It's been a while ...

Out of touch with so many people after a nightmare of a house move and it hasn't finished yet.

Three weeks to go until our moving date, we discovered that we had to find a place to rent at the busiest time of the year..  With our possessions scattered in various storage units around the area, we have squeezed into the only available house which would take cats and is close to a station and are still in a state of limbo, not knowing when we may be able to move into the house we want to buy.

The story will unfold over the next few days....

The Frozen Flannel Treatment

The scorching hot days of summer continue, the grass is brown, the air is thick and we have to remind ourselves to take everyday tasks at a slower pace and make allowances for the unusually hot temperatures.
It is not often that we experience over 30 degrees centigrade in Britain over such a long period of time, but ever the adaptable nation we get on with our lives and try and make some adjustments to cope.  However trying to sleep at night with a body resembling a furness, in a room where the heat has built up during the day, becomes an unbearable thought then as the disturbed nights build up, tempers are on a short fuse and concentration fades.
Not a problem any more in this household, we have adopted the frozen flannel treatment!
Simply soak a flannel in water, gently wring it out but not too much as you want to keep plenty of moisture, put one in a plastic bag for each member of the family and pop in the freezer.  At bedtime you can remove from the bag and settle down with the icy block, rest it on your pulse points, put on your forehead, wedge behind your neck or anywhere that takes your fancy!  It makes for a wet pillow in the morning, but who cares if it ensures a good night's sleep.

The Joy of Moving House!

A light whiff of spring in the air motivates me to decide it’s time to try and launch our house for sale again and hope we encounter a more buoyant property market.

The smiling, bubbly agents are always so enthusiastic and listen carefully as I issue strict instructions about not to open any cupboards for fear of causing an avalanche.  My new collective noun for a group of Estate Agents is ‘ An Exaggeration’,  that sums it up!

I think a Psychology study should be made into mood swings and personality changes during the house buying process.  A few weeks in to the process and we have calmly dealt with some of the strangest people I have ever encountered, add to this the fact that they are tramping through my home, which has been spruced up for their benefit and there are still some who escape the filter of the Agent and turn out to be utter time wasters or totally socially inept.

We’ve had the couple who wanted to view immediately on a Saturday morning, I managed to bargain an hour to do a quick whizz around, only to discover their house wasn’t even on the market and then they had the cheek to search us on LinkedIn! Then there was a mother who turned up with her two children and a friend along with her child, fair enough that wasn’t a major problem, but when her child was violently sick all over mother, the Estate Agent and our Chinese carpet, that tested my patience!  After a massive clean up operation, the highly embarrassed group aborted the viewing and I thought that was the last we would see of them.  Surprisingly they did return without children, but with a very kind offering of a bunch of flowers!  However they weren’t sufficiently embarrassed to feel they had to buy the house!

My rusty mothering skills have been put to use on numerous occasions and I’m always amazed that these adorable babies are quite happy to sit in a strange persons arms, listening to me babble on about colours and sounds and anything that comes to mind! I began to wonder whether the last couple were going to leave their daughter,  when the parents opened the front door and stepped outside, if I hadn’t suggested they had forgotten something, would I have been left holding the baby!

The cobwebs have been cleared and I constantly strive to achieve the recommended clear spaces to give a feeling of space, however this means that we are all constantly in a state of ‘search’ for items which have been tidied away.   The other week I decided to make sure all the work surfaces in the kitchen were clear and put the fruit bowl, a couple of candles and the newspaper in the oven, only to hear someone open the oven!  They must have thought I was a complete nutter,  just as well they didn't look in the dishwasher as I had just hung up washing when they asked to come around, so I folded it and put it in the empty dishwasher - couldn't put it in the washing machine because several pairs of shoes had been shoved in there!!!

To be continued ........

Dusk at 9 AM!

As the sky resembled dusk at 9am, the sight of my beautiful daffodils quivering in the bitter wind managed to bring some vibrant colour to the grey world which greeted me as I stepped out this morning.

I know we have no right to moan, tucked in our little suburban bubble whilst vast areas of the country are struggling with enormous snow drifts and surviving yet another day without power, but this weather is really getting everyone down.

Last year around this time were we enjoying a lunch on the beach to celebrate The Chief's birthday and finally had to find a bit of shade to shelter from the 28 degree sunshine.  The garden was powder dry, we'd already had endless bbqs and the hose ban was about to come into force. Now, day after day, the greyness just becomes greyer, the bitter wind is bone chilling and there is a general feeling of inertia due to lack of sunlight in our monochrome world.  

The brilliant pink camellia bush should have been in full bloom for at least a month by now.  Not one bud has managed to brave the wind.  I can only be grateful for the bravery of our sturdy daffodils which add the only brightness to the day. However, if the spring buds do finally manage to flower, they won't be in bloom for long as the sun will be too sharp for their tender petals and they will be withered in a flash

The British have a reputation of being a resilient, adaptable nation partly due to our unpredictable climate, but I think these prolonged conditions have pushed us to the limit this year . We deserve a jolly good summer to erase the chill of this winter.

The 7.03 is cancelled!

The 7.03 has been cancelled!  This announcement from across the landing sends our early morning household into a frenzy. 

I take up command and control position with ipad linked up to the live train information, whilst quickly giving my soaking hair a fierce blast with hairdryer before jumping into last night’s clothes.  Mornings like these normally result in the need for Mum’s taxi to fill the gap and run an emergency mission to a nearby station to pick up a more direct train.

As expected, last night’s Baltic weather conditions which resulted in people stranded on a main road outside Brighton for up to 10 hours overnight,  have now caused train delays and disruption.

My overwhelming good nature and kind heart  led me to drop the Chief and Major Darling at a station further up the line, then on my way back a frantic call from Mini Darling left me no alternative than to agree to drive her all the way to her meeting after she had waited on the platform for 25 minutes for a train which suddenly disappeared off the departures board.

A quick view of Google maps gave me a vague idea of where I was going and fortunately the signposts were fairly consistent, so we reached out destination without too much of a flap!

Mid morning, I arrived home to a cold cup of coffee and soggy Weetabix sitting on the kitchen table, two frantic cats thinking I had left for the day without providing breakfast.  Worse still, I had made the journey without having cleaned my teeth!

Now I am fed, with teeth brushed and clean clothes I can face the day and ponder on this crazy climate we have.  Bitterly cold gale force winds have been howling for the last two days bringing in bullets of snow.  It was only a week ago when we sat outside for a quick coffee, the chubby little bees were busy around the brilliant crocus flowers and found I had a V of sunburn on my chest!

'I want my Mummy...'

I want my Mummy are not words that a fiftysomething woman should be thinking.  But a trip to the shops has left me feeling with an empty ache for the anchor lady in my life who died nearly 20 years ago. 

With shelves and aisles brimming with Mother's day ideas, flowers  and chocolates being hurriedly packed onto the shelves by staff  who are oblivious to other customers waiting for service, the loneliness of being without a mother is re-enforced. 

Of course I would not have expected her to be with us still, but there are times when I have an overwhelming surge of need to smell her aroma, hear her voice and feel her delicate arms clasp my body.  A  knot tightens in my throat and tears are ready to cascade, before I pull myself together and remember this emotion has to be directed into the love for our two Darlings.  Making sure they feel they are at the centre of our world, gives them that inner confidence only a parent can bring.

How do you say farewell ...

How do you say farewell, good luck and you can do it, to a very dear friend who is taking an extremely brave step towards recovery from her addiction by entering a detox programme?

Such a relief when she announced her decision, but guilt from us, her close friends, for not persuading her to do this months ago.

We just want our friend to start enjoying life and her family again, to see her laughing and to be able to moan about her boundless energy like we used to do!

Words seemed trivial at the weekend as emotions ran high, so the best way I could think of sending her away with a smile, was this little posy of early Spring flowers from the garden.

What has happened to tomatoes?

The past few weeks have proved disastrous for buying tomatoes.  Is it just my choice of shop and variety or is it a bad time of year to find anything with a bit of flavour, a decent texture and that will last a couple of days.

My last purchase from Tesco, five bold red tomatoes on the vine, have all ended up in the bin..  The first was rejected for the cotton wool like taste, then all the rest grew whiskers and began to 'weep'.

My annoyance on seeing the white furry mold growing on the final one in the cupboard, soon changed when I saw the comical side to my last tomato in the basket!

I just couldn't resist ripping up a little piece of avocado skin and giving him a character - any ideas for a name?!!

Is there any better feeling?

Is there any better feeling than cooking up a feast to welcome home your little Darlings.  

Major Darling flies in early tomorrow morning after a magical holiday and the only way I can curb my excitement of seeing her again and hearing all the news, is to cook up something tasty to serve up on their arrival.

The wind is howling, sleet is doing its best to chill this dark February afternoon, but the radio is blasting out some great old sing-along tunes, the cats sense anticipation and I have the English breakfast quiche, big bowl of fruit and yummy chocolate cake to greet the weary travellers after a long flight through the night!

Only a Flake will do

Some days only a Cadbury's Flake will do.

There is no way to just eat half of the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate bar in the world. The guilty pleasure must be enjoyed alone to ensure every last crumb can be licked up, then the wrapper needs to be discreetly concealed and any crumbs of the divine experience removed.

Suddenly the grey skies switch to bright and the day just keeps on getting better.

A winter wedding

How exciting I thought when the unexpected invitation first flew through the letterbox, a winter wedding sounds so romantic.

The daughter of one of the Chief’s old flatmates was to be married and a chance to catch up with some people we haven’t seen since her christening, so this was an occasion to glam up a bit!

I decided to set off on a shopping trip to buy a dress with plenty of time to spare as I always have a problem in finding just the right thing when there is a specific occasion in mind, then end up at the sewing machine for hours making an outfit.  It usually feels fine, but this time I really wanted to just come home with something ready made, and for once I was successful.  

The brand ‘Damsel in a Dress’ in John Lewis had the perfect turquoise dress with interesting folds and gathers, just the right length and most of all it felt comfortable and could be a useful addition to the wardrobe.   I couldn’t believe my luck!  Then there was the perfect Chanel style jacket hanging in my cupboard from a few seasons ago with just a hint of a metallic fleck and even better, one of my vintage handbags had a tinge of turquoise in  the embroidery to bring the whole look together.  Shoes, no problem with about a dozen pairs of smart black gathered over the years to choose from!

Now, I do love a hat.  Sadly there are very few occasions to wear one, so I was eager to hear from the Bride’s mother that it would be a hat wedding.  I don’t like to be the only one!

That was when my luck in outfit planning ran out.  A word of warning, if you have any notion of an occasion requiring a hat during the winter months, buy or start your search as early as possible.  I scoured the department stores, local shops, exclusive boutiques and online, there was nothing.  The shops simply had their supply of bobble woolly hats and felt pull-ons, maybe the odd fascinator and some still had a few tired old dusty pastel straw hats left over from the summer.  Where is the imagination of the buyers and designers, it’s no use saying they are going out of fashion, if they are not available we can’t buy them.

So what did I do?  Not one to take no for an answer I came home with a stack of ‘ingredients’ and assembled the flowers and feathers and netting on a piece of sinamay, which I had shaped and covered in antique lace. Job done!

It was a magical wedding, the bride was stunning and her groom beamed with pride, the winter wonderland theme was glorious and gave us a warm glow on a freezing day.

Salads can wait

Time to wear something brightly coloured to counteract the dreary gloomy days we have been enduring.

New year's day, with the bright sun and blue sky gave us reason to look forward to the new beginnings of 2013 and become enthusiastic about plans and dreams for the year ahead.  But the dark mornings, which only briefly give way to a glimmer of brightness before fading into darkness in the early afternoon, have pushed the optimism to a high shelf and motivation is a distant dream.

The reality of January, after the magical qualities of the weeks before, is always difficult to adjust to but after such a phenomenal year in 2012, it's hard to think another year can match it.  A lack of exciting dates planned, the pages of the smart new diary are still crisp and stuck together, struggling with winter illness all around and the pressure to be optimistic and brimming with resolutions.  All these factors can only lead to one thing... FOOD!

It was a 2012 theme for our madcap cake this year!

There are still a few of my tasty mince pies lurking in the tin, there is half a very boozy Christmas cake offering comforting aromas and then the brandy cream will be out of date in 3 days time.  So perhaps there will have to be a lapse in willpower just to make sure nothing is wasted! 

Salads need to wait until warmer days!

Goodbye Christmas, bring on Spring!

One of the great benefits of taking down the Christmas decorations is that you suddenly feel your home has almost doubled in size!

It's not that I don't like all the busy, brightly coloured adornments, it just reminds me how my taste is edging away from the cottagey look with every surface filled, towards more simple and clean lines, much to the Chief's delight. He would go for the absolute minimalist look if he was given the chance.


Although, I couldn't bear to remove the pretty glow of the warm white fairy lights which I spent hours carefully attaching to an alcove, they have been providing such a welcoming warm light in the horrible gloomy days we have been having and they don't have to be just for Christmas.

The memories of our festive season will obviously not leave for many months, in the shape of the rogue needles from the tree which always manage to find their way inside drawers, carpets, books and everything. Although, I did seriously consider dusting down the old artificial tree which is stashed away in the attic when I saw the price of the trees this year.  However, the thought of a Christmas sitting room without the powerful aroma of a real tree was not an option.

Days of parties, families, far too much food and inability to remember which day of the week we were on, are all a distant memory and now to think about all the family birthdays coming up and spend a few hours searching for the perfect cards.  With so much choice, I can never believe just how much time it takes to find the right card for all the characters. The most difficult to buy for are are teenage boys, all the humorous ones are too smutty to come from a Mum, so when I do come across a good one I have to buy several then remember who I have given them to!

I think I have been hearing a different tone to the birds over the past few days, I'm sure I could hear chirping when the alarm went off in the pitch darkness of 5.45am, it certainly awakens the senses in a very pleasant manner .  Do they actually believe Spring is around the corner?