Pupdate

Our beloved pup is back at home with us after a 2 night stay at the vet's. Somehow or other, on Tuesday morning, he managed to injure himself so badly that he temporarily lost the use of his back legs. Our vet, young Mr. Young, said that he (the pup) had suffered a spinal haemorrhage! Goodness knows what happened; I shut him in the kitchen at 9am before taking DS to nursery and DH found him incapacitated at 10am.

Thankfully, he should make a full recovery... and thank goodness for pet insurance.

Adding Colour To The Kitchen

As I mentioned yesterday, DH is after a new cafetiere because the current-in-use-one is just about on its last legs from over use! When DS and I were out and about this morning, I remembered that we had an independent kitchen stuff shop on the main road. In this Aladdin's cave of kitchen ware we found one very helpful saleslady and DH is now the owner of a new 8 cup cafetiere (and bought for a very reasonable price). On the way home we passed Whittard of Chelsea, who just so happened to have a sale on. Do you remember that Sib bought a very lovely cafetiere cosy during her trip to mum's ealier this month? You do? Good. Because DH also has one now. Sib, I'm sorry for copying you but at a reduced price of £6 it was too good a bargain to leave in the shop and, anyway, they didn't have any others!

Westfield

I took myself off to Westfield, the world's largest shopping mall at White City, this morning for a few hours to myself. I dropped DS at nursery just after 9am and I was there having a coffee by 9.45am. It's a fairly soul-less place really; one shopping centre is pretty much like another, regardless of how big it is. I got some t-shirts for DS in M&S and a red 3/4 sleeve t-shirt for myself and that was it. (DH would like a new cafetiere but M&S didn't have any.) I was back in EB by 11.30am, with time still to do some food shopping before picking DS up at Noon.

UKS Weekly Challenge

The challenge this week was fairly simple: use a Beatles song for your title, use black and white or red, white and blue and use ribbon, a tree or a waving technique. As soon as I saw the song title "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" I knew which photo to use. I interpreted the use of black and white fairly literally.

And I did give Sib a heads up on what I planned to do!!

Sunday

The weather has been lovely today so DS and I have spent of it in the garden. He has a new seesaw and a combi tents/tunnel thingy for him to crawl through but what does he choose to play with? His Noah's Ark ... and mainly the bit that when pressed plays the Blue Danube! Ah, well.
DH has taken his parents back to Derbyshire today and hopefully will be home in an hour or so. The InLaws did very well at SIL's house, almost 2 weeks. However, nothing decided about when the permanent move will be.

On A Lighter Note ...

I sent Sib 4 pairs of socks yesterday as a JBP. They were a bargain (available from the UK's leading supermarket) and I now have 8 pairs myself! Sib very kindly photographed them for her blog (see above) but what you can't see is that they have very cute puppies on as well.

Treachery And Betrayal

Today, the unelected Government of Gordon Brown announced new immigration guidelines for Gurkhas who retired from the British Army before 1997. They must now meet at least one of the following criteria:
Three years continuous residence in the UK during or after service;
Close family in the UK;
A bravery award of level one to three;
Service of 20 years or more in the Brigade of Gurkha Rifles;
Chronic or long-term medical condition caused or aggravated by service.

Gurkhas have been part of the Army for almost 200 years and are hand-picked from a fiercely-contested recruitment contest in Nepal to win the right to join.
They have seen combat all over the world, with 200,000 having fought in the two world wars and 45,000 believed to have lost their lives fighting for Britain.
The regiment moved its main base from Hong Kong to the UK in 1997 and the government had argued that Gurkhas discharged before that date were unlikely to have strong residential ties with the UK. Excuse me?? David Enright, the solicitor acting for the Gurkha Justice Campaign, said the government had committed “an act of treachery and betrayal.” There are some 36,000 Gurkhas who retired before 1997 and of this number a mere 1350 currently have applications pending for the right to remain in Britain. Even if all were allowed to stay and their families joined them here, this country would have room for them.
In September last year, Mr. Justice Blake ruled in the High Court that instructions given by the Home Office to immigration officials were unlawful and needed urgent revision. He said the Gurkhas' long service, conspicuous acts of bravery and loyalty to the Crown all pointed to a "moral debt of honour" and gratitude felt by British people.

I've asked DH to help me draft a letter to Gordon Brown to register my disgust at the government's decision. I am so incensed by this!! Please copy and paste this into your blogs and sign the Downing Street petition, if you haven't already done so .... http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/justice4gurkhas/

Facebook: Red Friday

Over on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/) there is a group of more than 55,000 (and rising) who have pledged to wear red every Friday for the foreseeable future. Why? Read on ... We need to remember everyday all of our servicemen/women and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be British. RED FRIDAYS: Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing red every Friday. THE REASON: British men and women who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for our country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions. Many British people, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of Britain supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that every Briton who supports our men and women from afar will wear something red. By word of mouth, press, TV, whichever way you can think of ... let's make Great Britain on every Friday a sea of red. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, it will not be long before Britain is covered in red and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on. The first thing a soldier says when asked, 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is, 'We need your support and your prayers'. Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday.

I'm in; Sib is in: are you?

SLYMI: Week 17

This week's challenge was to use layers and lace. Here's mine ...

Silent Blooming

Yesterday these beautiful flowers were still buds, I kid you not. Just look at them now! Aren't they gorgeous! We don't know what the shrub is called and it is very much left to its own devices but each year without fail, it produces the most glorious flowers. If you know what it is called, please tell me.

A Brainy Boy

DH's nephew D (one half of the twins) is staying with us for the next few nights and will be with us a few days a month for the next two years. Why? Because this brainy young man is beginning his part-time MBA course at Imperial College, London today. Although most of his coursework will be online-based, once a month he is required to be in college for 4 days of "face time", Thursday - Sunday. (He's continuing in full-time employment and his employers have very kindly given him the time he needs, rather than asking him to use up his annual leave.) As he lives in Maidenhead, it makes sense for him to use our spare room rather then trundle back and forth along the M4. An added bonus is that he has offered, totally unprompted by us, to babysit while he is here! Now that's a result. We've waved him off today with my Oyster card in his pocket and instructions to play nicely with the other children! (Oh, and to get his own Oyster card at the earliest opportunity.)
His MBA will sit very nicely alongside the BSc (a First, no less) he gained in 2004, won't it. I do hope that DS gets his brains from his daddy's side of the family!!

Blogging

You may have noticed that I've tidied up my blog list. Gone are a few that were failing to make much impression, for one reason or another, and in are 3 new ones, which I came across on Sib's blog. Attic24 is particularly colourful and lovely to look at.

UKS Weekly Challenge

This week's challenge has been set by the Bijoux Belles, BF's team, so I thought I'd best make an effort! Here's their challenge: In honour of our team leader, Tracey, we'd like you to scrap with a Scottish theme so your page needs to include tartan or checks for 5 points and use heather colours for 5 points. We'd also like to honour our friends in the Crafty Magpies, who have been keeping us on our toes in the points charts, so for your title, please use a line, or a part of a line, from the Magpie Rhyme. One for sorrow,two for joy,three for a girl,four for a boy,five for silver,six for gold,seven for a secret,never to be told,eight for a wish,nine for a kiss,ten for a timeof joyous bliss.And to finish, we'd like you to match the number of embellishments on your page to the line of the Magpie Rhyme you have chosen for your title, also for 10 points, for example, if your title is Four for a Boy, then use 4 embellishments.

SLYMI: Week 16

This week's challenge was to scrap in the morning. Sounds simple, doesn't it? But yours truly only ever really gets time to scrap when DS is asleep ... ie. in the afternoon or evening. So here's what I did ... planned it all out, left it on my desk and then stuck it down this morning before DS got up. Done!

An Unexpected Overnight Guest

It's a bit of a long story as to why, but DS's Grandad stayed with us last night. He's absolutely no trouble, apart from bring deaf as a post and insisting on calling me "duck", which could be a lot worse! By this morning he and DS were getting along like a house of fire and the photos show the 2 of them examining Grandad's walking stick.

Britain's Got Talent: Susan Boyle

BGT isn't a show that we watch in this house but after hearing all about Susan in the media this week, I looked up her clip on http://www.youtube.com/ ... I was amazed. If you haven't seen it, go do so now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

See-Saws!

Look at the fun which was had in our garden this morning! BF and her 2 wee ones have now gone home and the house is very quiet...

Tales From Teatime

DS is at a stage where he is reluctant to try something new to eat (unless offered chocolate, of course!). However, at teatime today he ate roasted vegetable quiche and chips, albeit just a small amount (couldn't get him to eat the peas, even though he does like them!); I was amazed! Perhaps he was encouraged by seeing K & E tucking in with gusto!

For some reason Blogger is not uploading the photo of E properly, so I'll try again tomorrow.

Big Boy Bed

DS's new "big boy bed" has been ordered and should be with us within 8 weeks. We deliberated for ages over which type of bed to go for but, as you can see, in the end we went for a 3' single with a hideaway bed underneath.

Garden Games

It has rained for most of the day today, and quite heavily at times. However, by the time all 3 children were up from their naps, it had stopped. Rather than risk constant referreeing over who was playing with which toy, we decided to put them into their wellies (yes, even DS!) and fleeces/cardis and went out into the garden to play. DS still preferred to do his own thing but none of them fell out with each other. My beautiful GodDaughter loved being on the seesaw and laughed her head off for about half an hour!

Coffee Morning

After dropping DS at nursery this morning, BF treated me to a Starbucks. You could tell that the school holidays are still on because the place was empty; normally it's full of harrassed looking mums who have just delivered their offspring to school.

Wednesday

A funny old day. DS had a bad night and therefore a grumpy morning; a 3 hour nap this afternoon put him right. We had a flying visit to the InLaws but SIL was at work, MIL was refusing to get out of bed and FIL ended up going out with one of his other grandsons for a beer! Ho hum!

Visitors

We have visitors until the weekend in the form of BF and her children. It's been a while since we've seen each other, so it will be good to catch up. The children are so far unwilling to stand still long enough to capture all 3 on the camera together - that's this week's challenge! We've also had tears before bedtime in that DS bit K's finger because K picked up DS's copy of Winnie the Witch; something that DS had no interest in until that moment!!

SLYMI: Week 15

Here’s my take on week 15’s challenge to scrap on the edge: I used Bazzill Just The Edge (white), Fiskars punch (along edge of photo), tore the patterned paper and positioned that and the ticket stub nearer the edge than I would do normally. I also wrapped embroidery thread around the edge of the ticket stub.
Photo is of DS after a tea of Spaghetti Bolognaise; he had his face wiped before getting down from the table! No doubt there will be plenty more grubby episodes to come!

Easter Day

We didn't venture very far from home today, just to the local park with a visit to Starbucks on the way home. I've not been feeling very well for the last few days and have spent a few hours each day back in bed. DH knew that I still wasn't 100% today because I went to the park without any makeup on!

DS is funny in the play areas; he much prefers to spend time banging against the gate rather than actually going on anything. He managed one go on the slide but that was it!

The Little People!

Look who turned up to live with us today!! Aren't they just so cute? No need to ask who made them, of course ... my uber-talented sister. They have pride of place just now on my craft desk. So what if they are actually egg cosies! (Thank you very much, Sib. x)

More Accordian MiniBooks

I turned my practice minibook into Auntie S's birthday card and I made another one as a Thank You card for DS to give his friend. I can see me making lots of these this year!

DS At Two-And-A-Quarter!

Another 9th of the month has rolled around and DS is 27 months old today or, as DH put it, two-a-and-quarter. DS has been a little under the weather this week so wasn't that keen on smiling for the camera. If you look closely at tonight's bathtime photo, you can spot a "snail trail" and just about see the conjuctivitis in his right eye. He's not too impressed with the idea of eye ointment but I'm sure that it's down to my application inadequacy than anything else!

SLYMI: Week 14

Here’s my take on week 14’s challenge – something hidden. I adapted the recent CC class “The Mouse Trap” to suit my needs. My DS was invited to his friend’s birthday party earlier this week but no real details regarding the location or the timings were given until the 11th hour. We ended up in the gardens of a National Trust property … DS is only 2, as you know, and his little friend was celebrating her 3rd birthday!!

Ham House

DH took the morning off work, DS the morning off nursery and all 3 of us went to Ham House, which is on the banks of the Thames at Richmond, to help DS's little friend Bea celebrate her 3rd birthday. I must confess to not being that keen on the idea of a morning outside but actually it was rather fun. There was cake, of course, and a small Easter Egg Hunt, where the little people had to look for a peg in order to get a prize. By a mysterious stoke of luck, all the children found a peg and when Bea's daddy collected all the pegs, he had just enough birds' nests filled with chocolate as prizes for each small person to have one. All in all a fun morning, although DS spent most of the time doing his own thing!

The Grand National

We had a "no-money-changes-hands" family sweepstake this afternoon for the Grand National. I had State of Play (chosen because I saw that the brilliant BBC drama of a few years ago of the same name has been made into a Hollywood blockbuster with Russell Crowe: they'll have to go a long way to better John Simm, Bill Nighy & David Morrissey), DH had Offshore Account (if only!), DS had My Will (one of the favourites) and the pup had Irish Invader (in homage to his ancestry!). Thankfully all 4 made it home safely: DS was 3rd and I was 4th!

Free Stash!

My SLYMI prize pizza box of loveliness arrived from 3 Jolly Scrappers this morning and very lovely it is too. Exactly the sort of colour combo I'd have chosen for myself. Sib will love the lime green c/s! Lucky me.