For this New Year we headed down to my cousins house for a party, as always we got lost on the very last bit of the journey and Ivan had to come out and find us - I was navigating but the map didn't go down to a fine enough detial ok!
There was lots of food and lots of kids! Jean had a great time as there was basically a room full of children throwing balls and things at each other and there was a mirade of pepper pig videos and the like. Ivan and Sam also have a fish tank 🙂 Jean loves fish we take to the garden centres locally just to look at 'Nemo's' (Becca and Olly have a lot to answer for!).
At mid night there was the the popping of party poppers and as always I ended up with a wig of the paper strings - this time Jean put it on my head 🙂 We all had an attempt at Auld Langs ey and by the end Jean was the only on of the 'babies' still running about full of energy but then she had had a nice long sleep all the way from Gloucestershire to Essex!
Jean was shy at first but cheered up when we changed her into her satin pink party dress - all the other kiddies were dressed up and she felt abit out of place I think - she had her sparkly silver shoes and all would have been well if she hadn't tried to walk away from me whilst I was trying to tie the bow around the waste - I stepped after her and trod on the belt and she kept going and there was an ominous ripping noise and so she ended up with her belt ribbon tied as a braclet around her wrist instead.
'Mummy you broke my dress!'
'Yes well if you won't keep still when I say things like that will happen.'
It was a good party and we even got warm mugs of tea as we stayed to help tidy up - they offered for us to stay the night but Al wanted to get back to Highgate.
(hopefully at some point I'll get the photos on here:/)
Mum is being released from the hospital today - she still has one drain in but apparently the district nurse will come and see her to remove it.
Yesturday mum had her lymph nodes removed and as it is the second lot of surgery in a very short space of time so she was wiped. I tried to go and see her but stupidly I only had her mobile number which wasn't answering as they had mistaken her for someone else on the ward who had become dangerously ill.
I didn't know this - just that she wasn't answering but it wasn't going to voice mail or anything either so I panicked and thought that perhapse it was an old number or something - I nuked my phone a few months ago and reinstated my numbers from a piece of paper that was pre-gloucestershire move :/.
I then tried to phone dad but couldn't get out of him how to get to the hospital - I had also had the issue that no one had been able to get hold of Al and dad was a)locked out of the house, and b) going hypo as he needed his breakfast that was in the house - so via the phone I had to talk him into hitting the bedroom window with things in the vague hope of awakening the Alaric!
After that was sorted I tried phoning my brother but to no avail - this was mainly becuase being a muppet I was phoning the wronge David :/ I didn't actually have my brothers phone number in my phone :/
I then found that I didn't have my aunts number or anything - sigh.
Then to the latest faff of trying to get registered at college and of you knopw trying to libary access - today was a stressful day. People in suits knocked me over as if they didn't even see me - I was wearing a rainbow coloured jacket and a huge great rucksack - the result of this has been the lose of usefulness of my left arm and hand yet agian :/
After the World of Beatrix Potter we went for a train ride on a narrow gauge railway - this was uphill and downdale and as the fog was coming in on root to the train station I got a bit nervous - it turned out that this was an historical trip for Lionel who has memories of his fathers car breaking down and all sorts along those roads.
We were later than we intended as Jean had thrown up earlier in the day etc... so Al and Lionel had to drive to the terminous whilst me Simon, Lynne and Jean rode in the open air carrages.
The landscape was cool but I become frustrated with the phone camera and doubt anything came out well - there just was not the right kind of lightlevel. Still we saw a buetiful black sow which reminded me of the pigs in Pigling Bland and then we saw a stolk or crain in the mudflates 🙂 There where also sheep and cows but too my suprise they where actually quiet different to what we have here. The sheep where fluffy black and white 🙂
Everytime the train whistle went Jean pretended to be scared and need a cuddle which was sweet - there was no door to the cart we were in so she was sitting firmly in the corner with Lionels waistcoat over her to keep her warm. We had a little argument about standing up and another about sticking her hands outside the cart but over all it was great with her serving me pretend tea from a pretend flask - I sort of wished it hadnt been pretend :/
We then had the most fantastic meal in a place called... Cockermouth... (yes that is actually the name :/) the resturant was called Junipers and was fantastic 🙂 And the staff were really nice.
The next morning I was dropped off ouchy early to get my ouchy priced train down to London from Pentrith. Poor Lynne had to go to a Dr as it turned out the cough she'd had all weekend had resulted in ulcers in her throat 🙁 Whilst she was sorting that out Al took Jean to the swimming pool which apparently was sweet even if Jean didn't swim - she jjust walked around in the water but enjoyed herself lots 🙂
They then spent the afternoon on a steamer - Jeany also got to watch Wallace and Gromet so I think she had a fantastic holiday - she told me all about the boat yesturday morning as we got her ready for pre-school 🙂
Alaric's Dad and Step-mother Lynne are in the country at the moment and took us on holiday to the Lakedistrict - Penrith to be precise. Unfortunatly it is like a five hour car journey and I managed to have a back spasm Thursday night.
This ment that a car journey that would have been very uncomftable for me was not really very pleasant but I managed to get some reading done on the Moon and thanks to Lynne had a great time teaching Jean set theory in the back of the car with some Gruffolo stickers. After the first hour and a half of counting and catagorising stickers and off course sticking them I asked Jean if she was bored of counting and numberrs - 'No want more' was her answer - followed by a belated, 'please'. Great as this was it did mean that I had to keep thinking of new ways of looking at the stickers and which groups could over lap and things.
How many owls are there?
Owls are a type of bird, what other birds can we see?
Woodpeckers - how many?
Oh and there's odd birds too?
So how many birds do we have?
Oh look there's a damsely fly - how many?
Oh look it can fl, yes so can the butterfly - they are instects - whow many insects?
Some of the insects can fly but not all - how many can fly?
So if the birds fly and some of the insects fly how many things are flying?
And on and on and on.... there was fungi arithmatic to conjur with too!
(to the last question Jean answered 'all' which was true as well due to the way she'd stuck the stickers to the page :/ But once I said which ones would we see in our garden flying she answered the question correctly.
After this it was time for a rendition of Old MacDonald and the like.
I was exhorsted by the end of it.
But there was a lovely cottage with baconies and everything - not to mention a pool at the accompanying hotel! Jean was transfixed by the swimmers. We had a lovely meal in the hotel resturant which has these lovely blue and turquoise ceramic abstracts up all over the place. I mad the med veg.
We then went back to the shalleee and watched a film.
After that I stayed up to await the arrival of Al and Simon (Al's step brother). I read alot of my moon book whilst doing hot and cold treatments on my back - the pain was affecting my breathing and had affected my eating as swollowing had become supremely painfull 🙁
At about 2 am they arrived consumed Jeans leftover tea and was all went to bed.
Fri 2nd Jan 2009 1:03 pm | 
Subscribe