cushions!
We've had a difficult couple of weeks. My mood remains unstable a lot of the time. Good, happy days still happen, but the bad days are so bloody awful that I just feel like a monster. Oh well. We're trying our best to deal with it as a family.
Even with the moodiness and malaise things have been achieved.
Matt's mum asked for some cushions to complement the quilt I made for her birthday last year. After two days of non-stop cutting, ironing and sewing I'd made these beauties:
It was difficult to give them away! We've decided to try and make a bit of time in the week to allow me to do a bit of sewing as a regular thing.
Food made this week: cream crackers, lasagne, cheese scones, meringues, banana fritters, flour tortillas and guacamole, jambalaya, slow-cooked ham joint, minestrone, roasted curried parsnip soup.
We've cooked for mum and Roy on Friday; had a friend and her 3-year-old daughter round for scones, tea and dressing-up; my geochemist friend popped round for a few hours today; Matt's brother came this morning. We had a little family walk out to the castle one afternoon; I could only manage 10 minutes but it was lovely to be out all together like that. Matt took the girls to the beach to make sandcastles one morning! Yes, it was cold, but I think he and River were excited by the sunshine. We had a fantastic walk in Kerroodhoo plantation -- rescuing the gruffalo's child from the big bad mouse, exploring the gruffalo's den (an old, mossy lean-to), playing hide and seek, swishing sticks through the air. River looked at the moon through her telescope. We failed to see the Northern Lights.
An outdoor clothing shop is having a closing down sale so I took advantage of an unexpected 30 minute gap in my schedule to dash in and grab things off the racks. Matt and I have new coats -- or first new coats in many years. Waterproof! Windproof! With hoods! And lots of pockets! We are so thrilled with them, you have no idea. (I've been shivering all winter in a flimsy coat I bought in 1997.) I also bought quick-drying trousers for both of us, warm socks, and a coat for River to grow into. And we bought Matt a new pair of boots in the Clarks sale. He hasn't bought a new pair of shoes in nearly a decade so they were badly needed.
What else? Finally got the missing slate in the roof replaced. Matt thinks he might have fixed the leaking door that leads out to the kitchen roof. And today he put the neighbour's wheelie bin back in their yard where it's supposed to be. (Neighbour is no longer there and the house is for sale so we thought it ought to go back before the new owner got used to it being in front of our house.)
A local friend looked after River and Willow for a couple of hours in half-term so Matt and I could have a bit of time together. We went out for a cup of tea and some cake. Afterwards I finally made his birthday present -- a mat/sack for his Lego.
Finally, after several confrontations -- and, to my shame, some shouting -- River has conceded that it's okay for other people to play the piano...
Even with the moodiness and malaise things have been achieved.
Matt's mum asked for some cushions to complement the quilt I made for her birthday last year. After two days of non-stop cutting, ironing and sewing I'd made these beauties:
It was difficult to give them away! We've decided to try and make a bit of time in the week to allow me to do a bit of sewing as a regular thing.
Food made this week: cream crackers, lasagne, cheese scones, meringues, banana fritters, flour tortillas and guacamole, jambalaya, slow-cooked ham joint, minestrone, roasted curried parsnip soup.
We've cooked for mum and Roy on Friday; had a friend and her 3-year-old daughter round for scones, tea and dressing-up; my geochemist friend popped round for a few hours today; Matt's brother came this morning. We had a little family walk out to the castle one afternoon; I could only manage 10 minutes but it was lovely to be out all together like that. Matt took the girls to the beach to make sandcastles one morning! Yes, it was cold, but I think he and River were excited by the sunshine. We had a fantastic walk in Kerroodhoo plantation -- rescuing the gruffalo's child from the big bad mouse, exploring the gruffalo's den (an old, mossy lean-to), playing hide and seek, swishing sticks through the air. River looked at the moon through her telescope. We failed to see the Northern Lights.
An outdoor clothing shop is having a closing down sale so I took advantage of an unexpected 30 minute gap in my schedule to dash in and grab things off the racks. Matt and I have new coats -- or first new coats in many years. Waterproof! Windproof! With hoods! And lots of pockets! We are so thrilled with them, you have no idea. (I've been shivering all winter in a flimsy coat I bought in 1997.) I also bought quick-drying trousers for both of us, warm socks, and a coat for River to grow into. And we bought Matt a new pair of boots in the Clarks sale. He hasn't bought a new pair of shoes in nearly a decade so they were badly needed.
What else? Finally got the missing slate in the roof replaced. Matt thinks he might have fixed the leaking door that leads out to the kitchen roof. And today he put the neighbour's wheelie bin back in their yard where it's supposed to be. (Neighbour is no longer there and the house is for sale so we thought it ought to go back before the new owner got used to it being in front of our house.)
A local friend looked after River and Willow for a couple of hours in half-term so Matt and I could have a bit of time together. We went out for a cup of tea and some cake. Afterwards I finally made his birthday present -- a mat/sack for his Lego.
Finally, after several confrontations -- and, to my shame, some shouting -- River has conceded that it's okay for other people to play the piano...