Well, I did do a little knitting in public on Saturday but most of last weekend was taken up with rehersals for Amy’s upcoming ballet show. We also managed to get most things moved back into our conservatory. It’s not the nicest of constructions (being an ’80’s concoction of plastic panels and double glazing) but it has a wonderful light and now we have more storage to help keep things tidy.

H has constructed a brilliant radiator cover and loads of shelves and we’ve had a new carpet laid to help keep it warmer in winter.

It’s the perfect place for a spot of knitting while keeping and eye and ear on the children in the garden and all of my books are very happy in their new home.

Talking of books, Monica recently invited me to join Goodreads and I’ve already discovered a couple of other blogging friends there too. It’s another wonderful place to get sucked into and spend hours browsing the book reviews.

A couple of you asked me previously about some of the titles in my book stack, so I thought I share a few of my all-time favourites (these are titles that have stood up to multiple readings and the most dog-eared copies on my shelves):

The Sea, The Sea and The Good Apprentice by Iris Murdoch; Ladder of Years, Anne Tyler; Nights at the circus, Angela Carter; Devils for a change, Wendy Periam; Love in the time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez; The War of Don Emanuel’s Netherparts, Louis de Bernieres; The Shipping News, Annie Proulx; Cat’s Eye, Margaret Atwood; Sacred Country, Rose Tremain; The Travelling Hornplayer, Barbara Trapido; The Reader, Bernhard Schlink; Snowblind, Robert Sabbag; Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, Peter Hoeg; A prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving; Perfume, Patrick Suskind. I could go on but I better stop there!

Hope you have a good weekend. We’ll be ballet-showing on Sunday – I’ll be backstage up to my eyes in layers of netting, hairspray and shoe ribbons and Amy will hopefully be enjoying the attention of performing in front of 300 people!

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Footnote:

Thanks for all of the kind comments about the fluffy toys. Once they’re dressed I will be putting them both into the shop (although probably not in the next sale). Will keep the shop blog up to date with details.

I'm not a well-behaved blogger when it comes to being tagged as it takes me much too long to rustle up my answers. So, I'll start by apologising to Flibbertygibbet, Linaloo and Dragonfly for the fact it's taken me ages! I'm also going to cheat and mash two of the tags together. Flib tagged me for 7 random/weird facts and Lina for 6 unspectacular quirks, so I give you 13 quirkily unspectacular and weirdly random facts:

I like waking up before anyone else in the house
I don't like wearing orange or yellow
I like the smell of farmyards
I don't like cleaning the oven
I like having my feet massaged
I don't like the fact that I seem to be growing a moustache (even Amy commented on it the other day – I must get it waxed!)
I like wide, open country spaces

I don’t like chewed lego that is difficult to snap together (courtesy of Toby)
I like driving on my own and singing along to loud music (Amy tells me off if I do this when she's in the car!)
I don’t like getting caught in the rain
I like wearing pyjamas (all day)
I don’t like bling
I like lying with Toby at bedtime and feeling the rhythm of his heart as he dozes off

Dragonfly tagged me with this:

I have to answer 6 questions about myself. At the end of the post
I then tag 6 people and post their names, then go to their blogs and
leave them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking
them to read my blog. Then, I must let the person who tagged me know
when I’ve posted my answers.

What was I doing 10 years ago

10 years ago actually seems like a different lifetime (I’m amazed at how much having children has changed who I am and my values). H & I had just moved from a small flat to this house and were in a frenzy of stripping dodgy 80’s wallpaper, sanding orange-varnished parquet floors and painting over violent turquoise paintwork. Every room needed re-decorating but then with no children around we had the time to tackle it. By day I was working in London as a Marketing Manager and apart from the DIY our evenings were filled with eating out and enjoying each other’s company. We’d also just started pondering whether or not to start a family!

5 things on my to do list for today

Reply to emails
Make 28 ribbon bows for Amy's upcoming ballet show
Make bread
Write cheques for school meals that should have been sent in last week
Make a PECs card for wee wee

Snacks I enjoy

Cheese
Pistachios
Thorntons Viennese truffles
Nutella and peanut butter on a spoon (an instant pick-me-up! And it seems I‘m not the only one!)

Things I would do if I was a billionaire

It’s funny because I’ve always quite liked to play this game. When I was little one of my favourite rainy day games was to draw ‘Julie town’ which included  all the things I liked (it always had a paper mill so I‘d never run out of drawing paper).

Anyway, if I really came into a billion quid I’d build a special needs play complex with indoor and outdoor play areas, sensory rooms and swimming pools. The kind of place that families with special needs children could go in the school holidays when everywhere else is so busy that it’s not an option. There is a great place here that I’ve taken Toby to twice but it’s a bit far to go to regularly.

Places I have lived

Guildford
Hull
Southampton
Cardiff
Blackpool

6 people I'd like to know more about:

Lizzie Jane

Nutty Irishman knits

Kittens lost her mittens

Ninny Noodle Noo

Rachel Rabbit

and you too – if you fancy it?