Friday, September 26, 2008

I HAVE A SECRET.....

I AM THE SLOWEST KNITTER EVER!
I am so slow that I embarrass myself, I am as slow as a knitting demonstration on YouTube.
I have always wanted to be a fast and expert knitter but the more I knit the slower I get.
It's an arthritis thing.




I have just finished Beauty's birthday cardigan and now I am working on a tank top that will be used in a pirate costume for Beauty on Halloween.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

YES I AM STILL HERE.....

y





SORRY GIRLS FOR NOT UPDATING REGULARLY.
For the last week and a half I have had a sore throat, sore ears and a b-tch of a headache!
I have had one of those constant thick head aches that doesn't want to shift plus getting on the computer has been almost impossible at times.
And no it isn't the result of alcohol......it would have to be a bloody long hangover as the last alcohol I had and that was merely a sip , was the 31st December1999.
I probably need new glasses.
Beauty appears to be using mine!


Really good news on the weather front.
The rain seems to have gone and we are having some sun everyday, plus it is a little blowy so the washing is drying well and the pigs and rabbits get to go out in their playpen everyday.

Beauty in her new winter coat.



PED EGG

No this is not me promoting the product
I have ALWAYS had dry feet( I know, too much detail) and I seem to have spent my life ( and a fortune on foot products) trying to keep my feet nice.


The Knap Sunday Evening.

Barry Island Sunday Evening.

I have been watching re-runs of the COAL HOUSE and I am hooked.
When the program was first shown we were on FREEVIEW and we couldn't get the COAL HOUSE due to poor reception but now we have Virgin TV it is one of my favourite shows.
I was disappointed at the beginning when I started to watch it but that was only to do with my own pre-conceptions of what it was to be about.
My father had been a miner and I thought it would shed some light on what his life had been like growing up but staraight away I could see it was culturallydifferent but even so it was still fascinating.
My father was brought up in Cwm Amman near Aberdare and his mother died when he was very young of TB spine and his aunt lived with him and his father and she took care of the house.My grandfather was a signal man on the railway and worked all the way through the depression and so whilst his work was not brilliantly paid the money was still constant and they had quite a good life.
I remember my father telling us how his aunt would give away the clothes that he had out grown
during the depression years and they must have been doing OK to be able to just give clothes away.
My father went to the Grammar school but decided to go down the pit with his friends and left school early even though his family wanted him to stay at school.When the war broke out he joined the army.
So whilst he was a miner for a short time, his was not the typical mining family.
Being an only child I am sure my father's up-bringing was probably better than the average child.
It was difficult to correlate the hardships of the COAL HOUSE with my father's childhood but even so it was a fascinating show.
Fiona and SnoWhite felt that I would probably enjoy being on the COAL HOUSE program and I think I probably would.
The way they cook on the COAL HOUSE is really not too different to the way I cook and tonight is Corned Beef Hash Pie for the meat eaters of the family.
Due to the number of adverts on TV by different stores about how you can feed a family of 4 for under £5 my girls seem to be especially interested in how much the evening meals cost.
Last night we had a home made pie filled with vegetables and soya mince, potatoes, peas and carrots and Beauty had pasta and sauce and the total came to under £3:50.
Not too bad for these CREDIT CRUNCH times or whatever they are callingit now.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

ARE THERE MORE?

There are YUMMY MUMMIES and SLUMMY MUMMIES and me .....the TOO OLD TO GIVE A SHIT MUMMY.....please let me know if you have encountered others.
I anticipate a new term very soon.
When piercings other than in your nose first became popular it was amongst those who lived alternative lifestyles and the middle class young that it was mostly seen. Then everybody seemed to have all their bits pierced!
With the YUMMY MUMMY first the upper class , then the Have-it-Alls and now everybody.
This I believe is called PROLE DRIFT.
My children have ALWAYS been told, right from the start of the use of the phrase,that calling me a YUMMY MUMMY would result in a slap on the back of the head.....Jethro NCIS style!
The other day I was in a shop buying craft items when along came a Have-it-all Yummy Mummy!
The little boy with her picked up some glue and Yummy Mummy said
'OH NO WE DON'T NEED GLEW' (HER PRONUNCIATION)
'WE DON'T NEED GLEW'
WE DON'T NEED GLEW'
WE DON'T NEED GLEW'
'OH IS IT WHITE GLEW?'
'WE DO NEED WHITE GLEW'
And this seemed to go on and on and on!
I had to move away, but even from 3 rows away I could still hear her.
I felt like shouting 'HE GETS IT'.

My last visit to IKEA was disrupted by a YUMMY MUMMY allowing her Little Darling to swing on a dividing rail unrestrained. I think I was the only one concerned that the rail would fall on the Little Darlings head as Yummy Mummy was too interested in talking to her Yummy Mummy friend about buying a Sporty People Carrier that Daddy would be happy to drive.
Yummy Mummy can be as Yummy as she likes but why do they have to be so loud about it?

RIGHT.....
Beauty is in school, I have consumed a bag of Doritos and 2 diet cloudy lemonades and it is now 10:20am and I think I should start some housework!

Friday, September 05, 2008

THANK GOODNESS IT'S FRIDAY

All this rain is definitely not good for the ozone......think of all the extra tumble drying going on!



Isn't it ironic.



I've decided that I like Karma after all.


Another present,this one is from SnoWhite

Beauty in her school uniform

Thursday, September 04, 2008

DIMITRI AND ANASTASIA ARE HOME.....

COMPLETE WITH PRESENTS.

PONIES FOR BEAUTY



AND SOAP FOR ME
THIS IS MY FAVOURITE SOAP, ANASTASIA AND I WENT TO PARIS A FEW YEARS AGO AND WE BOUGHT THIS BEAUTIFUL SOAP IN A LITTLE SHOP ON THE
CHAMPS ELYSEES


AND FOR THE BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL.....
YESTERDAY WE WENT TO ASDA AND BEAUTY SAW THIS DOLL, BABY BORN AND INSISTED WE BOUGHT IT.

Beauty has been scared of dolls since she was tiny but she saw this doll and started singing the Baby Born song and insisted I buy her the doll. Beauty is odd when it comes to toys in a shop as usually she only wants to look and will not let me buy her anything BUT today was different.
She played with her doll all evening with her pram that she had for Christmas.
Huge progress.
She even insisted on taking the doll to bed.
However, at 2am she awoke awoke and checked her doll and found the dolls hat gone, screaming ensued until I found the hat and put it back on. Beauty was then awake for approximately 2 hours, singing and chatting.
Perhaps I could Superglue the hat to Baby Born's head!

I have taken it easy today on Beauty's number 2 day back at school and have contented myself with washing clothes and doing dishes, PLUS a nap.....well it had to be done!

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

DOES 'THE SUN ONLY SHINE ON TV?'

JUST TO PROVE THAT THE SUN DID SHINE FOR A FEW MINUTES TODAY.



SNOWHITE'S PLANT



MY MINT


BEAUTY READY FOR SCHOOL


I'M STILL SO TIRED!


LOOK AT ME!


HI HO, HI HO
IT'S OFF TO SCHOOL I GO!

MY FAVOURITE DRIVING ANTHEM....AT THE MOMENT!

AND WHAT IS THERE TO WORRY ABOUT IN SYRIA.....?

Sarkozy confirms Syria visit date

Nicolas Sarkozy and Bashar al-Assad at the Paris summit
Mr Sarkozy hosted Mr Assad in Paris in July for a ground-breaking summit

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced he will visit Syria on 3-4 September as part of efforts to improve ties between the two countries.


THANKFULLY Ariel will miss his little visit!

With all the bad news we see in the media it was heart warming to read this

'Miracle' boy's first school day

Alexander Grief
Four-year-old Alexander now goes to Winshill Village Primary School

A boy who doctors feared would not survive after he was born four months premature has started
schoo
l.

Alexander Grief, four, of Burton-upon-Trent,

Staffordshire weighed little more than a pound and was given a 12% chance of survival by doctors.


Today is the day.....Beauty goes back to school.
THANK YOU,THANK YOU,THANK YOU.
She has been very tiring this summer.
I now need rest.
I have had increasing problems with my hips recently,my right hip became painful and I couldn't lie on it about 4 years ago and my left hip started to go the same way las t December.Walking was really painful and I had to rest more and more frequently.
I have been diagnosed with Trochanteric bursitis.
AND the first thing that I thought when I heard this.....I DON'T NEED A HIP REPLACEMENT.
My biggest fear was the need for an operation and my absolute dread of getting MRSA again but it seems that with exercise and possibly injections my hips might get a little better.
I have already done some stretching exercises this morning!

BEAUTY'S NEW CROCS


OUR LADY OF SORROWS

BEAUTY'S BIRTHDAY(MAYBE CHRISTMAS) PRESENT!


Tuesday, September 02, 2008

ONE MORE SLEEP.....

UNTIL BEAUTY GOES BACK TO SCHOOL AND ANASTASIA COMES HOME FOR A FAMILY WEDDING.
Plus we get to see Dimitri who we haven't seen in ages which is brilliant.

Other fantastic family news.....Ariel passed her exam and is off to Syria next week.
I am pleased BUT now I start to worry!
I worried when Anastasia went to Voronezh,
and Belle went to Mississippi ,
and now I have to worry about Syria.

Monday, September 01, 2008

YET ANOTHER POSTCARD FROM HOME!

THE GIRLS.....THEY BOUGHT ME FLOWERS!



SUNSET FROM MY GARDEN

THE LAST OF MY GARDEN

DOOR CURTAIN


FLOWER TUB

BEAUTY 'WATERED' MY PLANTS WITH TURPS!



SUNDAY EVENING IN THE BAY


THE BIG WHEEL


ST DAVID'S HOTEL


ACROSS THE BAY



BEAUTY AND HER ICERSCREAMER!


A QUIET SUNDAY AFTERNOON

MISSY

MISSY
BEAUTY

MAMMA BLOGGING ABOUT BEAUTY AND HER SISTERS


An Irish Blessing

(A Blessing from St. Patrick)
May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

May the rains fall soft upon your fields,

And, until we meet again,

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.