It’s amazing what amuses kids. We had to buy a new fridge freezer recently as our old fridge went kaput – the door was no longer closing properly – and the freezer was on its last legs. Anyway, the freezer has a bit for making ice cubes and the kids think this is wonderful. They’ve had ice with every drink they’ve had since we got it. They also fight over who is putting the tomato sauce back in the fridge…we’re enjoying it while the novelty lasts!

 

So how are you all? What’s been happening in your world? This week hasn’t been as eventful in the sense we haven’t really gone anywhere, but I have been busy. Am currently all achy after cutting the grass in the front and back gardens. That’s after going food shopping this morning, baking banana bread and oat biscuits, and making granola. I also did a tonne of dishes and tidied up the kitchen. I took advantage of the dry weather by getting loads of washing out. I am shattered. It’s me old lady bones!!

Had to laugh at the boy this afternoon. He and his friend were out in the garden being superheroes. They are seven and six respectively and really cute still! They were running around pretending to be Batman and a baddy and there was lots of singing and ‘Pretend I’ve got a costume on…’ ‘Pretend I’ve got a gun…’ Oh to be that age again! My boy has also discovered whistling, which would be fine if he whistled in tune. I’ve been not too bad about it today…I have a low tolerance to whistling (although I sometimes do it myself) so the boy’s attempts at cheerful little ditties have had the same effect on me as nails scraping down a blackboard. Arggggggghhhhhhh! STOP IT!!!!!! I can’t think of any occasion (or any piece of music or song) where I’ve thought to myself: ‘That whistling really adds to that!’.

Jings I’m getting moany in my old age!

Found this fab blog called ReFashionista. It’s an American lady called Jillian Owens who takes charity shop finds and turns them into lovely new togs. I’ve only just come across her and I like the blog because it’s amazing what she does with secondhand clothes and the expressions she pulls in her ‘before’ pics make me laugh. I know! It doesn’t take much to amuse me! The treasures she finds when shopping in the thrift stores are fab! A girl after my own heart!

Confession time (she says shamefaced), I still haven’t finished the Gormenghast trilogy. I’ve been that busy reading up on cancer and what we can do to improve hubby’s health, that reading fiction has fallen by the wayside. I’ve also been reading how to write books (I think it’s good to keep learning about writing) and Chris Guillebeau’s The $100 Start Up.

Finally, it is with some sadness that I report that one of my beloved bats – those little flying ‘mice’ who skitter about high in the trees in my back garden at dusk, those little beings who look so joyful as they swoop about catching bugs – well, my neighbour’s cat managed to get one the other day. Bat no more! Although I am saddened by the demise of the bat, I can’t help but be totally impressed by the cat. How did she manage to catch one? They fly at the level of the top of the trees. Did she launch herself from the top of the garage with a ‘Jeronimo!!’?? Was she perched high in the silver birch ready to pounce? Does she have secret powers that enable her to fly? Who knows! What I do know is that my neighbour was not in the least bit impressed by the ‘present’ of the dead bat.

Finally finally…I must pose this question: is there anything other than mice/rats that would gnaw open a bag of flour? We have a small larder cupboard in our kitchen and today (with disgust and, I must admit, a teeny bit of retching) I noticed something had taken the corner out a bag of flour. I am hoping we are not infested with mice. We’ve put traps down – I know, it’s horrible, but I need to catch whatever ate the flour. I can’t afford to just leave it. We have kids. Mice (or, God forbid, rats) pose a big potential health problem. Anyway, squeamishness at murdering a little being aside, I need to catch it. Whilst cleaning out the cupboard to check it hadn’t gotten anything else (and bleaching the shelf to within an inch of its life), I must have disturbed some eight-legged beasties. They were huge spiders (I think they are common or garden spiders) with gi-normous legs and mean little eyes. Ew. I normally don’t mind spiders (I did rescue one today from the bath), but these ones turned my stomach! The memory is making me feel a little yucky even now!

Right, on that note, I am away to have a restorative cup of tea and maybe an oat biscuit. Til next time!

Dawn xxx (who is hoping she doesn’t have to deal with any gi-normous arachnids or flour eating rodents any more).