Feeling My Age

Yesterday, amazingly, I had another birthday.  I think I’m probably having around 4 a year now or is time really going that fast?  Anyway, it all started off well and I had lunch with a good friend but, afterward, I made the mistake of using a Photobooth because I need to renew my driving licence and then I was plunged into depression.

It was so bad, I really think if I used this pic of a gargoyle from my garden it would be less scary.

Anyway, I also saw a box full of abandoned teeny tiny kittens on the counter of a shop and couldn’t help wondering what  would happen to them as the shop was about to close and I knew they didn’t open the following day.  I had to force myself away as I’ve already got 4 cats – all of them abandoned as kittens – and can’t possibly take any more home.  Still, it upset me.

However, when I got home, my daughters had put out the flags!

They’d also made me a cake and had bought me some nice gifts which was all very touching.  Plus, although Mr. Tialys was in England, he had left my present with the girls – very exciting – I am going to set it all up this afternoon.

So, now I know to avoid photobooths at all times but particularly on birthdays after a certain age and to never underestimate the power of a homemade cake and a pot of tea.  (An iPad doesn’t hurt either!)

Staying Up Late

Loving this fabric! I cut out one of my whimsical owls but , before I got round to sewing him up, thought the text would look great on something larger so felt impelled, at midnight last night, to make a cushion.  As you do.

The reason for my late night industry was because eldest daughter had gone to the cinema in Toulouse (an hour and a half away) and, even though she was staying at a friend’s house, I couldn’t go to sleep until I knew she’d arrived there safely – even though she wasn’t expecting to get there until 1 in the morning.  I managed to knock out a whimsical owl, this cushion and a couple of painting projects whilst worrying.  Perhaps she should go out more often…….

Saturday…….

Here’s the finished owl together with a great old French coffee grinder that I can’t decide whether to kep or put in the vintage shop.  Seeing as I make lots of coffee themed stuff, perhaps I should keep it as a prop..

 

Here Comes Summer!

The sun is out, school is out (almost!), eldest daughter back from her 4 week work experience, all’s right with my world!

 

 

Letting Go

Missing You Already

I feel bereft.  

My eldest  daughter left for England this morning to do a 4 week work experience stint as part of her college course. 

I suppose this is the sort of thing that gets you used to the idea that, one day, they will leave entirely.

I miss her already.

 

Tuesday, 1st June – The First Day of ‘Work’

Yesterday, shortly after disembarking from the plane, her and her father raided Waitrose and feasted on sticky toffee pudding, English bacon and muffins (hopefully not in that order), had crispy duck from the Chinese and made the owners of Lush very happy by purchasing most of their range of shampoos and other potions.    They are renting a serviced appartment for 4 weeks and have already filled the cupboards to capacity  with food ordinarily unavailable or difficult to obtain here.   Thank goodness there’s a gym on site.

The mad fools have given her her own email address and I have just received quite a long one from her so they are obviously not giving her enough work to do!  I reproduce an extract below:

I met the cleaners today they were smoking outside as I walked in and they
said ‘you’re new aren’t you?  Isn’t the appartment big? ‘ I couldn’t bring
myself to tell them that the wardrobe isn’t big enough for all my shoes and
clothes and that the bathroom is already overflowing with stuff from my
trip to Lush.
It’s a nice appartment though, I mean I could live there if I had more shoe
space.  Actually,  you know what?  If dad wasn’t with me I could have his room and just use my room as a wardrobe!

 The Weekend Approaches!

..and I’m not completely sure where she’s staying!  First of all she was supposed to be staying at a friend’s for the weekend.  Now she’s talking about going to my parents’ house but not for the whole weekend.  I’m panicking because she will have to get trains and actually arrange things (which isn’t her strong point) and, up to now my husband’s at least been in the same country, but he’s coming back to France tonight. 

It’s so weird.  When I was almost 17  (back in the stone age, as she would say), I lived in London and was everywhere like a rash.  My parents didn’t drive me everywhere (or anywhere, come to that) and I used trains, buses, taxis without a thought and I’m talking about what was, even then, an insalubrious part of London.    I survived!  I expect she will too. 

 The Second Week

Well, she survived the weekend  – even though my mother dragged her to a boot sale.   Her quest to increase 2 dress sizes continues and she is having trouble finding proper English cream.  It is impossible to get real cream here – it’s either the revolting, air-filled, ‘squirty’ cream or long-life stuff which is passable but not really an adequate substitute.  Apparently, she hasn’t managed to find the right one yet in the local Waitrose as I received this from her today –

 I can’t find any of the cream that I like, it’s all runny I like the one
that’s like creme fraiche but creamy… WHYYYYYYYYYY??? I opened some cream
last night with spoon in hand in hope but no… it was not to be… I fell
to my knees in the pouring rain and held my hands out towards the sky and
yelled NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO while god looked on, held the
piano of life above my head and pressed ‘smite’ on his Ipad.

I am of course joking, it wasn’t raining last night.

I’d better email her and explain she needs either extra thick double cream or clotted cream.  Also, ask her where she heard ‘the piano of life’ metaphor!

Visitors

My mum has just left after a week’s visit and, much as I love her to bits, I always give a little sigh of relief when I see her off at the airport.  Am I horrible?  

The problem is she’s getting a bit doddery on her pins these days so we can’t really go anywhere which involves a lot of walking.  She would do it – but she would be in pain and so it’s not worth it.  However, whenever we go out in the car, she gets travel sick.  Also, she is a VERY fussy eater.  She is almost vegetarian (if such a thing is possible), she doesn’t like any cheese other than cheddar, she doesn’t like pasta, pizza, garlic, Chinese food, seafood, anything slightly out of the ordinary and she doesn’t like wine.  All this in France.  It’s virtually impossible to feed the woman.  She doesn’t demand anything but says, ‘I’m fine with some bread and a bit of cheese’ but you know, if you gave her only that, it wouldn’t be right.  Maybe with a bar of chocolate……….

The other problem is that she and my younger daughter don’t get on.  It’s quite stressful for me when I can sense some hostility about to build up between them so I usually try to diffuse it by giving one of them something to do in another room.  The T.V. always works for my daughter so it’s not that difficult.

Me & My Lovely Mum

 

On the plus side, I get up to date with everybody else in the family’s news (sometimes not for the first time) and with the news of  all of her friends’ families.  Also, we drink lots and lots of tea.  Also, she makes me laugh a lot.

She is coming back at Christmas, this time with my dad and, of course, by then I will be really looking forward to it.