Halloween Party

I upped the ante on our usual halloween party this year.

The house was staged considerably more.  There was lots of detail it would be hard to show.  Snakes wrapped around handles, spiders, signage, spooky sounds playing.

We started with tea. 

Followed by cutting the flour cake which involved everybody having to ultimately push their face into a bowl of flour to find a sweet.  'Bleuk' was the common shout.

Pin the Wart on the witch happened whilst I rediscovered the kitchen from under a plume of flour

Then the 'guess what it is'.  There were rats tails (cold spaghetti), eyeballs (peeled grapes) and monkey brains (partially peeled avocado).

Out into the garden, in the dark with the spooky sounds playing away.  I gave them a torch each and sent them to find cds I had tied up earlier.  I had also made frozen hands from surgical gloves and had placed them around the garden.  The screams and squeals were great!!

The cds were an anagram of 'go to slime'

I had placed a cauldron of slime lit by candle light.  In it were letters as well as some very realistic cut off fingers, ears and noses.  There were lots of shrieks and 'eurrrrrrgh'.  The letters in there spelt out 'orange pop'.

They had to pop the orange balloons in the hall.  I had filled them with spiders and cockroaches, so these showered down on them.  Hidden amongst that was a note telling them where the party bags were hidden.

Then a spot of mummy wrap.

Followed by my personal favourite 'Blind Jelly'.  I find plenty of newspaper on the floor useful for this, as well as dustbin bag aprons!

They carried on with popping the rest of the balloons by sitting on them and then went back out into the garden with torches to hide, whilst one had to go look for them, the others were jumping out from behind bushes and generally scaring the heck out of each other.

They came in to get ready for bed and hot chocolate and they all bedded down on my dining room floor (which was tableless for the event) with a film.  They must have been worn out because they were all asleep by 1:30am (this is unusual, as sleepovers recently have been 5am affairs!).

We had the 'spooky' breakfast and I overheard one girl say it was the coolest party ever....so I was very happy!!!

I'm off for a lie down!

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Warning....Do not leave your pumpkins near alcohol

Happy Halloween!

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Selfish Selfish Woman

No not me (for a change!).  At the supermarket today, I watched a large people carrier with blacked out windows park up in the last mother and baby spot.  With a car that big I would have expected hoards to climb out.  Nope!  Just one 30(ish) year old woman.  She jumped out of her car, she looked lovely in a bright pink outfit and gorgeous shoes.  She moved swiftly away towards the trolleys (and me).

"Excuse me, Excuse me"  I chimed happily at her.
She turned and smiled at me.
"You seem to have forgotten your children."
Her face twitched for a second but still she smiled.
"Your children!  You've locked them in your car."
She laughed gayfully and walked on.

I wondered about the harassed mum that was about to pull into the car park with 3 tiddlers all vying for attention as she tried to squeeze the baby seat out of a small gap (as the last mum and baby had gone to selfish parker) and she tried to manoeuvre her brood across a busy car park. 

The car park has an area especially for big or 'special' cars. The parking spaces are as big as the mum and baby parking. The problem? You have to walk a bit further. Poor selfish parker women maybe her gorgeous shoes were pinching today!

I had no sense of guilt what so ever as a 'parked' my trolley against her drivers door. 

I had a hunt around the interweb and found this picture, go have a look at the hall of shame.  It's well worth it.

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My Daughter, My Arch-Nemesis

I like technology, I like gadgets.  I had a spectrum-zx and learnt to program on a BBC-B.  I am that original NES player.  Super Mario Mark 1!   I love the room full of old technology at Bletchley.  Did you see the 8" floppies at Kelvedon?!  I was the first on the net out of all my family and friends.  I have a playstation, a wii, yes we are wireless and my iphone has now been grafted onto the end of my arm etc etc 

Whilst my daughter has had a Netbook for some time, so much of her school homework is online that I thought she should have a laptop for her birthday.  It's a cracker - stuffed to the gills with memory, massive hard disk.  I'd set it up ready with her email etc etc

Sooooooo...what did she do on her birthday first...play pick-up-sticks!!  Bloody pick-up-sticks!!!

(She's only trying to get good at it, because she can't beat me at Downfall!)

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Autumn Evening

What a lovely evening for a walk. 

How tall am I?!!!!!

And then the sun started to set.

As I walked back, I saw a flash of blue along the canal.  A kingfisher, a beautiful bright blue kingfisher...what a sight.

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Oh Nella...how I wish I'd known you

Yesterday I watched 4 children, aged between 3 and 5, in Starbucks run manically around the shop whilst 2 mums watched with loving smiles on their faces.  The children shouted, swung on chairs, ran around other customers tables and from one side of the shop to the other.  We are lucky that my 'local' Starbucks is spacious, rarely manic and has that old coffee shop  'lounge in sofa and read paper' air.  The children could run around, but that didn't stop it being damned irritating after a while.  Yes, children must be children but there must surely be some level of control.  How will children grow into adults aware of how their actions affect people around them if not taught at a young age?

I fell  into a train of thought as I wondered where the curious lack of responsibility to others began.  Our generation taught children 'Don't leave gates open or the poor little moo cows will get lost and not find their mammies and be cold and lonely at bedtime', 'Let's bury this nasty sharp glass so no one will cut their feet','Such lovely flowers, but we only pick some for the glass jug and leave the others to grow - they like growing as much as little boys and girls', 'It's ugly to be dirty - look how pussy washes herself and then begins to purr and sing because she feels so nice when she has washed herself'.  Now they talk of 'repressions' and 'fixations' and hidden things in children's minds. I'm old-fashioned enough to think a child is less complicated than the clever ones think. The security of comforting arms, a sharp slap when needed, busy hands and minds and the example of elders would be better for growing children than all the new and clever ways.

I could hear myself saying this, but it is in fact from Nella Last In the 1950s. A candid and clever lady.

She always wanted to write a book, to be published.  She would be amazed at her diaries being made public.  But really I think she would be very pleased to know how much she has taught me about thrift, self control and expectations of life. Housewife 49 and Nella Last's Peace are 2 of my favourite books, and now I am finding myself nodding sagely through the 1950's.

It's interesting how some things seem ageless, we all think our problems are new and a result of the 'way we live now' but to me it seems like our parents, grandparents (or great-grand parents) have been through this mill already!

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Hugs make me smile

Livi shared this, I think it's cool enough to share again




Particularly good Sick Puppies song.  Enjoy.


*HUGS*

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October 20th - What we did

If you are fed up with Girl Guiding already look away now.  My justification is 'I'm not going to see another Centenary, I'll milk it whilst I can'! 

One Rainbow mum said to me last night "Do you know what's happening? I've never been to one of these before" .  Bless her heart! Do I look that old?!

300 of us got together for entertainment and activities.  We had drinks and hot dogs, served up with military precision.  A big sing song.  The all important promise ceremony.

 Followed by a massive fireworks display.  It was a wonderful night.
 

Just in case anyone is feeling that Guiding today isn't relevant for the youth of today, I thought I would include a photo of one of our leaders.  Oh to be young again!

Here is last nights Vision Statement! (Been a while since I used that term, so 90's!)

I promise that I will...not go on about this again !!!!

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20th October 2010, 20:10

We stand together 600,000+ of us.  We care about each other, we care about the world around us, we support each other. 

TeenyWeeny Rainbows

I promise that I will do my best:

To love my God,

To serve the Queen and my country,

To help other people

To keep the Guide Law.

and
To be of service to the community.

My best supporter

mixing!

Growing Guiding

Exactly how tired they should be!

My Tawny

Go Girls!

Moving on

Service to the Community

My Favourite Guiding position!

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Sunset and Gore

This weeks Gallery is 'Red' and this is linked to Halloween.  It's a bit early for me for Halloween.  The party plans are coming on but the photos won't be ready until after the event.  So I'll have to opt for the Autumn alternative :

 The hipstamatic evening!

But for a bit of gore : my thumb was hurt in the making of this picture!!!!!!!!

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I'm dreaming of a light Christmas

It is 63 days until I see my M-I-L again.  It's 2½ years since I last saw her.

Today I started my diet.

My mother-in-law lives in Australia and generally gives me a fairly difficult time of things when she sees me.  Bless her, she tried to be nice, she's tried hard, but her true colours tend to show on through when she lets her guard down.

When she has stayed at our house (in the UK) she stays out of my way, to the point of shutting herself in her room unless HWMBO is in the house.

She forbade HWMBO to marry me, in front of me...that was a fun night...not.

She uses comments like "What's she saying, I can't understand a word she says" in front of me, in reference to my foreign accent.  Bear in mind I am fairly BBC English and M-I-L is Australian.  It's not like I'm a Geordie!

She has called my daughter "that child" on numerous occasions.  A term I find particularly offensive.

She once brought a photo album for HWMBO that she had put together of his childhood days, family, growing up etc.  It was a lovely thought until we got to the end pages.  Photos of our wedding maybe?  Nope! Photos of him and ex-girlfriends to which she referenced one as "now she was a nice girl". 

I have endured many conversations around girls that HWMBO should have married. From what I can tell that would be anybody except me!!!!

She also watches my weight like a hawk!  I thought I was over it.  But clearly I am not. I am not overweight by any stretch of the imagination but I am 12lbs heavier than when I last saw her.  I am a lot fitter now and carrying a lot of extra muscle so maybe this is a matter of inches over numbers but all the same I would be more confident if I had a few of the numbers behind me.  This worries me as well because for many years we have failed to conceive and I know that low weight can be as harmful as high weight.

But when I walk through the door she will look me up and down and comment on my size and I have to be ready (and Beckham-like) to deal with it.

Why does so much emotion have to be tied up in weight?

So today the diet started.  Nothing drastic just stopping eating so much chocolate every night.  No more golden syrup on my popcorn, actually, probably no more popcorn.....sigh.  And once it's off, will it stay off in the lead up to Christmas?  Christmas in a hot country is wrong, swimsuits and Christmas pudding do not mix and I like Christmas pudding!

and HWMBO?  ...he says I was big(ger) when he met me.  He loved me then and loves me now but it doesn't really matter what he says, this isn't about him.

Blimey,  I fancy a piece of Green and Blacks....

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Finally, I failed to fail

I have a general trait of failing.  I tend to start hair brained schemes and don't see them to fruition.  I also have a habit of wanting to do the right thing but just missing the mark and end up offending someone or fall into some unwanted trauma.  Things in my life tend to have a go- wrong spin.

Well, as Gordon Ramsey would say, Fuck me!  Today I failed to fail.  I ran in my first race and I finished!  There were lots of 'proper' runners there, doing all the 'proper' warm up stuff.  My word I was nervous.  But I didn't come last (one did).  I didn't collapse (one did). I didn't kill myself doing it and I really enjoyed it!

As I got close to the end I saw a gorilla in the distance..there was no way I was going to be beaten by a gorilla.  I strided out and yes, I beat the gorilla!  Afterwards, as a proudly gabbled this to HWMBO, he pointed out that the banana had still finished ahead of me....yes, thanks for mentioning that dear! I could have coped with not knowing!

I am so proud of myself..I had a number pinned on me...that's like a proper runner!  And I got a medal.

Go Me!  Whoohooo!

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The one in which all my friends get divorced

What's going on?  In the past 3 months 5 sets of my friends have split up. And 4 of them were after at least 12+ years of marriage.  Is it the age in life we are all at?  It will sound so selfish of me to say "I'm upset about it".  ME?!  Gee Whizz, image how they feel....but I want to yell STOP IT....divorce sucks.  It's unsettling me that so many of my friends are in the midsts of it....


I've been getting 'All Karen' about it



But tonight I saw Em, she is going to bounce back and is so much more:



Good for you Girl...

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Police Radio

Today Greater Manchester Police have been 'broadcasting' all emergency calls on twitter.  It brought back memories of the good old days when I used to listen to police radio in my bedroom, under the covers after dark.

The police tweets have been interesting and often trying to tell them apart from the spoof tweets has been hard.



"Call 9 Prank call from City of Manchester stadium. Reported missing trophies. Not to be taken seriously"

"call 1356 report of threats and abuse on Facebook in Salford "

"call 1634 suspicious men carrying a snake, Bolton "

"Call 893 information about drugs given to Neighbourhood Policing Team|"

"Call 384 report of man holding baby over bridge - police immediately attended and it was man carrying dog that doesn't like bridges "

"Call 009 - Reported missing child turned up at school. Parents "didn't think to look there". Fair enough"

Can you spot the Spoofs?

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Morning Tranquility

This weeks Gallery is My Favourite Photo and Why.

Brownie Pack holiday is a time of mainly bedlam.  The last girls to go to sleep will be sometime around 3am and the first girls to wake up will be around 6am.
One year I didn't sleep at all.  I had roast turkey and meal plans on my mind.  The timings were whizzing around in my head and about 5am I crept up and made a cup of tea.
The other leaders were fast asleep as were the brownies, all was still and quiet.
I stood at the kitchen window and watched the world come to life.  The city in the valley in the distance was shrouded by the mist.  The tall trees proudly rising through it.  The pinkness of the sun starting to show.  All was still, all was quiet.
Slowly as I watched the rest of the world be still,  my mind cleared, I was the great kitchen Guideress, ready to take on the day.
The chalet floor started to rock a little as the first brownie feet came poddling through to get to the toilets and the world was awake with me, happy and ready to meet a glorious day.

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Spiritual Refueling

 The weekend we went to Walsingham.

It is a place that holds an incredible amount of energy.

There is a wall of the Slipper chapel that pulsates energy as you touch it.

The feelings of renewal, acceptance, love, calm, all the good stuff, just abound.

It was a wonderful weekend.

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Homemade Play Dough

Cog decided she wanted to do play dough.  It must be 5 years since the play dough box saw the light of day but it had been packed away clean and tidy and was there ready.

I have always made my own play dough, mainly because Cog used to eat everything when she was small and I was happier knowing what she was eating!  But also because making it filled up more playing time and it is good lesson in weighing, measuring and good prep for school.

So if you still buy playdough...stop!!!!

You only need:

1 cup plain flour (100grams)
1/2 cup salt        (150 grams)
1 tablespoon cream of tartar (cooking aisle near bicarb!)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 cup hot water (200 ml) from kettle with a splash of food colouring


Just put them into a bowl in that order and mix well, when it comes together just kneed it a bit and you have play dough as good as the bought stuff.  It will keep a week or 2 in a zip lock bag or Tupperware in the fridge.

I know my kitchen looks like a bombs hit it, that's because I decided to play whilst I had the opportunity instead of clean.  My play days are now very few and far between!!

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