The last three posts have been a mini trip report of my time at DLRP, but fear not, these tales of exotic travels are at an end and we can get back to the really important stuff like how much I don’t want to go to work, my life of woe as the world turns against me, and my life as taxi driver and bank for the girls. What more could you want?
Whilst we have all been away in France not a great deal has happened that I need update you on. Garage wise not much has progressed as we still await a resolution to our gas issues. Not an unfamiliar state for me. At least now we have a date, and that date is the 29th of November. With that in mind work actually starts on the 1st of December.
We're going to sleep in there???
My efforts to ready the garage for the arrival of work men have long been documented via Twitter and this blog, and we are now seeing light at the end of tunnel, not to mention some floor space. Previously, with the garage chock full of essential crap, every inch of floor space has been occupied.
After one fully loaded Mondeo, and a trip to the tip, yesterday saw me “break the back” of ridding us of about nine years worth of hording. It didn’t all go. Some stuff we want to keep has been redistributed to other areas of the house, where it can gather dust for another nine years. But the stuff retained is worth it, as it was memory stuff. Photos, school books, paintings by the kids, from a time when we could decide what they wore, and how their hair was.
Browsing through some of that stuff did delay the task yesterday. There was a fair amount of head shaking, and wondering where the time went.
For those who plan to still be reading this nonsense in a few weeks time, the picture above, and the one below shall serve as the befores, compared to what will be several lovely looking afters at which we can all bill and coo.
Ignore the bins, Louise will hate them being on this photo!
Speaking of wondering where the time went, earlier this week on Thursday, Louise and I spent the evening at school, attending an open evening for the sixth form college, as somehow she is now in her final year at school!!! Seriously, how did this happen? It was only last month that I was sat on a miniature chair in the school hall of the local Infant school, fretting at my eldest striking out on the scary road of attending school.
The night was very helpful, and it only took about half an hour for Emily to choose the subjects she wants to do at A level. It was at this point that I officially became old. I used the phrase “in my day”, whilst trying to explain to Emily that when I chose my A levels, I had a choice of boring traditional subjects, such as English, History, and I pushed the envelope by also taking Economics.
Our quick tour of the sixth form’s TV studio, editing suite and gallery convinced Emily to take Media Studies and Film Studies. A further chat with another member of staff, and she added Photography to the list, having dismissed Product Design!! To be able to study subjects that truly interest you must be a joy, and I “pecked Emily’s head” for the journey home, explaining how important it is to find a job/vocation that enables you to wake up every morning and not consider chopping your right arm off as an excuse for not getting in to the office.
She didn’t get it, as of course she is fifteen, immortal, and a million years away from all this adult nonsense. All she has to do now to get into sixth form is deliver her predicted grades. She seems quite relaxed about the whole thing, and I wish I could be too, but I seem to be living in a perpetual panic attack at the endless milestones hurtling towards us at a million miles an hour –
GCSEs
Getting into College
Will they go to Uni? If so how will we afford it?
Learning to drive – fills me with fear and dread.
Relationships, and heavens forbid weddings!
I keep telling myself that there is no destination here, and the trick is to enjoy the journey, as the discovery of those photos in the garage demonstrated, if you keep waiting to arrive, you miss all the scenery along the way. Nice words, but putting them into play is not my strength.
Rebecca is getting ready for her school trip next week. Again, “in my day” would apply here, as she is off to Nuremberg on an exchange trip, rather than the local museum to see some bloke in a low quality costume talk about the life of a blacksmith. She has been exchanging emails with her pen pal (although no pen has been involved) for a few weeks, so I hope they can stand each other in the flesh for ten days of the trip.
Getting ready for the trip translates to having clothes bought for her at the Trafford Centre yesterday. I of course had other tasks at hand so Louise did the honours. I am sure I got the better deal.
One trifle, two week's calories
So after a hectic Saturday, today has been a little more relaxed. Some ironing aside for Louise, we’ve been what is called pottering, and Rebecca is making a trifle for tea. Having seen the ingredients in her own special recipe, I’m either going to lose some teeth, or about five years of my life expectancy after eating it.
I’ve just booked our tickets for the Harry Potter film tonight, and my main concern is when to eat the trifle. The last thing I want to do is take the edge off my sweet tooth before the film. It looks like a long one, and may involve a double-header of Pick n Mix and Popcorn. I’d hate to run short of eats at a crucial time in the plot, and become distracted.
No doubt I’ll spend the first half hour of the film marvelling at how grown up the three principal actors look. I don’t have any photos of them in the garage, but the same time machine has been at play it seems. How this can happen when I am not aging at all is, as Toyah once said, a mystery. Not that I am old enough to know who Toyah is of course.
Looking ahead to next week, Louise meets with Occupational Health to assist her in her return to work, and I have a meeting in Harrow on Tuesday. My how I am looking forward to those eight hours in the car, probably about as much as Louise is looking forward to going back to work. Her knowledge of day time TV is very impressive, and her obsession with Coach Trip is quite frankly a bit worrying.
By the way, on the theme of time flying by, as it turns out this post has all been about, I am wishing this blog a slightly overdue Happy 1st Birthday. It was the 5th of November last year that this thing sprang into life, with just me Louise and two others reading it.
I am astounded that I have kept up the postings and that now hundreds of folk each day come here to see what nonsense I am rambling on about. I know, I find that hard to believe too. Who would have thought it?
Close your eyes and make a wish, and it can't be that there isn't a 2nd birthday!
So I will count Rebecca’s trifle as a birthday treat for my bloggage, and therefore I’ll be able to justify the few thousand calories with my name on them at the local Cineworld. I’ll be coming down off of my sugar rush just in time for work tomorrow, and who knows, removing an arm may be more appealing than the M60.
Craig you sound sooooo much like me just now lol. My daughter lesley (Nurseshortie) is expecting our first grandchild so i have been out & about with her looking at baby stuff & she is sick of hearing me say we never had that in our day lol. One example is she was going to buy muslins so i asked oh are you using terry towling nappies & she gave me a blank look she said no mother disposable nappies so what do you need muslins for then i asked with a blank expresion on my face she replied to put over my shoulder so when baby is sick it goes on the muslin. EEERRRRMMMMM what’s wrong with a towel or teatowel she said lol.xx
Hi Craig, know exactly how you feel! We are a couple of years ahead of you – 6th form goes just as fast! My daughter is 18 next month and we have spent a good few days looking at what seemed like every uni in the country. Her UCAS application went in this week and I still cant believe she will be leaving to go to Uni next Sept.
Well done on your 1st birthday heres to another year! x
Happy Blog Birthday!
Would it be pushing it for me to use this as a reason to have some kind of luxurious pudding also? Some M&S chocolate things in the fridge are calling me!
P.S. I’m nineteen, and my mum had to “have a little seat” last week when I reminded her that in a few months she would have a daughter who’s in her twenties!!!
Craig I feel your pain with the garage work. We are currently putting an extension on the back of our house..oh the joys!
Congrats on the 1st year of blogging
I hope you enjoyed Harry Potter and had enough sweet stuff to last through the entire movie! We were lucky enough to be in Florida and went to see it on the day it came out at the ciema in Downtown Disney.
For the after photo we do expect the bins to be in the same position for comparison purposes of course.
My sincerest regards on acheiving this historic milestone with the hope of many years more to come. Tell Louise she is in grand company with her affinity for coach trip, a superior piece of entertainment! Its worth it just for Brendan alone but Celebrity Coach trip took it to another level of cerebral delight
Ignore the bins, Louise will hate them being on this photo!
Mkingdon's Blog 
Craig you sound sooooo much like me just now lol. My daughter lesley (Nurseshortie) is expecting our first grandchild so i have been out & about with her looking at baby stuff & she is sick of hearing me say we never had that in our day lol. One example is she was going to buy muslins so i asked oh are you using terry towling nappies & she gave me a blank look she said no mother disposable nappies so what do you need muslins for then i asked with a blank expresion on my face she replied to put over my shoulder so when baby is sick it goes on the muslin. EEERRRRMMMMM what’s wrong with a towel or teatowel she said lol.xx
Hi Craig, know exactly how you feel! We are a couple of years ahead of you – 6th form goes just as fast! My daughter is 18 next month and we have spent a good few days looking at what seemed like every uni in the country. Her UCAS application went in this week and I still cant believe she will be leaving to go to Uni next Sept.
Well done on your 1st birthday heres to another year! x
Happy Blog Birthday!
Would it be pushing it for me to use this as a reason to have some kind of luxurious pudding also? Some M&S chocolate things in the fridge are calling me!
P.S. I’m nineteen, and my mum had to “have a little seat” last week when I reminded her that in a few months she would have a daughter who’s in her twenties!!!
Craig I feel your pain with the garage work. We are currently putting an extension on the back of our house..oh the joys!
Congrats on the 1st year of blogging
I hope you enjoyed Harry Potter and had enough sweet stuff to last through the entire movie! We were lucky enough to be in Florida and went to see it on the day it came out at the ciema in Downtown Disney.
For the after photo we do expect the bins to be in the same position for comparison purposes of course.
My sincerest regards on acheiving this historic milestone with the hope of many years more to come. Tell Louise she is in grand company with her affinity for coach trip, a superior piece of entertainment! Its worth it just for Brendan alone but Celebrity Coach trip took it to another level of cerebral delight
To me…….