Hello folk’s,

I thought I’d write a few lines at the beginning of my days off rather than at the end, the aim is to see if I actually manage to fulfill all my intentions for the two days...  The first bit is already achieved, my eldest granddaughter is sleeping in the study, I collected her last evening and she’s going to stay as its half term so my two days will hopefully be geared toward giving her a fun time as well as achieving my own goals!

So today's goals are:

·         Go for a run this morning. (But as I’m sitting in bed and typing on my laptop this doesn't feel like it’s going to get done anytime soon! lol)

·         Off to the river Thames to feed the ducks with my eldest and her two sons. (Gives the cousins a chance to play together.)

·         Baking some mini upside down cakes with Tia, my granddaughter. A recipe borrowed from the, ‘a beautiful mess’ blog. It’s a great blog and fun to read. (This is another good idea but ‘Delia’ is my name, not my occupation,sincere apologies to Delia Smith. I can’t cook but don’t tell Tia that, she thinks I can do everything and I don’t want to disillusion her.  J)

·         Do some work on my book ‘Tessellation Saga’ and send a few emails.

·         Lastly end the day with a small glass of Merlot and a good book. Currently reading, ‘Cloud Atlas’ by David Mitchell.  A collection of different but very cleverly interwoven stories. I believe it’s going to, or has been made into a movie!

I’ll let you know how I got on and post pictures in evidence, (again of course if I can get the pics to post properly, you know this act in itself proves a major challenge time and time again... duh!)

.-.-.-

Well, it’s been 24 hours and once again, Tia is still sleeping in the study, Yesterday didn't actually go exactly according to plan...  who wrote, ‘Best laid schemes of mice and men...’  (Possibly Steinbeck?)

Anyhoo, the broadband died within minutes of me getting up yesterday so I had to spend an hour on the phone chatting to someone from Virgin Media who attempted to tell me what to do to correct the problem. The fact that I found it soo hard to understand what she was saying didn't help. Have you ever been in a situation where you are constantly saying, ‘I’m sorry but can you repeat that,’ or ‘I’m sorry but I don’t understand what you’re saying!’ a dozen times? It made me feel so stupid. I was glad when my eldest turned up as scheduled and took over. So once again the World Wide Web is online and accessible! Woo hoo!!

Be thankful there is no audio!

 Whilst my eldest and I were busy sorting out the computer the kids decided to invite a steel band into my kitchen. I must own their repertoire was a little monotonous but they seemed to be having so much fun. Albie, the baby, especially so and Hendry, the eldest boy was so enthusiastic he broke one of my wooden spoons but dedicated to his music he promptly took another and continued. A budding composer...?

She says 'this is the best bit'

Thank you 'a beautiful mess!'

After Derry and the boys left, Tia and I actually did feed the ducks with the remnants of yesterday’s bread and we did do some baking! The pineapple ‘upside down’ cakes went really well and Tia was very pleased with herself. I must own I was relieved too!  She and I went to see her parents where she delivered some of the cakes and then on to see Derry again, where she delivered a few more whilst they were still warm.

On the way home we stopped at the local cemetery because She had been asking about family history. It was freezing cold and we were all alone in the cemetery but it was kind of peaceful. I showed her the graves of both her great and her great great paternal grandparents! Also we visited the grave of a young man who was tragically killed in a motor bike accident on her birthday a few years ago. He had been her dad’s best friend since early childhood and she had known him well. David actually sat outside the hospital on a grass verge all night long and waiting as anxiously as Tia’s father on the night of her birth.

When we arrived home to hot chocolate and a fire we spent a while looking at old photos until Tia decided she wanted to heat some soup on an old Trangia, an 'outdoor' cooker. (Lets not forget she became a Scout  last week!) after dinner we all played charades and I had my glass of Merlot!

It has to be Heinz!

So, the day was not at all as I expected but we had fun, Tia learnt something of our family and I got to work on ‘The Tessellation Saga’ after she had gone to bed! I love being a grandparent and would recommend it, alone I probably wouldn't have visited the cemetery or fed the ducks and my hubby and I certainly wouldn't have played charades, where we just laughed and laughed. Maybe we also built a few memories for Tia to look back on when she’s got grandchildren of her own, you never know!

Till next time... xx   :)

The Attic

Hello Folks!

As always I've really enjoyed my time off. Yesterday I spent as usual doing chores and shopping. This morning I spent typing (still re-editing The Tessellation Saga,) and playing with my grandsons. This afternoon I crawled into the attic space in our house ostensibly to look for a paticular bag containing some speakers.  Little did I know I would find a treasure trove just full of memories, some made me smile, one or two made me weep and a few made me think,  why on earth would I have kept that? Apart from the fact that I once had an attic clear out and threw away a whole box of old T-Shirts. How was I supposed to know there were fifty years of Chelsea Shirts stored in the box. I'm telling you my husband nearly divorced me, he'd spent his life collecting them.  Every single Chelsea shirt for the last 50 years... and I took them to the charity shop! He didn't speak to me for a week. At least his Roy Of The Rovers collection is still intact... lol

Anyway, my house was built so long ago it had gas lighting at one time and the attic is full  of pipes of varying colours and uses from old gas pipes  to rusty water ones leading to old metal tanks full of old newspapers. In fact the upper floor in my house still has three inch pipes sticking out from the ceiling where once gas flowed to lights! I've always left them in as I think they are quirky, I do remember though at one time my girls used the one in their room to hang a mobile from. It was pop related if I remember correctly, you know, each picture a different pop star and all twisting and turning in the, ( I'd like to say breeze but I would mean draft!). If you look at the pic you can just see the gas pipe!






I've always loved attics, apart from being dusty, full of sticky cobwebs and always cold, one always finds bags and boxes that you once stored thinking, I might find a use for that one day. Why I would think I might ever find a use for an old fashioned straw hat with a dull gold band of tinsel encircling it, a pair of skates, or my eldest sons set of Sabbuteo bits ranging from the rolled up pitch to a set of stands complete with lights I don't know. Even my husbands no.1 RAF Regiment uniform and his hat which is still in its box! (I wonder if it would still fit? I always liked a man in uniform... lol)

The Purple People Eater!

I also found my middle daughters purple monster that she absolutely adored and slept with for almost ever. The monster I couldn't avoid as it seems to have been perched between the rafters surveying its territory!







Anyway, I didn't find the speakers but did find my younger sons numerous stamp albums, and his set of Mighty Max figures and the Mighty Max tower. I found the walking doll my youngest pushed around in a pram, I found the pram too! I also found some old Scout uniforms belonging to my hubby and I from way back.  He was a leader for years and I, for my sins enjoyed being one of his assistants. It was great fun and something I would recommend to any youngster venturing out into the big wide world, I know its changed a lot since we were leaders but the values, I believe are still the same.

What made me weep? well, I found some old pictures of my eldest and I sitting on the grass in our garden, she was about 30 months and she had just eaten a worm. In her hand she was holding its other half. I wept with laughter, remembering the panic I felt as she smiled proudly. Well, shes still here and has babies of her own so maybe the worm was good for her... Immunities and all that lol!

Got to go, speak soon. xxx