Belly Laughs

I’m trying to catch up on some of my magazine reading and have just read Woman’s Weekly Fiction Special from March – yes, you see how far behind I am!  As ever there were some wonderful stories in amongst the pages – especially from my favourites, Teresa Ashby, Wendy Clarke and Joanna Campbell. I also enjoyed the story by Linda Povey, who is part of an online writer’s group I used to be a member of.

But what really made me laugh out loud was Jane Wenham-Jones’ description of getting stuck in a dress she was trying on and having to call a friend to get her out of it.  What amused me most was not her predicament, but the fact that it took me back to a time when a similar thing happened to me.

Not long after my youngest was born, I was going to a wedding and needed a new dress.  I went into a shop, much posher than I would normally dream of entering, and saw a beautiful dress on a hanger.  Unfortunately for me the dress looked much nicer on the hanger than it did on me so I decided that it was a non-starter.  The only problem was when I tried to take it off, it had cleaved to me like a second skin and was not going anywhere.  My throat went dry, my heart started to beat faster and I could feel the sweat starting to slick as the seams on the dress stretched to the point of bursting.  I had visions of me ending up with a ripped dress and either having to sneak it back in the shop or having to buy it anyway.

Eventually, though, I did manage to get it off, and in one piece, and it was only then that I realised there was a zipper on the side which would have prevented me from doing the changing room work out!

Funnily enough, I haven’t been back to that shop since.

The Merrie Month of May

Oh I love the month of May.  One of the reasons is because it’s the month of my birthday, although I have to admit that as the years creep up, it’s not quite as exciting as it used to be.  I try not to look on my birthday as a reminder of the advancing years, but use it as an excuse to spoil myself.  If you can’t kick back on your birthday then when can you?

 

But the main reason I love May is the weather.  The nights draw out, the weather gets warmer (in theory) and finally, after the dark days of winter we can reconnect with the outside world again. 

And the first few days of May have been a blessing.  Although it’s a bit cloudier today, the forecast for the Bank Holiday is good (fingers crossed).  The only downside to being in the outside world again though, is that I can no longer deny the shambles which is my garden. 

Gardening to me is like housework – I hate doing it but love the results.  When I say gardening, what I really mean is weeding. I never seem to manage to finish the weeding before I have to start again. 

Over the last few days I have been tackling the front. As I live in an open plan estate, it is the part that shames me most as everyone can see the level of neglect.  I’m nearly finished and it’s looking so much better that it’s given me the incentive to keep going.

Maybe this year, now that I have more time at home, I might be able to make some progress. Who knows, I might even get the time to plant something!

Whatever, I’m hoping that at least we’ll get some good enough weather for me to sit outside without looking at the weeds and feeling guilty.

Fingers crossed that the predicted hot weather in May becomes a reality.  It will be nice to have a summer that lasts more than just a few days.

A Room Of One's Own

Every woman should have A Room of One’s Own, to quote Virginia Woolf and personally I couldn't agree more, especially as this morning, my wonderful husband keeps interrupting me while I’m trying to write.

I was really lucky when I was at work as for many months I had an office to myself. It was up at the top of the building right at the end of the corridor and only the very brave or desperate used to venture up there. And whilst I used to joke that I could die and no one would notice, I didn't really appreciate just what sanctuary that office provided.

Here at home, I've tried to carve out my own space - I have a desk in the corner of the dining room - which is more than some people have, I know, but it still feels like a busy train station some days. It’s in the middle of two doors and the boys will often walk past their Dad to ask me a question, even when I've told them I'm working. And when my husband is working locally, which he is today, he tends to pop in and out asking me if there are any emails for him, or finding me things which urgently need to be done.

 

If that's not bad enough, I can't believe the number of cold callers who pester during the day. I try to leave the phone on answer phone, but as that is in another room, I often find myself going to check it just in case it’s anything urgent.

And then there are lovely friends who think that because I’m working from home, I’ve plenty of time to chat! ARRRGH!

The Great British ....

I was a bit of a late-comer to The Great British Bake Off (but there are only so many episodes of Come Dine With Me You Can Watch), so I started to watch the last series and soon became hooked.

My palate has always been more savoury than sweet, so cakes and puddings have never been my forte, and my attempts at bread in the past could be classed as dangerous weapons – put it this way, you wouldn’t have wanted to have dropped one of my loaves on your toes.

But by watching this show, I feel that I have learnt so much, and have recently been attempting to make cakes and biscuits, much to my boys’ delight. I’m even tempted to have another go at bread making, as the Daily Mail gave away a free bread making magazine at the weekend. The detailed recipes are so comprehensive that any fool could do it. Right? It’s not often I feel sorry for the bin men but soon they might be sorely tested.

The re-runs of the show are being shown on BBC2 in the afternoons at the moment, and I’ve series-linked the shows so that I can watch them at my leisure. They have become my guilty pleasure, the highlight of my day (how sad it that?).

I love the camaraderie of the contests, the highs and the lows, and I even love the detailed explanation of the origins of some of the dishes.

When The Great British Sewing Bee started a few weeks ago, I thought, no, not for me. I did have a brief experimentation with sewing when I was in my early twenties, but my attempts at making my own clothes were about as successful as my bread. But I made the mistake of watching the first episode and now I’m hooked on that too. There is no hope for me! I'm looking forward to tonight's episode.

For both these programmes, the elimination which takes place before the contestants are picked for the show is huge. The number of people who have such a passion for their hobby is phenomenal.

But hang on there a minute …… how many of us are there out there, fingers pounding our keyboard as we pour our own passion into our writing, hoping that someday, someone out there will recognise our talent? I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess.

I can’t really see The Great British Write Off (pardon the pun) being that much of a success though. Watching people scribble away in their notebooks or tap onto their keyboards is hardly visual. But then again, if any BBC producers want to give it a go, I’m sure you’ll get plenty of contestants.

What do you think? Would you go on TV to get your talent noticed?

Putting The Pieces Together

For Christmas, some elderly friends of ours bought the boys a 500 piece jigsaw each.  Initially I thought the boxes would be consigned to the cupboard, unopened.  How could a jigsaw possibly compete with today's technology?  But I was wrong, I'm pleased to say.  In the quiet days between Christmas and New Year, we opened up the box, picked out the edge pieces and started to put it together.

At first I thought we would never finish it, there were too many pieces in the box and a huge blank space in the middle of the board, but gradually we started to fill in all those spaces, moved some pieces around that had been put in the wrong place, and eventually we had the complete picture.

And while we were doing it, it struck me how like writing a novel, doing a jigsaw is.  The edge pieces are the plot, the middle the slog of the first draft, and trying the pieces in difference places is the editing.

The whole process is both addictive and frustrating but the final picture at the end is well worth the effort.

Just need to find the time to do the other one. Oh, and write that novel of course.

Happy April

I love the fact that the sun is shining and it actually feels like spring.  Not so warm out of the sunshine, although I did spend some time in the garden yesterday to try to tidy it up a bit. Things must be improving, it’s the first time I’ve ventured into the garden so far this year.

Well, Easter is over and the eggs (chocolate) are taunting me.  With my eldest having a brace it means that he can only eat sweet things at mealtimes, and as I made a chocolate cake on Good Friday, which is taking some getting through, he is rather spoilt for choice.

Also youngest son, who happily postponed the sickness bug until after he’d been on his school trip, succumbed in the early hours of Tuesday morning and has been off chocolate ever since.  Think he might just be getting his appetite back now though.

Today they are both a football so it means I get a few hours peace.  I should be either working or writing but it feels too much like the holidays and I can’t get my constructive head on. I must try to get something done though because it feels as though the days and months are merging into each other with little to show for them. My work ethic seems to have packed it’s bags and is sunning itself by the pool.  Wish I was!

Anyway, happy April everyone, hope you’re being more productive than I am – or at least are enjoying some free time!

Easter Treats

Hope you’re all having a good bank holiday weekend, so far.

I can’t believe the change in the weather from last week, today was positively glorious here, although it was quite cold when you were out of the sun.

I’ve been out the last two nights, with family, and so am looking forward to a quiet night in tonight!

Today we went to Chester’s food and drink festival at the racecourse.  It was absolutely packed but an enjoyable few hours.  It really surprised me how many enterprising people there are out there.  I didn’t realise how many little companies were busy pickling chutneys, making cheese, cupcakes, fudge and all sorts of others foods.  We came away with some great pizza making kits, the most delicious Cheshire cheese and some melt in the mouth biscuits.

I did draw the line at Kangaroo burgers though!

Clocks go forward tonight don’t forget – even though we’ll be losing an hour, I can’t wait for the lighter nights.  Let’s just hope the weather warms up too.

Have a good weekend.