Wedged Boobs

I have been tagged by Lucy at Lulastic And The Hippyshake to tell you 7 things you may not know about me, so here we go then.

1. When I was an art student, we went to Paris. At the Metro station one day, a male friend persuaded me to sneak him through the electric doors on my ticket (his had expired). He got through, but the doors closed on me and I was wedged in by the boobs. An irate Frenchwoman took a running leap and kicked me through the doors (she kicked me in the butt). Fortunately no photo's of the incident exist. 

2. My Great Grandparents came to Scotland from Ireland, Co Sligo, in the early 1900's, making me part Irish I suppose.

3. One of my closest friends and I went into labour together (I was 14 days over and she was 5 weeks early, so the chances were tiny). I recognised her voice behind a curtain and pulled it back and said, 'What are you doing here?' We were in the labour suite. We linked arms and walked up and down together for 6 hours (she delivered first).

4. I was married at the tender age of 17 years and 10 months. The marriage lasted 9 years and 8 months. I met Duncan 1 year after my marriage ended. Duncan and I have lived together for 12 years, and of those 12 we have been married for 6.

5. I have been a dental technician, a medical receptionist, a nurse, a shop assistant and a DWP admin assistant. My shortest job was for Stormseal Double Glazing, which lasted 3 hours.

6. I was born in December 1969 although I was actually early and was not due until January 1970. Sometimes I read both Sagittarius and Capricorn horoscopes, even though I don't believe in them.

7. I have a WOW account, and I sometimes even play it, my favorite character is a Paladin.

So there you go, bizarre and mundane. I am meant to tag 7 other bloggers so Kat from Slugs On The Refrigerator, Jeanette from The Lazy Seamstress, Deborah from Metropolitan Mum, Mrs Thrifty from A Thrifty Mrs, Becks From Different Choices, Henrietta from Angels Wings And Herb Tea, and Rose from Organic Family Love, consider yourself tagged.

Valerie

xxx

Light Night 2011

There was a torchlit procession, 2 pipe bands, Santa, the lighting of the tree, hotdogs, and (not too loud) fireworks. We were freezing and a bit crushed, but Oscar's smiling face made it worth while.

This Time

This time last year, I had a miscarriage. To be honest, I was not really thinking about it too much. I knew when it was, because it was a couple of weeks before my birthday, but I hadn't really equated it to this week. A chance encounter with a stranger at a bus stop, was what reminded me. The nice lady began talking about last year at this time, and for a moment I was a bit blank, then she started chatting about the snow storms which swept the country (leaving much of Britain at a standstill). That's when I remembered. Three trips to hospital. The first trip going hopefully to get a scan picture of a little peanut, only to be told things weren't as they should be, and 2 more trips to make sure my miscarriage was progressing (my body was holding on to things). Only a few buses were running and the snow was banked so high up the pavements walking was impossible. Even though my body was slowly letting go of the baby, the morning sickness was still horrendous and knowing full well I would have to wait an eternity, I had to get off one bus to be sick and then have Duncan hold me up until the next one came.

Its amazing how quickly these thoughts can fly through your head as a nice old lady chats about gritters and sledges. Its also amazing how quickly a year can pass by while life carries on. Still a family of 5, we may never be a family of 6.

As predicted, Oscar dropped off in the pushchair in town(its going to be a late one).

And when I got home I realised I was wearing fertility beads.

Oscar had found them on a dusty shelf and made me wear them, saying they were his present to me, for our getting married (him and me). I expect he will get an extra few Mama squeezes today.

Glittering

We didn't manage playgroup yesterday, in fact we didn't manage a whole lot. Sometimes we have days or even weeks like that. Oscar is grumpy, Mama is tired, the weather is against us and we all sink into a bit of a rut. I am still in pain with my back, and the painkillers are making me tired and irritable (some people may say they cant tell the difference from usual). Oscar is grumpy too, we are still trying to get into the swing of the clocks changing. During the summer (in the country), Oscar was sleeping until 8am at least, sometimes 9am (bliss), and going to bed about 8pm. Lately he has been up at 6 - 6.30am and trying to go to sleep between 5pm and 6pm in the evening. I am not too bad at getting up in the morning, but its the tail end of the day I struggle with. By 4pm we are both very tired and VERY bad tempered. Its difficult right now to see it as a stage/phase and I have to keep telling myself it will change eventually. Oscar, technically, still needs an afternoon nap, but if he has one (he generally has to be out in the pushchair to drop off), he seems to want to sleep for hours and hours and then play all evening (its been known to have him bouncing around at midnight). Just what I need when my eyes are closing at 7pm.

We did manage the peppermint creams though, and delicious they are too, providing you like sugar.

And of course, we also managed our new daily activity -

Colour me glitter.

At the tail end of yesterday, just as the sun was sinking, Oscar decided he wanted to run around the garden with a torch, (you would be surprised how often that happens around here). Its a blessing and a curse really. It amuses him until dinner, but it also makes him even more tired when he comes into the warm for food.

Ah well, hopefully it will get better, I am thinking that Christmas is just around the corner, Daddy will be on holiday for 3 weeks over the holidays and routines would go out the window anyway (if we had one).

Right, time for fortification before we head into town. We ran out of glitter yesterday, Gasp!

A hole

This morning I took out some of my knitting to photograph for the blog, and one of the hats I have knitted (an elf hat for Oscar), has a gaping big hole in it. I cant tell you how upset I am, and to make matters worse, its stripped and I have cut and bound all the edges, so virtually impossible to rattle down and start again. The silver lining being I can order more wool, of which I have a considerable list saved ready for purchase. Still, hours wasted, and Duncan had even started making a pom-pom for it (I think he was regretting volunteering for that one). The hat was intact when I saw it last, but one of the woven wicker craft baskets has bits on it which could technically snag wool. I have my other finished pieces in bags now, so lesson learned I guess.

SO, instead of hats, here are wrist warmers and a necklett. I wasnt sure about the sequins, but the recipient is 12, so I thought maybe it would 'funk' them up a bit? (but what do I know, I just used the word funk!).

I intend on edging the necklet with sequins.

You can expect plenty of craft/knitting posts over the next few weeks, because I have a list of things to finish for Christmas.

Today is Mother & Toddlers group, but Oscar has been struggling to make the afternoon session (Tuesday afternoon, Friday morning), because he is often in need of a nap by 2pm and very grumpy. I shall play it by ear. Also on the agenda today is a practise run at making peppermint creams. I plan on letting Oscar make some as gifts on Christmas week, but a wee trial run is definitely in order. You can find the recipe online, but here is the one I will be using.

Ingredients

• 
  1 free-range egg white
  


• 
  ½ lemon, juice only
  


• 
  1 tsp peppermint flavouring
  


• 
  425g/15 oz icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
  


• 
  175g/6¼oz dark chocolate
  

Preparation method

1. 
   Whisk the egg white in a bowl until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. Slowly whisk in the lemon juice, peppermint and icing sugar to a stiff paste.
   


2. 
   Tip the peppermint mixture onto a work surface dusted liberally with icing sugar and roll out thinly.
   


3. 
   Use a 5cm/2in cutter to cut out circles and place them onto a baking tray. Chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours, or until the mixture has set.
   


4. 
   Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water.)
   


5. 
   Dip each peppermint cream into the melted chocolate and set aside on a baking tray. Chill the peppermint creams until set.

How much mix/chocolate do you think Oscar will eat straight from the bowl?



Valerie

xxx

Back

Here I am, back again. I have been lying flat out for the last week and a half with back problems. I have crumbling discs which flare up to excruciating pain every once in a while, (although I have been taking pain medication for it every single day for almost 3 years).

I have not been completely idle though, no no no. I have knitted 4 hats, 2 pairs of gloves, and a scarf. I have also been making an advent banner for Oscar. This involved making 24 little felt stocking. I have a sewing machine, but there was no way I was going to be able to sit at it, so they were done lying down by hand.  I know I could have quite easily bought one. But I like the idea of having something hand made, something Oscar will think of as slightly wonky but fondly because his Mama made it. Besides, I had left over felt and ribbon, so this has actually cost me nothing to make.



Oscar and Daddy caught the Christmas bug yesterday and they had a great time with glitter, glue and cotton wool. I have said it before, and I still stand by it, its the time tested simple things which work out the best.
I am hoping to leave the house today, because I am going crazy being stuck in. We are also in the midst of a small DIY project and it has left the lounge in a bit of an uproar (when I say we, I mean Duncan does and I supervise from the sofa).

If I dont manage though, I am sure Oscar can keep me amused one more day.

Valerie

xxx

Temporary

We are on a break just now.

Don't go kissing anyone else while I am gone.