Lifestyle - My Week on Instagram #4

My week looked a bit like this...

1. Madam the teacher
2. I only ate one blue sweet!
3. Time for ice cream
4. "Mum, the cat wee'd on the floor!"
5. Madam the chimney sweep
6. Sweets from the Easter bunny :-) 
7. Beryl Cook exhibition

Somehow I have managed to jumble the order oof the photos up, but I figured it didn't particularly matter! It is still the Easter holidays here, hence all the silly ones of madam. She's back at school on Tuesday, so hopefully, normal service will resume...

What have you been up to this week? 

Love, Pearl.

A busy old week so far

Well, hello! How are you? What have you been doing with yourselves? I have been all over the place in the last few days! I shall begin at the beginning and see where we go from there.

First of all, I finished the other mitten! Here it is, complete with fastening sewn in place. Cute, no?

As mentioned in my post from the other day we went to the panto on Monday. We set off fairly early on Monday morning so that we got a bit of shopping time in before having lunch. This was quite painful as madam and I have been enjoying our lie-ins whilst we've been on Christmas holidays. But we knew we would be getting back in to it with school starting on Tuesday anyway.

So, madam and I did a bit of shopping around York and got my mum a magazine with a free sewing pattern that I thought she would like. We also got madam some Frozen stickers to go in her new album. She has not stopped talking about Frozen since we went to see it with the Guides in the middle of December. And I still love that it contains a song that references fractals :)

We did end up in the Disney shop as well, somehow... I managed to drag madam away and we went and looked at pretty shoes in Schuh for a bit before heading over to the restaurant where we were meeting my parents and younger bro for lunch. 

Having lunched hugely on risotto and ice cream we headed to the York Theatre Royal for the panto to start at 2.30pm. Madam was so excited and I was a little worried she'd fidget. But I should have known better. She sat through the entire first half completely glued to what she was watching and with her mouth open like a fish! 

When the first half finished she looked devastated whilst I took her to the bathroom. I managed to find that this was because she thought the show was over! I promised her there was another half to come and reminded her that Grandpa had foolishly promised her an(other) ice cream! She perked up rather a lot at this prospect!

The second half brought more fish impressions and another sad face as the panto finally drew to a close. Her favourite thing had been the Gene Genie and the bit where they had gone into a filmed section and one of the characters had ended up upside down in a bin. She chattered about it non-stop on the bus back to the car-park but was so tired by then she just leant on my shoulder quietly on the drive home.

Tuesday was back to school day and I also had to go and sign on. I went round to the folks to get myself ready for the Jobcentre. It always makes me feel like I've done something wrong. I got to my appointment a few minutes early but then had to sit and wait, and wait, and wait! I was kept waiting for nearly 45mins which is not good when you're already feeling kind of anxious. 

I ended up having a half an hour or so consultation when it was finally my turn. I am looking to change my job search as I am not finding anything really to apply for. They offered to sign me up to a (and I hate this title) Fast Track 2 Work course. I, of course, said yes. I'm all for a course :) The drawback is that it is in Driffield and that I had to have a one-on-one interview before being accepted. Again, in Driffield. 

And that is what I did yesterday. I got my dad to give me a lift (aren't dad's great?) and went for a chat with the lady that will be running the course. She had also come in from Beverley to chat to me (ah, yes, bureaucracy is stupid). Anyway, we drew up a learning agreement and I told her, honestly, about the things I find hard about job searching (the forms, the phonecalls, the lack of self-worth!). She has promised she can help. Excellent. So I start this course next Tuesday (14th) and it runs until 4th Feb.

Today is the first day I have had to myself this week, I am quite enjoying being back at my fave cafe nursing one bottle of diet coke for as long as possible! They know me quite well, they don't mind!

And how is my reading going? Quite well actually. I have already read 3 books this year and am about a third of the way through an actual Georgette Heyer. I'm just starting another on my Kindle and will hopefully get that finished shortly. I think this is setting itself up to be a reading year. In the same way that last year was all about the crochet and the year before was knitting! 

I seem to only obsess over one thing at a time...     

shop til you drop and never be boring

I decided to give myself a couple of days away from blogging as that last post kind of got a bit intense.

As it turned out I was so busy on Tuesday I wouldn't have had any time to even attempt to squeeze out a post. The reason? I shopped! And I really hit it, madam and I had a whole day in Hull so that I could go round everywhere I wanted.

 

I started by taking madam to the cinema for the kids showing in the morning. It was The Croods, which we have actually seen once before, but she'd loved it so going to see it was still a treat. We then had a slight bus fail in that the first stop we waited at was only served by buses in the evening (there was no signage at the stop, and I'd been told they were every 15 minutes).

 

So we had to walk over to the big Asda nearby and got on the first bus that came past. This bus was also a bad choice. We went around all the estates in that part of the city (Kingswood, Bransholme and Sutton Park) and then finally into the city centre.

 

By which point madam was ready to eat her own arm so we headed straight for lunch. We probably both ate twice as fast as normal! Never mind... So then I got to shop :) I went in the first shop and there was so much stuff I liked it was a bit hard to know where to start! I did steer myself away from the beautiful formal dress that had a butterfly wing print on it. But it was hard. I also stepped away from a cute owl print dress that I wasn't sure about the colour of.

 

But I did find a beautiful purple jersey dress that had only come in that morning. A couple of pairs of leggings as mine are all very tired. A pretty, dark blue top with a bird print. Then we moved on. I took madam into Princes Quay and promised her an ice cream from the shop she likes.

 

Sadly, their freezer was broken and they only had some mango sorbet, which madam didn't fancy... So she was dragged around the shop I wanted to go in in there with the promise that the very next thing we did would be find her that ice cream.

 

She amused herself by trying on some very large bras and rearranging their sale footrwear! I got a pair of slouch jeans that are ridiculously comfy and may be my favourite pair of jeans ever! They're not very smart though (obviously). And I picked up a set of bracelets that were in a half price basket by the till. They were prices at £12.50 but went through the till at £3! Bargain.

 

 

 

The only place I could think of that would definitely have ice cream that wasn't too much further was Thornton's. So we sat outside in the sunshine and at large and drippy cones :) It was good...

 

I then wandered along to New Look in the hope of finding another cheapo watch. But they didn't have any. Madam mainly tried on handbags and cuddled the legs of some of the mannequins! She's a bit odd, that one!

 

I took her into a memorabilia shop as I wanted to get her something wee for behaving so well for me. But it was all just that bit more than I wanted to pay, or inappropriate. Though she was really desperate for me to get her a Wonder Woman teddy thing. Too expensive, and she does *not* need any more teddies!

 

So we went to HMV to see if they had a cheap DVD she might like. And they did! She went and chose Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, without any influence from me. I found Willow so we got that as well :)

 

By which point we were exhausted and headed home for tea!

 

Yesterday, we went to the local Freeport in Hornsea (an outlet village) and got madam some shoes for school. And my dad bought us an ice cream (it's been a bit of an ice cream week!). I also got handed a bag and told I'd bought dad his Christmas present. Which was generous of me...

 

Today we went to a Teddy Bears Picnic at the Country Park. We were lucky that the weather held out for us this week, as last week's Butterfly Safari had been a washout. Madam did some painting and she had her face painted. She insisted she needed to be a purple cat. With pink details. She didn't want to be boring...

 

 

 

There is never any fear of that with madam around! We ate our picnic whilst watching the puppet show and then because we were both quite hot and weary by this point (there wasn't very much shade where we were) we decided to pack up and head back to my parents to give the car back. We did force ourselves to have an ice cream to cool us down on the walk back to the car though...

 

So, what have you been up to?

 



minbeasts and where to find them

Yesterday we did very little, aside from me going to the gym so in the afternoon I decided to give myself a manicure. I'm still rather shaky when it comes to doing my nail art, but I figure the more I practice, the better! This time I went for little clouds and I gave madam a ladybird on each thumb :)

 

 

 

In the evening I set about making a top for madam with my lovely elephant fabric. And I very nearly got it all finished except I realised I could do with some thinner elastic to thread through round the top. So my plan is to do that tonight or tomorrow evening, once I've got the right width to do it with!

 

 

 

Today we went on a minibeast hunt! We went to the Country Park and met up with a nice lady called Bev who took us into the woodland where there was another lady waiting for us. She explained about how  to collect our minibeasts and the best places to look for them.

 

 

 

So armed with our kit, and a log sheet to record what we found we went on a hunt. We had fun shaking some trees to drop what was in them onto a sheet and then we managed to get some into the pot and have a good look at them. We also managed to catch a hoverfly so madam could have a look at its markings.

 

 

 

We then went back into the woods and set about making a minibeast out of some air-drying clay. Madam chose to make a ladybird and we shaped it and added legs with some sticks and then drew on some markings and added little stones for the spots. Madam also gave it a leaf for a sunhat!

 

 

 

We then took our creation out into the Park and found a place to put it so that the next time we're out for a walk we can take nanna to find it. At least, if it's still there we will! By this point madam was getting bored so we headed back up to the car park and found an ice cream (not sure it was lost ;)) and ate that in the shade before heading back to the rents to give them the car back.

 

  

Bristol baby!

I have taken my laptop all the way to Bristol and back this weekend without getting it out to write once. I'm a little impressed with myself, but also sad that I haven't posted for a couple of days.

 

So Friday night I spent (after Guides) waiting for K to come and collect me and his daughter as he wanted her to come down for carnival in Bristol over the weekend. He was old any time after 9.30pm to give me time to get home from Guides and throw stuff into a bag. It was approx. 11.30 when he finally arrived.

 

Then, and I knew he would, he announced he was too tired to drive all the way back again and could I do it. I would have refused only madam would be easier to transport whilst sleepy and I didn't really want him spending the night if I could help it. So I drove. And it was fine (it's a pretty easy drive really) The only part where I was concerned about whether I was heading in the right direction was round Birmingham. I just resolutely followed the signs that said SOUTH WEST as I figured that was where Bristol was.

 

After wrestling the sat nav from off madam's back window I finally managed to check where I was and found I had been right and should just keep going. In case you're wondering, madam had been using it as a night light! As she was sitting directly behind me it wasn't easy getting it back! And yes, K was asleep whilst this was happening.

 

Anyway, we arrived at stupid o' clock in the morning and headed straight for bed. Surfaced at about 11am and headed for L's for baby twin cuddles :) Was rewarded by having one thrust at me along with a bottle (L was having a carnival party and she figured her breast milk may end up as rather alcoholic!). I spent most of the rest of the day cuddling one or other of the twins whilst chaos happened around us and got to do lots of feeding/burping. Perfect for broody ol' me really :)

 

madam and R

lovely little M

 

 

Madam went to the carnival in the afternoon with her dad (who was asleep until  at least 2pm) and came back a couple of hours later with an enormous grin on her face and a balloon which was almost the same size as her. I think we can safely say she'd had a good time. She went straight back to playing with all the neighbourhood kids and I finally managed to drag her away at about 9pm. She was being very naughty and running away from where she'd been given permission to (safely) play. I figured tiredness must be taking over and I'd get her in bed with no problems.

 

 

 

Oh, how wrong I was. For a start she was on constant look-out for her dad who had gone back to carnival after bringing her home. Also, it was ridiculously hot and sticky and she couldn't get to sleep. I had let her stay up and watch the end of Evan Almighty so she could have time to unwind and cool off from all the running around, but that didn't work.

 

Then she refuses to go downstairs as it was too scary... I'd love to send her to live with Zombie Nanny for a week and see if she's still such an unco-operative little madam by the end of it. She ignores everything I say and gets her own way far too often. It has to end...

 

None-the-less, she ended up curled up on the sofa next to me until she fell asleep about 11pm... And when it got to 1am and I realised I should really lie down to prevent complete exhaustion attacking me she still refused to come downstairs.

 

So I left her on the sofa. I figured she'd come down when she realised she was alone in the dark up there. And at about 2am she did. Complete with much wailing and gnashing of teeth that I'd left her :) Himself returned at some point, but I didn't hear him and he says he has no idea what time it was!

 

We slept until about 10.30 and then got ourselves organised to go and see L again. More baby cuddles for me, and madam went to play again. But the day was so warm they were constantly in and out for drinks/ice lollies.

 

L was exhausted as she'd been up far too late after we'd left her. Madam and I apparently beat her to bed! And we weren't breastfeeding twins through the night... Poor love needed a nap. So I had lunch with her and a nice chat with L and one of her neighbours and by 3pm thought it was probably time for us to head back north. Managed to round madam up and get her to do kisses. She takes great pleasure in kissing L's older boy who's 7 and hates it...

 

And then it was time to leave again. Except we didn't, Murray was playing and we foolishly started watching it. Then K announced he had to go and get something before we left. This didn't even surprise me. He always needs more time than I think he possibly could. Must be genetic as madam is the same! We eventually got going halfway through Murray's second set. And he always listens to CDs so I couldn't follow it on the radio :(

 

We finally got back to our house at about 9pm and even though madam had been asleep for a good hour and a half in the car, now wouldn't go to bed again. Again she complained of being too hot. I did everything I could think of to make her cooler, but it wasn't working. She ended up lying on the living room floor wearing just her pants... I sent her packing when she tried to steal a drink and fortunately the sheer exhaustion kicked in and I didn't hear from her again.

 

But I have to admit to spending the night on top of my duvet because even when I went to bed an hour or so later the upstairs was still tropical...

 

Himself? Well, he "popped" up to Scarborough after dropping us off! So glad I don't have to put up with that any more... 

learning new skills is fun

Last night was sewing night! And if it weren't for the fact it'd be really inconvenient I'd love my friend to come round every time I sew. I think we both agreed that extra hands made ironing hems easier!

 

The fabric I'd chosen to use was vetoed by madam and she selected some other stuff I happened to have, and to be honest it probably worked better as some of the print was navy the same as the t-shirt we were sewing it to.

 

We started off by me learning how to wind a bobbin, insert it, and thread the machine. All less complex than it looked. We did have a moment where we had to figure out how to adjust the tension of the bobbin, but we achieved it without too much trouble.

 

I was taught how to do the seams and then I learnt how to do the stitches for gathering. It was great to have someone next to me with much more experience giving me tips. Although I have machine sewn before I've never felt as confident doing it. And I am quite confident that I could do the same again without too much swearing!

 

I was really pleased with how the machine performed given how long it has been out of use. It was a bit wobbly when threading the bobbin, and it needs a bit of a wiggle when you've finished sewing to free your work, but really, that's not too difficult to manage!

 

Madam is completely thrilled with her new dress and has been telling anyone who will listen that her mummy made it for her. Nice to know she's appreciative of what I did for her... 

 

 

 

From top: Madam being madam; rose gelato for me; melon sorbet ftw; Madam and her jelly shoes (cause it's summer); beautiful roses from Tabatha; madam pulling a very strange expression whilst modelling her new dress 

Ice cream can cure anything

I gave myself a couple of days away from the blog as I had been starting to get a bit stressy about it. The need to blog is still there but I was thinking that I didn't really have anything to say and was possibly boring everyone.

 

And then I remembered the blog isn't really for anyone but myself. Yes, it's great that other people read it (and I wish more did), but I started it to help me process my thoughts. And I still need to do that. So the days when what I write is mainly just a diary are just as important as when I find something important to mull over.

 

As I've said before, the act of blogging on an almost daily basis is actually something I didn't believe I would keep up for a month let alone the near enough five that I've been active.

 

I do find some days harder than others, but I guess that's to be expected and I shouldn't worry so much if I do miss a day.

 

The reason it makes me worry is because of my tendency to avoid things. Once I've let it build up to two or three posts missed then it's far easier to keep not writing than to force myself to start again. A vicious circle of my own making.

 

And with that I shall start this post properly. I've been counting my blessings this afternoon and feeling very grateful for small things. This is because madam hurt herself yesterday and gave herself a good battering down her right hand side. I didn't really have anything that worked as a good kiddie curative other than good old fashioned hugs and kisses. And she was very brave, it must have been really sore.

 

So today as we walked the long walk to school from my parents house I promised her that, if she continued to be good at school too, she and I would go for an ice cream after school. And she was a good girl all day and it was really warm, so ice cream it was.

 

We went to Rolando's which is just behind madam's nursery and has just started selling gelato... And oh my goodness was it good! They had a good selection of flavours including one made from their famous almond biscuits. Think friend V may need to try that one...

 

 

 

Madam went for the blueberry (because it was purple) and I had salted caramel and liquorice! Those are two separate flavours, because otherwise, ewww! They were all very tasty and I was quite glad we'd remembered to give it a go. We will also need to go back and check out more of their flavours over the course of the summer... I think I'll go for the pistachio and the chocolate next :)

 

 

 

Madam wants to try the hazelnut (or the banana, or the vanilla, or the maple pecan, etc, etc!). It's a shame they don't sell the gelato out of a van on the westwood like Burgess of Beverley used to do. Be really good to stop off and buy one whilst on a yomp with madam.

 

Yesterday, before the dramatic injury, we had gone to what will be madam's school in September to try on some of the sample jumpers they have in the office. It was also a bit of a ploy to help madam acclimatise as she is still not entirely sure about going up to big school. And she was scared by the sheer amount of children who were running and screaming and jumping all over the place... But she got over her timidity soon enough (as usual) and found one of her friends to play with.

 

She was thrilled to find out that that friend is also in the same class as her. They were making mischief just in the playground so I'm hoping their teacher is as good as people keep telling me she is and can control them. Apparently there are 25 children joining the school from madams nursery alone (out of an intake of 60) so she's going to know almost half the yeargroup!

 

She seemed to quite enjoy the quick visit and is now really excited about her visit next weds. I was a little annoyed the school were trying to persuade me into buying a school cardi for her ("Almost all the girls wear them, you wouldn't want her to feel left out") given that they're more expensive than the jumpers. And knowing madam, she'll want to be different from all the other girls if she gets the chance!

 

Madam is definitely not someone who likes to blend in...