Sweet nothings

when in... Paris..

 

journaling reads

PGL sent Georgia to their Paris branch for a couple of weeks work. She travelled by herself and got to see some very cool sites, and climb the Eiffel tower again.. She had a work challenge to take a small panda called Paris everywhere and take photos of him enjoying the sights!

two layouts :)

six for tea @ ten

Mollie's turning ten did not involve a party as such. A trip to London, ears pierced, gifts from a particular shop and 'tea' at Fortnum & Masons in London...but no party {hard life no? ;) }
But a girl of ten has very important friends, and quite a lot of them too. So we rounded up a few and had a birthday tea instead.
As I took this photo, of girls on the very edge of growing up, I wondered how the same group will look in a few years time... I recall such photos with Teen daughters friends at this age, and how the group ebbed and flowed over the next few years; who changed, who didnt really, who left, who moved,...etc etc.  
Ten is a rather lovely age I think, one last year before they are not your little people any more.
Heres to the little Yummies, and the years ahead of them.

just keep swimming

This is typed to you via my lovely iMac, Bob, who is home and well. Time machine had just about everything good to go and I am grateful. I lost my downloads folder completely however, which is a pain. Normal people have just what they downloaded recently in their downloads folder on a mac, they then take things from this temporary place and file them properly. Yeah, I got very lapse about doing that, and lost over a hundred 'things'. Lesson very learnt here, -download, and file elsewhere; all in the same day... Being lazy helps nothing or no one.  
Yesterday did not run too smoothly, as I previously wrote. Today didnt fix it either. Apple forgot to give me my power cord back and so I came all the way home, excited Bob was with me. Went to plug him in .... ah. Twenty minute drive to town and then back again anyone? Twice?
My hairdresser appointment, normally my recharge and delight point of every couple of months, did not quite go as planned. I insisted my hair should go a particular shade.  they didnt really agree, but I insisted. OH I was wrong. I spent the day umming and ahhing over it, before making the appointment to go back tomorrow.... :( 
Went to a school meeting... that wasnt on, {ah...}  Had to drag both girls around the monthly store cupboard groceries shop. And still cant get the tumble dryer to work. 

I am grateful still, not always complaining,just its been a tough-in-a-silly-but-stressful-way few days for some reason. Threes the charm tho right?  

Very happy to be able to see my real camera photos again and bring a little blossom to the blog :)

just keep swimming indeed. 

no reason.

I had some fabulous free credit at my favourite pro printers to use up, so I was seeking out recent family photos to add to my black and white gallery wall...

Couldnt quite bring myself to close this shot of Not So Teenaged son... ah.
Both he and Teen daughter are away from home, busy leading their lives of work and uni and fun and many etc etc etcs.  Some times we text a lot, some times we dont. Some times they ring, some times they dont. Some times they appear on my twitter feed, or send me pictures of their dinner {particularly if its vegetables, obvious novelty in student diets...}  And I am often busy.  
I have seen a few parents of Teen Daughter's friends in passing recently, we all have this new feeling of we have nearly done it... there is this do you remember trying to make them do their homework and stop them going to parties and slamming the door every five minutes feeling of OH THANK GOODNESS -we see the light at the end of the tunnel. Parenting early teenage years sucks, I did not enjoy it - it was not the we are best friends and shall go shopping experience you think you will have - but even after all that grief, shouting  and door slamming {them AND me} there is indeed a big space when they leave home. Less laundry and a lot more biscuits left. 
Some times it hits me, just for a moment, just how much I miss them. I dont tell anyone - okay except you guys now ;) - its not very cool, its not very helpful and its not easily fixed. Its not I want them to come home, or that I demand attention from them {well...hahahaha} its just a feeling of missing. Missing what was. I say it again, I did not know our crazy family of six every day life was going to stop, was not forever and that I should have concentrated and appreciated a bit more.  ah hindsight. Gotta  hate the damn thing love it.

Hardcore nature drive-by...

Whilst you, and anyone who follows me on istagram, might get sick of sky photos or coffee photos, maybe now you will be thankful I don't always have my camera with me.
I dont have a record of the metre long snake crossing our lane behind the car. metre long! snake! in my lane! in the land of we dont really have snakes that we actually SEE and tend to freak out when we do. I confess to getting out the car and sort of looking for it, for photographic evidence. But halfheartedly looking... because whilst I 'quite like snakes', this liking seems to come under not when its in the long grass ditch and by my feet category. 

I also dont have a record of the 'cream thing' we walked by on the lane, not really looking at it. Not really looking at it, that is, until Mr Britguy looked at it and yelled OMG! Dont look at this. Which, of course, makes you go and look at it...
What was it? A piglet's head. Yeah, a piglet. but without a body. awesome. er... not even slightly. I told you I'm vegetarian right?...!
Where was the body? we had no idea. Until I sat down to edit the previous evenings photos.... I attempt to get a picture of the Buzzard that lives by us, every week. {He is smarter than me and my long range photo skills are tested. I usually fail} This time he was sat on the grass shredding something.... zoom in and see not the usual rabbit dinner he eats, but a headless piglet...
Words fail me sometimes. {Yes I'll put the photo up. Its okay its grainy and 'vague' enough you wont hurl your dinner at the screen. Assuming its not pork youre eating anyway.... ;) LOL} 

There was no time for a photo of a Red Kite {bird of prey} swooooooooping down right next to our car and whisking off a rabbit as we drove to the next town either. Spilt second and a blur of feather and fur. {hows that lunch tasting?? ;) }

Sadly there is also no picture of the Mumma Duck and her ten ducklings causing Mr Britguy to brake sharply as she crossed the road in front of us. She was fine, we may need new tyres ;) 

Not shots either of the Peacock, randomly sat on a fence near us, fine tail trailing down behind him. Its not a wild peacock - this is rural hampshire after all- but a 'pet' one that seems pretty independant, I see him quite often sauntering down the road... as you do. 

 

Cant make up my mind if its like a great wildlife docu around here, or much more like a sitcom.... ;)

 

*And, yes, I know, with a post title like that I do expect to find an increase in google searched blog viewings ;) 

 

the now, in panoramic view

After posting my blue sky on the driveway panoramic pic, it made me think the rest of our house -and life - might be quite fun in this view too. The panorama feature on the new iPhone software, making its way into our scrapbooks and 365 collections. I am determined, as I always say, to capture life right now, as is. So - no tidying up, no faking, no preening. Thats hard, but keeps it true. 
Here's the kitchen on a crazy pre school run morning. Messy, but real. You just know, when the kids have grown up, when we dont live here anymore, etc, these snapshots of our world now will be worth their wait in gold. Love this panoramic view on things. {Rest of our world coming asap}

all I have to remember to do is

Buy the fudge chips for those new cookies I'm making. 
And the entire ingredients for the tiffin. Again. Twice again actually, as I have over promised boxes of tiffin to nice people... 
Oh, and remember to blog recipe. I keep meaning to blog recipes and I dont.  I am now getting hate mail about it. 
Reschedule blood tests. Reschedule dental cleaning. Reschedule everything, except that drink out friday and sunday!!!!!
Get the splinter out of the side of my finger. In the quirkiest angled place on my finger. And try to figure out how it got there. 
Buy the months worth of Boots toiletries. Love doing this part of the grocery shopping. Hate attempting to remember every item we need. 
Chase important parcel. Not like, literally chase it, because that would mean I could see it...and I cant see it. at all. its late. its important. ack.
pay/fill in some form from one of the schools. I dont actually recall there being one, but, there will be one. Its like a form filling life sentence for parents, having a child in junior school.
Figure out what the heck I put on my feet when warm weather turns up for a day or so. Not sandal weather, not boot weather. My entire brain is going into overdrive trying to remember what I put on my feet last year.
POST this damn letter. Honestly; a letter sits for a month minimum on our side counter, ready to go. Well, as ready to go as they can be when I never remember to buy a stamp.  
Finish two posters. Okay okay start two posters, but, you know, they are completely done in my head....
Take the massive pile of clothes to the junk shop. Find parking space remotely near junk store {never happens} Try not to buy entire junk store stock of old china and really cool books. 
Complete the music layering on a slideshow. ack. my least favourite part of fannying about with slideshows and video editing. 
get the repeat prescription form, fill it out, beg doctors receptionist for at least ten minutes. hopefully get repeat prescription early, that I left to late to go thro the system. 
Make treasure map and/or treasure island. Curse schools for giving out homework they totally know parents will have to do.
Decipher what the hell I scrawled rapidly down on a piece of paper, underlined and left by computer as 'important' 
Get plaster sticky stuff off arm without bumping the wound plaster was over. Swear the sky blue when that is not successfully avoided. Drop party bunting off!
Complete and mail parcel to teen daughter. Wonder why nobody makes me care parcels. Buy groceries for a weeks worth of 'healthy and exciting' meals that are gluten free for one, veggie for two and suitable for damn fussy.... 
Pick up the special order at the farm/pet supply store. 
Cover chickens in anti bug powder. Be prepared to have shower after mostly covering myself in said powder. Still I always end up entirely protected against any chicken bugs... 
Return the forty calls on my phone that I never have time to actually return but make ten times mentally. Will no doubt have to find time to text at red traffic lights instead.  

Do all of this tomorrow.  

Write list. Realise this is not a comprehensive list but a drop in the ocean. however its a start. do not lose list by making it a blog post. Get excited because that one at least I can check off!

oh deer...

further adventures of the weekend part two :)

Back to adventure activities with Teen Daughter... 
After the trapeze, came the climbing wall. She now teaches this to many kids... both the climbing and the rope holding parts. 
Here she is teaching her Dad :) LOL
 

Its no surprise who was first up...

Mollie decided to have a go at this. Adventures, or one at great heights anyway, are not really Mollie's cup of tea, so hurrah for her bravery.  

 

I like this one, Teen Daughter, her friend, holding the ropes, and Mr Britguy climbing... and a concerned Miss Mollie looking on...

then of course, Teen Daughter and her friend shot up the wall to show us how its done...