The art of crochet

This term I have started a new evening class.

I do like to learn a new skill each year and I find it wonderfully relaxing to do something that absorbs me for a couple of hours so that I don't even have time to think about work.

This year I signed up for beginners crochet and persuaded my mum to come along too.  She has to miss the first class due to being on holiday but as she has done a little bit of crochet before she shouldn't find it too hard to catch up.

My team at work thought it was hilarious and they all seemed ready to pack me off to the nearest nursing home in my slippers and dressing gown.

I had to resort to threatening to crochet them all doilies for Christmas just to get them to shut up!

However, the crochet is not quite as simple as you might imagine.

After getting all the usual paperwork out of the way we were taught how to make a slip knot (yup I was struggling even at this point) and then how to make a row of 21 chain stitches.

I seemed to be the slowest in the class and by slowest I mean the most dim witted.  However, in my defence several of the ladies in the class had done some knitting or crochet before  . . not all of them but enough to give them a head start on me.

I couldn't help but notice that my chains were a little larger, looser and more inconsistently sized than everyone else's.

We were then taught to single crochet (American term or double crochet in English).

This was even more complicated and I was struggling to get to grips with it before the class ended.

I had one very poor string of chain stitch and three rows of wobbly looking single crochet.

We are supposed to be making little purses and were told to go home and practice.

So we started off with 21 stitches and apparently with single crochet you are meant to lose a stitch and only have 20 stitches per row.

I decided it might be time to stop and start again when I realised that I was down to sixteen stitches in a row.

My second effort was not much better as I somehow managed to gain stitches - ending up with 25 stitches in a row.

My third attempt is going much better.  I have the right number of stitches but the crochet is looking a little holey in places.

I really hope this gets much easier as the weeks go by otherwise my dreams of wonderful home-made crocheted Christmas decorations will remain just that  . . .  a dream!

Something Fishy

I have come to the conclusion that boys are very strange creatures.

You wouldn't catch a girl with pockets full of rubbish but boys . . .  well boys seem to collect stuff that, well to put it politely, belongs in the bin.

I am constantly emptying pockets full of bits of plastic, stones, metal items and other things that are dirty, sticky or liable to cause damage to my washing machine. Not just the three year old.  The fourteen year old is possibly even worse.

It is impossible to go for a walk without returning with at least one 'good stick' and pebbles of various sizes and I am always tidying up little piles of screwed up paper, unravelled paperclips, torn bits of foam or collections of items that are supposed to grow in the garden.

At bedtime I don't tuck my little one up with a nice teddy but with a variety of uncomfortable looking favourites such as airplanes, tractors, fire engines, trains and buses which he then cuddles as if they were his dearest friends.

And recently Nathaniel has taken to walking around clutching . . .  a tube of fish food!

He likes to follow his daddy around like a little shadow helping him with all the 'daddy chores' such as feeding Speedy the Tortoise, mowing the lawn, sweeping the leaves, cleaning the cars and of course feeding the fish.

For some reason Nathaniel has become very attached to the tube of fish food.  Personally I wasn't so sure it was either wise or sensible for him to have the fish food so while my husband was out at a concert I prised it out of Nat's little hands and I hid it on top of the fridge where I knew he couldn't reach it.  There were a few tears and tantrums from Nathaniel because I had parted him from his beloved item but thankfully I soon managed to distract him by bribing him with a chocolate biscuit.

However, as soon as David returned home Nathaniel came marching up to me with a self satisfied smirk on his face and the tube of fish food under his arm.

He has since walked around with the house for the past two days, occasionally taking off the lid and allowing a disgusting fishy smell to waft around the place.

I was a little worried that Nat might try and sneak the tube of fish food to pre-school in the treasure chest for show and tell - How would I explain that one? (Oh and I guess I should take the time to say thank you to Hannah for calling to appraise me about the Treasure Chest's intended purpose!)

Anyway this afternoon David kindly took my car to the garage to fill it with petrol - ah what a lovely husband.

Unfortunately, he not so kindly decided to take Nathaniel and precious fish food with him.

So the tube of fish food is now completely empty.

Yes somehow between leaving and returning home , the fish food has ended up being spread all over my car like confetti.

David thought it would be a good idea for Nat to be allowed to clean it up himself - great!

My little car now smells of eau de poisson!!  What joy!

The mystery of the empty treasure chest

So on Friday my mother-in-law kindly collected Nathaniel from pre-school for me while I was at work.  I arrived home to find one very excited three year old proudly clutching a brown treasure chest and a message from my mother-in-law to the effect of "the staff said mummy would know what to do with it!"

Oh dear!

Unfortunately I have clearly not read the newsletter pertaining to this term's activities.

This mummy does not have a clue what we are supposed to do with an empty treasure chest!

I am assuming perhaps we might be expected to fill it with Nat's special treasures for some kind of show and tell?

But what if we are expected to fill it with toys to be given away and I send him in back to pre-school with all his favourite toys?

So now I am riddled with guilt for being a working mum that (a) does not read helpful and informative newsletters from pre-school which contain all the information I might need to know and (b) does not get to collect little one who is armed with exciting 'project' and therefore misses chance to clarify nature of said 'project'.

Do I take a guess at what I think we are supposed to do and risk having to replace all the 'treasure' if it 'goes missing'?

Do I call another parent and admit what a bad mummy I am?

Do I contact the pre-school tomorrow and be branded as a mum who lives a disorganised and chaotic lifestyle and who can't even be bothered to familiarise myself with my little angel's curriculum?

mmmmm not a great choice of options. 

Lets hope my friend Hannah is a good mummy who reads all son's newsletters and who can tell me what to do.

Hannah  - PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!!

Paper Bird in a cage

Nat and I had fun this afternoon making a paper bird in a cage from a kit I bought him.

He enjoyed being able to make this himself with just a little guidance and help from mummy.

 

And the finished article looks simply fabulous hanging in our conservatory.

Stephen and Laura's Wedding

It has been a wonderful weekend.  Yesterday we were up early for the drive up to Yorkshire.  Mum and Dad had driven up the day before and had taken Nat with them but it had taken them over six hours to get there so I was worried that we might miss the wedding if we got stuck in traffic.

We were communicating with my brother on the M1 motorway and learned he was a couple of junctions ahead of us.  We tried to catch up but didn't manage to reach them.

However, we were fortunate and the drive took us only 4 and quarter hours and somehow we managed to arrive just before my brother (think he missed the turning!)

We checked into the Premier Lodge and joined my parents in the restaurant.

As David and I went to unload the car I saw my cousin David and family and my Aunty Margaret arriving.  I was so excited to see them I think I nearly knocked my cousin David over.

We had chance for a quick chat with everyone before we went up to the room to change for the wedding.

I couldn't believe how fantastic the weather was.  A beautifully sunny September day.  The church was lovely and was crammed full of people. 

It was great to see all my family and to say hello to everyone. Stephen, his brother Paul who was best man, my uncle Rob and the groomsmen all looked really smart in their morning suits and purple cravats.  I was just disappointed that my cousin Christine and her husband Richard and my cousin Dawne could not be there too as it would have been nice to  have us all together.

The bride - Laura was fashionably late so Nat was getting a little fidgety.  However, when they arrive the bridesmaids were dressed in stunning purple dresses and Laura was wearing a gorgeous white strapless dress with a small train.

It was a lovely service and I had an excellent view of Stephen and Laura as they exchanged their vows.  Laura looked lovely and the crystals on her veil were twinkling beautifully.

The choir sang while they signed the register which was really enjoyable.

Outside the kids were really excited to throw confetti at the bride and groom and we were able to chat in the sunshine while the photographer took some photos.  We took the opportunity to take a few photos of our family but there were too many people and I was sad to realise we hadn't managed to get any decent photos of the bridal party as there were too many people blocking the view.

Sam, Susannah, Nat, Seb and Joshua

My brother Luke and I

David, me, Luke and Carolyn and my parents Phil and Ruth

My cousin Simone and Tori

We crossed the road to a pub where we relaxed in the beer garden chatting and catching up with everyone. 

Me and Keeley

Kimberly, me and Keeley

My cousin David, Keeley, Matthew and Georgia

Seb, Tori and Grace - all looking so smart and grown up

There was a buffet and the speeches which were great.  Laura's dad gave a touching speech and I was really impressed with my Cousin Paul's best man speech which he gave without any prompt cards.  He was very funny and I hadn't realised what a natural speaker he is.

It was nice to get to know Laura  little too and I thought she was such a lovely girl.  My cousin Stephen has clearly landed on his feet.

Nathaniel had a great time chasing his cousins around outside.  It was really nice to see him playing with the other kids and he was clearly having a fantastic time.

In the evening we moved on to the wedding reception venue which was in a local rugby club.  The room was beautifully decorated with purple bows on the chairs and balloons on the tables.  The wedding cake was three tiers with two black Labrador dogs on the top.



Princess Brooke

The Bride Laura

The groom, my cousin Stephen

The music was great although it was so loud that it made it difficult to speak.

Matthew on the decks

Unfortunately my Aunty Shirley and Uncle Martin had to head back to Manchester before the reception as Shirley had only been allowed out of the hospital for a few hours.

My cousin Robert and Chrissy

Katy and Matthew

Amy and Aunty Brenda

My cousin Paul and Sam

Riley

Azmir and Paul

Uncle Rob

My cousin Kathryn

Rachel

Robert

I had a really great evening hanging out with my cousins and dancing badly.

Aunty Margaret and Keeley

Me and Terry

My cousin Simone and me

Seb with his Uncle Luke

David  

I was sorry to have to go home but I could see David was tired and as he had to drive back the next day I thought it was only fair he had chance to get a decent nights sleep. 

 

This morning we had breakfast at the premier lodge with the other family members that had stayed there and then we met up with Stephen and Laura and the rest of the family at a Toby Carvery for a drink and to say goodbye.

 

We then got in the car for the drive home.  It was another beautiful and sunny day so it was a shame to be cooped up in the car but it was a good opportunity to do some Biology and Physics revision with Seb (he has tests this week). 

 

It has been a really nice weekend and I have had so much fun.  Just as well really because I have a couple of difficult and busy weeks coming up at work that I am really not looking forward to.

 

A bit of a blur

Wow the past two months have passed in a bit of a blur.

Work is really busy and I have been bringing quite a bit of work home with me which hopefully won't be an recurring theme.  We are launching our new service on 21 October so lots to do before then but hopefully it will get a bit better after that.  I really hope so as at the moment I am only sleeping properly one night in four so am looking very haggard!

When I haven't been working I have been helping Seb with his Year 10 homework which he is suddenly drowning in.  And when we aren't doing homework I am trying to make revision cards for subjects like computing, physics and chemistry which for me is like trying to understand and make notes in a foreign language!

So life isn't exactly a bundle of fun at the moment but I am holding out in the hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Friday was nice though.  It was my dad's birthday so Nat and I made a birthday cake.  First time we have baked in ages.  I've missed it!

Saturday was also good for some 'me time' as while I had my hair done I managed to nearly finish my book club book which is just as well as we are meeting this week.  It has been a really good book this month - 'The Good Father' but I have found it hard to find time to read as by the time I roll into bed at 11.30pm I don't much feel like reading.

We had a family candlelit dinner in the conservatory.  The candles were more a practicality than a romantic addition - plus you lose some of the ambience when you have to play a game of "eat three mouthfuls then you can blow out a candle" repeatedly!

Anyway after dinner David and the boys acted out several sketches from some of their favourite old time comedies - the Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy.

Then David, Nat and I went out into the garden in the pitch darkness with two plastic light-up wine glasses.  We just sat on the swing chair half way down the garden and had a lovely snuggle and chat together making disco light patterns on the swing chair canopy.

Summer is well and truly over and it was nice to sit out for one last evening before it gets too cold.

Won't be long now before we are all back in winter coats, hats and gloves.

This morning we went to the new site for our multi-site church to catch up with some friends we haven't seen for a while.  Then this afternoon we are going for a Barbeque with some other very good friends of ours.

Another busy week ahead at work but I also have a referral to the back clinic to try and find out what is causing the trapped nerve feeling in my hip that I have been suffering with since last September!

Have booked flights to go and visit my best friend George at Half term which I am really excited about.  Nice to have something to look forward to after our go live launch on 21 October.  Will be ready for a break and some hang out time with my best buddy.

I am also really looking forward to next weekend.  My cousin Stephen's wedding and seeing all the family again.  Can't wait!!