8.36 and 3.52

Sunrise and sunset today.
Bring on Spring.

Recovery Period

Hello!

Christmas has now come and gone. It feels like I have blinked and now we are on to the next thing.

We had a great time at Chris and Elaine's. To be honest, I thought the girls would be at each others throats most of the day but they played well and it was truly a chilled out Crimbo.

Mae loved all her gifts (thank you to all who sent her stuff, except my brother Chris and you know why- that damn dog has been barking 24/7!)

She really likes her Hot Wheels and her favourite gift was from Papa Ross, who gave her a large dinky style car with sound of tearing tires and when you open the trunk/boot, it makes techno/acid music from the 'sound system'- sort of mini 'Pimp my Ride'. Her other faves include her Stompin' Tom Connors book- thanks uncle Andrew we have just downleaded the song. For those of you who don't know Stompin' Tom he is like a cheap Johnny Cash from Prince Edward Island, the land of Anne of Green Gables. So instead of Fulsom Prison Blues it's more 'Bud the Spud'- songs about potatoes, for God's sake. Need I say more?

She also loves her snake, her paper dolls, her Backyardigan p'j's- the list goes on.

We also went to church on the day and although the only baby Jesus to be seen was in the stained glass windows, she liked the carols. Thanks Chris and Elaine.

We also went to Lilian and Ross's house, and had a fab Christmas dinner. Lilian rocks in the kitchen- I will post a pic sometime.

Then back to Dumfries on Boxing day- thank god we missed the EARTHQUAKE! Yep, an earthquake. 3,5 on the Richter scale, houses were shaking, apparently. Although I wouldn't really call this the California of Britain, you need to take the bad with the good.

And the other Christmas tradition of course, sickness. I was in bed all day yesterday, poor Lauren was pretty bad with a cough when we were there and Ross was a real casualty, with the flu- proper flu as well, not man-flu. We will debate man-flu some other time. I'm sure it's a hot topic.

So a great Christmas, missed my family but it was good to talk. Also really nice to be chilled out. Next year, who's going to cook......?

Here's a pic of Mae's airport (from me and Geoff) with the requisite dinosaurs, Hot Wheels and I think Barbie just fell out of the control tower.........

Bring it on!

Oh my god is it almost Christmas? Holy crap, I even feel ready for it! Of course, when planning a fairly stress free Christmas it is always important to plan to be somewhere else, and if you can't do that, have your mom come and stay.

The point being, you don't have to cook!

I think that would be the most stressful bit. I have managed, in my short life (or long, depending on how you count it) to avoid Christmas cooking. So this year we are going up to Edinburgh where we will be staying with Chris and Elaine and spending Christmas day with the parents. Lilian will be the main cook this year, and I am looking forward to it! And next year my mom will visit, so that's two years running taken care of. The year after that we'll go away, maybe.

I am so excited!
I can't wait for Mae to open her gifts! I am slightly freaking though as she contines to ask for a yucky Barbie, by which she means a Bratz doll. If you have ever seen them you realise they are Barbie's younger whore cousins. They are TERRIBLE! Mae is actually getting a real Barbie for Christmas, she's equestrian, which is cool, and she is from her nana and poppa, which is good for the moral issues facing the guilt-ridden, ethically minded yet surprisingly conservative and frightened modern parent. I don't know where the ethics come in. I had a Barbie and I certainly don't have major body issues. Just the normal ones any fat ass like me SHOULD have. Nuttin wrong with that.
She is also getting an airplane, hot wheels, art stuff and other non- gender specific plastic things. So she will be alright. The only thing I am seriously worried about is if she feels disappointed about the failure of the yucky Barbie to show. That would be bad......

Anyway, blah blah, like I said, excited- will post pics as soon as it all happens!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

Throw your arms around the world, it's gingerbread time

After some serious pressure from Sharon Reid I am finally getting some photos of our gingerbread extravaganza on the blog.

Before that though I would like to inform everyone that her hair is lovely (refer to her blog about a 'mumsy' cut) In actuality the haircut she wanted was pure white trash, and it's only thanks to her intrepid hairdresser that she doesn't look like someone out of Trailer Park Boys (or like Vicky Pollard, for you British viewers). That's only my opinion, however, and Sharon is one of those people that always look great (be-atch)

Anyhoo,

after a long journey and very late night (thanks Mae) we got down to building our festive homes. Ailsa, as you can see, is very ordered (one sweet on house, one in mouth). And although Heather's roof fell off, she is smiling with icing on her mouth! Mae kept saying that all her sweets kept falling off, so she had to eat them. Ever the recycler.

It's really nice to be so close to Sharon and John and the girls and we are looking forward to spending more time with them over Christmas, so more pics will surely follow. Heather is finally starting to warm up to me (sweets in pockets help) and Ailsa is a real giggler. I love those girls!!!

Happy Birthday Chris! (yesterday-oops!)

My older brother is OLD!

Pie, Pie me-oh-my

If anyone can name the film that title came from, I will send them a pie.
So, onto a rant- no one ever eats my pies! I have lost my pie mojo- or pojo.
We went to Joanzs's birthday today, he is a friend of Mae and is two years old. He's gorgeous, like a mini Labrador retreiver. He also eats from everyone's plate which is also similar to a Lab.
So I made apple and cranberry pie. Very festive. But Ania, his mum, made super duper three layer cake with mousse and custard, hence- no room for pie. Oh well.
I hope it's good, though, as I may be making it for the famndamily Mark next week, as my attempts at Swedish Tea Ring (no it's not some anal sex game) flopped.
I have had some wine, sorry about the content. If you have a real problem with it though, bite my fuzzy white butt. Heh heh. No wonder I have pink scissors thrown at me. I bring it on myself....

my little torville

Mae went ice skating today! What a gal! And she only fell once! Except I wasn't there, she was with her childminder, which makes me sad, missing all this fun stuff.





Geoff is chucking stuff at me, gotta go.

I knew I would expose his abuse one of these days. Ouch.

The best thing about my job

Is the cars they hire for me! I had to go up north yesterday (no biggie really, only a 2.5 hour drive each way, but it was the windiest wettest day of the year!) and this car made it all okay. It has a 6- CD changer, air con, sat nav, the works. I don't know if it's my DREAM car, but I would accept it if anyone offered it to me.




Mae is getting her hair cut today- at 4pm, the time that I usually refer to as the witching hour, as she turns into a witch from then until she eats her dinner, however that's when I could get an appointment. It's at the local hairdresser, which, by the way, won the Scottish Hair Dressers of 2006. I will pay a small fortune, but it's the best in the country. I agree with Sharon that hairdressers are a gamble, in my nine (NINE!!!) years in Britain they are the first ones to cut my hair the way I ask- so I will pay anything for the privilege.
I will be armed with lollipop, book, toy and any kind of bribe to get her through it. Who said I was a good mother? Naaaah!! I just want a quiet cutie.

Sayonara, Christmas Angel!

No more angels in this house! Viola, le topper for our tree! Cute, eh? I kept up the Who-ville theme and am very pleased with the outcome.....

Fantooples and Wuzzles

Our Christmas tree looks like something out of Who-ville. Any suggestions for a top? We have a silver star but we need something bigger, especially as this tree has three tops.



Mae also got a great letter from Santa! Blitzens foot is sore, but don't worry, it will be as good as new for Christmas. Did you know Santa lives in Glasgow? He goes South for the winter these days, I suspect it has something to do with arthritis. Balmy Glasgow would help.

oh me bum

I did some outreach today in a little town near Stirling, called Fishcross, and my arse is killing me from being in the car for 5 + hours!

Here are some more pics of my lovely painting and Mae tootling around in the car at Nana and Papa's- she looks saucy but it's just her happy Joan face....

Rain Rain get lost

Holy moly- the toon is flooded! We got back from a weekend at Lilian and Ross's (good weekend, I shopped all Saturday while Geoff adn Ross fixed my car AS well put in a new kick ass sound system, and Lilian babysat- nice!) and the town was flooded, here are some pics- if you don't know Dumfries, and most of you don't, directly across the river is a large car park, which is now under water. And the rapids under the bridge are never there.



Here's also a pic of the painting I did for Lilian, which looks good in their house, if I do say so myself. More pics to follow, a close up of the turquise bits, which are beads threaded on copper wires. They look nice! Yay! (I take commissions......)

Workplace Hazards

What the bejesus.
Wednesday I had to witness some gigantic bird of prey eat a pigeon on may way out- today I come in and the alarm is saying there is an intruder in the shop. Geuss what that was?
A bat.

Nope, not happy. Not happy at all.

Thank Christ it's Friday.