Angel Jem's City Cottage

Wow! What a battle! I don't think it matters what your politics are, could the election campaign have been more interesting, the day itself such a tense and emotion filled 24 hours and the result so..... disappointing. Perhaps it's the Christmas balloon effect. You know, when you look forward to an event sooooo much and then it happens with as much excitement as a balloon with a slow release that lets the air out with a slightly damp and rude noise. For the past 5 days it's been a waiting game. A game of patience; a time of political flimflammery.  And this would happen every time under PR? I'm not sure I'm cut out for that. Little thing like ruling the country at stake, you see. Hopefully something will be decided soon.

After a busy week involving 3.5 days work and a day off with my lovely DP, I really feel like I've earned a quiet Saturday. My plan was to do the cleaning I hadn't got to in the evenings (out 3 out of 4 evenings since Monday!!!), go and watch the kids swim in their last proper swimming lesson and then go to a friends housewarming. Ha. Fat chance. I'm home with two thirds of the children, no house warming and half the washing done. The princess is not feeling well. She has tummy ache and is spending a lot of time rushing to the toilet. There's nothing for it. We need a little Mummy and daughter creating time, and I know just the book. The Lina loves making, but she's still a beginner. Finding an appropriate book for her was nigh on impossible. I remember having an Usbourne How to Sew book that I read until it disintegrated and was searching for something similar for her. I think I've found it. I got her this book last Sunday and she has been inseparable from...

After a fruitless term spent trying to get on the books of a new supply agency and only 2.5 days supply (enough to keep the wolf from snapping, but still firmly at my door) I finally got accepted by my new agency on.... Maundy Thursday. Great. No work until after Easter, a week later than anyone else as my kids were having the 'trial' holiday of first two weeks in April whenever Easter is. This is my first week of work for them and so far they have supplied me with 2 full days and the promise of 1 more that I could have had except.... the old agency got there first. Why are supply jobs like buses? You wait ages for one and then three come along at once. I'm not complaining, just making the most of my only free morning this week. The washing is calling, but I'm slightly deaf. I'd far rather watch the debates held by the Daily Politics this week; foreign affairs and yummy! economy. What we're desperately missing in this election is a Barak Obama. I don't think...

I remember once as a little girl asking my Mum how many cousins I had. Mum was an only child so the number of first cousins on her side was zilch, of course. Dad was the eldest of 9 so there were (at that time) quite a few cousins. Now I can categorically state that I have 29 first cousins. I counted them, with my Aunty Roberta, four times, with much hushing of questioners and hasty recounts (does Worra have 5 or 6? Who came next in Tess' 4?) and we decided that, yes, I have 29 cousins. With my family there are 33 cousins on our step. (Cousins in my house are always done by steps; that way you can actually get first and seconds and removals into some sort of order) We don't assemble often; Dad's homeland is Northern Ireland and a trip there is not usually in order. It's a shame, but that's life. But last August I am glad to say that the saddest of events lead directly to a happy event. My Uncle Kevin died; that's Aunty Roberta's husband. He was a lovely man ...

I know lots of you are back at school and work, and I am lucky to have an extra week off after Easter to spend with my gang, walking in the wood, picking up bags of chips to share at lunch time and generally just passing time together, but 2 weeks is not enough. I long for every holiday to be a 6 week long space to breathe and be together. We had afternoon tea with butterfly cakes on Monday. Yummy. My sons showed me what to do with a decent piece of wood on Tuesday and today we have been in the woods. The bluebell leaves are peeping through, while daffs bounce in the breeze. Tomorrow is a day off while my 3 spend time with cousins and grandparents and Friday will be a walk in the park. The sun is too good to ignore. How many weeks til May holiday? Can I homeschool?

After a lovely weekend with the family in Wales, Number 2 son announced last night that he felt 'sick' (just at tea time) and today is entitled to a day (or two) at home. This is my bouncy child. He has sat still for three hours so far. I'm hoping to get him to sleep this afternoon, a situation virtually unheard of. So I'm home, free to catch up on the washing from the weekend and to indulge in a little light reading.

I'm multi-tasking; cleaning my living/dining room, watching Kirsty's Homemade Christmas, talking to you on the 'puter and getting on with my blanket.

I poured my lunch out yesterday and carried it in to the living room, put it on the chest and went off to get something. The irony/suitability of where I'd put it didn't occur to me until later. See the magazine? Broccoli and stilton soup. The broccoli had been gradually browning at the back of my fridge, the stilton was left over from Christmas. I softened an onion, a stick of celery finely chopped and the broccoli, diced for want of a better description, and then added two potatoes peeled and chopped. A litre of water from the kettle and a good simmer later, my soup was done. I put in some stilton, seasoned to taste and whizzed it to a pulp in my mixer. It is heavenly. Real comfort food, as the snow fell slowly past the window. I also couldn't resist the next magazine front. Is 2010 your happy year? What are you doing to be happy?

A new blanket for the living room. It's a yellow and red room, and so warm in winter. I love snuggling under a blanket and watching or sewing or reading, or just being. But I also like having a toasty blanket behind my back as insulation. So far the room has 3 blankets and a quilt. Time for another one. A granny square blanket. My third. I love the colours in this blanket, cream, yellow (the colour of good egg yolks; I feel the need for the first and last time to knit an egg. I'll sit still 'til it passes) a deep orange colour that defies a name and two shades of red, barely visible difference but important since I have two balls of one and 9 balls of the other. I'm going to do a square of 9 granny squares together and then a treble border all around until such time as the red runs out. A double edge of yellow and snuggle under with a coffee. Bliss.

http://www.youtube.com/watch ? And everytime I cry, my kids go "Oh for heaven's sake!" Don't they know I'm a human being? Sadly missed already, Doctor. *sigh*

They are all back in school! A house to myself.... several precious and shining hours alone to pass with no one to talk to, no plans, no ultimate goal. I love the occasional space to fritter and I have frittered many days away. I had every intention of frittering this one,but...... I found I felt lonely. Once they had all gone and I was washed, dressed, sitting on the settee and thinking, "What shall I do?" I find I miss them. They are not the constant millstone they used to be (who doesn't get the 24/7 nature of babies and toddlers; lovely suffocation) but independant and fun personalities. They're a background noise that I love. There was no cure but to go out. So, reader, I set off with my notepad puter and got it fixed (after about a month incommunicado) which meant I spent a happy hour talking to the guy in Curry's. Back home, to watch Wallander in the original and to blog, perchance to dream. I have also done a load of washing, tidied the hall and made a fil...

Will enough snow fall to make school late? I'll leave you to guess whose fervent wishes are for more snow and who (which mother) is ambivalent to another couple of days with three in a room and too much to do to DO anything sensible; perhaps I should teach the boys to knit, or make cakes to decorate, but I can't get them off the TV, the computer, the Wii....... Oh blow it. I'll go for the more snow option. It's time the lads learnt to sew.

When I saw this on the news last night, it made me go Wow! Who would ever believe that Britain could look like this? And still the big freeze goes on. My boiler stopped working this morning. British Gas (with whom I have a service agreement) won't send anyone out until Sunday. They won't guarantee Sunday. It is 'busy'. I know they're busy; lots of people have problems in the winter, that's what we pay for. I got very Margot on the phone to them, but it was still only Sunday that was available. Then I did what I should have done in the first place. I spoke to my Dad. And he said, "Check your water pipe leading out of the boiler and pour a kettle of water over it. Your brother's did exactly the same yesterday." So I did, and guess what? It's fixed! So no gasman on Sunday. Yippee! Apparently it's quite common on condenser boilers, especially Worcesters. If you have problems with the boiler turning off, check it, too. Any thing to save three da...

Hello Everyone! It's twelfth night and I'm on a desperate catch up (again) The children were off on a snow day yesterday and again today. It's lovely, but I had today down in my brain as a day for me after the holidays and madness that is a modern Christmas. Perhaps a coffee out, a walk through the park, and boxing up my decorations to the sound of Coldplay and Paloma. A sort of grown up wind down. Instead, I'll be boxing up decorations accompanied by the strains of Mini Ninjas or Zelda Warrior Princess on the Wii. Thank goodness I got my MP3 player. At least I can be isolated from the round and round tunes in my head! But I'm not complaining. Snow days (especially one as lovely and blue-skied as this one is promising) are days of grace, unexpected holidays and a source of memories for their futures. So, instead of my coffee, we'll have hot chocolate and marshmallows at home. Instead of my solitary walk, we'll walk to the chip shop for a warm cone of chips t...