The Secret Life of a Sheap

Pastures New.......

2011-05-17T15:32:00.000+01:00

I've moved. My life has changed and so has my blog!

Find me here ......... Green Tea & Hens

See you soon xxx

Lost:

2009-12-13T10:32:00.001Z

Blogging Mojo

If found please return to:

The Depressed Moody Cow,
Sheap Dip,
Funny Farm Lane,
Dorset,
England

Thursday Challenge

2009-08-14T01:01:00.004+01:00

Rare

Perhaps not to the frequent flyers but for me this was a very rare view of the sunrise.

Time Goes Slowly..........

2009-08-12T11:15:00.003+01:00

except when you're on holiday of course!

Been searching the web for photo challenge sites because I have completely lost my picture taking mojo recently. Unfortunately most of the sites I found are having a summer break - typical!

Past few weeks have been good though. Generally just making the most of doing nothing which I'm incredibly good at by the way! The highlights:

Firstly, cocktails with friends Sophie and Kim. I've always wanted to have a proper dry martini 'shaken not stirred' and it was one of the things I was really looking forward to when we went to South Carolina earlier in the year. I did have one but it wasn't quite how I'd imagined as it was in a plastic cup not a martini glass and I was so disappointed that I didn't bother again.

So, the other week I was whisked away to a bar in Bournemouth and had not just one but two cocktails. The first was the martini I'd craved which was totally strong but delicious and then I tried the Cosmopolitan which was sweeter and really refreshing ........... then we went home because I'm a complete lightweight and couldn't possibly drink any more without falling over!

A couple of weeks ago we took Tessa and her dutch friend Wytze to the Palace Theatre to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert...........Wow!

It was completely amazing - the costumes the music, the set, the dancing, Jason Donovan in his pants - what more can I say! Even better was that because it was a Thursday matinee and the theatre wasn't full we got upgraded from our cheapy seats in the balcony to the much better mid-priced dress circle - result!

Poor Wytze, I'm not really sure that he knew what to think of it all - I don't know if they have musicals like that in the Netherlands. By the time we'd taken him to see Chicago in Bournemouth on the Saturday I think he was looking forward to escaping home again!

Unfortunately the weather is not playing ball at the moment. We seem to get one day of half decent weather in exchange for two or three days rain and wind. But, it's easier to not feel guilty about the kids spending all day playing board games, computer games and watching tv when the weather is naff so it's not all bad!

Photo Friday: Cameraphone Shot

2009-08-12T11:09:00.002+01:00

My first proper cocktail in a proper cocktail bar -

only took me 40 years!

Back!

2009-07-22T08:45:00.006+01:00

I woke up this morning with the strangest urge....to blog. So, you'll excuse me for my appearance I hope - unwashed, smelly and scruffy - but after over two months bloggers block I felt I should indulge myself before that urge wore off. You know when you miss someones birthday and realise a day or two later - you think to yourself 'I'll get one of those funny belated cards' but you forget to do that. The days, weeks, months pass and the longer it goes the harder it is to get in touch because you're still embarrassed about missing your friend's birthday and know that any excuse you give is going to sound really lame. Well, that's sort of how I've been feeling about my blog lately!

Anyway, here I go again. What's been happening? Not a lot really. Tessa had her exams (GCSE's) which was a pretty stressful time for all of us, that girl could make worrying and self-doubt an Olympic sport. She's almost managed to convince herself she's failed all of them but I'm absolutely certain she's done very well. Since she finished school she's been trying (albeit a bit half-heartedly) to find a job - without success. This isn't too surprising to me, we recently advertised for a midday supervisor at school, in the past we've placed the same advert and received one or two applications at most. This time we were inundated with enquiries and applications - for a job paying less than £7ph and only 1.25 hrs a day. Sign of the times.

We had a lovely summer, BBQ with friends, good walks, picnics, gardening. And now of course we have the 'summer' holidays - in the rain and wind. I wonder how many more years of this we have to have before the government decide to move the school calendar back a bit so that the exams aren't being taken at the hottest time of the year and the summer holidays are actually summery?!

Sadly one of my lovely chickens, That, died a couple of weeks ago. She suffered a prolapse and unfortunately the chances of recovery were so slim that it was kinder to have her put to sleep by the vet. I did get another hen but as soon as we got her home we realised she had bumblefoot and as This reacted so nastily to her I decided not to get another one yet. So, This is now on her own and although I worry a bit about her being lonely I'm more afraid of getting a new hen and her attacking it. However, she doesn't seem too upset, she's getting spoilt rotten and is getting tamer and friendlier by the day.

On Saturday our friend Sophie became a Plinther in Anthony Gormley's One and Other exhibition. She was raising money through sponsorship and collections for Julia's House. Whilst she was on the plinth she built a cardboard house and flew paper planes which had information on them about the charity and drawings by local nursery children. We all went up to support her and had a great day

She raised around £200 in sponsorship and about another £200 was collected by this motley crew:

And in case you were wondering, yes, I am still ever so slightly addicted to playing with my phone - I spent most of the day taking pictures with it (even though the camera on it is completely pants!)

iPhone Therefore iAm

2009-05-18T21:07:00.003+01:00

Well hello! I've had a bit of a blogging break in case you hadn't noticed (probably not!), not just writing but reading too, it's going to take me all week to catch up with all the other blogs I like to read. I haven't been taking many photographs either and I can't claim to have been busy keeping up with the household chores either. There have been a few distractions though. For one.....

chickens of course.........

......which are incredibly distracting! I can see their run and coop from my kitchen window and they are just so entertaining to watch, they are constantly on the move, constantly searching for stuff to eat and constantly pooing ...peck, peck, dig, dig, poo......peck, peck, dig, peck, dig, poo......peck, dig.........I'm sure you get the picture. May sound dull but it's strangely mesmerising. And if one of them disappears into the coop there's nothing for it but to stand and wait patiently for her to emerge then rush out into the garden like a loon to check whether there's an egg in the coop! They are actually laying one each most days so I'm hoping that means they're happy......although I'm not sure happiness comes into it otherwise battery hens would never lay would they? And another thing about chickens - they are crap at posing for pictures.....peck, peck....etc etc

My other big distraction has been the iPhone. In a previous life I sneered at people on trains, in cafes, and - even worse - in the street, publicly, blatantly 's'wanking with their iPhones.......but now I know the truth. It is a disease. I suddenly became overcome with a desire to get one and now that I have it I just can't leave it alone. If I don't check Facebook, Email, Twitter, Apps Store etc etc at least once every 10 minutes I start suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms. I take pictures, I play backgammon, I check my remaining allowance.....anything... just so long as I can swipe that screen and hear that little whooshy noise it makes just one more time!! On Saturday I went to my friend Karen's 40th birthday party and I was ashamed that amongst the photos of the evening that she sent to me the following day was this one.....

Although, in my defence, I had just taken a photo with it and was posting it to Facebook.......urgh, just listen to me........ My name is Sarah and I'm an Addict, anybody know the number for iPhones Anonymous?

Last week Tess, my little girl - my first-born - turned 16.

She is so beautiful and clever and brave - I just hope one day she'll realise/believe it.

On Friday she went to the Prom with her friend Robert.....and I thought chickens were hard to photograph....

And yes, those are Dr Martens! ..... she definitely inherited her mother's loathing of uncomfortable shoes.

This and That

2009-05-03T12:41:00.009+01:00

The Tortoise - who still has no name - died yesterday. He had been a bit lethargic for a couple of days and on Friday I was a bit concerned about him and decided if he didn't pick up the next day I would call a vet but the next day was too late, he died overnight. I have no idea what, if anything, I did wrong. He was fed, watered, and recently had been spending more and more time outside in the garden in the sunshine. After checking on him over and over and even attempting to give him a warm bath we had to resign ourselves to the fact that he was in fact dead and not just sleeping so Mouldy Moo dug a hole and we buried him in a Converse box - because 'a cool pet deserves a cool box'.

But, as one door closes and all that............

We had been planning for Tortoise to start living outdoors soon and Steven had converted a little area of the shed into a den for him with a door leading outside to an enclosed bit of garden for him. So, looking out of my kitchen window at the shed it occurred to me that there are other animals that can benefit from a nice cosy room with access to their own little garden........no, not rabbits (been there, done that).........chickens!!

In the past I've raised the subject of chickens and not got a very polite response from Steven but yesterday when the idea hatched (oh yes, I've started with the puns already) he was already thousands of feet above the Atlantic on his way to Washington so I just had to take the initiative....didn't I! So, with the aid of a couple of co-conspirators egging me on we soon managed to cobble together a temporary chicken run and coop.

Last night when Steven phoned me to let me know he'd arrived safe and well and asked me what I'd been doing all day I simply said 'oh, you know, this and that'.

Introducing.......This

and That......

and since I started writing this entry That produced this..........

I'm mightily impressed!! Tessa and I just shared a fried egg sandwich and I have to say it was delish!

And .... clutching at straws (every word I use now seems to have some sort of chicken connotation attached to it) in my quest to prove to Steven that chickens are a worthwhile distraction from all the washing I said I would get done this weekend ..... the Outlaws keep chickens too so at last something in common to mull over the endless cups of tea - although having said that Mother-In-Law might see this as a new-found domesticity in her erstwhile crap daughter-in-law and attempt to discuss eggy recipes.....this would be a complete waste of time of course because I anticipate most of our chickedy dees' produce to end up in the dogs' dinner!

This and That so far seem pretty happy in their new home but being ex-battery hens I guess their expectations wouldn't be too high.....still, producing an egg on day one seems like a good start to me.

Don't get me wrong, the Tortoise was great, I'm really sad that he died and I'm going to miss him but let's face it - he was never going to feed me!

BIGGER

2009-04-13T16:29:00.011+01:00

When Steven said a few months ago that he had the opportunity to attend a conference in America this Easter and that I could come along I was quite excited. I've never been to the USA before and a few days of sunshine sounded like a great idea.......

....yet, as usual it seems we brought the weather with us!

On Friday before we left home I was feeling anxious, the longest flight I've taken before is probably about 3hrs and here I was contemplating an 8 or 9 hour flight, plus a shorter one for the transfer from Atlanta to Savannah. Plus, I've been away from the kids for a night or two but the furthest was Paris which is pretty much as easy to get home from as most places in the UK. By the time I'd been sitting on the plane, on the tarmac, for an hour, waiting for some paperwork to be signed off I was really beginning to doubt my decision to come along at all! 16 hours later when we arrived and I felt more tired than I ever have in my life I realised that travelling is not for me.....but too late as I have no choice but to journey back again........

There's not too much you can do in three days (especially if your children give you a shopping list as long as ours did) but we have managed to visit Savannah twice... 'Historic Savannah' that is - I think some of it dates back as far as the 18th Century(!)

although we are staying at Hilton Head which has an amazing beach..

One thing I have discovered is that what people say about everything in America being bigger really is true. The beds are bigger, most of the cars are bigger, the food and drink portions are bigger (and so are a lot of the people!), even the gap under public toilet doors is bigger which is particularly disconcerting! I have never seen so many places to eat in my life, every 500 yards along every road there seems to be some sort of eatery and or motel. But, bigger is not necessarily better, less can be more and all this show-offy excess is peppered with really obvious poverty and a huge class divide. I think I like small...well, perhaps with exception to the bed - I may just pop into Dreams the bedshop when I get home!

It's Me Not The Dog

2009-04-08T15:02:00.003+01:00

Spring has well and truly sprung this week and its prompted me out of my hibernation at last. Can't believe how long it is since I last put on my blogging hat and it's not just been that I haven't had anything to say.......I've actually been pretty busy (busy being a relative term...busy for me would probably not be considered busy at all by somebody a lot less lazy than I am!).

So, dog ~~whisperer~~ dictator came to conquer ~~Darcy~~ me right after my last post. She arrived in a big van and I almost hid behind the sofa when she came to the door because she looked so angry....thankfully her fury was directed at my neighbour and not myself because his dogs had been left outside and were barking so ferociously when she arrived that her (perfect, presumably) dog wouldn't get out of the van to pee. I was then interrogated about the frequency and longevity of their barking to such an extent I began to wonder if I should move house as the 'negative energy' caused by their behaviour was 'bound to be having a very bad effect' on my dogs......despite the fact that my dogs are so used to the rowdy idiot hounds from next door that they barely seem to register their noise at all. But, the smug feeling I got from knowing that my dogs rarely bark indoors and are quiet and well-behaved in the garden didn't last long. We went for a walk and Darcy whined and cried and made a horrible fuss because I wasn't the one holding the lead. We met other dogs who barked at Darcy and who Darcy barked back at but instead of crossing the road like I would usually do dog-dictator just kept walking back and forth, back and forth past the dogs until Darcy shut-up.....meanwhile the man with the barking spaniels seemed to get more and more frustrated and dog-dictator shouted to him above the din that his dogs were creating 'negative energy' - meanwhile I was desperately searching for the proverbial rock to crawl under. Apparently Darcy sees herself as pack leader, the house is her 'den' and she has extended this to incorporate our normal walking route.....as for me - I'm not just the lowest member of the pack, I am virtually the poo on Darcy's paw! My instructions were - change her food to raw meat/bones, take away her 'den' by crating her indoors, get a back-pack to wear her out quicker on walks, get a treadmill to exercise her(!), get a nasty collar that chokes her if she pulls and withdraw all unearned attention/affection. So, having taken on board some of dog-dictators advice we are actually making slow but steady progress, Darcy is walking better, has stopped barking at people and is beginning to calm down a bit when other dogs are around....and instead of huge mounds of steaming brown stuff she's producing neat little chalky white poos that used to be found on pavements in the seventies!

blah, blah, blah

2009-03-12T15:01:00.008Z

I've been far too busy for blogging lately. I've been out every weekend socialising and partying with friends, my house is completely spotless, all my children are wearing beautifully clean and pressed clothing and I've lost nearly a stone from all the exercise I've been doing - not to mention all the wonderfully nutritious healthy gastronomic delights I've been serving up evening after evening.

Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth, I've been far too lazy for blogging lately. I've spent every evening burning chicken nuggets and chips between watching Deal Or No Deal and Eggheads before settling down in front of the tv for the rest of the evening with a nice big cup of tea and a bar (or two) of chocolate. I haven't socialised with anybody outside the family since Christmas, the washing basket is still spilling out onto the landing and as for getting the iron out - ha, ha! Exercise.....does walking the dog count? Over the past few weeks I seem to have plumbed new depths of idleness - even by my standards!

WARNING - next paragraph may contain unadulterated self-pity and ranting:

Part of my lethargy probably stems from this being my least favourite time of the year - the end of the financial year - my busiest and most frustrating time of the year as far as work goes. Busy because I'm trying to finalise budgets and work out a new one for the next year - busiest and frustrating because Teachers seem to be incapable of spending their budgets until the last week of Feb/beginning of March so apart from the usual increase in workload I also get inundated with orders and invoices that all have to processed before the end of March....aaargghhh!!!

But forget work, tomorrow promises to bring with it a whole new level of challenge. Remember Darcy...........

looking so angelic in this picture, butter wouldn't melt in that big stinky mouth but those gorgeous soft brown eyes could melt the hardest of hearts.........a true devil in disguise.

She's still, despite dog training classes and copious amounts of herbal remedies, a complete delinquent. For a long time she's misbehaved when she's out on her lead by barking at other dogs, but more recently she's started barking at people too - less Scrappy Doo and more Cujo. It's all a front though .....if she gets within sniffing distance of her 'victims' she drops to the floor, rolls on her back and pees herself but obviously most people don't get to find that out because they're too busy crossing the street or, in the case of one Postman we encountered, hopping over the nearest garden wall! It's got to the point now where I really dislike walking her and it's turned into a real chore. So, when I saw an article in the local paper praising a local 'dog whisperer' I was keen to employ her services. I emailed her, explained all of Darcy's strange unsociable behaviour and then she called me back to arrange an appointment. In my imagination I was employing a female Cesar Millan but after speaking to her on the phone I'm picturing Barbara Woodhouse on acid. During the phone call she told me that I shouldn't be feeding my dog with dog food, shouldn't be feeding my dogs twice a day and that my dogs should be crated i.e. caged ...........oh dear! I'm feeling quite nervous about meeting her, I imagine the list of things I do wrong (according to her) can only get longer but on the other had she promises to sort out Darcy's bad behaviour in just one session and for just £40 (Steven's convinced she's going to turn up with a gun and shoot Darcy in the head - but I think that's just wishful thinking on his part)..............watch this space!

Quorders

2009-02-23T18:03:00.007Z

So, Half Term... the week I'd been looking forward to since returning to work in January - five whole days off work....rest, relax, do nothing.......GET BORED!! Ok, so the week started off great with the day trip to Italy but after that I guess it was inevitable that being stuck at home with no car, three stroppy kids and an ever-increasing pile of dirty washing was bound to be dull, dull, dull. But surely at least the weekend was something to look forward to - Steven would be home, I'd have transport and oh yes, the ~~outlaws~~ inlaws were visiting... bliss!

My inlaws are probably the people I have the very least in common with in the whole world - apart from a genetic connection to three certain little people that is - so I find it a bit like being trapped with visitors from another planet who don't speak the language. My MiL is a proper (Yorkshire) housewife..her house is clean, she cooks, she bakes, she pairs FiL's socks the second they come out of the dryer, the crystal in her display cabinet shines and she has a special soft cloth that protects her dining table from scratches. My house is dusty, I use cook-in sauces and ready meals, baking?, we wear odd socks, have nothing shiny enough to display and can actually make out whole sentences in the varnish on the table if the light shines at the right angle. It's not just a case of me being Waynetta Slob to her Mrs Beeton though, we have no mutual interests whatsoever as far as I can gather, we don't even seem to like the same TV. So the silences are long......no that's not true, they would be because I don't talk much and rarely just for the sake of talking but thankfully she can talk for England and (hopefully) doesn't seem to notice that half the time while she's rattling on about the number of eggs needed for a victoria sponge or the price of bacon in one supermarket or another my attention has wandered off into another world entirely - I'm sure she must think I'm really thick judging by the glazed, vacant expression on my face most of the time!

So, anyway, what's a Quorder? MiL obviously worries about her dear only son being neglected by his useless undomesticated wife so always turns up laden down with baked goods to build him up........not that he needs building up......not that I'm calling him fat (I leave that to his Wii Mii!). This visit was no exception - two sponge cakes, 50-60 almond tarts, two huge jam roly-polys and a dozen eggs straight from their chicken coop........prompting from me what Steven calls a Quorder - 'You're not going to eat all that, are you?' This is apparently an order thinly disguised as a question. Other classic quorder examples would be: 'Are you going to put the bin out?' or 'Are you going to turn right at the next roundabout?' According to him it's only women who use Quorders - I think he's just paranoid.

Venice Valentine

2009-02-16T11:53:00.011Z

Usually we don't do much for Valentines around here, neither of us are particularly romantic, but this year we really pushed the boat out.....or should I say the gondola......

with a day trip to Venice.....

We had a brilliant day!

Weather

2009-02-10T18:56:00.000Z

I've been taken over by a severe case of lethargy this past week, too lazy even for blogging....not that there's been much going on to blog about - apart from the weather.

What weather though! On Monday we had a smidgen of snow - not enough for fun but enough to close a few schools in the area. On Tuesday we had considerably more snow and virtually all the schools were closed...... and throughout the day we experienced a veritable smorgasbord of weather - sun, wind, snow, rain, hail, sleet - we had it all - a bit disappointing for the kids who had envisaged a day off school, building snowmen and throwing snowballs in a winter wonderland.

On Friday it started again, and by the time I left work at 12 my car was covered in a thick layer of the white stuff. That morning I had unusually nabbed a space right by the building which was great because I didn't have to walk far in the slush but bad because after clearing the windscreen I got in the car and then realised I hadn't thought to clear the side window.....think of the most stupid thing I could do at this point........yes, I started to wind the window down to clear it - duh! I ended up with a lapfull of snow which was bad enough but even worse when I got out of the car to scrape off what was left on the window and realised that my stupidity had been witnessed by a class full of Yr 4 children!

Yesterday we had about a month's worth of rain in one day and my little roller-skate of a car had to surf through inches of water in some places whilst I held my breath and debated whether I loved my boots enough to take them off if the unthinkable happened and I had to wade to safety......thankfully I didn't have to find out.

So another week (another post) dominated by the good old british weather. If nothing else at least it's given the media another stick to gleefully bash the whole country with!

Snow!

2009-02-02T17:25:00.003Z

Not quite a snow day - and not quite enough of the white stuff for a snowman. Only one of us got to stay home from school and unfortunately it wasn't me...but, it's still snowing so there's hope for tomorrow.....finger's crossed!

A Lesson Learned (hopefully!)

2009-02-01T16:34:00.007Z

What a week! Forget Gaza, Afghanistan or Iraq....I have been living in a war zone for the last 7 days. It all began last weekend when Steven ~~asked~~ told Tessa to tidy her room on Friday evening. Over the weekend he had asked her a further three or four times and each time she'd apologised for forgetting and said she'd do it soon but apparently still didn't. I was completely unaware of any of this until I remarked on Steven's bad mood on Sunday evening - effectively ripping the pin from the grenade....

Steven and I have quite different approaches to parenting. I will occasionally ask them to clean their rooms if I notice how bad they've got but generally if I can walk in and out to say goodnight without tripping over something I can pretty much block out the worst of it. Steven likes their rooms to be tidied every day and will make a point of going and checking every couple of days and telling them. I don't often ask them to do their chores because I usually find it quicker, easier and less stressful to do things myself than risk asking them and being ignored. If I do want them to do something I try and wait until they want something first or I make sure the modem mysteriously stops working for a short time and then spookily starts working again when the chore has been done. I don't nag them to do their homework either, I remind them about it by way of asking if they have any - after that it's up to them whether they do it or leave it and get detention. Steven is a much harder task master - I think I'm too lazy to be tough.

Tessa is stubborn. She hates to be told to do anything and the more she's nagged the deeper she digs her heels in. On Sunday evening, despite Steven letting her know in no uncertain terms how cross he was that she still hadn't tidied her room (unwittingly prompted by me), she still didn't want to give in so she ignored him and a huge row ensued. As punishment Tessa was banned from the internet for the foreseeable future - a sort of virtual grounding as practically all her socialising is done through her laptop. On Monday she finally tidied her room (a job that only took about 15 minutes!) but refused to apologise for arguing about it. With each passing day she became more and more upset and miserable, not helped by Mollie who fed off this and wound her up and teased her relentlessly. I was piggy in the middle, constantly on edge, waiting for the next argument to erupt, trying to mediate all the time and with each passing day I felt more exhausted and depressed.

Thankfully on Thursday evening Tessa finally gave up and managed to claw her way out of the enormous hole she'd dug herself into by apologising and making friends with her dad again....unfortunately by this time I reckon I'd aged about 10 years!

I hope Tessa learns something from this. Hopefully she understands now that sometimes we all have to do things we don't want to do if we are asked to and that not doing something can actually be a whole lot harder in the long run.

Last weekend, before all this happened, Tessa was begging me to blog about her....not sure this is exactly what she had in mind at the time!

The weather forecast tonight says snow. I hope it does. Not just a little but a lot. I want a snow day (or two), I want enough that it makes my journey to work completely impossible not just difficult, I want the schools to be closed, I want my children to be able to build their first ever proper snowman and still have snow left for snowballs.......so, fingers crossed......let it snow!

Tip-Tap, Tip-Tap, Tip-Tap

2009-01-22T18:18:00.004Z

These days many of us have a new soundtrack to our lives.....tip-tap! At work, at home, on trains and in cafes there's a constant tippy-tappy, clicky-clacky keyboard/pad noise in the background. There seems to be such a need for people to be in perpetual communication ...... except for the most part nobody is actually talking. I must admit I have sometimes resorted to msning one of the kids to tell them it's time to come off the computer or time for dinner or just to say hello, did you have a good time at school simply because they can't resist paying attention and replying. Speak to them and you might get a grunt or an exasperated hurrumph but type.....

U ok? Gd day at skl? :-)

and you're likely to get a pretty civil reply...........sad huh?!

I hate that some people still answer the phone or text whilst they're driving - what could possibly be so important that they can't pull over or wait until they get to their destination? Why hasn't somebody invented a phone with a drive mode - something that automatically alerts the caller that the person they are trying to contact is driving and that their call may potentially harm life... then some sort of option for letting the driver know if it's important enough for them to find somewhere safe to park up and answer or alternatively, not important - I'll call later. And whilst I'm having my little rant - isn't it about time they banned smoking behind the wheel too? Apparently you can't eat a cheese sandwich whilst driving but it's ok to light a cigarette - where's the logic in that?

Ok, so here's the HS:MS:HS word that prompted this thought process and subsequent letting off of steam......

Happy Birthday Moo

2009-01-19T20:26:00.000Z

The weekend was fairly busy, partly because yesterday was our very own Mouldy Moo's 12th birthday. Contrary to the usual feelings of 'where did the years go' Mollie's birthday seems to have come around a bit slowly - it feels like she should be older than 12 by now. Perhaps this is down to the fact that she's been behaving like a teenager for so long it's hard to believe she's not one yet.......or perhaps it's because she's only a couple of centimetres shorter than Tess who is almost four years her senior!

A post-school-run picture today....

Another Thursday

2009-01-15T18:31:00.003Z

Yesterday I did my son a disservice. I said that he didn't do any extra-curricular sporting activities but I was forgetting Dodgeball on Thursdays. This means that on Thursdays I get the pleasure of not two but three school runs....oh lucky me! Tonight Fletcher took over the camera for the majority of the journey....10 minutes and 153 photographs later......

SPORT?!

2009-01-14T17:57:00.003Z

I must admit I shuddered slightly when I looked at the HS:MS:HS prompt today because sport really isn't my thing. We are not a very sporty family and although the children quite enjoy sports at school (except Tessa whose only possible Olympic hope would be if they introduced pouting as an event), they're not really into any extra-curricular clubs or anything. It's very rare that anybody even watches sports in our home either....I'm a bit partial to the odd cricket match or Grand Prix but not much more. But on the plus side I'm never going to be a football or golf widow and am not likely to have to spend my Sunday mornings knee-high in mud on the sidelines with a bunch of over zealous pushy parents! So anyway, I had to borrow one of the dogs' tennis balls for my photo today........

And here we are again - another Groundhog Day......

Roger...Over and Out!

2009-01-13T18:18:00.003Z

Today's HS:MS:HS prompt is handle....

When I was about 12 or 13 the big craze was CB radios. A few of my friends had them and I bugged my Mum relentlessly until she agreed to let me have one. My 'handle' was Golden Wonder! Unfortunately, much like the Internet, there was little way of controlling who contacted you over the airwaves and it wasn't very long before my Mum overheard some weirdo broadcasting into my room and confiscated the radio forever!

Today's school run....

Technological Perfection

2009-01-12T19:12:00.005Z

Today's HS:MS:HS word is technology. We have no shortage of that in this house with three children around. The kids never seem to be amazed by new technology the way that I sometimes still am though. I can just about manage to surf the net and watch tv - although when I do I often find myself reaching for the remote to rewind the programme and catch up on something I've missed. No such problem for the kids, they can watch tv, play World of Warcraft, chat to friends (several at a time) on msn, update their emotion on facebook and still carry on an argument with one another at the same time without any trouble at all! I think though that of all the technological gadgets and gizmos my favourite is this one...

at the press of a button it gives me a perfect measure of hot water for my tea (green of course), I can wander away and do something else and come back in a couple of minutes when it's perfectly brewed - bliss! Especially welcome after a school run like this:

no further comment!

Can't Get No (Job) Satisfaction..

2009-01-11T11:42:00.003Z

One week down.....five to go! It may still only be the beginning of a new half term but that doesn't stop me counting down on a daily basis to the next holiday......wishing my life away..... it's a terrible habit but one I don't seem able to break, even before one holiday is over I've usually worked out how many weeks, how many weekends, how many work days etc until the next break. It's not that I have a bad work ethic, I've never taken a sickie or bunked off work but I would always much rather be at home and have never had a job that I've enjoyed enough to look forward to. I suppose some people would say I'm unfulfilled but I don't see it like that - I'm probably too lazy for fulfillment. I look upon work as a necessary evil........or like sleeping - not very exciting but it has to be done! Tessa, on the other hand, is already stressing about her career path, scared that she'll end up in a job she doesn't like, worrying about her exams and what A levels she'll be able to do (she has her GCSE's this year). Sometimes I wonder whose daughter she is - surely not mine? All I wanted to do at her age was get a job (any old job) and earn enough money to keep me in records and shoes!

If I was feeling ever so slightly sorry for myself when I got up for work on Monday morning my self-pity didn't last long after I got there. Several of my work colleagues suffered much more severely than I did for a much longer duration, some of them spent virtually the whole holiday in bed and still returned to work looking and sounding a lot worse than I did. So, it would seem I got off lightly - perhaps there really is something to be said for drinking gallons of green tea each week.

The office, like everywhere else all week, has been f..f..f..freezing! Luckily my desk is closest to the radiator but when a building has been shut up with no heating for two weeks it takes a long time to thaw out and I've been grateful every day for my thermal underwear. But despite the cold office, the frost on the windscreen, the ice on the roads, the filthy salt on my car etc etc, I'm not looking forward to the warmer, wetter weather we have forecast for the next week. I wonder why we British so overly obsessed with weather? I've just decided my new challenge (ha, ha, that makes it sound like I'm always challenging myself when really the closest I usually get is persuading myself to wait another 10 5 minutes until I have that next chocolate bar!!) is to not blog about weather more than once a week ..... so far this year I've only managed to blog about once a week so if I keep up that record it's not going to be much of a challenge at all.

I'm trying hard to remember to take a camera with me wherever I go - this is okay as it goes except perhaps that my photo husbandry is just about as good as my laundry husbandry (rubbish!) so I may be needing an additional external hard drive before the year is out. Here's some stuff I saw this week.....

en route to the hairdressers......

and bird-watching?!

Green Tea, Snot & Chocolate

2009-01-04T19:24:00.002Z

My life since the beginning of this year basically amounts to this: Sofa, tea, chocolate and TV! On New Years Eve when I got home from my friend's house I assumed that the reason I was sneezing was that she has two cats....not so. By the next morning it became apparent that an hour in the company of two shy cats could not possibly result in so much snot, not to mention the fuzzy head, itchy throat and aching limbs.

So, I've spent the past four days lounging around, drinking copious amounts of green tea - (a practice which I previously rather smugly declared to be the reason I hadn't succumbed to the various lurgies inflicting everybody else at home and at work) - eating way too much chocolate and watching so much tv I swear I can feel my eyeballs changing shape.

Today at 2pm I decided enough was enough and I really must have a shower and get dressed in something other than fleece and elastic and venture outside the house. Travelling the whole 100yds on foot to my mother's house was pretty arduous but I was rewarded with more green tea and chocolate which helped me face the return trip!

Tomorrow I have to return to work - urgh! I know, in the present economic climate I should be grateful I have a secure job to go back to.....but, really......urgh!! And...how come I only ever feel ill enough not to go to work when I don't actually have to go to work?!

Young Love (just decide which flavour and press the button)

2009-01-02T12:51:00.008Z

Happy New Year! So, actually, I'm not really a big fan of New Year, it's just another new day really after all and I really don't get what all the fuss is about - what's the New Year equivalent of Bah Humbug I wonder?

Christmas was good, Steven cooked like something possessed - four roast dinners over the course of the week, each one for between 7 & 9 people - and each one as delicious as the last.

I got one of these:

How cute is that?! I don't drink coffee but have wanted one of these for ages just because they look so pretty!! And, it does make hot chocolate so it's not a complete waste of space (so much for my diet then!)

On Boxing Day evening mum and I took Tessa up to Southampton airport to pick up her friend Wytze who was visiting from Holland for a few days. This was pretty daunting for the pair of them really as although they've been friends for a couple of years (since meeting on World of Warcraft!) they had never actually met in person yet. It wasn't the best start, we got a puncture on our way home and ended up sitting on the motorway for an hour in the cold and dark waiting for the miserable recovery man to come and get us back on the road.......I wonder if he feels the need to explain to everybody that a space saver wheel with a big label on it saying '50MPH Limit' cannot be driven on faster than 50MPH - and not just once either, three times he pointed this out to me. Yes, I am blonde (or used to be anyway) but I'm really not that stupid!

They seemed to get on well together, and of course we couldn't let him come to England at Christmas without introducing him to the madness that is the good old traditional English Pantomime - poor boy! He seemed to be smiling all the time, particularly when any one of us attempted to pronounce his name.....Mollie said it is Pizza with a V but somehow none of us could make the combined V & W sound that he could so he still had a good giggle whenever we tried. In fact, in the end it got to the point where I would change a sentence around anyway I could to avoid actually calling him by any name at all!!

Pretty soon it was time to say goodbye. We spent Wytze's last day with us in Bournemouth, it was a beautiful day, but freezing cold. We had a walk along the beach, did a bit of shopping and had lunch and then in the afternoon drove him to the airport. Tessa was pretty sad to be saying goodbye.........

but of course for every dark cloud there's usually a silver lining - in this case it came in the shape of a vending machine at the airport........apparently Wytze is no competition for Ben and Jerry!

It's Not Snoring - It's Breathing (with sound effects)

2008-12-25T04:10:00.004Z

Of all the nights to suffer from insomnia Christmas night has to be just about the worst! Strictly speaking though I don't think it is insomnia since I have been asleep but then got woken by something and couldn't get back to sleep because Steven's 'breathing' (not allowed to call it snoring) sounded just like somebody standing in the room inflating a punctured airbed with a foot pump.

No doubt in a couple of hours the kids will be awake pestering to open their presents so it's probably going to be just about the longest day possible.

Normally in a situation where Steven was keeping me awake with his 'not snoring' I would stubbornly stay in bed and try to prevent him from making noise by any means possible...eg poking, bouncing, tickling or in one instance actually pushing him right out of bed. However, Steven is cooking dinner for nine people tomorrow and all I have to do is lay the table so I'm being generous and letting him sleep! Not to mention the fact that last night when he couldn't sleep he got up at 2am and went to Tesco to do some last minute food shopping because earlier in the day (technically the day before I suppose) mum and I had gone shopping for the food and lost the list so failed to get everything. Nobody likes a hero.

Everything is ready. The presents are wrapped, the cards sent (only just though). It seems to have gone remarkably smoothly so far, I managed to do nearly all the shopping online and even had the one last outstanding thing delivered today (yesterday!).

So, Happy Christmas if you're reading this, let's hope it's a good one, without any tears!!

It's Christmas!!

2008-12-15T23:27:00.001Z

We finally have our trees up and it's actually starting to feel a bit like Christmas. We have two Christmas trees in our house - mine...

and the children's ...

Would love to stay and blog for longer but Fletch has just announced that he's thrown up - oh, the joys of motherhood! Poor little mite was due to go on a school trip to the Panto tomorrow but I'm pretty certain he has a temperature now and would be amazed if he's well enough for school in the morning.

Winter Woes

2008-12-09T19:19:00.001Z

Winter: every morning de-icing the car then driving 300 yards, stopping, de-icing the car again and peering into the sun through four foggy inches of windscreen. The road to school turns into a skating rink, my poor little car slithers and slides along the country lanes and it's only luck keeping us on the tarmac most of the time. My eyes run, streaking my mascara, and my nose turns into a belisha beacon...........but.........

it's still my favourite time of the year!

Decoration

2008-12-08T18:58:00.002Z

The HS:MS:HS word for today is decoration. At first I thought 'damn, I haven't got my decorations up yet', but then I remembered this shot I took at the weekend in Carnaby Street.....

personally I think it's a bit scary!!

Purple Skies

2008-12-08T18:12:00.002Z

When I looked out the window this morning and saw this beautiful sunrise I just had to grab my camera ......

Wow!

On the Town

2008-12-07T19:51:00.003Z

One night away can seem like so much longer when you leave three children at home! Obviously it's easier when you know that the chidlers are being well cared for and we are incredibly lucky in that respect because my parents and sister are always ~~happy~~ willing to help out.

So we had a night in London and even got a room with a view of the Albert Hall......

ok, only just!

Steven was lecturing on Friday afternoon so I had a couple of hours on my own to kill. I had a walk down to Knightsbridge and then made my way back up to the V&A - hmm, I guess I'm not cultured enough because I found it pretty boring in there. I then made my way back to the Natural History Museum and had lunch in the cafe overlooking the skating rink. By this time I was getting a bit fed up with my own company so when an old guy in the cafe beckoned to me to sit with him I figured there'd be no harm.......and to be fair there wasn't any harm but he was incredibly drunk!! What a character though!

After lunch I went into the NHM to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. Wow! It was pretty humbling. My favourite shot of all was this one. The only thing I found a little strange was that the images were all displayed on screens - I was expecting to see actual photographs.

When Steven finished work we had a wander round Harrods and appraised the incredibly ugly, ridiculously expensive furniture on sale (do millionaires really have no taste?!) and then went for a meal before getting back to the room and in bed in time to watch the final of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here .... we sure know how to live!!

On Saturday we wandered around a bit, took in a few sights.....

went to the National Portrait Gallery to see the Annie Leibovitz exhibition and the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize and to the theatre to see Rain Man starring the gorgeous Josh Hartnett.

Regents Street and Oxford Street were closed to traffic for the day and there was a lovely street fair atmosphere - helped by crisp, bright weather. The shops were packed and there was very little evidence of the current financial crisis that the media keep harping on about.

And we were still home in time to see the X-Factor - a perfect weekend!!

I Believe in Karma

2008-12-03T17:14:00.002Z

Last Friday a nurse went to visit my Dad (he's just had a big operation on his hip), whilst she was there she spotted my Mum was wearing Crocs and proceeded to give her a big lecture about how she shouldn't wear them because they are dangerous(?!!). Apparently the nurse had slipped over wearing a pair and is now set on a one woman mission to rid the world of these evil, dangerous, rubbery shoes. Crocs do seem to be quite a controversial form of footwear, people either love them or hate them. In our family we definitely love them and all have at least one pair each. So, when I heard about this I naturally defended the fabulous Croc and laughed about the nurse and her ridiculous tale of doom.........until that is karma stepped in..........

On Sunday, I popped out to the garden on dog poo patrol - like you do - and was hurrying back into the house to get out of the cold drizzly weather and..... whoosh...... it was as if the ground had been pulled away from beneath my feet and I ended up flat on my back! Obviously it wasn't my precious Crocs to blame, it was the slippery wet decking that caused me to fall. But, I can't help feeling I was being punished for laughing at the nurse.

Thankfully I wasn't badly injured, just a scabby elbow, but I feel I should issue a warning to everybody - whatever their taste in footwear - beware of wet decking!

Mollie loves her Crutch!

2008-11-29T14:00:00.001Z

The BIG news this week is that Mollie has an injury! For a few days she hobbled around with pained expressions and odd little noises and every time we visited Mum and Dad she would insist on using one of my Dad's crutches the whole time we were there. In exasperation we finally gave in and took her to A&E....that's the royal 'we' as usual - it was Steven who got the pleasure of a three hour visit to the hospital!

Much as we suspected the Doctor failed to find much for her to be complaining about....didn't even require an x-ray to make his diagnosis which was - 'a strained/sprained heel'!! Far from being chagrined or embarrassed by this slight on her suffering Mollie returned home triumphant because the kindly Doctor let her bring home a crutch!!

I suspect we will have to return to the Hospital at some point to have the crutch surgically removed from Mollie, she can't seem to make it further than 6inches without her extra appendage at the moment and the click-click-click accompanies her every movement! (Don't be fooled by her face in the photo - underneath that look of contempt she's grinning like the proverbial cat with a vat of cream!)

Back to catch up on HS:MS:HS again! Will I ever get organised enough to play along properly I wonder.....

Birthday....... undoubtedly my favourite birthday photo of all time has to be this one of my Dad's 60th.....(my Dad is officially the Best Dad/Grandad in the World by the way!)

Yes, there really are 60 candles on that cake and if you look carefully you can probably work out which end we started lighting them from!

French

and rain ... no problem finding that word in my space recently!

Tessa

2008-11-22T11:19:00.003Z

HS:MS:MS Saturdays are portrait days and today the challenge is to post a b&w portrait. She's going to be disappointed about this - you can't see her funky red highlights in b&w!

It's still hard to believe that she's 15 already, in her last few months of compulsory schooling with a whole world of opportunity and hard decisions ahead of her.

Sensible, kind, thoughtful, considerate ... the best kind of daughter. Obstinate, opinionated (just like her father), self-conscious, self-doubting, sensitive (not to mention hearing impaired and diabetic!) ... like all teenagers, not always the easiest to live with!

I know, because I was once a 15yr old girl (with a whole different attitude!), that we are very very lucky to have a daughter like her......I only hope she knows that we know how lucky we are and how proud we are of her.

Resigned to Failure

2008-11-20T19:19:00.003Z

I've come over all Abba this week! I've pre-ordered my dvd of Mamma Mia and bought some high heeled boots and skinny trousers......mid-life crisis?!

One of my resolutions this year was to not buy clothes(!) I did really well up until September but then I reached my first big hurdle... a friend's wedding...can't count wedding clothes can I?! But since then I've found flimsier and flimsier excuses to buy outfits - the latest non-excuse is a school reunion in a couple of weeks. So, I've failed on that resolution, how about the rest.....

stop chewing my fingers......it's disgusting and looks horrible Success! (for the most part anyway!)

lose about 7/8 lb ha,ha,ha!!!

be a better housewife (e.g. do the washing before everybody in the house runs out of pants and socks) what was I thinking?? Perhaps next year I'll set myself a resolution slightly more achievable ........ ending world poverty single-handed maybe?!

take more photos yes, although perhaps next year I'll try for less quantity, more quality!

blog daily (or regularly at least!) 104 out of 325 - big fat failure!

On Monday this week Fletcher had a Victorian Day at school......I think he actually looked less like a scruffy little urchin in his outfit - alot smarter than he usually looks on school days (and cleaner too!)

Haven't been out much to take photos this week but I still have some flowers in my garden....

although I'm not sure what's happened to the berries.....

To colour or not to colour.........that is the question!

2008-11-15T09:52:00.004Z

Today over on HS:MS:HS it's SPS.....

Having taken this shot of Fletch (the only willing slave available to me at this time of the morning!) I've played around a bit with it and honestly can't decide if I prefer it with colour or without......oh well, I'll just post both!

Friday ..... music to my ears!

2008-11-14T15:48:00.005Z

Fridays are just the best aren't they?! On Friday I finish work at lunchtime which means I can be even more self-indulgent than usual and today I've really scored because Steven was home early enough to do the school run for me too!

Walking the dogs earlier I had another one of those 'ggrrr - no camera' moments when only a few feet away from us a beautiful Kingfisher flew out of the reeds and away across the harbour ..... not that I would have had enough time to take the shot anyway, he would have been well out of sight by the time I'd dropped the dog leads, swung the camera off my shoulder, removed the lens cap......but I can still dream of the gorgeous shot I would have taken!!

Yesterday morning I did grab my camera. I took this from my bedroom window between getting myself ready for work and screaming at the kids to get ready for school!

Today's HS:MS:HS challenge is music ....

Music was more exciting, more cherished, and probably more listened to when I used to save up my money and go to Our Price in town and buy a 12" or an album - or even more exciting, a picture disc! Downloading a track from iTunes just doesn't compare. Times move on and we now listen to music on the PC or via the iPod on a sounddock and miss out on that special tactile pleasure that you only get with a proper record. Music, like so many other things, seems to have become throwaway. However all is not lost in our house, Tessa (15) now has our old hi-fi in her bedroom along with all our old albums and singles and listens to them regularly. One of her favourites at the moment (the one playing on the picture) is Erasure's album Circus, a true 80's classic!

Funny?

2008-11-13T17:04:00.001Z

That perennial question: If a tree falls down in the forest and nobody is around to hear it does it make a sound? came to mind yesterday afternoon.

As I was leaving the house to embark on my hour and a half school run (I didn't know it was going to take that long beforehand) I said to the dogs 'behave yourselves while I'm out ......... don't go getting your mates round as soon as I leave the house' and then I had a little giggle before checking myself and wondering whether or not I'm insane! So my question is, if you make a joke and have a laugh and there's nobody around to hear it does that still make it funny?!

Very often when I'm out on my own, especially in the car, I see things that amuse me and I have a little laugh to myself. Today it was the teenagers in the car behind me sharing a pair of earphones, the wire stretched out between driver and passenger, each of them with one earpiece in! Don't know why, but it just tickled me! Another day it might be a kid on a moped driving with his head literally between his knees in an effort to squeeze an extra half a mile an hour out of the tiny inadequate engine; or the old age pensioner blithely pottering along in the kerb of a busy road on his mobility scooter completely oblivious to the chaos in his wake (obviously this is only amusing if witnessed from the opposite carriage of the road!); or the short skinny boy walking hand in hand with his tall fat girlfriend etc etc

Anyway, I've no idea if I'm insane or not - perhaps everybody makes jokes to their dogs when there's nobody else around. And, perhaps the dogs, even though they still look at me with that blank expression that could mean anything from 'go on then, sod off and leave me alone..again' to 'oh, how funny, you're such a card!', really do appreciate a bit of humour now and then!

Some funny faces from the past week:

Don't forget your camera....

2008-11-07T15:54:00.006Z

Today I should have had my camera with me. I've never yet got into the habit of taking my camera everywhere and I really should start. I suppose normally I don't deviate from my pretty boring journey to and from school but today after work I had to go to the hairdressers to try and get my ridiculously shaggy hair tamed into something that hopefully doesn't resemble an old sheepdog's barnet quite so much. My hairdresser is very close to Sandbanks which has become quite famous recently for being one of the most expensive places in the country to buy a house (I hasten to add that I don't personally live that close to it, unfortunately!). Today the sun was shimmering across the harbour and the house on Brownsea island was bathed in light and there were windsurfers and kite surfers out on the water............and me - with no camera, duh! So, a lesson learned, in future I will endeavour to remember to take it out with me.

Anyway, I'm feeling slightly less canine after my visit so at least that's one good thing.

Still on my lookout for pictures to match the recent HS:MS:HS challenges I finally found one (thanks to Fletcher!) for broken:

this is what my iPod display looks like since it crashed to the floor after Fletcher carelessly left it balancing on the top of the fridge door! Now it's just an expensive Shuffle until I pay £55 to get it fixed.

Another one I found.........although not an original idea I have to admit..... is cling: the last two remaining leaves on the tree

and lastly (scarily up-to-date) is brush, I'm not really one for hair-brushing much but I couldn't possibly live without my foundation brush!

Lucy recently introduced me to Shutter Sisters (thank you Lucy!) and although I haven't been any better at keeping up with their challenges than I am with HS:MS:HS I did have fun doing this one - the leaf perspective :

Off to the firework display at school tonight, but no ooo-ing and ahh-ing and clicking of the shutter for me - I'll be indoors counting the takings!

Thru the lens...and the lens...

2008-11-04T18:47:00.002Z

In essence I'm a winter person. I prefer wearing more clothes than less, I enjoy wrapping up in coats and scarves and warm socks and boots. I can sit indoors all day watching tv or reading on a cold dark rainy Sunday without feeling guilty about not being outdoors 'making the most of the good weather'! But on the other hand........ leaving the house is harder in the morning and when I get home with the kids in the evening it's already getting dark and sometimes the days and weeks can slide by without a decent opportunity for a photograph.......even joining in with HS:MS:HS becomes more and more difficult and so far this week I've failed to muster up any inspiration for the words so far.

So, in desperation I've taken to experimenting instead. I picked up this idea on another blog recently and bored tonight I decided to give it a go....I've taken this through the eyepiece of my other camera but I only have two lenses which fit on both cameras (one is an old 35mm slr) and one of those is a wide angle lens so it's kind of weird - I think it looks like it's been taken with some sort of spy camera - not a very sophisticated one obviously!

Before I go and settle down for another evening of tv ..... quick note to self:

Next time you have a mad idea, like taking your 9yr old son to Toys R Us on a training day.....DON'T let him buy any shooting toys - particularly not in a pair!

Oh yes, my kitchen has become a combat zone and crossing it is a dangerous affair!

Structure ...... something I could do with applying to my days perhaps!

2008-10-31T15:34:00.001Z

Yes, I've even been too lazy for HS:MS:HS this week but here goes with a teeny tiny catch up - albeit a cheat with archive pics from our little trip to Paris in August.....

structure

passage

Far more pets than necessary in this house!

2008-10-31T14:46:00.000Z

In theory this week should have been a good week for blogging - no work, no school runs etc. But, I have been suffering from severe lazyitis - this is in addition to the housework kind that I suffer from permanently - and have been doing very very little of anything all week!

One thing I have been doing though has been agonising over our latest addition and whether or not to hibernate him this year. I've received loads of excellent advice from other more experienced Tort owners but it's pretty much all conflicting so in the end I still really had to make the decision myself. On balance I've decided I'm just not brave enough to do it this year though and that I will wait until next year when I know a bit more about him and can hopefully interpret his behaviour better and be sure that he is 100% healthy enough for a nice long sleep. So, Steven has built him a little home indoors for now and will be constructing a wonderful pen for him to move out to when the weather is warm enough (not sure he knows that yet!!).

I think he has a name! Decided to call him McQueen seeing as his favourite occupation seems to be trying to escape his pen........although the last couple of days he seems to have really settled down and doesn't do that so much, but hey-ho at least he has a name!

Another thing we found out - he's partial to the odd Pansy!

So, while I'm blathering on about new pets I may as well mention the fish too! At least I don't have to think of names for all of them too - it's hard enough just trying to count them and make sure they're all still there!

I should have taken a before picture because previous to Steven building our lovely new pond this part for the garden was just weeds and a manky old concrete path so it's hugely improved........

Happy Halloween! Mollie has a friend staying over tonight and so they and Fletcher will all be trick or treating tonight. I'm not really a fan of Halloween myself and would definitely be closing the curtains, turning out the lights and pretending to be out but for the fact that I feel it's only fair I should suffer as I'm inflicting my children on other people!! But, I will be taking photos of them all in their scary(?!) outfits so it won't be a completely wasted evening! I wonder what the Halloween equivalent of Bah Humbug is?

Name that Tune Tortoise

2008-10-24T18:24:00.003+01:00

Quick HS:MS:HS catch-up!

set

grain

apple/reflect (getting lazy!)

apple/moist (getting even lazier!)

Been busy - got a tortoise to look after dontchaknow! It's a whole new internet search/shopping experience! And he still doesn't have a name poor soul ......... so far in the running are:

Bert (cos he looks like my Grandad!)

Victor (as in Meldrew)

and

Moosh (as in get a move on!)

Tomorrow we are building him a new enclosure as it would seem he's related to Houdini and needs something a bit bigger than the temporary home we have for him at the moment, (that would be the royal 'we' .... I'll probably just be getting in the way and muttering 'perhaps you could..........insert something totally obvious that Steven has already thought of/planned for' and generally being a pain in the bum)!

Life began.......

2008-10-23T13:19:00.006+01:00

yesterday apparently!

One of the first sights to greet me in the morning was this.....just in case any of my neighbours hadn't worked out how old I am my Mum decided it was time they all knew!

And here, for the sake of prosperity is my 40th Birthday portrait.........

oops, not that one, that's my 40th Birthday present! This is my self-portrait.... yes, another one - two in one week, promise not to inflict any more on anybody for a long time!

which made me reflect back to one taken 38 yrs or so ago (my HS:MS:HS links get weaker and weaker!).....

.... and in case anybody's wondering - I'm the blonde one!

So, a tortoise! That was a completely unexpected and exciting surprise to say the least. He's a Hermanns Tortoise, nine yrs old and so far nameless - I've tried asking him but he's Slovenian so there's a language barrier to overcome yet!

Anyway, I had a lovely day, ate too much and drank too much brandy. And, when I asked Steven what he's going to tease me about now that my 40th has been and gone he said......'it's only 9yrs 364 days until you're 50' ..... charming!!

Reminder of Summer

2008-10-19T19:46:00.004+01:00

I haven't taken many photographs this week apart from those trying to fulfill the HS:MS:HS prompts, so for SOS today, this is one I took a couple of weeks ago when the sun was still shining and the air was warm.

The last couple of days have been bright and sunny but the temperature has dropped noticeably and there's a bite to the wind, the evenings are drawing in and soon sights like this will be distant memories for a while......

It's a Hard Life!

2008-10-17T16:14:00.005+01:00

Another hectic week - which loosely translates into "I had slightly more to do than usual" because generally I'm a right lazy cow! So, a couple of extensions to the school run due to clubs and things, Steven being away for a night, Vet visit and dog training class all adds up to hectic in my book.

The dog training was particularly stressful this week. Darcy has been taking Scullcap and Valerian for a couple of weeks but the trainer advised that when we ran out of tablets I try her without them for a few days to try and ascertain if they were actually helping her behaviour and mood at all. I think we can categorically say that they were having a positive affect because this week without them she was back to her nasty, barky, anxious ways. All in all, probably our worst session yet so I came straight home and ordered 1000 tablets for her - just hope they arrive before next week's session.

I have struggled too with the prompts this week, don't know why, just seem to be lacking in imagination ....... so here goes (another catch up I'm afraid!)

Dip

Stripes ......... this is a necklace that Steven bought me a couple of weeks ago on a trip to Switzerland - I'm not really a jewellery person but I love this because it's not too flashy and I can wear it everyday...

Hold.....I think somebody needs a pedicure!

and Baked ..... completely flummoxed by this one - I do not bake - but I do buy books!

and finally SPS ....... Moi aged 39 years and 361 days!

Don't Tell The HSE!

2008-10-13T18:09:00.005+01:00

HS:MS:HS prompt for today is autumnal

Last week at work one of the children had a sweet chestnut like this kicked at her in the playground and she had to have an operation to have a 5mm thorn removed from her eyeball - ouch! Actually what with Bonfire Night, Conkers, Halloween..... Autumn is a pretty dangerous time of year!

Another catch-up.....

2008-10-12T14:38:00.003+01:00

So much for my good intentions! I have been checking the prompts on the fab new HS:MS:HS but yet again have fallen behind with my posting, still better late than never I guess. First one I missed was sign ......

this is the sign on my front gate - it's a complete red herring though as my dogs, once past their initial barking, are more likely to lick anybody to death rather than do anything remotely savage!

next up was look ....

then yesterday there was a twist to the usual SPS..... this week it's PPS (Pet Portrait Saturday). I always feel a bit guilty that I have loads of pictures of Darcy and not so many of Coco but the simple truth is that Coco is pretty camera shy, all the coaxing in the world will usually only produce a very quick glance in the direction of the lens and most often I'm not quick enough to catch it ..........so, this is a rare shot of Coco...

and another one of Darcy..... she and I are still attending dog training and it's going pretty well, she does seem calmer and more relaxed although how much of that is down to the training and how much is due to the Skullcap & Valerian tablets and the Dog Appeasement Pheromone collar she's wearing on our trainer's advice is anyone's guess! Apparently she's over anxious and a bit hyper and the tablets and collar should help calm her nerves - perhaps I should be using them too!

And finally - my SOS

Welcoming a New Era

2008-10-08T18:30:00.004+01:00

Today with the launch of the new her space:my space:his space I really wanted to turn over a new leaf and start joining in in earnest - again - but I haven't had time to get the camera out and struggled to find an archive picture to fit the prompt.

So, this is as close as I can get........at the end of our aforementioned day out in the Purbecks we went to a pub where they also happen to breed pigs (and serve sausages!) and very friendly pigs they are too - keen for a belly rub they rush forward to say hello as soon as you approach their pen! Tenuous though the link might be - this is my welcome ...

Rare Day Out

2008-10-07T17:40:00.002+01:00

It doesn't seem to be very often that we have a proper family day out. So many times one or another of the children is doing something else or just doesn't want to come (families are not cool when you're 15!). So this was rare, a couple of weekends ago we all piled in the car together and headed towards the beautiful Purbecks - which are only a few miles from home and yet we rarely take advantage - for a day out with friends. On the way we got held up by Harley Davidson convoy (cue lots of whining from Steven .........can I have a Harley....please can I have a Harley.....why can't I have a Harley etc etc etc)

Once at Lulworth some total idiot (not me, I just did as I was told!) decided on the torturous walk across to Durdle Door... up the hill from the carpark.........

and back down the hill to the beach............knowing the whole time that we're going to have to do it all again to get back to the car - and realising how incredibly old and unfit I am!

and this is the landmark we were headed towards (see I have still been checking the hs:ms words even if I haven't got around to doing most of them!!) .........Durdle Door

Anyway, it was definitely the best day of the summer and although Mollie was the first to brave the water all the kids did eventually give in and get wet (except Tess of course!)

Fletcher couldn't quite hide his chattering teeth though

But we found a way to warm him up!

If you've ever been to Lulworth and lost a bucket or spade you might just spot it here!.......

Mollie didn't want to leave and has been asking ever since when we can next go....although I can't see her getting another chance to swim in the sea again this year.

Some HS:MS Catch-ups

2008-09-30T18:01:00.000+01:00

The thing is, I have been checking the prompt most days and have even managed to take photos a few times but when it came to blogging.....I don't know.......I just seem to have lost my mojo and have been catching up with tv on the Sky Planner and reading my book and watching the fish in our fabulous new pond or feeding the birds, or taking the dogs to the vet and training classes - just life getting in the way basically!

So, here are some I did earlier............

leaf

delicious

row

Top Dog

2008-09-14T16:26:00.004+01:00

Been a busy week here, nothing exciting, just busy....work, school, vets, hairdressers and the most dreaded thing of all - dog training class!

If I said I wasn't looking forward to taking Darcy to dog training that would be putting it in the mildest possible terms. I know I've mentioned before how unmanageable she becomes on her lead when she spots another dog.....barking, growling, pulling etc. So, the thought of taking her to an unfamiliar place with six unfamiliar dogs and people was probably the most stressful thing I've anticipated in a long time (yes, I lead a very sheltered life!). In fact, before we home left I was on the verge of changing my mind and fully expected to be back in the car within 5 minutes of the class starting.

Amazingly it turned out to be a very enjoyable experience, I've still to be convinced that she can be completely cured of her bad behaviour but in the class at least she was remarkably focused and unfazed by the other dogs. The instructors were brilliant and very understanding and made sure everybody was aware that they shouldn't let their dogs come racing up to her as her reaction was likely to be pretty nasty but she didn't bark and growl constantly as I'd expected her too anyway. And, being the eldest there she was pretty much top of the class as far as sit, down etc goes!

I couldn't resist making her my SOS this week - Star Of Show!

Having failed to blog all week, the HS:MS prompts (some of them) are condensed into just the one photo!

My sweet purple passion (& SPS).....

Sad, but true, there is something just so sexy about Prince and, if I hadn't already thought so before, then seeing him at the O2 last would have been enough to convince me.....He was absolutely fantastic!!!!

Really looking forward to this week, on Friday our good friends Keith and Kim are getting married and it's a great opportunity to meet up with some other friends of ours that we haven't seen for a while as well which will be great.

Notice I haven't mentioned the weather yet for a change? I was talking about this with my hairdresser on Friday and we decided that the older you are the more obsessed with talking about the weather you get - so you'll get no more weather reports from me!

Show-Off-Sunday

2008-09-07T17:15:00.002+01:00

Haven't taken many photos this week so my SOS is another one from last weekend's air show - one of those amazing wing-walkers...

Portrait Time ....... SPS

2008-09-06T15:55:00.003+01:00

It's that day of the week again ....... HS:MS Portrait Saturday (not self for me today!).

So, a rare picture of Tessa, even rarer because she's smiling although notice I didn't manage to get her to drag her eyes away from her laptop....She's playing Spore which is apparently 'amazing'!

Not looking good for the festival....been feeling rough for a couple of days (it's a girl thing!) but was sure I would be feeling better by this morning/this afternoon/this evening but I just don't yet. So, doesn't look like we're going to make it and I'm really disappointed, particularly as the whole thing has been organised by my old school friend Tony in honour of his 40th Birthday. And, added to that, I'm in trouble with Mollie because I stopped her from going swimming with her friend today because I thought we would be going to the festival and now it looks like she stayed home for no reason.....oh well, I'm used to being in the doghouse!

PhotoHunt - Strings

2008-09-06T07:00:00.001+01:00

Celebrating my 100th post by actually managing to complete a PhotoHunt challenge this week!

Going to a music festival today so please, please let it stop raining now!!!

Pointing out why dogs are not always so great!

2008-09-05T14:14:00.006+01:00

For those of you who saw Darcy in yesterday's post and thought 'aaahhh....cute dog' - a reality check.....

Shortly after I took that photo I prepared a casserole for the oven before leaving to do the school run. By the time I came home Darcy was looking kind of guilty and I knew she'd been up to something while I was out and it wasn't long before I found the incriminating evidence........remains of the cardboard box previously containing about 8 vegetable stock cubes. Said cubes and foil wrappers were all missing without trace. Shortly afterwards Darcy emptied her water bowl twice in quick succession before promptly expelling cubes, foil and about a gallon of water onto the floor.........Really cute!!

Today's HS:MS challenge is point ......

I knew that whatever I decided to do for this it was definitely going to have to be an indoor photo because the great British weather continues.....

Making an Entrance....

2008-09-04T14:32:00.003+01:00

for the HS:MS prompt today (enter) is Darcy! (No arty reason for the post-editing - just trying to disguise dirty floor/door/walls!!)

HS:MS - Hedge

2008-09-03T14:43:00.004+01:00

Just HS:MSing for the mo.......today's word is hedge..... mine is Copper Beech!

Mollie started High School today and like the bad mother I am I forgot to take her photo before we left this morning ........might be back later with an end of first day at new school photo!

* edited

Moody Moo very reluctantly stood still for a millisecond so I could take this snap....(can't you just read her mind!)

Romantic......Shmantic

2008-09-02T08:20:00.008+01:00

Decided not to go to work today after all!! I was going to go in a day early and get started on the mountain of work that will have piled up during the summer holidays.........(due to the fact that, no matter how many times they are reminded, teachers are incapable of ordering anything before the last week of term which means all the invoices land on my desk at once on the 1st September.....grrrr).......but, Tessa is still off and being the totally disorganised mother that I am I still haven't got her any new school trousers so work can wait another day.

So, I thought I'd get a head-start on today's HS:MS challenge but looking at the word I'm completely flummoxed......romantic.....

On consideration I realise that I don't really know what this word means. Romance seems to me a sort of fantasy... I'm really not sure I'm a believer in big 'romantic' gestures ... I think I'm too cynical to be a romantic! I believe in love, but I don't need hearts and flowers ....... (a new lens for my camera on the other hand!!). Romance in our house I guess is holding hands whilst watching tv, always getting the other one's jokes and being allowed to waft the bed covers after a good curry!!

Therefore, in the spirit of symbolic romanticism ....

This is a wall decoration made from glass and volcanic rock that we bought on a fantastic day trip to Iceland a few years ago. It's a beautiful reminder of a great day the two of us shared..........(urgh! That sounds really romantic!!!)

Yesterday my sister, Lisa, brought her puppy, Betty, over - she's grown so much, but is still incredibly cute.....

Which reminds me - new season Ugly Betty starts on Friday....can't wait!!

Back to School......already?!

2008-09-01T11:10:00.002+01:00

I cannot believe it's the last day of the holiday already! This week we all go back to school, starting with Fletch tomorrow, and I'm officially due back at work on Wednesday. Six weeks have passed so quickly!

So, making the most of being able to check the HS:MS challenge before the afternoon today........gate.......

Bournemouth Air Festival 2008

2008-08-31T14:17:00.010+01:00

Over the past four days Bournemouth has held it's inaugural Air Festival and it's been such a success I imagine it's the first of many. Usually in the summer there's a display by the Red Arrows on one Friday lunchtime but this year they've performed three times along with dozens of other planes, helicopters and parachutists.

On Friday evening I was persuaded by my friend Kim to go and see the hot air balloons, amongst other things, in Bournemouth Gardens.....

we had a lovely time, the atmosphere was great, so many people and such a beautiful warm, still evening. Suspended from this balloon was a dancer on a trapeze performing to music (not sure if you can make out her white shape under the balloon), the balloon kept changing colour too....green, orange, pink.......

On the beach amongst the people still enjoying the warmth of the evening (and even some still swimming) we caught sight of this lad literally playing with fire! ..... (my SOS for this week)

Yesterday we went back to Bournemouth to see the air displays, I don't think I've ever seen so many people in the town on one day. The weather was fantastic so doubtless the beach would have been busy anyway, but even so I don't think I've ever seen it this packed out........

At the risk of sounding hugely contrary, the sun really didn't make it easy to take photographs in the sky! I know, I've been complaining that we have no sun and then as soon as we get some I'm not happy about it!! But I did try, so....

The Red Arrows

The RAF Falcons

The incredibly brave Team Guinot Wingwalk

And in the gardens on our way home we spotted a display of beautiful birds of prey.... (my SPS for yesterday!)

Next weekend I'll be attending a completely different type of festival .. a music one .. lets hope the sun comes out again for that one (I promise not to complain if it does!!).

'Y' Can't Kids Do Handstands Anymore?

2008-08-29T17:51:00.003+01:00

Today's HS:MS challenge led to a mini revelation! Another letter .... Y .... so I figured the kids could help me out, but was shocked to discover that my kids have no idea or capability for doing handstands! When I was their age I think I knew better what the playground looked like upside down than the right way up!! We had a particular wall at school and when I wasn't banging my head against it so that I could get a bump and go to first aid for some cotton wool and witch hazel (I did so love the smell of witch hazel!) I was invariably upside down with my feet against it. So anyway, in order to take these photo's Moo and Fletch literally had to be propped against the wall and I had to be pretty quick on the shutter because they couldn't stay up for more than a few seconds!

I wonder if it's the result of too much of this sort of 'family time'?......

Is it bad parenting or can I blame the school for not making it clear what walls are really for?

I did discover something else though - handstands aren't nearly as easy as I remember them to be.....I have pictures to prove it but certainly won't be sharing those!!

'I' Spy with my little 'i' ......

2008-08-28T11:45:00.004+01:00

Short post for now..... HS:MS.... i

'E' By Gum...It's (Still) Reet Cold Down South

2008-08-27T15:04:00.003+01:00

It's taken me hours to find a picture for today's HS:MS challenge.....E.........not that I've just been looking for e's all day, I have been cleaning too and it's back to the draining board for this one -

Mollie had her friends Sam and Archie over yesterday and I couldn't resist getting a funny picture of the three of them together! They get along so great together, I just hope the friendship survives once they start secondary school next week.........secondary school, already!

And, I know I'm becoming slightly obsessive now, but, still no sun!!!

Oh My Word! Another letter challenge...

2008-08-26T15:24:00.002+01:00

Today's HS:MS prompt - O

Another quiet and lazy day in the sheap household. No news to impart, no gossip to reveal, no beautiful sunny pictures either....surprise, surprise!

Whatever the Weather

2008-08-25T16:56:00.004+01:00

HS:MS prompt for today - W - we have two VW cars so no problem finding W's in my space.......

got a bit carried away!

The good old British weather hasn't improved yet, we've got a faint promise of some sunshine this week but in the meantime we can still enjoy the daily visit from the ice-cream van to keep our spirits up!

This morning Mum found this young Starling in her garden he was acting a bit listless and didn't have any energy to fly so she took him inside to recover ...

and quickly discovered the reason for his ill health...

urghh - the biggest tick I've ever seen. Hopefully the Starling will recover quite quickly now that he's been relieved of his uninvited passenger - unlike the tick who got washed down into the waste disposal!

If Carlsberg bred dogs..........

2008-08-24T13:57:00.005+01:00

After babbling on about Darcy yesterday I felt it only fair to let Coco (best dog in the world) share some of the limelight today! I caught her enjoying her favourite pastime this morning - sun bathing - unfortunately over the course of our typical British summer this isn't something she gets to indulge in very often. At 11yrs she really is an old lady now and it shows in her grey whiskers and the stiffness in her joints after anything but the gentlest of exercise but her nature hasn't changed, she's always been the most quiet, patient, well mannered canine you could ever hope to meet.

So there she is.......my SOS subject for today :)

SPS with friends...

2008-08-23T21:43:00.007+01:00

Oh dear, I'm in trouble again! I've spent all day today fiddling around with the camera, drinking tea and gossiping with my friend and my mum and just generally being a right lazy mare!! Steven kept giving me (and the squalor surrounding me) disapproving looks but I don't think he really expected a reaction - I think after 20 years together he knows me quite well. As Scarlett O'Hara would say........I'll think about it tomorrow!

Yesterday my sister went along to book her puppy into training classes and I went with her to talk about possible one-to-one training for Darcy....lovely sweet, docile, lovable Darcy (indoors).....

.......naughty, uncontrollable, barking, aggressive Darcy (outdoors on her lead). I know that I've failed her, far too little socialisation when she was younger and the poor assumption that because Coco (best dog in the world) has always been a dream to walk - without any outside training - Darcy would be just as good.

Anyway, the trainer didn't think one-to-one training is what she needs since socialisation is probably the main problem so I have to go to novice training classes.........ewww......so not looking forward to that! I just know she's going to show me up and misbehave outrageously, particularly as there are bound to be puppies there and she really doesn't seem to like puppies at all - it's taken her weeks to accept my sister's dog Betty . To make matters worse, when she gets nervous or too excited she wets herself - must remember to take lots of kitchen roll with me. So, a few weeks reprieve and classes start on 11th Sept - no doubt I'll be reporting on her ~~lack of~~ progress (must think positively). I've paid for it now so there's no backing out!

Today I decided to bite the bullet and go for the proper SPS since I haven't done one in a while...

and then of course my oldest (though still slightly younger than me!) friend Karen turned up while the camera was all set up so I somehow managed to persuade her to get in front of the lens for a rare photo together...

So two (or three I guess) for the price of one today, I figure I'll be able to put it off again for a couple of months at least now!

B is for Bubbles

2008-08-22T14:55:00.002+01:00

HS:MS prompt - B

I'm sooo tired today! I'm obviously not built for travel because even those two little days away have worn me out completely. Luckily for me Steven is not such a wimp and has taken Moo and Fletch swimming so I have a nice quite house to myself at the moment and nobody to lecture me about how being lazy makes you feel more tired (Steven's theory)! Tessa is here but she really doesn't count as company - she's far too engrossed in World of Warcraft and MSN to be sociable in the real world.....yes Tessa, that's you I'm talking about!

Anyway, so totally lacking in inspiration at the moment that I'm going to start hunting early now for a wrinkly subject for tomorrow's Photohunt.....perhaps a mirror might be a good place to start!

The Truth About Paris (according to Sheap!)

2008-08-21T13:51:00.010+01:00

Q (HS:MS prompt for today) - I know there probably should be a plant in this pot but the Sparrows do seem to love drinking out of it so I haven't bothered.

So, I've been to Paris and quite honestly the French are welcome to it! No, we did have a good time, I can't deny that, but not necessarily because of where we were....it was lovely just to have a little time together on our own, no house, no children (despite loving them and missing them loads, of course), no dogs, no tv!

As usual, the rain followed me and the weather wasn't great but it was warm so that was ok.

I suppose I had bought into the whole Paris fantasy of it being the most romantic, beautiful city in the world....but I suspect this is a slightly exaggerated nostalgic view of what the city perhaps once was. The Paris I saw was pretty in places, dirty in most, and somehow slightly tacky.......am I just way too picky or is it that what was lacking was the sense of national pride I feel when I visit ~~similar~~ superior monuments in London!

Can you imagine anybody sticking big gold stars on Big Ben?!

I obviously left my rose-tinted spectacles at home....

We walked to Le Louvre - it's shut on Tuesdays but I only really wanted to see the outside anyway. The gardens leading up to it are beautiful and, I should imagine, a great place to spend a day just enjoying the sunshine and people watching.

This bloke liked it so much he didn't even want to take a toilet break!

The highlight (literally) for me was our trip up the Montparnasse Tower...56 floors in a very fast lift and then 3 more on foot and the view was fantastic -

And of course even I couldn't find fault with the food.....or wine..... at the lovely little cafe we found in the shadow of the Notre-Dame - best meal I've had in a very long time.

Couldn't help notice that the Notre-Dame was lacking something.........one or two gargoyles!......

But despite my best efforts to berate their capital city the French can surely not be criticized for their care in the community scheme.....what a wonderful idea to provide so many warm air vents above Le Metro for the benefit of those less prosperous citizens amongst them...

S is for Sarah's going to Paris tomorrow!

2008-08-18T18:06:00.005+01:00

Lucky for us HS:MSers Suzy B is holding the fort while Kirsty and Anita are away. So today we have S ....

Get it?! No chance of taking photos outdoors today, its more like winter than summer...blowing a gale and raining - roll on Spring!

Did I mention that I'm going to Paris tomorrow????

Apparently the red circle is where our hotel is so if anybody has any fantastic tips on what to do .. or not do ... in Paris for 28hrs it would be much appreciated. We leave at 6.45 tomorrow morning and I'm still struggling to put a wardrobe together - I know - How hard can it be?! But so far the weather forecast has changed about 4 times today, first it was sunny, then raining, now it's saying windy... so many decisions! Steven thinks I'm puddled and of course he's right, we are there for such a short time, nobody is going to be looking at me and, for the most part, I'll just look like a body attached to a camera so who cares really! I'm very excited though!

So no more blogging from me until Thursday..... unless I decide to take my laptop - now there's another decision!!

Anybody looking for a kitchen decorator?

2008-08-17T13:56:00.012+01:00

We have the weirdest weather at the moment. I get up in the morning and walk the dogs and it's glorious....warm sunshine, clear blue skies... you would think we were all set for a perfect summer day. But, by lunchtime it's cloudy and cold and/or raining - miserable. I'm watching the forecast like a hawk at the moment because I'll be in Paris from Tuesday afternoon until Wednesday evening and I'm desperately hoping for good weather (I have an extremely poor track record as far as holiday weather goes) and juggling a camera and an umbrella doesn't appeal to me much.

Anyhow, the Chidlers have been busy, busy, busy this week. I decided to invest in some window paints to entice them away from the PS3, Wii, PSP, DS, DVD etc etc and they have taken to it with gusto. Unfortunately quantity rather than quality seem to be the order of the day and as you can see the view into the conservatory/utility room/bird room/dog-feeding room etc is rapidly disappearing (actually, on second thoughts that's probably not such a bad thing!).

This morning Mollie was working on another new masterpiece but had a problem with the tube of blue paint which seemed to be blocked. Hand over to Mum. Mums know how to solve this sort of problem in a sensible, responsible kind of manner don't they?

oops.....

obviously not!! Steven has a name for my particular brand of stupidity but I'm not sure it should be repeated in polite company. The good news is that once it's dry all the paint should just peel off quite easily!

And for my SOS today - Mollie...she's vegging out at the moment watching re-runs of the Vicar of Dibley, moving her eyes was about all the energy she could muster up!

HS:MS/PhotoHunt Catch-up

2008-08-16T19:30:00.005+01:00

Today's SPS is doubling up for my PhotoHunt photo this week Colourful .. not one I took today though, I took this a few weeks ago when Mollie finished school - can you believe we had to buy her a new shirt so that her friends could sign it on the last day because apparently the polo shirts that she usually wore aren't any good for writing on. How does she know that Polo shirts are no good for writing on?!

Whoosh.....and there goes another week! I'll be back at work before I know whats hit me. Monday was Nan's funeral - the days leading up to it dragged by but since then the time has gone by so fast and it seems like a lifetime ago already.

Anyway, catching up with Her Space:My Space.....not all the words from this week, there were a couple that had me stumped but here goes:

bracelet

Two words - chew and leaves combined - couldn't get outside with the camera due to our fabulous summer weather (not) but here is the result of placing a Yukka plant too close to a budgie cage!

and triangle

When did we all get to be so scruffy?!

2008-08-08T11:49:00.005+01:00

Last Saturday I posted about my Nan, sadly she passed away that afternoon. She was so tired of living so in a way it's a blessing but inevitably old memories of good times together come flooding back making us feel nostalgic and sad. I've spent almost all week working on the Order of Service for her funeral. I wanted to include lots of pictures from the past as she had always been particularly proud of her looks and never missed an opportunity to fish for a compliment!

This is her in about 1940, she would be around 20 yrs old.

What strikes me, looking at all the photos, is how immaculately turned out everybody looks. Money was tight, war was raging and yet all the ladies have their hair coiffured and the men look dapper in their three piece suits - even on the beach! And apart from that, everybody seems so happy - I guess the war made them more determined than ever to enjoy themselves whilst they still could. Anyway, more to come I'm sure, there are some fab pictures in that box!

So, I've missed a few HS:MS prompts lately - here's a quick catch-up of some of them:

hold

insect - I think this is a hornet. We've recently lopped our eucalyptus tree and Fletcher (aka little vandal) peeled the bark from the stump and the sap has attracted a whole colony of ants along with dozens of wasps and these monsters:

rust

Photohunters: Cloud

2008-08-02T10:08:00.002+01:00

Took this from my garden yesterday morning - umbrella or sunhat .... you decide!

Nan

2008-08-02T09:15:00.001+01:00

Saturday's on Her Space:My Space are SPS: Either a picture of you or someone else. Show us some people!

Today I'm posting a photo of my Nan, Maude, here's why.......

On Monday evening my Nan had a fall. We're not sure how, she was alone in her room at the time, so nobody saw it happen. She has broken her hip and we've now been told that despite urgently needing an operation to repair it they are unable to go ahead because she has developed pneumonia. The difference in how she looks now since Monday is astounding but completely incomparable to this photo of her taken less than a month ago just a couple of weeks before her 88th birthday.

At the beginning of last year Nan fell and broke a bone in her heel. Before that she had been independent and active - cleaning, cooking etc for herself and regularly taking the bus or taxi into town to meet friends and shop. After a long, long recovery period she came home but at the expense of her independence and freedom, a fact which has made her very unhappy. Looking at her now I can see no hope of her recovering sufficiently to return home again. If she was unhappy before in the comfort of her own home with her family around her I dread to think how she would feel if she had to live out the rest of her days in a nursing home. So, we can only hope for a miracle ... or, failing that, a reprieve from too much suffering, that is to say - a swift departure from this earth.... surely to wish for anything else in between would only be selfish.

I'm not seeking sympathy ... I feel lucky to still have a grandparent alive at my age and my children have had some lovely times with her over the past few years. We should all be so lucky!

Not a Knot!

2008-08-01T10:47:00.004+01:00

Today's HS:MS prompt is knot - mine seems to be missing!

HS:MS.......trying again!

2008-07-31T15:13:00.005+01:00

Here I go again, trying to catch-up with HS:MS, missed too many but here are the last couple of days.....

pour

and sniff .... or is that hypnotised?!

We are the Champions!

2008-07-30T09:56:00.003+01:00

Every Friday during the summer on Poole Quay is car night. Each week is a different theme and last Friday was Beetle & Kombi night....

We've been down for the last couple of years with our 1970 Beetle but this year was the busiest yet and there were some fantastic cars and campers there......which made it all the more astounding when our little bug won!

I can't help thinking that Mollie's fab job of polishing the engine had a bit of influence in the judge's decision.

Of course I had to have a drink to celebrate - perhaps I had one too many judging by the photos from the journey home!

Lazy Days of Summer

2008-07-23T18:31:00.002+01:00

Where do the days go? Time flies!

That's all the cliches I can muster up at the moment. Why is it that if I don't blog I feel the need to apologise and explain, whereas if the housework isn't done I just simply say I've been too busy - or just bollocks to it!

Anyway, school is out!!! Six glorious weeks of nothingdom stretch before me - well almost nothing anyway, first off we have a visit to the in-laws in Yorkshire to ~~endure~~ enjoy. Then later on in the month - Paris! Let's just hope this fantastic weather keeps up - I feel so decadent at the moment sitting at the garden table under the parasol typing this.....

Possibly the best workstation in the world?!

I've been doing a lousy job of keeping up with HS:MS as usual, here are a couple that I did manage to photograph even though I failed to blog them on the days:

red

and row

I'm sure I bought a car off the bloke with the moustache once!

And this is Betty....

my sister's new puppy. Unfortunately by the time I got round there with my camera she was completely cream-crackered but she really is a total menace and not nearly so sweet as she looks! She's a ~~Petit~~ (sorry Lisa!) Grand Bassett Griffon Vendeen by the way.

Before I sign off until later - kids taxi duty beckoning - I want to mention my favourite other site to HS:MS. The Slide Guy is one of my 'next blog' session finds that I now look forward to visiting every day - check it out and you'll see why!

Sports to Music

2008-07-10T22:00:00.000+01:00

Sports Day - please bring an umbrella! That was the message given out by the school who decided to go ahead with the events despite the lousy forecast. Actually, it wasn't that bad, we didn't actually get rained on and we even had the odd few seconds of sunshine. Mollie takes sport very seriously - as you can see from the determination in her face during the marathon (twice round the school field!)....

Fletcher tried hard too ...

And for a while it even looked as if their house team would win the day ...

Although ultimately they lost ...

In the evening we were back up at the school, this time for a music concert. The joys of watching other people's children tunelessly strumming guitars after only 10 lessons and murdering perfectly good songs on recorders (does anybody in the world other than primary school children play the recorder?) cannot really be described in words. The line from Bye By Love (Beatles) "I think I'm going to die" has never before seemed so appropriate than when heard played by a 9 yr old on a Yamaha at a speed more appropriate to a funeral march!

We were there to support Mollie who was performing, amongst other things, a solo on her violin. Before we even got there she was in a terrible mood because she wanted to play Fiddletime but her teacher insisted she play The Bonnet Song. She stomped onto the stage with a face like thunder, scowled at her music teacher and then played .......... out of tune - ouch! Hopefully her poor performance was down to her temper rather than ability otherwise I can't see much hope of her passing her exam with that same piece of music next week - Good Luck Mollie!

In all the evening was lacking something, be it either practice, talent or enthusiasm, but somehow was still vaguely enjoyable just from an entertainment point of view - sometimes things are so bad they're good! - and admittedly there were one or two very good performances.

Birthday Boy

2008-07-06T14:09:00.001+01:00

Fletcher (and Steven's) Birthday. I think they both enjoyed it, got lots of cards and nice prezzies and of course we couldn't resist the relighting candles again.....little things and all that!

if you think the cake looks a bit odd that's probably because Fletcher decorated it himself - not going to be a designer or master baker obviously!

My Fellas

2008-07-05T18:53:00.005+01:00

Saturdays at HS:MS are sps - we're encouraged to share a piccie of ourselves or somebody else.

These are my boys, Steven and Fletcher. This will be the last photo of them at the ages of 37 and 8 yrs respectively because tomorrow is their Birthday. Last year we moved house on their birthday so they both kind of missed out a bit, hopefully tomorrow we'll make up for that...although judging by the weather today it doesn't look like we'll be having the celebratory bbq we'd hoped for!

'Next Blog'

2008-07-04T13:55:00.005+01:00

Another busy week and now we're almost there - only two weeks to go until the holidays!!

Not sure where the days have gone, I have tried to keep up with taking photos for the HS:MS prompts but somehow didn't get as far as posting any of them so here's my big catch-up.....

Friday - rest - one thing I can truly say I'm pretty good at .....

Thursday - upside-down -

Wednesday - chain -

Tuesday - dig -

Only a partial success in blogging this week. My trouble is that I'm addicted to 'Next Blog' ... is it just me? I can lose hours just skipping through blogs, nosing through other people's lives and pictures. I've always been more of an observer than a participant, always prefer listening to talking. So, there you go, if I don't post for a few days it's probably because I'm lost in Blogworld!

Welcome Home Moo

2008-06-30T18:52:00.009+01:00

I would have taken and posted a photo of Mollie to welcome her home but they've all been waiting to watch Dr Who since Saturday night and there was no way they would wait a second longer! Anyway, 'The Boss' (as my Dad calls her) is back safe and sound and has really enjoyed her weekend. I now have a whole suitcase more washing to add to my already overflowing basket - bliss!

Today's HS:MS prompt is Twist ........

And today the new home for the Budgies arrived so now they and the Canary have matching abodes.........

they were enjoying a bit of fresh air this afternoon....I hope the Sparrows and Starlings aren't too envious of their swanky new pads!

Another Weekend Over Already...

2008-06-29T20:46:00.004+01:00

It can't be Sunday night already surely?! Didn't post yesterday because we were pretty busy all day - Fletcher went to the Cinema to see Prince Caspian with his Friday afternoon club, so, while he was doing that, Tess, Steven and I had a game of bowling and lunch at TGI Friday. I really am completely rubbish at bowling. Steven was pretty rubbish too but even so his score was still more than both mine and Tessa's combined!!

I wish I'd had my camera with me because when Fletcher, who had a brilliant time watching the film, found out we'd been bowling without him he had the biggest tantrum ........ such a spoilt little boy!

Anyway, here he is, peeping through the window at me for my SPS this week.....

And here he is again today...............going............

............going.............

.........Gone!

I must really like my new car because today I washed it! Washing cars is not something I usually volunteer for and usually as soon as I start I remember why I don't do it! Today was no exception, even though it's only a teeny tiny little car, cleaning it required far more effort than I think it deserves so next time it'll definitely be a drive through car wash ............. and why did I buy a black car anyway? It'll be looking filthy already by the time I've got to the end of the road in the morning!

TFI Friday!

2008-06-27T19:38:00.007+01:00

A couple of days HS:MS I missed (again!). Yesterday was Support .... lame attempt here to make a pylon look pretty - there's an oxymoron for you - pretty pylon!

Today's HS:MS word is Can - is this a can or is it a tin of beans? Is there a difference?!

Mollie is away this weekend adventuring in the wilds of North Devon on a school trip - I should imagine by now she'll have found the Spongebob Squarepants pj's that I hid in her suitcase. She was really disappointed that we didn't get to the shops this week to buy some particularly after the efforts she made to get me to the shops ....

I only wish I could be there to see her face when she finds them! The house is really quiet without her - especially since she's spent the past week practicing for her recorder exam!

So, I'm on the big countdown to the holidays now - only three weeks to go and then six weeks off work - yippee! Lots to do before then though ... Sports Day, Assemblies etc etc - the time is going to whizz by and tonight Steven was hinting at a night in Paris in the holidays - how excited am I?!

Lions and Tigers and Bears - Oh My!

2008-06-25T17:36:00.004+01:00

Education is the HS:MS prompt for today.

Last night's performance of The Wizard of Oz was extremely entertaining, although, for a little while it looked like we wouldn't even get to watch it. I managed to lose our tickets and from the reaction of the lady on the door you'd have thought we were trying to gatecrash a Rolling Stones gig at the very least - she eventually agreed to let us in to see if we could find a spare couple of seats - but the biggest decision was which two of the dozen or more empty seats would give us the best view!

There were two or three great performances, particularly Tin-Man, Lion and the Wicked Witch of the West and the rest weren't half bad. There were a couple of rather bizarre moments .... Dorothy returned to Kansas from Oz accompanied by several dancers with streamers performing to Coming to America by Neil Diamond(?!) and I'm not sure that I recall seeing a talking snake with an extremely thick Yorkshire accent telling jokes in the Judy Garland version.

Luckily we were quite near to the back so we couldn't hear Fletcher's singing but we could see him jumping up and down all through the songs and from the looks of it he wasn't getting too many of the words right anyway! Oh well, it would seem that I'm not destined to be a showbiz Mum!

Somewhere Over The Rainbow......Siblings Can Spend More Than Five Minutes Together Without Arguing (or so I like to think)

2008-06-24T17:15:00.009+01:00

Ripe .........

Today I decided I would start afresh with HS:MS and see how I go, if I manage a few days I might start posting on the site again ....... of course I thought I was doing Monday's word - I only just realised it's Tuesday already - honestly, where does the time go?

So, Tessa is home, it's good to have her back - stroppy, miserable, self-loathing, paranoid teenager that she is! Mollie and Fletcher were so excited to have her home and insisted on going along with me to pick her up. However, Tessa wasn't quite so excited to have a skinny, toothy, shouting 8 year old boy clinging to her the minute she stepped off the bus. Apparently, that's just not cool. So, no sooner had she arrived than the arguments began - oh, the joy!

Tonight we have a treat and a half in store for us. The dance and drama clubs at the school are putting on a production of The Wizard of Oz and have somehow roped all of Year 4 into singing for them. Fletcher, who can sing about as well as a strangled cat is in Year 4 so we feel duty-bound to go along and show our support. And from what I understand we have great delights to ~~endure~~ enjoy such as Follow the Yellow Brick Road sung to the tune of Rock Around the Clock...........fantastic!!!!

If I survive I'll write a review tomorrow.

Portrait Collage

2008-06-22T19:14:00.000+01:00

I'm bored today...........can you tell?!

Portrait Practice on Sunday

2008-06-22T18:32:00.009+01:00

Today I decided to try and do something that always eludes me - take a decent portrait. My efforts so far.......

Think I need some more practice!

Meanwhile, here's another rose in the garden........

Mollie and I were on our own for most of the day. Steven took Fletcher to the Summer Show at work, I think Mollie wished she'd gone along too when Fletcher came home and told us all about his ride in the helicopter.......actually I almost wish I'd gone too just to see how excited he was! Anyway, Steven did take some photos with his phone so I'll post them sometime later.

Do Budgies Taste Like Chicken?

2008-06-21T12:41:00.005+01:00

I'm seriously considering finding out the answer to that question for myself at the moment!

My goodness, when will I ever learn to listen to myself? Somehow deep down I knew it would be a bad idea to let Tessa get that budgie and an even worse idea to give in to my fear that the other two would revolt if they didn't get one each too (they are pretty revolting most of the time so I could surely have lived with that anyway).

Now the whole budgie situation has completely spiralled out of control. I was already beginning to get more and more depressed by the increased noise and mess. From about 5.30 in the morning they chirrup and shout and warble away until our ears are bleeding and then during the day there's no chance of watching tv or listening to music or even holding a quiet conversation without a running commentary from them. The only upside to them is that the kids enjoy them, they get them out and play with them ... but even this has a downside because they let them poop all over everything and anything and never think to clear up after them.

So, as if that wasn't bad enough, yesterday I came home to a blood-bath. It seems that the budgies have taken a sudden violent dislike to the canary and it looks like they tried to chew his foot off while we were out which means he's now in a cat basket and I'm surfing the net trying to find a suitable cage for him on his own.

At the moment they are out in the conservatory in isolation with the door shut and I think the only solution will be to rearrange things out there to make that their permanent home because it's just not working having them inside the house. Can't wait to break this news to Steven when he gets home ........ told you sos ringing in my ears won't be much of an improvement on budgie chatter!

No.1 Chidler, Tessa, is away this weekend. She's gone to Belgium on a history visit with school and won't be home until Monday evening. I've been pretty anxious the last few days about her going, it's the first time she's been away overnight since she was diagnosed Diabetic, but she's been texting me and it sounds like she's having a great time and the kids she's with are really great so I'm not so worried now. And, despite the fact that when she's here we mostly seem to rub one another up the wrong way and argue, I miss her like mad and it doesn't seem right here without her lovely (sulky) face!!! Mollie is missing her badly too and tonight stuck a photo of her to one of the dining chairs when we were having tea - bless!

No photos, my camera has been gathering dust for the past couple of weeks and I certainly won't be getting it out much in this dreary wet weather we're having at the moment.

Lazy B**gger

2008-06-10T17:50:00.008+01:00

I've been such a lazy blogger! Actually, in truth, I've been a pretty lazy everything! I just don't know where the time goes anymore.

So, I have been watching HS:MS but haven't done very well with keeping up with it - here's the ones I did manage to do:

creep

bloom

trapped

On Friday DVLA held an auction and Steven finally got the chance to bid on a number plate he's been waiting for over 10 years to buy. He registered to bid on the phone and it was quite exciting (and scary!). He did win the bidding, although he had to go a bit higher than expected, and he's already ordered his new plates for the car:

Cool!

And then, not to be outdone, I bought a car! It's a cute little Peugeot 107 - very tiny, great fun, not very fast, but hugely economical which is a good thing since I'm fast becoming a full-on taxi service to the kids. Only thing wrong with it is the colour - it's black, looks very nice but gets dirty within minutes of washing it - not that I'm likely to be washing it!

The Birds

2008-05-31T20:48:00.000+01:00

Every now and then either I have a stupid idea or somebody else does and I go along with it. This week Tessa decided she wanted to buy a Budgie - didn't seem like such a bad idea, we already have a canary in a big big cage so one more didn't seem to matter. BUT, I was concerned that the other kids might be a bit put out so I got another one that they could share..........that didn't work - I forgot how bad they are at sharing! So, now we have three budgies, all of whom are hand tame although I think its going to take some work to get them to stay that way especially as they are living as a flock now.

I'm not quite sure how the canary feels about sharing his home with three noisy, domineering budgies but he doesn't seem too upset yet.

So, a bit of a cop-out for HS:MS today but the darker blue budgie really is named patch because he has a big white patch on the back of his head.

HS:MS Catch-up

2008-05-30T18:40:00.004+01:00

Not in the right order but here goes!

(Adorable) Freckles

this is Smartie, my friend's new puppy, he's just gorgeous and scrummy and smells wonderful (I just love puppy breath!)

Another word I missed was Flotsam - this is whats floating in the birdbath at the moment...

And yet another word ... Flora ... got a bit carried away with this one and couldn't decide which I liked best.

Fun with Bubbles

2008-05-26T15:19:00.001+01:00

What happens if you combine one of these.....................

with one of these.....................

A CRAZY DOG MOMENT!!!

A Boy's Best Friend

2008-05-24T21:01:00.005+01:00

This week I've been bribing Fletcher to walk the dogs with me by taking money for sweets en-route! Actually he's quite willing really, he does love Coco and unlike Darcy she is a pleasure to walk.

Today's word on HS:MS is Goofy and I must admit I'm quite tempted to start joining in again with these pictures! I'm assuming hoping) that in time Fletcher's face will catch up with his teeth eventually!!

Birthday Girl

2008-05-18T20:51:00.006+01:00

Tessa turned 15 on Monday - how scary! Here she is on her Birthday, rarely captured on camera......

We had a BBQ with no rain but plenty of midges so that we were thigh-slapping like a crowd of Austrians at a beer festival and didn't stay outside for too long. Tessa got loads of dosh, clothes etc - usual 15yr old girl stuff - and actually smiled quite a lot in a very un-15yr old girl-ish sort of fashion ....... it didn't last longer than a day though!

The warmer weather has brought plenty of hot-tub usage. Fletcher will probably be growing fins soon the amount of time he's spent in there. They can't just be content with sitting quietly enjoying the warm water and bubbles - they have to act like complete hooligans, shouting and screeching so I'm just relieved we decided to position it on the side of the house furthest away from any neighbours. They have started playing with a plastic box in the tub - not sure what this game is...

but this one is some sort of box-surfing I think!

I had a go at using my spotting scope again this week but I'm having difficulty getting the hang of it - certainly harder than just using a big lens but I did get this shot of a Great Tit..

So, another week closer to the summer holidays - wishing my life away as usual.

Bye-Bye Blackbird

2008-05-08T22:08:00.004+01:00

Sad day today. This morning when we were getting ready for School we noticed the Magpie was hanging around a lot. Three times we went out into the garden and chased it away but I had a bad feeling about what would happen after we left the house. So, I suppose I wasn't very surprised to come home and find yet another headless corpse in the garden..... it was the baby Blackbird that had been sheltering under the bushes since leaving the nest last Friday. I've never heard of a Magpie systematically hunting baby birds in this way before and can't imagine what he does with the heads of his victims but I wish there was a way of keeping him out of the garden.

But it wasn't all bad today. Tessa and I went to her parents evening and, as usual, all the teachers are really pleased with her and she's in line to do great in her GCSEs if she can keep up the good work, and apart from that she's a good student and they all really enjoy having her in their lessons so I'm really proud of her. I can't imagine where she gets it from, I was a nightmare at school and although Steven did really well I don't think his behaviour was all that great most of the time!

Anyway, if anybody out there comes across this and knows of a sure-fire way of getting rid of Magpies please let me know ....

What I hate about May

2008-05-06T23:17:00.004+01:00

Mollie came out of school today ranting about something Archie had said/done etc .... I try not to pay too much attention as I have no doubt they will be friends again before long - but on the subject of enemies...

I didn't think I would be blogging today as I hadn't taken any photos and didn't really have much to say but then as I was going through the bedtime routine I came face to face with my very own nemesis and it reminded me of something that happened a few years ago..

Steven used to travel home from Plymouth every weekend and always left home late on a Sunday night to go back to work. One particular night he left at probably about midnight and half an hour later he got a phone call on his mobile from me.......hysterical. He pulled over to talk and (I like to think) in preparation for turning round to race home and rescue me from what he probably assumed must be a 7ft axe-welding maniac at the very least - until finally he managed to calm me down enough to discover the reason for my terror and panic was ..... a May Bug in the bedroom!!

Tonight I went out, made sure the dogs did their business, put the green bin out on the road and it was only when I stepped back into the house that I spotted this monster right outside the back door....

if I had spotted him on my way out of the house it's likely that the dogs would have had to cross their legs all night and the bin would have stayed full! The picture is so bad because I wouldn't get close in case he was faking his stunned appearance (I think he'd probably flown into the window - ha!).

So, I'll be watching the dogs from the window for the next few nights until Steven is home to let them out for me.