dottyspots

Or rather she was on the 27th. We had a party and Sarah & Co. and Kris and Co. came.

Nin’s princess costume.

Nin’s fairy costume

I made a gluten and dairy free brownie cake with dark chocolate ganache (plus loads of gluten and dairy free fairy cakes to decorate).

Also a none gluten and dairy free cake (for those who didn’t want to OD on chocolate - the brownie was VERY rich!)

And a bonus Nin pic:

I’ve been promising a few people that I’d post details of a book I’ve used to make the scrummy gluten and dairy-free cakes, it is:

It really is a fabulous book and really helps when I feel like I might be ‘missing out’ by not having dairy or gluten!

……. the cheek of some people! One of my neighbouring allotmenteers is giving up his allotment and wants £75 (!) for the fence or he’s taking it with him to sell for scrap. Unsurprisingly I said no (as I can’t see him getting anywhere near £75 for it as scrap) but it’s still bloody annoying as it means my allotment (all the allotments on the plot are fenced) will be open to anyone to come on until someone new takes over and puts a fence on the front, so I’ve had to move my tools and hope nothing gets vandalised.

Hmph!

More potatoes and shedloads of beetroot today, so will definetely be pickling beetroot tomorrow and MUST make some pumpkin marmalade out of the squashes Kris brought round.

I bought some more books from the market - an encyclopedia of the British Countryside, an atlas of historical maps and some children’s books.

I’m still knitting a sock (eventually to be 2 socks, but I’ve got to finish the first one yet) using some lovely yarn from the Knitting Goddess (I’ll post a link when I’ve got a photo of the yarn). It’s a distraction from the pram blanket which was boring me a little and I *still* need to finish the rosette I’m making from the Rowan Yorkshire Tweed I felted.

I’ve sewn the front and back of some denim trousers for Ned, my first attempt at making some trousers ever. The machine stitching isn’t wonderfully straight, but doesn’t look too bad. I’ve cut out the pieces for a shirt (using cowboy fabric - again I’ll post the link when I get a photo) and when I’ve some red thread I’ll sew it up.

I’m feeling rather domestic and would be feeling even more so if the vacuum cleaner wasn’t packing up.

I’ve ordered the Romans Unit Study from Christopherus because even *if* R. does go to school (part-time) there’ll still need to be things we do together. I like Donna’s books because they’re no-nonsense and realistic about home-ed and reasonably priced too If you look on the Main Lesson inspiration pages (under Norse Myths) there is a picture that R. drew, currently the third one down on the left-hand margin - of the Eagle chasing Loki and Idunna (also transformed into birds). So I’m looking forward to receiving it and having a think.

Gilbert is still convinced that cornflakes and kiwi-fruit are normal cat fare and Fern has moved into the boys’ bedroom in protest.

…. and then I get sidetracked and forget. When did life get so very busy - and people wonder why I laugh when people say, “You’re at home with the kids all day? Don’t you get bored?”

I’ve not been bored for some 11 years now and TBH pretty much the only time I have been truly bored was when I was at school (and I did pretty much everything possible to avoid going). I have a boredom-avoidance gene or rather a tendency to avoid doing things I have no interest in - known to some people as ‘laziness’ but only because they’re really rather jealous as they may not have the balls to actually stand up and say, “D’you know what? Life’s too short.”

My father calls it selfish and says I have to grow up sometime (or rather he said it the last time I spoke to him, some 3 years ago). That we all have to face the ‘hard facts’ of life - this sort of comment usually comes in the same sentence (or atleast the same conversation) as ‘children need to go to school to learn what life is really like’/'bullying toughens you up’ - you get the idea.

I’ve been a very superficial blogger of late, mostly because I have so very much going on in my head it can be so bloody hard to put it all into words. It’s been a wierd year, what with moving and then feeling rather ‘out on a limb’ and R. having such a difficult time and Erk deciding he wants to go back to school and me really questioning life (again) - it’s a bugger this non-conforming rebellious streak, people keep trying to stamp on it but it just won’t give up and go (quietly).

And that’s part of the problem with R., Me. Because in so many ways he is very like I was at the same age (minus the bullying crap I was going through at the same age - but then he managed to squeeze in a goodly amount before he was 7). He hates fractions and time-tables, he *can’t* do them, not because he physically can’t, but because he has decided he can’t - and I decided the same thing at school and just refused to learn them, I couldn’t see the point and I’ll have argued the toss with anyone.

My mother says it’s divine retribution - or rather a balancing of karma, someone, somewhere is smiling down on her and whilst I know she wouldn’t wish me any distress, it must be a slight smug kick for my first born to be as much of a PITA at times as I was.

And that’s part of the problem too.

I remember being 11. I remember being 12, and 13 and 14. 15 is a bit of a blur (drunken etc. induced), as is 16. I sobered up a bit at 17 (after all I did have a baby) - point is I do remember what it’s like to be an adolescent and a teen - atleast I remember the crapness of it all.

Yet I could quite cheerfully strangle him at times - the child, who is, after all, quite a bit like me. Same bloody-minded control-freakery I KNOW WHAT’S BEST so f*** the lot of you streak and yet he is so very conservative, so very adherent to the rules as they suit him and everything is so incredibly black and white - not the myriad shades of grey that drive me bonkers so very often and stupid-o’clock-in-the-morning - and I know that’s not necessarily an adult thing, I was like that as a child and Erk is like that now (which worries me slightly).

So maybe we’re not so similar after all.

I never was one for rules and I get ever so uppity if someone tries to tell me what to do.

Which in a rambling way leads me to Statements of SEN.

I wrote a request, I received a form to fill in details, I haven’t filled it in.

Because really I don’t want him to go. I know it’s not the right thing for him either. What we need is a bit of space from each other, but he’s so bloody difficult atm that it’s nigh-on impossible for him to go anywhere to get that space. I always say that school is really a form of mass subsidised childcare - and certainly that’s how I’m viewing it, but I don’t want him to go, it’s still *not right* for him.

But then what is?

The past few months have been a hellish blur (and I consider myself to be an optimistic person) and yet there are rays of sunshine through the clouds. He spent a day helping one of the neighbouring allotmenteers clean out her chickens, rabbits and ducks. He came back with some eggs and the promise that if he continued helping out to demonstrate he could care for them properly he could have a rabbit and some chickens to keep on the allotment (on the proviso he builds a good home for them - and he’s already built a compost heap, so is getting rather handy with the woodwork). He came back so happy, it was wonderful to see, plus I’d had a quiet afternoon with the littlies - the first for a very long time without R. there.

That’s what we need, a bit of space from each other, but that space is bloody hard to find.

Today I had friends round, with their respective children (which made for 5 little girls in the house) and he was great. Spent most of the time in his room reading and watching a DVD. This may not sound like anything special, but recent visits have been positively explosive. So today was a big difference.

He also seems a bit ’sunnier’.

And so I start to doubt again. Doubt the decision to seek a statement that I don’t think will be right for him anyway, but was done in desperation to have a day which isn’t filled with bickering and upset or him thumping his sister (and he’s thumped me too). Maybe it’s hormones kicking in, complicating the already complicated Aspie tendencies (or rather the not very complicated Aspie tendencies, as R. focusses on what he wants and doesn’t necessarily ‘get it’ if it causes chaos for everyone else).

Still with me?

I know I’m meandering (and no I’m not drunk, just ponderous).

*ANYWAY* I’m dawdling on the statement front, my cynicism is kicking in big time and I’m wondering why life is so bloody complicated and why I always have to play the devils advocate and see so many bloody facets to absolutely-bloody-everything.

We have been to the allotment.

This is the allotment that I had a letter from the Parish Council about saying that it appeared to be ‘uncultivated’ (please translate this as in all probability that one of the Parish Council’s members friends wants an allotment). I got a bit miffed and wrote a sharp e-mail back, which resulted in an apology and them pointing out that they had to follow procedure and from peeking through the gap by the gate, etc, and that it *does* say in the letter that they are aware I’ve just had a baby etc. OK, I’ll admit there are alot of nettles, but it’s taken months to get this much done (what with all the rubbish, glass, nettles and other chaos on what had been a neglected plot). OK, there are more than alot of nettles, the plot is mostly nettles, but what is the point in tackling them in the main growing season when I can tackle them at a less productive time of year. Said nettles are also hiding all the bits of allotment covered in assorted cardboard, plastic sheeting and rugs (in an attempt to stifle some of the nettles). I will be keeping a ‘wild’ patch too. Personally I rather like the chaos, it makes me smile and remember how beautiful and bounteous the gifts of Mother Earth are.

This is Sunday’s tray dug up and picked at the ‘uncultivated’ allotment.

We have more chillis (Rik has been taking photos of them)..

.

And finally, a smiley cat:

…… that makes them think it’s a good idea to deposit half-eaten pears in people’s gardening shoes?

Yes, it went squidge - yuck!

It’s my birthday today - just another year until I’m 30. I took Ned for his photo session. I won a free photo (yes I know it’s all part of a promotion to get me to buy loads of photos, but then I wanted some of Ned anyway and at some point need to get one of the children together, so actually it’s quite welcome). Ned was a star, smiling enthusiastically and burbling away at the photographer - I can’t wait to go and see the proofs next week! It was a lovely birthday present just to go along and watch him laughing

Erk’s gone back to school, rather unenthusiastically as it turns out school isn’t quite as fantastic as he thought it might be…..

I’m planning to go and visit my brother in Brighton in the summer (not been to Brighton before) so am feeling rather enthusiastic about that and apart from that everything’s plodding along.

I’ve been slowly cutting out dairy again and hoping it might help my skin out a bit - also on the cards in wheat etc., but I need to look at the logistics of managing that and not eating meat as well. This was the problem a couple of years ago and I came across someone who is vegan and also gluten-free but unfortunately they didn’t answer my questions about the hows etc. I don’t want to have lots of supplements, I’m not a fan of pill-popping, rather I think people should get the vits etc. they need from the food they eat. I’m off for a blood test when I get a spare min as doctor thinks I might be low on B vits - lots of ulcers etc. in my mouth (plus itchy mouth etc.) which could be a sign of candida apparently - basically my diet needs a complete overhaul and I really MUST lose some weight (because whilst I’m not exactly a vain person, I’ve put on a lot of weight whilst pg with Nin that just hasn’t shifted and the extra weight makes me feel so heavy and tired - which is not a good thing - I’m a size 18/20, rather than the 12/14 at which I feel healthy and haven’t been for 2 years).

Time to get really strict about the number of cakes I’ve been eating!

Still really busy!

I’ve been carrying on with getting R’s jumper finished (just a couple of inches on one sleeve and another sleeve before making up), I’ve started a little tunic for Ned (I’ve almost finished the back).

The allotment now has 13 raspberries (because I bought some and as I was putting them in our ‘lottie neighbours popped their head round the gate and asked if we wanted some more!) 2 (possibly 4) blackcurrant bushes - I wasn’t sure about the 2nd two as I couldn’t remember what I’d got - and 2 redcurrant cuttings (which will hopefully take - I did have 4, but gave 2 to the neighbours as they’d very kindly given us some raspberries and also some beans some of which they helped R. plant up and leave in their polytunnel to be collected later). I also planted some carrots and R. put in some beetroots (in between hiding in the shed from the rain), so a rather productive day!

We had a meeting with the LEA last Wednesday. This has been a bit of a sore point as R. didn’t want to meet them and of course I supported his decision, after all, we don’t need endorsement from an outside agency, we’ve HE-ed since 2003 and it’s going very well. I don’t lack confidence with the decision to HE and know that R. is getting the best education he can (certainly better than school could provide for him).

However, the LEA was insisting on ‘examples’ of work and I was arguing that R. didn’t want this and there is nothing in the Education Act (or case law) that dictates that ‘examples’ must be provided. This has gone on since last year and there has been much to-ing and fro-ing of letters and I was preparing to dig us in for the long haul (and had taken some legal advice!)

The R. changed his mind and declared that he wanted to meet the local HE Advisor. So this duly happened last Wednesday. It actually went very well. R. made scones (mostly because Fiona, who came along too, had made scones last time we visited her, so he wanted to return the kindness) and the 2 bods from the LEA were fed them with organic strawberry jam and a cup of tea. We discussed various subjects, I told them something of my thoughts on how children learn and R. told them some of the things he was interested in and what he had been up to recently, quite a bit of which involved gardening, history and cooking. Not one scrap of work was shown (as R. didn’t want to show any of his work) but the response from the HE Advisor was that R. is clearly a very intelligent, articulate young man and we must be very proud of him I’m not a person that looks for (or needs) outside approval - but hey, it’s a bonus!

R. has been continuing with his project on Ancient Egypt. I’ve given up on ‘the schedule’ again, as it’s behind (again) and R. is quite happy meandering along. We will get to Ancient Greece when he’s ready, but we’ve so much else on too that it’s hard to squeeze in the time for his project as he’s spending a lot of time reading and with the planning for the allotment, him cooking (he’s doing more and more) and just getting out and about more, we seem to be busy all of the time!

Anyway, time to get on with dinner. I’ve a nice home-made jam sponge ready to go in the oven (yum!)

…..will I be forgiven for not blogging much?

Where does the time go? Lots of vomiting children made for the days flying by! Everyone seems on the mend now and we’re trying to get back into the swing of things. I need to get some rhythm back into my life as the past few weeks seem to have been a hectic whirl which has left me feeling rather wobbly. I’ve been taking stock and really need to get my bum in gear and get more organised if things are going to run smoothly as it’s set to get much busier as this year goes on!

I’ve a meeting on Monday, I’m planning to get over to Highfields next Tuesday (will have to see how I get on), another meeting on Wednesday, working Thursday and Friday - an it’s been like that for the past few weeks (broken up with the spells of vomiting children). In a way I’m happy, to be so busy - I do like it, but I MUST get my orgo-planner head on (now Ned is a couple of months old) if I’m going to cope with busy.

The allotment has a shed, some raised beds surrounded by paths made from dumped sleepers and bits of concrete (left on the lottie) and there’s plastic down on the rest killing off the fast growing brambles and nettles. Two window-sill propagators full of chilli seedlings (dh has a *thing* about chilli) and one of herbs and I really must look at some more vegetable based seedlings ready to plant out - because I’m convinced better weather is coming soon!

…. But then I have been really busy in a so much to do so little time way. R. is still plodding on with his Ancient Eygpt project - I *still* haven’t caught up with my book (I wanted to make one too), especially as the map drawing with his new aquarelle pencils looked so much fun – but I’ve got a few knitting projects that need to be done if my children are going to have clothes to wear (as I should really use some of the yarn I’ve got rather than buying them jumpers!)

I’ve made a kaftan for Ned – it needs an iron (as you can see in the photo) and I’m going to embroider around the neck and cuffs. I’ve almost finished the front of a chunky cabled baggy jumper for R. (who feels the cold and needs thick jumpers) and Nin is fast outgrowing all of hers, so next on the agenda is a cardi for her.

Sarah & co. came round on Saturday. It was Sarah’s birthday so we ate home-made pizza, dips and chocolate cake We spent a lot of time discussing life, the universe and everything and also business plans that might make life a little easier for both of us.

Rik built the fence at the allotment on Sunday and we all had a bit of a clear up there. It’s looking a lot better but still needs A LOT of work. Feeling all inspired though! There are three propagators sitting on the windowsill in the dining room – one of herbs, the fennel, parsley and time are sprouting already and two (!) of chilli peppers (Rik has a *thing* about chillis). Kris had some garlic from us as it desperately needed planting (we’ve some planted already in the back – but what was left wouldn’t keep for our allotment) so we’ll divvy that up when it’s grown (dh also has a thing for garlic – we’re going to stink for the rest of the year It was lovely to see her and Tea and Piglet after such a gap.

Off on a tangent, this is where the road leads that we live off:

The lane you can see peters out not much further on and from there there is a track to the next village (which is cyclable – if I had a bike).

A photo of the woods (which are to the right of Erk in the photo above):

There are what I think are quite a few hazel trees, but I wasn’t able to check in the autumn (the nuts would’ve confirmed it, I get a bit confused between hazel and something else – i.e. I sometimes think it’s a hazel tree but there’s a similar leaf on something I typically can’t remember off the top of my head now – but the nuts clinch it), so will keep returning until I’ve confirmed whether that’s the case. There are some hazel trees in the other wood - I saw unripened nuts on them, but wasn’t physically able to pick them later in the season, but it’s nice to know of as many as possible so there’s a choice when picking.

The fungi that I mentioned a few posts ago:

Anyone know what it is?

The boys finally decided they wanted to read Harry Potter:

And a pic of Ned, he’s 8 weeks tomorrow and weighed 12oz 12lbs when I got him weighed last week!

R.’s been continuing with his Egyptian project, the backgarden has been cleared (mostly down to Rik, not me), I bored of knitting a bag and have started a lovely kaftan in a grey-ie blue wool/cotton mix for Ned, which I plan to embroider (finished the back of it). Just general busyness really.

We went over to one of the Sheffield meets which made a nice change. R. really enjoyed himself and afterwards we went back for a cup to tea etc. with one of the Sheffield ‘lot’ before coming home (rather later than initially planned).

I took Ned to be weighed - he’s 12lb 5oz, which isn’t bad for 6weeks old. I was rather surprised and am thinking of renaming him Nibble Munch (after a poem by Brian Patten).

Should hopefully have a fence up at the lottie soon (Rik went to get an idea of how much it would cost). I’m looking forward to that as it means we can start getting it cleared, I’m spending a lot of time dreaming about it.

Erk has decided he wants to be a fashion designer (bit of a change from a builder) and I’ve realised that I’ve just written more of a list than a blog (but I’m still tired after yesterday and want to blog, but feel a bit bleurgh.)

Forgot to say that on Wednesday we tried Water Buffalo cheese (with nettles) at the farmer’s market. It was a big hit with the children and the piece I bought has almost gone (Nin ate most of it for lunch today).

We went for a walk in the woods today and got rather muddy I’ve taken a photo of some strange black fungi we found (will post it later/tomorrow). It’s been a bit of an odd week as it’s half term and it’s strange (in a nice way) to have Erk here - unfortunately it has sparked quite a few more arguments between him and R. though.

Oh and we also registered Ned on Wednesday!

So we went and had a look and took some pics:

(including random child I picked up on the way to the allotments)

It’s a good job I’m such an optimistic soul! Guess what’ll be featuring very heavily in our HE plans for a while!

Thank you for all the good wishes! I’ve finally got round to posting a couple of pics from not long after he was born.

And some other good news….. I spoke to the Clerk to the Parish Council and I’m 3rd on the allotment waiting list, but should go to the top as there are 2 plots to allocate (apparently they should’ve been allocated in December but the meeting was postponed) and should the 2 people ahead of me want them then I go to top of list :0)

I know it sounds a bit sad, but I’ve wanted an allotment for a few years now and this is the first time we’ve ever lived close enough to plots for it to be a reality (as I can’t drive, so any plot has to be within easy walking distance). In addition there’s a bit of a pile of cardboard boxes (ok a large pile of rubbish) in our back garden and the boxes would be great to cover part of any plot (as chances are it’ll be a mess and need clearing) - plus a couple of old chairs and a table which would provide a valuable resting place :0)

Our back garden is a bit of a mess, but I’m a little tied there as we’re planning a conservatory this year so I don’t want to go ahead with any other plans until that’s built and the resultant mess is cleared. I plan for the raised bed by what will be a patio to become a herb garden and I want to train a couple of fruit trees against the fence as it’s a lovely sunny spot. The back bed will be for some soft fruit - but much of what I want to do needs to wait until the conservatory is built (which will be our craft and play room).

So I’m all excited now as the allotment seems to be coming a couple of steps closer……

Still feeling a bit ropey - but it appears I’m in for painful Braxton Hicks from now on (joy!) I have a low blood count and the doctor has prescribed me 600mcg of iron a day (?!) which I think, if nothing else, is enough to guarantee constipation in anyone, let alone a pg. woman who might be more prone to it anyway - guess who had a discussion about iron with the M/W today that went along the lines of, “I will not be taking that much iron in supplements a day.” The b/c is 10.something-or-other, I think if I up my iron intake from iron rich foods and make sure I wash it down with some orange juice (or similar) I should be fine - after all, I am pregnant which does tend to suggest a naturally lower blood count anyway. (I don’t like guiness - before someone else suggests it - in many ways I would rather drink my own wee

This was posted on the EO list in response to a discussion about creationism vs. evolution - it’s quick to load (which is a bonus when you’re on dial-up like me).

At Thursday’s group we made lanterns:

Which look lovely all lit up.

A picture of the kids.

If anyone didn’t believe me when I said that Nin always helps do the cleaning!

With everything that’s been going on I forgot to mention the Home Ed. Handcrafts Team Blog which a few of us from Muddle Puddle are contributing to.

R. is really keen to get on to the Epic of Gilgamesh (as he got the book, along with others, for his birthday). At the moment we’re reading Wolf Brother, which I would heartedly recommend for children who aren’t too easily upset (or possibly just older children, bearing in mind the boys are 9 and 11). We’re all really enjoying it.

I’ve been busy making soup out of surplus butternut squash and plan to turn what tomatoes are left (whether ripe or no) into tomato relish tomorrow. Also on the cards is piccalilli - maybe of Friday - because it beats anything you can buy in the shop hands down. It looks like we need a bit of a baking session tomorrow to use up some eggs too!

R. has spent the day reading about algae and then staring into next-door’s pond (which has had a heron visiting it), followed by more Norwegian practice (he tried the next CD and got annoyed because the recordings were in sentences, so a bit more challenging). He’s hoping to buy some nice Lyra pencils when I next put in an order for the group.

Anyway, I’d better get on as my belly is a bit achey.

Blogsome ate my last blog :0( I was really pleased with it too, but typically I didn’t write it off-line to copy in, I wrote it online whilst chatting on MSN and didn’t take the sensible precaution of copying it just-in-case and so it was eaten – and yes, I did make noises resembling Muttley……

It’s been a good few days on the whole – certainly much quieter without Erk around which in a way is nice. R. is thriving on not having his brother around, so I guess they both needed a little space (it may well take a nose-dive again when they have to go back to sharing a room, but TBH that’s just tough ATM). The daily ‘rhythm’ has been fairly ticking along which R. finds reassuring, as he is one for asking what we are next, today, tomorrow, next week, etc. repeatedly. A rough timetable gives him a bit of security and he quite happily moves from one thing on to the next (although there is some blurring when we become engrossed in what we’re doing and don’t notice the time).

Multiplying decimals seems to have just ‘clicked’ with him, so I don’t think we’ll need to spend much time there, so it’s on to dividing and then a quick recap and I think we may get on with the ‘planning the garden’ which I have spent far more time talking about that actually planning. He likes gardening, so will probably be fairly happy to get the tape-measure out and help me measure up and plot it out on some graph paper. We want to put in some soft fruit this autumn and hopefully a couple of fruit trees, although quite what I’m not sure yet, but we can have a look at the options and have a think – just need to get dh to shift the sheds to the back (as he promised a while ago).

I’ve signed up for ‘Reading Classical Greek’ with the OU. When I originally went to college I went to study Ancient History and signed up to do Greek and Latin GCSEs, but decided not very far into the course (a few weeks) that drinking etc. was far more fun and left to do that instead. When looking at the OU I did consider the Early Years courses, after all, far closer to what I have studied (I went back to college years later), and more applicable to the area I have enjoyed working in and the degree I planned to do before finding out I was pregnant with Nin. However, as the past couple of years have gone by I have read so much more on the subject that I can’t help feeling I’d be a little frustrated by it all. Whilst it is without doubt a good thing to have one’s personal beliefs/prejudices challenged, I just don’t think that I’d have the patience for it at present and have a sneaking suspicion that it might be similar to my experience studying Equal Opps., which although I enjoyed, was incredibly frustrating as I had to sit on my hands to avoid landing heavy books on other students’ heads.

So I went back to one of my original interests, Ancient History. The bonus of doing such a course is that I’ve planned for R. and I to look at Greek Myths and then Ancient Greece next year and the OU course, starting in Feb. ties in quite nicely with that because R. can also benefit from it. He’s very excited about the idea (he appears to have inherited an interest in history which is more the good) and I’m feeling really positive about it all.

I was out trimming the tomatoes yesterday. We’ve had a fantastic crop of cherry tomatoes and there are still plenty on the vine, but they’ve been neglected the past week and it’s amazing how fast they can send out surplus shoots, so they needed tidying up to get some sun to the final toms to get them ripened and ready to eat. There’s still a few courgettes for taking and I’ve left the beans to dry on the plant (I hope that’s right, I keep meaning to check, but I want to dry some, basically to see if I can and to make a nice display in a glass kilner jar on the kitchen side :0)

Today has been a hectic day again. The group went well, although Nin was a little off-colour and wanted to stay closer to me than she has done at previous groups. We rejigged the format a bit to have Circle Time before snack-time, which seems to work better. Nin and I popped back to Kris’ for lunch and had a short time to chat about some books I’ve just received before I had to start back again. Erk was a little late back from school (he must have taken a *very* scenic route) and Nin attacked him when he got in (literally, as when they were playing she whacked him in the eye and it looks a bit bruised!) It was hard to tell who was more distressed, Erk because he’d been hurt, or Nin because Erk was crying and she was frightened!

I finished a sleeve on the yellow and green cardi I’m knitting for the baby, so now need to press it, sew it up and pick up the stitches for the buttonband. I’ve been so busy the past few days that I’ve not got a huge amount of knitting done, but baby cardis are a fairly quick and easy knit.

R. still isn’t back and dh has gone straight from work to pick him up (he’s been over in Sheffield so is later than usual). I forgot to get any meat out of the freezer this morning and really should make a start with dinner as it will take longer to cook with half-frozen mince. So that’s what I’ll go and do now :0)

We ventured over to Ikea today for the first time in a very long while (and the first time to Leeds). Did the usual Sunday afternoon *thing* in there, checking out what sort of wardrobes and drawers we eventually hope to buy (so we’ve somewhere to put our clothes) and also a nice bureau-thingy to go in the space the big fridge left. Also on our shopping list is a bed for Nin.

Of course, we couldn’t actually *buy* any of these things today but it was nice to look :0)

We came back with glasses, a few kilner jars, some prints and storage boxes for the bedroom.

Dinner was a very nice roast chicken (the first for ages due to lack of fridge), followed by an apple and blackberry crumble - blackberries picked by us and apples given to us by a couple of neighbours - it was wonderful and so much a taste of autumn!