Good news, bad news.

Hmmm, what to say today.  Nothing really Christmassy has occurred today.  I had a meeting at work concerning ongoing issues which are causing me to stay signed off with work-related stress.  Felt it was all a bit pointless really, so no real progress there.  Bad news.

Oliver was looked after by a friend where he got to play with her son all afternoon, and he says he had a great time.  Good news.

Oliver ate my lentil bolognese sauce for lunch and enjoyed it. Good news.

I have finished a bit more of my December Daily. Good news.

Enjoying hooking (sorry about that) my ripply blanket.  Good news.

Got out of bed early and did a good 40 minute walk at 7am.  Good news.

Inexplicably, the kettle (fairly new) packed up this morning.  Bad news.

Apparently Mark's pal (bit of a trendy label conscious snob) and his wife have just chucked out their chrome Russell Hobbs in favour of a purple number.  Since it was in perfect working order we have requested he fish it out of his bin and give it to us.  We have no pride.  It will almost be better than the one we had, which was made by crapkettles.com.  Good news.

Another big step in building the garage was made, with much concrete being delivered and shovelled around.  Good news.

WiPs and Summer so far

No apologies offered for the month long lapse in blogging - those moaning at me for NOT blogging (ahem) see me on a regular basis and I have already bored the tits off you with tales of my life.  Serves you right for logging on for another dose then ha ha.

At the end of the last school term, Oliver was unexpectedly awarded 'Cub Champion' (at Cubs, obviously) which meant he got a medal

and a prize (belt torch - not pictured) and gets to wear this gigantic woggle for the whole of next term.

That should slow him up a bit til he gets used to the extra weight tee hee.  I wasn't there when he was awarded it, but apparently it is awarded at the end of every term to the Cub who has excelled in behaviour, etiquette, kindness and helpfulness.  I am ridiculously proud of him, and for any 'normal' parent - this equates to a fantastic school report.  It is another indication that we have chosen the right path for him thus far, and that we are doing OK with him - unhappy kids do not excel at kindness and helpfulness. 

Oliver went off to the beach with his friend (and mother and her friend who I don't know - 6 kids in all) on Monday.  This meant I had a day to myself, which should be a good thing, but I am finding that the time I am apart from Oliver I spend in a state of tense anxiety imagining all sorts of horrible things happening to him.  I now seem to have reached the stage where I have some warped belief that my irrational and barely controlled panic will somehow keep him safe.  What a twat.  You'd think that all this worry would cause me to be thin, but no.  I actually joined the gym on Monday to tackle some of the ever growing layers of blubber.  I had an induction with a little boy called Chris, who seemed to be labouring under the mistaken belief that an hour of 'cardio' followed by a weights session was a suitable workout for a 43 year old has-been.  In my head I was already replacing said '60 minutes' with '5 minutes' followed by a quick sprint round the weights..... I am optimistic that I will be more muscle-y at the end of my 6 week stint.  Thinking of participating in some of the classes too, although I am a bit scared I might throw up, I am that unfit now.

The three of us went off to Bicton a couple of weeks ago to see 'The Bohemians', a Queen tribute band.  It was all very civilised, and the music was pretty darned good. Here followeth some pics;

See this flower bed -

See that squashed section?  That was Oliver that was.....

We are the Champions.....

And so to crochet.  Crochet, crochet, crochet.  How I love thee.  I have stumbled upon a craft that I can actually do, and is actually useful.  I am working on  a couple of blankets (WiPs - works in progress for you non-crafty types), a granny stripe, inspired by this post on  the Attic24 blog.

So excited by my progress with this, you wouldn't believe.  It actually covers the width of our king size bed quite comfortably, although this is to be the one which hangs around the living room. Or on Oliver's bed in the winter.

And these are my squares so far inspired by this blanket, which is the one I want for our bed.

Bought 4 lovely 'new' bowls on a charity stall yesterday for £1, which sit happily alongside everthing else in my crockery cupboard which doesn't match, just how I like it. 

Aren't they pretty?  And that is not a bowl of pretentiousness - it really is Oliver's breakfast.
Mark and Oliver have joined the Model Boat Club with the idea of  doing something together.  Think Oliver is not as 'into' it as Mark, as Mark is very hands on and good at anything he puts his mind to, but I am hopeful Oliver will be swept up in the enthusiasm of it all.  In any case, it can't be a bad thing for him to trot off with his Dad for a couple of hours and be socialising together and with other people. 

Eduaction-wise - Oliver does not get the summer 'off' as a lot of home-ed kids do (since our timetable and routine is sooooo flexible and varied during 'term' time anyway), but I just want to tick over with some back to basics with reading (library summer reading scheme) and spelling, (phonics stuff) and the odd maths session.  Last night I was told about 'First News', the weekly newspaper for kids, (Thanks Corinna - sorry, don't know how to spell your name!), so dashed off to Sainsburys where I got a copy, and  - lo!  This is Oliver, voluntarily reading the newspaper.

Incroyable.