365/340-1 Corner-curly

I tried so hard to upload this last night, but it wasn't playing ball on my phone!

This is Lyla at the hospital,, waiting on a check-up for new baby brother or sister. (all good there.. just need to coax it out of breech in the next six weeks!)  There were two doors and three corners so she loved hiding in them, an I knew the word, so hey presto!

 She also sports a cut eye, hit the corner of the desk! Double prompt word score!

JB had a great birthday, we ate out at the Seafood Cafe and later went on to the Hub where she and Ross worked in the summer and surprise surprise another ten people there waiting for us.. cake, drinks, presents, friends what more does a girlie want?
(mmm, well cooked swordfish perhaps.. but prima donna chefs just won't listen will they!)

Only Zac was missing, well Tom too but he was poorly and babysat instead, so we will try again for the full Bingo Card when Zac is back over Xmas .. x  We sent him this message from Dad while we were out..

Today has been eventful. We are having three phase power pout in and we had no electric from 10am til almost 5... amazing the things you think of doing and then realise you can't as you need power.  So much of our lives are internet based now, banking, email sales and shopping!  The office and workshop used a generator for a while but by 3 it was dark, all the cars had been wahsed and tidy welding bays sorted so we calle dit a day.. call it a Christmas shopping day! 

Col had a better idea for me, he made me a fire indoors and I wrapped alomst 3/4 of my presents!  Still slightly odd, by daylight and with no TV or radio.. but it was nice and made me think of why my folks used to get up early and go to be early in winter to use the best of the day out working on the field.

I did venture into the office a bit.. the guys had been planning some work and ended up using the white board for their own kind of air hockey!!

(or was it curling..ta da!)

Well it will be a day to remember for them!

mmm, curly.. well howabout this lovely cloudy curly sky I stopped to photograph on the way home this morning.. it looked better than the picture to be fair..

365/338-9 Curved-couple

Well this is the most curved thing I saw yesterday.. the dash of my car.. almost poetically curved!

Today has been so so busy. We are hoping to build a new unit to rehouse our manufacturing and Col wanted us to see a new building a friend has built.. it is huge and we were suitably impressed. Now to sort some funding.. and that's the hard part, getting money back from Europe which we pay them every day but can only get back once we have employed God knows how many consultants to show us how... bring on the UKIP vote we say!

This evening is the eve of Jordan's birthday and she was out at her baking evening class so we set to and decorated the house for Christmas. Ross was at football and he got in just as April and I needed the tree (it's an artificial one so we can have a tree for three weeks before the 'real tree' (holly) gets cut a day or two before Christmas (that's become Zac's job since Col's back was bad .. and he's not sure how it happened, but maybe next year when he is sunning himself in the Pacific or somewhere he will miss it?? maybe Zac?)



Great couple.. x


We gave JB her presents as it will (as usual ) be busy at 8am, she had some lovely 'to keep ' things, a bracelet, starfish ear rings and some retro cushions.. oh and art and cook books of course!

Kate was funny as ever, reminiscing about being  Scrooge in the junior school play 5 years ago this week (when Lisa first told me she was having Lilly... ahh how time passes and children become so much part of the family!).. I have (hard to upload but I am trying!) pictures Kate pretending to be Scrooge as she put the balls on the tree.. she asked me to do the lametta as she says I have the degree for doing that (a tribute to the control freak I used to be!)

Quote of the day goes to April.. 'yeah I was a sheep in the school play.. I was also Mary's understudy.. but she always &*^%$*&! turned up..'

Story Telling Sunday: Coming Home

So, a moment this evening for Sian's Story telling Sunday over at ..High in the Sky

Back in 2004 when our five children were aged 7 up to 18 we were long overdue for a family holiday. Col had borne the brunt of working up our business for the previous five years and was in need of a get-off-the-world rest and relax.  Having never had a holiday all of us together with children not in need of fetching and carrying, I looked at ski-ing but resolved it was too much of a sport strenuous option (and expensive to kit out seven of us to boot!), then I looked at beachy places but it was going to be long haul to get hot weather in the depth of a European winter.

Colin had harboured a love for the Maldives from his days out there working (yes, working... good work if you can get it!), so I researched some all Inclusive options which turned out favourable vs skiing for seven and we pushed the proverbial boat out and went to Kuramathi in the Maldives.   We got exactly what we needed : sea, sun, sand, snorkelling and so much food and drink it was just what we all needed.

I couldn't believe the blue seas, the amazing coloured fish and mostly that for once all my kids were in the same place at the same time, no teen taxi calls, no school runs, no friends over for tea, just us ! We became a bit of a talking point having an entourage of five children and even the lady in the spa had heard about us.. I nicknamed myself Mrs Von Trapp!

We travelled home on 21st December and arrived in Gatwick amidst carol singers and crowds flying in from Lapland with holiday reps dressed in thick coats and ear muffs...and there we were in board shorts and flip flops!  Quite surreal with a choir singing Silent Night alongside an airport sized Christmas Tree! 

It wasn't easy settling back down to a Cornish winter either as I still felt I should kick into Christmas mode, but kick in we did.  

Some of the people we met on the holiday had a third week booked and we heard from them when they got back... on Boxing Day that same year the Tsunami in Asia occurred and we found ourselves rooted to the TV all day scouring for news of this tiny vulnerable group of islands which had found such a special place in our hearts just a few days earlier.  

 

Some of the islands had suffered badly but our island had flooded pathways and some strange ebbing and flowing of the seas (which Col observed that he would have found very disturbing, either the earth had fallen off its axis or some great earth movement was occurring would have been his first thought!), and was otherwise fine.  It turns out that because the islands are essentially sunken volcanos the tsunami surge went round them with a swell rather than treating the land as a barrier as in Sri Lanka.. any other way would have been devastating as there are no areas more than a metre above sea level... they sure wouldn't have taken some of our English winter gales!

 

We love that place, so much so we have been back several times since and Lisa went there on honeymoon.. just waiting now on the next wedding in the family to see if we can have a communal honeymoon.. any takers kids???!

365/333-7 Another chasing of tail!

Catch up time again I'm afraid. I have been busy and even writing comments has been very scarce on the ground.. sorry everyone!

Day 333 Wednesday.. planning to go away the next day, my fruit was well stewed in the red wine and then the Cointreau (which I have just discovered is a great addition to a mulled wine / punch type hottie at this time of year!! )  So I set to in the morning and made my Christmas cakes, one for us and one for Pops, all gluten free. They look good so far!!  This is the whole cake before baking!

Day 334 Thursday ..Col and I set off mid morning (after I had done a hours work, oh how it comes in just as you are leaving the office!) with Kate to go to Watford for the final photo day for the Teen model competition she was in.  Long drive but nicely interspersed with a quick MacD and a shop (in Lipsy... ohh the gorgeous dress she bought at Col's choice.. so so gorgeous!) at Cribbs.  We are kind of deprived from decent shops this far west so everyday shopping at Cribbs for some is a real treat for us girls!  Nice when we can get it!

Years ago Kate cleaned the office and the loos and joked she felt like Paris Hilton on the Simple Life and came in wearing elbow length rubber gloes holding a bucket at arms length.. ever the diva.. so we booked into the Hilton!!  Well it wasn't much more than the Premier Inn and when the guys took her bags to show us the room she was really impressed.. here she is in her room at the Hilton.. not too much debris (yet)but she had only just arrived ;-)

But this is the kind of debris the rain keeps leaving in the lane just outside our yard!

Day 335 Friday .. Col and I did some nice browsing and some actual shopping in Watford (!) while Kate had her day.. a lot of hanging about, but nmaybe that's a taster for modelling , who knows.  We went back for the catwalk bit and the 14 girls all made such an effort, looked amazing and some of the shoes were .. well, for fear of sounding like my Mum, I don't know how they walked in them!   Kate didn't make it to the last three who go to the Clothes show next week but i would not have wanted to choose either. She wasn't down hearted, just wants to do more and have something else to aim for, so that's cool. All a good experienece, she met some great girls and we took some well deserved and enjoyed time out! 

I thought she looked fab, even here at the services on the ride home!

Not much assymetry in nature to be seen on our way home but here is a Cornish hedge, the trees are always screwed to one side with the salty southwest winds which prevail (bit of geography there!)

Day 336/7  Sat / Sun.. back to normal, but a bit like in the summer. Just me and Col, Kate seeing pals and working,  Ross away seeing mates and Zac, and JB back working in St Ives.  Healthy eating back on the menu next week (JB made some fabulous breads which put paid to my good habits!)

The fruit bowl over floweth at home...

 

and for Sunday I must show the random assymetrical orchid which is still flowering ..almost two years now..xx

Oh and as for Story Telling Sunday.. I may just be out of words.. it has taken me two hours to transfer some pics to G+ to solve the storage issue for my pics!!

365/332 Worn

You're going to like this tenuous link..my Col is an avid hater of those reality type shows which make people eat bugs and stuff. ..so, often if Kate (and I) find ourselves vegging out in front of IACGMOOH he leaves to go do jobs, bath or watch something he likes better in our bedroom.

But we have worn him down...so much so he even knows the format of evictions and (non-beastly) challenges and tomight turned UP the volume so he didn't miss something!

Result!  Great family fun all round. Xxx

365/331 Lonely

What weather! It has rained and blown a gale all day, it has hardly come to full daylight and as I drove this afternoon I felt like I was towing a large grey cloud above me!  I was happy to go out though, to collect Lilly and save her mum from going out in this weather.. the driving is horrible, huge puddles everywhere.

Oh but what a joy to spend half an hour with Lilly, and her priceless comments! 

We drove past Kate's school and a conversation ensued about whether Kate was a grown-up girl or a grown-up per se.  I thought we would find no common ground until Lilly asked this simple defining question...'is she allowed to use big scissors?' 'Yes' .. 'so she is a grown-up'

And then, just to clarify she asked me if Kate is allowed to do jobs 'up ladders'  I replied that she probably was but most jobs up a ladder were boys jobs.  Lilly did not agree as she felt girls should also be allowed up ladders, but we had proof then that Kate is grown-up (well by Lilly's definition anyway!)

We picked up some chocolate bars and against my suggestion that perhaps she save one half of the Milky Way for mummy, Lilly decided to eat them both.  A less excited expression later she said....'mmm I think maybe I ate too much of that, when I get in I shall have something healthy instead..'   Not sure if I won or lost that one as she did eat both.. mmm x

All is going well with the baby, I made a slip today and referred to it as 'she', really not sure where that came from, it is quite exciting not knowing what little person is going to come say hi mid January.. I can't wait.. well I can, let's get Christmas out the way first!   With grandchildren life is anything but lonely!

.. writing from the office and found this little one of Lilly at 16 hours old.. awhhhh xxxx

365/330 Forgotten

At least it had stopped raining when we ventured out for an hour this afternoon.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy seeing the angry grey sea as much as the calm blue millpond in the summer.  I am wondering too if the Mount should not be one of my views for next year as it is so close and the panorama changes with the weather... so that is three views so far.. sounds like a daily pic Jen! So much for going weekly as I had planned!

The seagulls are amazing creatures (well I think that when I see them flying, not so much when they are in a seaside town!) just playing in the wind.  We had a lazy day again, Ross & April tidied the sitting room, got the fish tank out of the alcove and made everywhere feel 'ready for Christmas', we even put on some Christmas music.. heck, if you can't enjoy it before then come Boxing Day it's done.

This evening I weighed and wined the fruit for two cakes, one for Pops, a special cake this year as he has to have gluten free stuff now, but hopefully it will make him feel better.  April and I lined the cake tins.. my Mum always had a tin ready to go, so I know I am the grown-up now!

As a side story I had a fabulous dream last night, it seemed to go on for hours, lots of different people at all different stages of their lives, but I woke really happy.  I had met my dad again, but he was now my age (I guess he hadn't aged) and I kind of fell in love with him even though he didn't really say much, I just knew that I could see all the reasons my Mum had loved him... a bit of a Benjamin Button type scenario...very strange but beautiful and as I grinned when telling a bemused Colin about it (he says he doesn't dream..) but a little tear trickled from each eye as I lay in bed.  Wishing I could bottle it up so I don't forget it, it really made me think of a fab book I once read, I think it was a teenagers book, called Elsewhere, you should read it!

365/326-9 Crowd-paint-gloomy-sad.

Major league catch up.. again! I'm not quite sure what happened to the week but I'm sure it will come back to me as I write. Ahhh yes, Wednesday & Thursday I did the fetching from preschool, it's such a joy to see Lilly's face when she sees me, just like our kids were when Col's Mum went for them!


I was on standby to go to see The big 'S' (shhhh) and his reindeer at Truro Christmas shopping but didn't have to go, I was pretty busy so not too sad to avoid the crowds! Jb and Dom went and saw the girls there so Dom has promised me a pic of the crowds, hopefully some of Lilly too!

Thursday was horrible, gloomy with so much rain and even worse today..

Thursday evening was Jordan's open evening at college so I went with Lilly and Col's dad so she cold grab some studio time for her 'Portrait' project.. haven't seen the results yet but it was a nice 'different' thing to do.  Lilly was great and so funny, she was drawing a chapatti which she had been eating at school earlier.  Then she gave the picture to Jordan's graphics teacher for his display, so now it has pride of place with all the a level kids art work.. awwhh.

Paint.. mmm, I like metallic paint and on these fish on my wall.

It was just nice last night to go out in the dry to St Ives for our works 'do'.  I wore my new red dress and was very happy with it.. almost long sleeved a a kind of skater dress style.. one of my Polish guys said I looked like a Christmas present.. I liked that! It's what comes of wearing black all the time!

Crazy guy x

 

I was a sad control freak today, I have asked everyone to help me get ahead for the run up to Christmas. Kate was on the case and cleaned the bathroom and on slow-but-sure-pace I cleaned, tidied and sorted all my kitchen cupboards and drawers, so at least now I know what I have in store and I know the corners have been cleaned before the onslaught. 

 It may feel like a sad way to get the Christmas spirit but I like to tidy before I start decorating!

365/325 The Bridge.

Firstly I have to confess to finding my pics today on the internet, it was in the office and I didn't have access to my files, and in any case these fit perfectly! 

I grew up, my formative years, til I was 13 years old, in a house called 'The Bridge'. We lived at the bridge and all the houses there, four in total, were all called that. When we left things got confusing as the surnames of the people were the same so they were changed to 'The Bridge House' and others.    I didn't think of this instantly, it has just evolved as I have considered pictures for today.. then I realised that all of the cove, Penberth that is, is dotted with bridges!

I did feature the White Gate bridge on this post here! and the bridge right down cove where I was pictured with Dad as a baby in a pushchair. 

This was also the bridge where the fishermen weighed their fish into boxes before taking them to Newlyn.  Our old spaniel would sometimes help himself to a nice large mackerel from one of the boxes and run home very proud, fish in mouth.. into the dog's box as we called it's kennel!

Neil's Dad was a carpenter but had a great boat called the Father Bob and he sometimes went long lining in the summer. If he caught conger eels they would gut them on the steps by the bridge and I was always fascinated to see what little fish were in the conger's stomachs!

This is the bridge where most people have to stop and park.

We lived just opposite this thatched house and the old lady who lived opposite was 'Auntie Janie', she was like an old Victorian lady, you know, brown or black dresses, a shawl or wool cardigan and those lace up boot shoes they wore. (This was the 60's and the Beatles and Mary Quant were not going to arrive her anytime soon!)  I used to show her everything first.. a new dress, the decorated Christmas tree, the tea party I had made for my toys.. anything.. and she was always interested.. she spent time with me as a toddler and my first words were hers : 'Who's'at?' when a new person came around!!

The house closest is now joined to the thatched cottage internally but my best friend Teddy lived there. He was closer in age to me than my brother and he was the youngest in his house, so we were always going to be doing things together.  He was old enough to make the most of my trusting gullible nature.. oh the stories he led me to believe! (but they are for another day!)  We were best buddies, even when we fought..

Just where this picture above was taken from is 'the bridge'. It is still great for Pooh Sticks and sometimes, if you are very quiet you can see a trout hanging in the deeper water..but be careful, he will hear you first most times!

One Guy Fawkes night ... (and this was a BIG night in our world... my cousin Neil's mum always put on a big food and firework evening and we collected trees and papers from September onwards for the huge bonfire which every year we thought would reach the trees!!.... well, it must have been a great 'go do' activity for kids once the evening started to draw in and they were bored form so long a summer holiday!)... a major incident happened at the bridge...

A retired genteel Sea Captain (Mellonie) yes, a Captain Bird's Eye lookalike, who lived in Robin's Cottage, was walking over the bridge at dusk when his walking stick went into a small hole.. he wiggled it and the hole got bigger....earth fell away through the bridge, the only way in or out of the cove for the fish truck and every other vehicle...and the hole got bigger.

Captain Mellonie raised the alarm, I guess he must have called the Police, who knows.... Well to cut a long story short (as if!) the bridge was condemned and had to be replaced. It was so cool from a kid's point of view, we had a wooden bridge to replace it, which bounced when you walked across it, and it almost came into OUR garden, it ran right through the trees where we had OUR CAMP and it was right by OUR house!  I think secretly we all hoped that maybe we would not have to go to school, that somehow it would be like we were completely isolated, but as adults do, they sorted it and life became normal again pretty soon... not til my Mum had carried a fair few trays of tea out to men working I bet! 

Lucky though that a car or the fish lorry didn't come a cropper..!!

So, there's a taster for my story telling nostalgia week each month next year..

and bringing you up to date.. JB has crossed a bridge and got over it.. today she made mini lemon meringues and they were F.A.B., her cornflour demon is dead!!

365/323-4 Playful & free choice!

Well Sunday was out of the ordinary. I went stocking filler shopping with Lisa. It's been a long while since we went just us, no babes, no sisters, just us.  It was nice, two grown women who are extensions of each other, who know almost everything about each other and yet can be so so different.  We rubbed along nicely, had lunch at M&S and dragged some parts of Truro from recession in a minor fashion!

We bought advent calendars, stockings (yes three so they all match next year) and all things Christmassy! Plus of course a bunch of ideas growing for the big kids!  Both of us have men who are great at the big kudos pressies but fade from sight when the padding out pressies are involved.. but hey, like the ad says 'would we have it any other way?'

The rest of my brood went to the lovely, (in fact increasingly lovely in the shadow which is nearby Penzance), St Ives. Lunch and a bimble, a promise to go with Pops Christmas shopping (oh, you are a star JB) and some without-mum time.  I am so bossy and noisy (or make that chatty) I bet it was odd, maybe a little like when Col goes away, but good that everyone spent time together in different pockets. 

Dear Zac, without trying he has this way of getting everyone to make an effort. Lisa once said he is like the glue, the big kids see him as their kid brother and the younger ones see him as their.. well hero in Jb's case and well a big brother in Kate's place. He drove back to Sothampton and made good time, perfect to watch the F1 late on.  It won't be long before he is home to cut my holly and chill a little longer.

I feel somewhat embarassed by the lovely comments from my 365 crew and others, they read me waxing lyrical about our events and I guess they are generally feel good events but I do try not to moan about the things which annoy me and specifically when they are about .. yes, the kids but that is usual isn't it?.... it seems unfair to put to text a feeling which will fade with time.. oh boy, there have been plenty, but they should not be what the kids and grandkids should think I was overwhelmingly taken with. Does that make sense?

Jb has written her cake blog this evening .. she was dishearened by a failed lemon meringue but I have pictures of her being playful with a blow lamp on the meringue..

..and these pictures she took of cooking with Lilly during half-term really deserve and airing for my free-choice selection..