Farewell

I was rather enjoying reading this weeks Fun Monday posts and hearing about all the good deeds people were doing until I got to one post which upset me. I am sure that I am over reacting but I took it so personally that I welled up and now feel both very upset and sick. I know it doesn't really matter to most people how I feel, I know that I have a tendency to take things too personally and I know I will get over it. One thing is certain and that is that Fun Mondays will no longer be fun so I'm officially retiring. I'm sure I'll miss it, it always gave me something to post about on a Monday and I've been with it from the start (I think I only missed one or two when I was on holiday) but life will move on and I'm only a small fish in the big sea of Fun Mondays so I won't be missed.

Fun Monday #32

Nikki had a brilliant idea for this weeks Fun Monday, she is:

'...not looking for a story of when you have offered your help in the past, I actually want you in the next two weeks to go out and help someone. Go visit a nursing home, cook dinner for someone sick or with a new baby, donate to a charity or even send just a "thinking of you card" to someone who needs it. It doesn't matter what your good deed is, or how great it is. It just needs to help someone'!

When I read this I was full of plans about how I would help others but alas the hours ran out. As I was lamenting this I realised that a lot of my hours have been spent working for the Parents Association (PA) at Mollie and Ben's school. All the members of the PA are volunteers and give three years serving the PA. I am just coming to the end of my second year and spent the last year as secretary. The PA organises after school activities for the children such as football (soccer), basketball, drama, hockey, Spanish, gymnastics, yoga and swimming lessons; as well as raising funds for the school and providing social activities for the children (bingo night, sports day and a disco). This is a very busy time of year as the children return to school, we send out forms inviting the children to choose which activities they would like to partake in, these forms have to be checked, money counted and all the data inputted into the computer. Then I move into my role as drama coordinator and have to sort out the groups. This year 39 children have asked to be in one group-we have a limit of 18 per group-so 21 children have to be moved to different groups. Last week I spent three days on PA work and I have another two meetings today. Maybe not the good turn Nikki was looking for but it's helping others and the best I can manage this week.

Fun Monday #31

Lisa is the hostess of this weeks Fun Monday and has asked us...

I’d like to know more about you, what makes you tick. I’d like to know how you started blogging. Did you keep a diary under lock and key safely hidden as a child? Do you still? Do you share the same things on your blog that you would have, or do, in your diary? Why did you start blogging and why do you continue? May as well throw in any roadblocks you have run into while blogging. If you still have your old diaries we’d love to see them.

This is fairly easy for me:

I started blogging shortly after my mum and daughter started their blogs. My sister had been blogging for a long time and my son about a year and even my youngest son wanted to get in on the act! I decided to start blogging as a way of keeping my family and friends up to date with our lives as we all live in different countries. I never once dreamed I'd make new friends, learn about life in different cultures and be sending and receiving prizes and parcels.

As a teenager I did try and keep a diary. Every year Father Christmas would leave a diary in my stocking and every January I would resolve to write it every day for a year...I usually lasted until March. I used to keep it under my pillow or mattress and it was fairly harmless and probably full of the boys I fancied and tennis match results.

My blog is not really like a personal diary. I try to keep it as a record of our lives maybe including recipes I like, crafts I've made, things we do and places we visit. Sometimes I'll blog about a situation I've been in and how I feel but nothing deep and heavy. I guess this reflects my personality as I tend to keep my emotional feelings internal trusting only a few close friends and family. I really admire those of you how lay it on the line but that isn't my way, I guess my personality is different, I'm definitely a glass half full person always seeking the best out of every situation.

Fun Monday #30

Theotherbear is hosting this weeks challenge and had the brilliant idea of asking us to post...

...a little white lie that you may, or may not, have gotten away with. Perhaps it's something more sinister than a little white lie - maybe even a deep dark secret that you've kept buried for years! All the better! Now's your chance to get it off your chest and confess: "Yes, I did eat that last slice of cheese cake", "No, I wasn't washing my hair that Saturday", "Those pants do make you look fat"!

Well that was easy I thought (unlike my mother who tells me she never told a white lie)! So where do I start?

'No dad I did not cycle through the brambly lane', uttered when dad found 13 punctures in my bicycle tyres aged 14.

'No mum, we didn't watch daytime tv', promised when we were children and she had to work during the holidays. In those days there was only childrens programmes on for an hour or two so it wasn't like we were glued to the screen all day, we also completed our chores and played outside.

Then there was Mrs T's skirt. Mrs T lived opposite us, had huge dyed hair (I later found out she wore wigs), had a bar in her lounge and was a barmaid. My mum would have thought her a bit tarty. One year we were collecting jumble for the annual tennis club jumble sale and I found a skin tight, knee length black skirt which I pronounced suitable for school. Mum said no way was I wearing such a tarty skirt to school and promptly popped it back in the black sack. What could I do? The skirt was calling to me! Yes I sneaked it out and wore it every day to school until I could squeeze into it no more. If you're wondering I used to wear this horribly grey, pleated skirt that had belonged to my sister over it and would slip it off in the brambly lane!

Then there was the case of the pink shoes. I had maroon/brown shoes for school (the uniform was black or grey clothes and black, blue, brown shoes). I hated these sensible hush puppies so started wearing my baby pink moccasins. I got away with it for two weeks then my year head caught me and asked me why my mother let me wear them to school, I mumbled that my mother thought they were ok. That day as I left school I was handed a note to give my mother about my pink shoes. I told mum the year head was colour blind and thought my maroon shoes were pink but that another teacher had said I could keep wearing the maroon shoes, phew, got away with that!

Finally, mum when I told you 'I have one beer then drink coke all night' I omitted to mention that there was some rum in the coke! (I was over 18 at the time).

Fun Monday #29...on Tuesday!

Beckie wants to know:

...what your favorite treat is. Is it sweet or sour? Is it plain or salty? Is it candy or chocolate? Is it homemade or store bought? For instance, if your favorite is chocolate, tell us what kind specifically - sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes not so much. I have heard a lot of talk about Junior Mints, but is it your favorite or just a tasty treat? It can be anything, popcorn, peanuts, ice cream or chips, maybe you have more than one favorite - that is ok, just show us your favorite(s) and tell us why you like it so much. C’mon, what gets you all juiced up?

A bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk eaten with a hot cup of tea, dunked into the tea so it melts and I suck all the melted bits off before dunking again, mmmmm...

While we're on the subject of treats these would come a close second. Thanks Karmyn for making my day with this delightful package I received in the mail.

Fun Monday #28

Mum is the host this week and wants to look at our aprons. I think she chose this challenge to catch me out but about three months ago I finally grew up (a bit) and realised that it was easier to wear an apron than have to wash all my clothes every time I whipped up a mess something delicious in the kitchen. So I took myself off to Dunnes and purchased this rather bright apron for €10.

Unlike my mother I do not have any decorative tea towels and only a few working tea towels, I use the dishwasher and anything that needs hand washing is left to drip dry (I decided this as I wasted many hours drying up as a child because we weren't allowed to leave the dishes to dry)!

Fun Monday #27

Amy is hosting this weeks Fun Monday and has asked to see our fridge and we don't even have to clean it. I can do that!

The outside of my fridge freezer is covered in magnets mostly of places we have visited and photo's and drawings. That photo of Joules and I was taken about eight or nine years ago when we went to a Titanic themed party. Joules dressed up in the captains dinner suit!

This mosaic picture was made by Mollie when she was seven and was chosen to be laminated.

Monday is my shopping day and the fridge is empty so I took this photo on Friday. As you see my fridge is missing some parts. The glass shelf broke and I removed one of the salad trays to fit in milk and meat. On a Monday the bottom of the fridge is full to bursting with all the fresh fruit and vegetables I buy.There are aways yoghurts in our fridge, I buy about 30 a week and everyone is limited to one a day. The next shelf up is full of jars, homemade jams and mincemeat, mayonnaise, mustard, relish and my big jar full of mixed seeds. The top shelf (unseen due to very small space available to take photo) is full of butter, cheeses, ham and salami.

The fridge door contains eggs (free range), sauces and dressings (Dillon can't eat salad without drowning it in a sauce or dressing), milk and juice.

Fun Monday #26

Fun Monday has rolled around very quickly this week. I kind of hibernated this weekend with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, yes I went out at midnight to buy it at the great price of €10.90 (US$15) and started reading straight away. I did take a few breaks on Saturday to spring clean Dillon's room, watch some tennis finals at my tennis club and attend a Hawaiian party at the tennis club where I received some earrings as prizes for a competition. I tried to finish the book on Sunday before the return of Dillon and Mollie but spring cleaning Mollie's room took far to long. I was just reaching the last battle when it was time to go and collect them but managed to finish it whilst they were soaking their weary bodies in the bath.

Today I have to plough through a mountain of washing from the two of them, away for nine days not to mention clothes I found when cleaning their rooms! And I promised Ben I would bake his favourite lemon cake as I had been otherwise occupied most of the weekend so I'm going to cheat with this Fun Monday post.

Willowtree has asked us to write a post about our best friend and I really did plan to but Harry Potter took over time has run out so I am going to link to a post I wrote in April as a guest blogger on Frannie's blog. It tells you of my experience of friendships and about my best friend and you'll find it here.

Fun Monday #25

Fun Monday this week is hosted by Tiggerlane and she set the following task:

I wanna see your CAR! It can be your current car, the first car you ever had, maybe your first new car with that new-car smell, a car you wrecked once, or even the dream car you would drive - given all the money in the world! Oh - and if you have a truck, SUV, lawnmower, whatever the local authorities allow you to drive, let's see it!

Although this isn't a picture of my first car it pretty much looks like it. Same model and colour. It was my all time favourite car, a Morris 1100. I got it when I was 17 years old and it was seven months older than me. I took my driving lessons in it. I passed my driving test in it (first time). I drove it the 230 miles to Hull regularly when I was at university. It never let me down...well it did a few times but I was a member of the AA so it didn't matter. It was in amazing condition as it had belonged to my grandmother who had bought it new but not used it much. I loved the speedometer which was a red line that went up and down much like a thermometer. If you want to learn more about the Morris 1100 the technical bit can be found here. As the car was a 1969 model it didn't have any seat belts in the back and they couldn't be fitted so it was with great sadness that I had to sell in in 1994, after eight glorious years together , as I needed a car with seat belts because I was now a mother.

I'm off to Bristol, England in 10 minutes so I'll be checking out everyones cars from there (if mum allows me on her new computer)!

Fun Monday #24

Deb is hosting this weeks Fun Monday and her challenge was to:

Show your favourite place to relax. It can be a chair, corner, ledge or limb.

This is the place we all relax, Ben is currently ensconced there with the blanket I keep downstairs for snuggling up with whilst he watches Sponge Bob. I sit here to watch television, read, do sudoku or even have a little nap. There is a furry cushion which we all love and is very cosy to rest on. I like to think that this is my special spot but so does Mollie and Ben, Joules and Dillon have long since given up any claims to it!!!

Fun Monday #23

Jenni over at Prairie Air is the host of today's Fun Monday and in keeping with the start of the summer holidays for many of our children she has come up with the following challenge:

The topic for this Fun Monday is summer memories. Besides a few of your favorite summer memories, I'd like to hear what summer means to you. Is summer all about fireworks, watermelon seed wars, catching fireflies, days at the lake, family vacations, or the perfect swimsuit? What sights, smells, sounds, tastes, feelings do you associate with summer?

I have some wonderful memories of summer holidays (besides the ones I'm currently boring you with from France). In recent years I've been lucky enough to visit Portugal, Florida, New York and France but my heart remains in Cornwall as my all time favourite holiday destination. Cornwall is a county in the south west of England and I had my first holiday there at the age of six when we stayed in a lime green and purple caravan with no toilet or fridge and I had the time of my life. The year was 1976, the year of a heatwave (we don't get many of those) and I remember playing on the beach, body board surfing, bbqs on the beach, losing the jack ball from boules, walking the cliffs, seeing the lighthouses, going in a speed boat, eating ice cream (with clotted cream if that's your preference) and fish and chips. We went there for six continuous years but the weather was not always favourable. In 1979 the weather was appalling, this was the year of the fast net race when lives were lost and whilst walking the beach one day my dad saved me from being washed out to sea by an enormous wave. In 1982 we started holidaying in Devon where we played in a tennis tournament.

Years later we went back with our children and a new generation has fallen in love. We do all the things I did as a child as well as cycling on the Camel Trail. The children love Padstow as much as Sam and I did, the fudge and the ice cream not to mention Rick Steins fish and chips and we all agree that as long as the rain stays away Cornwall is our favourite holiday destination and where most of our summer memories lie.

To sum up summer for me is time spent with my family, sand, buckets and spades, fudge, ice cream, fish and chips, late nights, lazy lie ins, reading books, picnics and lots of fun and laughter.

The photos above were taken on our last holiday in Cornwall in 2005 and I hope it's not too long before we go again.

Fun Monday #22

I'm back and it's Fun Monday time, Swampy is this weeks host and she has asked us to reveal our shelves in all their unkeptness. This was easy for me as I only finished unpacking yesterday and although I left the house reasonably clean and tidy the shelves are their usual cluttered selves.


These shelves are in our sitting room and house some books and photos. A lot of these books are from my student days when I studied literature and include DH Lawrence, Milan Kundera, Angela Carter, Evelyn Waugh and Iris Murdoch. I have to admit to not having read these books in years but am loathe to get rid of them. The top shelf also includes some clay objects the children have made for me over the years. The bottom two shelves hold mostly photographs including one of my granny with my mum when she was a baby.



This bookshelf is also in the sitting room and contains puzzles, games, videos, DVDs, PlayStation2, wii and psp games as well as a few books and photos. We could definitely do with more shelving for all the games and DVDs.

This bookshelf is on top of a chest of drawers in our bedroom which looks really stupid but we have no where else to put it in our shoebox called home. All our books (besides the huge pile on our bedside tables and the bedroom floor) are stored here, the gaps are from where Dillon has been recently reading a lot of our books and not replacing them.

More books are building up in the small gap between the bookshelf and a wardrobe.

These are some beautiful hardback books that I started collecting about 20 years ago.

In the corner of my kitchen are my cookery books and many printed recipes waiting to be put into folders.

Finally Swampy asked us to show our garages without cleaning up. I have no garage, our attic has been converted into a bedroom and we seriously lack storage space. Our tiny landing has become our storage space, all things that cannot be housed are squeezed in here or our bedroom. You see a mattress (useful for sleepovers), a box of my secretary stuff for the Parents Association (I'll be passing this on to the next secretary in October), the laundry basket, some toys waiting be passed on to the cousins, a bag of clothes hangers (???), sleeping bags (ready for a weekend camp) and a suitcase (now stored in a cupboard in the attic. I would love to have a door I could close on this mess but I don't and this is how you'll find me if you ever come a visit.

Fun Monday #19

Yes, I know, I am a week early but when I saw Karmyn's challenge I wanted to play along and next week I'll be sunning myself in France, eating croissants for breakfast, taking dips in the pool and enjoying bbq's in the evening so I thought I post my Fun Monday a week early. Karmyn challenged us:

And on June 4th - I will be asking everyone to show me their "CRAFTY SIDE"....let us see something you've made - it can be ANYTHING - a table you made from 8th grade Shop class to your most recent burnt pot roast or lopsided knitted sweater. WHATEVER - just let it be your handiwork.

This is a cushion I made when I was 11 or 12. I was unwell and off school and as mum was at work my granny was minding me. Granny had a coffee date with friends so I was to go along and sit quietly while the ladies gossiped chatted and sipped their coffee. To keep me entertained granny taught me patchwork. I made this cushion for mum and was so proud of it, she still has it today

This patchwork bag I made at school when I was 12, we were taught with a sewing machine and I used this for years. I did tell mum a few years ago to get rid of it but I'm glad she didn't listen.

Some of you may have seen these pictures on Mum's blog along with some of Spongebob Squarepants. I painted them last year for Mollie's and Ben's rooms. As I am so not arty (that talent was reserved for Sam) I was pleased with the results.

Finally my latest craft. Here is some of the beaded jewellery and napkin rings I have been making these last few weeks.

Fun Monday #18

I watch the clock
Tick, tock, tick, tock
I try to write
Not a word in sight.

Why did I say
I'd join in and play
I'm not a poet
And I know it.

18 weeks it's been
Since the first view was seen
And not a Monday I've missed
I want to be on the list.

That Nikki wants an ode
I greeted with forebode
I think you'll agree
That poetry is not for me.

Nikki is is charge of this weeks Fun Monday and challenged us to:

1. Write a short poem. It can be about anything and it doesn't even have to be good.

2. Whip out your crayons, markers, paint, etc. and illustrate your poem (or have your kid, dog or cat do it).

3. Post your poem and illustration on your blog next Monday (uh...duh.)

As you can see there is no illustration but the last few days have been hectic. Saturday evening I rang my mum at 11pm and greeted her with:

Me: 'Hello mum, did I wake you?'

Mum: 'No...'

Me: 'Good, now my leg is all swollen do you thing it could be a blood clot?'

Not a phone call my mum wanted on a Saturday evening but as she used to be a nurse she is the number one person to go to when medical advice is needed. As I had Mollie's party the next day we decided that it was best to get my knee and leg checked out so off I went to Accident and Emergency just after 11pm on a Saturday night.

A&E late on a Saturday night is most definitely not pleasant and I wouldn't recommend it as a way to pass time. There were lots of drunk people, vomit and blood. The staff were so calm and patient and I really admire them. Eventually I was seen at 1am and the doctor I saw is very confident that my egg buddy lump on my knee is a cyst. She took blood to check for infection and I have to go back this morning to have it checked again and maybe have an ultrasound scan. I was home by 1:30am so I got some rest before the all day party, about which I'll post tomorrow.

Fun Monday #17

Willowtree is the hostess with the mostest this week and wants to peek into our cupboards with this challenge:

'Again this is one of those stickybeak posts. You could also get a bit creative photographically speaking if you wanted to. So here it is, I would like to see your favourite Coffee Mug. But wait there's more, I'd also like to see your favourite glasses for a) non alcoholic drinks and b) alcoholic drinks. If you want extra credit you could also post your favourite plate. Note I said favourite, not best'.

This mug was given to me by Sam about 24 years ago and I have used it daily since. Sam must have chosen it due to the tennis theme and unfortunately the colour has faded a lot over the years. It is made from bone china so is very delicate and (so many believe) tea tastes better out of bone china, in fact my granny will only drink out of bone china. I brought this mug to Hull where it spend my student days nursing many a hangover.

Many of you may have heard me refer to my house lovingly as me shoebox. It is really too small for my family, only one bathroom and five people. If you looked in my cupboards stuffed to the hilt you wouldn't be able to find anything. In fact no one in this house can find stuff except me! Therefore I have very few glasses and no special ones. When I need glasses I buy whatever is on offer and recycle them as they break or get chipped. We drink anything from these glasses from water, juice, milk, smoothies, vodka, whiskey and beer. Tucked away on top of my cupboards I do have a box of very nice wine glasses that I won in a tennis competition but we tend to use the wine glasses to hand in the cupboard.

I had been after a hand painted plate from the children for some time. Joules finally got the hint when they made one for his mother and my mother and I demanded one! I wanted a square plate as I didn't have any square plates and sometimes make square cakes that look good served on a square plate. I love this and will treasure it forever.

Fun Monday # 16

Vicki is hosting today's Fun Monday and has challenged us to:

We'll need Spring pictures from your front door please, and also could you take a picture out your backdoor to satisfy my nosy sweet tooth?

I have to admit to signing up before I really read the challenge and perhaps if I'd read it properly I might not have agreed so readily. In fact I just read, could you take a picture out your backdoor to satisfy my nosy sweet tooth? I am not a gardener, I hate gardening although I do like pretty gardens. Every spring I head out to the garden and do my best to clear up all the debris from over the winter, plant the pots, mow the grass, trim the hedges and try and make my garden slightly respectable. I am very behind. I have trimmed both my neighbours hedges and swept the patio. I also tidied out the two sheds. Then my PA work got in the way and Joules has been working non stop without a day off for two weeks (the business has moved premises) as well as attending college three evenings a week and studying for his exams during any free time.

So I present my back garden, warts and all. The recycling corner (much tidier than before), empty pots (not sure if I'll plant them before I go to France as the plants will die from lack of water), trampolines (big and small), my compost bin (I recycle everything I possibly can), Joules cigarette butts (he's meant to throw away each jar as it fills up), the BBQ (thanks Sam), my pretty Moroccan lanterns, my pretty weeds (Pamela tells me they are bird food) and a picture of the house (yes, it could do with a lick of paint)!

If I have time later I may update with pictures from my front door.

Fun Monday #15

OK so I wasn't going to participate this week. The challenge chosen by Julie was very good, she challenged us to post about:

"Your best spy camera photo and story about the photo".

I had a very busy weekend, I helped organise a fundraising event at my youngest children's school and celebrated a bit much to remember to even take any photographs. The next day I was too ill and busy to even think of looking for photographs. Yesterday I caught up with my poor neglected house and family and all thoughts of Fun Mondaying were far from my mind. Today I went into Dublin, hoping to meet Sabrina. Unfortunately it was not to be but I did come home with four large shopping bags (mostly presents for family members). As I was walking back to the train station I caught a glimpse of the perfect spy picture, unfortunately I was laden down with six bags and had no time to dump them and take a picture as they passed me by so instead I'll have to describe it:

A mother (about 40) and her daughter (about 10) wearing matching clothes. Yuk. The clothes were actually quite nice, a denim jacket, brown skirt, tights and black boots but purlease not both mother and daughter in exactly the same clothes. Definitely NOT a good look.

Fun Monday #14

When I first read Robins challenge to post our bad hair day/s I thought 'what a shame, I can't play this week because I don't have bad hair days'. My mother set out to prove me wrong.

In my defence I would like to point out that most of those bad hair days occurred during my teenage years (in the 1980's); the last two were included to show me during my one brief flirtation with being blonde and I no longer slap on the makeup but have learnt the art of subtlety.