Advance Notice...

We are about to have some work start on our house.  We're not 'big' into decisions here, its taken us the best part of 11 years to work out exactly what we want to do... and the work starts TODAY.  The children break up from school on Wednesday, and the builders reckon they'll be with us for about 5 weeks - by my estimation that'll be all through the school summer holidays ending just as the children return to school...   They are hoping that we won't be left without bathroom facilities but can't guarantee it (argh! - naturally Mum has put her facilities on standby for us!).

I've gone around the house taking photos of the rooms as they are now (mess and all) and can't wait to add the 'new' improved versions later this year.

What this does mean is that 'free' time to browse all the wonders of the interweb are going to be sorely limited, it is the school holidays after all, plus my friend finally had her twins - born at 34 weeks after she was suffering terribly from pre-eclampsia, and at 12 days old the twins have been defined as being well enough to go home!  I rang Ali last night, and could sense instantly that all wasn't quite so calm in the house.  They'd gone to the hospital to visit their two babies and ended up bringing them home.  Ali, was in hospital from week 30, and although they have 'all they need' - she hadn't had time to 'nest' the house properly, and although she was discharged last Monday from hospital - she was re-admitted on Wednesday.  They really haven't had an easy ride of it.  I couldn't help but smile as she confessed that all they (her and her husband) had managed to do was feed and change both babies...  I've offered to go over and look after them so that Ali can find some time to herself.

However, I do HOPE to continue posting as often as I can, but please bear with me if things don't go to plan.... :D

Tired

I feel really tired today - much like I felt yesterday actually!  I can feel we are approaching the end of the school year - the children are on wind down, and I can feel myself joining them.  It doesn't help that last night we (myself and my neighbours) planned to go and see 'Mamma Mia' at the local cinema - only to get there and see about 100 + women milling around outside.  The film was showing in two screens - one showing each, and yes it was sold out.  From eavesdropping into other conversations we knew that all the other local cinemas were the same.  There were a lot of disappointed ladies out last night!  One of our group was heavily pregnant and so really wasn't up to much else, so it was a sombre drive home - you could say we were all sulking!!

Tonight we're out at Drumfest - our son is currently learning to play the drums - I'm expecting a LOUD evening, and the worlds largest drum kit is supposed to be there too.  I'm not sure this is a true family evening out - but hey, maybe I'll become a 'cool' mum for the night!

Tomorrow gets better - Chris and I are off to London, we've tickets to see Duffy play at Somerset House, and I can't wait.  Evidently light showers is forecast for tomorrow, but theres nothing like walking in the rain with the man you love - so it'll be fun (won't it?).   The children are overnighting at a friends house (thank you Kate!), and so we're going to make a day of it visiting the British Museum, then some time in Covent Garden, Leicester Square and Chinatown for tea before the concert.  I only wish I had a smaller camera for days like this.  We have a great digital camera - but its fairly bulky, and I always end up carrying it, so it's staying at home tomorrow.  Not that that would matter at the moment as I seemingly can't add photos to my blog currently - not great!

Neglected

I rather fear I have neglected my blog quite considerably lately. It started with a nasty cold which resulted in me losing my voice completely for a week, and I lost all enthusiasm. Then I got my website and my attention was rather occupied with that. However I think I'm back!

We had a rather traumatic Friday last week when our fuse box started 'fizzing' and sparks were shooting out. We turned off the electric and removed the cover and were startled by the amount of scorching there was. We then spent the next few hours trying to find an electrician who didn't just work for the council, who could come out in less than 6 weeks. In the end we went with a recommendation from an old neighbour and although the firm was really busy promised they'd come out that day. They turned up early evening, just as I was preparing for an evening of no hot water, no heating, no light etc. The chap - who was excellent, managed to sort us out and left us safe and with electricity, and I was able to check ebay and find out that we'd won the caravan we were bidding on! More on that later....

Normal service will resume shortly!

All my good intentions fell by the wayside. It's really hard to blog and use a camera when you are feeling unwell. I tried to bake a ginger cake earlier this week and poured the batter mix over the work top instead of in the cake pan. My husband just laughed at me :(

Anyway - I'm beginning to feel a little brighter today - which is good, particularly as I found out yesterday I DO have a place at the Boddington Rural Market this coming Sunday. I have enough stock but I just feel very unprepared...

Anyway - no news yet on the new website, but it'll all be revealed here first! :)

Tefal fall out...

Tefal have really let me down. Last night as I was washing up, the glass lid from my 15cm saucepan shattered as it went into the washing up bowl. The lid wasn't hot and the water certainly wasn't cold. It just shattered - into lots of tiny shards of glass.

I'm only grateful that it was me that was washing up last night and not my 8yr old son who'd offered to do it. I've just got off the 'phone from Tefal and they have just offered to sell me a new lid. No concern over what has happened, and they went so far as to say that Tefal can not guarantee that any of their lids on their saucepans won't do this and therefore do not cover them as part of the product guarantee.

Quite frankly I'm shocked. It was always my assumption that a product must be fit to serve the purpose it is intended for - clearly in Tefal's case this is not true. If the lid had crazed, but stayed intact I don't think I'd have been so shocked. The glass went everywhere. Needless to say I will be writing to them to express my dissatisfaction and concern over their product and I will certainly never buy from Tefal ever again.

I certainly would not recommend anyone to purchase Tefal glass lidded pans either. Mine were not terribly old - certainly under 14 months and I don't expect this to happen in general useage.

10 days???!

I can't quite believe that it has been 10 days since I last posted. I'm not quite sure if there is any one particular reason - only that life got incredibly complicated and busy. All at once. My mum has been in hospital for an operation on her spine, I found out my best friend is pregnant with twins, and what with that, family life, and going to court, I've found very little time to do anything - let alone blog. I've a stack of ironing almost taller than me, I've got cakes to bake for the school tomorrow - just told this morning, and a house that looks like it may have been the epi-centre for the recent earthquake, its so disorganised, and the cherry on the top is that I've been tagged. Which I have to say I'm eternally grateful for - as it seems to have re-connected me with this blog. So having never been tagged before - I do hope I do this right!!

Firstly I was tagged by the lovely 'Clothcat' who produces some rather wonderful items over on the hallow ground that is Etsy. I need to post the rules::

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


So here goes
Fact 1:: I like to drink plain hot water. This typically involves people swirling round, hand still poised over the kettle and going "What? Just hot water? I think I've got a lemon?". No, you heard right, I like to drink just hot water - no lemon, no anything. This started when I worked in a call centre, cups of tea/coffee would go cold whilst on a call, and so hot water started - I like to drink it hot and if it goes cold, all is not lost.

Fact 2:: I've been kissed by Timmy Mallet. Okay I was about 5 at the time, and he came to my school (can't remember what for), and gave me a badge saying 'Timmy on the Tranny' which I'm sure has a whole heap of different connotations now.

Fact 3:: I met my husband at work. He left, we then met socially as friends (evidently 'everyone' else could see 'it'), and it wasn't until he moved to Felixstowe that we realised we loved each other. That was June 1996. We bought a house together in September 1996 (only hope I'm as cool as my parents!) and are now coming up to our 10th wedding anniversary this year.

Fact 4:: I'm a Quaker. I love the freedom this gives me.

Fact 5:: Last year I started to learn to play the cello. As a child I wanted to play the cello. My parents weren't keen and so I was encouraged to learn the piano instead (my dad plays). I did, and got to Grade 5, before stopping. I met a woman at a Quaker gathering who learnt the Viola in her 30's who told me it was never too late. I'm so pleased she encouraged me - I'm not good, but I love it!

Fact 6:: I'm infertile. Cor - what a statement! I suffer with Endometriosis, and it was diagnosed too late. The damage to my reproductive organs was done. We toyed with the idea of IVF, but the chances of success were slim, and there was every chance it would seriously agravate my Endometriosis. So we didn't. We finally adopted two children in 2003, and I went on to have a Hysterectomy in 2005 and have been pain free since then (yay!!!).

Fact 7:: I don't like milk. There - thats lightened the post a little! I tolerate milk, but I don't like it. I'll eat Weetabix only cause it soaks up the milk, else I have to drain it off from my spoon. I know I should have more - but I really don't like the taste and too much can make me feel queasy.

Well that was less painful than I thought. Possibly more personal that light hearted - but they are facts about me. Now loads have already been tagged - but I'm not sure these have so.

*tag*
Angharad
SallyF
DomesticAli
PennyPincher
Charlotte
Karen
Melissa




Phew - I think thats it, and hopefully normal service will resume on the blog now. Thanks Cloth.

Bargainiferous

And I've no idea if that is a word! However I am so so thrilled today. I have a thing for tea - thats afternoon tea, not just the drink. I think there is something so so civilised about sitting down mid afternoon for a cup of tea and a little slice of something. When we married we were adament that we did not want a dinner service, however I have always hankered after a tea service and here we are going towards our tenth year and I've found it today.

Well what do you think? Its got 8 cups and saucers, 8 side plates, a serving plate and a milk jug. It doesn't have its sugar bowl - but then we don't take sugar in our tea! I've seen others over the years, but didn't go for it - it wasn't terribly fashionable amongst my friends. I'm older and wiser now and sensible enough to go for this, just because I love it. I'm sure Chris will love it too - particularly when I tell him I got it all for under £6. Now I think I ought to go and bake so we can christen the tea service...

Dishcloths

I'm a little odd - as my husband will atest to. I like dishcloths and I always smile when I buy new ones. Usually on a shopping trip with said husband just so that I can grin inanely at him when I pick them up. Well I've discovered some new dishcloths (thanks PinkPetalDesigns) - hand knitted ones too. Such a luxury... My poor darling husband knows nothing of this covert purchase either. Now he'll either spot them at the sink and ask what they are... or he'll read about this using bloglines (Hallo love!) Can't wait to wash up later and try them out...Don't you just pity my long suffering husband