Blog 54 [12] It has been some time...

Blog 54 [12] It has been some time...

Where have I been and what have I been doing I hear you ask…it has been some time since I have had the opportunity to sit in peace and quiet and write! I have had a very hectic month with lots of things going on and then also having suffered from the dreaded virus that most families have been suffering! Literally I have not been able to completely clear myself of the awful headache, earache, sore throat, tiredness, sore joints…you name it I’ve had the symptoms! So on the days when I was feeling a little better I’ve been organising my kitchen cupboards, sorting through all the old crockery and cutlery and filling the charity bags; where does it all come from? I progressed to clearing the junk in the study that the central heating engineers had pulled out of the loft in order to remove the now defunct water tanks…the ‘Bridezilla’ is now sporting some beautiful ‘vintage’ dresses and a wonderful silk lined jacket that I haven’t seen or been able to wear for 18 years! Yes can you believe it’s been that long since the loft was completely cleared? Although there still are a few boxes untouched and of course Christmas is now packed away up there! So now the study is almost cleared of junk…it would have been completely clear had I been able to stand on the very top of the ladders; I never go in the loft but as the ‘Hubby’ has been so stressed lately with the state of the kitchen I thought I’d be helpful…ah well these things happen…I stood the ladders in the same spot as he does…I stood on the little platform thing at the top so as to reach the loft door…he makes it seem so easy as he pushes the lid and turns it and hands it to me…I pushed the lid…missed it as it turned reached forward to grab it and felt the ladders sway…split second decision: grab the loft lid which is far heavier when you’re standing on ladders and fall over the bannister or let the lid fall over the bannisters and save myself…I lived to tell the tale and so far the ‘Hubby’ hasn’t noticed the chunk out of the wall or the fact that the light fitting is looking loose…I may have grabbed it at some point in my distress…

I’ve also been glossing paintwork and stripping the bathroom of the old tiles and dado rail in preparation for the new shower…which of course is no where near being started as the plumber we wanted has retired; the second plumber is recovering from an illness and the shopkeeper where we bought everything from simply smiled with no understanding of my ‘wifezilla’ glare when he announced they are all booked up but can start in May…he was totally unmoved by my outburst;

“What? I have 4 bridesmaids, a bridezilla and myself to get ready…with one teeny tiny ensuite…?” Well it’s not his problem…so you can guess this isn’t going to go smoothly either… a bit like my kitchen fitter being away for a week; ah the bliss to be away from all the hassle…!

The reason why I’m now sitting for the first time in peace and quiet is because the poor little ‘Cutie-pie’…yes I’m reverting to his original nick-name for today…is now poorly in bed with the same head cold, or is it flu? He’s most disappointed that this week off has caused him to lose the 100% Attendance award but quite frankly he was too poorly to get out of bed on Saturday morning last weekend and so he has remained holed up in bed with lots of medicine, fluids, fluffed up pillows, snuggly pyjs, Vicks vapour rub and the all important…remote control for the T.V! Although to be fair his eyes were streaming so much at the beginning of the week that it’s only today he’s sitting up in bed with the telly on…and of course me at his beck and call! Here’s modern technology for you…as he has had no voice due to the worst sore throat of his young life he has resorted to texting me today from his bedroom!

“Pls cn u bring water…

Pls cn I hve ice-cm…

Pls cn I hve soup for dins…” But the best of all his messages has to be…

“I love u loads mummy xx” He must be ill he hasn’t called me that for years!

So first of all Happy New Year to you all…even though we are at the end of January now! I do hope you all have had a lovely Christmas celebration and that your January has been a good month despite the weather; my Christmas actually turned out a lot better than expected despite the kitchen not being finished completely. Yes, disappointing as it is the cupboard doors STILL have the wrong hinges, the plinths STILL need to be cut and drilled and fixed and the drier STILL can only be used with the cupboard door open…mmm supposed to be integrated appliances but it’s not quite turned out like that! Two days before Christmas Eve the new flooring arrived in the conservatory but we had to let it settle before we moved the furniture back in and of course this meant that right up to Christmas Eve we were still painting the walls and washing the blinds and windows free of the dust. The furniture was finally moved back in-situ but my tradition of setting the Christmas table ready on a Christmas Eve had to be abandoned…I simply ran out of time! By the time the fitter had left and I had swept and cleared boxes in an attempt to have cutlery and crockery ready for the big day and finally managed to set my tree and living room ready for Santa’s visit it was very late at night indeed…and as luck would have it just as we had filled the stockings and laid the presents out for the morning the middle set of lights on the tree fused! Yes finally I had a finished Christmas tree but it had a dark middle…typical! I realised that I am more of a perfectionist than I thought I was and the fact that the house was not exactly how I like it at Christmas was almost enough to throw me over the edge! BUT…we had a magnificent Rangemaster stove in which we set the turkey at 5.00am on Christmas morning to cook slowly…and it warmed the kitchen, taking the chill off the new larger room. The ‘Hubby’ and I both stood and stared at this wonderful addition to our home and both admitted to being in love with it! It is beautiful and I have dreamed of this cooker for years. The sheer delight of the ‘Hubby’ roasting potatoes, steaming vegetables, baking cakes and pastries has been the best Christmas present I could ever have wished for…he is a really happy ‘Hubby’ in the kitchen now and the fact that it’s not finished didn’t spoil our special day!

Both the boys loved their presents and I have to admit I felt a pang of sadness in that I hadn’t been in toy shops like I have over the years…part of them growing up I know but Christmas doesn’t feel like Christmas without a trip to ToysRus…I will just have to shelve that feeling until a new generation is born…then I can splurge! The surprise presents I had bought during our trip to Liverpool were a huge hit…the look on both their faces when they opened a gauntlet [for ages 17 and up...!] like the one from their favourite Play Station 3 game actually made me warm and happy inside; just like when they were little and they’d open the remote control car or Lego construction set that they had talked about but had not expected to get! Thing is now, have I set myself the impossible task of finding something next year that they know nothing about? With all the fuss and problems leading up to Christmas I was worried that their day would be spoiled but do you know what? We had one of the best Christmas days we have had in years; just super chilled and cosy! Due to the problems with the kitchen and the fact that we had no idea what the house would be like for Christmas we arranged for the mother-in-law to spend the day with her eldest son and his family and my youngest brother came home from Wales to spend it with my father. With both sets of parents cared for we had a somewhat different kind of Christmas! The day started with the turkey going in the oven at 5.00am and then we slept until the boys woke up at around 7am’ish! Suddenly the house exploded into lights, music, wrapping paper and they bounced onto our beds shaking the Christmas bells that has been a Christmas tradition all their lives! As we didn’t have any driving to do we enjoyed Buck’s Fizz, a continental breakfast and stayed in our pyjamas for the morning! I invested in some brilliant funny Christmas jumpers…the ‘Hubby’ was Santa, the ‘Intelligent-one’ was Rudolph, the ‘Intelligent-Cutie-pie’ was the Snowman and I was a Christmas tree! I had also treated the ‘Bridezilla’ and her young man to silly Christmas jumpers too and they wore them when meeting friends for a Christmas day drink! We have had turkey dinners, turkey sandwiches, turkey curry and turkey soup…yes we did have a rather large turkey from our local farm and it was so tasty…the first meal cooked in our new oven! Mmm it makes me hungry just remembering it. Somehow all the weeks of heartache disappeared and we enjoyed some quality time as a family. Over the Christmas period we have read new books, listened to new CDs, watched old Christmas movies, had lazy lie-ins, pyjama days, brunches, walks, bike rides and pure peace. We had our usual quiet New Year’s Eve with the boys and the countdown on the T.V. to the chimes of Big Ben. I have looked with sadness over the passing year as well as happy memories and I have NOT made any resolutions this year. I’m having a change. Instead of making silly resolutions that I cannot stick to and then feel a failure for breaking them I decided that this year I will take each month as it comes and see what happens! Without set targets as a guidance I am completely free of restraints…will I survive?

We have completely re-charged our batteries so to say in preparation for the busy year ahead…and what a year this will be!

First of all the plumber has to come back due to a leak in the conservatory…the fitter is building a new doorway…we have to organise a new shower to be fitted and a new floor is needed to replace the gaping hole where the bath used to be…but most important of all…

2013 is the year of the Weddings!

‘Bridezilla’ will be walking down the aisle sooner than you think…it seems a million miles away now when she was first engaged and talking about her plans; now she has a house, a wedding planned and a beautiful dress waiting for her final fitting!

My beautiful god-daughter is getting married and I have had a wonderful shopping trip with her mother, my longest standing friend…48 years to be exact! We had a great day in the Trafford Shopping Centre SALES! Where I bought the full outfit; dress, shoes, bag and hat!

Also my gorgeous young cousin gets married and we are having a wee break across the water to my favourite place, Bangor Co. Down. I also bought my outfit for her wedding during my shopping trip!

2013 will see the ‘Intelligent-Cutie-pie’ make his subject choices that will affect his whole career as a computer-programmer and he will be preparing for his exams! He will also be visiting Belgium for his History trip and visit the trenches of the First World War.

Perhaps the biggest change of all in 2013 will be the day the ‘Intelligent-one’ leaves my nest and goes to University…oh dear me…the water works are starting again…yes my first born will be fleeing the nest…

but first he has the dreaded A-level exams and even more importantly 2013 is the year he becomes an official adult at the tender young age of 18…!

…Let the celebrations get started…he is having a supper night with some of his friends…no pass the parcel or pin the tail; it’s a whole different kind of celebration now! They’re having beers, pizza, barbecued spare ribs [courtesy of the ‘Hubby’ and his new cooking facility!] the house will be ringing with the sound of the PS3 games…both consoles set up with both TVs and all the lads bring their own controls…they speak a different language to us…everything is wireless nowadays!

…So, now then where did I hide the balloons? Where are the candles? Has anyone seen the cake stand…? I’ll keep you posted…!

Happy New Year!

Blog 54[12]

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