“Mum?”
“Yes?”
“Mum?”
“Yes?”
“Mum?”
“Yes?”
“Mum?”
“Yes?”
“Mum?”
“YEEEESSSS?”
“Mum?
…
“Mum?”
“STOP SAYING MUM ALL THE TIME. Whaddayawant LB????”
“Mum…Do you like Irish lorries, Mum?”
“No.”
“OK, Mum.”
“Mum?”
5
Tag Archives: life
Laughing boy and the mermaids
LB came back from his dad’s house very chirpy indeedy. He’d watched the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film and was very, very taken with the mermaids in it. Turns out he hadn’t come across mermaids before. Having such specialist interests from a very early age (buses, lorries, Eddie Stobart and the London Met) meant that he boycotted all the usual books/films that mermaids would crop up in. At nearly 17, mermaids were a revelation.
He’s now become very focused on finding out if they exist, or not. Since yesterday morning, we’ve repeatedly said they are a myth. Richy has googled images of manatee’s to talk about where the myth may have come from, but he ain’t convinced.
Today he came back from school with a handwritten note to put in a bottle and drop in the River Thames. The note says;
To the mermaids, do you exist or don’t you? From LB
I’ll keep you posted.
Leaving home
I’ve been a right old weepy wreck since the A-level results and confirmation that Rosie’s off to university this weekend. I dunno. What a schmaltz-hound. Richy and the other kids have been very patient and supportive as I’ve blubbed walking around the supermarket, passing old favourites like bourbon biscuits, hot chocolate and tuna, seeing a box set of Desperate Housewives in HMV, walking past her old primary school at chucking out time.
Clutter: an easy win
After yesterday’s spectacular fail (see here), I’ve revised my de-clutter strategy and now reduce, rather than just re-arrange. That is a lot harder and I’m struggling to part with all sorts of things that I KNOW I don’t need to keep… but….I’m trying.
So today, it was the turn of the kitchen noticeboard-shelf-thingy. Quite good, I think? I’ll also pay those cheques in today so that’s a double win.
I then turned to my clothes (I realise this is a bit of a random de-clutter strategy but it’s to try and reduce the boredom de-cluttering holds for me). I (sort of) applied the well known ‘not worn for two years and OUT’ technique.
Here are the victims. So long fuckers! I never wore you enough to keep. Sob.
The carer’s assessment
Real time blogging these days. Freshly hatched happenings. The carer’s assessment which took place this morning. My first ever carer’s assessment – shame on you social services – after 13/14 years of social/health care dealings.
Clutter: the desk drawer
Righty-ho. I’m starting a new blog category: clutter. This is partly because I received a lot of blog love about my first clutter post (see here). It’s also because I’m wondering if documenting my de-clutter journey may be the motivation I need to actually de-clutter. (If it’s not, I’ll just delete the posts and category).
A few ground rules:
1. The before pictures are undoctored with nothing added or removed (my Knots Landing box set, propped up next to my computer screen, is glaring at me right now but nothing added/removed is the rule).
2. The after picture will be the outcome of all my own work.
3. I realise a lot of people would rather sit in a bath of cat sick mixed with belly button fluff and toe nail clippings than read about clearing out years of rubbish, so I’ll flag up in the title if it’s a clutter post. But you gotta read ALL the other posts that aren’t about clutter.
So here we go. The desk drawer.
Whoo hooo!!!! What a transformation! And quite painless really. Quite a lot of rubbish (out of date bank cards/empty pastic bags, old wires from defunct printers, etc) and some treasures that you can spy in the neatness that now exists. My favourites; a first generation ipod, two cine films from the overland trip (see here) that need to be developed (23 years later), a little hand crafted panda envelope from our little friend who has moved back to Japan and a ‘my little dinosaur’ with a yellow quiff.
Going to have a rest now.
Making a statement
Holyfuckingmackeral. It’s Statement of Special Educational Needs time again. The annual misery that is reading through some faux authoritative representation of LB and declaration of his ‘educational needs’. All bullshit really.
The stinky goat and the power shower
I didn’t know anything about ethnography when I signed up for this overland trippet all those years ago (for the previous episode click here), but it was a missed opportunity to explore how a group of strangers live together in a mobile unit, in/across unfamiliar spaces with a changing cast of additional characters. Some of whom were quite short-lived.
Fieldwork
Fieldwork. Life on the road. Possibly romantic in, for example, the wide open spaces of the States. Bumbling around the UK on trains and buses, staying in typical British budget hotels, is not quite so enjoyable. Here’s a taste of one journey, a couple of years ago, and the spaces I passed through on that journey. Some a helluva lot quicker than others.
So, first the cross country sleeper, London to Aberdeen. Fun, though odd, waking at midnight and opening the blind to find we were at Crewe station. Bit of a surreal bed/private/platform/public situ. Plus there are no cabin keys; you’re supposed to call the steward to re-open your door. I didn’t want to bother Stew so did a quick loo dash leaving my door wedged open, hoping some thieving bastard didn’t filch my stuff.
A post for Rosie
Rosie “I’m not going to spend my entire life reading your blog, Mum” got her A-level results this morning. 3A*’s.
I am so fucking proud of her. Only LB and I were home when she went off to school to collect them. I dragged him away from youtube for 20 seconds to say good luck to her.
Mutter mutter. “Good luck, Rosie”. Mutter mutter.
“What results is she going to get, LB?”
Mutter mutter. “Maths, Mum”. Mutter mutter.
After she called with the results, I had a little weep, called Richy and then told LB how well his sister had done.
“Mum,” he replied, through gritted teeth, “I am telling you I am not stressed and the psychologist did not ban me from using youtube. He is criminally insane.”
Well this ain’t about you LB. It’s about Rosie. Good for you, girl. You deserve it.
mydaftlife 