In which we discuss garden chairs and other things.....

You know, there is not a day which goes by without me being eternally thankful for all of you. Your messages, prayers, comments and emails have been the sun during the bleak days. Thank you all so very much. You have NO idea how much they have meant to me.

Well, enough of that for now. There is so much I am not able to talk about, but just know that we will be fine. We always are. Faith is a wonderful thing. Optimism is a wonderful thing. Plodding on is a wonderful thing. Why? Because they all involve looking up, ahead and at the path in front of me, and not behind. Yesterday is gone. And it is time I stopped rattling off all these old sayings. (They are old and wise because they are right, of course!)

This morning, Jean and I went to aqua with a stand-in teacher as ours is sunning herself somewhere warm. That would not be in the UK, because we are having the coldest days in March since 1986. Believe me, they are COLD. Anyway, the new teacher was a lunatic, who moved like greased lightning, and we were the slow ones, like ailing whales, trying to emulate her moves in the water. We managed, but oh heavens, do we creak now. There will be a repeat of this on Thursday. I may have recovered by then.

And then we popped in to see a new store close to the gym. If I had had £330 I may have bought some large garden furniture and a doll's pram. I bought neither. But it was fun looking!

About the garden furniture......

I bought some really expensive, built to last, white resin French garden chairs, hmmmmm....... about 30 years ago. It is still alive. It will not die. In fact, I do believe it will outlast me. They. There are 4 of them, and a table and another 2 chairs. And as long as they are capable of holding me when I relax on or in them (the ones you and Barry sat on, Becky) they will stay. I cannot toss out things which work, so I just make funky cushioned seats for them, and ignore the mottling of the white plastic resin. Alibert. Great endurance. And great irritation, because I have no room for any new sofa and chairs when I have the white ones. Not that I have the money to buy them, but you get the general drift.

Linds is clearly muddling her way through this post. Groan. (I am waiting for smoke from the Sistine Chapel, and no, I am not Catholic, but I love all the anticipation and speculation.) Multi-tasking has become a bit of a challenge.

So to summarise, I am tired of my old outdoor chairs, but they will stay forever because I am frugal, and I am just going to have to sigh dramatically every time I see a nice new garden seating arrangement. Or make new funky cushions. That would help bust the fabric stash, of course.

Good grief, I do go on.

After setting Mum's hair, I had the most wonderful chat to my friend on the Isle of Wight. Our oldest boys (they are around 36 now) started kindergarten together and spent the next 12 years at the same schools. There is so much to talk about every time we chat, and she is such a delight. Catching up and hearing familiar accents, and discussing the children we knew as little boys who are now men in their prime. Hmmm. Sons. Prime? I suppose they are entering the age where their generation is ruling the world, so we will have to get used to it. We also agreed on the fact that, forget their age, we are still their mothers and reserve the right to scold/voice opinions and suggestions if necessary. Oh how we laughed at ourselves. You just can't take the mother-part out of us, you know, try as you might.

No pope has been elected today, so the wait goes on. Does Pope have a capital "p"?

And tonight, I have cooked a complete dinner with one hand, while talking to my friend in Scotland on the phone. You know life has not generated much excitement when you write about cooking dinner with one hand and phone conversations, and on that note, I am off to watch some TV. I have no idea what is on, but it will help me sleep..............

I will be back.

A letter to me........

I am not even going to apologise for being gone for a week. In fact, I may just write this for me alone.

In a week where there has been a run of every emotion in the book, it is OK, Linds, to step away. And sit and do nothing except process life in your mind as it unfolds. All the small things and all the huge mega things. All the things which make you want to wail and shed many a tear, and all the things which require your mind to be fully operational so you can make good decisions, with massive ramifications if they are wrong. It is OK to walk past the silent blank computer screen and not even hesitate.

It is OK to forget stats and the daily minutiae as well, and it is also OK that there was Mothering Sunday in the midst of all this too. It was wonderful to have Diana home for the first time in possibly more than a decade, wasn't it?

  The coffee and tulips and card and chocolates, followed by the breakfast in bed, going to church together and doing coffee duty with her? It was a lovely mother- daughter time, and you really loved it, remember. And your two sons remembered the day too - it was wonderful!

On one level.

And on another level, battling with the mother-urge to fix things unfixable, looking for answers where there are none to be seen.

You did pick up the not-sure-about crocheted blanket project and do a little work on it, didn't you? You did make it to at least one aqua class. You did manage to get your car fixed and past its MOT without tears and disaster and financial ruin.  Remember the good things, girl. And also, you did remember to be thankful. There is always something to be thankful for. Many things. Always.

Remember how much fun you had with Jean doing the coffee duty baking? That was good. And it all got eaten as well. That is a good sign.

You had enough. You survived another week.

So what if the pain levels peaked at new highs. So what if you don't move very well. You are a) still moving, and b) you have perfected breathing. David is loving his course. That is a wonderful plus and reason for much joy. Let's just focus on the joy part for a minute then.....

David loves his studies

He is doing so well

Mum likes her new dentist 

Her treatment is going to be excellent and spaced out

The chariot goes beautifully

The tulips add so much colour to the room

The daffodils are flowering

The bunch you bought for Mum will start flowering soon (hopefully)

There is enough food in the house

The new freezer is cleaned and operational and in place

The chocolates from Diana are nearly history

Chocolates are good

You have books to read

Mum has enough wool to make her next (millionth) blanket for the homeless

The coffee is hot

Diana is on her way to Andrew and Ann for a few days

It may be freezing outside but the inside is warm. Sort of. Warm enough in the sun. The snow is due any time now.

Spring will soon be here

and there are so many more things, remember......

Ah well. Time for a nap.

There is always tomorrow..................

I may have charged the battery of the camera at last.........

Welcome, indeed!

In the comments for the last post, Tigger mentioned the word for the year - Joy, and oh yes, my friend, for all the wailing about the chins and all, I feel it. Joy. I am trying to make sure it is kept front and centre, but there are times when the impartial observer (like mother) may come to the conclusion that I am devoid of joy and full of irritation and to be avoided at all costs.

In other words, I am human. 

Yes. 

Me. 

The sun is shining today and I have been out in pursuit of signs of Spring but, apart from a crocus or 2, there are few to be seen, unless you get up close and check out all the buds and new growth emerging on the roses, lilac bushes and everything else. The wind is very chilly, but apparently, we should have temps of 15C tomorrow! 

Real Spring! 

And tomorrow is the day that my Car Angel, Bob, the mechanic, is coming to see if my car is salvageable. Did I mention that it expired last week? Last Sunday to be exact, so I have been without transport for over a week, and although a really wonderful friend has lent me a little car, I can't get into it without hitting my leg, and that is not good. Diana has been driving me around, with permission. This is good, but not ideal. I need my car.

So we have been out looking at different models to see what is available in case the amount of money needed to fix mine is more than the value of the car. All I need is a car I can rely on to go. And, in an ideal world, one that is high enough for me (and Mum) to get into easily. And out of, of course. And I need an automatic car now. I have yet to test drive any I have seen, but we have another 6 or so dealers to visit before I make up a final list. 

It would be simple to wail and moan about things like broken cars, wouldn't it. I love my car. I have had it for 9 years and it is 12 years old now. It has been great and I am no car snob. If I like it and it is reliable, it can stick around for decades. I see no point in changing every couple of years. But I think Old Faithful is getting weary. And Diana and I have had fun checking out new ones. There has been much laughter as well. Joy in the time spent searching with my daughter. But all the " in and out" of the little car has taken its toll and we are not dancing through the tulips right now. Think a very slow plod. 

BUT...............

That meant I stopped and saw the crocus in the garden down the road. 

And grinned. (While we got the breathing under some control.)

I must go and finish that blanket I started ages ago, using up wool. It is in a heap on the floor in the lounge and I keep seeing it out of the corner of my eye.

Yes - you may have noticed that Winter is gone and Spring is here. Inside. 

And here is one lovely sign of things to come at my front door. Viola - colour, beauty and bringing with them, a whole lot of JOY. 

Creaking bones...........

Oy, people, I am getting old. I wish you could see me. I look like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Scratch that - I don't want anyone to see me inching my way along here looking 500 years old. My sister is so complimentary - last night I was too achy and tired to move to the computer when she skyped, so my daughter suggested I speak to her on skype on the phone. Well. The angles are not good. One's chin multiplies, and one's sister screeches with hysterical laughter while counting said chins. All I was doing was leaning against the back of the chair. So I tried holding the phone in the air with my arm straight up high. She told me I dropped 50 years and about the same in kilos.

Only the arm was too tired to stay in the air, so we reverted to the one which made her cast insults about as only a sister can.

Sigh.

The house is out of Winter mode and into Spring, and why yes, I have done 1000x too much, but hey, I am a woman on a mission here. Was. So the red is packed away and the greens and yellows are out, now that they have been found, and cushions and rugs have been washed and packed away. And today, because I am the Bunting Queen, I thought I would run up 3 new sets for the kitchen and the nook. Well. I don't know what was wrong with me, but I messed up every one of those 3 sets, and ended up remaking the lot, with mother unpicking triangles. I can't think what I was doing - I even had all the measurements written on the desk, and I followed those instructions, and they were WRONG. So why did I write down the wrong measurements? I have no idea.

So the house was littered with thread and tossed aside bias binding, and I finally got it done, but it has taken all today. This is not normal.

Anyway, I am speaking to you from a Spring house. You would have seen photos had I remembered to charge the camera battery. All these complications.......

Yesterday, in the middle of the Find A Place For The Freezer And Change Seasons drama, Jean arrived and suggested we go to Lidl to do a little food shopping. This was essential as I had not been food shopping for a while, so I sat down in her car and looked in the mirror, and oh, my sainted aunt...... All I can say is that I was just missing the rollers in the hair and the apron and the ankle socks with shoes. I had no makeup on and I ALWAYS wear makeup. My hair was standing on end, and should have been straightened and It Was Not Good. My most recent haircut is a disaster. It is too short and I go to bed with straight hair and wake in the morning looking as if I have been starring in a horror movie. I must remember to cancel the next hair appointment and make another one for December. At the earliest. It is too short to even tie back or swirl up.

Disaster.

But you know, the only person it bothers is me. Moi. But add the hair disaster to the creaking of the bones, and the chins and oh good grief, I need chocolate. It may take me a while to reach it, so I will set off for the kitchen now.

Enjoy your Saturday evening........

Chocolate brownies brighten the day................

Hello there, friends - come and see what I have to show you today....................

It remains cold damp and grey around  here, so today, my daughter decided to find a recipe for brownies on the web and make them. Can I just say that my entire house smells of chocolate and that I have overdosed on calories. Chocolate brownies with peanut butter chips. UnbeLIEVably delicious!

Just look at all the calories moist goodness.............

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. Bliss. It is great having a daughter in residence. She can stay. 

There was some serious positioning for photos going on here. Placement is all to a graphic designer, so mother sticking the camera over her shoulder was not what she needed. Brownies. Brilliant. Enough said. (Just as long as there are still some there for pudding later.)

We have also discussed the possibility of the baking being the reason we are not stick insects, but rather "padded". I don't want to dwell on that possibility too much. I like the baking. 

So today has been an at home day. I am still waiting to hear from a friend about borrowing a car for a few weeks. My mechanic can't come until Tuesday week. Right. How convenient. And the dentist will get back to me re the appointment needed to rebuild the smile. Tick that box. I have managed to catch up with quite a few computer based things on the "to do " list, so that is good. I was chatting to a lovely blog friend on Facebook, Debbie, this morning. (She sent me a wonderful surprise gift and I was totally blown away by it all. So kind and so thoughtful.) Well, we got onto the subject of grinning like a Cheshire cat as much as possible while dealing with crises which seem to be besetting us all, and I suggested she check out her grin in the mirror, because I always make myself laugh when I see myself grinning in the mirror. I know it sounds ludicrous, but believe me, people, grinning at yourself is a very good habit to develop. Especially when the alternative is to bash one's head on the desk or burst into tears. 

Try it. Hilarious. Seriously. 

Diana looked at me last night and asked me why I wasn't working on my latest project. And what is that project, by the way. Hmmm. I had almost forgotten the crochet together as you go blanket. I must get going on that again. I have just been in flopping and falling asleep mode. Great, but not very conducive to productivity. And I have also almost decided to start selling some of the things I make on Etsy, Folksy, Not the high street or wherever. I said almost. I will have to gather up some of the many projects and see what I come up with. And quilts. There are quilts I have made too. They can go as well. 

Maybe. 

Perhaps.

I don't usually make things to sell. That way they have to be perfect and so help me, I don't do perfect. I do Linds' way and I think I will stick at that, whether I decide to sell stuff or not. 

I had a chat to my friend Margaret this afternoon - I had just heard that she is to be a Granny for the 5th time in September. All these babies - so exciting! And then David sent me a message to tell me he had got a distinction for his research proposal submitted a few weeks ago. Fantastic! I am SO proud of him.

You see, a grey cold, damp day needn't stay grey cold and damp. A couple of brownies, some excellent news, things crossed off the to do list and an evening of creativity ahead. Who said life had to be grey? Not around here, it isn't. Full of colour. Granny is working on Diana's crocheted blanket. I have mine to work on too, and Diana is always creating. Loads of colour all around me. And brownies. I love it. 

About quilters and talks and other such things.......

Evening, all.................

I seem to remember that my word for the year is JOY. Joy. Okay, so now, before we go any further, please grin cheese-ily at the screen. Yes, baring the teeth too, if you please. 

A big grin.

That will do nicely. It is making me grin, and heaven knows one has to grin during the Year Of Joy.

It has been a trifle trying today, however. Grins have been scarce. First, I arrived home this morning after looking after the dogs, in a car which was spluttering through what seemed like a death rattle. This did not fill me with joy at all. And then I discovered that a member of the household will be making an emergency visit to the dentist tomorrow. That was not on the plan for today either. And so far, we have managed to avoid any third disaster which may have been planning to visit the house. That is, if one ignores the creaking and groaning computer which rumbles every now and then. (I think it may be alive and moaning.)

I am struggling to sit in one place for long. So computers are having to take a back seat for now. I will do my best, but my best may not be good enough. I am trying to visit you all and to make a comment or two, but it is just tough for me at the moment, and I can't walk around with this wired keyboard either. Yes, loads of people have disappeared, but I can't help that. I am not writing much and it is to be expected, but I miss the ones who have gone.

Anyway.

Yesterday. I went to a quilters day. This was new for me. And in the photo above you will see two ladies with coffee cups grinning at me in the middle. Annette and Sue. We got there too late to find seats together. And in the front on the left, drinking her coffee, is Glynis. You will notice that we all look frozen. It was very cold. 

All the county quilting groups apparently meet 3 times a year and have speakers and trade displays etc, and I have never been before. None of us had been before. I really don't think I will go again, because I am not a social quilter, and I do not like crowds any more. There were so many people there and I am sure they all enjoyed it all, but crowds sitting in one place for hours just don't work for me any more. And I have never belonged to any kind of quilting bee. 

You see, I am more the kind of quilter who makes simple quilts, and loves going into her sewing room in her little house, and making up her dreams as she goes type of thing. With the outside world out there and me inside, pottering along. You know what I mean? That is not to say that I don't like friends sewing with me. I just don't want to go and work with a group of people. And I am not a fancy quilter.

But I digress a little. 

So anyway,  Annette got tickets and off we went yesterday because the huge draw card was the speaker. Kaffe Fassett. Those of you who knit or quilt may recognise his name. He was great. Well. I know he was great when I was awake. The trouble was that he was the last part of the day, and by then I was past help, so when the lights dimmed and his slideshow started to accompany his talk, I sort of nodded off. Repeatedly. The body keels over when I have done too much, you see, and it tried do just that all through his talk. I had to tell Glynis to prod me if I snored. I did manage a few photos before the lights dimmed. He was rather a long way away. 

I am, in a sense, more like Kaffe Fassett. (He was born in 1937, so by my reckoning that makes him 74. He is not bad at all for 74, let me tell you. Full of ideas and plans and a hectic global programme. Not to mention all the books and the empire too. (*I can't add either, can I? He would be 76 not 74!)) He is all about colour and feelings and expressions and yes, I get that. It is not intricate. (So why is he an empire builder and me not? Maybe I need to change my name. He did. Hmmmmm. Delores? Maybe I need to think this through a little.....)

I told you he likes colour and knitting, didn't I?

The trade stands were good, but I did not buy a thing. No new fabric, no matter how gorgeous, crossed my doorstep. Neither did the sewing machine, the Big Shot, the dies or the magical threading machines, scissors and other wonderful things. And I was the ONLY one not to buy, and have signed, one of Kaffe's books. But I didn't need one, because I will just borrow everyone else's, of course.

The meeting was supposed to happen in January, but there was too much snow back then, so it was postponed, and yesterday, it tried to snow all day, but nothing much settled. It is still freezing, though.The ladies in the photo above, were milling around the trade stands. I departed at this point, in search of my chair and more coffee. 

I am glad I went. I am certainly glad that I saw and (sort of) heard Kaffe Fassett. And at least I know now that 5 hour events which require me to sit in one place for most of that time just are not Places of Joy for me. One lives and learns. And then comes home and starts planning some serious stash busting, because I really do need to bust some of the stash. The one thing he made very clear was that thinking out of the box usually ends up being delightful. I don't need to follow patterns. I told you he thought like me. I am a rebel with the sewing machine. I like doing things differently. 

And one very interesting fact that I hadn't really thought about much before from the trade man......The thing which revolutionised, and led to a resurgence of interest in patchwork and quilting ,was the advent of the cutting board/ruler and roller cutter combination. That happened a good few years ago now. And the second greatest change is happening right now with the advent of the diecutting machines which cut so accurately, and in multiples. The Big Shot by Sizzix, cuts 8 layers at a time, including the quarter inch seam allowance, and there are SO many dies to choose from, both for piecing and for applique. Amazing. (I resisted the almost overwhelming urge to cripple the credit card at this point.)

He is right. Just as technology moves at increasing speeds, so the sewing world is doing the same. Have you looked at the new machines? Groan. Highly technical, efficient, memory sticks, digital whatsits, long arms, free arm, stitch regulators and all. I am at the stage now when I can say that in all honesty, it is all moving too fast and I doubt I will ever catch up. But you know what? That suits me just fine. I am quite content, as I said before, to batten down the hatches and potter away here in the sewing room. I am so thankful for what I already have. For the  knowledge that I can go out there and make whatever I choose to make, the way I choose to make it, and good grief, I may even finally finish the hexagon quilt I started when Andrew was a baby. By hand. Andrew is approaching 36 at speed. 

It could be time. 

I am back........

There is a cold wind blowing and it feels like snow in my bones, as the old folk used to say. I know what they mean. I feel old. My bones are feeling the snow too, and it is supposed to arrive tomorrow. We shall see what the morning brings. The snowdrops have opened and they are the living promise of Spring for me, and the start of an awakening garden. If you have been around here for a while, you will know how much I love gardening, seeing things grow and sitting out there is the midst of all the flowers. Sigh. I LOVE Spring and all the little seedlings. I must get out the box and check what I have to plant this year. Between us, Jean and I should have everything covered. We keep seeds from each year and plant them on. 

I have been moaning talking about the need for a freezer for a long time. Forever, if you could hear those closest to me. And you know, miracles do happen. One of the ladies in our house group (now called Life Groups) is moving, and she happened to mention the fact that she had stuff to dispose of, so Diana and I arranged to pop in and see what we needed. Well. There was the most gorgeous not too huge little chest freezer sitting in the garage, and it was perfect. Just PERFECT. So I asked what it would cost and nearly passed out when she mentioned a really small - read manageable- amount. Sold! And that wasn't all. David's bed closely resembled a hammock with long since dead springs, and so we also acquired a great bed with a new mattress for a similar amount. I mentioned my daughter's great assistance with the transportation and assembly of The Bed last time I managed to actually write something here.  I cannot tell you how excited we were here at RCR with the advent of a new bed. 

We possibly need to get out more. 

Anyway, the freezer will arrive next week, when I go and fetch it. Or when I watch it being fetched, to be more accurate. Where it will be going will be interesting because I have no idea, but that will be sorted. That freezer has a new home right here, and for goodness' sake, I can always sling a cloth over the top and plonk a vase of flowers on it, can't I........

So there was the emptying of the shed, the bed, and then the trip down south to visit a certain small girl who was about to turn 4. Missy is 4. It seems just yesterday that she was born, and here we are - 4 years old. She is too cute for words, and it was wonderful watching her play with the games we gave her. All on the floor, learning to play them with all of us, and she had a lovely time. So did we. 

Andrew cooked one of the best roast pork meals I have EVER had in my life. At least with a roast, one can be sure it is pork and not horse. What? You haven't heard about the scandal of horsemeat being substituted for beef in some ready made dishes??? Just google "horsemeat scandal in the UK and Europe". This is a good place to start. It is huge news here, and the nation is being very, very picky about where and what we buy or eat in the meat line. It is enough to turn us all vegetarian. Mind you, I am not a great meat eater, so I don't think I would miss it much at all. 

Where was I....

Oh yes - my son cooked a fantastic meal. Then my daughter-in-law produced the most divine chocolate cake with candles too, for a combination celebration of Diana and Missy's birthdays within 4 days of each other. That cake was sensational. The singing was loud and just about tuneful and the candle-blowing-out was perfect.  I must get the recipe and the icing one too.  Having adult children definitely has some perks and I just love being able to ask them for recipes. Both the girls bake beautifully. Actually, all the kids cook very well and they will not starve! Missy loves baking too.

The two birthday girls. Missy learnt to read the cards first before opening the parcels, coached by Auntie Diana. She was very good about that. It just made me realise even more how grown up she is becoming. She starts school in September. Wail. Time is flying by too fast for me.

Her actual birthday and big party day was on Sunday, and she woke up to find a gorgeous doll's house in the sitting room, just waiting for her. A gift from fer Mum and Dad. I think it will give herehours and hours of fun. She adores little things. And the pretty dress? A gift from her other godmother, which she put on, refused to take off, and woke up in on the birthday morning. Ah well....one is only 4 once!

And now, moving on a little - my daughter decided to do some weeding yesterday, and my front flower bed has never ever looked this wonderful. There is one small patch still to do, but she has done an amazing job and I couldn't be more delighted. 

The weeds have been extracted and the remaining ones have been gelled. And my spring bulbs have room to breathe and grow. Irises, daffodils, tulips. I did ask her if she wanted to do the front garden this year, and plant what she wanted, but she declined. Well, as long as she keeps weeding, I will be thrilled to bits. 

After the emptying of the shed saga, I have had a tough time moving, so I went along to my aquazumba class to cancel yesterday, and discovered that I wasn't booked in to it. How bizarre. I could have sworn I booked in. Anyway, I came home and flopped around here, and that was when Diana started on the front garden. So, because I can't sit still, I started weeding some of the back garden. It was a glorious sunny spring-like day. At least the beds are raised, so that wasn't too bad. It is starting to look tidy, and if I get on top of the weeding now, I should be able to keep it under control. The allotment is ready to rotivate too, so I think the men will do that this weekend. 

My tubs at the front door are starting to fill out. I love these little pansy/viola/violets/whatever they are. They can be buried by snow and they are still ready to pop their heads up once it melts. 

Today, Mum had a doctor's appointment this morning, and once that was out of the way, we headed off to Ikea, via the South African shop. I tell you, just walking in the door, I am transported thousands of miles away. Familiar packaging. Familiar foods. Familiar spices, jellies, chutney. Mum and Diana loved it too. Guava juice, 100% pure. Spur salad dressing. Chocrust biscuits(cookies). Lemon jelly for Mum's wonderful puddings. Moir's vanilla essence. Ahhhhhhh. So much. Milo bar (chocolate). And more.

And then Ikea, and clothing rail, plastic baskets and lids and drawers for the daughter to try to organise her clothes. An airer for mother and plastic bags and candles for me. Groan. Plastic bags and tealight candles. My restraint is staggering. I need to go and browse through there slowly, with stops to rest. And have a really good look at it all. One day. 

Jean had asked us to get her a seat cushion, so Diana called her on the way home and asked if she would like us to drop it off, or if she would like to come to us for tea. This is Jean, the baking whizz, remember. She suggested we call in at her house, and by the time we got there (10 minutes later) the scones were going into the oven, and the kettle was boiling, so we spent a hilarious hour sitting around her kitchen table chatting, laughing and devouring those fruit scones. She is very definitely the Scone Queen around here. My waistline is very clear evidence of that. Talking about waistlines - Diana has created another crockpot delight, and it is about to be eaten. Pork and apricot. Perfect for a very cold winter's night. I do like having my children here......

My snow drops again.......just because they are so beautiful..............

Popping in...........

It has been a strange time recently, hasn't it - the Pope resigns and that night the Vatican is hit by lightning, meteors hit the earth in Russia, and asteroids whizz by rather close to the Earth. A Paralympic/Olympic icon and international superstar finds himself in court charged with murder. Valentine's Day did not quite live up to expectations there.

My daughter celebrated her birthday on Wednesday, and I went to aquazumba yesterday. There have been trips to charity shops in search of books and other sundry finds, and the shed in the garden has been almost emptied. You do not want to know about that, believe me. However, I can assure everyone that no rodents were found, dead or alive. I still have to sort out the pile of wood in it. Some is destined for projects and the rest to burn in the chiminea, or, if I get round to making one, a firepit. And right now, I have 3 very large professional size tool boxes in the kitchen. The kind which need 4 grown men to lift.

We have a slight problem with the biggest one. It is one of those red ones, with a front cover which folds down over all the drawers and locks, only, I cannot for the life of me remember where the key to it has gone. I am sure I put it in a safe place, but I have a horrible feeling I may have tossed it out. So I need to either find it, or Make A Plan.

I am sick of Making Plans.

So tomorrow, the family is heading south for the birthday party. Missy is turning 4 on Sunday, can you believe, and we are going to have an early party. Diana, who is my resident star at the moment, is busy icing cupcakes right now. She realised that I had forgotten to start the crockpot this morning, so she made her own crockpot meal instead and it was delicious. She has took apart a bed I bought from a friend and then assembled it  in David's room, and moved everything back into the room again after vacuuming the upstairs. She and a friend of ours took the old bed to the tip, and then she entertained Bekah and the twins when they came for tea.

A star indeed.

I, on the other hand, can barely move and yes, it is all my own fault. It may take a while to get up those stairs and into the bath. So I am leaving the photos till tomorrow............

Hello from under more snow......

Step away from the computer for a few days and the Pope resigns, it snows again, daughters fly home, and looking after the dogs means a 24 hour battle with mud, glorious mud.

600+ years since a Pope resigned. I am sure he has good reason, but it makes the whole thing even more intriguing. I am not Catholic, so it doesn't affect me personally, but I have watched the last few Popes and the conclaves which elected them with great interest. I also saw one Pope in real life. A few many years ago.

We have had snow here since 5 yesterday afternoon, and it is just stopping now. It is, however, the wet variety of snow which turns to slush and watery stuff. This is great until it freezes. So it was not a problem pushing the snow off the car this morning. It just needed a nudge and the whole lot fell off. And it is half term around here, so the kids will have had a ball this morning.

Diana is on her way home from a holiday in the Alps and she arrives tonight. It will be great to have her home again, although I gather she nearly opted to extend her stay in the snow. I will only believe she actually caught the plane when she sends me a message to tell me what train she will be on. She may have changed her mind.

And then there are the dogs. If dogs go into the garden and do their business and then the snow covers the droppings, how is one meant to know where it is safe to walk? I had birdseed to pour onto tables on the other side of the grass. Grass? Mud. Thick gloopy mud. Which has been trodden all over the kitchen floor at least 5 times today so far and it is only 2 pm as I speak. So I resist the overwhelming urge, which is totally foreign to me, let me add, to clean 20 times a day and reserve my efforts for the moment when I simply can't stand it any longer. Today's cleaning moment is yet to occur.

And now I am going to go and watch the news and see what is going on in the Vatican. I gather there are many people there who had no idea at all that this was about to happen. I will be back.

About learning to make things........................

Sometimes my days follow one another in a simple, ordinary, uncomplicated way with nothing momentous happening. I get up, do a little tidying - I was going to say cleaning, but that would be a slight exaggeration - I read things here on the computer, I may go to gym, I may take a walk. I may do a little food shopping, of go to appointments. I cook food for our evening meal. I fall asleep in the rocking chair watching TV, or I fall asleep on the couch crocheting while I watch TV. I may pull up a couple of weeds in the garden. I may not. I may just sit.

And so my days can be ordinary ones. I happen to like ordinary. Quiet. Simple.

Actually, I am getting perilously close to the stage where I would prefer to stay home and never go out, and so, with that in mind, I am making myself plan things so I do indeed leave the house.

Ordinary simple days are never boring. My mind goes off on its travels and thoughts flitter through it, one settling for a while now and then for me to mull over.

I love being at home. I have always loved being at home. I love having a warm and welcoming house, where people feel comfortable popping in. There is so much to do here. I just love having the potential - the possibility of making whatever I think of, because I have supplies or stocks of so much crafty wonderfulness here. And good heavens, I still have Glynis's 60th birthday present to finish and she will soon be 61. Memo to self - DROP EVERYTHING AND FINISH IT!!

Sandra wrote a post yesterday about Home Economics. And she wondered why it is not taught any more.

I do not know about the rest of the world, but I have first hand experience of what has happened to the more non-academic subjects in our schools. I taught in that department, remember.

So I will tell you what has replaced those good old fashioned PRACTICAL lessons which have been a real blessing to most of us of a certain age. Even those of us who didn't like them at the time. I do remember my cinnamon roll biscuits. They were amazing. I also remember making a handmade pleated skirt to fit me in Standard 4. I would have turned 11 that year. We were taught to knit and sew and do embroidery and everything was handmade, and really totally impressive in retrospect.

So what has happened?

Once upon a time, all children learned practical things at school. For example, all through my schooling  (I was at a girls only school), there were extra classes - art classes, singing classes, and some years, sewing and domestic science .  None of these classes had exams. They were a practical addition to the timetable to round out our education. In some cases, the children who were never going to be academic stars, found something they could outshine their classmates at, and they became stars in another sphere. There was drama, gym, sport as well. Winter and summer. None of them had exams. In junior school, there were eurythmics (a sort of wave the arms gym)  and library classes too. Most of the sewing stuff was in the junior school, now I come to think about it. The bar was high. We did not make rubbish.

Once you got to the last 2 years of school, you could elect to take a subject like art as an examination subject - and a few others I think.

So, no matter who you were, you learned a great deal about a great many things.

Fast forward to 2006 when I started working in secondary schools here, and you get a vastly different scenario. Secondary school starts when you are 11. GCSEs are written when you are 16, and a great many children leave after GCSEs. Then there are A levels for 2 years. And you leave school at 18. From 11 - 13, you do rotations of "design" in 6 week lots. That includes Graphic Design, Resistant Materials, Textiles and Food Technology. In 6 weeks you can teach almost nothing, especially if you are only seeing the little darlings once a week. And EVERYTHING starts with composing a "design brief". Move on to the 13-16 year olds and I nearly lost the will to live. Now we have examinations ahead. Not in how good you are at making something, but the entire 2 year period is taken up with identifying need, design briefs, cost analysis, consumer surveys, prototypes, product reviews, marketing etc etc etc. And those 30+ girls did not know how to thread a sewing machine. So I had to teach them from scratch, and then the rest was all about academic acumen. And the exams reflected this. We are training generations of children to draw up design briefs to send to China to have things made by a foreign workforce, because so help me, our own do not have a clue how to make anything any more. The end product is not the goal. It is the master plan and all those details that is.

So, all the kids I taught somehow fell in love with making things. And there was no time in class for them to make anything, so every single lunch time, I had upwards of 40 boys and girls barrelling through my doors so that "Miss - please teach me how to make a bag/cushion/hat etc etc" could happen. They loved making things. I loved teaching them to make things. And this is OUTSIDE the curriculum. My time. There is nowhere left for a lad to excel at woodwork, or metalwork. Nowhere for a budding chef to excel, unless they also shine academically, because that paperwork and cost analysis stuff is more important than the skills needed to make things.

I tell you, it is a total tragedy. I just wanted to teach them all to make and fix and be proud of their talents and abilities as they discovered them. They LOVED doing something as simple as making pompoms. Most had never made one. Couching - even the boys loved that. I taught the boys to use the machines by referring to boy racers, and accelerators and steering - they loved that. Other teachers used to send the troublemakers down to me, and I made them finish the work they were supposed to do before I let them loose on the machines - they worked for me.

One of the 12 year old prima donnas was a real challenge. There were a few screaming matches - I won. And then one day, she came in at lunch and fell in love with the embroidery machine. A week later, I put her in charge of teaching the rest of the kids - some older and some younger - how to use it. "Seriously, Miss? You want ME to teach them?" "Sure", I said - "you know more than any of them." That child grew 3 feet as I looked at her with a grin. A couple of months later, after endless lunches with the crowded room and excited kids all over the place making things, she had never missed a day. As the bell went, she and I were heading out across the courtyard, when she yelled to me "Hey Miss - I am not such a bad kid, am I?" "No, sweetie, you are not such a bad kid after all".

And that was the day I resigned. It nearly broke my heart. I didn't have a choice. But you know, I loved every minute of the lunch times. Not so much the teaching of the academic stuff, but the lunchtimes were a magical time. For me, and, I think, for them.

And now? That school no longer teaches textiles, or resistant materials. I don't know if it teaches graphics either. Art. Food technology. Such a waste. A total and utter waste.

Children need lessons in life - in the growing of food, the preparation of it, the sewing and fixing and mending and budgeting. In woodwork, art, singing, drama. reading, dancing, in playing sport together, learning to win and to lose. In being creative, in daring to try new things. In being messy and in DOING.

When I was at my last school and teaching "Design" - they told me to think up a plan for something interesting as a rotation because they had too many children and so I invented a 6 week course. Hmmm. Anyway. On the last day, I copied one of my colleagues from my first school's brilliant idea. I divided the class into 4, and each team had a bin bag of cardboard boxes, yoghurt pots, cotton reels, paper, glue, string, elastic etc. They had 30 minutes to make a land yacht, and then we raced them along the desks, propelled by a fan. The winners got a prize. You have NO IDEA how much fun that was. They loved it. They had to think, to build, to test and hopefully try to win. They even had their team cheerleaders.

Kids like making things. I love making things. Everyone loves the satisfaction of creating something. And I worry that the generation growing up now will never have the opportunity to learn how to make or do things, with so many parents having to work full time, and with schools missing out on the creative side in favour of making those subjects academic

Just look at the rising popularity of knit and natter clubs/gatherings. Of crocheting, and thank the Good Lord for the internet. There is hope! Maybe the rising number of homeschooled children here too means the tide will turn. And in the  meantime, I can always teach a child myself, can't I.......