Thieves (dogs!)

I went clubbing on Friday (oh, please don't laugh). I went with some mums from school to the town’s Premier (only) night club and had a ball. Disco goddesses us all...if I ever wanted a 25 year old husband...I know where to go...I think I shall do that again!

The weekend was filled with 4 cool kids - my two and the twins. A & B came to stay for the night. On waking from my night of teenage disco dancing I announced to J that I thought a campfire was in need, but only if we could have lights. At 2pm the ark lamp was ready to roll. It is getting dark at 4 ish now so we hoiked the children down to the campfire in the middle of the woods, began to try to light rather damp wood, poured the lemonade and then with a clever little switch from me in the kitchen - there was light!! The trees looked stupendously eerie lit up, but at least this time we could see what we were eating. Yet again the old bangers and beans and Planet Rock on the radio. I reckon a couple more goes and we will have cracked this. The kids had great fun playing hide and seek with light up teeth in their gobs. The only thing you could see from behind the trees was lit up fangs!

This has been an important week for me. I found an official letter last week and thought "oh no...What haven't I paid now?" But it transpires I am now the proud owner of Scouse citizenship (thank you outlaw - you know who you are...it has only taken 18 years...!) The boys are now allowed to say baaathe and paaath again.

Dad's anniversary was last week. It was a hard day, but better. Weirdly anniversaries are better than some normal days when without thinking I will go for the phone to tell him something I think would tickle him or make him proud and then have that millisecond of remembering he is not there.

Work has begun on the front drive again and J has put in the same iron railings that are down at the river along the driveway between us and the neighbour. It looks fab and very manorial. J has also developed a new skill...dry stonewalling with logs. We had so much wood from all of the tree lopping he has been up to that we had to find a way to stack it and we now have two walls between the turning circle bit and the garden which are made of wood, all ready to dry for next year. Just as well, as we have found out that the woodman is due to retire next year. We should be in time to burn our own.

On the fire front - roaring away everyday, and interestingly one on the few things I haven't named yet. If you were looking into my psyche what would that mean I wonder?

Henry and Dot are incredibly happy today - amazing what a whole join of Lamb can do for the mind and body. They can barely move from the front of the fire. J said when he told them off for nicking it he could swear Dot looked at him and thought 'well if that is the best you can do on the shouting front, lamb thievery is the way to go...'

All happy and dogs full of roast dinner!

Oh, and we have a Cuckoo Clock...

Pooped

Had a whirlwind of a weekend, and now glass in hand I am about to run a very big bath and have a soak...but before I do - what excitement here.

Well first news is about the house and J's new skills - buying things off eBay. For a while now J has been a complete Luddite when it comes to all things computer. He has however become rather a dab hand at bidding for things and after a conversation about how it would be good to have a squashy leather beaten up old settee we now have one all the way from Kent and for the bargain price of 25 English pounds! It is quite a cool settee and yes incredibly comfy. Every action has a reaction and so the consequence of the pristine purchase is that the hot water tank (which used to be in the little room I'm in now), is now housed in its own little shed attached to the Shed. This means we have a full wall against which to rest the sofa (oooh - shall I name it!!? she looks like a Stella the sofa to me) and a proper little second sitting room. There is a weird bit of wallpaper we have found - just above the skirting board about 2 foot square - sea shells circa 1960...just this little perfect piece amongst walls of plaster...odd.

Following the action/reaction theme - the bath water has been running brownish for the past few days as the tank had been disturbed - but a girl can't have everything.

J and I spent the day on Friday shutting Bella the van down for the winter. It was so beautiful and sunny down there, but she scrubbed up well until next March. But you never know what will be lurking when we return.

Today has been a day of 3 parties - hence the need for a good old soak. This morning the boys were off at Ollie's Pirate party. J and I drove to pick them up and change them into their suits (!) We then had lunch with all of the family for mum's birthday. For a while it had felt as if my family had shrunk a bit, but today there appeared to be hordes of us again. 4 generations of us with Great Great Auntie Lois as matriarch - all of the babies and all of us in between. Even J in his squire’s outfit - check shirt, hacking jacket (you get the picture). We had a wonderful time and I am stuffed. Home for a quick change back into mucky gear and to the neighbours for their childrens firework display. My heart was in my mouth a few times when the rockets appeared to be heading for my rather flimsy felt roof - but Shed is still standing. The boys had a ball but I think I shouted loudest!

I may have found somewhere to have my 30th birthday party - got to see my decade out in style.

Jeff is looking up cuckoo clocks on eBay - I live in fear!

Happy, full, tired, worried about chirping clock and about to fall into Stella.

007

Boys are back to school tomorrow, everything is ironed(just let Alf tackle his own shirts...slightly nerve wracking but we got there)all PE kit appears to be ready to pass muster and we have had an attempt at homework...

but all of this holds no fear for the couple of spies I know live with...

The in house cinema has been back at full pelt with this weeks showings of Goldfinger and Dr No. Chas particularly likes the dancing women on the DVD intro. Guns have been blazing and J does a good impersonation of any evil character the boys want to make mincemeat of. There is a slight variation on the game where Alf is a spy and Charlie a small dog who follows him everywhere and mends his gun wounds through the use of magic medicine...this may be a hangover from meeting Kevin the dog in spain as charlie dog is definatley a pointer too.

We had an attempt at some Halloween fun when Alf and I hung cobwebs up in the bedroom - fake ones from tesco - it was all a bit superfulous though when I looked up and realised the shed has plenty of the natural kind of spider work to offer. Hoover came out and I spent a good hour or so hoovering every ceiling and wall. Shed is still standing without it's internal framework of dust and cobwebs which is good news.

Today the end of the half term was celebrated in quite some style. The men of the family went to the real cinema to see the latest Bond movie with their great little friend Jack and his Dad. Alfie is already planning when he can see it again it is SOOO brilliant. Alf and Chas think Jack is fantastic and have been nattering away about him all the way to bed. I apparently have to find a way where they can all have tea together at least once a week to play spies and fighting. The boys were all as good as gold when we all went as families to the local Italian and now full of pasta and dreams of saving England from all those pesky baddies are fast asleep already.

another day..another mission