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...