I'm in pretty good shape....

...apparently.  That's what my osteopath told me yesterday in amongst poking, prodding, pulling and massaging sore bits.  Very.  Hard.  Anyhoo, this chappie was probably just about old enough to be out without parental supervision (noticing this more and more as time goes by) and it seems,  after his examination (heh heh heh), there is nothing seriously wrong - muscles overworking and tightening due to coughing mostly, I gather.  Seemingly my joints are a little 'over flexible' so the muscles are taking some of the work the ligaments should be doing.  Or something like that, I got a little confused.  Probably due to the fact I spent half the session gabbling apologies about the state of my man-legs, ie the hairy-ness of them as I can't be doing with regular leg-shaving in the winter.  Once my back started to hurt I then couldn't shave them because I couldn't stretch down that far.  Oh the vicious circles one finds oneself trapped within....
Christmas-wise, I did a bit of wrapping last night - Christmas ra-ra-ra rapping.  Ha ha.  I have nothing for Mark yet.  The difficulty in buying gifts for Mark is unspeakably - difficult.  So we won't speak of it. 

Here is my Christmas journal thus far:

The crappy A5 folder is working very well for me - think this format will do the job really well for future pic-journals.

We are supposed to be heading off to Babbacombe later today, for the Winter Wonderland experience, which we do every year, but the weather is a bit of a shocker.  It's as black as yer 'at out there, and the rain is lashing the windows as I write - but I want to go before the schoolshitskids break up on Friday, so we have the place virtually to ourselves, as in previous years.  So lucky.  This was the vista from ours earlier:

Pretty, huh?

Laters.

more baubles than you can shake a stick at and posh nosh

Sooooo, a further telephone call to the Doc on Thursday and a visit on Friday morning cleared us to take our annual Otter Nurseries Santa visit.  I love the way they make a really good grotto, and they have the Santa gift falling down the 'magic chimney' - it's brill.  They also have a fantastic range of Christmas decs and displays.  This one made me titter, I like to imagine that the star of the show has walked out in a fit of pique.  Over pay, or something.

The Santa gift this year was a good one - cuddly toys are always appreciated!

I was drawn to this candy shoppe display:

as well as the more traditional flavours:

And Saturday saw us taking a trip to Axminster (bit of a pit of a town - sorry if you live there) to have lunch at the River Cottage canteen.  This was supposed to happen last weekend, for Mark's birthday, but was postponed because Oliver was ill.  Can't say he is much better now, but gotta get on with it...

Oliver chose pheasant:

Mark, polenta with mushrooms:

I didn't photograph my dinner, I was too greedy hungry to wait any longer.  I had mussels with a side of chunky 'real' chips which were so hot I burnt my mouth.  This temporarily distracted me from the pain in my back, which I seem to have injured in some way. 

Oliver didn't eat all of his pheasant, which I think tasted weirdly chicken-like, but our dishes were good.  The puddings were very grown up - bitter chocolate and cinammon cream in a parfait jar (!!!) and vanilla cheescake with apricots.  Both great, but both very 'grown up' tasting.  Make of that what you will.

Excitement of all excitement:

I have wanted a little typewriter like this for years - for scrapbooking labelling purposes mainly.  Saw this in a recycling shop in Axminster, asked how much it was (expecting around £25, which I wouldn't have paid - would have gone to £10), and the bloke said a couple of quid!! I was saying done and reaching for my purse before the end of the word 'quid'.  Mark, who will surely sprain his eyeballs one day by rolling them so fiercely, muttered and mumbled alot about this purchase, but I am smitten.  Mwwaahh to my little SR180.  Here's to you my tippety tappity friend.

Yeahh, my back hurts.  Those who know me, will know I don't bear pain well at all.  Think I have twisted something out of place, and putting my shoes on, driving, lying down and sitting in certain positions hurt.  Annoyingly, walking around and standing in the kitchen doing mundane domestic chores don't cause pain.  Well, that's alright then.  Off to an Osteopath as soon as they open tomorrow morning.

Dec 6th and the forecast for the 7th is looking a bit like this....

poorly.  Well, I am a little under the weather, Oliver is actually ill.  He is using his inhalers more than usual with a cough, and he has a temperature.  I was saying a couple of days ago how school kids tend to be kept off of school and kept in when they are ill, but home ed kids tend to keep up as many activities/clubs as possible.  I think that I should have clamped down this time last week when he first showed signs of breathing problems, and then he may not have got worse and be missing as much as he is now.  So far due to illness in the last 7 days,  he has missed: swimming,  judo, evening Christmas shopping,  a judo fun course, cubs, athletics, the weekly home ed group, and pokemon club.  Think our planned trip to Otter Nurseries today will have to be postponed, so another day of Masterchef, Christmas DVDs and trying to feel Christmassy beckons.

Change of subject; I can't get the bloody temperature in this house to a comfortable medium, it's either like the tropics and I am stamping around ripping off layers of jumpers screeching about how hot it is, or sat shivering under a blanket moaning about how I chilly I feel.  Ungrateful cow.  Still, I now have a full day to take a (not very long as our house is so tiny) tour of the rads and work out what bloody number they need to be on so I don't blow a fuse at 11am and change into my bikini.  (not pretty).

Another change of subject: I finally coughed up for an electric toothbrush - an Oral B no less.  (It was half price).  I thought it would help Oliver in his quest to clean his back teeth better.  The reality is that I am a bit afraid of it.  I think my first go has rattled all my fillings loose and dislodged a few (more) of my brain cells.  The miracles of modern living.  Tonight I'm going to use a piece of pigskin and oil of cloves instead.

I shall leave you with a few festive snaps, and hopefully will get around to photographing my journal pages thus far to share tomorrow.  Au revoir.

Christmas tuna.  If looks could kill and all that.

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.

3rd & 4th

3rd DEC:

Oliver attended his monthly Pokemon TGC tournament today, so in the spare four hours we had,  Mark and I headed off to Sidmouth for a little jaunt.  Our jaunts usually include many charity shops, grub in the cheapest caff we can find and Mark tutting and sighing as I try to skulk off into yarn shops, antique shops or shops full of beautiful things I cannot afford.  So you see, we do live the high life.

Today was a good jaunt.  We picked up:
- The Game Of Life £3.99 (we already have the electronic version but my GOODNESS the moaning Mark does when we play it is not worth the hassle, and he has long hankered after the olde worlde version)
- 2 recipe mags 45p
- pre cut paper chain strips (printed on both sides with festive piccies) £3.99
- Festive fridge magnets to make from plaster of paris. This is a loathsome craft to do, but Oliver will enjoy it and it was only £1.50 new.
- The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady £1.50 (always wanted a copy)

We had lunch in the White Horse Cafe - a very good value and nice clean caff which we have been to several times before.  We were too late for breakfast - quelle horreur!! so we sulkily plumped for egg, chips and peas and a latte each.  When it arrived, I was truly horrified to find that 'peas' meant mushy peas.  Mushy. Peas.  OMG.  Since when have 'peas' on any menu EVER translated to mushy peas.  I have never had them, as to me, they are the work of the devil, but I have to confess my friends, after some very suspicious pokings with a knife and a tentative curled lipped lick, I realised they were really tasty.  Can you adam and eve it.  I am converted. 

I also got a yearning for a Christmas mug.  I have seen Christmas mugs on other people's blogs, and decided that I must have one, being easily swayed, as I am.

Saw a very nice one in a posh shop, which turned out to be £16(!)  I would expect a set of 4 for that price, so my search continued.  I have ended up with a mug from inauspicious Sainsburys, which cost £1.66 and makes me feel very festive - and crafty, for some reason.

4th DEC:

Mark's birthday.  We are going to go to River Cottage canteen (a la Hugh F-W) next weekend for his celebratory birthday meal, and so today was a handing over of some lame presents such as liqueur chocs and more chocs.  Mark is incredibly difficult to buy for.  Since we were going to 'do' his birthday next weekend, I planned on another week to gather together some more tasteful gifts, but it's all gone a bit t*** up.  On the bright side, I found where I had gone wrong in my crochet ripply blanket and got to use my new shade of burnt orange.  Does life get any more funner than this?

On Saturday, I had a phone call from the family who took Harvey in last Saturday.  She said he has settled in really well, and they would love to keep him.  This is a genuine relief to me - a) because I felt reassured by her voice and words that all actually is well and he is not pining, and b) the stress level in the house this week is noticeably lower.  I still feel a tinge of sadness, but I know this will fade, and I am edging happily towards the sure knowledge that it was the right thing to do by him.

Here is the little pooch on the last walk I took him on. (sob)

December 2nd. Nuff said.

Just a quickie, better way post daily wherever humanely possible, or the days will just fall on top of each other and I won't remember sod all about what we've been up to.

A very early start to the day at 5am with Oliver in our room panicking because he couldn't breathe very well.  This has happened before a few times - a simple sniffle has led to a dash to A&E in the throes of an asthma attack.  This was the situation this morning, but being a little older than the last time, we managed to control his panic with calm words and a good measure of inhalers, and he fell back to sleep cuddled by Daddy whilst Mummy sat on the edge of bed watching him breathe for a while before slinking off to a restless couple of hours in a single bed surrounded by cuddly toys, pillows and remote controls.

Kim came over for lunch and cups of tea, which is always nice because she is a guest who doesn't mind me just sitting and crocheting while I bend her ear on every subject under the sun.  I have just taken a stroll over to Whipton to pick up 3 new balls of yarn for my lovely new blanket and I am hopeful of squeezing in a bit of Christmas journalling (my very boring A5 folder turned up today) before my next domestic duty calls.

Have worked out the piccy problems, so will be boring the pants off you with visuals on a screen near you soon.

And we're off!

8.35am

December the 1st.  No day in all the year yields such promise of joy to come.  Today is the day that Christmas - the season of goodwill to all men and twinkliness - begins.  I just want to hug myself with glee.  Well, I would if I didn't have an early trip to the dentist to look forward to.  I hate going to the dentist, always have.  I have tried, with some degree of success I might add, not to pass on my unadulterated terror of the man in the white coat to Oliver, so check ups are always an exercise in deep breathing and inane smiling and using my tight, high pitched voice I reserve for such bottom-clenching occasions.

Have decided to put the time up that I am blogging, since I have clearly got something wrong with my settings as it appears I blog at weird times like 3am and suchlike (I so don't).  I am sure putting it right is easy, I just haven't arsed myself to try yet.  It's on the list with getting photos onto my blog. 

This morning Oliver has eaten his first advent choc - a proper choc from a proper wooden advent box, I might add, not a shite one from a shite calendar with a shite picture on it.  I apologise if you have a particular leaning towards the shite choc calendar - each to their own and all that.  I just have a hankering for the advent days of auld, when each day revealed a glittery illustration of Yule in some form, not a chemical and sugar injected brown lump of pseudo choc.  (sorry again).  So Oliver still has a colouring from Activity Village to do (thanks Corinna and Julia - not a sarcastic thanks by the way!) and a little piccy from his standy-up advent window to do.  Poor little bugger will be worn out by Christmas before 9am on the first day ha ha! 

My Christmas journal officially begins today - I have had a couple of false starts and last night saw me flying up to Tesco gripped by panic that I had no actual 'journal' set up to actually 'start' with today.  I have since got a hold of myself and ordered a clear plastic A5 ringbinder from ebay for £2.99 which will, WILL do the job perfectly.  So I can get on with it, unhampered by making covers and the usual poncing around.  In Janice World (it's a confusing place to be) it looks a bit like Ali Edwards' December Daily.  In the Real World (a scary place to be) it will probably look more like Elmo's jotter from Sesame Street.

Anyhoo, off to have my gnashers inspected.  Gulp.

Edited to add: I have just popped in to Blogger and looked at my settings.  Seems I was set onto Central Pacific time on some island in the caribbean or somewhere.  Back to jolly old GMT in London now.  Tootle pip.