blogging guilt

I have lots to say, but no energy with which to say it.

Catch up

So. We went to Somerset to see Sophie, Daniel and the lovely little Oliver, who is going to be my godson. It was a bit of an adventure; Lyn and I have 3 children under 3 and we were trying to keep them entertained on the journey. Lucy was excellently behaved, except for just before the train pulled into West Ealing, when, of course, it didn't really matter that much anymore.

Sophie seems very calm and relaxed, enjoying being a stay at home mummy. I wish I could be the same sometimes, but I get terribly frustrated with not having an income and furious with having to ask for cash. I do think I've got the best of both worlds, working part-time, although I did feel marginalised at work, and would like to be doing something that's taken more seriously than Nursery. I keep telling myself it won't be like this forever, and I should just live in the moment and enjoy today blah blah blah, but it's difficult being Pollyanna.

Harriet and I managed to get into London to the V&A, to see The Cult of Beauty; Harriet does not like exhibitions. She was alright, and on the verge of sleeping, until I went into the exhibition itself, and then the big noise and the fighting Mummy started. Ah well. It wasn't so special that I had to look at every single piece in total silence, and it was totally rammed - on a Tuesday! Don't these people have jobs? We met up with Hat's godmother and her daughter; Flora, being that bit older, was absolutely fine, just getting a bit bored at the end. Hattie's main objection was that she wanted to go to sleep, and all this noise was stopping her from dropping off, and why wasn't she allowed to have scones and jam and cream, and it's not fair.

We also went to Northampton to see a friend - she is also blessed with a very bossy little girl, so Emma and Lucy bossed each other around fairly happily all afternoon, mostly watching endless Charlie and Lola episodes. Lucy was also very upset and frightened by the dog, although this dog is well trained, lovely and very friendly. Lucy did not approve of her, screaming and crying. In a way, I can see why she is frightened, but I wish she wasn't; it's very tiring, and I played with the dog and cuddled her to show Lucy that she wasn't scarey, but we were having none of it. She tried to pull this stunt with Sophie's cats, but I was having none of that.

I've got another day off today; Simon has taken the girls to Rye House in Hertfordshire, to watch Jamie bugger about on his motorbike, and I've been knitting, sewing and generally not doing very much. I was going to make a blueberry clafoutis, but someone ate the blueberries and I'd have to go outside to get more, and I just can't be bothered. Another time.

Day off

I went to the V&A today, on my own, with no children, and no responsibilities.



There is a very interesting exhibition called "The Cult of Beauty" but, being a Saturday, it was heaving, so I just wandered around aimlessly.



A couple of things fell into my shopping bag - some notelets, a postcard with owls on it and an "L" and an "H" printing blocks. I am planning to buy some ink to show Lucy how to print her name - how could this end badly?



As I was near the Fulham Road, I walked down as far as I could be bothered, went to a delicatessen, Daunt Books, had lunch at Paul, and generally enjoyed myself. I even sat on the top deck of a double decker bus. Twice! How exciting. It's very liberating not having the buggy.

In knitting news, I am making a purple jumper for Lucy. The ungrateful little so and so, having chosen the yarn herself, is now rejecting it. Joining a "stash down!" group on Ravelry has prompted a flurry of yarn buying - mostly Noro too, which quickly becomes super expensive. All because I want to make this:

http://getyourhookon.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/woohoo-its-done/

Ideally, I will make it over the next year or two, thus reducing the expense to acceptable levels.

I made this

Geri lost her husband. We loved him very much indeed. I wanted to do something, so I made her this to celebrate her new life as a rollergirl. She took the pictures, which is why they are better quality than usual.



It's not bad for a first attempt.

Time on my hands

Specifically, 22 minutes, then I have to go and collect Lucy. Harriet is snoozing - she is sleeping very badly in the day at the moment, and it affected her sleep last night - 2 wake ups, both with great big feeds. I also did a bit of a quick and dirty weigh-in with her - she's 1 stone 1 pound, which is what she was at last month's q&d weigh-in, so either I am hopeless at weighing her, or she isn't gaining weight. Hopefully I can take her to a proper weigh in this week or next and get a more accurate figure; I'm not worried yet, just a bit concerned. I'll probably have to make a bit more of an effort to take her once a fortnight, just to check I'm doing things properly. She's a happy little soul, and looks perfectly pink and fit to me.

What else? We had a very happy Easter at my parents, although they drive me insane with rage every now and then. They regard their grandchildren as somewhat of a chore to be endured, rather than a pleasure to be enjoyed, so too bad for them, they are missing out. Lucy has discovered that she only really likes our church - we went to Linton church on Easter Sunday and she was bored rigid. No one even gave her a biscuit! Actually, the Croydens did not cover themselves with glory at that service. Harriet has recently discovered her "loud" voice, which is trying, and she uses it when things aren't going her way, or she hasn't been fed for half an hour or so. We are going to put her on solids in the next couple of weeks. Can't wait.

I'm re-reading "A Spot of Bother" by Mark Haddon at the moment. It is quite good. I think I'm up to 30 books since January 1st now, not including ebooks - I have come round to the idea of a kindle - not the reality, I'm not buying one - now I've discovered that the Oz books are all available as digital versions for free. I've been wanting to own them for ages, but they are expensive and hard to find, so I've held off buying them; using the wonders of the ibooks iPod app means that I got them instantly and for nothing. They aren't very good, and I feel that L Frank Baum just brushed his bum against a typewriter for the later ones, but it's nice to re-read them after all this time.

The flower blanket was pushed into service last night, despite not yet being finished. It is looking amazing at the moment, I'm so impressed with myself. It doesn't bear too close inspection though, but the errors can't be seen from a trotting horse, so nevermind.

Time's up.

Exhausted

Good Lord, I'm tired. Harriet is teething. At 4 months. It's not fair. Also, she had her third set of jabs today, so is feeling very sad and sorry for herself, poor little monkey. She keeps grabbing my finger and shoving it in her mouth, and I can feel the little stubs of teeth that are on the point of breaking through. It's meant that she has cried a lot today, and refused to sleep. All she wants is to be cuddled on my shoulder. Being in the sling is not good enough. Being in her chair is not good enough. Being in the Bumbo is not good enough. My shoulders and neck ache like mad; my daughter weighs a good stone. Mary, our Practice Nurse, told me that she was a good size today and that I needed bother going to the Baby Clinic unless I feel like it. So I won't.

What new things can I write about today? I had a trip into London last week to meet up with my friend and her daughter, and we were very "ladies who lunch" in John Lewis. I was a bit disappointed with JL; I had a look through their patterns, and every single one I wanted was out of stock. So I only bought some fabric to make a buggy sling for Lucy's toy buggy and some cotton to complete Harriet's blanket, as well as some sock yarn for socks for a friend. Bah. I went to Communion today with Harriet; it felt like the right thing to do. We are so blessed in our family, and have nothing to complain about.

A flurry of posts

So, my Cherry and Almond cake turned out like this: and my Tea Cake is still absorbing tea at the rate of one sultana an hour, but the muffins came out well, although only one was eaten by each person, which is a bit rubbish. I shall have to have two or three to make up for their reluctance. I went to church by myself this morning, which was liberating in many ways, and also boring, and made sure I got myself into the minutes of the AGM by seconding the re-election of the sidespeople. How terribly exciting. The sermon was terrible; she kept asking us to turn to your partner and discuss the topic, and I know that that is what you do when you haven't got enough material to fill your entire lesson. Rubbish. Charlie and I sat at the back and did a lot of giggling, and also nodded off once or twice. Not much else. Lucy loves her big girl's duvet, and slept through until nearly 10, which is amazing. Harriet woke up at 5:20, so really 4:20, so really in the middle of the night. They have all gone out to a tennis club open day, so I am going to knit in front of the television.

It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done

Well, I took the girls to Ikea, and it wasn't that bad. Harriet, who is a very good girl, slept through the whole experience, and Lucy, who is often a very good girl, ate an entire Swedish pastry, chose a duvet and pillowcase set, ran riot around the children's department, bossing all the other children around, allowed me to change her nappy without even a pout and came home without any complaints afterwards.

We bought all sorts of things for big girls, and Lucy is so taken with her duvet cover that she refused to come downstairs for lunch and needed a bribe. She was very keen to have a little rest, which would have been ideal at any time save lunchtime, and, of course, as soon as she'd had her lunch, she didn't want another sleep.

I have some photos of Kew and the Orchid Extravaganza. They were beautiful, and a much needed shot of colour during a fairly drab early March.



More here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliaclare/sets/72157626093525711/with/5509394044/

We have people coming for tea; I am baking a Cherry and Almond Loaf Cake, which smells quite nice. I want to make Chocolate Chip Muffins for tomorrow morning, and a Tea Cake to take to church, for the Bring and Share Lunch. I don't think I'll stay for long, but a token effort is required, and this cake is so, so easy, I can make it before 10 tomorrow, even if I get up at 8.

Stuff and things

Some photos of our holiday:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliaclare/sets/72157626203232801/



It was a shame that Ouma had to be in the sick bay for almost the entirity of our holiday, but we managed to see her almost every day, and she spent just enough time with her young great grand-daughters, although I'm sure she'd disagree. The girls are not very restful for a 93 year old; funny that.

I can't be bothered to write reviews for all the books I've read recently, but some highlights are The Morville Hours, which I enjoyed so much that I'm actually going to buy it for myself, along with its companion book, and The Love Verb by Jane Green, which was sentimental drivel, but deserves a mention for the following crass paragraph, quoted verbatim.

"It only happens to fiver per cent of cancer sufferers," Callie says. "Look on the bright side. We always knew I was special. Honestly? I think I'm too good for this earth." As always, she is using humour to deflect the pain.

Seriously. Show, not tell.

What else? Congratulations to Sophie - another lovely little boy to add to her family. We are planning our visit at the moment.