Tuesday 18 September 2012

29 Days Later

In the last 29 days, we have:
Goodbye, MINI!
  • sold the Mini
  • bought a van & a super bike (of the cycling variety)
  • lost and found the van key at Cineworld (that was fun!)
  • sawed a sofa into a bits1
  • visited Hull (and by extension the Deep and the excellent East Park)
  • learned over 30 new words2
  • walked a LOT
  • discovered Tumble Tots
  • got permission to put in a water meter
  • bought a trampoline
  • laughed at "The Boy Who Cried Ninja"
  • enjoyed a Booker prize winner and a delicious book about Unmentionables
... among other things. Mostly, we have been spending money. However, we also have a room that is just leaking boxes full of stuff we can sell. Hopefully ,we actually do it before we run out of money.

Can you find Plate? Because it took me a minute...
I find that I am really enjoying being NOT a homeowner. The more I am NOT a homeowner, the more I question the conventional wisdom of being one. Sure, in 20 or 30 years' time, I wouldn't need to pay rent if I were a homeowner. On the other hand, I may also have maybe 10 years of lucidity before I would have to sell my home to pay for round-the-clock care in someone else's home. It may not even be me I would have to do this for. I am thinking that I need to acquire an asset(s) that would continue to add to the family coffers despite my state of creptitude3.

Oh, and the Dead Car Dilemma was resolved. I wish I had been there. More pics can be found... somewhere, when I get organised enough to sort it out.



1 Well, Uncle N did. FBB filmed it and provided a safe place for Plate to observe from.
2 Of course, Plate learned most of them!
3 Yes, Rich Dad is having an influence on me big time.

Monday 20 August 2012

Sneak Blog!

We've finally moved in! The furniture didn't fit! The fridge DID fit but we couldn't open doors. So Granddad shifted everything round and now we can. We had an incident involving wet nappies and the laundrette but that was solved quickly. We are living out of boxes and just spent two days trying to find our passports (found!). But we are loving it, loving it, loving it! Our neighbours are lovely, the garden is lovely, the house is just lovely and we are all just lovely!

Sunday 12 August 2012

Mini adventures and the MOVE

... and it is stressful, scary and all those intense words starting with "s".

As we will not have internet connection from tonight for at least "five working days", I thought I'd better get a few words in before then1.

Remember the Dead Car Dilemma? Well, as of Friday, there is now one less Dead Car. And what an adventure that was getting it gone.

First the wherefores: the car in question is a signature edition Mini which FBB had bought a number of years ago. It was a great car: it had a good engine and was in general good running shape. We had a year or so of fun before it fell apart2. The plan was to fix it and flog it off (as FBB had replaced it with our current car which he adores3).

That was about two years ago.

It has since been sat on our driveway gathering weeds, cats and queries from passersby. Now, of course, we had to shift it. A new plan was conceived which still involved getting it fixed and flogged but this time, professional advice was to be sought. FBB asked the Mini enthusiasts around here and was directed to Stan in Sutton4, who was aware of our Mini (as was everyone within a three mile radius it seems!) and recommended that he MOT it first - get the gen on what needs to be done - then decide if it was worth fixing up and flogging. A cost versus worth-it limit was set. A trusted garage5 was chosen, spoken to, and it was decided that the Mini would be moved there on Friday just gone.

Given that it had bald tires, no insurance or tax, and the front was missing, it was decided that a tow to the garage was a good idea. So, Granddad and FBB set off - Granddad doing the tow, FBB in the Mini.

It was all going well on the back road between our village and Witcham when the Mini started going be-dom, be-dom, be-dom quite violently. Crap! thought FBB, the Mini's ripping itself apart! Then a great big CRUMP!, the car lurched to the side and the Mini gave an almighty screech and squealed like a metalworks factory in meltdown! A wheel had come off!

Luckily Granddad had seen where the wheel had escaped to in the wing mirror. They went chasing after it and found it in a ditch. The retrieval was unpleasant to say the least: thigh high grass, chest high stinging nettles and blood thirsty bugs a-plenty. And they had to find the wheel nut that had popped off (in its excitement at finally being moved).

Wheel retrieved, they had started to put it back on the Mini6, when FBB suddenly realised that they were stopped right on top of an ants' nest! Following a flurry of frantic de-bugging, they had to then drag the Mini into a less hazardous lay-by. By then, FBB had to come pick me up for lunch as we were due to collect the keys to the new house and sign the papers and pick Plate up from the childminder's as well. So FBB had to leave Granddad in the lay-by with a supply of water and a promise to be back soon.

Luckily, the rental stuff was easy and as FBB had had quite the morning, we decided to have the best sausage baguette in town as treat7. We got Granddad a the best bacon sandwich in town to take away, picked up Plate (who refused to put her clothes on, a brief tussle was required), dropped me off at work, dropped Plate off with Grandma, went to meet Granddad in the lay-by, dropped one of the cars back at the house, went back to lay-by and finally, towed the Mini to the garage.

All this on the Friday of the our big move weekend. Thankfully it was not an indicator of things to come.

So far the packing has been slow - mainly because Plate didn't want me to pack and persisted in wanting to be cuddled all the time. Eventually I had to sling her into the backpack to get anything done.

However, the our good friend N has arrived today with the van and Granddad has also arrived  and lent a valuable hand. We've got quite a bit out of the house and as I type, they are being unloaded at the other end.

And I shall I stop here because there are more things to be put away, including this computer!

I should be in the new house when you next hear from me and hopefully planning our house-warming parties, which people would be able to walk to! That would be awesome.

PS - but what about the other Dead Cars? Apparently they are being picked up on Tuesday. We complete on Wednesday. Last Minute Merchants are us.

1 No, we were not organised enough to get it sorted in time! Who do you think we are?
2 No, I don't know what's wrong with it. The last time I thought I knew, I got told off. So, if you ask me, it's just broken and it is not easily fixable.
3 But is also sadly now on the way out. Plans are a-foot for its replacement.
4 Twin Engines (?) something like that. Used to be Specter Racing.
5 King's of Witcham, Volvo specialists, MOTs etc.
6 No small feat! Har har!
7 Tea For Two, in the Butter Market

Monday 6 August 2012

Everything (well, some) went!


Four days till we get the keys to our new digs. Eight days till we fully vacate our old place and leave it in a liveable state.

Are we stressed? You betcha!

Still, we are all healthy now1, we have lots of sturdy boxes2, and we have made a start3: we've given away our old faithful TV (CRT, 4:3!) complete with stand, sold the nursing chair, the mini hifi and a variety of things in our yard (har, har) sale. (Sadly, the Dead Car Dilemma is still dilemmic. However, motions were made today to resolve it.)

Our little yard sale, poorly advertised as it was, garnered us a massive £45 in the two hours we sat waiting for generous souls to contribute to our moving fund. I was quite amazed actually - I was convinced we would make not a sausage.Our thanks to the Stazickers, stalwarts of the Mepal community, our dear friends who are currently enjoying Disneyland, Paris4, and the other Mepal People who stopped by5.

Now we must pack into cardboard 10 years of our lives together. Oh and let everyone know what our new address is. Annoyingly, this requires quite a bit of time on hold, the worst being EDF's endless loop of the instrumental version of Take On Me6. Ugh.

To pep myself up, I am looking forward to our numerous house-warming parties!

PS: Robert Carlyle in Once Upon A Time is utterly superb! I would love to know why a film / miniseries has not been made of a Jack Parlabane story - the one made by ITV does not count - since Robert Carlyle is Jack Parlabane! This one is my favourite.

1 Nice, healthy walnuts.
2 Courtesy of our friends in Cottenham
3 Well, some books are packed. Pfft.
4 What will we do without you?
5 There was one timewaster who gets my blood boiling every time he speaks. He could have at least bought a 50p item for drenching us in his Daily Mailesque invective for the last few years.
6 And there goes my eco creds. I tried Green Energy but it was just too expensive! Must try again.

Friday 27 July 2012

Exchanged! Balls! Insomnia!

We finally exchanged two days ago with a completion date that we could work to, yay!

The last few days have been a bit strained - what with buyers wanting to complete in less than five days, FBB getting a mysterious but rather painful and scary infection1, work getting increasingly pressured as we approach the end of month frenzy and to top it all off, Plate has now decided that bedtime is 10pm. Oh, I have been a bit stressed lately.

Let's start with our pesky buyers. Aside from boiler challenges which were quickly resolved, on Monday I got an email saying, oh by the way, your buyers would like to exchange on Friday. Er... no. How about August 3rd... and they started piling on the guilt - well, you know to be fair, your buyer came in to do this that and the other, she's already ordered furniture, you know, two weeks between exchange and completion is quite normal, etc etc. I just couldn't deal with it: I was under a fair amount of pressure at work, I really did not need this. So I passed it on to FBB. And boy, did he rise to the challenge. He resolutely stuck to his guns - we are completing on August 15th and that's that. Even if it means risking the sale? Yes, even that2. And it paid off! Exchange and completion in our favour!

The rental is still available, double-yay! and now it's ours. Come mid-August, we shall be living it up in the bright lights of Ely city (stop sniggering in the back, you!).

I'm going to skip the scary infection bit. It's better now but he still needs to go to a specialist clinic at the hospital on Monday. Fingers crossed it's nothing serious.

Not going to talk about work either.

Plate - bless her little cotton socks - is sleepless in Mepal. I think it's the heat. The last few days have been muggy and horrible3. She just would not go down at her usual time of 8 and will only start winding down around 9.30, 10pm. Tonight, she didn't drop off till past 10.30pm. Even daddy was asleep by then! But she's been a bundle of joy nonetheless. She can now say 'teeth', 'ha (hug)', 'kiss', 'cup', 'juice', 'boob', 'book', 'what this?', 'tractor' and from about a week ago, my goodness, 'mummy'! She can just about jump and can do forward rolls with a little help. I haven't actually seen her do it, but she somehow has managed to learn how to put her boots on herself too. Clever girl.


But clever isn't always good. Heart attack time: I was in the front room stuffing nappies and she was running around as she does, when I suddenly became aware that I couldn't hear her. I leapt up and found that the front door was open! Heart pounding, I dashed out into the drive, that the little girl in China who got run over repeatedly looping through my head, hoping that she was on the pavement... and saw her across the road, smiling at me like she'd won a prize4! Luckily this is an extremely quiet one way street and she'd escaped being roadkill. I scooped her up, held her tight, smothered her in kisses then told her off sternly. She did get that she had done a bad thing but it didn't stop her from trying it again. The little monkey had opened the front door and let herself out! Lesson learned. We don't just keep the door shut now, we keep it locked.


Highlight of the fortnight: FBB's dream of being a martial arts teacher becomes a little more real. Last week, he asked his teacher how long he needed to train for before he could teach. The answer: "You already are." He was utterly chuffed and is still floating on that5.

1 Bollock - that's all I'm going to say on the subject.
2 It was physically impossible for us to move sooner than that. Remember Dead Car Dilemma? It's still there.
3 Not to FBB - he loves it!
4 The smile did falter and turn into "uh-oh" when I went charging across the road at her.
5 Well, the thing with the bollock has deflated him somewhat but he's still pretty buoyant about it. Size of a nectarine. Maybe a bit bigger. *shudder*.

Monday 9 July 2012

A little bit closer...

Today, I had the news that we are *this* close to exchanging contracts. So I am going to risk it for a biscuit1, and talk about the house we are going to rent.

It's a brisk 20 to 30 minute walk to work and a two minute walk to the pub, corner shop, laundromat and, oddly, the gun and hunting shop. It's a 10 minute walk to Plate's 'minder and probably 20 minutes to the high street. It also has plenty of room for the car and for cars of friends on the main road, so the front door opens straight out onto the street.

The house itself has two bedrooms, a reasonably sized kitchen2, utility room, living room, a bathroom that two of us could stand in at the same time, a garden big enough to require a lawnmower and a shed to store it in. I think it even had a little paved area for a couple of chairs.

It has all mod-cons in that it has gas central heating, electricity and running water - sadly, no solar or wind or rainwater catchment, not that modern - and seems like a cosy little home. We liked it at once and saw ourselves living there quite happily.

Let's hope it all goes swimmingly and we'll be sipping our favourite tipples in the garden for our wedding anniversary3.


In other news, I finally captured Plate's inhaler, here in two bits: the actual inhaler and a tube thing to make it easier, ha ha, for her to breathe the stuff in.


Here it is being modelled by Bad Teddy4 because Plate simply will not have it over her face. She'd play with it but as soon as you put the bits together she pushes it away and attempts escape. Our brilliant childminder has given us tips on how to get her used to it, but so far, we've not had much joy. So it spends most of its time in the nappy bag.

Ayah.






We've also started the Big Clearout, by listing some of our bigger possessions on eBay. I'm a bit sad about losing the chair, having spent so many hours in it nursing Plate and rocking her to sleep. I was looking forward to reading to her in it as well. 


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/dreamGenii-Nursing-Breastfeeding-Pillow-/320941108328?pt=UK_Baby_Baby_Feeding_Breast_Pads_Pumps_LE&hash=item4ab994ac68#ht_500wt_949

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-Hauck-Nursing-Chair-Glider-with-footstool-/320941147264?pt=UK_Baby_Nursery_Furniture_ET&hash=item4ab9954480#ht_500wt_949

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-Mini-HI-FI-CD-MP3-tape-digital-FM-tuner-with-subwoofer-remote-/320941210456?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Compact_Shelf_Stereos&hash=item4ab9963b58#ht_500wt_949




1 There was a young man from Nepal
Who went to a fancy dress ball.
He thought it would risk it
and go as a biscuit
But a dog ate him up in the hall

2 By which we mean, FBB's fridge will fit!

3 August 18 and it will be our 17th!

4 Because he looks like a gangster bear! Well, to me anyway.

Monday 2 July 2012

Baby's first inhaler

When I find the camera, I will take a snapshot of the baby inhaler Plate's been prescribed. Oh yes, plague is once more visiting our house.

FBB is bunged up and exploring the different decongestion remedies out there and my poor little Plate has a dribbly nose and a rattly chest.


Monday 25 June 2012

Rent-a-Home

I haven't written lately because it's been a bit hairy around here and it's been all I can do to keep from melting into a little puddle of panic.

OK, quick catch-up: previously on "Selling a Home..." - the house sold for a good enough price, no one would give us a mortgage1, the Outlaws kindly volunteered to pay off our creditors via CAB2, and we've been looking for a place to rent in Ely.

Ayah. Rental hunting. What a delightful torture that is.

I enjoyed looking in the windows - rightmove.co.uk and Zoopla are great - but lo there was a tiny but oh so significant snag: many, many places we looked at had a "No Kids" policy, which was deeply disappointing. Three out of four places were kid-unfriendly which surprised me. It surprised me more when the reasons given for "inappropriate for children" were "front door opens out onto the street", "no garden" and "it's a flat". Er, so? I managed to survive high-rise living from birth to 20 and FBB lived in a front-door-on-the-street house from one to 20+. Neither of us (nor our neighbours come to think of it, suicides excluded3) had been hurt / traumatised by the experience. Aah! They just don't want to have to deal with kids.


Then there was the size vs location vs parking vs will-our-fridge-fit4 dilemma. 


Finally, the Letting Agents have been... varied. I am partial to one but they didn't have any places to rent that suited us. 


Well, after a fair number of ups and downs, today we found a great little place. The slightly spooky thing is, the family living there seemed like a mirror image of us (dad was at home putting out the laundry with their three-year old, mum was at work, bookshelves were full of the same books as ours - so there were no grown up geeky toys and nary a tattoo was in sight, but you get the picture!)


I'm not saying much more than it's a nice little walk to work, big enough for all of us, the fridge and the car. Until we're in, I'm keeping mum!

1 Which really knocked me for six but a really kind independent mortgage adviser helped ease the pain. I found him through www.unbiased.co.uk. But here are his full details: Huw Tipton (DipPFS), Tel: 01553 764644, Fax: 05603109527, enquiries@cambridgeifa.com

2 Some creditors were great (Capital One, MBNA), some were so very not (Tesco, NatWest). FBB has decreed a No-Tesco policy.

3 And I am fairly certain they did not kill themselves because they were living in a high-rise building.

4 FBB is very attached to our fridge. We had invested a fair amount of time and effort in selecting and purchasing our box of cool.

Wednesday 6 June 2012

And now we are 40

On Sunday just gone, FBB had his 40th birthday bash! It was meant to be a Disco Picnic1, but the weather rained on his parade2.

Fortunately, a few good friends braved the wet and windy and our little house was enlivened by laughter and good vibrations.

FBB prepared almost all the food by himself. There was tuna and sweetcorn pasta, rice salad with peppers and peas, and a LOT of jelly3. We also laid out loaves we had bought off Ely market but we forgot the ice-cream! Whoops.

Our marvellously talented friend HM gifted FBB with a fantastic Taoist cake4 which was both sugar-free and so yummy, seconds were requested! There is now a little sliver which FBB is eking out for as long as he can stand it.

Plate charmed our guests as usual, despite a slight... argument... over a chair and a little pull-along toy. (It was observed with great insight that Plate "can't talk, but she's trying to!"5.)

Ah, Plate.

People tell me that children start pushing boundaries and throwing tantrums at around the age of two. Plate started at about 15 months. She recently began deliberately flinging food on the floor with great vigour. A firm, "No!" from me cut no ice. When daddy said it, she looked him straight in the eye, then slowly and deliberately dropped food over the side as if to say, "Go on then! What are you going to do about it?" So we have started pushing her chair out to the back of the room and turning away from her. The flinging has lessened but it is still early days yet. Yesterday, she threw herself on her belly, kicked her feet and banged her fists on the floor. Luckily this was at home which made it easier for me not to react. It lasted all of five seconds. Let's hope there isn't a repeat.

My childminder has also told me how she "slaps" the dummy out of another baby's mouth. I wonder if this is a "I want one!" gesture or a "You don't need that!". I am inclined towards the latter, knowing my daughter as I do.

I'm still getting used to saying that - my daughter. I am still pleasantly surprised and amazed that we have a child. It's bewilderingly delightful.



Aside from parties and aggravating children, I just finished "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern. What a beautiful, magical book! So full of passion, mystery and love. Although it didn't make me cry, it certainly moved me and the images will stay with me a long while. Definitely a keeper.

1 "It'll blow your mind!"
2 And the Queen's as well I hear.
3 The night before he decided that we didn't have enough gelatine to make enough jelly for everyone, so he rushed to the One-Stop to get some more. Unfortunately, he didn't have cash and they would only take cards for purchases over £5. One pack of jelly cost 48p. Guess what he did?
4 Visit Cake n Bake on Facebook
5 Nik Junior, who will be four shortly. Bless him!

Thursday 31 May 2012

SOLD! And now the real fun begins...

Just a quickie to say we've sold! Hoorah! But at £10k less than we hoped - boo! However, they're ready to go, bird in hand etc so yay! But we've no mortgage yet, so hiss! The owners of the house we want to buy haven't sold so they've accepted our offer - phew! But they haven't found a place to live dagnabbit! On the other hand, they've got their eye on a property with no chain - huzzah! So our fingers and toes are crossed that they get it and we get a mortgage all at once.

Will we be moved by the end of July or will we still be here in September? Please feel free to start a pool.

On the water front (ho, ho), we now have a £50 credit on our account with Anglian Water AND our monthly bill has dropped by £10! That's two lunches, a fish supper for two with a smokey and curry sauce, two paperbacks (or one discounted hardback), or two thirds of a pair of shoes for Plate. Hmmm. How will we spend our newfound riches?

Monday 28 May 2012

Good tidings arrive with the glorious sunshine

My apologies for the slackness in keeping up this blog - but there is great news,  good news,  not so good news and some random observations coming up, so I hope you keep the faith, dear reader!

The great news: we have no leak and we are due a little money back from Anglian Water! Yay! Turns out one the ladies I spoke to had misheard me when I gave my readings and thought we were haemorrhaging. Once we cleared it up, it seems we were perfectly average in our water usage1.

The good news: I am well, Plate is well and FBB is well. We are all WELL. No one is sniffling, coughing, throwing up, bellyaching, or hunched over a toilet. Just in time for FBB's Disco Picnic!2 Fingers crossed that we all remain in rudest health for a wee while. 

The not so good news: we have a solid offer, albeit a lowish one. It's not what we had hoped, but we think it's the best we're going to get in the time that we have. Wish us luck that we now get a mortgage to buy.

The randomness:
  • Plate is learning new words at an astonishing rate! When she's hungry, she now says, "Mum-mum3?" and makes the sign for food. Other words: hi, hat, cat, daddy, teddy, hot, cold, ssh! Ironically, her first word was, "Bye!"
  • Finished 1Q84 by Murakami at last. Very surreal but very good. Apart from one brief moment that jarred -- one of the characters swore using the words, "Darn it!". If the original swearing had no English equivalent, I certainly would have preferred that it had been left in Japanese. As it was, it was quite strange. Then again, maybe it was intentional. It would've been in keeping with the social class of the character swearing.
  • It reached 35 degrees Celsius  today. In England! FBB forgot to put sunscreen on and has driver's tan. It's currently a shocking pink, looks a lot like first degree burns. Ugh. Lots of after sun lotion with soothing aloe vera was slathered on.
  • Finished Timeless by Gail Carriger very shortly after - an excellent series. I am looking forward to reading it again! Have now started The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Beautifully designed books are a pleasure and this is a delight in black and white. Electronic books just don't cut it for me. A physical book has weight (think about how one a tome, a notebook, a paperback feels in your hand), texture (hard / soft covers, coarse / smooth, heavy / light, embossed, die-cut), smell (ink, paper, age, wood), sound (the soft snick as you turn a page or loud crackle!), beauty (cover art, layout, the choice of type) - it's a multi-sensory experience that is part of the joy of reading. To me, the whole package can be sensual delight. Plus, you just need a light to enjoy. No other source of power required. So, join a library today and discover the world of books!
On that note, I bid you bonne nuit.

1 Or wastage as the case might be. The average Anglian Water household apparently uses 1 cubic metre a week per adult. That's 1000 litres of water, which is about 143 litres a day. Looking at the stats from www.waterfootprint.org, we're not too bad compared to the US or Australia.

2 He will be 40 years old. True story: his mum had serious doubts that he would live to see 21. Here's a hint: by the time he was 20, he had had several injuries through, uh, misadventure, including a broken arm and a fractured clavicle and crashed a car or three. Someone once observed of his tales, "You've been to some f****d up parties, man."

3 I grew up with that word and, I hang my head in shame at this, no, I don't know what language it is. If you know, please enlighten!

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Still unsold, leaks & eruptions

So the house has been on the market now for three weeks. We've had a few interested parties but sadly, no serious buyers. A rather intense disagreement is raging1 between FBB and I about whether we should drop the price or not. He has won. Mainly because I am taking the Taoist way2.

We also received a ridiculously high water bill and we are taking steps. I must say Anglian Water customer service staff are very, very well trained. Empathetic, very helpful and informative. No trace of condescension3 and a lot of sympathy. Also Leakbusters (http://leakbusters.rtrk.co.uk) - they were exceedingly helpful! Will we find a leak or will it be something else?

On the child-rearing front, Plate gave us a fright on Saturday. We were on our way home in the car from shopping when both us heard the unmistakable sound of child choking and vomiting. Daddy did a swift pull over and I hopped in the back to make sure she was ok. She'd thrown up chips4 and milk and unsurprisingly, was crying quite pitifully. Not really sure what led to that - but we think a combination of too many chips and too many dips5. We watched her the rest of the day, but nothing else happened, then at around midnight, in her sleep, she did it again! All over me this time. We think she was remembering / dreaming about her day and re-lived it.

Today, I watched her deliberately stick her fingers down her throat, enough to make choking noises. Didn't quite throw up as I managed to get her to stop. It made me wonder if that was what she was doing in the car. I know she does things she's not supposed to when she wants my attention, such as touching things she shouldn't like opening the bin and taking things out. Hmmm.

Well, whatever it was, it hasn't resurfaced. Unfortunately, mummy got massive gut trouble shortly after. It was pretty epic but less so than the last bout - I only threw up once this time. I wish I knew what was going on with me. It seems I only have a two to three weeks of good health, then I'm ill again. Do I need a full medical checkup? And would it reveal anything useful?

Watching CSI: New York tonight, I was fascinated by the computer screens that threw up all the interesting little details - like "Let's run your list and my list together and see who pops up" - I wonder how long it takes the graphics department to do all those screens for each episode? It must be good fun coming up with new and interesting ways to display the latest non-existent crime solving software!

1 If you can call an argument in level voices raging.
2 Redundant I know. Also, I can't be arsed to fight about it.
3 Condensation! Boom boom
4 We had bumped into some friends at the market, and they very kindly offered her their chips. She kindly declined for about five minutes, then scoffed the lot. Greedy child.
5 I had her slung in the front when we were at the supermarket, and I "dipped" her backwards a few times. It makes her giggle madly!

Sunday 13 May 2012

Panic! At the Disco


Damned mortage lenders. And estate agents.

So, the weekend was interesting.

On Saturday, there I was just finishing breakfast with Plate at around 10am - bits of cereal, fruit and milk EVERYWHERE - when the phone rings. The conversation went a little like this:

'Hi this is Z, just to say that I've gone back to the Ns to say that their offer1 has been rejected and I shall be chasing them on Monday'

'Great! Thanks!'

'And that you have a confirmed booking for your Open House today - a Mr & Mrs A.'

'I'm sorry, did you say Open House?'

'Yes, your Open House today from 11.30 to 1.30.'

'Oh, right... When did that happen?

And the flabbergastedness continued in that vein for about 10 minutes. She didn't realise no one had told us and we didn't realise it had all been advertised and gone ahead. The panic button was well and truly pushed. Very hard and repeatedly! I texted FBB2 frantically and ran around like a blue arsed fly trying to get things tidied away and clean. For pity's sake! Keeping house is NOT one of strong points. We are the living embodiments of Mr & Mrs Slob! I mean, the floor is mostly there to hold our stuff!

Anyway, I did what I could and when FBB got home, we tidied ourselves up and got ready to receive our guests. Fortunately, SEA turned up - I think I would have been even more miffed if he hadn't - so I chewed him out a bit. And like the truly nice, professional person he was, he apologised profusely for the non-communication and I could not help but forgive him3.

After all that, we had a total of one viewing. But in our case, quality is better than quantity. Yet another investment buyer - so no chain etc. They were an elderly couple who were looking to move to the area from Wales for numerous reasons.  The great news was that they liked the house as it is: 2-beds with the enormous bedroom. They realised that they would not be able to find another like it4. Fingers crossed that they make us a decent offer.

Now then - mortgage lenders. I think our mortgage advisor was a bit premature in submitting our application so we got two declines. Luckily, our current mortgage lender has good customer service people. We shall see.

Maybe we'll win the lottery. Maybe that tree in our garden will fruit £50 notes5.

1 A measly £125k! We are not THAT desperate!
2 He goes to tai chi every Saturday morning.
3 My very good friend HM says this of me at least once a month - 'You're too soft!'
4 There is another. But the lady who owns it is unlikely to sell any time soon. She is about 96 though.
5 We'll have trouble using notes bigger than that down the shop.


Monday 7 May 2012

We wait. Tick follows tock follows tick.


I absolutely hate waiting.

It's been three days since the Vanilla People1 came and saw the house. According to the impressive Z2she was excited about what she could do with our house and would like a second view. However, they wanted some time to think before making an offer. So now, we have a second viewing tomorrow night and we are once more ticked with nervousness.

Argh!

In other news, FBB and I had a lovely day despite the wetness of the weather. We talked the ears off our mortgage advisor and had a civilised lunch4 without any of it hitting the floor. Meanwhile, Plate was having a great time at Grandma and Granddad's!

Dinner was a little fraught - Plate was not herself5 and FBB's gorgeous spinach roulade sadly did not get the full attention it deserved.

I am going to now watch NCIS on Demand Five and repair a gaping hole in my trousers to work off the nervousness.

Tomorrow I shall be data bashing until I get spreadsheet blindness. Wish me luck.

1 As christened by my very talented friend, V: Mother, Wife, Lawyer and soon to be famous Writer. I would like to say now, that I will be shamelessly telling anyone who would listen that I knew her when she was but a pinafore clad innocent back in the day, scribbling short stories in the school yearbook.
2 To those of you who haven't been following3, this is the Sales Negotiator from Willie H Brown.
3 And why not? 
4 Omu rice Holmes style - ie, stir-fried with garlic and spring onions with a dash of soya sauce and a sprinkling of Cheddar. Sadly, no chicken! I had only ever seen it on restaurant menus, and then I saw it made in this wonderful film called Tampopo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-GFimGcYJw
5 I was going to use the word manja which I had always thought to mean attention-seeking / grumpy / demanding behaviour ascribed to very young children. A quick Google set me right. Whoops. Ha!

Thursday 3 May 2012

Will they make us an offer?

We had our first viewing tonight!

They were investment buyers and seemed quite excited by our house - they spent over half an hour here!

Willie H Brown sent a sales negotiator, Z, to show them round. I must confess, I was a bit sceptical1 about this, but I thought, since I am paying for an agent, I should let them do their job. Also, I thought prospects were more likely to be more open about how they felt about a property if the owners weren't following them around. I'm glad I did. Z was a mere slip of a girl but I thought she was very professional. She turned up early, did a thorough walk through, asked lots of questions and had a show plan. She definitely knew what she was about.

When they arrived, Z took charge immediately and steered them round the house expertly. FBB, Plate and I stayed out of her way in the front room. We don't know what their reaction was to the kitchen but they stayed upstairs for ages in the bedrooms and looked around the front room again. They were a white, middle-class2, middle-aged couple -- I don't know about him, but she definitely had plans, I could see it in her face.

After they left, Z gave us a brief brief: it went very well, they talked freely about what they wanted to do with the house, convert the ginormous room into two rooms, turning the house into a three-bed, turn the utility room into a dining room etc. It sounded very promising. She would give them a ring tomorrow.

So, it seems that FBB could be right and that the house will sell fast. I am not so optimistic. We shall see.

I've made an "appointment" of sorts to catch up with SEA3 about whether we should have an open house. It's a fair amount of work for us (we are slobs - the thought of getting the house shiny is making my left eyelid twitch) and ideally, we should move the Dead Cars (twitch, twitch, twitch!).

But that's stress inducing thought for another time.

I feel a bit sad that our house is likely to go to people who are going to gut it and rebuild it and sell it on. But I take comfort in knowing that, ultimately, a family will live, and love, and make happy memories in the house that we have lived, loved and been happy in for so long.

1 The second house we saw in our journey was shown by the agent. She was not good at all. The first boo-boo was letting us in first, then shutting the door after us, and leaving us in the dark while she fumbled for the lights. She seemed not to know the property and when we asked how long the owners had lived there, she didn't know and didn't even know if it was one or more owners, or whether they were a man or woman. It was  terribly disappointing. We left after less than 10 minutes.


2 Macs, muted colours, nondescript but well-made clothes, sensible shoes, quiet voices, and well-spoken. Of course, I could be completely wrong, since I don't fully understand the class thing. Meh. Ignore the bit about them being "middle-class". I can only misuse the phrase.


3 Super Estate Agent, Steve.

Sunday 29 April 2012

A ray of sunshine in the House of Plague

Things are moving at a tremendous speed!

On Tuesday night we made the list - texted Alex - who promptly made our offer to No. 11's agent - who then said they had to wait for the other buyers (?) - a few hours later, I get a call from Alex "Congratulations! They accepted your offer!" Big relief, happy, happy, joy, joy - 10 minutes later, I get a call from the Council, "No, your offer has been rejected as you don't have a firm offer on your house!" But we do, I say, call my estate agent - then, "Oh no, your buyer says it's not a firm offer, so we have to withdraw our offer". Crap!

Sigh.

But there was a sliver lining. Minutes later, I got a call from the Council who told us about another property on the same estate, No. 5, that had just become available. It wasn't on the open market yet and we were being offered a chance to look at it, which is how the shared equity scheme works: a house comes up for sale, the owners tell the council, who then offers it to the first people on their list. If they don't want it, it then gets offered to the next people and so on until a buyer is found. If no one on the list can buy it, only then does it go on the open market. It's a great scheme! And I for one, am grateful for it!

I immediately rang the owners and arranged for a viewing the next day. It was for sale for about £9,000 less than No.11 but the layout was the same. The differences were all interior - ie, shiny kitchen, new heating system etc. This house had really warm vibes - the people who lived there were definitely happy. There was a lot of love in the rooms and it really helped that the lady who showed us around was a new mum herself (her bub was about five months old). I loved what they had done to the bathroom - basically removed the bath and had a luxurious shower put in. There were photos of their good times everywhere and the kitchen looked well-used. T'was good, so we told them we wanted it and they were chuffed.

I am now fizzing with ideas for a new kitchen and considering a Japanese style tub to go in the bathroom. None of which would have feasible had we bought No. 11.


So now we just have to let the council know and find a new buyer for ours. Meanwhile, they have to find somewhere new to live!


Today, FBB and I took a moment. I had Plate in the sling1 and the evening was cool and quiet. We leaned against Dead Car 1 and looked at the house that we had spent the last 10 years in, our contemplation reflected in the living room window.

"It's been good," said FBB. "And it's going to be great, babe." I agreed whole-heartedly.

Plate's response was, "Cat!".


1 The cold got Plate on Thursday and by Saturday she was not a happy baby. She was so not happy that we got really worried and got her out to the see the out-of-hours GP at Princess of Wales. Turns out she had an ear infection, really chesty, wheezy cough, and a fever. Antibiotics were prescribed. We hit her with both Neurofen and the banana flavoured 'botics and she slept for three hours this afternoon. She was a bit clingy which it was understandable but much happier today. As for me, I'm still coughing but feeling at least three times better than last Friday.



Thursday 26 April 2012

Love house, lose house, see another one!

What a day. I feel totally wrung out, battered and drained. And it had started so well.

The compressed version: we had to withdraw our offer on the beautiful house. But at the same time, another house in the same estate has come up for sale, for about £9,000 less. We've made an appointment to view. Oh, and now Plate has a cold, the constantly running nose variety.

It's been a day of highs and lows... with the lows augmented by the cold that just won't go away. Sniff. Cough.

As I am crackered, I'll save the details for tomorrow, when hopefully, I shall be a little bit better for some sleep - fully intend to get some extra bedtime tomorrow morning - and I shall have better news on the house front.

In the meantime, faithful readers, whom I value dearly, here is a link to our house sale. The copy isn't great but the pictures are pretty good. And yes, I painted the phoenix on the garage door and believe it or not, there are indeed 3 cars you can see on the driveway. I really must get my camera fixed!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37656272.html?premiumA=true

Picture 1

Picture 7

Picture 3






Tuesday 24 April 2012

Good vibrations!

I am sick as a dog, but warm memories and good news is keeping the old tail wagging.

But first, I met up with an old friend, H, on Saturday. It was only for a couple of hours but we had a great time catching up on our lives1. She had also come bearing delectable and delightful gifts: bak chang2, a really beautiful jacket for Plate, a sarong for me3, bak kwa4, a selection of Chinese lanterns5, mosquito coils and a jar of incomparable Tiger Balm.

H herself was looking well- she was all svelte and she looked happy, despite having broken her arm not too long ago. It was really good to see her. And Plate liked her too!

We walked up Cherry Hill, where we paused for breath and Plate had a great time testing how far she could get away from me, stopped for coffee in town6, trundled around Ely market - H was delighted by her finds of authentic homemade sausage roll and pie from our local rare breeds pig farm - and finally strolled down the riverbank back to the station.

A lovely time was had by all!

On Sunday, a nasty cold knocked me for six and Monday was spent pretty much prone. But we managed to get the house into decent shape for SEA and his magic estate agent camera. I think we pulled it off. We just had to get on the City Council's shared equity scheme and then it's down to the SEA, the negotiators and the people who are destined to buy our house.

So FBB and I spent most of today stressing... me at work, him at home. We were emotionally jiggling our leg. (Plate, on the other hand, spent a great deal of it having fun and sleeping.) By 4pm, I crashed and FBB collected the pieces and drove us home. I was glued back together with food, paracetamol and tea, and we swiftly put together a "what-if" pack7 for our interview.

At 6.45pm, we had our interview at the City Council... and walked it! The two lovely ladies loved us! I don't know if it was my copywriting skills8, FBB's charm or Plate's irresistible cuteness that won it for us, but we are on their list! Yippee! Hurdle hurdled, next obstacle: finding a buyer and getting a mortgage, both of which are so nearly there.

I am still sniffly snuffly and my throat is ouchy, but I am filled with happy vibes. Good things are coming!

1 After all, when we last met in 2010, about nine months later, Plate arrived!
2 Rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves. They're like little edible pyramids, and deep inside the secret chamber is deliciously seasoned belly of pork, mushrooms, chestnuts and sometimes, a salted egg yolk. "Bak" means meat and "chang" means dumpling. There is a legendary story associated with them and you can read about it here: http://www.deliciousasianfood.com/2008/06/07/teaser-bak-chang-filling/
3 Or FBB if he fancies it.
4 Sheets of sweet barbecued pork. Just thinking about it gets me salivating! Here is a home-made version: http://www.justasdelish.com/homemade-bak-kwa-dried-meat/
5 I plan on holding a little party on 30th of September, traditionally the Mooncake Festival. In Singapore, we have a Lantern and Mooncake Festival. The idea is to come together to celebrate and admire the Mid-Autumn new moon. Will write more about it as the time approaches.
6 Where Plate's enthusiasm for exploration jostled a customer's elbow and spilled his coffee. Oops! Time for sharp exit.
7 Proof I worked in Ely, proof FBB was ill, proof that I could live in England, proof that we were married etc. Plus a mini pity pack for good measure: letters from CAB, creditors, medical stuff etc.
8 We had to submit a form and a supporting letter. I thought I might have overcooked it but it seems not.

Friday 20 April 2012

See house, love house. buy house!

We have found a house we both absolutely agree is just simply wonderful! But I am getting ahead of myself.

In my last post, I said our ex-neighbour wanted to have a look at our house. Well, he did and he actually made us a pretty generous offer. In cash! There was a hitch in that he was waiting for his dad to die - it sounds callous, but what he meant was that he was looking after his dad who was terminally ill and won't be ready to move on the offer till he had passed. So there is that, but we can at least say that we have a buyer. And we haven't even started advertising yet!

Since then, we'd seen a house FBB liked but I didn't, and then seen this one which we both adore. It's in town, not in the most salubrious part of it, but it's close to a good friend's, has lovely views and, oh my goodness, it has been exceedingly improved. We would not have to do a thing1!

The kitchen is just simply superb! It has an induction hob, a designer radiator, a breakfast bar, dishwasher, integrated fridge/freezer, and sleek cabinets. The floors are solid wood with none of the creaky, crunchy feel you normally get and the garden is landscaped to within an inch of its life. The shed has electricity (!) and the whole house is heated with an efficient combi boiler (something that was put in by the present owner). The bathroom is elegant with new fittings, with no trace of damp anywhere. The main bedroom has plush carpets and the little second bedroom looks out onto fields. Everything is half the size of what we are used to, but by golly, they are all twice as nice.

It's a shared equity scheme house (apparently subtly different from a shared ownership scheme house) and 25% of it belongs to the local council. So we would need to be approved by them before we can buy it. The good news is, we satisfy their qualifying conditions and just need to pass their interview. If we are accepted, there is more good news. Participating mortgage lenders require that we only provide 5% of the purchase price as a deposit!

I am not publishing a link to it because that would just be silly. 

FBB fell in love straight away. I don't think he's quite stopped saying, "Wow!" and is utterly determined that we get it. So we marched into SEA's2 office and told him that we *must* have this house. We have now been referred to Alex who appears to be a Super Mortgage Advisor / Price Negotiator and we have an interview with the local council on Tuesday.

As for that, the bathroom is nearly, nearly done - the bath panel has turned out to be a nightmare - so we have booked the photographer to come on Monday. Tomorrow, we pick up a Rug Doctor3 and cross our fingers we get as much chucked out of the way as possible by then.

Sadly, no mention has been made of the Dead Car Dilemma. I suspect there will be much grinding of gears and dragging of wheels come Monday.

Also, tomorrow, I will be seeing an old friend from the old country4 who will be bringing me some local delights - I can hardly wait!

Also, also, I have picked up all my World Book Night books and they are patiently waiting in their box for me to find them new homes. That will be Sunday's little pleasure for me.

And finally, no more Inspector Montalbano Saturday nights. Will The Bridge be just as riveting? Watch this space!

1 Well, FBB would like to strip off the flowery wallpaper in the bedroom. But I think it may end up staying!
2 Super Estate Agent! Steve from Willie H Brown. Incidentally, it was Alex who told us all about the shared equity stuff. We like them a lot!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtEi6ljeikQ&feature=related We can only *hope* we get the results. Our carpets are strangers to deep cleaning.
4 Hmmm. It gained independence in 1965. Was "discovered" in 1819. And up until then was pretty much a collection of idyllic fishing villages. Hardly old I suppose.

Sunday 15 April 2012

Chimes in the ear and serendipitous meetings



So the last few days I have been laid low by a combination of a swollen eardrum in one ear, fluid in the other ear, engorged glands, an inconsiderate cough and a stuffed nose1, all of which resulted in a bout of labyrinthitis seconds before I was going to try hoicking my daughter on my back2. Luckily it was a very mild attack and I was able to slide carefully to the floor, ring my husband for help and prop myself up against a wall. I thanked my lucky stars it didn't happen while I was bent over with Plate wiggling on my back.

In any case, I was determined to get as much gen as I could about slinging a child on my back as Plate was getting a touch restless being carried in the front. Also, I was convinced I could do more if I had her on my back! As I was incapable of moving my head without falling over, the lovely Victoria demonstrated how to get a child on one's back and sling them in safely with her own bub right in front of me. I was gobsmacked. I had only seen this done by other mums on YouTube3. It was inspiring!

Plate in my Moby at 5 months
Going back to work that day was out of the question - so I went home, laid down on the floor and eventually got a diagnosis from the nurse practitioner (my GP was out on an emergency).

I did manage to go back to work the next day, armed with Amoxycillin4 and a lie-in. I lasted a good afternoon and then crashed the next day.

The awfulness that engulfed me was quite surprising.

I soon emerged from the pit of snot and grogginess after sleeping longer  than I thought5 and ventured out into glorious sunshine, a frosty wind and hail! Gotta love this weather!

In the meantime, how's this for serendipity?

On Thursday, FBB found this house for sale in Ely which was part of a shared equity scheme. He really liked the look of it and arranged for a viewing on Monday.

On Friday, FBB was taking Plate to the car when a big red van stopped next to him - it was our former neighbour Steve! He used to live across the road from us and was instrumental in getting us back into our house when we stupidly went to the pub with no mobile and no house keys. He was a nice bloke and we always got on, and we missed him when he left. Turns out that he's planning on moving back to the village. Of course, FBB told him we're selling so he's going to come see the house on Tuesday!

FBB is quite convinced that it's all going to happen now. We'll love the place in Ely, Steve will love our place and offer to buy it at the price we're asking for, we'll make an offer on the new place... all at once.

No, we haven't got the house on the market yet.But the master bedroom is 99% finished. Just have to paint the doorframe.

Sigh6. I think even sloths would work faster than us.

Aside from that, I am very excited that in a week's time, it will be World Book Night and I have the privilege of being a "giver". The generous people who run the event have given me 24 copies of one of my favourite books of all time TO GIVE AWAY.

So those of you who know me and are within hugging distance, you have a book coming your way!

Right, it's time for mama's bedtime - and the last few chapters of Murakami's 1Q84. What a great read! Surreal and now in the realms of "what-the-hell-is-going-on?" but utterly gripping.


1Courtesy of the virus magnet that is my daughter.
2 Impromptu sling meet / baby-led weaning mass picnic. Check out www.slingsandbabycarriers.co.uk. You can also hire slings if you're not sure which ones are for you. I have every intention of trying them out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHQay2iFHKk I wasn't going to do this but I hope I get advanced enough to do so!
4 Every time I get prescribed antibiotics, I secretly wish they would say, try these Crocodillin! That would be so cool!http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/680840.stm I actually saw the documentary mentioned. The best part was when they had just released the bindings on a croc and the lights went out. The Aussie guide's voice sailing out in the sudden darkness, perfectly deadpan, "Who knocked the lights out? That's not funny, mate."
5 At 8am, I shut my eyes for a second, and it was noon! WTF! I've time-travelled four hours!
6 Don't get me started on the dead cars on the driveway.

Monday 9 April 2012

Look ma - shoes!

Last Saturday, the Plate got her first pair of proper shoes1.
<em>Clarks Delilah Dots</em> Girls Pink <em>Doodle</em> E Fitting
They're called Doodles by Clarks and she seemed to like them. Although I think she really didn't care what they looked like - they fit and she can walk (stagger? caper?) in them. She does have big feet - a whopping 5F. She'd gone up a shoe size in less than four weeks2! If she carries on like this, we may end up buying a new pair of shoes every month!

Saturday was quite eventful actually - I did another class of tai chi, we went shoe shopping after taste testing some hot dogs at the local market3, Plate and I had a snuggly snooze in the afternoon, then we had a surprise visit from our good friends4 the Cottenham Ls, and a planned visit from Big T and Professor Fish. Overall, I think it was a lovely day.

We had planned on doing a little food and paint shopping the next day, but soon discovered that everywhere was shut on Easter Sunday! *doh* But we ended up eating a surprisingly good lunch in a carpark in Cambridge, before heading to the Cottenham Ls for a return visit.

And now, I must dash as I am now yawning, and writing just words rather than sense.

Incidentally, I have started reading IQ84 by Murakami. Hmmm.

And I have no idea why but I have "Knocked Up" on TV. It is a terrible, terrible film. Paul Rudd is great in it though.

1 I must confess, I thought they were called Oodles, which would have been cooler, or better yet, Noodles. And I surprised myself by buying the pink ones. What is going on with me?


2 She was a 4G then and fell over when we put proper shoes on her. This time she tottered around for a few seconds, caromed off the shelves, then she was off!


3 It was a special European market - we tried an "authentic" German bratwurst in an undersized bun and a French sausage in an oversized baguette. FBB and I had to agree to disagree - he liked the wee little french sausage, and I liked the big bad bratwurst. Plate liked them both with gusto!


4... who had gifted us with a travel system, car seat, cot, highchair, walker, door bouncer, a bagful of toys, electric breast pump plus accessories, nappy bag, a bagful of baby clothes and lots of other bits and pieces that we will never, ever be able to repay. "Good friends" is an understatement.

Sunday 1 April 2012

Changing Rooms

I can't believe it's been more than a week since I last wrote! I can only blame a combination of sun, exhaustion and frantic de-cluttering. 

Yes, Operation De-clutter has accelerated a little. The DVD and video shelves have stayed off and their contents boxed up and lofted. The living room has been properly crushed by apricots and all that remains to be done is to get rid of the oversized coffee table and sort out my acres of paper, something which I am struggling with. Every time I vanish a pile, smaller and more insidious piles seem to appear to take its place. 

To allow the master bedroom to be painted, we have moved our sleeping arrangements into Big T's room1. After much spinning around of mattresses to best fit Plate's cot in, we have discovered that we really enjoy sleeping facing the window. Waking up to azure skies and birds cutting through them turns out to be rather delightful. 

Granddad A has begun turning our tobacco-stained bedroom into a soothing symphony of blues2. Unfortunately, the previous occupant had done a rather imperfect job of painting: when he scratched at a paint crack in the wall, the entire section came away. Which led to the realisation that our new feature wall of midnight blue is now gently coming away from the wall also.

There is still much to be done - there are three dead cars on our driveaway that need removing, brown trees and bushes that need care, the upstairs bath panel needs replacing3... and I have just spilled a cup of tea4 all over a paper pile, record shelf and a speaker. I think that is a sign from the universe to give it up tonight and go to bed.

1 Wherever we live, there will always be a Big T's room. Big T is FBB's big brother and will always be welcome wherever we go. For me, if not for him, FBB and I would never have got together.

2 As opposed to a *the* blues which would just be depressing.

3 Which is more complicated than it sounds. We think the previous occupant had put the bath and shower in, because they had to cut out bits of the bath panel to allow the pipes to go through. Something we would have to do with ours. Fun, fun, fun!

4 Not just any tea: Yogi Tea<R> which I had patiently let brew for exactly seven minutes for optimum tea-ness.

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Painting behind shelves and big hair

So the living room is now 90% complete - just need to paint behind the shelves. I know that sounds crazy but really it's pretty sensible. This entails taking everything off said shelves. Mama knackered. Going to leave it to the Men, methinks.

Looking at my posts, I spend a lot of time being knackered. I guess it comes with not getting enough sleep. Either that or the sofa casts a sleepy spell on me as soon as my bum hits a cushion. Must try harder. Or not sit down1.

Been looking at hair cuts - my mop is getting rather bedraggled and sorry-looking. Even Plate's messed up do is more presentable than mine. I had considered curls - haven't had them since the '90s. I did look like I had a fright wig on. But maybe something like this:

BIG, with BIG curls! But with a white highlight, where I've gone noticeably grey.

Or short and shaggy. And a completely different colour. Blue perhaps.

FBB has vetoed the extremely short crop - the dyke look does not suit me apparently.

(Ok - I've just been distracted by a TV ad for a celeb gossip mag. Why do people read these things? I just don't get the appeal! It was quickly followed by a trailer for "Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists" - the book of which, I really enjoyed, but not as much as the story of how it came to be written and published, which I had actually read about in the paper!  Way back in 2005. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/jun/10/fiction.oliverburkeman?INTCMP=SRCH)

Right, I think that means it's bedtime.

1 I say sit, it's more like flop, curl up, lie down... resistance is futile.

Sunday 18 March 2012

A Whole Lot of Qi

Yesterday, I had my first tai chi lesson.

Master James Wong of Shining Tree
It was most odd, in that, being of Chinese extraction and having been brought up in Singapore, I was now learning it in England, from a British-born Chinese man who was taught by a Scotsman who in turn got his training from a tai chi master in Hong Kong1. I didn't find it as life-changing as my husband, but my chat with the teacher's partner, who is herself a practitioner, gave me a lot to think about. Also, I have real-life recommendations. Since my friend G started doing it, she has never seemed healthier, and by extension, happier. She's practically glowing2. It is the highlight of my husband's week and he looks forward to it like a kid looks forward to the best ride ever3. What's stopping me is the cost: the cost of Plate going to the childminder (extraordinaire) and the cost of the lessons themselves4. Is this something I should invest in? I could find the money I'm sure but would I get as much out of it as these two? Something to masticate on.

I am also achey breakey in various places today. Ouchy.

In other news, Granddad A had issued orders that we should get paint for the living room and the bedroom. After exploring the options - Dulux, Farrow & Ball, Fired Earth, Little Greene, Sandersen, Crown - we settled on:

Apricot Crush Apricot Crush for the living room;
Breton Blue  Breton Blue as a "feature wall" in the bedroom;
 and Quintessential Blue Quintessential Blue for the rest of the bedroom.

All by Dulux. We quailed at the prices for Farrow & Ball, Fired Earth et al, and had heard not so great things about Crown. I really, really wanted to use an eco-paint, but my bank account had other ideas5.

Not exactly neutral colours I know, but we got bored with the neutrals everywhere else6.

Tonight's spirit-is-willing-but-flesh-is-weak quest is to clear the living room so the painters can get going. So far an undercoat as gone on - everything is white and it's making my eyeballs ache just a little bit - so the apricot's next.

Have I mentioned that the camera is broken? The lens is jammed. No prizes for guessing how it got that way7.

Plateism of the day: she head-bangs, but side to side instead of up and down. And today this was combined with squats - which I think are attempts at jumping. She also discovered that by head-banging the side of her car seat, she can make it squeak (it's the Styrofoam inside the seat). Crazy baby.

1 I could go back and back and trace the lineage but that would be quite pointless. I did, however, check his credentials and he is a registered Tai Chi Union practitioner.
2 She is also pregnant but I think this is chi glow combined with those pesky hormones.
3 I was going to write Disneyland, but I like to think that there are kids out there who eschew the "magic" and choose something real.
4 I am discounting the cost of driving there since this is FBB's therapy and G's paying for his lessons in exchange for a lift. Seeing him all happy and enthused is worth every penny.
5 Dammit. I just found  Earthborn paints which are only a little bit more expensive. http://www.designerpaint.co.uk/brands/earthborn


6 Hope this does not turn into a foot shooting incident.
7 Yes, yes, we shouldn't let her play with it, blah, blah, blah. Same goes for climbing stairs, climbing on the furniture and standing on tables.

Thursday 15 March 2012

Some progress and the Biter

Since my last post, the Plate has had a see-saw fever which had her waking up every hour in the night and grizzling pretty much continuously during the day. It culminated in a lovely vomit all over me and the Big Bed in the wee  hours of Monday. We were worried enough to see a GP who checked everything but could find nothing that could be causing the fever. The advice was just keep on dosing her with the syrups.It finally succumbed to the tag-team of Calpol and Neurofen but alas, it leapt to me. Luckily I was bigger, stronger and more powerful, so I was merely mildly delirious for a few hours.

It seems the virus has been making the rounds - I had seen reports on the ubiquitous Facebook of other bubs being fevered and even the son of our childminder (extraordinaire) was not spared. So Plate got to spend three days straight with daddy.


... and I pop up here!
I go in here...
What with red splotch attacks, dribbly noses, feverish foreheads and general unwellness, Operation De-clutter is not picking up speed at all. But there has been some progress - the numbers wall has been beaten into submission by Granddad A's patient application of paint1 and more of the living room has been tucked away into bags for recycling / boxes for storing. The holes in the living room walls have been filled and test patches displayed for consultation2. Stuff has moved around, just not to where they should. Also, Plate has the unerring instinct of the curious to find ways into containers, just to throw out everything that's inside them. She has also decided that boxes and buckets are great places to sit in and laugh at us. 

There are still piles that need sorting but I am feeling rather enervated and can only curl up in my leather-covered corner, lackadaisically tapping keys3

There has been a curious development with Plate - since she got teeth, she has chomped on me occasionally while breastfeeding. But over the last couple of days, she's really gone to town - she would take my nipple between her teeth and pull! Yes, it bloody stings! And she thinks it's funny to make me yell! So today I closed up shop as soon as I saw the tell-tale signs that she was going to do the deed - and she threw a tantrum! Tough titty, girlie. No biting means no biting. I hope she gets the message soon.

Whichever deity is listening and deigns to grant a wish - please send me a shot of high quality get-up-and-go. tomorrow. Oh, and a million pounds to go with it would be sweet.

1 The ink just kept bleeding through! It has taken five coats of special stain-hiding paint so far. We can just see a hint of ink, so we think maybe six or seven will do the trick.
2. A pale pink has been chosen. Not my choice, but not my living room anymore. 
3. Yet somehow finding the energy to use multi-syllabic words.

Saturday 10 March 2012

Red Splotch the Return!

I am now covered in shifting red continents and islands. Sadly for me, I itch abominably. We are still mystified as to the source but apparently it could be anything: pollen, washing powder, air... It should pass in 48 hours. Fingers crossed.

While I try not to scratch myself to ribbons, a quick explanation for the blog silence - quite simply I've been so tired lately I've been falling asleep while putting Plate to bed. By the time I wake up, it's time for grown-up bedtime. This past week has just been chocker - with what I couldn't tell you. But every sliver of time seems to slip through my fingers1.

Anyway, the Men have been painting and our hallway ceiling is now white as opposed to tobacco coloured and the kitchen is complete, right down to the skirting boards. Next: the living room. But first we have to empty it, which is a much more complex undertaking that we anticipated. I had forgotten about all my notes and files from my law courses. Half of me winces as I put them in the recycling bin, and the other half is relishing the symbolic end of this phase of our lives. My "study" is also in the living room, so we have to work out where to store our current paper work while we get rid of everything else. We can now see FBB's records, a welcome sight that had been gradually covered up by junk over the years.

Today we went to Sainsbury's for our weekly shop and Plate was in fits of giggles every time the trolley went over the tactile tiles. She actually squealed in glee! Then she was unleashed in the store and was excitedly touching and picking up everything she could get her little hands on. She was toddling here, toddling there and loving it all.

Tonight I got Daddy to put her to bed, which meant I could write this2.And watch Montalbano!

1. "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."
2. She went down surprisingly quickly. Wish she would for me!

Sunday 4 March 2012

Daisies and a sneeze or three

I feel like crap. Seems like I have finally succumbed to the virus that the rest of the family had (or at least a variety of). But we carry on...

Yesterday was lovely - I seem to remember blue skies and cool breezes1. FBB had gone to tai chi - he had reached a state of zen as he calls it a few days previous2 and was feeling great, despite a stuffed nose. Plate and I had a lie-in and did a bit of half-hearted tidying up.

After daddy got home, we trouped off to Ely and got her some leather booties. We had tried some soft shoes on her, but she kept falling over in them. They're Daisy Roots (Handmade in Northampton!3) and she loved them. She toddled straight off in them - around the shop and out the front door! We let her toddle down the street until she started falling down every few feet. It was the furthest she'd ever walked and she was pleased as punch.  I think I might get another pair!

The rest of the day was spent food gathering and grazing. It was a really lovely, low stress day4. It finished with FBB going off to the pub, me playing with Plate till it was time for bed, and finally me curling up with Inspector Montalbano till it was my bedtime.

More stuff got stuffed into boxes but alas, that is as far as we got. They have yet to be lofted into the loft.

I am
             running         down
                                           do
                                               wn

                                                       d
                                                         o
                                                           w
                                                               n....


1. The memory is doubted because we had snow today! And it was rather grey and wet in between.
2. FBB has a serious mental condition which he has lived with for about 12 years. It's a terrible condition which is like a waking nightmare. The horrors he experiences every day is only held at bay by his incredible strength of character, his indomitable spirit. He describes the state of zen as moving into the eye of a hurricane and having it move with him wherever he went. It was a state of peace which he had never felt before. It's pretty close to awesome.
3. We did wonder briefly whether it's the same company who make transvestite footwear. That would be so cool! :-)
4. We did, however, bump into an old friend who told us the sad news that he'd split up from his wife. They had been together for about 20 years, so it was a bit of a shock for us.