bark ( recipe courtesy of my sister - white chocolate , peppermint essence and crushed Candy Canes ) of which I'm rather proud. Let's just hope they do the business and raise a decent amount of cash ... and God forbid that they remain unsold by the close of play ... the ultimate disgrace in any Yummy mummy's handbook.

I drank way too much red wine tonight and agreed to host DH's works' Christmas bash . Don't you find that the prospect of a Christmas party is far more exhilarating than the actual event itself ? Still , I find myself falling into this trap every year. I love it really.

Dear Diary ...

2010-10-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

As my blog address suggests, I've never been able to keep a diary . Well not for any length of time anyway and certainly not since I was a teenager when all I wrote about was snogging and going to discos - yuk. It read like a scene from the Inbetweeners.

So , imagine my surprise when I discovered an 8 year old volume with a few of my scribbles, whilst clearing out the bookshelves. It was called something cringeworthy like "An Abundance of Joy ' or some such nonsy title, the idea being that you'd fill in each day with a list of 5 things about which you were joyful. I managed it for 4 days with sad little entries like ... I am joyful that I managed to get up on time this morning. Oh please.

Day Five's entry was just one word ... which read "Bol**cks' . I'd clearly had enough by then and is it any wonder. Another tome bites the dust.

It's a bit like food diaries when you're dieting. Day one is usually peppered with references to spinach ad other green things with the occasional sip of warm water tinctured with a splash of fresh lemon juice. By day five you're living off the Family sized bucket of KFC washed down with a bottle or two of red wine.

However, it has to be said that my ' Abundance of Joy' diary, albeit brief, did live up to its title. Reading it did made me laugh out loud and be abundently joyful that I'd kept it so that I could laugh my socks off one day in the future.

Every Now and Then ...

2010-10-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

... you have one of those days which you know is going to embed itself in your memory in all its multi-sensory glory.
Like today. Met a friend for coffee in town. I love her company and we always have a laugh. I adore her 'silver lining' take on life and her wicked irreverence. So there we are supping coffee and putting the world to rights and then moseying around the shops a bit, having a laugh at this and that. Then I get to cycle home through Bushy Park in it's glorious Autumn splendour inhaling the woody smokiness of an October's day, the faint whiff of damp fungi in the air and the unmistakable pong of deer pheromones (sp?) in the rutting season, wafting through the air.

A few shiny conkers lay split open on the ground to reveal their luscious mahogany contents , the odd russet tinged oak leaf wafting groundward from the sky and an abundance of cyclists and runners soaking up the last vestiges of an Indian summer. Home to a lunch of my own grown tomatoes and a Cox's apple in the garden. Heaven. Even the Heathrow flightpath overhead seems to have been momentarily suspended so that I can enjoy the moment.

You'll have to forgive my lyrical waxing . I just had to get it down in type before the bubble bursts and the boys stampede through the house, home from school with tales of homework woe and what a disgusting lunch they had, before slumping in front of the XBox with nothing more than a "What's for tea?" greeting.

Hey ho. Another weekend of piano lessons and rugby practice but not before a spot of scrapping with my scrapping buddies tomorrow. For those who don't know what scrapbooking is, that last comment will sound as if I'm spoiling for a fight .. but they know what I mean !

Harmonious marital relationships - Rule No. 3

2010-09-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

NEVER agree to be in when the boiler man comes to repair something that's gone wrong and your partner has asked you to explain the problem to him. Even if you manage to convey , verbatim, every last detail as it's been explained to you , it WILL be your fault if he fails to fix it.

Trust me on this.

And in case you were wondering about Rules No. 1 and 2 ?

Rule No. 1 has to be- NEVER believe them when they say they will participate fully in the childcare.

They may change the odd nappy but this first flush of enthusiasm will evaporate pretty quickly once the novelty wears off. By the time your child is sitting GCSE's and you're pulling your hair out over homework, whatever promises they made in the hazy afterglow of the delivery room will be history.

Rule No.2 - and this one is very important ..... do NOT be fooled into thinking that sleepless night belong only to the baby phase. The real problem comes well after that when your partner starts to snore , all night , every night.

Anyway the boiler is fixed now and peace has been restored. Shame really because the problem , if you can call it that, was that the heating would come on every time the hot water was heating. Not really a problem eh on these chilly mornings ?

Total Papercrafts Classes

2010-09-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

Just in case you didn't get your layouts finished at Karen's Crop ( Total Papercrafts ) the other week, here's a reminder ....

Le Chateau

and Back to Basics

Can't wait for the next crop where I'll be using Glitz Design's Hoopla range ... watch this space.

The Other Day ...

2010-09-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

... I was wondering how on earth to store and display all my lovely jewellery without having to hide it away in a gaudy box that popped open with a ballerina to the tune of the Sugar Plum Fairy ( although now I come to describe it , it almost sounds appealing in a kitsch kind of way ).
I was thinking along the lines of chrome with maybe some acrylic , clean lines, no nonsense , maybe a bird here or there.

Today I was wandering through my local department store and I laid eyes on a jewellery stand that was chrome with some acrylic , clean lines, no nonsense , and a bird here and there. If only life was always like that.

And here it is in all its resplendent avian glory. The fact that it can probably only accommodate a couple of necklaces is irrelevant . Form over function in this case.

Way too many gorgeous papers

2010-09-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

I've succumbed and broken my summer long stash ban. Temptation was everywhere and it was only a matter of time. Yesterday I bought some My Minds Eye ( Lost and Found) . Wished I could say I had all of those pictured below but I was good and only bought a few sheets.

... and Crate Paper's Restoration ( thank you Sandra ) ... again not all of the below just a teensy few...

And is if that wasn't lovely enough I was given an early birthday present ( thank you Ali) ... have a look at this scrumptious little project....

I'm also lucky enough to have the lovely Karen at Total Papercrafts let me have free reign over what papers I choose for the classes I teach at her crop. She and I always love the same ranges anyway . On order for November's crop is a collection from Glitz Designs called Hoopla. Never bought any of Glitz Desings ranges before but judging by the loveliness of all of their recent releases, think we'll be ordering from them again.

It's nice to get my scrapping mojo back after a long summer absence. There's always just so much demand on my time that I can never squeeze everything in. Just finished planting some luscious ferns and a flame red acer in the garden. My new criteria for garden planting is ... maintenance free, slug resistant and year round colour. It is the most glorious Autumnal day out there . Perfect Indian Summer / last vestiges of summer type feeling. Long may it last.

Giddy with excitement

2010-09-07T23:23:00.000-07:00

It's just gone 7am and the boys have gone back to school clutching sports bags slightly larger than themselves , containing enough kit to clothe an entire team all freshly labelled. New pencil-cases , pencils sharpened , novelty rubbers , bendy rulers, healthy break-time snacks ( wonder how long that will last ?) and shiny shoes ( ditto ) . I have my day time life back and I'm giddy with excitement as to what to do first. Hang the housework , time to scrap I think. And tomorrow I'll be going into school myself as a SEN teacher . Now I know how the boys feel . Nervous, anxious but hoping that , with time, the new job will settle into a familiar routine and normality will return .

Bye Bye Duvet

2010-09-05T22:49:00.000-07:00

My beloved duvet of 12 years in now crammed into an extra large bin bag ready to be re-cycled.

After a week of sweaty nights ( no .. past the menopause and the weather has been decidedly un-summery) , I decided that enough was enough. A small fortune later ( although half price so only half a small fortune) I returned from Bentalls with a replacement . A superior version filled with sumptuous duck down. Oh my goodness is all I can say after my first night under the fluffy gorgeousness.

Cool and yet warm, light and yet weighty enough , moldable and malleable to the perfect body shape. I am in love with all those sweet and fluffy little Hungarian geese for shedding enough to ensure a perfect night's sleep. Bless their not so fluffy bodies.

But there is a downside to this story The impartial journalist in me has to report both sides of the tale. I'm a hopeless romantic and the departure of this 200cm square synthetic sagging sack has left me slightly sad. I've realised that over the last decade I've fed babies underneath it , drank tea and spilt it on it, scoffed midnight snacks and left crumbs in it , celebrated Birthday mornings and opened Christmas stockings on it, watched telly from underneath it, probably cried and even thrown up on it .

A thousand and one memories and now they're all about to be re-cycled into something like roof insulation material ( apparently that's where all our duvets go ). Well at least it will now keep someone else warm and maybe save the planet for a nano second.

One of the nice things about holidays...

2010-08-19T03:17:00.000-07:00

... is finding sweet little trinkets that you'd never find at home. In an attempt to escape from the overwhelming testosterone of our all male party , I made my own way into Berne for a little retail therapy on my own. This involved a bus and a train ( both arriving to within a second of their designated timetables) and a sumptuous nussgipfel en route which I now know means a nutty croissant.

Once there, I ferreted out a few favourite shops , most of which involved buttons, ribbons and paper. Have a look at these little gems.

The tin of buttons came to light at an alpine festival that involved beer , bratwurst, sugar cookies and delightful bric a brac stalls. It set me back all of 1 CHF ( about 75p !). I also found the biscuit cutters there and was spoilt for choice - a thousand and one designs but settled for a birdy, a teddy and the sweetest little scallopped heart cut out design.

Not sure what to do with the masking tape yet but who could resist all those colours ? They will undoubtedly make an appearance on one of my layouts in the not too distant future.

The paper birds are Japanese tissue cut-outs, very delicate.

What I haven't pictured is the ton of chocolate I ate on the way home but then doubtless that will be making an appearance shortly too , only not on a layout but on my hips.

Watch the Birdy

2010-08-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

I'd forgotten all about this little gem . Bought it years ago at a flea market for £1 then re-discovered it all over again in my bead box. A little silver camera ...

... but the best bit is what you see when you open it up ...

... a little birdy ... but I'm not allowed to call it cute as I promised I wouldn't keep using that word but it is isn't it ?

Just come back from a funny old market at Kempton Racecourse. Youngest son picked up 20 bags of crisps when I wasn't looking ... for £1 and they're only 2 months past the sell by date ! Who would want 20 bags of some vile tasting, football world cup flavoured bag of hydrogenated fat ? An eleven year old I guess. Suppose I'm not even going to get close to his 5 a day today ... if only the governement health guidelines advised 2 Mars Bars plus a pound of lard per day , we'd be fine.

As for myself ? A pink girly back pack and some hair extensions and I still had change from a fiver. Don't you just love markets ? Let me know what you've bought lately.

Remind me not to use the word cute for at least a month

2010-08-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

I'm in danger of retrograding into a teenager, or worse, a pseudo american with a penchant for twee tat ( try typing that when you're not sober ) . I've just realised that I've used the word 'cute' in the last 2 posts. Next thing you know I'll be calling everything cool ... or worse ... kewl . Mind you that's got to be better than 'sick' which is all I ever hear my children using to describe anything that's vaguely impressive. So what are they going to use when they really are sick or is there another word for that too ?

Week 3 or it could be 33 , I've lost all track of time, of the school holidays. And if we're talking semantics why is it called school holidays as a) they're not at school, more's the pity and b) this is NOT my idea of a holiday.

Anyway, the piggy bank is empty, I'm fed up of thinking up nutritious lunchtime meals and the grass is as dead as a dodo. Every-thing's looking decidedly jaded and a little bit frayed around the edges which includes me. I've stopped wearing mascara and the washing pile is multiplying like that pile of mops and buckets in the Sorcerer's Apprentice. The boys have lost the use of their limbs - incapable of remembering to carry anything upstairs and unable to get up from the sofa and the fridge is running on empty. The list of 'interesting things to do during the school holidays' has remained untouched on the kitchen worktop and I'm counting the days until September. It's always been my favourite month and now I know why.

Today I took youngest son to a cycling proficiency course that's running for the week. I was exhilarated to think that these things still exist. They seemed to belong to a dim and distant world of school milk and Tufty the road safety squirrel , showing my age again. Actually, I'm quite impressed that I remembered the little rodent's name - must have left quite an impression.

I managed to find a helmet to wear as I accompanied son plus friend to the venue but failed to impress the road safety instructor as I was informed that I had it on back to front . This blew my cover and ruined my chances of winning the covetable prize of Most Safety Conscious Mum as I'd clearly never worn one before or was too drunk to notice or both. Actually it was morning so I wasn't drunk unless the bottle of rose I'd seen off last night was still in my bloodstream.

I picked them up 2 hours later after a pint or two of coffee and was told that the first hour was really boring as they'd been sat down and made to listen to some safety rules which of course bored the pants off them as they obviously knew everything there was to know already. Oh the arrogance of youth. We then cycled home together whilst they pointed out my myriad cycling errors. Tomorrow I'm going to try and get my helmet on the right way round and brush up on my left hand turns which, according to my 10 year old, were 'pants' .

...and how cute is this ?

2010-08-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

Found this little beauty at Accessorize . Looks like it was almost made for scrapbookers - the cutest necklace with scissors, buttons, a ruler , a heart , a pencil and a coin ... although in my case a credit card wold probably be more appropriate or just a bank statement covered in red figures ... but then it wouldn't look so cute now would it ?

How cute are these ?

2010-07-09T05:09:00.000-07:00

Hampton Court Flower Show yesterday. Lovely . Didn't see many gardens or plants ... well there were handbags and shoes on offer so what's a girl to do ?

But I did manage to pick these sweet little things for the garden . Not sure if the watering can is going to cut the mustard ( only holds about a pint of water and it's sprung a leak already but hey ... what price loveliness ?) and the bird bath will probably rust if I add water but I'm not planning on letting anything with wings near it .. it's going on my scrapping desk to carry cute buttons or something.

Oh and I did actually have a peek at some green things and very lovely they were too. Here are the pictures to prove it.

Wayne Rooney has a lot to answer for

2010-07-09T04:53:00.000-07:00

Is it over yet and if not why not ?

I think I'd rather have election coverage than World Cup on telly and that's saying something. And whilst we're on the subject how come England suddenly start wearing different coloured jerseys ? I thought I was cheering on our white shirted team but was puzzled as to why they all had Germanic sounding names .

Anyway , let me tell you about Wayne. My son has been collecting the World Cup GoGos . Hideous plastic figures of the overpaid and under-talented mob with enlarged heads. Can you picture the concept meeting at the marketing company ? ... " I know , why don't we make a million or several by marketing tacky over priced plastic figures that don't even bear a passing resemblance to the England team and let's make them look as if they've got brain encephalitis ... oh and let's makes sure that no-one can ever collect the whole set by leaving one of them out so that the poor saps ( parents ) have to keep buying them forever ? "

There we were with a handful of the little plastic freaks until one went missing. Turned out to be Wayne Rooney who'd been accidentally hoovered up ( best place for him ) and nearly broke the Dyson. Not content with wreaking havoc with my hoover, the little shiny dwarf then went on to kybosh the mower. He must have got turfed ionto the lawn after being extracted from the Dyson and when my elder son was cutting the grass he got thrown up with the cuttings and socked him on the face. I'm wondering where he's going to pop up next . The bin, if I've got anything to do with it.

It's Not Often ...

2010-06-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

... that you get to say you've sung on the stage of the Hammersmith Apollo. This afternoon me and thousands of fellow Rock Choir members did just that.

Thanks to Caroline's hard work which enabled us all to get together to celebrate and sing our socks off, we were able to launch Rock Choir's first album ( Volume 1 of many more to come I'm sure) due to be released on the 5th July. And if you want to share the feelgood album of the year and get happy then pop along to

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Rock+CHoir&x=0&y=0

where you can pre-order your copy.

A fabulous day - yet another to look back on with happy memories. Thanks Caroline and the Rock Choir team for making it all possible !

Captain Rock Choir and the newest recruit to the singing ranks - way to go Stuart , you've been hiding your singing skills all this time !

Thanks Karen...

2010-06-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

... for a lovely day's cropping. Spent Sunday with Karen at her famous Power Scrapping crop in Meopham, Kent. It's good to be back in the old scrapbooking saddle. Too many other things have been getting in the way lately, like life.

I designed a couple of classes for her using 2 sumptuous ranges of papers - Paper Girl from The Girls' Paperie range and Life's Portrait from Webster's Pages. I swear you could just throw those papers down onto a table and they'd make a gorgeous layout whichever way they fell.

Spent way too long fiddling around with the Paper Girl papers trying to do them justice and finally came up with this. The photo part is a minibook with 3 pages lurking underneath.

And then this .....

...which shows me in my wedding dress now and 21 years ago . Can't believe I can still get into it ... as the titles suggests ... " Who would have thought ... ". The black rectangular frame with the heart contains some hidden journalling underneath.

My eldest son was babysitting my youngest for me that day as DH had to work also. Quite a relief therefore to find no ambulances parked on the drive when I returned that evening . Better still , they'd both missed me madly, told me that they been totally bored all day .... even with the X Box and hadn't discovered my secret stash of chocolate. There were no deep fried Mars Bars to be seen ( my eldest son's signature dish ) , no broken widows or any evidence of bruising on either of therm ( most sorties onto the trampoline generally end in some sort of fist fight ). Must spend more time away from home in future ... so nice to be missed.

Visuallyod

2010-06-04T01:47:00.000-07:00

No, that's not a spelling error but apparently the term used to describe cutting edge design that aims to spot new forthcoming trends . Lost me yet ? Yeah, me too. Why don't they just call it , 'new ways to sucker money out of debt laden design junkies who have more money than sense' ? Now that would be far more honest and cutting edge.

So what's included in this new Visuallyod concept ? According to Pulse, the retail marketing people, a cushion that looks like you've stood your coffee cup on it and left a ring stain or a canvas that has various circles printed on it ... re-inventing the wheel ? I think so.

I suppose design students have to keep coming up with something new all the time so I shouldn't appear like a grumpy old woman and moan but what I'd like to see them come up with is a nice sideboard ... now I really am showing my age.

Cookie Dough Pizza

2010-06-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

My youngest son loves cooking. Well, when I say cooking, what I really mean is combining ingredients .... well when I say ingredients, what I really meaning is cramming as many things containing chocolate into one recipe. A young man after my own heart.

Tonight's concoction is called Cookie Dough Pizza and contains ... er cookie dough and looks like a pizza. Take one pack of chocolate chip cookie dough, smoosh it into a pie dish, bake, add chocolate spread, sprinkle with dark chocolate chips , smarties and maltesers and inject with lard. No, I made that last bit up .

The boys will be tucking into it any minute now and I expect it to last about ... 5 minutes. There are about 2 dried cranberries lurking in amongst the chocolateyness. These apparently are his 2 portions of fruit for today !

Rolling Back the Years

2010-05-24T03:53:00.000-07:00

So there I was, parking up the car ( a moderately respectable one at last, rather than my old student days banger ) in the university car park and heading off, rather nervously, for my re-union. As I made my way towards the registration desk, I noticed that a lot of elderly people were arriving ... must be something else going on today I thought until I realised that they were about the same age as me and we were all heading for the same event . Now that REALLY made me LOL as they say.

My flat mate of 30 years ago, Sheila, looked just the same as she greeted me with a shriek and in a moment I was transported back in time. I can't begin to describe the feeling. The girls had all scrubbed up quite well but the guys were ... well , a little pot bellied and hairless to be honest.

After a whistle stop tour of the campus ( remembered the Student Union bar well but didn't remember a thing about the library ) we gathered for Pimms , lunch and a catch up. Could have talked all day reminiscing , in fact we did just that. But the best bit of the day was our memory trip around Crowe Hall. I won't go into detail here but suffice to say, Sheila and I lived a charmed life for the 3 years we were university students in Bath in one of the grandest houses in the city . And here's a picture to prove it. We were lucky enough to occupy what had once been the servants quarters and had the run of the grounds and house which included the most sumptuously kept gardens, tennis courts, wild flower meadows ... not to mention the wine cellars and a galleried hall where we played the grand piano and the walls dripped with Canaletto paintings. Did we have any idea how lucky we were ?

It's now on the market for £6m , only wish I had enough dosh to put in a bid but at least we lived the life albeit for a short time. Although it's been 30 years since we last strolled around the grounds , to coin that old cliche , it really did only feel like yesterday.

Graduation Re-union

2010-05-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow , I'm off to Bath for the 30th anniversary re-union of my graduation back in 1980. Have to admit I'm a bit nervous but dying to meet up with my flat-mate whom I haven't seen in , must be at least a decade. I've dug out the photos of us looking youthful back in the 70's. Husband , meanwhile is downstairs sulking. Not sure why , but I'm thinking it must be something bordering on resentment. He has to look after the children for about 48 hours and so I reckon he must be seething with rage at this infringement on his freedom ... welcome to my world. So, in more than one way am I celebrating my graduation ... once as a throwback to the heady seventies and second time around as my graduation to the world of freedom and the reversal of roles. Should be one hell of a weekend. Can't wait . Feel like I've been set free, like a butterfly. About time too.

Job Description

2010-05-02T08:53:00.000-07:00

I drove behind a van today whose business claimed to embrace the following :

Mail
Express
Fulfillment
Dangerous Goods
Conferencing

I'm none the wiser as to what they actually do , maybe their company name - Impulse - would give me a clue ? I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at their financiers when they presented their business plan - well what we want to do is very impulsive and besides fulfillment we want to deal with dangerous goods . I can only imagine that 'conferencing' was thrown in for good measure to give the package some credibility.

Anyway as they sped off into the distance, squeezing through the traffic lights on amber , it left me wondering how their application must have appeared to their insurers.

Q: Company Name ?

A: Impulse

Q: Nature of Business ?

A: Dangerous Goods ... oh ... and Fulfillment

So, if I were to emblazon my own virtual van with a smattering of things I'd like to describe as my chief activities, it would probably read ...

Constant Meal Preparation
Picking up Boys Clothes From Floor
Ironing
Cleaning Toilets
Dangerous Children
Distinct lack of Fulfillment

Doesn't quite have the same ring to it does it ?

An Education

2010-04-29T23:44:00.000-07:00

I always learn a myriad of useful things from my fellow croppers and last night was no exception.

I now know that ...

* An oche is the line you stand behind when throwing a dart ( thanks J and for suggesting the perfect photo for my layout )

* Avon do 'dial up' mascara ( now ordered - thanks S , always good to crop and shop )

* Key hole surgery leaves tiny tiny scars ( thanks W for show and tell)

* Gordon Brown pales into insignificance for media gaffes compared to George Bush ( thanks for reminding me MA)

* You can go to Devon for a weekend and learn how to make a corset ( thanks G , does your talent have no end ? )

* You can't sit next to other S and get a layout done ( but thankfully no singing last night so we must be grateful for small mercies )

* and finally that I really mustn't leave it so long until I meet up with you all again - you know who you are , no need for names !

Thanks ladies for yet another lovely evening xxx

Doing a 'Gordon'

2010-04-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

Have just watched the infamous clips on You Tube - what a gift to the media - they must have thought all their birthdays and Christmasses had come at once. And now we have a new phrase in our vernacular vocabulary "Doing a Gordon " . How wonderful.

Has anyone been able to watch it without groaning and guffawing simultaneously ? You almost had to feel sorry for him ... but I'll reserve my pity for those who've suffered at the hand of his government.

What are you reading ?

2010-04-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Much like my life, my bedside table is awash with good intentions. At any one time there is usually a selection of books I intend to read - too may good reads, too few hours - usual story.

At the moment, I have the usual self-help manuals, a cookery book or two juxtaposed ironically between something about not letting food rule your life, a piece of fictional nonsense, something to get the creative juices flowing, some sort of parental advice and one of the boy's bedtime storybooks.

So here's my current reading list :

From the top of the pile ....

1. This months' Creative Keepsakes , half read for when I need pictures in my life , not words.

2. David Nicholls' One Day - it's growing on me - found it quite puerile to begin with but then realised it was my era - the Thatcherite 80's , so nostalgic if nothing else.

2. Quantitative Methods for Finance - a little light bedtime reading - tutoring a 1st year University student at the moment so just need to refresh my memory on simultaneous and quadratic equations - loving it , honestly.

3. The End of Overeating - a worrying diatribe on how we live in an obesogenic environment - so true .

4. Kate Atkinson's Behind the Scenes at the Mueum - sadly stalled but I was enjoying it.

5. Allan Ahlberg's The Incredible Cat - Max's curent bedtime read - anything about cats gets our vote.

6. Patrick Holford's 10 Secrets of 100% Healthy People - would like to think of myself as one of those happy people right now.

7. Sophie Hannah - love her style. Never been a crime fan before I read her. You should try her poetry.

8. Eat Me - luscious cupcakes - a real fantasy read

9. Maths for Mums and Dads - a clever little tome - wished I'd thought of writing this

10. Thinking and Speaking in Secondary Schools - co-written by Meriel Davenport - Head of Learning Development at the boys' school - an inspiration.

Well there we have it , a heady mix of self improvement, fantasy and education. My life in a nutshell.

Futureproof your memories

2010-04-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

Brabantia, the makers of those iconic bins, tell me that I have to futureproof my life or something by buying their goods, or so their ads urge.

I bought one of their flip top bins about 10 years ago and it still graces the corner of our kitchen today although much the worse for wear. I nearly bought a new replacement the other day but was pulled up in my tracks at the prospect of parting with a three figure sum of money and thought fondly of my battered relic back at home, my bin that is , not my husband.

Over the last decade , our lovely old bin has been bashed and bruised by an assortment of boys paraphernalia ... footballs, basketballs, skateboards, unicycles, ripsticks, frisbees, tennis racquets, pinata battering rams, chunky tyred remote control vehicles, light sabres ... the usual boyhood array of projectiles. The bin was a good target ... large enough to be unmissable, nice and shiny, made a satisfying ping when struck and dented beautifully. The scars are visible for all to see today , a tableau of family life in one piece of factory moulded stainless steel.

So I've futureproofed my memories by keeping the old one and looking on it's slightly tattered appearance rather fondly as a testament to the boys' youth. Sorry Brabantia , won't be splashing out on a new one for at least another decade.

Every Now and Then ...

2010-04-12T07:58:00.000-07:00

... something happens that pulls me up in my tracks and makes my heart break.

I've been blogging lately about happy kinds of things - shopping, chocolate, the usual lightweight sort of things that occupy my time these days. Sorry to bring down the mood but every now and then something needs writing about something that needs to be done.

I was shopping today with the boys and we found ourselves in this rather seedy shop where the uniform of the sales staff can only be described as derelict grunge and there's more chewing gum than flooring beneath your feet. So there we are queueing to pay for a Skateboarding game ( in favour of killer zombies I'm happy to report) .

In front of us was someone also waiting to pay but he was swaying from side to side and was clearly very drunk . Not abusive, or loud or hideous as some drunks can be but just quietly off his head with alcohol. The kind of drunk I'd imagine you'd be if your daily liquid diet was meths. He was dressed in some rather stained decrepit clothing, a black hat pulled down over world weary eyes. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him in his life that had made him take this turn for the worse. Broken home, divorce, inability to cope with stress - the usual cliches ? Or had life just dealt him a cruel blow and given him the inherited addiction gene . And here he was in his forties , maybe younger, swaying gently from side to side, reeking of the demon drink, incapable of speech, oblivious to the stares of those around him.

What surprised me most was the reaction of our fellow shoppers. A thinly disguised mixture of irritation and disgust. I felt overwhelmed by a physical wave of pity for the tragedy that was his life. Now maybe I've got this all wrong , I hope so. Maybe he'd had a few too many beers and had just popped out for a quick fix in the video shop to while away the afternoon but I think not.

This was a tragic life, a helpless soul who'd found themselves taking the wrong turn somewhere along the line and had fallen by the wayside. It's normally the pictures of starving children, maltreated infants or forgotten pensioners that reduce me to tears but this sight made me want to weep. I couldn't help but wonder how it had all gone so terribly wrong. A life wasted. And how can we help ? Not by turning the other way surely ?

So, next time a canvasser comes knocking at my door asking how I'm going to vote , I'm going to ask them what they plan to do to help the countless other wasted lives that we see on every street in every town, some homeless, some drunk , some stoned but all lost.

God save us from another moronic government intent on the politics of the 'market', wealth creation and GNP whilst the human cost of lives spirals out of control.

What a Night !

2010-04-05T04:38:00.000-07:00

Seems rather like a dream now - the morning after the night before !

The whole evening was phenomenal , I still can't quite believe it's true.
David kindly chauffeured me to the stage door - what a laugh ! We arrived at 3pm , took some photos of me posing outside The Royal Albert Hall then waved goodbye and went to meet up with my fellow Rock Choir friends. As we assembled at the Albert Memorial opposite the hall, the sun appeared uncharacteristically from behind the storm clouds and beamed down on us as we lined up in height order and were put into our on stage positions, giggling like excited schoolgirls.

Filing through the stage door was an experience in itself , as was posing in the dressing room by the light studded make-up mirrors. Time for a quick run through and sound check on stage.

We sat and watched the Soldiers from our seated positions in the choristers seating at the back of the stage surrounded by plush red velvet and ornate gilded scrollwork. Then it was our turn and a quick run through our repertoire before heading back to the artist's bar for a quick energy snack before changing into our Rock Choir uniform and a quick glitter spray in the hair. All glammed up and raring to go we filed up the staircase and into our positions on stage for a night to remember.

Seeing David and the boys arrive was the high point for me and watching them spot me through their binoculars was so sweet although it was so difficult to resist the urge to wave - strict Rock Choir orders - no waving from the stage - we're professionals now !

And then finally , the announcement we were waiting for ... "Please welcome on stage .... ROCK CHOIR !!! "

It's so difficult to explain how it felt to be singing and dancing on the stage of The Royal Albert Hall - suffice to say, it went in a flash and was possibly the best fun I've had in a long time. I couldn't help beaming form ear to ear.

Time for The Soldiers on stage - they were lovely lads ... made me want to rush out to Afghanistan and knit them all socks or something useful ! Must admit , it was very emotional singing the backing vocals en masse to their Coming Home single, not a dry eye in the house.

So , there we have it , the most extraordinarily wonderful evening amongst friends, singing happy songs for a good cause, watched by my lovely boys ... does it get any better than that ?
Well yes , as it happens , home to a waiting bottle of chilled champagne and a chance to recount and re-live every delicious moment , then up to bed and the best night's sleep I've had in a long time with the words of " Coming Home" resounding in my dreams.

And guess what ... I get to do it all over again on Wednesday at the Birmingham Symphony Hall ... oh this show biz life is SO exhausting !

Tonight's the Night

2010-04-04T04:34:00.000-07:00

At about 7.30 this evening, I will be stepping out onto the stage here ...

... at The Royal Albert Hall in London with my fellow Rock Choir members to sing our very first BIG concert in public. Rock Choir have been asked to accompany The Soldiers on tour. I almost can't believe it , so much so , that I couldn't get to sleep last night.

We'll be singing a 5 song repertoire comprising - Valerie, Walking on Broken Glass, Dancing in the Street, Can't Hurry Love and Something Inside So Strong. And as if that isn't enough , we'll then be joining The Soldiers at the end of their set to sing backing vocals for their single Coming Home.

The boys will be there in the audience to watch and listen and hopefully applaud a bit at the end. We'll then be back on stage to sing with The Soldiers on Do I Make You Proud - hope I do make my boys sort of proud. A nice thing to put on my CV and to look back one day and say - yes I sang at The Royal Albert Hall . Can't believe it really . Off to straighten my hair , put on a bit of slap and tune up my vocal chords . More pictures tomorrow .

Utility Room

2010-03-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

Does your utility room look like this ?

No ? Nor does mine but the photo made me laugh out loud. In the world of Cath Kidston, are we supposed to wring out our undies in a sky blue enamel tub , whilst our silk camisoles drape languidly on a cherry red painted wooden clothes airer ? The peg holder must be a snip at £29.99 but mine are dumped in a Tesco's carrier bag. My utility room is usually crammed full of grubby teenager's jeans , the odd pair of smelly trainers , some mud encrusted football boots and a bunch of threadbare Y fronts died pink from being caught up in the wash with my kids' red sports kits... oh yes , there's usually a handful of lint fluff scuffing around the floor and about a month's worth of un-ironed clothing crammed in an unsightly yellow plastic basket, wedged into the tight space above the microwave that smells of last night's curry. What would Cath say ?

I'm in love with second hand clothes

2010-03-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

Where else would you find a brand spanking new ( labels intact ) Whistles linen coat in the most delicious shade of ballet slipper pink other than a second hand clothes shop ? And for the princely sum of £28 ? At that price I was able to snap up another bargain - a gorgeous pale blue embroidered White Stuff raincoat ( £25) and a luscious moss green L.Credi leather handbag for pennies . As if that wasn't enough, I spotted a beautiful cashmere , wool and silk long sleeveless cardigan from The White Company at a similar bargain price. It would have been rude not to have given it a good home so they're all now hanging in my wardrobe and at less than the price of one dress from any one of those designer labels.

Just in case you're wondering where I now do all my shopping ... well that would be telling. Just lets say I pass it on the school run and regularly veer off the road at breakneck speed when passing their shop window when I see something covetable hanging in the window.

The boys are very understanding and now I only get a resigned sigh and a slightly raised eyebrow from them as they know I'm going to be in a wonderful mood when I climb back into the car minutes later clutching a new bargain.

That chocolatey time of year again

2010-03-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

I was rather hoping that the re-introduction of chocolate back into my diet, since finishing the Lighter Life Foundation course, would bring about some kind of anaphylactic shock , thereby forcing me to avoid it at all costs. Sadly this turns out not to be the case and I'm just as immune to its wiles as I ever was. Having said that , I've just spent the last couple of hours making up these cute little Easter packages , filled with Lindt chocolate bunnies and Cadbury's mini eggs, for my son to hand out in class on Friday at the end of term and not a single one has passed my lips. Pretty commendable I thought . Now I just need to part company with them before the lure of the chocolate takes over.

Real Food

2010-03-22T01:24:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be scary out there in the world of real food but actually it's like having a day pass to heaven.

Yesterday I met up with my soulmates from the Lighter Life Foundation group I started this journey with over 6 months ago. I think we all looked rather gorgeous ... and a staggering 27 stone lighter between the five of us !!!

We ate the most divine lunch at Ania's restaurant The French Table where she works with her husband Fred who is the chef and OMG the food was to die for . I can only show you a picture of what was left after my trio of chocolate desserts ! Suffice to say it was nectar from the gods !

We have made a pact to meet up regularly now and keep an eye on each other's weight , any excuse really for a trip back to The French Table, as if we needed one !

Mother's Day

2010-03-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

I never listen to those who complain about Mother's Day .. if it means breakfast in bed then I'm all up for it.
This morning , the boys brought me a fruit platter on a tray with a cute cupcake napkin and their homemade presents - the best gifts ever. Theo had made a cup and plate decorated with the most wonderful image of a tree in full leaf - it was so lovely . And Max had made me not one but two cards and written a poem...

You are the kindest mum ever
You are the most supportive mum ever
You are the nicest mum ever
You are the funniest mum ever
You are the coolest mum ever
You are the best mum in the world

Well, you can't ask for anything lovelier than that. So for all you lovely mums out there ... Happy Mother's Day.

And just to round off the perfect day , I've just tried on my wedding dress ( size 10 no less) ... not only did it fit but I think it looked better than it did on the day all those years ago - 16th September 1989. Think I scrubbed up OK for an oldie.

So here I am , sat at my computer wearing several yards of ivory silk, drinking a cuppa and uploading photos of me and my boys. Bliss !

The Year of the Tiger

2010-02-14T09:48:00.000-08:00

We've just got back from China Town where the Chinese New Year celebrations are in full swing. There's something fantastically vibrant about the sights , sounds and smells of the place - a sensory overload almost. Around every street corner came the cacophony of clashing cymbals that heralded the arrival of another Chinese dragon. I was rather wishing that the boys would immerse themselves in the rich culture of it all but they were hankering instead for the mile high displays of neon packaged saccharine and sour chewing gum in the corner shop.

Cosseted away in the warmth of the boys' favourite Chinese eatery - the Top of the Town - we laughed our way through the culinary delights on offer, choosing the crispy duck, squid and chilli beef in favour of the marinated pig's knuckles and jellyfish in sesame oil. Better the devil you know.

The Chinese supermarkets were heaving but we managed to elbow our way round the crowded aisles to buy assorted New Year tat such as a tin joss stick shrine, some gloriously glossy red and gold money envelopes, dragon candles, fortune cookies and something that looks as if you could either eat it or set light to it.

I couldn't resist a bag of something red fashioned out of tissue paper - not sure whether I should be blowing my nose on them or laying them on the table but they're very pretty nonetheless.

Onto the market where the ever popular £3 challenge wielded a black and red checkered belt for Max, a mobile phone pink dangly Teddy for me and ... well something unsavoury for Theo that looks remarkably like a knuckle duster but I'm pretending is a silver necklace in the shape of a cat's paw.

To the retreating sounds of the cymbals and drums we made our escape through the crowds and back to Waterloo with a bag full of booty and some happy snaps.

Who'd have thought that ...

2010-02-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

... at the age of 51 I'd be prancing around in a miniskirt. I know , I know ... mutton dressed as lamb and all that , but what the hell , can't be many more years when I'll get away with it, so better late than never as they say. I rather daftly chose one of the coldest days in the year to wear it - BIG mistake and it felt as if I'd gone out in just my pants and forgotten to wear anything on my bottom half, or as if I'd tucked my skirt into my pants by mistake ... there was sort of nothing there. Still , it put a smile on my face and I enjoyed it . So thank you Sarah for persuading me to buy it ... and the boots which I could happily live in they're so comfy.

Here I am with Nic, Bridget and Lorraine, my fellow UK Scrappers and Lighter Lifers. Between us and including Karen who's not in the picture but taking it , we've lost a collective 20 stone !

Sneak Peek for the Cheam crop class

2010-01-20T15:24:00.000-08:00

See you all on Saturday !

It's Official

2010-01-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

I am wearing a size 10 pair of jeans. Never thought I'd make it but the zip is all the way up and I'm still breathing . If this were the Oscars I'd be thanking the manufacturers of control pants or whatever they're called and whoever invented Lycra.

My 'shopping for clothes' addiction was getting out of control but I've found a way of keeping the bank happy and enjoying the experience. I just try a lot on , prance around the changing room making silent whooping noises, then pop them back on the hangers - job done. I think I just needed to know I could get into a size 12 regularly and that it wasn't just a fluke. I can now boast 2 size 10's in my wardrobe too which is a bonus.

And every day brings a new bonus. Yesterday it was finding out that my shoe size had gone down too which was an unexpected but pleasant surprise ... hence the bronze satin Converse pumps in my wardrobe today . Must try very hard to avoid the mutton dressed as lamb dilemma . I'll be drawing the line at crop tops, mini skirts and halter necks you'll be pleased to hear.

Snapshots from our Christmas

2010-01-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

Hope you like these . They sort of sum up our Christmas this year ...

...and it's only January 2nd

2010-01-02T06:41:00.000-08:00

In just the same way that Christmas always creeps up on me and frightens the living daylights out of me , New Year's Day has done the same. I keep forgetting that feeling that seeps in by the second day of the New Year , the one that reminds you that there's a list of things I was supposed to have finished but haven't even started. The shine has worn off the resolutions made yesterday and the 'word' for 2010 is beginning to pall. This year's word is TENACITY - come hell or high water I'm going to see things through this year. No more abandoned projects, false starts of half baked plans. having said that I reckon I displayed a fair degree of the stuff last year what with losing 5 stone in weight and undertaking a career change.
Real food tasted great over Christmas and now the packet soup/ shake regime has returned and it's worse than ever. I'm hoping that this feeling is temporary and that the goal, that is so in sight now, will begin to knock any feelings of deprivation on the head.
Having gone down 5 clothing sizes in 4 short months , nothing beats that feeling of standing in a changing room and trying on something that says 12 on the hanger . In fact last week I even bought a size 10 skirt which is nothing short of miraculous.
So onwards and downwards . New scales arriving in the post any day now which should help.