tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82389342432670705372011-05-11T14:40:37.435+01:00blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.comBlogger481100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-37844003301407469362009-02-03T10:34:00.005Z2009-02-04T17:58:27.410Z

My dreams that is. It's been a bitter and difficult January. What with Lurch's wandering, virus-seeking fingers and the constant stream of bad news and predictions for the UK housing market and general economy. But, ever the optimist, I started the year brimming with hope. There was one particular glimmer that was warming itself daily in the first week of the New Year. I had set my heart on

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-34413143070017025692009-01-27T18:35:00.002Z2009-01-27T19:43:04.093Z

I think this is the closest I've ever come to wearing a straightjacket. The pincer movement attack carried out by PC World and Lurch nearly did for me, it really really did. I've been out of blogosphere action for some time now, unable to read, laugh or cry over my favourite blogs, except for a few snatched moments in other people's offices.It started off with a welcome request from one company

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-18413791650783600242009-01-11T22:25:00.008Z2009-01-12T19:58:35.526Z

So, I moved on feeling fully rested from my seaside sojourn but it all went downhill from there. I went to stay with my old friend Shaztastic in Esher. We met at University and cannily went into property development together at the last peak in 1988 - a shared two-bedroomed flat in Tooting. We remained in negative equity for the next 9 years until we sold it for a large loss. Move over Dragons!

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-92034374319102595942008-12-29T13:52:00.003Z2008-12-30T10:15:38.128Z

So here I am, stranded in Kent, all alone in my parent's house. Of course the journey down South on Christmas Eve wasn't without incident; a steaming bonnet, broken power steering and a bright red battery light that wouldn't go off after a stop in a service station on the M11 80 miles from my destination. My Dad and Lurch (50 miles behind me with Danny Boy) advised me to carry on and not stop the

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-87955292165579269702008-12-12T16:42:00.003Z2008-12-12T17:45:32.860Z

'Oooh, that looks good!' I say to Lurch, as we make our way around the throbbing Christmas Market in York. 'You want one?' he asks. I nod my thanks and tuck into a steaming crepe, filled to the brim with ham and melted cheese, all washed down with a hot and spicy cup of mulled wine. We move onto the next stall, specialist chocolatiers with a bedazzling array of hand-crafted jewels. 'Just a taster

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-67921636178552776472008-12-04T19:39:00.004Z2008-12-05T09:14:01.843Z

Well, I've had my meeting with the Head of Year and she had interviewed the Head of every subject I'd mentioned and each had prepared a written report on Danny Boy. The History teacher had also waited after school to meet me. I had a written apology from the English teacher but the rest of the remarks have dampened my crusading spirit. Danny Boy has been identified as one of the brightest

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-78074789111075505642008-11-21T13:36:00.010Z2008-11-21T19:23:40.995Z

So which is it to be? Last week I fell into the slough of despond or the trough of disillusionment, whatever... The reason for this despair is that I examined Danny Boy's school books. He has had several assessments in the last couple of weeks and appears to have gone backwards in every single subject. In History he has gone from a level 7 to a level 3 and, at the age of nearly 13, has spent

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-42045194211136866932008-11-14T09:04:00.005Z2008-11-15T07:57:11.825Z

We spent half term with old friends in Hampshire. My friend from university married Lurch's school friend and they have two boys, exactly the same age as ours. It was lovely. On Halloween we went trick or treating, not that I really approve of that activity, but I relented. About 6 teenage girls came round to call for James, Danny Boy was all studied cool, simmering embarrassment and self

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-76629871644836556202008-11-07T10:45:00.007Z2008-11-07T11:41:33.900Z

Rat a tat tat! I woke up to the sound of the door knocker and peeked out of the bedroom window, the shiny red post van was parked in the drive, again. Parcels and packages have been flying in from all over the world; portuguese grammar books from specialist London bookshops, CDs from Portugal and DVDs from Brazil. 'It's for you' I told Lurch, but he had already bounded downstairs to answer the

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-52328471391714538402008-10-28T21:54:00.009Z2008-10-29T15:01:16.236Z

I have a skeleton in the closet and, after years of burying it, suddenly it's surfaced again. It's risen its terrible head because Lurch has started elementary portuguese evening classes.In the 1980's I studied Hispanic Studies with subsidiary french at university. I could manage the french and spanish but I'm afraid that I began portugese in my second year, which was, coincidentally, one of the

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-46250895728518017652008-10-13T17:55:00.004+01:002008-10-13T18:58:58.259+01:00

When I work in Leeds I have a routine that is automatic; rush out of the house about ten minutes later than I would like to be, hair wet, no make-up, clutching my mobile phone to make sure I remember it and dash off in the car to try and beat the Leeds rush hour traffic. Stop on the way (usually in a traffic jam) and put velcro rollers in my hair and make-up on my face about twenty minutes before

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-33320321557855137702008-10-06T20:25:00.002+01:002008-10-06T21:39:20.175+01:00

I collected my schoolfriend from the station at 5.15pm on Saturday and we immediately went into our usual routine. We lined up the Nurofen Plus, loo roll, jelly beans, Lucozade tablets, Lucozade carb gel, Lucozade Sport, change for the bus, thermos flasks, numbers and safety pins, ankle chips, change of clothes and baby wipes plus lipstick for me; there's nothing like an unmade-up purple face in

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-31855576289493678612008-09-26T21:38:00.005+01:002008-09-30T22:20:43.466+01:00

Nobody except Lurch knows I'm a blogger so I was asked at work to discover as much as I could about bloggers for a project on consumer segmentation. I spent a lot of time investigating, but that doesn't mean I'm neurotic. This is one article that summarised a lot of others, thought you might be interested!Computers in human behaviour (somebody tell me how to do a link!!)The Big Five personality

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-1416238148417947702008-09-21T18:18:00.003+01:002008-09-21T20:24:00.265+01:00

So we're back in the swing of things, with a vengeance. It's a busy time of year again and after all of the reflection time in Africa we've returned to a life of non-stop action. We've finally had two viewings on the house. One while we were on holiday and the feedback was very good but they weren't in a position to buy. Then Lurch went to Madrid with work and his parents came to stay. The estate

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-2425848856823636212008-09-14T21:35:00.007+01:002008-09-16T19:00:11.326+01:00

We left Livingstone and decided to go to Lake Kariba. Lurch said no problem it's mostly tar roads so it should be quick. He hadn't been to Zambia for four years and there hadn't been any investment in the roads. We set off on the main road from Livingstone to Lusaka. I have never seen anything like it in my life, it looked as though a meteorite shower had just fallen, it was chock full of pot

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-65939435833731396912008-09-07T20:39:00.003+01:002008-09-07T21:46:28.104+01:00

So we were off! We had to wait until the postman arrived before we could leave as Lurch was expecting a box of cigars from a website in Gibraltar. They were dirt cheap, apparently, and they didn't materialise in the post, little did I know how significant that was to be.El Vel and Sean met us at Gatwick, took our car home with them and off we flew on the night flight to Windhoek, Namibia. We got

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-20035207620235030962008-08-10T21:37:00.003+01:002008-08-10T22:23:06.168+01:00

So, we have been frantically getting ready for our Zambian trip for the last few days - I say we... Lurch spent the day with his feet up reading the paper or watching Carry on Cruising, but then again he has spent the last six weekends working and he is SO stressed. Fair enough. Boys thoughtfully have been changing their clothes on the hour every hour - they are now wearing tiny clothes destined

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-30042001174942975422008-08-04T20:52:00.006+01:002008-08-04T21:47:46.189+01:00

Now we're all back home again, safe, sound and slightly damp in the shadow of the North Yorkshire Moors. The boys have finished their island hopping and I went to pick them up and stay for a few days with El Vel and Sean. Lurch stayed behind and threw himself into a work frenzy.I was brought up on an island off the coast of Kent. From a very early age I used to proclaim to anyone who'd listen

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-55851262825703142062008-07-28T21:26:00.005+01:002008-07-29T21:40:06.041+01:00

So, here I am, back up North after the mini-break. I was actually quite worried about the Isle of Wight by the time we left, early on Wednesday morning; various dubious descriptions of swirly wallpaper, terrible food, the 1980's and early departures in miserable drizzle had made me apprehensive. I had moved beyond irritation with Danny Boy, The Terminator and Lurch and had turned into a raging

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-52794935672499699542008-07-20T21:29:00.002+01:002008-07-20T22:08:22.325+01:00

Well, what a week that was. I have most certainly over-committed myself with my enthusiastic determination to get more work. I worked all week until about 8pm most evenings and then had the day planned with Miss Dynamite on Friday, plus I was on standby to interview a top businesswomen, who was proving quite diva-ish and tricky, at 11am on Friday. On Thursday evening I went to watch The

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-86887722638674703602008-07-16T09:44:00.004+01:002008-07-19T17:18:32.256+01:00

I was very busy working yesterday when the appearance of a flickering, shadowy rectangle in the bottom corner of my computer screen caught my eye. An e:mail from a name I hadn't seen in about 15 years, heralding a big event - The Convent Reunion! Log on to Friends Reunited to see more! Quickly abandoning my urgent project I logged on to read my message: 'Fiona Sykes is organising a Convent School

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-41988136701907977812008-07-13T15:30:00.004+01:002008-07-13T16:26:17.682+01:00

Obviously the heat's not a problem as it's been soggy, grey and damp for days now, although the sun's shining today, hurrah! Lurch urgently put his apron on, rushed into the garden and is beavering away chopping up guinea fowl ready to put on the barbecue or 'braii' as he refers to it.Lurch loves a braii, he won't have a gas one and he performs a special ritual whenever he lights it (ie. as often

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-29905934157209515332008-07-10T18:55:00.002+01:002008-07-10T20:14:22.761+01:00

I went to the meeting about the proposed airport site this week. We all gathered together in the village hall, discussing the torrential rain and how badly our vegetable patches were growing. People were milling about, drifting in and out, finding seats, greeting and gossiping. By the time the Chair of the protest group stood up to make a presentation there were about 30 people present. He

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-5584406558287836162008-07-06T19:09:00.007+01:002008-07-06T20:23:21.809+01:00

I awoke to the soft, tuneless strains of Lurch warbling away 'oh yes I'm young, gifted and black..da da da da..' I opened one eye to see him in the bathroom, in his boxers, fuzzy fish white belly wobbling gently to his own rhythm, the picture of pure happiness. He had an alcohol free night last night. I think some people don't suit drinking, it makes Lurch melancholy and he sleeps much better

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-8587840482162043802008-07-03T12:18:00.004+01:002008-07-03T13:13:40.953+01:00

By that I mean that one of the tools in my skillset is my ability to terrify myself into action. I get scared about a few things; money, health and the children. My talent for inducing utter, chest-tightening, buttock-clenching fear can be demonstrated by my quest to give up smoking a few years ago. I'd given up plenty of times, been there, worn the patch but had never succeeded for very long. So

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-27915931913909551052008-06-29T15:48:00.004+01:002008-06-29T16:32:08.095+01:00

In case you think the family is in training for a guest appearance on the Jeremy Kyle show I've decided to write a more uplifting post today.This week has been a busy one for the family. We had Sports Day and a tennis tournament for the Terminator and a local race, 6 miles for Danny Boy and me and 3 miles for The Terminator. Lurch also had a lad's weekend in Lisbon. All of this activity prompted

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-72424145855747903832008-06-25T10:06:00.003+01:002008-06-25T21:34:20.220+01:00

God help me! Just as I was scoffing down my All Bran at top speed, preparing to take Danny Boy to school, getting his athletics stuff ready and finding him a snack and a drink he came up to me, looked me straight in the eye and asked 'Mum, what is a butt plug?' Like lightening I replied 'it does exactly what it says on the tin..'. 'Have you ever used one?' he asked. 'No, now go and get in the

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-15939749671722521572008-06-22T22:33:00.003+01:002008-06-22T23:07:51.285+01:00

It's been a fairly quiet weekend here. The Terminator has been on a mini-break to Scarborough with his friend who's an only child. He's had an absolutely brilliant time, told me that he hadn't had a single one of his 'five a day' just plenty of this...He slept for two nights in this...Danny Boy wanted to go on another date on Saturday - it was a double date to the cinema। Love's young dream

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-43925171035227781232008-06-18T19:43:00.006+01:002008-06-18T21:08:51.736+01:00

Danny Boy is now well and truly in the throes of first love. He tried to follow my advice and remain cool but, as we all predicted, he fell fast and furiously. Daisy phoned him and asked him to meet her at the village fete at the weekend. His first date! He was very quiet on D-Day morning when Lurch drove him to meet her. Lurch came back, looked at me and said 'my poor little cub! my poor little

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-17757846970144558462008-06-14T15:59:00.007+01:002008-06-14T16:35:05.673+01:00

Last week I went shopping for a new dress for my friend's 40th birthday party, it was a pink party in aid of breast cancer. I strolled into Monsoon, they had some of the most beautiful, feminine clothes I'd seen in a long time so I gathered loads of pink things up and headed off into the changing rooms. Pulling the first dress over my head I thought 'that's a big snug' and then tried to do the

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-75575938731593825242008-06-10T21:27:00.005+01:002008-06-12T09:29:47.792+01:00

One of my favourite articles in the Sunday papers is 'The best of times, the worst of times' because the author often refers to a period in their life that is simultaneously good and bad. Most of the time people seem to think that you have a good time or a bad time and never the twain shall meet.I was thinking today about the best and the worst (yes, probably when I should have been working) and

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-434669171535875512008-06-07T12:29:00.006+01:002008-06-07T14:43:48.275+01:00

Phew! We've got guests staying so have been unable to blog for a while, but I've just got out of a shopping trip, it's me and Danny Boy at home now.We went Down South last week to stay at a friend's for a few days. Lurch told me that his parents were moving into a warden controlled retirement flat in a fortnight so the boys and I went to visit them and their new home. They are the only people in

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-84763613678649644122008-06-03T21:16:00.007+01:002008-06-03T21:40:14.096+01:00

We've been discussing our forthcoming holiday in Zambia at dinner tonight. We are huge Africa fans but the children and I haven't been to Zambia before, Lurch has. We're going to stay in something like this because 1)it's exciting and 2)more importantly it's much cheaper than a hotel:We've stayed in one before - I was petrified of lions getting the children in the night but once it was set up I

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-3796168172046907402008-05-31T20:53:00.004+01:002008-06-01T13:21:47.312+01:00

We have just been back Down South, visiting friends.Friend's daughter aged 8 to The Terminator 'We're learning compound words at school, that's a word made up of two words'. 'Like what?' asked TT 'Waitrose' giggled friend's daughter. Friend's son aged 7 'I know one, popcorn! Do you know any?' to The Terminator 'Yes, arsehole.' I've started saving up for a Swiss finishing school for him as an

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-56765732974503381142008-05-31T19:31:00.007+01:002008-05-31T19:53:07.012+01:00

On Monday I went for a 3.5 mile run. My target is to complete the Great North in under 2 hours this year. So far I have run it 4 times. My best time is 2 hours 9 minutes. Every year I run with one of my best and oldest school friends who lives in London, last year she beat me. I say run with but she's just as competitive as me and we run to beat our own times and each other. I had to pretend to

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-77939330702596893192008-05-26T22:08:00.003+01:002008-05-26T22:31:15.540+01:00

Last week I went on a school trip to a farming show with The Terminator's class. It was a fantastic show. I was responsible for four boys, making sure they didn't get lost, disgrace themselves or enjoy their usual punch-ups in public. The only one that got lost was The Terminator, who was found hanging round the neck of a golden labrador in one of the tents. No, we can't have a dog!We had a

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-60423671634131405022008-05-25T18:05:00.009+01:002008-05-26T17:23:50.479+01:00

I wish I knew how to do links then I'd put one in to the one legged vagabond poet W H Davies who wrote that. My Dad, Sean Sean the leprechaun (he's small and Irish), is always quoting it.What a belter of a bank holiday so far. No football, no need to get up to take the boys training, no cricket matches just Lurch, Danny Boy and me relaxing. I was woken up though, at 5.38am, by Lurch bellowing '

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-85005832995237570802008-05-24T14:43:00.002+01:002008-05-24T15:03:12.865+01:00

Oh no! I weighed myself this morning and I've put on 4 pounds, that means I've got a stone and a half to lose before the Great North Run. Inspired by self disgust I've been on a 5 1/2 mile run. I ran around the village, everybody greeted me with very broad smiles, I know why. This is completely different to when I run in Leeds.In Leeds I run with two young, fit women and guess what? Nobody

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-60863550513049847412008-05-24T09:18:00.002+01:002008-05-24T09:45:48.890+01:00

We had a lovely evening yesterday. I dropped The Terminator off at cub camp for a three night stay. I think cubs is fantastic, the boys were so excited to be sleeping in a wood. I'd spent 3 hours in the morning putting up tents with Akela, phew! The Terminator was allowed to take a cuddly toy so naturally he packed Ronaldinho, his dearly beloved giant monkey. He introduced Ronaldinho to Akela as

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-5584264487092954852008-05-22T17:06:00.004+01:002008-05-22T17:43:25.817+01:00

I only know two people called Wendy. I used to work with the first Wendy. If you looked at us in the street together you would think we had absolutely nothing in common. She is 27, tall and very glamorous and skirts the fringes of WAG culture in the North. She is Louis Vuitton'd and Prada'd up to her eyeballs. As stated before I live in Cherokee land (heap big debts to deal with....), am not

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-31847387790811111982008-05-22T16:50:00.000+01:002008-05-22T16:51:13.024+01:00

I can't believe it Raef and Didier redcarded on the same night! Naturally we watched the match in this house so The Terminator and I missed The Apprentice - what happened? How could The Angel of Elegance have tumbled from his perfect pedestal and taken his 'Last Ride? How is Monstrous Michael still in there? Will have to find a repeat somewhere this week to fathom the decision.

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-65245053687554741902008-05-21T21:00:00.000+01:002008-05-21T21:00:00.614+01:00

Why did I think it was a good idea to greet the man doing the HIP report with the words 'Hello, it's freezing, isn't it?' when I was standing inside the house?

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-1697537394151295442008-05-21T12:34:00.000+01:002008-05-21T14:53:46.823+01:00

Have been busy at work this week, slaving away on some interesting brands. I know it's Wednesday already but I wanted to update last weekend's activities.Competition is often perceived to be a dirty word in the UK. I've noticed that a lot of mothers profess to despise competitiveness, until their child begins to show a real talent for something, then and only then do you see their true colours

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-75938858116296578532008-05-20T22:33:00.000+01:002008-05-20T22:37:11.744+01:00

I saw a solitary dead Magpie on the roadside today. It made me panic. Does that mean I'm going to be really sorrowful or really happy?

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-74491316342218226072008-05-20T22:12:00.000+01:002008-05-20T22:15:54.807+01:00

Now that's what I call a proper unit!

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-87873576140441546092008-05-17T21:22:00.000+01:002008-05-17T21:48:50.935+01:00

Had a bit too much Pinot Grigio last night, getting angst ridden with Lurch about why the estate agent hasn't called once and what a rip-off HIP reports are. The estate agent quoted £415 but I've found an internet one for £250 - why can't they just be included as part of a survey? Sorry, I know there's nothing more boring than HIP reports..Anyway, I woke up feeling slightly furry mouthed and

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-64741656071600375572008-05-16T08:25:00.000+01:002008-05-16T10:20:05.139+01:00

I've promised myself to be brief on the blog today, I can feel addiction rising!When I was feeling particularly isolated and full of enthusiasm for New Year resolutions I read a lot of articles about happiness. Apparently loneliness causes misery and community spirit makes you joyful. I set to it.Yesterday I went to pick up Danny Boy at 5.45pm from a cricket match against St

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238934243267070537.post-1324108665085654122008-05-15T12:17:00.000+01:002008-05-15T12:40:53.173+01:00

Yes, the sign's up! After 12 hours of decluttering and cleaning for the estate agent's photos last Thursday the house is finally on the market. Lurch is none too pleased - he'd rather stay here in splendid rural isolation but he's outvoted big time on this one - 3 to 1, in fact. He began his counter attack stealth campaign immediately by lighting a cigar and tossing down a large Scotch, that

blogthatmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584817207287233580noreply@blogger.com2